666: Number of the Beast. Six is the number of man; therefore, 666 means completely corrupt (three 6’s mimic the complete perfection of the Trinity).

144,000: Jewish believers, 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes who will be witnesses of the Gospel and lead many Jews to Christ during the Tribulation.

Abaddon: Hebrew name given to Satan in Revelation 9:11, meaning “the destroyer.”

Alpha and Omega: A title Jesus uses to indicate His eternal nature, “the first and the last” (alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet).

Antichrist: Anti means “against” or “in place of.” Antichrist, therefore, may refer generally to any apostate teacher who is against Christ or who claims to be Christ. The Antichrist refers to the final and horrible world ruler of the Tribulation. He is one who stands both against Christ and who seeks to usurp Christ’s place as the false Messiah of the Jews.

Ancient Serpent: Satan.

Apocalypse: A term sometimes used for the book of Revelation since the word revelation comes from the Greek (apokalupsis), and means, “an unveiling, revelation.”

Apollyon: Greek name given to Satan in Revelation 9:11, meaning “the destroyer.”

Armageddon: Theological term for the rapid series of military assaults and battles culminating in the return of Christ, when all nations come against Him. Sometimes used to refer to the place of the final battle, Megiddo.

Babylon: A word that designates human rebellion against God, sometimes manifested in a corrupt empire that exists counter to God’s will.

Beast: The Greek word rendered “beast” denotes a wild animal and by extension, a savage being. Revelation uses “beast” in its natural sense once, but all (about 30) other uses of the word are figurative, referring to one or another agent empowered by Satan to oppose God, the Lamb, and the saints. The Beast is the Antichrist.

Book of Life or Lamb’s Book of Life: The book of life is referred to six times in Revelation and is essentially a register of the names of the righteous. The presence of one’s name in the book guarantees entrance into Heaven. By contrast, those whose names are not written in the Book of Life worship the beast and ultimately are condemned to the Lake of Fire.

Bottomless Pit: “Bottomless pit” is one phrase in the Greek of the New Testament and is literally the “abyss,” which means “bottomless, unbounded, the pit, or the immeasurable depth.” The bottomless pit holds a unique type of demon. It is also the home of the beast who makes war against the two witnesses. At the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom, the bottomless pit is the place where Satan is bound. At the end of the thousand years, Satan is released and promptly leads an unsuccessful revolt against God.

Bride of the Lamb: The bride symbolizes those who are faithful to worshiping Jesus in anticipation of the marriage of heaven and earth at His coming. They, therefore, look forward to His return with joy.

Day of the Lord: This is the period of time that begins with the Tribulation and extends through the millennial reign of Christ on earth through the destruction of the heavens and the earth and into the ushering in of the new heavens and earth and the eternal state.

The Dragon: He is Satan and also referenced as the Great Dragon, a Great Red Dragon, that Ancient Serpent, and the Devil.”

Eschatology: The doctrine of “last things” or “things to come.” The word eschatology comes from the Greek (escatos), and means, “last, extreme.”

The False Prophet: In a successive vision, the Dragon confers his power on a Beast (Antichrist) that rises out of the sea. A second Beast (the False Prophet) is said to speak “like a dragon.” The Dragon, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet take their place as an evil triumvirate in the chapters that follow (16:13).

The False Trinity: The Dragon (Satan), the Beast (Antichrist), and the False Prophet comprise a counterfeit Trinity. All three will eventually be thrown into the Lake of Fire.

Four Horsemen: The four different horses and riders allude to the book of Zechariah. These horsemen indicate judgment through military conquest and power. Some interpretations see these as literal figures that will come at the end of days. Others view them as symbolic representations of regular occurrences in history (false peace, war, famine, and death).

Great White Throne Judgment: Often called the final judgment, the Great White Throne Judgment follows the millennial reign of Christ. Its purpose is not to determine whether one is saved or not, but rather to pass judgment on the works of the unsaved to demonstrate their unrighteousness and that they fall short of the holiness of God. The sentence is the second death: eternal separation from God in the Lake of Fire.

Heaven: Although it can refer to atmospheric levels (“the heavens”), its main reference is the eternal state for believers (followers of Jesus Christ) with the Lord after death. Joy and worship will replace tears, death, and sorrow.

Hell: In common usage, this term refers to the place of future punishment for the wicked. The word properly translated as “Hell” in the New Testament is the Greek Geenna or Gehenna, a place in the valley of Hinnom where human sacrifices had been offered and where continuous burning of rubbish made it an apt illustration of the eternal lake of fire.

