Jo 5:24-29 implies 2 ways to God's Grace: election & works

If there are only names in the book of life, explain what " God shall take away his part from the Book of Life" (Rev 22:19 NKJ) means. A "part" is not a name, yet its in the book of life in contradiction to your argument.

19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Rev 22:19 NKJ)

 

Barnes' interpretation is impossible, "God shall take away his part":
1)from the book of life
2)from the holy city
3)from the things which are written in this book

Just as the fool is taking away actual words, so God is taking away actual parts.

Revelation 22:19 is following Deuteronomy and its not about blotting out potential life:

You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, -(Deut 4:2 NKJ)

19 and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart’— was though the drunkard could be included with the sober.
20 “The LORD would not spare him; for then the anger of the LORD and His jealousy would burn against that man, and every curse that is written in this book would settle on him, and the LORD would blot out his name from under heaven.-(Deut 29:19-20 NKJ)

Same with Barnes eisegesis of Rev 3:5, Christ wouldn't promise "I won't blot out your name" if names can't be blotted out, then He claiming credit for what wouldn't happen anyway; then He is a deceiver:

"He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. (Rev 3:5 NKJ)


Barnes could have spared himself embarrassment had he adopted my view there are three classes of people in the world according to the scriptures: The Righteous, The Wicked, The Middling People.


There is the Elect whose names cannot be blotted out for they are saved from the foundation of the world and have eternal security…for they never would choose to jump out of Christ's hand, a hypothetical they would never do or God wouldn't have elected them.

And there are two groups of "non-elect," the sheep and the goats. The sheep are those whose commitment to Christ in this life is uncertain, hence we read in Hebrews of the danger of falling away into non belief etc and many of require a crisis event to "get off the fence." Hades is that crisis for many of them.

Then there are the wicked who receive eternal punishment.

Had Barnes accepted this outline of humanity he would acknowledge it is possible to blot names out of the book of life just as scripture says., rather than adding his eisegesis to it.

 

I already explained purgatory is wrong on every level.

Protestants are protocatholic in their basic eschatology, reject purgatory but believe everything else older Catholicism taught...that there was no rescue from Hades and all outside their particular sect are damned for all eternity regardless how "righteous" they are.

That's older catholic belief, not Christian.


Christ taught those who were ignorant of Him could still be saved according to their works, if these were equivalent to receiving Him. This is possible because Christ didn't die for us only, but as also for the sins of the entire world (1 John 2:2):

34 "Then the King will say to those on His right hand,`Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 `for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36 `I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying,`Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
38 `When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39 `Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
40 "And the King will answer and say to them,`Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' (Mat 25:34-40 NKJ)

THAT is Christian belief.

Not the sectarian stuff Christ never taught.

Whereas Christ said every sin, which includes dying in unbelief, can be forgiven, the older Catholic church and protocatholics reject that, because it weakens their hold on the people:

31 "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
32 "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. (Mat 12:31-32 NKJ)

While protoCatholics reject indulgences, they haven't rejected tithing (Acts 15:19f) with the same enthusiasm while threatening all who leave with eternal punishment in hell.

So Mother and children aren't all that dissimilar.

What I am proposing, is radically different and fully consistent with Christ and His apostles, albeit not the older Catholic or protocatholic Protestant eschatology that arose centuries later, or anything Catholics believe today.

 

Matthew 25:34ff doesn't show these calling on Jesus, it shows them being judged by their works and that contradicts your claim "only them who call on him, receive him as Savior may be saved."

They didn't call on Him, they were charitable to other people and didn't recognize Jesus at all:
37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying,`Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
38 `When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39 `Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'

So Jesus did teach works.

Although you misidentify "my brethren" you are partly correct this judgment concerns those still alive at His second coming. But it concerns more than them because the Final Judgment is in view in Mat 25:46

46 "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Mat 25:46-1 NKJ)

Being let into the millennial kingdom doesn't mean they have eternal life, Satan will be loosed from his prison and much of the earth, called Gog and Magog will rebel with him against God. THEN the final judgment were people are either granted eternal life or eternal punishment happens at the end of the Millennial Kingdom, in Rev 20:11-15.

If this judgment saved people and they entered the Kingdom, where the rebels come from in Rev 20:7ff? AND all the other OT texts that prophesy about this end time rebellion.

So being a Judgment of the Nations does not mean it beings and ends before the Millennial, the wording itself suggests a long period of time. A practical matter, billions of people can't be judged in a day, " Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?" (1Co 6:2 NKJ) We can't think that fast.

31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. (Mat 25:31-32 NKJ)
The imagery of the conquering King comes in glory, and then sits, and even the separating of sheep and goats in a day (2 Pet 3:8) all imply a duration of time and as verse 25:46 = Rev 20:11-15, this judgment includes Gog and Magog and all those who rose up to help the people of God when they were being persecuted and hurt during that time.

