John 20:30-31 “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.“

John specifically points out that his purpose for writing this Gospel was so that the person reading it would believe that Jesus is the Messiah [Christ], and also believe that He is the Son of God, and that by believing those things, the reader would have life through His name.

So, would you agree that someone could only read the Gospel of John and know everything they need to know to be saved?

Would it surprise you that the word “repent” [Greek metanoia] NEVER appears in the Gospel of John?

Please answer in the comments: Why do you think the word “repent” never appears in the Gospel of John?

Please review the following before reading this article:

• Faith and Belief, Are They Different?
• Dead Does NOT indicate “Inability”

Calvinists teach that everyone is totally depraved and are spiritually “dead” and therefore cannot believe God on their own, instead the person who is chosen by God must receive a “Gift of Faith” from Him. In his book “The Reformed Faith,” Loraine Boettner, a Traditional Calvinist, states regarding the Inability of fallen man:

“Because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the gospel. The sinner is dead, blind, and deaf to the things of God; his heart is deceitful and desparately corrupt. His will is not free, it is in bondage to his evil nature, therefore, he will not – indeed he cannot – choose good over evil in the spiritual realm. Consequently, it takes much more than the Spirit’s assistance to bring a sinner to Christ — it takes regeneration by which the Spirit makes the sinner alive and gives him a new nature. Faith is not something man contribute to salvation but is itself a port of God’s gift of salvation –-it is God’s gift to the sinner, not the sinner’s gift to God.“

Faith/belief leading to Salvation is never called a gift in Scripture. There are four things related to Salvation which are specifically stated in Scripture as being a Gift of God:

• The Holy Spirit is called a gift in Acts 2:38 and 10:45
• Justification is called a gift in Romans 5:16,18
• Righteousness is called a gift in Romans 5:7
• Eternal Life is called a gift in Romans 6:23

Grace is never specifically called “a gift,” but by definition it is something given. We are given unmerited favor which we can neither earn nor purchase.

In these passages, Romans 12:3,6,15; 1 Corinthians 1:4, 3:10, Galatians 2:9; Ephesians 3:2,7,8, 4:7; 2 Thessalonians 2:16; and 2 Timothy 1:9, most are speaking of receiving grace for a specific purpose to a person who is already a believer. These aren’t referring to the grace that gave us the gift of Eternal Life, Righteousness, Justification or the Holy Spirit which are all part of Salvation.

However, belief/faith is never called a gift, except for one circumstance and that is the Spiritual Gift of Faith which is a special type of faith given only to specific believers [those who are ALREADY saved]. Never to unbelievers.

The only Scripture passage that to the English reader sounds as if Faith is a gift is Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace ye are saved by faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God” In English the antecedent to a demonstrative pronoun is usually the nearest noun, so it is easy to misunderstand this because “faith” was the last noun mentioned. So, we see “faith” and “that” and think “that” is referring to “faith.”

However, in Greek, the antecedent to the demonstrative pronoun must have the same gender. The Greek word translated “faith” is feminine, whereas the demonstrative pronoun is “neuter.” The Greek word translated “grace” is also feminine, so “that” can’t refer to “grace” either. So where is the antecedent to “that”?

The same grammatical construction occurs in two other verses in the New Testament:

• 1 Cor. 6:6 [but brother goeth to law with brother], and that [neuter] before the unbelievers.
• 1 Cor. 6:8 Nay, [ye do wrong, and defraud], and that [neuter] your brethren.

In each, the bracketed part as a complete concept is being referred to by the demonstrative pronoun “that.” In other words, in the first one “that” is equal to “but brother goeth to law with brother,” and in the second one, “that” equals “ye do wrong, and defraud.” So, similarly, “this” in Ephesians 2:8 is referring to the complete concept preceding it, which is Salvation on the basis of Grace which is accessed through faith/belief.

The following is inaccurate, will be Replaced, stay tuned.

1. The subject of the sentence in Ephesians 2:8 is “ye are saved” [Salvation]
2. “By grace” is a prepositional phrase modifying “ye are saved;”
3. “by faith”is modifying “saved.”

Salvation is the subject. “Salvation–by grace through faith” in verse 8 is being contrasted with “Salvation–by works” in verse 9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” [Eph. 2:8-9]

Where DOES faith come from?

Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

The order of Salvation:

• First, the unbeliever hears the Gospel [1 Cor. 15:1-4]
• Then the unbeliever changes his mind [repents] from unbelief to belief [Unless he refuses to believe]
• This belief/faith is the way God has determined for us to access God’s Grace. Romans 5:2 “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.“
• At the moment of belief, the person is saved.

