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The Book of Enoch has exploded online, and the claims run in both directions: some say it unlocks the Bible's biggest mysteries, others say it can't be trusted at all. Dr. Joel Muddamalle this time talks about First Enoch specifically. Why has it captured so much attention, what kind of literature is it, and how much interpretive weight should it carry? READ: The Unseen Battle, by Joel Muddamalle: (https://amzn.to/4xyQnM9) CHECK OUT: Logos Bible 60 Day Free Trial (https://logos.com/mcdowell) CHECK OUT: Consider Supporting the Ministry! (https://seanmcdowell.org/give) *Get a MASTERS IN APOLOGETICS or SCIENCE AND RELIGION at BIOLA (https://bit.ly/3LdNqKf) *USE Discount Code [smdcertdisc] for 25% off the BIOLA APOLOGETICS CERTIFICATE program (https://bit.ly/3AzfPFM) *See our fully online UNDERGRAD DEGREE in Bible, Theology, and Apologetics: (https://bit.ly/448STKK) FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter: https://x.com/Sean_McDowell TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sean_mcdowell?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmcdowell/ Website: https://seanmcdowell.org Timestamps 0:00 — Why has the Book of Enoch exploded online? 5:02 — What is First Enoch, and what kind of literature is it? 9:14 — When was it written, and by whom? 11:34 — What "pseudepigraphical" actually means 14:03 — Who was the biblical Enoch? 16:24 — How the Qumran community treated it 22:14 — A viewer challenges the method 24:48 — What Joel thinks First Enoch is actually doing 28:28 — The main readings of Genesis 6 31:07 — Why he holds the supernatural view 33:12 — Spiritual beings who eat, walk, and are seen 38:04 — What Jude and 2 Peter are doing 40:11 — The early church fathers on Enoch 42:19 — Not canonical — but not worthless 54:34 — Why quoting something isn't endorsing it 1:02:02 — Should Christians read it? Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
→ Watch on YouTube → Detailed Show Notes (00:00) Isaiah lived in the 8th century, a time that began in relative peace but later led to great destruction under the conquest of the Assyrian empire, which destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel. Isaiah was an advisor to several kings and lived about 100 years before Nephi. Micah, Amos, and Hosea are contemporaries of Isaiah.(10:52) Jesus quoted Isaiah and encouraged the Nephites to study his words. Isaiah was the most quoted prophet among the New Testament authors, and his works were important to the Qumran community.(13:02) Ways to enhance your study of Isaiah.(20:28) A brief overview of the entire book of Isaiah.(23:13) A brief overview of chapters 1-12.(25:31) The Israelites are described as apostate and rebellious. The Lord asks that they “reason together,” saying that “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”(31:53) Isaiah uses metals as a metaphor for people. When he describes the silver as dross, this could carry different meanings. Isaiah stresses that “a remnant will return.” Isaiah 1 reflects the destruction enacted by the Assyrians.(40:07) Isaiah sees the future latter-day temple in the tops of the mountains. The temple established in Jerusalem represents the millennial hope of peace. He prophesies that the idols people worship will be cast into caves, to the moles and the bats.(45:39) The daughters of Zion are cursed and tormented for their worldliness. Isaiah discusses three missing objects: the staff, clothing, and the bread. These items can be associated with the temple in Isaiah's day.(54:33) The parable of the vineyard portrays several ways the Lord will bless us when we follow him.(1:09:15) Isaiah sees the Lord and is called as a prophet.(1:15:13) Isaiah is commanded to “Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.”(1:21:32) Political intrigue and foreign policy issues facilitate Isaiah's prophecy of three special children.(1:33:40) The Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. The King of Assyria is going to be destroyed, just as he destroyed other nations.(1:36:49) The procession of Assyria's forces approaching Jerusalem is illustrated. The remnant of Jacob will return in the last days.(1:39:50) Isaiah sees a tree cut down, leaving only a stump. Though this tree seems dead, Isaiah sees that it will come back to life and a new tree will grow out of the stump. The prophet Joseph Smith has a prominent role in the rebuilding of the tree.(1:42:54) Isaiah sees that peace and order will be restored in the millennial day and that broken things will be healed. → For more of Bryce Dunford’s podcast classes, click here. → Enroll in Institute → YouTube → Apple Podcasts → Spotify → Amazon Music → Facebook The post Ep 389 | Isaiah 1-12, Come Follow Me 2026 (Sept 14-20) appeared first on Talking Scripture.
Somebody at the sale barn tells you the Bible has been rewritten so many times you can't trust a word of it. Pete said always be ready to explain it, so here is what you say back. Kevin Weatherby opens No Apologies, a five week series on how to defend your faith, built on 1 Peter 3:15-16. Week one takes the three things people throw at the Book itself. In 1947 they found the Dead Sea Scrolls in a cave near Qumran, and the copy of Isaiah in there was a thousand years older than the oldest one we had, and it said the same thing. The top skeptic scholar in the country admits in writing that most of the differences between the copies do not change a thing that matters. A document called the Muratorian Fragment already listed 22 of the 27 New Testament books as scripture in AD 180, a hundred and forty five years before anybody rode to Nicaea. And four witnesses who tell it a little different from each other are not lying, because nobody lies to make himself look bad. In this message: "The Bible has been rewritten and changed over time" "The Council of Nicaea decided what was in the Bible" "The Bible is full of contradictions" Scripture: 1 Peter 3:15-16, 1 Timothy 5:18, 2 Peter 3:15-16 Grab this week's free 5-day Bible study at savethecowboy.org. Watch the full message: vimeo.com/1222493345 Read the Bible in plain cowboy talk, the Simplified Cowboy Version: simplifiedcowboyversion.com Ride with the Long X Ranch Cowboys: lxranch.org Give to the ministry: savethecowboy.org A sick pen for sinners, not a show ring for saints.
On the Road to Damascus Acts 9:1-31 by William Klock When I was a sophomore in University I took the first of several art history courses, where I discovered—I should say it was more like I was confronted by—Caravaggio's famous painting of the conversion of St. Paul: Paul fallen from his horse, hands covering his face, his servants scrambling to figure out what's going on and to help him, everything in darkness—except Paul, bathed in heavenly light. I'd read Act 9 who knows how many times before then. But seeing Caravaggio's interpretation of that scene suddenly piqued my curiosity—made me wonder what really happened to Paul that day, what did he actually see, and why did it make such a powerful change in him. Paul, that day, became for me—I suppose after Jesus—the most intriguing character in the Bible and I wanted to figure him out, to understand him—I think, because I wanted a faith of my own like Paul's, because I wanted to know the same kind of transformation, the same kind of passion, that Paul had after meeting the risen Messiah. And one of the things I came to realise is that Paul's passion, his zeal didn't start when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Actually, let's call him “Saul” for now, because that's where he's at in Acts 9. Saul's zeal was already there: for the God of Israel, for righteousness and justice, for the world to be set to rights. He truly hoped in the God of Israel, whom he knew to be good, and just, and faithful to the promises he'd made to his people. That was what it meant to be a Pharisee. Paul knew that his people had sinned, they had been unfaithful, they had engaged in idolatry. They had ceased to be a holy people, so the Lord departed from them. His presence—the cloud of glory—departed from the temple and then the people were conquered and exiled to Babylon. “You want to worship pagan gods,” the Lord was basically saying, “Fine, you can spend a few decades in Babylon living with the pagans and their gods and see how it works out for you.” And the people of Judah learned the lesson. They set aside their idols, they embraced the torah, and they longed for an end to their exile—they longed for the return of God's presence. And they became a people of hopeful longing. It's funny how experiencing God's discipline so often gives us more hope, because it just underscores all the more his faithfulness—to do what he said, even if it's making good on his promise of judgement. They knew his promises of restoration if they repented were just as true. And in the meantime, with no temple and with no visible manifestation of the presence of God, they did the best they could. They devoted themselves—the Pharisees more than others—but they devoted themselves to torah, to holiness. If they couldn't go to the temple, they would become like the temple themselves—a holy people waiting for God to return to them. And when they returned to Judaea and rebuilt the temple and the Lord still did not return, the empty temple—all the more—became the symbol for their longing. And missing his presence, they would meditate on the very idea of the Lord's presence. If they dared—and at least the later rabbis urged caution, based on the Lord's warning to Moses that “no one may see my face and live”—but if they dared, some would meditate on Ezekiel's weird and mysterious vision of the Lord in his heavenly chariot—not looking for some personal mystical experience, but out of a hope and a longing for the day when the Lord would return, when heaven earth, so long sundered by our sin, would be brought back together, for the day when the Lord's people would once again live in his glorious presence. It was a longing borne of the absence of the temple and of God's presence there. It was this passionate longing for the Lord's return that fuelled the zeal of men like Saul of Tarsus. This zealous young Pharisee, steeped in Israel's scriptures and Israel's story, with a passion for the Lord and a longing to see his return. And in his mind, if anything was going to hinder the Lord's return to his people, it was the new Jesus movement, these people who blasphemously believed in a crucified Messiah. It had to be stamped out. And so Saul supervised the stoning of Stephen. And now, as we get into Acts 9 [page 1090 in the pew Bibles) we find that he's one of the chief orchestrators of the persecution of the early church. Luke writes: “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out threats and murder on the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and requested from him letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that he could find people who belonged to the Way, men and women alike, tie them up, and bring them back to Jerusalem.” And along the way, I think that Paul was probably meditating. Luke doesn't fill in these kinds of details, but between his telling of the story here and Paul's telling it later in his epistles, there are parallels with the accounts we have of Jews engaging in this practise of meditating on Ezekiel's vision. Paul was a man of faith, a man of hope, a man who knew that the Lord is faithful to his promises. And so he knew the Lord would return to his people and I think Paul lived out that hope in the present by just this sort of meditation on scripture. Up and down with the rhythmic movement of what was probably a donkey—there are some stunning parallels here with Balaam even if this donkey never says a word—the hot sun beating down on him. Breathe in. Breathe out. Recall Ezekiel. Eyes closed, Paul pictures as best he could the four bizarre living creates, all wings and eyes, and the chariot wheels, somehow wheels within wheel all going different directions. He concentrated and mentally looked upward from the wheels to the crystal chariot itself, and then to the throne where Ezekial wrote that he had seen a figure not unlike a human, but gleaming with holy fire. I expect Paul had meditated like this before. Maybe it had never come to much. Just try it yourself. Try to visualise what Ezekiel describes. Good luck making sense of it. Or maybe Paul had done this many times before and had really been met by the Lord, the God of Israel through this kind of meditation. But this time was different. Luke goes on: “While he was on the journey, and was getting near to Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. He fell on the ground and heard a voice speaking to him. “Saul, Saul!” said the voice. “Why are you persecuting me?” “Who are you, Lord?” he asked. “I am Jesus,” he said, “and you are persecuting me. But get up and go into the city, and it will be told you what you have to do.” Saul, in his mind's eye looks up: angels, wheels, chariot, throne—and then the figure on the throne—to his shock—is Jesus, the crucified Messiah, now risen from the dead and here. And Paul tries to tear himself away. No! He tries to open his eyes to escape the vision and realises that his eyes are already open. This isn't a vision. It's not in his head. It's real. It's really Jesus. And the sight is too much to bear—in so many ways. He throws up his hands as Caravaggio imagined him doing, as—stunned—he loses his balance and topples off his donkey. And the vision of glory is still there. Where Paul expected to see the God of Israel, there was Jesus and Jesus was asking, “Why are you persecuting me?” And Paul's thinking that this just can't be. “Who are you?” he asks, even though he already knows. And the figure of glory confirms it, “I'm Jesus.” And he might as well have said at the same time, “I'm the God of Israel, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” And again, “Why are you persecuting me?” And Paul, stunned, his whole world being rearranged and reinterpreted faster than he can take it in, he says nothing as Jesus tells him simply to go to Damascus and to wait. Luke says in verse 7: “The men who were traveling with Saul stood speechless. They heard the voice but couldn't see anybody. And Saul, he been struck absolutely blind by the vision. So they led him by the hand and took him to Damascus. He went for three days, being unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.” I expect the gears in Saul's mind were spinning away like never before during those three days. This man of prayer was suddenly praying like never before. If Jesus was alive, it meant he really was Israel's Messiah. It meant that the Lord, in him, had fulfilled already the very promises that Saul so longed to see fulfilled. It meant that the Lord, in Jesus, had returned to his people. It meant that God's new world had already begun. Paul, intelligent and deeply steeped in Israel's scriptures, began the long, slow process of rethinking everything he knew in light of Jesus. Paul knew—really knew the story, the scriptures. I try to steep myself in those same scriptures and I'm like a watered down Americano compared to Saul. Saul was a dark, black, espresso—the kind your spoon will stand up in. That's how steeped he was in God's word. It wasn't so much a “conversion” he experienced as it was a reorientation. The temple, the presence of the Lord, the place where heaven and earth meet, had finally come to Saul. And, too, those words of Jesus: “You're persecuting me.” It meant that these people he'd been dragging off to prison, they were Jesus' people, his covenant family, even in some way an extension of himself. God's promises to Abraham and to Moses and to David, the words of the Prophets, it all spent three days spinning through Saul's mind as he reevaluated everything in light of Jesus. Now, verse 10: “In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision. “Ananias!” he said. “Here I am, Lord,” he replied. “Get up,” said the Lord to him, “and go to the street called Straight. Inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul. Look, he's praying! And he has seen, in a vision, a man named Ananias coming and laying his hands on him so that he can see again.” You can go to Straight Street today—even on Google Earth. It runs from the last remaining Roman gate, through the Christian Quarter of the old city. Imagine the shock