How do the Gospels compare with other contemporary biographies, relative to size? Plutarch was the most prolific biographer of the era, writing in Greek around the end of the first century. The following chart compares the word count of the four Gospels with fifty biographies written by Plutarch. Although Matthew’s…
In this “Synoptic Sequences” series, we are working through some of the sequential differences which one finds when comparing Matthew’s Gospel to Mark’s Gospel, with the hope that the differences can be explained in a way that is consistent with my early Matthew proposition. Therefore, we’re approaching these sequential differences…
Am out there trying to promote the book. Our church association had a regional conference this past week in Vancouver, Washington. Please reach out to me, if there is an opportunity to speak at your event and make the case for an early Matthew!
Who are the elect in the Olivet discourse? For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for…
In this posting, I want to remind us of how intentional God has always been in wanting His people to have a written record, memorial, or testimony of what He has said and done. That written record is then to be copied, taught, and memorized. Moses left behind a body…
I have asserted that the writings of the apostles were immediately recognized as Scripture (e.g., 1 Tim. 5:18; 2 Pet. 3:15–16; 2 Tim. 3:16). And further, that Galatians refers to something like Matthew’s Gospel, which was “previously written” prior to Paul’s first visit to Galatia. Here is my translation of…
In Acts 18 and 19, we continue to highlight the essential role which Matthew’s Gospel played in Paul’s evangelistic endeavors. But first, let’s recap some of our prior observations and assertions: Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:1–17) In Corinth, Paul could once again be found every Sabbath reasoning in the synagogue…
I have argued that during his first missionary journey, Paul grounded his ministry in the use of a published Gospel—whether he was preaching and teaching or strengthening and encouraging the churches. Now, in this blog post, we consider three encounters between Paul and those in Macedonia and Achaia during his…
In this “new insights into Acts” series, we are re-examining the text of the New Testament under the premise that Matthew was published coincident with the events of Acts 10–11, and that Mark was published shortly thereafter. Further, that these texts were immediately accepted as authoritative Scripture, as having been…
Tillemont was born in Paris in 1637 and became a priest in 1676. Shortly thereafter he retired to an abbey near Paris, but subsequently moved to his family estate (Tillemont) near Paris, where he completed two masterful works, one on ecclesiastical history and the other on the history of the…