The Knowledge of the Glory

In the last couple years, archaeologists in the Mid East continued to rack up confirmation for the Bible and the early church. An inscription from roughly the time of David mentions the name Goliath. Whether it is the Goliath of scripture or not, it confirms that the name was in use in David’s day. A clay seal from near Jerusalem mentions Gedaliah son of Pashur, whom Bible readers will remember as an accuser of Jeremiah.

Recent finds have pushed back the date at which Edom flourished. Scholars had disputed Edom’s existence in the time of David, saying the nation did not emerge until two centuries later. Considering that David is recorded as having virtually wiped out this enemy of Israel, Edom’s re-emergence two centuries later can also be seen as supporting the Bible account.

Other archaeologists have found the quarry from which the stones for the temple mount were taken, and still others have discovered remains of the wall Nehemiah built around Jerusalem, adding yet more evidence in support of the Biblical picture of Jewish history.

Light has also shone on the early church with discovery of a cave which seems to have been used by Christians for worship, and the uncovering of a lovely mosaic church floor at Megiddo—all that remains of a church constructed decades before Constantine legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire. Some Christians erroneously teach that believers did not build or worship in churches before the fourth century.

Theories that belittle scripture and the church fathers are a dime a dozen. It takes only a single turn of a spade to bury some of them.