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Mosaics depicting prominent Bible scenes were uncovered during annual excavations of an ancient synagogue in Israel's Lower Galilee. During the excavation in June, archaeologists found two new panels of a mosaic floor in a Late Roman (fifth-century) synagogue at Huqoq, an ancient Jewish village. One panel showed Noah's ark with pairs of animals, such as lions, leopards and bears. The other panel depicted soldiers being swallowed by large fish, surrounded by overturned chariots in the parting of the Red Sea. Such images are extremely rare for the time period, according to excavation director Jodi Magness, of the University of North...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Character Studies From The Bible John The Gospels) (John 6) 25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal...

The Philistines left behind plenty of pottery. But part of the mystery surrounding the ancient people was that very little biological trace of them had been found -- until 2013. That's when archaeologists excavating the site of the biblical city of Ashkelon found what they say is the first Philistine cemetery ever discovered. They say they have uncovered the remains of more than 200 people there. The discovery was finally unveiled Sunday at the close of a 30-year excavation by the Leon Levy Expedition, a team of archaeologists from Harvard University, Boston College, Wheaton College in Illinois and Troy University...

Restorers, after clearing away centuries of dirt, discovered the Church of the Nativity had a seventh mosaicAn Italian team has completed restoration of Crusader-era mosaics in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The mosaics will only be unveiled publicly after work on lighting, electricity and a fire alarm system. The work involved removing the layers of centuries-worth of soot and dirt – a result of the smoke of candles lit by pilgrims coming to venerate the site traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus – from about 1.55 million tiny mosaic pieces that were reviewed and restored. “I...

Pilgrims who visit next Easter will be able to see the extraordinary work that has been done to the roof, walls and 900-year-old mosaics.BETHLEHEM — Christians planning on making a Holy Land pilgrimage — for many, a once-in-a-lifetime journey — may want to wait until Easter 2017, when the scaffolding used to restore the ancient Church of the Nativity is expected to come down. While the $15-million repair, conservation and restoration of the church, which is revered as the site of Jesus’ birth, will not be absolutely completed for another couple of years, due to a funding gap, pilgrims who...

A 4,000-year-old cemetery made up of more than 100 tombs has been found near Bethlehem in the West Bank. Now known as Khalet al-Jam'a, the cemetery probably served an undiscovered settlement for more than 1,500 years. Many of its tombs have been destroyed by modern construction or looting, but at least 30 tombs have survived. Many of them are shaft tombs with one or more rock-cut chambers. According to Lorenzo Nigro of Sapienza University of Rome, the settlement was situated near trade routes, and artifacts from the tombs indicate that it had been a wealthy place. "Typical pieces of the...

Lynch mobs run wild on Bethlehem's streetsAs US envoy Anthony Zinni starts his peace mission, West Bank Palestinians resort to execution of collaborators By Phil Reeves in Bethlehem 15 March 2002 US demands Israeli military withdrawal Wars breed hate, inhumanity and lawlessness. And this degrading trinity was on full display in Israeli-occupied Bethlehem yesterday outside the ancient church marking the place of Christ's birth. Manger Square has become a wild, blood-drenched place, the scene yesterday of a lynching. Two years ago, the Pope shuffled across its flagstones, blessing Catholic pilgrims who had come by the thousand from across the globe...

Pastor J.D. shares what the Lord ministered to him in light of the many disturbing events of the last week, from the FBI Director James Comey’s announcement, to the assassination of Police officers in Dallas, and everything in between.

Egypt’s foreign minister paid a rare visit to Israel on Sunday, saying that his country remains a “steadfast and unwavering” supporter of a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians but warning that conditions for achieving that are deteriorating. Sameh Shoukry’s trip was the first official visit to Israel since 2007 and reflected the strong but low-profile ties that have developed between the two countries in recent years. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Shoukry’s visit was aimed at reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. …

Scripture tells us that in the end times, lawlessness and men (and women) of reprobate minds will be given over to their their lusts. Jesus recognized this when he scolded the Pharisees saying: "For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." Matthew 23:27-28. It's been one of those weeks. Even those who do not believe are asking what is going on in the world and wondering what...

FBI won't charge Hillary Clinton for using her private email server for classified information .... cover up of a direct hit by Israel on the Iranian Revolutionary Guards .... ISIS and Al-Qaeda getting closer to the Israeli border at the Golan Heights .... more than half a million migrants have entered Europe this year .... USA - nearly 34,500 illegal migrants were apprehended in one month .... USA - 94.5 million people are not in the labour force now .... Islamic attacks have spiked in the month of Ramadan .... China forces Christian churches to hand over their tithes and...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Character Studies From The Bible John The Gospels) (John 6) 16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles,[b] they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were...

Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Saturday rejected a proposal to include a statement in the party's platform calling for Israel's "end to occupations and illegal settlements," CNN reported. ... While the committee voted against the addition 95-73, CNN reported that the move garnered the loudest negative response of the day from the audience. ... One crowd member was escorted out of the meeting after he stood up and yelled that the party had "sold out" to AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee).

Channel 10 on Friday reported for the first time that Israel authorities are investigating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on suspected money laundering allegations stemming from 2009. The report posited that Netanyahu or one of his family members were the recipients of an alleged transfer of "large sums" of money that is not linked to any political or campaign funding, according to Channel 2.

Jan Markell talks to Rep. Michele Bachmann in part one of a two-part program. The world is experiencing global distress with perplexity as predicted in the Bible. Among the many topics they examine are the 2016 presidential election, government incompetence, the "global elite," Brexit, the future of America, and much more. They encourage listeners to not become numb to our times but to redeem the time. Bachmann serves on Donald Trump's advisory board of evangelical leaders.

As demonstrators in the United States protest against recent incident in which police officers killed African American men, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) has found a way to blame Israel. New York University's chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine shared a post on its Facebook page claiming that "the same forces behind the genocide of black people in America are behind the genocide of Palestinians." Aside from the extreme hyperbole in describing growth from 1.3 million to 12.3 million over the past 70 years as "genocide," the accusations bring to mind anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about Jews controlling the...

Orlando, Istanbul, Dhaka, Baghdad, Medina, Qatif, and Israel (and New York?) – the specter of terrorism haunts our world in these dangerous times. Next month, Brazil takes center stage with the Olympic Games. How are authorities assessing the very real threat of terrorism? FBI Director James Comey gave several valid reasons as to how the FBI knew that Hillary Clinton committed a series of crimes that directly compromised national security. Then, Comey absolved her in one of most troubling displays of naked corruption and/or coercion in modern history. Attacks in Dallas have the nation on edge – how much responsibility...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Character Studies From The Bible John The Gospels) (John 6) 6 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near. 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these...

Israel has announced that it will be building 800 new housing units. Of these, 560 will be in Maale Adumim, a town of 40,000 located four miles east of Jerusalem, and 240 will be in three Jerusalem neighborhoods.State Department spokesman John Kirby reacted with unusually strong language: If it’s true, this … would be the latest step in what seems to be the systematic process of land seizures, settlement expansions, and legalization of outposts that is fundamentally undermining the prospects for a two-state solution. We oppose steps like these which we believe are counterproductive.Kirby added that Washington was “deeply concerned”:...

Obama will have left behind a superhighway littered with abandoned allies, broken promises and disdain. President Barak Obama will have only a few months left in the White House. Meanwhile, the Israeli government is waiting to hear if Obama will OK a new military package that would send billions to Israel in aid. This is exacerbated by the anxiety surrounding a possible UN vote on the status of a Palestinian state. November 2016 is the deadline posed on the United Nations regarding recognition, and the threat that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would exercise “other options” if his demands were not...