Lesson 7.1

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...

Lesson 8.1

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 ...

Lesson 9.1

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...

Lesson 10.1

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. ...

Lesson 11.1

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...

Lesson 12.1

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 ...

Lesson 13.1

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...

Lesson 14.1

Jesus left heaven to be born in a filthy shepherd’s stable, as if to say, “I’ll leave heaven to enter the brokenness of your world.” Much of His teaching ministry, though, took place in a very different sort ...

15.1

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...

16.1

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...

Lesson 1.2

Lesson 2.2

Lesson 3.2

Lesson 4.2

Lesson 5.2

Lesson 6.2

Most of Jesus' ministry was spent in Jewish communities, proclaiming the good news of God's kingdom to the people of Israel. His greater intention, though, was for His Jewish followers to bring this message to the Gentile world around them, a worl...

Lesson 7.2

After meeting Jesus on the Damascus Road, Paul dedicated the rest of his life to sharing the gospel with anyone and everyone. He soon became one of the major leaders in the early church, focusing much of his effort on reaching out to the Gentiles....

Lesson 8.2

Unable to stand their suffering under a cruel Pharaoh any longer, the Israelites cried out to God. He heard them and initiated his plan to deliver his people, not only from their physical bondage but from slavery to Egypt's story. In this lesson, ...

Lesson 9.2

In Deuteronomy, God tells Israel that He led them into the desert in order to train and test them, so that He might know what was in their hearts. He still does this for His people today, leading us through experiences to reveal the depths of our ...

Lesson 10.2

God desired a people who would partner with Him in "making space" to reveal Himself to a broken world. The detailed patterns and plans for the tabernacle not only illustrated the kind of care and devotion He wanted to display to His peop...

Lesson 11.2

John the Baptist focused his life entirely on preparing the Jewish people for the coming of Jesus. His ministry still holds enormous meaning for us today, and there is much we can learn from his understanding of how to prepare for the arrival of M...

Lesson 12.2

The heat and intensity of the sun in the desert can be scorching, often without any guarantee of relief. Yet whenever God led His people there, He promised to provide exactly what they needed to make it through each day. In this lesson, wander the...

Lesson 13.2

In the beginning, God created magnificent beauty and order out of absolute chaos, "tohu vebohu," in Hebrew. When humanity rebelled, the world began a long progression of slipping back into that chaos. Yet God wasn't finished; He decided...

Lesson 14.2

The majority of Jesus’ ministry was done in places like the town of Capernaum, among a people who loved to debate and discuss Torah in the synagogue. They didn’t always agree with each other, but their emphasis was on how to ...

An Essene Cistern

In the Qumran community, the Essenes created several cisterns that, as shown here, were plastered and had steps to allow them to access water. At least two of these cisterns are believed to be mikvoth, ceremonial or ritual baths used for actual cl...

An Overview of the Sea

This photograph is taken from the hills north of the Sea of Galilee, looking south. The sea is nearly 13 miles long and more than seven miles wide. The area in the foreground is the northwestern corner of the sea, where most of Jesus' miracles wer...

Anatolia Definition

Land of the rising sun or "the East" refers to the Asiatic part of Turkey.

Ancient Anchors

Ancient Anchors these stone anchors were found in one of the ancient harbors in the area of Galilee. Each is a large piece of basalt in which a hole has been made and to which a rope has been attached.These anchors would have been thrown into the ...

Annoint Definition

To pour oil on a person's head. It meant that God's Spirit was helping that person to do a special job (1 Sam. 16:1%u201413, 1 John 2:20%u201421).

Antipas Definition

Son of Herod the Great. He heard about Jesus, listened to John the Baptist's teachings, met Jesus but sent him to Pilate (Mark 6:14%u201420; Luke 23:8).

Antonia Definition

Herod the Great rebuilt the Hasmonean foretress (Bira) in Jerusalem next to the Temple Mount and renamed it the Antonia after Mark Anthony. Roman troops were stationed here.

Aphrodite Definition

Greek god of love and beauty. Daughter of Zeus and Dione (or did she spring from foam in the sea?)

Apollo Definition

Greek god of light, music, and poetry. He is often pictured with bow and arrow; Son of Zeus and Leto.

Apostles Definition

The leaders that Jesus chose to bring his message to the world. Jesus first chose 12 men and then later Paul and some others became apostles.

Apotheosis Definition

A Roman emperor was declared to be divine when a witness came forward claiming to have seen the emperor ascend to heaven or claiming to have seen the emperor's father ascend to heaven (making the current emperor the "Son of God"). This p...

Apse Definition

Semicircular recess in a wall, especially in a church or Roman law court.

Arad

The town of Arad is not important in the sense of great Bible events, but it does give a sense for the lives of common people during the time of Israel's monarchy. The ruins of a small temple from Hezekiah's time are significant in understanding t...

Arad Definition

Town 17 miles north of Beersheba at the edge of the Negev and the Hebron Mountains. It was an important fortress city and protected the southern approaches to Jerusalem.

Arad Temple

The Temple CourtsThe remains of Israel's first temple lie buried beneath the present-day Temple Mount. But at Tel Arad, a city located in the Negev, archaeologists discovered the remains of a temple modeled after Jerusalem's First Temple.Although ...

Ares Definition

Greek god of war. Son of Zeus and Hera.

Ark of the Covenant Definition

The Hebrew word means "box," or "chest." It contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments. The ark of the covenant was as sign to the people of Israel that God was with them, and the cover represented God's throne.

Armageddon Definition

Transliteration of the Hebrew har megiddon, which means literally the "hill of Megiddo." Revelation 16:16 uses this place to symbolize the final great battle between good and evil. Many battles were fought at this location because the ma...

Artemis Definition

Greek god of marriage, chastity, hunting, and moonlight. Twin sister of Apollo, daughter of Zeus and Leto.

Artemis of the Ephesians

Who was Artemis The supposed goddess of fertility Who worshipped her? She was probably the most worshiped deity in Asia and perhaps the world during Paul's time. What was worship like? Hundreds of eunuch priests, virgin priestesses, a...

Asclepius Definition

Greek and Roman god of healing. Son of Apollo and Coronis (the daughter of King Phlegyas in Thesaly). He has four daughters: Iaso, Aceso, Panacea, and Hygeia.

Ashdod Definition

Philistine city-state on the Mediterranean Sea.