Sermon and Worship Resources (2024)

The word for “blood” in the Bible is used both literally and metaphorically. “Blood” is a significant biblical term for understanding purity boundaries and theological concepts. Blood is a dominant ritual symbol in biblical literature. Blood was used in sacrifices and purification rites, and it was inherently connected to menstruation, animal slaughter, and legal culpability. Among the physical properties of blood are the ability to coagulate, the liquid state of the substance (Rev. 16:34), and the ability to stain (Rev. 19:13). Blood can symbolize moral order in terms of cult, law, and power.

The usage of blood in the OT is predominantly negative. The first direct mention of blood in the biblical text involves a homicide (Gen. 4:10). Henceforward, the shedding of human blood is a main concern (Gen. 9:6). Other concerns pertaining to blood include dietary prohibitions of blood (Lev. 17:10–12), purity issues such as the flow of blood as in menstrual blood (Lev. 15:19–24), and blood as a part of religious rites such as circumcision (Gen. 17:10–11; Exod. 4:24–26).

Leviticus 17:11 contains a central statement in the OT concerning the significant role of blood in the sacrificial system: “The life of a creature is in the blood.” Blood was collected from all animal sacrifices, and blood was poured onto the altar (Lev. 1:5).

The covenant with Abraham was sealed with a covenantal ritual (Gen. 15:10–21). Moses sealed the covenant between the Israelites and God with a blood ritual during which young Israelite men offered young bulls among other sacrifices as fellowship offerings (Exod. 24:5). Moses read the words of the Book of the Covenant and sprinkled the blood of the bulls on the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words” (Exod. 24:7–8).

During the Passover observance at the time of the exodus, blood was placed on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the Hebrews (Exod. 12:7). Not only altars were sprinkled and thus consecrated with blood, but priests were as well. Aaron and his sons were consecrated by the application of blood to their right earlobe, thumb, and big toe, and the sprinkling of blood and oil on their garments (Exod. 29:20). On the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the holy of holies and sprinkled blood on the mercy seat to seek atonement for the sins of the people (Lev. 16:15).

Many events in the passion of Christ include references to blood. During the Last Supper, Jesus redefined the last Passover cup: “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28). Judas betrayed “innocent blood” (Matt. 27:4), and the money he received for his betrayal was referred to as “blood money” (Matt. 27:6). At Jesus’ trial, Pilate washed his hands and declared, “I am innocent of this man’s blood” (Matt. 27:24).

The apostle Paul wrote that believers are justified by the blood of Christ (Rom. 5:9). This justification or righteous standing with God was effected through Christ’s blood sacrifice (Rom. 3:25–26; 5:8). The writer of Hebrews stressed the instrumental role of blood in bringing about forgiveness (Heb. 9:22). In the picture of the ideal community of Christ, the martyrs in the book of Revelation are situated closest to the throne of God because “they triumphed over him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death” (Rev. 12:11). The blood of the Lamb, Christ, is the effective agent here and throughout the NT, bringing about the indirect contact between sinner and God.

Generally made of grain, this staple of foods has been known to be in existence since prehistoric days, being mentioned in the oldest literatures of humanity. Though usually made of wheat, it can be made of any grain and also some kinds of beans or lentils.

To make bread, grain must be ground into flour, mixed with salt and water, kneaded into a dough, and baked. Most breads included a leaven to add substance. As a food staple, it became a symbol of hospitality (Neh. 13:12; Matt. 14:15–21) and community as people ate together (Acts 2:42). Bread was considered a gift from God, so it was treated with special deference. Unleavened bread was required during Passover feasts and in most occasions related to the worship of God. The “bread of the Presence” (KJV: “shewbread”), representing the twelve tribes of Israel in the temple, was made of unleavened bread (Exod. 25:30) with special flour and was carefully eaten by the priests.

Jesus used bread in the Lord’s Prayer to represent asking God to meet our basic needs (Matt. 5:11), and he called himself the “bread of life” to show that he is the one who “gives life to the world,” our ultimate sustenance (John 6:33–35). During this exchange with the Jews about the bread of life, Jesus foreshadows what takes place at the Last Supper with his disciples, suggesting that believers must “eat [his] flesh” (represented by bread) and “drink [his] blood” (represented by wine) (John 6:53–59; cf. Luke 22:19). Additionally, bread was used symbolically to represent those things that were present in daily life (Pss. 127:2; 80:5; Prov. 4:17; 20:17).

A fishing town located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 4:13). The town was on an important trade route and was a center for commerce in Galilee. In Capernaum, Jesus called Levi (Matthew) from his “tax booth,” probably a customs station for goods in transit (Mark 2:1317; Matt. 9:9–13; Luke 5:27–32). There may also have been a military garrison in Capernaum, since the town’s synagogue was built by a certain centurion whose servant Jesus healed (Matt. 8:8–13; Luke 7:1–10).

Capernaum served as Jesus’ base of operations during his Galilean ministry. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ teaching and healing ministry begins there (Mark 1:21–34), and this is where he returned “home” after itinerant ministry around Galilee (Matt. 9:1; Mark 2:1; 9:33). Although Peter and Andrew were originally from Bethsaida (John 1:44), they lived in Capernaum, and their fishing business was located there. It was here that Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:29–31) and a paralyzed man whose friends lowered him through a hole in the roof (2:1–12). Jesus later pronounced judgment against the town, together with Chorazin and Bethsaida, because of the people’s unbelief despite the miracles they had seen (Matt. 11:23–24; Luke 10:15). Archaeologists have discovered a first-century home under a fifth-century church in Capernaum. Christian inscriptions in the home indicate that it was venerated by Christians, suggesting to many scholars that this was Peter’s residence.

A broad designation for certain regions in Israel, typically rocky, although also plains, with little rainfall. These areas generally are uninhabited, and most often “wilderness” refers to specific regions surrounding inhabited Israel. A fair amount of Scripture’s focus with respect to the wilderness concerns Israel’s forty-year period of wandering in the wilderness after the exodus (see also Wilderness Wandering).

More specifically, the geographical locations designated “wilderness” fall into four basic categories: the Negev (south), Transjordan (east), Judean (eastern slope of Judean mountains), and Sinai (southwest).

The Negev makes up a fair amount of Israel’s southern kingdom, Judah. It is very rocky and also includes plateaus and wadis, which are dry riverbeds that can bloom after rains. Its most important city is Beersheba (see Gen. 21:14, 22 34), which often designates Israel’s southernmost border, as in the expression “from Dan to Beersheba” (e.g., 2Sam. 17:11).

Transjordan pertains to the area east of the Jordan River, the area through which the Israelites had to pass before crossing the Jordan on their way from Mount Sinai to Canaan. (Israel was denied direct passage to Canaan by the Edomites and Amorites [see Num. 20:14–21; 21:21–26].) Even though this region lay outside the promised land of Canaan, it was settled by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh after they had fulfilled God’s command to fight alongside the other tribes in conquering Canaan (Num. 32:1–42; Josh. 13:8; 22:1–34).

The Judean Desert is located on the eastern slopes of the Judean mountains, toward the Dead Sea. David fled there for refuge from Saul (1Sam. 21–23). It was also in this area that Jesus was tempted (Luke 4:1–13).

The Sinai Desert is a large peninsula, with the modern-day Gulf of Suez to the west and the Gulf of Aqaba to the east. In the ancient Near Eastern world, both bodies of water often were referred to as the “Red Sea,” which is the larger sea to the south. In addition to the region traditionally believed to contain the location of Mount Sinai (its exact location is unknown), the Sinai Desert is further subdivided into other areas known to readers of the OT: Desert of Zin (northeast, contains Kadesh Barnea), Desert of Shur (northwest, near Egypt), Desert of Paran (central).

Wilderness is commonly mentioned in the Bible, and although it certainly can have neutral connotations (i.e., simply describing a location), the uninhabited places often entail both positive (e.g., as a place of solitude) and negative (e.g., as a place of wrath) connotations, both in their actual geological properties and as metaphors. The very rugged and uninhabited nature of the wilderness easily lent itself to being a place of death (e.g., Deut. 8:15; Ps. 107:4–5; Jer. 2:6). It was also a place associated with Israel’s rebellions and struggles with other nations. Upon leaving Egypt, Israel spent forty years wandering the wilderness before entering Canaan, encountering numerous military conflicts along the way. This forty-year period was occasioned by a mass rebellion (Num. 14), hence casting a necessarily dark cloud over that entire period, and no doubt firming up subsequent negative connotations of “wilderness.” Similarly, “wilderness” connotes notions of exile from Israel, as seen in the ritual of the scapegoat (lit., “goat of removal” [see Lev. 16]). On the Day of Atonement, one goat was sacrificed to atone for the people’s sin, and another was sent off, likewise to atone for sin. The scapegoat was released into the desert, where it would encounter certain death, either by succumbing to the climate or through wild animals.

On the other hand, it is precisely in this uninhabited land that God also showed his faithfulness to his people, despite their prolonged punishment. He miraculously supplied bread (manna) and meat (quail) (Exod. 16; Num. 11), as well as water (Exod. 15:22–27; 17:1–7; Num. 20:1–13; 21:16–20). God’s care for Israel is amply summarized in Deut. 1:30–31: “The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”

The harsh realities of the wilderness also made it an ideal place to seek sanctuary and protection. David fled from Saul to the wilderness, the Desert of Ziph (1Sam. 23:14; 26:2–3; cf. Ps. 55:7). Similarly, Jeremiah sought a retreat in the desert from sinful Israel (Jer. 9:2).

Related somewhat to this last point is Jesus’ own attitude toward the wilderness. It was there that he retreated when he could no longer move about publicly (John 11:54). John the Baptist came from the wilderness announcing Jesus’ ministry (Matt. 3:1–3; Mark 1:2–4; Luke 3:2–6; John 1:23; cf. Isa. 40:3–5). It was also in the desert that Jesus went to be tempted but also overcame that temptation.

People in the Bible were family-centered and staunchly loyal to their kin. Families formed the foundation of society. The extended family was the source of people’s status in the community and provided the primary economic, educational, religious, and social interactions.

Marriage and divorce. Marriage in the ancient Near East was a contractual arrangement between two families, arranged by the bride’s father or a male representative. The bride’s family was paid a dowry, a “bride’s price.” Paying a dowry was not only an economic transaction but also an expression of family honor. Only the rich could afford multiple dowries. Thus, polygamy was minimal. The wedding itself was celebrated with a feast provided by the father of the groom.

The primary purpose for marriage in the ancient Near East was to produce a male heir to ensure care for the couple in their old age. The concept of inheritance was a key part of the marriage customs, especially with regard to passing along possessions and property.

Marriage among Jews in the NT era still tended to be endogamous; that is, Jews sought to marry close kin without committing incest violations (Lev. 18:617). A Jewish male certainly was expected to marry a Jew. Exogamy, marrying outside the remote kinship group, and certainly outside the ethnos, was understood as shaming God’s holiness. Thus, a Jew marrying a Gentile woman was not an option. The Romans did practice exogamy. For them, marrying outside one’s kinship group (not ethnos) was based predominantly on creating strategic alliances between families.

Greek and Roman law allowed both men and women to initiate divorce. In Jewish marriages, only the husband could initiate divorce proceedings. If a husband divorced his wife, he had to release her and repay the dowry. Divorce was common in cases of infertility (in particular if the woman had not provided male offspring). Ben Sira comments that barrenness in a woman is a cause of anxiety to the father (Sir. 42:9–10). Another reason for divorce was adultery (Exod. 20:14; Deut. 5:18). Jesus, though, taught a more restrictive use of divorce than the OT (Mark 10:1–12).

Children and parenting. Childbearing was considered representative of God’s blessing on a woman and her entire family, in particular her husband. In contrast to this blessing, barrenness brought shame on women, their families, and specifically their husbands.

Children were of low social status in society. Infant mortality was high. An estimated 60percent of the children in the first-century Mediterranean society were dead by the age of sixteen.

Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean societies exhibited a parenting style based on their view of human nature as a mixture of good and evil tendencies. Parents relied on physical punishment to prevent evil tendencies from developing into evil deeds (Prov. 29:15). The main concern of parents was to socialize the children into family loyalty. Lack of such loyalty was punished (Lev. 20:9). At a very early stage children were taught to accept the total authority of the father. The rearing of girls was entirely the responsibility of the women. Girls were taught domestic roles and duties as soon as possible so that they could help with household tasks.

Family identity was used as a metaphor in ancient Israel to speak of fidelity, responsibility, judgment, and reconciliation. In the OT, the people of Israel often are described as children of God. In their overall relationship to God, the people of Israel are referred to in familial terms—sons and daughters, spouse, and firstborn (Exod. 4:22). God is addressed as the father of the people (Isa. 63:16; 64:8) and referred to as their mother (Isa. 49:14–17).

The church as the family of God. Throughout his ministry, Jesus called his disciples to follow him. This was a call to loyalty (Matt. 10:32–40; 16:24–26; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–26), a call to fictive kinship, the family of God (Matt. 12:48–50; Mark 3:33–35). Jesus’ declaration “On this rock I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18) was preceded by the call to community. Entrance into the community was granted through adopting the values of the kingdom, belief, and the initiation rite of baptism (Matt. 10:37–39; 16:24–26; Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–26, 57–63; John 1:12; 3:16; 10:27–29; Acts 2:38; 16:31–33; 17:30; Rom. 10:9). Jesus’ presence as the head of the community was eventually replaced by the promised Spirit (John 14:16–18). Through the Spirit, Jesus’ ministry continues in the community of his followers, God’s family—the church. See also Adoption.

The present abode of God and the final dwelling place of the righteous. The ancient Jews distinguished three different heavens. The first heaven was the atmospheric heavens of the clouds and where the birds fly (Gen. 1:20). The second heaven was the celestial heavens of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The third heaven was the present home of God and the angels. Paul builds on this understanding of a third heaven in 2Cor. 12:24, where he describes himself as a man who “was caught up to the third heaven” or “paradise,” where he “heard inexpressible things.” This idea of multiple heavens also shows itself in how the Jews normally spoke of “heavens” in the plural (Gen. 1:1), while most other ancient cultures spoke of “heaven” in the singular.

Although God is present everywhere, God is also present in a special way in “heaven.” During Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Father is sometimes described as speaking in “a voice from heaven” (Matt. 3:17). Similarly, Jesus instructs us to address our prayers to “Our Father in heaven” (6:9). Even the specific request in the Lord’s Prayer that “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (6:10) reminds us that heaven is a place already under God’s full jurisdiction, where his will is presently being done completely and perfectly. Jesus also warns of the dangers of despising “one of these little ones,” because “their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven” (18:10). Jesus “came down from heaven” (John 6:51) for his earthly ministry, and after his death and resurrection, he ascended back “into heaven,” from where he “will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

Given this strong connection between heaven and God’s presence, there is a natural connection in Scripture between heaven and the ultimate hope of believers. Believers are promised a reward in heaven (“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven” [Matt. 5:12]), and even now believers can “store up for [themselves] treasures in heaven” (6:20). Even in this present life, “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20), and our hope at death is to “depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (1:23). Since Christ is currently in heaven, deceased believers are already present with Christ in heaven awaiting his return, when “God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (1Thess. 4:14).

The divine name, YHWH, revealed to Moses (Exod. 3:14) is related to hayah, the Hebrew verb for “to be.” The LXX renders this name with the phrase “I am” (egō eimi), which later OT writings employ as a title for God (Isa. 43:25; 51:12; 52:6).

A significant feature in the Fourth Gospel is John’s record of seven predicated “I am” statements within Jesus’ teaching: “I am the bread of life” (6:35); “I am the light of the world” (8:12); “I am the gate for the sheep” (10:7); “I am the good shepherd” (10:11); “I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25); “I am the way and the truth and the life” (14:6); and “I am the true vine” (15:1). With each metaphor Jesus expresses a contrast between himself and another. For instance, Jesus’ claim to be the bread of life differentiates him from the manna that appeared in the wilderness (6:49), while his identification as the good shepherd stands in contrast to the hired hand who abandons the sheep in a time of trouble (10:12 13). In these instances “I am” is likely an intentional choice meant to echo the divine name and reveal Jesus’ relationship of unity with God the Father.

The meaning of additional unpredicated but emphatic “I am” declarations in Greek by Jesus is debated (Mark 6:50; 14:62; Luke 24:39; John 6:20; 8:24, 28, 58; 13:19; 18:5). In response to Jesus’ declaration of “I am,” the high priest accuses him of blasphemy (Mark 14:64), the Jews desire to stone him (John 8:59), and the officials who come to arrest him “[draw] back and [fall] to the ground” (John 18:6). These reactions suggest that at least some who heard Jesus utter these words interpreted them as his claim to equality with God (cf. John 5:18).

(1)The eleventh son of Judah and the first by Jacob’s beloved wife, Rachel (Gen. 30:24; 35:24).

Joseph was Jacob’s favorite, and so Jacob “made an ornate robe for him” (37:3). While shepherding with his brothers, Joseph had a dream indicating that he would one day rise to prominence over them. This was too much for his brothers to bear, and so they decided, after some deliberation, to throw him into a cistern and, rather than kill him, sell him to passing Ishmaelite/Midianite merchants (37:2528).

Upon arriving in Egypt, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh, and then thrown in jail after Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him of making sexual advances (chap. 39). While in jail, he accurately interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker (chap. 40). Two years later, he was called upon to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams (chap. 41). Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams plus his administrative skills saved Egypt from famine, which resulted in his elevation to being “in charge of the whole land of Egypt” (41:41).

It was the famine that brought Joseph’s family to Egypt to find food, which eventually led to their warm reunion, though not without some testing on Joseph’s part (chaps. 42–45). After Joseph made himself known to his brothers, they reconciled and sent for the elderly Jacob, who was awaiting news in Canaan. Thus, Jacob and his twelve sons lived in Egypt, and their descendants were eventually enslaved by a king “to whom Joseph meant nothing” (Exod. 1:8).

Joseph died in Egypt and was embalmed (Gen. 50:20–26). The exodus generation took his bones out of Egypt (Exod. 13:19), and he was later buried in Shechem (Josh. 24:32).

(2)The husband of Mary, mentioned only by name in Jesus’ birth stories in Matthew and Luke. According to Matt. 1:16, Joseph is a descendant of David, which establishes Jesus’ royal bloodline. Luke’s genealogy (3:23–38) downplays Jesus’ relationship to Joseph. In Matthew, Joseph is a recipient of several divine communications by means of dreams, announcing Mary’s conception (1:18–25) and commanding the flight to Egypt (2:13) and the return to Nazareth (2:19–23). In Luke, Joseph takes Mary to Bethlehem to give birth (2:4–7), presents Jesus in the temple for consecration (2:21–24), and brings Mary and Jesus to Jerusalem for the Passover feast when Jesus is twelve (2:41–52).