of Ananias. He may have been in Damascus having fled from Saul already. And now he has a vision and the Lord tells him he needs to go to Saul. You can almost hear his “Ummmm…” Was this vision for real? Had he heard right? “Lord,” replied Ananias, “I've heard about this man from several people…all about how he's done wicked things to your holy people in Jerusalem…and now he's come here with authority from the chief priests to tie up everybody who calls on your name!” Ananias is worried. “Just go,” replied the Lord. “He is a chosen vessel for me, to carry my name before nations and kings—and the children of Israel, too. I am going to show him how many things he is going to have to suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias set off, went into the house, and laid his hands on him. “Brother Saul,” he said, “the Lord has sent me—yes, Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—so that you may be able to see again, and receive the holy spirit.” Worried, hesitant at first, Ananias' faith got the better of him. Maybe on the way. Maybe when he met Saul and there was so clearly something different about him. “Brother Saul,” he called him. As Jews, yes, they were brothers, but Ananias somehow recognised in Saul the same faith, the same Jesus, the same Spirit. I don't think Ananias ever expected to be in a situation like this. What do you do? Jesus said that Saul had already had vision of Ananias laying hands on him, so that's what Ananias does. He lays his hands on Saul and he prays, and Luke writes (verse 18): “At once something like scales fell off his eyes, and he was able to see. He got up and was baptized. He had something to eat and regained his strength. Ananias and Saul stayed with the disciples in Damascus for a few days.” I wonder what happened when Ananias took Saul back to meet the other Christians in Damascus. I expect there were some skeptics. Was this just a fake-out by Saul to get in amongst them. And I bet, when Ananias showed up to say, “You'll never guess what's happened!” there was someone else there, older, wise, steeped in the scriptures who wasn't surprised at all. “Brother Ananias, why would you have expected otherwise? This is how our God does things.” God dealt with the persecution of his people by making their persecutor one of them. And Saul? Well, he's as zealous for God as ever; Jesus has just given him new direction. While the rest of the saints in Damascus were hiding, now that he can see again, Saul marches straight to the local synagogue to proclaim Jesus, risen and Lord. Luke goes on: “At once he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “This really is the son of God!” Everyone was astonished, and said, “Isn't this the man who caused havoc to those in Jerusalem who call on this name? And here he is, coming to tie them up and take them off to the high priests!” But Saul grew all the stronger, and threw the Jews in Damascus into confusion by demonstrating that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.” I bet. Saul was one of the best of them. He knew the scriptures and the promises of God inside out and upside down. He was brilliant. And he was passionately zealous for God. And I expect—you know how when you figure something out that you've been wrestling with for a long time and it lights a fire under you and you get really excited to tell other people?—well, meeting Jesus lit that kind of fire under Saul. It would take him a long time to really work it all through—he would go off to Arabia by himself to work it all through—but already he's been rethinking what meeting Jesus means about the God of Israel and about what it means to be Israel. Even what it means that Jesus is the God of Israel. And so he went to his fellow Jews to proclaim this good news. To tell them that Jesus is the son of God. This is, by the way, the first time in Acts we hear Jesus called “son of God”. It was a big deal. And then Luke says that the other thing Saul was eager to do was to explain to his fellow Jews that Jesus was the Messiah—or maybe it would better to say that the Messiah was Jesus. Because given the context here in Acts and what we know of Paul later from his epistles and how he roots everything so deeply and richly in the Old Testament, I expect he was in the synagogue in Damascus reminding the people there of the scriptures and especially of these two ideas, these two characters: the son of God and the Messiah. “Son of God” isn't used much in the Old Testament, but when it is, it refers to Israel. God said to Pharaoh, “Israel is my firstborn son”. But Jesus is also the son of David, the Messiah. And God had promised that David would have a son who would build the temple. God would raise him up and he would sit on David's throne. “I will be a father to him,” God had declared in 2 Samuel 7, “and he will be my son.” All this is swirling madly in Saul's mind and starting to take shape, to make sense. And then there was Psalm 2, invoked by the first Christians as they faced persecution. God confronts the wicked rulers of the world and declares that he has set up his King in Zion and that the nations will tremble before him. He's the one to whom the Lord has made his firm decree, “You are my son, this day I have begotten you.” Luke doesn't tell us exactly what Paul preached or even if he preached. Maybe he just hung out at the synagogue and proclaimed the good news to whomever would listen. But knowing Paul, I have to think he did some preaching. And he reminded his people of God and of his promises and he appealed to their hope: God's promise to return to his people. God's promise to set the world to rights. God's promise to bring the nations under his sovereign rule. And how all this is now coming true, how it's being fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah. Through him God will reach out to the gentiles and bring them under his sovereign rule and make them his inheritance. How the Messiah will rule them with wisdom and justice just as God promised. This would be the heart of Paul's preaching: The risen Messiah is God's anointed King. He's God's son, he shed his blood to purify us from our sins that he might bring us back from our long exile. He's God's son who has built a new temple, a house for his Holy Spirit. In him God's promises are being fulfilled. 2 Samuel 7, Psalm 2, Psalms 72 and 89 and 26 and 27. God's promises. Psalm about Israel's hope. Psalms about the Messiah. We know from the scrolls we've found at Qumran that how Paul was handling these scriptures was exactly the way other Jewish groups in his day were handling these scriptures and asking the same questions. And struggling to find an answer. Because no one ever dreamed that a man who was crucified could be the Messiah. But Paul had met him, risen from the dead. And the dots began to connect. The royal psalms began to connect with the psalms of lament. The great king who would rule Israel and the nations began to connect with the suffering servant who represented Israel. And then it gelled: The king represents his people so that he can stand in for them. So that what happens to him, happens to them—and what happens to them, happens to him. And so the king died. And then the king rose from the dead. And in that great act, God had declared: “See! This really is my son. And with him I am well-pleased!” Pleased with his beloved son—and through him, pleased with his beloved sons and daughters. And surely some believed. But others were angry. Verse 23: “After some days, the Jews made a plot to kill him, but Saul got wind of their plan. They were watching the city gates day and night so that they could do away with him. But the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket. When he got back to Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and explained to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. He was with them in Jerusalem, coming and going and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He spoke, as well, to the Hellenists, who tried to kill him. But the brothers heard of it and took him down to Caesarea. There they sent him off to Tarsus. So the church in all Judaea, Galilee, and Samaria found itself at peace. It was built up and gained in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.” And Paul knew, this too is how God works. He saved the brothers and sisters in Damascus from their persecutor. But Saul, well, God humbles him. He has to be lowered over the wall in a basket so he can run. Sometimes that's also how God works. He was preparing Saul for his missionary task and the struggles and dangers and humiliations that would come with it. Even returning to Jerusalem, he is initially rejected by the apostles. God bless Barnabas—the “son of comfort”—he vouched for Saul and told him that he really had met Jesus on the road to Damascus and that all the rest was, in fact, true, no matter how impossible it seemed. And Saul then proved himself in Jerusalem, preaching to the Hellenists who promptly set about to kill him. And so Peter and the others packed him off. Luke doesn't say exactly why. Maybe the trouble his zeal for Jesus stirred up in Jerusalem was just too much right then. Maybe they knew that Saul needed to go home to Tarsus, to begin his preaching with the people who knew him. So—and not for the last time—Saul boarded a ship and set sail. This would be the pattern for the rest of his life. Brothers and Sisters, Saul of Tarsus—Paul—knew better than anyone that Jesus changes everything. That Jesus is the embodiment of God's goodness, his mercy, his love, and maybe most importantly his faithfulness. Remember that last week we looked at that bit of Paul's writing in 2 Corinthians where he talks about the glory of God that was on display in the Exodus: at the burning bush, in the plagues, at the Red Sea, at Mount Sinai, in the cloud of glory that descended on the tabernacle. And he wrote that Jesus upstaged it all. The Messiah he met on the road to Damascus revealed the glory of God in a way Paul had never imagined possible. Brothers and Sisters, may we encounter that same glory ourselves. I think for most—probably all of us—our experience of God's glory is far more hum-drum and ordinary and unsensational. Maybe that's because, as far as being steeped in scripture and knowing the glory of God revealed there, we're a watered down Americano. We're like those can of LaCroix that say they're orange flavoured, but the flavour is so weak—well—you wonder if it's just carbonated water that was bottled in a plant where there was a solitary orange sitting in the corner to imparts the tiniest hint of its essence. Paul was the opposite. And we need to aspire to be like him. Pray that God will give us a hunger for his word and a desire to know him and to know the story. My observation has always been that the better people know the story, the more saintly and the more passionate they are, the more zealous they are for the Lord and for his good news. Steep yourselves in the scripture. And meditate on your baptism and how Jesus has brought you through the water into life with him. How he's plunged us into God's Spirit and given us new life. And come to his Table. Eat the bread, drink the wine, and recall what God has done for us in Jesus, in his incarnation, in his death, and in his resurrection. Experience here the fulfilment of all God's promises that you might see his glory. Then be the people who—like Saul who just couldn't stay quiet—make that glory known in the world. Let's pray: Almighty and merciful God, by whose gift alone your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; that we might truly see and know your glory along the way; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Czy tekst Biblii został sfałszowany? Odrzucamy popularne mity i sprawdzamy twarde dowody historyczne. Dziś prześwietlamy proces powstawania Pisma Świętego. Zobacz, czego o Starym Testamencie uczą nas zwoje z Qumran i starożytni kopiści. Odkryj także prawdę o Nowym Testamencie: kim byli naoczni świadkowie i jak naprawdę ukształtował się chrześcijański kanon Pisma Świętego. #NauczaniePastora #WiarygodnośćBiblii #PismoŚwięte ⛵️
What is gnosis? There's a lot of “Gnosticism” floating around on the Internet these days, isn't there? And the gnosis I'm sharing with you is quite different from most of what's out there. Before 1945 and 1947—before the Nag Hammadi and Qumran scriptures were dug out of deserts and caves—the only Gnosticism anyone knew was what had survived the Great Purge by the early Catholic Church and the Nicene Council. The Church intentionally stripped the Gnostic material out of what became our New Testament. Why? I think it's because actual gnosis puts people in direct contact with the Christ personally, with the Son and the Fullness personally, and with the Father on a personal basis. It's similar to what the Protestant Reformation did to Catholicism. In Catholic teaching, you're only allowed access to God through the interpretations of the Church. The Pope is supposedly the infallible word of God, and the priests represent that official line of theology. So when Martin Luther said, “No, we can read the Bible ourselves and come up with our own interpretation,” well… that opened up a can of worms. Because if everyone is allowed their own interpretation, then interpretations will be as varied as there are people. Just look at something as simple as food. Everyone you know has a different diet now. Protein-only, vegetables-only, fruit-only, organic-only, junk-food-only, “everything in moderation”—you name it. When I ran a bed and breakfast for years, I learned this quickly. You lay out a table for 10 or 12 people every day, and you see how peculiar and particular everyone's diet is. I once had one guest who only ate egg whites and another who only ate yolks—at the same table! It reminded me of Jack Sprat and his wife: between the two of them, they licked the platter clean. Scripture interpretation is like that. Everyone has their own take. What is a mystic? Mysticism is the idea that we can directly perceive and commune with ethereal forces—that it takes a mystical shift to get past our ordinary way of seeing things and into that ethereal realm. When Martin Luther put the New Testament back into the hands of ordinary people, he opened the door for personal communion with God.I've been to many Protestant churches. I didn't grow up in church—my parents weren't particularly religious—but I had my own personal relationship with Jesus from about age four. I came up under the tutelage of Jesus personally, not through church teaching. You know those Red Letter Bibles? For years I only read the red letters because I wanted to know what Jesus had to say. Before the Nag Hammadi and Qumran texts were translated from Coptic Greek, all we knew about Gnostic belief came from the people who hated the Gnostics—the heresiologists. “Heresy” means unorthodox belief, so a heresiologist studies unorthodox beliefs. And the Catholic heresiologists were the only ones who had ever seen the Gnostic scriptures. They taught their flock, “This is wrong because the Church says so.” So everything they ever said about Gnostic scripture was about how terrible and evil it was. When I was young, I believed that line of thinking. I believed the Nicene Creed was the truth and that we had to accept everything it proposed. I believed in the Protestant formulation of the New Testament. And even though Protestants aren't under the Pope, each denomination has its own leadership and scriptural emphasis—otherwise they wouldn't be separate denominations. But let me get back to the original question: What is gnosis? The purpose of studying scripture, the New Testament, the Nag Hammadi texts, the Qumran texts, or tuning in to so called Gnostic podcasts is to learn about the ethereal realm—to learn the will of God, who the Father is, and what the Father's will for us is. Why are we here? What is going on down here? What does God have to do with it and what's our role in the plan? There's a worldwide pushback against Christianity and Judaism right now—people deconstructing not only the Church, but the very concepts of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the Christ. But the people pushing back usually don't know the scriptures and they don't personally know the Father. They're generally atheists or, at best, agnostic. They think we'd be better off throwing it all