chapter 4: For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finishe

;s the same object because the stone coffin is embedded in the layer of the Theodosian basilica.” An earthquake in A.D. 433 caused the collapse of portions of the building. Subsequent renovations raised the level of the floor and the sarcophagus was buried and covered by a marble tombstone.The main altar of the modern church, named the Papal Altar, was erected atop the concrete and debris left by the 1823 fire that had buried the original sarcophagus and tombstone. The excavations revealed an inscription on the marble tombstone bearing the Latin words “Paulo Apostolo Mart,” which translates to“Apostle Paul, Martyr.” Archaeologists further opened up a window measuring 70 cm. wide and 1.00 meter deep to reach the side of the sarcophagus. An ancient hole in the cover about 10 cm. wide was discovered which, according to Filippi, was used to dip pieces of fabric inside the coffin in order to produce relics out of the pieces themselves. Earlier this year Pope Benedict announced the finds from an inspection of the contents of the sarcophagus. A tiny hole drilled
in the coffin revealed: traces of a precious linen cloth, purple in color, laminated with pure gold, and a blue colored textile with filaments of linen. It also revealed the presence of grains of red incense and traces of protein and limestone. There were also tiny fragments of bone, which, when subjected to Carbon 14 tests by experts, turned out to belong to someone who lived in the 1st or 2nd century.While these results fall short of proving conclusively that the Apostle Paul’s remains are entombed in the church, they are consistent with the traditions and leave open the opportunity for further investigations. The modern basilica is a massive construction consisting of a large central nave flanked by two side aisles divided by 80 enormous columns. It reputedly replicates the grandiose Basilica Ulpia of the Emperor Trajan, built early in the 2nd century A.D. The Roman basilica was an architectural form initially used for monumental public buildings and later adopted by Christians for sacred structures. The discoveries at the Church of St. Paul Outside the Walls coincide with the announcement of further findings related to Paul at the Catacomb of St. Thecla in Rome. Workers conducting cleaning activities there discovered a 4th century fresco believed to depict St. Paul. The image, the oldest of the apostle known to exist, shows a man with a pointed black beard on a red background, inside a bright yellow halo with a high, furrowed forehead. According to officials of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, lasers were used to remove layers of clay and limestone that covered the painting. The early Christian practice of burying the dead in catacombs became common in the late 2nd century, when they became the official cemetery of the newly established church in Rome. They were carved into the soft tufa rock under the city and were often decorated with devotional images in a style similar to those found at Pompeii. Bodies were wrapped in plain white sheets and placed in rectangular niches cut into the tunnel walls, and then closed with marble or terracotta slabs.The catacombs today are a main attraction in Rome along the famed Via Appia Antica south of the city. Only 20 km. of the estimated 300 km. of tunnels have yet been explored, which themselves contain the sepulchers of some 500,000 individuals in addition to the tombs of seven popes who were martyred in the 3rd century. The Catacombs of San Sebastian were reputedly where the remains of St. Peter and St. Paul were hidden during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian (A.D. 69-79).



A Universal Flood: 3000 B.C.
Tags: mabbul, kataklusmos, genesis 6-9, sumerian king list, gilgamesh, flood--> This article was first published on Dr. Livingston's website, www.ancientdays.net. Imagine:A flatter Earth... 40 days of steady, pouring rain...Hundreds of volcanoes exploding all at once...Thousands of new, large springs gushing out huge amounts of water...Definitions and Language UseThis was the Flood of Noah's day. It was a worldwide cataclysmic Flood sent by God to destroy all living things except for eight people who survived on the Ark. In addition to the Bible, many very early historical records also document this Flood.Two problems about which there are great differences are: the date of the Flood, and whether it was local or universal. Critics of the flood narrative consider it either a myth, or a local flood story. There are apparent conflicts between the Bible and some areas of science relative to the date of the Great Flood. Both biblical and extrabiblical literature, being eyewitness accounts, should control the datingRosetta Stone software