THE
THE
Angelic
Rule About to End, Man’s
Rule About to Begin
[* From CHAPTER 8 with APPENDIX I & II in the author’s book:
“MESSAGE IN THE
GOSPELS, ACTS, EPISTLES” (pp. 133-172).]
BY
ARLEN L. CHITWOOD
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[Book cover writing]
Salvation by grace through faith,
contrary to much popular teaching and belief, is NOT in the Gospels, NOT
in Acts, NOT in the Epistles. NOR is this the central message dealt
with through the Old Testament. NOR
does any single book, Old Testament or New Testament deal with this message in
a central respect.
John’s gospel and Romans are two
books often dealt with as centring around salvation by
grace. But NEITHER
book is structured in this manner. John’s gospel, in this respect, is NO DIFFERENT than
any one of the other Epistles. The SAME
central message pervades ALL
Scripture. The first man, the first Adam, near the beginning of Scripture, was created to replace the incumbent ruler in the kingdom
associated with one province in God’s universal kingdom - the earth (Gen. 1: 26-28). And the second Man the last Adam, near the end of Scripture
is seen returning back to this earth to take this kingdom from the same ruler (Rev. 11: 15). And all lies between these two points,
separated by almost the whole of Scripture and 6,000 years of time, has to do
with a restoration of those from the
lineage of the first Adam so that they can realize an inheritance with the Last Adam when He takes the kingdom
realizing the purpose for man’s creation in the beginning.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[Page 133]
CHAPTER 8
“Therefore
we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
For if
the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and
every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward;
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
God also bearing them
witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and
gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?
For unto the angels hath
he not put in subjection the world to come,
whereof we speak.” (Heb. 2: 1-5).
The preceding five verses
from Hebrews chapter two are being used to introduce
the final chapter of this book, for a reason. This book has
dealt with numerous things pertaining to man’s
salvation in relation to the kingdom of this world - the central
subject throughout the New Testament, introduced from the Old Testament - seen throughout the gospels,
Acts, the epistles, and concluded in the Book of Revelation, when this kingdom
becomes “that of our
Lord and of his Christ” (Rev. 11: 15; cf. Dan.
2: 44, 45).
But, Problems
Though the preceding is the
central subject pervading the whole of the the New
Testament (actually,
the whole of Scripture), Christians [Page 134] in general
seem to grasp or understand very little about salvation in relation to this
kingdom, particularly present and / or aspects of salvation inseparably
connected with this kingdom.
Most either ignore or don’t know
what is actually stated in Scripture and end up dealing with salvation by grace
as the central subject throughout the New Testament - with the man’s eternal
salvation, assuring him of heaven, as they state matters - usually centering
somewhat on things stated in John’s gospel and in the Book of Romans.
1) Salvation by Grace - Genesis, John,
Romans
Though salvation by grace can be
found in both John’s gospel and the Book of Romans, this is simply
NOT the central message, either book, or in any other book in Scripture. The central message in both
books is a message to the saved, NOT a message to the unsaved.
But, this is either being
ignored or not understood, with salvation by grace being read into passages
which deal with present and future aspects of salvation, not to the past aspect
of salvation. And attempts to read a different message
of this nature into parts of Scripture where another message exists can only
serve to destroy the existing message, along with often corrupting the message
being read into the passage.
Scripture deals with the whole
panorama of salvation, the whole panorama of the gospel message, beginning with
the gospel of grace. But, very little time is spent at
any place in Scripture on the gospel of grace. God’s
revelation to man is centered around present and future aspects of salvation,
present and future aspects the gospel message, NOT the past aspect.
Man though has turned it all
around, resulting in an existing confusion throughout the complete panorama of
the salvation message.
That is
to say, using the original type in Genesis
pertaining to the complete panorama of the salvation message, man invariably,
dwells upon and spends most of his time dealing with that foreshadowed by God’s
restorative activity on day one in Gen. 1 (vv. 2b-5), either
ignoring God’s restorative activity on the remaining five days or trying to
somehow make that foreshadowed by this [Page 135] subsequent, continuing restorative activity apply to that
foreshadowed by His restorative activity back on day one.
Or, to state that another way,
man usually spends most of his time on that which Scripture spends very little
time dealing with; and he, in turn, usually spends very little time on that
where Scripture places the emphasis.
And to
add confusion to confusion, man, through the previous, whether he knows it or
not, is attempting to do only one thing - circumnavigate that foreshadowed by
events on days two through six and move directly FROM that foreshadowed by activity on day one TO that foreshadowed by
the rest awaiting the people of God on the seventh day in Gen. 2: 1-3 (cf.
Heb. 4: 9).
This would be comparable to the
Israelites under Moses continuing to remain in
God has structured His Word at
the beginning in Genesis after particular fashion, for
a reason. And He has done exactly the same with Books such as John’s gospel
and Romans.
Man though,
far more often than not, seemingly likes to take liberties with this Word. And that is far from a good idea.
2) The Kingdom -
But,
returning more to the subject of this book, even among those who see matters in
a more correct respect - that a kingdom rather than salvation by grace was offered to Israel in the
gospels, re-offered to the nation in Acts,
and is presently being offered to Christians - a major problem usually exists
in the outlook that these individuals have as well. As seen
in previous chapters of this book, the vast majority attempt to deal with this
kingdom as an offer of the restoration of the kingdom covenanted to David.
