Issued: 11/17/20 Updated: 6/15/21 Revised: 11/8/23

PLEASE NOTE:  Because Bible versions sometimes differ from each other in crucial ways, the version quoted here will be the one that best clarifies the point being made.  For a quick comparison between versions, please go to: http://www.biblehub.com.

   All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity.  These emendations will not be italicized.

   The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.”  The symbol “↔” is used to connect verses corroborating each other and so establishing doctrinal truths (Matthew 18:16↔2Corinthians 13:1).

   In differentiating between Yahweh Son [Jesus] and Yahweh Father [the Most High God], lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the Only and Most High God.  Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from Father, we have followed his lead here.

   The term neo-Christians will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.

THE “LEGALITY” BEHIND SUFFERING

   Through Father’s Law comes awareness of sin (Romans 3:20); therefore professing to ‘accept Jesus as Lord’ is not enough to wipe clean the slate of past transgressions. Some sort of atonement is required to obtain lasting absolution (Jeremiah 30:11).  As we can surmise from the following, something must be done, some deed must be accomplished, in order to expunge sins and be reconciled with Father:  “’Wash yourselves, make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil.  Learn to do well.  Seek justice. Relieve the oppressed. Judge the fatherless. Plead for the widow. Come now and let us reason together,’ says Yahweh:  ‘Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.  Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool’” (Isaiah 1:16-18).  Or what Jesus succinctly called, “fruits worthy of repentance; [otherwise] every tree that is not producing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:8, 10).

   Nobody in Judeo-Christianity gets a free pass and nobody is spared his/her personal “baptism of fire” (Matthew 3:11↔Acts 9:16; Galatians 6:17; Hebrews 12:5-8).  Although we question why bad things happen to ‘good’ people, the answer is simple:  “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12).  There are no ‘good’ people, at least according to what Father deems righteous behavior:  His ways and thoughts are at odds with men’s (Isaiah 5:9).  Job was “perfect” in all his ways (Job1:1) yet he was put through the wringer. Jesus was the beloved Son in whom Father was “well-pleased” (Matthew 3:17), but he was made to bite the bullet (John 18:11).

There are specific reasons behind Job’s and Jesus’ respective ordeals, but the one that applies to every human being is the same:  When it comes to Father, there are no favorites or exemptions from the divine discipline that makes perfect (Hebrews 12:7-8).  Quoting from Hebrews 5:7-8:  “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the One who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.  Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered.”  ‘Goodness’ is not the criterion for acceptance:  Obedience to Father’s will is.

As much as detractors love to call Father vengeful, “He does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men” (Lamentations 3:33); but as there are covenants, Old and New, mediating His dealings with men, there are adverse consequences for defaulting on their terms.  An analogy would serve us here:  We buy a house from the bank; we agree on terms of payment; we sign a contract which, if we default, puts us in danger of eviction.  The bank, which is the true owner of the house, wants us to keep our side of the bargain; if we refuse, after a number of warnings, the bank is fairly and justly entitled to invalidate the contract:  Out we go.  In no wise is the bank considered cruel or vengeful:  A deal was struck to which both parties had contractual obligations to maintain and uphold.

   Because men are such self-serving creatures, Father has worked along the norms of human behavior.  The world is His (Leviticus 25:23; Psalm 50:12) and He is under no obligation to anyone (Job 41:11).  He puts tenants on His property with the condition they do not eat from the Tree of Life.  Adam and Eve default; they are evicted from Paradise (Genesis 2:8,17,  3:24).  Israelites became prospective tenants of Canaan; a covenant of obedience was struck and sworn at Sinai (Exodus 19:5,8), with benefits and penalties for defaulting (Deuteronomy 28); yet Israelites invalidated it many times over by persisting in apostasy (Jeremiah 31:32).  Though Israel’s final eviction [the Diaspora] would come centuries later under Roman conquest, intimations of a new covenant to be struck with Gentiles different from the Mosaic one were revealed in Jeremiah 31:33-34 [see Hebrews 8:8-13].  The time had come to cut off those perennial defaulters, Levitical priests (Luke 16:16), in order to establish a direct link to Jesus—the only trustworthy Teacher (Matthew 23:8)—via the Holy Spirit guiding his disciples to all truth (John 16:7,13; 1John 2:27).

  But Christians en masse chose to become defaulters as well, the reason why the end of days must be “shortened” so as to prevent the elect from defaulting completely (Matthew 24:22).  Paul gave us the scoop directly from the Holy Spirit:  “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons…But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power.  Have nothing to do with such people” (1Timothy 4:1; 2Timothy 3:1-5).

