-
G -
Gabriel. One of only
two named messengers
sent by God to mankind, the other being Michael.
Gabriel (1403)
means "strong man of God" or "warrior of God." Gabriel appears twice in
the OT.
Apparently at the command of God, Gabriel appeared to explain to Daniel the
meaning of the vision (Dan. 8:1-14) he had seen (Dan. 8:15-27). Gabriel
appeared to Daniel
as a man (Dan. 8:15), but note the physically and psychologically
debilitating effects upon Daniel
that Gabriel's appearance caused (Dan. 8:17-18, 27). The same Gabriel
appeared to Daniel
again (Dan. 9:21) in response to Daniel's
prayer of confession and supplication on behalf of himself and the
nation of Israel (Dan. 9:1-20). Gabriel explained to Daniel the
Seventy
Sevens of Years that prophetically outlined the course of Israel's
future (Dan. 9:22-27). Daniel
again described Gabriel as a man (Dan. 9:21).
Gabriel appears twice also in the NT. He first appeared to the priest Zacharias in the temple at the hour of incense (Luke 1:5-17). He explained to Zacharias that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son to be named John. John would be filled with the Spirit while yet in his mother's womb, and would turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. He would go before the Lord as an ambassador in the spirit and power of Elijah. When Zacharias expressed doubt (Luke 1:18), the messenger identified himself (Luke 1:19). Then he pronounced a curse of muteness upon him as a sign that his words were, indeed, from God (Luke 1:20)! The curse was fulfilled exactly as predicted (Luke 1:21-25; 57 -66). In the same chapter, Gabriel appeared to the virgin Mary during the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregancy (Luk 1:26-27). He told Mary she had found favor with God, and would conceive and bear a son to be named Jesus (Luke 1:28-31). He would be great and be called the Son of the Most High. He would be given the throne of His father David (Luke 1:32). He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will never end (Luke 1:33). When Mary asked how this was to happen since she was a virgin, Gabriel explained that the Holy Spirit would accomplish this. Then he explained, as a sign to Mary, that her relative Elizabeth was now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:34-37). When Mary acquiesced, the messenger departed from her (Luke 1:38). Galilee. A region of Northern Israel and also a lake. This entry deals with the region. According to GotQuestions, Galilee occupies the northernmost
territory of the land of Israel.
Lebanon borders it on the north, the Jezreel Valley on the south, the
Upper Jordan River and Sea of Galilee on the east, and the Plain of
Acre on the west.... The territory is divided into two sections—Upper
and Lower Galilee—with a deep valley running between. Upper Galilee
climbs to heights more than 3,000 feet above sea level, while Lower
Galilee contains broadvalleys with rich soil well-suited to agriculture
and farming.
The first mention of Galilee in
the OT
is in Joshua 20:7, where Kedesh in Galilee was designated as one of the
Cities of Refuge in the hill country of the tribe of Naphtali. Solomon
gave King Hiram of Tyre twenty cities in the land of Galilee in
exchange for timber and gold (1 Kings 9:11). Hiram was not pleased (1
King 9:12-13). Tiglath-pilezer, King of Assyria
invaded Galilee in the land of Naphtali, and took the people as
captives back to Assyria
(2 Kings 15:29). In a prophecy that would be fulfilled by Jesus at His First
Advent,
God would make Galilee of the Gentiles glorious (Isa. 9:1). Jesus
deliberately left Nazareth, His boyhood home and lived in Capernaum by
the Sea of Galilee to fulfill this prophecy of Isaiah (Matt. 4:13-15).
Most of the Gospel narratives take place in Lower Galilee (GotQuestions).
See a Map
of the region.
Back
to the Top
Galilee, Sea of. A fair-sized lake in
the region of Lower Galilee.
The lake measures 13 miles long by 7 miles wide at its widest point.
Fed by the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee provided a lucrative
fishing industry. Four of Jesus' disciples, Peter, Andrew, James, and
John were fishermen on the Sea when Jesus called them (Matt. 4:18-22).
It is sometimes called "Sea of Chinnereth" in the OT (Num.
34:11; Josh. 12:3; 13:27). In the NT
it is also called, variously, "Lake of Gennesaret" (Luke 5:1) and "Sea
of Tiberias" (John 6:1; 21:1). Some of Jesus' most spectacular miracles
occurred on the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke
8:22-25; John 21:1-14). See a Map
of the Sea of Galilee.
