The
Above World
Heaven
Eph.
4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Wherefore
Confirming
by Scripture what has just been said.
When
he ascended...
The first and last Old Testament prophecy fulfilled in Ephesians
(Eph. 4:8; Psm. 68:18). This was at the ascension, 40 days after His
resurrection (Acts 1:3-11; Luke 24:51; Mark 16:19).
When
He ascended, etc.
Quoted
from Psm. 68:19 (Sept. 67:18). The Hebrew reads: Ascending to the
height thou didst lead captive captivity and received gifts in man.
So, Sept. Paul changes thou
didst
lead,
didst
receive,
into the
lead
and he
gave.
The Psalm is Messianic, a hymn of victory in which God is praised for
victory and deliverance. It is freely adapted by Paul, who regards
its substance rather than its letter, and uses it as an expression of
the divine triumph as fulfilled in Christ's victory over death and
sin.
Three
things which Christ did in His ascension:
1.
He liberated the righteous immortal souls from captivity in the lower
parts of the earth (Eph. 4:8; Psm. 68:18).
2.
He took these captives captive to heaven (Eph. 4:8; Psm. 68:18).
3.
He gave gifts to men (Eph. 4:8, Eph. 4:11).
Ascended
The
ascent of Jehovah is realized in Christ's ascent into heaven.
up
on high...
Greek: hupsos,
rendered height in Eph. 3:18; Rev. 21:16.
he
led captivity...
The captives that were taken to heaven with Christ were the saints
who had died from Abel to Christ, and who were held captive by Satan
in paradise under the earth until Christ conquered death, hell, and
the grave liberating them (Heb. 2:14-15; Luke 16:23). He got these
captives in the lower parts of the earth (Eph. 4:8-10; Mat. 12:40).
They were still alive in soul and spirit since their physical death,
but held captive, which proves the immortality of the soul. He could
not have led captive, extinct souls. Now when a Christian dies, he
does not go into the lower parts of the earth to be held captive but goes to heaven to live and await the resurrection of the body (2Cor.
5:8; Phlp. 1:21-24; Heb. 12:22-23; Rev. 6:9-11).
captivity...
He led a host of captives to heaven, like an earthly conqueror. See,
2Cor. 2:14. Some were the many that were resurrected after Christ
(Mat. 27:52-53), and the rest were the immortal souls that were not
resurrected, but merely liberated from captivity to Satan (Heb.
2:14-15; 12:23).
Captivity
Abstract
for the
body
of
captives.
See on Luke 4:18. The captives are not the
redeemed,
but the enemies
of
Christ's
kingdom,
Satan, Sin, and Death. Compare on Col. 2:15, and 2Cor. 2:14.
led
captivity captive...
Greek: aichmalosia.
Only here, Rev. 13:10. The verb aichmalotizo
is used in Luke 21:24; Rom. 7:23; 2Cor. 10:5.
gave
gifts unto...
Psm. 68:18 reads, thou hast received gifts for men. The Hebrew here
suggests that the gifts which He gave were received in man; that is,
by virtue of His incarnation, He received these gifts to give to
human beings. They are really gifts of God to people.
Eight
Gifts of God
1.
Christ (John 3:16; 4:10); called the heavenly and unspeakable gift
(2Cor. 9:15; Heb. 6:4)
2.
The Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33, 2:38-39; 5:32; 8:20; 11:17)
3.
Salvation (Rom. 5:15-18; Eph. 2:8-9)
4.
Eternal life (Rom. 6:23)
5.
Grace (Eph. 3:7; 4:7)
6.
Spiritual gifts (Rom. 12:6; 1Cor. 1:7; 12:4-11, 12:28-31; 1Tim. 4:14;
2Tim. 1:6; Heb. 2:4; 1Pet. 4:10)
7.
Ministers (Eph. 4:11)
8.
All good things (Mat. 7:11; Luke 11:13; Phlp. 4:17; Jas. 1:17)
and
gave gifts...
Greek: doma.
Only here, Mat. 7:11; Luke 11:13; Phlp. 4:17.
Gave
In
the Hebrew and Septuagint, received
or took;
but with the sense received
in
order
to
distribute
among
men.
Compare Gen. 15:9, take
for
me:
Gen. 18:5, I
will
fetch
for
you:
Exo. 27:20, bring
thee,
i.e., take
and
present
to
thee:
Acts 2:33, “received of the Father, etc., He hath shed
forth. Thus Paul interprets the received
of the Old Testament. His point is the distribution of grace by
Christ in varied measure to individuals. He confirms this by
Scripture, seeing in the Jehovah of this Old-Testament passage the
Christ of the New Testament - one Redeemer under both covenants - and
applying the Psalmist's address to Christ who distributes the results
of His victory among His loyal subjects. These results are enumerated
in Eph. 4:11 sqq.
Includes
a quotation from the Old Testament, which confirms God’s giving of
gifts. Most think it quotes Psm. 68:18 with five minor and two major
changes. The two major variations are the change from the second to
the third person, and the change of direction from having received
gifts from men to the giving of gifts
to men.
However, it is better to think that Paul was not quoting one
particular verse of the psalm but rather that he was summarizing all
of Psm. 68:1-35, which has many words similar to those in Psm. 68:18.
The essence of the psalm is that a military victor has the right to
give gifts to those who are identified with him. Christ, having
captivated sinful people by redeeming them, is Victor and gives them
as gifts to the church. Whereas Rom. 12:1-21 and 1Cor. 12:1-31 speak
of gifts given to believers, Eph. 4:7 speaks more of gifted believers
given to the church (cf. Eph. 4:11).
Eph.
4:9
(Now
that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into
the lower parts of the earth?
what
is it...
Question 1. The only one in Ephesians.
he
also descended...
Before He ascended to heaven, He descended to hell (Psm. 16:10; Mat.
12:40). He descended, not only from deity to humanity and from
humanity to infamy and death (Phlp. 2:5-11), but also into the lower
parts of the earth—into hell itself to conquer hell and liberate
captive souls from Satan (Eph. 4:8-10; Psm. 16:10; 68:18; Mat. 12:40;
Heb. 2:14-15).
Now
that He ascended
Eph.
4:9 and Eph. 4:10 are parenthetical, showing what the ascension of
Christ presupposes. By descending into the depths and ascending above
all, He entered upon His function of filling the whole universe, in
virtue of which function He distributes gifts to men. See Eph. 1:23.
Rev., properly, inserts this,
thus giving the force of the article which calls attention to the
fact of ascension alluded to in the quotation. Now or this He ascended.
What
is it but
What
does it imply?
descended
first
(καὶ
κατέβη)
His
ascent implies a previous descent. A.V. reads first,
following the Tex. Rec. πρῶτον.
Rev., correctly, He
also
descended.
Compare John 3:13.
lower
parts of...
