Revelation 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.That is the only occurrence of the exact phrase in the entire Scripture, so this must be the one to which you refer. Yet the verb is not a present tense "IS"," as you have emphasized. Rather, the verb is "slain" (ἐσφαγμένου), in the perfect, which is one of a number of ways to express the past tense:
τοῦ ἀρνίου τοῦ ἐσφαγμένου ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου.Which translates as:
the lamb the [one] having been slain from [the] foundation of [the] worldThe perfect tense in Greek typically points to a completed event in the past. If the divinely inspired writer had wanted to convey some timeless nexus theory of the atonement, this would have been a great opportunity to simply use "esti(n)," "he is," as you attempted to suggest. But your suggestion has no basis in the text, because under the direction of the Holy Spirit, our author chose the perfect tense, and as if to remove all doubt of its priority, describes it as an event completed "before the foundation of the world."
Jude 1:14-15 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, (15) To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.When he says, "the Lord cometh," the Greek form is "ἦλθεν, past tense, "he came" (using the aorist in this case), even though it points to the future event of the second coming. The translators here used the present tense, really just to avoid confusing the typical English reader. But the fact remains that in Hebrew thought, the "prophetic perfect," as it is sometimes called, is a perfectly legitimate way to refer to events with two different time references, one the actual historical point in time, the other as an established event of the past, to indicate the certainty of the event in the divine plan.
Hebrews 10:9-13 then He said, "BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD." He takes away the first that He may establish the second. (10) By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (11) And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. (12) But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, (13) from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.Again, the sanctification of the believer, their setting apart for the divine purpose, is spoken of here as an accomplished, past tense event. The word translated "once for all" is the adverb "ἐφάπαξ" "ephapax." It is also used here, and also in connection with Christ's death. Note the emphasis on the past tense nature of the event:
Romans 6:9-10 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. (10) For in that he died, he died unto sin once : but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.Note the holy author is not saying He is dying once. He says "died once." It is a concluded event. So too in Hebrews, which the author there confirms in the following verses. If we were sanctified, past tense, by the offering of Christ's body on our behalf, the sanctification could not be complete unless the offering was complete, and that is the whole thrust of our author, that the sacrifices under Moses could not accomplish a complete expiation of sin, but the death of Jesus does, and has, past tense, accomplished that for us.
Excellent!! Thank you for posting that.
Again, the sanctification of the believer, their setting apart for the divine purpose, is spoken of here as an accomplished, past tense event. The word translated "once for all" is the adverb "ἐφάπαξ" "ephapax." It is also used here, and also in connection with Christ's death. Note the emphasis on the past tense nature of the event:
Romans 6:9-10 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. (10) For in that he died, he died unto sin once : but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Note the holy author is not saying He is dying once. He says "died once." It is a concluded event.
Well said, and contrary to,
"The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different." (CCC 1367)
In the sacrifice of the Mass Christ the high priest by an unbloody immolation offers himself a most acceptable victim to the eternal father, as he did on the cross...no less truly today than occurred on the cross. (Catholic Catechism, 1981, by John Hardon, p. 466)
1) The Mass is Calvary continued. 2) Every Mass is worth as much as the Sacrifice of Our Lord's Life,suffering and death. 3) Holy Mass is the most powerful atonement for your sins. (http://www.catholicapologetics.info/apologetics/general/mgraces.htm)
Are we anyone saying that Jesus died more than once? Of course, he died once, in our past. But to the writer of Hebrews that was an event fresh in the memory of men still living and doctrines new to the men to whom his words were addressed. We, however, who live live almost 2000 years later, a span of time equal to the span from Abraham to Christ, we must be cautious that we do not employ the words as if we have the authority to interpret them but in fact do not. Do we indeed have the equivalent of Joseph Smiths magic spectacles? Did Dr.Luther and his peers? Do even our greatest scholars understand the words was well as, say Origin, or Jerome, for whom the language was as native as the words, indiums and nuances, are as native to us as those of the American Founding Fathers?