Podcasts about Roman Empire

Early Medieval Britain was more Roman than we think. The Roman Empire left vast infrastructural resources, not least roads, walls and bridges. Why have they survived so well? And what did the people who lived here immediately after the Romans think of them and do with them?In this episode of Gone Medieval, Dr. Cat Jarman talks to Dr. Mateusz Fafinski about how the infrastructure the Romans left behind was used and adapted in the early Medieval period.The Senior Producer on this episode was Elena Guthrie. It was edited by Thomas Ntinas and produced by Rob Weinberg.For more Gone Medieval content, subscribe to our Medieval Mondays newsletter here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!To download, go to Android or Apple store. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the first episode of a three part series, Tom and Dominic dive into the incredible story of Justinian and Theodora.Tune in for an incredible (and racy) introduction to the powerful Byzantine empress, the collapse of the Western half of the Roman Empire, and a deep-dive into the great city of Constantinople.Justinian and Theodora episode release schedule:Monday 8th August - THEODORA: EMPRESS OF BYZANTIUMTuesday 9th August - JUSTINIAN: MAKING ROME GREAT AGAINThursday 11th August - JUSTINIAN & THEODORA: THE SECRET HISTORYAlternatively, get all episodes right now by signing up to The Rest Is History Club at restishistorypod.comTwitter:@TheRestHistory@holland_tom@dcsandbrookEmail: restishistorypod@gmail.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The most important part of Weekend Breakfast is you guys! We LOVE engagement with our listeners whether they are on the way to sports practice, or music event, or sitting at home with a cup of tea. Wherever you are we love to hear from you. And sometimes you guys are listening in the strangest places - and this has to be the most unique ever! This week we got a slimey email or I should say Snail Mail from Kieran Corley in Monaghan. • Bragan Skincare is a family business – Kerri and Donal his kids help out!! • Kieran has over 500,000 snails!! • Fed with Vegs and fruit • No offence but they don't have any ears! • It is particularly effective against skin conditions such as eczema, scar tissue, nappy rash and many other painful skin conditions... It has proven to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. There's even a skateboarding snail called Derek!! Check Kieran and his snails out and support Irish here: Bragan Skincare - braganskincare.com @braganskincare on Insta, Facebook and Tik-Tok SNAIL FACTS: • In 500 BC the Roman Empire recognised snail balm • as a natural skin treatment • Snails are Hermaphrodites (they have both male and female sexual organs). • A snail has 22,000 teeth. • Each snail will lay approximately 100 eggs. In the wild only 3% will survive. • If conditions are not perfect, a snail can curl up in its shell and remain dormant for 3 years before emerging unscathed (but probably a little hungry). • A snail has no ears and very poor eyesight. • Like big cats do by urinating, a snail leaves lots of information about itself for other snails in it's slime.

