Following in the apocalyptic visions of Daniel, Ezekiel, and Revelation, The War Scroll reveals the conflict between good and evil in the final days of mankind. Popularly known as "The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness," the War Scroll is one of the seven original Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Qumran in 1947 and holds the Qumran library designator of "1QM," meaning it was produced from the dig of cave 1. The War Scroll is a very important piece of literature in our understanding of the concepts of divine justice and retribution held by the Jewish community of the Essenes and the Qumran Community in the time of Jewish persecution by Rome. The scroll reflects a belief that in the end times evil would be eradicated by the Power of God and his Sons of Light. The Qumran community saw itself as a righteous light in the world, solidly on the side of good. As God's army, they would fight evil in the world, and with God's help, through his agent, Michael the Archangel, they would win the battle against the Sons of Darkness and bring back righteousness and peace. The text is replete with parallel biblical and apocryphal verses, commentary, and references to numerical symbolism, all intended to lead the reader into an appreciation and understanding of the text.

A quarterly review of religion, theology, and philosophy.

A study of Syriac Christianity up to the early fifth century CE, its beliefs and worship, its life and art. This book offers a vivid picture of the development and character of the culture, illustrating both its original close relationship to Judaism and its remoter background in Mesopotamian civilization.

The NIV Application Commentary helps readers with the vital task of bringing the ancient message of the Bible into a contemporary context. It gives preachers and teachers the tools, ideas, and insights they need to communicate God's Word with the same powerful impact it had when it was first written.

Eons ago, the Earth was a battlefield. Mighty armies clashed, led by giant warriors meticulously skilled in the art of combat. These wars would shape man's destiny and live on for centuries in legend, song and religious lore -- brutal and terrible conflicts that began lifetimes earlier on another planet. In the astonishing third volume of Zecharia Sitchin's The Earth Chronicles, the internationally renowned scholar parts the mists of myth and time to return to the violent beginnings of humanity -- employing ancient text, religious documents and archaeological findings to reconstruct epic events that support the existence of extraterrestrial "god" who once set nation against nation, army against army, and man against man.