- The beast thou sawest shall go into perdition: Twice in this chapter (17v8 & 17v11) the Holy Spirit draws attention to the sorry end of this beast. Some might question the idea of a corporate entity going into eternal punishment but in chapter 20v12 it is recorded that "death and hell" (both corporate entities) are cast into the lake of fire. Whether we think of individuals or the entire group, the spirit of God is making it clear that all associated with this evil kingdom will be banished forever from the presence of God. No sooner has the diabolical nature of this kingdom been outlined than the deserved destiny is proclaimed. To be any part of this kingdom is to perish, but what does this mean? What does it means to GO INTO PERDITION.
The word "perdition" is used twenty times in the New Testament, sometimes rendered destruction, waste, or perishing. It is the Greek word "apoleia" which means "ruin or loss." The construction of the word is "away from everything that is desirable for the human spirit." This is understood best when we compare the blessing of God and the cursing of God as used in the bible. A reading of Deuteronomy chapter 28 will illustrate what it means to be blessed by God and what it means to be cursed by him. Blessing is a state of eternal wellbeing; cursing is the loss of wellbeing for all eternity. It is a state of anguish and torment that is final. The blessing and cursing of Deuteronomy chapter 28, that applies mainly to life in this world, and has to do with material blessings, can be transferred to the human soul in a final state of ruin. Perdition is not the loss or cessation of being; it is the cessation of wellbeing. The human soul, created by God, can only ever be satisfied with God its creator. This truth is imprinted across the whole of the bible. Perdition is final and eternal banishment from God and from all that is good. We now look at the eight references in the New testament of the word perdition:
- John 17v12 - "Those that thou gavest I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition." This refers to Judas who spent three and a half years in the company of the incarnate Son of God as well as the eleven other apostles of Christ, but he lost everything.
- Philippians 1v28 - "In nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation." All adversaries of the gospel and of the people of God will ultimately lose everything.
- 2nd Thessalonians 2v3 - "And the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. This is the fate of the man who becomes ruler of the final world empire described here in chapter 17.
- 1st Timothy 6v9 - Speaking of those who will be rich they "fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition." Gain in this world which takes me away from God leads to loss of everything.
- Hebrews 10v39 - "We are not of them who draw back unto perdition; or of them that believe to the saving of the soul." Those who draw back having made a profession of faith in Christ will lose everything.
- 2nd Peter 3v7 - "The heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." Either those who deny the existence of God or who refuse His claim on their lives or who create other gods of their own making, all these ungodly people will go into perdition.
- Revelation 17v8&v11 - The entire kingdom of all who follow this ungodly system, under the sway of the demonically inspired man of sin will go into perdition.
This is ultimate loss; why sacrifice eternal blessings for a few years here of selfish pleasures? Forever it will mean the loss of everything that is held dear including the pleasures of earth that so hold us captive. This awful word "perdition" is encapsulated in the stories of the bible and verses of the bible which proclaim men and women apart from God to be lost. Jesus came "to seek and to save that which was lost". As we are born into this world, we are lost to God and we need to be found again. The declarations by Jesus are clear; Mark 8v34-37 "whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whosoever shall save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospels, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Solemn issues indeed!
No comments:
Post a Comment