Theology

 *31/03/2021* *MID-WEEK SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* THEME: *JESUS CHRIST* TOPIC: *JESUS* (Gk. Iesous) SUB-TOPIC: *THE CROSS OF JESUS* WE RECEIVE FORGIVENESS THROUGH THE CROSS 1 John 2:1 With fatherly concern, the aged apostle John addresses his readers affectionately as *children* *that you may not sin*: John's statements about sin (John 1:8,10) were designed to make believers aware of sin's ever-present danger and to put them on guard against it. According to Greek grammar, the *if* before *anyone sins* carries the added sense of "and it is assumed that we all do". This statement is not an encouragement to sin but a warning to all Christians to be on guard against sinful tendencies. When we sin, Jesus represents us to plead our cause in heaven's court. Satan, on the other hand, is the accuser of believers. Zechariah 3 Revelation 12:10 *Copyright 2021* *The Ecumenican Church Nigeria* Instagram: *@ecumenicanchurch* WhatsApp: *+2348052366039* Email: *john

 *28/03/2021* *FOURTH SUNDAY SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* THEME: *JESUS CHRIST* TOPIC: *JESUS*I (Gk. Iesous) SUB-TOPIC: *THE CROSS OF JESUS* WE RECEIVE FORGIVENESS THROUGH THE CROSS Colossians 1:14 The Greek word *redemption* points naturally to the payment of a price or ransom for the release of a slave. The slavery from which believers are released is not physical but spiritual. They are freed from bondage to sin by *forgiveness of sins* through the blood of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:7 *Copyright 2021* *The Ecumenican Church Nigeria* Instagram: *@ecumenicanchurch* WhatsApp: *+2348052366039* Email: *johnifesanya@gmail.com* *www.johnifesanya.blogspot.com* *#TEC#*

 *24/03/2021* *MID-WEEK SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* THEME: *JESUS CHRIST* TOPIC: *JESUS* (Gk. Iesous) SUB-TOPIC: *THE CROSS OF JESUS* WE RECEIVE FORGIVENESS THROUGH THE CROSS Colossians 1:13 God has liberated believers from the dominion of darkness. The apostle uses the common symbolism of light and darkness for good and evil, for God's kingdom and Satan's Kingdom, that is found throughout the New Testament. The kingdom from which believers have been rescued is the kingdom of darkness. John 1:4-9; Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 1:5. *Copyright 2021* *The Ecumenican Church Nigeria* Instagram: *@ecumenicanchurch* WhatsApp: *+2348052366039* Email: *johnifesanya@gmail.com* *www.johnifesanya.blogspot.com* *#TEC#*

 *21/03/2021* *THIRD SUNDAY SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* THEME: *JESUS CHRIST* TOPIC: *JESUS* (Gk. Iesous) SUB-TOPIC: *THE CROSS OF JESUS* WE BECOME ACCEPTABLE TO GOD THROUGH THE CROSS 2 Corinthians 5:21 Jesus never did anything wrong. Yet He died for our sins, so that we could be declared righteous, that is to say, justified. God could change His relationship toward us because our sins have been imputed (reckoned) to Christ, instead of to us. In other words, God placed our sins on Christ, who knew no sin. His death was in our place and for our sins. *If we believe in Jesus*, God counts Jesus' righteousness as our righteousness. *Copyright 2021* *The Ecumenican Church Nigeria* Instagram: *@ecumenicanchurch* WhatsApp: *+2348052366039* Email: *johnifesanya@gmail.com* *www.johnifesanya.blogspot.com* *#TEC#*

 *17/03/2021* *MID-WEEK SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* THEME: *JESUS CHRIST* TOPIC: *JESUS* (Gk. Iesous) SUB-TOPIC: *THE CROSS OF JESUS* A NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH THE CROSS Because God is so holy and righteous, sin separates us from Him. No one with sin in their hearts is able to be in His presence. So, not only by dying on the Cross did Jesus suffer for our sins in our place, but also He made it possible for us to know God personally and to experience the love, peace and joy which fellowship with Him brings. *N.B.* *JESUS IS THE BEGINNING OF INCREASE* The beginning has not begun without CHRIST. Come to the CROSS OF JESUS. Surrender your LIFE to Christ. *Copyright 2021* *The Ecumenican Church Nigeria* Instagram: *@ecumenicanchurch* WhatsApp: *+2348052366039* Email: *johnifesanya@gmail.com* *www.johnifesanya.blogspot.com* *#TEC#*

 *DATING THE MILESIAN ARRIVAL IN IRELAND* *In the transfer of the Davidic throne from Judah to Ireland, a princess of the house of David married a man of Milesian royal lineage who either was or soon became the King of Ireland - or whose child with the Davidic princess sat on the Irish throne. We can be confident that this marriage took place at the time of the prophet Jeremiah, who - sometimes identified with the ancient Irish historical figure Ollam Fodhla - evidently supervised the transplanting of the monarchy* How can we know this happened in Jeremiah's day? Certainly by scriptural indications - but also by understanding, from historical clues, approximately what time the Milesians invaded Ireland. For the transfer of the Davidic throne had to have taken place either after Milesian rule over Ireland commenced or shortly before - the latter case meaning that the Milesian takeover of Ireland was actually part of the process of transferring the Davidic throne. Unfortunately, the

