tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5137285848780713485.post7844324841692001152..comments2023-04-25T09:46:28.127-07:00Comments on God is Love Jesus Christ Lives: Jesus Christ Our SaviorFisher of Menhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00030001942656567970noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5137285848780713485.post-23208229815081002302008-08-28T05:21:00.000-07:002008-08-28T05:21:00.000-07:00THE GRAND ASSERTIONALL OF MANKIND WAS DECLARED RIG...THE GRAND ASSERTION<BR/><BR/>ALL OF MANKIND WAS DECLARED RIGHTEOUS BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST AND ALL OF<BR/>MANKIND WILL COME TO BELIEVE IN JESUS AS LORD AND GOD AS SAVIOR FOLLOWING<BR/>THE NECESSARY DISCIPLINE OF THE CONSUMING PURIFYING FIRE OF GOD.<BR/><BR/>Mal 3:2b "For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap;”<BR/><BR/>SUB-ASSERTION #1<BR/><BR/>MANKIND WAS DECLARED RIGHTEOUS BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST HAVING BEEN<BR/>RECONCILED TO GOD BY HIS DEATH<BR/><BR/>Rom 5:6-10 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died<BR/>for the ungodly. But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while<BR/>we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, because we have<BR/>now been declared righteous by his blood, we will be saved through him from<BR/>God's wrath. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God<BR/>through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled,<BR/>will we be saved by his life?<BR/><BR/>Note that a summary of these verses could be the following: <BR/>While we were helpless ungodly sinners who were His enemies, Christ died<BR/>for us, declared us righteous by his blood, will save us from God’s wrath,<BR/>and reconciled us to God through His death.<BR/><BR/>Helpless ungodly sinners who were enemies of God and Christ may be words<BR/>written to those of Rome who were currently believers, but here Paul is<BR/>obviously referencing their status with God prior to their becoming<BR/>believers. Therefore the being reconciled to God and declared righteous<BR/>occurred prior to belief since these descriptions are hardly of believers.<BR/><BR/>At the foot of the cross were many helpless ungodly sinners who were the<BR/>enemies of Jesus, yet He said, “Father forgive them for they don’t know<BR/>what they are doing”. I believe the Father was in agreement with this<BR/>prayer of Jesus and so their sins were or will be forgiven on the merits of<BR/>Jesus alone. Mankind was declared righteous, or justified on that day. <BR/>Paul reinforces the fact of being declared righteous was for all mankind a<BR/>few verses later in Rom 5:18, “Consequently, just as one offense resulted<BR/>in condemnation for everyone, so one act of righteousness results in<BR/>justification and life for everyone.”<BR/><BR/>SUB-ASSERTION #2<BR/><BR/>NO “PUNISHMENT”, “DESTRUCTION”, “PERISHING”, “LOSTNESS” IS ETERNAL; RATHER<BR/>GOD’S “PUNISHMENTS” OR “DESTRUCTION” ARE CORRECTIVE IN NATURE<BR/><BR/> Now, we do need His discipline to make us fit for His kingdom. This<BR/>discipline will not be “eternal”, but it will be “aeonian or eonian”, the<BR/>English equivalents of the Greek “aionios”. “Aeonian” punishment as<BR/>referred to in Mt. 25:46, one of the proof texts for those who hold to the<BR/>heresy of the eternal torment of non-believers, is the type of correction<BR/>that God will administer to the unbeliever. The noun being modified by<BR/>aeonian is the word punishment, which is the Greek “kolasis” which has been<BR/>used in reference to “pruning” a plant for the purpose of better<BR/>production. “Kolasis” punishment is the corrective type, whereas, “timoria”<BR/>punishment is the retributive type. The “aeonian” life in Mt. 25:46 is the<BR/>life given to the believer by God beginning at the point of belief. This<BR/>is that life we enjoy as believers which blesses us now as we deal with<BR/>this physical life and also blesses us with the promise of immortality and<BR/>therefore everlasting communion with our Father.<BR/><BR/>Aeonian destruction as referenced in 2 Thess. 