   Paul might as well be quoting from today’s events or looking out our windows.  And we have already discussed, the sobering statistic is that out of the nearly 8 billion people in the world today, only 144,000 will be worthy to stand before Father’s throne (Revelation 14:5).  The rest, a great multitude “out of every nation and from all tribes and peoples and languages…came out of the great tribulation, [having washed—the required deed] their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9,14, echoing Isaiah 1:18). In short human suffering is geared toward a salvation men would never achieve if left to their own devices.  Father’s aims are clear:  “’For I know the thoughts that I think toward you’, says Yahweh, ‘thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).  ^“[I will] wipe every tear from [your] eyes [so] there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4).  “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn, turn from your evil ways; for why will you die, house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11).

   So we see that Father-sanctioned suffering stems not from vengeance but from love for His creatures (Proverbs 13:24; Hebrews 12:9).  And all with one purpose in mind:  “I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant” (Ezekiel 20:37); thus making us non-defaulters once again and so technically eligible for redemption.

  By whatever metrics Father defines, stragglers taking their sweet time making up their minds will be forced into taking the only means of escape:  “The lord said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:23); presumably those who “will call on the name of the Lord [in order to] be saved” (Romans 10:13).  But they will not have an easy time of it: “That servant, which knew his lord’s will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes” (Luke 12:47).

THE INEVITABILITY OF SUFFERING:  PAYING ONE’S DUES

None of this would be possible without suffering.  Men are such lovers of comfort that, when the going is good, they have no use for Father.  Indeed, “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot Me” (Hosea 13:6).  It is only when faced with adversity that men turn to Father as Aladdin to his lamp, expecting the genie to set matters right and eventually get back to business as usual.  But as operant conditioning tells us, there is nothing like punishment to extinguish undesirable behaviors.  And once again, Father has employed human precepts to turn the tables on us:  “In their affliction they will seek Me earnestly” (Hosea 5:15), “and find Me, for [they] shall search for Me with all [their] heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). Which is the preeminent requirement in both the Old and New Covenants:  “You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37).

   And again we see that Father indeed “carries out His plans so as not to cast away permanently from Him those who are presently estranged” (2Samuel 14:14); applying the human concept of ‘tough love’ ¹ to bring about spiritual cleansing:  “You discipline and correct a man for his iniquity” (Psalm 39:11), “[for] wounding stripes purge away evil, and strokes [purge] the inner parts of the heart” (Proverbs 20:30).  In point of fact, absolutely no one at all—except the “sealed” 144,000 (Revelation 7:3)—will be spared the rod.  “[The angels] were told that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only those people who don’t have God’s seal on their foreheads” (Revelation 9:4); a rod Father‘s Messiah, His own Son, had not been spared: “Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him. He has caused him to suffer” (Isaiah 53:10; see also John 18:11, 19:11); a rod equally ‘bruising’ those who want to live piously in Jesus (John 16:33; Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 3:12; Hebrews 12:5-11; 1 Peter 1:6-7, 4:12-13).  But even then, the reassuring promise:  “God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength.  But, when the temptation comes, He will also provide the way of escape; so that you may be able to bear it” (1Corinthians 10:13).

All of which had its genesis in the Old Testament:  “If then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity… they shall accept the punishment of their iniquities [see Job 13:15; Isaiah 51:23; Micah 7:9; Hebrews 12:7,11; 1Peter 1:5-7, 3:17, 5:6-7],  because they neglected My judgments, and in their soul loathed My ordinances” (Leviticus 26:41-43; Psalm 51:4: Isaiah 24:5).  “Call on Me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and You will honor me” (Psalm 50:15).  “I have tested you in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10↔the baptism by fire).  “I will bring the third part into the fire [of trials and tribulations], and will refine them as silver is refined, and will test them like gold is tested (1Peter 1:6-7).  They will call on My name, and I will hear them.  I will say, ‘It is my people’; and they will say, ‘Yahweh is my God'” (Zechariah 13:9).

  Needless to say this system does not work for everyone:  While there are those who will embrace Jesus in their tribulation, the rest of mankind “who were not killed with these plagues, didn’t repent of the works of their hands, that they wouldn’t worship demons, [or worship idols (Revelation 9:20)], going as far as to blaspheme Father for their suffering (Revelation 16:9).  These are the ones slotted for destruction before the beginning of history (Romans 9:22; Revelation 13:8).  They were not pre-destined to their fate:  They were foreknown to be defaulters and so recorded as ‘write-offs’ in Father’s accountability ledgers.  That designation is the result of their free will to choose, while living, between tenancy in or eviction from Father’s Kingdom, not from any roll of divine dice or arbitrary will.

