Aaron: The brother and spokesman of Moses, he served as the first high priest under the Levitical system.
Abel: The second son of Adam and Eve; he is considered the first prophet in the Bible (Lk. 11:51) and brought God an acceptable sacrifice that foreshadowed the death of Christ.
Abomination of Desolation: The ultimate desecration of the Temple prophesied by the prophet Daniel in Daniel 9; it was prefigured by a desecration by Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
Abraham: The descendant of Shem whom God chose to be the father of a great nation; a Chaldean by birth, he left his homeland and eventually settled in the Promised Land; it is through Abraham that the Messiah would come.
Acts of the Apostles: The second part of Luke’s two-part Luke-Acts work; Acts details the initiation of the Church in Jerusalem at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was sent to indwell believers; from there, the Church spread throughout Judea and then to the ends of the earth.
Adam: The first man; the name Adam means “man.”
Age: A period of time defined by prevailing circumstances set by God, such as the age or dispensation before the Fall, the age before the Flood, the age during which the Law of Moses was in force, and the present age of the Church; a kingdom age is yet to come in which Christ will rule all nations.
Alexandrian Text: Early manuscripts of the Greek New Testament largely sourced from Egypt; they are held in high regard by reasoned eclectics.
Amos: A prophet contemporary to Isaiah and Hosea who prophesied against the northern Kingdom of Israel before its destruction at the hands of the Assyrians.
Andrew: The brother of Simon Peter and one of the Twelve.
Angel: see Messenger.
Antichrist: A future world ruler described in great detail by the prophet Daniel and apostles Paul and John; he was foreshadowed in world history by various rulers (Pharaoh, kings of Assyria and Babylon, Alexander the Great, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Nero, Titus Vespasian, et al.); he will be directly empowered by Satan (see Rev. 13) to rule over the world’s nations for a brief period of time preceding the Second Coming.
Ammon: One of the two sons of Lot born by his daughters; Ammon was the progenitor of the civilization by that name situated directly east of Israel.
Apocalypse: A “revealing” or “uncovering”; the Apocalypse—Revelation—is the last book of the New Testament, given by Jesus, delivered by an angel, and recorded by the apostle John, detailing the conclusion of history, the revealing of Christ to the world, and the future hope of the believer; an apocalypse can also refer to any of various apocalyptic works containing prophecy, symbolism, and future expectation.
Apocrypha: Meaning “secret,” “concealed,” or “hidden,” apocryphal works are those less-known writings usually in the Judeo-Christian tradition which are generally not found in the biblical canon because of a lack of apostolic authority, universal acceptance, or scriptural compatibility.
Apostle: One sent forth to carry the message of Christ and expand the bounds of the Church into new areas.
Ark of the Covenant: The ceremonial box, covered in gold and adorned with figures of cherubim, in which were placed the Ten Commandments, among other articles; it was carried by the Israelites in battle and was housed at various locations (the Tabernacle, the Temple) before eventually disappearing from history; God’s presence accompanied the Ark, and disregard for the sanctity of the Ark resulted in severe curses, including disease and death.
Ark, Noah’s: The nearly 500-foot-long wooden ship that God instructed Noah to build in order for him, his family, and representative land animals from all over the earth to escape the waters of the Flood.
Atonement: “At-one-ment” is the means by which people are reconciled to God; Christ is the atoning sacrifice for sins.
Babel, Tower of: A tower that mankind intended to build in order to prevent their dispersion after the Flood (Gen. 11); the project ceased after God confused their languages; it was from this judgment that mankind spread all over the world.
Babylon: A prominent city in ancient Mesopotamia, not far from modern-day Baghdad; it served as the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and was the place to which many Jews and Israelites were sent during the Exile.
Babylon, Mystery: Both a wicked city and world system in place at the time of the end that is ultimately destroyed by the Antichrist and judged by God; while historically thought to represent Rome, it is perhaps most straightforward to see it as present, unbelieving Jerusalem and the world system at large that rejects Christ.
Baptism: The act of both Jewish and Christian initiation whereby a proselyte is washed and usually immersed in water; also, the invisible baptism of the Holy Spirit, supplanting water (Acts 1:5), whereby all who believe in Jesus are regenerated and sealed (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:30).
Bartholomew: see Nathaniel.
Beast from the Earth: Described in Revelation 13; see False Prophet.
Beast from the Sea: Described in Revelation 13; see Antichrist.
Byzantine Text: Also called the Majority Text and closely associated with the Received Text, it is the collection of Greek manuscripts of the New Testament that are found primarily in the regions to which the Epistles were originally written; these comprise over 90 percent of extant manuscripts.
Cain: The firstborn son of Adam and Eve; he brought an unacceptable sacrifice, representing the works, efforts, and merits of man; he ultimately murdered his brother Abel.
