October Newsletter: Comic Cons, Customs and Questions

Peek at the Book of Esther

In this image, you can see the scribes writing in the ancient languages of the day, a messenger drawn from contemporary reference including a Persian rug that has been preserved for 2500 years! 

Here is a review of the Book of Esther, from Bible Scholar Christopher R. Smith who consults for us:

https://goodquestionblog.com/2019/09/13/esther-in-the-word-for-word-bible-comic-another-tour-de-force/?fbclid=IwAR2oYwB_UW41SoaUt6vfjIyOaoTne-InUBgWysgnB2j-RQoD_b_xRvRvE8A
 

Christmas post, Customs and Brexit. 

We'd love to ensure that if you live outside the UK that we can provide your Christmas orders on time.

Anything we post after October 31st may be delayed*

So please place your Christmas orders before the end of this month :
https://www.wordforwordbiblecomic.com/buy

*After Brexit everything posted out to the EU from the UK will be subject to new customs checks.

We have been advised by Royal Mail that all orders destined for the EU will have to be accompanied by customs paperwork (something we currently don't need).

We suspect that this extra documentation may create some delay in processing not just to the EU but all outgoing postage and the situation will be compounded by the busy period in the run-up to Christmas.

We are hopeful everything will turn out just fine but would hate for anyone to be disappointed.

Five Question Survey 

Please take a minute to fill in this very short multiple-choice survey. It is about the Bible translation inside the Word for Word Bible Comic and if you think it should change to a modern translation like the NIV or NLT.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/BC3XTLM

Radio interview UCB2

At the end of September, myself and my wife Siân were interviewed on USB2 Radio. You can listen now to the interview about our journey, our faith and what it has been like working on the Bible Comic. (~35min, please listen before it expires) 

https://soundcloud.com/ucbmedia/this-is-my-story-sian-simon-amadeus-pillario-word-for-word-bible-comic?fbclid=IwAR0ls23ftwDn6XzU75jAXetsZ2-Y1doe6vIHRJBXKtO5MT32P02i82mNI_0

Comic Cons 

This month we have two big Comic Cons. 

First on Oct 19-20th, Bristol Comic and Gaming Con. This is the first con in Bristol from organisers UKCGF in Bristol and they seem to have gone all out to make it a big one. There are loads of big guests from Game of Thrones and a whole Wizarding World subevent happening at the same time at the con. If you're within a few hours drive of Bristol you should come down! (In this image you can see the GoT guests, unfortunately, James Cosmo had to cancel, but has been replaced by Julian Glover!) 

The next weekend, Oct 25th-27th, I will be in London for MCM Comic Con at the Excel arena. This is a huge event that claims to have 100,000 people passing through over the long weekend. I believe may table number is 150. So come along and come and find me. 

Progress and Prayer

I have been working my way through the nativity of Matthews gospel over the last few weeks. It has been challenging as there is so much misinformation and high expectations around this part of the story but it's looking good and now I'm just going on to the parts that cross over with Mark following Jesus' baptism.

Please pray for our time at these comic cons, that we can make the Bible available to people who would otherwise never read it and in practice that we get there ok, healthy and it goes well. 

Please continue to pray for God to have his hand on the situation regarding the Bible translations and making the right choices there, as well as helpful responses to the survey which can guide our decisions in that area. 

September Newsletter and Esther launch day!

Today is the official launch of the Book of Esther. Please help us get the words out this month! 
 

Sneak peek at the Book of Esther

This is the promotional video for The book of Esther. Please find it on YouTube and share it or go directly to it on Facebook and share it there! 

YouTube: Here
Facebook: Here   (Sharing from here on FB means the video will autoplay) 

Please tell your friends that they can preview the first chapter for free right now, by downloading the pdf here: 

• https://wordforwordbiblecomic.squarespace.com/free-preview

The book of Esther out now! Please share this video

Please be a massive help and review Esther ★★★★★

If you'd already read the book of Esther as a Kickstarter backer or preorder beneficiary please get on to Amazon and Goodreads and pop in a quick review.

It really helps the Amazon ranking and gives other prospective customers the confidence to buy a copy. We'd prefer you to purchase the book direct from our website than at Amazon though, as Amazon get about half the cover price if you do, so buying from us directly doubles your support.

Just a star rating is fine if you're in a rush.

