Word List

Israel In the New Testament, the usual meaning of Israel is the Jewish nation; that is, all the descendants of Abraham. But Paul sometimes uses the word “Israel” to describe those who are true spiritual children of Abraham through faith (Galatians 6:16).

In the Old Testament, Abraham’s grandson Jacob was given the name Israel by God (Genesis 35:10). Jacob had twelve sons, from whom came the twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 35:23-26).

Today Israel is the name of a nation in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. This modern nation was established for the Jews in 1947 on the same land that God had first promised to give to Abraham’s descendants (Genesis 12:4-7). Its main city is still Jerusalem, which was the capital of the Jewish nation in New Testament times.

Israelite (See Word List: Jew)

Jew A Jew (or Israelite) is a descendant of Abraham, the father of the Jews (see Word List: Abraham).

God made a promise to Abraham saying: “I will make you into a great nation” (Genesis 12:2). God established a covenant (see Word List: Covenant) with Abraham and his descendants. God said to Abraham: “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you” (Genesis 17:7-8). In this way God chose the Jews to be His special chosen people (Exodus 19:5-6). But God demanded that the Jews obey Him and worship only Him; that was their part of the covenant.

In Old Testament times, the Jews were the only race that worshiped the one true God. However, they fell away many times and disobeyed God, and God sent them prophets to call them to repent and turn from their evil ways.

God chose the Jews to be a blessing to all the peoples of the earth (Genesis 12:3). The main blessing to come from the Jews was Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, who was Himself a Jew, a descendant of Abraham (Matthew 1:1). Through Jesus Christ, the promise God made to Abraham was fulfilled.

It was possible for Gentiles (see Word List: Gentile) to become Jews by being circumcised (see Word List: Circumcision) and by carefully following the Jewish law (see Word List: Law). Gentiles who converted to the Jewish religion in this way were called Jewish proselytes.

Judgment In the New Testament the word “judgment” has three different meanings; that is, it is used in three different ways.

The first meaning is the judgment of men against each other. Jesus said that we must not judge each other (see Matthew 7:1 and comment). Man’s judgment is never completely true, because no man can ever know the full truth about another man. Only God knows everything about each person. Therefore, only God can truly and fairly judge.

The second kind of judgment mentioned in the New Testament is the punishment that God gives to evil doers. This punishment comes upon both believers and unbelievers (1 Corinthians 11:29-34 and comment). The purpose of this kind of judgment is to turn sinners to God and to correct and purify men’s lives.

The third kind of judgment mentioned in the New Testament is God’s final judgment, which will occur at the end of the world. God has given the final authority to judge mankind to Jesus Christ (John 5:22). Every man must stand before the judgment seat of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:10 and comment). Christ’s judgment will be without partiality. His judgment on that day will not be like the judgments of men in this world; it will be completely true and fair. Those who have believed in Christ in this world will be saved and go to heaven. Those who have not believed in Christ in this world will be condemned and go to hell (John 3:18,36). After the last judgment, there is no possibility of appeal. Therefore, a person must believe in Jesus in this life in order to receive salvation; there is no other way (Acts 4:12).

Kingdom of God The kingdom of God is not any particular place; it is not like an earthly kingdom. The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom in which God rules with complete authority. In one sense, God’s kingdom is everywhere. But in the New Testament, the kingdom of God usually means the spiritual “kingdom” where men and angels worship and obey God. Therefore, in accordance with this meaning, the earth is not yet in God’s kingdom; it is in Satan’s kingdom. Satan is the prince of this world (see John 12:31; 16:11 and comments).

However, in another sense, Jesus brought the kingdom of God to earth. All who believe in Jesus are immediately delivered from Satan’s kingdom, the kingdom of darkness, and brought into God’s kingdom. Christians live in God’s kingdom even while still here on earth. We are citizens of God’s kingdom; God is our ruler. Through His Holy Spirit He helps us to overcome Satan. And after our bodies die, we will continue to live in God’s kingdom in heaven.

Therefore, when we are in Christ through faith, we enter God’s kingdom. In a sense the kingdom enters us—God’s rule enters us (see Luke 17:20-21 and comment). The main message that Jesus preached was: “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (see Mark 1:14-15 and comment).

Kingdom of Heaven (See Word List: Kingdom of God)

Law In the Bible when the word “law” is used, it usually refers to the Jewish law. The main part of the Jewish law is the ten commandments, which God wrote on two tablets of stone and gave to Moses to give to the Jews (Exodus 20:3-17; 31:18). In addition to the ten commandments, God gave Moses many other laws for the Jewish people, which are written in the books ofExodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. There are over six hundred other rules in the Jewish law which the Jews have to obey. All these together are known as the law. Sometimes the first five books of the Old Testament are also called the Law, or the Law of Moses.

