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FIRST, THE NEWS: |
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ALBANIAN CHURCH CLARIFIES ITS POSITION ON UKRAINE
from: Othodox Christian Laity
(23 Nov.) Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durres and All Albania wrote two letters to the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. On 10 October, before the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople granted autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, Archbishop Anastasios wrote:
"We are afraid that the current plan, for granting the status of autocephaly to Ukraine, will be 'a march into a minefield.' It is similar to a dangerous surgery of uncertain results. The embattled groups will maintain their existence and their solidarity, as it has often happened in various local Churches. Finally, instead of achieving the unity of the Orthodox in the Ukraine, we discern the danger of breaking up the unity of Orthodoxy in the oikumene.
"Please allow me to note that the recent decision of the Church of Russia to discontinue the liturgical reference to the Ecumenical Patriarch and to interrupt the eucharistic communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which was announced on the 14th of September, has dangerously complicated the whole matter. Particularly because it touches the core of Orthodox Unity, the Holy Eucharist, during which we proclaim the unity of the Orthodox Church and we pray for its preservation.
"On the other hand, 'a pan-Orthodox consultation' on the Ukraine question, which we had discussed during Your blessed visit to Albania, following the interruption of the communion of the Church of Russia with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, has become extremely difficult. Who will take the initiative to convene the Orthodox Autocephalous Churches, when there exists the discontinuation of the liturgical reference to the Ecumenical Patriarch? What will the Agenda be? How will the deliberations proceed? What criteria will prevail in taking the final decisions?
Then on 7 November, after the Ecumenical Patriarch granted autocephaly to Ukraine, Archbishop Anastasios wrote: "...we ought to remark that the latest decision of the Church of Russia is also a source of great concern. It is unthinkable that the Divine Eucharist, the mystery par excellence of the infinite love and the utter humiliation of Christ, could be used as a weapon against another Church. Is it possible that the decision and order of the Hierarchy of the Church of Russia may cancel the energy of the Holy Spirit in the holy Orthodox churches that operate under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate? Is it possible that the Divine Eucharist performed in the churches of Asia Minor, Crete, the Holy Mountain, and elsewhere on earth, may now become unsubstantiated for the faithful Russian Orthodox? And if they come forth “with the fear of God, faith, and love” to partake of the Sacred Gifts, is it possible that they commit “a sin”, which they should confess?
"We proclaim that it is impossible for us to agree to such decisions. It is imperative that the Holy Eucharist, this mystery of unfathomable sacredness and unique importance, remains far removed from all ecclesiastical disagreements. However serious they may be, the accumulated questions of jurisdiction on no account may constitute a cause for a Schism of Orthodoxy, anywhere in the world. ...It is, therefore, imperative to explore calmly a compromise, aiming at a deep and real pacification of the Orthodox faithful in Ukraine." [read more...]
UZBEKISTAN: RAIDS, LARGE FINES, TORTURERS AND THIEVES UNPUNISHED
by Mushfig Bayram: Forum 18 News Service
(23 Nov.) Police in Pap in Uzbekistan's eastern Namangan Region on 19 November raided a group of Protestants meeting in a home for a meal and to read the Bible. Police searched the flat illegally without a search warrant and confiscated legally-bought literature including Bibles. Officers arrested all eight Protestants and took them to Pap Police Station, where they were questioned until 3 am the next morning. Police forced most of the Protestants to sign statements written - illegally - by police, and said that they might be prosecuted for possession of the religious literature they legally bought.
After a late September police raid on a group of 40 Protestants meeting in Tashkent Region, where police "psychological pressure" resulted in a woman and a 5-year-old girl being hospitalised, large fines have been imposed on many of the participants. Four women who accompanied police on the raid were used as witnesses in the case, despite being accused by Protestants of stealing property from some of the Protestants. Neither the thieves nor the officials suspected of torture were prosecuted.
Police claimed to Forum 18 that "we did not bring them but they happened to be there. I do not know about any stolen items from the bags," and refused to answer questions about torture. Multiple illegalities took place during the trial, and when asked why the Judge did not question the role of the women used by police as witnesses who are accused of theft, his Assistant replied "I don't know, he just didn't" and then put the phone down. [read more...]
