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By the first century, the Aramaic Targums portray Isaac as the model of obedience—a willing and virtuous martyr whose merited favor (grace) extends to future generations.

Download PDF Gen. 22:2 is the first use of love (ahav) in the Bible. Heb. olah (עֹלָה) from the verb meaning to go up. To make an offering to God is to ascend. Donkey (hamor חֲמוֹר) is associated with material from the verb to heap up. Third Day = spiritual journey (see Three Day Journey and THE Donkey) (see Number Three: Spiritual Journey) How did Abraham know they would both come back? Son (Heb. ben) = Ten times in Gen. 22:1-19. The number Ten is associated with perfecti

Explore John 3 through the biblical imagery of “coming down” and “being lifted up,” revealing Jesus as the New Exodus, the true nes, and the source of new life from above.

Discover how John’s Gospel uses symbolism, misunderstanding, and spiritual insight to move readers beyond rigid literalism toward deeper wisdom and truth.

Explore self-sacrifice, ego death, and spiritual transformation through John 2, Romans 12:1, and the biblical meaning of qorban—drawing near to God.

​ Lesson Handout In this third lesson of our John 3 introduction, we shift from John’s rhetorical device to the rich symbolism and character development woven throughout his Gospel. 📖 In this lesson we cover: Major Symbolism in John’s Gospel – We explore recurring images such as light and darkness, water and Spirit, birth and new life, and how these themes shape John’s message about Jesus. Characters as Symbols – John intentionally crafts his characters so they embody themes

​Lesson Handout This short lesson continues our introduction to John 3 by moving from the theories of inspiration (how John participates in the communication of God’s Word) to one of John’s most important rhetorical devices. Throughout his Gospel, John structures conversations where: 1. Jesus makes a statement 2. The listener takes it too literally 3. Jesus then provides a deeper explanation We’ll walk through several examples of this pattern, helping us see ho

Explore biblical inspiration and how John uses literary artistry, symbolism, and rhetorical techniques to communicate the deeper meaning of Jesus’ teachings.

Explore self-sacrifice, ego death, and spiritual transformation through John 2, Romans 12:1, and the biblical meaning of qorban—drawing near to God.

In this light, Jesus’ cryptic response in John 2:19 was far more than a clever metaphor. It was a bold messianic claim rooted in a deep river of Jewish hope: that the Messiah would rebuild the Temple. The twist, as John makes clear, is that this Temple is not made with human hands, but by the power of resurrection—and its stones are the lives of those who follow the risen Christ.

​In this first of a two-part series on John chapter 2, we uncover the brilliant literary and symbolic structure that John uses to communicate a deeper message--transformation through divine grace requires zeal. John brackets the chapter with key references to the number three, ritual, and zeal, guiding the reader toward the center of a chiastic structure where the heart of the message lies: God's grace transforms us from the inside out. Lesson Handout PDF In this episode, we

Explore Jesus’ claim to rebuild the Temple in three days and discover how Second Temple Jewish expectations reveal the risen Christ as God’s new Temple.

Explore Jesus cleansing the Temple in John 2, the Soreg dividing wall, and Ephesians 2 to discover how Scripture challenges us to tear down barriers and welcome others into God’s presence.

In Part 2 of our Rethinking Spirituality series, we explore the deep wisdom of the Hebrew Bible and the ancient rabbis on the nature of the human soul. Scripture uses three distinct Hebrew words to describe the inner essence of a person—each pointing to a different layer of our spiritual being. The rabbis liken the soul to a candle: - Nefesh connects us to the body—like the wick. - Ruach links soul to spirit—like the flame. - Neshamah is the divine spark—the pr

Explore the biblical meaning of faith and the Greek phrase “faith of God.” Discover how faith may be understood not simply as something we produce, but as a gift we receive and share in relationship with God.

Lesson Handout Over the centuries, the word faith has accumulated layers of meaning—some helpful, others deeply misleading. In this first of two lessons, we begin to peel back those layers and rediscover what faith meant in the biblical world. Today, many view faith as blind belief or intellectual agreement with abstract propositions. But in the world of the Bible, faith was far more concrete. Rooted in the Hebrew verb ’aman—from which we get words like amen, truth, steadfast

Rediscover the ancient meaning of kosmos as a sacred, ordered creation alive with God’s presence, and explore how the Enlightenment reshaped our understanding of God, creation, and spirituality.

In this final lesson on Dionysus, we travel to Ephesus and Pergamum to explore how deeply the god of wine, transformation, and resurrection was embedded in the Greco-Roman world of John’s audience. We examine Dionysian rituals involving wine and the symbolic consumption of the god’s flesh and blood and ask how this cultural backdrop may illuminate some of John’s most provocative claims about Jesus.

Explore the biblical meaning of soul, spirit, and consciousness and rediscover the ancient view of the cosmos as a living, spiritual reality filled with God’s presence.

Gospel of John (pt. 24 b) This lesson continues our exploration of the striking contrast between Jesus turning water into wine at Cana and the worship of the Greek god Dionysus. We begin by examining key passages from the Old Testament where the vine plays a central role—including Israel itself being portrayed as God's vine. From there, we turn to Greek symbolism, where wine is seen as a divine gift and the vine a sacred image. In Dionysian worship, wine was believed to bring