Blog Search Results

Did Herod’s Massacre Of The Innocents Historically Happen?

January 6th marks the day in the liturgical calendar when the arrival of the Magi visiting baby Jesus with their gifts is celebrated. But with it comes the often distressing account of what is known as the Massacre of the Innocents. Matthew places this moment of revelation of Jesus as King alongside one of the darkest episodes in his Gospel, and it’s a stark contrast: one King is here to bring peace on earth, as the angels declared, the other king brought death and destruction. For some readers, this raises an immediate historical question. If Herod truly ordered the killing of all the male children under two in Bethlehem, why does no other ancient historian...

What are the Seraphim, and was the devil one of them?

...cations towards the Leviathan mentioned in Isaiah 27. Interestingly too, the word nachash also has instances where it gets translated as “divination”, giving the word a deeper and more mystical meaning into the nature of it. It also has a meaning connected to "copper, shining bronze" which also has heavenly connotations in the shiny radiance of the metal (see also Rev 1:15 where Jesus is described as "burnished bronze"). If the Seraphim are serpent-like fiery beings, and the devil was/is one, then it could also explain why he also gets referred to as that “serpent of old” and the “dragon”. The interesting thing about all this is the link between...

What was so good about Good Friday?

...I remember when I was growing up, this was a question I would often wonder about and ask. People would say "because Jesus died on the cross!", which was of little help to me as I would then think, why was Jesus dying a good thing?  But this is a question I'm sure many people will have asked themselves when they consider the name of their Bank Holiday, and probably a question they got an unsatisfactory answer to - if they got one at all! Really though, this holiday time should be more well-known and recognised than Christmas. While the birth of Jesus is important, it isn't actually central to the Faith, nor is it really emphasised much in the New Testament...

26 Differences Between Muhammad and Jesus

...what Paul warned about: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed!” (Gal 1:8). I’ll add more commentary at the end, so without further ado, here are 26 differences for your consideration: Muhammad said Allah hates those who don’t accept Islam. (Qur’an 3:32, 22:38, 30:45).  ? Jesus said God loves everyone, and he came to lay down his life for the world. (John 3:16; 10:11; 16:27; 1 John 3:16; 4:7–8) Muhammad said, “I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the messenger of...

Palm Sunday and the End Times

...an-Jewish war. Moreover, at the feast which is called Pentecost, the priests on entering the inner court of the temple by night, as their custom was in the discharge of their ministrations, reported that they were conscious, first of a commotion and a din, and after that of a voice as of a host, “We are departing hence.”Josephus, Jewish wars, 6.5 (circa 75 AD) We see a similar thing happening in Ezekiel when the glory of God was prophesied to leave the temple before the first temple destruction: Ezekiel 10:18Then the glory of the LORD went out from the threshold of the house and stopped above the cherubim. Then we have angelic visions above the city of J...

Where Hal Lindsey and Dispensationalism Went Wrong

...t ancient warfare, not modern nuclear weapons. The context of this prophecy by Jesus was about the coming destruction of the temple (Luke 21:6). Jesus told his listeners that it would happen when THEY saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies (Luke 21:20), in THEIR generation (Luke 21:32). This all happened when the Roman armies invaded Jerusalem in AD 67–70. Lindsey (p. 56–57) said, “It is certain that the Temple will be rebuilt. Prophecy demands it.” Problem is, not a single verse of the Bible can be mustered to support a future rebuilding of the temple. This idea is merely an invention of dispensationalists to try to justify their theory. Lindsey (p. 88, 1...