Bobby wrote:
I would like to see your scripture support for any Dispensation of Grace believer going through the Tribulation.
Thank you.
Dear Bobby,
God Bless you and thank you for writing. We have no Scripture support showing if Grace believers or more specifically members of The Body of Christ will or will not go through the tribulation period. There is NO Scripture that gives any indication as to a time of those who inherit citizenship in The Heaven of heavens departure. We can only look to Israel as an indication of about when our Hope will be realized. We know from Scripture that the first century believers knew and believed they would go through the tribulation and the Scripture proof of that we will supply. The word "rapture" is not found anywhere in the Biblical texts and is a term used by some to describe what they call an early departure of the church. This is not sound Biblical doctrine and we are enclosing a teaching to help you discover what the Bible teaches regarding these important matters.
Paul said in verse 1 Thes. 4:15 "This we say unto you, By The Word Of The Lord .... Paul was quoting and using The Word of the Lord to show them their Hope. That Hope, as found in 1 Thess. 4:16-18 is detailed with its shout, voices of the archangel, and trumpet and was written down in The Word of the Lord.
In 1 Corinthians 15, when writing about the same Hope of resurrection (which some call the "rapture"), he says in 1 Cor. 15:54-55 “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” If Paul means what he says and says what he means, the Hope of 1 Corinthians 15 was prophesied in The Word of the Lord.
Paul is quoting from two different Books in The Word of the Lord, Hosea 13:14 and Isa. 25:8, to show the Corinthians their hope. This agrees with what Paul said in Acts 26:22, where summing up his Acts ministry, he said,” Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come.” Paul’s Acts ministry and what he wrote in his Acts epistles can be found in the Old Testament Scriptures, and that includes the Hope he wrote about in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15.
In this article, we will show that the Hope that Paul wrote about in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15 is not only found in the Old Testament Scriptures but was taught by Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry in Matthew 24 and other places. That this runs contrary to what is taught in most Bible churches today is certain, but there are as many "doctrines and traditions of men in "Bible churches,” as there are in denominational churches in this country.
For years it has been the “party line” in most “Bible churches” that 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15 are the promised hope of The Church today and that no one knew or wrote about this hope prior to Paul. This doctrine has been preached for so long and so loud that Christendom accepts this with no questions asked. But yet, we just read that what Paul said to the Thessalonians about their hope, he said to them by the Word of The Lord. And we read in 1 Corinthians 15 that when that resurrection takes place, Old Testament Scriptures would be brought to pass.
The question that Bible believers need to answer these days is, who are we going to believe? Are we going to believe what the preachers say because they have been saying it for so long and loud, or are we going to believe what the Scriptures say, where they say it, as they say, it? We should always endeavor to study to show ourselves approved before God, and let the traditions of men fall where they may, no matter what the cost.
Let it be said at the offset of this article that we do not believe that the Hope of the Church today is found in 1 Corinthians 15 or 1 Thessalonians 4. We believe that God revealed a new and better Hope to Paul after the Acts period and that it is found in his Prison Epistles.
If you are serious about your bible study, and you want to get to the bottom of this issue and find out for yourself if what we are saying is true, we recommend you get three Bibles and lay them out before you. Open one to Matthew 24, another to 1 Corinthians 15, and the other to 1 Thessalonians 4. The subject is the same in all three books, and it is resurrection. We are going to compare what Jesus says about the resurrection in Matthew 24, which He taught during His earthly ministry, with the resurrection Paul wrote about in 1 Cor. 15 and 1 Thess. 4. If Jesus and Paul say the same thing, then they must be talking about the same resurrection. On the other hand, if they say contradictory things about the resurrection, then they are not speaking of the same resurrection. In Matthew 24, Jesus taught the 12 apostles about resurrection, and He said in Matt. 24:29-31 ...
- "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." (Mark 13:27 "from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven")
Let’s compare what Jesus says here with what Paul says.
(1.) THE HOPE OF MATT. 24 IS THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.
Matt. 24:30, "They shall see the Son of man COMING"
Matt. 24:29, "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the COMING of the Son of man be"
The Hope Of I Cor. 15 And I Thess. 4 Is Also The Second Coming Of Christ.
1 Cor. 15:22-23, “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s AT HIS COMING”.
1 Cor. 1:7, “So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.”
1 Thess. 4:15, "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto THE COMING OF THE LORD shall not prevent them which are asleep"
The hope of the Acts Believers was the coming of the Lord. Paul mentions it ten times in his Acts epistles. Check them out and see for yourself, 1 Cor. 1:7, 1 Cor. 4:5, 1 Cor. 11:26, 1 Cor. 15:23, 1 Thess. 2:19, 1 Thess. 3:13, 1 Thess. 4:15, 1 Thess. 5:23, 2 Thess.1:10, 2 Thess. 2:1.
Now, if the Lord has already come once to die for sinners, then the coming we have been reading about must be His Second Coming, right? Why is it so hard for Bible believers to admit that? A Bible believer once said that his hope was not the second coming of Christ, but it was the “rapture,” and he quoted 1 Thess. 4:15. Doesn’t Paul say they would be caught up at the COMING of the Lord? And doesn’t he mention His coming ten times in his Acts epistles? And if Christ has already come one time, wouldn’t this be his second coming?
(2.) IN MATT. 24 WHEN JESUS COMES, HE COMES IN THE CLOUDS.
Matt. 24:30 says, “They shall see the Son of man coming in the Clouds Of Heaven”
In 1 Thess. 4 and 1 Cor. 15, when Jesus Comes, He comes in Clouds.
1 Thess. 4:17 says, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them IN THE CLOUDS, to meet the Lord in the air.”
If you want to know where the clouds are, look up into the air, and you will see them. It’s the clouds in the lower atmosphere.
(3.) IN MATT. 24 WHEN JESUS COMES IN THE CLOUDS, HE WILL COME WITH ANGELS.
Matt. 24:31, "And He shall send forth his ANGELS"
In 1 Thess. 4 and 1 Cor. 15, when Jesus comes in the clouds, He will come with Angels.
1 Thess. 4:16, “HE will descend from heaven with... the voice of the ARCHANGEL.
Michael is the archangel and the prince of Israel (DAN 12:1-2), and where Michael goes, so do His Angels, read Rev. 12:7.
(4.) IN MATT. 24 WHEN JESUS COMES IN THE CLOUDS WITH ANGELS, A TRUMPET IS BLOWN.
Matt. 24:31, “And he shall send his angels with a great SOUND OF A TRUMPET”
In 1 Thess. 4 and I Cor. 15, when Jesus comes in the clouds with Angels, a Trumpet is blown.
I Cor. 15:52, “For The Trumpet Shall Sound and the dead shall be raised “1 Thess. 4:16 says, “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven ..with The Trump Of God”.
(5.) THE TRUMPET THAT IS BLOWN IN MATT. 24 IS THE LAST TRUMPET, FOR IT IS BLOWN AFTER THE GREAT TRIBULATION.
Matt. 24:29, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days ... Matt. 24:31 "he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet.”
The Trumpet in 1 Thess. 4 and 1 Cor.15 is specifically called The Last Trumpet.
1 Cor. 15:52, "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, At The Last Trump: for the Trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised.”
If Paul said they would be raised at the last trumpet, that means there are other trumpets blown before it. There is no denying the fact that before the second coming of Christ, trumpets are going to be blown. In Rev. Chapters 8-9-10-11, there will be at least seven trumpets blown before The Lord Jesus comes. In 1 Cor. 15, Paul said the dead would be raised at the Last Trumpet. If there are 7 Trumpets blown before He comes, which Trumpet is Paul referring to? That’s easy, it’s number 7 in Rev. 11:15, and it so happens that when the seventh trumpet is blown in Rev. 11, a resurrection of the Saints takes place, they are judged, and rewards are given out to them, read Rev. 11:15-18. Also read 2 Cor. 5:8-11.
