Category Archives: Condemnation or Judgment?

Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 6

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I failed to come to a definitive conclusion whether the ones who have done what is evil (φαῦλα, a form of φαῦλος)[1] come out of their tombs to the resurrection resulting in[2] condemnation or judgment[3] (κρίσεως, a form of κρίσις).  My faith and my knowledge of God persuade me that judgment is the correct translation, but I can see how another’s faith and knowledge might lean toward condemnation (Mark 16:14-16 NET).

Then [Jesus] appeared to the eleven themselves, while they were eating, and he rebuked them for their unbelief (ἀπιστίαν, a form of ἀπιστία)[4] and hardness of heart, because they did not believe (ἐπίστευσαν, a form of πιστεύω)[5] those who had seen him resurrected.  He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  The one who believes (πιστεύσας, another form of πιστεύω) and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe (ἀπιστήσας, a form of ἀπιστέω)[6] will be condemned (κατακριθήσεται, a form of κατακρίνω).[7]

Here, the one who does not believe will be condemned, clearly, without question.  Is it wrong then to assume that John meant the same thing, but chose a less specific word to express it, and then correct or clarify his meaning in translation?  I’m not sure that I can say that it is.  I can only say that my experience with God has taught me to pay more attention to the words as written.

So who is He?  Is He an angry God who barely restrains Himself from torturing sinners?  Peter wrote, The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient (μακροθυμεῖ, a form of μακροθυμέω)[8] toward you, because he does not wish (βουλόμενος, a form of βούλομαι)[9] for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (μετάνοιαν, a form of μετάνοια).[10]  That sounds reasonable since God is love (ἀγάπη),[11] and Love (ἀγάπη) is patient (μακροθυμεῖ, a form of μακροθυμέω).[12]  And, He by no means leaves the guilty unpunished.[13]

So what do I mean as I pray daily, may your will (θέλημα)[14] be done (γενηθήτω, a form of γίνομαι; literally, become)[15] on earth as it is in heaven[16]?  Am I praying for the equitable distribution of punishment for sin according to the law?  Or am I praying that God will satisfy the desire of his heart for all to come to repentance?  I think I’m praying for the latter, but I can’t say that He didn’t reveal Himself to Jonathan Edwards as an angry God who tortures sinners.  I’m saying that it would be disingenuous to assert that He has revealed Himself like that to me.

So what about his salvation?  Is it a judgment (κρίσις), a separating of the righteous from sinners?  Or does it express the Lord’s desire to populate the earth with people who will forgive[17] the sins of others and love their enemies,[18] by his grace, filled with his love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and ἐγκράτεια,[19] demonstrating not their own righteousness but his, enjoying what they do, filled with his joy and peace?  Again, I think the latter is nearer the truth, but again, that is based entirely on my faith and my knowledge of God, as He has revealed Himself to me.  Clearly, I’m trying to know Someone whose deeds are superior to [my] deeds and [whose] plans [are] superior to [my] plans.[20]

The original question ended: “I hope the whole point is God’s going to save everybody!  Am I nuts???”  No, I don’t think there is anything “nuts” about that hope.  In fact, I know the questioner enough to know that this is the sincere hope of a gentle heart.  I also know she was born into a religion in which most people believe that Jesus answered, “Yes,” to the question, “Lord, will only a few be saved?”[21]  But Jesus actually said, “Exert (ἀγωνίζεσθε; a form of ἀγωνίζομαι)[22] every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.”[23] 

A form of ἀγωνίζομαι was translated fighting (John 18:36 NET), exercise (1 Corinthians 9:25 NET), struggling (Colossians 1:29; 4:12 NET), struggle (1 Timothy 4:10 NET), compete (1 Timothy 6:12 NET) and competed (2 Timothy 4:7 NET).  Returning to the marriage analogy of Romans 7, trying to bear fruit alone is futile, seeking another than the One who was raised from the dead[24] is sinful, and lying there passively is no fun for anyone.  Exercise, compete, struggle, fight, bearing fruit is important enough to do badly until one learns to do it right.

Two things here: First, though it may seem like a non sequitur[25] to go directly to spiritual fruit from the word saved, most people who believe that Jesus answered yes to this question, believe it primarily because it confirms their observations that the fruit of salvation is lacking in many or most people around them.  And secondly, though it may sound like I’m reversing my position here, I have exercised, competed, struggled and fought to bear fruit, compelled by a God-given hunger and thirst for righteousness[26] and empowered by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.[27]

These essays are often about how wrongheaded I’ve been in that exercise, competition, struggling and fighting.  But if those mistakes were necessary to get from there to here, I would make them all again.  If it is possible for someone to avoid some of my mistakes by reading about them, praise the Lord!  If my writing discourages one from pursuing Christ and his righteousness, I apologize from the bottom of my heart!  If my writing encourages one to wait passively rather than to pursue Christ and his righteousness, stop reading my writing and get to work making as many of your own mistakes as soon as possible!

My dear Gentle Heart, though you have been harried and harassed by those who would make your heart harder, [you] have competed (ἠγώνισμαι, another form of ἀγωνίζομαι) well…[you] have kept the faith![28]  And though you haven’t budged in all these years, I want to consider at least the possibility of changing religions, to join with those who believe in universal salvation.  The problem isn’t finding both the hope and promise of universal salvation in Scripture.  The problem is what to make of all the “hell talk”[29] in the Bible if universal salvation is true.

I found a website[30] that does a fairly effective job of eliminating “hell talk” from the Bible.  I admit I didn’t read every word, just enough to grasp the basic assumptions: 1) αἰώνιος[31] does not mean eternal[32] but a dispensational age[33]; 2) the book of Revelation was written before 70 A.D. so most of it refers to the fall of Jerusalem; and 3) punishment is not simply consequential but effectual in purging or purifying sin.

The benefits of believing that αἰώνιος does not mean eternal are obvious.  If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.  It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.[34]  The Greek τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον wouldn’t mean eternal fire but “fire for a dispensational age.”  The meaning isn’t altered much.  It would still be better to enter life crippled or lame than to spend a dispensational age in fire.  This one, since the fall of Jerusalem, is approaching two thousand years.

In, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!’”[35] εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον wouldn’t mean into the eternal fire but “into the fire of a dispensational age.”  The Greek εἰς κόλασιν αἰώνιον wouldn’t mean into eternal punishment in, “And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”[36]  But then, would εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον mean into eternal life?  Here the potential cost of this assumption begins to come into focus.  What becomes of Jesus’ words to Nicodemus if αἰώνιον means “a dispensational age” (John 3:14-16 NET)?

Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life (ζωὴν αἰώνιον).”  For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (ζωὴν αἰώνιον).

I’ve placed a table of the benefits and potential costs of this assumption at the end of this essay.

The assumption that Revelation was written before 70 A.D. is not mine, but is also one I don’t know how to argue.  Jesus certainly spoke before 70 A.D. and He certainly prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem.  Those prophecies confirmed Him as a prophet to be feared.[37]  Richard Wayne Garganta[38] wrote:[39]

“Christ was…referring to the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the elimination of the entire Jewish system in 70 AD – the end of the age…at the end of the Jewish age when severe judgments were to come, the angels or messengers to execute God’s judgments would separate Christians from others.  The bad were to suffer in the furnace of fire which was the burning city of Jerusalem.  The evil were also to perish in Gehenna [γεέννῃ].[40]  Gehenna in many Bibles is wrongly interpreted ‘hell’.  Gehenna was the garbage dump, the incinerator outside Jerusalem where the ‘fire was never quenched and the worm didn’t die.’  This was because garbage and the bodies of criminals were thrown there to be burned.  This is exactly what happened during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.”

