Solomon

Solomon was born in Jerusalem c970 BC. He was the second born child of King David of Israel and his wife Bathsheba, widow of Uriah the Hittite.

Nathan the Prophet called him Jedidiah 'beloved of the Lord.'

Towards the end of David's life, Adonijah, the Israeli king's oldest surviving son, tried to set himself up as his successor, or at least as regent. Nathan rallied Zadok, the High Priest and Benaiah, commander of the standing army, and they proclaimed Solomon king.

The Anointing of Solomon by Cornelis de Vos (c. 1630). 

David did not live long after this and Solomon began to reign in his own right about 970 BC.

The Tabernacle was still at Gibeon, and it was while worshiping there that Solomon had a vision, in which God offered him any gift of his choice. He asked for an understanding heart. Solomon's request was answered, for his wisdom and judgments became famous.

Solomon's only military campaign was against Hamath, but he fortified the borders, mainly against Rezin and Hadad of Damascus and Edom.

Solomon fulfilled his father's desire to build the first Temple in Jerusalem, using much of the material which David had gathered for the purpose. It took seven years to build and he played a prominent part in its dedication and renewed his promises. After this Jerusalem became the great sacred city of the Jews.

Artist's interpretation of the First Temple in Jerusalem. By Israel Truths 

He was the author of several Old Testament books; Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, much of Proverbs and two of the Psalms (72 and 127).

After completing the Temple, Solomon then built a palace for himself which took almost twice as long.

He chose his advisers and subordinates with discretion. Solomon reorganized local government and organised a considerable commerce with neighboring countries and even with those far distance.

One account of the daily provisions of King Solomon revealed they consisted of 30 kors (6,700 litres) of fine flour and 60 kors (13,500 litres) of meal, 10 fatted oxen, 20 pasture-fed oxen, and 100 sheep and goats, besides deer and gazelles, roebucks and fatted geese. Cattle were imported from east of the Jordan River, and fatted geese from Egypt.

The fame of Solomon's wisdom and wealth spread far and wide, so much so that the Queen of Sheba decided that she should make a twelve-hundred-mile journey to meet him to develop and maintain trade relations. The queen is described as visiting with a number of gifts including gold, spices and precious stones. When she arrived in Jerusalem she was overwhelmed by the fare of his table, and the service of his attendants.

The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon',by Edward Poynter, 1890

Sheba is typically identified as Saba, a nation once spanning the Red Sea on the coasts of what are now Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia and Yemen, in Arabia Felix.

King Solomon, according to 1 Kings 11 in the Old Testament, had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Many of the women were foreigners and Solomon was enticed away from the austerity of Jehovah worship into easier and more congenial practices. He was punished for this by God.

His luxurious way of living made heavy taxation necessary and this was resented by the ten tribes of the North, who complained that all the revenues were being poured into Judah and Jerusalem. This was one of the causes of a split in the country on Solomon's death, when the ten tribes refused to accept his son Rehoboam, and elected their own king Jeroboam.

By Oldtidens_Israel_&_Judea.

Solomon reigned for about 40 years before he died c 931 BC aged 58–59. After his death, Israel was split into a Northern Kingdom, Samaria, and Southern Kingdom, Judea.

In 1748 George Frideric Handel wrote his oratorio Solomon. Its libretto is based on the biblical stories of the wise King Solomon and is attributed to Newburgh Hamilton. Its most famous piece is "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba."

Source Collins Dictionary of The Bible

Saint Peter

St Peter was one of the inner circle of Jesus' disciples and the chief Apostle.

Before being called by Jesus, Peter lived in the fishing village of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee where he and his brother Andrew were fishermen.

Peter was married according to the gospel of Mark. The name of his wife is unknown. His wife was known to travel with him when he was on mission.  (1 Cor. 9:5)

A gregarious, natural leader, and an obvious spokesperson for the other disciples. Peter’s name is mentioned far more in the New Testament than any other of the twelve.

Jesus assigned St Peter a leadership role early on but he famously denied our Lord just before the crucifixion. However Peter went on to become a founder of the Christian Church, and the first to welcome Gentiles into the new religion.

Saint Peter as Pope by Peter Paul Rubens 

Peter's original name was "Shimon" or "Simeon". He was later given the name "Peter", which means rock and refers to the strength and steadfastness of his character.

Church Tradition says that Peter probably died by crucifixion (with arms outstretched) in the year 64.
Some classical scholars believe that Peter died on October 13, 64 during the festivities on the occasion of the "dies imperii" of Emperor Nero. This took place three months after the disastrous fire that destroyed Rome for which Nero wished to blame the Christians.

Caravaggio's depiction of the crucifixion of Apostle Peter

Tradition also locates his burial place as being where St. Peter's Basilica was later built, in Vatican City.

Early bishops occupying the See of Rome were designated 'vicar (representative) of Peter' and traditionally Roman Catholics deem St Peter to have been the bishop of Rome and therefore the first pope.