The Jews believed that if they carried out these laws and commands completely they would thereby obtain salvation. However, the New Testament teaches and human experience confirms that no one can obey the law completely all the time (see Galatians 3:10; James 2:10 and comments). Thus no one can be justified or saved by the law (see Galatians 2:15-16 and comment). The law doesn’t save men; it condemns them. Indeed, Christ came to free men and women from the bondage of the law and to show them the true way to salvation—that is, Christ Himself (see Romans 8:1-4 and comment).

Christ came to fulfill the law (see Matthew 5:17 and comment). He Himself obeyed the law perfectly. Christ fulfilled the law not only by obeying it; He also fulfilled it in another way. The law demands the death penalty for sin; the law condemns all men to death, because all men are sinners (Romans 3:10-12). So Christ came to die in our place for our sins. In this way He fulfilled the demand of the law for the death penalty. Because Christ died, the law can now no longer condemn those who put their faith in Him. We are saved from the punishment of the law (eternal death) by our faith in Christ.

Lord’s Supper Jesus and His disciples celebrated the first Lord’s Supper on the day before Jesus died (see Mark 14:22-24 and comment). Jesus Himself commanded Christians to celebrate the Lord’s Supper in memory of His death (see 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 and comment).

During the celebration ofthe Lord’s Supper, Christians eat bread and drink wine or some other drink. When believers gather to commemorate the Lord’s death, the bread in some way represents Christ’s broken body, and the wine (or other drink) represents Christ’s shed blood. Concerning the bread, Jesus said: “… this is my body, given for you” (Mark 14:22). Concerning the wine, He said: “… this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (Mark 14:24). By Jesus’ blood, a new covenant has been ratified between man and God (see Word List: Covenant).

When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we in a way participate in His death and in His resurrection life. When we eat the bread and drink the wine, we are in a special way, through faith, united with Christ. Many Christians believe that when we partake of the bread and wine, we receive anew through faith the spiritual blessings that have come from Christ’s death and resurrection—that is, forgiveness of sins, cleansing, and new life.

Only believers can partake of the Lord’s Supper. Before eating the bread and drinking the wine, the believer must have repented of all known sin and be walking in obedience to Jesus. Before partaking, each believer must carefully examine himself (see 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 and comment).

For a further discussion of the Lord’s Supper, see General Article: Lord’s Supper.

Moses Moses was the greatest leader of the Jewish people. He was born about 1500 B.C. He led the Jews out of bondage in Egypt. He received the ten commandments from God and delivered them to the Jews, so that they might walk in God’s way. He led the Jews for forty years in the Sinai desert. He wrote the first five books of the Old Testament. The description of Moses’ life can be found in the books of Exodus and Numbers.

Peace In the Bible the word “peace” has many meanings. In the Old Testament, “peace” is often used as a greeting. Peace can also mean the absence of war. It can also mean inner peace of mind.

In the New Testament, the word “peace” usually means complete well-being in body, mind, and spirit. But more important, it means peace with God. When we were unrepentant sinners, we were enemies of God. Now, through faith in Christ, we can make peace with God. We are no longer His enemies; we are His children (see Romans 5:1 and comment).

Passover The Passover festival was celebrated each year to commemorate the release of the Jews from bondage in Egypt. The festival lasted for one week, during which time the Jews were to eat only unleavened bread. The Passover festival, therefore, was also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. On the first day of the festival, the Passover feast was eaten, and the Passover lamb was sacrificed (Leviticus 23:4-8; Deuteronomy 16:1-8).

The word “passover” means a passing over. On the last night the Jews were in Egypt God determined to kill all the firstborn living creatures in Egypt, because the Egyptian ruler, Pharaoh, had refused to let the Jews go free. But first God instructed the Jews to sacrifice a lamb and put some of its blood on the doorposts of their houses. Then, when the destroying angel came and saw the blood, he would knownot to destroy the firstborn in those homes (Exodus 12:1-14,2130; Hebrews 11:28).

In the same way, Christ is like a Passover lamb (see 1 Corinthians 5:7). Through Christ’s blood (His death on the cross) we are set free from bondage to sin and death. Therefore, it was completely fitting that Christ Himself should die right at the time of the Passover festival (see Mark 14:1,12 and comment).