But does that mean that Jesus only prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem?  Consider his warning to his disciples that religious people would defame them and accuse them of evil, just as they accused Him of being Beelzebul.[41]  Do not be afraid of them, He counseled, for nothing is hidden that will not be revealed.[42]  For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God,[43] Paul wrote the Romans.  Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul (ψυχὴν),[44] Jesus continued, speaking of those religious defamers from verse 25 and perhaps expanding his comments to others as well.  Instead, He continued, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul (ψυχὴν) and body in hell (γεέννῃ).[45]

If I limit the meaning of γεέννῃ here to “the garbage dump, the incinerator outside Jerusalem,” who was Jesus telling his disciples to fear?  Roman soldiers? because the cremation of a corpse is able to destroy both soul and body?  Was He reassuring them about their value above many sparrows, that the Father’s will protected their corpses from cremation?  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul (ψυχὴν)[46] by being cremated after his death?  And what about immolation?  Again it seems to me that eliminating hell from the equation is a potentially costly enterprise.

I can’t say for certain whether αἰώνιος means eternal or a dispensational age only.  I can only say I don’t want to stand before Jesus pretending that I can.  I don’t know whether Revelation was written before 70 A.D. or not.  I only know that I won’t stand before Jesus and tell Him to his face that He could not mean that γεέννῃ is a place of κόλασιν αἰώνιον (Hebrews 4:13 NET):

…no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

None of this is to say anything against Richard Wayne Garganta.  I don’t doubt his sincerity, only mine if I were to follow him.  At this moment in my journey, my faith and my knowledge of God don’t correspond exactly with his (though I appreciate the effort he has put into sharing them).  I’ll consider what I perceive as his third assumption in the next essay.

What follows is the table of benefits and potential costs if αἰώνιος means a dispensational age only.

αἰώνιος

Benefit

Potential Cost
Would ζωὴ αἰώνιος…

John 12:50; Romans 6:23; 1 John 5:20 (NET)

 …mean eternal life?
Would αἰώνιος ζωὴ…

John 17:3 (NET)

 …mean eternal life?

 

αἰώνιον, a form of αἰώνιος

Benefit

Potential Cost
τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον…

Matthew 18:8 (NET)

 …would not mean eternal fire Would ζωὴν αἰώνιον…

Matthew 19:16; Luke 18:30; John 3:15, 16, 36; 4:36; 5:24, 39; 6:27, 40, 47, 54; 10:28; 12:25; 17:2; Acts 13:48; Romans 2:7; 5:21; 6:22; Galatians 6:8; 1 John 3:15; Jude 1:21 (NET)

 …mean eternal life?
εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον…

Matthew 25:41 (NET)

 …would not mean into the eternal fire Would ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσει…

Matthew 19:29 (NET)

 …mean will inherit eternal life?
εἰς κόλασιν αἰώνιον…

Matthew 25:46 (NET)

 …would not mean into the eternal punishment Would εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον…

Matthew 25:46 (NET)

 …mean into eternal life?
τίσουσιν ὄλεθρον αἰώνιον…

2 Thessalonians 1:9 (NET)

 …would not mean the penalty of eternal destruction Would ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσω…

Mark 10:17; Luke 10:25; 18:18 (NET)

 …mean inherit eternal life?
Would ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον…

John 4:14 (NET)

 …mean springing up to eternal life?
Would εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον…

1 Timothy 1:16 (NET)

 …mean for eternal life?
Would τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον…

1 John 1:2, 2:25 (NET)

 …mean the eternal life?
Would ζωὴν ἔχετε αἰώνιον…

1 John 5:13 (NET)

 …mean you have eternal life?

 

αἰωνίου, a form of αἰώνιος

Benefit

Potential Cost
αἰωνίου ἁμαρτήματος…

Mark 3:29 (NET)

 …would not mean an eternal sin. Would ρήματα ζωῆς αἰωνίου…

John 6:68 (NET)

 …mean words of eternal life?
κρίματος αἰωνίου…

Hebrews 6:2 (NET)

 …would not mean of…eternal judgment. Would αἰωνίου ζωῆς…

Acts 13:46 (NET)

 …mean of eternal life?
πυρὸς αἰωνίου δίκην…

Jude 1:7 (NET)

 …would not mean the punishment of eternal fire. Would τοῦ αἰωνίου θεοῦ…

Romans 16:26 (NET)

 …mean of the eternal God?
Would τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς…

1 Timothy 6:12 (NET)

 …mean of that eternal life?
Would ζωῆς αἰωνίου…

Titus 1:2; 3:7 (NET)

 …mean of eternal life?
Would σωτηρίας αἰωνίου…

Hebrews 5:9 (NET)

 …mean of eternal salvation?
Would πνεύματος αἰωνίου…

Hebrews 9:14 (NET)

 …mean eternal Spirit?
Would τῆς αἰωνίου κληρονομίας…

Hebrews 9:15 (NET)

 …mean the eternal inheritance?
Would διαθήκης αἰωνίου…

Hebrews 13:20 (NET)

 …mean of the eternal covenant?

 

αἰωνίαν, a form of αἰώνιος

Benefit

Potential Cost
Would παράκλησιν αἰωνίαν…

2 Thessalonians 2:16 (NET)

 …mean eternal comfort?
Would αἰωνίαν λύτρωσιν…

Hebrews 9:12 (NET)

 …mean eternal redemption?

 

αἰωνίους, a form of αἰώνιος

Benefit

Potential Cost
Would τὰς αἰωνίους σκηνάς…

Luke 16:9 (NET)

 …mean the eternal homes?

Condemnation or Judgment? Part 7

Back to Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 8

7/1/16 Addendum: J. W. Hanson, in Universalism: The Prevailing Doctrine Of The Christian Church During Its First Five Hundred Years, seemed willing to accept this limitation of eternal life. Following Philo he suggested that only ἀΐδιος means eternal in the sense of everlasting, while αἰώνιος is an indefinite period of time. It this is true only God’s power and the chains of the angels who did not keep within their proper domain are everlasting.

Mr. Hanson wrote:

Philo, who was contemporary with Christ, generally used aidion to denote endless, and aionian temporary duration. He uses the exact phraseology of Matt. xxv: 46, precisely as Christ used it: “It is better not to promise than not to give prompt assistance, for no blame follows in the former case, but in the latter there is dissatisfaction from the weaker class, and a deep hatred and æonian punishment (chastisement) from such as are more powerful.” Here we have the precise terms employed by our Lord, which show that aionian did not mean endless but did mean limited duration in the time of Christ.

From III. Origin of Endless Punishment.
Philo’s Use of the Words.

[2] John 5:29b (NET)

[10] 2 Peter 3:9 (NET)

[11] 1 John 4:16 (NET) Table

[12] 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NET)

[13] Exodus 34:7b (NET)

[16] Matthew 6:10b (NET) Table

[19] Galatians 5:22, 23a (NET)

[20] Isaiah 55:9 (NET)

[21] Luke 13:23 (NET)

[23] Luke 13:24 (NET)

[28] 2 Timothy 4:7 (NET)

[34] Matthew 18:8 (NET)

[35] Matthew 25:41 (NET)

[36] Matthew 25:46 (NET)

[42] Matthew 10:26a (NET)

[43] Romans 8:19 (NET)

[44] Matthew 10:28a (NET)

[45] Matthew 10:28b (NET)

[46] Matthew 16:26a (NKJV)

Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 5

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I want to continue considering the eternal gospel the angel flying directly overhead “evangelized” (εὐαγγελίσαι, a form of εὐαγγελίζω)[1] in its context.  It is one of three messages by three different angels: one “evangelized,” another declared (λέγων, a form of λέγω),[2] and another declared (λέγων, a form of λέγω) in a loud voice.

Three Angels
Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, and he had an eternal gospel (εὐαγγέλιον)[3] to proclaim (εὐαγγελίσαι, a form of εὐαγγελίζω) to those who live on the earth –  to every nation, tribe, language, and people.  He declared in a loud voice:

Revelation 14:6, 7a (NET)

 A second angel followed the first, declaring (λέγων, a form of λέγω):

Revelation 14:8a (NET)

 A third angel followed the first two, declaring (λέγων, a form of λέγω) in a loud voice:

Revelation 14:9a (NET)
“Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment (ἡ ὥρα τῆς κρίσεως αὐτοῦ) has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!”

