Ancient “Jesus is God” mosaic on loan from Israel to US
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News)—Israel has loaned an ancient mosaic to the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., until next year, which confirms that the first generations of Christians believed Jesus was God.
Discovered in 2005 by an inmate at a prison in Megiddo in northern Israel’s Jezreel Valley, the 1,800-year-old mosaic features the words ‘The god-loving Akeptous has offered the table to God Jesus Christ as a memorial’ in Greek.
The Megiddo Mosaic is 581 square feet in size and is believed to have been set in a prayer hall in 230 AD, the Mail noted. The mosaic also features images of fish, which experts believe represent a reference to the Biblical account in Luke 9:16 of Jesus feeding a crowd of 5,000 people with two fish.
In a statement opening the mosaic exhibition in Washington, DC, Museum of the Bible CEO Carlos Campo said: “We truly are among the first people to ever see this, to experience what almost 2,000 years ago was put together by a man named Brutius, the incredible craftsman who laid the flooring here.”
Alegre Savariego, curator of the exhibition, added: “The mosaic presents groundbreaking physical evidence of the practices and beliefs of early Christians, including the first archaeological instance of the phrase, ‘God Jesus Christ.’”
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