Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

Seventy metal books found in cave in Jordan could change our view of Biblical history

This ancient collection of 70 tiny books, their lead pages bound with wire, could unlock some of the secrets of the earliest days of Christianity.

On pages not much bigger than a credit card, are images, symbols and words that appear to refer to the Messiah and, possibly even, to the Crucifixion and Resurrection.

Adding to the intrigue, many of the books are sealed, prompting academics to speculate they are actually the lost collection of codices mentioned in the Bible’s Book Of Revelation.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/...71_634x432.jpg

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...l-history.html

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

Jordan vows to recover artefacts 'as important as Dead Sea Scrolls'

Jordan has vowed to use all means at its disposal to recover a set of artefacts allegedly smuggled into Israel that it believes could constitute the most important Christian texts ever found.

Jordan's quarrel is not with the Israeli government, but with Hassan Saeda, a Bedouin farmer in the Galilee, who has possession of the codices and is keeping them in hiding.

According to the Elkingtons, Mr Saeda received the artefacts from a Jordanian Bedouin who discovered them in a cave at some stage between 2005 and 2007, much in the same way the Dead Sea Scrolls were found 64 years ago.

A piece of leather found with the metal books was shown by carbon dating tests to be just under 2,000 years old, potentially placing its provenance within Christ's ministry, while a metallurgical examination on one of the codices found that it was also very old.

Israeli archaeological sources have been dismissive of the find, suggesting that Mr Saeda has appeared "every few years" trying to sell the codices. They said examinations had shown them to be forgeries.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...a-Scrolls.html

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

Jordan battles to regain 'priceless' Christian relics

A flash flood had exposed two niches inside the cave, one of them marked with a menorah or candlestick, the ancient Jewish religious symbol.

A Jordanian Bedouin opened these plugs, and what he found inside might constitute extremely rare relics of early Christianity.

If the relics are of early Christian origin rather than Jewish, then they are of huge significance.

"In the upper square [of one of the book covers] we have the seven-branch menorah, which Jews were utterly forbidden to represent because it resided in the holiest place in the Temple in the presence of God.

"So we have the coming of the messiah to approach the holy of holies, in other words to get legitimacy from God."

Location clues

Philip Davies, Emeritus Professor of Old Testament Studies at Sheffield University, says the most powerful evidence for a Christian origin lies in plates cast into a picture map of the holy city of Jerusalem.

"As soon as I saw that, I was dumbstruck. That struck me as so obviously a Christian image," he says.

"There is a cross in the foreground, ....

It is the cross that is the most telling feature, in the shape of a capital T, as the crosses used by Romans for crucifixion were.

Another potential link with the Bible is contained in one of the few fragments of text from the collection to have been translated.

It appears with the image of the menorah and reads "I shall walk uprightly", a sentence that also appears in the Book of Revelation.

But tests by metallurgists on the badly corroded lead suggest that the books were not made recently.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12888421

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

Initial metallurgical tests indicate that some of the books could date from the first century AD.

This estimate is based on the form of corrosion which has taken place, which experts believe would be impossible to achieve artificially.

http://www.archaeologydaily.com/news...a-Scrolls.html

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

Pretty interesting:

Biblical Scholars Weigh in on Discovery of Metal Plates

Just an update on my last post regarding the supposed discovery of a cache of ancient inscriptions written on metal plates. This find continues to generate interest and a number of biblical scholars, including Margaret Barker, Philip Davies, and Jim Davila, have expressed opinions on the matter, based on what information they’ve been able to get hold of.

http://www.heavenlyascents.com/2011/...-metal-plates/

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

"the lost collection of codices mentioned in the Bible’s Book Of Revelation."

Where in Revelation was this mentioned? :lol

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

I was going to ask about that. I think this might be the answer do you think?
I initially started the thread because I wanted to follow the process on something like this.

For instance:

This case is still pending and I think we posted something about it here:

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

Nothing in Revelation mentions anything about lost codices of books. But when it noted KABBALAH-related, that is Jewish mysticism and occult.

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

Yes, exactly.

