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Picture

​(The John Tablet from the First Century Church)

​A Picture of the Early Church in 24K Gold
​

Translating first century Greek out of Israel is not as easy as it sounds.  When I was asked to translate this gold tablet I had no idea that the language departments of seven major universities had already tried to translate this to no avail. 
 
The mystique of this piece was so fascinating that or team had to begin working on translating it right away.  Our team has experience with translating ancient Greek inscriptions that were uncovered in Israel.  Some of them we watched as they were uncovered!  Trust me when I say the original inscriptions are nothing like the Greek in our New Testaments we use in seminary.  In order to translate the original first century Greek a person must have experience in the originals and understand the abbreviations, misspelling, and irregular grammar they used.
 
They key to translating this tablet was the word in the very middle of the inscription.  We translated the beginning and the end rather quickly but he middle stumped us.  Was it two or three words?  Or was it one long word?  The endings didn’t seem to fit the regular patterns but there was something familiar about this word. I closed my eyes and said it to myself.  Then it struck me! The middle word was  YOHANNES.  That is John’s name in Greek.  But which John?  John the Baptist?  John the apostle?  Or another John we don’t know?
 
The context of the inscription makes it clear.  It reads:  “I PRAY THE EXCEEDING MIGHTY ONE WHOM JOHN PROCLAIMED THAT ONE I WILL SEE.”
Which John proclaimed the Exceeding Mighty One who is coming?  John the apostle proclaimed this in the book of Revelation.  Revelation 10 describes a mighty angel coming down out of Heaven:  the Messiah. 
 
The significance of this inscription is remarkable.  John wrote the book of Revelation around 95 A.D.  The language and style of these tablets date them around 100 A.D.  Whoever made these tablets was familiar with John’s book of Revelation.  He may have even known John personally. Not only do these tablets validate the book of Revelation, John being the author, the Early Church’s knowledge of it, these tablets also give us insight into John’s prophecy as the Early Church understood it. 
 
The Early Church was not anticipating the “rapture” as many believe today.  They were awaiting the mighty angel coming down out of Heaven.  This tablet portrays the essence of the Early Church.  They were not consumed with following a man.  They were not driven by their programs and buildings.  They were not divided over their own theological slants.  Their vision and passion was preparing for the return of the Messiah to set up His kingdom on earth. 
 
If we desire to be the Church God designed us to be then we need to return to the passion and vision Jesus instilled in the Early Church.  We need to be preparing for His kingdom to come. 
 
Please read the next article, which will identify the icons of this tablet and the message it gives!  This message is for the church today.  It is incredible!
 
 
Which John proclaimed the Exceeding Mighty One who is coming?  John the apostle proclaimed this in the book of Revelation.  Revelation 10 describes a mighty angel coming down out of Heaven:  the Messiah. 
 
The significance of this inscription is remarkable.  John wrote the book of Revelation around 95 A.D.  The language and style of these tablets date them around 100 A.D.  Whoever made these tablets was familiar with John’s book of Revelation.  He may have even known John personally. Not only do these tablets validate the book of Revelation, John being the author, the Early Church’s knowledge of it, these tablets also give us insight into John’s prophecy as the Early Church understood it. 
 
The Early Church was not anticipating the “rapture” as many believe today.  They were awaiting the mighty angel coming down out of Heaven.  This tablet portrays the essence of the Early Church.  They were not consumed with following a man.  They were not driven by their programs and buildings.  They were not divided over their own theological slants.  Their vision and passion was preparing for the return of the Messiah to set up His kingdom on earth. 
 
If we desire to be the Church God designed us to be then we need to return to the passion and vision Jesus instilled in the Early Church.  We need to be preparing for His kingdom to come. 
 
Please read the next article, which will identify the icons of this tablet and the message it gives!  This message is for the church today.  It is incredible!
 
© Dr. Steven L Smith 2016
​
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