Leaving Hell Behind | Chapter 7: What Should Be Our Understanding Of Sin

Having come as far as we have, I wanted to just re-iterate a key point. This study is following the thought process I had in analyzing the three interpretative frameworks of eternal hell, annihilationism and universal restoration. Everything I write about is something that was relevant to me in coming to the conclusions I now stand on.

I would also like to restate, at the time of writing, this is where I currently stand in my understanding of God’s plan for all of the cosmos. I hope to continue to grow, but what that means for future understanding I can’t yet speak towards.

Along this journey of mine, one thing that really stood out in contradiction to itself is the topic of sin. Now, by no means do I minimize sin at all. It is, after all, the reason Jesus died on the cross. He died to “save us from our sins.” What I mean in terms of contradictions, is our perception of sin in our New Testament era, compared to what I see being recorded about sin in the Old Testament. One could say the perspectives and traditions we have created over 2,000 years of talking about sin, stand at odds with what we read about of sin in the Old Testament.

As it seems the vast majority of Christians have been taught, the law has been done away with. We then pass over much of the Old Testament in its deeper understanding of the “management of sin.” What we find are there are two major distinctions surrounding this. First, there are laws that govern sin between humanity and the Lord. Second, there are laws that govern sin between each other. I have found, the New Testament focuses more on what has changed in the first distinction. Therefore, when we focus mostly on the New Testament, we miss the connection of how the laws of God help us manage sin between each other, and the bigger picture of what this means with Father God and Lord Jesus.

I have also found, some of this contrast stems from the various differences in our English translations. An example of this is when the Greek word for sin is used in relation to the Lord, we read the word sin. However, when this word is used in relationship between each other—not all the time but often enough—we find other words being used. This, once again, breaks our understanding of the concept of sin. One example is in the KJV, for such instances the word trespass is used rather than sin. Of course, we know a trespass is a dangerous thing, but it breaks our conceptual understanding that it is actually sin being spoken about. We can sin against one another, not only against God.

Therefore, my conclusion is “I believe we have overstated sin and created a whole new demon which never should have existed.” We have turned it into something unfathomable compared to how it is viewed through the laws of God. I realize this is an exceptional statement to make. However, throughout this chapter and the following, I hope you will come to understand what I mean, and then you can decide for yourself as to if you also agree with my statement or not.

7.1 Understanding Our Composition

When we review the topic of sin, I have found it intriguing to consider the actual composition of how we were created. Could it be that, in fact, the Lord created us in such a way that it would have been impossible to avoid sinning? Maybe it was meant to become a part of the journey to the Father bringing forth future sons made in His image. I believe there are several statements in the Bible, which, when we piece them together, reveal this with quite a level of certainty.

I want to explore this by starting with Romans 8:20-21. We read the following:

BSB: ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
NTAT: ²⁰ For creation was made subordinate to pointlessness, not willingly but because of the one who subordinated it, in the hope ²¹ That creation itself will also be liberated from decay into the freedom of the glory of God’s children.

BGB: ²⁰ τῇ γὰρ ματαιότητι ἡ κτίσις ὑπετάγη, οὐχ ἑκοῦσα, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸν ὑποτάξαντα, ἐφ’ ἑλπίδι ²¹ ὅτι* καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ κτίσις ἐλευθερωθήσεται ἀπὸ τῆς δουλείας τῆς φθορᾶς εἰς τὴν ἐλευθερίαν τῆς δόξης τῶν τέκνων τοῦ Θεοῦ.
BGB-T: ²⁰ tē gar mataiotēti hē ktisis hypetagē, ouch hekousa, alla dia ton hypotaxanta, eph’ helpidi ²¹ hoti* kai autē hē ktisis eleutherōthēsetai apo tēs douleias tēs phthoras eis tēn eleutherian tēs doxēs tōn teknōn tou Theou.

Many translations use vanity rather than futility here. Often, as I have read this verse, I have understood it to be speaking of the moment in time “after the fall.” That Jesus subjected all of creation to this futility, vanity or pointlessness after Adam and Eve sinned. Clearly, we didn’t have a choice in this matter right. It was Jesus that made this decision. I think we find this exact question being posed to the Lord by the Psalmist as well. Why did He create the sons of Adam in vanity or futility? The Psalmist is asking why? Why did you create us like this? When we review the context of this verse, it certainly isn’t speaking in connection to why the Lord allowed Adam to sin. It is a general broader question. We read in Psalm 89:47 (89:48 WLC, 88:48 LXX),

BSB: ⁴⁷ Remember how short is my lifespan. For what futility You have created all men!
CLV: ⁴⁷ Remember how transient is my life, For what futility have You created all the sons of humanity?
EBR: ⁴⁷ Remember how short-lived, I, am, Wherefore, in vain, hast thou created all the sons of Adam?

⁸⁴ זְכָר־אֲנִ֥י מֶה־חָ֑לֶד עַל־מַה־שָּׁ֝֗וְא בָּרָ֥אתָ כָל־בְּנֵי־אָדָֽם׃
WLC:-T: ⁴⁸ zekhor-ani meh-chaled al-mah-shshawe baratha khol-benei-adam

LXX: ⁴⁸ μνήσθητι τίς μου ἡ ὑπόστασις· μὴ γὰρ ματαίως ἔκτισας πάντας τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων;
LXX-T: ⁴⁸ mnēsthēti tis mou hē hypostasis; mē gar mataiōs ektisas pantas tous huious tōn anthrōpōn?

Let’s once again read Genesis 2:7 for a moment to understand our actual formation:

BSB: ⁷ Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
CLV: ⁷ Yahweh Elohim formed the human out of soil from the ground, and He blew into his nostrils the breath of life; and the human became a living soul.

⁷ וַיִּיצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַֽיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה׃
WLC-T: ⁷ wayyitser yhwh elohim eth-ha’adam aphar min-ha’adamah wayyippach be’appaiw nishmath chayyim wayehi ha’adam lenephesh chayyah

LXX: ⁷καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐνεφύσησεν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πνοὴν ζωῆς, καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν.
LXX-T: ⁷kai eplasen ho theos ton anthrōpon choun apo tēs gēs kai enephysēsen eis to prosōpon autou pnoēn zōēs, kai egeneto ho anthrōpos eis psychēn zōsan.

When the Lord took all the elements which He created us from, we “became a living soul.” As I was pondering on this verse, what really stood out to me was, the Lord made us from the soil of the ground. You might think “yeah, so what? What’s your point?” Well, have you really ever thought about this before? Look at the material they have constructed us from. Anyone who works in construction, or, in fact, as an artist, knows there are always inferior and superior materials to work with.

Is the soil of the ground considered to be a superior or an inferior material, or technology? Well, it depends on what it is being compared to correct?

Could it be that, in fact, Romans 8:20 is revealing to us that the Lord created us right from the start, from an inferior material or technology? That, even before Adam missed the mark, we were submitted to futility and vanity by simply being created from the “soil of the ground.” I believe the apostle Paul confirms this in 1 Corinthians 15:35-49. I will only include here verses 45-48,

BLB: ⁴⁵ So also it has been written: “The first man Adam became into a living soul;” the last Adam into a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ However, the spiritual was not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was made of dust from the earth, the second man from heaven. ⁴⁸ As the one was made of dust, so also are those of the earth; and as is the heavenly one, so also are those of heaven.

NASB95: ⁴⁵ So also it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. ⁴⁸ As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. ⁴⁹ Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.

CLV: ⁴⁵ Thus it is written also, The first man, Adam, “became a living soul:” the last Adam a vivifying Spirit. ⁴⁶ But not first the spiritual, but the soulish, thereupon the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was out of the earth, soilish; the second Man is the Lord out of heaven. ⁴⁸ Such as the soilish one is, such are those also who are soilish, and such as the Celestial One, such are those also who are celestials.

