sapphires.  And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of

carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones'.

The reader will not need a quotation from Revelation to show that the same

lavish adornment characterizes also the Heavenly City.

We have now had sufficient evidence to justify the translation of

Ephesians 1:4 `before the overthrow of the world' and its reference back to

Genesis 1:2, and that kosmos is not only the created universe, but includes

spiritual beings also.

We must now pick up the thread of our exposition and resume our normal

positive method of teaching.

We have demonstrated from the Septuagint that the translation `overthrow'

for `foundation' in Ephesians 1:4 is fully justified, and that the word `world'

kosmos embraces not only the limited dominion and age of man, but includes the

heavens, the earth and the starry host.  If we leave the matter there, however,

we shall but play into the hands of the great enemy of truth, who must already

be rejoicing that some of the saints of God are using their powers to blind the

eyes of the believer to the judgment that fell on him in Genesis 1:2.  The

matter however involves our loyalty to Him Who is not only our Saviour, not only

our Head, but One Who has called us to be good soldiers, for remote as it may

seem at first sight, the introduction of the word kosmos (Gen. 2:1) involves a

reference to the battle array of the Lord of Hosts.  First let us turn to

Ephesians, and consider the occurrences of the word kosmos.  In three references

the word is simple, but in one, the word is composite (kosmokrator, world-

A

Chosen ... before the overthrow of the world.

B

The prince of the power of the air ... according to age (aion)

of this world.

A  2:12.

Gentiles (who had been chosen as in A) were without Christ, without

hope, without God, in the World.

B  6:12.

Principalities and powers, the world-rulers of the darkness of

this age (aion) in heavenly places

(cf. `the air').

It is evident that here we have a record that vitally influences our

calling and walk.  Those Gentile believers, whose election `in Christ' dates

from before the overthrow, found themselves `in the flesh' in an abandoned

condition in the present world.  The prince (archon) of the authority (exousia)

of the air, is balanced by the principalities (arche) and authorities (exousia),

while `the age of this world' is exactly answered by the `world-rulers of the

darkness of this age'.  This also is `the authority of darkness' from which we

have been delivered, according to Colossians 1:13.

Kosmos is employed by the Septuagint in Genesis 2:1 where we read `all the

host of them'.  The word translated kosmos in the Greek and `host' in the