away—even getting rid of the so-called “restrictive” moral precepts of ancient scripture. That thinking comes from ignorance. The antidote to ignorance is gnosis—eternal knowledge and truth. And across religions and holy books, the teaching is the same: you can only know the will of the Father by sitting quietly, praying, meditating, contemplating your relationship with the ethereal. You cannot find truth by looking at popular culture, politics, social media, television, movies, or university courses. That's entertainment. That's distraction. That's where error comes from. You won't find gnosis in popular culture. I notice that television shows and movies depicting angels, devils, and priests don't come from the knowledge of truth. Their theology is all wrong. It may be entertaining or maddening, depending on your point of view, but it's certainly not gnosis.Here's why: Gnosis comes from above. It doesn't come from below, and it doesn't come laterally. You might find inspiration through nature because nature reflects the Fullness. Trees and flowers reach upward. If you sit in a forest and feel uplifted, that inspiration naturally turns your attention upward. You're not going to sit in a forest, feel the Fullness, and then get angry or hateful or want to conquer people. That's downward or lateral thinking. So here's the big point—the nugget I started with: The God Above All Gods wants to be known. The God Above All Gods is love, truth, and knowledge. And God wants to be known. The Father wants us to know He's there. He wants us to know we come from Him and will return to Him. That's the baseline of gnosis. We use “He” for the Father because the movement of the Father is outward—Yang—male. The Father is the ocean of consciousness, the ground state of consciousness itself, flowing outward and downward through the Son, through the Totalities, through the Aeons, down to us. We are 2nd Order powers. The ethereal beings are 1st Order powers. The flow is always downward because the Father wants to be known. consciousness flows in an unending stream from the God Above All Gods If you feel lost, abandoned, hopeless, you're looking in the wrong direction. You have to look up. Up is where love, belonging, communion, hope, safety, home, and inheritance come from. We are creatures from above, inhabiting the material plane, and we are going back up. So what do we need to know? What gnosis does the Father want us to have so we can feel peace, hope, love, and security? It has to be something accessible to every creature—birds, bees, flowers, trees, bacteria. We're all 2nd Order powers from the Fullness and we are all returning to our ethereal home. What gnosis do we share with our other 2nd Order companions? My dogs at the beach If God intended you to memorize obscure manuscripts, charts, Aeon names, formulas, astrological math—who could do that? If that were the required gnosis, hardly anyone would find the key. That's what modern Gnosticism often looks like: labyrinthian, always seeking, never finding. But truth isn't found that way. Truth is found by sitting quietly and turning your attention upward. If “the Father” feels too far away, turn your attention upward to the Christ. The Christ was conceived by the ethereal realm to help us 2nd Order powers go home. Christ is our passbook. Christ is perfectly structured to save everything below. The New Testament says this—Protestants and Catholics just don't believe it. Many modern Gnostics don't believe it either. They think only a tiny remnant will make it. I don't think that's true. If only a few return, the Fullness won't be full. It will be partial. We are the fruit of the Fullness, and the Fullness won't be full until we all return. Flowers aren't going to memorize books. Birds aren't going to study theology. My dog doesn't give a hoot about his astrological chart. Everyone is going back up. All 2nd Order powers will roll back up out of the material plane at the end of time.We get there by realizing our gnosis and accepting the redemption of the Aeon sent to bring us home—Christ. Everyone is going home. You are going home. It's like we're on a big school bus. Christ is waiting at the bus stop to take our hand and walk us home. Everyone recognizes the Christ—except the people looking for answers down here. They don't want to look up. Are they going to hell? No. They're 2nd Order powers too. They'll go home, but they'll suffer first, by their own choosing. Right now you don't have to suffer. You just have to sit and turn your eyes upward. Because, as it says in the letter to the Colossians out of the New Testament, “For in him all the Fullness was pleased to take up a dwelling and through him to reconcile all things to him.” All things, may I point out, “all things to him, making peace by the blood of his cross [through him], whether the things on Earth or the things in the heavens.” (Colossians 1:19; Hart's New Testament). Now Paul does add a little catch phrase at the end here. Paul says, “If you indeed abide in the faith, established and steadfast and not moved away from hope in the good tidings that you have heard proclaimed to every creature under heaven…” (Col 1:23). Christians generally think that last sentence, if you abide in faith and are not moved away, means that if you don't abide in faith and you are moved away, that you will not make it into heaven. But that isn't what it says here. It says it's “proclaimed to every creature under heaven,” and that includes every one of us 2nd order powers, for Christ has already reconciled “all things to him.” Not just the good guys, not just the ones who died after proclaiming the glory of God. No. All things to him. If you don't accept the redemption of Christ now, it just means that you're going to suffer hopelessness and despair, and then you're going to die in hopelessness and despair. But why continue to suffer? Christ reconciled all things to him through his life and death as Jesus. Jesus was the mortal incarnation of the eternal Christ, specifically sent to bring us the gift of reconciliation. You will ultimately be redeemed. Chapter two of the letter to Colossians says, “while you were dead in trespasses and in your foreskin of flesh, he gave you life along with him, forgiving all trespasses, expunging what is written by hand against us—contrary to us—in ordinances, and has removed it out of the way, nailing it to the cross; Stripping the Archons and Powers, he exposed them in the open, leading them prisoner along with him in a triumphal procession” (Hart's New Testament). And this speaking of “the foreskin of flesh” is a reference to our physical human bodies. The foreskin is our covering. It's the place where we 2nd order powers are melded to the material of the Demiurge. And he came to pull apart that melding and to free us from bondage to the Demiurge. So Paul is saying while you were yet dead in your sin, he forgave all of your trespasses. He forgave all of your sins. It doesn't say after you accepted him, he forgave all your trespasses. He says, “While you were dead in your sin, he forgave all your trespasses and nailed them to the cross,” along with his own dying flesh (Colossians 2:13). It also says that he exposes the Archons and takes them prisoner. So, contrary to what the churches teach, it is biblical to believe in universal salvation because Christ conquered not only sin, but the Archons and Powers of evil. The light is shining on them now. Back in the letter to the Romans, in Chapter 5, it says, “The Anointed, indeed, while we were yet weak, died in due season on behalf of the impious” (Romans 5:6; Hart). So once again, Christ didn't die on behalf of the elect. He died on behalf of sinners, on behalf of people that are lost—not only lost but living in sin, no matter what your sin is. In the footnote to this verse in Hart's translation of the New Testament, Hart comments that here and in the surrounding verses, “Whether intentional or not, the plain meaning of the verse is that of universal condemnation, annulled by universal salvation.” And that's a really beautiful thing. That is a glorious thing because through the power of Christ, we're all redeemed. I urge you to turn to the Christ now—not out of fear, not to escape hell, but to remember the gnosis you were born with. We come from the Father, and we will return to the Father. We are the children of the Aeons, and you are one of them: a beloved child of the realms above. No one in the Fullness desires your suffering. Our task in this deficient realm is simple and profound: to remember the Father and the Fullness, and then—through the willing assistance of the Christ—to love others, to love ourselves, and to love the Father. Illustration from the kid’s book Children of the Fullness: A Gnostic Myth. Restoration comes to the Demiurge at the end of time. When all 2nd order powers remember Christ, so too will the Demiurge. All true change arises from love. Force produces only suffering and slavery. The Demiurge would keep you in bondage. Cast off those shackles, whatever form they take. Rest in the peace that comes from remembering who you truly are, and let the love that flows in an unending stream from above move outward through you into the world. Until next week–God bless us all. And Onward and Upward! Gnostic Insights is not backed by a media company, a church, or a foundation. It is a one-woman effort. Every podcast episode, transcript, image, edit, and publication is created by me personally. To support this work, I run a bed and breakfast in Southern Oregon. The long hours spent making beds, cleaning bathrooms, and caring for guests are what currently pay the bills and keep the podcast online. My goal is to make clear and simple gnosis freely available to anyone seeking deeper understanding. If that mission resonates with you, I invite you to become part of it. Your financial support helps cover hosting costs, production expenses, and, most importantly, the time required to continue creating new content. If this work has brought value to your life, please consider giving back. Together, we can continue sharing these teachings with those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. Thank you for your support. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name *FirstLastEmail *Stripe Credit Card *Choose your item *Item A - $10.00Item B - $25.00Item C - $50.00Total$0.00Submit
Worship isn't just the song service, and this episode opens the throne room of heaven to prove it, where four creatures covered in eyes guard a covenant God made with Noah, and where a strange encounter at Qumran leaves Jim Scudder asking whether we're nothing more than mammals.
In de eerste Zomerspecial van 2026 is dr. Ayhan Aksu van de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen terug! Met Ayhan keren we terug naar de Levant, naar plekken rond de Dode Zee, om te kijken naar zijn huidige onderzoek. In dat gebied leefden niet alleen verschillende Joodse groepen mensen, die we uiteraard kennen door de Dode Zeerollen, maar ook verschillende andere groepen mensen - waaronder Nabateeërs. Hoe leefden die groepen mensen in de eerste eeuwen voor en na Christus naast en met elkaar in dat gebied? Hoe krijgen we die verschillende groepen mensen via de bronnen in beeld?Zomer en seizoen 4Vanaf woensdag 1 juli luister je de hele maand juli naar de 'Summerschool' van Oudheid! De maand augustus staat in het teken van de jaarlijkse 'Zomerspecials' van Oudheid. Op woensdag 2 september start alweer het vierde seizoen van Oudheid... kortom: maak je klaar voor een zomer vol Oudheid!Shownotes
July 12, 2026 - Vacation Bible School Day 1 - Sunday PM Bible Class In this episode Bill leads a lively class-style exploration of the complex relationship between archaeology and the Bible. Bill argues that while archaeology can sometimes corroborate biblical details, it does not "prove" Scripture—the Bible is presented as the ultimate, absolute authority. Listeners are taken through the larger debate over timelines, methodology, and the limits of physical evidence. The program contrasts the modern, roughly 200-year history of archaeology with the Bible's traditional, literal timeline of about 6,000 years, and discusses how those differing chronologies shape interpretations. The speaker highlights that archaeology often raises questions or offers multiple interpretations rather than delivering definitive answers. Concrete case studies are covered in depth: the Exodus narrative, the conquest accounts (Jericho and Ai), debates over the location of Mount Sinai, claims about Pharaoh's army at the Red Sea, and sensational finds like alleged remains of Noah's Ark. The episode flags which of these claims are widely debated or lack direct archaeological confirmation. A major portion of the talk focuses on Hezekiah's Tunnel and the Pool of Siloam: the tunnel's construction, the ancient inscription describing the stonecutters' rendezvous, and how the feature aligns with Old Testament descriptions and later New Testament references (including Jesus' healing at the Pool of Siloam). This segment is presented as a strong example of where biblical description and physical remains converge. Bill explains "burn layers"—strata of destruction in archaeological sites—and uses examples such as Shiloh and Jericho to show how sudden destruction horizons can match biblical accounts of conquest, while also stressing that later rebuilding can obscure earlier events. The theological dimension is emphasized through the story of Rahab as an example of grace appearing amid judgment. The Dead Sea Scrolls receive special attention as one of the most remarkable finds supporting the preservation and reliability of Scripture: nearly 1,000 manuscripts from Qumran, the languages they contain, and their significance for understanding Jewish belief in the Second Temple period and the textual history of the Hebrew Bible. The episode also reviews a handful of corroborating inscriptions and human remains—such as the Pilate Stone, the first-century heel bone with an embedded nail, and the Gallio inscription—illustrating archaeology's role in confirming historical persons, administrative titles, and cultural details mentioned in the New Testament. Throughout the lecture the speaker warns about overhyped or bogus claims and encourages careful, critical investigation. He references modern popular apologetics researchers and online resources (Jonathan Moore; Apologetics Press contributors Kyle and Jeremy Butt, David and Jeff Miller) and mentions plans for travel groups to Israel for those interested in seeing sites firsthand. Key takeaways: archaeology can illuminate and sometimes corroborate biblical narratives, but many discoveries are debated or ambiguous; careful scholarship and discernment are essential; and for the speaker, the archaeological record ultimately points back to the authority and reliability of Scripture. The episode closes with an encouragement to keep digging—both literally in the field and figuratively in God's Word. Duration 30:11
Could one of the greatest archaeological discoveries connected to the Temple have been hiding in plain sight?In today's episode, Mondo welcomes Israeli journalist and author Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz for an eye-opening discussion about the remarkable story behind the alleged discovery of the original Temple Incense, the Copper Scroll, Qumran, and the growing movement to prepare for a future Third Temple.
Could one of the greatest archaeological discoveries connected to the Temple have been hiding in plain sight?In today's episode, Mondo welcomes Israeli journalist and author Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz for an eye-opening discussion about the remarkable story behind the alleged discovery of the original Temple Incense, the Copper Scroll, Qumran, and the growing movement to prepare for a future Third Temple.
Could one of the greatest archaeological discoveries connected to the Temple have been hiding in plain sight? In today's episode, Mondo welcomes Israeli journalist and author Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz for an eye-opening discussion about the remarkable story behind the alleged discovery of the original Temple Incense, the Copper Scroll, Qumran, and the growing movement to prepare for a future Third Temple.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-week-in-bible-prophecy--6909234/support.