• UK Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Esther-Bible-English-Translation/dp/0995603553/

• USA Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Esther-Bible-English-Translation/dp/0995603553

• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48115736-the-book-of-esther

In the News

We are very blessed this month to have an article about the work go out in a Christian newspaper called Challenge: The Good News Paper. Click to enlarge

View fullsize

Events

Bristol Comic and Gaming Con Oct 19th - 20th

In October, Moose events are running a big comic con on our doorstep and we have a table they have some very impressive guest lined up click to link below to see the guest list. 

UKCCGF Guestlist for Bristol 

London MCM Comic Con Oct 25th-27th

Hurrah, we got in! We will be there in the Comics Village. It's a long old event so come and find me for a chat!  Here's me with Brian Azzarello (creator of 100 Bullets comics and many more) at last years con. 

Prayer and NIV update. 

The use of the NIV is currently hanging in the balance! We are at a good place because we have gone through all the negotiations and made headway, then at the last, they sent us the contract to sign. One of the points of the contract says the formatting of the text must be in columns and the capitalisation and punctuation completely unchanged. As this is integral to what we do we need this point taken out. In order for that to happen, it will need to get through the NIV committee. As my wife put it, "It will take a miracle to get it through there!". So now we will know, if we get through there the Lord is with the idea to redo everything in the NIV, if it gets shut down that will be a door firmly closed on the NIV option. 

So please pray the Lord has His hand on this situation to bring the outcome he desires for this. work. 

In the news

We are very blessed this month to have an article about the work go out in a Christian newspaper called Challenge: The Good News Paper. Click to enlarge the image

View fullsize

August newsletter

(Apologies if you are a blog only follower, I sent this out to the email list but forgot to cross post here til now, doh)

Sneak peek at the Book of Esther

The Book of Esther is now printed and in the hands of our Kickstarter backers. You can preview and preorder your copy now at https://wordforwordbiblecomic.com/free-preview

In this image is the one side of the Apadana (Great Hall) at the Palace of Susa. The colour of the columns and decoration fits the most recent finds at the site. In this scene, the King entertains his many royal guests at a great banquet. 

Endorsement

Here is a new endorsement for the Book of Esther from history expect and consultant on the project Prof. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones which features on the back cover of the book. 

Supporting the Word for Word Bible Comic

Many of you who I meet face-to-face are keen to support the project to help to keep going and reach more people. Here is a way a you can do this. 

• Become a Patron 

In order to make it to March 2020 without a Kickstarter, we need your help and so we'd love you consider becoming a monthly patron of the comic!

Aside from supporting us financially, you will get access to pages before anyone, be part of the creative process and be invited to Patreon exclusive video conferences where we discuss various elements of the projects and really make a difference to the project.
https://www.patreon.com/WordforWordBibleComic

PS. In the image, you can see that with the new patrons recently we've climbed another place in the "bible" search top of the pops. Even $1 patrons help us climb the ranking.

Events

• Creation Fest

Last week we went to Creation Fest in Cornwall and met many of you there! We had a good time, despite being a little disappointed in the volume of footfall within the exhibition space. We were staying in our little caravan and so had to run home before the last day due to the extreme weather warning and high winds forecast in the area at the time. 
 

• Commission: Together at Westpoint

From August 22nd-26th, we will be at Westpoint in Exeter. Again many of you on this mailing list will be there so please come along and have a chat and bring a friend to see the comics.

• Comic Cons

I have just applied for London MCM comic con and am praying we get a place this year. I also really wanted to exhibit at Thought Bubble in November but at the moment I haven't made the cut so please I'm also praying I can get in there. 

Progress

Now that Esther is complete I have begun work on Matthew, you'll see this chart fill up on the newsletter, I'll tell you more about it closer to the date of the Kickstarter in March.

Matthew's Gospel is going to be a monster in size. The Gospel of Mark had 153 comic pages, but Matthew will have over 220 comic pages plus info pages and covers! 

Prayer 

Please ask God to help us assemble an awesome prayer team to get good spiritual guidance for the project and how He will use it in the years to come. 

Next month is the launch of Esther please pray there is a good uptake and magazines and media outlets will help us get the word out.  
 

Were the guards at Jesus' Tomb Roman Soldiers or Temple Guards?

If you’ve watched a film of the death and resurrection of Christ you will probably have seen Roman soldiers protecting the tomb, like the excellent film Risen which I’d highly recommend. But were the guards actually Romans?

The text doesn’t say they were Roman soldiers* and some of the details put this in question.