Every trumpet that is going to be blown before Jesus comes is found in the Book of Revelation, so don’t waste your time running all over the Bible, trying to find another trumpet to get around the last trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15. If a trumpet is going to be blown, if a seal is going to be opened, if a vial is going to be poured out in the tribulation, You will find it in the Book of Revelation or Daniel. If it’s not in those Books, don’t waste your time searching through the Scriptures to come up with another trumpet, vial, or seal. (It’s amazing what people and preachers will do to get around these clear records! Just believe the Book and relax; for 1 Cor. 15 and 1 Thess. 4 is not your Hope. God gave us a new and better Hope, and it's found in the Prison Epistles of Paul, and it takes place before the first trumpet even blows. We will lay out the details of this Hope later, but we are studying the Acts period, and a pre-tribulation Hope was unheard of; in fact, that false doctrine only surfaced about 150 years ago.
When the resurrection of Matt. 24 takes place, not only will The Lord descend from Heaven in the clouds with His Angels and a Trumpet, but a Voice will be heard also.
The voice is not mentioned in Matt. 24, but it is in John 5:25-28. It says, "The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live"
In 1 THESS. 4 and 1 COR. 15 When the Lord descends from Heaven into the clouds with Angels and the sound of a Trumpet, a voice will be heard.
1 Thess. 4:16 “The Lord shall descend from heaven with a Shout ...
The shout is for the dead; the trumpet is for those alive.
(7.) IN MATT. 24 WHEN JESUS COMES WITH HIS ANGELS AND A SHOUT AND THE SOUND OF A TRUMPET, HIS ELECT WILL BE GATHERED TOGETHER.
Matt. 24:31, “They shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Also read Mark 13:27)
In 1 Cor. 15 and 1 Thess. 4, When Jesus comes with a shout, a trumpet, and angels, His elect will be gathered together.
2 Thess. 2:1 “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto HIm.
And those that he gathers together here are his elect also, according to 1 Thess. 1:4, and 2 Thess. 2:13.
(8.) IN MATT. 24 WHEN JESUS COMES IN THE CLOUDS, IT WILL BE SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED.
Matt. 24:42, “Watch, therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
In these verses, Jesus compares his coming with a thief breaking into a house. A thief comes suddenly and unexpectedly. He comes in and then gets out as fast as he can with the valuables and jewels he came after.
In these verses, Jesus Christ is as a thief breaking into a house. The house is this world that the devil is the god of (Matt.12:29). As a thief breaks into a house to take something of value out, His coming is to take his elect out of this world so that he can destroy it along with the devil (2 Pet. 3:10).
The Resurrection in 1 Thess. 4 and 1 Cor. 15 will be sudden and unexpected also.
1 Cor. 15:52 “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised...”
When Paul says: “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,” he is showing you HOW FAST that resurrection will take place. But when he says "AT the last trump”, he is showing you WHEN it will take place. It will be sudden and unexpected, just like the Hope of Matt. 24.
(9.) WHEN THE RESURRECTION OF MATT. 24 TAKES PLACE; BELIEVERS WHO ARE ALIVE WILL BE CAUGHT UP WITHOUT DYING.
This fact is brought out by the Lord in John 11. In John 11, Lazarus, who was Martha’s brother, died, and she wants Christ to raise him from the dead. And Jesus said unto her in John 11:23, “Thy brother shall rise again.” Martha saith unto him, "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said unto her: “I am the resurrection; and the life: he that believeth in me; though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die ... believest thou this?”
When Jesus said, "he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live.” He is referring to those who are dead when the resurrection of the last day takes place. And when He said, "whosoever liveth and believeth in me," He is referring to those who are alive when the resurrection of the last day takes place, and he says: “They shall never die.” When the resurrection of Matt. 24 takes place, those believers who are dead will be raised, and those believers who are alive will be gathered together without dying.
When the Resurrection of 1 Thess. 4 and 1 Cor. 15 takes place, believers who are alive will be caught up without dying.
1 Cor. 15:51 "I shew you a Mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed."
The Mystery of 1 Cor. 15:51 is not the resurrection, but it’s the fact that there will be some caught up without dying. But this is a mystery hidden in the Scriptures, for in 1 Cor. 15:55, Paul quotes Isa. 25:8, which says, "O Death where is thy sting?" In other words, in the Old Testament Scriptures, it was written down that somebody was going to get out of this life without experiencing the sting of death.
This is what Jesus is referring to in John 11:26 when he said, “He that liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” That was the only time that Christ mentioned that fact to anyone, and prior to Paul, it was the general consensus that by the time that resurrection took place, all believers would be dead. But God opened up the Scriptures to Paul, and he was the first man to fully understand that fact and write about it. But nevertheless, it was in the Old Testament Scriptures, even though concealed.
Isn’t it wonderful how the Bible opens up when you just believe what the words say and ignore what the preachers say?
(10.) THE RESURRECTION AND HOPE IN MATT. 24 WAS, OF COURSE, PROPHESIED BY THE PROPHETS.
The Hope of 1 Cor. 15:54 and 1 Thess. 4 were, of course, implied.
1 Cor. 15:54 “Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory, O Death where is thy sting? “O Grave, where is thy victory?”
When the resurrection of 1 Cor. 15 takes place, Old Testament prophecies concerning resurrection will be brought to pass, namely Hosea 13:14 and Isa. 25:8.
(11.) THE HOPE OF MATT. 24 WAS ISRAEL’S HOPE.
The resurrection Jesus describes in Matt.24 is the hope of the New Covenant that God made with Israel.
Hope of Paul’s Acts Epistles was The Hope of Israel.
Acts 28:20 "For this cause, therefore, have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the Hope of Israel, I am bound with this chain.
Paul refers to the Hope of Israel 4 times in Acts.
1. In Acts 23:6, he mentions the Hope as being resurrection.
2. In Acts 24:15, he mentions the hope as being resurrection.
3. In Acts 26:6-8 He mentions the hope as being resurrection.
4. In Acts 28:20-23 he mentions the Hope in connection with the Kingdom of God.
The Hope of Israel was to be resurrected into the kingdom of God; as a matter of fact, the only way they could get into the Kingdom of God was by resurrection.
That’s exactly what Paul is showing the Corinthians in 1 Cor. 15. In that Chapter; he is showing them how to get into the Kingdom of God, and guess what he told them had to happen for them to get in? They had to be resurrected and changed. WHY? Because in 1 Cor. 15:50, he said:
“Now this I say; brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
And in 1 Cor. 15:51, he told them they would all be changed, and the change would take place in resurrection. 1 Cor. 15 and 1 Thess. 4 is the hope of Israel. The hope of Israel was resurrection into the Kingdom of God, which is exactly what Paul is writing about in this chapter.
You say: “How did Gentiles in that Church end up with Israel’s Hope?” Because in the Acts period, they were grafted into Israel the good olive tree, according to Rom. 11:17. And being grafted into the tree, they partook of the fatness of the olive tree. The fatness of the olive tree was the blessings and promises made to the fathers, who were the root of the tree - Rom. 15:27. And one of those blessings and promises was their Hope of Resurrection.
(12.) BEFORE THE HOPE OF MATT. 24 TAKES PLACE; THERE WILL BE A FALLING AWAY, THAT IS, APOSTASY AND THE REVELATION OF THE ANTI-CHRIST.
In Matt. 24:11 Jesus said, "Many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (A reference to apostasy)
Matt. 24:15, "When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the Holy place ..." (A reference to the anti-Christ Dan. 11:31)
Matt. 24:24, "There would be false Christs; and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." (A reference to the Devil working false miracles.)
Paul said the exact same thing would take place before the Resurrection of 1 Thess. 4 and 1 Cor. 15 would take place.
2 Thess. 2:1-2 "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him; "that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor as by letter as from us that the day of Christ is at hand."
The day of Christ in 2 Thess. 2:2, was his coming and their gathering together unto him in 2 Thess. 2:1. The Thessalonians were “all shaken up” because somebody wrote them a false letter and told them it was at hand; that is, it was immediately to take place. If it were true, they were to soon face the wrath of 2 Thess. 1:8-9. So Paul, to assure them that His return was not imminent, tells them in 2 Thess. 2:3 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
For years Bible believers have wrestled with these Scriptures because they have been taught that the “so-called” Rapture in 1 Thess. 4 was a pre-tribulation rapture. We speak from personal experience. For once, we believed that until we compared the records from The Scriptures.
When we finally made up our minds to just believe what the Scriptures say, the verses shined onto us like the noonday sun! What is Paul saying here? He is saying that the day of Christ in 2 Thess. 2:2 was His Coming and their gathering together unto Him in 2 Thess. 2:1 is the same Hope found in 1 Thess. 4.