HOW IT ALL GOES DOWN: A CHRONOLOGY OF SORTS

Why is the Great Tribulation a global event?  Because the ‘greatness’ of nations is built upon man’s inhumanity to man, a reality Father reviles and for which He exacts retribution over time:  “Yahweh is slow to anger, and abundant in goodness, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but by no means clearing [the guilty], visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and fourth [generation]”(Numbers 14:18).  Consequently, now is our generation’s time to pay for the transgressions of our predecessors.  The chickens have come to roost; and roost in such a way so as to put an end once and for all to men who, unless exterminated, would perpetuate their mayhem:  A Great Tribulation such as “was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21).

   When it comes to exact dates/times, prophecy tends to be vague:  Whereas Father has kept that info to Himself (Mark 13:32; Acts 1:7), we are given sketchy details as to what is going to happen.  The temptation here is to cherry-pick possible scenarios from preferred sources, but we will not fall into that trap.  When prophecies become reality, we will be given the discernment to recognize them as they unfold. On the other hand Scripture has specifically told us when and why the end of times will be upon us.  “When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish… they shall be destroyed forever” (Psalm 92:7).  “Pride precedes destruction; an arrogant spirit appears before a fall…Before destruction the heart of man is haughty” (Proverbs 16:18, 18:12).  The present-day human condition: Need we say more?

   Jesus was a little more specific with the three ‘markers’ he gave us:

1)  Matthew 24:14:  The end will come after the Gospel is preached throughout the world.  In the main, this has been accomplished through evangelization and the Internet.²  Those who may never hear of Father’s Law will be judged according to the reasoning set down by Paul in Romans 2:14-16.  Contrary to standard practices, the purpose of evangelization is to pass on knowledge of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, then to move aside allowing them to do their work (Acts 8:14-17, 9:31, 18:24-27).  It has become the norm to ram every denomination’s chosen tenets down believers’ throats for reasons forewarned in 2Peter 2:3.  Do not forget that the 144,000 are ‘virgins’ because they did not ‘consort’ with adulterous churches (Revelation 14:4).  All the churches in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation have ‘defaulted’ in one way or another and are therefore “unclean.”  The 144,000 are apparently not affiliated with any denomination or are pariahs within their respective congregations.  Let us also not forget that a man’s enemies will be those of his own household [i.e., all the institutions to which the term applies, be them family, congregations, nations of origin (Micah 7:6; Matthew 10:36)].

2)  Matthew 24:15:  Daniel’s “abomination of desolation” standing in the “holy place.” In Scripture this was the Jerusalem Temple, which is no longer standing and was never Father‘s residence (Isaiah 66:1; Acts 7:48).  But we do know that “all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily” in Jesus (Colossians 2:9); that Jesus’ body is the Church (Ephesians 5:23); that we, being that body, constitute Father’s house (Hebrews 3:6); so the “holy place” must be Christendom.  While we should all know by now which religious institution harbors the “abomination of desolation,” a detailed discussion would take us too far afield.  But it is obvious that since in Scripture souls and not bodies are the most precious commodity, the “abomination of desolation” must be a religious entity bartering the souls of men, like Babylon the Great of Revelation 18:13, which is the “habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird”—in short, the church where Satan’s throne lies (Revelation 18:2, 2:13↔Ezekiel 28:2-19).

What Jesus is telling us is that prior to the Great Tribulation, this neo-Christian church will play a prominent role in world affairs, [as it has done in the past↔Daniel 8:22-25], when things get from bad to unendurable and people turn to a religious ‘genie’ for guidance and consolation.  But who are her worshippers?  “All who dwell on the earth…everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life of the Lamb who has been killed” (Revelation 13:8).

3)  Luke 21:20:  Jerusalem surrounded by armies.  In Scripture, prophecies involving Jerusalem are always a marker for momentous events in the offing; and Jesus followed suit in Luke 21:20-22,24.  While on the surface Jesus’ remarks reference the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD to the Romans [shadow]³, they also forewarn of “days of vengeance [substance] to fulfill all things that have been written.”  We have encountered this double-meaning device before:  In Genesis 2:3, where Father’s “rest” alludes to the end of Creation regarding the natural world [shadow], and in Hebrews 4:3-4 plus 1Peter 1:20, where Father’s “rest” alludes to the Millennium of Revelation 20:4-5 following the conclusion of His redemptive plan [substance].  It is not coincidental, and we will discuss this in the series “Genesis:  The Myth That Never Was,” that the Seventh Day of Creation, memorialized in Mosaic Law as Father’s Holy Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11) and signal between Him and His people (Exodus 31:13), corresponds with this Heavenly Millennium.