BGB: ⁴⁵ οὕτως καὶ γέγραπται “Ἐγένετο ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος Ἀδὰμ εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν· ὁ ἔσχατος Ἀδὰμ εἰς πνεῦμα ζωοποιοῦν.” ⁴⁶ Ἀλλ’ οὐ πρῶτον τὸ πνευματικὸν ἀλλὰ τὸ ψυχικόν, ἔπειτα τὸ πνευματικόν. ⁴⁷ ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος ἐκ γῆς χοϊκός, ὁ δεύτερος ἄνθρωπος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ. ⁴⁸ οἷος ὁ χοϊκός, τοιοῦτοι καὶ οἱ χοϊκοί, καὶ οἷος ὁ ἐπουράνιος, τοιοῦτοι καὶ οἱ ἐπουράνιοι·
BGB-T: ⁴⁵ houtōs kai gegraptai “Egeneto ho prōtos anthrōpos Adam eis psychēn zōsan; ho eschatos Adam eis pneuma zōopoioun.” ⁴⁶ All’ ou prōton to pneumatikon alla to psychikon, epeita to pneumatikon. ⁴⁷ ho prōtos anthrōpos ek gēs choikos, ho deuteros anthrōpos ex ouranou. ⁴⁸ hoios ho choikos, toioutoi kai hoi choikoi, kai hoios ho epouranios, toioutoi kai hoi epouranioi;

The apostle Paul seems to make it crystal clear. There is a progression. There is a hierarchy of materials. As They created us first from the soil of the ground, They made all of humanity earthy and soulish. I believe we can really say we were subjected to futility and vanity right from the start. We also see a clear contrast, as the soul is mortal and earthy, in comparison to the spiritual man in Christ Jesus, which we all will one day be like. When we are soulish, we identify with our Adamic nature. Therefore, one could say being created of the earth is being created of an inferior material or technology, and the spiritual, as Jesus now is, is the superior material/technology.

Possibly in your mind you are thinking now what about Genesis 1:31a “And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good.” Yes, this is a good point. God said all was very good! But … did God say it was perfect, or complete, or even “it is finished?” Oh, how this connects us to the last words of Jesus on the cross, don’t you think? I have to agree once again with Dr. Heiser on his analysis. He states:

Describing creation as “very good” means that the creation was fit for human habitation and the perpetuation and survival of Earth’s creatures. Had the biblical writer wanted to convey a situation of perfection—where nothing was lacking or in need of any improvement—he would have chosen a word other than tob (ט֖וֹב / ṭôb / H2895) “good.” Hebrew words such as tom (תֹּם / tōm / H8537) convey completeness. The idea that the pronouncement of Genesis 1:31 means that earth was created in a state of perfection is a common one, found very early on in the early church fathers. There are a number of problems with this assumption, of which I only mention a handful here. The claim here is not that creation failed to conform to God’s will. Indeed, the creation was precisely what God wanted at the time. Rather, creation was not all that Eden was, a contrast that God intended, and which informs the biblical-theological story.¹

It certainly gives us something to consider, doesn’t it?

Finally, should we believe Jesus has no heart for how He created us? Was He oblivious to the fact He created us first from an inferior material? Of course not. After all, He came an entered His creation to redeem us from all of this futility and vanity. As we read from the Psalmist in Psalm 78:39:

BSB: ³⁹ He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.

⁹³ וַ֭יִּזְכֹּר כִּי־בָשָׂ֣ר הֵ֑מָּה ר֥וּחַ ה֝וֹלֵ֗ךְ וְלֹ֣א יָשֽׁוּב׃
WLC-T: ³⁹ wayyizkor ki-vasar hemmah ruach holekh welo yashuv

LXX: ³⁹ καὶ ἐμνήσθη ὅτι σάρξ εἰσιν, πνεῦμα πορευόμενον καὶ οὐκ ἐπιστρέφον. (vs 77:39)
LXX-T: ³⁹ kai emnēsthē hoti sarx eisin, pneuma poreuomenon kai ouk epistrephon.

And as well in Psalm 103:14-15 confirming this:

BSB: ¹⁴ For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust. ¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass— he blooms like a flower of the field;
CLV: ¹⁴ For He knows our formation, Remembering that we are soil. ¹⁵ As for mortal man, his days are like grass, Like a blossom of the field, so is he blossoming.

⁴¹ אֱ֭נוֹשׁ כֶּחָצִ֣יר יָמָ֑יו כְּצִ֥יץ הַ֝שָּׂדֶ֗ה כֵּ֣ן יָצִֽיץ׃ ⁵¹ כִּי־ה֖וּא יָדַ֣ע יִצְרֵ֑נוּ זָ֝כ֗וּר כִּי־עָפָ֥ר אֲנָֽחְנוּ׃
WLC-T:¹⁴ enosh kechatsir yamaiw ketsits hassadeh ken yatsits ¹⁵ ki-hu yada’ yitsrenu zakhur ki-aphar anachenu

LXX: ¹⁴ ὅτι αὐτὸς ἔγνω τὸ πλάσμα ἡμῶν· μνήσθητι ὅτι χοῦς ἐσμεν. ¹⁵ ἄνθρωπος, ὡσεὶ χόρτος αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτοῦ· ὡσεὶ ἄνθος τοῦ ἀγροῦ, οὕτως ἐξανθήσει·
LXX-T: ¹⁴ hoti autos egnō to plasma hēmōn; mnēsthēti hoti chous esmen. ¹⁵ anthrōpos, hōsei chortos hai hēmerai autou; hōsei anthos tou agrou, houtōs exanthēsei;

Father God and Lord Jesus clearly knew They formed us in a state that was actually never meant to withstand the full weight of “missing the mark.” They know we are just flesh. They know we are but inferior soil of the ground. We are but mortal and our days in this form are as the grass of the fields. What comes to mind are the words from Job. “^4:17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God, or a man more pure than his Maker? ^25:4 How then can a man be just before God? How can one born of woman be pure?”

In my book Upgrading Earth, I explain it as if we were infected with a virus. We are a type of organic technology, and the first sin of Adam introduced a virus into the technology. A virus called “death and mortality.” Because of this, we are thrown into a cycle that only Yahweh could break by entering His creation as Jesus. Effectively becoming the anti-virus and becoming the first of a new creation to be transformed into a far superior material. This cycle He saved us from looks like this:

Adam and Eve missed the mark → The virus of death and mortality entered their organic soilish nature and humanity died to life.
The virus of mortality and death lives in our bodies, so it makes us weak. → Therefore, we cannot fight missing the mark and sinning every day with our own strength. → Making us weaker → making us miss the mark and sinning. Therefore, we have a never-ending cycle that needed a solution.

I have found this reveals a greater depth of the sovereignty of Father God and Lord Jesus. It helps us to better reconcile Their justice and Their love for their creation. Knowing this, there is a much greater application and understanding to reading Romans 11:32:

ESV/[BSB]: ³² For God has consigned all [men] to disobedience [so] that He may have mercy on [them] all.
NIV: ³² For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
CLV: ³² For God locks up all together in stubbornness, that He should be merciful to all.
NTAT: ³² For God shut up everyone in obstinacy so that he might show mercy to everyone.

BGB: ³² συνέκλεισεν γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς τοὺς πάντας εἰς ἀπείθειαν ἵνα τοὺς πάντας ἐλεήσῃ.
BGB-T: ³² synekleisen gar ho Theos tous pantas eis apeitheian hina tous pantas eleēsē.

Having read all the Bible commentaries on this piece of scripture, I find quite some variances in understanding. Certainly, not all agree with each other. The one overwhelming similarity I have seen is a great deal of “explaining away the word all” to mean anything but all.

