Earl R. Borders

When viewing the accounts of the discovery of Christ's Resurrection, we read "Mary Magdalene" is mentioned in all four Gospel accounts and is listed first. Matthew 28:1 tells that "came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary." Mark 16:1 states it was "Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome." Luke 24:10 says, "It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna." The same is found John 20:1, which states "cometh Mary Magdalene." Mark 16:9 states, "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared FIRST [emphasis mine] to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils." 
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The question is, "Why?" It is obvious Mary Magdalene was a special person with some leadership qualities because she is mentioned first in each listing. The key is the words in the latter part of Mark 16:9, which reads, "Out of whom he had cast seven devils." Look at her brokenheartedness and appeal recorded in John 20:11-15. Verse 11 says, "Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping." In verse 15, she appealed, "Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said in Luke 7:47, "Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." She love very much. She was moved and grieved by her great love and was rewarded.

Earl R. Borders

The most basic truth we must understand is spiritual qualities or conditions cannot be inherited. Therefore, sin cannot be inherited. Ezekiel 18:20 declares, "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father." In Ezekiel 18:2, we read, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." In verse 3, the Lord instructed Ezekiel, "Ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel." Ezekiel 18:21 teaches us that "sins" are "committed." Sin is not something that can be inherited. 

In Ezekiel 18:4, the Lord informs us, "Behold, all souls are mine." At conception, a soul is placed within that newly conceived body. Would the Lord create a soul with sin in it? In Galatians 2:17, the Apostle Paul posed this question: "Is therefore Christ the minister of sin?" Then he answered with a resounding, "God forbid." So in reality, there is not an Adamic nature or inbred sin from which man needs to be cleansed. Some are of the persuasion that since the fall of man, all children enter the world with a depraved nature from which they need to be cleansed. However, let us consider what the Scriptures teach.

In Ecclesiastes 7:29 (penned approximately 977 B.C.—many centuries subsequent to the fall of man), we read, "Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright [the Hebrew word is yashar, meaning righteous]; but they have sought out many inventions." Ezekiel 28:15, speaking of "the king of Tyrus" (verse 12) in 588 B.C., says, "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." 

Biblically, there are not two types of sin—committed and inherited. According to James 4:17, for there to be sin requires both knowledge and an act of will. "To him that knoweth [knowledge is required] to do good, and [two elements necessary] doeth it not [an act of the will, the exercise of the power of choice], to him it is sin." Thus, there are not two types of sin that require two cleansings.

First John 1:7 says, "The blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin." All agree on this point, but the question arises, how many applications of the blood are required? The Hebrew writer wrote if the old ceremonial sacrifices could cleanse man from a conscience of sins, "the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins" (Hebrews 10:2). Hebrews 9:14 tells us "the blood of Christ" is able to "purge your conscience." Since there is only one type of sin, it only requires one blood cleansing. Even if there was more than one type of sin, "the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin."

Earl R. Borders

Earl R. Borders

When viewing the Revelation, we must be mindful that we are viewing a writing that employs symbolic language to convey its truths. Revelation 1:1 tells us that the nature of the language of this book is that it is "signified." The word in the original Greek is semaino, which means "revealed by signs." Webster's New World Dictionary defines a sign as "a symbol." So, the expressions in the Book of Revelation are symbolic.

The Apostle John (the Revelator) was a Hebrew. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus always spoke in a language the people could easily relate to; so it is in the Revelation. Since John was a Hebrew, much of the imagery in Revelation is drawn from the Old Testament writings and practices. So it is with these "elders."

The "elders" in the Revelation symbolize the ministry. First Peter 5:1-2 tells us "the elders" are those who are called to "feed the flock of God" and have "the oversight," essentially speaking of pastors. The expression "four and twenty" (Revelation 4:4, 10; 11:16) conveys at least two truths. First, the number "four and twenty" (or twenty-four) is a multiple of twelve. Twelve was considered amongst the Hebrews as completeness or perfection. This portrays, as Colossians 2:10 proclaims, "Ye are complete in him" (speaking of "Christ"; verse 8). 

Christ has provided mankind completeness for men's souls through the salvation provided in this new covenant. He also has a perfect and complete ministry to bring mankind to an understanding of where all may "be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4).
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The second aspect of these "four and twenty elders" is what is drawn from the Hebrew imagery. Under the old Jewish economy, there were "four and twenty" courses of Levitical priests. First Chronicles 24:1-19 speaks of these courses, and the passage is specific that these are "the sons of Aaron" (verse 1), and from there it proceeds to "the sons of ... Eleazar," and "the sons of Ithamar" (verse 3). The text goes on to speak of "chief men found of the sons of Eleazar" and "the sons of Ithamar" (verse 4). 

Verses 7-18 list the twenty-four divisions that comprised the Levitical priesthood. All the Jewish priesthood were men. Under the old economy, it was not a role filled by women. Thus, when drawing from the Old Testament, and using Hebrew imagery with which John was familiar, the vision portrayed men in the role of "elders" as that was all who filled the role of priests in the Old Testament.

Earl R. Borders

This expression must be considered in view of its surrounding context, as well as in the harmony and scheme of the Scriptures. This prophetic passage begins by establishing the timeframe for the fulfillment of this prophecy: "in those days" and "in that time" (verse 1). To determine when "those days" and "that time" occur, consider the preceding verses. In Joel 2:28, the prophet spoke of a time when, "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions."

On the Day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter quoted Joel 2:28-32. Before quoting Joel's prophetic passage, Peter cried, "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:16). Thus, "those days" and "that time" (Joel 3:1) refer to the Gospel Day, or Holy Ghost Dispensation, that formally began on the Day of Pentecost (A.D. 33).

