What shall I liken you to? You are like the brother of the prodigal son! You would deny the Father’s forgiveness to your brother. You consider yourself worthy of his forgiveness, but your brother who spent his life and the fathers inheritance in wantoness and foolish living you begrudge him the abundant forgiveness that the Father desires to bestow upon him even after he was dead. Regardless of your sour attitude toward your brother who died in his sin, the Father will still kill the fatted calf and put His ring upon his finger.
Lu 15:32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
Allow me a moment to expound on the fact that you too, were an enemy of God.
Ro 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Perhaps you still are an enemy? No offense, I offer an honest observation. There is evidence that you don’t love those who have died without Christ, or those who shall die apart from Christ. Perhaps you love them a little, but not as yourself. Here is why I say this: If you loved them as much as you love yourself, there is nothing you would not do to save them from the horrible fate you claim to believe they are headed for. Furthermore, you could never be content to receive the precious gift of mercy and deliverance, while knowing that these others are heading to or are already bound in eternal flame. True love could never accept this! This requires true hate, which you advocate. Scripture affirms that those who say they love God, as you claim you do, but hate people are liars. It also affirms that all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire. We aren’t even allowed to hate our enemies. I’m sorry that you so firmly reject the gospel of Jesus Christ. In so doing you deny Jesus himself. Not everyone who says unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of God. Your self righteousness is like filthy rags. What makes you worthy of deliverance? You too will be judged by God and you too will pass through the fire. Mr 9:49 For every one shall be salted with fire…
You should not think more highly of yourself than you ought. With man it is impossible to be saved, but not with God. With God all things are possible. His will is clear and he accomplishes everything according to the counsel of His OWN Will.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, but that all should come to repentance.
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Yes, it is true that God disciplines those whom He loves, and that He pours out His wrath on the children of disobedience, I will never deny that. He even mercifully ends the life of those who are reprobate. Those who He knows will not benefit from another day in this life. Here you must remember,
Ro 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Why do you suppose he holds the keys to hell and death? Re 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Keys are for unlocking locked doors.
I counsel you to learn what this means:
Mt 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Here you use the word repent:
“Here is an interesting thought: Mark 1:15 “Repent and believe the Gospel” Repent and believe the endless unmitigated joy? No reason to repent . . . that is what everyone wants.”
Perhaps this verse is written for you. Have you ever looked up the Greek word here translated repent? We all know what the English word means, but I find it interesting that the Greek word merely means to think differently.
3340. metanoew metanoeo, met-an-o-eh'-o
from 3326 and 3539; to think differently or afterwards, i.e. reconsider (morally, feel compunction).
Jesus came to help us to "think differently". There is no room in our thinking for self righteousness, but we are to think of others as better than ourselves. This message did resonate with the sinners of Jesus day much more than it did with the “kosmos” or religious and political establishment. Jesus brought good news for sinners, but you place burdens on them that they cannot lift, while you excuse all your own sin as forgiven because you are wise enough to believe in Jesus. The shame here, is that you don’t even know Him well enough to recognize His unfailing love for all, or the power of His resurrection. If you knew Him you would never question His unending, unfailing love for all of His created ones.
You believe that He is unable or unwilling to raise sinners from the dead to righteousness and you like it that way.
Is it because you would feel cheated if God saved your enemies? Do you feel you should be paid more than them because you worked all day in the heat, while they came along at the end of the day? THINK DIFFERENTLY! The gift is free and it’s for all and it will eventually be good news of great joy to ALL people. Those who believe enter into the joy of their Lord now, those who don’t believe, will have to wait until the next age to enter into the joy of their Lord.
Pointing out verses referring to Gods wrath and discipline upon sinners to say the news isn’t good, is like pointing to labor pains to prove there is no joy in the birth of a child.
Joh 16:21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Good Tidings of Great Joy, which Shall Be to All People.
Lu 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
What else could this good tidings of great joy be, but the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ?
What IS the gospel that the angel brings? How can we know if we have received this Good Tidings?
At first, the shepherds were terrified! They were out in the fields, in the darkness of night, when all of a sudden something unheard of happened. A stranger appeared as if out of nowhere, and all around them, the darkness gave way to bright light.
Listen closely to the message: “Fear not”! This is it, I repeat “Fear Not”. Why shouldn’t we fear? As if in anticiptation of this question the messenger of God goes on… “for…” because…”….Here is the reason you should not fear! Look! Behold! Observe! Give me your attention!
I BRING YOU GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY WHICH SHALL BE TO ALL PEOPLE!
Okay, three things here. No, Four! Good tidings; Great Joy; Shall be; To ALL People.
The news is good. This is not bad news. No bad news is mentioned here whatsoever. Todays “gospel” goe’s more like this. I have good news and bad news, but the Angel said, I have GOOD NEWS. Only good news, no bad news. How can I be sure the good news doesn’t include bad news?
Secondly, this GOOD NEWS is of GREAT JOY! I like good news of great joy, don’t you? One day, I received good news of great joy. Here's how I can be sure the good news doesn’t include bad news, because I believe Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. Jesus is the blessing of the Lord in person, when we receive the blessing it brings great joy. Bad news doesn't bring joy.
Third, we find the clause, “Shall Be”. Shall be is opposed to "may be"; or "should be";or even, "has the potential to be". Shall be means, if it isn’t presently this way, you can be sure that it will eventually be this way. Shall be. In other words, this good news of great joy which the angel brought to the shepherds, must either now, or some time in the future, become good news of great joy.
Fourth and finally, “To ALL People”. The message that the angel brought to the grungy men out in the fields that night, must become good news of great joy to every single being who is classified as a person. To say otherwise, is to say the angel was a false witness, a deceiver. To say otherwise is to not believe this portion of the Word of God.
Lu 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
If you were a mortgage holder and you had lost your job, and the bank came to you and said, I have good news for you which should bring you great joy! All you have to do is accept this micro-chip in your wrist or forehead and your house will be automatically paid off, along with two new cars and we will place $100 million dollars, tax free in your new account. However, if you don’t receive the mark, then you must be imprisoned for your debt, and you will never be able to get out. Would that be good news of great joy to you? Probably not. So this could not be honestly advertised as being good news of great joy to all people, but only to those who accept it. (Even though it was offered to all, you must accept the conditions to consider it good tidings of great joy.)
If you were a Muslim, living in the heart of a Muslim country, and the offer was made for Salvation through Jesus Christ, but it had to be attained before death, and you died never hearing of it and so missed it, would it be good news of great joy to you? Probably not, in fact, it might become a new source of bitterness to learn that you now have to suffer forever, never having heard of Jesus when it might have made a difference.
If you were an American who always heard of Jesus, but associated him with a bunch of illogical, kind of irrational sometimes hypocritical misfits who couldn’t agree on what Jesus was all about, as well as some ex drug addicts and some long faced suit wearing Bible thumpers, and so you wrote Him off, saying How could a God of love send anyone to eternal torment, that just doesn’t add up in my mind, it must be a fable of these “christians”, just like the mythological Greek gods. If this described you, as it does describe many, would the message of the angel be good news of great joy to you? Not likely!
In order to be good tidings of great joy to ALL people, it has to directly apply to each person. The Lord does not add sorrow to his blessing, and His blessing is for ALL people. Nobody deserves His blessing or ever can earn it! It is freely given. We also all need to be cleansed. The Jew as well as the Gentile, Ro 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Contrary to the popular "good news", sinners are NOT separated from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus after death, (Ro 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.) any more than believers are separated from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus after they die. (Ro 8:38,39 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, … shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.)
In this life, the majority will not find the narrow way, and will suffer the loss of much righteousness and peace and joy. They will be robbed of the love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, which are the treasures of the Kingdom given to those who believe, but they will not be separated from God’s love and mercy. That’s why we have the incredible testimony in the Book of Revelation, Re5:13.
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, (Hades or Sheoul are under the earth), and such as are in the sea,(also called Sheoul by Jonah), and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
These are the voices of all people and they are filled with joy for the good tidings that they have now received. The Lord of Love has subdued all to Himself through the weapon that never fails. That weapon is Love, AGAPE.
There will always be those whose hearts are hardened against this message just as Pharoahs heart was hardened in the face of incredible evidence,just as the religious leaders in Jesus day had hardened hearts, but such is the will of God, that His glory is increased and when the time is right, in the fullness of time, everything in due time, the angels good tidings SHALL bring GREAT JOY to ALL people.
