As the gospel of Jesus spread across a Gentile world unfamiliar with the teachings and culture of the Jews, the early church faced an interesting challenge %u2013 meeting different cultures in their own context to demonstrate the redeeming power o... MORE
Followers of Jesus believe that the Bible contains the inspired revelation of the Creator of the universe. “Gospel” is the word that’s often used – the good news that God is redeeming a broken world through His So... MORE
The Jews of Jesus’ day lived in homes meant to house an entire extended family, with several rooms situated around a common courtyard. A family’s home in that patriarchal society was known as a “beth ab,” which means, &ldqu... MORE
When the believers began to bring the message of the gospel to the world of the Gentiles, they quickly realized that their faith made them extremely countercultural. How would they explain the good news in places where they couldn't engage in the ... MORE
Jesus came with a unique message, preaching to the Jewish people that “the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17). But from the beginning, there was another king who hates the shalom that God creates and loves life’... MORE
When the time came for God to choose a people, He didn’t pick the strongest kingdom He could find. He chose the weak, the nobodies – a family that would become the nation of Israel. God rescued them from Egypt and brought them into the... MORE
At one point during his ministry, the Apostle Paul was at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. He was accused by some Jews of bringing a Gentile into the courts where only Jews were allowed. He hadn’t, but they thought he did and a riot started. W... MORE
In ancient times, people craved words of counsel and knowledge from their gods. The city of Didyma in what is now modern-day Turkey functioned as one of three main oracles, places where ordinary people would travel to hear advice and predictions o... MORE
Paul’s missionary journeys were generally marked by conflict. Sometimes, his message clashed with the Jews, who were often skeptical about Jesus or jealous of Paul’s success. Even more often, Paul’s teaching angered the governing... MORE
In Paul’s day, the city of Corinth was known for two things: drunkenness and sexual decadence of all kinds. The word “Corinthian” was even used in Greek plays to describe someone with poor morals or drunken behavior. And yet in a... MORE
The Jewish RevoltsJewish people of Jesus' day had a passionate desire for freedom from the domination of the pagan Romans and the oppressive Herod dynasty that had ruled them for many years. Revolt seethed continuously, mostly underground, for mor...
A Chronology of Temple Events
Approx. 2,000 BC: Abraham was sent to the Moriah area to sacrifice Isaac. Jerusalem was later built on the mountain named Moriah.Approx. 1,000 BC: David captured the Canaanite city of Jebus (2 Sam. 5:6-7) and named it...
The Ancient Wall Blocking the Cave of the Spring at Megiddo
The people of Megiddo (probably at the time of Ahab) constructed a wall to hide this cave from anyone outside the city.After the wall was built, the passageway to the cave was filled with dirt so that the side of the tel was unbroken and there was...
The ruins of this house on Jerusalem's Western Hill were uncovered in the 1970's. This home belonged to the Kathros family, who were known from Jewish history and lived here at the time of Jesus. The Kathros were one of many priestly families (Sad...
LocationThe city of Dan, originally called Laish, is located in northern Israel. To the east are the remarkable slopes of Mount Hermon, and the city of Caesarea Phillippi. About 30 miles south of Dan lays the Sea of Galilee.ArchaeologyArcheologist...
The water source for Megiddo was a spring at the base of the hill on which this strategic city was built. From its early history through the time of Solomon, the people reached the water by walking through a small postern gate and into a gallery (...
Just north of the Damascus Gate, the main northern entrance to Jerusalem, is a beautiful garden located against the side of a rocky cliff. It has been a place of interest to many Christian visitors because it is remarkably similar to the Bible's d...
Just past the entrance to the gate at Dan, a large stone extends into the street. Just beyond it, along the wall, archaeologists uncovered a cultic high place containing five standing stones. Just beyond and to the left of the large stones, agains...
Only part of this chamber was left standing after the city was destroyed following the Assyrian conquest of the Northern Kingdom in the eighth century BC. The street (foreground) was removed by archaeologists after they discovered an earlier gate ...
The lower palace, viewed from the height of the upper fortress, is massive. The pool with its island is most impressive in the wilderness. The remains of the colonnaded garden are clear. On the lower right are the excavations of the lower palace b...
2,000 BC- God sends Abraham to the area of Mount Moriah to sacrifice Isaac.1,000 BC- David captures Jerusalem, names it the City of David, and makes it his capital.950 BC- Solomon spends seven years building the temple, then spends thirty years bu...
Belvoir is located on the western side of the Jordan Valley. It is in a group of hills knows as the Issachar Plateau just north of Beth Shean. This photograph is of the Jordan Valley looking northeast. Down in the valley, the channel where the Jor...
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