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By: Arnold Kennedy aekennedy@xtra.co.nz INTRODUCTION. Great stress is placed by preachers upon the words, "all", "every" and "whosoever" in verses such as, "Go ye into all the world", "Preach the Gospel to every creature" and so on. These present a false application of Scripture simply because such words and phrases are wrongly used. This misuse of these words has to be considered. This false application contradicts Jesus’ statement and instruction to His disciples: Because of this contradiction we need to find out why this appears to be so, and why the popular interpretation about going to all races contradicts this statement and this command of Jesus. There are different words translated as "all", "every" etc. in both Hebrew and Greek, and so we need to investigate those that are misused to promote forms of universalism. In the New Testament, the Greek word holos is used as "the whole", whereas the more frequently used word pas is used to indicate "a part" as being all of either a greater or a lesser part. It is the making of pas to have the same meaning as holos that causes the error. Where translators have so often translated pas as "all", "every" or "whosoever", it means "all of that part", or "every one of that part", or "whosoever of that part". The word, "whosoever" is frequently translated from the word pas that is also translated as "all". We will see that any untaught person who says, "Where my Bible says whosoever will may come, it means any person of any race", that person is either untaught or is misled. So we have to answer the main question, "does "all" usually mean "all of everything" or "all of that part being spoken about only". Does "all the world" mean the people in the entire planet, or just all of those people in that part of the planet being spoken about? We will see that there is a weight of Scripture that shows that words such as "all" are strictly confined to "all" of each context only. In simple terms, "all the world" is better put as, "all that world", thus excluding every other world = kosmos. The words for "all", "every", "whosoever" etc. are often singular, NOT plural. Thus they refer to: "all" the one [group], or "the whole" of the class, or "the entire" of the class. To grasp the use of this particular "all" in Greek and Hebrew, consider: Here, "all the peoples of the earth" does NOT include Israel. In the same way, "go ye into all the world" is NOT inclusive of every race. Failure to understand this is the source of error in the modern popular evangelical teaching. Because of the importance of this matter, any person seeking truth can look through a concordance (Young’s is easiest) to satisfy themselves as to the right application of this word pas that is translated as "all" etc.. Some examples are given further on to show how to do this. Jesus says that it is not given for everyone to hear or to understand. Speaking to His disciples about the Edomite leadership of the Judean nation He said, "Because it is given wito you to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given"-[Matt. 13:1 1 ]. Immediately we have just one exception like this, then "every" and "all" cannot include that exception, or the other exceptions. If an exception is made about the Edomites who cannot find repentance, or of those borm as tares about which Jesus said, "Leave them alone", then these cannot be part of the "all" being addressed. Jesus did not preach to certain peoples, as we have seen. Jesus said He was sent to Israel and to save "His people" from their sins. Are we to be wiser than Jesus? When we consider the volume of Scriptures detailing the exclusiveness of Israel, if we had no mind-set or previous pre-conditioning, we would have to agree to the following:
If we come to this conclusion about a unique Israel racially, there will immediately be a dilemma between: [a] What the Scripture teaches in direct statements showing the exclusiveness of Israel through both Testaments. [b] What is inferred from indirect verses as used by universalists. Universalists may use what appear to be direct statements, but there are certain words that have been given new meanings and tenses. Sometimes completely wrong and deceptive meanings have been placed on words and some of these have become accepted modern teachings. To these manufactured word meanings, "types" are added to fit the interpretation. This is the common way of teaching, but this is not teaching that is based upon the Cornerstone or the given foundation of the Law, the Psalms and the Prophets -(Eph. 2:20). [c] What we think we see manifest in terms of Christian experience in other races- Both psychology and deliverance from demonic activity, and protection whilst other races are amongst Israel, have application here. But, redemption can only apply to Israel. Now we can look further into some individual verses, and words in those verses. "EVERY CREATURE". As said above, Mark 16:15 is misused in that it appears to be saying that the Gospel is for every race. Which "world" were the disciples to go into? This is a fair question. When the disciples were sent to the lost