Monthly Archives: November 2019

Which Earth is This About? Part II of III

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In a passage in which we might not even suspect what the intention of the author really is, the author of Hebrews, says,

“For he didn’t subject the world to come, whereof we speak, to angels.”
Heb 2:5 WEB

The word world here is a word for the inhabited world (oikomen?). Of course most of the references to “earth” are of this present earth, with absolutely no doubt as to its meaning.

“God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, …”
Gen 1:24 WEB

Or many other passages.

On others usages we might have to think a while.

Jesus says,

“You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? …”
Mtt 5:13 WEB

It does seem to speak of this present earth. Also in the very next verse He says,
“You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden.”
Mtt 5:14 WEB

Again it seems to speak of our present world. But then let’s look at an earlier verse.

“Blessed are the gentle,
For they shall inherit the earth.”
Mtt 5:5 WEB

Now of which earth is Jesus speaking? In one sense it seems to apply to this present world, and passages like,

“For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land. Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off.”
Psa 37:22 WEB

This indicates the wicked have a tendency to die off, and those God favors end up living on. All of which is true in a general sense, however there are many senses in this world when the gentle do NOT seem to inherit everything. And Jesus clearly asserts that this present universe will pass away.

“For most assuredly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.”
Mtt 5:18 WEB

So when you have prophecies of the “earth”
you may have questions to ask.

Often times the context will clearly give the answer. We clearly know, if we are attuned to Scripture at all, that this present earth will NOT last forever.

“10 And,
“You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth.
The heavens are the works of your hands.
11 They will perish, but you continue.
They all will grow old like a garment does.
12 As a mantle you will roll them up,
And they will be changed;
But you are the same.
Your years will not fail.””
Heb 1:10-12 WEB

So when we have a long passage like Isaiah 24 which talks of the earth being laid waste Isa 24:1, and being polluted Isa 24:5, and then it says,

“The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and … shall fall, and not rise again.”
Isa 24:20 WEB

Well then we can be pretty sure is speaking the final end of this present earth.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Which Earth is This About? Part I of III

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For the law, having a shadow of the good to come, not the very image of the things, … Heb. 10:1 WEB

Learning to sort out types is a necessary skill for understanding prophecy.

Multiple words are used for this earth.

Perhaps the broadest of these is the Hebrew word eretz. Eretz is of course used for what we would call the earth, and is used unambiguously for the whole thing from the first. For instance.

“God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters he called Seas. God saw that it was good.”
Gen 1:10 WEB

And that is the word eretz, and it talks about this being formed before the sun was lit (which is not until Genesis 1 verses 14 to 16). Even so there is often more to eretz, for it can be used to describe a “land” in the sense of a nation (much as we might sing, “This land is my land, this land is your land …). Also it can be used to describe land in the sense of, “This my land where my house sits.” Lastly, eretz can be used for land in the sense of earth or ground, as in “This land/ground/dirt is no good. It won’t raise anything.” There are of course other Hebrew words, but eretz is the widest of all that are used.

There are two main words in the New Testament.

Perhaps the broadest of these is the Greek word g?. You might say it is a true Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word eretz. G? can translated as earth, world, land, nation, dirt, etc., much as eretz. But there is another common word used, and that is the word kosmos. Kosmos has the sense of this world in the English sense, but also has the sense of the things and the systems of this world. And there are words in both Hebrew and Greek for what we might call “the inhabited world.”

Of course Peter and others speak of the
destruction of this present world.

Peter says,

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”
2Pe 3:10 WEB

Then Peter speaks of an entirely new creation.

“But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which dwells righteousness.”
2Pe 3:13 WEB

Which opens the possibility of speaking of more than one “earth.”

Now sometimes this may be very simple.

For instance Isaiah says,

“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. ”
Isa 65:17 WEB

That seems to be clearly one of the “promises” of a “new heavens and a new earth.” So eretz here seems clearly to be speaking of the new earth.

Other passages may not be near so clear.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

The Real and the Type of Circumcision, Part III of III

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The real circumcision is of the heart. That is what really counts, that is what will make it so you can live, as it says in Deut 30:6.

God will one day punish ALL those uncircumcised
in in heart.

“Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will punish ALL those who are circumcised in their uncircumcision: 26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, who dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart. ”
Jer 9:25 WEB emphasis added.

Jeremiah warned the people, and told them it was circumcision of the heart which counted.

“Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh, and take away the foreskins of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.”
Jer 4:4 WEB

These prophets speaking by the Holy Spirit of God should have been enough.

But some later wanted physical circumcision for all.

There was a big fight in the early church, as described in Acts 15, but physical circumcision was never required. The real circumcision was always of the heart.

So what is a real Jew, if not about physical circumcision?

“28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.”
Rom 2:28-29 WEB

And how would this work out with the Gentiles?

Paul says they were,

“11 in whom you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,”
Col 2:11-13 WEB

It is the inner man of the heart that counts.

That is true even of our initial test of faith, baptism.

“Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 2:38 WEB

But it is not just about a bath. Peter compares it to the waters that floated Noah’s ark.

“This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you – not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,”
1Pe 3:20 WEB

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901