David’s sin was a very public sin. Perhaps the death of his son was a sign to him and to the people of Israel that David was forgiven. David surely accepted his child’s death in that way. Is that perhaps the meaning of II Samuel 12:13-14? Read on through verses 15-23. Note David’s response when he heard that the child was dead: “Can I bring him back again? I will go to him; but he cannot return to me.” David was a believer in Jesus. He accepted God’s will for his child. He knew the joy of his child in heaven.

July 25, 2006. WELS Q & A – Death Punishment

Comment: What do you think?

The Davidic Empire, which archaeologists once thought as incontrovertible as the Roman, is now seen as an invention of Jerusalem-based priests in the seventh and eighth centuries B.C. who were eager to burnish their national history.

Lazare, Daniel. False Testament – Archaeology refutes the Bible’s claim to history
March 2002. Harper’s Magazine
cited by: October 18, 2004. Christian News, Vol. 42, No. 40, p. 5

Comment: They can try to refute the Davidic kingdom as much as they want, but the reality is: the throne of David still has a King sitting on it. And thank God he still extends the power and peace of his kingdom to us, who originally had been outside of it.

The particular sect thought to be associated with the origin of The Gospel of Judas was known as the Cainites. The peculiar teachings of this sect included the rehabilitation of many characters presented negatively in the Bible -- starting with Cain. In essence, the Cainites attempted to take the negative figures of the Bible and present them in a heroic light. In order to do this, of course, they had to create alternative texts and an alternative rendering of the story of Jesus.

Mohler, R. Albert Jr. Responding to The Gospel of Judas
April 11, 2006. Crosswalk.com

Comment: It is so bizarre (and obviously devilish) that some would try to put Gnostic writings on the same level as the inspired Scriptures.

[The] tolerant policy of the founder of the Persian Empire [Cyrus the Great] is bourne out by the discovery of a 23 cm (9 in) clay cylinder found at Babylon from the time of its conquest, 539 BC, which reports Cyrus’ victory and his subsequent policy of permitting Babylonian captives to return to their homes and even rebuild their temples.

Evidence Supports the Biblical Record, p. 6
October 18, 2004. Christian News, Vol. 42, No. 40, p. 5

(Pittsburgh) It could be called a mechanical miracle — a robot that walks on water. With inspiration from nature and some help from research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a team led by Carnegie Mellon engineering professor Metin Sitti built a tiny robot that can walk on water, much like the insects known as water skimmers or Jesus bugs.

The MIT team discovered that water striders move by pushing down on the surface of water with enough force to create valleys, but not enough to break the surface. The water then bounces back like a trampoline to push the insect forward.

Sitti’s robot weighs about a gram, about the same as half a dime.

Crissey, Mike. Engineer Builds Robot That Walks on Water
September 10, 2004. Associated Press - Science

Comment: I don’t think Jesus or Peter weighed a dime. Man is quite ingenious, but there are some miracles that just can't be matched!