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Sons of the Prophets
[Bible]The sons of the prophets were groups in the northern kingdom of Israel who gathered around a prophet during the time of Elijah and Elisha. They appear mainly in 2 Kings, and the name renders a Hebrew expression meaning literally "sons of the prophets."
Lamp (Bible)
[Bible]In the Bible, the lamp is a vessel that burns oil to give light; the term also refers to its flame. It symbolizes the light kept burning continually in the tabernacle, the guidance of God's word, life and the continuance of the Davidic dynasty, and the witness of the disciples.
Achaia
[Bible]Achaia was a Roman province in southern Greece in New Testament times, with Corinth as its principal city. Paul preached the gospel in the region during his second missionary journey.
Paul
[People]Paul was an apostle of the early church. A Jewish Pharisee who had persecuted the church, he was converted and devoted himself to mission among the Gentiles. Thirteen letters bearing his name are included in the New Testament.
Alphaeus
[People]Alphaeus is a New Testament figure named only as the father of James, one of the twelve disciples, and as the father of Levi the tax collector. None of his own deeds are recorded.
Zealots
[Bible]The Zealots were Jewish groups in first-century Judea under Roman rule who resisted foreign domination in the name of "zeal" for God and the Law. In the Bible the term appears as "Zelotes," the epithet of Simon, one of the twelve disciples.
2 Kings 4
[Bible]2 Kings 4 records five miracles performed by Elisha in succession: the widow's oil, the birth of the Shunammite woman's son and his restoration to life, the neutralizing of a poisoned stew, and the feeding of a hundred men with twenty loaves of barley.
Ephesians 5:31–32
[Bible Verses]A passage in which Paul quotes the "one flesh" saying of Genesis 2:24 and compares the union of husband and wife to the relationship between Christ and the church. It is often read at wedding services. Catholic and Protestant interpreters differ over whether the "mystery" should be understood as a sacrament.
Ephesians 1:3
[Bible Verses]Ephesians 1:3 is a verse praising God for having blessed believers with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. It opens the first passage of praise in Ephesians and is frequently cited in discussions of what Scripture means by "blessing."
Colossians 3:3–4
[Bible Verses]A passage stating that Christians have already died, that their life is hidden with Christ in God, and that when Christ appears they will appear with him in glory. It is frequently cited in discussions of union with Christ, sanctification, and eschatological hope.
Ephesus
[Bible]Ephesus was a Roman-era port city on the western coast of Asia Minor. Paul stayed there for about three years preaching the gospel, and the city was the destination of the Epistle to the Ephesians and the home of the first of the seven churches of Revelation.
2 Kings 6
[Bible]A chapter of 2 Kings in which Elisha makes a sunken axe head float, strikes the Aramean army surrounding Dothan with blindness, leads them to Samaria, and has them sent home. It closes with the severe famine caused by Ben-hadad's siege of Samaria.
1 Timothy 2:13–15
[Bible Verses]A passage that cites the order of creation and Eve's deception as the reason for the preceding verse's restriction on women teaching, and states that a woman "shall be saved in childbearing." It is a central text in the debate over the ordination of women, and verse 15 is widely regarded as one of the most difficult verses in the New Testament.
Ephesians 4:13–16
[Bible Verses]A passage describing the church growing in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God toward the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ and, as a body with Christ as its head, building itself up in love. It is frequently cited in discussions of spiritual maturity and the growth of the church community.
Colossians 3:10
[Bible Verses]Colossians 3:10 is a verse stating that believers have put off the old man and put on the new man, which is continually being renewed after the image of the Creator. It is frequently cited in discussions of the restoration of the image of God and of sanctification.
Isidore (Gnostic)
[People]Isidore was a second-century Gnostic teacher active in Alexandria, Egypt, and the son and disciple of Basilides. His writings survive only in passages quoted by Church Fathers such as Clement of Alexandria.
Polycarp
[People]Polycarp (c. 69–c. 155) was a second-century bishop of the church at Smyrna in Asia Minor and a martyr. He was an Apostolic Father, traditionally regarded as a disciple of the apostle John.
Ignatius of Antioch
[People]Ignatius of Antioch was bishop of the church in Antioch in the early second century. While being taken to Rome for martyrdom, he wrote seven letters. He is counted among the Apostolic Fathers.
Irenaeus
[People]Irenaeus was a Church Father who served as bishop of Lyon in Gaul in the late second century. In *Against Heresies* he refuted Gnosticism and emphasized the four Gospels and the rule of faith, profoundly influencing the formation of orthodox theology in the early church.
Valentinus
[People]Valentinus (c. 100 – c. 160) was a second-century Christian teacher active in Rome, known as the founder of the Valentinians, one of the largest movements within early Christian Gnosticism.