Through Romans 11, we have a clear view of two people groups. These being Judean’s and the Nations (Ethnos). We can certainly say this verse 32 is not speaking about the individual. However, if we consider the greater context, in fact, these two people groups represent all of humanity. There really is nobody left out or passed over in this representation. This is ultimately confirmed by what we have read in Romans 8:20-21 and all of creation being subjected to futility or vanity. The connection to Romans 8:20 is deep. Nobody is excluded except Jesus Himself. I have found the commentary of Dr. Steven E. Jones to be extremely valuable in expounding on these verses. He writes:

By His sovereign will, God blinded Israel [the Northern Ten Tribes] in order to bring judgment upon them—and that judgment was to scatter and sow Israel in the “field” (world). God did this to bless all the families of the earth—the ethnos. He did not shut up all in disobedience at the same time, at least not in the context of Paul’s writing. First, God shut up the nations in disobedience, and later He shut up Israel [the Northern Ten Tribes] in disobedience. Judah was the last to be blinded in this manner.
Paul was speaking in national terms about groups of people in a historical context. This does not negate the fact that all men have been blinded as individuals since Adam. It is just that Paul was focusing primarily on the national application of this principle of blindness by the sovereign hand of God. Keep in mind also that were it not for God’s ultimate plan to save all mankind, this would be terribly unjust.²

In order to conclude, I am in full agreement that sin is serious. It is devastating and destructive. We should despise it. I know it sounds strange to talk about humans as a technology, but we really should literally understand we were formed of an inferior material. This material being “the soil of the ground.” It was never in the plan of Father God and Lord Jesus that we have full immortality in being a product of the earth. Hence, we were right from the start, shut up in vanity. In our weakness of flesh and blood, in our weakness of a virus called mortality and death, in fact, it is impossible for the soulish person to submit to God? This is what water baptism represents, it represents our legal death. It is us dying to the soulish man Adam, so that we can identify as the spirit man and become reborn as a new creation in Christ. Reborn and being prepared to receive our new superior bodies upon our resurrection.

We all must pass through the stages of being transformed into children of Father God.

This was one of the first areas I wanted to touch on regarding our understanding of sin. What are your thoughts? Have you ever considered it in this way before? It was when I pieced these things together that I realized “it was not my will to be subjected to mortality.” It was Father God and Christ’s will. So I come into agreement with them. They are sovereign and I love that. I can trust They are fully in control and will achieve all They set out to achieve.

7.2 The Forces Fighting Against Our Salvation

We now enter a topic where, in relation to the discussion of our sin, I have found it seems to be under-represented. What I have found to date seems to reveal the Greek and Latin church fathers were aware of these “powers of darkness.” However, it seems to be focused on looking at it through the lens of the New Testament. I can’t say I have discovered, for example, writings from Origin of Alexandria or Augustine of Hippo about this topic, viewing it through the lens of the Hebrew Old Testament. It probably exists, but after studying this for eleven years, I have yet to come across it. If they exist, I welcome being directed to them.

In fact, even for me, the first proper introduction began with Dr. Michael S. Heiser. So, in analyzing the three interpretative frameworks I have found, a full discussion of “the powers of darkness” seems overlooked. We are mostly focused on the natural realm. Could it be through the three interpretative frameworks, we see the Satan as our enemy, but we overlook the greater wickedness which goes beyond him.

If we consider our current composition of being earthy and soilish, should we think without Jesus, we really stand a chance against such an onslaught. If this rebellion in the celestial realm exists, what does this mean really for our concept of free will? Clearly, those in the celestials are against us. Trying to destroy us along with those from the natural realm who join them. Clearly, Father God has a plan. Jesus will be successful. So, should this plan only comprise saving humanity, or does it also include the reconciliation of all that is celestial realm?

7.2.1 The Cosmic Rulers of Darkness

One verse which was always in the back of my mind was from Ephesians 6:12:

BSB: ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
NTAT: ¹² Because we are wrestling not against blood and flesh, but against the Archons, against the Powers, against the Cosmic Rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the celestial places.

BGB: ¹² ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἡ πάλη πρὸς αἷμα καὶ σάρκα, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ἀρχάς, πρὸς τὰς ἐξουσίας, πρὸς τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους τούτου, πρὸς τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις.
BGB-T: ¹² hoti ouk estin hēmin hē palē pros haima kai sarka, alla pros tas archas, pros tas exousias, pros tous kosmokratoras tou skotous toutou, pros ta pneumatika tēs ponērias en tois epouraniois.

As we have seen in chapter 4, these spiritual forces are also mentioned in Ephesians 3:10. In regard to the manifold plans of God. “His purpose was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.”

It seems quite clear there is wickedness in the celestial realm. I think we can all agree on this, correct? Growing up, I had always heard about the Satan/the Devil. But what about all of this other wickedness that Paul talks about?

It was only as I read the Old Testament where once again, I found Jesus stretching me. There is this interesting saying which I have come to fully understand as being true. “If you want to destroy your Christianity, read your Bible!” What I read in the Old Testament compared to the New Testament was quite eye opening. For one, I found the only place where this celestial being called “the Satan” is mentioned is in the book of Job. In all the other places, it was the Lord Himself that brought on the calamity of the Israelites. As in most cases, it was when judgment had to begin because of their sin. It was when I bought an interlinear Bible, and began learning some Hebrew and Greek, that I started seeing what Ephesians 6:12 was really talking about.

I saw a “cosmic geography.” I can honestly say that without someone telling me about it, I saw this through simply reading the Old Testament. When I discovered the writings of Dr. Heiser, then the pieces really came together. I saw connections between the Old Testament and the New Testament writings regarding these Powers of Darkness. It was Dr. Heiser’s book Demons: What the Bible Really Says about the Powers of Darkness that really brought me to my current level of understanding. Though not all people clearly agree with him or like what he writes. I can say, as a tool and as data set, it is useful to see a larger picture. I have also found his book The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible, to be of great assistance since I discovered it.

One of the most important understandings that was revealed through the Bible and others who write about the topic is surrounding the Hebrew word Elohim (אֱלֹהִ֑ים / ʾĕlōhîm / H430). We find this word throughout the Old Testament 2,598 times. It is a significant word. I want to look at three specific scriptures to grasp its usage and what I found when pondering all that it meant. First is Genesis 1:1:

BSB/ESV/NIV: ¹In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
CLV: ¹ In a beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.

¹ בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃
WLC-T: ¹ bereshith bara elohim eth hashshamayim we’eth ha’arets

LXX: ¹ Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν
LXX-T: ¹ En archē epoiēsen ho theos ton ouranon kai tēn gēn.

The CLV is a great Bible translation to use when you want to see this more clearly. As well, the Names of God (NOG) Bible is quite useful. We have here the word usage of Elohim creating the heavens and the earth. Now, as I started looking more at the word Elohim, I thought about all the times I would read statements such as “I am Yahweh your Elohim.” An example is Deuteronomy 6:5. This reads:

BSB: ⁵ And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
CLV: ⁵So you will love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your intensity.

⁵ וְאָ֣הַבְתָּ֔ אֵ֖ת יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ֥ וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁךָ֖ וּבְכָל־מְאֹדֶֽךָ׃
WLC-T: ⁵ we’ahavta eth yhwh eloheikha bekhol-levovkha uvekhol-naphshekha uvekhol-me’odekha

LXX: ⁵καὶ ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς δυνάμεώς σου.
LXX-T: ⁵ kai agapēseis kyrion ton theon sou ex holēs tēs kardias sou kai ex holēs tēs psychēs sou kai ex holēs tēs dynameōs sou.

As we read in the New Testament, Jesus is the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the God of gods. We should add to this Jesus is the Elohim of elohim. Since Hebrew and Koine Greek have no uppercase or lower-case letters, it got me thinking what this would mean for our understanding of these words if we stopped with the English form of capitalization these instances.

