The cornerstone of the Christian faith — the supernatural resurrection of Jesus Christ — isn’t just a theological claim found in Scripture. An abundance of evidence tied to this miraculous event exists in historical records and relics.

On this episode of the “Steve Deace Show,” Deace speaks with scholar Jeremiah Johnston, author of the recent book “The Jesus Discoveries,” to discuss some of the most fascinating discoveries connected to the life and crucifixion of Christ.

Johnston opens the conversation by displaying an exact replica of the “Codex Vaticanus” — “the oldest, most priceless Bible that we have,” he says, noting that “it was produced in 330 A.D.,” just five years after the Council of Nicea in 325.

“It’s in Greek, has the Old and most of the New Testament inside of it, has the mountaintop passages of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Gospels, Paul’s epistles … and this is amazing because, again, it shows the great history of our faith,” he adds.

The second artifact Johnston displays is not a replica but an actual “crucifixion nail” from ancient Rome. The 6” square shaft is bent, he says, because the Romans, wanting to “minimize movement but … maximize torment,” would “adjust the nail” during a crucifixion.

“This [nail] shows us that the archaeological testimony of what we read of how Jesus was crucified smacks of complete authenticity,” Johnston exclaims.

The third piece of evidence he displays is an image of an inscribed chalice — often referred to as the “Magician’s Cup” — that was discovered by renowned underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio during excavations in the submerged ancient city of Alexandra in the Egyptian Nile Delta in 2008.

“This is the first archaeological find that we have with the name of Jesus on it,” says Johnston.

The cup reads, “Through Christ the Enchanter.” Johnston explains the meaning behind the phrase: “Remember your Gospels. Jesus is made famous, first and foremost, before his resurrection because he could heal diseases; he could exorcise demons; and no one was more effective than Jesus. So even all around the Mediterranean world, people realize, ‘Hey, if I insert this name Jesus, powerful things happen.’”

Johnston’s book chronicles the top 10 historical discoveries that “prove and corroborate the truth claims of Christianity,” but even those examples just scratch the surface.

“It turns out that we can actually build 65 facts about the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus before I ever crack open the Bible,” he says.

“If we can’t believe that Jesus died and rose again based on the evidence, then please don’t believe that Caesar crossed the Rubicon, because we have more evidence for the resurrection than we do for Caesar crossing the Rubicon.”

To hear more of Deace and Johnston’s conversation, watch the video above.

Want more from Steve Deace?

To enjoy more of Steve’s take on national politics, Christian worldview, and principled conservatism with a snarky twist, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Steve deace, Steve deace show, Jeremiah johnston, Shroud of turin, Codex vaticanus, Blazetv, Blaze media, Jesus, Christianity, Resurrection 

The Bible is pretty straightforward about the most important command Christians have in regard to one another. It sounds so simple: Love one another.

When you want to really accomplish something for the kingdom, a very small discipleship group is an effective tool.

And yet it doesn’t seem so simple, perhaps. Where can we go for practical instruction on how to do this right?

I think a good place to start might just be the very first church.

It perhaps is a bit presumptuous to assume that we are in the “later” days of the church age — the church age being defined as the period between Christ’s ascension and His return. But aren’t there an awful lot of signals that we’re getting closer?

So for my purposes here, I’m going to call us — Christians on the earth today — the “late church,” as opposed to the early church, the first believers described in the book of Acts.

How are we doing compared to our brethren of 2,000 years ago? It’s a topic worth considering, since their example shines brightly for us.

They lived in an upside-down culture characterized by sin, idolatry, despair, pride, hatred, division, and societal expectations completely at odds with Jesus’ teaching. Sound familiar?

But they had it far worse than most of us in the Western world today. Thus far our culture hasn’t quite devolved into killing humans for entertainment on a regular basis.

Meet your oldest brothers and sisters

The very first report we have resulted from the day of Pentecost, when 3,000 souls joined God’s family in Jerusalem:

And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. —Acts 2:42

“They were continually” indicates this became a pattern, so let’s break down how they were devoting themselves.

1. They were gathering together to hear teaching

At that point, there was no New Testament, so the apostles — men who had had personal contact with Jesus Christ — were directly sharing Christ’s teaching with His new children.

The apostles were also explaining how Christ fulfilled the scriptures they did have (the Old Testament), and helping the new believers understand how to imitate Him and be part of His family. Eventually these early believers became the first to hear the New Testament writings, as many were letters to their various congregations.

We no longer have apostles, but we do have the books the Holy Spirit inspired them to write that became the New Testament. Hearing all the scriptural teaching is of primary importance. Then, as now, God’s word should be the focal point of any good church.

2. They were fellowshipping, gathering together physically

Of course these days you can hear the word preached while sitting on your sofa — but they were gathering together physically. Plenty of scripture backs that up as a commandment we are to follow (Hebrews 10:24-25, Colossians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 14:26, to name a few).