Praying with Biblical Characters
If you enjoy this episode, we're sure you will enjoy more content like this on The Occult Rejects. In fact, we have curated playlists on occult topics like grimoires, esoteric concepts and phenomena, occult history, analyzing true crime and cults with an occult lens, Para politics, and occultism in music. Whether you enjoy consuming your content visually or via audio, we've got you covered - and it will always be provided free of charge. So, if you enjoy what we do and want to support our work of providing accessible, free content on various platforms, please consider making a donation to the links provided below. Thank you and enjoy the episode!Links For The Occult Rejectshttps://linktr.ee/theoccultrejectsOccult Research Institutehttps://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/Substackhttps://substack.com/@theoccultrejects?r=7auau0&utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-pageCash Apphttps://cash.app/$theoccultrejectsVenmo@TheOccultRejectsBuy Me A Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/TheOccultRejectsPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/TheOccultRejectsFull BibliographyAdler, Yonatan. The Archaeology of Purity: Archaeological Evidence for the Observance of Ritual Purity in Ereẓ-Israel from the Hasmonean Period until the End of the Talmudic Era. PhD diss., Bar-Ilan University, 2011.Adler, Yonatan. The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2022.Ambrose of Milan. On the Mysteries.Ambrose of Milan. On the Sacraments.Augustine of Hippo. On Baptism, Against the Donatists.Augustine of Hippo. On the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants.Bradshaw, Paul F. The Search for the Origins of Christian Worship: Sources and Methods for the Study of Early Liturgy. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.Bradshaw, Paul F., Maxwell E. Johnson, and L. Edward Phillips. The Apostolic Tradition: A Commentary. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002.Cyril of Jerusalem. Catechetical Lectures.Davies, J. G. The Architectural Setting of Baptism. London: Barrie and Rockliff, 1962.Dölger, Franz Joseph. The Sun of Justice: The Christian Cult of the Sun and the Baptismal Orientation. Relevant for eastward prayer, solar symbolism, and baptismal orientation.Ferguson, Everett. Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009.Finn, Thomas M. Early Christian Baptism and the Catechumenate: Italy, North Africa, and Egypt. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1992.Finn, Thomas M. Early Christian Baptism and the Catechumenate: West and East Syria. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1992.Hippolytus. The Apostolic Tradition. Attribution debated, but still important for reconstructing early baptismal practice.Jensen, Robin M. Baptismal Imagery in Early Christianity: Ritual, Visual, and Theological Dimensions. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012.Johnson, Maxwell E. The Rites of Christian Initiation: Their Evolution and Interpretation. 2nd ed. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2007.Josephus. Jewish Antiquities, Book 18.Justin Martyr. First Apology.Kavanagh, Aidan. The Shape of Baptism: The Rite of Christian Initiation. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1978.Kazen, Thomas. Studies on John the Baptist, ritual immersion, and purity in early Judaism.Klawans, Jonathan. Impurity and Sin in Ancient Judaism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.Klawans, Jonathan. Purity, Sacrifice, and the Temple: Symbolism and Supersessionism in the Study of Ancient Judaism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.Lawrence, Jonathan David. Washing in Water: Trajectories of Ritual Bathing in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Literature. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2006.Lietzmann, Hans. Mass and Lord's Supper: A Study in the History of the Liturgy. Relevant for early worship, initiation, and Eucharistic entry.Meeks, Wayne A. The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983.Regev, Eyal. Studies on Qumran, ritual purity, and Jewish sectarian practice.Riley, Hugh M. Christian Initiation: A Comparative Study of the Interpretation of the Baptismal Liturgy in the Mystagogical Writings of Cyril of Jerusalem, John Chrysostom, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and Ambrose of Milan. Catholic University of America Press, 1974.Schmemann, Alexander. Of Water and the Spirit: A Liturgical Study of Baptism. St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1974.Spinks, Bryan D. Early and Medieval Rituals and Theologies of Baptism: From the New Testament to the Council of Trent. Ashgate, 2006.Spinks, Bryan D. Reformation and Modern Rituals and Theologies of Baptism: From Luther to Contemporary Practices. Ashgate, 2006.Tertullian. On Baptism.The Didache.Turner, Victor. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure. Useful for liminality and rites of passage, though not baptism-specific.Van Gennep, Arnold. The Rites of Passage. Useful for initiation structure, separation, liminality, and incorporation.Whitaker, E. C. Documents of the Baptismal Liturgy. SPCK, 1970.Yarnold, Edward. The Awe-Inspiring Rites of Initiation: Baptismal Homilies of the Fourth Century. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1994.Also want to remind people about the website, if you're into reading we have tons of information by multiple contributors, and we got t-shirts up on the site if you're interested. Fun fact, the art is all based on the eyeball. A
Melchizedek appears just three times in the entire Bible. Twice in the Hebrew Bible. Once in the New Testament. And yet entire priesthoods, theological systems, and centuries of Christian doctrine have been built on top of this one figure. So who was he really? And what if the text was changed to hide his true identity?Dr. Robert Cargill, Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Iowa, former editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, and one of the most recognized biblical archaeologists in the world, sits down to walk us through the evidence. His Oxford University Press book argues that Melchizedek was originally the king of Sodom, and that ancient scribes deliberately altered Genesis 14 to distance Abraham from a city God would later destroy. That single scribal edit sent ripple effects through the Psalms, into the book of Hebrews, and straight into the foundation of Christ's priesthood. This conversation takes you inside the Hebrew text, into the caves of Qumran, through the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Pseudepigrapha, and into the hard question of what archaeology can and cannot prove about the Bible.In this episode you will learn:- Why Melchizedek is one of the most leveraged figures in biblical history and how different groups used him for their own purposes- The textual and grammatical evidence that Melchizedek was originally the king of Sodom, not the king of Shalem- Why scribes changed a single word in Genesis 14:18 and how that edit reshaped centuries of theology- How the tithe in Genesis 14 may have gone the opposite direction from what English translations suggest- What the Dead Sea Scrolls actually are and why they changed how scholars read the Bible- What the Pseudepigrapha (1 Enoch, Jubilees, the Genesis Apocryphon) reveal about what Second Temple Jews actually believed- How the book of Enoch rewrites the flood story to solve an ethical problem in Genesis 6- The most common types of bogus archaeological claims and how to spot them- Real archaeological discoveries that illuminate the biblical text, from the seal of Hezekiah to the Tel Dan inscription- Why Dr. Cargill believes archaeology should never be used as a tool for evangelism- The story of the Greek Orthodox archaeologist whose answer about faith and science changed everythingDr. Robert Cargill's Books:Melchizedek, King of Sodom: How Scribes Invented the Biblical Priest-King (Oxford University Press) - https://a.co/d/0e3LmMWEThe Cities That Built the Bible (HarperOne) - https://a.co/d/04VqTMt6Dr. Cargill's Website: bobcargill.comDr. Cargill's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UC6TIKnUUWEhh1nspJ62komg Stay Connected:Website: Johnnyova.comSubscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thejohnnyovaGet my book! The Revelation Reset: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DZSM695Y
Dr Gloria Moss is a former academic who went down the rabbit hole. The author of eight books including Why Men Like Straight Lines and Women Like Polka Dots, she has explored topics as diverse as Chretien de Troyes and the Holy Grail (her undergraduate degree was in French and Medieval Studies), the Dead Sea Scrolls site at Qumran, what REALLY caused the Black Death, and the mystery of giant fossilised trees as big as mountains. Some of which they discuss in this thrillingly eclectic and out-there episode https://www.truthuniversity.co.uk ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ Monetary Metals is providing a true alternative to saving and earning in dollars by making it possible to save AND EARN in gold and silver. Monetary Metals has been paying interest on gold and silver for over 8 years. Right now, accredited investors can earn 12% annual interest on silver, paid in silver in their latest silver bond offering. For example, if you have 1,000 ounces of silver in the deal, you receive 120 ounces of silver interest paid to your account in the first year. Go to the link in the description or head to https://monetary-metals.com/delingpole/ to learn more about how to participate and start earning a return on honest money again with Monetary Metals. ↓ ↓ How environmentalists are killing the planet, destroying the economy and stealing your children's future. In Watermelons, an updated edition of his ground-breaking 2011 book, JD tells the shocking true story of how a handful of political activists, green campaigners, voodoo scientists and psychopathic billionaires teamed up to invent a fake crisis called ‘global warming'. This updated edition includes two new chapters which, like a geo-engineered flood, pour cold water on some of the original's sunny optimism and provide new insights into the diabolical nature of the climate alarmists' sinister master plan. Purchase Watermelons by James Delingpole here: https://jamesdelingpole.co.uk/Shop/ ↓ ↓ ↓ Buy James a Coffee at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jamesdelingpole The official website of James Delingpole: https://jamesdelingpole.co.uk x
God pronounced a curse on the city of Jericho. It is the oldest city of the world and today is located on the West Bank in a Palestinian area. The Dead Sea Scrolls and personal documents were found in caves at Qumran.
Be Strong in the Lord Ephesians 6:10-24 by William Klock We've made it all the way to the end of St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians. For just over five chapters, Paul's been explaining how the church is God's means of taking what Jesus has done in his death and resurrection and turning it into God's new creation. He's shown us how, in Jesus and the Spirit, he's given us back the vocation that Adam rejected. We've been restored to our position as stewards of God's presence and God's wisdom and God's glory for the sake of the world. Even more than that, as Adam was placed in God's garden-temple, through the gift of God's indwelling Spirit, you and I—the church—have now become God's temple. And as Jesus has been raised from death to go be the new Adam, so in him and in the power of the Spirit, you and I are now called to put off the old, corrupt, lie-based way of being human and to put on the new humanity exemplified by Jesus. And if we will be faithful to be fruitful and to multiply—whether by having our own children and raising them in the wisdom of the Lord or through our proclamation and living out of the gospel that brings others to the Messiah—Brother and Sisters, the temple will grow and grow and grow, carrying God's presence to the ends of the earth, spreading his wisdom—the way of new creation and the way of truly being human—to the ends of the earth, until God's glory covers the earth as the waters cover the sea. And having established that this is what the church is and that this is what our mission is, he shifted in Chapters 3-5 to the how of living out this new creation, to the how of putting off the old and putting on the new. Don't listen to the lies of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Speak the truth and live the truth of God's new creation. Put aside anger and wrath, and start living out love and grace and patience and mercy with all humility—just like Jesus. And don't believe the world's lies about sex and money and power. Be holy as God is holy and trust in his goodness and faithfulness. In other words, as I said last week, stop trying to write your own story. You're bad at it. We all are. God did not design us with the capacity to write our stories for ourselves (or to be gods, as Genesis put it). Instead, trust in the God who gave his own son as a sacrifice for our sins, to set us to rights at such a great cost, and live the story he has written for us. And the world will take note. Live God's story, and you will challenge the lies of the world. Live the story in which Jesus is Lord, proclaim that story and seeing that glimpse of new creation, of redemption and renewal, of mercy and grace people around us will believe. But, too, live the story in which Jesus is Lord and you will challenge the Caesars of this world. Live the story in which God is good and faithful and generous, and you will challenge the greedy, grasping lies of the world. And the world, the flesh, and the devil will push back. Or as Paul puts in Chapter 6, the principalities and powers. They've lost, but they don't want to admit it. They don't like to be challenged. And this is where Paul picks up in Ephesians 6:10 with his final bit of wisdom for the Ephesians and for us. [This is page 1163 in the pew Bibles.] “What else is there to say? Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armour of God, then you will be able to stand firm against the devil's schemes. The warfare we're engaged in, you see, is not against flesh and blood. It's against principalities, against the powers that rule the world in this dark age, against the wicked spiritual elements in the heavenly places.” Brothers and Sisters, know who your enemy is. When things, when people, when systems push back against the gospel. When we try to bring new creation to the world, when we try to live out the new way of being human we have in Jesus and the Spirit, we will experience opposition. And it's critical we stand firm and fight back But Paul stresses here: Know your enemy. Because fighting the wrong enemy isn't going to win us anything. Paul knew this well. Consider that he'd been a Pharisee. The Pharisees were the party that traced its roots back to the Maccabean revolt two hundred years earlier, when the Jews rose up and threw off their pagan Greek overlords. Paul—like most of his fellow Jews—grew up knowing that the enemies of God's people were the pagans: the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greek, the Romans. In a couple of decades it would happen again in the Judean volt of a.d. 70 and then again in the bar Kochba revolt in a.d. 132. Neither of those revolts ended well for the Jews. And when the Jews revolted, they went into battle with passages like Isaiah 11 in mind: The shoot from the stump of Jesse would come, full of wisdom and justice. “He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins” (Isaiah 11:4-5) But they added their spin to the scriptures. The community at Qumran—the people responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls—the saw it this way: “With your sceptre may you lay waste the earth. With the breath of your lips may you kill the wicked…May justice be the belt of your loins, and loyalty the belt of your hips. May he make your horns of iron and your hoofs of bronze. May you gore like a bull…and may you trample the nations like mud…For God has raised you to a sceptre for the rulers before you…all nations shall serve you, and he will make you strong by his holy name, so that you will be like a lion.”[1] You can hear Isaiah in that, but then here the warrior girds himself up for battle, to trample the nations like mud. He gores the nations like an ox and ravages them like a lion. The picture begins with Isaiah, but it gets lost along the way. In Isaiah 11 the Messiah's warfare ends not with a goring ox or a lion tearing flesh, but with the wolf and the lamb, the leopard and the goat, the calf and the lion laying down together at peace and one like a little child leading them into a renewed creation where the lion eats straw like an ox. I fear we fall into the same trap. Jesus said to his disciples: “Don't be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do. I will show you who to fear: fear the one who starts by killing and then has the right to throw people into Gehenna. Yes, let me tell you, that's the one to fear! (Luke 12:4-5) Brothers and Sisters, God had always urged his people to stand firm and to put up a fight, but our enemy, as Paul says here isn't flesh and blood. It's not the people, however wicked they may be. It's the lies the devil whispers—or sometimes shouts—into our world. It's been that way from the beginning when Adam and Eve believed the first of his lies. It's the lie that we can write our own stories better than God can. It's the lie that security or power is to be found in money or in politics or in sex or in education or in all the other things to which we look that are not God—all the things that use and abuse and manipulate and exploit others for our benefit. It's the lie that we can fight the gospel battle with bullets or with politics or with violence. Paul's people talked about principalities and powers—sort of angelic beings whom God had created and appointed to oversee the nations, but who had fallen under the power of the devil's lies. That's how they thought. I don't know if that's how it really is, but there are powers—political, economic, sexual, intellectual—that perpetuate the devil's lies and keep us in the dark, keep us stomping on each other, keep us at each other's throats, keep us seeing everyone else as the enemy so that we never stop to think that the real problem is the devil and his lies. So Paul reminds us. The enemy is not flesh and blood. Yes, other people enforce those systems. Caesar believed the lie that he was the world's lord. And his soldiers believed that lie too, when they arrested Christians and threw them to the lions. But they were not the enemy; the lie was. It still is. They needed deliverance from it just like we do. The enemy isn't Mark Carney or Donald Trump. The enemy isn't greedy bankers or crooked businessmen or the people who run giant pornography websites. It's not the abortionist or the therapist pushing gender ideology. They're flesh and blood. They bought the lie. They need a gospel resuce just like we do. And so Paul warns us, yes, there's a battle, put on the armour of God, and stand firm, but know your enemy. Take your battle to the devil and the principalities and powers that perpetuate the lies. Don't shoot their prisoners when what their prisoners need is to know the truth, the wisdom of God. Brothers and Sisters, to fight them, to take the battle to flesh and blood, is just to fall prey to another lie of the real enemy. Paul says that weird thing in verse 12, that these wicked spiritual elements are in the heavenly places, but I think his point there is that—as he said back in Chapter 2, we are seated in the heavenly places with the Messiah. In his death and resurrection, Jesus won the decisive victory and now he's enlisted us, not to just sit in the church and be holy until he returns, but to be the new humanity who takes his new creation to the ends of the earth and, along the way, confronts the lies and the systems and powers that perpetuate them and declares that they have been defeated. