A Brighter Day Begins with His Word.

PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK

A Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels — Volume 1

James Hastings · 1,289,916 words · 1288 reading sections

SECTION 1081

Section 1081

One of the most important passages, rather, perhaps, on the ground of what it implies than of what it directly states, is the declaration reeorde<l in St. Matthew's Gospel (16'*) of the permanence and inWolability of Christ's Church, founded and built up as it is upon Himself.* The Speaker can hardly be conceived as th…

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SECTION 1082

Section 1082

IltfMORTALITY IMMORTALITY that they are raised merely that forthwith, or after a longer or shorter period, they may be destroyed. It is in St. John also that the most emphatic assertions are found — apart from the special phraseology to whicli reference has been made — of the abiding lilessednt^ss and freedom from i…

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SECTION 1083

Section 1083

i'iii|ili:ii ir _::i'w\ .iiiii denies the po-ssibility of llLr .■.ml iiiLTiK \ Ii. wliiili ilie passage refers {om .Mk :! ', An S ;u.' ^,i Jn 1" S''"- W^ 1P« W). Of all these passages it may be said at once that the Speaker clearly has in mind a state of things of which no reversal is by Him conceived as possible, ei…

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SECTION 1084

Section 1084

•Intern. Critical Cumiiwiitary, 'St. Mark,' T. i T. Clark, lived, although sight seems never to be entirely lost of the conception of fu?; alamos as subsisting already and now attainable. He that hateth his soul (^vxv) in this world will keep it fis fuiji/ aiiiviov (12-^) ; the meat {^pCxxis), the gift of the Son of M…

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SECTION 1085

Section 1085

A similar absence of limitation will be found to characterize expressions such as o-iifeo-Sai, auT-qpia, etc., which describe the future from the point of view of deliverance from the present, its calamities and its evils. These terms, however, are not in themselves suggestive of duration, excejit so far as their resul…

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SECTION 1086

Section 1086

790 IMMORTALITY IMMORTALITY The onlj' adequate rendering of such a thought in English is by the words 'eternal,' 'immortal,' or the like. For there lies implicit in these words precisely what we have found to be the implication of ot'iinos, etc., in the Gospels ; viz. that the speaker rejects the idea of a bound or …

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SECTION 1087

Section 1087

The most significant and imjjortant passage is perhaps Mk 3^, to which reference has already been made ; and its significance does not altogether de- pend upon the closing words, in which the variation of text occurs. Assuming that the reading aluvlov aij.apTriij.aTos is correct, as we are justified in doing , it is di…

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SECTION 1088

Section 1088

empfoved of iii tlie activities, Lhou!,riit of ci til of Cflris'l ittier is tlie 1 adjectivi ;;;ardeif nsthe termination of £, ATTiiXeia found only four times in the Gospels Ml.- ll-t if. iu flio 'wocfo' nf fl.o ftJ^f ment. For its real purpose, as conceived by the Speaker, the ointment ' perishes,' is lost; but…

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SECTION 1089

Section 1089

In the passages referred to above, Mt 1039 and parallels, the antithesis or aTo/;o-v: or o ocT6>.=!rx; tv,^ "^uxiy etlrftZ is hardly to be weakened or explained away ;l3 mere wiUingness to lose. There is an attual Im incurred and completed. And the 'ruin' consi-t- ■"" •'- -r-- • • -ff from the ■^'-jx^. of all those qua…

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SECTION 1090

Section 1090

(.3) The writers give no countenance whatever to any theory which in respect of its duration separates the lot of the righteous from that of tlie wicked. Slight and indefinite, overlaid with metaphor and liarable, as are the indications of the conditions under which the future life of the latter will be lived, the guar…

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SECTION 1091

Section 1091

IMPOSSIBILITY — The modern mind flatters itself upon its frank recognition of impossibility in the world of nature. There is also an impotence of faitli \\hich is content to allow impossibility in the sphere of grace. Both these tendencies to a lazj' .-iciuh'scence in a fancied inevitable are out of touch with 111.- u.…

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SECTION 1092

Section 1092

ni'iM-lrs and !il: ii- ,.\ ili.^ IkpI. i,., ^^ !,,.■!, the trunk is helif erect, so that tlie body falls forward without any disease of brain or cord or mental im- pairment.' But it may not improperly be rather classified as due at least in part to some morbid mental condition such as hysteria. This seems to be indica…