1:7-9, “…who will be punished<BR/>with aeonian destruction from the presence of the Lord,…”, is the kind of<BR/>destruction necessary for God to administer for the fulfillment of His<BR/>purposes. Destruction is equivalent to death in that it is “from the<BR/>presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power”. Jesus was<BR/>“destroyed” at the cross, but as in His case, so with all cases of<BR/>destruction or death, there is no sense of “eternal” associated with them<BR/>as Jesus rose to life and “the last enemy to be eliminated will be death”.<BR/><BR/>The “lost” sheep, coin, and son of Luke 15 referred to a condition that did<BR/>not last forever. The word “lost” is the translation of the Greek<BR/>“apollumi”, from which we have the translations lose, lost, perish,<BR/>destroy, etc. As we can see in Luke 15, the sheep, coin, and son were only<BR/>“lost” until they were found. This harmonizes with the fact that Jesus<BR/>said He came to “seek and save the lost”.<BR/><BR/>Note that the following verse tells us that there is a special benefit for<BR/>becoming a believer now, but that God will save all of the “lost”<BR/>unbelievers also. 1Tim 4:10 “For to this end we toil and strive, because<BR/>we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all men,<BR/>especially of those who believe.” The Greek word that got translated<BR/>“especially” here is “malista”. Checking its usage in other verses makes<BR/>it clear that especially is a good choice for English since it does refer<BR/>to extra special attention to something, but not to the exclusion of other<BR/>items mentioned in the context.<BR/><BR/>The Hebrew word “olam” has as its Greek equivalents “aion” and “aionios” in<BR/>the Septuagint. An analysis of the approximately 440 occurrences of olam<BR/>in the Old Testament suggests that it means a period of time without the<BR/>end in sight but not necessarily “eternal”, or “everlasting” or “forever”,<BR/>if it should ever be. Olam was only 3 days in the case of Jonah’s duration<BR/>in the fish, even though the “traditional” translation has been “forever”. <BR/>Also, the length of time a person would be the slave has been referred to<BR/>as “forever”, which we know is literally only for their physical lifetime. <BR/>Some versions never use eternal, everlasting, or forever for olam. Have<BR/>you noticed some versions use the phrase “forever and ever”. Have you ever<BR/>given thought to the absurdity of adding the words “and ever” after you<BR/>have already said forever? What’s more than forever? That’s like saying<BR/>something lasts for an eternity and then for another eternity. The<BR/>absurdity of this should add to our awareness of the bias of those<BR/>translators who consistently translate olam, aion, and aionios as eternal,<BR/>everlasting, forever, or the absurd “forever and ever” phrase.<BR/><BR/>An analysis of the word “hell” is quite revealing. Jesus used the word<BR/>“geena” or “hades” and tradition (KJV, Catholic church, etc.) has had the<BR/>ignorant audacity to use this Anglo-Saxon word “hell”, which means<BR/>“unseen” (a-des), corresponding to the Hebrew “sheol” and attach to it a<BR/>meaning out of pagan mythology of a place of eternal torment. Dr. Thomas<BR/>Thayer in his book “The Origin and History of the Doctrine of Endless<BR/>Punishment” traces this myth of eternal torment that became associated with<BR/>the word hell to ancient Egypt. Geena (sometimes Gehenna) was the Valley<BR/>of Hinnom which became a garbage dump on the outskirts of Jerusalem where<BR/>carcasses of criminals were burned which Jesus metaphorically referenced as<BR/>a future potential punishment with no sense of “eternal” punishment<BR/>inherent in its meaning. This refers to aeonian punishment which again is<BR/>God’s corrective punishment. Gehenna should have been left untranslated<BR/>because it is a geographical location that the Jews of Jesus’ audience knew<BR/>exactly what he was referring to. Hades should have also been left<BR/>untranslated or translated as “unseen” or “the grave” as some versions do,<BR/>as Hades definitely has no inherent punishment connotation. There are a<BR/>number of versions that don’t use the word “hell” even once, realizing the<BR/>bad rap the word has gotten with the erroneous connotation.