Core Glossary
08 — Core Glossary: Revelation
A. Baseline Terms Reused Exactly (No Change Permitted)
| English Term | Mandarin | Pinyin | Risk (baseline) | Revelation Chapters | Notes on Revelation Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | 神 | Shén | Critical | 1, 4, 5, 7, 19, 20, 21, 22 | Same exclusive-monotheism caution applies; Revelation’s throne-room worship scenes make explicitness about the one true God especially load-bearing. |
| Jesus | 耶稣 | Yēsū | Critical | 1, 12, 14, 17, 19, 22 | Also titled “the Word of God” (19:13) and “the Lamb” (throughout) — see new entries below. |
| Lord | 主 | zhǔ | Critical | 1, 4, 11, 14, 17, 19, 22 | Intensified in Rev. 19:16, “King of kings and Lord of lords” — see new entry. |
| Holy | 圣洁 (root 圣) | shèngjié | High | 4, 21, 22 | Root reused in 圣城 (holy city), 圣哉 (holy, holy, holy). |
| Holy Spirit | 圣灵 | Shènglíng | Critical | 1, 2-3, 22 | ”The seven spirits” (1:4; 4:5; 5:6) = symbolic fullness of the one Spirit; teach explicitly to avoid a folk-multiple-spirits reading. |
| Saints | 圣徒 | shèngtú | High | 5, 8, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 | Frequently the object of the dragon/beast’s persecution; corporate designation retained throughout. |
| Church(es) | 教会 | jiàohuì | Medium | 1, 2-3, 22 | Plural “the seven churches” (αἱ ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησίαι); same caution against temple-building associations (庙/寺/道观). |
| Salvation | 救恩 | jiùēn | Critical | 7, 12, 19 | Doxological acclamations (“Salvation belongs to our God,” 7:10; 19:1); same forbidden substitutions (解脱, 超度) apply. |
| Resurrection | 复活 | fùhuó | Critical | 20 (“the first resurrection”) | Same forbidden substitutions (轮回, 投胎, 还魂) apply; “first” denotes historical sequence, never a rebirth cycle. |
| Glory | 荣耀 | róngyào | Medium | 1, 4, 5, 15, 21 | ”The glory of God” as the New Jerusalem’s light source (21:11, 23); avoid 面子/光宗耀祖 collapse per baseline. |
| Grace | 恩典 | ēndiǎn | Critical | 1, 22 | Closing benediction (22:21); same anti-merit (功德/阴德) caution applies. |
| Faith | 信心 | xìnxīn | High | 2, 13, 14 | ”The faith of Jesus” (14:12); “keep the faith” language under persecution. |
| Righteousness | 义 | yì | Critical | 19, 22 | ”The righteous deeds of the saints” (19:8, δικαιώματα) — see new entry; same Confucian-virtue caution applies. |
| Gospel | 福音 | fúyīn | Medium | 14 | Qualified as “eternal gospel” (εὐαγγέλιον αἰώνιον) — see new entry. |
| Kingdom of God | 神的国 | Shén de guó | Medium | 1, 11, 12 | ”The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord” (11:15) — climactic use. |
| Covenant | 约 | yuē | High | (implicit throughout, e.g., 2 Sam. 7:14 formula in 21:7) | No explicit διαθήκη occurrence in Revelation, but covenant-formula language pervades (21:3, 7). |
| Prophet | 先知 | xiānzhī | Low | 10, 11, 16, 18, 22 | Negated form “false prophet” (ψευδοπροφήτης) — see new entry. |
| Prophecy | 预言 | yùyán | Medium | 1, 10, 19, 22 | Book explicitly self-identifies as “the words of this prophecy” (22:7, 10, 18, 19) — canonical-closure warning. |
| Apostle | 使徒 | shǐtú | Low | 18, 21 | ”Apostles and prophets” (18:20); the twelve foundation-names of the city gates (21:14). |
| Power of God | 神的大能 | Shén de dà néng | High | 5, 7, 11, 12, 19 | Doxological refrain (“power and might,” 5:13; 7:12; 19:1). |
| Amen | 阿们 | āmen | (transliteration standard) | 1, 5, 7, 19, 22 | Closing liturgical use, esp. 22:20-21. |
| Hallelujah | 哈利路亚 | hālìlùyà | (transliteration standard) | 19 | See new entry for context. |
| Israel | 以色列 | Yǐsèliè | Medium | 2, 7, 21 | Twelve tribes named on the city gates (21:12); same contemporary-sensitivity caution applies. |
| David | 大卫 | Dàwèi | Medium | 3, 5, 22 | ”Key of David” (3:7), “Root of David” (5:5; 22:16). |
B. New Terms Specific to Revelation — Proposed for Language Package Extension
| English Term | Mandarin | Pinyin | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters (first + recurring) | Status | Rendering Rationale / Collision Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamb | 羔羊 | gāoyáng | Critical | Worship of the Lamb; Deity of Christ | 5 (28x throughout) | NEW | Central Christological title; must retain both sacrificial (“slain”) and victorious (“standing,” “conquering”) senses together; receives worship identical to God’s (5:13-14). See §07 ch.5. |
| Dragon | 龙 | lóng | Critical | Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil | 12, 13, 16, 20 | NEW | SEVERE cultural-collision risk: 龙 is China’s foremost auspicious symbol (imperial power, national identity, “descendants of the dragon”); Revelation’s δράκων = Satan, wholly evil. Requires sustained explicit doctrinal framing at every occurrence, not a single footnote. See §07 ch.12. |
| Worship | 敬拜 | jìngbài | Critical | Worship of the Lamb | 4, 5, 7, 13, 14, 15, 19, 22 | NEW | Must be sharply distinguished from generic 拜 (ancestor/temple worship of many objects); reserved exclusively for God and the Lamb; text itself dramatizes and forbids misdirected worship (angels, beast). See §07 ch.4, ch.22. |
| Second death | 第二次的死 | dì-èr-cì de sǐ | Critical | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints | 2, 20, 21 | NEW | Must never be read through a reincarnation (轮回) lens; it is the terminal, non-repeating opposite of eternal life. See §07 core passage v.8. |
| Lake of fire | 火湖 | huǒhú | Critical | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints | 19, 20, 21 | NEW | Distinguish from Buddhist hell-realms (地狱), which are temporary/cyclical; this judgment is final and irreversible. See §07 core passage v.8. |
| Book of life | 生命册 | shēngmìngcè | High | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints; Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil | 3, 13, 17, 20, 21 | NEW | Distinguish from the Daoist/folk “ledger of merit and demerit” (功过簿); inclusion is grounded in belonging to the Lamb, not a moral tally. See §07 ch.2-3. |
| New heaven and new earth | 新天新地 | xīn tiān xīn dì | High | The New Heaven and New Earth | 21 | NEW | Distinguish from Buddhist kalpa-cycle (劫) or Daoist cyclical cosmic renewal; this is a final, non-repeating re-creation. See §07 core passage v.1. |
| Holy city, new Jerusalem | 圣城新耶路撒冷 | shèngchéng Xīn Yēlùsālěng | High | The New Heaven and New Earth; The Church as Bride of Christ | 3, 21 | NEW | Descends from God (gift), does not ascend from humanity (achievement); contrast with Babylon’s fall. See §07 core passage v.2. |
| Bride | 新妇 | xīnfù | High | The Church as Bride of Christ | 19, 21, 22 | NEW | Use CUV’s classical 新妇, not colloquial 新娘; corporate covenantal image, not individual romance. See §07 core passage v.2. |
| Tabernacle / dwell (of God with man) | 帐幕 / 同住 | zhàngmù / tóngzhù | High | The New Heaven and New Earth | 21 | NEW | Same verb (σκηνόω) as John 1:14’s incarnation; eschatological fulfillment of the tabernacle-temple-incarnation trajectory. See §07 core passage v.3. |
| Throne | 宝座 | bǎozuò | Medium | The Sovereignty of God over History; The Return and Reign of Christ | 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22 | NEW | Risk of imperial-throne (龙椅) association; teach as the singular transcendent seat of authority over every human throne. See §07 core passage v.3; ch.4. |
| Overcome / conquer | 得胜 | déshèng | High | Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution | 2, 3, 5, 6, 12, 15, 17, 21 | NEW | Victory secured through union with the conquering Lamb (12:11), not self-generated merit or willpower. See §07 core passage v.7; ch.2-3. |
| Testimony / witness | 见证 | jiànzhèng | High | Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution | 1, 6, 11, 12, 17, 19, 20 | NEW | Greek term denotes testifying, not dying; death is the potential cost of faithful testimony, not a built-in synonym. See §07 ch.1. |
| Tribulation | 患难 | huànnàn | Medium | Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution | 1, 2, 7 | NEW | Specifically persecution-for-Christ’s-sake affliction, not generic hardship. See §07 ch.2-3. |
| Wrath (of God / of the Lamb) | 忿怒 | fènnù | High | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints | 6, 11, 14, 15, 16, 19 | NEW | Distinguish from impersonal karmic retribution (报应, already flagged under baseline “sin”); this is the personal righteous response of God and the Lamb. See §07 ch.6. |
