The Greek word for "heart" is kardia (as in the English, cardiac). Though "heart" literally refers to the blood pump within man's body cavity, the term rarely refers to the physical organ in the Bi...

The term "heaven" is used in different ways in the Bible. (a) The expression may refer to the atmospheric region just above the earth wherein the birds fly, the rain is formed, and in which the win...

On several occasions the Scriptures speak of a "new heavens and a new earth" (2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1). What does the phrase mean? (a) It does not refer to a literal new heavens and earth. This is s...

Certain first-century Jews sought to persuade Christians (perhaps in the region of Jerusalem) to abandon the faith, return to Judaism, and wait for the real Messiah. The design of this letter, by a...

Three different Greek words are rendered "hell" in the King James translation of the Bible. (a) Hades is found ten times in the Greek N.T.; nine times it is rendered "hell," once "grave" in the KJV...

"Heresy" takes its rise from the Greek, hairesis (nine times in the N.T.). Originally, the term meant simply "to choose" (Lev. 22:18, 21 -- LXX). Then it came to signify a choice, i.e., an opinion ...

"Holy" is from the Greek hagios, which carries the idea of something "separated" from other things. (a) God utterly stands apart from sinful man, and thus he is absolutely holy (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8)...

The Holy Spirit is a divine being who is "spirit" in nature (Lk. 24:39), and "holy" in character. (a) The Holy Spirit is not a mere force (as some cultists insist, e.g., the "Jehovah's Witnesses");...

Homosexual activity is sexual intimacy between two persons of the same gender. This form of sexual conduct is uniformly condemned in the Bible. (a) It stands outside the divinely prescribed realm o...

Hosea lived in that era just prior to the Assyrian invasion of the kingdom of Israel (722/21 B.C.). His mission was to admonish Israel for her idolatry (Baal worship), and to urge her to repentance...

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 antic...

Idolatry is the worship of any being or object other than the true God, or the worship of supposed images of Jehovah himself (Ex. 20:3-6). A more subtle form of idolatry is the slavish yielding t...

Two Greek words express the idea of immortality -- athanasia (no death), and aphtharsia (no corruption). In the absolute sense, only God possesses immortality, i.e., an underived and unending exist...

The "church" is a body of baptized believers, called by the gospel from the "world" into a special fellowship with Christ.  We must acknowledge, however, that the church exists in the modern world...

Infallibility means "without error." In theology, it signifies the belief that the Scriptures, in their original form (the autographs), were without error. Furthermore, the divine documents were ...

The Greek term, found in various forms about forty-five times in the N.T., means "the possession of a lot," or portion. Some ideas associated with the word are these: (a) It can suggest a possessio...

Contrary to the denominational claim that infants are born in sin, the Bible teaches otherwise. (a) Children do not inherit evil from their parents (Ezek. 18:20). (b) The practice of sin begins in ...

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul stated that the Scriptures are "inspired of God" (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The Greek is one word, theopneustos, literally "God breathed." It is an affirmation that God...

The idea of "intercession" is expressed in both Testaments of the Bible. The Greek verb entunchano suggests the concept of making an appeal to someone with reference to another person. It can mean ...

Isaiah was a prophet who lived in Judah in the eighth century before Christ. He foretold coming judgments from God to be visited upon Israel, Judah, and several heathen nations, because of their si...