00:01 We've arrived in Ancient Shiloh and
on the road here
00:05 we pass the sign, which has been here
for a very
00:08 long time. It's a track leading through
to an Arab
00:11 village, but since the Israelis have
constructed
00:14 curbstone, here they have laid a tarseal
road.
00:18 The reason where here is that this is
the site,
00:20 where the Israelites erected the first
sanctuary,
00:23 when they've arrived in the promise
land.
00:26 Recently some archeological excavations
have found
00:29 some very definite proof to backup the
Bible story.
01:09 As recently as 1986, archeologist Israel
01:14 Finkelstein had a report published in
the Biblical
01:17 archeology review in which he reported
his
01:20 excavations here at Shiloh and they
provide us with
01:25 some very interesting evidence especially
in
01:28 relationship to the Biblical account,
but in order first
01:32 to be able to understand what it's all
about, I think
01:34 I better explain to you something about
archeology.
01:37 You know, whenever I come to Middle
East and,
01:40 I'm involved in the excavations and
get back
01:43 home again. I suppose you can guess
the question my
01:46 friends asked me as soon as they meet
me. Hey, did
01:49 you find anything? What did you find?
And I say,
01:52 yes, yes we found lot of things, lot
of broken pottery.
01:55 And I said big deal is that or you went
to the Middle
01:57 East for? But you see, archeologists
are not
02:01 looking for treasures. Okay, it's very
nice if you find a
02:05 golden vase or Alabaster God or something,
but really
02:09 that's not we are looking for? And that
is not what
02:13 provides us with the information we
need, we are
02:16 trying to reconstruct history. Archeologists
are
02:20 digging up the past and they're trying
to
02:23 reconstruct the past. Now, in order
to understand just
02:27 how it all works? I'll need to explain
it from a
02:30 diagram, but first I have to explain
to you what is I
02:34 Tell? The word Tell is the name given
to a deserted
02:39 mound or sometimes it's even still occupy
in the
02:42 Middle East in those plenty of these
Tells. And this is
02:44 how all happen, you see in ancient time's
cities or
02:50 villages were usually built on low hills
for defensive
02:53 purposes. It was much easier to defend
if the
02:56 enemy had to come up the side of a hill,
you saved to
02:59 attack a town or city. Well, people
living on such a
03:03 low hill would build their houses here,
let's illustrate
03:07 it this way and by would have the floor
level like
03:12 that and in those days of course there
were no
03:15 garbologists or rubbish collectors and
so whatever
03:19 rubbish they had broken pottery or bit
some pieces,
03:22 dust and rubbish were just thrown at
the front door.
03:26 Well, you can imagine what happened?
Little by little
03:29 the street level outside began to rise
and eventually
03:34 it reached the height of the floor level
of the
03:37 house. So, guess what happened when
there was a
03:40 downpour of rain. Well, let's when momma
caught
03:43 hold of papa, and screwed his ear and
said listen you
03:45 got to do something about that because
all the rain is
03:47 coming in the front door. So, good obliging
papa did
03:50 something what he did was simply to
rise the floor
03:53 level bringing some more earth and rise
the floor
03:56 level. And that was fine for a while,
but of course the
04:00 rubbish still began to accumulate and
so the whole
04:03 thing happened again here see. And sometimes
the
04:06 wall collapse, sometimes the roof fell
in, all they did
04:09 was simply level it off and build on
top. And so the
04:14 level of this whole hill began to rise
and in
04:19 different periods of the history of
this tell or hill.
04:23 We have what we called archeological
strata and it
04:27 goes this way. First of all was the
period when they
04:31 used stone implements, stone axes, stone
knives,
04:36 and stone pots and vessels you see and
so it's called
04:38 the stone age or, it is know as the
Lithic period.
04:43 Now, usually this is given a date for
the beginning of
04:46 this something like 200,000 BC. Some
people even
04:51 put it to two million. This is pure
supposition and
04:54 identical along with this, but I'm telling
you what is
04:56 usually considered to be then man began
to discover
05:01 how to use copper milk pot, copper.
