John 9:1-41. Upon seeing a man blind from birth the disciples asked Jesus whether it was because he sinned or his parents. Jesus said it was due to neither, but in order that the work of God might be displayed. He added that today we must do God’s work, because the night is coming, when no one can work. He concluded by saying, “I am the light of the world”, which echoes John 8:12 (cf. John 1:4-9), signifying eternal life (John 3:16).
Then Jesus spit on the ground and made mud, which he put on the blind man’s eyes, and he told the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam (which means “sent”). The man obeyed and was able to see as he went home. Some of his neighbors claimed that he was a different man, but he insisted that he was the one who had been blind. When they asked how he had been made able to see, he told them what Jesus had done. When they asked where Jesus was, the man said he did not know.
The neighbors took the man to the Pharisees, to whom the man retold what had happened, prompting some to accuse Jesus of not being from God, because he had healed the man on the Sabbath, while others asked how a sinner could perform miracles. When they asked the blind man his opinion, he said that Jesus was a prophet. The Jews sent for the man’s parents to testify, and they affirmed that the man was their son who was born blind, but they refused to opine about who Jesus was because of fear they would be expelled from the synagogue, so the Jews asked the man a second time, accusing Jesus of being a sinner.
The man replied that he did not know whether Jesus was a sinner or not, but he did know that he once was blind but now he can see. The Jews asked again about how the miracle was performed, and the man said he had already explained what happened, asking whether they wanted to become his disciples. The Pharisees became angry and accused the healed man of being Jesus’ disciple, whereas they were disciples of Moses (cf. John 5:45-46 & 8:39-40), and they added that they did not even know where Jesus was from
(cf. John 7:28-29).
The man said it was remarkable that they would say they did not know Jesus was from God, because we know God does not listen to sinners but only to those who do his will, so if Jesus were not from God, he would not be able to perform miracles, whereupon the Jews accused the man of being a sinner from birth and excommunicated him from the synagogue. When Jesus heard this, he found the man and asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (cf. John 6:27, 40, 53 & 62).
When the man asked who the Son of Man is, Jesus replied “the one speaking with you”. The man said, “Lord, I believe” and worshipped him. Jesus proclaimed that it was for judgment that he came into the world (cf. John 3:17), so that “the blind will see and those who see will become blind”. Some Pharisees asked whether he meant them, and Jesus added, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin, but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains” (cf. John 3:18).
The Doctrine of Election (DOE)
The controversial aspect of the DOE is the Calvinist TULIP dogma (tulipism), which may be described as follows:
T – total depravity, meaning souls are unable to exercise sufficient MFW to seek salvation (contradicting Matt. 7:7, etc.).
U – unconditional election, meaning that souls need not satisfy a divine requirement such as faith or repentance, but God chooses to save some while damning the rest to hell (contradicting Eph. 2:8-9, etc.).
L – limited atonement, meaning that Christ died to pay the penalty of sin only for elect souls (contra Rom. 3:21-5:1, etc.).
I – irresistible grace, meaning that elect souls cannot resist or refuse God’s will for them to be saved (contra Matt. 23:37, etc.).
P – perseverance of the saints, meaning that the elect cannot repudiate their salvation and commit apostasy, because God perseveres in keeping them saved (contra Heb. 6:4-6, etc.).
The viewpoint opposed to TULIP may be termed Moral Free Will (MFW) and described as follows:
M – God’s requirement for salvation (GRFS) is a Moral condition called faith, which is manifested as seeking God’s righteousness or salvation, which in turn presumes sufficient human volition even for sinners to make them morally accountable.
F – God enables all morally accountable souls sufficient Freedom to satisfy GRFS—or not, because His grace is not irresistible, which means sinners are accountable and justly condemned when they do not repent and accept Christ’s atonement for their sins
W – Faith is almost synonymous with Will, but volition focuses on faith as cooperation with God (or not), and cooperating with God by accepting His grace is NOT meritorious or working to earn heaven or salvation by obeying moral laws.
A systematic study of the DOE might begin well by interpreting a proof-text that seems to be the fountainhead of the TULIP dogma, namely Romans 9:10-24, in the context of the rest of relevant Scripture in Romans regarding salvation/election (s/e), which is Romans 1-11:
1. Romans 1:16 says the Gospel reveals that (s/e) is for “everyone who believes”, both Jew and Gentile.
2. Romans 1:17 describes s/e as “righteousness from God” that is by faith “from first to last” or from creation until the end.
3. Romans 2:4 teaches that God’s kindness or patience with sinners is meant to lead them toward repentance, which implies that sinners are able to repent because of God’s leading.
4. Romans 2:5 warns that those who do not repent but instead stubbornly resist God’s leading are storing up wrath against themselves for the day when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed, which implies that God enables sinners to repent–or not (cf. Deut. 30:19).
5. Romans 2:6 affirms what is called karma by saying that “God will give to each person according to what he has done”, which (in Gal. 6:7-9) is called reaping what a person sows.
6. Romans 2:7 speaks of the need for “persistence in doing good” and seeking glory, honor and immortality in order to receive s/e or eternal life, which echoes what Jesus commanded (in Matt. 7:7) and connects with the doctrine of perseverance (cf. Heb. 10:36 & Jam. 1:3-4).
7. Romans 2:11 teaches that “God does not show favoritism” (cf. Eph. 6:9, Col. 3:25, 1Pet. 1:17), which is how God judges people justly, so the fact that some sinners ignore God’s Gospel indicates that His will or leading is resistible because of MFW.
8. Romans 2:15 teaches that sinful souls have a conscience or awareness of “the requirements of the law”, which may be combined with Romans 1:20 to teach that God’s power and moral nature or will may be perceived via creation and conscience (called natural revelation), thus those unfamiliar with God’s Word in Scripture have no good reason for resisting divine leading and choosing atheism/evil.
9. Romans 3:20-21 states the law makes souls conscious of sin and that “the Law and Prophets testify” or prepare the way for the new revelation of righteousness from God apart from the Law, which takes up where Romans 1:17 left off.
10. Romans 3:22a says that “righteousness from God” or s/e comes through faith “in Jesus Christ” (cf. Eph. 2:8), a phrase Paul used eleven times in Ephesians 1:3-14 to indicate s/e.
11. Romans 3:22b says that God’s righteousness is given “to all who believe—there is no difference”” signifying that all sinners may believe or be s/e (cf. 1Tim. 2:3-4, John 3:16, Tit. 2:11), because there is no favoritism (#7).
12. Romans 3:23 teaches that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, meaning that no one can be good enough to earn salvation because of their own merit.
13. Romans 3:24 says sinners “are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (via faith per v.22, cf. 3:27-28); s/e is free because Christ paid the price/cost.
14. Romans 3:25a explains redemption as being “a sacrifice of atonement” for those who have faith in Christ’s work of dying in their place.
15. Romans 3:25b further explains that God demonstrated his just patience (#3) or forbearance in leaving unpunished those sins committed before the revealing of the Gospel (foreshadowed in Gen. 22:8 & 13), implying that sinners had/have the opportunity to believe and be s/e thereby demonstrating God’s justice/not showing favoritism (#11).
16. Romans 3:26 continues to emphasize divine justice by declaring it three ways (“justice…, just…, justifies”), which justness is synonymous with righteousness (2Thes. 1:5-6, Heb. 6:10).
17. Romans 4:1-25 presents Abraham as a Gentile who became the physical father of the Jews and the spiritual father of all who choose to have faith in God/Christ.
18. Romans 5:1 echoes Eph. 2:8 by describing s/e as justification through faith, Eph. 1:5 & 7 by using the phrase “through Jesus Christ”, and Eph. 2:14 by describing s/e as having peace with God.
19. Romans 5:2 & 5 also echo Eph. 2:18 & 3:1 by describing s/e as having access to God’s grace via the Holy Spirit.
20. Romans 5:6-10 states that God’s love (cf. kindness in #3) for the ungodly, for sinners and for His enemies is demonstrated by Christ dying for their s/e or justification/reconciliation.
21. Romans 5:12-21 describes s/e in corporate terms, saying that–like the first man–all (many?) men also sinned and died, and God’s grace comes to all (many?) because of Jesus Christ.
22. Romans 6:1-14 describes s/e in terms of Christians being united with Christ’s death and resurrection, so they who are under grace should not allow sin to reign in their bodies but should instead serve God as instruments of righteousness.
23. Romans 6:15-23 describes s/e in terms of being slaves to whom one willingly obeys, whether to sin or to obedience of God’s teaching that leads to righteousness, which results in eternal life “in Christ Jesus our Lord” (cf. #10).
24. Romans 7:1-6 describes s/e in terms of a wife’s remarriage after the death of her husband, saying that Christians have been released from the dead letter of the law so that they may serve God in the new way of the Spirit.
25. In Romans 7:7-25 Paul describes s/e in terms of struggle between what a person’s conscience wants to do and what his sinful nature causes him to do until he is rescued by Christ.
26. In Romans 8:1-25 Paul describes the s/e struggle in terms of Christians–who are indwelt by the Spirit and freed from living in accordance with the sinful nature—as putting to death sinful deeds, because they are God’s children and co-heirs of Christ’s glorious resurrection.
27. In Romans 8:28-30 Paul says that those who love God were foreknown and “predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son”, which is akin to what Paul said in Ephesians 1:4-14, that before creating the world God chose or predestined those sinners “in Christ” to be blameless sons and receive the Holy Spirit.
28. Romans 8:31-39 elaborates on the previous point by saying that there is nothing that can separate “we” (who reflect God’s love per v.28) from Christ’s love (but Heb. 10:26-36 indicates one exception).
29. In Romans 9:1-5 Paul notes how sad it is that those who are part of the human ancestry of Christ reject him as Messiah, but being a member of Abraham’s spiritual children is what is crucial (#17).
30. Romans 9:6-13 states that God had chosen which one of Rebecca’s sons (through whom Messiah’s lineage would be traced) before they were born (cf. Mal. 1:2-3). The word translated as “hate” (miseo) is the same as in Luke 14:26 with reference to family, so a better translation would be “preferred”: loving Jacob/hating Esau refers to God preferring that Jacob’s descendants serve as the heritage for Messiah rather than to individual salvation.
31. Romans 9:14-16 stresses that s/e depends on God’s mercy rather than being achieved by human effort (#12), although the preceding context has shown that (the non-meritorious condition of) faith is involved, which truth can be stated as “God initiates; sinners cooperate—or not”, because of MFW.
32. Romans 9:17 refers to pharaoh in Exodus 9:13-35 as an example of someone whom God allowed to oppose His will so that His power might be manifested by the plagues. The OT passage indicates that pharaoh was conscious of his sin but “He and his officials hardened their hearts” (v.34b).
33. Romans 9:18 says that God “hardens whom He wants to harden”, which raises the question asked in v.19, “Why does God blame sinners who cannot resist His will?” Paul’s response (Rom. 9:20-21) is that God has the might and thus the right to determine what is right. Then he speculates (“What if”) that God might have patiently endured evildoers (#20) as evidence of His glory toward recipients of His mercy (Rom. 9:22-23).
34. In Romans 9:24-33 and 10:1-4 Paul notes that God elected to choose Gentiles with saving faith instead of Israelites who sought salvation by works and stumbled over the Gospel of Christ, even though “everyone who believes” receives righteousness or s/e.
35. Romans 10:9 states God’s requirement for s/e as “confess Jesus as the resurrected Lord”, v.10 clarifies that the condition of faith (#31) precedes the work of confession, and vs.11-13 reiterate that all sinners who call on the name of the Lord will be s/e.
36. Romans 10:18 cites Psalm 19:4, which hints that God’s s/e has been possible for everyone in the world. This implication may also be seen in Gal. 3:8, Col. 1:23 and Tit. 2:11 as well as Rom. 1:20.
37. Romans 11:5-7a refers to an elect “remnant chosen by grace”, which indicates that sinners may cooperate with God’s calling to be s/e “or not” (#35).
38. Romans 11:7b-8 needs to be understood in the context of pharaoh (#32), whose heart God allowed to be hardened. “God gave them a spirit of stupor” echoes what Paul said in Romans 1:24 & 28, that God gave fools over to perversion and a depraved mind.
39. Romans 11:11-15 speaks of the blindness of Israel as the reason s/e was offered to Gentiles,
and Paul hopes Israel will become envious (v.11 & 14) and prompted to accept Christ.
40. Romans 11:17-24 describes the situation of Israel as comparable to grafting branches onto a tree, and the condition of faith (#37) is quite explicit (v.20-23).
41. Romans 11:25-32 explains the s/e of corporate Israel as a partial and temporary hardening until all in corporate Gentiles “may” be s/e, at which time all Israel “may” be s/e.
42. Romans 11:33-36 concludes Paul’s development of the DOE by acknowledging that God’s mind is unknowable beyond what He reveals.
The survey of Romans 1-11 (R#1-42) will now be applied to the TULIP and MFW doctrines in order to see which parts of these interpretations are supported by that Scripture. This application will continue the enumeration begun by the survey.
43. Regarding Total depravity, R#1-6 teach that all normal adult humans are sinners and that God’s intent (will/desire) is to lead them to repent, so they will not condemn themselves to suffer righteous wrath—which implies that sinners are enabled by God’s leading to repent, so their depravity does not totally nullify MFW.
44. Regarding Unconditional election, R#10, 11, 14 & 15 specifically cite faith/belief as the condition for receiving s/e. R#17 illustrates this truth with the example of Abraham leading to the conclusion that faith is the condition for justification or s/e in R#18. R#34 laments that Jews as a whole failed to satisfy the condition of faith, and R#35 celebrates that everyone may satisfy that condition.
