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The Bible and Archaeology
Jesus Christ: The Early Years
by Mario Seiglie
The Good News has traced some
of the many historical and archaeological findings that confirm and clarify the biblical
record of the Old Testament, a record that spans some 4,000 years. We continue that
survey into the New Testament era.
How much has archaeology confirmed about the New Testament period? Are the many names
mentioned in the New Testament real people? Can their existence be verified by credible
historical evidence other than the Bible?
Although the time in question is much briefer--less than a century--archaeology has
much to tell us about the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth and His apostles. As
we examine this period, the physical evidence supporting the biblical record multiplies.
Let's begin this fascinating archaeological journey into the New Testament world.
Appropriately, the Old Testament ends with God's promise to send a messenger to prepare
the way for the Messiah. In Malachi, apparently the last prophetic book of the Old
Testament to be written, the final two chapters record a dramatic prophecy: " 'Behold,
I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you
seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom
you delight. Behold, He is coming,' says the Lord of Hosts" (Malachi 3:1).
It should come as no surprise that the story flow of the New Testament begins where
the last of the Old Testament prophets leaves off--with the arrival of the messenger
foretold by Malachi. This shows a continuation from the Old to the New Testament,
bearing in mind that a few hundred years had passed in the interim.
At the beginning of Luke's gospel, an angel tells Zacharias the priest about the
fulfillment of the prophecy in Malachi. The messenger prophesied by God in the Old
Testament would be his son John (the Baptist), who would prepare the way for the
Christ. The angel told him: "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard;
and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John . . .
He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts
of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to
make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:13,17).
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