A Prophetic Message from the First Century Church
(The King Tablet from the first Century Church)
You are looking at a picture of one of the most important discoveries of this millennium! This is one of two tablets that recently surfaced from the first century church. These have not been published yet so don’t be surprised if you can’t find any information about them on the Internet. As far as I know, these two gold plates are the only ORIGINAL writings from the first century church that have been found.[1] This makes these tablets priceless and their messages incredibly important.
These two tablets are mysterious in nature. They are made of 24K gold. They were incised from the back so the letters are raised. Although there have been a few other ancient inscriptions found in metal, these and the Copper Scroll are the only ones made in this manner. The Copper Scroll was found as part of the Dead Sea Scrolls find. It is a scroll made of copper. It contains a coded map of the location of the greatest treasure trove ever recorded. The Copper Scroll contains the location of the Temple Treasures of Solomon. It is very interesting that these two tablets of 24K gold are made in the same manner as the Copper Scroll. The Copper Scroll was made just prior to the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. These two tablets were made around 100 A.D.
[1] I realize there are a couple of papyri fragments that might be original but they are incomplete and cannot be verified to be original. There are several writings from the first century but none that can be said to be from the church.
The obvious questions are who made these two tablets and why? Why would someone invest the time and resources to create such intricate pieces? The message these creators wanted to convey must have been exceedingly important. Why did they use the best gold available to make these? Obviously they wanted to make sure this message was preserved for a very long time if need be. Could it be that the messages of these tablets are important to prophecy? Maybe the creator wanted to make sure the message was preserved for the end times.
Let’s look at the message of this first tablet. The inscription is in first/early second century Greek of a majuscule script. That means it was written with all capital letters, no spaces, and no punctuation. The Early Greek coming out of Israel can be a little tricky. Remember, it was probably written by Jews whose native language was Hebrew or Aramaic. The Greek language was imposed on them rather quickly. The official language of the Roman empire of that time was changing from Greek to Latin. The spelling was not uniform and some of the words they used we do not have definitions for today. They also used many abbreviations that they knew well.
One of the tricks to this inscription is the abbreviation toward the end. The letter beta (looks like a capital “B”) is an abbreviation for Basileus, which is the Greek word for king. Did anyone ever use a single beta as an abbreviation for “king”? On the pavement where Jesus was tried, the soldiers carved in the stone with their swords. They carved the game board where they cast lots for His robe. They also drew a picture of a crown of thorns and a beta indicating the king with a crown of thorns.
These two tablets are mysterious in nature. They are made of 24K gold. They were incised from the back so the letters are raised. Although there have been a few other ancient inscriptions found in metal, these and the Copper Scroll are the only ones made in this manner. The Copper Scroll was found as part of the Dead Sea Scrolls find. It is a scroll made of copper. It contains a coded map of the location of the greatest treasure trove ever recorded. The Copper Scroll contains the location of the Temple Treasures of Solomon. It is very interesting that these two tablets of 24K gold are made in the same manner as the Copper Scroll. The Copper Scroll was made just prior to the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. These two tablets were made around 100 A.D.
[1] I realize there are a couple of papyri fragments that might be original but they are incomplete and cannot be verified to be original. There are several writings from the first century but none that can be said to be from the church.
The obvious questions are who made these two tablets and why? Why would someone invest the time and resources to create such intricate pieces? The message these creators wanted to convey must have been exceedingly important. Why did they use the best gold available to make these? Obviously they wanted to make sure this message was preserved for a very long time if need be. Could it be that the messages of these tablets are important to prophecy? Maybe the creator wanted to make sure the message was preserved for the end times.
Let’s look at the message of this first tablet. The inscription is in first/early second century Greek of a majuscule script. That means it was written with all capital letters, no spaces, and no punctuation. The Early Greek coming out of Israel can be a little tricky. Remember, it was probably written by Jews whose native language was Hebrew or Aramaic. The Greek language was imposed on them rather quickly. The official language of the Roman empire of that time was changing from Greek to Latin. The spelling was not uniform and some of the words they used we do not have definitions for today. They also used many abbreviations that they knew well.
One of the tricks to this inscription is the abbreviation toward the end. The letter beta (looks like a capital “B”) is an abbreviation for Basileus, which is the Greek word for king. Did anyone ever use a single beta as an abbreviation for “king”? On the pavement where Jesus was tried, the soldiers carved in the stone with their swords. They carved the game board where they cast lots for His robe. They also drew a picture of a crown of thorns and a beta indicating the king with a crown of thorns.
(Carving in the stones of the Lithos Stratus where soldiers cast lots)
The writing of this tablet reads, “As in the year of the raging waters of Noah out of which the King is roaring.” The meaning of this message is, “Like in the year of the flood of Noah, the King is getting ready to roar.” This message definitely has a prophetic connotation. Matthew 24:38 says the Messiah will return in a time like the days of Noah. The rainbow from the story of Noah reminds us that God will not destroy the earth with a flood in the end. The story of Noah carries a prophetic message. It points to the return of the Messiah.
This message on the tablet has even a more specific reference. The reference at the end (“the King is roaring”) comes from the words of John’s Revelation. Although the Greek texts are slightly different, the message is still the same. In Revelation 10:3 Jesus is holding a little scroll in His hand. He sets one foot on the earth and one on the sea. He cries with a loud voice “as a lion roaring.” Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). It certainly appears the creator of this tablet knew John’s book of Revelation, which was written between 90-96 A.D. The style of writing places this inscription around 100 A.D. The books of the New Testament were not organized until 325 A.D. Very few people would have even heard the book of Revelation read by 100 A.D.
What is the significance of this writing to us today? It is interesting that this tablet has surfaced now after having been hidden for almost 2,000 years. Could it be that God has kept this significant artifact undisclosed until now? Is the King getting ready to roar? Are we living in days like the days of Noah? Next week I will write about the icons that surround this amazing inscription. The message of these icons is mind-blowing. It is a prophetic message which makes the prophecies of the Bible make so much sense. I believe this is a message from God for His people today. It says Jesus the Messiah is about to return!
© Dr. Steven L Smith 2016
This message on the tablet has even a more specific reference. The reference at the end (“the King is roaring”) comes from the words of John’s Revelation. Although the Greek texts are slightly different, the message is still the same. In Revelation 10:3 Jesus is holding a little scroll in His hand. He sets one foot on the earth and one on the sea. He cries with a loud voice “as a lion roaring.” Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). It certainly appears the creator of this tablet knew John’s book of Revelation, which was written between 90-96 A.D. The style of writing places this inscription around 100 A.D. The books of the New Testament were not organized until 325 A.D. Very few people would have even heard the book of Revelation read by 100 A.D.
What is the significance of this writing to us today? It is interesting that this tablet has surfaced now after having been hidden for almost 2,000 years. Could it be that God has kept this significant artifact undisclosed until now? Is the King getting ready to roar? Are we living in days like the days of Noah? Next week I will write about the icons that surround this amazing inscription. The message of these icons is mind-blowing. It is a prophetic message which makes the prophecies of the Bible make so much sense. I believe this is a message from God for His people today. It says Jesus the Messiah is about to return!
© Dr. Steven L Smith 2016