Prophecies about Jesus: His death, burial and resurrection
Mark Taylor (captain of the Australian cricket team, 1994-1999) told Sam Konstas to ditch the ramp shot and go back to basics to force his way back into the (Australian) Test cricket team. The basics are the foundation of whatever you are talking about. Builders know that if the foundation isn’t right, the whole structure will fail. (more…)
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Prophecies about Jesus: He would enter Jerusalem on a donkey
There were two donkeys in the field near where we stayed in France recently. They followed people around and liked eating apples.
On the Sunday before He was crucified, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling a predictive prophecy given about 530 years earlier (Zech. 9:9). (more…)
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Two great miracles
In Psalm 77, the writer “cried out to God for help” (v.1NIV). He was in distress (v.2) and couldn’t sleep (v.4). He could only think about his troubles. And he doubted God’s mercy and kindness (v.7-9).
But then he looked back at what God had done for Israel in the exodus from slavery in Egypt (v.10-20). And he wrote, (more…)
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The greatest miracles of all
This blog is based on articles by Frank Turek and Duane Caldwell.
Many people find it difficult to believe that miracles are possible, particularly when they are influenced by materialism.
Number one – creation
The creation of the universe out of nothing is the greatest miracle of all. Space, time and matter had a beginning out of nothing. Nature had a beginning. (more…)
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What the early church believed about Jesus
This post comes from Brian Chilton, of North Carolina, USA.
Throughout the New Testament there are early creeds and hymns that predate the New Testament itself. These texts are often called “proto-New Testament texts.” Proto-New Testament texts date back to the earliest church from those who were eyewitnesses of Jesus Himself. (more…)
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Rescued by a substitute
Sports like football and cricket have concussion substitutes. A player is replaced after they suffer concussion. Did you know that there are substitutes in the Bible? (more…)
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Ten cases of theophany in the Bible
The word theophany is a combination of two Greek words, meaning “God” and “appearance”. A theophany is an appearance of God. More precisely, it is a visible display to human beings that expresses the presence and character of God. (more…)
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Prophecies about Jesus: His birthplace
Micah wrote about God’s judgment of Judah and their corrupt leaders for their idolatry and disobedience, and the future restoration of a faithful remnant.
Although they were threatened by foreign nations he wrote, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah [near Jerusalem], though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Mic. 5:2NIV). “From ancient times” means from the eternal past. Jesus is the eternal God. Micah is saying that their situation would change when the Messiah comes and leads them like a shepherd (Mic. 5:4). (more…)
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Prophecies about Jesus: called out of Egypt
Let’s look at another pattern prophecy about Jesus. This is called a “type” or a “typology” where a pattern of events in the Old Testament is repeated in the New Testament. The fulfilment is a similar but greater pattern of events. (more…)
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Prophecies about Jesus: His virgin birth
In about 700 BC. the Arameans and the kingdom of Israel planned to attack the kingdom of Judah from the north. This was an attack on a descendant of king David and so was an attack on God’s promise that the Messiah would be a ruler who was a descendant of David. But God told the Judeans not to be afraid and gave them a sign. (more…)
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Thanksgiving Day
Next Thursday is Thanksgiving day in the USA when they share a family meal, attend church services, and view special sporting events. This celebration began when settlers who arrived from England in the 17th century dedicated a day to give thanks for the blessings of the harvest and for the preceding year. The first national Thanksgiving celebration was observed in 1789 by President George Washington. In 1863 it was formalized by a presidential proclamation by Abraham Lincoln.
