Everyone has their eureka moments. Something that was not understood suddenly seems simple. A philosophical concept that sounded ridiculous is now obvious. A religious dogma one was forced to believe now flows from their heart. Calculus is comprehensible.
(I wish the last thing were fully true for me).
One of my eureka moments took place when I understood what Jesus was talking about when he mentioned “standing firm to the end.”
These words are often mentioned when the subject of salvation is discussed. To be clear – salvation understood as not going to hell and living happily forever in Paradise.
Most Christians, especially those of the Protestant part of the Church, claim that once you believe in Jesus – you’re saved. But…
what happens then?
There are 3 main options.
- You can’t lose salvation. No matter what you do, you’ll be saved.
- Your salvation depends on your faith. If you stop believing, you won’t be saved anymore.
- You salvation depends on your works (or faith and works) – if you choose to keep on sinning, you will lose your salvation.
Those who believe that the third (sometimes the second) option is correct will usually quote these words:
who stands firm, will be saved
This subject, unlike lots of others discussed on this website, is really simple. All we need is a quick peek in the Bible.
The phrase is found 3 times in the Bible, twice in Matthew, once in Mark.
You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Matthew 10:22)
but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:13)
Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Mark 13:13)
I studied these passages in their original language, and – sparing you the details – there’s nothing unusual there, all 3 texts use the same Greek words. The verb “hupomeno” means to stand, persevere, endure and there are no major differences between various translations.
Plain vanilla.
The next step is to study the context of the verses. And here we also get a very similar set and setting in all 3 verses. Let’s take a closer look at the context of the first example, from Matthew 10.
Jesus calls the 12 Apostles, giving them the power of healing and casting out evil spirits.
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions:
Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.
Matthew 10:1.5-6
It seems pretty exciting! The power of healing – wow! There is one big problem, though.
Persecutions.
From verse 14 Jesus foretells rejection, false accusations, court trials and even death. Amongst these… he says these very words: “he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
Then he adds, “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.”
Can you see any evidence Jesus is talking about afterlife?
I can’t.
Clear as daylight, Jesus talks to THOSE very people, not us, about THOSE times, not “the end of times”, THOSE specific persecutions, not hellfire.
The word “salvation” is mostly used in the religious sense but in Greek this word is as common as the verb that it’s coming from – to save. Saving has as many meanings in Greek as it does in English and only context can tell if I am saved from hell, from death or from a silly inconvenience.
Or from something that has to do with computers 😺
In the context of the passages containing the phrase “stand firm to the end” there is not a single hint indicating it may refer to afterlife.
What it is about then?
In the beginning of year 70 the army of Titus surrounded Jerusalem and, after 7 months of fighting, conquered the city, destroyed its buildings (including the Temple) and murdered a shocking number of people – different sources vary much, from almost 100,000 to over a million, but anyway it was a terrible massacre.
Many scholars, mostly these studying works of Joseph Flavius, an ancient historian, claim there were no Christians among the victims because Christians believed in Jesus’s words and escaped the city before the slaughter happened.
Hmm… Believe Jesus and you will live. Does it ring a bell?
What if… just what if… Jesus never talked about the eternal life?
Read these 2 passages carefully again:
Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Matthew 10:17-22)
But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. And so you will bear testimony to me. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. Stand firm, and you will win life.
“When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. (Luke 21:12-21)
There are too many similarities to find this all coincidental! Without doubts in all passages above mentioned Jesus is talking about the same event! Beginning from Luke 21:20 Jesus is warning about the siege of Jerusalem and tells his listeners to flee!
It is not about hell may find yourself in one day. It’s about the siege of Jerusalem.
Yes, the salvation he mentions is not for your soul. It was for Jews that were in Jerusalem in AD 70.
And none of this has anything to do with us.
These parts of the Bible are often mentioned in books and used to scare people but I do not personally think we are in danger of the attacks of the Roman army!
For many years I strongly believed Jesus talked about the end of the world but it’s not anything I myself figured out after studying the Scriptures! I was given the interpretation accepted by Church and mocked every time I tried to question it.
All I needed was to open the Bible and spend a few minutes reading with an open mind. But why would I question something literally everyone I knew believed in?
When almost 100% of your friends and relatives have the same religious beliefs, stepping up is a challenging task. No one wants to be rejected, no one wants to be publicly mocked. And there are still many countries where changing your religion brings a risk of imprisonment or even death.
This fear from possible persecutions turns off our thinking.
Free thinking has been more and more popular recently but it will probably take decades till the old patterns die out.
You don’t have to wait for others though. You don’t have to believe what your Church says just because she says she’s trustworthy. And you don’t have to trust this article no matter how brilliantly it is written and well-argued (just kidding 😊)
Just open the Bible, imagine you have never read before..
…and read.
As the result they may kick you out of your Church. Maybe someone will stop talking to you. Many people are very proud of their religious beliefs and they identify themselves with them so any attempt to change them will be treated as a murder attempt.
Don’t give up though! You may never be happy living in the world that was created by someone else!
Religion is a jail but no one keeps you there anymore unless you let them!
Last edited 3/14/2022
Ps. Google automatic translations became recently so good that I decided to add them to my main Polish blog – www.pewnosczbawienia.pl – it has many more blogs than this one – feel free to check it out!
