Did Jesus Fulfill Ancient Jewish Expectations as the Messiah?

Modern Jews often say that Jesus was not the fulfillment of their expectations. They expect a conquering king who will restore Israel’s sovereignty. But are these modern ideas in alignment with all Jews’ expectations in ancient times? Who were the Jews expecting to be their Messiah around the time of Jesus’ arrival? Daniel (9:24-27) prophesied …

How Christianity Influenced J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Other Literary Works – by Harry Stark

How Tolkien's Christian worldview influenced his literary works: Lord of the Rings and beyondJ.R.R. Tolkien was a literary genius whose "Lord of the Rings" has captivated millions since its publication in the past century. In this post, we'll peruse through numerous embedded Christian symbols of which you may or may not have been aware. Harry …

Geological, Astronomical, and Historical Reasons for the Date of Jesus’ Crucifixion

Can we estimate the date of Jesus’ crucifixion? Yes, we can. The ancients have left us with multiple historical, geological, and astronomical reasons to support April 3 of 33. Let’s begin with Jewish expectations. 10. In the 6th century B.C., the prophet Daniel predicted the fates of four kingdoms while he was exiled by the …

Comedy of Errors: 1988 C14 Dating of the Shroud of Turin

“It’s a well-known fact that scientists can produce whatever result they want. If you believe that passionately in something, you can steer the results. My God, we’ve all been guilty of that.” – Physicist Harry Gove, who was involved in carbon dating the Shroud of Turin in 1988 On September 22, 1988, the New York …

A Reconciliation of the 4 Empty Tomb Accounts in the Gospels

Some have claimed that Jesus' empty tomb accounts by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are contradictory and impossible to reconcile. Yet such claims are riddled with underlying assumptions that are not given in the text, such as the women visited the empty tomb only once or they traveled in a pack and never separated from …

Internal Evidence for John, the Disciple Whom Jesus Loved & Gospel Author

Who wrote the Gospel according to John? Many scholars believe the author is John, the brother of James and son of Zebedee, who was a fisherman who initially encountered Jesus in Matthew 4:21-22. Significant internal evidence supports this assertion. This intention of this blog is to provide this evidence, which should help to refute faulty …

Are the Synoptics in Conflict with John on Jesus’ Crucifixion Timing? No! Sorry Bart Ehrman…

I recently listened to a debate between Bart Ehrman and Mike Licona where Ehrman claimed the Synoptic Gospels contradict the Gospel of John on the timing of Jesus' crucifixion. He is incorrect, so below I have explained why. I have also made this response into a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-DWEwfb_Q0&t=51s. It was a dark day when Jesus …