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In his work called The Enchiridion , St. Augustine denied that 1 Timothy 2:4 teaches that God desires the salvation of every single human individual. Believing that God’s will is perfect and immutable, and that no one can ever thwart his will, St. Augustine reasoned that this proves that God didn’t desire to save every person. If God had wanted every man to be saved then God would have sovereignly brought this to pass, since no one could stop him from doing so. Rather. St. Au

The great St. Augustine was explicit in his articulation that the wicked will suffer never-ending, everlasting conscious torment. This most influential theologian vehemently opposed the doctrine of conditionalism/annihilationism (that the wicked will eventually be annihilated after undergoing a period of suffering).   St. Augustine is also aware that there were many Christians in his day and previously who rejected everlasting conscious torment. These individuals either held

In this post I will be quoting excerpts from 4 th  century AD Church historian Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History the very controversial apologist and theologian Origen. Eusebius mentions the story of Origen castrating himself and also sought to refute the charge of Origen being a heretic. All emphasis will be mine.   Chapter 1. The Persecution under Severus.   When Severus began to  persecute  the  churches ,  glorious  testimonies were given everywhere by the athletes of rel

In his refutation to the Arians, the beloved saint and outstanding defenders of the most Glorious and Holy Trinity, St. Athanasius lists Origen among those who held to an orthodox of the Trinity and Deity of Christ. All emphasis will be mine.     Chapter 6.— Authorities in Support of the Council.  Theognostus; Dionysius of Alexandria; Dionysius of Rome; Origen.   25. This then is the sense in which they who met at Nicæa made use of these expressions . But next that they did n

In the previous segments ( https://www.samshmnthelogy.net/post/yahweh-son-of-the-most-high-pt-2 ), I showed how the liberal interpretation of Deuteronomy 32:8-9 comports with Trinitarian beliefs since it would affirm that the Most High is the Father and Yahweh is his eternal Son, namely, Jesus Christ in his prehuman existence. With that said, the liberal view is not at all the obvious meaning of the passage since it is grammatically and contextually implausible. Rather, the c

More OT Proof for God’s Triunity I continue from where I left off in pt. 1 ( https://www.samshmnthelogy.net/post/yahweh-son-of-the-most-high-pt-1 ). The Evidence Here is what the immediate context of the passage from Deuteronomy says about Israel’s God: “For I will proclaim the name of the Lord ; ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock , his work is perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God (El) , without deceit, just and upright is he; yet HIS degenerate children  ha

More OT Proof for God’s Triunity In this post, I’m going to discuss a particular OT text that has led some scholars to conclude that early Israelite religion wasn’t monotheistic, and did not think that Yahweh was the sole or chief Deity. The passage which I have in view is this one taken from Deuteronomy: When the Most High (Elyon)  gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders [a]  of the peoples according to the number of the sons of G

In this post I will share some of the biblical evidence, which explicitly affirms that Jesus is the Most High God while also being the Son of the Most High. Exalted on High YHWH The Old Testament repeatedly emphasizes that YHWH alone is seated on high and that he alone is far exalted above all the gods: “When the Most High  gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God… See now th

In this post I share some of the early and plentiful evidence from the Latin Church for the authenticity of 1 John 5:7, typically referred to as the Comma Johanneum. The verse reads: “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” New King James Version “And there are three who give testimony in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one.” Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition I

In this post I will be citing from specific reformed sources for the express purpose of showing how these reformed authorities accepted the textual veracity of passages found in the Received Text ( Textus Receptus ), which is the collated Greek text employed by the King James Version translators in producing their English translation of the [N]ew [T]estament writings. These are the verses which modern textual critics call into question due to their preferring or prioritizing

The following excerpt is from Haydock’s Catholic Commentary on the Holy Bible on 1 John 5 :7. It was compiled by the late Rev. Fr. George Leo  Haydock.  The commentary can be accessed online: Haydock Commentary Online . All emphasis will be mine.   Ver.   7.   There are three that give testimony in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these   three are one:  i.e. one in nature, in substance, and in all perfections, in the same sense as when Christ himself sai

I will be examining particular texts that seem to point to the punishment of unbelievers being an ongoing, never-ending experience of torment. This is known as the doctrine of eternal/everlasting conscious torment (ECT).     Synoptic Gospels   The Lord Jesus often described the punishment of the wicked as a “place” of complete darkness where individuals will experience pain and/or misery of some sort, such as gnashing of teeth, fire that cannot be quenched, and/or deathless m

The Gospels and Acts speak of God sending an angel of the Lord to make his purpose known to specific individuals:   “Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord ( angelos Kyriou ) appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.’… But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord ( angelos Kyriou )  appeared in a dre

In this post I will quote from Eusebius’ History of Church , written around 312-324 AD, where he appeals to the writers, apologists, theologians, fathers, etc. of the Church to prove that the holy Apostles and their successors have always taught that Jesus Christ is God who became man. He will reference apologists and martyrs such as Clement, Irenaeus, Justin and others whose writings he had consulted to prove how they all affirmed the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Eusebius

Noted fourth century church historian Eusebius has a section explaining the meaning and significance of Jesus’ Hebrew name, which I cite at length. CHAPTER 17 That the Name of Jesus was also honoured among the Ancient Friends of God. MOSES was also the first to use the Name Jesus, when he changed the name of his successor and altered it to Jesus. For it is written: “These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, and Moses called Nauses, the son of Nave, J

According to Clement of Alexandria, there was a tradition which stated that Peter’s wife was martyred as the blessed Apostle looked and encouraged her:   They say, accordingly, that the blessed Peter, on seeing his wife led to death , rejoiced on account of her call and conveyance home, and called very encouragingly and comfortingly, addressing her by name, “Remember the Lord.” Such was the marriage of the blessed and their perfect disposition towards those dearest to them. T

The Synod of Laodicea has been dated by scholars anywhere between the years 343 and 381 AD, between the Sardican and the Second Ecumenical Council. I quote what this Synod wrote in respect to Sabbath keeping.   Canon 16   The  Gospels  are to be read on the  Sabbath  [i.e. Saturday], with the other Scriptures.   Before the arrangement of the Ecclesiastical Psalmody was settled, neither the  Gospel  nor the other Scriptures were accustomed to be read on the  Sabbath . But out

In this short post I will quote the places where the Hebrew Bible teaches that YHWH has/possesses a soul ( nephesh ).   “I will set my tent among you, and my soul won’t abhor you… I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and cast your dead bodies upon the bodies of your idols; and my soul  will abhor you.” Leviticus 26:11, 30   “They put away the foreign gods from among them and served Yahweh; and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.” Judg

In this post I will quote the sections from the Catechism and its compendium to show that the Church both affirms and quotes 1 Timothy 2:5 where it plainly states that Christ is the one Mediator between God and men. I will also cite those parts where the Church at the same upholds the belief in the saints are alive and glorified in heaven and are interceding for those on earth. The Church realizes that there is nothing incompatibility with Jesus being the one Mediator and wit

The deuteron-canonical writings contain passages which point to the Triunity of God. In fact, the New Testament itself echoes the language and ideas of these writings when describing Christ as Divine. For instance, Jesus is said to be the Wisdom, Word and Power of God, being uniquely born ( monogenes ) Son of God, the very image ( eikon ) of God and the outshining or radiance ( apaugasma ) of God’s glory:   “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Wo