Fig Tree Ministries Podcast

Join us as we explore the foundational concepts of the Bible - Redemption and Covenant. God has a plan of redemption and he is executing this plan through a series of covenants. Understanding the basics of redemption and covenant will help you read deeper into your Bible! Support Fig Tree Ministries: https://donorbox.org/support-figtree-ministries www.figtreeteaching.com Download the Class Handout...

In John 10:22, he tells us that Jesus celebrated Hanukkah - or the Feast of Dedication in English. Hanukkah celebrates a historical event in 165 BCE, led by the Maccabees family, which ultimately won the Israelites their religious and political freedoms. Join us in this lesson as we explore the historical background leading up to this holiday and how the impact of this victory was still inspiring...

Scholars have long recognized that Jesus was not born on December 25th. So when was he born? Does the Bible give us any clues as to the time of year of his birth? The answer is yes! Join us as we explore a trail of clues in the Gospel of Luke that points us to Jesus' birth being in the fall, around the Feast of Tabernacles. Considering the importance that God places on his Appointed Feasts and His...

In today's lesson, we look at the final of the seven holidays – the Festival of Tabernacles. This festival is the dress rehearsal for Heaven, and it celebrates the fullness of redemption! And it is the only holiday we are commanded to celebrate with Joy before the LORD. Understanding the Festival of Tabernacles is central to understanding the message of the Gospel of John and how the "word" came t...

For humanity to be reconciled with God, sin must be atoned for. God, in his wisdom, provided a ritual in the Day of Atonement ceremony for this exact purpose - to restore the covenantal relationship with his people in service of His plan of redemption. In addition to a ransom - the goat whose blood is sprinkled on the Mercy Seat - there is also a Scapegoat ceremony. The scapegoat ceremony offers a...

In today's lesson, we explore how the Feast of Trumpets - the first day of the seventh month - became a New Year's celebration - Rosh Hashanah. In the cultures surrounding ancient Israel, the purging of sins from the king, the city, and the people marked their New Year's celebrations. In Babylon, their New Year's festival - called Akitu - even included a scapegoat ceremony to remove the sins from...

In Revelation 22:2, John does something profound with his choice of a particular Greek word. Bibles in English all translate this Greek word as "tree," but there is something much deeper happening. If we understand the words used for "tree" throughout the New Testament, then we can see that John is pointing out something unique about this "Tree of Life" that he is seeing in his vision. Join us in...

Continuing through this series on God's Appointed Feasts, we make a jump over to the Fall festivals. Jesus has fulfilled the first four holidays - the Spring Feasts - and next up on his agenda is the trumpet blast that will announce the return of the king. This trumpet blast is associated with the Feast of Trumpets, known as Rosh Hashanah (we'll cover this in more detail next week). In today's les...

The Bible never mentions the phrase "the garden of Gethsemane." We tend to treat the word Gethsemane as if it is the name of a city or village that happens to have a garden. But this is not the case! A Gethsemane is not a place - it is a thing! So what is a Gethsemane? Join us for this short lesson to find out. Support Fig Tree Ministries: https://donorbox.org/support-figtree-ministries www.figtre...

In today's lesson, we explore the Feast of Weeks holiday. The holiday is called Shavuot in Hebrew, and in Greek, Pentecost. This is the holiday we see in Acts chapter two when God delivers the Holy Spirit as a gift from Heaven. What's going on at this event? What does this event tell us about the power of community? We see tonight how in a very concrete act, God is showing us that His presence has...

Jesus heals a blind man with his saliva! What are we supposed to make of this miracle? Why does Jesus use saliva to heal eyes, and what would that first-century audience have thought about his use of spittle? And what would be the message for a Jewish audience? Join us as we explore the cultural context of the first-century to see what others would have thought about healing eyes with spittle. Sup...

Today's lesson explores the "counting of the omer." This is a ritual that happens during the time between Passover and the next major holiday – the festival of Weeks. This holiday is called Shavuot in Hebrew or Pentecost in Greek. The ritual is a 49-day countdown leading you to the Festival of Weeks. In Jewish tradition, Pentecost celebrates God delivering a gift from heaven - the Torah - at Mount...