 *14/03/2021* *SECOND SUNDAY SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* THEME: *JESUS CHRIST* TOPIC: *JESUS* (Gk. Iesous) SUB-TOPIC: *THE CROSS OF JESUS* JESUS TOOK THE PUNISHMENT FOR OUR SINS ON THE CROSS 1 Peter 2:24 *who Himself bore our sins*: The Greek wording emphasizes Jesus' personal involvement in the act of paying the price for our sins. It also emphasizes that it is our sins that Jesus bore on the Cross. *The tree* is the Cross. The purpose of Christ's bearing our sins is that we might live to please Him. The Greek word for stripes is singular rather than plural. Thus our spiritual healing comes neither from Jesus' day-to-day sufferings nor from His sufferings that led to the Cross, but from the one ultimate wound - His death. *Copyright 2021* *The Ecumenican Church Nigeria* Instagram: *@ecumenicanchurch* WhatsApp: *+2348052366039* Email: *johnifesanya@gmail.com* *www.johnifesanya.blogspot.com* *#TEC#*

 *THE COLCHIS CONNECTION* Besides Cecrops of Athens, some have identified Zerah's descendant Calcol or Chalcol with the land of Colchis, a "nearly triangular region at the eastern end of the Black Sea south of the Caucasus, in the western part of the modern (former) Georgian S.S.R." ("Colchis," Encyclopedia Britannica, Micropaedia, 1985, Vol 3, p.443). This location makes it contiguous with ancient Iberia - the land of the Hebrews. Continuing on: "In Greek mythology Colchis was the home of Medea (daughter of King Aeetes and possessesor of the famous golden fleece) and the destination of (Jason and the Argonauts (sailors of Argos of the Danoi, who were likely Danites), a land of fabulous wealth and the domain of sorcery" (p.443) - which any land of superior technological ability and perhaps prophets (be they true or false) might seem. First-century B.C. historian Diodorus of Sicily has identified Argos and Colchis with the Israelites who emigrated from

 *10/03/2021* *MID-WEEK SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* THEME: *JESUS CHRIST* TOPIC: *JESUS* (Gk. Iesous) SUB-TOPIC: *THE CROSS OF JESUS* JESUS TOOK THE PUNISHMENT FOR OUR SINS ON THE CROSS Isaiah 53:5,6 The repetition of the pronouns *He*, *Him* and *His* for *our* and *we* underscores the fact that the Servant suffered in our place. *The chastisement*... *His stripes*: For a similar reference, see 1 Peter 2:24. *Peace* sums up the Servant's ministry of reconciliation, justification, adoption and glorification (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). By saying that they were *healed* (Isaiah 53:4), the remnant expressed its *faith* in what God had announced in Isaiah 52:13. *All we like sheep have gone astray*: For a New Testament perspective, see 1 Peter 2:25. *Copyright 2021* *The Ecumenican Church Nigeria* Instagram: *@ecumenicanchurch* WhatsApp: *+2348052366039* Email: *johnifesanya@gmail.com* *www.johnifesanya.blogspot.com* *#TEC#*

 *07/03/2021* *FIRST SUNDAY SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* THEME: *JESUS CHRIST* TOPIC: *JESUS* (Gk. Iesous) SUB-TOPIC: *THE CROSS OF JESUS* GOD REMOVED OUR SORROWS ON THE CROSS Isaiah 53:4 The Saviour Jesus came to suffer and die for the sins of others (Isaiah 53:6,11,12; Matthew 8:17; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 2:24). Griefs - or pain - and sorrows - or sickness - refer to the consequences of sin. The people considered Christ to have been *smitten by God* because the law said, "he who is hanged (on a tree) is accursed of God" (Deuteronomy 21:22,23; Galatians 3:13). *Copyright 2021* *The Ecumenican Church Nigeria* Instagram: *@ecumenicanchurch* WhatsApp: *+2348052366039* Email: *johnifesanya@gmail.com* *www.johnifesanya.blogspot.com* *#TEC#*

 *BRUTUS AND THE COVENANT LAND* One King of Trojan descent of whom we have record was mentioned at the outset of this publication - *Brutus or Brwt, the first King of Britain, from whom Britain is understood to have derived its name.* Notice the following from an old British history published in 1661. "In the time of King Edward I (1272-1307). At Lincolne, where (was) held a Parliament, after much diligent search of antiquities... letters were sent to the Pope of Rome, sealed with an hundred seals and witnesses... wherein is declared and justified that in the time of Hely (Eli) and Samuel the Prophet (that is, ca.1100 B.C.), *Brutus a Trojan landed here, and by his own name called the Country Britannia*, before named Albion" (Percy Enderbie, Cambria Triumphans, or Britain in its Perfect Luster). The account goes on to describe how the nation was divided between his sons into three parts - Loegria, Albania and Cambria (later known as England, Scotland and Wales respectively).

