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What Is The Super-Sign Of The Coming Antichrist In Revelation 13? And Is The COVID-19 Vaccine The Mark
What is the Super-Sign of the Coming Antichrist in Revelation 13? And Is the COVID-19 Vaccine the Mark of the Beast?
By Author Eli Kittim
The First Beast of Revelation 13: The Antichrist
Given that Revelation 13 mainly features the political leader whom we call the Antichrist, and his prophesied final empire, this article will only deal with the first beast (the political figure), not the second (the religious figure). The latter subject has been treated elsewhere on my blog.
Russia is the Beast with Seven Heads and Ten Horns
The key words of the prologue are: θηρίον ἀναβαῖνον, ἔχον κέρατα δέκα, καὶ κεφαλὰς ἑπτά (Rev. 13.1). That’s the notorious beast with 7 heads and 10 horns. Most Biblical studies indicate that this is Russia. Based on Daniel 7.19-22 and Revelation 17.9-13 no other country except Russia can claim to be the 7th successive world-empire after Babylon, which comprised 10 rulers of the Soviet Union.
(For further details on why Russia is the 7th empire with 10 kings see my article “Nostradamus and the Bible Seemingly Predict the Coming of Putin”: https://eli-kittim.tumblr.com/post/623534877070016512/nostradamus-and-the-bible-seemingly-predict-the).
The Super-Sign: Russian Ruler Will Come Back from the Dead
As we continue with Revelation 13’s account, it notes that the first beast had the feet of a bear (ἄρκου v. 2), which is the modern symbol of Russia. In verse 3 we are told in no uncertain terms that the dragon (Satan) gave the political leader of this nation (“him”; αὐτοῦ v. 1-2) his power and his throne, as well as great authority (ἐξουσίαν μεγάλην)! So, even though it speaks of an empire, Revelation 13 repeatedly talks of its leader as a person (αὐτοῦ), using the personal pronoun αὐτός, meaning “he.” Based on my extensive eschatological studies, this person will be the leader of Russia, during the Great Tribulation, who will rule a one-world government (v. 7) for 42 months (v. 5) or three and a half years!
Next, verse 3 tells us that he will die. In fact, he will be killed (ἐσφαγμένην v.3) by a sword (τὴν πληγὴν τῆς μαχαίρης v. 14). But he will also be miraculously resurrected, and the world will marvel at that event (ἡ πληγὴ τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ ἐθεραπεύθη, καὶ ἐθαυμάσθη ὅλη ἡ γῆ v.3). This will be the turning point or the super-sign of his rise to fame. The result is that every one on the planet will worship Satan, who gave his authority to the beast, but they will also worship the beast as well for his tremendous powers (v. 4, 12). They’ll worship him as a god, asking a rhetorical question: “Who is as great as the beast?” … “Who is able to fight against him?” (Rev. 13.4 NLT).
The Worship of Antichrist and the Tightening of his Grip on Power
He will speak of great things but will also blaspheme God, his name, his temple, as well as the heavenly host (v. 6). Then he will be successful in a sort of ethnic cleansing campaign in which he will exterminate the sacred or holy people and their religion, and will subsequently rule over every tribe, people, tongue, and nation (v. 7). In fact, all the inhabitants of the earth will worship him, at least all those who are not regenerated in Christ (v. 8). This is the same time period when imprisonments, executions, and divided loyalties (even among family members)——which Matthew 24.8-13 predicts——will occur (v. 10).
This is precisely why Matthew 24 repeatedly warns of deception, namely, of messianic figures who will claim to be the Christ, producing “great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect” (Mt 24.4-5, 11, 23-26 NRSV). Let’s face it, who could resist admiring, if not worshiping, someone who just came back from the dead?
The Mark of the Beast
Revelation chapter 13 verse 16 makes clear that the beast is able to rule the whole world, and control commerce and trade, through a mandatory mark that all must receive in order to buy, or sell, or hold a job (v. 17). This mark (χάραγμα) is like an identification-marker or a “brand-mark” of a person. The word χάραγμα itself suggests something similar to a branding iron that is pressed against livestock in order to leave an identifying mark. It’s something akin to a fingerprint or a tattoo. Something along those lines was recently developed by MIT, embedding a person’s vaccination history directly into the skin, using a dye that’s invisible to the naked eye but visible with a special cell-phone filter. Similarly, a needle puncture is also said to be a “mark” made by a pointed instrument.
Government Surveillance Within YourSelf
Due to our current pandemic crisis——the worldwide lockdowns, quarantines, the emergence of new COVID-19 variants that have appeared as a result of mass vaccination, according to French virologist Luc Montagnier (Nobel Prize in medicine), and the increasing government policies to vaccinate every single individual on the planet——the so-called “mark” can certainly take the form of a needle injection. Given that the COVID passports will eventually become unique individual profiles (replacing fingerprints), the vaccinations themselves will require data entries and updates, close monitoring, nanotechnology, follow-ups, and the like. In short, they will become our profiles that, hooked up to computers, will tell a government employee or a doctor all they need to know about us. Not to mention that they will have tracking devices to know exactly where you are at any given moment.
We already have nanotechnology, like scanning probe microscopes that comprise imaging, measuring, and generally manipulating matter at the smallest possible scale. For example, Lipid nanoparticles are an important component of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. They’re liposomes which employ nanotechnology and are used for the efficient delivery of various therapeutics. This technology is already available and in use! This is scary because it implies potential government surveillance not from without but rather from within your own body.
