APPII FORUM
i.e., "the market of Appius" (Acts 28:15, Acts 28: R.V.), a town on the road, the "Appian Way," from Rome to Brundusium. It was 43 miles from Rome. Here Paul was met by some Roman Christians on his way to the capital. It was natural that they should halt here and wait for him, because from this place there were two ways by which travellers might journey to Rome.......
BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD
only mentioned in 1-Cor 15:29. This expression as used by the apostle may be equivalent to saying, "He who goes through a baptism of blood in order to join a glorified church which has no existence [i.e., if the dead rise not] is a fool." Some also regard the statement here as an allusion to the strange practice which began, it is said, to prevail at Corinth, in which a person was baptized in the ......
COMFORTER
the designation of the Holy Ghost (John 14:16, John 14: 26;15:26;16:7; R.V. marg., "or Advocate, or Helper; Gr. paracletos"). The same Greek word thus rendered is translated "Advocate" in 1-John 2:1 as applicable to Christ. It means properly "one who is summoned to the side of another" to help him in a court of justice by defending him, "one who is summoned to plead a cause." "Advocate" is the pro......
FORCES
of the Gentiles (Isa. 60:5, Isa. 60: 11; R.V., "the wealth of the nations") denotes the wealth of the heathen. The whole passage means that the wealth of the Gentile world should be consecrated to the service of the church. ......
FORD
Mention is frequently made of the fords of the Jordan (Josh. 2:7; Judg. 3:28;12:5, 12: 6), which must have been very numerous; about fifty perhaps. The most notable was that of Bethabara. Mention is also made of the ford of the Jabbok (Gen. 32:22), and of the fords of Arnon (Isa. 16:2) and of the Euphrates (Jer. 51:32). ......
FOREHEAD
The practice common among Oriental nations of colouring the forehead or impressing on it some distinctive mark as a sign of devotion to some deity is alluded to in Rev. 13:16, Rev. 13: 17;14:9;17:5;20:4. The "jewel on thy forehead" mentioned in Ezek. 16:12 (R.V., "a ring upon thy nose") was in all probability the "nose-ring" (Isa. 3:21). In Ezek. 3:7 the word "impudent" is rightly rendered in ......
FOREIGNER
a Gentile. Such as resided among the Hebrews were required by the law to be treated with kindness (Exo 22:21;23:9; Lev. 19:33, Lev. 19: 34;23:22; Deut. 14:28;16:10, 16: 11;24:19). They enjoyed in many things equal rights with the native-born residents (Exo 12:49; Lev. 24:22; Num. 15:15;35:15), but were not allowed to do anything which was an abomination according to the Jewish law (Exo 20:10; Lev.......
FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD
Acts 2:23; Rom. 8:29;11:2; 1-Pet 1:2), one of those high attributes essentially appertaining to him the full import of which we cannot comprehend. In the most absolute sense his knowledge is infinite (1-Sam 23:9; Jer. 38:17;42:9, 42: Matt. 11:21, Matt. 11: 23; Acts 15:18). ......
FORERUNNER
John the Baptist went before our Lord in this character (Mark 1:2, Mark 1: 3). Christ so called (Heb. 6:20) as entering before his people into the holy place as their head and guide. ......
FOREST
Heb. ya'ar, meaning a dense wood, from its luxuriance. Thus all the great primeval forests of Syria (Eccl. 2:6; Isa. 44:14; Jer. 5:6; Micah 5:8). The most extensive was the trans-Jordanic forest of Ephraim (2-Sam 18:6, 2-Sam 18: 8; Josh. 17:15, Josh. 17: 18), which is probably the same as the wood of Ephratah (Psa 132:6), some part of the great forest of Gilead. It was in this forest that Absalom ......
FORGIVENESS OF SIN
one of the constituent parts of justification. In pardoning sin, God absolves the sinner from the condemnation of the law, and that on account of the work of Christ, i.e., he removes the guilt of sin, or the sinner's actual liability to eternal wrath on account of it. All sins are forgiven freely (Acts 5:31;13:38; 1-John 1:6). The sinner is by this act of grace for ever freed from the guilt and pe......