UOC-KP EXPECTS DETAILED INFORMATION FROM CONSTANTINOPLE ON THE NEW CHURCH'S CHARTER
from: Religious Information Service of Ukraine
(30 Nov.) The Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate commented on the decision of the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate held in Constantinople on November 29. According to UOC-KP press office, under previously achieved agreements, the Kyiv Patriarchate expects to receive detailed official information about the adopted synodal decisions, including the drafted Charter of the Church.
"The Kyiv Patriarchate expresses hope that the joint efforts of all parties involved in the preparation work will soon be successfully completed; the Council will meet and make the necessary decisions on the unification, election of the Primate of the Church and approval of the Charter. After that, according to the previously announced resolutions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Tomos of autocephaly will be handed over to the Primate of the Church," the UOC-KP commented.
As RISU has already reported, the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate prepared a draft of the Charter of the Ukrainian Church. According to the Exarch of the Constantinople Patriarchate in Ukraine, Bishop Daniel (Zelinsky), the proposed draft statute is based on the Tomos of Autocephaly. [read more...]
[PATRIARCH] BARTHOLOMEW'S ACTIONS CONTRIBUTED TO BLACK SEA REGION INSTABILITY, UNDERMINE MINSK AGREEMENT - RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
from: Interfax-Religion
(30 Nov.) The activities of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople are increasingly taking on a political nature, making him a factor of international destabilization in the Black Sea region, the Moscow Patriarchate said. "In Russian society, among religious people, there exists categorical non-acceptance of the Phanar's actions. These are seen as encroaching on the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church," a Moscow Patriarchate source told Interfax on Friday.
The Patriarch of Constantinople "is not only the head of a small Orthodox Church, he is also a Turkish citizen and his actions are bound to affect Russian-Turkish relations," the source said.
On the other hand, [Patriarch] Bartholomew "gladly participates in the escalation of Russian-Ukrainian relations by undermining the position of the only institution possessing the peacekeeping potential in Russian-Ukrainian relations," which is the Ukrainian Church led by Metropolitan Onufry, the source said.
"Both the Russian and the Ukrainian public and, perhaps, sensible people within the political elites of the two countries will soon be wondering whether Turkish partners realize what meaning this man's actions have for tension escalation in the Black Sea region." [read more...]
A STORM BREWS OVER THE FORMATION OF A NEW CHURCH IN UKRAINE
from: The Economist
(30 Nov.) Patriarch Bartholomew I, the "first among equals" in the stormy world of Orthodox Christianity, seemed like a model of composure as he prepared this week for what promises to be one of the most turbulent months in the recent history of the eastern church.
During a three-day meeting in Istanbul of the bishops under Bartholomew’s immediate sway, it was confirmed that a "unification council" will be convened in Ukraine in December in order to establish a new Ukrainian Orthodox church that will duly receive a formal grant of independence from the Patriarch. This will further enrage the ecclesiastical and worldly authorities in Moscow who insist that a church subject to the Moscow Patriarchate is the only legitimate Orthodox body in Ukraine. There is clearly some concern in Moscow that some clergy now under Muscovite authority may peel off and join the new Ukrainian body. But it remains very unclear who will lead the new Ukrainian church and what its exact status will be.
The drama is unfolding against a background of looming crisis in the earthly relations between Moscow and Kiev, after Russian forces seized three Ukrainian boats between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea; Ukraine, in a move that will have consequences for church affairs, has just banned Russian men from entering the country except in exceptional humanitarian circumstances.
Addressing visitors to his Istanbul headquarters last night, Patriarch Bartholomew said: "We believe we are doing the correct thing. It is a right of the Ukrainian Orthodox to have their own autocephalous, independent church—just as all the peoples of the Balkans, starting with Greece, acquired their own churches…we knew that our fraternal church in Russia would be upset, but we could not act any different[ly]."
The standoff between Constantinople, which commands the prestige of antiquity and historical continuity, and the worldly heft of Moscow has forced the other Orthodox churches to take sides. Many of the Slavic Orthodox, including the Poles and Serbs, have leaned towards Moscow's view that Constantinople cannot act unilaterally over Ukraine. However, Patriarch Bartholomew received a warm welcome from the Orthodox hierarchy in Romania, an overwhelmingly Orthodox country, when he went there on November 24th to inaugurate a new cathedral.