Cherubim: Angelic beings of very high rank and power described throughout the biblical account (e.g., Gen. 3; Ex. 25–26; 36–37; Ezek. 10); they are often portrayed with four wings, possibly six, and tasked with guarding God’s glory; they may be equivalent to the living creatures of Revelation 4–5; Satan is said to have originally been a cherub (Ezek. 28).
Christ: A transliteration of the Greek word for Messiah; see Messiah.
Church, A: Any local body of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Church, The: The universal, mystical body of Christ composed of all true believers from every nation and time period.
Communion: see Lord’s Supper.
Conversion: The act of placing one’s faith in Jesus and choosing to follow Him as a disciple.
Creation: The six days during which God made the universe; also, a theological term for the whole cosmos and everything in it that God has made.
Crucifixion: The method of execution by which a criminal is hung to die on a wooden stake or cross; it was practiced by both the Assyrians and Romans.
Daniel: The prophet whose prophecies were recorded in the book of his namesake; he was thrown into a den of lions because of his fealty to God but was miraculously spared; he went on to prophesy of the sequence of future world empires culminating with the final empire of Christ.
David: The second king of Israel; while he committed many grievous sins, his faith in God was steadfast, and God thus rewarded him with an eternal dynasty; through his lineage would come the ultimate son of David—the Christ; he defeated Goliath in single combat, conquered Jerusalem, and penned many of the Psalms still present in modern Bibles.
Deluge: see Flood.
Demon: An unclean spirit; by tradition, these were the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim and distinct from Watchers and other fallen angels.
Devil: see Satan.
Disciple: A student or follower of Christ.
Dispersion, The: Can refer to several things: (1) the dispersal of Jews and Israelites during the Exile; (2) Jews dispersed abroad for any number of historical reasons; (3) the dispersion of Jews after the First Jewish-Roman War and the destruction of Jerusalem.
Edom: The descendants of Esau dwelling south and east of Judah; they were frequently at enmity with the Jews.
Elder: A mature male believer appointed for leadership in a local church.
Elders, The 24: A group of heavenly beings thought by most conservative scholars to represent the glorified Church in Heaven.
Enoch: The patriarch, who in the seventh generation from Adam, was removed from the earth before the Flood because of his faith.
Epistle: A letter.
Esau: The elder brother of Jacob; he was swindled out of his birthright and became a representative of those that reject God’s promises rashly; he became the progenitor of the Edomites.
Essenes: One of the Jewish sects prevalent in the 1st century AD; unlike the Pharisees and Sadducees, they often dwelt away from larger society, such as in communities like Qumran; they often had strong messianic expectations and some believe many of them transitioned to Christian faith after the resurrection of Christ.
Esther: Hadassah by birth, Esther was a Jewish woman who dwelt in Susa, the capital of the ancient Medo-Persian Empire; she was chosen to be the new wife and queen of King Ahasuerus, and using her position of influence, she thwarted a plan by Haman to destroy the Jews.
Eve: The first woman, created from one of Adam’s ribs.
Evil: That which is opposed to God’s glory.
Exile, The: The removal of the Israelites, primarily the Jews, Levites, and Benjamites, from the land of Israel to the city and region of Babylon; the Exile lasted 70 years.
Exodus: The miraculous deliverance of the enslaved Israelites from Egyptian captivity.
Expiation: The removal of sin; Christ’s atoning death removes the sins of those who place their faith in Him.
Ezekiel: An Israelite priest and prophet who prophesied in the early 6th century BC; he prophesied of the coming war of Gog and Magog (Ezek. 38–39), the mass, physical resurrection of Israelites (Ezek. 37), and the future Millennial Temple (Ezek. 40–48).
Ezra: A Jewish scribe and priest operating in the 5th century BC; he led a religious revival among the post-exilic Jews in Jerusalem.
Faith: Believing in and trusting God and His promises despite not seeing God or having those promises yet realized (Heb. 11).
False Prophet: An individual claiming to speak for God, yet who was not sent by God; the simple test of a false prophet is whether or not their prediction comes to pass; the False Prophet is a specific man described in Revelation 13 who leads the world to worship and submit to the Antichrist.
Flood, The: The first global cataclysm, described explicitly in Genesis 6–8, in which God destroyed all life on the face of the earth because of the pervasiveness of the corruption of sin (note: not sea life); of human beings, only Noah, his three sons, and their wives were spared by taking refuge in the Ark.
Gehenna: The place of the ultimate fiery judgment of God’s enemies, prefigured by the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem in which refuse was perpetually burned; it is described as a lake of fire in the Book of Revelation.
