Discovery Edition 2.0. Bible Explorer 2.0 Discovery Edition ($14.95)The perfect gift? Few gifts you can select for under $25 will have the opportunity to change or fill a life like the Bible Explorer 2.0 Discovery Edition CD. The Word of the Lord will not return void we have God’s promise. What better gift could we give than the inspired Word of God with a collection of valuable helps made easy to use by the power of the PC and the talent of Epiphany Software’s programers who have delivered on the promise of easy to use Windows based Bible software at an affordable price. [Review by Arthur Grant]
Bible Explorer 2.0 Reference Edition - ($69.95) I was completely blown away with the power, the intuitive interface(see screen print below), content and price of Bible Explorer version 2.0. The price and content of the Standard Edition leaves no excuse for anyone with a PC not owning Bible Software.
ARE YOU READY FOR MORE THAN JUST AN ELECTRONIC BIBLE - There are few modern legends of expository Bible teaching. Head and shoulders above the pack is the late J. Vernon McGee of Thru The Bible fame.
Discover Affordable Bible Software
Bible Explorer has remained the SCCE Bible software Best Buy under $100 since we first tested it more than a year ago. With the release of the entry level Discovery Edition the people at Epiphany Software have truly made Bible Software affordable for everyone. What makes Bible Explorer an even better buy is that you don’t need to have a power system to run it. In tests on our trusty AST 386 SX/20 with a dual speed CD-ROM and Win 3.1 it ran quickly and flawlessly.
At only $14.95 this CD was the top pick of all our writers for Gift Of The Year. For the price of a Pizza you can Glorify the name of Jesus Christ and enrich the life of someone you care about by giving them a full function Bible program that allows quick efficient word searches multi color highlighting of favorite texts and offers the always helpful Thompson’s Chain reference. Over coffee at Starbucks our small group was excitedly checking their lists like (dare I say it?) Santa Claus trying to remember who they knew who did not own Bible Software. (My 10 year old daughter is getting our review copy) but I am sure we will be buying some for friends.
So enough praise what is it you get in place of your pizza? How does the complete King James Version Bible topped with the ever easy to digest Living Bible sound for starters. For sophistication there is a side of the aforementioned Thompson’s Chain reference along with the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Over 250 photographs and a Bible Lands Map Set to add place and understanding to your study. A long drink of Bible Reading Planner. All of this is topped off with a desert of The always tasty Necessity of Prayer. In all a very affordable and filling meal for your Soul.
This value is especially good for young adults and people who have not experienced using a computer for study and are uncertain if a larger investment is worthwhile. For the gift giver there is the pleasure always associated with giving a friend or family member the most loving present anyone can give, the Word of God, sixty six books of love, forgiveness, healing and redemption.
With all of the Bible programs I have tested, I still don’t fully understand how the Publishers of Bible Explorer have been able to craft such a powerful user friendly program and offer the large number of books they do for such a little price as they do. Even programs that cost considerably more don’t offer multi color highlighting or appendable clipboards. No one offers more for less.
If the recipient of your gift finds that they truly enjoy using the speed and ease of a computer to expand their study and sharing of God’s Word they will quickly want to upgrade the available books. Here too Bible Explorer makes you the giver look like a genius and encourages the receiver to add depth to their biblical library to what we at SCCE consider the best buy in home Bible study software under $100 the Bible Explorer Reference Edition. We have all heard of value pricing where you get a whole package of the most wanted features at one low price well below the cost of buying the same upgrades one at a time. Bible Explorer has perfected this concept by offering 20 additional books for the low price of $59.95. The owner can upgrade at any time by calling Epiphany software’s toll free number and receiving the unlocking codes right over the phone. In addition to the books already mentioned they will have the American Standard Version, Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha, Young’s Literal Translation and Darby’s Translation, the legendary Scofield’s Notes, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary, Strong’s Concordance and Dictionary, (the easiest to use of any software we have tested), word study helps like Tense, Voice, Mood and Vine’s Expository Dictionary. But wait there’s more Nave’s Topical Bible and New Topical Text Book, Easton’s famous Illustrated Bible dictionary, Manners and Customs of Bible Lands, Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotional, Over 300 illustrations, the classic books Imitation of Christ, Life & Times of Jesus, Augustine’s Confessions, Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Pilgrims Progress.
It’s a good thing that this Soul food doesn’t have any calories, with this much on one plate we would be on a diet until next Christmas.
Bible Explorer Discovery Edition is one of the few products I have ever felt so positive about that I would recommend finding a reason to give a gift under $15.00. If the person your shopping for love’s the Lord and has a PC, they will love Bible Explorer. Click here to see a comparison of Bible Explorer features compared to the other top Bible software packages.