(3)A Jew from Arimathea, a secret follower of Jesus and member of the Sanhedrin who did not agree to put Jesus to death (Luke 23:50–51; John 19:38). He asked Pilate for Jesus’ body, wrapped it in linen, and placed it in his own tomb (Matt. 27:57–60). (4)Also known as Barsabbas or Justus, he was one of the two men proposed to take Judas Iscariot’s place among the disciples (Acts 1:23).

Because Scripture sees all things as providentially arranged and sustained by God’s sovereign power at all times (Heb. 1:3), miracles are not aberrations in an otherwise closed and mechanical universe. Nor are miracles raw demonstrations of divinity designed to overcome prejudice or unbelief and to convince people of the existence of God (Mark 8:11 12). Still less are they clever conjuring tricks involving some kind of deception that can be otherwise explained on a purely scientific basis. Rather, God in his infinite wisdom sometimes does unusual and extraordinary things to call attention to himself and his activity. Miracles are divinely ordained acts of God that dramatically alert us to the presence of his glory and power and advance his saving purposes in redemptive history.

In the OT, miracles are not evenly distributed but rather are found in greater number during times of great redemptive significance, such as the exodus and the conquest of Canaan. Miracles were performed also during periods of apostasy, such as in the days of the ninth-century prophets Elijah and Elisha. Common to both of these eras is the powerful demonstration of the superiority of God over pagan deities (Exod. 7–12; 1Kings 18:20–40).

In the NT, miracles often are acts of compassion, but more significantly they attest the exalted status of Jesus of Nazareth (Acts 2:22) and the saving power of his word (Heb. 2:3–4). In the Synoptic Gospels, they reveal the coming of God’s kingdom and the conquest of Satan’s dominion (Matt. 8:16–17; 12:22–30; Mark 3:27). They point to the person of Jesus as the promised Messiah of OT Scripture (Matt. 4:23; 11:4–6). John shows a preference for the word “signs,” and his Gospel is structured around them (John 20:30–31). According to John, the signs that Jesus performed were such that only the one who stood in a unique relationship to the Father as the Son of God could do them.

Just as entrenched skepticism is injurious to faith, so too is naive credulity, for although signs and wonders witness to God, false prophets also perform them “to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:24). Christians are to exercise discernment and not be led astray by such impostors (Matt. 7:15–20).

The relationship between miracles and faith is not as straightforward as sometimes supposed. Miracles do not necessarily produce faith, nor does faith necessarily produce miracles. Miracles were intended to bring about the faith that leads to eternal life (John 20:31), but not all who witnessed them believed (John 10:32). Additionally, Jesus regarded a faith that rested only on the miracle itself as precarious (Mark 8:11–13; John 2:23–25; 4:48), though better than no faith at all (John 10:38). Faith that saves must ultimately find its grounding in the person of Jesus as the Son of God.

It is also clear that although Jesus always encouraged faith in those who came to him for help (Mark 9:23), and that he deliberately limited his miraculous powers in the presence of unbelief (Mark 6:5), many of his miracles were performed on those who did not or could not exercise faith (Matt. 12:22; Mark 1:23–28; 5:1–20; Luke 14:1–4).

The fact that Jesus performed miracles was never an issue; rather, his opponents disputed the source of his power (Mark 3:22). Arguments about his identity were to be settled by appeal not to miracles but to the word of God (Matt. 22:41–46).

Moses played a leadership role in the founding of Israel as a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exod. 19:6). Indeed, the narrative of Exodus through Deuteronomy is the story of God using Moses to found the nation of Israel. It begins with an account of his birth (Exod. 2) and ends with an account of his death (Deut. 34). Moses’ influence and importance extend well beyond his lifetime, as later Scripture demonstrates.

Moses was born in a dangerous time, and according to Pharaoh’s decree, he should not have survived long after his birth. He was born to Amram and Jochebed (Exod. 6:20). Circumventing Pharaoh’s decree, Jochebed placed the infant Moses in a reed basket and floated him down the river. God guided the basket down the river and into the presence of none other than Pharaoh’s daughter (Exod. 2:56), who, at the urging of Moses’ sister, hired Jochebed to take care of the child.

The next major episode in the life of Moses concerns his defense of an Israelite worker who was being beaten by an Egyptian (Exod. 2:11–25). In the process of rescuing the Israelite, Moses killed the Egyptian. When it became clear that he was known to be the killer, he fled Egypt and ended up in Midian, where he became a member of the family of a Midianite priest-chief, Jethro, by marrying his daughter Zipporah.

Although Moses was not looking for a way back into Egypt, God had different plans. One day, while Moses was tending his sheep, God appeared to him in the form of a burning bush and commissioned him to go back to Egypt and lead his people to freedom. Moses expressed reluctance, and so God grudgingly enlisted his older brother, Aaron, to accompany him as his spokesperson.

Upon Moses’ return to Egypt, Pharaoh stubbornly refused to allow the Israelites to leave Egypt. God directed Moses to announce a series of plagues that ultimately induced Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to depart. After they left, Pharaoh had a change of mind and cornered them on the shores of the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds). It was at the Red Sea that God demonstrated his great power by splitting the sea and allowing the Israelites to escape before closing it again in judgment on the Egyptians. Moses signaled the presence of God by lifting his rod high in the air (Exod. 14:16). This event was long remembered as the defining moment when God released Israel from Egyptian slavery (Pss. 77; 114), and it even became the paradigm for future divine rescues (Isa. 40:3–5; Hos. 2:14–15).

After the crossing of the Red Sea, Moses led Israel back to Mount Sinai, the location of his divine commissioning. At this time, Moses went up the mountain as a prophetic mediator for the people (Deut. 18:16). He received the Ten Commandments, the rest of the law, and instructions to build the tabernacle (Exod. 19–24). All these were part of a new covenantal arrangement that today we refer to as the Mosaic or Sinaitic covenant.

However, as Moses came down the mountain with the law, he saw that the people, who had grown tired of waiting, were worshiping a false god that they had created in the form of a golden calf (Exod. 32). With the aid of the Levites, who that day assured their role as Israel’s priestly helpers, he brought God’s judgment against the offenders and also interceded in prayer with God to prevent the total destruction of Israel.

Thus began Israel’s long story of rebellion against God. God was particularly upset with the lack of confidence that the Israelites had shown when the spies from the twelve tribes gave their report (Num. 13). They did not believe that God could handle the fearsome warriors who lived in the land, and so God doomed them to forty years of wandering in the wilderness, enough time for the first generation to die. Not even Moses escaped this fate, since he had shown anger against God and attributed a miracle to his own power and not to God when he struck a rock in order to get water (Num. 20:1–13).

Thus, Moses was not permitted to enter the land of promise, though he had led the Israelites to the very brink of entry on the plains of Moab. There he gave his last sermon, which we know as the book of Deuteronomy. The purpose of his sermon was to tell the second generation of Israelites who were going to enter the land that they must obey God’s law or suffer the consequences. The form of the sermon was that of a covenant renewal, and so Israel on this occasion reaffirmed its loyalty to God.

After this, Moses went up on Mount Nebo, from which he could see the promised land, and died. Deuteronomy concludes with the following statements: “Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.... For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel” (Deut. 34:10, 12).

The NT honors Moses as God’s servant but also makes the point that Jesus is one who far surpasses Moses as a mediator between God and people (Acts 3:17–26; Heb. 3).

The date of Moses is a matter of controversy because the biblical text does not name the pharaohs of the story. Many date him to the thirteenth century BC and associate him with RamessesII, but others take 1Kings 6:1 at face value and date him to the end of the fifteenth century BC, perhaps during the reign of ThutmoseIII.

A prophet is a messenger of God, a person to whom God entrusts his message to an individual or to a nation. Indeed, the last book in the OT is named “Malachi,” which means “my messenger.” Isaiah heard God ask, “Whom shall I send?” and he cried out, “Send me!” (Isa. 6:8). A good template for understanding the phenomenon is Moses and Aaron. Moses was to tell Aaron what to say, and Aaron would say it. “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet’” (Exod. 7:1).

In the NT period there were a number of prophets. John the Baptist could point to Jesus and proclaim him to be the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Agabus the prophet predicted a famine and, later, Paul’s arrest (Acts 11:28; 21:1011).

Paul lists “gifts of the Spirit” (1Cor. 12:4–11), including prophecy and various phenomena reminiscent of the OT prophets’ ecstatic state. Paul warns the Corinthians not to overdo this sort of thing and so to be mature (1Cor. 14:19–20). Near the end of his life, in one of his last letters, he speaks of prophecy as normative in the church, particularly in establishing an authoritative body of elders to rule and especially to preach the gospel (1Tim. 1:18; 4:14). Peter draws a connection between the ministry of the OT prophets and the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ (1Pet. 1:10–12). Evangelism seems to be the normative mode for prophecy today: forthtelling by calling people to turn from their sins to Jesus, and foretelling by speaking of his return and the final judgment.

Thus, all Christians hold the office of prophet, even if they never participate in the ecstatic state experienced by the Corinthians. The greatness of a prophet is in how clearly the prophet points to Jesus. John the Baptist was the greatest of the OT prophets by that measure, but any Christian on this side of the cross and resurrection can proclaim the gospel even more clearly. Thus, the prophetic ministry of any Christian is greater than John’s (Matt. 11:11).

Five prophetesses are mentioned in the OT: Miriam (Exod. 15:20), Deborah (Judg. 4–5), Huldah (2Kings 22:14–20; 2Chron. 34:22–28), Isaiah’s wife (Isa. 8:3), and Noadiah (Neh. 6:14).

Similarly in the NT, Peter recognizes God’s promise through Joel being fulfilled in the gift of prophetic speech to women as well as men at Pentecost (Acts 2:18); and Paul, acknowledging that women prophesy publicly in the congregation, is concerned only with the manner of their doing so (1Cor. 11:5). The prophetess Anna proclaims the baby Jesus as the Messiah (Luke 2:36–38), Luke reports that the four unmarried daughters of Philip the evangelist also prophesy (Acts 21:8–9). The only false prophetess in the NT is the apocalyptic figure of Jezebel in Rev. 2:20.

A title applied to teachers and others in respected positions, literally meaning “my master.” By the NT era, the term was used in a more specific sense to refer to teachers of the Mosaic law.

In the NT, the title occurs only in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John, and it is most commonly used to address Jesus (Mark 9:5; 11:21; 14:45; Matt. 26:25, 49). The title is used more widely in John’s Gospel by individuals such as Nathanael and Nicodemus, as well as the group of disciples (John 1:38, 49; 3:2; 4:31; 6:25; 9:2; 11:8). The title conveys the respect of pupil for master and indicates the nature of the relationship that Jesus had with his followers.

Others were also called “Rabbi,” including John the Baptist and some of the Pharisees (John 3:26; Matt. 23:7). Although the Pharisees considered the title an honor, Jesus instructed his disciples not to allow themselves to be addressed as “Rabbi” and to acknowledge only one teacher, Christ (Matt. 23:8, 10).

“Salvation” is the broadest term used to refer to God’s actions to solve the plight brought about by humankind’s sinful rebellion and its consequences. It is one of the central themes of the entire Bible, running from Genesis through Revelation.

In many places in the OT, salvation refers to being rescued from physical rather than spiritual trouble. Fearing the possibility of retribution from his brother Esau, Jacob prays, “Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau” (Gen. 32:11). The actions of Joseph in Egypt saved many from famine (45:57; 47:25; 50:20). Frequently in the psalms, individuals pray for salvation from enemies that threaten one’s safety or life (Pss. 17:14; 18:3; 70:1–3; 71:1–4; 91:1–3).

Related to this usage are places where the nation of Israel and/or its king were saved from enemies. The defining example of this is the exodus, whereby God delivered his people from their enslavement to the Egyptians, culminating in the destruction of Pharaoh and his army (Exod. 14:1–23). From that point forward in the history of Israel, God repeatedly saved Israel from its enemies, whether through a judge (e.g., Judg. 2:16; 3:9), a king (2Kings 14:27), or even a shepherd boy (1Sam. 17:1–58).

But these examples of national deliverance had a profound spiritual component as well. God did not save his people from physical danger as an end in itself; it was the necessary means for his plan to save them from their sins. The OT recognizes the need for salvation from sin (Pss. 39:8; 51:14; 120:2) but, as the NT makes evident, does not provide a final solution (Heb. 9:1–10:18). One of the clearest places that physical and spiritual salvation come together is Isa. 40–55, where Judah’s exile from the land and prophesied return are seen as the physical manifestation of the much more fundamental spiritual exile that resulted from sin. To address that far greater reality, God announces the day when the Suffering Servant would once and for all take away the sins of his people (Isa. 52:13–53:12).

As in the OT, the NT has places where salvation refers to being rescued from physical difficulty. Paul, for example, speaks of being saved from various physical dangers, including execution (2Cor. 1:8–10; Phil. 1:19; 2Tim. 4:17). In the midst of a fierce storm, Jesus’ disciples cry out, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” (Matt. 8:25). But far more prominent are the places in the Gospels and Acts where physical healings are described with the verb sōzō, used to speak of salvation from sin. The healing of the woman with the hemorrhage (Mark 5:25–34), the blind man along the road (Luke 18:35–43), and even the man possessed by a demon (Luke 8:26–39), just to name a few, are described with the verb sōzō. The same verb, however, is also used to refer to Jesus forgiving someone’s sins (Luke 7:36–50) and to his mission to save the lost from their sins (Luke 19:10). Such overlap is a foretaste of the holistic salvation (physical and spiritual) that will be completed in the new heaven and earth (Rev. 21–22). The NT Epistles give extensive descriptions of how the work of Jesus Christ saves his people from their sins.

In the biblical world, documents were sealed with clay or wax (1Kings 21:8; Job 38:14; Neh. 9:38; Jer. 32:10; Rev. 5:1). The integrity of the seal was assured by impressing an image into the soft substance, which would then harden and retain the unique image of the sender’s seal. The archaeological record attests this practice in the form of bullae (the impressions themselves, which survive long after the documents have disintegrated) as well as a large number of seals, which often were carved (Exod. 28:11; 39:6; Sir. 38:27; 45:11) into semiprecious stones or stone cylinders.

A person’s unique seal was closely identified with the owner and could be worn as a ring or pendant (see Gen. 38:18; Esther 8:8; Song 8:6). Besides documents, we have rec-ords of the sealing of caves (Matt. 27:66; cf. Dan. 6:17; 2Macc. 2:5) and bags (Job 14:17; Tob. 9:5). In apocalyptic literature, seals are used to conceal prophecies of the future (Dan. 12:4) and to mark humans as belonging to God (Rev. 7:38).

Signs are visible, typically being an object, a mark, an event, or a custom. In addition, signs are symbolic, pointing to things not seen. Signs often reveal or share some quality with the unseen reality to which they point, and so they are a token of that reality. In the Bible, signs typically are caused or instituted by God, and in many cases they are miraculous. However, in a few cases signs are set forth as the work of other gods (as in Deut. 13:12) or as being instituted by merely human design (as in Num. 2:2). In summary, a sign may be defined as something seen that points to something unseen, and that is instituted or created to do so by someone’s intention.

Several examples support this definition. Keeping the Sabbath is a sign of God’s rest after creating the world (Exod. 31:15); the Sabbath rest itself imitates God’s rest. Circumcision is a sign of God’s promise to both Abraham and his descendants; circumcision is also a physical mark that is related to human fertility (Gen. 17:11). The rainbow is a sign of God’s promise not to destroy the world by water and rain; rainbows appear only with rain (Gen. 9:13). (In the original Hebrew text, both the custom of circumcision and the rainbow that appears after the great flood are called “signs.”) The early Passover plagues both bring and warn of judgment, while the healing miracles of Jesus both bring and promise blessing. While signs point to unseen realities, these realities do not diminish the value or importance of the visible world. Instead, the unseen realities themselves are ultimately expressed in the visible world.

In the OT, the phrase “son of man” usually refers to humanity in general or to a specific individual. In Ezekiel, for instance, God addresses the prophet himself as “son of man,” possibly indicating his human status compared with God or, alternatively, highlighting his unique status as God’s prophet in contrast with the rest of humanity.

One of the most crucial OT “son of man” texts is Dan. 7 because of its influence on the “Son of Man” in the Gospel tradition. The first half of the chapter records Daniel’s vision (7:114), while the second half contains its interpretation (7:15–27). In the vision Daniel sees “one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven” (7:13). This exalted figure contrasts with the first three beasts, which are “like a lion” (7:4), “like a bear” (7:5), and “like a leopard” (7:6). The fourth beast is so gruesome that it defies comparison with any species of the animal kingdom (7:7). Many agree that the beasts likely refer to ancient world empires; however, the referent of “one like a son of man” has given rise to much debate. The figure may refer to earthly Israel, since at this figure’s vindication he is endowed with authority and glory. This is precisely what “the holy people of the Most High” receive in verse27. In this way, the “one like a son of man” is a symbol for the persecuted, earthly saints. Alternatively, the exalted figure could be a heavenly being such as the archangel Gabriel (9:21) or Michael (10:13; 12:1). Here “one like a son of man” is the heavenly counterpart and leader of suffering Israel and fights a cosmic battle on its behalf.

In the NT the term “Son of Man” occurs mostly in the Gospels and, with the exception of John 12:34 (where the crowd quotes Jesus), is uttered exclusively by Jesus himself. Unlike in Daniel, the epithet occurs in the Gospels with the definite article, likely indicating that the Son of Man was a known figure. In first-century Judaism many Jews believed that the Son of Man would return at the end as savior and judge. The OT provides the most helpful background for understanding the Son of Man in the Gospels.

The Son of Man sayings in the Gospels fall within three categories: earthly, suffering-resurrection, and future-vindication sayings. Starting with the earthly sayings, in Mark 2:10, for example, the Son of Man has “authority on earth to forgive sins,” and in 2:28 he exercises dominion over the Sabbath. Although in Daniel the Son of Man does not receive such authority until his appearance in Yahweh’s presence at his vindication, the Son of Man in the Gospels exercises such authority during his earthly ministry. Jesus also predicts that the Son of Man will suffer, die, and be raised again. In Mark, these suffering-resurrection predictions occur three times (8:31; 9:31; 10:33–34). Echoing Dan. 7, this plight of Jesus recalls the suffering of the holy ones caused by the little horn (v.21). If the “one like a son of man” represents the holy ones in their vindication, then it is reasonable that he does so in their suffering as well; however, the text of Daniel is silent on this point. Finally, the clearest reference to Dan. 7 occurs in the future-vindication sayings. In Mark 13:26; 14:62 the Son of Man comes with/on the clouds, which points to his vindication over the Sanhedrin, the dominant adversaries of Jesus in Mark. Matthew appears to develop even more than Mark the judicial responsibilities of the Son of Man (Matt. 13:41–43; 25:31–33). Meanwhile, in Luke the church must stay alert and be prepared for the return of the Son of Man (12:39–40; 17:22–37; 21:34–36).

