A Long-Lost Legendary Roman Fruit Tree Has Been Grown From 2,000-Year-Old Seeds

A Long-Lost Legendary Roman Fruit Tree Has Been Grown From 2,000-Year-Old Seeds

The Surprisingly Meat-Free Diet of Roman Gladiators

The Surprisingly Meat-Free Diet of Roman Gladiators

Ancient Romans Used the Word "Abracadabra" to Cure Malaria

Ancient Romans Used the Word "Abracadabra" to Cure Malaria

The Patricians and the Plebeians: A Very Roman Social Struggle

The Patricians and the Plebeians: A Very Roman Social Struggle

A Ring Unearthed 50 Years Ago Likely Belonged To Pontius Pilate; Roman Governor Of Jerusalem Who Condemned Jesus To Death

A Ring Unearthed 50 Years Ago Likely Belonged To Pontius Pilate; Roman Governor Of Jerusalem Who Condemned Jesus To Death

The Origin of the Roman Catholic Church

The Spanish-held Canary Islands, off the northwest coast of Africa, were home to small greenfinches. These birds were caught and caged and sold in England as “canary birds”; today’s domesticated canary bird is mainly yellow, not green, and is called a “canary” for short. However, the word "canary" itself originally meant something different. The Canary Islands were so called by the Romans because of a type of large canine found there (the Latin "canāarius" meant “of dogs”). From big dog to little yellow bird—that’s etymology.

Roman Empire

Two centuries after Jesus' crucifixion and one century after the end of the macabre Jewish-Roman wars (that caused at least 2 million fatalities from both sides), the Roman Empire nearly collapsed during the Imperial Crisis (235-284 AD), under the combined pressures of invasions (Germanic raids in the north, Goths, Vandals, Alamanni from the Danube frontier, Sassanid attacks from the east), civil wars (numerous usurpers, the Empire split into competing states, Roman generals were fighting each other while neglecting their duties of defending the frontiers), the Plague of Cyprian (250-262, probably smallpox, 5,000 people a day were said to be dying in Rome) and economic depression (hyperinflation, agricultural crisis, barbaric migrations, disruption of Rome's internal trade network).
At the same time, Christianism, with its redemptive oratory and promises of afterlife salvation, was strengthening its numbers of followers massively. Due to this generally ominous situation, the Classical studies were under constant and reevaluation by the remaining scholars of the ancient world.
In these twilight years of the Classical antiquity, Neoplatonism was born in Alexandria by Ammonius Saccas and developed greatly by his student, Plotinus (ca 205-270 AD). Plotinus reinterpreted Platonism and Pythagoreanism in a monistic and pantheistic way, offering to the world a renewed, complete teaching that was harmonized and combined with the rest of the Greek philosophy, the Greco-Roman cultural traditions, Zoroastrianism, Egyptian theology, Eastern mysticism, and Hinduism.
According to Neoplatonism, the supreme cause of reality is "the One" (EN), which is both the creative source and the teleological end of all existing things. The second principle is the Mind (ΝΟΥΣ), which is corresponding to Plato's world of ideas and is a part of the One. The third and final principle is the Soul (ΨΥΧΗ), a part of which exists in every living being.
The purpose of human, according to Neoplatonists, is his individual part of the Soul to return to the primary source, the One. This can only be achieved, however, through virtuous life (ΚΑΘΑΡΣΙΣ).
Neoplatonism was the last great spark of the ancient philosophy. It became widely accepted in Alexandria, Pergamos, Athens, Antiocheia and Rome. The last Neoplatonic faculty was the Academy of Athens, which was closed arbitrary by Justinian in 529, and its scholars migrated to the Sassanid Persia. However, the Neoplatonic teachings never vanished from the eastern Roman Empire. Some of the most notable Neoplatonists were Iamblichus, Porfyrios, emperor Julian, Hypatia, Damaskios, Syrianos, Proklos, Asclepiodotos, Gemistos Plethon, Meister Eckhart and Marsilio Ficino.

Roman city in Switxerland

  Nyon is a town in Switzerland. It was founded by Roman troops over 2000 years ago, in 50-44 bC, after the wars in Gaul. It was named "Colonia Iulia equestris", after Julius Caesar. It's older than its sister cities (Copia Felix Munatia Lugdunensis) Lyon and (Colonia Raurica) which were founded in 44/43 bC by Munatius Plancus. These three cities were some of the last to be founded during the wars in Gaul for the soldiers or cavalry, giving them the name Equestris.

Marvels of underwater archaeology: Traces of Roman engineering found in ancient port town

Marvels of underwater archaeology: Traces of Roman engineering found in ancient port town

Time

Awhile back while studying, the Scriptures I came across a couple of passages that on the surface would appear to be a contradiction. I've come to find out that by researching the historical and cultural context is necessary for complete understanding of God's Word. Knowing that Christianity's opponents will find every reason to charge the Scriptures with contradiction, we as believers in a Sovereign God must be prepared to give a defense for the hope that is in us by understanding contextually, historically and culturally why we believe what we believe. So here you have it.  

Mark 15:22-25 They brought Him to the place called Golgotha, which means, “Place of a Skull.” They gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it. When they had crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them, to decide what each man should take. Now it was the THIRD HOUR, and they crucified Him.  

Notice in the passage above Mark states that Jesus was crucified on the third hour, which according to the Jewish timetable the beginning of a day started at 6am (sun up), so by doing the math we see that the third hour is 9am in the morning when they crucified Jesus.  

Sounds simple enough, but let's take a look at John's account.  

John 19:13-15 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement which in Hebrew is Gabbatha. It was the Day of Preparation of the Passover and about the SIXTH HOUR. He said to the Jews, “Here is your King!” But they shouted, “Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”  

Now how is it that Jesus according to the Gospel of Mark is being crucified on the THIRD HOUR but according to John's Gospel He is standing before Pilate being condemned to death on the SIXTH HOUR? Shouldn't Jesus already be nailed to the cross? 

The reason I'm writing this is to give us a proper understanding of God's Word. To understand what the apostle John is saying we must understand who his audience is that he's writing his gospel account to. We know contextually that John wrote his gospel to Gentile believers. How do we know that? Because when we read John's account, we see that he had to explain Jewish customs, translate Jewish names, and locate Palestinian sites. These facts suggest that he was writing for Gentile readers who lived primarily outside Palestine. Therefore, the timetable in which they would understand is the Roman timetable which operates equally to ours today. So John's sixth hour is referring to 6am in the morning, which is identical to the time that Jesus was standing before Pilate in the synoptic Gospel's (Mark 15:1-2). Three hours later Jesus would be nailed to the cross.  

The Roman World of Jesus: An Overview

The Roman World

of Jesus: An Overview

Romans: how the gospel works

Romans: how the gospel works