That's why Rev 20:11-12 begins with all physically alive, but spiritually dead. The Dead aren't resurrected unto 20:13.

So your view doesn't fit all of the scripture, mine does and that is why its correct.

 

Everything you say about this rests upon "My brethren" being the Jews, if they are not, then everything you say is wrong.

So I'll focus on that error.

1)Christ is speaking to Jews, not Gentiles which fact renders your interpretation absurd:

Christ would not tell JEWS they will be judged by how they treat themselves:
40 "And the King will answer and say to them,`Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these JEWS, you did it to Me.' (Mat 25:40 NKJ)

45 "Then He will answer them, saying,`Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these (JEWS), you did not do it to Me.' (Mat 25:45 NKJ)


2)Verse 46, coming as it does no the heels of verse 45 proves this is about eternal salvation, not a temporary judgment:

46 "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Mat 25:46 NKJ)

Never does scripture say eternal life is dependent upon how we treat the Jews.

Its not "treat the Jews well and you will be saved"; or
"Treat the Jews well and you will enter the millennial kingdom",

Neither gospel is found in the New Testament, proving its not there.

When a text makes plain sense we are not to seek another sense.

The plain sense of Matthew 25:31ff is that Christ will judge the billions left alive after the Antichrist and plagues, who see Him come in power with His angels and set up His Kingdom (Rev 1:7), differently than those who had believed in Him before He came having faith in God's promises even though all was unseen....All saved by grace and not works through faith (=the Church) were already raptured BEFORE Christ descended upon the earth...and they reign with Christ as kings and priests in the Millennial Kingdom He is setting up.

When the Church was saved by grace through faith and not works, it was a different dispensation; Once Christ arrives, He is seen, one cannot hope in the unseen, which is the substance of saving faith. Therefore a different dispensation has begun:


You cannot exercise saving faith hoping in the unseen after it has arrived and is seen:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Heb 11:1 NKJ)

Those left alive after the antichrist and plagues etc. could not have faith in Christ the same way believers could before Christ came.


Prior to Christ's coming, one could have believe in Him and be saved, because one is trusting God and not in what one sees. After Christ comes, all that is impossible, Christ is seen.

Therefore they cannot be saved THROUGH FAITH (Eph 2:8) which hopes for what will come like the church did in the prior dispensation, before His arrival:

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Eph 2:8-9 NKJ)

Hence its necessary to judge these by works...its the only option left.

 

Skipping over my argument to repeat your claims isn't proving anything to me or anyone else.

Christ is speaking to an audience of Jews, for Him to say to Jews they will be judged by how they treat Jews is absurd.

Its impossible Christ tell an audience of Jews they must treat "real Jews" good,or be dammed.

Its absurd to think they would take that insult without any reaction...They would have tried to stone Him if Christ said that.

Christ said all the nations, not just those apart from Israel....they all are judged by how they treat Christ's brethren, by their works.

That the church is not being judged is clear, they are not judged according to their works. Therefore they must be Christ's brethren, its elementary deduction.

Those who believe in Christ, do the will of the Father, are "his brethren", its not racial:

50 "For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother." (Mat 12:50 NKJ)

Of course this includes all believers, starting with the disciples:

10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me." (Mat 28:10 NKJ)

Compare the parallel those giving Jesus’ disciples help are rewarded, even if its only a cup of water:

42 "And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward." (Mat 10:42-1 NKJ)

 

The audience are those listening to Jesus when He spoke, and they were Jews.

18 So the Jews answered (Joh 2:18 NKJ)

Had Christ said to them they weren't Jews, we would read about their negative reaction, just like other occasions:

31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. (Joh 10:31 NKJ)

28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. (Luk 4:28-29 NKJ)

THAT is context, your interpretation makes NO SENSE in context, its absurd Jesus would tell Jews they weren't Jews, that would be a lie.

I proved "my brethren" is the church by elementary deduction the church being saved by grace and not works, can't be the sheep therefore they must be "my brethren," by direct scripture identification of "My brethren" (Rom 8:29; Mat 28:10) by citing a parallel to charity to His disciples that will merit a reward on judgment day (Mat 10:42), and by reference Christ's direct statement those who do His will are His brethren (Mat 12:50).

That's four lines of proof, scripture interprets scripture. Unless you are willing to discard that hermeneutical principle and sola scriptura with it, must agree with my interpretation or you are inconsistent with your profession of sola scriptura.

You give nothing to support your speculation "My brethren = the Jews" that surely would have gotten Christ stoned if He preached that to a crowd of Jews.


You lost the argument. That you still don't want to agree, is certain. But I won, you lost. That's where this stands right now.