December 15, 2017
Beth Guvrin in Israel was a Roman city on the outskirts of biblical Maresha (see Josh. 15:44; Micah 1:15).
Emperor Septimus Severus turned Beth Guvrin into a major administrative center (ca. 200 AD). I took this photo of the amphitheater on April 27, 2017.
Panorama of amphitheater at Beth Guvrin. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
This amphitheater would have been used for animal and gladiator fights.
BTW: Often folks refer to theaters as “amphitheaters.” There is a difference: the amphitheater makes an oval shape while a theater only makes a half circle.
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Bible History and Geography, Bible Places, Israel, New Testament, Old Testament, photography, Roman Empire, Theater, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged: Amphitheater, Beth Guvrin, Mareshah | 
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Posted by Leon Mauldin
December 13, 2017
The Apostle John wrote, “And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps” (Revelation 14:2). I heard this harpist playing her harp in Jerusalem, at the Damascus gate this past April.
Harpist in Jerusalem, Joppa Gate. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.
The context of Revelation 14 is that of the Lamb standing victoriously on Mount Zion with His people, those “having His Father’s name written on their foreheads” (v.1). What joy belongs to those described in the text! — “These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb” (v.4).
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Posted by Leon Mauldin
December 8, 2017
In this panoramic shot of Jerusalem you can see several landmarks, including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher at left, the Dome of the Rock, right center, and the Mount of Olives in the Distance.
Panorama of Jerusalem. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
It would be difficult to overestimate or overstate the importance of this city in both Old and New Testament studies!
I have numerous posts on Jerusalem, including here, here and here. Use the search box for more.
I took this photo this past April, 2017, on a personal study/photography trip with Ferrell Jenkins.
Leave a Comment » | Bible History and Geography, Israel, Jerusalem, New Testament, Old Testament, photography, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged: Jerusalem | Permalink
Posted by Leon Mauldin
December 6, 2017
Acts 10 narrates the exciting history of how the door of faith was opened to the Gentiles. The Apostle Peter was directed to leave Joppa and go up the coast to Caesarea where he would find a man with an honest and good heart, Cornelius the Roman Centurion, as well as his relatives and close friends.
Wave action at Caesarea, on the south side of the Herodian Palace. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.
Peter, who had the “keys of the kingdom of heaven,” had preached to the Jews first on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), and was then privileged to preach to the Gentiles in Acts 10. Peter began by saying, “Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him” (Acts 10:34-35, NASB). Cornelius and those present heard “words by which you and all your household will be saved” (Acts 11:14, CSB). They were receptive to and obedient to the faith!
From this new beginning the gospel would go on to include Gentiles in Antioch (Acts 11), and on to the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8; cf. Acts 13-28, etc.).
We have several posts on Caesarea, including here, here, and here.
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Posted by Leon Mauldin
November 25, 2017
When Job was suffering so horribly, his “friend” Eliphaz “helped” by saying, “According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble harvest it” (Job 4:8). I.e., You’ve brought this on yourself. Job responded to this and similar criticism, “My brothers have acted deceitfully like a wadi, Like the torrents of wadis which vanish” (6:15).
The wadi Ze’elim, near Masada, Israel. Ordinary this would be dry. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.
Our photo shows Nahal Ze’elim, near Masada, Israel. This area is ordinarily dry. To our back this stream empties into the Dead Sea. A wadi such as this will carry water for a while, then vanish. This is the word picture Job uses to describe Eliphaz. Job was looking for “kindness from his friend” (6:14) but looked in vain! Like a thirsty man looking for water, but finding the stream had disappeared. A vivid illustration!
Ze’elim sign. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.
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Posted by Leon Mauldin
November 15, 2017
Acts 9 records the conversion of Saul, better known later as the Apostle Paul, the former persecutor of the church of the Lord. “Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem” (vv.1-2).
It was on his way, as he neared Damascus of Syria that he saw the resurrected Christ. Blinded by this experience, he was led by the hand into the city, where after three days he was told of Jesus’ plan for him to be an apostle, a chosen vessel to preach the Gospel. Immediately he was baptized, and at once began to preach (vv.3-22). “The rest,” as they say, “is history.”
We had the occasion last November (’16) to be on the Israel/Syria border, and look over into Syria. Paul would have gone in this direction on his way to Damascus, and we thought about that as our group stopped here to look, reflect, and take photos.
In northern Israel, looking NE into Syria. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
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Posted by Leon Mauldin
August 18, 2017
I love to study the book of Nehemiah. Jerusalem’s walls that had been in ruins since the Babylonian destruction (586 BC) were rebuilt (444 BC) in just 52 days! (Neh. 6:15). The people had a mind to work (4:6); they had a godly and capable leader in Nehemiah, and the good hand of God was upon them. But the remainder of the book (chapters 7ff.) is about the necessary follow-up; the necessary commitment to covenant faithfulness, without which the newly rebuilt walls would be meaningless.
