Search the encyclopedia
1000 articles found for “the elect lady”
Sosthenes
[People]Sosthenes is a first-century figure in the New Testament. The Book of Acts presents him as a ruler of the synagogue in Corinth, and First Corinthians names him as the "brother" who joined Paul in sending the letter. Scholars disagree over whether the two references are to the same person.
Hamath
[Bible]Hamath was an ancient city and kingdom on the Orontes River in what is now western Syria. The Old Testament frequently uses it as a reference point for the northern boundary of the land of Israel.
Crispus
[People]Crispus was the ruler of the synagogue in Corinth who, together with his entire household, believed in Jesus during the apostle Paul's ministry there. He is recorded as one of the few people whom Paul personally baptized.
Discernment of Spirits
[Christian Life]Discernment of spirits is the act of determining whether a given utterance, phenomenon, or spiritual experience comes from the Holy Spirit. It is one of the gifts of the Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12:10.
Gerasa
[Bible]Gerasa is the region across the Sea of Galilee where, according to Mark 5 and Luke 8, Jesus healed a demon-possessed man. Matthew's account of the same event calls the place "Gadara."
Nicolas
[People]Nicolas was one of the seven men chosen by the church in Jerusalem in Acts 6 to oversee the distribution of relief. He was a native of Antioch who had been a proselyte to Judaism.
Obed-edom
[People]Obed-edom was the owner of the house where the Ark of the Covenant remained for three months during the reign of King David. Scripture records that God blessed him and his entire household during that time. Chronicles also presents him as a Levite gatekeeper.
Judas Maccabeus
[People]Judas Maccabeus was the leader of the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid king Antiochus IV in the second century BC. He recaptured the Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it.
Kish
[People]Kish was the father of Saul, the first king of Israel, and the son of Abiel of the tribe of Benjamin. Several other individuals of the same name also appear in the Bible.
Etham
[Bible]Etham was the second place where the Israelites encamped during the Exodus, after they left Succoth. Scripture records that it lay "in the edge of the wilderness." It is the place where the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire are first mentioned.
Beth-shemesh
[Bible]Beth-shemesh, meaning "house of the sun," is an Old Testament place name that refers chiefly to a priestly city on the western border of Judah. It was the first place the ark of the covenant reached when the Philistines sent it back, and it was also where Amaziah, king of Judah, was defeated by the northern kingdom of Israel.
Tetrarch
[Bible]Tetrarch is a New Testament term for a ruler under the Roman Empire who governed a portion of a divided territory. It is used chiefly of Herod Antipas, who ruled Galilee.
Noah's Ark
[Bible]Noah's Ark is the large vessel that Noah built at God's command in Genesis 6–9, in which Noah's family of eight and the animals survived the judgment of the Flood.
Nebuzaradan
[People]Nebuzaradan was the captain of the guard under Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. At the fall of Judah he burned the temple and the city of Jerusalem and carried the people into captivity, and he released the prophet Jeremiah.
Alabaster Box
[Bible]An alabaster box is a small stone vessel for holding perfumed ointment. It is best known from the Gospel accounts of a woman who poured costly ointment from an alabaster box on Jesus.
John Climacus
[People]John Climacus was a sixth- and seventh-century monk of Mount Sinai and abbot of its monastery. He wrote the spiritual classic The Ladder of Divine Ascent, which describes the path of faith as a ladder of thirty steps.
Lazarus Saturday
[Feasts & Seasons]Lazarus Saturday is the Saturday immediately before Palm Sunday and commemorates Jesus' raising of the dead Lazarus at Bethany. It is observed chiefly by the Orthodox Church and by churches of the Eastern liturgical tradition.
Transfiguration Sunday
[Feasts & Seasons]Transfiguration Sunday commemorates the event in which Jesus was transfigured in glory on a mountain (the Transfiguration). In the Protestant church calendar, it is commonly observed on the last Sunday of the Epiphany season, the Sunday immediately before Ash Wednesday.
Marian Veneration
[Doctrine & Theology]Marian veneration is the devotional practice of giving special honor and reverence to Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. It is a tradition of the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. Most Protestants respect Mary as an example of faith but do not make her an object of prayer or veneration.
Blasphemy
[Bible]Blasphemy is the dishonoring of God's name and majesty by word or deed. The Old Testament law punished it with death, and in the Gospels Jesus is accused of this offense.