[CS-FSLUG] Correction of misinterpretation.

[Fred A. Miller]

An Orthodox perspective on the TWO, ONLY TWO, eternal destinies, and the
possible price for distortion of the scriptures.

Beloved in Christ,

Anyone who's going to promote a belief based on the Book of Revelation
should heed the warning at Rev 22:18-19, which refers specifically to
the Book of Revelation. Distorting anything in the message contained in
it or promoting a distortion of it--even through ignorance--puts one's
very salvation at risk (see Dt 4:2; 12:32; Gal 1:8-9). Therefore,
theological speculation about the interpretation of the Book of
Revelation could be hazardous to one's spiritual health: if you don't
know what a passage means, leave it alone instead of guessing or
concocting theories.

Contrary to what was asserted, the Bible teaches that there are only two
eternal destinies. One of the principles of biblical interpretation is
that, since all of Scripture is inerrant, no passage of Scripture can be
interpreted in a way that contradicts another passage of Scripture.
Since the rest of the Scriptures clearly teach that there are only two
eternal destinies, Rev 22:11 can't be interpreted as teaching that there
are three. This is especially true in this case because, only a few
verses later (vv 14-15), St John makes a clear distinction between the
two destinies: the eternal state of the blessed and that of the damned
(see 21:8)--the pure in Christ enter the Kingdom, but the impure are
outside ("dogs" refers to the impure--see Dt 23:18-19; Phil 3:2; II Pet
2:22).

Since a second principle of biblical interpretation is that more clear
passages of Scripture are used to clarify less clear passages, and we
have established that there are only two eternal destinies, we can now
properly interpret Rev 22:11, relying on a third principle of biblical
interpretation: passages of Scripture must be interpreted in context.
Through St John, Jesus begins Rev 22:10 with the command not to "seal
the words of the prophesy," which is a reversal (see 10:4 and Dan 8:26;
12:4, 9), and then He gives the reason for the reversal in a phrase that
is the key to understanding v 11, "for the time is at hand," which means
that the message which follows is for the contemporary communities to
whom St John's Revelation is addressed. Therefore, the proper
interpretation of Rev 22:11 is that, at the time St John is writing to
those communities, some of their members are unable to repent--those who
still persist in their wickedness (see Is 6:9-10; Ezk 3:27; Dan 12:1-;
Mk 4:12)--but St John encourages the others--the "righteous"--to
remain steadfast because Divine recompense (Is 40:10; Jer 17:6) will be
visited on the earth soon (v 12). Maranatha--"Even so, come, Lord Jesus"
(v 20).

Pax et bonum.

-- 
"Politicians and diapers need to be changed
regularly -- and for the same reason."