The Copper Scroll Project: An Ancient Secret Fuels the Battle for the Temple Mount

WOW. This is one of those books that is hard to put down. This is a true to life mystery that will keep the reader on the edge of his seat. I found myself anxiously waiting for what would come in the next chapter.At the beginning of the book, Shelley gives a “who’s who” list of the characters and the parts they played in this drama. In the first chapter, Shelley starts off describing Jim Barfield’s thirteenth trip to Israel. Thirteen was a lucky number for Jim and his team.She describes her first meeting with Jim in the second chapter and starts sprinkling her sense of humor into the book. She made me laugh and I liked her from that chapter on.Throughout the book, and at the appropriate times, Shelley gives pieces of history about the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Copper Scroll, the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount, and other necessary information as it relates to the Holy Land. She brings the people, including herself, to life with bits of personal information from time to time.I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I plan to read it again because it is that good. Congratulations on your first book, Shelley. It is a keeper.Congratulations to Jim and his team for their perseverance and for having a great writer for this book.Janet Stearman Allaire

Shelley Neese crafts a gripping tale of intrigue, investigation and faith. The author does such a great job of telling the tale of Jim Barfield and getting inside his head that it is sometimes difficult to remember that she is the author and not he.When I started reading this book, Kindle informed me that the average reading time was 6 hours. I must have done something wrong. The the story itself was thoroughly engrossing, the text was chock full of facts and the only reason I wanted to finish was in order to see how the story ended. It still took me about 20-something hours to read it. I don't see how I could've read it any faster.The book is documentary in nature and follows the tried and proven formula of that genre.. start at the end and tell the reader what he is going to learn, tell them everything you know and then summarize what has been learned. There is very little repetition of the facts other than the occasional nod to a small piece of information that the reader might have missed earlier when it was of less importance.The book follows Jim Barfield from the genesis of his theory on where the artifacts written of in the Copper Scroll of Qumran might be hidden to the final revelation of it's possible proof (pun fully intended). It is hard to write this review without spoilers, as this reviewer would prefer not to lessen the readers' own enjoyment. Suffice it to say that if you are looking for a well-told story, this book will not disappoint. If you are looking for facts about the Copper Scroll, the book is full of facts related to the actual scroll and to its history. I was very impressed that when certain historical interpretations were being disputed by the various scholars, the reader was given the opportunity to see both sides. But, if you are looking for a treasure map, this book will disappoint. While this book describes a great treasure in monetary terms, it spends more time speaking of its worth as a religious treasure pointing to the veracity and accuracy of the Bible. Barfield's interest clearly does not lie with the former. He keeps the exact locations propounded in his theory to himself and those that must know (rightly so, I think) in order that when the treasure once again sees the light of day, it will immediately go into the hands of the Israeli people, whether it be their government or religious authorities. I do think that Jim would prefer the latter. He clearly has no interest in self-enrichment.On a more personal note of opinion, the discovery and unearthing of the Temple treasures would almost certainly be viewed as unequivocal evidence of Israel’s title and deed to the land and would have enormous political ramifications, the final result of which could never be accurately predicted by man. But, I can’t help but wonder about the more personal ramifications might be for those that are truly agnostic, not being able to decide whether or not they can truly believe that which is written in the Bible? How many of them, presented with such solid and tangible evidence might come to belief?If He wills the treasures of the Copper Scroll to be found, they will be. Will Jim Barfield be the man to bring it about? My powers of prognostication have been proven to be lacking. But, I wouldn’t count him out. His tenacity and drive is obviously second to none. The fact that he wants to find the treasure for all the right reasons might well give him a leg up on others that have tried and failed. As I read the book,it became apparent that there were a fantastic number of “coincidences and chance meetings” with people that would ultimately be able to help Jim achieve his goal. I wouldn't discount the possibility that there might be more to those coincidences than meets the eye. For one, I don’t believe in coincidence and I might suspect that Jim feels the same way. You might be tempted to jump to the end to see how the story ends. I’d recommend against it. The journey is the reward… At least for the moment. Perhaps there will be a Part Two in the not-too distant future. I certainly hope so.

This is a somewhat intricately woven tale by a skilled writer. This I must grant.I also appreciate that the story was written with the intent to be balanced and to portray this as a tale of investigation.Ultimately I regretted reading the book. There were interesting aspects but the information wasn't presented sufficiently rigorously for me to be confident of the conclusions being reached, the examinations of the reasons behind some choices were at best cursory and at times breathtakingly naive. I'd find myself groaning when certain viewpoints were expressed and narratives advanced.Understand, I think that the central characters deserve great respect and I even admire most/all of those. I also believe it likely that the central conclusion by Mr. Barfield is correct. But the idea that attempting to follow the desired course of action would have the results which are apparently anticipated is actually dangerously naive.I celebrate the primary protagonist and his closest circle for their determination, their core insight regarding the Copper Scroll, etc. But in the end the story is more frustrating than beneficial and more unintentionally comedic than it should be.Another thing? The insight about the Copper Scroll is not as unique as portrayed in the book. Some years ago I watched a program on TV which had similar ideas about the location of the expected treasures. The precise locations may or may not differ (I don't care enough to try to find out) but the general idea was very much the same.There is, however one big insight about the nature of Qumran in the book which I think was a unique discovery by Mr. Barfield. I'll not tell it here because I'm trying to avoid spoilers. So even though I regret the book, if you are more intrigued by the nature of Qumran than am I, then I consider this book to be an essential read. This is why I gave a 4-star review rather than a 3-star review. If you want to have the fullest possible understanding of Qumran I consider the book to be an ESSENTIAL read.

A well written account of unfolding Deuteronomy 29:29 which I believe to be a prophecy of many mysteries for the last days