From time to time, I hear beautiful spiritual teachings drawn from the apostolic writings that are sadly misunderstood by modern readers of the New Testament. Misunderstandings repeated often enough eventually harden into “obvious truths,” and over time, they can even become official theological doctrines that define entire religious traditions and
Many people have heard an excuse: “The devil made me do it.” The great tempter, the Adversary, is often blamed for humanity’s weakness and moral collapse. The story of evil and sin usually begins in the Garden of Eden, where the serpent persuades Chava to eat from the forbidden
War is among the darkest realities of human existence. It leaves cities in ruins, families divided, and generations marked by trauma and loss. No sane person celebrates war, and few emerge from it unchanged. Yet history repeatedly reminds us of an uncomfortable truth: war is sometimes unavoidable. Nations invade. Empires
If you read the words of Moses' Prayer (which was probably also a song), you will see how the lyrics are thoroughly inspired by his poetic verses. God's unique name Adonai Maon is somewhat mysterious, but to me it brought a sense of realization that everything, including
Holy Spirit is a special term that arose and became common at a certain time in history. It is often associated with the New Testament and Christianity, and not with Judaism. But we know that God’s Spirit is simply inseparable from God, and it should not surprise us that
Have you ever heard of King Solomon's mines? Archaeologists may have finally found evidence that could prove their existence. This is not going to be very exciting, though... They found the evidence inside donkey dung that is thousands
I want to share a passage that comes from the Testament of Reuben. The work in its surviving form is generally dated somewhere within the late Second Temple period, perhaps around the first century BCE or the beginning of the
Embarrassment is a very uncomfortable feeling most people seek to avoid. But it often depends on what we are exactly embarrassed by. Being embarrassed by our association with God does not usually come to mind when we think of being
I often explain how the culture we personally know best often shapes how we read our Bibles. Today, I have thought of a good example to illustrate this dynamic. In modern Western mindsets, at least in English, “fear” is typically
You may have heard about the Jerusalem council because the book of Acts describes this pivotal gathering. In Part 3 of our discussion about the ecclesia, the early Jewish church, Dr. Parker and Pinchas Shir discuss the significance of that
Large language models like ChatGPT, Grok, and Gemini are so popular these days. They can do so much and so fast, compared to old-fashioned search engine queries. Millions of people use them because they are packaged with core services
When the temple fell into disrepair, thirty-year-old King Yehoash told the priests to take the expenses necessary for the construction from the non-obligatory donations that they received from the people and use them for the repairs. Simple.
Why Josephus Matters? I can’t think of many individuals who have preserved more information about the world of the Bible than Yoseph ben Matityahu, better known today as Flavius Josephus. For those who study early Judaism, Biblical Studies, and
This book captures many ancient voices, a collection of literary excerpts from ancient Jewish books: Jubilees, Josephus, 4 Ezra, Qumran Scrolls, Talmud, Enoch, Baruch, Maccabees, Mishna, Judith, Apocalypse of Moses, Philo, Mishna, Ben Sira, and many others, fifty passages to
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem has not been excavated in modern times. It's a political and religious powder keg. But archaeological artifacts from the Temple Mount are being uncovered by Israeli archaeologists. How? An illegal renovation was conducted
In the chapters we read this week, the prophet Jeremiah foretells disaster, a time of judgment upon Israel. We intentionally read this passage whenever we recall the destruction of Jerusalem and reflect on this hour of judgment. Yet even in
The Bible often speaks about salvation as something far more tangible and visible than we may imagine. In the Hebrew Scriptures, God saves Israel with an outstretched arm, through his mighty hand, and by revealing his salvation before the eyes
