Dozens of Metal Plates Found in Jordan

[tsc]

Ancient Sealed Metal Plates with Perhaps Secret Temple Texts discovered in Middle East?

David Larsen at HeavenlyAscents.com has pointed out an interesting recent discovery. A collection of dozens of books made from metal plates have been found in Jordan that initial tests show date from the first century AD.

Now this certainly sounds exciting, particularly to the Latter-day Saints. As we know, Joseph Smith said that he received and translated ancient sealed gold plates, in what became The Book of Mormon.

This find is interesting for a number of reasons:

* The books are written on metal plates (lead and copper)
* They are bound by rings on one side (also known as codices)
* Many of the books are “sealed” on all sides
* They appear to be from the first century AD, and may be the earliest Christian documents ever found
* Scholars have noted that, if authentic, this could be bigger than the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls
* They appear to be written in an archaic Hebrew script
* Some appears to be written in code
* The sealed nature, and code appearance of the text, suggests that these may contain “secret teachings,” perhaps even “Temple based documentation”
* A number of recognizable symbols appear, including the menorah (which can be seen in the photos above), branches, fruits, trees, and of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), associated with the enthronement rituals of ancient Davidic kings, and with the coming of the Messiah

Dr. Margaret Barker commented on the discovery:

“The Book of Revelation tells of a sealed book that was opened only by the Messiah. Other texts from the period tell of sealed books of wisdom and of a secret tradition passed on by Jesus to his closest disciples. That is the context for this discovery. So if they are forgeries, what are they forgeries of?"

Extensive investigation must still be done to verify the authenticity of these plates and their meaning. If they are genuine, this could be a huge discovery. (See an update of this discovery from the BBC News).

http://www.templestudy.com/2011/03/22/a ... ddle-east/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[larsenb]

Ancient Sealed Metal Plates with Perhaps Secret Temple Texts discovered in Middle East?

David Larsen at HeavenlyAscents.com has pointed out an interesting recent discovery. A collection of dozens of books made from metal plates have been found in Jordan that initial tests show date from the first century AD.

Now this certainly sounds exciting, particularly to the Latter-day Saints. As we know, Joseph Smith said that he received and translated ancient sealed gold plates, in what became The Book of Mormon.

This find is interesting for a number of reasons:

* The books are written on metal plates (lead and copper)
* They are bound by rings on one side (also known as codices)
* Many of the books are “sealed” on all sides
* They appear to be from the first century AD, and may be the earliest Christian documents ever found
* Scholars have noted that, if authentic, this could be bigger than the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls
* They appear to be written in an archaic Hebrew script
* Some appears to be written in code
* The sealed nature, and code appearance of the text, suggests that these may contain “secret teachings,” perhaps even “Temple based documentation”
* A number of recognizable symbols appear, including the menorah (which can be seen in the photos above), branches, fruits, trees, and of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), associated with the enthronement rituals of ancient Davidic kings, and with the coming of the Messiah

Dr. Margaret Barker commented on the discovery:

“The Book of Revelation tells of a sealed book that was opened only by the Messiah. Other texts from the period tell of sealed books of wisdom and of a secret tradition passed on by Jesus to his closest disciples. That is the context for this discovery. So if they are forgeries, what are they forgeries of?"

Extensive investigation must still be done to verify the authenticity of these plates and their meaning. If they are genuine, this could be a huge discovery. (See an update of this discovery from the BBC News).

http://www.templestudy.com/2011/03/22/a ... ddle-east/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fascinating! Thanks for posting. I'd lost track of heavenlyascents.com . I can't wait to see if they will be able to translate from these books.

[bobhenstra]

The Lord's preping us for the release of the great Nephite library, and the sealed two thirds of the Book of Mormon!

Bob

[kathyn]

That is an amazing find. Now if only the Jordanian gov't doesn't hide or destroy the plates.

[Songbird]

Excuse the pun: Keep us posted..... =))

[susanexpress]

A number of recognizable symbols appear, including the menorah (which can be seen in the photos above), branches, fruits, trees, and of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), associated with the enthronement rituals of ancient Davidic kings, and with the coming of the Messiah

[Rand]

How cool. Keep sharing Susan, and welcome.

[notjamesbond003.5]

Upon hearing of this find I (cave in Jordan) I was very excited, but we need to proceed cautiously-I posted an article on my FB page and everything.

The way they were found is one item-there are conflicting reports how they were found.

I read an article from a BYU professor who works at the BYU Jerusalem Center and he's says were along way from authenticating these plates.

I'm hoping in what Bob said, but also a bit hesitant after reading more about this topic.

This *could be a modern day Kinderhook scenario-hopefully it isn't, let's wait and see.

njb

[tsc]

Perhaps just a fraud after all:

Metal Plates in Dire Straits
By David Larsen | Published: April 1, 2011
From the latest updates I’ve seen, things aren’t looking good for our Jordanian lead plates. As more scholars gain access to photos of the plates and are beginning to be able to evaluate the inscriptions and images, there are some who are quite certain that they are forgeries. I think it will still be some time before we can know that conclusively, but that is the growing suspicion.

Bryce Haymond has put together a great summary of some of the most recent findings and opinions, organized into evidence supporting their authenticity vs. evidence of forgery. There seems to be more evidence for them being forgeries. Please see his post at TempleStudy.com here: http://www.templestudy.com/2011/03/31/j ... #more-2396" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Daniel McClellin has the content of an email that was sent by Peter Thonemann at Oxford to David Elkington (the archaeologist who is leading the investigation into the plates) in which Thonemann demonstrates how the (one) bronze tablet that he was shown was apparently made rather recently by someone who did not know Greek, as there are errors in the writing that suggest to Thonemann that the writer didn’t even know the Greek alphabet. Furthermore, the writings don’t make sense as they stand and appear to have been copied from known Greek inscriptions. You can read the full email at Daniel’s site: http://danielomcclellan.wordpress.com/2 ... d-codices/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rice University Professor April DeConick gives her opinion (not positive) on the plates: http://forbiddengospels.blogspot.com/20 ... me-on.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It’s beginning to look like the plates, despite all the fun hype, may be too good to be true.