Author: Administrador

David E. Graves Role of the Imperial Cult The worship of the Emperor was an important part of Smyrna’s culture from early in Rome’s rise to power. Kistemaker writes that in order to make the spirit of Rome concrete throughout the empire, Romans presented the emperor as its embodiment, and thus worship of the emperor … Continue reading “LOCAL
REFERENCES IN THE LETTER OF SMYRNA
(RV 2:8-11), PART 4:
RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND1”

Stephen Caesar Numbers 6:24–26 contains one of the central passages of Scripture, known as the “Priestly” or “Aaronic” Benediction: The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. Evidence for the antiquity of … Continue reading “THE
BLESSING OF THE SILVER SCROLLS”

Brian Janeway Tell Ta‘yinat is located in southern Turkey, in a region where the southern border dips down to take in a fertile region known as the Amuq Valley east of the northeast corner of the Mediterranean. A major city in this area in New Testament times was Antioch, where followers of Jesus were first … Continue reading “BIBLICAL
CONNECTIONS AT TELL TA‘YINNAT, TURKEY”

David E. Graves There was a considerable Jewish population in Smyrna, which was hostile to the early church. They opposed the early Christians and promoted the persecution of Christians (Rv 2:9–10). In the Revelation to John, they are described as calling themselves Jews but really belonging to the synagogue of Satan. As Walvoord points out, … Continue reading “LOCAL
REFERENCES IN THE LETTER OF SMYRNA
(RV 2:8-11), PART 3:
JEWS IN SMYRNA1”

Paul Ferguson BSpade 19:2 (Spring 2006) p. 50 Tyre was a major Phonician commercial center famous for its wealth and beauty. It was located on two sandstone reefs about 1.2 mi (2 km) off the coast of Lebanon. According to Herodotus, King Hiram (ca. 969–936 BC) joined the two reefs with land fill, enlarging the … Continue reading “EZEKIEL
26:1-14
A PROOF TEXT FOR INERRANCY OR FALLIBILITY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT?”

Gary A. Byers If the Reed Sea can be located somewhere along the marshy lake district of the Isthmus of Suez (Byers 2006), which separates the cultivated delta from the barren desert, then the place names in the Exodus account can be centralized to a specific area. Everything prior to the sea crossing would have … Continue reading “NEW
EVIDENCE FROM EGYPT ON THE LOCATION OF THE EXODUS SEA CROSSING
PART 2”

Gary A. Byers Introduction It may come as a surprise to many students of the Bible that in the original Hebrew text the body of water the Israelites crossed when leaving Egypt is called yam suph, “Sea of Reeds,” not Red Sea (Ex 15:4, 22; Dt 11:4; Jos 2:10; 4:23; 24:6; Neh 9:9; Ps 106: … Continue reading “NEW
EVIDENCE FROM EGYPT ON THE
LOCATION OF THE EXODUS SEA CROSSING
PART 1”

David E. Graves The city of Smyrna has had a long and illustrious history of Christian presence. Christian figures such as Clement of Rome (active AD 90–100) and Ignatius of Antioch (died AD 110)wrote letters to Smyrna; Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, was born in Smyrna; Polycarp and Pionius, bishops of Smyrna, were martyred here, just … Continue reading “LOCAL
REFERENCES IN THE LETTER OF SMYRNA
(RV 2;8-11), PART 2:
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND1”

Stephen Caesar Michael Luddeni The Biblical record suggests that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were exceedingly wealthy men. This is borne out by the fact that they owned both donkeys and camels. The rarity of domesticated camels in the Bronze Age Near East, combined with the economic advantages enjoyed by camel owners over non-owners, along with … Continue reading “WEALTH
AND POWER OF THE BIBLICAL PATRIARCHS”

David E. Graves Relevance of Local References Within the message to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, there are several “local references” to geographical, historical or cultural items. Evidence from archaeology, museum artifacts, inscriptions and numismatics (coins) helps illuminate the Biblical text and provides a basic historical context in which to understand the passages (Ramsay … Continue reading “LOCAL
REFERENCES IN THE LETTER TO SMYRNA (RV 2:8–11), PART 1: ARCHAEOLOGICAL
BACKGROUND”