The terms. The old nature and the new nature are terms that are not found verbatim in the Word of God, but what they represent is found many times. For example, the old nature is called “the mind of the flesh”, or “sin”, or “the law of sin”, or “sin that dwells in me.” The […]

Related: Spiritual Gifts   New Testament Apostles and Prophets. When Paul refers to “the apostles and prophets” he is referring to New Testament apostles and prophets. These apostles and prophets are the “foundation gifts” (Eph. 2:20). The apostles were those men sent by the Lord Himself. Read more… But not all the New Testament writers […]

Main article: Key Players and Terms in Prophecy Related: The Prophetic Earth; The Land; The Prophetic World; The Third Part   The Fourth Part of the earth. It is unclear from scripture what “the fourth part” definitely refers to. The phrase occurs only once in prophecy, in Rev. 6: “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name […]

Related: Baptism of the Spirit; The House of God; The Bride of Christ   The Body of Christ. The body of Christ is a figure used in the New Testament to describe the assembly of God. The body of Christ was formed on the Day of Pentecost, when the Spirit of God was sent down […]

Related: Footwashing; New Birth; Baptism; Regeneration; Sanctification; Blood of Christ   Cleansing or Washing. As believers, we have a double cleansing through the work of Christ. A moral cleansing when we received a new life with right desires and motives. A judicial cleansing when we rest in faith on the finished work of Christ.   By Water and Blood. […]

There are three chief men called James in the New Testament. They are sometimes hard to distinguish, and even the best expositors do not all agree on who is who. After studying these men, here are my conclusions. James the Great. This is James the son of Zebedee. He was part of the favored trio (Peter, […]

Old Testament prophecies quoted in the New Testament. The Old Testament scriptures are quoted often in the New Testament, and used various ways. A translational note in Darby’s bible on Matt. 2 is helpful: To show the event, without which the prophecy could not be fulfilled; in these cases it says “that it might be fulfilled” e.g. John 19:24, 28, 36; Matt. 21:4-5. […]

Traditions. Any tradition formed on any other basis than the Word of God will sooner or later be found in contradiction to the plain commandments of God. We see this with the copious traditions developed in the Catholic Church down through the centuries. Holy candles, holy robes, holy incense, holy smoke, etc. all are in […]

Main article: The Wilderness Experience   Ten Temptations. We read of the “ten temptations” (Num. 14:22) where Israel tempted Jehovah in the wilderness. “Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened […]

Main article: Millennium and Eternal State Related: The Millennium     Heaven and Earth. There will be a very close connection between the heavenly saints and the earthly saints in the Eternal State; “the tabernacle of God is with men” (Rev. 21:3). As a result of sin, today there is a great distance between heaven and earth. […]

There are three Judases in the New Testament that are often confused. Here are my conclusions. Judas Thaddaeus. By comparing with Luke we see that “Lebbaeus, who was surnamed Thaddaeus” must be Judas the brother of James. Since there were only two sons of Zebedee, it must mean that he was the brother of James […]

Spiritual blessings “in Christ Jesus”. All of our distinctive Christian blessings are said to be “in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). We have them because of our standing before God. We cannot earn them; they are freely given to us by God! This is our spiritual inheritance. What are these blessings? Election (Eph. 1:4) Predestination (Eph. 1:5; Rom. 8:29) […]

ENCYCLOPEDIA of Bible subjects, names, terms, and places. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A Abraham, Abyss, Acts, Administrations, Administration (Assembly), Adoption, Adultery, Ages, Ages of Ages, Age to Come, Almighty God, Amos, Angels, Anointing of […]

Main article: The Sufferings of Christ   Christ’s Anticipative Sufferings are what Christ passed through as He looked forward to the cross, and to the work of atonement which would be accomplished there. These sufferings intensified as the cross loomed nearer, but we see them concentrated in the garden of Gethsemane. Anticipative suffering is not merely […]

Related: Love   The Light. A vast and important subject in scripture is that of light. The word has two primary meanings, which are closely related. Light as a character is moral purity, and as an agent is illumination.12 First, ‘light’ is a character or state of absolute moral purity. We read that “God is […]

Related: Repentance   Conversion means to have a change of heart toward God. Initially, a person is converted when they are born again, and receive divine life from God which is a contrast to the desires of the flesh. Upon being quickened, immediately a person is converted. Without an initial conversion, a person cannot be saved to enter […]

Related: The Grave of Christ   The Sign of the Prophet Jonah. When the apostate Jewish leaders asked Jesus for a sign (after rejecting many others), Jesus replied: “But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the […]

Related: Sadducees; Sanhedrin; Essenes; Herodians; Leaven   Pharisees. This name comes from the Hebrew word ‘parash’ which means ‘to separate’. This was a name given to a religious sect among the Jews beginning in the 2nd century BC, who called themselves ‘chasidim’, which means ‘pious ones.’ The movement began with good intentions in the era of […]