Heb. 1:8, 9) Rather than being anointed with literal oil, he was anointed with Jehovah’s spirit. (Matt. 3:16) This was Jehovah’s appointment of him as king and so he was referred to as Jehovah’s anointed. (Ps. 2:2; Acts 4:26, 27) In his hometown of Nazareth, Jesus acknowledged this anointing when he applied to himself the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1, where the phrase appears: “Jehovah has anointed me.” (Luke 4:18) Jesus Christ is the only one in the Scriptures who holds an anointing to all three offices, prophet, high priest and king. Jesus was anointed with the “oil of exultation more than [his] partners” (the other kings of the line of David). This was by reason of his receiving the anointing directly from Jehovah himself, not with oil but with holy spirit, not to an earthly kingship but to a heavenly one combined with the office of heavenly High Priest.—Heb. 1:9; Ps. 45:7.

Like Jesus, his footstep followers who have been spirit begotten and anointed with holy spirit can be spoken of as anointed ones. (2 Cor. 1:21) Just as Aaron was directly anointed as head of the priesthood, but his sons did not have the oil poured on their heads individually, so Jesus was anointed directly by Jehovah and his congregation of spiritual brothers receive their anointing as a body of people through Jesus Christ. (Acts 2:1-4, 32, 33) They have thereby received an appointment from God to be kings with Jesus Christ in the heavens. (2 Cor. 5:5; Eph. 1:13, 14; 1 Pet. 1:3, 4; Rev. 20:6) The apostle John indicated that the anointing by holy spirit that Christians receive teaches them. (1 John 2:27) It commissions and qualifies them for the Christian ministry of the new covenant.—2 Cor. 3:5, 6.

Jehovah has great love and concern for his anointed ones and watches carefully over them. (1 Chron. 16:22; Ps. 2:2, 5; 20:6; 105:15; Luke 18:7) David recognized that God was the one who chose and appointed his anointed ones and that it was God who would judge them. To raise one’s hand to do harm to Jehovah’s anointed ones or any whom he appoints would bring Jehovah’s displeasure.—1 Sam. 24:6; 26:11, 23; see CHRIST; KING; MESSIAH; PRIEST.

ANOINTED ONE

See CHRIST.

ANT

[Heb., n^ema·lahʹ]

A small but extremely numerous and widespread insect, living in colonies, and noted in the Bible for its industriousness and instinctive wisdom. (Prov. 6:6-8; 30:24, 25) It is estimated that there are some 15,000 varieties of ants, these insects being found in all parts of the earth with the exception of the polar regions.

“A PEOPLE”

The ants are called “a people” [Heb., ʽam] in Proverbs, even as Joel referred to the locusts as “a nation” (Joel 1:6), and this expression is very suitable for these small creatures. While some ant colonies may contain only a few dozen ants, others have a huge population running into the hundreds of thousands, and, although generally of moderate size, the nest or tunneled area may grow until it is as much as an acre in size. Within each colony there are three basic castes: the “queen” or “queens,” the males, and the workers (sexually undeveloped females). Yet, as the proverb states, the ant “has no commander, officer or ruler.” The “queen” is not such in a governmental sense and more fittingly can be called the “mother” ant, for her essential function is that of egg-laying. Whereas a “queen” ant may live as much as fifteen years, the males live only long enough to mate and then die. The worker ants, whose life-span may reach six years, have various duties to perform, such as searching for and gathering in food for the colony, feeding the “queen,” acting as nurses for the larvae, cleaning the nest or digging new chambers as expansion is needed, and defending the nest. Worker ants may be of different sizes and proportions, even within the same colony, in some cases the larger ones acting as “soldiers” in the event of invasion of the nest. Still, despite the fairly precise division of work (which in some colonies is arranged according to the age of the workers and in others according to size) and the relatively complex social organization existent, there is no sign of any superior “officer” or taskmaster.

INSTINCTIVE WISDOM

The ‘wisdom’ of the ants is not the product of intelligent reasoning but results from the instincts with which they are endowed by their Creator. Thus, it has been demonstrated that an ant that comes upon a scented path (made by another ant) that accidentally leads in a circle may continue walking around the path until it dies from exhaustion. The different ant varieties display their ‘instinctive wisdom’ in various ways. While many build their nests in the earth, some ants (“carpenter” ants) excavate tunnels and chambers in wood. Others make leaf houses in trees, the worker ants, in effect, “sewing” the leaves together by taking ant larvae in their jaws and carrying them back and forth so that the silk spun by the larvae (which silk the adult ants cannot produce) binds the edges of the leaves together. Still others build nests of “carton,” a mixture of wood fibers and saliva with, at times, some sand added.

