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This theory attempts to reconcile the six days of creation activity (Gen. 1) with the billions of years required by evolutionary chronology. However, there is overwhelming evidence that the "days" in Genesis 1 are ordinary solar days. Moses, who wrote the entire Pentateuch, viewed the creation da...
The Greek noun hesuchia does not signify absolute silence, i.e., absence of sound, but that which is tranquil, causing no disturbance. When Paul addressed an unruly mob, and they perceived that he spoke in Hebrew, they "were the more quiet" (Acts 22:2). One might say they "idled down" as suggeste...
The Hebrew term yom, with its Greek equivalent, hemera, typically signifies a unit of time determined by the full rotation of the Earth upon its axis. That is its meaning in Genesis 1, concerning the "days" of the creation week. Exodus 20:11 makes this clear, as its meaning is the same as the Sab...
This expression is found only one time in the N.T. While on the island of Patmos, the apostle John was "in the spirit on the Lord's day" (Rev. 1:10). But the adjective, kuriakos, "the Lord's," is also used of the communion supper (1 Cor. 11:20). The term means "belonging to the Lord." The writers...
The Greeks had several words that reflected various concepts of "love." Forms of three of these are found in the N.T. (a) The noun storge had a variety of uses in the ancient world, but it most commonly had to do with family love. Paul uses a negative form of it twice to designate those who are "...
Expediency is sometimes defined as the method by which a determined goal is achieved, regardless of the moral consequences. This is not the biblical concept of expediency. In Bible parlance, a method can be expedient only if it is lawful. In other words, if there is a generic authority for a prac...
Before Jesus was born, the angel informed Mary: "the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God" (Lk. 1:35). The descriptive reveals something of the unique essence of Christ. The phrase "son of" is sometimes employed in the Scriptures to depict the nature of someone (cf. Mk. 3:1...
Justice may be viewed from two vantage points. Divine justice is that which is between God and man. Human justice exists between men. Divine Justice Divine justice has to do with the harmony between the absolutely holy nature of God, and his dealings with sinful creatures. God is a being of utter...
This is Paul's first letter to his convert, Timothy, who was from the city of Lystra (Acts 16:1). It appears to have been written after Paul's release from his initial Roman imprisonment (Acts 28). Timothy was a frequent traveling companion of Paul. The apostle warns the young evangelist about fa...
The name "Jesus" means "savior." "Christ" means "anointed." These names suggest that this noble person was "anointed" of God (Acts 10:38) to be prophet, priest, and king, and indeed, the Savior of the world (Matthew 1:21). The following facts about Jesus are paramount: • He existed eternally as t...
A priest is one who offers sacrifice and ministers in services pertaining thereto (cf. Heb. 5:1). This term implies recognition of sin and the need for atonement, in some fashion or another. (a) The term is used of pagan priests who sacrificed to false gods (Acts 14:13). (b) In the earliest age o...
Peter addressed this letter to "the elect," i.e., Christians, who are dispersed in Asia Minor. The main theme of the epistle is explicitly stated. He urges the brethren to "stand fast" in the "grace of God" (5:12). The apostle appeals to these Christians to maintain courage, to be pure, and to re...
The church in Thessalonica was established on Paul's second missionary journey (Acts 17:1ff). After he left the region, he received a report regarding the congregation in Thessalonica, containing both positive and negative news. This letter, written from Corinth (Acts 18:1, 5), is a response to t...
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 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...
The Greek term pascha has been mistranslated as "Easter" in the King James Version of the Bible (Acts 12:4). The term is consistently rendered "passover" elsewhere in the New Testament (see Mt. 26:2). The word "Easter" derives from an old Anglo-Saxon term related to the goddess of spring. It was ...
This word comes directly from Greek into English, letter-for-letter: hades. W.E. Vine noted that some derive the term from the negative prefix a ("not") and eido ("seen"), hence "the unseen," though he considered it more likely that it comes from hado, signifying "all receiving." In the King Jame...
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 "truth" carries several connotations in the Bible. (a) Truth can convey the idea of loyalty. Those who abide in Jesus' teaching are "truly" his disciples (Jn. 8:31). (b) True may denote that which is genuine, in contrast to the counterfeit. God is "true" deity; idols are not (1 Thes. 1:9...
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...