<BR/><BR/>SUB-ASSERTION #3<BR/><BR/>ALL HUMANITY WILL COME TO BELIEVE IN GOD AND WILL WORSHIP HIM SOONER OR<BR/>LATER<BR/><BR/>The following are 5 witnesses (scriptures) from 4 of God’s servants: DAVID,<BR/>ISAIAH, PAUL, and JOHN.<BR/><BR/>NOTE: Nowhere in the Word do we have any evidence that one must come to<BR/>belief in this lifetime, which is another myth of man; contrariwise, we<BR/>have much evidence in the following verses and many others that some will<BR/>only come to belief after their physical death. At this point some might<BR/>think of the Rich Man and Lazarus parable, Matt. 13:34. Parables must be discerned<BR/>spiritually as they are not to be taken literally since they are fictional<BR/>stories to convey a spiritual message. Consider this, Rich Man = Jews and<BR/>Lazarus = Gentiles and the spiritual message is that the Jews will be<BR/>disciplined for their attitude toward and treatment of the Gentiles.<BR/><BR/>Keep in mind that belief is granted by God in His time not in man’s. God<BR/>grants belief to some in this lifetime and others after their physical<BR/>death. The myth that one must come to belief in this lifetime is something<BR/>man dreamed up or more than likely got from the pagans and added to his<BR/>traditions, but God’s word does not speak of it.<BR/><BR/>John 6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him;<BR/>and I will raise him up at the last day.”<BR/><BR/>Phi 1:29 “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you<BR/>should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,”<BR/><BR/>THE MASTER PLAN OF THE MASTER COULD BE SUMMED UP IN A COMPREHENSIVE SUMMARY<BR/>OF HIS WORD AS FOLLOWS AS ATTESTED BY MANY WITNESSES.<BR/><BR/>“ALL IS OUT OF ME AND ALL WILL COME BACK TO ME.” --- GOD<BR/><BR/>Rom 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him<BR/>be glory forever. Amen. <BR/>1Co 15:28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will<BR/>also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that<BR/>God may be all in all. <BR/><BR/>GOD WILL BE ALL IN ALL = GOD WILL BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE<BR/><BR/>OUR SPIRIT CAME OUT OF GOD AND WILL RETURN TO GOD<BR/><BR/>DAVID was inspired to write:<BR/><BR/>Psalms 22:27-28 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the<BR/>LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For<BR/>the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations<BR/><BR/>ISAIAH was inspired to write:<BR/><BR/>Isa 45:23 By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in<BR/>righteousness a word that shall not return: 'To me every knee shall bow,<BR/>every tongue shall swear allegiance.' <BR/>Isa 45:24 "Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and<BR/>strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against<BR/>him. <BR/><BR/>PAUL was inspired to write:<BR/><BR/>Phi 2:10-11 “…so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow<BR/>— in heaven and on earth and under the earth — and every tongue confess<BR/>that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”<BR/><BR/>Rom 14:11 For it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee will<BR/>bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God."<BR/><BR/>JOHN was inspired to record:<BR/><BR/>Rev 5:13 “And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the<BR/>earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on<BR/>the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might<BR/>forever and ever!" <BR/><BR/>SINCE AFTER A CERTAIN TIME DEATH WILL CEASE TO BE, LEAVING ONLY LIFE AND<BR/>HENCE NO MORE SEPARATION BETWEEN GOD AND MAN, ALL OF THESE WITNESSES CAN<BR/>TESTIFY TO THE SAME THING:<BR/><BR/>NOTE: The feeble attempt to downplay this worshipping, bowing, and<BR/>confessing as somehow “forced”, is born out of bias for eternal torment. <BR/>Note particularly in Phil. 2:11 the phrase “to the glory of God the<BR/>Father”. It is obviously not giving God glory to say Jesus is Lord without<BR/>meaning it and you might also recall what Paul said about saying that Jesus<BR/>is Lord, that “…no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.”<BR/>(1 Cor. 12:3b)<BR/><BR/>EVERY CREATED BEING WILL SOME DAY PRAISE AND GLORIFY GODAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com