This course will explore the narratives and social worlds of ancient Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature from its roots in the Mesopotamian texts and the Hebrew prophets to their expressions in the biblical apocalypses of Daniel and Revelation as well as the lesser known apocalyptic works and traditions found in the Jewish pseudepigrapha and the Dead Sea Scrolls.  The main objective of this course is the investigation of the conceptual world of Jewish apocalypticism and its formative value for early Christian theology.

This course examines the current state of the church and explores Jesus’s ministry model as the answer to our 21st century challenges. Students will receive a full review of theologians who have studied the Kingdom of God from the patristics to theologians of the 21st century. This course designed to focus students on the message of the Kingdom of God, analyzing its history, as well as its present relevance. 

This course will explain the beliefs, traditions, and history of the Jewish faith. Students will engage the central Jewish texts, including the Tanakh, the Talmud, and the rabbinic and contemporary Midrashim. This course will examine three fundamental aspects of Judaistic beliefs: 1) the nature of God and the divine as understood by the Jews, 2) where humankind stands in view of Judaism, and 3) the historical account of Judaism and its beginnings in Israel.  

This course will help solidify the connection between the Old Covenant under Moses and the New Covenant in Christ. In this course, we will examine the histories of both the Tabernacle and the Temple(s) from both biblical and external sources as well as comparisons and explanations of their surroundings and contents.  To understand the tabernacle and the temple, then, is to understand how we are brought into God’s family through the sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus. Indications of the Person and the work of Jesus Christ will be shown from the tabernacle and from both the ancient and modern temples of God.  

This course will explore God’s redemptive plan as unveiled through the Feasts of Israel.  In this course, students will learn the details of each of the Feasts, their fulfillment in Messiah, and their implications for your life.  These appointed times of God are still relevant for our lives today as they illustrate what the Messiah has done for us, and what He has yet to do! This course will also examine how each feast and the Levitical Law points to our Redeemer and the loving and saving grace of Jesus Christ. We will examine the literal observance and prophetic applications of each of the seven feasts.

In this course, contemporary Judaism is presented in all its rich diversity, including both traditional and modern theologies as well as secular forms of Jewish identity. Jewish theology will be examined both historically and in terms of contemporary issues. While the focus of the course will be on developments that have taken place in the past two hundred years, they are set against a historical background as expressed in the Bible. The course will also include a description of the Jewish people as it exists in today’s world. Students will study the unique concept of Jewish peoplehood and its survival over the centuries in the face of many challenges. There will be a review of the key texts, followed by studies of the different interpretations of the religion, the ways that life is lived out both in the home and in the community, and the goals of Jewish life and faith.