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Ancient “curse” amulet drastically changes perspective on Biblical dating

...lieve the Bible existed, making this the earliest appearance of the word YHWH in Israel and it was found at a covenant site. The implications are enormous and will reverberate for many years to come. Mount Ebal, where the amulet was found, was the mountain from which the curses were called out when the children of Israel made a covenant with God before entering the land of Israel, as seen in Deuteronomy 11:29: When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that you are entering to occupy, you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. Pieter Gert van der Veen and Dr. Stripling both agree that this fits chronologically with the...

The Coming of Jesus: Coming on the clouds

...d in some Bibles as "like a son of man" which makes Jesus's reference a little clearer when comparing the texts, though the meaning is the same.   So what's happening in Daniel's vision, and why is Jesus talking about it? First of all, Jesus isn't just making a reference to this vision of Daniel by talking about clouds. Jesus repeatedly calls himself the "Son of Man" throughout his ministry, which is a veiled reference to what Daniel saw. When the Pharisees were questioning Jesus during his arrest, they asked him bluntly if he was the Messiah (Matt 26:63-65), and how did Jesus answer? By making a reference to Daniel 7: Jesus said to him, “You have said...

What is Contemplative Prayer?

...In the quiet, still silence, I await my God.   There seems to be some misgivings about the idea of “contemplative prayer” (also referred to as Christian Meditation) and in some of the descriptions I've read, I would agree that it can seem iffy. Contemplation, or sometimes known as Lectio Divina, is in its most basic form, the idea and practice of waiting on the Lord. Often in silence or while you ponder on scripture or when you seek an answer or just to rest in his presence and have your strength renewed. There are some people who think that this means “emptying your mind” and doing something akin to occultism, and ope...

How many apostles are there in the New Testament?

...hile some Bibles translate the word as “messenger”, the Greek word apostolon is actually “apostle” (as in other places – see endnote). Two unnamed apostles – 2 Corinthians 8:23 Again, this is translating apostolon as "messenger" rather than “apostle”. This should make around 21 apostles now, including the Twelve and Paul. (22 if you count Judas as an original apostle before his betrayal). There are then potentially two more in Romans 16:7, Andronicus and Junias, who are called "prominent among the apostles". Scholars debate the meaning of the phrase here as whether that means they were "prominent apostles" or that the apostles considered them...

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...

The Early Concept of the Trinity: Tracing the Roots

...ginate? | Bible.org The Triune God: A Historical Study of the Doctrine of the Trinity: Amazon.co.uk: Fortman, Edmund J: 9781579102234: Books The Birth of the Trinity: Jesus, God, and Spirit in New Testament and Early Christian Interpretations of the Old Testament: Amazon.co.uk: Bates, Matthew W.: 9780198779247: Books The Trinity (Guides to theology) by Olson, Roger E (amazon.co.uk) Who was Clement of Rome? | GotQuestions.org Definition of the Trinity by the Early Churches (christian-history.org) Trinitarianism in the Early Church — The Gospel Coalition...