Jerusalem – Naija Gospel Radio

Biblical Beka Stone Discovered in Jerusalem

Archaelogists in Jerusalem have discovered a small stone mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible.

Known as “beka”, the stone was mentioned in Exodus 38:26 which reads, “one beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more, a total of 603,550 men.”

Eli Shukron, an archaeologist working on behalf of the Israeli Antiquities Authority, stated that the beka stone was unique in that its inscription goes left to right, rather than the usual right to left.

“Apparently, the seal craftsman got confused when he engraved the inscription on the weight and mistakenly used mirror script as he was used to doing,” he said.

According to the Christian Post, the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Israel Museum announced the discovery of a stone tablet from the First Century AD.

Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Stone Depicting Jerusalem Name

Archaeologists have unearthed a Second Temple period stone inscription that spells the name Jerusalem as Yerushalayim (as it’s spelled in Hebrew today), rather than Yerushalem or Shalem.

According to the Biblical Archaeology Society, inscription, dating to the first century B.C.E., reads: Hananiah son of Dudolos of Jerusalem (Yerushalayim).

The find is the first written evidence of the name “Jerusalem” found on a column drum dating from the Herodian period.

The inscription, carved on a limestone column drum, was uncovered during excavations led by Danit Levy on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in Binyanei Ha’Uma, a massive convention center in the city.

Dr. Alexey Yuditsky of the Academy of the Hebrew Language told reporter Amanda Borschel-Dan of The Times of Israel, that the inscription is more likely Hebrew than Aramaic, although both were used interchangeably during this time period.

According to Yuditsky, the spelling Yerushalayim reflects a Hebrew pronunciation, while an Aramaic one would have spelled the name Yerushalem.

The inscription will be on display at the Israel Museum, along with other artifacts unearthed in the city.

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NCPC Reiterates Importance of Prayer

NCPC Reiterates Importance of Prayer

Head Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) Media Unit, Celestine Ogugua, has reiterated the importance of prayer in the commission’s pilgrimage programme.

Ogugua stated this over the weekend at the end of a prayer convocation held on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.

The convocation was dedicated to seeking God‘s intervention in affairs of Nigeria.

The cleric noted that different groups converged on Mount Zion at the heart of Jerusalem to pray for God’s intervention in Nigeria.

“This edition of the prayer convocation was special and unique as it paraded a sizeable number of high profile church leaders as well as four members of the NCPC Board.

“The prayer event provided a veritable platform to pray and intercede on sundry critical areas of life.

“Prayers were offered for the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, the growth of the economy of Nigeria and the success of the forthcoming 2019 general elections,” he said.

He noted that prayers were also offered for the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria, the unity of the Nigerian Church, women and against abscondment during pilgrimage.

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Relocate Embassy To Jerusalem, CAN Urges FG

The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has called on the Federal Government and other countries to relocate their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

CAN President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, made this call in a statement signed by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, Special Assistant, Media and Communications of the Association, on Tuesday in Abuja.

Ayokunle, while commending the Israeli Government on its 70 years anniversary of their country, said the relocation of the capital was a “Special Anniversary Present from the God of the Patriarchs.”

According to him, the declaration made by President Donald Trump on December 6th, 2017 was a fulfillment of the Biblical prophecy.

He said, “It is our prayers that other countries including Nigeria will relocate their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“We appreciate the leadership role of the United States in the landmark historic event. We are happy that countries such as the United States of America, Guatemala, Honduras, Romania and Paraguay have relocated their embassies from Tel Aviv.”

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Christians Mark Easter At Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulchre

Hundreds of pilgrims filed into Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre — believed to be the site of Jesus’s resurrection — for Easter celebrations on Sunday.

Western Christians marked Easter on Sunday, while eastern Orthodox Christians do so on April 8.

The eastern Orthodox marked Palm Sunday on April 1 and also held mass at the church in Jerusalem’s Old City, with worshippers holding palm fronds as is tradition.

Some worshippers prostrated over a stone — where they believe Jesus’s body was anointed before his burial — near the towering wooden doors at the entrance to the church.

The church is built at the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected. A recently renovated ornate shrine within the church surrounds the cave where Jesus is believed to have been buried.

Easter marks the day when Christians believe the miracle of his resurrection occurred.

Catholic Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa held mass at the church on Sunday morning near the shrine over the cave, entering dressed in the traditional purple Easter robe.

He made reference to the Middle East’s numerous conflicts in his homily, saying “our times are marked by death”.

“Easter is the ability to come back and look at our history in the light of the promise of life that takes place today,” he said.
“Yes, today, at Easter, we announce a life that death can no more extinguish.”