sheep of the House OF ISRAEL, to whom and to which "world" were they sent? When Jesus said in Matthew 15:24: I am not sent BUT unto the lost sheep of the House of Israel, to what race was He sent? Are we to say Jesus was wrong and that He was sent to every race? Are we to say Jesus was wrong in sending His disciples only to Israelites? If they were told go ye into all the world, why did they not go to the Negroes, the Chinese or the Indians? Why did they choose only one direction and proceeded to where the Children of Israel were? The location of the House of Israel at that time can be easily established historically. Matt 11:1 ¼ he departed thence to preach in their [disciples’] cities. The disciples were instructed specifically not to go to certain peoples. The disciples of Jesus went out from Galilee knowing exactly where to find these "lost" sheep. They were not so "lost" that they could not be found! "ALL", "EVERY ONE", "WHO-SO-EVER", ETC. Consider again these two verses: John 3:16 God so loved the world … Mark 16:15 Go ye into all the world … Such verses are the basis of the thought that the go and preach the gospel to every creature of Mark 16:15 refers to going to every person of every race on earth. Let us consider some of the words in these verses. Preach or kerusso means to proclaim, or to announce good news like a town crier. It does not mean "to make disciples" or "to evangelise", as many teach. But where were they to make their proclamations? Was it to everyone of every race? Let us look at every creature. The Greek word ktisis is given by: Strong G2936-7 as "original formation, building, creature, and ordinance". This is the creature [or rather, creation] of Mark 16:15. The word ktisis in the Greek is used to indicate the product of human building or formation. In this context it refers to a village, or place where people live. A ktisis is built by man, not God. The disciples were to go specifically to the places or the villages or places where the Israelites lived. Matt 10:23 Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, til the Son of Man be come. We cannot make "the cities of Israel" mean the cities of every race. Note here that Jesus is speaking of the time of the end. What is the area of proclamation? Is it not all the world of Israel? What were they proclaiming? Was it not the Gospel of the Kingdom? The Kingdom is what Jesus and John the Baptist came proclaiming repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Who proclaims either of these today? It is impossible to believe and teach both the modern universal gospel to all races and the exclusive Kingdom of Heaven at the same time. Jesus confines all the world to the cities of Israel! In other words, this is what is to be proclaimed in the dwellings or places where the Israelites live right up to the end of the age. ARE "ALL" and "EVERY" LIMITED EXPRESSIONS? Does "all" usually mean "all of everything" or "all of that part being spoken about"? Does all the world mean all the planet, or just all of that part of the planet being spoken about. A look through Young’s Analytical Concordance will show how these words are used. This will give an indication without having to go into the Greek. Being certain on this topic is well worth the time involved researching lexicons to determine the correct meanings of the words used. To grasp the use of all in Greek and Hebrew, consider Deut 28:10 and all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of thee. Here, all the peoples of the earth does NOT include Israel. In the same way, go ye into all the world is NOT inclusive of every race. Failure to understand this is the source of error in the modern popular teaching. Jesus says that it is not given for everyone to hear or to understand. Immediately we have just one exception, then "every" and "all" cannot include that exception, or the other exceptions. If an exception is made about the Edomites who cannot find repentance, or of those Jesus said, leave them alone, then these cannot be part of the "all" being addressed. Jesus did not proclaim to certain peoples, as we have seen. Jesus said He was sent to Israel to save His people from their sins. Are we to be wiser than Jesus? "ALL THE ENDS OF THE Earth" At first glance this appears to have a universal meaning. The word translated as the earth is the Hebrew word erets which is mostly translated as "country" or "earth" in the sense of a localised area or that earth belonging to a people [for example, the land, or earth, of Israel]. In context, this whole chapter is about Israel and no other. It certainly is not used in the generalised sense as the universalists who try to prove the expression the ends of the earth means every race or place on Earth. "IN THEE SHALL ALL NATIONS BE BLESSED" This verse together with and the verses below, are favoured by universalists because they seem to present a universal gospel for all races. "Nations" is sometimes translated emotively as "Heathen" to try to add weight to the universal argument. To understand any passage of Scripture it is necessary to look at it as a whole by going back to the prophecy behind it to see what it is