Somebody wrote a letter to them, forged Paul’s name to it, and told them it was at hand that is soon taking place. They were shaken up, for if that were true, then what Paul had taught them was wrong. Paul writes this letter to assure them that they had not been taught anything but The Truth about The Day of Christ that is, His Coming, which was still their Hope and gave instructions again on what would happen before His Coming. Paul said the Day of Christ would not take place until after a period of apostasy and the revelation of the Anti-Christ, which they knew had not taken place. (He also mentions the Devil working miracles in 2 Thess. 2:9)
The point that we are making is the Hope of 1 Thess. 4 which was the Day of Christ, would not take place until AFTER a period of apostasy and the revelation of the Anti-Christ, just like the resurrection in Matt. 24. Don’t get uptight thinking you’re going to be here when the Anti-Christ is revealed, for 1 Thess. 4 is not your Hope. We have a new and better Hope found in the Prison Epistles, which is described in the article That Blessed Hope. And that Hope takes place before the Tribulation ever begins, maybe years before.
We believe these 12 similarities between Matt. 24 and I Cor. 15 and 1 Thess. 4 are enough to convince any fair-minded believer that we have been looking at the same resurrection. If they are not the same, then there will be two resurrections that will take place in the future at the same time that are identical! Well, the reason they are identical is because they are the same.
The Body of Christ has ONE HOPE, but it is not found in 1 Thess. 4 or 1 Cor. 15; it is found in his Prison Epistles.
ADDITIONAL NAMES CONCERNING THE HOPE OF THE ACTS EPISTLES
When speaking of “Bible Things,” we should use “Bible Names.”
The word that most Christians use today for the resurrection is the word “Rapture.” The word “Rapture” is not Scripture at all. It does not appear in the Bible even one time. Upon looking at its definition, it is a terrible word to use for resurrection. The word “Rapture” means “Violence of a pleasing passion.” “A state or experience of being carried away by overwhelming emotion, ecstasy, or passion in a carnal, sensual, sexual manner.” As a matter of fact, the word “Rapture” comes from the Latin cognate raptus, meaning “seized and taken, kidnapped by force, snatched hold of and then taken hostage, carried off or away.” In Medieval times, raptus was sometimes used to describe the euphoria soldiers experienced after defeating a foe in battle, then seizing the opponent, and taking him away as a captive. Greek raptus virginum Sabinarum is a reference to the Sabine virgins, who were raped and abducted. Why would anyone want to use a worldly word for violent, forceful rape as a word for the resurrection of saints?
Whenever Paul writes about resurrection, he always uses the word “HOPE" (See Titus 2:13, Acts 28:20, Eph. 1:18). The word “HOPE" is the Bible name for resurrection, not the carnal, sensual word “Rapture."
People use 1 Thess. 1:10 to try to prove that the resurrection in 1 Thess. 4:15-18 takes place before the tribulation period begins. They point out that it says they would be delivered from the “wrath to come” and that they were not appointed to wrath in 1 Thess. 5:9. But, that cannot be true, for Paul also told them they would be resurrected at the last trumpet in 1 Cor. 15:52, and the last trumpet is the seventh of seven, that will be blown DURING the tribulation before Lord Jesus comes at the end. Paul also told them that the Day of Christ, which was His Coming and their gathering together unto Him, was not at hand, for it would be preceded by a falling away and the revelation of the Anti-Christ, which all takes place During The Tribulation, Not Before. (2 Thess. 2:1-6 ) You cannot ignore these facts when reading 1 Thess. 1:10.
The question then that we must answer is, “What is the Wrath to Come”? That expression appears three times in the Bible, Matt. 3:7, Luke 3:7, and 1 Thess. 1:10. In Matt. 3 and Luke 3, it is identified as the day that Jesus comes in a fire to burn up the chaff after He gathers the wheat into His garner. That day is at the Very End of the tribulation.
That’s the wrath of 1 Thess. 5:9 that they were not appointed to. That’s the "wrath to come” they were delivered from in 1 Thess. 1:10. As a matter of fact, even the tribulation saints are delivered from the wrath to come, and no believer, including the tribulation saints, is appointed to wrath. Before the wrath to come is unleashed upon this earth, at the very end of the tribulation, many believers from different ages will, by that time, have been resurrected. (Though not all at the same time.)
Also, the “wrath to come” that Paul wrote of in 1 Thess. 1:10 will not come until after the last trumpet is blown (Rev. 11:18), and it was at the last trumpet that they were to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. That’s why Paul told them that they could “Rest" when the wrath fell in 2 Thess. l:7.
If 1 Thess. 4 and 1 Cor. 15 are the Hope of The Church today (notice we said “IF”) and “if" God did not reveal a new and better Hope to Paul after the Acts period, then you can be assured that The Church will go through the tribulation just like Paul said.
And it would be false doctrine to preach a pre-tribulation resurrection. Furthermore, if you believe that 1 Thess. 4 and 1 Cor. 15 are the Hope of The Church today, then you ought to be honest enough to preach that it will take place at the end of the tribulation and not before. And we have more respect for a man that believes that 1 Thess. 4 is his hope and preaches that it will take place at the end of the tribulation than we do for a man that claims it as his hope but denies that it takes place at the end of the tribulation like Paul says it will.
We do realize that what we have written is not going to be “well-liked or received” by most Bible believers, but somebody has needed to stick their necks out and say this for a very long time. We know this is not going to “win many friends and influence many people," but somebody has got to be willing to become even the filth and off-scouring of the world and be looked upon as an evil doer by God’s own people. If that is what it takes for people to get their eyes open to what their Hope is, it is well worth it. The devil is doing everything he can to keep you from seeing the Truth about this Hope, and the one spoken of in the Prison Epistles
When men go up against the doctrines and traditions of men that have been believed and taught for many years, they will find themselves alone on the outside looking in. Their own friends will turn against them and turn away from them and accuse them of being troublemakers. That’s what happened to Paul, but he was willing to suffer abuse if that is what it took to show and reveal the Truth to people that God revealed to him.
It would be much easier to just go along with the religious system and preach their “rapture” as being the hope of the church today. It would be much easier to just ignore and even deny what Paul said about the Hope in 1 Thess. 4 and 1 Cor. 15, like everybody else is doing. But when God changes His program and replaces it with something new and better, it is wrong to go on preaching what He changed.
In other words, if God revealed a Hope to Paul in his Prison Epistles that is different and better than the one he wrote about in The Acts Epistles, wouldn’t it be wrong to go on teaching the Hope in the Acts epistles as the Hope of the Church today?
We hope this helps,
The Believers
Barry wrote:
What was the 14th Epistles Paul wrote? I only know of 13. Rom. Thru Philemon.
Barry
Dear Barry,
God bless you, and thank you for writing. Maybe this will help:
Chronological Order of Paul's Epistles
Seven Epistles before Acts 28
- GALATIANS. 'The just shall live by FAITH' (Gal. 3:11).
- 1 THESSALONIANS. 'Faith, Hope and Love'.
- 2 THESSALONIANS. Written to correct erroneous views arising out of the first epistle and emphasizing Satanic counterfeit (2 Thess. 2:1-17).
- HEBREWS. 'The just shall LIVE by faith' (Heb. 10:38).
- 1 CORINTHIANS. 'Faith, Hope and Charity' - these 'abide.'
- 2 CORINTHIANS. Written to correct erroneous views arising out of the first epistle and emphasizing Satanic counterfeit (2 Cor. 11:4-15).
- ROMANS. 'The JUST shall live by faith' (Rom. 1:17).
The Hope of Israel is in view from Acts 1:6 to Acts 28:20. It appears in Acts 26:6-7, Romans 15:12-13 and 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18. All reference to 'The twelve tribes,' 'The reign over the Gentiles, ' and the 'Archangel’ cease at Acts 28:28. With the setting aside of Israel, a new dispensation comes into operation and a new set of Epistles.
Seven Epistles after Acts 28
- EPHESIANS. The revelation of the Mystery.
- PHILIPPIANS. Bishops and Deacons. The Prize.
- PHILEMON. Truth in practice.
- COLOSSIANS. The revelation of the Mystery.
- 1 TIMOTHY. Bishops and Deacons.
- TITUS.
- 2 TIMOTHY. The Crown.