Back to the Top Gap Theory. The view by some commentators that there is an enormous gap of time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. According to the theory, God created an original earth perhaps billions of years ago, but some great Divine cataclysm left the earth dark and covered with water. This was a judgment brought by God on the original earth because Satan and other angels fell and ruined the earth. Some proponents of the Gap Theory hold that a pre-Adamic race of humans existed on this initial earth. The earth's strata, the so-called "geologic ages," and the fossil record can be attributed to this gap. Thomas Chalmers, a Scottish theologian, revived this unfortunate theory in the early nineteenth century. Since he promoted it in 1814 and Darwin's Origin of Species first appeared in 1859, his purpose was to harmonize Scripture. The original Scofield Reference Bible, edited by C. I. Scofield, and published initially in 1909, and revised in 1917, however, unquestionably was trying to harmonize the Bible with the dogma of evolutionary science. Sadly, the Scofield Bible widely popularized this theory. Referring to the word "created" in Genesis 1:1, Note 2 in The Scofield Bible (1945 edition) states, "The first creative act refers to the dateless past, and gives scope for all the geologic ages." Commenting on the phrase "without form" in Genesis 1:2, Note 3 reads in its entirety as follows: Jer. 4:23-26, Isa. 24:1 and 45:18 clearly indicate that the earth had undergone a cataclysmic change as the result of a divine judgment. The face of the earth bears everywhere the marks of such a catastrophe. There are not wanting intimations which connect it with a previous testing and fall of angels. See Ezek. 28:12-15 and Isa. 14:9-14, which certainly go beyond the kings of Tyre and Babylon. Commenting on the phrase, "Let the earth bring forth grass" in Genesis 1:11, the Scofield Reference Bible Note 3 reads as follows: It is by no means necessary to suppose that the life-germ of seeds perished in the catastrophic judgment which overthrew the primitive order. With the restoration of dry land and light the earth would "bring forth" as described. It was animal life which perished, the traces of which remain as fossils. Relegate fossils to the primitive creation, and no conflict of science with the Genesis cosmogony remains. The New Scofield Reference Bible (copyright 1967) toned down the blatant accommodations with twentieth century evolution, but the seeds of the Gap Theory still exist in the notes. But the damage had already been done. Many otherwise sound Bible Colleges had spread the doctrine as truth. Evaluation of the Gap Theory: The Gap Theory demands that the Hebrew word "was" (hayata) in Gen. 1:2 be translated "became." This is lexically permissible, but not grammatically preferable in this context because the initial clause of Gen. 1:2 begins in Hebrew with a waw disjunctive, not a waw consecutive (Constable, p. 12). There is no explicit information anywhere in Scripture that a pre-Adamic original creation of the earth in the dateless past ever existed. This is merely a theory which lacks solid evidence. How can a world which has been ruined by Satan, filled with fossils of animals and man in any sense be called good? (See Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). The Scriptures explicitly state that by one man, not by one angel, sin entered the world and death by sin. That one man is Adam (Romans 5:12). The doctrine of evolution is merely a theory, not an established fact. Evolution is an interpretation of the facts of science. The facts of science support special creation by the Creator, not a mindless, purposeless, accidental combination of molecules precipitated by a cosmic explosion. Explosions destroy. They never create. For more information about an accurate, Creationist view of origins, see How did our universe get here? Genitive Case. In Koine Greek, in general terms the form of the noun (or adjective) that indicates possession. To give greater detail, the Genitive qualifies or limits another noun by showing its "kind" or "class." For example, Mark 14:47 speaks of "the slave of the high priest." The two Greek words "the" and "high priest" both appear in the Genitive case, indicating which slave -- the one that belongs to the high priest. (See Corey Keating's "Shorter Definition of Greek Nouns.") More technically, there exists an "Attributive Genitive," in which the Genitive describes the head noun. An example is in Luke 18:6, which speaks literally of "the judge of the unrighteousness," and is translated, "the unrighteous judge," i.e., the judge characterized by unrighteousness. (In my view the classification Descriptive Genitive is essentially an Attributive Genitive.) We have already mentioned the "Possessive Genitive," showing ownership. See Heb. 11:25, "the people of God." There is a "Partitive Genitive," which designates the whole