God: The supreme, self-existent, and greatest conceivable being, called Elohim in the Hebrew Old Testament, and Theos in the Greek New Testament; He is the Creator of the universe, Sustainer of all things, Redeemer of mankind, and the only One worthy of worship.
Godhead: see Trinity.
Goliath: A nearly 10-foot-tall Philistine giant who taunted the Israelites and was subsequently slain by the shepherd David; he was one of a number of giants who resided in Canaan many centuries after the Flood.
Good: That which is in accordance with God’s nature and will.
Gospel, The: Literally “good news,” it is the message that Christ has died for our sins and physically risen again (1 Cor. 15:1–4); this is the fundamental and primary message of Christianity according to the apostle Paul.
Gospels: Any of the four biographical works that describe the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).
Grace: Undeserved favor, goodness, and blessing.
Great Commission: The commission given by Christ to His disciples as described in Matthew 28:19–20, commanding them to make disciples throughout the world.
Habakkuk: An Israelite prophet whose short work was likely recorded in the late-7th century BC.
Hades: The realm of the dead in which disembodied spirits are kept until judgment; the righteous were also housed here until the Gospel was realized (see Lk. 16).
Haggai: The first post-exilic prophet, he prophesied of God’s command to rebuild the Temple.
Ham: One of the three sons of Noah; his descendants spread to Africa and Asia.
Heaven: Heaven can indicate several things: (1) the place where God dwells manifestly; (2) wherever God is; (3) the cosmos beyond earth (i.e., space); (4) the sky; (5) any of various heavenly realms.
Hebrew: Possibly etymologically related to Eber, the great-grandson of Shem and ancestor of Abraham; any of those belonging to the family and line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; can also refer to the native language of Israel which has been lately revived; see Israel.
Holy Spirit: The third person of the Godhead; He convicts the world of sin, convicts the believer of imputed righteousness, and regenerates, seals, and guides the believer as he or she journeys through life.
Hosea: A prophet in the 8th century BC who was famously commanded by God to marry the prostitute Gomer in order to represent God’s relationship with unfaithful Israel.
Immutability: The attribute of God’s unchanging nature.
Imputation: The act of God whereby the sinner, despite moral and spiritual inability, is given the righteousness and moral perfection of Christ as a gift (2 Cor. 5:21; Rm. 5:15–19).
Iniquity: The premeditated and willful evil residing within the unrepentant.
Isaac: The promised son of Abraham, born in his old age; God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, but intervened via an angel to prevent the sacrifice; in his stead, a ram was provided, prefiguring the atoning sacrifice of Christ.
Isaiah: The first of the major prophets, Isaiah prophesied in the late-8th and early-7th centuries BC; his prophecies are profound, often future-focused, and highly messianic; he prophesied of Christ’s virgin birth (Isa. 7, 9), atoning death and resurrection (Isa. 53), and the creation of a new heavens and earth (Isa. 65).
Israel: The name given by God to Jacob; the whole people Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the land of the Israelites, promised and secured by God, situated in western Asia, along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
Jacob: The son of Isaac whom God renamed Israel; the descendants of Jacob are the Israelites; his twelve sons became the twelve tribes of Israel.
James the Greater: Designated “greater,” not as an acclaim of greater importance, but for either greater age or stature, James the Greater was one of the Twelve and the first apostle to be martyred for his faith (in circa AD 44).
James the Lesser: One of the Twelve and possible brother of Matthew; by one tradition, he was martyred by stoning.
James, the half-brother of Jesus: He initially rejected his brother, but after the resurrection, came to faith and led the church in Jerusalem; it is said he was entrapped by legalism and opposed the Gospel, but came to repentance as recorded in Acts 15; he penned the epistle bearing his name.
Japheth: One of the three sons of Noah; his descendants primarily spread to Europe.
Jeremiah: One of the major prophets, he is known as “the weeping prophet”; he prophesied of Jerusalem’s destruction.
Jerusalem: An ancient Jebusite city which became the center of Israelite governance after David conquered the city; since then, it has taken on an increasingly central role in Jewish life and biblical prophecy.
Jesus of Nazareth: A Jewish man, born in Bethlehem circa 5–1 BC, who died in Jerusalem circa AD 30–33; claiming to be fully God and fully man, His claims were validated by His powerful miracles, steadfast love, sacrificial death, and bodily resurrection from the dead; the authors of the New Testament unwaveringly held to the belief that salvation is only found in Him (Jn. 14:6; Acts 4:12).
Jew: Specifically, a person belonging to the tribe of Judah, the term is also used more broadly to refer to any Israelite or modern-day Israeli.
Joel: One of the minor prophets, he wrote as early as the 9th century BC, and his prophecy is quoted by the apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2).
John: One of the Twelve and the likely author of the Gospel and epistles bearing his name, as well as the Book of Revelation.
