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The Coming of Jesus: Daniel's 70 Weeks

Daniel's 70 Weeks   To fully understand Jesus's first, and indeed what is commonly called his "Second Coming," we need to understand the book of Daniel. This prophetic books give many details and glimpses into the future about coming kingdoms, rulers and above all, the Messiah. I'm going to be focussing on just one part of the book, chapter nine, often referred to as "Daniel's 70 Weeks". But just what is "Daniel's 70 Weeks" you might be asking as you read this. For those unfamiliar with Old Testament prophecy, it is a prophetic vision that Daniel was given from God, and interpreted by the angel Gabriel. You can read the prophecy in fu...

Does Jesus mean Hail Zeus?

A meme doing the rounds on the internet You may not have come across the image above before, or the similar variants of it, but it pops up on social media groups every so often. The underlying argument is quite ridiculous, but there does seem to be a sub-culture with Christianity which promotes this as fact quite vigorously. Having seen this get shared at least three times on Facebook in the last month, I decided to add a new category to the blog: Apologetics.   In here will be articles for defence of the faith, though sadly this particular one needs to be against those who are already meant to be a part of the same faith! But many people seem to accept...

Jesus, Yahweh, And The Power Over The Storm

Critics of Christianity will often make the claim that Jesus never said he was God or divine in the Gospels. The problem comes when they set unrealistic demands and expectations, like wanting a chapter and verse where Jesus says, “I am God, worship me”. But this isn’t how the Bible works and definitely not how Jesus went about his ministry. Throughout the Gospels, there are clear connections that reveal the true nature of Jesus in ways that would have been obvious to the Jewish people and leaders of his day who were very familiar with the Torah and other Scriptures we now call the Old Testament. One of the most striking examples is His demonstration of po...

Ancient “curse” amulet drastically changes perspective on Biblical dating

On Thursday at ancient Shiloh, Dr. Scott Stripling, director of excavations for the Associates for Biblical Research (ABR), presented new findings which may well be one of the most significant discoveries in biblical archaeology in recent times! More than thirty years ago, Prof. Adam Zertal discovered a small lead amulet, only two centimetres square, from wet-sifting material taken from an excavation on Mount Ebal. This came from a square altar dated from the 13th century BC, which had been built on top of an older and circular altar. Prof. Zertal believed this was the same altar Joshua built when he entered the land of Israel: Josh. 8:30Then Joshua built on M...

Did Jesus lead the first youth group?

The Bible can be a complex thing, with many interwoven connections not always immediately apparent, linking topics and themes together across the ages. One such intriguing relationship lies between Exodus 30:14 and Matthew 17:24–27, offering valuable perspectives on the age dynamics among Jesus’ disciples with a hidden clue in the brief encounter about paying temple tax. Exodus 30:14 — The Age of Accountability Exodus 30:14 establishes a significant criterion for temple tax payment: “Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the offering to the Lord.” This biblical guideline sets what might be considered a standard for...

Former Muslim Explains the Trinity

I saw this video doing the rounds on Facebook, and thought it was too good not to share here as well. Very few people tend to articulate the Trinitarian doctrine well enough to: a) still make sense, and b) not slip into heresy. Just reading the comments section on this video proves point b) quick enough, with many people giving their take on it (and usually espousing some form of Modalism). I won't make a big post on the Trinity now, but I may do one soon off the back of this one, as it's clEarly still something believers (and non-believers) struggle to understand, or explain without heresy! For now though, sit back and take about 5 minutes to listen to this...