If you are unfamiliar with the Bible, it can be a daunting task to keep up with all the names mentioned during the telling of many of the stories shared, especially since some characters have multiple names or their names change. Therefore, the following are a few key characters and why they are important names to be familiar with.
God, the Father, the Creator: God, the Father, is the Creator and LORD of all things. He is the Spiritual ruler of the Universe. He is all-knowing, all-seeing, everywhere present, and all-powerful. He is entirely without sin and lives in heaven, a world without sin. He is formless and too bright to be viewed directly; essentially, he is best described as a spirit. He gave the commands for the creation of the Universe into existence. God gave the command, Jesus, the Son, does the manual labor of creation, and the Holy Spirit hovers over creation, sustaining and approving of what is made. Initially, the trinity creates the heavens (planets, stars, heavenly bodies), Earth’s form, atmosphere, space, and seas, as well as all living plant, animal, bird, and fish life, and all other living things. Then, God said, “Let us create mankind in our likeness,” and the Trinity created humans. He, therefore, is OUR creator. We owe our very existence to Him.
God wants our complete loyalty (worshiping no other Gods) with obedience to his commands. In return, he provides unconditional love. The expectations established by God are just and fair, allowing for order, equality, and an organized creation that works together for the good of one another. The methods God originally entered for our obedience were entirely accurate and trustworthy. However, sin introduced into the world by Satan has tarnished the plan and circumvented the intent of many of God’s mandates, creating inequality and injustice in their place. Though life may be hard for God’s (through Jesus) followers on Earth, he will hold those who cause you pain accountable in Heaven. God is a God of Justice. His fairness and accountability should reassure you in your faith. While not every situation on Earth may seem to receive the justice deserved now, God will administer His righteous judgment for all sins before the beginning of eternity at the end of the period of tribulation.
Holy Spirit, the Spiritual Guide: Followers of Jesus have an advantage when making decisions because when Jesus rose from the Earth, He sent the Holy Spirit to live within each of His followers. Thus, the Holy Spirit is another form of God or Jesus, a spiritual being that resides in the follower and acts as a constant guide, supporting the follower in knowing what to do, how to do it, and when. Navigating to a new place without a map can be challenging. The Holy Spirit acts as your helper, telling you which way to go and the best routes to take, the best places to stop to visit along the way, and what to avoid. If you learn to listen carefully, you can prevent a lot of trouble. Even when you make a mistake, it can help you find your way out again.
Jesus, the Son, the Savior of the World, Fully Human and Fully God: Jesus Christ, fully God and Man. He volunteered to temporarily step out of his power as God to live as a human and experience the struggles of mankind. He saw that man could not live a sinless life and enter Heaven through animal blood sacrifices because they repeatedly sinned. Therefore, to find a way to restore the relationship between God and his people, Jesus volunteered to come to Earth as a man and take mankind’s sin into his body and crush it with his death. Though he buried that sin, anyone who accepted his invitation to receive his gift of forgiveness would have their repentance accepted and granted forgiveness and salvation for as long as they remained his followers.
With that decision, Jesus came to Earth as a baby and lived among his people for 33 years as a man. He began a public ministry proclaiming the gospel of salvation but was rejected by the Jewish leadership, accused of blasphemy, and sentenced to death on a cross. Through his crucifixion, he saved the world from their sin. On the third day, he rose again, free from death and sin. Forty days later, he ascended to Heaven to sit on his throne. He left behind a counselor, the Holy Spirit, to guide his followers in knowing whom to believe and how to make wise choices as his disciples. He is coming back to take his church to Heaven, and he will reign for 1,000 years before New Heaven and a New Earth descend to replace the current ones, which will be burned and eliminated.
The Trinity: (the Godhead, God, the Father, Jesus, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), also known as the Counselor), The Trinity is considered one being, the same, yet distinct in its personalities, purposes, and strengths. They exist as one, in perfect harmony and balance, much like water can take three forms yet still be water (liquid, steam, and ice, as opposed to Spirit, Man, and God).
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Apostles: When Jesus began his ministry, he selected twelve men whom he trained to assist him in spreading the word about his teachings. The original twelve were Simon Peter and his brother, Andrew, Thaddaeus, Phillip, Bartholomew, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother, John (“the one Jesus loved”), Mathew (the tax collector), James, the son of Alphaeus, Simon, the Canaanite, Thomas (the one who doubted that Jesus was alive and had to place his hand in the wounds he received on the cross), and Judas Iscariot (the one who betrayed him), Matthias replaced Judas Iscariot, and Paul became the apostle to the Gentiles.
Elizabeth and Zachariah: John the Baptist’s mother and father.
John the Baptist – the one who announced Jesus was coming as the Savior of the world. He wore camel-hair clothes and ate locusts and honey, living in the desert as he baptized believers. He was beheaded after a dancer asked for his head on a platter because he declared that her mother’s marriage to a Roman leader was immoral.
Lazarus of Bethany: One of Jesus’ best friends from childhood. He died while Jesus was away, and when his sisters called Jesus back, Jesus restored him to life from the grave after being dead for several days.
Mary and Martha: Lazarus’ sisters. Close friends of Jesus. Jesus raised Lazareth from the dead after being buried in his tomb for four days.
Mary Magdalene: One of Jesus’ first followers. She was a prostitute who possessed multiple demons. Jesus found her and rid her of the evil spirits. She became a devoted follower after that.
Mary, Mother of Jesus: Was visited by an angel, probably around the age of 14, and told she would become the virgin mother of the future Messiah. She was pledged to marry a man, Joseph, within a year of that announcement, but when she became pregnant, he planned to divorce her (Jewish Law considered them married once engaged). An angel told him she was still a virgin and that she carried God’s son. Therefore, Joseph married her and protected her, serving as Jesus’ earthly father till his death.
Moses – The child of a Hebrew woman, found by an Egyptian princess in a basket floating in the river. She adopted him and raised him in the castle. He found out he was Hebrew and killed someone defending a Hebrew slave. Fled the area and, through a burning bush in the desert, was told by God to go back to Egypt and help his people escape from the pharaoh and lead them to their promised land in Israel. They crossed the Red Sea on dry land and wandered in the desert for 40 years. Moses received the Ten Commandments (the Law) on stone tablets from God on a mountaintop. He carried them on their journey inside the Ark of the Covenant.
Noah: He built the Ark in 100 years. Told his neighbors rain was coming, and they needed to repent of their sins before the great flood (it had never rained on Earth before this time). His neighbors ignored him. God called all species of animals to Noah to get on the Ark and closed the door. Then it began to rain and continued to storm for 40 days and nights. Water completely covered the Earth, destroying everything that was not on the Ark. Noah and his family came off the Ark once the water receded, approximately seven months later, and began to repopulate the world.
Satan/Lucifer/Devil: Once the most beautiful angel in all of Heaven, he rebelled against God, wanting to be like him and rule Heaven. God expelled Lucifer from Heaven, along with other fallen angels who followed him, to Earth, where he ruled as the Prince of this world. He reigns over Earth with his demons, attempting to prevent as many persons as possible from becoming followers of Christ and thereby gaining entrance into Heaven. Whoever he can trick into not accepting Christ as their Savior automatically belongs to Satan for eternity. Rather than looking frightening or evil like in movies, Satan typically assumes a form that is pleasant, friendly, and charismatic to deceive individuals and influence their decisions to abandon Christian influence.
