Surprise Ending

2010-06-28T16:37:00.012-05:00

For God was so angry with a world of sinners that He sacrificed His own Son to experience His wrath, so that whosoever believes that the Son appeased the angry Father on their behalf would not be punished by Him but would escape hell fire and live forever in heaven (with that same God).
(John 3:16 Wrathbone version)

Does God torture people who don't love Him enough?

When and where is Hell?

Is God Bi-Polar?

Is God going to run out of patience with rebels and roast them?

How can anyone love a God who threatens people with eternal and unimaginable abuse if they refuse His love? Is that how love operates?

If someone came up to you, put a knife to your chest and demanded that you love them for the rest of your life or else, would you want to love them or hate them?

Are humans more humane than God?

These are not hypothetical questions or religious trivia. These are real issues of the heart that remain deeply unsettled in the minds and hearts of millions of people. Many struggle to understand how to love a God who, according to many religious teachers, will delight in burning them alive for eternity if they don't satisfy His demands or convince Him of their allegiance or say certain “magic” words required of them. Is this the real truth about the God of the Bible? Does the Bible really teach us about a monster in the sky waiting to torment us if we aren't good enough?

I have spent the last several years following clues and listening to the voice of what many might think is a different drummer. What I am discovering has radically transformed my beliefs about God, hell, the fires encountered whenever people get close to God and what is the wrath of Jehovah. But is has not just changed my mind about these things but has unlocked my heart to be able to respond with spontaneous praise, appreciation and devotion to a God who is, in fact, very different than what most people claiming to represent Him have said about Him.

I have been recording my research over the past few years and decided to make it available to anyone interested in looking deeper into the real truth about God. I have no intention of forcing anyone to agree with me. I am learning that the real God of Creation refuses to ever do anything of the kind to anyone, because love requires total freedom of response to remain love. For a relationship of love to be genuine both parties must be free to not love if they choose without threat of reprisals. Real love is built on respect, mutual trust, vulnerability and intimacy. I am discovering that God wants just such a relationship with each one of us.

I invite you to explore this God with me. Feel free to dialog with me or just browse, ponder and meditate. But listen carefully to the quiet attraction of a sweet Spirit inside of you that will inevitably begin alluring your heart into a love that will satisfy your deepest cravings like nothing else has ever done.

As humans all we have ever known is a world system based on sin, conflict, confusion, pain and death. But there is a far bigger reality than that which we have assumed in our politics, our social networks and our careers. Like it or not, we are all involved deeply in a massive battle going on that is fierce, real but mostly unseen because much of it takes place on the supernatural level. The Bible gives us the most information available about this ongoing war and there are many theories about how it is going to end. The problem is, one of the greatest weapons of this war is deception and so most of the information floating around in religion is actually designed to divert us from what is real.

There are many varieties of ideas about the final outcome of this cosmic tragedy, but what I am finding is that for nearly everyone, the ending is going to be a shocking surprise. Come with me and look into the future. The end of the story is far different than what you thought. It's a Surprise Ending.

A fly-over of the cosmic story from beginning to end.

Collections of Scriptures for study and research.

Is it wrath or passion?

Truths about Hell

Legal Tender for the Debt of Sin

The Road Less Traveled

Various Articles on Judgment, Wrath and Passion of God

2010-06-16T22:08:00.006-05:00

Judicial Systems Compared

The Greatest Lie Ever Told

Jesus as a Mirror

Lucifer's Alternative

Dominion and the Problem of Vertigo

Wrath Revealed

Carried Away for Him

Thoughts on God's Wrath

Resisting Truth and Catching Fire

Discomfort with Judgment

Legal Tender for the Debt of Sin

2009-03-29T10:25:00.000-05:00

This morning as I was laying in bed and meditating with God, I felt some strong impressions bout heaven's viewpoint regarding a proper understanding of the debt created by sin and God's provision for dealing with that debt. I called this, the currency of heaven and the paperwork of the law.

Sin created a debt against God. All of humanity was plunged into this debt and since Adam no one has been able to live outside of that situation. That means that even if a person were somehow to be able to be born as a human and live their whole life without ever sinning even once, they would still have to die. Sin brought death upon all the human race and nothing we can do will change that fact for us personally.

In the logic of Paul in his explanation of this problem, when the law was introduced on Mount Sinai, it only accomplished producing a certified copy itemizing the promissory note of debt obligation or what might also be termed a certificate of debt/death.

Jesus' death on the cross produced a sworn affidavit of forgiveness that stated that all charges were dropped. This actually meant that not only was there no charges being pressed on the part of the creditor who was owed the debt, but that the bank of heaven contained accounts full of currency solidly backed by the valuable assets of heaven that were available to every sinner who might ever have lived or would live. These accounts were assigned in the name of each person and that person could draw on those accounts at any time for any and all needs that sin may have produced in their life. The funds in their account were far more than anything they could ever spend so there was no need to worry about running our of currency. In addition, it is a fact that each person's name is found to be entered into the Book of Life which entitles them to an eternity of life in the presence of God and all the holy angels.

The law's demands can only be satisfied when all paperwork is in order.

Entrance into paradise requires presentment of proper documentation regarding our standing in relationship to the requirements of the law before entrance can be granted. Otherwise, people still stained with the seeds of death might reinfect the whole universe and the effects of the debt might yet remain indefinitely.

What is yet needed to enter heaven and spend eternity in the presence and love of God?

How is a debt actually paid off?

Currency has to be based on a recognized, legal bank and can be used to pay off all debts. These are called Legal Tender Notes.

What does it claim on the so-called Legal Tender that we commonly use in the United States? Take a look right now at any denomination bill that you might have in your pocket and observe the words and claims printed on it.

Federal Reserve Note

The United States of America

This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private.

In God We Trust.

What do you commonly receive after spending this kind of currency?

Receipts.

What is the purpose of a receipt?

To provide proof of payment any public or private debt by your use of legal currency.

It is common knowledge that our sins have created a massive debt that is only added to the deep debt we already find ourselves in just by being born into a race of sinners. God has been unveiling a method by which we can become free of this debt, but there is much more confusion than there is clarity as to how this effectively is accomplished.

If all sins both past, present and future have been forgiven through the death of the Son of God on the cross (that is a separate but extremely vital discussion to understand), then why is further paperwork required for the whole problem of sin to be wrapped up for good? Why aren't we all just escorted into heaven right now if charges against us have been dropped on the part of God?

It seems quite clear that it is not enough for God to do His part in this plan of salvation. Also required is for everyone to make a free and un-coerced decision regarding what they are going to do about this provided forgiveness. For it is not enough for the act of forgiveness to be demonstrated by God on the cross, but it is vital that forgiveness must also be received for it to make any change in the hearts of those forgiven.

At this point there is also another issue that must be clarified in order to avoid confusion about this word forgiveness. In the original languages of the Bible there were actually different words that meant different things but that were all translated into the English word forgiveness. This has resulted in a great deal of confusion about what forgiveness really means and has caused many to come to wrong conclusions about salvation and our relationship with God. I do not have the time here to fully unpack those issues, but I will simply say that there is a distinct difference between the forgiveness that occurs in the heart of God toward sinners and the forgiveness experienced in the heart of sinners that radically affects their opinions about God.

The safety of all heaven is at risk, for it is not just a technical legal problem we are dealing with here, it is an attitude problem based in the condition of our hearts. God does not need a heaven full of sinners that are forgiven on His part but who do not believe in their deepest hearts that they are forgiven. To have those kind of people in heaven would mean that He still would be prevented from unveiling His face, His character, His glory in full measure as is the case right now. This is because the intensity of God's passionate love is so overwhelmingly powerful and pure that any trace of unbelief, any lack of synchronization in the heart that is out of harmony with the heartbeat of heaven, will produce excruciating agony and torment of an extreme magnitude in the mind and heart of anyone thus disposed.

God desires and plans for there to be no more pain, no more tears, no more sorrow, no more sin. But this can only come about through the completely free choice of every individual involved and it must also involve the complete healing of the heart of all unbelief about the real truth about God. This choice must be made while living in the time of probation on this earth, for that is the only time available for us to determine our eternal destiny. After this life there are no more opportunities to again make yet another decision about which side we are going to live on and serve. We are to choose now who will receive our loyalty and then we move on to firm up that decision from this point forward.

So what are the required “documents” needed to finish up this case before the court of the universe? And how can we properly utilize the currency provided to prove our qualification to enter in through the gates into the city of God? (Rev. 22:14)

The Bible says that the certificate of death, the debt that sin created in each of our names, was nailed to the cross. (Col. 2:13, 14) But what was actually nailed to the cross literally? It was Jesus who was nailed to the cross, not some paper detailing our debt to God. Jesus Himself became the demonstration of the effects of sin as a revelation of God's attitude of forgiveness toward us.

In essence, Jesus, on the cross, swore out an affidavit of forgiveness on the part of God, the creditor.

That means that our accounts in the bank of heaven are linked to the account of Jesus who owns all of heaven meaning that we have full access to all the currency issued by this bank. And what is the asset that is so valuable that backs up this currency? It is the willingness of God to give His own life in exchange for experiencing the death that we are destined to experience so as to prove the reality of His attitude of forgiveness towards us that exists in His own heart.

But just because our names currently exist in the Book of Life right now does not mean they cannot be removed and our account closed. Our choices as to what we do with our bank account now will determine whether our account will remain open for eternity or whether through illegal actions and determined treason we might force our account to be closed and our name removed. (Rev. 20:12, 15; 21:27)

What kinds of actions or choices can result in our accounts being canceled and the loss of all the credit so freely yet expensively provided for us in that account?

Open treason against the owner of the bank and the authority of jurisdiction.

Prolonged attempts to illegally use the funds provided such as embezzlement. This results in hardening of the heart which prevents us from being able to produce the receipts necessary which prove possession of the goods and services provided for us by heaven.

The use of counterfeit currency that attempts to mimic the currency of heaven.

What is the real problem with all counterfeit currency?

Legal currency is always supposed to be based on something of value that backs up that currency (unlike the currency we use in the U.S.). Legitimate currency that maintains its true value must have in reserve assets equivalent to the value claimed on the face of the currency used. Inflation occurs when more currency is printed without increasing the assets to back it up, meaning that the face value claims of the currency are actually false in reality.

Counterfeit currency is both unauthorized and even more importantly, is not based on anything of real value or worth. But beyond even that, what is the inherent nature of counterfeit currency?

To be effective it must look very much like real currency. It must convincingly claim to have the face value that appears on it in order to deceive others into accepting it as legal tender.

Are there going to be people who conduct business now and even present counterfeit currency at the judgment in an attempt to enter into the joys of paradise? Absolutely! Jesus talks about this very clearly (Matt. 7:21-23) but also spells out the results of that attempt. Heaven cannot be fooled by counterfeit currency, but unfortunately most of us can easily be duped into accepting and trying to spend it.

Counterfeit currency of heaven's money is any righteousness or assertion of inherent value that has any trace of human attempts to satisfy the demands of the law or to assist in payment of the debt that is created by sin. Any trace of human righteousness/worthiness produced by our own efforts to keep the requirements of the law is tantamount to tampering with the currency of heaven and invalidates it's authenticity. Any tampering with that currency will result in disqualification of that note and it cannot be accepted as payment against any debt.

“But,” some may say, “why is there any discussion of a debt at all if Jesus had all the charges dropped at the cross?”

That is a good question and deserves a very carefully considered examination.

It is important to be aware of just where and how this debt exists so we understand more clearly how it impacts our life. Let me explain more.

As I noted before, whenever legal currency is spent, a receipt is given to prove that something of value has been received in exchange for that currency. Our sins continue to produce evidence of a debt on our behalf that must be resolved. And the problem is that even though God may not be pressing charges with feelings of condemnation (John 3:17), that does not mean that sin does not produce debt in our own hearts that results in destructive effects on our soul.

Just because Jesus notified the court from the cross that God is not pressing charges against us does not mean that no one else is accusing us before the court. Satan is the accuser of the brethren and is insistent that our continued sins demand payment and that we deserve to suffer and die. (Rom. 6:23)

Just because our accounts in heaven have been credited with sufficient amounts of currency to cover our sin and debt does not mean that the debt or its effects are fully resolved yet. In all ages another step has been required for people to experience full freedom from the bondage that the debt of sin produces in our hearts. Jesus has provided all the legal tender necessary to resolve all of our debts and their effects in our lives, but it is required from each individual that they must access those funds intentionally and must spend those funds in exchange for real healing of the soul and to also receive the necessary proof that their sins have been canceled. When the judgment arrives there is still an accuser demanding proof of payment for every debt that our sins have created. He is going over every detail in the records of every being who ever lived looking for any mistakes or errors or unforgiven sins that he may use against us in the judgment.

In actuality though, this is also a natural process or consequence of how reality operates as God created it. Because exposure to the presence of God itself produces the dangerous atmosphere that is lethal to the presence of all unbelief and sin harbored in the heart, Satan is not even needed to expose any residual remnants of sin lurking in our souls. The increased presence of God accomplishes the very same thing inadvertantly. Any time a trace of sin or rebellion is exposed unresolved within a heart by the presence of God's power when it is unveiled in fuller measure, those two things will always result in intense pain and torment that quickly becomes very public and internally excruciating.

It is the elimination of these pockets of unbelief about the forgiveness of God, these seeds of unreleased attitudes of rebellion, these bonds of sympathy with any of Satan's lies about God that serve as evidence of our disqualification to live in the perfect, rarefied atmosphere of purity that fills all of heaven. We must avail ourselves of the infinite credit of Christ's righteousness deposited in our account and use only the authorized currency of heaven to eliminate every sinful tendency and sympathy that becomes exposed in our hearts.

This is actually what goes on in the healing process called salvation. The word salvation itself originally comes from the word used for salve. It is accessing the currency of heaven to apply the balm of healing to the wounds in the heart revealed by the convictions of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We use the currency in our heavenly account to buy the goods and services of heaven provided for our healing and to restore us to wholeness in preparation for fitness to enter into heaven's society.

What is the receipts needed as proof of purchase for entry into the family of God in heaven?

Praise, worship and joyful celebration from the heart in gladness and gratitude to God for all of His provisions and riches offered to us freely – these are the receipts that we display as proof that we have indeed received in our hearts the things that God has provided for all of our needs. Authentic praise and worship to the God of heaven, our Creator, our Savior, our Redeemer, our God, our Lover and most intimate Friend – that is the proof of purchase that must become evident in our lives as we spend freely the riches profligately provided for us from our bank account in heaven.

Heaven has been so extravagant in is dispensing of its riches that there is no excuse for anyone to attempt to use any other source by which to procure healing, self-vindication or righteousness. The stories and parables of Jesus are full of references to heaven's absurd dispersion of funds, so much so that nearly no one is willing to believe them at face value. We continually discover ourselves trying to tame down the extreme statements of grace, mercy and love that are found all throughout the Scriptures because of our insistent penchant for unbelief.

But those who refuse to believe that they have an account full of riches in heaven's bank and fail to use that currency to apply to their debts and its effects in their hearts will discover too late that any and all other attempts to cover address their debt and sin will prove fatally flawed in the day of judgment and full revelation. For the word judgment literally means to expose, to make open and evident and plain all the secret things that were previously hidden from sight. That means that everything that is going on in our heart that has been hidden from others will in that day be made completely public and open to full examination by all.

So, in the presence of God, the angels and every other human who has ever lived, our hearts, our choices, our thoughts, our decisions and motives will all be fully exposed like an X-rated movie that will lay out the truth of what we really believe at the gut level about God and about ourselves. It will become completely obvious if we have chosen to access our heavenly credit and applied it to cover all of our debts or if we have attempted to use counterfeit currency to deal with our debts but which always fails to effectively remove that damage from our hearts.

The place where all of the debt actually resides is in our own hearts. That is the depository of all debt created by sin. It is not really so much in the books of heaven where the problem of sin exists as we have so long supposed, but the real problem of sin is in our own attitudes towards God, our feelings about what His feelings are towards us and our beliefs about how to get right with Him. It is our picture of God in our heart that has been severely distorted by the lies about Him that is the core problem of sin. It is in our heart where all the damage of sin is taking place, so it is always in our heart where all of the healing and re-creation must also take place in order to restore us to a condition where we can survive and thrive while living in the presence of pure power and love without any trace of resistance. (Isa. 33:13-17)

Because counterfeit currency is based on false claims of worth, on assets that are not really of proper value, it is inherently invalid to be used to heal the damage that sin has created in our hearts. Counterfeit currency claims to backed by substances of value just as true currency is backed by the gold and assets of heaven. But unlike the gold of heaven which is both safe, real and in abundance, our counterfeit currency of righteousness is based on human performance and assumes that we have something – anything – of intrinsic value that can compete or compare with the value of heaven's assets and the righteousness of Christ. His value is noted very clearly in the praises found in the book of Revelation where the songs of the redeemed praise the Lamb as the only one who is really worthy of praise and adoration. (Rev. 5:12)

In the pure atmosphere of praise to the Lamb that constantly fills all of heaven, any note of praise for anything we may have produced from our own effort would serve as a discordant note that would totally ruin the symphonies of praise to God. Heaven cannot sustain having any selfish songs played anywhere in heaven for this would only serve to perpetuate sin even longer. Sin at its core is selfishness, and selfishness always ends in cacophony, pain, separation and death. Self-praise is so completely out of harmony with the praises of heaven to the Source of all life, joy and blessings that it would only serve to humiliate, embarrass and even torture the minds those who might propose such an absurd exercise.

This is why it is so crucial that we abandon all notions of dependence on any value of our own making in our use of currencies to deal with our debts and bring healing to our hearts. We must learn to stop using counterfeit money to accomplish our healing and must use only the currency provided for us in our account from heaven. That is the only currency of real value that can bring to us effective medicine and care that will accomplish true healing for all the pain and disease that sin produces in our lives.

So when we are asked to produce the necessary papers for entrance into heaven, we must be prepared to only offer the receipts of praise for the Lamb who's blood provided all the forgiveness and riches that were credited to our heavenly account. Our authentic and spontaneous praise released freely from the heart, not just the head, is proof that we have given up all attempts to justify ourselves or to utilize any alternative monetary system for our behalf. Our attitude and indulgence in celebration of God's goodness, our freedom and joy for the healing that has restored our ability to be ravished by the love of our Savior and God, this is the paperwork that will permit us to add our own loyal songs of praise to the millions of beings that already sing in joyful praise and adoration of God throughout the rest of the universe.

And what of those who have chosen to depend on other sources for healing and hope and life? What will happen to anyone who continues to try to use counterfeit currency? What will become of those who fail to be able to produce authentic receipts proving that they have accepted and embraced the forgiveness and wealth so freely deposited in their heavenly account?

It will be seen that their failure to use the accounts provided for them and their choices to engage in the spread and use of counterfeit methods for healing will result in their account being closed permanently and their names removed from the Book of Life. It is never God's desire for this to happen, but it is not safe to allow names to be retained in the Book of Life that have insisted on committing high treason against all that heaven has provided for their redemption and restoration to the perfect society of heaven.

Those who reject the offer of God's free grace in favor of any other method that depends in any way on their own performance or intrinsic worth will commit treason. Apart from complete trust in God's view of their value and total dependence on His indwelling Spirit, they will be found wanting and still in debt. For even though God has provided all the funds necessary for our debt to be paid, and even the certificate of death/debt was nailed to the cross in the person of God's own Son, if we do not avail ourselves of that forgiveness and those funds provided, the debt will still exist in our own heart.

But be very clear here – the debt does not exist in the heart of God in His attitude towards us. God never harbors ill feelings, grudges or condemnation towards sinners that result in His punishments against them. The debt is totally resident in the hearts of those who refuse to believe in God's attitude of love, forgiveness and grace towards them. This is all about the issue of belief – real heart belief. That is why the apostle John referred so much to this word in relation to what we think about Jesus. The resistance against belief in the heart of anyone by refusing to fully receive and embrace the grace and forgiveness that flows from the heart of God itself becomes the source of torment and death for them when they are become exposed to the full revelation of that love in the presence of God.

It is not enough to try to avail ourselves of the symptoms of salvation. It is of little use to try to force ourselves to offer superficial praises and gratitude to God in attempts to appear like we have experienced salvation when we have not. Counterfeit receipts will also become obvious and exposed in times of judgment. Only authentic currency and authentic receipts can stand up under the brilliant light of truth in the scrutiny of times of judgment. And remember, it is not so much God that is examining our record of choices but it is everyone everywhere who will be able to examine clearly every thought and choice of our heart. The judgment is open to all and all will be unanimous in the final verdict that will vindicate God as not being guilty of any charges that have leveled against Him.

