Distinctive Features of This Encyclopedia

1. Fundamental Baptist viewpoint. The material in this volume is given from an unapologetically Bible-believing position. We make no apology for the Word of God, and we refuse to question any of its statements. We also believe we have a pure Bible in the King James translation of the Received Text. In an hour of unbelief and compromise, an hour in which the black and white of truth and error is exchanged for the gray of uncertainty and relativism, it is our desire that the reader not find the slightest hint of doubt in this volume. The Bible says it; that settles it. This is our happy position.

2. Only the King James Bible and the Received Text underlying this venerable English version are used. Word studies from the original languages are used to supplement the KJV, not detract from it nor bring doubt upon its readings. (Examples are Affliction, Edify, Gehenna, Glory.)

3. Word, topical, and doctrinal studies are thorough and practical, even devotional, and are designed to be used by preachers and teachers, as well as to offer a Bible school-type education to the average Christian. While we have attempted to give accurate Bible facts, precise definitions, and a wide breadth of information, we have also attempted to present a volume that is practical and edifying. As one faithful church historian said of his book: "I have aimed at more than mere history. It has been my desire to connect with it Christ and His Word, so that the reader may receive the truth and blessing, through grace, to his soul" (Miller's Church History).This has been our aim as well. (Examples are Angels, Bible, Boast, Church, Concord, Cremation, Doctrine, Drunkenness, Eternal Security, Evangelism, Evolution, Fasting, Fear of God, Glory, Gospel, Grace, Guidance, Heart, Heaven, Hell, Holy Spirit, Hope, Inspiration, Jesus Christ, Joy, Justification, Prophecy, Propitiation, Resurrection, Sanctification, Vanity, Zeal.)

4. Studies are included on many aspects of morality and practical Christian living. (Examples are Adultery, Capital Punishment, Child Training, Cremation, Dancing, Divorce, Employment, Fornication, Guidance, Home, Kill, Labor, Modesty, Pacifism, Polygamy, Sodomy, Wine.]

5. Key terms pertaining to Bible translation are defined in defense of the Traditional Text. This Encyclopedia is designed to be a virtual handbook on Bible Versions. (Examples are Bible Versions, Erasmus, King James Bible, Masoretic Text, Preservation, Pseudepigrapha, Received Text, Westcott- Hort.)

6. Studies of major denominations of Christendom and movements. The history, doctrines, and present status of major denominations of Christendom and movements are included. (Examples are Anglican, Assemblies of God, Brethren, Charismatic, Episcopal Church, Evangelical, Fundamentalism, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Modernism, Presbyterian, World Council of Churches.)

7. False groups and movements and prominent false doctrines are analyzed. (Examples are Annihilation, Baptism - Infant, Charismatic, Christ's Deity, Christian Science, Churches of Christ, Ecumenical, Healing, Investigative Judgment, Jehovah's Witnesses, Judaism, Mass, Modernism, Mormonism, Neo-orthodoxy, Pope, Purgatory, Roman Catholic Church, Seventh-day Adventism, Soul Sleep, World Council of Churches.)

8. Commonly used extra-biblical Christian terms are defined. (Examples are Apostate, Apocrypha, Catechism, Christmas, Cremation, Denomination, Dispensationalism, Easter, Faith Promise, Infallible, Parallelism, Protestant, Rapture, Seminary.)

9. O.T. types are interpreted in light of N.T. teaching. (Examples are Ark, Atonement Day of, Boaz, Brass Serpent, Cain, Candlestick, Coat, High Priest, Joseph, Laver, Melchizedek , Naaman, Passover, Tabernacle.)

10. Out-of-use words from the King James Bible are defined. Many of these are defined from the 1828 edition of Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language. (Examples are Besom, Charger, Conversation, God Speed, Helpmeet., Quench, Unawares)

11. An extensive system of topical cross references. The student can study the full range of a Bible topic by following the suggested cross references from entry to entry. (For example, consider the cross references listed with the topics Alcoholic Beverages, Backbiting, Church, Conversation, Effiminate, Fable,Fear of God, Fornication, God, Baptism - Infant, Jesus Christ, Prophecy, Salvation.)

