Most people look to Revelation as being the most difficult thing in the Bible to understand. Some even say that it’s impossible for men to understand it. This is folly. Revelation comes from the Greek word Apocalypse, which means “reveal”. To reveal something that you’re not allowed to understand? That doesn’t sound right. Revelation is indeed very difficult, but it’s not impossible to understand to a pretty good length. It is true, most are not allowed to fully understand it, but that goes for the entire Bible. Everyone outside of the election of grace has the spirit of slumber.
The hardest chapter in the Bible to understand to its entirety is without a doubt Romans 11. In order for you to fully understand it, you pretty much have to get to the end of every mystery that you are confronted with, and then read it and understand in hindsight that this one chapter revealed the secrets of just about everything. It reveals why we are here in the human flesh. It reveals how God chose His prophets. It reveals why the rest were given the spirit of slumber.
Ba’al was much more than just a pagan God in the eyes of Paul, Elijah, and God. To hold back its secrets, they didn’t reveal what he truly was. Ba’al was the deity of the planet of Venus as well. With some studying, you will see a connection to the planet of Venus with another entity.
The election of grace was chosen by God for nothing they’ve done in this life. Many foolish Christians believe once you accept Jesus, that you too are one of the elect, thus equating your decision with God’s decision. Some even believe all Christians were destined to become Christians. That’s even worse. Paul reiterated the conversation between Elijah and God in the context to tell how many of the election of grace there were. In that conversation, God said He has reserved to Himself 7000 men that did not bow to Ba’al. Those who remain faithful in this human flesh is a work. Faith is a work. It’s clearly written the elect were not chosen by any work, or else it would not be called grace. In the original conversation, it does say “in Israel” but Paul stated on his own after quoting God and Elijah that there are still some left who are of the election of grace. That would mean those people if they were still left would have been over 900 years old. Of course that’s if you ignore what the difference between a work and grace is. God has reserved 7000 of the elect for the last generation, but some others of the elect will be dispersed throughout this age. In the future, there will be a gathering of this seven thousand elect in Israel. Who knows how many total of the elect there are, but seven thousand of them have been reserved. Someone that’s lived and died cannot be reserved. The rest were and will be blinded until the blowing of the seventh trump.
How many people did Jesus speak to during his life? Many multitudes. How did he speak to them? In parables. Matthew 13:10-16 reveals the spirit of slumber. The disciples asked Jesus why does he speak to the people in parables. He said because they don’t have eyes to see or ears to hear. Isn’t that what is written later in Romans 11? Weren’t those multitudes Christians? Christians, but didn’t have it in them to have that understanding. Jesus then revealed to the disciples that they do have eyes and ears, so he was allowed to reveal the secrets of the kingdom to them.
Even with the spirit of slumber being upon nearly all, that doesn’t mean people are not allowed to understand God’s word to a good extent. That comes with diligence. One must be willing to forsake the traditional teaching of men and never be afraid to ask questions about church or common knowledge doctrine. Never get to a point where you have questions but refuse to ask them because it does your insight no good. No matter how high God has your ceiling, you can lower it by not being a diligent student of His word. Everyone is allowed to build their faith. If you show your diligence with absence of fear, God just might raise your ceiling. If you’re strong enough, you can learn many things the others have not. When you learn them, hold onto them and keep them to yourself. Learn the lesson of why Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables. Not only will they not be able to understand it, but they’ll react pretty harshly to it. Look what happened to the prophets.
Take into account Jeremiah 1:5 where God said to Jeremiah that He chose Jeremiah before any work he could have done in the human flesh. God said He knew Jeremiah before he was in the womb. No work accomplished to be chosen, but grace alone. Jeremiah was destined to become a prophet before this age even started. That was when the election of grace were chosen. Before any work. Before any were dispersed. Before any of the seven thousand would be put in the flesh. This grace was bestowed upon them for not any work they’ve done in this life, but God did not choose these people at random. There must have been something that they either did or didn’t do which proved their worth. That is revealed … guess where… Romans 11.
In 1 Kings 19, the reader finds Elijah feeling that he alone remains in the northern kingdom of Israel who is faithful to the LORD. God’s response in part is to encourage Elijah that he is not alone, but among 7,000 at the time who are faithful. Perhaps Obadiah and his hundred prophets are included. But one can understand Elijah’s discouragement. After his lone battle with the prophets of Baal and Jezebel’s death threat, he feels alone.
Paul faces a somewhat similar situation in his day. Most of the Jews had rejected their own Messiah. “Has God rejected His people?” Romans 11:1. The he makes an analogy. As God had reserved a remnant of 7,000 people in Elijah’s day, so also God had reserved a remnant (the number is not specified and need not be 7,000) in Paul’s day. Paul himself, he argues, is a case in point.
Whether in Elijah’s day or Paul’s God’s election of the remnant, or more broadly those who are saved, depends on God’s mercy. Mercy is undeserved, unmerited. God is free to extend mercy to whomever He chooses (if to any).
You suggested, “There must have been something that they [meaning the elect or the saved] either did or didn’t do which proved their worth.” How does that conclusion square with, for example, Romans 9:11, 15-16, 18; 11:5-6, and with your own claim that “grace was bestowed upon them for not any work they’ve done in this life”?
If you mean that faith (e.g., 11:20) was the “something” that “proved their worth,” (you previously claimed that “faith is a work”), your language implies salvation by merit rather than by grace and mercy (cf. Romans 4:4-5), though at present I doubt this is what you intend.
P.S. Have you seen Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology text? I think you might find it helpful, and it will reward you for the labor you put into understanding it. Try looking for it, for example, on http://www.christianbook.com/.
P.P.S. I hope you received my response today to your question to me on another of your posts.
