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Presence of God
[Doctrine & Theology]The presence of God refers to God's being with a particular place, person, or community. Denominations differ in their emphases on how this presence is experienced and understood in worship and prayer.
Temple Mount
[Bible]The Temple Mount is a hill on the eastern side of the Old City of Jerusalem. It was the site of Solomon's Temple and later of the Second Temple, and 2 Chronicles 3:1 calls it "mount Moriah."
Easter Controversy
[History]The Easter controversy is a dispute within the church, dating back to the second century, over when Easter should be observed. The term encompasses the Quartodeciman controversy in Asia Minor, the decision of the Council of Nicaea, and the calendar differences between the Western and Eastern churches.
Fourth Lateran Council
[History]The largest council of the Middle Ages, convened by Pope Innocent III in 1215 at the Lateran Basilica in Rome. It enacted seventy-one canons, including a confession of faith affirming creation from nothing and the transubstantiation of the Eucharist, and a requirement that the faithful confess at least once a year.
Wrath of God
[Doctrine & Theology]The wrath of God is a theological term for God's holy opposition to and judgment upon sin and unrighteousness. It appears throughout the Bible and is an important theme in explaining the doctrines of atonement and salvation.
Seven Sacraments
[Doctrine & Theology]The Seven Sacraments are the seven rites that the Catholic Church professes to be signs of grace instituted by Christ: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. Most Protestants recognize only two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Hypostatic Union
[Doctrine & Theology]The hypostatic union is the Christological teaching that in the one person of Jesus Christ true divinity and true humanity are joined in a single hypostasis (person), without being mixed or divided.
Garden Tomb
[History]The Garden Tomb is a rock-cut tomb and garden north of the Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. It became known in the nineteenth century when some Protestants proposed it as the tomb of Jesus, and today it is a favored place of reflection for Protestant pilgrims.
Glory of God
[Doctrine & Theology]The glory of God refers to the majesty and beauty of God's being and character and to their manifestation in the world. The term can also denote the act of human beings exalting and praising God.
Satisfaction Theory
[Doctrine & Theology]The satisfaction theory is a theory of the atonement that explains the death of Christ as rendering the "satisfaction" (reparation) rightly owed for the glory (honor) of God that has been injured by sin. It was systematized by Anselm of Canterbury in the late eleventh century.
Moral Influence Theory
[Doctrine & Theology]The moral influence theory is a theory of the atonement holding that the heart of the atonement lies in Christ's death on the cross revealing God's love, which moves human hearts and leads people to repentance and love.
Valley of Rephaim
[Bible]The Valley of Rephaim was a valley southwest of Jerusalem that formed part of the boundary between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. It is known as the place where David twice defeated the Philistine army encamped there.
Valley of Hamon-gog
[Bible]The Valley of Hamon-gog is a place name in Ezekiel 39. It is the name to be given to the burial ground where Gog and his multitude will be buried after they come against Israel and are destroyed. The name means "the valley of the multitude of Gog."
Mount of Corruption
[Bible]The Mount of Corruption is a mountain east of Jerusalem mentioned in 2 Kings 23:13. Solomon built high places for foreign gods there, and Josiah later defiled and removed them. It is commonly identified with the southern part of the Mount of Olives.
Moneychangers
[Bible]The moneychangers were people who, in the time of Jesus, exchanged pilgrims' money within the Temple in Jerusalem for the currency used to pay the Temple tax and to buy sacrificial animals. They appear in the account of Jesus' cleansing of the Temple.
King's Highway
[Bible]The King's Highway was an ancient trade route running north and south across the plateau east of the Jordan River. In the Book of Numbers, it is the road Moses named when he asked Edom and Sihon king of the Amorites for permission to pass through, promising to travel only along that way.
Madaba Map
[History]The Madaba Map is a sixth-century Byzantine mosaic map preserved in the floor of the Church of Saint George in Madaba, Jordan. It is known as the oldest surviving original map of the Holy Land.
Synagogue of Satan
[Bible]The "synagogue of Satan" is an expression found in Revelation 2:9 and 3:9. It refers to the gathering of those who "say they are Jews" and who slandered and harassed the churches in Smyrna and Philadelphia.
Medieval Church
[History]The medieval church refers to the Western European church, centered on the pope in Rome, from about the fifth century to about the fifteenth century. Papal power grew and then declined during this period, which formed the background to the sixteenth-century Reformation.
Apostolic Age
[History]The Apostolic Age is the period of first-century Christianity during which the apostles led the church after the ascension of Jesus Christ. It is usually dated from the early AD 30s to around AD 100, when John, traditionally regarded as the last surviving apostle, died.