Saint Paul

EARLY LIFE 

Saint Paul was born in the city of Tarsus–one of the largest trade centers on the Mediterranean coast likely between the years of 5 BC and 5 AD.

He was born into a devout and important Jewish family in Tarsus, where his parents were Roman citizens.

Schooling would have begun in a room attached to a synagogue. Then as a youth Paul was sent to a school of Rabbi Gamaliel of Jerusalem where he studied exegesis, Jewish dogma, traditional law and casuistry.

Paul spoke Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek and possibly Latin.

As a young man he was a strict Jew with a hatred of the new followers of the Christ sect, whom he persecuted with a great rage.

CONVERSION 

Paul was the most zealous, rigorous and careful of all Pharisees, one of the strictest Jewish sects. As a model Pharisee he persecuted the new religious sect called Christians until the risen Christ appeared to him and transformed him.

The Conversion of Saul, fresco by Michelangelo, 1542–45

After his conversion, Paul spent some time in Arabia studying and meditating on his new understanding of the Jewish scriptures before returning to Damascus where he was befriended by Barnabas and introduced to the apostles.

MINISTRY 

For eight or nine years little is known of Paul's activities, until around 46 AD when he set off on the first of three missionary journeys throughout the eastern Mediterranean European area. During these tours, Paul founded many churches.

Pauls four tours organizing the Christian Church were:
First Tour Cyprus, Pamphylia, Pisidia and Lycaonia.
Second Tour Phrygia, Galatia, Macedonia, Phillipi, Thessalonica and Athens.

Saint Paul delivering the Areopagus sermon in Athens, by Raphael, 1515.

Third Tour Ephesus, Macedonia, Corinth, Aegean Islands.

Paul supported himself during his travels and while preaching, a fact he alludes to a number of times (e.g. 1 Corinthians 9:13-15); according to Acts 18:3, he worked as a tentmaker. He also had a Patroness named Phoebe.

Paul signaled the start of a break between Jews and Christians by abolishing the obligations of the Torah. This move made the new Christian faith more attractive to the majority of Gentiles.

in the 40s and 50s AD, Paul conducted what might be the first international aid project in recorded history, collecting donations from non-Jewish Christians in Greece and Asia Minor (Turkey) for the famine-ravaged people of Judea.

WRITINGS 

St Paul was the first man to give Christianity a systematic theology.

Paul wrote a number of letters to the churches he founded, which were highly valued and many were collected after his death.

Paul Writing His Epistles, painting attributed to Valentin de Boulogne, 17th century

His First Letter to the Thessalonians is the earliest Christian document known to exist.

By 100 AD St Paul's collected letters were already accepted on an equal basis with other scripture.

HEALTH 

Paul performed miracles of healing including raising a young man to life after he'd died in a fall. The youngster had fallen out of the third storey window after falling asleep during a long sermon by Paul.

The apostle, who was temporarily blinded when he was converted, suffered from what he called a "thorn in the flesh". It is thought he could be referring to poor or deteriorating eyesight.

In 63 AD Paul of Tarsus wrote to his younger missionary colleague Timothy who was having problems with stomach pains. The water Timothy was drinking was possibly contaminated so Paul instructed him to drink a little wine for his stomach. Earlier Paul had contrasted in a letter to Christians in Ephesus the adverse effects of getting drunk on wine with the positive effects of being filled with the Holy Spirit.

APPEARANCE 

His Roman name "Paul" means "little".

According to Acts 21 v 38, he was Egyptian looking.

A second century document refers to Paul as a man of less than impressive physical appearance, small, bald and bandy legged.

Bartolomeo Montagna - Saint Paul - Google Art Project

He would have had scars and other disfigurements from his many beatings.

PERSONAL LIFE 

When Paul's ship was wrecked off the Maltese coast, the centurion commanded that to save their lives, all the able to swim should do so. The fact that Paul reached the shore shows he was an efficient swimmer.

Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 4 v 8 that bodily exercise profits a little but godliness is profitable for all things. He did not mean that physical exercise has little value. Indeed he was acknowledging that there is a short term profit to it.

IMPRISONMENT 

In 58BC Paul was arrested in Jerusalem. The Jews attempted to kill him but succeeded only in having him arrested by the Roman authorities who kept him captive at Caesarea for two years. As Paul had appealed to Nero Caesar, they sent him to Rome where after two more years of captivity he was set free in AD63.

Acts describes Paul's journey from Caesarea to Rome in some detail. The centurion Julius had shipped Paul and his fellow-prisoners on a merchant vessel, on board which Luke and Aristarchus were able to take passage. At Myra in Lycia the prisoners were transferred to an Alexandrian vessel transporting wheat bound for Italy, but the winds being persistently contrary, Paul advised that they should spend the winter at a place in Crete called Goodhavens. His advice was not followed, and the vessel driven by the tempest drifted aimlessly for fourteen whole days, being finally wrecked on the coast of Malta.

