Update - December 2017

Finally!  Great progress!  The scripts for the next 9 videos are done!  This will be a series on God the Father.  The plan this month is to work on the graphcs/images.  It may be January when these videos will begin being posted.

Blessings and so forth.

Update - November 2017

Over the last month, I have not been able to make any progress on my last two scripts.  :(  Please pray that this work will continue.  I will be praying for it.  God is faithful and very good.

Divinity Series: God the Father
Scripts are complete for:
Understanding God the Father
The Timelessness of God the Father
The All-Sufficiency of God the Father
The Omnipotence of God the Father
The Omnipresence of God the Father
The Invisibility of God the Father
The Personification of God the Father

Pending scripts:
The Emotions of God the Father
The Name of God the Father

Blessings and so forth.

Update - October 2017

The script on the Emotions of God the Father is still coming very slowly.  I twas able to make a lot of progress this week.  Thanks for your patience!

Divinity Series: God the Father
Scripts are complete for:
Understanding God the Father
The Timelessness of God the Father
The All-Sufficiency of God the Father
The Omnipotence of God the Father
The Omnipresence of God the Father
The Invisibility of God the Father
The Personification of God the Father

Pending scripts:
The Emotions of God the Father
The Name of God the Father

Blessings and so forth.

Update - September 2017

I'm currently working on the Emotions of God the Father.  This script is particularly more difficult than the other ones.  Whatever the early Christians believed, it appears to be very different from the common ideas of today.  Thank you for your patience.

Divinity Series: God the Father
Scripts are complete for:
Understanding God the Father
The Timelessness of God the Father
The All-Sufficiency of God the Father
The Omnipotence of God the Father
The Omnipresence of God the Father
The Invisibility of God the Father
The Personification of God the Father

Pending scripts:
The Emotions of God the Father
The Name of God the Father

Blessings and so forth.

Update - August 2017

In the last month, was I able to complete another script.  I feel bad that this has been so slow-going.  Once I start posting this series, I plan for the videos to be 2 weeks apart.  That will be a lot of material very quickly!

Divinity Series: God the Father
Scripts are complete for:
Understanding God the Father
The Timelessness of God the Father
The All-Sufficiency of God the Father
The Omnipotence of God the Father
The Omnipresence of God the Father
The Invisibility of God the Father
The Personification of God the Father

Pending scripts:
The Emotions of God the Father
The Name of God the Father

Blessings and so forth.

Post-Apostolic Church's Biannual Update 2017

Biannual Update 2017

Post-Apostolic Church

INTRO

On this day, four years ago, this channel began.  As is my tradition, it is time for a biannual update.  I would like to talk about where this channel has been and where it will be going, share some statistics about the channel, and offer some ideas I have for some videos that are not related to Pre-Nicene Christianity.  In advance, thank you for listening to this update.

PROGRESSION

In the first two years, 35 videos were posted.  In the last two years, 19 videos were posted.  Even though I have been much slower the past 2 years, a lot has happened.  The first phase of this channel is finished, which was introducing the Pre-Nicene Christian writers and works, of which there were 40.  This is the foundation of the channel.  Since the rest of this channel’s videos will contain quotes from Pre-Nicene Christians, they will refer to these foundational videos.  For example, you may have noticed that each time I quote an early Christian writing, I provide an on-screen link to that person’s or work’s introduction video.  This is handy for anyone who is interested in a quotation and wants to learn more about that writer or work.

Another major event for this channel was the series on the Septuagint.  Not long after the previous update video (2015), God put on my heart to research the Septuagint.  That subject was not far from Pre-Nicene Christianity, because the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament, was their Old Testament and is unlike the Old Testament in today’s translations.  To my amazement, this series quickly became some of this channel’s most popular videos.  It appears that the Septuagint’s popularity is growing like wildfire in modern years.  I’m so thankful to join the many of the Internet’s contributors regarding the Septuagint.

This brings us to the current and second phase of this channel: a video series on the Divinity.  The first three videos, which are an overview of the nature of God, have been released.  The following 11 videos will focus on God the Father.  After that, the next 7 (or more) videos will be on Jesus the Christ.  After that, the last 3 (or more) videos will be on the Holy Spirit.  After sharing what Pre-Nicene Christianity believed about these things, the third phase of this channel will discuss what they believed about salvation.

If you are curious as to how this channel is progressing or about what I’m working on, you can find these details on the blog where I post monthly updates.  Also, I post the full scripts of all videos.  And lately, I have added something to these scripts that may be of interest.  Whenever there is a quote from the Pre-Nicene Christians, I am now supplying a direct link to their quotation as it is found in the Ante-Nicene Fathers.  This is handy for anyone who is interested in seeing these quotations in context.  The link to the blog is in the description.

