The ancient land of Israel is a testimony, an evidence if you will, of the greatness of what God did in that country, a testimony to the truth of the words that we find in the pages of the Bible.
Ray Vander Laan's Bible study series, That The World May Know, offers an immersive and enlightening journey through the historical and cultural contexts of the Bible. This series, renowned for its depth and engaging presentation, combines rigorous academic research with vivid on-location footage from significant biblical sites. Vander Laan, a historian and biblical scholar, expertly guides viewers through the ancient landscapes of the Holy Land, helping them to see the Bible through the eyes of those who lived it. His teachings aim to bridge the gap between the ancient world and modern faith, making the scriptures come alive in a profoundly impactful way.
The strength of That The World May Know lies in Vander Laan's ability to connect historical events and cultural practices to contemporary Christian life. By situating biblical stories within their original geographical and societal settings, Vander Laan enhances the understanding of scripture's relevance today. Each lesson is designed to deepen the viewer's comprehension of the Bible, encouraging them to apply its teachings in their daily lives. This series is not just about acquiring knowledge but about experiencing transformation through a renewed perspective on faith and scripture.
Moreover, the visual aspect of the series is a significant draw. Filmed on location in Israel, Turkey, Egypt, and other key biblical sites, the series provides a visually rich experience that complements Vander Laan's insightful commentary. The breathtaking landscapes and historical ruins serve as a powerful backdrop, making the ancient texts more tangible and accessible. This combination of scholarly teaching and visual storytelling helps to foster a deeper connection with the biblical narrative, inviting viewers to embark on a spiritual journey that enlightens the mind and nourishes the soul.
Volume 1 | Promised Land
Travel to Israel and radically change your understanding of the Scriptures. Wet your feet in the Jordan River and impact the culture with life-giving water. Show your trust in the Lord’s provision by offering up first fruits at Jericho. And cleanse the land by confronting evil and using the tools of society to redeem your world for God. In this first volume of the That the World May Know series, historian and teacher Ray Vander Laan will show you how God guided his people to a specific place—the Promised Land—to impact the world both in ancient times and today. Experience the Bible in historical context!
Episode 1 |Standing at the Crossroads: God called the ancient culture of Gezer to impact the rest of the world for His glory and purpose, so He calls upon us to do the same today.
Episode 2 | Wet Feet: The same faith that caused Israel to safely cross the Jordan at its flood stage releases His power in our lives today when we commit our lives to Him in total trust.
Episode 3 | First Fruits: As Jericho was God's first gift to the Jews in the land of Israel, we are to devote to Him our first fruits - the possessions and talents He has given each of us.
Episode 4 | Confronting Evil: Unlike Samson, who succumbed to the evils of the Philistine culture, our lives must be distinctive, virtuous, and godly if we are to effectively influence modern society.
Episode 5 | Iron of Culture: Like David, who used the Philistines' weapon-making techniques for Israel's advantage, we must employ cutting-edge technology to positively shape our culture.
Episode 1 | Innocent Blood (Part 1): When evil dominates society as it did at Megiddo, it's a wake-up call for Christians to fight for righteousness.
Episode 3 | Who is God?: In a fiery showdown with the prophets of Baal, Elijah confronted Israel with a choice: Whom will you serve? Today, we must challenge our culture with the same question.
Episode 4 | The Wages of Sin: What happened at Lachish issues warnings to Christians today. When God's values are ignored by the majority, even the righteous reap the consequences.
Episode 5 | The Lord is My Shepherd: The Old Testament portrayal of God as shepherd has been lost in our culture. Rediscover the key to hearing the voice of God that guides us to fulfilled lives.
Episode 6 | God With Us: In Old Testament times, God manifested Himself in the temple. Today, He dwells in us. We have a responsibility to represent God's presence to a dying world.
Volume 3 | Life & Ministry of the Messiah
Faith Lessons on the Life & Ministry of the Messiah focuses on the birth of Jesus, his life, and his short but powerful ministry—a ministry that has shaped empires and changed the course of history.
Episode 1 | In the Shadow of Herod: Born in the shadow of Herod's great fortress and established in our hearts, the kingdom of Jesus will endure forever.
Episode 2 | My Rock and My Fortress: The Jews under Roman rule searched for an effective response to Hellenistic influence; our defense against corruption must be God, our masada (fortress).
