The Misuse of the Words, "All," "Every," "Whoseoever," Etc.

The Messiah said he was sent to Israel and to save “his people” Israel from their sins. That is, they were “his people” before they were saved. Therefore the command, “Go ye into all the world” refers to all that part of the world who can hear and are given the ability to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus the popular misuse of the words, “all”, “every” and “whosoever” does not promote the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven over Israel that is the real “Great Commission”!

Great stress is placed by preachers upon the words, “all”, “every” and “whosoever” in verses such as, “Go ye into all the world”, “Preach the Gospel to every creature” and so on. These present a false application of Scripture simply because such words and phrases are wrongly used. This misuse of these words has to be considered.

This false application contradicts the Messiah’s statement and instruction to his disciples:

Because of this contradiction we need to find out why this appears to be so, and why the popular interpretation about going to all races contradicts this statement and this command of the Messiah.

There are different words translated as “all”, “every” etc. in both Hebrew and Greek, and so we need to investigate those that are misused to promote forms of universalism. In the New Testament, the Greek word holos is used as “the whole”, whereas the more frequently used word pas is used to indicate “a part” as being all of either a greater or a lesser part. It is the making of pas to have the same meaning as holos that causes the error.

Where translators have so often translated pas as “all”, “every” or “whosoever”, it means “all of that part”, or “every one of that part”, or “whosoever of that part”. The word, “whosoever” is frequently translated from the word pas that is also translated as “all”. We will see that any untaught person who says, “Where my Bible says “whosoever will may come”, it means “any person of any race”, that person is either untaught or is misled.

So we have to answer the main question, “does “all” usually mean “all of everything” or “all of that part being spoken about only”. Does “all the world” mean the people in the entire planet, or just all of those people in that part of the planet being spoken about? We will see that there is a weight of Scripture that shows that words such as “all” are strictly confined to “all” of each context only. In simple terms, “all the world” is better put as, “all that world”, thus excluding every other world = kosmos.

The words for “all”, “every”, “whosoever” etc. are often singular, NOT plural. Thus they refer to:

Here, “all the peoples of the earth” does NOT include Israel. In the same way, “go ye into all the world” is NOT inclusive of every race. Failure to understand this is the source of error in the modern popular evangelical teaching. Because of the importance of this matter, any person seeking truth can look through a concordance (Young’s is easiest) to satisfy themselves as to the right application of this word “pas” that is translated as “all” etc.. Some examples are given further on to show how to do this.

The Messiah says that it is not given for everyone to hear or to understand. Speaking to his disciples about the Edomite leadership of the Judean nation he said, "Because it is given to you to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given" (Matthew 13:11). Immediately we have just one exception like this, then "every" and "all" cannot include that exception, or the other exceptions. If an exception is made about the Edomites who cannot find repentance, or of those born as tares about which the Messiah said, "Leave them alone", then these cannot be part of the "all" being addressed. The Messiah did not preach to certain peoples, as we have seen. The Messiah said he was sent to Israel and to save "his people" Israel from their sins. Are we to be wiser than the Messiah?

When we consider the volume of Scriptures detailing the exclusiveness of Israel, if we had no mind-set or previous pre-conditioning, we would have to agree to the following:

2). They all relate to Israel alone, as a race, no other race being included.

5). That certain covenants and promises referred to were made only with Israel.

6). That Israel is a holy, i.e., set-apart, race (What is commonly called The Chosen Race).

7). That the Statutes (choq) and the Judgments (mishpat) were given to Israel alone as a servant nation.

9). That there are different "seeds", and that Abraham's seed is genetic.

If we come to this conclusion about a unique Israel racially, there will immediately be a dilemma between:

[a] What the Scripture teaches in direct statements showing the exclusiveness of Israel through both Testaments.

[b] What is inferred from indirect verses as used by universalists. Universalists may use what appear to be direct statements, but there are certain words that have been given new meanings and tenses. Sometimes completely wrong and deceptive meanings have been placed on words, and some of these have become accepted modern teachings. To these manufactured word meanings, “types” are added to fit the interpretation. This is the common way of teaching, but this is not teaching that is based upon the Cornerstone or the given foundation of the Law, the Psalms and the Prophets (Ephesians 2:20).