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “he must go on reigning until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” Brother and Sisters, the church is his means to bring that day. (See, this has turned out to be an Ascension sermon after all!) So, Paul goes on in verse 13, “For this reason, you must take up God's complete armour. Then, when wickedness grabs its moment, you'll be able to withstand, to do what needs to be done, and still be on your feet when it's over. So stand firm!” Now, what is the armour of God? Notice the echoes of Isaiah 11 here. “Put the belt of truth around your waist; put on justice as your breastplate; for shoes on your feet, ready for battle, take the good news of peace. With it all, take the shield of faith; if you've got that you'll be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.” Notice that everything about this picture is defensive except the sword. Again, the Messiah has already won the decisive victory. He's won the ground. Creation once again belongs to him. Our job is to hold it against the enemy. And, notice, as Paul has said before and as he says here in verse 10: We stand in God's power and might, not in our own. We know what this power can do, because it's the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and now, as Paul has said over and over, we are “in the risen Messiah” and that makes us strong in the strength of his might. There's an interesting parallel to this in Romans 4. There Paul writes that Abraham was “strong in faith”, believing God's promise even though everything around him said not to trust this strange God. He was strong because he trusted the God who had the power to accomplish what he had promised. Brothers and Sisters, we stand in that same faith, but unlike Abraham we have every reason to believe. No one knew this God in Abraham's day. You and I live with the witness of all the generations who have known and experienced this God ever since. You and I live with the witness of the resurrection of Jesus, the greatest show of God's might in history and the event by which he has inaugurated his new creation. If Abraham had reason to be strong in faith, we have reason to be even stronger. So stand firm in the Messiah's battle and put on his armour to guard against the enemy who wants nothing more than to take back the ground he's lost to Jesus. As the Messiah puts on his armour for the battle in Isaiah, so should we. It shouldn't be surprising that the first thing Paul says to put on is the truth. All along he's been warning us not to believe the lies that have brought sin and death to the world. All along he's warned us to be committed to the truth and not to be deceived by the lies around us. In Isaiah 11:5 the Messiah puts on the belt of justice and faithfulness. In the Greek “faithfulness” is translated as “truth”. The truth of God's creation and his new creation are the foundation of the gospel. Isaiah saw the Messiah setting creation to rights, and to do that demands the truth to put an end to the lies. The gospel proclaims Jesus' victory and the new creation that has come with him out of the tomb, the truth of the goodness of God's original creation and the truth of the goodness that he's now restoring it to. Our calling now is to stand firm on that foundation and to wrap that truth around us like a belt. The gospel is not about our feelings or our imaginations or what we think people will like or not like. The gospel is about truth: God's good creation and Jesus' setting it to rights. But our main piece of defensive equipment is the breastplate—the breastplate of justice—or righteousness in some translations. The Greek word means both. Paul takes this image from Isaiah 59:17. It's not just righteousness as we often think of it as moral goodness. It's truly justice. It's God's desire to see this broken world full of pain and tears truly set to rights. In Isaiah 59 it's the divine warrior who goes out to bring God's justice to the world, but Paul understood that the divine warrior is Jesus the Messiah. And he didn't go out to bash heads in order to bring justice. He went in humility to the cross. He gave his life to free us from sin and to wash away the stain of death, so that he could fill us with his Spirit and make us his temple. And, in that, Paul's saying we're now called to follow in Jesus' steps to bring God's justice, his righteousness to the world as we live out Jesus' new—renewed—way of being human. This is why Jesus talked in the Sermon on the Mount, about his people hungering and thirsting for justice. It's our breastplate. It's the thing staves off our own temptations to idolatry and greed that would otherwise cause us to bring more pain and tears into the world. And then the shoes of peace. Another echo of Isaiah that Paul and the Jews knew so well: “How beautiful are the feet of the messenger who announces peace…who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” Except whereas for people like the old Paul, this had become a hope of violent military victory over the pagans, in Jesus peace has come through his resurrection. The enemy did his violent worst, and Jesus has trounced him with life. And now he commissions us to be his ambassadors, running to the world to announce that in the risen Messiah, the king has returned to establish the peace that Israel had so long hoped for and the peace that even us gentiles hope for, knowing that the world is not as it should be. Put on your gospel shoes! And then the shield of faith. Paul seems to have come up with this all on his own. He pictured flaming arrows that would set an ordinary shield on fire, but there were things you could do to prevent that—like stretching water-soaked leather over your shield. Faith is like that, says Paul. The Messiah's faith and then our faith that answers in return. Faith will protect you from the enemy. Don't let go of it. And then, back to Isaiah 59:17, the helmet of salvation—the helmet of “rescue”. The divine warrior has won the battle and rescued the captives. Brothers and Sisters, we've been rescued by Jesus, put that helmet on not only to stand your ground, but as with all these things, when we take up the Messiah's armour, we take up the Messiah's task. He's rescued creation from the devil and now we're part of the battalion called to keep the devil from taking creation back. That helmet of salvation reminds us—maybe that's why Paul puts it on our heads—that the Messianic mission is ultimately a rescue mission—to rescue creation and to rescue humanity from the enemies lies. And then there's the one defensive bit of God's armour: the sword of the Spirit, which Paul says is God's word. The word is the gospel, the good news of Jesus, crucified and risen. The word that fulfils Isaiah 11:4 where the Messiah smites the earth with the rod of his mouth and slays the wicked with the breath of his lips. His breath. In both Hebrew and Greek the word for breath is also the word for spirit. Brothers and Sisters, Paul knew that when he proclaimed the gospel, God's Spirit went to work: confronting idolatry with the true and living God and sinners with a message of hope. The battle isn't won with violence. It's won with the good news of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. But Paul knew, too, that if we're going to stand firm in the Messiah, and if we're going to put on his armour, we'd better be praying, too. He continues at verse 18: “Pray on every occasion in the Spirit, with every type of prayer and intercession. You'll need to keep awake and alert for this, with all perseverance and intercession for all God's holy ones—and also for me. Please pray that God will give me his words to speak when I open my mouth, so that I can make known, loud and clear, the mystery of the gospel. That, after all, is why I'm a chained-up ambassador. Pray that I may announce it boldly; that's what I'm duty-bound to do.” The military imagery is still here. Like a sentry on guard: stay awake and alert. Pray and persevere. Don't give up. The lies will swirl around you like a hurricane, but stand firmly in the truth of God's new creation and pray. Connect with him in that mysterious and inexplicable gift he's given us to speak with and to be in communion with him. It's one of the main reasons he's given us his own Spirit. And here, I think Paul is again thinking of Isaiah 59 and the divine warrior, driven by the Spirit. “As for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord: my Spirit that is upon you and my words that I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth…from now on and forever” (Isaiah 59:21). So pray. Pray, pray, pray and pray that the Spirit will give you—will give us all—the boldness to speak God's word: his truth, his wisdom, his gospel into a world so desperately in need of them. It doesn't matter if you're chained up for the gospel like Paul. That's the gospel paradox. God reveals his strength when we are at our weakest—just as he did at the cross. And then the last few verses of the letter. Paul wraps things up saying, “It's important that you should know how things are with me, and what I'm up to; so our dear brother Tychicus will tell you about it. He is a loyal servant in the Lord. I've sent him to you with this in mind, so that you may know how things are with us, and so that he may encourage your hearts. Peace be to the whole family, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Messiah. Grace be with all who love our Lord, Messiah Jesus, with a love that never dies.” Tychicus is making the rounds to let them know what's up with Paul. Again, Paul's said it several times: he's in prison. We don't know what else beyond that Tychicus would have told them about Paul, but it's telling that whatever the news is, Paul expects them to be encouraged. And it doesn't seem that it's news of a soon release. I expect Paul would have mentioned something like that. Instead, Paul seems to expect them to be encouraged by his chains. Again, the opposition he's facing is a sign that the gospel and the Spirit are doing what they're supposed to do, that the gospel is marching on, that (so to speak) Aslan is on the move, and the principalities and powers feel threatened. And that's good news. So, knowing his brothers and sisters are standing firm and fighting the gospel fight, he wishes them peace and love with faith and grace—the heart of the gospel, the foundations on which God's new creation is being built. And then that last word. I'll close with that. To everyone who loves the Messiah: grace. Grace with a love that never dies. The Greek word literally means “immortality”. Brothers and Sisters, this gracious love will never pass away. When the battle is finally over, when we have fought the good fight, when we have stood firm and kept the faith, when the church has finally done what she was created to do and expanded God's temple until his presence, his wisdom, his glory have filled the whole earth and Jesus has made a final end of death itself, when we have done what our Lord has called us to do and find—maybe to our own surprise—that we're still standing on our own feet in those shoes of peace, when there are no more lies and Jesus is Lord, then our love for him—which may feel so imperfect and inadequate today—but our love for him that kept us strong through the storm and the battle, will turn out to have been only the beginning of the great gift of love that we will enjoy for ever in God's presence and in his creation set to rights, in that new heaven and earth in which there are no more pain or sorrows or tears or death, only grace and love. Paul began his letter by directing our gaze back before the foundation of the world and now he points forward to day when not only are all God's promises fulfilled, but when he himself sums up all things in heaven and earth himself, the fullness of all in all. And here in the in-between, in the middle of the story we stand: rescued by love, given a new gospel life in love, equipped with God's word and God's Spirit in love, and filled with God's wisdom that, following Jesus, we will be the new humanity—the firstfruits of his new creation. Not only for our sake, but for the sake of the whole word over which Jesus the Messiah is already ruling as Lord. Let's pray: O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. [1] The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, ed. F.G. Martinez and E.J.C Tigchelaar (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 109.
We keren weer terug naar de wereld van de Dode Zeerollen: naar Qumran! In deze aflevering onderzoeken we samen met dr. Ayhan Aksu van de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen wat de Dode Zeerollen ons kunnen leren over liturgie en gebed in het vroege Jodendom. Welke nieuwe inzichten hebben de Dode Zeerollen ons daar de afgelopen decennia over gegeven? En welke nieuwe vragen roept dit zo interessante corpus op bij dit onderwerp van onderzoek? Daar gaan we met Ayhan uitgebreid naar kijken!Shownotes
What the Dead Sea Scrolls Reveal About Our Final 50 Year Jubilee. Josh Peck talks with Dr. Ken Johnson about today being the first day of the final jubilee on the Dead Sea Scroll calendar.
EXODUS LESSON 70 PART TWO If you haven't watched part one, make sure you do. Can't watch part two unless you have watched part one. Here's the link to part one ... LINK - https://lightofmenorah.podbean.com/e/exodus-70-exodus-301-38-part-one-the-altar-of-incense-and-the-bronze-lavar/ We're at Exodus chapter 30 and once again we find another example of verses in God's word that we might read once and never again. It seems like the detail has no transferable meaning for us now, today, and our walk with the Lord. So we "read over" the words and seem to say we don't need to understand this detail. But, we'd be wrong. This chapter is at the end of an amazing set of chapters from 25 through 30. It's all about God's Holy Dwelling place, His Mishkan Kodesh, or as its better known as His TABERNACLE which comes from the Latin meaning tent. As we have seen so far as we dig deep, as we put the Mishkan HaKodesh in its historical context, as we try and study the garments of the High Priest and the Priests, as we focus in on the Menorah, the Table of Shewbread, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies in their ancient cultural context, we find a depth of meaning so powerful and so related to us today. The video podcast (I call it a vidcast) is in two parts. PART ONE ... is on the Altar of Incense and the Bronce Laver. Getting the foundational understanding of there parts of Hs Mishkan HaKodesh, we are able to see how this relates to our Lord, our Yeshua, God Himself who came to dwell with us. Once we study the specific events in Jesus' life as related to the Altar of Incense and the Bronze Laver, our understanding becomes clearer. To know the events in Jesus' life many time s we need to set them in their context in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. PART TWO ... is on the meeting between Nicodemus and Jesus. It was a critical meeting and Jesus tells Nicodemus he and all Jews and Gentiles they must be born again. Nicodemus is confused. Born again? We must re-enter our mother's womb and be reborn. But, Jesus is talking about a Jewish set of requirements related to Tehveelah – טבילה or immersion or dipping or dunking or baptism in a Miqveh – מִקְוֶה or an object where water is gathered alike a bathtub of a pool. My personal picture of an ancient Miqveh at the ancient site of Qumran that was in use in Jesus' day. A modern Miqveh from Wikimedia It is related to the use of the High Priest and Priests of the Bronze Laver we'll study in part two of this two part vidcast. Once we put all this in its historical context things make a whole lot of sense. We'll learn that “being born again” was a Jewish concept so well understood in Jesus' day. Here's a link to study the idea of ritual immersion and where it came from. The idea of Jewish ritual immersion (baptism) is an unbiblical idea. God never commanded it or created it. Link - https://www.thetorah.com/article/on-the-origins-of-tevilah-ritual-immersion Also, in PART TWO we will study the census and the collection of a half shekel from each man 20 years of older; in other words from the Israeli army of those days. It seems likely that this tax was a means for soldier to pay a symbolic amount for his atonement since he had to kill in battle. It's almost as is God is saying, even in a just war, that life is precious, and even killing another, our enemy, in a just war, that God views this as necessary but against His view that all life is important. The half shekel is a symbol of the bigger picture that all human life is important in God's eyes even if it is a cruel and evil enemy. They were made in His image and likeness. It is a way for the Israeli soldier to do a real act to seek God's "covering" over the killing the soldier may need to do ina just war. The vidcast ends with God's directions on making His anointing oil and His incense. It is the last orders of God for the entire Tabernacle. The anointing oil is a perfume that is put on all objects and the High Priest and Priests. The whole Tabernacle was filled with the fragrance of God's anointing oil. God knows we can't see Him. But, in chapters 25-30 not only do we see His dwelling place and His priests but now we can smell the fragrance of the Lord as we come near to Him where He dwells with us. REminds me of us to be the fragrance of Christ to the world. We are to be His disciples which means we are to be like our rabbi. We are to a reflection of Yeshua to all. We are to be the Fragrance of Messiah. ASs God spread His fragrance throughout the Tabernacle so now Yeshua has His fragrance from the annointing oil on Him as Messiah. And, we are to be like Him and so His fragrance is on us so we spread it to the world. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. 2 Cor. 2:15-17 We end with the incense. The priest must burn incense when the Menorah is extinguished in the morning and incense it to be burn when the Menorah is again relit for the night as a light shining in the darkness. Our question might be is God using the cloud of incense to tell us He is here, in the Tabernacle, 24/7, dwelling with His people, and the smoke of the incense is like His Spirt among us? Perhaps. It seems to make sense. Ad our final conclusion to all this is all this is קדושים ביותר יהוה אלוהינו Kodesh Bayoter Yahvay Elohaynoo Most Holy to the Lord our God Rev. Ferret - who is this guy? (Ferret - in Timnah Park just north of Eilat Israel) What's his background? Why should I listen to him? Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0
In today's episode, Claire is joined by archaeologists Jodi Magness and Deirdre Fulton to discuss Jodi's book The Archaeology of the Holy Land: From the Destruction of Solomon's Temple to the Muslim Conquest. This book is an excellent introduction to the archaeology of ancient Palestine with a structure that allows the reader to learn about the history alongside the archaeology. The introduction begins just before the destruction of Solomon's Temple in 586 BCE and moves through time covering the Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Periods. Major sites include Masada, Caesarea Maritima, and Petra as she discusses monumental archaeology, pottery, and more. Jodi Magness is a Classical and Biblical archaeologist specializing in ancient Palestine (modern Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories) from the time of Jesus up to the tenth century. Her research interests include Jerusalem, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient synagogues, Masada, the Roman army in the East, ancient pottery, the Byzantine-early Islamic transition, and Diaspora Judaism in the Roman world. She has participated on over 20 excavations in Israel and in Greece, including co-directing the 1995 excavations in the Roman siege works at Masada. Since 2011, she has directed excavations at Huqoq in Israel's Galilee, which are bringing to light a monumental Late Roman (fifth century) synagogue paved with stunning mosaics.Her most recent books are Jerusalem Through the Ages: From Its Beginnings to the Crusades (2024) and Ancient Synagogues in Palestine. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and Past President of the Archaeological Institute of America.Deirdre Fulton joined the Department of Religion at Baylor University in the fall semester 2013. Her area of research focuses on the Persian Period, specifically the books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Fulton is also interested in zooarchaeological related research, connecting text and artifact. She is involved in several ongoing excavations in Israel, including the Leon Levy Ashkelon Excavations, Tel Shimron Excavations, and also the Jezreel Valley Regional Project. Her interest in archaeology helps inform questions related to diet, sacrifice, and economy.Deirdre is a member of the Steering committees on Literature and History of the Persian period for the Society of Biblical Literature and the Feasting and Foodways for the American Schools of Oriental Research. She is also a member of the Catholic Biblical Association and American Institute of Archaeology. She is married to James Fulton, a Geochemist in the Department of Geology.
