This revelation—holy, just, and true--
Though oft I read, it seems forever new;
While light from heaven upon its pages rest,
I feel its power, and with it I am blessed.
Henceforth, I take thee as my future guide,
Let naught from thee my youthful heart divide.
And then, if late or early death be mine,
All will be well, since I, O Lord, am Thine!
Phoebe Worrall-Palmer

This insightful poem was penned by Phoebe Worrall, age eleven, on the inner page of her bible.  Phoebe, born in 1807 to a devout Methodist family, experienced a problem faced by many Christians today.  She was under the false belief that an intense emotional experience was required for or accompanied the act of salvation.  The belief in an emotional connection to one's salvation has led many unbelievers to falsely assume they were saved simply because they had felt guilty and shed tears over their sins, without truly embracing the Savior.  Emotion has also led many  Christians to be unsure of their salvation for lack of "feeling" saved.  Even the great evangelist Billy Graham knew not to trust emotion as the sign of genuine salvation, which he learned from watching many people come forward in his crusades, only to discover later they emotion was not connected to genuine repentance or faith in Christ. 

Phoebe  never felt like a Christian as a child, although she grew up in a Christian environment and had known and believed in the Lord since birth.   She later married Walter Palmer, and two of their children died only months after birth.  Phoebe wrongly concluded God was somehow punishing for her lack of faith and devotion to Him, because she could never "feel" the way other Christians described feeling salvation.  As you can imagine, this led her into a very dark spiritual time.

Thankfully, Phoebe's spiritual crisis ended when she had the realization that she didn't need "joyous emotion" to believe.  She discovered the biblical truth that the simple act of believing was the foundation for salvation.  The verse that changed Phoebe's mind was Matthew 23:19, "Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?"   While many overlook the implications in this verse, Phoebe received rhema from it.  She realized the Bible taught whatever was placed on the altar was sanctified not by the act placing it there, or anything a person did.  It was the work of God, upon whose altar the item was placed, to sanctify the item on the alter.  This spiritual revelation helped Phoebe realize that her life committed to Jesus was sanctified not by her doing (keeping a list of do's and don'ts to follow) but by her surrender to the Lord, who was and is perfectly able to sanctify her by His power.  As a result, she no longer needed a sign to validate her faith in Jesus.

Phoebe Palmer understood other believers were struggling in their faith in a similar way she once had.  So she took her biblical revelation and applied it to John Wesley's Methodist perfectionist's movement, dividing it into a three step process.
             1.  Consecrate your life to God.
             2.  Believe God will sanctify what was consecrated to Him.
             3.  Tell others about it.
     
As a result of her three step process, Phoebe began holding prayer meetings, which eventually grew beyond measure.  She was an active supporter of many Christian causes, including the first inner-city mission in America, located in New York City.  Phoebe also inspired many other women of faith to trust God and step out in faith, like Catherine Booth of the Salvation Army.   Phoebe went on to author the book, The Way of Holiness, which was a foundation in the Holiness Movement.  The Holiness  Christian movement believed upon salvation believers were cleansed from the power of sin and through sanctification could lead a life without committing willful sin.  Whether the movement was entirely right or wrong, it impacted the way many believers thought and inspired new denominations like the Salvation Army, the Nazarene Church, the Church of God, and many Pentecostals. 

More importantly, Phoebe's teaching that neither salvation nor sanctification are validated by emotion is relevant for believers today.  While it is powerful to experience emotion, the Word of the Lord is not changed by it.  Phoebe often said, "Earnest prayers, long fasting, and burning tears may seem befitting, but cannot move the heart of infinite love to a greater willingness to save."

While everyone is celebrating Palm Sunday today... the truth for 2018 is that this Sunday isn't really the "Palm Sunday" of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  While it is technically the fixed date the Church decided to celebrate, it isn't based on the truth of the crucifixion or resurrection as identified in Scripture. 

For 2018, Passover occurs on sundown, March 30.  This means the date of  Jesus dying on the cross at 3pm would be on March 31st (Nisan 14th on the Jewish calendar).  Four days before this event is Nisan 10th, the day the lamb is selected; the date Jesus would have triumphantly entered Jerusalem on the donkey.  This means this year, "Palm Sunday" actually is "Palm Tuesday," March 27, 2018.  Palm Tuesday doesn't sound as romantic, but it's accurate.  Similarly, the day you were born on might originally have been a Sunday, but this year your birthday is actually on a Wednesday.  The date of the month you were born remains the same, but the day of the week moves depending on the year.   

For those of you who love the Lord, it's nice to know we can still know the EXACT date Jesus suffered and died with little work, but it requires us moving away from the traditions of men in order to find the Truth.  It's also wonderful to know we can be positive that before sunrise on April 3rd of this year, Jesus arose from the grave, and the tomb was found empty by Mary.  So while you might be celebrating Easter next Sunday... remember on Tuesday morning, April 3, 2018, that this was the actual date almost 2,000 years ago your Savior conquered death!  This is Nisan 17, and this is the reason for my newest book: Redemption's Secret.