| Judgment | 审判 | shěnpàn | Medium | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints | 6, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 | NEW | Distinguish from underworld bureaucratic judgment (阎王审判) weighing a karmic ledger; judgment is by the one true God based on relationship to Christ. |
| Almighty | 全能者 | quánnéngzhě | High | The Sovereignty of God over History | 1, 4, 11, 15, 16, 19, 21 | NEW | Exclusive divine omnipotence, not a superlative rank within a populated folk pantheon. See §07 ch.1. |
| Alpha and Omega | 阿拉法,俄梅戛 | Ālāfǎ, Éméigā | Medium | The Sovereignty of God over History; Deity of Christ | 1, 21, 22 | NEW | Transliteration alone is opaque to Mandarin readers; must always pair with 首先的、末后的 / 初,终. See §07 core passage v.6. |
| First and Last / Beginning and End | 首先的、末后的 / 初,终 | shǒuxiān de, mòhòu de / chū, zhōng | High | The Sovereignty of God over History; Deity of Christ | 1, 21, 22 | NEW | Shared title of Father and Son — asserts Christ’s full deity; render consistently across all occurrences. See §07 ch.1. |
| It is done | 都成了 | dōu chéngle | High | The Sovereignty of God over History; Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil | 16, 21 | NEW | Do NOT conflate with “It is finished” (成了/完了, John 19:30, a different Greek verb); render identically at 16:17 and 21:6 to preserve the deliberate literary parallel. See §07 core passage v.6. |
| Faithful and true | 可信的,是真实的 | kě xìn de, shì zhēnshí de | Medium | The Sovereignty of God over History | 3, 19, 21, 22 | NEW | Describes the reliability of God’s own words, not the hearer’s act of believing (do not blur with 信心/faith). See §07 core passage v.5. |
| Water of life | 生命泉的水 / 生命水的河 | shēngmìng quán de shuǐ / shēngmìng shuǐ de hé | Medium | The New Heaven and New Earth | 21, 22 | NEW | Relational, resurrection-life gift, not a vitality/longevity substance (avoid 长生 elixir associations). See §07 core passage v.6. |
| Freely / without payment | 白白地 | báibái de | Critical | The Sovereignty of God over History; (Grace, baseline-adjacent) | 21, 22 | NEW | Same anti-merit logic as baseline 恩典 (grace, Critical); must be taught against the 功德 merit-accounting worldview. See §07 core passage v.6. |
| Inherit / inheritance | 承受…为业 | chéngshòu…wéiyè | High | The New Heaven and New Earth; (Adoption, baseline-adjacent) | 21 | NEW | Family-inheritance right, not a wage earned by labor or merit. See §07 core passage v.7. |
| Son (covenant formula) | 儿子 | érzi | High | (Adoption, baseline-adjacent) | 21 | NEW | Legal-inheritance status term applying to all overcomers regardless of sex; requires an explicit gender-inclusivity translator note. See §07 core passage v.7. |
| Cowardly / faithless / detestable / murderers / sexually immoral / sorcerers / idolaters / liars | 胆怯的 / 不信的 / 可憎的 / 杀人的 / 淫乱的 / 行邪术的 / 拜偶像的 / 说谎话的 | dǎnqiè de / bùxìn de / kězēng de / shārén de / yínluàn de / xíng xiéshù de / bài ǒuxiàng de / shuō huǎnghuà de | High (idolaters, sorcerers); Medium (others) | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints | 21 | NEW | 拜偶像的 and 行邪术的 require pastoral sensitivity given ancestor-veneration and folk spirit-medium practices; see §07 core passage v.8 for full individual treatment. |
| Sulfur / brimstone | 硫磺 | liúhuáng | Low | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints | 21 (also 9, 14, 19, 20) | NEW | Low independent risk; part of the fixed “lake of fire and sulfur” phrase. |
| Revelation / Apocalypse | 启示 | qǐshì | Medium | Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation | 1 | NEW | Distinguish from divinatory “revelation” claims (spirit-medium channeling, oracle interpretation); a unique, closed, Christ-given disclosure. See §07 ch.1. |
| Signified (by signs) | 指示 / 晓示 | zhǐshì / xiǎoshì | Medium | Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation | 1 | NEW | Establishes the book’s substantially symbolic mode of communication from its first verse. See §07 ch.1. |
| Priests (a kingdom of) | 祭司 | jìsī | Medium | (Church as God’s People, baseline-adjacent) | 1, 5, 20 | NEW | Corporate mediatory identity of all believers through Christ, not a ritual-specialist class (distinguish from 僧/道士). See §07 ch.1. |
| Repent | 悔改 | huǐgǎi | Medium | Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution | 2, 3, 9, 16 | NEW | Active reorientation of direction/allegiance, not mere emotional regret (后悔). See §07 ch.2-3. |
| Tree of life | 生命树 | shēngmìng shù | Medium | The New Heaven and New Earth | 2, 22 | NEW | Distinguish from Daoist/folk-immortality “herb/peach of eternal life” (仙草, 蟠桃) motifs; relational restoration, not a magical life-extension substance. See §07 ch.2-3. |
| Crown of life | 生命的冠冕 | shēngmìng de guānmiǎn | Medium | Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution | 2, 3 | NEW | στέφανος (victor’s wreath/reward) distinct from διάδημα (royal crown, used of Christ 19:12 and the dragon 12:3) — keep senses distinct. See §07 ch.2-3. |
| Elders (twenty-four) | 长老 | zhǎnglǎo | Medium | Worship of the Lamb | 4, 5, 7, 11, 14, 19 | NEW | Distinguish from a modern Presbyterian church office or a Confucian clan elder; a heavenly worshiping representative figure. See §07 ch.4. |
| Four living creatures | 四活物 | sì huówù | Low | Worship of the Lamb | 4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 15, 19 | NEW | Distinct from θηρίον/兽 (“beast”); CUV already distinguishes these terms — retain the distinction. See §07 ch.4. |
| Worthy | 配得 | pèidé | Medium | Worship of the Lamb; Deity of Christ | 4, 5 | NEW | Grounds worship in inherent worth shared by Father and Lamb; render consistently across chs. 4-5. See §07 ch.4. |
| Redeemed / purchased | 买赎 | mǎishú | High | Worship of the Lamb; (Salvation, baseline-adjacent) | 5, 14 | NEW | Atonement-cost imagery, not a literal payment to a third party nor a merit-transaction (功德). See §07 ch.5. |
| Seal (of the scroll) | 印 / 封印 | yìn / fēngyìn | Medium | The Sovereignty of God over History | 5, 6, 8 | NEW | Distinguish terminologically from God’s protective seal on believers (ch.7) and the beast’s mark (ch.13), despite the shared conceptual root. See §07 ch.6. |
| Sealed (God’s mark on his servants) | 盖印 / 受印 | gài yìn / shòu yìn | Medium | Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil | 7 | NEW | Positive counterpart/antithesis to the beast’s mark (ch.13). See §07 ch.7. |
| 144,000 | 十四万四千人 | shísìwàn sìqiān rén | Medium | Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation | 7, 14 | NEW | Symbolic totality (12×12,000) of the covenant people, not a literal population cap. See §07 ch.7. |
| Incense (prayers of the saints) | 香 | xiāng | Medium | Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution | 5, 8 | NEW | Distinguish from burning incense to ancestors/deities/Buddhist images (烧香拜佛/祭祖); a metaphor for prayer’s acceptability through Christ. See §07 ch.8-9. |
| Abyss / bottomless pit | 无底坑 | wúdǐ kēng | Medium | The Sovereignty of God over History | 9, 11, 17, 20 | NEW | Distinguish from folk-underworld cosmology (地府/阴间); a specific restraint-place for demonic powers under God’s lock and key. See §07 ch.8-9. |
| Mystery | 奥秘 | àomì | Medium | The Sovereignty of God over History | 1, 10, 17 | NEW | God’s disclosed redemptive plan, not esoteric occult secret-knowledge (秘术). See §07 ch.10. |
| Two witnesses | 两个见证人 | liǎng gè jiànzhèng rén | High | Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution | 11 | NEW | Reuses 见证 root; their death-then-resurrection must retain 复活-consistent vocabulary. See §07 ch.11. |
| Beast | 兽 | shòu | High | Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil | 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20 | NEW | Symbol of organized anti-God political/religious power; keep distinct from 四活物 (“four living creatures”). See §07 ch.13. |
| Serpent (ancient) | 古蛇 | gǔ shé | High | Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil | 12, 20 | NEW | Identifies the dragon with Genesis 3’s serpent; teach the full title-chain (dragon=serpent=devil=Satan) together. See §07 ch.12. |
| Devil / Satan | 魔鬼 / 撒但 | móguǐ / Sādàn | High | Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil | 2, 12, 20 | NEW | Standard established Chinese Christian vocabulary; primary task is linking these clear titles to 龙 (dragon) in the same verses. See §07 ch.12. |