On Friday, Christians traced the route of the Stations of the Cross through the Old City, which pass through the traditional sites of Jesus’s condemnation up to his crucifixion.

In March 2017, renovations to the 19th-century shrine covering Jesus’s tomb were unveiled following a $3.7 million project that restored its stones to their original reddish-yellow and reinforced the heavily visited site.

The Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic denominations share custody of the church, but disputes between the three had led to renovations being delayed for decades.

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Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem Re-opens

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City, seen by many as the holiest site in Christianity, reopened on Wednesday after a three-day closure to protest against Israeli tax measures and a proposed law, Times of Israel rports.

The two men who act as keepers of the key of the church opened its large wooden doors at around 4:00 a.m., ending the protest that began on Sunday at noon.

Wajeeh Nusseibeh, who is charge of locking and unlocking the church, climbed a stepladder and turned the key to open its main wooden door.

Shortly afterwards, a group of pilgrims arrived to visit the sacred site.

The church is built where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected. Custody of it is shared by the Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic denominations.

According to Reuters, the rare decision on Sunday by church leaders to close the ancient holy site, a favorite among tourists and pilgrims, with the busy Easter holiday approaching put extra pressure on Israel to re-evaluate and suspend the moves.

“It’s one of the holiest sites for our religion and we prayed very hard these last three days that things would change and it would be open for us to be able to go in,” American pilgrim, who gave her name only as Laurie told Reuters.

The closure — which seemed to be the longest since at least 1990 — had left thousands of pilgrims and tourists seeking to visit locked outside.

Tuesday’s decision to call off the protest came after the Prime Minister’s office announced earlier in the day that it was suspending the tax collection and freezing the legislation until a newly formed committee — to be headed by Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi — could work out the issues with the churches.

“After the constructive intervention of the Prime Minister, The Churches look forward to engage with Minister Hanegbi, and with all those who love Jerusalem, to ensure that Our Holy City, where our Christian presence continues to face challenges, remains a place where the three Monotheistic faiths may live and thrive together,” the church leaders said in a statement.

In addition to the Jerusalem Municipality suspending the tax collection actions it has taken in recent weeks, the government will also suspend all pending legislation regarding church land until the committee examines the issue, the Prime Minister’s Office announced, saying that the committee would work “with the participation of all relevant parties, to formulate a solution for the issue of municipal taxes on properties owned by churches that are not houses of worship.”

While the review of the tax plan is under way, work on legislation that would allow Israel to expropriate land in Jerusalem that churches have sold to private real estate firms in recent years will also be suspended, Israeli Prime Minister, Netanyahu said.

The bill’s declared aim is to protect homeowners against the possibility private companies will not extend their leases of land on which their residences stand.

Churches are major landowners in Jerusalem. They say such a law would make it harder for them to find buyers for their land- sales that help to cover operating costs of their religious institutions.

Holy Sepulchre Church Closed Over Tax Protest

The doors of Jerusalem’s most sacred church, the Holy Sepulchre, have been closed until further notice due to a row over a new land law and tax.

Leaders at the church claimed the new rules are an attack on Christians in the Holy Land.

The site, which many Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried, will remain closed until further notice, leaving disappointed pilgrims locked outside.

Dr Russell Rook, advisor to Theophilos III, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, told Premier why the proposed bill is so bad.

“It’s a bill that is due to go before the Knesset – the Israeli parliament, that would make it possible for the government of Israel to essentially confiscate church properties and properties owned by different churches… in Jerusalem,” he said during Premier’s News Hour.

“So this has been the issue that has pushed the church leaders in Jerusalem over the edge to say ‘this threatens our very existence as churches, as Christians in this holy city and enough is enough’.”

A statement was issued on Sunday signed by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, the Catholic Custos of the Holy Land, Fr Francesco Patton; the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, Patriarch Nourhan Manougian and others.

It said that the campaign was a “discriminatory and racist bill”.

Announcing the closure of the 4th-century church, they condemned a “systematic and unprecedented attack against Christians in the Holy Land” that “severely violates the most basic… and sovereign rights, trampling on the delicate fabric of relations between the Christian community and the authorities for decades”.

Dr Rook urged Christians to pray for the nation.

“Pray for a peaceful resolution. Scripture tells us we’ve got to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, so we’re not trying to stir up a fight and certainly the Patriarch isn’t wanting to fight – he’s wanting peace.

“Pray that the discussions between the Christian leaders and the politicians in the municipality and the city of Jerusalem and in the Knesset – the Israeli government actually come to a peaceful conclusion and we get to a much better position.

