a beautiful school narthex
a beautiful school narthex
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
rivers of living water
They that believe on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of their
belly shall flow rivers of living water. [Ezek. 47.1; Zech. 14.8] (John 7.38)
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Monday, December 22, 2014
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
what does the Bible say about halos?
Question: "What does the Bible say about halos?"
Answer: A halo, also called a nimbus, is a geometric shape, usually in the form of a disk, circle, ring, or rayed structure. Traditionally, the halo represents a radiant light around or above the head of a divine or sacred person. Since halos are found nowhere in the Bible, what is their origin in Christianity?
Interestingly, the word “halo” comes from the Greek word for a threshing floor. It was on these floors that oxen moved round and round in a continuous circle on the ground, making a circular path in the shape we now associate with halos. Many ancient societies, including the Egyptians, Indians and Romans, used a circular sign to suggest supernatural forces, such as angels, at work.
In art, halos originally appeared as disks of gold sketched upon the head of a figure. This depicted a sphere of light radiating from the head of the person, suggesting that the subject was in a mystical state or sometimes just very smart. Because of its shape and color, the halo was also associated with the sun and resurrection. By the fourth century, the halo had become widely used in standard Christian art. Essentially, it was used to mark a figure as being in the kingdom of light. Most commonly, Jesus and the Virgin Mary are shown with halos, along with the angels. In fact, halos are found in art forms all over the world. Sometimes, especially in the East, crowns are used instead of halos, but the meaning is the same: holiness, innocence and spiritual power.
With it not being found in the Bible, the halo is both pagan and non-Christian in its origin. Many centuries before Christ, natives decorated their heads with a crown of feathers to represent their relationship with the sun god. The halo of feathers upon their heads symbolized the circle of light that distinguished the shining divinity or god in the sky. As a result, these people came to believe that adopting such a nimbus or halo transformed them into a kind of divine being.
However, interestingly enough, before the time of Christ, this symbol had already been used by not only the Hellenistic Greeks in 300 B.C., but also by the Buddhists as early as the first century A.D. In Hellenistic and Roman art, the sun-god, Helios, and Roman emperors often appear with a crown of rays. Because of its pagan origin, the form was avoided in early Christian art, but a simple circular nimbus was adopted by Christian emperors for their official portraits.
From the middle of the fourth century, Christ was portrayed with this imperial attribute, and depictions of His symbol, the Lamb of God, also displayed halos. In the fifth century, halos were sometimes given to angels, but it was not until the sixth century that the halo became customary for the Virgin Mary and other saints. For a period during the fifth century, living persons of eminence were depicted with a square nimbus.
Then, throughout the Middle Ages, the halo was used regularly in representations of Christ, the angels, and the saints. Often, Christ’s halo is quartered by the lines of a cross or inscribed with three bands, interpreted to signify His position in the Trinity. Round halos are typically used to signify saints, meaning those people considered as spiritually gifted. A cross within a halo is most often used to represent Jesus. Triangular halos are used for representations of the Trinity. Square halos are used to depict unusually saintly living personages.
As we’ve stated at the outset, the halo was in use long before the Christian era. It was an invention of the Hellenists in 300 B.C. and is not found anywhere in the Scriptures. In fact, the Bible gives us no example for the bestowal of a halo upon anyone. If anything, the halo has been derived from the profane art forms of ancient secular art traditions.
Recommended Resources: Heaven by Randy Alcorn and Logos Bible Software.
Related Topics:
What happens after death?
Are there different levels of Heaven?
What are the New Heavens and the New Earth?
Will we have physical bodies in Heaven?
What happens after death?
Are there different levels of Heaven?
What are the New Heavens and the New Earth?
Will we have physical bodies in Heaven?
Friday, December 5, 2014
believest thou this
Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11.26)
chapel Bible reading - let God arise
Psalms 68
1 Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them
away: as wax melteth before the fire, so
let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
3 But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice
before God: ye, let them exceedingly
rejoice.
4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his
name JAH, and rejoice before him.
5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the
widows, is God in his holy habitation.
6 God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with
chains: but the rebellious dwell in a
dry land.
7 O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people,
when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah.
8 The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the
presence of God: even Si'nai
itself was moved at the presence of God, (Ex. 19.18) the God of Israel.
9 Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby
thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.
10 Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness
for the poor.
11 The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that
published it.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
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