Guarding the House From Our Enemies (3) (Audio) David Eells - 8/7/22 The “Beautiful Serpent” Returns To Destruction   Claire Pienaar - 7/25/22 (David's notes in red) I dreamed I was at a large American-styled school in a cafeteria and I was happy. I seemed to only be observing in this dream. (A cafeteria is a place where food is served. There is healthy food and junk food to choose from. We must make the right healthy choices of what we feed our spiritual man so that we can be effective to fight the enemy and our old flesh nature. Rom 8:13  for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live.)  My old school friends were huddled together, and they were acting very strange. Their behavior made me think they were drug addicts, but I pushed it far from my mind. (Riaan: Old friends represent past struggles or addictions; demons previously overcome in our lives who are huddling together to look for a way back in.) (These can be addictions of the old man to anything or idolatry with anything that has become more important in our daily lives than God. They take away our time from Him and Kingdom matters.) The cafeteria changed to a field and war zone. (Riaan: This is a spiritual war). Many Army men were taking down these drug addicts. (Representing warring angels who fight on our behalf when we invoke the Word of God.) (Riaan: The angels are ministering servants that have their orders from the Lord to obey the Word and take out these demons by the authority of Christ). (Heb. 1:13-14  But of which of the angels hath he said at any time, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation?)  One of my drug addict friends was a lady named Linda. (Riaan: Linda means "beautiful serpent.") Linda's boyfriend whose name was Brett, hated to do it, but, he shot Linda because she was so evil. (Brett means “A man from Britain or Brittany. Briton was one of the places the Roman Empire beast that could not gain a foothold in. It caused much embarrassment to the Romans. So Brett represents my spirit man which is much bigger than the addictive sin nature. [When we walk and talk by faith.])  She was pregnant and cried out to get someone to save the baby. Her blood was running everywhere. (The baby represents the fruit of the old man and the blood; his nature.) I was watching all of this, in plain sight and nothing was happening to me. (Claire was supernaturally protected on the battlefield. Linda the beautiful serpent enemy disguised as a friend will contiue to try to bring forth the fruit of the old nature.). The entire field looked like a bloodbath. (It is the battlefield of the mind where we conquer our old nature and the fiery darts of the enemy or they conquer us. The blood of the old man is conquered by the new man, "Christ in you the hope of glory".) Then something very strange happened. Linda (the beautiful serpent) was raised from the dead; not in a good way but in a fearful way. (Rom 8:13  for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live.) She was now even worse; she had more addictive and maniacal behavior and her hair was getting darker... (This is a good representation of our battle with the flesh nature when we fail to keep our foot on the neck of the old man. They can come back stronger and uglier the next time around.  This is a dangerous direction to go because, in the Parable of the Sower, 3 out of 4 fell away and bore no fruit.) (Riaan: Mat 12:43-45 But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest, and findeth it not. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this evil generation) (Jesus was speaking to the people of God here.) She was now completely open in her dealings with the other “druggies” and told me that she had never wanted me to know, otherwise I would not be friends with her. (The enemy and our flesh nature are very sneaky this way. They want us to be in agreement with them so that they can keep their house or not have to go to their cross.) I tried to get her to come to me, but she couldn't, she was hooked.  (Our flesh nature can never change or come into agreement with our spirit man. He must die. 1Co 9:25-27 And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air: 27 but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.) Then Brett came again and he was huge. Easily more than 2 meters tall, and very large. (As we continue to feed and mature the spirit man with the Word he will easily conquer the old man. 2Co 4:16  Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day.)    He said he'd have to finish her off, and he kept on calling his superior to check that it would be ok. (Riaan: John 14:31 but that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do.). Linda knew she'd get killed again and she was trying to hide with another girl... They were doing drugs, now, right in front of me. (This represents out-of-control fleshly addictions.)  I was astonished that they'd be so brazen and flaunt their bad habits in front of everyone. They were careless, loud, and outright rebellious. (Riaan: Luke 12:2  But there is nothing covered up, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 3 Wherefore whatsoever ye have said in the darkness shall be heard in the light; and what ye have spoken in the ear in the inner chambers shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.)  I then sat down with Brett for lunch, and these other really tall, big men arrived, and even though they looked different to Brett, they were on his team and they were committed to getting this drug problem eradicated. They were planning their strategy. It didn't seem too difficult, but they were going to keep on attacking no matter what. (We recently heard from the warrior angel, Shemuel, who stands next to the "Drain the Swamp" sign near our water purifier in my house. He said, “The enemy and their (human) minions have sustained large set backs and heavy casualties. They are now regrouping for another attack. Keep praying, doing warfare and praising; sending us out to do battle on your behalf.")  I asked the Lord who Linda represents in this dream and I opened my Bible by faith at random on Isaiah 43:25, on “thy sins”. I thought Linda might represent the flesh in this dream, so this is a good confirmation. (In context 24-26)  Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices; but thou hast burdened me with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. 25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake; and I will not remember thy sins. 26 Put me in remembrance; let us plead together: set thou forth thy cause , that thou mayest be justified.  When we do not repent there is no sacrifice for our sins nor for willful disobedience. But in many cases it is the sin that dwells in us as Paul lamented about in Rom. 7. Claires finger was on “thy sins” in verse 25 which says, "I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake; and I will not remember thy sins.” God knows our hearts when we sincerely desire to repent and He will give us the grace to do so for His own sake. Rom 7:13 - 8:4 Did then that which is good become death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might be shown to be sin, by working death to me through that which is good; —that through the commandment sin might become exceeding sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For that which I do I know not: for not what I would, that do I practise; but what I hate, that I do. 16 But if what I would not, that I do, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17 So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwelleth in me. 18 For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but to do that which is good is not. 19 For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I practise. 20 But if what I would not, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwelleth in me. 21 I find then the law, that, to me who would do good, evil is present. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then I of myself with the mind, indeed, serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. Rom 8:1-4 There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.)   Tempted by the Spirit of Anger and Factious Nazi Sympathizers   Claire Pienaar - 7/29/22 (David's notes in red) (This dream is a big warning not to get distracted. However, it seems the Lord has sent the distractions to some as "training" because it was "covered under the red pick up truck", as you will see. May Our Lord show favor to those who continue to seek Him diligently, and fervently.)  I dreamed I was travelling on a highway in what I thought was my silver van. I had my old boss who's last name was Khosa next to me. (She was my boss when I worked for the Dept. Of Foreign Affairs in South Africa. Her last name means “angry men” and “herder of cattle”. I think she represents the curse, and maybe specifically an angry spirit that herds beastly people. I cast out anger many years ago and saw it leave. When I feel it trying to come on me, I remember what it looked like when it left. It manifested as a small black dog, insignificant.).  In the dream, I realized I was driving a red pick-up truck, and in the back of the truck, I had all my toiletries and clothing (Toiletries represent being clean. Clothing represents being covered with the garments of righteousness, and the red truck represents being covered by the blood of Jesus). It seemed I had packed up my belongings from my home and was carrying them in the pick up truck.   I turned left, at Khosa's direction, and then realized she had no idea where she was going. I now had to turn back onto the highway (of holiness), and it was busy, with two opposing lanes. As I waited for an opportunity to cross over into the correct lane, I felt myself growing smaller. My feet could hardly touch the pedals and I could barely see out over the steering wheel. (When we listen to the flesh's directions, our spirit man gets smaller and we are in danger of losing control of our vehicle.)  I made it across and Khosa was not happy that I had made it back onto the highway. She said she never travels on highways and only used back roads. I said to her, “I've never even considered it”. She said, “You should”. I said, “Is it quicker?”. She replied, “No, It's always longer by at least 20 minutes”. I shook my head and she walked away. (Riaan: She seems to represent many different things like faction, division, anger, self works of the flesh. These will cause many to get off the highway of holiness and shrink back, or to lose maturity in Christ).  Suddenly, I was in a house with Riaan, my husband (His name means little king, so he might represent the Man-child and I, the Bride because my name means “brilliant” as the clothing of the Bride in Rev. 19.). It was not a house that we've lived in, in the natural. It was almost empty. I figured we were moving out together to another place. (We must continue to come out from among them and be separate and made holy, moving out of apostasy and familiarity with the fallen lascivious Church).  Riaan's mom and dad were there, as well as his sister, her husband, and their children. His brother's children were there too. I was very separate from them, and I kept on checking the bathroom cabinets to make sure these were empty so we could leave. (The Bride is ready to leave with her Groom and is still making sure she is clean and that she has everything required for purification.)  His family brought up the name “Dr Mengele” in every sentence. They were were praising him and said, “His sacrifice was worth it”. They kept on saying he did such good work. They were enamoured with him. I balked at this. I had a vision of this man descending into deep water as part of a military execution. In this vision, he was drowned at sea.   (Mengele was an ardent Nazi, and he joined the research staff of the Institute for Hereditary Biology and Racial Hygiene in 1934. During World War II he served as a medical officer with the Waffen-SS, which was the “armed” component of the Nazi paramilitary corps) in France and Russia. In 1943 he was appointed by Heinrich Himmler to be chief doctor at Birkenau, the supplementary extermination camp at Auschwitz, where he and his staff selected incoming Jews for labour or extermination and where he supervised medical experiments on inmates to discover means of increasing fertility, to increase the German “race”. His chief interest, however, was research on twins. Mengele's experiments often resulted in the death of the subject. He was called the “Angel of death”). (We have seen that Nazi's are like the faction in that they hate and kill God's people.) My in-laws kept on asking me what I thought, whether I agreed with them, and whether I was coming with them. They seemed to want to tempt me towards anger or discord.  I could not respond with what they wanted to hear, so I asked Riaan when we were leaving. I told him the car was packed and ready. Then I woke up. (Dr. Mengele was the enemy of God's people. Like many today, who are being experimented on by the vaccines, who are dying and many more will die.) (Riaan: Trusting in the arm of the flesh and vaccinations or any other means of self deliverance is supporting the "angel of death”).  (Claire, as a type of the Bride, does not trust in the arm of the flesh which has killed so many Christians. Jer 17:5-8 Thus saith Jehovah: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from Jehovah. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in Jehovah, and whose trust Jehovah is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, that spreadeth out its roots by the river, and shall not fear when heat cometh, but its leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.)    Buffet the Old Man and Wait on the Lord  Claire Pienaar - 7/31/22 (David's notes in red) I dreamed I was at a large home; it was white and it was a place where people gathered and were currently gathering. (Riaan: Our bodies are the house of God. A large house represents a corporate body.)  This really old man came to the door and tried to come in, and I knew he had an assignment on my life. He was a very smooth talker and seemed very friendly to everyone else, but I knew I could not go anywhere with him and I told him to leave. I was so rude to him, it surprised me in my dream. (Riaan: No more mister nice guy to this old man!! Get rid of him with force!) (The old man is an enemy of God which makes him our enemy. Rom 8:5-8 For they that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace: 7 because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be: 8 and they that are in the flesh cannot please God.) Then he said, “I've got your number, little dove, you'll always be mine”. And I took him outside and I beat him up. I've never been in a physical fight, so I don't know what that looks or feels like. But in the dream, I went ballistic. I kicked the wind out of him, head butted him, got him to the ground and laid into him.  His face seemed to contort from disbelief to sheer feebleness as I did this. I could feel the frame of his skeleton give way and he was just a pile of mush when I was done. He was all squishy.  I gave him one more blow to the head and then got up and went back inside. (Riaan: Wow! Good job Claire! It's a spiritual fight against the old man, but it's still a brutal, all or nothing fight! Put down that old flesh!) (1Co 9:27  but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.) Then the scene changed, and I was at King's Cross in London, England. It is a large train station. I was not wanting to get onto any train but was waiting for a white train to pull in. (Riaan: King's Cross is a play on words, as the Bride waits at the cross of King Jesus, which represents death to self and is where the Holy Spirit train picks us up).  In the meantime, there were black men who were blowing up train tracks. (Men walking in darkness destroying the paths.) They were trying to get people killed and one of them seemed to follow me around. (Riaan: Factious and divisive apostates try to derail the body of believers who continue on the original path of the original gospel). (Isa 3:12  As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they that lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.) I started walking along the tracks and there were different levels of scaffolding and tracks. I was on a very high level and if I fell, I would die. This black man was intent on me dying. (Riaan: It's walking in the heavenlies, and we can't fall back or we risk becoming twice dead and plucked up by the roots and impossible to be renewed unto salvation. Keep walking by faith and overcome, endure). (Heb 6:4-8 For as touching those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. 7 For the land which hath drunk the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receiveth blessing from God: 8 but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned.) I pretended to jump off the high level, and then I went back to my spot, but he really jumped, and when he miraculously landed at the bottom. (The flesh cannot fall away and die. It is already dead and fallen away.) He seemed to be distracted and left me alone. I kept on having visions of these black men all over the tracks like spider men. (Riaan: The attacks from the enemy are in full scale now. Our fight is against the principalities, powers and rulers of darkness.).  At this point in the dream I knew a big inferno was coming. I could see and feel the heat and an orange glow coming closer. But I just sat and waited. These black men and other people were running left and right, but they'd never escape what was coming. (Riaan: Representing the fiery trial of God to burn up the flesh). Then I woke up.  I received this word by faith at random: 2 Samuel 3:29: let it fall upon the head of Joab, and upon all his father's house; and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue, or that is a leper, or that leaneth on a staff, or that falleth by the sword, or that lacketh bread. (Exo 20:5  ... I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me.) (Riaan: Joab represents those who fall back, they were once the king's best man but then did murderous works and fell away and all their previous mighty works are forgotten. Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.) I asked the Lord for another verse and my finger landed on witchcraft, from Nahum 3:4: because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts).     Burning the Old Man's House Marie Kelton - February 2022 (David's notes in red) The Lord gave me an open vision. I saw the sky was a light greenish color and my spiritual man, who was wearing all white, walked out of a black house. My spiritual man turned and looked back at the house. (We must not look back at our old nature and what is the past because it will destroy us as it did Lot's wife. We must keep our eyes focused on Jesus in the mirror, our hope of glory.   Php 3:13-14 Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before. 14 I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 2 Co. 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.) Then, I saw my flesh man who was black and wearing all black, in the house screaming at my spiritual man through a closed window of the house. (Yes. We must close all windows and doors which represent opportunities for the old man to speak or gain access to our spiritual man. I believe the windows represent our eye gates and what we see and the doors are like the mouth of the cave that Joshua put the 5 kings into and rolled a great stone over the entrance, representing preventing the old man to speak and the 5 senses to rule over or bring a curse upon us.) Then my spiritual man lit a match and threw it on the house and set it on fire. (The fiery trial destroys the old man as we obey the Word. Heb 4:12  For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.)   The Lord Claims His Bride Marie Kelton 3-23-22 (David's notes in red) While reading the Bible, the Lord gave me an open vision of Him sitting beside me. (This is the key to close relationship with Jesus, our heavenly Husband, who is the Word made flesh. We must put His Word down into our hearts. Amo 3:3  Shall two walk together, except they have agreed?) He put his hand on my heart and light came forth from His hand into my heart and it lit up my heart. Then I saw the light spread from my heart to the rest of my body. (Corporately, the Bride is the heart of Christ's Body because she is the closest in nature to His own heart. Through the hand or works of Jesus, the Bride will be used in a great way to bring the true light of Christ to the rest of the Body, just as the heart in the natural pumps the life giving blood to the rest of the Body. John 15:1-8  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me.  5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. (This is like the black man in the house above that was burned.) 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and so shall ye be my disciples.)   7/25/22 During the Monday meeting, I had an open vision. The Lord came and sat down next to me. (Just as Jesus came in a body of the son of David as the Man-child, Jesus is coming in the David Man-child reformer body of ministers to take His rightful place next to His Bride body.) I notice He had a wedding ring on His left hand. Then I looked and saw that I had a ring on my left hand also. (The ring is a sign of eternity, and in this case, eternal intimacy with the Lord. It is also a ring of authority; being a joint heir with Christ.)  I thought of this verse in  Isa 54:5 For thy Maker is thy husband; Jehovah of hosts is his name: and the Holy One of Israel is thy Redeemer; the God of the whole earth shall he be called.   Seeking to Purchase Wisdom's House Eve Brast - 7/28/22 (David's note in red) (I believe Shalonda represents the Bride in this dream just as in the dream above titled, “The Lord Claims His Bride”.) I dreamed I was in the kitchen of a house, that all the local UBM brethren were touring. It was built and owned by a silver haired old woman. (I knew in the dream that she was Wisdom personified.) She wanted to sell the house and was encouraging us all to pitch in together to buy it. But, not only were we all individually too poor to buy it, but even if we had corporately put all our money together, it still would not have been enough. We were individually and corporately too poor to purchase the house of Wisdom. (In Pro 8:19, Wisdom is valued far above silver and gold. So it seems we are poor in wisdom to purchase Wisdom's house.)(Thank God that Jesus, who is Wisdom and the Word, paid the price through His blood shed for us to have the restored house. 1Co 1:24... Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.) There was a large man standing in the middle of the living room. He had a deep voice like James Earl Jones and a long beard and was dressed in a judges robes. He was listening very carefully to what we were saying in our conversations and interactions. (This represents the Father who listens carefully to our words, considers the thoughts and intents of our hearts, monitors our actions with regard to one another and He acts on our confessions of faith to bring about His promises in our individual lives and for the corporate Body.) I walked into the living room and saw Shalonda standing with the Father to her right. Her face was turned downward towards Him as if she was ashamed for Him to see it and her eyes were cast down towards the carpet. I walked up to her and asked her how she was doing. She tried to talk with me while still looking downwards. But as she slowly lifted her face up towards me, I saw that the enemy had beaten up the whole right side of her face. Her whole eye and cheek area was all blackish blue and bruised. I asked, “What happened to you?!” She said, “It's okay. Father is helping me. I've been receiving a lot of “hand-ups.” As she lifted her right hand, palm up, in a gesture. I could tell the Father was pleased with the confession but He understood that it was half-hearted and this was why the enemy was beating her up.” At the same time I felt bad that this had happened to her and wondered if there was something I could have done to help prevent this or to help her fight. (Justification by faith is the main thing. Also Jesus made reconciliation for us and He made us ministers of reconciliation by uniting others to Him by encouraging their faith. With faith we are able to beat up the old man instead of being beaten up by him.) Then my attention was drawn to all of the moldings and cabinetry in the house and the kitchen. They were all sanded down and stripped, waiting to be restored and refinished. I had an open vision of how they used to look with intricate carvings and wood workings. I thought what a shame! I had no Idea that this house used to be so splendid and beautiful. It was still a very beautiful and desired house but nothing like it's original state.  Then Michael Hare came up to me and said, “Have you ever seen this house in its former glory?” And I said, “No. Seems a shame.” (Meaning it was a shame that we couldn't restore it because we were too poor.) Then I woke up. (Ezra 3:11-13  ...And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised Jehovah, because the foundation of the house of Jehovah was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers houses , the old men that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: 14 so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people…) (Jesus is the true house of God. Our job is to behold Him in the mirror by faith until we are restored as His body 2 Co. 3:18.) This dream made me think of Proverbs 8 & 9: Pro 8:1-23 & 30-36  Doth not wisdom cry, And understanding put forth her voice? 2 On the top of high places by the way, Where the paths meet, she standeth; 3 Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, At the coming in at the doors, she crieth aloud: 4 Unto you, O men, I call; And my voice is to the sons of men. 5 O ye simple, understand prudence; And, ye fools, be of an understanding heart.  6 Hear, for I will speak excellent things; And the opening of my lips shall be right things. 7 For my mouth shall utter truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverse in them. 9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, And right to them that find knowledge. 10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; And knowledge rather than choice gold.  11 For wisdom is better than rubies; And all the things that may be desired are not to be compared unto it. 12 I wisdom have made prudence my dwelling, And find out knowledge and discretion. 13 The fear of Jehovah is to hate evil: Pride, and arrogancy, (including the pride of life) and the evil way, And the perverse mouth, do I hate. 14 Counsel is mine, and sound knowledge: I am understanding; I have might. 15 By me kings reign, And princes decree justice.  16 By me princes rule, And nobles, even all the judges of the earth. 17 I love them that love me; And those that seek me diligently shall find me. 18 Riches and honor are with me; Yea , durable wealth and righteousness. 19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; And my revenue than choice silver. 20 I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice;  21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance, And that I may fill their treasuries. 22 Jehovah possessed me (Jesus) in the beginning of his way, Before his works of old. 23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, Before the earth was... 30 Then I was by him, as a master workman; And I was daily his delight, Rejoicing always before him, 31 Rejoicing in his habitable earth; And my delight was with the sons of men.  32 Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me; For blessed are they that keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction, and be wise, And refuse it not. 34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors. 35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, And shall obtain favor of Jehovah. 36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: All they that hate me love death. Pro 9:1,3-12  Wisdom hath builded her house; She hath hewn out her seven pillars: ... 3 She hath sent forth her maidens; She crieth upon the highest places of the city: 4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: As for him that is void of understanding, she saith to him, 5 Come, eat ye of my bread, And drink of the wine which I have mingled. (This is the Lord's supper that we must eat and drink.) 6 Leave off, ye simple ones, and live; And walk in the way of understanding. 7 He that correcteth a scoffer getteth to himself reviling; And he that reproveth a wicked man getteth himself a blot.  8 Reprove not a scoffer, lest he hate thee: Reprove a wise man, and he will love thee. 9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. 10 The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, And the years of thy life shall be increased. 12 If thou art wise, thou art wise for thyself; And if thou scoffest, thou alone shalt bear it.   Though I Walk Through the Valley Marie Kelton - 6/17/22 (David's notes in red) During the Friday meeting, I had an open vision of me walking down a dark road with little light. In the vision I was singing "God of Wonders" which was the song we were singing at that time. As I was seeing the vision the verse popped into my head "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil..." I saw as I was walking that I had on a pair of white headphones. (The white headphones represent listening to the promises in the Word of God as He leads us through the valley of the shadow of “death to self.”) After the vision I opened my song book randomly to page 56 which is the song, "God is Good all the Time.” My eyes fell on the first verse of the song which said, “If you're walking through the valley and there are shadows all around. Do not fear, he will guide you. He will keep you safe and sound.” Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.   Partaking in Christ's Sufferings Marie Kelton - 8/1/22 (David's notes in red) During the Monday meeting the Lord gave me an open vision of Him holding a goblet. The Lord then walked into the Holy of Holies were I was sitting. I was wearing all white with a white head covering. The Lord sat down beside me. (Representing our spiritual man which is sanctified and purified by the blood of Christ and is the only one who can sit with the Lord in the Holy of Holies in our individual temples.) I knew He had drank from the cup. Then He handed me the cup and I drank from it. Then the Lord said, “Partake of My sufferings.”  Mat 20:22-23 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? They say unto him, We are able. He saith unto them, My cup indeed ye shall drink: (Referring to the cup of suffering of crucifixion and "death to self”. This is martyrdom for Christ's name's sake.) but to sit on my right hand, and on my left hand, is not mine to give; but it is for them for whom it hath been prepared of my Father. 1Pet 4:13 but insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ 's sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy. Then a little while later, I had another open vision of me and the Lord in the Holy of Holies eating. (Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.) The Lord had a plate full of food and I did too. I saw the Lord eating with a fork and I asked Him what was on the plate? He said, "vegetables and fruit.” When I looked at my plate, I saw that I had the same meal. (Fruits and vegetables represent healthy food for the spirit man which is the body and blood of Jesus. Lev 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life. The bread/flesh/meat represents the body of Christ which has life because of the wine/blood/nature of Christ. John 6:53-58 Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves. 54 He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he that eateth me, he also shall live because of me. 58 This is the bread which came down out of heaven: not as the fathers ate, and died; he that eateth this bread shall live for ever.)   Finish Your Own Race First!  Tabitha Pienaar - 6/30/22 (David's notes in red) (Claire said, “My young daughter, Tabitha, had this dream last week. She said, 'It's the first time I've ever come first in anything!' Thank you Lord, for keeping Tabitha's eye on the prize and from distractions.”) I dreamed that I was in a race with many other children and I was in a mixed group of boys and girls together, but mostly girls. (1 Co. 9:24-27 Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? (Jesus in us receives the prize.) Even so run; that ye may attain. 25 And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air: 27 but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.)  (Riaan: Tabitha means “gazelle” or “gracious” ). (Tabitha is representing the Bride who finishes her race of sanctification first, so that, as we will see, she can help her “little sister” as in Song. 8:8-9, learn to run the race too. Psa. 18:31-42 or who is God, save Jehovah? And who is a rock, besides our God, 32 The God that girdeth me with strength, And maketh my way perfect? 33 He maketh my feet like hinds feet : And setteth me upon my high places. 34 He teacheth my hands to war; So that mine arms do bend a bow of brass. 35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation; And thy right hand hath holden me up, And thy gentleness hath made me great. 36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.  37 I will pursue mine enemies, and overtake them; Neither will I turn again till they are consumed. 38 I will smite them through, so that they shall not be able to rise: They shall fall under my feet. 39 For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. 40 Thou hast also made mine enemies turn their backs unto me, That I might cut off them that hate me. 41 They cried, but there was none to save; Even unto Jehovah, but he answered them not. 42 Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind; I did cast them out as the mire of the streets. 43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; Thou hast made me the head of the nations: A people whom I have not known shall serve me.)  Back to Tabitha: It was a maze race, and the racetrack was very densely covered with ferns and other leaves. The maze was strange because it wasn't grass or hedges, but it was a track where you could easily get lost. In the middle of the race there was a crocodile pond and a child got stuck in there. I went past the child and saw that she was going to be eaten by a crocodile. I stopped by and helped her, and many children raced past me when I did that. (It's not the fastest runners who win this race but the faithful who obey God's command to Love one another.)   As soon as she was freed, we started running together. In the middle of the dream there was an overhanging area of vines, that was so thick you couldn't see which way to get through. I took a vine and swung and tried to catch a fern so I could get in front of the other children. (Being in heavenly places up above the earth with Jesus, who is the Vine, is how we win the race. John 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing.) I failed the first few times, but as soon as I got ahold of the fern I scrambled along until I was in front of the other children. Then it was the end of the race, and I sprinted to the finish line. I knew I had won because no other children were there yet. Soon a boy came in 2nd place, and then another girl came in 3rd.   The girl who came in 3rd tried to figure out who had won between me and the 2nd placed boy. Soon another group of children came, and the rest were lost in the maze. f The man who was hosting the maze race decided it was time to give out the trophies. (Representing Jesus who was with God the Father when He created this earthly race of trials for us to overcome and win through Jesus' blood.) Then I said to him, “There are so many children who are lost in the race. Why give out the trophies now?”. He said, “We can't wait for them. I told my boss we'd give the trophies out at a certain time. Now is the time and I can't deny my Word”.  So I said, “Fine”. He took up a paper and gave a long speech about how the race was conducted and said, "Thank you to all the people who made the race a success." Then He called “Tabitha” and I stood up on the platform as he gave me my first-place trophy. For some reason, I shouted “Stevenson!”. (Riaan: Stevenson means “garland” or “crown”). (James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to them that love him.)   I was so happy, and mommy and daddy were so happy too and we couldn't stop playing praise music. When we were done, I decided that I was going to look for the children that were lost in the maze. (We must get the beam out of our own eye and then we will see clearly to help our brethren. The Bride will overcome to be chosen as the Bride before the tribulation so that they can in the tribulation wilderness can guide others to maturity.)  The scene changed and I was scrambling through a maze that was more dense than the one I had been running in the initial race. I heard some shouting in the distance. I started running toward the noise and saw the rest of the children in the pond that the crocodiles lived in. (Having been through this in her own race, the Bride will be able to help the little sisters avoid or escape the perils along the way.).  One child was screaming because a crocodile was quickly swimming to her. (These crocodiles represent our beastly enemies and the factious that try to kill the children with their slanderous mouths. The people who become weary in running the race and don't endure in the trials are in danger of not finishing the race at all. Rom 16:17-18 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them that are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which ye learned: and turn away from them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and fair speech they beguile the hearts of the innocent.) I crossed the rock jetty to the area where the child was screaming. I picked her up in my arms and decided the rocks were going to be too slippery for both her and I to cross, so I swam to the other side and gently placed her on the ground. I called to the rest of the children to, one-by-one, go across the rocks that formed the jetty to come back to the bank on the other side. (The Bride body will help others who are the elect of God escape the enemy and his minions who are trying to devour them with their fiery darts from their mouths. The crocodiles are like the dragon in Rev. 12 who sought to devour the woman Church in the wilderness.)  Once the children had done that, we continued the trek back. This time we got very lost. I didn't know why we got lost but there had been signs on the trees before, that pointed the way, but the maze was denser now, so we couldn't see those signs anymore.  We went to an area where we had to sign some papers to see where we were. (This represents coming back to our covenant written in the Word and recommitting to it, to find our way back to the Father.) After the race, the boss (Representing the Father) would come and get the papers to see all the children who had participated in the race. (This represents God's Book of Life that people are written into or blotted out of depending whether they endured until the end to see their salvation.) Soon we found our way out of the maze, and everyone was safe again. Then I woke up.   Tabitha asked the Lord to give her a word that would help her understand the dream, and she received, Nehemiah 6:15  So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. (Riaan: Elul is the 6th month and is usually Aug/Sept). (The wall represents sanctification which is what we are in the race for. What if the end of the race and the finishing of the wall which, represents sanctification, are synonymous and this ends in this time frame of August/September when the Man-child comes for the Bride and the tribulation begins, ending at the same timeframe?  That would be nice.)   Be My Steadfast Lighthouse Eve Brast - October 2017 (Link)  …As I was driving to work one morning, I knew that Father was really driving the message of steadfastness home to me and pulling it together from many different angles. So I asked Him to expand on this; to solidify it in my mind. At that moment, He opened up a vision to me and in a split second I saw it all and understood it more deeply. In the vision, I saw a lighthouse upon a large rock near the ocean shore. It was a pitch black, stormy night and the rain was beating against it almost sideways. Its light burned bright into the darkness out toward the storm tossed sea. It stood strong and faithful against the elements; always shining its guiding light out to sea. I was as tall as the lighthouse while I was walking toward it and then I was merged into it and I became the lighthouse. (David: I believe that Eve represents the work of the Bride to be a lighthouse to the people to bring them to safety. She is also a fit person to have this dream personally for she has worked very hard as long as I have known her to bring the light.) As its light beamed forth from my eyes out upon the wind tossed waves, I saw many wooden ships in distress, being tossed about on the waves. As I focused on these ships, the faces of desperate people appeared where the bows had been. They were intensely focused on my light to avoid being dashed upon the rocky shore. Father spoke to me and said, ”Consider a lighthouse and its steadfastness in the storm. It is reliable, immovable, and ever guiding distressed vessels away from danger… Will you be My lighthouse?” We may never know on this side of eternity how many distressed vessels were saved because of our faithfulness and steadfast reliability to bring the light to them. In the end, I've had to repent of getting caught up in my own little universe of problems. Today Father brought me back to a word He had given me during the 40 day fast... Here it is below: Father spoke to me and said, ”Don't faint in the day of adversity. Be strong. Take courage, for I have heard the cries and the prayers of my people and I will bring great deliverance. You will see the destruction of the enemy with your own eyes. With your own eyes will you see the mighty works of My hands. You feel I am far away, but I am very near to you. You wonder if I hear, but I tell you, I have heard and will answer you in ways that you could not conceive of. Don't faint ! Believe and keep believing, for blessed are they who have not seen me and yet believe! Give Me all the praise and glory for the battle is already won! And I have given you the victory for I reign victorious forever and ever. I will cause you to contend with horses.“ This word reminded me of two texts: Jer. 12:5, If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and though in a land of peace thou art secure, yet how wilt thou do in the pride of the Jordan? And Rev.2:3, and thou hast patience and didst bear for my name's sake, and hast not grown weary.   Select Language Afrikaans Albanian Amharic Arabic Armenian Assamese Aymara Azerbaijani Bambara Basque Belarusian Bengali Bhojpuri Bosnian Bulgarian Catalan Cebuano Chichewa Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Corsican Croatian Czech Danish Dhivehi Dogri Dutch Esperanto Estonian Ewe Filipino Finnish French Frisian Galician Georgian German Greek Guarani Gujarati Haitian Creole Hausa Hawaiian Hebrew Hindi Hmong Hungarian Icelandic Igbo Ilocano Indonesian Irish Italian Japanese Javanese Kannada Kazakh Khmer Kinyarwanda Konkani Korean Krio Kurdish (Kurmanji) Kurdish (Sorani) Kyrgyz Lao Latin Latvian Lingala Lithuanian Luganda Luxembourgish Macedonian Maithili Malagasy Malay Malayalam Maltese Maori Marathi Meiteilon (Manipuri) Mizo Mongolian Myanmar (Burmese) Nepali Norwegian Odia (Oriya) Oromo Pashto Persian Polish Portuguese Punjabi Quechua Romanian Russian Samoan Sanskrit Scots Gaelic Sepedi Serbian Sesotho Shona Sindhi Sinhala Slovak Slovenian Somali Spanish Sundanese Swahili Swedish Tajik Tamil Tatar Telugu Thai Tigrinya Tsonga Turkish Turkmen Twi Ukrainian Urdu Uyghur Uzbek Vietnamese Welsh Xhosa Yiddish Yoruba Zulu Powered by Translate Printer-friendly version

