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The Reign of the Servant Kings By Joseph C. Dillow A Review-Summary-Outline
Chapter 20—Hebrews, Peter, and Revelation
Two other warning passages in the book of Hebrews, a passage in Peter, and several warnings in the book of Revelation must be considered. Do any of these passages refer to the possibility of loss of salvation?
Reviewer’s comment: Although this reviewer definitely does not believe that any passages within God’s Word support the Armenian claim that a Christian can lose his salvation or the strict Calvinistic position of the inevitable perseverance of saints, he has great difficulty in some of the author’s arguments in this chapter, particularly with those relating to the passages in 2 Peter and Revelation. Such difficulties will be expressed in further “reviewer” comments throughout this review-summary.
Hebrews 3:1-6
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. (Hebrews 3:1-6)
Both the Arminian and staunchly Calvinistic camps view the “house,” which the writer of Hebrews described as the house over which “Christ as a son” resides, as the community of the saved. Arminians, who focus on the word “if,” see this passage as confirmation that a Christian may lose his salvation; whereas strict Calvinists view it as confirmation of their doctrine of perseverance.
Yet the reference to the “house” relevant to Moses in verse 5, referring to Numbers 12:7, speaks not of the community of the saved but the place where the Jews worshipped, the sanctuary. In fact, the term “house of God” (Gk. oikos theou) was a fixed term for the sanctuary in the Septuagint. In Moses’ day it was the place where priestly activity occurred, where Moses, with the Levites, faithfully carried out the priestly functions of the old economy in the tabernacle in the wilderness.
In the Old Testament to be a member of the house of God was to be a member of the worshiping community in the tabernacle. To be a member of the house of God in the New Testament is to be a member of the worshiping community in the New Testament counterpart to the tabernacle, the gathering of the believers in worship (i.e., the “assembly” or local church). It is apparent that the readers of this epistle were departing from the house of God because he warns them about this: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing” (Hebrews 10:25).
As Moses was faithful in God’s house, Christ is faithful as the Lord over God’s house, the gathered community involved in New Testament worship. To be a member of God’s house is not the same as being a member of the mystical body of Christ, the invisible church. Rather, it is membership in the visible body of Christ, the gathered worshiping community. To depart from God’s house in this sense then is not loss of salvation or proof that one never had it. It simply refers to the “habit of some” of not meeting together in corporate worship for fear of persecution.
Hebrews 10:26-39
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: “For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
The warning against deliberate sin in Hebrews 10:26-39 has understandably given rise to doubt in the minds of some as to whether or not the doctrine of eternal security is found in the Bible. Arminians accept the readers, to whom the warning is addressed, as saved individuals; whereas, strict Calvinists labor under the impossible exegetical burden of claiming that they may not be truly regenerate.
The Regenerate Nature of the Readers
It is evident from several considerations that the readers are regenerate:
Based upon strict Calvinistic premises these people must be saved. They have confessed Christ, are declared to be sanctified, and have proven it by a life of good works.
The Consequences of Willful Sin (Hebrews 10:26, 27)
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. (Hebrews 10:26, 27)
This is a warning to Christians, those who know Christ and willfully sin after having received “full knowledge” (Gk. epignosis) of the truth—this word is used of the knowledge of salvation in 1 Timothy 2:4. It is probable that the author of Hebrews has a particular sin in view, the sin of not holding fast the “confession of our hope,” which he has just warned against (10:23). The warning is against the sin of deliberate apostasy, rejection of one’s confession of faith in Christ—a distinct possibility for the Christian.
When a Christian takes this step, “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” The sacrifice of Christ no longer avails to protect him from God’s judgment. But what kind of judgment is in view? To understand this in context, the Old Testament passage to which this willful sin is referring must be considered.
In the Old Testament, sacrifices were provided for unintentional sin (Numbers 15:27, 29). However, if an Old Testament believer sinned willfully, no sacrificial protection was provided.
