Bible Passages Blog

James Barclay was a 19th-century American missionary and physician who discovered Barclay's Gate, one of the original monumental entrances to the Second Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This discovery provides vital archaeological and historical proof of the physical Jerusalem during the life and times of Jesus.

Introduction In his books Anxious Generation and The Coddling of the American Mind, Jonathan Haidt and his coauthors propose an interesting theory. The idea goes something like this: the reason American teens, college students, and adults are fighting many mental battles is because they have not been allowed to or exposed to enough struggle in their lives. Jonathan and his peers qualify this theory in two ways. First, they don’t deny that people are still struggling in cert

Would it surprise you to know there are actually three wildernesses in the proper boundary of Israel (not to mention the ones that are mentioned outside of the traditional boundary of Canaan)? In this article, we will examine three of the main wildernesses in the Bible. What happened in each? What can each teach us about God and how he wants us to live?

Was it even possible? According to the book of Acts, three thousand were baptized in Jerusalem in just one day. And yet, baptisteries did not exist during the time of Jesus. Or…did they? Naturally, the New Testament does not require a specially constructed baptistery to fulfill the command to be baptized. But in Jerusalem, a place high in elevation and so far away from a river, how was it possible for so many to be immersed? The answer: in the many mikva’ot (Jewish ritual bat

Sitting at the opening of a 2,700 year-old tomb near Jerusalem, Dr. Gabriel Barkay reflected upon one of the world's most celebrated discoveries: “I couldn’t bear the sight of this boy anymore." He was remembering how Nathan had continuously tugged at the back of his shirttail as he directed a major archaeological dig southwest of Jerusalem. He was “always asking silly questions, but so it happens,” as Barkay continued, “he made one of the most important discoveries in my l

BY JOHN W. MOORE The headliner for the Assyrian Post of 701 B.C. reads “Lachish Destroyed, Jerusalem Spared.” Of course, the Assyrian Post is fictional and newspapers didn’t exist in Biblical times—or did they? Between 700-681 BC an Assyrian “newspaper” did in fact report on the famed military exploits of Sennacherib and his conquest of the Levant, including Judah. The campaign included attacks against Lachish, Libnah, and Jerusalem as described in the Bible (2 Kings. 18

Dear Jackson , You sure remind me of your dad. You notice things other people miss. The other day you were studying that Apologetics Press Bible action card and noticed Damaris seated in a large outdoor theater, and you asked, “How did they hear without a microphone?” Greek and Roman Theater at Ephesus (Theater Photo taken by Ya Ya) That’s a mighty good question. Most folks don’t think about things like that. But you do. She was indeed seated a long way from the front. Did yo

“Has anything like this ever happened?” This is a paraphrase of the question that God asked the people of Israel through his prophet Joel. The question is in response to a locust plague that had affected the people of Israel. The answer to the question is a rhetorical “no”; nothing like this had ever happened. Joel is trying to get the people of Israel to wake up, consider the plague that was sent from God, and see it as a sign of the coming Day of the Lord. Nothing like thi

Exploring the Burial Site of King Herod "the Great" by John W. Moore all photo rights reserved by Bible Passages but can be used with...