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Who were the Shepherds in the Christmas Story?

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Annunciation to the Shepherds, Abraham Hondius, 1663, oil on panel. Note the cherubim forming circular ring dances (ancient temple prayer circle) in the heavens, praising God.

Annunciation to the Shepherds, Abraham Hondius, 1663, oil on panel. (Click image for a larger view)

The Christmas story from Luke 2 reads in part:

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them,

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another,

Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. (Luke 2:8-20)

Most of us are very familiar with these scriptures, as it is tradition in many families to read this story at Christmastime every year to remind us of the true meaning of Christmas.

But who were the shepherds?  Have you, like me, considered the angelophany to the shepherds in their fields something that was completely random?  Were the angels announcing the birth of the Savior abroad in the land, and this was just one of the accounts that was recorded in scripture?  Or was there a greater purpose to the angelic revelation specific to these shepherds?  [Read more…]

Anointing Rite in the Orthodox Church

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The Anointing of David

The Anointing of David

David Larsen at Heavenly Ascents continues to provide excellent notes from his attendance at the Temple Studies Group Symposium in London last weekend.  Recently he posted his notes on Archimandrite Ephrem‘s presentation about the Holy Oil in the Orthodox Church.  Father Ephrem gave out a handout which included detailed notes on the anointing rite in the Orthodox Church, which includes this portion:

The one to be baptized is brought forward. The Priest takes some of the oil and makes the sign of the Cross on the forehead, breast and back of the candidate, saying: The servant of God, N., is anointed with the oil of gladness, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. As he signs their breast and back he says: For healing of soul and body. On the ears: For the hearing of faith. On the feet: For your feet to walk. On the hands: Your hands made me and fashioned me. And when the whole body has been anointed the Priest baptizes the person, holding them upright and facing East, as he says: The servant of God N. is baptized, in the name of the Father. Amen. And of the Son. Amen. And of the Holy Spirit. Amen. At each invocation the Priest immerses them and raises them again [three-fold immersion]. ((Handout from Archimandrite Ephrem in notes on Heavenly Ascents blog.  Notes in brackets are mine.))

Check out David Larsen’s Heavenly Ascents blog for more details from Father Ephrem’s presentation.

Margaret Barker on The Holy Anointing Oil

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Samuel anointing David. Stained glass.

Samuel anointing David. Stained glass.

My friend David Larsen has some great notes at Heavenly Ascents on the presentation given by Dr. Margaret Barker at the Temple Studies Symposium III in London this past weekend.  Her words were an introduction to the symposium which focused on the topic of “The Holy Anointing Oil”:

Anointing with myrrh oil was the most holy mystery of the Jerusalem temple. It passed into Christianity and gave the faith its name. This symposium will explore the temple rite and its meaning, and then look at some of the ways in which Christians preserved the ancient tradition. ((TempleStudiesGroup.com))

David’s notes on Barker’s presentation include some interesting facets of anointing:

  • The Messiah, the Christ, was the Anointed One, and so the holy anointing oil is central to Christian identity. It gives the Christians their name.
  • Christian teaching concerning anointing is a conscious continuation of the ancient temple teaching.
  • The oil was understood to impart holiness… It was part of the secret teaching of the high priesthood.
  • The anointing with oil was a part of the “secret teaching” passed on to Christianity from Christ through the apostles.
  • The high priests were “christs” — they represented Yahweh by being anointed and wearing name “YHWH” on forehead.

See the Heavenly Ascents blog for David’s full notes on Barker’s presentation.  Hopefully her presentation will also become available on TempleStudiesGroup.com.  Other speakers included Dr. John F. Hall (Professor from BYU), Archimandrite Ephrem, The Rev. Dr Richard Price, Dr Sebastian Brock, and Rev. Dr Laurence Hemming.  David has some notes on their presentations here, and will post more notes about their presentations soon.

Ancient Israelite Temples Timeline (1300 BC—AD 100)

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Ancient Israelite Temples Timeline (1300 BC—AD 100). Click on image for hi-res version.

Ancient Israelite Temples Timeline (1300 BC—AD 100). Click on image for hi-res version.

Creative Commons License
Ancient Israelite Temples Timeline (1300 BC—AD 100) by Bryce Haymond is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. That means you can use this graphic however you please, as long as you attribute the original work to me and this website, and any derivatives must be licensed the same. See the Creative Commons link above for more details.

I am a visual learner in many ways, so sometimes I like to put things together visually so I can get a better grasp of them, and understand them more thoroughly.  The history of the ancient Israelite temples is one of those things that I wanted to learn better, so I created this timeline to help me visualize it.

The timeline shows the basic history of the ancient Israelite temples from the Tabernacle of Moses, through Solomon’s Temple (First Temple Period), the Babylonian Exile, and Zerubbabel’s and Herod’s Temples (Second Temple Period).  This spans about 1400 years.  Major temple structures are noted, as well as lesser known Israelite temples.  Major events which affected temple worship are marked and labeled, as well as other important dates.

The information on the timeline is sourced primarily from William Hamblin and David Seely’s excellent 2007 book, Solomon’s Temple: Myth and History (pages 9-49, 210).  Other information was found at various sources online.

I’m sure there are many details I’ve left out, and probably some errors.  If there are items that you think should be included (such as additional Israelite temples), please let me know.  If there are errors, please tell me those as well.  Just leave notes in the comments, and I will continually update the timeline here as I receive feedback.  Thanks!

Update (10/31/2009): I’ve updated the timeline. I’ve added some temples in the New World, including the temple in the city of Nephi, Zarahemla, and Bountiful. I’ve also added several more Old World temples including Arad, Meggido, Lachish, Beersheba, Gilgal, Ebal, Shechem, Shiloh, Kirjath-jearim, and Gibeon. Many of the dates are approximated. There are still more to add, as soon as I find more details.

Update (11/2/2009): I’ve decided to make this strictly an Old World temples timeline, so I’ve removed the few references to temples in the New World. I may make a separate timeline which compiles what we know of temples in the Book of Mormon. I’ve added some details about the ruling parties in Judea between 515 BC and AD 100. I’ve also added a visual reconstruction of what the Elephantine Temple may have looked like. Other small details have also been added.

Attaining the Resurrection in Mortality

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Margaret Barker

Margaret Barker

The use of those two words together, resurrection in mortality, appears to be perfectly incongruous at first glance.  In our common parlance in the Church we understand resurrection to be something that can only happen after mortality.  The resurrection “consists in the uniting of a spirit body with a body of flesh and bones, never again to be divided” ((“Resurrection.” LDS Bible Dictionary. http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bd/r/28)).  This is an event which happens only after there has been a separation of the spirit body from the mortal body through the process called death.  In my reading over the weekend, however, I came across a fascinating perspective from Margaret Barker which gives added meaning to the word resurrection, and our understanding of it, a meaning which can apply to us while still in our mortal estate. [Read more…]