Search the encyclopedia
311 articles found for “Satan”
Foot Washing
[Worship & Rites]Foot washing is a rite in which believers' feet are washed in imitation of Jesus Christ, who washed his disciples' feet at the Last Supper. In Korean Protestant churches it is usually observed on the Thursday of Holy Week.
Moderator of Presbytery
[Church Offices]The moderator of presbytery is the officer who represents a presbytery and presides over its meetings. In Presbyterian churches, a presbytery is the governing body made up of the churches of a given region and their representative ministers and elders. The moderator is elected at a stated meeting and usually serves a one-year term.
1 Corinthians 13:8–10
[Bible Verses]This passage declares that prophecies shall fail, tongues shall cease, and knowledge shall vanish away, while love endures, and that "when that which is perfect is come," that which is in part shall be done away. It is a key text in the dispute between cessationism and continuationism, which turns on how "that which is perfect" is understood.
Revelation 7:4
[Bible Verses]Revelation 7:4 states that the number of those sealed from all the tribes of Israel was "an hundred and forty and four thousand." Interpreters disagree over whether the number is a literal count or a symbol, and over whom it designates. Several heretical groups have also associated this number with their own organizations.
Proverbs 13:24
[Bible Verses]Proverbs 13:24 is a proverb teaching that one who spares the rod hates his son, while one who loves him disciplines him diligently: "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes" (KJV). The verse has often been cited in support of loving physical discipline, for example as the basis of the Korean expression "the rod of love." As social attitudes toward corporal punishment have changed, however, its interpretation and application have become a matter of ongoing debate.
Isaiah 60:1
[Bible Verses]A prophecy declaring, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee." The verse proclaims the restoration of Zion and is frequently used as a motto expressing a church's commitment to mission and revival.
Matthew 5:17–18
[Bible Verses]In this saying Jesus declares that he came not to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfill them. The passage is a starting point from which different denominations reach different conclusions about the relationship between Christians and the Old Testament law.
Matthew 7:1
[Bible Verses]"Judge not, that ye be not judged" is a saying of Jesus that warns against the hypocrisy of condemning others. It is frequently noted, however, that the verse is often used to rule out all judgments of right and wrong.
Psalm 119:105
[Bible Verses]Psalm 119:105 is a verse of confession: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." It expresses the conviction that God's word illuminates the course of one's life. It is a representative text on the authority of Scripture and on meditation on the word, and it is widely used in worship songs and as a motto.
Matthias
[People]Matthias was chosen by lot to fill the place left vacant by Judas Iscariot and was numbered with the eleven apostles. In Scripture he appears only in Acts 1.
Acts 22:16
[Bible Verses]Acts 22:16 is a verse in which the apostle Paul recounts the words Ananias spoke to him at the time of his conversion, words that link baptism with the washing away of sins. For this reason, different denominations frequently cite and variously interpret the verse in discussions of the place of baptism in salvation.
Proverbs 22:15
[Bible Verses]A proverb stating that foolishness is bound in the heart of a child and that the rod of correction drives it far away. Because it is often cited in support of child discipline, and of corporal punishment in particular, its meaning and application have been understood in several ways.
Acts 2:23
[Bible Verses]A verse from Peter's Pentecost sermon stating that the death of Jesus took place according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, while those who put him to death remained responsible. It is frequently cited in discussions of divine sovereignty and human responsibility.
Psalm 37:7
[Bible Verses]A verse urging believers not to fret when the wicked prosper, but to be still before God and wait patiently for him. It is often quoted to encourage patience amid injustice and suffering.
Parable of the Wedding Feast
[Bible]The Parable of the Wedding Feast is a parable of Jesus found in Matthew 22:1-14. A king invites guests to his son's wedding feast, but they refuse; he then has people gathered from the highways to fill the feast. Luke 14 contains a similar "Parable of the Great Banquet."
The House Built on the Rock
[Bible]The house built on the rock is a parable Jesus told at the close of His sermons in Matthew 7 and Luke 6. It compares the person who hears His words and does them to a man who built his house upon a rock, and the person who hears but does not do them to a man who built his house upon the sand.
The Ten Lepers
[Bible]An account in which Jesus heals ten lepers on his way to Jerusalem, but only one of them, a Samaritan, returns to give thanks. It appears only in Luke 17:11-19.
Son of Man
[Bible]"Son of Man" is a biblical expression meaning literally "son of a human being." In the Old Testament it refers to a human being; in Daniel 7 it describes a figure who comes with the clouds of heaven; and in the Gospels it is the term Jesus most often used to refer to himself.
Seraphim and Cherubim
[Bible]Seraphim and cherubim are winged heavenly beings in the Old Testament who appear near God's throne and in holy places. The seraphim praise God in Isaiah 6, and the cherubim appear in the Garden of Eden, on the ark of the covenant, in the temple, and in Ezekiel's visions.
Apostasy
[Doctrine & Theology]Apostasy is the public abandonment or denial of the Christian faith by a person who once professed it. Denominations differ on whether a true believer can commit apostasy.