(* By Roman Soldiers, this includes the local auxiliary troops for the Empire not just Italian born Legionnaires)

The tomb guards are only featured in Matthew’s gospel. This is the section, with emboldened text on the relevant parts. Matthew 27:62-28:15

The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

[…]

While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’  If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

Reasons to think they may be Romans

Roman Auxiliary

The request for the tomb to be guarded goes to Pilate, he agrees and gives the order for it to be guarded. (27:62-66)

The tomb is sealed and it is assumed that this is an imperial seal, which would be applied by the Romans. (27:66)

They are called ‘soldiers’ (στρατιώταις) not just ‘the guard’ (κουστωδίας)

Reasons to think they may be Temple Guards

Temple Guard

When Jesus is resurrected the guards report first to the chief priests and not to Pilate (28:11)

The chief priest bribe the guards to lie. While it’s possible they may have bribed Roman soldiers, bribing your own employees to lie to the Roman Governor is more likely than bribing a Roman soldier to betray his own officer to benefit the priests. Particularly if we consider the punishment that would likely be attached to such a betrayal (28:12-13)

The chief priests say they will intercede for the guards if the governor does find out. If they were Roman soldiers caught lying to their Roman officers/governor how would the priest have any sway in the matter. (28:14)

Pilate gives the order to secure the tomb he says “You have a guard. Go, make it as secure as you can” which is ambiguous as to whether he is saying to them they they have their own resources and have permission to get on with it, or if he is saying “you now have a guard.” (Matt 27:65)

We know from Roman sources that a roman soldier who fell asleep on duty could be sentenced to death. Considering the lie to be told is that the people they were posted to protect against came while we were asleep on duty and stole the very thing they were there to protect, it seems likely this would be the case. So receiving gold for this lie doesn’t seem very compelling, for a Roman if a death sentence would be the result. If they were Temple guards however, the Governor would be annoyed but not automatically have the authority to sentence them to death.

In other sources

Head of helmeted Roman auxiliary, AD113

In the extra-canonical Gospel of Peter, which is not to be held in the same status as the biblical text but an early historical source none the less, dated to around the early second century the guards are clearly Roman:

But Pilate gave over to them Petronius the centurion with soldiers to safeguard the sepulcher. And with these the elders and scribes came to the burial place. And having rolled a large stone, all who were there, together with the centurion and the soldiers, placed it against the door of the burial place. And they marked it with seven wax seals; and having pitched a tent there, they safeguarded it. (Apocryphal Gospel of Peter verse 31 and 32)

What do you think?

This is normally where one would find a conclusion, but it seems uncertain. I am keen to hear your thoughts on the matter. What is clear though is that the assumption that the night watch men were Roman troops is not so cut and dry. This is not a matter of deep spiritual significance, of course, but as we have to draw them in the Word for Word Bible Comic it’s a matter we need to consider.

Edit: Conclusion

This is an edit made 10 months after the original post, as I am about to draw the scene. Thanks to everyone who commented! I believe I will opt for drawing the gaurds as Roman Soldiers. The main reason is that they are called Soldiers in some verses, which doesn’t well describe the Temple guard as they are not part of an army. In addition, despite the fact that I think it’s strange that they reported to the High Priest first (rather than Pilate), I have now thought that perhaps they did this is because the reason they “became like dead men” was that they encountered an angel. Perhaps they thought that if the High Priest knew an angel from Heaven was involved they would not mind that their Messiah (or demigod in Roman eyes) had been taken away or risen from the dead.

Lastly, the apocryphal gospel of Peter states that they were Romans, and while it does not have any spiritual authority, it is still an account written close to the time by someone and for an audience who could well be familiar with the facts of the situation.

How long is the journey from Babylon to Bethlehem? How old was Jesus when they got there?

I'm trying to figure out roughly how old was Jesus when the Magi arrived? One of the key factors could be considered to be that they saw the star of his birth and then travelled to Jerusalem, where they tell Herod about it (Matt 2:7) and then went on to Bethlehem.

The Magi came from the East, it is believed from Babylon, so how long does it take to travel the distance. From Google Maps you can see the distance is about 1,150km.

In Ezra 7:9 we learn, Ezra's entourage (probably included children and elderly people) took four months to travel from Babylon to Jerusalem.

It's likely the Magi's caravan would have taken a little less time but they may have had to delay a while to prepare for the journey, so a few months certainly gives us a good idea.

