From Persecution to Empire
The third century was a tumultuous time for the Roman Empire. 30 emperors reigned during this century, but few died peacefully. Most were victims of bloody coups which triggered further…
New Wine & New Wineskins
The 27 books which were eventually included in the New Testament were all produced by the end of the 1st century. The gospel of Mark (which drew heavily upon the…
The Things Fulfilled Among Us
"Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the…
The New Exodus
Holy week is already upon us since Easter comes relatively early this year. The method used to calculate Easter Sunday is quite confusing: it's the Sunday following the first full…
The Christ, the Son of God
In 1990, construction workers accidentally discovered an ancient tomb 2 miles southwest of the temple mount in Jerusalem. Dating to the first century, the tomb contained an ornate ossuary containing…
Suffering, Sacrifice and Salvation
Yogi Berra, baseball Hall of Famer and master of malaprop, once quipped, "the future ain't what it used to be." Over the last several weeks, we've examined some of the…
The Trials of the Tribulation
Over the last few weeks, we've been addressing the issue of the rapture. Like King Belshazzar from the book of Daniel, the rapture has been weighed on the scales and…
Rapture Versus Redemption
The last two blogs have explored the fascinating topic of the rapture. There are basically two passages of scripture which have been used to support the rapture: I Thessalonians 4:16-17…
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords
Christmas is nearly here! I'd like to wrap up the season by completing our analysis of the Hallelujah chorus. Handel's Messiah (which contains the Hallelujah chorus) is performed all over…
Hallelujah!
The Hallelujah chorus, often sung at Christmastime, is one of the most recognizable pieces in history. George Handel's stunning music is accompanied by text drawn from the King James Version…