New Testament Online Exam 2

Abba

Aramaic word for “father” used by Jesus and other early Christians to refer to God the Father.

Amanuensis (scribe)

A trained scribe who would write dictated letters at the direction of others

Amillennialism

The eschatological view that the thousand-year reign is a symbol for the current period of the church.

Antichrists

Those who have turned away from the truth of the gospel and now oppose Christ and his people.

Apocalyptic literature (see sidebar in chapter)

A Jewish style of literature, apocalyptic conveys a vision mediated by an otherworldly being. Using picture language, symbols, and highly dramatic scenes, apocalyptic can be difficult to read if we are not used to the genre.

Apostasy

The rejection or abandonment of one’s faith.

Areopagus

A rock outcrop that sits just below the Acropolis in Athens, where the council of the Areopagus met in order to govern the city and to discuss philosophical ideas and where Paul preached to philosophers.

Armor of God

Paul’s image, based on the Roman soldier’s armor, to express the gifts given to Christians to combat the spiritual forces of darkness: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the sandals of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Captivity Letters

Pauline Letters written while Paul was in prison: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon (2 Timothy, one of the Pastoral Epistles, could be part of the list as well, as it was clearly written from prison).

Colossian heresy

A range of spiritual and religious practices that seem to combine Jewish and pagan elements, either a religion or philosophy unique to Colossae or simply a mishmash or religious and spiritual practices that existed in Colossae at the time.

Conversion narrative

An autobiographical story of how someone came to see the world differently

Cruciformity

A way of living, thinking, and relating that is shaped by Christ’s cross.

Curse of the law

The condemnation that falls on all who rely on the works of the law, because everyone fails to keep the law.

Day of the Lord

The Old Testament expectation of God’s future intervention into human history for judgement and salvation, understood by Christians to anticipate future fulfillment in Jesus’s judgement of the world.

Deification

The state in which believers somehow become like God, though not divine themselves, in sharing fellowship with him in a profound sense.

Doxology

A written or spoken expression of praise to God.

Ecclesiology

The study of the church itself along with its structure.

Elements of the world

In Greek, stoicheia, referring to weak and worthless cultural forces or entities that exist in any culture. God has sent Christ to redeem his people from out of their bondage.

Encyclical

A letter written to be copied and sent to various audiences.

Eschatology

The study of the end times.

Exegesis

The study of a biblical text with the intent to understand its meaning.

Head coverings

In the Mediterranean region, women’s hair often was an object of lust, so married women were expected to cover their hair. This was especially true for Jewish women, while wealthy Roman women sometimes would want to show off their expensive hairstyles. In 1 Corinthians 11:1-16, Paul encourages women to cover their hair in worship, a cultural application symbolizing godly attitudes and relationships.

Heresy

False teaching that deviates from official doctrine.

Imperial guard

An elite group of Roman soldiers (also called praetorian guard).

Incorporation (see sidebar in chapter)

A major motif in Ephesians 4, as Paul speaks about believers as parts of the body of Christ. Our individual union wit Christ means that we are also united to one another. We each have a role to play to serve the overall church.

Island of Patmos (see sidebar in chapter)

The island that John was exiled to, where he wrote Revelation, off the coast of Ephesus. He was sent there after upsetting the emperor Domitian.

Justification

God’s declaration of a person to be righteous and thus in right relationship with him, achieved by the sacrifice of Jesus, which is received by faith.

Kenosis

From a Greek word translated as “emptied,” this term refers to Jesus’s self-emptying in his incarnation. Some have understood it to mean that Jesus gave up his divinity when he became human, but the early church rejected this understanding, asserting that Jesus gave up his divine privileges in order to become human but never stopped being fully God.

Man of lawlessness

A mysterious figure in 2 Thessalonians 2 whom Paul depicts as occupying God’s temple and exalting himself above God. He often is equated with the “antichrist” mentioned in 1 and 2 John, but in those contexts that term refers to people who have left the community of believers.

Melchizedek (see sidebar in chapter)

A king and a priest to God Most High that Abraham gave a tenth to in Genesis and Psalm alludes to in describing Jesus.

New Heavens and New Earth (see final pages of chapter)

The climax of Revelation where God comes to dwell directly with humanity and removes all pain and sorrow.

Orthodox doctrine

Correct and right teaching or belief.

Orthopraxy

Correct and right living.

Paraenesis

Writing meant to exhort hearers toward growth in virtue and character.

Participation with Christ

The doctrine that Christians are connected to Christ through faith and share not only in his righteousness and resurrection but also in his sufferings and death.

Pastoral Letters

Paul’s letters to individual church leaders rather than churches themselves: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus.

Postmillennialism

The eschatological view that the thousand years either literally or figuratively refers to a period before the return of Christ in which all the nations will be converted.

Premillennialism

The eschatological view that the thousand years is a period beginning with the return of Christ, but the period can be taken either as a literal thousand years or as an undefined era.

Propitiation

The redirection of God’s wrath away from the sinner toward a sacrificial animal.

Pseudonymity

The term used to describe literary works written under a false name, often taking the name of a famous historical figure.

Spiritual gifts

Gifts or abilities given by the Holy Spirit for the benefit of the whole church and not necessarily miraculous in nature (though some are).

Substitutionary atonement

The doctrine that Christ takes on himself through his death the legal penalty that has been rightly declared over sinful humanity.

Super-apostles

Outwardly impressive and skilled teachers who taught a different Jesus and gospel from what Paul taught.

Systematic theology

The study of biblical teaching on a range of different topics that seeks a coherent account of them.

Tabernacle

A portable tent that acted as the most important place of worship for Israel before the temple in Jerusalem because It housed the ark of the covenant, where God’s presence rested among the Israelites.

The "last days"

The period between Jesus’s ascension and his eventual return.

Thorn in the flesh

A personal physical ailment, moral weakness, or spiritual problem that Paul understands to be a “messenger of Satan” that torments him. He asks God to remove it from him. When God does not, Paul learns that his own weaknesses and sufferings allow Christ’s power to shine.

Triumphal procession

For Romans, a victory march led by a conquering general or emperor with the defeated leaders brought behind, bound and sometimes naked, to be mocked and abused by the crowd and often executed at the end. Paul applied this image to Christ, using it to depict true apostleship: the triumph of Christ over the formerly unbelieving Paul will lead to his mockery, abuse, and ultimately to his execution.

Who wrote Hebrews? (see sidebar in chapter)

The authorship of Hebrews remains one of the greatest puzzles of the New Testament. Though early copies of the New Testament included Hebrews along with Paul’s Letters, the early church was divided as to whether Paul was the author.

Wisdom literature

Ancient or biblical literature generally focused on moral living, virtue, and the meaning of life, like Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

Works of the law

Works, like circumcision, done by Jews both to obey the law and to serve as identity markers showing covenant membership in Isreal. Paul emphasizes in Galatians that only by faith in Christ, not by works of the law (whether human performance or identity), can someone be made right with God.

Wormwood

A bitter herb that can poison water and is associated with the exodus plagues.