February 8, 58, may be the day that Paul sailed from Malta for Rome. Pliny tells us in his Natural History that February 8 was the date Spring opened its seas to voyagers. If the sailors acted on the traditional date, we may actually have pinned down an exact moment in Paul's life.

DEATH 

Eusebius of Caesarea states that Paul was beheaded by a sword in the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero; this event has been dated either to the year 64, when Rome was devastated by a fire, or a few years later to 67, possibly on June 29, 67.

The Beheading of Saint Paul by Enrique Simonet, 1887

Tradition has it that he was beheaded at the place now called The Fontane, Rome and his body is buried where the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the wall stands.

Caius mentions in the late 2nd century both Peter and Paul's tombs being in Rome. He wrote: "I can point out the trophies of the apostles. "For if you are willing to go to the Vatican or to the Ostian Way, you will find the trophies of those who founded this Church."

In 2002, an 8 foot long marble sarcophagus, inscribed with the words "PAULO APOSTOLO MART" ("Paul apostle martyr") was discovered during excavations around the Basilica of Saint Paul on the Via Ostiensis. The sarcophagus was examined by means of a probe, which revealed small bone fragments. The bone was radiocarbon-dated to the 1st or 2nd century. According to the Vatican, these findings support the conclusion that the tomb is Paul's.

Source Christianity.com

Noah

NOAH'S ARK

Thousands of years ago the Hebrew farmer Noah was the only person left who remembered God and his creation. The world was flooded with evil and God's response to the severe situation was to have Noah and his family build an ark that enabled them to survive a widespread flood over the Earth. The rest of humanity was wiped out.

According to Book of Genesis, the Ark was 450ft by 75ft and 45ft high- that is taller than a three-storey building and with a deck size of 36 tennis courts.

Noah was the first great ship builder and his ark was constructed out of cypress wood.

The Building of Noah's Ark (painting by a French master of 1675).

On board his ark Noah included at least one pair of every kind of animal, (seven pairs of every type of clean animal, which was used for sacrifice.) Noah needed around 40,000 animals to represent every kind of creature.

Biblical scholars have long asserted November 25, 2348 to be the day of the Great Deluge, or Flood.

After the Great Flood the Hebrew Noah landed his ark on the summit of the Ararat mountain range - the highest part of the Caucasus, where grapes originated. He alighted from the ark, planted a vineyard and got drunk on some of its wine.

After the great flood it is said that Noah made a pudding with all the food remaining on board: beans, chickpeas, dried fruits, nuts, rice and wheat.

The name Noah means 'rest'.

A group of fourth year master's students from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester calculated that Noah's ark, built to accommodate at least two of every animal species, would have floated using the dimensions ordained in the Bible.

Various replicas of the Ark exist. The one at Johan's Ark in Dordrecht, Netherlands is the only full-scale Ark interpretation that is actually floating and mobile.

Replica of Noah's Ark in Dordrecht, Netherlands. By Ceinturion - Wikipedia

OTHER ACCOUNTS OF THE GREAT FLOOD

Other people groups recount similar stories such as the Babylonian flood tale from the Epic of Gilgameash.

The Bakossi people of the Mungo River in Cameroon have a legend that their ancestor Ngoe built an ark to save his family and many animals from a great flood.

Noah, or Nug, is one of the main prophets of Islam. In the Quran, his wife is said to drown in the flood.

An Islamic depiction of Noah in a 16th-century Mughal miniature.

Source Food For Thought by Ed Pearce

Moses

EARLY LIFE 

Moses was born around 1400BC in the Goshen delta of North East Egypt.. He  was a Hebrew descendant of the 12 tribes of Israel. Their race worked as hired laborers for Egyptians.

His mother, a Hebrew woman called Jochebed, was the wife of the Levite Amram. The Pharaoh had commanded that all male Hebrew infants born would be drowned in the River Nile, so when she bore a son, she kept him concealed for three months. When Jochebed could keep him hidden no longer, rather than deliver him to be killed, she put him in a water-tight basket and floated it down the River Nile. The daughter of Pharaoh discovered the baby and adopted him as her son, and named him “Moses.”saying, "I drew him out (meshitihu) of the water."  Having been adopted by a daughter of the Pharaoh, Moses was raised in a palace.

Moses rescued from the Nile, 1638, by Nicolas Poussin

Moses had one older (by seven years) sister, Miriam, and one older (by three years) brother, Aaron.

At the age of 40, Moses went one day on an inspection tour of his Hebrew brethren, bondmen to the Egyptians. Seeing an Egyptian slavemaster maltreating a Hebrew, he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand, supposing that no one who would be disposed to reveal the matter knew of it. The next day, seeing two Hebrews quarreling, he endeavored to separate them, whereupon the Hebrew who was wronging his brother taunted Moses with slaying the Egyptian. Moses soon discovered from a higher source that the affair was known, and that Pharaoh was likely to put him to death for it; he therefore made his escape to Midian (a desert country south of Judah).

Moses spent forty years in Midian following the occupation of a shepherd. This period of looking after sheep was a time of training for leading God's flock out of Egypt.