This is meant to be a work in progress. If you have others, or something needs clarification, or there is an error, please post a response, and I will revise and add to this.

*If it starts with a “T” it is Singular; If it starts with a “Y” it is plural

Using the information above, can you answer the questions regarding this Scripture verse: “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” [John 11:26]

• Why is the “eth” ending used in liveth and believeth, but the “est” ending is used with Believest thou this?
• Why is “thou” used and not “thee.”

You can put your explanation in the comment section.

English Words that have changed meaning since the KJV was translated

• Allow: Approve or accept, not permit. [Luke 11:48; 1 Thess. 2:4]
• Charity: Refers to Christian love [agape], not just alms-giving. [1 Cor. 13]
• Conversation: Refers to conduct, behavior, or lifestyle. [Phil 3:20; 1 Timothy 4:12; James 3:13]
• Halt: Means lame or crippled, not stopping. [Luke 14:21]
• Instant: Urgent or insistent, not immediate. [Luke 23:23]
• Let: Means to hinder or restrain, the opposite of the modern meaning. [2 Thess. 2:7]
• Meat: Refers to food in general, not specifically flesh. [Romans 14:15; Hebrews 5:14]
• Peculiar: Means special [in a good way], treasured possession, not strange. [1 Peter 2:9]
• Prevent: To come before or precede, not to stop. [1 Thess. 4:15]
• Silly: Originally meant innocent, harmless, or pitiable. [Hosea 7:11]
• Vain: Empty, worthless, or foolish. [Exodus 20:7]
• Wanton Reckless or luxurious, not sexually lewd. [1 Tim. 5:11]
• Wax: To grow or become. [Luke 12:27; Acts 13:46]

What is a Symbol?

A symbol is a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.

Examples of Symbols

In Music, a note is a symbol of a specific tone.

If everyone chose a different tone for the same symbol, music would just be a lot of noise with clashing melodies that no one would want to listen to.

In the Periodic Table the different elements are given a one or two letter symbol:

• C: Carbon
• O: Oxygen
• N: Nitrogen
• S: Sulfur
• Al: Aluminum

If everyone assigned each symbol a different element, all kinds of chemical reaction disasters including poisoning and explosions would be the result.

Mathematics is a very exact symbolic language. Each symbol represents an action or relationship of mathematical objects used for structuring other mathematical symbols in formulas or mathematical expressions.

Examples of mathematical symbols are +, -, x, =, etc., and all of the symbols used in Calculus and other categories of mathematics.

If everyone assigned their own meanings to each symbol, it would literally cause absolute chaos in the entire world. Everything in life is related to mathematics in one way or another.

Symbols usually only represent one specific thing.  The meaning is either an established meaning that everyone agrees on, or it is a symbol that is defined by the author of the symbol.  All of the examples above depend 100% on everyone knowing exactly what each symbol means.

Bible Prophecy

In the Bible, symbols are used primarily in prophetic dreams, visions and also in parables. If everyone assigned different meanings to the symbols…oh wait, they do! That’s why there are so many conflicting views on Bible prophecy.

Rules for Interpreting Symbols In the Bible:

• The symbols are often defined in the context in which they’re found, or
• They have been defined or alluded to somewhere else in the Bible.
• Each symbol has ONE meaning, unless another is specifically given in Scripture.
• Although the symbols are figurative, they have a LITERAL meaning.  You CANNOT interpret them allegorically, and you should NOT “spiritualize” them.

We do not have the permission to give our own meaning to symbols in the Bible. It is important to recognize and interpret symbols in prophecy and parables according to the author of the symbols–God.

In short, there is NO difference between faith and belief. Additional meaning has been added to the English word “faith” over time, but in the Greek, the verb for believe is πιστεύω “pisteuo,” and the noun form is πίστις “pistis.” The Greek word “pistis” could just as legitimately be translated “belief” in any place the word “faith” has been used by the translators in the New Testament. It is the same thing as in English, “believe” and “belief” have the same meaning, they are just the verb and noun forms.

In the KJV [and also the NIV & ESV], there is one verse that translates the Greek word “pistis” as “belief:” “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief [pistis] of the truth: [2 Thessalonians 2:13]. I would assume it is because “faith of the truth” sounds strange, however, some translations actually do translate it like that.

I recently heard a well-known Pastor on a Youtube video say something like “You can’t be saved by belief, you have to have faith!” What? The entire video was actually a little confusing.

However, if he had looked for the definition of belief in the BlueletterBible in the definition of “pistis” he would have found the same confusing definition “belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same.” [Belief springs from belief?]

