by Matthew N. Morales | Jun 26, 2023 | Archaeology, Biblical Studies, Christian Origins, Historical Jesus
[He was] a man of simple appearance, mature age, small stature, three cubits high, hunchbacked, with a long face, long nose, and meeting eyebrows, so that they who see him might be affrighted, with scanty hair (but) with a parting in the middle of his head, after the...
by Matthew N. Morales | Nov 17, 2022 | Biblical Studies, Christian Origins, Christianity, Dead Sea Scrolls, Judaism, Religion, Revelation Unredacted
In the previous four articles, we have reviewed the evidence in support of an original Essene core to the book of Revelation as composed by a follower of John the Baptist. John taught an apocalyptic message, and when the Jerusalem temple fell in 70 CE, alarm bells...
by Matthew N. Morales | Oct 9, 2022 | Biblical Studies, Christian Origins, Christianity, Religion, Revelation Unredacted
In our last post, we unmasked the Beast from the Sea as none other than Jesus Christ himself. Although the Sea Beast has long enjoyed more of the limelight in discussions of John’s Apocalypse, we mustn’t forget that there is another demonic entity foretold by the...
by Matthew N. Morales | Sep 13, 2022 | Biblical Studies, Christian Origins, Christianity, Dead Sea Scrolls, Judaism, Religion, Revelation Unredacted, Textual Criticism
The two beasts of Revelation have sparked fascination within readers from ancient times all the way down to the present day. The grotesque description of the more prominent of these monsters, the Beast from the Sea, has certainly done much in contributing to the...
by Matthew N. Morales | Aug 14, 2022 | Biblical Studies, Christian Origins, Christianity, Judaism, Religion, Revelation Unredacted, Textual Criticism
The Two Witnesses Taken to Heaven in a Cloud. Image Credit: FCIT. This post is the second of a five-part series exploring the proposal of an original Essene Jewish core of the Book of Revelation. In case you missed it, catch up by reading part one where I lay out the...
by Matthew N. Morales | Aug 7, 2022 | Biblical Studies, Books, Christian Origins, Christianity, Dead Sea Scrolls, Judaism, Mythology, Religion, Revelation Unredacted, Textual Criticism
A surrealistic take on Revelation. Image credit: W. Ralph Walters. “For there shall be yet another vision concerning the appointed time. It shall tell of the end and shall not lie.”Habakkuk 2:3 “Interpreted, this means that the final age shall be...