STATISTICS

Subscribers

Over the first two years, this channel gained 542 subscribers.  Over the second two years, it gained about 1708 subscribers for a total of 2250 subscribers.  This does not include 79 folks who have subscribed by email.

Videos

Over the first two years, this channel posted 35 videos.  Over the second two years, it posted 19 videos for a total of 54 videos.

Views

Over these four years, this channel has about 152,000 total views.  Sadly, I do not know how many views this channel had at the time of the previous update.

CONTACTS

Now that this channel has been active for 4 years, I have had the pleasure of getting in contact with many of my viewers, mainly through email.  And this has been a real blessing.  I’ve gained some dear friends from places such as Missouri, Virginia, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, England, Italy, and many others.  The feedback I receive both in emails and in the comments means a lot.  To know that the information I have shared has been so meaningful to you has been uplifting to me.  And I love to hear how excited many of you are when I release new content.  Anyone is more than welcome to email this channel at anytime.

Of course, where there are fans, there are also the critics.  It is wonderful to receive approval, but it is just as important to be challenged.  I do my best to take all criticism seriously.  Whether positive or negative, I try to respond to all comments.  Though, I have found it difficult to respond to comments that are unintelligible or borderline hateful.  Over the past four years, I have learned that… responding to the Internet is hard!  But I’m still happy to do it.

NON-EARLY CHRISTIAN VIDEOS

This channel is dedicated to Pre-Nicene Christianity.  But there may be exceptions.  For example, I shared a video on the dating of Obadiah’s prophecy and a video on the full chronology of the Scriptures that occurred during the Persian Empire.  I have had ideas for other videos which are outside of Pre-Nicene Christianity.  Though these videos should be a rarity, I wanted to share my list of ideas—just in case there is some interest in them.  If that is the case, please let me know.  But note that if I work on these videos, they will delay future videos on Pre-Nicene Christianity.

First, there is a work called 2 Clement.  This is a Pre-Nicene Christian work.  I didn’t make an introduction video for it because there is so much mystery behind it.  However, I’m thinking about a reading video of 2 Clement.  Whether it was really written by Clement of Rome or whether it was written in the first or second century, the work is really fascinating because it is written as a homily, or sermon.  I am thinking about modernizing the archaic language and reading it as a sermon.

Second, my work on the Septuagint nearly sent me down many rabbit holes.  Because of my research and because I thought that some parts of my videos might be confusing, another video might better explain an historical overview of how we got the Bible.  I would talk about things such as the different codices, the difference between the Byzantine/Majority Text family verses the Alexandrian Text family (and which ones are Old Testament and which ones are New Testament), and how we arrived at a Biblical canon, that is, which books belong in the Bible and which ones were almost included, and differences between Sola Scriptura (Scripture Only) and Prima Scriptura and Holy Tradition.  There is a lot of history and information in all this.  If I pursue this, it would need to be a series of videos.

Third, church history is a fascinating and important subject.  A few years ago, I sought to make a list of all the Christian groups that have existed from the apostles until today.  At least, groups that are large enough to know something about.  At the end of my research, I made some basic historical notes on 800 Christian groups that either have existed or still exist today… notes such as when the group started, when it ended, and any prominent persons or events behind it.  I would go through church history and summarize 2000 years of denominations and events.  This may also have so much information that it would probably be a series of videos.

Finally, there are a number of passages in the Scriptures (at least five major ones) that are debatable as to whether they belong in Scripture.  For example, was the account of the woman caught in adultery which is found in John 8 really written by John?  There are also the last 12 verses of Mark’s gospel.  And there are quite a few others.  These passages are honestly questioned and there is doubt as to whether they were written by the original authors.  The Pre-Nicene Christians have things to say about these passages and their writings shed a lot of light on whether these doubtful passages are genuine or not.

Feel free to comment or email if any of these videos really interest you.  But remember, it is not my primary purpose to make videos like these but to keep this channel focused on Pre-Nicene Christianity.

CONCLUSION

I feel very blessed to be able to share the faith and history of early Christianity with you.  Please stay tuned for more, and please share this channel with your friends and your ministers.  Again, I ask that you to pray for this ministry.  May the Lord bless you.

Update - July 2017

Unfortunately, since last month's update there has been no change with the current video series.  But I have completed the 2017 biannual update video, which I will release in 2 days!

