In the Footsteps of Jesus: 2023 Becomes the Year of Biblical Discoveries

In 2023, Israel witnessed an impressive series of archaeological discoveries that proved the “physical” existence of Jesus and the more than 2,000 years of continuous presence of the Jewish people in the Holy Land.

The pilgrimage road has been studied by archaeologists for a long time. It is hidden from view under the Arab quarter of Silvan in Jerusalem, but its beginning is “marked” by stone steps at the Pool of Siloam. The path went from the “font” in East Jerusalem to the foot of the Temple Mount, the holiest place for the Jews. The Pilgrimage Road is also known as the Step Street, along which the pilgrims ascended.

“The excavation of the Pool of Siloam is of great importance for Christians around the world,” said John Hagee, chairman of Christians Rally for Israel and an American priest, in an interview with Fox News Digital. “It was at this site that Jesus healed a blind man (John 9), and it was on this spot that 2,000 years ago, Jewish pilgrims performed ablutions before entering the temple.” Let us remember what Jesus says in the Bible to the blind man he sees as he walks with his disciples. He takes him by the hand, leads him out of the city and says: “Now go and wash in the pool of Siloam.”

“The Pool of Siloam and the Pilgrimage Road, located within the City of David, provide some of the most inspiring archaeological evidence for the text of the Bible,” Jesus said.

Priest John Hagee also said in an interview that “with every archaeological discovery in Israel, two known facts are reemphasized: the Word of God is true, and the children of Israel are the indigenous people of the Holy Land.”

To date, not the entire font has been excavated, but a small part of it will be accessible to ordinary people soon. Most of the pool is under excavation and will be opened either in parts or after the entire area has been excavated.

During the excavations, about eight steps of the Pilgrimage Road were discovered, which, according to historians and theologians, confirm the truth of the Holy Scriptures.

“History is replete with written accounts of people who became legendary figures. Archeology, however, provides evidence of the truth or falsity of what was written. Undoubtedly, archaeological discoveries throughout Israel, and especially in the City of David, confirm the truth and accuracy of the Bible. This is God’s answer to skeptics and an assurance to believers that everything He has said regarding our present lives and the future can be completely relied upon,” clergyman Terry Copeland Pearsons comments to Fox News Digital.

The second major archaeological find announced by the Israel Antiquities Authority in July was the discovery of a rare silver half-shekel coin from the first Jewish revolt against the Romans more than 2,000 years ago in the Judean Desert. The international community mostly refers to the ancient biblical land of Israel as the West Bank, while many Israelis refer to the region by the biblical names “Judea” and “Samaria”.

For theologians, archaeologists and Israelis, the discovery of the coin is a sensation because it is engraved in Hebrew with the words “Holy Jerusalem.” The coin is dated 66/67 BC.

Confirming the presence of Jewish people before the establishment of Islam, which occurred 1,400 years ago in Arabia, debunks the widely held theory that Jews “colonized” the biblical land and their first state was founded there in 1948, historians say.

“The explanation for this find is that the coin minted in Jerusalem fell from the pocket of a warrior who fled into the desert during the uprising, possibly en route to nearby Ein Gedi,” the Israel Antiquities Authority said.

The Bible comes to life when precious stones are found in Israel. Such a statement seems ahistorical until one remembers the Book of Isaiah, which says that the foundation of Israel will be paved with sapphires and its borders with precious stones. (“I will set your stones in rubies…your gates of pearls and all your walls of precious stones” (Isaiah 54:11-12).

The gems were discovered in Israel, according to the biblical text, in 2022.

Director of International Relations for the Jerusalem City of David Foundation, Ze’ev Orenstein, told Fox News Digital: “For much of the world, over the past 2,000 years, Jerusalem has represented the spiritual and historical North Star or compass, guiding both straight and narrow. figuratively, pilgrims and travelers on a path of search for meaning, purpose, faith and identity in their personal, social and national lives. And that is why, in his words, “the heritage discovered in the City of David, the historical site of the biblical Jerusalem, is of enormous significance.”

Scientists say that with the pace of excavations and the intensity of discoveries in the Holy Land, we could expect new breathtaking discoveries in 2024.