Extinct Judean Date Palm Grows After 1500 Years

On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. John 12:12-13

As Jesus entered Jerusalem he was met by crowds carrying the symbol of Judea: branches of the Judean Date Palm. These fronds came from a 7 mile wide date palm forest stretching from the sea of Galilee in the north to the Dead Sea in the south. The dates from these palms were acclaimed worldwide for their sweet flavor and medicinal value, and were the major crop produced in Judea.

To economically cripple Israel the Romans followed a policy of exterminating the palms which led to extinction within a few hundred years after Christ. A palm of this type hasn't been seen for 1500 years... until now.

During the Roman invasion of 70AD Jews under seige in Masada ate Judean dates before they committed suicide. Then, almost 2000 years later, archaeologists digging in Masada discovered a cache of Judean Date Palm seeds in a jar. 30 years later they removed some of those seeds from storage, and delivered them to an Israeli biologist who specializes in growing the ancient plants of Israel.

Could God’s seed design allow a 2000 year old seed to germinate? The answer is: Yes. This seed remained structurally alive for 2000 years! The plant in the picture was grown from one of those seeds, and is the first Judean Date Palm in at least 1500 years! If it is a female we should have dates and seeds in 2 to 3 years. Maybe Jesus will be greeted by these palms when He returns to Jerusalem. God is Amazing.