Is there something wrong with the church today?

Have you ever asked yourself that question? When the world looks at us and calls us hypocrites – well, why argue? We know that we don’t always live out what we say we believe. But once, if we look closely, it seems that the church was on fire! It was living, and growing, and serving, and sharing the hope, the love, and the joy of the gospel despite cultural opposition. Somehow in the midst of a politically hostile first century culture, the Early Church grew and grew. How? Why?

This Early Church has remained a mystery to the modern world. There are very few books that have covered this topic for a simple reason: there is very little that has ever been discovered or uncovered from the Christians in Israel during this time period.

The Early Church On Fire - Re-Igniting the Passion of the First Followers of Jesus introduces the reader to a group of faithful Jewish believers who lived in and around Israel between the death and resurrection of Christ until the time of Constantine. These were the first Christians - the people who spread the gospel and changed the world. They did so despite tremendous persecution and opposition - but they could not, would not, be stopped.

Dr. Steven L. Smith is an expert in all the ancient Biblical languages. His understandings and explanations of the inscriptions and the icons found all over Israel are the key to his ability to bring to light the character and passion of the Early Church. You may ask, “How come we haven’t heard these things before?” But remember, more has been uncovered in Biblical archaeology in the last 30 years than in the previous two millenia.

The Early Church on Fire is a book born out of the passion of one man, his study of the ancient languages, and time spent on his knees – both in prayer and in the dirt of the Holy Land.