| Accuser | 控告者 | kònggào zhě | Medium | Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil | 12 | NEW | Courtroom-prosecutor role, overturned by the Lamb’s blood and believers’ testimony. See §07 ch.12. |
| Mark of the beast | 印记 | yìnjì | High | Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil | 13, 14, 16, 19, 20 | NEW | Counterfeit allegiance-mark, contrasted with God’s protective seal (ch.7); keep terminologically distinct. See §07 ch.13. |
| Image (of the beast) | 像 | xiàng | Medium | Worship of the Lamb | 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20 | NEW | εἰκών, distinct Greek word from εἴδωλον (“idol”); keep 像 distinct from 偶像 in Mandarin. See §07 ch.13. |
| Number of the beast (666) | 六百六十六 | liùbǎi liùshíliù | Medium | Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation | 13 | NEW | Ancient gematria code for a historical referent, not a number carrying independent magical potency (avoid numerology-superstition framing). See §07 ch.13. |
| Eternal gospel | 永远的福音 | yǒngyuǎn de fúyīn | Medium | (Gospel, baseline-adjacent) | 14 | NEW | The same gospel already fixed as 福音, qualified as eternally valid — not a new/additional revelation. See §07 ch.14. |
| Harvest / winepress of wrath | 收割 / 忿怒的酒醡 | shōugē / fènnù de jiǔzhà | Medium | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints | 14 | NEW | Vivid symbolic judgment imagery; not a literal viticultural prediction. See §07 ch.14. |
| Song of Moses and of the Lamb | 摩西的歌,羔羊的歌 | Móxī de gē, gāoyáng de gē | Medium | Worship of the Lamb | 15 | NEW | Requires Exodus narrative literacy; unites old- and new-covenant deliverance in worship. See §07 ch.15. |
| Armageddon | 哈米吉多顿 | Hāmǐjíduōdùn | Medium | Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil | 16 | NEW | Foreground the symbolic-theological point (God’s certain victory) over speculative geography/military identification. See §07 ch.16. |
| The great prostitute / Babylon the great | 大淫妇 | dà yínfù | High | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints | 17, 18 | NEW | Symbolic-corporate reading (idolatrous world-system) primary; deliberately contrasted with the Bride (New Jerusalem) as a structural key to the book. See §07 ch.17. |
| Hallelujah | 哈利路亚 | hālìlùyà | Low | Worship of the Lamb | 19 | NEW (transliteration, already standardized per source package conventions) | Fixed liturgical exclamation. See §07 ch.19. |
| Marriage supper of the Lamb | 羔羊的婚筵 | gāoyáng de hūnyán | High | The Church as Bride of Christ | 19 | NEW | Covenant-consummation image; must not be flattened into ordinary Chinese wedding-banquet cultural expectations. See §07 ch.19. |
| Righteous deeds (of the saints) | 圣徒所行的义 | shèngtú suǒ xíng de yì | Critical | The Church as Bride of Christ; (Righteousness, baseline-adjacent) | 19 | NEW | Visible fruit of an already-justified people, itself granted by God — must not be read as merit producing/maintaining righteous status. See §07 ch.19. |
| King of kings and Lord of lords | 万王之王、万主之主 | wàn wáng zhī wáng, wàn zhǔ zhī zhǔ | Critical | The Return and Reign of Christ; (Lordship of Christ, baseline-adjacent) | 19 | NEW | Categorically transcendent, exclusive sovereignty over every earthly ruler — not “greatest of many kings.” See §07 ch.19. |
| Word of God (title) | 神的道 | Shén de dào | Critical | The Return and Reign of Christ; (Incarnation, baseline-adjacent) | 19 | NEW | Same 道-vigilance as baseline 道成肉身; the personal, eternal divine Word returning, not an impersonal cosmic principle. See §07 ch.19. |
| False prophet | 假先知 | jiǎ xiānzhī | Medium | Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil | 16, 19, 20 | NEW | Specific end-time deceiving figure empowering the beast, not any generally inaccurate teacher. See §07 ch.19. |
| Thousand years / millennium | 一千年 | yī qiān nián | High | The Return and Reign of Christ | 20 | NEW | Render literally without embedding a single interpretive (pre/a/postmillennial) stance; avoid vague-immensity (劫) framing. See §07 ch.20. |
| First resurrection | 头一次的复活 | tóu yī cì de fùhuó | Critical | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints; (Resurrection, baseline-adjacent) | 20 | NEW | Must retain 复活 exactly; “first” denotes sequence of distinct historical resurrection-events, never a rebirth cycle. See §07 ch.20. |
| Reign (with Christ) | 作王 | zuò wáng | Medium | The Return and Reign of Christ | 20, 22 | NEW | Derivative, inheritance-gift sharing in Christ’s reign, not independent or merit-earned authority. See §07 ch.20. |
| Great white throne | 白色的大宝座 | báisè de dà bǎozuò | Medium | Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints | 20 | NEW | Combination of 宝座 with a purity-qualifier; final judgment seat. See §07 ch.20. |
| Gog and Magog | 歌革、玛各 | Gēgé, Mǎgè | Medium | Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil | 20 | NEW | Symbolic universal hostile-nations coalition; avoid speculative identification with any specific modern nation/ethnicity. See §07 ch.20. |
| Temple (God/Lamb ARE the temple) | 殿 | diàn | Medium | The New Heaven and New Earth | 21 | NEW | Describes the removal of any need for a separate sanctuary building — not a call to build one; distinguish from 教会 and forbidden temple vocabulary. See §07 ch.21. |
| Nations (eschatological, Rev 21-22 sense) | 万国 / 列国 | wànguó / lièguó | Medium | The New Heaven and New Earth | 21, 22 | NEW | Do NOT reuse 外邦人 here; this is celebratory, non-contrastive “all earth’s peoples,” not the Jew/Gentile distinction of Romans. See §07 ch.21. |
| No more curse | 咒诅 | zhòuzǔ | High | The New Heaven and New Earth | 22 | NEW | The specific, singular Genesis 3 judicial curse being lifted — not a folk-magical curse/spell (下咒). See §07 ch.22. |
| Throne of God and of the Lamb (shared, singular) | 神和羔羊的宝座 | Shén hé gāoyáng de bǎozuò | Critical | Worship of the Lamb; Deity of Christ | 22 | NEW | Grammatical singularity (one throne) asserts shared divine sovereignty; must not be explained as two adjacent thrones. See §07 ch.22. |
| Servants (his servants will worship him) | 仆人 | púrén | Low | Worship of the Lamb | 1, 7, 19, 22 | NEW | The redeemed community’s willing, permanent, joyful service — not a static reward. See §07 ch.22. |
| Angel-worship forbidden | 不可敬拜天使 | bùkě jìngbài tiānshǐ | High | Worship of the Lamb | 19, 22 | NEW | Explicit internal textual safeguard against misdirected worship toward exalted beings — directly relevant given folk-religious veneration of a spirit hierarchy. See §07 ch.22. |
| I am coming soon | 我必快来 | wǒ bì kuài lái | Medium | The Return and Reign of Christ | 22 | NEW | Teach the certainty/nearness tension without resolving into date-setting speculation. See §07 ch.22. |
| Do not add to or take away (canonical closure) | 不可加添…不可删去 | bùkě jiātiān…bùkě shānqù | Medium | Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation; (Inspiration of Scripture, baseline-adjacent) | 22 | NEW | Affirms the completed, closed authority of the given revelation, distinct from the Chinese classical canon’s sage-wisdom authority model. See §07 ch.22. |
C. Risk Summary
| Risk Tier | Count (New Terms) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 12 | Human theologian review required for every occurrence |
| High | 20 | Human theologian review required |
| Medium | 30 | Native speaker review recommended |
| Low | 4 | Automated review sufficient |
D. Cross-Reference Note
All terms in Section A retain their exact baseline Mandarin rendering with no modification. All terms in Section B are proposed additions to translation_memory.json for this curriculum and require theologian sign-off (Critical/High tiers) before Phase 2 segment translation begins, per the escalation rules already established in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md. The single highest-priority cultural-collision item in this entire glossary is 龙 (dragon), given its status as China’s foremost positive cultural symbol set against its wholly negative referent (Satan) throughout Revelation 12-20.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: 神
Transliteration: Shén
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 上帝, 天, 老天爷
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. In Revelation’s throne-room worship scenes (chs. 4-5, 7, 19, 21-22) monotheism must remain explicit, since 神 is also the generic noun for any deity/spirit in Chinese folk religion.