45. Regarding Limited atonement, R#20&21 indicate that Christ died to pay the penalty for all sins of all sinners, and R#29 laments that most Jews reject Christ’s atonement, although R#37 finds consolation because there remains a remnant who have not stumbled over the stumbling-stone, who is Christ (R#34).
46. Regarding Irresistible grace, R#3&4 refer to wicked souls who spurn God’s kindness and do not repent. References to “all who believe” (R#11) and to “the man who has faith” (R#15) imply there are some who resist saving faith. R#32 cites pharaoh as an example of a sinner who hardened his heart against God’s will.
47. Regarding Perseverance, R#6 implies the need for those who do not resist God’s leading to persist in doing that. R#40 mentions God’s kindness to believers provided that they continue to believe, because if not they “also will be cut off”.
48. Regarding Moral volition, R#9 teaches that the purpose of the law is to make souls conscious of sin, and R#10-11 teach how to attain righteousness from God. R#22 urges Christians not to continue sinning, and R#26&27 contrast the sinful nature with the new way of cooperating with the Spirit until Christians attain the likeness of Christ.
49. Regarding Freedom to choose, faith connotes a lack of proof or coercion, thereby making the chooser responsible for resisting God’s kind leading per R#3&4, which onus for evil is sensed by one’s conscience (R#8) or consciousness of sin (R#9). Even the reference to slavery in R#23 speaks of obedience being offered.
50. Regarding Will or volition, it is signified in R#32&38 by the heart, and the sinful will is described as hardened (cf. obstinate in Rom. 10:21). In R#39 Israel’s corporate will to sin is called transgression.
Now let us consider other Scriptures sometimes cited in descriptions of the TULIP and MFW interpretations in light of Romans 1-11.
51. T – Mark 7:21-23 lists some evil thoughts in sinful hearts, but it does not teach that evil people cannot repent. Rather, Jesus states this truth in order to prick sinners’ hearts and lead them to repent of ignoring the commands of God in order to preserve the traditions of men (Mark 7:6-13, R#3&4).
52. U – The only Scripture cited as specifically supporting this point is R#21, but only if universal salvation is also accepted as being taught by the reference to all/many, but Romans 5:17 limits the many to those who receive God’s grace, and Romans 4:16 & 5:1 teach that grace is received through faith, making it the condition for reception (s/e).
53. L – In Matthew 20:28 Jesus said that his life is given as a ransom for many (stated also in Hebrews 9:28), but this does not preclude anyone who has faith being included, and Scriptures such as 1Timothy 2:3-4 indicate God’s desire for all to become “many” (John 3:16, Acts 2:21, 1John 2:2), indicating that although Christ’s death atoned for the sins of all humanity only for those who accept Jesus as Messiah does it result in forgiveness (s/e, R#14&18).
54. I – Phil. 2:13 says that God works in believers to will and act according to His good purpose, but this does not mean that believers do not willingly cooperate (R#23).
55. P – John 10:27-29 states that Jesus gives his sheep eternal life, and no one can snatch them, which is stated by Paul in Romans 8:35-39 as being separated from the love of God in Christ. However, there are numerous Scriptures indicating that a believer may not persevere (including John 8:31, Matt. 10:22& Heb. 10:36), so although God gives endurance per Romans 15:4-5, it too must be received through continued faith (2Cor. 5:7) “from first to last” (Romans 1:17).
56. M – Gen. 2:17 begins the biblical revelation of God’s moral nature and requirement and is followed up by Gen. 6:5-6 revealing that God is grieved by sin, which truth Paul noted in Eph. 4:30. A main point of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) per Jesus in Matt. 5:20 is that souls should be righteous, and main point of the Sermon on Salvation (Rom. 1-11) per Paul in Rom. 3:21-22 is that righteousness is attained through faith in Jesus as Lord (cf. Acts 16:30-31).
57. F – Deut. 30:19 is one of the clearest statements of the condition of volition in Scripture, and Jesus lamented the sinful misuse of this divine gift in Matt. 23:37. Jesus commanded the correct application of volition in Matt. 7:7 (cf. Heb. 11:6). Paul indicates that God enables sinners to seek salvation in Rom. 2:4, where he says that God’s kindness toward sinners leads them toward repentance. In 1Tim. 2:3-4 Paul taught that God wants all souls to be saved, but he lamented that many resisted God’s will in Acts 28:26-27, like Jesus did in Matt. 13:14-15.
58. W – The short version of Paul’s Sermon on Salvation in Romans is found in Eph. 2:8-10, which states that God’s grace is received through faith, not works, implying that the condition of cooperating (called partnership in Phil. 1:4-5, cf. 2:12-13) with God both by professing Christ at conversion (from first/first day) and by producing the fruit of the Spirit during sanctification (to last/the day of Christ Jesus) is NOT meritorious or a reason to think salvation is earned (Rom. 1:17). However, choosing to disbelieve God or resist His kindness does manifest spiritual separation from His blessings and warrant eventual experiencing of divine wrath per Rom. 2:4-6 (cf. Matt. 23:37).
Other Scriptures cited by tulipists include:
I. 1 Corinthians 2:14, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” In order to understand Scripture correctly, one must consider both the immediate context and NT teaching. Here is relevant immediate context for that verse:
1Cor. 1:21b, “God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.” Using Mag’s favorite terminology, God’s method of saving sinners or natural men is via revealing the Gospel, and we know from 1Tim. 2:3-4 that God desires all to believe.
1Cor. 1:23-24, “We preach Christ crucified… to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” Again, “We preach to all natural men”, and “to those natural men God has called”. This prompts the question: Is “desire” in 1Tim. 2:3-4 synonymous with God’s “calling” in 1Cor. 1:24–and we might add with God’s “drawing” in John 12:32 and with God’s “invitation” in Matt. 22:14? The last verse and John 13:18 indicate that although God loves and wants to save every natural man, some ignore/reject/resist His desire/calling/drawing/invitation and are therefore not chosen or saved, while some do NOT resist God’s calling but rather believe the Gospel, realizing its wisdom and power to save, at which point they become chosen/elect.
1Cor. 1:26, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called… Not many were influential.” They were natural men in the lower social class, but yet they believed or cooperated with God’s calling.
1Cor. 1:27-28, “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise… the lowly… and the despised”. God’s saving of despised natural men was intended to humble all natural men, so that “no one may boast before him” (1Cor. 1:29).
1Cor. 2:1-2, “When I came to you, brothers… I proclaimed to you… Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Paul reiterated that God saved some natural men via them accepting Paul’s preaching of the Gospel.
1Cor. 2:10, “God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” God’s HS enables natural men to believe the Gospel and be saved (or not).
II. Jeremiah 17:9a,”The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” The immediate context includes:
Jer. 17:5, “Cursed is the one who trusts in man… and whose heart turns away from the Lord.”
Jer. 17:7, “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.”
Jer. 17:10, “I, the Lord, search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”
Jer. 12:1, 3, 14, 16, “You are always righteous, O Lord… you see me and test my thoughts about you…
This is what the Lord says… if the wicked learn well the ways of my people… then they will be established among my people.”
Jer. 14:10, “This is what the Lord says about the people of Judah, They greatly love to wander…
so the Lord does not accept them; he will now … punish them for their sins.”
Jer. 18:8-11, “If that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned…
And if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it…
So turn from your evil ways, each one of you.”
III. Deuteronomy 29:4, “To this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.”
The pertinent pericope seems to begin with Deut. 28:1 & 15, “If you fully obey the Lord your God… God will set you high above all the nations on earth… However, if you do not obey the Lord your God… all these curses will come upon you.” This verse implies that the Israelites are free to obey or disobey.
Then we have the verse cited, which sounds like God prevented the Israelites from obeying Him.
But then we come to Deut. 29:9, “Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do.” This seems to indicate that the Israelites can follow or not follow the terms.
And finally we arrive at the clearest statement of what Moses meant in Deut. 30:19b-20a, “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children might live and that you may love the Lord your God.” This obviously teaches that the Israelites are deemed to have MFW.
IV. Ephesians 1:3-14, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
In the EPH passage we can see that what the all-loving God predestined was NOT that some souls would be damned, but rather the plan of salvation to elect potentially all humanity, whom He loves and atoned for (1Tim. 2:3-5), if they exercise their God-given grace of volition to accept His offer of grace IN Christ (2Thes. 2:10).
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The Doctrine of Parables
In order to develop a doctrine regarding the parables of Jesus, one must conduct a systematic study of every parable recorded in the gospel of Mathew in order to learn their meaning and purpose. The first parable is The Parable of the Seeds in MT 13:1-23, which sets the stage for all of the others.
In this parable a farmer sowed seed on four types of soil: a path, rocky ground, thorny ground, and fertile soil–with appropriate results. Discerning the meaning involved understanding the metaphors that were used, most of which were explained by Jesus in v.18-23: seed = GW re the KOH, understands = believes, healed = saved, ears = normal adult souls, hear = be good seed. The apparent meaning of the parable per v. 9 is thus, “Let all accountable souls be allowed to hear and be saved.”
However, this meaning is made problematic by what Jesus told his disciples between relating the parable and then explaining its meaning (v.10-11) regarding his purpose of speaking in parables: “The knowledge of the secrets of the KOH has been given to you (disciples), but not to them (the rest of the people).” Jesus said (in v.14-15) the people fulfilled IS 6:9-10, which says in part, “you will be ever seeing but never perceiving, for this people’s heart has become calloused… Otherwise they might… turn, and I would heal them.” In v.12 Jesus said, “Whoever has will be given more… and whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”
A person might interpret what Jesus said regarding the secrets to mean that he wanted them to remain unknown except by his disciples, but a few verses later in MT 13:34 it says that Jesus spoke in parables in order to fulfill “what was spoken through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world”, which implies that he wants to share the secrets with the people.
Thus, unless these statements (MT 13:10-17 & 13:34-35) can be harmonized, one must choose between two contradictory interpretations: 1. Jesus purposefully hid knowledge from some while revealing it to others according to His will, or 2. Jesus allowed souls to reject saving knowledge or to accept it and be his disciples. Deciding which understanding to adopt necessitates considering the second parable of Jesus, The Parable of the Weeds in MT 13:24-30.
In this parable a man sowed wheat seeds in his field, but his enemy came while folks were sleeping and sowed weeds among the wheat. When it became apparent that the field was contaminated, the owner’s servants asked whether they should pull up the weeds, and he told them to wait until the harvest, at which time the weeds should be burned and the wheat gathered into his barn.
Later in the privacy of a house Jesus explained the meaning of this parable, saying that the good seed was sown by the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed stands for those who belong to the kingdom, the weeds are those who belong to the evil one, the enemy who sowed the bad seed is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. At the end of the age the Son of Man will send angels to weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and everyone who does evil and throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, while the righteous will shine in the kingdom of their Father. Jesus concluded by saying, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
The mention of Judgment and the opposite destinies of happiness or hell indicates that Jesus employed parables as a means of pre-sifting souls by showing who would understand/believe or not. Some people opine that God/Jesus causes people to believe or not, but notice that in MT 13:10-15 Jesus did NOT say that he prevents people from becoming his disciples or that he causes people’s hearts to be calloused, so let us be careful not to pre-sift ourselves by projecting our own hatred onto the all-loving Christ. Understanding God/Christ to be all-loving is gained by searching the Scriptures for insight rather than implicitly accusing Jesus of hating his enemies, which borders on blasphemy against the loving Holy Spirit. The omnilove of Jesus is indicated by such Scriptures as MT 23:37, in which Jesus lamented over Jerusalem’s lack of repentance or rejection of his preaching (cf. MT 22:39, JN 3:16, RM 5:6-8, 1TM 2:3-4).
We can see that deciding which understanding of the purpose of parables to adopt involves rejecting or accepting Scriptures teaching that God loves everyone, not only the elect or disciples of Jesus. Thus, the doctrine of parables is related to the doctrine of election as a subcategory. I choose to accept the teachings that God is omnilove or loves everyone and wants all to be saved but allows volition and thereby moral accountability to exist, so that souls may reject the Gospel and put faith in I-dolatry. I note that Jesus explained the Parable of the Seeds in plain language, and that the Parable of the Tenants passage indicated his enemies understood he was being critical of them.
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A Systematic Study of John
John 1:1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John employed metaphorical/figurative language to express ultimate/spiritual reality. The Word is described as a person who is both God and with God simultaneously, who co-created all things that are not God, and who is incarnate in Jesus as the Son of God in John 1:14-18, thereby implying that God is a Binity of God and Word/Son.
The Word metaphor is not used to explain how God created, but only that creation was through Him or by His will, including life. The Word is further described as being the source of life, which is referred to by another metaphor for the Word, “light”, also meaning divine truth or the Gospel in some Scriptures (e.g., John 8:12 & 1John 1:7), which has guided humanity to salvation throughout history, although darkness–opposition to God/the Word–tries to overcome it.
John 1:6-9, “There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”
The man sent from God to testify and witness in hopes that everyone would believe God’s light was John the Baptist, whose
testimony included these points:
1. Jesus is the Lamb of God, who atones for the sins of all souls. (John 1:29&35)
2. Jesus is the Son of God. (John 1:34)
3. Jesus will baptize his followers with the HS and fire. (Matt. 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16-17)
4. Jesus remained filled with God’s HS. (John 1:32-33, Mark 1:10-11, Luke 3:21-22)
John 1:1-9 are echoed in John 8:12.