John the Baptist: The son of Zechariah and Elizabeth and cousin of Jesus; he came in the spirit and power of Elijah and prepared the way for Jesus; he was beheaded for his stalwart defense of truth.
Jonah: The Israelite prophet who tried to flee from God, but who was swallowed by a great fish and eventually obeyed God, prophesying to the people of Nineveh to repent before certain judgment.
Joshua: Joshua, son of Nun, led the Israelites into the Promised Land after the death of Moses; his leadership enabled the tribes to obtain their possessions and transitioned the Israelites into the period of the Judges.
Judas Iscariot: One of the original Twelve Apostles; he betrayed Jesus to the Jewish authorities, and despairing of what he had done while lacking true faith in Christ, he committed suicide by hanging.
Justification: To be considered or proven right; from a theological perspective, to be declared righteous by sovereign decree of God.
Lake of Fire: see Gehenna.
Law: Generically, a rule enacted by a sovereign that must be followed; theologically, the Law of Moses given by God at Mount Sinai; it was designed to condemn the world under sin so that sinners would be prepared to receive grace through faith in Christ (Rm. 3; Gal. 3).
Lord’s Supper: The memorial meal instituted by Christ on the night before His death; Christians share bread, representing Christ’s body, and wine, representing Christ’s blood, to remember the sacrifice He made for sinners.
Love: Sacrificial care for another at the expense of one’s own rights, dignity, and resources; the ultimate demonstration of which was the sacrificial death of Christ who died in the place of sinners.
Maccabees: A league of Jewish rebels who overthrew Seleucid rule in Judea in the 2nd century BC, founding the Hasmonean Dynasty and reigning until the mid-1st century BC; the rededication of the Temple, from which is derived the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, occurred during their uprising.
Malachi: One of the minor prophets, although some believe Malachi was the pen name of Ezra the Scribe; he prophesied in the 5th century BC and his work concludes the Old Testament with a prophecy of the coming of John the Baptist and the incarnate Messiah (Mal. 3–4).
Man of Lawlessness: Described by the apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2, a man, empowered by Satan, who is coming to deceive the inhabitants of earth; see Antichrist.
Mary: The mother of Jesus, the mother of God, wife of Joseph.
Mary Magdalene: The disciple of Jesus from whom He cast out seven demons; she followed Him closely and was the first to see Him risen from the dead.
Masoretic Text: The prevalent Hebrew text of the Tanakh in use by Jews today and underlying most English translations of the Old Testament.
Matthew: A former tax collector, he followed Jesus, becoming one of the Twelve; he later recorded the Gospel attributed to him.
Matthias: The apostle, chosen by lot, who replaced Judas Iscariot according to Acts 1:23–26.
Mercy: Not receiving deserved punishment or retribution.
Messenger: One sent to deliver a message; messengers in the Bible are often heavenly entities sent to deliver God’s messages to mankind; the Greek word for “messenger,” angelos, is transliterated “angel” in many translations.
Messiah: The Hebrew term for “Anointed One”; the Messiah was the long-expected Savior and King who would not only satisfy prophetic hopes pertaining to Israel, but as the Seed promised to Eve (Gen. 3:15), Gentile hopes as well.
Micah: One of the minor prophets, he prophesied during the time of the Assyrian conquest of the northern Kingdom of Israel and Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah; he prophesied that Israel’s future King was preexistent and to be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2).
Miriam: The sister of Moses.
Moab: One of the two sons of Lot born by his daughters; Moab was the progenitor of the civilization by that name situated east of the Dead Sea, south of Ammon, and north of Edom.
Monotheism: Belief in one God.
Moses: The Hebrew who was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter after being found in a basket in the Nile River; he eventually fled to Midian, encountered God at the Burning Bush, and returned to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of slavery; he became a mediator between God and the people and led the Israelites in their wilderness wanderings.
Nahum: One of the minor prophets, he prophesied against Nineveh and Assyria in the late-7th century BC.
Nathaniel: A friend of Philip and one of the Twelve; he is the one whom Jesus saw under a fig tree while not present with him; Jesus said of him that he was “a true Israelite, in whom is nothing false”; he is often identified with Bartholomew.
Nehemiah: A biblical figure instrumental in leading the restoration effort of Jerusalem among the post-exilic Jews.
Nephilim: The offspring of the angels who sinned in Genesis 6; while the word might mean something like “fallen ones,” a strong linguistic case can be made that it is best translated “giants.”
New Covenant: The covenant enacted by Christ with His followers through His sacrificial death and resurrection; it is a covenant of grace rather than law.
New Testament: The 27 books, beginning with Matthew and ending with Revelation, that reveal Christ as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and expectation, and the enactor of the New Covenant.
