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River of the Water of Life
[Bible]The river of the water of life is the river described in Revelation 22 as flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb and watering the New Jerusalem. Together with Ezekiel's vision in Ezekiel 47 of a river flowing from the temple, it is read as a symbol of the life that God gives.
Babylon the Great
[Bible]Babylon the Great is a symbolic city that appears in Revelation 14–18. It represents worldly power that opposes God and the judgment that falls upon that power.
Chapter and Verse Divisions of the Bible
[Bible]The chapter and verse divisions of the Bible are the system by which the biblical text is divided into numbered chapters and verses. They were not part of the original text. Chapter divisions were introduced in the early thirteenth century, and New Testament verse numbers in the mid-sixteenth century.
Formation of the Canon
[Bible]The formation of the canon (canonization) is the historical process by which it became settled which of the many writings in circulation were received as Scripture, the norm for faith and life.
New Testament Quotations of the Old Testament
[Bible]The practice by which New Testament writers reproduce or borrow the words of the Old Testament to explain Jesus Christ and the church, and the passages in which they do so. These quotations are treated as a key resource for understanding the relationship between the Old and New Testaments.
Relationship Between the Old and New Testaments
[Bible]The relationship between the Old and New Testaments concerns how the two parts of the Christian Bible are connected to and distinguished from each other. It is commonly described as a relationship of promise and fulfillment, and denominations differ in whether they place greater emphasis on continuity or on distinction.
Authorship of the Bible
[Bible]The authorship of the Bible concerns who wrote each of the books of Scripture. The Bible speaks both of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and of the writing of human authors, and denominations and scholars differ in how they understand the authorship and inspiration of each book.
Homosexuality and the Church
[Controversies]Homosexuality and the church concerns how churches should respond to homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and LGBTQ church members and clergy. In South Korea, most denominations hold the traditional position that homosexuality is sin, and the issue is closely intertwined with the debate over enacting an anti-discrimination law.
Isaiah the Prophet
[People]Isaiah was an Old Testament prophet who ministered in the Kingdom of Judah in the late eighth century BC and is the central figure of the Book of Isaiah. His name means "the LORD is salvation."
John the Baptist
[People]John the Baptist was a Jewish prophet who came before Jesus Christ, calling people to repentance and baptizing in the Jordan River. The New Testament presents him as the one who prepared the way for the Messiah.
Darius the Mede
[People]Darius the Mede is the king who, according to the book of Daniel, received the kingdom after the death of the Babylonian king Belshazzar. He is known as the king who had Daniel cast into the lions' den. Because he is not attested in sources outside the Bible, his identity is the subject of several competing views.
Ananias the High Priest
[People]High priest in Jerusalem in the mid-first century. In Acts 23–24 he orders that Paul be struck on the mouth as Paul stands before the Sanhedrin, and he later brings charges against Paul before the governor at Caesarea.
Simon the Tanner
[People]Simon the tanner was a leather craftsman of Joppa mentioned in Acts 9–10. After raising Tabitha, Peter stayed for many days in Simon's house by the sea, and it was on its housetop, while praying, that Peter saw a vision.
Maximus the Confessor
[People]Maximus the Confessor (c. 580–662) was a seventh-century Eastern Roman monk and theologian. He is called "the Confessor" because he suffered torture and exile for defending dyothelitism, the doctrine that Christ has two wills, one according to his divinity and one according to his humanity.
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.
Simon the Leper
[People]Simon the Leper was a resident of Bethany in whose house Jesus was dining shortly before His Passion when a woman poured ointment on His head. He is mentioned by name only in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark.
Dionysius the Areopagite
[People]Dionysius was an Athenian mentioned in Acts 17:34, a member of the Areopagus who believed after hearing Paul's address at the Areopagus.
Philip the Tetrarch
[People]Philip the Tetrarch was a son of Herod the Great who ruled the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis northeast of the Sea of Galilee. He is named in Luke 3:1 and is known as the founder of Caesarea Philippi.
Darius the Mede
[People]Darius the Mede is a king in the Book of Daniel who receives the kingdom after the fall of Babylon. He had Daniel cast into the lions' den and, after seeing Daniel delivered, issued a decree honoring God.
Heber the Kenite
[People]Heber was a Kenite who appears in Judges 4–5. A descendant of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, he was the husband of Jael, who killed the Canaanite commander Sisera.