Finally, the Son of Man in Revelation is in the heavenly temple functioning as both judge and caretaker of the seven churches (Rev. 1:12–20) and reaps the saints while “seated on the cloud” (14:14–16).

In English, the word “synagogue” refers either to a Jewish congregation or to the place where that congregation meets. Synagogues of the biblical era functioned as both religious and civic centers for the Jewish community.

Since synagogues were institutions with a documented history no earlier than the third century BC, they are not mentioned in the OT. The Greek word from which the English one is derived does appear frequently in the LXX, but always with a general reference to a gathering, assembly, or meeting.

Synagogues frequently were locations of the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus. He began preaching the kingdom of God, teaching, and performing healing miracles in Galilean synagogues (Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 12:9; 13:54; Mark 1:21 29, 39; 3:1; 6:2; Luke 4:15–38, 44; 6:6–11; 13:10–17; John 6:59; 18:20). Later, the apostle Paul customarily initiated his mission work in the local synagogue at each of his destinations (Acts 9:19–20; 13:5, 14–15; 14:1; 17:1, 10, 17; 18:1–8; 19:8).

The last (and, from a twenty-first-century perspective, most controversial) use of the word “synagogue” in Scripture is the difficult phrase “synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2:9; 3:9), which must be read in its context. This was written in response to the significant persecution in Asia Minor of the churches at Smyrna and Philadelphia by Jews who were in collusion with the Roman authorities. They were falsely accusing Jewish and Gentile Christian believers, creating unspeakable suffering for them. This phrase, intended to encourage Christian perseverance, implies that the churches in view represented true Israel, while their accusers were false Jews.

In the OT, wisdom is a characteristic of someone who attains a high degree of knowledge, technical skill, and experience in a particular domain. It refers to the ability that certain individuals have to use good judgment in running the affairs of state (Joseph in Gen. 41:33; David in 2Sam. 14:20; Solomon in 1Kings 3:9, 12, 28). It can also refer to the navigational skills that sailors use in maneuvering a ship through difficult waters (Ps. 107:27). Furthermore, wisdom includes the particular skills of an artisan (Exod. 31:6; 35:35; 1Chron. 22:15 16). In all these cases, wisdom involves the expertise that a person acquires to accomplish a particular task. In these instances “wisdom” is an ethically neutral term, or at least that dimension is not emphasized. The wise are those who have mastered a certain skill set in their field of expertise.

The uniqueness of the OT wisdom literature (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, etc.) is that it highlights the moral dimension of wisdom. Here “wisdom” refers to developing expertise in negotiating the complexities of life and managing those complexities in a morally responsible way that honors God and benefits both the community and the individual. Although it is difficult to pin down a concise definition, one can gain a better understanding of wisdom by investigating two important dimensions: wisdom as a worldview, and the traits of a person who is considered to be wise.

Who is wise? First, the wise are those involved in a lifelong process of character development. They manifest the virtues of righteousness, justice, and equity (Prov. 1:3; 2:9). The embodiment of these virtues culminates in the description of the woman of noble character at the conclusion of Proverbs (31:10–31). She exhibits self-control, patience, care, diligence, discipline, humility, generosity, honesty, and fear of the Lord (cf. James 3:13–18). She is the epitome of wisdom in its maturity and the model that all should emulate.

Second, the wise know the value of words and how to use them. They know when to speak, what to say, and how to say it (Job 29:21–22; Prov. 15:23; 25:11; Eccles. 3:7; 12:9–10). Wisdom and the wise place a premium on the power of words.

Third, the wise place great importance on relationships and on interaction with others. The wise person is the one who is open to the give-and-take of relationships (Prov. 27:5–6, 17, 19). Such a person develops the humility necessary to receive correction and criticism from others. Hearing criticism and changing wrong behavior are integral to wisdom (3:1–11). The wise appreciate insightful criticism because it helps them live life more productively (15:12). Wisdom is, ultimately, relational.

Fourth, the wise person develops the art of discernment (Prov. 1:2, 4–6). The sage is equipped with the ability to think critically. The very quality of wisdom itself invites the re-forming and rethinking of ideas. Sages are not interested in pat answers (26:4–5). Proverbs 16:1–9 throws a wrench in the conventional cogs of wisdom, claiming that although humans make their plans, God has the final say. Both Job and Ecclesiastes go head to head with conventional beliefs, probing more deeply into the complexities of life and the relationship between human and divine. No easy answers exist here. In contrast, fools do not use their mental faculties. They view wisdom as a commodity, a matter of learning some techniques, accepting certain beliefs, and memorizing a few proverbs (17:16). The wise, however, know that wisdom involves the art of critical thinking and interacting with others.

Fifth, and most fundamental, the wise person takes a God-centered focus toward life. Wisdom literature affirms, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10; cf. Prov. 1:7; Job 28:28; Eccles. 12:13). That this is the beginning step in the process of gaining wisdom means that one who misses this step can proceed no further along the path to wisdom. The fear of the Lord is to wisdom as the letters of the alphabet are to forming words. The wise gain wisdom by being in relationship with the Lord (Prov. 3:5–8). The fear of the Lord is the beginning as well as the culmination of wisdom.

Wisdom is a highly prized quality, superior to might and power (Prov. 25:15; Eccles. 9:13–16), and one must diligently seek it (Prov. 2:1–5). Yet in the end, wisdom is a gift that only God can give (Prov. 2:6–8; 1Kings 3:9).

The Bible has much to say about works, and an understanding of the topic is important because works play a role in most religions. In the most generic sense, “works” refers to the products or activities of human moral agents in the context of religious discussion. God’s works are frequently mentioned in Scripture, and they are always good. His works include creation (Gen. 2:23; Isa. 40:28; 42:5), sustenance of the earth (Ps. 104; Heb. 1:3), and redemption (Exod. 6:6; Ps. 111:9; Rom. 8:23). Human works, therefore, should be in alignment with God’s works, though obviously of a different sort. Works in the Bible usually reflect a moral polarity: good or evil, righteous or unrighteous, just or unjust. The context of the passage often determines the moral character of the works (e.g., Isa. 3:10–11; 2Cor. 11:15).

Important questions follow from the existence of works and their moral quality. Do good works merit God’s favor or please him? Can good works save at the time of God’s judgment? When people asked Jesus, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” he answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:28–29). Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). The people from the OT commended in Heb. 11 did their works in the precondition of faith. Explicitly in the NT and often implicitly in the OT, faith is the condition for truly good works. God elects out of his mercy, not out of human works (Rom. 9:12, 16; Titus 3:5; cf. Rom. 11:2). Works not done in faith, even if considered “good” by human standards, are not commendable to God, since all humankind is under sin (Rom. 3:9) and no person is righteous or does good (Rom. 3:10–18; cf. Isa. 64:6). Works cannot save; salvation is a gift to be received by faith (Eph. 2:8–9; 2Tim. 1:9; cf. Rom. 4:2–6). Even works of the Mosaic law are not salvific (Rom. 3:20, 27–28; Gal. 2:16; 3:2; 5:4). Good works follow from faith (2Cor. 9:8; Eph. 2:10; 1Thess. 1:3; James 2:18, 22; cf. Acts 26:20). The works of those who have faith will be judged, but this judgment appears to be related to rewards, not salvation (Matt. 16:27; Rom. 2:6; 2Cor. 5:10; cf. Rom. 14:10; 1Cor. 3:13–15).

Generally made of grain, this staple of foods has been knownto be in existence since prehistoric days, being mentioned in theoldest literatures of humanity. Though usually made of wheat, it canbe made of any grain and also some kinds of beans or lentils. TheHebrew term, lekhem, is first used in Gen. 3:19 (see KJV) and isfound throughout the Bible. The NIV uses the English word “bread”over 250 times.

Tomake bread, grain must be ground into flour, mixed with salt andwater, kneaded into a dough, and baked. Most breads included a leavento add substance. As a food staple, it became a symbol of hospitality(Neh. 13:1–2; Matt. 14:15–21) and community as people atetogether (Acts 2:42). Bread was considered a gift from God, so it wastreated with special deference. Unleavened bread was required duringPassover feasts and in most occasions related to the worship of God.The “bread of the Presence” (KJV: “shewbread”),representing the twelve tribes of Israel in the temple, was made ofunleavened bread (Exod. 25:30) with special flour and was carefullyeaten by the priests.

Breadwas such a basic part of life that it often was used in Scripture torepresent the daily aspects of life and people’s most basicneeds. During the days of Moses and the Israelites wandering in thedesert, God provided for them special bread, manna, which theycollected and ate each day, demonstrating God’s consistent carefor them as they traveled (Exod. 16). Jesus used bread in the Lord’sPrayer to represent asking God to meet our basic needs (Matt. 5:11),and he called himself the “bread of life” to show that heis the one who “gives life to the world,” our ultimatesustenance (John 6:33–35). During this exchange with the Jewsabout the bread of life, Jesus foreshadows what takes place at theLast Supper with his disciples, suggesting that believers must “eat[his] flesh” (represented by bread) and “drink [his]blood” (represented by wine) (John 6:53–59; cf. Luke22:19). Additionally, bread was used symbolically to represent thosethings that were present in daily life (Pss. 127:2; 80:5; Prov. 4:17;20:17).

Eternal life usually is mentioned in reference to human life, where it means unending life in the body, free from death. The expression, though most common in the NT, is drawn from the OT. The book of Daniel says that many who “sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (12:2). This yearning for eternal life is also expressed in Genesis, where those who eat of the “tree of life” will “live forever” (3:22). In Deuteronomy, God likewise declares, “I live forever” (32:40). Among the DSS, 4Q418 (frag. 69) and 1QS (4:7), both of which predate the NT, also refer to everlasting life.

The NT expression “eternal life” may seem to have a different meaning than the OT expression “everlasting life.” Any such appearance arises only in translation to English, for the underlying Greek words in the NT have the same meaning as the underlying Hebrew words in the OT. The words are already treated synonymously by the LXX, an ancient translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek (predating the NT).

The English word “eternal” may refer to eternity past and future, but in biblical usage that word does not generally refer to eternity past. This is evident where the NT mentions “eternal fire” (Matt. 18:8) and “eternal punishment” (Matt. 25:46). It is also indicated where eternal life is seen as a future reward for the righteous (Dan. 12:2; Luke 18:30; Rom. 2:7; Gal. 6:8; Titus 1:2; 1John 2:25).

That life in the body is included in the NT concept of eternal life is evident from several considerations. Jesus says of everyone who believes in him, “I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:40). The bodily nature of everlasting life is indicated by Jesus’ own resurrection, for his tomb was left empty. Jesus says after his own resurrection that a spirit “does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have” (Luke 24:39). The apostle Paul even writes that without the resurrection the Christian faith is invalidated (1Cor. 15:12–19). When Paul says that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,” he does not mean that resurrection is of the human spirit, but rather that perishable flesh and blood must first be made immortal (1Cor. 15:50–54; 2Cor. 5:4).

The prospect of eternal life is often contrasted with death and punishment, just as the Bible more generally contrasts the prospect of life with death and lawless behavior. In Gen. 3, the sin of Adam and Eve shows that people turn from God out of self-interest, so everlasting life is not given to them. Much later, the people of Israel are warned that they will suffer death if they break faith with the true God to follow other gods (Lev. 26; Deut. 28; 30:15–20). Later still, the book of Daniel warns plainly that resurrection is to everlasting life or to everlasting contempt (12:1–3). The NT likewise, drawing at times from the Hebrew prophets (e.g., Isa. 66:22–24), contrasts the prospect of eternal life with the prospect of punishment for doing evil (Matt. 25:31–46; John 5:28–29; Rom.6:23; Gal.6:8; Rev.20:10–15; 22:1–6).

Just as eternal life is contrasted with death, eternal life is sometimes referred to more fundamentally and simply as “life” (e.g., Matt. 19:17; Acts 11:18; 1John 3:14). All life comes from God, through his divine word (Gen. 1; Deut. 30:20; John 1:1–4). The NT says that God gave his Son the power to give eternal life, since the Son does only what God the Father commands (John 5:19–30; 6:57–58).

The NT promises eternal life to all who believe (trust) in God’s Son (John 3:16; 3:36; 6:40; 11:25–26; 20:31; 1John 5:13). To believe in God’s Son is to believe that God sent Jesus (John 17:8), to listen to Jesus’ message from God and so believe in God (5:24; 12:44), and to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah (20:31).

The belief in God and Jesus that secures eternal life is not mere mental assent, but rather is expressed in a life that turns from evil. Those who will receive eternal life are characterized by love rather than by hatred and murder (John 5:29; 1John 3:14–15). Only the righteous will enter into eternal life, and they are marked by their care for Jesus’ brothers and sisters: feeding the hungry and clothing the poor (Matt. 25:31–46). They do not live for themselves, nor do they give free rein to all human desires, but instead they are led by, and walk in accordance with, the Spirit of God (John 12:25; Gal. 5:16–21; 6:8).

The present abode of God and the final dwelling place of the righteous. The ancient Jews distinguished three different heavens. The first heaven was the atmospheric heavens of the clouds and where the birds fly (Gen. 1:20). The second heaven was the celestial heavens of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The third heaven was the present home of God and the angels. Paul builds on this understanding of a third heaven in 2Cor. 12:2–4, where he describes himself as a man who “was caught up to the third heaven” or “paradise,” where he “heard inexpressible things.” This idea of multiple heavens also shows itself in how the Jews normally spoke of “heavens” in the plural (Gen. 1:1), while most other ancient cultures spoke of “heaven” in the singular.

The Abode of God

One of the challenges in understanding “heaven” as the present dwelling place of God involves God’s omnipresence. In one sense, God is present everywhere. David asks in Ps. 139:7, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” He answers that regardless of whether he goes as high up as anyone can go (“up to the heavens”), as low down as anyone can go (“in the depths), as far east as anyone can go (“the wings of the dawn”), or as far west as anyone can go (“the far side of the sea”), God is still there (Ps. 139:8–9).

Although God is present everywhere, God is also present in a special way in “heaven.” During Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Father is sometimes described as speaking in “a voice from heaven” (Matt. 3:17). Similarly, Jesus instructs us to address our prayers to “Our Father in heaven” (6:9). Even the specific request in the Lord’s Prayer that “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (6:10) reminds us that heaven is a place already under God’s full jurisdiction, where his will is presently being done completely and perfectly. Jesus also warns of the dangers of despising “one of these little ones,” because “their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven” (18:10). Jesus “came down from heaven” (John 6:51) for his earthly ministry, and after his death and resurrection, he ascended back “into heaven,” from where he “will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

At times, “heaven” becomes virtually a synonym for God himself. In the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15, the son confesses to his father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you” (v.21). This son’s sin against “heaven” has nothing to do with environmental issues such as air pollution, and everything to do with his relationship with God. Note also Matthew’s expression “the kingdom of heaven” versus “the kingdom of God” used elsewhere.

The Final Dwelling Place for Believers

Given this strong connection between heaven and God’s presence, there is a natural connection in Scripture between heaven and the ultimate hope of believers. Believers are promised a reward in heaven (“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven” [Matt. 5:12]), and even now believers can “store up for [themselves] treasures in heaven” (6:20). Even in this present life, “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20), and our hope at death is to “depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (1:23). Since Christ is currently in heaven, deceased believers are already present with Christ in heaven awaiting his return, when “God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (1Thess. 4:14).

However, this picture of heaven is more complicated. It is true that heaven is sometimes used in Scripture to refer to the present abode of all departed believers who have left this present life and entered the intermediate state between death and the bodily resurrection (2Cor. 5:4). It is this hope in a bodily resurrection that sets Christianity apart from other religions. Ultimately, the Christian hope is not that people will receive new physical bodies and float around some ethereal “heaven” like astronauts in outer space for all eternity. Instead, God has created human beings with physical bodies to inhabit a physical world, and our future hope is one of new resurrection bodies inhabiting new heavens and a new earth (Isa. 65:17; 66:22; 2Pet. 3:13). Just as there will be a certain continuity between the bodies of believers in this present life and their new resurrection bodies (we will know one another), there will also be a certain continuity between this present earth and the new earth to come. Yet, at the same time, everything will also be changed and made new and perfect, as God has designed it to be (Rom. 8:18–21).

The clearest description of this new reality is found in Rev. 21–22, where John describes how he “saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (21:1). Here is “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (21:2), when “God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (21:3–4). Even better than all the descriptions of such things as streets of “gold, as pure as transparent glass” (21:21) is that God himself will come and dwell in the midst of his people. As Paul has phrased it, “Now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face” (1Cor. 13:12). The day will come when we will see God as he is, in all his glory (1John3:2).

Two other ideas complete our picture of life in these new heavens and new earth. Heaven will be a place of continued activity and service. Notice Jesus’ blessing in Matt. 25:21: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.” The other principle is that there will be different degrees of reward. Although our ultimate reward is simply being with God himself, Paul also reminds us that if what believers do with their lives “survives, the builder will receive a reward,” and if what they do “is burned up, the builder will suffer loss” (1Cor. 3:14–15 NRSV). Our choices make a difference for time and eternity (cf. Rev. 14:13). See also Heavens, New.

The present abode of God and the final dwelling place of the righteous. The ancient Jews distinguished three different heavens. The first heaven was the atmospheric heavens of the clouds and where the birds fly (Gen. 1:20). The second heaven was the celestial heavens of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The third heaven was the present home of God and the angels. Paul builds on this understanding of a third heaven in 2Cor. 12:2–4, where he describes himself as a man who “was caught up to the third heaven” or “paradise,” where he “heard inexpressible things.” This idea of multiple heavens also shows itself in how the Jews normally spoke of “heavens” in the plural (Gen. 1:1), while most other ancient cultures spoke of “heaven” in the singular.

The Abode of God

One of the challenges in understanding “heaven” as the present dwelling place of God involves God’s omnipresence. In one sense, God is present everywhere. David asks in Ps. 139:7, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” He answers that regardless of whether he goes as high up as anyone can go (“up to the heavens”), as low down as anyone can go (“in the depths), as far east as anyone can go (“the wings of the dawn”), or as far west as anyone can go (“the far side of the sea”), God is still there (Ps. 139:8–9).