The pieces of evidence for the exact dating of these Prison and Pastoral Epistles are not sufficient to enable anyone to dogmatize. All that we feel can be said with some measure of confidence is that 1 Timothy and Titus were written in the interval of freedom that intervened between the two years at Rome (Acts 28:30), when Paul was treated as a military prisoner and allowed some measure of liberty, and the subsequent imprisonment when he was treated as an 'evil-doer,' and from which there was no hope entertained of release, except by death.
All God's Blessings,
The Believers- GALATIANS. 'The just shall live by FAITH' (Gal. 3:11).
Floyd wrote:
I have always believed the apostle Paul wrote Hebrews, but some question him being the writer. What evidence have you that it was Paul who wrote Hebrews, the way he starts and ends some believe is not Paul's way of writing.
Thanks,
Floyd
Dear Floyd,
God bless you, and thank you for writing. Yes, we believe Paul wrote Hebrews, and we present the following research to show why.
Hebrews
Paul, Its Writer
Paul wrote at least one epistle to the "Dispersion", for Peter says so (2 Pet. 3:15), but that, of course, does not prove that The Epistle to the Hebrews is referred to by Peter, nor does it prove that Paul wrote it. It only assures us that even though he was the Apostle to the Gentiles, he did write at least one Epistle to believers of the Jewish race. His own vehement love manifested in Romans 9:1-5 would also make it very likely that he would write to them as well as pray for them as he did. It has been objected that the style and the vocabulary of Hebrews is unlike that of Paul's other Epistles, but that can be accounted for both from the nature of the subject, and the great amount of the O.T. that is quoted and referred to. There are one or two features that link Hebrews with Paul's other Epistles, which we will set out before going on to the study of the Epistle itself.
If Hebrews be written by Paul, then he is the only writer in the N.T. to quote from Habakkuk two: "The just shall live by his faith". In Romans, the stress is laid upon the word "just" (Rom. 1:16-17). In Galatians, the stress is laid upon "faith" (Gal. 3:11). In Hebrews, the stress is laid upon "live" (Heb. 10:38). No other writer in the N.T. uses Psalm 8 in the way that Paul and the author of the Hebrews does. Notice the peculiar way in which Paul seizes upon the universality of the subjection when the end comes, "It is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him" (1 Cor. 15:27), and with this compare the peculiar argument of Hebrews 2, "For in that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him" (Heb. 2:8). Surely the same mind is revealed at work in both of these references to Psalm 8. The only other reference is that of Ephesians 1:22, where the theme is the ascended and seated Christ, Head over all things to The Church. Here there are two O.T. passages, handled in a way that suggests a common author.
The way in which a writer quotes Scripture will often prove a guide, and there is one passage, Deuteronomy 32:35, that will link the Epistle to the Hebrews with the Epistles of Paul, by its very peculiar mode of quoting the words "to Me belongeth vengeance and recompense" (Deut. 32:35). Had Romans 12:19 and Hebrews 10:30 contained a literal quotation of the LXX, it would have proved nothing as to common authorship, but if both passages depart from the LXX, and in the same particulars, a very strong case is made out. Here is the LXX of Deuteronomy 32:35:
- "For it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord" (Rom. 12:19).
"For we know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto Me, I will recompense, saith the Lord" (Heb. 10:30).
The reader may demur and object that the two passages are not exactly the same. In this way, they are cheated by the English translators.
Here is the Greek of Romans 12:19:
And the Greek of Hebrews 10:30:
Emoi ekdikesis, ego antapodsoo, legei kurios.
They are exactly the same down to the letter.
If this is not a pro of common authorship, what is? We now draw attention to the way in which certain words are used by Paul and which are used in the same connections in Hebrews.
- Agon, a word borrowed from the Greek games and translated as "conflict," "contention," and "fight" (Phil. 1:30, Col. 2:1, 1 Thess. 2:2, 1 Tim. 6:12 and 2 Tim. 4:7). The only other occurrence is Hebrews 12:1, "the race that is set before us."
- Athlesis, athleo, and sunathleo are similarly borrowed from the games (Heb. 10:32, Phil. 1:27, 2 Tim. 2:5). In addition, it should be noted that in 1 Corinthians 4:9, Paul uses the word theatron, "spectacle," and in Hebrews 10:33 theatrizomenoi, "gazing stock", which reveal the same shrinking and sensitive mind.
- Apekdechomai. This word does not occur anywhere else except in Paul's undoubted Epistles and Hebrews. It means always expectation in connection with the second coming of the Lord (Heb. 9:28, 1 Cor. 1:7, Phil. 3:20).
- Douleia, "bondage," occurs only in Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews. The bondage of corruption and the bondage of the fear of death are associated ideas.
- Intercession (entugchano) (Rom. 8:27, Heb, 7:25).
One will find other examples, but we pass on to other "proofs."
The writer of Hebrew speaks of our brother Timothy (Heb. 13:23). In the opening of 2 Corinthians and of Colossians, Timothy is called "our brother", while the idea that Timothy would "come" and that "shortly" is found in 1 Corinthians 16:10, 1 Thessalonians 3:6 and Philippians 2:19,24. Timothy, by reason of his parentage, had been circumcised and would be accepted by the Hebrew Christians. These are but a few selected from a mass of parallels accumulated, tabulated, analyzed, and commented on in a book of 670 pages by Forster on Hebrews, a book literally crammed full of evidence for the Pauline authorship of Hebrews. Our space, however, is exceedingly limited, and so we pass on to another proof of the Pauline authorship of Hebrews. It is often said that Paul's name does not occur in the Epistle. That is so, but his sign manual is there for all to see.
Owing to a deception that had been practiced upon the church by someone sending an Epistle purporting to have come from Paul, he drew attention to the fact that he wrote "like this" where not only the handwriting itself is referred to, a proof in itself, and one accepted today in banks, wills, leases, contracts, judgments, marriages, births, and deaths, but also that he adopted a certain phrase, which added to the proof of his identity. "The salutation of Paul WITH MINE OWN HAND."
"Which is the TOKEN in EVERY Epistle: so I write." Something therefore, Paul assured the reader he would write and that he would write it in every Epistle. This necessity would also demand Divine supervision to prevent anyone else from using the same terms at the close of an Epistle; otherwise, the object would be defeated. "So I write" (2 Thess. 3:17). Then follows, in the handwriting of Paul himself, the words "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen" (2 Thess. 3:18). Now if each of the thirteen epistles that bear the name of Paul is examined, it will be found that each has a benediction which uses the phrase "Grace . . . with you" in a variety of ways.
2 Corinthians concludes with the longest and fullest of these benedictions, and Titus ends with one of the shortest, "Grace be with you all. Amen" (Tit. 3:15). It is with these identical words that the epistle to the Hebrews closes. Shall we not, therefore, be compelled to accept this "sign-manual" of the Apostle and maintain that Paul was the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews? This is the one anonymous epistle of the twenty-one that are found in the N.T. Why should the writer of any epistle suppress his identity? When we remember the deep prejudice of the Jew, and of the Jewish Christians, and Paul's sensitiveness concerning them, and that he should give none offense, neither to Jew, Gentile nor the church of God, and that he was not sent as an Apostle to them, can we supply any adequate reason to account for the withholding of the writer's name. Sufficient, we trust, has been said on this head. Those who are not convinced will probably remain unconvinced, though we wrote a volume.
We turn now to another feature, the result of a comparison made between the distinctive teaching of Hebrews with that of Ephesians.
- Comparison No. 1. Ephesians, like the bulk of Paul's epistles, contains in its salutation the name "Paul" and his apostolic office. This indicates that he writes with full apostolic authority. It is not called a "word of exhortation" in which the readers are called upon "to suffer" as in Hebrews but is the revelation of a secret portion of the Divine plan presented to their faith by an accredited apostle. The absence of the name and office of Paul from Hebrews indicates that he was writing in a private capacity to those whose calling and sphere did not fall within the dispensation granted to him. This in no sense alters its inspiration, but it does call upon all who read it to exercise discrimination lest they confound things that differ.
- Comparison No. 2. Ephesians is most definitely and exclusively addressed to "Gentiles." This word never appears in Hebrews, which uses instead the words "the fathers" and "the people," neither of which finds a place in the epistle to the Ephesians, nor do these terms pertain to the dispensation of the grace of God entrusted to Paul the prisoner "for you Gentiles."