But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the LORD, and he shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the LORD, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him. (Numbers 15:30, 31)
The Hebrew word translated “presumptuously” is a two-word phrase meaning “with a high hand,” used in this context of a person “acting in deliberate presumption, pride, and disdain.” When the Hebrews left Egypt, they left with a “high hand,” i.e., they left boldly and defiantly (Numbers 33:3). When a person sinned like this, there was no sacrificial protection from the judgment of God. But what kind of judgment is in view? What does it mean to be “cut off”?
To be cut off” was to undergo capital punishment:
You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. (Exodus 31:14; cf. Deuteronomy 17:12)
The phrase, “cut off,” is often used of capital punishment or severance from the covenant community but never of or from eternal hell. The phrase as used in Hebrews regarding willful sin means there is no sacrificial protection from the temporal consequences of sin. God’s judgment in time, not in eternity, is what is in view. If the writer of Hebrews had intended here to teach final judgment, he would have quoted Jesus rather than Old Testament passages—passages that his readers would have understood as temporal.
The context of Hebrews 10 is about the application of Christ’s death to daily sins for temporal, not eternal, forgiveness. He has already said (1) they have protection from the judgment of eternal hell (Hebrews 10:10), (2) that God will remember their sins and lawless deeds “no more” (Hebrews 10:17), and (3) that “by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Hebrew 10:14). Would he now turn around and contradict himself in vs. 26-30? The Christian’s eternal position before the Father is in view in Hebrews 10:17, while 10:26-30 refers to his temporal relationship to Him. The believer who sins through ignorance and weakness is protected from temporal judgment in time by the blood of Christ. The blood of Christ, however, will not protect the believer who sins willfully. He is in danger of judgment after the Old Testament pattern, a judgment in time that may include physical death or worse.
This judgment is said to be a “fiery indignation that will devour the adversaries.” This is a quote from Isaiah 26:11 that refers to the physical destruction of Israel’s enemies in time, not eternity. The image of fire may refer both to judgment in time and afterwards.
The More Severe Punishment (Hebrews 10:28, 29)
Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrew 10:28, 29)
The “more severe punishment” is a punishment even worse than physical death. An example of a more severe punishment is the mental anguish that Saul, a regenerate man, went through, i.e., mentally ill and tormented by evil spirits (1 Samuel 16:14, 15). A more severe punishment could be a prolonged illness, being kept alive by artificial means, or insanity. One thinks of David’s sin and the resultant consequence, the loss of his child. No doubt the author of Hebrews views millennial disinheritance and a failure to enter rest as more sever than physical death as well.
The seriousness of this step is described in three ways:
The Consequences of Willful Sin (Hebrews 10:30, 31)
For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:30, 31)
The first phrase “Vengeance is Mine” is from Deuteronomy 32:35, which refers to judgments on the people in time, not eternity. The point the author of Hebrews is attempting to make is that the willfully sinning Christian is no different than the rebellious people of God in the Old Testament and can expect no less a similar fate than their judgment—judgment in time.
The second phrase “the LORD will judge His people” is taken from Deuteronomy 32:36. The word translated “judge” may also be translated, as it is in some translations, as “vindicate.” The meaning is that God will execute judgment on the behalf of His people, vindicating their cause against their enemies; but also that on the same principles of impartial righteousness He will execute judgment against them when they forsake His covenant. Thus, “vindicate” or “judge” is a proper rendering of the Hebrew word, both being consistent with the context of Deuteronomy 32 and Hebrew 10. This is how the writer of the epistle applies the passage, which has no application to eternal hell or the loss of one’s eternal salvation.
Exhortation to Persevere (Hebrews 10:32-39)
It is evident that the writer believes that his readers are Christians. They have confessed Christ and have demonstrated the reality of their faith by many good works:
But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. (Hebrews 10:32-34)
But there is a danger. It is possible that this great beginning will not be completed:
Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. (Hebrews 10:35, 36)
Entrance into heaven is promised to no one on the basis of doing the will of God. What is promised here refers to the “great reward” for perseverance to the final hour. The danger is not that they will lose salvation but that they will lose their reward. They will not be of the metochoi, the “partakers,” and will not share in the final destiny of man, to rule and have dominion.