Before I came to discovering Dr. Heiser, I had already come to what I felt was a reasonable understanding. Since, however, having read his research, it just laid a stronger foundation to say, “aha, yes, now the pieces of the puzzle are for the time being … more complete.” He states:

A biblical writer would use ʾelōhı̂m (elohim) to label any entity that is not embodied by nature and is a member of the spiritual realm. This “otherworldliness” is an attribute all residents of the spiritual world possess. Every member of the spiritual world can be thought of as ʾelōhı̂m (elohim), since the term tells us where an entity belongs in terms of its nature.
The term ʾelōhı̂m (elohim) simply means “divine beings”—residents of the supernatural world. By choosing ʾelōhı̂m (elohim) to describe a particular being, the biblical writer was not denying the uniqueness of Yahweh, the God of Israel. Rather, the term helped them affirm that there was an animate, spiritual world, of which Yahweh was a member. Yahweh was, of course, unique in that he was the uncreated Creator of these other spiritual beings and superior to them in his attributes.”³

The way I parallel this in my book Upgrading Earth is to connect this to titles. I wrote:

The original words in the Bible of El (אֵל), Elohim (אֱלהִים), Theos (Θεὸς), Kurios (Κύριος), Deus, Dominus, God, Mashiach (מָשִׁיחַ), Christos (Χριστός), and Christ are all considered titles. Just like father, mother, CEO, COO, director, manager, CIO, CTO, boss, etc. Also, any title is in fact, referring to a state of being.⁴

Some of the Bible translations that I have found helpful to illuminate the above understanding are the Concordant Literal Version (CLV) and the Names of God (NOG) Bibles. They contain Yahweh, Elohim and El in their translations. Others such as Rotherham’s The Emphasized Bible (EBR), Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) and the Literal Standard Version (LSV). The American Standard Version (ASV), the Updated ASV and the Lexham English Bible (LEB) use either Yahweh, YHWH or Jehovah together with God.

When we come to understand with more clarity the essence behind the word Elohim, we grow to see the “otherworldliness” that it connects us to. It helps us to better understand more in depth the “powers of darkness.”

7.2.2 Injustice on the Earth Led by the Powers of Darkness

The one thing I love about how Dr. Heiser writes is how he speaks about the Bible as not only being God’s word but also data. What does the data reveal? I feel the same way when I study the Bible. Being someone who loves data analysis, this is always in the back of my mind. We are very fortunate in the twenty-first century as we have a plethora of Bible resources at our hands. We can really dive into the data and compare and contrast theories and ideas put forth by scholars and theologians and Christian Middle Earth. There really is no reason to accept one translation or denominational filter. As often, those filters are pretty narrowly set anyways.

As I had come to better understand what an elohim was, the call being put forth through Psalms 82 became much clearer. The problem isn’t only the sin of us as humanity. It is also the problem of divine rebellion and injustice of the celestial powers ruling over the nations.

CLV: ¹ Elohim is stationed in the congregation of El; Among the elohim is He judging: ² How long shall you judge with iniquity And lift up the faces of the wicked? Interlude ³ Redress the poor one and the orphan; To the humble and destitute one grant justice. ⁴ Deliver the poor and the needy one; From the hand of the wicked, give rescue. ⁵ (They do not know and are not understanding; In darkness are they walking about; All the foundations of the earth are slipping.) ⁶ I Myself have said: you are elohim, And sons of the Supreme [ʿelyôn] are all of you. ⁷ Yet you shall die like common humanity, And like any other of the chiefs you shall fall. ⁸ Do arise, O Elohim; do judge the earth; For it is You Yourself Who shall have the allotment of all the nations. A Song, An Asaphic Psalm

¹ מִזְמ֗וֹר לְאָ֫סָ֥ף אֱ‍ֽלֹהִ֗ים נִצָּ֥ב בַּעֲדַת־אֵ֑ל בְּקֶ֖רֶב אֱלֹהִ֣ים יִשְׁפֹּֽט׃ ² עַד־מָתַ֥י תִּשְׁפְּטוּ־עָ֑וֶל וּפְנֵ֥י רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים תִּשְׂאוּ־סֶֽלָה׃ ³ שִׁפְטוּ־דַ֥ל וְיָת֑וֹם עָנִ֖י וָרָ֣שׁ הַצְדִּֽיקוּ׃ ⁴ פַּלְּטוּ־דַ֥ל וְאֶבְי֑וֹן מִיַּ֖ד רְשָׁעִ֣ים הַצִּֽילוּ׃ ⁵ לֹ֤א יָֽדְע֨וּ׀ וְלֹ֥א יָבִ֗ינוּ בַּחֲשֵׁכָ֥ה יִתְהַלָּ֑כוּ יִ֝מּ֗וֹטוּ כָּל־מ֥וֹסְדֵי אָֽרֶץ׃ ⁶ אֲ‍ֽנִי־אָ֭מַרְתִּי אֱלֹהִ֣ים אַתֶּ֑ם וּבְנֵ֖י עֶלְי֣וֹן כֻּלְּכֶֽם׃ ⁷ אָ֭כֵן כְּאָדָ֣ם תְּמוּת֑וּן וּכְאַחַ֖ד הַשָּׂרִ֣ים תִּפֹּֽלוּ׃ ⁸ קוּמָ֣ה אֱ֭לֹהִים שָׁפְטָ֣ה הָאָ֑רֶץ כִּֽי־אַתָּ֥ה תִ֝נְחַ֗ל בְּכָל־הַגּוֹיִֽם׃
WLC-T: ¹ mizmor le’asaph elohim nitstsav ba’adath-el beqerev elohim yishpot ² ad-mathai tishpetu-awel uphenei resha’im tis’u-selah ³ shiphtu-dal weyathom ani warash hatsdiqu ⁴ palletu-dal we’evyon miyyad resha’im hatstsilu ⁵ lo yade’u welo yavinu bachashekhah yithhallakhu yimmotu kol-mosedei arets ⁶ ani-amarti elohim attem ubenei elyon kullekhem ⁷ akhen ke’adam temuthun ukhe’achad hassarim tippolu ⁸ qumah elohim shophtah ha’arets ki-attah thinchal bekhol-haggoyim

Many scholars like to debate that this isn’t talking about the divine beings.⁵ What I have found in the data is it is revealing the problems of the earthly realm and the celestial realm. It isn’t either or. They are intricately linked.

These elohim are throughout the Old Testament referred to as the “sons of God.” In Genesis 6:2, Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7 we find written in Hebrew benei-ha’elohim (בְנֵי־הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ / bĕnê-hāʾĕlōhîm) or in Greek huioi tou theou (υἱοὶ τοῦ θεοῦ). They formed part of the divine council, at least through the Old Testament era.

The problem that arose in my thinking was the contrast from what I was reading in the Old and New Testament in comparison to what I have learned in church and coming from the pulpit. Anything deemed evil today is a demon, led by the Adversary (the Satan). For me, the question of “what really is a demon” played a huge role in trying to understand Father God’s restoration of all things plan. The answer I found was in the research of Dr. Heiser as we read:

The two Greek terms translated “demon” in the New Testament are daimōn and daimonion. Our word “demon” is actually a transliteration of the Greek, not a translation. In classical Greek literature, which preceded the time of the New Testament, the term daimōn describes any divine being without regard to its nature (good or evil). A daimōn can be a god or goddesss, some lesser divine power, or the spirit of the departed human dead. As such, it is akin to Hebrew elohim in its generic meaning.⁶

As we circle back now to Ephesians 3:12, we can now identify what we call demons, to be the celestial “benei-ha’elohim,” who are in fact, in the New Testament the Archprinces, Princes, Commanders and Powers. These are all in rebellion to Father God, but they really aren’t demons. As Dr. Heiser explains, it was through the Second Temple literature that the word Daemon was used. As we progressed into the New Testament era, we essentially demoted these sons of Elohim through the traditions of the church and lumped them all together as demons. I think we can see now; to use the term demon is not an accurate portrayal of these powers. There is a noticeable difference between these powers and unclean spirits. Father God created these Elohim through Christ Jesus. Therefore, what we find is with universal restoration, these created Elohim will one day be reconciled back to the Father. I will elaborate on this in chapter 9.