Divinity Series: God the Father
Scripts are complete for:
Understanding God the Father
The Timelessness of God the Father
The All-Sufficiency of God the Father
The Omnipotence of God the Father
The Omnipresence of God the Father
The Invisibility of God the Father

Pending scripts:
The Personification of God the Father
The Emotions of God the Father
The Name of God the Father

Blessings and so forth.

Update - June 2017

God the Father Miniseries
Thank you for following this blog.  Just for you, I will reveal the titles of my next 11 videos on God the Father.

Scripts are complete for:
Understanding God the Father
The Timelessness of God the Father
The All-Sufficiency of God the Father
The Omnipotence of God the Father
The Omnipresence of God the Father
The Invisibility of God the Father

Pending scripts:
The Personification of God the Father
The Emotions of God the Father
The Name of God the Father

Anniversary
On July 3, this channel will celebrate its 4th anniversary.  And it will be time for another bi-annual update video.  I am excited about this and look forward to share the great things that have happened along with how far this channel has come.

Blessings and so forth.

Update - May 2017

God the Father Miniseries
In this series, I have completed 6 scripts.  There are 5 scripts to go.  Stay tuned, and thanks for your patience!

Blessings and so forth.

Update - Apr 2017

God the Father Miniseries
I think it would be best to release the videos about God the Father close together.  I have about 11 videos I would like to share... about 2 weeks apart from each other.  So I have some more work to do before I can start sharing them.  I hope to start releasing them in May.  That gives me one more month to get far enough.  Thanks for your patience!

Blessings and so forth.

Update - Mar 2017

Thank you for your patience
The holidays are over and I'm without excuse to release more content.  I've been working on my next 11 videos.  Transcripts are done for 5 of them.  Since the next 11 videos are more closely related, I hope to release them in quick succession--perhaps 2 weeks apart.  And I'm hoping that this will begin this month.  Please pray that nothing will hinder or postpone them.

Septuagint Series
I've been so impressed with the responses to my Septuagint series.  Along with my video on Origen, this series is by far the most popular.  I'm so thankful I was able to prepare and share it as I did.  If you have any suggestions for future videos in that series, please share!  In the meantime, I will continue to release one video a year as we go through the New Testament and analyze its quotations from the Old Testament.

Blessings and so forth!

Comparing the Septuagint and the Masoretic Using Matthew 1-3 (Full Script)

Too lazy to read?  Watch the video!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=g898idlzzXw

Comparing the Septuagint and the Masoretic Using Matthew 1-3

Post-Apostolic Church

REVIEWING THE PROBLEM WITH THE SEPTUAGINT

Welcome to this continuing series on the Septuagint.  Before going through the New Testament and comparing Old Testament quotations to the Hebrew Masoretic and the Greek Septuagint, there is one important thing to address.  In the third video about the Notable Differences between the Masoretic and the Septuagint, we looked at the only known problem with the Septuagint: that the genealogy of Genesis 5 places Methuselah’s death 14 years after the Flood.  After sharing that video, I had two viewers point out something important of which I was unaware.

In the first video, we talked about the three families of manuscripts: the Masoretic, the Septuagint, and the Samaritan.  Remember that within each family, there are manuscripts that are different.  It turns out that one of the differences in the Septuagint family of manuscripts is found in Gen 5:25.  The Septuagint found at the Vatican (Codex Vaticanus) says that Methuselah was 167 years old when he fathered Lamech, the father of Noah.  This places the Flood 2242 years after Adam.  The Septuagint from the Vatican is used in most translations of the Septuagint.  And this is how it was explained in that video.  However, the Septuagint found at the Alexandria (Codex Alexandrinus) says that Methuselah was 187 when he fathered Lamech.  This pushes Lamech’s birth, Noah’s birth, and the year of the Flood back 20 years.  And so it places the Flood at 2262 years after Adam.

So according to the Alexandrian Septuagint, Methusaleh died 6 years before the Flood and not 14 years after the Flood as the Vatican Septuagint states.  And so, the only problem with the Septuagint is not even a problem at all for the Alexandrian Septuagint!  In the end, there are no known problems with the Greek Septuagint while the known problems with the Masoretic Old Testament still remain.  To review what those are, feel free to watch that portion of the third video in this series.

INTRO

Now that we have cleared up this important aspect of the Septuagint, let’s continue comparing the Hebrew Masoretic with the Greek Septuagint by going through the New Testament and seeing which manuscript family the writers used when quoting from the Old Testament.