Noah: The antediluvian man who found grace in the eyes of God; he built the Ark to escape the Flood and he and his family was spared judgment, along with two of every unclean land-dwelling animal and seven of every clean animal kind.
Obadiah: One of the minor prophets; he wrote as early as the 9th century BC, making him a possible contemporary of Elijah.
Old Covenant: The Law given by God to the Israelites at Mount Sinai; see Law.
Old Testament: The sacred and divinely-inspired books beginning with Genesis and ending with Malachi that describe creation, the fall of mankind into sin, the establishment and development of the nation of Israel, and the messianic expectation among God’s followers.
Omnipotence: The attribute of God’s infinite power.
Omnipresence: The attribute of God’s universal presence.
Omniscience: The attribute of God’s limitless knowledge.
Overseer: From the same Greek word which is translated as “bishop,” these local church leaders are identifiable with elders.
Parousia: The appearing of Christ; this can refer to both the pre-tribulational appearing of Christ for the Church, as well as the post-tribulational appearing of Christ in glory during the Second Coming.
Passover: The sacred festival generally occurring in the March to April timeframe during which the people of Israel celebrated their release from Egyptian bondage; the sacrifice of a lamb during the festival ultimately prefigured the death of Christ, who died on Passover.
Paul: A Pharisee who greatly persecuted the Church, but who came face to face with Jesus on the road to Damascus and went on to be the primary apostle to the Gentiles; much of Acts records his story and most of the New Testament epistles are his.
Pentecost: The 50th day, inclusive, after the Feast of First Fruits; 50 days after Christ’s resurrection on First Fruits, the Holy Spirit was sent to indwell believers and initiate the Church.
Peter, Simon: A Galilean fisherman and brother of Andrew; he was called by Jesus and became a key leader of the Twelve; he was later martyred in Rome via crucifixion, but refusing the dignity of being crucified in the same manner as his Master, he was crucified upside down.
Pharaoh: Any of various kings of Egypt.
Pharisees: The most popular Jewish sect among the people at the time of Christ, known for high regard for Judaism and a generally literal interpretation of Scripture; they were often defined by legalism and opposed the message of grace and humility that Christ brought.
Philip: One of the Twelve, he was martyred in Hierapolis according to tradition; he features heavily in the Gospel of John.
Philistines: A possibly Minoan people who settled on the southwestern coast of Canaan during the period of the Judges; a number of giants lived among them, including Goliath and his brothers; they were the primary enemy of Israel for generations. It is thought by some linguists that the term “Palestine” is ultimately derived from Philistia.
Prophecy: The revealing of God’s will, often by predicting the outcome of future events.
Propitiation: The satisfaction of God’s wrath against sin; Christ’s atoning death made propitiation for the sins of mankind.
Pseudepigrapha: False writings; writings attributed to an author who did not in fact write the text.
Rapture: The future removal of believers from the earth preceding the 70th Week of Daniel, as described by the apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18, 1 Corinthians 15, John in Revelation 3–4, and the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 26 and 66, among others.
Repentance: From Greek metanoia (lit. “after thought”; i.e., to think differently afterwards), the word is non-theological in Greek and means to change one’s mind about something; in a theological context, it means to change one’s mind from unbelief in Christ to belief in Christ.
Resurrection: Returning to life, bodily, after a real and complete death; according to the Apostles and hundreds of eyewitnesses, Jesus was resurrected on the third day after His crucifixion.
Righteousness: Goodness and real justification by God’s perfect standard.
Ruth: The Moabite daughter-in-law of the Israelite Naomi; she eventually married Boaz, a kinsman redeemer; the marriage of Boaz, an Israelite, and Ruth, a Gentile, prefigured Christ the Jewish Redeemer in union with His primarily Gentile Church.
Sabbath: The seventh day of the week on which God ceased from His creative work; it is this day—Friday evening through Saturday evening—that the Israelites were commanded to rest from their work in remembrance.
Sadducees: A Hellenized Jewish sect often at enmity with the Pharisees; they held to a less supernatural view of Scripture and often denied the eschatological hope of resurrection; they held considerable power in Jerusalem and were frequently opposed to Jesus.
Salvation: The process by which a spiritually-dead person is forgiven of their sins through faith in Jesus Christ and thus spiritually regenerated by the Holy Spirit, adopted by God into His heavenly family, and granted everlasting life.
Samaritan Pentateuch: A Paleo-Hebrew text of the Pentateuch in use by the Samaritans.
Samuel: A prophet of God whose ministry oversaw the transition from the period of the Judges to the period of the Kings.
