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Lent: Day 15 - Justin Martyr: First Apology, Chaps. 36-47

...gn” and quotes 1 Chron. 16: 23-27 and merges that with Ps. 96 to make up one long prophetic statement. There’s an interesting bit here where Justin quotes Ps 96:10 as saying: “Let them rejoice among the nations. The Lord hath reigned from the tree.” Which he uses as his proof for Jesus reigning after his death. But if you look this up in a Bible now, it will say: Say among the nations, “The Lord is king!The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.He will judge the peoples with equity.” Looking a little more into this, it appears that this quote in First Apology is the only ancient Greek text to have this wording, and then a...

Lent: Day 4 - Polycarp to the Philippians

...Testament quotes, including one from Tobit! This in itself gives a small insight to what books were being considered as authoritative Scripture within the Church communities during this early period. If you're curious, you can read a version of this epistle with all the New Testament quotes highlighted for easy reference here: newadvent.org. Polycarp does mention the “blessed and glorified Paul” in his letter, and gives him his dues so as not to appear to be stepping on toes, with a short summary of Paul's original letter to this church and it's purpose: He (Paul), when among you, accurately and steadfastly taught the word of truth in the presence of th...

Lent: Day 16 - Justin Martyr: First Apology, Chaps. 48-59

...Jesus. He quotes Scripture at length in order to fully prove his points in order to show the Emperor, to whom he writes, and indeed any of us reading his works today, the undeniable reality that Jesus was the expected and long-awaited Messiah. I won’t quote massive amounts of these chapters, since it would be redundant, so I’ll just highlight each prophecy and give the Scriptural references which are used in Apology as proofs for Jesus's Messiahship. Finding the actual quotes is sometimes difficult because Justin has a habit of combining various verses from different chapter of the same prophet into one sentence! Christ’s Life and Death Foretold Jesus...

Lent Day 18: Cyprian: On the Unity of the Church: 1-9

...hurch, he quotes Paul in Ephesians 4:4-6, calling it the “sacrament of unity” by which we know the true Church. In speaking of the Bishops, or the “episcopate”, Cyprian says they above all need to uphold this unity of faith, because they are “held by each one for the whole” so that they are undivided as the Church is undivided and one. I like the analogy Cyprian uses to describe the unity and “oneness” of the Church, in comparing it to things in nature: As there are many rays of the sun, but one light; and many branches of a tree, but one strength based in its tenacious root; and since from one spring flow many streams, although the multipl...

The Coming of Jesus: Revelation Fulfilled?

...eter also quotes on Pentecost as being fulfilled in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit before the Day of the Lord fully arrived in the War against Jerusalem. You’ve then got the “beast” of Revelation which seems to have dual symmetry: one of representing specific Roman Emperors, and then again as representing the Roman Empire as a whole. Revelation 17 references the beast as having “seven heads” which are the “seven mountains” on which it belongs. These are also “seven kings”, five of whom have been and gone at this point. Rome is known to have been the city built on seven hills, so this appears to be what John is alluding to in his...

The Coming Kingdom of the Son of Man

...and then quotes Dan 7:14 to prove his point and tells them what they will soon see (Matt 26:57-68). Towards the end of this chapter, Jesus uses a fig tree to emphasise the need to be watchful for the signs he already explained, and then concludes by saying "this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place" (Matt 24:34), once again giving a pretty solid time frame for when those listening should expect to see these things come to pass. But despite all of this, the Futurist will argue that when Jesus said “this generation”, he actually meant “that future generation who live to see these signs” which completely strips this of an...