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Great Whore
[Bible]The great whore is a symbolic figure in Revelation 17–19. She is depicted riding a scarlet beast, drunk with the blood of the saints, and committing fornication with the kings of the earth, and she is called "Babylon the Great."
Gideon
[People]Gideon is a judge of Israel whose story is told in Judges 6–8. Also called Jerubbaal, he is best known for defeating Midian with three hundred men.
Seventy Weeks
[Bible]The seventy weeks are a period named in the prophecy that the angel Gabriel delivered to Daniel in Daniel 9:24-27. They are commonly understood as "seventy sevens," that is, 490 years. Interpreters differ widely over whether the passage should be read as a messianic prophecy, an eschatological prophecy, or a prediction of specific historical events.
Daniel 9:24–27
[Bible Verses]The prophecy of the "seventy weeks" delivered to Daniel by the angel Gabriel. It is among the most difficult prophecies in Scripture to interpret. Interpretations diverge sharply among the traditional reading of it as a messianic prophecy, the eschatological reading of dispensationalism, and the historical-critical reading that relates it to events of the Maccabean period.
The Seven Signs of the Gospel of John
[Bible]The seven signs of the Gospel of John are seven events recorded in John 1–12, a Gospel that calls Jesus' miracles "signs." John presents these events as indications that reveal who Jesus is and lead people to faith.
Seven Last Words of Christ
[Bible]The Seven Last Words of Christ is the traditional name for the seven sayings that Jesus Christ spoke from the cross before his death, as gathered from the four Gospels.
Seven Deacons
[Bible]The Seven Deacons were seven men chosen by the early church in Jerusalem to ensure the fair distribution of relief to those in need. They included Stephen and Philip, and their appointment is commonly regarded as the origin of the office of deacon.
Seven Sacraments
[Doctrine & Theology]The Seven Sacraments are the seven rites that the Catholic Church professes to be signs of grace instituted by Christ: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. Most Protestants recognize only two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Seven Seals
[Bible]The seven seals are the seals that close the scroll held in the hand of God in Revelation 5–8. As the slain Lamb opens them one by one, war, famine, death, martyrdom, and cosmic upheaval follow in succession.
Feeding of the Four Thousand
[Bible]The Feeding of the Four Thousand is the miracle in which Jesus fed a crowd of more than four thousand people with seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. It is recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark.
Seven Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls
[Bible]The seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls are visions in Revelation 6–16 in which God's judgments unfold in three successive series of seven. Interpreters differ on how the three series relate to one another and when they occur.
Seven Nations of Canaan
[Bible]The seven nations of Canaan is a collective term for the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, the peoples who lived in the land of Canaan before Israel entered it. The expression derives from Deuteronomy 7:1.
Consecration of the Priests
[Bible]The consecration of the priests was the seven-day ceremony in which Moses installed Aaron and his sons as priests of Israel. The command for it is recorded in Exodus 29, and its performance in Leviticus 8.
Anointing of the Sick
[Worship & Rites]The Anointing of the Sick is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, a rite in which a priest prays over a gravely ill or frail elderly person and anoints him or her with consecrated oil. Protestant churches do not recognize it as a sacrament.
Philip the Evangelist
[People]Philip the Evangelist appears in the Acts of the Apostles as one of "the seven" chosen in the early Jerusalem church. He preached the gospel in Samaria and baptized the Ethiopian eunuch. He is distinct from Philip the Apostle.
Parables of the Kingdom
[Bible]The parables of the kingdom are the parables in which Jesus described the reign of God with the words "The kingdom of heaven is like unto…"; in the narrower sense, the term refers to the seven parables of Matthew 13.
Luke 23:34
[Bible Verses]Luke 23:34 records the prayer Jesus offered on the cross for those who were crucifying him: "Father, forgive them." It is traditionally counted as the first of the Seven Last Words from the Cross. The verse also raises a textual question, because the prayer is absent from some early manuscripts.
Luke 23:43
[Bible Verses]Luke 23:43 records the promise Jesus made on the cross to the repentant thief: "To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." The verse is frequently cited in discussions of where believers are immediately after death (the intermediate state) and of whether salvation is possible apart from works or baptism. It is also the subject of a translation debate over the placement of a comma.
Penitential Psalms
[Bible]The Penitential Psalms are seven psalms (Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143) that church tradition groups together because they give prominent expression to the confession of sin and the plea for God's forgiveness.
Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
[Bible]The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl are two brief parables of Jesus recorded in Matthew 13:44-46. They convey the worth of the kingdom of God by depicting a person who discovers it and joyfully sells everything he owns to obtain it.