15.2

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...

16.2

When the disciples arrived with Jesus in Jerusalem, they marveled at the unbelievable beauty of the Lord’s temple. According to the Bible, the original temple built by Solomon was also absolutely stunning. And yet, in both cases it wasn't en...

Lesson 1.3

Lesson 2.3

Lesson 3.3

Lesson 4.3

Lesson 5.3

Lesson 6.3

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 ...

Lesson 7.3

The apostle Paul was no stranger to the duties of a rabbi, having studied under one of the most famous rabbis in Israel before becoming one himself. He understood exactly what Jesus meant before His ascension, when He commanded the church to go ou...

Lesson 8.3

The Lord defied the gods of Egypt with mighty displays of power so that Israel, Egypt, Pharaoh, and ultimately the entire world would see the strength of the one and only God. Pharaoh hardened his heart, but the Israelites responded to the power o...

Lesson 9.3

God desired a people who would partner with Him in bringing shalom to the chaos of a broken, hurting world. Israel experienced a taste of the peace He brings when He rescued them out of Egypt. In this lesson, you will continue on the road of the e...

Lesson 10.3

Psalm 78 says that God led his people Israel "like sheep through the desert." Their wanderings through the Sinai provide a striking image of God's leading in our lives today. In this lesson, you will follow God's people through this barr...

Lesson 11.3

During their forty years of testing in the desert, God continued to teach and shape the Israelite nation. By the time they entered the Promised Land, a new generation had formed, a people who obeyed and trusted God with all their heart, soul, and ...

Lesson 12.3

The Bible compares those who trust in the word of the Lord to great trees planted by streams of water. What would this image mean to someone living in the desert, where water is scarce and trees are few and far between? Is it possible to live out ...

Lesson 13.3

Sheep and shepherds were so much a part of the Biblical world, it's no wonder Jesus uses the imagery as a metaphor in several of His teachings. The shepherds of His day knew every one of the animals in their flock by sight and spent their lives pr...

Lesson 14.3

The Colosseum in Rome is famous for many reasons, not least of which because it was built by the spoils of war from the destruction of Jerusalem, the military defeat of the Jews. In the Roman world, it was assumed that if Caesar was...

15.3

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’...

16.3

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...

Lesson 1.4

Lesson 2.4

Lesson 3.4

Lesson 4.4

Lesson 5.4

Lesson 6.4

When questioned about his message, Paul tells the Athenians that the one and only God "does not live in temples made with hands" (Acts 17:24). Naturally, anyone who was curious about Jesus in the Greco-Roman world would ask the early bel...

Confronting the Hellenism of Today

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...

Copper Scroll Definition

One of the Dead Sea Scrolls, etched on copper, claiming to identify a great treasure that had been hidden before the Temple was destroyed.

Covenant Definition

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...

Covenants

FormIn order to make sense of covenants, people followed a certain pattern that governed the content and form of a covenant. A summary document representing the entirety of the relationship was usually provided. As the superior party, God alone de...

Creation Definition

God created, or made, the world and the entire universe; it is all his creation. The Bible says every-thing God made was very good. All creation is now hurt by the sin in the world. But one day God will make creation perfect again.

Creche Definition

Nativity scene.

Crucifixion Prophesies

The Christian faith is built upon the reality of Christ's death and resurrection. Jesus' death removed the barrier of sin between humankind and God, and brought into being a new era of relationship.Prophecies given hundreds of years before Jesus w...

Crucify Definition

To nail or tie a person to a cross until that person died. A cross was made of rough beams of wood nailed together in a "t" shape. Jesus died by this method, which was usually used for criminals.

Crusades

Soldiers of the Cross? In November, 1095, Pope Urban II called upon all true Christians to free the Holy Land from so-called Muslim infidels. His speech sparked a period of violent conflict between Christian Europeans and the Muslims of the Middle...

Cultural Images in Jesus Teaching

Jesus used various word pictures and ideas that were familiar to the people of his time in order to communicate effectively with both religious Jews and pagans.The Bridegroom ImageFor example, Jesus described his deep love for his followers in ter...

Curse Definition

To wish that bad things happen to someone or something. God curses, or makes bad things happen, only as a punishment or not obeying him.

Dagon Definition

A Philistine god. Recent evidence indicates that he was the grain god responsible for fertility.

Dan Definition

One of the twelve Hebrew tribes originally placed between the Philistines and Judah. They migrated north and established the city of Dan as the northern border of Israel.

Danite Definition

The name of a member of the tribe of Dan.

David's City Definition

The Jerusalem of David's time, located on a narrow strip of land (Mount Moriah), was about ten acres in size and populated by approximately 1,500 people. The city was naturally defended by the Kidron Valley to the east and the Tyropean Valley to t...

Dead Sea Definition

An inland lake in the Great Rift Valley known as the Salt Sea; 50 miles long and 10 miles wide, the salt content is five times more concentrated than the ocean and is uninhabitable by marine life. The Essene community lived in the wilderness along...

Dead Sea Scrolls Definition

Commentaries or instruction manuals for the Essene community discovered in 1947 by the Dead Sea in caves near the ruins of Khirbet Qumran. They provide valuable insights into the beliefs of one religious community from the time of Jesus; and conta...

Decapolis Area

Decapolis means "10 cities." Though the number of cities changed from time to time, the Decapolis was a group of independent city-states that were thoroughly pagan and Hellenistic. Veterans of Alexander the Great's army founded several o...

Decapolis Definition

Ten Hellenistic cities established at the time of Alexander the Great east of the Sea of Galilee and north of Perea. Later, the Roman emperor Pompey organized the cities into a league named the Decapolis, largely populated by Roman army troops. In...

Defense Tower Definition

Scholars debate the importance of the large tower that once stood in Qumran because it was essentially a religious community of separatists who lived in a peaceful, almost monastic existence. The Essenes did, however, believe in the Messiah's immi...

Demeter Definition

Greek god of earth. Daughter of Cronus and Rhea.

Demeter: The Goddess of Groceries

Believed to be the goddess of grain who provided food, Demeter was popular among common people because acquiring enough food was a dominant concern for them. The secretive cult worshiped in a temple (twenty-two by forty feet) and eight-hundred-sea...

Demon Definition

A powerful evil spirit that worked for Satan. Demons can sometimes control people. But Jesus has power over the demons and can make them come out of people (like he did at Susita).