https://linktr.ee/mothxandxrust

Moth & Rust, Lexington, KY (2026)

02/28/2026

Psalm of The Foreign Throne
Psalmus Contra Thronum Alienum

02/18/2026

Lent / Ash Wednesday

What is Lent?

~ 40 day season of fasting, repentance, and prayer
~ Begins on Ash Wednesday
~ Ends at the start of the Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday Evening)
~ Initially a 1-2 day fast before Easter (2nd century)
~ Standardized 40-day period developed (4th century)
~ Originally served for public repentance and preparation of catechumens (new converts preparing for baptism)

Ash Wednesday / Ash Imposition:

~ First day of lent
~ 46 days before Easter (40 fasting days, excluding sundays)
~ Ashes typically made from previous years burned palm branches symbolizing last year’s praise reduced to humility and offered again in repentance
~ Ashes placed on the forehead in the sign of the cross “I am Dust”
~ Ashes act as a sign of mourning (Esther 4:1), repentance (Jonah 3:6), humility (Job 42:6), Mortality (Genesis 3:19)

*Earliest authoritative written account of a 40-day Lenten fast comes from the Canon 5 of the Council of Nicea (325 AD)

Why 40 days?

~ Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness
~ Israel’s 40 years in the desert
~ Moses’ 40 days on Sinai
~ Noah’s 40 days of rain
~ Elijah’s 40-day journey to Horeb

Celebrating Lent:

~ Formally observed by Catholic, Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, and some liturgical Protestants
~ Eastern Orthodox do not practice ash imposition
~ Prayer - deepened devotion and reflection
~ Fasting - Abstaining from certain foods (ex. meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all other fridays during Lent)
~ Almsgiving - Giving to the poor and acts of mercy
~ Self Examination - Repentance and spiritual renewal

Common Rejections of Lent:

~ Many Protestant groups do not observe Lent
~ Regulative Principle of Worship - Corporate worship is only authorized by God through scripture
~ Shallow practice; critics argue modern observance has become trivialized, reducing deep spiritual reflection to a “self help project”
~ Criticized for promoting “works-based” righteousness
~ Repentance and devotion are daily requirements/ not seasonal

02/16/2026

The New Testament

“New Covenant”
Greek - kainē diathēkē
Latin - Novum Testamentum

Composition / Historical Context (45 - 100 AD):

~ Written in Koine Greek
~ Collection of 27 books traditionally divided in four sections (Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, Letters, Apocalyptic Literature)
~ Proclaim Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
~ Documents the rise of the early Church and Christian persecution
~ Emerged during Roman Imperial rule / Second Temple period Judaism

Authors and Canonization:

~ Authors of some books debated by modern scholarship
~ Traditional Authors include - Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter, and Jude
~ Early church evaluated texts based on Apostolic Origin, Orthodox Teaching, Widespread Use, and Antiquity / Divine Inspiration (Depending on your scholarly or theological approach)
~ Muratorian Fragment (170 AD) - Lists majority of NT books
~ Athanasius of Alexandria (367 AD) - Lists all the 27 books
~ Councils of Hippo and Carthage (393 - 397 AD) - Affirm 27 books
~ Major codices such as Sinaiticus and Vaticanus (4th century) - contain 27-book NT
~ 27-book New Testament was universally accepted across East and West (5th century)
~ All 3 major historic Christian traditions; Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestants all affirm the same 27 book cannon (Martin Luther did question the books of James, Hebrew, Jude, and Revelation during the reformation, but they were never removed; they were moved to a separate appendix at the end)

Most Preserved and Studied Ancient Literary Corpus:

~ 5,800+ Greek manuscripts
~ 10,000+ Latin manuscripts
~ 9000+ Syriac, Coptic, Slavic, Gothic, etc.
~ Papyrus 52 “Rylands Fragment” (125 - 150 AD) - Fragment of John’s Gospel, earliest known NT manuscript
~ Papyrus 66 (200 AD) - near-complete John
~ Papyrus 75 (late 2nd / early 3rd century) - Luke & John
~ Codex Sinaiticus (325 - 360 AD)
~ Codex Vaticanus (300 - 325 AD)

* image of Papyrus 37 (260 AD) - Matt 26:19-25

02/15/2026

The Septuagint LXX

The translation of the Seventy:

~ Latin: Septuaginta
~ Abbreviated LXX (Roman numeral 70)
~ Earliest known Greek translation of Hebrew Scriptures

Translation Tradition:

~ Preserved by the letter of Aristeas (early 2nd century BC), Jewish historian Josephus, the Talmud
~ 6 scholars from each of the 12 tribes (72 total) working individually produced identical translations
~ Commissioned by Ptolemy II Philadelphus (reigned 285–246 BCE) to include Jewish Law in the Library of Alexandria and to provide Greek speaking Jews a translation of scripture
~ 72 days to complete

Historical Reality (Scholarly Consensus):

~ The Pentateuch (Torah) likely translated early 3rd century
~ Produced by Alexandrian Jews
~ By the 3rd century many Jews in Egypt no longer spoke fluent Hebrew
~ Motive being practical and pastoral, not imperial
~ Likely a community project, not a sponsored product

Contents:

~ The Pentateuch (Torah)
~ Prophets (Nei’ivm) and Writings (Ketuvim)
~ Deuterocanonical (Apocrypha) texts not preserved in later Masoretic canon including - Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), and Baruch, along with additional sections in Daniel and Esther
~ Reflects the Scriptural library of Greek-speaking Judaism, not a fixed official canon

