The Israel Antiquities Authority has announced that it will excavate a 2,700-year-old pool and the steps leading up to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Tim Chaffey of Answers in Genesis says the Pool of Siloam is mentioned in the gospels.
"In John chapter nine, this is where Jesus heals the blind man," Chaffey notes. "We don't know if Jesus was at that exact spot, but he tells the blind man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. So that's where the blind man went down and washed and was healed."
He says this pool is not to be confused with the Pool of Bethesda from the New Testament account of Jesus miraculously healing a paralyzed man. That is on the other side of the ancient city.
Chaffey believes the Siloam excavation will allow visitors a special experience.
"A lot of times they think, 'I'm walking where Jesus walked.' No, actually you're walking about 20 to 30 or 40 feet above where he walked," the apologist explains. "What they're excavating now, you're actually going to be able to walk where he walked, and you're going to get to picture it the way it really was at that time."
While the Bible needs no outside proof of its authority, he says archeological discoveries do support it and are an encouraging and effective way to reach the many people in culture who say the things in the Bible are just made up.
"I think what we're seeing with all of these archaeological discoveries is that God has preserved his Word for us," Chaffey offers. "We can be confident that what we have today matches what was written down and that it hasn't been distorted and twisted and changed over countless translations or copies."
Excavation work on the Pool of Siloam project is reportedly sponsored by the City of David Foundation, an organization that supports tourism, education, archaeological expeditions, and land purchases in areas of East Jerusalem that are predominantly occupied by Palestinians.
