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“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

Happ-O-Getics Newsletter

Ancient Ephesus and the Gospel

The apostle Paul desired to take the Gospel to ancient Ephesus early in his missionary tours, but was forbidden by the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:6). At the end of the second tour, He still wanted to do so and expressed, “I will return to you again if God wills” (Acts 18:21).

Ancient Ephesus Map
The location of Ephesus among Paul’s “seven churches of Asia” in modern day southwest Turkey.

Evidently God did will it for he went straight to Ephesus in his third tour and after three years of teaching there, we read in Acts that “all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks” (19:10). Paul’s teaching assuredly resulted in the seven churches of Asia to be started (Revelation 2-3).

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Was Jesus Literate?

In the last issue of Happ-O-getics, I challenged the view held by some scholars that the illiteracy rate among people at the time of Jesus was at least 98% (they could neither read nor write). Based on the many libraries and volumes of written documents that existed even then, the statistic is quite unlikely. This leads us to ponder another question: was Jesus literate? 

I also quoted Helen Bond, a professor of Christian Origins at the University of Edinburgh who said, “If Jesus was a carpenter/mason, as we generally suppose, then it’s not impossible that he had some rudimentary grasp of letters and/or numbers for the purposes of his trade, but I think it very unlikely that Jesus could read or write.” 

In this issue, I want to challenge the naivety or nonsense of this statement regarding Jesus. 

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If Mount Moriah could Speak

Author’s Note: The following article is written in first person as if Mount Moriah itself were capable of a personal response.

Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah.

2 Chronicles 3:1
Jerusalem, atop Mount Moriah, as seen from the Mount of Olives, in a painting by David Roberts, 1839. 

It’s been an incredible ride! I’m humbled by the God-ordained events which I’ve borne on my slopes, but I’m still waiting for the “big” one (more about that later). Yes, I’m Mount Moriah, home of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem – itself the size of twenty football fields, nearly 145 acres. 

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