Beyond Today Daily

Proof of the Bible

Archaeologists uncover an artifact validating the existence of a familiar Bible character.

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[Darris McNeely] What you’re looking at is a seal – a clay seal that was used to seal a papyrus document with the stamp and the imprint of a king. It’s more than 2700 years old. Now, these are not unusual items that have been found by archaeologists in all parts of the world. It is something that actually has a technical name called a bulla – but it’s really a seal, and it’s really about a half an inch wide. But what makes this unique is that it’s a seal on a scroll put together by a king from the Bible. And the king is Hezekiah. And what this is, is a proof – a proof that Hezekiah was a real being, a real king of Judah, 2700 years ago in the ancient land of Israel and Judah in the Bible, who’s mentioned – Hezekiah is one of the righteous kings mentioned in the books of Chronicles and Kings, in the nation of Judah, capitol of – Jerusalem.

A lot of skeptics of the Bible through the years have denied the actual historical fact of Israel and the kings and the various names in the Bible – mentioned in the Bible. Not just Hezekiah, but even David or Solomon, and further back with Moses or Abraham. For archaeologists to find an actual, literal piece of clay like this out of a mound of dirt in Jerusalem, that bears the seal and the inscription and the name of the king Hezekiah, authenticates and proves the Bible. That’s what is significant about this, and this is one of the first to do so.

It says about King Hezekiah in the Bible that he trusted in the Lord God of Israel, and that after him there was no other like him among the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. And so, this particular item here, this bulla, was found about five or six years ago, and as it works within the archaeological field, it takes several years to authenticate it, but it has been authenticated to be a seal that old, attributed to this biblical king.

Whenever you find a piece of evidence from that time and that place to verify the Bible, that’s important. And that, along with a lot of other matters, proves God’s Word to be exactly what it says it is, and that is the Word of God, truth, and Scripture upon which we can base our lives. A very important proof of the Bible.

That’s BT Daily. Join us next time.

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Darris McNeely

Darris McNeely works at the United Church of God home office in Cincinnati, Ohio. He and his wife, Debbie, have served in the ministry for more than 43 years. They have two sons, who are both married, and four grandchildren. Darris is the Associate Media Producer for the Church. He also is a resident faculty member at the Ambassador Bible Center teaching Acts, Fundamentals of Belief and World News and Prophecy. He enjoys hunting, travel and reading and spending time with his grandchildren.