Hosea 6:1-2 as a Prophecy of Christ's Passion and Resurrection

Hosea 6:1-2 as a Prophecy of Christ's Passion and Resurrection

Hebrew prophecy often contained many layers of meaning, some of which were later revealed in Christian exegesis. Hosea 6:1-2 appears to be a beautiful foretelling of Jesus Christ's Passion and Resurrection on the third day:

1. Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

2. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

- Hosea 6:1-2

The Christian reader will be deeply rewarded by looking for Christ in all of Scripture!

Originally posted on our Random Religion and Spirituality blog at:

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Matthew 26:14-25 (KJV Bible) - Judas Iscariot Betrays Jesus Christ for 30 Pieces of Silver

Matthew 26:14-25 (KJV Bible) - Judas Iscariot Betrays Jesus Christ for 30 Pieces of Silver

14. Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,

15. And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

16. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

17. Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?

18. And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.

19. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.

20. Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.

21. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

22. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

23. And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.

24. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

25. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.

Originally posted on our Random Religion and Spirituality blog at:

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The Legend of How the Holy Grail Came to Britain

The Legend of How the Holy Grail Came to Britain

The Holy Grail (or Cup of Christ) was the drinking vessel which Joseph of Arimathea used for catching the blood and water which poured forth from Jesus' side after the Crucified Messiah was pierced by the Spear of Longinus. It was the same sacred chalice which Jesus used during the first Holy Communion ritual at the Last Supper. 

According to Robert de Boron’s version of the Holy Grail legend, Joseph of Arimathea was incarcerated within a Jerusalem prison by the Jewish authorities after the body of Jesus suspiciously disappeared from its tomb. One day, while in his prison cell, Joseph miraculously found the Holy Chalice placed at his feet by God. Suddenly, a voice emanating from the vessel proceeded to explain the "secrets of the Grail", including the Mysteries of the Eucharist and how the rites of that Sacrament reflect the Passion of Christ. Food and drink also spontaneously manifested within the Holy Grail, and by this means Joseph was kept alive for many years.

The Holy Grail continued to nourish and sustain Joseph of Arimathea until Jerusalem was conquered by the Roman Emperor Vespasian in 70 CE, upon which he was released from prison. Fearing re-imprisonment, Joseph escaped to the desert with his family, and even in such harsh conditions they were continually sustained with food and drink from the Cup of Christ throughout their journey.

In de Boron's version of the story, Joseph passed away soon after fleeing Jerusalem, but not before placing the Holy Grail into the care of his brother-in-law, Bron. The Holy Spirit subsequently lead Bron and his family north to Glastonbury, England, where he was told to deposit the Grail. Thus, in de Boron’s version of the legend, it was Bron who carried the Cup of Christ to Glastonbury. There are, however, more popular versions of the legend which state that Joseph himself brought the Holy Chalice to the sacred British city.

According to an alternate version of the myth, when Joseph of Arimathea was still in Jerusalem, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to him and eleven other missionaries. Angel Gabriel instructed them to travel to Glastonbury, England in order to build a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. 

Joseph and the eleven missionaries left Palestine/Israel with the Holy Grail and eventually reached the coast of Britain after a very long journey. They sailed down an inlet leading to the future site of Glastonbury, which at that time was only a marshland covered with water. They disembarked on an island now known as Wearyall Hill, named after the weary and near-exhausted state in which the missionary group arrived. It was here that Joseph planted his staff into the ground and watched with jubilation as it sprouted leaves and flowers, signaling that he and his companions had completed their journey. The unique flowering tree which sprouted from Joseph's staff later became known as the Glastonbury Thorn.

Once Joseph and his companions settled into their new English homeland, they followed Angel Gabriel’s instructions and constructed St. Mary’s Chapel, which became one of the earliest Christian churches in Europe. Twelve dwellings were built in a circle surrounding this chapel, each facing the central church, which housed the Holy Grail and, by implication, the sacred Presence of Christ Himself. Joseph’s little Chapel was eventually torn down and a larger chapel constructed in its place, one that would later be incorporated into the structure of Glastonbury Abbey by the 8th century CE.

According to legend, before Joseph died, he buried the Holy Grail in Chalice Hill beside Glastonbury Tor.  An alternate version states that Joseph secreted the Grail within the Chalice Well, from which continually flows blood-colored water to this day, symbolizing the salvific blood of the Messiah. Many people over the centuries have received miraculous healings as a result of drinking or bathing in the waters of Chalice Well.

Another legend states that Joseph of Arimathea did not die in Britain, but left Glastonbury soon after constructing St. Mary's Chapel. From there, he sailed south with the Holy Grail to Spain. According to the story, he landed at Barcelona and then proceeded overland to either Montserrat in Catalonia near the Pyrenees, or to Montsegur in the former region of Languedoc, France. Both of these mountain sanctuaries later became associated with the Holy Grail and its Mysteries, and have often been equated with Munsalvaesche or the Mount of Salvation, the castle of the Grail King Anfortas (or the Fisher King) in Wolfram von Eschenbach’s medieval romance, Parzival.

Originally posted on our Random Religion and Spirituality blog at:

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John 3 (KJV Bible)

John 3 (KJV Bible)

Today I was spiritually inspired by this Christian scriptural passage from the New Testament. The Gospel of John, Chapter 3, King James Version:

1. There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

2. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

3. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

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.

6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

8. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

9. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

10. Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

11. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

12. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

13. And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

21. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

22. After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.

23. And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.

24. For John was not yet cast into prison.

25. Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.

26. And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.

27. John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

28. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.

29. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

30. He must increase, but I must decrease.

31. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.

32. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.

33. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

34. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

35. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.

36. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

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