Each year, around the time we prepare to celebrate Christmas, our Jewish friends celebrate Hanukkah. This year it falls on December 25th and continues for eight days through January 2nd.

We tend to presume linearity in our environment: we assume that tomorrow will be like yesterday; next month like last month, etc. It's understandable and it makes a workable hypothesis for most of the practical priorities we face in life.

Thanksgiving is intended to be the most spiritual of our national holidays. It is a time to reassess our situation, ask forgiveness for failures, reestablish our priorities, and to give thanks to God for our heritage - the vision and the commitment of our founders for the liberty and freedoms that have resulted from their commitment and devotion to us, their posterity.

The Hebrew approach to hermeneutics (the theories of interpretation) views four levels of interpretation: 1) Peshat, the literal, direct meaning; 2) Remez, an allegorical significance; a hint of something deeper; 3) Derash, the homiletical, or practical application; and 4) Sod, the mystical or hidden meaning.

One of the strangest episodes recorded in the Word of God is King Saul's consulting a witch (after having ostensibly cleansed the land of Israel from this occultic practice). The forthcoming Halloween "holiday" seems like an appropriate time to review the implications of this puzzling tale.

The American nation was built on the vast farmlands that stretch from the Alleghenies to the Rockies, and it was that farmland which produced the wealth that funded American industrialization.

How would you like to embark on the ultimate literary adventure? An excursion that will result in practical, strategic awareness of the entire Bible - a perspective from which you can navigate your own personal adventure that will enrich a lifetime and even more? It's not just a fascinating study; it's a participation that will determine your eternal destiny.

October this year includes the Fall Feasts of Israel, which occur in the first 15 days of the month of Tishri. Each of the seven Feasts of Moses commemorate historical events of the nation Israel, but they also have prophetic significance as well.

As Bible students, we all are aware of the allusions to the "Kings of the East" in the prophetic scenario:

We have just returned from the most impressive trip we have ever taken: an inside look at Israel's security and their battle against terrorism! Our trip included briefings by top-level leaders from the Shin Bet, the Mossad, and the Israel Defense Force. This was all arranged by Shurat HaDin, the Israel Law Center.

In the not-too-distant future, wars will be fought over natural resources. Last year China consumed nearly half of the world's cement, 2/3 of total world consumption of copper, nearly 1/3 of the world's coal, and 90% of the world's steel (plus huge quantities of nearly every other commodity).

On August 14th, our Jewish friends will observe Tisha B'Av ("The Ninth Day of Av"). This is a special day of mourning, since on this day four tragedies occurred:

The current issue of Scientific American includes an article that details the pursuit by physicists of the nature - and ostensible stability - of the "constants" of our physical reality. The velocity of light, c; the constant of gravitation, G; the mass of the electron, me, etc., all have been assumed to be the same at all places and times in the universe.

Hal Lindsey called it "the greatest betrayal of Israel committed by any American president in history."

The dispute over Iran's nuclear program has held a prominent place in the news in recent months - and for good reason. It is a considerable threat to our national security and will most likely have disastrous consequences in the Middle East.

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), triggered by a high-altitude detonation of a nuclear weapon, poses a considerable threat to our national security and is one of a small number of weapons that could be used to bring the whole of America to its knees. An EMP attack would strike what has become the United States' Achilles heel - its relatively unprotected, yet vital, technological infrastructure.

Six years ago we experienced a practical test of our epistemology (the study of knowledge, its scope and limits): the apparent threat of a widespread computer calendar "bug" known as "Y2K." Was it real or an imaginary tempest in a teapot? Among many misinformed, the debate continues to this day. In many ways, the entire issue was a "laboratory course" in the use of our epistemological tools.

It is ironic that Jesus’ opening imperative in His “Olivet Discourse” is “Take heed that no man deceive you.” This is His command, but it begs a question of means: “How do we avoid that?” There seems to be more conjectures and misunderstandings over this passage than almost any other in the New Testament.

It is tragic that the most blessed book of the Bible is also the one most overlooked or ignored! The mere mention of its name results in fear and apprehension among the uninformed. It intimidates the uninitiated, and many regard it as unfathomable - too difficult to understand.

One hundred years ago, Albert Einstein published a series of papers that would transform the way we see the universe. Scientists call 1905 Albert Einstein's annus mirabilis, or year of wonders.

Q: Easter this year fell on March 27, 2005. Passover falls on April 23-24, 2005. Why is there an entire month between Easter and Passover this year? Aren't they theoretically connected?

In the currently popular trend toward mysticisms of various sorts, Jewish mysticism has become popular among many, and this series of articles has been a response for the serious Bible student. In this series we have been reviewing the origin of Talmudic Judaism, the emergence of the Kabbalah of Jewish mysticism, and the derivation of Hasidism which was spawned by it.

After Jesus resurrection, why did people always seem to have difficulty recognizing Him? We cant help but notice something strange about Jesus post-resurrection appearances.

Whether disillusioned by the self-imposed blinders and myopia of contemporary "science," or frustrated by the moral bankruptcy of unbridled materialism, increasing numbers of desperate people are now seeking "answers" outside the realm of natural phenomena and are pursuing the supernatural.

Epistemology is the study of knowledge, its scope and limits. As taught within the field of philosophy, it tends to be simply a massaging of verbal definitions, somewhat devoid of any practical tools and suggestions.

Over the many decades that I have enjoyed my love affair with the Bible, I have had the marvelous benefit of many great teachers. I've also had the incredible experience of fellowshipping in one of the most famous churches emphasizing expositional teaching from the Word of God. But I would like to let you in on a precious secret.

As we enter the New Year we also enter a profoundly changed administration, perhaps reflecting a profoundly changed population - even more changed than most people can imagine.

What is our most important stewardship? As we enter the New Year, most of us will undertake a review of our plans and priorities: we will review our finances and other challenges with a fresh and unencumbered perspective. But how should we "rank order" the competing demands on our time and resources?

Among the many insights provided by the recent election results were the dramatic exposures of duplicity among the major media who attempted to topple the President. The deliberate dissemination of "news" that was knowingly in error exposed their prostitution of their mandate to "'inform the electorate."

Each year at Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. After the New Year, we struggle to remember to add a year as we date our checks, which should remind us that the entire Western World reckons its calendar from the birth of the One who changed the world more than any other before or since.