Christians, therefore, do not celebrate the Jewish Passover festival itself—that is, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Instead, Christians celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. The celebration of His death is called Good Friday, and the celebration of His resurrection is called Easter.

Pentecost The word “pentecost” comes from the Greek language and means the fiftieth day. Thus the Jews celebrated the day of Pentecost on the fiftieth day after the Passover feast. The day of Pentecost was also called the Feast ofWeeks (Exodus 34:22; Deuteronomy 16:9-11). It was also called the day of firstfruits (Numbers 28:26), because on that day the Jews offered the first-fruits of their harvest to God.

The day of Pentecost is especially important to Christians because on the first Pentecost after Jesus’ death, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples of Jesus with great power. At that time the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, or baptized with the Spirit (see Acts 2:1-4 and comment; General Article: Holy Spirit Baptism).

Pharisee The Pharisees were a sect of the Jews. The word “pharisee” means separated one. In Christ’s time the Pharisees’ influence was very great among the Jews. They were a strict sect, who carefully tried to follow each detail of the Jewish law (see Word List: Law). They considered themselves righteous; but, in fact, in Christ’s time they were only outwardly righteous. Inwardly they were evil; they were hypocrites (see Matthew 23:13-32).

However, not all Pharisees were hypocrites. Nicodemus and Gamaliel were upright men who were also Pharisees (John 3:1; Acts 5:34). The Apostle Paul himself was a Pharisee (Acts 26:5; Philippians 3:5).

Prophecy Prophecy, according to its usual biblical usage, is a word coming directly from God that is spoken by men. Those who speak God’s word in this way are called prophets (see Word List: Prophet).

Prophecy can also mean the gift of prophecy—that is, the gift of speaking God’s words (1 Corinthians 12:10).

Prophecies can take many forms. They can be predictions of future events. They can be warnings from God. They can be important teachings that God wants to impart.

In every case, however, the prophecy is not something that originates with man; rather, a true prophecy always originates with God.

There are false prophecies, ofcourse, which do not come from God. The men who utter them are called false prophets. We are told to beware ofthem (Matthew 7:15; 1 John 4:1).

The Old Testament prophets were sent by God to the Jews to rebuke them for their disobedience and to remind them of God’s will. The Old Testament prophets also gave many prophecies concerning the coming of the Savior Jesus Christ.

In the New Testament, there are also prophets. The gift of prophecy was very important in the New Testament church (1 Corinthians 12:28; 14:1; Ephesians 4:11). The entire New Testament book of Revelation can be considered a prophecy about the end of the world.

Prophet One who speaks prophecies is called a prophet (see Word List: Prophecy). The true prophets of the Bible received words from God and then spoke them to the people. They were God’s spokesmen. They were not simply tellers of the future.

The largest number of prophets referred to in the Bible are the Jewish prophets of the Old Testament. These Old Testament prophets carried out two special functions. First, they admonished the Jews concerning their repeated disobedience to God’s law. And second, they announced the coming of the Savior Jesus Christ.

Propitiation (See Word List: Atonement)

Redemption Redemption means regaining possession of something by paying a price. It could mean the repurchasing of some article that was sold. Or, in the case of a slave, it could mean the purchasing of his liberty that was lost. But in the NewTestament, redemption means the “purchasing” ofour deliverance from the penalty of sin by paying a ransom or offering a sacrifice. Christ gave Himself as a ransom, or sacrifice, for us (see Mark 10:45 and comment). The payment for our deliverance was Christ’s own blood. Paul writes: In him (Christ) we have redemption through his blood (Ephesians 1:7).

Redemption is one aspect of our salvation. In some New Testament verses, the words “redemption” and “salvation” can almost be used interchangeably (see Word List: Salvation).

Repentance To repent means not only to feel sorry for and ashamed of one’s sin, but it also means to turn from that sin. Confessing our sin is not enough; we must also stop sinning. When a person truly repents, his actions, thoughts, and desires will be changed. If a person says “I have repented” but there is no improvement in his life, then his “repentance” is false.

To repent is an essential step in receiving salvation. Without repenting, it is impossible to be saved (see Matthew 5:3-4; Mark 1:4,15; Acts 2:37-38; 20:21; 2 Peter 3:9 and comments).

