Biblical Heritage Center Blog

“Heaven” was a well-known euphemism, among many others, for the name “Yahweh” in the Jewish culture of Yeshua. Below are comments about what the Kingdom of Heaven meant to Yeshua: (1) It was not only the eschatological (end times) rule of God that would come in the future. (2)  It was already on the earth now. (3) It was a divinely willed movement that will spread among people throughout the earth. (4) It was more than just simply a matter of God’s kingship in Israel. (5) It was also the domain of his rule. (6) It was an expanding realm embracing ever more and more people. (7) It was a realm into which one may enter and find one’s inheritance. (8) It was a realm where there are both great and small. I hope you found this study interesting. Your support is greatly appreciated. To make an online donation – CLICK HERE . If you consider our work valuable, but have never contributed or it has been a long time ago, how about doing it now. We depen...

Rare Artifacts From Jesus' Time Found at Orphanage in Jerusalem Archaeologists in Israel are "astonished and surprised" after finding artifacts dating back to Jesus' time at a local orphanage and military complex in Jerusalem. Near the bathhouse a pit was found - maybe a ritual bath from the Second Temple Period - full of ceramic and glass vessels. Everything is evidence that nearly 2000 years ago the Romans arrived in Jerusalem and after the destruction of the city in 70 CE, the soldiers occupied this house. See pictures and read article at - http://www.christianpost.com/news/archaeology-discovery-rare-artifacts-jesus-orphanage-jerusalem-158919/ Vast 4,200-year Old Prehistoric Necropolis Found by Bethlehem Cemetery with over 100 tombs from 2200-650 BCE shows prehistoric Bethlehem was a rich town situated along important trade routes. A vast prehistoric necropolis some 4,200 years old has been found near the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, proving for the fir...

Egyptian Statues Revealed in Ancient Shrines . Six rock cut statues have been discovered within 18th Dynasty shrines in Egypt. The 3,400-year-old statues were found at Gebel el Sisila, a site north of Aswan known for its stone quarries on both sides of the Nile. Blocks used in building almost all of ancient Egypt's great temples were cut from there. The statues were carved within two of the 32 shrines erected by the officials who were in charge of quarrying the stone. See picture and read complete article at -- http://news.discovery.com/history/archaeology/egyptian-statues-revealed-in-ancient-shrines-151228.htm 3,400-year-old Canaanite Fort to Be Incorporated Into High-rise. Ancient Canaanite citadel discovered in the middle of the Nahariya, which had been burned down four times, will be incorporated into the basement. See picture and read complete article at -- http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/archaeology/1.695784 Archaeologists uncover 4,500-year-old 59-foot boat at a...

Michael J. Sandel is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he has taught political philosophy since 1980. His book Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? should be required reading for all citizens today. Below are excerpts that provide a much better path for finding solutions that have the power to bring Americans together – instead of widening the gap even more. Today most of our political arguments revolve around welfare and freedom — increasing economic output and respecting people’s rights . For many people, talk of virtue in politics brings to mind religious conservatives telling people how to live. But this is not the only way that conceptions of virtue and the common good can inform politics. The challenge is to imagine a politics that takes moral and spiritual questions seriously, but brings them to bear on broad economic and civic concerns, not only on sex and abortion. . . What might a new politics of the common good look ...

A rare amulet Egyptian amulet over 3,200 years old was discovered in earth discarded from Jerusalem's Temple Mount by 12-year old Jerusalem girl. Read article and see pictures at -- http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/society/110329-160419-ancient-egyptian-amulet-bearing-pharaoh-s-name-discovered-in-temple-mount-earth Beautifully-preserved ancient scarab seal discovered near Haifa from 17-18th Centuries BCE. It was owned by a senior Egyptian official of equivalent rank to Joseph in the Bible. Read article and see pictures at -- http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/211349#.Vz50dvkrK00 Analysis of military records on pottery shows widespread literacy in the ancient Kingdom of Judah 2,500 years ago: Not only elites could read. Parts of Bible Were Written in First Temple Period, Say Archaeologists. Read article and see pictures at -- http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/archaeology/1.713885 Oldest Surviving Copy of Hebrew Bible Recognized as UNESCO World...

Recently, I posted a quote on FB which received a big response. It read, "Do the right thing, even when no one is looking. It's called INTEGRITY!" Doing the Right Thing is many things. It's brave, inconvenient, requires effort, requires character and conscience, can be personally difficult, even dangerous. It is also uplifting, esteem building and meaningful, and so much more. Read Rabbi Leynor’s complete blog at -- http://tovcenter.blogspot.com/2016/05/who-are-you-when-no-one-is-looking.html

What happens if a three legged stool loses a leg? Yeshua’s movement and message were built on Three Foundational Values -- TESHUVAH ( repentance ), MISHPAT ( justice ) and TZEDAQAH ( righteousness ).  Knowing what these meant to Yeshua and his first century Jewish audience is essential for Christians today – who base their beliefs on Jesus. One fact is very clear, one cannot believe in the Jesus who lived and taught in Galilee and Judea without clearly understanding what he taught. Today, the Christian message alludes to his teachings on TESHUVAH and TZEDAQAH , but the cornerstone of his message – MISHPAT -- is completely missing. This would be incomprehensible to him, his apostles, members of his movement and the rest of the Jewish nation of that time. Below are overviews of those three foundational Values. (1) TE SHUV AH ( repentance ) -- The root word, SHUV , simply means “ turn around” -- if someone is going the wrong way they must turn around and go the rig...