Proof that hell is located in the lower parts of the earth, not on
the surface of the earth as the grave (Mat. 12:40; Psm. 16:10; 63:9;
Job 11:8; Deut. 32:22; Isa. 14:9; 66:22-24; Prov. 9:18; 15:24; Eze.
31:14-18; 32:18-24). Hell, here is contrasted with the highest heaven
as being the lowest and deepest part of the earth. It could not
possibly refer to the grave on the surface of the earth.
the
lower parts of the earth
(τὰ
κατώτερα μέρη τῆς γῆς)
The
underworld. The reference is to Christ's descent into Hades. Some
give the words a comparative force, deeper
than
the
earth.
Eph.
4:9-11 serve as a commentary on two words of the quotation in Eph.
4:8, namely, ascended
(Eph. 4:9-10) and gave (Eph. 4:11). In Eph. 4:9-10 Paul commented on
the words He
ascended.
These two verses are parenthetical in thought because the issue of
the passage is the giving of gifts. Before Christ could ascend, He had
to descend. What is meant by to
the lower, earthly regions,
literally, into the lower parts of earth? The genitive of
can be taken in three ways: (1) Into the lower parts, namely, the
earth a genitive of apposition. This would refer to Christ’s
incarnation, His descent to the earth. (2) Into the parts lower than
the earth a genitive of comparison. This would mean that Christ
descended into hades between His death and resurrection. (3) Into the
lower parts which belong to the earth a genitive of possession. This
would refer to Christ’s death and His burial in the grave. The
third view best fits the context because in His death Christ had
victory over sin and redeemed those who would be given as gifts to
the church.
Eph.
4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above
all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
that
he might...
That He might be the fountain of all spiritual, physical, and
material gifts to human beings, dispensing them to all people
liberally according to their needs and wants (Jas. 1:5-8, 1:17; Mat.
7:11; 21:22; Mark 11:22-24; John 14:12-15; 15:7, 15:16; Psm. 34:9-10;
84:11).
fill
all things
that
filleth all in all
(τὰ
πάντα ἐν πᾶσιν πληρουμένου)
Better,
that
filleth
all
things
with
all
things.
The expression is somewhat obscure. All things are composed of
elements. Whatever things exist, God from His fullness fills with all
those elements which belong to their being or welfare. The whole
universe is thus filled by Him. Eph.
1:23.
All
this the apostle keeps in view and allows for in his doctrine of the
Church. He does not merge man in humanity, nor sacrifice the
individual to the community. He claims for each believer direct
fellowship with Christ and access to God. The earnestness with which
in his earlier epistles St. Paul insisted on the responsibilities of
conscience and on the personal experience of salvation, leads him now
to press the claims of the Church with equal vigour. He understands
well that the person has no existence apart from the community, that
our moral nature is essentially social and the religious life
essentially fraternal. Its vital element is "the communion of
the Holy Spirit." Hence, to gather the real drift of this
passage we must combine the first words of Eph. 4:7 with the last of
Eph. 4:12: To each single one of us was the grace given-in order to
build up the body of Christ. God’s grace is not bestowed on us to
diffuse and lose itself in our separate individuality; but that it
may minister to one life and work towards one end and build up one
great body in us all. The diversity sub-serves a higher unity.
Through ten thousand channels, in ten thousand varied forms of
personal influence and action, the stream of the grace of God flows
on to the accomplishment of the eternal purpose.
Like
a wise master in his household and sovereign in his kingdom, the Lord
of the Church distributes His manifold gifts. His bestowments and
appointments are made with an eye to the furtherance of the state and
house that He has in charge. As God dispenses His wisdom, so Christ
His gifts "according to plan". (Eph. 3:11) The purpose of
the ages, God’s great plan for mankind, determines the measure of
the gift of Christ. Now, it is to illustrate this measure, to set
forth the style and scale of Christ’s bestowments within His
Church, that the apostle brings in evidence the words of Psm. 68:18.
He interprets this ancient verse as he cites it, and weaves it into
the texture of his argument. In the original it reads thus:
Thou
hast ascended on high, thou hast led Thy captivity captive, thou hast
received gifts among men, -Yea, among the rebellious also that the
LORD God might dwell with them. (R.V.) Let us go back for a moment to
the occasion of the old Hebrew song. Psm. 68:1-35, is, as Ewald says,
the greatest, most splendid and artistic of the temple-songs of
Restored Jerusalem. It celebrates Jehovah’s entry into Zion. This
culminating verse records, as the crowning event of Israel’s
history, the capture of Zion from the rebel Jebusites and the Lord’s
ascension in the person of His chosen to take His seat upon this holy
hill. The previous verses, in which fragments of earlier songs are
embedded, describe the course of the Divine Leader of Israel through
former ages. In the beat and rhythm of the Hebrew lines one hears the
footfall of the Conqueror’s march, as He arises and His enemies are
scattered and kings of armies flee apace, while nature trembles at
His step and bends her wild powers to serve His congregation. The
sojourn in the wilderness, the scenes of Sinai, the occupancy of
Canaan, the wars of the Judges were so many stages in the progress of
Jehovah, which had Zion always for its goal. To Zion, the new and
more glorious sanctuary, Sinai must now give place. Bashan and all
mountains towering in their pride in vain look askance at the hill
which God has desired for His abode, where Jehovah will dwell
forever. So, the day of the Lord’s desire has come I From the Kidron
valley David leads Jehovah’s triumph up the steep slopes of Mount
Zion. A train of captive's defiles before the Lord’s anointed, who
sits down on the throne that God gives him and receives in His name
the submission of the heathen. The vanquished chiefs cast their spoil
at his feet; it is laid up in treasure to build the future temple;
while, upon this happy day of peace, the rebellious also share in
Jehovah’s grace and become His subjects.
It
is not one that went down, and another that went up. says Theodoret.
He that descended, it is He also that ascended up far above all the
heavens! (Eph. 4:10). Jesus of Nazareth is on the throne of God, -the
same yesterday and to-day! But now the resources of the universe are
at His disposal. Out of that treasure He can choose the best gifts
for you and me.
Christ’s
ascent above the
heavens, in order to fill the whole universe
probably refers to His regal relationship with the whole world, from
which position He bestows gifts as He wills because of His work on
the Cross. This fits well with Eph. 1:23, which speaks of Christ
imparting all the fullness of His blessings to the church and to the
universe. Christ, who embodies the fullness of the Godhead (Col.
2:9), fills the universe and is Head over it (cf. Col. 1:18).
Mat.
27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up
the ghost.
again
with a...
Seven sayings on the cross:
1.
My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me? (Mat.
27:46; Mark 15:34; Psm. 22:1)
2.
Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).
3.
Verily I say unto thee, to day shalt thou be with Me in paradise
(Luke 23:43).
4.
Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit (Luke 23:46).
5.
Woman, behold thy son! ... Behold thy mother! (John 19:26-27)
6.
I thirst (John 19:28).
7.
