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by Jesse Broussard on Sunday, February 20, 2011 at 7:11pm
I'm afraid that this punctuality on my part may begin to raise unreasonable expectations in the few that read these notes. It won't usually be this way, but here you are.

First off, thanks enormously to all that responded--my gratitude is real. And Lance, I'm sure there's a hammer in the garage.

The text:

John 5:24-30 (all are spoken by Christ)

Jhn 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Jhn 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Jhn 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Jhn 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Jhn 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Jhn 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Jhn 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

First, please keep in mind that I'm playing devil's advocate. I agree with you, David, that complete pantelism is complete heresy. I'm simply trying to defend that heresy from Scripture. Second, this time my drink is a dark brown, and out of sympathy for Lance's attention span, there shall be no third.

Initially, I found this passage quite difficult to defend from a hyper-preterist position (that all prophecy has been fulfilled), and I thought that my excursion into the delightful world of the damned had come to an abrupt end.

However, it can fit without any real strain.

The passage is a progression: 24 is past tense, 25 is present, and 28-29 are future. I think we can all agree that 24 is speaking of spiritual death. 25 appears to be speaking of spiritual death as well, simply extending the previous verse. But the chiastic mirrors of these verses, 28 and 29, seem to necessitate a future, possibly physical, resurrection of the dead, and if this verse has not been fulfilled, then pantelism is refuted.

However, could this verse not be referring to 1 Peter 3:18-19?

1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
1Pe 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison...

And, as the only referent of these verses are the "ἀπειθήσασιν," the disobedient spirits, we may further appeal to Ephesians 4:8-9:

Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Eph 4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

We know that Christ descended into Hell and made a public spectacle of those fallen angels who opposed Him (Col. 2:15), preached to those that disobeyed Him (at least in the time of Noah), and ascended into heaven with "captives in His train" (which would obviously be the righteous, leaving the unrighteous behind to their damnation).

During the time of Christ on earth, those in the graves heard His voice, and the good were raised to the resurrection of life while the damned were left behind. We may easily apply this to John 5:28-30.



Next weeks scheduled refutations are 1 Corinthians 15:23-24 and my favorite verse of all time, 1 John 3:2.

Blessings all,
Jesse Broussard