of which the head noun is the part (Rom. 15:26, "the poor among the saints"). There is a "Genitive of Apposition," in which the noun in the Genitive case refers to the same thing as the head noun (Rom. 4:11, "sign of circumcision," i.e., the sign which consists of circumcision). There also exists a classification of Genitive with Nouns of Action. (1) Subjective Genitive, in which the noun in the genitive functions as the subject of another noun in tandem that carries a verbal idea. For example, to what does the "love of Christ" refer (Rom. 8:35)? Is it our love for Christ? (This would be an Objective Genitive.) Or is it speaking of Christ's love for us? (This would be a Subjective Genitive. Obviously, in the context (which is the determiner, Paul was speaking of Christ's love for us. This is a Subjective Genitive. (2) Objective Genitive, in which the noun in the genitive case functions as the object of another noun in tandem which carries a verbal idea. For example, in Matt. 12:31, Jesus warned that the "blasphemy against the Spirit" (literally, "blasphemy of the Spirit" will not be forgiven. Was Jesus speaking of the Holy Spirit committing the blasphemy? (That would be a Subjective Genitive.) The idea is abhorrent. Obviously Jesus was speaking of a human committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. So the Greek word "Spirit," occurring in the Genitive case, is clearly an Objective Genitive. (3) Plenary Genitive, in which a genitive with an action noun is both Subjective Genitive and Objective Genitive. It is possible that deliberate ambiguity is being conveyed. For example Paul stated in 2 Cor. 5:14 that "the love of Christ controls us." Did He mean Christ's love for us? Or did he mean our love for Christ? Why not both ideas? (For a more detailed description, see Corey Keating's Summary .pdf. He is citing Daniel B. Wallace's "Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics".) Gentiles. Non-Jewish nations of the world. In Hebrew the word is goy (1471) (singular) or goyim (1471) (plural). In Greek it is ethnos (1484) (singular) or ethnoi (1484) (plural). In both cases the word means "nation" or "nations." The term "Gentile" was borrowed from the Latin Vulgate translation. The KJV will more often use the word "Gentile(s)" than the NASB. The NASB seems to employ the term "Gentiles" when the article "the" appears in front of the noun (as in "the Gentiles"). When there is no article NASB seems more inclined to use the word "nation" or "nations." Usage, of course, is governed by contextt. Israelis generally looked down upon the nations (or Gentiles) of the world. This was so because Israel rightly understood that God had chosen their nation out of all the nations of the world to be His very own, special people (Ex. 19:1-5). However, at Israel's founding as a nation, God explained that they were to be a kingdom of priests who were to draw the nations of the earth to the One true God (Ex. 19:6). In what might, to some, seem as contradictory revelation, Israelis were commanded to engage in ethnic cleansing when they conquered the land of Canaan (Gen. 15:18-21; Deut. 7:1-6; Num. 31:1-18). This was commanded to protect the Israelis from the idolatrous worship of the pagan Canaanites. But Israel tended to ignore their Divine design to be magnets for God (John 4:9; 18:28; Acts 10:28; Gal. 2:12). Yet it was always God's plan to reach the nations of the world for Himself. From the beginning of God's relationship with Abram, He promised He would bless the nations of the world through Abram (Gen. 12:1-3). The book of Ruth demonstrates God's mercy on a Gentile Moabitess, drawing her to Himself. The book of Jonah reveals God's missionary heart to reach the Ninevites, who would eventually conquer Israel in 722 BC. God sent His only-begotten Son to die for the sins of the entire world, whom He loved (John 3:16). Our future home as believers in the Church age is New Jerusalem, the eternal capital city of redeemed Israel and the Church (Rev. 21:9-14). But redeemed Gentiles will inhabit New Earth, bringing their wealth and glory into the capital city (Rev. 21:23-27; 22:1-2). Glorification. The state of sinless immortality promised to all those who place their faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:16-17, 18-23, 29-30). Believers in Jesus are promised forgiveness of sin and eternal life (Acts 13:38-39; John 3:16). They are promised a resurrection from the dead (John 11:23-27) with a body, soul, and spirit utterly devoid of sin and its degenerating effect of death (1 Cor. 15:50-55; Rev. 21:4; 22:3). Glorified bodies will be immortal, no longer able to sin nor subject to decay (1 Cor. 15:50-58; 1 Thess. 4:13-18). God will wipe all tears away (Rev. 21:4), and glorified mankind will exist eternally on the New Earth with access to New Jerusalem and eternal fellowship with God and Christ (Rev. 21:1-22:5). Back to the Top
Glory of the
LORD; Glory of Yahweh.