In the middle of the Third Century, it was still illegal to be a Christian.  That would not change until Emperor Constantine in 313.  Still, the Church was growing and the Roman Emperors were getting worried. So much so, that Emperor Decius, in 250 A.D., issued an edict that every person in the Roman Empire

Welcome to August 6th, 2022 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate an age old condiment and the quest for perfect flavor. On this day we celebrate one of the oldest condiments in the history of the world. No, it's not that long-forgotten bottle of ketchup in the back of your fridge. It's mustard. The ancient Romans ground mustard seeds into a powder which they combined with vinegar to make a paste. As the Roman Empire spread across Europe, so did the love of this condiment. Households during the Middle Ages used a lot of mustard, as did 17th century England, where the modern version was created. And that's how mustard made its way from ancient Rome to the top of that hotdog you're about to eat. On National Mustard Day enjoy a classic flavor that never goes out of style.   How far would you go to find perfect flavor? For 12 year old Scott Dunton it all began at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. With one sip of Triple X Root Beer, Scott tasted heaven and his quest to recreate it began. For the next three decades he chased this dream. Tracking down Mutual Flavors in California, he asked for a recipe that would taste like cream. It took a few tries, but when Scott added caramel he struck gold. The rich, smooth taste has been bottled since 1992. Today Scott's Old Fashioned Creamy Caramel Root Beer is served at Mr. D'z Diner on Route 66 in a bottomless root beer float. On National Root Beer Float Day, celebrate one boy's dream to serve up the Holy Grail of perfect flavor. I'm Anna Devere and I'm Marlo Anderson. Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In March 363, the emperor Julian led a vast army east to fight Persia. Why did he want to risk his own future and the future of the Roman Empire by taking on its most powerful adversary? Find out in this episode.

