Revelation 2:7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”
The place we call home in Israel is in the rebuilt city of Arad, an ancient city rebuilt in 1962 near the historic site of Tel Arad. It was the first planned city in Israel.
Tel Arad was an ancient fortress that, according to archaeologists, has been destroyed and rebuilt at least ten times. The citadel was thought to have originally been built during the times of King David and Solomon. The Negev desert’s arid conditions have remarkably preserved the fortress’s archaeological layers, providing a continuous record of its history for hundreds of years.
One of the most significant discoveries within the ruins of Tel Arad is the only Israelite temple ever found in an archaeological dig. Inside the site, you can see an Israelite altar and two limestone incense altars, which once stood at the entrance of the Holy of Holies.
This Israelite temple (high place) remained perfectly preserved, and archaeologists attribute its destruction to King Hezekiah’s reforms.
During his reign, Hezekiah removed the idolatrous cults and destroyed the high places throughout Judah (2 Chronicles 32:11-12; 2 Kings 18:4; 2 Kings 18:22; Isaiah 36:7).
The high place at Tel Arad was buried beneath a layer of dirt, and great respect was shown during the process. Both incense altars were laid on their sides before the entire structure was covered, effectively erasing the memory of the temple from history until excavations began on the Tel in the 1960s.
Some believe this final burial may have occurred during the reign of King Josiah (2 Kings 23:1-37). Regardless of the exact timing, worship at the high place came to an end.
Fast forward to today, and recent scientific techniques have shed new light on this ancient site.
In 2021, as Israel’s Knesset debated the decriminalization of cannabis, researchers revealed that the incense altars at the Tel Arad temple contained traces of cannabis, frankincense, and dung.
Astonishingly, the very place God commanded to be destroyed for its idolatry—what Hezekiah referred to as a “high place”—was indeed a literal “high place.”
Just months before the Israeli government debated the cannabis question, God provided the answer through archaeology: “Bury the habit!” The cannabis used in the ancient temple produced a counterfeit high, unlike the true euphoria that comes from being in the presence of God and worshipping Him.
While many argue that the Bible doesn’t address modern issues, we are constantly surrounded by evidence that God continues to answer even the most challenging questions of our time—because God is still speaking to us today! The real question is … “Are we attentively listening?”
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]“Some time ago, an advertisement appeared in which the devil was putting all his tools up for sale. On the day of public inspection, each one of his tools was marked with its selling price: Hatred, Envy, Jealousy, Doubt, Lying, Pride, and so on, were each on the block. Set apart, however, from all the rest of the pile, was a harmless-looking tool, well-worn, but priced very high — it was discouragement!”
One of my favorite passages in the Scriptures is Psalm 1, and clearly this psalm holds an important key for our lives as believers to be fruitful and prosperous. That key is meditation. The psalmist describes the one who prospers as one who meditates “day and night”; a continual meditation developing the Godly habit of disciplining one’s mind in divine truth.
Over the years I’ve often gotten emails asking “When do you think revival will come?” Well…. first, what is “revival”, exactly? One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions is “a renewed attention to or interest in something”.
Approaching a new year always seems to carry a sense of adventure and expectation, although that attitude is not normally mixed with the level of trepidation we might be feeling just now. Moses’ successor Joshua, one of two faithful spies, seems to have embodied this sense of courageous expectation much of his life, but even he needed an extra dose of Divine encouragement as the Lord commanded him to cross the Jordan and take possession of the promised Land.
As we approach the New Year, we’re back to making New Year’s resolutions … but this year is a bit different, since it’s not only a New Year but a New Decade! During the past ten years we’ve seen such radical changes in our society; the definition of marriage, millennia-old norms of gender identity, bath and locker-room privacy, have all been affected by court decisions as a sea change in social mores has swept through the western world. People of Biblical faith are witnessing the fulfillment of Isaiah’s warning, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” [Isaiah 5:20]
There were thousands of people bundled up in freezing New York weather to witness a few short seconds during which a descending ball of light announces the arrival of a New Year — 2023. These hardy people endured the freezing air to mark the passage of time, but even more, because they were anticipating a “new beginning!” Saying goodbye to a tumultuous 2023, they were looking forward to making a fresh start in 2024!
Yeshua (Jesus) gave a remarkable parenthetic instruction in the middle of His Olivet discourse on the time of His coming and the end of the age. While it is unlikely that He himself said this, He certainly inspired Matthew to insert, “..let the reader understand”, concerning this critical event prophesied by Daniel, the Abomination of Desolation. His exhortation intended us (the readers of Matthew’s gospel) to learn what this means.