PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
A Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels — Volume 1
James Hastings · 1,289,916 words · 1288 reading sections
Section 121
APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE 87 dims and weakens this luminary ; it mu«it lie cleansed and refreslicd at the end of each day (8) Thechariot of the moon and the explanation of its stages, together with the reason for its slmuiij, only at night, are then made known to BaukIi (0) In the fourtii heaven h…
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conipositijii riiH ( Uim was made foi thcin b\ later copyists. In geneial, the conditions under which tlie\ welt wiitten are those of the period of thirtv jeais between 7il and 40 li c Pom- pev 18 alluded to as ' the niii;ht\ ^tiikrr' vvho coiiits ' fioni the (2J0 82J J4), but he Mil iiid mtliotedseiere sutte^n„'son…
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captivity of Israel (5). Seven months later he saw another vision. Jacob and his sons were standing by the Sea of Jamnia. A vessel full of dried fish appeared ; hut it had no rudder or sails. They embarked, and a storm arose. They were threatened with destruction ; Levi prayed, and, though the vessel was wrecked, they …
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altogether 364 days. After the Flood, Mastema (Satan) led men to sin through the building of the Tower of Babel and the worship of graven images. Abraham did not fall into this sin. He tried to convert his father from idolatry, and failing to do so he burned the house of idols, in which his brother Haran perished, and …
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Part II. (6-11). In the twentieth j-ear of Heze- kiali, Isaiah saw a vision which he narrated tu the king and council of prominent men (6) : an angel took him through the firmament and through the six lower heavens into the seventh. Here he saw the departed patriarchs — Adam, Abel, and Enoch— and God Himself. He learne…
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14. The Apocalypse of Ellas.— Mention of this work occurs in (_)i i^cn's C'lnii. on Mt 27' (ed. de la Rue, iii. 916 ; ed. Lumiuatzscli, v. 29). Here it is said to he the source from which St. Paul quotes 1 Co 2» ' Eye hath not seen,' etc. Cf. also Epi- phanius, H(er. 42 [Dindorf, ii. 398] ; and Jerome, £pist. 57 act Pa…
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Th.' ulmh- e rliatohr'N , including the linal jm gmrnt, the M •4e, the fate of mankim , the resurrei'ti. nof tlH.> ead, and the de- structioi of the world, : re of the utmost interest to the apocalyptist. In fact, so prominent is this part of the world of mystery in the apocalypses, that some authorities …
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3. The Conception, of God is more definitely anthropomorphic than in the earlier period. He is pictured by the apocalyptists as seated on the highest heaven, and surrounded by a host of attendants. In the Slavonic Enoch, in the Ascen- sion of Isaiah, in the Greek Baruch, and in "eneral in all the apocalypses, God is re…
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with white hair and beard. He is seated on a glorious throne, and surrounded with myriads of angels (Eth. En 1^- ■', Sib. Or 3"'- »=, Slav. En 20', Test. Levi 4, Assumji. Mos 12»). In some representations it is the Messiah who acts as the judge (uniformly in the Book of Similitudes, Eth. Enoch 37-71, with the exception…
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2. Some outstanding phrases in the NT termi- nologj- deserve special mention. The expression ' Son of JIan ' occurs first in Daniel (I")- From here, if the now predominant pre-Christian dating of the Book of Similitudes (Etli. En 37-71) be correct, it is adopted into tliat work, and this usage serves as the bridge of c…
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This will be evident if we compare the Book of APOCRYPHA APOCRYPHA Drinie/ witli 1 Mr(ccabccs. These two books deal with the same period. Yet the former, althoufjh it does not know a iierscm.:! Mr-.^i.Ui. is lln- very fount and spring of tin' .M''~-i:Miir cciii. ,|ii mn dI the golden age in Kul>M'(|iirii( A|h>c,i1\ …
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years and then died, and so ended his Messiah- ship, could not be Jesus Christ. Accordingly the Syriao reads '30' instea,d of '400,' evidently a Christian emendation. Undoubtedly this is a Jewish conception, and its mournful character, so unlike the triumphant tone of Enoch, is in keeping with the gloomy character of t…
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nted much, if anj', ad- (n) Litci-anj Form. — There is no attempt at meta- physical analysis or philosophical argumentation. This .Jewish philosophy is not elucidated by reason- ing, or based on logical grounds. It is regarded as intuitive in origin and the treatment of it is didactic. Thus we have nothing like a phil…
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'gift'iV). (c) Characteristics. — There is an intellectual element in wisdom, which is the highest exercise of the mind. The opposite of wisdom is folly, a stupid and brutish thing. The Divine side of wis- dom most clearly exhibits this character. Wisdom created by God is with God, and therefore is seen in His presenc…
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(c) Attributes.— A. string of 21 attributes, in thoroughly Greek style, is ascribed to the spirit of Wisdom (7^-*-). Among other things, she is said to be ' only begotten ' (tiovoyevh, the very word used of Christ in Jn 1"- '^ 3'«- '« and 1 Jn 4^ though RV of Wisdom renders it here 'alone in kind,' having ' sole born '…
