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Return from Exile
[Bible]The return from exile was the return of the people of Judah, who had been carried off to Babylon, to Jerusalem in several waves after the decree of Cyrus, king of Persia, and their rebuilding of the temple and the city walls.
Flight into Egypt
[Bible]The Flight into Egypt is the event in which Joseph, instructed in a dream after Herod the Great sought to kill the infant Jesus, took Mary and the child and fled to Egypt. After Herod's death the family returned and settled in Nazareth. The account appears only in Matthew 2.
Annunciation
[Bible]The Annunciation is the event recorded in Luke 1 in which the angel Gabriel announced to Mary, a virgin of Nazareth, that she would conceive a son by the Holy Spirit and name him Jesus.
Temptation of Christ
[Bible]The temptation of Christ is the event in which Jesus Christ, after his baptism, fasted for forty days in the wilderness and was tempted by the devil. It is recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
Baptism of Jesus
[Bible]The baptism of Jesus is the event in which Jesus, around the beginning of his public ministry, was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. The Gospels report that the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and that a voice was heard from heaven.
Missionary Journeys of Paul
[Bible]The missionary journeys of Paul were the travels in which Paul, setting out from the church at Antioch, preached the gospel and founded churches throughout Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Achaia. They are recorded in Acts 13–21 and are commonly divided into three journeys.
Prayer in Gethsemane
[Bible]The prayer in Gethsemane is the prayer Jesus offered in Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, on the night before his arrest, in which he said, "not as I will, but as thou wilt." The event marks the beginning of the Passion narrative.
Crucifixion of Jesus
[Bible]The crucifixion is the event in which Jesus Christ, sentenced by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, was nailed to a cross and died at Golgotha outside the walls of Jerusalem. All four Gospels record it.
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.
Martyrdom of Stephen
[Bible]The martyrdom of Stephen was the stoning of Stephen, one of the seven men appointed to serve in the early Jerusalem church, after he preached before the council. It is recorded in Acts 6–7.
Psalm 2:12
[Bible Verses]The final verse of Psalm 2, which warns the kings of the earth to submit to the king whom the LORD has installed ("the Son") and pronounces a blessing on those who take refuge in the LORD. It is widely read as a prophecy of Christ and is frequently discussed because of the difficulty of translating the Hebrew word rendered "Son."
Raising of Jairus's Daughter
[Bible]The raising of Jairus's daughter is the miracle in which Jesus restored to life the twelve-year-old daughter of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, after she had died. The account appears in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
Feast of Weeks
[Bible]The Feast of Weeks was one of Israel's three pilgrimage festivals, at which the firstfruits of the wheat harvest were offered. It was observed after counting seven weeks from the day the first sheaf of grain was presented, and in the New Testament it is called Pentecost.
Feast of Dedication
[Bible]The Feast of Dedication, also known as Hanukkah, is a Jewish festival commemorating the Jews' recovery and rededication of the Jerusalem Temple after its defilement by the Seleucid dynasty in the second century BC. The Bible mentions it once, in John 10:22.
Birthright
[Bible]The birthright is the firstborn son's right of precedence in inheritance and in representing the family, received from his father. It is best known from Genesis, where Esau sold his birthright to his younger brother Jacob for a bowl of stew.
Golden Rule
[Bible]The Golden Rule is the traditional name for the teaching of Jesus "whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them" (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31).
Twelve Tribes of Israel
[Bible]The Twelve Tribes of Israel are the twelve divisions of the people of Israel descended from the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel). In the Old Testament they were the units by which the land was allotted and the people organized; in the New Testament they serve as a symbol of the whole people of God.
Kinsman-Redeemer
[Bible]The kinsman-redeemer (Hebrew goel) is an Old Testament institution in which a close relative paid the price to recover land or freedom that a family member had lost through poverty or similar circumstances. Boaz in the Book of Ruth is the best-known example.
Beatitudes
[Bible]The Beatitudes are the eight blessings that Jesus Christ proclaimed at the opening of the Sermon on the Mount. They are recorded in Matthew 5:3-10, and similar sayings appear in Luke 6:20-23.
Great Commission
[Bible]The Great Commission is the command in which the risen Jesus instructed his disciples to make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them. Its principal text is Matthew 28:18-20.