John 1:10-13, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God–children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
The name of him who came into the world and through whom the world was made, and who came to all in the world but who was received by only some (John 3:14-15 & 16-18) will be revealed in v. 17 as Jesus the Christ/Messiah. Those who received (and will receive) Jesus as Messiah and Lord incarnate are born of God or spiritually reborn, which should not be confused with physical/natural or fleshly birth from the watery womb (John 3:3-8).
ohn 1:14-17, “The Word became flesh and lived for awhile among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testifies concerning him; He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.” From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.”
Jesus was God incarnate/God the Son/Messiah/Christ, who existed before John and whose gospel of grace was greater than the law of Moses, because it revealed God the Father. John 1:29-30 calls Jesus the Lamb of God, who atones for the sins of humanity, which is why Jesus surpasses John and must become greater as John, whom Jesus called the last of the OT prophets (in Matt. 11:11), becomes less (John 3:30). Hebrews 7:11-10:1 explain why the gospel of Jesus supersedes the OT law and prophets.
In John 3:13-16 Jesus calls himself the Son of Man, whose mission was to be crucified or sacrificed as the atonement for sins in order that anyone who believes in him will have eternal life, because God loved/loves humanity so much.
John 1:19-28 (paraphrased): John testified/confessed that he was not Messiah (the Anointed One in Isa. 61:1), Elijah (foretold in Mal. 4:5-6, cf. Luke 1:13-17), or the Prophet whom Moses commanded to be obeyed (in Deut. 18:15). Instead, he was the one preparing the way for the Lord to appear (Isa. 40:3)–the one whose sandals he was not worthy to untie–by baptizing those who repented of their sins (per Matt. 3:1-2) with water, which signified having a new heart/spirit (cf. Ezek. 18:30-32).
John 1:29-34: John referred to Jesus as the Lamb of God, because his death takes away the sin of the world, just as the sacrifice of a lamb (Gen. 22:8, Exo. 12:21) without blemish (Lev. 22:21) per the Mosaic regime atoned for the sins of Israel (Isa. 53:4-12, cf. Lev. 16:9-10). The lamb metaphor was also employed by John in Rev. 1:5b, 5:6, 6:1, 13:8, 15:3, 19:7, 22:1.
John reiterated that Jesus pre-existed John (v.15), presumably referring to him being the pre-incarnate Word (v.1&14). John also indicated that he prepared the way for Jesus (v.23) by baptizing with water (v.26), signifying that Jesus would baptize believers with the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). John was given a sign that Jesus was the Messiah by being enabled by the One (v.6) to see/envision the Spirit come down on Jesus like a dove, and so John testified (v.8) that Jesus is the Son of God.
John 1:35-42. The next day John was again baptizing believers near Bethany with Andrew and another disciple, when he saw Jesus walking by and told them to behold the Lamb of God, so they followed Jesus, who asked them what they wanted. They asked Jesus where he was staying, and he invited them to come and spend the day with him. Andrew found is brother Simon Peter and told him that they had found the Messiah (Christ). When Jesus saw Simon, he said, “You will be called Cephas” (Aramaic for rock, which is Petros in Greek).
The name for Simon will become significant when he professes (in Matt. 16:16) his faith that Jesus is the Messiah/Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus declared that his church would be built on “this rock”, which Roman Catholics later understood to mean Peter. However, by noting the Greek genders in the passage, it becomes evident that “rock” is feminine, whereas “Petros” is masculine, so Jesus may have meant the rock to be Peter’s faith, which is also feminine gender in Greek. Certainly, this understanding jibes with the teaching of Paul (cf. Rom. 3:21-5:1, Gal. 2:11-16).
John 1:43-51. On the third “next” day Jesus told Philip to follow him, who told Nathanael he had found the prophet foretold by Moses
(in Deut. 18:15), but Nat scoffed at the notion someone significant might come from Nazareth. However, rather than reproving Nat for disbelief, Jesus complimented his honest doubt (cf. John 20:27-28). When Nat professed belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Jesus told him he would see the angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man.
The apparent meaning of this passage is that on the third day following Jesus’ atonement, Nat would behold what was foreshadowed in Genesis 28:12-22: angels would ascend and descend on the incarnate Lord God, the gate of heaven (cf. John 10:7-10). The synoptic gospels (Matt. 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:14) and Acts 1:13 name Bartholomew (meaning son of Tolmai, which means plowman/farmer) instead of Nathanael (meaning God has given) as the disciple associated with Philip.
John 2:1-11. Jesus and his disciples attended a wedding in Cana, and during the banquet the wine ran short, so his mother Mary prevailed upon him to provide more wine, which he did by turning six large stone jars of water into wine, which the banquet host proclaimed to be better than the first. John states that this miracle revealed Jesus’ glory, causing his disciples to put their faith in him.
In Matt. 9:15-17 Jesus compared wine to divine revelation, indicating that his new teachings initiate a new covenant. Thus, the host’s proclamation in John 2:10 indicates that the new covenant/testament is better than the old (cf. Heb. 7:11-10:1).
Jesus’ disciples had previously put their faith in him, so John 2:11 must mean the miracle increased their faith (cf. Luke 17:5, Mark 9:24). This indicates that faith is twofold: qualitative faith is repentance and acceptance of Jesus as Lord, which is an all or nothing decision that occurs at one moment in time (Rom. 3:21-5:1), whereas quantitative faith increases as a believer’s faith lasts longer and becomes stronger (Matt. 6:30, 8:10 &26, 14:31, 15:28, etc.).
John 2:12-25. Jesus went to Capernaum and then to Jerusalem for the Passover, where some men were selling animals for the sacrifices, whom he drove out with a whip of cords, overturning their tables and saying, “How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!” (John 2:17 connected this with what was written in Psa. 69:9.)
When the Jews asked for a sign of his authority to expel the money changers, Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days”, which his disciples remembered and believed– after his resurrection. The Jews thought he referred to Herod’s temple that took 46 years to build (20 B.C. to 26 A.D.), which was destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Romans after a rebellion (cf. Luke 21:20-24). John reports that Jesus did some miracles while in Jerusalem, but not to gain any man’s fickle approval (John 2:23-25).
John 3:1-15. Jesus told a Pharisee named Nicodemus that he must be born again to see the kingdom of God, which Nick took to mean being reborn physically, but Jesus guided him to understand spiritually by saying that a person must not only be born of water (amniotic fluid) but also of the Spirit. Procreation yields a physical person, but the Spirit creates a spiritual child of God.
When Nick asked how spiritual rebirth is possible, Jesus replied that he, the Son of Man (Messiah), testifies to what he has seen in heaven, and then he shared that rebirth occurs when a person believes in him as God’s Savior whose death atones for humanity’s sins (cf. Num. 21:9, Isa. 53:3-12, 61:1-8).
John 3:14-21. Jesus said that the reason God sent His only Son/the Son of Man/Messiah to be crucified/lifted up was because He loved everyone in the world and wanted to to provide salvation/eternal life in heaven to everyone/whoever believes in him. Thus, everyone who believes in him as Messiah/God the Son shall not die permanently but be resurrected to heaven.
However, everyone who rejects God’s provision/grace/Son is self-condemned, because they chose to love darkness/evil rather than God’s Light/Truth/Word. Evildoers hate divine light, because it exposes their evil deeds that they love, but those who love the Lord desire for His love to be reflected by what they do.
Paul elaborated on Christ’s crucifixion for the justification of repentant sinners in Rom. 3:20-5:1, and he identified God’s love with His HS in Rom. 5:5-8 (cf. 1Tim. 2:3-6). He emphasized the importance of Christ’s resurrection as evidence heaven will be the eternal destiny of saints in 1Cor. 15:13-23, and he indicated ultimate justice for evil-doers in Rom. 2:4-11. Paul listed evil deeds in contrast with the fruit of the HS/godly works in Gal. 5:19-25 (cf. Eph. 2:8-10).
John 3:22-36. Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside, where he baptized, apparently with water at this time (cf. John 1:26&33, 14:16-17&26, Acts 1:4-5&8).
John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, where some of his disciples argued with “a certain Jew” about ceremonial washing, and they told John that Jesus was baptizing more people than they were, to which John replied that Jesus is the bridegroom who must become greater, and John is the bridegroom’s attendant who must become less (cf. John 1:29-30).
John continued by saying that Jesus is from above all (John 1:17-18) and testifies to what he has seen even though few accept his testimony (John 3:11-13), but the one who accepts that testimony certifies that the one whom God has sent speaks God’s words and has God’s Spirit fully (cf. Eph. 3:16-19, 1:22-23).
John concluded by echoing what Jesus had said in John 3:16-18, that God the Father loves the Son, and whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son remains condemned (cf. Eph. 2:1-6).
John 4:1-19. The Pharisees heard that Jesus and his disciples were baptizing more people than John, so Jesus left Judea and headed for Galilee through Samaria. When he arrived at Jacob’s well in Sychar, a Samaritan woman was drawing water and Jesus asked her for a drink, which amazed the woman, prompting her to ask why he, being a Jew, would associate with her. [This disassociation began when Solomon’s kingdom was divided following his death, cf. 1Kings 12:16-19.]
Jesus answered by saying that if she knew who he was, she would have asked him for God’s gift of living water (cf. John 7:38). [God’s tree of life in Gen. 3:22 seems similar to His water of life that is mentioned in Isa. 55:1, Psa. 36:9 and Zech. 14:8, cf. Rev. 21:6, 22:1 & 17.] Then the woman asked how he would draw this water and whether he was greater than Jacob, to which Jesus replied that whoever drinks the water he gives would receive eternal life.
The woman asked for this water, but Jesus told her to fetch her husband first. When the woman said she had no husband, Jesus agreed but noted that she had divorced five husbands and was now living with a man with whom she was not married. When Jesus said this, the woman said that she could see Jesus was a prophet. [However, apparently she did not yet realize that Jesus was more than a prophet, cf. Matt. 11:9-19.]
John 4:20-26. The woman continued by observing that Samaritans worship on a mountain (presumably referring to Mt. Gerizim where they had built a temple, cf. Deut. 11:29 & 27:12, Josh. 8:30-34), whereas Jews claim worship of God must be done in Jerusalem. The altar on a ridge called Mt. Moriah (2Chron. 3:1, 2Sam. 24:18) and Zion (Psa. 132:13-14, 125:1-2) came to mean Jerusalem.
Jesus replied that the time has come when people everywhere will worship God as Father in spirit and in truth, because God is Spirit. The woman said that she knew Messiah (Christ) is coming and will explain everything, and Jesus declared that he is Messiah. John stated in 1John 5:6 that God’s Spirit is truth (cf. 1John 4:2&6), and in 1John 4:8&16 that God is love. Psalm 33:12-148 says that God dwells in heaven and looks down on His chosen people–on those whose hope is in His unfailing love.
John 4:27-42. The disciples of Jesus arrived and were surprised to see him speaking with a/the woman, who went to the town and invited people to come see Jesus in order to determine whether he was the Christ/Messiah.
Meanwhile the disciples urged Jesus to eat the food they had brought, but he said that he had food they knew nothing about, which was to do God’s will/work (cf. John 2:19, 3:14, 34). Then he told them to behold how the fields were ready to be harvested, and the reaper is harvesting the crop for eternal life/joy (cf. Matt. 9:37-38, 13:24-30). The woman telling what she had seen and heard and the mention of the sower and reaper being glad together seems akin to 1John 1:1-4.
Jesus concluded by citing a saying, “One sows and another reaps”, explaining that he sent the disciples to reap what someone else had worked for, which presumably referred to the OT prophets. Many of the Samaritans believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony that he had known her life, so Jesus stayed with them for two days, teaching and reaping many more who believed he was the Savior of the world (cf. Deut. 32:15, 2Sam. 22:47, Psa. 18:46, Isa. 43:3, 62:11, Mic. 7:7, Hab. 3:18, Luke 2:11, John 3:17).
John 4:43-54. Jesus went to Galilee, where he was welcomed because of his cleansing the temple during the Passover (John 2:13-16), and he revisited Cana, where he had performed his first miracle (John 2:1-11). A royal official visited Jesus to ask him to heal his son, who was dying from an illness in Capernaum. After reproving people who will not believe unless they see a miracle (cf. Matt. 12:39, 16:4, cf. 2Cor. 5:7), Jesus told the official that his child would live. The man believed Jesus and while on the way to see his son was met by his servants, who reported that his son had been healed at the very time Jesus had said he would live, so he and his household believed. John notes that this was the second miraculous sign that Jesus had performed.
The teaching that can be gleaned from this passage is paradoxical: On the one hand it is wrong to demand seeing a miracle before believing in Jesus as Messiah; on the other hand Jesus was acknowledged as Messiah because of the miracles he performed. This is because of prophesies such as Isa. 35:5-6 (cf. Matt. 11:4-5). The miracles of the deaf hearing and the blind seeing may also refer to the sinner repenting of unbelief in Jesus as Messiah per Isa. 6:9-10.
John 5:1-15. Jesus went to Jerusalem for a religious feast (probably either Purim or the Passover) and on a Sabbath day saw a man at the pool of Bethesda (meaning “house of mercy” in Aramaic), which was located near the Sheep Gate (through which sheep were taken to the nearby Temple for sacrifice). The man had been unable to walk for 38 years. The common belief was that when the waters (fed by an aqueduct) were stirred the first person into the pool would be healed of his infirmity.
Jesus asked the man whether he wanted to be healed, and the invalid (indicating “yes”) replied that when the water stirred someone else always beat him into the pool. Then Jesus told him to get up, pick up his mat and walk, which the man did. When some Jews (apparently religious leaders) told him that Sabbath law forbade him from carrying his mat (oral tradition defining “work” rather than the Torah, cf. Matt. 15:3-9), he said that the one who healed him had commanded him to do so. They asked who had healed him, but he did not know it was Jesus, who had slipped away into the crowd.
