Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher Proven to be Older Than First Believed: Backs Up Claim it is the Site of Jesus' Tomb by Mark Martin

Until now, scientists thought the site was only 1,000 years old.

(Israel)—[CBN News]

Scholars long have wondered if the site in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher is indeed the tomb of Jesus Christ as identified by the Romans about 1,700 years ago.

As first reported by National Geographic, scientific test results given to the magazine appear to back up the claims that the remains of a limestone cave enshrined in the church are part of the tomb where Jesus' body was believed to have been placed.

"It's corroborating what the historical accounts are telling us," Kristin Romey, archaeology editor for National Geographic, told CBN News.

"Around 325-326 A.D., Constantine sent his delegation to the Holy Land to find the site associated with the life and death of Jesus," she explained. "According to the historical accounts, they asked around, saying ... 'Where was the tomb of Jesus Christ?'"

"And the locals pointed to this Roman temple; they tore down the Roman temple; lo and behold, underneath it was a rock-cut tomb," Romey continued.

Historical accounts show the tomb was found and enshrined around 326.

National Geographic reports that scientists sampled mortar located between the tomb's original limestone surface and a marble slab on top of it that dates to around A.D. 345.

Prior to these recent tests, the oldest architectural evidence discovered in and around the complex of the tomb dated to the time of the Crusades, around 1,000 years ago.

"But now, scientists can confirm that it is indeed the site identified as the burial place of Christ 17 centuries ago," a National Geographic news release states.

"We have a good amount of a limestone cave with a very typical kind of layout of what we call the burial bench that is still preserved within the walls of the Edicule [the shrine surrounding the tomb]," Romey told CBN News.

"I just remember being in that tomb and just kind of being really overwhelmed because this is one of the holiest, if not, the holiest site for the world's largest religion ... and to kind of be able to... see it in its original state and realize that this is a rock that people have fought and died for, for centuries," she shared.

You can read more about the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the December issue of National Geographic magazine or tune in to the National Geographic documentary, "The Secrets of Christ's Tomb: Explorer Special," premiering Sunday, Dec. 3 at 9/8c.

Liberal Churches That Deny the Basics

 Liberal Churches That Deny the Basics by Dr. D. James Kennedy

“My brothers, not many of you should become teachers, knowing that we shall receive the greater judgment.” James 3:1

Some of the liberal denominations have taken the resurrection of Jesus away from their statements of faith (if they have one), and their churches are withering away—for their congregations instinctively know that there is nothing there but froth, and they will not tolerate being deceived. If Christ was not bodily raised from the dead in human history, Christianity would cease to exist.

Over time, these liberal churches are dying. Their seminaries turn out ministers who do not believe the Bible—they do not believe Jesus is divine, that He died for our sins, and, as noted, that He rose from the dead. One could ask why they are even in the ministry, but they will have to answer that for themselves. They should beware of what James says, that teachers will incur stricter judgment.

Sometimes, the person in the pew in these churches actually does believe. But the leadership does not believe the things of Christ. This is a blight upon the church at large. These churches, once in the main line, are beginning to fade away.

A survey from about twenty years ago showed that by the middle of the next century, there will be two great religious forces in America, and far and away the largest one will be evangelical Christianity.

Alister E. McGrath writes, “In a 1990 survey of the 500 fastest growing Protestant congregations in the U.S., 89 percent were found to be evangelical.”

That trend continues.

The other force will be Roman Catholicism—maybe a third or a half that size.

Lord, give us strength to stand against false teaching and hold fast Your Word. Thank You for preserving Your church all these centuries, even when there are Pharisees and Sadducees in our midst.

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN EMBRACE THE FAITH ONCE AND FOR ALL HANDED TO THE SAINTS.

Today in History

Today in History
1929
Byrd Flies Over South Pole

American explorer Richard Byrd and three companions made the first flight over the South Pole, flying from their base on the Ross Ice Shelf to the pole and back in 18 hours and 41 minutes.

Richard Evelyn Byrd learned how to fly in the U.S. Navy and served as a pilot in World War I. An excellent navigator, he was deployed by the navy to Greenland in 1924 to help explore the Arctic region by air. Enamored with the experience of flying over glaciers and sea ice, he decided to attempt the first flight over the North Pole.

On May 9, 1926, the Josephine Ford left Spitsbergen, Norway, with Byrd as navigator and Floyd Bennet as pilot. Fifteen hours and 30 minutes later, the pair returned and announced they had accomplished their mission. For the achievement, both men were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

However, some doubt lingered about whether they had actually flown over the North Pole, and in 1996 a diary Byrd had kept on the flight was found that seemed to suggest that the Josephine Ford had turned back 150 miles short of its goal because of an oil leak. In the late 1920s, however, few suspected Byrd had failed in his mission.

In 1927, Byrd’s prestige grew when he made a harrowing nonstop flight across the Atlantic with three companions.

Famous as he was, he had little trouble finding financial backers for an expedition to Antarctica. Byrd’s first Antarctic expedition was the largest and best-equipped expedition that had ever set out for the southern continent.

The explorers set out in the fall of 1928, building a large base camp called “Little America” on the Ross Ice Shelf near the Bay of Whales. From there, they conducted flights across the Antarctic continent and discovered much unknown territory.

At 3:29 p.m. on November 28, 1929, Byrd, the pilot Bernt Balchen, and two others took off from Little America in the Floyd Bennett, headed for the South Pole. Magnetic compasses were useless so near the pole, so the explorers were forced to rely on sun compasses and Byrd’s skill as a navigator.