The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let everyone who hears say, "Come." And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. (Revelation 22:17 NRSV)

Judicial Systems Compared

2009-01-18T15:21:00.000-06:00

I want to take a little time to unpack the corresponding elements between human judicial process and true redemptive restoration as used by heaven's agencies.

Though there may be elements of truth in earthly judicial systems, it is a very serious mistake to attempt to understand or illustrate heaven's system of justice and law by using the earthly procedures as examples to explain them. It is just backwards to attempt to illustrate something true by utilizing examples from its counterfeit alternative system to explain it. Using a counterfeit as the basis by which to judge the truth will always result in confusion and deception. If we want to understand, or even more importantly participate in, heaven's redemptive kind of justice, then we must receive enlightenment from the Author of that system and more carefully study the writings given to us concerning this system.

Arrest

In earthly models, the process of justice generally begins with suspicion and the arrest of a person who is thought to be guilty of some crime. The way this is carried out is reflective of the attitudes of the whole concept of justice that is so familiar to us here on earth. There is confrontation, force, weapons involved, intimidation and even violence when deemed necessary. The attitude of the arresting parties, whether police, federal agents or military personnel, is one of assumed guilt until someone else can determine if there is any reason to change that assumption. The publicity surrounding such events deeply impresses upon observers the impression that this person must be guilty of the assumed charges simply because of the nature of the arrest. Guilt is imposed artificially on everyone involved and is firmly in place until the accused parties can figure out some way of convincing various parties that they are innocent. The proverbial saying that our justice system assumes innocence until guilt is proven is nothing more than a myth in our world, a nice platitude to obscure the obvious.

During the arrest, sometimes associated with violence, there is generally an attitude of accusation, of implied guilt and a great amount of shame surrounding the accused. Shame is actually another word for devaluing someone, causing them to feel worthless as a human being. It pushes them to believe that they are a bad person at their deepest level of identity, not just bad because of something they have done but bad as a person without any worth or respect. This shame is reinforced by the disrespect often shown by the arresting officers, especially upon return to the more isolated confinement of the detention center where the public eye cannot hold them as accountable for their actions. Unspeakable acts of shame and violation of dignity often take place behind the closed doors of jails and prisons committed by people who often get themselves into those jobs just so they can exploit others for their own selfish gratification.

In stark contrast to this evil system of so-called justice, heaven's means of beginning the process of justice is a very secret, gentle voice of conviction deep inside the soul that is impossible for the public to perceive from the outside. It is a conviction inside of both the state of sin that we are found in and the purity and goodness of God. This later conviction often goes unnoticed by many people for much longer, but the conviction that one is out of harmony with the principles of truth and what is right is much more evident. The response that is invited from this conviction is to confess what we are being convicted of. Confession, unlike that commonly observed in human methods, is not extracted by force and intimidation but is an offer to simply agree with the inner promptings of the Spirit and to believe the real truth about reality as shown to us by God.

The Collection and Purpose of Evidence

The next step in the process which goes on both before and after the arrest, is the collection of all the evidence that can be obtained to procure a guilty verdict. In worldly justice evidence is primarily filtered through the intent to only present that which will incriminate the person, to sway the opinions of the deciding persons about what kind of person this is, to paint them with extreme descriptions to make them look as bad as possible. The purpose of the prosecutors is to secure the harshest sentence possible so that the winning party can benefit the most at the accused expense. The pride and bigotry of many prosecuting attorneys is so deeply entrenched that is it not unusual for them to fiercely defend their convictions even years later after overwhelming evidence is presented as to the innocence of the party convicted in court. The opinion of the accusers is more important to them than the truthfulness or accuracy of the evidence. And the welfare of the accused is not even given any thought by those employed to destroy their reputation.

In heaven's system of justice, evidence is presented first to the heart in order for the offender to become aware of what true reality is and that their disharmony with the principles of heaven will lead to pain and death if not forsaken. Again, the most important evidence is not just about the problems that one is experiencing in their own life but is evidence about the character of the Judge that they will ultimately have to face. The myriads of lies about this Judge has caused them to rebel against their loving Creator and was the root cause of their disharmony to begin with. So the work of the Holy Spirit and all who cooperate with Him is to present overwhelming evidence of the goodness of God, the fairness of God, the compassion and forgiveness and mercy of the supreme Ruler of the whole universe to which we are all personally accountable. The most important evidence in heaven's justice system is about how God feels toward us, not just about our faults and mistakes and evil practices. What God wants us to see is that the real reasons that we based our rebellion on in the first place are all false and He wants to cause us to see the real truth about Him so that we no longer need to live in independence and fear from His presence.

Arraignment

In our judicial system, the next step is usually an arraignment in which the charges against a person are formally presented in a court and the accused is asked to enter a plea. This is yet another step in publicizing the shame of the person being charged and their reputation being maligned. It is also full of assumptions and implications and legal traps in which the accused can easily be led into ruining his chances of vindication if they are not intimately familiar with the intricate rules of procedure in that court. In earthly justice systems, procedures is given far more weight than truth or motives. While it is often carried out in such a way as to appear to the outside observer that the facts are given due consideration, what is actually transpiring is a duel between opposing attorneys who all give their allegiance to the same authority and are just sparring with the rules of procedure to see who can win the current round in a game of skill. This may come as a shock to many, but the more one learns about what really goes on in court the more this becomes evident. Court decisions are based far more on who can manipulate the procedures and the system than on the truthfulness or innocence of the accused parties.

The process of justice from heaven's perspective is laid out in Matthew 18. If the promptings of the gentle, quiet voice of the Spirit is ignored and resisted, then the proper venue is to slowly move the convicting pressure more and more into the open. But the whole context and purpose of heaven's promptings of conviction are radically different than the process that usually takes place in the counterfeit systems that we see played out in our judicial systems. Heaven's justice is always with the sole purpose of redemption, restoration and re-creation in the image of God. Heaven does not pursue condemnation but restoration. Human justice is looking for revenge and uses condemnation as the means by which to force people into confessing whether they are guilty or not. Threats of pain, deprivation and imprisonment are used to intimidate people into cooperation with the methods and desires of the prosecutors. God's Spirit uses increasing exposure of the contrast between our sinful heart and the love and purity of God's heart to draw us into returning to be healed and restored into fellowship with Him and those around us.

Detention

While awaiting trial the accused is locked up in prison or threatened with financial loss of bail if allowed to stay out of jail. Obviously there is very little trust displayed toward the accused no matter what their condition is. The priority used to determine whether they might remain free or kept in prison has much more to do with their financial prowess and their political connections more than anything else. Fear is the most prominent element of this process and is the foundation of all of the counterfeit system of justice practiced in this world.

While under conviction of the Holy Spirit one is allowed freedom to continue to choose how to live and what direction to take their life. But there are natural consequences that will be experienced as we force away the protecting hand of grace from our lives. When one refuses to accept the offers of love, fear is the natural result of living outside the atmosphere of love and grace. Those who choose to continue to resist both the truth about themselves and the real truth about God's attitudes towards them will find themselves digging deeper and deeper into the hole of self-justification, denial and deception. The only alternative to agreeing with God and the convictions of His Spirit is non-truthful living which is deception. This is the arena that Satan specializes in so to resist the convictions of God is to invite the presence of demons and their abusive control over the soul.

Trial

Trial in our systems of justice are conducted before corrupt human judges and sometimes a jury. Some judges are obviously more corrupt than others, but since all humans are sinners and selfish by nature, there can be no really good example of real justice like that found in heaven's system of law. Here, lawyers from both sides attempt to skew the evidence through deception, misrepresentation when convenient and selective presentation of facts to play on the emotions of the jury and judge to secure their desired outcome. Often claims of what is true are at least partially obscured intentionally in the pressure to get the predetermined conclusion of the lawyer's client. Everything presented in court is claimed to be objective, but through careful suppression of any facts that might harm their case both sides create subjective impressions to sway the decision in their favor. What's more, the battle revolves around technicalities in process more than in truthfulness of facts and motives. In fact, motives and context are the most subjective and unusable part of the presentation and subject to extreme manipulation by the evidence or rejection by the court.

Trials in heaven's process are designed to bring about early judgment. Judgment means revelation and exposure of the thoughts and motives that are in the heart, not a condemnation. Judgment that occurs through trials allowed into our lives involve increasing inner pressure to agree with what is really true, both about our own sinful condition and more importantly the real truth about God. In effect a double trial is being conducted each time a person comes under conviction by the Holy Spirit or faces a trial. A person is invited to change their mind about what they believe about themselves and their true identity and they are also encouraged to change their mind about the greatest Judge in the universe who is emphatically on their side, who is not unbiased but who's bias in always in their favor.

Vindication or Conviction and Sentencing

When an earthly trial results in a conviction, the effect is immense condemnation, scorn, shame, humiliation, derision and even sometimes hatred heaped on the reputation and heart of the accused. Meanwhile the accusers and prosecutors gloat in their win and celebrate their victory in crushing yet another victim into the meat-grinder of the penal system designed to destroy even further any sense of worth, value and identity in the heart of the convicted person.

If the accused wins the case it is often through the expertise of attorneys who find some technical flaw in how the prosecution failed to obey some rule of court procedure rather than the truthfulness of their clients case. This is not always the case but is prominently the tactic and method of all practice of law. There is great confusion about truth in our judicial system because the rules and procedures are designed very carefully to obscure and suppress allowing all the facts and motives to come to light. Much more emphasis is placed on procedure than on honestly evaluating the real situation and examining the real motives and seeking to expose all evidence. Earthly judges have no access to knowing the real motives of the heart and often don't even want to know anyway.

No one can get free on a technicality in heaven's judgment process. But neither is the judge corruptible nor is the jury allowed to pass a decision until everything is fully exposed including the jury's own faults and failings. Complete exposure of every secret desire, motive and action is required before any sentence can become valid.

Basis of Judgment

Earthly courts operate based on the enforcement of human laws that are designed primarily to impose controls over the weaker for the advantages of the richer and stronger in society. This is not always the case but infects much of the body of legislation. The courts are required to consider law itself more important than truth or even human dignity and life. Law is deified as the great object of civil worship, but which can be manipulated at will by self-serving politicians or even back-room deals. There is such a mass of confusing and conflicting law that is constantly increasing that there is always opportunity to play some laws against others. So the outcome of a trial is dependent far more on the skill of the lawyers more than the truthfulness or real integrity of one's case. Law is valued more than life, more than truth and more than integrity. There are exceptions to this but they are becoming less and less as the body of people involved in this system sink deeper into corruption through dishonesty, greed and hunger for power. Human laws are arbitrary and artificial by design. They may or may not reflect natural principles of morality and reality. They are designed primarily to prop up and reinforce the false trinity which underlies all of what we call civilization: Economics, Kingship and Law.

Heavenly judgment is founded totally on restoring family relationships, family being the relationship that God designed all intelligent beings to enjoy with each other everywhere. Heaven's laws are not arbitrary or artificial but are simply descriptions of natural principles of how things operate, principles of reality that function with immense power and precision and are designed to synchronize with all the other principles to produce and enhance life. When these principles are violated one loses the protection of grace and is liable to be exposed to the natural consequences of the absence of life – pain and death that results from being exposed to these natural immutable forces. One of the plainest examples of this principle is what happens when one chooses to ignore the law of gravity.

Punishment or Consequences

Earthly courts impose artificial punishments which almost always consist of economic deprivation and social isolation through imprisonment. Prisons are designed to strip every person under their control of all identity, value and self-worth that can be accomplished through abuse, shame and humiliation. It is claimed that imprisonment is supposed to be rehabilitation, but like most things in our earthly governments it is just the opposite of what it is called. Prisons are by design places where the worst emotions and motives of the heart are amplified, encouraged and intensified through close and prolonged contact with other experienced criminals. It is a training ground where people with little experience in crime can be tutored both intellectually and emotionally by others who have far worse characters and much more experience in how to deceive and exploit and harm other people.

In God's instructions in the Old Testament there is no mention of prisons or jails for offenders who were convicted of crimes. Prisons simply had no part whatsoever in heaven's plan for justice. Isolating people away from society and mistreating them while forcing them to live in close contact with other hardened sinners is a plan directly from hell and was conceived by Satan himself. All of heaven's methods are totally designed to promote healing, restoration, redemption, wholeness and family ties. Heaven's goals for repairing brokenness is to reform, reshape the mind and heart back into the image of God so that people can live in harmony again and be filled with the selfless love of God and help others be attracted and drawn to similar healing. When punishments are required due to unrepentance and resistance to truth and redemption, the punishments are always reflective of the natural consequences of violating natural laws. All of God's laws are natural and it is protective grace that is actually the exception to the natural laws of the universe and that keeps all of us alive right now. We are all given probation through the grace and mercy of God to allow us time to have opportunity to respond to the offer of salvation. Salvation is the healing power of God to transform us back into wholeness and proper family relationships with those around us.

Objectives

Human judicial systems are designed to enforce the stratification of social status by pushing down the accused to a much lower level on the social ladder, thereby elevating everyone else by comparison. This is how human so-called justice is used to reinforce the counterfeit system of Kingship or hierarchy and the counterfeit system of economics that permeates every aspect of our society and our thinking.

Heaven's judicial process operates totally on the family model and assumes everyone is an integral part of a close-knit family of heaven and earth. Everyone is considered of equal value based on their relationship to the family of heaven. All judicial proceedings are by intention and design aimed at restoring broken and damaged relationships, at increasing maturity and toward the releasing of all debts.

The winners in earthly judicial cases think that they will feel elevated and exuberant and more valuable when their opponent is fined, crushed emotionally and forced into the meat-grinder of the prison system. But many times they later realize that their cravings for satisfaction and revenge, what they term justice, cannot ever really fill that longing, even when the offender may be executed. Without experiencing true forgiveness the accusers carry with them all of their life a sense of anger, bitterness and hostility toward their attackers that eats away at their soul and destroys their happiness and peace for years to come. They can find little comfort in suppression and revenge against those who offended them. What they end up experiencing is what the Bible describes as a debtor's prison where both the offender and the offended find themselves until the debt is fully satisfied. This is the curse of the counterfeit system of justice that the world worships so fervently.

Methods

In heaven's system of justice, judgment is simply the exposure of the real intents, thoughts and motives of the heart which is where true character and our relationship to reality exist. It is seen that the outward actions are often mere attempts at image management at best. Our behavior sooner or later reflects the outworkings of the true feelings of the soul. Deception is rampant in the external world of appearances that makes up the world's version of reality, but heaven always weighs the heart, the real motives and the decisions made deep inside that determine the real direction of the life. Many times what we judge as faulty or even sinful by others are only acts of desperation or expressions of pain in vain attempts to find comfort and healing for deep wounds still festering inside.

In earthly systems punishments are meted out by force, imposed arbitrarily and seldom do little if anything to counteract the original cause of the problem. Fear is the primary motive used to provide incentive for conformed living. But fear is a very unstable, though very powerful motive.

In heaven's justice, love is the foundation of every action and motive. Service and self-sacrifice for the good of others is the atmosphere that causes family relationships to flourish and bond in this environment. Love is far more powerful than fear, but from our sinful perspective it initially appears much weaker because it refuses to employ force. Love and force are simply incompatible elements of the human heart. Where there is force, love cannot grow and flourish.

Another very important difference between worldly systems of justice and heaven's judgment day is that in the final day of judgment everyone involved is going to be judged – including the Judge Himself. Every member of the jury is going to be fully exposed, every observer, every accused person and every accuser. And most importantly, the great Judge Himself is going to be on trial. For the real case that we have all been caught up in is the great accusations of the Judge Himself, His character, His methods, His motives and His intents. He has chosen to not attempt to impose His defense on the minds of the watching universe but to allow the false charges against Him to be fully exposed to be the frauds that they really are. And when the final day of judgment, of full exposure, is accomplished it will be seen that God indeed is totally fair, is always consistent, is, in fact, everything that Satan has accused Him of not being in faithfulness, goodness, mercy, love and justice. What will be exposed is that Satan's version of justice is what is really the perversion of the truth, not the Word of God.

Bias

As I have been told and believe is very probably true, the ancient system used to administer justice in early Old Testament times was radically different than the systems we are familiar with today. Those ancient methods were likely much closer to exemplifying the principles of God's form of government though they were still only shadows of what God is really like. We tend to believe that judges are supposed to be totally unbiased while listening to the cases presented before them and that the same is to be applied to a jury if present. We also realize that this is often not the case and a great deal of debate and resentment goes on depending on our opinion about how much influence was injected into the courtroom from improper sources.

But in ancient times, the judge was actually expected to be openly on the side of the accused in every situation presented before them. The job of the accusers was to present enough evidence to overwhelmingly convince the judge that this person was indeed guilty, and only then would the judge with great reluctance pass a verdict and a sentence on the accused. It was also emphatic with that system that only if there were at least two or three credible witnesses was anyone to be found guilty. This open bias on the part of the one making a decision is actually much more reflective of the way that God deals with His erring children. When we begin to realize the true bias of God in our favor instead of thinking of God as an impartial, unaffected third party who cannot relate to us, then our attitude toward Him will radically be altered and we will begin to let go of our unreasonable fear of Him based on the lies promoted by the accuser of us all.

Application

If we think we have truth all figured out because we believe a list of facts that we are sure are correct doctrines, and if on this basis we smugly think that we have all the truth and our only job is to convince the rest of the world that we are right and they are wrong, then we are trapped in one of the most dangerous sinkholes of hypocrisy that has ever existed. We can be accurately described by the words found in Revelation 3:17 you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

Everything is heaven's process of judgment and justice is designed to draw us back into the harmony of heaven and into close fellowship with the family of God. It is always designed to increase our maturity and encourage bonding in perfect love, free of all fear, shame or any taint of sin. We will never understand heaven's plan of restoration for us while trying to use Satan's counterfeit system to explain it. Heaven's system is perfectly in harmony with the character of God. Satan's system is reflective of the confusion and deception of his character and exemplifies his spirit of selfishness, oppression, fear and abuse. Satan's system of so-called justice always tends toward pain and death. God's plan of salvation, which is the revelation of His real justice, always leads into abundant life.

There are many baffling and seeming contradictions in heaven's order of living, but they are only confusing because of the many deceptions that cloud our thinking from years of immersion in counterfeit systems of thought. Almost everything we assume about justice must be challenged and rewired in our thinking. Nearly everything about the family of heaven seems upside down and backwards to our perception. And yet when we begin to wake up into a new life in Christ we discover that it is actually the whole world's system of logic that is upside down and inverted as compared to the rest of the universe that has been waiting patiently for thousands of years for us to come to a true sense of reality and accept heaven's principles for ourselves.

God's justice does not impose death and pain on those who refuse to cooperate with Him. The Bible does not teach that God will kill sinners, despite what many people claiming to represent Him say. It declares that the wages of death come from sin itself, not from God. (Rom. 6:23) Sin is simply the choice to remain out of harmony with the natural and powerful forces of natural law put in place by God's design in all of creation. It is God's grace alone that has kept everyone alive while this counterfeit experiment is worked out to its ultimate demise through its own self-destruction. When sinners finally and fully reject the protecting grace of God that has kept them in existence for so long – and this includes Satan and all his angels as well – then the loss of that protecting grace will permit their exposure to the most surprising and terrifying natural power in the universe: the very presence of infinite love itself. The intensity of pure love in all its passion is so dangerous that when anything with any taint of sin (resistance) remaining in it is exposed to that kind of intensity and purity, the resulting conflict between the irresistible force of love and the immovable object of sin will result in the destructive and consuming flames of hell itself. It is not the lashings of an offended deity that is getting his revenge; it is the unavoidable results that always happens when resistance meets power, a principle demonstrated in many aspects of nature and physics all around us. That is simply another natural consequence of violation of natural law. When resistance meets power the result is heat that produces a consuming fire.

Romans 6:23 is not a threat of an offended god but is a statement of an unchangeable fact of reality. But the best news is that embedded in this same verse is the glorious alternative that God is eager for us to accept. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

The Road Less Traveled

2008-12-28T10:54:00.001-06:00

Why are people so insistent on believing that God must punish sinners just the way we want Him to? Why is it so important to us that “justice be served” in the way we want to see it happen? Why are we so resistant to believing that love itself can be a potentially far more lethal weapon of torture than an angry outburst of fiery wrath in physical flames of vengeance?

