“Now a word was brought to me stealthily, and my ear received a whisper of it. Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, dread came upon me, and trembling, and made all my bones shake. Then a spirit passed by my face; the hair of my flesh bristled up. It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice: ‘Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? He puts no trust even in His servants; and against His angels He charges error. How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth! Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; unobserved, they perish forever. Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, yet without wisdom.’”
Whenever an angel startled a person, it was often followed up with, “Do not be afraid.” (Matthew 28:5; Luke 1:13, 30; 2:10) No such assurance was given in this particular incident. In fact, this spirit reflects a spiteful attitude that is the exact opposite of how Jesus felt about humanity:
“Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6-7)
When this particular spirit asks whether mankind can be just before God, can Calvinists truly contradict it, since Limited Atonement guarantees that the vast majority of mankind are indeed excluded from the hope of justification? In other words, adapted to Calvinism:
“Can [the non-elect] be just before God? Can [those whom God passes by] be pure before his Maker? He puts no trust even in His servants; and against His angels He charges error. How much more [the non-elect] who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth! Between morning and evening [the non-elect] are broken in pieces; unobserved, [the non-elect] perish forever. Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? [The non-elect] die, yet without wisdom.”
[This post has been excerpted with permission from Richard Coords, Calvinism Answered Verse by Verse and Subject by Subject, © 2024.]