Revelation 14:7b (NET)

 “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city!  She made all the nations drink of the wine of her immoral (πορνείας, a form of πορνεία)[4] passion.”

Revelation 14:8b (NET)

 “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and takes the mark on his forehead or his hand, that person will also drink of the wine of God’s anger that has been mixed undiluted in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tortured with fire and sulfur in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb.  And the smoke from their torture will go up forever and ever, and those who worship the beast and his image will have no rest day or night, along with anyone who receives the mark of his name.”

Revelation 14:9b-11 (NET)
This requires the steadfast endurance of the saints – those who obey God’s commandments and hold to their faith in Jesus.

Revelation 14:12 (NET)

At first I included the final statement with the declaration of the third angel only.  Then I realized that the eternal gospel the first angel “evangelized” was not exactly “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ before you die or burn in hell for all eternity.”  Nor was it 1 Corinthians 15:1-8.  In fact, it didn’t mention Jesus at all.  It occurred to me that seeing and hearing an angel evangelize an eternal gospel like this might also require some steadfast endurance of those who hold to their faith in Jesus (Galatians 1:8 NET).

But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be condemned to hell (ἀνάθεμα)![5]

I assumed that the fall of Babylon might require the same endurance for reasons that were not yet clear.  And at present I don’t know whether—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to their faith in Jesus—define the word saints or qualify which saints are under consideration here.  I’ll consider the torture of those who worship the beast in its own essay.

I related the two judgments to the three angels like this:

Three Angels
Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead…

Revelation 14:6, 7 (NET)

 A second angel followed the first…

Revelation 14:8 (NET)

 A third angel followed the first two…

Revelation 14:9-11 (NET)
Then I looked, and a white cloud appeared, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man!  He had a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

Revelation 14:14 (NET)

 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.

Revelation 14:17 (NET)
Then another angel came out of the temple, shouting in a loud voice to the one seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and start to reap, because the time to reap has come, since the earth’s harvest is ripe!”

Revelation 14:15 (NET)

 Another angel, who was in charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to the angel who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes off the vine of the earth, because its grapes are now ripe.”

Revelation 14:18 (NET)
So the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Revelation 14:16 (NET)

 So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard of the earth and tossed them into the great winepress of the wrath of God.  Then the winepress was stomped outside the city, and blood poured out of the winepress up to the height of horses’ bridles for a distance of almost two hundred miles.

Revelation 14:19, 20 (NET)

Despite everything I’ve been through I wanted to relate the outcome of the two judgments to the messages of the three angels like this:

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, and he had an eternal gospel (εὐαγγέλιον) to proclaim (εὐαγγελίσαι, a form of εὐαγγελίζω) to those who live on the earth – to every nation, tribe, language, and people.  He declared in a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment (ἡ ὥρα τῆς κρίσεως αὐτοῦ) has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!”

Revelation 14:6, 7 (NET)

 A second angel followed the first, declaring (λέγων, a form of λέγω): “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city!  She made all the nations drink of the wine of her immoral (πορνείας, a form of πορνεία) passion.”

Revelation 14:8 (NET)

 

 A third angel followed the first two, declaring (λέγων, a form of λέγω) in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and takes the mark on his forehead or his hand, that person will also drink of the wine of God’s anger that has been mixed undiluted in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tortured with fire and sulfur in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb.  And the smoke from their torture will go up forever and ever, and those who worship the beast and his image will have no rest day or night, along with anyone who receives the mark of his name.”

Revelation 14:9-11 (NET)
They sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: “Great and astounding are your deeds, Lord God, the All-Powerful!  Just and true are your ways, King over the nations!”

Revelation 15:3 (NET)

 …they blasphemed the name of God…and they would not repent and give him glory.

Revelation 16:9b (NET)
“Who will not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name, because you alone are holy?  All nations will come and worship before you for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Revelation 15:4 (NET)

 …they blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, since it was so horrendous.

Revelation 16:21b (NET)

 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their sufferings and because of their sores, but nevertheless they still refused to repent of their deeds.

Revelation 16:11 (NET)
Then I looked, and a white cloud appeared, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man!  He had a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.  Then another angel came out of the temple, shouting in a loud voice to the one seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and start to reap, because the time to reap has come, since the earth’s harvest is ripe!”  So the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Revelation 14:14-16 (NET)

 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.  Another angel, who was in charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to the angel who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes off the vine of the earth, because its grapes are now ripe.”  So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard of the earth and tossed them into the great winepress of the wrath of God.  Then the winepress was stomped outside the city, and blood poured out of the winepress up to the height of horses’ bridles for a distance of almost two hundred miles.

Revelation 14:17-20 (NET)
Then I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and his image and the number of his name. They were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps given to them by God.

Revelation 15:2 (NET)

 Then I saw another great and astounding sign in heaven: seven angels who have seven final plagues (they are final because in them God’s anger is completed).

Revelation 15:1 (NET)

Judgment and condemnation would be easier for me to grasp if:

1) The first angel said, “Fear God and give him glory…and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!”
2) Then in response to that people said, “Great and astounding are your deeds, Lord God, the All-Powerful!  Just and true are your ways, King over the nations!  Who will not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name, because you alone are holy?  All nations will come and worship before you for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
3) Then in response to that one like a son of man…swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped; that is, those who feared God and gave Him glory.
4) Then those who feared God and gave Him glory were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps given to them by God.

Or conversely that:

1) Those who did not fear God but worshipped the beast and his image…
2) Were those who blasphemed the name of God, who would not repent and give Him glory…
3) And they were tossed…into the great winepress of the wrath of God…
4) To face the seven final plagues.

But that isn’t what’s revealed here, is it?  Those who sang the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb probably conquered the beast and his image and the number of his name[6] by refusing to worship him, his image or take the mark.  What looked to John like their “reaping” by one like a son of man, will probably look like mass executions to their contemporaries on earth.  Their “reaping” is immediately preceded by Revelation 14:13 (NET):

Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: ‘Blessed are the dead, those who die in the Lord from this moment on!’”  “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they can rest from their hard work, because their deeds will follow them.”

It is after they find themselves standing by the sea of glass, holding harps given to them by God[7] that they give glory[8] to God—Great and astounding are your deeds, Lord God, the All-Powerful!  Just and true are your ways[9]—and can’t imagine how or why anyone would not fear Him—Who will not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name, because you alone are holy?[10]

Meanwhile, back on the earth, those who worshiped the beast, and were tossed…into the great winepress of the wrath of God,[11] when the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was permitted to scorch people with fire, and they were scorched by the terrible heat, yet (καὶ)[12] they blasphemed the name of God, who has ruling authority over these plagues, and they would not repent and give him glory.[13]  When the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast so that darkness covered his kingdom, and people began to bite their tongues because of their pain, they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their sufferings and because of their sores, but nevertheless[14] (καὶ) they still refused to repent of their deeds.[15]  And finally, when Babylon the great was remembered before God, and was given the cup filled with the wine made of God’s furious wrath,[16] gigantic hailstones, weighing about a hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people, but (καὶ) they blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, since it was so horrendous.[17]

The Greek word καὶ is usually translated and (see the KJV, NKJV, ASV, DNT, and YLT).  Three times the translators of the NET tried to create a contrast that may not be there in the text.  Without that contrast there is a very simple and obvious story here.  All deserved God’s wrath.  Those who received his mercy (albeit through refusing the mark of the beast and suffering execution) feared Him and glorified Him.  Those who received the wrath they deserved cursed Him and would not repent of their deeds.