It is finished (John 19:30).
a
loud voice...
Showing
normal strength to the end, proving He voluntarily laid down His life
(John
10:18).
yielded
up the... A voluntary act. He
dismissed His soul and spirit (Jas.
2:26; Luke 23:46; John 10:18; 19:30).
yielded
up the ghost
(ἀφῆκε
τὸ πνεῦμα)
Lit.,
dismissed
his spirit. Rev.
yielded
up his spirit. The
fact that the evangelists, in describing our Lord's death, do not use
the neuter verb, ἔθανεν,
he died, but
he
breathed
out his life ἐξέπνευσε,
Mar. 15:37, he
gave
us his spirit παρέδωκε
τὸ πνεῦμα,
John
19:30), seems to imply a voluntary
yielding
up of his life. Compare John 10:18. Augustine says, He gave up his
life because
he willed it, when
he
willed it, and as he willed it.
Luke
23:46 "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said,
Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he
gave up the ghost."
Jesus
dismissed His spirit from His body and told it to go to the Father.
Even this was in His control and not someone else's. The teaching
going around that Jesus was taken from the cross by two demons and
suffered in hell for us is blasphemy. He went to hades to take the
keys away from the devil, and to preach to those in hades, and bring
them out with him not to suffer.
Jesus
had everything under control all the time. The cross was no defeat,
but the greatest victory mankind has ever known. Jesus is no longer
on the cross. He is not the suffering Christ. He is the victorious
Christ.
From
the sixth hour to the ninth the darkness lasted, and at the ninth
hour Jesus yielded up the ghost. The agony is over. The feeling of
separation, of utter loneliness, is gone, for the last word has been,
"Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit"; and as the
spirit of the Son of man returns to the Father’s bosom, the gloom
is gone, and the sun shines out again upon the earth.
With
one last cry Jesus…
gave up His spirit,
committing it into the hands of His Father (Luke 23:46). Jesus was in
complete control of His life and died at the precise moment He
determined by dismissing His spirit. No man took Jesus’ life from
Him, as He had said (John 10:11, 10:15, 10:17-18). He laid His life
down in keeping with God’s plan and He was involved in taking it
back up again in His resurrection.
Mat.
27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the
top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
Verses
51-53: The events immediately following Jesus’ death are remarkable
indeed. The veil of the temple refers to the curtain separating the
Holy Place from the Holy of Holies (Exo. 26:31). This symbolizes the
permanent opening of God’s presence to man and man’s direct
access to God through the atoning death of Christ.
veil of
the... I.e., There
were two veils: one at the entrance of the Holy Place and the other
between this and the Holy of Holies into which the high priest alone
went once a year to atone for the sins of the people (Heb. 9:2-9).
They were 60 feet high from the ceiling to the floor. The rending of
the veil signified that the middle wall of partition between Jews
and Gentiles was broken down (Eph. 2:14-18) and that each believer
now could have personal access to God (Heb. 9:8; 10:19-23; Eph.
2:14-18).
The curtain that blocked the entrance to the Most Holy
Place Exo. 26:33; Heb. 9:3). The tearing of the veil signified that
the way into God’s presence was now open to all through a new and
living way (Heb. 10:19-22). The fact that it tore from top to bottom
showed that no man had split the veil, God did it.
The
veil of the temple
According
to the Rabbis this was a handbreadth in thickness, and woven of
seventy-two twisted plaits, each plait consisting of twenty-four
threads. It was sixty feet long and thirty wide. Two of them were
made every year, and according to the exaggerated language of the
time it needed three hundred priests to manipulate it. This veil was
the one which covered the entrance to the holy of holies, and not,
as has been asserted, the veil which hung before the main entrance
to the sanctuary. The holy of holies contained only a large stone,
on which the high-priest sprinkled the blood on the day of
atonement, occupying the place where the ark with the mercy-seat had
stood.
How
appropriate the rending of the veil. (Mark
15:38; Luke 23:44-45) At the time of Jesus’ death, three momentous
events occurred. First, the
curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
This
curtain separated the holy place from the holy of holies in the
temple (Heb. 9:2-3). The fact that this occurred from top to bottom
signified that God is the One who ripped the thick curtain. It was
not torn from the bottom by men ripping it. God was showing that the
way of access into His presence was now available for everyone, not
simply the Old Testament high priest (Heb. 4:14-16; 10:19-22).
Mat.
27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints
which slept arose,
bodies
of the... These
bodies made part of the multitude of captives Christ captured from
Satan in the underworld of departed spirits and which He took captive
with Him when He ascended on high (Eph. 4:8-10; Heb. 2:14-15). Now
when Christians die, they no longer go into the lower parts of the
earth held captive by the devil against their will but go to heaven
to await the resurrection of the body (2Cor. 5:8; Phlp. 1:21-24; Rev.
6:9-11; Heb. 12:22). The wicked continue to go to hell to await their
resurrection (Luke 16:19-31; Rev. 20:11-15).
Matthew
alone mentions this miracle. Nothing more is said about these people,
which would be unlikely if they remained on earth for long.
Evidently, these people were given glorified bodies; they appeared to
many verses 53, enough to establish the reality of the miracle; and
then they no doubt ascended to glory, a kind of foretaste of (1Thes.
4:16).
A
third event mentioned was recorded only by Matthew. The
tombs
of many
holy
(righteous) people
(Mat. 27:52) were opened, probably at a Jerusalem cemetery.
Mat.
27:53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went
into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
And
came out... The resurrection of Christ; for he rose as the first
fruits, as the first begotten of the dead, and the firstborn from the
dead. For he was the first that was raised to an immortal life; for
though others were raised before him, by himself, and in the times of
the prophets, yet to a mortal life.
The
narrative of Matthew does not determine whether they came to life
before Jesus rose, and remained in the tombs, or came to life after
he died. The latter is probably the correct opinion. This is the
reason why they were raised. It is not improbable to suppose that it
was, amid the other wonders attending the death of Jesus, to convince
the Jews that he was the Messiah.
What
became of them after they had entered into the city whether they
again died or ascended to heaven, is not revealed, and conjecture is
vain.
after
his resurrection... They
could not have come out before for Christ was to be resurrected first
and enter into immortality in a human body (1Cor. 15:20-23; Rev. 1:5;
Luke 24:39).
and went
into... Which though now a very wicked city, was so called, because
of the temple, and the worship of God, and his residence in it. The
burying places of the Jews were without the city and therefore these
risen saints, are said to go into it.
Here is
victory to the utmost. What all the prophets and holy men before Him
had not been able to do, Jesus did. Jesus had opened the way to the
Holy of Holies in heaven to His followers. God had torn down the
curtain of partition that had kept the people from getting close to
God. All believers have been made perfect by the blood of the Lamb
(His precious Son).
These
graves opened when Jesus came out of the earth and brought captivity
captive with Him. The Sunday that Jesus arose is the feast of the
firstfruits with the Jews. This is the first of the harvest. Truly
these coming from the graves were the firstfruits of the rapture.