It is, first and foremost, a violation of the right to privacy, namely, that an individual’s private information must not be made public without their consent. With the emergence of technology, however, our personal information has already ended up in the databases of third parties, sold to the highest bidder, not to mention the possibility of being hacked. This nanotechnology also violates our constitutional rights. In fact, a mandatory vaccine with surveillance capability would constitute a violation of the right to a person’s privacy. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution explicitly states:
[t]he right of the people to be secure in
their persons, houses, papers, and effects,
against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated …
Social Conformity Imposed By Unethical Vaccinations
Not to mention that these vaccines are essentially unethical because they do not measure up to the medical guidelines for patient safety, which are best achieved by high standards and safety protocols. Rather, they were hastily distributed on the basis of “emergency use authorizations and approvals.” Typically, it takes at least 2 years for a vaccine to go through clinical trials in order to test its efficacy and adverse reactions. In the case of the current vaccines, it was several months. Moreover, if a potential vaccine kills 25 to 50 people, at most, it is discarded as unsafe. However, the current vaccines have killed over 4,000 people already and yet people continue to propagate fake news about its successes. Despite the adverse reactions——deaths, blood-clots, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, facial swelling & paralysis, myocarditis, severe anaphylaxis, and other medical concerns and complications that have put a halt to some vaccines, at least for a time——nevertheless they are relentlessly promoted as if they are wonder drugs and super-safe. And instead of years of testing and academic peer-review, they have been authorized for use on very short notice. That’s why if you decide to get vaccinated you’ll be asked to sign a consent form (i.e. a Waiver of Liability Agreement) so that they have “in writing” your consensual participation in an experimental drug, indicating that you fully understand the risks of the vaccine, which is authorized under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).
Meanwhile, other cures like hydroxychloroquine (whose side effects are very mild by comparison) have been banned in the US. The stakeholders have conveniently banned this significantly safer treatment in order that you succumb to the vaccinations that are being aggressively imposed on you. And even when credible doctors, like Dr. Peter McCullough (Doctor of Internal Medicine & Board certified Cardiologist), voice their genuine concerns, they are usually censored and ostracised by the fake news media.
Vaccine Passports As a Form of Allegiance: the Initial Phase of Globalist Control
I’m not, by any means, suggesting that the COVID-19 vaccines are, in and of themselves, the mark of the beast. But I am warning that these soon-to-be-mandatory vaccines, and their associated passports, will be *used* by the Antichrist to control world commerce and trade in the near future. In other words, it’s not just social conformity and the subjugation of the masses by means of scare tactics with regard to a pandemic that is at stake, here, but, more importantly, the implantation of a digital vaccine ID that will eventually become a form of *technological allegiance* (i.e. surrendering your mind and body) to the Antichrist’s one-world government, which will ultimately seal people’s fates. The regenerated Christians, however, will be divergent! In the globalist agenda, the vaccine passports are simply the first phase of government conformity and allegiance!
Conclusion
The super-sign of the Antichrist will be the miraculous *resurrection* of a prominent figure, most probably a Russian leader! That will be the ultimate sign that will give away the identity of the Antichrist. That’s the deception that the Bible warned us about in Mt 24 and 2 Thess. 2.4, 9-12. The person that will be resurrected from the dead is not the Christ. The difference is this: whereas the Antichrist’s resurrection will propel him to world domination, Christ’s resurrection will trigger the rapture.
Moreover, if by “the mark of the beast” we mean some type of technological allegiance to the one-world government of the Antichrist, without which you can neither buy or sell (Rev. 13.17), then a vaccine passport would certainly qualify as “the mark of the beast.” And I haven’t even discussed the House of Representatives bill 6666 that would authorize COVID-19 “contact tracing [surveillance technology?], through mobile health units and, as necessary, at individuals' residences, and for other purposes.” (see congress.gov: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6666/all-info).
Thus, the introduction of internal surveillance technology (i.e. wireless biomedical data transmission and real-time monitoring), as well as the reprogramming of our DNA via such gene-modification technology, could certainly herald the Biblical end-times! And the Antichrist will most certainly use the dramatic advances in the “Human Vaccines Project” to his advantage in order to facilitate his primary plan for world domination!
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A Response to Jon Bloom’s “Can I Follow My New Heart?”
By Biblical Researcher, Psychologist, & Award-Winning Author, Eli Kittim
In an article entitled “Can I Follow My New Heart?” (published July 1, 2021), which was posted on John Piper’s desiringGod website, Jon Bloom, staff writer of https://www.desiringgod.org/ writes:
When Christians are born again, we enter
into a lifelong internal war where ‘the
desires of the flesh are against the Spirit,
and the desires of the Spirit are against the
flesh, for these are opposed to each other,
to keep you from doing the things you want
to do’ (Galatians 5:17).
That is incorrect, inaccurate, and misleading. When Paul talks about the war within, between the flesh and the Spirit, he is referring to a *pre-regenerative* rather than a “post-regenerative” state of mind. This battle or war between the flesh and the Spirit is waged BEFORE “Christians are born again,” NOT after! After “Christians are born again” this battle ENDS! The War within ends, provided an *authentic-regeneration* has taken place (not simply a fake “rebirth” based on a profession of faith or an altar call) in which we have died to our selves in order to receive a new identity (Ephesians 4:22-24). There is no more internal struggle. Sin no longer reigns within. God is now on the throne of your heart and, instead of war, there is peace. Instead of bitterness and anger there is love and self-acceptance. Sin has not been completely eradicated. It’s still there. But it no longer dominates your mind and heart. So, the notion that we enter a battle or a war AFTER we are reborn is completely false. On the contrary, that’s when the battle, in a certain sense, ends for us and tranquility ensues.
