NEW DISCOVERY - BONES FOUND COULD BE THOSE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 End. To watch this video on You tube please click here John the Baptist was a cousin of Jesus Christ as well as being known as being one who preached a message of repentance in readiness for the coming of Jesus Christ. He died famously after having his head decapitated from his body and served up on a plate before the King.                                 Wood Sculpture of John The Baptist's Head  by Santiago Martinez Delgado. This was at the request of Salome who had danced before the King who then promised her he would grant her anything she desired. Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter off Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you." 23 And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom." 24 She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptist," she answered. 25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter." 26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison,28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing of this, John's disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. Mark 6:21 to 30. (New International Version) So it is no wonder that news of this find has travelled around the world as an important find both biblically and historically. QUICK FACTS The bones were discovered by official Bulgarian archaeologists Kazimir Popkonstantinov and Rossina Kostova in the ruins of a Bulgarian Church on the island of Sveti Ivan which translates as St John in Bulgarian. The bones are clearly consistent with someone who lived in the early first century AD. Scientists believed by the mitochondrial DNA genome sequence that ALL the 8 human bones found were all from the same individual. Scientists identified a family group of genes, the DNA haplotype, most commonly found in today's Middle East which was where John the Baptist's was born. The bones were buried only a few hundred years after the death of John the Baptist which means they are less likely to be forgeries, Scientist Thomas Higham confirms the date of Radiocarbon dating prove the bones to be 30 ad which is when John the Baptist is supposed to have died by decapitation as recorded in the scriptures. Scientists confirm that the bones could quite possibly be the bones of John the Baptist as it has been recorded in historical documents that the monastery in which they were found had received a portion of St John the Baptists relics in the fifth or early sixth centuries. THE FULL STORY How exciting that we can now use the latest technology such as carbon dating and hi-tech computers to help open the eyes of these who do not realise the accuracy, reliability and the importance of the for Gospels. As in this remarkable case that even shocked the researchers and a scientist named Thomas Higham, an atheist, and his team from Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit at Oxford University, who tested bones believed to be from the prophet of God, John the Baptist, a cousin who baptised Jesus Christ who was born for only one reason and one mission. To'Prepare the way for the Lord make straight paths for him.Matthew 3:3.  NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC A film produced by National Geographic called The Head of John the Baptist produced a wonderful documentary with brand new evidence which I will attempt to do my best to share with you.                                John the Baptist tooth This amazing discovery that my wife and I watched with excitement after the greatest experts in Europe provided scientific evidence to support this extraordinary claim.                                                  John the Baptist cheek bone Although I had already believed these bones to be the real thing it was clear that the researchers did not.   THE FACTS  We go back to the excavation, by archaeologist Kazimir Popkonstantinov, of a fourth century monastery on July 28/2010 at St. Ivan Island near Sozopol off Bulgaria's Black Sea coast. The remains of 8 pieces of bone, including fragments of skull and face bone and a tooth were discoveredunder a church floor. The bones were found burIed in a well polished, very good quality marble box which must have been produced deliberately by very skilled workers and commissioned to contain very important relics such as John the Baptist states archaeologists and experts Kazimir Popkonstantinov and Rossina Kostova aspecialist in early archaeology   Better still there was a smaller box only inches away from the marble box which had a personal message engraved on it reading, Lord help thy servant Thomas, followed by the words of St John. Based on the inscriptions Thomas was convinced he had the bones of St John the Baptist which also had a date of June 24th, this was believed to be St John the Baptists birthday. Candida Moss, theologian and relic expert on National Geographic states, 'what makes these relics unique here underneath the altar of an ancient church is that they were buried there only a few hundred years after the death of John the Baptist, this makes it less likely that the bones were forged because they predated the boom in the relics trade. There are seven countries believed to have parts of St John the Baptist. But with these relics we have the kind of pristine archaeological context that enables us to make much bolder claims to where they come from and who they belong to states Candida Moss.   RESULTS Scientists from the Theology University of San Francisco and the team of the best experts in Europe including scientist Thomas Higham confirms the date of the bones to be almost 2000 years old, between 5 and 75 years AD.  Thomas also points out on this chart the bones date to 30 ad which is right in the middle of when John the Baptist is supposed to have died. 'The dates fits right in the margin' states Thomas and this is the first time we have ever got anything to be bang on where it is supposed to be. Candida Moss enthused 'this is very exciting' if someone had asked her beforehand she would have bet against it. She is also very surprised by this result and say they do not have anything like this from the 1st century and states there is a very high probability that they might actually come from St John the Baptist. Scientists also proved that the bones were a male and all the parts of bones come from the same individual and frequent in the near east. DNA evidence fits with the idea that this could be John the Baptist, and states there's nothing contradicting that it is not John the Baptist, very rare in these cases said the scientist and researchers.    