Most often, however, it appears that a masseba was set up as a sacred stone. In this case, the unnaturally placed stone or series of stones provided worshipers with a physical location at which to meet their deity. To this day, surviving sacred stones break the natural contours of the landscape, inviting us to come in for a closer look.
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Many Bible students are puzzled by the different placement of the cleansing of the temple in the Gospels. John places the temple cleansing here at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. But the synoptic Gospels-Matthew, Mark, and Luke-report that He purged the temple at the close of His public ministry about three years later (Matthew 21:12-19; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-48). Did the cleansing of the temple happen once or twice?
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Egyptian royal name meaning “Thoth the moon god is born.” Four pharaohs of the Egyptian 18th Dynasty (ca, 1550-1310 B.C.). Their combined efforts, especially those of Thutmose I and III, did much to expand Egyptian wealth and influence.
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If we gave this book an English title, it might be “The Teaching.”
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GUARDIAN ANGELS – Though the term “guardian angel” does not occur in the Bible, many people believe angels are assigned to believers for this purpose on a permanent basis. Others hold that angels intervene in human history but in unique situations to assist believers (Psa 34:7; 91:11-12; Acts 12:6-11, 15). Hebrews 1:14 confirms that angels do service to believers but by God’s will and under His direction.
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Several different cults or societies characterized in part by elaborate initiation rituals and secret rites. Though attested in Greece before 600 B.C., the mystery religions flourished during the Hellenistic and Roman periods (after 333 B.C.) before dying out before A.D. 500. In particular the intermingling of religious concepts made possible by Alexander the Great’s far-flung conquests accelerated the spread of some cults and facilitated the development of
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When we communicate with each other, we do not just with our words but also with the gestures we make, such as clapping our hands. Within the culture of the Western world of our day, this single gesture of clapping our hands together can send many and even contrasting messages. For example, we clap our hands to show our approval and appreciation of what has been said or done. But we also can clap our hands together in a mock show of approval and
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Scholars have debated the interpretation of Isaiah 7:14 for centuries. Three primary views tend to dominate the discussion. One view holds that the prophecy “the virgin will conceive” refers to a young, unmarried woman of marriageable age (the literal meaning of the Hebrew word translated “virgin”), who actually lived an married in the time of Isaiah and then gave birth to a son. Thus, this was not a “virgin birth” but a normal instance of marriage and childbirth.
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Physical or material image or form representing a reality or being considered divine and thus an object of worship. In the Bible various terms are used to refer to idols or idolatry: “image,” either graven (carved) or cast, “statue,” “abomination.” Both Testaments condemn idols, but with idols the OT expresses more concern than the NT, probably reflecting the fact that the threat of idolatry was more pronounced for the people of the OT.
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Chief or first angel. The English term “archangel” is a derivative of the Greek word archangelos, which occurs only twice in the NT.
Only one archangel is named in the Bible, though it is possible that there are others. In jude’s letter the archangel Michael is depicted as disputing with Satan over the body of Moses (Jude 9). In the tenth chapter of the book of Daniel, this same Michael is described as one of the chief princes. This may imply that other chief princes (archangels) exist. Jewish apocalyptic literature of the postexilic period describes seven archangels who stand in the presence of God: Suruel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Gabriel, Remiel, and Uriel (Tobit 12:15; 1 Enoch 20:1-7; 9:1; 40:9 “These are scriptures from the apocrypha and it’s mentioned for your educational purpose ONLY! To know more about this book type in apocrypha in the search bar) Some scholars
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