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Showing posts from May, 2026

Calvinism & The Salvation of Infants

1. From the beginning a few held with Zwingli that death in infancy is a sign of election, and hence that all who die in infancy are the children of God and enter at once into glory. After Zwingli, Bishop Hooper was probably the first to embrace this view. It has more lately become the ruling view. 2.    At the opposite extreme a very few held that the only sure sign of election is faith with its fruits, and, therefore, we can have no real ground of knowledge concerning the fate of any infant; as, however, God certainly has his elect among them too, each man can cherish the hope that his children are of the elect. Peter Martyr approaches this sadly agnostic position. 3.Many held that faith and the promise are sure signs of election, and accordingly all believes and their children are certainly saved; but the lack of faith and the promise is an equally sure sign of reprobation, so that all the children of unbelievers, dying such, are equally certainly lost. The younger Spanheim...
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Tackling Tradition 81: Non-Calvinist Talking Points

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  By way of reply….. 1. Denies free will!     Affirms that we follow our own desires into sin, condemnation, & death &    — unlike libertarian free will — leaves no room for the possibility that we might not follow our own desires into any choice we make.  2. Interprets Scripture according to confessions.    How many Presbyterian elders, Reformed Baptists & others can you name who look to the WCF or 2LBCF or similar documents before they exposit the Bible?   You believe in libertarian freedom. Where can we find that in the Bible?  3. It states God hates most people!  According to Boettner, there is no reason for us to believe that the number of the elect is less than that of the reprobate.     Matthew 22 is very clear that the majority are called & fill the wedding hall.    The few are chosen for being cast into Outer Darkness.  4. It claims that Yeshua only died for a few!...
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Tackling Tradition 80: The Suffering Servant In Isaiah

Most Christians have been taught that the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 is Yeshua only, but the truth of the matter is that, insofar as He represents us all, the Suffering Servant imagery, though it finds its apex in Christ & in the LORD Himself, also applies to us all.  This article aims to explore that thesis.   Let’s begin in Chapter 52.      After opining about the oppression of His people, the LORD speaks about Himself, Messiah, & those whom the 2 of the represent.      In so doing, He prophesies over us all.     Here, in a nutshell is what God has in mind for all Israel & all people & everyone & everything.     The whole of the created order, including the animals, are included in this.     Read this as if this what God said right before He created us all.  52 7 How beautiful upon the mountains  are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who bring...
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Genesis’ Antediluvian Genealogy

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Each name represents an entire generation of people who lived between the 2 major prophets in the text, Adam & Noah.       These names have meaning, & each letter is translatable to a number.       Add up the numbers for a name based on the gematria number assigned to each letter.     You can also subtract them from one another.   Each number has a meaning individually as well as in aggregate.   The genealogy is a record of God’s covenantal activity in each generation.       Different generations have different points of view.  The genealogy itself is also applicable to each generation between Noah & Abraham; Abraham & Moses; Moses & Samuel; & Samuel to John the Baptist; & John to the present day.  It also functions as a quasi chronological as well as a quasi-cyclical reference guide to all of human history up to the present day very like the 7 churches in Revelation.  ...
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The 7 Churches In the Old Testament Era

There are several ways to read & understand the 7 churches in Revelation 2 & 3.     Apocalyptic language of the magnitude we read in Revelation prophesies over the whole of Redemptive History.      In addition, each church is addressed by way of a suzerain covenant.     The history of the interpretation of these 2 chapters encompasses a historical understanding of the churches as representatives of the church ages from the Apostolic Era to the present day.    In addition, I think that we can also understand them in relation to the biblical history of Israel. In Chapter 1, Yeshua reveals Himseif to John the way God revealed Himself to Moses on Sinai.  Then God tasks Moses with knowing, writing, understanding, & discharging the Law & Gospel.    What follows is the application thereof to the Children Of Israel.  To the Church in Ephesus Israel In the Days of Joshua  2  “To the ang...
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