These resurrected from the dead were seen of many in Jerusalem, as
Jesus was seen by over 500.
The
NIV suggests that these saints were resurrected when Jesus died and
then went into Jerusalem after
Jesus’ resurrection.
A number of commentators agree with this view. Many others, however,
say that since Christ is the firstfruits of the dead (1Cor. 15:23),
their resurrection did not occur till He was raised. In this view,
the phrase after Jesus’ resurrection goes with the words were
raised to life
and came
out of the tombs.
This is possible in the Greek and is suggested in the KJV and the
NASB. The tombs, then, broke
open
at Christ’s death, probably by the earthquake, thus heralding
Christ’s triumph in death over sin, but the bodies were not raised
till Christ was raised.
Isa.
5:14
Therefore hell hath enlarged herself and opened her mouth without
measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he
that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
Therefore
hell hath...
We see here that since Christ lead captivity captive out of paradise
Abraham's bosom believers now go directly to the Father in heaven.
Paradise is no longer needed the space is now all reserved for the
wicked.
Therefore...
כֵּן
kên
kane
From
H3559; properly set
upright; hence (figuratively as adjective) just;
but usually (as adverb or conjugation) rightly
or so
(in various applications to manner, time and relation; often with
other particles): - + after that (this, -ward, -wards), as . . . as,
+ [for-] asmuch as yet, + be (for which) cause, + following, howbeit,
in (the) like (manner, -wise), X the more, right, (even) so, state,
straightway, such (thing), surely, + there (where) -fore, this, thus,
true, well, X you.
hell
Hebrew:
She’owl.
The term Sheol in
this context pictures death as a great monster with wide open jaws,
ready to receive its victims. Such was to be the fate of those who
perish in the captivity God will send to punish the people’s
sinfulness.
שְׁאֹל
שְׁאוֹל
she'ôl
she'ôl
sheh-ole',
sheh-ole'
From
H7592; hades
or the world of the dead (as if a subterranian retreat),
including its accessories and inmates: - grave, hell, pit.
enlarged
herself, and... Since so many will go to hell that should go to
heaven, it is enlarged—not its actual dimensions but in the sense
of more people going there. Hell is already measureless; it simply
opens its mouth to the extra multitudes who would be saved from such
a place if they would obey God.
hath
enlarged...
רָחַב
râchab
raw-khab'
A
primitive root; to broaden
(intransitively or transitively, literally or figuratively): - be an
en- (make) large (-ing), make room, make (open) wide.
herself...
נֶפֶשׁ
nephesh
neh'-fesh
From
H5314; properly a breathing
creature, that is, animal
or (abstractly) vitality;
used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense
(bodily or mental): - any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, X
dead (-ly), desire, X [dis-] contented, X fish, ghost, + greedy, he,
heart (-y), (hath, X jeopardy of) life (X in jeopardy), lust, man,
me, mind, mortality, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-,
thy-) self, them (your) -selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing,
(X she) will, X would have it.
and
opened...
פָּעַר
pâ‛ar
paw-ar'
A
primitive root; to yawn,
that is, open
wide (literally or figuratively): - gape, open (wide).
her
mouth...
פֶּה
peh
peh
From
H6284; the mouth
(as the means of blowing),
whether literally or figuratively (particularly speech);
specifically edge,
portion
or side;
adverbially (with preposition) according
to: - accord
(-ing as, -ing to), after, appointment, assent, collar, command
(-ment), X eat, edge, end, entry, + file, hole, X in, mind, mouth,
part, portion, X (should) say (-ing), sentence, skirt, sound, speech,
X spoken, talk, tenor, X to, + two-edged, wish, word.
without...
בְּלִי
belı̂y
bel-ee'
From
H1086, properly failure,
that is, nothing
or destruction;
usually (with preposition) without,
not
yet,
because
not,
as
long as,
etc.: - corruption, ig[norantly], for lack of, where no . . . is, so
that no, none, not, un[awares], without.
measure...
חֹק
chôq
khoke
From
H2710; an enactment;
hence an appointment
(of time, space, quantity, labor or usage): - appointed, bound,
commandment, convenient, custom, decree (-d), due, law, measure, X
necessary, ordinance (-nary), portion, set time, statute, task.
A sinful
way of life leads to total destruction and to hell. I personally
believe to be a Christian in name only brings about the same thing.
God does not want lukewarm followers, He wants 100% of you, or none
of you at all.
glory,
and their...
Four things that inherit hell:
1.
The glory of sinful men (Isa.
5:8-10)
2.
Great numbers of sinful men (Isa. 5:13-14)
3.
The pomp of sinful men (Isa. 5:11-12)
4.
All who rejoice in sin
הָדָר
hâdâr
haw-dawr'
From
H1921, magnificence,
that is, ornament or splendor: - beauty, comeliness, excellency,
glorious, glory, goodly, honour, majesty.
Notice
the word multitude in the verse above. Christianity is not a religion
of the masses. It is a walk-through life in personal relationship
with Him. He does not save the masses, but individuals in those
masses.
and
their multitude...
הָמֹן
הָמוֹן
hâmôn
hâmôn
haw-mone',
haw-mone'
From
H1993; a noise,
tumult,
crowd;
also, disquietude,
wealth:
- abundance,
company, many, multitude, multiply, noise, riches, rumbling,
sounding, store, tumult.
Pomp
indicates someone who is conceited.
Some-one
not humble, but pompous, finds it very difficult to be humble before
God. The accepting of the Lord with our head is not what He wants. He
wants our heart.
שָׁאוֹן
shâ'ôn
shaw-one'
From
H7582; uproar
(as of rushing);
by implication destruction:
- X
horrible, noise, pomp, rushing, tumult (X -uous).
עָלֵז
‛âlêz
aw-laze'
From
H5937; exultant:
- that
rejoiceth.
Hell
enlarging herself indicates that it must be enlarged to hold, not
only the professing non- believer, but also those who are Christians
in name only.
descend
into it...
Hell is beneath the earth, so the wicked descend into it (Isa. 5:14;
Num. 16:30-33; Psm. 63:9; 68:18; Eze. 31:14-18; 32:24-27; Mat. 12:40;
Eph. 4:8-10).
shall
descend...
יָרַד
yârad
yaw-rad'
A
primitive root; to descend
(literally to go
downwards;
or conventionally to a lower region, as the shore, a boundary, the
enemy, etc.; or figuratively to fall);
causatively to bring
down
(in all the above applications): - X abundantly, bring down, carry
down, cast down, (cause to) come (-ing) down, fall (down), get down,
go (-ing) down (-ward), hang down, X indeed, let down, light (down),
put down (off), (cause to, let) run down, sink, subdue, take down.