Acts 2:1-4 ESV When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. THE HOLY SPIRIT DESCENDED AT PENTECOST Their patient waiting upon Jesus' promise for the baptism with the Holy Spirit paid off (Acts 1:4–5] The Holy Spirit arrived from heaven with a sound like a mighty rushing wind. What's described here is a sound, not a sensation. They heard the sound of wind but they didn't feel a blast of fast-moving air, did they? The “rushing” and “mighty” sound descriptions suggest the power of wind as always understood to be under God's control. In the Old Testament, He often appeared as some form of wind. For example, He answered to Job from a whirlwind (Job 38:1), to Ezekiel, a stormy wind (Ezekiel 1:4), as a low whisper to Elijah (1 Kings 19:12). And, He filled the room when Solomon dedicated his temple (1 Kings 8:10–11). The word translated as "Spirit" is pneuma, which may meant ‘breath or wind'. However here, the "Holy Spirit" is a person and one of the three members of the Trinity. Let's recall that the Spirit is the power that can make us be born anew in Christ. Jesus described to Nicodemus the work of the Spirit, saying, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). Jesus did the work required to reconcile us to God with His sacrifice on the cross. On the other hand, it is the Holy Spirit who indwells those who believe. Moreover, He equips them to further spread that good news – by emboldening believers in their preaching (Acts 4:31), affirming their teaching (Acts 6:10), preparing hearts of people (Acts 8:29,13:2), leading them in what to say (Acts 15:28), and guiding believers (Acts 16:6–7). The Spirit descent during the day of the "Pentecost” signaled the start of the church age. Pentecost is derived from the Greek word for "fiftieth." It falls seven weeks and one day [50 days] after the Sabbath that occurs during the weeklong Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is also called the "Feast of Weeks" because that same period is seven weeks or "a week of weeks." It is given in the Mosaic Law in Lev 23:15–21 and Deut 16:9–12. Thus after Passover, Pentecost is the next major feast for which Jews from all over the Roman Empire will come to Jerusalem in order to bring first of their grain as a free-will offering. On this Pentecost, Jerusalem offers a kind of free-will offering to God. Amazingly, three thousand people believe in Jesus during this day (Acts 2:41). -------------------- Visit and FOLLOW Gospel Light Filipino on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram

This morning we are continuing through the book of Acts, the story of the early church. We are up to Acts 16 this morning, a section focused on Paul and his missionary journeys as he brings the good news of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection to cities around the Roman Empire in Europe and Asia. In Acts 16, we see Paul in Philippi, and we have recorded here three stories of God using very different means to bring three very different people to faith in Jesus. Let's begin in Acts 16:6-12: Acts 16:6-40 - Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.  7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.  8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.  9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."  10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.  11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis.  12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. Notice a couple of things. The narrative moves from third person to 1st person plural here, as Luke, the author of Acts, joins Paul's missionary team. Notice as well that Luke takes very careful notes about where they go. Again, this is history, this is not fairy tale. And notice the leading of the Spirit, calling them one place and blocking their entrance to another. 13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. Typically when Paul entered a city, he would look for a synagogue. That gave him a place where people were already seeking God where he could share about Jesus. In Philippi, however, there is no synagogue. Ten Jewish men were needed to establish a synagogue, and evidently there weren't that many. So they looked for a place of prayer, where some people might be gathering for worship. And they find some women who have gathered for prayer and worship. Good lesson in here about looking for signs of spiritual openness.

Tom and Dominic are joined by friend of the show Kyle Harper to discuss how pandemics and disease played a far greater role in the decline of the Roman Empire than previously understood.On the show Kyle, Dominic, and Tom discuss life expectancy, how the Roman Empire was ‘bad for people's health', the Antonine Plague, and more.Listen to our previous episodes with Kyle:146. Disease vs. the rise of civilisation147. Disease, the New World and modern pandemicsJoin The Rest Is History Club for ad-free listening to the full archive, weekly bonus episodes, live streamed shows and access to an exclusive chatroom community.Twitter:@TheRestHistory@holland_tom@dcsandbrookEmail: restishistorypod@gmail.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Paul's second missionary journey is underway and he makes the big transition from Asia into western Europe. Follow his travels down the Via Egnatia (a Roman road built to connect the major cities of the Roman Empire and make it easy for the Roman army to move about the empire) and follow in Paul's footsteps through Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens.

A conversation with Kim Bowes (University of Pennsylvania) about production and consumption in the Roman world, especially by the 90% of the population who are less represented in our literary sources. How did they get by from day to day? What alternatives does the evidence suggest to the "subsistence" model that many ancient historians have used? The conversation is based on a paper on "Household Economics in the Roman Empire and Early Christianity," forthcoming in the Oxford Handbook of Biblical Households, and earlier publications, including The Roman Peasant Project 2009-2014: Excavating the Roman Rural Poor (Penn Museum/University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021); “Tracking Liquid Savings at Pompeii: The Coin Hoard Data," Journal of Roman Archaeology 35 (2022) 1-27; and “Tracking Consumption at Pompeii: The Graffiti Lists,” Journal of Roman Archaeology 34 (2021) 552-584.

Science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote his celebrated Foundation trilogy in his twenties, as he worked for the US Navy and toiled through graduate school. The trilogy was inspired by Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and explores Asimov's innovative concept of "psychohistory." I'm Rachelle Ferguson of Kittywham Productions, and Unknown Friends is my biweekly book review podcast. Visit the Unknown Friends homepage at www.kittywhamproductions.com/podcast. To learn more about me and my work as a Christian playwright, explore my website at www.kittywhamproductions.com. Support the podcast and access exclusive content: www.patreon.com/unknownfriends Get in touch with me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rachelle.ferguson Connect with me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/kittywhamproductions Email me: kittywham@gmail.com Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the podcast, leave a quick review, and share with your book-loving friends!

Part 21 Rising Opposition Last time we looked at the man Thomas Aquinas before going on to see the Eastern and Western Churches separate spectacularly! Today we see rising opposition to the Roman Catholic Church – from outside it and from within! Persecution & Inquisition. In the 12th century, a number of groups started questioning important Church doctrines. Itinerant and wandering monks preached to the imagination and consciences of people. People were starting to read the Bible for themselves and also pray to God without relying on the prayers of the Clergy. Which Jesus are people to follow was in a lot of people's minds. “Do we look to – the all-conquering ascended Christ who is ruling earth through his vicar, the Pope or do we look to the opposite of this image – the Jesus who said “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to sleep.” (Matthew 8:20) Asking questions as to why the church hierarchy feast while the common people starved? Where is the church people started questioning – is it in the sacramental institution or is it in the people? People such as Robert Grosseteste, the Bishop of Lincoln, who decried the laziness, greed and immorality of the Roman Catholic clergy. To question the Pope and the Roman Catholic church was regarded then as heresy. These people, baptized members of the church, who were questioning the Church, were seen to be turning their back on the Church. What was the church to do? The Church responded by means to purify the Church of heresy. This was conducted through trials and the Inquisition. There was some conflict within the Church itself. How can the Church, employ violence to ensure peace within society and maintain a heresy-free Church? A pure church was the Will of God – reigning through His representative on earth, the Pope. Innocent III labelled heresy, as treason in 1199. He made the Dominicans the main order to search out heresy. At the time, faith was not a private matter but a public faith upon which the whole of society was built. To commit any heresy was therefore also to commit treason against the State. Disobedience therefore against the State, was therefore also heresy. Hence a dark time in Church history with the Inquisition, which involved the deliberate and prolonged torture of both heretics and infidels. This was as a means to eliminate the heretics and maintain strict doctrine, teaching and practise. In 1224, execution by secular authorities became papal policy. Innocent IV condoned torture (1252) to 'help people find the truth'. A court went from town to town searching for heretics. An opportunity was given for confession and recantation, but the resistant were often burned at the stake. The Inquisition was extensive in Italy, Spain & France for several centuries. Arise Arnold! However, questions were starting to be raised about how far the Church had strayed from the clear Apostolic teachings of the Bible – particularly in regard to non-violence and poverty. Arnold, an Italian churchman urged the Church to sell its riches and give the proceeds to the poor – helping return the Church to its New Testament roots. He was also at the forefront of movements to overthrow the Pope. When Pope Innocent II was on tour for the Second Crusade, Arnold seized his chance and with the help of the Romans took power. Romans dreaming of a return to the glories of the Roman Empire! Arnold decreed that clergy were to live in poverty. This lasted about 10 years until Pope Hadrian IV overthrew Arnold and Arnold was executed for heresy. But his voice wasn't alone! There were more to come. Arise Waldo! Peter Waldo of Lyons, France, was a rich merchant and converted to Christianity in 1175-1176. Soon after he gave away his wealth in order to follow Christ with a lifestyle of simplicity, poverty and preaching. He gained a large following and was approved by the Pope in 1179. A group we now call the Waldensians grew from this with a mission to the poor. Waldo sent out Christians, two by two, in order to teach and explain the Scriptures to people. Once when ordered to stop, Waldo quoted the Apostle Peter in rebuttal “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29). These were laymen – not trained by the Church and therefore not allowed to go about preaching and speaking without invitation by Bishops and church hierarchy. They were a living condemnation of the Church and in 1181 they were condemned. In the year 1184 they were excommunicated. Pope Lucius III ordered their elimination by inquisition and secular punishment. They formed their 'own true' church which spread throughout most of Europe except Britain. The main objections of the Church to the Waldensians, was that they engaged in unauthorised preaching of the Bible; rejection of the intermediary role of the clergy; and the rejection of purgatory. Reformation had not yet come to the Church, particularly in matters of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. The Waldensians didn't teach this but reformation of the Church and of Church teaching was coming. But not yet… Tap or click here to download this as an audio mp3 file

Often the few words of an epitaph are all that we can use to know them from their tombstone. Today I trace the origins of epitaphs, and the somewhat bumpy road that brought them to the present day. What do they say not only about the person they memorialize, but about society as a whole?Email: tombwithaviewpodcast@gmail.comFacebookInstagram

