Maybe the Nativity doesn't look quite like we think it does
The Nativity Story as seen from one of three important viewpoints–Judea, Parthia, and Rome.
We leave for Nashville today to attend the National Religious Broadcasters convention. We will be pitching our family of products to TV stations, radio stations, and book publishers. God Save the King for TV (eight 30-minute episodes) is in the Read More …
The “morning” observation took place during the darkness before sunrise and then continued until the sun’s brightness occluded most other celestial objects. The “evening” observation worked in reverse. It began with the sun still above the horizon when most other celestial objects were still “invisible,” until the sun set enough for twilight to begin and these other celestial objects to start to become visible. Read More …
The “taxation” or “census” mentioned in Luke 2:1 provides a huge key that unlocks certain portions of the mystery surrounding the birth of Jesus—in particular, the correct date when he was born. But there are also some common misconceptions regarding this verse, usually based on a muddled translation. Read More …
Marco Polo was an Italian merchant, explorer, and writer born in the Republic of Venice in 1254. In 1269 he traveled with his father Niccolo and uncle Maffeo to China on a series of adventures. They returned wealthy men in Read More …
When the Roman General Pompey annexed Syria, the Romans entirely redesigned Damascus as a Roman city. Still today, “Old Town” Damascus retains its rectangular Roman design and seven extant ancient gates. The name “Ester Gate” predates the Romans, so it Read More …
My vision for God Save the King breaks down into three primary components I call Chronicles. The Judean Chronicle focuses on Judean perspective, the nation of Judea, and the Judean characters in the nativity story—Elizabeth and Zechariah, Joseph and Mary, the baby Jesus, the Read More …
“He simply may not have known the precise dates of the events he describes.”
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The apostle Luke often gets a bad rap as a poor historian. The details of this accusation are discussed in detail in my essay But to Fulfill: The Events of the Nativity from Jesus’ Birth until the Arrival of the Read More …
There are over 350 catalogued books and articles concerning “His star” (Matthew 2:2) in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. (1) Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from Read More …
Major-General Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, April 5, 1810–March 5, 1895; was a pioneer in Mesopotamian archaeology. He was the first to decipher the Assyrian language, now properly known as Akkadian, and was instrumental in deciphering the Behistun inscription, commissioned by Read More …