A Virtual File Cabinet for Our Studies of Christian Origins & Hebraic Faith
ChatGPT Prompt –– What relationship do critical bible scholars see in the cluster of earthquakes, political upheaval, and plagues in the Mediterranean area that led to the apocalyptic beliefs in the 1st century BCE to 1st century CE? Cite all sources in line. Critical biblical scholars generally do not argue that earthquakes, political upheaval, and […]
Continue ReadingFrom Claude.ai is this brief comparative sketch of other NT/early Christian eschatological scenarios: 1 Thessalonians 4-5 — Imminent, undelayed parousia. Christ descends with a shout; dead in Christ rise first, then living believers are “caught up” (the rapture passage) to meet him. No restrainer, no antichrist figure — just sudden, unpredictable arrival (“like a thief […]
Continue ReadingThis post contains an Original Post at BSA/General Discussion titled Who holds back the Man of Lawlessness? by Michael Waddell. Credit for this work is wholly Michael’s. If you want to start a spirited debate at a New Testament academic conference, ask what the katechon [is. Literally meaning something like “That which restrains” or “He […]
Continue ReadingExtracts from a Forum post at BSA here. Below the extracts is a long Response from Claude.ai. Original Post from a new member: I noticed there are strikingly extensive overlaps between Jewish Apocalypticism and Zoroastrianism, the religion of ancient Persia. These overlapping beliefs include (somewhat simplifying): It seems hard to believe that all of this […]
Continue Reading10/9/2025 – This post contains ChatGPT responses that have not been fully vetted. See three other related posts on this date. 1st Prompt – Cite the scriptures in Paul’s authentic letters where he talks about the Kingdom of God. Focusing on Paul’s letters widely recognized as authentic by critical scholars (1 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 […]
Continue ReadingFrom ChatGPT 10/9/2025. Note the two related posts this date. 1st Prompt – Cite the scripture where Jesus said the Kingdom of God is now. The phrase “the Kingdom of God is now” does not appear verbatim in any of the canonical Gospels. However, Jesus does make statements indicating that the Kingdom of God has […]
Continue ReadingFrom Claude.ai Paul’s End Times Expectations: Authentic Letters vs. 2 Thessalonians When we compare Paul’s eschatological views (his expectations about the end times) across his undisputed letters with those expressed in 2 Thessalonians, we can observe several significant differences. These differences in eschatological thinking form one of the main reasons why many critical scholars question […]
Continue ReadingPrompt: Do any critical bible scholars view the transfiguration in Matthew 16:28–17:1 and Mark 9:1–2 as the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy that some in this generation will see the second coming? Cite all sources. (From ChatGPT and Claude.ai). From OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com Yes, some critical Bible scholars interpret the transfiguration events […]
Continue ReadingFrom OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com, 1/27/2025. Prompt: Do critical bible scholars see any evidence Revelation is a compilation of two writings; one during the time of Nero and the second during the time of Domitian? Yes, some critical Bible scholars and textual critics have proposed that the Book of Revelation might be […]
Continue ReadingFrom OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com Critical Bible scholars generally estimate that the Book of Revelation was written around 95–96 AD, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian (81–96 AD). This dating is based on internal evidence from the text, external testimony from early church fathers, and the historical context of Roman […]
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