The particular portion of the Christian dispensation the writer was speaking of in Joel, Chapter 3, can be determined more clearly by considering the succeeding verses. In verse 12, he spoke again of "the valley of Jehoshaphat," and in verse 13, "Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full." John referenced this verse when he wrote, "Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe" (Revelation 14:15). 

Revelation 14:1 portrays "mount Sion" being back in visible view and the "Lamb" (Christ) back in His position as head of the church. This prophetically establishes the timeframe as the evening-time portion of this Gospel Day. That is when God is gathering people out of the "earth," or man-made religion, as symbolized by the beast that arose in Revelation 13:11 (the religious system of Protestantism). This is a time when, as Joel 3:2 depicts, the Lord "will also gather ... whom they have scattered."

Regarding "the valley of Jehoshaphat," Adam Clarke wrote, "There is no such valley in the land of Judea; hence the word must be symbolical." The name "Jehoshaphat" means "Jehovah judges" or "the Lord judges" (Cruden's Complete Concordance). That is exactly what the Lord is doing in this evening-time portion of this Gospel Day. Speaking of this part of the Christian dispensation, Revelation 15:4 says, "Thy judgments are made manifest."

Joel 3:1 speaks of "the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem." One scholar wrote, "This may refer to the return from the Babylonish captivity." Indeed, it does, using the Old Testament occurrence as symbolic of the New Testament event. When Joel 3:2 records, "I will also gather all nations," it is symbolic of all the denominations from which God is gathering His people. The latter portion of Joel 3:2 speaks of those "scattered among the nations." It is the same condition where the Lord said, "I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day [a symbolic representation of the Protestant era]" (Ezekiel 34:12).

There is a further symbolism when speaking of "the valley of Jehoshaphat." While not a literal valley, it brings to mind what occurred concerning "Jehoshaphat," recorded in 2 Chronicles, Chapter 20. In this passage, "Jehoshaphat" was confronted with the amalgamation of several enemies of God's people: "the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir" (verse 22). This is typical of the amalgamation of the enemies of truth we face in this evening time, as depicted by the eighth beast in Revelation, Chapter 17. 
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Revelation 20:7-8 tells of the consolidation of "Satan" ("the adversary" in the Greek, which is "the dragon," representing paganism; Revelation 20:2) and "Gog, and Magog," symbolizing papalism and Protestantism. In 2 Chronicles, Chapter 20, as well as, throughout the Revelation, we see a consolidation of all the enemy's forces such as we are seeing today. However, each of the Scriptures where this is depicted also shows an ultimate, absolute victory for God and His people and a vindication of the truth, just as in the time of Jehoshaphat. Second Chronicles 20:22 reads, "The Lord set ambushments" and brought a great victory in the end, even as He shall do at the ending portion of this Gospel Day. The prophetic picture of "the valley of Jehoshaphat" is an encouraging portrayal of the ultimate victory of Christ, the church, and His truth prior to His Second Advent!

Earl R. Borders

God certainly has an infinite foreknowledge. Isaiah 46:9-10 says, "I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning." In Isaiah 42:9, the prophet penned the words of the Lord as "new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them." These Scriptures substantiate the truth that God has an infinite foreknowledge. In Psalm 147:5, the psalmist proclaimed, "Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite."
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However, we must bear in mind that there is a substantial difference, or distinction, between foreknowledge and foreordination. Much in the prophetic body does not occur because God said so, but He said so because He knew it was going to occur. An individual's eternal destiny is not predetermined or foreordained. Ephesians 1:4-5 lets us know it is not people who are predestined but the plan. Second Peter 3:9 tells us God is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Again, God has foreknowledge, but that is vastly different than a predetermined foreordination. 

Man is a being created with the power of choice over his eternal destiny. Here are some Scriptures to substantiate man's power of choice, or as sometimes is termed "free moral agency": Deuteronomy 30:19-20; Joshua 24:15; 1 Kings 18:21; Acts 26:28; 2 Corinthians 5:11. God leaves the determination of every individual's eternal destiny to every individual's choosing. "Therefore choose life" (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Earl R. Borders

The Biblical answer is BOTH! In Psalm 139:13-16, the psalmist described conception as, "When I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth" (verse 15). He said, "Thou has covered me" and also mentioned "my reins" (verse 13). The "me" and "my" he was referring to was "my soul" (verse 14). 

Ezekiel 18:4 informs us that God said, "All souls are mine." A soul is placed within at the time of conception. Therefore, there is spiritual life. Psalm 139:16 says, "Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, ... when as yet there was none of them." 

At conception, when the soul is placed within, the new life is written in the Book of Life. The Apostle Paul substantiated this in Romans 7:9, stating, "For I was alive without the law once." This refers to the time prior to his reaching the age of accountability. Romans 4:15 tells us, "For where no law is, there is no transgression."

Prior to the age of accountability, there is therefore no sin. If Paul was "alive," he was in the Book of Life. However, he said in Romans 7:9, "But when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." The "commandment" was the Mosaic Law, which was given on Mount Sinai in 1491 B.C. Yet, Paul was writing this around 1500 or more years later. What did he mean? When "the commandment came" to Paul was when he became aware of it. That is when accountability arrived. 
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When Paul became aware of right and wrong, he became accountable. Then, he did as Isaiah 53:6 says, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way." When this occurs, the Apostle penned, "Sin revived [one rendering says, 'sin sprang into life'], and I died" (Romans 7:9). When "sin" enters in and spiritual death occurs, the Lord says, "Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book" (Exodus 32:33). 

When we are "born again" (John 3:7), and have as Romans 6:4 describes "newness of life," our names are "written in the book of life" (Revelation 20:15). Of all things, we must make sure that our "names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20) and that they stay in that blessed "book of life."

​Earl R. Borders