fulfilling. [a] To Abraham: [b] To Isaac: [c] To Jacob: [d] To Jabob/Israel in the Psalms: Here are six important verses that are used to support the doctrine of universal racial salvation. Indeed, they do appear to give valid support on the surface. But do they actually say what the religious translators make them say? Is this the problem here? Let us look further. THE "FAMILIES OF THE EARTH" BEING BLESSED IN ABRAHAM The major source of error in these blessing passages is what we mean by certain words. We have different words translated as earth and the ground, countries and the land, as also occurs with the words translated nations, families and kindreds. Although an extensive technical Hebrew language exposition is beyond the scope of this paper, there are things that need to be pointed out. Originally Abraham was told to go from his father’s house unto an eretz that God would show him. If eretz here is the whole Earth, then Abraham must have gone to another planet! Abraham was told all The ‘Earth’ which thou seeth, I will give thee. He was told to arise and walk through the earth. Did he walk across the whole globe? So we have to ask if this ‘earth’ is the whole earth or the Promised Land. It is not all the ‘eretzs of all the races on earth. Abraham was told to get himself out of his present earth and to go to THE earth. There are many references that give confirmation of the meaning. THE earth does not mean the whole globe, but rather that portion belonging to the particular area or person under consideration. Contrary to popular presentation, we must note that in Genesis 12:3, the ‘them’ in "I will bless them" is plural, whereas the ‘him’ in I will curse him is singular. The Hebrew allows for two possible translations of be blessed, namely: [1] "May be blessed in, or by, association with thee", and [2] "May bless themselves" [as the RV footnote says]. Some awkward questions could be posed here if it was to be taken that all nations had the meaning of "every race on earth":
The promise to Abraham was to "ALL" nations without any exceptions. "All" cannot include those who are cursed and those God says that He hates. Hence "all" means all the nations of Israel. Throughout Scripture, Israel was to dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among the nations [Num 23:9]. Prophecy sustains this to the end. Israel and Judah were scattered among all nations, but are these other nations to be blessed? Jeremiah does not agree. Jeremiah repeats this in Jer 46:28, addressing this to Jacob. In all these Scriptures we can see the unique place of Israel among the other nations. This continues after Jesus returns and Israel reigns with God over the other nations. Finally there will be no more death. What a blessing! The blessing is either given by this seed, or by the Act of God. Quoting Lloyd Palmer of the USA on these words: "Whosever" is an objective pronoun. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "objective" means: "dealing with outward things or exhibiting facts uncolored by feelings or opinions; not subjective." As an adjective, "whosoever" is used to modify and convey a, "fair, impartial, equitable, neutral, open-minded and unprejudiced" meaning to a noun.
In contrast, a subjective pronoun, according to Oxford, means: (of art, literature, written history, a person’s view, etc) "proceeding from personal idiosyncrasy or individuality; not impartial or literal." Now that we have examined the differences in "objective" and "subjective," which one of the two is in harmony with Scripture?
Jesus told His disciples, "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you…"(John 15:16). This is a subjective statement, and not an objective one. This becomes a matter of doctrine. Do you follow the "people choosing God" notion, or do you surrender to the scriptural "people chosen of God" doctrine? Your answer will determine whether you think the word "whosoever" applies to anyone who confesses Christ (the people choosing God notion), or whether you embrace the revealed, "people chosen of God doctrine."
Allow me to ask this question: If all that a person has to do is "confess" Jesus as his personal Saviour, which is the doctrine of most Judeo-Christian churches, then why did Jesus say these words:
These words are strong ones, but they reveal that not every one who "confesses" Christ will be saved!
Universalists love to quote John 3:15-16 to claim that "whosoever" as it is used in these verses, applies to all ethnic groups. When we look up the Greek word that "whosoever" was translated from, we discover something unusual. The word is No. 3588 in Strong’s Greek Dictionary. It is actually three words in Greek: "ho, he, to, in all their inflection; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others, omitted in English idiom): the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc." The list is all subjective words. None of the words could be considered as objective. In other words, "he", "she", and "it", etc, are subjective pronouns. Subjective pronouns are exclusive. Therefore, the catch-all word "whosoever" is a misleading word to use, because it totally changes the inflection.