God’s judgment is not about my righteousness.  It does not reflect or demonstrate my righteousness, but his.  The key here is in the song of Moses and the Lamb: you alone are holy.[18]  Why do you call me good? Jesus answered a question with another.  No one is good except God alone.[19]  For a long time I’ve thought that Jesus was asserting his divinity here in a backhanded, double reverse sort of way.  Now it seems so clear that He was fully embracing his humanity, walking humbly, led by the Spirit, dependent on the Holy Spirit’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.[20]  No one is good except God alone, Jesus said.

We are told explicitly who will worship the beast (Revelation 13:7, 8 NET):

The beast was permitted to go to war against the saints and conquer them.  He was given ruling authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation, and all those who live on the earth will worship the beast, everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was killed.

In other words, the judgment (and the condemnation, for that matter) was made even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election would stand, not by works but by his calling).[21]  So John on Patmos had a vision confirming the most difficult words Paul wrote (Romans 9:14-18 NET):

What shall we say then?  Is there injustice with God?  Absolutely not!  For he says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”  So then, it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.  For the scripture says to Pharaoh: “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”  So then, God has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden.

My religious mind screams, “That’s not fair!”  But Paul heard my religious mind, or maybe his own (Romans 9:19-21 NET):

You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault?  For who has ever resisted his will?”  But who indeed are you – a mere human being – to talk back to God?  Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?”  Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?

And my religious mind says, “No!  Hell, no!”  But the new man following the Spirit, hears the Lord Jesus say, “deny [your]self, take up [your] cross, and follow me,”[22] and listens as He prays to our Father in heaven, “not my will but yours be done.”[23]  Let God be proven true, Paul wrote, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you [i.e., God, Paul quoted David at prayer here] will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”[24]  And as I fully embrace my humanity and truly believe that it does not depend on [my] desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy, I can hear something else in a fresh and new way (Romans 11:32-36 NET):

For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all.  Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!  For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?  Or who has first given to God, that God needs to repay him?  For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be glory forever!  Amen.

They sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb (Revelation 15:3, 4 NET):

“Great and astounding are your deeds, Lord God, the All-Powerful!  Just and true are your ways, King over the nations!  Who will not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name, because you alone are holy?  All nations will come and worship before you for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 6

Back to Torture, Part 3

Back to Torture, Part 5

Back to Cult Prostitutes

[6] Revelation 15:2 (NET)

[7] Revelation 15:2 (NET)

[8] Revelation 14:7 (NET)

[9] Revelation 15:3 (NET)

[10] Revelation 15:4a (NET)

[11] Revelation 14:19 (NET)

[12] NET Note: “Here καί (kai) has been translated as ‘yet’ to indicate the contrast present in this context.”

[13] Revelation 16:8, 9 (NET)

[14] NET Note: “Grk ‘and they did not repent.’ Here καί (kai) has been translated as ‘but nevertheless’ to express the contrast here.”

[15] Revelation 16:10, 11 (NET)

[16] Revelation 16:19b (NET)

[17] Revelation 16:21 (NET)

[18] Revelation 15:4 (NET)

[19] Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19 (NET)

[20] Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

[21] Romans 9:11 (NET)

[22] Matthew 16:24 (NET)

[23] Luke 22:42b (NET)

[24] Romans 3:4 (NET)

Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 4

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Then Jesus began to criticize openly the cities in which he had done many of his miracles, because they did not repent.  “Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  If the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment (ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως) than for you![1]

Here, potentially, I have another instance where more bearable meant that fewer people rise up at the judgment to condemn the inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon than the inhabitants of Chorazin and Bethsaida, those who witnessed Jesus’ miracles and yet rejected his message.  The same may be true of Capernaum relative to Sodom (Matthew 11:23, 24 NET).

And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven?  No, you will be thrown down to Hades!  For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have continued to this day.  But I tell you, it will be more bearable for the region (γῇ)[2] of Sodom on the day of judgment (ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως) than for you!

But all of this assumes that my intuition that κρίσεως[3] is limited to judgment and does not expand to mean condemnation is correct.  In Revelation κρίσεως may mean condemnation as I understand it: Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, and he had an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth – to every nation, tribe, language, and people.  He declared in a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment (ἡ ὥρα[4] τῆς κρίσεως αὐτοῦ) has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!”[5]

Granted, the first thing that happens after the announcement of the hour of his judgment is a distinction I recognize as judgment.  One like a son of man seated on a cloud reaped the harvest of the earth for some unspecified purpose, at the command of an angel who came out of the temple in heaven.[6]  Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven and reaped the earth at the command of another angel who was in charge of the fire.  Those harvested in this way were the grapes from the vineyard of the earth, and were tossed into the great winepress of the wrath of God.[7]

So far so good.  But what I would consider the condemnation of the great winepress of the wrath of God was spelled out in some detail later as the seven bowls containing God’s wrath.

First Bowl

Revelation 16:2 (NET)

 …ugly and painful sores appeared on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.
Second Bowl

Revelation 16:3 (NET)

 …the sea…turned into blood, like that of a corpse, and every living creature that was in the sea died.
Third Bowl

Revelation 16:4-7 (NET)

 …the rivers and the springs of water…turned into blood.
Fourth Bowl

Revelation 16:8, 9 (NET)

 …the sun…was permitted to scorch people with fire.
Fifth Bowl

Revelation 16:10, 11 (NET)

 …on the throne of the beast so that darkness covered his kingdom, and people began to bite their tongues because of their pain.
Sixth Bowl

Revelation 16:12-16 (NET)

 …on the great river Euphrates and dried up its water to prepare the way for the kings from the east.
Seventh Bowl

Revelation 16:17-21 (NET)

 Then there were flashes of lightning, roaring, and crashes of thunder, and there was a tremendous earthquake – an earthquake unequaled since humanity has been on the earth, so tremendous was that earthquake.  The great city was split into three parts and the cities of the nations collapsed….Every island fled away and no mountains could be found.  And gigantic hailstones, weighing about a hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people…

After the third bowl containing God’s wrath John recorded:  Now I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are just – the one who is and who was, the Holy One – because (ὅτι)[8] you have passed these judgments (ἔκρινας, a form of κρίνω),[9] because (ὅτι) they poured out the blood of your saints and prophets, so you have given them blood to drink.  They got what they deserved!”  Then I heard the altar reply, “Yes, Lord God, the All-Powerful, your judgments (κρίσεις, a form of κρίσις)[10] are true and just!”[11]  Here both κρίνω and κρίσις were used for the adverse sentence, condemnation as I understand it.  It makes my careful distinctions moot.

I don’t recant because: 1) I’m not comfortable deriving the meaning of words from the most esoteric and figurative book in the Bible; and 2) the angel’s reasoning sounds vaguely demonic to me.  (And, yes, I recognize the audacity of that statement.)  Perhaps that is all demonic means.  Perhaps a demon is nothing more than an angel who has elevated his own reasoning above the will and word of God.  But I don’t believe that God is just or righteous because he passed these judgments (KJV, hast judged thus).

I don’t believe that God is just or righteous because He conforms to some abstract conception of justice or righteousness: they poured out the blood of your saints and prophets, so you have given them blood to drink.  They got what they deserved!  I believe that God is just and righteous because he is the Holy One, who is and who was.  What He does, how He judges, is just or righteous because of who He is.  Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, Paul wrote the Romans, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”[12]  But I suspect here that God is judged not only by human beings, but by angels.  Or, perhaps, ὅτι should have been translated—regarding the fact that—as in Acts 13:34 (NET).

But regarding the fact that (ὅτι) he has raised Jesus from the dead, never again to be in a state of decay, God has spoken in this way: “I will give you the holy and trustworthy promises made to David.”

I don’t have any issue with the altar’s reply—Yes, Lord God, the All-Powerful, your judgments are true and just!—except its tacit and uncritical acceptance of the angel’s reasoning (if his statement is translated correctly).  And, no, I’m not particularly troubled by a living altar in heaven capable of speech and reason.