I am beginning to believe our resistance is because we are so completely devoid of any real understanding of the true nature of love itself and that our experience with human anger and revenge so overrides our attention. We have experienced so few, if any, conscious encounters with genuine, self-sacrificing love that we just can't begin to imagine how love itself could ever produce the kind of pain described in Scripture as the destiny of the lost. In addition, our human track of thinking is so deeply entrenched in counterfeit ideas of human justice that we continue to refuse to even consider that God's ways of dealing with evil may be radically different and insist on only interpreting every passage in His Word through the filters of our own traditions and our spiteful desires for revenge.

But what would be the potential effect on our lives, our thinking, our relationships and even our world if we were to actually dare to believe and embrace alternative insights about the potentially lethal nature of God's passionate love? Maybe part of the reason we won't even go there is because even thinking about its possibility begins to produce some of the pain in our hearts right now and it is too uncomfortable for us to even consider. It is far easier in some respects to believe in a God who has two opposite sides to His personality much like ours than it is to endorse beliefs in a God who is so different than us that it bends our whole perception of reality to begin to understand Him.

But what will happen when individuals and then groups of people begin to actually dare to embrace the real truth about God's perfect consistency, the eternal nature of His lovingkindness, the permanency of His grace and forgiveness and mercy and the lethal potency of His glory, purity and love? What would inevitably happen is that these same truths would begin to operate in the lives of those believers in their interactions with others, and everyone encountering them would be either attracted and compelled to want to run toward such an amazing God as they saw living in the hearts of such people, or they will intensify their resistance to these truths and in their pride of opinion their hearts will become even more hardened to such unbelievable ideas.

These kinds of revelations about God and His glory will have such a polarizing effect on everyone exposed to them that it will leave the whole world eventually divided into two distinct camps of opinions about what God is really like. And the results of such a polarization will be the outworking in their own lives of the ultimate effects of each of those belief systems. Those who choose to believe in a God who's love is so potent as to be lethal when unveiled in its fullness to those cherishing resistance, those believers will begin to channel that same love with growing intensity. They will exhibit that same kind of selflessness with that same kind of passion that will be unquenchable by any lies about God, for those lies no longer hold them hostage.

At the same time, those who fight against believing in a God of true and everlasting love will begin to experience in their own life the pain caused by their resistance against that love. As they see that kind of love demonstrated in the lives of those they increasingly oppose who are teaching about it and demonstrating it publicly, they will eventually stop at nothing to try to oppose them. They will find themselves attempting to coerce those who believe such “heresies” to change their minds and return to the more popular beliefs of an angry deity who reflects more closely the fear-based religion that has been the standard of belief for thousands of years. Others who dare to discredit the ideas of a God who is willing to torture sinners in flames of hell for rejecting His invitations of mercy will produce anger and resentment in those who oppose such “strange doctrines” and “new theology”. As their anger mounts against those who not only teach such things but also reveal more and more of God's true nature before the world, their own reactions of resentment will increasingly demonstrate the outworkings of belief in a God who will resort to force and torture to bring an end to the resistance movement against Him initiated by Satan long ago. Each side will begin to act more and more like the God that they have chosen to believe in.

What we choose to believe about God, the road that we choose to embark on from the fork that we are now facing, will determine the kind of personality we exhibit in the future and will result eventually in radical contrasts to those who choose the alternative route. From our current perspective it is impossible to conceive of the extremes to which we will find ourselves willing to go in the future based on the direction that we now choose. Those who cling to belief in a bi-polar type, carrot and stick concept of God who will someday run out of patience and roast His enemies in flames of torturous punishment will eventually be willing to treat their opponents that way themselves if they refuse to change their opinions. This has already been demonstrated many times in history and even yet today.

Likewise, those who choose to embrace and come to be intimately connected with a God who is never-failing in His compassion, who never ceases to show mercy, who is always fair, who engages in profligate acts of love and yet is perfect justice – these people will come to demonstrate those same characteristics in their own lives as they become clear channels of God's Spirit flowing through them. They will be transformed into individuals who look very much like “little Christs” – Christians in the true sense of the word. And like He did while here on earth, they will induce in their opposers by their unfailing compassion and unquenchable love the bitterness, rage and fury of everyone who demands that God simply cannot be the kind of being as is being demonstrated before them. Their resistance to accepting the real truth about God no matter how plain it is revealed in the lives of His loyal followers will eventually transform unbelievers into demonstrations of demonic rage and they will fully exhibit the terrible characteristics of the god they have chosen to worship – a god who is willing to lash out in angry vengeance to abuse and torture anyone who does not conform to His demands. They will demonstrate their lie-based beliefs about God against those who are likewise demonstrating their truth-based beliefs about the God who's love cannot be overcome with any amount of fear, intimidation, coercion or even death.

This is frightening for me to even think about or talk about. To realize that everyone is going to be transformed into an extreme version of the God they choose to believe in is both exhilarating and terrifying. But the Word of Prophecy has foretold this very thing will happen very soon. Furthermore, it is necessary for bringing this whole tragic universal war to a final conclusion. It has to become unmistakably clear to every intelligent being everywhere what the final results are for choosing either direction. The fruit of each belief system must be fully matured in the lives of those embracing them before the universe can be totally inoculated from ever repeating this horrible experiment with selfishness and independence from God.

As I have tried in my own clumsy and inept ways to share what I am learning about God in these areas, I often run into the resistance of tradition very quickly. And although it has not yet escalated into more mature effects of persecution that will be seen later, I have sensed that it is crucial that I have a clearer picture of God myself especially at the experiential level of my heart. It is not enough for me to just learn these things with my mind and be amazed by them or intrigued by them. I must have these revelations of amazing love and have the fire of God's passion inside of me burn away all of the lies about Him that still cling to the dark passages of my heart and the arteries that surround it. I must more fully experience the growing fire in my own bones of the truths about the radical nature of God's forgiveness, His stunning beauty and His perfect purity that cannot be approached without being fully synchronized with Him by His Spirit dwelling fully within me.

I feel increasingly at times the pressure to abandon what I have been learning about God and to return to the darker views of God that are more popular and acceptable that are being taught by the more mainstream religious leaders around me. I expect that at some point I will be urged to recant my heretical views that I have been embracing slowly over the past few years and submit to more established doctrines as taught by the educated professors of theology with far more years of experience and education than I will ever achieve.

But when I even start to think about returning to belief in a God who will resort to torturing the rejectors of His mercy in flames of fire to bring about a forced end to the great controversy, the uneasiness and conflicting emotions rising up inside of me create a terrible fear of rejecting precious truths entrusted to me by the Holy Spirit over the past few years. These fresh revelations from the Spirit and supported in His Word have served as a strong attraction to draw me toward the heart of the Father. To return to the standard beliefs about a God who is going to suddenly change the way He relates to sinners when He runs out of patience with them would force me to once again close my eyes to many clear statements in Scripture that have been forcefully shown to me by His Spirit as He has guided me into the path I find myself on at this time. To return to teaching about a God who is loving only most of the time but has an exception at the end of the battle would possibly force me to abandon belief in God altogether. For to believe in a God who is willing to act like His enemy when it appears to serve His purpose or for His advantage would be to dismantle every beautiful and compelling truth that I have learned over the past twenty years.

I suppose what I am beginning to feel is the pressure that is inevitable on both sides. This pressure is unavoidable and is caused by the natural effect of polarization inherent in this revelation about God. I am being forced to either move deeper into understanding and experiencing the things about God that I have been learning so far or I would likely have to abandon all trust in God altogether and live in fear once again. Any middle ground is starting to disappear and that will likely accelerate as we move closer to the final show-down between truth and falsehood. One thing is clear – the enemy of God will never back away from his forceful insistence on the lies about God he has promoted until long after we have all made our decisions. The conflict is only going to become more intense so I might as well face it and burrow myself deeper into the Word and the heart of the One who has been drawing me to Himself.

Jesus as a Mirror

2008-06-30T13:00:00.000-05:00

Jesus became a human because it was necessary in order for Him to be incarnated into a mirror like we are. All of God's intelligent creatures are only capable of reflecting life and light, not originating it. So for the Son of God who is the originator of light and life to demonstrate how His created beings are to live in proper relationship to their true Source, He had to take on the essence of the nature of humans in order to have the credibility with us that is needed to change our minds about God.

After sin entered this world we had no way of knowing how to live in proper relationship to our only Source of life except the rules and guidelines given over the years. But rules cannot transform us, partly because they only address half the brain – the half that is far less effective over the roots of our natural behavior. We need much more than simply descriptions of what righteousness is supposed to look like, we need a real live example of what all of this business God talks about actually looks like. For the most important and powerful part of our brain, our right hemisphere, can only learn primarily by imitation, not by instruction.

So Jesus had to become a mirror like we are in order to give us an example of how to live successfully as a mirror in proper alignment with the real Source of life and light. But He went beyond that and also demonstrated the consequences of what happens when a mirror with dirt on it encounters the fiery presence of God's passion. All of the suffering and agony that finally killed the human life of the Son of Man was due to His taking onto Himself all of the guilt and condemnation, the pain and sins of every person who has ever existed. It was like piling all the mud and filth of the whole world onto the surface of His mirror and then allowing it to be exposed to a lethal dose of the laser light of God's purity and holiness.

But there was one very significant difference between Jesus' human nature and the rest of us. The sin that Jesus took upon Himself was all on the surface of His mirror creating the distortion and dissonance that killed Him as He encountered God's presence. But the sin and filth that is in our lives is within the glass and is deeply embedded in the reflective part of our psyche. Jesus did not have our propensities to evil like we experience them, but He did understand the results encountered from having those tendencies vicariously.

But in taking on our condemnation and experiencing those natural consequences so that we would understand the danger of sin more clearly, He also earned the right and authority to replace our faulty systems and reflectors with new systems designed to once again reflect the glory of God properly. He is able and eager to also engage us in a lifelong process of thoroughly cleaning and polishing our mirrors so that we will more and more perfectly reflect His face and disposition if we will allow Him permission.

Our mirrors have imperfections both on the surface and in the substrates. We have deep roots of bitterness and lies buried in our reflective layers that distort the light and creates ugliness. We also have habits, addictions and false notions that smear the surface of our mirrors that likewise distort and confuse the reflections that we emanate. We also have problems with focusing on the things of darkness and turning away from light that might expose our weakness and imperfections.

But God is in the repair and cleaning business for all who give Him permission to do so. He even works behind the scenes with those who do not yet know Him properly or who are filled with many lies about Him that keep them afraid and at a great distance from Him. There are many I believe, who cannot tolerate engaging with the God that they have heard about through the misrepresentation of those who raised them or who claim to represent Him currently in their lives. But that is not the real God who passionately loves them, it is a fictional deity that has been created by the enemy who stops at nothing to slander and distort His true image in our hearts.

So when a person claims that they want nothing to do with God or Jesus or reject the Holy Spirit as they have perceived Him through the distortions of others, He knows that they are not really talking about Him but about the caricature of Him imposed on them by their surroundings and by religious impostors. So He works quietly in the background and in their conscience sometimes for many years to untangle their many lies about Him until the day when they are ready to let down their defenses and give Him more open permission to actively engage in their restoration and repair. This is the experience I believe happened to Saul of Tarsus.

If I want to know how to live in freedom, joy and peace as a good mirror like I was created to live, then the best way to do this is to immerse myself in an emotional and deeply spiritual journey into a heart-oriented study of the example in the life of Jesus Christ. Jesus demonstrated throughout His whole life what it looks like to live as a mirror with a constant focus on the face of God while interacting with sinful humanity like we may do. He laid aside His inherent natural tendencies to always living perfectly and choose every moment to live only as a mirror in order that we might have an example to follow. It was not so much the consequent perfection of His outward actions that was our example as many have supposed, but it was the orientation of His spirit/heart mirror that was the most important aspect of His example that we need to emulate.

The very greatest temptation of Jesus while living on earth as a mirror was to allow His own natural tendencies to support or supplement Him in His life interacting with others. And His natural divine tendencies are to always do what is kind and perfect and loving and graceful. But we make a huge mistake when we believe or teach that Jesus' life was good because He was God in human form. That is precisely where His greatest temptation actually lay. He never once accessed His divinity in order to supplement His needs as a human mirror, and He did that precisely because He needed to show us how to live in total dependence on an outside source for our identity and power.

But in doing this He placed Himself in a situation far more severe than any human will ever face. For to have infinite power and natural desire to be good constantly right at your fingertips so to speak, and never access it for your advantage is the greatest temptation one could ever face. Satan knew that and did everything he could think of to amplify and exploit that vulnerability in Jesus' life.

On the other hand, we humans who have nothing but natural tendencies toward selfishness, the very opposite of Jesus' divine natural tendencies, somehow feel that we can use our own strength and abilities at times to produce what we think is a good life or to make good decisions. We have all manner of variations on this with many versions claiming we just need a little more assistance from God to accomplish it. But the message of the Bible and the example of Jesus shows us that we must come to a point of total abstinence from all dependence on our own natural tendencies whether they appear to be good or otherwise. We must follow the example of Jesus in learning to live in constant and intimate vital communion with the only Source of life and light if we are to live in righteousness as mirrors. We must live a life led by the Spirit of God if we are to be true children of God.

Jesus made it very clear that only God is righteous. Since that is a fact, then for us to be righteous while existing only as mirrors, we have to align ourselves properly with the Source of righteousness so that we can reflect that righteousness and light effectively. And when that same light exposes the filth and distortions on our own mirrors, instead of turning away from the light we need to accept His provisions for cleaning our mirrors and healing us from all the embedded flaws and cracks and brokenness so that we will reflect His light and face more accurately.

This is not an optional idea for us, it is a matter of life and death, of survival itself. For there is coming a day when the laser light of God's glory is going to be unveiled and will permeate every place of the whole universe. All who have allowed God to bring healing and wholeness to their hearts and minds and have been realigned with His perfect character and law will become an integral part of the new creation He is planning. All who are prepared will become reflectors of that powerfully dangerous but glorious light that will fill the whole world and even the universe with the dazzling light and color and love and our Creator.

But those who resent or reject His offer of repair and realignment will, upon exposure to that same laser light, find that the intensity of passionate love is far too much for their little damaged hearts to handle and all the dirt and filth and imperfections they clung to in their mirrors will become painful liabilities that resist the light. When intense, overwhelming light meets distortions and flaws in the glass or mirror, those imperfections create resistance which becomes fatal to the very existence of the mirror itself.

So we all have an individual choice to make right now. We can ask God and continue to ask Him to clean us and grow us in maturity and reveal to us what needs to be removed from our hearts and minds, or we can resist His offers of sanctification and end up self-destructing in the day when we should be glowing with the passion from the heart of God.

I want to cooperate with this process while I have been given time in this day of grace. Jesus has postponed the natural consequences of my sin by taking them on Himself at Calvary. But that does not exempt me from ignoring His provision and ending up suffering the consequences myself in that final day of revealing (judgment). I want my spirit to be perfectly aligned with the sweet spirit of Jesus and my life to become the fragrance of love that fills the courts of heaven and earth. I give my permission for God to continue His work of grace in me so that I can participate and enjoy and walk in the fire when everyone is exposed to what is currently veiled deep in the heart of God.

2008-04-28T07:23:00.001-05:00

GOD IS FIRE

While many are familiar with the many references to fire in relation to God throughout the Bible, they may not realize that God is actually fire Himself. God is the Source of all life, of all energy, of all matter, of all power, indeed of everything that exists everywhere. Being the powerhouse and originator of all power He can just speak and material worlds appear as a result. As such it comes as no real surprise, when one thinks about it logically, that as the Source of all energy God might Himself be described as a flame of pure energy, the cosmic electrical fire that makes the largest suns in the universe look like dim nightlights. God's fire is a consuming fire to anything that is out of harmony with it but is life-giving to everyone who is willing to be purified by it. Following are some verses that refer to God as a fire in various situations as viewed from a human perspective.

(Numbers 14:6-24) Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, "The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us – a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them." But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel. The LORD said to Moses, "How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they." But Moses said to the LORD, "Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought up this people from their midst, and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O LORD, are in the midst of this people, for You, O LORD, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say, 'Because the LORD could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.' But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, 'The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations. ' Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now." So the LORD said, "I have pardoned them according to your word; but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD. Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it." (NAS95)

(Deuteronomy 4:24-39) "For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. When you become the father of children and children's children and have remained long in the land, and act corruptly, and make an idol in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD your God so as to provoke Him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it. You shall not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD drives you. There you will serve gods, the work of man's hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice. For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them. Indeed, ask now concerning the former days which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and inquire from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything been done like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it? Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived? Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown that you might know that the LORD, He is God; there is no other besides Him. Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire. Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today. Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other." (NAS95)

(Deuteronomy 5:24-29) "You said, 'Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives. Now then why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer, then we will die. For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? Go near and hear all that the LORD our God says; then speak to us all that the LORD our God speaks to you, and we will hear and do it.' The LORD heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the LORD said to me, 'I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken. Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!'" (NAS95)

(Deuteronomy 9:3) "Know therefore today that it is the LORD your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so that you may drive them out and destroy them quickly, just as the LORD has spoken to you." (NAS95)

(2 Chronicles 7:1-3) Now when Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the house. The priests could not enter into the house of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD'S house. All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the LORD upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the LORD, saying, "Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting." (NAS95)

(Psalms 11:4-7) The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD'S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face. (NAS95)

(Psalms 19:4-6) Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; it rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, and its circuit to the other end of them; and there is nothing hidden from its heat. (NAS95)

(Psalms 21:1-13) O LORD, in Your strength the king will be glad, and in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice! You have given him his heart's desire, and You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah. For You meet him with the blessings of good things; You set a crown of fine gold on his head. He asked life of You, You gave it to him, length of days forever and ever. His glory is great through Your salvation, splendor and majesty You place upon him. For You make him most blessed forever; You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence. For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the lovingkindness of the Most High he will not be shaken. Your hand will find out all your enemies; Your right hand will find out those who hate you. You will make them as a fiery oven in the time of your anger; the LORD will swallow them up in His wrath, and fire will devour them. Their offspring You will destroy from the earth, and their descendants from among the sons of men. Though they intended evil against You And devised a plot, they will not succeed. For You will make them turn their back; You will aim with Your bowstrings at their faces. Be exalted, O LORD, in Your strength; we will sing and praise Your power. (NAS95)

(Psalms 68:1-4) Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered, and let those who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish before God. But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God; yes, let them rejoice with gladness. Sing to God, sing praises to His name; lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts, whose name is the LORD, and exult before Him. (NAS95)

(Psalms 68:13) When you lie down among the sheepfolds, You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver, and its pinions with glistening gold. (NAS95)

(Psalms 68:17-18) The chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness. You have ascended on high, You have led captive Your captives; You have received gifts among men, even among the rebellious also, that the LORD God may dwell there. (NAS95)

(Song of Solomon 8:5-6) "Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?" "Beneath the apple tree I awakened you; there your mother was in labor with you, there she was in labor and gave you birth. Put me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, jealousy is as severe as Sheol; its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD." (NAS95)

(Isaiah 10:12-23) So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness." For he has said, "By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, for I have understanding; and I removed the boundaries of the peoples and plundered their treasures, and like a mighty man I brought down their inhabitants, and my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest, and as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth; and there was not one that flapped its wing or opened its beak or chirped." Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it? Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it? That would be like a club wielding those who lift it, or like a rod lifting him who is not wood. Therefore the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors; and under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame. And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame, and it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day. And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body, and it will be as when a sick man wastes away. And the rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number that a child could write them down. Now in that day the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea, only a remnant within them will return; a destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness. For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, the Lord GOD of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land. (NAS95)

(Isaiah 13:3-13) I have commanded My consecrated ones, I have even called My mighty warriors, My proudly exulting ones, to execute My anger. A sound of tumult on the mountains, like that of many people! A sound of the uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathered together! The LORD of hosts is mustering the army for battle. They are coming from a far country, from the farthest horizons, The LORD and His instruments of indignation, to destroy the whole land. Wail, for the day of the LORD is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man's heart will melt. They will be terrified, pains and anguish will take hold of them; they will writhe like a woman in labor, they will look at one another in astonishment, their faces aflame. Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, cruel, with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation; and He will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless. I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold and mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the fury of the LORD of hosts in the day of His burning anger. (NAS95)

(Isaiah 29:6) From the LORD of hosts you will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, with whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire. (NAS95)

