History of the world from a biblical perspective

Timeline of biblical events. Dates are approximate.

Sources:
http://www.abiblestudy.com/
http://www.liferesearchuniversal.com/endlesson4.html

Why are there two different genealogies for Jesus?

Both Matthew and Luke record two genealogies of Jesus. However differences become apparent after King David, beginning with his two sons. Matthew follows Solomon's descendants while Luke follows Nathan's descendants . So which one is correct? Well, they both are.

Matthew follows the ancestors of Joseph, while Luke follows the ancestors of Mary.  So why are there two different genealogies? Traditionally biblical genealogies are always traced through the male descendants, in this case Joseph. However there was an exception is Jesus case because while Joseph was the his legal father, he wasn't his biological father.

Now Jesus Himself began [His ministry at] about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) [the] son of Joseph, [the son] of Heli, (Luk 3:23)

Notice that Joseph is the "supposed" father of Jesus. "Son" can also refer to son-in-law or grandfather. In this case Heli was the father of Mary, Father-in-law of Joesph, and grandfather of Jesus. There is another reason why Mary's genealogy was included and it had to do with Jechonia:

[As] I live," says the LORD, "though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off;  (Jer 22:24)

Thus says the LORD: 'Write this man down as childless, A man [who] shall not prosper in his days; For none of his descendants shall prosper, Sitting on the throne of David, And ruling anymore in Judah. (Jer 22:30) 

Jechonia was a descendant of King David and the ancestor of Joseph. The Throne of David is promised to be established forever (1Ki 2:45). But because of Jechonia's sin, God said his decedents would never be allowed to rule on the Throne of David again. If Jesus bloodline was through Joesph he could not rule and reign during the Millennial Kingdom. However while Mary is a descendent King David, she is not a descendant of Jechonia. It was import for Luke to show that Jesus was not excluded as the Messiah because of Jechonia.

Thoughts on evolution

1)Evolution breaks the laws of Thermodynamics and Entropy. Everything moves from order to disorder, never the reverse.

2)The fossil record does not show the thousands of transitional changes from one kind to the next that evolution would produce. Charles Darwin admitted this was a problem for his theory.

3)Things like an immune system and the ability for the blood to coagulate have to be there from the beginning, otherwise the organism would die before they had a chance to evolve.

4)Macro evolution, that is the changing of one kind to another kind, has never been observed in nature or recreated in the laboratory and cannot hold up to the Scientific Method. Mutations usually result in handicaps.

5)DNA research links us to a common ancestor known as Mitochondrial Eve.

6)Carbon dating is not always reliable the further back you go, and it assumes the rate of decay has always been consistent through out time. Also things like volcanic activity can effect carbon dating and make things look older than they actually are.

7)If Humans are 200,000 years old why did it take so long for the population to reach 7 billion? And why is the bulk of recorded human history limited to the past 3,000-4,000 years or so?

8)Humans should not be evolving the same exact way. We should see more variations in structure and differing appendages.

9)Things like the eyes and ears are complex systems of individual parts interdependent on each other to function. These systems must be complete from the start otherwise they serve no purpose.

10)Evolution does not explain how life began, life has never been observed to come from non-life.

11)How did a complex double-stranded molecule such as DNA, a molecule that falls apart at temperatures over 200 degrees Fahrenheit, not only self organized but also managed to find a way to protect itself inside a cell? How was the original DNA transcribed, without promoters, without tRNA, without mRNA, and without ribosomes? How did the scaffolding proteins happen to come along just in time to enable long strands of DNA to compact and fit into a tiny cell, that it manged to find for itself? How did that cell learn to divide?

12)There is no known observable process by which new genetic information can be added to an organism's genetic code.

13)Just because Christians don't believe in the "theory" of evolution mean they are anti-science. Science is much more than one theory on origins. In fact many of the early scientists were Christian. Virtually all scientists from the middle ages to the mid-eighteenth century were Christian and explained their motivation of the pursuit of science in religious terms.

14)The human race is not getting better with time as Darwinism and natural selection would have us beleive. Geneticist Dr. John Sanford in his book, Genetic Entropy, says the human race is currently degenerating at 1-2 % per generation due to accumulation of mutations and "The extinction on the human genome appears to be just as certain and deterministic as the extinction of stars, the death of organisms, and the heat death of the universe."