That though leaves these
individuals attempting to deal with an insurmountable problem. It leaves them
attempting to deal with Christ’s statement in Matt. 21: 43 in the
light of what Scripture plainly states would subsequently happen, and did
happen. It leaves them attempting to deal with
Note the problem:
IF the kingdom offered to and
rejected by
BUT, the
proffered kingdom WAS taken from
THE SAME KINGDOM offered to and
rejected by Israel, in both the offer and the re-offer, WAS taken from the Jewish people!
And further, that
kingdom, throughout the present dispensation, continuing into modern times, HAS
BEEN AND IS BEING offered to the one new man “in Christ,” an
entirely new ethnic group of people being accorded the privilege of bringing
forth fruit for the kingdom.
So, what does a person do with
all of this? He does the same thing that anyone studying Scripture should do at
any point - always go with that which Scripture has to say,
regardless of whether or not it is at variance with popular thought or with
what someone else might have said or taught.
If you do this - go with what
Scripture has to say, regardless of what man may have to say - you may not
always be liked, probably won’t be; BUT you will always be right!
As has been shown throughout
this book, beginning with the introduction, the proffered kingdom seen
throughout the gospels Acts, and the
epistles, WAS NOT the kingdom covenanted to David. Rather,
it was the kingdom introduced and dealt with throughout the first thirty-four
verses of Genesis (Gen.
1: 1 - 2: 3) and seen being given to the Son, by His
Father, 6,000 years later (Dan. 2: 44, 45; 7:13, 14; Rev. 11: 15). It
was / is the kingdom in which Christ and His co-heirs will reign during the
coming Messianic Era (Rom. 8: 15-23; Heb. 2: 5).
THE SAME KINGDOM taken from
And that is what
Heb. 2: 1-5 clearly
states, which is why these
[Page 137] verses are being dealt with as
the main verses in the concluding chapter of this book.
Subject Matter in Hebrews
But
first, note what the Book of Hebrews
itself is about, as seen in the opening chapter.
The way that a book begins will
invariably tell you something about the contents of that book. And some books, such as Hebrews, deal with the matter more in
detail at the beginning.
The writer of this epistle
begins by referring to Christ as the appointed “heir
of all things” (v. 2) prior to recording anything about His past
sufferings or His present position at God’s right hand (v.
3). And he then
reflects back upon Christ’s heirship which he had mentioned first by focusing his readers’
attention only upon Old Testament Scriptures which have to do with that day
when Christ will come into possession of this inheritance (vv.
2, 5-13).
Thus, though there is a
reference to Christ’s past sufferings in the first chapter of Hebrews, this is not what is mentioned first, and this is not what the chapter
is about.
This chapter begins with and
centers upon teachings surrounding the coming glory of Christ, and this
is accomplished mainly through reference to the Old
Testament Scriptures. And through this means, the subject matter in Hebrews is introduced through different quotations
from the Old Testament.
There are “seven quotations” having to do with Christ in
His coming glory. “Seven” is a number which refers to the completion of that which is
in view; and these seven
quotations present a complete, composite Messianic portrait of Christ, setting
the stage for which follows, covering the remainder of this book.
Hebrews is
built around five major warnings; and to properly understand these
warnings and related passages, a person must understand the opening verses of
the book in their correct perspective, for these verses can only be looked upon
as forming an introductory key to the
remainder of this book.
The last of the seven quotations
(1: 13) leads
directly into the introductory verse (1: 14): of the five major warnings (2: 1-4):
[Page 138]
“But to which of
the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right
hand, until
I make thine enemies thy footstool?
Are they not all
ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of [‘who are about to
inherit’] salvation?” (1: 13, l4).
The Salvation of Hebrews
2: 3
The “salvation” referred to in Heb. 2: 3, the inheritance awaiting Christians,
spoken of at the end of the previous chapter (v.
14), is specifically said to be a deliverance “that first began to be spoken by the Lord,” continued to be spoken
“by them that heard him,” and associated with “signs and wonders, and with
divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit”
(vv. 3, 4).
Then, continuing in verse five, this salvation is clearly revealed to be
associated with realizing, in the world to come, regal positions
presently held by angels. And this would occur in the ONLY
kingdom which could possibly be in view - the kingdom of this world,
presently ruled by Satan and his angels, to be ruled by Christ and His
co-heirs.
Thus, the message in view,
associated with “so great salvation,” could ONLY
refer back to the message which Christ proclaimed to
Though certain differences
existed at times (after events in Matt. 12, culminating
in Christ’s statement in Matt. 21: 43; His forty-day post-resurrection ministry;
events on the day of Pentecost), the SAME message was proclaimed to
This message, as at the
beginning, had to do with an offer of the kingdom to
Only after this does one find
And, the salvation associated
with the kingdom offered to Israel is [Page 139] seen to be EXACTLY THE SAME SALVATION associated
with THE SAME KINGDOM offered to Christians from that time down to the present
time (Heb. 2: 3, 4).
Then, remaining in Hebrews, this salvation, “so great salvation” in Heb. 2: 3, would
have to refer to the same salvation previously mentioned in Heb. 1: 14 -
Christians inheriting as co-heirs with the “heir of all things,” realizing the rights of the
firstborn (cf Rom.
8: 12-24; Eph. 1: 3-18). And this leaves NO ROOM WHATSOEVER to question what is meant by “so great salvation” in this continuing verse. This is the “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time... the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:
5, 9), which is regal and has to do with “the world to come” (Heb.
2: 5).
(Information concerning Signs,
wonders, and miracles, in the
preceding respect, is dealt with in Appendix II in this book.)