(Isaiah 30:27-33) Behold, the name of the LORD comes from a remote place; burning is His anger and dense is His smoke; His lips are filled with indignation and His tongue is like a consuming fire; His breath is like an overflowing torrent, which reaches to the neck, to shake the nations back and forth in a sieve, and to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which leads to ruin. You will have songs as in the night when you keep the festival, and gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute, to go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel. And the LORD will cause His voice of authority to be heard, and the descending of His arm to be seen in fierce anger, and in the flame of a consuming fire in cloudburst, downpour and hailstones. For at the voice of the LORD Assyria will be terrified, when He strikes with the rod. And every blow of the rod of punishment, which the LORD will lay on him, will be with the music of tambourines and lyres; and in battles, brandishing weapons, He will fight them. For Topheth has long been ready, indeed, it has been prepared for the king. He has made it deep and large, a pyre of fire with plenty of wood; the breath of the LORD, like a torrent of brimstone, sets it afire. (NAS95)

(Isaiah 33:5-22) The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. And He will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is his treasure. Behold, their brave men cry in the streets, the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly. The highways are desolate, the traveler has ceased, he has broken the covenant, he has despised the cities, he has no regard for man. The land mourns and pines away, Lebanon is shamed and withers; Sharon is like a desert plain, and Bashan and Carmel lose their foliage. "Now I will arise," says the LORD, "Now I will be exalted, now I will be lifted up. You have conceived chaff, you will give birth to stubble; My breath will consume you like a fire. The peoples will be burned to lime, like cut thorns which are burned in the fire. You who are far away, hear what I have done; and you who are near, acknowledge My might." Sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling has seized the godless. "Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?" He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, he who rejects unjust gain and shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; he who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil; he will dwell on the heights, his refuge will be the impregnable rock; his bread will be given him, his water will be sure. Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; they will behold a far-distant land. Your heart will meditate on terror: "Where is he who counts? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?" You will no longer see a fierce people, a people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends, of a stammering tongue which no one understands. Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed habitation, a tent which will not be folded; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its cords be torn apart. But there the majestic One, the LORD, will be for us a place of rivers and wide canals on which no boat with oars will go, and on which no mighty ship will pass – For the LORD is our judge, The LORD is our lawgiver, The LORD is our king; He will save us. (NAS95)

(Jeremiah 5:14) Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, "Because you have spoken this word, behold, I am making My words in your mouth fire and this people wood, and it will consume them. (NAS95)

(Amos 5:6) "Seek the LORD that you may live, or He will break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph, and it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel. (NAS95)

(Acts 2:3) And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. (NAS95)

(Hebrews 12:26-29) And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, "YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN." This expression, "Yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire. (NAS95)

(Revelation 18:8) "For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong. (NAS95)

(Revelation 19:12) His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. (NAS95)

(Revelation 22:5) And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. (NAS95)

2008-04-27T07:26:00.000-05:00

DUELISM FIRE

You may have heard it said that it is not safe to play with fire. An interesting pattern that is seen throughout the Bible are demonstrations within close proximity in the passage of the opposite effects produced by the fire of God's presence. When people are in harmony with the Spirit of God then His fire can have very wonderful results. When people are not in harmony with Him the results are always tragic. The difference is always in the attitude of the recipients, not in the Fire itself. Following are some examples of the duel effects of the fire of God.

(Leviticus 9:23 - 10:3) Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. Then fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, "It is what the LORD spoke, saying, 'By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.'" So Aaron, therefore, kept silent. (NAS95)

(Isaiah 11:4) But with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; and He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. (NAS95)

(Obadiah 1:15-18) "For the day of the LORD draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head. "Because just as you drank on My holy mountain, all the nations will drink continually. They will drink and swallow and become as if they had never existed. "But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. And the house of Jacob will possess their possessions. "Then the house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; but the house of Esau will be as stubble. And they will set them on fire and consume them, so that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau," for the LORD has spoken. (NAS95)

(Malachi 4:1-3) "For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze," says the LORD of hosts, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branch." "But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing," says the LORD of hosts. (NAS95)

(Matthew 3:10-12) "The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (NAS95)

(Luke 3:16-17) John answered and said to them all, "As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (NAS95)

(Acts 4:31 - 5:13) And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles' feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need. Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement), and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife's full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? "While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him. Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter responded to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?" And she said, "Yes, that was the price." Then Peter said to her, "Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well." And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things. At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon's portico. But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem. (NAS95)

2008-04-26T07:27:00.000-05:00

CONSUMING AND PURIFYING FIRE

There are two results of the fire of God. These results are determined, not by God's arbitrary decision or desire to punish or reward, but by the heart condition and spirit cherished by the recipients of that fire. On the one hand God's fire is very consuming of everything that is out of harmony with the principles of God's character. But on the other hand, if one is willing to undergo the process of restoration without undue resistance, God's fire can be the means of purifying all the contamination of sin out of a person's life, mind and heart to prepare them for closer encounters with more advanced levels of God's presence.

(Isaiah 29:6) From the LORD of hosts you will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, with whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire. (NAS95)

(Ezekiel 22:18-31) "Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are the dross of silver. Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because all of you have become dross, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As they gather silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into the furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath and I will lay you there and melt you. I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it. As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out My wrath on you.'" And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Son of man, say to her, 'You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.' There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain. Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD has not spoken. The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads," declares the Lord GOD. (NAS95)

(Amos 5:6) "Seek the LORD that you may live, Or He will break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph, And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel," (NAS95)

(Zephaniah 3:8-9) "Therefore wait for Me," declares the LORD, "For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out on them My indignation, all My burning anger; for all the earth will be devoured by the fire of My zeal. "For then I will give to the peoples purified lips, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD, to serve Him shoulder to shoulder. (NAS95)

(Malachi 3:2-3) "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness." (NAS95)

(Malachi 3:6) "For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. (NAS95)

2008-04-25T07:29:00.000-05:00

WHAT PASSION CAN LOOK LIKE

What emerges from a careful, thoughtful study of the subject of God's fire in the Bible is the fact that the fire of God is a somewhat symbolic description of His overwhelming passion. Unfortunately many times the translators of the Bible used words like anger and wrath to interpret original words that meant passion. God's level of passionate love is so far beyond anything that our tiny minds can even imagine that He has to protect us from exposure to it or it would destroy us. The plan of salvation is the process of restoring us to a state of synchronization with Him so that we will be able to enjoy His passionate love instead of being consumed by it. Here are some references about the passion of God.

(Psalms 30:5) For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning. (NAS95)

(Psalms 46:4-7) There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. (NAS95)

(Psalms 103:8-18) The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, and its place acknowledges it no longer. But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children, to those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts to do them. (NAS95)

(Isaiah 9:18-19) For wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briars and thorns; it even sets the thickets of the forest aflame and they roll upward in a column of smoke. By the fury of the LORD of hosts the land is burned up, and the people are like fuel for the fire; no man spares his brother. (NAS95)

(Isaiah 29:9) Be delayed and wait, blind yourselves and be blind; they become drunk, but not with wine, they stagger, but not with strong drink. (NAS95)

(Isaiah 59:17-18) He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay, wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; to the coastlands He will make recompense. (NAS95)

(Jeremiah 20:9) But if I say, "I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name," then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it. (NAS95)

(Jeremiah 30:23-24) Behold, the tempest of the LORD! Wrath has gone forth, a sweeping tempest; it will burst on the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has performed and until He has accomplished the intent of His heart; in the latter days you will understand this. (NAS95)

(Hosea 6:5) Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; and the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth. (NAS95)

(Zephaniah 1:18) Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the LORD'S wrath; and all the earth will be devoured in the fire of His jealousy, for He will make a complete end, indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth. (NAS95)

(Matthew 18:33-35) "'Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?' And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart." (NAS95)

(Luke 12:49-51) "I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division." (NAS95)

(Luke 24:32) They said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?" (NAS95)

(Acts 2:3) And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. (NAS95)

(Romans 1:27) And in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. (NAS95)

(Romans 12:18-21) If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. "BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (NAS95)

(James 1:20) For the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. (NAS95)

(Revelation 17:16) "And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire." (NAS95)

2008-04-24T07:29:00.000-05:00

YOU GET WHAT YOU BELIEVE ABOUT GOD

or WYSIWYG

A significant truth relevant to the topic of God's attitude and actions toward us is that we too often interpret God according to our own beliefs and opinions instead of what He declares about Himself. As a result we choose to believe that God treats us differently than the way He really is relating to us. In effect, we perceive that we get exactly what we expect viewed through the lens of our skewed opinions about God. For instance, if we have a picture of God who gets impatient and angry with us we will interpret circumstances in our lives to justify that belief. If we believe in a judgmental, condemning God we will insist that our feelings of condemnation come from Him. These beliefs will also strongly affect the way we treat others, for our beliefs about God will form our attitudes and shape our actions in all of our other relationships. But if we choose to believe the real truth about God as revealed in the life of His Son Jesus Christ and as impressed on our hearts by His Holy Spirit, we will discover a God very different than the images of God fabricated by our distorted imaginations. Following are some verses that demonstrate this kind of thinking.

(Psalms 18:25-33) With the kind You show Yourself kind; with the blameless You show Yourself blameless; with the pure You show Yourself pure, and with the crooked You show Yourself astute. For You save an afflicted people, but haughty eyes You abase. For You light my lamp; the LORD my God illumines my darkness. For by You I can run upon a troop; and by my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is blameless; the word of the LORD is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God, the God who girds me with strength and makes my way blameless? He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and sets me upon my high places. (NAS95)

(Psalms 78:21-22) Therefore the LORD heard and was full of wrath; and a fire was kindled against Jacob and anger also mounted against Israel, because they did not believe in God and did not trust in His salvation. (NAS95)

(Proverbs 10:24-25) What the wicked fears will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted. When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous has an everlasting foundation. (NAS95)

(Isaiah 6:1-7) In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory." And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven." (NAS95)

(Isaiah 26:9-11) At night my soul longs for You, indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; for when the earth experiences Your judgments the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Though the wicked is shown favor, he does not learn righteousness; he deals unjustly in the land of uprightness, and does not perceive the majesty of the LORD. O LORD, Your hand is lifted up yet they do not see it. They see Your zeal for the people and are put to shame; indeed, fire will devour Your enemies. (NAS95)

(Isaiah 66:14-16) Then you will see this, and your heart will be glad, and your bones will flourish like the new grass; and the hand of the LORD will be made known to His servants, but He will be indignant toward His enemies. For behold, the LORD will come in fire and His chariots like the whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For the LORD will execute judgment by fire and by His sword on all flesh, and those slain by the LORD will be many. (NAS95)

(Jeremiah 17:10) "I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds. (NAS95)

(Hosea 14:8-9) O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like a luxuriant cypress; from Me comes your fruit. Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous will walk in them, but transgressors will stumble in them. (NAS95)

(Micah 7:16-20) Nations will see and be ashamed Of all their might. They will put their hand on their mouth, their ears will be deaf. They will lick the dust like a serpent, like reptiles of the earth. They will come trembling out of their fortresses; to the LORD our God they will come in dread and they will be afraid before You. Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob and unchanging love to Abraham, which You swore to our forefathers from the days of old. (NAS95)

(Zephaniah 2:11) The LORD will be terrifying to them, for He will starve all the gods of the earth; and all the coastlands of the nations will bow down to Him, everyone from his own place. (NAS95)

(Matthew 13:41-43) "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear." (NAS95)

(John 3:36) "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (NAS95)

(Romans 1:17-18) For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. (NAS95)

(Romans 2:5) But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. (NAS95)

(1 Corinthians 3:13-16) Each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (NAS95)

(Hebrews 10:37-39) FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. (NAS95)

(Revelation 2:11) 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.' (NAS95)

(Revelation 22:12) "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. (NAS95)

2008-04-23T07:30:00.000-05:00

GOD'S ANGER CAN ACTUALLY BE GRIEF

In the Bible it is seen that sometimes the “anger” of God is really a flash of passion driven by intense sadness and grief over the loss of ones He loves. This is also seen in the lives of those who reflect Him in their hearts. Here are a few examples.

(1 Samuel 20:34) Then Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved over David because his father had dishonored him. (NAS95)

(Jeremiah 8:18-21) My sorrow is beyond healing, My heart is faint within me! Behold, listen! The cry of the daughter of my people from a distant land: "Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King not within her? Why have they provoked Me with their graven images, with foreign idols? Harvest is past, summer is ended, And we are not saved." For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am broken; I mourn, dismay has taken hold of me. (NAS95)

(Mark 3:5) After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. (NAS95)

2008-04-22T07:31:00.000-05:00

THE PRESENCE OF GOD EXPOSES WHAT IS IN THE HEART

As we shift our paradigms about God and His attitude and feelings toward us to be more in line with the true light of Scriptures, it is easier to better perceive that what we thought was anger and impatience is really a revelation of His passionate love. But if we refuse to believe in the everlasting nature of His love, that very passion will eventually become deadly for us. Either way, the closer we get to the real presence of God the more intense our awareness of His powerful passion becomes, whether our interpretations of His feelings are correct or not. The reactions always happen in close proximity to the presence of God. Here are some verses that help to shed some light on this.

(1 Samuel 24:1-22) Now when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, saying, "Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi." Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave. The men of David said to him, "Behold, this is the day of which the LORD said to you, 'Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.'" Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul's robe secretly. It came about afterward that David's conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul's robe. So he said to his men, "Far be it from me because of the LORD that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD'S anointed." David persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the cave, and went on his way. Now afterward David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself. David said to Saul, "Why do you listen to the words of men, saying, 'Behold, David seeks to harm you'? "Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD had given you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you; and I said, 'I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD'S anointed.' "Now, my father, see! Indeed, see the edge of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the edge of your robe and did not kill you, know and perceive that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you are lying in wait for my life to take it. "May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you. As the proverb of the ancients says, 'Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness'; but my hand shall not be against you. After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog, a single flea? The LORD therefore be judge and decide between you and me; and may He see and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand." When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, "Is this your voice, my son David?" Then Saul lifted up his voice and wept. He said to David, "You are more righteous than I; for you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt wickedly with you. "You have declared today that you have done good to me, that the LORD delivered me into your hand and yet you did not kill me. For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safely? May the LORD therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day. Now, behold, I know that you will surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. So now swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants after me and that you will not destroy my name from my father's household." David swore to Saul. And Saul went to his home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold. (NAS95)

(2 Kings 8:11) He fixed his gaze steadily on him until he was ashamed, and the man of God wept. (NAS95)

(Esther 6:1-14) During that night the king could not sleep so he gave an order to bring the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. It was found written what Mordecai had reported concerning Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs who were doorkeepers, that they had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. The king said, "What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?" Then the king's servants who attended him said, "Nothing has been done for him." So the king said, "Who is in the court?" Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace in order to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows which he had prepared for him. The king's servants said to him, "Behold, Haman is standing in the court." And the king said, "Let him come in." So Haman came in and the king said to him, "What is to be done for the man whom the king desires to honor?" And Haman said to himself, "Whom would the king desire to honor more than me?" Then Haman said to the king, "For the man whom the king desires to honor, let them bring a royal robe which the king has worn, and the horse on which the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown has been placed; and let the robe and the horse be handed over to one of the king's most noble princes and let them array the man whom the king desires to honor and lead him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him, 'Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king desires to honor.'" Then the king said to Haman, "Take quickly the robes and the horse as you have said, and do so for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king's gate; do not fall short in anything of all that you have said." So Haman took the robe and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, "Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king desires to honor." Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But Haman hurried home, mourning, with his head covered. Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, "If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish origin, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him." While they were still talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hastily brought Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared. (NAS95)

(Psalms 76:7) You, even You, are to be feared; and who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry? (NAS95)

(Matthew 5:22-26) "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. "Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. "Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. "Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent. (NAS95)

(Matthew 17:5-6) While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. (NAS95)

(Luke 19:27) "But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence." (NAS95)

(Luke 21:36) "But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." (NAS95)

(Acts 5:1-13) But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife's full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him. Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter responded to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?" And she said, "Yes, that was the price." Then Peter said to her, "Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well." And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things. At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon's portico. But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem. (NAS95)

(Revelation 14:10-11) "He also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." (NAS95)

2008-04-21T07:32:00.000-05:00

LET GOD DEFINE THE WORD “WRATH”

It is very important to allow the Scriptures to interpret themselves. Our problems often arise in understanding difficult subjects when we make assumptions about the meanings of too many words based on our own usage of those words. These verses help us see that God is not like us in the way He thinks and feels in many respects. Upon close examination it will be seen that the kindness and graciousness of God are the very elements perceived as wrath by those who reject His mercy, kindness and love.

(Isaiah 55:1-9) "Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David. Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. Behold, you will call a nation you do not know, and a nation which knows you not will run to you, because of the LORD your God, even the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified you." Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." (NAS95)

(Romans 3:5) But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.) (NAS95)

(Romans 4:15) For the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation. (NAS95)

(Hebrews 10:30-31) For we know Him who said, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY." And again, "THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE." It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (NAS95)

2008-04-20T07:33:00.000-05:00

ETERNAL BECAUSE IT IS GOD HIMSELF

Many people struggle with words in the Bible that seem to imply that the lost are going to burn forever and ever. While a deeper look at all of the references to this subject throughout the Bible reveal differently, there is still some confusion about the nature of eternal fire. Much of the problem is our misunderstanding about just what the fire of God really is and is not. But one thing is indisputable – God Himself is eternal. As has been seen in other sections about this subject, God Himself is the fire that is being revealed throughout the Bible. And since God is eternal, so is the fire that makes up His presence. Given that truth it can be seen that the fire that produces pain and death in those who are lost cannot be quenched because that fire is simply a revelation of the presence and love of an eternal God. Since God is eternal so is the fire which emanates from His very being. Here are some texts that help reveal this truth.

(Jude 1:6-7) And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. (NAS95)

2008-04-19T07:33:00.000-05:00

UNBELIEF, RESISTANCE AND SHAME MAKES THE FIRE LETHAL

A very important concept to understand about the fire of God is that our beliefs and attitudes towards God are the determining factor in our eternal destiny. God is not making arbitrary decisions about our destiny but is simply revealing the unavoidable results our our own choices about Him. Because of the principle of cause and effect, of receiving the results of what we believe, it becomes evident that it is our own resistance that produces all the problems with the fire of God, not God's attitudes towards us. Whenever we cling to lies about God we are storing up within ourselves the “resistors” that will become fatal weapons of destruction against ourselves in the final day when God's glory, the full current, is fully revealed. Here are verses that touch on this aspect of this subject.

(Isaiah 1:28-31) But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together, and those who forsake the LORD will come to an end. Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, and you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen. For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away or as a garden that has no water. The strong man will become tinder, his work also a spark. Thus they shall both burn together and there will be none to quench them. (NAS95)

(Isaiah 50:11) Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with firebrands, walk in the light of your fire and among the brands you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: you will lie down in torment. (NAS95)

(Jeremiah 4:4) "Circumcise yourselves to the LORD and remove the foreskins of your heart, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or else My wrath will go forth like fire and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds." (NAS95)

(Jeremiah 4:18) "Your ways and your deeds have brought these things to you. This is your evil. How bitter! How it has touched your heart!" (NAS95)

(Jeremiah 7:16-20) "As for you, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for I do not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to spite Me. Do they spite Me?" declares the LORD. "Is it not themselves they spite, to their own shame?" Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and on beast and on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and not be quenched." (NAS95)

(Jeremiah 17:27) "But if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched." (NAS95)

(Jeremiah 21:12-14) O house of David, thus says the LORD: "Administer justice every morning; and deliver the person who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor, that My wrath may not go forth like fire and burn with none to extinguish it, because of the evil of their deeds. "Behold, I am against you, O valley dweller, O rocky plain," declares the LORD, "You men who say, 'Who will come down against us? Or who will enter into our habitations?' "But I will punish you according to the results of your deeds," declares the LORD, "And I will kindle a fire in its forest that it may devour all its environs." (NAS95)

(Jeremiah 23:18-29) "But who has stood in the council of the LORD, that he should see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and listened? Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone forth in wrath, even a whirling tempest; it will swirl down on the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; in the last days you will clearly understand it. I did not send these prophets, but they ran. I did not speak to them, but they prophesied. But if they had stood in My council, then they would have announced My words to My people, and would have turned them back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds. "Am I a God who is near," declares the LORD, "And not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?" declares the LORD. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares the LORD. "I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, 'I had a dream, I had a dream!' How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?" declares the LORD. "Is not My word like fire?" declares the LORD, "and like a hammer which shatters a rock?" (NAS95)

(Hosea 13:9) It is your destruction, O Israel, that you are against Me, against your help. (NAS95)

(Zechariah 7:12) "They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. (NAS95)

(Matthew 22:10-14) "Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. "But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless. "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "For many are called, but few are chosen." (NAS95)

(Matthew 25:41-46) "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' "Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (NAS95)

(John 8:34-35) Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. "The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. (NAS95)

(John 15:6) "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned." (NAS95)

(James 5:3) Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! (NAS95)

2008-04-18T07:34:00.000-05:00

WHAT GOD DOES NOT DO

One of the biggest problems we have understanding how God relates to sinners is our penchant for attributing our own attitudes and weaknesses onto our perceived picture of God. Many things that we believe about God are really things that we want to justify in ourselves and so we end up trying to re-make God into our image. Here are some verses that tell us some things that humans tend to do but God does not do.