[c] What we think we see manifest in terms of Christian experience in other races. Both psychology and deliverance from demonic activity, and protection whilst other races are amongst Israel, have application here. But, redemption can only apply to Israel.

As said above, Mark 16:15 is misused in that it appears to be saying that the Gospel is for every race. Which “world” were the disciples to go into? This is a fair question. When the disciples were sent to the lost sheep of the House OF ISRAEL, to whom and to which “world” were they sent? When the Messiah said in Matthew 15:24: I am not sent BUT unto the lost sheep of the House of Israel, to what race was he sent? Are we to say the Messiah was wrong and that he was sent to every race? Are we to say the Messiah was wrong in sending his disciples only to Israelites? If they were told go ye into all the world, why did they not go to the Negroes, the Chinese or the Indians? Why did they choose only one direction and proceeded to where the Children of Israel were? The location of the House of Israel at that time can be easily established historically.

The disciples were instructed specifically not to go to certain peoples. The disciples of the Messiah went out from Galilee knowing exactly where to find these “lost” sheep. They were not so “lost” that they could not be found!

Such verses are the basis of the thought that the go and preach the gospel to every creature of Mark 16:15 refers to going to every person of every race on earth. Let us consider some of the words in these verses.

Preach or kerusso means to proclaim, or to announce good news like a town crier. It does not mean “to make disciples” or “to evangelize”, as many teach. But where were they to make their proclamations? Was it to everyone of every race? Let us look at every creature. The Greek word ktisis is given by:

This is the creature (or rather, creation) of Mark 16:15. The word ktisis in the Greek is used to indicate the product of human building or formation. In this context it refers to a village, or place where people live. A ktisis is built by man, not YEHOVAH God. The disciples were to go specifically to the places or the villages or places where the Israelites lived.

We cannot make “the cities of Israel” to mean the cities of every race. Note here that the Messiah is speaking of the time of the end.

The Kingdom is what the Messiah and John the Baptist came proclaiming, "repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Who proclaims either of these today? It is impossible to believe and teach both the modern universal gospel to all races and the exclusive Kingdom of Heaven at the same time. The Messiah confines all the world to the cities of Israel! In other words, this is what is to be proclaimed in the dwellings or places where the Israelites live right up to the end of the age.

Does “all” usually mean “all of everything,” or “all of that part being spoken about”? Does all the world mean all the planet, or just all of that part of the planet being spoken about? A look through Young’s Analytical Concordance will show how these words are used. This will give an indication without having to go into the Greek. Being certain on this topic is well worth the time involved researching lexicons to determine the correct meanings of the words used.

To grasp the use of all in Greek and Hebrew, consider Deuteronomy 28:10, “and all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of thee”. Here, all the peoples of the earth does NOT include Israel. In the same way, go ye into all the world is NOT inclusive of every race. Failure to understand this is the source of error in the modern popular teaching. The Messiah says that it is not given for everyone to hear or to understand. Immediately we have just one exception, then “every” and “all” cannot include that exception, or the other exceptions. If an exception is made about the Edomites who cannot find repentance, or of those the Messiah said, leave them alone, then these cannot be part of the “all” being addressed. The Messiah did not proclaim to certain peoples, as we have seen. The Messiah said he was sent to Israel to save his people Israel from their sins. Are we to be wiser than the Messiah?

At first glance, this appears to have a universal meaning. The word translated as the earth is the Hebrew word “erets” which is mostly translated as “country” or “earth” in the sense of a localized area, or that earth belonging to a people (for example, the land, or earth, of Israel). In context, this whole chapter is about Israel -- and no other! It certainly is not used in the generalized sense as the universalists who try to prove the expression "the ends of the earth" means every race or place on Earth.

This verse, together with the verses below, are favored by universalists because they seem to present a universal gospel for all races. “Nations” is sometimes translated emotively as “Heathen” to try to add weight to the universal argument. To understand any passage of Scripture it is necessary to look at it as a whole by going back to the prophecy behind it to see what it is fulfilling.

Here are six important verses that are used to support the doctrine of universal racial salvation. Indeed, they do appear to give valid support on the surface. But do they actually say what the religious translators make them say? Is this the problem here? Let us look further.

The major source of error in these blessing passages is what we mean by certain words. We have different words translated as earth and the ground, countries and the land, as also occurs with the words translated nations, families and kindreds. Although an extensive technical Hebrew language exposition is beyond the scope of this article, there are things that need to be pointed out.