15) It requires faith to accept something that has not been proven. Evolution, as Darwin described, cannot even stand up to the Scientific Method, nor can it explain how life came from inert matter.
It requires more faith than believing in a creator.

16)The sudden emergence of life (i.e. the Cambrian explosion), is best explained by the creation model.
















17)Macro evolution has its limitations. Moreover genetic mutations usually result in handicaps. What Darwin described was macro evolution, that is changing from one kind to another kind. What Darwin describes has never been witnessed or recreated in the lab, scientist have not even been able to create a blade of grass from nothing. There is no known observable process by which new genetic information can be added to an organism's genetic code. Macro evolution and Micro evolution are two different methods. It would take more than macro evolution to get from a single celled organism to a complex organism.

Why did God condone genocide in the Old Testament?

But in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded, that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices that they have done for their gods, and so you sin against the Lord your God. -Deuteronomy 20:16-18

Perhaps nothing has caused more controversy than the decimation of whole cities and inhabitants in the land of Canaan by the Israelites.  Men, women, and even children were instructed to be killed, but was it justified? I will address this issue head on and give a little understanding as to why this was done, but first a little background information is needed.

It should be noted that God had originally given the land of Canaan to Abraham and his decedents as an everlasting possession:

 “Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” (Gen 17:1)

Abraham's grandson Jacob, also known as Israel, was living in the land God promised His people when a severe famine hit the entire region. Jacob was forced to move south to Egypt, where his son Joseph was second in command in all of Egypt. They would stay in Egypt for 400 years until Mosses led them out. They wondered the desert for an additional 40 years until they finally retook possession of the land of Canaan aka the Promised Land. In this regard, the Canaanites were squatting on land that did not belong to them, and were forcefully evicted. But why did God command them to utterly destroy all the inhabitants? There are three primary reasons:

As a form of judgement:

Do not think in your heart, after the LORD your God has cast them out before you, saying, 'Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land'; but [it is] because of the wickedness of these nations [that] the LORD is driving them out from before you. (Deu 9:4) 

When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you [anyone] who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, [or one] who practices witchcraft, [or] a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things [are] an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. (Deu 18:9-12)

“But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” (Gen 15:16)

 God makes it clear they were to be destroyed because of their wickedness.  The inhabitants that lived in that land were the worst of the worst. Among the many evil acts they committed were burning their babies alive to the fire god Molech, while they chanted to drown out the screams. According to Halley’s Bible Handbook “Under the debris, in this ‘High Place,’ Macalister found great number of jars containing the remains of children who had been sacrificed to Baal. The whole area proved to be a cemetery for new-born babes. Another horrible practice was that they called ‘foundation sacrifices.’ When a house was built, a child would be sacrificed, and its body built into the wall, to bring good luck to the rest of the family. Many of these were found in Gezer. They have been found also at Megiddo, Jericho and other places.” Halley’s Bible Handbook, by Henry H. Halley; Joshua, Chapters 23,24, pg. 166; 1965 Edition

Everyone in the region heard about what happened to Pharaoh when the Israelites left Egypt (Jos 9:9). They had 40 plus years to repent and change there ways, and would have been spared like Nineveh. God never brings judgement without first giving the people a period of time to repent. However, they chose not to, and God used the Israelites as a form of judgement against them. God has often times used men as his instrument of judgment in this way. Later in Israel's history God raised up the Assyrians and the Babylonians as judgment against Israel and Judah, respectively.


To prevent them to turning to their gods:

They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For [if] you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you. (Exd 23:33)

  You shall have no other gods before Me. (Deu 5:7)

Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods. Therefore I will deliver you no more. (Jdg 10:13)

God had forewarned them that there would be consequences if the inhabitants in Canaan were not completely eliminated. One consequence is they would turn them to their gods and engage in all the detestable things that brought destruction on these nations in the first place (Deu 12:31).   This eventually did happen because Israel didn't destroy everyone as they were commanded. While it seems harsh to kill everyone, God knew the consequences if they didn't.

 God was not being egotistical when He said not to worship other gods, but it was to protect them. When they served other god's they were breaking God's covenant with them, which they had agreed to on many occasions. When this happened they were out of God's protection and provision, and bad would and did happen. This leads us to the final reason.

