NT manuscripts vs other antique manuscripts

Annuls of Rome (Tacticus A.D. 116)
His first 6 books exists today in one manuscript and it was copied in A.D. 850. Books 11 - 16 are in another manuscript from the eleventh century and books 7 - 10 are lost.

The Jewish War (first-century historian Josephus)
9 Greek manuscripts (written in 10, 11 and 12 centuries)
1 Latin manuscript

Illiad (Homer - 800 B.C. - considered the bible of the ancient Greek)
650 Greek manuscripts (written only in the second and third century)

New Testament Manuscripts
5000 plus in Greek
8000 - 10 000 in Latin Vulgate manuscripts
8000 - Ethiopic, Slavic and Armenina

Scholars like Geilser and Nix concluded that The New Testament has not only survived in more manuscripts than any other book from antiquity, but has survived in a purer from than any other great book - a form that is 99.5 percent pure.

How true are the accounts of the gospels?

Scholars date Mark in in the 70s, Matthew and Luke in the 80s and John in the 90s. That is still within the lifetimes of the various eyewitnesses of the life of Jesus, including hostile eyewitnesses who would have served as a corrective if false teachings about Jesus were going around.

The two earliest biographies of Alexander the Great were written more than 400 years after his death, yet historians consider them trustworthy!

- The Case for Christ (Lee Strobel)

Is Christ real? The eyewitnesses

The four gospels were written by people who were first hand witnesses of Jesus or people who got the information from first hand witnesses. John was one of the 12 disciples, but also on of Jesus' inner three. Papias confirmed in A.D. 125 that Mark had carefully and accurately recorded Peter's observations - "Mark made no mistake" and did not include "any false statement". He also said that Matthew had preserved the teachings of Jesus as well.

Matthew published his own Gospel among the Hebrews in their own tongue, when Peter and Paul were preaching in Rome. Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Paul, himself handed down to us in writing the substance of Peter;s preaching. Luke, the follower of Paul, set down in a book the Gospel preached by his teacher. The John, the disciple of the Lord, produced his gospel.

We can therefore be assured that the events they recorded are based on either direct or indirect eyewitness testimony.

- The Case for Christ (Lee Strobel)

Pierre Spies - Branded for Jesus ad

Branded TV Ad - Rough version

Where you can find Branded this weekend!

Hartklop Christusfees 13 - 16 Mei 2010
“Before His Throne!”

Update - Branded Fast

Thank you to all who joined our fast - especially the Facebook group! We fasted until Wednesday evening and during this time we got amazing confirmations and wonderful things happened - thank you to Intercape who has offered to put our video on their busses for the next 3 months!

Branded Fast - Day 2

Message for today:

1 Tim 1 : 12I give thanks to Him Who has granted me strength and made me able, Christ Jesus, our Lord, because He has judged and counted me faithfull and trustworthy, appointing me to the ministry. 1 Tim 1:14And the grace of our Lord flowed out superabundantly and beyond measure for me, accompanied by faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Thank you to Lizel, Paul, Roni, Marinda & Callie who joined the fast.

Branded for Jesus Fast - Day 1

Ephesians 4 (various verses)
I beg you to walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called with complete lowliness of mind and meekness, with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another.

Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk come out of your mouth, but only such as it good and beneficial to the spiritual progress and the occassion, that it may be a blessing and give grace to those who hear it.

Let us bless others today with our testimonies and the love that we receive from God.

Welcome TBN Africa

We would like to welcome our media sponsors, TBN Africa. Thank you for partnering with us and may this partnership be very blessed! TBN Africa will not only market Branded For Jesus, but will also sell the pins as well.

Fast

Please join me for a 3 day fast to ask God's continued blessing on this project and also to be able to hear His voice clearly. It does not matter if you join for the whole period or one day, you are most welcome! To read on the progress of the fast, join our Facebook group - BrandedforJesus.

Blessings

Monique Strydom

Branded for Jesus Launch

Thank you to our media!

We would like to thank the following media who has Branded for Jesus coverage:

Servamus
Beeld
Radio Rippel
Bosveld Stereo

Pierre Spies is Branded for Jesus!

Gretha Widd is Branded for Jesus

Morne Steyn is Branded for Jesus!

Press release - Branded launch 9 April

Annora Moster, Ivan Jooste en Monique Strydom

What team do you support?
If you are a Christian and have not yet decided what team to support during 2010, then you might be interested in this team. Strong, powerful, the greatest support base in the world and in the winning league for the last 2000 years! Yes, it is the team of Jesus Christ.

