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The southern kingdom of Judah had sunk deep into apostasy. The prophet Jeremiah was raised up to offer them God's final invitation for repentance. When that failed, the prophet was commissioned to foretell the coming Babylonian conquest and to admonish the nation that it must submit to the punish...
The book of Lamentations was written by the prophet Jeremiah. It actually is a funeral song designed to commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem by the invading Babylonians (586 B.C.). The song is a sad reminder of the sins that led to the fall of the holy city, and the seventy-year long period o...
This is an expression used frequently in the Old Testament to describe those who forsook their loyalty to God and began to serve Satan again. No fewer than thirteen times, the prophet Jeremiah rebuked ancient Israel for her backsliding ways (Jer. 2:19; 3:6; cf. Hos. 4:16 KJV; 11:7). It is useless...
Ezekiel was a prophet during the Babylonian captivity; his ministry lasted more than twenty years. Jeremiah had foretold that the captivity would last seventy years (Jer. 25:11), but false prophets among the captives promised an early return to the homeland. Ezekiel's task was to solemnly warn th...
The Greek word for "heart" is kardia (as in the English word "cardiac"). Although "heart" literally refers to the blood-pumping organ in a person's body, the term is rarely used to refer to the physical organ in the Bible (see 2 Sam. 18:14). "Heart" is therefore used mainly figuratively in the Sc...
Citizenship is the legal relationship that one sustains to a city, state, or country. Paul was a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia (Acts 21:39), and he enjoyed the privileges of "citizenship" in the Roman empire (Acts 22:28). His citizenship granted certain protective procedures (cf. 22:25), and the p...
The term "brother" is from the Greek adelphos. It technically signifies "from the same womb." The word is used in different senses in the New Testament. • It is employed literally to identify siblings of the same parents (Acts 12:2). • It can denote those of the same nation (Acts 2:29; 9:17; 22:5...
This is the title of a sovereign who exercises regal authority over a certain territory. The term is used in the following senses in Scripture. (a) Jehovah God is king over the entire earth (1 Sam. 12:12; Mt. 22:7; 1 Tim. 6:16). (b) The title is sometimes used of the political rule of certain ear...
The Greek term antikristos is found five times in the New Testament -- all references being in John's writings (1 Jn. 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 Jn. 7). The meaning is "against Christ." John warns that many (1 Jn. 2:18; 2 Jn. 2:7) of these false teachers existed in his day (see "even now" -- 1 Jn. 2:18; 4:...
The English Bible uses the word "abomination" to reflect about a dozen terms in the original languages of both Testaments. The prevailing idea behind the words is a divine revulsion at transgressions about religious and moral matters. The words are employed in different senses and sometimes refle...
"Communion" is a term applied to the Lord's Supper because of its usage in 1 Corinthians 10:16. This act of worship emphasizes the fellowship (koinonia — sharing, participation) we enjoy with Christ when we partake of the sacred elements (cf. "with you" in Mt. 26:29). The communion involves two e...
Apostasy is an English term based on the Greek apotasia. Originally, it meant to desert one's post; it was used for political revolt. In the Old Testament, the word implies a turning away from God's way (see Josh. 22:22 -- LXX; see LXX entry). In the New Testament, apostasia describes a massive "...
This expression takes its rise from the language employed by Christ in his conversation with Nicodemus (Jn. 3:1ff). The facts regarding the "new birth" are these. (a) It is an absolutely essential requirement for entering the kingdom of God. Jesus said that "except" one is born "anew" he cannot e...
The Greek term graphe ("writing") comes into the English Bible (via Latin, scriptura) as "scripture." The word almost always has the definite article "the scriptures." The expression may refer to a particular passage, e.g., "have you not read this scripture?" (Mk. 12:10 - citing Psa. 118:22), or ...
The word "kingdom" (basileia) is a noun that generally refers to a territory over which a king rules. Three senses are prominent in the theology of the N.T. • Jesus uses the term to denote the reign of God over the nation of Israel (Mt. 21:43). That divine system would become obsolete with the te...
The term "restoration" conveys a number of ideas in the Scriptures, depending upon the immediate context. (a) It may refer to the restitution of property or money in compliance to law (Dt. 22:2), or it may be a reflection of one's repentance (Lk. 19:8). (b) The term may be used of a spiritual inv...
The Old Testament, the revered Hebrew Bible, is a divine collection of thirty-nine books. These books, inspired by God (Mt. 22:31-32; 2 Tim. 3:15-17), were produced over a period of about 1,000 years, authored by some thirty or so writers. There are four major divisions of the Old Testament. Thes...
The term "works" is a perfectly noble word; yet, in the minds of some, there is a distorted view of this biblical term. Especially has the Protestant world reacted negatively to Catholicism's "works system" -- an ideology contrary to the divine plan of redemption. This reaction, however, is itsel...
Blood is a prominent theme in the Bible. Because blood is the life stream of a person (Lev. 17:11), it becomes the biblical representation of life. Because of sin, man has forfeited the right to live (Gen. 2:17; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:1). To satisfy the justice of God, a blood-offering was required (H...
More than a dozen words are used in the Greek N.T. to represent various aspects of "sin" (e.g., bad, evil, transgression, iniquity, trespass, godless, unrighteous, etc.). The most frequently employed word is hamartia (173 times), which provides the picture of "missing the mark." The word is used ...