FORNICATION
in every form of it was sternly condemned by the Mosaic law (Lev. 21:9;19:29; Deut. 22:20, Deut. 22: 21, 23-29;23:18; Exo 22:16). (See ADULTERY.) But this word is more frequently used in a symbolical than in its ordinary sense. It frequently means a forsaking of God or a following after idols (Isa. 1:2; Jer. 2:20; Ezek. 16; Hos. 1:2;2:1; Jer. 3:8, Jer. 3:9). ......
FORTUNATUS
fortunate, a disciple of Corinth who visited Paul at Ephesus, and returned with Stephanas and Achaicus, the bearers of the apostle's first letter to the Corinthians (1-Cor 16:17). ......
DECREES OF GOD
"The decrees of God are his eternal, unchangeable, holy, wise, and sovereign purpose, comprehending at once all things that ever were or will be in their causes, conditions, successions, and relations, and determining their certain futurition. The several contents of this one eternal purpose are, because of the limitation of our faculties, necessarily conceived of by us in partial aspects, and in ......
GOD
(A.S. and Dutch God; Dan. Gud; Ger. Gott), the name of the Divine Being. It is the rendering (1) of the Hebrew _'El_, from a word meaning to be strong; (2) of _'Eloah_, plural _'Elohim_. The singular form, _Eloah_, is used only in poetry. The plural form is more commonly used in all parts of the Bible, The Hebrew word Jehovah (q.v.), the only other word generally employed to denote the Supreme Bei......
GODHEAD
(Acts 17:29; Rom. 1:20; Col. 2:9), the essential being or the nature of God. ......
GODLINESS
the whole of practical piety (1-Tim 4:8; 2-Pet 1:6). "It supposes knowledge, veneration, affection, dependence, submission, gratitude, and obedience." In 1-Tim 3:16 it denotes the substance of revealed religion. ......
GOODNESS OF GOD
a perfection of his character which he exercises towards his creatures according to their various circumstances and relations (Psa 145:8, Psa 145: 9;103:8; 1-John 4:8). Viewed generally, it is benevolence; as exercised with respect to the miseries of his creatures it is mercy, pity, compassion, and in the case of impenitent sinners, long-suffering patience; as exercised in communicating favour on ......
GOVERNMENT OF GOD
See PROVIDENCE. ......
JUDGMENTS OF GOD
(1.) The secret decisions of God's will (Psa 110:5;36:6). (2.) The revelations of his will (Exo 21:1; Deut. 6:20; Psa 119:7). (3.) The infliction of punishment on the wicked (Exo 6:6;12:12; Ezek. 25:11; Rev. 16:7), such as is mentioned in Gen. 7;19:24, 19:25; Judg. 1:6, Judg. 1:7; Acts 5:1, Acts 5: etc.......
JUSTICE OF GOD
that perfection of his nature whereby he is infinitely righteous in himself and in all he does, the righteousness of the divine nature exercised in his moral government. At first God imposes righteous laws on his creatures and executes them righteously. Justice is not an optional product of his will, but an unchangeable principle of his very nature. His legislative justice is his requiring of his ......
KINGDOM OF GOD
(Matt. 6:33; Mark 1:14, Mark 1: 15; Luke 4:43) = "kingdom of Christ" (Matt. 13:41;20:21) = "kingdom of Christ and of God" (Eph. 5:5) = "kingdom of David" (Mark 11:10) = "the kingdom" (Matt. 8:12;13:19) = "kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 3:2;4:17;13:41), all denote the same thing under different aspects, viz.: (1) Christ's mediatorial authority, or his rule on the earth; (2) the blessings and advantages ......
RIVER OF GOD
(Psa 65:9), as opposed to earthly streams, denoting that the divine resources are inexhaustible, or the sum of all fertilizing streams that water the earth (Gen. 2:10). ......
SON OF GOD
The plural, "sons of God," is used (Gen. 6:2, Gen. 6: 4) to denote the pious descendants of Seth. In Job 1:6;38:7 this name is applied to the angels. Hosea uses the phrase (1:10) to designate the gracious relation in which men stand to God. In the New Testament this phrase frequently denotes the relation into which we are brought to God by adoption (Rom. 8:14, Rom. 8: 19; 2-Cor 6:18; Gal. 4:5, G......
WORD OF GOD
(Heb. 4:12, Heb. 4: etc.). The Bible so called because the writers of its several books were God's organs in communicating his will to men. It is his "word," because he speaks to us in its sacred pages. Whatever the inspired writers here declare to be true and binding upon us, God declares to be true and binding. This word is infallible, because written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and t......