Jon Bloom misinterprets both the authorial intent of the Biblical authors as well as the concept of authentic rebirth. He mistakenly employs certain Biblical quotes to suggest that they are referring to a condition AFTER rebirth, when in fact they are referring to a carnal mind PRIOR to regeneration. Thus, he misreads the following verses out-of-context:
their ‘passions are at war within’ them
(James 4:1). Peter warns his readers (and
us), ‘Do not be conformed to the passions
of your former ignorance’ (1 Peter 1:14).
Paul describes this internal experience of
warring passions as ‘wretched’ (Romans
7:24).
Finally, the fact that he’s been totally misreading and distorting the Biblical authors becomes apparent. He writes:
And he [Paul] admonishes the Colossian
Christians (and us) with strong language:
‘Put to death therefore what is earthly in
you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion,
evil desire, and covetousness, which is
idolatry’ (Colossians 3:5). Why did these
apostles feel the need to speak this way to
regenerated people? Because the hearts of
these regenerated people were not yet fully
free from the influence of their flesh, their
old selves.
Why would Paul say “put to death” all these vices to regenerated Christians who have already done just that and have died to sin? And if reborn, recreated Christians are “not yet fully free from the influence of their flesh” (i.e. “their old selves”), then that implies that Christ either lied or was confused when he said “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 NIV). No! It is Jon Bloom himself who is confused because in spite of what he writes, he nevertheless seems to acknowledge that after rebirth sin no longer dominates. He writes:
Paul lays the theological foundation of our
understanding by explaining ‘that our old
self was crucified with [Christ] in order that
[our] body of sin might be brought to
nothing, so that we would no longer be
enslaved to sin’ (Romans 6:6). Our new
selves were ‘raised with Christ’ (Colossians
3:1) so that ‘we too might walk in newness
of life’ (Romans 6:4). Therefore, we ‘must
consider [ourselves] dead to sin and alive to
God in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 6:11).
In sharp contrast to Jon Bloom’s overall message, Paul declares a radical change that has ALREADY occurred in the personality as a result of the *NEW BIRTH,* as well as a new way of being that is no longer dominated by sin or the carnal mind (Romans 8:1-2 ESV):
There is therefore now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of
the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ
Jesus from the law of sin and death.
I therefore take issue with the notion of *regeneration* as an “internal war” between the flesh and the Spirit in which we “are not yet fully free.”
For a comparative reading, see the undermentioned link:
“Can I Follow My New Heart?” (Article by Jon Bloom, Staff writer, desiringGod website): https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/can-i-follow-my-new-heart?fbclid=IwAR0SjG4T6TVZN8TVuB0Sjt-10zS5UnRy05rxjPd00YiVWcixmVCR6dm3EW0
——-
Is Jesus a Jew?
By Author Eli Kittim
The term “Jew” means one of two things: either a “Jew” by religion, irrespective of one’s race, or a “Jew” by race, irrespective of one’s religion. The only category that can properly address Jesus’ *ancestry* is the second one, namely, a Jew by race, irrespective of one’s religion!
The term “Jew” is an abbreviation of the term “Judah” (Ioudaios” in Greek), and it implies a *descendant* from the tribe of *Judah.* There were only 2 tribes in the kingdom of Judah—-namely, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (Ezra 1:5)—-which alone, strictly speaking, represent the term “Jews.” Therefore, anyone who is from a different race/region cannot be technically called a “Jew.” Case in point: Jesus is a *Galilean* (Mk 1:9; Mt. 3:13; 4:15-17; 21:11), not a Judaean! It is well known amongst Biblical scholars and archaeologists that Galilee was heavily influenced by Greek culture. The scholar & Oxford classicist G.A. Williamson states that Galilee “was entirely Hellenistic in Sympathy.” He says that all of these facts are well-known to Christian scholars, yet they insist that “Christ was a Jew”. John’s gospel 7:41-43 confirms that Christ is from Galilee of the Gentiles, which infuriates the Jews because Jesus defies Jewish messianic expectations. John 7:52 describes the Jews’ rejection of a Gentile Messiah, when saying, “Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee” (cf. Mt 4:15-16)!
The gospel genealogies prove nothing with respect to Jesus’ ethnicity. According to Bible scholar Bart Ehrman, the genealogies of Matthew & Luke are contradictory and don’t give us any historical evidence. Not to mention that both are explicitly based on Joseph, who is NOT Jesus’ biological father. As Mike Licona asserts, these genealogies are compositionally more theological than historical. Bottom line, we cannot rely on them to give us the historical pedigree of Jesus.
Thus, according to the internal & external evidence, Jesus is not a Jew; he’s a **Gentile**!
——-
What language would Jesus have spoken?
According to Bart Ehrman, studies show that only 3% of the population was literate in the land of Israel in the first century c.e. One would have to be a highly literate scholar to understand Hebrew, the language of the Scriptures. Most Bible scholars assume that the common language of the people was Aramaic. Thus, they conclude that Jesus would have spoken Aramaic.
