Alana L: 2f (foundation of the world)
This series is based on this 14-minute video from Alana L.: 5 Signs Your Loved One is Becoming a Calvinist (And starting now, I'm planning on posting every other week, for the most part.)
F. Alana noted how Calvinists say that they were chosen before the foundation of the world (that their names - the names of "the elect" - were written in the Book of Life before the foundation of the world).
This error is based on two things:
1. It's based on a mistranslation of Revelation 13:8, usually from the Calvinist's favorite translation, the ESV: "and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain."
"Written before the foundation of the world." Sounds very Calvinist-predestinationy, right?
But let’s read it in the King James: ”And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
Read them both again.
Very different, isn't it?
And I think there are two possible ways to understand it according to the KJV (which I think is the most reliable translation), neither of which supports Calvinist predestination.
1) "From the beginning" could refer to the Lamb being slain. If so, I would suggest it means that Jesus was foreordained to be slain for our sins from the very beginning - that God knew before He even created us that we would sin and need a Redeemer, and so He planned from the beginning to pay for our sins with Jesus's death. This would be confirmed by 1 Peter 1:19-20 and Acts 2:23.
2) Or if "from the beginning" really does refer to names being written in the Book of Life, notice that it's "from" in the KJV, which is far different than "before" in the ESV. This would mean not that certain names were written/chosen before the world began (as Calvinists say to support their idea of predestination and election) but that names started being added to the Book of Life from the beginning, meaning that new names are added as each new person comes to Christ, which would be confirmed in Rev. 17:8 and Eph. 1:13. (Or maybe it's about the Book of Life itself being created from the beginning.)
Either way, it contradicts Calvinism.
Revelation 13:8 is not a Calvinist verses!
Calvinists think this means that God chose which individual people would be saved, before the creation of the world. But that's not what it says or means.
As Dr. Tony Evans (one of the preachers I trust most) says in his The Tony Evans Bible Commentary under Ephesians 1:5-6: "... The focus of the book of Ephesians is on the corporate church, not on individual Christian salvation... Therefore, the choosing and election to which Paul refers is not for individuals to eternal life but regards God's choice to establish a group of people (that is, the body of Christ) in the Beloved One whose purpose is to live godly lives and reflect his holy character in a sinful world. This election defines the corporate identity believers share because of their relationship to Christ... Election is for service and spiritual benefit, not for individual, personal salvation."
Basically and biblically, Ephesians is not saying that God predestined which individuals to save, but it's saying that God planned from the beginning that there would be an "in Him" group and that anyone who becomes “in Him” will be saved, will become "holy and blameless" in His sight, and will get the benefits and blessings He planned to give all those who are "in Him."
And Ephesians 1:13 tells us how to become "in Him": "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".
God doesn't choose who will be saved from before the creation of the world. But from the beginning, He planned to send Christ to die for all sins so that anyone who believes in Him will be saved.
And anyone can. As Dr. Evans says in his commentary on John 12:32-33: "The cross drew all judgment for all people to Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world (1 John 2:2). The death of Christ saved all humankind from the consequences of original sin (Romans 5:18) and made all people savable for their personal sin when they place personal faith in him. This is why we are to share the gospel with everyone in the world."
[Special note: Strong's concordance with Vine's Expository Dictionary says that the Greek word "chose" in Eph. 1:4 (Strong’s 1586) is about picking out, selecting. It carries with it the ideas of kindness, favor, love. But it doesn’t say what we are "chosen" for. And it definitely doesn't say that it's about salvation or who gets eternal life. And so we have to let the verse tell us what we are "chosen" for. And as we saw, Eph. 1:4 does not say that certain sinners are chosen for salvation, but it says that those who are "in Him" (through their belief in Him) are chosen to be holy and blameless. Also note that, according to the concordance, the word "chose" does not necessarily mean that the “not chosen” ones are rejected, as it would be in Calvinism.]
Briefly, let's examine Ephesians 1:4-5,11-12 (KJV) a little closer, in context, to see what else it says, to see if it really does teach Calvinist predestination: “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself … In him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.”
Does this say certain sinners are predestined to salvation/eternal life?
No. It says that believers are "predestinated unto the adoption of children." And to know what “adoption of children” means (the NIV words it “adoption as sons”) go to Romans 8:23 (NIV): “… we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”
“Predestined for adoption” is not about certain sinners being predestined for salvation/eternal life. It’s about the promise that God will redeem the bodies of all believers, that we will reach the “glorification” talked about in Romans 8:30, eventually acquiring the full benefits of being a child of God.
Also of note is that Strong's Concordance with Vine's Expository Dictionary says "adoption" in Romans 8:23 is NOT about being brought into God's family by spiritual birth, but about God promising to "adopt" anyone who believes into His family. Anyone who believes in Jesus, who accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior - and this offer is open to all - will become one of His children: "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12) And all His children are predestined to be brought into His family and to experience the dignity/full benefits of being His child, being fully realized at the redemption of their bodies. This is God’s promise, that if you put your faith in Jesus, you will be part of His eternal family!
And Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV) confirms all this when it says that “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.”
Notice that those believers were not included in Christ until after they believed. And after they believed, they were given the Holy Spirit as a promise that they will be redeemed. This contradicts Calvinism on at least three points:
First, it confirms that predestination is not about certain sinners being preselected for heaven, but it's about believers being predestined for redemption and glorification.
Second, it contradicts Calvinism’s idea that the elect are “in Christ” (“saved”) from the beginning of time, because it shows that they were not in Christ until after they believed.
And third, it contradicts Calvinism’s view that the elect have to get the Holy Spirit first who causes them to believe in Jesus, because it shows that they didn’t get the Holy Spirit until after they believed, as a result of believing.
And notice also that the second "predestination" in Eph. 1:11-12 (but you have to use the KJV, the more trustworthy translation) specifies that the "inheritance" believers get is what was predestined, NOT that certain people are predestined for salvation: "In him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:"
Interestingly, the NIV (which I grew up with and use but don't fully trust) translates the beginning of Ephesians 1:11 like this: "In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him..."
Now again in the KJV: "In him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him..."
Notice what's missing?
The NIV skips the part about our inheritance being predestined, making it sound instead like whether or not we are "chosen" is what's been predestined. Big difference! (And it makes it sound like it was all by God's "plan," that He planned out whom He would "choose" - instead of the KJV's "purpose," that He has a purpose, a reason, for promising an inheritance to anyone who would believe.)
Likewise, Calvinists miss the part that our "inheritance" was predestined, not our salvation - because they need it to be about salvation in order to fit with their bad definitions of words and out-of-context verses, so that it supports their terrible, unbiblical (and I would say "blasphemous") understanding of Scripture and of God and how He works.
Biblically, God doesn't decide who will believe in Jesus, but He does decide what will happen to anyone who chooses to believe in Jesus. And anyone can.
Neither Ephesians 1:4 nor Revelation 13:8 - nor any other verse - teaches Calvinism's predestination of individuals to salvation.
[The posts in this series will be added to the "Alana L." label as they get published.]
