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History of IJS
In 1986 the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry
(FOI) began the Institute of Biblical Studies (IBS) at their
headquarters
in
Deptford, NJ as a one-year program designed to teach the
Bible from a Jewish perspective and to train men and women
for
ministry. Over the next ten years, IBS graduated over 200
students. In
1996, the Friends of Israel and Philadelphia Biblical University
(PBU) agreed to move the program to the campus of PBU, where
it became “The Friends of Israel Institute of Jewish
Studies, A School of Philadelphia Biblical University.” IJS
contributes to the academic program of PBU and the IJS faculty,
and students integrate with PBU while continuing as a ministry
of FOI.
 Goals
The ultimate goal of the Institute of
Jewish Studies is to bring glory to God in all its endeavors.
The immediate
goal is to train followers of the Lord Jesus Christ in
the knowledge of God’s Word. Its courses emphasize
biblical and theological studies in their historical
and cultural context. An understanding of the Jewish
background of the Scriptures, along with an appreciation
of the history and culture of the Jewish people and their
role in the divine plan, undergirds the entire academic
and spiritual thrust of the school.
Specific goals that the Institute of Jewish Studies wishes
to accomplish include the following:
- Give students a working knowledge
of the entire Bible and instill in them a recognition of
its authority in all
areas of life.
- Acquaint students with the Jewish background of the
Scriptures, as well as with basic facts concerning Jewish
history
and culture.
- Enhance the student’s awareness of the land of Israel -- its history,
geography, and current role in world affairs.
- Provide students with an understanding and appreciation
of the role of the Jewish people in redemptive history
and their relationship to the gospel
of
Christ.
- Instill in students an approach of interpreting Scripture
in a literal sense, involving a premillennial understanding
of eschatology and the future
of Israel.
- Give students opportunities to minister.
Location
The Institute of Jewish Studies is located on the beautiful
campus of Philadelphia Biblical University in Langhorne,
PA. IJS is a program of PBU and shares the campus and
facilities of PBU while maintaining its distinct identity.
Strategically situated at the confluence of some of the
major highway arteries of America, the school is within
easy driving distance of such major metropolitan areas
as Philadelphia, New York City, Wilmington, Delaware;
Baltimore, Maryland; and the beaches of New Jersey. In
the heart of the northeast corridor, the Institute of
Jewish Studies lies amid the largest concentration of
Jewish people in the world (i.e., four million from Boston,
Massachusetts to Washington, D.C.).
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