The Book of Life, Part 1

Posted on April 29, 2022 by admin

If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire.¹

This verse follows the one I quoted in another essay: Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.² This is the main reason I thought Death and Hades were euphemisms for “those who had died.”

If this is a prophecy of future unalterable events, then this knowledge makes the Lord’s wish…for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9b) seem like sentiment. It gives me pause and another opportunity to consider my options if I stood before the judgment seat of Christ and He determined that it was best that I should be thrown into the lake of fire.

First, I believe his judgments are true and just.³ He does not judge by appearances, but…with right judgment.⁴ I can’t imagine all that might run through my mind at that moment, but one thing is certain because it is my practice: I would resolve to face the lake of fire one moment at a time in the strength of his Spirit, relying on God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.⁵

I doubt, however, that Jesus would throw his own Holy Spirit into the lake of fire. So, plan B would be to do everything in my power to cling to Him, to go wherever He is taken, at the moment the Lord withdrew his Holy Spirit. Failing that, well, frankly, I care very little for any residue of me apart from his Holy Spirit. He can dispose of it as He pleases.

None of this was of any concern to me in the beginning, after I prayed to know God. No matter what Jesus had done on the cross I knew the last mile was mine to walk alone. My salvation was ultimately in my hands. My faith differentiated me from all those who would be thrown into the lake of fire. As I wrote before, “I was still pretty cocky.”

“Whosoever will may come” seemed fair to me. It was a popular saying derived from Revelation 22:17 (KJV):

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.⁶ And let him that heareth say, Come.⁷ And let him that is athirst come.⁸ And⁹ whosoever will, let him take¹⁰ the¹¹ water of life freely.

Eternal life is available to all who will (θέλων, a form of θέλω) or want it. Those who do not want eternal life prefer the second death—the lake of fire.¹² Everyone should be smart enough to prefer eternal life to the lake of fire.

So in my early twenties my theology was little changed from that of my five-year-old self. The difference was that my twenty-something self read the Bible more than my five-year-old self. So my twenty-something self was both troubled and intrigued by Jesus’ words (John 6:44, 45 NET):

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day [Table]. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God’ [See Table below]. Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me [Table].

So Jesus taught that the Father’s drawing and teaching preceded my will, my desire, to come to Him for eternal life. Looking back at my own life I had to agree that this was true. But my hearing and my learning could still differentiate me from all those who would be thrown into the lake of fire.

There was another related stream (John 6:28, 29 NET):

So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds God requires?” Jesus replied, “This is the deed God requires—to believe in the one whom he sent” [Table].

I didn’t have the NET at my disposal in my early twenties. I read the KJV or the NASB:

John 6:29 (KJV)	John 6:29 (NASB)
Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.	Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

But I understood this passage as translated in the NET: that believing in Jesus was my work, the deed that would differentiate me from all those who would be thrown into the lake of fire. I heard Jesus’ response then as if He answered the question directly: What must we do (NET/Parallel Greek: τί ποιῶμεν)? Or What shall we do (KJV/Stephanus Textus Receptus: τι ποιουμεν)? Now, I assume that his answer was correcting the basic premise of the question (John 6:29b KJV/NASB):

This is the work of God (τοῦτο ἐστιν τὸ ἔργον τοῦ θεοῦ)…

I sat in the airport recently after seven very long days of work, waiting for my flight home. It was delayed four hours. Every sound everyone around me made annoyed me. I was ready to go off on someone, anyone, but the fruit of the Holy Spirit flooded into me—God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control¹³—against my will, contrary to my desire to lash out at someone.

Whether πιστεύητε (NET: believe) or πιστευσητε (KJV: ye believe) was original, both are in the subjunctive mood: “in order that you may [might] believe in the one whom he sent” is a very fair translation of ἵνα πιστεύητε [πιστευσητε] εἰς ὃν ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖνος once the idea that faith is my work is purged from my thinking. And as the result clause of This is the work of God it is fair to understand this as you will believe: “if the subjunctive mood is used in a purpose or result clause, then the action should not be thought of as a possible result, but should be viewed as a definite outcome that will happen as a result of another stated action.”

In my twenties, though all of this was unknown to me, I did begin to hear Paul’s words as my own (Romans 7:15-25a NET):

For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I do not do what I want—instead, I do what I hate. But if I do what I don’t want, I agree that the law is good. But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me (ἡ |οἰκοῦσα| ἐν ἐμοὶ ἁμαρτία) [Table]. For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want! Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me (ἡ οἰκοῦσα ἐν ἐμοὶ ἁμαρτία) [Table].

