The Garden of Eden

Is the Garden of Eden merely a legend? If so, it is interesting that the geographic location given in Genesis is more specific than that of most other biblical locations.

According to the bible, the garden was located “in Eden, to the east” (Genesis 2:8). Genesis also says that a river flowed from the garden and divided into four streams called the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Gihon, and the Pishon. The first two of these are well-known and flow through modern Iraq. But the identities of the other two have long been a mystery.

Some scholars think that a dry riverbed in southern Iraq called Wadi Batin may be what is left of the river Pishon. The river Gihon could have also been in the same region, but all traces of it have possibly disappeared. If these speculations are valid, this would mean that the Garden of Eden was in or near modern southern Iraq. Some scholars think that its location may actually lie under the waters of the Persian Gulf just south of Iraq, an area that was possibly submerged when the land sank and/or the ocean level rose.

False Messiahs

After the Romans conquered Palestine in the first century B.C., many of the Jewish residents believed that the End Times had arrived. Their ancient prophesies predicted that this would be a period of extreme devastation and suffering, and certainly there was much suffering in the country under the oppressive rule of the Romans. But the ancient prophesies also predicted that during this same period a great leader known as the Messiah (or Anointed One) would appear and overthrow all evil rulers, then create a new kingdom where all the righteous people could live happily and peacefully. Later, after Jesus was crucified, many people would realize that he was the Messiah, although the new kingdom he established was a spiritual kingdom rather than an ordinary earthly kingdom.

But history tells us that many false Messiahs have also appeared, and some have even collected a considerable number of followers before their falseness was revealed. In fact the bible itself mentions several such pretenders who came on the scene during the New Testament era. For example, a man named Theudas appeared in Palestine during the rule of the Roman Prefect Fadus ( 44A.D.-46A.D.). According to the Jewish historian Josephus, this Theudas led several hundred followers to the Jordan River, claiming that he would duplicate Joshua’s ancient miracle of ordering the river to dry up so that everyone could walk across. As they all waited on the river bank, a detachment of the Roman army arrived, killed Theudas, and captured many of his followers. They also cut off Theudas’ head and took it back to Jerusalem to serve as a warning to anyone else who might be thinking about similar actions. Although most of this information comes from the writings of Josephus, Theudas is also mentioned in the New Testament , in Acts 5: 35-36.

The Book of Acts also mentions another false Messiah known as Judas the Galilean. According to Acts 5: 37, this man “appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed and all his followers were scattered.”

Another pretender who appeared during this period is known only as “the Egyptian”. Josephus says that this man brought thousands of followers to the Mount of Olives, promising to destroy the walls of Jerusalem, defeat the Romans, and become the new ruler. However, it was the Romans who won the fight, although the Egyptian escaped and was never found.

According to the gospel of Luke (3:15), some people in Palestine even thought that John the Baptist might be the Messiah, but he denied it. Instead, he foretold that Jesus would soon appear and be the real Messiah.

Over the centuries ther have been many other false Messiahs, and several of them gathered thousands of disciples before their deception came to light. Jesus himself even warned about such pretenders in Mark 13: 5-6, where he says: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming ‘I am he’, and will deceive many.”

Gospel Mysteries

Here is a useful website for anyone interested in mysteries that relate to events described in the New Testament gospels. The site contains more than 30 individual articles, each one devoted to a particular mystery. As would be expected, many of the articles pertain to various aspects of the life of Jesus, such as his birth, his family, his teachings, his death on the cross, and his resurrection. But there are also articles about some other biblical figures, including Mary Magdalene, Judas Iscariot, Barabbas, James the Just, the unidentified Beloved Disciple, and Pontius Pilate. Then there is an assortment of other topics such as lost gospels, the true cross, stigmata, demonic possession, the devil, the second coming, the location of hell, and Golgotha.

One of the articles examines the well-known story of Pilate’s decision to release Barabbas instead of Jesus. According to the article, although many people think of Barabbas as a loathsome criminal, he might have really been a freedom fighter in the Jewish resistence to the Roman occupation of the country. This could help explain why the rabble crowd shouted for his release, since the lower-class Jews hated the Romans and were ready to support anyone who resisted them. The article also discusses a so-called “mystery of Barabbas”, which relates to some interesting similarities between the released prisoner and Jesus himself. And an interesting footnote mentions a legend which says that after Barabbas was set free, he went to the place where Jesus was crucified and watched him die on the cross.

Another article discusses several recently-popularized stories about Mary Magdalene. It says that most scholars dismiss claims that she married Jesus and bore him a daughter, or that she was the mysterious beloved disciple. The article also says that the story about her having previously been a prostitute may have been invented by church officials as part of an effort to maintain the male domination of the church hierarchy. There is also a discussion of what happened to her after the resurrection of Jesus, since the bible doesn’t say anything about her from that point on.

An article about some lost and missing gospels says that early Christian believers probably wrote more than 20 other gospels in addition to the four in the bible, but that many of these other gospels have been lost or survive only as fragments. Fortunately several that were thought to be missing have been found by accident in modern times. These include the gospel of Thomas and the gospel of Mary, and they may provide information about early sects that existed on the fringes of the main Christian movement.

Many of the pages on this website display reproductions of famous paintings and other works of art. There is also a glossary and a page of links to other biblical studies sites.

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Where is the Holy Grail?

According to Christian tradition, the Holy Grail is the cup, plate, or dish used by Jesus at the Last Supper. Some people believe that it possesses special supernatural powers. But exactly what happened to it has long been a mystery.

Many stories about the Grail appeared during the Middle Ages. In one story Joseph of Arimathea receives the Grail from an apparition of Jesus and sends it to Great Britain. Another story associates it with the Knights Templar, who were said to have buried it at a secret location.

Cups claimed to be the Grail can be found in several churches. The Saint Mary of Valencia Cathedral contains a chalice supposedly taken by Saint Peter to Rome in the first century, and then to Huesca in Spain by Saint Lawrence in the 3rd century. Others believe that the Grail is beneath Rosslyn Chapel or lies deep in the spring at Glastonbury Tor. Another story claims that a secret line of hereditary protectors keep the Grail. Some modern books and movies even combine the story of the Grail with a theory that Mary Magdalene secretly married Jesus and bore him a daughter.

Go to The Holy Grail to learn more.

When Was Jesus Crucified?

According to the gospels, Jesus was crucified during the rule of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. Most historians agree that Pilate governed Judea during the period from 26 AD to 36 AD. Thus Jesus must have been crucified sometime during that interval. This is consistent with Luke 3:23, which says that Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. If he was born in about 4 BC, as many scholars think, he would have been about thirty years old in 26 AD.

Another relevant historical detail is found at Luke 3:1, which says that John the Baptist began his ministry in the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius. This would have been 28-29 AD. Since Jesus began his ministry after John, and it lasted at least one year, this means that the earliest date for his crucifixion was probably the Passover of 30 AD. Thus it likely occurred sometime between 30 AD and the end of Pilate’s rule in 36 AD. Unfortunately there is no indisputable evidence to pin it down any closer than this, and the problem is made even more difficult by some inconsistencies between the accounts of different gospels. However, many biblical scholars have argued for various specific dates, the most popular of which are probably the Passovers of 30 AD and 33 AD.

For more discussion of the date of the crucifixion, go to Chronology of Jesus’ Crucifixion.