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him . . .
28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
*******************************************************************
1Ti 4:9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
11 These things command and teach.
What else could this good tidings of great joy be, but the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ?
What IS the gospel that the angel brings? How can we know if we have received this Good Tidings?
At first, the shepherds were terrified! They were out in the fields, in the darkness of night, when all of a sudden something unheard of happened. A stranger appeared as if out of nowhere, and all around them, the darkness gave way to bright light.
Listen closely to the message: “Fear not”! This is it, I repeat “Fear Not”. Why shouldn’t we fear? As if in anticiptation of this question the messenger of God goes on… “for…” because…”….Here is the reason you should not fear! Look! Behold! Observe! Give me your attention!
I BRING YOU GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY WHICH SHALL BE TO ALL PEOPLE!
Okay, three things here. No, Four! Good tidings; Great Joy; Shall be; To ALL People.
The news is good. This is not bad news. No bad news is mentioned here whatsoever. Todays “gospel” goe’s more like this. I have good news and bad news, but the Angel said, I have GOOD NEWS. Only good news, no bad news. How can I be sure the good news doesn’t include bad news?
Secondly, this GOOD NEWS is of GREAT JOY! I like good news of great joy, don’t you? One day, I received good news of great joy. Here's how I can be sure the good news doesn’t include bad news, because I believe Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. Jesus is the blessing of the Lord in person, when we receive the blessing it brings great joy. Bad news doesn't bring joy.
Third, we find the clause, “Shall Be”. Shall be is opposed to "may be"; or "should be";or even, "has the potential to be". Shall be means, if it isn’t presently this way, you can be sure that it will eventually be this way. Shall be. In other words, this good news of great joy which the angel brought to the shepherds, must either now, or some time in the future, become good news of great joy.
Fourth and finally, “To ALL People”. The message that the angel brought to the grungy men out in the fields that night, must become good news of great joy to every single being who is classified as a person. To say otherwise, is to say the angel was a false witness, a deceiver. To say otherwise is to not believe this portion of the Word of God.
Lu 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
If you were a mortgage holder and you had lost your job, and the bank came to you and said, I have good news for you which should bring you great joy! All you have to do is accept this micro-chip in your wrist or forehead and your house will be automatically paid off, along with two new cars and we will place $100 million dollars, tax free in your new account. However, if you don’t receive the mark, then you must be imprisoned for your debt, and you will never be able to get out. Would that be good news of great joy to you? Probably not. So this could not be honestly advertised as being good news of great joy to all people, but only to those who accept it. (Even though it was offered to all, you must accept the conditions to consider it good tidings of great joy.)
If you were a Muslim, living in the heart of a Muslim country, and the offer was made for Salvation through Jesus Christ, but it had to be attained before death, and you died never hearing of it and so missed it, would it be good news of great joy to you? Probably not, in fact, it might become a new source of bitterness to learn that you now have to suffer forever, never having heard of Jesus when it might have made a difference.
If you were an American who always heard of Jesus, but associated him with a bunch of illogical, kind of irrational sometimes hypocritical misfits who couldn’t agree on what Jesus was all about, as well as some ex drug addicts and some long faced suit wearing Bible thumpers, and so you wrote Him off, saying How could a God of love send anyone to eternal torment, that just doesn’t add up in my mind, it must be a fable of these “christians”, just like the mythological Greek gods. If this described you, as it does describe many, would the message of the angel be good news of great joy to you? Not likely!
In order to be good tidings of great joy to ALL people, it has to directly apply to each person. The Lord does not add sorrow to his blessing, and His blessing is for ALL people. Nobody deserves His blessing or ever can earn it! It is freely given. We also all need to be cleansed. The Jew as well as the Gentile, Ro 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Contrary to the popular "good news", sinners are NOT separated from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus after death, (Ro 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.) any more than believers are separated from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus after they die. (Ro 8:38,39 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, … shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.)
In this life, the majority will not find the narrow way, and will suffer the loss of much righteousness and peace and joy. They will be robbed of the love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, which are the treasures of the Kingdom given to those who believe, but they will not be separated from God’s love and mercy. That’s why we have the incredible testimony in the Book of Revelation, Re5:13.
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, (Hades or Sheoul are under the earth), and such as are in the sea,(also called Sheoul by Jonah), and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
These are the voices of all people and they are filled with joy for the good tidings that they have now received. The Lord of Love has subdued all to Himself through the weapon that never fails. That weapon is Love, AGAPE.
There will always be those whose hearts are hardened against this message just as Pharoahs heart was hardened in the face of incredible evidence,just as the religious leaders in Jesus day had hardened hearts, but such is the will of God, that His glory is increased and when the time is right, in the fullness of time, everything in due time, the angels good tidings SHALL bring GREAT JOY to ALL people.
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him . . .
28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
*******************************************************************
1Ti 4:9 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.
10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
11 These things command and teach.
Monday, March 8, 2010
I AM A CONVINCED UNIVERSALIST by William Barclay
Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at Glasgow University and the author of many Biblical commentaries and books, including a translation of the New Testament, "Barclay New Testament," and "The Daily Study Bible Series." Every volume of this series became a "best seller".
This article was written near the end of his life.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am a convinced universalist. I believe that in the end all men will be gathered into the love of God. In the early days Origen was the great name connected with universalism. I would believe with Origen that universalism is no easy thing. Origen believed that after death there were many who would need prolonged instruction, the sternest discipline, even the severest punishment before they were fit for the presence of God. Origen did not eliminate hell; he believed that some people would have to go to heaven via hell. He believed that even at the end of the day there would be some on whom the scars remained. He did not believe in eternal punishment, but he did see the possibility of eternal penalty. And so the choice is whether we accept God's offer and invitation willingly, or take the long and terrible way round through ages of purification.
Gregory of Nyssa offered three reasons why he believed in universalism. First, he believed in it because of the character of God. "Being good, God entertains pity for fallen man; being wise, he is not ignorant of the means for his recovery." Second, he believed in it because of the nature of evil. Evil must in the end be moved out of existence, "so that the absolutely non-existent should cease to be at all." Evil is essentially negative and doomed to non-existence. Third, he believed in it because of the purpose of punishment. The purpose of punishment is always remedial. Its aim is "to get the good separated from the evil and to attract it into the communion of blessedness." Punishment will hurt, but it is like the fire which separates the alloy from the gold; it is like the surgery which removes the diseased thing; it is like the cautery which burns out that which cannot be removed any other way.
But I want to set down not the arguments of others but the thoughts which have persuaded me personally of universal salvation.
First, there is the fact that there are things in the New Testament which more than justify this belief. Jesus said: "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" (John 12:32). Paul writes to the Romans: "God has consigned all men to disobedience that he may have mercy on all" (Rom. 11:32). He writes to the Corinthians: "As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22); and he looks to the final total triumph when God will be everything to everyone (1 Cor. 15:28). In the First Letter to Timothy we read of God "who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth," and of Christ Jesus "who gave himself as a ransom for all" (1 Tim 2:4-6). The New Testament itself is not in the least afraid of the word all.
Second, one of the key passages is Matthew 25:46 where it is said that the rejected go away to eternal punishment, and the righteous to eternal life. The Greek word for punishment is kolasis, which was not originally an ethical word at all. It originally meant the pruning of trees to make them grow better. I think it is true to say that in all Greek secular literature kolasis is never used of anything but remedial punishment. The word for eternal is aionios. It means more than everlasting, for Plato - who may have invented the word - plainly says that a thing may be everlasting and still not be aionios. The simplest way to out it is that aionios cannot be used properly of anyone but God; it is the word uniquely, as Plato saw it, of God. Eternal punishment is then literally that kind of remedial punishment which it befits God to give and which only God can give.
Third, I believe that it is impossible to set limits to the grace of God. I believe that not only in this world, but in any other world there may be, the grace of God is still effective, still operative, still at work. I do not believe that the operation of the grace of God is limited to this world. I believe that the grace of God is as wide as the universe.