That may have been the case in Palestine centuries earlier, but, largely due to the influences of the Hasmonaeans and the Herods, it appears as if Aramaic had entered a period of decline during the time of Jesus. The notion that Jesus spoke Aramaic has recently been challenged by Greek New Testament linguists (see Stanley E. Porter, “Did Jesus Ever Teach in Greek?”, Tyndale Bulletin 44.2 [1993] 199-235 https://tyndalebulletin.org/article/30458-did-jesus-ever-teach-in-greek.pdf Bart Ehrman himself admits that he’s not sure if Paul (Jesus’ contemporary) knew Aramaic. And there’s no archaeological evidence to support Aramaic as the dominant language in first century Palestine, especially in Galilee. The Herodian coinage is inscribed exclusively in Greek, not Aramaic. Currency is a good indicator of the language of a nation. African currencies are in African languages. Similarly, the currencies of the UK & the US are in English, and so on and so forth. In other words, you cannot have a currency in one language and a verbal communication in another (e.g. a national currency inscribed in Greek within an Aramaic speaking community is a contradiction in terms).
https://href.li/?https://tyndalebulletin.org/article/30458-did-jesus-ever-teach-in-greek.pdf
What is more, only 12% of the Dead Sea Scrolls were written in Aramaic! Remember that the community at Qumran fled the metropolitan areas that had become more or less Hellenized. So, the Essenes represent only a tiny fraction of the population that kept the traditions alive, including the Aramaic works. Moreover, the entire New Testament was originally written in Greek, not Aramaic, signifying the widespread use of Greek in first century Palestine. There is important literary evidence to substantiate this view. For example, the historian Flavius Josephus wrote in Greek, which is also the language of the Septuagint!
The internal evidence supports this view. For example, the literary Jesus supposedly speaks Aramaic "Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani?" and no one seems to understand him. They thought he was calling Elijah. If Aramaic was the everyday language of the people they would’ve understood what Jesus meant.
Which languages did Pilate write on the inscription above the cross? Was Aramaic one of them? No! In what language did Jesus converse with Pilate? How many languages did Pilate know? Greek and Latin. So was the conversation between them in Aramaic? Most definitely not! And, according to Bart Ehrman, there is no indication that they used an interpreter. Thus, the *literary narratives* of the New Testament also suggest that Jesus would have spoken Greek!
——-
How Did God Inspire the Biblical Authors?
By Goodreads Author Eli Kittim
Our Teacher Should Be the Holy Spirit
Before I venture out to expound on how Biblical “inspiration” occurs, it’s important to first say a few words about who determines the “meaning” of a text. In other words, where should we get our “hermeneutic” from? Should we draw it from our personal responses? Or should we conform to what the scholars say? But isn’t that still speculation and conjecture either way? Yes, it is! And it could be totally wrong, even if it’s a long-held consensus held by leading scholars! So what determines the meaning of a text? Is it Bible-study tools? No because they only give us a partial understanding. The short answer is: the Holy Spirit! Just as the Holy Spirit is responsible for “inspiring” the Biblical authors, so it is also responsible for communicating the “meaning” to its “recipients.” However, its recipients are not just anyone. They are neither those who openly profess to be “reborn” Christians nor those who post Facebook memes, “Repent or Go to Hell.” Rather, they’re the true, authentic Christians who don’t show off and hardly ever talk about their status as saved believers. Unbeknownst to the Cessationists, they hear from God “directly.” And they can interpret the Bible not based on current theological trends or methods of exegesis but on the word of the Spirit! So, they are “in the know.” Ideally, this is where the meaning of Scripture should come from! Bible-study tools won’t reveal these meanings no matter how sophisticated they might be. Now, let’s get back to the concept of Biblical “inspiration.”
Can the Bible Limit What God Can and Cannot Do?
There are many modern Biblical interpreters who hold to a form of “Pelagianism.” In ancient times, the Pelagian heresy comprised the Christian theological position that the human will alone is capable of choosing the good without the assistance of grace or any divine aid. Even Jesus’ salvific atonement becomes ultimately irrelevant in this view. These people, and I have met quite a few of them, don’t believe that the Spirit plays any significant role in our salvation. According to them, all we need to do is to follow the external dictates of the Bible. In this view, the Bible replaces God and thus becomes God-like, so to speak. Besides contradicting large portions of the New Testament, this position is also heretical in another way because it presents a counterfeit Christianity; that is to say, it presents the exact opposite of what authentic salvation truly consists of. It rejects inward spiritual experiences that lead to true “union” with God and promotes only an external form of obedience to rules and regulations. Jesus himself explains that such people don’t know God; they have neither heard from him nor do they know his “word”:
“You have never heard his voice or seen his
form, and you do not have his word abiding
in you, because you do not believe him
whom he has sent” (Jn 5.27-38).
Jesus nails it. Their erroneous doctrine is based on disbelief. In essence, they don’t even believe in Jesus. He goes on to say:
“You search the Scriptures because you
think that in them you have eternal life; it is
these that testify about Me” (Jn 5.39).
So, for them, the Bible has supplanted the Godhead and has become their “god.” It’s no longer God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit who holds sway but rather the Bible per se and nothing but the Bible. That’s a form of idol-worship where “a means to an end” has suddenly become an end in itself! The King-James Only cult is a case in point!
The Dictation Theory
What is more, as far as Biblical inspiration is concerned, most modern scholars typically say that the Holy Spirit did not give the New Testament authors each and every word by dictation. To which I say, why not? They try desperately to fit in with the modern-secular, liberal culture that does not believe in supernatural phenomena and mocks all forms of divine communications. And yet, according to the Bible, these communications do exist (see 2 Tim. 3:16–17)!
The Bible stands or falls on the presence or absence of these divine communications. What ever happened to the Old Testament declaration: “Thus says the LORD”? Why water it down? Why dilute it to make it more palatable to the masses? Either God communicates with the human family or he doesn’t. In other words, either the Bible is the word of God or it isn’t. It’s that simple. By comparison, you’re either pregnant or you’re not. There’s no in between. Either God directly spoke to Isaiah and to Jeremiah or he didn’t. If he did, the Bible is transcribing divine communications. If he didn’t, then the Bible is the word of man. But if God indeed spoke to Isaiah, why couldn’t he equally speak to the Biblical authors, giving them the precise words audibly? After all, the authors themselves claimed to have heard God speak, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt. 3.17). Besides, Jesus himself openly declares:
“For I did not speak on my own, but the
Father who sent me commanded me to say
all that I have spoken” (Jn 12.49).
