Prophetic Terms
The following is a list of prophetic terms. It was compiled as a reference for the reader. The prophetic definitions reflect the author’s interpretation.
A falling away: the fall of Satan out of heaven
Abaddon: Hebrew lit. destroyer, Satan
Ammon: Lot’s son, ancient city in present day Jordan
Ancient of days: God
Anti-Christ: a wicked man empowered by Satan during the end time
Apollyon: Greek lit. destroyer, Satan
Archangel: Michael the chief angel of Israel
Ariel: Mount Zion, the hill of Ophel, the “City of David” in Jerusalem
Armageddon: lit. valley of Megiddo, also called valley of Jehoshaphat, also valley of Jezreel; a valley in north western Israel
Azal: wilderness east of the Mount of Olives where the azazel (scapegoat) was released (Lev 16:8-27)
Azazel: lit. complete removal, translated “scapegoat”
Babel: to confuse speech
Babylon: city, state, and ancient empire located in today’s Iraq
Bear: symbol of Russia
Beast: gentile political body, world empires, nations, confederacies of nations, also anti-Christ
Begotten: give rise to, bring about
Blasphemy: lit. to speak harm
Bottomless pit: hell
Bozrah: Ancient Capital of Edom
Caliphate: kingdom ruled by a caliph (chief Muslim civil and religious ruler)
Christ’s coming: Jesus’ coming for his church, also Jesus’ “second coming” to judge all nations
Church: believers in Christ
City of David: Ariel, Mount Zion, the hill of Ophel, in Jerusalem
Dedan: son of Cush son of Ham son of Noah; todays Saudi Arabia
Dragon: also called that old serpent, the Devil, Satan, the deceiver, etc.
Eagle’s wings: God’s supernatural help given to Israel in time of flight
Edom: Idumaea, ancient country of Esau, in present day Jordan
End of days: “the Great Tribulation”
End time: period before Jesus’ coming to earth up to and including “the Great Tribulation”
Epistle: lit. letter
Gentiles: Hebrew Goyim, heathen, nations
Goat: symbol of ancient Grecian Empire
Gog and Magog: an end time battle, Gog is the land of present day Turkey; Magog is its leader or at least its chief founder
Gog: The land and cities of Magog and his family including Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, Ashkenaz, Riphath, Togarmah, Tiras, and Tarshish; ancient name for the land of modern Turkey
Gospel: lit. good news
Goyim: Hebrew for heathen, nations, gentiles
Hamonah: multitude (Ezekiel 39)
Hamongog: multitude of Gog (Ezekiel 39)
Heads: nations, empires, principalities
Heathen: Hebrew Goyim, nations, gentiles
Heaven: the dwelling place of God
Hinnom: a Jebusite man, Greek Gehenna, English hell, the everlasting destination of the unsaved
Holy Spirit: the third person of the trinity, God
Horns: Kings
Idumaea: Edom, ancient country of Esau, in present day Jordan
Jerusalem: Capital of Israel lit. fortress or stronghold of peace
Judah, Judaea: Son of Jacob, southern region of Israel, location of Jerusalem
Kingdom of God: God’s domain, everlasting life with God in righteousness, also; Kingdom of Heaven
Lake of fire: eternal habitation of the damned
Lamb: Jesus Christ crucified for the payment of the penalty of sin
Leopard: symbol of a south central Asian confederacy of four nations, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan
Lion with eagle’s wings: symbol of England
Little horn: secondary leader, prince, vice-president, governor etc., Antiochus Epiphanies, anti-Christ
Magog: chief founder and leader of Gog (modern Turkey)
Man of sin: the anti-Christ
Many waters: peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues (Rev 17:15)
Mark of the beast: mark taken by unbelievers during the end time in order to buy or sell (Rev 13, 14, 15, 16, 19 & 20)
Megiddo, Megiddon: town in north western Israel, root of Armageddon
Millennium: one thousand year reign of Christ on earth
Moab: Lot’s son, ancient city in present day Jordan
Mount of Olives: hill directly East of Jerusalem
Mount Zion: Ariel, hill of Ophel, the “City of David” in Jerusalem
Mountains: principalities, governments
Mystery Babylon the Great: a great city in existence during the end time, presumably Dubai
New Jerusalem: heavenly city one day coming to earth
Nineveh: ancient capital city of the Assyrian empire, located in today’s northern Iraq
Ophel: Ariel, Mount Zion, the “City of David” in Jerusalem
Palmerworm, locust, cankerworm, caterpillar: locusts
Perdition: eternal punishment and damnation
Persia: ancient Elam, todays Iran
Provocation: Israel’s disobedience towards God during their forty years in the wilderness
Purple: dyed cloth
Ram: symbol of ancient Persian Empire
Rapture: the physical removal of all believers in Christ at his coming
Resurrection: bodily raising from the dead
Revelation: Greek apocalypse, an unveiling
Sanctification: lit. to be set apart, from the power of sin
Saved: pardoned from the punishment of sin which is death
Season and time: idiom meaning one year and three months
Second Coming: Jesus’ return to earth at the end of “the Great Tribulation” to judge all nations
Seventieth week of Daniel: (Daniel 9:24) the final seven years of God’s indignation toward Israel
Sheba: son of Cush son of Ham son of Noah; todays United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia
Tarshish: Magog’s nephew, southeastern coastal town in Turkey
The day of the Lord: the day of Jesus’ vengeance against all gentile nations at the end of “the Great Tribulation”
The four winds of heaven: spiritual forces that influence political events over specific geographic regions
The great and the terrible day of the Lord: the day of Jesus’ vengeance against all gentile nations at the end of “the Great Tribulation”
The great sea: the multitude of nations over all the Earth, also the Mediterranean Sea when geographically referencing Israel
The Great Tribulation: seven years of terrible trial for Israel and terrible judgments for all nations of earth.
The time of Jacob’s trouble: Jeremiah 30:7, The Great Tribulation, seven years of terrible trial for Israel
Thessalonica: City and Church in far eastern Europe
Time and times and the dividing of time: idiom meaning three and a half years
Trump of God: the long trumpet call announcing Christ’s coming
Waters: peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Whore: false religion, sexual immorality, Mystery Babylon
Wilderness: dessert
Wings: associated nations
Woman: religious body (true or apostate)
Ziggurat: a stepped tower
Zophar: (the Naamathite) one of Job’s miserable comforters, a wealthy man of ancient Arabia