2023-2024 SWRC 16-Month Calendar “Unseen Israel”

“Unseen Israel” 2023-2024 16-Month Calendar 

For many believers, a trip to the Holy Land is a bucket list item. To have the opportunity to walk where Jesus walked or to see the excavated ruins of an Old Testament city is a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. When visiting Israel, most people join a tour, spending a week and a half rushing from one site to another with little time to explore or to become familiar with the geography of biblical events. The sites visited will almost certainly be the most famous of pilgrimage destinations and recognizable locations.

The 2023-2024 Unseen Israel calendar is a glimpse behind the curtains of the much-visited tourist destinations in Israel. The photographs in this calendar reveal sites that are not often visited by tour groups or focus on views that are not often seen in pamphlets or pointed out by tour guides. These locations are important in understanding the history and culture of ancient Israel.

Clayton Van Huss is a student of biblical archaeology, digging at Tel Shiloh with Associates for Biblical Research. He spent seven weeks in Israel during the summer of 2023, digging at the site of the first capital of Israel and visiting out-of-the-way locations with biblical significance. The photos in this calendar were taken during the course of the dig and on excursions around the land of the Bible.

Beneath its touristy exterior, Israel is a complicated land of ancient customs, complex societies, and complicated people. From the hidden corridors of the Old City to the untamed beauty of the Negev, and the busy cities of Judea and Samaria, the character of the land is as varied as its people. Jews, Muslims, and Christians have lived together in this place for millennia, their cultures blending and sometimes clashing to form a distinctive way of life.

Our hope for you, as you enjoy these photos, is that you gain an understanding of the Bible in the context of its history and geography, as the original readers understood. The Bible, while answering the hardest questions on a universal level, is an incredibly local book. The events of the Bible happened in real time to real people in real places. Take the time each day to ponder the biblical locations presented here and the events that happened in them, and then pray accordingly for the world around you.

Our prayer is that those who receive this calendar will be encouraged and have their faith strengthened. For those who are unsaved, our prayer is that the convicting power of the Holy Spirit will bring you to Christ.

Part of the proceeds from this calendar go to the Onesimus Prison Ministry, and when you order a calendar, a calendar is also sent to a prisoner!