   In short Jesus was also referencing the end of times.  For Jerusalem to be surrounded by armies some as yet unclear, present-day geopolitical reality must come to pass; again, we will not speculate.  Paul did tell us that, between pandemic apostasy and Great Tribulation, there would be a period of relative stability feeding the delusion that worldwide “peace and security” had been achieved (1Thessalonians 5:3), followed by unexpected and inescapable disaster.  It is then that the catastrophes outlined in Revelation chapters 6, 8, 9, 15, 16, may take place. 

As Solomon suggested, historical events have a tendency to repeat themselves, perhaps not in exact correspondences but all driven by one constant factor:  The evil in men’s hearts (Ecclesiastes 1:9-11, 8:11, 9:3).  There is a reason for this, a religious but unconvincing one to ‘enlightened and empirical minds’:  Since Satan and all fallen angels live from age to age, they contaminate successive generations with their unwholesome influence.  That they play an active role to this day is attested by Ephesians 2:2; 1Timothy 4:1; James 4:7; Revelation 2:13, 9:20, 16:13-14, 18:2.  We do live in a demon-haunted world. 

Fear of death is Satan’s trump card where men are concerned (Hebrews 2:15); and that fear, exacerbated by pandemic loss of jobs/income, increasing acts of violence, environmental upheavals, and social anarchy, may spell the end of civil liberties and a new opportunity for political demagogues currently finessing that transition.  Unable to deliver on their promises of global stability and security, two world superpowers [two-horned beast↔Daniel 9:20] may prop up Revelation’s “beast” (Revelation 13:11-12), cloaking, under a veneer of religious zeal, a ploy to reassure the masses ‘God’ is on their side.

As to natural catastrophes, the sky is the limit.  Though social media has become the Babel of our times, there are videos on YouTube cataloguing ongoing dust storms, hail storms, floods, sink holes, volcanic eruptions; locust swarms blanketing nations; aberrant animal behavior like bird die-offs falling from the sky and fish jumping out of rivers; loss of whole ecosystems; diminishing natural resources like bodies of water, which promise to be a trigger-point for war among competing users; etc.  These may be the fulfillment of that puzzling warning in Leviticus 18:28:  “So if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it spewed out the nations before you.”  We have become so toxic to nature that, just as our immune systems fight contagion, nature has begun to strike back with everything from invasive species to new viruses to catastrophic upheavals in order to be rid of human pathogens.

   Now Satan can do nothing unless men initiate the process of destruction.  We know that global warming is the direct result of human intervention; and though there are those who argue that geological records show such warming has taken place in the past, the reality is that the world back then [if it existed at all in face of Biblical chronologies] was not as populated as it is now; and if not corrected, which the powers that be will not do to maximize profits/contributions to reelection coffers, the consequences will be dire for the entire planet—for their supporters and well as non-supporters.  Maybe then the actions of the fourth angel pouring its cup over the sun (Revelation 16:8-9) may be the heavenly-sanctioned pay-back for men’s irresponsible stewardship over Father’s ‘leased’ environment (Leviticus 25:23; Psalm 24:1; Revelation 11:18).

   Science warns that as glaciers melt, the seas will rise, leading to migrations from coastlines to overcrowding in the interior; and we all know from prison systems how brutally human beings behave under overcrowded, confined conditions.  Also, with the melting of the ice, the planet’s crust bounces upwards, giving rise to more earthquakes, which coupled with state-of-the-art fracking by oil conglomerates, will afford us the double-whammy of a more unstable planetary crust and the contamination of underground water.  We focus on earthquakes because they figure so prominently in Revelation; but of special interest is the earthquake in Revelation 16:18, a great and mighty earthquake “such as was not since there were men on the earth,” so unprecedented that it will collapse all earthly cities (Isaiah13:13; Haggai 2:6; Revelation 6:12, 16:18); cause every island and every mountain to disappear (Revelation 6:14, 16:20); and will expose the original “foundation” (Psalms 18:15: Isaiah 24:18-20) on which the physical world now rests—a foundation that existed, needless to say, before Day One (Genesis 1:2).  That is the earth, and not the planet our senses perceive, upon which Father’s Kingdom will endure (Psalms 37:29, 104:5; Isaiah 45:18).

   For those who believe that evildoers now having a field day will escape Father’s justice, we are given the prophecy of Revelation 9:1-11.  Particularly hit will be world leaders now getting away with murder—literally and figuratively.  Governments were conceived as a force for good (Proverbs 8:12-16; Romans 13:1-5), only that they found Satan’s ruling ways more in tune with their natural inclinations (Ecclesiastes 8:11).  Jesus told us that no sparrow falls to the ground without Father knowing about it (Matthew 10:29); and in as far as He allows Satan to install his minions amongst the powers that be, He expects authorities to abide by the divine mandates which are their reason for existing.  In this sense, having been given much, more will be demanded of them for betraying their commission (Luke 12:47-48).