(2 Chronicles 28:3) Moreover, he burned incense in the valley of Ben-hinnom and burned his sons in fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had driven out before the sons of Israel. (NAS95)

(Jeremiah 19:5) And have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind. (NAS95)

(Ezekiel 33:11) "Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?'" (NAS95)

(Malachi 3:6) "For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. (NAS95)

(1 Peter 2:23) And while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. (NAS95)

(James 1:20) For the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. (NAS95)

2008-04-17T07:35:00.000-05:00

WE NEED THE FIRE, THE PASSION OF GOD

Instead of trying to impose our fleshly anger and wrath onto God's reputation, we should be seeking to become filled with more of the kind of passion that God really possesses. We need the fiery passion of God burning in our bones that brings life and love and energy into a dying world.

(Proverbs 24:17-18) Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; or the LORD will see it and be displeased, and turn His anger away from him. (NAS95)

(Mark 9:49-50) "For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." (NAS95)

(Luke 24:32) They said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?" (NAS95)

(Acts 2:3) And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. (NAS95)

2008-04-16T07:36:00.000-05:00

EVERYONE WILL BE EXPOSED TO THE FIRE

When the real truth about the fire and wrath and passion of God becomes clear, it will be learned that eventually everyone is going to have to face that fire in its full intensity. This is because the fire of God is the passion of His love and that will never be quenched or diluted. God is not going to restrain the full exposure of His tremendous love forever just because so many have rejected it. When everyone has made up their final decisions about what they are going to believe about God, He will end the great war that has dragged on for so many ages and will expose His true nature of passionate love for all the universe to judge. No one will be able to avoid exposure to the fire of God's passion. The real choice that everyone has is how they are going to prepare their hearts to face that fire.

(Psalms 22:29) All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship, all those who go down to the dust will bow before Him, even he who cannot keep his soul alive. (NAS95)

(Isaiah 43:1-28) But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. Since you are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring My sons from afar and My daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed, even whom I have made." Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, and the deaf, even though they have ears. All the nations have gathered together so that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them can declare this and proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified, or let them hear and say, "It is true." "You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. "I, even I, am the LORD, and there is no savior besides Me. It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, and there was no strange god among you; so you are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "And I am God. Even from eternity I am He, and there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?" Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, "For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and will bring them all down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, into the ships in which they rejoice. I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King." Thus says the LORD, who makes a way through the sea and a path through the mighty waters, who brings forth the chariot and the horse, the army and the mighty man (They will lie down together and not rise again; they have been quenched and extinguished like a wick): "Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. The beasts of the field will glorify Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I have given waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My chosen people. The people whom I formed for Myself will declare My praise. Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob; but you have become weary of Me, O Israel. "You have not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings, nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, nor wearied you with incense. You have bought Me not sweet cane with money, nor have you filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices; rather you have burdened Me with your sins, you have wearied Me with your iniquities. "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Put Me in remembrance, let us argue our case together; state your cause, that you may be proved right. Your first forefather sinned, and your spokesmen have transgressed against Me. So I will pollute the princes of the sanctuary, and I will consign Jacob to the ban and Israel to revilement." (NAS95)

(Isaiah 66:18) "For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. (NAS95)

(Ezekiel 20:45-49) Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Son of man, set your face toward Teman, and speak out against the south and prophesy against the forest land of the Negev, and say to the forest of the Negev, 'Hear the word of the LORD: thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am about to kindle a fire in you, and it will consume every green tree in you, as well as every dry tree; the blazing flame will not be quenched and the whole surface from south to north will be burned by it. All flesh will see that I, the LORD, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched."'" Then I said, "Ah Lord GOD! They are saying of me, 'Is he not just speaking parables?'" (NAS95)

(Ezekiel 38:18-23) "It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel," declares the Lord GOD, "that My fury will mount up in My anger. In My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse and every wall will fall to the ground. I will call for a sword against him on all My mountains," declares the Lord GOD. "Every man's sword will be against his brother. With pestilence and with blood I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire and brimstone. I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the LORD."' (NAS95)

(Obadiah 1:15-18) "For the day of the LORD draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head. "Because just as you drank on My holy mountain, all the nations will drink continually. They will drink and swallow and become as if they had never existed. But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. And the house of Jacob will possess their possessions. Then the house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; but the house of Esau will be as stubble. And they will set them on fire and consume them, so that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau," For the LORD has spoken. (NAS95)

2008-04-15T07:37:00.000-05:00

ILLUSTRATIONS OF FIRE

There are a few stories in the Bible that give us insights into how the fire of God relates to both those who are ready for it and to those who are not.

(Leviticus 9:23 - 10:3) Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. Then fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, "It is what the LORD spoke, saying, 'By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored.'" So Aaron, therefore, kept silent. (NAS95)

(Jeremiah 20:9) But if I say, "I will not remember Him or speak anymore in His name," Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it. (NAS95)

(Daniel 3:1-30) Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the herald loudly proclaimed: "To you the command is given, O peoples, nations and men of every language, that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire." Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. For this reason at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews. They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: "O king, live forever! You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, is to fall down and worship the golden image. But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up." Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king. Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?" Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. He commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. For this reason, because the king's command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, "Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?" They replied to the king, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!" Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!" Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire. The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king's high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them. Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king's command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God. "Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way." Then the king caused Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to prosper in the province of Babylon. (NAS95)

(Acts 2:1-4) When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. (NAS95)

2008-04-14T07:38:00.000-05:00

THE LOST WILL BE CONSUMED AND DISAPPEAR

Instead of being tortured for eternity by an angry, vengeful God of terror, the Bible teaches that the lost will ultimately be completely destroyed, annihilated and will forever disappear from existence. God is not a sadist that delights in torture but is the essence of love that is so powerful it becomes lethal when resisted by hearts of stone. It will finally be seen that the Serpent in Eden really was telling a lie when he said that humans would not surely die.

(Psalms 103:14-16) For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, and its place acknowledges it no longer. (NAS95)

(Isaiah 10:22-23) For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea, only a remnant within them will return; a destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness. For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, the Lord GOD of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land. (NAS95)

(Isaiah 33:10-12) "Now I will arise," says the LORD, "Now I will be exalted, now I will be lifted up. You have conceived chaff, you will give birth to stubble; My breath will consume you like a fire. The peoples will be burned to lime, like cut thorns which are burned in the fire." (NAS95)

(Isaiah 34:1-17) Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it. For the LORD'S indignation is against all the nations, and His wrath against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to slaughter. So their slain will be thrown out, and their corpses will give off their stench, and the mountains will be drenched with their blood. And all the host of heaven will wear away, and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; all their hosts will also wither away as a leaf withers from the vine, or as one withers from the fig tree. For My sword is satiated in heaven, behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom and upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction. The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is sated with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. Wild oxen will also fall with them and young bulls with strong ones; thus their land will be soaked with blood, and their dust become greasy with fat. For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion. Its streams will be turned into pitch, and its loose earth into brimstone, and its land will become burning pitch. It will not be quenched night or day; its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation it will be desolate; none will pass through it forever and ever. But pelican and hedgehog will possess it, and owl and raven will dwell in it; and He will stretch over it the line of desolation and the plumb line of emptiness. Its nobles--there is no one there whom they may proclaim king – and all its princes will be nothing. Thorns will come up in its fortified towers, nettles and thistles in its fortified cities; it will also be a haunt of jackals and an abode of ostriches. The desert creatures will meet with the wolves, the hairy goat also will cry to its kind; yes, the night monster will settle there and will find herself a resting place. The tree snake will make its nest and lay eggs there, and it will hatch and gather them under its protection. Yes, the hawks will be gathered there, every one with its kind. Seek from the book of the LORD, and read: not one of these will be missing; none will lack its mate. For His mouth has commanded, and His Spirit has gathered them. He has cast the lot for them, and His hand has divided it to them by line. They shall possess it forever; from generation to generation they will dwell in it. (NAS95)

(Hosea 13:9) It is your destruction, O Israel, that you are against Me, against your help. (NAS95)

(Obadiah 1:15-18) "For the day of the LORD draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head. "Because just as you drank on My holy mountain, all the nations will drink continually. They will drink and swallow and become as if they had never existed. But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. And the house of Jacob will possess their possessions. Then the house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; but the house of Esau will be as stubble. And they will set them on fire and consume them, so that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau," For the LORD has spoken. (NAS95)

2008-04-13T07:39:00.000-05:00

THE SAVED WILL BE REFINED AND GLOW FOREVER IN THE FLAMES

The very same fire and passion that causes the lost to be consumed and disappear due to their resistance to love will have quite the opposite effect on those who have allowed God to transform their hearts and have cooperated with Him to remove all resistance to His love from their characters. With no impurities left in their souls they will be safe to become conduits of the massive current of power that will once again flow throughout the universe and restore perfect harmony, peace and joy through all of the cosmos.

(Isaiah 33:14-22) Sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling has seized the godless. "Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?" He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, he who rejects unjust gain and shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; he who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil; he will dwell on the heights, his refuge will be the impregnable rock; his bread will be given him, his water will be sure. Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; they will behold a far-distant land. Your heart will meditate on terror: "Where is he who counts? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?" You will no longer see a fierce people, a people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends, of a stammering tongue which no one understands. Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed habitation, a tent which will not be folded; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its cords be torn apart. But there the majestic One, the LORD, will be for us a place of rivers and wide canals on which no boat with oars will go, and on which no mighty ship will pass – For the LORD is our judge, The LORD is our lawgiver, The LORD is our king; He will save us. (NAS95)

(Isaiah 43:1-2) But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you." (NAS95)

(Daniel 12:2-3) "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." (NAS95)

(Obadiah 1:15-18) "For the day of the LORD draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head. Because just as you drank on My holy mountain, all the nations will drink continually. They will drink and swallow and become as if they had never existed. But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. And the house of Jacob will possess their possessions. Then the house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; but the house of Esau will be as stubble. And they will set them on fire and consume them, so that there will be no survivor of the house of Esau," For the LORD has spoken. (NAS95)

Overview of the Surprise Ending

2007-09-22T18:50:00.001-05:00

This overview is not full of Scripture references partly because I find them somewhat distracting when trying to get a condensed concept across. I believe truth must be rooted in Scripture and I have no problem with that. In another place on this site can be found a large list of Bible texts that can be studied as well as many more in the Bible about this subject that I have not here compiled that lend clues to what is written in this overview. I have also drawn on concepts and influences from teachers that have brought important insights to me over the years from various sources including ancient cultural studies and thoughtful considerations from Biblical research. The following, therefore, is a very condensed (though somewhat lengthy) version of my own beliefs about what is really going on in the long-standing conflict between the Creator and Everlasting Father God and His now archenemy Satan, who used to be Lucifer, the most prominent created being in the whole universe that served in the highest position over God's throne.

I have taken liberties to add things from my own imagination, not in order to distort but to fill in what may be possible details not explicitly explained in the Word of God. Some may object to this, and they are certainly free to do so. But for anyone wishing to have a fuller background context in which to view how we all fit into this Great War, I pray that this will both be helpful and encouraging.

Introduction

The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. This is a foundational truth of reality and a familiar text from the Word of God. But how much do we really understand what it means and the far-reaching implications emanating from this text? There is a wide variety of opinions about death, about sin and about how the God of the Universe Who is over all things relates to us. Are we to understand from this text that if we sin God is going to kill us? Or worse yet maybe, like many believe and teach, He will not kill us after all but will torture us endlessly in excruciating agony in fires of damnation forever and ever – and all that just for not accepting His love and forgiveness. What is the real truth about “hell”? And even far more importantly behind that question, what is the truth about God and what is He really like? What does He plan to do with those who reject His offers of mercy and the sacrifice of His only beloved Son?

Here is another question to think about. Is God the angry Ruler of the Universe that has to be placated or appeased by the torture of His own Son in our place so that we can get off the hook? Looking back over the history of religion for the past few thousand years one might easily come to that conclusion. Are we to assume that the words prophesied in Revelation 6:16 are really a reflection of how God feels about us – “hide us from the wrath of the Lamb”? Is even Jesus, the Lamb of God, One to be afraid of and viewed as becoming so angry that He comes in anger to torture His enemies at the Second Coming? Does God desire for our obedience to Him to be based on fear – or more like terror – rooted primarily in our desires to avoid the violent judgments, threats and wrath of an offended God?

True obedience comes from the heart. Some may have heard that many times, but without a realistic comprehension of what the heart is or where to identify it inside of us, many have come to simply substitute a different definition for the word so that it fits more neatly into their intellectual paradigms. Sometimes I have heard this expressed by preachers who say “when your read the word 'heart' in the Bible, just substitute 'mind' because they are really the same thing.” Unfortunately though, this kind of logic has kept millions from entering in to a much deeper experience that God longs for us to experience through intimacy with Him. Through too much emphasis on left-brain, doctrine-driven theology, many people have missed the most important element in a saving knowledge of God, namely the passion of God.

Passion is a heart-based element and operates primarily in the right side of our brain. This takes us into issues that are not easily quantifiable or predictable and are therefore dismissed as not being very relevant to the understanding of truth. Many have gone so far in this direction within conservative circles of religion that they have actually tried to recreate God in the image of men. Sadly the old pun really has too much truth, “God created man in His image and then man turned around and returned the favor.” We all have a habit of projecting our own feelings, beliefs and character into our perceptions about what God is like. It is so subtle it is often overlooked, but nevertheless it has become pervasive and affects the thinking of all humanity and every religion.

In these presentations I would like to focus on what God is revealing about Himself based on the Word that He has provided as a reliable testimony what is true reality. Particularly I want to explore the ideas revolving around the subject of hell and the final punishment of the wicked and the condition of the saved. What I am discovering directly from the Bible has radically changed my own attitude toward God and I want to share my discoveries with anyone else who is open to taking another look at what God is really like.

(further expansion of this introduction)

One pitfall of putting thoughts like these into writing is akin to the problem faced in the computer industry. By the time you walk out of a store with a new computer it is often already obsolete. Likewise, before the ink is dry on the page our understanding has progressed, transformed, and changed so much that one soon becomes embarrassed when asked to defend some of what was previously put in writing. Writing is really like a picture of a point in time progression, like taking a still photograph instead of a continuous never-ending movie picture. But if nothing is ever expressed at a point in time it is not available for others to consider and compare with what God is showing them. So considering the above risks, I now plunge into the world of writing, exploring, dialog and discovery, maybe with a little of the emotion expressed by Martin Luther many decades ago, “Here I stand, I can do no other. So help me God”.

(click here for credits)

The Great Controversy Overview

Before The Beginning...

The Separation

The New Base of Operations

The Hiding of God

The Second Adam

The Battle Shifts Pace

The Second Coming of Christ

The Millennium

Witnesses

The Final Revelation

The Real Truth About Hell

The Final Surrender

True Reality, that known to the rest of the beings in the universe, can only be perceived in knowing the context of the larger view of the Great Controversy – the very real war that has engulfed the whole universe from sometime before the creation of this earth. When one views everything we learn or observe – even our own lives and purpose for existence – in this context, it all suddenly starts to make much more sense. Fanaticism and unbalanced extremes are more easily exposed when brought to the light of eternity and God's Word correctly understood. So let's begin to unwrap the truth about this immense conflict. Let me take you through the story's beginning as it might have happened based on many clues I have gathered.

Before The Beginning...

Long, long ago and very far away before the creation of this earth, the most magnificent created being in the universe named Lucifer evolved in his brilliant mind what he thought was a most excellent idea – an improvement on the way God ran the universe. The concepts and details were likely some time in the making, they would not all just fall into place at once. One idea required another to support it and many potential objections had to be worked around by developing rationalizations. His plan had to be matured enough to appeal to other intelligent thoughtful angels and other universe beings before he could implement any of it. But the essence of what happened was that his focus shifted from God's primary emphasis on internal values to an emphasis on his externals. He became enamored with his own beauty, wisdom and abilities. He came to believe that his value was based on his attractiveness, performance and skills rather than from simply his existence as a created being from the hand of God in harmony with all the rest of God's creation.

Over time he carefully crafted a compelling theory that would inspire the same self-focus in the thinking of others and draw them into these new beliefs and emotions with him. He began to question and insinuate doubts about God's ways and started suggesting that force would be a more effective means of governing intelligent beings. He could never get the Son of God, his apparent counterpart at the throne, to agree or come into sympathy with any of his new ideas. In fact, the Son seemed to be deeply troubled by these developments and kept cautioning Lucifer to abandon these plans before it was too late – whatever that was supposed to imply.

A new atmosphere began creeping into the universe that had never been noticed before – FEAR. As Lucifer became more observant of the differentiation apparent in created beings he began to make insinuations that there must also be different values based on these observed differences. He became excited as he believed he had discovered a secret formula that had been hidden since all things had been created, a formula that if exploited might provide him with potentially unlimited power. If he could crack the secret code, if he could harness this immense resource and place himself strategically at the top position of the whole universe, this would enable him to manipulate all the resources and intelligence of the universe for any outcome he might desire. Selfishness began to blossom and quickly deepened its roots inside Lucifer as he became more and more excited with his discoveries. But he still had to remain very careful not to rush too quickly with his long-range plans for he might be “misunderstood”, if you get the drift.

As he began to experiment with his theorems on a small scale and learn what might work and what backfired, he began to assemble a working thesis from which to operate effectively when he would move to the next phase on a much grander scale. He learned that certain principles seemed to be key for the effectiveness of his new plan of governing.

Even though it strangely bothered him at first, deception seemed to be the core ingredient necessary to the development of his master plan. But happily he found that his uneasiness over time was subsiding and he concluded that he must be on the right track and that eventually the uneasiness would disappear altogether and then he could operate with complete freedom and confidence to demonstrate his advanced plans.

Freedom, in fact, became the buzzword of his complex scheme, the great theme around which he would gather all who would join his grand scheme. Of course he would necessarily have to use deception initially to present the idea that God's ways were anti-freedom to make his philosophies more compelling. Deception seemed innocent enough at first and he saw no long-term ill-effects from this plan. He convinced himself that he simply wanted to improve on creation, a seemingly noble venture.

As he ran into opposition and resistance from both The Son and other intelligent beings who just couldn't see things from his viewpoint, Lucifer had to develop further schemes to perpetuate his grand plans. Fear became the prominent and powerful force that he found surprisingly effective, and shame and blame were close behind. He was surprised at the startling effects that these new elements could produce in some beings and quickly learned how to wield them to bring about compliance and cooperation. In fact, blame became his greatest defensive tactic to deflect overwhelming arguments against his plan. Mixing deception with blaming God for all the growing controversy he could effectively capture the minds and affections of millions of intelligent beings. The enormous and extreme feelings of pleasure and self-pride inside of Lucifer were intensifying exponentially and quickly erased the last residues of lingering doubt and feelings of guilt that he had initially struggled against. As he saw the same effects replicated in other beings willing to embrace his methods and theories he was sure his overall plan could be successful.

