Bible and Historical Resources on the Internet

There are many resources for biblical information on the internet. This page has many that I have used.

Bibles

E-Sword has free Bible software. E-Sword contains a lot Bible software modules that can be downloaded on your computer. It has many Bible translations, concordances, some Greek and Hebrew, commentaries, lexicons, maps, and more. While I prefer to use BibleSoft because of ease of use as it contains the NKJV, E-Sword is free and can be helpful for many (and I do use it sometimes for translations not on BibleSoft).

Biblegateway.com has an on-line Bible collection. The website features 20 English translations, including the most popular versions such as the KJV, NIV, NASB, and Amplified. In addition, there are over 40 editions in other languages. There are search engines on the site equip you to search for any word or phrase, or go directly to any passage of your choice, in many translations.

Bible Reading International has the NKJV online. Because of ease of use, I have used this site for years (even though I have E-Sword, BibleSoft, etc.)

Bible Names, Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Commentaries

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary. This dictionary is from "Hitchcock's New and Complete Analysis of the Holy Bible". It contains more than 2,500 Bible and Bible-related proper names and their meanings.

Smith's Bible Dictionary has more details than Hitchcock's, but less entries. This is the 1884 Bible dictionary by William Smith, who of course was not in the Church of God (and I use the hard copy myself). Click here you wish to look up a specific word.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary Although Easton's work is considered a classic in the field of Bible dictionaries, it is not a Church of God dictionary and has many of the usual mainstream biases.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible  This is a commentary from the early 1700s. I sometimes use it as it is part of another software package I have.

Nave's Topical Bible While the mainstream considers this to be a classic, and it can be useful, it is somewhat biased doctrinally. However it can be helpful when doing a search for general topics as it can provide many links to scriptures related to that topic throughout the Bible.

Bible History and Reference Works

The History of Early Christianity Page This is perhaps the most concentrated source of the beliefs of the original and true church. Nearly all the articles come from a Church of God perspective.

Biblical Archaeology At BIBARCH™ you can learn of the cultures of ancient biblical peoples, consider the worldviews of the servants and prophets of God, and extend your understanding of the life and times of the first Christians and the early church.

Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from c. 31 A.D. to 2014.

Early "Christian" Writings This is one of the most comprehensive source of on-line documents related to early Christianity, though many of the authors were NOT actual Christians. Although I own the CD version of these writings, it is convenient to use it on-line.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia 1915 edition is used by some, but of course does not Church of God perspectives..

New Advent This is a popular Catholic site that contains an early 20th Century edition of The Catholic Encyclopedia on line. It also contains a lot of writings from early Christian and early Catholic writers. Although I own the CD version of some of these writings, it is convenient to use it on-line. It can be helpful to find out what Catholic scholars have written on many matters (surprisingly, many admit the truth about some matters in some documents that contradict what most Catholics believe).

The Works of Flavius Josephus This site has the works of the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37 CE - circa 100 CE). For centuries Josephus' works were more widely read in Europe than perhaps any book other than the Bible.

Christian Classics Ethereal Library The stated mission of the CCEL is to build up the church by making classic Christian writings available and promoting their use. Essentially, it is a source of a lot of nineteenth century translations of early writings. It has a Protestant bent, but does have a lot of source materials.

The Works of Alfred Edersheim -  including Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Sketches of Jewish Social Life, and The Temple--Its Ministry and Services The complete text of all these Edersheim books, in searchable form, is available on this website. Written in the late 1800s his writings are considered classics in the field by many mainstream theologians.

Two Babylons This is a classic from Alexander Hislop. Although he makes a few mistakes sometimes (who doesn't?), he shows that many practices now associated with mainstream Christianity have pagan origins. Those more interested in documentation of what the early true Church taught (which of course, excluded pagan practices), is available at The History of Early Christianity page.

Bible Maps and Photos

Bible Atlas Online These include many topographical, political, and specialized maps related to Bible history, from just before the time of Abraham to the third century AD.

Petra Photos While Petra may not be the "place of safety", it just may be. Here are some photos from a non-COG source. Note: Joyce's photos below on other areas load much faster.

Joyce's Photos of Areopagus Rock In the Book of Acts, Paul made his famous "Men of Athens" speech on Areopagus Rock (called Mars Hill in the KJV).
Joyce's Photos of Ancient Athens
In the Book of Acts, Paul made his famous "Men of Athens" speech. Paul is believed to have visited Athens during his second missionary journey (which was with Silas) around 49-52 A.D.
Joyce's Photos of Corinth The Apostle Paul not only preached in Corinth for about six months (Acts 18:8-11), he also wrote two letters to the brethren there (1st and 2nd Corinthians).
Joyce's Photos of Ephesus Both the Apostles Paul and John wrote to the church at Ephesus. The Apostle John, with possibly Mary (Jesus' mother), moved to Ephesus. The Christian leader Polycrates lived in Ephesus.
Joyce's Photos of Patmos Late in his life, the Apostle John reportedly was taken to Rome from Ephesus, then suddenly exiled to Patmos, by Emperor Domitian.
Joyce's Photos of Pergamos Pergamus (also known as Pergamum, but currently known as Bergama, Bergamo, or Bergamum) was one of the seven churches of Revelation.
Joyce's Photos of Rhodes The Apostle Paul, with Luke, visited Rhodes, on what is considered to have been his fourth missionary journey (around 60 A.D.).
Joyce's Photos of Rome and the Vatican Rome has been a major world city for centuries. Since the late second century, it has made claims of prominence over Christianity.
Joyce's Photos of Smyrna Smyrna is the second of the seven churches listed in the Book of Revelation.

Bible Games and Animations- Michael's Free Bible Quizzes and Public Domain Animations

Self Grading Bible Quiz 15 questions and a report card when you finish.
The Good Samaritan A public domain claymation for younger people.
Paul in Damascus Not a quiz, but a Lego-animation.
John 21 Not a quiz, but (other than a Lego suggesting a long-haired Jesus) a biblical story for young people.
Bible Crossword Puzzle
Who Wants to be a Biblical Millionaire?
A sophisticated quiz.
Michael's Feasts and Fasts Quiz
15 questions, amusing wrong answer screens.
The Ten Commandments Quiz Developed by my son Michael.
Michael's Day of Atonement Quiz Another free on-line Bible quiz by my son Michael.
Bible Hangman Michael's most interactive Bible game to date.
Michael's Sabbath Quiz Test and learn a little more about the Sabbath.

Old Worldwide Church of God, Radio Church of God, and Herbert W. Armstrong Writings

Who Was Herbert W. Armstrong? How is He Viewed Today? This article seems to be the only one on the entire internet to extensively quote from the 1973 edition of The Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong (the last edition he actually authorized--the 1986 edition had certain key points edited out by the Tkach administration editors--hence it is not a true autobiography). It explains about Herbert W. Armstrong's background, conversion, what he stood for, and how his legacy should be viewed.

Church of God Homeschool Association (Frank Olive developed this and donated it to COG-ff) A source of the most old HWA/WCG/RadioCOG literature. However, the reproduction for some does not have quality as good as herbertwarmstrong.org, but they often have more recent articles that other sites are missing.

Herbert W. Armstrong.org (Don Tiger originally developed this) A lot of online Plain Truth, Good News, and Tomorrow's World magazines. Basically an archive of a lot of older materials.

Pabco's Page HWA literature, mostly booklets (COGaic supporting)

COGwriter Home Page This site has probably the most up-to-date articles that concur with the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong often combined with the teachings of early (1st and 2nd century) Church of God leaders.

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