Travel to Israel and radically change your understanding of the Scriptures. Wet your feet in the Jordan River and impact the culture with life-giving water. Show your trust in the Lord's provision by offering up first fruits at Jericho. And cleans... MORE
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
The exodus from Egypt was a metaphor for God's greater redemption story, the restoration of shalom from the chaos of the evil one. His purpose was to invite Israel into a greater story than the one of their bondage, eventually unveiling a plan of ... MORE
When the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt, the Promised Land awaited them, but first God led them into the desert. The time they spent there would not only get them out of Egypt geographically, but would also remove its influence from thei... MORE
When the tabernacle was established among the Israelites, God came and lived among His people. Its design, construction, and function revealed much of His character, which proved to be completely unlike that of any gods the people had ever known. ... MORE
At times, God chose to use the harsh reality of life in the desert near the Promised Land as a practical teaching tool to mold and shape His people. The Essenes went willingly into this wasteland to allow Him to do just that: to teach them His wor... MORE
In the Bible, the desert is an image of great hardship and suffering, signifying the impossibility of survival without access to basic resources. God often led His people through desert places, using the barrenness of the land as opportunities to ... MORE
When the Israelites left Egypt and began their journey with God to the Promised Land, how much did they know of their past history? Some, like Moses' parents, seemed to have retained a knowledge and faith in the God of their fathers, but the Bible... 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 people of the Bible lived in temple-building cultures. Temples provided pagan gods with a place to live, keeping them close to the people who worshiped them. Even Israel did the same – first Solomon, then Nehemiah and Zerubbabel, and eve... MORE
The Decapolis is mentioned by name only three times in the New Testament. In addition to these three instances, on at least two other occasions, Jesus visited specific locations in the largely pagan league of cities to the east of the Sea of Galil...
Throughout Bible times, the burial ritual was regarded as very important. Jesus, sharing fully in our humanity (Heb. 2:14), was given a typical, though hurried, burial. Understanding the burial customs and practices of first-century Israel can hel...
As the early church grew, believers had two choices: (1) to go along with the pagan world in order not to create offense and endanger themselves and their families; or (2) to stand firm and declare that Jesus was Lord and risk suffering, even deat...
Jesus disciples, the ones he called into a relationship with him as talmidim, made such an impact on the province of Asia Minor-the most pagan of all the Roman provinces, that it became the most Christian province in the Roman Empire. Jesus desire...
Hellenism the dominant worldview in the first century, stands in stark contrast to the truths of God found in the Bible. Hellenism Biblical Perspective Human beings are the image of gods. Only God is God. He is the Lord of the Univers...
Anything associated with the worship of other gods and any behavior that perverts the lifestyle God intended human beings to live. Leviticus 18 contains a list of unlawful behaviors (e.g., incest, adultery, homosexuality, bestiality). As he demons...
The father of the Jewish nation (Gen. 12-25). God called Abraham out of his home country and promised to give him the land of Canaan (Gen. 15). God also promised that all the people on earth would be blessed through Abraham; God's people today can...
The first man God created. He did not obey God and brought sin and death into the world (Gen 1-5). Jesus is compared to Adam because Jesus is a new beginning for the human race. Jesus brings life to those who believe in him.
The first man God created. He did not obey God and brought sin and death into the world (Gen 1-5). Jesus is compared to Adam because Jesus is a new beginning for the human race. Jesus brings life to those who believe in him.
Hadrian, the Roman emperor, destroyed Jerusalem after defeating the Jews during the Second Jewish Revolt (AD 132-135). He renamed it Aelia Capitolina and erected a temple to the Roman god Jupiter.
The grandson of Herod the Great, to whom Emperor Claudius gave Herod the Great's entire kingdom. He arrested Christians, had James put to death, and imprisoned Peter. Agrippa l died when he allowed people to treat him like a god (Acts 12:21%u20142...
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