The first part of the definition of pistis in the BlueLetterBible is correct, belief in Jesus Christ is putting your trust or confidence in His finished worked on the cross, which reconciled us to God, and His resurrection from the Dead which saves us. [Romans 5:10]

When Paul talks about Abraham’s faith the word “faith” is not found in the Genesis account. And even the Septuagint does not use the word “pistis” in that passage. Genesis 15:6 states that “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness.” In Romans 4:9, Paul called Abraham’s belief, “pistis” which is translated “faith” in the New Testament.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith [belief]; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.

Calvinists use the analogy of a corpse/physically dead body in an attempt to prove that the totally depraved “spiritually dead” person is unable to believe the Gospel in order to be saved; therefore requiring that the person be regenerated by the Spirit FIRST and then given the “gift of faith” to enable the person to believe the Gospel.

This concept is not found in Scripture. In fact, except for when speaking of the literal death resulting in a literal dead body, dead NEVER means inability in the New Testament. This is the central issue in Calvinism, because if a “spiritually dead” person IS able to believe the Gospel, without receiving the “gift of faith” from God, the rest of T.U.L.I.P becomes unnecessary.

“Dead” according to Paul and Peter

Romans 6:2, 1; Peter 2:24 — “We are dead to sin.” Does that mean we are unable to sin?
Romans 6:7-8; 2 Timothy 2:11; Colossians 2:20: “We are dead with Christ.” Does that mean we are unable to do anything?
Romans 7:4, Galatians 2:19 — “We are dead to the law.” Does that mean we are unable to do anything that is in the law?
Romans 8:10 — “If Christ is in us, our body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life” Does that mean that right now our body is a corpse that is unable to do anything?
1 Timothy 5:6 — “But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.” Does that mean she is unable to do anything?”

One of the verses that Calvinists quote is Colossians 2:13 where it says “dead in trespasses and sins.” They believe this means inability, but just a little bit later in verse 20, Paul states that we are dead with Christ, and then in Colossians 3:3 Paul states that “ye are Dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God” which indicates again that Paul doesn’t mean that because we are dead, we are unable to do anything.

The other verse they quote is Ephesians 2:1 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;” If Paul never uses “dead” to mean inability in any of the other passages, why would it suddenly mean inability in this passage? Especially since the Colossians passage is speaking of the same thing.

“Dead” according to the Gospels

Luke 15:24, 32 “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” Does that mean he was unable to do anything while he was dead?

Those who are in Hell also have the ability to think, to remember, and to speak [Luke 16:20-31] They are dead in both senses of the word, they are physically dead and they are dead in their trespasses and sins, but they can still do things such as thinking and speaking.

John 5:24-25 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.“

In this passage, those who hear and believe “have passed from death [so they were dead before they heard and believed] unto life.” The next part “the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live” is understood by many commentators to be referring to the resurrection because of the context that includes verses 28 & 29. So, the saved dead will hear God’s voice and live. Just like in Luke 16:20-31 where the physically dead sinner could hear, the saved physically dead person can also hear.

There are no Scripture passages that indicate a spiritually dead person is like a physically dead body that is unable to do anything including hearing or believing.

Quit Calling it That!

The title “Mystery Babylon” is the result of an unwarranted capitalization of the word “Mystery” in Revelation 17:5 in the King James Bible. The New King James translators kept it in capital letters, but separated it from the title “Babylon the Great” by a comma. All other Bible translations [that I have seen so far] do not capitalize the word “Mystery” and do a better job at translating this verse. For example:

“And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” [ESV]

“On her forehead was written a secret name: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND DETESTABLE THINGS OF THE EARTH.” [ISV]

And on her forehead a name was written,a mystery: “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” [NASB95 & 2020]

It should never be referred to as “Mystery Babylon.” It should always be referred to as “Babylon the Great.” It is called Babylon the Great or a variation five additional times in the book of Revelation. It is never called “Mystery Babylon.”

In BDAG, “The most comprehensive and authoritative Greek-English dictionary for the New Testament and early Christian writings.” it states that mystērion is:

“the unmanifested or private counsel of God, (God’s) secret, the secret thoughts, plans, and dispensations of God … which are hidden fr. human reason, as well as fr. all other comprehension below the divine level, and await either fulfillment or revelation to those for whom they are intended…“

What does the Bible say about mystērion?

An important principle of Biblical interpretation is to let Scripture interpret Scripture. Paul tells us the definition of mystērion in several passages such as:

Colossians 1:26-27: “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”

Ephesians 3:3-6: “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel…And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Romans 16:25-26 “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

Other passages to look at are 1 Cor. 2:7; and Colossians 1:26-27.