Early Christianity:

~ Foundational text in Early Church History
~ Divinely Inspired “Old Testament” translation defended by early church fathers such as Justin Martyr, Origen of Alexandria, Irenaeus, and Augustine of Hippo
~ Majority of Old Testament quotations (90 - 95%) by New Testament authors follow The LXX wording rather than the later Masoretic Text; ex. Isaiah 7:14 translates the Hebrew ‘almah “young woman” using the Greek parthenos “virgin” ref. by Matthew (1:27) and Luke (1:27,34)
~ Oldest surviving codices include Codex Vaticanus (4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (4th century), and Codex Alexandrinus (5th century)

02/14/2026

Formation of Hebrew Scriptures (Tanakh)

Oral Traditions and Early Writings (1200 - 900 BC):

~ Early Israelite religion emerges Late Bronze / Early Iron Age
~ Stories of patriarchs (Abraham, Issac, Jacob), the Exodus, and early tribal traditions are preserved orally
~ Writing systems (derived from Phoenician scripts) in use by the 10th century BC, enabling traditions to be recorded

Monarchical Period (1000 - 586 BC):

~ Torah begins development from narrative sources, priestly materials, and legal codes
~ During the reign of King Josiah, High Priest Hilkiah discovers “Book of the Law” during temple repairs (622 BC)
~ Prophetic collections begin forming

Babylonian Exile (586 - 539 BC):

~ Jerusalem falls to Neo-Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar II
~ Jewish Temple destroyed, elites are executed or exiled
~ Historical traditions compiled and interpreted theologically
~ Likely completion period of Deuteronomy
~ Priestly writings edited and finalized
~ Exilic Prophets (ex. Ezekiel) written

Persian Period (53 - 332 BC):

~ Babylon falls to Cyrus the Great, exiled Jews allowed to return home
~ Second Temple completion (516 BC)
~ The Torah becomes authoritative
~ Figures like Ezra portrayed as public readers and teachers of the law (Nehemiah 😎

Hellenistic Period (33 - 63 BC):

~ Conquests of Alexander the Great, Judea falls under Greek influence
~ Torah translated into Greek in Alexandria (3rd century)
~ The Septuagint LXX - Greek translation of Jewish scriptures including additional writings referred to as the Apocrypha (Deuterocanonical)
~ Writings (Ketuvim) such as Daniel, Ecclesiastes, and others are composed or finalized

Roman Period - Canon Consolidation (1st - 2nd Century AD):

~ Second Temple destruction (70 AD)
~ Tripartite structure recognized (Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim)
~ 24 Book canon widely accepted (Equal to 39 book Protestant Old Testament canon)

Masoretic Text (6th - 10th century AD):

~ Scribes preserve & standardize text
~ Add vowel pointing to preserve pronunciation
~ Standardized consonantal text
~ Preserved marginal notes to prevent copy error

*Image of Codex Sassoon (10th century)

02/12/2026

What is the Holy Bible?

Anthology of texts, not a single book:

~ 24 books (The Tanakh) “Old Testament”
~ 66-81 books (66-Protestant, 73-Catholic, 76-81 Eastern Orthodox, 81 Ethiopian Orthodox)
~ Written across 3 continents (Europe, Asia, and Africa)
~ 3 different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek)
~ 40+ authors
~ Over an approximated 1500 years

Contains various literary styles:

~ Narrative History, Law (Holiness Code), Poetry and Songs, Prophecy, Gospels, Epistles (Letters), and Apocalyptic Literature

Authored by:

~ Kings, Prophets, Priests, Shepherds, Fishermen, A Physician, and A Tentmaker (former religious leader / early christian persecutor)
~ Some authors unknown - Some by tradition

Most extensively attested work in antiquity:

~ 5,800 Greek manuscripts
~ 10,000+ Latin manuscripts
~ 9,000+ Syriac, Coptic, Slavic, etc.

Most translated and distributed literary work in human history (Guinness World Records):

~ Complete translations in over 700 languages
~ New Testament translations in nearly 1800 other languages
~ Partial translations in another 1500 languages

Beautifully unified literary network, not isolated books:

~ In 2007 Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild created a data visualization project depicting the Bibles literary and structural interconnection using the 66 book Protestant canon.
~ 63,779 cross-references

Now to answer the question: What is the Bible?

Answer: God’s word 📖

2 Timothy 3: 16-17

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.”

02/09/2026

Behold the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand!

Just over a year ago, I shared that I was discerning a call to ministry. Since then, I’ve spent a lot of time wrestling with my beliefs, reconnecting with my faith, and grounding myself in my relationship with Our Lord.

Christ calls His Church to make disciples of all nations - That they may be one. Through Christ-centered theological conversation and faithful obedience to the teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, Moth & Rust Ministries exists to pursue unity across faith traditions, not to blur convictions, but to refine them by fixing our eyes on the truth in Christ.

Honesty disclaimer:

✖️I’m in no way qualified.
✖️I’ll probably make a million mistakes.
✖️I’m not even sure what we’ll talk about.

🖤 Going to do it anyway
🙏🏼 It’s going to be okay.
☦️ Jesus loves you

Welcome to Moth & Rust Ministries

Matthew 6: 19-21

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Moth & Rust

02/28/2026

02/18/2026

02/16/2026

02/15/2026

02/14/2026

02/12/2026

02/09/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category