Fourth, I believe implicitly in the ultimate and complete triumph of God, the time when all things will be subject to him, and when God will be everything to everyone (1 Cor. 15:24-28). For me this has certain consequences. If one man remains outside the love of God at the end of time, it means that that one man has defeated the love of God - and that is impossible. Further, there is only one way in which we can think of the triumph of God. If God was no more than a King or Judge, then it would be possible to speak of his triumph, if his enemies were agonizing in hell or were totally and completely obliterated and wiped out. But God is not only King and Judge, God is Father - he is indeed Father more than anything else. No father could be happy while there were members of his family for ever in agony. No father would count it a triumph to obliterate the disobedient members of his family. The only triumph a father can know is to have all his family back home. The only victory love can enjoy is the day when its offer of love is answered by the return of love. The only possible final triumph is a universe loved by and in love with God.
This article was written near the end of his life.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am a convinced universalist. I believe that in the end all men will be gathered into the love of God. In the early days Origen was the great name connected with universalism. I would believe with Origen that universalism is no easy thing. Origen believed that after death there were many who would need prolonged instruction, the sternest discipline, even the severest punishment before they were fit for the presence of God. Origen did not eliminate hell; he believed that some people would have to go to heaven via hell. He believed that even at the end of the day there would be some on whom the scars remained. He did not believe in eternal punishment, but he did see the possibility of eternal penalty. And so the choice is whether we accept God's offer and invitation willingly, or take the long and terrible way round through ages of purification.
Gregory of Nyssa offered three reasons why he believed in universalism. First, he believed in it because of the character of God. "Being good, God entertains pity for fallen man; being wise, he is not ignorant of the means for his recovery." Second, he believed in it because of the nature of evil. Evil must in the end be moved out of existence, "so that the absolutely non-existent should cease to be at all." Evil is essentially negative and doomed to non-existence. Third, he believed in it because of the purpose of punishment. The purpose of punishment is always remedial. Its aim is "to get the good separated from the evil and to attract it into the communion of blessedness." Punishment will hurt, but it is like the fire which separates the alloy from the gold; it is like the surgery which removes the diseased thing; it is like the cautery which burns out that which cannot be removed any other way.
But I want to set down not the arguments of others but the thoughts which have persuaded me personally of universal salvation.
First, there is the fact that there are things in the New Testament which more than justify this belief. Jesus said: "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" (John 12:32). Paul writes to the Romans: "God has consigned all men to disobedience that he may have mercy on all" (Rom. 11:32). He writes to the Corinthians: "As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22); and he looks to the final total triumph when God will be everything to everyone (1 Cor. 15:28). In the First Letter to Timothy we read of God "who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth," and of Christ Jesus "who gave himself as a ransom for all" (1 Tim 2:4-6). The New Testament itself is not in the least afraid of the word all.
Second, one of the key passages is Matthew 25:46 where it is said that the rejected go away to eternal punishment, and the righteous to eternal life. The Greek word for punishment is kolasis, which was not originally an ethical word at all. It originally meant the pruning of trees to make them grow better. I think it is true to say that in all Greek secular literature kolasis is never used of anything but remedial punishment. The word for eternal is aionios. It means more than everlasting, for Plato - who may have invented the word - plainly says that a thing may be everlasting and still not be aionios. The simplest way to out it is that aionios cannot be used properly of anyone but God; it is the word uniquely, as Plato saw it, of God. Eternal punishment is then literally that kind of remedial punishment which it befits God to give and which only God can give.
Third, I believe that it is impossible to set limits to the grace of God. I believe that not only in this world, but in any other world there may be, the grace of God is still effective, still operative, still at work. I do not believe that the operation of the grace of God is limited to this world. I believe that the grace of God is as wide as the universe.
Fourth, I believe implicitly in the ultimate and complete triumph of God, the time when all things will be subject to him, and when God will be everything to everyone (1 Cor. 15:24-28). For me this has certain consequences. If one man remains outside the love of God at the end of time, it means that that one man has defeated the love of God - and that is impossible. Further, there is only one way in which we can think of the triumph of God. If God was no more than a King or Judge, then it would be possible to speak of his triumph, if his enemies were agonizing in hell or were totally and completely obliterated and wiped out. But God is not only King and Judge, God is Father - he is indeed Father more than anything else. No father could be happy while there were members of his family for ever in agony. No father would count it a triumph to obliterate the disobedient members of his family. The only triumph a father can know is to have all his family back home. The only victory love can enjoy is the day when its offer of love is answered by the return of love. The only possible final triumph is a universe loved by and in love with God.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Not One Jot or Tittle Shall Pass
What exactly, is required for the law to be fulfilled?
Mt 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
This is an extraordinary statement made by the Lord Jesus Himself. The fulfillment of the law is guaranteed, whatever it means, and it must happen before heaven and earth pass. The entire law must be fulfilled before the end of time.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Before this catastrophic event occurs, EVERY ASPECT OF THE LAW, must be in force and submitted to by everyone otherwise the law is left unfulfilled. This is where the “Power of His Resurrection” comes to play, for without the power to bring back life from the dead, millions would never be able to fulfill the law.
I’d like to bring forward a number of verses that I believe shed light on the requirements of fulfilling the law. First, what do we know about the law which will be in place at the time of the end of the earth and heaven?
Mt 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
How’s that for cutting to the chase? On these two commandments hang ALL the law and the prophets.
Jas 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Any violation of love will be considered breaking the law like having respect of persons as noted above. Also, lack of mercy, Jas 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. putting yourself before others, <>, etcetera!
In order for the whole law to be fulfilled completely, every one must come to the point where they love God above all, and love their neighbor as themselves.
1Jo 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
Jesus is the firstborn and it was incumbent upon him to set the example. Which He did perfectly!
1Pe 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
…that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind....5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Php 2:2,5
Col 1: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:...18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
Jesus, as the firstborn is our example. He IS love. This is much deeper than merely having love, or exhibiting love. Love is His very essence… His nature. He loves because He is love. Because He IS love, he fulfills the law. It is impossible for Jesus to work ill towards His neighbor! In fact, if Jesus could work ill towards anyone, He could not fulfill the law!
Ro 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Here, I must leave it to you who hold to the tradition of eternal damnation to explain how the law will ever be fulfilled, if eternal damnation is true. How can heaven and earth pass away before all creation is submitted to the Royal Law of Love?
This fulfillment is spoken of and described in Scripture, how does it occur?
Re 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
This is how the law will be fulfilled, every jot and tittle, before the earth and heaven is destroyed. Everyone from Adam to his last descendant will be in submission to Love by the power of Jesus Christ, who IS Love, that God may be each persons "all" and be dwelling in each person.
ALL IN ALL! Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with ALL thy heart, and ALL thy soul, and ALL thy strength. That would make Him "your" ALL, wouldn't it? If only one was NOT reconciled to God, then he could only be ALL in Some. Maybe even ALL in MOST! Not good enough, He MUST be...
ALL...... IN.......ALL!
Mt 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
This is an extraordinary statement made by the Lord Jesus Himself. The fulfillment of the law is guaranteed, whatever it means, and it must happen before heaven and earth pass. The entire law must be fulfilled before the end of time.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Before this catastrophic event occurs, EVERY ASPECT OF THE LAW, must be in force and submitted to by everyone otherwise the law is left unfulfilled. This is where the “Power of His Resurrection” comes to play, for without the power to bring back life from the dead, millions would never be able to fulfill the law.
I’d like to bring forward a number of verses that I believe shed light on the requirements of fulfilling the law. First, what do we know about the law which will be in place at the time of the end of the earth and heaven?
Mt 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
How’s that for cutting to the chase? On these two commandments hang ALL the law and the prophets.
Jas 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Any violation of love will be considered breaking the law like having respect of persons as noted above. Also, lack of mercy, Jas 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. putting yourself before others, <>, etcetera!
In order for the whole law to be fulfilled completely, every one must come to the point where they love God above all, and love their neighbor as themselves.
1Jo 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
Jesus is the firstborn and it was incumbent upon him to set the example. Which He did perfectly!
1Pe 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
…that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind....5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Php 2:2,5
Col 1: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:...18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
Jesus, as the firstborn is our example. He IS love. This is much deeper than merely having love, or exhibiting love. Love is His very essence… His nature. He loves because He is love. Because He IS love, he fulfills the law. It is impossible for Jesus to work ill towards His neighbor! In fact, if Jesus could work ill towards anyone, He could not fulfill the law!