Bible Explorer......version 2.0
By: Art Grant
The LORD has given to us His beloved, a gift. His inspired WORD. Sixty six books penned by more than forty authors over thousands of years. Jesus said that the scriptures testify of me (Jn 5:39) and Hebrews 10:5 says in the volume of the book it is written of me. In John we are told that the WORD was made flesh and dwelt among us. If these statements are true than it is incumbent upon those of us that claim to love Jesus Christ to spend time fellowshiping with him through the study of GOD's WORD. Internationally known Pastor Chuck Missler has demonstrated for many of us that the Bible is an integrated message system crafted by the Holy Spirit to bring to anyone who will take the time to read it the assurance of GOD's love, mercy and Salvation.
While the Bible is sufficient to know GOD as he has revealed Himself to us. To truly be effective in the study of GOD's WORD the student should take advantage of tools developed over the centuries to help anyone develop an in depth understanding of GOD's WORD and thus GOD's will for his or her life. A concordance such as that produced by Dr Strong more than a hundred years ago can allow the user to do a topical study or word study by looking up every occurrence of a word or phrase in English and then studying the associated passage of scripture or determine what the underlying Hebrew or Greek word is to clarify the intent of the Spirit. Of course to understand the Greek and Hebrew text (assuming you are not fluent in either) you will need as a minimum the associated Strong's Dictionary of Greek and Hebrew words. Understanding the Tense, Voice or Mood of a word or phrase adds immensely to your understanding of the message being conveyed. A Dictionary defining people, places and things of significance in Scripture is also very helpful and Photographs, Illustrations and Maps of places and things discussed in the Bible would aid in your understanding of GOD's Word. Of course many of us own one or more of the many popular Study Bibles such as Scofield's or Ryrie's. These help guide our studies and act as mini commentaries as well. However no Bible has room to include extensive helps and the helps mentioned above such as Strong Concordance and Dictionaries and more can be very costly.
Epiphany Software with the release of Bible Explorer Version 2.0 has made all of the most helpful tools available in an easy to use affordable group of packages. In my opinion the Reference Edition of Bible Explorer 2.0 offers the best value on the Bible Software Market under $100.00 dollars.
Bible Explorer comes in five editions from the Standard Edition at $39.95 to the Scholar Edition for $349.95. The difference between the editions are the size of the included library of Bibles and helps. All of the primary helps; Concordance, Word Study tools, Scofields Study Notes, Topical References, Bible Dictionaries, Photographs, Illustrations of Biblical sites (more than 250 photo's) and Maps along with classic Christian Literature, Thompsons Chain Reference and the must have Treasury of Scripture Knowledge are included in the $39.95 Standard Edition of Bible Explorer. The only full featured PC Bible I know of that offers as much or more content for near this low price is the ONLINE BIBLE and it doesn’t have many of the user friendly features that really make Bible Explorer a joy to use.
With Bible Explorer you are able to highlight passages of scripture of significance to you in any one of eight colors. Bible Explorer won't search the whole Bible for your Highlight notes as will QuickVerse 4.0, however QuickVerse won't print highlighted passages to your color printer from inside the program like Bible Explorer will. Bible Explorer has a very friendly easy to use search engine. The user must select the type of search required: Bibles, Commentaries or Study Notes. Bible Explorer will not search all available resources in one sweep like Logos but then again Bible Explorer provides a sizable collection of resources at a fraction of the price of Logos. Bible Explorer provides an appendable clipboard that allows you to collect a group of notes without running back and forth to your word processor. If you read my review last month of QuickVerse 4.0 than you know I conceded that the Index file used by QuickVerse is more powerful than the Appendable Clipboard in PC Study Bible or Bible Explorer however for most tasks where you don't care to keep the references other than the document you are preparing on your word processor an Appendable Clipboard is still hard to beat. The Appendable Clipboard in Bible Explorer is very useful, I just wish the programmers would have made it a button on the tool bar instead of a drop down menu. The only significant feature I would like to see added to Bible Explorer is the ability to create note files independent of verse. Currently personal notes must be attached to a verse. I am one of those people who like to write my thoughts on whole passages or books and would like to have them available for future searches in my Bible software. This however is a small point especially when contrasted to the strengths and affordability of this group of software.