So Great Salvation
The [Holy] Spirit of God in Heb. 2: 3 chose to use a qualifying word,
setting this salvation apart. The thought is not that of Christians (“we”) disregarding “salvation,” but
that of Christians disregarding “so great
salvation.”
The adjective in the Greek text
translated “so great [Gk., telikoutos]”
is only found three other places in the New Testament (2 Cor. 1: 10; James 3: 4; Rev. 16: 18); and its full force can be seen in the
latter reference, in Rev. 16:
18:
“And
there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was
a great earthquake, such as was not since men
were upon the earth, so mighty [telikoutos] an earthquake, and so great.”
The earthquake in Rev. 16: 18 (Gk., seismos, “a shaking”)
has to do, contextually, with a complete collapse and disarray in the earth’s
government under Antichrist, not with an earthquake per se. And
this will occur in connection with the termination of God’s judgments during
and immediately following the Tribulation.
The seventh vial, poured out in
the preceding verse (v. 17), will complete God’s judgments upon the earth-dwellers at
the time of [Page 140] His Son’s
return. And the announcement seen in the verse shows
how God brings about an end to Gentile world power ruling under Satan and his
angels.
All of it will come crashing
down and end in this revealed climactic manner, with this
world kingdom THEN BECOMING “that of our Lord and of his Christ”
(Dan. 2: 44, 45; Rev. 11: 15).
(For information on how the
Greek word seismos is used in
New Testament [fourteen times - seven times in the gospel accounts and the Book
of Acts, and seven more times in the Book of
Revelation], refer to Chapter 15, “The Great Seismos,” in the author’s book, The Time
of the End.
Our English words “seismic,” seismology,”
“seismograph” and other forms of the same word are all derived [in whole or in part] from the Greek word, seismos. Most words in this family of words in
the English language are associated with earthquakes; but the words, and of
themselves, as in the Greek, have no relation to the earth per se [note a cognate form of seismos in Rev.
6: 13 (seio), translated
“shaken”]
In all usages of seismos in the N.T., translated “earthquake,” “earth” has been added
to “seismos” [e.g.,
“earth” prefixed to “quake,” earth-seismic, “earthquake”]. If an “earthquake”
is being referenced through the use of seismos, that would have to be seen
contextually. It could not be shown by the word
itself. And that invariably seen contextually, through
the use of seismos is not an earthquake at all but a
shaking of governmental powers, originating in the heavens and carried out
on earth.)
The words, “It is done,” at the
end of Rev. 16:
17 are the translation of a
perfect tense in the Greek text, indicating action completed in past time with
the results of this action extending the present and existing in a finished
state. The succeeding verses (vv. 18-21) simply
describe, in brief form, the completion of God’s judgments within the seventh
vial in verse seventeen. The chapters seventeen and eighteen elaborate more in detail
concerning these judgments - the destruction and end of
The evident thought incorporated
into Heb. 2:
3 and Rev. 16: 18 through the use of
the word telikoutos is that, in each instance SOMETHING UNEXAMPLED is being dealt with.
In Revelation it is “so mighty [telikoutos] an earthquake [seismos]
‘shaking’]” (“so mighty a shaking,” one beyond anything
having previously existed, “such as was not since men were
upon the earth,” dating all the way back to the days of Adam).
And,
contextually, this could only have to do with a shaking of governmental powers, bringing Gentile world power to
this climactic end, with Christ and His co-heirs about to take the kingdom.
And, in Hebrews, the greatness of that day when Christ and His co-heirs take
the kingdom is referred to by the same Greek word used for the destruction of
Gentile world power - telikoutos.
There is the greatness of THE DESTRUCTION
of one and the corresponding greatness of THE RISE TO POWER of the other.
Scripture, in Heb. 2: 3, refers to THE RISE of the latter following
THE DESTRUCTION of the former as “so great [telikoutos] salvation” (the GREATEST thing God has ever designed for
redeemed man, for it has to do with removing man from the earth and positioning
him in the heavens as co-heir with the “heir of
all things”).
It is
such a salvation as this - so great salvation - that is in
view. God is the designer, He has declared it
to be something unexampled, and He is offering it to redeemed man.
Resultingly, God is not going to
countenance individuals whom He has redeemed through the finished work of His
Son making light of, disregarding this salvation.
(A tragedy in modern‑day
Christendom, which can only promote the thought of disregarding this salvation, is the teaching that all Christians,
simply because they have been saved, will one day come
into a realization of this salvation.
If that is true, why are Christians warned about disregarding this salvation? Or, what
are the other four major warnings in Hebrews about? Or, what did Paul mean in verses such as 2 Tim. 2: 10-12, which
had to do with his gospel (v. 8 [ref.
previous two chapters in this book])
“Therefore I endure
all things for the elect’s sakes, that
they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal
[Gk., aionios, ‘age-lasting’] glory” [cf. Rom. 3: 23].
It is a faithful saying: “For if we be dead [‘if we have died’] with him, we shall also live with him:
If we suffer [Gk., hupomeno, ‘If we patiently endure’], we shall also reign with him: if we
deny him, he also will deny us.”
[Page 142]
Message to
Message to Christians, Present
Since the same
kingdom offered
to and rejected by Israel is presently being offered to those comprising the
Church, what if anything, would be the difference in the message previously proclaimed
to Israel and the message which is to presently be proclaimed to the Church?
1) The Message Proclaimed to
The message proclaimed to
“Repent ye [a plural pronoun, the entire nation]: for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand” (Matt. 3: 2).