If God has spoken directly in Isaiah 6.7, Jeremiah 26.2, Ezek. 28.2, John 2.1, 8, and also through Jesus (Jn 12.49), why wouldn’t he speak directly to the Biblical authors as well? It’s akin to when “Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll at Jeremiah's dictation all the words of the Lord that he had spoken to him” (Jer. 36.4).
The Dictation Theory Has Been Greatly Misunderstood
The reason most scholars don’t accept the dictation theory is because it seems to suggest that the Holy Spirit inscribed the words of Scripture through the agency of human authors who were somehow under God’s full control, in a state of passivity (perhaps in a trance), in which God dictated each and every word with perfect accuracy. In other words, scholars totally mischaracterize this communication process, as if they’re talking about zombies, automatons, people half-asleep, on sodium pentothal, under hypnosis, somnambulism, or the walking dead. In other words, the dictation theory has often been mistaken for the mechanical view of inspiration, such as automatic writing, and the like.
This mischaracterization and distortion stems from the fact that these scholars don’t yet fully understand what salvation really is, that is to say, what the relationship of the regenerated person to God consists of. Actually, by default, a regenerated person is already under the control of God, so that they don’t have to pass out or become an automaton in order to hear God’s voice. In other words, God communicates with them naturally, without restriction or interference, via a form of interpersonal communication while they are physically and cognitively stable, completely aware, and fully conscious! Therefore, the authentic, born-again Christians are already under God’s control and don’t need altered states of consciousness in order to hear God’s voice. Given that they are already sons of God (Jn 1.12-13), “born of the Spirit” of God (Jn 3.5-6), they hear God all the time (Jn 10.14, 27, 28)!
Stylistic Differences May Reflect the Source Rather Than the Authors
As for the argument pertaining to the stylistic differences between the New Testament authors, which suggests a variety of different personalities at work——consequently ruling out the possibility of verbatim-dictation from a single source——my reply is, why couldn’t the “stylistic differences” reflect the source rather than the authors? In other words, perhaps the texts reflect the Spirit itself——setting the context and content in various ways within the different compositions——rather than the individual personalities of the authors. After all, Heb. 1.1 says that “God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets.” That’s why we can find verbal agreements between disparate texts. For example, we read in the Old Testament narrative of Exodus 34.29 that Moses’ “face shone” (Hb. qaran; meaning “shine”) and then, lo and behold, we find the exact same equivalent words used in the Greek New Testament (Matthew 17.2) to say that Jesus’ “face shone” (Gk. ἔλαμψεν; meaning “shine”). Two completely different authors with completely different writing styles and languages, writing from two completely different time periods and locations, with over 1,000 years separating the two texts, and yet we find verbal agreements! Why? Same source; same Spirit dictating the exact same words through different languages and styles. Such verbal agreements and parallels abound in Scripture. Otherwise, if it was left up to each and every individual author to write whatever they wanted, then it would obviously be the word of man and should not be accepted as the word of God.
Biblical Interpretation Should Be Based Entirely on Biblical Inspiration
Furthermore, Biblical interpretation should be based entirely on the Spirit, not on guess-work. Being partly-right doesn’t cut it because it implies that we may also be partly-wrong. Either we know what’s going on or we don’t:
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide
you into all the truth; for he will not speak on
his own, but will speak whatever he hears,
and he will declare to you the things that
are to come [ἐρχόμενα]” (Jn 16.13).
In other words, those who are indwelt by the Spirit walk by the Spirit and are constantly informed by the Spirit who guides them “into all the truth.”
Conclusion
Therefore, based on the aforementioned reasons, it seems indisputable that the Spirit of God inspired the Biblical authors by giving them each and every word by dictation. For God speaks to us directly, but only those who belong to him can actually hear his voice. The following quote demonstrates that Scripture (which is almost entirely prophetic) was not left to the discretion of the individual authors but that the authors were “carried along by the Holy Spirit” when they “spoke from God”:
“for no prophecy was ever produced by the
will of man, but men carried along by the
Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Pet. 1.21).
——-
Does God Create Evil?: Answering the Calvinists
By Award-Winning Author Eli Kittim
——-
Calvinism Has Confused God's Foreknowledge With His Sovereignty
Dr. R.C. Sproul once said:
There is no maverick molecule if God is
sovereign.
That is to say, if God cannot control the smallest things we know of in the universe, such as the subatomic particles known as “quarks,” then we cannot trust him to keep His promises. But just because God set the universe in motion doesn’t mean that every detail therein is held ipso facto to be caused by him. God could still be sovereign and yet simultaneously permit the existence of evil and free will. This is not a contradiction (see Compatibilism aka Soft determinism). It seems that Calvinism has confused God’s foreknowledge with his sovereignty.
Calvinists often use Bible verses out-of-context to support the idea that God is partial: that he plays favorites with human beings. They often quote Exodus 33.19b (ESV):
I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious,
and will show mercy on whom I will show
mercy.