One of the most nuanced responses has come from the 89-year-old leader of the Orthodox church in Albania, Archbishop Anastasios, who is an internationally respected scholar of comparative religion. On the one hand, he said, the latest developments confirmed his fears that granting ecclesiastical independence to Ukraine might be "a march in a minefield," but on the other, he felt that the Patriarchate of Moscow was at fault in using the Eucharist, Christianity's holiest rite, as an instrument of power. [read more...]
UZBEKISTAN: MILITARY RAIDS BAPTISTS, CHURCH ORDERED CLOSED
by Mushfig Bayram: Forum 18 News Service
(29 Nov.) On 25 November, 20 plain clothes officials rising later to 40 officials raided Baptists meeting for Sunday morning worship in Yashnobod District in Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent. For the first known time in such raids, members of the military – the National Guard – took part in the raid. Other agencies participating in the raid included the State Security Service (SSS) secret police, the Justice Ministry, and Yashnobod District Police. When Baptists asked why the SSS secret police and the National Guard were on the raid, the raiders responded: "It is a special operation."
Officials searched every part of the building, which was "ransacked," Baptists complained. Officials confiscated about 7,800 items of literature and DVDs, including all books and songbooks the church uses for its meetings for worship. When one woman tried to conceal some songbooks used for worship, an official "screamed at her that you are liars, Christians must not hide anything."
Fourteen of those at the meeting were forcibly put into a bus and taken to Yashnobod Police Station. Officials also photographed and recorded the details of each individual who had attended the meeting for worship, including names, addresses, and workplaces. On 27 November police followed this up by visiting the home of one of those present for a "passport check" and also demanded to see ownership documents of the home. Those taken to the Police Station, including a 14-year boy, were kept outside in the cold while officials tried to force them to sign statements that they had participated in "an unauthorised meeting." When they refused to do this, they were taken into the Police Station, their personal details were recorded, and they were interrogated for nine and a half hours until 9 pm that night.
Officials on the 25 November raid replied to the Baptists: "We as the state cannot adjust to you, you need to adjust to our laws." The officials made no references to the state's binding international obligations to ensure that it respects and facilitates the exercise of freedom of religion and belief, with its interlinked freedoms of expression, association, and assembly. [read more...]
OTHER NEWS HEADLINES:
VICAR OF PECHERSK LAVRA MONASTERY IN KYIV ACCUSED OF 'INCITING HATRED'
from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
AMERICAN PENTECOSTAL IN THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST
from Russian Evangelical Alliance
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, A UKRAINIAN BECOMES PATRIARCH'S DEACON IN CONSTANTINOPLE
from Religious Information Service of Ukraine
SEARCH OF KIEV PECHERSK LAVRA ABBOT'S HOME MAY BE MEANT TO FORCE HIM TO TAKE PART IN UNIFICATION ASSEMBLY - MOSCOW PATRIARCHATE
from Interfax-Religion
RUSSIAN PRESS ADVANCES MOSCOW LINE AGAINST CONSTANTINOPLE
from Izvestia
METROPOLITAN VLADIMIR OF KISHINIOV'S OPEN LETTER ON SITUATION AROUND POCHAEV MONASTERY
from Russian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate
CHURCHES AS AGENTS OF CHANGE IN EURASIA
from Mission Eurasia
THE PATRIARCHATE OF CONSTANTINOPLE NEEDS TO ADMIT ITS REAL STATUS IN THE ORTHODOX WORLD
from Orthodox Christianity
INSPIRED BY RECENT REGIME CHANGE, ARMENIAN CHURCH HARDLINERS TRY TO FORCE OUT THEIR UNPOPULAR LEADER
from EurasiaNet.org
RUSSIAN-BACKED ORTHODOX CHURCH FACES PRESSURE FROM KIEV AND SPLITS WITHIN
from The Independent
NOW, OUR VIEWS:
Bear One Another's Burdens
How are we to "bear one another's burdens"? When Jesus Christ first started His ministry, He said: "The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim release to the captives, Recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19).
After that, He taught His followers to minister to the same audience: "the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind" (Luke 14:12-13 and 21), and He put it into practice: "Jesus went about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people" (Matthew 9:35).
Then He showed His disciples how to preach the Gospel and minister to the sick, handicapped and poor (Luke 5:12-15). Next, He sent them out two by two and they practiced what He taught (Luke 9:1-2): preach the Gospel, care for the needy and heal the sick. And in the Great Commission, Jesus commanded His disciples to make more disciples and teach their disciples to FULFILL ("observe" but not just spectate!) everything He had taught His disciples to DO (Mat. 28:18-20). What was it that He taught His disciples to DO? Proclaim the Good News and Minister to "the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind"! P&M - Proclaim & Minister - that's Practical Ministry!