Perhaps Genesis 1:11 and 12 is simply a poetic and figurative way of expressing God’s creation of plant life on the earth, or perhaps it is meant to be understood as God’s way of expressing how He created a living earth with a God-given ability to create plant life.  What is conspicuously absent from the text is any mention of God’s direct action in the creation of plant life, as is the case of animals in the sea and birds in the air (Genesis 1:21), animals on the earth (Genesis 1:25) and human beings (Genesis 1:26).  Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live before him,[13] Jesus said in a different but potentially related context.

If the angel flying directly overhead had the seven bowls in mind, condemnation as I understand it, when he said ἡ ὥρα τῆς κρίσεως αὐτοῦ (the hour of his judgment) then Jesus’ contrasts may have a different meaning as well.  The regions of Sodom, Gomorrah, Tyre and Sidon may be places of refuge from ugly and painful sores, rivers and springs of water turned into blood, and the scorching fire of the sun relative to Chorazin, Behtsaida, Capernaum or any town in Israel where the inhabitants rejected Jesus’ disciples’ message, The kingdom of heaven is near!  That is, of course, if the angel flying directly overhead was reasoning correctly and not thinking as backwards as the angel of the waters (if the angel of the waters was translated correctly).  So I’m conflicted here and continue in the spirit of giving the angel flying directly overhead the benefit of the doubt.

“Fear God and give him glory, the angel flying directly overhead said, because the hour of his judgment (ἡ ὥρα τῆς κρίσεως αὐτοῦ) has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!”  After the fourth bowl was poured out, people were scorched by the terrible heat, yet they blasphemed the name of God, who has ruling authority over these plagues, and they would not repent and give him glory.[14]  After the fifth bowl, They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their sufferings and because of their sores, but nevertheless they still refused to repent of their deeds.[15]  After the seventh bowl, gigantic hailstones, weighing about a hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people, but they blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, since it was so horrendous.[16]  This makes it more plausible that κρίσεως here meant the condemnation of the seven bowls, the great winepress of the wrath of God, and not merely the judgment of Revelation 14:14-19.

In that case, however, I would tend to understand Jesus’ words like this: Furthermore, the Father does not [condemn (κρίνει, a form of κρίνω)] anyone, but has assigned all [condemnation (κρίσιν, a form of κρίσις)] to the Son…[17]  For just as the Father has life in himself, thus he has granted the Son to have life in himself, and he has granted the Son authority to execute (ποιεῖν, a form of ποιέω)[18] [condemnation (κρίσιν, a form of κρίσις)], because he is the Son of Man.[19]  The writer of Hebrews would have written, And just as people are appointed to die once, and then to face [condemnation (κρίσις)], so also, after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, to those who eagerly await him he will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation.[20]

I’ve been through this before.[21]  This is why I would like to keep κρίνω as judge rather than condemn (κατακρίνω),[22] and κρίσις as judgment rather than condemnation (κατάκρισις,[23] κατάκριμα[24]).  Though I suppose it doesn’t matter really whether the Father assigned all judgment or all condemnation to the Son, or whether He has the authority to execute judgment or condemnation, if He does not judge or condemn the world because God sent Him into the world…that the world should be saved through him[25] instead.

Condemnation of Judgment? – Part 5

Back to Justice, Vengeance and Punishment

 

[1] Matthew 11:20-22 (NET)

[5] Revelation 14:6, 7 (NET)

[6] Revelation 14:14-16 (NET)

[7] Revelation 14:17-19 (NET)

[11] Revelation 16:5-7 (NET)

[12] Romans 3:4 (NET)

[13] Luke 20:38 (NET)

[14] Revelation 16:9 (NET)

[15] Revelation 16:11 (NET)

[16] Revelation 16:21 (NET)

[17] John 5:22 (NET)

[19] John 5:26, 27 (NET)

[20] Hebrews 9:27, 28 (NET)

[25] John 3:17 (NET)

Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 3

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Look, the Lord is ready to devastate the earth and leave it in ruins; he will mar its surface and scatter its inhabitants…The earth will be completely devastated and thoroughly ransacked.  For the Lord has decreed this judgment.[1]

As I understand the words this would be condemnation rather than judgment.  This is an adverse sentence.  The time for judgment has passed and the time of punishment has begun.  There is no attempt here to distinguish, or make distinctions, or judge; for, Everyone will suffer – the priest as well as the people, the master as well as the servant, the elegant lady as well as the female attendant, the seller as well as the buyer, the borrower as well as the lender, the creditor as well as the debtor.[2]

So, I thought, if there was a strong connection between the Hebrew word translated judgment in Isaiah 24:3 and the Greek word κρίσεως, I would have some justification for translating κρίσεως condemnation in John 5:28 and 29 where the ones who have done what is evil hear Jesus’ voice and come out of their tombs to the resurrection resulting in condemnation (κρίσεως, a form of κρίσις).[3]  But the Hebrew word dâbâr[4] is the much more neutral word.  The translators acknowledged that in a footnote: “Heb ‘for the Lord has spoken this word.’”  The translators of the Septuagint simply used this, κυρίου ἐλάλησεν ταῦτα (“the Lord has spoken this”).

If I intend to walk away from my naïve assumption that “more bearable meant less condemned, a more bearable place in hell, less heat, less torture or something,” I need to come to some conclusion about what Jesus meant by ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως, translated on the day of judgment.[5]  I tell you, Jesus said, that on the day of judgment (ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως), people will give an account (λόγον, a form of λόγος)[6] for every worthless word (πᾶν[7] ρῆμα[8] ἀργὸν[9]) they speak (λαλήσουσιν, a form of λαλέω).[10]  I assume here that every worthless word they speak referred back to the Pharisees’ assertion that Jesus does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons![11]  For Jesus said (Matthew 12:30-32 NET):

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.  For this reason I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven [Table].  Whoever speaks a word (εἴπῃ[12] λόγον) against (κατὰ)[13] the Son of Man will be forgiven.  But whoever speaks against (εἴπῃ κατὰ) the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Whoever speaks a word against (εἴπῃ λόγον κατὰ) the Son of Man, seems to refer to, people will give an account (λόγον, a form of λόγος) for every worthless word (πᾶν ρῆμα ἀργὸν) they speak (λαλήσουσιν).  The worthless (or, lazy) word spoken against (εἴπῃ λόγον κατὰ) Jesus is an ill-considered account (λόγον, a form of λόγος) of Jesus, contrary to his own; for instance, He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons!  This can be forgiven, but be careful, Jesus warned, if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you,[14] and whoever speaks against (εἴπῃ κατὰ) the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

I think the implication here is that one has used this account, this word against the Son of Man, as justification for disregarding Him.  To that one who comes into judgment, who is called upon on the day of judgment to give an account for every worthless word he has spoken against the Son of Man, Jesus said, For by your words (λόγων, another form of λόγος) you will be justified (δικαιωθήσῃ, a form of δικαιόω),[15] and by your words (λόγων, another form of λόγος) you will be condemned (καταδικασθήσῃ, a form of καταδικάζω).[16]

Translating ἐκ γὰρ τῶν λόγων σου For by your words makes it seem as if Jesus meant the account already given in the past (πᾶν ρῆμα ἀργὸν, translated every worthless word), rather than the account (λόγον, a form of λόγος) this person has been called upon to give in that present moment on the day of judgment, as if that account is a mere formality.  But to translate ἐκ γὰρ τῶν λόγων σου For by your [account] you will be justified, and by your [account] you will be condemned, would contradict the teaching of our religion that one’s eternal fate is determined long before any account can be given on the day of judgment.  And granted, if one attempts to justify himself with more worthless words, the outcome of that judgment is foreordained, and that account will be little more than a mere formality.