PROPHET AND DELIVERER 

In around 1320 BC God confronted Moses in a burning bush. He was commanded to return to Egypt from Midian and deliver the Hebrews from their bondage.

At first. when Moses originally asked Pharaoh to let his people go, the Egyptian ruler declined. He also issued a decree that from henceforth the Hebrews would have to make their daily quota of bricks without straw and they would have to find their own materials to bind the clay and still keep to the same quota on point of death.

After a series of confrontations involving frogs and locusts amongst others, the Hebrews were allowed to leave the country. The Pharaoh quickly recanted his rash decision and chased after them only for his forces to be drowned in the Red Sea after the waters miraculously parted for Moses and his fellow countrymen.

"The Crossing of the Red Sea", Nicholas Poussin

MUSIC 

Moses' sister, Miriam led a women's choir with a timbrel in her hand. One of the song's they sung, "The Song of Moses and Miriam" was a victory song, similar to others sung in many cultures in the ancient world. Music was a creative way of passing down oral traditions.

"The Song of Moses and Miriam" was said to have come spontaneously as Moses led the nation into the desert after miraculously crossing the Red Sea, then watching the pursuing Egyptians drown. It is a simple summary of the miracle, the Hebrews had just witnessed: "Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; horse and driver He has hurled into the sea."

Moses' "Song at the Sea" is a deeper song full of metaphors, which he led for the men to chant. In it, God is praised as a warrior going out to fight for Israel.

LAWGIVER 

While in the Sinai desert, God gives the Hebrews the Ten Commandments and other detailed laws. However unaccustomed to freedom after centuries of slavery, the Hebrews rebelled and ended up wandering around the desert for 40 years before being able to enter the promised land of Canaan, which God had promised to Moses.

Philippe de Champaigne - Moses with the Ten Commandments - WGA04717

As a former shepherd, Moses' laws gave a great deal of sensible detailed legislation regarding animal husbandry.

PERSONAL LIFE 

Unmistakably Jewish-looking despite being brought up in an Egyptian household, Moses was well built with fine features.

In a statement towards the end of the book of Exodus (at 34:29 - 35), Moses is depicted as having been disfigured due to his direct encounter with God. Various traditions grew up as to what the disfigurement was. Jonathan Kirsch, in his book Moses: A Life, thought that, since Moses subsequently had to wear a veil to hide it, the disfigurement was a sort of "divine radiation burn".

After escaping to the Sinaitic Peninsula, Moses settled with Jethro, priest of Midian, whose Cushite daughter Zipporah he in due time married. When he left Midian to return to Egypt to set his people free he took leave of her. A few years later they met up again when he passed through Midian on his way to the promised land. Miriam and Aaron were critical about Moses' dark-skinned Cushite wife. (Numbers 12 v1-2).

"Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth." Numbers 12v13.

LAST YEARS AND DEATH 

Moses had been warned that he would not be permitted to lead Israel across the River Jordan, but would die on the eastern side (Numbers 20:12). He assembled the tribes and delivered to them a parting address. When this was finished, and he had pronounced a blessing upon the people, Moses climbed to the top of Mount Pisgah, looked over the promised land spread out before him, and passe away, at the age of 120.. His last words were "Never heed! The Lord's power is over all weakness and death!"

Death of Moses by Alexandre Cabanel

Moses' burial place is not known. According to Deuteronomy 34, God Himself buried him in an unknown grave.

LEGACY 

The Hebrews' Exodus from Egypt is celebrated annually on the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Moses is mentioned more often in the New Testament than any other Old Testament figure. Along with Elijah, for instance, he is presented as meeting with Jesus in all three Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9, respectively.

Moses is commemorated as a prophet in the respective Calendars of Saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Lutheran churches on September 4. According to the Orthodox Menaion, September 4th was the day that Moses saw the Land of Promise.

In 1505 Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to build his tomb in 1505. Eight years later, Michelangelo began work on Moses, the central statue surrounding the Pope's tomb, finally completing it in 1545, His “horned Moses” now stands in the Roman church of St Pietro in Vincoli.

Michelangelo horned Moses as symbolic of the Old Testament figure's spiritual force, based on a description in the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible used at that time.

Statue by Michelangelo Buonarotti . By Jörg Bittner Unna -Wikipedia

The Founding Fathers of the United States inscribed the words of Moses on the Liberty Bell: "Proclaim Liberty thro' all the Land to all the Inhabitants thereof." (Leviticus 25)

On July 4, 1776, immediately after the Declaration of Independence was officially passed, the Continental Congress asked John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin to design a seal that would clearly represent a symbol for the new United States. Their proposed national seal showed Moses parting the Red Sea.

First proposed seal of the United States, 1776

Joseph Smith and his fellow Mormon Oliver Cowdery claimed that on April 3, 1836, Moses appeared to them in the Kirtland Temple in Ohio in a glorified, immortal, physical form and bestowed upon them the "keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north."