This month the US Supreme Court decided not to hear Raphael Golb's case.  This means Mr. Golb's previous convictions and jail time will be upheld.  Raphael Golb is the son of University of Chicago professor Norman Golb, who had previously debated the origin of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and is now a disbarred lawyer convicted of a myriad of offenses.   Raphael Golb impersonated several Dead Sea Scroll scholars in emails and  blog posts to discredit their work and the validity of the Scrolls.  In 2010, he was found guilty of 30 counts of identity theft, forgery, and harassment.  The Appellate Courts dropped a total of 11 counts against him, but the other convictions and time remained.  After the Supreme Court refused to hear his case, Mr. Golb will now finally face his punishment for the 17 charges. 

Mr. Golb is an excellent example of how Satan, the enemy of our souls, will use anything and everything to discredit the validity of Scripture and scholars who research its credibility.  The Dead Sea Scrolls were confirmation of the reliability of the Masoretic text, upheld the Septuagint, and provided awareness of other circulating religious books of the time period.   Satan and Mr. Golb would have you to believe otherwise.  Mr. Golb's efforts having been circulated on the internet have been picked up by several websites refuting the reliability and historical accuracy of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Scripture.  While the authors of those anti-Christian websites were probably unaware of Mr. Golb's deception, they also have not made any effort to removing the false claims. 

Therefore, as many of you already know, when it comes to the internet, using primary sources are extremely valuable for obtaining accurate information.  The website should be operated by a business that is forthright in contact information and scholarly testimony.  Sources like the Biblical Archeology Society at www.biblicalarchaeology.org is one of the trustworthy resources a Christian can research for accurate information.

Have you ever wanted to learn Hebrew?  The Biblical Archeology Review is hosting a free Hebrew Language Bible Course.  The course contains 25 video lectures by Shaye Cohen, Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy at Harvard University.  Because this course is independent learning based, you can start and stop videos any time.  The Hebrew Course also includes surveys the major books and ideas of the Hebrew Bible (also called the Old Testament).  Additionally, the course examines the historical context in which the Hebrew texts emerged and were redacted.

A major subtext of the Hebrew course is the distinction between how the Bible was read by ancient interpreters (whose interpretations became the basis for many iconic literary and artistic works of Western Civilization) and how it is approached by modern bible scholarship.  James Kugel, former Harvard professor and author of the course’s textbook, contends that these ways of reading the Bible are mutually exclusive.  Professor Shaye Cohen respectfully disagrees.

The course link is available here: The Hebrew Bible.
http://courses.biblicalarchaeology.org/hebrewbible/

This week the BBC news released an article on the last remaining fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  There were six fragments written in code, which were finally deciphered by Dr Eshbal Ratson and Prof Jonathan Ben-Dov of Haifa University.  

The Dead Sea Scrolls were originally found between 1947 and 1956 in caves in Qumran on the western shore of the Dead Sea.  A young Bedouin shepherd stumbled across the caves when looking for lost sheep.  He found jars which contained fragments of 900 scrolls; some of them were complete scrolls.   It is believed an ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes were responsible for the scrolls.  

The newly deciphered code reveals the names of Jewish festivals observed that recognized the seasonal transitions, which include Shavuot (Pentecost).  The festivals related to Pentecost include New Wheat, New Wine, and New Oil.   Researches believe this new decipher helps them understand how the scrolls were arranged originally. 

The Dead Sea Scrolls have affirmed the reliability of scripture and is relevant to your faith in the written Word of God. If you would like to learn more about the Scrolls, the Leon Leavy Digital Library has a variety of information to help you understand the scrolls.  They have the following subjects: Historical Background, Timelines, Discovery and Publication, Discovery Sites, Content of the Scrolls, Languages and Scripts, and Conversation.

I recently saw an article on the BBC news about the Rock Churches of Lalibela Ethiopia.  These churches have been identified as World Historical Monuments and are located in a mountainous region north of Addis Ababa. 

In total there are eleven ancient churches which were carved directly out of solid rock.  The article noted that more rock churches are still  being constructed today.  

What was so amazing was the man currently building a rock church.  He stated like the previous builders, he had no architectural plans or construction designs before beginning.  They simply started building under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and moved with Him to create the building.  The end result is nothing short of an architectural miracle, especially considering the tools they use to create these beautiful churches.  The interiors are elaborately designed and the tunnel systems between churches and the housing units are intelligently crafted.  There are arch doorways, complex windows, tall columns, various floors and artistic ceilings.  Additionally, there is an extensive drainage system of ditches, trenches, and walkways. 

The original churches were started by King Lalibela whose desire was to build a ‘New Jerusalem’ in the 12th Century after Christian pilgrimages to Jerusalem had been stopped by Muslims.  The churches were designed in two major groups.

 To view the complete video you can see the BBC report here.  Additional video is also below from Youtube but it does not contain the rock carver interview in the BBC video.

