Biblical Prophecy Resource Center

Glossary

Below are described some words that most people assume they understand. But, given the secular nature of our world today, these words have come to mean different things than the way the Bible uses them. This glossary attempts to provide a bridge so that a clearer understanding of what the Bible says may be gained.

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belief, believe
to assert as truth. Modern usage of these words is considerably weaker than in the past. There is a connotation of uncertainty or doubt. In the Bible, these words have no such connotation; if one has a belief, he treats that as what we might call ”sure and certain knowledge.” To use the words believe or belief as the Bible does about something, that something must affect our very perception and our actions.

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commitment
to be totally and completely given over to God as controller of your life. The level of commitment God wants is exemplified in two ways; the commitment of a marriage to be united no matter what and the commitment to stand up for God’s Truth, no matter what the cost. Commitment even to the point of death is one of the defining characteristics of being a Christian. If you are not willing to even lay down your life for Jesus, then your faith is shallow and will not save you. Please note, however, that it is important not to confuse willingness and fear; it is natural to be afraid to die (most everyone is). Commitment is demonstrated when you are willing despite your fear.

confess, confession
to agree with God about sin. To confess a sin to God is to say, “You are right, God. That was wrong of me.” Remember, the purpose of this is not to inform God; He knows without you telling Him. The purpose of confession is to state your agreement with God that something was a sin but is useless without repentance.

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death
to be permanently separated from God. Throughout most of the Bible, when death is discussed, it refers to a spiritual, rather than corporeal death. A correct understanding of this shows us why the “wages of sin is death”; if you do not wish to be part of God’s plan for creation, then that is what you get. True death is eternity without God.

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evil
the same as sin. From God’s point of view, evil and sin are the same thing. Even though no one likes to think of themselves as evil, it is a truth we must all come to terms with.

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faith
see belief. In the Bible, faith and belief are one and the same. Keep in mind that, as a wise man once said, “Faith is not {modern day} belief without proof, but trust {in God} without reservation.”

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hope
A looking forward to something for which it is known that it will take place. As the Bible uses the term, it is not the modern “Gee, wouldn’t it be nice if...” or “I wish that would happen.” The Bible uses it to refer to something (like our resurrection) which is sure to happen. For the Bible to say, “We hope in our resurrection,” means that we are looking forward with great anticipation to the resurrection we know we will have.

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omnipresence
an attribute of God. The idea of omnipresence is not that God is everything or that God is in everything. It is that everywhere you go, God is there. There is no place in creation where you can go to escape the presence of God.

omniscience
an attribute of God. This attribute encompasses God’s complete knowledge of everything. It can be a great comfort to realize that God cannot be surprised, that there is nothing He does not know. Despite this, confession is still important.

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prayer
to simply talk with God. Prayer need not be formal but must be respectful. Also, it is not meant to be a one way conversation. There are times when you speak, but also times when you are to listen.

prophecy
to tell forth the Truth of God. This is not limited to telling about things which have not yet happened, although this is the general perception of the word. True biblical prophecy includes the telling of all God’s Truth (the truth about sin, the truth about Hell, the truth about salvation, etc.) in addition to the truth about future events.

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rapture
A transliteration of the Old Latin word, rapio which means to ”snatch away.” This term is the name given to the event described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 where true Christians are bodily removed from the earth. This subject is covered in more depth here.

repent, repentance
to commit to God that you will turn away from sin. This is a contract with God that you and He will work together to make sure that the sin involved will not take a ”leadership” role in your life. You are telling God, by repenting of something, that you will not succumb to the temptation of that sin by using the strength God makes available to you. This subject is covered in more depth here.

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sin
to disobey God. There is a popular notion that sin and evil encompass only things like murder or idolatry. From God’s point of view, to disobey in any way His two simple commandments of loving Him and loving others is a sin. This means that to wish harm on someone is a sin (because it is not loving to that person). This means to fail to help out the poor is a sin (because it is not loving to them). This means that to focus only on work is a sin (because it places work before God in your life). There is so much potential to sin that everyone does it. That is why Jesus paid the price for all our sin.

Please send any comments, questions and/or suggestions to us. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

Last updated on December 31, 2001 at 9:33 PM