Towards the end of his life, the atheist Jew Sigmund Freud wrote Der Mann Moses und die monotheistische Religion (Moses and Monotheism), in which he took up the idea that Moses got his monotheism from Egypt. His belief was that Moses was an amalgam of two men, one an Egyptian who taught the Hebrews the monotheistic religion of Akhnaten and was murdered by the Hebrews (specifically Joshua), and the other a Midianite who taught the Hebrews to serve Yahwe, a volcano-god whose abode was Mount Sinai in western Arabia.

According to Freud, the Jews killed the first Moses in a sort of symbolic rebellion against the father figure of God. Freud believed that the Jews carry a racial memory of this murder. In his analysis of the roots of anti-Jewish feeling, he wrote that Jews bear the reproach of other peoples as having killed God: "They will not admit that they killed God, whereas we do and are cleansed from the guilt of it."

William Booth explained the authoritarian framework of his Salvation Army by remarking that if “Moses had operated through committees the Israelites never would have got across the Red Sea."

Moses appeared as the central character in the 1956 DeMille movie, The Ten Commandments, in which he was portrayed by Charlton Heston.

On the night before he was assassinated, Martin Luther King said prophetically in a speech at Memphis "I've been to the mountain top.... I've looked over and seen the promised land." He was alluding to how Moses died after he saw the promised land from the mountain top.

Mary (mother of Jesus)

LIFE 

Mary (c. 18 BC – AD c. 43) was a young woman who was engaged to be married to a carpenter called Joseph. She belonged to The Tribe of Judah and the House of David.

During her betrothal — the first stage of a Jewish marriage - the angel Gabriel came to Mary to tell her that she would give birth to a son. The angel told Mary that she should call her son Jesus. The angel also said that Jesus would save people from their sins. Mary did not doubt the message,but rather asked how pregnancy would be possible, since she was a virgin. The angel told her that God had made her pregnant through a miracle.

The Annunciation by Eustache Le Sueur

According to the law that Israelites follow, Joseph had the right to divorce Mary publicly, but he did not. In a dream Joseph was told that Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit.

At this time, the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, made a law that everyone in the Roman Empire had to pay a tax. Everyone had to go back to the town that their family came from, to have their name put on the tax lists. So Joseph took Mary to his hometown of Bethlehem. There, she gave birth to the baby, Jesus. She gave birth in an animal shed, because Mary and Joseph could not find a room to stay in.

Mary had four other sons after Jesus (James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon) and at least two  daughters, whose names are not known.

It is probable that Joseph died before Jesus started his public ministry.

Thirty-three years later, Jesus was killed by crucifixion. Many of Jesus' apostles were scared of the Roman soldiers and ran away. However, Mary stood by the cross and was with Jesus when he died. As he was dying, he told the young disciple John to care for Mary as if she was his own mother and the words were "Women,this is your son."This is your mother".

On the third day after Jesus' death, Mary went to Jesus' tomb with other women. They saw that the stone was rolled away from the tomb, and his body was gone. An angel told the women that Jesus had risen and is alive.

Mary was the only person to be present with Jesus at his birth and his earthly death. She comforted Jesus as He entered this world, and also as He left it to return to the Father

Mary continued to meet with the early church after the Ascension. Acts 1: 14 records Mary as the only person to be mentioned by name other than the eleven apostles who were in the upper room, when they returned from Mount Olive.

Eleusa Theotokos with scenes from the life of Mary, 18th century

Mary's death is not recorded in the scriptures, but Catholic and Orthodox tradition and doctrine have her assumed (taken bodily) into Heaven.

CHRISTIAN DEVOTION

The Church of St Mary Major was dedicated in 435. It was the first church in Rome to be dedicated to the Mother of God.

In 431 The Council of Ephesus was called by Emperor Theodosius II. One of its chief concerns was the differences between Nestorius the Bishop of Constantinople and Cyril the Patriarch of Alexandria. Cyril insisted on the perpetual virginity of Mary and to glorify her, she should be called by the title "Theotokos" - the Mother of God. Nestorius maintained the view that Mary should not be called by the title "Theotokos," as she was only the mother of the human and not the divine Jesus. The western bishops decided in favor of the Patriarch of Alexandria in part because Cyril got Nestorius deposed before the late arrival of his Syrian supporters.

After the Council of Ephesus there was an increasing veneration of Mary and by the end of the sixth century, adoration was widely offered to her and prayers were being addressed to her.  Nestorius was seen as a heretic and banished to Antioch where he founded the Nestorian church.

In the later Middle Ages there was a surge in the veneration of the Virgin Mary as the teaching developed that she was free from sin from the moment she was born. Consequently Mary became to many the prime intercessor between humanity and God and she played a pivotal role in church worship.

In his apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus (Latin for "Ineffable God") Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception, which holds that the Virgin Mary was conceived free of original sin. The decree was promulgated on December 8, 1854, the date of the annual Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Mary with an inscription referencing Luke1:46-47 in St.Jürgen church in Gettorf. By Agnete - Wikipedia 

Mary (Maryam) also has a revered position in Islam, where a whole chapter of the Qur'an is devoted to her, also describing the birth of Jesus. The Qur'an references Mary 70 times in total and identifies her as the greatest of all women.