Gezer Calendar. One of the oldest examples of Hebrew script. Istanbul Archaeological Museum. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
To that end Israel’s leaders/Levites promised God: “Now because of all this We are making an agreement in writing; And on the sealed document are the names of our leaders, our Levites and our priests” (Neh. 9:38). What follows is a listing of 84 names (Neh. 10:1-27). Nehemiah’s name appropriately is first.
The Gezer Calendar is one of the oldest examples of Hebrew script. We share it here to illustrate our Nehemiah text. Those men who signed their renewed covenant with God, as well as “the rest of the people” (10:28), were pledging themselves to obey (v.29) in their homes (v.30), their business (v.31) and worship (v.32). In short: “We will not neglect the house of our God” (v.39).
By the way, the Gezer Calendar in our photo is a school-boy’s exercise in learning the months of the year, associated with agricultural events.
Explanation of the Gezer Calendar. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
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Leave a Comment » | Archaeology, Bible History and Geography, Israel, Jerusalem, Old Testament, Persian Empire, photography, Travel, Turkey | Tagged: Gezer Calendar, Inscriptions, Nehemiah | Permalink
Posted by Leon Mauldin
August 16, 2017
On the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), for the first time conditions of salvation were proclaimed under the New Covenant. Three thousand responded!
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ– this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. (vv. 36-41, NASB).
There were many pools right there in Jerusalem which would have been suitable for the baptism of so many, including the Pool of Siloam, the Pool(s) of Bethesda, etc. I am also mindful of “Solomon’s Pools,” south of Jerusalem, located between Bethlehem and Hebron, which were water sources for Jerusalem in the days of Jesus.
“Solomon’s Pool.” The middle of three. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
These three pools, the middle of which is in our photo here, were not built by Solomon, but by Herod the Great, or possibly by the Hasmoneans (intertestamental period). Pilate later made repairs to the pools.
Today the pools are located in the Palestinian Authority’s West Bank.
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Posted by Leon Mauldin
August 15, 2017
On the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), which marked the beginning of the preaching of the Gospel and the discharge of the Great Commission, Peter affirmed the resurrection of the crucified Christ, showing the fulfillment of Psalm 16:8-11 (Acts 2:25-28). Peter explained,
Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses (Acts 2:29-32, NASB). (Note: the NASB uses upper-case in NT texts to indicate quotations from the OT).
Here is the proposed site for the tombs of the house of David located at the SE portion of the City of David, excavated by Raymond Weill, 1913-1914.
Royal Tombs of the House of David, proposed site. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
And a close-up shot:
Proposed Tomb of the House of David. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
Dr. Todd Bolen notes,
Most scholars today reject this identification. These structures do not have features typical of Iron Age tombs; there are no burial benches or repositories. Because of later destruction, there is no stratigraphy, pottery, or burial gifts which would make dating the structure possible. Some scholars think that it dates to the Herodian period and may have been used as wine cellars for the structures built above it. There is no other candidate for the tomb of David.
The point to be remembered is that unlike the Subject of David’s psalm, David was buried, and his body saw corruption. The One of Whom he spoke saw no corruption. His body did not decay, and His spirit was not left in the Hadean realm–up from the grave He arose! The resurrection of Jesus is at the very heart of the Gospel message. Apart from the resurrection of Jesus there IS no Gospel!
We recently wrote on David’s Tomb here.
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Posted by Leon Mauldin
August 9, 2017
The Bible tells us of Judas’ remorse and subsequent suicide after his betrayal of Jesus (Matt. 27:3-10). Afterward the book of Acts continues with the selection of an apostle to take the place of Judas. To lead into that topic Peter reviewed what had happened:
“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” (Now this man bought a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘ May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.'” (Acts 1:16-20).
Akeldama, south of Jerusalem. Photo by Leon Mauldin.
Our photo shows the traditional site of Akeldama at center, just beyond the valley. This is the area were the Kidron and Hinnom valleys converge. The structure you see is a Greek Orthodox Monastery, built in 1874, named after Onuphrius, an Egyptian anchorite known for the length of his beard.
Leen & Kathleen Ritmeyer note:
This area was identified as Akeldama as early as the third and fourth centuries. The earliest chroniclers—Eusebius, who visited the land in 335 A.D., among whose writings was a life of the Emperor Constantine, and Jerome, 400 A.D., the author of an onomasticon (a list of proper names, which sought to locate sites hallowed by Scripture)—both identify this place with confidence as the Field of Blood referred to in the New Testament. In 570 A.D., the pilgrim Antoninus made the same identification. (1994). BAR, 20(6).
Even so, the Ritmeyers think this site to be implausible as the Field of Blood, because “here are some of the most splendid Herodian tombs ever discovered” . . . “a field of elegant and elegantly decorated burial caves.” “One of them probably belonged to the high priest Annas” (Ibid.).
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2 Comments | Bible History and Geography, Israel, Jerusalem, New Testament, photography, Travel | Tagged: Akeldama, Judas | Permalink
Posted by Leon Mauldin
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