Later, the Apostles selected seven deacons to carry out this diakonia-ministry to the poor, widows, etc. "...and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly" (Acts 6:1-7). St. Paul taught that the bishops, pastors and deacons should equip the saints to do the work of diakonia-ministry "to the building up of the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12). This is not just dry theory or theology: it is practical, hands-on ministry that helps the church grow!
A cooler mind has called on the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Orthodox leaders of Russia and Ukraine "to explore calmly a compromise, aiming at a deep and real pacification of the Orthodox faithful in Ukraine," as our lead news article ALBANIAN CHURCH CLARIFIES ITS POSITION ON UKRAINE relates: read the whole article! It would seem to me much more effective for the UOC-MP to send dozens of bishops to participate in the upcoming Unification Council - thus influencing its outcome, rather than criticizing it from afar.
Our fifth news headline METROPOLITAN VLADIMIR OF KISHINIOV'S OPEN LETTER ON SITUATION AROUND POCHAEV MONASTERY tells us that the monks at this monastery believe the Ukrainian government wants to turn the monastery into a museum, as happened often in the Soviet era. A good friend from Russia also sent me a link to a very similar article: https://orthochristian.com/117497.html. At present I haven't yet found any information confirming this is what the Ukrainian government intends to do with these buildings: I will follow up on this.
The article behind our eighth news headline THE PATRIARCHATE OF CONSTANTINOPLE NEEDS TO ADMIT ITS REAL STATUS IN THE ORTHODOX WORLD, you can read - "Yes, in the bygone years, the rights of Constantinople as the capital city of the Roman Empire (Byzantium) gave the Patriarchate of Constantinople certain privileges in relation to other Eastern Churches. And yes, in the tenth century, we received the faith from Constantinople; however, it’s long since been made up for by our own historical responsibility for the entire Orthodox world." This illustrates very clearly the Moscow Patriarchate's opinion of itself as the defacto head of the entire Orthodox world and that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is an irrelevant relic of a bygone age. Moscow views itself as the "Third Rome" or the third head of the Greco-Roman Empire - the "Third Reich" as another nationalist-socialist leader once called it.
The above headline together with our fourth news article [PATRIARCH] BARTHOLOMEW'S ACTIONS CONTRIBUTED TO BLACK SEA REGION INSTABILITY, UNDERMINE MINSK AGREEMENT - RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH are obvious symptoms of guilt-projection: "It's not my fault, the Devil made me do it," as I wrote about in our last issue of Hosken-News. It would be laughable to read that the Moscow Patriarch is saying Patriarch Bartholomew forced Russia to seize three Ukrainian ships passing through the Kerch Straits - if it weren't such a dangerous provocation, trying to draw Ukraine into a all-out conflict that could escalate into a shooting war between East and West. Note also in this article that the title "Ecumenical Patriarch" is missing twice from his name, calling him twice rather disrespectfully just "Bartholomew," indicating Moscow doesn't consider him to be the real Ecumenical Patriarch... that would be Patriarch Kirill, in their view.
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Here is a beautiful passage in a book I'm reading for my studies for the diaconate - "The Didascalia of the Apostles," Quoted in Springtime of the Liturgy, Liturgical texts of the First Four Centuries, pp. 177-178:
"Deacons and Deaconesses
"Bishop, get yourself workers to care for the poor, helpers who, with you, may lead (the people) to life. Choose those who are pleasing to you before all the people and make them deacons, a man to carry out the numerous tasks that are necessary, and also a woman for the service of the women.
"Deaconesses
"For there are houses to which, because of the pagans, you cannot send a deacon to look after the women, but you can very well send a deaconess. In many other cases, too, it is necessary to employ a female deaconess. To begin with, when women descend into the water (to receive baptism), it is required that those who thus descend into the water be annointed by the deaconess with the oil of annointing.
