{"id":13574,"date":"2025-08-19T12:44:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T16:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=13574"},"modified":"2025-08-19T12:44:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T16:44:31","slug":"archaeologists-uncover-coin-minted-just-decades-after-the-days-of-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2025\/08\/archaeologists-uncover-coin-minted-just-decades-after-the-days-of-christ.html","title":{"rendered":"Archaeologists Uncover Coin Minted Just Decades After the Days of Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Asaf Peri \/ City of David<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Archaeologists announced the discovery of an ancient coin minted in the decades following Christ\u2019s resurrection. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced that a \u201cRedemption of Zion\u201d coin was found near the Temple Mount. The coin would have been minted around the fourth year of what is known as the Jewish Great Revolt. The coin features\u00a0a goblet and the inscription \u201cFor the Redemption of Zion\u201d on one side. On the other side is a lulav and two etrogim (palm fronds and citrons used ceremonially on the festival of Sukkot) and the words \u201cYear Four.\u201d This means the coin was made in the final days of the Jewish rebellion against Roman rule, which would eventually lead to the destruction of the Temple, as foretold by Jesus in Mark 13.<\/p>\n

Yanniv David Levy, a researcher and curator in the IAA Coin Department, said the coin\u2019s design hints that the rebels knew their time was nearly up. \u201cWhat\u2019s unique about the coins minted in that final year is the shift in language. In earlier years, the inscription read \u2018For the Freedom of Zion,\u2019\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cThis change suggests a shift in the atmosphere in Jerusalem. Although the Romans had not yet taken the city, it\u2019s likely that people already sensed the end was near.\u201d Levy suggested the change in tone might indicate that the Jewish rebels were looking for help from above. \u201cFreedom is something people can strive for through their own human actions. But a plea for redemption suggests they were no longer relying on themselves \u2014 it was a cry for divine intervention,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The coins were designed to help rebels operate their own parallel economy apart from Rome. Levy noted the coins are especially rare. \u201cOnly some 400 of these coins have been found across Israel, which for bronze coins is quite a small number. Most of the coins were found in Jerusalem, but some have also been unearthed in Masada, which testify to another part of the story, that of the refugees who fled the city after it was destroyed,\u201d he said. The coins weren\u2019t just for economic means, however. \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t think of coins just as money, but as a form of mass communication \u2014 like a newspaper or a social media feed,\u201d he said. \u201cTo sustain a rebellion, the first step is to convey your message, both to your own people and to your enemy. These coins declared the cause of the Revolt and projected an image of strength.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Archaeologists announced the discovery of an ancient coin minted in the decades following Christ\u2019s resurrection. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced that a \u201cRedemption of Zion\u201d coin was found near the Temple Mount. The coin would have been minted around the fourth year of what is known as the Jewish Great Revolt. The coin features\u00a0a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":13577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nArchaeologists Uncover Coin Minted Just Decades After the Days of Christ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Archaeologists uncovered a rare \u201cRedemption of Zion\u201d coin near the Temple Mount, minted after Christ\u2019s resurrection during the Jewish Revolt.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2025\/08\/archaeologists-uncover-coin-minted-just-decades-after-the-days-of-christ.html\" \/>\n<meta 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