The visible display of Yahweh's
majesty, power, and Person. The term "glory" is the noun kāḇôḏ
(3519).
The Glory
of Yahweh
displayed itself as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of
fire by night (Exod. 13:20-22); as a cloud (Exod. 24:16) and a
consuming fire (Exod. 24:17) atop Mount Sinai; as
a cloud filling the
tabernacle (Ex. 40:34, 35; Num. 16:42); as a cloud filling the house of
the LORD built by Solomon (1 Kings 8:11; 2 Chron. 5:14; 7:1, 2); as
fire descending from heaven (2 Chron. 7:1, 3). There are frequent
references to the glory of Yahweh in
Ezekiel (Ezek. 1:28; 3:12, 23; 8:4). In some of the saddest passages in
Scripture, Ezekiel
saw the glory of Yahweh
being withdrawn from the Temple and from the nation (Ezek. 9:3; 10:4,
18, 19; 11:22, 23). In a glorious reversal, Ezekiel
saw the glory of Yahweh
return to the Millennial
Temple
(Ezek. 43:2, 4, 5; 44:4; see also Hag. 2:7, 9). At Jesus' birth
an angel from the Lord suddenly appeared before frightened shepherds,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them (Luke 2:9). (In the NT, "glory" is
the noun dóxa (1391).)
In the future Kingdom
God's
glory will be displayed over Mount Zion
as a cloud of smoke by day and
as flaming fire at night (Isa. 4:5). Yahweh
of Troops will display His
glory before His elders (Isa. 24:33). All flesh will see the glory of Yahweh
(Isa. 40:5). Other references to the glory of Yahweh in
the Kingdom
include Isa. 60:2; 62:2; 66:18,19; Hab. 2:14; Zech. 2:5. Today we as Christians
anticipate the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior,
Christ Jesus (Tit. 2:13; 1 Pet. 4:13). The Apostle
John observed the Temple up in Heaven
being filled with the smoke from the glory of God (Rev. 15:8). In
eternity, the holy city, New
Jerusalem
will glow with the brilliance of the glory of God (Rev. 21:10-11). The
city will have no need of the sun or the moon, for the glory of God
will illumine it (Rev. 21:23), and nations will walk by its light,
bringing into it their reflected glory (Rev. 21:24, 26).
Back to the Top Gloss. An addition to the original text of the manuscript. The word "gloss" appears to be related to our English word "glossary," which seeks to provide a fuller explanation of a word or term. In the NT copyists would sometimes add explanations to the text of the NT. Instead of making the notations in the margins they would actually incorporate them into the Biblical text itself. The reasons for these glosses are three-fold: (1) Copyists embedded marginal notes into the actual text of the NT. (2) They have supplemented the words of a gospel writer by adding the words of a parallel gospel passage. (3) They have completed the gospel writer's quotations of an OT writer. (These three reasons are sourced from here.) It is the task of a textual critic to determine the original text of (in this case) the New Testament. Gnosticism:
A heretical
belief in superior
knowledge. Gnosticism is an
extra-biblical heresy that is supported only by non-canonical
(non-authoritative) pseudo gospels. Gnosticism believes that the
ultimate God is good and perfect, but unknowable. A lesser deity
created the universe, but botched the job. The world we live in is
filled with pain and misery. But this lesser god accidentally imbued
man with the "spark" of the true God. So man is basically good, but
trapped in an imperfect body. Indeed, all matter is evil. The
Gnostic Jesus proclaims a message of self-redemption. He needs to
examine his inner "spark" and find the knowledge to reach the true God
and free himself from his material body. Gnostic writings include the
spurious gospels of Thomas, Mary, Philip, and others. For articles
from a trustworthy Christian source, see What is the Nag
Hammadi Library? (NHL) and What is
the definition of the term Gnostic?
See also "What is the
Gospel of Philip?"; "What is the
Gospel of Thomas?"; "What is the
Gospel of Judas?" (not found in the NHL); and "What
is the Gospel of Mary (Magdalene)?" (also not part of the NHL). A
quick sketch of the Nag Hammadi
Library from a quasi-academic, secular view point can be found in
Wikipedia.
Back to the Top
God.
The Supreme Being. The God of the OT is
repeatedly identified as Elohiym (430)
(Gen. 1:1). Elohiym
is a plural noun. I was taught in seminary that Elohiym
is the "plural of majesty," evidently meaning that it was a
metaphorical plural, and not meant to be taken literally. I view the
matter from another perspective. A plural is a plural. This plural
noun, from the beginning of the Torah,
reveals that God is the most complex being in the universe. He exists
as a plural being, consisting of Father,
Son,
and Holy
Spirit, yet all
three are so intimately connected that they but are one in essence.
