~_The Great Passion Play ~

This play depicts the true passion of Christ. A passion so strong that it lead The Lamb of God, to die on a cross, for our sins. Not only has the Passion Play brought new life to many, many people through the past 40 years, it has also brought new life to the city of Eureka Springs and the communities around us.

You will be in awe and inspired from the moment the Christ figure enters the stage.

You will smile and rejoice as Jesus, greets the little children and heals the blind and crippled, and you are likely to groan and gasp as Christ is beaten by the soldiers and then dragged up Via Delarosa to Golgotha, the place of the skull. Where He is nailed to the cross.

Oftentimes the crowd will cheer when Jesus raises from the tomb in His victory over "death, hell and the grave."   And you will be thrilled at the breathtaking ascension scene, where the Christ character actually and almost magically rises high into the night air and disappears before your eyes.

This night will be a night you will never forget and will often relive in your heart and soul. You simply cannot miss it!

~ The New Holy Land Tour ~
Allow 2 1/2 Hours for this attraction

The New Holy Land Tour provides visitors of all ages with the unique opportunity to experience the people, culture, and history of the ancient Middle East. On this 2 1/2 hour interactive Biblical teaching tour, you will explore the ancient Middle-Eastern culture in which Jesus was raised and meet characters from the time of Moses to the time of Christ.

Visitors have the opportunity to enjoy the educational and inspirational experience of the Holy Land Tour on our comfortable tram. As they tour through the New Holy Land, a guide will explain each exhibit. At stops along the way you meet Biblical characters who present a living history of the scriptures providing a greater understanding..

New on the New Holy Land Tour...
Visitors going on the New Holy Land tour at The Great Passion Play will experience new and exciting additions to the wonderful venues available on the grounds. In an effort to make the tour come even more alive, significant enhancements can be seen at Moses’ Tabernacle in the Wilderness as well as at the Sea of Galilee.

Scripture reveals the importance of God’s instructions to the priests as they performed their duties inside the Tabernacle. In 2 Chronicles 2:4, it says “Behold, I build an house to the name of the Lord my God (the Tabernacle), to dedicate it to Him, and to burn before Him sweet incense, ……..”. Then, inside the Holy of Holies, the Shekinah glory of God (the pillar of fire) burns on the mercy seat. Of course, none but the priests were privileged to enter, but through the New Holy Land Tour, we are able to receive a “visual” of what they experienced.

At the Sea of Galilee, Simon Peter talks of the overpowering experience of “walking with Jesus”, witnessing the miracles, time after time, of Jesus’ providing for His sheep. Finally, to see Jesus walk on the water and pray for the guests brings an unspeakable joy to those in attendance.

The hope is that, with such additions, understanding of the scriptures will be even sharper and more powerful in the hearts and lives of the visitors.

38 Historically Accurate Exhibits
Each of the 38 individual exhibits in the New Holy Land Tour have been researched for historical accuracy and have been recreated as authentically as possible. Your New Holy Land Tour includes:

Speaking with a “Levitical Priest” in the full-scale replica of Moses' Tabernacle in the Wilderness; visiting a replica of a first century inn typical of the type where Mary and Joseph may have asked for shelter; a first century stable typical of where Jesus was born; walking beside the "Sea of Galilee" with Simon Peter as he speaks of his last days with Jesus; and visiting the upper room where Jesus and his disciples feasted for the Last Supper.

~ The Bible Museum ~
Allow 30 to 45 minutes

Trace the history of the Bible from ancient parchments to modern computerized versions as you explore our stunning collection of over 6,000 Bibles, manuscripts and artifacts in 625 languages and dialects. The Bible Museum showcases the Word of God with a compilation of original Bibles and manuscripts rarely found in one collection

One of the largest of its kind in the United States, the Bible Museum is located in the lower level of the Smith Memorial Chapel. The museum features a fascinating collection of important translations and historical exhibits including:

The Wycliffe Exhibit containing a number of historically significant Bibles.
Wycliffe believed that the scriptures should be provided in a form that ordinary people could read - a very radical idea for its time.