And so we have
05:06 the beginning of the bronze or copper
period and little
05:10 by little we have and in the mingling
and so we have
05:12 what is known as the Chalcolithic period
when you
05:15 have both copper and stone, and then
bronze became
05:21 more common and so we have beginning
of what we
05:23 called the Bronze Age. First of all,
there was the early
05:27 Bronze Age, which is usually dated about
3100 BC
05:34 and then we have the middle Bronze Age,
which
05:38 is usually dated, dated to about 2100
BC and then we
05:44 have the light bronze period, which
is usually
05:49 dated to about 1550 BC and then we have
the iron
05:55 age, which is usually dated to about
1200 BC
06:02 and then of course we have start of
building up on top
06:05 of that. Well, now when an archeologist
sink so shaft
06:09 down here or a trench down here, he
exposes all these
06:16 different strata and from the type of
pottery that he
06:20 sees in each stratum, he can determine
which stratum
06:25 he is working in. Now, the why he can
do that is
06:28 because of the different pottery styles
you see
06:31 fashion is changed and so an archeologist
can identify
06:36 the different styles for instance sometimes
they
06:39 just had little rounded pots like this
with, with flat
06:43 bottoms on them and then by learn they
put handles
06:47 on them and make them a little ornamented,
06:50 you know, put scratches and designs
on them.
06:53 Then there was a period when they use
pots with
06:56 pointed in like this you might say,
well they fall
06:59 over wouldn't they? No, they had a little
hole in
07:02 the, in the houses floor and it just
sat there or maybe
07:07 they had a piece of wood with a hole
in it and they
07:09 just sat it like that, you say not very
convenient,
07:13 but nevertheless that's the way they
did it you see,
07:15 so when an archeologist finds a piece
of pottery
07:18 from any of these he can say right I
know where it
07:21 is, what age it is you see. Now, another
very good
07:24 method of determining it is, if you
can find them oil
07:28 lamps. Now at first, there were just
round saucers
07:31 with a wick on the side you see and
oil there.
07:34 Later on the potters learned to pinch
up like that you
07:37 see and put the wick here with the oil
in there.
07:41 Then they got a little more refined
and they made the
07:44 top enclosed like this with the spout.
And then they
07:49 got the idea of making designs on it.
So, you see
07:52 how fashion is changed and so when the
archeologist
07:56 finds these different pieces of pottery
here, he can say
08:00 right, this is the early bronze and
this is the
08:02 middle bronze, but what he cannot tell
is the exact
08:07 date of these. The only way he can date
any of these
08:11 potteries by relating it to the chronology
of Egypt.
08:17 And so if he finds something in the
early bronze he
08:20 says oh, well the early bronze period
in Egypt
08:22 began about 3100 BC and the middle bronze
here,
08:27 well the problem is this. If Egyptian
chronology is
08:31 correct that's fine, you have got the
right dates
08:33 here, but if there is a mistake in Egyptian
08:35 chronology as I believe there is, well
in these
08:38 dates are gonna be wrong to and that
is why we come
08:41 to Shiloh and notice the interesting
discovery that
08:45 was made recently here in the excavations.
You see,
08:49 according to this line up here, the
Exodus took
08:54 place 1445 BC or the invasion of Palestine
08:59 1405 BC and that would place it in the
light bronze
09:04 period, but in the excavations in Shiloh,
09:08 no evidence of occupation was found
there during the
09:12 light bronze period. There was however
evidence of
09:17 a century during the middle bronze period.
09:21 Now, I consider that is where the Israelite
invasion
09:24 took place. In other words, I consider
these dates need
09:27 to be shortened and the Israelite invasion
took
09:30 place in 2100 BC then if we accept that
reconstruction
09:35 we have exactly what we are looking
for evidence
09:38 of a sanctuary in Shiloh in the middle
bronze period.
09:44 Well, now the important thing about
these
09:47 excavations and these men did a wonderful
job by the
09:49 way I, I personally think they did a
great job here
09:52 in Shiloh and they established the identification
09:56 of the various strata and that's very
important.
