Click here for dates these ancient writings were written

BACKGROUND FOR THIS EPISODE

(In Order of Appearance)

NEW TESTAMENT OF THE BIBLE:
  • Acts 1:6,9 – The apostles were all together. They asked Jesus, “Lord, is this the time for you to rebuild the kingdom for Israel?”…9After Jesus said these things, he was lifted up into the sky. While the apostles were watching, Jesus went into a cloud; they couldn’t see him anymore. 
  • Nathaneal means Gift of God.  He was also called Bartholomew, son of Tholomew.
  • Matthew 4:1-11 – 
  • Cana is Arabic for place of reeds, and indeed its ruins are near marshes.  It was located in the province of Galilee half way between the Sea of Galilee on the east and the Mediterranean Sea on the west.
  • Matthew 3:16-17 – 
  • The population of Galilee was far from what orthodox Jews preferred and was looked down by such in Judeah near the Temple. Besides Jews, Galilean residents were Aramaean (Syrian), Ituraean (Arabian), Phoenecian (Lebanese) and Greek.
  • Luke 4:1-2 – Jesus returned from the Jordan River. He was full of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was leading Jesus into the desert. 2The Devil tempted Jesus for 40 days. Jesus didn’t eat anything during that time. When those days were over, Jesus was very hungry.  
  • Acts 23:6 – Some of the men in the meeting were Sadducees and some others were Pharisees. Paul knew this. Therefore, he said to them, so that everyone could hear, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, and my father was a Pharisee! I am on trial here, because I believe that people will rise from death!”
  • John 1:45-51 – Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the law. The prophets wrote about him, too! He is Jesus, the son of Joseph, from the village of Nazareth.” 46Nathanael said to him, “Out of Nazareth? Is it possible for anything good to come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see for yourself!” 47Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him. Jesus said this about Nathanael: “Look, here is a real man of Israel! There is nothing false about him!” 48Nathanael asked Jesus, “From where do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you to come here, I saw you under that fig tree!” 49And Nathanael answered Jesus, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the king of the people of Israel!” 50Jesus answered him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under that fig tree? You will see even greater things than this. 51I am telling you the truth: You will all see heaven open and God’s angels coming down and going up from me.”i
  • John 2:1-10 – On the third day, in the town of Cana in Galilee, there was a wedding. Jesus’ mother was there. 2Jesus and his followers were invited to the wedding. 3When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine!” 4Jesus asked her, “What do you want with me, woman? My time has not yet come.” 5His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6There were six stone waterjars sitting there. (Jewish people used them to make things ceremonially pure.) Each waterjar could hold about 20 to 30 gallons. 7Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” They filled the jars to the top. 8Jesus said to the servants, “Now, pour some of this and take it to the master of ceremonies.” They did it. 9He didn’t know where it came from, but the servants who had gotten the water knew. When the master of ceremonies tasted the water which had been changed into wine, he called for the groom. 10He said to the groom, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the people have had plenty to drink, he serves the cheaper wine. But you have reserved the good wine until now!” 
  • Hebrews 4:15 – Our High Priest [Jesus] can sympathize with our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way as we are, but he never sinned! 
OLD TESTAMENT OF THE BIBLE:
  • Zechariah 14:9 [PREDICTED 480 YEARS BEFORE JESUS]  – Then Yahweh will be King over the whole world. At that time, Yahweh will be recognized as the one true God.z And His Name will be the only Name!
  • The Old Testament scriptures handed down to us were meticulously copied from one generation to another (see notes in Episode  I).  One such group of scribes met in Tiberius of Galilee AD 500-900.  They counted the number of times each letter of the alphabet occurs in each book, pointed out the middle letter of the Pentateuch and the middle letter of the whole Hebrew Bible (Old Testament).  These trivialities guaranteed minute precision in translating the text.
  • Psalm 24:9-10 [PREDICTED 1000 YEARS BEFORE JESUS] – O gates, open up all the way! Open wide, you ancient doors! Then the glorious King will come in. Who is He, this glorious King? Yahweh of the armies of heaven—He is the glorious King.a (Selah) 
  • Isaiah 9:6-7 [PREDICTED 700 YEARS BEFORE JESUS] – Because a special Childq will be born to us. God will give usr a Son.s He will be responsible for leading the people.t He will be called:u “Wonderful”;v “Counselor;”w “Powerful God”;x “Father of Eternity”;y “Prince of Peace”.z 7There will be peace in His kingdom forever and ever.aa His royal power will continue to grow.bb He will rule as the true Successor of King David,cc and over David’s kingdom.dd He will make it strong by upholding it with justice and righteousness.ee He will rule it from the time he comes until forever! Yahweh leads the armies of heaven and His zeal will accomplish this!ff
  • Daniel 7:13-14 [PREDICTED 530 YEARS BEFORE JESUS] – “In my vision at night, I looked, and, behold, there was One who looked like a human being.gg He was coming with clouds in the sky.hh He came near God (who has been alive forever). And, he was presented to God. 14The One who looked like a human being was given the authority to rule.ii Glory and royal power were also given to him. All ethnic groups, nations, and people who spoke every language will serve him.jj His rule will be eternal; it will last forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed.”kk