EXODUS LESSON 70 PART ONE We're at Exodus chapter 30 and once again we find another example of verses in God's word that we might read once and never again. It seems like the detail has no transferable meaning for us now, today, and our walk with the Lord. So we "read over" the words and seem to say we don't need to understand this detail. But, we'd be wrong. This chapter is at the end of an amazing set of chapters from 25 through 30. It's all about God's Holy Dwelling place, His Mishkan Kodesh, or as its better known as His TABERNACLE which comes from the Latin meaning tent. As we have seen so far as we dig deep, as we put the Mishkan HaKodesh in its historical context, as we try and study the garments of the High Priest and the Priests, as we focus in on the Menorah, the Table of Shewbread, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies in their ancient cultural context, we find a depth of meaning so powerful and so related to us today. The video podcast (I call it a vidcast) is in two parts. Part one is on the Altar of Incense and the Bronce Laver. Getting the foundational understanding of there parts of Hs Mishkan HaKodesh, we are able to see how this relates to our Lord, our Yeshua, God Himself who came to dwell with us. Once we study the specific events in Jesus' life as related to the Altar of Incense and the Bronze Laver, our understanding becomes clearer. To know the events in Jesus' life many time s we need to set them in their context in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. Part two is on the meeting between Nicodemus and Jesus. It was a critical meeting and Jesus tells Nicodemus he and all Jews and Gentiles they must be born again. Nicodemus is confused. Born again? We must re-enter our mother's womb and be reborn. But, Jesus is talking about a Jewish set of requirements related to Tehveelah – טבילה or immersion or dipping or dunking or baptism in a Miqveh – מִקְוֶה or an object where water is gathered alike a bathtub of a pool. My personal picture of an ancient Miqveh at the ancient site of Qumran that was in use in Jesus' day. A modern Miqveh from Wikimedia It is related to the use of the High Priest and Priests of the Bronze Laver we'll study in part two of this two part vidcast. Once we put all this in its historical context things make a whole lot of sense. We'll learn that “being born again” was a Jewish concept so well understood in Jesus' day. Here's a link to study the idea of ritual immersion and where it came from. The idea of Jewish ritual immersion (baptism) is an unbiblical idea. God never commanded it or created it. Link - https://www.thetorah.com/article/on-the-origins-of-tevilah-ritual-immersion Also, in part two we will study the census and the collection of a half shekel from each man 20 years of older; in other words from the Israeli army of those days. It seems likely that this tax was a means for soldier to pay a symbolic amount for his atonement since he had to kill in battle. It's almost as is God is saying, even in a just war, that life is precious, and even killing another, our enemy, in a just war, that God views this as necessary but against His view that all life is important. The half shekel is a symbol of the bigger picture that all human life is important in God's eyes even if it is a cruel and evil enemy. They were made in His image and likeness. It is a way for the Israeli soldier to do a real act to seek God's "covering" over the killing the soldier may need to do ina just war. The vidcast ends with God's directions on making His anointing oil and His incense. It is the last orders of God for the entire Tabernacle. The anointing oil is a perfume that is put on all objects and the High Priest and Priests. The whole Tabernacle was filled with the fragrance of God's anointing oil. God knows we can't see Him. But, in chapters 25-30 not only do we see His dwelling place and His priests but now we can smell the fragrance of the Lord as we come near to Him where He dwells with us. We end with the incense. The priest must burn incense when the Menorah is extinguished in the morning and incense it to be burn when the Menorah is again relit for the night as a light shining in the darkness. Our question might be is God using the cloud of incense to tell us He is here, in the Tabernacle, 24/7, dwelling with His people, and the smoke of the incense is like His Spirt among us? Perhaps. It seems to make sense. Ad our final conclusion to all this is all this is קדושים ביותר יהוה אלוהינו Kodesh Bayoter Yahvay Elohaynoo Most Holy to the Lord our God Rev. Ferret - who is this guy? (Ferret - in Timnah Park just north of Eilat Israel) What's his background? Why should I listen to him? Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0
What did the world of Jesus actually look like? Not the sanitized version from paintings and Hollywood films, but the real, physical, tangible reality of first century Jewish life. Dr. Jodi Magness has spent decades digging through the soil of the Holy Land, and what she's uncovered reshapes how we understand the Gospels. From the foods Jesus likely ate to the massive ritual baths where pilgrims purified themselves before entering the Temple, archaeology opens a window into a world most of us have never truly seen.In this conversation, Dr. Magness takes us from the villages of Galilee to the fortress of Masada, from the caves of Qumran to the newly excavated Pool of Siloam. She explains why we'll probably never find an artifact directly connected to Jesus, and why that doesn't matter, because what archaeology can do is reconstruct the entire world He walked through with stunning accuracy. And then she drops a bombshell: the discovery of Herod's mausoleum at Herodium may be the most important archaeological find since the Dead Sea Scrolls, and it has massive implications for how we understand both Herod and the story of Jesus' birth.In this episode, you will learn:- Why archaeology and literary sources give us different kinds of information about the past- What everyday Jewish life looked like in the time of Jesus, including food, purity practices, and dining customs- The surprising evidence that Jesus probably ate quiche- What the Pool of Siloam and other Gospel sites reveal about the accuracy of Scripture- The real story of Masada and why it became a symbol of modern Israel- What Dr. Magness's excavations at Huqoq have uncovered about Jewish life under Christian rule- Why Herod's tomb may reshape our understanding of both his reign and the infancy narratives in MatthewGuest:Dr. Jodi Magness is the Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She holds a Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania and has over 20 seasons of excavation experience in Israel. She currently directs excavations at Huqoq and is the author of several books:Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit: Jewish Daily Life in the Time of Jesus- https://a.co/d/02jeSFwTJerusalem through the Ages: From Its Beginnings to the Crusades- https://a.co/d/0hfOJi5wLearn more about the Huqoq excavations: huqoq.orgStay Connected:Website: https://johnnyova.comSubscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@thejohnnyovaGet The Revelation Reset on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCMTZYQL
Eind 2025 was er groot nieuws: het Cryptisch B was ontcijferd! Met deze prachtige ontcijfering opende drs. Emmanuel Oliveiro van de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen een tot dan toe onleesbare selectie manuscripten die onderdeel zijn van de zo beroemde Dode Zeerollen. Maar hoe kraakte Emmanuel de code? Welke rol speelden analyse en intuïtie daarbij? En tot welke teksten uit het verre verleden verschafte hij zichzelf én ons vervolgens toegang in vertaling? Over dat en nog veel meer praat Emmanuel ons bij!Shownotes
YouTube DescriptionA Bedouin shepherd throws a rock into a cave near the Dead Sea in 1947. He hears something shatter. Days later, he climbs inside and discovers scrolls that would change biblical scholarship forever.Among those scrolls: 11 copies of 1 Enoch. More than most books of the Hebrew Bible found at Qumran. This wasn't fringe literature. This was a book that shaped how ancient Jews understood angels, demons, the Nephilim, and the final judgment. Jesus and the apostles grew up in a world saturated with Enochic thought. Early church fathers quoted it as authoritative Scripture. The book of Jude quotes it directly as prophecy. And then Christianity lost it.Dr. James VanderKam is one of the world's leading Dead Sea Scrolls scholars. John A. O'Brien Professor Emeritus at Notre Dame, elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he edited 13 volumes in the official Dead Sea Scrolls publication series and spent 30+ years working directly with the ancient manuscripts. In this conversation, he takes us inside the caves at Qumran and reveals what we lost when Christianity abandoned the Enochic worldview.In this episode you will learn:What the shepherds discovered in 1947 and why it shook biblical scholarshipWhy 11 copies of 1 Enoch at Qumran is such a significant numberThe five booklets that make up 1 Enoch and what each teachesThe story of the Watchers who descended, married women, and produced the NephilimHow Jubilees bridges Enochic literature with the Torah of MosesWhy Qumran used a 364-day solar calendar based on EnochHow the "Son of Man" title connects to the heavenly judge in Enoch's parablesWhy Jude quotes 1 Enoch by name and treats it as prophecyHow Tertullian argued Enoch's writings survived the flood on Noah's arkWhy Augustine's interpretation led Christianity to abandon the angelic rebellion narrativeHow Ethiopia became the sole guardian of the complete textWhat Dr. VanderKam experienced touching the 2,000-year-old manuscripts in JerusalemDr. James VanderKam's Books:Jubilees: A Commentary - https://www.amazon.com/Jubilees-Commentary-Hermeneia-Critical-Historical/dp/0800660358The Dead Sea Scrolls Today - https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Sea-Scrolls-Today-rev/dp/080286435XThe Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls - https://www.amazon.com/Meaning-Dead-Sea-Scrolls-Understanding/dp/0060684658Stay Connected:Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@thejohnnyova Follow Johnny: https://johnnyova.com The Revelation Reset: https://a.co/d/hiUkW8H
Imagine hearing that the Messiah had arrived... and then finding out he was executed by Rome.For first-century Jews, this wasn't just disappointing. It was disconfirming evidence. It made zero sense.They were waiting for a warrior king who would smash the heads of Israel's enemies and restore David's throne.Instead, they got a crucified rabbi from Nazareth.So how did Christianity even get off the ground?Dr. John J. Collins, one of the world's leading scholars on apocalyptic Judaism and the Dead Sea Scrolls, walks us through what ancient Jews ACTUALLY expected from their Messiah. And spoiler alert: it wasn't anything close to what Jesus did.We're talking:✅ Why the Dead Sea Scrolls community expected TWO Messiahs, not one ✅ How apocalyptic communities like Qumran thought angels would fight alongside them against Rome (they didn't)✅ What "Son of Man" actually meant before the Gospels✅ Why early Christians had to completely reimagine messianic expectations after the crucifixionThis isn't your Sunday school version of ancient Judaism.This is what the scholars who study the original texts actually know.If you've ever wondered why most Jews didn't accept Jesus as Messiah... this episode will make it crystal clear.
canal.march.esFlorentino García Martínez, experto en los manuscritos del mar Muerto, es entrevistado por Ramón González Férriz en una nueva sesión de Memorias de la Fundación, cuyos protagonistas son destacadas personalidades de distintos ámbitos de la cultura que fueron destinatarios de becas o ayudas de la Fundación Juan March.Más información de este acto canal.march.es
Most people assume that the Jewish canon of Scripture was already fixed and universally agreed upon in the time of Jesus—but the historical evidence tells a very different story.In this episode of FACTS, Stephen Boyce and Pat May take a deep dive into the world of Second Temple Judaism to examine what different Jewish groups actually believed about Scripture. From the Pharisees and Sadducees to the Qumran community (Essenes), we uncover a landscape of textual diversity, competing authorities, and a canon that was still developing.Did the Sadducees really only accept the Torah?Were the Pharisees already using the full Hebrew Bible?Why were books like Enoch and Jubilees preserved at Qumran?And what does all of this mean for how we understand the Old Testament today?We'll also explore the role of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the rise of rabbinic Judaism after 70 AD, and how the idea of a “closed canon” emerged over time—not before Christ.If you've ever been told that “the Jews had a settled canon,” this episode will challenge that assumption and walk through the actual historical evidence.Join us as we separate tradition from history and take a closer look at the formation of the Hebrew Scriptures.#DeadSeaScrolls #BiblicalCanon #OldTestament #SecondTempleJudaism #MasoreticText #Septuagint #BibleHistory #ChurchHistory #Apologetics #FACTSPodcastIf you'd like to donate to our ministry or be a monthly partner that receives newsletters and one on one discussions with Dr. Stephen Boyce, here's a link: https://give.tithe.ly/?formId=6381a2ee-b82f-42a7-809e-6b733cec05a7
This episode is part 1 of 2 addressing a video from Dan McClellan called "Was 1 Enoch considered inspired scripture?"Dan McClellan claims to be a Latter-day Saint, although his views don't reflect those of typical Mormons. He has impressive credentials and he uses them to make Tiktok and YouTube videos that promote a deconstructionist view of Scripture under the guise of "Data > dogma." He also promotes leftist political ideas that are uniformly Marxist and identity politics.This episode looks at McClellan's argument that the canon was not certain in the first century A.D. and that Josephus didn't clarify which books were in the 22 books he regarded as Scripture. He argues that 1 Enoch may have been considered Scripture during this time before that idea faded out later because of how many copies of it were found in the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran.We see what the Essenes believed in the Qumran community and why they may have liked 1 Enoch. We also test Josephus' threefold division of the Tanakh to see if 1 Enoch could fit.Sources Cited:Dan McClellan, "Was 1 Enoch considered inspired scripture?"Dan McClellan, YHWH's Divine Images: A Cognitive Approach, (SBL Press, Atlanta, 2022).Ether's Elephant, "Dan McClellan being Woke for 8 Minutes"Dan McClellan, "Does the Social Justice of the Bible Differ from the Social Justice of Today?"Eva Mroczek, "How Many Books are in the Bible? Qualitative Numbers, or Math for Biblical Scholars," (University of California, Davis, July 2016)."The Scroll of the War of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness I-II – The Thirty-Five Years War"Flavius Josephus, Against Apion (Translated by William Whiston)2 Esdras 14 (RSV), Bible Society UK.First Enoch (Christian Classics Ethereal Library)We value your feedback!Have questions for Truthspresso? Contact us!
