In John 2:19–21, Jesus says: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jewish leaders understood Him to mean the literal temple in Jerusalem, but the passage notes that He was speaking of “the temple of His body.” How is this understood in Christian theology? Was Jesus explicitly referring to His physical body as the “temple,” and if so, what is the significance of this metaphor?

In Revelation 17:5, the apostle John describes a mysterious figure: >"Babylon the Great, the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth." (Revelation 17:5) Many modern interpreters and some Christian teachers associate America with this symbolic "Babylon," citing its global cultural influence, economic dominance, and especially its perceived moral decline (e.g., promotion of sexual immorality, media-driven hedonism, and exporting of ungodly values worldwide). My question is: Do any Christian traditions or interpretations seriously support the view that America is Babylon the Great specifically because of its moral decay? Or is this interpretation more rooted in speculative prophecy teachings rather than established theological frameworks? I’m interested in thoughtful perspectives from within Christian theology, especially those that either support or critique this view using Scripture.

Revelation 4:4 describes 24 elders seated around God’s throne, clothed in white and wearing crowns. Many commentators suggest that the number 24 may symbolize the **12 tribes of Israel** (Old Testament) and the **12 apostles** (New Testament), together representing the full redeemed people of God across both covenants. Do Christian scholars or traditions interpret the 24 elders in Revelation as symbolizing the unity of God's people — that is, 12 representing Israel and 12 representing the Church? Are there denominational views (e.g., Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox) that formally teach or reject this interpretation?

Many Catholic churches across the world have an image of a pelican with its chicks. The pelican is depicted as cutting its heart open with the beak, with blood dripping down. Understandably, it symbolises Christ. What was the source of this image? Was there any scriptural base, or was it a code, like the image of fish used by early Christians?

Sacred geometry is a part of the world's religions. It is found in ancient Africa, the ancient Middle East, ancient China and Asia and tribes in America. Methods of determining the spread of humans around the earth from artifacts fossils and cave painting it is possible to gain a temporal map of early humans and the cultures of these early humans. There is a common cultural trait amongst humans that have spread around the world in that of religion and the belief in God. These faiths involve a sacred geometry that is used to explain the beliefs of their cultures and can be found by archaeology in their architecture and objects of these cultures. During the phases of the ages such as the Bronze and Iron age, we find the use and knowledge of crystal geometry in forming metal tools in forges and the common geometric patterns in jewelry & symbols of these cultures. Science uses mathematics as an expression of scientific thought and geometry is used as an explanation of life on earth from fractal patterns in nature and Fibonacci to the golden Ratio and the movement and formation of the elements of the universe. If we all share this same interest in mathematics as an explanation of the world then why is there so much disagreement around the world in our religions and their deniers? This might sound like a naive question. However I wondered how Christianity could shed some light on this as they believe in the Trinity, a triangle of the form of God?

On the note of soon to pass Good Friday, Good Friday is the time of the year where we remember the death of Jesus, and Easter is where we remember the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Correct me if I am wrong. However, people seem to associate Easter with egg hunting and bunnies and chocolates. I wouldn't mind a little celebration considering that it is the day Jesus rose from the dead, however I would like to know what in the world eggs and bunnies have to do with it.

I have a leather jacket that just picked up from a girl who was selling it and I didn’t notice that it had a Chimera on its back. Truthfully, the image disturbs me a bit. I don’t want to curse my household neither my family by keeping it. It has a lion head with a goat’s body and a serpent head at the end of its tail. I know the image of the serpent represents Satan & goats could represent unbelievers & maybe the lion could represent the enemy roaring like a lion. Please help me understand this further. Are there any Christian traditions on this Chimerical imagery to indicate if it represents something particularly un Christian, or if it is linked to the occult?

