As i stated and you have not rebutted
Um there is no
before in the text.
From is not before
Revelation 13:8 (NASB95) — 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.
View attachment 1734
You argued for a pre-creation determination for the text but none exists
PS I am not an arminian
Let me try this again. Pay attention.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world.
Revelation 13:7–8.
35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret
from the foundation of the world.
Matthew 13:35.
4 According as he hath chosen us in him
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Ephesians 1:3–4.
English Words used in KJV:
from 393 times
of 129
out of 48
for 10
off 10
by 9
at 9
in 6
since + [G#3739] 5
on 5
not tr. 16
misc. 31
[Total Count: 671]
a primary particle; “
off,” i.e.
away (
from something near), in various senses (of place,
time,
or relation; literal or figurative)
The word "from" as it relates to time is a primary particle translated by the King James translators 393 times as "from" as it relates to time means "before." It connects "foundation" which is defined as "creation" when God set earth's foundations.
I can see you've not considered the ontology of being and of creation.
Before God created anything there was only Him (Father, Son/Word, and Holy Spirit.) God existed, has always existed, and will continue His existence. Our human senses of "sight" cannot imagine what that 'looks' like to our eyes. Our senses cannot contain Him. Our minds cannot 'imagine' what He may look like which is why Jesus responded to Philips question "if you've seen me, you've seen the Father." In other words, God may have created us and created our senses to experience the world and all He created, but as far as God is concerned our created senses cannot consider what God 'looks' like. Scripture says, "God is Light." It is such a Light that although our sense of sight cannot contain Him. His Light is such that our sense of sight totally lacks the ability to process that Light aided by our feeble minds. Saul said it best:
9 But as it is written,
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
1 Corinthians 2:9.
God as glorious Light is such that our eyes cannot look directly into God's glory. And if we cannot "see" God in His glorious Light then we fail to comprehend Him with our "hearts/mind." This leads to the virgin birth of Jesus the Son of God. So that we may
see God in our present realm of time and space and with our physical eyes. And in order to "see" Him God came 'down' and took upon Himself the form of humanity (seed of the woman) so that we may experience God with every human sense He created in man. But because we are NOT God, the corrupt senses we possess and the senses He created within us is limited to our plane of existence on earth and as humans. God is Spirit (John 4:24), and we cannot see Him with our eyes. But He's not invisible. The Son as a human still could not "see" God, but in His transfigured form He could.
2 And was transfigured before them: and
his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
Matthew 17:2.
The three disciples (Peter, James, and John) saw this transfigured image of the Son and it was comparable to looking directly into the sun and not go blind. The transfiguration of Jesus (face did shine as the sun) was an expression of Jesus' Deity that was glorious in and of itself but still was limited by the boundaries of our present existence because if Jesus had expressed Himself in His resurrected form at the precise moment in the tomb when God is Light raised Him from the dead, and the Light Jesus "exerted" in order to resurrect Himself, and the three disciples were with Him inside the closed tomb they would have gone blind immediately as they fell dead.
Jesus' human flesh minimized the expression of His glory before He was crucified. And after He was resurrected His glorified flesh still had limitation of "blurring" His true glory. This contributed to Mary's inability to recognize Jesus the man until Jesus Himself chose to allow her to see Him. Mary Magdalene was given the eyes to see His spiritual form and she very well might have been the very first person to be born-again at that moment.
Jesus' form was unlike that of mere humans at one point when walked with the two men on the road:
12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
Mark 16:12.
16 But
their eyes were holden that they should not
know him.
Luke 24:16.
I can relate to these two men who walked with Jesus, but Jesus prevented their being able to see His glorified form. Their eyes were unable to see His glorified form until Jesus allowed them to see Him. These two men who walked with Him said:
31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
32 And they said one to another,
Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
Luke 24:31–32.
The mere power of Jesus in His resurrected form - although limited in order to seem as though a regular man - were close enough to Him for a time as they all walked together. Jesus had such power that emanated from Him which had the ability to affect "their hearts" as they talked with Him. Their "hearts burned within them." But Jesus still had to limit Himself so that they could finally recognize Him. But there will come a time yet future at the last trumpet that we will all change, and our corruption will put on incorruption and then our eyes will be able to see Jesus in all His glory. And although we may be changed at this time we still would not be able to look directly at God the Father - who is Light - even in our own glorified form which one reason why we still will not see Him in all His glory and we will all be limited to forever see the Father ONLY through the Son as our Mediator and intercessor and "go-betwen" as He represents God to us and He represents us to God. There will never be a time that even in our raised and glorified self will we be able to set our raised, incorrupt and glorified eyes upon the Father directly. All communicable abilities we are raised with as changed people after the last trumpet will now go directly through the Son to the Father. Remember, it is the Father that gave us to the Son just as Jesus said in John 17.
2
As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
3
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
John 17:2–3.
Even in our glorified condition we will know everything about God and ONLY through the Son. I said all that to say this. God in Trinity and within themselves contemplated and planned everything in creation, including creation, and this was done BEFORE God created heaven, earth, and man. So, when it says "from" the foundation of the world" it is referring to BEFORE God created anything.
"From" means "before" in these verses where the foundation/creation of the world is mentioned.