To prevent future hostility:

But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain [shall be] irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell. Moreover it shall be [that] I will do to you as I thought to do to them. (Num 33:55-56)

And it came to pass when all the kings who [were] on this side of the Jordan, in the hills and in the lowland and in all the coasts of the Great Sea toward Lebanon--the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite--heard [about it],  that they gathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one accord. (Jos 9:1-2)

The Canaanites were hostile to Israel, and in several instances attacked Israel first. Sihon King of Hesbon attacked Israel when all Israel wanted to do was pass through their land in peace (Deu 2:26-35). As a result, his cities were razed and every man, woman, and child was put to the sword. The same thing happened with Og King of Bashan, when he attacked Israel at Edrei (Deu 3:1-7). Joshua 11:19 says not one city made a treaty of peace with the Israelites. Only the Hivites living in Gibeon made a peace treaty with Israel, though in a deceitful way, and were spared because of it (Jos 9). 

And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites under tribute, but did not completely drive them out. (Jdg 1:28)   And when the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. (Jdg 1:28)

The Israelites did not obey God, and these nations were a continual thorn in Israel's side, always oppressing and harassing them. God had to raise up special judges to deliver them. All this was a direct result for not destroying them completely.

Final conclusion:
Often we look at history from the lens of our 21st century perspective. We try to judge ancient societies by modern day standards, but we forget it took us thousands of years to get where we are now. Change didn't happen over night. The ancient world was a vastly different world where violence was the norm, and life was cheap.

The conquest of Canaan while violent and harsh, was necessary for the aforementioned reasons. However, it should be noted that the conquest of Canaan lasted for a limited period of time, only about seven years. It may seem harsh by modern standards but remember they were a hostile people whose religious practices included human sacrifice, sexual perversions (Lev 18), and self mutilation  (1 Kings 18:28). God is a God of love, but He is also a judge. The Israelite were used as a form of judgment just as the Assyrians and Babylonians would later be used as judgement against Israel and Judea for their wickedness. Thankfully we live in an age of grace, and not of judgment.

3 ways Christianity is different from all other religions

1)The God of Christianity is a personal God, religions have impersonal gods.

2)Religions believe man is inherently good, Christianity believes man is inherently evil.

3)Religions believe in works to be saved, Christianity believes the work has already been done by Jesus. Put another way, with religions it's "do" with Christanity it's "done".

Religions are alike in that they all try to deal with the sin nature of man. They have common themes of moral righteousness and good deeds while shunning evil. Rather they know it or not, it's an attempt to confront the wickedness of human nature.

Slavery in the Bible

Slavery was a common practice in the ancient world and not the social issue that it is today. In dealing with the subject of slavery in the bible, first a distinction should be made between slavery and servitude. Slavery is the kidnapping and selling of men and women, such as with the African slave trade. That kind of slavery is explicitly condemned in the bible:

You shall not steal. (Exd 20:15)

He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death. (Exd 21:16)

If a man is found kidnapping any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and mistreats him or sells him, then that kidnapper shall die; and you shall put away the evil from among you. (Deu 24:7)

There are many diverse reasons how and why people became slaves, and it wasn't always a cut and dried issue. In the Old Testament slaves were more akin to indentured servants. People would sometimes sell themselves as slaves if they were unable to provide for themselves or couldn't repay their debts (Lev 25:39-40). In some cases servants pledged lifelong servitude to their masters by piercing there ear with an awl. (Exd 21:5-6). In other cases people would become slaves as a punishment, thieves would be sold into slavery if they could not pay for restitution (Exd 22:3). However, being a slave was not always a permanent situation. Servants could buy their freedom and Hebrew servants who were bought were free to go after 7 years, unless they chose to stay as some did (Exd 21:2).

Servants also had to be treated in an ethical manner. A female servant was guaranteed food, clothing, and marriage rights. If her master did not provide these things for her she would be free to go (Exd 21:10-11). If a man beat his servant to death he would be punished for it (Exd 21:20). If a man struck the eye of his servant or knocked out a tooth, the servant was free to leave (Exd 21:26-27). Slaves that ran away from their masters, presumably from mistreatment, could seek asylum in other towns without being punished for it. (Deu 23:15).

It is Christian values that placed value on life and upon individuals. It was ultimately those biblical values that helped put an end to slavery in America and in fact many of the abolitionists were Christians. We often look through the lens of history with 21st century ethics. But the ancient world was very different and much more harsh. They sometimes had to do things in order to survive that we don't.