 *ZERAH AND THE LINE OF DARDANUS* Sir Williams Smith's Dictionary of the Bible notes that the first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus used Dardanus as the Greek form of a biblical name: "Darda... Joseph (us) Dardanos, Darda..." (1863, Vol.1, p.397). Darda, or Dara, is listed in Scripture as a son of Judah's son Zerah - the same Zerah who had received the scarlet thread upon his wrist in Genesis 38. "The sons of Zerah were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol and Dara - five of them in all" (1 Chronicles 2:6). In 1 Kings 4:31, he is called Darda: "For (Solomon) was wiser than all men - than Ethan the Ezrahite (i.e Zerahite or Zarhite), and Heman, Chalcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations". Yet how could some of these men be sons of Mahol if they were sons of Zerah? A clue occurs in the title of Psalm 89, which gives the author as Ethan the Ezrahite - who obviously lived after David since the psalm speaks of

 *POLITICAL NEWS* *Will NATO leadership shift from America to Germany?* An analysis piece in *The Washington Times* noted that "in response to a perception among many in the European Union that the United States has mismanaged the coronavirus outbreak, EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell told an audience in Berlin... that some European analysts had been talking more and more about the 'end of an American-led system and the arrival of an Asian century'. The 27-nation bloc, he concluded, should therefore 'follow our own interests'" (Daniel Davis, "Transitioning NATO into a European-Led Force", May 31,2020). The article contends that Borrell has a point, stating: "A wealthy, strong and - critically - independent Europe is in America's interest. A re-evaluation of the trans-Atlantic relationship is long overdue... The first NATO Secretary-General, Lord Hastings Ismay, famously said that NATO existed to 'keep the Soviets out, the Americans in,

 *ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL NEWS* *Iran-China 25-year cooperation plan* A special report from BESA Center (the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies) points to major developments in Asia. Titled *"The Iran-China 25-Year Plan: A Preliminary Assessment"* (Ofira Seliktar and Farhad Rezaei, BesaCenter.org, July 21, 2020), it presents this analysis: "On June 23, 2020, the Iranian government announced the Iran-China 25 Year Comprehensive Partnership ... It amounts to an unprecedented economic, military and technological collaboration between the two states. Relations between Beijing and Tehran ... have blossomed under Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is pushing China's ambitious *Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)*. According to China, the BRI aims to create a huge unified market in Asia, the Middle East and *Africa* through  massive investment in infrastructure, education and technology. Critics view the BRI as a thinly disguised effort to achieve Chinese domination over a l

 *03/03/2021* *MID-WEEK SERVICE* *40 DAYS FASTING AND PRAYERS* THEME: *JESUS CHRIST* TOPIC: *JESUS* (Gk. Iesous) SUB-TOPIC: *THE CROSS OF JESUS* GOD SHOWS HIS LOVE ON THE CROSS Romans 5:8 Apostle Paul explains the nature of God's love. God loved us when we were still without strength and ungodly. God loved us so much He sent His Son to die for us. *God loves us just the way we are, but He loves us too much to leave us the way we are* John 15:16; Phillipians 1:6. *Copyright 2021* *The Ecumenican Church Nigeria* Instagram: *@ecumenicanchurch* WhatsApp: *+2348052366039* Email: *johnifesanya@gmail.com* *www.johnifesanya.blogspot.com* *#TEC#*

 *THE ROYAL HOUSE OF TROY* The traditional founder of Troy's famed royal house was Dardanus, a few generations prior to Tros and Ilus: "Dardanus, in Greek legend, the son of Zeus and the Pleiad Electra, mythical founder of Dardania on the Hellespont (the nearby strait separating Dardania from Hellas or Greece now called the Dardanelles). He was the ancestor of the Dardans of the Troad (the region surrounding Troy)... "According to tradition ... Dardanus fled from Arcadia (in the middle of Mycenaean Greece) across the sea to Samothrace (a northern Aegean island). When that island was visited by a flood, he crossed over to the Troad ... Being hospitably received by Teucer (ruler of Phrygia), he married Teucer's daughter Bateia and became the founder of the royal house of Troy"  ("Dardanus, "Encyclopedia Britannica, Micropaedia, 1985, Vol.3, p.884). In his acclaimed *Story of Civilization*, historian Will Durant writes: "Who were the Trojans? An Egypt

 *THE FOUNDER OF ATHENS* The Mycenaean house of Atreus also traced its lineage to Zeus (i.e. Judah). And considering the Mount Zara rising above Mycenae, it would seem that this royal line, like that of Troy, sprang from Zerah. Indeed, remember that the Zarhite Dardanus actually came from this area of Greece. Thus it would appear that the Jewish Cretan royal family, evidently of Zerah, was split-with one line going to northwest Turkey and the other going to Mycenaean Greece. Yet they were fused back together when Dardanus married Teucer's daughter and founded Troy. How, then, does all of this relate to the Milesians? The father of Ireland's Milesian dynasty from Spain is sometimes given as Miledh, Golamh or Gathelus. He is often called the son of Nel (also Niul or Neolus) - surely the Neleus from whom the Milesians of Asia Minor traced their descent. But Gathelus is sometimes referred to as the son of Cecrops, the founder of Athens in Greek mythology. The Mycenaean Greeks also