Satan: The prime sentient adversary of God, described in the books of Job, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah, and frequently throughout the New Testament; he is explicitly identified with the serpent in the Garden of Eden in Revelation 12; while he is frequently described as “fallen,” his final fall is still yet future when he will be cast to the earth (Rev. 12) and ultimately bound for 1,000 years and eternally judged (Rev. 20).
Saul: The first king of Israel; anointed by Samuel, he eventually transgressed a number of God’s commands which led to his loss of the kingdom.
Second Coming: The return of Christ to the earth to establish supreme rulership for one thousand years in advance of a new creation; it is described in great detail in Zechariah 14 and Revelation 19–20, among other passages.
Septuagint: The Greek translation of the Old Testament Scriptures.
Seraphim: Six-winged angelic beings described by the prophet Isaiah.
Seth: The third son of Adam and Eve through whom came the lineage of Noah, his sons, and ultimately all the people of earth.
Shem: One of the three sons of Noah and the one through whom would come Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; it is from Shem that the term Semite is derived.
Simon the Zealot: One of the Twelve; he was affiliated, likely formerly, with the Zealots.
Sin: Literally “missing the mark,” sin is the corruption that entered the world through Adam’s disobedience; sin is whatever does not come from faith in God (Rm. 14:23); while not all sin is equal in gravity, all sin causes death.
Sin Nature: The corrupted nature of all human beings as a result of the sin that entered the world through Adam; the sin nature predisposes human beings to sin; Christ alone was born without a sin nature as He had no earthly father, and thus did not inherit the predisposition of Adam.
Sola Fide: Faith alone; the belief that a person is justified through faith in Jesus Christ, rather than doing enough good to win God’s favor.
Sola Gratia: Grace alone; the belief that a person is saved by God’s unmerited grace.
Sola Scriptura: Scripture alone; the belief that doctrine and truth are established on the basis of God’s revealed word alone.
Soli Deo Gloria: For the glory of God alone; the belief that all things are ultimately for God’s glory, including salvation.
Solomon: The son of David and third king of Israel; under his leadership the First Temple was built in Jerusalem.
Solus Christus: In Christ alone; the belief that salvation is only found in Jesus; there are not many paths to God.
Tabernacle: The tent constructed by the Israelites after the Exodus to house the Ark and conduct the priestly services; it was carried by the Israelites during their journeys and was later replaced by the Temple in Jerusalem.
Tabernacles, Feast of: A harvest festival in the autumn in which the Jews dwell in sukkahs or tent-like booths; it was one of the three pilgrimage festivals.
Tanakh: The Jewish Bible; see Old Testament.
Temple: Any of several large stone structures built as a permanent house for the Ark of the Covenant, the priestly services, and the presence of God on earth; the first was built by King Solomon in Jerusalem and was destroyed in the 6th century BC; the second was built by the returning exiles and lasted until AD 70; a third temple is prophesied to be built during the Tribulation period, and a fourth, often called the Millennial Temple, will be built during the Millennial Kingdom (cf. Ezek. 40–48); the Church itself is a spiritual temple in which the presence of God resides via the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Ten Commandments: The first ten laws given by God to Moses at Mount Sinai; while these were the only laws written on tablets of stone, they were only one portion of a much larger collection of 613 laws given to the Israelites as an all-or-nothing proposition: if kept, the nation would be blessed; if not kept in their entirety, the nation would be cursed.
Thaddeus: Sometimes identified with Jude; one of the Twelve.
Thomas: One of the Twelve; he is known for his doubts regarding the resurrection of Christ, but whose faith was restored when Jesus physically appeared to him.
Timothy: An associate and student of Paul’s to whom Paul wrote in 1 and 2 Timothy. He was charged with faithful church stewardship and contending for the Christian faith as a good shepherd.
Tomb: particularly in the New Testament era, these were artificial caves hewn out of rock for the entombment of corpses.
Transcendence: The attribute describing how God is not equal to or identifiable with His creation as found in beliefs like pantheism or panentheism; rather, God is beyond and superior to His creation.
Transgression: Overstepping a set boundary; breaking a law of God.
Trinity: The community of persons within the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19); the three persons share the one divine nature (“God”) and are thus a single being and essence, yet distinct in personhood.
Watchers: The specific group of approximately 200 angels that “left their first estate” and married human women, through whom giant, hybrid offspring, called Nephilim, were born.
Zealots: A militant Jewish sect in the 1st century that was known for sometimes violent opposition to Rome.
Zechariah: The son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, a prophet who prophesied in the 6th century BC; not to be confused with the Zechariah in the Gospels who was the father of John the Baptist.
Zephaniah: A prophet who prophesied in the days of Josiah, king of Judah, in the 7th century BC.
Zion: A prophetic and political term referring to Jerusalem and the land of Israel at large; it can also prophetically and symbolically refer to the heavenly city in which believers will have citizenship.
