Holy Helsinki Walk at International SBL/EABS

"Who is St. Urho? What is the Free Church free from? What happens at the Seventh-Day-Adventists' place on the eighth day? And what about the Finnish revivals?"

For those heading to Helsinki this year for the International Society of Biblical Literature and European Association of Biblical Studies Meeting, there's a great opportunity to participate in a guided tour (in English) led by a Finnish theologian. I've walked the streets of Munich with him, where I've lived for over two years, and he was able to show me some stuff in the city I hadn't seen before, and gave me a fascinating introduction to Laestadianism and Joseph Ratzinger's views on Purgatory -- so I'm looking forward to what he'll be able to show and tell us in Helsinki.

Information and tickets are available here.  

What time did the devil fall?

 In case you've ever wondered exactly when the devil and his buddies fell from heaven, an Ethiopic text provides the answer. The Miracles of Jesus narrates the fall of the devil and his angels, telling us:

ወኮነ ፡ ድቀቶሙ ፡ በሳድስ ፡ ዕለት ፡ ወበሣልስ ፡ ሰዓት ፨  

"And their fall was on the sixth day and in the third hour."

Compare this with the Cave of Treasures:

"He was cast down and fell, he and his whole rank, on Friday, the sixth day, and their fall from heaven lasted for three hours" (3:3; trans. Alexander Toepel).