So, I find the law that when I want to do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God in my inner being. But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to¹⁴ the law of sin that is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! [Table]

So it may be more accurate to describe my experience at the airport as the sin that lives in me wanted to go off on someone. For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want.¹⁵ But when I’m tired and crabby, it feels like me.

I was like a wife who thinks she is too tired for sex but acquiesces to her husband’s desire anyway. After a while she begins to think to herself, “Okay, that’s not so bad.” A while later she thinks, “Yes, you can do that as long as you like.” And sometime after that she thinks, “Please, never stop doing that.”

I don’t want to carry this comparison too far. An orgasm as a sensation seems to have a definite endpoint with a hypersensitive discomfort whenever I’ve pushed through it. I’ve never actually experienced any endpoint to the fruit of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is more constant, more continuous, more eternal, if you will.

In my twenties and then through my thirties, the more I believed that the one bringing forth in [me] both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God,¹⁶ the better my behavior became. For it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.¹⁷ The more I relied on the fruit of his Spirit, the more I realized that faith, even my faithfulness (πίστις), is an aspect of his fruit.

But what does that leave me to differentiate myself from all those who will be thrown into the lake of fire? It’s one thing to say, “but for the grace of God…” It’s another thing entirely to come face-to-face with the fact that the only thing that differentiates me from all those who will be thrown into the lake of fire is God: his mercy, his patient instruction, his grace through Jesus Christ, his indwelling Spirit.

“Then who can be saved?”¹⁸ Jesus’ astonished disciples asked when He told them it was hard for those they had thought the best (at least, the blessed) among them to enter the kingdom of heaven. And here, I think Jesus answered their question directly in the context in which they had asked it (Matthew 19:26 ESV):

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man (ἀνθρώποις, a form of ἄνθρωπος; e.g., people, humankind) this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

So now, it’s more difficult for me to gainsay the Lord’s wish…for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9b) over some knowledge I think I have. I’ll look more seriously at the Book of Life (τῇ βίβλῳ τῆς ζωῆς) instead.

According to a note (68) in the NET Jesus quoted from Isaiah 54:13. The table below compares Jesus’ Greek to that of the Septuagint.

John 6:45 (NET Parallel Greek)	Isaiah 54:13a (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 54:13a (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔσονται πάντες διδακτοὶ θεοῦ	καὶ πάντας τοὺς υἱούς σου διδακτοὺς θεοῦ	καὶ πάντας τοὺς υἱούς σου διδακτοὺς Θεοῦ
John 6:45 (NET)	Isaiah 54:13a (NETS)	Isaiah 54:13a (English Elpenor)
And they will all be taught by God.	And I will make all your sons taught by God	And [I will cause] all thy sons [to be] taught of God

Where the passage in Isaiah had limited all (πάντας) to your sons (τοὺς υἱούς σου), Jesus expanded it to they will all (ἔσονται πάντες).

Tables comparing Isaiah 54:13 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Isaiah 54:13 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Revelation 19:2; 22:17 and Romans 7:23 in the NET and KJV follow.

Isaiah 54:13 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 54:13 (KJV)	Isaiah 54:13 (NET)
And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.	And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.	All your children will be followers of the Lord, and your children will enjoy great prosperity.

Isaiah 54:13 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 54:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ πάντας τοὺς υἱούς σου διδακτοὺς θεοῦ καὶ ἐν πολλῇ εἰρήνῃ τὰ τέκνα σου	καὶ πάντας τοὺς υἱούς σου διδακτοὺς Θεοῦ καὶ ἐν πολλῇ εἰρήνῃ τὰ τέκνα σου
Isaiah 54:13 (NETS)	Isaiah 54:13 (English Elpenor)
And I will make all your sons taught by God and your children to be in great peace.	And [I will cause] all thy sons [to be] taught of God, and thy children [to be] in great peace.