However, as we know from the history disclosed in the Bible, things did not go smoothly for Lucifer. Tension and resentment toward The Son that had escalated for a long time inside of him at last could not be hidden any longer. Criticism and contempt began to color his comments about The Son and His ways of dealing with the crisis. In fact, The Son's apparent passiveness in the face of the growing discontent only reinforced Lucifer's contention that God's methods were less effective than Lucifer's new ones. He could have asserted that The Son could be more effective in curbing “rebellion” if He would just adopt some of Lucifer's new suggestions for improvement while at the same time denying that this rebellion was due to his own suggestions and influence. But the Son refused to adopt any new methods and instead kept deferring to the Father every issue that came up. Lucifer pointed this out as a sign of weakness and urged this opinion on all who would listen. He declared that what God's government needed was more force, more rules and control, more discipline to maintain security and to keep things running smoothly. Lucifer refused to acknowledge that it was in fact his own ideas that were causing all the problems. He pointed the finger at God and at the Son and loudly proclaimed that a revolution was needed from the grass roots of the empire. The Son must be exposed to be seen as the real weakling that He was, and a more effective leader with skill, experience with the use of force, and with great “natural” abilities needed to replace Him. What the universe needed was democracy and freedom so that everyone could explore their own unlimited potential without the restrictive confines of the Laws of God. He declared that love was simply not a strong enough foundation upon which to operate a government. While many of his arguments were contradictory, Lucifer was so brilliant that he could always come up with a plausible explanation and shift the attention away from his inconsistencies.

This raised another issue that accelerated the controversy. When the Father publicly revealed that indeed there was a Law already in place that needed to be obeyed, most of the empire was greatly surprised. They were actually shocked that such a thing even existed, for from the beginning of their existence they had been unaware that there was a Law or any need for one. They had always naturally obeyed the principles by which the universe operated and had never thought about them in terms of some external definitions or list of restrictions. The arguments continued to heat up and polarization began to quickly develop among the angels. Strange feelings and sad developments ensued. Angels who had been close in heart for eons now developed rifts in their relationships which progressed to chasms. Sadness, another brand new emotion in the universe, became all too familiar. Fear, grief, anger, bitterness, hatred all began to emerge in a strange evolution of pain which were all brand new emotions and elements never experienced before. But when these symptoms were pointed out as emanating from Lucifer's work he quickly moved to blame the government of God as the faulty system that produced such results.

At the core of the controversy was Lucifer's constant and increasingly strident charges against the character of God. He became so known by his constant accusations against God that his name became Satan, which simply means accuser. What happened in heaven was very reflective of what he latter reproduced on this earth with humans. The following statements give us insight into the strategies that were the foundation of this new style of government.

In Isaiah's day the spiritual understanding of mankind was dark through misapprehension of God. Long had Satan sought to lead men to look upon their Creator as the author of sin and suffering and death. Those whom he had thus deceived, imagined that God was hard and exacting. They regarded Him as watching to denounce and condemn, unwilling to receive the sinner so long as there was a legal excuse for not helping him. The law of love by which heaven is ruled had been misrepresented by the archdeceiver as a restriction upon men's happiness, a burdensome yoke from which they should be glad to escape. He declared that its precepts could not be obeyed and that the penalties of transgression were bestowed arbitrarily. {PK 311.1}

In heaven itself this law was broken. Sin originated in self-seeking. Lucifer, the covering cherub, desired to be first in heaven. He sought to gain control of heavenly beings, to draw them away from their Creator, and to win their homage to himself. Therefore he misrepresented God, attributing to Him the desire for self-exaltation. With his own evil characteristics he sought to invest the loving Creator. Thus he deceived angels. Thus he deceived men. He led them to doubt the word of God, and to distrust His goodness. Because God is a God of justice and terrible majesty, Satan caused them to look upon Him as severe and unforgiving. Thus he drew men to join him in rebellion against God, and the night of woe settled down upon the world.

The earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That the gloomy shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back to God, Satan's deceptive power was to be broken. This could not be done by force. The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God's government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened. To know God is to love Him; His character must be manifested in contrast to the character of Satan. This work only one Being in all the universe could do. Only He who knew the height and depth of the love of God could make it known. Upon the world's dark night the Sun of Righteousness must rise, 'with healing in His wings.' Mal. 4:2. {DA 21,22}

The Separation

Possibly somewhere around this time Lucifer had become aware that the Godhead had been in deep and intimate counsel with each other about plans for a new and very special race of beings on an undeveloped planet. Lucifer was not privy to these plans and knew that his revolutionary ideas were apparently not being taken into consideration for implementation. This deeply offended him. He felt that if he had been taken into their counsel and allowed to input some of his more “progressive” concepts in the formation of this new world that he might have been able to demonstrate the superior effectiveness of his new theories. He felt that his abilities and ideas were superior to that of the Son's and he could have been a more effective adviser on this project instead of One who always seemed to just rubber-stamp whatever the Father thought. His resentment grew and he freely shared it among his sympathizers accelerating the polarization that eventually precipitated his expulsion from the seat and center of the universe in heaven.

The polarization became so intense and the conflict so strident between the two sides that there finally came a time when there was no place that could be found in heaven that was acceptable or comfortable for Lucifer and his followers to live with other beings. The two sides had become completely incompatible and damage to the harmony and peace of the universe had become irreversible. The issues were still not resolved in the minds of many, but they had all finally chosen their allegiance to either the Son or to Lucifer's new program and a separation ensued. Many questions and doubts remained embedded in some minds that were still loyal to God and it would take many centuries to resolve them. But the lines were now drawn and Satan was cast out of heaven along with one third of the angels who had come into sympathy with him.

At first the shock of this sudden change of status and position and influence was overwhelming and even frightening for Lucifer. This was not all going as smoothly as he had hoped. For a brief time he considered the possibility of turning back the clock, of exploring how he could return to his previous honored position next to the throne of God through some sort of repentance. But when he spoke with the Son about the idea the Son, with intense grief and sadness, had to explain to him that he had gone so far in rebellion that he had destroyed his own ability to repent. That irrevocable internal damage prevented all possibility of him being able to function as a trustworthy, loyal subject in heaven; much less would he be able to return to the position of being the chief dispenser of God's blessings and an effective revealer of God's character to the whole universe as he previously had done. At this revelation Lucifer became very angry, hardened and incredibly bitter. He realized that there was only one direction to go from now on and he would stop at nothing to inflict all the damage possible to God's reputation and cause all the pain imaginable to the great Heart that he once was so eager to honor.

Jude 1:6, 12-13 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day... These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.

Personally I believe that one can see in the above reference possible insights into some of the events that may have happened during this period of time with far-reaching repercussions that still reverberate throughout the universe yet today. Quite possibly some of the angels whose positions were to oversee certain functions of the universe – such as keeping stars on course – abandoned their responsibilities during the rebellion and asserting their “right” to “freedom” joined Lucifer in spreading his propaganda and dissension. The resulting chaos of unguided stars wandering out of their proper courses and even possibly crashing into each other may be the cause of what some astronomers are observing today in awe. Chaos was being introduced into a system that up until this point had always functioned in perfect harmony and synchronization.

Strangely enough though, he found himself and his followers allowed access to the very place where the secret plans for the new race were to be carried out. And though not privy to the planning stage, he still might find opportunity to integrate his ideas into this new creation if he was careful. God was allowing him the very freedom that he had accused God of withholding. He would not waste the chance. He must study the situation quickly and carefully to see what he could accomplish.

The issues were becoming more clear now to all of the participants. Allegiance was now a major issue throughout the universe. Somehow if Lucifer, now known as Satan, could solicit these new beings to give him their allegiance he would have a grand opportunity to perfect his theories on a smaller scale. Then as he perfected and debugged them he could export them to more and more places throughout the universe and eventually accomplish what he was unable to do from his place in heaven. If he could not capture the seat of the universe directly, he could at least possibly capture the rest of the universe and work from there toward the center.

The New Base of Operations

In crafting a plan to allure Adam and Eve to endorse his way of thinking he had to carefully integrate and camouflage the elements critical to the success of his plans. First he must use deception and plant seeds of doubt about God's character and motives just as he had done in heaven. Then he would need to solicit their will into taking action so as to confirm and secure their switch of allegiance and lock it into their hearts. Then to safeguard and seal their choice he would immediately need to overwhelm their emotions with guilt, fear, shame and blame (avoidance of personal responsibility) to forever lock them under his control. They would then become reflectors of his own character, puppets under his control, and he could manipulate them to demonstrate the “benefits” of a place where selfishness would trump weakness, fear would out-perform love, and force would prevail over submissiveness to God. Sure enough, his deceptive plan succeeded in securing their allegiance and he was exultant that now he could prove out his theories for all the universe to see his “superior wisdom”.

But as the experiment progressed, many things did not go as planned. God kept interfering and undermining his goals, but Satan could simply point to God's interference as the source of all the problems and pain multiplying on the earth. This created continual confusion in the minds of many and lingering doubts remained. Yes, it was obvious in some ways that many of Lucifer's ideas were not that great. But some of the questions, particularly about the Father's motives and about the integrity of the Son remained unanswered.

Strangely, none of the Godhead seemed eager to set things straight using forceful methods by confronting the questions head-on. Was there really inherent weaknesses in God's government that needed exposing and fixing? Was it true that there could be times when force might be a legitimate tool to regain control where control apparently had been lost? Where does true value come from? Why was there differentiation in the created order and did that imply differences in value? Why didn't God take a stronger position to stop the expanding damage before it got so out of hand? Why did perfect beings in a perfect universe need a law anyway? Yes, now that things were so messed up one could see how a law could be useful, but it had only recently been revealed in heaven that the law had always been in existence long before sin had ever been heard of. These and many other questions lingered in many hearts, unanswered and maybe often unexpressed. Fear, much or little, became an uncomfortable companion to many more than just the fallen beings. God's essence, His character and motives were in question and He apparently was not going to impose the answers.

But what God did do to answer the charges brought against Him by Lucifer amazed all the universe. The Father, as one accused in a legal system with abuse, deception and fraud before all His created beings, formally laid aside His privilege and responsibility as judge of the universe and installed His Son as judge. (John 5:22-23) “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” The Father allowed Himself to accept the role of the accused on trial and allowed proceedings to come into play whereby the verdict on Him and His government would be decided by a jury of His inferiors. He had been accused of crimes against not just humanity but against the good of the whole cosmos.

Since only a being who could understand his client sufficiently could function as a defense attorney, the Son also received that position as well. The Spirit and the Son would also be the chief Witnesses and would be in charge of orchestrating all the other witnesses in this greatest trial of the ages. Lucifer became the vicious prosecuting attorney determined to sooner or later take the position on the throne now occupied by Christ as he had long desired to do. There were many surprises to come as events unfolded and God had a secret plan that He would implement as each point in the trial was reached. Satan did not know where this was all going, but he was definitely nervous about what might develop in the unknown future.

As Satan looked on while God dealt with Adam and Eve's sin, he overheard promises that threatened to possibly undo all of what he had hoped to accomplish. This was a serious new threat. The survival of his growing evil empire was at stake and he could hold back nothing in his intense efforts to win this experiment. If he could affect enough witnesses and manipulate their testimony through intimidation, deceit, coercion, fear and any other scheme he could devise, he had the potential to sway the verdict against God and justify himself before the universe. In fact, God may have just put into place the very opportunity for Satan to accomplish that he had failed to do in the first round of their duel.

In essence, God had challenged Satan to complete his counterfeit to its ultimate perfection while God worked on perfecting His own plan. This plan involved taking all of the minds that would be submitted in loyalty to Him and creating out of the composite a new and heretofore unheard of “creature”. In the New Testament it is labeled the “Body of Christ”. It was and still is a mystery to the whole universe what exactly God is up to with this idea. But God has invested all of His resources into this plan and has staked the loyalty, even the existence of the whole universe on the outcome of His experiment.

At its grand climax on the last day of the trial when the verdict is to be announced by the jury made up of everyone in the universe, He plans to “power up” this new creature, “turn on the switch”, breath His own life and passion into it undiluted just like He did into Adam at his creation, to show the onlooking worlds, angels, demons, all the human race and every intelligent being what He has in mind. He claims that this “body” will more perfectly demonstrate and reflect what He is really like, something that has never been revealed since the beginning of creation. The Godhead is waiting with eager anticipation for that final exposé when the veil over God's face can finally be fully lifted.

The Hiding of God

That veil has been descending over the face of God since the first moments of Lucifer's experiment. Wherever there is sin – a will in opposition to the perfect ways and will of the Creator – there is potential for death if that being is exposed to closely to the presence of God's perfect, selfless love and passion. Part of the problem of sin is that it is resistance to God. And it is an immutable law of the universe, of creation itself, that when resistance and power meet there will be heat that can quickly spiral out of control. It is something like the proverbial question of what happens when an immovable object is met with an irresistible force.

Adam and Eve thrived in the presence of God before they made their tragic choice to sin. They were in perfect harmony with His desires for them and there was not a trace of resistance in their hearts. They could look on His face, the One in who's image they were created, and feel the passion from His heart supercharging their own hearts with love and joy. But when Adam and Eve sinned God had to dramatically shield them from Himself to protect them from fatal damage. In addition, something very tragic happened inside the minds of humans. A veil of lies about God was embedded deeply within their psyche that caused a separation between their own heart and mind internally and extended outward to affect all of their relationships with others. Sin became entrenched in a part of them that Paul would later call “the flesh” so that they no longer could obey God or live unselfishly and reflect His beauty “naturally”. They now had become reflectors of Satan's characteristics instead.

To use another analogy, it is very much like the circuit boards that make up our computers today or the wiring in other electrical appliances we use. If the wiring in place is correct and in good condition then proper amounts of power can flow through it safely and cause it to function as intended. But if the wiring or electrical components are faulty or damaged or mis-wired it is no longer safe for the full force of electrical current to flow through. To keep from causing irreparable damage and yet to keep life inside the human heart, God immediately had to insert something like a “step-down transformer” to protect sinful humans from frying their circuits with His over-powering presence. (Revelation 13:8)

To parallel two analogies, God's power current/monetary currency is pure, selfless, passionate love. When humans adopted a counterfeit circuitry/currency of selfishness God's love became a potentially dangerous force, a foreign currency to them. Their computers could no longer understand His programs because their operating systems had been replaced with an inferior, faulty one. But God has a secret plan that He had already prepared long before this crisis and He put it into operation immediately. Humans would be given the opportunity to accept a remedial operating system that would run parallel to the satanic one they had incurred. The two systems were incompatible, but if they would choose to be led by the Spirit of God and submit to His plans and His will, He would work inside of them to rework, rewire, reconnect, reprogram their hearts and minds and at the same time work to disconnect them from the faulty components they had gotten stuck with.

This was the work commissioned to the Holy Spirit. He was to prepare every human who chose to accept the new OS to become a reliable and truthful witness in the great trial of God. The Spirit was to reproduce within these willing humans a reflection of the truth about God. And while no human, other than Jesus Christ, is capable of being a full and complete reflection of God, collectively they were destined to become integrated components of the amazing and beautiful new “creature”, the body of Christ, that God intends to unveil and display at the final showdown.

Meanwhile, Satan also has been given similar opportunity to assemble a composite “body”, a creature designed with his own reflection. All those who refuse the offer of God to implant in their hearts a new OS are available for Satan to perfect his blueprint for assembling his composite creature. And while he may complain that he cannot successfully finish his creation because he keeps losing his subjects to death, he is nevertheless takes opportunity to perfect his principles in the lives and hearts of all his subjects. And eventually he will have full access to all of his subjects at one time to finalize his own morbid experiment.

The Second Adam

A focal point occurred in this Great Controversy that has wondered and confused nearly everyone before and since it occurred. The Son showed up in human form and took upon Himself the liabilities of fallen humanity to personally demonstrate two things to the watching universe. First, He came to reveal through intimate interaction with other humans the real truth about what God is like and how He feels about them. And second, He also came to demonstrate what it would look like for a human to live in perfect balance as he was originally designed to live. But a complication of this plan was that He came with severe handicaps and limitations that went far beyond the limitations that Adam ever had. Jesus came to demonstrate the core principle that had been in place from the very beginning of the creation; that is, for souls to live in the universe as God originally designed it, they must live totally dependent on power from outside of themselves continuously. This exposed the very first false assumption that Lucifer had started with while he was still the covering cherub over the very throne of God. He had asserted that beings had capabilities and virtue in themselves independent of God and so didn't need Him to live and thrive on their own. Now Jesus was demonstrating the very opposite claim and all the universe looked on with intense interest.

Of course Satan had to take on the challenge. He also saw in it another opportunity to capture a shortcut to victory in the trial if he could in any way or at any point infect Jesus with a spirit virus. He tried everything possible to induce Jesus to adopt any part of his own satanic, counterfeit operating system into His thinking, even for a moment. Living as He was completely immersed in a world where nearly all of His sensory input and training and examples would be tainted with corrupt motives and faulty ideas, surely Satan could reprogram some small part of Jesus' brain to hiccup at some point and depend on His own power for self-preservation or even to further His Father's legitimate plans for Him. For the real issue in the life and example of Jesus was all about who He would trust in every situation, Himself or His Father.

This arrangement was far more dangerous for Jesus than most people even begin to comprehend. Contrary to popular religious thinking, Jesus was not fighting “sinful desires” and resisting “temptations” as we typically think of them, to show us how to be a “good” person and thereby earn favor with God. Jesus came with the ultimate handicap – a natural tendency toward doing the right thing and access to unlimited power within himself to live a perfect life. Unlike other humans, He possessed a natural love for righteousness and an unconcealable disgust for sin. When compared with the struggles that other human beings face in their human temptations, it becomes obvious to any unbiased observer very quickly who would be faced with more intense temptations. Think about it. Who would be more intensely tempted to use their own strength to overcome and resist sin: sinful humans who never have or even can succeed on their own strength but often think they can, or Jesus who could easily depend on His own natural strength and natural repulsion against every sin but always chose not to avail Himself of that advantage?

When this paradigm is understood in viewing the life of Jesus while on earth, it is much easier to understand the real nature of His temptations throughout His life. In fact, it was on this very point that the war came to its greatest intensity at the end of His life on earth. Satan was running out of time to secure his shortcut to victory and he desperately needed to induce Jesus into utilizing His own power to do something – anything – for His own benefit. This becomes a little more obvious in Jesus' comments to Peter in the garden, Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:53 NRSV) One of the core issues in the trial of God is whether or not He made a mistake by creating beings that operate best by depending always on God, whether in a perfect heaven or in the “hell on earth” designed by Satan himself.

Finally in his desperate but unsuccessful attempt to induce Jesus to save himself, Satan inadvertently made one of the greatest mistakes of his long and tragic career. In his blinding desperation to force Jesus to sin he only accomplished exposing more completely the bankruptcy of his own theories and principles while at the same time becoming an unwilling accomplice in setting in place the key foundation in the salvation plan for mankind. While Satan was screaming in Jesus' face to “save Himself”, God was allowing Jesus to experience the actual and literal results of all the sins of all mankind to weigh upon His soul and torture Him with the despair of alienation from God that sin creates. Jesus took upon Himself the full pain that all humanity collectively would suffer both in their life on earth and at the second death, even if all of them were lost and none were saved. This is the actual pain that crushed out the life of Jesus and He had to choose not to sidestep it by tapping into His own power to reduce the pain and terror in the slightest amount. He submitted to allowing the Father to choose for Him in every detail of every moment and went through the horror of believing that He was eternally lost just as the wicked will feel at the second death. (More on this later.)

Many things happened in Jesus' life and death that we have not yet properly understood. A careful study of Ephesians and other of Paul's writings reveal that Jesus literally took into Himself the totality of humanity, just as in the physical sense humanity was in Adam and Eve and proceeded from them. In this way Jesus was able to reverse the switch of authority over this planet induced away from Adam and usurped by Satan at the fall in Eden. Jesus, by His death, now laid claim to the title of proper representative of this world in the assemblies of heaven and rightful owner of everyone on planet earth by way of redemption. After His resurrection He briefly ascended to the throne room of God to confirm His successful capture of this position of authority before proceeding any further. Then He returned to begin immediately implementing the next stage of Their plan. Remember, this is still all in the context of God's trial and Lucifer's accusations against God with everyone in the universe acting as the jury.

The Battle Shifts Pace

The next phase of God' plan was called spreading the “gospel”, which literally means “good news”. It is important to carefully explore the true meaning of many of familiar religious words and not just assume we know what they mean. The gospel is not a list of doctrines and beliefs that people need to subscribe to and accept. Nor is the gospel a free ticket to get us to heaven if we say a few “magic words” in a church or on our knees somewhere and pledge allegiance to God with our mind and our mouth. In the broader context of God being the One on trial, the essence of the gospel is a fresh revelation of the truth about who God really is, how he relates to His created beings, both fallen and unfallen. The gospel is the light of the truth about God, both an intellectual but more importantly a heart-based truth, that has a powerful affect to dispel the lies, both emotionally and intellectually, that Satan has amassed against God in all his false charges.

