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Palm Sunday and the End Times

It’s not often we read the text of the triumphant entry into Jerusalem as an eschatological text thinking about the return of Christ. Especially as at this point the in the Gospel narratives, Jesus is on earth in his first coming, and still a week away from his crucifixion! While the texts usually read across the world on Palm Sunday may be familiar to us (Luke 19:28–40), we might miss the connection with the preceding parables if we don’t read the whole of Luke 19 together. I won’t quote everything here, as you can read the whole text for yourself, but the pertinent verses come from the Parable of the Ten Minas in verses 11–27: Luke 19:11, 27As the...

7 Ways Jesus Reverses the Curse From Eden

Everything about the Kingdom of God is a reversal of worldly powers (servant leadership, first shall be last, etc.). God’s ways are opposed to the World’s ways. Likewise, everything about the Gospel is a reversal of what went wrong in the beginning of creation and nowhere is this highlighted more than during the Passion, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. So here are seven ways in which Jesus reverses all the mistakes and curses from creation. 1. The disobedience in the Garden of Eden is now rectified by the obedience of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Genesis 3:11Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? Luke 22:42...

Jesus Like You've Never Seen Before - Discoveries from Early Christian Art

I recently made a video on TikTok about what Jesus looks like in religious art and icons across various cultures, showing that people see Jesus as relatable to them and their people groups, and thus often depict Jesus looking the same as their own race. There was a comment made claiming that the Christ Pantocrator icon is exactly what Jesus looked like, and thus all others are wrong. If you’re wondering about the icon name, Pantocrator (Greek: Παντοκράτωρ) literally means “ruler of all”, but usually gets translated as “Almighty” or “all-powerful”. The oldest known icon of Christ Pantocrator,6th-century encaustic icon fromSaint Catheri...

Debunking the Myth: The Council of Nicaea and the Formation of the Biblical Canon

A myth that never seems to fade away: the idea that the Council of Nicaea, convened in 325 AD under the authority of Roman Emperor Constantine, played a pivotal role in establishing the Biblical canon. This notion suggests a conspiracy and power play orchestrated by a select group of elite bishops; a narrative popularised by works like Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code. However, a closer examination reveals a lack of historical basis for this claim. The Council of Nicaea and the Canon Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that the Council of Nicaea discussed or established the Canon of Scripture, leading to the creation of the Bible. Early Christian cano...

Lent: Day 8 - Ignatius to the Romans

Day Eight: St. Ignatius of Antioch: Letter to the Romans (full text) Who: Ignatius converted at a young age and later became Bishop of Antioch. A friend of Polycarp and fellow disciple of John, there is a long standing tradition that Ignatius was the child that Jesus held in his arms and blessed in Mark 10:13-16 What: A challenging letter in which Ignatius pours himself out to the Roman church about his impending martyrdom. Why: Ignatius wrote a series of letters to the churches in Asia Minor whilst en route to Rome to face martyrdom by wild beasts in the Colosseum around 108 AD. When: Around 107-108 AD On reading the introduction to this letter my first th...

Did St. Nicholas Really Slap Arius?

It’s nearly Christmas time again, and like clockwork, the internet memes come out all over social media about Saint Nicholas giving the heretic Arius a slap across the face at the Council of Nicaea! As it’s almost the end of November and coming up soon is the feast day of St. Nicholas on December 6th, the original inspiration behind Santa Claus, I thought I’d address this long-standing myth about Nicholas of Myra (present-day Demre, Turkey), the fourth century bishop. St. Nicholas is often humorously portrayed in social media memes which playfully recount the infamous incident during the Council of Nicaea when the good bishop, provoked by Arius’s blasp...