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SECTION 1093

Section 1093

{d) Oi persons inherently joiiu'd fnid (■(,,/».,/,(/, where the completest intimacy ( Mnr.'i\ ,il.l.' i^ ex pressed; employed with noticcal'li' lrc'i|iHiuy in the writings of St. Paul and the Im.uhIi (h.,,),,!, lo mark the close fellowship between Llie Lliii,-,tnin and Christ (iv X/Jio-ry 'It/o-oO, ^i- Kvpiiji, iv Xpur…

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SECTION 1094

Section 1094

Kara, ' throughout,' ' according to ' (Lk 15" ' a famine in that land,' Mt 1^° 'in a dream'). irpo's, 'towards,' direction (Lk 12^ 'spoken in the ear '). to-u, adverb, within (Mt 26^" 'entered in'). £irC, 'on,' 'upon,' 'over.' The RV has followed the more restricted use of ' in ' in many cases, and substituted 'on,'…

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SECTION 1095

Section 1095

1. Teacher : (1) the solitariness of the office, (2) the note of authority, (3) the originality of the teaching, (4) the future of the teachini.'. ex licit a.,nn,„„,Mi.>T,t* '" 4. Saviour : (1) the function, bestowal of forgiveness and of life ; (2) the response, personal trust. 5. Lord. 6. Worker of Miracles. 7.…

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SECTION 1096

Section 1096

This is the effort of eaiU Greek thought, though as >et the distinction of spiritual and material had scarceh eineigea From \enophanes «ith his assertion that ™th>"i,.'» „^?^,f Being, and Herachtus «ith his flu\, the piobleni of the higher thinkers v\ho philosophiziii_ imp ultimate unit\ of the unnerse as Thought From …

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SECTION 1097

Section 1097

798 INCARNATION INCARNATION self alone, will suffice, (c) The goal of the religion of Israel, accordingly, is the indwellinj; of God in man. The coming of Jehovah in His fulness is the end to which the prophets of Israel look. "When He comes, Israel ^^^^ he restored, and the universe, sharing the hlessing, will itse…

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SECTION 1098

Section 1098

(2) Between Jesus and His fellow-men the rela- tions are no less perfect. It is true, H e could not realize in His own ca.se all possible circumstances in which a man might be placed. But He could, and did, hold such an attitude to men as would enable Him to enter with perfect sympathy and entire appropriateness into a…

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SECTION 1099

Section 1099

; any traces on correspond- cter. If such he impression 1 it their true rnatural functions and gifts ; for mankind apart from den li;i- He>l and slions ( lial il lia-; lie. untouelieil Ipy the ilorliina know had jjiueeded its ea suggests, moreover, that tin struction tiiat can be put on t no more tlian tlie trutli.…

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SECTION 1100

Section 1100

; thus conjoined in Jesus' speech iOTt its ethical and spiritual signifio Son (He 11). Once more, the originality of Jesus appears most strikingly in the fact that He traces all His teach- ing to His Father (Jn 7"). The veiy refusal of the claim to be independent of God is itself a claim of the most stupendous kind…

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SECTION 1101

Section 1101

The passages which may be adduced as proof of the Messianic consciousness of Jesus all exhibit His own interpretation of Messiahship, as the call- ing of the agent of a Divine work of redemption. (1) The Bapfism.-iVov discussion of I'.aptism and Temptation, see art. CiiARACTKi; OF ('in:iST, p. 285 f.) This is evidentl…

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SECTION 1102

Section 1102

5. Lord. — He who is Saviour has the rirfit of absolute lordship. Such sovereignty Jesus claims, unhesitatingly, unceasingly. (1) He commands rather than inWtes discipleship [e.g. Mt 4" 8-- 9' 19-'). (2) He enjoins on His representatives a similar usage (lO'--'"). (3) He demands entire surrender, placing Himself first …

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SECTION 1103

Section 1103

In the Fourth Gospel there is another judgment, one which belong to the present time, and is carried out throujrh the presence or the word of Christ (Jn 3"-21 12'"- «). This, how- ever, is not inconsistent with a final judirment, but is rather its precursor ; while the final judgrnent itself is not absent from the repr…

