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Swaddling Clothes
[Bible]Swaddling clothes are the cloths or bands used to wrap a newborn infant. In the Bible they are best known from Luke 2, where Mary wraps the newborn Jesus in swaddling clothes and lays him in a manger.
Matthew 1:22–23
[Bible Verses]Matthew 1:22–23 is the Gospel writer's comment interpreting Jesus' conception by the Holy Spirit as the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14. Cited every Christmas as the basis for the name "Emmanuel" ("God with us") and for the doctrine of the virgin birth, the passage is also debated over its rendering "virgin."
Fallen Angel
[Doctrine & Theology]A fallen angel is a spiritual being created by God as a good angel that rebelled against God and fell from its original place. Christian tradition generally identifies Satan and demons as fallen angels.
Angel Worship
[Doctrine & Theology]Angel worship refers to offering angels the worship or prayer that belongs to God alone. Protestants reject it on the basis of Colossians 2:18 and other passages.
Guardian Angel
[Doctrine & Theology]A guardian angel is an angel whom God sends to protect a person or community; the term also refers to the belief that God sends such angels. The Catholic Church teaches it as doctrine, while Protestants generally affirm angelic protection but do not insist that each person is assigned a single angel.
Gabriel
[Bible]Gabriel is an angel of God named in the Book of Daniel and the Gospel of Luke. He explained the meaning of visions to Daniel and announced the births of sons to Zacharias and to Mary.
Revelation 18
[Bible]Revelation 18 opens with an angel's proclamation that the great city Babylon has fallen. Through the laments of the kings of the earth, the merchants, and the seafarers, and through the symbolic act of casting a millstone into the sea, the chapter depicts Babylon's complete destruction.
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.
Revelation 7:3
[Bible Verses]Revelation 7:3 is the verse in which another angel cries out to the four angels who have been given power to hurt the earth, telling them to do no harm "till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." It is commonly read as signifying the protection of God's people in the midst of judgment, and together with the passage on the 144,000 that follows, it has served as the basis for a variety of interpretations.
Satan
[Bible]Satan is the name the Bible gives to an evil spiritual being who opposes and accuses God and His people. The Hebrew word means "adversary," and the New Testament uses it interchangeably with "the devil."
Revelation 10
[Bible]Revelation 10 is the chapter set between the sixth and seventh trumpets. A mighty angel comes down holding an open little book, and John, after taking and eating the book, is commanded to prophesy again.
Cornelius
[People]Cornelius is a Roman centurion stationed at Caesarea who appears in Acts 10. After hearing Peter's preaching, he received the Holy Spirit and was baptized. He is remembered as the central figure in the event through which the gospel was opened to the Gentiles.
Galatians 1:8–9
[Bible Verses]In this passage Paul twice declares that anyone who preaches a gospel other than the one he preached should be accursed, whether the apostle himself or an angel from heaven. It is a key text on the authority of the gospel and is frequently cited as a basis for identifying heresy.
Broom Tree
[Bible]The broom tree (Hebrew *rotem*) is a leguminous shrub that grows in arid regions such as the Sinai wilderness and the Negev. In the Bible it is best known as the place where Elijah, fleeing from Jezebel, asked to die and was then given food by an angel.
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.
Joseph of Nazareth
[People]In the New Testament, Joseph is the husband of Mary and the legal father of Jesus. He is presented as a descendant of David and is recorded as having worked as a carpenter in Nazareth of Galilee.
Revelation 22:17
[Bible Verses]In this verse from the final chapter of the Bible, the Spirit and the bride (the church) say "Come," and the thirsty are invited to take the water of life freely. Interpreters discuss whether it should be read as a prayer for the Second Coming or as a gospel invitation.
Revelation 18:20–21
[Bible Verses]This passage calls on heaven and the saints to rejoice over the fall of Babylon the great and records a mighty angel casting a stone like a great millstone into the sea, declaring that the city shall be found no more at all. Discussion centers mainly on what Babylon signifies and how to understand the call to rejoice over its destruction.
Mary, Mother of Mark
[People]Mary, the mother of Mark, was a member of the Jerusalem church mentioned in Acts 12. She owned the house to which Peter went after his release from prison, where many people had gathered to pray.
Exodus 23
[Bible]Exodus 23 is the final chapter of the Book of the Covenant. It sets out ordinances on just judgment and on the treatment of enemies and strangers, establishes the sabbatical year and the Sabbath, and prescribes three annual feasts. It closes with God's promise to send an angel to lead Israel into Canaan.