The unique cave, some 62 miels (100 m) long and about 24 miles (40 m) wide, was originally a large quarry during the Roman and Byzantine era and also could have been an early monastery.
It’s supported by 22 massive stone pillars, many of which are engraved with Byzantine crucifixes and other symbols including one attributed to a Roman legion.
What exciting days to be followers of Christ! The Church around the world is growing faster than ever, and the number of Christians is exploding.
Israeli archaeologist Professor Adam Zertal points out wall carvings in an artificial underground cave quarry, which he dates to the 1st century A.D., near the biblical city of Jericho in the West Bank.
The unique cave, some 62 miels (100 m) long and about 24 miles (40 m) wide, was originally a large quarry during the Roman and Byzantine era and also could have been an early monastery.
It’s supported by 22 massive stone pillars, many of which are engraved with Byzantine crucifixes and other symbols including one attributed to a Roman legion.
Some people say we’re living in the 29th chapter of the book of Acts. Well, in a sense these last 2000 years of Christian history we have be a continuation of the story that began in the twenty-eight chapters of Acts.
In our English Bibles, the 5th book of the New Testament is commonly called, “The Acts of the Apostles.” In some ways that title seems a bit misleading. Only two apostles are prominently featured in Acts – Peter and Paul.
And the acts that unfold are really the Acts of the Holy Spirit, or, as some said, “The Continuing Words and Works of Jesus by His Spirit Through the Apostles.”
The author is Luke, the beloved physician who composed the third Gospel. The books of Luke and Acts are twin volumes of a two-part work. Both cover periods of about thirty years.
The Gospel starts with the birth of Christ and finishes the story in Jerusalem. The book of Acts starts with the birth of the Church and finishes the story in Rome.
One of the stone’s many Hismaic inscriptions was carved by Zaidmanat son of Ramel, who takes credit for the drawing of the bakrah, or she-camel.
In Acts 17:6, Luke describes the heroes of Acts as “These who have turned the world upside down.” If the world ever needed to be turned upside down, it’s now.
God grant that you too may turn the world upside down, and that we may indeed be living in the 29th chapter of Acts.
Key Thought:
Jesus returned to heaven at the end of His earthly ministry, leaving His Spirit-filled followers with the glorious task of taking His message to the ends of the earth.
Key Verse:
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Key Action:
“For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).