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SECTION 1104

Section 1104

ivill VL rfL"''''?' T'^J"> "','' ""''^ °' humiliation are achieVed: will be demonstrated in the face of the universe. Together ?.hlT^'„. ■ •Ft',,'' ^'K"^ ''"^"'^ ""<! Buffering, and a death which has in It the quality of an atonement, a Messiah whose faithfulness to His vocation will be crowned ^th royal honours! -, ^…

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SECTION 1105

Section 1105

(4) When we turn to oar Lord's own testimony as to His Sonship toward God, we are at once lifted high above the raereljr official aspect of the designation. In the Synoptic Gospels He never uses the title ' Son of God ' ; but His filial relation toward God is not for a moment in question. A son's devotion to his father…

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SECTION 1106

Section 1106

This is the self- witness of Jesus. He is a Di\-ine Being. His life in time under the conditions of humanity is not His whole life. He has come from a sphere wherein He dwelt with God, a conscious Person in equality with God. He entered into this world to execute a purpose which involved His com- plete oneness with hum…

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SECTION 1107

Section 1107

i. The earlier chapters in the Acts of the Apostles. — In the midst of much critical dis- cussion of these chapters, it can scarcely be ques- tioned that they reproduce, with substantial truth, the type of life and teaching in the primitive Church ; and give us ' a Christology which must have come from a primitive sour…

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SECTION 1108

Section 1108

1. James. — His Epistle has sometimes been ani- madverted on as though it were little better than Jewish-Christian. We may content ourselves with Hort's more generous estimate : ' Unlike as it is to the other books of the NT, it chiefly illustrates Judaistic Christianity by total freedom from it ' {Judaistic Christiani…

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SECTION 1109

Section 1109

sincere in this 1 l^. 'Alt! -h lli- \\r-i:rr is pl.-iinly a Jew of Jews, hi-- Drrhl ^."n-i'.'l -iM, M- ' r-. '■ !■'. r-it'iri- nnrl Hebrew knoun 111 the lle^ll, M.lein Mdu vMiii i^iml' (0. A. .SijijiL, TkeBook of the Rcvdatiun, p. 27). " The NT books are not efforts of solitary thinkers evolving schemes out of their…

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SECTION 1110

Section 1110

1, Christ in His relation to God.— (1) He is n Divine. Being. St. Paul is an OT believer, utterly removed from polytheism, and wholly incapable of believing in demi-gods. He is not a Greek philos- opher ; impersonal abstractions or principles have no meaning for him. He of whom he speaks is 'Christ,' which with St. Pa…

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SECTION 1111

Section 1111

2. Christ in His relation to mankind. — (1) Pre- incanuite. — The Being who thus existed fiom eternity as God has affinities in His very nature with men. Had He been a demi-god, a tertium quid, the passage from Him to us and from us to Him wonlil liave been impossible. It may seem an iimeiuo\i^ plan to eft'ect the unio…

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SECTION 1112

Section 1112

(3) Post-iiicarnatc. — Having become man, Christ remains human. In the Kingdom whose Lord He is. He is Jesus who was so named in His earthly life. Mediator between God and man, He is Him- self man (1 Ti 2'). From Him, as the Head, life streams down to all members of the body (Col f , 1 Co 12-'', Eph 4'" '^). In Him th…

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SECTION 1113

Section 1113

In this pre-existent state the Son is the efl'ulgence of God's glory, the very image of His substance (V). Without f..nii;illv ;iis,iis.si],.4 tl„. ,|uesti.,n ..1 the being of God. tlir ulKn- hns :ilic:nly Mll|.:i--.-,l any mere mon:nli-iii. (;■.,! i, n.ii li.ii-r .i h^ir.iri unity. With (i.jd Ihnv is Our wli., .N.nlly…

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SECTION 1114

Section 1114

810 INCARNATION INCARNATION nient ; when, also, the utmost that human thought could do had been done in the way of a solution. The last and most strenuous effort of human thought to meet the demand of the human spirit had found expression in Philo's Logos speculation, ■which owed its origin partly to developments of…

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SECTION 1115

Section 1115

1. The problem of the world, the more or less conscious and articulate demand of the human spirit, is, as we noted at the outset, union with God. This union is, primarily, personal— nil ethical fellowship, in which God shall fully disclose His character, and impart Himself, to man ; in which man shall freely open his b…

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SECTION 1116

Section 1116

Much more is this true of the personality of Christ. Knowledge of Christ is boundlessly progressive ; what more is to be known of Him than the Church at present apprehends, depends on those conditions belonging to the whole personal life which make any knowledge of Him possible. In short, the problem of the Person of …

