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...

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,...

During the period between the first and second Jewish returns from Babylonian captivity (536 and 457 B.C.), many Hebrews remained in Persia. At that time, a dreadful plot to exterminate the Jews wa...

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 brou...

Ethics concerns the system or code by which attitudes or actions are determined to be right or wrong. Only two sources can serve as the basis for ethical conduct: ethical conduct is either regulate...

The term "evangelist" is an Anglicized form of the Greek euanglistes, derived from eu ("well") and angelos ("messenger").  An evangelist is someone who proclaims the good news, serving as a gospel...

The ancient Greeks taught a rudimentary form of the theory of evolution. It was popularized in modern times by the publication of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species (1859). The evolutionary t...

The word "exegesis" means "to lead out." It is a part of the larger science of interpretation known as "hermeneutics." A form of the original word appears in John 1:18, where the apostle affirmed...

Existentialism is the name of a philosophical movement that began in Germany just before World War II. It attempts to probe the meaning of "human existence" apart from divine revelation and its res...

The name of the second book of the Old Testament means "departure" or "going out." It contains Moses' record of Israel's departure from Egyptian bondage and the nation's separation unto God as a ho...

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 me...

Ezekiel was a prophet during the Babylonian captivity; his ministry lasted more than twenty years. Jeremiah had foretold that the captivity would last seventy years (Jer. 25:11), but false prophets...

The book of Ezra documents Israel's first two returns from Babylonian captivity. The narrative covers approximately eighty years, from Cyrus's edict to Ezra's arrival in Jerusalem.  Zerubbabel led...

Faith is the willingness to trust and obey God without ever having seen him. It is not a gullible "leap in the dark," as existential "faith" postulates. Instead, it rests on evidence that allows u...

The Book of Galatians was one of Paul's letters to several churches in Galatia, written about A.D. 48. A Jewish element in these churches taught that one must be obedient to the law of Moses and th...

A genealogy is a registry of names of the ancestors or descendants of a particular people. A number of genealogical lists are recorded in the Bible -- for example in Genesis, Chronicles, Matthew, a...

The Bible is filled with affirmations of the generosity of our Creator. Every good and perfect gift is from him (Jas. 1:17). Surely our gratitude must be lavishly expressed for his graciousness. (a...