But the only thing that this verse is saying is that God’s grace is beyond human understanding, not that God is partial and biased (cf. Rom. 11.33-34). By contrast, the parable of the vineyard workers (Mt 20.1–16) promotes equality between many different classes of people. One interpretation of this parable would be that late converts to Christianity earn equal rewards along with early converts, and there need be no jealousy among the latter. This can be understood on many different levels. For example, one could view the early laborers as Jews who may resent the Gentile newcomers for being treated as equals by God. Some seem to get more rewards, others less, depending on many factors unbeknownst to us. But the point of the parable is that God is fair. No one gets cheated. However, in Calvinism, God is not fair. He does as he pleases. He creates evil and chooses who will be saved and who will be lost. This view is more in line with the capricious gods of Greek mythology than with the immutable God of the Bible.
That’s why Calvinism speaks of limited atonement. Christ’s atoning death is not for everyone, but only for a select few. You cannot look an atheist in the eye and tell them that Christ died for you. You’d be lying because, according to Calvinism, he may not have died for them. So the story goes...
But that’s a gross misinterpretation. Romans 8.29-30 doesn’t say that at all. It’s NOT saying that God used his powers indiscriminately to influence Individuals in some cases, but not in others. Nor does it follow that God played favorites and decided at the outset that some will be saved, and others not (tough luck, as it were). Not at all. All it says is that God can *foresee* the future!
God doesn’t CAUSE everything to happen as it does, but he does SEE what will happen. So, insofar as God was able to “see” who would eventually submit to his will (and who would not), one could say that God “foreknew” him. In Romans 8.29, the Greek term προέγνω comes from the word προγινώσκω (proginóskó), which means “to know beforehand” or to “foreknow.” It doesn’t imply determinism, the notion that all events in history, including those of human action, are predetermined by extraneous causes, and that people have no say in the matter, and are therefore not responsible for their actions. It simply means to know beforehand. That’s all. Case in point, Isaiah, Daniel, and John the Revelator saw the future; but they didn’t cause it.
God would never have predestined some people to be eternally lost and some to be eternally saved. That would not be just. Similarly, Romans 8.29-30 is only referring to those individuals whom God “foreknew” (προέγνω) that would meet the conditions of his covenant, those are the same he predestined (προώρισεν), called (ἐκάλεσεν), justified (ἐδικαίωσεν), and glorified (ἐδόξασεν)! Otherwise, how could God have possibly predestined those who he foresaw that would NOT meet the conditions of his covenant?
The Greek term προώρισεν (proōrisen; predestined) is derived from the word προορίζω (proorizó), which means “to predetermine” or “foreordain.” In other words, those whom God could *foresee* in the future as being faithful, those same individuals he pre-approved to be conformed to the image of his son. So, by “predestination” God simply means that he’s “declaring the end from the beginning” (Isa. 46.9-10 NASB). It’s not as if God was the direct cause of their decision or free choice. He simply foresaw those who had already chosen to be conformed to the image of his son of their own accord. Notice that in Rom. 8.29 (Berean Literal Bible), the text says that BECAUSE God foreknew them, he predestined them. This means that the *foresight* came first. Since God could see the outcome, he “foreknew” who would be lost and who would be saved:
because those whom He foreknew, He also
predestined to be conformed to the image
of His Son.
——-
Does John Piper represent Biblical Christianity?
Theologian and pastor John Piper cites Acts 4.27-28 (ESV) to prove his point that God determines everything that happens:
for truly in this city there were gathered
together against your holy servant Jesus,
whom you anointed, both Herod and
Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and
the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your
hand and your plan had predestined to take
place.
Piper says, when you understand the complete sovereignty of God, that is to say, how he is behind everything, that he is implicated in every aspect of existence, you’ll go crazy. Why? This occurs, I suspect, because the person you thought was your best friend turns out to be your worst enemy. How can you trust him? Piper says,
He [God] governed the most wicked thing
that ever happened in the world, the
crucifixion of my savior.
Piper says that there is no randomness in the universe, and that God is behind the Tsunamis and everything else that occurs on our planet. That would imply that God is behind the earthquakes, the hurricanes, the train wrecks, the airplane crashes, the massacres, the terrorist attacks, the racist attacks, the rapes, the violent riots, the Holocaust, the Third Reich, the Manson murders, the serial killings, cannibalism, the world wars, the abortions, the beheadings, the heinous crimes, the shootings, beatings, & stabbings of the elderly, and the filicides and genocides of history. God’s behind it all. And if you contemplate this idea, it will drive you mad, says John Piper. So, in order to stay sane, he suggests that we focus on the Cross. We have to believe that God nevertheless loves us and that he was behind the murder of Jesus for our salvation. This will keep us safe from harm; from going mad, that is. Really?
In other words, God’s dictatorist regime or tyrannical authority works much like the Mafia, a secret organization or crime syndicate which controls everything from the street corner thugs to the highest levels of government. God is like a mafia boss who puts out a contract to “whack” somebody but, instead of killing him himself and taking the blame, he orders an underboss (Satan) to do his dirty work. In other words, he hires accomplices to kill people on his behalf because he’s such a coward that he doesn’t want to take the responsibility and do it himself, or to be seen as evil, yet he’s the real cause of everything, good and evil. A literal or fundamentalist interpretation of the Old Testament will no doubt lead to that conclusion (cf. Isa. 45.7). This is also the god of the Gnostics, the inferior creator-god (or demiurge) that was revealed through Hebrew scripture, who was responsible for all instances of falsehood and evil in the world!
But is this a sincere, honorable, and reliable person whom you could trust? Or is this a vile, dishonest, and despicable person who pretends to be something he is not? Does this god deserve our worship? Is he not a liar? Is this a truly loving, Holy God, or is he rather a cruel, deceitful, and merciless beast that hides behind a veneer of righteousness, much like the mafia bosses and the corrupt heads of state?