Episode 171 – Paul’s Places – Part 12: Summary 2 Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: With this letter I'm introducing Phoebe to you. She is our sister in the Christian faith and a deacon of the church in the city of Cenchrea. Give her a Christian welcome that shows you are God's holy people. Provide her with anything she may need, because she has provided help to many people, including me. Romans, chapter 16, verses 1 and 2, God’s Word Translation ******** VK: Hello! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. We’re very grateful for the chance to be with you today. For several weeks now we have been working on a series we call “Paul’s Places.” This is our 12th episode in this series and we are concluding it today. Anyone who has missed any of the previous lessons can find them on our website, crystalseabooks.com, or on their favorite podcast app. We wanted to do this series for one simple reason – to help people understand that the New Testament documents are historically reliable. In our last episode we begin to summarize some of the major points that we’ve covered during this series and we want to conclude that summary today. To do that, today In the studio we have RD Fierro, the author of a number of great Christian books and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, what’s on your mind as we close out our series on “Paul’s Places?” RD: Well, let me start by thanking our listeners for joining us here today. As you said the reason we wanted to do this “Paul’s Places” series was to help listeners think a little more deeply about the books that comprise our New Testament. If you open just about any internet news site these days on many days you’ll see a headline that says something like “facts about the most famous Bible myths” or “the truth about Jesus’ miracles.” Skepticism about the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, is pretty much the stock in trade for a great many peddlers of “click bait.” Well, here’s a question most people rarely think about. Why? Why do so many internet headlines claim to reveal a new “truth” or “fact” about Jesus, the Bible, or a Bible story or character? I mean there are a lot of books that one group or another claims to be the word of God. But you never see the names of those other books used in one of those headlines. There are no headlines that “what is the truth about the Bhagavad Gita (bah-gah-vahd geeta) or “where does the Book of Mormon get it wrong?” VK: I suppose the internet headline people would tell you that the Bible is the book that is the most widely known in our culture so it’s the book that sparks the most general interest. In other words, they would tell us that these headlines and banners are primarily a cultural phenomenon based on the historical basis for Western culture. RD: And I would agree that that is part of the reason those kinds of headlines are featured. But you never see headlines that are more generalized like “how we know all books claiming to be God’s word are false.” No. What you see in our culture in this day and age are repeated and determined attacks aimed specifically at the reliability of the Bible. To deny that the Bible is the primary, if not the singular, focus of the skeptics’ wrath in our culture would be to try to deny an easily confirmable fact. VK: So, why do you think the Bible is, as you say, “the primary, if not the singular, focus of the skeptics’ wrath?” And what does that have to do with “Paul’s Places?” RD: The reason the skeptics, critics, etc. focus on the Bible is because they know that it is God’s word. Other books that claim to be God’s word carry no peril for the skeptic or critic in our culture. But just as in the Garden of Eden the authentic word of God is always a threat to God’s enemies and rebels. VK: You’re thinking about the serpent’s very first words to Eve, aren’t you? Genesis, chapter 3, verse 1 actually records the second instance of a creature speaking in the Bible. “The snake was more clever than all the wild animals the LORD God had made. He asked the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must never eat the fruit of any tree in the garden'?" Before those words were spoken the only other creature we heard speaking was in Genesis, chapter 2, verse 23, when Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She will be named [woman] because she was taken from man." Both of those are from the God’s Word Translation. RD: Yes. The very first thing Satan did, in the guise of the serpent, when he confronted people was to cast doubt on God’s word. VK: So, really the internet headlines are just continuing a pattern that has been going on for over 6,000 years. RD: Yes. And in that odd, ironic kind of way that widespread attempt to cast doubt on the reliability of God’s word is a strange form of confirmation that the Bible is God’s word. The skeptics and critics can recognize, just as Satan did, God’s word. Why would they spend so much time attempting to debunk or cast doubt on a book that is actually a book of, as the critics often assert, “myths and fairy tales.” VK: Well, it is true you don’t see any internet banners saying, “The true details of Grimm’s fairy tales” or “where the Norse legends got it wrong.” But still, wouldn’t the critics say that the reason they have to spend all that energy correcting the misinformation in the Bible is that the Bible has so many people who believe it? And that is what offends them – that the Bible has so many people who believe in something that cannot possibly be true. RD: I’m sure they would say that. But the next legitimate question that the critic must answer is “what is it in the Bible that isn’t true?” When you ask that question all too often you get these vague, generalized dismissals such as “well, there is no evidence in historical records that a large Hebrew exodus from Egypt ever occurred” or “science has shown that the Bible is full of misinformation.” That is a form of fallacious argumentation called “elephant hurling.” And when you look closely at the Bible critics’ assertions you find that the sky is so full of elephants it looks gray instead of blue. VK: Ok. That’s an image I’m not sure I want to hold. I’m almost expecting a pachyderm to start falling into the studio right about now. What is “elephant hurling?” RD: “Elephant hurling” is the argumentative approach of throwing out a generalization out and making it seem like it is seemingly backed by a large and weighty body of evidence. The idea is to suggest that there is so much evidence in favor of the hurler’s point that it is useless to try and rebut it. Elephant hurlers say things like “archeologists have never found anything that confirms anything from the Bible,” or more commonly “all scientists agree that the earth is 4.5 Billion years old.” The elephant hurler wants to quash dissent by making it appear that all reasonable people must agree with them or appear foolish. But more often than not the elephant hurler does not even bother to determine whether the evidence actually supports their contention. They just hurl purported studies or volumes around under the guise that they all support their assertion – regardless of whether the study or analysis does. VK: And when it comes to criticizing the Bible you do find a lot of elephants being hurled – especially when it comes to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The critics will say things like, “Almost all historians say that there is no evidence outside the Bible that Jesus ever lived at all” or “Scientists will tell you that if people claim to have seen Jesus after he died it was a form of mass delusion.” Elephant hurlers don’t delve into the details because the real world gets a lot more confusing when you look at the details. That’s one of the reason we do series like Paul’s Places – to get into the details. The more you look into the details the more you find out that the elephant hurlers don’t have nearly as much evidence on their side as they would like you to believe. And when it comes to the Bible the details overwhelmingly validate the Bible’s reliability. RD: Yes. So, when you get beyond the elephant hurling we come back to the original point. The reason there are so many stories and articles all over the internet about the Bible is because the Bible is a book that communicates truth and our culture finds much of the truth the Bible contains very disagreeable. Most of the supposed analysis is really just disguised animosity. The Bible’s truth is an implied rejection of a great deal of contemporary culture. VK: The classic enemies of an authentic believer are the world, the flesh, and the devil. Well, the world around us right now expresses its enmity less by direct attack than by casting subtle doubts. People might resist or be alarmed by an outright attack but compromise by degree is far less likely to encounter resistance. But even subtle push back is still push back. And if the Bible were really just a “collection of myths and fairy tales” why would so much push back be necessary? The critics push back because no matter how much they dislike it the truth of the Bible continues to weigh upon their consciences. As Paul puts it in the book of Romans, chapter 1, verses 18 through 21: “But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks.” That’s the New Living Translation. RD: Critics may deny God exists but even their denials betray their awareness of His presence. No one publishes articles pushing back on Grimm’s fairy tales or ancient pagan mythologies because those things are self-evidently not true. They are not accurate portrayals of reality. No one spends any time pushing back on those things but they spend enormous amounts of time telling us that the Bible falls in the same category of fable and myth. But, if that were true, why do they treat the Bible so differently? They spend time pushing against the Bible precisely because they know the Bible is true. Truth is that which corresponds to reality. The Bible is an accurate reflection of reality. It’s an accurate reflection of human and world history. It’s an accurate reflection of the problems associated with living in a fallen creation. It’s an accurate reflection of man’s true awareness of an ultimate judgement and it’s an accurate reflection of God’s sovereignty over all the created order. So, the critics must try to dismiss it. It’s just that their strategies for doing so always simply wind up pointing back to the fact that the Bible is true. VK: Most of the criticism of the Bible is either based on faulty facts or faulty analysis. For instance, you often hear the criticism that God cannot exist because evil exists. It’s usually framed something like this: “A good God who is all powerful would not permit evil to exist. So, God is either not all powerful because He cannot stop evil. Or God is not good because He could prevent the existence of evil but He chooses not to.” But – and this is a huge but – the criticism presumes that there is a real difference between good and evil. After all, you can’t complain about God allowing evil to exist if there is no difference between good and evil. But, without God, how would such a distinction between good and evil be established? When we say that slavery and child pornography are evil we do not mean that we simply do not like them. That’s a matter of preference. We do not mean that they are inconvenient. That would be a matter of personal taste. When we say they are evil, and they are, we mean they violate an objective standard that should govern human behavior because there is a real difference between actions that are good and those that are evil. But the existence of an objective standard requires the existence of a Standard Maker who has the legal capacity to set standards and who can judge and hold accountable violators. So, the person complaining that the existence of evil means that God can’t exist rebuts their own basic premise. They wind up providing an affirmative demonstration that God must exist. RD: So, all this is why we did the Paul’s places series. The elephant hurlers’ arguments lose their power when you start looking at the flying pachyderms more closely. When they pass overhead at a distance they look imposing. But once you examine them you find out they were just balloons filled with hot air. You quickly find out that rather than there being no solid historical evidence for Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that there is an abundance of evidence. And you find out that the Bible, rather than being filled with myth and fable, when it addresses matters of human history contains history that is reliable, reasonable, and verifiable. It has been said that one of the strongest lines of evidence for the reality of the resurrection was the appearance and “stickiness” of belief in the resurrection after Jesus’ earthly life and ministry. VK: What you’re saying is that prior to Jesus’ life there was no widespread belief in physical resurrection even among the Jews. In fact, at the time that Jesus lived the Jewish sect that controlled their governing body outright rejected the entire concept of life after death. RD: Yes. During Jesus’ lifetime the Sadducees controlled the Sanhedrin – the Jews’ governing council. And the Sadducees rejected many of the supernatural aspects of the Jewish faith such as the existence of angels. And they firmly rejected the idea of life after death. The Sadducees chief opponents, the Pharisees, did accept the idea of life after death but even they had a very poorly defined concept of what such life looked like. None of the major Jewish beliefs held to the idea of a physical resurrection of a body. That’s one reason even Jesus’ own disciples had such a hard time with what he told them about what would happen to him. VK: Neither the disciples, the common people, nor the Jewish leaders ever envisioned their Messiah dying much less coming back to life after death. The general idea of the Messiah was that he would be a conquering hero would crush Israel’s enemies militarily and establish a golden era of Jewish prosperity. So, even though the disciples had heard Jesus say that he was indeed the Messiah they had no real concept of what he was talking about. The disciples thought Jesus was going to defeat the Romans. Jesus knew that he was going to defeat a much more difficult enemy – death itself. RD: Right. So, it is easy to see why the disciples were so devastated when Jesus died on the cross. Jesus’ death wasn’t just the death of a man it was the death of an entire set of hopes and dreams. VK: After all, if they had believed that Jesus would die on Friday only to rise on Sunday they would not have exhibited the utter devastation that they did. They might have been grieved over what Jesus had endured but they would have said to themselves, “but once Sunday arrives he’ll be back.” But they didn’t believe Jesus was coming back. That illustrates that the Jews simply did not have physical resurrection as a plank of their belief system. And even after Jesus returned they still had a hard time integrating the enormity of what had happened into that thinking. We think of Thomas saying, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” That’s the gospel of John, chapter 20, verse 25 in the New International Version. RD: Yes. So, this reluctance to believe wasn’t just present among the disciples. It was present among all the Jews and of course the larger culture surrounding them. Paul, when he was still Saul, shared in this disbelief. It wasn’t until he personally encountered the risen Christ that his life changed. And it was in the culture of disbelief that Paul then had to minister and testify. VK: But minister and testify he did, as did the rest of the Apostles and first converts many of whom had also seen the resurrected Jesus. And evidence of the reality of Jesus’ resurrection is that those early believers were so convicted that despite persecution and martyrdom they held to that belief for the rest of their lives. Church tradition tells us of the original 11 disciples who believed only the Apostle John was not martyred. And even John endured exile and maltreatment for maintaining his conviction. Judas, of course, who had betrayed Jesus committed suicide before the resurrection. RD: It has been said that the biggest loser of all time was Judas – not because he betrayed Jesus – even Peter denied Jesus when it counted most. Judas is the biggest loser of all time because he hung himself without waiting for Sunday and the resurrection. Had he waited he would have seen the risen Christ who would have forgiven him. VK: Now that is eternal death. Judas was less than 36 hours away from obtaining eternal glory. Instead he is condemned for all time. That will give you something to think about. RD: In an odd way we live in an era not too dissimilar to the era in which the Apostle Paul conducted his ministry. We live in an era when skepticism about religion abounds. In fact, we live in an age where skepticism about truth is widespread. Just about every institution in the U.S. has become hostile to Christianity and government power has been used to both suppress Christians and their faith. In America we worship the “separation of church and state” far more than we actually worship in church. VK: The phrase “separation of church and state” has become a slogan and rallying cry of American officialdom to mean Christian influence must be eradicated from the public square. Yet, ironically, when Thomas Jefferson used the phrase, “wall of separation between church and state” in his letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802 Jefferson’s point was that the government should stay out of the church’s business not vice-versa. Jefferson held church services in the White House. He would have never recognized the application of the phrase as it manifested itself in the 20th and 21st centuries. RD: Yes. So, in an odd way the Apostle Paul’s epistles take on a unique role for Christians in the western world today – actually a dual role. The content of the Pauline epistles shows us that they are authentic letters written to groups of believers living in and around the Roman Empire in the last half of the 1st century AD. Their unique characteristics demonstrate that and confirm both their authenticity and their historicity. They are both historically appropriate and historically informative. The Pauline Epistles have always done that – and will always play that role. VK: The Pauline epistles are no less God’s Word than any other part of the Bible. They are God’s communication to man in the same way as the law that God gave to Moses. And it was Jesus himself who said, “For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” That is Matthew, chapter 5, verse 18 from the New International Version. RD: But the Pauline epistles can have special meaning for believers today because we testify to a culture that is very similar to many parts of the culture that was present in the Roman Empire. The city of Corinth was economically vibrant but morally degenerate. They literally worshipped the goddess of sex and pleasure. The believers in the region of Galatia were being harassed by agitators who wanted to pervert the simplicity of the gospel by adding extraneous requirements. How often in the church have we heard legalists who have insisted that you cannot be a Christian unless you follow a particular set of rules none of which are present in scripture. The church in Colossae was located in a region where mystery religions flourished and the practitioners of those religions claimed to have unique insights that were available only to them. In our culture there is a tsunami of groups or people who have claimed to possess “codes,” “secrets,” or “special revelations” that communicate the hidden wisdom of the universe or tell us “what really happened to Jesus or his disciples?” VK: What you’re saying is that beside the Pauline epistles containing abundant evidence of being true, the truth they communicate is more important than ever to current believers. In a culture where a widespread consensus on the truth Christianity has been abandoned we can learn from the Apostle Paul’s approach to witnessing. Paul witnessed in a culture that bears striking similarities to our own. In the Roman Empire emperor worship was mandated. In our own culture we have so elevated our opinion of ourselves, and the cultural devices we have created, that we are perilously close to an identical idolatry. The Romans tried to create gods out of men and we have created gods out of various ideologies and purportedly “scientific concepts.” RD: Exactly. But we can take heart from Paul’s experiences. In Acts, chapter 19, verse 26 we hear one of Paul’s opponents, a silversmith named Demetrius lead a riot and proclaim, “You see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but almost all over [the province of] Asia, this Paul has persuaded [people to believe his teaching] and has misled a large number of people, claiming that gods made by [human] hands are not really gods at all.” That’s from the Amplified Bible. So, one of Paul’s most ardent opponents inadvertently gave an amazing testimony of the effectiveness of Paul’s ministry. And as we have talked about frequently in this Paul’s Places series Paul always kept his testimony and teaching focused on the crucified Christ. Paul knew that the crucified Christ was foolishness to many and a stumbling block for many others but that did not deter him. The gospel’s power is in its truth and it was persuasive to the first people to hear it like Phoebe who we heard about in our opening scripture. And that truth is just as persuasive today but we must proclaim it. The simple truth is that Jesus died on a cross and paid the price for our sins. That’s a simple historical fact that has a profound spiritual implication. Well, if all Jesus had done was die we would have no hope. But it is also a simple historical fact that Jesus walked, on his own power, out of a sealed tomb, witnessed to hundreds, and ultimately ascended back to His eternal throne. That is a simple historical fact but it is the most profound spiritual truth of all time. VK: Well, that’s a good place to end for today. This “Paul’s Places” series is all about helping people see more clearly that the Pauline epistles, the letters contained in the New Testament written by the Apostle Paul, are exactly what they claim to be. They are letters written by one of Christianity’s first evangelical preachers to convey important truths to those who had begun to place their trust in Jesus. Those letters most certainly assert Christ’s divinity but far from that assertion being some kind of myth it is backed up by solid historical evidence and testimony. Let’s close with prayer as we always do. Today let’s listen to a prayer for our friends who have yet to begin a saving relationship with Christ Jesus. The smallest prayer of the most frail believer when heard by God is more powerful than we can possibly imagine. ---- PRAYER FOR THE SPIRITUALLY LOST VK: Before we close we’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes in this series or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Opening Bible Quotes from the God’s Word Translation) Romans, chapter 16, verses 1 and 2, God’s Word Translation paultanner.org/English Docs/SpecialArt/Pauline Chronology.pdf

You're not really in total charge of all your finances, right? You know that, because you are required to pay income taxes each year on the income you earn. Unsurprisingly, the U.S. government is considered by some to be an unwelcome financial partner in their personal finances. But isn't paying taxes in a country like America actually a privilege? Join Kevin as he offers key background and a particularly Christian take on income taxes! // Download this episode's Application & Action questions and PDF transcript at whitestone.org.

