Biblical figures who really existed ?

[_Bret Ripley]

What about John the Baptist....didn't Josephus write about him?

John is mentioned in Antiquities, but some scholars question whether the passage in question was penned by Josephus or was a later addition. If the passage was a later addition it was quite early, since it is quoted by a church father (Origen) in the 3rd century.

[_Bret Ripley]

Is he a bad guy or a good guy? I get confused.

Me too, but I think our mutual confusion generally stems from bad acting and just plain-old awful writing

True dat.

[_Brackite]

King David

[_kairos]

peter james and john because they came to the united states and laid hands on joseph smith - he even got a key out of it. if you search patmos john will be found according to joseph. as the story goes peter and james were sent from heaven at the speed of light while john had to hitchhike from patmos, lay hands on Joseph Smith then get on a greyhound bus an go back to the island. if you go there john is the guy squatting smoking a cigarette and knocking back scotch just waiting. he has not had a bath in like 2000 years so he lives alone.

jus sayin ;-)

[_huckelberry]

I think finding any direct evidence of Abraham is so improbable that if something was found it would be assumed to be a late forgery. A long vetting could only at best decrease doubt. There is no reason for there to be any reference to a camel driver in an obscure poor region three thousand five hundred years ago. There are no local newspapers for the time.

A few big people like kings and emperors get historical notice. The vast army of humanity is unknown. This would get only more extreme looking back more than 1500 years ago. Individual good guys in the Bible are not historical celebrities known about the world. Only a few Biblical kings get notice. Assyrians would not have been following news of Elijah.

[_Bret Ripley]

King David

Historians everywhere tremble in anticipation of your evidence.

[_lulu]

Roman officials mentioned by name in New Testament.

[Guest]

Ya know......if Mount Rushmore is any sort of real evidence the latest on The Apocalrock is John the Revelator writing his vision of The Beast and the False Prophet. These two have pristine portraitures in fall colors. No I will not show this board anymore sightings. Phffft!

Sightings of Bible/Book of Mormon figures discovered on The Apocalrock:
The Godhead
The Father
The Sophia
Adam and Eve
The snake
Lucifer....on the sides of the North away from The Apocalrock
Cherubim
Noah with animals
Mahonri Moriancumur with barge
Abraham circumcising an eight day old male
Abraham and Isaac
Moses
Moses with the law
Samson
David and Goliath
Bathsheba
Solomon
Lehi, Nephi, Sam, Joseph, and Laman with ship
Mary and Joseph
John the Baptist
Jesus as a baby
Jesus as a young boy
Jesus crushing the head of the serpent
Jesus judging the wicked
Jesus rising straightway out of the water at his baptism with the sign of the dove
Jesus praying in the garden
Christ standing in front of Caiaphas
Christ looking at Peter as the cock crows (presumably)
Jesus before the first nail seeing the Jews hide their faces from him
A most sublime portrait of Christ as if rendered by Rembrandt
Mormon abridging gold plates with Moroni watching out for him
The Angel Moroni presenting an opened book.
The Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Lamb of God, the gathering hen and the gentile dog
The whore of all the earth........not actually on The Apocalrock but directly tied to it by way of a fallen church committing a whoredom with her and a king of the earth who uncovers his nakedness before her..........it's all in the scriptures folks.

Modern Characters:
Joseph Smith
Hyrum Smith
Willard Richards
John Taylor
Lorenzo Snow
Two men with painted faces shooting a gun
James Muir

Abstracts of scriptures portrayed:
The gospel of Jesus Christ artistically made the focal point of the entire event.
The mocking of Christ by the LDS Church
The Blasphemy of Satan worship lifted up before Christ
The image of Nebuchadnezzar toes being smote by a rock cut out of the mountain without hands.
Those same toes shown trampling upon the Holy One of Israel convicting the LDS Church who on being confronted by The Apocalrock with apostasy. Joseph sent them here to fulfill this Strange Act.
In scale the head to these toes lying in the dust would reach to LDS Church Headquarters no less.
Issiah's ensign lifted up in the last days far from Jerusalem on the top of the mountain.
Three mountain images I was shown in a vivid dream over twenty-five years before I discovered them precisely hidden in the face of The Apocalrock showing that this Strange Act is my destiny to unfold and declare.

Deny it, I dare ya.

[_Madison54]

King David

Historians everywhere tremble in anticipation of your evidence.

Hey Bret, what's your opinion of the Tel Dan inscription?
(I just remember reading about it a year or so ago, but know nothing about it.)

[_Aristotle Smith]

What about John the Baptist....didn't Josephus write about him?

John is mentioned in Antiquities, but some scholars question whether the passage in question was penned by Josephus or was a later addition. If the passage was a later addition it was quite early, since it is quoted by a church father (Origen) in the 3rd century.

Most scholars don't doubt that John the Baptist passage in Josephus.

Josephus mentions Jesus twice. One of those passages is thought to have been expanded by later Christian scribes. This is the passage that goes by the name Testimonium Flavianum. Historical Jesus scholar John P. Meier probably makes the best case that the passage originally mentioned Jesus in a very matter of fact way, but that hints that portray Josephus as some sort of crypto-Christian are probably a later addition.