Jesus
Approved rendering: 耶稣
Transliteration: Yēsū
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Also titled ‘the Word of God’ (19:13) and ‘the Lamb’ (throughout Revelation) — see word_of_god_title and lamb entries below.
Lord
Approved rendering: 主
Transliteration: zhǔ
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 主人, 老爷
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Intensified in Revelation 19:16, ‘King of kings and Lord of lords’ — see king_of_kings_lord_of_lords entry.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: 圣灵
Transliteration: Shènglíng
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: 祖灵, 灵
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον / τὰ ἑπτὰ πνεύματα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Revelation’s ‘the seven spirits’ (τὰ ἑπτὰ πνεύματα, 1:4; 4:5; 5:6) must render as 七灵 with an explanatory note that this is symbolic fullness of the one Spirit, not a plurality of spirit-beings, to avoid a folk multiple-spirit-world reading.
Salvation
Approved rendering: 救恩
Transliteration: jiùēn
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 解脱, 超度, 得道
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Doxological acclamation in Revelation’s worship scenes (‘Salvation belongs to our God,’ 7:10; 19:1); same forbidden substitutions apply.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: 复活
Transliteration: fùhuó
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 轮回, 投胎, 还魂
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Qualified in Revelation as ‘the first resurrection’ (20:5-6) — see first_resurrection entry; ‘first’ denotes historical sequence, never a rebirth cycle.
Grace
Approved rendering: 恩典
Transliteration: ēndiǎn
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: 功德, 造化, 福气, 阴德
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Forms the closing benediction of the book (22:21); same anti-merit caution against 功德/阴德 applies.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: 义
Transliteration: yì
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 道德, 善行
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Underlies but is distinct from ‘the righteous deeds of the saints’ (19:8, δικαιώματα) — see righteous_deeds_of_saints entry; same Confucian-virtue caution applies.
Lamb
Approved rendering: 羔羊
Transliteration: gāoyáng
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Original: ἀρνίον
Category: Christology
The dominant Christological title in Revelation (28 occurrences). Must retain both the sacrificial (‘slain’) and victorious (‘standing,’ ‘conquering’) senses together; never softened toward only gentleness/weakness. Receives worship identical to God’s (5:13-14), a direct, repeated assertion of full deity requiring theologian review at every occurrence.
Dragon
Approved rendering: 龙
Transliteration: lóng
Doctrine: Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil
Original: δράκων
Category: Spiritual Warfare
HIGHEST-PRIORITY COLLISION IN THIS CURRICULUM. 龙 is China’s foremost auspicious cultural symbol (imperial authority, national/ethnic identity, ‘descendants of the dragon’ 龙的传人), yet here names Satan (12:9), the wholly evil adversary finally and permanently defeated. No native alternative exists (this is a paraphrase-collision, not a transliteration problem). Every occurrence (12:3-17; 13:2, 4, 11; 16:13; 20:2) requires sustained explicit doctrinal framing, never a single footnote, and must never be paired with common positive-dragon idioms even by way of contrast.
Worship
Approved rendering: 敬拜
Transliteration: jìngbài
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Rejected alternatives: 拜, 崇拜
Original: προσκυνέω
Category: Worship
Must be sharply distinguished from the generic verb 拜 (ancestor veneration, multi-deity temple worship) and from 崇拜 (which shares a root with 偶像/idol and doubles as celebrity-fandom vocabulary). Reserved exclusively for God and the Lamb; the text itself dramatizes and forbids worship of angels. Never use 拜/崇拜 as a positive synonym in any doctrinal sentence — only when negatively glossing what is forbidden (e.g. 拜偶像的).
Throne Of God And Lamb
Approved rendering: 神和羔羊的宝座
Transliteration: Shén hé gāoyáng de bǎozuò
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: ὁ θρόνος τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἀρνίου
Category: Christology
A single, grammatically singular throne shared by God and the Lamb (22:1, 3). The singularity (one throne, not two) must be preserved as a deliberate assertion of the Lamb’s co-equal deity; Mandarin grammar does not mark this distinction unaided, so teaching notes must state explicitly ‘one throne’ at every occurrence.
Freely Without Payment
Approved rendering: 白白地
Transliteration: báibái de
Doctrine: Grace
Original: δωρεάν
Category: Salvation
The manner in which the water of life is given (21:6; 22:17). Carries the same anti-merit logic as 恩典 (grace, Critical): must be taught against the 功德/阴德 merit-accounting worldview. Given as pure gift, received by thirsting/coming, never earned.
Righteous Deeds Of Saints
Approved rendering: 圣徒所行的义
Transliteration: shèngtú suǒ xíng de yì
Doctrine: Church as Bride of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 善行, 功德
Original: τὰ δικαιώματα τῶν ἁγίων
Category: Salvation
The visible righteous conduct of the saints, granted to the Bride to wear as fine linen (19:8) — the fruit, not the ground, of justification. Sits directly on the baseline’s Critical distinction between forensic 义 (received by faith) and any works-based framing; must never be read as merit producing or maintaining righteous status. Never abbreviate toward 善行 or 功德.
First Resurrection
Approved rendering: 头一次的复活
Transliteration: tóu yī cì de fùhuó
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Rejected alternatives: 轮回, 投胎, 还魂
Original: ἡ ἀνάστασις ἡ πρώτη
Category: Eschatology
The first of a historical sequence of distinct resurrection events (20:5-6). Must retain 复活 exactly; ‘first’ denotes a sequence of distinct historical resurrection-events, not a person undergoing multiple births/deaths/rebirths — a crucial distinction given the proximity of ‘first’/‘second’ language to reincarnation-cycle idiom patterns.
Second Death
Approved rendering: 第二次的死
Transliteration: dì-èr-cì de sǐ
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Original: ὁ θάνατος ὁ δεύτερος
Category: Judgment
Eternal, final exclusion from God’s presence following the last judgment (2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8). Must never be read through a reincarnation framework (NOT ‘a second life-and-death cycle’); it is the terminal, non-repeating opposite of eternal life, exactly as 复活 is the terminal opposite of ordinary death.
Lake Of Fire
Approved rendering: 火湖
Transliteration: huǒhú
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Rejected alternatives: 地狱
Original: ἡ λίμνη ἡ καιομένη πυρὶ καὶ θείῳ
Category: Judgment
Place of final, conscious, eternal judgment (19:20; 20:10, 14-15; 21:8). Must be distinguished from the Buddhist hell-realms (地狱) of Chinese popular religion, understood as temporary punishments within an ongoing rebirth cycle from which a soul may eventually be released through merit or the 超度 rite (already forbidden). This judgment is final and irreversible; there is no subsequent rebirth or ritual release.
