I have begun to investigate the identities of the biblical and Christian saints whom True Parents blessed on February 7, 1999, and who have now been mobilized [by Dae Mo Nim] to work in America. Many of the names are familiar, but some are not. Most are great, a few are regarded as wicked, and some are nearly invisible. Let’s become more acquainted with them:

Adam & Eve

Noah

Abraham

Isaac

Jacob

Joseph

Moses

Joshua

Caleb

John the Baptist

Mary

Jesus

Cain

Abel

Enoch

Gideon -- a brave judge

Samuel

David

Solomon

Elijah

Job

Jeremiah

Daniel (1) -- probably the anonymous author of the book of Daniel, c. 165 b.c.

Joel

Obadiah

Micah

Habakkuk

Haggai

Malachi

Elisha

Hezekiah -- a good king of Judah

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

Isaiah

Ezekiel

Hosea

Amos

Jonah (1) -- probably the anonymous author of the book of Jonah

Nahum

Zephaniah

Zechariah -- the prophet

Canaan -- Ham’s son

Kedemah -- a son of Ishmael and an Arab chief, Gen. 25:15

Korah -- leader of a rebellion in the wilderness, who died when the earth swallowed him and his band. He is the arch-representative of rebellion and faithlessness in Jewish tradition (Num 16).

Tamar

Rachel -- [Q. Why wasn’t Rachel blessed with Jacob earlier?]

Benjamin -- second son of Jacob and Rachel

Shem

Ham

Naarah or Naarai or Naharai -- either Naarah, a good woman in Judah’s lineage (1 Chr 4:5-6); Naarai, one of David’s soldiers (1 Chr 11:37); or Naharai, another of David’s soldiers (1 Chr 11:39).

Nogah -- a son of David (1 Chr 3:7)

Nimrod -- Mesopotamian hero-king (Gen 10:8-12)

Daniel (2) -- the legendary prophet Daniel of the Babylonian exile; the second son of David, by Abigail (1 Chr 3:1); or a supporter of Ezra (Ezr 8:2, Neh 10:6).

Dalphon -- the second of ten sons of the evil Haman, who were all killed in retribution for Haman’s plot against the Jews (Esth 9:7)

Tarshish -- either in the lineage of Benjamin (1 Chr 7:10) or of Noah (Gen 10:4)

Teman -- in Esau’s lineage, an Edomite chief, Gen. 36:11, 42. However, I suspect that Teman may also have been a Midianite chief who guarded Mt. Sinai, given the association of Sinai and the region of Teman (Hab 3:3)

Deborah -- great woman Judge, led fight against Canaanites (Jdg 5).

Laban

Levi -- third son of Jacob and Leah

Lot -- Abraham’s brother

Menan -- in Jesus’ lineage according to Luke’s geneology (Luke 3:31)

Medad -- a leader the wilderness. He prophesied along with Eldad, and when Joshua complained, Moses said, "Would that all God’s people be prophets" (Num 11:26-29).

Manasseh -- wicked king of Judah who repented (2 Kgs 21-22, 2 Chr 33:10-13).

Mikloth -- a captain in David’s army (1 Chr 27:4); or a Benjaminite a son of Gibeon (1 Chr 8:32, 9:38).

Perez -- son of Tamar

Berechiah -- the father of Zechariah the prophet (Zech 1:1, Matt 23:35); a Levite the father of Asaph (1 Chr 6:39); a Levite and gatekeeper for the Ark (1 Chr 9:16); a son of Zerubbabel (1 Chr 3:20); or an Ephraimite chief (2 Chr. 28:12). Berechiah is also the full name of Jeremiah’s scribe Baruch.

Baara or Baalah -- Baara was a Benjaminite woman wronged by her husband (1 Chr 8:8). Baalah was a common Israelite woman’s name and town name, but a particular figure of that name is not recorded in the Bible.

Pagiel -- a leader of tribe of Asher in the wilderness. (Num 1:13, 7:72, 10:26)

Asa -- a king of Judah

Abiel -- grandfather of Saul (1 Sam 9:1) and Abner (1 Sam 14:51).

Jonah (2) -- a minor prophet; or Peter’s father (Matt. 16:17)

Andrew -- one of the first of the 12 Apostles, Peter’s brother, and formerly a follower of John the Bapist.

James -- most likely James the son of Zebedee, one of the 12 Apostles. Could also be James the Younger, another of the 12, or even James the brother of Jesus who led the Jerusalem church.