However, later Jesus found (intentionally sought?) the man at the temple and told him to stop sinning or something worse (than physical suffering) may happen to him (presumably condemnation to hell). The man left and told the Jewish authorities that it was Jesus who had made him well (perhaps indicating failure to heed the warning of Jesus).
John 5:16-30. The Jews persecuted Jesus because he disobeyed Sabbath Law by healing the crippled man. Jesus said His heavenly Father works every day and so he is also working, which made the Jews want to kill him for making himself deity by calling God his Father. These two offenses are combined when Jesus said the Son of Man (himself) is Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8, Mark 2:28, Luke 6:5).
Saying the Father works every day contradicted the Sabbath Law (Exo. 20:8-11), which was based on the statement (in Gen. 2:2-3) that God rested on the seventh day after completing His creation. Jesus equated the title “Son of Man” (used in Dan. 7:13-14 to refer to one coming from God with authority to reign over Earthians eternally and used numerous times in Ezekiel beginning with Ezek. 2:1 as how the Lord addressed him) with the title Son of God, and Peter connected both titles with Messiah/Christ in his blessed confession (Matt. 16:13-17).
Jesus went on to say that the Son (of Man and of God) does what he sees his Father doing, because the Father loves him and will show him even greater things, granting the Son power to raise the dead and to judge the living, so that all will honor the Son as they honor the Father who sent him. Saying that the Son sees the Father reiterated what Jesus told Nicodemus (in John 3:11-13), that the Son of Man is from heaven, and saying that the Son will raise the dead to judgment echoes John 3:16-18. God is honored by those who worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24) and by those who reflect His love (John 3:16, 8:42, Matt. 22:37-38).
Jesus continued by saying that whoever hears and believes the Son’s message and God crosses from death and condemnation to eternal life (again echoing John 3:16), because the Father is the source/giver of life (Gen. 2:7, Acts 17:25) and grants the Son life-giving power and authority to judge because he is the Son of Man (John 5:22, 8:15-16, Acts 10:42, cf. Heb. 9:27-28). Jesus, Paul and John indicate that Christians will share Messiah’s power of judgment (Matt. 16:19, 18:18-19, 1Cor. 6:3, Rev. 19:11, 20:4).
Jesus concluded this passage by saying that the time is coming when those in their graves will hear the Son and come out and be judged–the good-doers to live and the evil-doers to condemnation–and the judgment will be just, because done to please the Father. This statement is similar to what Jesus had just said in v. 24, but the first way of saying it indicated a spiritual transition from being dead in sins to being alive in Christ, as Paul stated in Eph. 2:1-6 (cf. Rom. 6:1-11), whereas the second phrasing speaks of a bodily resurrection and eternal destiny, although not in detail. Elsewhere in the NT heaven is described merely as eternal bliss/blessing (Matt. 25:34, 5:2-12) and hell as eternal punishment and destruction (Matt. 25:46, John 17:12, Rom. 9:22, Gal. 6:8).
John 5:31-47. Jesus referred to the OT dictum that when a person is accused of a crime the truth must be established by the agreement of two or three witnesses (Deut. 19:15), and he referred to John the Baptist as a witness in his favor, who testified to the truth (John 1:29-34). Then Jesus referred to his works as testifying that God the Father sent him (cf. John 8:46, 10:32).
Finally, Jesus said that the Father himself testifies for Jesus, but the accusers do not hear His voice or have His word indwelling them, because they choose not to believe the Scriptures and live, even though they also testify about him (cf. Luke 24:27). The reason they do not praise him as Messiah who comes in the Father’s name is because they do not love the Father (cf. Matt. 22:37). However, they will believe someone who comes in his own name and will accept praise from him rather than seek praise from God.
Then Jesus turned the tables on his accusers by saying that they have an accuser before the Father, namely Moses, because if they had believed Moses they would believe Jesus because he wrote about him (Deut. 18:15). But because they do not believe what Moses wrote, they do not believe Jesus, and the reason they will not believe Jesus is because their father is the devil (John 8:42-44).
John 6:1-27. Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee/Tiberias, where a crowd of people followed him because of his miraculous healing of the sick. He went up the hillside with his disciples. (The Passover was approaching.) He asked Philip where they could buy bread for the people to see what he would answer. Philip said that they did not have money to buy enough bread, and Andrew (the brother of Simon Peter) said that a boy had five small barley loaves and two small fish, which would only be enough for a few.
Then Jesus told them to have the people sit down in the grassy area, which they did–about 5,000 men. After giving thanks, Jesus broke bread and his disciples distributed the pieces of bread and fish to the people until they all had enough to eat. He told them to gather the leftovers, so nothing would be wasted, which filled twelve baskets of bread.
The details of this event differ slightly from the account of apparently the same occasion in Matt. 14:13-21, which is followed in Matt. 15:29-39 by an account of Jesus feeding 4,000 men plus women and children. One might wonder whether there were three miraculous feedings or three versions of the same miracle circulating when Matthew and John wrote their gospels.
Considering only John’s version, when the people saw the miraculous sign, they said Jesus must be the Prophet foretold by Moses (Deut. 18:15) and intended to proclaim him as king, so he withdrew into the hills by himself as evening fell. His disciples got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. A strong wind began blowing, and after they had rowed about three and a half miles, they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, but Jesus said, “It is I; don’t be afraid”, so they took him into the boat as it neared the shore.
The next day the crowd that had been fed got into boats from Tiberias and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus, although they realized he had not been in the boat that left with his disciples. When they found him, they asked how he had got there, but Jesus reproved them by saying the only reason they looked for him was not because they saw miraculous signs (cf. Matt. 16:4) but because they had eaten their fill. And he told them not to work only for food that spoils but also for food that gives eternal life (cf. John 4:13-14), which the Son of Man will give them, because he has God the Father’s seal of approval (cf. Eph. 1:13).
John 6:28-64. The people asked Jesus, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus replied, “The work of God is to believe in the one he has sent.” The people then asked Jesus what miraculous sign he would perform such that seeing it would prove he was the one God has sent who should be believed. They cited the miracle by Moses of manna from heaven as an example, to which Jesus stated that God gives the true bread from heaven, which is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. The people asked Jesus to give them this bread, and Jesus declared that he is the bread of life, and whoever believes in him will never go hungry or be thirsty, but he accused them of disbelief even a though they have seen him.
Then Jesus said that all the Father gives him and whoever comes to him he will never drive away, because he has come down from heaven to do the will of Him who sent him, and the Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and Jesus will resurrect them at the last day. The people grumbled upon hearing him claim to be the bread that came down from heaven, saying, “Is this not Jesus the son of Joseph and his mother whom we know?
Jesus reproved their grumbling and explained that he is the bread of life who dies for the life of the world, so whoever partakes of his body will live forever. Many of his disciples found this teaching too hard to accept, but Jesus said “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life, yet some of you do not believe.”
The question asked by the people is equivalent to what the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas in Acts 16:30: “What must I do to be saved?” Their answer was, “Believe in the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 16:31, cf. 2Cor. 4:5 & Col. 2:6), which is equivalent to the answer of Jesus in John 6:29.
Regarding the miracle of manna, Jesus viewed it as signifying the word of God, as in Matt. 4:4. Reference to life for the world and believing in him reiterated John 3:16 and, and the metaphor of bread is analogous to that of light in John 1:4-14 and of water in John 4:10-14, hence the mention of not going thirsty in John 6:35. Regarding being taught and drawn by God, this truth foreshadows what will be stated most starkly in John 8:42-47. Jesus instituted the symbolic partaking of his body to memorialize his death in the Last Supper (Matt. 26:17-29, cf. 1Cor. 11:23-26).
John 6:64-7:15. Because Jesus knew which of his disciples did not really believe and who would even betray him, Jesus told them that no one can come to him unless enabled by the Father, and many repented of following him. Jesus asked the Twelve whether they also wanted to leave, and Peter said they believed only he was the Holy One who had the words of eternal life. Jesus replied that although he had chosen them, one of them was a devil, referring to Judas, who would betray him.
Jesus remained in Galilee, because he knew the Jews in Judea wanted to kill him, but when it was almost time for the Feast of Tabernacles his brothers (other children born to Joseph and Mary) urged him to go and perform miracles for his disciples in Judea, because they did not believe in him. Matthew 12:46-50 (also Luke 8:19-21) mentions Jesus’ mother and brothers, saying that they are those who hear God’s Word and cooperate with God’s will. His brothers are named in Matthew 13:53-58 (James, Joseph Jr., Simon and Judas), which also mentions sisters and quotes Jesus as saying, “Only in his home town and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”
Jesus told his brothers to go ahead, because they were not hated and could go to the Feast any time, but he was hated by those who were offended by him reproving their evil deeds, so it was not the right time for him to go. However, after they left for the Feast, Jesus went secretly. At the Feast the Jews who hated him were watching for him. Some in the crowd whispered that he was a good man, but others said he deceived the people. Halfway through the Feast, Jesus began to teach in the Temple courts, amazing even the hateful Jews, who wondered how he knew so much without being schooled.
John 7:16-44. Jesus told the Jews in the temple courts that his teaching comes from God, so anyone who chooses to do God’s will, realizes this truth. (This will be stated vehemently in John 8:42-44.) Jesus also said that no one keeps the law of Moses (cf. Psa. 14:1-3, Rom. 3:23) and asked why they wanted to kill him. The crowd accused Jesus of being demon-possessed and denied wanting to kill him. Jesus then compared his miracle of healing on the Sabbath (John 5:8-9) to a child being physically circumcised on the Sabbath (when the 8th day falls on a Sabbath, cf. Lev. 12:3), and admonished them to stop judging wrongly (cf. Matt. 7:1-5).
At this point some people wondered whether Jesus was being allowed to speak publicly because the authorities believed he was the Messiah, even though they knew where he was from (Galilee per v.41). Jesus exclaimed that although they knew where he was from (physically), he is from God, who sent him (cf. John 6:29&62). When he said this some tried to seize him, while others believed him to be Messiah/Christ (cf. v.41), whereupon the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest Jesus, but Jesus said that when he returns to God, they will not find him, because they would not be allowed to come (because they are from the devil per John 8:44). This puzzled the Jews, who wondered whether it meant that Jesus intended to go live among the Greeks and teach them. (This ministry was assigned by Jesus mainly to Paul when chosen to be an apostle per Acts 9:15, cf. Rom. 11:13, 1Tim. 2:7.)
On the last day of the Feast, Jesus stood and proclaimed that anyone who is thirsty should believe in him and receive streams of living water (cf. John 4:13-14), meaning the Spirit, who would be given to believers after Jesus was glorified (cf. John 14:26, 20:22). Some who heard said Jesus was the prophet Moses mentioned (Deut. 18:15), and others said he was the Christ. Some objected to this, because they understood Scripture to teach that Messiah would come from Bethlehem rather than from Galilee (cf. Mic. 5:2, Matt. 2:6&22-23). Although some wanted to seize him, no one laid a hand on him (because his time had not yet come per v.30).
John 7:45-8:11. When the temple guards reported to the chief priests and Pharisees, they were asked why they had not arrested Jesus. The guards said that no one spoke the way Jesus did, so the Pharisees accused them of being deceived by Jesus, noting that none of them or the rulers believed him, but the ignorant mob had a curse on them.
Nicodemus, who had spoken with Jesus previously (John 3:1-10) and was one of the Pharisees and teachers of the law (John 3:10) asked whether the Law condemns a man without giving him a hearing, but the others accused him of being a Galilean and noted that a prophet does not come from there (cf. John 1:45-46, 7:41-42), possibly referring to the one foretold by Moses (in Deut. 18:15). Then everyone went home. [Note that the conjunction “and” in the phrase “the Pharisees and teachers of the law” or visa versa is used in a way that might indicate equivalence rather than addition, meaning “the Pharisees who were teachers of the law”.]
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4, Matt. 24:3, Mark 14:26, Luke 22:39-44, used by Jesus as a place to pray) until dawn, when he returned to the temple courts (John 7:28) and sat down to teach the people, who gathered around him. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery and asked Jesus whether he agreed with the command of the Mosaic Law to stone such transgressors (Lev. 20:10, Deut. 22:22), trying to trap him him into answering in a way that would justify being accused of transgression himself (cf. Matt. 22:15, Luke 20:19-26).
Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger (perhaps from his sitting position), then straightened up (or sat up) and said that anyone who is without sin can be the first to throw a stone. Then he stooped down and wrote more on the ground (possibly Psa. 14:1-3=53:1-3, cf. Eccl. 7:20, Isa. 53:6 & 64:6), whereupon the crown began to dissipate one at a time, beginning with the older ones (senior leaders) first, until only the woman remained.
Jesus got up and asked where were the accusers; did no one condemn her to death? She answered, “No one, sir”, and Jesus said neither did he, so she should go and leave her life of sin. [Notice that the implied command to repent (cf. Matt. 4:17) disallows cheap grace or forgiveness that abets sinning.]
John 8:12-39. Jesus told the people he is the light and life of the world (John 1:1-5), but the Pharisees challenged him for testifying on his own behalf (Deut. 17:6, 19:15, Matt. 18:16, 2Cor. 13:1, 1Tim. 5:19), to which Jesus replied that his testimony is true and judged by the Father who sent him, whom they do not know.
Then Jesus said he was going away to from whence he was sent, heaven (John 3:17, 5:23&37, 6:29,33,38,57,62, 7:33), and they will die as sinners if they do not believe he is Messiah, the Son of Man and Son of God (John 3:13-16, 5:19-27, 6:40, 57), who will be lifted up as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness (John 3:14-15, 6:40), so that everyone who believes in his teachings may be set free from slavery to sin with consequent condemnation (John 3:18, Rom. 8:12-17) and have eternal life as Abraham’s spiritual children (cf. Rom. 4:16-25).