At 8:15 p.m., they dropped supplies for a geological party near the Queen Maud Mountains and then continued on. The most challenging phase of the journey came an hour later, when the Floyd Bennett struggled to gain enough altitude to fly safely above the Polar Plateau. They cleared the 11,000-foot pass between Mount Fridtjof Nansen and Mount Fisher by a few hundred yards and then flew on to the South Pole, reaching it at around 1 a.m. on November 29.

They flew a few miles beyond the pole and then to the right and the left to compensate for any navigational errors. Byrd dropped a small American flag on the pole, and the explorers headed for home, safely landing at Little America at 10:11 a.m.

In 1933, Byrd, now a rear admiral in the navy, led a second expedition to Antarctica. During the winter of 1934, he spent five months trapped at a weather station 123 miles from Little America. He was finally rescued in a desperately sick condition in August 1934.

In 1939, Byrd took command of the U.S. Antarctic Service at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and led a third expedition to the continent.

During World War II, he served on the staff of the chief of naval operations.

After the war, he led his fourth expedition to Antarctica, the largest ever attempted to this date, and more than 500,000 miles of the continent were mapped by his planes.

In 1955, he led his fifth and final expedition to Antarctica.

Admiral Byrd died in 1957.

Handling Critics As Christians

Handling Critics As Christians by Bill Wilson 

  

Just as we took control of the election last year, Christian Americans need to take control of the narrative surrounding a divided nation.

As we were able to look beyond the rhetoric and the false polls of the media, and the media's negative and false reporting, and the Democratic Party's class and social warfare of division to foster change from the leftist tyrannical policies of globalism, now we need to find ways to change the narrative of hate and take control of bringing a divided nation to unity.

We can do this, but we have to set our emotions aside, hold in check our tendency toward offense, and pray and act with a purpose in mind. The current situation represents a tremendous opportunity to shine the light of Christ.

 

We rejected the policies of division and tyranny at the ballot box. Those who were rejected have taken personal offense and labeled us haters. In doing so, they are showing hate. They are demonstrating, rioting, physically assaulting, and verbally abusing those with whom they disagree.

It is easy to respond with an eye for an eye. But brothers and sisters, this is the time when we need to speak into our nation, speak into our states, into our communities, into our neighborhoods and into our families. We need to talk about a time for peace and reconciliation. We need to be able to say and show that folks who did not vote for Hillary Clinton were voting for common sense change, not against any race or people group.

 

We need to dismiss the premise of hate and bigotry and build our case for unity, and in doing so, show the light of Christ. This is a time when we need to de-escalate the rhetoric and angriness of people who spew hate by accusing others of hate by saying, "I know you are upset, but isn't it time to put that aside and work for a better country? Isn't it time to see that your fellow Americans are not what the news media and the political establishment labeled them, but just people like you and me that want something better for their country, for their futures, even for their children? We have a system of laws and elections and decent people follow laws and respect the will of the people. I know you are a decent person, and you want this as much as I do."

 

Then we need to demonstrate that treating everyone one fairly under the law is a good thing. It's time to come together and put aside the rhetoric and the hurt of the campaign, and reunite as a nation.

Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

He also told us we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. May the Holy Spirit guide us in being so.

Words to Ponder

1. Words to Ponder
   The BIBLE
   "Love never fails." I Corinthians 13:8
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3. Quotes of Presidents
   "Hold fast to the Bible...write its precepts on your heart..." Ulysses S. Grant
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5. Wise Words
   "It's not what happens to you but how you deal with it that counts." Tina Turner
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Presidential Quotes

1. PRESIDENTIAL QUOTES
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3. “Oh, eternal and everlasting God, direct my thoughts, words and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the Lamb and purge my heart by Thy Holy Spirit. Daily, frame me more and more in the likeness of Thy son, Jesus Christ, that living in Thy fear, and dying in Thy favor, I may in thy appointed time obtain the resurrection of the justified unto eternal life. Bless, O Lord, the whole race of mankind and let the world be filled with the knowledge ...of Thee and Thy son, Jesus Christ.” Prayer of George Washington, 1st President
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5. “I have examined all religions, and the result is that the Bible is the best book in the world.” John Adams, 2nd President
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7. “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.” Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President, inscribed on the Jefferson Memorial
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9. “We have staked the whole future of American civilization not on the power of government … not in the Constitution… (but) upon the capacity of each and every one of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments.” James Madison, 4th President
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Speak to Your Mountains

1. SPEAK TO YOUR MOUNTAINS
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   You have been given all power and authority over all the power of the enemy through Jesus Christ. Because you possess an amazing spiritual weapon --PRAYER-- you are an unconquerable, indefatigable foe to all the forces of evil.
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   The devil and his minions fear you greatly and they will stop at nothing to dissuade you from using the power and authority that you've been given.
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   The evil one will try to tempt you into sin, for sin cannot employ the power of GOD. The sinner becomes powerless because he holds to "the pleasures of sin for a season" rather than to the weapons of spiritual warfare that have been given to him.
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   Speak to your mountains and command them to move in JESUS' name -- and let the first mountain to which you speak be the mountain of sin that distracts you from the battle plan HE has for you.
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   You have been given all power and authority over all the power of the enemy through Jesus Christ.
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   Through Him, you can live in victory! Write "Amen" if you agree and let us know how we can pray with you.
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