I suggest that a corrected phrase be used in place of the word "whosoever." The phrase "those who" doesn’t destroy the "people chosen of God" doctrine of the Bible. For example, lets delete "whosoever" and apply "those who" in those two verses of John 3:15-16:
Now it becomes far less inclusive when properly translated and removes the concept that Jesus was speaking generally as many are inclined to see. So the next time you read Scripture and come upon the word "whosoever," try substituting "those who" and see if it doesn’t make for better Bible exegesis. When you understand the "people chosen of God" doctrine, you will also comprehend that our English translators chose of "whosoever’ was a bad choice that led to the Universalist’s mistaken assumption that Jesus was speaking to all groups on an equal basis". (End Quote).
EXAMPLES WHERE WE FIND THE WORD "ALL" THAT ARE NOT ALL INCLUSIVE. The word "all" is found twice in this passage, and "all Jerusalem" has the context of "all the chief priests and scribes". King Herod would not be demanding where the Christ would be born of a woman giving birth, neither would such a woman be troubled. Thus it does not include "all" of the other people in the city, and to say that every person in every situation was troubled would obviously be not true. Again the word "all" appears twice. Very obviously John the Baptist could not have baptised every person in Jerusalem, or indeed every person in "all Judea". Thus "all" refers to that part who came from those locations, and not anyone else who stayed home. Also, it did not include the High Priest and the Roman garrison. Perceptibly, "all the people" means that part of the people who were present before Pilate, and does not include anyone else. Here, "all the people" does not include the Scribes and Pharisees Jesus had been talking to immediately before this, and "all" has the meaning of all those others then present, as does "every one of you". Again, "all the people" that occurs twice in this passage can only refer to that part of "all the people" who were present. There is a Scripture in Rev. 13:7, which is taken totally out of context, and used by many preachers to deceive mankind, and bring great fear upon them. That verse says (speaking of the anti-christ), "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over ALL KINDREDS AND TONGUES, AND NATIONS." And the next verse says, "And ALL that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world". Thus "all kindreds" does not include those whose names are written in the Book of Life. False preachers point to the word "all" in verse 7, and again in verse 8, without giving consideration to the context itself. There are many, many times throughout the Bible when the word "all" is put for "a part", even in the same way that we use the word in our every day life. Often we use terms such as "everybody in town was at the meeting", or "the water was all over the place", and so forth. In Genesis. 6, when God was talking about bringing a flood upon the Earth in verse 13, God said, "The end of ALL FLESH is come before Me." Then in verse 17, God said, "In Genesis 6:17, "And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy ALL FLESH, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and EVERYTHING that is in the earth shall die", we know that Noah did not die as part of "all flesh". Again, "all" is being used with the meaning of "a part" or "the greater part. In Joshua 6:21, "And they utterly destroyed ALL THAT WAS IN THE CITY, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword", we know that Rahab was not part of "all" that was destroyed in that city. In 1 Kings 11:16, "For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off EVERY MALE in Edom:) That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child", did "every male" include male children? Did "every male" include those Edomites who fled? If the entire Edomite male population on earth had been slain, how could Edomites be found after this? In Luke 2:1, "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that ALL THE WORLD should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And ALL went to be taxed, every one into his own city", we can see that "all the world" has the meaning of "all that world". This is how "all the world" is used in "Go ye into all the (that) world and preach the Gospel". In Romans 1:8, "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout THE WHOLE WORLD", do we believe that "the whole world" included the Chinese, the Maoris and the Aztecs? In Rom. 10:18, "I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into ALL THE EARTH, and their words unto THE ENDS OF THE WORLD. But I say, Did not Israel know"?, again did "all the earth" and "the ends of the world" include say Australia, or was it confined to all "that world" of the context, Israel? In Col. 1:23, "If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached TO EVERY CREATURE WHICH IS UNDER HEAVEN", could "every creature under heaven" be extended beyond those to whom Paul preached? These are just a sample of verses that show how Scripture