John 8:39-59. Jesus objected to the unbelieving Jews’ claim that Abraham is their father, saying that if that were true, then they would imitate Abraham instead of seeking to kill him for telling the truth he heard from God. The Jews doubled-down by saying the only Father they have is God Himself, but Jesus said that if that were true, then they would love him, because he came from God.
Jesus then said that their father was the devil, a murderer and the father of lies (cf. Gen. 3:4, 4:6-8). They do not believe him, because he tells the truth, and they cannot prove him guilty of sin (Heb. 4:15). Again, the reason they do not hear/believe is because they do NOT belong to God.
At this point the Jews accused Jesus of being a Samaritan and demon-possessed, but Jesus said that he honors his Father, the Judge, saying that those who keep/believe his word will never see death–presumably meaning permanent or spiritual death. Then the Jews asked him who he thought he was, but instead of defending himself Jesus said that he is glorified by the Father, and Abraham rejoiced at the hope of seeing the day Messiah would appear (Gen. 22:8), because before Abraham was born, “I AM”–a phrase that signified his deity (Exo. 3:14). At this they were getting rocks to stone Jesus (for blasphemy, cf. Matt. 26:63-66), but he somehow hid himself and slipped away from the temple grounds (cf. Luke 4:30).
John 9:1-41. Upon seeing a man blind from birth the disciples asked Jesus whether it was because he sinned or his parents. Jesus said it was due to neither, but in order that the work of God might be displayed. He added that today we must do God’s work, because the night is coming, when no one can work. He concluded by saying, “I am the light of the world”, which echoes John 8:12 (cf. John 1:4-9), signifying eternal life (John 3:16).
Then Jesus spit on the ground and made mud, which he put on the blind man’s eyes, and he told the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam (which means “sent”). The man obeyed and was able to see as he went home. Some of his neighbors claimed that he was a different man, but he insisted that he was the one who had been blind. When they asked how he had been made able to see, he told them what Jesus had done. When they asked where Jesus was, the man said he did not know.
The neighbors took the man to the Pharisees, to whom the man retold what had happened, prompting some to accuse Jesus of not being from God, because he had healed the man on the Sabbath, while others asked how a sinner could perform miracles. When they asked the blind man his opinion, he said that Jesus was a prophet. The Jews sent for the man’s parents to testify, and they affirmed that the man was their son who was born blind, but they refused to opine about who Jesus was because of fear they would be expelled from the synagogue, so the Jews asked the man a second time, accusing Jesus of being a sinner.
The man replied that he did not know whether Jesus was a sinner or not, but he did know that he once was blind but now he can see. The Jews asked again about how the miracle was performed, and the man said he had already explained what happened, asking whether they wanted to become his disciples. The Pharisees became angry and accused the healed man of being Jesus’ disciple, whereas they were disciples of Moses (cf. John 5:45-46 & 8:39-40), and they added that they did not even know where Jesus was from
(cf. John 7:28-29).
The man said it was remarkable that they would say they did not know Jesus was from God, because we know God does not listen to sinners but only to those who do his will, so if Jesus were not from God, he would not be able to perform miracles, whereupon the Jews accused the man of being a sinner from birth and excommunicated him from the synagogue. When Jesus heard this, he found the man and asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (cf. John 6:27, 40, 53 & 62).
When the man asked who the Son of Man is, Jesus replied “the one speaking with you”. The man said, “Lord, I believe” and worshipped him. Jesus proclaimed that it was for judgment that he came into the world (cf. John 3:17), so that “the blind will see and those who see will become blind”. Some Pharisees asked whether he meant them, and Jesus added, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin, but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains” (cf. John 3:18).
John 10:1-21. Jesus told the Pharisees that anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate is not the shepherd. The gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. John noted that this was a figure of speech used by Jesus, which Matthew might have called a parable (cf. the previous post). When the Pharisees did not understand what he meant, Jesus said that he is the gate for the sheep, and whoever enters the pen through him will be saved and have life to the full.
Jesus also said that he is the good shepherd, willing to sacrifice his life for the sheep, whereas a hired hand would abandon them when the wolf attacks, because he does not care about the sheep. Jesus knows his sheep and the sheep know him, just as the Father knows the Son and he knows the Father. Jesus said that he lays down his life for the sheep–not only in this pen, but also other sheep. All of the sheep will be one flock with one shepherd (cf. John 17:20-22).
Jesus added that the Father loves him because he freely gives his life, although he will take it again (be resurrected), because he has that authority from the Father. Upon hearing this speech the Jews were divided, with some saying he was mad/demon-possessed but with others saying that a demon could not cure the blind.
With hindsight and the help of Rom. 3:21-5:1 and other NT passages, truthseekers can know the meaning of these words is that Jesus will atone for the sins of humanity, so that whoever believes in him as Messiah and Lord will be justly forgiven by God and resurrected to heaven at the Judgment.
John 11:1-44. This passage tells about Lazarus being ill, dying, entombed, and being resurrected by Jesus. The reason Jesus worked this miracle was so that he would be glorified as God’s Son (John 11:4) or those who witnessed it would believe he was the way to eternal life (John 11:25-26).
Martha made the same profession of faith that Peter did in Matt. 16:16. However, Mary did not yet believe and so she wept, whereupon Jesus wept (John 11:35). And when Jesus ordered the stone to be removed from the entrance to the tomb, Martha’s lingering doubt was indicated by her remarking that there would be a stench, but Jesus said IF she and the others believed, they would behold the glory of God (John 11:40-42).
Then Jesus commanded Lazarus to come out of the tomb and the others to remove his grave clothing and let him go (which is reminiscent Exo. 5:1, 9:1 & 10:3).
A Systematic Study of Ephesians
Eph. 1:1a is “why could Paul claim to be an apostle?”
In Matthew the followers of Jesus are called disciples (learner) in 5:1 and 8:21&23, and in 10:2 the Twelve are called apostles (missionaries) before Jesus sent them out to preach in Galilee. In 1Cor. 9:1 Paul referred to an apostle as one who has seen Jesus, and in 1Cor. 15:7-9 he admits to being the least of the apostles (his name means “little”) because he was the last one called or commissioned, although in 2Cor. 12:11-12 he said he was not inferior. In 1Tim. 2:7 and 2Tim. 1:11 Paul said that he was appointed a herald and an apostle (and a teacher). Returning to Eph. 1:1, we see him saying his apostleship was the will of God.
In Eph. 1:1b Paul addressed his epistle “To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus.” The term “saint” means set apart or sacred, referring to those who are saved because of faith in Christ, which is why they are called faithful and in Christ Jesus. Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province called Asia, which was located on the western side of modern Asia Minor across the Aegean Sea from Athens.
Eph. 1:2 Paul saluted the Ephesians by saying, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Grace means gift, and in a Christian salutation means God’s blessing. Peace means the cessation of war, which in this context refers to fellowship with God, as in Rom. 5:1, “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”
This is why Paul wrote in 1Tim. 2:5, “There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” Describing God as Father implies the Sonship of Jesus through whom saints may call God “our Father” (cf. Matt. 6:9). Thus, in Rom. 8:29 Paul called Jesus “the firstborn among many brothers”.
Calling Jesus “Lord” implies his deity as the Son. Heb. 1:2-3a says, “In these last days God has spoken to us by His Son… the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by his powerful word”, which reflects John 1:1-3&14, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… through him all things were made… The Word became flesh and lived for awhile among us; We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son…”.
Calling Jesus “Christ” in Greek is the word for “Messiah” in Hebrew, meaning the Anointed One, referring to the One God anointed or chose to provide the possibility of salvation for humanity by the sacrifice of Himself on the cross (Rom. 3:25, Heb. 9:26&10:14, 1John 2:2). This is the Gospel or good news that Jesus referred to in Luke 4:18, quoting Isa. 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor.”
Eph. 1:3, “Blessed/Praised be the Father/God of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all/every spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms in Christ.” This verse begins one long sentence through verse 14. By way of OT context one should note places saying that God is worthy of being praised (2Sam. 22:4, 1Chron. 16:25, Psa. 48:1), that it is fitting for people to praise God (Psa. 33:1) because He is good (Psa. 34:8) and forgives those who confess their sin (Psa. 32:5) and that praising is akin to thanksgiving (Psa. 100:4) for God’s love and justice (Psa. 101:1).
We glean from “Being blessed in the heavenly realms with spiritual blessings” that the primary purpose of God is for earthly existence/experience to lead souls to realize their mortality and sinfulness and thus need for Him/His salvation. It seems logical to think that Heaven’s blessings are in the vein of the spiritual fruit listed in Gal. 5:22-23 and elsewhere. Notice that “IN Christ” will be repeated many times in this passage, so it is important to understand that it means oneness with Christ via saving faith (cf. John 17:11&20-23, cf. Eph. 4:13 & 5:31-32) and that it is akin to being one with Abraham or being spiritually circumcised and credited with Christ’s righteousness (Rom. 2:28-29, 3:21-26, 4:3 & 9-17).
Eph. 1:4, “For he chose us in him before the foundation/creation of the world to be holy and blameless before him.” The verb “chose” is synonymous with saved and elected, and “IN him” means the same as “IN Christ” in the previous verse. “Before the foundation/creation” indicates that the reason God created the entire vast universe was to serve as the stage upon which—or the environment within which—to enact His plan of salvation of human sinful souls. “To be holy” means to be set apart or saved, and “blameless in his sight” refers to sharing/being credited with the righteousness of Christ, as in Rom. 3:20, “Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law.”
Eph. 1:5, “In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.” “In love” alludes to the truth that God is love (1John 4:8) as well as creator (Rom. 1:20). “Predestined” means the same as “before creation” in v. 4. “Adopted as sons” is mentioned in Rom. 8:23 & 9:4, where it coincides with receiving the HS and becoming co-heirs with Christ, which is what “through Jesus Christ” and “in Christ” also mean. “In accordance with his pleasure” combines God’s love and power to predestine, and “will” includes what was stated in v.4: for saints to be holy/blameless.
Eph. 1:6, “to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
The phrase “to the praise” harps back to v.3. “of his glorious grace” and means for God’s praiseworthy (v.3) gift or favor, which will be found also in Eph. 2:8-10. “Which he has freely given us” stresses that grace is not earned or merited and implies that it is imputed or credited, as in v.4.
“IN the One he loves” refers to the Anointed One or Messiah/Christ, and again we see divine love mentioned, as in v.5. This is the fifth usage of the phrase “in/through Christ” in as many verses. Peter described Jesus as the Lord of all, whom God anointed with the holy Spirit and power” (Acts 10:36-38). “One” connoted God in Jewish scriptures ever since Moses wrote what is called the Shema (Deut. 6:4).
Eph. 1:7, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace…”. This sixth usage of the “IN Christ” or equivalent phrase provides clues about its meaning: “redemption through his blood” refers to salvation because of Christ’s death on the cross, and “the forgiveness of sins” defines redemption. “In accordance with the riches of God’s grace” echoes v. 5, connecting it with the spiritual blessings mentioned in v.3 and with the grace of God in v.6. Paul will speak of glorious riches again in 3:8&16.
EPH 1:8-9, “from which he lavished on us with all wisdom and prudence, after he revealed to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he himself purposed,” The phrase “that he lavished on us” denotes with generosity or fully. “Wisdom and prudence” will be mentioned again in 3:10. “He made known to us the mystery of his will” is explained later in this epistle. “According to his good pleasure” echoes v.5, and “which he purposed” likewise seems to parallel v.5.
Eph. 1:10, “to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” The phrase “to be put into effect” refers to God’s mystery. “When the times will have reached their fulfillment” indicates God’s timing. “To bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head” seems to indicate world unification.
“Even Christ” names Jesus as the head of God’s government.
The mystery Paul has in mind will be explained later in Ephesians in terms of including Gentiles in God’s plan of salvation. The time of fulfillment would have to be by what is termed the “last days” (in Acts 2:17, 2Tim. 3:1 and 2Pet. 3:3) or “end of the age” (Matt. 24:3, 10, 19, 21, etc.). Other passages indicate that “all things” does not include God’s enemies (1Cor. 15:25), who will be separated from those who belong to Christ (1Cor. 15:23) per the eschatological parables of Jesus (Matt. 22:13-14, 24:33, 25:12, 25:30, etc.) and destroyed (1Cor. 15:26). Christ’s first advent was for the purpose of creating his spiritual body, but his second coming will be on Judgment Day (Heb. 9:26-28)
Eph. 1:11, “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” “In him” means saved by faith in Christ, and “we were also chosen” includes Paul with the Christians reading the epistle. “Having been predestined” repeats the term used in v.5 to refer to “from creation” per v.4. “According to the plan of him” refers to God’s will and purpose in v.9-10. “Who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” means that God is in control of history so that His plan will be achieved as He determines.
Eph.1:12, “in order that we , who were the first to hope in Christ might be for the praise of his glory.”
The phrase “in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ” refers to Paul and other apostles or disciples of Jesus, who received the Gospel before the Ephesians. “IN Christ” is the eighth instance of this or equivalent phrases, which is the briefest way of indicating God’s plan of salvation or being sanctified. “Might be for the praise of his glory” means “would be a reason for praising deity”, probably because of the Christlike behavior or loving deeds by those who are sanctified or being made holy, as indicated later in the epistle.
Eph. 1:13-14, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” The phrase “you also were included in Christ” is the ninth IN. “When you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation” refers to Paul’s preaching the truth or Gospel.
“Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” indicates the sequence of faith preceding Spirit baptism or to Jesus entering the believer’s heart when he/she opens the door (Rev. 3:20). A seal can be broken by apostasy per Heb. 6:4-6 and all passages urging perseverance. “Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession” again assumes perseverance. “To the praise of his glory” means that all souls who have good sense will eventually recognize the infinite genius of God’s POS.
Eph. 1:15-16, “Because of this and after hearing your faith is growing in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all saints, I am continually giving thanks for you, mentioning you in my prayers.
Eph. 1:17, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord JC, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” “I keep asking” indicates that Paul exemplified what he taught in 1Thes. 5:17: Pray continually. “That the God of our Lord JC” implies that Paul prayed to the Father as Jesus taught in Matt. 6:9. “The glorious Father” echoes what was mentioned in v.12&14–sort of a mini-theme.
The phrase “may give you the Spirit” indicates that this gift is something additional to salvation. “Of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better”. “And” functions as = here, and thus the additional revelation must refer to didachaic doctrines or teachings that build upon the foundational Gospel kerygma (Eph. 2:20).
Eph. 1:18-19a, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” In the phrase “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened”, heart must mean “mind”, which is “enlightened in order that you may know” – as opposed to remaining darkened or ignorant. “The hope” refers to the hope of salvation or resurrection to heaven “to which he has called you” (cf. Rom. 8:22-25). Jesus said he came to call sinners (Matt. 9:13), that many are invited but few are chosen (Matt. 22:14), and that few find the narrow gate (Matt. 7:14). In Eph. 4:1 Paul will exhort those who are called to be worthy of it. “The riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” are not described, and “his incomparably great power for us who believe” is not specified.
Eph. 1:19b-21 – “That power is like the working of his mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he reaised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” God’s power for believers is the same as His power in Christ when God resurrected Jesus from the grave and placed Christ in charge of heaven over everything forever on earth and in eternity in heaven.
Eph. 1:22-23 – “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be the head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
The phrase “God placed all things under his feet” quotes Psa. 8:6 and is found also in 1Cor. 15:27a.
“And appointed him to be the head over everything” echoes 1Cor. 15:27b & Col. 1:15-17. “For the church, which is his body” is found in Col. 1:18, and divine fullness is found also in Col. 1:19.
Eph. 2:1-2 – “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins wherein you walked when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the children of unbelief.” Sinners are spiritually dead and bound for hell before being saved. The immorality of the ungodly is the environment of sinners. The ruler of the ungodly would have to be the devil or Satan, who indwells atheists and works evil using them.
Eph. 2:3 – All of us lived among them at one time, participating in the lusts of our sinful flesh and mind, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest.”
Eph. 2:4-6 – “But because of his great love for us, God, being rich in mercy, makes us who are dead in transgressions alive with Christ, saved and being saved by grace. And He raises us up with Him and seats us with Him in the heavens.” God loves all sinners per Rom.5:5-8 and 1Tim.2:3-4. God’s riches are referred to again in Eph.3:16. The wages of sin is death per Rom.6:23, but life is given because of faith in Jesus as Lord per 2Cor.4:5 & Col.2:6. Conversion and sanctification are not by works per Eph.2:8-10. Future resurrection is viewed as being present. The saints share Christ’s blessings.
Eph. 2:7-10 – “In order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,
expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—
and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
The first three chapters…
Following Cam’s advice to look at David Chilton’s “Days of Vengeance”, beginning with the discussion of Rev. 4 on page 151,
he states that the 24 elders (a term mentioned 12 times in Rev.) reflect the OT 24 divisions of priests in 1Chron. 24, and their
crowns indicate reigning with Christ in the Melchizedek priesthood (cf. Heb. 7:1-2).
On p. 158 Chilton says the four creatures represent the four quarters of the Zodiac and four parts of REV:
Lion/Leo (REV 4-7), Bull [ox?]/Taurus (REV 2-3), Man/Aquarius (REV 15-22), Eagle/Scorpio[?] (REV 8-14).
Chilton notes that Gordon Wenham observed that Scripture refers to the stars as the heavenly host in Deut. 4:19.
Regarding the Eagle, Google says: The eagle is not a zodiac sign, but it is the symbol for the constellation Aquila and is also considered a symbol for the zodiac sign Scorpio. Aquila is a constellation, but it is not on the ecliptic, the path the sun follows through the sky, so it is not a zodiac constellation. The eagle represents Scorpio’s ability to rise above and gain a higher perspective, in addition to the more common symbol of the scorpion.
In Rev. 5:1 John sees the person sitting on the throne (Rev. 4:2) holding a scroll sealed with 7 seals, which Chilton cites Zahn
for saying the 7 seals indicate the document is a testament or statement/revelation of the writer’s will. (Exo. 32:15 states that
the Ten Commandment tablets also were inscribed on the front and back.)
In Rev. 5:5 an elder describes the One who is qualified to unseal the scroll in terms of Judah, the Lion tribe of Israel (Gen. 49:9-10),
whose descendant David commissioned his son Solomon to build the earthly house of God/temple (1Chron. 28:2-7). However,
John identifies the Lion with the Lamb of God, slain at the crux of salvation history (Rev. 5:6).
In Rev. 5:6 the slain Lamb is described as having seven horns, which Chilton thinks refers to heralding judgment, and seven eyes,
which are identified with the seven spirits of God mentioned in Rev. 3:1/Zech. 6:5. Chilton notes that the creation story in Genesis
stated seven times that God saw it was good.
In Rev. 5:7-10 the Lamb took the scroll, whereupon the 24 elders fell down before Him while holding harps. They also had bowls of incense, which are identified with the prayers of the saints (cf. Luke 1:10 & Psa. 141:2). They sang a new song (cf. Psa. 98:1-3 & Isa. 42:10-13), praising the Lamb whose death enabled all people to be God’s kingdom, serve God and reign on earth. Mention of the kingdom and priests echoes Rev. 1:6, and the new song surely refers to the New Covenant in Christ, so the earth probably means the new earth that will replace the old earth per Rev. 21:1.
In Rev. 5:11-14 over 100,000 angels surrounding the throne, living creatures and elders sing “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (the seven items indicate divinity in GW),
whereupon every being in the entire creation also sang a rejoinder, the four living creatures said “Amen”, and the elders fell down and worshipped (reminiscent of Rev. 4:11, cf. Phil. 2:10-11, 1Tim. 1:17 & Heb. 2:7=Psa. 8:5).
The meaning of this passage in the context of the other NT verses cited is easy to understand, although “wealth” refers to spiritual blessings or riches in the vein of love and salvation to heaven rather than to gold or other physical matter (1Tim. 6:17, Jam. 5:2-3,
Matt. 6:19, Eph. 2:7 & 3:8, Col. 1:27 & 2:2).
In Rev. 6:1-17 the Lamb opened six seals. The first four seals are associated with what are called the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”, which apparently alludes to Zechariah 6:1-7 (cf. Hab. 3:4-12):
1. The rider on a white horse held a bow, wore a crown and rode forth in conquest.
2. The rider on a red horse wielded a large sword and was given power to promote war on earth.
3. The rider on a black horse held scales, and a voice spoke about wages and not damaging the oil and wine.
4. The rider on a sickly pale horse (the Greek word means green) was named Death, and Hades followed him
as he caused death over a fourth of the earth.
When the fifth seal was opened, the souls of those who had been slain because of their testifying to the word of God are described as being under or below the altar, where the blood of sacrifices would drain into a reservoir or container. They cried out for divine justice and were given white robes (cleansed of blood) as they were told to wait until the history of martyrdom was completed. “Days of Vengeance” notes that “how long?” was asked in numerous Psalms as a plea for divine justice (cf. Psa. 6:3, 13:1-2, 35:17, 74:10, 80:4, 89:46, 90:13 & 94:3-4). It is not unchristian to pray for divine wrath, because we know God’s justice is righteous or fair (e.g., Rom. 2:5-11).
When the sixth seal was opened, cataclysmic events occurred that are mentioned in various Scriptures, including:
1. a great earthquake (Exo. 19:18, Psa. 18:7, Isa. 13:13-14, Nah. 1:5),
2. the sun turned black (Exo. 10:21-23, Job 9:7, Isa. 5:30, Ezek. 32:7, Joel 2:10, Amos 8:9, Mic. 3:6),
3. the moon became blood red (Job 25:5, Isa. 13:10, Ezek. 32:7, Joel, 1:10&31),
4. the stars fell from the sky (Job 9:7, Eccl. 12:2, Isa. 13:10, Ezek. 32:8, Dan. 8:10, Joel 2:10),
5. the sky receded like a scroll (Isa. 34:4, 51:6, Psa. 102:25-26),
6. mountains and islands were dislodged (Job 9:5-6, Isa. 41:5, Ezek. 38:20, Nah. 1:4-8, Zeph. 2:11),
7. every earthling sought shelter in caves and hiding places from the wrath of the Lamb (Hos. 10:6-8, Nah. 1:6, Mal. 3:2).
This description echoes that of Jesus in Matt. 24:15-30 (cf. Mark 13:14-27 & Luke 21:20-27).
In Rev. 7:1-17 four angels were seen standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back harmful winds of judgment until a seal was put on the foreheads of the servants of God. (Chilton notes that nature does not function apart from God but rather is sustained by Him and that Ezek. 9:3-4 mentions a man wearing linen putting a protective mark on the foreheads of those who lamented over the sins of Jerusalem. This mark was tav, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet that is in the shape of a cross.)
Another angel came up from the east (cf. Isa. 41:2&25, 46:11, Ezek. 43:1-4, Mal. 4:2) and announced that God’s servants included 12,000 souls from each of the 12 tribes of Israel for a total of 144,000. (Chilton opines that the number refers to the size of Israel’s military divisions in Numbers 31:4&48 as well as to the remnant of Jacob that was to be saved per Isaiah 10:20-22 and Romans 9:27-28 and which was scattered among the nations in James 1:1. He cites Austin Farrer for his analysis of the order of the tribes, in which Manasseh is substituted for Dan and Levi is demoted in agreement with Hebrews 7:11-14).
Then a great multitude of people from every Gentile nation and culture appeared, wearing white robes and holding palm branches. (Presumably they also are sealed. At this point Chilton chides Calvinists for stressing the depravity of man more than the saving efficacy of God.) The white robes signify salvation, and the palm branches point to Jesus (cf. Matt. 21:8-9). They cried out, “Salvation belongs to our God… and to the Lamb”, whereupon the angels who were standing around the throne fell face down and said, “Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power and strength be to God for ever. Amen!” (cf. Rev. 4:11, 5:12-13, Jude 1:25, 1Tim. 1:17). One of the elders said that the Gentiles were those who endured the great tribulation and made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb, who will lead them to living water, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.
In Rev. 8:1-13 the Lamb opened the seventh seal, and after half an hour of silence the seven angels standing before God were given seven trumpets (cf. the seven priests in 1Chron. 15:24 & Neh. 12:41). The motif of seven angels occurs in Rev. 1-3, 8-11, 14 & 15-16. Presumably during the period of silence is when an angel with a golden censer offered incense at the altar along with the prayers of all the saints (cf. Rev. 5:8). Then the angel took fire from the altar and hurled it to earth as lightning (cf. Exo. 19:16-19), whereupon the angels began sounding their trumpets in turn as follows:
First – hail and fire mixed with blood were hurled to earth, causing a third of it to burn up (cf. Psa. 18:6-15).
Second – a huge mountain was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea turned to blood as a third of the sea creatures died
(cf. Exo. 7:17-21).
Third – a star named Wormwood (Bitterness, cf. Jer. 9:15 & 23:15) fell to earth causing a third of the rivers and springs to become bitter (cf. Isa. 14:12-15).
Fourth – a third of the sun, moon and stars became dark, and a third of the day and night were without light (cf. Exo. 10:21-23, Isa. 13:10, Ezek. 32:7, Joel 2:10).
Then an eagle flew through the air cried out, “Woe to the inhabitants of earth because of the coming trumpet blasts!” An eagle represents judgment for the enemies of God (Deut. 28:49-52, Hos. 8:1), but salvation for those who love God (Deut. 32:9-11, Isa. 40:31,
Rev. 12:14).
In Rev. 9:1-12 the fifth angel sounded his trumpet and a fallen star received the key to the Abyss, from which smoke rose. In Luke 10:18 Jesus said that he saw Satan fall from heaven to earth like lightning, and in Luke 8:31 the demons begged Jesus not to send them into the Abyss, which is mentioned seven times in Revelation (Rev. 9:1,2,11, 11:7, 17:8, 20:1,3), and is the term described as “deep waters” in Gen. 1:2 (cf. Gen. 7:11, 49:25, Deut. 33:13, Psa. 33:7, 36:6, 77:16, 106:9, Isa. 44:27, etc.). In Revelation it represents hell, the domain of the dragon Satan (Rev. 11:7 & 17:8, cf. the leviathan in Job 41:1&31, Psa. 148:7) and the place for the dead and demonic angels (Rom. 10:7, 2Pet. 2:4, Jude 6).
The smoke from the Abyss darkened the sky and produced locusts like scorpions, who were given power to agonize only those without the seal of God on their foreheads for five months, so they would seek death but not find it. This reference to locusts reminds the reader of the plague described in Exo. 10:12-15 and of the invading armies cited in Jer. 51:27.