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iii. Anticipation of Christian Doctrines. —Anticipations of the Christ idea, either as Mes- siah or as Wisdom, have been dealt with in the previous sections. It remains to be seen for what other Christian doctrines preparation is made in the Apocrypha. 1. The Doctrine of God.— This subject is treated very fully in DB,…
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* God created man for incorruption, And made him an image of his own proper being' (v. 23) ; for thus we have the antithesis which is one of the common forms of Hebrew poetry. (2) For Gratz to assert that it has for him 'absolutely no sense,' is a criticism that would apply to it equally whoever wrote it. (3) The fact …
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100 APOCRYPHA APOCRYPHA with interest in the Law (39') tends to limit this grace itself and confine it to Israel. When we turn to the Alexandrian teaching of the Book of AVisdom we expect a wider outlook. Here also the national privileges of Israel are accentuated. God gave oaths and covenants of good promises to t…
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iv. U.SE OF THE APOCRYPH.A. IN THE GO-SPELS AND THE Church.— Our Apocr., which consists of Jewish writings contained in the Vulg. but not found in the Hebrew OT, rests primarily on the LXX, and that was the version of the OT com- monly used by the Greek-speaking Jews in the times of the Apostles, and subsequently by t…
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t 614 seems to be 1 . „ ar the hurt that hi hath done thee ; and then thy sins shall he pardoned when thou prayest." The association of Mt 6i9with Sir 2912, proposed by Daubney, is very doubtful ; equally vague is that of Mt 1627 with Sir 3224 ' He that trusteth in the Lord shall suffer no loss.' In both of these case…
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APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS.— See Gospels (Apoc- ryphal). APOSTLES.- Introduction. 1. The first disciples. 2. Beginning of our Lord's Galil:ean ministry 3. Choice of the Twelve. 4. Training of the Apostles. Literature. Introduction. — It is proposed to treat in this article the chief facts relating to that group of our L…
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who lived in the village of Cana, at no great dis- tance from his own home at Bethsaida, and informed liiiu of the discovery of the Messiah, in the person of Jesus of Jsazareth. Nathanael hesitated, but he came and saw and heard, and the knowledge which Jesus displayed of his character and of his inmost life convinced …
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The Gospels have not preserved any statement by our Lord Himself as to His aim in .selecting a special group of disciples. That aim can be judged of only by the issue, for it is certain that what the Apostles proved to be, was what Jesus designed they should become. An account, indeed, is found in St. Mark's Gospel (3"…
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Thee Most connuonly it is signifying ' man of Kerioth,' I Iscario gc-ographi 104 APOSTLES APOSTLES ated is keeiiU ciiua'-^cj soino iiH<in^' it t > tin f i^t of the Dead Sea and oth< i ^ f l (1 r T i f t T \ i i ) Attempts ha^e i' ' i t tli Apostles were i J \ sought for trai . ^ II motives very dill, r i i i…
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The Apostles without exception belonged to the working classes as they would be called to-day. There was no man of rank or distinction or of social consideration among them. Four of them, we know, were fishermen. One of them was a col- lector of taxes. The rest belonged to the same rank in life, and followed similar oc…
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The title 'Apostle' and its equivalents. — It is expressly stated that the Twelve received from our Lord the title 'ajjostles'; but it is doubtful whether the title was bestowed when they were chosen, and its exact sense has always been a subject of debate. It will be expedient at this point to examine tlie designation…
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It was the very simplicity and directness of the expression ' apostle ' which won for it the favour of our Lord. The Twelve were simply to be His messengers or envoys. The analogy between His o^vn case and that of the men He had selected was always present to His mind. He had been sent by the Father : they were to be s…
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APOSTLES the qualities sjioken of; the mission of Christians as the light of the world and the salt of the earth is touched on ; and then our Lord proceeds to contrast the perfect requirements of the Law of God as understood by Himself with the requirements of that Law as contained in the OT or as sanctioned by tradit…
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In order that the Apostles might become His witnesses, our Lord made use of three principal agencies : (a) His personality, {b) His miracles, and (c) His teaching. {a) To be with. Jesus was in itself the best of all education and training. It was on this account that the Apostles were chosen to be with Him habitually.…
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(6) Perhaps nothing impressed our Lord's dis- ciples more when they first became acquainted with Him than His miracles. The expectation that the Messiah would work miracles seems to have been general. The Gospels leave the im- pression that the common people anticipated that works of a most marvellous description would…
