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Keeping Christ in Xmas

...reflects linguistic traditions rather than any modern attempt to secularise Christmas or “take Christ out of Christmas”, as people like to claim with the whole “war on Christmas” stuff you see and hear about around this time of year. Historical Usage The Chi Rho page in the Book of Kells While distinct from “Xmas”, the Chi Rho symbol holds significance in Christian iconography. The symbol is often found in early Christian manuscripts, with one notable example being the “illuminated” (meaning highly decorated) Chi Rho page in the Book of Kells, a 9th-century Irish manuscript of the Gospels. Early Christian catacombs, inscriptions, and art...

The Coming of Jesus: The Olivet Discourse – Part 2

...style and linguistic phrases used that were typical of Jewish thought and understanding. This is important to remember when reading the parenthesis in verse 15 which simply states “let the reader understand” as first century Jews would have been very familiar with Daniel’s prophecy more than Gentiles or Jewish converts, for example. This is where the parallel accounts of this passage in the other Gospel account can help us, as we should always endeavour to let Scripture interpret Scripture where possible, rather than jumping to conclusions or assuming things. So we’ll turn to Luke’s Gospel, which is the account typically understood to have been writte...

Does Jesus mean Hail Zeus?

...s 17 page linguistic Semitic essay by Avram Yehoshua, YAHSHUA, JESUS OR YESHUA? which goes into far more depth than I can cover here. Additionally, see the end of this article for all the various references on each point.   Hopefully this will help clear out the misinformation which gets thrown around the internet on social media, and be a good resource if you ever find yourself in a debate about this Jesus/Zeus nonsense.     Further Reading Greek “Ge”: http://biblehub.com/greek/1093.htm Latin “Sus”: http://latinlexicon.org/definition.php?p1=1015706 Pegasus: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus#Etymology http://www.dictionary.co...

Did the Qumran community predict the coming of Jesus?

...st direct linguistic parallel to a New Testament text that we have yet discovered. The line reads: For he will heal the wounded, resurrect the dead,and proclaim glad tiding to the poor. In both Matthew and Luke we read of a deputation that John the Baptist sends to Jesus while John is imprisoned. John’s disciples ask Jesus, “Are you the coming one, or do we look for another?” The story is thus tightly framed around the question of messianic identity: what will the signs of the true Messiah be? Jesus answers: Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the...