The long and prestigious history of Ephesus, a valuable port city in western Anatolia, stretches back at least as far as 1440 B.C., when the city was likely the capital of the kingdom of Arzawa. Later, Greek peoples inhabited Ephesus and built a temple to the goddess Artemis on the site. After this first temple […]
Author Archives: Administrator
Israel Enters the Promised Land
Joshua 2-8 After Moses died, Joshua became the leader of the Israelites, and he led them to the Jordan River to prepare to enter the Promised Land. Priests carried the ark of the covenant before the Israelites, and as soon as their feet touched the water, which was in the midst of seasonal flooding, the […]
Paul Is Transferred to Caesarea
Acts 21-26 After arriving in Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey, Paul went up to the Temple, but some Jews there started a riot, because they thought he had brought a Gentile into the Temple area and was teaching people to disregard the law of Moses. The Roman commander stationed there arrested […]
Nazareth and Its Surroundings
The apostle Paul noted that God often chooses the lowly to accomplish his will and humble the great (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). This was never more evident than when God selected Nazareth as the town where Jesus would grow up. At this time, the tiny village of Nazareth was so insignificant that, besides the New Testament, […]
Jesus Is Born in Bethlehem
Luke 1-2 Joseph and Mary were living in Nazareth when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would soon give birth to the Messiah. Then a census was decreed by Caesar Augustus, which required Joseph and Mary to travel about 70 miles (110 km) to Bethlehem, the town of their ancestor David, to be […]