Stoning a rebellious son

If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and [who], when they have chastened him, will not heed them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. And they shall say to the elders of his city, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.' Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear. Deu 21:18-21 

Does Deuteronomy 21:18 advocate the stoning of children as some would claim? Why was such a harsh law needed? In order to answer these question we need to examine what exactly is being said and in what context. First a couple of points should be made:

• The person in question is a son, daughters seem to be excluded
• One of the charges is drunkenness so he's an adult, not a child
• He's a repeat offender
• He's brought before the elders which suggests a trial (more on that below)
• The law was meant as a deterrent to keep society in order (much like laws today)
• There is no actual account of this law being enacted. 
• The civil portion of the Levitical Laws are similiar to our own laws. We also practice corporal punishment (i.e. the death penalty) and have laws based upon morality (murder, stealing, public decency,etc.).

 One of the commandments from God was to honor your parents:

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you. Exd 20:12

 The Israelite's agreed keep all of the commandments on several occasions and accepted the consequences if they didn't:

Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.” Exo 24:7

 So this rebellious son had repeatedly broken God's commandment by not honoring his father and mother. The bible says rebellion is akin to witchcraft and stubbornness to iniquity (bad behavior) and idolatry (1Sa 15:23). It was a very serious charge, but a trial was held first. The parents, acting as plaintiffs, took there case to the Elders. The rules for handling a case are laid out in Deuteronomy 19:15:

• It required two or three witness for a case to be established
• False testimony was not allowed
• Killing an innocent man was prohibited (Exd 23:7)

Punishment was only dealt after testimony was heard against the defendant and he was found guilty. The matter was handled in a just way. The rebellious son knew the consequences of his actions but refused to change his ways and so the consequence was stoning.

While this law seems harsh by today's standards we need to keep in mind these laws were written while the Hebrews were in the desert. There were no jails or police to discourage bad behavior. Corporal punishment as a means for punishment and dissuade bad behavior has been a part of the laws of every society on earth. Christians have never practice the Old Laws which were intended sorely for Israel under the Old Covenant.

The case for the existence of Jesus

It wasn't until the so-called Age of Enlightenment (1650-1700) did the existence of Jesus ever come into question. For some 1,600 years prior it was never considered an issue. While there were many accusations against Jesus, none of them claimed he didn't exist. Yet in modern times this rumor continues to be perpetuated. So what evidence do we have?

First we have extra biblical sources that mention or allude to Jesus which include:Josephus, Tacitus, Suetonius, Thallus, Phlegon, Pliny the Younger, and the Talmud.

• The Talmud is the central text of Judaism. The Jews deny that Jesus was the Christ but never that he didn't exist. In the Talmud it says:

"On the eve of Passover they hanged Yeshu (of Nazareth) … he hath practiced sorcery and beguiled and led astray Israel. Let everyone knowing aught in his defense come and plead for him. But they found naught in his defense and hanged him on the eve of Passover"

Yeshu being the Jewish name of Jesus and "hanging" being a term for crucifixion. The pharisees were clearly no fan of Jesus, and it would have been far easier to say he didn't exist than to try to disprove his claims.

• Cornelius Tacitus was a second century Roman historian. Writing about Christian's being blamed for the fire set to Rome by Nero:

But not all the relief that could come from man, not all the bounties that the prince could bestow, nor all the atonements which could be presented to the gods, availed to relieve Nero from the infamy of being believed to have ordered the conflagration, the fire of Rome. Hence to suppress the rumor, he falsely charged with the guilt, and punished Christians, who were hated for their enormities. Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea in the reign of Tiberius: but the pernicious superstition, repressed for a time broke out again, not only through Judea, where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their center and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind.

Tacitus doesn't name Jesus by name (either because he didn't know or didn't think it was important enough) but calls him Christus or Christ, which means anointed or specifically Messiah. And as if to clarify who he was talking about he says he was founder of Christianity which started in Judea and spread to Rome, and was put to death by Pontius Pilate. All of which corroborates the biblical account of Jesus.