Originally Abraham was told to go from his father’s house unto an eretz that YEHOVAH God would show him. If eretz here is the whole Earth, then Abraham must have gone to another planet! Abraham was told all The "Earth" which thou seeth, I will give thee. He was told to arise and walk through the earth. Did he walk across the whole globe? So we have to ask if this "earth" is the whole earth or the Promised Land. It is NOT all the ‘eretzs of all the races on earth. Abraham was told to get himself out of his present earth and to go to THE earth. There are many references that give confirmation of the meaning. THE earth does not mean the whole globe, but rather that portion belonging to the particular area or person under consideration.

Contrary to popular presentation, we must note that in Genesis 12:3, the "them" in “I will bless them” is plural, whereas the "him" in "I will curse him" is singular. The Hebrew allows for two possible translations of be blessed, namely:

Some awkward questions could be posed here if it was to be taken that all nations had the meaning of “every race on earth”:

1). If those who curse Abraham are cursed, how could those so cursed be part of all nations which were to be blessed?

2). Were the Egyptians blessed or cursed through Israel’s presence during their captivity and also in the Exodus?

3). When the Children of Israel went into the Promised Land, they were told to exterminate all the Canaanite nations. Was not that an unusual way of blessing the Canaanites? After all, they were supposed to be part of "all nations." Likewise Amalek was to be exterminated.

4). In Deuteronomy 23:6, YEHOVAH God commanded Israel that they should not seek the peace or the prosperity of the Ammonites and the Moabites right up to the end of the age. Ezra 9:12 indicates similar treatment of the non-Israelites in the land. This is hardly a blessing on those nations, is it?

5). When The House of Judah was in captivity in Babylon, is there any evidence of Israel being a blessing to Babylon?

6). When the House of Israel was in captivity in Assyria, did this make the Assyrians blossom?

7). In prophecy why are all the forecasts concerning non-Israel nations always detailing them as being servants to Israel and for them to perish if they refuse this destiny? This is so right up to the end of the age.

The promise to Abraham was to “ALL” nations without any exceptions. “All” cannot include those who are cursed and those YEHOVAH God says that He hates. Hence “all” means all the nations of Israel.

Throughout Scripture, Israel was to dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among the nations (Numbers 23:9). Prophecy sustains this to the end.

Israel and Judah were scattered among all nations, but are these other nations to be blessed? Jeremiah does not agree.

Jeremiah repeats this in Jeremiah 46:28, addressing this to Jacob. In all these Scriptures we can see the unique place of Israel among the other nations. This continues after the Messiah and YEHOVAH God return and Israel reigns with YEHOVAH God over the other nations. Finally there will be no more death. What a blessing! The blessing is either given by this seed, or by the Act of YEHOVAH God.

“Whosever” is an objective pronoun. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “objective” means: “dealing with outward things or exhibiting facts uncolored by feelings or opinions; not subjective.” As an adjective, “whosoever” is used to modify and convey a, “fair, impartial, equitable, neutral, open-minded and unprejudiced” meaning to a noun.

In contrast, a subjective pronoun, according to Oxford, means: (of art, literature, written history, a person’s view, etc) “proceeding from personal idiosyncrasy or individuality; not impartial or literal.” Now that we have examined the differences in “objective” and “subjective,” which one of the two is in harmony with Scripture?

The Messiah told his disciples, “Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you…” (John 15:16). This is a subjective statement, and not an objective one. This becomes a matter of doctrine. Do you follow the “people choosing God” notion, or do you surrender to the scriptural “people chosen of God” doctrine? Your answer will determine whether you think the word “whosoever” applies to anyone who confesses the Messiah (the people choosing the YEHOVAH God notion), or whether you embrace the revealed, “people chosen of YEHOVAH God doctrine.”

Allow me to ask this question: If all that a person has to do is “confess” the Messiah as his personal Savior, which is the doctrine of most Judeo-Christian churches, then why did the Messiah say these words:

These words are strong ones, but they reveal that not every one who “confesses” the Messiah will be saved!

