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Books by Kevin McKinney

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    New Testament Miracles The 37 Miracles of Jesus During His earthly ministry, Jesus performed thousands of miracles. From curing all types of diseases to calming a storm to raising people from the dead, Jesus showed His power over and over again. The writers of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, recorded 37 specific miracles out of the thousands performed. These were selected to give us a better understanding of who Jesus is as well as demonstrate His power and authority. Each miracle has multiple lessons to teach, and only by close examination can you see everything Jesus was attempting to teach his followers two thousand years ago, and today. This book puts the 37 miracles of Jesus in chronological order. Each entry shows the scripture, where the miracle took place, and gives a commentary on the meaning and lessons of the miracle. There are also interesting facts inserted, including archaeological discoveries that help put the miracle stories in a proper con...
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The Ghost in the Garden: The Legend of Lilith, Adam’s First Wife

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  In the shadows of Eden, hiding between the verses of Genesis, lives a figure who has haunted Jewish folklore and the human imagination for millennia. Her name is Lilith . To the modern reader of the Bible, Eve is the first and only woman, formed from Adam's rib. But in the rich tapestry of rabbinic legend and mysticism, Eve was actually the second wife. The first was Lilith—a woman created not from a rib, but from the same dust as Adam, who refused to submit to him and fled the Garden to become the mother of demons. While she does not appear in the canonical text of Genesis, Lilith’s story is a fascinating example of how ancient scholars used mythology to solve textual problems, and how a figure of terror The legend of Lilith was born from a "plot hole" in the book of Genesis. Careful readers of the Hebrew Bible noticed a contradiction between the first two chapters: Genesis 1:27: "So God created mankind in his own image... male and female he created...
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The Crown of Creation: Woman and the Imago Dei

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  The question of whether woman was made in the image of God, or if she is merely a reflection of man, has sparked theological debate for centuries. It stems from the linguistic ambiguity of the word "man" (which can mean "males" or "humankind") and the specific order of creation in Genesis 2. However, when we examine the original Hebrew text and the broader scope of Scripture, the answer is resoundingly clear: Woman was made in the image of God. To understand why, we must look at the distinction between "humanity" and "gender," the nature of God Himself, and the specific role Eve plays in the narrative. The confusion often begins with the English translation. In Genesis 1, we read: "Let us make man in our image." A casual reader might assume this refers specifically to a male. However, the Hebrew word used here is 'adam (Adam). In this context, 'adam is a neutral noun referring to "humankind" or ...
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The Field of Blood: The Archaeology of Akeldama

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  In the Valley of Hinnom, just south of Mount Zion in Jerusalem, lies a plot of land with a darker history than perhaps any other spot in the Holy City. For two thousand years, it has been known as Akeldama , Aramaic for "Field of Blood." According to the New Testament, this land was purchased with the thirty pieces of silver returned by Judas Iscariot after his betrayal of Jesus. It stands today not just as a location of biblical infamy, but as an archaeological site that confirms the gritty realities of death and burial in first-century Jerusalem. The purchase of Akeldama is recorded in two slightly different accounts in the New Testament, both emphasizing the tragic end of Judas. Matthew 27:3-10: Judas, overcome with remorse, throws the silver coins into the Temple sanctuary. The chief priests, determining it is unlawful to put "blood money" into the treasury, use the funds to buy the "potter's field" as a burial place ...
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The Price of a Slave: The Dark Legacy of Thirty Pieces of Silver

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  In the lexicon of betrayal, no phrase is more iconic than "thirty pieces of silver." It has become a cultural idiom for the price of treason, the selling out of a friend, or the compromising of one's soul for profit. The phrase originates from the Gospel of Matthew, where Judas Iscariot asks the chief priests, "What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?" And they paid him thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15). At first glance, this seems like an arbitrary negotiation, a random sum agreed upon in a backroom deal. However, when we trace this specific amount through the tapestry of the Old Testament, we discover that the number thirty was not random at all. It was a calculated insult, heavy with theological irony. Learn about the 37 miracles of Jesus recorded in the New Testament. How much was thirty pieces of silver actually worth? The coins were likely Tyrian shekels , the currency used in the Temple tax because of their high silver content....
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The Life of Saint Paul

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  The Life of Saint Paul The Missing Years Beyond Acts !!! NEW RELEASE!!! Forget everything you thought you knew about the Apostle Paul. If you search for the story of the Apostle Paul, you will find countless sanitized biographies and devotional guides. But what if you could step behind the curtain of history? What if you could look at the dirt, the stones, and the real-world political machine that Paul fought—and eventually conquered? The Life of Saint Paul: Uncovering the Missing Years Beyond Acts is a groundbreaking, evidence-based investigation that bridges the gap between ancient tradition and modern archaeological reality. This book takes you beyond the familiar Sunday school narratives to explore: The Forensic Reality: Discover why we are certain Paul survived shipwreck, why his eyesight was permanently damaged, and the brutal reality of his unrecorded physical sufferings. The Archaeological Evidence: Explore the physical "ground truth" of Paul’s life—from the stone w...
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The Eighth Commandment Paradox: Why the Bible is the World’s Most Stolen Book

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  There is a profound irony sitting on the shelves of bookstores and in the drawers of hotel nightstands around the world. The Bible, the very book that codified the moral absolute "Thou shalt not steal" (Exodus 20:15), holds the dubious distinction of being the most stolen book in history. This fact, often cited by Guinness World Records and retail loss-prevention experts, presents a fascinating psychological and theological puzzle. Why would people commit a sin to acquire the book that condemns sin? The answer reveals much about human nature, the commodification of religion, and the unique magnetic pull of the Scriptures. While precise crime statistics for specific book titles are difficult to pin down (thieves rarely fill out exit surveys), bookstore owners and librarians have long identified the Bible as a high-risk item. It consistently disappears from shelves at a higher rate than bestsellers, erotica, or cookbooks. In the United States, Christian bookstores ofte...
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The Coat of Many Colors in the Clay: The Mystery of the Avaris Statue

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  In the murky waters of biblical archaeology, finding a specific individual from the Patriarchal age is widely considered impossible. The desert sands shift, names change, and records are lost. Yet, in the Nile Delta, specifically in the ruins of the ancient city of Avaris (modern Tell el-Dab'a), archaeologists uncovered a piece of a puzzle that looks startlingly like the face of Joseph. For decades, skeptics argued that the story of Joseph, the Hebrew slave who rose to become the Vizier of Egypt, was a pious fiction. They claimed there was no evidence of a high-ranking Semitic population in Egypt during the Middle Kingdom. Then came the excavations led by Austrian archaeologist Manfred Bietak. In 1987, his team unearthed a palace complex and a shattered statue that have fueled one of the most compelling debates in the history of biblical archaeology. The site of Tell el-Dab'a corresponds to the biblical "Land of Goshen", the fertile region given to Jacob and h...
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