Jezebel

Jezebel was a princess of Tyre in Old Testament times who married Ahab, the King of Israel in around 870BC. She was a pagan Baal-worshipper and led the King and people away from the Jewish God.

Jezebel persecuted the prophets of Jehovah, having many of them killed, and came into conflict with Elijah.

She met her death by being thrown from the palace window by supporters of Jehu, who had become King after the downfall of Ahab. A pack of dogs come and eats her fulfilling the prophet Elijah's prophecy that "the dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel."

Such was her rank bad character, that historically in Christian countries, a shameless, painted woman has traditionally been called a "Jezebel."

Bette Davis starred as an antebellum Southern belle named Julie in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the 1938 movie Jezebel (1938). Her aunt says the young woman Julie makes her aunt think of "Jezebel, a woman who did evil in the sight of the Lord."

Jesus Christ

EARLY LIFE

The Roman Emperor Augustus issued a decree in 6 BC that a census be taken of the entire Roman world. As a consequence a carpenter called Joseph was forced to register in his hometown of Bethlehem. He was accompanied by his young pregnant fiancé, Mary, whose baby had been conceived by the Holy Spirit.

The baby was named Jesus meaning "Yahweh is salvation". He was born inauspiciously in a cave in Bethlehem thus fulfilling a prophecy in the Jewish sacred book of Micah, and laid in an animal's feeding trough.

Jesus' name translated from Hebrew to English would be 'Joshua'. We get the name 'Jesus' by translating the Hebrew name to Greek to Latin to English.

After hearing of King Herod's intentions of slaying all children aged two years or younger, due to his concern that the anointed King of the Jews had recently been born, Mary and Joseph, along with the baby Jesus, were forced to flee to Egypt.

After Herod's death, Mary and Joseph returned to Palestine. From about the age of 6, Jesus would have received some education from a teacher paid for by the Nazareth synagogue, using used what we now know as the Old Testament as his textbook.

Jesus excelled in his early schooling: the Bible tells us in Luke 2 that the 12- year-old Jesus astounded the nation’s foremost teachers at the Temple Courts in Jerusalem.

ADULT LIFE

Jesus Christ probably was olive skinned, clean shaven, (or possibly a short cropped beard, it was a known fashion of third century Jews.) It was only in the fourth century that images of Christ showed him with a beard.

Saint Paul said it was disgraceful for men to have long hair in 1 Corinthians 11 v 14, so it was unlikely Christ had long hair.

Jesus was a keen fisherman; He relaxed by taking out a boat onto the middle of the lake. He also gained much strength by praying to his Father in heaven.

The Greek word for "Carpenter" more accurately translates as "home builder" and since Judea built structures primarily out of stone, Jesus was likely a stone mason.

Jesus had plenty of platonic friendships with women, which was unusual in his culture. However his main friendships were with the twelve disciples who he trained up to spread the Christian message. Of the disciples he was closest to John. It is thought He knew the majority of them before his public ministry started.

We know that Jesus was able to read from Luke 4 v 18 where He reads out an Old Testament passage to the congregation in the temple.

MINISTRY

Around 26 AD a cousin of Jesus, John the Baptist, was going round Jerusalem and Judea baptizing in water all who came to him and confessing their sins. He was announcing the Christ's imminent coming.

After Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, He commenced his public ministry during which He traveled around towns and villages healing the sick, casting out demons and proclaiming the coming of the kingdom of God.

A researcher has calculated that the total miles Jesus walked during the three years of his public ministry was 3,125 miles.

The first public miracle that Jesus performed was turning water into wine. Unlike His Nazirite cousin, John the Baptist, Jesus was happy to imbibe wine and He attracted criticism from various quarters for His willingness to drink and mix with tax collectors and "sinners".

Many who were not virtuous people before such as a prostitute called Mary and a crooked tax collector called Zacchaeus were attracted to Christ's message because of His willingness to socialize and drink with the unpopular members of society and many saw their lives transformed.

Jesus' attributed his healing gifts to His heavenly Father, whom He glorified when performing His miracles and many became  His followers after He'd ministered to them. Possibly Jesus'  most remarkable miracle was the raising of His friend Lazarus from the dead. Another time He healed a paralyzed man by forgiving his sins. (It was a common belief in Jewish culture at the time that sickness was the result of sin).

DEATH AND RESURRECTION

33 AD was the likely year of Jesus’ crucifixion and rising from the dead according to the Bible and earthquake research. It would have been in late march early April as it took place around the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Just before His crucifixion, Jesus and his twelve disciples participated in The Last Supper, a Passover meal where He predicted his imminent betrayal and death as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity. The meal was roast lamb eaten in its entirety served with bitter herbs and unleavened bread.