Darkness cannot be expelled by examining the darkness but it simply evaporates when light is introduced. God is light in every conceivable sense of the idea. God is love with a passionate intensity that goes far beyond anything we have been willing or even able to admit up to now. God craves openness and intimacy with all His created beings with a passion and desire that burns hotter than any fire known in the universe. And His intense desire is particularly focused now on humanity. He has restrained and hidden His passion and His face for centuries, but He eagerly longs for His confinement behind the veil to come to an end. The plan of salvation has actually as much to do with the salvation of God's reputation as it is has to do with saving humans out of sin and pain.

The Second Coming of Christ

Because of our narrow views about God, religion has generally degenerated into a pitiful system of human-focused schemes that we believe God has put into place to simply rescue us from an uncomfortable world and set us up in a heaven full of pleasure for our benefit. Take an objective look at most sermons and teachings about salvation and the Second Coming and see if this is not true. We talk eagerly about the Second Coming of Jesus using language almost exclusively focused on getting our skin into heaven. But we are almost totally oblivious to the massive conspiracy that is scandalously being perpetrated against God and His reputation. Jesus came to reveal the truth about the Father, not only to us but to all the intelligent beings throughout the universe. And the Holy Spirit's commission on this earth is to do the same through our lives as well. All the events on earth and in heaven are being orchestrated toward the great climax, the ultimate revealing that God has planned for His vindication. This vindication is of God's ways of relating to His creation, for this is what the whole trial is about and every prophecy and messenger and instrument of God is focused toward that end. For us to force many scriptures and prophecies to make the Second Coming the focal point and centerpiece of salvation is to terribly distort and misunderstand the real emphasis in the trial proceedings. The Second Coming is important, yes, but for very different reasons and with possibly very different results than we have long been led to think.

What is happening on earth now may very well parallel what happened in heaven during the first phase of the Great War. This is a time for minds to be presented with evidence and choose allegiance, not so much on the basis of doctrines or theology but on what they choose to believe about the accusations of Satan against God. “Keeping” the correct day of the week “holy” is not at the heart of Satan's primary accusations about how God treats people. The state of the dead or tithing, baptism or even health reform are not the core issues of the Great Controversy. These things may be involved in the symptoms and outgrowth of those who are transformed by the Spirit into truthful witnesses in the trial of God, but they are only symptoms, not the core issues themselves. When we center our religion and experience around the externals of these doctrines or others like them, we are in danger of falling into the very first deception that Lucifer fell into – emphasizing the externals over the internals. The trial is first of all about God's character and reputation, not about ours. Our character only comes into play as we are cross-examined to determine whether we are truthful or false witness in the trial, not as the defendants.

(see this reading from My Utmost for His Highest)

The Second Coming of Christ is just a transition point leading up to the final climax of the trial of God, it is not the ultimate day of judgment of all ages as we have so often been led to believe. And the Second Coming is not just for our benefit but it is to finalize preparations for the final day of God's trial, the great day of Judgment. Rev. 14:7 “And he said with a loud voice, 'Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.'” The Second Coming occurs when all humans have freely and finally chosen what side they will be loyal to in the trial, whether they will witness for or against the ways of God. When all have made up their minds Jesus will come quickly to claim all of His faithful witnesses and take them to heaven to begin the closing phases of His plan.

The Millennium

The millennium is another very misunderstood concept primarily because of the self-focused nature of our emphasis in religion and our lack of understanding of what the Great Controversy is really all about. It is not a time when God's people will be wielding power and force in an earthly kingdom that Christ imposes over the unrepentant of this world. Nor is it a time of lolling about in great comfort in heaven, playing with animals and trying out our new wings as we are sometimes taught in juvenile church classes. It can be seen from Bible prophecy that at the Second Coming Jesus plans to resurrect all those who have died who are safe to save and, along with all those who are alive on earth of the same sort will join them all together in a grand ascension to the city of God. This is the beginning of the period known as the Millennium, or a time span of one thousand years. Let's consider carefully what may or may not happen during this very strategic time in the trial leading up to the great Judgment day, the glorious Day of full revelation.

First of all, we must understand that God is not going to suddenly change the way He operates and impose on the minds of the saved a full understanding of all the issues and a complete erasure of all of our doubts and questions. If he wouldn't do it for the highly intelligent angels and other beings before the creation of man he will not do it for humans either. Given that, what sort of people are going to be gathered together for 1000 years away from planet earth (according to prophecies in Revelation)? There will be very many immature minds at all stages of development. There will be possibly millions who have never even heard of God or Jesus but who were saved because they followed the promptings of their conscience which was influenced by God's Spirit and God knows their hearts are salvageable and safe to be reliable and truthful witnesses in His trial.

And what will happen then? Well, personally I believe that initially He possibly may have a number of activities planned to build up their joy strength, that part of their brain that gives them capacity to endure stress effectively, to prepare them for what is to happen next. (Dr. Jim Wilder has been gifted to bring out many important insights about how God created our brains and how they function. For more information about this refer to his materials available from carepkg.org., especially the series called Joy Bonds) They will likely join together in feasting, fellowship, incredible choreography and moments of intense drama and intense exercises of their emotions that will create and strengthen healthy joy bonds interlocking and synchronizing their hearts not only to God but with each other. The dramatic meeting of Adam and Jesus described in the book The Great Controversy (see 648) has to be an incredible moment of education as well as bonding for the millions of the Redeemed who will know almost nothing about the great war and the issues at the core of the Conflict.

Beyond that, we are told in Rev. 20:6 “Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” There is a lot to unpack in almost every word of that text.

First I would like to suggest that maybe God would welcome the idea of priests to minister to His heart as well as to His hurting people. God's feelings have been deeply wounded in this terrible war far worse than any of us and just maybe He can also receive comfort and joy from ministry to Him as His redeemed learn to reflect the attributes of His own heart of compassion and selfless love. Maybe that is going too far, but it is a thought to consider at least.

Another point that we don't really understand as I believe we could with more study is what it really means to reign with Him. Personally I believe that it may in part mean Jesus giving some of the more mature among the saved responsibilities to educate and mentor and mature the ones who have less understanding and maturity and knowledge.

Finally and most importantly, I would like to suggest that everyone, maybe even some of the unfallen beings, will have many unanswered questions that need to be examined in the atmosphere of absolute freedom and need to be resolved completely in their minds before the Day of full revealing. This resolution, this settling into the truth, is crucial to be finished before God can fully unveil His face. If there is anything not fully repaired, any circuit not fully rewired and tested, any components with any weakness at all from unanswered questions or the slightest doubts, the results would be catastrophic failure and meltdown when the full power of God's glory surges through the circuitry at the Great Revealing.

Witnesses

God has never instructed us to argue for Him. That is what attorneys do. We are not suited to argue for God because we have not the capacity to know enough about Him for one thing, and more importantly we misrepresent His attitude when we argue, for we adopt the techniques of His enemy, the spirit of Satan, when we indulge in argument and debate.

We are called to testify as witnesses. Witnesses do not know all the facts or have the complete picture. That is why God insisted in the Old Testament that there must always be more than one witness for truth to be established. A witness often has only a small bit of the giant puzzle to contribute. But every piece brought to the table and humbly submitted to be interlocked in unity with the testimony of all the other witnesses creates a compelling and more accurate portrait of God to a skeptical world and an onlooking universe.

At the end of the millenium God returns to this planet will all of the redeemed along with the New Jerusalem as foretold in the book of Revelation. At that point in time He also raises up all the lost who have ever lived throughout all of the history of this world and for a period of time everyone who has ever lived will all be alive at the same time and at the same place.

All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, "It is true." "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed – I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "that I am God. (Isaiah 43:9-12 NIV)

A witness testifies to his own experience and from his own perspective. God's true witnesses are unique and different from everyone else but not in conflict because they are all truthful. If even today, instead of exercising ourselves trying to force our narrow perspectives and understandings on others, we simply presented what God has been, and is now to us, we would see God's power and beauty emerge in a glorious way even today. We would experience far more success in seeing others embrace the real truths about our God and our Savior.

The Final Revelation

At the end of the millennium the stage for the final resolution of the Great War is set. This is the last great transition point before the final showdown between Satan's form of governing by force and control through fear-bonds, and God's form of “governing” by interlocking family bonds of selfless love. All of Satan's resources are put at his disposal after God resurrects those who have rejected His Spirit and rebelled against His ways. Satan is allowed as much time as he needs to assemble his counterfeit “body” and get it fine-tuned and working as much as it can. God's beautiful creature, the “body of Christ”, His bride that received her final beauty treatment during the millennium, this glorious composite body made up of all the saved with all its “circuits” and systems in perfect synchronization with His own heart, sits waiting in the New Jerusalem with eager anticipation for the moment of the “revealing” or unveiling of God's full glory.

Satan's creature is also tuned to reflect his character and synchronized with his principles of legalism, force, fear and intimidation and it finally stands ready to follow his commands. The wicked of all ages are ready to implement his plans to take the city of the saints by force of arms, with material weapons of destruction in their attempt to capture its riches and enslave its humble but glorious population.

What is very interesting is a little detail that happens at this point in the drama that speaks volumes about the principle of freedom by which God has always operated. A very insightful author says that at this point in time the gates will be closed. That means that they were open up to this point and any of the lost could just wander in and look around and stay – if they could stand it . God apparently never forces anyone to stay out of the city up to this point or blocks them from entrance as individuals. It is simply because they have so unfit themselves by their choices that have poisoned their minds and hearts against heaven that they cannot stand the totally pervasive atmosphere of selfless service, humility, joy and love that fills every heart in that city. This kind of atmosphere is sheer torture to them and, if they did happen to venture in, they would immediately flee in panic back to the camp of the wicked where they feel at home again among like-minded souls. This dispels another lie of Satan that God is arbitrary in choosing who is saved and who is lost. Accordingly, God only closes the gates against the collective “body” assembled and controlled by Satan, not against individuals who might curiously try to enter.

When both sides have perfected their “creatures” and fully possessed them with their own spirit, the final day of Judgment will have arrived. The word “judgment” really means discernment, revealing, exposing what is real and actual. The One who is really on trial is God the Father and His Son Jesus sits as Judge. All the universe, including the wicked and the saved, stands as jury and everything is ready for all the evidence to be presented in full. With not one being dead in the whole cosmos after the last resurrection, every intelligent mind is riveted on the scene.

Then, before everyone's astonished gaze the whole panorama of the Great Story – His-story – is revealed from beginning to end (you know, the long-play 3-D cinematic version with enhancements allowing you to even read the minds of every actor) with every lie and the result of every choice exposed in full. In every situation it is fully revealed to everyone's complete satisfaction that God was always totally fair and never used force, intimidation or any other of Satan's tools in the long battle for His own vindication. It will be seen that Satan has consistently and repeatedly falsely charged God with possessing the character that was really Satan's own. But now it is seen that Satan's plans were impossible to succeed. The inherent flaw of trying to live in separation from the only Source of life is now seen clearly. Everything in everyone's life is laid bare for inspection by everyone else.

“The aim of the great rebel has ever been to justify himself and to prove the divine government responsible for the rebellion. To this end he has bent all the power of his giant intellect. He has worked deliberately and systematically, and with marvelous success, leading vast multitudes to accept his version of the great controversy which has been so long in progress. For thousands of years this chief of conspiracy has palmed off falsehood for truth. But the time has now come when the rebellion is to be finally defeated and the history and character of Satan disclosed. In his last great effort to dethrone Christ, destroy His people, and take possession of the City of God, the archdeceiver has been fully unmasked. Those who have united with him see the total failure of his cause. Christ's followers and the loyal angels behold the full extent of his machinations against the government of God. He is the object of universal abhorrence.” {GC 670.1} This is the first phase of the revealing – the revealing of the mystery of iniquity.

This author portrays in gripping language the details of that event. Now comes the moment of the greatest revealing – the revealing of God Himself – the mystery of Godliness. As it is unveiled and God's beauty is exposed, the saved are overcome with wonder and adoration and the lost are also overcome with the same. The only difference is, the righteous have allowed themselves to be perfected into instruments of praise and worship by the Holy Spirit and are now filled with absolute and perfect love. But the wicked through persistent resistance have lost all capacity to return love and praise by repeatedly rejecting and spurning His Spirit of love. The lost, just like the saved, fall down in spontaneous worship and they may even desperately wish they could respond in love like the saved, but they simply no longer have the circuitry or capacity necessary in their hearts when they need it the most.

At this point there are no places in all the cosmos for the lies and deceptions to hide anymore. Satan's lies and character are fully unmasked simply by the revealing of truth, not by attack or by pointing out his faults. The wicked are disgusted and enraged, and all the pent-up hatred and anger of all the ages is now focused on their leaders and especially toward Satan. The contrast becomes stunning. While the lost are mourning their inability to enjoy the beauties and joys of heaven and are filled with the rage of demons, the beauty of God is beginning to be fully revealed and His glory, His passionate love and affection that He has kept largely hidden for eons, is finally unveiled before both the righteous and the lost.

“The whole universe will have become witnesses to the nature and results of sin. And its utter extermination, which in the beginning would have brought fear to angels and dishonor to God, will now vindicate His love and establish His honor before the universe of beings who delight to do His will, and in whose heart is His law. Never will evil again be manifest. Says the word of God: "Affliction shall not rise up the second time." Nahum 1:9. The law of God, which Satan has reproached as the yoke of bondage, will be honored as the law of liberty. A tested and proved creation will never again be turned from allegiance to Him whose character has been fully manifested before them as fathomless love and infinite wisdom.” {GC 504.1}

The Real Truth About Hell

When love that is like an immeasurable amount of electrical current is unleashed into the “circuitry” of both of the two assembled “creatures”, the “body of Christ” – His bride – lights up like billions of brilliant suns shining like diamonds in a stunning display of galactic glory and power that we can't begin to imagine. But while that same glory of passion and love embraces the lost sinners, with their malfunctioning circuits it only creates terrible fireworks when it comes in contact with their entrenched resistance. When the power and glory of love passes through resistant hearts, it causes literal meltdowns proportionate in effect to how many lies they have amassed in their minds and hearts about this God they have rejected. But surprisingly it is not an angry, vengeful God that strikes them with torturous flames in an outburst of anger, but it is a passionate God whose heart is ripped open and torn apart in agony at losing so many of his children – including Lucifer, one of the finest specimens of all His creation. Yes, in one way God is angry, very angry – but not at sinners. He is angry that sin itself has tragically torn from His very heart so many that He will forever miss.

For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. (Mal. 3:6)

The fire that destroys the wicked initially comes from within their own selves. They have built into their character the very essence of who they have become – resistance to love. But love is God's current of power, and resistance produces heat. (Just ask any engineer.)

I would like to make one more important observation about this sensitive issue of hell-fire. Take a look at the sanctuary system in the Old Testament which was given as a model of the Great Controversy and the plan of salvation. Do you ever read of an animal sacrifice being burned before it had died? NO! The cremating fire always came after the sacrifice was dead from the results of sin. The sacrifice was first killed by the sinner himself. So too, in the final day of retribution. The wicked are in torture in the presence of the Lamb and in the presence of angels. (see Rev. 14:10)

The stark contrast between their deformed characters and the perfection and beauty of the characters of heavenly beings literally produce mental and even physical flames that eventually destroy their bodies and souls forever. “The soul that sins shall die.”(Ezekiel 18:20 RSV) A merciful and loving God will never think of allowing souls to be tortured for endless ages as many have taught. All come to a complete end and finally go into permanent extinction. Then God's cleansing fire finishes cleaning up the mess created on this planet through sin by melting down all the leftovers and residue back into the basic building elements that were here before creation week.

The Final Surrender – The Submission of Jesus

“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-28)

Once the effects of sin have been melted into oblivion the saved, now as the “body of Christ” get to watch, or possibly even participate in a new creation of the earth. The last few paragraphs of the book The Great Controversy by Ellen White explain it best.

"I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away." Revelation 21:1. The fire that consumes the wicked purifies the earth. Every trace of the curse is swept away. No eternally burning hell will keep before the ransomed the fearful consequences of sin.

One reminder alone remains: Our Redeemer will ever bear the marks of His crucifixion. Upon His wounded head, upon His side, His hands and feet, are the only traces of the cruel work that sin has wrought. Says the prophet, beholding Christ in His glory: "He had bright beams coming out of His side: and there was the hiding of His power." Habakkuk 3:4, margin. That pierced side whence flowed the crimson stream that reconciled man to God--there is the Saviour's glory, there "the hiding of His power." "Mighty to save," through the sacrifice of redemption, He was therefore strong to execute justice upon them that despised God's mercy. And the tokens of His humiliation are His highest honor; through the eternal ages the wounds of Calvary will show forth His praise and declare His power....

There, immortal minds will contemplate with never-failing delight the wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. There will be no cruel, deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God. Every faculty will be developed, every capacity increased. The acquirement of knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the energies. There the grandest enterprises may be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations reached, the highest ambitions realized; and still there will arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth the powers of mind and soul and body.

All the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God's redeemed. Unfettered by mortality, they wing their tireless flight to worlds afar--worlds that thrilled with sorrow at the spectacle of human woe and rang with songs of gladness at the tidings of a ransomed soul. With unutterable delight the children of earth enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings. They share the treasures of knowledge and understanding gained through ages upon ages in contemplation of God's handiwork. With undimmed vision they gaze upon the glory of creation--suns and stars and systems, all in their appointed order circling the throne of Deity. Upon all things, from the least to the greatest, the Creator's name is written, and in all are the riches of His power displayed.

And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase. The more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of His character. As Jesus opens before them the riches of redemption and the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with more rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold; and ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of praise.

"And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." Revelation 5:13.

The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love. (GC 675-678)

All creation is perfectly synchronized and one pulse of perfect harmony and love throb throughout all the universe. And the rest is history, as they say – His Story.

Resources:

Jean Sheldon, professor at PUC, has audio recordings explaining the two supernatural opposing paradigms and also very good insights about the veiling and unveiling of the face of God. These recordings can be purchased from Kirk & Deidre VanBuren (707) 965-2020 kirkdede@hotmail.com.

Jim Wilder has excellent books, CD's and videos explaining stages of maturity and incredible insights into how God designed our brains. This is also very helpful for understanding the symptoms of what happens in our lives when we fail to receive what we need to thrive. His most comprehensive book to date is Living With Men. His materials can be purchased from carepkg.org (231) 745-4950.

For further research there are also some excellent resources available at the website HeavenlySanctuary.com.

2007-04-28T07:12:00.000-05:00

Over the past few months and years I have been observing and recording as many texts as I could find on a full tour of the Bible concerning the the important subjects of the wrath of God and the fire from heaven. These are referred to many times in the Bible and I have felt compelled to uncover the real truth about God. I realized that God's character is consistent throughout the Bible and I needed to perceive every passage and story through the lens of the life of Jesus Christ – the most accurate revelation of God. If any passage seems to make God look different than what is consistent with the more clear revelation of His character in Jesus, then it must be closely examined to see what it really means in its fuller context.

It has been a richly rewarding journey through the Bible and I am ready to share what I have discovered so far. I have organized all of the verses that I have found up to this point into various categories simply based on what the various passages seem to convey. I am sure there are more verses that can and may be added as I learn more, but I want to make these available for research by anyone else interested in pursuing a deeper examination of this topic in their desire to know God and see His character more accurately.

I believe that anyone who chooses to reexamine the typical beliefs about hell, about the fire and wrath of God and related subjects with an open mind and a heart open to know God more accurately will be richly rewarded and surprised at the awesomeness of the truth about God's real feelings about us. This subject cannot be explored without life-changing results. My prayer is that every person who utilizes this resource will indeed be changed dramatically as they see more clearly a God who is passionate in His pursuit of their heart and affections. May the Holy Spirit of God be present as you expose yourself to the presence and passion of your Creator, Lover and Savior.