And in 1941 the date was formalized as the fourth Thursday in November. In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. (more…)
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The pinnacle of existence
Bart Erman is a New Testament scholar and an atheist critic of the Bible. During meditation he got this thought: “A rock has no way of recognizing that a dandelion exists. A dandelion has no way of recognizing that a panther exists. … A panther has no way of recognizing that a superior intelligence exists … who can engineer skyscrapers, or split atoms, or reconstruct the history of Rome…
“The fact is that the lower levels of existence can never know about the higher ones, what they really are, what they are capable of, how they exist, what they do, and so on. They can’t even conceptualize their existence. (more…)
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God is the greatest father
Today is the first day of the spring season in the southern hemisphere when there is new growth and flowering of vegetation. In fact in Sydney we have been getting spring weather for the last ten days. Because of this, there were plenty of flowers to be seen on our bush walk yesterday. It’s also a day in Australia when we honor and appreciate fathers (see Appendix). (more…)
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Prophecies about Jesus: He would experience intense suffering
Did you know that many aspects of the crucifixion of Christ are mentioned in the Old Testament? (more…)
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Prophecies about Jesus: He would be betrayed
In February 2024, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation revealed that a former politician was cultivated by foreign spies. The person had agreed to share knowledge from inside Parliament in exchange for payment. The implication was that they may have betrayed their country. (more…)
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Evidence for the God of Christianity
According to a 2023 survey, about half of Americans believe in God, the lowest number in history. And globally (omitting China and Russia), an average of 40% say they believe in God “as described in holy scriptures”. (more…)
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Blood as a symbol of death in the New Testament
When we sing songs like “Nothing but the blood of Jesus” and “Forgiveness is bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ”, do we understand what the words mean? Or when we hear that our sins can be washed away by the blood of Jesus, what does that mean? (more…)
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The sharp end of Easter
If I type “Easter” into my phone the emoji of a cute baby chick in an egg shell comes up. At the shops there are pictures of soft fluffy bunnies and mountains of sweet chocolate eggs. Easter ads show cherub-like laughing children running through green gardens, and generations of family members gathering happily around delicious feasts. (more…)
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Prophecies about Jesus: He would be a suffering servant
God told king David that his royal dynasty would endure forever (2 Sam. 7:16). And the prophets predicted that one of David’s descendants would bring justice and peace (Isa. 11:1-16; Jer. 23:5-6).
That’s why after the time of the Old Testament the Jews looked for a Messiah (anointed one) to lead them and to defeat their enemies. (more…)
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Google knows all about us
Google Timeline keeps a record of your location history. My Google Timeline says that in 2023 I:
– visited 4 countries, 103 cities and 296 places
– travelled 20,845 km (50% around the world)
– walked 708 km in 170 hours
– drove 14,027 km in 450 hours
– transited 482 km in 9 hours (mainly in France)
– Shopped 173 hours at 48 places (mainly in France)
– visited 12 food and drink places for 18 hours (mainly in France) (more…)
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Prophecies about Jesus: He would be the Messiah
People often have job titles at work. Like a manager, a supervisor, or a team leader. And king Charles III, President Biden, and Pharaoh Tutankhamun are known as the King, the President and the Pharaoh.
Did you know that Jesus had a job title? And it wasn’t the sign that was put on His cross – “The king of the Jews”. He was known as the Christ, the Messiah or the Anointed One. How did this come about? (more…)
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Prophecies about Jesus: He would speak in parables
When He was on earth Jesus often spoke to the crowd in parables. 40 are listed in the NIV Study Bible (Appendix). A parable is a short story with two levels of meaning that may be hard to understand. It takes something we know to explain something we don’t know, and we wouldn’t have any other way of understanding it. (more…)
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Prophecies about Jesus: The time of His coming was predicted
There’s lots in the world to be worried about, but we can be less anxious if we knew about future events.
The Old Testament has predictions of future events and people. For example, Abraham was told about 200 years beforehand that the Israelites would be 400 years in Egypt (Gen. 15:13). Isaiah named king Cyrus about 200 years before he reigned over Persia (Isa. 44:28 – 45:1). And Daniel was told about the death of Christ over 400 years beforehand. (more…)
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Prophecies about Jesus: He will be the “Son of God”
In ancient times sons got their identity from their fathers. They did the same work and were trained by their fathers. For example, Jesus was known as “the carpenter’s son” (Mt. 13:55NLT). And many characters in the Bible are named as “the son of” their father (Appendix). (more…)
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