Revelation 19:2 (NET)	Revelation 19:2 (KJV)
because his judgments are true and just. For he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and has avenged the blood of his servants poured out by her own hands!”	For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὅτι ἀληθιναὶ καὶ δίκαιαι αἱ κρίσεις αὐτοῦ· ὅτι ἔκρινεν τὴν πόρνην τὴν μεγάλην ἥτις ἔφθειρεν τὴν γῆν ἐν τῇ πορνείᾳ αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐξεδίκησεν τὸ αἷμα τῶν δούλων αὐτοῦ ἐκ χειρὸς αὐτῆς	οτι αληθιναι και δικαιαι αι κρισεις αυτου οτι εκρινεν την πορνην την μεγαλην ητις εφθειρεν την γην εν τη πορνεια αυτης και εξεδικησεν το αιμα των δουλων αυτου εκ της χειρος αυτης	οτι αληθιναι και δικαιαι αι κρισεις αυτου οτι εκρινεν την πορνην την μεγαλην ητις διεφθειρεν την γην εν τη πορνεια αυτης και εξεδικησεν το αιμα των δουλων αυτου εκ της χειρος αυτης

Revelation 22:17 (NET)	Revelation 22:17 (KJV)
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say: “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wants it take the water of life free of charge.	And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ νύμφη λέγουσιν· ἔρχου. καὶ ὁ ἀκούων εἰπάτω· ἔρχου. καὶ ὁ διψῶν ἐρχέσθω, ὁ θέλων λαβέτω ὕδωρ ζωῆς δωρεάν	και το πνευμα και η νυμφη λεγουσιν ελθε και ο ακουων ειπατω ελθε και ο διψων ελθετω και ο θελων λαμβανετω το υδωρ ζωης δωρεαν	και το πνευμα και η νυμφη λεγουσιν ερχου και ο ακουων ειπατω ερχου και ο διψων ερχεσθω ο θελων λαβετω υδωρ ζωης δωρεαν

Romans 7:23 (NET)	Romans 7:23 (KJV)
But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members.	But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
βλέπω δὲ ἕτερον νόμον ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν μου ἀντιστρατευόμενον τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ νοός μου καὶ αἰχμαλωτίζοντα με \|ἐν\| τῷ νόμῳ τῆς ἁμαρτίας τῷ ὄντι ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν μου	βλεπω δε ετερον νομον εν τοις μελεσιν μου αντιστρατευομενον τω νομω του νοος μου και αιχμαλωτιζοντα με τω νομω της αμαρτιας τω οντι εν τοις μελεσιν μου	βλεπω δε ετερον νομον εν τοις μελεσιν μου αντιστρατευομενον τω νομω του νοος μου και αιχμαλωτιζοντα με εν τω νομω της αμαρτιας τω οντι εν τοις μελεσιν μου

The Book of Life, Part 2

Back to Christianity, Part 2

Back to Who Am I? Part 14

Back to A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 9

Back to The Day of the Lord, Part 7

Back to Keep Yourselves from Idols, Part 1

Back to Who Am I? Part 16

Back to Who Am I? Part 17

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 4, Part 2

¹ Revelation 20:15 (NET)

² Revelation 20:14 (NET) Table

³ Revelation 19:2a (NET)

⁴ John 7:24 (ESV) Table

⁵ Galatians 5:22b, 23a (NET) Table

⁶ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἔρχου in the present tense here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had ελθε in the 2^nd aorist tense.

⁷ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἔρχου in the present tense here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had ελθε in the 2^nd aorist tense.

⁸ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἐρχέσθω in the present tense here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had ελθετω in the 2^nd aorist tense.

⁹ The Stephanus Textus Receptus had και here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹⁰ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had λαβέτω in the 2^nd aorist tense here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had λαμβανετω in the present tense.

¹¹ The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article το here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹² Revelation 20:14b (NET) Table

¹³ Galatians 5:22b, 23a (NET) Table

¹⁴ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἐν here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

¹⁵ Galatians 5:17 (NET) Table

¹⁶ Philippians 2:13 (NET) Table

¹⁷ Romans 9:16 (NET) Table

¹⁸ Matthew 19:25b (NET) Table

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 11

Posted on April 17, 2022 by admin

This is a continuation of a consideration of the differences between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint, a translation of the Hebrew before Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah. The final clause of the first verse under consideration follows:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 53:10d (Tanakh) Table	Isaiah 53:10d (NET)	Isaiah 53:10d (NETS) Table	Isaiah 53:11a (Elpenor English)
and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand (בְּיָד֥וֹ).	and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him (yāḏ, בידו).	And the Lord wishes to take away (ἀφελεῗν)	the Lord also is pleased to take away (ἀφελεῖν) from