And this
was followed by baptism, with those baptized “confessing
their sins” (v. 6).
The message proclaimed to
“Repent,
and be baptized every one of you [the
entire nation] in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit” (Acts 2: 38).
Thus, the subsequent message in Acts, though worded slightly different, was THE SAME.
The SAME kingdom was in view, the SAME
offer was being made, and the SAME
message was
being proclaimed - national repentance and baptism. There was absolutely NO
difference, there couldn’t have been.
National repentance was required
because of centuries of disobedience, dating, in one respect, all the way back
to the inception of the nation during Moses’ day, over fourteen centuries
earlier. And, because of this continued disobedience - which God, in His longsuffering,
allowed to continue for centuries - six and seven centuries earlier, God had
driven His people out among the nations to effect repentance through Gentile
persecution (the Assyrian [Page 143] and
Babylonian captivities, about 722 and 605 B.C. respectively). But, though a remnant was back in the land, national repentance
was still not forthcoming. And this is the “why” of the call for repentance both during the offer of the
kingdom seen in the gospels and the re-offer seen in Acts.
But
Had
The three synoptic gospels
centre around repentance. John’s gospel centers around things
in connection with and following repentance - believing (ch.
3ff), eating His flesh, drinking His blood ch. 6), remaining clean (ch. 13),
etc.
Neither the word “gospel” nor the word “repentance” can be
found in John’s gospel; and the word “kingdom” is
only found three times (3: 3,
5; 18: 36). And all of this is by Divine design.
The salvation seen throughout
John had to do with salvation in relation to the kingdom, dealt with in the three synoptic
gospels. It had to do with “so great salvation” BEFORE
the kingdom was taken from
John’s gospel, built around
eight signs, according to the declared purpose for these signs (20: 30, 31), was designed to bring
about
And the
contents of the gospel - dealing with faithfulness, eating His flesh, drinking
His blood, remaining clean, etc. - would go hand-in-hand with the nation’s
repentance in order to bring the Jewish people to this goal.
2) The Message Proclaimed to
Christians, Present
The
message proclaimed to
“Repentance” means a change
of mind; and a change of mind
may be in order at times as part of the message to Christians today, but not a
change of mind in the same respect as seen in the message to
But, in
general, things having to do with
For
example, the Sermon on the Mount in Matt. chs. 5-7 is a connected
discourse having to do with entrance into or exclusion the kingdom of
the heavens. The
message was given to and to do with the Jewish people during the offer and re-offer
of the kingdom to
But, once the new creation “in Christ” had been called into existence (Acts 2), the principles of this message had to do those
comprising this new creation AS WELL. And beyond the events in Acts 28, the principles seen in Matt. chs. 5-7 had to
do with those comprising this new man ALONE.
And other things such as “the children [Gk., huios, ‘sons’] of the kingdom” being cast into “outer darkness” in Matt. 8: 12 - applicable only to Israel at the time - would, following
events of Acts ch. 2, and
then Acts ch. 28, become applicable to Christians in the same
preceding manner (cf. Matt. 25:
30).
Note, in this respect, Matt. 8: 11, 12
(relative to
“And I say unto
you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
But the children [Gk., huios, ‘sons’]
of the kingdom shall be cast [Page 145] out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (8: 11, 12).
“The
field is the world; the good seed are the
children [Gk., huios, ‘sons’] of
the kingdom; but the tares are the children
[Gk., huios, ‘sons’] of the wicked one” (13: 38).
Then, the matter of how the
contents of John’s gospel con be applicable to
Christians can easily be seen. The gospel throughout has to do with belief, an exercise of faith.
The word for “believe [Gk., pisteuo]” is seen throughout John’s gospel,
appearing about 100 times, with this word appearing only about 35 times in all three of the synoptic
gospels combined.
The noun form of the word for pisteuo (“believe”) - pistis “faith”) - appears a scattering of times in each of the
three synoptic gospels, but does not appear in John’s gospel at all. John
always uses pisteuo in
either its regular verb form or in a participle form.
(Regardless, both pistis and pisteuo mean the same thing. That’s why
the noun form can be used in Eph. 2: 8 and the
verb form can be used in John 3: 15, 16 [as a
participle] - both places having to do with faith, belief, one’s trust in
Christ.
This is another of the many
peculiarities of John’s gospel.)
The word for belief throughout
John’s gospel though was used relative to the Jewish
people in the offer and re-offer of the kingdom to
And the
matter could be no different today. Belief throughout John’s gospel would
pertain to a people who are already saved (Christians),
relative to the message being proclaimed - a message concerning the [coming messianic] kingdom,
having to do with “so great salvation.”
3) A
Problem Regarding John’s Gospel
A problem regarding John's
gospel today has to do with an improper use of this gospel, resulting in the
door being closed relative to a proper use of the
gospel.
[Page 146]
John’s gospel is
often separated from the other three and dealt with in an evangelistic respect,
with many verses dealt with in a completely wrong respect (e.g., Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus
in John 3: 1ff,
ref. p. 109 in Chapter 7
of this book).
It is
sometimes stated that John’s gospel is the one gospel among the four
written to tell an unsaved person how to be saved. And
that could be true, BUT ONLY IF an individual is talking about
present and future aspects of salvation, not past (i.e., talking about salvation / deliverance
for those already eternally saved, in line with the continuing
thought about “faith”
- “from faith to faith” - in Rom.
1: 17.