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(c) From the first, the disciples had regarded Jesus as a teacher, and whatever more He became to them as their intercourse with Him deepened, a teacher He remained to the end. Or, to speak more correctly, from being a teacher He became the Teacher ; and the greatest of teachers, measured by any proper standard. He cer…
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inferences, knowing that these would be corrected by the discipline of experience. He souglit especially to preserve the individuality of His disciples, and to unfold the characteristic endow- ments of each. None of them was to be other than himself. No one was to be a model for tlie rest. He knew each so well that He …
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Is it possible to discover the sentiments with which the Twelve listened to the parables? 1 er- haps they were too plain men to perceive their exquisite naturalness and beauty. In all their discussions concerning them not a word may have been spoken in praise of that perfect felicity \vhich secures for them an unequall…
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APOSTLES APPARITION 111 place. Their inexperience did not permit them to deliver addresses in public. The Twelve were sent on their mission by twos ; that is, .six different enterprises were carried on by them at once. The wisdom of this arrangement is obvious. It was desirable that they should overtake as many of t…
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The Revisers have used this word in its ordinary current sense of ' an immaterial appearance, as of a real being, a spectre, phantom, or ghost.' There is always connected with this term the idea of a startling or unexpected appearance, which seems also associated with the original ^duTaa-fia. The immaterial appearance …
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It was most natural that it should be so, even when He is thouglit of entirely apart from any doctrine of His Divine personality. His own S3'mpathy for others, and indeed for all things, was sure to attract others to Him. His quick perception of the good in all. His tender response to the least wave of the world's infi…
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We look for appreciation from His nearest disciples, a quick obedience, a joy that has no place for fasting (Mk 2"), the mother's confidence at the marriage-feast at Cana (Jn 2*), the great utterances of His forerunner the Baptist (Jn P" 3^"), the exalted vision of the Transfiguration (Mk S^), and that Petrine outburst…
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R. SCOTT. ARCHELAUS ('A/,xAaos) is named once in the NT (Mt 2--), and probably is referred to in the parable of the Pounds (Lk W-«-). He was tlie elder of the two sons of Herod the Great by Malthace, a Sam- aritan woman (Jos. BJ I. xxviii. 4, xxxiii. 7). Judoea, with the title of ' king,' was bequeathed to him by his …
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While Jerome had already called attention to the fact that Aristeas speaks only of the Law as having been translated by the 72 interpreters, in later times it became customary to consider the whole Greek OT as the work of the ' Septuagint.' Philo seems to follow a somewhat different tradi- tion, and mentions that in hi…
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The Armenian version makes a natural inference when it forms the second group by reading ' Aristo and John the Elders.' But the change is clearly arbitrary. Papias applies the title 'the Elder' only to ' John ' to distinguish him from the Apostle. It was doubtless applicable to Aristion as well (Conybeare, Expositor, 1…
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3. Origin of Variants. — 'Aristo' is not simply 'the Greek name Aristion badly spelt' (Cony- beare. I.e. p. 243), nor even should it in strictness be called 'an equivalent {gleichbedeutende) form of the same proper name' (Hilgenfeld, Ztschr. f. wissenschaft. Thcol. 1875 ii. p. 256, 1883 i. p. 13, 1894 p. 626). It is at…
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The evidence connecting the Appendix of Mark witli the name 'Aristo' is thus reduced to the statement 'inserted by an afterthouglit ' by tlie scribe John, A.D. <J89, over Mk le""^", AETSTIOIS^ (ARTSTO) ARISTTON (ARTSTO) n: ■which he had attached, contrary to Syriac and Armenian tradition, to his text of the Gospel.…
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The Ei^miadzin Codex, accordingly, in the two most important questions of Gospel text makes deliberate departure from the received Armenian tradition, in both cases relying on authority which might conceivably go back indirectly to Papias himself. (1) Until about this date (A.D. 989) Armenian tradition followed the Sin…
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(3) The process of confusion of Papias' Aristion with Eusebius' Aristo of Pella begins with the Syriac translator (c. 400), followed by the Armenian ; or, if Maximus Confessor be right in attributinij to Clement's Hypotyposeis the (conjectural?) assign- ment of the anonymous Dialuqueof Jason andPapis- eus to this autho…
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M. R. Newbolt. ARNL — An ancestor of Jesus, according to the genealogy given by St. Luke (3^, AV Aram). In Mt P'- he is called Bam (AV Aram). ARPHAXAD.— The spelling (in both AV and RV of Lk 3=") of the OT name which appears more correctly in the RV of OT as Arpachshad. ARREST (Jn 18=-" = Mt 26«-»»=Mk 14«-62=Lk 22«-…