The only account that matters at that moment (or this one, for that matter) is, God, be merciful (ἱλάσθητι, a form of ἱλάσκομαι)[17] to me, sinner that I am![18]  He had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every respect, the writer of Hebrews said of Jesus, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement (ἱλάσκεσθαι, another form of ἱλάσκομαι) for the sins of the people.[19]  And of the one who prayed—God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am— Jesus said, I tell you that this man went down to his home justified (δεδικαιωμένος, another form of δικαιόω),[20] because the mercy (ἱλάσθητι, a form of ἱλάσκομαι) the self-professed sinner requested was nothing less than the atonement (ἱλάσκεσθαι, another form of ἱλάσκομαι) Jesus was sent to make…for the sins of the people.

If I am safe assuming that ἐν τῇ κρίσει [a form of κρίσις], translated at the judgment, is equivalent to ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως [a form of κρίσις], translated on the day of judgment, than I can glean something of the anachronism of that time.  The people of Nineveh, Jesus said, will stand up at the judgment (ἐν τῇ κρίσει) with this generation and condemn (κατακρινοῦσιν, a form of κατακρίνω)[21] it, because they repented when Jonah preached to them – and now, something greater than Jonah is here![22]  Here are two peoples from different times and places together in the same time and place.  The queen of the South, Jesus continued, will rise up at the judgment (ἐν τῇ κρίσει) with this generation and condemn (κατακρινεῖ, another form of κατακρίνω) it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon – and now, something greater than Solomon is here![23]

I think it’s worth mentioning that neither the people of Ninevah nor the Queen of the South have the authority to condemn the people of Israel to hell.  Nor do I think that was Jesus’ point.  The discourse ends with Jesus’ saying, whoever does (ποιήσῃ, a form of ποιέω)[24] the will (θέλημα)[25] of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.[26]  When asked, “What must we do (ποιῶμεν, another form of ποιέω) to accomplish the deeds God requires (ἵνα ἐργαζώμεθα τὰ ἔργα τοῦ θεοῦ; literally, “that we work God’s works”)?”  Jesus replied, “This is the deed God requires (τοῦτο ἐστιν τὸ ἔργον τοῦ θεοῦ; literally, “this is God’s work”) – to believe in the one whom he sent.”[27]  “For this is the will (θέλημα) of my Father – for everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him to have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”[28]  John related this faith to the love that is the fulfillment of the law and confidence in the day of judgment (1 John 4:15-19 NET).

If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God resides in him and he in God.  And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has in us.  God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him [Table].  By this love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment (ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως), because just as Jesus is, so also are we in this world.  There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears punishment has not been perfected in love.  We love because he loved us first.

And if anyone will not welcome you or listen to your message,[29] Jesus told his disciples as He sent them to the lost sheep of the house of Israel…[30] it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment (ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως) than for that town![31]  Here I see a potential meaning for more bearable.  Perhaps fewer people will rise up to condemn the wicked inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah than will rise up to speak their worthless words against those who saw the sick healed, the dead raised, and lepers cleansed but rejected the message, The kingdom of heaven is near![32]

Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 4

Back to Religious and Righteous Prayer

Back to Romans, Part 49

Back to Torture, Part 2

[1] Isaiah 24:1, 3 (NET)

[2] Isaiah 24:2 (NET)

[7] a form of πᾶς

[9] a form of ἀργός

[10] Matthew 12:36 (NET)

[11] Matthew 12:24 (NET)

[12] a form of ῥέω

[14] Matthew 12:28 (NET)

[16] Matthew 12:37 (NET)

[18] Luke 18:13 (NET)

[19] Hebrews 2:17 (NET)

[20] Luke 18:14a (NET)

[22] Matthew 12:41 (NET)

[23] Matthew 12:42 (NET)

[26] Matthew 12:50 (NET)

[27] John 6:28, 29 (NET)

[28] John 6:40 (NET)

[29] Matthew 10:14a (NET)

[30] Matthew 10:6 (NET)

[31] Matthew 10:15 (NET)

[32] Matthew 10:7 (NET)

Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 2

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I am no more accustomed to taking Jesus’ criteria of judgment between the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 ‎literally than anyone else socialized into my religion.  My first doubt appeared in the form of a “rational” conclusion: “Then it would make more sense to pursue the lesser path—to give food, drink and clothing to Jesus’ brothers and sisters, to show them hospitality, visit them when sick or in prison—rather than the greater path—to hear Jesus’ message and believe the One who sent Him.”[1]  The unstated assumption of that conclusion is that my goal is to escape[2] an eternity in hell rather than to know[3] God and glorify Him.

Of course, who is to say that the person who believed Jesus’ teaching enough today to start giving food, drink and clothing to his brothers and sisters, to show them hospitality, or visit them when sick or in prison, wouldn’t begin to hear his message and believe the One who sent Him tomorrow?  A question followed:  If I take the criteria of judgment between the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 literally, what is all the hell talk in the Bible about?  I don’t know the answer to that but it’s something I can study along with the other instances of κρίσεως.

“Do not go to Gentile regions and do not enter any Samaritan town,” Jesus told Simon (called Peter), and Andrew his brother; James son of Zebedee and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.[4]  “Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near!’  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.  Freely you received, freely give.”[5]

And if anyone will not welcome you or listen to your message, Jesus continued, shake the dust off your feet as you leave that house or that town.  I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment (ἐν[6] ἡμέρᾳ[7] κρίσεως[8]) than for that town![9]

When I thought of justice as essentially the equitable distribution of punishment for sin I assumed that more bearable meant less condemned, a more bearable place in hell, less heat, less torture or something.  Romans 11 and Ezekiel 16[10] have given me cause to consider that God’s sense of justice goes well beyond the equitable distribution of punishment for sin (Matthew 10:40-42 NET).

Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.  Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward (μισθὸν, a form of μισθός).[11] Whoever receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward (μισθὸν, a form of μισθός).  And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, I tell you the truth, he will never lose his reward (μισθὸν, a form of μισθός).

I’m not sure what a prophet’s or a righteous person’s reward is.  The same word is used in Revelation, the time has come to give to your servants, the prophets, their reward (μισθὸν, a form of μισθός), as well as to the saints and to those who revere your name, both small and great…[12]  Can this μισθὸν (a form of μισθός) be received by those who receive a prophet in the name of a prophet, or those who receive a righteous person in the name of a righteous person, or those who give a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, in hell?  I don’t know.

The first mention of hell in the New Testament came not from the mouth of Jesus but from his cousin John the Baptist, when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?[13]  I imagine this manner of address shocked men who liked walking around in long robes and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces, and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.[14]

I didn’t understand this anger at Jewish religious leaders as a special circumstance.  I thought Jesus changed the rules on them, tightened up adultery and divorce, and loosened restrictions on ham and shellfish.  Yes, they were slow to adopt the new rules.  But I related to his anger in the sense that Peter expressed:  For it is time for judgment to begin, starting with the house of God.  And if it starts with us, what will be the fate of those who are disobedient to the gospel of God?  And if the righteous are barely saved, what will become of the ungodly and sinners?[15]

I assumed that if God had been angry like this with, and abusive to, Jewish religious leaders He was only that much more angry with me, though the abusive part didn’t always work out in practice, which was confusing.  But I knew even from English classes in public school that we were all “Sinner’s in the Hands of an Angry God,”[16] (if one were to believe in that sort of thing).  It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God,[17] the writer of Hebrews agreed.

Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance, John the Baptist continued, and don’t think you can say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.”  For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones![18]

I saw the relationship between Israel descended from Abraham and believers “born again” of Jesus Christ.  I made the connection between producing fruit and the fruit of the Spirit.  I had no intention of saying to myself, I have Jesus Christ for my father.  I knew God could raise up children for Jesus from stones.  I was ready to prove what I could do for God, first by keeping the law and later by producing the fruit of the Spirit.