Then, after depicting a gruesome picture of a cold blooded killer-God who would order a hit on women and innocent children (cf. 1 Sam. 15.3), Piper cites Isa. 53.10:
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him
[christ] with pain.
He concludes:
Therefore the worst sin that was ever
committed was ordained by God.
Piper exclaims, “The answer is yes, he controls everything, and he does it for his glory and our good.” This is the God of Calvinism, fashioned from the pit of hell itself, which depicts God’s rule as a deep state or a totalitarian government, “A celestial North Korea,” in the words of the critic Christopher Hitchens.
What ever happened to the attribute of omnibenevolence, the doctrine that God is all-good, sans evil (cf. Ps 106.1; 135.3; Nah. 1.7; Mk 10.18)? Isaiah 65.16 calls him “the God of truth” (cf. Jn 17.17), while Titus 1.1-2 asserts that God “never lies.” Psalm 92.15 (NIV) declares:
The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and
there is no wickedness in him.
So, there seems to be a theological confusion in Calvinism about what God does and doesn’t do. Predestination is based on foreknowledge, not on the impulsive whims of a capricious deity. To “cause” is one thing; to “foreknow” is quite another.
At a deeper, philosophical level we’re talking about the problem of evil: who’s responsible for all the suffering and evil in the world? Piper would say, God is. Blame it on God. I would say that this teaching not only contradicts the Bible but also the attributes of God. If hell was prepared for the devil and his angels (Mt 25.41), and if God is held accountable for orchestrating everything, then the devil cannot be held morally responsible for all his crimes against humanity. Besides, doesn’t scripture say that Christ “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil”? (Acts 10.38 ESV). Yet, according to Calvinism, God not only creates evil but is himself ipso facto evil! Thus, neither John Piper nor Calvinism represent Biblical Christianity! Rather, this is an aberration, a contradiction, a false doctrine. 1 Timothy 4.1 (CEV) warns:
God's Spirit clearly says that in the last
days many people will turn from their faith.
They will be fooled by evil spirits and by
teachings that come from demons.
In the following video, a question was posed to Calvinist pastor John Piper:
Has God predetermined every detail in the
universe, including sin?
To which Piper replied:
YES!
Therefore, in Calvinism,
God has become Satan!
Polytheism Versus Monotheism
By Biblical Researcher and Award-Winning Author, Eli Kittim
——-
The First Cause
Some Bible critics have argued that there maybe other gods in the universe. However, the Bible itself claims that there’s only one God. Now, you may see that as circular reasoning but there are also valid philosophical arguments which demonstrate that there can only be one cause to the universe, to wit, a “first cause.” Philosophy does not posit a multiplicity of first causes but rather the existence of a single, first cause, just as other theosophical and spiritual traditions have also posited a single incorporeal first cause. Let’s not forget that we’re not talking about a genus, a multiplicity of “contingent” beings, but about the source of everything, a “necessary” being that is beyond time and space and beyond being. If there were two such beings, then neither of them would be god. There can only be one maximally great being that can exist in every possible world.
——-
The Cosmological Argument
Plato (c. 427–347 BCE), in the Timaeus dialogue, posited a "demiurge" of absolute intelligence as the creator of the universe. Plotinus, a 3rd century Neoplatonist philosopher from Alexandria, claimed that the “One” transcendent absolute caused the cosmos to come into being as a result of its existence (creatio ex deo). Proclus (412–485 CE), his disciple, later clarified that “The One is God.”
Similarly, according to Aristotle, the “unmoved mover” (Gk. ὃ οὐ κινούμενον κινεῖ, lit. “that which moves without being moved”) or “prime mover” is the main cause (or first uncaused cause) of all the motion in the cosmos but is not itself moved or caused by any previous action or causation. Notice that the so-called “first cause” arguments do not entail multiplicity or diversity but rather unity and oneness.
In other words, nothing can come into being from nothing. Think about everything you see around you: your house, your car, your phone, your computer, your clothes, your food, your furniture, your TV, your parents, your friends, even yourself. Everything comes from something else. And the further back you go in time, in trying to unravel what caused what, the more you realize that everything came from something else. Someone or something either designed it, produced it, formed it, or gave it birth. If there were 2 gods, we would have to ask who came first? Who brought the second god into being?
However, the cosmological argument necessarily presupposes a single cause, which itself was never caused, namely, a timeless being, capable of creating everything (i.e. all contingent beings). Otherwise, if there was no first “unmoved mover,” there would be an infinite regress of causal dependency ad infinitum. This “first cause” can therefore be inferred via the concept of causation. This is not unlike Leibniz’ “principle of sufficient reason” nor unlike Parmenides’ “nothing comes from nothing” (Gk. οὐδὲν ἐξ οὐδενός; Lat. ex nihilo nihil fit)! All these arguments demonstrate not only that there must be a “necessary” being that designed and sustained the universe, but also that there can only be “one” such being!
——-
The One God of the Old Testament
Epistemology is a philosophical branch that questions the conditions required for a belief to constitute knowledge. The possible sources of knowledge that could justify a belief are based on perception, memory, reason, and testimony. Thus, divine revelation, which was subsequently transcribed or inscripturated, would certainly qualify as “testimony.”
There are multiple passages in both Testaments of the Bible where God declares to be without a counterpart: without an equal. Similar to the “Absolute Being” of philosophy which is logically inferred as a single, first cause, the Old Testament clearly affirms the existence of only one God. So, the uniqueness of a single God can also be attested by Divine Revelation. Scripture is therefore a witness to the reality of God’s existence as being unparalleled and unique. For example, in Isaiah 44.6-7 (NRSV), God declares that there are no other gods in the universe except him. He exclaims:
I am the first and I am the last; besides me
there is no god. Who is like me? Let them
proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth
before me.