Ro 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Here, I must leave it to you who hold to the tradition of eternal damnation to explain how the law will ever be fulfilled, if eternal damnation is true. How can heaven and earth pass away before all creation is submitted to the Royal Law of Love?
This fulfillment is spoken of and described in Scripture, how does it occur?
Re 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
This is how the law will be fulfilled, every jot and tittle, before the earth and heaven is destroyed. Everyone from Adam to his last descendant will be in submission to Love by the power of Jesus Christ, who IS Love, that God may be each persons "all" and be dwelling in each person.
ALL IN ALL! Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with ALL thy heart, and ALL thy soul, and ALL thy strength. That would make Him "your" ALL, wouldn't it? If only one was NOT reconciled to God, then he could only be ALL in Some. Maybe even ALL in MOST! Not good enough, He MUST be...
ALL...... IN.......ALL!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Faith Test for Christians (answer true or false)
Test prepared by Gary Amirault, Tentmaker Ministries.
For each statement below declare out loud whether YOU PERSONALLY believe the statement is True or False. It is important that you do it verbally, not just in your mind. Or perhaps print it out and then circle the T or F.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (John 1:1, Mark 20:31) T or F
He was crucified, was buried and rose again on the third day. (Acts 2:23; 4:10) T or F
Jesus Christ's blood was shed for the remission of sins. (Matt. 26:8) T or F
"The Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world." (1 John 4:14) T or F
Jesus is "the Christ, the Savior of the world." (John 4:42) T or F
"This is good and acceptable in the sight of our God our saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus: Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." (1 Tim. 2:3-6, KJV) T or F
Jesus "is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." (1 John 2:2) T or F
Jesus "did not come to judge the world but to save the WORLD." (John 12:47) T or F
"Jesus, was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for EVERYONE." (Heb. 2:9) T or F
"Love NEVER fails." (1 Cor. 13:8) T or F
"With God NOTHING is impossible." (Luke 1:37) T or F
"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, Who is the Savior of ALL MEN, especially of those who believe. These things command and teach." (1 Tim. 4:9-11) (Remember, answer OUT LOUD True or False to each of these statements.)
"At the name of Jesus EVERY knee should bow, of those in heaven, and those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that EVERY tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." (Phil. 2:10:11) T or F
"God was pleased to have all fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself ALL THINGS on earth or in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation." (Col. 1:19, 21, 22) T or F
In Jesus Christ is "the restoration of ALL THINGS, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began." (Acts 3:21) T or F
The Gospel is "good tidings of great joy [that] will be to ALL people." (Luke 2:10) T or F
Believers in Christ are "born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:13) T or F
God appointed Jesus "heir of ALL THINGS, and through whom He made the universe." (Heb. 1:2) T or F
"No one can come to Christ unless the Father who sent Him draws him." (John 6:44) T or F
"As God gave Jesus authority over ALL FLESH, that he should give eternal life to as many as God gave Him." (John 17:2) T or F
The Father "has given ALL THINGS into Jesus' hands." (John 13:3) T or F
Jesus "was the true light which gives light to EVERY MAN who comes into the world." (John 1:9) (Remember, answer out loud True or False to each of these statements.)
"Just as the result of one trespass was condemnation of ALL MEN, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for ALL MEN." (Rom. 5:18) T or F
Jesus is "able even to subdue ALL THINGS to Himself." (Phil. 3:21) T or F
Jesus came "that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times he might gather together in one ALL THINGS in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works ALL THINGS according to the counsel of His will." (Eph. 1:10, 11) T or F
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering towards us, not willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) T or F
"God was reconciling THE WORLD to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: be reconciled to God." (2 Cor. 5:19, 20) T or F
"ALL the nations shall be blessed." (Gal 3:8) T or F
"The Bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives Life to the WORLD." (John 6:33) T or F
Jesus commanded us to be like Himself and His Father: "Love your enemies, bless those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." (Matt. 5:44, 45) True or False
"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw (drag in the Greek, helkuo) ALL MANKIND unto Myself." (John 12:32) T or F
"Creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope, because creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." (Rom. 8:20, 21) T or F
"The Father loves the Son and has given ALL THINGS into His hands." (John 3:35) T or F
"Since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam ALL died, even so in Christ ALL shall be made alive." (1 Cor. 15:22) T or F
Jesus "is the image of the invisible God, the first born over ALL CREATION. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him." (Co. 1:15, 16) True or False
"ALL shall know the Lord, from the least of them to the greatest of them." (Heb. 8:11) T or F
"The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to ALL MEN." (Titus 2:11) T or F
We are not to "repay evil for evil." (Rom. 12:17) True or False
"If anyone's work which he has built endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved yet so as through fire." (1 Cor. 3:14, 15) T or F
"Of Him and through Him and to Him are ALL THINGS, to whom be glory forever. Amen" (Rom. 11:36) T or F
"ALL Israel will be saved." (Rom. 11:26) T or F
"Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for ALL, and therefore all died." (2 Cor. 5:14) True or False.
"The head of EVERY man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." (1 Cor. 11:3) T or F
"ALL nations shall come and worship You, for your judgments have been made manifested." (Rev. 15:4) T or F
"When God's judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the WORLD will learn righteousness." (Isaiah 26:9) T or F
"Mercy shall TRIUMPH OVER (exalt over) judgment." (James 2:13) (Remember, answer out loud True or False to each of these statements.)
"Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more." (Rom. 5:20) T or F
"EVERY CREATURE which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever." (Rev. 5:13) T or F
...
"God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the gentiles, which is Christ in you the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning EVERY MAN and teaching EVERY MAN man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." (Col. 1: 27, 28) T or F
"ALL nations whom God has made will come and worship before Him" (Psalm 86:9)
God's "mercy endures forever." (1 Chron. 16:34) T or F
God's Spirit "will be poured out on ALL FLESH." (Joel 2:28) T or F
God beckons us: "Come, and let us return to the Lord, for He has torn, but He will heal us. He has stricken, but He will bind us. After 2 days, He will revive us. On the THIRD DAY He will raise us up that we may live in His sight." (Hosea 6:1, 2) T or F
"The Lord had made bare His Holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and ALL the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." (Isaiah 52:10) T or F
"The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and ALL FLESH shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." (Isaiah 40:5) T or F
God will "open His hand and satisfy the desire of EVERY living thing." (Psalm 145:16) T or F
God is "gracious in ALL His works." (Psalm 145:17) T or F
"The EARTH is the Lord's and ALL its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein." (Psalm 24:1) T or F
"ALL the kings of the earth shall praise you, 0 Lord, when they hear the words of your mouth." (Psalm 138:4) T or F
God "reveals Himself to those who did not ask for Him: He was found by those who did not seek Him." (Isaiah 65:1) T or F
"The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to ALL, and His tender mercies are over ALL His works. ALL your works shall praise you, 0 Lord." (Psalm 145:8-10) T or F
"ALL the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and ALL the families of the nations shall worship before You. ALL those who go down to the dust (death) shall bow before You." (Psalm 22:27, 29) T or F
"0 You Who hear prayer, to you ALL flesh will come. Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, you will provide atonement for them." (Psalm 65:2-4) T or F
"Through the greatness of your power your enemies shall submit themselves to you. ALL the earth shall worship You and sing praises to you." (Psalm 66:3, 4) T or F
"Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions FAIL NOT. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness." (Lam. 3:21-24) T or F
"The Lord will NOT cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His
mercies." (Lam. 3:31, 32) (Remember, answer out loud True or False to each of these statements.)
"For I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would fail before Me, And the souls which I have made." (Isaiah 57:16) T or F
"There is no God besides Me, a just God and Savior; There is none besides Me. Look to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. He shall say, surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, and all shall be ashamed who are incensed against Him. In the Lord ALL the descendants of Israel shall be justified and shall glory." (Isaiah 45:21-25) T or F
"In this mountain the Lord of Hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees. And he shall destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over ALL nations. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord will wipe away tears from all faces." (Isaiah 25:6-8)
"ALL the nations of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen. 18:18) T or F
"ALL the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen. 12:3, 28:14) T or F
"It shall come to pass the saying that is written: `death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, Death, where is your sting Oh, Hell (Hades) where is your victory.' The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 15:54-58) T or F
Of those who crucified Him (which is all of us) Jesus asked: "Father forgive them; for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34) Did the Father forgive us all? T or F
"It is finished." (John 19:30) T or F
Two Bonus Questions:
Not even death can seperate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. (Rom 8:38,39) T or F
Whoever has died, has been freed from sin. (Rom 6:7) T or F
All the answers are "True" How did you do?