2 Cor 11:14 “…And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” PART 1 (LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE MESSAGE HERE). Satan transforms himself into an angel of light? Did Paul mean this litterally or figuratively. What is Paul talking about here? 1 and 2 Corinthians are letters from Paul to the Church in Corinth. Sadly we only have one side of this conversation, but it is clear that Paul's epistles address known issues within the churches they are written to. I don't believe these 3 verses are aligorical or figurative in nature. I believe these verses may be quite literal including verse 14. with regard to Satan transforming himself into an angel of light. In today's message I am going to give you evidence as to why I believe this is so and why Paul may have even been referring to teachers and “apostles” from or at least connected with the Qumran community as being false teachers and false apostles who were bringing a false message and a false messiah or false Jesus whom Paul (and the other true apostles) did not preach. Then toward the end of this message we will look at examples of where and why I believe this is happening again today especially (and quite sadly) among (SOME OF ) those describing themselves as Torah observant, Hebrew Roots, etc communities which are increasingly endorsing the teachings of the so-called obscure Essenes sect of Judaism and promoting extra biblical writings contained within the corpus of DSS attributed to them and the inhabitants of Qumran. Did the Essenes and/or the inhabitants of Qumran commune with and/or seek out conversations and wisdom from angels. Lets see what some of the extra biblical writings found in the dead sea scrolls say about this.
A @Christadelphians Video:How can a 2000-year-old discovery, still being made today, provide outstanding and concrete proof for the accuracy of Biblical prophecy? In this thought-provoking presentation, we explore the fascinating world of the Dead Sea Scrolls, focusing on a recent breakthrough that solidifies the case for the Bible's divine inspiration.We delve into the incredible story of their discovery and the initial excitement from top archaeologists. We then examine how traditional dating methods created challenges for scholars, specifically concerning the prophecy in Daniel 11. Now, with the aid of new artificial intelligence technology, a clearer picture has emerged—one that confirms the Book of Daniel was written *before* the events it foretold. This is a powerful, evidence-based affirmation of the Bible's reliability.Join us for this insightful expositional talk that strengthens faith through historical and archaeological evidence.**Chapters:**00:00 - Introduction00:46 - The Discovery of the Scrolls02:43 - Initial Dating and Importance05:44 - Advanced Dating Methods07:53 - The Daniel 11 Prophecy Challenge10:37 - AI and the New Evidence14:15 - The Significance for Our Faith14:43 - Why Scholars Challenge the Bible20:23 - Examples of Archaeology Confirming Scripture24:37 - Practical Lessons for Believers Today27:40 - Dead Sea Scrolls and New Testament Quotations31:48 - Conclusion and Call to Action**Category:**
In this installment, Rod Thomas explores the Jewish concepts of the Messiah, focusing on the three-messiah framework: Mashiyach Nagid, Mashiyach ben Yosef, and Mashiyach ben David. The discussion delves into Daniel's prophecy, Jewish tradition, and the identity of Yeshua (Jesus) as understood in Messianic faith. The episode also examines why mainstream Judaism rejects Yeshua as Messiah and how these messianic expectations shape both Jewish and Messianic perspectives. Key Topics Covered 1. Introduction and Context Greetings and setting: Recorded on the 3rd Day of the 11th biblical month, 6025 (Friday, January 16, 2026). Reflection on persecution, faith, and the hope found in Yeshua's teachings (Matthew 5:10-12; Ephesians 6:18; Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:28). 2. Why Judaism Rejects Yeshua as Messiah Historical grievances and theological differences. The role of Rabbinic expectations and interpretations in shaping Jewish messianic beliefs (Hebrews 2:3; Romans 3:2; Romans 11:25-26; Zechariah 12:10). 3. The Three Messiahs in Jewish Thought Mashiyach Nagid (Messiah the Prince) Mashiyach ben Yosef (Messiah, son of Joseph) Mashiyach ben David (Messiah, son of David) The episode focuses on Mashiyach Nagid, with future installments to cover the other two. 4. What is Mashiyach Nagid? Linguistic breakdown: "Mashiyach" means "Anointed One"; "Nagid" means "Prince" or "Leader." Scriptural foundation: Daniel 9:25-26 and its interpretations. The prophecy's implications for Jewish and Christian eschatology (1 Corinthians 13:12; Matthew 24:15-16). 5. The Meaning and Role of "Nagid" "Nagid" as prince, ruler, leader, commander, or official. Biblical examples: Saul, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Abner, Azariah, and others (1 Samuel 9:16; 10:1; 13:14; 25:30; 2 Samuel 5:2; 6:21; 7:8; 1 Kings 1:35; 2 Kings 18:1; 2 Chronicles 31:13). 6. Mashiyach Nagid in Prophecy and Tradition The "transitional" leader concept: Anointed but not yet king. Comparison with "Melech" (King) and the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:8-16; Psalm 2:8-12; 2 Chronicles 13:5). 7. Messianic Traits and the Melchizedekian Order Psalm 110 as a foundational text for the dual role of king and priest. The Melchizedekian priesthood and its fulfillment in Yeshua (1 Peter 2:9; Daniel 2:44; Matthew 21:44; 1 Corinthians 15:24; Revelation 11:15). 8. Jewish Perspectives on Mashiyach Nagid Views of Rashi, Ibn Ezra, and Rambam (Maimonides) on the identity and role of Mashiyach Nagid. The Essenes and Qumran writings: Priestly and royal messiahs, "Prince of the Congregation" (Damascus Document, Rule of the Congregation, 11QMelchizedek). Apocryphal and Talmudic references: Suffering and kingly messiahs (1 Enoch, Jubilees, Talmud). 9. Christian and Messianic Interpretations Yeshua as the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy and the persona of Mashiyach Nagid. The dual or double-fulfillment view of prophecy. Jewish objections to identifying Yeshua as all three messianic figures. 10. Application and Call to Discipleship The call for believers to imitate Yeshua's character traits: suffering, triumph, priesthood, kingship, exaltation, royal lineage, and spiritual warfare (Isaiah 53; Colossians 2:15; Psalm 110; Matthew 1:1; Zechariah 14:3; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 20:6; 2 Corinthians 10:4-6; Ephesians 6:12-14). Invitation to covenant relationship and Torah-honoring lifestyle (2 Corinthians 6:2; Isaiah 55:6-9). References & Further Reading https://www.sefaria.org/topics/mashiach?sort=Relevance&tab=notable-sources https://jewishlink.news/the-origin-of-the-word-nagid-leader/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318725539_A_Contemporary_Defense_of_the_Authenticity_of_Daniel https://www.gotquestions.org/prophecy-double-dual-fulfillment.html https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/101747/jewish/Mashiach-ben-Yossef.htm https://library.biblicalarchaeology.org/sidebar/the-messiah-text-4q521-and-a-line-by-line-analysis/ https://jamestabor.com/a-cosmic-messiah-who-makes-live-the-dead-in-among-the-dead-sea-scrolls-4q521/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Messiah https://scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1010-99192014000300016 https://www.sefaria.org/rashi_on_daniel.9.25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_in_the_Talmud https://www.themessianictorahobserver.org/2025/06/20/messianic-reflections-in-the-life-of-yosef-ben-yisrael-thoughts-reflections-on-torah-reading-34/ Contact & Community For questions or further discussion, email: perceptionwp@gmail.com Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe on https://www.themessianictorahobserver.org/ Closing Blessing May you be most blessed, fellow saints in training. Walk in faith, truth, and the hope of Messiah's return.
→ Watch on YouTube → Detailed Show Notes → Timestamps: (00:00) The book of the generations of Adam. Another way to view the long lives of the early Patriarchs. The Sumerian King List may help give context to their ages.(11:38) A brief overview of Enoch literature. The name Mahijah in Moses 6.40 was also found on second century fragments discovered at Qumran in 1948.(19:13) Scriptures are a book of remembrance.(21:15) Seers see things we cannot see.(31:54) The call narrative. Enoch's prophetic call is consistent with elements of the narrative call pattern.(34:44) The Plan of Salvation as taught by Adam and Enoch is the same message the Savior taught. The Atoning Messiah is central to the plan, but was removed from the Old Testament.(49:26) Another way of understanding “children conceived in sin” in Moses 6.55. This text can be connected to the Fallen Angels or the Watchers in 1 Enoch.(54:50) Children of Christ versus Children of Satan as portrayed in Alma 5 and its connection to Moses 6.55.(56:19) “Man of Holiness” in Moses 6.57 can be describing God as a man of the temple or the husband of the divine woman.(58:55) An invitation to find Jesus everywhere. → For more of Bryce Dunford’s podcast classes, click here. → Enroll in Institute → YouTube → Apple Podcasts → Spotify → Amazon Music → Facebook The post Ep 356 | Genesis 5; Moses 6, Come Follow Me 2026 (January 26-February 1) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.
The Dead Sea Scrolls were first discovered by shepherds searching the Qumran caves in 1946. These scrolls date from the 3rd century BC and include the oldest surviving manuscripts of the Bible. Also found amongst them were fragments of ancient apocryphal books not included in the accepted Biblical canon of scripture... and what one of these scrolls talks about may shock you, as it reads like an ancient apocalyptic sci-fi thriller. Known as 'The Book of Giants,' this enigmatic text expounds upon what Genesis 6:4 and the Book of Enoch reference - that there was once an ancient hybrid race of giants known as the 'Nephilim.' However, the Book of Giants goes even further to explain how the 'Watchers' were also creating chimeric "Monsters."JOIN ME ON A 2026 TOUR
Dr Gloria Moss is a former academic who went down the rabbit hole. The author of eight books including Why Men Like Straight Lines and Women Like Polka Dots, she has explored topics as diverse as Chretien de Troyes and the Holy Grail (her undergraduate degree was in French and Medieval Studies), the Dead Sea Scrolls site at Qumran, the real purpose of the Great Fire of London and the Gunpowder Plot. Unfortunately, for this first podcast with her, James didn't get her onto any of these subjects because he was too interested in what she was telling him about her time working for blue chip industry on how to optimise productivity in the workplace. Next time, eh? You can find her at https://www.truthuniversity.co.uk Also, Gloria talks about how Robert Maxwell captured academic publishing and invented the corrupt process known as ‘peer review'. ↓ ↓ ↓ Monetary Metals is providing a true alternative to saving and earning in dollars by making it possible to save AND EARN in gold and silver. Monetary Metals has been paying interest on gold and silver for over 8 years. Right now, accredited investors can earn 12% annual interest on silver, paid in silver in their latest silver bond offering. For example, if you have 1,000 ounces of silver in the deal, you receive 120 ounces of silver interest paid to your account in the first year. Go to the link in the description or head to https://monetary-metals.com/delingpole/ to learn more about how to participate and start earning a return on honest money again with Monetary Metals. ↓ ↓ How environmentalists are killing the planet, destroying the economy and stealing your children's future. In Watermelons, an updated edition of his ground-breaking 2011 book, JD tells the shocking true story of how a handful of political activists, green campaigners, voodoo scientists and psychopathic billionaires teamed up to invent a fake crisis called ‘global warming'. This updated edition includes two new chapters which, like a geo-engineered flood, pour cold water on some of the original's sunny optimism and provide new insights into the diabolical nature of the climate alarmists' sinister master plan. Purchase Watermelons by James Delingpole here: https://jamesdelingpole.co.uk/Shop/ ↓ ↓ ↓ Buy James a Coffee at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jamesdelingpole The official website of James Delingpole: https://jamesdelingpole.co.uk x
Join us for a fascinating deep dive into the Dead Sea Scrolls with Dr. Robert "Bobby" Duke, chief curatorial officer at Museum of the Bible and Dead Sea Scrolls scholar. In this episode, with Museum of the Bible's President and CEO, Dr. Carlos Campo, Duke shares what these ancient texts reveal about Scripture, Second Temple Judaism, and the transmission of the Bible. Guest bio: Dr. Robert "Bobby" Duke serves as the Chief Curatorial Officer and as the Director of the Scholars Initiative at Museum of the Bible. Bobby earned both his PhD and MA in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from UCLA, as well as an MA in Hebrew Bible from Jerusalem University College and a theology degree from Multnomah University. Show Notesmuseumofthebible.org/exhibits/dead-sea-scrolls-the-exhibition Israel Antiquities Authority - iaa.org.il/en Amazon Link to Dr. Duke's Books - “Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic Dictionary” and “The Social Location of the Visions of Amram (4Q543-547) (Studies in Biblical Literature)” museumofthebible.org/exhibits/megiddo Stay up to date with Museum of the Bible on social media: Instagram: @museumofBible X: @museumofBible Facebook: museumofBible Linkedin: museumofBible YouTube: @museumoftheBible
Isaiah expert and Old Testament scholar Dr. John Oswalt is our guest again this week on the Profile. On this episode John discusses the discovery of the Great Isaiah Scroll in Qumran in 1947, more of Isaiah 53, and the prophecy of Cyrus the Great in chapter 45. Dr. John Oswalt Asbury served on the faculty of Asbury Theological seminary from 1970 to 1982 as professor of Old Testament and Semitic languages, and again from 1989 to 1999 as Professor of Old Testament. He rejoined Asbury in 2009 as visiting distinguished professor of Old Testament studies. He has also served as research professor of Old Testament at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, Miss., from 1999 to 2009, was president of Asbury College from 1983 to 1986, a member of the faculty of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Ill., from 1986 to 1989, and Interim President of Wesley Biblical Seminary, Ridgeland, MS from April 2019 through March 2020.He is the author of 16 books, most notable of which is the two-volume commentary on the book of Isaiah in the New International Commentary of the Old Testament. His most recent book is The Holy One of Israel: Studies in the Book of Isaiah, released in 2014. He has also written numerous articles that have appeared in Bible encyclopedias, scholarly journals and popular religious periodicals. Dr. Oswalt is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, with membership in the Kentucky Annual Conference. He has served as a part-time pastor in congregations in New England and Kentucky, and is a frequent speaker in conferences, camps and local churches. Oswalt received a B.A. from Taylor University; a B.D. and Th.M. from Asbury Seminary; and a M.A. and Ph.D. from Brandeis University.The Bible Among the Myths Isaiah CommentaryResources from Watchman Fellowship Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Bart Ehrman by Dr. Rhyne Putman: www.watchman.org/Ehrman FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.The complete Profile Notebook (Digital Edition, PDF, over 600-pages): www.watchman.org/DigitalNotebookSUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2025 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.
