Saul’s Persecution and Conversion (8:1–9:30). A great persecution entered Jerusalem that very day, causing a dispersion of everyone except the apostles.
The Conversion of Saul to the Apostle Paul
How Can Christians Accept the Principles of Humanism Without Giving Up Their Own Integrity to God?
King David in the Psalms tells us that Psalm 31:5 Updated American Standard Version (UASV) 5 Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Jehovah, God of truth. God is faithful in his dealings with others. He does not lie, nor has any need to feel regret so as to have to change his... Continue Reading →
BATTLE FOR THE BIBLE: Assaulting Truth
This attack on absolute truth did not begin with Pontius Pilate, who flippantly asked Jesus, "What is truth!" Some ancient Greek philosophers living centuries before Pilate made relativism their entire life’s work.
JOHN 18:38: “What Is Truth?”
In the United States, there are 350,000 churches, making up hundreds of denominations. Eighty percent of these are stagnant, with nineteen percent growing only through childbirth, and less than one percent being by conversion. Moreover, there is a great divide among those Christians, who make up these churches. How can we as Christians turn this around, and find unity amongst ourselves? As Pilate said, “What is truth?”
THE BIBLE AS HISTORY: Medo-Persia, the Fourth World Power of the Bible
PERSIA pur'-sha, (parats; Persia; in Assyrian Parsu, Parsua; in Achemenian Persian Parsa, modern Fars): In the Bible (2Ch 36:20,22-23; Ezr 1:1,8; Es 1:3,14,18; 10:2; Eze 27:10; 38:5; Da 8:20; 10:1; 11:2) this name denotes properly the modern province of Fars, not the whole Persian empire. The latter was by its people called Airyaria, the present Iran (from the Sanskrit word arya, "noble"); and... Continue Reading →
Cultivating the Holy Spirit
Galatians 5:22-26 Updated American Standard Version (UASV) 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let... Continue Reading →
PAPYRUS 75 (P75): The Manuscript that Changed the Thinking of Textual Scholars
The discovery of P75 proved to be the catalyst for correcting the misconception that early copyists were predominately unskilled. As we elsewhere on our blog earlier, either literate or semi-professional copyist produced the vast majority of the early papyri, and some copied by professionals.
CODEX VATICANUS: Why a Treasure?
Codex Vaticanus (03, B) contains the Gospels, Acts, the General Epistles, the Pauline Epistles, the Epistle to the Hebrews (up to Hebrews 9:14, καθα[ριει); it lacks 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Revelation. It is written on 759 leaves of vellum and is dated to c. 300–325 C.E.
PAPYRUS 137 (P137): The Recently Published Earliest Manuscript Fragment of Mark
The Controversial PAPYRUS 137 (P137) is a fragment of the Gospel of Mark in Greek in the form of a codex, which is written on both sides: the recto (right/front) side containing Mark 1:7-9 and the verso (back) side containing Mark 1:16-18. P137 has been dated paleographically to about 175-225 C.E.
GREECE IN BIBLE HISTORY: Alexander the Great
Parentage and Early Life Alexander, of Macedon, commonly called "the Great" (born 356 BC), was the son of Philip, king of Macedon, and of Olympias, daughter of Neoptolemos, an Epeirote king. Although Alexander is not mentioned by name in the canonical Scriptures, in Dan he is designated by a transparent symbol (8:5,21). In 1 Macc... Continue Reading →
