'Spectacular' Jesus Ring Discovered in Ancient Ship Wreck Off of Israel

A ring from the era when Rome ruled the Holy Land has been found, and it bears an early Christian symbol of the Good Shepherd. The ring was found in an excavation of a shipwreck off the coast of the ancient port of…

IJR SyndicatedDec 23, 20213 min read

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The wreckage was “revealed in a submarine survey of the Ancient Authority’s marine Archaeology in recent months,” the IAA stated on its Facebook page.

“The findings tell the story of two ships that crashed on their passengers, during different periods, probably when they tried to drive or find shelter from storms,” the authority said in their post.

“This image, of the ‘Good Shepherd,’ is known in ancient Christian art as a symbol of salvation; it is a parable of Jesus as the merciful shepherd of mankind, or as the one who has shown the protection of man or the testimony of his believers,” the IAA explained.

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As noted by CBN: The theme of the Good Shepherd is throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament, Isaiah 40:11 says, “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart.”

Jesus called himself a shepherd. The News Testament says in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Helena Sokolov, a curator at the IAA’s coin department who studied the Good Shepherd ring, said finding the early Christian symbol on a ring was very rare.

“This was a period when Christianity was just in its beginning, but definitely growing and developing, especially in mixed cities like Caesarea,” she said, according to CBS.

Because the overall ring size is small. Sokolov thinks it could have belonged to a woman.

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In the third century, Caesarea was a prominent political center, as well as a trading hub in which a Roman citizen could have well worn a ring with a Christian image upon it.

Sokolov noted that although at the time Christianity was an “underground” Faith, the era and place in which the ring was found were such that a wealthy Roman would be able to wear a ring without fear.

In the New Testament Book of Acts, Caesarea is the location in which Peter baptized the Roman centurion Cornelius.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.