In Isaiah 42.8, God states that he doesn’t share his glory with anyone. He alone is God without equal or rival:
I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I
give to no other, nor my praise to idols.
Moreover, in Isaiah 43.10-11, God declares categorically and unequivocally that there were no gods formed before him, nor will there be any gods formed after him:
Before me no god was formed, nor shall
there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and
besides me there is no savior.
This truth is reiterated several times in Isaiah 45.18, 21:
For thus says the Lord, who created the
heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth
and made it (he established it; he did not
create it a chaos, he formed it to be
inhabited!): I am the Lord, and there is no
other.
There is no other god besides me, a
righteous God and a Savior; there is no one
besides me.
This assertion, of course, implies that there are not multiple gods that receive many different forms of religious worship but rather a single Godhead sans equal.
In Isaiah 46.9-10, God sets a unique standard against which all other theories are measured, namely, the fulfillment of prophecy. That is to say, no one else can predict the future except God himself:
I am God, and there is no other; I am God,
and there is no one like me, declaring the
end from the beginning and from ancient
times things not yet done.
Similarly, 2 Sam. 7.22 seems to attest to the truth of God’s oneness by way of divine revelation (cf. 2 Pet 1.18):
You are great, O Lord God; for there is no
one like you, and there is no God besides
you, according to all that we have heard
with our ears.
——-
The One God of the New Testament
When we turn to the Christian scriptures, we find the exact same theme concerning one God who reigns supreme above humanity and the heavenly host. At no point in Scripture is there any hint that there are other gods that exist beside the God of the Old and New Testaments. John 17.3, for instance, brings to bear the authority of Scripture on the matter by calling the source of all creation “the only true God.” Critics of the Trinity (who view it as polytheistic) should be rebuffed because in the Johannine gospel Jesus clearly establishes that there’s *one essence* between himself and God. He proclaims, “The Father and I are one” (10.30).
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity holds that God is one God, but three coeternal, consubstantial persons or hypostases—the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit—as "one God in three Divine Persons". The three Persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature" (homoousios). Paul the apostle also knows through direct revelations that “God is one” (Rom. 3.30). Paul understands that the Triune God is not equivalent to multiple gods but is rather a *monotheistic supreme deity* (1 Cor. 8.6 emphasis added):
there is ONE GOD, the Father, from whom
are all things and for whom we exist, and
one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are
all things and through whom we exist.
Colossians 1.15-16 explains that no other god or gods created the universe except God the Father (the source) through his Son (who is his image or reflection):
He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation; for in him all
things in heaven and on earth were created,
things visible and invisible, whether thrones
or dominions or rulers or powers—all things
have been created through him and for him.
1 Tim. 2.5 basically reiterates the exact same concept of the ONE GOD, not as 2 or 3 separate beings, but as ONE BEING (in multiple persons):
For there is one God; there is also one
mediator between God and humankind,
Christ Jesus, himself human.
Similarly, Hebrews 1.2-3 reveals the exact same *truth* regarding a single God and his Son, “through whom he also created the worlds”:
in these last days he [God] has spoken to
us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all
things, through whom he also created the
worlds. He [Christ] is the reflection of God's
glory and the exact imprint of God's very
being, and he sustains all things by his
powerful word.
——-
God is Truth & Does Not Lie
The Bible repeatedly reminds us that God is truth, holiness, and veritable love itself, and therefore he does not lie. The Old Testament verifies his truthfulness by instructing us to imitate his holiness. Exodus 20.16 says,
You shall not bear false witness against
your neighbor.
Proverbs 12.22 reads:
Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,
but those who act faithfully are his delight.
What is more, there are many Bible passages that demonstrate unlimited confidence in God’s honesty, transparency, and accountability. Titus 1.1-2 (emphasis added) is such a passage:
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of
Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of
God's elect and the knowledge of the truth
that is in accordance with godliness, in the
hope of eternal life that God, WHO NEVER
LIES, promised before the ages began—
In John 17.17 (ESV), Jesus himself says to God the Father:
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is
truth.
This is reminiscent of Isaiah 65.16 (ESV) which calls the creator, “the God of truth.” He is similarly acknowledged in Deuteronomy 32.4 (NKJV) as “A God of truth and without injustice.”
In Numbers 23.19 (NRSV), God is further attested as a higher-being whose good character precludes deception and lies:
God is not a human being, that he should
lie, or a mortal, that he should change his
mind. Has he promised, and will he not do
it?
Moreover, the doctrine of the Immutability of God describes an attribute of God which prevents him from changing his will or character. It implies that He will make good on all of his promises. Hebrews 6:18 (ICB) puts it thusly:
These two things cannot change. God
cannot lie when he makes a promise, and
he cannot lie when he makes an oath.
These things encourage us who came to
God for safety. They give us strength to
hold on to the hope we have been given.
Conclusion
This life has no guarantees. So, from an interdisciplinary perspective, when there are multiple lines of evidence concerning one God——coupled with cases abounding in the “religious-experience literature” down through the ages——the *testimony* becomes rather robust and trustworthy! In other words, the religious testimony is ipso facto a possible source of knowledge. And this global testimony——which goes far beyond the Judeo-Christian Bible and includes other world religions——indicates that only one God exists. If we add the philosophical arguments that also assert a first cause regarding everything that has been created in the cosmos, then we can safely say that there can only be one God that is responsible for creating and sustaining the universe!
——-