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1 John
[Bible]First John is one of the General Epistles of the New Testament and consists of five chapters. With its declarations that "God is light" and "God is love," it sets out criteria for discerning genuine faith.
New Testament Apocrypha
[Bible]The New Testament Apocrypha is a collective term for early Christian writings that tell stories about Jesus and the apostles or bear an apostle's name but were not included among the twenty-seven books of the New Testament canon.
Psalm 119
[Bible]Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, with 176 verses. It is an acrostic poem arranged in eight-verse stanzas that follow the order of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It consists of confessions and prayers expressing love for God's word and law and a resolve to keep them.
Proverbs 31:30
[Bible Verses]Proverbs 31:30 declares that favour and beauty are vain but that a woman who fears the LORD shall be praised. It forms the conclusion of the poem of the "virtuous woman" at the end of the Book of Proverbs. The verse is frequently cited as a model of the woman of faith, and interpreters differ on how that portrait should be understood.
Gospel of Peter
[Bible]The Gospel of Peter is an ancient Greek gospel bearing the name of the apostle Peter. It is not part of the biblical canon, and only a fragment dealing with the passion and resurrection of Jesus survives.
Matthew 24
[Bible]Matthew 24 is the chapter in which Jesus, after foretelling the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, teaches his disciples on the Mount of Olives about the signs of the end, the great tribulation, and the coming of the Son of Man, and urges them to keep watch.
Revelation 21
[Bible]Revelation 21 depicts the vision of a new heaven and a new earth and of the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. It describes the world brought to completion, in which God dwells with humanity.
Jeremiah
[Bible]Jeremiah is one of the Major Prophets of the Old Testament. It records the prophecies and life of the prophet Jeremiah, who ministered during the period when the Kingdom of Judah fell.
John 4
[Bible]John 4 is the chapter of the Gospel of John in which Jesus speaks with a woman at Jacob's well in Sychar of Samaria about living water and worship, and many people of that town come to believe. It also records the second sign, Jesus' healing of a royal official's son at Cana in Galilee.
John 20
[Bible]John 20 opens with Mary Magdalene's discovery of the empty tomb and recounts the appearances of the risen Jesus to Mary, to the disciples, and to Thomas. The chapter closes with a statement of the book's purpose.
Acts 12
[Bible]Acts 12 is the chapter in which King Herod kills James and imprisons Peter, an angel leads Peter out of prison, and Herod is struck down and dies.
Revelation 19
[Bible]Revelation 19 depicts heaven praising God with hallelujahs for the judgment of Babylon, the great whore, and announcing the marriage supper of the Lamb. The rider on the white horse then defeats the armies of the beast and the false prophet.
Matthew 27
[Bible]This chapter records the events from Jesus' being handed over to the governor Pilate for trial, through His crucifixion and death at Golgotha, to His burial in a tomb. It also includes the death of Judas, the release of Barabbas, and the posting of a guard at the tomb.
Revelation 20
[Bible]Revelation 20 depicts Satan bound in the bottomless pit for a thousand years while the saints reign with Christ, followed by Satan's final rebellion and defeat and the Last Judgment before the great white throne.
Psalm 119:97–104
[Bible Verses]The thirteenth stanza of Psalm 119, in which the psalmist meditates on God's word all day long and confesses that it makes him wiser than his enemies, his teachers, and the aged, and that it is sweeter than honey. The passage is often cited to encourage meditation on Scripture and the practice of quiet time.
Feast of Unleavened Bread
[Bible]The Feast of Unleavened Bread was a seven-day festival, beginning the day after Passover, during which Israel ate bread without leaven to commemorate the Exodus. In the New Testament it is named together with Passover, and Paul uses it as an illustration of the Christian life.
Second Vatican Council
[History]A council of the Catholic Church held at the Vatican in Rome from 1962 to 1965. Under the banner of church renewal and dialogue with the modern world, it approved the celebration of Mass in vernacular languages, dialogue with other Christians, and religious freedom, among other decisions.
Elah (King of Israel)
[People]Elah was a king of the northern kingdom of Israel and the son of Baasha. According to 1 Kings 16, he reigned for two years and was killed by his servant Zimri while drunk. His death brought the dynasty of Baasha to an end.
Nehemiah 9
[Bible]Nehemiah 9 records how the Israelites who had returned from exile fasted and confessed their sins. The Levites offer a long prayer recounting Israel's history from creation to the exile, and at the end the people make a covenant and seal it.
Haggai 2
[Bible]Haggai 2 records three messages that Haggai received while the rebuilding of the temple was underway. It presents the promise of the latter glory of the new temple, a question-and-answer exchange on the law concerning holiness and uncleanness, and God's promise to make Zerubbabel as a signet.