I had begun to consider other occurrences of forms ἀφαιρέω (Table) in Isaiah to get a feel for any potential relationship between ἀφελεῖν (a form of ἀφαιρέω) and בְּיָד֥וֹ (yāḏ). Since a form of ἀφαιρέω was the translation of a form of סוּר (sûr) in two of the three examples I considered in another essay,¹ I’ve continued with those occurrences in Isaiah.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 18:5 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 18:5 (NET)	Isaiah 18:5 (NETS)	Isaiah 18:5 (Elpenor English)
For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away (הֵסִ֥יר) and cut down the branches.	For before the harvest, when the bud has sprouted and the ripening fruit appears, he will cut off the unproductive shoots with pruning knives; he will prune the tendrils [Note 13: the tendrils he will remove (sûr, הסיר), he will cut off].	Before the harvest, when the blossom has been completed and the unripe grape blossoms—a grape-bearing blossom—then he will take away (ἀφελεῗ) the little clusters with pruning hooks and take away (ἀφελεῗ) the small branches and cut them off	Before the reaping time, when the flower has been completely formed, and the unripe grape has put forth its flower and blossomed, then shall he take away (ἀφελεῖ) the little clusters with pruning-hooks, and shall take away (ἀφελεῖ) the small branches, and cut them off;

This seems to be an example of one instance of הֵסִ֥יר (sûr) translated with two instances of ἀφελεῖ (a form of ἀφαιρέω) because of the Hebrew word וְכָרַ֚ת (kāraṯ), translated he shall both cut off (Tanakh, KJV). I won’t spend time here to try to confirm it with other examples.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 25:8 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 25:8 (NET)	Isaiah 25:8 (NETS)	Isaiah 25:8 (Elpenor English)
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away (וּמָחָ֨ה) tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away (יָסִיר֙) from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.	he will swallow up death permanently. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away (māḥâ, ומחה) the tears from every face, and remove (sûr, יסיר) his people’s disgrace from all the earth. Indeed, the Lord has announced it!	Death, having prevailed, swallowed them up, and God has again taken away (ἀφεῗλεν) every tear from every face; the disgrace of the people he has taken away (ἀφεῗλεν) from all the earth, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.	Death has prevailed and swallowed [men] up; but again the Lord God has taken away (ἀφεῖλε) every tear from every face. He has taken away (ἀφεῖλεν) the reproach of [his] people from all the earth: for the mouth off the Lord has spoken it.

Here both וּמָחָ֨ה (māḥâ) and יָסִיר֙ (sûr) were translated ἀφεῖλε(ν) and ἀφεῗλεν (a form of ἀφαιρέω) in the Septuagint. According to a note (33) in the NET Paul quoted Isaiah 25:8, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”² The table below compares Paul’s Greek to that of the Septuagint.

1 Corinthians 15:54b (NET Parallel Greek)	Isaiah 25:8a (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 25:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
κατεπόθη ὁ θάνατος εἰς νῖκος	κατέπιεν ὁ θάνατος ἰσχύσας	κατέπιεν ὁ θάνατος ἰσχύσας
1 Corinthians 15:54b (NET)	Isaiah 25:8 (NETS)	Isaiah 25:8 (English Elpenor)
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”	Death, having prevailed, swallowed them up	Death has prevailed and swallowed [men] up

Perhaps κατεπόθη ὁ θάνατος εἰς νῖκος (Death has been swallowed up in victory) was a popular saying (λόγος), a summation of the first two clauses of Hosea 13:14 alluding to the καταπίνω imagery (“to drink down, swallow, gulp”) of Isaiah 28:5. As death has swallowed up the living, the living God will swallow up death through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:54b (NET Parallel Greek)	Hosea 13:14a (Septuagint BLB)	Hosea 13:14a (Septuagint Elpenor)
κατεπόθη ὁ θάνατος εἰς νῖκος	ἐκ χειρὸς ᾅδου ῥύσομαι αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐκ θανάτου λυτρώσομαι αὐτούς	ἐκ χειρὸς ᾅδου ῥύσομαι καὶ ἐκ θανάτου λυτρώσομαι αὐτούς
1 Corinthians 15:54b (NET)	Hosea 13:14a (NETS)	Hosea 13:14a (English Elpenor)
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”	I shall rescue them from the hand of Hades and shall redeem them from Death.	I will deliver [them] out of the power of Hades, and will redeem them from death:
1 Corinthians 15:55 (NET Parallel Greek)	Hosea 13:14b (Septuagint BLB)	Hosea 13:14b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ποῦ σου, θάνατε, τὸ νῖκος;³ ποῦ σου, θάνατε, τὸ κέντρον	ποῦ ἡ δίκη σου θάνατε ποῦ τὸ κέντρον σου ᾅδη	ποῦ ἡ δίκη σου, θάνατε; ποῦ τὸ κέντρον σου, ᾅδη
1 Corinthians 15:55 (NET)	Hosea 13:14b (NETS)	Hosea 13:14b (English Elpenor)
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”	O Death, where is your sentence? O Hades, where is your goad?	where is thy penalty, O death? O Hades, where is thy sting?