Dr. Stephen E. Jones has been involved in intercessory spiritual warfare for over 30 years. He teaches extensively that spiritual warfare is not on the battlefield with swords and guns a blazing. It is something that takes place exclusively in the divine courts of Heaven. Therefore, we need to have a strong understanding of the laws of Christ. These laws help us win our spiritual battles when we follow them and can plead our case according to God’s laws. Based on his current understanding and life experience in this area, he has found the authority structure is as follows:

On our side, the structure of angelic authority is as follows:

Jesus Christ, who is the Head of all Creation
Archangels
Princes
Commanders
Powers
Sons of God (spirits of the New Creation Men)

On the opposing side, the structure of authority is as follows:

The Accuser/Adversary (in a court of law or in warfare)
Archprinces (over continents and regions)
Princes (over nations)
Commanders (over major religions)
Powers (over groups)
Unclean Spirits⁷

Clearly, this structure will change upon the resurrection and when all the Lord’s king-priest-saints become transformed into the likeness of Christ.

These sons of Elohim are fighting hard to avoid being replaced by us. They have for millennia brought a level of injustice on the Earth which one day, we will, as “son of God” work to restore with our King Jesus. This is something we need to take into consideration when analyzing the three interpretative frameworks of what happens to the unrepentant in their lifetime. We don’t live in a bubble excluded from this unseen realm and its own problems.

7.2.3 The Adversary, the Slanderer (the Satan)

Now I would like to make a small mention about the Adversary or, as we often know him, by the name of the Satan or the Devil. My desire in this section isn’t to discuss the eventual fate of the Adversary. But rather to understand his nature and character and its impact on us. This should better help us understand his potential fate considering the restoration of all things.

I see it quite important to consider within the celestial realm, names given to these beings are not personal names, but characteristics of the roles they play. We can look at an example of this with the mal’akh (מֲלְאָךְ / mălʾāk) or angelos (ἄγγελος). Sadly, often these words are translated as angels, which overlooks the role and characteristic of that of a messenger.

While I know no one should be unaware of what I am writing here. I just want to reiterate with this specific celestial being we have in Hebrew hassatan (הַשָּׂטָ֖ן / haśśāṭān) or Greek ho Satanas (ὁ Σατανᾶς), which translates to the role of the Adversary or Accuser. In Greek as well, tō diabolō (τῷ διαβόλῳ) as that of a Slanderer.

If we look at the entire picture within the context of the divine courts. We have Jesus as the Judge. We know “the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son.” In John 15:26 we learn the Holy Spirit is our Paraklētos (Παράκλητος) which is translated as our Advocate (BSB/NIV/LEB/NTAT), Helper (NASB/ESV), Comforter (KJV), or Consoler (CLV). The Holy Spirit is also called the “Spirit of Truth.” What we find then is these names are roles within the legal system and realm of the divine courts. So ha-śāṭān or ho Satanas or tō diabolō points to someone who stands opposed to the counselor in the court of law, who is defending those being accused.

Dr. Heiser shares the following in his book Demons the following research from Bennie Reynolds:

It is well known that in the demonology of the New Testament one finds a powerful chief demon named Satan. … As many studies have shown, the notion of Satan as a chief demon does not exist in the Hebrew Bible. … Instead, one finds more generic conceptions of an adversary or accuser, who in some cases functions as an official or servant of the deity.⁸

This can’t be more greatly expressed when we read the Old Testament. We find other than in Job and Zechariah, all accounts and usage of the word śāṭān being used of humans or messengers (angels). I find the account in Job quite revealing. Let’s look at this for a minute. Job 1:6-7:

BSB: ⁶ One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. ⁷ “Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan. “From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”
CLV: ⁶ There was a day when the sons of Elohim would come to station themselves before Yahweh, and the Adversary came also in their midst. ⁷ Yahweh said to the Adversary, From where are you coming? Then the Adversary answered Yahweh and said, From going to and fro in the earth and from walking about in it.

⁶ וַיְהִ֣י הַיּ֔וֹם וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים לְהִתְיַצֵּ֖ב עַל־יְהוָ֑ה וַיָּב֥וֹא גַֽם־הַשָּׂטָ֖ן בְּתוֹכָֽם׃ ⁷ וַיֹּ֧אמֶר יְהוָ֛ה אֶל־הַשָּׂטָ֖ן מֵאַ֣יִן תָּבֹ֑א וַיַּ֨עַן הַשָּׂטָ֤ן אֶת־יְהוָה֙ וַיֹּאמַ֔ר מִשּׁ֣וּט בָּאָ֔רֶץ וּמֵֽהִתְהַלֵּ֖ךְ בָּֽהּ׃
WLC-T: ⁶ wayhi hayyom wayyavo’u benei ha’elohim lehithyatstsev ‘l-yhwh wayyavo gam-hassatan bethokham ⁷ wayyomer yhwh el-hassatan me’ayin tavo wayya’an hassatan ‘t-yhwh wayyomar mishshut ba’arets umehithhallekh bah

LXX: ⁶ Καὶ ὡς ἐγένετο ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἦλθον οἱ ἄγγελοι τοῦ θεοῦ παραστῆναι ἐνώπιον τοῦ κυρίου, καὶ ὁ διάβολος ἦλθεν μετʼ αὐτῶν. ⁷ καὶ εἶπεν ὁ κύριος τῷ διαβόλῳ Πόθεν παραγέγονας; καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ διάβολος τῷ κυρίῳ εἶπεν Περιελθὼν τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσας τὴν ὑπʼ οὐρανὸν πάρειμι.
LXX-T: ⁶ Kai hōs egeneto hē hēmera hautē, kai idou ēlthon hoi angeloi tou theou parastēnai enōpion tou kyriou, kai ho diabolos ēlthen metʼ autōn. ⁷ kai eipen ho kyrios tō diabolō Pothen paragegonas? kai apokritheis ho diabolos tō kyriō eipen Perielthōn tēn gēn kai emperipatēsas tēn hypʼ ouranon pareimi.

What follows is the interaction between the Lord and the Adversary in Job 1:9-12 (CLV) “So Yahweh said to the Adversary, Have you set your heart on My servant Job? For there is no one like him on earth, … Then the Adversary answered Yahweh, saying, Does Job fear Elohim gratuitously? Have you yourself not hedged him about, and about his house and about all that is his all around? … Nevertheless, now put forth your hand and touch all that is his. He shall assuredly scorn you to your face. Hence Yahweh said to the Adversary, Behold, all that he has is in your hand, but you must not put forth your hand upon himself. Then the Adversary went forth from Yahweh’s presence.”

In this passage, the śāṭān is certainly acting in an accusatorial role. I also observe that Yahweh and the Adversary are certainly not arch enemies in this setting. It is very civil, and Yahweh is in full control and holds all authority as to what limits the śāṭān is given to sift Job. My understanding has been the majority of scholars see śāṭān as being part of “an office of the divine courts.”⁹ Dr. Jones, in his experience with spiritual warfare (divine court work) shares the following about this Adversary:

As I have said many times, Satan has no power of himself, but derives it from the power of the law to prosecute sinners. Where there is sin, Satan is the prosecutor hired by God to drive us to repentance and back to God. He’s the wolf that drives the sheep back into the corral. Of course, many sheep get eaten along the way, because they do not know how to find rest in God’s place of refuge and grace. I believe that God created Satan for a distinct purpose, for he has the calling to prosecute us for our sin. God did not create him to destroy us ultimately, but to hold us accountable to the law and bring us to Christ.¹⁰

I believe such a statement can be deeply offensive to many Christians. However, I find it incredibly revealing and, in fact, refreshing considering the words of apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:5:

BSB: ⁵ hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.
NTAT: ⁵ To deliver such a man to the Accuser for destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit might be saved on the day of the Lord.

BGB: ⁵ παραδοῦναι τὸν τοιοῦτον τῷ Σατανᾷ εἰς ὄλεθρον τῆς σαρκός, ἵνα τὸ πνεῦμα σωθῇ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου.
BGB-T: ⁵ paradounai ton toiouton tō Satana eis olethron tēs sarkos, hina to pneuma sōthē en tē hēmera tou Kyriou.