Although God is present everywhere, God is also present in a special way in “heaven.” During Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Father is sometimes described as speaking in “a voice from heaven” (Matt. 3:17). Similarly, Jesus instructs us to address our prayers to “Our Father in heaven” (6:9). Even the specific request in the Lord’s Prayer that “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (6:10) reminds us that heaven is a place already under God’s full jurisdiction, where his will is presently being done completely and perfectly. Jesus also warns of the dangers of despising “one of these little ones,” because “their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven” (18:10). Jesus “came down from heaven” (John 6:51) for his earthly ministry, and after his death and resurrection, he ascended back “into heaven,” from where he “will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

At times, “heaven” becomes virtually a synonym for God himself. In the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15, the son confesses to his father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you” (v.21). This son’s sin against “heaven” has nothing to do with environmental issues such as air pollution, and everything to do with his relationship with God. Note also Matthew’s expression “the kingdom of heaven” versus “the kingdom of God” used elsewhere.

The Final Dwelling Place for Believers

Given this strong connection between heaven and God’s presence, there is a natural connection in Scripture between heaven and the ultimate hope of believers. Believers are promised a reward in heaven (“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven” [Matt. 5:12]), and even now believers can “store up for [themselves] treasures in heaven” (6:20). Even in this present life, “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20), and our hope at death is to “depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (1:23). Since Christ is currently in heaven, deceased believers are already present with Christ in heaven awaiting his return, when “God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (1Thess. 4:14).

However, this picture of heaven is more complicated. It is true that heaven is sometimes used in Scripture to refer to the present abode of all departed believers who have left this present life and entered the intermediate state between death and the bodily resurrection (2Cor. 5:4). It is this hope in a bodily resurrection that sets Christianity apart from other religions. Ultimately, the Christian hope is not that people will receive new physical bodies and float around some ethereal “heaven” like astronauts in outer space for all eternity. Instead, God has created human beings with physical bodies to inhabit a physical world, and our future hope is one of new resurrection bodies inhabiting new heavens and a new earth (Isa. 65:17; 66:22; 2Pet. 3:13). Just as there will be a certain continuity between the bodies of believers in this present life and their new resurrection bodies (we will know one another), there will also be a certain continuity between this present earth and the new earth to come. Yet, at the same time, everything will also be changed and made new and perfect, as God has designed it to be (Rom. 8:18–21).

The clearest description of this new reality is found in Rev. 21–22, where John describes how he “saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (21:1). Here is “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (21:2), when “God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (21:3–4). Even better than all the descriptions of such things as streets of “gold, as pure as transparent glass” (21:21) is that God himself will come and dwell in the midst of his people. As Paul has phrased it, “Now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face” (1Cor. 13:12). The day will come when we will see God as he is, in all his glory (1John3:2).

Two other ideas complete our picture of life in these new heavens and new earth. Heaven will be a place of continued activity and service. Notice Jesus’ blessing in Matt. 25:21: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.” The other principle is that there will be different degrees of reward. Although our ultimate reward is simply being with God himself, Paul also reminds us that if what believers do with their lives “survives, the builder will receive a reward,” and if what they do “is burned up, the builder will suffer loss” (1Cor. 3:14–15 NRSV). Our choices make a difference for time and eternity (cf. Rev. 14:13). See also Heavens, New.

Life is a complex, multifaceted concept in the Bible. VariousHebrew and Greek terms convey the idea of life. Life is described inboth a natural and a theological sense.

Lifein the Natural Sense

Inits natural sense, “life” may convey the following:(1)the vital principle of animals and humans, (2)thelength of time that one has life, (3)the complete plot and castof characters of an individual’s lifetime, or (4)themeans for maintaining life.

First,life is the vital principle of animals and humans. This use of theterm is its popular sense. It refers to the quality of having ananimate existence or the state of being animate. Therefore, it isexpressed in terms of ability or power; one who has life has thepower to act. On the other hand, “death” is its antonym;one who is dead no longer acts. In the Bible, life in this senseapplies to both animals and humans; however, the quality of lifediffers because humans are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26; 5:1;9:6). Life is manifested in the breath of life, so that one who nolonger has the breath of life no longer has life (Gen. 2:7; 6:17; Job12:10; 27:3; Rev. 11:11). At the same time, life is seated in theblood. For this reason, blood should not be consumed but shouldinstead be poured out and buried (Gen. 9:3–5; Lev. 17:10–16;Deut. 12:23–25). Although life may cease because of physicalcauses (whether disease, murder, accident, etc.), God is ultimatelythe Lord of life. He gives life through his breath of life (Gen. 2:7;Ezek. 37:4–14); he sustains life through his spirit (Ps.104:29–30; cf. Gen. 6:3; 1Cor. 15:45); he delivers fromdeath (Gen. 5:24; Ps. 30:3; 1Cor. 15); he gives life and putsto death (Deut. 32:39; 1Sam. 2:6). Life, therefore, is firstand foremost a gift from God.

Ina discussion of life as the vital principle, it is important toaddress the question of the afterlife. The Bible affirms thesignificance of both the material and the immaterial components of ahuman being. The body is not merely a shell in which the true personis housed. Death is not the soul’s escape from the body’sprison, as evidenced by the resurrection of the dead (Ezek. 37:1–14;Dan. 12:2; Luke 14:14; 1Cor. 15). Human beings are not createdto live a disembodied existence ultimately. The fate for those whoexperience eternal life is the resurrection of the body made from anincorruptible source (1Cor. 15, esp. vv. 42–50). Forothers, their fate lies in eternal death (Matt. 25:46; Rev. 20:6–15;21:8).

Second,in both Testaments, “life” may also refer to the durationof animate existence—one’s lifetime. The duration ofone’s life in this sense begins at birth and ends at death(Gen. 23:1; 25:7; 47:9, 28; Luke 16:25; Heb. 2:15). This period oftime is brief (Ps. 90:10; James 4:14). The Bible describes two waysthat one’s lifetime may be extended: first, God givesadditional time to a person’s life (2Kings 20:6; Ps.61:6; Isa. 38:5); second, one gains longer life by living wisely andhonoring God (Prov. 3:2; 4:10; 9:11; 10:27).

Third,sometimes “life” refers to the complete plot and cast ofcharacters of an individual’s lifetime. In other words, “life”may refer to all a person’s activities and relationships(1Sam. 18:18 KJV; Job 10:1; Luke 12:15; James 4:14).

Fourth,“life” rarely may refer to the means of livelihood (Deut.24:6; Prov. 27:27; Matt. 6:25; Luke 12:22–23). These passageshighlight two aspects of life in this sense: (1)people areresponsible to guard life; (2)God gives this life because ofhis great concern, which exceeds his care for the birds and flowers.

Lifeas a Theological Concept

Beyondits natural sense, life is developed as a theological conceptthroughout the Bible.

OldTestament.The first chapters of Genesis set the stage for a rich theologicalunderstanding of life. First, God creates all things and preparesthem for his purposes. He is the creator of life, and life is a giftfrom his hand. The pinnacle of his creative activity is the creationof humankind. God blesses the man (Adam) and the woman (Eve) whom hecreates. God prepares a special place, a garden, for them, so thatthey may be able to live in perfect communion with him, under hisblessing. At the center of the garden lies the tree of life. The treeof life demonstrates that the garden is both the sphere of God’sprovision and the symbol of life itself. At the same time, Godcommands the man not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good andevil, “for when you eat from it you will certainly die”(Gen. 2:17).

Atthis point, life and death take center stage. What follows in thenarrative (Gen. 3) is a presentation of the meaning of life and deathas theological concepts. Adam and Eve disobey the divine commandment.As a result, they die. However, their death is not death in thenatural sense. Instead, when they disobey God’s commandment,there are three results: (1)a curse is pronounced, (2)theyare exiled from the garden away from God, and (3)they areprevented from eating from the tree of life (3:14–24). Death inthis case is not ceasing to breathe and move but is curse and exile;in other words, to die is to be removed from the place of God’spresence and blessing and be placed under a curse. Life, then, is theopposite: to live is to be settled in the place of God’spresence and blessing.

Itis also important to recognize in this narrative that obedience toGod’s commandment leads to life, but disobedience to hiscommandment leads to death. This principle is picked up throughoutthe Bible. Its clearest expression is found in Lev. 18:5: “Keepmy decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live bythem.”

Thisnarrative also draws an important connection taken up in other partsof the Bible, especially Proverbs: the connection between life andwisdom. In the garden there are two trees at the center: the tree oflife and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Although thereis some question concerning what is precisely meant by the knowledgeof good and evil, it is likely that wisdom is in view. Two pieces ofevidence support this conclusion: (1)knowledge and wisdom aswell as good and evil are central concerns for the book of Proverbs;(2)the narrative associates the tree with wisdom. When Eveconsiders eating from the tree, she notices that it is like the othertrees in that it has a pleasant appearance and is good for food (Gen.2:9), but it is also distinct from the other trees because it isdesirable for making one wise (3:6). By eating the fruit, she andAdam attempt to gain wisdom contrary to God’s command. As aresult, this type of wisdom leads to death. However, true wisdom hasthe opposite effect. It leads to life, being a tree of life itself(esp. Prov. 3:18; also 3:1–2; 4:10–23; 6:23).

Althoughthese themes—life, blessing, obedience, and wisdom—arefound in various places throughout the Bible, they come together mostexplicitly in Deuteronomy. There devotion and obedience to God areviewed as the means of attaining wisdom and understanding (Deut.4:5–9). Following God leads to living in the land that God hadpromised and enjoying his blessings there (28:1–14); however,forsaking God leads to all kinds of curses and ultimately to utterdefeat and exile from the land (28:15–68). The choice to followGod and obey him or to forsake God and disobey him results in eitherlife or death, good or bad, blessing or curse (30:15–20).

Lifeas a theological concept therefore has the following characteristics:being in the presence of God rather than exile, and experiencing hisblessings rather than his curses. Such life may be attained throughdevotion and obedience to God and through the wisdom that comes fromGod.

NewTestament.This concept of life forms the background for that of the NT as well.The NT often speaks of eternal life, especially in the writings ofJohn. Eternal life is being in fellowship with God the Father andJesus Christ (John 17:3). One may experience eternal life beforenatural death and beyond it into the eternal future (John 3:36; 5:24;6:54; 10:28). At the same time, eternal life may refer more narrowlyonly to the time of perfect fellowship with God that lies beyondnatural life (Matt. 25:46; Mark 10:30; Rom. 2:7). Because lifeconsists of being in fellowship with God and living in his blessings,John can state that the one who believes in Jesus “has eternallife and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life”(John 5:24). In other words, the person who believes in Jesus hasbeen transferred from God’s curse to his blessing, from deathto life. Furthermore, Jesus declares that he is life, and that thosewho believe in him will live and not die; that is, they will never beremoved from his presence and blessing (John 11:25–26).

A title applied to teachers and others in respectedpositions, literally meaning “my master.” By the NT era,the term was used in a more specific sense to refer to teachers ofthe Mosaic law.

Inthe NT, the title occurs only in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, andJohn, and it is most commonly used to address Jesus. In Mark’sGospel the disciples three times address Jesus as “Rabbi”(Mark 9:5; 11:21; 14:45). In Matthew’s Gospel only Judas callsJesus “Rabbi” and only in the context of betraying Jesus(Matt. 26:25, 49). The title is used more widely in John’sGospel by individuals such as Nathanael and Nicodemus, as well as thegroup of disciples (John 1:38, 49; 3:2; 4:31; 6:25; 9:2; 11:8). Thetitle conveys the respect of pupil for master and indicates thenature of the relationship that Jesus had with his followers.

Otherswere also called “Rabbi,” including John the Baptist andsome of the Pharisees (John 3:26; Matt. 23:7). Although the Phariseesconsidered the title an honor, Jesus instructed his disciples not toallow themselves to be addressed as “Rabbi” and toacknowledge only one teacher, Christ (Matt. 23:8, 10). See alsoRabboni.

The word “sign” usually is a translation of theHebrew word ’otor the Greek word sēmeion.Signs are visible, typically being an object, a mark, an event, or acustom. In addition, signs are symbolic, pointing to things not seen.Signs often reveal or share some quality with the unseen reality towhich they point, and so they are a token of that reality. In theBible, signs typically are caused or instituted by God, and in manycases they are miraculous. However, in a few cases signs are setforth as the work of other gods (as in Deut. 13:1–2) or asbeing instituted by merely human design (as in Num. 2:2). In summary,a sign may be defined as something seen that points to somethingunseen, and that is instituted or created to do so by someone’sintention.

Severalexamples support this definition. Keeping the Sabbath is a sign ofGod’s rest after creating the world (Exod. 31:15); the Sabbathrest itself imitates God’s rest. Circumcision is a sign ofGod’s promise to both Abraham and his descendants; circumcisionis also a physical mark that is related to human fertility (Gen.17:11). The rainbow is a sign of God’s promise not to destroythe world by water and rain; rainbows appear only with rain (Gen.9:13). (In the original Hebrew text, both the custom of circumcisionand the rainbow that appears after the great flood are called“signs.”) The early Passover plagues both bring and warnof judgment, while the healing miracles of Jesus both bring andpromise blessing. While signs point to unseen realities, theserealities do not diminish the value or importance of the visibleworld. Instead, the unseen realities themselves are ultimatelyexpressed in the visible world.

DivineIntervention

Theword “sign” usually refers to an event that cannot beplausibly explained by natural or human causes but is consistent withintervention by God or by some other divine power. An importantexample of this occurs in the book of Exodus. In Exodus, Mosespredicts each kind of plague that will occur and the time of itsoccurrence. Many of those plagues, such as the plague of locusts(Exod. 10:14–15), are events that could occur naturally.However, the merely natural occurrence of so many plagues in such ashort time is quite improbable. It is likewise improbable that Mosescould simply guess beforehand the type and timing of all theseplagues.

Ultimately,a merely natural explanation for these plagues does not provecredible to the Egyptians. However, the plagues are consistent withacts of divine intervention, provided one does not rule out thatpossibility beforehand. They are consistent because Moses gives aplausible explanation of why God would intervene at this time, eventhough God had not intervened within living memory. All theseevidences together are considered sufficient to infer that some godhas caused the signs. The signs are portrayed as objectively knownevents. When Pharaoh refuses to admit that Moses can bring plagues,Pharaoh’s own officials say that he should know better (Exod.10:7). The officials believe in the reality of the signs even thoughthey do not follow the faith or God of Moses.

Throughoutthe Bible, signs give evidence of God’s direct action andidentity, but they are not given as evidence for God’sexistence. God’s existence is to be known by other means; forexample, Paul writes that the existence of the Creator is “clearlyseen” from the created world (Rom. 1:20).

Miraclesand Faith

Miraculoussigns often are given to validate a prophet and his message. Signsare especially frequent when that prophetic message is a covenantfrom God that has life-or-death consequences. Both the Mosaiccovenant (Deut. 30:15–20) and the new covenant of Jesus (Luke22:15–20; John 5:24–29) warn of life and death. In theOT, signs occur most prolifically at the hands of Moses. The signsmanifested on behalf of Moses are explicitly given so that peoplewill believe in Moses and follow God’s covenant (Exod. 4:1–9;19:9).

Signsoccur even more frequently and prominently in the NT. Jesus makes thelame walk, heals the blind, and even raises the dead (John 5:1–9;9:1–7; 11:1–44). Throughout the Gospels, Jesus ischaracterized as performing many signs, and the signs are cited asone reason to believe in Jesus (John 20:30–31). The signs arecharacteristic of Jesus’ ministry and later of his apostles’ministries. The tradition that Jesus performed signs is interwoventhroughout the four Gospels as we have them, even in portions oftenthought to reflect earlier sources. The most important sign in the NTis the resurrection of Jesus, since this is the ultimate validationof Jesus by God, and the Christian faith hangs upon the truth ofJesus’ resurrection (1Cor. 15:1–20).

Althoughsigns are given to elicit faith, human nature and desires are suchthat reasonable belief does not always take root. As with Pharaoh,many others throughout the OT do not believe despite seeing signs(e.g., Num. 14:11; Ps. 78:11). In the Gospels, many will not believeany reports about miraculous signs. They instead demand to see signspersonally (Mark 8:11–12; John 4:48; 6:30; 9:27–41;20:29) or attribute them to Satan. The Passover signs were to beremembered and credited by later generations (Exod. 12:26–27).Similarly, the signs performed by Jesus were intended by theevangelists to be credited by readers who had not seen them (John20:29–31). Belief is not expected without inquiry (John4:39–42; Acts 17:11); however, unbelief in the face of evidenceis seen as a human failing (John 11:37–40).

A transliteration of the Greek word synagōgē,meaning “gathering, assembly, meeting.” In English, theword “synagogue” refers either to a Jewish congregationor to the place where that congregation meets. Synagogues of thebiblical era functioned as both religious and civic centers for theJewish community.

Origins

Theorigin of synagogues is uncertain. The earliest archaeologicalevidence is from Egypt in the third century BC, consisting ofinscriptions and a papyrus letter. The oldest architectural find isfrom the island of Delos in the Aegean Sea, although whether this wasconstructed as a synagogue or redesigned into one is unknown, as iswhether it was Jewish or Samaritan. The oldest structures yet foundin Israel consist of two rooms at Qumran and the synagogue at Gamla,which date from the late first century BC. In Capernaum, the basaltsynagogue was built by a Gentile centurion for the community in thefirst century AD (Luke 7:1–5).

Bythat time, synagogues were well attested in Israel, elsewhere in theRoman Empire, and in Egypt (Matt. 4:23; Luke 4:44; Acts 9:2; 17:10,16–17; 18:8, 19). Synagogues were found wherever there werecommunities of Jews, in cities and rural areas alike. Especially inDiaspora settings or remote locations, they were the heart of Jewishlife. Several hypotheses have been suggested to account for theirapparently sudden appearance.

Somebelieve that synagogues were developed during the Babyloniancaptivity as the response of the exile community to the destructionof their temple and sacrificial system. Despite these enormouslosses, the Jews still had the Torah, and from that point forwardworship and prayer based on the reading and studying of theScriptures, which could be done locally, began to gain ascendancy.Critics of this idea, however, point out that while it makes sense,there is no direct evidence to support it.

Othersthink that the spread of Hellenism in the second century BCprecipitated a crisis of identity among Jews. For example,1Maccabees reports with distress that some Jews had abandonedthe covenant and teamed with the Hellenists, even going so far as tobuild a Greek-style gymnasium in Jerusalem (1:11–15). Thus, thethought is that synagogues were a form of resistance to theoverwhelming and perversely appealing cultural changes of the day.

Morerecently, it has been suggested that synagogues were the gradualsuccessors to functions that had previously taken place at citygates. First-century synagogues served a wide range of functions forthe community. Throughout Israel’s prior history, however,these same activities—assembly, legal, social, educational, andreligious—had taken place at the city gate (Deut. 12:15; 2Sam.15:2; 2Kings 23:8; Neh. 8:1–8). The Gamla synagogue sitsagainst the east city wall next to a probable gate, and its locationcould be evidence of the slow development of the synagogue as citygates changed from multipurpose facilities to portals of ingress andegress.