09:59 You see, by finding pieces of pottery
here friends this
10:04 is a piece here of a large jar; they
can identify which
10:10 particular period it comes from. And
it is my personal
10:13 opinion that the Israelite invasion
took place at the
10:18 end of the early bronze period that
would be about
10:20 1400 BC and that being the case this
just fits in with
10:25 what I found in the excavations. You,
you just
10:27 wouldn't believe it, it just so supportive
of the Biblical
10:32 record. Now, here in Shiloh, if I'm
correct in this
10:36 middle bronze period, we would expect
to find
10:38 evidence that there was a sanctuary
here, that this is
10:41 where the place of worship was and this
is exactly
10:44 what they found. Listen I read it to
you from this
10:47 report, which they have made and it
says here on
10:52 page 39 of the report, I think it is
here, here we
10:55 go. There are accumulating indications
of Celtic
11:00 continuity at the site from the middle
bronze to period
11:05 onward. A sanctuary probably stood here
as early
11:10 as the middle bronze age. Do you see,
how that fits
11:13 in. So, if that is correct and of course
the
11:16 archeologists right spot on there, if
that is correct well
11:20 then that is exactly what we would expect
to find.
11:22 A sanctuary here, now somebody might
say, yes but
11:26 that was probably a Canaanite sanctuary
that
11:28 was here before the Israelites turned
up, I don't
11:31 accept that. Do you mean to say that
the Israelites
11:34 would choose a place that was already
a place of
11:38 worship for Heathen religion and so
right we would
11:41 put God sanctuary here. I, I just can't
see that and so
11:45 here the first evidence of occupation
is in the middle
11:48 bronze period and I would say that is
where
11:51 the Israelites came and pitched their
sanctuary
11:54 right here. Here is the model of the
sanctuary,
11:58 which Mr. Winterton has made, he has
done a
12:01 beautiful job, don't you think it's
all made
12:02 according to scale and it's according
to the Biblical
12:06 dimensions. He himself is laid in the
high priest
12:10 robes and they were very beautiful,
aren't they?
12:12 And these also according to the Biblical
instructions,
12:15 I'll explain all about that in a little
while, but first
12:18 of all just let's have a look at the
sanctuary and
12:20 its invariance. This was originally
erected of course
12:24 at the foot of Mount Sinai, later on
as the Israelites
12:27 travel alone, they took this with them,
it could be
12:30 completely dismantle and carried by
certain priests,
12:33 which were allocated to the task and
re-erected it
12:37 each site. Then the Israelites and their
twelve
12:40 tribes came around about all in the
prescribed place,
12:44 they had their standards under which
they assembled
12:47 and pitch their tents all in a very
orderly way.
12:51 And then we noticed that on the outside
here there
12:55 was linen clothes going right around
the outside
13:00 on portable poles and this courtyard
was altogether
13:07 a 100 cubits long and 50 cubits wide.
Now, for your
13:11 information a cubit is approximately
half a meter,
13:15 so that meant that you have got a distance
of about 50
13:18 meters along here and at the front there
was an
13:21 entrance here and the people could come
in here,
13:25 priests would come in here daily for
their official
13:27 functions and so we now transfer our
attention to
13:32 what was inside it. And I will ask Mr.
Winterton if he
13:34 just like to remove the gateway or curtain
at the
13:38 front there, right thank you very much.
13:41 Now, we can see the altar of sacrifice.
This was a big
13:46 bronze altar and on this the daily sacrifice
was
13:51 offered a bit, 9 o' clock in the morning
3 o' clock
13:54 every afternoon, there was a lamb or
a sheep was
13:58 offered here as a sacrifice and it was
completely
14:01 consumed, symbolizing the nations dedication
to
14:05 Yahweh or Jehovah and also day by day
people who
14:11 felt the sense of guilt and who wanted
to show their
14:15 faith in the forgiving love of God would
bring along a
14:19 lamb or a goat or some sacrifice here,
poor people
14:22 even were allowed to bring along a pigeon
and so
14:26 they could bring these sacrifices along
here,
14:29 the sinner would lay his hands on the
head of the
14:32 sacrifice and then he himself was obliged
to slay
14:36 the animal and then the blood was transferred
inside
14:39 and the fat of that animal was burnt
up on the out of
14:43 the animal itself was disposed of outside
the
14:45 sanctuary. Now, beyond that in between
the altar of
14:51 sacrifice and the sanctuary itself there
was a liver and
14:56 this was a liver that contain water,
so that the
14:59 priests before going into the sanctuary
very important
15:01 they cleanse their bodies and so before
approaching
15:06 God they had to be physically clean
as well as
15:08 spiritually pure. And so they washed
there and
15:12 then they went into the sanctuary. Now,
the
15:14 sanctuary itself was covered by four
layers of
15:21 diamonds, cloth what shall we call them
and I'm
15:24 going to ask Mr. Winterton to take these
off one by
15:26 one. Now, this first one was made of
seal skins.