When we find we are being accused of sin in our lives, if we step back and reflect on it and submit it to repentance, what happens? We take another step in submitting the flesh to the cross of Christ to destroy it. How is sin in our lives revealed? Well, it is through the Adversary (or Slanderer) bringing it up in the divine court. Therefore, the easiest way to remove the power of the Adversary in our lives, is to request the Lord to reveal if there is sin we need to deal with, and then nail it to the cross.

As I have grown in reading and studying the Old and New Testaments together, I found this concept of God and Satan as arch enemies quickly dissipates into nothing. Dr. Heiser makes the statement:

The function of the office of the śāṭān is why later Jewish writings began to adopt it as a proper name for the serpent figure from Genesis 3 who brought ruin to Eden. That figure opposed God’s choices for his human imagers. The dark figure of Genesis 3 was eventually thought of as the ‘mother of all adversaries,’ and so the label śāṭān got stuck to him. He deserves it. The point here is only that the Old Testament doesn’t use that term for the divine criminal of Eden. … The lemma śāṭān does not occur in Genesis 3. In fact, the nāḥāš of Genesis 3 is never called śāṭān anywhere in the Hebrew Bible.¹¹

In modern-day Christianity, I believe we underestimate how much impact Second Temple literature, Persian dualism, and Manicheanism could have in affecting our traditions and dogma surrounding the Adversary. I am not sure if you have seen the same? I find this especially visible after having read much of Dr. Jones and Dr. Heiser’s writings, in conjunction to studying the laws of God.

Nevertheless, as we have seen over the course of this section, there is, an overall cosmic battle going on and we shouldn’t be ignorant of it. He is very much part of the powers of darkness at this time, and certainly the chief prosecutor, and he is certainly someone we need to be vigilant against. After all, we read in 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant. Your adversary the Slanderer prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom to devour— (NTAT)” Ephesians 4:27 also states:

BSB: ²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold.
NTAT: ²⁷ Neither give the Slanderer a place.

BGB: ²⁷ μηδὲ δίδοτε τόπον τῷ διαβόλῳ.
BGB-T: ²⁷ mēde didote topon tō diabolō.

At this point in the discussion about the Adversary, you may ask, “where are you going with this?” Well, now that we better understand that this is an office of the divine court this celestial being holds, and that he works for God and his entire role is that of being adversarial.

The question that comes up in relation to the restoration of all things is: “what is he?”

Is he one of the “sons of God?” Is he a type of mal’akh or angelos? Is he really read into the Ezekiel 28 account as being a guardian cherub (כְּר֔וּב / kĕrûb)? Dr. Heiser makes the statement:

The language of Job 1:6; 2:1 lacks the sort of precision needed to answer whether the śāṭān is one of the sons of God or is merely appearing in a divine council meeting among them. Hartley asks, “Was the Satan one of the sons of God? The majority of scholars assume that he was.¹²

I believe we have assumptions, but I don’t think anybody really fully knows with 100% certainty. What is certain, he is who we are called to overcome and conquer. This question will be key to understanding his potential fate which I will touch on in Chapter 9.

7.2.4 It Is Not An Excuse; But I think We Should Consider It

Let’s now consider that all which I have written in this section to be 80% accurate based on our current understandings. What this means to us as humanity, in relation to the topic of sin, is we have the dark powers in the celestials working hard to prevent “sons of God” from being birthed. This wickedness is working to blind us to the truth through religion and through all the world’s ideologies today. Can we really believe that someone made of flesh and blood has the power in their sinful state to choose Christ? The onslaught is massive. Do you think the Father and Lord Jesus don’t realize this? Is it our choice as humans to have this wickedness pounding nations with false religion and ideologies, leading them astray from the Most-High God and Lord of all?

During this journey of mine, I came to understand that these great celestial powers—as wicked as they are right now—are also having a purpose. Yes, they are as well having purpose, just as we have purpose. Their purpose in this rebellion is to reveal our sinful condition. Then, when the Father opens our eyes to it, He draws us to Christ by His Spirit. We take Jesus as our Lord, and we submit our flesh to the cross and we enter the fire of refinement. We grow in spirit to be prepared one day for taking over all authority with King Jesus over the cosmos. It is these wicked, rebellious celestial powers we are to “overcome and conquer.”

I would like to ask you to consider these things. Do you think it is a fair proposition to expect entire nations and peoples to draw themselves to Christ of their own free will? Considering many of the world regions are still very much under these rebellious celestial powers.

This is something that really affected me when I was looking at comparing the three interpretative frameworks. Without Jesus, who stands a chance! I find it such a fallacy to believe “we chose Jesus and got saved.” Without the Father drawing us to Christ, no flesh would willingly accept Jesus and then be able to truly overcome? What we find is a true balance existing between the sovereignty of God and our delegated level of authority given to us as humanity. So, what are your thoughts on all of this now?

7.3 The Reckoning of Sin

7.3.1 Reading Our Bibles

Let me ask you a question, how often do you read your Bible? Have you read it fully from front to back? This might of course depend on your background. I tried searching for some worldwide statistic on Bible reading but found nothing. I found some general studies from the USA that revealed:¹³

On average, over a ten-year period, 33% of Americans read their Bible every day.
On average, over a ten-year period, 73% of Americans have never read the Bible.
Only 11% have read the Bible fully.
Only 9% have read it fully, more than once.
The Old Testament is far less read than the New Testament.
One study found books from the New Testament are more commonly cited than books from the Old Testament across every Christian group. At least one book from the New Testament is named in ninety percent of all sermons, while a book of the Old Testament is cited in sixty-one percent of sermons.¹⁴

I had found an article written by Dr. Ray Pritchard from Keep Believing Ministries which spoke about why pastors don’t preach from the Old Testament. Some of his comments were:

Many pastors feel more comfortable with Greek than with Hebrew.
Most biblical training focuses on New Testament interpretation.
For some there may be theological reasons why they do not preach from the Old Testament. Perhaps they view everything before Matthew as “preparation” (which in a sense it is) and therefore not worthy of extended attention from the pulpit (a sad mistake, in my opinion).
But my primary thought was that most seminaries specialize in teaching pastors how to preach the epistles. Our methods work best with Romans, Ephesians, and the other Pauline epistles. We feel more comfortable with material that is presented logically and, in a point-by-point fashion. Therefore, our graduates gravitate more to Colossians than to Hosea.¹⁵

I have found Dr. Pritchard’s comments enlightening. If you attend church presently or in the past, have you ever heard preaching on a full book of the Old Testament? I personally never have. Finally, in 2018, a prominent mega-church pastor made an interesting comment that drew a lot of backlash. He said, “Christians needed to ‘unhitch’ the Old Testament from their faith.” That is quite a bold statement.

So now you may think, Jamie? Why are you sharing this here? What has this got anything to do with sin.

The reason I share this, is that as I began researching the three interpretative frameworks, I have found much of the New Testament era has unhitched our understanding of sin from the Old Testaments understanding of it. This being in specific, how sin is reckoned. I am not sure if it is the same for you. Clearly it won’t be as you are not me. What always perplexed me in hearing sermons about hell is how, in fact, if a person really lived a good life. Let’s say, according to the ten commandments, that they could be thrown into hell for all of eternity. We find no real reckoning taking place for that person. It is only “accepted Jesus = yes, welcome to heaven, rejected Jesus = no, off to hell for you.” This goes into what I spoke about in the intro of this chapter, that sin has become a whole demon unto itself. It has become something that really can never receive forgiveness. Especially if you read Mark 3:29. Look at the difference in meaning for blaspheming the Holy Spirit if we take aiōnios to mean an age/eonion rather than eternal.