"Of all the books in the OT, Isaiah is perhaps the richest. Its literary grandeur is unequaled. Its scope is unparalleled. The breadth of its view of God is unmatched. In so many ways it is a book of superlatives. Thus, it is no wonder that Isaiah is the most quoted prophet in the NT, and along with Psalms and Deuteronomy, one of the most frequently cited of all OT books. Study of it is an opportunity for unending inspiration and challenge…it comes to us as a word from God, a revelation of the inevitable conflict between divine glory and human pride, of self-destruction which that pride must bring, and of the grace of God in restoring that destroyed humanity to himself. To read the book with the open eyes of the spirit is to see oneself, at times all too clearly, but also to see God whose holiness is made irresistible by his love." - Dr. John Oswalt from his two-volume commentary on the book of Isaiah. Dr. John Oswalt is our very special guest this week and next on Apologetics Profile. He will be taking us through some of the highlights of this magisterial theological work. His insights will better equip you to give a defense to non-believers who doubt the history and authorship of Isaiah. Dr. John Oswalt Asbury served on the faculty of Asbury Theological seminary from 1970 to 1982 as professor of Old Testament and Semitic languages, and again from 1989 to 1999 as Professor of Old Testament. He rejoined Asbury in 2009 as visiting distinguished professor of Old Testament studies. He has also served as research professor of Old Testament at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, Miss., from 1999 to 2009, was president of Asbury College from 1983 to 1986, a member of the faculty of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Ill., from 1986 to 1989, and Interim President of Wesley Biblical Seminary, Ridgeland, MS from April 2019 through March 2020.He is the author of 16 books, most notable of which is the two-volume commentary on the book of Isaiah in the New International Commentary of the Old Testament. His most recent book is The Holy One of Israel: Studies in the Book of Isaiah, released in 2014. He has also written numerous articles that have appeared in Bible encyclopedias, scholarly journals and popular religious periodicals. Dr. Oswalt is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, with membership in the Kentucky Annual Conference. He has served as a part-time pastor in congregations in New England and Kentucky, and is a frequent speaker in conferences, camps and local churches. Oswalt received a B.A. from Taylor University; a B.D. and Th.M. from Asbury Seminary; and a M.A. and Ph.D. from Brandeis University.The Bible Among the Myths Isaiah CommentaryResources from Watchman Fellowship Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Bart Ehrman by Dr. Rhyne Putman: www.watchman.org/Ehrman FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.The complete Profile Notebook (Digital Edition, PDF, over 600-pages): www.watchman.org/DigitalNotebookSUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © 2025 Watchman Fellowship, Inc.
This week Dave and Jeff wrap up their discussion of John Wenham's fascinating, scholarly tour de force on the synoptic Gospels. Dealing with chapters 8 to 12, the conversation focuses on further considerations for Mark's Gospel, Ancient Testimony to Luke's Gospel, and these three, essential and concluding points: 1. How were the Gospels written? 2. Jesus-Tradition Oral and Written 3. When Were the Gospels Written? The answers might surprise you, based on patristic evidence, internal evidence, Qumran scroll evidence from 1972 – shedding light on Mark 6:52ff. – and the remarkable attestation in II Corinthians 8.8, that Luke is the brother who is "praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel." Wenham makes a persuasive argument that this refers to the composition of the third synoptic, and thus we have these dates according to the traditional form: Matthew was written before 40 A.D., in Hebrew; Mark was written no later than 45 A.D. in Rome; and Luke was written as early as 55 A.D. You won't want to miss these exciting conclusions. Also, be sure to check out our giveaway of the brand-new collected works of Aristotle by Hackett publishing, our sponsor. You can find it at this link.
In this sermon, Chris Romig centers on John the Baptist as a key figure in Advent, emphasizing his role in calling people to repentance and preparation for Jesus' coming. Drawing from his recent trip to Israel and stops at sites like the Jordan River and Qumran, Chris Romig connects the biblical context of John's ministry with contemporary spiritual reflection and practice. John the Baptist is portrayed as the last of the Old Testament prophets, emerging after centuries of prophetic silence to challenge Israel to turn back to God. Chris Romig highlights John's bold, uncompromising message: true repentance means a real change in both attitude and action, not just religious ritual. Referencing John's confrontational preaching—"You brood of vipers"—he notes that John's expectation was for people to demonstrate their faith by living justly, generously, and ethically. The sermon also explores John's possible connections to the Qumran community, known for their spiritual rigor and preservation of Scripture, while distinguishing John's outward, missional focus from Qumran's separation from society. Ultimately, Chris Romig urges listeners not just to prepare for Christmas, but to assess their lives in light of Christ's coming, asking what "chaff" needs to be cast aside. The core message is that Jesus' love calls us to true repentance and transformation—bearing fruit as we prepare to meet the Messiah.
I recently spoke with Dr. Carlos Campo CEO and President of Museum of the Bible on the new extraordinary Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit now on display in partnership with the Israel Antiquities Authority and Running Subway. The exhibition features biblical texts and scrolls from the community at Qumran, as well as hundreds of artifacts. The scrolls provide unique insights into the formation of the texts that make up our Bibles today.
Dr. Joe Uziel, head of the Israel Antiquities Authority's Dead Sea Scrolls Unit, takes us inside the discovery and preservation of one of archaeology's most significant discoveries. He explains how modern archaeology works in Israel, how AI-driven analysis is transforming scroll research, and what scholars continue to debate about the ancient Qumran community. Plus, we'll get an exclusive glimpse into key artifacts featured in Museum of the Bible's Dead Sea Scrolls: The Exhibition.Guest bio: Joe Uziel, PhD, is the head of the Dead Sea Scrolls Unit at the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). Show Notes: www.iaa.org.il/en/ https://antiquities.academia.edu/JoeUziel MOTB Press Release - The Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibition with the Oldest Biblical Texts Arrives at Museum of the Bible in November 2025” RunningSubway.com Stay up to date with Museum of the Bible on social media: Instagram: @museumofBible X: @museumofBible Facebook: museumofBible Linkedin: museumofBible YouTube: @museumoftheBible
Step into the caves of Qumran and the pages of Revelation 20. From the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls to the vision of the Great White Throne, this episode traces God's covenant story—from Eden to Sinai, from the Cross to the New Creation. Discover why judgment isn't meant to terrify but to testify—when the Judge becomes the Bridegroom and the courtroom turns into the wedding feast of the Lamb. Key Texts: Revelation 20–21 | Matthew 25 | John 14 | 1 Corinthians 15 Themes: Final Judgment • Covenant • Jewish Wedding • Hope • New Creation Subscribe for weekly deep-dive episodes exploring prophecy, covenant, and the end-time hope found in Christ. #Revelation #EndTimes #GreatWhiteThrone #BibleProphecy #DeadSeaScrolls #NewCreation #Gospel #Eschatology #Faith #Hope #Jesus
In this episode of Nephilim Death Squad, we continue our in-depth Bible study through The Book of Daniel with special guest Matt Hepner of The Standard Coffee. From questions on pre-Adamites and the Dead Sea Scrolls to the prophetic visions in Daniel 8, we dive into history, theology, and the supernatural patterns that repeat across time.We discuss:The gap theory and possible pre-Adamic civilizationsThe War Scroll from Qumran and its ties to RevelationFlat earth vs globe debates and biblical cosmologyMusic, worship, and the corruption of modern church structuresProphecy, empire cycles, and the rise of antichrists through historyThis isn't just a Bible study—it's a real conversation about prophecy, conspiracies, and the unseen spiritual war. Whether you're curious about end-times, alternative history, or how Daniel's visions apply today, this episode will challenge how you see the world.Matt Hepner – The Standard CoffeeInstagram: @thestandardcoffeeWebsite: thestandardcoffee.comNEPHILIM DEATH SQUADPatreon (early access + Telegram): https://www.patreon.com/NephilimDeathSquadWebsite & Merch: https://nephilimdeathsquad.comSupport Joe Gilberti: GiveSendGoListen/Watch:Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nephilim-death-squad--6389018YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NephilimDeathSquadRumble: https://rumble.com/user/NephilimDeathSquadX: https://twitter.com/NephilimDSquadInstagram: https://instagram.com/nephilimdeathsquadContact: chroniclesnds@gmail.comX Community – Nephilim Watch: https://twitter.com/i/communities/1725510634966560797TopLobsta:X: https://twitter.com/TopLobstaInstagram: https://instagram.com/TopLobstaMerch: https://TopLobsta.comRaven:X: https://twitter.com/DavidLCorboInstagram: https://instagram.com/ravenofndsSponsors:Rife Tech – https://realsrifetechnology.com/ (Code: NEPHILIM for 10% off)Purge Store – https://purgestore.com/ (Code: NEPHILIM for 10% off)Credits:Intro Animation: @jslashr on XMusic: End of Days by Vinnie PazBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nephilim-death-squad--6389018/support.☠️ Nephilim Death Squad — New episodes 5x/week.Join our Patreon for early access, bonus shows & the private Telegram hive.Subscribe on YouTube & Rumble, follow @NephilimDSquad on X/Instagram, grab merch at toplobsta.com. Questions/bookings: chroniclesnds@gmail.com — Stay dangerous.
durée : 00:46:29 - Les Nuits de France Culture - par : Philippe Garbit - En janvier 2009, Michel Cazenave et ses deux invités, examinaient à la loupe, quelques-uns des manuscrits de Qumran, découverts en 1947 sur la côte nord-ouest de la mer Morte, au sud de Jéricho (Cisjordanie). - réalisation : Virginie Mourthé
Discover the mystery of Pesher—the ancient interpretive key used by the Qumran community behind the Dead Sea Scrolls! In our upcoming webinar, we'll explore how these early Jewish sectarians unlocked hidden meanings in biblical prophecy, believing they were living in the end times. Through Pesher, scriptures became divine messages decoded for their generation where figures like the “Wicked Priest” and “Teacher of Righteousness” emerged from the sacred texts themselves. For more in depth teachings check our Academy www.twinsbiblicalacademy.com/academy
Midrash (מִדְרָשׁ)—from the Hebrew root ד־ר־שׁ (darash), “to seek, inquire, interpret”—is not merely commentary. It is a living dialogue with the sacred text, seeking not only what it says, but what it does, and how it continues to speak. In the Aramaic mindset, where language reveals reality through action rather than abstraction, Midrash becomes a performance of the Word, an interpretive drama within the covenant community. In this way, Midrash is both interpretive theology and spiritual excavation, where each layer of the scroll reveals another layer of the soul. Two Levels: Covert and Overt Midrash We can divide the midrashic interpretive strategies in Qumran into two functional categories—overt and covert—based on their level of disclosure and hermeneutical transparency. For More Teachings check our online Video Academy: www.twinsbiblicalacademy.com
Garth Heckman The David Alliance TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com Ever have a moment when you don't see it and then you see it? The classic picture of an old women or a young beautiful woman depending on what you see? Here's a more detailed look at the reasons: 1. Lack of Historical Evidence: Missing Persian References: . Some scholars questioned the book's historical accuracy, pointing to the lack of mention of the characters and events described in Esther within Persian historical records. Not Found at Qumran: . The Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of Jewish texts dating back to the period when the Book of Esther was thought to have been written, did not include the Book of Esther, further fueling skepticism about its authenticity. 2. Theological Concerns: Absence of God's Name: . The most significant theological issue was the complete absence of God's name in the Book of Esther. This was seen as unusual compared to other books in the Old Testament. Interpretations of Divine Providence: . While some argued that the book implicitly suggests divine providence through the actions of the characters, others felt the lack of explicit mention of God undermined its theological purpose. 3. Jewish Canon Formation: Delayed Inclusion: The Book of Esther was not included in the earliest forms of the Jewish canon, and it was debated whether it should even be included at all. Nationalistic Pride: Some suggest that the book's inclusion in the Jewish canon was influenced by a desire to celebrate the Jewish people's triumph over Haman and to provide a sense of national identity. 4. Christian Canon Formation: Deuterocanonical Status: The Book of Esther was not universally accepted by Christians from the beginning. Some Christians, like Jerome, considered it canonical, while others, like Athanasius, classified it with the Apocrypha, a collection of books considered useful but not part of the official canon. Influence of Jewish Canon: Ultimately, Christians largely adopted the Jewish canon, which included the Book of Esther, leading to its inclusion in Christian Bibles as well. 5. Additions to the Septuagint: Greek Version: An alternate version of the Book of Esther in Greek, which included references to God and additional passages, was also debated. The Eastern Orthodox Church uses the Septuagint version of Esther, while the Roman Catholic Church preserves the Greek additions as "Additions to Esther" God is not mentioned in Esther ANYWHERE… SO WHERE IS HE? HE IS EVERYWHERE! - Queen Vashti won't give it up From Vashti's defiance to Mordecai's sleepless night, seemingly random occurrences contribute to the ultimate deliverance of the Jews. - Esthers beauty over 25 million women - Jew chosen to be queen - Mordecai hears about a plot - King can't sleep and they read Mordecai's story - Haman used like a puppet in Gods hand - 2 parties to set up Haman's demise - Haman's advance on queen Esther - The Pole set up for Mordecai used for Haman - The Jews enemies are identified and then killed due to the timing and they get the take of those they kill