Christian Apologetics Society

Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God."
- Matthew 22:29

Isaiah 55:11
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it
Gen 1:3
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light
Matthew 26:26
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body."
Malachi 1:11
My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty.
John 20:23
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.
James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
James 2:14
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
Luke 20:38
For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.
Rev 21:27
Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
1 Cor 3:15
If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Psalm 51:5
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.
John 3:5
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Titus 3:5
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
1 Timothy 3:15
but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
Acts 22:16
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

1611 KJV Liturgical Calendar - Feast of John

The liturgical calendar in the 1611 King James Bible marks December 27th as the feast of John. In an interesting twist, the Greek Orthodox Church commemorate Stephen on December 27 and John on December 26, just the oppposite of Western Christians. Yet, the earliest Syrian martyrology, dating from 411 AD in Edessa, records December 27 as commemorating John.

John, the beloved disciple of Jesus and caretaker of Mary, is honored with a spot on the KJV liturgical calendar not for his evangelism, but for his virginity. It seems that early Christians not only held that Mary was a perpetual virgin, but also John the Apostle. Augustine of Kent (ca. 604 AD) says, "to a virgin was the Virgin intrusted." The fragmets of Hyppolytus (ca. 980 AD) refer to John as "the virgin and the evangelist." Martin Luther Luther in a sermon of 1527 on December 27 spoke to John's virginity.

One modern author writes:

"Our Lord wishes the children to learn from St. John that they must retain an innocence and purity of life similar to that of His beloved disciple in order to enter the kingdom of heaven."

There is great disagreement among the early Christians concerning the martyrdom of John. Long story made short, John was thrown into boiling oil by Domitian and thus is a martyr. However, God protected John from harm and John resided in Ephesus for an extended time after, and thus is not a martyr. Alan Culpper in his book John, the Son of Zebedee notes that both accounts are legendary and therefore neither may be correct.

Interestingly, the Gospel of John, which is the fourth in our modern cannon of scripture, was not initially considered inspired or apostolic and it was not until about 200 AD that the Gospel of John began becoming accepted among early Christians. The earliest 2nd Century writers (Clement, Ignatius, Irenaeus, etc.) neither mention the fourth gospel nor quote from it. The acceptance of the fourth gospel started among the Gnostics, Montanists, and Orthodox Christians. If you'd like to know more about John, the entire book John, the Son of Zebedee is available online at Google Books.

Finally, in researching John, we discovered a very moving old world custom that perhaps some of you might like to adopt:

"A beautiful custom is some old countries is the drinking of 'St. John's love' on that day. Wine, blessed with a special blessing and prayers, is served in the home before the main meal: the father lifts the cup towards the mother. 'I drink you the love of Saint John'; she having answered: 'I thank you for the love of Saint John,' drinks to the eldest child and so on including guests and servants."
[True Christmas Spirit, by Edward J. Sutfin]

To our beloved CAS readership, we drink you the love of Saint John.


Related Posts:
1611 KJV Liturgical Calendar - Feast of Stephen

Source: John, the Son of Zebedee

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