King Of Kings Lord Of Lords
Approved rendering: 万王之王、万主之主
Transliteration: wàn wáng zhī wáng, wàn zhǔ zhī zhǔ
Doctrine: Return and Reign of Christ
Original: βασιλεὺς βασιλέων καὶ κύριος κυρίων
Category: Christology
Superlative title asserting Christ’s absolute supremacy over every human ruler (19:16). Directly intensifies the baseline’s Critical warning on 主: not ‘the greatest of many kings’ but a categorically different, transcendent, exclusive sovereignty — a claim with particular resonance in a culture with its own historic absolute-monarch tradition (天子).
Word Of God Title
Approved rendering: 神的道
Transliteration: Shén de dào
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: ὁ Λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Identifies the returning, conquering rider (19:13) as the same eternal divine Word who became flesh (John 1:1, 14). Direct reuse of the baseline’s Critical caution on 道 (also the impersonal cosmic principle of Daoist metaphysics): the personal, eternal divine Word, not an impersonal cosmic force.
High Risk Terms
Holy
Approved rendering: 圣洁
Transliteration: shèngjié
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: 清净, 圣人般的
Original: ἅγιος
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Root 圣 also underlies 圣城 (holy city) and 圣哉 (the threefold ‘Holy, holy, holy’ acclamation, 4:8).
Saints
Approved rendering: 圣徒
Transliteration: shèngtú
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: 圣人, 高僧
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Frequently the object of the dragon/beast’s persecution throughout Revelation; corporate designation retained, never implying Confucian 圣人-level sage attainment.
Faith
Approved rendering: 信心
Transliteration: xìnxīn
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: 虔诚, 迷信, 信仰
Original: πίστις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. ‘The faith of Jesus’ (14:12); sustained trust under persecution.
Covenant
Approved rendering: 约
Transliteration: yuē
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: 合同, 契约
Original: διαθήκη (implicit; covenant-formula language)
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. No explicit διαθήκη occurrence in Revelation, but the Exodus/Davidic covenant formula (‘I will be their God, they will be my people’) pervades 21:3, 7.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: 神的大能
Transliteration: Shén de dà néng
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 气, 法力
Original: δύναμις
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Doxological refrain (‘power and might,’ 5:13; 7:12; 19:1).
Sin
Approved rendering: 罪
Transliteration: zuì
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: 报应, 罪犯式的罪
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Underlies the vice-list of Revelation 21:8 and the wrath doctrine’s anti-报应 (karmic retribution) caution.
Adoption
Approved rendering: 儿子的名分
Transliteration: érzi de míngfèn
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: 过继, 收养
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Baseline-adjacent to Revelation 21:7’s covenant-formula ‘son’ (儿子) and inheritance language — see son_covenant_formula and inherit entries.
Providence
Approved rendering: 神的护理
Transliteration: Shén de hùlǐ
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: 天意, 命运
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Underlies the Sovereignty of God over History doctrine, especially against a fatalistic 天意 reading of the seal/trumpet/bowl judgment sequences.
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: 大卫的后裔
Transliteration: Dàwèi de hòuyì
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Parallels Revelation’s ‘Root of David’ (大卫的根, 5:5; 22:16) and ‘key of David’ (3:7).
Ancient Serpent
Approved rendering: 古蛇
Transliteration: gǔ shé
Doctrine: Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil
Original: ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος
Category: Spiritual Warfare
Identifies the dragon/Satan with the serpent of Genesis 3 (12:9). Teach together with 龙/魔鬼/撒但 as four titles for one being, so 龙’s cultural positivity is not compartmentalized away from these plainly negative titles.
Devil Satan
Approved rendering: 魔鬼 / 撒但
Transliteration: móguǐ / Sādàn
Doctrine: Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil
Original: ὁ διάβολος / ὁ Σατανᾶς
Category: Spiritual Warfare
Standard, unambiguous Chinese Christian vocabulary. Primary task is linking these clear titles explicitly to 龙 in the same verses (chs. 12, 20).
Beast
Approved rendering: 兽
Transliteration: shòu
Doctrine: Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil
Original: θηρίον
Category: Spiritual Warfare
Two symbolic beasts (sea and earth) representing organized anti-God political/religious power in the dragon’s service. Keep terminologically distinct from 四活物 (‘four living creatures,’ an unrelated positive image) — CUV already distinguishes 兽 from 活物.
Mark Of The Beast
Approved rendering: 印记
Transliteration: yìnjì
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and the Defeat of Satan
Original: χάραγμα
Category: Spiritual Warfare
The beast’s counterfeit allegiance-mark (13:16-17), contrasted with God’s protective seal on his people (7:3-4). Must remain terminologically distinct from 盖印/受印 despite the shared root.
Great Prostitute Babylon
Approved rendering: 大淫妇
Transliteration: dà yínfù
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Original: ἡ πόρνη ἡ μεγάλη / Βαβυλὼν ἡ μεγάλη
Category: Judgment
Symbolic-corporate personification of an idolatrous world-system (chs. 17-18), deliberately contrasted with the Bride (New Jerusalem) as a structural key to the whole book. Keep distinct from the literal-individual sense sharing the same root at 21:8.
Angel Worship Forbidden
Approved rendering: 不可敬拜天使
Transliteration: bùkě jìngbài tiānshǐ
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Original: Ὅρα μή…τῷ θεῷ προσκύνησον
Category: Worship
An angel’s explicit refusal of worship offered to him, redirecting it to God alone (19:10; 22:8-9). Highlight given the widespread veneration of a populated spirit-hierarchy (城隍, 土地公) in Chinese folk religion.
Almighty
Approved rendering: 全能者
Transliteration: quánnéngzhě
Doctrine: Sovereignty of God over History
Original: παντοκράτωρ
Category: God
Distinguish from generic ‘all-powerful deity’ claims made loosely of figures in the Chinese folk pantheon (e.g. the Jade Emperor 玉皇); designates the singular true God exclusively.
First And Last
Approved rendering: 首先的、末后的
Transliteration: shǒuxiān de, mòhòu de
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: ὁ πρῶτος καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος / ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος
Category: God
Shared title of the Father (1:8; 21:6) and the risen Christ (1:17; 22:13); render consistently across all occurrences to convey the shared-deity assertion.
It Is Done
Approved rendering: 都成了
Transliteration: dōu chéngle
Doctrine: Sovereignty of God over History
Original: γέγονεν
Category: Judgment
Perfect-tense exclamation sealing both the completion of God’s wrath (16:17) and the completion of new creation (21:6). Must NOT be conflated with ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30, a different Greek verb for the atonement’s completion); render identically at 16:17 and 21:6 to preserve the deliberate literary parallel.
Inherit
Approved rendering: 承受…为业
Transliteration: chéngshòu…wéiyè
Doctrine: New Heaven and New Earth
Original: κληρονομέω
Category: Salvation
The overcomer ‘inherits’ the whole new-creation reality (21:7) as a family right, not a wage earned by labor or merit.
Son Covenant Formula
Approved rendering: 儿子
Transliteration: érzi
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: υἱός
Category: Salvation
Fulfills the OT covenant formula (‘I will be his God, and he will be my son,’ 2 Sam. 7:14) for every overcomer (21:7). 儿子 is grammatically masculine in Mandarin, but the referent is every overcoming believer, male and female alike — functions as a legal-inheritance status word, not a claim that only males inherit. Requires an explicit translator note wherever used.
Redeemed Purchased
Approved rendering: 买赎
Transliteration: mǎishú
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Original: ἀγοράζω
Category: Salvation
Commercial purchase-language applied to Christ’s atoning death ‘purchasing’ people for God with his blood (5:9; 14:3-4). Atonement-cost imagery, not a literal payment to a third party nor a merit-transaction; must not be assimilated to the 功德 worldview.
Book Of Life
Approved rendering: 生命册
Transliteration: shēngmìngcè
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Original: τὸ βιβλίον τῆς ζωῆς / ἡ βίβλος τῆς ζωῆς
Category: Judgment
God’s sovereign record of those who belong to him (3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27). Must be distinguished from the Chinese folk-Daoist ‘ledger of merit and demerit’ (功过簿); inclusion is grounded in belonging to the Lamb, not a moral tally.