BSB: ²⁹ But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of eternal sin.”
NTAT: ²⁹ But whoever blasphemes against the Spirit, the Holy one, has no excuse throughout the age, but is answerable for a transgression in the Age.
CLV: ²⁹ yet whoever should be blaspheming against the holy spirit is having no pardon for the eon, but is liable to the eonian penalty for the sin

BGB: ²⁹ ὃς δ’ ἂν βλασφημήσῃ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, οὐκ ἔχει ἄφεσιν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ἀλλὰ ἔνοχός ἐστιν αἰωνίου ἁμαρτήματος.
BGB-T: ²⁹ hos d’ an blasphēmēsē eis to Pneuma to Hagion, ouk echei aphesin eis ton aiōna, alla enochos estin aiōniou hamartēmatos.

This really changes the perspective of this verse, doesn’t it? I think about how many people before they were saved actually blasphemed the Holy Spirit. One could really ask, who can really be saved?

Therefore, if Dr. Ray Pritchard is correct in his assessment. It means that in combination with so few reading their Bibles, many of us are receiving teaching and preaching focused only on the New Testament. We are disconnected from the Old Testament in understanding how the Lord really managed sin. I have found as we grow to understand the Old Testament and how it views sin, the demon of sin is chopped down to its proper size. Sin is serious and destructive and not to be ignored, nor allowed to live in our lives. However, in the greater context, it means that we can come to understand the fullness of the salvation, reconciliation, and restoration of all things. As seen through the eyes of God according to Their laws.

7.3.2 The Bibles View on Sin’s Reckoning

We all know the incredible verse of scripture from the apostle Paul in Romans 3:23:

BSB/ESV/NIV: ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
CLV: ²³ for all sinned and are wanting of the glory of God.

BGB: ²³ πάντες γὰρ ἥμαρτον καὶ ὑστεροῦνται τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ,
BGB-T: ²³ pantes gar hēmarton kai hysterountai tēs doxēs tou Theou,

Although I am not a fan of the New Living Translation (NLT), I really love the way they translate this verse “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” I love how it stresses; God has standards.

This is a great verse and, to a degree, helps us to understand what sin is. Yet it is a pretty broad statement, isn’t it? It still doesn’t really define what sin is, nor help us understand what God’s standard is. Is there only one standard, or many? What it certainly doesn’t reveal is how sin is reckoned. I also know there is a much greater context happening around this verse, but my focus is on it alone at the moment. So, what really is sin? Is it something we should understand in only theological terms, or should we understand it in real life practical applications?

The word sin originates from the Hebrew word chatta’ath (חַטָּאָה / ḥaṭṭāʾāt / H2403), pronounced khat-taw-aw, and it means “to miss the mark.” In Greek, the word is hamartanō (ἁμαρτάνω / G264), and it means “properly to miss the mark.” Ok, great, you knew that! Again, we still ask, so what does this mean practically? These definitions don’t really help us, right? The apostle John, I think, really reveals it clearly in 1 John 3:4,

BSB: ⁴ Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness.
NIV: ⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
NTAT: ⁴ Everyone who commits sin practices lawlessness also; and sin is lawlessness.

BGB: ⁴ Πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ τὴν ἀνομίαν ποιεῖ, καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνομία.
BGB-T: ⁴ Pas ho poiōn tēn hamartian kai tēn anomian poiei, kai hē hamartia estin hē anomia.

This is the first part of our actual practical understanding. Would you agree that if this is the case, then sin is the violation of any kind of law, be them divine or man-made? What this means in our modern-day society, if you commit a crime against another person, you are committing sin. Would you also agree, then, that committing a crime requires a reckoning in the court of law? We all desire a just and righteous judge to stand before us to make sure that no corruption or injustice is allowed when we are pleading our case, right?

If you have committed a crime (i.e. a sin) against another person. Even though you are the one who is guilty, you still would want a fair trial, correct? You wouldn’t want to receive a punishment that doesn’t suit the sin-crime, right? For example, if you punched someone and they pressed charges against you. You wouldn’t want to end up in front of a judge and be given a punishment, sixty years in prison. That sin-crime does not fit the punishment.

We see that all sin is lawlessness. All sin is violating laws. But how is it reckoned? Can there be a value placed on sin-crime that at some point would allow a just punishment or chastisement? The following words from Jesus are particularly important. Although it is just one verse, when we study the kingdom laws as found in the Old Testament, we come to learn that in fact, Jesus was upholding all the laws as is recorded in this statement of the Lord’s Prayer. We read in Luke 11:4a:

BSB/NIV: ^4a And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
ESV: ^4a and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
NTAT: ^4a And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive all who are indebted to us;
CLV: ^4a And pardon us our sins, for we ourselves also are pardoning everyone who is owing us.

BGB: ^4a Καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, Καὶ γὰρ αὐτοὶ ἀφίομεν παντὶ ὀφείλοντι ἡμῖν·
BGB-T: ^4a Kai aphes hēmin tas hamartias hēmōn, Kai gar autoi aphiomen panti opheilonti hēmin;

What we actually find is often in the parables and stories of Jesus. He uses this word aphiomen (ἀφίομεν / G863) talking about people’s debts and the things they owe. Jesus here is telling us that “a sin is reckoned as a debt.” It is paralleled with a debt. Effectively, we could say that what is created is a sin-debt against God, and against people in our lives. Therefore, if we adjust our terms a bit, we can say a sin-crime creates a sin-debt.

For me, this has made much more sense as I explored the Old Testament kingdom laws. We sum them up in two ways: 1. Reckoning of sin-debts between God and humanity. 2. Reckoning of sin-debts between each other.

I want to also include the words recorded from Jesus by the apostle Matthew, as it also reveals a lot about sin-crimes and sin-debts. Matthew 6:12 states:

BSB/ESV/NIV: ¹² And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
NTAT: ¹² And excuse us our debts, just as we have excused our debtors;
CLV: ¹² And remit to us our debts, as we also remit those of our debtors

BGB: ¹² Καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν, Ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν·
BGB-T: ¹² Kai aphes hēmin ta opheilēmata hēmōn, Hōs kai hēmeis aphēkamen tois opheiletais hēmōn;

I find it remarkably that Luke records Jesus words using the Greek words hamartias (ἁμαρτίας) and opheilonti (ὀφείλοντι), whereas Matthew who was a tax collector and clearly an expert in financial debts—given he collected taxes for Rome. He records Jesus’ words using opheilēmata (ὀφειλήματα) and opheiletais (ὀφειλέταις). This helps us to associate that “sin equals indebtedness.” Sin is fully a legal condition. If we look at these three words in more depth, we learn the following.

opheilonti (ὀφείλοντι / G3784) – to owe.

HELPS Word-Studies: to owe, be indebted, i.e. obliged to rectify a debt (“ought”). Refers to being morally obligated (or legally required) to meet an obligation, i.e. to pay off a legitimate debt. “originally belonged to the legal sphere …
Thayers Greek Lexicon: properly, to owe money, be in debt for.

opheilēmata (ὀφειλήματα / G3783) – to owe.

HELPS Word-Studies: the result of having a debt, focusing on the after-effect of the obligation (note the -ma suffix).
Thayers Greek Lexicon: properly, that which is justly or legally due, a debt;

opheiletais (ὀφειλέταις / G3781) – a debtor.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance: From G3784, to owe.
HELPS Word-Studies: a debtor; someone under obligation to pay back (discharge) a debt.
Thayers Greek Lexicon: one held by some obligation, bound to some duty: b. one who has not yet made amends to one whom he has injured:

Having said all of this, can you see where I am coming from. As I began comparing and contrasting the three interpretative frameworks, I couldn’t find much discussion that includes “how sin is honestly reckoned.” I spent some time reviewing all the Bible dictionaries on sin which is found within the Blueletterbible.com’s website. There is a lot said here, but nothing making the connection of “sin equaling debt.” Nor referencing back to the Old Testament’s view of sin, either in relation to the Lord or in relation to each other. I found as well, this topical area sparse when reading through the history of the church, be it the Greek or Latin church. I can’t say I have ever seen a quote that links back to the laws on sin-crime and sin-debt management in the Old Testament. If they exist, I would be happy for someone to direct me to them.