From luring in unicorns to protecting the Roman Empire, myths have surrounded virginity for centuries. But is virginity itself a myth?In this episode, Kate speaks to Anke Bernau about where the so-called cherry comes from, what it stands for and why it has been important throughout history.*WARNING there are mentions of rape and assault in this episode*Produced by Charlotte Long and Sophie Gee. Mixed by Peter Dennis.Betwixt the Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society. A podcast by History Hit. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast (08/01/22), we present an episode of the Hank Unplugged podcast. Hank's guest is Professor James Papandrea, co-author of How Christianity Saved Civilization… And Must Do So Again. Hank and Papandrea discuss why Christians were so hated in the early Roman Empire, Constantine and the history of religious freedom, if it is self-evident that all people are created equal, perpetuation as opposed to innovation, how involved Christians should be in the community, the true significance of the Trinity to the world, and if there is a difference between abortion and infanticide.

On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast (08/01/22), we present an episode of the Hank Unplugged podcast. Hank's guest is Professor James Papandrea, co-author of How Christianity Saved Civilization… And Must Do So Again. Hank and Papandrea discuss the only acceptable intolerance in our society, if the church should change, the brilliance of the Church Fathers, the Bible and Holy Tradition, and why Christians were so hated in the early Roman Empire.For information on how to receive How Christianity Saved Civilization... And Must Do So Again for your partnering gift, please check our website: https://www.equip.org/product/cri-resource-how-christianity-saved-civilization-and-must-do-so-again/

We are privileged to live in the land of the free. We acknowledge that many have given their lives to purchase this gift of liberty that we enjoy. American citizenship is a precious thing. Jesus and the Apostles lived in the time of the Roman Empire. Their experience of civil government was far different than ours. Even so the Apostle Paul at times took advantage of his Roman citizenship in Philippi and later in Jerusalem. Paul was eventually imprisoned in Caesarea for two years. When he stood before the judgment seat he appealed to Caesar as was his right as a Roman citizen. God used Paul's citizenship to bring him to Rome to preach the Gospel. As Americans we have freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

UNIVERSITY OF EXCELLENCE Prince HandleyPresident / Regent PRINCE HANDLEY PORTAL 1,000's of FREE ResourcesWWW.REALMIRACLES.ORG INTERNATIONAL Geopolitics | Intelligence | Prophecy WWW.UOFE.ORG END TIME BABYLON GLOBAL COMMERCE CENTER END TIME INFLUENCE OF ESG, WEF AND RESET LISTEN TO THIS MESSAGE HERE >>> LISTEN 24/7 release of Prince Handley teachings, BLOGS and podcasts > STREAM Twitter: princehandley Subscribe FREE to Prince Handley Teaching and Newsletter ________________________________________ DESCRIPTION This is a short and brief teaching to alert you, once again, to the future establishment of End Time Babylon: a REAL city (but may have a different name). It will be the megacenter of world commerce and will influence the nations (and their leaders) with immorality (false religion). Read Revelation Chapters 17 and 18.   Babylon the Great Harlot will become a center of Islamic commerce and religion. Babylon is the New World Order's substitute for Jerusalem. ________________________________________   END TIME BABYLON GLOBAL COMMERCE CENTEREND TIME INFLUENCE OF ESG, WEF AND RESET BABYLON WILL BE CAPITAL OF NEW GLOBAL "COMMERCE" BUT NOT THE CAPITAL OF NEW GLOBAL "GOVERNANCE"   Just as Babylon was the headquarters for the first world dictator―Nimrod―so the NEW BABYLON will be the headquarters of NEW NIMROD: the FINAL New Global Governance dictator: a despot and worse than tyrant. The New Global Governance leader will be chosen by the NWO―New World Order (or whatever name the organization ascribes to itself at that time). He will be the FALSE mashiach (messiah) and the greatest enemy that Israel and the Jewish People have ever known. Turkey will probably become the headquarters for the New Global GOVERNANCE. In due time it will become obvious that it will in effect be the (clandestine) headquarters of the NIO: New Islamic Order. As the Global GOVERNANCE Center, Turkey will come into position―may break away from its previous European and western associations―and, as the Eastern leg of the old Roman Empire, it will be the epicenter of Islamic geopolitical and financial concourse, fostering the development of New Babylon COMMERCE Center: international commercial, political and religious centre of the world. New Babylon will work in alignment―for a season―with the New Global Governance leader: the FALSE Messiah. New Babylon Global COMMERCE Centerwill later be destroyed by a confederacy of Ten Regional Leaders―who actually support her development at first―and who align themselves with the dictates of the New Governance Leader: the FALSE Messiah. TAKE AWAY: Israel's leaders―and Mossad―must pray for discernment and insight in the coming commercial, geopolitical and religious shifts. Watch Turkey, watch the UN and its evolution / transition into the New World Governance ... and watch for the New Nimrod: a man of “supposed” peace who will appear on the world stage. This New Nimrod will broker a seven year peace agreement―a covenant just like Daniel prophesied―and in the middle of the seven years, he (the False Mashiach) will go into the newly built Temple of the Jews and declare that he is G-d: the overspreading of abomination just like Daniel prophesied (and an anti-type of Antiochus IV Epiphanes who desecrated the Temple around 167 BCE. ISLAM will likely be ONE catalyst which will bring about the New Global Governance (think UN or NWO). NOTE: ESG and WEF may also bring about a RESET which will be used by Satan as TWO other catalysts to bring about New Global Governance. CHINA and the Kings of the East will be a FOURTH catalyst to forming the New Global Governance. Muslim terrorism is now global. You will begin to see the loss of your right to privacy. Israel and the USA will be the key targets of this attack. Islamic terrorism will be ONE active agent to frighten people into wanting New World Governance ... along with Global Reset by ESG and WEF. In exchange for being allowed to build her Temple, Israel will sign a peace treaty with the coming world leader: the FALSE messiah. New Babylon [a literal city] will arise with support from a 10 region cooperative of GEOPOLITICAL leaders who give support to the future Global Governance Leader: the FALSE Messiah, the antiChrist. [NOTE: these 10 world leaders will later work with the antichrist to DESTROY New Babylon.] READ REVELATION CHAPTERS 13, 17 & 18 So what should you do? PRAY ~ PREPARE ~ TEACH. Make all the money you can to invest in: 1. God's Work and Workers; and, 2. Purchase what you need to become ~ and remain ~ independent [and in some cases "off the grid" when necessary] as long as you can while doing God's Work! Prophetic happenings are speeding up! WATCH these forces: ESG / WEF / RESET CHINA ISLAM Baruch haba b'Shem ADONAI. Your friend, Prince Handley President / RegentUniversity of Excellence Subscribe FREE to Prince Handley Teachings & Newsletter Prince Handley BLOG________________________________________ Rabbinical & Biblical StudiesThe Believers' IntelligentsiaPrince Handley Portal(1,000's of FREE resources)Prince Handley Books ________________________________________ OPPORTUNITY If you would like to partner with Prince Handley and help him do the Spirit exploits the LORD has assigned him, Click thIs secure DONATE or the one below. God will reward you abundantly on earth … and in Heaven! A TAX DEDUCTIBLE RECEIPT WILL BE SENT TO YOU ________________________________________ MESSIAH YESHUA (JESUS) WINS >>> Learn how YOU can WIN, also!

Julian the Apostate is best remembered for his epithet 'the Apostate', referring to his anti-Christian policies. But what was he really like and how did he want to change the Roman Empire? Find out in this episode.

The third century was a time of great upheaval for the Roman Empire and it was equally so for the church in […]

The FBI's efforts to interfere in the last two presidential elections on behalf of Democrats brings to mind the Praetorian Guard in the Roman Empire. Once the Guard realized it had the power to make and break emperors, who learned to play ball—or else. 5) Russia's natural gas diplomacy sending EU into recession; 4) China spying on US reaches disturbing levels; 3) Real US inflation now higher than worst of the Jimmy Carter years; 2) Polio case in New York, anthrax in Colorado cattle; 1) FBI suppression of Hunter Biden investigation was second consecutive presidential election in which the bureau intervened to hurt Trump.

Father's Day has roots going back to the early Middle ages, just after the fall of the Roman Empire in Europe. Churches celebrated a version. But, it took until the 1970s for it to become a nationally recognized holiday in the United States. Here is the story of Father's Day. Podcast Show Notes: https://ancestralfindings.com/the-history-of-fathers-day/  Genealogy Clips Podcast https://ancestralfindings.com/podcast Historical Postcard Giveaway https://ancestralfindings.com/postcard-giveaway/ Free Genealogy eBooks https://ancestralfindings.com/ebooks Hard To Find Surnames https://ancestralfindings.com/surnames Follow on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AncestralFindings Support Ancestral Findings https://ancestralfindings.com/donation #Genealogy #AncestralFindings #GenealogyClips

Church History Part 15 United We Fall? In Europe, various barbarian factions ruled yet many held the unity of the Roman Empire in their imagination. The barbarous factions were often at war with one another, yet there was an underlying yearning that one day Europe would once again be united under a new Roman Empire! In all of this there came a time when a new centre of power arose from within the landlord aristocracy, as power was greedily gobbled up and transferred to them. Amidst this, one central figure arose the “mayor of the palace.”  The first of these we will look at is Charles Martel. Charles Martel: The family of Charles Martel were a rising political force in France and Europe in the 8th & 9th centuries. Charles Martel had been successive in his battles against the invading Islamists, form which he got the name “Martel”, which means “The hammer”. He had hammered the Islamists from central Europe back to the Iberian peninsula. Charles Martel had performed as well as allowed great acts of violence against the church. He did however change and sought to set about restoring the rights of the Roman Catholic hierarchy. In 723, Boniface was protected by Charles Martel, which Boniface later exuded that without such an act, he could not govern the church, prevent idolatrous worship or defend the clergy. When Charles' son Pepin rose to power he made a pact with the Roman Catholic church, which stipulated that whoever was in actual power should be the actual ruler. Pepin was duly appointed King of the Franks and declared himself the “Chosen of the Lord.” Under the guidance of Boniface, the church was reformed, there was a revival of religion and education; and they became the "protectors of Rome". More was to come with the advent of Charles Martel's grandson however. Charlemagne (Charles the great): The next person we look at is perhaps one of the most famous in both secular and religious European history of this period: Charlemagne. When Pepin died in 768, his realm was divided between his two sons, Charlemagne and Carloman. Charlemagne became sole ruler when Carloman died suddenly in 771. On Christmas day 800, in St Peter in Rome, Pope Leo III, crowned as the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the King of France, Charlemagne. When Charlemagne came to power, he had 3 goals in mind: military power to crush his opponents; religious power to direct his people's religion and intellectual power to guide their intellect and minds. The church & state were to work hand in hand, but there was a continuous struggle between emperor and pope, over who was the final authority. Charlemagne duly returned the lost provinces to the Pope. Charlemagne died after about 13 years as emperor in the year 814, but his influence remains. His empire was vast and he had succeeded in ensuring that, at least nominally, Christianity survived. Charlemagne successors lacked the will, imagination and drive to continue in his footsteps and the empire soon descended back into chaos. Both the current German and French monarchies consider themselves to descendants of the empire of Charlemagne. As for the church, the Holy Roman Empire, barely outlived Charlemagne, but it has, as we shall see, had a lasting influence in the revival of religion and education within Europe. Tap or click here to download and save this as an audio mp3 file