- Comparison No. 3. Hebrews is full of references to "angels": Ephesians does not once mention them but stresses the exaltation of the Lord above "principalities," a term not found in Hebrews. Yet both epistles quote Psalm 8 in reference to the Lord's exaltation, speaking, in Hebrews, of the Lord's relation to angels and, in Ephesians, of His relation to principalities and powers, two different spheres in glory being thus indicated.
- Comparison No. 4. While both Ephesians and Hebrews quote Psalm eight, the epistle to the Hebrews leaves us in no doubt that it speaks of the "habitable world to come" (oikoumene), whereas the context of the quotation of Psalm eight in Ephesians goes beyond the habitable world, beyond the present heavens to that place which is described as far above all principality and power, and speaks of Christ as "Head" and His church as "the body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all."
- Comparison No. 5. Redemption by blood is found both in Ephesians and Hebrews; so also is the forgiveness of sins, but in Hebrews, this redemption and forgiveness is associated with the old and new covenants. Also, "access" in Hebrews is related to the new covenant, and a different Greek word from that used in Ephesians is employed. The Ephesian saints had been "made nigh," whereas the Hebrews are exhorted to "draw near."
- Comparison No. 6. Both in Hebrews and in Ephesians, the outstanding position of Christ is "seated at the right hand of God," but in Hebrews, He is seen seated there as "the High Priest," whereas in Ephesians, He is seated there as "The Head." In Ephesians, the believer is looked upon as being seated with Him; in Hebrews, He is there alone. In the whole of Paul's thirteen epistles, there is not a single reference either to a priest or to a high priest, yet, without these offices, the teaching of Hebrews could not proceed. An examination of the Scriptures written prior to the law of Sinai reveals that sacrifices were offered not by a priest but by the head of a family or tribe. Priesthood is thus linked with Israel, but the Gentile calling of Ephesians is linked with Christ as Head.
- Comparison No. 7. The word diatheke, "covenant," lies at the heart of Hebrews. No covenant, old or new, enters into the teaching of Ephesians. The "seated Priest" of Hebrews is the Mediator of the new covenant, but this is entirely foreign to the calling or dispensation of Ephesians. In the place occupied by the new covenant in Hebrews, Ephesians places "The Mystery."
- Comparison No. 8. The hope of both epistles, when examined and compared, reveals the same associations that have marked all the preceding studies. "Prove all things, hold fast that which is good."
The preceding comparison is negative in character, but the present reveals that the purpose with which Hebrews was written is similar to the purpose of Philippians. The dispensation in which the two Epistles work is different, but their teaching is parallel. Both urge the believer to ''go on unto perfection," whatever that perfection may mean in either case, and both warn about drawing back "unto perdition," whatever that perdition may prove to be. In both a race and a prize is in view, even though the prize is different and the sphere of enjoyment is different.
Hebrews Philippians
Things accompanying salvation Heb. 6:9 Work out salvation Phil. 2:12
Heavenly city Heb. 11:10; Heb. 12,22 Citizenship in heaven Phil. 3:20
Reproach Heb. 11:26; Heb. 13:13 Fellowship of sufferings Phil. 3:10
Reward Heb. 10:35, Heb. 11:26 Prize Phil. 3:14
The race set before us Heb. 12:1 I press toward the mark Phil. 3:14
Leaving. . . let us go on Heb. 6:1-2 Forgetting things behind Phil. 3:13
Obtain a better resurrection Attain unto an out-resurrection
(Condition attached) Heb. 11:35 (Condition attached) Phil. 3:11
Power of His resurrection Heb. 13:20 Power of His resurrection Phil. 3:10
Work in . . . His will Heb. 13:21 Work in... His will Phil. 2:13
Christ the Image Heb. 1:3 Christ the Form Phil. 2:6
Angels worship Him Heb. 1:6 Every knee bow Phil. 2:10
Thou Lord, in beginning Heb. 1:10 Jesus Christ is Lord Phil. 2:11
A little lower than angels Heb. 2:9 No reputation... He humbled Himself Phil. 2:7-8
Cross endured for the joy and used Cross suffered... wherefore exalted...
as example Heb. 12:1-2 Let this mind be in you Phil. 2:5, Phil. 2:9
Crucify to themselves afresh Heb. 6:6 Enemies of the Cross of Christ Phil. 3:18
PERFECTION OR PERDITION
(Heb. 6:1, Heb. 10:39) (Phil. 3:12, Phil. 3:19)
Fight of afflictions (athlesis) Heb. 10:32 Strive together (sunathleo) Phil. 1:27, Phil. 4:3
Discernment Heb. 5:14 Discernment . . . differ Phil. 1:9-10
Look diligently lest. . . Esau Heb. 12:15 Mark them that walk Phil. 3:17
For one morsel of meat sold his birthright Heb. 12:16 Whose God is their belly Phil. 3:19
That generation - tempted God Perverse generation... do...
in the wilderness Heb. 3:7-10 without murmurings Phil. 2:14-15
Be content with such as ye have Heb. 13:5 Whatsoever state content Phil. 4:11
Communicate Heb. 13:16 Communicate Phil. 4:14,15
With such sacrifices well pleased Heb. 13:16 Sacrifice. . . sweet smell, well pleasing Phil. 4:18
Fruit of righteousness Heb. 12:11 Fruit of righteousness Phil. 1:11
Compassion in bonds Heb. 10:34 Partaker in bonds Phil. 1:7
Whose faith follow (mimsomai) Heb. 13:7 Be followers together of me (summimetes) Phil. 3:17
Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your goods Heb. 10:34 Let your moderation be known unto all men Phil. 4:5
You have in heaven an enduring substance Our citizenship is in heaven
(huparchonta) Heb. 10:34 (huparcho) Phil. 3:20
Salutation from Italy Heb. 13:24 Salutation from Caesar's household Phil. 4:22
Paul's sign manual Heb. 13 :25 Paul's sign manual Phil. 4:23
We hope this helps,
The Believers
Carol wrote:
I think this study is fascinating. However, I would like to point out that Jesus was not in hell for 3 days and 3 nights. He died on Friday afternoon and rose on Sunday morning at sunrise when the priest was collecting the firstfruits of the harvest. Three days, maybe, but only two nights!
Cheers,
Carol
Dear Carol,
God Bless you, and thank you for writing.
THE "THREE DAYS" AND "THREE NIGHTS"
OF
MATT. 12:40
The fact that "three days" is used by the Hebrew idiom for any part of three days and three nights is not disputed because that was the common way of reckoning, just as it was when used for years. Three or any number of years was used inclusively for any part of those years, as may be seen in the reckoning of the reigns of any of the kings of Israel or Judah.
But, when the number of "nights" is stated as well as the number of "days," then the expression ceases to be an idiom and becomes a literal statement of fact.
Moreover, as the Hebrew day began at sunset, the day was reckoned from one sunset to another, the "twelve hours in the day" (John 11:9) being reckoned from sunrise and the twelve hours of the night from sunset. An evening-morning was thus used for a whole day of twenty-four hours, as in the first chapter of Genesis. Hence, the expression "a night and a day" in 2 Cor. 11:25 denotes a complete day (Greek nuchthemeron).
When Esther says (Est. 4:16), "fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days," she defines her meaning as being three complete days because she adds (being a Jewess) "night or day." And when it is written that the fast ended on "the third day" (Est. 5:1), "the third day" must have succeeded and included the third night.
In like manner, the sacred record states that the young man (in 1 Sam. 30:12) "had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights." Hence, when the young man explains the reason, he says, "because three days agone I fell sick". He means, therefore, three complete days and nights because, being an Egyptian (1 Sam. 30:11, 1 Sam. 30:13), he naturally reckoned his day as beginning at sunrise according to the Egyptian manner (see Encycl. Brit., 11th (Cambridge) ed., vol. xi. p. 77). His "three days agone" refers to the beginning of his sickness and includes the whole period, stating the reason for his having gone without food during the whole period.
Hence, when it says that "Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights" (Jonah 1:17), it means exactly what it says, and this can be the only meaning of the expression in Matt. 12:40; Matt. 16:4.
(Our Wednesday sunset to Thursday sunset.)
The First Night And First Day In The Tomb.
The Second Day Of The Feast - The 16th Day Of Nisan.