I didn’t understand for many years that the fruit of the Spirit belonged to the Spirit, part of the glory of God.  I thought the “fruits” of the Spirit were things I did that the Spirit of God would approve of, or be pleased with.  For all practical purposes I became one of the Pharisees, not that I was ever any good at it.  I was never blameless according to the righteousness stipulated in the law. [19]

Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, John warned, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. [20]

For years I prayed in Sunday worship services, For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever,[21] while I worked to rob God of his glory, striving (and failing) to achieve the fruit of his Spirit as if it were my own religious works.  And for years He worked to dissuade me of this error, while I persistently refused to believe Him.  Or I simply walked away in frustration, persuaded that “this whole religious thing was” futile (though I used a more scatological adjective than futile).  The primary reason I know that Love is patient and that love is kind, [22] is not Paul’s written words, but the way they resonated with the Lord’s patient labor to get through to me, and his kind persistence calling me back from my frustration.

I baptize you with water, for repentance, John the Baptist continued, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am – I am not worthy to carry his sandals.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.[23]

Everything about my religion says to me that He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit or fire.  “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ or burn in hell for all eternity.”  Yet I’ve heard no one with the courage to change or retranslate this particular conjunction καὶ.[24]  John the Baptist continued (Matthew 3:12 NET):

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire.

Part of the original question read: “I don’t really like these verses because it’s like the verses about the sheep and the goats and the wheat and the tares.  It makes it seem like some people are going to be saved and others aren’t.  HOWEVER, couple it with Romans 7:14-20 and it seems to mean something else.  In Romans 7:20 ‘Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.’  Now that verse seems like a real cop out!  I’ve never understood it very well.  But it seems to be saying that that part of the person doing ‘evil’ is separate from the person himself or herself (maybe as far as east is from the west??).  So maybe John 5:28 and 29 can be talking about all us dead being raised and our ‘old selves’ get condemned and our ‘new selves’ live eternally with the Lord.”

I don’t know that I see that in John 5:28 and 29, but here in Matthew 3:11 and 12 it sounds more plausible.  What is the chaff after all but the body that housed the kernel of grain until it matured?  I’m not sure that it proves that Jesus will baptize [us] with the Holy Spirit and[25] fire but I will certainly remember it as an interesting interpretive theory.

“‘Tis everlasting wrath,” Jonathan Edwards wrote in his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”[26]

It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity: there will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery: When you look forward, you shall see a long forever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all; you will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite.

Is this knowledge of God?  Or is it human conjecture?

“If it were only the wrath of man, tho’ it were of the most potent prince, it would be comparatively little to be regarded,” reads one of Edward’s arguments.  “The wrath of kings is very much dreaded, especially of absolute monarchs, that have the possessions and lives of their subjects wholly in their power, to be disposed of at their meer will….The subject that very much enrages an arbitrary prince, is liable to suffer the most extreme torments, that human art can invent or human power can inflict.  But the greatest earthly potentates, in their greatest majesty and strength, and when clothed in their greatest terrors, are but feeble despicable worms of the dust, in comparison of the great and almighty creator and king of heaven and earth…”

In other words, if an absolute monarch or arbitrary prince became a great torturer of the subjects who angered him, imagine how much greater God must be at devising and inflicting torture.  He quoted Jesus to bolster this argument: “And I say unto you my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do: But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear; fear him, which after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell; yea I say unto you, fear him.”

It seems fairly obvious to me, however, that Jesus’ point was not that God (or Jesus Himself[27]) is the superlative torturer, but that those friends who believed Him and lived and spoke in his name should not be afraid of the beatings, imprisonments and deaths they would face at the hands of earthly potentates, absolute monarchs or arbitrary princes (Luke 12:4-7 NET):

I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid (φοβηθῆτε, a form of φοβέω)[28] of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do.  But I will warn you whom you should fear (φοβηθῆτε, a form of φοβέω): Fear (φοβήθητε, another form of φοβέω) the one who, after the killing, has authority to throw you into hell.  Yes, I tell you, fear (φοβήθητε, another form of φοβέω) him!  Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies?  Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.  In fact, even the hairs on your head are all numbered.  Do not be afraid (φοβεῖσθε, another form of φοβέω); you are more valuable than many sparrows.

It is as if He said, take all your fear of man, compare it to your fear of God’s wrath and see that it is nothing, then do not be afraid because God cares for you: you are more valuable than many sparrows.  To Jonathan Edwards argument I contrast the knowledge of God revealed in Jesus’ command (Matthew 5:43-48 NET):

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  For if you love those who love you, what reward (μισθὸν, a form of μισθός) do you have?  Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they?  And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do?  Even the Gentiles do the same, don’t they?  So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect [loving his enemies].

“God is a great deal more angry with great numbers that are now on earth, yea doubtless with many that are now in this congregation…than he is with many of those that are now in the flames of hell,” Jonathan Edward’s told religious-minded folk trusting in their own religion and good works.  But Jesus’ attitude was a bit different toward the same sort of people (Matthew 11:27-30 NET):

All things have been handed over to me by my Father.  No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides to reveal him.  Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.

As a matter of thoroughness I want to include a comparison of Peter’s quotation from Proverbs 11:31 with the Septuagint.  The translation from contemporary Hebrew reads: If the righteous are recompensed on earth, how much more the wicked sinner![29]

Peter Blue Letter Bible (Septuagint) NET Bible (Greek parallel text)
if the righteous are barely saved, what will become of the ungodly and sinners?

1 Peter 4:18 (NET)

 εἰ ὁ μὲν[30] δίκαιος μόλις σῴζεται ὁ ἀσεβὴς καὶ ἁμαρτωλὸς ποῦ φανεῖται

Proverbs 11:31

 εἰ ὁ δίκαιος μόλις σῴζεται, ὁ ἀσεβὴς καὶ ἁμαρτωλὸς ποῦ φανεῖται

1 Peter 4:18

 

Addendum (7/19/2015): Jim Searcy has published that the Septuagint is a hoax written by Origen and Eusebius 200 hundred years after Christ.  “In fact, the Septuagint ‘quotes’ from the New Testament and not vice versa…”  His contention is that the “King James Version is the infallible Word of God.”  So, I’ll re-examine the quotations above with the KJV.

Peter KJV NET Bible (Greek parallel text)
And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

1 Peter 4:18 (KJV)

 Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

Proverbs 11:31

 εἰ ὁ δίκαιος μόλις σῴζεται, ὁ ἀσεβὴς καὶ ἁμαρτωλὸς ποῦ φανεῖται

1 Peter 4:18

If the “King James Version is the infallible Word of God,” Peter interjected the idea of salvation (σῴζεται, a form of σώζω) into the Old Testament idea of earthly recompense.

[1] John 5:24 (NET)

[2] https://religiousmind.net/2013/02/09/you-must-be-gentle-part-3/

[3] https://religiousmind.net/2012/06/23/who-am-i-part-3/

[4] Matthew 10:2-4 (NET)

[5] Matthew 10:5-8 (NET)

[9] Matthew 10:14, 15 (NET)

[10] https://religiousmind.net/2013/05/02/romans-part-43/

[12] Revelation 11:18 (NET)

[13] Matthew 3:7 (NET)

[14] Mark 12:38b, 39 (NET)

[15] 1 Peter 4:17, 18 (NET)

[16] Jonathan Edwards, July 8, 1741  http://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/edwards-sinners-in-the-hands-speech-text/

[17] Hebrews 10:31 (NET)

[18] Matthew 3:8, 9 (NET)

[19] Philippians 3:6b (NET)

[20] Matthew 3:10 (NET)

[21] Matthew 6:13b (NKJV)  This has been removed from the NET: “Most mss (L W Θ 0233 Ë13 33 Ï sy sa Didache) read (though some with slight variation) ὅτι σοῦ ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία καὶ ἡ δύναμις καὶ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, ἀμήν (‘for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, amen’) here. The reading without this sentence, though, is attested by generally better witnesses (א B D Z 0170 Ë1 pc lat mae Or). The phrase was probably composed for the liturgy of the early church and most likely was based on 1 Chr 29:11-13; a scribe probably added the phrase at this point in the text for use in public scripture reading (see TCGNT 13-14). Both external and internal evidence argue for the shorter reading.”