Regardless, the rabbis who translated the Septuagint didn’t understand the first clause of Isaiah 25:8 in the same way that more contemporary translators have translated the Hebrew of the Masoretic text.

Isaiah 25:8a (Tanakh/KJV from the Masoretic text)	Isaiah 25:8a (NETS from the Septuagint)
He will swallow up death in victory;	Death, having prevailed, swallowed them up,

Does this mean that the Hebrew text the rabbis translated was different from that in the Masoretic text? It’s hard to say. The NET translation of Hosea 13:14 leads me to believe that even the Hebrew of the Masoretic text is open to interpretation.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Hosea 13:14 (Tanakh/KJV)	Hosea 13:14 (NET)	Hosea 13:14 (NETS)	Hosea 13:14 (Elpenor English)
I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.	Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not! Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not! O Death, bring on your plagues! O Sheol, bring on your destruction! My eyes will not show any compassion!	I shall rescue them from the hand of Hades and shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where is your sentence? O Hades, where is your goad? Comfort is hidden from my eyes.	I will deliver [them] out of the power of Hades, and will redeem them from death: where is thy penalty, O death? O Hades, where is thy sting? comfort is hidden from mine eyes.

This kind of complexity is frustrating to anyone living a timed life. I certainly live a timed life, traveling on airplanes to various cities to record conference sessions that happen in various locations at various times on media that will only hold a fixed amount of data. But I also live an eternal life, knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] sent.⁴ I can trust Him—to unfold, to uncover, to reveal the things that frustrate or confuse me—with that continuous supply of his own peace, patience and faithfulness. Jesus said (Matthew 7:7, 8 NET)

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

My ten years’ association with the study of Geology, first as a student taking courses then as a teaching assistant helping other students learn field techniques for identifying rocks and minerals, helped me see the sediments deposited by a great flood in the Grand Canyon. Standing on the north rim I could almost feel the uplift of the kaibab plateau and the rapid recession of flood waters that carved out most of the features of the Grand Canyon through relatively unconsolidated sediments. On the drive back down to St. Louis I saw for the first time that grander canyon known as the Mississippi valley. And as I recalled the similarity of sedimentary rock strata on the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa I perceived the grandest canyon of all, called the Atlantic Ocean, though my mind still boggles at the power that created it.

Clearly, I didn’t learn what I was expected to learn. My instructors preferred to deliberately suppress this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water. Through these things the world existing at that time was destroyed when it was deluged with water.⁵

Peter’s point in this portion of his letter was that by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, by being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.⁶ [T]he heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze.⁷ This destruction of the universe (or at least this solar system) makes space for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness truly resides.⁸

In answer to a question why this hasn’t happened yet (2 Peter 3:3, 4), Peter replied, The Lord…is being patient toward you because he does not wish (βουλόμενός, a form of βούλομαι) for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.⁹ His wish corresponds to the way Jesus pictured death and Hades (Luke 16:19-31): as the opportunity and space for rich and poor alike to focus their attention on the Bible, something they may have ignored or been completely ignorant of during their lives here.

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death¹⁰—the lake of fire.¹¹ I admit I’ve thought of Death and Hades here as euphemisms for those who have died and those who reside in the place of the dead respectively. Now I’m more willing to consider that it is the very concepts Death and Hades (as the place of the dead) which will be done away with. They become superfluous once every knee has bowed and every tongue confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:5-11).