First-CenturySynagogues

First-centurysynagogues served as integrated centers supporting Jewish life.Regular communal reading and exposition of Scripture, includingteaching and discussion of the law and transmission of its complexassociated traditions (Luke 4:16; Acts 13:14–15), occurredthere. Although formal liturgical rites evolved after the destructionof the temple in AD 70, synagogues were places of prayer in the firstcentury (Matt. 6:5). Synagogues also served as courtrooms and placeswhere crimes were punished (Acts 22:19), as well as locations forcommon meals and festivals (see Acts 6:2).

Synagogueswere administered by local community leaders, including a presidentand a board (Acts 13:15). Synagogue leaders named in the NT includeJairus (Mark 5:22; Luke 8:41), Crispus (Acts 18:8), and Sosthenes(Acts 18:17). The role of the leader was to preside over services, torule as the judge in court cases, to represent the community, andoften to act as a patron. The board served in an advisory role andassisted with teaching. A scribe maintained community records andtaught.

Congregationsincluded Pharisees, who advocated strict adherence to the law,although they were chided by Jesus for their false piety (Luke11:42–44). Women participated in the synagogue along with themen, and in some cases they were financial donors (cf. Luke 8:3).God-fearing Gentiles were welcomed (Acts 17:17). In Jerusalem,synagogues included both Hebrews and Jews from the Diaspora (Acts6:1, 9).

Asynagogue could be a designated room in a house or a discretebuilding. Most of the better archaeological evidence is later thanthe first century and reveals more clearly religious intentionalityin design than may have been characteristic earlier. This evidenceincludes the door facing Jerusalem, artistic temple motifs, a nichefor the Torah scrolls, and perimeter bench seating around an opencentral hall.

TheSynagogue in the Bible

Sincesynagogues were institutions with a documented history no earlierthan the third century BC, they are not mentioned in the OT. TheGreek word from which the English one is derived does appearfrequently in the LXX, but always with a general reference to agathering, assembly, or meeting.

Rabbinichistory (but not Scripture) makes reference to the “GreatSynagogue,” meaning a group of men who transmitted traditionsfrom the prophets to the earliest named rabbinic teachers. It isloosely based on Neh. 8–10, which describes the prayers andactions of the Jewish leaders who had returned from exile.

Synagoguesfrequently were locations of the teaching and healing ministry ofJesus. He began preaching the kingdom of God, teaching, andperforming healing miracles in Galilean synagogues (Matt. 4:23; 9:35;12:9; 13:54; Mark 1:21–29, 39; 3:1; 6:2; Luke 4:15–38,44; 6:6–11; 13:10–17; John 6:59; 18:20). Later, theapostle Paul customarily initiated his mission work in the localsynagogue at each of his destinations (Acts 9:19–20; 13:5,14–15; 14:1; 17:1, 10, 17; 18:1–8; 19:8).

Thelast (and, from a twenty-first-century perspective, mostcontroversial) use of the word “synagogue” in Scriptureis the difficult phrase “synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2:9;3:9), which must be read in its context. This was written in responseto the significant persecution in Asia Minor of the churches atSmyrna and Philadelphia by Jews who were in collusion with the Romanauthorities. They were falsely accusing Jewish and Gentile Christianbelievers, creating unspeakable suffering for them. This phrase,intended to encourage Christian perseverance, implies that thechurches in view represented true Israel, while their accusers werefalse Jews. Similar language was used by the covenant-keepingcommunity in Qumran when, in the DSS, it referred to apostate Jews asa “congregation of Belial” and an “assembly ofhypocrites” (1QHa 10:22; 15:34).

The Bible has much to say about works, and an understandingof the topic is important because works play a role in mostreligions. In the most generic sense, “works” refers tothe products or activities of human moral agents in the context ofreligious discussion. God’s works are frequently mentioned inScripture, and they are always good. His works include creation (Gen.2:2–3; Isa. 40:28; 42:5), sustenance of the earth (Ps. 104;Heb. 1:3), and redemption (Exod. 6:6; Ps. 111:9; Rom. 8:23). Humanworks, therefore, should be in alignment with God’s works,though obviously of a different sort. Works in the Bible usuallyreflect a moral polarity: good or evil, righteous or unrighteous,just or unjust. The context of the passage often determines the moralcharacter of the works (e.g., Isa. 3:10–11; 2Cor. 11:15).

Importantquestions follow from the existence of works and their moral quality.Do good works merit God’s favor or please him? Can good workssave at the time of God’s judgment? When people asked Jesus,“What must we do to do the works God requires?” heanswered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one hehas sent” (John 6:28–29). Without faith it is impossibleto please God (Heb. 11:6). The people from the OT commended in Heb.11 did their works in the precondition of faith. Explicitly in the NTand often implicitly in the OT, faith is the condition for truly goodworks. God elects out of his mercy, not out of human works (Rom.9:12, 16; Titus 3:5; cf. Rom. 11:2). Works not done in faith, even ifconsidered “good” by human standards, are not commendableto God, since all humankind is under sin (Rom. 3:9) and no person isrighteous or does good (Rom. 3:10–18; cf. Isa. 64:6). Workscannot save; salvation is a gift to be received by faith (Eph. 2:8–9;2Tim. 1:9; cf. Rom. 4:2–6). Even works of the Mosaic laware not salvific (Rom. 3:20, 27–28; Gal. 2:16; 3:2; 5:4). Goodworks follow from faith (2Cor. 9:8; Eph. 2:10; 1Thess.1:3; James 2:18, 22; cf. Acts 26:20). The works of those who havefaith will be judged, but this judgment appears to be related torewards, not salvation (Matt. 16:27; Rom. 2:6; 2Cor. 5:10; cf.Rom. 14:10; 1Cor. 3:13–15).

Bible Texts and VersionsThe NT and the OT have considerably different but partiallyoverlapping textual histories. For clarity, it is best to begin witha survey of the NT manuscripts and versions.

Greektexts.Although no autographs of the NT books survive, there exist more thanfive thousand Greek texts covering anywhere from a portion of a fewverses up to the complete NT. Traditionally, these texts have beenclassified into five groups: papyri, uncials, minuscules,lectionaries, and quotations in patristic texts. The most importantmanuscripts are listed below.

Theearliest texts of the NT are those written on papyrus. Ninety-eightof these manuscripts have been identified, and they are representedby a “P” with a numerical superscript. The earliest ofthese papyri is P52, which contains parts of four verses in John 18and dates to the early second century. For substantial portions ofthe NT text, the most important papyri are found in the ChesterBeatty and Bodmer collections. P45, P46, and P47, all from theChester Beatty collection, are from the third century and containlarge sections of the four Gospels, eight of the Pauline Epistles,Hebrews, and Revelation. Within the Bodmer collection in Geneva arefour very important codices. P66 dates to around AD 200 and preservesmost of the Gospel of John. P72 dates to the third century andcontains the earliest copies of 1–2 Peter and Jude, which arepreserved in their entirety, as well as Greek translations of Pss.33–34. P74 dates to the seventh century and contains portionsof Acts, James, 1–2 Peter, 1–3 John, and Jude. Finally,P75, which dates to the early third century, contains most of Lukeand John 1–15. It is the oldest extant copy of Luke. Among theremaining papyri, forty-three have been dated to the early fourthcentury or before.

Thesecond category of manuscripts is the uncials, which usually werewritten on parchment and span the fourth through the tenth centuries.About 270 uncials are known, and they range from a few verses up tocomplete copies of the NT or even the entire Bible. Uncialsoriginally were denoted by capital letters, but when the number ofmanuscripts grew beyond these limits, a new system was employedwhereby each manuscript was given a number always beginning withzero. However, the most important uncials are still usually known bytheir letter. Among the most important uncials are the following fivemanuscripts. Codex Sinaiticus (designated by the Hebrew letter à)dates to the fourth century and is the only uncial that contains theentire NT. It also has almost all of the OT as well as the earlyChristian writings the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd ofHermas. Dating from the fifth century, Codex Alexandrinus (designatedas A) contains the OT, most of the NT—lacking only portions ofMatthew, John, and 2 Corinthians—and 1–2 Clement.Along with Sinaiticus, the most important uncial is Codex Vaticanus(designated as B), which dates to the fourth century. It containsalmost all of the OT and the complete NT, except for substantialportions between Hebrews and Revelation. It has been in the Vatican’slibrary for over five hundred years. The fourth important uncial isCodex Bezae Cantabrigiensis (designated as D), which contains Greekand Latin copies of the four Gospels, most of Acts, and a few versesfrom 3 John. It dates from the late fourth or early fifthcentury. The fifth important uncial is Codex Washingtonianus(designated as W), which dates to the early fifth century andcontains virtually all of the four Gospels.

Thethird category of NT manuscripts is minuscules. These texts date fromthe ninth century and later and comprise approximately 2,800manuscripts, which are denoted by a number not beginning with zero.Among the more important minuscules are Codex 1, Codex 13, and Codex33, which, along with their relatives, are considered reliablewitnesses to early families of texts such as the Caesarean (1) or theAlexandrian (33). Codex 13 and its relatives are noteworthy forhaving the story of the adulterous woman at the end of Luke 21instead of in John 8. The final two groups of NT manuscripts, thelectionaries and quotations in patristic sources, are not manuscriptsin the strict sense of the term, but their use of portions of the NTpresents important witnesses for the practice of textual criticism.

Versions.With the spread of Christianity during the time of the Roman Empire,the NT was translated into the language of the native peoples. Theseversions of the NT are important both for textual criticism of the NTand for the interpretive decisions that are reflected in how the textwas rendered into a new language. Among the most important earlyversions of the NT are the following.

AsLatin began to displace Greek as the dominant language of the empire,there was a need for a Latin version of the Bible. The earliesttranslation, known as the Old Latin or Itala, was made probably inthe late second century, though the oldest manuscript (CodexVercellensis) is from the fourth century. With the proliferation ofLatin texts a standardized Latin translation became desirable, and inAD 382 Jerome was commissioned by Pope Damasus to provide a newtranslation known as the Vulgate.

Anotherfamily of NT versions is the Syriac texts. Around the late secondcentury the four Gospels were translated into a version known as theOld Syriac. It is extant in two incomplete manuscripts that areprobably fifth century. The translation that became the standardSyriac text is the Pesh*tta, which was produced in the early fifthcentury. It does not contain 2 Peter, 2–3 John, Jude, orRevelation because these were not considered canonical among theSyriac churches.

Otherimportant versions of the NT from antiquity are the Coptic, Armenian,Georgian, and Ethiopic translations.

OldTestament

Hebrewtexts.The text that has served as the basis for most modern editions andtranslations of the Hebrew OT is the Masoretic Text (MT), named afterthe Masoretes, the Jewish scribes who transmitted the text and addedvocalization, accentuation, and notes to the consonantal text. Themost important Masoretic manuscripts date from the end of the ninthcentury to the early eleventh century. Notable among these is theLeningrad Codex (AD 1008), denoted as L, which is the earliestMasoretic manuscript of the entire OT. Also important are the AleppoCodex (c. AD 925), denoted as A, which preserves all of the OT exceptfor most of the Pentateuch; the British Museum MS Or. 4445 (c. AD925), denoted as B, which contains most of the Pentateuch; and theCairo Codex (c. AD 896), denoted C, which contains Joshua throughKings and also the Prophets.

Althoughthese manuscripts are much later than the biblical period, theirreliability was largely confirmed with the discovery of the DSSbeginning in 1947. Among the Qumran library are many manuscripts ofbiblical books as well as biblical commentaries, apocrphyal andpseudepigraphal works, and sectarian literature. All the OT books arerepresented among the scrolls that were found except Esther andNehemiah, though the latter is usually presumed to have been at theend of Ezra but has not survived. The books with the most manuscriptsare, in order, Psalms, Deuteronomy, and Isaiah. One of the strikingcharacteristics of these scrolls is that they reflect a diversity oftext types. For example, there is a copy of Jeremiah that is close tothe Masoretic version, but also a manuscript of Jeremiah similar tothe much shorter version found in the Septuagint (the Greektranslation of the OT).

AnotherHebrew text of the OT is that of the Samaritan Pentateuch, which isthe text transmitted by the Samaritans. It is similar to the MT insome respects but also has differences that reflect theologicalinterests. The main manuscripts for the Samaritan Pentateuch are fromthe twelfth century.

Versions.Between the third and first centuries BC, the entire OT wastranslated into Greek. This version, known as the Septuagint(designated by the abbreviation LXX), became the main version of theOT used by the early church. Due to its adoption by the church, theLXX has been preserved in numerous manuscripts, including Sinaiticus,Alexandrinus, and Vaticanus. By the late first century BC or earlyfirst century AD, there were two revisions of the Greek text: theProto-Lucianic version and the Kaige recension. The latter aimed torevise the Greek toward closer conformity with the Hebrew text andderives its name from its peculiar tendency to translate the Hebrewword gam (“also”) with the Greek work kaige. In thesecond century AD three other Greek translations were made by Aquila,Theodotion, and Symmachus, all of which revised the Kaige recensionback toward the MT.

Anotherimportant early version of the OT consists of the Targumim, which areAramaic translations or paraphrases (and sometimes extensiveelaborations) of OT books. The official Targumim for Judaism areTargum Onqelos for the Pentateuch (c. second century AD), which isquite literal, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan for the Prophets (sometimebefore the fourth century AD), which ranges from being quite literalto somewhat paraphrastic. Unofficial Targumim for the Pentateuchinclude Targum Neofiti and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan. There are alsovarious unofficial Targumim for the Writings section of the OT,except for Daniel and Ezra-Nehemiah (which are already written partlyin Aramaic).

Besidesthe Greek and Aramaic translations, there are other importantversions of the OT. Sometime in either the third or fourth centuryAD, the Pesh*tta of the OT was produced, though there is evidencethat there were earlier Syriac translations of some books alreadycirculating. Also important is a group of Latin translations knowncollectively as the Old Latin. These versions were produced sometimeduring the second century AD and were primarily made from alreadyexisting Greek translations rather than Hebrew texts. As with the NT,a later Latin translation was made by Jerome for the Vulgate.

Bible Texts and VersionsThe NT and the OT have considerably different but partiallyoverlapping textual histories. For clarity, it is best to begin witha survey of the NT manuscripts and versions.

Greektexts.Although no autographs of the NT books survive, there exist more thanfive thousand Greek texts covering anywhere from a portion of a fewverses up to the complete NT. Traditionally, these texts have beenclassified into five groups: papyri, uncials, minuscules,lectionaries, and quotations in patristic texts. The most importantmanuscripts are listed below.

Theearliest texts of the NT are those written on papyrus. Ninety-eightof these manuscripts have been identified, and they are representedby a “P” with a numerical superscript. The earliest ofthese papyri is P52, which contains parts of four verses in John 18and dates to the early second century. For substantial portions ofthe NT text, the most important papyri are found in the ChesterBeatty and Bodmer collections. P45, P46, and P47, all from theChester Beatty collection, are from the third century and containlarge sections of the four Gospels, eight of the Pauline Epistles,Hebrews, and Revelation. Within the Bodmer collection in Geneva arefour very important codices. P66 dates to around AD 200 and preservesmost of the Gospel of John. P72 dates to the third century andcontains the earliest copies of 1–2 Peter and Jude, which arepreserved in their entirety, as well as Greek translations of Pss.33–34. P74 dates to the seventh century and contains portionsof Acts, James, 1–2 Peter, 1–3 John, and Jude. Finally,P75, which dates to the early third century, contains most of Lukeand John 1–15. It is the oldest extant copy of Luke. Among theremaining papyri, forty-three have been dated to the early fourthcentury or before.

Thesecond category of manuscripts is the uncials, which usually werewritten on parchment and span the fourth through the tenth centuries.About 270 uncials are known, and they range from a few verses up tocomplete copies of the NT or even the entire Bible. Uncialsoriginally were denoted by capital letters, but when the number ofmanuscripts grew beyond these limits, a new system was employedwhereby each manuscript was given a number always beginning withzero. However, the most important uncials are still usually known bytheir letter. Among the most important uncials are the following fivemanuscripts. Codex Sinaiticus (designated by the Hebrew letter à)dates to the fourth century and is the only uncial that contains theentire NT. It also has almost all of the OT as well as the earlyChristian writings the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd ofHermas. Dating from the fifth century, Codex Alexandrinus (designatedas A) contains the OT, most of the NT—lacking only portions ofMatthew, John, and 2 Corinthians—and 1–2 Clement.Along with Sinaiticus, the most important uncial is Codex Vaticanus(designated as B), which dates to the fourth century. It containsalmost all of the OT and the complete NT, except for substantialportions between Hebrews and Revelation. It has been in the Vatican’slibrary for over five hundred years. The fourth important uncial isCodex Bezae Cantabrigiensis (designated as D), which contains Greekand Latin copies of the four Gospels, most of Acts, and a few versesfrom 3 John. It dates from the late fourth or early fifthcentury. The fifth important uncial is Codex Washingtonianus(designated as W), which dates to the early fifth century andcontains virtually all of the four Gospels.

Thethird category of NT manuscripts is minuscules. These texts date fromthe ninth century and later and comprise approximately 2,800manuscripts, which are denoted by a number not beginning with zero.Among the more important minuscules are Codex 1, Codex 13, and Codex33, which, along with their relatives, are considered reliablewitnesses to early families of texts such as the Caesarean (1) or theAlexandrian (33). Codex 13 and its relatives are noteworthy forhaving the story of the adulterous woman at the end of Luke 21instead of in John 8. The final two groups of NT manuscripts, thelectionaries and quotations in patristic sources, are not manuscriptsin the strict sense of the term, but their use of portions of the NTpresents important witnesses for the practice of textual criticism.

Versions.With the spread of Christianity during the time of the Roman Empire,the NT was translated into the language of the native peoples. Theseversions of the NT are important both for textual criticism of the NTand for the interpretive decisions that are reflected in how the textwas rendered into a new language. Among the most important earlyversions of the NT are the following.

AsLatin began to displace Greek as the dominant language of the empire,there was a need for a Latin version of the Bible. The earliesttranslation, known as the Old Latin or Itala, was made probably inthe late second century, though the oldest manuscript (CodexVercellensis) is from the fourth century. With the proliferation ofLatin texts a standardized Latin translation became desirable, and inAD 382 Jerome was commissioned by Pope Damasus to provide a newtranslation known as the Vulgate.