The Gutenberg Exhibit - Gutenberg, the inventor of the first printing press with movable type enabled the common man to possess a Bible. With only 47 known Gutenberg Bibles in existence today, The Bible Museum is proud to house a single page from a Gutenberg Bible.

Martin Luther's German translation and a page of William Tyndale's New Testament

Greek New Testament published by Erasmus in 1516

Coverdale's Bible - the first complete Bible translated into English

Original 1611 King James Version - a first addition "HE" Bible, so called because of the typographical error in Ruth 3:15.

He also said, "Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out." When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and put it on her. Then he ^[a] went back to town.

Footnotes:

1. Ruth 3:15 Most Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate and Syriac she.

~ The Sacred Arts Center ~
Allow 30 to 45 minutes

Highly acclaimed by art critics, the Sacred Arts Center houses an extraordinary collection of religious and inspirational art.

Admission to the Sacred Arts Center is included with your purchase of a ticket to The Great Passion Play performance ticket or your New Holy Land Tour pass.

The Center offers visitors the opportunity to experience the glory of God and the inspirational messages of Jesus Christ through the eyes of artistic creativity.

From 18th century woodcarvings and 17th century paintings to exquisite ceramics and challenging modern day images, the Sacred Arts Center contains a stunning collection of religious artistic expression.

About The Collection
The Great Passion Play has received a very important collection of original Christian-themed art by American artist Harry Antis. The collection, entitled “A Man from Nazareth named Jesus”, is, in the words of the artist, a series of twelve paintings on “the life, the death, and the purpose of the incredible Galilean man named Jesus.” The Great Passion Play is very excited to display these amazing paintings along with other masterpieces in the Sacred Arts Center.

The Sacred Arts Center collection includes two and three-dimensional art pieces in many diverse mediums including:

• Original oils on canvas painted by early Masters and 20th Century artists.
• A cameo head of Christ in Italian rose marble relief on white marble, contained in a rare claw- based carved wood frame dating back to 800 A.D.
• Two gallery favorites - Edward Goodman Lewis' The Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan and Edward Runci's My God. My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?
• Several historical collections including the royal Dresden china pieces representing the Last Supper as commissioned by Kaiser Wilhelm I.

~ The Museum of Earth History ~
Allow 30 to 45 Minutes

Dinosaurs – those creatures of yesteryear that have mystified and fascinated generations – are roaming near the cross in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

The Elna M. Smith Foundation, producers of the Great Passion Play in Eureka Springs, AR. and the Noble, OK-based Creation Truth Foundation opened the Museum of Earth History. The Museum is an educational and interactive facility uniting the worlds of history, science, and faith in an unprecedented dinosaur presentation.

“The museum is part of the complex surrounding the largest attended outdoor drama in America, namely the Great Passion Play, and will add another facet to the many attractions in the area”, Gary Dressler, spokesman for the Creation Truth Foundation, said.

The museum presents dinosaurs from a different perspective, highlighting the Creation Truth Foundation’s belief that there is a biblical basis for the existence of dinosaurs. The interactive museum experience includes a display of life-size dinosaur skeletons, life models and fossil plates.

The Creation Truth Foundation, a non-profit ministry, has been developing the museum for over two years and began working with the Smith Foundation at about the same time to bring this exhibit to Eureka Springs.

“It’s been a lifelong dream of Dr. G. Thomas Sharp, founder of Creation Truth to be able to bring the message of Christ, and His sacrifice, with the understanding of Biblical literacy in Genesis,” Dressler said.

“It is necessary for a person to have a literal Biblical understanding of Genesis in order to get the message of the cross.”

Dressler said the Elna M. Smith Foundation is providing the location and marketing for the museum, while the Creation Truth Foundation provides the design and setup, including interactive displays, merchandise, and 2,000 square feet of exhibits.

Organizers said the museum highlights three historical eras often overlooked by modern education, presenting them from a biblical viewpoint.

“There is no place in the U.S. where the Biblical view of earth history is presented in this manner,” Sharp said in a prepared statement. He stated that the Smith Foundation has worked for years to establish “an accurate presentation of the Passion of Christ, during which time the culture, in its embrace of a naturalistic view of earth’s history, has thoroughly disconnected the New Testament from its basis in Genesis.”