The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible accepted by the Christian Church as uniquely inspired by God, and thus authoritative, providing guidelines for belief, good behavior, good attitude, and good character. The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible contains two major sections known as the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The books of the Old Testament were written over a period of 1,000 years in the Hebrew language, except for a few selected passages which were written in Aramaic. The Old Testament tells of the preparation that was made for the Lord Jesus Christ's coming.

The New Testament was written over a period of 100 years. The original language in which it was written was Greek. The books of the New Testament tells of the Lord Jesus Christ's coming, His life, His teachings, His person, His work and ministry, and the growth of the early Universal Church.

Alexander III or Alexander the Great, son of Philip II (king of Macedon) and founder of the Hellenistic Empire or Greek Empire. He was born in 356 B.C. and ascended the Macedonian throne in 336 B.C. Advised by his teacher Aristotle that he could rule the world if he could make people adopt the Greek culture.

Therefore, Alexander the Great adopted the Greek culture and extended his empire from Greece, around the Mediterranean Sea of Egypt, and then to the borders of India. He died in Babylon in 323 B.C. and because Alexander the Great did not leave an heir who could continue his reign, Alexander's three generals divided his kingdom, with Ptolemy taking Egypt, Seleucus the East, and Cassander taking Macedonia.

Alexander the Great encouraged the Jews to settle in Alexandria, the city he founded after conquering Egypt in 331 B.C. Alexandria was the capital of Egypt during the Greek and Roman periods. It was at Alexandria that a Greek translation of the Old Testament known as 'Septuagint' was developed.

After Alexander the Great death, the capital of Egypt was moved from Memphis to Alexandria; and it became one of the most significant cities of the Greek Empire. The population of Alexandria included native Egyptians, and many Jews, learned Greeks. The commercial strength of the city was aided by the famous towering lighthouse that guided ships into port. Apostle/Saint Paul himself sailed in an Alexandrian ship on his way to Rome.

From there we put to sea again, but as the winds were against us we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, then across the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, taking a fortnight to reach Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship leaving for Italy and put us abroad. - Acts 27:4-6 -

At the end of three months we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island' she came from Alexandria and her figurehead was the Twins. - Acts 28:11 -

Although Alexander the Great is not mentioned directly in the Old or New Testament, many scholars affirmed that 'the large honk that is between [the] eyes...of the male goat' and the "mighty king" in the vision of prophet Daniel refer to him.

The hairy he-goat is the king of Javan, the large horns between its eyes is the first king. The horn that snapped and the four horns that sprouted in its place are four kingdoms rising from his nation but not having his power. - Dan. 8:21-22 -

A mighty king will rise and reign over a vast empire and do whatever he pleases. But once he has come to power his empire will be broken up and parcelled out to the four winds of heavens, though not to his descendants; it will not be ruled as he ruled it, for his sovereignty is going to be uprooted and pass to others than his own. - Dan. 11:3-4 -

As a cultural center, Alexandria had a large museum and a library that attracted many scholars and writers. These learned people carried out research to establish accurate versions of the important Greek myths and epics as well as scientific investigations in astronomy, botany, and mathematics. One of the results of these interests was the commissioning of 70 Jewish scholars to translate the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek. The translation which they produced is known as the "SEPTUAGINT."

Philo and other learned Jews in Alexandria wrote many books in defense of the Jewish faith to show that their beliefs were consistent with Greek philosophical thinking. This sometimes resulted in unusual methods of interpretation because the literal understanding of Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible often was mixed with fanciful explanations - a type of interpretation known as 'Allegory.' A Christian school of thought that used the allegorical method grew up in Alexandria, led by such great Church fathers as Clement and Origen.

Apostle/Saint Apollos, a believer from Alexandria, who worked with the Church at Corinth after it was founded by the Apostle/Saint Paul, may have attended one of these schools. The Book of the Acts of the Apostles describes Apostle/Saints Apollos as one who was well versed in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible.

An Alexandrian Jew named Apollos now arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, with a sound knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures, and yet, though he had been given instruction in the Way of the Lord and preached with great spiritual earnestness and was accurate in all details he taught about Jesus Christ, he had only experienced the baptism of John the Baptist. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak boldly in the synagogue, they took an interest in him and gave him further instruction about the Way.

When Apostle/Saint Apollos thought of crossing over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote asking the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived there he was able by God's grace to help the believers considerably by the energetic way, Saint/Apostle Apollos refuted the Jews in public and demonstrated from the Sacred Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. - Acts 18:24-28 -

And because the Book of Hebrews reflects thinking that is similar to writings from Alexandria, some scholars believe Saint/Apostle Apollos may have written the book.

The arrangement of the Old Testament are most familiar has been inherited from the pre-Christian Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) - an arrangement which was also followed by the later Latin Bible (The Vulgate or Latin Vulgate).  The Latin Bible or Latin Vulgate were recognized by the Roman Catholic Church.

However, in this day and age, there are Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible in English and many other languages, for example: The Jerusalem Bible, The King James Versions, The New American Bible, and many others.

To understand God, the Creator and who Jesus was. The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible or 'The Word of God' - the means by which God makes Himself known, declares His will, and brings about His purposes, is the primary means by which God's is present and working in the world. God is not Himself part of this world, but He acts in it by means of His word.

In the beginning was the Word:
the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through Him all things came to be,
not one thing had its being but through Him.
All that came to be had life in Him
and that life was the.......
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -