Search the encyclopedia
1000 articles found for “The Fall narrative”
Matthew 22:37–40
[Bible Verses]In this passage Jesus, asked which is the greatest commandment, names love for God and love for neighbor and declares that all the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. It is accepted across denominational lines as a summary of biblical ethics.
Matthew 24:14
[Bible Verses]Matthew 24:14 is a prophecy of Jesus that this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then the end shall come. Because it links the motive for mission with the timing of the Second Coming, the verse figures prominently both in the missionary movement and in eschatological discussion.
Matthew 24:36
[Bible Verses]Matthew 24:36 is the saying of Jesus that no one knows the day and hour of his coming, not even the angels or the Son, but the Father only. It is a key verse against date-setting eschatology, which fixes a date for the Second Coming, and it has also raised theological questions about the divinity and humanity of Jesus.
Matthew 25:40
[Bible Verses]Matthew 25:40 is the verse in the parable of the sheep and the goats in which the King says, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." It is the passage most often cited as a basis for serving the poor, and interpreters differ over who "the least of these" are.
Matthew 26:26–28
[Bible Verses]Matthew 26:26–28 records the words Jesus spoke at the Last Supper when he broke bread and said, "Take, eat; this is my body," and then gave the cup, saying, "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." These are the words of institution of the Lord's Supper, and no passage has divided the church more deeply over the meaning of Communion.
Matthew 28:19–20
[Bible Verses]In this passage the risen Jesus commands his disciples to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that he has commanded. Known as the "Great Commission," it serves as a foundational text for missions, baptism, and discipleship.
Genesis 1:28
[Bible Verses]Genesis 1:28 is the verse in which God blesses humankind, saying, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion." In the Reformed tradition it is called the "cultural mandate," and it is frequently cited in debates over responsibility for the environmental crisis.
Genesis 15:6
[Bible Verses]Genesis 15:6 reads, "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." Paul cited the verse as a central basis for the doctrine of justification by faith, and the Epistle of James also quotes it, placing it at the center of debates over the relationship between faith and works.
Leviticus 19:18
[Bible Verses]Leviticus 19:18 is a precept of the Mosaic Law: "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Jesus named it, together with the command to love God, as the greatest of the commandments, and both Paul and James cited it as a summary of the Law.
Joshua 24:15
[Bible Verses]Joshua 24:15 records the declaration Joshua made near the end of his life, when he called on Israel to choose that day whom they would serve and announced, "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." It is among the verses most widely used as a motto for household faith, and it is also cited in discussions of human choice and divine sovereignty.
Job 1:21
[Bible Verses]Job 1:21 records the words Job spoke after losing his possessions and his children in a single day: "The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." It is regarded as a classic confession of faith in the midst of suffering and is frequently read at funeral services. Interpreters differ over whether the cause of suffering may rightly be attributed to God.
Psalm 121:1–2
[Bible Verses]Psalm 121 opens with the psalmist lifting his eyes to the hills and asking where his help will come from, followed by the answer, "My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." The psalm celebrates God's protection along the road of travel and pilgrimage, and interpreters differ over what the "hills" signify.
Sarah
[People]Sarah is the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac in the Book of Genesis. Originally named Sarai, she remained childless into old age and, according to the biblical account, bore Isaac at the age of ninety in fulfillment of God's promise.
Joseph (Son of Jacob)
[People]Joseph is a figure in the Book of Genesis, the son of Jacob and Rachel. Sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers, he rose to become the country's chief administrator and saved his family during a famine. He is distinct from Joseph of Nazareth, the legal father of Jesus.
Hagar and Ishmael
[People]Hagar was Sarah's Egyptian maidservant who bore Abraham his son Ishmael, Abraham's firstborn. Their story appears in Genesis 16, 21, and 25, and Paul uses the account allegorically in Galatians 4.
Elisha
[People]Elisha was a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel who appears in the Old Testament books of Kings. He succeeded Elijah and is recorded as having performed many miracles.
Jonah (Prophet)
[People]Jonah was an Israelite prophet and the central figure of the Old Testament Book of Jonah. He is known for fleeing from God's command, spending three days in the belly of a great fish, and then going to Nineveh to call its people to repentance.
Andrew
[People]Andrew was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, the brother of Simon Peter, and a fisherman from Galilee. The Gospel of John portrays him as a former disciple of John the Baptist who followed Jesus and brought Peter to Him.
Mary Magdalene
[People]Mary Magdalene was a woman disciple who followed Jesus from the time of his Galilean ministry. All four Gospels record that she witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus and the empty tomb, and the Gospel of John presents her as the first person to meet the risen Jesus.
Thomas
[People]Thomas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He declared that he would not believe until he had seen the risen Jesus for himself, and he then confessed, "My Lord and my God."