Anotherfamily of NT versions is the Syriac texts. Around the late secondcentury the four Gospels were translated into a version known as theOld Syriac. It is extant in two incomplete manuscripts that areprobably fifth century. The translation that became the standardSyriac text is the Pesh*tta, which was produced in the early fifthcentury. It does not contain 2 Peter, 2–3 John, Jude, orRevelation because these were not considered canonical among theSyriac churches.

Otherimportant versions of the NT from antiquity are the Coptic, Armenian,Georgian, and Ethiopic translations.

OldTestament

Hebrewtexts.The text that has served as the basis for most modern editions andtranslations of the Hebrew OT is the Masoretic Text (MT), named afterthe Masoretes, the Jewish scribes who transmitted the text and addedvocalization, accentuation, and notes to the consonantal text. Themost important Masoretic manuscripts date from the end of the ninthcentury to the early eleventh century. Notable among these is theLeningrad Codex (AD 1008), denoted as L, which is the earliestMasoretic manuscript of the entire OT. Also important are the AleppoCodex (c. AD 925), denoted as A, which preserves all of the OT exceptfor most of the Pentateuch; the British Museum MS Or. 4445 (c. AD925), denoted as B, which contains most of the Pentateuch; and theCairo Codex (c. AD 896), denoted C, which contains Joshua throughKings and also the Prophets.

Althoughthese manuscripts are much later than the biblical period, theirreliability was largely confirmed with the discovery of the DSSbeginning in 1947. Among the Qumran library are many manuscripts ofbiblical books as well as biblical commentaries, apocrphyal andpseudepigraphal works, and sectarian literature. All the OT books arerepresented among the scrolls that were found except Esther andNehemiah, though the latter is usually presumed to have been at theend of Ezra but has not survived. The books with the most manuscriptsare, in order, Psalms, Deuteronomy, and Isaiah. One of the strikingcharacteristics of these scrolls is that they reflect a diversity oftext types. For example, there is a copy of Jeremiah that is close tothe Masoretic version, but also a manuscript of Jeremiah similar tothe much shorter version found in the Septuagint (the Greektranslation of the OT).

AnotherHebrew text of the OT is that of the Samaritan Pentateuch, which isthe text transmitted by the Samaritans. It is similar to the MT insome respects but also has differences that reflect theologicalinterests. The main manuscripts for the Samaritan Pentateuch are fromthe twelfth century.

Versions.Between the third and first centuries BC, the entire OT wastranslated into Greek. This version, known as the Septuagint(designated by the abbreviation LXX), became the main version of theOT used by the early church. Due to its adoption by the church, theLXX has been preserved in numerous manuscripts, including Sinaiticus,Alexandrinus, and Vaticanus. By the late first century BC or earlyfirst century AD, there were two revisions of the Greek text: theProto-Lucianic version and the Kaige recension. The latter aimed torevise the Greek toward closer conformity with the Hebrew text andderives its name from its peculiar tendency to translate the Hebrewword gam (“also”) with the Greek work kaige. In thesecond century AD three other Greek translations were made by Aquila,Theodotion, and Symmachus, all of which revised the Kaige recensionback toward the MT.

Anotherimportant early version of the OT consists of the Targumim, which areAramaic translations or paraphrases (and sometimes extensiveelaborations) of OT books. The official Targumim for Judaism areTargum Onqelos for the Pentateuch (c. second century AD), which isquite literal, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan for the Prophets (sometimebefore the fourth century AD), which ranges from being quite literalto somewhat paraphrastic. Unofficial Targumim for the Pentateuchinclude Targum Neofiti and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan. There are alsovarious unofficial Targumim for the Writings section of the OT,except for Daniel and Ezra-Nehemiah (which are already written partlyin Aramaic).

Besidesthe Greek and Aramaic translations, there are other importantversions of the OT. Sometime in either the third or fourth centuryAD, the Pesh*tta of the OT was produced, though there is evidencethat there were earlier Syriac translations of some books alreadycirculating. Also important is a group of Latin translations knowncollectively as the Old Latin. These versions were produced sometimeduring the second century AD and were primarily made from alreadyexisting Greek translations rather than Hebrew texts. As with the NT,a later Latin translation was made by Jerome for the Vulgate.

Famine was the most devastating catastrophe to an agrariansociety. Caused by drought, crop failure, or siege (Ruth 1:1–2;2Kings 25), it often was accompanied by disease or war, whichin turn brought adversity to many levels of society (Jer. 14:12;Matt. 24:7), including that of the animals (Job 38:41; Joel 1:20).

Dependenceon rainfall caused some people to stockpile in anticipation ofpossible famine. In Egypt, Joseph implemented a grain ration thatsaved the people, supplied seed, and filled Pharaoh’s royalstorehouses (Gen. 41:33–36; 47:23–24). Israel’s owntemple contained storerooms (1Chron. 26:15; Neh. 10:38–39).God used famine to encourage obedience from the Israelites (Deut.11:17; 28:33) and as divine judgment upon them (Lev. 26:14–20;Jer. 29:17–18).

Famineshad far-reaching results: price inflation, robbery, socialexploitation, agricultural collapse, migration, and even cannibalism(Gen. 12:10; 26:1; Ruth 1; 2Kings 6:24–29; Neh. 5:1–3;Lam. 2:20–21; 4:8–10). Therefore, faithfulness to God wasa particularly vivid reality (Pss. 33:18–19; 37:19), and God’sblessings on the nation included its being free from famine (Ezek.34:29; 36:29–30).

Josephunderstood that God sent him ahead to Egypt to save his family froman international famine (Gen. 45:5–7). For forty years Godtested the Israelites with hunger to rid them of self-reliance (Exod.16:2–8; Deut. 8:2, 16). Moreover, God sent afflictions onIsrael such as famine, drought, mildew, blight, and insects in orderto arouse national repentance (Amos 4:6–12). This meant thatsin and human suffering were tied to the land in interdependence(Lam. 4:3–4). Elijah’s contest with the Canaaniteprophets of Baal vividly shows the theological implications of faithand food: Yahweh would prove that he was in control of nature’sforces (1Kings 18:23–39; cf. Gen. 8:22). Even Elijah,however, required special divine care through this famine (1Kings17:1–6). For Amos, literal hunger funded his description ofdesperate spiritual hunger, “a famine ... ofhearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11).

Jesusrelived Israel’s experience in his own wilderness testing andrejected the bread that he could make for himself (Matt. 4:3–4;Deut. 8:3). His success showed that scarcity and hunger are intendedto develop humility and trust in God, the divine provider (Matt.4:2), something that Israel did not learn very well. Jesus fed asecond manna to five thousand people to draw them to the bread oflife (John 6:35), but the crowds followed Jesus more for the foodthan for him (6:26–27). Famines are mentioned in the NT (Luke4:25; Acts 7:11 [historical]; 11:27–30 [contemporary]).

Jesustaught that famines would be a sign of his coming. Yet, withoutignoring physical food, Jesus highlighted the spiritual hunger andthirst of people (Matt. 5:6; John 4:14, 34; 7:37–38). Becauseeating is a powerful part of fellowship, heaven will merely removethe desperation of hunger, not the use of food (Gen. 43:34; Luke22:15–16; Rev. 19:9; cf. 1Cor. 4:11; Rev. 7:16; 21:4).

Because we lack precise knowledge of the Hebrew and earlyChristian beliefs about the relationship between the physical bodyand one’s spirit, discussions about flesh and spirit aredifficult. Throughout both Testaments the word “flesh”usually refers to the physical body of both humans and animals, whilethe word “spirit,” although less specific, generallyrefers to the persona of an individual, that part of a human thatrelates most closely to God. Contrasting these, the prophet Isaiahsays that the enemy Egyptian horses are “flesh and not spirit,”and so he implies that the spirit is stronger than the flesh. Isaiahsays that those living in Jerusalem should put their trust in God andnot the flesh (Isa. 31:3).

Probablythe most specific instance of flesh and spirit being discussedtogether is in John 3:6, where the author quotes Jesus saying, “Fleshgives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”English translations capitalize the first of the two occurrences ofthe Greek word pneuma (“spirit”) in this verse, inferringthat it is the Spirit of God who gives birth to the human spirit.Jesus tries to explain to Nicodemus that a person must be born againby the Spirit of God, much as a human birth produces human flesh.

Inanother passage, Jesus talks about the difference between the fleshand the spirit by first telling the disciples that they need to eathis flesh (John 6:53–54). This is taken to be a reference tothe Eucharist and the need for the disciples to participate in thatcommunion. Next, Jesus notes that his words are spirit and life; thisdraws a contrast between the physical “flesh” of theEucharist service and the “spirit” of the words of God(John 6:63).

Paul,in the Letter to the Ephesians, draws a similar distinction betweenthe flesh and the spirit when he says that the Christian struggleagainst the devil is “not against flesh and blood,” thatis, against physical forces, but rather against “spiritualforces of evil” (6:12). Paul’s point is that Christiansmust not engage in warfare against physical forces of evil so much asthey must struggle against those spiritual things that can harm one’sfaith. This theme is again picked up in Phil. 3:1–11, wherePaul says that circumcision of the flesh, which is a mutilation ofthe flesh, gains a person nothing, whereas those who worship by theSpirit of God have obtained the true circumcision and have gainedChrist and the righteousness that comes through faith in him.

However,1John 4:1–3 warns that not every spirit is from God. Johnencourages his readers to “test the spirits” to determinewhether they are truly from God. Interestingly, for John, this testinvolves the acknowledgment that Jesus came in the flesh from God.

This prayer, found but not named as such in Matt. 6:9–13;Luke 11:2–5 (see also Did. 8.2, which follows the Mattheanversion), is a version of the Jewish Qaddish prayer revised aroundthe theme of the kingdom of God and is a paradigmatic model of prayergiven by Jesus to his followers.

Jesusand Prayer

Prayerwas a key element of Jewish piety and devotion to God. It was a largepart of meetings in synagogues, annual festivals, worship in thetemple, and daily recitals of the words of the law. Jesus isremembered as withdrawing into lonely and desolate places for timesof prayer (Mark 1:35; 6:46), most poignantly in the garden ofGeth-semane (Mark 14:32–42 pars.). Jesus’ time in thewilderness probably was a time of prayer and fasting as well (Mark1:12–13 pars.). Besides the Lord’s Prayer, another prayerof Jesus celebrates God’s revelation to the disciples aftertheir short itinerant mission (Matt. 11:25–26// Luke10:21).

Theevangelist Luke emphasizes Jesus at prayer more than any other Gospelwriter. Luke’s Gospel portrays Jesus as praying at his baptism(3:21), prior to his selection of the Twelve (6:12–13), priorto Peter’s confession of him as Messiah (9:18), at histransfiguration (9:28–29), prior to his teaching on the Lord’sPrayer (11:1), for Peter (22:32), and twice while on the cross(23:34, 46). Jesus also taught much about prayer, concerning how hisdisciples are or are not to pray and how to show genuine devotion inthe kingdom community without hypocrisy (Mark 11:24–25; Matt.5:44// Luke 6:28; Matt. 6:5–8; Luke 11:5–13;18:1–14; 21:36).

Inthe Fourth Gospel, Jesus’ prayers underscore the unique natureof the relationship between the Father and the Son (John 11:41–42;12:27–28). Jesus’ high priestly prayer for the disciplesconcerns their preservation and the role of the Holy Spirit in theirlives (17:1–26). A distinctive characteristic of Jesus’prayers is that God is addressed by the Aramaic word abba (“father”),and this became common in early Christian worship (Rom. 8:15; Gal.4:6).

TheLord’s Prayer: Matthew and Luke

TheLord’s Prayer takes distinct forms in Matthew and in Luke (seetable 2). The differences in the two prayers might be attributable toJesus teaching two different versions. More likely, Matthew and Lukeboth knew the prayer from a common source (written or oral), andMatthew’s version is a more liturgical elaboration of Luke’sshorter and more “original” version. Matters arecomplicated somewhat by the fact that later Christian scribes had apropensity for harmonizing the two prayers and sometimes amended themin their respective manuscripts. Both prayers agree that (1)Godis the Holy Father, (2)the kingdom is yet to come in itsfullness, (3)followers of Jesus depend on God for their dailyprovisions, (4)followers of Jesus depend on God forforgiveness, (5)which is reciprocated in the forgiveness ofothers, and include (6)the supplication that God not let themfall into the final tribulation.

Table2. The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew and Luke

Matthew6:9-13….Luke 11:2-4

OurFather in heaven,….Father,

hallowedbe your name,….hallowed be your name,

yourkingdom come,….your kingdom come.

yourwill be done, on earth as it is in heaven….

Giveus today our daily bread….Give us each day our daily bread.

Andforgive us our debts,….Forgive us our sins,

aswe also have forgiven our debtors….for we also forgiveeveryone who sins against us.

Andlead us not into temptation,….And lead us not into temptation.

Butdeliver us from the evil one….

Foryour is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. [addedin some later manuscripts; see NIV mg.]….

TheLord’s Prayer: The Petitions

Theprayer can be broken up into a number of petitions. First is thepetition addressed to God as Father and self-sanctifier. God isinvoked as Father, and his name represents both his character as aloving father and his authority as the master over all creation. Theprayer is theocentric, and it reads literally “let your name besanctified,” which is a plea that God’s holiness willbecome more and more evident. The Lord’s Prayer is not somekind of “I want” list, but rather a burst of praiseexpressing the hope that God’s sheer goodness and Godness willbe acknowledged by all.

Thesecond petition is for God to finally establish his kingdom. The“kingdom of God” is more akin to God’s reign, rule,or government. It is referred to rarely in the OT (e.g., Dan. 2:44;Obad. 21); much more prominent is the theme of God as “king.”In many of the psalms God already is king of Israel and the nations(e.g., Pss. 93–99), and yet the prophets could look forward tothe day when Yahweh would again show himself to be king preciselythrough his deliverance of Israel, which would be the ultimateexpression of the kingly power (e.g., Isa. 52:7; Zech. 14:9). Theprayer for the coming of the kingdom of God is a prayer for God toestablish his reign or rule in its final and full manifestation onearth. Although the kingdom was partially present during Jesus’ministry by virtue of his exorcisms and healings (e.g., Mark 1:15;Luke 11:20), it still awaits its final consummation. Matthew’sversion has “on earth as it is in heaven” and mayindicate a millennial view of the kingdom as supplanting earthlykingdoms, resulting in the transformation of the present age. Thepetition does not promote escapism from the world but rather pointstoward its eventual redemption and transformation by the gloriouspower of heaven becoming a reality upon the earth.

Thirdis the petition for daily provision of physical needs. The “dailybread” petition looks to God as the provider and caregiver ofhis people. Elsewhere in the Sermon on the Mount/Plain, Jesuspreaches dependence on God as a means of escaping the worry and lureof wealth and money (Matt. 6:25–33// Luke 12:22–34).Bread was a powerful symbol for sustenance and life (e.g., Prov.22:9; Lam. 2:12; John 6:35, 48; Sir. 29:21; 34:25). The petitionassumes that God is interested in the most mundane aspects of humanexistence, and that he gives what is needed, not always what iswanted. God sustains his people in their hour of need as proof of hisfatherly care and compassion.

Fourthis the petition for divine forgiveness in coordination with mutualforgiveness among the community of Jesus’ followers. The prayerdoes not ask God to forgive persons who then in turn forgive others;rather, in reverse, the prayer implies that God forgives in the sameway that humans forgive each other (Matthew) or on the basis ofhumans forgiving each other (Luke). The role of mutual forgivenesswithin the new covenant community is spelled out clearly by Paul inColossians: “Bear with each other and forgive one another ifany of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lordforgave you” (Col. 3:13).

Fifthis the petition to be spared eschatological tribulation and themalevolence of Satan. The word peirasmos can mean “testing,”“trial,” “temptation,” or even “tribulation”or “ordeal.” The prayer could constitute a plea for helpin the face of personal trials and struggles in the believer’slife and in the journey of discipleship (e.g., 1Cor. 10:13;James 1:2), or it could denote a request to be kept from theeschatological ordeal that will precede the final and fullestablishment of the kingdom of God(e.g., Mark 14:36, 38; Rev. 3:10). Importantly, what is feared inthis prayer is not experiencing the peirasmos but rather succumbingto it—the fear of failure. In addition, the prayer asks to bedelivered from ho ponēros, “evil,” or (more likely)“the evilone” (cf. Matt. 5:39)—that is, the devil or Satan. Godtests his people to strengthen them and prove their faithfulness,while Satan tempts people to subdue and destroy them. This prayeracknowledges the fragility and helplessness of the human state in theface of human, spiritual, and cosmic evil. The prayer seeksliberation from evil in the coming reign of God’seschatological kingdom.

TheLord’s Prayer: The Theology

Thetheological framework, ethical exhortation, and social dynamicscreated or presupposed by the prayer are as follows.

First,God is the Father of the followers of Jesus. This is axiomatic in theGospels and is repeated by the Christian prayer that addresses Godthe Father as “Abba” (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6).

Second,an overarching importance is attached to the kingdom of God as thecontext in which all prayer is prayed. The tension of the prayer—thevery fact of needs and the threat of continuing perils—existsonly because God’s plan to restore Israel and renew creationhas not yet been put into full effect. God’s kingdom has brokeninto the world through the work of the Son of God and the giving ofthe Holy Spirit, and yet it still awaits a final consummation, whenGod is “all in all” (1Cor. 15:28) and finallyrepossesses the world for himself. The prayer presupposes the “now”and the “not yet” of God’s saving action andbalances prayers of triumph and lament in light of currenttemptations and the coming victory of God.

Third,in this prayer salvation not only is spiritual (understood as goingto heaven when one dies) but also involves the physical well-being ofa person and healthy relationships within the believing community.Just as God is concerned with physical human needs, so should humansbe with their fellow humans. If human beings forgive, then God alsoforgives them. Human relations are to mirror the values of heaven andthe vision of the kingdom.

Fourth,the world order currently exists in partial subjugation to evilpowers opposed to God’s rule, which is simply part of the diresituation of “this age.” The prayer presupposes anapocalyptic worldview characterized by dualism (God/Satan, good/evil,present/future, etc.), the necessity of encountering and perseveringagainst evil, and divine intervention to put the world order rightand replace it with the kingdom of God.

Fifth,discipleship involves a variety of traits and characteristics. Thisprayer depicts the disciple as trusting and as exhibiting faith inGod’s purpose and plan. The prayer presumes that disciplescling to God in dependence upon him in their day-to-day need. Theprayer assumes that disciples try to imitate God in reflectinggoodness, love, holiness, and peace in their respective communities.The prayer also admonishes endurance in the face of trials andpersistence (not repetitiveness) in the discipline of prayer.

