Study Commentaries

Genesis begins the Bible and is foundational to it. In recent years, it has become commonplace for both humanists and churchmen to sneer at anyone who takes Genesis 1-11 as historical. Yet, to believe in the myth of evolution is to accept trillions of miracles to account for our cosmos. Spontaneous generation, the development of something out of nothing, and the blind belief in the miraculous powers of chance require tremendous faith.

The Secrets of the Eternal Book decodes some of the Bible’s most enigmatic, yet oft-cited epochs. The author’s lively and easygoing style makes for a smooth entrance into the depths of perception, where one changes one’s world simply by contemplation and desire. While listening, you will gently rise beyond the level of physical events as they are described in the Bible, and you will find Pharaoh, Moses, Adam, and Eve that lie within you.

Imagine if someone who had never heard of Judaism or Christianity read the Old Testament. How could the relationship between God and humanity possibly be understood? In Joseph's Bones, Segal approaches the Bible from this fresh perspective—one framed by the story of the Israelites' fidelity to Joseph—and finds something an account of the human condition that reads like an existential novel about the struggle of mankind against the unpredictable and often unwarranted wrath of God. This is a rarity in Biblical interpretation—brilliant and rigorously argued, "a work of stunning originality."

In Twisted Unto Destruction, Donald J. Johnson (Convinced, Unprotected) shows how ditching the Church in favor of private Bible interpretation has also enabled some of the modern world’s worst crimes and vices. Once an Evangelical Protestant who took sola scriptura for granted, Johnson came to realize that setting ourselves up as little Magisteriums—whose opinions on the Bible’s meaning have to be as valid as anyone else’s—not only leads to endless splintering, but makes it possible to use Scripture to justify anything.

Matthew's gospel focuses on the Kingship of Christ—that Jesus is Lord of Lords, the Messiah, the One promised by the prophets of old. But a king is not born in a manger, to a virgin peasant, and a king is definitely not executed on a Roman cross, is he? Actually, that's exactly the type of King God sent to the world.

As the last installment of R.J. Rushdoony's commentary series on the Pentateuch, it stands as one of the more dynamic expositions in the series in that it addresses God's demands upon man, family, church, and state. In short, Deuteronomy is the defining volume on theocracy. The redemptive power of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit are the enabling forces for a people to once again live faithful to God's covenant—and Deuteronomy provides the details for that covenant. Rushdoony's study represents a sizable deposit into securing the obedience of the church.

Faith and Action is the complete collection of the essays of R. J. Rushdoony written for the Chalcedon Report between 1965 and 2001 along with several transcripts of his recorded talks. The large volume The Roots of Reconstruction only contained his Chalcedon Report essays up until 1985, so most of the essays included in Faith and Action were unavailable to listeners for many years until now.

Ever since he was given a copy of Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World for his ninth birthday, Dom has been obsessed with the world of cryptozoology—monster hunting—and in Scary Monsters and Super Creeps, he heads to six completely different destinations to investigate local monster sightings. Are the monsters all the product of fevered minds, or is there a sliver of truth somewhere in the madness? Either way, the search gives Dom an excuse to dive into six fascinating destinations on a gloriously nutty adventure.

For Apostolic believers, the gift of the Holy Spirit defines who we are. From the first chapter of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation, the Holy Spirit is evident in shaping our lives. A typical Bible commentary offers verse-by-verse analysis, usually of a single book of the Bible. This book resembles Bible commentaries in its thorough and comprehensive scope and its canonical survey of the Holy Spirit in Scripture. But unlike commentaries, this book gives us knowledge to undergird our Pentecostal experience.

In The Bible’s Cutting Room Floor, acclaimed author and translator Dr. Joel M. Hoffman gives us the stories and other texts that didn’t make it into the Bible even though they offer penetrating insight into the Bible and its teachings. The Book of Genesis tells us about Adam and Eve’s time in the Garden of Eden, but not their saga after they get kicked out or the lessons they have for us about good and evil.

With childlilke boldness and profound logic, Martin Zender exposes the spiritual bankruptcy of the religious institution. Zender's mastery of satire separates him from the pious; his Scriptural expertise launches him as the primary spokesman for those who desire God, but don't trust the establishments that boast His name.

Editors Denis Alexander and Alister McGrath gather other intelligent minds from around the world to share their startling commonality: Richard Dawkins and his fellow New Atheists were instrumental in their conversions to Christianity. Despite a wide range of backgrounds and cultures, all are united in the fact that they were first enthusiasts for the claims and writings of the New Atheists. But each became disillusioned by the arguments and conclusions of Dawkins, causing them to look deeper and with more objectivity at religious faith.

Winner of the John W. Kluge Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Human Sciences, Jaroslav Pelikan is Professor Emeritus of history at Yale University and past president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This examination of the history of the Bible reflects half a century of study and research by the author. In Whose Bible Is It?, Pelikan traces the transformation of the Bible from its earliest oral traditions to its modern forms.

Combined for great value! The multi award-winning SmartPass study guide with and without commentary options. This is a full-cast, unabridged performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis for any student to fully understand and appreciate the play. Peel away the layers of Priestley's complex drama to appreciate this powerful warning, wrapped up in the genre of a gripping detective story, and truly understand that "We don't live alone. We are members of one body."

For 70 years, we have been taught that Jesus died on the cross from asphyxiation (strangulation) because in the hanging position he was unable to exhale. This theory is not based on sound science. This audiobook explains the medical cause of Jesus's death and why even Pilate was surprised how soon Jesus had died. The dramatic changes that took place in Jesus's body from the Last Supper until death are described in layman's terms.

Trusting Jesus is hard. It requires following the unseen into an unknown and believing Jesus' words over and against the threats we see or the fears we feel. Through the imaginative retelling of 35 Bible stories, Not by Sight gives us glimpses of what it means to walk by faith, counsel for how to trust God's promises more than our perceptions, and the way to find rest in the faithfulness of God.

Christianity has obscured the fact that Jesus taught Judaism. This loss is visible in many ways, such as the misinterpretation of many New Testament Scriptures. This book rediscovers the unyielding, even strengthened, commitment to the Law by Jesus and the New Testament authors. With both Bible citations and historical references, this book restores a full understanding of the gospel of the Jewish kingdom.

After her brother died unexpectedly and her mother moved into a dementia-care facility, spiritual travel writer and Episcopal deacon Lori Erickson felt called to a new quest: to face death head-on, with the eye of a tourist and the heart of a pastor. Blending memoir, spirituality, and travel, Near the Exit examines how cultures confront and have confronted death by investigating Egypt's Valley of the Kings, Mayan temples, Colorado cremation pyres, Day of the Dead celebrations, Maori settlements, and tourist-destination graveyards.

Contemporary commentaries humorously interpret stories in the Old and New Testaments.

In the Revelation Jesus speaks directly to John: “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;” The Revelation is not about “the things that were” or the past, at the time it was written. If this book is primarily about the future from the time of John receiving the Revelation, then we must consider that much of the things which shall be hereafter having commenced shortly thereafter, would now, in our time, 1900 years later, have already happened over that span of time, and can be found in history.