Bible – Stories & Facts

The prophets Daniel and Zechariah wrote prophecies concerning Greece and Alexander’s Macedonian Empire. The non-eschatological prophecies in Daniel have proved so reliable that some critics have tried to post-date his writing, even though copious literary, historical and biblical factors point to a date of writing in the sixth century B.C. (see the third paragraph of this article). Zechariah, writing sometime between 520 and 470 B.C., was also well before Alexander’s rise to power. World History…

Although Alexander the Great conquered Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and surrounding countries, modern historians have little to say of him visiting the Holy Land. Yet ancient history says that he had a most remarkable encounter there, not only visiting the temple in Jerusalem but also making a sacrifice to the God of Israel. Most modern historians dismiss the story, but one wonders just why they do. Could it be they would have to admit there is…

The United States and the UK were not the only countries in history to delve into harsh slavery and so be stained.  The Code of Hammurabi discussed slavery soon after 2242 BC (the date assigned by Archbishop Ussher to the Tower of Babel incident).  Ham’s son Mizraim founded Egypt (still called Mizraim in Hebrew). Egypt was the first well-documented nation in the Bible to have harsh slavery, which was imposed on Joseph, the…

Plague 1 – Water to blood; god affected: The Nile was the source of Egypt’s power. There are several gods in their pantheon that draw life from the river. Khnum was the guardian of the river’s source. Hapi was the god of annual flooding of the Nile and lord of the fish. Osiris had the Nile as his bloodstream. Plague 2 – Frogs; god affected: Heqt was an Egyptian goddess with the head of a…

Of all the textual variants in the New Testament, Mark 16:9-20 is one of the most significant. In the English Standard Version, a heading appears between Mark 16:8 and 16:9: [SOME OF THE EARLIEST MANUSCRIPTS DO NOT INCLUDE 16:9-20.] The superscripted “a” (or “9” depending on the edition) guides the reader to a footnote: “Some manuscripts end the book with 16:8; others include verses 9-20 immediately after verse 8. At least one manuscript inserts additional…