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The Coming of Jesus: The Olivet Discourse – Part 2

...pistle of Barnabas (not the be confused with the much later 14th century forgery called “the gospel of Barnabas”). This, along with other early texts known as “the Didache” and the "Shepherd of Hermas”, were books commonly given to new converts to read during the first century (Shepherd was even considered as Canon by various Early Church Fathers, such as Irenæus). As an intriguing side-note, the 4th century “Codex Sinaiticus” included Barnabas and The Shepherd alongside the rest of the New Testament books in its canon. Barnabas even links the 70AD event to the completion of “the Week” which harkens back to Daniel’s prophecy, as did ma...

Who is the New Jerusalem?

...letter of Barnabas is one of the earliest texts we have outside of the New Testament, and so reflects a very early view from the Early Church period and the theology surrounding a new temple. Barnabas 16:5-6 "Again, it was revealed how the city and the temple and the people of Israel should be betrayed … For it is written, ‘And it shall come to pass, when the week is completed, the temple of God shall be built...in the name of the Lord.’ I find...that a temple does exist. Having received the forgiveness of sins…in our habitation God dwells in us….This is the spiritual temple built for the Lord.”   Examining the rest of the description of the...

The Eighth Day

...he dead. Barnabas 15:8-9   Barnabas, in his epistle, makes the first recorded mention of this day as specifically called the “eighth” which is as early as somewhere between 70 - 130 AD. But the concept of an "eighth day" isn't new and is found throughout the Scriptures in the Old Testament, specifically in the last of the great feasts: the feast of booths (Leviticus 23:33 onwards), and circumcision on the eighth day after birth. The priests and Nazirites also had seven days of cleansing before offering sacrifices specifically on the eighth day (Numbers 6, Leviticus 8:33ff). The apostles pick up on these themes, like with the eight people, including N...

An Examination of Conditional Immortality (Part 1)

...pistle of Barnabas, who, in his conclusion, states that: “For the day is at hand on which all things shall perish with the evil [one].”. This would even imply that the devil will eventually perish as well, along with everything that doesn’t belong to the Lord. A little later on from these text around AD 130, the anonymous Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus gives a similar interpretation that “death” truly means death and that the fire consumes those in it “even to the end”, implying the condemned survive long enough to be punished, but will eventually be consumed by the fire: …when thou shalt despise that which is here esteemed to be death, when...

The Coming of Jesus: Our Future Hope - What Now?

...pistle of Barnabas conveys it well: The sabbaths, that now are, are not acceptable unto me, but that which I have made is, even that in which, after that I have brought all things to an end, I shall make a beginning of the eighth day, which thing is the beginning of another world. Wherefore we keep the eighth day as a day of gladness, on which also Jesus rose from the dead, and after he had appeared ascended unto heaven. Barnabas 15:8,9   An unexpected twist After an exploration through Revelation, comparing and contrasting with the Olivet Discourse and historical accounts, I found myself discovering things I didn't expect. Up to this point I was beco...

Man-Made Tradition vs Apostolic Tradition

...pistle of Barnabas and 1 Clement. Later on, other books such as the Letter to Diognetus; the Shepherd of Hermas and the Didache were also included or widely read and used for teaching. Better still, all of these texts still survive today and can be read and consulted as a modern way to seek to learn from apostolic tradition, since we can no longer just pop to the Ephesus church and enquire after the things John taught, or go to Corinth and ask after the things Paul which weren’t written down. You can view each of these letters by clicking the corresponding links above. The references to apostolic traditions and the writings of those who followed and succeed...