It was once thought that all ants were basically carnivorous, living off other insects and small creatures, and that they did not ‘store’ food for the winter months because of remaining in a torpid state during that season; hence some scholars took issue with the Bible’s reference to the ant as ‘preparing its food and gathering its supplies in the harvest.’ (Prov. 6:8) It is now known, however, that certain ants, living in arid regions, feed almost entirely on seeds. The black ant (Atta barbara) and a brown ant (Atta structor) are two of the most common varieties found in Palestine and are seed feeders that store up a large supply of grain in the summer and make use of it in seasons, including winter, when the obtaining of food becomes difficult. These “harvester” or “agricultural” ants are usually found in the vicinity of threshing floors, where seeds and grain are plentiful. If rain causes dampness to reach the stored seeds, the harvester ants will thereafter carry the grains out into the sun for drying. One type of ant (Messor semirufus) is even known to bite off the germ part of the seed so that it will not germinate while stored.

The ‘instinctive wisdom’ of other ants is also notable in their ways of obtaining food. Many types obtain part of their food from aphids and scale insects, which, when stroked (or “milked”) by the ants, exude a nectarlike fluid called “honeydew” from their abdomens. Some ants maintain “herds” of these aphids, caring for the aphid eggs during the winter and then, when the growing season begins, carrying the aphids to feed on the roots of plants. (The Smithsonian Series, Vol. 5, pp. 172, 173) A type called the “honey ant” solves the problem of storing supplies of honeydew by feeding it to certain worker ants until these become veritable storage tanks, their abdomens swelling up like a pea as they hang stationary from the ceiling of the nest chamber. These storage ants later regurgitate honeydew for the other ants of the community when outside supplies become depleted. The “leaf cutter” or “parasol” ants are gardeners, transporting pieces of leaves down into the nest, chewing and then using them as a garden bed for planting the spores of certain types of fungus. The crop of fungi is carefully tended. If a new nest is formed, the “queen” ant will carry a small quantity of the fungus in her mouth cavity for planting as a starter in the new underground “gardens.”

EXEMPLARY CHARACTERISTICS

Thus, a brief investigation of the ant gives force to the exhortation: “Go to the ant, you lazy one; see its ways and become wise.” Not only is their instinctive preparing for the future notable but also their persistence and determination, often carrying or tenaciously dragging objects weighing twice their own weight or more, doing everything possible to fulfill their particular task, and refusing to turn back even though they may fall, slide or roll down some steep precipice. Remarkably cooperative, they keep their nests very clean and show concern for their fellow workers, at times assisting injured or exhausted ants back to the nest.

ANTELOPE

[Heb., di·shonʹ, from a root meaning “to spring, leap”; rendered in AV, AS and Dy as “pygarg,” meaning “white-rumped”].

A cud-chewing animal and a splitter of the hoof, sole mention of which is made at Deuteronomy 14:5, where it is included in the list of animals permitted to the Israelites for food. There is uncertainty as to which animal is meant by the Hebrew word di·shonʹ.

The Addax antelope, a native of the desert regions of North Africa and the Egyptian Sudan, is often suggested as corresponding to the di·shonʹ of the Hebrew Scriptures. This antelope measures about forty inches (c. one meter) high at the shoulder. Its spreading, cloven hoofs equip it admirably for travel in the loose sands of the desert, where it can go without water for extremely long periods. The widespread horns of this animal are twisted like a screw, sometimes making over three turns, and measure about forty inches (c. one meter) along the curve. With the exception of the belly, tail and hindquarters, which always remain white, the color of the Addax antelope becomes darker in winter, changing from a sandy color to brownish.

Another possibility is the Arabian Oryx, also a desert antelope. Unlike the Addax antelope, the Arabian Oryx has slightly back-curved horns. Aside from dark-brown stockings and facial markings, its coat is white in color.

ANTHOTHIJAH

(An·tho·thiʹjah) [answers of Jah; or belonging to Anathoth].

A son of Shashak of the tribe of Benjamin.—1 Chron. 8:24, 25.

ANTICHRIST

(Gr., an·tiʹkhri·stos) [against or instead of Christ].

This expression, singular and plural, occurs five times, all of them in two of John’s epistles.