If we are to have an honest discussion in comparing the three frameworks, we have to include how sin is reckoned. It doesn’t allow for debts of any sort to be left open and permanent. As we will see in the next chapter, it is legally against kingdom law. Yes, Jesus truly paid the world’s sin-debt. How this functioned falls fully in line with the law of atonement, redemption, and the Jubilee law. If we fail to understand these laws, we put values on sin that even the Lord will never apply.

With all of this, I couldn’t help but understand our view of sin has ballooned into a different classification than the law allowed for. It is something Jesus never meant it to be.

Sin equals a crime that creates a debt, financial or judicial. Sin = Debt.
Debts require accounting to reckon the value of that debt, financial or judicial.
Judging the cosmos according to their works requires understanding every work needs to be accounted for and reckoned accurately against the law of Christ.

There is more I could say here, but it is best left for the following chapters when we dive into some of these laws. For now, I would just like to ask you what are your thoughts? Have you considered sin in this way before? Do you think it just to punish someone according to the criteria of the law? Whether it be on an earthly court level or a divine court level? We all desire perfect justice and as we read from the Psalmist about the justice of God, Psalm 89:14:

BSB: ¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; loving devotion and truth go before You.
CLV: ¹⁴ Righteousness and right judgment are the basis of Your throne; Benignity and truth, they stand before Your presence.

⁵¹ צֶ֣דֶק וּ֭מִשְׁפָּט מְכ֣וֹן כִּסְאֶ֑ךָ חֶ֥סֶד וֶ֝אֱמֶ֗ת יְֽקַדְּמ֥וּ פָנֶֽיךָ׃
WLC-T: ¹⁵ tsedeq umishpot mekhon kis’ekha chesed we’emeth yeqaddemu phaneikha (Ps 89:15)

LXX: ¹⁵ δικαιοσύνη καὶ κρίμα ἑτοιμασία τοῦ θρόνου σου, ἔλεος καὶ ἀλήθεια προπορεύσεται πρὸ προσώπου σου. (Ps 88:15)
LXX-T: ¹⁵ dikaiosynē kai krima hetoimasia tou thronou sou, eleos kai alētheia proporeusetai pro prosōpou sou.

7.3.3 What Was Nailed to The Cross?

Now is the perfect moment (if needed) to reset our thinking about what exactly was “nailed to the cross.” I believe this is one of many misquoted and misunderstood scriptures which somehow leads us through our nonchalant discussions to believe “Jesus nailed the ‘law’ to the cross.” As we saw in the previous chapter, He clearly affirms the law and so does Paul. So, what is the apostle Paul saying was nailed to the cross in Colossians 2:13-14:

BSB: ¹³ When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses, ¹⁴ having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!
NIV: ¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
LEB: ¹³ And although you were dead in the trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴ having destroyed the certificate of indebtedness in ordinances against us, which was hostile to us, and removed it out of the way by nailing it to the cross.

BGB: ¹³ Καὶ ὑμᾶς νεκροὺς ὄντας ‹ἐν› τοῖς παραπτώμασιν καὶ τῇ ἀκροβυστίᾳ τῆς σαρκὸς ὑμῶν, συνεζωοποίησεν ὑμᾶς σὺν αὐτῷ, χαρισάμενος ἡμῖν πάντα τὰ παραπτώματα, ¹⁴ ἐξαλείψας τὸ καθ’ ἡμῶν χειρόγραφον τοῖς δόγμασιν ὃ ἦν ὑπεναντίον ἡμῖν, καὶ αὐτὸ ἦρκεν ἐκ τοῦ μέσου, προσηλώσας αὐτὸ τῷ σταυρῷ·
BGB-T: ¹³ Kai hymas nekrous ontas ‹en› tois paraptōmasin kai tē akrobystia tēs sarkos hymōn, synezōopoiēsen hymas syn autō, charisamenos hēmin panta ta paraptōmata, ¹⁴ exaleipsas to kath’ hēmōn cheirographon tois dogmasin ho ēn hypenantion hēmin, kai auto ērken ek tou mesou, prosēlōsas auto tō staurō;

Should we really read these verses and understand it to mean the law itself was nailed to the cross? Certainly not! Jesus has fully canceled the sin-debt that was created against us by the law. It is the “sin-debt note that was nailed to the cross.” Not the law itself! I love how the NIV translates this, “cancelling the charge of our legal indebtedness” and the LEB “destroyed the certificate of indebtedness.”

As we read earlier in Romans 11:32, “For God has consigned all to disobedience that He may have mercy on all.” We who are living with Christ as our savior, He paid that sin-debt note and we are now under grace. We have “come out from under this global disobedience as defined by the law.” Therefore, it is by faith in Christ we are saved, and can stand solid in His grace, that this debt note will never be set back on us again. In fact, this confirms strongly on one side the “once saved, always saved” foundation. There is more to this, of course, and I will touch on this with more clarity in chapter 11, which I think you will find very interesting.

I am not sure your background, but whatever that is, please, if you have ever believed that the law of Christ was nailed to the cross and done away with. Spend time on this topic, as it is foundational to knowing how the Kingdom of God is governed and knowing Their heart and character.

7.4 Conclusions

As I began this chapter, I made the following statement,

I believe we have overstated sin and created a whole new demon which never should have existed. We have made it into something unfathomable compared to how it is viewed by the laws of God.

What are your thoughts now on this? Could there be some truth in what is being said? Can you see where I am coming from now?

I really can say in this study, the discussions of eternal hell or universal restoration have been sparse in including analysis of our composition, the forces fighting against us and how sin is reckoned. I want to invite you as the reader, if you have found something I seemed to have overlooked. Please share it with me. I too want to continue to grow and maybe I missed a data point worthy of inclusion?

As we have explored, there is a significant process put in place and plan for becoming begotten sons of God. Father God and Lord Jesus know all too well, they created us from an inferior material. One subjected to vanity and futility. As we have seen, the apostle Paul makes it abundantly clear there is a hierarchy of building materials. We have to pass through the natural soilish, soulish phase of life first. Then pass through being reborn upon our salvation with the expectation of one day being transformed into the likeness of Christ Jesus. We will no longer be perishable, but imperishable. We will no longer have a soulish body but expect a future celestial flesh and bone body. One which we know will be “as Christ is now.”

Given we are in these soilish, soulish bodies, we should take into consideration the powers of this dark cosmos. What chance in hell (pun intended) do we stand in overcoming such an oppressive assault day and night from this wicked realm? If this wickedness in the celestials exists, how can we account for pure Arminianism and 100% free will. Do we really believe we who are already saved overcame this ourselves and chose Jesus? Or could it be He drew us to Himself by removing our unbelief, removing the vanity over each of us that existed. As we know, “For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:14)”

Personally, I believe if we are honest with ourselves, for all who are saved and in Christ now, it is an incredibly tough life to live. The leaders in our world who partner with this darkness, the religions and the ideologies present so many obstacles. Entire nations under the sway of these Archprinces, Princes, and Commanders, Powers, and the Adversary. I can only see it as Christ’s sovereignty that they saved me. I am humbled He would choose me. Nevertheless, these dark forces still make it incredibly challenging. Though I know they all serve a purpose. They are there for us to overcome. It is why in Revelations 2-3, those who finally govern with Lord Jesus are called overcomers. Surely, nobody can overcome this dark world with their own free will and strength.

Last, as we explored the foundation of sin equating to debt. The foundation is laid to understand, all debts need to be reckoned according to rules of accounting in the law. This is something Jesus clearly understood. It is something that when we dive a deeper into the epistles of Paul, he too clearly understood, since he was a trained as a Pharisee in the law. It was as well in fact, understood in the epistles of Peter, James, and John.

I would like to invite you to consider all that I have shared throughout this chapter. Is this something you feel is worthy of consideration for your own life if you decide to take your own journey into exploring “the restoration of all things.”

Chapter 7: What Should Be Our Understanding of Sin

Chapter Sections