Paul wrote (Philippians 2:10, 11 NET):

…so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

The Greek word translated will bow above was not κάμψουσιν, the future tense indicative form of κάμπτω. It was κάμψῃ in the aorist tense and subjunctive mood. Likewise, the Greek word translated confess was not ἐξομολογήσεται, the future tense indicative form of ἐξομολογέω (Romans 14:11). It was ἐξομολογήσηται in the aorist tense and subjunctive mood. This is part of the intrigue of translating Koine Greek into English.

Ordinarily, the subjunctive mood would be translated something like “every knee may bow” and “every tongue may confess.” That’s what someone who already knows Greek would expect. Of course, someone who already knows Greek probably also knows that “if the subjunctive mood is used in a purpose or result clause, then the action should not be thought of as a possible result, but should be viewed as a definite outcome that will happen as a result of another stated action.”

Here “every knee may bow” and “every tongue may confess” are clearly the result of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:6-8 NET):

who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature [Table]. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross!

And (Philippians 2:9, 10a NET):

As a result God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that (ἵνα) at the name of Jesus…

And here, apparently, the translators of the NET wanted even those who do not already know Koine Greek to know how certain Paul was of this outcome (Philippians 2:10b, 11 NET):

every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

The Lord’s wish…for all to come to repentance isn’t given this much credence in the religious circles I inhabit. But there are six other undisputed¹² occurrences of βουλόμενος in the New Testament to consider: Because he wanted (βουλόμενος) to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them.¹³ Because the Roman commander in Jerusalem wanted (βουλόμενος) to know the true reason Paul was being accused by¹⁴ the Jews, he released him¹⁵ and ordered the chief priests and the whole¹⁶ council¹⁷ to assemble.¹⁸ He then brought Paul down and had him stand before them.¹⁹ When he learned of a plot to kill Paul the Roman commander sent him to the Governor Felix with a letter describing his actions (Acts 23:28 NET):

Since²⁰ I wanted (βουλόμενος) to know²¹ what charge they were accusing him of, I brought him²² down to their council.

God wanted (βουλόμενος) to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable…so he intervened with an oath.²³ In each instance quoted above one with power and authority acted to satisfy his βουλόμενος.

When the ship carrying Paul as a prisoner to Rome began to sink (Acts 27:42, 43 NET):

…the soldiers’ plan (βουλὴ) was to kill the prisoners so that none of them would escape²⁴ by swimming away. But the centurion, wanting (βουλόμενος) to save Paul’s life, prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard²⁵ first and get to land.

It was not the relative strengths of the Greek words (βουλὴ vs. βουλόμενος) that carried the day, but the centurion’s authority over his soldiers. Likewise, When…Herod planned (βουλόμενος) to bring [Peter] out for public trial after the Passover,²⁶ there is every reason to believe he would have carried out his βουλόμενος if he had not been thwarted by a higher power with greater authority (Acts 12:6-11).

Knowing this, I can’t stand before the judgment seat of Christ, look Him in the eye and say to his face, “Your wish for all to come to repentance will never happen.” I’m all in, on Him, his power and his authority because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Tables comparing Isaiah 18:5; 25:8 and Hosea 13:14 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Isaiah 18:5; 25:8 and Hosea 13:14 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing 1 Corinthians 15:55; Revelation 20:14; 2 Corinthians 1:17; Acts 22:30; 23:28 and 27:42, 43 in the NET and KJV follow.

Isaiah 18:5 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 18:5 (KJV)	Isaiah 18:5 (NET)
For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches.	For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches.	For before the harvest, when the bud has sprouted and the ripening fruit appears, he will cut off the unproductive shoots with pruning knives; he will prune the tendrils.

Isaiah 18:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 18:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
πρὸ τοῦ θερισμοῦ ὅταν συντελεσθῇ ἄνθος καὶ ὄμφαξ ἀνθήσῃ ἄνθος ὀμφακίζουσα καὶ ἀφελεῗ τὰ βοτρύδια τὰ μικρὰ τοῗς δρεπάνοις καὶ τὰς κληματίδας ἀφελεῗ καὶ κατακόψει	πρὸ τοῦ θερισμοῦ, ὅταν συντελεσθῇ ἄνθος καὶ ὄμφαξ ἐξανθήσῃ ἄνθος ὀμφακίζουσα, καὶ ἀφελεῖ τὰ βοτρύδια τὰ μικρὰ τοῖς δρεπάνοις καὶ τὰς κληματίδας ἀφελεῖ καὶ ἀποκόψει
Isaiah 18:5 (NETS)	Isaiah 18:5 (English Elpenor)
Before the harvest, when the blossom has been completed and the unripe grape blossoms—a grape-bearing blossom—then he will take away the little clusters with pruning hooks and take away the small branches and cut them off	Before the reaping time, when the flower has been completely formed, and the unripe grape has put forth its flower and blossomed, then shall he take away the little clusters with pruning-hooks, and shall take away the small branches, and cut them off;

Isaiah 25:8 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 25:8 (KJV)	Isaiah 25:8 (NET)
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.	He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.	he will swallow up death permanently. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face, and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. Indeed, the Lord has announced it!

