Jerusalem - A clay seal unearthed near the walls of the old city of Jerusalem imprinted with three lines of ancient Hebrew script which include the word "Bethlehem."  Eli Shukron directed the excavation on behalf of the Israeli Antiquities Authority said the seal had been apparently been placed on a tax shipment of silver or agricultural produce sent from Bethlehem to the King of Judea in nearby Jerusalem in the 8th or 7th century BC.  "This is the first time the name Bethlehem appears outside the Bible in an inscription from the First Temple period (1006 BC to 586 BC)," Shukron said in a statement, reported Reuters. 

He said the coin-sized remnant of the seal proves that Bethlehem - first mentioned in the Book of Genesis  - "was indeed a city in the Kingdom of Judah, and possibly also in earlier periods.  Bethlehem is located on the West Bank, just south of Jerusalem. 

The Bible says, "The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so they are without excuse" Romans 1:20.  In other words, we only need to look around us and see the magnificent creation of God and know that He exists; we can even understand that He exists by the things that have been created by Him, so no one has an excuse for not believing in God, or His Holy Word. 

Are you always waiting for more proof that God exists?  Will you possibly be waiting until Judgment Day, when you stand before God to give an account of your faith, or lack of it, and the deeds you committed during this brief existence while on earth?  I say brief, because we are only here for a microsecond compared to all eternity.  That will definitely be too late to make the right choice.  Why not pray and receive the Lord now, while there is time to accept Jesus, the Savior of the world, and receive eternal life, before it is too late.  If you haven't yet received the Lord as your Savior, please visit the How Can I Be Saved page of this website.  God bless you.