Philip -- one of the 12 Apostles

Bartholomew -- one of the 12 Apostles

Matthais -- successor to Judas Iscariot as last of the 12 Apostles (Acts 1:15-26)

Thomas -- one of the 12 Apostles, portrayed as strong (John 11:16) and doubting (John 20:24-29)

Matthew -- one of the 12 Apostles, or the anonymous evangelist who authored the Gospel of Matthew.

Mark -- an early Christian at whose house the Pentecost occurred (Acts 2:1), who sheltered Peter (Acts 12:12), and became a missionary with Paul and Barnabas (Acts 12:25, 15:36-40). Or a companion of Peter in Rome and author of the Gospel of Mark.

Paul

John -- John the brother of James and one of the 12 Apostles; or John the Evangelist; or John of Patmos who wrote Revelation

Stephen

Zacchaeus [blessed with Kim Ok Bong] -- A wealthy tax collector who repented before Jesus and pledged to restore fourfold his ill-gotten wealth. (Luke 19:1-10)

Judas Iscariot

Candace -- probably the Ethiopian eunuch, a minister of the Candace (queen), who was converted by Philip (Acts 8:27).

Nicodemus -- the Pharisee who asked Jesus about rebirth (John 3:1) and who later embalmed Jesus’ body and helped bury him. (John 19:39)

Nathanael -- witnessed to by Philip, he confessed that Jesus was the Son of God (John 1:43-51) and became a disciple. Jesus appeared to him after his resurrection (John 21:2).

Thaddeus -- one of the 12 Apostles (Matt 10:3, Mk 3:18)

Phanuel -- father of Anna the prophetess (Luke 2:36)

Titus -- a missionary associate of Paul

Christian History

St. Augustine [blessed with Kang Hyun Shil] -- (from list of New Testament figures)

Polycarp -- bishop of Smyrna (69-155) who linked the Apostolic Age with the 2nd. c, church fathers. His martyrdom was famous.

Justin Martyr -- 2nd. c. theologian and apologist; among the first theologians who explained Christianity to the pagan world.

Origen -- 3rd. c. Alexandrian theologian and biblical scholar; one of the greatest minds in the history of Christian thought

Tertullian -- 3th c. Latin theologian who developed the orthodox view of the Trinity

Montanus -- 2nd. c. heretic, founded a very rigorous apocalyptic movement and criticized the Catholic church as too lax.

Constantine -- Roman emperor who favored Christianity

Athanasius -- 4th c. bishop of Alexandria and church father who fought against Arianism and defended the orthodox creed.

Anthony of Egypt -- hermit monk who who left the solitary life to organize one of the first monastic communities (d. 356)

John Chrysostom -- patriarch of Constantinople and one of the great preachers of the church; popular with the people; deposed and exiled to a miserable death (d. 407)

Ambrose -- bishop of Milan and a Doctor of the Church, he made Christianity attractive to the Roman elite. His preaching helped convert St. Augustine. (339-397)

Jerome -- biblical scholar who translated the Vulgate; noted for his ascetic life. (342-420)

Nestorius -- 5th c. monk and patriarch of Constantinople. He opposed the excessive worship of Mary. When his Christological teachings–though probably orthodox–were condemned as heretical, he was banished. The Nestorian church flourished especially in the East, sending missionaries to China.

Pope Gregory I, the Great -- Greatest pope of the period of church patriarchs, he labored to spread Christianity throughout Europe. His writings were influential, laying the foundations of monasticism and developing the doctrine of purgatory. (540-604).

Willibrord -- missionary in the 5-6th c. Worked in what is now Belgium; considered a minor figure, but laid the foundation for his successor Boniface.

Boniface -- missionary in German lands (680-754) who organized churches in Hesse, Thuringia, Bavaria and strengthened the church throughout Germany.

Hildebrand (Pope Gregory VII) -- great medieval reformer of the church who fought corruption and moral laxity among the clergy and worked to strengthen Papal power against secular interference. (1021-1085)

St. Francis of Assisi

St. Thomas Aquinas

John Wycliffe -- English reformer, pioneer in translating the Bible into English.

Martin Luther -- central figure of the Reformation

John Calvin -- central figure of the Reformation

Jan Huss -- Czech reformer who anticipated Luther

Albert Schweizer -- organist and biblical scholar, who followed Christ to become a medical missionary to Africa

Teresa -- Probably Mother Teresa, the contemporary saint who worked among the poor in India; or Teresa of Avila the Spanish mystic (1515-1582); or Teresa of Lisieux (1873-97)

Martin Luther King, Jr.

John Wesley -- English preacher and founder of the Methodist church (1703-1791)

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