Isaiah 25:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 25:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
κατέπιεν ὁ θάνατος ἰσχύσας καὶ πάλιν ἀφεῗλεν ὁ θεὸς πᾶν δάκρυον ἀπὸ παντὸς προσώπου τὸ ὄνειδος τοῦ λαοῦ ἀφεῗλεν ἀπὸ πάσης τῆς γῆς τὸ γὰρ στόμα κυρίου ἐλάλησεν	κατέπιεν ὁ θάνατος ἰσχύσας, καὶ πάλιν ἀφεῖλε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς πᾶν δάκρυον ἀπὸ παντὸς προσώπου· τὸ ὄνειδος τοῦ λαοῦ ἀφεῖλεν ἀπὸ πάσης τῆς γῆς, τὸ γὰρ στόμα Κυρίου ἐλάλησε
Isaiah 25:8 (NETS)	Isaiah 25:8 (English Elpenor)
Death, having prevailed, swallowed them up, and God has again taken away every tear from every face; the disgrace of the people he has taken away from all the earth, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.	Death has prevailed and swallowed [men] up; but again the Lord God has taken away every tear from every face. He has taken away the reproach of [his] people from all the earth: for the mouth off the Lord has spoken it.

Hosea 13:14 (Tanakh)	Hosea 13:14 (KJV)	Hosea 13:14 (NET)
I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.	I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.	Will I deliver them from the power of Sheol? No, I will not! Will I redeem them from death? No, I will not! O Death, bring on your plagues! O Sheol, bring on your destruction! My eyes will not show any compassion!

Hosea 13:14 (Septuagint BLB)	Hosea 13:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐκ χειρὸς ᾅδου ῥύσομαι αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐκ θανάτου λυτρώσομαι αὐτούς ποῦ ἡ δίκη σου θάνατε ποῦ τὸ κέντρον σου ᾅδη παράκλησις κέκρυπται ἀπὸ ὀφθαλμῶν μου	ἐκ χειρὸς ᾅδου ῥύσομαι καὶ ἐκ θανάτου λυτρώσομαι αὐτούς, ποῦ ἡ δίκη σου, θάνατε; ποῦ τὸ κέντρον σου, ᾅδη; παράκλησις κέκρυπται ἀπὸ ὀφθαλμῶν μου,
Hosea 13:14 (NETS)	Hosea 13:14 (English Elpenor)
I shall rescue them from the hand of Hades and shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where is your sentence? O Hades, where is your goad? Comfort is hidden from my eyes.	I will deliver [them] out of the power of Hades, and will redeem them from death: where is thy penalty, O death? O Hades, where is thy sting? comfort is hidden from mine eyes.

1 Corinthians 15:55 (NET)	1 Corinthians 15:55 (KJV)
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”	O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ποῦ σου, θάνατε, τὸ νῖκος; ποῦ σου, θάνατε, τὸ κέντρον	που σου θανατε το κεντρον που σου αδη το νικος	που σου θανατε το κεντρον που σου αδη το νικος

Revelation 20:14 (NET)	Revelation 20:14 (KJV)
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.	And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ὁ θάνατος καὶ ὁ ᾅδης ἐβλήθησαν εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρός. οὗτος ὁ θάνατος ὁ δεύτερος ἐστιν, ἡ λίμνη τοῦ πυρός	και ο θανατος και ο αδης εβληθησαν εις την λιμνην του πυρος ουτος εστιν ο δευτερος θανατος	και ο θανατος και ο αδης εβληθησαν εις την λιμνην του πυρος ουτος ο θανατος ο δευτερος εστιν η λιμνη του πυρος