This actually ties in with the fact that Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem for at least 40 days, until the end of Mary's 'purification'. (Luke 2:22). It seems that the couple stayed on a Bethlehem for a while, surrounded, as they would have been, by Joseph's family.

The other factor is that after discovering the time the Magi saw the star, King Herod orders children under 2 to be killed in and around Bethlehem. (Matt 2:16)

So, it seems from this baby Jesus would have been between a minimum or about 4 months and a maximum of 2 years old.

To me, Herod's paranoia is likely the element making this net wider rather than the Magi's delay in coming. This and the fact that in the chronology of Jesus' birth, Herod being alive is a factor that already moves the birth date back into what we call BC years. If Herod is alive not only for the birth but 2 years later for the 'massacre of the innocents', it would push the date of Jesus' birth back another 2 years.

So in conclusion, in the comic I believe I will draw Jesus looking about 6-9 months old.

I wrote this Blog before drawing the comic but now the comic is complete, so here are some of the images from the Gospel of Matthew.

You can buy a copy of the Gospel of Matthew: Word for Word Bible Comic: NIV here

Please feel free to comment if you have any insight or wisdom on the topic. Thanks

More OF OUR Blogs on similar topics:

Who were the Magi that visited Jesus?https://wordforwordbiblecomic.squarespace.com/blog/who-were-the-magi-who-came-to-see-jesus

Was Jesus born in a Stable?
https://wordforwordbiblecomic.squarespace.com/blog/was-jesus-born-in-an-a-stable-or-a-guest-room

Why is Luke and Matthew’s genealogy different? https://wordforwordbiblecomic.squarespace.com/blog/why-does-jesus-genealogy-in-luke-differ-from-matthew

What prophecies did Jesus fulfil by his birth?
https://wordforwordbiblecomic.squarespace.com/blog/what-prophecies-did-jesus-fulfil-by-his-birth

Who were the Shepherds at Jesus’ Birth https://wordforwordbiblecomic.squarespace.com/blog/who-were-the-shepherds-that-came-to-see-baby-jesus

Who was King Herod? https://wordforwordbiblecomic.squarespace.com/blog/who-was-king-herod-from-the-nativity-story

What year was Jesus Born? https://wordforwordbiblecomic.squarespace.com/blog/what-year-was-jesus-born

Was Jesus born on December 25?
https://wordforwordbiblecomic.squarespace.com/blog/was-jesus-born-on-december-25

Susa and the inscription of Darius I

The Palace at Susa: From the Book of Esther: Word for Word Bible Comic

Located in the lower Zagros Mountains in Iran, the modern town of Shush is located on the site of ancient Susa/Shushan, mentioned in the Books of Esther, Daniel, Nehemiah and Jubilees and "The Persians" a Greek tragedy from 472BC that is the oldest surviving play in the history of theatre.

Image 1: Map

In the Achaemenid period, Darius the Great commissioned a palace to be built in both Susa and Persepolis. The two palaces have a great deal of similarity, so the missing elements from excavations of Susa are hypothesised from its better-preserved sister palace. In Susa, a famous inscription written in Old Persian, Babylonian and Elamite languages has been discovered upon many fragments in marble, clay and glazed tiles.

In this text Darius tells how he built the royal palace of Susa and imported products from all over his empire.   

This palace which I built at Susa, from afar its ornamentation was brought. Downward the earth was dug, until I reached rock in the earth. When the excavation had been made, then rubble was packed down, some 40 cubits in depth, another part 20 cubits in depth. On that rubble the palace was constructed. And that the earth was dug downward, and that the rubble was packed down, and that the sun-dried brick was molded, the Babylonian people performed these tasks.
The cedar timber, this was brought from a mountain named Lebanon. The Assyrian people brought it to Babylon; from Babylon the Carians and the Yaunâ [=Greeks] brought it to Susa. The yakâ-timber was brought from Gandara and from Carmania.
The gold was brought from Lydia and from Bactria, which here was wrought. The precious stone lapis lazuli and carnelian which was wrought here, this was brought from Sogdia. The precious stone turquoise, this was brought from Chorasmia, which was wrought here.
The silver and the ebony were brought from Egypt. The ornamentation with which the wall was adorned, that from Yaunâ was brought. The ivory which was wrought here, was brought from Kush and from India and from Arachosia.
The stone columns which were here wrought, a village named Abirâdu, in Elam - from there were brought. The stone-cutters who wrought the stone, those were Yaunâ and Lydians.
The goldsmiths who wrought the gold, those were Medes and Egyptians. The men who wrought the wood, those were Lydians and Egyptians. The men who wrought the baked brick, those were Babylonians. The men who adorned the wall, those were Medes and Egyptians.
Darius the King says: At Susa a very excellent work was ordered, a very excellent work was brought to completion.