Sixth,although the prayer does not have an explicit Christology, one can befound implicitly. It seems implied that Jesus is a mediator betweenthe Father and the disciples, and that he possesses an important rolein the final manifestation of the kingdom. It is, after all, thedisciples of Jesus who are promised a special place in the kingdomand a special relationship with the God of Israel.

Summary

TheLord’s Prayer has remained a common thread in the devotionallife of followers of Jesus for two millennia because it is simple,memorable, poignant, and yet profound. It is not the prayer of anelite few; it belongs to all who cry out to God as Father and see theway to God in Jesus Christ, the exalted Lord and Messiah of Israel.As teachings of Jesus hold immeasurable significance for the life,faith, praxis, and serviceof his followers, this prayerencapsulates a motif of Jesus’ own mission: God as king andthelove of God for his own people.

Time refers to both the real and the perceived passage ofevents in sequence. It is important to note that “perceived”and “real” need not be the same. For example, Jacobworked for seven years in order to marry Rebekah, “but theyseemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her”(Gen. 29:20 [cf. 2Pet. 3:8]). Jacob’s perception of timeclearly was distinct from the real period of time that passed.

TheBiblical Concept of Time

Time,as the sequential ordering of events that occur in space, pervadesboth human life and the biblical record of God’s dealings withthe universe. The Bible recounts God’s plan for his creation, aplan with a beginning and an end, between which elements of the planunfold in chronological sequence throughout history. The biblicalconcept of time is distinct from the cyclical concept found in someother religions, both in the ancient Near East and elsewhere. Historythus moves toward a divinely predetermined goal through divinelyappointed events that occur in sequence at appointed times accordingto God’s plan. Since God’s purposes for creation areexpressed through time, the major points in his plan are apparent ina broad chronological sweep, beginning with creation, ending withjudgment and the new creation, and centered upon the life, death, andresurrection of Jesus (cf. Mark 1:15).

ThatGod acts within history to bring about his purposes is highlighted bythe use of temporal language to make reference to events that havetaken place in the past (Exod. 12:1–3) and are yet to takeplace (in particular through the use of expressions such as “thelast day[s]” in, e.g., Isa. 2:2; Jer. 23:20; John 6:39–54).The emphasis therefore is not on some spiritual or otherworldlydomain in which specifically religious experiences and events takeplace, a domain distinct from the physical world in which we live.Rather, the emphasis is on the way in which God directs and shapeshistory in order to bring about his purposes.

Furthermore,the Bible acknowledges that all events in history fall within thepurview of God’s sovereignty through the acknowledgment thatthere is an appropriate time appointed for them (Eccles. 3:1–11;Ps. 31:15). God’s sovereignty over time extends to the future,and thus the prophets announce the future actions of God at certaintimes (Isa. 60:22; Ezek. 22:3; 30:3; Dan. 8:17). More specifically,definite times for the end and final judgment are established (Matt.8:29), although the timing of the end is known only to the Father(Matt. 24:36; Mark 13:33).

Modernscience treats time and space as related and essential components ofthe physical universe and thus of God’s creation. Since,therefore, time is created, it is not thereby immediately clearprecisely what God’s relationship to time is, nor is this anissue directly addressed in the Bible. Although it is common toinsist that since time is part of creation, God exists outside oftime, it is not possible to deduce from this observation alone thatGod exists without some analogous notion of time within a divineframe of reference. Nor is the question readily resolved by appeal tobiblical texts, for although a number of passages reflect upon God’sknowledge of the end from the beginning and speak of God predestiningand foreknowing (terms that implicitly have temporal connotations),these can be read as either reflecting God’s interaction withthe temporal aspect of the created universe or as divineaccommodation to human language in order to communicate correctlywith temporal human beings throughout history. Consequently, nodefinitive answer to these philosophical questions is available, andso proposals relating to the issue cannot be judged to providecertainty in these matters. All that can be said with certainty isthat the Bible presents certain propositions that affirm time’ssubservience to God.

MeasuringTime

TheBible makes reference to a variety of different measurements ofperiods of time. These include Jubilees (Lev. 25:10), generations(Deut. 2:14), Sabbath years (Lev. 25:4), years, months, days, andhours. There are no shorter periods of time described by any definedmeasures in the Bible, reflecting a culture in which timekeeping wasnot dominated by devices that afforded such determinations (althoughterms for nonspecific short periods of time do exist, such as rega’,a “moment” [Exod. 33:5; Isa. 26:20]).

Anumber of passages appear to suggest that a day was considered tobegin in the morning and end the following morning (e.g., Deut.28:66–67; 1Sam. 30:12; Isa. 28:19; Jer. 33:20). However,there are also texts that seem to suggest a different division ofdays, specifically the creation account of Gen. 1 (but see also Gen.19:34; Lev. 7:15; Judg. 19:4–9; 1Sam. 19:11). Nehemiah13:19 has the day begin at sunset. By NT times, a full day generallywas reckoned as beginning at sunset.

Dayswere also divided into parts. The Mesopotamian system for dividingthe night into three watches appears paralleled in Exod. 14:24; Judg.7:19; 1Sam. 11:11, although by NT times the night was dividedinto four watches, paralleling the Roman and Egyptian practice (Matt.14:25; Mark 13:35). More precise, shorter divisions of time tended tobe later innovations; for example, the OT does not typically use anhour as a measure of time. Nonetheless, there were in the ancientworld means by which shorter periods could be measured, such assundials and water clocks, examples of which can be found dating tothe second millennium BC in Mesopotamia and Egypt. The only possiblereference to such a device in the Bible appears in Isa. 38:8, wherethe “stairway of Ahaz” is thought by some to have beenused to measure time in some way.

Whenthe LXX uses the Greek word hōra,it refers not to a period of sixty minutes, but usually to a point intime (e.g., Exod. 9:18). In other early Greek literature the term canrefer to a variety of periods of time, including a season and a year.By the NT period, however, the division of the day into twenty-fourhours had become normative (cf. John 11:9), and the NT makes numerousreference to times based on the hour of the day.

Theweek was a well-established measure of time, reflected in thecreation story as well as in the celebration of the Sabbath. Monthswere based on a lunar calendar (the Hebrew words for “month,”yerakhand khodesh,are also used to refer to the moon) (see Calendar). Beyond years, theBible also uses generations as a measure of the passage of time.Finally, other measures less readily associated with specific periodsof time are used in the Bible, in particular in some apocalypticprophetic texts such as Daniel.

Eternity

“Eternity”is another time-related concept that occupies an important place inthe Bible. The modern scientific realization that time is part ofcreation has strengthened the notion, long affirmed by variousphilosophies, that “eternity” represents that which isoutside time and apart from it and so is particularly associated withGod’s existence. In contrast to this, however, when the Biblemakes reference to “eternity,” it invariably has atemporal aspect, referring either to the distant past, the distantfuture, or else the entire expanse of time from distant past todistant future (e.g., Exod. 15:18; Ps. 9:5; Mic. 4:5). What is clear,however, is that God’s relationship to the temporal aspect ofthe universe does reflect that of one who is outside the constraintsof that time (e.g., Ps. 90:2; 2Pet. 3:8).

Theterm “predestination” means “to determine or decidesomething beforehand.” Some form of the Greek verb proorizō(“to determine beforehand”)occurs six times in the NT (Acts 4:28; Rom. 8:29, 30; 1Cor.2:7; Eph. 1:5, 11). It is practically synonymous with the concept offoreordination and is closely related to divine foreknowledge (Acts2:23; Rom. 8:29; 1Pet. 1:1–2, 20). Various Scripturesindicate that God the Father is the one who predestines (John17:6–10; Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:3–5; 1Pet. 1:2).

Thespecific objects of predestination are humans, angels, and theMessiah. These divine predeterminations occurred before the creationof the world and were motivated by the love of God (Eph. 1:4–5).In regard to humans, this means that in eternity past, God determinedthat some individuals would be the recipients of his salvation.However, this determination does not rule out the necessity of humanchoice, responsibility, and faith. The decision to predestine someindividuals for salvation was based not upon anything good or bad inthe recipients, but solely on God’s good pleasure and accordingto his holy, wise, and eternal purpose (Isa. 46:10; Acts 13:48; Rom.11:33).

Predestinationas Part of God’s Larger Plan

Thescope of God’s plan. Predestinationis a part of God’s all-encompassing eternal plan (Isa.40:13–14; Rom. 11:34; Eph. 1:11). Several terms express God’splan. Among these are his “decree” (Ps. 2:7), “eternalpurpose” (Eph. 3:11), “foreknowledge” (Acts 2:23),and “will” (Eph. 1:9, 11). God’s plan involves allthings that come to pass, including major and insignificant events,direct and indirect causes, things appointed and things permitted. Ittherefore encompasses both good and evil (Ps. 139:16; Prov. 16:4;Isa. 14:24–27; 22:11; 37:26–27; 46:9–10; Acts 2:23;4:27–28; Eph. 1:11; 2:10).

Theinclusion of evil in the plan of God does not mean that he condones,authorizes, or commits moral evil. The apostle John stresses that Godis light and that there is no darkness in him at all (1John1:5). He is absolutely holy and cannot be charged with the commissionof sin (Hab. 1:13). When addressing the topic of God’s plan andpurpose, the biblical authors are careful to distinguish betweendivine causation and human responsibility. Both fall under thepurview of God’s plan. There is divine certainty about whatwill happen, but moral agents are never under compulsion to commitevil (see Acts 4:28; Rom. 9:11; 1Cor. 2:7; 11:2; Heb. 2:5,10–16; 1Pet. 1:2, 20; 2Pet. 3:17). For example,when Luke refers to the greatest miscarriage of justice in thehistory of the world, the crucifixion of Christ, he indicates that itwas predestined by God, but the moral turpitude of the act isattributed to “wicked men” (Acts 2:23). The dual natureof such events is aptly reflected in Joseph’s statement to hisbrothers who sold him into slavery: “You meant evil against me,but God meant it for good” (Gen. 50:20 NASB).

Whereasthe all-encompassing plan of God relates to his sovereign controlover all things, predestination appears to be restricted primarily tocertain divine decisions affecting humans, angels, and the Messiah(Isa. 42:1–7; Acts 2:23; 1Tim. 5:21; 1Pet. 1:20;2:4). With reference to humans, Paul states, “In him we werealso chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him whoworks out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will”(Eph. 1:11). Some scholars limit predestination to those things “inhim,” thus linking this work of God to his purpose insalvation. Others argue that the following phrase, “who worksout everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,”demonstrates that all things fall under the purview of God’scontrolling and guiding purpose (Eph. 1:11). It seems best to see thephrase “in him” as indicating the sphere in whichbelievers are chosen and the term “predestinated” as onecrucial aspect of the greater plan of God.

Divineforeknowledge and election. Sometheologians argue that election and predestination are merely basedupon God’s foreknowledge of those who will believe in him.Although God surely knows all those who will believe, the term“foreknowledge” connotes much more than simply knowingahead of time who will come to faith. It means that God hassovereignly chosen to know some individuals in such an intimate waythat it moved him to predestine them to eternal life (Rom. 8:29).Whereas the term “election” refers to God’ssovereign choice of those individuals, “predestination”looks forward toward the goal of that selection. Both predestinationand election occur in eternity past (Eph. 1:4–5).

Thepurpose of predestination. Whereaselection refers to God’s choice of individuals, predestinationlooks toward the purpose and goal of that choice. NT believers aredesignated as chosen by God and appointed to eternal life (Acts13:48; Eph. 1:4). The express purpose is that they be adopted as hischildren (Eph. 1:5) and, as beloved children, become “conformedto the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29). The idea is that thosewhom God has chosen are predestined in view of the purpose that hedesires to fulfill in them, that of becoming his children who areconformed to the image of his Son. The ultimate purpose behind thisplan is to bring glory to God (Eph. 1:5–6, 11–12).

Predestinationand Reprobation

Inhis plan, God has chosen some individuals, nations, groups, andangels to fulfill special purposes, implying that other individuals,nations, groups, and angels have not been selected for those samepurposes (2Thess. 2:13; 2Tim. 2:10; 1Pet. 1:2).With regard to God’s choice in salvation, this has led sometheologians to argue that those not chosen for salvation are bydefault chosen for eternal damnation. They maintain thatpredestination applies not only to individuals whom God plans tosave, but also to those whom he does not plan to save (Prov. 16:4;Matt. 26:23–24; Rom. 9:10–13, 17–18, 21–22;2Tim. 2:20; 1Pet. 2:8; 2Pet. 2:3, 9; Jude 4; Rev.13:8; 20:15). This is sometimes called “reprobation.” Thebelief in the combined concepts of election and reprobation has beencalled “double predestination.”

Whilesome scholars in the history of the church have argued that God isjust as active in determining the reprobate as he is the elect,others have pointed out that God’s condemnation of the nonelectis based solely upon their sin and unbelief. A real distinctionexists in the level of divine involvement with regard to the destinyof one class as compared with the other. God does not appear to havethe same relationship to every event or thing in his creation. Thedegree of divine causation in each case differs. Scripture recognizesa difference between God’s direct working and his permissivewill. In this view, God directly chooses some to be saved; however,he does not choose the others to be damned but rather passes them by,allowing them to continue on their own way and eventually suffer thejust punishment that their sins deserve.

Whicheverview one takes, it seems that the Scripture does not teachreprobation in the same way it teaches predestination leading toeternal life. Whereas the assignment to eternal death is a judicialact taking into account a person’s sin, predestination untoeternal life is purely an act of God’s sovereign grace andmercy not taking into account any actions by those chosen. Carryingthe teaching of reprobation to the extreme threatens to view God ascapricious, which clearly is not scriptural (1John 1:5).

Predestinationand Human Responsibility

Godwas in no way obligated or morally impelled to choose or predestineanyone to eternal life. His determination not to choose everyone inno way impinges upon his holy and righteous character (Rom. 9:13). Onthe contrary, justice would demand that all receive the punishmentthat they have rightly earned for their sins (Rom. 3:23; 6:23).Therefore, the predestination of some to become like his Son requiredthat God exercise grace and mercy in providing for the cleansing oftheir sin, which he accomplished through the sacrifice of his belovedSon, Jesus Christ (Acts 2:23).

God’spredetermined plan does not force individuals to respond inpredetermined ways, either to accept him or to reject him. In the onecase, the sinner is drawn by God to himself but must also choose toplace trust in Christ (John 6:37, 44). Even in the radicalintervention of God in the life of Saul on the road to Damascus,where the divine call was indeed overpowering, Saul was givenopportunity to respond either positively or negatively. In the caseof those who are headed for eternal judgment, God’s working isnot fatalistic or mechanistic in the sense that a person may want tochoose God but God’s predetermined plan will not allow such aresponse. To the contrary, all are invited to come to Christ (Matt.11:28; John 3:16). The apostle John clarifies, “Whoever comesto me I will never drive away” (John 6:37 [cf. Matt. 11:28]).Those who do not come to God refuse to do so by their own volition(Matt. 23:37; John 5:40). They are not merely unable to come to Godbut unwilling to do so (John 5:40; 6:65; Rom. 3:11). The NT teachesthat Christ died for their sins (John 3:16), pleadingly warns them torepent, and cites their transgressions as the reason for theircondemnation (1Pet. 2:8; 2Pet. 2:21–22; Jude 8–16).When all aspects of the issue are considered, there is indeed amystery that lies outside the boundaries of our comprehensionregarding God’s sovereign working and human choice.

A transliteration of the Greek word synagōgē,meaning “gathering, assembly, meeting.” In English, theword “synagogue” refers either to a Jewish congregationor to the place where that congregation meets. Synagogues of thebiblical era functioned as both religious and civic centers for theJewish community.

Origins

Theorigin of synagogues is uncertain. The earliest archaeologicalevidence is from Egypt in the third century BC, consisting ofinscriptions and a papyrus letter. The oldest architectural find isfrom the island of Delos in the Aegean Sea, although whether this wasconstructed as a synagogue or redesigned into one is unknown, as iswhether it was Jewish or Samaritan. The oldest structures yet foundin Israel consist of two rooms at Qumran and the synagogue at Gamla,which date from the late first century BC. In Capernaum, the basaltsynagogue was built by a Gentile centurion for the community in thefirst century AD (Luke 7:1–5).

Bythat time, synagogues were well attested in Israel, elsewhere in theRoman Empire, and in Egypt (Matt. 4:23; Luke 4:44; Acts 9:2; 17:10,16–17; 18:8, 19). Synagogues were found wherever there werecommunities of Jews, in cities and rural areas alike. Especially inDiaspora settings or remote locations, they were the heart of Jewishlife. Several hypotheses have been suggested to account for theirapparently sudden appearance.

Somebelieve that synagogues were developed during the Babyloniancaptivity as the response of the exile community to the destructionof their temple and sacrificial system. Despite these enormouslosses, the Jews still had the Torah, and from that point forwardworship and prayer based on the reading and studying of theScriptures, which could be done locally, began to gain ascendancy.Critics of this idea, however, point out that while it makes sense,there is no direct evidence to support it.

Othersthink that the spread of Hellenism in the second century BCprecipitated a crisis of identity among Jews. For example,1Maccabees reports with distress that some Jews had abandonedthe covenant and teamed with the Hellenists, even going so far as tobuild a Greek-style gymnasium in Jerusalem (1:11–15). Thus, thethought is that synagogues were a form of resistance to theoverwhelming and perversely appealing cultural changes of the day.

Morerecently, it has been suggested that synagogues were the gradualsuccessors to functions that had previously taken place at citygates. First-century synagogues served a wide range of functions forthe community. Throughout Israel’s prior history, however,these same activities—assembly, legal, social, educational, andreligious—had taken place at the city gate (Deut. 12:15; 2Sam.15:2; 2Kings 23:8; Neh. 8:1–8). The Gamla synagogue sitsagainst the east city wall next to a probable gate, and its locationcould be evidence of the slow development of the synagogue as citygates changed from multipurpose facilities to portals of ingress andegress.

First-CenturySynagogues

First-centurysynagogues served as integrated centers supporting Jewish life.Regular communal reading and exposition of Scripture, includingteaching and discussion of the law and transmission of its complexassociated traditions (Luke 4:16; Acts 13:14–15), occurredthere. Although formal liturgical rites evolved after the destructionof the temple in AD 70, synagogues were places of prayer in the firstcentury (Matt. 6:5). Synagogues also served as courtrooms and placeswhere crimes were punished (Acts 22:19), as well as locations forcommon meals and festivals (see Acts 6:2).

Synagogueswere administered by local community leaders, including a presidentand a board (Acts 13:15). Synagogue leaders named in the NT includeJairus (Mark 5:22; Luke 8:41), Crispus (Acts 18:8), and Sosthenes(Acts 18:17). The role of the leader was to preside over services, torule as the judge in court cases, to represent the community, andoften to act as a patron. The board served in an advisory role andassisted with teaching. A scribe maintained community records andtaught.

