Meaning of the Concept "Goodnews"
1.0 INTRODUCTION Evangelion (ευαγγέλιοv) is a Greek word which means Gospel, or an act of proclaiming the good news. When we speak of Gospel, we mean the four Gospel, which include: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Gospel talks about ancient Christian kerygma which was formally existed as an oral tradition but with time was written down in text. It is this ancient tradition that is at the foundation of the term evangelion (Gospel) that this essay tends to address. Moreover, our aim in this paper will be to trace the meaning and history of the term Evangelion from the ancient Greek culture to its usage in the New Testament. As a way of methodology, we shall define Evangelion, its usage in Old and New Testaments and then proceed to conclude this paper. It will be worthy to note that since evangelion means Gospel or good news, they will be used interchangeably.
2.0 THE MEANING OF THE TERM “EVANGELION” Evangelion (ευαγγέλιοv) is a Greek word which means Gospel or joyful news; it also means “Reward for bringing good news” or even the good news itself: as when David killed the giant Goliath, it became glad tidings to the Jews; moved by this good news, they sang, danced and were joyful (see 1 Sam. 17). Evangelion acquires religious significance in the imperial cult where emperors were deified and worshiped; in this case it refers to the birth of the emperor which is announced as good tidings. In the earliest days of Christianity, Christians used the term Evagelion to refer to the proclamation of the good news about Christ, which is similar to the Old Testament’s content in Isaiah 52: 7, “How beautiful is the feet of messengers who brings good news about salvation”. Evagelion is often used in the sense of “Bringing news of victory”, especially a message that comes from battle field and declares victory over enemies. The messenger of
2.0 THE MEANING OF THE TERM “EVANGELION” Evangelion (ευαγγέλιοv) is a Greek word which means Gospel or joyful news; it also means “Reward for bringing good news” or even the good news itself: as when David killed the giant Goliath, it became glad tidings to the Jews; moved by this good news, they sang, danced and were joyful (see 1 Sam. 17). Evangelion acquires religious significance in the imperial cult where emperors were deified and worshiped; in this case it refers to the birth of the emperor which is announced as good tidings. In the earliest days of Christianity, Christians used the term Evagelion to refer to the proclamation of the good news about Christ, which is similar to the Old Testament’s content in Isaiah 52: 7, “How beautiful is the feet of messengers who brings good news about salvation”. Evagelion is often used in the sense of “Bringing news of victory”, especially a message that comes from battle field and declares victory over enemies. The messenger of