Cave Sheds Light on John the Baptist

The cave believed to be used by John the Baptist was recently "discovered" in Israel. This finds hopes to change the way people think about John the Baptist and Baptism itself. What is interesting is the fact this cave is NOT near the River Jordan, where much of John's ministry was though to have taken place

the proximity of the cistern to John's birthplace and the Byzantine tradition, which lasted hundreds of years, linking the cistern to John the Baptist, Gibson said he believes it could be the desert or wilderness place described in the Bible where John spent much of his youth.

John the Baptist -- a contemporary of Jesus who heralded his coming -- preached repentance and baptized people for the "remission of sins," the Bible records.

Although all four Gospels indicate that John baptized in the Jordan River -- nowhere near Kibbutz Tzuba -- Gibson said that he believes John had developed his ideas and practice of baptizing earlier, perhaps even in this cave.

"The story of John down in the Jordan River has been highlighted in the Gospels for the obvious reason that that's the place Jesus was baptized by John, but this actually happened right at the end of his life," Gibson said.

complete story here

dsc.discovery.com...

Simon Gibson's book

John the Baptist...and the Dead Sea Scrolls

I think someone beat ya to this already

www.abovetopsecret.com...

[edit on 17-8-2004 by mpeake]

Actually...there's like 3 or 4 threads on it...

Ooops. I got so excited, I forgot to search, my bad.
Thanks for supplying the link. I;ll post my extra links htere.