For each statement below declare out loud whether YOU PERSONALLY believe the statement is True or False. It is important that you do it verbally, not just in your mind. Or perhaps print it out and then circle the T or F.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (John 1:1, Mark 20:31) T or F
He was crucified, was buried and rose again on the third day. (Acts 2:23; 4:10) T or F
Jesus Christ's blood was shed for the remission of sins. (Matt. 26:8) T or F
"The Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world." (1 John 4:14) T or F
Jesus is "the Christ, the Savior of the world." (John 4:42) T or F
"This is good and acceptable in the sight of our God our saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus: Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." (1 Tim. 2:3-6, KJV) T or F
Jesus "is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." (1 John 2:2) T or F
Jesus "did not come to judge the world but to save the WORLD." (John 12:47) T or F
"Jesus, was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for EVERYONE." (Heb. 2:9) T or F
"Love NEVER fails." (1 Cor. 13:8) T or F
"With God NOTHING is impossible." (Luke 1:37) T or F
"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, Who is the Savior of ALL MEN, especially of those who believe. These things command and teach." (1 Tim. 4:9-11) (Remember, answer OUT LOUD True or False to each of these statements.)
"At the name of Jesus EVERY knee should bow, of those in heaven, and those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that EVERY tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." (Phil. 2:10:11) T or F
"God was pleased to have all fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself ALL THINGS on earth or in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation." (Col. 1:19, 21, 22) T or F
In Jesus Christ is "the restoration of ALL THINGS, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began." (Acts 3:21) T or F
The Gospel is "good tidings of great joy [that] will be to ALL people." (Luke 2:10) T or F
Believers in Christ are "born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:13) T or F
God appointed Jesus "heir of ALL THINGS, and through whom He made the universe." (Heb. 1:2) T or F
"No one can come to Christ unless the Father who sent Him draws him." (John 6:44) T or F
"As God gave Jesus authority over ALL FLESH, that he should give eternal life to as many as God gave Him." (John 17:2) T or F
The Father "has given ALL THINGS into Jesus' hands." (John 13:3) T or F
Jesus "was the true light which gives light to EVERY MAN who comes into the world." (John 1:9) (Remember, answer out loud True or False to each of these statements.)
"Just as the result of one trespass was condemnation of ALL MEN, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for ALL MEN." (Rom. 5:18) T or F
Jesus is "able even to subdue ALL THINGS to Himself." (Phil. 3:21) T or F
Jesus came "that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times he might gather together in one ALL THINGS in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works ALL THINGS according to the counsel of His will." (Eph. 1:10, 11) T or F
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering towards us, not willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) T or F
"God was reconciling THE WORLD to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: be reconciled to God." (2 Cor. 5:19, 20) T or F
"ALL the nations shall be blessed." (Gal 3:8) T or F
"The Bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives Life to the WORLD." (John 6:33) T or F
Jesus commanded us to be like Himself and His Father: "Love your enemies, bless those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." (Matt. 5:44, 45) True or False
"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw (drag in the Greek, helkuo) ALL MANKIND unto Myself." (John 12:32) T or F
"Creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope, because creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." (Rom. 8:20, 21) T or F
"The Father loves the Son and has given ALL THINGS into His hands." (John 3:35) T or F
"Since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam ALL died, even so in Christ ALL shall be made alive." (1 Cor. 15:22) T or F
Jesus "is the image of the invisible God, the first born over ALL CREATION. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him." (Co. 1:15, 16) True or False
"ALL shall know the Lord, from the least of them to the greatest of them." (Heb. 8:11) T or F
"The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to ALL MEN." (Titus 2:11) T or F
We are not to "repay evil for evil." (Rom. 12:17) True or False
"If anyone's work which he has built endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved yet so as through fire." (1 Cor. 3:14, 15) T or F
"Of Him and through Him and to Him are ALL THINGS, to whom be glory forever. Amen" (Rom. 11:36) T or F
"ALL Israel will be saved." (Rom. 11:26) T or F
"Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for ALL, and therefore all died." (2 Cor. 5:14) True or False.
"The head of EVERY man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." (1 Cor. 11:3) T or F
"ALL nations shall come and worship You, for your judgments have been made manifested." (Rev. 15:4) T or F
"When God's judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the WORLD will learn righteousness." (Isaiah 26:9) T or F
"Mercy shall TRIUMPH OVER (exalt over) judgment." (James 2:13) (Remember, answer out loud True or False to each of these statements.)
"Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more." (Rom. 5:20) T or F
"EVERY CREATURE which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever." (Rev. 5:13) T or F
...
"God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the gentiles, which is Christ in you the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning EVERY MAN and teaching EVERY MAN man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." (Col. 1: 27, 28) T or F
"ALL nations whom God has made will come and worship before Him" (Psalm 86:9)
God's "mercy endures forever." (1 Chron. 16:34) T or F
God's Spirit "will be poured out on ALL FLESH." (Joel 2:28) T or F
God beckons us: "Come, and let us return to the Lord, for He has torn, but He will heal us. He has stricken, but He will bind us. After 2 days, He will revive us. On the THIRD DAY He will raise us up that we may live in His sight." (Hosea 6:1, 2) T or F
"The Lord had made bare His Holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and ALL the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." (Isaiah 52:10) T or F
"The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and ALL FLESH shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." (Isaiah 40:5) T or F
God will "open His hand and satisfy the desire of EVERY living thing." (Psalm 145:16) T or F
God is "gracious in ALL His works." (Psalm 145:17) T or F
"The EARTH is the Lord's and ALL its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein." (Psalm 24:1) T or F
"ALL the kings of the earth shall praise you, 0 Lord, when they hear the words of your mouth." (Psalm 138:4) T or F
God "reveals Himself to those who did not ask for Him: He was found by those who did not seek Him." (Isaiah 65:1) T or F
"The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to ALL, and His tender mercies are over ALL His works. ALL your works shall praise you, 0 Lord." (Psalm 145:8-10) T or F
"ALL the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and ALL the families of the nations shall worship before You. ALL those who go down to the dust (death) shall bow before You." (Psalm 22:27, 29) T or F
"0 You Who hear prayer, to you ALL flesh will come. Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, you will provide atonement for them." (Psalm 65:2-4) T or F
"Through the greatness of your power your enemies shall submit themselves to you. ALL the earth shall worship You and sing praises to you." (Psalm 66:3, 4) T or F
"Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions FAIL NOT. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness." (Lam. 3:21-24) T or F
"The Lord will NOT cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His
mercies." (Lam. 3:31, 32) (Remember, answer out loud True or False to each of these statements.)
"For I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would fail before Me, And the souls which I have made." (Isaiah 57:16) T or F
"There is no God besides Me, a just God and Savior; There is none besides Me. Look to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. He shall say, surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, and all shall be ashamed who are incensed against Him. In the Lord ALL the descendants of Israel shall be justified and shall glory." (Isaiah 45:21-25) T or F
"In this mountain the Lord of Hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees. And he shall destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over ALL nations. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord will wipe away tears from all faces." (Isaiah 25:6-8)
"ALL the nations of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen. 18:18) T or F
"ALL the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen. 12:3, 28:14) T or F
"It shall come to pass the saying that is written: `death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, Death, where is your sting Oh, Hell (Hades) where is your victory.' The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 15:54-58) T or F
Of those who crucified Him (which is all of us) Jesus asked: "Father forgive them; for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34) Did the Father forgive us all? T or F
"It is finished." (John 19:30) T or F
Two Bonus Questions:
Not even death can seperate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. (Rom 8:38,39) T or F
Whoever has died, has been freed from sin. (Rom 6:7) T or F
All the answers are "True" How did you do?
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Old Lexicography - Exerpt from Aion and Aionios by John Wesley Hanson
You can find this book for free, here!
The oldest lexicographer, Hesychius, (A. D. 400-600,) defines aión thus: "The life of man, the time of life." At this early date no theologian had yet imported into the word the meaning of endless duration. It retained only the sense it had in the classics, and in the Bible.