There
are Three Persons, but only One God. The Hebrew "Shema"
(Deut. 6:4)
reveals that God is, in essence, one. That is undeniably true. Yet it
is also undeniably true that the generic identifier for God, Elohiym,
reveals
that He is a plurality. God exists in three persons, yet He is One. A Tri-Unity.
The Supreme Being, God, has a Proper Name that seems to
imply that He is a "Covenant-Keeping God." That name is Yahweh (3068).
The primary Scripture, insofar as definition is concerned, is
Exodus 3:13-14, wherein we find out that the name "Yahweh"
is a form of the verb "to be" – "I AM." He is the Self-Existent One who
is the Cause of all, yet He Himself is Uncaused. In English
translations, "Elohiym"
is typically translated "God," and "Yahweh"
is typically translated "LORD." From the first book of the Bible the
two names often appear in tandem (e.g., Gen. 2:4, 5, 7, 8, 9, etc.). A brief list of the
attributes of God
includes the following: He is Infinite, Immutable, Eternal, Omniscient,
Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Holy, Just, Love, True. We also understand
that God is Invisible
(John 1:18; 1 Tim. 1:17). The One who has best explained
the Invisible God to us is the "only-born God who is in the bosom of
the Father" (John 1:18), the Living Word of God,
whom we know as Jesus.
Back to the Top God the Father. The First Person of the Divine Trinity, or Tri-Unity. God is the most complex being in the entire universe, He having created the universe and everything in it. The Scriptures reveal that God is One; yet He exists in three persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Son of God has eternally existed as the Divine Logos, or Word of God (John 1:1-3). God the Father had no wife or consort, and there was never a time when the Triune God did not exist as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, nor will there ever. Jesus repeatedly called God His Father. In the Jewish understanding, a son partakes of the same essence as his father. So Jesus partakes of the same essence as His Father. Just as God the Father is totally God, so His Son is totally God. There is emphatically only ONE GOD (Deut. 6:4). Yet that God, complex as He is, eternally exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:16-17; 28:19; Luke 3:21-22; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Pet. 1:2). See an index to a more extensive discussion of God. See a more extensive discussion of the Trinity. Back to the Top
God
the Son. The Second Person of the Trinity.
He is identified by the Apostle John
as the Word (logos)
of God from eternity past, who was being God, who was being with God,
and who was being God (John 1:1-2). He created everything that exists
(John 1:3). The Word became flesh and lived among us, John reported,
and we saw His glory, glory as of the only-born from the Father, full
of grace and truth (John 1:14). The only-born God, who is in the bosom
of the Father, has explained Him (John 1:18). Jesus, the Messiah
is identified in Scripture as the Son of Man
(Matt. 26:64; Mark 14:62) and as the Son of God (Matt. 16:16; 27:54;
Mark 1:1; Luke 1:35; 22:70; John 1:34, 49; 5:25; Acts 9:20; Rom. 1:4; 2
Cor. 1:19; Gal. 2:20; 4:4; Eph. 4:13; Heb. 4:14; 6:6; 10:29; 1 John
3:8; 4:9, 15; 5:5, 9, 10, 12, 13, 20; 2 John 1:3; Rev. 2:18).
Back to the Top Gog and Magog. Names indicating a complete rebellion against God and His people. Gog appears in 1 Chron. 5:4; Ezek. 38:2, 3, 14, 16, 18; 39:1, 11, and again in Rev. 20:8. 1 Chron. 5:4 does not really fit into this discussion, because it merely mentions that Gog was the son of Shemaiah. In Ezek. 38:2, however, Gog is said to be the ruler of the land of Magog. Magog most likely was located in what is now central Turkey, near Meshech and Tubal. Gog and his confederates will come against Israel in the Tribulation period (probably the early part) when the people of Israel are living securely (Ezek. 38:14). He will assemble a huge army from the North (Ezek. 38:15) with many allies and will invade Israel (Ezek. 38:16), but only to his demise and the demise of his coalition (Ezek. 38:18-23; 39:1-5). The time frame of Ezek. 38-39 is towards the end of the first half of the Tribulation period, Daniel’s 70th Seven of Years (Dan. 9:24-27). A
thousand years later we will see Gog and Magog again. During the thousand-year
reign of Christ, Satan will
be confined in the Abyss
(Rev. 20:1-6). He will be unable to deceive the earth's nations during
this time. Believers will enter Christ's Millennial
Kingdom in their
natural bodies. All will believe in and submit to Jesus Christ,
the King.
