We hope that the current pandemic is not causing you or your family or friends too much trouble.

 

This week we are releasing a resource that has been in the works for quite some time.

 

The series Terror on Every Side! tells the story of the prophet Jeremiah, and this resource can help you to see his story more easily through timelines, family trees and maps.

 

 

Most people who read the Bible do not live in Israel and are not Jews.  Becoming familiar with the history and geography of the Bible requires a significant effort, even when we have useful resources that can answer our questions.

 

Did you know that Paul was not the first man to travel large distances to convey God's message to people of many nations?  Jeremiah had done the same thing hundreds of years before.  Maps help us to see the places to which he had to convey God's warnings.

 

The new Volume 1 - Early Days Supplement that we are releasing today includes three basic maps:

Each map is available in different forms, some with colour or terrain shading and some without.

 

 

Since there are different needs, we have produced this supplement in two different forms:

Family trees help to show the connections within and between families, and the supplement includes a new form of Jeremiah's family tree, combined with the family tree of Aaron (as shown below).

 

 

Jeremiah spent 40 years working as a prophet, speaking to a nation who, on the whole, would not listen.  Yet God persisted with sending prophets to his people, giving them more and more opportunities to listen to his warnings.  God did not give up easily.

 

Yet finally the time came when there were no more opportunities and the nation of Judah was destroyed.  The temple of God and all the important buildings in Jerusalem were destroyed and the city became a place of slaughter.

 

God warned that the Valley of Ben Hinnom would be called the Valley of Slaughter because of the vengeance he would wreak on those of his people who would not listen.

 

And what about now?  God has told us that his son will return to be seen by everybody and to rule the world, but he has also warned that before that happens, there will be a time of trouble of a sort that has never been seen before.  Could this be the time we are entering now, or will the danger of COVID-19 just slowly recede and the world go back to "normal"?

 

Jeremiah continued to warn people that the deadline was approaching, and eventually it came.