The subject was not new among the Christians when John wrote his letters (about 98 C.E.). 1 John 2:18 states: “Young children, it is the last hour, and, just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now there have come to be many antichrists; from which fact we gain the knowledge that it is the last hour.” John’s statement shows that there are many individual antichrists, though all together they may form a composite person designated “the antichrist.” (2 John 7) The use of the expression “hour” as referring to a period of time, either relatively brief or of undetermined length, is exemplified in other writings of John. (See John 2:4; 4:21-23; 5:25, 28; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23, 27.) He thus does not restrict the appearance, existence and activity of such antichrist to some future time only but shows it as then present and due to continue on.—1 John 4:3.

IDENTIFICATION

Although there has been much effort in the past to identify the “antichrist” with an individual, such as Pompey, Nero or Mohammed (this latter person being suggested by Pope Innocent III in 1213 C.E.), or with a specific organization, as in the Protestant view of the “antichrist” as applying to the papacy, John’s inspired statements show the term to be broad in its application, embracing all those who deny that “Jesus is the Christ,” and who deny that Jesus is the Son of God who came “in the flesh.”—1 John 2:22; 4:2, 3; 2 John 7; compare John 8:42, 48, 49; 9:22.

Denial of Jesus as the Christ and as the Son of God of necessity embraces the denial of any or all of the Scriptural teachings concerning him: his origin, his place in God’s arrangement, his fulfillment of the prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures as the promised Messiah, his ministry and teachings and prophecies, as well as any opposition to or efforts to replace him in his position as God’s appointed High Priest and King. This is evident from other texts, which, while not using the term “antichrist,” express essentially the same idea. Thus, Jesus stated: “He that is not on my side is against me, and he that does not gather with me scatters.” (Luke 11:23) 2 John 7 shows that such ones might act as deceivers, and hence the “antichrist” would include those who are “false Christs” and “false prophets,” as well as those who perform powerful works in Jesus’ name and yet are classed by him as “workers of lawlessness.”—Matt. 24:24; 7:15, 22, 23.

In view of Jesus’ rule that what is done to his true followers is done to him (Matt. 25:40, 45; Acts 9:5), the term must include those who persecute such ones, including the symbolic “Babylon the Great,” and those described as the “evil slave” in Jesus’ parable.—Luke 21:12; Rev. 17:5, 6; Matt. 24:48-51.

John specifically mentions apostates as among those of the antichrist by referring to those who “went out from us,” abandoning the Christian congregation. (1 John 2:18, 19) It therefore includes the “man of lawlessness” or “son of destruction” described by Paul, as well as the “false teachers” Peter denounces for forming destructive sects and who “disown even the owner that bought them.”—2 Thess. 2:3-5; 2 Pet. 2:1.

Kingdoms, nations and organizations are similarly shown to be part of the antichrist in the symbolic description at Revelation 17:8-15; 19:19-21; compare Psalm 2:1, 2.

In all the above cases those composing the antichrist are shown to be headed for eventual destruction as a recompense for their opposing course.—See MAN OF LAWLESSNESS.

ANTI-LEBANON

The easternmost of the two ranges forming the mountain system of Lebanon. The Anti-Lebanon range parallels the Lebanon range for about sixty-five miles (104 kilometers), extending from the plateau of Bashan, E of Dan, up to the great plain of Emesa, not far from the site of Riblah. Between the two ranges lies a long valley formed by the Orontes and Litany (Leontes) Rivers and called Coele-Syria (“Hollow Syria”) or the Biqaʽ.—Josh. 11:17.

In the N the ridge is narrow and broken by a series of prominent peaks. The central mass is broader, higher and rougher, while the southern zone is cut by long torrent valleys that lead off to the E and S. To the E of the main ridge there is a series of descending plateaus that gradually drop to the level of the Plains of Damascus. The southern zone includes Mount Hermon, which reaches over 9,000 feet (2,743 meters). The geology of these mountains is similar to that of the Lebanon range, and they are composed mainly of limestone, having gray cliffs and round gray summits.

The Anti-Lebanon range is evidently referred to in the Hebrew by the name “Amanah’’ at Song of Solomon 4:8, where it is mentioned in connection with Mount Hermon. While some have considered Amanah to be a particular mountain peak, it appears rather to refer either to the entire Anti-Lebanon range or some part of it. The mountain ranges of “Libana” and “Ammanana” are mentioned jointly in inscriptions of Assyrian monarchs Tiglath-pileser III and Sennacherib. The Abanah River (modern Barada) is also called “Amanah” at 2 Kings 5:12 in some texts, and this river, the principal one of Damascus, has its source in the southern part of the Anti-Lebanon mountains. Hence the name may refer either to that part of the range or to the range as a whole.

Since the major part of the Anti-Lebanon range is not snowcapped, it has few rivers or streams. Little vegetation grows, but thin forests of dwarf oak and