This volume contains the fruit of three decades of Ronald Clements's researches on prophecy in the Old Testament. In sixteen papers, seven of them not previously published, he broaches several leading questions about the origins of written prophecy in the Old Testament. A major focus is on the impact of the events of 701 BCE on the formation of the Isaiah book as a whole and the rise of Jerusalem as a centre of religious hope. Further studies deal with the role of the Isaiah book in current biblical interpretation and the failure of twentieth-century interpreters to explain its unity. Other subjects concern ideas of divine providence, theodicy, and the links between ancient scribal methods of book formation and canonical authority. Special attention is given to the attempts to retain traditional Christian approaches to a book, the interpretation of which has been greatly transformed by modern critical study.

Of the many trouble spots in the world today, none rivals Jerusalem for ultimate significance. Zechariah prophesied that in the last days God would make Jerusalem a "cup of trembling" and a "burdensome stone" for the whole world. Today's world has its eyes on Jerusalem, believing that the next world war will break out over this city. Jerusalem is indeed a "cup of trembling" and will continue to be so in spite of false peace initiatives.

Amnon Rubinstein and Alexander Yakobson explore the nature of Israel's identity as a Jewish state, how that is compatible with liberal democratic norms and is comparable with a number of European states.

2011 Reprint of 1963 American Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. This work combines a scholar's research and a Christian's interpretations with popular history's readability. It is a definitive source book on the history of ancient Israel from the Exodus to the Fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Bruce does not deal with Israel as an isolated unit. Rather, he deals with Israel from the standpoint of its historical interaction with its almost forgotten neighbors. The detailed genealogical and chronological tables which add so much to the value of this book were compiled by the author himself after intensive research.

One Arab country after another is signing historic, game-changing peace, trade, investment, and tourism deals with Israel. At the same time, Russia, Iran, and Turkey are forming a highly dangerous alliance that could threaten the Western powers. Rosenberg explains the sometimes encouraging, sometimes violent, yet rapidly shifting landscape in Israel and the Arab/Muslim world. He introduce readers to some of the most complex and controversial leaders in the world, and explores the future of religion-- and peace-- in the Middle East. -- adapted from jacket

What is a homeland and when does it become a national territory? Why have so many people been willing to die for such places throughout the twentieth century? What is the essence of the Promised Land? Following the acclaimed and controversial The Invention of the Jewish People, Shlomo Sand examines the mysterious sacred land that has become the site of the longest-running national struggle of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The Invention of the Land of Israel deconstructs the age-old legends surrounding the Holy Land and the prejudices that continue to suffocate it. Sand’s account dissects the concept of “historical right” and tracks the creation of the modern concept of the “Land of Israel” by nineteenth-century Evangelical Protestants and Jewish Zionists. This invention, he argues, not only facilitated the colonization of the Middle East and the establishment of the State of Israel; it is also threatening the existence of the Jewish state today.

Everlasting hell and divine judgment, a lake of fire and brimstone--these mainstays of evangelical tradition have come under fire once again in recent decades. Would the God of love revealed by Jesus really consign the vast majority of humankind to a destiny of eternal, conscious torment? Is divine mercy bound by the demands of justice? How can anyone presume to know who is saved from the flames and who is not? Reacting to presumptions in like manner, others write off the fiery images of final judgment altogether. If there is a God who loves us, then surely all are welcome into the heavenly kingdom, regardless of their beliefs or behaviors in this life. Yet, given the sheer volume of threat rhetoric in the Scriptures and the wickedness manifest in human history, the pop-universalism of our day sounds more like denial than hope. Mercy triumphs over judgment; it does not skirt it. Her Gates Will Never Be Shut endeavors to reconsider what the Bible and the Church have actually said about hell and hope, noting a breadth of real possibilities that undermines every presumption. The polyphony of perspectives on hell and hope offered by the prophets, apostles, and Jesus humble our obsessive need to harmonize every text into a neat theological system. But they open the door to the eternal hope found in Revelation 21-22: the City whose gates will never be shut; where the Spirit and Bride perpetually invite the thirsty who are outside the city to "Come, drink of the waters of life."

Since it was first published in Hebrew in 2000, this provocative book has been garnering acclaim and stirring controversy for its bold reinterpretation of the relationship between Judaism and Christianity in the Middle Ages, especially in medieval Europe. Looking at a remarkably wide array of source material, Israel Jacob Yuval argues that the inter-religious polemic between Judaism and Christianity served as a substantial component in the mutual formation of each of the two religions. He investigates ancient Jewish Passover rituals; Jewish martyrs in the Rhineland who in 1096 killed their own children; Christian perceptions of those ritual killings; and events of the year 1240, when Jews in northern France and Germany expected the Messiah to arrive. Looking below the surface of these key moments, Yuval finds that, among other things, the impact of Christianity on Talmudic and medieval Judaism was much stronger than previously assumed and that a "rejection of Christianity" became a focal point of early Jewish identity. Two Nations in Your Womb will reshape our understanding of Jewish and Christian life in late antiquity and over the centuries.

From New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author Joel C. Rosenberg! A game-changing peace treaty between Israel and the Saudis is nearly done. The secretary of state is headed to the region to seal the deal. And Special Agent Marcus Ryker is leading an advance trip along the Israel-Lebanon border, ahead of the secretary’s arrival. But when Ryker and his team are ambushed by Hezbollah forces, a nightmare scenario begins to unfold. The last thing the White House can afford is a new war in the Mideast that could derail the treaty and set the region ablaze. U.S. and Israeli forces are mobilizing to find the hostages and get them home, but Ryker knows the clock is ticking. When Hezbollah realizes who they’ve captured, no amount of ransom will save them—they’ll be transferred to Beirut and then to Tehran to be executed on live television. In the fourth installment of Rosenberg’s gripping new series, Marcus Ryker finds himself in the most dangerous situation he has ever faced—captured, brutalized, and dragged deep behind enemy lines. Should he wait to be rescued? Or try to escape? How? And what if his colleagues are too wounded to run? This is the CIA’s most valuable operative as you have never seen him before.