Jesus is God.” An inscription declaring this to be a reality, the earliest and oldest written expression of the Christian faith, has been deemed 'the greatest discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls' by at least one religious scholar.
Dated to 1,800 years ago, the inscription was uncovered by an inmate at Megiddo prison in Israel, when he was digging beneath his cell floor (there is no word as to whether this was an escape attempt). What was discovered was writing in ancient Greek on a mosaic, with a phrase that translates to, “The god-loving Akeptous has offered the table to God Jesus Christ as a memorial.”
Akeptous was likely an elite woman and important member of her community who played a key role in the church by donating a table for communion – a key tenet of Christian worship. Aside from Akeptous, the mosaic's inscription also advised the reader to 'remember Primilla and Cyriaca and Dorothea, and lastly, Chreste.'
More than Battles of Armageddon: The Forgotten Story of Megiddo, An Archaeological Paradise
“I Am the Lord God Dionysus”: Parallels Between Yahweh and Dionysus
Clearly, women played an active role in the organization and spread of the faith in the early first millennium BC.
Hidden away under the prison since its discovery in 2005, the mosaic with its electrifying inscription has now made its way to the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC, where it will be on display to the public until July 2025. Fittingly, it was found in the Jezreel Valley, where some Christians believe the final battle of the Biblical Armageddon referenced in the Book of Revelations will occur.
The Megiddo Mosaic: Jesus, the Son of God
The 581-square-foot Megiddo Mosaic decorated what is the world's first known prayer hall in 230 AD. This, unto itself, is a confirmation that Christians believed Jesus was the son of God from the very beginning, a product of the Immaculate Conception. The mosaic includes some of the earliest images of fish, referencing the story in Luke 9:16, when Jesus multiplied two fish to feed a crowd of 5,000 people.

Megiddo Prison in the Jezreel Valley of Israel. (James Emery/CC BY 2.0).
Interestingly, the timeline of the mosaic predates the adoption of Christianity as a formal religion by the Roman Empire, reports The Jerusalem Post. At this point the faith was still in its infancy, with no way of knowing what kind of future it would have.
Akeptous was likely an elite woman and important member of her community who played a key role in the church by donating a table for communion – a key tenet of Christian worship. Aside from Akeptous, the mosaic's inscription also advised the reader to 'remember Primilla and Cyriaca and Dorothea, and lastly, Chreste.'
More than Battles of Armageddon: The Forgotten Story of Megiddo, An Archaeological Paradise
“I Am the Lord God Dionysus”: Parallels Between Yahweh and Dionysus
Clearly, women played an active role in the organization and spread of the faith in the early first millennium BC.
Hidden away under the prison since its discovery in 2005, the mosaic with its electrifying inscription has now made its way to the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC, where it will be on display to the public until July 2025. Fittingly, it was found in the Jezreel Valley, where some Christians believe the final battle of the Biblical Armageddon referenced in the Book of Revelations will occur.
The Megiddo Mosaic: Jesus, the Son of God
The 581-square-foot Megiddo Mosaic decorated what is the world's first known prayer hall in 230 AD. This, unto itself, is a confirmation that Christians believed Jesus was the son of God from the very beginning, a product of the Immaculate Conception. The mosaic includes some of the earliest images of fish, referencing the story in Luke 9:16, when Jesus multiplied two fish to feed a crowd of 5,000 people.

Megiddo Prison in the Jezreel Valley of Israel. (James Emery/CC BY 2.0).
Interestingly, the timeline of the mosaic predates the adoption of Christianity as a formal religion by the Roman Empire, reports The Jerusalem Post. At this point the faith was still in its infancy, with no way of knowing what kind of future it would have.
After its initial discovery, it took the Israeli Antiques Authority a full four years to uncover the entire mosaic. The prayer hall, or church, was likely abandoned and covered up in ancient times because the Roman Empire's Sixth Legion was transferred to Transjordan, a region located to the east of the Jordan River, reports The Daily Mail.
Surprise Finding as Ancient Egyptian Sarcophagus is Found in Israel
666 Sanctified: The Beast Was Fake News
Naturally, this discovery has been hailed as a groundbreaking development in Christian history. Carlos Campo, CEO of the Museum of the Bible, hailed the mosaic as “… ‘the greatest discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls,' ”while his colleagues noted it was “the most important archaeological discovery for understanding the early Christian church.”
Информация по комментариям в разработке