Congregationsincluded Pharisees, who advocated strict adherence to the law,although they were chided by Jesus for their false piety (Luke11:42–44). Women participated in the synagogue along with themen, and in some cases they were financial donors (cf. Luke 8:3).God-fearing Gentiles were welcomed (Acts 17:17). In Jerusalem,synagogues included both Hebrews and Jews from the Diaspora (Acts6:1, 9).

Asynagogue could be a designated room in a house or a discretebuilding. Most of the better archaeological evidence is later thanthe first century and reveals more clearly religious intentionalityin design than may have been characteristic earlier. This evidenceincludes the door facing Jerusalem, artistic temple motifs, a nichefor the Torah scrolls, and perimeter bench seating around an opencentral hall.

TheSynagogue in the Bible

Sincesynagogues were institutions with a documented history no earlierthan the third century BC, they are not mentioned in the OT. TheGreek word from which the English one is derived does appearfrequently in the LXX, but always with a general reference to agathering, assembly, or meeting.

Rabbinichistory (but not Scripture) makes reference to the “GreatSynagogue,” meaning a group of men who transmitted traditionsfrom the prophets to the earliest named rabbinic teachers. It isloosely based on Neh. 8–10, which describes the prayers andactions of the Jewish leaders who had returned from exile.

Synagoguesfrequently were locations of the teaching and healing ministry ofJesus. He began preaching the kingdom of God, teaching, andperforming healing miracles in Galilean synagogues (Matt. 4:23; 9:35;12:9; 13:54; Mark 1:21–29, 39; 3:1; 6:2; Luke 4:15–38,44; 6:6–11; 13:10–17; John 6:59; 18:20). Later, theapostle Paul customarily initiated his mission work in the localsynagogue at each of his destinations (Acts 9:19–20; 13:5,14–15; 14:1; 17:1, 10, 17; 18:1–8; 19:8).

Thelast (and, from a twenty-first-century perspective, mostcontroversial) use of the word “synagogue” in Scriptureis the difficult phrase “synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2:9;3:9), which must be read in its context. This was written in responseto the significant persecution in Asia Minor of the churches atSmyrna and Philadelphia by Jews who were in collusion with the Romanauthorities. They were falsely accusing Jewish and Gentile Christianbelievers, creating unspeakable suffering for them. This phrase,intended to encourage Christian perseverance, implies that thechurches in view represented true Israel, while their accusers werefalse Jews. Similar language was used by the covenant-keepingcommunity in Qumran when, in the DSS, it referred to apostate Jews asa “congregation of Belial” and an “assembly ofhypocrites” (1QHa 10:22; 15:34).

Used as a reference for God’s people in the OT and NT,the Hebrew word qadosh(e.g., Ps. 16:3) and the Greek word hagios(e.g., Acts 9:13; 2Cor. 1:1) emphasize being singled out orconsecrated. The Hebrew root was also used to designate cultprostitutes (qadeshah)as “consecrated,” though in Scripture this use isrelatively infrequent (e.g., Gen. 38:21; Deut. 23:17). Another Hebrewword sometimes translated “saint” is khasid(e.g., 1Sam. 2:9; Pss. 30:4; 31:23 KJV), which emphasizesfaithfulness and devotion to God. In biblical terms, then, the saintsof God are those whom he has designated as belonging to him and wholive in faithfulness to him. They are not necessarily noted forexceptional holiness or meritorious acts. Thus, Paul places “hissaints” in parallel with “all who have believed”(2Thess. 1:10 NRSV).

TheBible speaks of saints as sometimes being in need (Rom. 16:2; 2Cor.8:4; 9:1, 12) and persecuted (Rev. 13:7), but also as called toendure (Rev. 13:10) and offer help, especially to other saints (Rom.12:13; Gal. 6:10; 1Tim. 5:10). The saints are the recipients ofthe faith (Jude 1:3), of grace (Rev. 22:21), and of special equippingfor ministry in the church (Eph. 4:12) and prayer (Rev. 5:8; 8:3–4).As those who belong to the Lord, the saints will be raised to eternallife (John 6:39; 1Cor. 15:22–23).

“Saint,”however, has come to function as a title given to Christians ofexceptional merit, beatified or canonized by the Roman CatholicChurch. The need for canonization and beatification arose from theCatholic doctrine of the veneration, invocation, and intercession ofthe saints (see Augustine, Quaest. Hept. 2.94; Faust. 20.21) and isconnected to the Catholic doctrine of the “communion of thesaints” (a phrase drawn from the Apostles’ Creed), whichincludes believers in heaven, on earth, and in purgatory, recognizingthem as saints in the general sense by virtue of their being redeemedand set apart for fellowship with God. These doctrines suggest thatjust as Paul, for example, sought the prayers of the church on earth(Rom. 15:30; 2Cor. 1:11), so also prayer by members of thechurch in heaven might be sought. Canonization, then, publiclyestablishes which persons can be surely known to be in heaven and maybe properly asked to intercede on behalf of the church on earth.

Protestants,on the basis of the unique intercession of Christ Jesus (1Tim.2:5), exclude invocation of heavenly saints as unnecessary andunwarranted. They further find no basis in the Scriptures for adoctrine of purgatory. Thus, Protestant understandings of thecommunion of the saints focus on the believers on earth, who, “beingunited to one another in love, have communion in each other’sgifts and graces and are obliged to the performance of such duties,public and private, as to conduce to their mutual good, both in theinward and outward man” (Westminster Confession of Faith 28.1).

The safety and endurance of a Christian’s salvation.Theologians over the centuries have debated whether salvation can belost, but several lines of argument taken from Scripture support theteaching that salvation by its very nature is eternal.

Electionand Grace

Passageson divine election reveal that those who come to faith do so notmerely out of personal choice, but ultimately because they have beenchosen by God (Eph. 1:4). God draws those whom he chooses, and theyrespond to his call (John 6:37, 44, 65). If genuine believers couldlose their salvation, it would imply that God’s purpose andplan in election had been ineffective, an idea that contradictsScripture (John 6:39).

Theapostle Paul maintains that salvation is bestowed by God as a gift ofhis grace (Rom. 3:24; 6:23; Eph. 1:7; 2:8–9). This free giftcannot be merited or earned. It is not granted or withheld on thebasis of a person’s moral character, no matter how noble orwicked, and it is never merited or forfeited through anything aperson does, no matter how good or evil. Rather, it is granted due tosomething that lies within the nature of God—his graciouscharacter, his purpose, and his free choice. Salvation endures due tothe same perfections in God that cannot change (Mal. 3:6; James1:17). Although salvation is bestowed as a matter of God’sgrace, faith is the means by which it is received (Rom. 3:21–25).Yet faith is not a work and is never said to earn God’s grace(Eph. 2:8). Good works are the evidence of a life that hasexperienced the grace of God.

Rebirthand Eternal Life

Scripturereveals that salvation is imparted through regeneration or rebirth.Jesus describes it as being “born again” (John 3:3, 7).Paul uses a related concept when he writes that we are saved “throughthe washing of rebirth” (Titus 3:5). Peter teaches essentiallythe same thing: “He has given us new birth” (1Pet.1:3). The life that is imparted is “eternal” (John 3:16;10:28; 17:2; Rom. 6:23). Paul maintains that God’s gifts andcall are irrevocable (Rom. 11:29). Thus, there is no notion in theScriptures that a regenerated follower of Christ ever becomesunregenerate, nor does eternal life ever morph into somethingtemporal. In praying to the Father, Jesus notes that believers are agift from the Father to the Son, and that none of them would be lost(John 17:2, 12). Judas Iscariot’s perdition clearly was part ofGod’s sovereign plan (John 17:12; Acts 1:16).

Protectionof the Believer

TheHoly Spirit is said to seal or be the seal of believers. Paul writes,“When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, thepromised Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13). This refers to the divineownership and protection granted to the believer, who has been given“the Spirit as a deposit,” guaranteeing that God willfinish the work that he began (2Cor. 5:5; Phil. 1:6). Jesustaught the same truth regarding the believer’s security: “Noone will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them tome, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’shand” (John 10:28–29). Peter maintained this sameconfidence when he wrote that the believer is shielded through faith“by God’s power” (1Pet. 1:5). One of thestrongest arguments for the security of the believer is found in Rom.8:38–39: “Neither death nor life, neither angels nordemons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neitherheight nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able toseparate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”Something greater than God would be needed to wrestle salvation fromthose to whom he has granted it.

Notall Christians believe that the Bible teaches eternal security,citing passages that seem to imply that a saved individual can againbecome lost and suffer eternal judgment, most likely referring to thesevere yet temporal discipline of God directed toward his erringchildren or toward those who depart from the faith because they weremerely professing believers (Matt. 13:20–21, 24–30; John15:6; 1Cor. 11:30–32; 2Cor. 11:13–15; 2Tim.4:10, 14; Heb. 6:4–9; 10:26–31; 2Pet. 2:1, 22;1John 2:19; 5:16; 2John 9; Rev. 2:5, 16). But those whodefend the doctrine believe these passages do not contradict thisteaching; they merely reveal that God purposes to accomplish thiswork with the cooperation of the believer (1John 5:4; Rev. 2:7,11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21).

Thewriter to the Hebrews, who lays down some of the most severe warningsin the NT, nevertheless maintains that God is “able for alltime to save,” and that his readers did not belong to those who“shrink back and so are lost” (Heb. 7:25; 10:39 NRSV).Jude asserts that God is able to present the believer “withoutfault” before his presence (Jude 24). Essentially, this is whatJesus says in John 10:28–29: “They shall never perish”(cf. 17:12). The loss of one sheep would impugn the power andcharacter of God, who not only saves by grace but also keeps us byhis grace and in his grace (Rom. 5:2).

The present abode of God and the final dwelling place of the righteous. The ancient Jews distinguished three different heavens. The first heaven was the atmospheric heavens of the clouds and where the birds fly (Gen. 1:20). The second heaven was the celestial heavens of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The third heaven was the present home of God and the angels. Paul builds on this understanding of a third heaven in 2Cor. 12:2–4, where he describes himself as a man who “was caught up to the third heaven” or “paradise,” where he “heard inexpressible things.” This idea of multiple heavens also shows itself in how the Jews normally spoke of “heavens” in the plural (Gen. 1:1), while most other ancient cultures spoke of “heaven” in the singular.

The Abode of God

One of the challenges in understanding “heaven” as the present dwelling place of God involves God’s omnipresence. In one sense, God is present everywhere. David asks in Ps. 139:7, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” He answers that regardless of whether he goes as high up as anyone can go (“up to the heavens”), as low down as anyone can go (“in the depths), as far east as anyone can go (“the wings of the dawn”), or as far west as anyone can go (“the far side of the sea”), God is still there (Ps. 139:8–9).

Although God is present everywhere, God is also present in a special way in “heaven.” During Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Father is sometimes described as speaking in “a voice from heaven” (Matt. 3:17). Similarly, Jesus instructs us to address our prayers to “Our Father in heaven” (6:9). Even the specific request in the Lord’s Prayer that “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (6:10) reminds us that heaven is a place already under God’s full jurisdiction, where his will is presently being done completely and perfectly. Jesus also warns of the dangers of despising “one of these little ones,” because “their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven” (18:10). Jesus “came down from heaven” (John 6:51) for his earthly ministry, and after his death and resurrection, he ascended back “into heaven,” from where he “will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

At times, “heaven” becomes virtually a synonym for God himself. In the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15, the son confesses to his father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you” (v.21). This son’s sin against “heaven” has nothing to do with environmental issues such as air pollution, and everything to do with his relationship with God. Note also Matthew’s expression “the kingdom of heaven” versus “the kingdom of God” used elsewhere.

The Final Dwelling Place for Believers

Given this strong connection between heaven and God’s presence, there is a natural connection in Scripture between heaven and the ultimate hope of believers. Believers are promised a reward in heaven (“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven” [Matt. 5:12]), and even now believers can “store up for [themselves] treasures in heaven” (6:20). Even in this present life, “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20), and our hope at death is to “depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (1:23). Since Christ is currently in heaven, deceased believers are already present with Christ in heaven awaiting his return, when “God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (1Thess. 4:14).

However, this picture of heaven is more complicated. It is true that heaven is sometimes used in Scripture to refer to the present abode of all departed believers who have left this present life and entered the intermediate state between death and the bodily resurrection (2Cor. 5:4). It is this hope in a bodily resurrection that sets Christianity apart from other religions. Ultimately, the Christian hope is not that people will receive new physical bodies and float around some ethereal “heaven” like astronauts in outer space for all eternity. Instead, God has created human beings with physical bodies to inhabit a physical world, and our future hope is one of new resurrection bodies inhabiting new heavens and a new earth (Isa. 65:17; 66:22; 2Pet. 3:13). Just as there will be a certain continuity between the bodies of believers in this present life and their new resurrection bodies (we will know one another), there will also be a certain continuity between this present earth and the new earth to come. Yet, at the same time, everything will also be changed and made new and perfect, as God has designed it to be (Rom. 8:18–21).

The clearest description of this new reality is found in Rev. 21–22, where John describes how he “saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (21:1). Here is “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (21:2), when “God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (21:3–4). Even better than all the descriptions of such things as streets of “gold, as pure as transparent glass” (21:21) is that God himself will come and dwell in the midst of his people. As Paul has phrased it, “Now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face” (1Cor. 13:12). The day will come when we will see God as he is, in all his glory (1John3:2).

Two other ideas complete our picture of life in these new heavens and new earth. Heaven will be a place of continued activity and service. Notice Jesus’ blessing in Matt. 25:21: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.” The other principle is that there will be different degrees of reward. Although our ultimate reward is simply being with God himself, Paul also reminds us that if what believers do with their lives “survives, the builder will receive a reward,” and if what they do “is burned up, the builder will suffer loss” (1Cor. 3:14–15 NRSV). Our choices make a difference for time and eternity (cf. Rev. 14:13). See also Heavens, New.

“Word” is used in the Bible to refer to thespeech of God in oral, written, or incarnate form. In each of theseuses, God desires to make himself known to his people. Thecommunication of God is always personal and relational, whether hespeaks to call things into existence (Gen. 1) or to address anindividual directly (Gen. 2:16–17; Exod. 3:14). The prophetsand the apostles received the word of God (Deut. 18:14–22; John16:13), some of which was proclaimed but not recorded. The greatestrevelation in this regard is the person of Jesus Christ, who iscalled the “Word” of God (John 1:1, 14).

Theprimary focus of this article is the written form of the word of God,the Bible. The psalmist declared God’s word to be an eternalobject of hope and trust that gives light and direction (Ps. 119),and Jesus declared the word to be truth (John 17:17). The word isparticularized and intimately connected with God himself by means ofthe key phrases “your word,” “the word of God,”“the word of the Lord,” “word about Christ,”and “the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17; Col. 3:16). Ourunderstanding of the word is informed by a variety of terms andcontexts in the canon of Scripture, a collection of which is found inPsalm 119.

Theologyof the Word

Fromthe perspective of many systematic theologians, the word of God isdefined with several essential labels. The word is the specialrevelation of God to humans—specifically, truth communicatedfrom God to his human creatures by supernatural intervention,including a disclosure of his mind and will, his attributes, and hisredemptive plans. This revealed word is inspired. Inspiration is anact of the Holy Spirit of God whereby he superintended the biblicalauthors so that they composed the canonical books of Scripture.Inspiration is verbal and plenary in that it extends to every part ofthe Bible and includes the choice of words used by the authors.

Theword of God is inerrant, free from error in every matter addressed,and infallible, true in every matter addressed. The locus ofinspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility is the original manuscriptsand not the translations. A translation is reliable when itaccurately reflects the meaning of the inspired originals (Matt.5:18; cf. John 10:35; 17:17; 2Tim. 3:16; 2Pet. 1:21). Andfinally, the word is authoritative. Because the Bible is the divinelyinspired word of God reliably composed in the originals withouterror, it is binding upon people in their relationship with their Godas well as their relationships with their fellow human beings.Biblical authority derives from the eternal character of the divineauthor and the revelatory content of the Scriptures.

Psalm119

Akey OT text extolling the word is Psalm 119 (cf. Pss. 1; 19). Thewriter glorifies God, his word, and his divine directions to peopleby means of an acrostic format that covers the subject of Torahmeditation. Eight synonyms are used for the “word” in thepsalm. The eight are translated in the NIV as “words”(v.57), “promise” (v.58), “statutes”(v.59), “commands” (v.60), “law”(v.61), “laws” (v.62), “precepts”(v.63), and “decrees” (v.64).

ThePs. 119 word vocabulary informs us that God has pierced the darknessof our existence with the light of his word to make himself known tous. The word is his word spoken to us and preserved for us. The psalmalso instructs us that the word is the will of God. When God piercedour darkness, he lit the path of freedom for us with his word. Hedescribed himself, defined righteousness, declared his love,announced his promises, and issued his warnings. Finally, thevocabulary establishes the authority of his word in our lives.Directions, commandments, laws, charges, and divine will ring withthe sound of authority. The word of God is an authoritativeproclamation from God to us that must be obeyed, that must be sought,that cannot be ignored.

Finally,Ps. 119 makes an intimate connection between the content of the word,things spoken, and the author of the things spoken. This connectionbetter enables us to understand the “Word” as the personof Jesus Christ in John 1. The progressive development of verses 1–2of Ps. 119 intimately connects the law of God, his statutes, and him,the one sought with all the heart. Verses 89–96 emphasize thedurability and eternality of the word in keeping with the eternalcharacter of God. In verse 114 the writer parallels God as refugewith putting hope in his word. Here the writer intimately connectsGod as a refuge with his word. In the Hebrew text “you”and “your word” stand side by side. In verses 137–44the writer aligns the righteous God with a righteous word. Accordingto verses 105, 130, 135, God and God’s word give light. Thelife-giving quality of the word and the Lord are proclaimed in verse93. Just as God is to be feared, so is his word (vv. 63, 120).

TheWord of God

Thetheme of the word in Ps. 119 is continued and clarified in the NT,accentuating the intimate connection between the word of God and Godhimself. The “Word” of God is the eternal Lord JesusChrist (John 1:1; 1John 1:1–4), who took on flesh andblood so that we might see the glory of the eternal God. Thesovereign glory of Christ as the Word of God is depicted in thevision of John in Rev. 19:13. As the Word of God, Jesus Christultimately gives us our lives (John 1:4; 6:33; 10:10), sustains ourlives (John 5:24; 6:51, 54; 8:51), and ultimately renders a justjudgment regarding our lives (John 5:30; 8:16, 26; 9:39; cf. Matt.25:31–33; Heb. 4:12).