The institution of Hanukkah - as recorded in the Books of Maccabees: Following the victories of Judas Maccabeus against the Seleucid commanders, Judas and his brothers went to Jerusalem "to purify the sanctuary and dedicate it". They tore down the central sacrificial altar in the Temple of […]
June 2025 (9)
The Books of the Maccabees
Monday, June 30 2025.
The activities of Alexander the Great and the Diadochi (his successor generals) are never really explored in the Western (Protestant) canon of Scripture, but they are described in the Books of the Maccabees. Alexander of Macedon, son of Philip, had come from the land of Kittim and defeated Darius, […]
My first Bible
Monday, June 30 2025.
This was the very first Bible I ever read. I was 18, working at one of my first jobs as a parking lot attendant. That year, I read this book cover to cover - Apocrypha and all. Most of it happened in that little parking lot booth. Later I got rid of it, thinking those extra books didn't belong. […]
Wednesday, June 25 2025
BRICS has an image problem
Wednesday, June 25 2025.
This is more than just a scheduling conflict. In a first, Xi will miss Brics summit in Rio as Li Qiang leads China delegation If this was important to Xi, he'd attend the BRICS summit in Rio. BRICS is fractured! And it has a serious image problem - Russia, Iran. This alliance has been scraping the […]
Saturday, June 7 2025
The 144,000
Saturday, June 7 2025.
Most of the time, the influence of the 144,000 is treated as a side-note. The popular theory is that this group are last days witnesses (evangelists) of the gospel - to the nations. I believe that is mostly incorrect! We're first introduced to them here: After this I saw four angels standing at the […]
Friday, June 6 2025
Chronologies are important!
Friday, June 6 2025.
The timeline works out as follows-based on the ages when each patriarch fathered the next: Adam → Seth (born when Adam was 130) Seth → Enosh (at 105) Enosh → Kenan (at 90) Kenan → Mahalalel (at 70) Mahalalel → Jared (at 65) Jared → Enoch (at 162) Adding these up: 130 + 105 + 90 + 70 + 65 + 162 = 622 […]
The Throne Room
Friday, June 6 2025.
In the middle of Daniel's vision of the four beasts (Daniel 7), he is given a rare glimpse of the throne room in heaven. As I continued to watch, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. […]
Thursday, June 5 2025
The Son of Man
Thursday, June 5 2025.
In Genesis 1, we see the first indication in our Western canon that God is more than one: Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image Gen 1:26 John elaborates in his account: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through […]
Wednesday, June 4 2025
"Paradise" and "Abraham's Side"
Wednesday, June 4 2025.
There's a tendency in Western culture to be fast and loose with how we use words. And people carry that with them when they interpret Bible passages. Take for example these verses: One of the criminals who hung there heaped abuse on Him. “Are You not the Christ?” he said. “Save Yourself and us!” But […]