But they will have children. Not all of these children will
choose to believe in Christ.
Outwardly, they will be cooperative. But
inwardly, their hearts will not be with Jesus. When
Satan
is released
from the Abyss
(Rev. 20:7), these unbelieving children, now adults, will be
deceived by him into revolting against King Jesus
and his "restrictive"
regime. Satan
will succeed in gathering them from the four corners of
the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather together for the war (Rev. 20:8).
The number of
these rebels is as the sand of the seashore, too many to number (Rev.
20:8). They
will surround the encampment of the saints gathered to protect the
capital city Jerusalem,
the King,
and His administration (Rev. 20:9). As these
rebels are about to strike, fire will descend from heaven with a roar,
and will incinerate them (Rev. 20:9). What a terrifying and ear-rending
catastrophe
that will be! Finally, all will be quiet. Then the Devil will
be
seized, and will be hurled into the Lake of
Fire and Sulfur. He will join
the Beast
and the False
Prophet, who will have been suffering day and
night for centuries (Rev. 20:10). Praise God, Jesus and
the Saints
will have won! Gomorrah. A city existing in the lifetime of Abraham forever linked with the vile city of Sodom (Gen. 13:10; 18:20; 19:24; Deut. 29:23; 32:32; Isa. 1:9, 10; 13:19; Jer. 23:14; 49:18; 50:40; Amos 4:11; Zeph. 2:9; Matt. 10:15; Rom. 9:29; 2 Pet. 2:6; Jude 1:7).. Both cities were targets of the fiery judgment of God (Gen. 19:24), and serve to remind us of the horrible fate of the the wicked, those whose names are not found in the book of life (2 Pet. 2:6; Jude 1:7; Rev. 20:11-15). According to archaeologist Bryant G. Wood, Gomorrah is most likely to be identified with the site of Numeira. Note the layer of ash at the site of Numeira. Gospel. Good news. Specifically, the good news of the Bible, in many cases in the NT, is that God has purchased man’s redemption from slavery to sin and death by means of the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus the Messiah. Forgiveness and eternal life are offered to all, but accessed only by faith in Jesus. The Greek noun usually translated "gospel" is euanggélion (2098). It would have been better if all instances of the noun had been translated, simply, "good news", as the NASB has so translated in Rom. 10:16. As it is, the word "gospel" is theological jargon that mystifies most Christians. The English verb "evangelize" comes across untranslated from the Greek verb euaggelídzō (2097), and means, literally, "to good-newsicize" about Jesus to others. "Announce the good news" would have been a better translation than "preach the gospel," as it is often translated in the NASB. A couple of good translations include Acts 8:12; 13:32. The content of the gospel is spelled out most clearly in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8. There, Paul detailed (1) that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; (2) that He was buried; (3) that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures; (4) and that he afterward appeared to many different people, including Paul himself. Some specific references to the "gospel" in the NT: (1) Jesus repeatedly preached "the gospel of the kingdom" (Matt. 4:23; 9:35). He predicted that "the gospel of the kingdom" will be preached in the whole world (Matt. 26:13; 24:14). "The good news of the kingdom" (my translation) necessarily includes that Jesus is the ultimate King. One must have faith in Jesus as the King and submit to Him as the King. He must live as Jesus specified in Matt. 5:3-12. His kingdom originates from the heavens (Matt. 3:2; 4:17), not from the Earth. He will not begin His kingdom until He returns to earth. His kingdom will be world-wide (Isa. 11:9; Zech. 14:9), and will be characterized by peace and tranquility (Isa. 2:1-4). (2) Mark spoke of "the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mark 1:1; see also Rom. 1:9). (3) He stated that Jesus came preaching "the gospel of God" (Mark 1:14; see also Rom. 1:1). Subsequently, he referred simply to "the gospel" (Mark 1:15; 8:35; 10:29). (4) At other times in the NT, the following descriptions accompany "the gospel" – "the gospel of God" (e.g., Mark 1:14; Rom. 1:1); "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24; Rom. 15:16); "the gospel of His Son" (Rom. 1:9); "the gospel of Christ" (e.g., Rom. 15:19; 1 Cor. 9:12); "the gospel of your salvation" (Eph. 1:13); "the gospel of peace" (Eph. 6:15). (5) In the future Tribulation an angel flying in midheaven will announce "an eternal gospel" (Rev. 14:6). (6) There will be a terrible penalty for failing to obey the gospel (1 Pet. 4:17). See also "A Chart of the NASB Translations of the Term 'Gospel'". Gospels. The four books of the New Testament that describe the Good News euanggélion (2098) about Jesus – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These books are not really biographies, since they omit so many details of Jesus’ life. As a group, they focus on the birth, the ministry, and the death and resurrection of Jesus. The three gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are frequently identified as the "Synoptic" Gospels, because they share a similar view of Jesus. The word "synoptic" means, "see together." For example, "Nearly 90% of Mark's content is found in Matthew, and about 50% of Mark appears in Luke." On the other hand, John is the most distinct of the four gospels. 92% of the material found in John is unique to that gospel. Grace. Unmerited
favor. The OT noun is khēn (2580), the NT noun is cháris (5485). Grace is the
extension of favor and blessing upon those who do not deserve it.