For the New Testament readings and the Hebrew Masoretic readings, I will use the American Standard Version which is a very accurate translation of both.  For the Greek Septuagint readings, I will use Brenton’s Translation which is a very accurate translation of the Septuagint.  And since these translations were published less than sixty years apart (between 1901 and 1844, respectively), their readings should be similar.

As we go through each passage, we will keep a running count of the family of manuscripts and number of verses which the New Testament writers followed.

MATTHEW 1:23

Matthew 1:23 is about the prophecy that predicts Christ’s birth.  It reads,

Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.  (Matt 1:23 (ASV))

This verse was already discussed in the previous video.  Click here for information about it.  As we saw, Matthew is following the Septuagint’s reading of Isaiah 7:14.

[Verses: 1.  LXX: 1.  MT: 0.]

MATTHEW 2:6

Matthew 2:6 is about what the chief priests and scribes told Herod when he asked them where the Christ would be born.  It reads,

And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come forth a governor, who shall be shepherd of my people Israel.  (Matt 2:6 (ASV))

This is a quotation from Micah 5:2.  The Masoretic reads,

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, which is little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of you shall one come unto me that is to be ruler in Israel.  (Mic 5:2 (ASV))

The Masoretic mentions “Ephrathah” instead of “the land of Judah.”  (It is not exactly known what Ephrathah is, but while Bethlehem was the geographical name, Ephrathah was probably the ethnic name* for the people of the Bethlehem region.)  And the last half of the verse is very different.  Matthew does not follow the Masoretic.

[* See Ruth 1:2, 1Sam 17:12]

The Septuagint reads,

And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah, are few in number to be reckoned among the thousands of Judah; yet out of you shall one come forth to me, to be a ruler of Israel.  (Mic 5:2 (Brenton))

Amazingly, the Septuagint’s reading is just like the Masoretic’s reading except it says “few in number” when the Masoretic says “little.”

Matthew is indeed using Micah 5:2, but his reading is not really following the Masoretic or the Septuagint!  Just as there are differences between English translations today, there were differences between manuscripts back then.  It is possible that Matthew is using a manuscript with the genuine reading but which has since been lost.  Neither the Septuagint nor the Masoretic will be counted on this verse.

[Verses: 2.  LXX: 1.  MT: 0.]

MATTHEW 2:15

Matthew 2:15 is about when Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt with Jesus to escape Herod. It reads,

Out of Egypt did I call My Son.  (Matt 2:15 (ASV))

This is a quotation from Hosea 11:1.  The Masoretic reads,

I called my son out of Egypt.  (Hos 11:1 (ASV))

The Masoretic reads the same though the order is different.  The Septuagint reads,

Out of Egypt have I called his children.  (Hos 11:1 (Brenton))

The Septuagint says “his” instead of “my” and “children” instead of “son.”  So while Matthew follows the Septuagint’s order, he follows the Masoretic’s words.  Of the manuscript families we have today, it is too hard to tell which one Matthew is following.  Like in the previous quotation, Matthew might be using an ancient manuscript that has since been lost, but more likely, he is simply and purposefully switching the Masoretic’s order of Hosea 11:1.  Let’s say that Matthew is following the Masoretic.

[Verses: 3.  LXX: 1.  MT: 1.]

MATTHEW 2:18

Matthew 2:18 is about the mothers whose children were killed by Herod.  It reads,

A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she would not be comforted, because they are not.  (Matt 2:18 (ASV))

This brings up another difference in New Testament manuscripts.  The Alexandrian family of manuscripts, which the American Standard Version and most modern translations use, lists two kinds of sadness.  The Byzantine family, which include translations such as the New King James, include a third word here, “lamentation.”  This difference in New Testament manuscripts probably exists because of the difference in Old Testament manuscripts, which we are about to see.

This quotation is from Jeremiah 31:15.  The Masoretic reads,

A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for them, because they are no more.  (Jer 31:15 (ASV))

The Masoretic lists two kinds of sadness which agrees with the Alexandrian family of New Testament manuscripts but disagrees with the Byzantine family of manuscripts.

Because the Septuagint has a different order of the chapters in Jeremiah, this quotation is from chapter 38 verse 15.  It reads,

A voice was heard in Ramah, of lamentation, and of weeping, and wailing; Rachel would not cease weeping for her children, because they are not.  (Jer 38:15 (Brenton))

The Septuagint’s three kinds of sadness are a bit different.  It agrees with the Byzantine family of New Testament manuscripts but disagrees with the Alexandrian family of manuscripts.  Also, it does not speak about refusing comfort, but instead that Rachel just won’t stop weeping.  Matthew’s quotation is mostly identical to the Septuagint.  Though Matthew does not quote either precisely, it seems that he more closely follows the Masoretic.