New Heaven And New Earth
Approved rendering: 新天新地
Transliteration: xīn tiān xīn dì
Doctrine: New Heaven and New Earth
Rejected alternatives: 天堂, 极乐世界
Original: καινὸς οὐρανὸς καὶ γῆ καινή
Category: Eschatology
The qualitatively new, final cosmos (21:1). Distinguish from the Buddhist kalpa-cycle (劫) of world-destruction-and-recreation and Daoist cyclical cosmic renewal; this is a once-for-all, final, non-repeating re-creation. 天堂 and 极乐世界 are FORBIDDEN substitutes — the former erases bodily/physical renewal, the latter imports the Pure Land Buddhist soteriological system.
Holy City New Jerusalem
Approved rendering: 圣城新耶路撒冷
Transliteration: shèngchéng Xīn Yēlùsālěng
Doctrine: New Heaven and New Earth
Original: ἡ πόλις ἡ ἁγία, Ἰερουσαλὴμ καινή
Category: Eschatology
The city that descends ready-made from God (21:2, 10) as gift, not a human building project. Preserve the directionality: from God to humanity, not an ascending human utopian project (contrast Tower of Babel and 修仙/升天 cultivation-ascent motifs).
No More Curse
Approved rendering: 咒诅
Transliteration: zhòuzǔ
Doctrine: New Heaven and New Earth
Original: οὐκ ἔσται…κατάρα
Category: Eschatology
The final removal of the Genesis 3 judicial curse (22:3). Must be distinguished from folk-religious curse/spell-casting or lifting (下咒/解咒); this is a specific, singular, cosmic-covenantal judicial curse, not an arbitrary magical misfortune.
Tabernacle Dwell
Approved rendering: 帐幕 / 同住
Transliteration: zhàngmù / tóngzhù
Doctrine: Covenant Fulfillment and God’s Dwelling with His People
Original: ἡ σκηνή / σκηνώσει (σκηνόω)
Category: Eschatology
God’s permanent, unmediated dwelling among his people (21:3), using the same verb (σκηνόω) John uses for the Incarnation (John 1:14). Must retain the OT tabernacle echo and its link to 道成肉身 — not mere ‘coexistence.‘
Thousand Years
Approved rendering: 一千年
Transliteration: yī qiān nián
Doctrine: Return and Reign of Christ
Original: χίλια ἔτη
Category: Eschatology
A defined period (20:1-6) during which Satan is bound and the saints reign with Christ. Render literally without embedding a single interpretive stance (pre-/a-/postmillennial); avoid loose rendering as ‘a very long age,’ which would import a Buddhist-kalpa-like vague-immensity framing (劫).
Wrath
Approved rendering: 忿怒
Transliteration: fènnù
Doctrine: Divine Wrath and Righteous Judgment
Rejected alternatives: 报应
Original: ὀργή
Category: Judgment
The settled, personal, righteous judicial anger of God and — startlingly — of the Lamb (6:16-17; 14:10, 19; 16:1; 19:15). Distinguish from the impersonal karmic-retribution concept 报应; divine wrath is personal, not an automatic cosmic mechanism.
Overcome
Approved rendering: 得胜的
Transliteration: déshèng de
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
Original: νικάω (ptc. ὁ νικῶν)
Category: Persecution
Victory secured through union with the conquering Lamb (5:5; 12:11) and appropriated by continued faith and testimony, even unto death — never self-generated heroic willpower or an accumulating spiritual merit-ledger (功德).
Testimony
Approved rendering: 见证
Transliteration: jiànzhèng
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
Rejected alternatives: 殉道
Original: μαρτυρία / μάρτυς / μαρτυρέω
Category: Persecution
Faithful proclamation of what one has seen and believed concerning Jesus. The Greek term denotes testifying, not dying; death is the potential cost of faithful testimony, not a synonym built into the word. Do not collapse into 殉道 (martyrdom) by default.
Two Witnesses
Approved rendering: 两个见证人
Transliteration: liǎng gè jiànzhèng rén
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
Original: οἱ δύο μάρτυρες
Category: Persecution
Symbolic prophetic figures who testify, are killed, and are raised (11:3-13). Their death-then-resurrection narrative must retain 复活-consistent vocabulary — never 还魂 (folk reanimation) or 轮回.
Bride
Approved rendering: 新妇
Transliteration: xīnfù
Doctrine: Church as Bride of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 新娘, 妻子
Original: νύμφη
Category: Church
The Church corporately as Christ’s covenant bride (19:7-8; 21:2, 9; 22:17). Use CUV’s classical 新妇, NEVER the modern colloquial 新娘 or 妻子; must be taught as a corporate, covenantal image, not individual romance, and not flattened into ordinary Chinese wedding-custom expectations (dowry-exchange, family-alliance negotiation).
Marriage Supper Of The Lamb
Approved rendering: 羔羊的婚筵
Transliteration: gāoyáng de hūnyán
Doctrine: Church as Bride of Christ
Original: ὁ γάμος τοῦ ἀρνίου
Category: Church
Consummation of the Bride/Bridegroom covenant relationship (19:7, 9). Must retain the covenantal-consummation sense, not ordinary Chinese wedding-banquet cultural associations (面子, gift-giving reciprocity).
Faithless
Approved rendering: 不信的
Transliteration: bùxìn de
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Original: ἄπιστοι
Category: Sin
Ultimate unbelief, refusal of trust in Christ maintained to the end (21:8). Direct negative counterpart to 信心; must retain the personal-trust-in-Christ sense.
Idolaters
Approved rendering: 拜偶像的
Transliteration: bài ǒuxiàng de
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Original: εἰδωλολάτραι
Category: Sin
Those who direct worship owed to God alone toward a false object (21:8; 9:20). Requires careful pastoral framing given widespread ancestor veneration (祭祖) and popular temple worship in Chinese family life; theological category must remain clear while avoiding blanket condemnation absent further discipleship nuance.
Medium Risk Terms
Church
Approved rendering: 教会
Transliteration: jiàohuì
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: 庙, 寺, 道观
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Plural ‘the seven churches’ (chs. 2-3); avoid temple-building associations.
Glory
Approved rendering: 荣耀
Transliteration: róngyào
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 面子, 光宗耀祖
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. The light-source of the New Jerusalem (21:11, 23).
Gospel
Approved rendering: 福音
Transliteration: fúyīn
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: 好消息, 喜讯
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Scripture
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Qualified in Revelation 14:6 as ‘the eternal gospel’ — see eternal_gospel entry.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: 神的国
Transliteration: Shén de guó
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Rejected alternatives: 天下, 王朝
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ / τοῦ κυρίου
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Climactic use at Revelation 11:15, ‘the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord.‘
Prophecy
Approved rendering: 预言
Transliteration: yùyán
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 算卦, 占卜
Original: προφητεία
Category: Scripture
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Revelation self-identifies as ‘the words of this prophecy’ (1:3; 22:7, 10, 18-19), tied to the canonical-closure warning — see do_not_add_or_take_away entry.
Israel
Approved rendering: 以色列
Transliteration: Yǐsèliè
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Twelve tribes named on the New Jerusalem’s gates (21:12).
David
Approved rendering: 大卫
Transliteration: Dàwèi
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: Δαυίδ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. ‘Root of David’ (5:5; 22:16), ‘key of David’ (3:7).
Gentiles
Approved rendering: 外邦人
Transliteration: wàibāngrén
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: 夷人, 外国人
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged, BUT with a Revelation-specific caution: do NOT reuse 外邦人 for τὰ ἔθνη in Revelation 21:24, 26; 22:2 — that eschatological, celebratory, non-contrastive sense must use 万国/列国 instead. See nations_eschatological entry.
Accuser
Approved rendering: 控告者
Transliteration: kònggào zhě
Doctrine: Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil
Original: ὁ κατήγορος
Category: Spiritual Warfare
Satan’s courtroom-prosecutorial role against believers, overturned by the Lamb’s blood and believers’ testimony (12:10-11).
Image Of The Beast
Approved rendering: 像
Transliteration: xiàng
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Original: ἡ εἰκὼν τοῦ θηρίου
Category: Spiritual Warfare
εἰκών, a distinct Greek term from εἴδωλον (‘idol’); keep 像 distinct from 偶像 in Mandarin even though both function as forbidden worship-objects.