A person CAN use John’s gospel to deal with
the unsaved, - ONLY in a secondary respect. John’s gospel, because of the
place which it occupies in Scripture, simply CANNOT be used in a
primary sense in this respect, except for an instance,
contextually, such as John 3: 16.
John’s gospel throughout, whether
to Israel past or to Christians present, has to do with present
and future aspects of salvation, relative to the kingdom,
NOT
past.
But, as
previously shown, individuals have turned all of this around and are using this
gospel ONLY IN ONE respect, as a message to reach the unsaved.
When they do this though, where is
the message in John - CORRECT MESSAGE - for the person AFTER he has been saved?
The correct message is NO LONGER
PRESENT, for it has been destroyed through a misuse and misapplication of that
seen throughout the book.
(For more information on this whole overall matter, refer to Appendix
3 in this book, “Misuse of John 20: 30, 3l.”)
4) A Problem
Regarding Romans
One of the main reasons people
have trouble with Romans has to do with the same reason
that people have trouble with a manifestation of signs in the Church in
And this is
a difficult period to understand, providing insurmountable problems unless one
deals with events within the period in which [Page 147] they occurred (within
the Acts period, or outside the Acts period).
During this time, on the one hand,
there were believing Jews who were still part of the nation where the old
covenant, the Law, was still binding, though the theocracy had long-since
ceased to exist (six centuries earlier).
And, on the
other hand, there were saved Gentiles, who had nothing to do with the old
covenant, the Law.
Then, the believing Jews were still
part of the Jewish nation, anticipating the entire nation believing the message
pertaining to the proffered kingdom. And continuing to
occupy this position, they were not part of the one new man “in
Christ.” Though they had exercised faith in the Messiah, with a view
to the kingdom, they were still Jews, though believing Jews.
(“Messianic”
groups today [saved groups of Jews meeting together, separate from what might
be considered a Church setting] usually see themselves somewhat in the
preceding respect - a saved part of the nation, but still Jews, not part of the
new creation “in Christ.”
But this
type situation existed for ONLY about thirty years, at the
beginning of the dispensation [33
A.D. to about 62 A.D.]. Following that time, Jews believing
the salvation message [which would be salvation by grace, for the saved
generation of Jews having previously made the offer and re-offer of the kingdom
possible was rapidly passing off the scene] could no longer be a believing part
of the nation but could only become new creations “in Christ,” where all distinctions
of the human race have been blotted out [Gal.
3: 28].)
Saved Gentiles during this time
though were a different matter. They had nothing to do with the old covenant,
with a past theocracy, etc. They had become new creations “in
Christ,” part of an entirely different and distinct ethnic group.
And, as
long as the kingdom remained open to Israel in the re-offer of the kingdom (from
Acts 2: 4 to Acts 28: 28), once Gentiles began to be saved (Acts 10), there
were then two separate groups to which the offer of the kingdom was being
extended - Israel on the one hand, and the new creation “in Christ” on the other hand.
But once this re-offer to Israel
was brought to a close by Paul in Rome (Acts 28: 28), Israel was completely set aside and the
offer [Page 148] was
extended only to those forming the new creation “in Christ” comprised of both saved Jews
and saved Gentiles.
The preceding is why the Acts period is so difficult to understand. As well, not
understanding some fundamental things about this period and not knowing that
Paul wrote Romans during a time when conditions of
this nature existed, dealing with both saved Jews and saved Gentiles in the book,
is why so many people go wrong in Romans.
Romans deals
with saved Jews and saved Gentiles in relation to the proffered kingdom (Rom. 2: 16; 3: 23-25) during that time when the kingdom was
not only being re-offered to Israel (Rom. 15: 19) but during a time when Israel held
preference in this offer (Rom. 1: 16; 2: 9, 10). This is why, for example, that you will find statements in chapter
two about Jews associated with the Law, and Gentiles being separate from
the Law.
There is NOTHING in this chapter about teachings
pertaining to eternal salvation. Two types of saved individuals are being dealt with during a particular time, which is past.
In fact, the message regarding
eternal salvation CANNOT even be
found in the Book of Romans until chapter five, and very sparingly there and beyond that, though much of
what is seen throughout the book is invariably used to teach other than what exists,
which does away with that which does exist.
Christians
NEED to understand THE COMPLETE panorama of the salvation message, the
gospel message, and STOP centering on part (past),
trying to fit the remaining parts (present and future) into that which is past.
Note again (ref Chapter 7, p. 113, in this book) how Paul put this
together in Acts 20:
Christians need
to not only understand “the gospel of grace
of God” (v. 24) but the gospel of “the
ONLY in this
manner, through understanding “all the counsel of
God” (v. 27), can Christians be provided with that
necessary “to build” them up and give them “an inheritance” in the coming kingdom (v. 32).
* * *
Appendix 1
AION, AONIOS
THE TWO MAIN
GREEK WORDS TRANSLATED
“ETERNAL” IN ENGLISH N.T. TEXTS
(Material in this article
has been taken from Marvin R. Vincent’s four-volume set, Word
Studies in the New Testament
[a standard word study which has been in use for
well over 100 years].
Some editing of the originally
printed text has been done to produce better clarity and easier reading, though
no change alters any meaning in the original text [added paragraph divisions,
transliterating Greek words to English lettering, some deletion of unneeded
data, etc.].
This material comprises Vincent’s
comments on two Greek words, aion and aionios, which have
to do with “time” - one a noun, the other an
adjective, both meaning the same thing - often indiscriminately translated “age,” “world,” “forever,” “eternal,” or
“everlasting” [depending on the English
translation].