Resurrection Resurrection is a return to life after dying. Jesus has the power to raise the dead to life (John 5:24-25). He raised the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17); He raised Lazarus, who had been dead for four days (John 11:38-44). He Himself overcame death and rose to life; therefore, through His power, others will overcome death also (see 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 and comment). Among those on earth, believers in Christ will be the first to be raised when He comes again at the end of the world (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). But all men will be raised in the end, both good and evil. The resurrection ofbelievers will be in heaven; the resurrection of unbelievers will be in hell (see John 5:2829; Acts 24:15; Revelation 20:4-15 and comments).

When our body dies our spirit continues to live, but we will not immediately receive a new body. We will receive our new body only when Jesus comes again at the end of the world. Paul calls this the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:23). Believers in Christ will receive their new bodies in heaven. These new bodies will never die. They will be glorified bodies. They will be like Christ’s resurrected body (see Luke 24:36-43; Philippians 3:21; 1 John 3:2 and comments).

The most important event in the history of the world was the resurrection of Jesus Christ (see Mark 16:8 and comment). By His resurrection from the dead Jesus proved to men that He was indeed the Son of God, the Savior of the world (Romans 1:4). Because of His resurrection, we too have the hope of eternal life (John 11:25-26). Jesus said: “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19).

Righteous To be determined righteous (that is, to be justified) is one of the main parts of our salvation (see Word List: Salvation). No unrighteous person can come into God’s presence. … without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

Since this is so, how then does a person become “righteous” in God’s sight? One cannot become righteous through his own effort, by good works. He can only become righteous by repenting of his sin and turning to Christ in faith. When we believe in Christ, Christ takes away our guilt, our punishment. Our guilt is placed on the innocent Christ, and thus we become “righteous” because of Christ. Through faith we receive Christ’s righteousness. Christ brings us before God and, in effect, says to God, “I have died for this person’s sins. Therefore, he no longer needs to be punished. He can now be considered innocent.” And God will then declare us righteous in His sight and accept us into His family (see Mark 10:45; Romans 3:24-26; Galatians 2:15-16 and comments).

Therefore, when God justifies us (declares us righteous), He frees us from the punishment of sin. He forgives our sin completely. We have peace with God (see Romans 5:1 and comment). We are no longer condemned (see Romans 8:1 and comment).

Righteousness Righteousness in the Bible means God’s righteousness. We can tell what the righteousness of God is by studying God’s law, especially the ten commandments (Exodus 20:3-17) and the two great commands to love God and to love our neighbor (Mark 12:30-31). The law and commandments are God’s standard of behavior for all people.

No one has righteousness in himself (Romans 3:10). In God’s eyes, all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Only Christ was completely righteous. When we believe in Him we receive His righteousness, and therefore become acceptable in God’s sight.

There are two steps to receiving righteousness. First, we receive Christ’s righteousness through faith and are declared righteous by God (see Word List: Righteous). Second, through the work of the Holy Spirit (see Word List: Holy Spirit) Christ’s righteousness becomes more and more manifest in our behavior and actions. We become more and more holy and righteous in our daily lives.

Rome Rome today is the capital of the modern European nation of Italy. In the time of Jesus, Rome was the capital of the Roman Empire (see Word List: Roman Empire).

Roman Empire The Roman Empire was established in 31 B.C. and lasted for over four hundred years. In Christ’s time the Romans controlled most of the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, including Egypt, Israel, Syria, Turkey, and Greece. They also controlled much of Europe as far north as England.

In New Testament times, the countries of the Roman Empire were divided up into provinces which were placed under the control of Roman governors. The Romans gave the local citizens of each province a certain amount of authority over local matters. In the beginning they allowed the people of each province to follow their own customs and to practice their own religion. But in Paul’s time, the Roman emperors began to demand that all people throughout the entire empire worship the emperor as a god. The Jews and Christians refused to do this. Therefore, the Romans began to persecute them. The Apostle Paul spent the end of his life in a prison in Rome, the capital of the empire (Acts 28:16,20). And in 70 A.D. the Roman armies completely destroyed the Jewish capital, Jerusalem, and killed all the Jews that were there.

However, in spite of persecution, the Christian church grew. Thousands of Christians were killed by the Romans. The Romans even fed Christians to lions, and for entertainment watched the lions eat them. Those Christians who weren’t killed outright the Romans turned into slaves. Nevertheless, the number of Christians kept growing. Finally, in about 310 A.D., the Roman emperor Constantine himself became a Christian. After that, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire and subsequently spread all over the Middle East and Europe.

Sadducee The Sadducees were an important Jewish sect at the time of Christ. Most ofthe Jewish chiefpriests were Sadducees. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the body or in eternal life. Like the Pharisees, they opposed Christ and His disciples.

