The covenant at Sinai is often thought of as a wedding between God and His people, between God and the bride He chose for Himself. This became the picture of God's redemptive plan for humankind, fully realized in Jesus' death and resurrection. In ... MORE
The Passover Sedar employs four symbolic cups to help the Jews remember the miraculous ways that God delivered His people from the hand of Pharaoh. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked the Father to take away the cup placed before Him, a "... MORE
After their escape from the might of Egypt, the Israelites spent forty years wandering in the desert of Sinai. But were they really wandering? The Bible says that God led them like a flock, like sheep through the desert with a pillar of cloud by d... MORE
Throughout His ministry, Jesus' compassion for sinners and those considered unclean raised the eyebrows of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. God's word warned His people not to touch any unclean thing, and they could not understand why Je... MORE
After His resurrection, Jesus spent about 40 days with His followers in Jerusalem and back in the Galilee region, where they had received much of their training. He explained that after His ascension to heaven, He would send them a ... 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
There is only one man whom God sends back to Sinai after Moses and the Israelites finished their time there: the prophet Elijah. God's interactions with Moses and Elijah on this mountain not only reveal His character, but also foreshadow the plan ... MORE
Jerusalem was a fitting place for Jesus, the greatest king of all, to live out the final moments of his life.Jerusalem held deep cultural and religious significance for the Jewish people. Many of their great leaders, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, reig...
The American concept of a king is usually negative. The Revolutionary War experience prompted most Americans to view kings as tyrants who cared little for the common person.Not all bad This view of kingship would not have been shared by most ancie...
Most cities from the biblical period were fairly small, and people lived in closely knit, well-defined communities. Jerusalem of David's time covered 9-10 acres with a population of 1,500-2,000 persons. Jerusalem during Jesus' time occupied about ...
The False Claims of the CultsEach of the cults in Pergamum was a counterfeit, a clever copy of the things that God alone provides. Each god took credit or honor away from God, thus giving it to something human or of human invention. False Gods ...
Cliff at the Garden Tomb This cliff face is located just outside the garden tomb. It was originally a quarry, but the rock quality was poor. It is just outside the city of Jerusalem, near the main gate. The area in front of the cliff was probably ...
The photograph here displays a column style used by Herod on Masada. The columns were made of sandstone pieces that were plastered to look like fluted columns. When new, they probably looked like polished limestone or even marble. In the same plac...
Commerce was an important part of ancient life, allowing people from various regions to trade with each other and acquire needed supplies.Occupations varied from place to place. In fertile areas, agriculture thrived. In the wilderness, shepherds r...
The CityAncient Beth Shemesh guarded the Sorek Valley of Israel's Shephelah; a place where the pagans and the Israelites often interacted.Beth Shemesh stands in Israel's Shephelah;foothills lying between the coastal plain and Judea Mountains. Seve...
Confronting the Hellenism of Today
"Man," said the Greek philosopher Protagoras (481-411 BC), "is the measure of all things of what is and what is not." This philosophy provided the foundation for Hellenism, which was devoted...
An agreement or set of promises made between two parties. When forming a covenant in ancient days, two parties gathered animals, cut each into two parts, and then placed them on the ground so their blood flowed into one stream. Each party walked t...
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