(Our Thursday sunset to Friday sunset.)
The Second Night And Second Day In The Tomb.
The Third Day Of The Feast - "the (weekly) Sabbath" - The 17th Day Of Nisan
(Our Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.)
The Third Night And Third Day In The Tomb.
"The First Day Of The Week" - The 18th Day Of Nisan
(Our Saturday sunset: "the third day" of Matt. 16:21, &c.; not the third day of the Feast.)
It will be seen from the above that we have neither power nor authority to alter or shift any day or date or change the order or position of any events recorded in The Holy Writ.
Each day is marked by a return to Bethany during the last week (up to the Preparation Day), and each day is filled with recorded events.
It follows, therefore, that the Lord was crucified on our Wednesday, was buried on that day before sunset, and remained "three days and three nights" in the tomb, as foretold by Him in Matt. 12:40; rising from the dead on "the third day," "the first day of the week."
The fixed days and dates, at either end, hold the whole period as in a vice and place the whole subject on a sure foundation.
All God's Blessings,
The Believers
Ephesians 1:4
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. . .
Nda wrote:
Greetings in Jesus name,
I was intrigued by the content of your website. However, I did not have sufficient time to browse through the whole website thoroughly.
May I pose just one question: what Biblical evidence can you cite to substantiate the notion that plants and animals in Eden were dying before Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden? I picked up this notion from clicking a link to your Bible studies. This is the context of the notion that I say I contrived from your statements:
Adam was made a living soul and afterward put in a garden eastward in Eden. He was set in an environment of mortality. All about him, plants and animals were dying. He knew the facts of death.
I find absolutely no evidence from Scripture that Adam was surrounded by plant and animal life that died all around him, even before he fell into sin and came under the curse of death himself.
On my iGoogle homepage, I have subscribed to your Bible Verse for the Day. Genesis 3:15 is one of my favorite texts, the critical text describing God's eternal provision for man's wilful sinning. I more than agree with you when you state that Adams living up to the age of 930 years did not mean that he did not die at the moment that he sinned. It is just that God absorbed Adam's default and died in his stead, that death symbolized by the death of the first animal sacrifice for man's sin.
Kind regards,
Nda
(South Africa)
Dear Nda,
God Bless you, and thank you for writing. We believe that the only place to look is the Scriptures, not at what men may say about the Scriptures. We believe The Word Of God answers your question but only through the knowledge of a number of Scriptural Truths about the devil and his rebellion, the earth that was and perished, and man's soul and that of the animals.
If we consider the devil, the Scripture says:
Isaiah 14:12-14 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
So there was war in heaven, the devil was defeated and cast down, and creation disrupted, and the first earth perished.
2 Pet. 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
We know this is true from Scripture and the fossil record going back millions of years, so clearly, death happened long before Adam.
Christ said of the devil:
John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
So, from the beginning of the devil's rebellion, there was murder long before Adam.
For more on this subject, see Fallen Angels.
If we think about Adam and the animals we find that Genesis 2:4-25 supplements the account of Genesis 1, giving us fuller details of the formation both of Adam himself and of Eve. "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground." Man shares with the rest of the animal creation an earthly origin - "of the earth, earthy."
There is, however, a difference to be observed.
"And (He) breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." This expression, a translation of neshamah, occurs 24 times in the Old Testament. If these occurrences are examined, the conclusion arrived at is that this "breath of life" belongs only to God and to man and not to the lower orders of creation. Man is separated from the rest of creation. He is, for a little, lower than the angels. He is in possession of the "breath of life," a gift not possessed by any other creature on the earth. He is in the image and likeness of God.
The characteristics in which man is allied to the existing creation are expressed in the third statement - "And man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7). Tradition has it that this implies the immortality of the soul. Scripture declares that Adam, as created, was natural and thus non-spiritual.
... The first man Adam was made a living soul ... that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural (1 Cor. 15:45-46).
The translation blunts the point of the argument here. Our language possesses the two words, 'spirit' and 'spiritual,' but not the words 'soul' and 'soulish or soulical.' Now the word translated 'natural' is rightly 'soulical' if such a word could be permitted. All that Adam was and could give to his descendants was soulish and earthy; the Lord Jesus alone, as the Last Adam and the Second Man, can give spiritual and heavenly enduements. The words, "man became a living soul," far from teaching man's spiritual and immortal nature, actually teach the reverse. The following passages taken from Genesis will prove this without any doubt:
"The moving creature that hath life (margin soul)" (Gen. 1:20).
"Every living creature that moveth (margin living soul)" (Gen. 1:21).
"Let the earth bring forth the living creature" (Gen. 1:24).
"Everything... wherein there is life (margin a living soul)" (Gen. 1:30).
The two words nephesh and psuche, the Hebrew and Greek respectively, for 'soul,' occur 857 times in the Scriptures. Yet, not one reference can be found that speaks of an immortal or never-dying soul. Consequently, we reject such teaching as untrue and accept that the are mortal and can and do die. A reading of Genesis 3:22-23, moreover, shows that The Tree of Life was such that man, by partaking of it, could live forever, but that as a result of sin, God took special precautions to prevent man from living forever by banishing him from the garden. Immortality can only be obtained through Christ and will be entered upon at Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:53-54).
Animals could not eat of the Tree of Life, and so when God told Adam:
Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Adam knew what that meant, for he had seen animals die, as no soul is immortal and must eat of The Tree of Life to continue living.
We now look deeper into God's Word to discover more Truth and add further light on the subject.
Foundation
There is something unique in Ephesians 1:4 that, when once perceived, makes the calling of The Church of The One Body completely separate from that of any other company spoken of in the Scriptures. The peculiarity of this calling does not rest on the word foundation; whatever that word shall ultimately prove to be, it rests on the word "before," this is the unique feature.
All other callings are related to a choice and a purpose dated "from or since" the foundation of the world; this calling of Ephesians alone is related to a choice and a purpose that goes back to before that era. As a certain amount of doctrine must be built upon these two prepositions before and from, some acquaintance with them seems called for.
The Greek Pro, translated as "before," is a preposition that indicates time, place, or preference.
1. Before in respect of place: The Judge standeth before the door (Jas. 5:9).
2. Before in respect of time: Judge nothing before the time (1 Cor. 4:5).
3. Before in respect of preference: He is before all things (Col. 1:17).
The Greek Apo, translated as "from," is a preposition that indicates separation or origin. The primary use of apo is with reference to place, but by a recognized transition, it can be employed of the distance of time of the temporal terminus from which:
-
- From that time Jesus began to preach (Matt. 4:17).
- From two years old and under (Matt. 2:16).
- From the beginning of the world (Eph. 3:9).
- From that time Jesus began to preach (Matt. 4:17).
The two expressions from the foundation of the world and before the foundation of the world occur as follows:
FROM THE FOUNDATION
1. With reference to the use of parables, in speaking of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world (Matt. 13:35).
2. With reference to the separation of the nations at the second coming of Christ: Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:34).
3. With reference to the character of those who killed the prophets sent to them: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation (Luke 11:50).
4. With reference to the typical character of the Sabbath: As I have sworn in My wrath, if they shall enter into My rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world (Heb. 4:3).
5. With reference to the character of the offering of Christ: Nor yet that He should offer Himself often ... for then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world (Heb. 9:25-26).
6. Everyone whose name hath not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain (Rev. 13:8, R.V. margin). They whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world (Rev. 17:8, R.V.).
BEFORE THE FOUNDATION
-
- With reference to Christ alone: Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world (John 17:24).
- As of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:19-20).
- With reference to the Redeemed: Chosen us In Him before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4).
- With reference to Christ alone: Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world (John 17:24).
Commenting upon the most obvious difference between these two sets of passages is unnecessary. However, let us not miss one precious item of doctrine revealed by comparing the three references "before the foundation" together. In John 17:24, Christ was "loved" - agapao; in 1 Peter 1:19-20, He was without "blemish" and without spot. amomos. In Ephesians 1:4, the believer is said to have been chosen before the foundation of the world in "love" agape, to be "blameless" amomos. Here, those chosen in Christ were looked upon as being so closely identified with Him that the same terms are used. No wonder, as we proceed, we read of further identification with The Beloved, which speaks of being crucified with Christ, raised together, seated together, and ultimately manifested with Him in Glory. These two sets of terms before and since indicate two distinct time periods. Further studies will show that before and since the age times is a somewhat similar set of terms, but before this, we must understand the meaning of the word foundation.
