NRB Chronicles 2016 - Magdala in The Holy Land

I just blown away.

Sometimes I get a chance to be here at the National religious broadcasters convention than the people that God is called in the service all over the world and doing all sorts of cool things but I just got my mind blown this week as I have an opportunity to share with our next guest is father Amon Kelly I got that right thought perfect regard. Rob you're doing well. You can use you. You will be far you've listed on your job after this interview hopefully and one of the really amazing things is here at this at this particular convention is this exhibition of what people would get if they went to the holy land to see sort of synagogue that's been restored and it in a church and it's called Magdalena, can you come to give our listeners a sense of where you work every day. Okay, so I actually most of my work is actually in Jerusalem and I run the Vatican guesthouse called Notre Dame of Jerusalem, and this is beautiful place for 280 people and we have about 30% Protestant visitors and stay overnight with us and we have beautiful restaurants we have Greek Orthodox coming Russian Orthodox. We have Armenians we have Jews for Shabbat to be of Muslims pharyngeal meetings. We have the whole world is like Noah's Ark, and so we thought we would do something like this in Galilee, so I also work in galley and the places called Magdala Magdala and not anybody's listing out there computer they can just add if you're driving, don't do this okay with you that your computer just go to the website Magdala.org MAG DALA.org and you see the pictures as we talk and you can see the synagogue. We discovered from the time of Jesus. So we go to Magdala you're here Maggie before anybody you know first witness of the resurrection. Mary Magdalene writes so this is our town and Providence took us there and we found a beautiful piece of land actually four different pieces Providence ultimate that possible disc pretty unusual to get to get four contiguous pieces and rewrite beside the Franciscan side it's over hundred years, and their property and they found 1700 years of archaeology and we prayed Lord, don't give his archaeology. This would delay our program and make it more expensive but of course you're in charge. Lord, if you want to get his archaeology give something worthwhile and what we find synagogue from the time of Jesus. There are seven. From that time with this is the first one excavated in Galilee, where he walked the laws that mean well, it's very likely he was there, so we have a synagogue and it says in the Gospels that Jesus preached and healed in the synagogues and now you guys are for every store that it actually what I got to see here at the NRB is have a stone exactly when the synagogue for salt for get to the store and Robbie we have inside the synagogue there mosaics just just plain geometric patterns. No figures of animals or plants or people and then there are frescoes same deal. It's geometric. And just like in Pompeii seem contemporary.

And also the same quality and style so Ed this synagogue. Turns out then to be the most beautiful of the seven first century synagogues that have been excavated and that's interesting that there are seven synagogues. Because there were some scholars claiming there are no such thing as synagogues and after temporal destruction and now we have seven so if you didn't have synagogues in the gospel story what you do have the gospel story. But if the archaeologist here. There's no assisting a synagogues or the academics, then we're in trouble because we don't have synagogues in the Gospels, as we do, but now we have seven of them saw the gospel was right.that's putting it will be to simply because maybe synagogues also change the function somewhat after the temple was destroyed because now the Jewish people allowed to have a temple in Jerusalem for worship, so the synagogues may be acquired a new significance in the daily identity in the cultural identity and culture process of the Jewish people. So this synagogue. Then as you said Robbie has a beautiful storm about knee-high carved on all sides except underneath standing on four legs in the center of the synagogue, and this has a lot of different designs like you can see here you can see the menorah on the front of the stone between two columns and an art that wasn't one of the things grabbed my attention immediately was from what I understand, the oldest known carving of the menorah that was in the temple exactly Rob you good memory here after all the people you've met is to set the NRB so this is the oldest one. The oldest one up to 2009, we found it was in Rome on the Tigers arch commemorates the destruction of Jerusalem, but now we have one that is at least 15 years older maybe 30 years older and this menorah is also the first menorah found outside of Jerusalem, and it's also the first menorah in the religious context. So this is pretty significant and what is not the only thing in fact there are more important things on the stone. For example, in the top of the stone, you have this rosette design and if you go to the website Magdala.org you can X you see the pictures right now. Go to the the page where it says visit and go to the synagogue and you will see all of this, the Magdala stone are you and Gus Google Magdala stone would come up for you so this rosette design is considered by the specialist now to be associated with the video before the holy of holies. While and then you can see here at the back of this of the stone on the opposite end from the menorah.