• Flavius Josephus was a first century Jewish historian. Josephus specfically mentions Jesus by name:

Antiquities 20.9.1 But the younger Ananus who, as we said, received the high priesthood, was of a bold disposition and exceptionally daring; he followed the party of the Sadducees, who are severe in judgment above all the Jews, as we have already shown. As therefore Ananus was of such a disposition, he thought he had now a good opportunity, as Festus was now dead, and Albinus was still on the road; so he assembled a council of judges, and brought before it the brother of Jesus the so-called Christ, whose name was James, together with some others, and having accused them as law-breakers, he delivered them over to be stoned.

Also...

Antiquities 18.3.3 Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day.

• Thallus was a Samaritan historian. Much of his original writings have perished but some of it has been preserved through the writings of Julius Africanus. Julius talking about the eclipse that is documented in Book of Matthew after the crucifixion of Jesus writes:

" 'Thallus, in the third book of his histories, explains away this darkness as an eclipse of the sun - unreasonably, as it seems to me' (unreasonably, of course, because a solar eclipse could not take place at the time of the full moon, and it was at the season of the Paschal full moon that Christ died)."

Thallus provides the earliest non-biblical reference to Jesus, some 20 years after his death.

• Pliny the Younger was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny wrote of his persecution of Christians:

They affirmed, however, that the whole of their guilt, or their error, was, that they were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verse a hymn to Christ as to a god, and bound themselves to a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft, adultery, never to falsify their word, not to deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up.

Suetonius, a Roman Historian and annalist under Hadrian around 120 AD, writes:

"As the Jews were making constant disturbance at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome".

Chrestus likely is an alternate spelling of Christus, which was another name for Jesus Christ.

• Mara bar was a philosopher from Syria.  Mara bar wrote a letter to his son Serapion where he says:

"What advantage did the Athenians gain from putting Socrates to death? Famine and plague came upon them as a judgment for their crime. What advantage did the men of Samos gain from burning Pythagoras? In a moment their land was covered with sand. What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise King? It was just after that their Kingdom was abolished. God justly avenged these three wise men: the Athenians died of hunger; the Samians were overwhelmed by the sea; the Jews, ruined and driven from their land, live in complete dispersion. But Socrates did not die for good; he lived on in the teaching of Plato. Pythagoras did not die for good; he lived on in the statue of Hera. Nor did the wise King die for good; He lived on in the teaching which He had given."

Jesus is not mentioned here by name but the "wise King" most likely alludes to Jesus. It's not sure when this was written but what's important is that Jesus was never considered a myth. That became an invention of more modern times.

There is also the New Testament itself which should not be excluded as proof because it is historically  accurate with factual names and places. If the New Testament is reliable considering historical events then it should also stand to reason that it's also reliable concerning Jesus. The four gospels of Jesus do in fact go through great pains to document the life of Jesus through several eye witness accounts.

Then are the early church fathers who believed in the existance of Jesus including:Polycarp, Eusebiusm Irenaeus, Ignatius, Justin and Origen. The fact they were Christians should not counted against them as they all started out as non-belivers.

Two of Jesus half-brother (James and Jude) wrote New Testament books,  yet there existence is not questioned. Also of the 12 apostles, three of which also wrote books in the New Testament. Only one the apostles died a natural death, the rest were martyred for there faith. So that begs the question why would men risk death for no monetary gain for something they didn't believe in? All they would have to do was renounce Christ and live, but they didn't.

In closing, Jesus was not a king or ruler like Alexander the Great. He didn't lead any men into battle nor did he hold any political office. He was very much a common man that stayed under the radar, as such he left a small paper trail, so to speak. Rome had little interest in him. Had the historians realized just how big an impact he would have on Western civilization if not the world, no doubt there would be more documentation today. Regardless there are plenty of first and second hand accounts by men who knew him. For believers it's more than enough, for non-believers no amount of evidence will ever be enough.

The Oslo attacks

Anyone not living under a rock by now has heard of the recent terrorist attacks in Oslo, Norway in which Anders Behring Breivik was responsible for killing 76 people and injuring many more. The media has portrayed him as a Christian extremist, but was he really?  I would like to take a break from apologetics for a moment to address this issue.

To quote Breivik in his own words taken from his 1500+ page manifesto he writes:

"I'm not going to pretend I'm a very religious person, as that would be a lie, I've always been very pragmatic and influenced by my secular surroundings and environment."