Many
would die, both nobles
and masses,
since death has no respect for rank (Isa. 5:14). The carousing
drunkards (brawlers
and revelers)
of whom Isaiah had just spoken (Isa. 5:11-12) would also die (Isa.
5:14).
Jehovah
redeemeth the soul of His servants; and none of them that take refuge
in Him shall be condemned, Psm. 34:21-22. Those who do not take
refuge in Him will be condemned to hell aka. Lake of Fire.
2Cor.
12:2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the
body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God
knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
Of
course, Paul is speaking of himself. Paul was truly in Christ as most
Christians can only dream of.
I
knew
(οἶδα)
Rev.,
correctly, I know.
fourteen
years ago...
This takes us back to about 46 A.D., some 14 years after Christ died.
Just where he saw the vision is not known. This
had taken place 14 years before the writing of 2 Corinthians so the
specific vision Paul relates cannot be identified with any incident
recorded in Acts. Probably took place between his return to Tarsus
from Jerusalem and the start of his missionary journeys.
above
fourteen years ago
(πρὸ
ἐτῶν δεκατεσσάρων)
Above,
of A.V., is due to a misunderstanding of the Greek idiom. Lit.,
before
fourteen
years,
that is, fourteen
years
ago,
as Rev.
in
the body...
It could have been in the body, as in the case of Enoch, Elijah, and
John (Gen. 5:24; 2Kgs. 2:1-25; Rev. 4:1). The fact he did not know
proves the possibility of a natural body going to heaven. It also
proves that he believed in the consciousness of souls after leaving
the body (2Cor. 5:8; Phlp. 1:21-24; Heb. 12:23).
Whether Paul had a vision or was carried away into heaven to the presence of God,
really does not matter. What does matter is that Paul had a close
encounter with God. There are very few instances like this in the
Bible.
caught
up to...
Caught up, like in 1Thes. 4:16-17. Paul was not doubtful about being
caught up to the third heaven. He was certain about that (2Cor. 12:2,
12:4). It was whether in the body or out of it that he was doubtful
(2Cor. 12:2-3).
caught
up
(ἁρπαγέντα)
Compare
Dante:
“Thou
knowest, who didst lift me with thy light”
Paradiso,
i.,
75.
The
verb suits the swift, resistless, impetuous seizure of spiritual
ecstasy. See on Mat. 11:12; and compare Acts 8:39; 1Thes. 4:17; Rev.
12:5.
Verse
4 shows this third heaven and Paradise is the same place. The first
heaven is the earth’s atmosphere; the second is interplanetary and
interstellar space; and the third is the abode of God.
the
third heaven...
There are three heavens:
1.
The clouds or atmospheric heavens (Gen. 1:8; Psm. 77:17-18; 104:2-3)
2.
The starry space (Gen. 15:5; 22:17; 26:4; Deut. 1:10; Isa. 13:10;
14:13)
3.
The planet heaven (Gen. 1:1; Isa. 14:12-14; 66:1; Rev. 21:2, 21:10)
Third
heaven
It
is quite useless to attempt to explain this expression according to
any scheme of celestial gradation. The conception of seven heavens
was familiar to the Jews; but according to some of the Rabbins there
were two
heavens - the visible clouds and the sky; in which case the third
heaven would be the invisible region beyond the sky. Some think that
Paul describes two stages of his rapture; the first to the third
heaven, from which he was borne, as if from a halting-point, up into
Paradise.
Paul’s
indirect reference to himself as a
man in Christ
showed that he regarded this great experience not as a consequence of
inherent worthiness or spiritual excellence but because he was in
Christ. As such it anticipated what everyone in Christ will one day
experience, the presence of Christ in heaven.
This
event occurred 14
years
earlier, sometime in the years a.d. 42-44 before Paul’s missionary
journeys reported in Acts. Paul was raptured caught
up
is from the same verb harpazo4
used in 1Thes. 4:17 of saints at the Rapture to
the third heaven,
the dwelling place of Christ and the saints, which Jesus called
paradise
(Luke 23:43; cf. Rev. 2:7). Temporal and spatial sensations were
absent whether
he was in
the body or apart from the body
he did not
know.
2Cor.
12:4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable
words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
up
into paradise... This
paradise is in the third heaven (2Cor.
12:2, 12:4).
in
paradise
(παραδείσῳ)
Originally
an
enclosed park, or
pleasure-ground.
Xenophon
uses it of the parks of the Persian kings and nobles. There at
Celaenae Cyrus had a palace and a great park παράδεισος,
full
of wild animals, which he hunted on horseback....Through the midst of
the park flows the river Maeander (Anabasis, i., 2, 7). And again'
The Greeks encamped near a great and beautiful park,
thickly
grown with all kinds of trees (ii., 4, 14.) In the Septuagint, Gen.
2:8, of the garden of Eden. In the Jewish theology, the department of
Hades where the blessed souls await the resurrection; and therefore
equivalent to Abraham's
bosom (Luke
16:22, 16:23). It occurs three times in the New Testament: here;
2Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7; and
always of the abode of the blessed. Ref. Luke 23:43;
Abraham’s
bosom
A phrase used among the Jews to signify paradise. It is called
paradise in Luke 23:43 and was located in the lower parts of the
earth (Eph. 4:8-10; Mat. 12:40). There is another paradise in the
third heaven (2Cor. 12:1-4; Rev. 2:7). The Greek for paradise is
paradeisos,
a park, forest, or orchard; it is used in the Septuagint for the
garden of Eden. The Hebrew: pardec
is translated orchard (Son. 4:13; Ecc. 2:5) and forest (Neh. 2:8).
Being
in the bosom of another means the one next to him at the time (John
13:23). It is also an idiom of close relationship (2Sam. 12:3; Isa.
40:11; John 1:18).
Before
the resurrection of Christ all righteous souls went to paradise where
they were held captive by the devil against their wills (Heb.
2:14-15). When Christ died His body went to the grave, but He went to
paradise and liberated those righteous captives taking them to heaven
with Him when He ascended on high (Mat. 12:40; Eph. 4:8-10). Now when
a Christian dies he is no longer held captive by the devil in the
lower parts of the earth, but he goes immediately to heaven awaiting
the resurrection of the body (2Cor. 5:8; Phlp. 1:21-24; Heb.
12:22-24; Rev. 6:9-11). Christ now has the keys of hades and of death
(Rev. 1:18). Paradise under the earth is now empty, but the torment
department of hades is being filled more every day. It will hold all
the wicked dead until the end of the Millennium when hades will
deliver up the souls in it, and the graves will give up all the
bodies in them. Then the bodies, souls, and spirits of the wicked
will be cast into the eternal hell (Rev. 20:11-15). Ref. Luke 16:22.
We
mentioned in a previous lesson, that Paradise is where the Tree of
Life is.
Revelation
2:7 "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the
tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."
heard
unspeakable words... This
simply means that human lips and tongue could not express them. They
were too sacred to repeat.