15:31 And this of course waterproof and so
it kept
15:34 the sanctuary dry in time of rain because
they did
15:37 get rain there you know, and then there
was some
15:42 rammed skins died red and that was the
next
15:46 covering, thank you, and then the next
one was
15:51 of goat hair, the tents are still made
of that you know
15:54 in the Middle East today. Palestine,
they still make
15:56 their tents of goat's hair and so there
was this
15:59 goat's hair covering and finally there
was the pure
16:02 white linen garment, which covered the
hall of the
16:06 sanctuary. So, there were these four
coverings of the
16:09 sanctuary building itself. Now, the
building itself was
16:14 30 cubits long and 10 cubits wide and
10 cubits high.
16:21 This building also was made of wood,
covered with
16:24 gold plate and this also was portable
it could be
16:28 completely dismantled and carried by
the appropriate
16:30 priests and then reassembled at the
site on which it
16:34 was pitched. And inside the sanctuary
incidentally
16:37 there were a curtain, there was a curtain
here,
16:40 thank you Mr. Winterton, if you would
like to take
16:41 that off. There was two vales or curtains,
one was
16:45 at the entrance of the sanctuary and
the other
16:48 one was into the inner apartment of
the sanctuary.
16:52 Now, there with these two apartments
the first one
16:55 was 20 cubits by 10 cubits and it had
three articles of
16:59 furniture in and the other one was 10
cubits by 10
17:02 cubits and this just had one item of
furniture
17:06 inside. Now, so that we can get a better
look at
17:08 this remember it's portable we just
gonna lift
17:12 the whole sanctuary building up, thank
you, and
17:18 then we can see inside. First we notice
a table here
17:21 called the table of showbread. Now,
this had 12
17:25 loaves of bread on it, which were replaced
every
17:28 Sabbath. They symbolized the 12 tribes
of Israel then
17:34 over on this side were the seven golden
candle
17:37 sticks and they were burning continuously,
17:41 they had oil in them running from inside
and they had
17:45 wicks and high priests came in here
everyday and
17:49 trim the wicks and filled up the oil,
so as to keep these
17:53 lights burning setup. Then here was
an altar of
17:58 incense and here again the high priests
came in
18:00 here every morning and every evening
at the time of
18:03 the morning and evening sacrifice and
he burned
18:07 insects on this altar, this incense
used to curl up and
18:11 go into the inner apartment of the sanctuary
and so
18:14 the incense here represented the prayers
that were
18:18 being offered by the people who are
outside waiting
18:21 for the priest to perform his duties.
Now, let us look
18:25 at the item on the inside of the sanctuary
in the
18:28 inner apartment and that is the ark
of the covenant
18:32 or the ark of the testament, it was
a
18:34 wooden box gilded with gold and inside
where the
18:39 two tables of the law the Ten Commandments
that
18:42 had been written with the finger of
God on Mount
18:45 Sinai. And on the top of the Ark of
the Covenant,
18:49 there were two beautiful golden angels
with wings
18:53 outstretched reaching over and touching
each other.
18:56 And so that was the only item of furniture
in the
19:00 inner apartment of the sanctuary. Now
the high
19:02 priest only went in their once a year,
but a very
19:07 significant service and will be explaining
that in our
19:10 next subject, the next topic. Now, the
high priest
19:14 garments were very beautiful and I would
like to
19:16 explain them to you. The high priest
must have made
19:20 a very impressive side you know, his
God given robes
19:23 and they were God given you know, because
God
19:25 specified everything that the high priest
had to wear,
19:29 it was all given through Moses. On top
here it is on
19:32 his head, he had a crown, it's full
of mattering the Old
19:37 King James version, but it is simply
a covering for his
19:41 head and a band round here, which said
holiness
19:44 to the Lord indicating that his thoughts
were also to
19:48 be holy and God site. Then he had on
here a
19:53 breastplate in which there were 12 beautiful
stones
19:58 and on each of those stones was inscribed
the
20:00 names of one of the tribes of Israel
indicating that he
20:04 bow this on this heart and then we have
here a
20:09 Urim and Thummim. Now they were used
to indicate
20:13 the good pleasure or the, the negative
will of God,
20:18 if one lighted up, it was yes, if the
other one had
20:21 a cloud on it, it was no and so answers
could be
20:25 found when enquires were made from God.