Universalists love to quote John 3:15-16 to claim that “whosoever” -- as it is used in these verses -- applies to all ethnic groups. When we look up the Greek word that “whosoever” was translated from, we discover something unusual. The word is No. 3588 in Strong’s Greek Dictionary. It is actually three words in Greek: “ho, he, to, in all their inflection; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others, omitted in English idiom): the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.” The list is all subjective words. None of the words could be considered as objective. In other words, “he”, “she”, and “it”, etc, are subjective pronouns. Subjective pronouns are exclusive. Therefore, the catch-all word “whosoever” is a misleading word to use, because it totally changes the inflection.

I suggest that a corrected phrase be used in place of the word “whosoever.” The phrase “those who” doesn’t destroy the “people chosen of YEHOVAH God” doctrine of the Bible. For example, lets delete “whosoever” and apply “those who” in those two verses of John 3:15-16:

Now it becomes far less inclusive when properly translated and removes the concept that the Messiah was speaking generally as many are inclined to see. So the next time you read Scripture and come upon the word “whosoever,” try substituting “those who” and see if it doesn’t make for better Bible exegesis. When you understand the “people chosen of YEHOVAH God” doctrine, you will also comprehend that our English translators choice of “whosoever" was a bad choice that led to the Universalist’s mistaken assumption that the Messiah was speaking to all groups on an equal basis”. (End Quote).

The word “all” is found twice in this passage, and “all Jerusalem” has the context of “all the chief priests and scribes”. King Herod would not be demanding where the the Messiah would be born of a woman giving birth, neither would such a woman be troubled. Thus it does not include “all” of the other people in the city, and to say that every person in every situation was troubled would obviously be not true.

Again the word “all” appears twice. Very obviously John the Baptist could not have baptized every person in Jerusalem, or indeed every person in “all Judea”. Thus “all” refers to that part who came from those locations, and not anyone else who stayed home. Also, it did not include the High Priest and the Roman garrison.

Perceptibly, “all the people” means that part of the people who were present before Pilate, and does not include anyone else.

Here, “all the people” does not include the Scribes and Pharisees the Messiah had been talking to immediately before this, and “all” has the meaning of all those others then present, as does “every one of you”.

Again, “all the people” that occurs twice in this passage can only refer to that part of “all the people" who were present.

There is a Scripture in Revelation 13:7, which is taken totally out of context, and used by many preachers to deceive people, and bring great fear upon them. That verse says (speaking of the anti-christ), "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over ALL KINDREDS AND TONGUES, AND NATIONS." And the next verse says, "And ALL that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world". Thus “all kindreds” does not include those whose names are written in the Book of Life. False preachers point to the word "all" in verse 7, and again in verse 8, without giving consideration to the context itself. There are many, many times throughout the Bible when the word "all" is put for "a part", even in the same way that we use the word in our every day life. Often we use terms such as "everybody in town was at the meeting", or "the water was all over the place", and so forth.

In Genesis. 6, when YEHOVAH God was talking about bringing a flood upon the Earth in verse 13, YEHOVAH said, "The end of ALL FLESH is come before Me." Then in verse 17, YEHOVAH said, "In Genesis 6:17, “And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy ALL FLESH, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and EVERYTHING that is in the earth shall die”, we know that Noah did not die as part of “all flesh”. Again, "all" is being used with the meaning of “a part” or “the greater part.

In Joshua 6:21, “And they utterly destroyed ALL THAT WAS IN THE CITY, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword”, we know that Rahab was not part of “all” that was destroyed in that city.

In 1 Kings 11:16, “For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off EVERY MALE in Edom:) That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child”, did “every male” include male children? Did “every male” include those Edomites who fled? If the entire Edomite male population on earth had been slain, how could Edomites be found after this?

In Luke 2:1, “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that ALL THE WORLD should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And ALL went to be taxed, every one into his own city”, we can see that “all the world” has the meaning of “all that world” -- all the Roman world! This is how “all the world” is used in “Go ye into all the (that) world and preach the Gospel”.

In Romans 1:8, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout THE WHOLE WORLD”, do we believe that “the whole world” included the Chinese, the Maoris and the Aztecs?

In Romans 10:18, “I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into ALL THE EARTH, and their words unto THE ENDS OF THE WORLD. But I say, Did not Israel know”?, again did “all the earth” and “the ends of the world” include say Australia, or was it confined to all “that world” of the context, Israel?