“Christians should stop seeking political control and power and just focus on winning the lost.”   “Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world' so Christians should stay out of government.”  “Neither Jesus nor the early Christians tried to take over Rome. He built His kingdom in people's hearts and minds.”   Many variations of this argument can be found in Christian Twitterverse, usually, in response to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. The idea seems to be that real Christian spirituality neither seeks nor celebrates political or judicial victories. Christians should only be concerned with the things of God, not the things of this world. In other words, God isn't concerned with government, and Christians shouldn't be either.   Though this line of thinking sounds quite Christian, it isn't. Rather, it is an inaccurate portrayal of the relationship between God's justice and earthly justice. Just as importantly, it misunderstands what our salvation is for and why God calls us to live in this world, instead of just whisking Christians to heaven the moment we're saved.  Recently, my colleague Shane Morris tackled this bad theology on Twitter, and the thread was republished by the Babylon Bee news offshoot, Not the Bee. I'll paraphrase his points:    First, for most of the Church's history, Christians have agreed that civil laws should in some way reflect biblical morality. Neither Catholics, Orthodox, nor most Protestants believed that being apolitical was a good or godly thing. While there were occasions over the centuries when Christians shunned political involvement for a variety of reasons, often because they were prohibited from any involvement, it wasn't until the Radical Reformation and movements like the Anabaptists in the 1500s that swearing off politics gained traction as a principle for following Christ. Even then, it was a minority opinion. On the contrary, for most Christians, being a civil magistrate has always been seen as a high and noble calling.    This, of course, makes a lot of sense since there is really no such thing as not legislating morality. No matter who writes the laws of a land, those laws always reflect someone's moral beliefs. Protecting innocent lives from deadly violence, something that occurs in abortion and other forms of murder, is the central function of good government. God created government to serve that purpose.  Second, Shane pointed out something many theologians have noted over the years: that when Jesus said, “my kingdom is not of this world” in John 18:36, He did not mean “my kingdom has nothing to do with this world.” Rather, He meant that His kingdom is not from this world, does not use this world's methods (such as violent revolution), and does not aim at the world's ends.  Still, as Abraham Kuyper pointed out, Jesus' kingdom absolutely does affect this world, over which He has declared total sovereignty, and in which He holds individuals and governments accountable for administering justice and punishing violence against the innocent (see Genesis 9:6).   As for the part that neither Christ nor the first Christians tried to take over Rome, anyone who says this should read further in their history books. In A.D. 325, the Emperor Constantine ended the official persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. Just decades later, in the year 380, Emperor Theodosius declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. As a matter of simple historical fact, Christians did take over Rome!  Setting aside questions about the legitimacy of established religion and how good such an arrangement is for the Church, it's simply not true that early Christianity did not seek to impact earthly governments. Early Christians showed intense interest in impacting governments in everything from the outlawing of infant exposure to ending persecution to the ending of the gladiatorial games.  The assault of the Church against the gates of Hell progresses, of course, through the preaching of the Gospel and the conversion of souls—what the Apostle Paul called “spiritual weapons.” But by advocating for good and just governments—especially when it comes to protecting innocent lives—Christians are loving their neighbors and fulfilling the other half of our calling in this world: to pray and obediently work so that God's kingdom will come and His will be done “on earth as it is in Heaven.”  We are saved for a purpose. Along with evangelism and worship, we are to be good citizens and to love our neighbors. This will involve supporting righteous laws and opposing wicked ones. No law in this nation's history has been more wicked than Roe v. Wade. Therefore, Christians are right to celebrate its downfall and to work to undo its bloody legacy. And Christians are right to oppose other wicked legislative efforts, such as the misleadingly named “Respect for Marriage Act.”  The idea that Christians have a calling so high that it keeps us from politics may sound spiritual, but it's something almost no Christian in history would recognize. Nor would Jesus, who in the same conversation with Pilate where He said, “my kingdom is not of this world,” also reminded this government official where his power came from.  

On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast (07/27/22), Hank reminds listeners not to get caught up in the woes of humanity. In other words, don't allow bad news to divert us from the good news of the gospel. In light of this, we must remember the power of one. One person with God equals a majority. Today, too many Christians are on the sidelines, cursing the darkness instead of building a lighthouse in the midst of the gathering storm. If we look at what the disciples did in the midst of the Roman Empire, we should be encouraged. The apostles had seen the resurrected Christ, and because of this, they turned the world upside down. If we stand together in this epoch, we can do the same. Hank also answers the following questions: I have a friend who is a Seventh Day Adventist; should we still observe the Sabbath on Saturday?I heard someone teaching that 1 John 1:9 wasn't written to Christians, but to Gnostics and that we don't need to confess our sins. Do you have any thoughts on this?Why did God allow His truth to be so open to misinterpretation?If faced with a gunman who asked whether or not I was a Christian, I don't know if I would have the grace to say that I am. What would happen if I denied the Lord?

Church History Part 14 Amidst Times of Trouble Today we return to Europe and go back this week to the year 590 and to the work of Gregory the Great – such is his influence upon the Church and its history as well as being an supreme example of a Godly leader! At the time, the end of the 6th century, the Roman world is an utter mess. The city of Rome itself was in peril of extinction from floods, plagues and siege. The glories of the expanse of the Roman Empire were long gone since its collapse 300 years hence. But they were not totally forgotten. Many still dreamed of its revival, particular with the role of the Church at the centre. For a period of 6 months there was no central leader or Pope. What was happening in Rome, was symbolic of continental Europe. Europe itself was also seemingly on the path of destruction. What was to be the catalyst for change? It was, however unlikely, to be the Church. A new age of Christian Europe beckoned. Enter a man who was not comfortable leading but was thrust into the role of Pope – Gregory the Great - One of the great Latin Fathers of the church. Under his leadership, the church enlisted the help of monks to help win the barbarian masses to the Christian faith. Gregory also enabled the popery to provide a stable structure and influence over Roman and European affairs. He also led the church to embrace the spirituality and theology of that other great Latin Father of the church, Augustine. Because Gregory was not only able to exert an influence on the Church, but also in the political sphere, he was called ‘God's Consul'. A title he was uncomfortable with and preferred to be known as the servant of the servant of God. This was in stark contrast to the Bishop of Constantinople who repeatedly gave himself the grand title of “universal bishop.” While he may have eschewed such titles, Gregory did exert majestic oversight of the Church when the opportunities availed themselves. Under Gregory, monasticism flourished! No doubt because Gregory himself was a monk! Gregory, as we learnt earlier, was key in sending Augustine to the English peoples to re-establish the church. It should be noted that there were already Christians in this land.  Gregory we read from records and letters left to the church show that he was a great encourager! These two excerpts taken from Bede's “Ecclesiastical History of England” are good examples of this:  ‘"Gregory, the servant of the servants of God, to the servants of our Lord. Forasmuch as it had been better not to begin a good work, than to think of desisting from one which has been begun, it behoves you, my beloved sons, to fulfil with all diligence the good work, which, by the help of the Lord, you have undertaken. Let not, therefore, the toil of the journey, nor the tongues of evil-speaking men, discourage you; but with all earnestness and zeal perform, by God's guidance, that which you have set about; being assured, that great labour is followed by the greater glory of an eternal reward. When Augustine, your Superior, returns, whom we also constitute your abbot, humbly obey him in all things; knowing, that whatsoever you shall do by his direction, will, in all respects, be profitable to your souls.  Almighty God protect you with His grace, and grant that I may, in the heavenly country, see the fruits of your labour, inasmuch as, though I cannot labour with you, I shall partake in the joy of the reward, because I am willing to labour. God keep you in safety, my most beloved sons. Given the 23rd of July, in the fourteenth year of the reign of our most religious lord, Mauritius Tiberius Augustus, the thirteenth year after the consulship of our lord aforesaid, and the fourteenth indiction." We look now at a letter that Gregory wrote in the year 601 to the bishop of Aries, concerning Augustine :  "To his most reverend and holy brother and fellow bishop, Vergilius; Gregory, servant of the servants of God. With how much kindness brethren, coming of their own accord, are to be entertained, is shown by this, that they are for the most part invited for the sake of brotherly love. Therefore, if our common brother, Bishop Augustine, shall happen to come to you, let your love, as is becoming, receive him with so great kindness and affection, that it may refresh him by the benefit of its consolation and show to others how brotherly charity is to be cultivated.   And, since it often happens that those who are at a distance first learn from others the things that need correction, if he bring before you, my brother, any sins of bishops or others, do you, in conjunction with him, carefully inquire into the same, and show yourself so strict and earnest with regard to those things which offend God and provoke His wrath, that for the amendment of others, the punishment may fall upon the guilty, and the innocent may not suffer under false report. God keep you in safety, most reverend brother.   Given the 22nd day of June, in the nineteenth year of the reign of our most religious lord, Mauritius Tiberius Augustus, the eighteenth year after the consulship of our said lord, and the fourth indiction."  Many of us could learn from Gregory's humility, leadership and encouragement, even if we may disagree with some of his theology. That is one reason we as church need to look back at the history of the church. That's it for this time! Next time in our series HAHA, we will look again at Europe and the re-establishment of the church there! Tap or click here to download this as an audio mp3 file

Welcome to madang. Madang is the outdoor living room of the world. Here, we invite you to sit and tune into unreserved, remarkable conversations with renown authors, leaders, public figures and scholars on religion, culture and everything in-between. This is the 19th episode where I converse with Brian McLaren on his new book, "Do I Stay Christian?" He is an author, activist, public theologian, and frequent guest lecturer for gatherings in the U.S. and internationally. His work has been covered in TIME Magazine, Newsweek, USA Today, The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and many other media outlets. Conversations on White Christianity, parenting, heresy, Jesus is an oppressed brown Palestinian Jew, Roman Empire, The Doctrine of Discovery... I am thrilled to announce that Madang podcast is hosted by The Christian Magazine. Please visit their website for the latest Madang podcast as well as current articles on Christianity, culture and society. I have written several pieces for the Christian Century and welcome this new partnership. https://www.christiancentury.org/madang --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/grace-ji-sun-kim/support