Saint In the New Testament, believers in Christ are called saints. The word “saint” means holy or separated one. In the Bible, to be holy means to be both “righteous” and also “set apart” for God. Thus Christians are those people who through faith have received Christ’s righteousness and through the Holy Spirit have begun to live holy lives. Such people are truly “set apart” for God. They are separated from sin and from the power of Satan.

Salvation In the New Testament, salvation has a broad meaning. In short, it means to be delivered from God’s judgment and to receive eternal life (see Word List: Redemption).

All spiritual blessings are included in the word “salvation”. First, salvation is deliverance from sin, from both the power of sin and the punishment for sin, which is eternal death (Romans 6:23). When a person is saved, he receives forgiveness for his sins and is cleansed from sin. Thus he becomes righteous, or justified, in God’s sight (see Word List: Righteous). He becomes a member of God’s family (see Word List: Adoption). He becomes sanctified and glorified (see Romans 8:30 and comment). But the greatest of all the blessings of salvation is eternal life with God and Christ in heaven (see Word List: Eternal Life). We receive all of these blessings in Christ when we are saved (Ephe-sians 1:3).

There is only one way to receive salvation, and that is through faith in Jesus Christ; there is no other way (see General Article: Way of Salvation).

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin was the highest governing council of the Jewish nation. The leader of the council was the Jewish high priest. During New Testament times, the Sanhedrin had authority over all local and religious matters of the Jewish people. However, the Sanhedrin was not allowed to do anything in opposition to the Romans. Neither were the Jewish leaders allowed to carry out the death sentence against any criminal. This is why Jesus was put to death according to the order of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.

The Sanhedrin had seventy members, plus the high priest. These members were chosen from among the leaders and elders of the Jewish nation.

Satan Satan is the chief of all evil spirits, or demons (see Word List: Demon). He is the chief enemy of God and men. Satan is a fallen angel; his main sin was pride. He tried to make himself like God, but God banished him from heaven (Isaiah 14:11-15; 1 Timothy 3:6).

Satan’s main work is to lead men into sin; that is, into disobedience to God. He does this mainly by deceiving men, by stirring up men’s evil desires, and by weakening men’s faith.

Satan has many names in the New Testament. He is called the devil (Revelation 12:9) and the accuser of our brothers (Revelation 12:10); he is called an enemy and a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8). He is called Beelzebub (Mark 3:22), the tempter (Matthew 4:3), the father of lies (John 8:44), and the prince of this world (John 12:31).

Although Satan is very powerful, he is still under God’s control. He can only do as much as God permits him to do (Job 1:12; 2:6; Luke 22:31).

Through the help of the Holy Spirit, we can overcome Satan. If we resist him, he will flee (see James 4:7 and comment). He has already been defeated by Jesus on the cross (Hebrews 2:14-15), but he still has much power in this world. However, at the end of the world, when Christ comes again, Satan will be completely destroyed and cast forever into a lake of fire (Revelation 20:7-10).

Temptation In the Bible, the word “temptation” (or “trial”) has two meanings. In each verse where temptation (or trial) is mentioned, it is necessary to determine which meaning to apply by looking at the context of the verse.

The first meaning of temptation is a test or trial. God examines and tests His people in order to improve, strengthen, and discipline them. He does this by allowing various difficulties to come upon them, or by putting them into difficult situations. In the Old Testament, God tested Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19). God’s testing of Job is described in detail in the book of Job. Job said concerning God: “When he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). In this same way, God tests and disciplines all Christians (see 1 Corinthians 11:32; Hebrews 12:4-11; James 1:2,12; 1 Peter 1:6-7 and comments). In all of these examples, God tests us for our spiritual good, that we might become more holy. In testing us, God Himself does not send evil upon His children, but He does allow Satan to do so.

The second meaning of temptation found in the Bible is a desire to do evil, a desire to sin. These evil desires arise in man’s sinful nature or heart (see James 1:13-15 and comment). Satan is always trying to stir up these evil desires in our hearts in order to make us sin and turn from God. Satan is called a tempter (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5). Satan tempted Eve (Genesis 3:1-6). He tempted Christ (Matthew 4:1-11), but he could not lead Christ into sin (see Hebrews 2:18; 4:15). This second kind of temptation (the temptation to do evil) never comes from God, and it is never for our good. These temptations to do evil always come from Satan. These are the temptations that we must pray to be saved from: Lord, lead us not into temptation (Matthew 6:13).

The first kind oftemptation, the trial or test, we must endure with patience. The second kind oftemptation, the desire to sin, we must resist and overcome.