In Colossians 1:23, “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached TO EVERY CREATURE WHICH IS UNDER HEAVEN”, could “every creature under heaven” be extended beyond those to whom Paul preached?

These are just a sample of verses that show how Scripture uses phrases, and if we use them otherwise, we must come to wrong conclusions. These wrong conclusions then lead on to wrong evangelism and also to the wrong interpretation of prophecy. Let us consider some of these.

If those preachers who are telling us that the antichrist will rule all nations and kindreds upon the face of the Earth, if they are not fear-mongering, then why do they not put the same emphasis on Daniel 11:41, where it is speaking of the antichrist at the height of his power and glory? There it says that antichrist will overthrow many countries, then it says, "But these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and chief of the children of Ammon." If the same people were occupying the same territory, this would be modern day Jordan, and some territory close by. So we must ask, if the antichrist at the time is going to have his throne in Jerusalem, and will not be able to get control of Jordan, which is just next door, and the area around about, why should we believe that he will rule the whole Earth? But if this is not the present application, “all nations” does not include those that escape.

Also, in Matthew 24, in answer to one of the three questions the Messiah was asked, he spoke of that future time when the antichrist will be at the height of his glory, and ruling all that he will be able to rule. And if there was not going to be any place on Earth that the anti-christ would not rule, then why did the Messiah say, "Let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains", verse 16? Why flee if there is no place to go to? And why would the Messiah's bother to tell the people to flee, if the antichrist was going to be ruling every foot of land? In that case, there would be no place to go.

Also, the prophet, Isaiah, gets in on this subject, and confirms the scripture in Daniel 11:41. In Isaiah 16:1-4, we are told that those fleeing Israelites, mentioned in Matthew 24:16, would go to Moab, and would be hidden in Moab until the end of the age when YEHOVAH God will appear, and the antichrist will be consumed out of the land. Is it not a fair question to ask, that since the fleeing Israelites would be protected in Moab from the forces of the antichrist, is it not then a fair assumption that the antichrist would not be in charge in Moab, and especially since the scripture says that he would not be?

In the book of Daniel 2, that prophet was talking to Nebuchadnezzar, who was the king of Babylon at that time, and Daniel said to him in verse 38, "And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the Heaven hath He given unto thy hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all." So it must be asked if Nebuchadnezzar ruled America? Did he rule Japan? And the rest of the world? The answer of course is that he did not. He ruled only in the Middle East, and yet he was spoken of as "ruler over them all".

Then Daniel 2:39 speaks of the third kingdom of brass (which was the Persian Empire), and it says, "that it would bear rule over all the earth". So again, did the Persian Empire cover the whole earth, as we know it today, or just the Middle East? If your answer is the Middle East, you are right. Yet, the same term was used of that kingdom in Daniel 2:39, as is used of the antichrist in Revelation 13:7 and 8. So, neither one did, nor will, rule every nation on earth.

If a person would read these prophetic passages, and try to apply the same rule as some do on Revelation 13:7-8, we would have a big, big mess, and we would have contradiction after contradiction in the Bible.

As pointed out earlier, the Messiah says that it is not given for everyone to hear or to understand. Speaking to his disciples about the Edomite leadership of the Judean nation he said, “Because it is given unto you to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given” (Matthew13:11). How then would the Messiah send us to people who cannot “hear”? How could they be converted if “faith comes by hearing” as we are told? Immediately we have just one exception like this, then “every”, “all” and “whosoever” cannot include that exception, or the other exceptions.

If an exception is made about the Edomites who cannot find repentance, or of those born as tares about which the Messiah said, “Leave them alone”, then these cannot be part of the “all” being addressed. The Messiah did not address certain peoples, as we have seen. The Messiah said he was sent to Israel and to save “his people” Israel from their sins. That is, they were “his people” before they were saved. Therefore the command, “Go ye into all the world” refers to all that part of the world who can hear and are given the ability to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus we can see that:

Thus the popular misuse of the words, “all”, “every” and “whosoever” does not promote the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven to Israel that is the real “Great Commission”!

Hope of Israel Ministries -- Correcting the Errors of Modern "Christianity"!

Hope of Israel Ministries
P.O. Box 853
Azusa, CA 91702, U.S.A.
www.hope-of-israel.org

Scan with your
Smartphone for
more information