Here are fifty basic terms associated with the book of Revelation. Further research will be required for a more complete definition and interpretation of these words and their symbolic meanings.
ABANDON – destruction; the king of the locust army (Rev. 9:11)
ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION – Antichrist moves into Jerusalem, desecrates the temple and demands worship (Dan. 9, Mt. 24, II Th. 2, Rev. 13)
ABYSS – the bottomless pit (a term used seven times in Revelation) Satan is cast there during the Millennium (Rev. Ch. 9 & 20)
ANTICHRIST – although this name does not appear in Revelation, he is also called the false prophet; heads the end-time empire; forces all to take the mark (666), without which no one can buy or sell (also known as the first beast, the man of sin, and the little horn of Daniel; he will perform miracles and demand worship (Dan. 7:8; II Thess. 2:3-11; Rev. 13)
ANTIPAS – an unknown faithful martyr in Pergamum (2:13)
APOLLYON – Greek name for Abaddon – king of the locust army; translated destroyer (9:11)
ARMAGEDDON – means hill of slaughter; the final end-time Battle when Christ defeats antichrist and his armies in Israel (Zech. 14:1-3 & Rev. 16:16)
BABYLON – mystical Babylon, symbolic of the great end-time ecumenical movement (from the word babble, meaning confusion) (17:5)
BEAST – also known as the little horn of Daniel and the Antichrist because two beasts appear in the book, there is much confusion concerning who’s who (Rev. 13 & 19)
DRAGON – refers to Satan in Revelation (Rev. 12:3 – 16:13)
ELDERS – represent the saints in heaven (Rev. 5:5-14)
EUPHRATES – boundary line between the Roman Empire and Israel (16:12)
FALSE PROPHET – second beast; heads the world religion of the Antichrist (16:13 & 20:10)
FOUR – a number found thirty times in Revelation, which seems to represent universality
FROGS – symbolic of demonic influences; filthy and wicked things; frogs emerge from slimy, dark waters; can also represent false doctrines (16:13)
GLASS, SEA OF – may picture eternal holiness (4:6 & 5:2)
GOLD – represents divine righteousness (21:18-21)
GRASS – emblematic of humanity (9:4)
HIDDEN MANNA – unidentified symbol of the reward of the overcomers (2:17)
JERUSALEM – seat of antichrist during the tribulation
LAKE OF FIRE – final destination of the beast and the false prophet and all who follow them (19:20 & 20:10)
LAMB – term used 28 times in Revelation to refer to Christ and His sacrifice (5:6)
LAMPSTANDS – symbolic of the seven churches of Asia (Ch. 1-3)
LIGHTNING – emblematic of divine wrath and judgment (4:5)
LOCUST ARMY – symbolic of demonic hosts which come out of the abyss to torment humankind (9:3-7)
MAN-CHILD – pictures Jesus Christ as virgin born (Rev. 12)
MARK OF THE BEAST – acceptance of the mark, 666, denotes ownership of the individual by the Antichrist (13:16-17)
MILLENNIUM – the 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth; an era of peace (Isa. 11/Rev. 20)
NEW HEAVENS & NEW EARTH – abode of the saints for eternity (Ch. 21-22)
NEW JERUSALEM – seat of Christ in the new heavens and new earth (Ch.19-22)
NICOLAITANES – apparently represents a class of false priests mentioned in connection with the churches of Pergamum and Ephesus (2:6-15)
PALMS – emblems of victory, i.e., triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (7:9)
PATMOS – penal island off the coast of modern Turkey where John received the prophecies contained in Revelation (1:9)
PLAGUES – seven are listed in Revelation – including the sea being turned to blood, sun becoming intensely hot, huge hailstones, darkness, etc. (Ch. 15)
RAINBOW – symbolic of a covenant, i.e., Noah and the post-flood era (4:3)
RAPTURE – a term meaning “caught away in ecstasy”; the event when Christ comes for His Church “as a thief in the night” (I Thess. 4:16-18)
SCORPIONS – represent the torment caused by the army of demons (9:3-10)
SEA – symbolic of the nations and their restlessness (12:12)
SECOND COMING – physical return of Christ to the earth after the tribulation (II Pet. 1:16; Rev.1:7 & 19:11-13)
SEVEN – a divine number; often regarded as the number of completion; the book of Revelation contains the most frequent use (54 times) of the word 15:6-8)
STARS – symbolic of lesser authorities, as compared to the sun or the moon, which fall during the Tribulation (6:13 & 18:12)
SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN – possibly Jewish “nominal” or “professing” Christians (2:9 & 3:9)
TEMPLE – symbolic of a central place of worship (21:22)
TREE OF LIFE – emblematic of eternal life, from which Believers may eat freely (Gen. 2:9; 3:22 & Rev. 22:14)
TRIBULATION – seven-year period of judgment and catastrophes on earth commencing immediately after the Rapture (Rev. 6-18 & Mt. 24)
TRUMPETS – emblematic of the heralding of announcements concerning dynamic events (9:14)
VIALS – represent the various judgments “poured-out” or implemented (16:3)
WATERS – symbolic of the nations; the “sea of humanity” (17:1)
WHITE – pictures purity and righteousness (3:4-18)
WHITE THRONE – place of the final judgment (20:11)