In Revelation 13:1-3, the Beast is described as having seven heads, with one of them appearing to have a "deadly wound" that is later healed: **Revelation 13:1-3 (KJV)**: > *"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast."* Later, in Revelation 17:9-10, the heads are identified as both mountains and kings: **Revelation 17:9-10 (KJV)**: > *"And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space."* ### Question How do different Christian perspectives—historicist, futurist, and allegorical—interpret the meaning of these **seven heads**? - **What do the seven heads represent** (e.g., empires, kings, spiritual concepts)? - **What might the "deadly wound" and its healing symbolize** in each view? Finally, is there reason to believe this passage suggests there will be **seven iterations of Beast-like figures**, with the final one ("the other is not yet come") being *the* ultimate Beast? If this idea applies primarily to one group of interpretations (such as the futurist view), please explain. Looking for an overview of perspectives on the matter. Thank you in advance. God bless.

In Catholic art and imagery how is hell symbolized? If a symbol does exist for it, why was this particular symbol chosen? In other words, does hell have a symbol?

This isn't so much a question about theology or denominational teachings as Church history. In an answer to a question on another StackExchange site, someone posted this: > I am an Art Historian, and I have recently made a research on the > Unicorn symbology in the Middle Ages Art. The unicorn is an > christological symbol. In the book physiologus (popular book in the > middle ages about magical creatures and so on) the unicorn is > described as hard to capture. Only a virgin could do this. This > unicorn myth has been used as a symbol (incarnation) of Christ, who > has been born by the virgin Mary. That got my interest, so I searched, and there is some apparent truth to this, and some undocumented statements claim that some monks agreed with this. For example, from: [Christological Figure](http://glossary.expert/Glossary/Entertainment/Literature/Christological_Figure.html) > ...the unicorn in medieval bestiaries, which would lie down and place > its phallic, ivory-horned meekly in a maiden's lap so that hunters > might kill it--which medieval monks interpreted as an allegory of > Christ allowing himself to enter the womb of the virgin Mary so that > he might later be sacrificed. So I'm curious to see if there is documented writings from the Church (I assume this refers to the Catholic Church, or possibly Orthodox or the Church of England, based on the time period) discussing this. Is there history to back up these claims?

**Revelation 7** describes a woman (symbolizing a church): > **3** … and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. > **4** And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: > **5** And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. > **6** And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. [Whore of Babylon - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whore_of_Babylon#Reformation_view#:~:text=Historicist%20interpreters,this%20association.) says of this scripture: > ### Reformation view > Historicist interpreters commonly used the phrase "Whore of Babylon" to refer to the Catholic Church. > Reformation writers Martin Luther (1483–1546, author of On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church), John Calvin (1509–1564), and John Knox (1510–1572, author of The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstruous Regiment of Women) taught this association. > > Most early Protestant Reformers believed, and the modern Seventh-day Adventist Church teaches, that in Bible prophecy a woman represents a church. > The connection noted on the seven hills of Rome is argued to locate the church. This "whore" church is described as being a "mother of harlots". --- Catholics refer to their Church as the "Holy Mother Church". Protestants saw this "whore" as representing the Roman Church, but failed to recognize the corresponding relationship between the church's "harlot daughters" and their own churches. Did they have a rational explanation of why these daughters don't represent their own Protestant denominations?

John 1 describes in some detail Jesus calling his first five disciples - Andrew, Simon, Philip, Nathanael and presumably John. John 2 1-2 says that Jesus' mother was at the wedding and Jesus was there with his disciples. So there were six followers of Jesus at the wedding (his mother and five disciples), and six jars filled with the new wine. The passage here forms a beautiful contrast with Jeremiah 13; 12-14 where people are also referred to as jars of wine. In the Jeremiah passage the people described were the prophets, priests and the kings who sat on David's throne, as well as all the people of Jerusalem. They were all sentenced to destruction. At the wedding at Cana one man, who was a prophet, priest and the king who would sit on David's throne, filled jars with a wine of blessing instead of destruction. It was as if the old wine of God's judgement a ran out at the wedding, and was replaced with the new wine of His blessing. I wonder if this, the first sign that Jesus did, set the pattern for the rest of Jesus' ministry - he filled the 12, then the 70, then the 3,000 at Pentecost. And these people, like the jars of new wine filled to the brim at the wedding, (John 2:7) went on to share the new wine they carried with others, spreading the gospel of the Kingdom far and wide. Incidentally the amount of wine Jesus created (approximately 150 gallons) was enough to give 3,000 people a good measure. Could it be that Jesus was looking all the way to Pentecost when he created the wine? This all makes sense to me, but I've not seen this referenced anywhere else, so I would be curious to know if other people have found anything in church history like this?