There is really no word for “eternal” or “everlasting”
in the Greek text of the N.T. [nor is there one in the Hebrew text of the O.T.,
with olam the main word usually translated “eternal” or “everlasting”].
And, as will become evident from
a correct understanding of aion and aionios, these two words have not only often
been mistranslated, causing confusion, but a correct translation is, at times,
quite difficult. The latter can only be true because there are no words in the
English language which exactly correspond to these
words in the Greek text.
Context must always be the determining
factor in any translation of these words; and, many times in the N.T., since ages are often being dealt
with, both words can often be understood in this respect.
For example, note the latter
part of Luke 18: 30
where both aion and aionios appear and where, contextually [vv. 18-29], an inheritance in the kingdom [to be realized
in the coming age] is in view. Thus, this part of the verse should be properly
translated, “...and in the age [aion]
to come age-lasting
[aionios] life.”
[Page 150]
And, in
like manner, the question asked in the introductory verse of this passage [v. 18] should
be translated, “Good Master, what shall I do, to inherit
age-lasting [aionios] life.” “Eternal life,”
often used in translations of this verse, is not inherited; it is a free gift [Eph.
2: 8, 9]. One must be a child of the Owner to be in line
for the inheritance [Rom. 8: 17].)
The Noun, Aion
Aion transliterated “aeon,” is a period of time of longer or shorter duration,
having a beginning and an end, and complete in itself.
Aristotle said, “The period which includes the whole time of each one’s life
is called the aeon of each one.” Hence,
it often means the life of a man, as in Homer, where one’s life (aion)
is said to leave him or to consume away.
It is not, however, limited to
human life; it signifies any period in the course of events, as the period or age before Christ; the
period of the Millennium; the period before the beginning of history.
The word does not have a stationary
and mechanical value. It does not mean a period of fixed length for all cases. There
are as many aeons as entities, the respective durations of which are fixed
by the normal conditions of the several entities.
There is one aeon of a human
life, another of the life of a nation. The length of the aeon depends
on the subject to which it is attached.
Aion is sometimes translated “world,” with “world” representing a period or a series of periods of time (cf. Matt. 12: 32; 13: 40, 49; Cor. 1: 20; 2: 6; Eph. 1: 21), having to do with the world’s contents
which are included in the duration of the world (1 Cor. 2: 7; 10: 11; Heb. 1: 2; 9: 26; 11: 3).
The word always carries the notion of time, and not of eternity. It always means a period of time. Otherwise, it would be impossible to account for the plural,
or for such qualifying expressions as this age, or the age to come.
It does not mean something
endless or everlasting.
To deduce that meaning from its
relation to aei [a cognate word] is absurd; for,
apart from the fact that the meaning of word is not definitely fixed by its
derivation, aei [like aion] does [Page 151] not signify endless duration.
When the writer of the Pastoral
Epistles quotes the saying that “the Cretians are
always [aei] liars” (Titus 1: 12), he surely does not mean that
the Cretians will go on lying for all eternity (cf. Acts 7: 51; 2 Cor. 4: 11; 6: 10; Heb. 3: 10; 1 Peter 3:
15). Aei means “habitually” or “continually”
within the limit of the subject’s life.
In our colloquial dialect “everlastingly” is
used in the same way. “The boy is everlastingly tormenting
me to buy him a drum.”
In the New Testament, the
history of the world is conceived as developed through
a succession of aeons. A series of such aeons precedes the introduction of a
new series inaugurated by the Christian dispensation, and the end of the world
and the second coming of Christ are to mark the beginning of another series
(cf. Eph. 3:
11). Paul contemplates aeons
before and after the Christian era (Eph. 1: 21; 2: 7; 3: 9, 21; 1 Cor. 10: 11; cf. Heb. 9: 26).
He includes the series of aeons
in one great aeon: ho aion ton aionon, “the aeon of the aeons” (Eph.
3: 21); and
the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews describes the throne of God as enduring
unto the aeon of the aeons (Heb. 1: 8).
The plural is also used, aeons of
the aeons, signifying all the successive periods which make up the sum
total of the ages collectively (Rom. 16: 27; Gal. 1: 5; Phil. 4: 20, etc.).
This plural phrase is applied by Paul to God only.
The Adjective, Aionios
The adjective aionios, in like
manner, carries the idea of “time.” Neither the
noun nor the adjective, in themselves, carry the sense
of endless or everlasting, though they may acquire that
sense by their connotation. Aionios means “enduring through or pertaining to a period of time.” Both
the noun and the adjective are applied to limited periods.
Thus the phrase eis ton aiona [lit., “with respect to the aion,”
appearing 29 times in the N.T. (e.g., John 4: 14; 6: 51, 58; Heb. 5: 6; 6: 20; 7: 17, 21, 24, 25)], habitually
rendered “forever,” is often used of duration
which is limited in the very nature of the case.
Note a few out of many instances
in the Septuagint [Greek [Page 152] translation
of the O.T.] pertaining to aion (Ex. 21: 6; 29: 9; 32: 13; Lev. 25: 46; Deut. 15: 17; Josh. 14: 9; 1 Sam. 8: 13; 1 Chron. 28: 4; cf. Matt.
21: 19; John 13: 8; 1 Cor. 8: 13).
The same is true of aionios in the Septuagint. Out of 150 instances
in the Septuagint, four-fifths imply limited duration (cf. Gen. 48: 4; Num. 10: 8; 15: 15; Prov. 22: 28; Jonah 2: 6; Hab. 3: 6).