Translation: 
Pierre Lecoq, Les inscriptions de la Perse achéménide (1997 Paris)  

Image 2: Susa, DSf (Babylonian) ca. 520 BCE–486 BCE

As you can see the empire of Darius and his successors included many peoples. In the below image, you can see the statue of Darius and then a list of 24 countries subject to Darius from the base of the 3-meter tall statue of Darius found at the Kings Gate of Susa.  

Image 3: Statue of Dar

Below are a few images of the floor plan of the Palace at Susa.

Image 5: Plan of Susa

Image 6: Map of Susa, Achaemenid Palace

The Apadana (Great Hall) of Palace of Darius from the Word for Word Bible Comic.

(Image 1 : Map :Attribution: File:Near East topographic map-blank.svg: Sémhur File:Elam-map-PL.svg: Wkotwica derivative work: Morningstar1814 Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported)

(Image 2: Attribution Jona Lendering: Licence CC0 1.0 Universal)

(Image 3: Statue: Attribution: Fabien Dany - www.fabiendany.com / www.datka.kg Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.

(Image 4: Attribution: Davide Mauro: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.)

(image 5: Map of Susa: Attribution: Jona Lendering, Licence CC0 1.0 Universal)

(Image 6: Map of Susa, Achaemenid Palace: Attribution: Jona Lendering, Licence CC0 1.0 Universal)

June Newsletter

(If you’d like to get this update as a monthly email sign up here: http://eepurl.com/bzpR9f )

Sneak peek at the Book of Esther

In this image, we look down into the Apadana (great hall) of the Palace of Susa. The columns of which stand over 70 feet tall!

Watch this YouTube video below for more information about the Apadana area, although their 3D model is not in the correct colours and more developed research has discovered they were likely this terracotta/red colour.

Video Documentary on Iranian history.
(Set to play at the point where they discuss the Apadana).

New Reddit 

If you like Reddit, you can now find us there and join the community! It will include info about us but also historical references, Bible discussion and more (like the Facebook group, but with some different stuff for Reddit fans). So join us invite your friends and get commenting, Patreon backers even get a cool badge when they comment. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/WordforWordBibleComic/
 

Patreon growing...

The Patreon has continued to grow. We are now 8th highest listing on a search for "Bible" (just 7 more patrons to get to 7th) and if we had just 3 more patrons we could be listed on the first page of a search for "comic"! 

Can you join us for just $1 a month (or more)? Even with $1 you get great two pages a month of the book in development, you are credited as a patron in the book, you are invited to the quarterly video conferencing (our second one is only a few weeks away) and it helps bump up our rating! 

We'd love you consider becoming a monthly patron of the comic and help us make it to March 2020 without a Kickstarter.

https://www.patreon.com/WordforWordBibleComic

What is Patreon? (Video explaining Patreon in general) 

Events

Big Church Day Out 

BCDO was a really great event for us, short and sweet, lots of people and a great atmosphere. I even got to see Rend Collective perform in the evening. Here's a couple of images from the rare moments I got away from the stall. I met many of you there, so welcome to the newsletter!

The Gathering CVM

At the end of this month, I'll be in a field near Swindon with a couple of thousand blokes. This is one of my favourite events and if you'd like to come you still can, you can also help steward for a very cheap ticket. I'm going to try and get in on the sword fighting and axe throwing workshops this year. 

Progress and Prayer

The book is complete, all the extra pages are done and the colours are done too! I am just trying to get an official offer from Zondervan to use the NIV in the USA, this is the last huddle if they agree we'll go ahead with the NIV, if not we may have to carry on with the World English for a while. Please pray that they will agree very soon or if it is not the Lord will to use the NIV, then it gets shut down clearly and quickly soon too.  

Also, please continue to pray for God's provision to meet our needs financially in order to keep progressing well with this project, and that we can continue to build his Kingdom with the work. 

If you’d like to get this update as a monthly email sign up here: http://eepurl.com/bzpR9f