20:28 Then behind that it is what is known
as the Ephod,
20:32 and on the shoulder here there were
two stones and
20:36 on these were inscribed the names of
the 12 sons of
20:40 Israel. Then down here he had a beautiful
blue
20:44 garment and this seems to be God's favorite
color you
20:48 know, and I think there is a lot of
significance in
20:50 this blue, it indicates a royal color
that God has
20:54 and the Israelites also, where suppose
to wear a
20:57 band of blue and then those this shashiya
it's called a
21:03 curious girdle meaning it's a very special
one.
21:07 And then of course he had his incense
sensor,
21:12 which he wave before the Lord with the
incense in
21:14 it and then right down at the bottom
you will notice
21:17 there are some belts and little pompoms
that were
21:21 representing pommie granites and as
the high
21:24 priest walked, these belts would nod
at tinkle, can I
21:27 too this Mr. Winterton, yeah, they must
have been
21:30 very nice and so the people would know
the high
21:33 priest movements as he moved around
the sanctuary.
21:38 So then this is ancient Shiloh and this
is where it all
21:41 happened, this is where the sanctuary
of Israel was.
21:45 Later on of course when Solomon built
his beautiful
21:48 temple on Mount Moriah, this whole sanctuary
21:51 concept was incorporated in Solomon's
temple of
21:55 course what is there now, it's not Solomon's
temple
21:59 it's the dime of the rock Muslim mosque
the first
22:03 part of which was built in the 7 century
AD.
22:06 But nevertheless that is where Solomon's
temple
22:09 one stood. Now, what was the purpose
of the
22:14 sanctuary why all these animals sacrifices,
all this
22:18 blood letting, do we assume that God
is a sort
22:22 an angry God that has to be appeased
by the slang
22:25 of animals, no that's not the idea too.
It was all
22:30 symbolic, typical all pointing forward
to what
22:34 Jesus Christ was going to do for the
human race.
22:38 You know, when Jesus went to the River
Jordan,
22:42 John the baptize pointed to him and
said, in John
22:45 1:29, "The next day John saw the Jesus
coming
22:49 toward him and said, behold the Lamb
of God,
22:52 who takes away the sin of the world."
And you see
22:55 Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of
God just the
22:58 sign of the sacrificial Lambs were offered
and
23:01 innocent Lamb for a guilty victim, so
Jesus
23:04 Christ died for the guilty sins of the
world and that
23:09 was the very hard of the sanctuary service,
but the
23:13 sanctuary itself was also highly symbolical,
typical,
23:17 I'm here in the Book of Hebrews and
in chapter 8
23:20 it says, "Now this is the main point
of the things we
23:23 are saying: We have such a High Priest,
who is seated
23:28 at the right hand of the throne of the
Majesty in the
23:30 heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary
and of the true
23:36 tabernacle which the Lord erected, and
not man."
23:39 Now, that's interesting, isn't it? It
tells us that
23:41 God made a sanctuary and really this
sanctuary here
23:45 at Shiloh was really just a tiny little
insignificant
23:49 model of that great sanctuary of God
in heaven.
23:53 Of course, the temple of God in heaven
is nothing
23:56 like this one here magnificent immense,
24:01 ten thousand times; ten thousands of
angels can
24:03 crowd in there. So, this is gonna be
a very small
24:07 model, but the temple is there alright.
