Terms included in this list do not include terms explained in the course of the book. Items capitalized and in boldface are included in the glossary.
Abraham – The man God chose to be the forefather of the people who would become known as Israelites or Jews.
Acts – A book in the New Testament about the history of the first Christians.
Adam and Eve – The first two humans (a man and a woman) God created.
Angels – Supernatural beings who serve God and assist believers in Jesus. The original Hebrew and Greek terms translated “angel” in English Bibles mean “messenger.” The term “angel” is therefore a job description—it describes the role of a member of God’s heavenly realm who takes messages to people from God. See the “Summary of Supernatural Terms” following the glossary for more detail.
Apostle – A Greek term meaning “sent one.” There are different kinds of apostles in the New Testament.
Ascension – Jesus’s return to heaven after his resurrection.
Assyrians – Historic enemies of Israel from Northern Mesopotamia
Babel – The ancient city of Babylon, located in southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq).
Babylonians – Historic enemies of Israel from Southern Mesopotamia.
Believer – Someone who embraces or has believing trust in the Gospel.
Bible – A collection of 66 ancient, sacred books, written by men guided providentially by God. The first 39 books are known as the Old Testament, followed by 27 books referred to as the New Testament.
Christ – A Greek word meaning “anointed one”; equivalent to “Messiah” and a title for Jesus.
Covenant – An agreement between two parties. In the Bible God makes covenants with humanity in which he extends promises and blessing to them. Covenants may or may not have conditions.
Cross – The means of the execution of Jesus. The Roman cross was an upright pole with a cross-beam on which victims were tied or nailed and left to suffocate after torture. In the New Testament, “the cross” also refers to the place where sin was paid for and Salvation secured for all who believe the Gospel.
David – Israel’s second king, whom God promised an everlasting dynasty. The Messiah would come from this dynastic lineage.
Depravity – A term related to Evil and Sin, though it often refers to the extent and frequency of evil thoughts and behavior.
Devil – Another name for Satan and the Serpent. See the “Summary of Supernatural Terms” following the glossary for more detail.
Disciple – As a noun, someone who follows Jesus by imitating his life and obeying his teachings; as a verb, “to disciple” someone is to teach them to follow Jesus.
Evangelism – The enterprise of spreading the message of the Gospel by various means.
Exodus – (1) The name of the second book in the Bible; (2) a term describing the ancient nation of Israel’s escape from slavery in Egypt.
Evil – Whatever God deems morally or ethically bad, harmful, and offensive to him or his creation.
Faith – Believing trust (in someone or something).
Fall – The Sin of Adam and Eve in Eden and its ensuing implications.
Forgiveness (of sin) – When God pardons someone from their offenses and wrongdoing against him. When God forgives, any penalty owed to him is canceled. Related concepts include Grace, Mercy, and Salvation.
Garden of Eden – The place in God’s original created world where Adam and Eve lived. God was also present in Eden.
Genesis – The first book of the Bible.
Gentile – A term describing anyone who is not part of ethnic Israel; i.e., “non-Israelite.”
God – In the Bible, when this term is singular and capitalized, it refers to the unique, ultimate, and incomparable Supernatural being who created all that is and who loves humankind.
Godhead – The Trinity; the three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) of the one incomparable God.
Gospel – The message of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Grace – When God offers or gives us what we do not deserve; God’s kindness.
Great Commission – The mission given by Jesus to his followers to spread the Gospel and make disciples throughout the world.
Hebrew – (1) Another term for “Israelite”; (2) the language in which the Old Testament was originally written.
Holy Spirit – The personal Spirit of God, equal to him in essence.
Isaac – The son of Abraham born of Sarah.
Israel – (1) The new name of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham; (2) the Old Testament nation begun by God through Abraham and Sarah.
Israelites – Members of Abraham’s lineage; members of the nation of Israel.
Jacob – The son of Isaac and, therefore, Abraham’s grandson. His name was later changed to “Israel”.