We have two arches and inside on the top of the arches we have two wheels, one on each and then underneath.

We have these six triangles, a stone that the archaeologist tell us are signifying flames of fire.

So put Williams in flames of fire, together what you have chariots of fire Robbie how many chariots of fire have been found is really archaeology seer. This is the first one, and now it's very important is what's the meaning of the charge of fire. We remember the story of Elijah at Jerry Coley crosses the Jordan and Alicia goes with him, and he's taken up in the chariots of fire and then we go to Ezekiel chapter 1 and there we read how the weasels are leaving the temple weeds of the chariots, the chariots of fire because it's the symbol of the divine presence. So on the first Temple was being destroyed. At the time of the Babylonian exile God's presence has left the temple so the charge of fire then is of extraordinary significance and asked you what it really means here according to the specialist now were speaking up about this is that we have the menorah, which is before the space where the holy of holies the veil, before the holy of holies at the charge of fire inside the holy of holies the divine presence inside the holy. This is an extraordinary composition of ideas and and here's the and unfortunately we've run on behaviors you could see the father has a passion for this assembly, but we didn't have all that much time to get to this today but I watched the two to think with me in a minute about that moment with Alisha analyzer depending on how you say their names which I've always found very fascinating to hear how different people pronounce those to the remains of those tickle profits, but in both cases as the men passed away. They were people standing by quoting saying the horses and chariots of Israel lowered the horses and chariots of Israel. Well, those are a place where you can go you can go visit this magnificent Magdala and also in Jerusalem. You go to their website find out you can go on an adventure to see the real thing.

I got to see the copy that was here the NRB but you could go to Israel and see the real thing. And when you going to get there. You get to meet one of the characters of Israel that I've discovered his father Kelly. Be careful when you're shaking his hand because it it moves all over the place. The father Kelly. What a joy it is to have you on the day listeners a taste of previous novel of they would with they would discover were there to visit you there and Magdala is not about visiting the folks please come and walk where Jesus walked and and Maglio can Walker Jesus toss it's the crossroads of Jewish and Christian history, and there we have a synagogue from the time of Jesus.

Jesus himself probably visited Avenue for sure his desire… To see you as a high I will. I was down at that exhibit, I bet I studied at stone for the better part of 45 minutes and I looked at it and I looked at it, my look to that. I thought about and I prayed about it and a lot of things and then you come up.

In five minutes share with me so much more that I could have been enjoying had I known perceived because of your passion for God gave you. You can now share with other folks so they get to not only have a plastic bag delivered to get to find out so much more about it because God is taught you along the way. Thank you. Passed father since her mother for getting others to that Douglas Robbie got busy. We didn't talk at all about the do cannot we do but we will the next time when you come on my show life okay got this. You say, what would you do if you were a new Christian and you didn't have a Bible to Michael Longworth my way from Bible, the international you probably say well and hop in my car and go to Christian bookstore or have one shipped to make one of those word options and see what I'm new to the faith.

I mean I need to know what it means to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, you know, you would pray that someone, anyone would bring you a Bible and it's exactly the way it is for literally Williams Christians around the world are part of her spiritual family there new to the faith they want to know what it means to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus but God has them planning words very difficult to access the Bible and that's why the Truth Network and Bible league of teamed up to sing God's word to 3500 Bible as believers around the globe. Our campaign is called the world needs the word five dollars in zoo Bible $100 since 20. Every gift matched make your most generous gift by calling 800 yes word 800 why ESW ORD 800 yes word or give a Truth Network.com