If you like Topical Studies or Word Studies you will love Bible Explorer. Even the entry level Standard Edition at just $39.95 comes with Thompson's Chain Reference(TCR). With Bible Explorer, TCR is packaged in a way that is the most useful I have seen. From the Bible Explorer Library select commentaries, then TCR. Thompson's will prompt the user for a topic. Select prophecy. A display like a Window directory tree appears with a folder-fulfillment of, select this folder and four more folders appear further defining the area of prophecy to be studied. Select by Christ and more than 25 New Testament Verses are listed along with three more folders for Old Testament and second coming prophecies , click on one of the listed verses and Bible Explorer will usher you to that verse in your default Bible Version to begin your study. I mentioned the default Bible version because Bible Explorer Standard Edition provides two Bible translations The King James Version (KJV) and the American Standard Version (ASV) along with the Living Bible transliteration. (not bad for $39.95).
If you select the Reference Edition in addition to picking up three more Bible translations and four more classic Christian Books you also get Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary, Manners and Customs of Bible Lands, Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, Nave's Topical Bible and Torrey's New Topical Textbook. Torrey's New Topical Textbook may be reason enough to buy Bible Explorer 2.0 even if you already own other Bible software. If you lead a home Bible study this is an invaluable tool along with the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and Vine's Expository Dictionary. Select the topic prophecy again and more than twenty major topic folders appear, select prophecies respecting Christ and more than seventy five folders appear. Select one of these folders and the verses pertaining to that prophecy and it's fulfillment if completed are made available. Of course click on the reference and Bible Explorer transports you to that verse. The topical listing and one or more translations of the Scriptures can be displayed simultaneously on the screen.
If you like word studies Bible Explorer 2.0 puts the Strongs numbers and Tense, Voice and Mood cross-references right were you can use them next to each word. Click on the reference and the resource be it the Strongs Dictionary, Vines Expository Dictionary of OT/NT words or additional word study tools such as A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament or Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament appear next to your Bible Window. Select the tab and follow the cross reference through the Bible. Each study window is printable.
Since I used the phrase Thru the Bible, I'll mention that Bible Explorer is the only Bible Software Package (that I am aware of) that offers J. Vernon McGee's Thru the Bible Old Testament and New Testament Commentaries. Both Commentaries come as a part of the $249.95 Teachers Edition or they can be unlocked for $49.95 each, OT & NT. If your a fan of J. Vernon McGee's thru the Bible Radio Program you will find it less expensive and easier to use McGees commentaries in the Bible Explorer 2.0 format than buying the hard cover books at your local Christian Bookstore, even including the price of either Bible Explorer 2.0 Standard or Reference Edition.
I was completely blown away with the power, the intuitive interface(see screen print below), content and price of Bible Explorer version 2.0. The price and content of the Standard Edition leaves no excuse for anyone with a PC not owning Bible Software. Earlier in this review I said that Bible Explorer was the Best Buy in Bible software under $100.00 dollars. With the extensive resources available in the Scholar Edition costing $349.95 you might wonder why I didn't say Bible Explorer 2.0 is the best buy in Bible software period. The reason is Library preferences. For Pastors, Scholars and Advanced Students Library flexibility and specific resources might be more important than ease of use or user interface. For that there are other programs each with there own proprietary titles..
Without question or reservation if you are interested in Bible Software and aren't sure if you will really use it. Pick up Bible Explorer version 2.0. It costs less than most hard cover Bibles and will richly reward you for just a little effort on your part. A Bible study guide by R.A. Torrey on how to study the Bible is available in the user guide or at Epiphany Software’s Web Site. It is well worth reading.
If your a veteran Bible software user and have several Bible software programs, I would still highly recommend Bible Explorer 2.0 Reference Edition. No other program I have tried makes it easier to do word studies and topical studies and I have most available software.
I recommend a visit to Epiphany Software’s Web Site for more information or to e-mail them any specific questions you might have.
ARE YOU READY FOR MORE THAN JUST AN ELECTRONIC BIBLE..
Review by: Art Grant
There are few modern legends of expository Bible teaching. Head and shoulders above the pack is the late J. Vernon McGee of Thru The Bible fame. Millions have ridden the Bible bus with Dr. McGee over the last thirty plus years. Thousands more have spent the hundred and twenty five dollar asking price for the five book set of edited message from the Thru The Bible radio broadcasts and hundreds more for the many other commentary sets and books available by this old preacher.
Even now works of Dr. McGee’s are being published from his vast library of sermons and radio messages. Just this week I was sent notice of Thomas Nelson Publishers upcoming release of “More Real Characters” (How God Uses Unlikely People To Accomplish Great Things). All this is to say the relevance of Dr. McGee’s work has extended beyond his earthly presence like that of few others.
