ROSETTA STONE
Bible Study / Daily Devotional
Average reading time is about 5 and a half minutes
AN AMAZING FACT: Everyone knows the ancient Egyptians possessed great scientific and engineering knowledge. But for more than 1,500 years, the history of this great civilization had remained a baffling secret. Even though Egypt’s history was written everywhere, it remained locked up in a mysterious writing called hieroglyphics. The Egyptians had used hieroglyphics for nearly 3,500 years, but no one in the modern world could decipher the meaning of the strange pictures and symbols. The Arabs who live in Egypt today are not the same race who built the pyramids so even they had no idea how to read the odd writings.
Then in 1799, while helping to extend an old Ottoman fort near Rosetta, a small city near Alexandria, a young French officer named Pierre-Francois Bouchard found an interesting block of black basalt stone. It measured three feet nine inches long, two feet four inches wide, and eleven inches thick. What is now considered a priceless archeological treasure which dates to 196 B.C.—and is said to be the most-visited item in the British Museum—had been used as common building material! On this stone was etched a decree written in three distinct bands of language—Egyptian hieroglyphs, Egyptian demotic, and ancient Greek. Scholars quickly realized that the same message was written in these three languages.

After years of careful examination a brilliant young scholar and linguist named Jean-Francois Champollion, in 1824, was able to decipher the hieroglyphics by comparing the ancient texts on the Rosetta Stone. Understanding hieroglyphics unlocked the mysteries and history of ancient Egypt.

The Bible is often compared to a rock that unlocks the plan of salvation. For those willing to listen, it explains the deepest spiritual mysteries and deciphers the real meaning of life. It reveals the Savior of the world and brings hope to millions of people of all nations. Sadly, the Word of God, which is the most priceless treasure we have, is often ignored and unappreciated, as was the Rosetta Stone for so many years. Why not read the Bible today and see what treasures are hidden in its precious pages?
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me. Deuteronomy 5:22

THE REEF OF HEAVEN
Bible Study / Daily Devotional
Average reading time is about 5 minutes
AN AMAZING FACT: Eight degrees north of the equator in Micronesia, on the remote island of Pohnpei, can be found the haunting ruins of Nan Madol—known also as the Machu Pichu of the Pacific. On this jungle-clad island surrounded by beautiful coral reefs rests a lost city made of bizarre stone “logs.”
The ruins of this forgotten civilization are one of archaeology’s best-kept secrets and greatest mysteries. Nan Madol, which means “reef of heaven,” was abandoned centuries ago. The ruins cover nearly 150 acres in shallow tidal waters bordering the reef-protected jungle, and a labyrinth of stonewalled canals crisscrosses 92 small manmade islands.

Its major buildings are constructed of giant stone logs that are 18 feet long and several feet in diameter. These logs are made of volcanic basalt crystal and weigh up to two-and-a-half tons. They are stacked like cordwood to form walls up to 50 feet high and 18 feet thick.

The main structures resemble the ceremonial squares constructed by the Mayans and Aztecs. It would have required a large organized workforce and sophisticated culture to create this “Venice of the Pacific,” but this race of builders has vanished. The reasons for its construction, how the massive stone were transported, or why it was abandoned are all unknown. Even the natives now presently living on Pohnpei are equally mystified by Nan Madol.

In the book of Revelation, John describes a civilization that will last forever. A holy city will come down from heaven to the Earth and will be inhabited by God’s people for eternity. Immense and beautiful stones will be used in its construction. But one thing will be missing. Unlike Nan Madol, which had a temple, John says, “But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Revelation 21:22).

Will you choose to be part of this civilization?
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. Revelation 21:27