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by Wayne Blank
Old Testament "Aborted Takeoffs"
"And when they had brought them forth, they said, "Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley; flee to the hills, lest you be consumed ... But Lot's wife behind him looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." (Genesis 19:17,26 RSV) (see The Destruction Of Sodom)"none of the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I wrought in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put Me to the proof these ten times and have not hearkened to My voice, shall see the land which I swore to give to their fathers; and none of those who despised Me shall see it." (Numbers 14:22-23 RSV) (see Rock Of Ages)
"Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me; none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed The Lord.' And The Lord's anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of The Lord was consumed." (Numbers 32:11-13 RSV) (see Wilderness Journey)
Note: The adult Israelites were made to wander in the wilderness as a death sentence for refusing the opportunity to enter the promised land when it was given to them. The journey itself did not require 40 years to complete, since the spies had just traveled there, accomplished their mission, and returned - all in 40 days (Numbers 13:25)
The Unpardonable Sin
"For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known The Way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, The dog turns back to his own vomit, and the sow is washed only to wallow in the mire." (2 Peter 2:20-22 RSV)"For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God [see The Holy Bible] and the powers of the age to come, if they then commit Apostasy, since they crucify the Son of God on their own account and hold him up to contempt. For land which has drunk the rain that often falls upon it, and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed; its end is to be burned." (Hebrews 6:4-8 RSV)
"For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries. A man who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy at the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the man who has spurned the Son of God, and profaned the blood of the covenant by which He was sanctified, and outraged The Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10:26-29 RSV)
Fact Finder: What sins will be forgiven, and what sins will not be forgiven?
The Unpardonable Sin
