Cleopatra is almost modern

I am not sure who first noticed this so I cannot give attribution. The situation points to an important and seemingly contradictory fact. Though the events related in the Bible  seem to have taken place in great antiquity they can also be seen as having been quite recent,

Think about this set of facts. From the creation of the Great Pyramid of Giza to the life of Cleopatra VII there is a time span of roughly 2520 years. From the lifetime of Cleopatra until the invention of the i-phone is a span of about 2063 years.

Neither Khufu (aka: Cheops, ruled 2589 - 2566 BC), who built the Great Pyramid, or Cleopatra VII Philopator (ruled 51 - 30 BC) is mentioned in the Bible but they are not irrelevant to Bible history.  The Egyptians are prominent in the history of Israel and Cleopatra and her lovers were important in the military battles and intrigues which  led to their enemy, Gaius  Octavius (aka: Octavian),  becoming the first Emperor of the Roman Empire, Augustus.

Emperor Augustus seems to have unknowingly set into motion the events which led  to Jesus being born (Luke 2: 1-5}  in Bethlehem (Beit Lahm, West Bank)  rather than his hometown of Nazareth
(Natzrat, Israel).  Many Christians believe that this  was in fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy given in Micah 5:2.

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Cleopatra's great-great-great-great-great grandmother, also named Cleopatra,  is mentioned in 1 Maccabees 10:57-58,  part of the Apocrypha, which is not given biblical status by Protestants.

The Rapid Growth of Christianity

From a very small group in a dusty rural community, the Good News of Christianity rapidly exploded upon the world.  The numbers below are very rough estimates but are almost universally agreed to be accurate.

ca 30 AD                        ca 50

ca 100 Ad                       several thousand

1^st  Century                     500,000 to 1,000,000

2^nd Century                    2,000,000

10^th Century                   50,000,000

15^th Century                   100,000,000

18^th Century                   200,000,000

19^th Century                   400,000,000

Today                             2,200,000,000

Many of the modern 2.2 billion may be only nominally Christian, but if only 10% are actually Christian, then we number 220,000,000.  The actual percentage is probably higher than 10%.

Hallelujah for These Children!

(Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin.  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.)

I had to post this wonderful video from the Kuinerrarmiut Elitnaurviat 5th Grade students in Quinhagak (Kuinerraq in the Yup'ik language), Alaska (USA).  These are Yup'ik people (you probably would call them Eskimos, but they do not like that word).  There are about 16,900 speakers of Yup'ik, which is as different from its sister language,Yupik, as Spanish is from French.  The word Yup'ik comes from "yuk" = "person" plus "Pik" = "real."

Quinhagak is a fishing and canning village and had a permanent population of 555 as of the 2000 census.  The name means "new river channel."  The village has been proven to have existed since at least 1000 AD/CE.

These are poor but proud, hard-working people.  From the video, it looks like almost the entire village helped in the production of this wonderful statement.  I especially love the girls spinning at 2:04 and the very cold girl at 2:32.

Always Look for the Sale!

Harwich Port (aka: Harwichport) is a "Census Designated Place" in the town of Harwich, Massachusetts.  According to the 2000 census, the population of Harwich Port is 1809.  The grieving widow of Jonathan Thompson had the following inscription placed on his grave:

Sacred To The Remains of

Jonathan Thompson

A Pious Christian and

Affectionate Husband.

His disconsolate widow

Continues to carry on

His grocery business

At the old stand on 

Main Street: Cheapest

and best prices in town.