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River of the Water of Life
[Bible]The river of the water of life is the clear river in Revelation 22 that flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the New Jerusalem. Drawing on the river of Eden and the river of Ezekiel's temple vision, it serves as an image of the life that God gives.
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.
Domitian
[People]Domitian (51–96) was a Roman emperor of the first century. In Christian tradition he is known as the emperor who exiled the apostle John to the island of Patmos and persecuted Christians.
Revelation 21:12–14
[Bible Verses]A vision in which the names of the twelve tribes of Israel are written on the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem and the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb on its twelve foundations. The passage is frequently discussed for what it shows about the relationship between the Old Testament people of God and the New Testament church.
Revelation 11:4
[Bible Verses]Revelation 11:4 identifies the "two witnesses" of Revelation 11 as "the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks." The imagery comes from the vision in Zechariah 4. Interpreters disagree about who the two witnesses are. In Korea, groups regarded as heretical have frequently cited the verse in support of their teachings.
Revelation 20:7–15
[Bible Verses]A vision in which Satan, released after the thousand years are completed, gathers Gog and Magog for a final battle and is destroyed, after which the dead are judged before a great white throne. The passage is a key text for interpreting the millennium and for the doctrines of the Last Judgment and hell.
Revelation 7:3
[Bible Verses]Revelation 7:3 is the verse in which another angel cries out to the four angels who have been given power to hurt the earth, telling them to do no harm "till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." It is commonly read as signifying the protection of God's people in the midst of judgment, and together with the passage on the 144,000 that follows, it has served as the basis for a variety of interpretations.
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.
Andrew
[People]Andrew was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, the brother of Simon Peter, and a fisherman from Galilee. The Gospel of John portrays him as a former disciple of John the Baptist who followed Jesus and brought Peter to Him.
Bartholomew
[People]Bartholomew was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. Western church tradition has identified him with Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John.
Philip
[People]Philip is the name of two figures in the New Testament: Philip the Apostle, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, and Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men appointed by the church in Jerusalem.
Collection for the Church in Jerusalem
[Bible]The collection for the church in Jerusalem was a relief effort in which the apostle Paul gathered offerings from Gentile churches in Macedonia, Achaia, and elsewhere to deliver to the poor saints of the Jerusalem church.
Thomas
[People]Thomas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He declared that he would not believe until he had seen the risen Jesus for himself, and he then confessed, "My Lord and my God."
Agrippa
[People]Agrippa was the Jewish king (Agrippa II) who heard the apostle Paul's defense in Acts 25–26. The name can also refer to his father, Agrippa I, who appears as "Herod the king" in Acts 12.
Acts of Peter
[Bible]The Acts of Peter is a New Testament apocryphal work generally dated to the late second century. It recounts how the apostle Peter contended with Simon Magus in Rome and was martyred by being crucified upside down.
Mary Magdalene
[People]Mary Magdalene was a woman disciple who followed Jesus from the time of his Galilean ministry. All four Gospels record that she witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus and the empty tomb, and the Gospel of John presents her as the first person to meet the risen Jesus.
Apostolic Age
[History]The Apostolic Age is the period of first-century Christianity during which the apostles led the church after the ascension of Jesus Christ. It is usually dated from the early AD 30s to around AD 100, when John, traditionally regarded as the last surviving apostle, died.
Peter
[People]Peter, originally named Simon, was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. A fisherman from Galilee, he became a leader of the early church in Jerusalem, and the New Testament books of 1 Peter and 2 Peter bear his name.
Sadducees
[Bible]The Sadducees were a Jewish sect of the New Testament era centered on the high-priestly families and the aristocracy of the Jerusalem temple. Because they rejected the resurrection, angels, and spirits, they came into conflict with Jesus and the apostles.