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Jesus reiterated His question : ' Whom are ye seeking 1 ' and, when they answered again : ' Jesus the Nazarene,' He once more gave Hiinself up to arrest, adding an intercession for the Eleven : ' If ye are seeking inc, let these men go their way.' Recovering themselves, tho soldiers seized Him, and, as they were procee…
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ART. — There has been in Christian history no antagonism between religion and art as such ; though there have been abuses of particular forms of art, and consequent reactions against those abuses. The NT affords little guidance, for it is not concerned with the subject. It is the revelation of a Person, not of a code o…
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AKT phenomena to the contemplation of the eternal' ; for ' the beauty which is the aim of Christian art is referred to a Divine ideal. It is not " of the world," as finding its source or its final measure there, but "of the Father," as corresponding to an unseen truth. The visible to the Christian eye is in every part…
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This is, in fact, the conclusion to which the literary evidence leads us: the early Christians were told to keep clear of paganism, with wliich their daily work was often so closely involved, but they were not told to forswear art. If we wish to find a condemnation of art as such, we must turn not to Christianity, but…
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Most of the earliest Cliristian art that has been discovered is in the C.iii i,,!.^ ^f i;,„iir. Tlri- does not mean, as A\ • . ihat tii.' Church of Italj- was aii: 'i' i'm i,-i ,,i tli,- Church was not; still l'-~ •'.'••■- ii -how, a~ iv popularly imagined, that the Kdinan Cliristi.iiis used the Catacombs as their ch…
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Among the minor arts may be mentioned that of gold-glass, which commenced early in the 3rd cent., and has preserved for us many Christian pictures and symbols. Miniature illustration came into general use in the 4th cent, in MSS of books of the Bible ; it was not decorative like that of the Middle Ages ; the miniatures…
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124 ART ASCElSrSTON stage till it culminated in the perfection of Gothic. Tliat art in its development had the limitations of the young races ; it developed more rapidly in architecture and arcliitectural carving than in jiainting or statuary ; but all this has nothing to do with Christianity, as writers like Taine …
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ASCENSION The Ascension is the name ap- plied to that event in which the Risen Christ finally parted from His disciples and passed into the heavens. The traditional view is based on the passage Ac l'-'^, supported by Mk 16'», Lk 24*-'-=' (which narrate the event), Jn &■ 20" (which look forward to it), Eph 48"', 1 Ti S^…
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sumably capable of reaching its end. Underlying that process lay His Divine Being, in its inherent power incapable of growth, no attainment but original endowment. The return to the Father in the Ascension-act marked the perfection of the human process in harmonious realization within the Divine powers of His Person. …
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(b) Tlie indirect evidence is remarkably strong. Both in the two Gospels which do not record the event and in the Epistles and discourses of Acts as well as in the visions of the Apocalypse it is implied. We thus have reference to the belief in sources for the greater part earlier than the Gospels. St. Matthew represen…
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Secondly, the attempt to separate the Christian facts from Christian experience is not well based. We may rejoice to witness that the life of faith now is the being in Christ in a riclier .sense than the being with Him before He ascended. The acknowledgment, however, neither disproves the necessity for His life before …
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ASCETICISM ASCETICISM Tl>c .!». the 'Life ,v :,■ l.v. fiiliies?, vvith the event in __ s].. Mill tin- studios of Fairhairn, rnv^piV liir. r I'll li' Ml 'M ;.;- hiir-., the following are Jt,,,,;, k', !i ' ;"-,3a7^U; Bernard n FtV ; :..!'! 1 ; : I :.. There may be consul^ I ' 1 : i / ' / '■ vol. i.; Swete, Avi't…
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1. The practice of J&sit^.- Now it cannot be denied that from very early times there were circles of Christian ascetics avIio pointed to Jesus as the Founder and Example of the ascetic life (Clem. Alex. Strom, iii. 6). They emphasized His forty days' fast, His abstinence from marriage. His voluntary poverty, and leaped…
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this. With the greatest possible plainness Jesus declares that every earthly blessing must be made subordinate to the service of God and contributory thereto. All lesser goods which come to be sought for their own sake, wliether in preference to, or even independently of, the highest good, must be instantly sacrificed.…
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(2) So, too, in respect of marriage. Jesus cer- tainly teaches that a spiritual vocation is some- times inconsistent ^vith the married state. ' There be eunuchs Avhich have made tliemsehes eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it'(Mt 19'=). 'This,' says Jerome, 'is the…
937 wordsSource & rights
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.