Episode 3 | The Time Had Fully Come: Just as God had prepared the Jewish culture to receive Jesus' message, we need to present the Bible in a way that speaks to our culture.
Episode 4 | No Greater Love: The imagery of 1st century Jewish marriage customs illustrate Jesus' great love for mankind. Today, He asks us to be His spiritual bride.
Episode 7 | Misguided Faith: One of the great tragedies in the history of the church is that often, people have heard parts of the message of Jesus but have chosen to use methods other than his own. The Crusades were one of those great tragedies, as Christians from Europe, chose to use violence as their means of presenting the Gospel of peace.
Episode 8 | Living Water: Being in the wilderness makes water very special. It helps one understand why God was seen as the one who brought water.
Volume 4 | Death & Resurrection of the Messiah
Faith Lessons on Death & Resurrection of the Messiah focuses on how confronting evil can be loudly proclaiming the name of Jesus or quietly caring for someone in need.
Episode 1 | When Storms Come: Just as Jesus stilled the storm, demonstrating His power over the natural world, so He also takes charge of our raging struggles.
Episode 2 | Piercing the Darkness: Kursi was believed to be the home of demons. There, in a deliberate choice to aggressively confront evil, Jesus healed the demon-possessed man.
Episode 3 | Gates of Hell: In the center of this pagan city Jesus declared, Upon this rock I will build My church, challenging believers to boldly wage war on evil.
Episode 4 | City of the Great King — Part 1 (The Temple): When seen in the urban setting of Herod's first century Jerusalem, Jesus' actions and teachings come alive, sparking a deeper understanding of our faith's Jewish roots.
Episode 5 | City of the Great King — Part 2 (Jerusalem): When seen in the urban setting of Herod's first century Jerusalem, Jesus' actions and teachings come alive, sparking a deeper understanding of our faith's Jewish roots.
Episode 6 | The Lamb of God: The significance of Passover celebrations and Passover Week events intertwine with Jesus' choice of time, place and message.
Episode 7 | The Weight of the World: Manufacturing olive oil involves intense pressure. This process exposes a fresh perspective from which we can fully appreciate Jesus' sacrifice, which is our anointing.
Episode 10 | Total Commitment: David built fame out of simplicity; Herod's palace fortresses were elaborate. But as with David, who lived for God, what matters most is not what we build, but for Whom we build.
Volume 5 | Early Church
The triumph of the Christian faith is nowhere more striking than in the ancient Roman province of Asia Minor. Faith Lessons on the Early Church transports you to locations in Israel and Turkey from which the early Christian church, on fire with the message of Jesus, literally changed the world. By taking us into that immoral culture where the early Christian missionaries had such a dramatic impact, Ray Vander Laan reveals how Christians today can impact our culture for Christ.
Episode 2 | Salt of the Earth: The apostle John used the example of Sardis, a city that overlooked its weak points and thereby enabled invading armies to conquer it, to warn Christians to be alert to their weakness so that they would not compromise their faith.Episode 3 | Where Satan Lives: At this regional seat of Rome, the governor had the power of the sword to determine life and death. John reminded Christians in this powerful, pagan city that Jesus alone—not the Roman governor—holds all the power, including the power of life and death.
Episode 4 | The Mark of the Beast: In this wealthy, beautiful center of idolatry, Paul unashamedly proclaimed the truth of the Gospel. Like Paul and the other Christians in Ephesus, we are to love one another and courageously live out the truth of Christ in a culture that is openly hostile toward Him.
Episode 5 | Hot or Cold: Laodiceans had a unique understanding of why lukewarm water was worthless. Today we are to be like a hot bath or a cold drink to a world in need of cleansing and refreshment.
Volume 6 | Dust of the Rabbi
Becoming a Disciple transports you to locations in Israel and Turkey to learn how the early church lived as disciples of Jesus. Come and follow teacher and historian Ray Vander Laan into the life of a talmid (disciple). Learn about how following a rabbi wasn't simply a hobby. It was a passion that was the driving force behind every action, every thought. And ask yourself, how passionate are you to follow Jesus?
Episode 1 | When the Rabbi Says, Come: There was an old Jewish saying that said to follow a rabbi was to be covered with the dust of his feet. When Jesus says, Come, how close to him do you get? Travel into Galilee and see how the text, the community, and becoming like the rabbi drive the early disciples.
