Although not a part of Andrew Juke's original text, I felt it needful to explain how important I feel this book is in this day and age of "religion" and apostate Christianity. The doctrine of "eternal torment" has become an essential part of "orthodox" teaching today. It is all but assumed that this doctrine is what the Bible teaches concerning the final destination of mankind. However, this false teaching does not reflect the mind of Christ, nor has it ever entered into our Father?s heart to do such a thing to the majority of his creation (Jer. 32:32).
a rather curious thing to state.
Eternal torment for the unrighteous is indeed part of orthodox biblical teaching.
I guarantee it's not because we like it, want it, or think it's such a great thing.
But our "feelings/views" on biblical orthodoxy are irrelevant.
Jesus being YHVH the Son is biblical orthodoxy too.
As is the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
As well as the gospel of Jesus.
As is the necessity of faith in a biblically accurate perspective to experience the salvation from sin, to become a new creation.
There are several biblically orthodox things contained in the Bible, which constrain us so we may walk with YHVH.
It's written in Amos 3:3
Can two walk together unless they are in agreement?
It's curious that the writer of the preface uses Jeremiah 32:32.
Jer 32:32 WEB because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger—they, their kings, their princes, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
I'm looking at the surrounding passages and I'm not particularly sure why he selects one verse to give credence to the idea.
It should be noted that God kicked the previous residents of the land of Canaan out because they committed great evils and the Israeli people were warned that the same thing would happen to them if they made a habit of doing those things too.
Gen 15:16 WEB In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.”
Lev 18:2-3 WEB 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘I am Yahweh your God. 3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived. You shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes.
Deu 7:1-4 WEB 1 When Yahweh your God brings you into the land where you go to possess it, and casts out many nations before you—the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite—seven nations greater and mightier than you; 2 and when Yahweh your God delivers them up before you, and you strike them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them. 3 You shall not make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to his son, nor shall you take his daughter for your son. 4 For that would turn away your sons from following me, that they may serve other gods. So Yahweh’s anger would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.
So, this use of the verse chosen makes no sense in the application described.
I'm still intrigued by calling biblical orthodoxy false teaching.
There's too much describing the doctrine to corroborate the idea that it's false teaching.
Do I find it a pleasant doctrine?
No.
But, nor do I find the idea of gravity a pleasant doctrine.
Shall I then teach people to disregard gravity because it doesn't fit my fancies?
Hey folks.... there's this idea running around about this thing called- gravity. It's an old idea. A lot of people have believed in it for so long that it's become an orthodoxy of human existence.
Well, I think that it's a false teaching. You should just do whatever you want. Don't worry if you find yourself in a state of free fall (another orthodox idea I'll be renaming soon).
And you can ignore that sudden deceleration once you reach the end of your free fall. It too is a false teaching,........
I think that if you don't like the idea that you can't walk off a roof and keep walking straight across to another building, at the same or higher elevation, it's a false assumption that you cannot actually do so.
It'd be idiotic to think because we don't find the orthodoxy of life pleasant ideas, we can dismiss or disregard them.
It's written in Proverbs 29:16,
Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint. But happy are those who keep the law.
In Hosea 4:6, we read that God's people perish because of the lack of knowledge.
So profound is that, we see God telling the priests- because you have rejected knowledge, I have rejected you from being a priest. And because you have forgotten the law of your God, I will forget your children.
To me, this is an utterly terrifying idea...
If you forget God's Law, he will forget your children...
It tells me that if you dismiss what matters to God, he will dismiss what matters to you.
In psalm 138:2, we read that God exalts his word above his name.
Over the course of the past several decades, I've come to realize that he takes his word more seriously than his name, and as is written in the law, he takes his name very seriously.
Thus, we see Jesus saying that not everyone who calls him lord will enter into God’s Kingdom, but those who keep his word. Matthew 7:21-24
He says elsewhere,
He who teaches and does what he says will be great in his kingdom. But the one who disregards his teachings will be least in his kingdom. Matthew 5:19.
We don't cast off orthodoxy because it's unpleasant.
We take the time to learn why it was important to begin with. We take the time to read the Bible, examine the precepts and judgments of God, so we can gain a better understanding of the truth, and then engage it.
While obvious, we don't ignore gravity's effects and impacts because we don't like them. We engage in healthy respect for it to ensure our safety, and security. We learn to live with it, so we may enjoy a long and healthy life.
In like manner, we don't ignore the orthodoxy of hell, and the lake of fire.
We learn what, why, if it's possible to escape, and the wherewithal to do so, that we may enjoy life, and how to enjoy beyond death.
There's one church in the 7 letters to the 7 churches of Revelation, which is overly orthodox. Ephesus.
In examining this church, we see that Jesus didn’t rebuke them for their orthodoxy. He rebuked them because they were orthodox. Nor because they were overly enthusiastic about making sure they had the right doctrines.
They were rebuked because they left their first love, and instructed to return to that first love.... Jesus himself.
Churches in Revelation were never rebuked for their orthodoxy. There were other, far more pragmatic issues that were important.