Unspeakable
words (ἄῤῥητα
ῥήματα)
An
oxymoron, speaking
which
may
not
be
spoken.
is
not lawful... Paul
may have been forbidden to utter these words, like John was commanded
to seal up and write not what the seven thunders uttered (Rev. 10:4).
If
the words are unlawful for man to utter, there would be no way we
could know what they were. More than likely these words were for Paul
alone and he was forbidden to repeat them.
The
rapture had a second stage, under the same incomprehensible
conditions, and in it the Christian man passed out and up from the
third heaven into Paradise. Many of the Jews believed in a Paradise
beneath the earth, the abode of the souls of the good while they
awaited their perfecting at the Resurrection; (Luke 16:23, 23:43) but
obviously this cannot be the idea here. We must think rather of what
the Apocalypse calls the Paradise of God, (Rev. 2:7) where the tree
of life grows, and where those who overcome have their reward. It is
an abode of unimaginable blessedness, far above all heavens, to use
the Apostle’s own words elsewhere. (Eph. 4:10) What visions he had,
or what revelations, during that pause in the third heaven, Paul does
not say; and at this supreme point of his rapture, m Paradise, the
words he heard were words unspeakable, which it is not lawful for man
to utter. Mortal ears might hear, but mortal lips might not repeat,
sounds so mysterious and divine: it was not for man ανθρωπω
is qualitative to utter them.
The
experience, however, no doubt contributed to Paul’s conviction that
our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal
glory that far outweighs them all”(2Co. 4:17).
2Cor.
12:5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but
in mine infirmities.
Of
such an... Again he repeats
that he will not glory in himself and his attainments, but in his
infirmities and other experiences suffered for Christ (2Cor. 12:1,
12:5; 11:30).
There
would be no way to prove to anyone on the earth that this had
happened to you, so there is no way to glory in this. Also, Paul had
nothing to do with this, God took Paul on this journey. The glory
then, must lie in his infirmities.
Though
Paul’s reluctance to boast caused him to refer to himself in the
third person as (in verse 2), the context there makes it obvious that
he was speaking about himself as relating the experience of another
man would hardly have enhanced Paul’s apostolic credentials. Also,
Paul’s thorn in the flesh afflicted him not someone else.
I
will not... But why, we may ask, if this rapture has its meaning and
value solely for the Apostle, should he refer to it here at all? Why
should he make such solemn statements about an experience, the
historical conditions of which, as he is careful to assure us, are
incomprehensible, while its spiritual content is a secret? Is not
such an experience literally nothing to us? No, unless Paul himself
is nothing; for this experience was evidently a great thing to him.
It was the most sacred privilege and honor he had ever known; it was
among his strongest sources of inspiration; it had a powerful
tendency to generate spiritual pride; and it had its accompaniment,
and its counter-weight, in his sharpest trial. The world knows little
of its greatest men; perhaps we very rarely know what are the great
things in the lives even of the people who are round about us. Paul
had kept silence about this sublime experience for fourteen years,
and no man had ever guessed it; it had been a secret between the Lord
and His disciple; and they only, who were in the secret, could
rightly interpret all that depended upon it. There is a kind of
profanity in forcing the heart to show itself too far, in compelling
a man to speak about, even though he does not divulge, the things
that it is not lawful to utter. The Corinthians had put this profane
compulsion on the Apostle; but though he yields to it, it is in a way
which keeps clear of the profanity. He tells what he dare tell in the
third person, and then goes on: On behalf of such a one will I glory,
but on behalf of myself will I not glory, save in my infirmities.
Removere debemus τὸ
ago a rebus magnis (Bengel): there are things too great to allow the
intrusion of self. Paul does not choose to identify the poor Apostle
whom the Corinthians and their misleading teachers used so badly with
the man in Christ who had such inconceivable honor put on him by the
Lord; if
he does boast on behalf of such a one, and magnify his sublime
experiences, at all events he does not transfer his prerogatives to
himself; he does not say, I am that incomparably honored man;
reverence in me a special favorite of Christ. On the contrary, where
his own interest has to be forwarded, he will glory in nothing but
his weaknesses. The one thing about which he is anxious is that men
should not think too highly of him, nor go in their appreciation
beyond what their experience of him as a man and a teacher justifies
(2Cor. 12:6).
He might, indeed, boast, reasonably enough; for the truth would
suffice, without any foolish exaggeration; but he forbears, for the
reason just stated. We are familiar with the danger of thinking too
highly of ourselves; it is as real a danger, though probably a less
considered one, to be too highly thought of by others. Paul dreaded
it; so does every wise man. To be highly thought of, where the
character is sincere and unpretentious, may be a protection, and even
an inspiration: but to have a reputation, morally, that one does not
deserve-to be counted good in respects in which one is really bad-is
to have a frightful difficulty added to penitence and amendment. It
puts one in a radically false position; it generates and fosters
hypocrisy; it explains a vast mass of spiritual ineffectiveness. The
man who is insincere enough to be puffed up by it is not far from
judgment.
in
mine infirmities...
Five phases of Paul’s thorn in the flesh:
1.
Greek: astheneia,
want of strength; weakness; infirmity, which means a moral, mental,
or physical weakness or flaw. Used of utter helplessness of the body
in death (1Cor. 15:43; 2Cor. 13:4); infirmity of body (Mat. 8:17;
Luke 5:15; 8:2; 13:11-12; John 5:5; 11:4; Act_s ; 1Tim. 5:23);
weakness of ability as a nation to cope with more powerful forces in
war (Heb. 11:34); weakness of human nature (Rom. 6:19; 8:26; Gal.
4:13; Heb. 4:15; 5:2; 7:28); weakness of human ability (1Cor. 2:3);
Paul’s weakness and helplessness before Satan’s angel (2Cor.
11:30; 12:5, 12:9-10). The fact that Paul’s thorn in the flesh
consisted of reproaches, necessities, persecutions, distresses, and
infirmities proves that the infirmities had to do with his trials,
troubles, and sufferings of body and soul which he lists in 2Cor.
11:23-33, and not physical disease. The fact that he still had power
to do apostolic signs, wonders, and mighty deeds while he had this
thorn in the flesh (2Cor. 12:12), proves that it was not a bodily
disease (Mat. 8:17 with Isa. 53:4-5; 1Pet. 2:24). Paul had special
power to heal diseases even up to the last days we read of him (Acts
19:11; 28:1-9). See, Mat. 8:17.
2.
Greek: hubris,
insults; reproaches (2Cor. 12:10); hurt (Acts 27:10); and harm (Acts
27:21)
3.
Greek: anangke,
necessities (2Cor. 12:10; 6:4; 9:7; 1Cor. 7:37; 9:16; Phlm. 1:14;
Heb. 7:12; 9:16, 9:23); distress (Luke 21:23; 1Cor. 7:26)
4.