[Verses: 4.  LXX: 1.  MT: 2.]

MATTHEW 2:23

Matthew 2:23 is about how Joseph settled in Nazareth which became Jesus’ hometown.  It reads,

He should be called a Nazarene.  (Matt 2:23 (ASV))

Incredibly, the Old Testament passage that Matthew is quoting is completely unknown!  Jerome wrote that he believed Matthew was using Isaiah 11:1.  There, the Hebrew word is netser which is translated “branch” or “shoot,” as in,

A shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a BRANCH out of his roots shall bear fruit.  (Is 11:1 (ASV))

Jerome was confident that this word should be rendered “Nazarene.”

(http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf206.v.LVII.html, end of paragraph 7)

Sadly, since Matthew’s quotation cannot be found in today’s Masoretic or in today’s Septuagint, I will say that he follows neither.  Maybe Matthew was using Isaiah 11:1, maybe he used some other Old Testament passage that has since been lost, or maybe Matthew is not trying to quote the Old Testament but is showing the truth about Jesus’ hometown while poking fun at his contemporary, so-called “prophets” who were giving Nazareth a bad reputation in that day.  (See John 1:45-46.)

[Verses: 5.  LXX: 1.  MT: 2.]

HOW DO WE STAND SO FAR?

Thus far, we have looked at the first two chapters of Matthew.  Matthew 2:6 didn’t follow either manuscript family, and Matthew 2:23 isn’t found in any Old Testament.  Right now we have one verse that follows the Septuagint, two verses that follow the Masoretic, and two verses that didn’t follow either.  Things aren’t looking so well, but from here on, we will start to see a general pattern in how the New Testament writers will favor the Septuagint over the Masoretic.

MATTHEW 3:3

Matthew 3:3 is about John the Baptist.  It reads,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: make you ready the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.  (Matt 3:3 (ASV))

This is a quotation from Isaiah 40:3.  The Masoretic reads,

The voice of one that cries: Prepare you in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God.  (Is 40:3 (ASV))

The Masoretic says that the wilderness is where the way needs to be prepared while Matthew says that the wilderness is where the person will be crying out.  The Masoretic speaks about building a highway in the desert while Matthew says people need to make straight ways for God’s paths.

The Septuagint reads,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare you the way of the Lord; make straight the paths of our God.  (Is 40:3 (Brenton))

The only difference here is that the Septuagint says “of our God” while Matthew says “Him.”  Matthew more closely follows the Septuagint’s reading.

[Verses: 6.  LXX: 2.  MT: 2.]

CONCLUSION

That is enough for now.  We will continue looking at New Testament quotations from the Old Testament next year.

Blessings and so forth.

Update - Feb 2017

Hiatus
I mentioned that I wanted to take some time off due to the holidays and such.  I didn't plan to release a video in January, but I have been working on scripts.  I have scripts ready for the next four videos!  Additionally, I am trying to make my videos less than 10 minutes.  This way, they won't require viewers to devote so much time in one sitting.  It also should allow for videos to come more often since they are smaller.

Septuagint Series
My next video will be released on Feb 8, which is Septuagint Day.  I will continue my series on the Septuagint by releasing a video each year on that day.

Divinity Series
Mid or late February will see this series continue.  I'm happy how the scripts are turning out for this and look forward to sharing these videos on God the Father.  Once I start posting them, they should come quick (in contrast to my rate of releasing videos in the past, haha).

Blessings and so forth!

Update - Jan 2017

Happy New Year!
 Are you looking forward to a new year filled with plans and goals?  If so, I hope that you will be very productive in whatever you are planning!

I am excited about this new year.  Having finally started posting videos on what the early Christians believed, I want to get rolling more of those out.  As I said in my latest video, the next videos will focus on God the Father.

Divinity Series
In my last update, I shared how I received some interesting comments on my video on Monarchianism (one God in one Person).  Then I released the third video on the Divinity with the hopes that, through some quotes from the early Christians and mainly the Scriptures, I could clearly show that the Father and the Son are different Persons of God.  I was very happy with how the video came out.  I hoped some people would comment and challenge me on something I said.  To my surprise and pleasure, no one had any disagreements!  It goes to show that the Scriptures are powerful enough to reveal to us the true nature of God.  :)

I cannot make any promises about when the next video will be posted, but I would like to get it out before the end of January.

Blessings and so forth.