(Encyclopedia) Joel, prophetic book of the Bible. It is a collection of the oracles of an otherwise unknown prophet, dated variously from the 9th to the 3d cent. b.c., though a date in c.400 b.c. is…
(Encyclopedia) Watts, Isaac, 1674–1748, English clergyman and hymn writer, b. Southampton. He was one of the most eminent Dissenting divines of his day. As a pastor in London he was known for his…
(Encyclopedia) Advent [Lat.,=coming], season of the Christian ecclesiastical year preceding Christmas, lasting in the West from the Sunday nearest Nov. 30 (St. Andrew's Day) until Christmas Eve. In…
(Encyclopedia) RamadanRamadanrämädänˈ, rămˌədänˈ [key], in Islam, the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which all Muslims must fast during the daylight hours. Indulgence of any sort is forbidden…
(Encyclopedia) solar time, time defined by the position of the sun. The solar day is the time it takes for the sun to return to the same meridian in the sky. Local solar time is measured by a sundial…
(Encyclopedia) AdventistsAdventistsădˈvĕnˌtĭsts [key] [advent, Lat.,=coming], members of a group of related religious denominations whose distinctive doctrine centers in their belief concerning the…
(Encyclopedia) LuciferLuciferl&oomacr;ˈsĭfər [key] [Lat.,=light-bearing], in Christian tradition a name for Satan. In the Vulgate, Lucifer served as a translation of the Hebrew epithet meaning “…
(Encyclopedia) Good Friday, anniversary of Jesus' death on the cross. According to the Gospels, Jesus was put to death on the Friday before Easter Day. Since the early church Good Friday has been…
(Encyclopedia) Wigglesworth, Michael, 1631–1705, American clergyman and poet, b. England, grad. Harvard, 1651. His family emigrated to New England in 1638. A devoted minister at Malden, Mass., he…
(Encyclopedia) Black Friday, Sept. 24, 1869, in U.S. history, day of financial panic. In 1869 a small group of American financial speculators, including Jay Gould and James Fisk, sought the support…