“Beloved, using all diligence to write to you concerning our common salvation, I had necessity to write to you, exhorting [you] to fight for the faith once delivered to the holy ones . . .” (Jd. 1:3)
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GOD AS TRINITY: The Trinity is the foundational Christian belief pertaining to God’s nature (theology), that God is one Being (infinite, indivisible, uncreated essence) who exists in three Persons. The Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—are co-equal and co-eternal. The divine nature comes from the Father (i.e., the three Persons share in the nature of the Father), but the Father is not the Son, and the Holy Spirit is neither Father nor Son. The Son is eternally generated by the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally from Father and Son. (References: Mt. 28:19; Lk. 1:35; 3:21–22; Jn. 1:1–2; 10:30; 14:16; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Pt. 1:2; see also Gen. 1:26; 3:22; 11:7)
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JESUS CHRIST: The study of the nature of Jesus Christ (Christology) based on the revealed word of God, demonstrates that, according to His humanity, Christ was a descendant of King David, of the tribe of Judah, born of the virgin Mary in the town of Bethlehem, and raised in the region of Galilee, in the town of Nazareth; He lived, by all accounts, a morally-flawless and sinless life of devotion to God and sacrificial love. Moreover, He died by crucifixion at the hands of the Roman and Jewish authorities, was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, and was resurrected from the dead on the third day (early Sunday morning, before dawn); 40 days post-resurrection, Christ ascended into Heaven. According to His divinity, Christ is the eternal Son of the Father and the incarnate Son of God. He is thus fully God and fully man, possessing both natures completely, and yet is one Person. (References: Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Mt. 1:23; 2:1–12; Lk. 1:35; Jn. 1:1–2, 14; 1 Cor. 15:3–4; Phil. 2:5–11; Col. 1:16–17; 2:9; Heb. 1:3; 4:15)
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THE GOSPEL: The Gospel (lit. “Good News”) is the fundamental belief in Christianity pertaining to salvation (soteriology), programmatically stated by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3–4, that (1) Christ died for our sins, (2) was buried, and (3) was physically/bodily resurrected from the dead. The Gospel message outlined and proclaimed by Paul and the other apostles rests on several key recognitions: first, Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah of Israel, the Chosen One of God); second, Christ was truly killed, and His death was substitutional (the sinless Christ died in the place of sinners, taking the punishment of death due to sinners upon Himself); third, Christ returned to life, not merely as an apparition or figuratively, but physically and bodily; and fourth, salvation is found in Christ alone. When a person places their faith in Jesus Christ, believing in the complete Gospel message, they are forgiven of all their sins, adopted as God’s own child, and granted everlasting life. (References: Isa. 53; Lk. 24:46–47; Jn. 3:7–18; 8:24; 14:6; Acts 4:12; Rm. 3:21–24; 6:23; 10:5–13; 1 Cor. 15; Eph. 2:8–9; 1 Jn. 1:9; 3:1–3)
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THE CHURCH: The Church (lit. “Assembly”) is the universal collective of Jews and Gentiles with faith in Jesus Christ. The biblical doctrine of the Church (ecclesiology) details that the members of the Church come from all nations, collectively form Christ’s mystical body, are called to evangelism and discipleship in the present age, baptize new converts and share the Lord’s Supper (i.e., communion), and have a shared future united with Christ in the heavenly realms. The true Church is known only to God. (References: Mt. 28:19–20; Lk. 22:19–20; Jn. 14:1–3; Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 2:6; 1 Thess. 4:13–18; Rev. 5:9)
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THE FUTURE: The biblical study of “last things” (eschatology) reveals that the earth, mankind, and the universe, now broken and corrupted by sin, will be restored, but in such a way even more glorious than the Edenic order of Genesis 1 and 2. Christ will gather His Church, taking believers to the heavenly place prepared, return to earth to judge the nations and establish His kingdom, reign for one thousand years, judge unbelievers, eradicate all sin and death, and then establish a perfect eternal order where Heaven and earth are united and God dwells intimately with His children forever. (References: Mt. 24–25; Jn. 14:1–3; 1 Cor. 15:50–53; 1 Thess. 4:13–18; Rev. 19–22)
FALSE TEACHINGS REJECTED
BY THE CHURCH (HERESIES)
“. . . for I have known this, that there will enter in, after my departing, grievous wolves to you, not sparing the flock . . .” (Acts 20:29)
1ST AND 2ND CENTURIES
Legalism (Judaizers): The belief that circumcision and/or keeping the Law of Moses, in addition to faith in Jesus, is necessary for salvation for both Jews and Gentiles.
Antinomianism: The idea that there is no obligation to live with Christian virtue or moral responsibilities; while the historic Christian faith recognizes that believers are now free from the legal demands of the Law of Moses (the Old Covenant), there is still an important recognition that the Law reveals the heart of God, and Christians are called to live lives worthy of their salvation under the New Covenant.