The locust-scorpions looked like warhorses with faces resembling humans, hair like women’s, teeth like lions’ (cf. Joel 1:4-6), tails like scorpions’ stingers, and their heads were crowned with gold, their breastplates were like iron and their wings sounded like thunderous chariots charging into battle. Their king was the angel of the Abyss, whose name was Abaddon in Hebrew or Apollyon in Greek,
both meaning “Destroyer/Destruction” (Job 26:6, 28:22, 31:12, Psa. 88:11, Pro. 15:11, 27:20, cf. 1Cor. 10:10, Heb. 2:14). It should be noted that God allows Satan to serve the cause of justice within limits He establishes. Two other woes would follow this one.
In Rev. 9:13-21 the sixth angel blew his trumpet and a voice coming from the altar said to release the armies of the four angels beyond the Euphrates River, who were bound to kill a third of humanity. Their horses were described as having heads of lions with fire coming out of their mouths and with tails like snakes. The remaining two-thirds of mankind did not repent of worshipping demons and idols, nor of their murders and sexual immorality.
The area beyond the Euphrates was considered north of Israel in several OT passages referring to the Assyrians, Babylonians and Persians (Isa. 14:31, Jer. 6:1&22, 10:22, 13:20, etc.; Ezek. 26:7, 38:6&15, 39:2). Thus, God may use pagan people to accomplish His purpose (cf. 1Kg. 22:19-23, Job 1:12, Isa. 10:5-12). The large number of soldiers may reflect Psalm 68:17, and the description of the horses is akin to Job’s description of leviathan in Job 41:18-21 (cf. Deut. 28:49-67). Chilton comments (p. 252-258) that by rejecting Jesus Christ the Jews became idolaters and worshipers of Caesar (cf. John 8:42-44) and that apostate or sinful Jerusalem was a type of Babylon. Also, he notes that Josephus found fulfillment of God’s wrath in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 66-70.
In Rev. 10:1-11 another angel described as robed in clouds with a face like the sun (cf. Rev. 1:13&16, Ezek. 1:27-28), with legs like pillars of fire (cf. Exo. 13:21, 14:24, Num. 12:5, Deut. 31:15) and holding a little scroll came down from heaven and stood with one foot on the sea (cf. Isa. 17:12, Jer. 6:22-23) and the other on the land (cf. Psa. 65:5-7). He shouted like a lion’s roar (cf. Isa. 5:29), whereupon seven thunders spoke (cf. Psa. 29:3-4), but a voice from heaven told John not to write what they said (cf. Rev. 22:10). Chilton interprets this proscription as teaching there are things which will not be revealed until they occur (p. 262-263).
Then the angel swore by God (cf. Matt. 5:34-37) that there would be no more delay in the accomplishment of the mystery of God’s will (cf. Eph. 3:5-6, Col. 1:26), and the voice from heaven told John to take the little scroll from the angel, who told him to eat it, which John did. It tasted sweet as honey but made his stomach turn sour (cf. Ezek. 2:8-3:3). Then John was told that he “must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings” (cf. Matt. 28:19-20). Chilton understands this passage as referring to the impending destruction of Jerusalem and the implementation of the New Covenant that includes the Gentiles or the entire world (p. 267-268).
In Rev. 11:1-14 John was given a measuring rod and told to measure the temple of God (cf. Ezek. 40-43, Zech. 2, Heb. 9) except for the outer court of the Gentiles, who will trample the holy city for 42 months (1,260 days/3.5 years, cf. Dan. 7:25, Jam. 5:17, Luke 13:24-29). Chilton noted a chiastic arrangement of the time periods, that the Gospel of Matthew organized Christ’s ancestors into groups of 42, and that the envisioned destruction of Jerusalem occurred in A.D. 70 (p.274-275).
The voice also said that two witnesses clothed in sackcloth (indicating mourning, cf. 2Kings 1:8, Isa. 20:2, Jonah 3:6, Matt. 3:4). and identified with the two olive trees (oil) and two lampstands (light from the burning oil) before the Lord would prophesy for 1,260 days (cf. Zech. 4). Anyone who tried to harm them was killed by fire from their mouths (cf. Moses in Num. 16:35 and Elijah in 2Kings 1:9-12), and it would not rain during the days of their prophesying (cf. the drought caused by Elijah in 1Kings 17, Luke 4:25, Jam. 5:17). They would have power to turn water into blood and strike the earth with plagues if they desired (cf. Moses in Exo. 7-13). Moses and Elijah represent the testimony of the Law and Prophets (cf. Mal. 4:4-5).
After their testimony, the beast from the Abyss (cf. Rev. 13) will attack and kill them, leaving their bodies lying in the street of the city (metaphorically, cf. Matt. 23:35, Acts 7:51-52) where their Lord was crucified for three and a half days as people from every nation will celebrate their deaths (cf. Psa. 79:1-3). The description of Jerusalem as wicked Sodom is clear (cf. Matt. 11:23-24), but the reference to Egypt is vague. After the three and a half days, God resurrected them and a voice from heaven called them up into heaven (cf. Rev. 4:1) as their enemies looked on and an earthquake killed 7,000 people in the city, which was ten percent (the Lord’s tithe, cf. 1Kings 19:18). This was the end of the second woe (cf. Rev. 9:12).
In Rev. 11:15-19 the seventh angel sounded his trumpet and voices from heaven announced that “the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ”, who would reign forever.
In Matthew 7:10 Jesus taught his disciples to pray for God’s kingdom to come, and this verse indicates the completion of its arrival, which is acknowledged by the 24 elders seated on thrones before God, who fell on their faces and thanked the Lord God Almighty that the time has come for the judgment foretold by Jesus in Matt. 23:35-36,
Judgment includes rewarding those who reverence God’s name (servants/prophets/saints) with heaven, and destroying in hell those who destroy the earth (per John 17:12, Rom. 9:22, Gal. 6:8, Phil. 3:19, 2Thes. 1:9, 2Pet. 3:7 & Rev. 20:13-14). Evil people corrupted God’s good creation (Gen. 1:31, 6:5-7, 9:11, 2Pet. 3:7, Rev. 16:5-6, 18:4-8, 20:10-15).
At that moment heaven was opened and the ark of the covenant was revealed amid flashes of lightning accompanied by an earthquake and hailstorm. The ark and the physical phenomena signify the ultimate revelation of God’s Word, especially His promise of salvation.
In Rev. 12:1-17 a sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, standing on the moon and wearing a crown of 12 stars,
who was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was giving birth. Then another sign appeared beside her: a huge red dragon with
seven heads, ten horns and wearing seven crowns, whose tail swept a third of the stars to the earth. He stood in front of the woman, ready to eat her baby as soon as it was born, but when she gave birth to her son who will rule all nations with an iron scepter, he was snatched up to God’s throne, and the woman fled into the desert where God would take care of her for 1,260 days.
Then there was war in heaven between the archangel Michael with his angels and the dragon with his angels, who lost and were hurled to earth, after which a voice in heaven proclaimed salvation and the kingdom of God and Christ, whose brothers overcame the dragon called the devil or Satan by means of the Lamb’s blood and their own testimony of willingness to suffer martyrdom. The voice commanded joy in heaven but woe to the earth where the devil will be for a short time.
The dragon sought to pursue the woman, but she escaped to the safe place prepared for her. The dragon spewed a torrent of water out of his mouth, but the earth opened up and swallowed it, so the enraged dragon went off to make war against the rest of her offspring, those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
In seeking to identify the woman, perhaps the first thing to notice is that she is NOT the prostitute who rode the dragon mentioned in Rev. 17:1-7, and the second thing is that her other offspring apparently include Messianic Jews and Gentile Christians. Perhaps the references to the sun, moon and stars signifies God’s salvation is for one universe. Chilton thinks the 12 stars alludes to the Zodiac sign of Virgo (which is ascendant during the time of Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Trumpets) and that other factors pinpoint the birth of Jesus as occurring on September 11 in the year 3 B.C. (p.300-301). Her son surely refers to Jesus, the Lamb of God, and thus her other offspring must be the disciples of Jesus, his universal church and one spiritual body (cf. Eph. 4:4-6). The iron scepter echoes Rev. 2:27 and must be the iron rod mentioned in Psa. 2:9. The reference to the pain of childbirth reminds the reader of what Paul said in Rom. 8:22.
The dragon is specifically identified as Satan, who bedeviled humanity, seeking to lead the whole world astray (cf. Dan. 7:3-7, Isa. 27:1). Chilton thinks St. John associates the dragon with the Zodiac sign of Scorpio, who has a third of the other 12 signs following him or at his tail, referencing the fall of Satan in 2Pet. 2:4 and Jude 6 (p.306). The destruction of “a third” has been mentioned in Rev. 8:7-12, 9:15 &18. Perhaps this signifies the salvation of the two thirds. The period of “a time, times and half a time” or 1,260 days/42 months has also been mentioned (Rev. 11:2-3). The war with evil was won at the time of Christ’s crucifixion for sins, although it is followed by a period of denouement during the age of the church, which is relatively brief per 2Pet. 3:8-9.
In Rev. 13:1-10 John says the dragon was by the sea and a beast came out of the sea that had ten horns with crowns and seven heads (cf. Rev. 12:3) with a blasphemous name on each. (This will be explained in Rev. 17:7-18.) One of the heads had what seemed to be a fatal wound that had been healed (cf. Gen. 3:15). The beast resembled a leopard but had feet like a bear and a mouth like a lion (cf. Dan. 7:1-7). The dragon gave the beast his power and throne, and the whole world worshipped the dragon and the beast, asking “Who can defeat the beast?”
The beast was allowed to blaspheme God and exercise authority for 42 months (Rev. 11:2-9, 12:6&14), defeating the saints and all inhabitants of earth whose names were not written in the Lamb’s book of life from the creation of the world. The book of life was introduced in Rev. 3:5 and will be mentioned again in Rev. 17:8, 20:12&15, 21:27 and 22:19. This defeat and falling away initially occurred during the reign or Emperor Nero, who persecuted Christians almost to extinction (cf. 1Tim. 4:1, 6:20-21, 2Tim. 3:1&12, 4:17, 1John 2:18-19), but it may also have a final fulfillment before the end of history.
John concluded this passage by saying, “He who has an ear, let him hear”, a phrase spoken many times by Jesus (Matt. 11:15, Mark 4:9, Luke 14:35). What John wanted people to hear here is this: “Anyone bound for captivity will go into captivity, and anyone bound to be slain will be killed. This calls for faithful endurance [perseverance] by the saints.”
In Rev. 13:11-18 John saw another beast coming out of the earth that looked like a lamb with two horns and spoke like a dragon (cf. Rev. 13:1, 16:13, 19:20), which made Earthians worship the first beast whose wounds had been healed (Rev. 13:3) by deceiving them with miracles such as causing fire to fall from heaven (cf. 2Kings 1:10). This deception was foretold by Jesus (in Matt. 24:5&11, cf. Matt. 7:15, John 8:42-44, Deut. 13:1-5.) Chilton thinks the first beast represents Rome and the second is Pharisaic/Talmudic Judaism (p. 336-337, cf. Acts 4:25-27).
This beast ordered Earthians to set up an image of the first beast (cf. Dan. 3:1-7, Rom. 2:22), and he was given power to make the image speak (cf. Psa. 135:15-16) and command that all who refused to worship him be killed. At this juncture it is important to realize that all false ideologies are dictatorial and murderous, whereas God wants to persuade sinners to convert/repent and freely embrace the Christ and the Gospel (Acts 18:4, 2Cor. 5:11).
The second beast also forced all Earthians to receive a mark on the right hand or forehead, without which no one could conduct business. The mark was the name of the beast or the number of his name, 666, which represents humanity/Earthians (cf. 1Kings 10:14). Numerous places in Scripture associate the number six with humanity (Gen. 1:24-31, Exo. 20:8-11, 21:2, Num. 35:9-15, Dan. 3:1) and the number seven with divinity. We can see that 666 is 6 x 10 x 10 (and what Chilton notes on p. 347-349 is the “triangular” of the square of 6 that contains 12 triangles representing 12 months or 1,260 days), which signifies the ultimate Antichrist.
In Rev. 14:1-13 John saw the Lamb on Mount Zion (cf. Psa. 2:6-7, Matt. 21:5, John 12:15, Rom. 9:33, 11:26, Heb. 12:22, 1Pet. 2:6) with 144,000 disciples (Israelites per Rev. 7:4-8, cf. Rom. 11:5), and he heard a loud sound from heaven like that of harpists (Rev. 5:8), who sang a new song (Rev. 5:8-9, Psa. 98:5, 96:1, 40:3, 149:1) before the throne that only the redeemed could learn. John described the redeemed as those who were sexually pure or were not adulterers (Rev. 14:8, 2:14&20-22), the firstfruits (Rom. 8:23, 1Cor. 15:23) of those who followed the Lamb (Matt. 9:9, 10:38, 16:24) and as those who never lied (Zeph. 3:12-13, cf. Rom. 1:22-25, Eph. 4:24-27).
Then John saw an angel flying to every nation on earth with the eternal gospel (Mark 1:14-15, Matt. 24:14, Rom. 10:15-18) and urging people to glorify God the Creator at this hour of final judgment (Heb. 9:26-28). A second angel announced the fall of Babylon the Great, which had made all nations mad with the wine of adultery. It is not clear whether this refers to Jerusalem or to Rome or is symbolic of worldwide anti-Christian atheism.
A third angel warned that anyone who worshipped the beast and received his mark (Rev. 13:8&16) would drink the wine of God’s wrath (Rev. 6:16, 19:15, Isa. 51:17, Jer. 25:15, Ezek. 20:18, Zeph. 1:15, Rom. 1:18) and be tormented forever with no rest (Matt. 11:28-30, 25:46). Enduring persecution calls for persevering faith in Jesus and obeying God’s commandments (Matt. 10:22, 24:45-51, Jam. 5:7-9). Then John was told to write: Blessed are those who die in the Lord, for they will rest from their labor and reap reward for their deeds (cf. Matt. 5:10-12, Rom. 2:5-13, Heb. 4:9-11).
