Faithfulness conveys integrity, steadfastness, truth, and dependability, among other qualities. Two important emphases of this quality are highlighted in the Bible.  • God is faithful in all things...

This phrase appears eight times in the New Testament. It is the ancient term for what modern society calls "Sunday." The significance of this day is readily apparent in the following cases:  • It w...

God is often referred to as a "Father" (107 times in the Gospel of John alone). The Scriptures use the term in several ways: God is the Father of all men in the sense that he is the Creator of hum...

Each year, the ancient Hebrews would offer the "firstfruits" of their crops to God as a token of their thanksgiving for the bounty to come (Lev 2:12, 23; 23:17, 39). In his initial letter to the s...

This expression is found only one time in the N.T. While on the island of Patmos, the apostle John was "in the spirit on the Lord's day" (Rev. 1:10). But the adjective, kuriakos, "the Lord's," is a...

Mentioned only in 1 Corinthians 11:20. See COMMUNION.

Form Criticism is a modern approach to the Bible that originated in a liberal theological context. It holds, for example, that the Gospel accounts are mythological. The "scholarly critic," therefor...

Gambling may be defined as the willingness to take a risk (a wager) motivated by the desire to get something for nothing.  Gambling, an ancient vice condemned in virtually all societies, is driven...

The Greek term porne is a comprehensive term, covering every form of illicit sexual activity by human beings. Note the following passages that help us understand this word. Single people who wish ...

The Flood, recorded in Genesis 6-8, was the most widespread disaster ever to affect this planet. Waters from the atmosphere above and from chasms beneath the earth inundated the entire globe (Gen. ...

Animals operate largely on instinct, an inherited pattern of behavior. Human beings are different. We are made in the very image of God himself (Gen. 1:26-27). We possess volition (i.e., the power ...

This phrase appears in Galatians 4:4, where Paul describes Christ's birth and earthly ministry as occurring when "the fulness of time" had arrived. The expression highlights how, over the centuries...

A version of the Bible is a translation of the Scriptures from the original languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) into another language. Versions may be classified as ancient or modern. Some anc...

The doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus is one of the lines of evidence establishing the Lord's identity as the Son of God.  The angel Gabriel said to Mary, a "virgin" (Lk. 1:27): "The holy thin...

"God" (theos) denotes the divine nature, the essence of what it means to be deity. Here are some essential facts regarding God's nature. There is only one God (Dt. 6:4; Jas. 2:19), that is, one un...

This is the erroneous theory that a vast span of time (billions of years) transpired between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.  Allegedly, during this period, large creatures roamed the earth (e.g., dinosaurs)...

The common word for "walk" in the New Testament is peripateo. It means to walk around or, in a figurative sense, "to conduct oneself" in a certain way. It was the common Jewish idiom for how one li...

Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria. It was an exceedingly wicked city, but Jehovah loved even these alien Gentiles. Accordingly, he sent Jonah, a prophet from northern Palestine, to proclaim u...

The prophet Zephaniah was the great, great-grandson of King Hezekiah (1:1). His prophetic ministry was conducted in the days of Judah's good king, Josiah (ca. 639-09 B.C.).  Josiah came to the thr...

Zechariah was a companion prophet with Haggai. The latter sternly admonished the Hebrews to rid themselves of self-interest and to complete the work on the temple during the post-Babylonian captivi...