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He is risen!

  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. — 1 Peter 1:3-5...

Who is the New Jerusalem?

...veness of sins…in our habitation God dwells in us….This is the spiritual temple built for the Lord.”   Examining the rest of the description of the New Jerusalem, the link between the symbolism of the body of believers as a temple and holy structure from the Epistles becomes clearer, as we can see from Ephesians. Eph 2:19-22So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you a...

Jesus, Mithras and Ancient Roman Cults: Separating Fact from Fiction

...Welcome to the next instalment of my series looking at the ancient mythological gods and how they compare to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Mithras is yet another popular ancient god that people like to compare with Jesus and make wild claims about, proposing that they are the same deities with different names. But is this even remotely true? This article has ended up being a bit longer than anticipated as it’s one of the few ancient religions that was contemporary to the birth of Christianity which was seen as somewhat of a rival belief system, so there’s a lot of interesting things to cover! The Origins Mithras has his roots in ancient Persi...

Great Lent: The Season of Fasting

...a little, since I like to try and observe Lent, and it turns out that much of the accusations against Easter and Lent are nonsense and misinformation. A 40 day fast prior to Easter has been a long established practice within the Church dating back to within the first century. This is well established from ancient letters we still have available, such as from Irenaeus: For some consider themselves bound to fast one day, others two days, others still more. In fact, others fast forty days ... And this variety among observers [of the fasts] did not have its origin in our time, but long before in that of our predecessors. –Irenaeus (c.180) See here he notes...

Melchizedek to Jesus: The Divine Thread of Bread and Wine

...The blessing of bread and wine by Melchizedek connects us with the divine thread that will flow through all time and history: the then-future Passover and, ultimately, with Jesus’ institution of the Eucharist. This connection underscores a sacred continuity that we, as Christians, continue to partake in today until Jesus returns. Melchizedek: Priest and King Melchizedek appears in Genesis 14:18–20, where he is described as the king of Salem and a priest of the Most High God. His encounter with Abram (Abraham) is brief but significant. He brings out bread and wine and blesses Abraham. He then responds by giving Melchizedek a tenth of everything. Both of...

Lent: Day 4 - Polycarp to the Philippians

...fell into sin. Polycarp also included some letters from Ignatius with this one, which were highly commended to be read and passed on amongst the churches. Overall, this letter feels very familiar and is just as encouraging as the Pauline letters we read in the New Testament, well worth at least one read through in full....