An illustrative OT usage is to be found in Ruth 2:10, 13, where Ruth is
amazed that Boaz would be so kind and solicitous toward her even
though she was a foreigner working in his field. A central passage on God’s
grace in the NT is Ephesians
2:8-10.
We learn there that salvation is by grace, unmerited favor, apart from
any works we can contribute. Works are the result of salvation, not the
cause of it. God extended His grace to all mankind by sending His righteous Son to become man, live a sinless life, and die a substitutionary, sacrificial death for the sins of all mankind. God was not obligated to do so. His magnanimous effort was motivated by His great love. God has further extended His grace to all mankind by offering to pardon them for their sins if they will but place their confidence and trust in His Son. The decision is left to each person as to whether he will accept this extension of God’s grace. The default position of each person is rejection. That is, if one does not positively accept God’s grace, by default he has rejected it (John 3:18). It is my urgent plea to each human being to accept God’s grace. There is no other means of salvation from God’s awful wrath against man’s sinful rebellion against Himself and His standards (Acts 4:12). Back to the Top
Great Commission: Jesus'
assignment to his followers to recruit people for His coming Kingdom.
The term "Great Commission" appears nowhere in the NT. However,
the concept is there. In Matt. 28:16-20 Jesus'
eleven disciples
proceeded to a designated mountain in Galilee. Jesus
approached them and stated that He had been given all authority in
heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). As they were going along in life to
whatever place, they were to make disciples
of all the nations, baptizing them (Matt. 28:19), and teaching them to
obey everything He had commanded. He promised He would be with them
until the completion of the (Church)
Age (Matt. 28:20). That concluding promise assures me that, though Jesus gave
this assignment to His eleven disciples,
He expected the entire church
to fulfill that Commission. That assignment also appears in Mark
16:15-18, but the genuiness of the Greek text we have for that portion
of Mark is questionable. Luke records the commission in Luke 24:46-48
and again in Acts 1:6-8. In Acts 1:8 Jesus gave
the classic geographic spread of the Good News He envisioned from Jerusalem
to Judea
to Samaria
and to the ends of the earth. Only John
does not give the Great Commission. But his whole purpose in writing
his treatise was evangelistic (John 20:30-31).
Back to the Top Great White Throne Judgment. The place of final judgment for the wicked dead of all ages. The Great White Throne Judgment is reserved for all those who take part in the second resurrection, a resurrection to eternal, conscious death and damnation. This judgment will take place after the destruction of the existing heavens and earth. All the wicked dead will be resurrected to appear at this judgment. The judge is none other than Jesus Christ, the Judge of all men. The dead will be judged according to their works. Those whose works are more evil will evidently be sentenced to more severe punishment. Those whose names are not found written in the Book of Life, apparently all of them, will be cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone. There they will suffer eternal torment apart from the presence of God and all that is good (Rev. 20:11-15). See a more extensive discussion of the Great White Throne Judgment. Gromacki, Robert G. (1933-2023). Distinguished professor emeritus, Cedarville University, Cedarville Ohio. Author of a score of books, among them Called to Be Saints: An Exposition of 1 Corinthians, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Copyright 1977, 209 pages, paperback. Gromacki's obituary. If you have difficulty locating a file, please contact the Web Master. Background and Button Image Credit Updated September 7, 2024
|