Theodoret(9) (A. D. 300-400) "Aión is not any existing thing, but an interval denoting time, sometimes infinite when spoken of God, sometimes proportioned to the duration of the creation, and sometimes to the life of man."
John of Damascus (A. D. 750,) says, "1, The life of every man is called aión. . . . 3, The whole duration or life of this world is called aión. 4, The life after the resurrection is called 'the aión to come.' "
But in the sixteenth century Phavorinus was compelled to notice an addition, which subsequently to the time of the famous Council of 544 had been grafted on the word. He says: "Aión, time, also life, also habit, or way of life. Aión is also the eternal and endlessAS IT SEEMS TO THE THEOLOGIAN." Theologians had succeeded in using the word in the sense of endless, and Phavorinus was forced to recognize their usage of it and his phraseology shows conclusively enough that he attributed to theologians the authorship of that use of the word. Alluding to this definition, Rev. Ezra S. Goodwin, one of the ripest scholars and profoundest critics, says,(10) "Here I strongly suspect is the true secret brought to light of the origin of the sense of eternity in aión. The theologian first thought he perceived it, or else he placed it there. The theologian keeps it there, now. And the theologian will probably retain it there longer than any one else. Hence it is that those lexicographers who assign eternity as one of the meanings of aión uniformly appeal for proofs to either theological, Hebrew, or Rabbinical Greek, or some species of Greek subsequent to the age of the Seventy, if not subsequent to the age of the Apostles, so far a I can ascertain."
The second definition by Phavorinus is extracted literally from the "Etymologicon Magnum" of the ninth or tenth century. This gives us the usage from the fourth to the sixteenth century, and shows us that, if the word meant endless at the time of Christ, it must have changed from limited duration in the classics, to unlimited duration, and then back again, at the dates above specified!
From the sixteenth century onward, the word has been defined as used to denote all lengths of duration from brief to endless. We record here such definitions as we have found.
Rost: (German definitions) " Aión, duration, epoch, long time, eternity, memory of man, life-time, life, age of man. Aiónios, continual, always enduring, long continued, eternal."
Hedericus: "An age, eternity, an age as if always being; time of man's life in the memory of men, (wicked men, New Testament,) the spinal marrow. Aiónios, eternal, everlasting, continual."
Schleusner: "Any space of time whether longer or shorter, past, present or future, to be determined by the persons or things spoken of, and the scope of the subjects; the life or age of man. Aiónios, a definite and long period of time, that is, a long enduring, but still definite period of time."
Passow: " Aiónios, long continued, eternal, everlasting, in the classics.
Grove: "Eternity; and age, life, duration, continuance of time; a revolution of ages, a dispensation of Providence, this world or life; the world or life to come. Aiónios, eternal, immortal, perpetual, former, past, ancient."
Donnegan: "Time; space of time; life time and life; the ordinary period of man's life; the age of man; man's estate; a long period of time; eternity; the spinal marrow. Aiónios, of long duration, lasting, eternal, permanent."
Ewing: "Duration, finite or infinite; a period of duration, past or future; an age; duration of the world; ages of the world; human life in this world, or the next; our manner of life in the world; and age of divine dispensation, the ages, generally reckoned three, that before law, that under the law, and that under the Messiah. Aiónios, (from preceding,) ages of the world, periods of the dispensatins since the world began."
Schrevelius: "An age, a long period of time; indefinite duration, time, whether longer or shorter, past, prensent or future; also, in the New Testament, the wicked men of the age, life, the life of man. Aiónios, of long duration, lasting, sometimes everlasting, sometimes lasting through life as æturnus in Latin."
Dr. Taylor, who wrote the Hebrew Bible three times with his own hand, says of Olam, (Greek Aión) it signifies a duration which is concealed, as being of an unknown or great length. "It signifies eternity, not from the proper force of the word, but when the sense of the place or the nature of the subject require it, as God and his attributes."
Pickering: Almost identical with Schrevelius in his definitions.
Hinks: "A period of time; and age, an after time, eternity.Aiónios, lasting, eternal, of old, since the beginning."
Lutz: "An age, time, eternity. Aiónios, durable, eternal."
Macknight: (Scotch Presbyterian.) "These words being ambiguous, are always to be understood according to the nature and circumstances to which they are applied." He thinks the words sustain endless punishment, but adds: "At the same time I must be so candid as to acknowledge that the use of these terms, forever, eternal and everlasting, in other passages of Scripture, shows that they who understand these words in a limited sense, when applied to punishment, put no forced interpretation upon them.
Wright: "Time, age, life-time, period, revolution of ages, dispensation of Providence, present world, or life, world to come, eternity.Aiónios, eternal, ancient."
Robinson: "Life, also an age, that is an indefinite long period of time, perpetuity, ever, forever, eternity, forever, without end, to the remotest time, forever and ever, of old, from everlasting, the world, present or future, this world and the next, present world, men of this world, world itself, advent of Messiah. Aiónios, perpetual, everlasting, eternal, chiefly spoken of future time, ancient."
Jones: "An everlasting age, eternal, forever, a period of time, age, life, the present world, or life; the Jewish dispensation; a good demon, angel as supposed to exist forever . . . Aiónios, everlasting, ancient."
Schweighauser and Valpyv substantially agree.
Maclaine, in his Mosheim: Aión or æon among the ancients, was used to signify the age of man, or the duration of human life."
Cruden: "The words eternal, everlasting, forever, are sometimes taken for a long time, and are not always to be understood strictly, for example, 'Thou shalt be our guide form this time forth, even forever,' that is, during our whole life."
Alex. Campbell: "ITS RADICAL IDEA IS INDEFINITE DURATION."
Whitby: "Nothing is more common and familiar in Scripture than to render a thorough and irreparable vastation, whose effects and signs should be still remaining, by the word aiónios, which we render eternal."Hammond, Benson, and Gilpin, in notes on Jude 7, say the same. Liddell and Scott also give to aión, in the poets the sense of life and lifetime, as also an age or generation.
Pearce (in Matt. vii:33) says: "The Greek word aión, seems to signify age here, as it often does in the New Testament, and according to its most proper signification." Clarke, Wakefield, Boothroyd, Simpson, Lindsey, Mardon, Acton, agree. So do Locke, Hammond, Le Clerc, Beausobre, Lenfant, Dodridge, Paulus, Kenrick and Olshausen.
T. Southwood Smith: "Sometimes it signifies the term of human life; at other times an age, or dispensation of Providence. Its most common signification is that of age or dispensation."
Scarlett: "That aiónion, does not mean endless or eternal, may appear from considering that no adjective can have a greater force than the noun from which it is derived. If aión means age (which none either will or can deny) then aiónion must mean age-lasting, or duration through the age or ages to which the thing spoken or relates."
Even Professor Stuart is obliged to say: "The most common and appropriate meaning of aión in the New Testament, and the one which corresponds with the Hebrew word olam, and which therefore deserves the first rank in regard to order, I put down first: an indefinite period of time; time without limitation; ever, forever, time without end, eternity, all in relation to future time. The different shades by which the word is rendered, depend on the object with which aiónios is associated, or to which it has relation, rather than to any difference in the real meaning of the word."
J. W. Haley *says: "The Hebrew word 'olam' rendered 'forever,' does not imply the metaphysical idea of absolute endlessness, but a period of indefinite length, as Rambach says, a very long time, the end of which is hidden from us." Olam or olim is the Hebrew equivalent of aión.
Dr. Edward Beecher(11) remarks, "It commonly means merely continuity of action . . . all attempts to set forth eternity as the original and primary sense of aión are at war with the facts of the Greek language for five centuries, in which it denoted life and its derivative senses, and the sense eternity was unknown." And he also says what is the undoubted fact, "that the original sense of aión is not eternity. . . . It is conceded on all hands that this (life) was originally the general use of the word. In the Paris edition of Henry Stephens' Lexicon it is affirmed emphatically "that life, or the space of life, is the primitive sense of the word, and that it is always so used by Homer, Hesiod, and the old poets; also by Pindar and the tragic writers, as well as by Herodotus and Xenophon." "Pertaining to the world to come," is the sense given to "These shall go away into everlasting punishment," by Prof. Tayler Lewis, who adds(12) "The preacher in contending with the Universalist and the Restorationist, would commit an error, and it may be suffer a failure in his argument, should he lay the whole stress of it on the etymological of historical significance of the words aión, aiónios, and attempt to prove that of themselves they necessarily carry the meaning of endless duration. 'These shall go away into the restraint, imprisonment of the world to come,' is all we can etymologically or exegetically make of the word in this passage."