Words
which are habitually applied to things temporal of material cannot
carry, in themselves, the sense of endlessness. Even when applied to God, we are not forced to render aionios “everlasting.” Of course the life of God is endless; but the question is whether,
in describing God as aionios, it was intended to describe the
duration of His being, or whether some different and larger idea was not
contemplated.
That God lives everlastingly,
and has lived everlastingly, are, no doubt, great and significant facts; yet
they are not the dominant or the most impressive facts in God’s
relations to time. God’s
eternity does not stand merely or chiefly for a scale of length. It is not
primarily a mathematical but a moral fact.
The relations of God to time
include and imply far more than the bare fact of endless continuance. They carry with them fact that God
transcends time; God
works on different principles and on a vaster scale than the wisdom of time
provides; God oversteps the conditions and the motives of time; God marshals the
successive aeons from a point outside of time, on lines which run out into His
own measureless cycles, and for sublime moral ends which the creature of
threescore and ten years cannot grasp and does not even suspect.
In Rom. 16: 26 Paul speaks of the eternal God (tou aioniou Theou); but that he does not mean the
everlasting God is perfectly clear from the context. He has said that “the mystery” has been kept in silence in times eternal (chronois aionious), which he does not mean everlasting
times, but the successive aeons which elapsed before Christ was proclaimed. God
therefore is described as the God of the aeons, the God who pervaded and
controlled those periods before the incarnation.
To the same effect is the title,
ho basileus ton aionion, “the King of
the aeons,” applied to God in 1 Tim. 1:
17. The phrase, [Page 153] pro chronon
aionion, “before
eternal times” (2 Tim. 1: 9; Titus 1: 2), cannot mean before everlasting times. The
meaning is of old. The grace and the promise were given in time, but far back
in the ages, before the times of reckoning the aeons.
Zoe aionios, “eternal life,” which occurs 42 times in the N. T., but not in the
Septuagint, is not endless life, but life pertaining to a certain age
or aeon, or continuing during that aeon.
I repeat, life may
be endless; the life in union with Christ is endless, but the fact is
not expressed by aionios.
Kolesis aionios,
rendered “everlasting punishment” (Matt. 25: 46), is the punishment peculiar to
an aeon other than that in which Christ is speaking. In some cases, zoe aionios does
not refer specifically to the life beyond time, but rather to the aeon or
dispensation of Messiah, which succeeds the present dispensation (cf.
Matt. 19: 16; John 5: 39).
John says that zoe aionios is the
present possession of those who believe on the Son of God (3: 36; 5: 24; 6: 47, 54). The Father’s commandment is zoe aionios (12: 50); to know
the only true God and Jesus Christ is zoe aionios (17: 3).
Thus, while aionios carries
the idea of time, though not of endlessness, there belongs to it also, more or
less, a sense of quality. Its character is ethical rather than mathematical.
The deepest significance of the life beyond time lies, not in endlessness, but
in the moral quality of the aeon into which the life passes.
Other Considerations
It is comparatively unimportant whether or not the rich fool, when his soul was required of
him (Luke 12: 20),
entered upon a state that was endless. The principal, the tremendous fact, as
Christ unmistakably puts it, was that, in the new aeon, the motives, the aims,
the conditions, the successes and awards of time counted for nothing.
In this life, his barns and
their contents were everything; the soul was nothing. In the new life the soul was first and everything; the
barns and storehouses were nothing.
Note the verb, apollumi
in a similar respect, meaning “to
[Page 154] destroy,”
“put an end to,” or in the middle voice, “to be lost, to perish.” Peter says, “the world being deluged
with water, perished” (apollumi [2 Peter 3: 6]); but the world did not become extinct, it was renewed.
In Heb. 1: 11, 12, quoted from Ps. 102: 25-27, we read concerning the heavens and the
earth as compared with the eternity of God, “they shall
perish” (apollumi). But the
perishing is only preparatory to change and renewal. “They shall be changed” (apollumi [cf. Isa. 51: 6, 16; 65: 17; 66 :22; 2 Peter 3:13]). Similarly,
“the Son of man came to save that which was lost”
(apollumi [Lu.
19: 10]). Jesus
charged His apostles to go to “the lost [apollumi] sheep of the
house of
“He that
shall lose [apollumi] his life for my sake shall
find it” (Matt. 16: 25; cf.
Luke 15: 6,
9, 32).
In this passage
the word “destruction” is qualified. It is “destruction from the
presence of the Lord and from the
glory of his power” (Matt. 16: 27-17: 5; 2 Thess. 1: 9), at
His second coming, in the new aeon.
In other words, it is
the severance, at a given point in time, of those who obey not the gospel from the
presence and the glory of Ch (2 Thess. 1: 5-11).
Aionios may therefore describe this
severance as continuing during the millennial aeon
between Christ’s coming and the final judgment,
as being for the wicked prolonged throughout that aeon
and characteristic of it.
Or, aionios may describe the severance as
characteristic of enduring through a period or aeon succeeding the
final judgment, the extent of which period is not defined.
In neither case is aionios to be
interpreted as “everlasting” or “endless.” …
* *
*
Appendix 1*
[* From pp. 161-166 only.]
SIGNS, WONDERS, MIRACLES
Purpose and Consistency of Usage Seen Throughout
Scripture
[Page 161]
Purpose
for Signs,
Wonders, and Miracles
Most of the manifestations
of supernatural power during the ministry of Christ and the Apostles (during
the periods covered by both the gospel accounts and by the Book of Acts) centered around bodily
healings. This was
the manner in which they were introduced during Christ’s
ministry (Matt. 4: 23-25), and
this was the manner in which they were brought to a close about three decades
later during Paul’s ministry (Acts 28: 7-9).
