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The concept of eternal life is outlined in an abbreviated form in the Old Testament (cf. Dan. 12:2). However, it comes into full bloom in the New Testament revelation. Life and immortality are brought to light through the gospel (2 Tim. 1:10). Many believe that eternal life, as the glorious promi...
"Holy" comes from the Greek hagios, which conveys the idea of something being set apart from other things. The Bible applies the word to various persons and objects. • God stands utterly apart from sinful man; thus, he is absolutely holy (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8), as is Christ (Hebrews 7:26) a...
On several occasions the Scriptures speak of a "new heavens and a new earth" (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1). What does the phrase mean? It does not refer to a literal new heavens and earth. This is so very obvious in that these very contexts speak of the material heavens and earth being destroye...
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 "mediator" is a "go-between" (from mesos, "middle" and eimi "to go"). Ideally, the role of a mediator is to work for the reconciliation of parties that have become estranged. (a) Moses was a mediator between God and Israel. He delivered the law to the nation on behalf of Jehovah (Jn. 1:17; Gal....
Marriage is a covenant between a man and woman, whereby they pledge to belong to one another in a life-long union. There are several elements relative to this institution that are important to understand. (a) The origin of marriage is divine, commencing from the sixth day of the creation week (Ge...
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 English term is related to the Latin conscientia, literally, "to know together" or "joint knowledge." It corresponds to the Greek suneidesis (found thirty times in the New Testament), which essentially has the same meaning. The conscience is an inward faculty, unique to human beings, that ei...
Biblical chronology has to do with the relationship of the events recorded in Scripture to specific dates. Some events are a bit ambiguous in terms of date. Others are more precise. While the Bible does not provide a precise date for the world's creation, two things are clear. • Human history ext...
By virtue of man's transgression, death and all its attendant evils, including illness, have become a part of the human experience. It is not surprising, therefore, that "healing" is a biblical theme. Healing is spoken of in several senses in Scripture. In the inspired Scriptures, many regulation...
Knowledge refers to a body of factual data that is received and understood by a rational human being. The acquisition of spiritual knowledge is fundamental to Christianity. The prophets foretold that those of the Christian era who faithfully serve God will be those who "know" him (Jer. 31:31-34)....
This English term is a rendition of the Greek zoopoieo, "to make alive." It is found about a dozen times in the N.T. and is rendered by such expressions as "quicken," "give life," and "make alive." Consider these facts: (a) The power to "make alive" is always attributed either to God (Jn. 5:21; R...
The verb "reconcile" (Grk. katallasso) basically suggests a "change." In an ethical or religious sense, it denotes a change between parties who have been estranged. It may refer to human associations, or man's relationship to his Creator. (a) In human relationships that are breached, the fault ma...
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...
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 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...
Two principal Greek words are employed in the N.T. to represent the idea of "fighting" and "war." Polemeo (18 times) means to "fight" or "make war." Strateuomai (7 times) is to "carry out a military engagement, to be a soldier." "War" is used in both literal and figurative senses in the Scripture...
The Scriptures emphatically teach that the Second Person of the Godhead, the Word (Jn. 1:1), actually became a flesh and blood human being (Jn. 1:14; Heb. 2:14). One partakes of the spirit of antichrist who denies such (2 Jn. 7). See ANTICHRIST. The humanity of Jesus was essential in order that h...
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 ...
This word comes directly from the Greek blasphemeo, which is believed to derive from blapto (to injure) and pheme (speech), hence injurious speech. Scripture speaks of those who blaspheme God (Rom. 2:24; 1 Tim. 6:1). It is also possible to blaspheme Christ, as certain hateful ones did at the cros...