* "An Examination of the Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible," p.216.
The oldest lexicographer, Hesychius, (A. D. 400-600,) defines aión thus: "The life of man, the time of life." At this early date no theologian had yet imported into the word the meaning of endless duration. It retained only the sense it had in the classics, and in the Bible.
Theodoret(9) (A. D. 300-400) "Aión is not any existing thing, but an interval denoting time, sometimes infinite when spoken of God, sometimes proportioned to the duration of the creation, and sometimes to the life of man."
John of Damascus (A. D. 750,) says, "1, The life of every man is called aión. . . . 3, The whole duration or life of this world is called aión. 4, The life after the resurrection is called 'the aión to come.' "
But in the sixteenth century Phavorinus was compelled to notice an addition, which subsequently to the time of the famous Council of 544 had been grafted on the word. He says: "Aión, time, also life, also habit, or way of life. Aión is also the eternal and endlessAS IT SEEMS TO THE THEOLOGIAN." Theologians had succeeded in using the word in the sense of endless, and Phavorinus was forced to recognize their usage of it and his phraseology shows conclusively enough that he attributed to theologians the authorship of that use of the word. Alluding to this definition, Rev. Ezra S. Goodwin, one of the ripest scholars and profoundest critics, says,(10) "Here I strongly suspect is the true secret brought to light of the origin of the sense of eternity in aión. The theologian first thought he perceived it, or else he placed it there. The theologian keeps it there, now. And the theologian will probably retain it there longer than any one else. Hence it is that those lexicographers who assign eternity as one of the meanings of aión uniformly appeal for proofs to either theological, Hebrew, or Rabbinical Greek, or some species of Greek subsequent to the age of the Seventy, if not subsequent to the age of the Apostles, so far a I can ascertain."
The second definition by Phavorinus is extracted literally from the "Etymologicon Magnum" of the ninth or tenth century. This gives us the usage from the fourth to the sixteenth century, and shows us that, if the word meant endless at the time of Christ, it must have changed from limited duration in the classics, to unlimited duration, and then back again, at the dates above specified!
From the sixteenth century onward, the word has been defined as used to denote all lengths of duration from brief to endless. We record here such definitions as we have found.
Rost: (German definitions) " Aión, duration, epoch, long time, eternity, memory of man, life-time, life, age of man. Aiónios, continual, always enduring, long continued, eternal."
Hedericus: "An age, eternity, an age as if always being; time of man's life in the memory of men, (wicked men, New Testament,) the spinal marrow. Aiónios, eternal, everlasting, continual."
Schleusner: "Any space of time whether longer or shorter, past, present or future, to be determined by the persons or things spoken of, and the scope of the subjects; the life or age of man. Aiónios, a definite and long period of time, that is, a long enduring, but still definite period of time."
Passow: " Aiónios, long continued, eternal, everlasting, in the classics.
Grove: "Eternity; and age, life, duration, continuance of time; a revolution of ages, a dispensation of Providence, this world or life; the world or life to come. Aiónios, eternal, immortal, perpetual, former, past, ancient."
Donnegan: "Time; space of time; life time and life; the ordinary period of man's life; the age of man; man's estate; a long period of time; eternity; the spinal marrow. Aiónios, of long duration, lasting, eternal, permanent."
Ewing: "Duration, finite or infinite; a period of duration, past or future; an age; duration of the world; ages of the world; human life in this world, or the next; our manner of life in the world; and age of divine dispensation, the ages, generally reckoned three, that before law, that under the law, and that under the Messiah. Aiónios, (from preceding,) ages of the world, periods of the dispensatins since the world began."
Schrevelius: "An age, a long period of time; indefinite duration, time, whether longer or shorter, past, prensent or future; also, in the New Testament, the wicked men of the age, life, the life of man. Aiónios, of long duration, lasting, sometimes everlasting, sometimes lasting through life as æturnus in Latin."
Dr. Taylor, who wrote the Hebrew Bible three times with his own hand, says of Olam, (Greek Aión) it signifies a duration which is concealed, as being of an unknown or great length. "It signifies eternity, not from the proper force of the word, but when the sense of the place or the nature of the subject require it, as God and his attributes."
Pickering: Almost identical with Schrevelius in his definitions.
Hinks: "A period of time; and age, an after time, eternity.Aiónios, lasting, eternal, of old, since the beginning."
Lutz: "An age, time, eternity. Aiónios, durable, eternal."
Macknight: (Scotch Presbyterian.) "These words being ambiguous, are always to be understood according to the nature and circumstances to which they are applied." He thinks the words sustain endless punishment, but adds: "At the same time I must be so candid as to acknowledge that the use of these terms, forever, eternal and everlasting, in other passages of Scripture, shows that they who understand these words in a limited sense, when applied to punishment, put no forced interpretation upon them.
Wright: "Time, age, life-time, period, revolution of ages, dispensation of Providence, present world, or life, world to come, eternity.Aiónios, eternal, ancient."
Robinson: "Life, also an age, that is an indefinite long period of time, perpetuity, ever, forever, eternity, forever, without end, to the remotest time, forever and ever, of old, from everlasting, the world, present or future, this world and the next, present world, men of this world, world itself, advent of Messiah. Aiónios, perpetual, everlasting, eternal, chiefly spoken of future time, ancient."
Jones: "An everlasting age, eternal, forever, a period of time, age, life, the present world, or life; the Jewish dispensation; a good demon, angel as supposed to exist forever . . . Aiónios, everlasting, ancient."
Schweighauser and Valpyv substantially agree.
Maclaine, in his Mosheim: Aión or æon among the ancients, was used to signify the age of man, or the duration of human life."
Cruden: "The words eternal, everlasting, forever, are sometimes taken for a long time, and are not always to be understood strictly, for example, 'Thou shalt be our guide form this time forth, even forever,' that is, during our whole life."
Alex. Campbell: "ITS RADICAL IDEA IS INDEFINITE DURATION."
Whitby: "Nothing is more common and familiar in Scripture than to render a thorough and irreparable vastation, whose effects and signs should be still remaining, by the word aiónios, which we render eternal."Hammond, Benson, and Gilpin, in notes on Jude 7, say the same. Liddell and Scott also give to aión, in the poets the sense of life and lifetime, as also an age or generation.
Pearce (in Matt. vii:33) says: "The Greek word aión, seems to signify age here, as it often does in the New Testament, and according to its most proper signification." Clarke, Wakefield, Boothroyd, Simpson, Lindsey, Mardon, Acton, agree. So do Locke, Hammond, Le Clerc, Beausobre, Lenfant, Dodridge, Paulus, Kenrick and Olshausen.
T. Southwood Smith: "Sometimes it signifies the term of human life; at other times an age, or dispensation of Providence. Its most common signification is that of age or dispensation."
Scarlett: "That aiónion, does not mean endless or eternal, may appear from considering that no adjective can have a greater force than the noun from which it is derived. If aión means age (which none either will or can deny) then aiónion must mean age-lasting, or duration through the age or ages to which the thing spoken or relates."
Even Professor Stuart is obliged to say: "The most common and appropriate meaning of aión in the New Testament, and the one which corresponds with the Hebrew word olam, and which therefore deserves the first rank in regard to order, I put down first: an indefinite period of time; time without limitation; ever, forever, time without end, eternity, all in relation to future time. The different shades by which the word is rendered, depend on the object with which aiónios is associated, or to which it has relation, rather than to any difference in the real meaning of the word."
J. W. Haley *says: "The Hebrew word 'olam' rendered 'forever,' does not imply the metaphysical idea of absolute endlessness, but a period of indefinite length, as Rambach says, a very long time, the end of which is hidden from us." Olam or olim is the Hebrew equivalent of aión.