The house where they were eating was daubed with the blood from the freshly slaughtered lamb. In referring to the bread as His body and the wine, His blood and bidding the disciples to participate of each, Jesus instigated the Eucharist/Holy Communion/Mass.

Jesus was open in his criticism of the hypocrisy of the religious Jews which made Him unpopular among the ruling classes. He also  made many enemies among the Jewish religious leaders with his declarations that He was the Son of God. On the morning following the Last Supper, He was arrested on trumped up charges and led away to be crucified.

Before He was nailed to the cross, Jesus was offered wine to drink mixed with gall, which is a narcotic for deadening pain. The Savior of the World refused to drink it as he wanted to retain a clear mind and be fully conscious on the cross. Because of His willingness to suffer for us without any medical help, we are now free to approach God without our sin getting in the way.

Jesus endured a horrendously painful death on the cross as a sacrifice for all our sins. By this means He enabled everybody who believes in the innocent sufferings of the crucified Christ as being counted by God as perfectly righteous. In other words, Jesus created a way out of the consequences of sin for all those who follow him.

Bronzino's depiction of the Crucifixion with 3 nails, no ropes, and a hypopodium standing support, c. 1545.

Jesus' body was buried in a tomb which belonged to one of his followers, Joseph of Arimathea. On the day after the Sabbath, early in the morning, some women went to treat the body with spice and perfumed oil, only to find the body of Jesus had gone, This is called the Resurrection.

Only a few days later, the risen Christ was appearing to his followers. Jesus spent 40 days training and encouraging them before ascending up to heaven.

Around ten days after Jesus' Ascension, on the Jewish feast called Pentecost, His followers were meeting together when they experienced the sound of a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire coming down on them. This, one of the Disciples, Peter, explained to the crowd immediately afterwards, was the coming of the Holy Spirit, as foretold by the prophet Joel.

The Bible tells us that there will be Second Coming when Jesus Christ will return to earth. Most English versions of the Nicene Creed include the following statements: "...He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. ... We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come."

HISTORICAL EVIDENCE

Josephus, the Jewish historian, who was governor in Galilee in 66 A.D., wrote a history of the Jews from Adam through the time of Nero. His book was called the Antiquities of the Jews. He mentioned three references to Jesus including one about Jesus’ relationship with his brother James who was put to death by the Sanhedrin.

The Jewish Talmud contains eight references to Jesus Christ. All are designed to discredit him. For example, one refers to the hanging of Jesus and mentions his practice of sorcery. Another ridicules the virgin birth and claims that Mary and a Roman soldier were his birth parents.

Both first century Roman historians, Tacitus and Suetonius make references to Christ and to his followers. Tacitus reports Nero’s persecutions and mentions that Christ was executed very the reign of Tiberius by the procurator Pontius Pilate. Suetonius mentioned the expulsion from Rome of the who caused a great tumult under the influence of Christ.

Hundreds of second century documents refer to, or are written about, Jesus.

LEGACY

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all wrote biographies of Jesus written within 70 years of his death. These make up the gospels in the Bible.

Among the many fine oratorios and masses that Jesus has inspired possibly the most well known is Handel's "The Messiah" Other musical genres that comes from the Christian faith include hymns, carols and gospel music.

In 1927 H.B. Warner took the role of Jesus Christ in Cecil B. DeMille's biblical cinematic epic King Of Kings. DeMille forbade the actor from pursuing such non-biblical activities as playing cards, riding in convertibles or swimming during the film's shooting.

The Head of Christ is a 1940 portrait painting of Jesus of Nazareth by American artist Warner Sallman (1892–1968). The work originated as a charcoal sketch done for the cover of the February, 1924 issue of the religious magazine Covenant Companion. Sallman did several variations of the picture over the years, and in 1940, he was asked to reproduce that painting by the students of North Park Theological Seminary. The yellow-brown picture of Christ with long flowing hair was an icon of the forties and fifties and more than 500 million copies have been sold.

Head of Christ, 1940

Today, the Christian faith, based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ is the world's largest religion with about 2.4 billion adherents.

41% of Americans say Jesus Christ will return to the Earth by 2050, according a 2015 Pew Research Center survey.

Source Crosswalk.com

King David

The youngest of 8 sons, David (C1040-970BC), his early occupation was that of tending his father's sheep on the uplands of Judah. He frequently spent his time, when watching sheep, with his shepherd's musical instruments (flute and harp).

David’s skill on the harp bought him to the notice of King Saul who suffered from a strange melancholy dejection. He played his harp before the king so skillfully that Saul was greatly cheered, and began to entertain great affection for the young shepherd.

David became a hero of the people when he defeated the giant Goliath. When King Saul gave him his tunic, a coat of armour and a bronze helmet to fight Goliath, David felt uncomfortable so he resorted to his own shepherd's attire.

Having graduated to being armor bearer to King Saul, then falling out with him, David was forced to flee to the desert and become leader of an outlaw band. In the desert having not eaten for three days he devoured a cake of pressed figs and two raisin cakes possibly flavored with a feathery herb called coriander which had a lemony citrus flavour.