"Deacons
"Deacons are to imitate the bishop in their behavior. They are to give themselves up completely to their work, not to seek unjust advantages but to be full of enthusiasm for their service. Their number is to be proportionate to that of the people of the church, so that they can keep everyone in touch and obtain help for them. To old people who have lost their strength, to brothers and sisters who are afflicted with illness, they are to render willingly the services of which they stand in need. The woman (deaconess) must be zealous in the service of the women, and the man, the deacon, in the service of the men. He is to be ready to obey the orders of the bishop. Everywhere that he is sent to be of service and to carry a message, he is to be active and painstaking. For each must know his duty and apply himself to fulfilling it."
This is what true, Orthodox Christianity should be all about: following Christ's example of becoming a servant, doing diakonia-ministry, rather than fighting over real estate.
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Contra Conditionalism, Purgatory and Universalism
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
(← click) When you click on this thumbnail photo, you'll see the three basic views regarding punishment (or not) in eternity: the Traditional or Biblical view, the Conditional view and the Universal view.
* Traditionalism teaches that everyone lives forever, the saved experience eternal bliss and the unsaved suffer eternal torment.
* Universalism teaches that everyone lives forever, the unsaved are refined and are ultimately saved to experience eternal bliss.
* Conditionalism teaches that the saved experience eternal bliss and the unsaved may suffer torment for a while and then are annihilated.
Universalism is based on a mistranslation of Acts 3:21 that would state - "whom heaven must receive until the times of universal restoration, which God spoke long ago by the mouth of his holy prophets" instead of "the restoration of all things" as in traditional translations, from the Greek words "apokatastaseos panton". The New RSV Translation (1989) contains the words "universal restoration." The Roman Catholic Church and many mainline denominations accept this translation, but it is rejected by some traditional Christian confessions including Eastern Orthodoxy. Universalism is thus also linked to the idea of Purgatory, that some people must undergo a temporary period of "purging" or "refining by fire" before they go to heaven and experience eternal bliss.
Conditionalism is based on the idea that man's soul is by nature mortal and dies when the body dies, but the gift of God is eternal life (Ephesians 2:9), the condition on which one receives it is by faith in Christ. Martin Luther rejected the doctrine of eternal punishment because it was linked to the Roman Catholic Church's sale of indulgences to escape purgatory: see https://www.truthaccordingtoscripture.com/documents/death/froom/luther-conditionalism.php.
Now I would like to set forth the traditional view, which has been the main teaching of Eastern Orthodoxy since the first century although it has been disputed. Origen, one of the Early Church Fathers, taught "apokatastaseos panton" or universalism, but after his death, later Church Councils found this idea to be contrary to the main teaching of Scripture and declared it to be heretical. Origen himself, however, is not considered to be a heretic because he was never confronted with the error of this teaching and thus did not have an opportunity to reconsider and repent.
Let us also take into consideration the plain fact that we mortals are bound by time and space, so it is outside of our experience to understand fully teachings about what is "beyond" time and space. Is eternity simply a very, very long time, or is it outside of time? Are heaven and hell places, locations in the cosmos somewhere? Or is the idea of "place" simply not fit to describe something "beyond" time and space? Indeed, "beyond" is not fit to describe non-space!
So now let's consider some of the main Scripture texts that tell of the afterlife. In Daniel 12:2-3 & 10b we read - "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the expanse; and those who turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. ...Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but those who are wise shall understand." This is one passage where the universalists might take the words "purify" and "refined" to imply a time of purging after death, but they deliberately disregard the words "everlasting contempt" which clearly state that punishment of the wicked will be everlasting. Also, this passage does not say that the purifying and refining occur for the wicked after death: the purifying and refining is for the saints and must begin in this life.
We could find more on this topic in the Old Testament, but now let's turn to the New Testament: in Matthew 22:13-14 we read - "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness; there is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.' For many are called, but few chosen." God's call may refer to election, but those called may choose to not answer the call. As for how long they will be thrown into outer darkness, we read in Matthew 25:41 & 46 - "Then he will say also to those on the left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels. ...These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." which clearly says that the punishment by fire will be eternal.
In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus we read - "Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that none may cross over from there to us" (Luke 16:26). Here we see that there is no going from Hades to Paradise, thus no Purgatory; the gulf between them is fixed and unpassable. This parable also teaches that those in Hades are conscious, not in some sort of "deep sleep" or simply dead and gone, annihilated.
Concerning Christ's teaching about when the Kingdom of God will come (Luke 17:20), He said -
"As it happened in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man. They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise, even as it happened in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky, and destroyed them all. It will be the same way in the day that the Son of Man is revealed" (Luke 17:26-30).
