Biblical Studies and Archaeology Community Group
The mission of this group is to provide a place to learn about ancient places and their history.Biblical studies may accompany archaeological discussions as they pertain to the Bible. Please refrain from any negativity as this should be place of positive reinforcement of our love for our Lord, Jesus Christ! May we all become God's ambassadors and embrace our...
"The Council of Nicea took place in 325 A.D. by the order of the Roman Emperor Caesar Flavius Constantine. Nicea was located in Asia Minor, east of Constantinople. At the Council of Nicea, Emperor Constantine presided over a group of Church bishops and leaders with the purpose of defining the true God for all of Christianity and eliminating all the confusion, controversy, and contention within Christâ??s church. The Council of Nicea affirmed the deity of Jesus Christ and established an official definition of the Trinityâ??the deity of The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit under one Godhead, in three co-equal and co-eternal Persons."
"The main theological issue and focus had always been about Christ. Since the end of the Apostolic Age and beginning of the Church Age, saints began questioning, debating, fighting, and separating over the question, â??Who is the Christ?â?? Is He more divine than human or more human than divine? Was Jesus created / made or begotten? Being the Son of God, is He co-equal and co-eternal with Father God, or less and lower in status than the Father? Is the Father the One and only True God, or are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit the One true God? â??True God of True God,â?? â??One Being, Three Personsâ??, a tri-unity called â??Trinityâ??? Jesus said, â??Who do you say that I am?â?? (Matthew 16:15)."
"Johnâ??s Gospel declares Jesus the be the Divine eternal Logos, agent of creation and source of life and light (John 1:1-5, 9); the "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6); an advocate with heavenly Father (1 John 2:1-2); sovereign (Revelation 1:5); the Rider on a white horse (Revelation 19:11-16); and the totality of the Son of God from the beginning to the end (Revelation 22:13). The author of Hebrews reveals the full deity of Jesus through His perfection as the most high priest, Melchizedek (Hebrews 1; Hebrews 7:1-3), and the full humanity (Hebrews 2). The Divine-human Savior is the Christian's object of faith, hope, and love."
Above excerpts and additional information at http://www.gotquestions.org/council-of-Nicea.html
"In AD 325 the Council of Nicea (located in present-day Turkey), called together by the Roman Emperor Constantine I, decided that all churches should celebrate the Resurrection on the Sunday after the full moon of the Spring equinox, and not in conjunction with Passover."
"It was unanimously accepted at the Council that Easter should never fall at the beginning of the â??Jewishâ?? Passover. Many believers elsewhere still werenâ??t convinced, however, and this required subsequent discussions in later councils and synods. Still, many believers continued to celebrate the resurrection in accordance with Passover, even after Constantineâ??s legislation. So Constantine wrote to leaders of believing communities not present at the Council of Nicea to explain their Easter decision. This letter, entitled â??On the Keeping of Easter,â?? gives us insight on the reasoning behind the decision:"
â??It was declared to be particularly unworthy for this, the holiest of all festivals, to follow the custom [the calculation] of the Jews, who had soiled their hands with the most fearful of crimes, and whose minds were blinded. In rejecting their custom, we may transmit to our descendants the legitimate mode of celebrating Easterâ?¦ We ought not, therefore, to have anything in common with the Jewsâ?¦ we desire, dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews... (They) have no longer been led by reason but by wild violence, as their delusion may urge themâ?¦ How, then, could we follow these Jews, who are most certainly blinded by error? â?¦it would still be your duty not to tarnish your soul by communications with such wicked people [the Jews]â?? (From the Letter of the Emperor to all those not present at the Council. Found in Eusebius, Vita Const., Lib. iii., 18-20).
"... the Second Coming of Messiah is linked to the repentance of Israel (see Zech. 12:10; Matt. 23:39; Acts 3:19-21). This enemy of our souls has attempted to deceive so-called Christians to despise the Jewish people, which is in direct contradiction to the Scriptures (Rom. 10:1; 11:17-20), and thereby make faith in Yeshua abhorrent to any self-respecting Jewish person. Following the death of the Jewish apostles, Peter, Paul, John, etc., anti-Semitism seeped into the assemblies of believers. Sadly, this anti-Semitic attitude is reflected in much of church history in its relationship to the Jewish people and has prevented Jewish people from understanding the biblical Messiah. Not only that, the â??Churchâ?? would put into practice non-biblical traditions which do not reflect the biblical facts of Messiahâ??s death and resurrection, which even born again believers practice to this day. This can create problems, one of which we encounter every few years at Passover: believers will celebrate the Lordâ??s resurrection at Easter up to a month before the biblical observance of the Lordâ??s crucifixion and resurrection at Passover! Thus it appears we have Messiah resurrected a month before He is even put to death."
