Bible Scholars 14th Anniversary
We are happy to inform all of our Bible Scholars and Facebook readers of our 14th year anniversary this month. We have been privileged to a have such a wonderful following and have enjoyed publishing articles for everyone during this time. Recently, we have added The Quest series to our YouTube channel which includes thirteen 30-minute programs originally produced for a major television network and included some of the top scholars in the world being interviewed by Dr. Blizzard. The series originally sold for several hundred dollars and we are now making it available to you at no cost. Simply go to the Bible Scholars Channel on YouTube and start with The Quest Program 1. Also, please note that in the very immediate future we are going to be adding the Treasures of the Jewish World series as well, and it too will be available at no cost on YouTube. We are pleased to be sharing this material with you as well as continuing to write new articles.
Since we are expanding into social media, it seems an appropriate time to mention that many users of social media are sadly promulgating mistaken and erroneous information on a regular basis. Some of it we intend to address in future articles but for now we would like to address a very common mistake that is made by many concerning the Emperor Constantine. Some say he was the one who changed the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday and this is a mistake. The fact is that in the first century, shortly after Jesus’ resurrection, many who had been with him, accepted him as their messiah and they worshiped him as such. Where did they worship? They worshipped in the synagogue. If you can go to the different slide shows that we have on www.biblescholars.org and click on Capernaum, you can see where we have highlighted the fact that at Capernaum Jews and Jewish believers both worshipped together. In these early years those who believed in Jesus were called ma’aminim, or believers, and they worshipped in the synagogue on Saturday as Jews. Saturday evening when the first star appeared in the heavens, was technically the first day of the week and the believing Jews came together again in a separate place - perhaps even Jesus’ own house! As we are told in Mark, Jesus had a house at Capernaum and from the archaeological evidence it can be seen that it was used as a meeting house, or domus ekklesia, for the believers who came together for the Lord’s Supper on what was now the first day of the week. This practice continued for two centuries and it was not until around the third century that Constantine issued the decree that all believers should start meeting on Sunday. We are told in the first apology of Justin Martyr (a.d. 110 - 165) recorded in the Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. 1 page 186 “and on the day called Sunday (tetouhiliou legonene hemera) all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writing of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray and, as we have before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president (Hebrew: the nasi) in like manner offers prayers and thanksgiving, according to his ability and the people assent, saying amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons (gabbai tzedakah). And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succors the orphans and widows, and those who, through sickness or another cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds, and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word take care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; And Jesus Christ our savior on the same day rose from the dead. For he was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday) and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to his apostles and disciples, he taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration.” Notice not only does Justin Martyr inform you about the day of worship but he also answers the question for us about the day on which Jesus was crucified.
Bible Scholars always recommends that one be critical thinker by looking things up for oneself whenever possible to avoid any erroneous belief especially when so many people are using social media to spread information. We will post more in the near future on the importance of critical thinking in this day of instant communication and easily obtained information.