And then Jim Davila, on PaleoJudaica, says, "This article is quite sensationalist and left me wondering how the content of the plates went from possibly being related to the Kabbalah to being about the death and resurrection of Jesus. Davila is probably correct to suggest that this is a “silly misunderstanding” of the journalist."

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

Well, this is confusing to me. They seem to defining "codice" as an "early book". So I'm getting confusing as to whether it is two conflicting stories about that or "the lost collection of codices mentioned in the Bible’s Book Of Revelation."

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

Well, this is confusing to me. They seem to be defining "codice" as an "early book". So I'm getting confused as to whether it is two conflicting stories about that or "the lost collection of codices mentioned in the Bible’s Book Of Revelation."

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

They are probably "primers" for teaching the little kiddies how to read!

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Wouldn't that be a hoot?!

Transcribed: See Akiba run! Run, Akiba, run!

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

That's what I'm thinking~!

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

I think I read that in kinder...

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

From the Daily Mail article:

‘The Book of Revelation tells of a sealed book that was opened only by the Messiah.

‘Other texts from the period tell of sealed books of wisdom and of a secret tradition passed on by Jesus to his closest disciples. That is the context for this discovery.’

From the Bible:

Revelation 5

1And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

3And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

Codice = book (with pages, like modern books, as opposed to scrolls). But yeah, it's a major stretch and humongous wishful thinking to say these codices might be the very books mentioned in Revelation!

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

Besides, apparently someone has already loosed the seals and looked thereon. Whether worthy to, or not. :lol

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

LOL! Well, don't forget that they are waiting for authenticity before they can go anywhere with this. The same circumstances also surrounded the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls and they proved authentic. But, of course, they have run across so much fraud, they are going to be extra careful.

I will also point out this part of the first article I posted:

That means that with so many involved, everyone is going to have their own personal bias or speculation as to what they think they are, what they mean, or what they want them to be.

They haven't found anyone who can even read them, from what I understand.

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

Worthy to loose the seals, but not worthy to read them, yeah. :heeheehee

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

It's my understanding that modern Kabbalah is largely occult.

However, ancient Kabbalah isn't as occultic, it's more ritualistic and "spiritual" in relation to mainstream Judaism. Hasidics and Orthodox Jews even practice some forms of Kabbalah. They take a very "non literal" interpretation of the Torah to supposedly find deeper hidden truths. Some Jewish authorities note that according to Jewish tradition even Jesus used what they believe to be ancient Kabbalistic techniques.

The New Age Movement has hijacked Kabbalah and tried to make money off of it. Let's not confuse the New Age Kabbalah with distinctly Jewish Kabbalah. Sadly.... some Jews don't even know the difference.

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

I know that in Islamic eschatology the Al-Mahdi (Islamic Guided One) will use some ancient manuscript to debunk Chrisitian claims to demonstrate that the first Christians were more Muslim than "Christian".

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

Considering the cross was not used until 2nd century at best.... It is not 1st century

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

I agree, the cross wasn't widely used until the second century. However, what if this shows that it was beginning to be used earlier?

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

I keep wondering why they are mentioning Kabbalah when they are still trying to find someone who can read the tablets. LOL!

From my updates today, they are saying it's a fraud, although an older fraud and then they say that they are still trying to locate someone to read them. It's all very confusing.

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

Saw this later yesterday.

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

Could new discovery trump Dead Sea Scrolls? Scholars intrigued but cautious.

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

I once read a book titled, Skeleton in God's Closet. In the book they actually find what appears by all standards to be the body of Jesus Christ. It sends the Christian world reeling into chaos. Of course, in the book, they uncover the fraud. However, I was thinking, what if something in these little codices reveals something startling that challenges the traditional views of Christianity? For example, what if they contradict some major doctrine such as the Trinity, the divinity of Jesus, the resurrection, our translation of the Gospels, or the idea of Christ being unmarried?

It's a thought provoking question.

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

Update for today. Fraud or not, it's interesting to follow the process of discovery.

Interesting photos in this e-mail to Elkington.

Re: Biggest find since Dead Sea Scrolls
 

Rest assured. There is nothing that cannot be explained away. :)