The Society of the Faith charity (*Wikipedia* entry ) uses the following symbol. What is it?

I am looking for the name of the cathedral that contains the following mural. What I know for sure is: - That it has been done between 2004 and 2008, more likely in 2008. - It was made in a Catholic cathedral of a Spanish speaking country. - The original file name is "2B CS.jpg" What I think I know is: - It was a city in Latin America. - The city is on or near the seashore.

I found this symbol on the stained glass of a Catholic church: What does it mean or represent? There's nothing else around this symbol, just what's in the image. To me, it looks like either a ring with seven spikes on both sides or some sort of crown, but I couldn't find anything about this symbol online. I feel like I have seen/read this symbol before, but I can't pinpoint it. Initially, I thought it might have been Jesus' crown of thorns, but it looks like this ring/crown is made of gold, not thorns.

Can you tell me what the letters **JHS** mean? You can see them on the picture below. I am from Slovakia (East Europe) and we speak Slovak and these letters are from Catholic church. I saw these letters on many pantings in Slovak churches. But I do not know their meaning. Thanks for explanation.

Is anyone aware of any special symbolic significance of Jesus eating *specifically* fish and honeycomb while showing his disciples he was not "a spirit" when he appeared to them (and somewhat scared them) after his resurrection in [Luke 24:42-43](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+24%3A42-43&version=KJV) ?

I was driving past [the Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monastery_of_the_Cross) today and — well, I was driving, so I couldn't look too closely, but there appeared to be both [a Greek](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Greece) and [an English](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_England) flag flying from it. A Greek flag I understand (it's a Greek Orthodox monastery), but I was befuddled by the English flag. I tried a Web search later, and couldn't find any information. (I did find [a picture of what appears to be _another_ Greek Orthodox site in Israel](https://previews.123rf.com/images/felker/felker1610/felker161000118/66315960-the-bell-tower-with-a-cross-and-flags-on-mary-s-tomb-orthodox-christian-church-in-jerusalem-israel.jpg) which is _also_ flying Greek and English flags. But I'm not sure what site this is — searching for the image gets me conflicting answers — nor that it's Greek Orthodox.) Why does the Monastery of the Cross (and possibly other Greek Orthodox sites) fly the English flag? Stock photo of *Monastery of the Cross*:

I have seen in a church a cross with a loop off the top that makes the vertical look like a P: # ⳨ Does this symbol have a name? What is its meaning? From what does it derive? Can you supply any more interesting information about it?

This question is a rephrase of a different question asking if any early church fathers believed that Revelation 12:1-5 is about the Virgin Mary. It may be clearer and easier to find out *what they actually believed*, rather than look for a presumption. >And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. Revelation 12:1-2 With these first two verses, we may easily dismiss the idea that the woman does refer to the Virgin Mary. It doesn't. The reason is because some teach that she did not experience pain in child birth. Can't have it both ways. If it is about the Virgin Mary, then she experienced pain. >To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your labor pains; with pain you will give birth to children. You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you." Gen 3:16 NET As well, as mentioned, at least so far I have not found any early church father teach that the verse is about Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. There are suggestions about her virginity, but nothing about the Woman clothed with the sun is Mary. So, what did the earliest church fathers teach about Revelation 12 and the Woman?