A national awareness project, “Branded for Jesus” was launched in Pretoria today – their aim, to offer Christians the opportunity to show the world what team they are playing for.

During the launch, brand ambassador and ex-hostage, Monique Strydom, said that in today’s world, people are bombarded with so many brands and that there are still many who does not know that there is actually only a choice of two brands – that of the world and that of Jesus.

Ten years ago, Monique was kidnapped, together with her husband, Callie, by a Muslim extremist terrorist group. Knowing that it could cost their lives, the Strydoms opted to tell the rebels that they were Christians. They were not killed for this, but in the end this admittance offered them the opportunity to testify. “We could not share our belief with the rebels, as many of them could not speak English, but our testimony was in what we did”, Monique recalled. “We treated everyone with respect, including the rebels. We shared whatever we had, we helped whomever we could help. It did make an impact. One day, the rebel leader who was a notorious killer said to Callie that if Callie is ever wounded in a military attack, he would carry Callie out himself”

Monique Strydom is now showing her choice for Jesus by becoming one of the brand ambassadors for the “Branded for Jesus” project. This national project uses the very recognizable symbol of the Fishhook, a project that was launched in South Africa 12 years ago. The symbol has three elements, namely an anchor (“I am anchored in Christ”), the fish (“I am filled with the holy spirit”) and the hook (“Let’s hook people for Christ”). In 1997 thousands of Christians wore this symbol to show their commitment and the organizers hope that this year thousands again will wear this symbol to show that they are “Branded for Jesus”.

“We hope that Christians will ‘hook’ many people for Christ during 2010. Thousands of visitors will be coming to South Africa, with more than 500 missionary groups”, Monique stated. Not to mention the soccer stars themselves. It is a well-known fact that superstarts like Kaka, Lúcio, Zé Roberto, and Cacau openly profess their faith during matches by either wearing undershirts with a Christian message, or consistently making the sign of the cross throughout the game.

But wearing a recognizable symbol also brings greater responsibility. “Christians must also realize that by wearing a pin that says ‘I am branded for Jesus’, we need to show it in our lifestyle. We need to live the fruits of the spirit and for instance not show signs to people in traffic!”, she laughs.

Christian leaders like Angus Buchan and Gretha Widd, as well as celebrities like Arnold Geerdts, Pierre Spies, Morne Steyn have joined the group in being “branded for Jesus”.

An added bonus of this project is that many Christian charities, schools and ministries will be able to benefit by the funds raised. More than 80% of the funds raised will be donated to Kingdom ministries. “This is once again a sample of Christians not only stating their belief, but putting it into action by helping others in need”, said Monique.
The “Branded for Jesus” pin can be ordered online of found at participating bookstores. For more info on Branded for Jesus, visit www.brandedforjesus.com.

"I am branded for Jesus"

Gerhard Steyn has chosen to be branded for Jesus!

Soccer star for Christ - Kaka

A devout evangelical Christian, Kaká became engrossed in religion at the age of 12: "I learnt that it is faith that decides whether something will happen or not." He removed his jersey to reveal an "I Belong to Jesus" t-shirt and openly engaged in prayer moments after the final whistle of Brazil's 2002 World Cup, and Milan's 2004 Scudetto and 2007 Champions League triumphs. He also had the same phrase, along with "God Is Faithful," stitched onto the tongues of his boots.[34] During the postmatch celebration following Brazil's 4–1 win over Argentina in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup final, he and several of his teammates wore t-shirts that read "Jesus Loves You" in various languages.

I am branded for Jesus (and playing for the right team!)

I am branded for Jesus because I'm hopelessly in love with Him and would rather wear and display His symbols, than the world's.

2Tim 1:8 Do not blush or be ashamed then, to testify to and for our Lord.

I truly like the symbolism of the anchor, hook and fish, because our mandate in the Kingdom is to be fishers of people. The catching of fish also indicates the miraculous nature of the God we serve - He is a God Who supply more than we need!

Joh 21:6 So he told them, "Let your net down on the right side of your boat, and you will catch some fish." They did, and the net was so full of fish that they could not drag it up into the boat.

Hanli Marais - Abundant Fire Ministries (www.abundantfire.co.za)

Official launch

"Branded for Jesus" will be officialy launched on 9 April 2010. Keep watching this space!