In the New Testament a person either believes or does not believe. Adjectives such as “fully,” “genuinely,” or “truly” are never found as modifiers of “faith” in the New Testament. (Reviewer’s comment: This reviewer must admit to this truth, even though he has often used such modifiers pertaining to “faith;” and hence and hopefully, will not.) Such modifiers are used by writers outside of the New Testament. Therefore, if language has not lost its meaning, these readers of the epistle were regenerate.
The focus is upon the readers “enduring” in order to do the “will of God,” not the genuineness of their saving faith. The author of the epistle then cites a warning from Habakkuk 2:3, 4:
For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him. (Hebrews 10:37, 38)
It is possible for God’s “just” [one], the regenerate Christian, to “draw back.” But the writer encourages them to avoid that option.
But we are not of those who draw back to perdition [destruction], but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. (Hebrews 10:39)
The “saving of the soul” is a common term for the maintaining of physical life. It never means to “go to heaven when you die.” The context of the entire passage refers to the possible execution of judgment in time on the willfully sinning Christian.
Conclusion
It is best to interpret Hebrews 10 as a warning against the failure to persevere to the end. The consequences of this failure are, according to the Old Testament references quoted, not loss of salvation but severe divine discipline in time—a judgment by God on willfully sinning Christians that can be more severe than death.
The most severe punishment, however, is that God will have “no pleasure in him.” When the carnal Christian stands before His Lord in the last day, he will not hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”
2 Peter 2:18-22
For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:18-22)
Reviewer’s comment: Although the reviewer agrees with most of Mr. Dillow’s interpretative presentations within this book, he finds disagreement with him regarding this passage within 2 Peter. An explanation of the disagreement will be presented in another “reviewer’s comment” at the end of this section.
The author believes Peter is speaking of believers in these verses because (1) they have escaped (Gk. apopheugontas) the corruption of the world through the “knowledge” (Gk. epiginosko) of Christ, and (2) they knew the way of righteousness. He argues that the word “know” often suggests a full saving knowledge (“but not always or necessarily”).
He admits that “throughout the context Peter has been talking about false teachers who deny the Lord (vs. 2:1) and who are unbelievably corrupt.” But he also believes that the “they” at the beginning of verse 20 refers not to these false teachers but to the new Christians who have been corrupted and led astray by the false teachers in vs. 18b—the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. He argues: “It is not possible to find an explicit example of a person having “knowledge” (Gk. epignosis, “a full and accurate knowledge”) who is unregenerate in the New Testament.” He declares that “this suggests the new Christians of vs. 18 are in view, and then states the following:
Peter says “the last state has become worse for them than the former” (2:20). If “last” and “former” are to be taken absolutely, then the meaning is “their final condemnation to hell is worse than their former life of sin.” This is banal. It is better to take the terms as “latter” and “former.” Then “latter” refers to their current condition, condition which is in some sense worse than the condition they were in before they were saved.
The new believers, who have been led back into the worldly life from which they had escaped, would have been better off as far as their experience “in this life” was concerned if they had never known Christ at all. They will experience severe divine discipline such as that which came upon Saul. That he refers to their misery in this life, and not eternal damnation, is clear form Peter’s quotation of Proverbs 26:11:
Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit” and, “ A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud” (2:22).
These newborn babes, who were washed by the bath of regeneration, have returned to the “mud.” The most miserable people are sometimes Christians under severe divine discipline. As far as their enjoyment of this life is concerned, they would be far better off never to have known Christ than to endure such correction. . . . The passage is a severe warning to those being enticed to return to their former ways of sin, but there is nothing here about loss of salvation.
Reviewer’s comment: This reviewer finds it difficult to agree with Mr. Dillow’s interpretation on this particular passage. It appears that Mr. Dillow may be guilty to some extent of a form of “illegitimate totality transfer,” which he introduced in chapter 2. His passion in developing the thesis in this book appears, at least to this reviewer, to have subjected him to contrivance apart from obvious contextual and linguistic considerations regarding this passage in order to prove his point. Having said this, this reviewer finds Mr. Dillow’s overall book-thesis to be scripturally correct, not withstanding his view of 2 Peter 2:18-22 and a few other passages.