False Prophet
Approved rendering: 假先知
Transliteration: jiǎ xiānzhī
Doctrine: Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil
Original: ὁ ψευδοπροφήτης
Category: Spiritual Warfare
Negation of 先知; a specific end-time deceiving figure empowering the beast’s counterfeit worship system, not any generally inaccurate teacher.
Worthy
Approved rendering: 配得
Transliteration: pèidé
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Original: ἄξιος
Category: Worship
Declared of God (4:11) and extended to the Lamb (5:9, 12); render consistently across chs. 4-5 so the deliberate extension of divine worth to the Lamb is perceptible.
Song Of Moses And Lamb
Approved rendering: 摩西的歌,羔羊的歌
Transliteration: Móxī de gē, gāoyáng de gē
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Original: ἡ ᾠδὴ Μωϋσέως…καὶ ἡ ᾠδὴ τοῦ ἀρνίου
Category: Worship
Unites the Exodus deliverance song with worship of the Lamb (15:3-4); requires OT (Exodus) narrative literacy.
Throne
Approved rendering: 宝座
Transliteration: bǎozuò
Doctrine: Sovereignty of God over History
Rejected alternatives: 龙椅
Original: θρόνος
Category: God
Readily evokes the imperial Dragon Throne (龙椅, a term FORBIDDEN even for contrast, given its shared 龙 root). Teach as the singular transcendent seat of authority over every human throne, including any historical Chinese one, without needing to name 龙椅 to make the point.
Alpha And Omega
Approved rendering: 阿拉法,俄梅戛
Transliteration: Ālāfǎ, Éméigā
Doctrine: Sovereignty of God over History
Original: τὸ Ἄλφα καὶ τὸ Ὦ
Category: God
Transliteration alone is opaque to Mandarin readers unfamiliar with the Greek alphabet; must always be paired with 首先的、末后的 / 初,终.
Faithful And True
Approved rendering: 可信的,是真实的
Transliteration: kě xìn de, shì zhēnshí de
Doctrine: Sovereignty of God over History
Original: πιστοὶ καὶ ἀληθινοί
Category: God
Describes the reliability of God’s own words (21:5), not the hearer’s act of believing; must not be blurred with 信心.
Water Of Life
Approved rendering: 生命泉的水 / 生命水的河
Transliteration: shēngmìng quán de shuǐ / shēngmìng shuǐ de hé
Doctrine: New Heaven and New Earth
Original: τὸ ὕδωρ τῆς ζωῆς / ἡ πηγὴ τοῦ ὕδατος τῆς ζωῆς
Category: Salvation
Relational, resurrection-life gift (21:6; 22:1, 17), received by faith; must not be read as a vitality/longevity substance (avoid Daoist 长生 elixir-of-immortality associations).
Tree Of Life
Approved rendering: 生命树
Transliteration: shēngmìng shù
Doctrine: New Heaven and New Earth
Original: τὸ ξύλον τῆς ζωῆς
Category: Eschatology
Restored, permanent access to the life once forfeited in Eden (2:7; 22:2, 14, 19). Must not be confused with Daoist/folk-immortality ‘tree/herb of eternal life’ motifs (仙草, 蟠桃).
Temple
Approved rendering: 殿
Transliteration: diàn
Doctrine: New Heaven and New Earth
Original: ναός
Category: Eschatology
The New Jerusalem needs no separate temple building because God’s and the Lamb’s presence fully constitutes it (21:22). Describes the removal of any need for a separate sacred building, the opposite of a call to build one; distinguish from 教会 and from forbidden temple vocabulary (庙/寺/道观).
Nations Eschatological
Approved rendering: 万国 / 列国
Transliteration: wànguó / lièguó
Doctrine: New Heaven and New Earth
Rejected alternatives: 外邦人
Original: τὰ ἔθνη
Category: Eschatology
The full company of redeemed peoples streaming into the New Jerusalem in celebratory, non-contrastive terms (21:24, 26; 22:2). Although the underlying Greek word (ἔθνη) is identical to the one fixed as 外邦人 in Romans’ Jew/Gentile contrast contexts, do NOT reuse 外邦人 here — it would import an insider/outsider ethnic framing the text does not intend at this eschatological point.
Great White Throne
Approved rendering: 白色的大宝座
Transliteration: báisè de dà bǎozuò
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Original: ὁ θρόνος ὁ μέγας ὁ λευκός
Category: Judgment
The final judgment seat (20:11-13); combination of 宝座 with a purity-qualifier — no independent new risk beyond the throne entry’s own imperial-throne caution.
Judgment
Approved rendering: 审判
Transliteration: shěnpàn
Doctrine: Divine Wrath and Righteous Judgment
Rejected alternatives: 阎王审判
Original: κρίσις / κρίμα
Category: Judgment
God’s righteous verdict against sin and evil. Distinguish from underworld bureaucratic judgment (阎王审判) weighing a karmic ledger; judgment is by the one true God based on relationship to Christ.
Harvest Winepress
Approved rendering: 收割 / 忿怒的酒醡
Transliteration: shōugē / fènnù de jiǔzhà
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Original: θερισμός / ἡ ληνὸς τοῦ θυμοῦ
Category: Judgment
Agricultural judgment imagery (14:14-20, echoing Joel 3:13; Isa. 63:1-6); vivid symbolic imagery for a real, final judgment, not a literal viticultural prediction.
Tribulation
Approved rendering: 患难
Transliteration: huànnàn
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
Original: θλῖψις
Category: Persecution
Sustained affliction endured for Christ’s sake (1:9; 2:9-10; 7:14). Distinguish from generic misfortune/hardship (苦难).
Crown Of Life
Approved rendering: 生命的冠冕
Transliteration: shēngmìng de guānmiǎn
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
Original: ὁ στέφανος τῆς ζωῆς
Category: Persecution
στέφανος (victor’s wreath, reward for endurance, 2:10) is distinct from διάδημα (royal crown, used of Christ 19:12 and the dragon 12:3) — keep senses distinct even though Mandarin 冠冕 can carry either.
Revelation Apocalypse
Approved rendering: 启示
Transliteration: qǐshì
Doctrine: Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation
Rejected alternatives: 灵签
Original: ἀποκάλυψις
Category: Scripture
‘Unveiling’ — the whole book’s genre-name (1:1). Distinguish from divinatory ‘revelation’ claims common in Chinese folk religion (spirit-medium channeling, oracle interpretation, 灵签); this is a unique, closed, Christ-given disclosure.
Signified
Approved rendering: 指示 / 晓示
Transliteration: zhǐshì / xiǎoshì
Doctrine: Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation
Original: ἐσήμανεν (σημαίνω)
Category: Scripture
Establishes from the book’s first verse (1:1) that its content is substantially communicated through symbol; flag at first occurrence for all subsequent apocalyptic imagery.
Mystery
Approved rendering: 奥秘
Transliteration: àomì
Doctrine: Sovereignty of God over History
Rejected alternatives: 秘术
Original: μυστήριον
Category: Scripture
God’s previously hidden redemptive plan, now disclosed at the appointed time (10:7; 17:5, 7). Distinguish from esoteric/occult ‘mystery’ traditions (秘术).
Eternal Gospel
Approved rendering: 永远的福音
Transliteration: yǒngyuǎn de fúyīn
Doctrine: Gospel
Original: εὐαγγέλιον αἰώνιον
Category: Scripture
The same gospel already fixed as 福音, qualified as eternally valid (14:6) — not a distinct or additional revelation superseding it.
Do Not Add Or Take Away
Approved rendering: 不可加添…不可删去
Transliteration: bùkě jiātiān…bùkě shānqù
Doctrine: Inspiration and Sufficiency of Scripture
Original: μὴ ἐπιθῇ ἐπ’ αὐτά…μὴ ἀφέλῃ ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων
Category: Scripture
Canonical-closure warning (22:18-19, echoing Deut. 4:2). Affirms a fixed, completed, verbally-given revelation, distinct from the Chinese classical canon’s open sage-wisdom tradition (经) and from continuing channel-based revelation claims (灵签, 扶乩).
Priests
Approved rendering: 祭司
Transliteration: jìsī
Doctrine: Church as God’s Priestly People
Original: ἱερεῖς
Category: Church
Corporate mediatory identity of all believers through Christ (1:6; 5:10; 20:6). Must be distinguished from Buddhist monastics (僧/和尚) or Daoist ritual masters (道士), not a specialized priestly caste.
