andrew dodson

I’ve been digging into my new ESVSB for the past couple of weeks since its release.  It’s by far the most complete study Bible I’ve yet to come across.  Last night I started reading from a few of the articles in the back - one of them being on the subject of archeology and the Bible.  Mentioned in the article is Megiddo.  Not being familiar with Megiddo, I hopped onto Wikipedia and found this:

Megiddo (Hebrew: מגידו‎) is a hill in modern Israel near the Kibbutz of Megiddo, known for historical, geographical, and theological reasons.

Later in the Wikipedia article is this:

In 2005, Israeli archaeologist Yotam Tepper of Tel-Aviv University discovered the remains of a church, believed to be from the third century, a time when Christians were still persecuted by the Roman Empire. Among the finds is an approx. 54 square meter large mosaic with a Greek inscription stating that the church is consecrated to “the God Jesus Christ.” The mosaic is very well preserved and features geometrical figures and images of fish, an early Christian symbol. It is speculated that this may be the oldest remains of a church in the Holy Land.^[2] The remains were found within the grounds of a military prison, and Israeli authorities are currently speculating about moving the prison.

I don’t know about you, but I think it’s pretty cool to hear that people were worshipping Jesus in the third century.  Helps to affirm my faith.