""As for the Church and science, it is essential that science takes an undisputed precedence over biblical teachings. Europe has always been the cradle of science, and it must always continue to be that way. Regarding my personal relationship with God, I guess I'm not an excessively religious man. I am first and foremost a man of logic. However, I am a supporter of a monocultural Christian Europe."

Concerning his views on Christianity he writes:

As this is a cultural war, our definition of being a Christian does not necessarily constitute that you are required to have a personal relationship with God or Jesus," he writes. "Being a Christian can mean many things; That you believe in and want to protect Europe's Christian cultural heritage.... It is enough that you are a Christian-agnostic or a Christian atheist.

While Breivik professed to be a Christian it's clear it was in name only, he was far more secular than he was religious. Not only did he not believe that one had to believe in God or Jesus to be a Christian but he also showed no regard for the commandment "thou shall not kill" (i.e. murder). These are major tenets of Christianity that one has to believe in order to be a Christian.  What Breivik believed in was a form of psuedo Christianity mixed with other ideologies, including paganism and Darwinism. He descried himself practicing certain rituals and meditation to strengthen his beliefs and convictions.

So why is Christianity getting a bum rap? I liken it to someone putting on a police officers uniform and then robbing a bank. Would putting on a police uniform make someone a real cop? No. Would we also blame all cops that the bank was robbed? No. That analogy applies here too. There's one person that came to kill, steal, and destroy Jhn 10:19 and that would be Satan. Anyone who does those things is following him and not God.

Israel, a modern day miracle

"Hear the word of the Lord, O nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: `He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.' Jeremiah 31:10

Perhaps there is no greater veracity to the God of the bible than the existence of Israel. The prophets predicted Israel would be reborn again and that the Jews would return. For nearly 2000 years it seemed impossible. Then in 1948, against all odds, it happened just as the bible predicted. Lets take a look at what makes Israel a modern day miracle.


The Jewish people
"Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known--wood and stone. And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul." Deuteronomy 28:64-65

Jewish diaspora (or dispersion) began as early as the Babylonian exile in 597 BC. In 70 AD the Romans, under Titus, destroyed Jerusalem and the second temple. According to the 1st-century historian Josephus about 1.1 million Jews were killed. Jews would be scattered around the world for the next nearly 2000 years. Roman Emperor Hadrian renamed the land Palestine after the Jews ancient enemies the Philistines. Over the course of there diaspora the Jews endured numerous incidents of persecution and by many accounts are considered to be the most persecuted people in history. Miraculously, not only did they survive but managed to retain there unique cultural identities without having a homeland.


Israel born in a day
"Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons." Isaiah 66:8

Nations rarely, if ever, are born in one day but this is exactly what happened just as the prophet Isaiah predicted. Since 70 AD Israel has passed through several hands, from Romans, to Arabs, to Crusaders, and back to the Muslims again. From 1516 to 1918 the Ottoman Turks controlled the region. The end to the Ottoman Empire came after they sided with the wrong side and lost in World War 1. From 1917-1948 Israel was under British control. It would take a holocaust for the world to recognize the need for a Jewish homeland. On November 29th 1947 the United Nations voted in favor of a partition plan to create two states, one Jewish the other Arab. Names were debated on what to call the fledgling state. Do we call it Zion? Do we call it Judea? David Ben-Gurion suggested the name Israel and at the last moment it was approved. On May 14th 1948 Israel was declared a nation in one day.


The Jews return home
"Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel."' Ezekiel 11:17

The desire for the Jews to return to there homeland began in the late 19th century with Theodor Herzl who is considered the father of modern Zionism. Herzl organized the First Zionist Congress in 1897. In 1950 the Law of Return granted every Jew the automatic right to return to Israel and become a citizen. A mass immigration began shortly thereafter with holocaust survivors coming from Europe and others from Libya, Yemen, and Iraq. The late 1950's and early 1960's saw another wave of Jewish immigrants from North Africa, Poland, Hungary, and Egypt. In Russia, Jews began returning in mass in the 1970's and after the fall of the Soviet Union some 700,000 Russian Jews immigrated to Israel. In the mid-1980's and early 1990's, special operations were carried out to bring Jewish community's from Ethiopia and resettle them in Israel. From 1948 to 2009 over three million Jews have immigrated to Israel.


