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Does the Lord judge now or at the Judgment? (Endnotes)

1. See Appendix F for more specifics on Job’s friends. Close

2. Graeser, Lynn, and Schoenheit, op. cit., Don’t Blame God!, pp. 95–116. Close

3. Christian Educational Services, op. cit., 22 Principles of Bible Interpretation, pp. 2–3; Bullinger, op. cit., How to Enjoy the Bible, pp. 327–34; Panin, op. cit., Bible Chronology, pp. 19–21; Kay Arthur, How to Study Your Bible (Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR, 1994), pp. 73–76. Close

4. Some versions use “avenger” instead of “punish,” but the basic meaning is the same. The Greek word means “an avenger, a punisher.” “Avenge” means “to inflict punishment on someone who has wronged oneself or another.” It is used “when the motive is a desire to vindicate or to serve the ends of justice or when one visits just or merited punishment on the wrongdoer.” The definition of “avenge,” like the definition of “punish,” does not include the concept of correction or modification of behavior. Vine, op. cit., Lexicon, p. 82; Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Synonyms (Miriam-Webster, Incorporated, Springfield, MA, 1984), p. 78. Close

5. The possible equivalence between suffering loss and being punished is made stronger in 1 Corinthians 3:15 where “suffer loss” could also be translated “suffer damage” or “suffer punishment.” Vine, op. cit., p. 691; Louw and Nida, op. cit., Lexicon, p. 490. Close

6. The death penalty was a vital part of God’s system of justice in the Old Testament. See John W. Schoenheit, The Death Penalty, An Affirmation of Life (Christian Educational Services, Indianapolis, IN, 2000). Close

7. Definitions from American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Third Edition, 1996) and Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Synonyms, op. cit., p. 653. Close

8. For the definition of “mar,” see the explanation of 1 Corinthians 3:17 in Chapter 6. Close

9. It is a “happy coincidence” of the languages that in Greek the “talent” was a unit of weight (some money was weighed out) and in English a “talent” is an innate ability given to a person by God. Thus the point of the parable is brought home clearly in the English because some people take the talents that God has given them and “bury” them, just as the servant buried the talent given to him. Close

10. There is more on the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the innocent in Appendix F. Close

11. These actions do not make a Christian unsaved. We have covered in other parts of this book that you can be a carnal Christian and still be saved. Close

12. The war between God and the Devil is not the only reason for the calamities on earth. Some are caused by the free will decisions of mankind. Close

13. This point is greatly expanded in Graeser, Lynn, and Schoenheit, op. cit., Don’t Blame God!, pp. 9–40, 107–30, 145–53. Close