Previous excerpts and additional information at http://wordofmessiah.org/march_05_2.htm
God bless you!
"The main theological issue and focus had always been about Christ. Since the end of the Apostolic Age and beginning of the Church Age, saints began questioning, debating, fighting, and separating over the question, â??Who is the Christ?â?? Is He more divine than human or more human than divine? Was Jesus created / made or begotten? Being the Son of God, is He co-equal and co-eternal with Father God, or less and lower in status than the Father? Is the Father the One and only True God, or are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit the One true God? â??True God of True God,â?? â??One Being, Three Personsâ??, a tri-unity called â??Trinityâ??? Jesus said, â??Who do you say that I am?â?? (Matthew 16:15)."
"Johnâ??s Gospel declares Jesus the be the Divine eternal Logos, agent of creation and source of life and light (John 1:1-5, 9); the "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6); an advocate with heavenly Father (1 John 2:1-2); sovereign (Revelation 1:5); the Rider on a white horse (Revelation 19:11-16); and the totality of the Son of God from the beginning to the end (Revelation 22:13). The author of Hebrews reveals the full deity of Jesus through His perfection as the most high priest, Melchizedek (Hebrews 1; Hebrews 7:1-3), and the full humanity (Hebrews 2). The Divine-human Savior is the Christian's object of faith, hope, and love."
Above excerpts and additional information at http://www.gotquestions.org/council-of-Nicea.html
"In AD 325 the Council of Nicea (located in present-day Turkey), called together by the Roman Emperor Constantine I, decided that all churches should celebrate the Resurrection on the Sunday after the full moon of the Spring equinox, and not in conjunction with Passover."
"It was unanimously accepted at the Council that Easter should never fall at the beginning of the â??Jewishâ?? Passover. Many believers elsewhere still werenâ??t convinced, however, and this required subsequent discussions in later councils and synods. Still, many believers continued to celebrate the resurrection in accordance with Passover, even after Constantineâ??s legislation. So Constantine wrote to leaders of believing communities not present at the Council of Nicea to explain their Easter decision. This letter, entitled â??On the Keeping of Easter,â?? gives us insight on the reasoning behind the decision:"
â??It was declared to be particularly unworthy for this, the holiest of all festivals, to follow the custom [the calculation] of the Jews, who had soiled their hands with the most fearful of crimes, and whose minds were blinded. In rejecting their custom, we may transmit to our descendants the legitimate mode of celebrating Easterâ?¦ We ought not, therefore, to have anything in common with the Jewsâ?¦ we desire, dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews... (They) have no longer been led by reason but by wild violence, as their delusion may urge themâ?¦ How, then, could we follow these Jews, who are most certainly blinded by error? â?¦it would still be your duty not to tarnish your soul by communications with such wicked people [the Jews]â?? (From the Letter of the Emperor to all those not present at the Council. Found in Eusebius, Vita Const., Lib. iii., 18-20).
"... the Second Coming of Messiah is linked to the repentance of Israel (see Zech. 12:10; Matt. 23:39; Acts 3:19-21). This enemy of our souls has attempted to deceive so-called Christians to despise the Jewish people, which is in direct contradiction to the Scriptures (Rom. 10:1; 11:17-20), and thereby make faith in Yeshua abhorrent to any self-respecting Jewish person. Following the death of the Jewish apostles, Peter, Paul, John, etc., anti-Semitism seeped into the assemblies of believers. Sadly, this anti-Semitic attitude is reflected in much of church history in its relationship to the Jewish people and has prevented Jewish people from understanding the biblical Messiah. Not only that, the â??Churchâ?? would put into practice non-biblical traditions which do not reflect the biblical facts of Messiahâ??s death and resurrection, which even born again believers practice to this day. This can create problems, one of which we encounter every few years at Passover: believers will celebrate the Lordâ??s resurrection at Easter up to a month before the biblical observance of the Lordâ??s crucifixion and resurrection at Passover! Thus it appears we have Messiah resurrected a month before He is even put to death."
Previous excerpts and additional information at http://wordofmessiah.org/march_05_2.htm
God bless you!
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