Jesus – The Son of God, who was born of the Virgin Mary, but who was also fully God. God became a man as Jesus to enact God’s plan for the Salvation of humankind from Sin.
Jews – Another name for “Israelites,” the people descended from Abraham. In ancient times, this was a term given by foreigners to the remaining two tribes of Israelites sent into exile.
Kingdom of God / Christ / Jesus – The rule of God through Christ on earth with believers. The New Testament presents this kingdom as present and in progress, but awaiting its ultimate fulfillment.
Mercy – When God withholds from us the judgment we deserve.
Messiah – A Hebrew term that means “anointed one.” It refers to the ultimate king from David’s lineage who would bring salvation from sin and liberation of God’s people from their enemies. In the biblical story, Jesus was the messiah. The Greek equivalent of this Hebrew term is “Christ.” Hence “Jesus Christ” is “Jesus, the messiah.”
Moses – an Israelite born during the bondage of Israel in Egypt whom God chose to empower to lead Israel out of that enslavement.
Mount Sinai – The mountain where God called Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, and the place where God gave Israel the Ten Commandments.
New Testament – The 27 books following the Old Testament. Their content concerns the life and ministry of Jesus, the history of the first Christians, and the spread of Christianity in the first century A.D.
Noah – The man whom God considered righteous at the time of the flood. God instructed Noah to build an ark (a large ship) to save himself, his family, and wildlife from the great flood.
Old Testament – The first 39 books of the Bible. Their content is chronologically prior to the birth of Jesus.
Paul – An Apostle of Jesus whose ministry focused on Gentiles (non-Israelites).
Peter – One of Jesus’s original twelve Disciples.
Promised Land – A term applied to geographic Israel, the place God promised to Abraham as the location where his offspring could settle. Before it was occupied by Israelites, this land was referred to in the Old Testament as Canaan.
Powers of Darkness – All supernatural beings hostile to God’s plan for his world and human family. See the “Summary of Supernatural Terms” following the glossary for more detail.
Resurrection – (1) Generally, the conquest of death by new life after death; (2) in the New Testament, a reference to the fact that Jesus rose from the dead bodily three days after he had been executed on the Cross, or the future rising of all believers to everlasting life on a new earth.
Salvation – The deliverance of someone who believes the Gospel from their estrangement from God due to sin. In salvation, one’s sins are forgiven by believing the message of the Gospel. Salvation restores the believer to God’s family.
Sarah – Abraham’s wife whom God supernaturally enabled to conceive a child.
Satan – A name given to the serpent in Eden who deceived Adam and Eve. Satan was the first supernatural being in God’s creation that rebelled against God. Satan is God’s arch-enemy in the New Testament. See the “Summary of Supernatural Terms” following the glossary for more detail.
Saul – Israel’s first king.
Serpent – The enemy of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The Bible later calls the serpent the Devil and Satan. See the “Summary of Supernatural Terms” following the glossary for more detail.
Sin – Any act or disposition that rebels against, or contradicts, God’s standards of righteousness, morality, and ethics.
Solomon – One of the sons of David. Solomon inherited the throne after David’s death.
Son – In the Bible, “the Son” (capitalized) refers to the second person of the Trinity, who became a man in Jesus.
Sons of God – In the Old Testament, supernatural beings either in the service of God or who rebelled against God. See the “Summary of Supernatural Terms” following the glossary for more detail.
Spirit of God – Another term for the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual warfare – The struggle against Sin and hostile Supernatural forces that oppose the operation of the Great Commission. See the “Summary of Supernatural Terms” following the glossary for more detail.
Supernatural – A term referring to that which transcends or falls outside the natural (physical, material) world and universe. A “supernatural being” refers to a being that is a spirit being who by nature is disembodied.
Ten Commandments – The initial ten moral laws given to the Israelites by God after the Exodus from Egypt.
Trinity – The three persons of the Godhead; the biblical doctrine that God is one but exists eternally in three persons.
What Does God Want?
Michael S. Heiser