[22] 1 Corinthians 13:4a (NET)

[23] Matthew 3:11 (NET)

[25] NET note: “With the Holy Spirit and fire. There are differing interpretations for this phrase regarding the number of baptisms and their nature. (1) Some see one baptism here, and this can be divided further into two options. (a) The baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire could refer to the cleansing, purifying work of the Spirit in the individual believer through salvation and sanctification, or (b) it could refer to two different results of Christ’s ministry: Some accept Christ and are baptized with the Holy Spirit, but some reject him and receive judgment. (2) Other interpreters see two baptisms here: The baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to the salvation Jesus brings at his first advent, in which believers receive the Holy Spirit, and the baptism of fire refers to the judgment Jesus will bring upon the world at his second coming. One must take into account both the image of fire and whether individual or corporate baptism is in view. A decision is not easy on either issue. The image of fire is used to refer to both eternal judgment (e.g., Matt 25:41) and the power of the Lord’s presence to purge and cleanse his people (e.g., Isa 4:4-5). The pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost, a fulfillment of this prophecy no matter which interpretation is taken, had both individual and corporate dimensions. It is possible that since Holy Spirit and fire are governed by a single preposition in Greek, the one-baptism view may be more likely, but this is not certain. Simply put, there is no consensus view in scholarship at this time on the best interpretation of this passage.”

[26] http://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/edwards-sinners-in-the-hands-speech-text/

[27] Furthermore, the Father does not judge anyone, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him (John 5:22, 23 NET).

[29] Proverbs 11:31 (NET)

Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 1

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I received the following question in a personal email:

John 5: 28 and 29  “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out —  Those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.”

OK.  I don’t really like these verses because it’s like the verses about the sheep and the goats and the wheat and the tares.  It makes it seem like some people are going to be saved and others aren’t.

HOWEVER, couple it with Romans 7:14-20 and it seems to mean something else.  In Romans 7:20 “Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”

Now that verse seems like a real cop out!  I’ve never understood it very well.  But it seems to be saying that that part of the person doing “evil” is separate from the person himself or herself (maybe as far as east is from the west??).

So maybe John 5:28 and 29 can be talking about all us dead being raised and our “old selves” get condemned and our “new selves” live eternally with the Lord.  After all, the one on the white throne in Revelation said he was going to make all things new.

I hope the whole point is God’s going to save everybody!  Am I nuts???

Do not be amazed at this, Jesus said, because a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out – the ones who have done what is good to the resurrection resulting in life, and the ones who have done what is evil to the resurrection resulting in condemnation (κρίσεως, a form of κρίσις).[1]  The first two things I noticed were, 1) the phrase do not be amazed at this invited me to look earlier in the passage for Jesus’ meaning, and 2) κρίσις (κρίσεως), judgment, was translated as if it were κατάκρισις[2] (κατακρίσεως),[3] a judgment against, condemnation.

In context, Jesus was answering Jewish leaders who wanted to kill him because not only was he breaking the Sabbath [by healing a man through the words, “Stand up!  Pick up your mat and walk”[4]], but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God.[5]  For the Father loves the Son, Jesus continued, and shows him everything he does, and will show him greater deeds than these, so that you will be amazed.[6]  Then He specified two of these greater deeds:

Greater Deeds…so that you will be amazed…
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever he wishes (θέλει, a form of θέλω).[7]

John 5:21 (NET)

 Furthermore, the Father does not judge (κρίνει, a form of κρίνω)[8] anyone, but has assigned all judgment (κρίσιν, another form of κρίσις) to the Son…

John 5:22 (NET)

And He did this so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.[9]

So the themes of Jesus’ discourse are that the Son gives life to whomever he wishes, and the Father…has assigned all judgment to the Son.  These themes were repeated, just in case I missed them: For just as the Father has life in himself, thus he has granted the Son to have life in himself, and he has granted the Son authority to execute (ποιεῖν, a form of ποιέω)[10] judgment (κρίσιν, another form of κρίσις), because he is the Son of Man.[11]  So I wondered what prompted the translators to make such an abrupt change to Jesus’ stated themes (John 5:24, 25 NET):

I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned (εἰς κρίσιν οὐκ ἔρχεται; literally, “into judgment will not come” [or “go”]), but has crossed over from death to life.  I tell you the solemn truth, a time is coming – and is now here – when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

A note in the NET acknowledged the more literal meaning: “Grk ‘and does not come into judgment.’”  There is a significant difference between not coming into judgment at all, and coming into judgment but not being condemned.  Consider Jesus’ words recorded by Matthew (25:31, 32 NET Table):

When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.  All the nations (ἔθνη, a form of ἔθνος)[12] will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

If the one who hears [Jesus’] message and believes the one who sent Him “does not come into judgment,” that one would not be present at this event as a participant.  It makes some sense, since the stated criteria for separating the “sheep” from the “goats” is not hearing Jesus’ message and believing the one who sent Him, but something else entirely (Matthew 25:35, 36, 40 NET).

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me…I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.

Conversely, the only people who would not hear the words, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,[13] are those who managed to live their entire lives without showing a single human kindness to one of the Lord’s brothers or sisters.  I, too, was socialized into essentially the same religion as the translators of the NET.  I can feel how this alone might give them cause to translate the phrase εἰς κρίσιν οὐκ ἔρχεται as will not be condemned (making the one who hears [Jesus’] message and believes the one who sent Him the “sheep” Jesus spoke about in Matthew’s Gospel).  But consider Peter’s response to the Jewish leaders who questioned him (Acts 4:8-12 NET):

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, replied, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today for a good deed done to a sick man – by what means this man was healed – let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healthy.  This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, that has become the cornerstone.  And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.”

We have taken this to mean that the only way to be saved is to hear [Jesus’] message and believe the One who sent Him.  And we have added to it, more or less, say a sinner’s prayer, get baptized, go to my church, like me, and tell me how good and wise I am to have understood this before you.  But if Jesus, who may give life to whomever he wishes, who has been granted the…authority to execute judgment, decides that not only those who hear his message and believe the One who sent Him, but those who show them kindness, are worthy of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, who am I to dispute Him?  Are they saved by some other name when it is Jesus who sits on the throne, judges them worthy and grants them life?  Am I not permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? He asked in a parable.  Or are you envious because I am generous (ἀγαθός)?[14]

Do not be amazed at this, Jesus continued his discourse with the Jewish leaders who wanted to kill Him, because a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out – the ones who have done what is good (ἀγαθὰ [another form of ἀγαθός] ποιήσαντες [a form of ποιέω]) to the resurrection resulting in life (εἰς[15] ἀνάστασιν[16] ζωῆς[17]), and the ones who have done what is evil (φαῦλα[18] πράξαντες[19]) to the resurrection resulting in condemnation (εἰς ἀνάστασιν κρίσεως).[20]  Viewed as I’ve been suggesting here one can’t arbitrarily assume that everyone who comes into judgment will be condemned.  Some, if not many, if not most, will hear the Lord say, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

So it seems more appropriate to me to translate the verse more literally: the ones who have done what is good, that is the ones who heard Jesus’ message and believed the One who sent Him, hear his voice and will come out [of their tombs]…to the resurrection resulting in life [they have eternal life[21]]; while those who have done [literally, practiced] what is evil (φαῦλα) [that is anything that kept them from hearing Jesus’ message and believing the One who sent Him] will come out [of their tombs]…to the resurrection resulting in judgment (as opposed to condemnation).

I can do nothing on my own initiative, Jesus concluded.  Just as I hear, I judge (κρίνω), and my judgment (κρίσις) is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the one who sent me.[22]

[1] John 5:28, 29 (NET)

[3] 2 Corinthians 3:9

[5] John 5:18 (NET)

[6] John 5:20 (NET)

[9] John 5:23 (NET)

[11] John 5:26, 27 (NET)

[13] Matthew 25:34 (NET)

[14] Matthew 20:15 (NET)

[20] John 5:28, 29 (NET)

[22] John 5:30 (NET)