Greek: diogmos,
persecutions (2Cor. 12:10; Mat. 13:21; Mark 4:17; 10:30; Acts 8:1;
13:50; Rom. 8:35; 2Cor. 12:10; 2Thes. 1:4; 2Tim. 3:11)
5.
Greek: stenochoria,
distresses (2Cor. 12:10; 6:4; Rom. 8:35) and anguish (Rom. 2:9)
These
five classes of sufferings constitute the buffeting of Paul by the
angel of Satan which was his thorn (2Cor. 12:7-10).
Paul
boasted about a
man
(cf. a man in Christ, 2Cor. 12:2, and this man, 2Cor. 12:3) because
his accent was on Christ, not himself. The Corinthian preoccupation
with the external and the spectacular was regrettable to Paul (cf.
1Cor. 14:20).
2Cor.
5:6 Therefore we are
always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we
are absent from the Lord:
whilst
we are...
While we live in the body we are in our temporary home and absent
from the eternal home with the Lord.
This
body of flesh gets in the way of total fellowship with the Lord. This
world, or this body, should not be thought of as our permanent home.
We are just traveling through this earth on our way to the Promised
Land (heaven).
While we
are still in our body, we are attached to this earth. We are in the
earth. To live in heaven, we must leave this earthly dwelling place.
Just as the children of Israel had to leave Egypt type of the world,
before they could go to their Promised Land, we must leave this world
to get to our Promised Land. The Lord is inside of us, but to fully
enjoy fellowship with no boundaries, we would have to be with Him at
the throne of God in Heaven.
are
at
home
(ἐνδημοῦντες)
Ἑν
in,
δῆμος
people.
Only in this chapter. To be among one's own people, and not to travel
abroad.
absent
from the... Paul was not saying he had absolutely no contact, because
there is prayer, the indwelling Spirit, and fellowship through the
Word. Paul was simply expressing a heavenly homesickness, a strong
yearning to be at home with his Lord.
we
are absent
(ἐκδημοῦμεν)
Lit.,
we
live
abroad.
Only in this chapter. Compare Phlp. 1:23; 3:20; Heb. 11:13; 13:14.
There is a play upon the words which might be expressed by at
home,
from
home.
This
seems plain enough, but we must remember that the confidence which
Paul has been expressing in the first verse is meant to meet the very
case in which this desire is not gratified, the case in which death
has to be encountered, and the tabernacle taken down. If this should
befall us, he says, we have another body awaiting us, far better than
that which we leave, and hence we are confident. The confidence which
this hope inspires would naturally, we think, be most perfect, if in
the very act of dissolution the new body were assumed; if death were
the initial stage in the transformation scene in which all that is
mortal is swallowed up by life; if it were, not the ushering of the
Christian into a condition of "nakedness," which, temporary
though it be, is a mere blank to the mind and imagination, but his
admission to celestial life; if to be absent from the body were
immediately, and in the fullest sense of the words, the same thing as
to be at home with the Lord. This is, in point of fact, the sense in
which the passage is understood by a good many scholars, and those
who read it so find in it a decisive turning-point in the Apostle’s
teaching on the last things. In the First Epistle to the
Thessalonians, they say, and indeed in the First to the Corinthians
also, Paul’s eschatology was still essentially Jewish. The
Christian dead are οι
κοιμωμενοι, or οι κοιμηθεντες
those that sleep; nothing definite is said of their condition; only
it is implied that they do not get the incorruptible body till Jesus
comes again and raises them from the dead. In other words, those who
die before the Parousia have the soul-chilling prospect of an unknown
term of nakedness. Here this terror is dispelled by the new
revelation made to the Apostle, or the new insight to which he has
attained: there is no longer any such interval between death and
glory; the heavenly body is assumed at once; the state called
κοιμασθαι
being asleep vanishes from the future. Sabatier and Schmiedel, who
adopt this view, draw extreme consequences from it. It marks an
advance, according to Schmiedel, of the highest importance. The
religious postulate of an uninterrupted communion of life with
Christ, violated by the conception of a κοιμασθαι,
or falling asleep, is satisfied; Christ’s descent from heaven, and
a simultaneous resurrection and judgment, become superfluous;
judgment is transferred to the moment of death, or rather to the
process of development during life on earth; and, finally, the place
of eternal blessedness passes from earth (the Jewish and early
Christian opinion, probably shared by Paul, as he gives no indication
of the contrary) to heaven. All this, it is further pointed out, is
an approximation, more or less close, to the Greek doctrine of the
immortality of the soul, and may even have been ex-cogitated in part
under its influence; and it is at the same time a half-way house
between the Pharisaic eschatology of First Thessalonians and the
perfected Christian doctrine of a passage like John
5:24 :
"Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth Him
that sent Me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but
hath passed out of death into life."
With
this perspective Paul could be confident
(2Cor. 5:6, 5:8; cf. 2Cor. 7:16) and encouraged (cf. 2Cor. 4:1,
4:16), even in his period of mortality. These verses (2Cor. 5:6-8)
recapitulate the theme first discussed in 2Cor. 4:16-18. To be at
home in the body
means to dwell in the earthly tent (2Cor. 5:1), to be outwardly
wasting away (2Cor. 4:16), to be in a state of mortality away
from the
immediate presence of the Lord
(cf. 1Cor. 13:12).
What
sustained Paul was the realization that this was a temporary and
transitory state (2Cor. 4:18). He focused not on present but on
future conditions, not on the seen but the unseen.
2Cor.
5:8 We are confident, I say,
and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with
the Lord.
We
are confident... When we leave this body of flesh, we are instantly
in heaven with the Lord in our spiritual body. Jesus told the thief
on the cross that today he would be with Him in Paradise. Jesus
dismissed His Spirit from His body and commanded it to go to the
Father. Both the Spirit of Jesus and the spirit of the thief
instantly went to paradise/heaven, when they left their bodies of
flesh.
Revelation
2:7 "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the
tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."
The Tree
of Life (Jesus), is in heaven with God. Paradise is now in heaven.
are
willing
(εὐδοκοῦμεν)
The
translation might well be made stronger as well as more literal: we
are
well-pleased.
to
be absent...
To die and
be absent from the body means we go to heaven to be with the Lord
(Phlp. 1:21-24; Heb. 12:23; Jas. 2:26; Rev. 6:9-11). This is proof
that the inner man does not go to the grave at death, but to heaven
if one is righteous. If one is wicked he goes to hell awaiting the
resurrection of his body (Luke 16:19-31, see; Rev. 20:11-15).
to
be absent - present
(ἐκδημῆσαι
-
ἐνδημῆσαι)
The
same verbs as in 2Cor. 5:6: to be from
home, at
home.
great
white throne, and him that sat on it
Three
of Seven Judgments of Scripture
1.
