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Bride of Christ
[Doctrine & Theology]The Bride of Christ is a biblical image that likens the church to a bride united with Jesus Christ in a marriage covenant. It expresses the love between Christ and the church, the church's purity, and the eschatological consummation of their relationship.
Twenty-Four Elders
[Bible]The twenty-four elders are heavenly elders in the Book of Revelation who sit on twenty-four thrones surrounding the throne of God and, together with the four living creatures, worship God and the Lamb.
Immaculate Conception
[Doctrine & Theology]The Immaculate Conception is the Catholic doctrine that the Virgin Mary was preserved free from original sin from the first moment of her conception. It is distinct from the Virgin Birth, the teaching that Mary bore Jesus as a virgin.
Day Star
[Bible]The day star is the star that rises brightly in the dawn sky, that is, the morning star. In Isaiah 14:12 it appears as a name for the king of Babylon, who is brought to ruin.
Apostolic Fathers
[History]The Apostolic Fathers are the church leaders who were active close to the time of the apostles, from the late first century to the mid-second century. The term also refers to the earliest Christian writings outside the New Testament that they left behind.
Winepress
[Bible]A winepress is an installation in which grapes are trodden by foot to extract their juice. In the Bible it can signify the blessing of harvest, and it also serves as a symbol of God's judgment.
Priestly Garments
[Bible]The priestly garments were the holy garments made, according to Exodus 28, for Aaron and his sons to wear when they ministered in the tabernacle. The garments of the high priest are distinguished from those of the ordinary priests.
Great Disappointment
[History]The Great Disappointment was the collective disappointment experienced by members of the Millerite movement in the United States, who believed that Jesus Christ would return on October 22, 1844, when that day passed without the Second Coming.
Philistine Pentapolis
[Bible]The Philistine Pentapolis is the collective name for the five cities that the Philistines established on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Canaan: Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. During the period of the judges and the early monarchy, these cities were the centers of the Philistine power that opposed Israel.
Beautiful Gate
[Bible]The Beautiful Gate was one of the gates of the Temple in Jerusalem. According to Acts 3, it was the place where Peter and John healed a man who had been lame from birth.
Song of Miriam
[Bible]The Song of Miriam is a short hymn of praise sung by the prophetess Miriam as she led the women with timbrels and dancing after Israel crossed the Red Sea. It is recorded in Exodus 15:20-21.
Table of Nations
[Bible]The Table of Nations is the genealogy of the descendants of Noah's three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, recorded in Genesis 10. It sets out how humanity divided and spread into many peoples and nations after the Flood. It is also called the List of Nations.
Empty Tomb
[Bible]The empty tomb is the event in which women went to the tomb of Jesus early on the first day of the week, the third day after his crucifixion and burial, and found the stone moved away and his body gone. All four Gospels record it.
Burning Bush
[Bible]The burning bush is the thornbush in Exodus 3 that burned with fire yet was not consumed when Moses first encountered God at Mount Horeb. The scene is read as a sign of God's presence and of Moses' call.
Infancy Gospel of Thomas
[History]The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is an early Christian apocryphal work that collects miracle stories from the childhood of Jesus between the ages of five and twelve. It is thought to have been written around the second century. Despite the similar name, it is a different book from the Gospel of Thomas found at Nag Hammadi.
Writings (Hebrew Bible)
[Bible]The Writings are the third of the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), following the Law and the Prophets. Called Ketuvim ("things written") in Hebrew, the division comprises eleven books by Jewish reckoning, including Psalms, Job, and Proverbs.
Patriarch
[Bible]The patriarchs are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the founding ancestors of the people of Israel, together with Jacob's twelve sons. Their story is told in Genesis 12–50.
Bishops' Bible
[Bible]The Bishops' Bible is an English Bible published in 1568 by the Church of England under the direction of Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury. It served as the base text for the translation of the King James Bible in 1611.
Table of Nations
[Bible]The Table of Nations is the genealogy in Genesis 10 of the peoples descended from Noah's three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. In a single list, it shows how humanity divided into many nations and languages and spread abroad after the Flood.
Temple Gatekeepers
[Bible]The temple gatekeepers were Levites who guarded the gates of the tabernacle and the temple in Jerusalem and oversaw entry, the storehouses, and the temple furnishings. They are described most fully in 1 Chronicles and also appear in Psalm 84:10, a psalm of the sons of Korah.