How are we doing on that, Late Church? Are we still sitting on the sofa six years after COVID?

Fellowshipping — of course — is meant to be done in person.

Food for thought: Should churches stop sharing their worship services online? What are the pros and cons of continuing to make it easy for people to “do church” from home? I’m not sure of the answers, but I think the question is worth contemplating.

3. They were eating together

A couple of verses after describing Pentecost, Acts expands its description of the new believers’ day-to-day existence:

And daily devoting themselves with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart. —Acts 2:46

So they weren’t just taking Communion (which is likely what verse 42 referred to), but after meeting together in the temple, they were breaking into smaller groups and going from house to house, sharing meals (gladly!).

4. They were praying together

Praying together, the last thing on this list, could well have meant larger corporate prayer — but likely also meant smaller groups praying together. This is the only way, logistically, that thousands of people can pray together meaningfully for each other. They have to break into small groups.

How are we doing on smaller, accountable groups of fellow believers, Late Church?

Unless your church is very tiny, you need a smaller group of believers to live out these excellent examples of eating and praying together in each other’s homes, as well as digging deeper into scripture, meeting each others’ needs, and providing and obtaining accountability.

But just because something is called a small group doesn’t mean it is. Some churches just throw everyone into a few Sunday-school classrooms each week and call it good. Others offer groups that are far too large for the kind of one-on-one accountability and care that a true small group provides.

RELATED: Reclaiming Pentecost: Fire, spirit, and the forgotten power of God

sedmak/iStock/Getty Images

A dozen does it

Jesus demonstrated that a very effective size for a small group is a dozen. That’s about the right size for fellowship where we get to know and trust one another well enough to pray for each other, know each other’s needs, and literally show love for one another. And with that number, you might even be able to meet — and eat — in each other’s homes.

My friend Pastor Sam Evans says the smaller the group, the greater the growth — and some churches understand this and encourage very small discipleship groups of two or three individuals (same-sex, usually, so that they can be intimately acquainted). This too is a pattern Jesus demonstrated with His “discipleship” group of just three disciples — the three He met with even more often: Peter, James, and John. When you want to really accomplish something for the kingdom, a very small discipleship group is an effective tool.

Our early brothers and sisters were easy to spot

Author Kristi McLelland notes that the early Christians were easy to spot because they refused to participate in that upside-down culture of their time.

First, they refused to worship the emperor or other gods — which meant they were branded as heretics because Roman emperors were to be worshipped as gods. Instead, they stood as committed followers of Jesus Christ.

How are we doing on worshipping what the world worships, Late Church?

Sports, politics, celebrities — any of that too high on our priority list? Too much of our budget?

Second, they revered life, in a culture that routinely abandoned newborn babies to die (often girls). Instead, they rescued and raised those children.

How are we doing on issues related to life, Late Church?Do we understand why it is always wrong to kill an unborn child, or do we waffle on that to be seen as more “center”?Do we support pro-life centers and causes?Do we reach out to help vulnerable young mothers, foster kids, kids who need a permanent home?Are our churches filled with families who have adopted at-risk kids?Do we speak out against societal trends, like gay marriage, that put adult desires ahead of children’s needs?Do we speak out against the destruction of innocent life in any form?Are we willing to risk being jailed, as we have seen happen to some pro-life activists?

Third, they ignored the ironclad stratifications of Roman society. Christians who were nobility fellowshipped and ate with Christians who were slaves.

How are we doing on true inclusiveness, Late Church?Do we ignore the boundaries that some mistakenly promote and reach out to individuals at their point of need?

Fourth, they gave generously, although many suffered significant financial loss as a result of becoming a Jesus-follower. They sold their belongings and shared so that “there was not a needy person among them” (Acts 4:34).

How are we doing on generosity, Late Church?Do we buy in to the culture’s message that we deserve that new car, fancy vacation, or remodel of a home that’s practically new, or do we want to seek to help our fellow believers?Do we see the world’s needs through God’s eyes, remembering that everything we have comes from Him, and give accordingly?

Finally, they not only lost livelihoods, they often lost their lives.

Late Church, are we willing to lose our wealth — our freedom — our lives for the cross?

They were, and they did. Not one of them was perfect, just like we are not perfect. But shouldn’t we all work harder at engaging with the “late world” the way they engaged with the “early world” — while we still have the time?

BONUS RESOURCE

If your heart was stirred by the description of the early church here, you might want to consider a new church undertaking, if there’s one of these near you. Church Project is a church, and a project, aimed at building local church communities that mirror the early church, along the lines of the descriptions above.

A version of this essay previously appeared at She Speaks Truth.

