New Testament Writings In Context

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Apocalyptic Literature

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1. A body of Hellenistic-Jewish writings produced between about 300 B.C.E. and 200 C.E., including canonical works such as Daniel and noncanonical books such as 1 and 2 Enoch and 2 and 3 Baruch. These visionary books purport to reveal spiritual realities hidden from ordinary eyes, typically predicting future catastrophes heralding the defeat of God's enemies and the ultimate triumph of Israel;
2. Apocalyptic themes dominate much of early Christian literature, including Paul's letters, the Synoptic Gospels, 2 Peter, and Revelation, all of which emphasize Christ's role as God's eschatologial agent.

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Covenant (Testament)

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A vow, agreement, or contract between two parties, a model of the relationship between God and his people. In Exodus, Yahweh makes a covenant with Israel in which the people agree to obey all his laws and instruction (The Torah) and to worship him exclusively (Exodus 20-24;34; see also Deut.28; Joshua 24). In Christian tradition, Jesus introduced a "New Covenant" with his disciples, making them the true Israel (Mark 14:22-25; Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 11:25).

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Eschatology

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Beliefs about the supernaturally directed destiny of humanity and the universe; from the Greek word meaning "study of last things." Associated with an apocalyptic worldview, eschatology has both personal and general applications:
1. Beliefs about the individual soul following death, including divine judgment, heaven, hell, and resurrection.
2. Larger concerns about the fate of the cosmos, including convictions about a divinely guided renewal of the world and human society in the near future or in the present (Realized eschatology).

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Gospel

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1. The Christian message, literally meaning "good news."
2. The literary form of Christian narratives about Jesus.

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Hebrew Bible

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A Collection of Jewish sacred writings originally written in the Hebrew language (although some later books are in Aramaic); known to Christians as the Old Testament. The Hebrew Bible is traditionally divided into three main parts: The Torah or Law (Genesis through Deuteronomy); the Prophets (Joshua through the twelve minor prophets); and the Writings (Psalms through Chronicles).

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Mosaic Covenant

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In the Hebrew Bible, the pact between Yahweh and Israel mediated by Moses (Exod. 19-24). According to the terms of the pact, Yahweh's support of Israel was dependent on the people's obdeience to his will expressed in the laws and principles of the Torah (Deut 28-29).

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Orthodoxy

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Literally "correct opinion" holding beliefs or doctrines established by a religious or political authority

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Palestine

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A strip of land bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea, lying south of Syria, north of the Sinai Peninsula, and west of the Arabian Desert. During the patriarchal period, it was known as Canann (Gen 12:6-7; 15:18-21). Named for the Philistines, it was first called Palestine by the Greek historian Herodotus about 450 BCE

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Passion

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The term commonly used to denote Jesus' suffering and death (Acts 1:3).

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Paul of Tarsus

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The most influential apstle and missionary of the mid-first-century church and author of seven or nine New Testament letters. Saul of Tartus was born in the capital of the Asia Minor province of Cilicia (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3) into a family of Pharisees of tribe of Benjamin and had both Roman and Taurean citizenship. Suddenly converted to Christianity after persecuting early Christians, he undertook at least three internationaly missionary tours, presenting defenses of the new faith before Jewish and Gentile authorities. His emphasis on the insufficienscy of the Mosaic Law for salvation and the superiority of faith to Law and his insistence that Gentiles be admitted to the church without observing Jewish legal restrictions were decisive in determining the future development of the new religion. He was probably martyred in Rome about 64-65 CE.

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Pentateuch

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The first five books of the Hebrew Bible, the Torah; from a Greek word meaning "five scrolls".

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Promised Land

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Popular term for the territory of Canaan that Yahweh vowed to give Abraham's heirs in perpetuity, traditionally the land area embraced in David's kingdom.

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Scriptures

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A writing or collection of documents that a religion holds to be sacred and binding upon its adherents. The Hebrew Bible is Scripture to both Jews and Christiansl only Christians accord the status of Scripture to the New Testament.

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Septuagint

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A Greek edition of the Hebrew Bible traditionally attributed to seventy or seventy two Palestinian scholars during the reign of Ptolemy II, but actually the work of several generations of Alexandrine translators begun about 250 BCE and not completed until the first century CE. The later additions to the Septuagin were deleted from the Standard Hebrew Bible but included in the Old Testament as the Apocrypha.

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Torah

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The Pentateuch and in a general sense all the Hebrew canonical writings, which are traditionally regarded as a direct oracle, or revelation from Yahweh. Torah is a Hebrew term usually translated as "law," "instruction," or "teaching"