In the previous post we have seen that the gospel (that is “good news”) is identified, for example, by Mark:

Mark 1:15
and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

The message, that “the Kingdom of God is near”, therefore, is THE GOSPEL or GOOD NEWS – and everything else is commentary.

Of course, you will find people that claim that there is more than one gospel, such as

1. the gospel of the Kingdom
2. the gospel of Christ

Their claim, however, cannot stand because you can clearly see from the verses quoted in the initial post that the gospel of the Kingdom IS the gospel of God, which was preached by John the Baptist, Jesus, the disciples and the apostles and also Paul, and it is also called the gospel of Christ. There is no other gospel. It is about God bringing about the Kingdom preceded by His judgment upon the world, from which judgment sinners had to be saved from, hence the urgency of the message. (more…)

There is no complete agreement among scholars regarding these groups of Jewish followers of Jesus. From the Church fathers we can gather some ideas regarding their beliefs and practices. It appears that the early Jewish believers were known by both these names, but from the third century they became two distinct groups, with the Nazarenes adopting a more orthodox doctrine, but the Ebionites either adopted or retained a quite non-orthodox one.

Let’s consider some of these quotes. (more…)

Jesus said the following in Matthew:

Matthew 22:32 “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, BUT OF THE LIVING”.

Did he mean that they were alive? To understand what he said, we need to consider Jewish thought. (more…)

Another interesting issue came up. Ignatius in the early second century calls Jesus Christ “our God”:

“…according to the love of Jesus Christ our God“

“…I also salute in the name of Almighty God, and of Jesus Christ His Son…” (more…)

In the previous post we mentioned that in a foreign land there was no need for sacrifices. One could simply repent and pray towards Jerusalem and the Temple. But what if the Temple no longer existed? Was repentance and prayer still accepted by God?

This is the passage in question, Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the Temple:

2 Chronicles 6:
34 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatever way You shall send them, and they pray to You toward this city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name,
35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
36 “When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and deliver them to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to a land far off or near,
37 if they take thought in the land where they are taken captive, and repent and make supplication to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have committed iniquity and have acted wickedly’;
38 if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been taken captive, and pray toward their land which You have given to their fathers and the city which You have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for Your name,
39 then hear from heaven, from Your dwelling place, their prayer and supplications, and maintain their cause and forgive Your people who have sinned against You.

This is all good, but what could be done if there was no Temple and no sacrifices, like during the Babylonian captivity? (more…)