Even before he was born, it was told that he would be someone special. A supernatural being had informed his mother that the child she was about to conceive would not be a mere mortal but would be divine. He was born miraculously, and he became an unusually precocious young man. As an adult he left home and went out on an itinerant preaching ministry, urging his listeners to live, not for the material things of this world, but for what is spiritual. He gathered a number of followers around him, who became convinced that his teachings were divinely inspired, in no small part because he himself was divine. He proved it to them by doing many miracles, healing the sick, casting out demons, and raising the dead. But at the end of his life his miracles roused severe opposition, and his enemies delivered him over to the the occupying force in their country for judgment. Still, after he left this world, he returned to meet his followers in order to convince them that he was not really dead but lived on in the heavenly realm. Later some of his followers wrote books about him. If you guessed that I was talking about Jesus of Nazareth, you’re wrong. I’m talking about Apollonius of Tyana, born in 3 B.C., in the Roman province of Cappadocia in Asia Minor (modern Turkey today), and lived until approximately 97 A.D. He was a contemporary of Jesus of Nazareth. This may have been the reason for Jesus’ warning in Luke 21:8. So keep your eyes open. – Dr. Robert R Seyda