Episode 170 – Paul’s Places – Part 11: Summary 1 Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: I passed on to you what was most important ... Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time … Last of all … I also saw him. 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 3 through 8, New Living Translation ******** VK: Hello! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. We’re very grateful to be able to be with you today. We have been working on a series we call “Paul’s Places” for several weeks now. In fact, this is our 11th lesson in this series. By “Paul,” of course, we’re referring to the Apostle Paul who wrote at least 13 of books contained in the New Testament. Nine of those books are letters Paul wrote to churches that are identified in our Bibles by the names of cities or, in the case of Galatians, a region that would be in modern-day Turkey. Anyone who has missed any of the previous lessons can find them on our website, crystalseabooks.com, or on their favorite podcast app. We started this series for one simple reason – to help people understand that the New Testament documents are historically reliable. So, today we want to begin to summarize some of the major points that we’ve covered during this series. To do that, today In the studio we have RD Fierro, the author of a number of great Christian books and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, what’s on your mind as we begin to summarize our series on “Paul’s Places?” RD: Well, I’d like to first start by thanking our listeners for joining us here today. Then, I’d like to reinforce the point you just made. We wanted to do this series to help listeners begin to understand that the New Testament is historically reasonable and reliable. When it comes to our Bibles, our scripture, two questions are of supreme importance. Do we have a text that we may say with confidence is the text as it was written by the inspired writers almost 2,000 years ago? And if we do, can we be confident in the trustworthiness of the account that the document writer penned? In the case of the New Testament there is an abundance of evidence that the answer to both questions is a resounding “yes.” VK: As we mentioned in our last episode of Anchored by Truth we are now 2,000 years removed from the time that Jesus walked on the earth, performed His miracles, died, and rose again. And we are almost 2,000 years removed from the time when people began hearing about those events and either accepting or rejecting the meaning of what had occurred. And during that 2,000 years a lot has happened. Empires have risen and fallen. Civilizations have changed. Science and technology have lifted people off this planet and to the nearest celestial body. And we have communication and information transfer methods that would have seemed miraculous to most people who walked the earth during Jesus and Paul’s time. And that has created a peculiar danger for us hasn’t it? And that’s what you want to talk about today. RD: Yes. We are so far removed historically from Jesus’ earthly ministry that too often today people forget that the entire Christian faith is based on one historical fact: that Jesus died, rose from the grave, and then ascended into heaven. VK: That’s what we heard about in our opening scripture from 1 Corinthians, chapter 15. Paul says in that passage that he passed on to the church in Corinth what was “most important.” Paul said that this fact is the most important fact for the Christian faith - that “Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day.” So, when we say that the entire Christian faith is dependent on one historical fact we are not making an overstatement. RD: No, we are not. And while I think most Christians have a general understanding of the importance of the resurrection I fear that the passage of those 2,000 years has allowed many to drift into an almost mystical interpretation of it. VK: What do you mean? RD: We have seen lots of movies and television shows filled with special effects that have portrayed various Bible stories. And we’re accustomed to seeing those kinds of productions about all kinds of historical events, not just those contained in the Bible. But when we see these productions we know that Hollywood has injected in a certain amount of romanticism. They take dramatic license for the purpose of making their story-telling more entertaining. Pretty soon it becomes hard for us to think about the real history, especially history that happened 2,000 years ago. So, we allow our perception of a plain historical fact to take on the same tinge of mysticism or fantasy that we know infest so much of contemporary drama. We forget that the resurrection of Jesus is a plain, unvarnished historical event just as real as whether your neighbor’s kid played soccer in high school, whether George Washington was the first president of the United States, or whether you went to the gas station this morning. VK: Well, you may have a point. We live in a culture and a society where entertainment producers, among others, try to blur the lines between fiction and reality. These days it takes a considerable effort to make sure that we sort out truth from lies and distortions. And we are fed plenty of lies by a great many media sources. So, you are concerned that even Christians can lose sight of the reality of the resurrection. What you’re saying is that we have to consciously resist any attempts to mythicize or allegorize the resurrection. We must continually remind ourselves and others that Jesus walked out of a stone tomb just as certainly as we put gas in our car the last time we filled up. RD: Yes. And the letters that Paul sent to the various churches makes that point repeatedly. And in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15 Paul is explicit that if the resurrection did not take place the entire Christian faith is in vain. VK: The Amplified Bible puts it this way in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 14: “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain [useless, amounting to nothing], and your faith is also vain [imaginary, unfounded, devoid of value and benefit--not based on truth].” RD: This is why it is so important that we ensure that we understand and can explain why the New Testament documents, including the Pauline epistles, are reliable historically. 20, 30, or 40 years ago it may or may not have been necessary. But today we are surrounded by nearly continuous claims that we must distrust the Bible except in a precious few areas where – it is grudgingly allowed – that archeology may indicate that the Bible got something right. VK: When, in fact, the exact opposite is true. The New Testament is filled with historical details and overwhelmingly archeology has provided solid support that the New Testament is accurate. And we have tried to bring a few of those details forward in this “Paul’s Places” series – like noting that Paul uses historically accurate terms even incidentally like when he described a Roman soldiers’ armor in Ephesians, chapter 6. RD: Right. In one of our episode on the letters to Ephesus and Colossae we pointed out that Paul used the term “machaira” when he was referring to the “sword of the Spirit.” Like most Greek words “machaira” is very precise. It refers to a relatively short sword that could be up to 19 inches long. One commentator said this about the machaira. “Of all the swords that a Roman soldier could use, this one was the deadliest. Indeed, the ‘machaira’ could be as long as 19 inches, but it was often shorter, resembling a dagger, therefore it was usually used in close combat. It was razor sharp on both sides of the blade and its very end turned upward, causing the point of the blade to be extremely sharp and deadly.” VK: And we pointed out in that episode of Anchored by Truth that that short sword was a perfect weapon for use in the fighting formation that the Roman infantry often used. So, Paul’s use of the term was both historically accurate as well as instructive from a spiritual standpoint. RD: The machaira was used for both offense and defense. So, when Paul said that we needed to adopt the word of God as our “sword” he was teaching a profound truth. We can think back to when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness. For each of the three temptations that Satan presented to Jesus, Jesus responded with scripture. In this case all the scriptures that Jesus quoted to Satan came from the book of Deuteronomy. Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy chapter 6 verses 13 and 16 and from chapter 8 verse 3. VK: And for any Christian who tends to think that the Old Testament was no longer relevant after Jesus’ earthly ministry the temptation in the wilderness should settle that question. If Jesus thought well enough to quote the Old Testament to Satan that should make it good enough for us. RD: Absolutely. So, in Satan’s temptation in the wilderness Jesus showed that the word of God is suitable for defense. At other times Jesus showed us that the word of God was suitable for offense. A good example of using the word of God offensively, but respectfully, was when the Pharisees or Sadducees tried to use trick question to trip Jesus up. For instance, when the Sadducees tried to trick Jesus with the question about one woman marrying 7 brothers to deny the reality of life after death Jesus used a quote from Exodus, chapter 3, verse 6 to show them the error in their theology. The Sadducees insisted that there was no such thing as life after death and they denied the authority of the books of the Old Testament except for the Torah – the first five books. So, Jesus pointed out that even in one of the books they accepted, Exodus, God declared he was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. What Jesus was illustrating was that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had to be alive because God used the present tense when he spoke of them. So, the point of Paul using the term machaira is … VK: No pun intended... RD: No pun intended – the point of Paul using the word machaira is that Paul simultaneously gave us evidence that he was using a culturally and historically appropriate reference to teach a spiritual truth – that God’s word may be used to deflect Satan’s attacks and temptation and it may also be used when we need to correct spiritual misunderstandings and beliefs no matter how sincerely those beliefs are held. The fact that Paul’s use of such culturally and historically illustrations in his teaching and preaching shows that he wrote and spoke during the time period that immediately followed Jesus’ earthly ministry. This is quite different from what many critics claim. There are times when Bible critics try to claim that the New Testament documents were written hundreds of years after the events they report. VK: You will sometimes hear critics say that the New Testament was created “hundreds of years” after the time period during which Jesus lived. And they will cite the fact that the early church councils that settled the content of the New Testament occurred in the Council of Hippo or the Council of Carthage. The Council of Hippo took place in 393 AD. The Council of Carthage took place in 397 AD. And since 301 AD to 400 AD was “the fourth century” they take some liberties and use the phrase “hundreds of years” after Christ to date the New Testament. RD: And it is true that in the Councils of Hippo and Carthage all 27 books that appear in our New Testament were affirmed as canonical. But that was not when the books, such as the Pauline epistles, were written. The best scholarship demonstrates that Paul’s epistles, as well as those of John and Peter, were written during the latter half of the 1st century AD – mere decades after Christ’s death. And that’s part of what we have been showing throughout this “Paul’s Places” series. VK: For instance, when we did our show on the epistle to the Galatians we pointed out that one of the issues Paul had to address in Galatians was that there was no need for anyone to first become a Jewish convert before becoming a Christian. At that point in the history of the church there was still some confusion, or deliberate distortion, about how to become an authentic Christian. There were agitators in some places that insisted that unless you were willing to follow Jewish requirements and customs that you couldn’t be a Christian. Paul forcefully rebuked this falsehood in the letter he wrote to the Galatians. Paul went so far as to call the Galatians who were being tempted to abandon the true gospel as being “foolish.” RD: Right. There would have been far less need to reject that false proposition – the heresy – that you had to first be a Jew to be a Christian once the church had been around for a few hundred years. There were other heresies that were circulating but by then the Judaizers assertions had largely faded from view. So, if someone had been trying to manufacture a fake epistle and attribute it to Paul in the late 4th century AD it is highly unlikely they would have used the Judaizer heresy as a primary subject of their fake. But in the latter half of the 1st century the stage of the development of the church made Paul’s observations in Galatians relevant. Even more so because from the book of Acts we know that even though Paul had personally preached in Galatia we do not have a record of him spending any lengthy period there. VK: You mean the way he did in Ephesus and Corinth. We are confident from Acts that Paul spent as much as 18 months continuously in Corinth and possibly up to 3 years continuously in Ephesus. RD: Yes. So, when you look within and across Paul’s epistles you see three things very clearly. First, Paul chooses the subjects for his epistles with a specific audience in mind. And he chooses the examples to illustrate his teaching very carefully – examples that will be particularly important to the local congregation with which he is communicating. VK: Such as Paul’s emphasis on the superiority of Christ to all other supposed sources of supernatural power and importance in the book of Ephesians. The temple of the goddess Diana was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and was found in Ephesus. Paul does not demean the local worship of Diana by name but simply asserts that “Christ rules there above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers, and lords; he has a title superior to all titles of authority in this world and in the next. God put all things under Christ's feet and gave him to the church as supreme Lord over all things.” Those are verses 21 and 22 from chapter 1 of Ephesians from the Good News Translation. RD: And earlier in verses 18 through 20 of that same chapter Paul had said, “I ask that your minds may be opened to see his light, so that you will know what is the hope to which he has called you, how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people, and how very great is his power at work in us who believe. This power working in us is the same as the mighty strength which he used when he raised Christ from death and seated him at his right side in the heavenly world.” VK: In other words, Paul was assuring the Ephesians who had given up their worship of the prominent local goddess Diana that they were in fact not giving up anything. To the contrary Paul assures them that they had turned from the lesser to the greater. He assures them that any power they might have hoped to obtain from any goddess their neighbors might be worshipping was more than replaced by the authentic power of the authentic God. This was the power that literally raised Jesus from the dead. RD: Exactly. Now today we can all understand and take comfort from the words that Paul wrote to the Ephesians. The Bible is suitable for all people in all ages in all nations and tribes. But those words would have been particularly poignant and important to a group that had had their whole world rearranged when they first heard the gospel. At any rate the first thing that we will always see was that Paul always addressed specific subjects for his intended audience. He might have addressed a subject because he had received questions about it or he may have known something about the region or culture that necessitated he cover a particular topic. But in all of his epistles Paul always chooses the subjects for his epistles with a specific audience in mind. The second thing we see throughout Paul’s letters is that Paul’s language, subjects, examples, and references are all consistent with a composition date of the 2nd half of the first century AD and consistent with someone who had travelled widely within the Roman Empire. VK: Said differently, there are no anachronisms or historical inaccuracies in the Pauline epistles. When Paul wrote his epistles he wasn’t writing history per se. But as he used examples and analogies in his writing he couldn’t help but mention things that were a part of his readers’ lives and times. So, though he wasn’t writing history Paul couldn’t avoid the historical implications that are present in any letters of the kind he was writing. RD: Yes. For instance in 2 Corinthians, chapter 11, verses 32 and 33 Paul describes an incident that occurred shortly after his conversion. Paul says, “In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.” So, in a very off-hand kind of way Paul gives us an opportunity to check his historical accuracy. VK: Most commentators think Paul was converted to Christianity around 34 or 35 AD. Well we know from abundant historical sources that Aretas IV ruled the desert kingdom of Nabatea from 9 BC to 40 AD. In fact, Aretas IV was the most powerful king ever to rule Nabatea. Nabatea included southern Syria, Jordan, the Negev portion of Israel, the Sinai Peninsula and parts of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. His capital city was Petra which is in modern day Jordan. The portion of Syria over which Aretas had control includes Damascus. So, we know that this casual reference of Paul to a king who ruled over a city where his life was endangered is a historically accurate reference. RD: And Aretas had actually interacted with scriptural history in another way. One of Aretas’ daughter married Herod Antipas. Herod Antipas is well known in the gospels as the king who ruled in Galilee during Jesus and John the Baptist’s lifetime. Antipas actually divorced Aretas’ daughter and then married the wife of his half-brother Herod Philip I. John the Baptist denounced this marriage in the gospel of Mark, chapter 6, verse 18. This so enraged the wife that she later was able to get Antipas to order the execution of John the Baptist. Later Aretas attacked Antipas and destroyed his army – a defeat which Josephus said the Jews thought was divine retribution for Antipas’ murder of the Baptizer. VK: In other words, like the gears of a fine watch we see that scripture meshes very well with the history going on around it at the time. Are there any other observations of this type that you would like to make before we close? We don’t have a lot of time. RD: Yes. The third thing you see very clearly in Paul’s epistles is a concentration on Jesus. At times Paul would defend his own ministry but always to demonstrate that he had the qualifications to reveal to them profound truth – truth about Jesus. And Paul always displayed a keen understanding of the Jewish scriptures and how they revealed a picture of Jesus throughout. One reason that Paul may have displayed such a passion for truth and an awareness of scripture is because Paul was a student of Gamaliel. We only see Gamaliel revealed in two places in scripture. In Acts 5:34 and Acts 22:3. In Acts 22:3 Paul describes himself as having sat “at the feet of Gamaliel.” Gamaliel was one of the very few people who earned the title Rabban (“our master, our great one”) as opposed to the title Rabbi (“my master”). VK: And he was the Jewish leader who said in Acts chapter 5 that the Jews should be very careful in their dealings with the disciples after Jesus returned to heaven. His observation to his colleagues was that if the disciples were on a mission from God, fighting with them would be like fighting with God. That’s never a wise proposition. RD: Exactly. In all his letters Paul demonstrated a profound passion for showing how the Jewish scriptures not only foretold the appearance of the Messiah but the implications of that appearance. From Paul we get some of the clearest declarations of Jesus’ divinity and the fact that as the Son of God come in the flesh Jesus has the capability to save anyone who will place their trust in him. In his letters Paul displays a concentration on Jesus but always with a few toward why that is such good news for us – for Jesus’ people. So, again this is an amazing display of how scripture always weaves an awareness of the supernatural realm but brings that awareness into sharp focus for how it gives us better lives. VK: And, as you often say, one of the Bible’s main attributes is that it shows us how heaven and earth fit together. The first verse of the Bible says that, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” And the rest of the Bible shows us how those two realms continue to not only exist along side each other but how they interact with one another. At times that interaction is dramatic as when God came to earth in the form of a man. The second person of the Trinity came to earth, walked among us for a little over 30 years, and then finally ascended back to heaven. But that trip was the most important one of all time because it made our eternal salvation possible. RD: Amen. VK: Well, that’s a good place to end for today. This “Paul’s Places” series is all about helping people see more clearly that the Pauline epistles, the letters contained in the New Testament written by the Apostle Paul, are exactly what they claim to be. They are letters written by one of Christianity’s first evangelical preachers to convey important truths to those who had begun to place their trust in Jesus. Those letters most certainly assert Christ’s divinity but far from that assertion being some kind of myth it is backed up by solid historical evidence and testimony. Let’s close with prayer as we always do. Today let’s listen to a prayer of confession for our sins. The Bible tells us that when we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us of those sins. So, confession is not only good for our souls it is a good way to ensure that we may always go boldly into God’s presence to present our needs. ---- PRAYER OF CORPORATE CONFESSION VK: Before we close we’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes in this series or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Opening Bible Quotes from the New Living Translation) 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verses 3 through 8, New Living Translation paultanner.org/English Docs/SpecialArt/Pauline Chronology.pdf