Rev 22 does not say that a born again person can lose salvation, you are assuming that. What it does say is that a person who perishes lost will never have the opportunity to be saved again.
...
The lost on the other hand will perpetually have a "corruptible" nature and will be filthy forever. This is what Rev. 22 is saying.
...
I disagree, you are reading that into scripture. What it is saying is that the lost will never have a chance to be saved again. It is also saying the saved will never be lost, but that does not mean we are not saved now.
...
Rev 22 does tell us the unsaved will forever remain lost and filthy. It also tells us the saved will never be lost.
The born again believer has both the sinful nature and the new-birth nature - which is why "by the Spirit" they must continually be "putting to death the deeds of the flesh" Romans 8.
And of course - the lost who have perished are always and forever not able to cross over to become saved saints as if the Gospel is for converting the dead. I think we both reject the idea of Purgatory.
So this is "no change" from Adam. The lost who as you say "perish" as a lost person never change to become saved.
In your statement above you edit the Rev 22:10-11 statement about the future change - radical change - where the lost no longer accept the Gospel and the saved no longer fall from grace and are lost into "so much - no change from yesterday".
But Rev 22:10-11 is not a "no change from yesterday" statement.
That is a key Bible detail not to be ignored.
==========================
Rev 22 NASB
10 And he *said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book,
for the time is near.
11 Let the
one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is
filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the
one who is holy, still keep himself holy.”
Rev 22 KJV
11 He that is
unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is
filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is
righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is
holy, let him be holy still.
Notice that this speaks of a future time when the wicked will no longer be converted to the Gospel and when the righteous will no longer be subject to backsliding into wickedness and rebellion against God and the loss of salvation.
================================
If we water this all down into so much more "no change" from today - we delete the dire warning and the revelation about our current state.
So what? The scriptures often say the same thing many different times and in slightly different ways. Rev 22 is simply saying that the unsaved will forever remain filthy, and the saved will forever remain holy.
No doubt a teaching can be repeated in scripture.
But the detail you are skipping past is that Rev 22 describes this as a future state - and you have edited it down to be so much "no change from the current state".
But in Rev 22 it is a predicted future condition. "The Time is Near" and "behold I come quickly" are in the same context in that chapter. It is an end time condition that is future.
Rev 22 NASB
10 And he *said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book,
for the time is near.
11 Let the
one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is
filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the
one who is holy, still keep himself holy.”
By admitting that the OSAS part of this is what you would call OSAS - you have made the case in a Bible text that stated clearly - that this is a future change.
But you are wrong, I CAN have it both ways (actually, ONE way only). I can believe there are numerous scriptures that say we are saved now and cannot lose salvation, and that Rev 22 also says we cannot lose salvation. Why can't I have that?
Because 'the detail' you keep ignoring in Rev 22 is that it claims this is a future change.
Clearly all would admit that a future event where the lost no longer accept the Gospel and become saved "is a change".
I think that is impossible to miss.
So also the fact that this Rev 22 text claims this as a future event.
in Christ,
Bob
