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 t...

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" ...

The Greek word diakonos comes into the English language as "deacon." The term basically means to serve. It is used of ordinary servants in a secular sense (Jn. 2:5, 9) or of those who serve gener...

Deism is a religious and philosophical theory that acknowledges the existence of a Supreme Being responsible for creating the universe. However, this philosophy asserts that the transcendent Being ...

Demons (not "devils" KJV) were evil spirits (Mt. 12:43-45) that were permitted to inhabit the bodies of some people during the days of Christ and his apostles.  Almost certainly, this was to allow...

A religious denomination is a body or sect subscribing to a particular set of doctrinal tenets that is set apart from other religious groups by its name and human creed.  Denominations find no div...

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...

The book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Pentateuch. The title signifies "second law."  Moses penned this document near the end of the era of wilderness wandering. Its design is to rehears...

The term devil means one who slanders or accuses (cf. Rev. 12:9-10). This word is used thirty-three times in the New Testament of the arch-enemy of man, Satan (Mt. 13:28). Since only the deity is...

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 Tim. 3...

The Greek word oikonomia is rendered "dispensation" several times in the New Testament (see 1 Cor. 9:17; Eph. 1:10; 3:2, 9; Col. 1:25). Sometimes the word suggests the idea of managing a household ...

Dispensationalism is a system that divides history into seven dispensations, each corresponding to one day of creation week. C.I. Scofield popularized the theory in his Reference Bible (1909). Thes...

Divorce may be defined as the legal dissolution of a marriage covenant. Under the Mosaic regime, divorce could be obtained for a variety of reasons (Dt. 24:1; Mt. 19:8). But this looseness was me...

Drunkenness involves the ingestion of a mind-altering substance for purely pleasurable purposes. This vice is repeatedly condemned in the Scriptures (Prov. 23:29ff; Eph. 5:18; 1 Cor. 5:11; 6:10; Ga...

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:...

This profound work analyzes the avenues men commonly explore to pursue temporal happiness. Written by Solomon (1:1) likely in his advanced years, it affirms that earthly goals such as wealth, power...

The Greek term presbuteros is rendered "elder." It can refer simply to an older person (cf. Acts 2:17; Heb. 11:2) or take on a technical sense—an officer in the church, equivalent to a bishop or pa...

The English "elect" derives from a compound Greek term, eklektos (ek -- "out of," and lego -- "to gather"). It suggests the idea of being selected or chosen.  The New Testament uses the term in va...

The book of Ephesians was a letter written by Paul from Rome while he was in prison (AD 60-62). The book develops the theme of "God's eternal purpose" (3:10-11). It reveals that even before the wor...

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,...