The first specific Christmas hymns we know of appeared in 4th century Rome. Composed in Latin, one such hymns is known as Veni Redemptor Gentium, written by Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan who lived 340-397AD.  Saint Ambrose wrote statements of  theological doctrine surrounding the birth of Christ, the Incarnation of God in verse form.   The St. John Church's video of this Gregorian Chant is linked below.

Later in the 9th and 10th centuries, the Christmas "Prose" was introduced in North European monasteries, developing under Bernard of Clairvaux into a sequence of rhymed stanzas. Traditionally, carols have often been based on medieval chord patterns.  This is what gives them their uniquely characteristic musical sound.  It was during the 13th Century under the influence of Saint Frances of Assisi the singing songs specifically about the Advent or Coming of Christ grew popular during the Christmas season.  The Piae Cantiones is a collection of Christmas carols dating back to Theodoricus Petri, Finnish believer in 1538.  This collection was given as a gift to John Mason Neale who translated several songs and published them in 1853.  The songs include, Here is Joy For Every Age, Christ was born on Christmas Day, Good Christian Men, Rejoice, and Good King Wenceslas.  It is thought the song O Come All Ye Faithful made popular in the 18th century may have lyrics originated as early as the 13th century.  Christmas Carols gained great popularity after the Reformation and grew as publication became easier.  Songs like God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman, The First Noel, I Saw Three Ships, and Hark the Herold Angels Sing were published in 1833.

Completely secular Christmas songs emerged much later with Jingle Bells & Deck the Halls, but these songs weren't made popular until the late 1940s-50s when a big push was made by the commercial industry and Hollywood to increase retail sales.

Whatever Christmas Carol you are enjoying this year, may you know and remember the true reason of why the world sings... to celebrate God in the flesh being born to take away the sins of the world.

The Nicene Creed is the only Christian Creed accepted by all the major denominations.  It has been approved by the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Angelician and most Protestants churches. Officially recognized at the Council of Nicea in 325AD, the Nicene Creed has been a formal doctrinal statement of belief within the Christian church for almost sixteen hundred years. 

The oldest surviving manuscript of the Creed dates back to the 5th Century.  There are known variances in the Creed between the Council of 325 and 381AD.  Just as with the Apostle's Creed, the term "Catholic" does not refer to the Roman Catholic church but rather represents the Greek work for "universal" church, because Christ does not have denominations.  He only has One Church that is undivided in Him.

The Nicene Creed 325 AD

We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten from the Father, only-begotten, that is, from the substance of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, through Whom all things came into being, things in heaven and things on earth, Who because of us men and because of our salvation came down, and became incarnate and became man, and suffered, and rose again on the third day, and ascended to the heavens, and will come to judge the living and dead,

And in the Holy Spirit.

But as for those who say, There was when He (Jesus) was not, and, Before being born He was not, and that He came into existence out of nothing,
or who assert that the Son of God is of a different hypostasis or substance, or created, or is subject to alteration or change,
these the Catholic and apostolic Church anathematizes.

Nicene Creed as of 381
changes from 325 to 381 in red

We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, through Whom all things came into existence,
Who because of us men and because of our salvation came down from the heavens,
and was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man, and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures and ascended to heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father, and will come again with glory to judge living and dead, of Whose kingdom there will be no end;

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and life-giver, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son is together worshiped and together glorified, Who spoke through the prophets; in one holy Catholic and apostolic Church. We confess one baptism to the remission of sins; we look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
Amen

The Filiquo cause (Filiquo being Latin, meaning "the Son") highlighted above in blue was added sometime in the beginning of the 6th century.  This change reflects ongoing doctrinal development of explaining the identity  of Christ and His relationship to the Holy Spirit and God, the Father.

As anyone can clearly see, there were substantial changes to the Nicene Creed in only 56 years.  These changes reflect the Church trying to clarify its theology and guard against heresies of the day.   As mentioned previously, this Creed in its current form from 381AD is the only Christian creed accepted by the majority of Christian denominations.

Recently, I inquired how many readers understood or knew the difference between the various Christian Creeds.  The Apostles' Creed was the first creed or statement of beliefs held by the early Church.  While not officially written by the Apostles, it is the oldest statement dating back to at least 140 AD. 

The Apostles Creed served as a statement of faith for new believers in the early church.  Later, it was introduced as part of the baptism process.  Believers would recite the creed before their public baptism. 

While the word "Catholic" is used in the original creed, it does not refer to the Roman Catholic Church.  Instead, the word "Catholic" is derived from the Greek word katholikos which means "universal" or "general."   Thus, the creed's reference to the "Holy catholic Church" is a reference to the entire body of Christ, the universal fellowship of believers and not a single denomination.

Do you think the Apostles' creed is still relevant today in the Church?  As a Christian, do you have any difficulty believing part of the Apostles' Creed, or do you agree in its accuracy?  Does your church teach the early Christian creeds and their history?  If you attend a church that teaches the Apostles' Creed, please list them below in the comments so others can find good churches teaching the history of our faith.