J P Hannah

Scripture springs to life in this immersive narrative, written in the tradition of Francine Rivers, Bodie and Brock Thoene, and Lynn Austin. Walk with Jesus and his disciples, hear his words afresh, witness his miraculous healings, and see how he impacts people's lives as he preaches the provocative message that, in him, the kingdom of God has arrived. In Jerusalem, Rabbi Hilkiah responds to rising messianic fervor by collating ancient prophecies about the coming of God's Anointed One. He dictates these to his niece Rachel, who bitterly resents the inferior position of women in society. Meanwhile, offended Jewish leaders demand that Pontius Pilate take action against the subversive Galilean teacher, Jesus. Hilkiah's student Daniel meets secretly with an underground resistance group that, together with Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, plans a violent uprising that will be triggered by the teacher's arrest. When Jesus finally enters the city for Passover, hailed as a king and riding a donkey in fulfillment of prophecy, the stage is set for the explosive convergence of opposing forces and conflicting ambitions. This engaging account depicts how Jesus's work fulfilled ancient messianic prophecies and how his crucifixion, resurrection, and final return will bring to fruition God's promise recorded in Scripture: that he will redeem and perfect his creation.

Does human life have any significance? The statements below have become widely accepted in the Western world: -Life is the accidental product of random events. -The laws of physics are totally deterministic. -Science does not accept a connection between physical matter and human consciousness. -Atheism is a conclusion from evidence while faith is speculation. -Science and faith are incompatible. -Suffering contradicts the existence of a loving, omnipotent God. -Jesus was a compilation of pagan mythologies or a human teacher who was deified. But do these statements represent eternal truths? Are they logical conclusions based on established facts or merely opinions? What is the evidence? To investigate these and other questions of existence and faith, a skeptical academic objectively explored relevant aspects of philosophy, mythology, history, archaeology, cosmology, quantum physics, biochemistry, and various faiths that finally led to investigation of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures (including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the gnostic gospels). The findings of this research not only challenge many modern assumptions but also have significant implications for our understanding of reality. Written with minimum technicality for general readership, this book presents a wide range of interesting and carefully confirmed facts relevant to the above questions. Whether you are an atheist or an agnostic, a Christian, or a follower of another faith, or have simply not been interested, this investigation provides valuable and surprising insights into the nature of the universe and our place in it.