In Rev. 15:1-8 John saw seven angels with seven final plagues and what appeared to be a sea of glass mixed with fire (the crystal sea cited in Rev. 4:6, cf. Exo. 24:10, 1Kings 7:23). Standing beside the sea were those who had been victorious over the beast, his image and the number of his name (Rev. 13:5-18, 20:4). They held harps (Rev. 14:2) and sang the song of Moses (Deut. 32:1-44) and the song of the Lamb (Rev. 15:3-4), which praised God for His just righteousness (cf. Deut. 32:3-4, Psa. 145:17). The doctrine of God’s righteousness and love is called theodicy (Psa. 11:7, 36:5-6, 119:137, John 3:16, Rom. 3:21-26, 5:5-8, 2Thes. 1:6a).
The Song of the Lamb ends by asking, “Who will not fear you, O Lord?” and by answering “All nations will come and worship before you” (cf. Matt. 28:19). This refers to the Judgment described in Rev. 20:11-15. After the song was sung, John beheld the Tabernacle of the Testimony opened (Exo. 28:31, Acts 7:44, cf. Heb. 8:2&5, 9:11&24) and the seven angels dressed in shining linen with golden sashes.
One of the four living creatures (Rev. 4:6b-7) gave each of the angels a golden bowl filled with the wrath of God. The seven bowls with wrath seem to be synonymous with the seven trumpets and wrath described in Rev. 8:6-9:14 and 11:15, although the details described have some differences. The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God (cf. the cloud in Exo. 40:34-35) until the seven plagues were completed.
In Rev. 16:1-17 John told about the seven angels pouring out their bowls of wrath:
1. Painful sores appeared on those who had the mark of the beast and worshipped his image (cf. Exo. 9:8-11, Deut. 28:27&35).
2. The sea turned to blood and every creature in it died (cf. Exo. 7:17-21, Rev. 8:8-9).
3. The springs and rivers also turned to blood justly, because the saints and prophets were murdered (cf. Rev. 8:10-11, Matt. 23:35-36, Ezek. 22:3-4,6&9, 21:31). The reference to justness implies reaping what was sown (Rom. 2:6, Gal. 6:7).
4. The sun scorched people, who cursed God rather than repent (cf. Ezek. 20:45-48, John 5:40, 2Thes. 2:10).
5. The kingdom of the beast was plunged into darkness (Rev. 8:12, Exo. 10:21-22), but its inhabitants refused to repent (cf. Exo. 10:1&27).
6. The Euphrates River dried up and three evil/unclean spirits resembling frogs (cf. Exo. 8:1-7) came out of the dragon’s mouth to perform miracles and gather the kings of the world for battle.
At this point John interjected a warning that Jesus will come without warning like a thief (cf. Matt. 24:42:44), so blessed are those who repent when rebuked and so are awake and clothed (Rev. 3:18-19, cf. Matt. 22:11-13). Then the kings gathered at Armageddon, apparently referencing the plain of Megiddo mentioned as the site of battles in the OT (Josh. 12:21, Judges 5:19, 2Kings 9:27, 2Chron. 35:20-25, cf. Zech. 12:3-9).
7. A loud voice from the temple throne said, “It is done” (Rev. 21:6, cf. John 19:30), at which point occurred lightning, thunder and the greatest earthquake ever, splitting the great city “Babylon” (Jerusalem per Rev. 11:8 & 14:8) into three parts (cf. Ezek. 5:1-12) as huge hailstones fell on men (cf. Exo. 9:18-26) who cursed God. At this time it is too late to repent (cf. Rom. 1:21-32 & 2:1-9, Heb. 3:7-4:11).
In Rev. 17:1-18 the 7th angel showed John the punishment of the “great prostitute” or “Babylon the Great” (cf. Jer. 50-51, esp. 51:13, and Isa. 23, esp. v.3), drunk with the blood of the Christian saints (cf. Matt. 23:29-36, 1Kings 19:10, 2Chron. 24:22, Jer. 2:30), the great city who rules over the earth. The beast upon which she road was described as he who “once was, now is not, and yet will come”. The beast’s seven heads are seven hills and kings, five of whom have fallen, one who is, and one who has not yet come.
Although until this point in Revelation the great city seemed to refer to Jerusalem (cf. Rev. 11:8 & 14:8), reference to many waters, seven hills and ruling over the earth indicates awareness that Jerusalem has fallen to Rome, and the world’s spiritual locus (around which the world’s history of beliefs revolved) has been replaced by the political power. Thus, “kings” may refer to Roman emperors, “five have fallen” may refer to the first five (Julius through Claudius), the one “who is” to Nero, and the one who will “remain for a little while” to Galba (who reigned about six months).
The beast himself is an 8th king (probably Apollyon/Abaddon, the Destroyer from the Abyss in Rev. 9:11), and the beast’s ten horns are kings who will rule with the beast and make war against the Lamb until defeated by Him and his faithful followers. The waters where the prostitute sits represent the world’s nations and peoples, so the 8th king may refer to an eventual emperor of the entire earth including ten kingdoms. The beast and horns will also ruin the prostitute (anti-Christian Jews?, cf. Rom. 11:25-32) in order to rule until God’s words are fulfilled (Rom. 11:33-36, 1Cor. 15:20-28).
In Rev. 18:1-24 John saw an angel come down from heaven and heard him shout, “Fallen is Babylon the Great!”, describing “her” as an adulteress and home for demons.
Then another voice from heaven commanded “Come out of her, my people, so you will not share in her sins and receive any of her plagues.” The plagues mentioned include death, famine and fire, which will prompt the kings of earth who committed adultery with her to cry “Woe, O Babylon, your doom has come!”, and the merchants of earth will mourn because she no longer buys their cargoes, crying “Woe, O great city, who has been brought to ruin!”, and the seamen will see the smoke of her burning and also exclaim, “Woe, but rejoice saints, apostles and prophets, for God has judged her treatment of you!”
Then a mighty angel threw a boulder the size of a millstone into the sea and said, “Babylon will be thrown down and never found again. By her magic spell the nations were led astray, and in her was found the blood of the prophets and saints and all on earth who were murdered.”
Describing Babylon as an adulteress indicates that Jerusalem might again be in view (cf. Hosea 1:2, 3:1, 4:1, 5:4, 6:7, 7:4, 8:14, 9:9, 10:8), although the references to the trade by sea with the nations would apply more aptly to Rome. The cry to come out of her probably should be understood as referring to spiritual repentance more than to physical emigration, and thus the plagues, fire and forever ruin may refer to ultimate destruction in hell, which is described as repayment or reaping the just consequence of sin (cf. Rom. 2:5-11).
Understood in this light, one can view Babylon as the city of Satan or the worldwide realm of the ungodly/demonic spirit of Anti-Christ. Judgment of sin is a cause of joy for saints or those whose repentance has resulted in sharing the righteousness of Christ (Rom. 3:21-5:1).
In Rev. 19:1-21 John heard the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting praise to God for His just judgments, which included condemnation of the great prostitute who corrupted the earth and murdered those who served God (Rev. 17:1-6, 18:2-24). The 24
elders and four living creatures (Rev. 4:4-10, 5:6, 7:11, 11:16) also worshipped God and cried, “Amen, Hallelujah!”
Then a voice from the throne urged God’s servants to praise Him, and a multitude glorified God because the wedding of the Lamb has come (cf. Matt. 22:1-14), and the bride is the saints (cf. 2Cor. 11:2, Eph. 5:25-27, Isa. 54:5). An angel said, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” John fell at his feet, but the angel told him to worship God (cf. Acts 14:11-13), whose testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (cf. Matt. 11:13, Luke 24:44-45, John 5:39-40&46, 2Pet. 1:21).
Then John saw a white horse, whose rider was called Faithful and True (Rev. 3:14), who conducts just war (cf. Eccl. 3:8), who was dressed in a robe dipped in blood (Matt. 26:28, Rom. 5:9, Col. 1:20, Heb. 9:22, 1Pet. 1:18-19, 1John 1:7), and whose name is the Word of God (John 1:1-14). Armies from heaven followed him, and out of his mouth came a sharp sword (Eph. 6:7, Heb. 4:12). He will rule the nations with an iron scepter (Rev. 2:27, 12:5, Psa. 2:9)
He trod the winepress of God’s wrath (Isa. 63:3, Rev. 14:19-20), and on his robe and thigh was written the name, “King of kings and Lord of lords” (cf. 1Tim. 6:15, Rev. 17:14). An angel cried out an invitation to come to the supper of God and eat the flesh of ungodly people (cf. Psa. 14:4, 27:2, Micah 3:2-3).
Finally, John saw a beast with the armies of the kings of the earth gathered to make war against the rider on the white horse (cf. Matt. 24:6-8, Rev. 16:14, 20:7-8, Zech. 14:1-3), but he was captured along with the false prophet who had performed miracles on his behalf, which deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped his image (Rev. 13:11-15, 16:13-14). The beast and false prophet were thrown into the fiery lake (Rev. 20:10), and the rest were killed by the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the white horse (Rev. 1:16).
In Rev. 20:1-15 John saw an angel from heaven with the key to the Abyss holding a chain with which he bound the dragon or Satan and locked him in the Abyss for 1,000 years. John also saw judges seated on thrones and the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and teaching the word of God, refusing to worship the beast or to receive his mark. They came to life and reigned with Christ during the millennium.
This first resurrection did not include the rest of the dead (apparently including believers who died before the dragon’s persecution), and blessed are those who are included and reign as priests of God/Christ, because the second death (the lake of fire cited in verses 10 & 14) has no power over them.
After the end of the millennium, Satan will be released and deceive all nations, gathering them (led by Gog and Magog, cf. Ezek. 38:2 & 14-39:6) for battle against God’s beloved people. However, fire from heaven devoured the ungodly army, and the deceiving devil was thrown into the lake of fire with the beast and false prophet, where they will be tormented eternally. This seems to refer to the eternal punishment in Jesus’ Parable of the Sheep and Goats (Matt. 25:31-46).
Then John saw One seated on a great white throne and the resurrected dead standing before Him. Books recording the sins of each person were opened, and judgment was rendered accordingly. Another book, the book of life, was also opened, and anyone whose name was not written in it was thrown into the lake of fire along with death and Hades, which is the second death. It is unclear whether those who were judged according to their sins will be dead/destroyed or tormented forever, but consider the following:
Good and evil options are opposite because of essentially different consequences for choosing them. Choosing good results in blessing, life and heaven; and choosing evil results in cursing, death and hell (Deut. 30:19). This is why hell as well as heaven exists:
It is the just consequence for choosing evil rather than God. Whoever rejects the Lord thereby chooses Satan and reaps the just consequence (Gal. 6:7-9, Heb. 9:27-28), which is necessary and good, perhaps experiencing the agony they caused on earth in accordance with the principal of “eye for eye” (Matt. 5:38), after which they are destroyed (per John 17:12, Rom. 9:22, Gal. 6:8, Phil. 3:19, 2Thes. 1:9, 2Pet. 3:7 & Rev. 20:13-14).
In Rev. 21:1-27 John saw a new heaven and earth after the first heavens and earth had passed away. He also saw a new Jerusalem prepared as a bride dressed for her husband, and he heard a voice proclaim that God will dwell with humanity and wipe every tear from their eyes, because there will be no more mourning due to death or pain when the old order has ended and everything is made new. John was told to write that He who is seated on the throne is the Alpha and Omega, who will give the water of life to all who overcome and inherit God’s blessings as His children. However, those who are unbelieving sinners will be consigned to the fiery lake, which is the second death.
Then an angel of the seven last plagues told John to come and see the bride of the Lamb, and he took John to the mountain of Jerusalem, which shone with the glory of God, like jasper and clear crystal. The city had a high wall with twelve gates guarded by angels, and on the gates the names of the tribes of twelve tribes of Israel were written. The walls were on twelve foundations on which were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The angel guiding John had a measuring rod, and he found the city to be 12,000 stadia in length and width. The jasper wall was 144 cubits thick, and the city and streets were made of pure gold. The foundations were adorned with twelve kinds of precious stone, and the gates were single pearls.
There was no temple in the city, because the Lord God and Lamb are its temple, and there was no sun or moon, because the glory of God gives it light and the Lamb is its lamp, by which the nations and kings will walk. The gates are never shut, because there is no night. Nothing impure or anyone who does evil will ever enter it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
In Rev. 22:1-21 an angel showed John the river of the water of life flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit every month. God’s servants will have his name on their foreheads, and there will be no more night, because God will give them light forever. The angel said that these words are trustworthy and true: “Behold, I am coming soon!”
John said that he fell down to worship the angel, who said not to do so, but to worship God. Then the angel said not to seal this book and to let people continue doing what they have been doing. Then the warning of Jesus that he is coming soon was repeated with the addition that he would give to everyone according to what he has done and that he is the Alpha and Omega.
John states that those whose robes are washed are blessed and may enter the city, whereas those who love to sin will remain outside. Again, Jesus is quoted as saying that he has sent his angel to give this testimony for the churches (prompting the question: Is the angel of Jesus the HS?) and that he is the Root and Offspring of David, which seems parallel to being “Alpha and Omega” (in v.13) and might indicate that in divine chronology the future determines the meaning of the past.
John ended Revelation by writing that the Spirit and bride say “Come”, and that whoever wishes may take the free gift of the water of life. He warns adding words to or removing words from this book, and for the third times says “I am coming soon”, to which John added his amen.
[p.2, #39 + p.3 #50 = #54]