The desert blooms
"The whole land [is] brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and His wrath." Deuteronomy 29:23
"The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." Isaiah 35:1
"So they will say, 'This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities [are now] fortified [and] inhabited." Ezekiel 36:35

Deuteronomy foretold that the land would become desolate because of Israel's idolatry, but Isaiah and Ezekiel promised that the land would eventually be restored. During the Ottoman Empire the Turks placed a tax on every living tree. The more tree's on a person's property the more taxes they had to pay. In an attempt to avoid the tax, trees were cut down in mass which ravaged the landscape and made the land desolate. In 1867 Mark Twain visiting Israel, then called Palestine, wrote "Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes. Over it broods the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies. There is hardly a tree or shrub anywhere. Even the olive and cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, have almost deserted the soil." In 1901 the Jewish National Fund was formed to help restore the land of Israel. Swamps were drained, deserts were irrigated, and trees were planted. Today Israel is one of two countries on earth that has more tree's today than it did 100 years ago.


Revival of a dead language
"For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, That they all may call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him with one accord. " Zephaniah 3:9

The Hebrew language began to decline in use as early as the Babylonian captivity of the Jews in the 6th century B.C. Even in the time of Jesus the predominant Semitic language was Aramaic. For thousands of years Hebrew was relegated to religious services and sacred texts. It wasn't until the late 1800's that Eliezer Ben-Yehudah became the driving force behind the revival of Hebrew as a common language. It was a rule in Ben-Yehudah's house to speak only Hebrew and he raised his son speaking Hebrew exclusively. From that one household Hebrew grew to became the official language of Israel. To this date Hebrew is the only successful instance of a complete language revival.


Surviving against all odds
"I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them," says the LORD your God." Amos 9:15

Israel is situated in perhaps the most dangerous hostile part of the world, surrounded by enemies. Since Israel became a nation she has fought many wars that have threatened her very existence. When fighting broke out in 1948 British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery commented that Israel would survive no longer than three weeks. But just as Amos predicted, Israel continues to survive.

1948 The War of Independence:No sooner had Israel declared statehood when it was attacked by several Arab nations including Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Azam Pasha, Arab League Secretary General, said "This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the crusades.". Israel had not been an effective fighting force in over 2000 years. They had no tanks or cannons, and only a few obsolete planes. Weapons and ammunition were in short supply, a few months earlier the U.S. placed an arms embargo on the region to try to prevent bloodshed. David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, said "The best we can tell you is that we have a 50\­50 chance." To everyone's surprise Israel won in January 1949 and even gained territory.

1967 The Six-Day War:Tensions were rising yet again. In May of '67 Egypt's president Nassar stated "The armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon are poised on the borders of Israel...to face the challenge, while standing behind us are the armies of Iraq, Algeria, Kuwait, Sudan and the whole Arab nation. This act will astound the world. Today they will know that the Arabs are arranged for battle, the critical hour has arrived. We have reached the stage of serious action and not declarations." The writing was on the wall and Israel decided the best defense was a good offense. So on June 5th Israel launched a preemptive attack defeating three Arab armies in just 6 days. The stunning victory lead to the capture of the Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights, Gaza, the West Bank, and for the first time in over 2000 years the Jews had control of Jerusalem.

1973 The Yom Kippur War:On October 6th 1973 a surprise attack was led by Egypt and Syria on Judaism's holiest day, Yom Kippur, knowing Israel's guard would be down. The Israeli forces were initially unprepared and overwhelmed by the attack. The story goes that the outlook was so dire that Prime Minister Golda Meir considered using nuclear weapons as a last resort. However with the help of U.S. aid Israel managed to rebound and repeal the attacks in spite of it's earlier losses. The war ended in a decisive victory for Israel on October 25th 1973. As a result of US support of Israel, OPEC placed an oil embargo on shipments to the US and other industrial nations.

Israel and particularly Jerusalem will increasingly become the center of attention as time moves on. The Arab\Israeli conflict has become the Gordian Knot that no politician has solved. Eventually the entire world will be drawn into the conflict. Keep watching!

What color was Jesus robe?