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SECTION 1117

Section 1117

The supernatural birth of Jesus is not our war- rant for belief in His Divinity and His sinlessness. But belief in His Divinity and His sinlessness is our warrant for regarding the supernatural birth as being not merely possible or credible, but as being wholly congruous with the uniqueness of His personality, and, the…

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SECTION 1118

Section 1118

It may well be that such psychological hints are not to be thrown away. Yet it may be doubted whether success on this line is surer tlian under the old metaphysical control. There are curiosities of Psychology as well as of Metaphysics ; and the idea of a subliminal sphere may prove as inade- quate to explain the myste…

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SECTION 1119

Section 1119

Literature.— (a) Greek Philosophy : Caird, Evotulion 0/ Theology in the Greek Philosophers (1894) ; Zeller, Stoics mid Epicureans ; Lightfoot, Dissertations mi the Apostolic Age, 'St. Paul and Seneca ' ; Drummond, Philo JudteuSy and art. ' Philo ' author in Hastings' DB, Extra Vol. Be.vschlag, Keuss, Stevens ; Wendt, …

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SECTION 1120

Section 1120

Literature.— Artt. 'Incense,' 'Frankincense' in Ha.stings' DB \ • Incense ' in Smith's DCA ; Godet and Plunnner on Lk 19-11 ; Speaker'i Cwn. on Rev 58 83 IS". W. H. Griffith Tiioma.s. INDEPENDENCE.— See Origixalitv. INDIGNATION.— See ANGER, and Fikrceness. INDIVIDUAL.— It has almo.st become a comnion- l)lace of Apol…

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SECTION 1121

Section 1121

(v.''). "}. The soul that sinneth, it shall die Of other OT writings the two most important are the Psalms and Job. Tlie eye of tlie writers may at times be on the nation, but even tliat is part of their personal piety, and to our day the unfailing interest of the Psalms is in the experience of the individual walking…

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SECTION 1122

Section 1122

810 IXDIYIDUAL IXDIYIDUALISM This liigh gift of being an individual with the possibility of being a cliild of God, carries with it also the ijossibility of such exclusion of good as can make him a child of the wicked one (Mt 13^). Nor does the closest relation to God absorb the individual. Whatever ordinances there …

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SECTION 1123

Section 1123

Literature. — The whole of modern philosophy is concerned with the problem of the individual, but special' mention ma\- be made of: Spinoza. Elliics; Hume, Human Nature; Leib- iiit . '- /',;,:'■ I.iK njiti; Kant, Anthropoioffie ; J. H. I ' ' 'i I' I ■ /' ■ -.iiUchkrit xind der individmtUn / . " ! - It^Lite Shaler, Th…

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SECTION 1124

Section 1124

wastefully and doing it badly. Freedom, on the other hand, is man's highest privilege, and would, if it could get a chance, be his surest guidance. Force, which is the sole instrument of the State, has only one right application. It has a right to resist force, to suppress violence. The State is, when it keeps to its o…

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SECTION 1125

Section 1125

: that moves on its INDIVIDUALISM INDH^IDUALISM surface and the water that comes down its hills, and we should then be enabled to accept many of Christ's commands as literal which we can only now live with as figfnres of speech. One feels in reading the Gospels that -nhat is more alien to them than either Individua…

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SECTION 1126

Section 1126

But Socialism only makes a pretence of being workable through the State, by ignoring the bear- ing which its action would have on the whole life of the indi\-idual, and it is with this larger ques- tion that our Lord is concerned. His Kingdom is not of this world, and its treasures are not upon earth, and it only conce…

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SECTION 1127

Section 1127

LiTERATURK. — BlUl'T^ N. •■ ,,. :.:i.|, iii .•.!:-|.^', I'.ilr-y's Moral Philosophf/. I i ■ _ mist. Socialism, see i^'n///"/' , ' . . ■ . ' .! , I -i of Books for Social i: . : . i, .s. MiU, 0«l Z,i6erti/: II. tl- 11 S|i. II-' I, 1/ '/ --,:;, imd Sociology: Tolstoi, A'sMn/s. ami many si ' i ..m iho relation of th…

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SECTION 1128

Section 1128

820 INDIVIDUALITY INDIVIDUALITY away, and men appear in till their real character- istics, often Avith the unhonoured to their honour, and vnth the liighly esteemed to their shame. Even the Pharisee, the type in all ages in which indi- viduality is most suppressed by creed and custom, cannot keep the curtain drawn i…