2 Corinthians 1:17 (NET)	2 Corinthians 1:17 (KJV)
Therefore when I was planning to do this, I did not do so without thinking about what I was doing, did I? Or do I make my plans according to mere human standards so that I would be saying both “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time?	When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
τοῦτο οὖν βουλόμενος μήτι ἄρα τῇ ἐλαφρίᾳ ἐχρησάμην; ἢ ἃ βουλεύομαι κατὰ σάρκα βουλεύομαι, ἵνα ᾖ παρ᾿ ἐμοὶ τὸ ναὶ ναὶ καὶ τὸ οὒ οὔ	τουτο ουν βουλευομενος μη τι αρα τη ελαφρια εχρησαμην η α βουλευομαι κατα σαρκα βουλευομαι ινα η παρ εμοι το ναι ναι και το ου ου	τουτο ουν βουλευομενος μη τι αρα τη ελαφρια εχρησαμην η α βουλευομαι κατα σαρκα βουλευομαι ινα η παρ εμοι το ναι ναι και το ου ου

Acts 22:30 (NET)	Acts 22:30 (KJV)
The next day, because the commanding officer wanted to know the true reason Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council to assemble. He then brought Paul down and had him stand before them.	On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Τῇ δὲ ἐπαύριον βουλόμενος γνῶναι τὸ ἀσφαλές, τὸ τί κατηγορεῖται ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἔλυσεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐκέλευσεν συνελθεῖν τοὺς ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ πᾶν τὸ συνέδριον, καὶ καταγαγὼν τὸν Παῦλον ἔστησεν εἰς αὐτούς	τη δε επαυριον βουλομενος γνωναι το ασφαλες το τι κατηγορειται παρα των ιουδαιων ελυσεν αυτον απο των δεσμων και εκελευσεν ελθειν τους αρχιερεις και ολον το συνεδριον αυτων και καταγαγων τον παυλον εστησεν εις αυτους	τη δε επαυριον βουλομενος γνωναι το ασφαλες το τι κατηγορειται παρα των ιουδαιων ελυσεν αυτον απο των δεσμων και εκελευσεν ελθειν τους αρχιερεις και ολον το συνεδριον αυτων και καταγαγων τον παυλον εστησεν εις αυτους

Acts 23:28 (NET)	Acts 23:28 (KJV)
Since I wanted to know what charge they were accusing him of, I brought him down to their council.	And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
βουλόμενος τε ἐπιγνῶναι τὴν αἰτίαν δι᾿ ἣν ἐνεκάλουν αὐτῷ, \|κατήγαγον εἰς τὸ συνέδριον αὐτῶν\|	βουλομενος δε γνωναι την αιτιαν δι ην ενεκαλουν αυτω κατηγαγον αυτον εις το συνεδριον αυτων	βουλομενος δε γνωναι την αιτιαν δι ην ενεκαλουν αυτω κατηγαγον αυτον εις το συνεδριον αυτων

Acts 27:42, 43 (NET)	Acts 27:42, 43 (KJV)
Now the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners so that none of them would escape by swimming away.	And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Τῶν δὲ στρατιωτῶν βουλὴ ἐγένετο ἵνα τοὺς δεσμώτας ἀποκτείνωσιν, μή τις ἐκκολυμβήσας διαφύγῃ	των δε στρατιωτων βουλη εγενετο ινα τους δεσμωτας αποκτεινωσιν μη τις εκκολυμβησας διαφυγοι	των δε στρατιωτων βουλη εγενετο ινα τους δεσμωτας αποκτεινωσιν μη τις εκκολυμβησας διαφυγη

But the centurion, wanting to save Paul’s life, prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land,

But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ δὲ ἑκατοντάρχης βουλόμενος διασῶσαι τὸν Παῦλον ἐκώλυσεν αὐτοὺς τοῦ βουλήματος, ἐκέλευσεν τε τοὺς δυναμένους κολυμβᾶν ἀπορίψαντας πρώτους ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἐξιέναι	ο δε εκατονταρχος βουλομενος διασωσαι τον παυλον εκωλυσεν αυτους του βουληματος εκελευσεν τε τους δυναμενους κολυμβαν απορριψαντας πρωτους επι την γην εξιεναι	ο δε εκατονταρχος βουλομενος διασωσαι τον παυλον εκωλυσεν αυτους του βουληματος εκελευσεν τε τους δυναμενους κολυμβαν απορριψαντας πρωτους επι την γην εξιεναι