  • Click here for details of Daniel’s astounding prediction in 530 BC of the exact century and exact year the Messiah would begin preaching.

  • The Histories of Tacitus were written around 100 AD.  We have only two ancient manuscripts today and they were written 800 and 1000 years later.  We have a total of 20 copies of them. On the other hand, there are some 40,000 manuscripts and fragments of the New Testament today.  The full manuscripts were penned 250 years after Christ, and the numerous fragments were penned the same century as Christ.
  • Exodus 20:1 – Then God spoke all these words:a 2“I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
  • Numbers 4:1-2, 29-30 – Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2“Count the Kohathites among the Levites. Count them by their clans and by their family groups…29“Count the sons of Merari by their clans and by their family groups. 30Count the men from 30 to 50 years old. Everyone has a job to do at the Meeting Tent. 
  • Isaiah 7:14 – Nevertheless, the Lord Himself will give youy a sign: Look, the virginz will become pregnant. She will give birth to a son, and she will name him ‘Immanuel [Hebrew for God With Us.’aa 15He 
  • I Kings 9:11-13 – Hiram, the King of Tyre, had helped Solomon by supplying materials for those buildings. Hiram had provided Solomon with all the cedar wood, the pine, and the gold that he wanted. In exchange, King Solomon gave to Hiram 20 towns in the northern region of Galilee.d 12Hiram traveled from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given to him. But, after Hiram saw them, he did not like them. 13Hiram asked Solomon, “What kind of towns are these that you have given to me, my brother!?” So, that land was named “The Land of Cabul.”e And, it is still known by that name today
  • King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre [in Lebanon] because Hiram….But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them.  “What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” he asked.  And he called them the Land of Cabal, a name they have to this day.  [Galilee in Hebrew was “Cubal” meaning good for nothing.] 

OTHER JESUS QUOTES IN THIS EPISODE

ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
  • WINE: In ancient Greece wine was dark and usually drunk with water (to drink it unmixed was riotous) ….The full maturing of wine was impossible until the bottle and the cork were generally used….Use of wine bottles and corks…seems to have become common toward the end of the 17th century.
WILLIAM STEUART MC BIRNIE
  • THE SEARCH FOR THE TWELVE APOSTLES: NATHANIEL –  Traditionally, he went to Arabia, Iran, and India where he translated the gospel of Matthew into the Indian language.  Later he went to Hierapolis in today’s Turkey to preach with Philip until Philip’s death.  He moved to Armenia near Mt. Ararat in AD 60 and was martyred in Albana/Derbend, Soviet Union, in AD 68.  Some say he was placed in a sack and cast into the sea. But another tradition says he converted the king and many in his family, so the idolatrous priests had him arrested, beaten with clubs, flayed alive and either crucified or beheaded.