Below are books, study material and other resources that we recommend and have found to be incredibly helpful.
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Confused by Revelation? This book can help.
Book: The Old Testament in Revelation by Michael S. Heiser.
Description: New Testament scholars know the writer of the book of Revelation frequently makes use of the Old Testament. That awareness is not at all common for many of its readers. As with much of its content, though, the issue is not as straightforward as one might presume. For example, scholars regularly note that, despite hundreds of links back into the Old Testament on the part of John, the author of Revelation, none of the links are direct, word-for-word complete citations. Often, the citations are more allusions than quotations, and John frequently combines them so that their meaning in his mind is not intuitive to today’s reader.
Scholars specializing in this field have devised various approaches to understand John’s use of the Old Testament, a crucial requirement to comprehending the book’s meaning and theology. The goal of this book, utilizing the scholarly sources employed in the Naked Bible Podcast series on the topic, is to provide readers with a solid Scripture based grasp of this enigmatic New Testament book.
A Netflix-style series about Jesus
TV Series: The Chosen
Brewery Ministries note: The Chosen is a great way to get to know who Jesus is and what he is like. If you're interested in learning about Jesus but you're not into reading, this series just might be your jam. The show is designed in the style of a Netflix streaming series and is one of the best modern interpretations of Jesus' life yet. It does contain some elements of historical fiction but overall it will give you an excellent grasp of the main storyline in the New Testament and why it matters.
Brewery Ministries has covered each episode of seasons 1 & 2 on the Brewery Ministries podcast. Give it a listen after you watch the show!
Learn the Bible's Original Supernatural Worldview
Book: Supernatural by Michael S. Heiser.
Description: Dr. Michael S. Heiser, a Scholar-in-Residence at Faithlife Corporation, presents fifteen years of research on what the Bible really says about the unseen world of the supernatural-unfiltered by tradition or by theological presuppositions. "People shouldn't be protected from the Bible," Dr. Michael S. Heiser says, but theological systems often do just that, by "explaining away" difficult or troublesome passages of Scripture because their literal meaning doesn't fit into our tidy systems.
Who were the "sons of God"? Who were the Nephilim? Where do angels fit into the supernatural hierarchy? Why did God find it necessary to have the Israelites destroy the populations of entire cities-man, woman, and child? What relation does Jesus bear to the rest of the supernatural world? Dr. Michael S. Heiser tackles these questions and many more in his books Supernatural and The Unseen Realm.
Our #1 Recommended Study Bible
Faithlife Illustrated Study Bible
The world’s most powerful Bible software brings you the most visually striking new study Bible!
From the makers of Logos Bible Software, the NIV Faithlife Illustrated Study Bible’s striking illustrations and comprehensive verse-by-verse insights will serve as a guide to help you understand and apply God’s Word. With informative contributions by respected scholars and bestselling authors like Charles Stanley, Randy Alcorn, and Ed Stetzer, and over 100 innovative infographics, this NIV study Bible brings the stories of Scripture to life and helps you to see events, places and people clearly.
Also available in CSB and NKJV
Learn the Cultural Context of the Bible
Book: Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible
Discover new dimensions of insight with a behind-the-scenes tour of the ancient world
You’ve heard many Bible stories hundreds of times, but how many details are you missing? Sometimes a little context is all you need to discover the rich meaning behind even the most familiar stories of Scripture. That’s what the NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible provides. Every page of this NRSV Bible is packed with expert insight into the customs, culture, and literature of biblical times. These fascinating explanations will serve to clarify your study of the Scriptures, reinforcing your confidence and bringing difficult passages of Scripture into sharp focus.
The Bible was originally written to an ancient people removed from us by thousands of years and thousands of miles. The Scriptures include subtle culturally based nuances, undertones, and references to ancient events, literature and customs that were intuitively understood by those who first heard the texts read. For us to truly understand the Scriptures as they did, we need a window into their world and language.
Also available in NIV and NKJV. Kindle, Hardcover and Softcover.
The Most In-Depth Bible Commentary
Series: Word Biblical Commentary
Note from Brewery Ministries: Word Biblical Commentary is the most in-depth commentary we've found yet. The series covers every book of the Bible. These commentaries will help you understand every major interpretation, translation debates among scholars and more. They are definitely more academic than most commentaries but they will help you understand each chapter of the Bible from every point-of-view. You'll walk away more informed about your own beliefs and have a solid understanding of how the authors of the Bible thought.
Description: The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship.
Best Non-Academic Commentary (New Testament)
Series: N.T. Wright's For Everyone Commentary
Note from Brewery Ministries: N.T. Wright's commentaries on the New Testament are easy to read while still providing plenty of cultural context tp help you understand the story of the New Testament. These books are available as an entire set or you can buy select commentaries for specific books of the New Testament. These are great for everyone, especially if you're not ready for a more academic level commentary.
Description: In the New Testament for Everyone series, Wright continues his trademark of bringing the most up-to-date biblical scholarship to life with engaging writing, inspiring anecdotes, and faithful interpretation. These eighteen volumes are ideal for Bible study, personal devotion, and teaching.
Tom Wright has undertaken a tremendous task: to provide guides to all the books of the New Testament and to include in them his own translation of the entire text. Each short passage is followed by a highly readable discussion with background information, useful explanations and suggestions, and thoughts as to how the text can be relevant to our lives today. A glossary is included at the back of the book. The series is suitable for group study, personal study, or daily devotions.
You'll Never See The Flood Story The Same
Book: The Origin of Evil Spirits: The Reception of Genesis 6:1-4 in Early Jewish Literature
Note from Brewery Ministries: This book helped unlock our understanding of the Old Testament in ways that were a bit shocking and uncomfortable at first... but that feeling quickly turned into fascination. If you've ever struggled with questions such as "Why would a loving God send a flood to destroy mankind?" or "Why did God command Israel to wipe out entire civilizations?" then this book holds the key to what you've been looking for. Many confusing topics of the Bible started to make sense including the Sons of God from Genesis 6, the giant clans, the Conquest of Canaan and the exorcisms Jesus performed in the New Testament. While Archie's approach is a more academic style, it won't bore you in the least. It's perfect for people with burning questions who needs to trace the evidence back to the source. Archie lays out all of the evidence for the views presented and offers more than one interpretation of the facts. He will also use the historical evidence to put a date on when each interpretation emerged, allowing us to determine what the writers of the Bible likely thought. Archie has produced the most thorough book on the origin of evil spirits and the mysterious Nephilim of the Bible to date. High recommend.
Description: How do we account for the explosion of demonic activity in the New Testament? Archie T. Wrights work traces the development of the concept of evil spirits from the Hebrew Bible through postbiblical Jewish literature. Wright is concerned with the reception history of Genesis 6:14 (the source of the Watchers traditions) in early Enochic and Philonic Judaism during the Second Temple Period. He suggests that the nonspecificity inherent in the biblical text of Genesis 6:14 opened the basis for the later emergence of an etiology of evil spirits as Jewish authors engaged with the text.
As a result, Genesis 6:14 played an important part in the development of demonology in Second Temple Judaism. Chapters examine 1 Enoch 136 (the Book of the Watchers) and the reception of the Watchers tradition in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Philo of Alexandria and draw conclusions about the background of the New Testament conceptions of demons and demon possession