Elders
Approved rendering: 长老
Transliteration: zhǎnglǎo
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Original: πρεσβύτεροι
Category: Church
Twenty-four heavenly worshiping figures (chs. 4-5, 7, 11, 14, 19). Distinguish from a modern Presbyterian church office or a Confucian clan elder.
Reign With Christ
Approved rendering: 作王
Transliteration: zuò wáng
Doctrine: Return and Reign of Christ
Original: βασιλεύω
Category: Christology
Believers sharing, by grace, in Christ’s kingly reign (20:4, 6; 22:5). Distinguish derivative, inheritance-gift reign-sharing from any independent or merit-earned royal authority.
Coming Soon
Approved rendering: 我必快来
Transliteration: wǒ bì kuài lái
Doctrine: Return and Reign of Christ
Original: ἔρχομαι ταχύ
Category: Christology
Repeated refrain (22:7, 12, 20) asserting certainty and nearness of Christ’s return. Teach with attention to the certainty/delay tension already present within the NT (cf. 2 Pet. 3:8-9); avoid resolving it via predictive date-setting.
Cowardly
Approved rendering: 胆怯的
Transliteration: dǎnqiè de
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Original: δειλοί
Category: Sin
Fear that leads to abandoning faithful testimony under pressure (21:8) — the opposite of the overcomer; read specifically as failure of faith-testimony, not generic timidity.
Sorcerers
Approved rendering: 行邪术的
Transliteration: xíng xiéshù de
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Original: φαρμακοί
Category: Sin
Those who practice occult arts, spell-casting, potion-based magic (21:8; 22:15). Lands on culturally live ground (符, 巫, 咒术); teach as condemning manipulation of spiritual power outside submission to God, with pastoral care rather than blanket condemnation of every family tradition.
Sexually Immoral
Approved rendering: 淫乱的
Transliteration: yínluàn de
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Original: πόρνοι
Category: Sin
Literal sexual immorality (21:8), sharing a root with πόρνη, the symbolic title of Babylon. Keep the literal-individual sense distinct from the symbolic-corporate 大淫妇.
Incense
Approved rendering: 香
Transliteration: xiāng
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
Original: θυμίαμα
Category: Worship
Metaphor for the acceptability of the saints’ prayers before God (8:3-4). Distinguish decisively from burning incense to ancestors/deities/Buddhist images (烧香拜佛/祭祖); a metaphor, not a literal ritual offering.
Abyss
Approved rendering: 无底坑
Transliteration: wúdǐ kēng
Doctrine: Sovereignty of God over History
Original: ἡ ἄβυσσος
Category: Spiritual Warfare
A subterranean holding-place for restrained demonic powers (9:1-2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1-3), distinct from the lake of fire. Distinguish from folk-underworld cosmology (地府/阴间, Yama’s courts).
Repent
Approved rendering: 悔改
Transliteration: huǐgǎi
Doctrine: Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution
Rejected alternatives: 后悔
Original: μετανοέω
Category: Persecution
Active reorientation of mind and direction back to faithful covenant loyalty, addressed corporately to churches (2:5, 16, 21-22; 3:3, 19). Distinguish from mere emotional remorse (后悔).
Seal Scroll
Approved rendering: 印 / 封印
Transliteration: yìn / fēngyìn
Doctrine: Sovereignty of God over History
Original: σφραγίς / σφραγίζω
Category: Divine Sovereignty
The seals on the scroll (5:1-9; 6:1-17; 8:1), representing Christ’s exclusive authority to unfold history. Distinguish terminologically from God’s protective seal on believers (7:3) and the beast’s mark (13:16-17), despite the shared conceptual root.
Sealed Gods Mark
Approved rendering: 盖印 / 受印
Transliteration: gài yìn / shòu yìn
Doctrine: Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil
Original: σφραγίζω (τοὺς δούλους τοῦ θεοῦ)
Category: Divine Sovereignty
A protective ownership mark placed by God on his servants (7:3-4), the positive counterpart to the beast’s mark. Must remain visually/conceptually distinct from 印记 (ch. 13).
The 144000
Approved rendering: 十四万四千人
Transliteration: shísìwàn sìqiān rén
Doctrine: Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation
Original: δώδεκα φυλαί…δώδεκα χιλιάδες
Category: Apocalyptic Symbolism
12 x 12,000, a symbolic number of completeness (7:4-8; 14:1, 3). Teach as symbolic totality, not a literal population cap, especially since immediately followed by ‘a great multitude no one could number’ (7:9).
Number Of The Beast
Approved rendering: 六百六十六
Transliteration: liùbǎi liùshíliù
Doctrine: Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation
Original: ὁ ἀριθμὸς τοῦ θηρίου, χξς
Category: Apocalyptic Symbolism
A symbolic gematria number (13:18) requiring ‘wisdom’ to discern. Strong risk of being read through Chinese numerological/fortune-telling culture; teach as an ancient gematria code for a specific historical referent, not a number of independent magical potency.
Armageddon
Approved rendering: 哈米吉多顿
Transliteration: Hāmǐjíduōdùn
Doctrine: Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil
Original: Ἁρμαγεδών
Category: Apocalyptic Symbolism
Symbolic place-name for the climactic final confrontation (16:16). Foreground the symbolic-theological point (God’s certain victory) over speculative geography or modern-conflict identification.
Gog And Magog
Approved rendering: 歌革、玛各
Transliteration: Gēgé, Mǎgè
Doctrine: Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil
Original: Γὼγ καὶ Μαγώγ
Category: Apocalyptic Symbolism
Symbolic universal hostile-nations coalition (20:8, from Ezek. 38-39). Avoid speculative identification with any specific modern nation or ethnic group.
Low Risk Terms
Prophet
Approved rendering: 先知
Transliteration: xiānzhī
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: 算命先生
Original: προφήτης
Category: Scripture
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Negated form ‘false prophet’ (ψευδοπροφήτης) is a distinct new term — see false_prophet entry.
Apostle
Approved rendering: 使徒
Transliteration: shǐtú
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: 宗师, 大师
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Named among the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem’s wall (21:14); paired with prophets (18:20).
Amen
Approved rendering: 阿们
Transliteration: āmen
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Original: ἀμήν
Category: Worship
Inherited transliteration convention from Romans package. Closing liturgical use, esp. 22:20-21.
Hallelujah
Approved rendering: 哈利路亚
Transliteration: hālìlùyà
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Original: Ἁλληλουϊά
Category: Worship
Inherited transliteration convention from Romans package. Climactic worship exclamation in ch. 19.
Four Living Creatures
Approved rendering: 四活物
Transliteration: sì huówù
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Original: τὰ τέσσαρα ζῷα
Category: Church
Composite winged worship-leading creatures (chs. 4-5, 6, 7, 14, 15, 19). Distinct from θηρίον/兽 (‘beast’); CUV already distinguishes 活物 from 兽 — retain deliberately.
Servants
Approved rendering: 仆人
Transliteration: púrén
Doctrine: Worship of the Lamb
Original: οἱ δοῦλοι
Category: Church
The redeemed community’s willing, permanent service (22:3, 6) — active, joyful relationship, not merely a static reward.
Murderers
Approved rendering: 杀人的
Transliteration: shārén de
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Original: φονεῖς
Category: Sin
Those who unlawfully take human life (21:8). Low collision risk.
Detestable
Approved rendering: 可憎的
Transliteration: kězēng de
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Original: ἐβδελυγμένοι
Category: Sin
Morally/religiously abhorrent conduct (21:8), shares a root with the ‘abomination’ vocabulary of 17:4-5 and 21:27.
Liars
Approved rendering: 说谎话的
Transliteration: shuō huǎnghuà de
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Original: πάντες οἱ ψευδεῖς
Category: Sin
All who are false (21:8), sharing a root with ‘false prophet’ and ‘falsehood’; stands opposite God’s own self-description as ‘trustworthy and true’ (21:5).
Sulfur
Approved rendering: 硫磺
Transliteration: liúhuáng
Doctrine: Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints
Original: θεῖον
Category: Judgment
Brimstone, component of the fixed ‘lake of fire and sulfur’ phrase (9:17-18; 14:10; 19:20; 20:10; 21:8).
Referenced passages