Imminency: This is a term used in connection with the return of Christ for the church. His coming for the church as promised is imminent, without the necessity of any event that must take place before the Lord returns for His church. It is different from the Second Coming as He meets believers in the air as opposed to walking on Earth.

Jesus Christ: The Messiah, the Alpha and Omega, the First and Last, the Beginning and the End, the Living One, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the Lamb of God, the Son of God, the Son of Man, and the Faithful Witness, among other titles, belong to Jesus, Who offers the revelation to John.

Judgment Seat of Christ: This term describes the event when believers will be brought into an examination before the Son of God. The Greek word for “judgment seat” is bema and is sometimes referred to as The Bema Seat Judgment. Culturally, it referred to the platform where the umpire for the Greek games would sit and issue rewards to the athletes. Thus, the purpose of the judgment seat is not to determine whether the one judged is a believer or not, but rather to publicly assess, whether acceptable or worthless, one’s works (outward) and character (inward) for rewards or their loss.

Lake of Fire: Refers to the eternal state of the wicked who are forever separated from God and consigned to a special abode of suffering because of their rejection of Christ or their lack of the righteousness of Christ. It is also called the second death.

The Lamb: The Lord Jesus Christ.

Mark of the Beast: In sharp contrast to the call that God’s people show allegiance to God alone, this mark indicates loyalty to the beast and its number (666).

Millennium: The word millennium means a thousand years and refers to the promise of Scripture that Christ would reign on Earth for a thousand years.

• Premillennial View: The second coming of Christ will occur before the Millennium.

• Amillennial View: The second coming of Christ is at the end of the Church Age and there is no earthly Millennium.

• Postmillennial View: The second coming of Christ is after the Millennium.

Rapture: The “snatching away” of the church before God unleashes His wrath upon the Earth. It is different from the Second Coming as He meets believers in the air as opposed to walking on Earth.

• Pretribulation Rapture: The rapture of the Church will take place before the seven-year period of the Tribulation begins. Therefore, the Church will not go through any of the Tribulation period.

• Pre-wrath Rapture: The rapture of the church occurs prior to the wrath of God poured out on the Earth, but in this view, the wrath of God does not occur until about or after the last quarter of the Tribulation. Thus the church will experience most of the events of the book of Revelation.

• Mid-tribulation Rapture: The rapture will occur in the middle of the Tribulation, after three-and-a-half years before the Great Tribulation.

• Post-tribulation Rapture: The Church will be on Earth during the entire Tribulation. Some would say the rapture is a part of the second coming, others that it is distinct from the second coming though separated by only a very short interval of time.

• Partial Rapture: Only saints who are worthy will be raptured before the wrath of God is poured out; those who have not been faithful will remain on the Earth to endure the Tribulation.

Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls: Symbols of God’s judgment on idolatry and triumph over it. They serve as heralds of God’s righteous judgment. They often echo previous instances of God’s judgment in Scripture, calling people to repent and turn to God.

Second Coming: This is the time when Jesus Christ will return, defeat the Antichrist, and set up his 1000-year Kingdom on Earth. The second coming is not the Rapture. The Rapture takes place prior to the Second Coming. Also, the Rapture will occur at an unknown time while the Second Coming will take place 42 months after the Antichrist declares himself to be God.

Seven Golden Lampstands: Seven churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

Seven Stars: Pastors of the seven churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

Tribulation: This term is used by most theologians to refer to Daniel’s 70th week, the seven-year period of unprecedented trouble that will occur on Earth through a series of divine judgments to be poured out on the entire inhabited Earth. It begins with the signing of a peace treaty with Israel. The Great Tribulation refers to the last half of this seven-year period. It is so called because of the increased wrath that will occur in these last three and half years.

Two Witnesses: During the tribulation, two men will prophesy in the streets of Jerusalem. These two witnesses of God will have the power to prevent it from raining on the Earth, to call fire down from heaven, to turn bodies of water into blood, and to command a number of other plagues. After they preach for 42 months, the Antichrist will be allowed to kill them. Three and a half days later they will be resurrected and Raptured up to Heaven. Some scholars say the two men could either be Elijah and Enoch or Moses and Elijah.

Wormwood: A star falling to the Earth. Wormwood was a well-known bitter herb in the Bible times. By naming the star Wormwood, we are told that its effect will be to embitter the waters of the Earth, so much so that the water is undrinkable. It will not be a matter of simply a bitter taste to the water; it will literally be poisonous.