Our thoughts naturally turn to passages such as Job 38:4 and Isaiah 48:13, where the Lord speaks of laying the earth's foundation. Now, happily, we have a New Testament quotation in Hebrews 1:10, where the word foundation is expressed by the Greek word themelion, but when we turn to any of the passages where the words before or from the foundation of the world occur, themelion is not found, but instead, the word katabole is employed. It is impossible to argue that Paul, for some peculiar reason, would not and did not employ the word themelion, for it occurs as the translation of the word "foundation" of a temple in Ephesians 2:20-21, the "foundation" of the apostles and prophets, and again in 1 Corinthians 3:10 and 2 Timothy 2:19. There must be, therefore, some good reason for choosing so different a word as katabole.
This word has entered into our own language as a biological term - metabolism, being the name given to the process in an organism or a living cell by which nutritive material is built up into living matter, and this process is divided into (1) constructive metabolism, which is called anabolism, by which protoplasm is broken down into simpler substances to perform special functions; and (2) destructive metabolism, which is called katabolism. In its biological use, katabole indicates destruction.
It is strange, if the word means to place upon a foundation that scientists should have adopted it to indicate disruption. The verb kataballo is used three times in the New Testament.
Examples can be adduced to show that in some passages of classical Greek, the words katabole and kataballo approximate the translation of the A.V. and speak of laying a foundation, but many references can be brought forward to prove exactly the opposite sense. Liddle and Scott, in their Lexicon, give an explanation of kataballo to throw down, cast down, overthrow, lay down, strike down, kill, bring down to nothing, let fall, drop down, cast off, reject, neglect, abandon and only in the middle voice are examples given of laying down a foundation. So under katabole, the meaning is divided between laying foundations and paying down installments, and periodical attacks of illness and generally any disease, as a cataract in the eye. It will be seen that classical usage points in two ways, but with the preponderant weight in favor of the translation overthrow.
The Septuagint version knows no such diversity. This version comes down solid for the translation overthrow and uses the verbal form of themelion (foundation, Eph. 2:20) when it wishes to speak of laying a foundation, for example, Joshua 6:26, 2 Chronicles 8:16 and Job 38:4. If the apostle wished to speak of laying a foundation he had this word themelioo right in hand. In Ephesians 1:4, he evidently did not wish to speak of laying a foundation and chose by Divine Inspiration a word that consistently means in the Septuagint overthrow. It should be remembered, moreover, that there is no word for foundation in Ephesians 1:4 apart from katabole, the word under review.
It is possible to dig out from the writings of antiquity examples that prove that katabole and kataballo are employed to lay a foundation, and similar examples can be found of the most important words. However, the matter is settled when the believer learns that the Septuagint consistently uses kataballo to mean overthrow and employs themelioo to lay a foundation. If the apostle, when writing to the Ephesians, introduced a word with a new meaning from that which had been associated with it in the sacred books of the Jews for over two centuries, then it would have been necessary for him to have warned his readers of the change.
With these prefatory remarks, the reader is invited to consider the scriptural meaning of the words of the apostle translated in the A.V. "before the foundation of the world."
Kataballo occurs thirty times in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament Scriptures. It will strengthen the faith of many and deepen the conviction of most if these references which contain the word kataballo are quoted, but to avoid occupying a disproportionate amount of space, verses will not be given in full. We will also quote from the A.V. instead of giving translations of the LXX version, except in those cases where the LXX has an entirely different text. Those who have access to the LXX will not be hindered, and those who cannot refer to it will be helped.
2 Samuel 20:15. (LXX 2 Kings.) Joab battered the wall, to "throw it down."
2 Kings 3:19, 2 Kings 3:25. (LXX 4 Kings.) Ye (they) shall "fell (felled)" every good tree.
2 Kings 6:5. (LXX 4 Kings.) As one was "felling" a beam.
2 Kings 19:7. (LXX 4 Kings.) I will cause him to "fall" by the sword.
2 Chron. 32:21. They ... "slew" him there with the sword.
Job. 12:14. Behold, He "breaketh down," and it cannot be built again.
Job 16:9. He "teareth" me in His wrath.
Job 16:14. He breaketh me with "breach" upon "breach."
Psa. 37:14. (LXX 36.) To "cast down" the poor and needy.
Psa. 73:18. (LXX 72.) Thou "castedst them down" into destruction.
Psa. 106:26-27. (LXX 105.) To "overthrow" them in the wilderness.
Prov. 7:26. She hath "cast down" many wounded.
Prov. 18:7. (LXX 8.) A fool's mouth is his "destruction."
Prov. 25:28. Like a city that is "broken down," and without walls.
Isa. 16:9. Esebon and Eleale have "cast down" thy trees (LXX translation).
Isa. 26:5. The lofty city, He "layeth it low."
Jer. 19:7. I will cause them to "fall" ... before their enemies.
Ezek. 6:4. I will "cast down" your slain men before your idols.
Ezek. 23:25. Thy remnant shall "fall" by the sword.
Ezek. 26:4. They shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and "break down" her towers.
Ezek. 26:9. He shall "cast down" with his swords (LXX translation).
Ezek. 26:12. He shall "cast down" thy walls (LXX translation).
Ezek. 29:5. I will leave thee "thrown" into the wilderness.
Ezek. 30:22. I will cause the sword to "fall out" of his hand.
Ezek. 31:12. Have "cast him down" upon the mountains (LXX translation).
Ezek. 32:12. Will I cause thy multitude to "fall."
Ezek. 39:4. Thou shalt "fall" upon the mountains of Israel.
Dan. 11:12. He shall "cast down" many ten thousands.
Naphal. To cast down, to fall (LXX ref. 2 Sam. 20:15 and sixteen other references).
Haras. To crush (LXX ref. Job. 12:14; Ezek. 26:4, Ezek. 26:12).
Shacath. To mar, corrupt or destroy (LXX ref. Ezek. 26:4).
Natash. To leave, spread out (LXX ref. Ezek. 29:5; Ezek. 31:12).
Nathats. To break down (LXX ref. Ezek. 26:9).
Parats. To break forth. (LXX ref. Job 16:14).
Taraph. To tear (LXX ref. Job 16:9).
Without a careful study of the Scriptures, we would fail to divide those things that God has made the same from those that differ and miss His True Blessings that He has bestowed upon us. When we teach His Word without careful examination of the words in The Word, we will fail in our responsibility to help others by Rightly Dividing what He has told us of creation and the spheres of blessings He has placed therein.
Next, let us examine whether the creation in Genesis was just physical.
Heaven
Heaven. There are five words employed in the Hebrew O.T. translated as "heaven" and one Greek word so translated in the N.T. Of the Hebrew words, galgal (Psa. 77:18) refers to the "rolling clouds," the word galgal being elsewhere rendered "wheel" and "rolling thing." Shachaq, used in Psalm 89:6 and Psalm 89:37, means a "thin cloud" and is elsewhere translated as "cloud," "sky," and "small dust." It may be accidental, but it is nevertheless interesting that the blue color, and hence the visibility of the "sky," is owing to the refraction of blue rays of light and that "it is to the vapoury and the earthy particles in the atmosphere that the refraction is due; but for these, there would be total darkness till the instant of sunrise." As the imagery of the O.T. has been seized upon to "prove" the unscientific character of these ancient writings, the inclusion of the above note may not be without justification. Arabah "mixed" (Psa. 68:4) and ariphim "dropping" (Isa. 5:30) complete the references that refer to the clouds under the covering figure of heaven.
Shamayim. This Hebrew word is the one that is translated as "heaven" or "heavens" in the O.T. except in those portions where the Chaldee equivalent shemayin is used (Ezra, Daniel, and Jeremiah 10:11). The Hebrew shamayim occurs in the O.T. 419 times, of these, twenty-one occurrences are translated "air," as in Genesis 1:26. In the N.T. only one word, ouranos, is translated "heaven." This Greek word occurs over 280 times, of which "air" accounts for ten occurrences and "sky" for five. "The name "heaven" in our own language has been explained, according to its etymology, as that which is heaved or lifted up, and a similar origin has been assigned to the Greek ouranos and the Hebrew shamayim. The nature of the temporary "heaven" stretched out like a tent over the earth during the ages of Redemption. In this article, we deal with heaven itself. Whether the translation reads "heaven" or "heavens," the word is always plural in the original. This no more indicates a plurality of "heavens" than the plural Elohim "God" indicates a plurality of gods. There is a use of the plural in the Hebrew language known as "The Plural of Majesty" as, for example, "the sacrifices of God" in Psalm 51:17, which means "the Great Sacrifice."