Upon review of the subject passage this reviewer believes:
Revelation 3:5
He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. (Revelation 3:5)
Reviewer’s comment: Here again the reviewer has variance with Mr. Dillow’s interpretation of the “overcomer” in the book of Revelation. See the reviewer’s comment at the end of this section.
In Revelation 2:26 a thrilling promise is held out to those Christians who remain faithful to Christ to the end of life:
And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations. (Revelation 2:26)
In seven other places in this final book similar promises are made to this select company. But who are they?
The Greek word translated “to overcome” is nikao. It is found in a legal sense of “winning one’s case.” It was commonly used of the victor in the games or of the Caesars, “of our all victorious masters the Augusti.” The noun nike means “victory.” Nike was the name of a Greek goddess who is often represented in art as a symbol of personal superiority. To be an overcomer was to be victorious in both military and legal combat.
There are three views of the overcomer:
The Identity of the Overcomers Reviewer’s comment: Mr. Dillow then uses the next 18 pages in an effort to convince the reader of this book that the “Partakers” position regarding “overcomers” is the correct one. Since this reviewer found the arguments presented somewhat unwieldy and difficult to follow—admittedly a problem with the reviewer and not Mr. Dillow—he refers the reader of this review to the book should he be interested in Mr. Dillow’s position.
After all was presented by Mr. Dillow, this reviewer continues to hold to the belief that an “overcomer” is one who has placed his faith in Jesus Christ for his personal salvation, that by doing so he will never lose his salvation, and who may or may not reign with Christ during the Millennial Kingdom (depending upon a life of faithfulness in which he becomes a “disciple” and “friend” of Christ—John 17). The reviewer basis his interpretation on the following:
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. . . . For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:1, 4, 5)
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)
I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father. (1 John 2:13)
And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Revelation 21:6-8)
According to Mr. Dillow class 1 are those who thirst and receive the water of life freely—all saints; class 2 are those who overcome and inherit (merit ownership of) all things (specifically, the heavenly city—the New Jerusalem) and will have a “special” sonship to God; and class 3 are all unbelievers who will be in the lake of fire—the second death. This reviewer sees only two classes: the “he who overcomes” of the third paragraph as a modifier of the “one who thirsts” mentioned in the second paragraph.
Whereas this reviewer agrees that there will be differing degrees of ownership and heirship (rewards) during the Millennial Kingdom, this passage takes place after that dispensation when God takes the following actions: “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new. . . .’” (Revelation 21:4, 5) It appears that after a thousand years of regret, pain, and tears for not living a life dedicated to God, the wayfaring child of God will then be restored to a position of full sonship within the arena of God’s grace and love. God will wipe away all tears, i.e., He will make all equal, and He will “make all things new.” Although admittedly this is only “belief” coupled with “conjecture” on this reviewer’s part, it appears to fit within the context of the chapter.
It should also be noted that, unlike Mr. Dillow’s position that “inheritance” always speaks of reward for faithful service throughout the Bible, this may not always be the case. In at least a few passages the word “inheritance” may indeed refer only to salvation, as in Ephesians 1:1-18; 5:5; Hebrews 9:15; 1 Peter 1:3, 4. In other words, an “illegitimate totality transfer” can work both ways.
Even though Mr. Dillow attempts to make this Book of Life a different book than “the” Book of Life and even though many believe there is a difference between the “Book of Life” and the “Lamb’s Book of Life,” this reviewer believes all reference (Exodus 32:32; Psalm 69:28; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 19:8; 20:12; 21:27) to the Book of Life refers to the same book. The question is whether or not one’s name can be blotted out of it. If this could not be so then it would be ridiculous to mention the possibility. So if it is possible, then the question arises as to “when” this can and is done. If one can conceive that all names are initially listed in it at physical birth and are blotted out only upon one’s physical death after a life where one has never accepted Christ by faith, then this is a distinct possibility. But those who have “overcome,” i.e., placed their faith in Christ, will indeed be washed in the blood of the Lamb and will “not” have their names blotted out of the Book of Life.
Furthermore in verse 5, it is said that the Lord will confess the names of these overcomers before the Father and His angels, a reference again to salvation as described in Matthew 10:32 and Luke 12:8. End of Chapter 20’s Review
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