The book of Jeremiah is a book filled with tragedy, beauty, and redemption. Jeremiah 29 takes place after the exile of the people to Babylon. In 597 B.C., the king Jehoiachin surrendered to the conquering Babylonian empire and the nobility were exiled to Babylon[1]. To fully understand the context of Jeremiah 29 it is helpful to look back to chapters 27 and 28. Those chapters discuss the judgment of false prophets who were spreading lies. This theme continues in chapter... Read more
When looking at a passage of scripture it is helpful to look at words within the passage for clues to meaning. This is important because, though a word may seem straightforward in English, in the original language it may have a multitude of meanings. The words that will be studied is contained within Romans which states, “whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had... Read more
In sacred scripture there are only three people that were taken up to Heaven. One was our Lord Jesus Christ, but since He did this under His own power He actually ascended. The other two are Enoch and Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a younger contemporary of Jeremiah, lived through the last days of Judah and the early days of the Exile in Babylon. He was widely opposed to the political and religious environment of His day, and wished that the Israelites... Read more
The authorship of the Gospels is a topic that is interesting. There has been much work done on the topic and modern scholarship, at least since the 19th century, has come to the conclusion that the Gospel of Mark was written first[1]. This was not always the case, and many church fathers held that Matthew was written first[2]. There are similarities within Matthew, Mark, and Luke that would eventually become known as the synoptic problem. This would eventually lead scholars... Read more
An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, 4 and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz... Read more
But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”- Matthew 1:20-21 NRSV In my opinion, Joseph is the unsung hero of the Christmas... Read more
What is Protestantism? This is a question that seems easy to answer on the surface, but becomes more complex as one looks deeper. Protestantism is ever adapting and boasts over 34,000 Christian groups with more coming into existence almost daily[1]. The radical idea that protestant was founded upon was the priesthood of believers, and the belief that people should read the Bible for themselves without the central authority of a church (though there is much more nuance than that in... Read more
The book of Daniel is very interesting in regards to its Old Testament counterparts. The Hebrew version was written in Hebrew and Aramaic and is placed among the writings. The Greek version has stories that are not included in the Hebrew version. Bel and the dragon, and the prayer of Susanna are examples of these. The Greek version has Daniel listed as one of the Major Prophets. It is also ground breaking in that it is the first Apocalyptic work... Read more
Bill Snyder, the founder of Patchwork Heart Ministry joins me for a great episode. In this episode we discuss what moved him to start Patchwork Heart, how the ministry is going, and he discusses things that ministry leaders may encounter and how to overcome them. We also discuss some great projects that the ministry is doing such as a #shroudofturin documentary that is in the works, and a Eucharistic summit that will begin in December. Check it out! About Patchwork... Read more
The second temple period of Israelite history may be misunderstood as being a small period of time. Though it is a period of time it is more accurate to state that the period is divided into four distinct sections. Those sections are the Persian period, the Greek period, the Maccabean period, and the Roman period. These periods started in 538B.C. and ended is 70 A.D. with the destruction of the second temple. Persia And The Second Temple Period The Persian... Read more
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