Now, scientist Thomas Higham has become very interested in this and wants to test the skull and other parts of John the Baptist which are in other churches in different countries. As he has the complete genome (biological information) he believes he can test to see if they are all from the same person.                            HEAD OF John the Baptist. Paul Middleton, a senior lecturer in Biblical studies at the University of Chester states: There is reasonably good historical evidence that John the Baptist, did exist. Yet again we have Archaeology proving the Bible if people would only believe what Jesus said. "Of course, this does not prove that these were the remains of John the Baptist, but nor does it refute that theory, as the sequences we got fit with a Near Eastern origin," says former Oxford student Dr Hannes Schroeder. But if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words? John 5:47 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"  Luke 16:31 Just as an aside I think it is a real shame the Scientists tested the wrong part of the Turin Shroud as I am sure they would have come up with similar results to this however God makes good out of every case. Is the Shroud of Turin a fake or a forgery as many say? I am Simon Brown, Thank you for reading this article, may God bless those who seek him, in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.    Also read John the Baptist's Bones Found? The new relics of St. John the Baptist https://wwwrealdiscoveriesorg-simon.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/quick-read-and-fast-facts-to-bible.html

HERE IS WHERE JOHN THE BAPTIST LOST HIS HEAD!

Salome With the Head of John the Baptist, by Caravaggio, c. 1607 (National Gallery, London).  Located in Jordan about 15 to 20 miles from and over looking the Dead Sea, roughly 12 miles from the famous place where Moses breathed his last breath at Mount Nebo, was a fortified hilltop palace called Machaerus, in Jordan                                                                                                                                Machaerus by APAAME  Built originally in 104 BC-78 BC as stated by Wikipedia, Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 7.6.2. the date varies from different sources.                                                               Machaerus by APAAME This place was built by the ruling dynasty of Judea the Hasmonean King, Alexander Jannaeus and destroyed by Pompey's General Aulus Gabinius, Roman statesman and General, supporter of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, in 57 BC, as stated by Wikipedia, Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 1.8.5.                                                             Machaerus by APAAME In 30 BC the Roman King Herod came to the throne . He was a complex character, his insecurity in his position led him to be paranoid and obsessive about maintaining his authority. His inner fears led him to order murder and atrocities on a huge scale. As with many figures that rise to power he also had gifts and one of those was that he was known as one of the greatest builders of all human history.                                                                    Photo by www.romanaqueducts.info     If we understand the psychological make up of Herod's character then we have a better understanding of why he ordered the murder of innocent babies. To hear that there was another who would be destined to rule and reign tapped into his deepest fear and once he had pinpointed the place he set in motion his plan to rid himself of this threat to his Kingship. His strategies were varied and included the manipulation of the three wise men as told in Mathew 2. Herod did of course suffer himself in the end, dying a grisly, slow and ultimately painful death.  It is said that King Herod built Machaerus which is in Jordan as a military base to safeguard his territories east of the River Jordan. He then gave it to his son  Herod Antipas, in 4BC until 39Ad. Machaerus became the place where Salome who was both Herod's grand-niece and stepdaughter danced seductively before the drunken King Herod. Her feminine wiles worked and so enthralled was he by her erotic dance Herod then promised her anything she wanted. Salome then, on instruction from her mother Herodias, demanded the Baptist's head on a platter which then was her opportunity for revenge for Johns preaching against her marriage to Herod. The Head of JOHN THE BAPTIST 17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."   Mark 6:17 - 19.  How do we know that John the Baptist was beheaded at Machaerus? Well, we know a lot about Herod and his sons thanks to our good friend Josephus's books The Jewish Antiquities. The historian Flavius Josephus faithfully recorded in extraordinary detail the life of Herod the Great.  Josephus gives a full description of Machaerus in The Wars of the Jews 7.6.1, and Jewish Antiquities (book 18, chapter 5, 2) by Flavius Josephus (37-100) Josephus on John the Baptist  An account of John the Baptist is found in all extant manuscripts of the Jewish Antiquities (book 18, chapter 5, 2) by Flavius Josephus (37-100):[51] "Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness. Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise,) thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death. Now the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God's displeasure to him. Again we have overwhelming evidence of Bible Archaeology walking side by side with one another including two Biblical Kings as a surviving witness to a time when Jesus walked on the earth.  Thank you for taking the time to read this article and I pray it has been of interest and that you will be blessed.  I am Simon Brown, may God bless those who seek him, in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.