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one thing leads to another 

A Detective

following leads.  Early on in this investigation, I found another city with seven hills, a mystery, and an empire that lasted a thousand years.  There is only one that lasted that long.  It was a Christian empire.  It was the Byzantine Empire.  So why am I the only one paying attention to it?  How can you ignore it?  Easy if you are looking for Christ to reign.  So where does it say Christ will reign?

Watch for more pieces that fit.  Blessed is the one who looks.
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conspicuous 

A Word

that demands attention.   J. Kevin Coyle used it in his
AUGUSTINE AND APOCALYPTIC:
THOUGHTS ON THE FALL OF ROME,
THE BOOK OF REVELATION,
AND THE END OF THE WORLD
“It is in this context that for the first time and only time Augustine pays sustained attention to the Book of Revelation (or Apocalypse), conspicuous by its absence from the previous stages we have viewed.”  He goes on to say “this is not the place to try to fill the gap”.

I guess that is my job.  To fill the gap I will point out that Augustine had words with Jerome about not needing another translation of the bible.  Jerome finished the Vulgate at least twenty years before Augustine wrote chapter 7, where he addresses the Apocoalypse, in Book XX of City of God.

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then the end will come 

A Prediction

found in the bible.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world.  When I started my research twenty years ago I had to visit many libraries.  Today thanks to the computer, Google, and online resources like New Advent and Wikipedia nearly all the material is at my finger tips.  Apostles and missionaries have been replaced by the Internet.  God bless the Internet.  God bless those who made the information available to us. 
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pope theophilus

A Good Example

of the corruption in the eastern church at the beginning of the 5th century.  John Chrysostom, one of the great saints of the eastern church was exiled because of this so called pope theophilus of alexandria.  This was the beginning of the east west schism.  Jerome who was apparently getting money from theophilus was forced to get involved in this dispute.  Jerome’s letter to theophilus is very interesting. 
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The Vulgate

A Copy

They are all copies.  Before the printing press no two copies were alike.  Even after the printing press there were still errors.  They all had errors.  Man made errors.  A revised edition is a recognition of those errors.  So who signed your copy?  Who verified the accuracy of your bible?  What are their credentials?  What was their agenda?

Before the bible was defined, Jerome had a look at what existed and recorded his judgement.  You can read many letters to and from Jerome.  Decide for yourself if he can be trusted.

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Jerome

A Giant in the Church

Jerome is the father of the Bible.  He had more influence than the pope.  His letters to and from Augustine and others show how much respect he commanded.  During the Reformation when there was chaos within the Church, they turned to Jerome’s Vulgate that had been around for a thousand years.  It was the standard.  Jerome set the standard.

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Augustine, Jerome, Chrysostom

A Connection

Augustine in chapter seven, book XX of The City of God writes for the first time about the Apocalypse.  This was well after Jerome finished the Vulgate, a Latin translation of the bible.  Before this the bible was not really defined.  Chrysostom was in Ephesus for three months at the beginning of the fifth century replacing exactly seven bishops.  Before this the Apocalypse was not really accepted as being bible worthy.  Visiting Patmos, where John the Apostle is said to have wrote it, must have been hard to resist for the Patriarch of Constantinople. What did he find?  What did he do with it?

Watch for more pieces that fit.  Blessed is the one who looks.

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Eusebius, Pergamus, Antipas

A Church History

Eusebius in his Church History mentions Pergamus twice but never mentions Antipas. He mentions martyr 355 times. He mentions Carpus, Papylus, and Agathonice as martyrs of Pergamus. He mentions six of the churches of the Apocalypse but never associates them with the Apocalypse. There is only one explanation for this.  His copy or version of the Apocalypse did not include them.

Watch for more pieces that fit.  Blessed is the one who looks.

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