(And
along with bodily healings, death was no longer irreversible [Mark 5: 35-43; John 11: 1-47; Acts 9: 36-42; 20: 7-12], material needs were miraculously supplied [food, drink, etc. (John 2: 1-11; 6: 1-14; Acts 5: 19-23; 16: 26], there was deliverance from demonic spirits [Matt.
12: 22; Acts 5: 16],
and angelic
ministry was abundantly available
[Matt. 4:
11; Acts 12: 7, 8, 23])
The signs, centering around bodily healings (though including other related
things), reflected on and had to do with a dual aspect of one thing: the
spiritual condition of the nation of
1) The signs showed an existing condition (sickness, seen prior to the [instant] healings).
2) The signs also showed another condition which
could exist (restoration
of the nation, in a restored kingdom, seen
following the healings).
And deliverance for the nation after the fashion set forth by
the signs was contingent on national repentance, followed by baptism (cf. Matt. 3: 1-11; 4: 17, 23-25; 10: 5-8; Acts 2: 37, 38; 3: 19-21).
These signs,
wonders, and miracles, along with being the [page 162] credentials of the Messengers
of ‘the gospel
of the kingdom’, were manifestations of supernatural powers (powers
necessary to bring the signs to pass) depicting Israel’s
present spiritual condition and showing how this condition could change, if…
These same manifestations of
supernatural powers could and would - contingent on
1)
“Ah sinful
nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed
of evildoers, children that are corrupters:
they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Why should
ye be stricken anymore? Ye will revolt
more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
From the sole of the
foot even unto the head there is no
soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have
not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment:” (Isa. 1: 4-6).
This was the way Isaiah
introduced
Israel was sick, but
But this
would occur only after God’s conditions had been met: “If ye be willing and obedient...” (1: 19a; cf. v. 18). Only then would [Page 163] the Lord turn His hand, purge the
nation, and restore her rulers (1: 25, 26). Only then would redemption occur, and
only then would the kingdom with all its glory be restored to
2)
But when
will
In Hosea 5: 13 - 6: 2,
Once the Israelites had been delivered from
“Now
therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my
covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar
treasure unto me above all people: for all the
earth is mine:
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an
holy nation. These are the
words which thou shalt speak unto the children of
[Page 164]
(Note that obedience to the Lord’s
commandments follows repentance [a
change of mind] in both the
type and the antitype.
In the type, the Israelites
changed their minds and received the one whom they had previously rejected
[Moses]. In the antitype, the Israelites will change their minds and receive
the One Whom they previously rejected [the One greater than Moses, the nation’s
Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ (Zech. 12: 10-14; 13: 6)].
It is only after this, in the
type or the antitype, that subsequent events leading up to the reception of the
Lord’s commandments governing the Jewish people in the kingdom occur [in the
type, following the Passover, the Exodus from
In the type, the Lord’s
commandments had to do with the old covenant, the Law received at Sinai; in the
antitype these commandments will hove to do with the new covenant, the Law
placed “in their inward parts,” written
“in their hearts” [Jer. 31: 31-33]. And the new covenant
may very well be made with
And it was
later clearly revealed exactly what would occur if
And that’s what Hosea 5:13 - 6: 2 is about -
“Come,
and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will
heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
After two days [after
2,000 years] will he revive us:
in the third day [the third 1,000-year period] he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.”
Then, note the two things
revealed immediately before this, in Hosea 5: 15, which introduce
1) The two days (the 2,000 years, covering the Jewish
dispensation) begin with
2) The two days (the 2,000 years) come to a
close with the Jewish people seeking the Lord’s face during a time of “affliction” (during the coming Tribulation), receiving the Lord when He
returns.
“The Tribulation” will
be the last seven years of the Jewish
dispensation, a fulfilment of Daniel’s Seventy-Week prophecy. And when time resumes in Daniel’s prophecy, the Jewish
people, time-wise, will be placed in the position of having just crucified their Messiah. Then, exactly as stated in
Hosea’s prophecy, healing for the nation will occur immediately following the
Tribulation - after two days
(after 2,000 years), in the third day
(in the third 1,000-year period).
As God worked six days to
restore a ruined creation in the beginning and then rested the seventh day (Gen. 1: 1 - 2: 3), so is He presently working six more days
(6,000 years) to restore a subsequent ruined creation, with a view to resting
the seventh day (the seventh 1,000-year period). And all subsequent sections of
Scripture, such as Hosea 6: 1,
2, merely rest upon and provide
additional light for the foundational framework - showing the septenary
structure of Scripture - set forth at the very beginning.
[Page 166]
Then,
with all of the preceding in mind, note Isaiah
chapter fifty-three. This chapter
outlines
“Who
hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet
we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God,
and afflicted.
But he was wounded for
our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed...” (vv. 1, 4, 5).
It was this future condition of
The central thought when the Spirit of God closed
the Old Testament Canon pertained to Israel being healed [Mal. 4: 2, 3], and this was likewise the
central thought when the
heavens were once again opened over four centuries later in the New Testament [Matt. 3: 1, 2; 4: 17, 23-25]. The
New is simply a continuation and unveiling of that which has lain in the Old from the
beginning.
Do you want to understand the New? Then
study the Old. Do you want to see
THE END