And then there are the rich, who could transform the drudgery of worldwide poverty and misery into better living conditions instead of flaunting their self-absorbed lifestyles.  ‘Philanthropists’ amongst them give out of the surplus of their resources to garner acclaim (Matthew 6:1-4; Mark 12:41-44).  While focused on inflating their portfolios (Psalm 73:5-7; James 5:1-6), there will be a time of judgment for them to realize their souls were forfeited in the bargain (Psalm 49:16-20; Proverbs 22:16, 23:4; Luke 12:20-21).  Time and again, history has proved that riches offer no protection in times of chaos, especially at times when Father upends the social order (Ezekiel 21:26; Lamentations 4:5, 7-8; Luke 1:52).  In such times money is good for nothing (Ezekiel 7:19).

How fitting then that Satan himself should be chosen to torment evildoers for five months during which they will long for death/attempt self-destruction, but death will be denied them! (Revelation 9:1-11).  How characteristic of Satan to have availed himself of their support and then unleash his contempt on them when no longer of use, a behavior much imitated by his stand-ins in political circles.  Though there certainly is justice in this, and Heaven may rejoice in Father’s harsh judgments (Revelation 16:6 18:20), we should do well to temper our exultation, knowing that we will be horrified by their suffering, and that it is never good policy to rejoice “when your enemy falls, and [be] glad when he stumbles; lest Yahweh see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him” (Proverbs 24:17-18).  Let us imitate Jesus and Stephen, who during their respective martyrdoms begged for the forgiveness of their killers (Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60).  When the comeuppance of human monsters overtakes them, deserved though it might be, we too should pray for them.

THE RAPTURE THAT WILL NEVER TAKE PLACE

One final point: The evangelical pipe-dream of divine rescue during the Great Tribulation.  As we have already seen, no believer, except the 144,000, will be spared some measure of suffering.  The very fact that the 144,000 must be “sealed” before catastrophe strikes in order to insulate them from any type of suffering (Revelation 7:3, 9:4) proves that they will remain on earth and not be ‘raptured’ anywhere.  Since that which was is that which will be (Ecclesiastes 1:9), Father has shown us two previous instances where His chosen ones remained safe in the midst of His judgments:  In Egypt during the Ten Plagues, the ‘seal’ being the lamb’s blood smeared over the top and sides of houses’ doorframes (Exodus 12:22-23); and during the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians, when righteous city inhabitants were “sealed” just as the 144,000 will be (Ezekiel 9:4-6).

   The concept of a ‘rapture’ has a history pointless to discuss here.  Suffice it to say that it continues to infect neo-Christianity today because of its ‘deliverance-in-the-nick-of-time’ appeal, which is not markedly different from UFOlogists’ expectations to be safely whisked away by aliens.  This falsehood has been popularized in the fictional Left Behind series at the cost of tripping the weak in faith and cementing personal enmity with Jesus (Matthew 18:6-7).

   Scripture does talk about a harvesting of souls after the First Resurrection.  Since the Great Tribulation ends with Jesus’ second coming and this harvesting, we will address both issues in our next installment.

¹ From Wikipedia: The phrase “tough love” is believed to have originated with Bill Milliken’s book of the same title in 1968.  Milliken strongly emphasizes that a relationship of care and love is a prerequisite of tough love, and that it requires that caregivers communicate clearly their love to the subject.  Clearly, Father appears to agree with Milliken:  The whole of Scripture, which at its most fundamental is a tale of unrequited love, exemplifies that kind of communication and behavior correction.  At any rate, Father has mimicked human ways to deal with us.

² Which begs the question whether in making this prediction, Jesus was telling us he knew about the Internet’s vital role in global evangelization.

³ Scholars believe the Luke Gospel was written in the late first century or second century AD, thus confirming Father’s accusation that interpreters of the Law turned His words into lies (Jeremiah 8:8).  This in turn is a blasphemy against the Spirit of Truth, Scripture’s ultimate Author (2 Peter 1:20-21)—a blasphemy that will not be forgiven under any circumstances (Mark 3:29).  And it is this presumption of knowledge that led to the “hardening of the heart” that prevents them from being privy to God’s wisdom (Isaiah 29:14, 44:25); so that though seeing, they do not see, and by hearing, they do not understand (Mark 4:12).  Those who bow to their guidance, remember the blind lead the blind into the pit (Matthew 15:14).