Here we see the analogy of flood and fire that "destroys them all." When compared with Christ's teaching about the Last Days in Matthew 25:41 & 46 above, we see that "destroy" does not mean "annihilate" but rather refers to the eternality of the fire and punishment.
In John 5:28-29 we read - "Don't marvel at this, for the hour comes, in which all that are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come out; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment." Here we see that the evil people are not simply dead and gone, annihilated; rather, they will be resurrected for judgment. But the purpose of His teachings are not just to "scare the hell out of us"; instead, "I say these things that you may be saved" (v. 39b).
A key passage about human sinfulness is Romans 3:23 - "for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." Luther's translation of the Bible is beautiful: he puts it this way - "...fall short of the glory that we ought to have with God." God's eternal plan is for us to partake of His glory, to be transformed into the likeness of Christ starting in this life and on into eternity: "being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (v. 24).
But we read in Romans 5:12 - "Therefore, as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, in that all sinned." This verse has caused much confusion because of Jerome's mistranslation in the Latin Vulgate - "...for in him [Adam] all sinned. St. Augustine took this verse and ran with it to develop his doctrine of all humanity's total depravity, the inheritance not only of Adam's sinful nature but of our being guilty of Adam's sin.
In the original Greek text, this idea is impossible because it uses the neutral pronoun "in that" - not the masculine "in him [Adam]" - death passed to all because we have sinned, not because Adam sinned. But even though newer Roman Catholic translations of this verse have been corrected, their doctrines of total depravity and all being guilty of Adam's sin have held fast. These doctrines led Augustine to teach that God sovereignly predestined before all creation that some will be saved (the "elect") and others will be damned (the "unelect"), and from this sprang the teaching of Purgatory and selling indulgences to escape Purgatory.
The Fall resulted in universal death, not in universal guilt; however, let's not focus on the negative: "But the free gift isn't like the trespass. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many" (Romans 5:15). God is merciful and has provided in Christ the Way for "the many" of mankind to avoid eternal death.
We read in 2 Peter 3:7 & 9 - "But the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same Word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. ...The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." The material universe will be destroyed and replaced with a spiritual universe. Ungodly mankind will exist as spirits that are conscious of their rejection of God's love and mercy. God does not wish for any to perish, but some will reject His call and not come to repentance. God is willing to save all humanity, but not all humans are willing to answer His call.
As society around us becomes more neo-pagan, rejecting traditional Christian teachings about morality, eternal life and eternal punishment, we must hold fast to the true traditions that have been passed down to us: "For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm to the end" (Hebrews 3:14). Notice the interesting verb tenses - "we have become" (past tense) "if we hold fast... to the end" (implied future tense). We have received the heavenly gift of eternal life, we have become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), referring to God's electing us from eternity past to save us by His grace ...but we must hold fast, our response to His calling us is not just a one-time event in the past, it is a life-long commitment to follow Christ and be gradually transformed into His likeness.
Hebrews 3:18 asks - "To whom did he swear that they wouldn't enter into his rest, but to those who were disobedient?" And the answer is in the next verse - "We see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief." So disobedience = unbelief; therefore, belief = obedience. If you believe, you will obey His commandments. And this thought continues in the next chapter - "For we who have believed do enter into that rest, even as he has said, 'As I swore in my wrath, they will not enter into my rest;' although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. ...Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience" (verses 2 & 11).
St. Paul continues his teaching on the need for the saints to hold fast and persevere in their faith - "For concerning those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put him to open shame" (Hebrews 6:4-6). This destroys the notion of "once saved, always saved" - that once you "say the sinner's prayer" and believe in Jesus as your Savior, you're saved for all eternity. The idea of eternal security flows from Augustine's doctrine of eternal predestination, that God predestines the elect and nothing they do or don't do can change that. To the contrary, we must follow Christ's commands to love God and our neighbor, to not commit fornication, to not lie and steal, etc., and to repent of our sins daily.
In Revelation 14:9-12 we read - "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead, or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. They have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." There's no annihilation of the sinners here, no Purgatory here, only eternal punishment of the wicked and eternal bliss of the saints who obey and hold to the faith.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Christ is among us! He is and ever shall be!
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Please remember to pray for Christians in socialist countries, and for...
Your fellow-servants,
Bob & Cheryl
p.s. God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
, 2 Dec. 2018