Amen – a Hebrew word that means "so be it".

Angels – spiritual beings who serve God and do his will. Their tasks include delivering messages from God, serving/ministering to Christians, battling the enemies of God, and worshipping God. The Greek word translated angel literally means messenger.

Anti-Christ – this term can refer generally to anything that works against Christ and the Church. Specifically it refers to a world leader who will unite all nations into one world power (but not necessarily one nation) and will eventually be revered as a god. The peace brought about by this world leader will be short-lived (about 3 and a half years) and will be followed by judgment of mankind by God.

Anti-deluvian – anti means before. Deluvian sounds like deluge because it is derived from deluge, which means flood. Thus, anti-deluvian means before the flood and refers to the time period before the flood of Noah.

Apostasy – a falling away. Refers to Christians falling away from the faith.

Apostle – this term carries two meanings. First, it refers to the official title of fourteen men in the new testament identified specifically by Christ. The fourteen were "Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot" (who betrayed Christ but still was called an Apostle before he betrayed Christ), Mathias (who took Judas’ place), and Paul (whom Christ gave the title of Apostle after his conversion). The term literally means ‘one sent’ and is sometimes used to mean a missionary or a church planter. Some groups use the term to mean a leader within their ranks who has authority over other leaders and over several churches (possibly all the churches within their group). This use of the term deviates from the meaning of the Greek term and the historical use of the term.

Born Again – this term comes from the verse found in John 3 where Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus about salvation. It refers to what happens when someone receives Christ. Paul tells us that God creates a new us when we receive Christ. This new us is like a baby, not knowing how to be a Christian but having to learn just like a baby learns. Thus, when we receive Christ, we are ‘born again’.

Christian – literally means ‘little Christ’. Originally this term was used to ridicule those who followed Christ and tried to live a moral and Godly life. As Christians began using it themselves, the stigmatism was soon forgotten. Today, it means a person who has realized their sinfulness and their inability to get rid of their sins by their own actions and have believed on Jesus as their Savior from their sins and have been Born Again (see Born Again).

Christology – A theological term referring to the study of the doctrine of Christ (his deity, nature, etc.).

Communion – a ritual where Christians share in receiving spiritual strength through wine or grape juice as the blood of Christ and bread as the body of Christ. In this ritual, they believe there is a special presence of Christ in the wine/grape juice and bread.

Deacon – a servant in the local church. Often this position carries spiritual leadership.

Demonic - of or having to do with demons.

Demons – angels who rebelled against God with Lucifer. They were cast out of heaven down to earth where they await their final condemnation to the lake of fire (hell). All demons reside on the planet earth and there are no demons in hell yet. They work under their leader Satan (Lucifer, the Devil, that old Dragon, the Serpent) to thwart the work of God and torture men and women by tempting them to sin and mess up their lives. Their greatest priority is to bring about the domination of the human race by Satan through the Anti-Christ, the Beast and the False Prophet.

Disciple – literally ‘one who follows’. This refers to a person who devotes his life to following a person or a way of living such as a Christian who is supposed to devote their life to following Christ and the way he taught us to live.

Ecclesiology – A theological term referring to the study of the doctrine of the church (what it’s supposed to do, how it is structured, its development, etc.).

Elder – a spiritual leader who is not a professional priest or pastor. Found both in an Israelite community and a Christian church.

Epistle – a letter.

Eschatology – a theological term referring to the study of the doctrine of End Times (the return of Christ, tribulation, Armageddon, Revelation, Daniel, etc.).

Evangelical – refers to churches or Christians who focus on the work of evangelism (see evangelism). This term has broadened in recent times to include the idea of adhering closely to the morality of the Bible and a literal interpretation of the Bible.

Evangelism / Evangelize – refers to the work of telling people about Christ and salvation for the purpose of compelling them to receive Christ as their Savior.

Fasting – going without food for the purpose of devoting your time and energy to praying, reading and seeking God (or the will of God). There are 3 types of fasts. A partial fast where you simply give up certain foods for a period of time (this is also used with non-food items such as TV, sex, sports, etc.). Then there is the normal fast where you give up all food and flavored drinks (anything other than water). This type of fast is generally kept under 40 days (health problems can arise after 40 days but a healthy person can go 40 days without any health problems). Finally, there is the absolute fast where you give up all food and drink (including water). This type of fast is usually kept under 3 days (after 3 days serious health problems can occur including death, which is pretty serious). Up until the last 100 years, fasting was considered a normal regular activity of a Christian.

Glorification – a theological term referring to the change in a Christian’s body when Christ comes back. The body changes from a mortal one to an immortal one freed from the curse of sin which brings pain, suffering, and physical needs such as hunger and sleep.

Golgatha – literally ‘the place of the skull’. This refers to the place Jesus was crucified.

Gospel – This word has two meanings. The first refers to a unique type of literature found only in the Bible which focuses on the ministry of Christ. Some think of the ‘Gospels’ as being biographies, but in a literary sense, they are not true biographies. The second meaning of the word refers to the message about Christ and salvation. It comes from the Greek word meaning good news.

Hymn – simply an old religious song usually structured with several different verses and a common chorus. Most hymns in today’s hymnals contain less than half of the original verses.

Lord’s Supper – a ritual where Christians share in receiving grape juice as a symbol of the blood of Christ and bread as a symbol of the body of Christ. This ritual is done to remember what Christ did on the cross.

Mass – a ritual where Catholics share in receiving grace through drinking wine which they believe has been changed into the actual blood of Christ and eating bread which has been changed into the actual body of Christ.

Pre-millennium – pre means before. Millennium means 1,000 years. Thus, Pre-millennium means before the 1,000 year reign of Christ and is the belief that the rapture will come before the 1,000 year reign of Christ mentioned in Revelation.

Pre-mosaic – pre means before. Mosaic sounds like Moses because it is derived from Moses. Thus, pre-mosaic means before Moses and refers to the time period before Moses.

Rapture – what happens to Christians when Christ returns. We are ‘caught up’ in the air and changed from a mortal body (one that will die) to an immortal body. Those Christians who have already died, will be resurrected from the dead with a changed body.

Regeneration – a theological term referring to what happens when we receive Christ. Paul tells us we become a new creation. See Born Again.

Soteriology – A theological term referring to the study of the doctrine of salvation.

Sanctification – a theological term referring to a Christian’s spiritual growth after they have received Christ.

Scribe – someone in biblical times who could read and write and who studied the scriptures and gave advice, particularly advice on the Mosaic law. Some put them into the category of lawyers.

Testament – a covenant or agreement between two people or between man and God.

Theology – the study of God. Theo is Latin for God and ology is Latin for study.

Tithe – literally means a tenth. Refers to giving a tenth of your income to the Lord. The idea is that God owns everything and gives you everything you get. Giving a tenth (or tithe) back to God shows that you recognize God as the actual owner.