Glossary Terms 41-60 Called by the Gospel, An Intro to the New Testament

Question 1

Epiphany

Answer 1

“appearance” or “manifestation”; used for an even when God or God-like characteristics are visible; designation for the Christian festival commemorating the Magi who follow the star to Bethlehem.

Question 2

Epistle

Answer 2

related to the Latin word for “letter”; a term used for New Testament letters.

Question 3

Eschatology

Answer 3

“study of last things”; deals with events surrounding the return of Christ, the [mal judgment, and the end of this world.

Question 4

Essene

Answer 4

holiness sect of Judaism who withdrew from social life during the Second Temple period out of frustration with Hasmonean squabbles over the priesthood; teachings are represented in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Question 5

Faith[fulness]

Answer 5

based on a Hebrew word which conveys steadfastness, loyalty, and fidelity; but also came to be used as the passive receiving of God’s grace in Christ.

Question 6

Fate

Answer 6

belief in antiquity that the course of one’s life was set; fates were often considered cruel.

Question 7

Feast of Booths

Answer 7

Jewish pilgrimage festival commemorating the wandering in the wilderness.

Question 8

Fellowship

Answer 8

translation of Greek word koinonia; refers to the oneness of believers and the things which-they share in common.

Question 9

Firstfruits

Answer 9

term used in the Old Testament for the first part of a crop or fruit which was given to God as an offering; implies that much more is to follow.

Question 10

Formal principle

Answer 10

the Bible is the form in which God reveals himself to us; Scripture is the sure and certain revelation of God.

Question 11

Four Document Hypothesis

Answer 11

prominent critical reconstruction of the genesis of the Synoptic Gospels Matthew and Luke from Mark, Q, and M-source, and an L-source.

Question 12

Fulfillment prophecy

Answer 12

a Matthean practice of citing Old Testament precedent for an event in the story of Jesus.

Question 13

Genealogy

Answer 13

A selective list of ancestors meant to establish the honor of an individual.

Question 14

Gentile

Answer 14

a non-Israelite or non-Jew; refers to all people not descended from the twelve tribes of Jacob/Israel.

Question 15

Gnosticism

Answer 15

heretical view of God which came to full flowering in the second and third centuries A.D.; taught that salvation came by acquiring a secret knowledge (gnosis in Greek); viewed physical matter as evil; resulted either in ascetic withdrawal from the world or an overindulgence in it.

Question 16

God-fearer

Answer 16

a Gentile or non-Jew drawn to the monotheism and/or ethical teaching of Judaism but who did not convert to Judaism.

Question 17

Golgotha

Answer 17

the place of the skull where Jesus was crucified.

Question 18

Gospel

Answer 18

from the Greek word for good news (euangellion); as a teaching, it speaks of God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness which are ours in Jesus Christ; also used to refer to the first four books of the New Testament which are narrative accounts of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry (lower case in this textbook).

Question 19

Hellenistic

Answer 19

a word which refers to Greek culture including language, law, art, religion, games, and drama; spread around the Mediterranean world by the conquests of Alexander the Great in the fourth century B.C.; by and large adopted throughout the Roman Empire.

Question 20

Hellenistic Judaism

Answer 20

a merging of Greek thought with Old Testament/Jewish beliefs; Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 B.C.-A.D. 50) is a prominent example.