Docetism: The belief of Docetism holds that Jesus Christ did not have a real physical body, but only an apparent or illusory one.
Montanism: A movement that emphasized the importance of ecstatic experiences and new prophecies not found in Scripture.
Gnosticism: A complex system of thought that teaches that the material world is evil, and that salvation can be achieved through superior knowledge (gnosis).
Valentinianism: A gnostic heresy that taught that the world was created by a series of emanations from the supreme being. Valentinians believed that salvation came from knowledge of the true nature of the universe.
Marcionism: A heresy that arose in the 2nd century AD. Marcionists believed that the God of the Old Testament was a different god from the God of the New Testament.
Sethianism: Sethianism was a 2nd-century gnostic movement that believed in a supreme god, Sophia, the demiurge, and gnosis as the path to salvation.
Basilideanism: Basilideanism was a gnostic Christian sect founded by Basilides of Alexandria. Basilidians believed that the material world was created by an evil demiurge and that the goal of salvation was to escape from this world and return to the spiritual realm.
Monarchianism: A heresy that taught that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were all the same unitarian being, and not distinct, co-eternal Persons. Monarchians were also known as Unitarians.
Modalism: Modalism is the belief that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three different modes of God, as opposed to a Trinitarian view of three distinct Persons within the Godhead.
Sabellianism: The belief that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three distinct persons, but are simply different manifestations of the same divine being.
Patripassianism: The belief that the Father and Son are not two distinct persons, and both God the Father and the Son suffered on the cross as Jesus.
Adoptionism: The belief that Jesus Christ was not the Son of God from eternity, but was adopted by God at some point in His life.
Psilanthropism: The belief that Jesus is merely human and that He never became divine, or that He never existed prior to His birth.
3RD CENTURY
Novatianism: A movement that arose in response to the persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire. Novatians believed that Christians who had lapsed during the persecution could not be forgiven.
4TH CENTURY
Arianism: The belief that Jesus Christ is not fully divine, but is a created being.
Donatism: A movement that arose in North Africa in the 4th century AD. Donatists believed that the Church had become corrupt and that only the Donatists were the true Christians.
Apollinarianism: The belief that Jesus did not have a human mind or soul, but only a human body.
Tritheism: The belief that there are three gods, rather than one God in three Persons.
Collyridianism: The belief that the Trinity consists of the Father, Son, and Mary, and that the Son results from the marital union between the other two.
Binitarianism: Binitarianism is a Christian heresy that teaches that there are only two persons in the Godhead: the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is not considered to be a separate Person, but rather an aspect of the Son or the Father.
Subordinationism: A heresy that teaches that the Son and the Holy Spirit are not co-equal with the Father. Subordinationists believe that the Son and the Holy Spirit are ontologically subordinate to the Father.
Anomoeanism: A heresy that taught that Jesus was not fully divine, but was a created being. Anomoeans also believed that Christ could not be like God because He lacked the quality of self-existence.
Priscillianism: This heresy emerged in Spain during the 4th century and was influenced by the Gnostic-Manichaean teachings of Marcus, an Egyptian from Memphis.
5TH CENTURY
Nestorianism: The belief that Jesus Christ was two persons: the divine Son of God and the human Jesus of Nazareth. Nestorius said that the virgin Mary is not the mother of God (Theotokos) because she gave birth to the human part of Jesus, not the divine Son of God, and he called her Christotokos. Nestorianism was condemned as a heresy by the Council of Ephesus.
Pelagianism: The belief that humans can be saved by their own efforts, without the need for God’s grace.
Eutychianism: The belief that Christ is in one nature and of two, with the humanity of Christ subsumed by the divinity.
Monophysitism: The belief that Christ has only one nature, which is divine.
Miaphysitism: The belief that Christ is fully divine and fully human, in one nature (physis).
MODERN HERESIES (18TH THROUGH 21ST CENTURIES)
Modernism: The belief that all doctrines are subject to change, and that doctrines ought to change depending on the time and location.
Mormonism: Based on the unique teachings of Joseph Smith and his Book of Mormon, proponents teach that the Bible was corrupted, that God is not one, that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are distinct beings from God the Father, that other gods exist beyond the Godhead, and that divinity is ultimately an unending procession of created beings attaining Godhood.
Jehovah’s Witnesses: A nontrinitarian sect that denies both the divinity of Christ and salvation through faith alone. It is managed by the sectarian Watch Tower Society.
Universalism: The belief that most or all religions provide a legitimate path to salvation and that the various gods of the world’s religions are ultimately manifestations of the supreme being or transcendent spiritual reality.