FrontCover, Views-of-the-Bible
What's New With My Site!
Click here to comment: mason7118@att.net
------ (newest news) -------
For my latest commentary, What was, is & is to come, click on the page CommentsNew in column left
In the days ahead the focus will be on laying out the 1+ yrs. (minimum) that Jesus ministered-- see the Ministry Itin'ry, Ministry Chro1 & Ministry Chro2 pages in column left. It has been put-forth that his ministry was 3+ yrs. in duration; I've no idea how that was arrived at. After ministering perhaps 3 months in Galilee (see FeastLoc'tions page), he went to Jerusalem for the Passover feast; after ministering at least another full year, during which he went to Jerusalem 4x, he went to Jerusalem again for a Passover feast for the final time (riding in on a donkey, followed by the crucifixion). So he went there 5x in the course of possibly 1.25 yrs.-- thus his ministry was at least 1.5 yrs. long. However, it might have been much longer as Luke 3:23 has his ministry starting when he was about 30 years old, while in John 8:57 the comment was made (a wild guess?), 'You are not yet 50 years old.'
In days past, the objective was to arrive to the Crucifixion by Christmas. That may still be accomplished, but I will be shifting to the 5 times he was in Jerusalem during his ministry-- which might prevent reaching that goal. I want to give sole attention to the 1+ yrs., as I discovered that subject is laid out relatively clear-as-a-bell only in John. It's barely touched on in Matt, Mark & Luke; these 3 gospels only cover the 3rd time in Jerusalem-- Jesus' final entry (on a donkey) into Jerusalem, to be crucified. So that the subject does not appear to be just parenthetically treated, I will begin a new series of pages-- the 1st 1 is entitled PerJohn1.
BTW: as I've mentioned before, the pages are in red whenever I refer to them, but the list of them down the left margin of each page varies in color, depending on the page-format selected-- because I do not have the option of choosing a color. BTW also, as mentioned, the only other time red is used is for the pronouns of the Godhead-- like YOU or He.
If you're already familiar with all this, you can go immediately to the current gospel coverage-- which begins with the Min'tryBegins page (the 7th page down in the list of pages in the left margin). The next approx. 2 dozen pages covers what's been done so far. BTW, my apologies if you find any mis-spelled words-- I don't currently have Spell Check.
You can see the progress by clicking on the page Gospel Topics (which has the gospel topics listed). The pages are listed down the left margin (the same list is on every page-- I wish I could make it red); the Gospel Topics page is the 4th page down. Click on it, & after it loads, scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the latest addition(s).
------ (newer news) -------
It was placed at very beginning of the Preface page long ago that all Scripture passages are in regular print & that all are from the NIV (New International Version) unless otherwise noted-- as that was placed there years ago, I thought it good to mention it again.
It should also be mentioned again that there are only 3 conditions when italics are used: 1, for topic headings; 2, to supply Bible locations (books & verses); & 3, to indicate commentary from me. Additionally, sometimes you will see Bible words underlined-- if that word(s) are followed by italicized word(s) in [brackets] the meaning has been supplied by me; if the underlined word(s) are followed by regular word(s) in (parenthesis), that meaning has been supplied by scholars.
------ (new news) -------
I've realized that before I can continue with the full treatment I mentioned in the next paragraph, I must give some attention to what's already been done. Time only permits me to check their consistency with each other-- but I did rephrase 1 topic (on the PSALM 82 page-- scroll down to locate it in the margin-left). The topic is called The 10 Commandments (Preamble/Essence of the Mosaic Law). I had only glossed over that important topic-- due to a staff member's recent timely sermon, I was able to quickly rephrase it. Click on that page to the left; scroll down, if necessary, to locate that topic (it is near the top right); check it out!
Now I'm learning also-- not just y'all! As I've mentioned, placing it all historically enabled me to confirm what I once heard, that Jesus' ministry was between indeed between 3 & 4 years in length.
-------- (old news) ---------
The Jewish Calendar (its significance-- see last para. below)
Originally the calendar used was that of the inhabitants of the Canaan– adopted at some point after Abraham 1st went there. It is now referred to as the civic (or pre-exilic) calendar; it was based partly on the phases of the moon, partly on the harvest periods; the 1st month was in fall, corresponding from mid-Sept. to mid-Oct. That 1st month was called Tishri. This calendar was used throughout the periods of: the patriarchs, the captivity in Egypt & the exodus from Egypt (see PART I, D D. ); to the desert wanderings in the Sinai Peninsula (see PART I, E E. ); to the conquest of Canaan (see PART I, F F. ); to the time of the judges & the united Israel (see PART 1, D D. ); to the divided kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) & Judah (2 tribes).
At some point at the end of the divided-kingdom period the calendar the Jews used was the partially changed & called the sacred calendar. The same monthly time periods were used, as far as mid-month to mid-month (compared to the contemporary calendar), but they were re-named, & in keeping with the Jewish religious observances, the year time-period was changed-- the names were changed to simple ordinal numbers (1st mo., 2nd mo., etc.); the 1st mo. was in spring as opposed to the original (in fall). Thus the 1st month was called Nisan, corresponding to our mid-Mar. to mid-Apr.
As I said, the transition from the O.T. to the N.T. is in the works– so why this? To point out that as has been commonly reported, Jesus’ ministry was 3+ years in length. See Glossary1 A.13. how this has been arrived at;
---------- (older news) --------------
- I have been featuring my pastor's sermon topic, "flying within the radar." However rather than relating it to life in general, I have recently been directing it to prayer-- see PSALM 140. I did refer to his topic somewhat in the past-- see PSALMS 39, 42 & 109 Psa; s.a. PSALM 88 Job;
- All of the pages of this website are listed down the left margin of every page; if you are already familiar with this website (the meanings of colorings, etc), just scroll down, choose 1 & click on it to go to that page. All the pages are listed on each page so that you can easily return to a page or go to another 1;
- If you are not familiar w/ the website, please inspect the next page, (the BackCover page); it describes the other pages. It is also essential that you grasp the Preface page, as it describes the various schemes use throughout-- it may be tedious & seem over-complicated, but it will prove worth it (the rest of the website will appear consistent).