Today's video continues our exploration of the Passover holiday and takes us into the evening after the Passover meal. According to Exodus 12:42, this evening is a "night for watching," a vigil to be kept by the Israelites for all generations. The events of this night happen at a place called Gethsemane. But does the Bible call it the "Garden of Gethsemane" as we do in our Christian lingo? The sho...

In today’s lesson, we explore the meal that Jesus had with his disciples – what we refer to as the Last Supper – and see how it compares to the elements found in the traditional Passover celebration meal that today we call a Seder. We’ll also look at a seating chart of the meal and see how knowing the basic seating arrangement in the first century helps us understand some things going on in the Go...

Today's lesson is the second in our series on God's Appointed Feasts – sometimes called God's holidays. Today's lesson focuses on the first of the seven Biblical holidays – Passover. Passover was the central holiday in the collective consciousness of the Jewish people in the first century. This holiday celebrates when God overthrew the Pharaoh and delivered the nation of Israel. Many in Jesus' day...

Today's lesson kicks off our upcoming series on God's Appointed Feasts found in Leviticus 23. These holidays are central to Jesus' ministry and God's plan of redeeming the world! In this video, we will briefly introduce the holidays and then look at the concept of redemption! God is redeeming the world. The Bible is a book about redemption. But what does the word redemption mean? Do we have a suff...

The phrase "Daughters of Jerusalem" is a Hebrew idiom. This short video explores this phrase's linguistic and cultural context and what Jesus means when he uses it in Luke 23:28. Judgment is descending on Jerusalem. In 66 AD, the Zealots pushed Israel into a war with Rome. By 70 AD, Jerusalem was under siege, and the villages outside the city walls were destroyed. The words spoken by Jesus as he i...

Understanding God's Appointed Feasts is critical to understanding Jesus, the New Testament, and God's plan of redemption. This is an introductory video to highlight how Jesus is fulfilling God's redemptive plan through action on each of the holidays. Support Fig Tree Ministries: https://donorbox.org/support-figtree-ministries Shopping on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/83-0587741 www.figtreete...

It's not always easy to understand the messages from the book of Genesis. Since Genesis is presented to us in narrative form, we must do some work to find meaning or principles that we can apply to our lives. Join us in this short lesson as we discover a message on the power of forgiveness and what it takes for a people group to come together as a nation. Support Fig Tree Ministries: https://donor...

Come join us and learn about the amazing Hebrew word - Midbar - which means wilderness or desert. Fig Tree Five - Small Video. Big Impact. Support Fig Tree Ministries: https://donorbox.org/support-figtree-ministries Shopping on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/83-0587741 www.figtreeteaching.com YouTube: https://youtu.be/uBM2thUKwJE

In today's lesson, we look at the connection between the events in Exodus, where God delivers the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai, and the Acts chapter 2 – Pentecost event – where God delivers the Holy Spirit. To make this connection, we must know about the Biblical holiday system God implements in Exodus and Leviticus. The holiday of Pentecost (Acts 2:1) is not a Christian holiday, and Pentecost is...

In today's lesson, we use Jesus' parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) as a tool to review the book of Exodus. The parable of the Ten Bridesmaids is about redemption and reflects the story of Exodus and the common Rabbinic interpretations of Exodus found in the first century. As with Jesus' other parables, we must pay close attention to the symbols and what they represent. Understanding the...

In this week's lesson, we look at the Golden Calf incident found in Exodus 32. The sin of idol worship - placing an idol or false god ahead of God - is the most common sin for humanity to commit and the sin that Israel will struggle with throughout the Old Testament. What can we learn about this type of sin? What can we learn about ourselves and why false idols still plague us today? We attempt to...

Exodus 34:6-7 includes three different words for the types of sin God is willing to forgive. The Hebrew language has numerous words that denote different aspects of sin - whereas, in English, we tend to use one word - sin - that covers all violations of God's will. In this lesson, we explore these words for sin and how the Hebrew mind conceptualizes the nature of sin. How does sin interact with a...

In Exodus 34:6-7, God reveals his character to Moses. These two verses are foundational for understanding the nature of the God we follow and the basis for our continued relationship with him. In this lesson, we will see that our English words do not convey the depth of meaning that the original Hebrew words carry. Today's lesson and the next (Exodus pt. 27) will explore these attributes and see h...