Creation is divided into two parts, "heaven and earth" (Gen. 1:1), which in Colossians 1:16 is expanded to mean "all things visible and invisible," and the term "heaven" may include thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, as well as physical sun, moon, and stars. Heaven is often used as a symbol of authority, for example, when Nebuchadnezzar learned "that the heavens do rule" (Dan. 4:26). The superiority of the heavens to the earth is expressed in the words "on high" (Luke 1:78, Heb. 1:3), "height" (Isa. 7:11, Psa. 148:1, Prov. 25:3). It is possible that, after Genesis 1:1, there are but nine or ten references to "heaven itself," i.e., The Heaven of Genesis 1:1, in the whole of the O.T. This can be put to the test by reading the Book of Genesis, and noting every allusion to "heaven." We read of the waters that are under heaven, lights in the firmament of heaven, fowl that fly in the "air," the windows of heaven opened at the deluge, Abraham directed to look toward heaven, to the countless number of the stars, but no passage demands that the term "heaven" should be interpreted of the heaven of Genesis 1:1. We cannot print here the 419 references to heaven, but we can print the nine or ten references that look beyond the present limited firmament.
- "Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God" (Deut. 10:14).
Here Moses draws attention to the firmament which is "called" heaven, and the Heaven of heavens, the Heavens in the highest degree that were created long before the six days of Genesis 1:3-2:1. No further reference is made to the Heavens themselves, until the days of David and Solomon, where in Psalm 8:1, Psa. 57:5, Psa. 57:11, Psa. 108:5, Psa. 113:4, Psa. 115:16 and Psa. 148:4, we have six references to a Glory that is above the present limited heavens, making, with Deuteronomy 10:14, seven in all, the perfect number; in all other places, the heavens referred to are put into correspondence with the firmament (Psa. 19:1) either by the actual statement or by implication. Five hundred years after Moses, Solomon recognized that neither the present heavens nor the Heaven of heavens could "contain" God (1 Kings 8:27), and the last reference to the Heaven of heavens, in contrast with the firmament, is found in the Levites' prayer (Neh. 9:6).
Even when we bring these passages forward, they only emphasize the fact that "the heaven" of the O.T. was the "firmament" of Genesis 1:8, stretched out like a curtain or a tent for God to dwell in (Isa. 40:22) and any reference in Psalm or Prophecy that speaks of heaven as God's "dwelling place" refers to this tabernacle formed by the firmament. When we open the N.T., it is pardonable if we expect to find a great advance upon this limitation of the term "heaven." Twelve times do we read in Matthew of the "Father which is in heaven," but we also read that the heavens were opened at the baptism of the Lord, that the heavens are to pass away, and unless it is a matter beyond dispute that "angels" inhabit the Heaven of heavens, we shall find no instance in The Gospel of Matthew of a reference to any other "heaven" than the firmament of Genesis 1:8.
We have to wait until we reach The Gospel of John for any explicit reference to the highest heavens, and there the Saviour speaks of ascending up to Heaven to where He was before (John 3:13, John 6:62), to The Glory that He had "before the world was" (John 17:5). In these few references is contained practically all that is said of the "Heavens" of Genesis 1:1 in The Four Gospels. The only Calling and company, Hope, and Sphere of Blessing that pierces the present firmament above us and ascends to where Christ sits at the right hand of God is The Church of The Mystery. Christ is set forth, in Ephesians 4:10, as having ascended "Far above all heavens" yet revealed as seated at the right hand of God "in The Heavenly Places." These Heavenly Places, therefore, must be above the limitations of the outstretched heavens. This is not invalidated by the fact that the selfsame sphere is called in Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians "Heaven," for we must not allow ourselves to rob "Heaven itself" of its true title simply because we have used it so often of the limited firmament. In connection with this same calling, Christ can be said to be both "Far above all the heavens" yet "in Heaven" at the right hand of God.
There are eleven references to "heaven" in the Epistle to the Hebrews; one only speaks of "Heaven itself," and the others refer to the lesser and lower heavens. For the heavens created as recorded in Hebrews 1:10 are to "perish," but this can never be said of "Heaven itself," Christ is said to have "passed through the heavens," dierchomai (Heb. 4:14) and as being made "Higher than the heavens" (Heb. 7:26), without involving any contradiction in the saying that He Who passed through the heavens and was made higher than the heavens, was at the selfsame time depicted as entering "Heaven itself" (Heb. 9:24). The contradiction only exists in our minds if we fail to distinguish the Heaven of the beginning, Genesis 1:1 from the heaven of the ages, Genesis 1:8. The only references to the heavens of Genesis 1:1 that are found in the remainder of the N.T. are those of Peter and of the Revelation, which speaks of a new heaven and new earth (2 Pet. 3:13, Rev. 21:1).
The new heavens and the new earth spoken of by Isaiah are related to Jerusalem (Isa. 65:17-18). Where we read in Revelation 21 of a "first heaven" and a "first earth," the word translated "first," protos, is rendered in Rev. 21:4 as "the former things," and we should possibly translate Revelation 21:1, "the former heaven and the former earth," the reference to "no more sea" being an evident allusion to Genesis 1:2. In connection with the subject before us, let us turn to the words of Paul as found in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4. In direct connection with the visions and revelations he had received, he refers to an extraordinary experience. Whether he was "in the body or whether out of the body," he could not tell, but he did know that he had been caught up to the third heaven . . . caught up into paradise.
First, we must be clear as to the meaning of the term "caught up." The word "up" in this passage has no equivalent in Greek, and to attempt to make it have any bearing upon the subject betrays as much ignorance of the original as would be betrayed by anyone seeking to extract the idea of direction upward, from such idiomatic phrases of the English language as "shut up," "wash up," "lock up" and the like. We can omit the word "up" for the Greek word arpazo is translated as "take by force," "catch away," "pluck," "caught away," and "pull." The phrase "in the body" translates as en somati, which is very like the phrase en pneumati "in spirit" used on the occasion when John was translated to "The Day of the Lord" (Rev. 1:10). The closest parallel is that of the experience of Philip, who was "caught away" by The Spirit of The Lord and was "found at Azotus," some miles away.
Evidently, the third heaven to which Paul was "caught away" was Paradise. Otherwise, his reiteration would need a deal of explanation. Paradise has been located in different regions by different teachers, mainly in accordance with their peculiar beliefs concerning the intermediate state. If we keep close to the Scriptural meaning of Paradise, we shall know that it is derived from the Hebrew pardes (Neh. 2:8, Song. 4:13) and means "a garden or orchard," and when we meet the word in the Book of Revelation, it has no connection whatever with an intermediate state but is still a garden and orchard, it is indeed the garden of Eden restored and extended.
In what way, we may ask, can this Paradise at the end of the age be in any way related to the "third" heaven? If we count the third heaven as being like the third story of a building, it will certainly appear incongruous. But Revelation 21 has already spoken of "a new earth" and a "former earth," consequently it would be true to say, even as Peter in 2 Peter 3 has indicated, that there was a first heaven in the beginning (Gen. 1:1); a second heaven, at the making of the earth ready for mankind (Gen. 1:8); a third heaven, at the end when redemption shall be finished (Rev. 21:1). It was to this "heaven" and this "paradise" that Paul was caught away, and as he stresses more than any other writer in the N.T. the blessings of the New Creation, it is quite understandable that he should associate this great goal of the ages with the visions and revelation he had received in connection with his apostleship.
The great lesson that forces itself upon our attention, however, is the fact that, apart from Paul's ministry, and especially his prison ministry, there is scarcely any reference in the Scriptures, either Old or New, to The Heaven of Genesis 1:1. The Hope of The Mystery alone pierces the intervening firmament and places the believer "Far above all" even where Christ sits at the right hand of God. We must now consider the special term "Heavenly Places," but we will devote separate studies to this.
All God's Blessings,
The Believers
