Ananias
Ananias (Ἁνανίας) is the Greek form of Hananiah (Hebrew for "Yahweh is gracious"), or Ananiah, a name occurring several times in the Old Testament and Apocrypha (Nehemiah 3:23, 1 Chronicles 15:23, Tobit 5:12. etc.), and three times in the New Testament.
Ananias may refer to:
- Ananias spouse of Sapphira, a member of the first Christian community, who dropped dead suddenly after attempting to deceive the Holy Spirit by withholding part of the profit from the sale of a piece of land.
- Ananias of Damascus a disciple at Damascus who figures in the story of the conversion of Paul of Tarsus
- Son of Nedebaios (Josephus, Antiquites xx. 5. 2), a high priest who presided during the trial of Paul at Jerusalem and Caesarea (Acts 23:2, 24:1-5). He officiated as high priest from about AD 47 to 59. Quadratus, governor of Syria, accused him of being responsible for acts of violence. He was sent to Rome for trial (AD 52), but was acquitted by the emperor Claudius. Being a friend of the Romans, he was murdered by the people at the beginning of the First Jewish-Roman War.
- A priest and fellow martyr of Simeon Barsabae
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Ananias (disambiguation)". Image Credit.
Extended Definition: Ananias
Ananias and Sapphira
- See also: Ananias
Ananias, and his wife Sapphira, were, according to the Acts of the Apostles, members of the Early Christian church.
The story
Acts Chapter 4 closes by making the statement that the Christian believers in the early Church considered their possessions to be their own, "but they had all things in common," and that a church member, Barnabas, sold a plot of land and donated the profit to the apostles. It was in this context that Ananias and Sapphira decided that they, too, would like to make such a donation. After the sale they agreed only to give a certain proportion of the money to the apostles, but to say that it was the whole amount.
In Acts 5:2, Ananias presents his donation to Peter, who replies, "Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?" Peter points out that Ananias had every right not to sell the land at all or to do what he wanted to with the profits, but by telling a lie—by saying that he was donating the entire amount—he had lied to God.
Ananias then falls to the ground dead and is carried out. Three hours later, his wife enters and tells the same lie, suffering the same fate.
Salvation of Ananias and Sapphira
Primarily within evangelical Protestant Christianity, there is a debate about whether Ananias and Sapphira were saved. Christians who hold to a view of once saved, always saved deny that Ananias and Sapphira could have lost their salvation. Those who believe in the conditional preservation of the saints believe that they were lost. If the lie that Ananias and Sapphira conspired to commit was against the Holy Ghost, then it will be determined by God because he will forgive you if you ask for his forgiveness and repent (turn around from ones old ways)
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- Acts 5 at WikiSource
- King James Version Bible Commentary. 1831 pages. Thomas Nelson Publishing: 2005. ISBN 1-4185-0340-1.
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Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Ananias". Image Credit.