uses phrases, and if we use them otherwise, we must come to wrong conclusions. These wrong conclusions then lead on wrong evangelism and also to the interpretation of prophecy. Let us consider some of these. If those preachers who are telling us that the antichrist will rule all nations, and kindreds upon the face of the Earth, if they are not fear-mongering, then why do they not put the same emphasis on Dan. 11:41, where it is speaking of the antichrist at the height of his power and glory. There it says that antichrist will overthrow many countries, then it says, "But these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and chief of the children of Ammon." If the same people were occupying the same territory, this would be modern day Jordan, and some territory close by. So we must ask, if the antichrist at the time is going to have his throne in Jerusalem, and will not be able to get control of Jordan, which is just next door, and the area around about, why should we believe that he will rule the whole Earth? But if this is not the present application, "all nations" does not include those that escape. Also, in Matthew 24, in answer to one of the three questions Jesus was asked, He spoke of that future time when the antichrist will be at the height of his glory, and ruling all that he will be able to rule. And if there is not going to be any place on Earth that the anti-christ will not rule, then why did Jesus say, "Let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains", verse 16? Why flee if there is no place to go to? And why would Jesus bother to tell the people to flee, if the antichrist is going to be ruling every foot of land? In that case, there would be no place to go. Also, the prophet, Isaiah, gets in on this subject, and confirms the scripture in Dan. 11:41. In Isaiah 16:1-4, we are told that those fleeing Israelites, mentioned in Matthew 24:16, will go to Moab, and will be hidden in Moab until the end of the age when Jesus Christ will come, and the antichrist will be consumed out of the land. Is it not a fair question to ask, that since the fleeing Israelis will be protected in Moab from the forces of the antichrist, is it not then a fair assumption that the antichrist will not be in charge in Moab, and especially since the scripture says that he will not be? In the book of Dan. 2, that prophet was talking to Nebuchadnezzar, who was the king of Babylon at that time, and Daniel said to him in verse 38, "And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the Heaven hath He given unto thy hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all." So it must be asked if Nebuchadnezzar ruled America? Did he rule Japan? And the rest of the world? The answer of course is that he did not. He ruled only in the Middle East, and yet he was spoken of as "ruler over them all". Then Dan. 2:39, it speaks of the third kingdom of brass (which was the Grecian Empire), and it says, "that it would bear rule over all the earth". So again, did the Grecian Empire cover the whole earth, as we know it today, or just the Middle East? If your answer is the Middle East, you are right. Yet, the same term was used of that kingdom in Dan. 2:39, as is used of the antichrist in Rev. 13:7&8. So, neither one did, nor will, rule every nation on earth. If a person would read these prophetic passages, and try to apply the same rule as some do on Rev. 13:7-8, we would have a big, big mess, and we would have contradiction after contradiction in the Bible. CONCLUSION. As pointed out earlier, Jesus says that it is not given for everyone to hear or to understand. Speaking to His disciples about the Edomite leadership of the Judean nation He said, "Because it is given unto you to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given"-[Matt.13:11]. How then would Jesus send us to people who cannot "hear"? How could they be converted if "faith comes by hearing" as we are told? Immediately we have just one exception like this, then "every", "all" and "whosoever" cannot include that exception, or the other exceptions. If an exception is made about the Edomites who cannot find repentance, or of those born as tares about which Jesus said, "Leave them alone", then these cannot be part of the "all" being addressed. Jesus did not address certain peoples, as we have seen. Jesus said He was sent to Israel and to save "His people" from their sins. That is, they were "His people" before they were saved. Therefore the command, "Go ye into all the world" refers to all that part of the world who can hear and are given the ability to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus we can see that: ….are confined to going to one particular people only. Thus the popular misuse of the words, "all", "every" and "whosoever" does not promote the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven over Israel that is the real "Great Commission"! |
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Modified Monday, July 13, 2009 Copyright @ 2007 by Fathers' Manifesto & Christian Party |
THE
MISUSE OF THE WORDS, "ALL", "EVERY", "WHOSOEVER’, ETC.