Dr. Edward Beecher(11) remarks, "It commonly means merely continuity of action . . . all attempts to set forth eternity as the original and primary sense of aión are at war with the facts of the Greek language for five centuries, in which it denoted life and its derivative senses, and the sense eternity was unknown." And he also says what is the undoubted fact, "that the original sense of aión is not eternity. . . . It is conceded on all hands that this (life) was originally the general use of the word. In the Paris edition of Henry Stephens' Lexicon it is affirmed emphatically "that life, or the space of life, is the primitive sense of the word, and that it is always so used by Homer, Hesiod, and the old poets; also by Pindar and the tragic writers, as well as by Herodotus and Xenophon." "Pertaining to the world to come," is the sense given to "These shall go away into everlasting punishment," by Prof. Tayler Lewis, who adds(12) "The preacher in contending with the Universalist and the Restorationist, would commit an error, and it may be suffer a failure in his argument, should he lay the whole stress of it on the etymological of historical significance of the words aión, aiónios, and attempt to prove that of themselves they necessarily carry the meaning of endless duration. 'These shall go away into the restraint, imprisonment of the world to come,' is all we can etymologically or exegetically make of the word in this passage."
* "An Examination of the Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible," p.216.
Monday, February 8, 2010
To Alfred
Alfred: A clip from your previous response:
[Here is the etymology - again - of our English word "Eternal":"mid-14c. (in variant form eterne), from O.Fr. eternal, from L.L. aeternalis, from L. aeternus contraction of aeviternus "of great age," from aevum "age" (see eon)."Since they point to our English word "Eon", let's look at that:"1640s, from L. aeon, from Gk. aion "age, vital force, lifetime," from PIE base *aiw- "vital force, life, long life, eternity" (cf. Skt. ayu "life," Avestan ayu "age," L. aevum "space of time, eternity," Goth. aiws "age, eternity," O.N. ævi "lifetime," Ger. ewig "everlasting," O.E. a "ever, always")."]
What this says to me, is that the English word eternal actually comes from the Old French word eternal which comes from the Latin word aeternalis which is from Latin aeternus contraction
of aeviternus which actually means “of great age” which is from aevum “age” and to understand which form of age we should look at eon.
The logical conclusion to this etymology that you have presented, is that the English word eternity really means age. So Etymology confirms the definition which has a limit to its duration and is measured by the passage of time. Hense not "without end".
Etymology leads us to the conclusion that the English word eternity did not carry the weight of endless, yet etymology alone is not sufficient to determine the meaning of a word since words change in meaning. Etymology supports my view and is against yours, however, etymology is not conclusive and I don’t rest my case on etymology alone. Two more tools can be employed to determing the meaning of words: lexicography and usage.
Lexicography , like etymology is helpful in gaining insight to the definitions that men have assigned to words, but again, lexicography alone is not sufficient to conclusively determine meaning because meanings change. Like the example you gave of the use of bad, or prevent which used to mean precede, or fag which used to mean a burning stick… then cigarette… and now…? Howevcer, if you check the lexicography of the word aion and aionios in the oldest lexicons, you invariably find the words lack any mention of endless or eternal as in no beginning or no end but always the idea of age, or lifetime etc. Not until the 16th century did the lexicons begin to add the idea of perpetuity to their definitions of aion and aionios. This is a historical fact and can be verified, as I have already shown. IF you missed it I will be most happy to give you the references again. So lexicography confirms my point of view as does etymology, but as I said, I do not allow this to be conclusive evidence. The crux of the matter is, what did the words mean to the authors who penned them. What did the authors intend their readers to understand by their use of the words. This brings us to usage.
Usage- by usage I refer to the use of the words by the authors and their contemporaries. What did the word mean, as it was used at the time of writing. Exhaustive studies have been made searching all the writings of the Greek classics and not once did these words have the meaning of perpetuity, let alone the stricter meaning of no beginning and no end.
In the days in which the new testament was written, usage of the word, that is, the common understanding of the people who read and spoke Greek, did not include the modern understanding of eternal but rather age, aion and age pertaining, aionios. This also is a verifiable historic fact and I will be more than happy to provide you references if you like.
Strike three! Etymology, Lexicography and Usage at the time of the writing of the Scripture all point to aion and aionios having the meaning of age and age pertaining respectively.
The concept of eternal damnation or endless punishment was spread through the church largely through Augustine, a Catholic, and is in actuality a Catholic dogma. Incidentally, the concept of purgatory was invented in an attempt to answer the many verses in Scripture which speak of the reconciliation of all. Consider also, the men who gave us our English translations were trained in the Catholic church and their primary study language was Latin, not Greek and Hebrew. The prevailing doctrine in their day was still that of endless punishment and it influenced their interpretations. Thankfully, as horrible as it is that this has hindered millions from understanding the love of God, at least they still will ultimately enter into His peace, and they will rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory when they discover His perfect love and his enduring mercy to them and their loved ones.
[Here is the etymology - again - of our English word "Eternal":"mid-14c. (in variant form eterne), from O.Fr. eternal, from L.L. aeternalis, from L. aeternus contraction of aeviternus "of great age," from aevum "age" (see eon)."Since they point to our English word "Eon", let's look at that:"1640s, from L. aeon, from Gk. aion "age, vital force, lifetime," from PIE base *aiw- "vital force, life, long life, eternity" (cf. Skt. ayu "life," Avestan ayu "age," L. aevum "space of time, eternity," Goth. aiws "age, eternity," O.N. ævi "lifetime," Ger. ewig "everlasting," O.E. a "ever, always")."]
What this says to me, is that the English word eternal actually comes from the Old French word eternal which comes from the Latin word aeternalis which is from Latin aeternus contraction
of aeviternus which actually means “of great age” which is from aevum “age” and to understand which form of age we should look at eon.
The logical conclusion to this etymology that you have presented, is that the English word eternity really means age. So Etymology confirms the definition which has a limit to its duration and is measured by the passage of time. Hense not "without end".
Etymology leads us to the conclusion that the English word eternity did not carry the weight of endless, yet etymology alone is not sufficient to determine the meaning of a word since words change in meaning. Etymology supports my view and is against yours, however, etymology is not conclusive and I don’t rest my case on etymology alone. Two more tools can be employed to determing the meaning of words: lexicography and usage.
Lexicography , like etymology is helpful in gaining insight to the definitions that men have assigned to words, but again, lexicography alone is not sufficient to conclusively determine meaning because meanings change. Like the example you gave of the use of bad, or prevent which used to mean precede, or fag which used to mean a burning stick… then cigarette… and now…? Howevcer, if you check the lexicography of the word aion and aionios in the oldest lexicons, you invariably find the words lack any mention of endless or eternal as in no beginning or no end but always the idea of age, or lifetime etc. Not until the 16th century did the lexicons begin to add the idea of perpetuity to their definitions of aion and aionios. This is a historical fact and can be verified, as I have already shown. IF you missed it I will be most happy to give you the references again. So lexicography confirms my point of view as does etymology, but as I said, I do not allow this to be conclusive evidence. The crux of the matter is, what did the words mean to the authors who penned them. What did the authors intend their readers to understand by their use of the words. This brings us to usage.
Usage- by usage I refer to the use of the words by the authors and their contemporaries. What did the word mean, as it was used at the time of writing. Exhaustive studies have been made searching all the writings of the Greek classics and not once did these words have the meaning of perpetuity, let alone the stricter meaning of no beginning and no end.
In the days in which the new testament was written, usage of the word, that is, the common understanding of the people who read and spoke Greek, did not include the modern understanding of eternal but rather age, aion and age pertaining, aionios. This also is a verifiable historic fact and I will be more than happy to provide you references if you like.
Strike three! Etymology, Lexicography and Usage at the time of the writing of the Scripture all point to aion and aionios having the meaning of age and age pertaining respectively.
The concept of eternal damnation or endless punishment was spread through the church largely through Augustine, a Catholic, and is in actuality a Catholic dogma. Incidentally, the concept of purgatory was invented in an attempt to answer the many verses in Scripture which speak of the reconciliation of all. Consider also, the men who gave us our English translations were trained in the Catholic church and their primary study language was Latin, not Greek and Hebrew. The prevailing doctrine in their day was still that of endless punishment and it influenced their interpretations. Thankfully, as horrible as it is that this has hindered millions from understanding the love of God, at least they still will ultimately enter into His peace, and they will rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory when they discover His perfect love and his enduring mercy to them and their loved ones.
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