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The book of Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings, many of which were written by Solomon, king of Israel (cf. 1 Kgs. 4:32), and addressed to his son (presumably Rehoboam). The material within the book spans more than 200 years -- at least to the days of Hezekiah (25:1). The proverbs are design...
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...
Drunkenness involves the ingestion of a mind-altering substance for purely pleasurable purposes. This vice is repeatedly condemned in the Scriptures (Proverbs 23:29ff; Ephesians 5:18; 1 Corinthians 5:11; 6:10; Galatians 5:21). While the Bible does not prohibit the use of certain drugs for medicin...
There are three kindred words in the Greek N.T. that represent the idea of "propitiation." Two are nouns -- hilasmos (1 Jn. 2:2; 4:10) and hilasterion (Rom. 3:25; Heb. 9:5), and the third is the verb hilaskomai (Lk. 18:13; Heb. 2:17). The terms are designed to provide an explanation as to how God...
Discipline is actually a process of training that begins at the point of one's conversion and continues throughout one's life. It includes teaching, example, exhortation, admonition, etc. (2 Timothy 3:16–17). The most extreme and ultimate form of church discipline, however, is the withdrawal of f...
The Bible occasionally speaks of the wicked being ultimately "destroyed" (apollumi) in hell (Mt. 10:28; Lk. 13:3, 5; 2 Thes. 2:10). Some, therefore, have assumed that after an appropriate period of punishment, the spirits of wicked men will be extinguished. But the idea embodied in apollumi is "r...
The term "heaven" is used in different ways in the Bible. The expression may refer to the atmospheric region just above the earth where the birds fly, the rain forms, and the wind blows (Gen. 1:10; 7:11; Dan. 8:8). The outer space region that houses the stars, the sun, and the planets is also des...
The most popular Greek word for "authority" is exousia (sometimes translated as "power"). The term, with various usages, is found 102 times in the New Testament. The word, together with some parallel terms, are employed of: • The authority of God (Lk. 12:5; Rom. 9:21; Jude 25). God's authority is...
Several Hebrew words are rendered by the English "wine," the most common of which are yayin (134 times) and tirosh (33 times). The basic term for "wine" in the Greek New Testament is oinos (33 times). In both Hebrew and Greek, wine is a generic term for the liquid produced from squeezed grapes. S...
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...
God is often referred to as a "Father" (107 times in the Gospel of John alone). The Scriptures use the term in several ways: God is the Father of all men in the sense that he is the Creator of humanity (cf. Mal. 2:10; Ezek. 18:4; Lk. 3:38; Acts 17:28). He is the Father of Jesus Christ (Mt. 3:17; ...
During his earthly ministry, Jesus promised that, following his death and ascension back to heaven, he would "come again" eventually (Jn. 14:3; cf. Mt. 24:37ff; 25:31ff). When he left the earth, angels vowed he would return again (Acts 1:10-11). The doctrine of the second coming was steadfastly p...
The Greek word eirene ("peace") may derive from an original term meaning, "to weave together." This is a very significant Bible word. (a) There is a peace to be sought with God. Sin has separated man from his Creator (Isa. 59:1-2), so that rebellious man has become an enemy to God (Rom. 5:10; Jas...
From the Greek word eschatos ("last") comes "eschatology," a study of "last things" (e.g., the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the judgment day, the end of the world, heaven, and hell). Eschatology has to do with the consummation of God's redemptive scheme. The following el...
Paul's second preserved letter to the Corinthian brethren was designed to be corrective. It urged the saints to be forgiving to the brother who had been disciplined because of his fornication (2:1ff; cf. 1 Cor. 5:1ff). It also pressed for a correct perspective regarding the law of Moses (3:1ff), ...
The English "angel" is an anglicized form of the Greekaggelos(pronounced angelos). The term signifies a "messenger." The wordAggelosis used in several ways in the Scriptures. • It commonly denotes a heavenly order of created beings (Psa. 148:2, 5), who are by nature "spirit beings." These creatur...
Righteous is the state or quality of being right. (a) Only Deity is righteous in the absolute sense (Rom. 3:10). To speak of the righteousness of God is to affirm his absolute morality, and the expectation he entertains for purity in those fashioned in his image (Gen. 17:1; 1 Pet. 1:15). God will...
A significant portion of the Old Testament record embodies the law of Moses. Some basic facts relative to that system must be understood. (a) It was given by God, and ordained by angels; it came through Moses as a mediator (Gal. 3:19). (b) It was given at Sinai (cir. 1500 B.C.), and was terminate...
The Holy Spirit is a divine being who is spirit in nature (Luke 24:39) and holy in character. • The Holy Spirit is not a mere force (as some cultists insist, e.g., the "Jehovah's Witnesses"); rather, he is an individual entity, a person, who speaks, teaches, helps, etc. (1 Timothy 4:1; John 14:26...
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 ...