Judgment of believers’ sins in the cross of Christ (John 12:31-32)
(1)
Subjects: believers as to sin (Rom. 6:10; Heb. 9:25-28)
(2)
Time: on the cross (John 3:14; 1Pet. 2:24; John 17:4)
(3)
Place: Calvary (Luke 23:33; John 19:1-42)
(4)
Basis: Christ’s perfect work (John 3:16; 5:24; Rom. 6:8)
(5)
Result: death to Christ; life to believers (Rom. 4:1-24; 5:1-21;
8:1-16)
2.
Believers’ self-judgment throughout life (1Cor. 11:31-32)
(1)
Subjects: believers walking in the the light (1Jhn. 1:7)
(2)
Time: every day (Rom. 6:16-23; 8:1-13; Eph. 4:22-32; Col. 3:5-17)
(3)
Place: in the earth (Rom. 8:1-16; Heb. 12:5-11)
(4)
Basis: obedience to God and His Word (Jas. 1:22-25)
(5)
Result: chastisement or approval from God (Heb. 12:5-11)
In
the First Epistle to the Thessalonians, they say, and indeed in the
First to the Corinthians also, Paul’s eschatology was still
essentially Jewish. The Christian dead are οι
κοιμωμενοι,
or οι
κοιμηθεντες
those that sleep; nothing definite is said of their condition; only
it is implied that they do not get the incorruptible body till Jesus
comes again and raises them from the dead. In other words, those who
die before the Parousia have the soul-chilling prospect of an unknown
term of nakedness. Here this terror is dispelled by the new
revelation made to the Apostle, or the new insight to which he has
attained: there is no longer any such interval between death and
glory; the heavenly body is assumed at once; the state called
κοιμασθαι
being asleep vanishes from the future.
It
is to live in light of ultimate rather than immediate realities (cf.
Rom. 8:24-25), to be obedient to God’s commands despite the
hardships that obedience produces (e.g., 2Cor. 11:23-29). Such was
Paul’s life. If the choice were his, he would have seized the
opportunity to depart this pilgrimage life and take up residence be
at
home
with
the Lord
(Phlp. 1:21-23). But the constraints of his commission caused him to
press on (cf. Phlp. 1:24; Eph. 3:1-13).
Rev.
1:18 I
am he
that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore,
Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
I
am he...
This identifies the person to be Christ (Acts 2:25-36; 1Cor. 15:1-23;
Col. 2:14-17; Eph. 2:14-15; John 21:14).
Jesus
is explaining here. He is the same one who took on the form of flesh
and died on the cross for our sins.
The
third time to show Himself to the majority of apostles (John 20:19,
20:26; 21:1-14). It was the seventh appearance since the
resurrection.
The
Twelve Appearances of Christ:
1.
To Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9; John 20:15-16)
2.
To the women at the tomb (Mat. 28:9)
3.
To two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-31)
4.
To Peter (Luke 24:34; 1Cor. 15:5)
5.
To the ten apostles (John 20:19)
6.
To the eleven apostles (John 20:26)
7.
To the seven apostles (John 21:1-22; this was after the second
Sunday)
8.
To the eleven apostles on a certain mountain in Galilee (Mat. 28:16)
9.
To the twelve apostles, including Matthias (1Cor. 15:5; Acts 1:26)
10.
To five hundred brethren (1Cor. 15:6)
11.
To James, the Lord’s brother (1Cor. 15:7; Gal. 1:19)
12.
To all the apostles (1Cor. 15:7; Mark 16:19-20; Luke 24:50-53; Acts
1:3-12, 1:26).
We
read (in Romans 10), what we must do to be saved.
Rom.
10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved."
This is
interesting.
We must
not only believe who He is and that He saved us, but we must believe
that He rose from the grave.
His body
is what died and rose again.
Jesus,
when He descended into hades, took the keys of hell away from the
devil. When He arose, He did away with death.
Death
was the last enemy to be done away with.
The
devil cannot put anyone in hell.
Jesus is
the only one who can do that.
Jesus
has the key. No one can enter, or exit, without Him.
We will
read later how Jesus locks the devil up for 1000 years.
Jesus is
the Judge.
The
only ones Jesus will put in hell are the devil, the devil's angels,
and those who reject Him. When Jesus said I am He that liveth, it is
life forevermore.
Death
and Hades are essentially synonyms, but death is the condition and
Hades, equivalent to the Old Testament Sheol, the place of the dead
(see note on 20:13).
Christ
decides who lives, who dies, and when.
Jesus
Christ, as the absolute living one, He has life in Himself, He is
life, He is our source of life, and He has control of everything, in
heaven, earth, and hell.
He
called Lazarus' life back into him.
Jesus
brought many souls out of hades when He preached there.
Jesus is
Life. He controls our destiny.
We
choose (He controls), either heaven or hell eternally.
Keys
of hell and of death.
Keys signify power and authority (Rev.
3:7; Mat. 16:19; 18:18; Isa. 22:22).
thee
the keys of the kingdom of heaven,
not to Peter only, for the same power is promised all believers (Mat.
17:20; 18:18; 21:22; Mark 9:23; 11:22-24; 16:15-20; Luke 10:19; John
14:12-15; 15:7, 15:16; Acts 1:4-8; 2:38-39; 5:32; 1Cor. 12:1-31).
keys
of the kingdom of heaven,
keys are a symbol of authority (Isa. 22:22; Rev. 3:7). Here they mean
authority and power to do the works of Christ (Mat. 18:18; 16:15-20;
John 14:12-15). Whatever He bound and loosed is the true idea.
bind
on earth shall be bound in heaven
Binding
1.
Men with chains (Mat. 12:29; 14:3; 22:13; Mark 5:3; Acts 9:2, 9:14,
9:21)
2.
Tares in bundles (Mat. 13:30)
3.
Men by Satan’s power (Luke 13:16)
4.
Men with obligations (Acts 20:22)
5.
Men in marriage bonds (Rom. 7:2; 1Cor. 7:27, 7:39)
6.
Satan and angels in chains (Rev. 9:14; 20:2)
7.
Animals in chains (Mat. 21:2)
8.
Men by God’s power (Mat. 16:19; 18:18)
loose
on earth shall be loosed in heaven
Loosing
1.
Infirmities (Luke 13:12-16; Mark 7:35)
2.
Satan and angels from chains (Rev. 9:14; 20:3, 20:7)
3.
Men from chains and prison (Acts 16:26; 22:30; 24:26)
4.
Men from sin (Rev. 1:5)
5.
Men from bonds of death (Acts 2:24)
6.
Marriage bonds (1Cor. 7:27)
7.
Satanic powers (1Jhn. 3:8)
8.
Animals (Mark 11:2-4)
9.
Earth from bondage and the curse (2Pet. 3:10-13; Rom. 8:21)
10.
Men by God’s power (Mat. 16:19; Mat. 18:18).
One
can see from these examples of binding and loosing that it means more
than declaring something lawful or unlawful by preaching. It also
means to confirm the truth by power as Christ and the apostles did.