As you can tell I am a great fan of J.Vernon’s teaching. He has a clear concise yet thorough style and is not afraid to take on liberal theology that would in anyway challenge the inerrancy of scripture or take from the Glory of our Lord. He is not afraid to challenge the laziness of the evangelical church well always shinning with the love of Jesus Christ. In everything Dr. McGee takes his opinion from scripture. This is not to say his teaching is not without error or that there aren’t areas where we as brothers in Christ can not have honest disagreements but rather to say that he does not duck issues.
So I like the teaching of Dr. McGee, big deal. While hang on, Epiphany Software publishers of Bible Explorer have something unique. If you were fortunate enough to receive Bible Explorer our editors pick for BEST BIBLE SOFTWARE UNDER $100 for Christmas or have purchased it for yourself then you have undoubtedly seen the list of books available on your CD. Best of the available unlocks (unless you have the Teachers Edition in which case you have it all) are the Old and New Testament commentaries by Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
Studying the Bible requires prayer and the illumination of the Holy Spirit to fully understand even the simplest of verses. But as God through the ages spoke by the prophets he has chosen in these last days to speak through the words and deeds of His Son Jesus Christ. Christ has appointed, anointed and commissioned Preachers and Teachers to spread the Gospel to all peoples, nations and tongues. Following this leading Dr. McGee has left us a wealth of preaching and teaching on every passage of scripture and Bible Explorer has faithful packaged that knowledge into the easiest to use software package available.
If you are not familiar with commentaries they are in a nutshell the researched explanations of the meaning and details of scripture. Well all things should be proven by the Word of God, commentaries allow us to check our understanding of scripture or to receive illustration of a passage to aid our understanding. The commentator has researched the details such as culture, original language usage or historicity of the passage and tries to bring the Words of God into focus for our present time. As we move further from the agrarian heritage of the Bible and evil more and more is called good or choice, we need these illustrations to aid our understanding.
Dr. McGee has such a breadth of scriptural knowledge that he is able to
master the most difficult of theological tasks. Presenting the Word of God in
such a way that a child can wade in it and an elephant can drown in it. That is
to say his explanations are simple but not simplistic. Using Bible Explorer the
student can read a verse, passage or chapter of scripture while having the
clarifying teaching of Dr. McGee scrolling right along side for clarification. I
can’t recommend these two commentaries highly enough. If you have the forty nine
dollars and ninety five cents for each, this too is a editor choice BEST BUY.
Bible Explorer 2.0 Trial Edition.
Review by Art Grant
Epiphany Software makers of Bible Explorer 2.0 have developed the perfect way to introduce you to the advantages of Bible Software. For about the price of a Happy Meal or bag of Doritos you can go to your local Christian Bookstore and pick up a full-featured Scholar Edition of Bible Explorer 2.0.
So what is the catch certainly Epiphany Software is in business to make money and they aren't making money selling the Scholar Edition of Bible Explorer 2.0 for $2.95.
The key is that the Trial Edition program only lasts for 30 days. Let's face it a competent well-rounded Bible software library can cost big bucks. The Scholar Edition of Bible Explorer lists at $349.95 a lot of money for almost anyone. (Bible Explorer also offers the Discovery Edition for $14.95) Most Bible programs come with a 30+-day money back guarantee. Experience has shown that people don't like to buy a program and then return it. Sometimes they buy the program and just don't have time to use it before the satisfaction clause expires. Another problem is which version do I really need? If I buy the more complete package it is less expensive than adding books later or do I buy a less in depth version and find I myself wishing I had spent a little more for the deluxe package?
Epiphany Software has eliminated this problem. For $2.95 you get to try each version of Bible Explorer from the Discovery Edition to the Scholar Edition. The Trial Edition is not just one book of the Bible but the complete Bible and full up library of helps with full search and notes capability. Chose the version you are interested in and work your daily studies with it. Try the next level up or down. Bible Explorer has included an excellent yet simple tutorial on the CD. The contents of each level of Bible Explorer are detailed and how to use the much help is disused and demonstrated. The demo allows you to take your time. It's like renting the model of car you are thinking of buying. After a day or two of real use you will have a better idea of what you want or can do without. You have 30 days to try it all and make the right choice. When you know what level of Bible Explorer will have the most impact or your life and study of the Bible with in the resources you have available just return to the Christian retailer that you bought the Trial Edition From and pick up your permanent copy of Bible Explorer 2.0.
Bible Explorer 2.0 has been an SCCE best buy for more than a year. I highly recommend you spend the $2.95 now and find out how much fun and help a quality piece of Bible Software like Bible Explorer 2.0 can be to your study in God's word.