The Thessalonians’ Case

By Hany N. Sadik

It is clear from the book of Acts (chapter 17); that the birth of the Thessalonians’ church was not a piece of cake, the apostle encountered rejection and persecution, and this is due to the jealous Jews .The power of the Jews in that city was in a sort like their power today in the field of Media (in USA), as we read they stirred up the crowds against the apostles, they even caused Paul and his fellow workers to flee to Berea. It is certainly clear that this church was born “persecuted” and linked with afflictions, and from the first letter to the Thessalonians; we can notice easily that the church in Thessalonica suffered mainly from their countrymen, and not from the Jews (1Thess. 2: 14) as the apostle had suffered before, but we can understand from the context of Acts 17 that they (the Jews) were the first cause of this persecution (Acts 17:8). Any way this persecution seems to be continuing as far as we know- to the day Paul sent them his second letter (nearly by the year 51-52 A.C.) which I would like in this article to explore the first seven verses of it. (more…)

Learning Hebrew Over the Last 10 Years

In 1990, I was planning a trip to Israel, but it got postponed due to Desert Storm and the Gulf War. I finally go on a tour trip of Israel in 1996. But in the late 80s, in Oklahoma, before the internet, how does one begin to learn Hebrew?

There wasn’t any internet yet. I ordered the famous, or infamous, FSI course. FSI stands for the Foreign Service Institute. These are courses created by the US government, supposedly used to teach military and/or diplomats. (more…)

Three Basic Jewish Prayers

Perhaps the most well-known Jewish prayer is the “Shema”. This prayer is recited twice per day (morning and evening). The prayer is translated as “Hear Israel”, and refers to the entire verse “Hear O Israel, the Lord Thy God, the Lord is One.” (more…)