Comment by Peter — September 14, 2009 @ 10:56 PM |
Remember, God told ELijah that He has reserved to Himself 7000 men who did not bow their knee to Ba’al in Israel. Gotta ask yourself, how does God reserve to Himself anyone? As I wrote, there will be a gathering of the elect in the future, and it will be in Israel. Look at Revelation 11:13, and notice what happens just before it. God didn’t mean those 7000 were on Earth at the time, just like when Jesus said there will be some people standing here that will not taste of death until the Kingdom comes. The Kingdom of heaven did not come during those people’s lifetimes, but there will be people in the future that will not die when this happens.
I also explained in this blog, and you should be able to connect the dots that the spirit of slumber are upon all outside the election of grace, which is exactly what Jesus explained to his disciples when they asked him why he spoke to everyone else in parables. Also, God told Jeremiah that He chose him to be His prophet before he could have done anything in this flesh. God didn’t have all the souls gathered before the start of this age and pick randomly certain souls to be His prophets. He didn’t scan them all and go eenie meenie minie moe.
This is my most advanced blog and I intentionally kept a lot of information back for only certain eyes. Keep working at it. I don’t use other theologic books to come to my conclusions. I use a KJV and a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, and that’s it. I thank you for the suggestion though. For some reason, your comments always wind up in my spam filter. I’ll be a little more aware of that in the future. Take care and God bless.
Comment by Jesse Norman II — September 16, 2009 @ 10:39 AM |
Hi Jesse! You certainly touch on matters long debated in the church. I for one agree with the idea that God reserves or elects certain ones for salvation (cf. John 6:37, 17:6, 9 as well as Romans 9 and Ephesians 1). And unlike Wayne Grudem, I am no great systematic theologian, for example with respect to the doctrine of election. I prefer a primary method close to what you do reading the text of Scripture for myself and using a concordance. I find cross references helpful too.
Nonetheless, each of us is by necessity an amateur theologian as far as we go, whether we are right or wrong on a particular issue.
Your concept of “spirit of slumber” seems close (directly or indirectly) to my understanding of various texts, among which are Deuteronomy 29:4; Psalm 115:4-8; John 12:39-40; Romans 1:21, 11:8; 1 Cor. 2:14 and other passages I will remember right after submitting this comment or at 3:00 AM this morning.
Even Jesus’ disciples had their problems understanding things spiritually, Mark 6:52, 8:14-21, though note that their misunderstandings here occurred before the cross and before the giving of the Holy Spirit. I leave you to read the various verses in their respective contexts.
I think we would agree that salvation is by grace and mercy, and that election is for God’s glory. God does what He pleases (Psalm 115:3, 135:6).
However, drilling down further into God’s reasons or motives often seems to beg questions about merit in the ones chosen, which seems to conflict with grace and mercy. He chose or elected sinners despite themselves rather than because of anything He saw in them save His purposes (note Ephesians 2:7).
You may suggest above that such an idea is arbitrary (eenie meenie …), but remember that is a human illustration and we are talking about the only living God. I prefer to believe He elects His own for His glory and leave it at that. He is the potter. I am merely the clay.
I realize the discussion could branch off into the free will debate or divine foreknowledge, but at this point I would rather admit that Rome wasn’t built in a day. One thing at a time; I have other demands on my time.
As an aside … the account in the Gospels immediately following Jesus’ claim that “there are some people standing here that will not taste of death until the Kingdom comes” is the Transfiguration. I am not alone in inferring that the (Mount of) Transfiguration event was what Jesus meant by some seeing the coming of the Kingdom.
One of the typical theological phrases that captures much of such teaching (called eschatology, after a Greek word meaning “end,” “last”) is “the already and the not yet.” For example, the Kingdom came already at the Transfiguration AND is not yet fully come. Certainly there were disciples of Jesus who had not yet tasted of death at the time of the Transfiguration, but who witnessed that event. Do you not think this a possible explanation?
As to comments ending in your spam box, unfortunately I am not a geek. You may benefit from the ten free (or more if paid) videos on wordpress blogging at becomeablogger.com (no affiliation with me) or of course wordpress.org–I don’t know, maybe in http://codex.wordpress.org/Troubleshooting#Comment_Spam or the blog section or something. Hope that helps. Gotta run.
Comment by Peter — September 17, 2009 @ 11:25 AM |
Greetings Peter. I’ll just check now and then and move your comments from the spam folder and approve them. As you said about the disciples, they didn’t really get their gifts until sometime after Jesus’ crucifixion. If you look closely, they actually don’t receive many of them until Pentecost Day. A new spirit was poored upon them. Even though they were born destined to understand, until Pentecost Day they were still students learning with better eyes and ears than the rest. It will actually be that way also in this generation. On Pentecost Day, the elect will receive their knowledge and gifts whenever that day comes.
When Jesus said that there will be some standing here who have not tasted of death, he was referring to the very end of this age. There wouldn’t be people alive at that time that will see the end, but there will be in the future. Just as is written in the original conversation between Elijah and God saying God has reserved to Himself 7000 men (and women) who have not bowed the knee to Ba’al in Israel. As I wrote, Paul added on his own saying there is still a remnant according to the election of grace. Paul then added later that these people were not chosen for any work they’ve done in this life. Taking those things in and asking oneself “how does God reserve to Himself a person?”, the only conclusion is that those 7000 were not in Israel at that time but will be. I didn’t put it in this blog purposely, but read Revelation 11:13. Notice it happens in the same hour as when the two witnesses will be taken up to heaven. Where will this earthquake happen? I would bet in Israel, wouldn’t you? God bless.
Comment by Jesse Norman II — September 23, 2009 @ 8:38 AM |