David was anointed king of all Israel in 993BC following death of King Saul. As a shepherd he was immensely knowledgeable about animals. The experience of looking after his father's sheep taught him a great deal. In later years it helped David in pasturing the flock his heavenly father gave him - The Israelites.

David conquered the Jebusite settlement of Zion, which became the nucleus of his capital city, Jerusalem. After seven years as King he moved his capital from Hebron to Jerusalem in deference to the ten northern Kings who opposed his reign.

David was a man after God's heart, who kept God's command all of his life apart from during an adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, the beautiful wife of one of his officers Uriah, whom he had killed. He trusted in God, but as his comfort zone increased his reliance on God decreased.

King David In Prayer by Pieter de Grebber

David's life's ambition was to build a temple but God did not permit this, although he was promised an eternal dynasty in Jerusalem.

David is traditionally reckoned on having written 73 of the 150 Psalms in the Bible. These songs and prayers stand out as great poetry. They spotlight the heights and depths of human experience. "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He lays me down in pastures green” he wrote in Psalm 23.

A prophet as well, David prophesied in Psalm 22 the future Messiah’s' death including v18 "They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing."

David placed great importance on the cultivation of olive trees; He even had guards watching over the olive groves and warehouses, ensuring the safety of the trees and their precious oil.

An inscribed stone was found in northern Israel that boasts of the author's victories over the "House of David". It likely dates back to 9th century BC, making it the earliest known reference to King David.

Saint Andrew

Saint Andrew was a fisherman and younger brother of Saint Peter. When they were called to serve Jesus, the  Savior of the world said he would make them "fishers of men".

Artus Wolffort - St Andrew

Andrew was not a dominant person next to his outspoken older brother. He was a passionate preacher and shared the gospel boldly and was a significant contributor to the early church.

At the beginning of Jesus' public life, Andrew and Peter were said to have occupied the same house at Capernaum.

Saint Andrew was crucified by being tied to an X-shaped cross in Greece on November 30, 60 AD by order of Roman governor Aegeas. It is said that he preached for two days on the cross and Aegeas was driven mad when he died.

Crucifixion of St. Andrew, by Juan Correa de Vivar (1540 - 1545)

Andrew became Scotland’s patron saint in 1320 with the Declaration Of Arbroath, submitted to Pope John XXII to confirm Scottish independence and the right to defend itself against the English.

His feast day is November 30th. Saint Andrew's Day, which is celebrated on that date is Scotland's official national day

Saint Andrew's Day is an official flag day in Scotland. The Scottish Government's flag-flying regulations state that the Flag of Scotland (the Saltire or Saint Andrew's Cross) shall fly on all its buildings with a flagpole.

Flag of Scotland

According to The Chronicle of Nestor, Andrew preached along the Black Sea and the Dnieper river as far as Kiev, and from there he traveled to Novgorod. Hence, he became a patron saint of  Romania, Russia and Ukraine. 

He is the patron saint of Scotland, Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Amalfi (Italy), singers, spinsters, fishmongers, fishermen, gout and sore throats.

Saint Andrew's Day has been a national holiday in Romania since 2015. 

Part of St Andrew's skull and a finger are kept in a tomb in the Church of St Andrew in Patras, Greece.

 In AD 357, an angel is said to have told the Greek monk St Rule to take St Andrew’s remains to the “ends of the earth,” so he took them to Scotland, and where he came ashore was called St Andrews.

The town of St Andrews has no apostrophe in its name because it was founded long before possessive apostrophes were introduced into English.

Source Daily Express

Abraham

Abraham (d c1850 BC) was a rich farmer who lived in Ur in Southern Babylonia

With his father Terah, wife Sarah and nephew Lot and flocks and herds Abraham left for a foreign land, wandering through desert places, seeking a country where he could worship God in his own way.

Proceeding to Canaan, Abraham received there God’s promise that he would be the father of a great nation, and that his descendants would be greatly blessed.

Still childless at the age of 76, Abraham subsequently fathered Ishmael with his wife's maidservant Hagar, and eventually, at the age of 100, Isaac with Sarah.

Legend has it that Abraham's aged wife Sarah bathed in the Dead Sea before conceiving Isaac.

Abraham trusted God so deeply that he was prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac, but God prevented him from doing this.

Sacrifice of Isaac is a painting by Rembrandt

From his son Isaac, Abraham became the father of the Jewish nation together with Judaism and Christianity. Also through Ishmael he became the father of the Arab people together with Islam.

Abraham saw God in control of everything and established firmly that basis of monotheism which made the Jews a people apart, and thus the only race capable of producing Jesus, and of becoming the inspiration of Christianity.

Genesis chapter 17 describes the circumcision of Abraham and his relatives and slaves, making him the first named individual to undergo the procedure.

Abraham had six more sons after Sarah died.

Abraham is greatly revered both by Jews and Muslims to this day.