All the [blank] all the time...

Source: http://gracehead.com/index.php/2008/04/01/all_the_...

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When God says (such as Revelation 14:12 and 12:17) that God’s children and saints are those "who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus," does it mean that in order to qualify as a saint one must keep all the commandments all the time? Is that fair to say, would that insertion of "all" be a composition fallacy?

Well, lets look at some other examples.

Real Men Use Shaving Brushes.jpg
The caption reads: "Real men use shaving brushes."

Does that mean "Real men always use all shaving brushes all the time?" That real men just never sleep, nor eat, nor goto the bathroom ... when instead all they ever do is sit around using their shaving brushes? Do you think anyone should come to the conclusion that the advertizment means all the time? Clearly, we are not dealing with stable thought nor clear comprehension if we need to persuade anybody of the obvious limitations in the statement, "Real men use shaving brushes."

Instead of "all the time" ... what about interpreting within the context of a life of a "real man" ... saying instead that "the hallmark of a real man’s life includes often the enrichment of their lives by the use of shaving brushes." I’m no comprehension guru, but a statement like that would seem to fit the picture and the message that I believe is expressed.

Or take this example.

Real women drive trucks

Please tell me that you are not confused by this image into believing that in order to be a real woman, you must at all times drive all trucks ... as if you could drive more than one truck at a time. "Ever, and I mean EVER stop driving you truck to fill up the tank or eat or goto the bathroom, then ... well, you just aren’t a real woman." Nobody really thinks that is what is meant, right?

So, I have lost my way whenever I come to the conclusion that when God says, "the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus" that there could be ANY possibility that the meaning of that phrase is "keep all the commandments of God all the time."

I interpret it to mean something similar to my extrapolation of the shaving advertisement ... something like: "the hallmarks of a true saint’s life and a genuine child of God includes often the enrichment of their lives by the obedience to God’s commands and the faithful testimony of Jesus."

I’m not real happy with that, because I think that God says it fine just the way it is written in Revelation ... and I think that the truck image and the shaving image above say their messages fine, too. I would not want them to trade slogans with the clumsy way that I reinterpreted them. Rather, I am merely attempting to avoid a fallacy in reading into such phrases the word "all" when that clearly isn’t what they mean at "all."

Revelation
12:17
Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
14:12
This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.

Help me understand if you don’t mind leaving a comment that you get-it ... that you aren’t confused by Revelation 12:17 or 14:12. I just want to make sure that I am not the only one that sees the composition of these passages.

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