Thursday, February 27, 2014

How Much Are You Asking for Your Thyine Wood?

The Merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen. and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, Revelation 18:12

In chapter 18 we find a list of the items of commerce of commercial Babylon of the latter days. In verse 13 we find listed "and souls of men". Much has been made of this. Some say immortal souls are for sale. Imagine, non-material souls for sale!

Some even attribute this passage to the Roman Catholic practice of selling indulgences. According to this a shopping list would include: "And be sure to pick up an indulgence for getting Uncle Henry out of Purgatory. They're on sale."

The return of indulgences? A simpler and Biblicly correct interpretation can be found in the Revised Standard Version. It says, "and slaves, that is, human souls."

Sometimes I hear a medical rescue helicopter go overhead. My scanner picks up the pilot's message "with four souls on board." Leave it to them to get it right. They are not transporting immortal souls, but living human beings.

The RSV tells us that in the latter days, people will be sold for slaves. Certainly not anything new, but then, neither is thyine wood.

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