​Pentecost, The early church, Bible, Christianity, Christian fellowship, Christian living, Prayer, Jesus christ, Lifestyle, Faith 

Apple has had a hard time lately with critical exploits plaguing iPhones all around the world. In mid-February, Google’s Threat Analysis Group discovered a critical zero-day vulnerability in Apple’s iOS software that gave hackers full control of a “small subset” of targeted iPhones. This month, reports revealed that an entire exploit tool kit has been successfully used by hackers in Russia and China. The worst part is that mounting evidence suggests the kit came from the United States, possibly even from our very own government.

Chock-full of vulnerabilities

According to Google’s full report, the exploit tool kit — dubbed Coruna — consists of five exploit chains and 23 exploits in total, all targeted at iPhones running iOS 13 to iOS 17.2.1. Mobile security experts at iVerify corroborated the report, claiming that 42,000 iPhones were affected.

Are there more zero-day vulnerabilities in iOS that we don’t know about? Almost certainly yes.

An exploit chain is the path a hacker can use to bypass a device’s security controls via exploits to gain access. In other words, if your phone’s software was a map, an exploit chain is the route a driver could take through different toll areas to reach the final destination. Even one exploit chain — or route — is enough to break into a device, but the fact that five routes exist within Coruna makes it a sophisticated hacking resource unlike anything security researchers have seen on iOS.

Google notes that Coruna has already been exploited by a “customer of a surveillance company,” as well as foreign nations, namely China and Russia. More alarming than that, however, “multiple threat actors” have also gained access to exploit techniques that can be customized to leverage new and unknown vulnerabilities for future attacks.

Image credit: Google

Where did Coruna come from?

Now that Coruna is out in the open, it only makes sense to wonder where it came from. Its sophisticated nature makes it highly unlikely that an independent hacker threw it together. Instead, several pieces of evidence point toward government intervention.

For starters, the tool kit’s source materials are all written in native English, suggesting English origins. Second, two of the exploits in the chain are linked directly to Operation Triangulation, a hardware vulnerability discovered in Apple’s first-party processing chips by Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky. Russian government officials blamed the NSA for this exploit back in 2023, but the U.S. government denied any connection.

Third, iVerify’s co-founder and COO, Rocky Cole, reportedly called Coruna’s code “superb,” going on to state, “It was elegantly written. It’s fluid and holds together very well. There were comments in the code that, as someone who’s been around the U.S. defense industrial base for years, really are reminiscent of the sort of insider jokes and insider remarks that you might see from a U.S. based coder. Certainly they were native English language speakers.”

For what it’s worth, Kaspersky recently denied that Coruna is linked to the NSA, despite the evidence outlined above. Regardless of the tool kit’s origin, researchers are unsure how it made it into the hands of foreign entities.

RELATED: Apple issues a critical software update for iPhone. Install it now!

Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Bigger signs of Apple’s compromised security

Apple’s iOS mobile platform is notoriously hard for hackers to crack, thanks to its closed nature, often frustrating U.S. criminal investigation agencies with its strong end-to-end encryption practices. The Coruna tool kit, however, changes everything. It’s the biggest collection of exploits to hit iOS since its inception in 2007. It’s also part of a growing trend that undermines Apple’s once-impenetrable software security and privacy protocols.

Just last month, Apple released iOS 26.3 to patch a critical zero-day vulnerability dubbed CVE-2026-20700. Although this remains to be a major threat to iPhone users, this exploit is not part of the Coruna tool kit. These are completely independent issues. Are there more zero-day vulnerabilities in iOS that we don’t know about? Almost certainly yes.

Tips to secure your device

That doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do. As software vulnerabilities become more prevalent, the best way to keep your devices safe and secure is to make sure you always have the latest iOS updates downloaded and installed on your phone, tablet, and laptop.

The exploits in the Coruna tool kit that plagued iOS 13 through 17.2.1, as well as CVE-2026-20700 for iOS 26, have all been patched. If you haven’t updated your iPhone to the newest software, or if you’re not sure which version you have, check for updates by opening the Settings app. Then go to General, Software Update, and make sure you’re on one of these versions, depending on your phone’s model:

iOS 26.3.1 (iPhone 11 and up);iOS 18.7.5 (Phone XS, XS Max, and XR);iOS 16.7.14 (iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X);iOS 15.8.6 (iPhone 6s and 7); oriOS 12.5.8 (iPhone 5s, 6, 6 Plus).

If you want even more protection from exploits and vulnerabilities, you can secure your private data with Apple’s Advanced Data Protection built directly into iCloud. Then for maximum protection, Apple offers Lockdown Mode, though this feature isn’t meant for everybody. Since it will ultimately restrict many of the features and functions of your device, it’s only meant for high-profile cyber-criminal targets like politicians, celebrities, and investigative journalists.

​Tech, Ios exploit, Iphone, Coruna, Cybersecurity, Operation triangulation, Kaspersky