12. Studies are included on important aspects of church polity. This feature makes the volume a practical manual for church leaders and missionaries. (Examples are Apostle, Baptism - Immersion, Baptism - Infant,Church Discipline, Deacon, Evangelism, Footwashing, Lord's Supper, Ordain, Pastor.)

13. Prophetic events are interpreted from the literal-historical viewpoint. (Examples are Allegorical, Antichrist, Babylon, Covenant, Daniel, Day, Day of the Lord, Double Fulfillment, Ethiopia, Gog, Great Tribulation, Kingdom of God, Judgment, Millennium, Revelation, Second Coming, Seventy Weeks, Times.)

14. Proper names are defined. An extensive list of Bible names is included with definitions and key references. There is a wide variety of opinion among commentators and lexicographers regarding the definition of these Bible names. We believe it was providential that we found the Dictionary of Bible Proper Names in our research for this volume. The editor, Cyrus A. Potts, made diligent search into the meaning of Bible names, and his definitions are the most precise and practical we have seen. In many cases we have incorporated the definitions from this 100-year-old dictionary into our own volume for the edification of our readers. (Examples are Aaron, Benjamin, Cain, Eunice, Gamaliel, Joshua, Lot, Mesopatamia , Zabulon.)

15. Problem words and passages in the KJV are dealt with. (Examples are Coney, Easter.)

16. Definitions from the famous Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language have been liberally incorporated into this Encyclopedia. The Foundation for American Christian Education put this amazing volume back into print in 1967 because "we need the `primary' Biblical, Christian and Constitutional meanings of words." Indeed, we do, and that is exactly what Noah Webster (1758-1843) gave us. One would think that the British Oxford Dictionary would be of more benefit in the study of the English Authorized Bible, but such is not the case. I have looked through the exhaustive Oxford Dictionary, and while its etymologies, in some cases, are more extensive than Webster's, the Oxford is entirely secular in mood and philosophy. The mood of Webster, on the other hand, is biblical. Webster brought a wide knowledge of foreign languages to his work. Ultimately he mastered 26 languages, and he spent a full decade in tracing the origin of English words in these languages--but he was always oriented, first and foremost, to the Bible and to absolute truth. Webster was deeply influenced by the Second Great Awakening which swept through the New England states.It so happened, that this Awakening was at its zenith in the years during which Webster was preparing his crowning work--a dictionary that was destined to standardize the English language in America and to help unite that country in mind and purpose for the century to come. It is this biblical environment that makes Webster unique for the Bible student. While certainly not infallible, it has been observed that Webster's dictionary was "the only dictionary in the world to `draw water out of the wells of salvation'--to utilize God's written word as a key to the meaning of words." We should also note that Webster was not far removed from the actual era of the creation of the King James Bible. He began his lexicogriphal studies only a little more than 100 years after the translators of the King James Bible had passed off this earthly scene. While Webster's 1828 is still in print, it is not widely available because of its cost and size. We have incorporated the heart of many of Webster's definitions pertaining to Bible words into our own volume for the edification of our readers. Let me hasten to say that we have taken pains to give credit where the distinguished lexicogripher has been quoted.

17. The questionings of false teachers are addressed. The Bible says of false teachers, "whose mouths must be stopped..." (Tit. 1:11). The editor has for 20 years been dedicated to protecting God's people from error. We have not been content to read about the various heresies, but have studied directly from the writings of false teachers that we might better be prepared to give them an answer. Not only have we dealt with many of the most important cults and erroneous Christian movements and philosophies in this volume, but we have addressed a great many of the chief areas of Scripture and doctrine which are under attack today. In all our definitions we have kept in mind the need for a practical defense of the faith. (Examples are Adam,Allegorical, Beast, Blood, Church, Daniel, Death, Dynamic Equivalency, Eternal Security, Foolish Questions, Gospel, Hope, Inspiration, Investigative Judgment, Jonah, Justification, Moses, Preservation, Red Sea, Resurrection, Reverend, Soul, Spirit, Sunday, Tares, Timothy, Tongues, Whale.)