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put [it] on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" (Mat 27:27-29)

Shortly before Jesus was crucified the Roman soldiers put a robe around him and a crown of thorns on his head to mock him.  Matthew describes the robe as scarlet or red however Mark describes it as purple:

And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His [head] (Mark 15:17)

So which is it red or purple? This seeming contradiction does have several possible explanations:

-Luke 23:11 describes the robe as gorgeous.  A deeper look into the Greek word for gorgeous describes it as shining, brilliant, transparent. It's possible the robe was made of an iridescent fabric and changed color depending on the angle of view and the level of illumination, in which case both accounts are true.

-The robe could have been made of porphyra which produces a red-purple color. One person may see this as red, another may see it as purple.

-The robe could have started out purple, but turned red from Jesus' blood.

-More than one robe could have been used

-A case of colorblindess where one sees red as purple or vice versa.

-Dark red and dark purple are very similar in color and could be perceived as either color.

Whichever the case may be both are true symbolically. Red is the color of sin which Jesus took on the cross for us. Purple is the color of royalty and Jesus is the prince of peace and King of kings.

Are we living in the last days?

In the Book of Daniel, Daniel has a prophetic dream about five empires: Babylon,  Medo-Persia, Greece (under Alexander the Great), and lastly the Anti-Christ's empire (Dan 2). At the time Daniel was living under the Babylonian Empire. Since then all but the last empire have come and gone. That last empire is built upon three pillars:government, economy, and religion (Rev 13\17). To get an idea of where we are prophetically, we must compare our world as it is today to the world of the Anti-Christ.

One World Government:
The last world empire is a global government headed by a political leader, the Anti-Christ. Anti-Christ simply means in place of Christ. Two things have to happen for world government to transpire. One is for the nations of the world to start coming together. This is already in progress. First there was the League of Nations followed by the United Nations. GATT and The World Trade Organization have tired together regions into political and economic unions. The 21st century has seen the push toward Globalization and open borders. These are all stepping stones toward a world government.

Second, the United States must fall. There cannot be a global government as long as a lone super power exists. This is also in the process of happening. Much like Rome in the last days the United States is in a state or moral and economic decay. The US has accumulated so much debt that it can never repay and the dollar is no longer worth the paper it's printed on. The world is looking for alternates to replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency. When the dollar finally dies the power will shift to the opposite side of the globe.

One World Economic System:
The Anti-Christ uses an economic system that controls what is bought, sold, or traded. Such a degree of control was not possible before modern technology. With the advent of computers and the internet, digital money has replaced paper money as the currency of choice. Unlike paper money however, digital money is not anonymous and can easily be tracked and controlled.

The Anti-Christ will also use a special mark to force people to swear allegiance to him. Anyone that doesn't take his mark cannot participate in the world economy. It's been speculated this mark is some sort of RFID chip or Tattoo placed on or under the right hand or forehead. This technology currently exists. 

One World Religion:
The one world religion is headed by the Anti-Christ's partner in crime, the False Prophet. There are several contenders for a world religion:Islam, The environmental movement (which is basically Pantheism), Interfaithism. Which one will it be? I don't know, take your pick.

So how close are we? Close. Much of the foundation has already been laid. The stage is set, the actors are in place, and the last act is about to begin. I want to elaborate on what the last days or end of days mean. It's not the end of the world as some have surmised, but the end of an age and the end of human government. It will be the darkest period in human history but there is light at the end of the tunnel. After the final seven years God set's up his kingdom of peace that last 1000 years.

1 Kings 7:23 and Pi

And he made the Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; [it was] completely round. Its height [was] five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. 1 Kings 7:23

The object described above was a round bowl to be used in the first Jewish temple. King Solomon hired Hiram, a Phoenician, to design and supervise the building of temple and the instruments used within. The critique is that the circumference and diameter given in 1 King 7:23 does not equal Pi (3.14) but instead equals 3 and is therefore inaccurate. The logic is that if there are errors in the bible how can it be trusted?

First let me say I'm terrible when it comes to math, so I'm not going to do some fancy calculations. Others have claimed to have worked it out to 3.14 so I'll leave that to them. Instead I'll point out a few observations on the matter:

*Hiram was just a man and was therefore capable of making mistakes. To err is human.
*Measurements were not standardized back then. The length of a cubit varied greatly.
*Precise measurements were rarely needed back then like they are now.

In conclusion there's no reason why a bowl's ratio needed to be exactly 3.14. It's a trivial matter at best and has no bearing on more important theological issues.

Intro

A blog that focuses primarily on bible prophecy and apologetic's. More to come...