Some of the mysteries that were unknown until Paul revealed them:

Romans 11:25-26 ” For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery…that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”

1 Corinthians 15:51 “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” [The Rapture]

Ephesians 3:4-6 “(Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)…That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:“

Ephesians 5:30-32 “For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” [Marriage is type of Christ and the Church]

Colossians 1:26-27 “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:“

So, a mystery is something that is hidden/unknown until God chooses to reveal it through his holy prophets and apostles.

Mystery in Revelation 17:5

In Greek, there are three grammatical genders–male, female and neuter. The word mystērion is a neuter noun and is modifying the word “name” which is also neuter. The name is a mystery. For it to be “Mystery Babylon” the word “mystery” would have to be an adjective describing Babylon and would need to be in the same gender. However, “mystery” is neuter and “Babylon” is feminine.

The mystery of the name written on her forehead isn’t just “Babylon.” The entire name written on her forehead is “Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the Earth”

In verse 7, the angel tells John that he will tell him “the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.”

The angel starts by revealing to him the mystery of the Beast that carries her. The majority is focused on the Beast–Revelation 17:8-14 & 16-17. There are two things he tells John about the woman who rides the beast. In verse 15, referring to verse one, the angel says “The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” Then in verse 18, the angel says that “the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”

The angel also reveals the interaction between the Woman and the Beast in verse 16 “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.”

Why Does it Matter?

A number of Bible teachers use the word “mystery” as permission to spiritualize Babylon, or give it a mystical or symbolic meaning. But the Biblical definition of “mystērion” does not allow for that. It simply means something that had been hidden up to the point where it was revealed by God through the Angel in Revelation. It doesn’t give us the right to give a different interpretation than was given by God in the Scripture passage itself.

I was going to write an article with all of the updates on Babylon; however, Dr. Andy Woods does such a good job on speaking about these, I’m going to just give you the links to the Pastor’s Point of View episodes which talk about them.

There are three recent ones that I think are significant. One that really caught my eye was the title of an article published in Iraq Business News from September 23, 2025, “Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani has officially declared Babylon as the “Industrial Capital of Iraq,” marking a significant milestone in the country’s industrial development.” [Emphasis mine]

Discussion regarding this article is in the following prophecy update. The update on Babylon starts around the 47.25 minute mark.

The update on Babylon on this one starts around the 2:30 minute mark:

The update on Babylon on this one starts around the 26:45 mark

Enjoy!

For the past two years or so, I have been doing in-depth research on both Calvinism and Lordship Salvation. In the days to come, I plan on publishing a number of articles on various topics refuting both; along with other topics related to Biblical Salvation.

There are various terms that need to be defined so that we will all be on the same page. For example: believe, faith, grace, mercy, gift, repent, sanctification, justification, regeneration, works, kingdom, the gospel, save, salvation, all, etc. You may be thinking “I know what all of those words mean.” Maybe you do, or maybe there will be some surprises in there. 🙂

Stay tuned!

The following is a summary based primarily on the book “The Reformed Faith” by a well known Traditional Calvinist, Loraine Boettner. [My comments are in brackets.]

T = Total Inability [Now referred to as Total Depravity]

A human being is so depraved that he or she is unable to believe the Gospel, so God must regenerate the individual first, in order that they can repent and believe. [In other words, Calvinists are indicating that we are not actually saved by faith, we are saved by God regenerating us first–Regeneration is another term for being Born Again.]

U = Unconditional Election

God chose [elected] specific individuals before the foundation of the world to be saved based only on his Sovereign will and was not based on any foreseen response of obedience on their part, such as faith, repentance, etc. [They deny that those not chosen were chosen for damnation, but that’s just semantics, if God in their view is able to save everyone, but only chooses to save some, he has made the choice NOT to save the others]

L = Limited Atonement [also described as Particular Redemption]

Christ’s death only secures the Salvation of those he unconditionally elected.

I = Irresistible Grace

An internal call is given only to those unconditionally elected and cannot be rejected. The Spirit CAUSES the sinner to believe, who then comes willingly [?] to Christ. [If there was such a thing as a “love potion,” and you gave it to someone who despised you and then they came to you and loved you “willingly,” was it actually willingly?]

P = Perseverance of the Saints

All who are chosen by God, redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Spirit are eternally saved. Those who are elected will absolutely persevere to the end because they are kept by the power of God. If the person seems to believe for a time, but later recants, they were not one of the elect and had evanescent faith. [Faith that fades away]. [By persevere, they mean that they need to continue to do good works, pursue holiness and still believe up to the second they die, that is the only way they will know for sure that they are saved. So there is no assurance of Salvation.]