I'm reading
24:10 in Revelation chapter 15 and in verse
5 where it
24:13 says, After these things I looked and
behold the
24:17 temple of the tabernacle of the testimony
in heaven
24:20 was opened. So, when John was carried
up in the
24:23 heaven in vision, he saw this temple
opened he
24:27 looked inside, it was a real temple
I personally think
24:30 it was just as real and solid as the
sanctuary that was
24:33 picture right here in Shiloh where that
was built in
24:35 the temple of God in Jerusalem, it's
a real place
24:39 heaven is very real to me. The things
of eternity mean
24:42 something, they are very meaningful,
very real,
24:46 alright. Now, John not only saw the
temple opened,
24:49 but just the sign as the sanctuary on
earth had
24:52 various articles of furniture. So, John
saw the same
24:56 things in heaven. For instance in Revelation
24:58 chapter 1 and verse in 18 it says, here
verse 12.
25:05 Then I turned to see the voice that
spoke with me.
25:08 And having turned, I saw seven golden
lamp stands.
25:12 So, just the same as there are seven
lamps stands here
25:15 in the sanctuary on earth. John saw
them right there
25:18 in heaven too. Not only that in Revelation
chapter 8
25:23 and in verse 3, let's find it, yes.
Then another angel
25:28 having a golden censer came and stood
at the altar.
25:31 And he was given much incense that he
should
25:34 offer, with the prayers of all the saints,
upon the
25:36 golden altar, which was before the throne,
shall
25:38 okay the sanctuary on earth had a golden
altar of
25:41 incense there it was in heaven. So,
the one on earth
25:44 was just a copy a little copy of the
great altar in
25:48 heaven. And finally we notice the most
important
25:51 feature of the earthly sanctuary was
a copy of
25:55 that in heaven too listen, Revelation
11 and verse 19,
25:59 "Then the temple of God was opened in
heaven and
26:03 the ark of his covenant was seen in
his temple."
26:07 So, John saw it up there, there it was.
So, you see
26:10 this sanctuary on earth was just a little
model a type
26:15 of the great temple of God in heaven.
I want you
26:19 to see the significance of what is here?
Here is the
26:22 high priest wearing the names of the
12 types of
26:27 Israel on his heart. He has a responsibility
for them.
26:31 He carries them on his heart and now
remember this
26:35 high priest is a type or a symbol of
a great high
26:39 priest in heaven Jesus Christ, who day
by day is
26:43 looking after us and offer his sacrifice
on our behalf
26:47 and he bares our names on his heart.
Every one of you
26:53 he has got your name written there if
you believe
26:55 in him, he has got your name there.
You see it's
26:57 says here in Hebrews chapter 7 and in
verse 25.
27:02 "Therefore he is able to save to the
outermost those
27:06 who come to God through him, since he
ever lives to
27:10 make intercession for us. You see, we
need somebody
27:15 to intercede on our behalf we are sinners,
we've done
27:19 things that are wrong, we deserve to
be put to death,
27:22 but Jesus Christ died for our sins and
so he steps in
27:26 between a loving God and the sinner
and says,
27:30 I died for that person intercedes on
our behalf
27:34 and it's not that God has reluctant
to forgive us,
27:37 he is so happy when Jesus Christ is
able to confess us
27:41 as his children. And the result, well
it tells us here
27:45 in Hebrews chapter 4 and in verse 15.
27:49 "For we do not have a high priest who
cannot
27:53 sympathize with our weaknesses, but
was in all
27:56 points tempted as we are yet without
sin."
27:58 He knows what it is to be tempted he
lived in this
28:01 world of temptation. "Let us therefore
come boldly to
28:05 the throne of grace, that we may obtain
mercy,
28:08 and find grace to help in time of need."
28:12 Don't be afraid to come to Christ. You
might say,
28:14 oh yes, but I am a sinner, I have done
so many bad
28:17 things I'm ashamed. Okay, you're the
person who
28:20 needs Christ you can come pleading that
Christ died
28:24 on your behalf and you can come boldly
with your
28:26 prayers, you can say I stand before
God just as if
28:29 I have never seen because Christ died
for
28:32 my sins. This is what it means to
28:35 have a great high priest in heaven.
28:38 Well, that sounds encouraging maybe
the
28:40 sanctuary truth is the key that unlocks
the old Bible
28:44 prophecy in Daniel chapter 8, where
it was told that
28:47 until 2300 days, and then shall the
sanctuary be
28:51 cleansed. Daniel was given this prophecy
in the
28:54 Old Persian town of Shushan and that's
were we
28:57 will be taking you in the next program.