Episode 2 | When the Rabbi Says, Go: In Jesus' time, disciples were raised in a Jewish community that knew and lived the Torah. However, at some point, they would be sent out into a Hellenistic world. These early disciples spent the rest of their lives trying to live like Jesus.
Episode 3 | The Presence of God: A Counter-Cultural Community: Set in the beautiful Greek city of Priene, Ray Vander Laan walks us back into a time when town councils, city markets, and even the warmth of the fire were provided by the gods of the day. How does a follower of Jesus live among believers of Athena, Apollo, and Asclepius? Learn what it means to truly be part of a community of believers.
Episode 4 | Living Stones: We once again visit Priene. This time to see the ruins of the magnificent temple of Athena. But as majestic and awe-inspiring as that temple must have been, it no longer stands. Ray Vander Laan challenges believers to consider what it means to be the temple of God. What do we look like to the rest of the world?
Episode 5 | The Very Words of God: Didyma was one of three oracles in ancient times—places where people would travel hundreds of miles just to hear the predictions of the gods. Explore the ancient mystery of the oracle process and consider how far you would go to hear a word from God.
Volume 7 | Walk as Jesus Walked
As disciples of Jesus, we've discovered that following him demands a passion for the text and a complete devotion to Christian community. But there is more. A disciple is consumed with a passion to be like the Rabbi Jesus. Come and discover the passion of our early Christian brothers and sisters. Follow in their footprints as they loved the Messiah with all their heart, all their soul and all their might every moment of every day.
Episode 1 | Run! The Passion of Elijah: Amidst the spectacular ruins of the Roman city Aphrodisias, see how the disciples translated Jesus' call to passionate discipleship into the language and images the Roman culture understood. And how they used the people's knowledge of sports to communicate the total dedication and intense passion needed to run the spiritual race in order to win.
Episode 2 | Learning to Walk Like Jesus: Focusing on Paul's early teaching ministry, we will discover his passion to share his faith with everyone—Jews and Gentiles. Paul had intense devotion to God as he slowly discovers God's will for his life and work. Be challenged to imitate Paul's willingness to place God's plans and desires ahead of his own.Episode 3 | An Unlikely Disciple: Timothy was an unlikely choice for a disciple, just as each of the early disciples whom Jesus chose were unlikely choices. An outsider to Jewish community through no fault of his own, Timothy stands as an example of how God often unfolds awesome plans through unlikely disciples who are fully committed to Him and seek to walk as Jesus walked.
Episode 4 | Why Christians Suffer: Peter chose to follow in the steps of Jesus. Peter and many of our ancient brothers and sisters in the faith died on a cross. They took the words of Jesus seriously and willingly took up the cross even when they knew that following in the steps of the Rabbi would lead to death. Their faithful example encourages all to follow Jesus' ancient command, Take up your cross and follow Me!
Episode 5 | Don't Forget Us: Feel the pain of brothers and sisters who live outside America's communities of faith, who speak other languages and live in other cultures and in other times.
Episode 4 | Watch with Me—Israel Leaves Egypt: As the Israelites left Egypt behind, God continued their basic training so that they would discover their call; to be obedient to His purpose and experience the shalom of true freedom.
Episode 1 | The Lord Who Heals You: Marah and Elim: When the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt, the Promised Land awaited them, but first God led them into the desert. The time they spent there would not only get them out of Egypt geographically, but would also remove its influence from their hearts.
Episode 2 | Not by Bread Alone: Manna and Water from the Rock: God still trains His people today and provides experiences that will make us worthy of our calling. He will test us to know if we will obey and trust Him completely.Episode 4 | The Mountain of God: Our god is mighty in power, magnificent in holiness, and passionate in His love for His people. Israel met God in the fire on Mount Sinai; the early Christian community met God in the tongues of fire on the mountain of God in Jerusalem at Pentecost.
Episode 5 | I Led You Like a Bride—A Wedding at Sinai: God's desire for an intimate relationship with His bride lead Him to become one of us. Through what Jesus, the bridegroom, accomplished for humankind, God provides for His bride what we could never provide for ourselves: the holy and pure character that the husband desires.
Episode 6 | The Whisper of God—Moses and Elijah on the Mountain of God: Come, explore the lives of Moses and Elijah as they came to the mountain of God. Through them, we not only recognize the Creator of the universe as He revealed Himself to and through them.