Elijah was one of the great prophets of Old Testament history. Like all of us, he was a man of mixed qualities. Overall, he contributed significantly to the unfolding of Heaven’s plan of redemption.

This is the name of a figure of speech whereby things are described in human terms. The word derives from the Greek anthropos (man) and morphe (form), hence man-form. 

Because God is “spirit” (Jn....

This word is an anglicized form of the Greek apologeia, literally meaning “a verbal defense.” It is found eight times in the New Testament, and a verb form occurs some ten times.

For example, Luke...

Astrology is a pagan superstition that believes the heavenly bodies influence human activity. Additionally, the theory often includes the belief that human events can be predicted by “reading” the ...

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 English “angel” is an anglicized form of the Greekaggelos(pronounced angelos). The term signifies a “messenger.”

The wordAggelosis used in several ways in the Scriptures. 

• It commonly denot...

The idea of being born in sin or inheriting ancestral sin at birth is not a biblical concept. The most commonly misapplied passage relating to the notion that children are “born in sin” is Psalm 51...

Adultery is sexual intimacy between a married person and someone other than their lawful mate. The act begins in the mind (Mt. 5:28; Mk. 7:21) and ultimately manifests in physical union (cf. Jn. 8:...

Biblical chronology has to do with the relationship of the events recorded in Scripture to specific dates. Some events are a bit ambiguous in terms of date. Others are more precise. 

While the Bib...

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 English word “bible” means “scroll” or “book” and refers to the sixty-six documents that comprise the book of Scripture — thirty-nine Old Testament documents and twenty-seven New Testament boo...

Repentance has a variety of uses in the Scriptures. (a) One form of “repentance” is simply a feeling of remorse. It was in this sense that Judas “repented” (Mt. 27:3) just before he hanged himself ...

The term “tradition” renders a Greek word that suggests the idea of “instruction that has been handed down.” It takes on two senses in Scripture. (a) “Tradition” may be instruction that is divinely...

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...

Many analysts see some serious “flaws” in what is called “the new Christian generation.” It does appear there are serious problems with many who identify themselves with Jesus Christ.

Mary was a Hebrew maiden who was chosen to be the mother of Jesus Christ. Her miraculous conception was prophesied in the O.T. (Isa. 7:14). Mary was certainly worthy of honor as a godly Jewish woma...

The term “restoration” conveys a number of ideas in the Scriptures, depending upon the immediate context. (a) It may refer to the restitution of property or money in compliance to law (Dt. 22:2), o...

This word comes directly from the Greek blasphemeo, which is believed to derive from blapto (to injure) and pheme (speech), hence injurious speech.

Scripture speaks of those who blaspheme God (Ro...

The New Testament is a collection of twenty-seven documents: (a) They are classified as “scripture,” a term suggesting a divine writing (1 Tim. 5:18; 2 Pet. 3:16). (b) Eight known writers — Matthe...

The Christian commitment is biblically designated as a “calling.” The divine calling (Eph. 4:1) is not a direct communication from God or his Holy Spirit, as some today allege. No one on earth know...