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This term is found only a few times in the English Bible. In four cases it renders the Greek threskeia, which basically means holy service, the exercise of devotion to a transcendent Being or beings -- whether true or false. In Acts 26:5 it is used of Judaism, yet in Colossians 2:18 it refers to ...
"The Lord's supper" is the name Paul gives to the memorial meal of bread and fruit of the vine that Christians eat in remembrance of Christ's death. The expression appears only once in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 11:20). The word rendered "Lord's" (kuriakos) means "belonging to the Lord." It...
The word "soul" is used in several senses in the Bible. (a) It may signify an individual person (Ezek. 18:20). (b) It may be employed of mere biological life (Gen. 1:30). (c) It can have to do with that eternal aspect of man that is in the very image of God (Mt. 10:28). "Spirit" may be used in di...
In the Old Testament, this term denoted the firstborn offspring of humans or animals. The firstborn was accorded a place of special prominence (cf. Gen. 48:13-18; Dt. 21:15-17; 2 Chron. 21:3). The word also came to be used figuratively. The "firstborn" of death signified a particularly deadly dis...
"Christian" is the name given to the disciples of Christ in Antioch of Syria following the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas (Acts 11:26). The verb chrematizo ("called") in this passage suggests a divinely given name. Some think that "called" may also be a technical term that hints th...
"Salvation" is the result of having been "saved." The verb "save" (sozo) had a variety of ancient meanings. It could signify to deliver, to heal, to liberate, to preserve, etc., depending upon the context. Most prominently in the N.T. it has to do with deliverance from the guilt and ultimate cons...
The Greek word skene (rendered "tabernacle") means a "tent." (a) The tabernacle of Moses' day was a tent of worship, designed by God, and provided for the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness of Sinai. It was the appointed place where Jehovah would "meet" with his people (Ex. 25-...
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 act of "laying on of hands" served several functions in the N.T. (a) Some parents brought their children that Jesus might lay his hands upon them (Mt. 19:13). This involved no magical ritual; rather, it was a symbolic act designed to invoke Jehovah's blessings upon these children. (b) Laying ...
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...