“And if they want to act, they can write to their MP, or maybe even better – the Prime Minister… and say ‘would the UK use its influence to bring about a peaceful reconciliation to this really difficult problem?'”

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Seal of Prophet Isaiah Found in Jerusalem

The hand of the Prophet Isaiah himself may have created an 8th century BCE seal impression discovered in First Temple remains near Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, the Times of Israel reports.

In a press release this week, Hebrew University archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar announced the breathtaking discovery.

“We appear to have discovered a seal impression, which may have belonged to the prophet Isaiah, in a scientific, archaeological excavation,” said Mazar.

Mazar’s team uncovered the minuscule bulla, or seal impression, during renewed excavations at the Ophel, located at the foot of the southern wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The discovery was published on Wednesday in an article, “Is This the Prophet Isaiah’s Signature?” as part of a massive March-June issue of the Biblical Archaeology Review dedicated to its recently retired founding editor, Hershel Shanks.

The clay impression is inscribed with letters and what appears to be a grazing doe, “a motif of blessing and protection found in Judah, particularly in Jerusalem,” according to the BAR article.

The oval-shaped bulla, however, is not intact. On its legible portion, there is an inscription with First Temple Hebrew letters that seem to spell out the name l’Yesha’yah[u] (Belonging to Isaiah). On a line below, there is the partial word nvy, which presumably spells out “prophet.”

“Because the bulla has been slightly damaged at the end of the word nvy, it is not known if it originally ended with the Hebrew letter aleph, which would have resulted in the Hebrew word for ‘prophet’ and would have definitively identified the seal as the signature of the prophet Isaiah,” Mazar said.

In the BAR article, Mazar leaves room for the possibility that the inscription on the Isaiah bulla does not refer to the biblical prophet. “Without an aleph at the end, the word nvy is most likely just a personal name. Although it does not appear in the Bible, it does appear on seals and a seal impression on a jar handle, all from unprovenanced, private collections.”

“The name of Isaiah, however, is clear,” she said.

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Archaeologists Find 2,700-year-old ‘Governor of Jerusalem’ Seal

Israeli archaeologists unveiled on Monday a 2,700-year-old clay seal impression which they said belonged to a biblical governor of Jerusalem.

The artifact, inscribed in an ancient Hebrew script as “belonging to the governor of the city”, was likely attached to a shipment or sent as a souvenir on behalf of the governor, the most prominent local position held in Jerusalem at the time, the Israel Antiquities Authority said.

The impression, the size of a small coin, depicts two standing men, facing each other in a mirror-like manner and wearing striped garments reaching down to their knees. It was unearthed near the plaza of Judaism’s Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem.

“It supports the Biblical rendering of the existence of a governor of the city in Jerusalem 2,700 years ago,” an Antiquities Authority statement quoted excavator Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah as saying.

Governors of Jerusalem, appointed by the king, are mentioned twice in the Bible, in 2 Kings, which refers to Joshua holding the position, and in 2 Chronicles, which mentions Masseiah in the post during the reign of Josiah.

The Antiquities Authority’s announcement came several weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a decision that overturned a decades-old policy on the status of the city and stirred Palestinian protests and international concern.

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Trump Recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that “it is time to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.”

Defying dire and worldwide warnings, the US President broke with decades of US and international policy by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Despite urgent appeals from Arab and European leaders and the risk of anti-American protests and violence, Trump declared that he was ending an approach that for decades has failed to advance the prospects for peace. He also for the first time personally endorsed the concept of a “two-state solution” for Israel and the Palestinians, provided both sides agree to it.

Calling the move “overdue” and in the best interest of the United States, he said, “This is nothing more or less than the recognition of reality.”

Trump also directed that the State Department begin the process of moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as required by US law. Officials said, however, that the move will take years to complete.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump, saying Israel was “profoundly grateful.”

In a video message, Netanyahu called it a “historic day.”

“We’re profoundly grateful for the president for his courageous and just decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to prepare for the opening of the US embassy here,” he said.

Netanyahu said the move reflects Trump’s “commitment to an ancient but enduring truth, to fulfilling his promises and to advancing peace.

According to Joel Rosenberg of Alliance for the Peace of Jerusalem,the news of President Trump recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is an answer to the prayers of many Christians.

“Never has there been a more urgent moment for the church to be praying for the peace of Jerusalem than right now. I say this as an evangelical. I say this as now an Israeli citizen and a Jerusalem resident,” Rosenberg told CBN News.

“These issues are explosive. So how the church handles it, how we speak about it, how we act toward people we disagree with and how we pray: these things matter,” he continued.

Rosenberg’s organization is working to educate the next generation of Christians about the biblical importance of Israel as the Holy Land.