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SECTION 1129

Section 1129

The classical presentation of the type of indi- viduality permitted and required in the Kingdom of God is in the Beatitudes. Too often they are read as a suppression of individuality, which they are if a man's chief characteristics are posses- sions, popularity, self-assertion, self-indulgence. But in Christ's eyes thi…

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SECTION 1130

Section 1130

1. Among the prominent theories involving a .sacrifice of this kind the Apollinarian is the most explicit and intelligible. By its supposition that the Logos took the place of tlie rational soul in the Redeemer, so that tlie Incarnation involved only the assumption of a human body with its principle of animal life, it …

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SECTION 1131

Section 1131

i. Wliile it is impossible to be satisfied with any one of these historic theories, as re.spects its bear- ing on the integrity or concrete reality of Christ's manhood, it is far from easy to offer a definite sub- stitute which is not open to exception. Indeed, an attempt at strict construction is certain to mis- carry…

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SECTION 1132

Section 1132

The accounts of the Infancy comprise : (ft) normal features — the Circumcision, the Presenta- tion ( = Purification of Mary and Redemption of tlie Firstborn) ; and (b) peculiar features — the Visit of the Magi and connected incidents. As for («), it is noticeable that we have these particulars given in Lk. alone. The …

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SECTION 1133

Section 1133

1- amongst those killed, said ' Melius est Herodis I OK uin esse quani hliuni.' This looks like a re- I' KMice ; but how strange, if it weie so, that the j\lt. narrative should fail to notice .sutli a notable circumstance ! It is a curious passage, but e\i- dently all its interest is in the Emperor's bon mot. INFLUENC…

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SECTION 1134

Section 1134

J. S. Clemens. INFLUENCE.— 1. The influence of Christ DURING His life. — (a) On His disciples. — This from the verj' first was remarkable. The short interview that John and Andrew had with Jesus after He had been pointed out by their old mastei as the Lamb of God that taketli away the sin of the world, seems to have c…

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SECTION 1135

Section 1135

felt reality. And after Pentecost they found their minds and imaginations extraordinarily stimulated by the presence of the Holy Ghost who witnessed to everj' word and act of the Crucified and Risen Christ. (6) On t)ic people. — This was as surprising in its own way as His influence on the disciples. ' They heard Him…

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SECTION 1136

Section 1136

(6) Not the influence of popularity. — In the next place, Jesus did not seek influence through flatter- ing people or rulers. Satan recognized in Christ extraordinary attractive powers. His love and manners were such that He could, had He chosen, have won over the whole world to His side. Never in anyone had there been…

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SECTION 1137

Section 1137

INHERITANCE INN 827 faith by the power of the Holy Spirit, and worked in them and through them in every painful task they had to accomplish. Literature.— Phillips Brooks, Injiiience of Jems ; Dale, The Livii\0 Christ, ch. iii. ; Stalker, Imago Christi, ch. xvii. ; New- man, Gram, of Assent^, iiiSB. G. H. S. Walpol…

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SECTION 1138

Section 1138

The influx of Greeks into Palestine, the constant presence of a large Koman element, civil and military, the mixed retinue attached to the Her- odian court, the increase of trade, the importation of foreign workmen, the presence in several towns of companies of gladiators, actors, and the like, — would necessitate not …

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SECTION 1139

Section 1139

Hi- .Ir.lM- h, .-..k -llir I-: :ill II.' xyouM „ol aN„i,Ml„. plu.T. wl„.,,. Mm ,r nu.-t likely to be found. In this connexion it is interesting to note tliat the Talmud has the folloMing pa-ssage : ' In the time of the Messiah the people \vill be impudent, and be given to drinking ; public- The reputation of inns s…

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SECTION 1140

Section 1140

The deed illustrates well Herod's general char- acter for bloodthirsty cruelty and short-sighted follv. But all his eilorts to defeat the purposes of God with His people turn out to be vain. Joseph, warned in a dream by the angel, took Mary and the young child hastily down to Egypt, where they could calmly await the de…

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Public-domain historical reference work (1906–1908); OCR text from Internet Archive. Historical scholarship and terminology reflect its era; OCR may contain errors. Verify quotations and current scholarly claims independently.

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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.