(Jeremiah 23:19-24) "Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone forth in wrath, even a whirling tempest; It will swirl down on the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; in the last days you will clearly understand it. I did not send these prophets, but they ran. I did not speak to them, but they prophesied. But if they had stood in My council, then they would have announced My words to My people, and would have turned them back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds. Am I a God who is near," declares the LORD, "And not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?" declares the LORD. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares the LORD. (NAS95)

(Jeremiah 23:28-29) "The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?" declares the LORD. "Is not My word like fire?" declares the LORD, "and like a hammer which shatters a rock?" (NAS95)

(Jeremiah 30:23-24) Behold, the tempest of the LORD! Wrath has gone forth, a sweeping tempest; it will burst on the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has performed and until He has accomplished the intent of His heart; in the latter days you will understand this. (NAS95)

1. GOD IS FIRE (Numbers 14:6-24)(Deuteronomy 4:24-39)(Deuteronomy 5:24-29)(Deuteronomy 9:3)(2 Chronicles 7:1-3)(Psalms 11:4-7)(Psalms 19:4-6)(Psalms 21:1-13)(Psalms 68:1-4)(Psalms 68:13)(Psalms 68:17-18)(Song of Solomon 8:5-6)(Isaiah 10:12-23)(Isaiah 13:3-13)(Isaiah 29:6)(Isaiah 30:27-33)(Isaiah 33:5-22)(Jeremiah 5:14)(Amos 5:6)(Acts 2:3)(Hebrews 12:26-29)(Revelation 18:8)(Revelation 19:12)(Revelation 22:5)
2. DUELISM FIRE (Leviticus 9:23 - 10:3)(Psalms 110:1-7)(Isaiah 11:4)(Isaiah 30:27-33)(Obadiah 1:15-18)(Malachi 4:1-3)(Matthew 3:10-12)(Luke 3:16-17)(Acts 4:31 – 5:13)
3. CONSUMING AND PURIFYING FIRE (Leviticus 9:23 - 10:3)(Deuteronomy 4:24-39)(Deuteronomy 5:24-29)(Deuteronomy 9:3)(2 Chronicles 7:1-3)(Isaiah 29:6)(Isaiah 30:27-33)(Isaiah 33:5-22)(Jeremiah 5:14)(Ezekiel 22:18-31)(Amos 5:6)(Obadiah 1:15-18)(Zephaniah 3:8-9)(Malachi 3:2-3)(Malachi 3:6)(Hebrews 12:26-29)
4. WHAT PASSION CAN LOOK LIKE (Numbers 14:6-24)(Deuteronomy 4:24-39)(Psalms 30:5)(Psalms 46:4-7)(Psalms 103:8-18)(Song of Solomon 8:5-6)(Isaiah 9:18-19)(Isaiah 29:9)(Isaiah 30:27-33)(Isaiah 59:17-18)(Jeremiah 20:9)(Jeremiah 30:23-24)(Hosea 6:5)(Zephaniah 1:18)(Matthew 18:33-35)(Luke 12:49-51)(Luke 24:32)(Acts 2:3)(Romans 1:27)(Romans 12:18-21)(James 1:20)(Revelation 17:16)

5. YOU GET WHAT YOU BELIEVE ABOUT GOD (Psalms 18:25-33)(Psalms 78:21-22)(Proverbs 10:24-25)(Isaiah 6:1-7)(Isaiah 26:9-11)(Isaiah 66:14-16)(Jeremiah 17:10)(Hosea 14:8-9)(Micah 7:16-20)(Zephaniah 2:11)(Malachi 4:1-3)(Matthew 13:41-43)(John 3:36)(Romans 1:17-18)Romans 2:5)(1 Corinthians 3:13-16)(Hebrews 10:37-39)(Revelation 2:11)(Revelation 22:12)
6. GOD'S ANGER CAN ACTUALLY BE GRIEF (1 Samuel 20:34)(Jeremiah 8:18-21)(Mark 3:5)
7. THE PRESENCE OF GOD EXPOSES WHAT IS IN THE HEART (1 Samuel 24:1-22)(2 Kings 8:11)(2 Chronicles 7:1-3)(Esther 6:1-14)(Psalms 76:7)(Matthew 5:22-26)(Matthew 17:5-6)(Luke 19:27)(Luke 21:36)(Acts 5:1-13)(Revelation 14:10-11)
8. LET GOD DEFINE THE WORD “WRATH” (Isaiah 55:1-9)(Malachi 3:2-3)(Romans 3:5)(Romans 4:15)(Romans 12:18-21)(Hebrews 10:30-31)
9. ETERNAL BECAUSE IT IS GOD HIMSELF (Matthew 3:10-12)(Luke 3:16-17)(Jude 1:6-7)
10. UNBELIEF, RESISTANCE AND SHAME MAKES THE FIRE LETHAL (Isaiah 1:28-31)(Isaiah 26:9-11)(Isaiah 50:11)(Jeremiah 4:4)(Jeremiah 4:18)(Jeremiah 7:16-20)(Jeremiah 17:27)(Jeremiah 21:12-14)(Jeremiah 23:18-29)(Ezekiel 22:18-31)(Hosea 13:9)(Zechariah 7:12)(Malachi 4:1-3)(Matthew 22:10-14)(Matthew 25:41-46)(John 8:34-35)(John 15:6)(Hebrews 10:37-39)(James 5:3)
11. WHAT GOD DOES NOT DO (2 Chronicles 28:3)(Jeremiah 19:5)(Ezekiel 33:11)(Malachi 3:6)(1 Peter 2:23)(James 1:20)
12. WE NEED THE FIRE, THE PASSION OF GOD (2 Chronicles 7:1-3)(Proverbs 24:17-18)(Isaiah 6:1-7)(Matthew 3:10-12)(Mark 9:49-50)(Luke 3:16-17)(Luke 24:32)(Acts 2:3)
13.EVERYONE WILL BE EXPOSED TO THE FIRE (Psalms 22:29) Isaiah 30:27-33)(Isaiah 33:5-22)(Isaiah 43:1-28)(Isaiah 66:18)(Ezekiel 20:45-49)(Ezekiel 38:18-23)(Obadiah 1:15-18)(Zephaniah 1:18)(Zephaniah 3:8-9)(1 Corinthians 3:13-16)
14. ILLUSTRATIONS OF FIRE (Leviticus 9:23 - 10:3)(Isaiah 6:1-7)(Jeremiah 20:9)(Daniel 3)(Acts 2:1-4)
15. THE LOST WILL BE CONSUMED AND DISAPPEAR (Psalms 103:14-16)(Proverbs 10:24-25)(Isaiah 10:22-23)(Isaiah 13:3-13)(Isaiah 26:9-11)(Isaiah 33:10-12)(Isaiah 34:1-17)(Hosea 13:9)(Obadiah 1:15-18)(Malachi 4:1-3)(Hebrews 12:26-29)
16. THE SAVED WILL BE REFINED AND GLOW FOREVER IN THE FLAMES (Isaiah 33:14-22)(Isaiah 43:1-2)(Daniel 12:2-3)(Obadiah 1:15-18)(Malachi 3:2-3)(Matthew 13:41-43)

Wrath Revealed

2007-03-12T21:31:00.000-05:00

3/12/07

Rom 1:18--

The wrath of God is revealed...

Wrath is translated from the Greek word orge which comes from the word oregomai. Orge is defined in Strong's as: properly, desire (as a reaching forth or excitement of the mind), i.e. (by analogy), violent passion (ire, or (justifiable) abhorrence); by implication punishment:--anger, indignation, vengeance, wrath.

Oregomai is defined as – to stretch oneself, to reach out after (long for):--covet after, desire.

I believe that it can be clear to anyone that this word can be understood as intense passion, desire, even deep longing. Of course there are many who are stuck in prejudice entrenched in their determination to only believe that God has “a dark side” so to speak, though they fail to use those words. This springs from our penchant to see God through the filter of our own fallen passions and desiring to justify our desires for revenge and our natural feelings of hatefulness. We define God's “passion” (orge) based on how we feel toward those who abuse us and use us.

But the Bible is explicitly clear.

“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” (James 1:19-20)

“'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,' declares the LORD. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.'” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

So why does the “wrath” of God appear to so many to look strikingly like our anger and wrath? It is in the principle of the reflector. Consider what happens when you shine a very bright, intense white light at a colored roadside reflector. Does the reflector appear white? No, it appears very much the color that is built into it when it was made. Does that mean that the light shining on it is to be understood as being the color of the reflector? No again. The reflector appears that color because that is all it can “see” in the light shining on it.

On the other hand, if you were to put a mirror that is unbiased by any color in front of that light you would see more perfectly reflected what the original light really looks like without bias. In other words, the built-in bias of the reflecting instrument dramatically alters the appearance and perception of what might be believed about the original source of light if you don't see the light directly but only the reflection.

This is a very simple illustration but I believe it significantly underscores an important concept in how we perceive God. Maybe an even better illustration might be the lenses that we use as filters through which we view light. As the light comes through a colored lens we might be tempted to believe that the original light is that color if we are not aware that the lens has a color bias.

In Romans 1 you find two verses back to back that talk about God being revealed. This is very important to look at and understand if we to get at the truth about God. When God says something about revealing Himself it is probably a good place to investigate if we desire to discover a more unbiased truth about Him than we typically get from “religious” professors and propounders. Verse 17 says that the “righteousness of God is revealed” and verse 18 says the “wrath of God is revealed.” By spending some time carefully analyzing the context around these verses I believe we can arrive at a far more accurate picture of God than what is typically accepted by most people.

Have You Ever Been Carried Away For Him?

2007-02-21T06:43:00.000-06:00

February 21 – My Utmost For His Highest

by Oswald Chambers

If human love does not carry a man beyond himself, it is not love. If love is always discreet, always wise, always sensible and calculating, never carried beyond itself, it is not love at all. It may be affection, it may be warmth of feeling, but it has not the true nature of love in it.

Have I ever been carried away to do something for God not because it was my duty, nor because there was anything in it at all beyond the fact that I love Him? Have I ever realized that I can bring to God things which are of value to Him, or am I [stargazing] round the magnitude of His Redemption whilst there are any number of things I might be doing? Not Divine, colossal things which could be recorded as marvelous, but ordinary, simple human things which will give evidence to God that I am abandoned to Him? Have I ever produced in the heart of the Lord Jesus what Mary of Bethany produced?

There are times when it seems as if God watches to see if we will give Him the abandoned tokens of how genuinely we do love Him. Abandon to God is of more value than personal holiness. Personal holiness focuses the eye on our own whiteness; we are greatly concerned about the way we walk and talk and look, fearful lest we offend Him. Perfect love casts out all that when once we are abandoned to God. We have to get rid of this notion--”Am I of any use?” and make up our minds that we are not, and we may be near the truth. It is never a question of being of use, but of being of value to God Himself. When we are abandoned to God, He works through us all the time.

Contrast of Fires

2006-06-12T21:49:00.000-05:00

The fiery furnace episode found in the book of Daniel has important lessons. The furnace fire was instigated by the corrupt passion of a man who believed God would burn and torture people for disobeying Him. The three Hebrews rested in the truth about God and refused to bow to fear and force. The amazing part is that though the fire was man-made and emanated completely from earthly evil passion and anger. As the Hebrews rested in their trust in God, He transformed what promised to be fatal torture and abuse from men into the very passion and presence of God Himself. By staying in total submission to God and not yielding to fear or resistance to evil intentions but trusting their covenant Partner they became examples of how to pass from the intended fire of evil rage to the glorious fire of God's passion and presence.

Truths About Hell and Judgment

2006-05-17T22:15:00.004-05:00

Judgment and Worship

Various Notes on Hell

Contrast of Fires

Excuses in Hell

Jesus in Hell

WYSIWYG

A Witness

2006-05-15T21:12:00.000-05:00

God has never instructed us to argue for Him. That is what attorneys do. We are not suited to argue for God because we have not the capacity to know everything about Him for one thing, and more importantly we misrepresent His attitude when we argue, for we adopt the techniques of His enemy, the spirit of Satan, when we indulge in argument and debate.

We are called to testify as witnesses. Witnesses do not know all the facts or have the complete picture. That is why God insisted there always be more than one witness. A witness has only a small bit of the giant puzzle to contribute. But every piece brought to the table and humbly surrendered to be interlocked in unity with all the other witnesses create a compelling and more accurate portrait of God to a skeptical world.

A witness testifies to his own experience and perspective. It is unique and different from anyone else but not antagonistic if it is truthful. If instead of exercising ourselves trying to force our perspective and understanding on everyone else, we simply presented what God has been, and is now to us, we would see God's power and beauty emerge in a glorious way.

Great Controversy Overview

2006-04-30T11:28:00.001-05:00

Reality can only be perceived in the context of the large view of a correct understanding of the Great Controversy. When one takes everything we learn or observe and puts it back into this context it suddenly starts to make much more sense. And our penchant for fanaticism and unbalanced extremes are exposed when brought to the light of eternity and God's Word correctly understood.

In the beginning, long before the creation of the earth, Lucifer evolved what he thought was a brilliant idea – an improvement on the way God ran the universe. The concepts and details were some time in the making, they did not all just fall into place at once. One idea required another to support it and many objections had to be worked around. His plan had to be matured enough to appeal to other intelligent thoughtful angels before he could implement any of it. But as Jean Sheldon has so aptly described, his focus shifted from internal importance to external emphasis and he became enamored with his own beauty. He came to believe that his value was based on his performance and abilities rather than totally derived from simply being a created being from the hand of God.

He carefully crafted a theory that would inspire the same self-focus in others and draw them into these new emotions with him. He began to question and suggest doubt about God's methods of relating to situations and suggesting that force would be a more effective means of government. He could never get The Son to agree or come into sympathy with any of his new ideas. In fact, The Son seemed to be deeply troubled by these developments and kept cautioning Lucifer to abandon these plans before it was too late -- whatever that was supposed to imply.

As Lucifer became more observant of the differentiation apparent in created beings he began to make deductions that there must also be different values based on observed differences. He became excited that he may have discovered a secret formula that had been hidden from sight since all things had been created, that if tapped into would provide him with unlimited power. If he could crack the secret code, if he could harness this immense resource and place himself strategically at the top position, this would enable him to manipulate all the resources and intelligence of the universe for any outcome he might desire. Selfishness began to blossom and quickly deepen its roots inside Lucifer and he became more and more excited. But he had to remain very careful not to rush to quickly for he might be “misunderstood”, if you know what I mean.

As he began to experiment on small scales and learn what might work and what backfired, he began to assemble a working thesis from which to operate effectively when he would move to the next phase on a much grander scale. Certain principles were key to the effectiveness of his new plan of governing.

Even though it strangely bothered him at first, deception seemed to be the core ingredient necessary to the development of his theory. But happily he found that his discomfort over time was subsiding and he concluded that he must be on the right track and the eventually the uneasiness would disappear altogether and he could operate with complete freedom of mind.

Freedom, in fact, became the buzzword of his scheme, the great banner around which he would gather all who would join him. And of course he would necessarily have to use a little deception initially to present the idea that God's ways were anti-freedom to make his philosophies more compelling. It seemed innocent enough at first and he saw no long-term ill-effects from this plan. He simply wanted to improve on creation, a very noble venture he was sure.

As he ran into opposition and roadblocks from both The Son and stubborn beings who just couldn't see things clearly from his viewpoint, Lucifer had to develop further tools to sell his grand plans. Fear became a prominent and powerful ally that he found surprisingly effective, and shame and blame were close behind. He was surprised at the startling effects that these tools produced in some beings and quickly learned how to wield them to bring about compliance and submission. In fact, blame became his greatest defense to deflect imposing arguments against his plan. Mixing deception with blame on God he could effectively capture the minds and affections of millions of minds. The enormous and extreme feelings of pleasure and self-pride inside were growing exponentially and quickly erased the last residues of lingering doubts and feeling of guilt that he had initially struggled against. And as he saw the same effects replicated in other beings willing to embrace his methods and theories he was sure his plan could be successful.

However, as we know, things did not go smoothly for Lucifer. Tension and resentment toward The Son that had escalated for a long time inside him at last could not be hidden any longer. Criticism and contempt began to color his comments about The Son and his ways of dealing with the crisis. In fact, The Son's apparent passiveness in the face of the growing discontent only reinforced Lucifer's contention that God's methods were less effective than Lucifer's new ones. It was becoming apparent that The Son would be more effective in curbing rebellion if He would just adopt some of Lucifer's new tools. But he refused and instead kept always deferring to the Father about everything that came up. Lucifer assumed this was a sign of weakness and pointed out the same to all who would listen. What government needed was more force, more law and order, more discipline to keep things running smoothly. Lucifer refused to acknowledge that it was in fact his own ideas that were causing all the problems. He pointed the finger at God and at The Son and loudly proclaimed that a revolution was needed from the grass roots of the empire. The Son must be exposed to be the weakling that He was and a more effective leader with skill, experience with the use of force, and with great “natural” abilities needed to be installed. What the universe needed was democracy and freedom so that everyone could explore there own unlimited potential without the restrictive confines of the law of God.

This raised a whole other issue that accelerated the controversy. When the Father publicly revealed that indeed there was a law that needed to be obeyed most of the empire was greatly surprised. They were shocked that such a thing even existed, for from the beginning of their creation they had been unaware that there was a law or any need for one. The arguments continued to heat up and polarization began to quickly develop. Strange feelings and sad developments ensued. Angels who had been close in heart for eons developed rifts between them which progressed to chasms. Sadness, a brand new emotion in the universe, became all too familiar. Fear, grief, anger, bitterness, hatred all began to emerge in a strange evolution of pain. When these symptoms were traced as emanating from Lucifer's work he quickly moved to blame the government of God for a faulty system that produced such effects.

The polarization became so intense and the conflict so strident that there finally came a time when there was no place that could be found in heaven that was acceptable for Lucifer and his followers to live in harmony with other beings. The two sides had become completely incompatible and the damage to the universe had become irreversible. The issues were not resolved in the minds of many, but they had chosen their allegiance to either The Son or to Lucifer's new ideas and a separation ensued. Many questions and doubts about both sides were deeply embedded in some minds that would take many centuries to resolve. But the lines were now drawn and Satan was cast out of heaven along with 1/3 of the angels who had come into sympathy with him.

Jude 1:6, 12-13 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day...

These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.

I believe that one could see in the above reference possible insights into some of the events that may have happened during this period of time. Possibly some angels whose position is was to oversee certain functions of the universe such as keeping stars on course, abandoned their posts in rebellion and asserting their “right” to freedom joined Lucifer in spreading his propaganda. The resulting chaos of stars wandering out of their proper courses and even possibly crashing into each other may even be what some astronomers are observing today in awe. Chaos was being introduced into a system that up until this point had always functioned in perfect harmony and synchronization.

Before this final development however, Lucifer had become aware that the Godhead had been in deep and intimate counsel about plans for a new race of beings. Lucifer was not privy to these plans and his ideas were apparently not taken into consideration. This deeply offended him. He felt that if he had been taken into counsel and allowed to input some of his more progressive concepts in the formation of this new world that he might have been able to demonstrate the superior effectiveness of his new theories. He felt that his abilities and ideas were superior to that of The Son's and he could have been a more effective adviser on this project instead of One who always seemed to just rubber-stamp whatever the Father thought. His resentment grew and he freely shared it among his sympathizers accelerating the polarization that eventually precipitated his expulsion from the seat-land of the universe.

Strangely enough though, he found himself and his followers free to live at the very place where the secret plans for the new race were to be carried out. And though not allowed into the planning stage, he still might find opportunity to integrate his ideas into this new creation if he was careful. God was allowing him the very freedom that he had accused God of withholding. He would not waste the chance. He must study the situation quickly and carefully and see what he could accomplish.

The issues were becoming more clear now to most of the players. Allegiance was now the major issue. Somehow if Lucifer, now become Satan, could solicit these new beings to give him allegiance he would have a grand opportunity to perfect his theories on a small scale. Then has he perfected and debugged them he could export them to more and more of the universe and eventually accomplish what he was unable to do from heaven. If he could not capture the seat of the universe, he could at least possibly capture the rest of the universe and work from there toward the center.

In crafting a plan to lure Adam and Eve to endorse his way of thinking he had to carefully integrate the elements critical to success. First he must use deception and plant seeds of doubt about God's ways and motives just as he had done in heaven. Then he would need to solicit their will into taking action to confirm and secure a switch of allegiance rooted in their hearts. Then to safeguard and seal their choice he would immediately need to overwhelm their emotions with guilt, fear, shame and finally blame to forever lock in his control over them. They would now become reflectors of his own character and he could manipulate them like puppets to demonstrate the benefits of a land where selfishness would trump weakness and power would prevail over submissiveness to God. Sure enough, his plan succeeded and he was exultant that now he could prove out his theories for all the universe to see his superior wisdom.

As Mrs. White relays to us th musings in Lucifer's mind at the other end of the GC about this period of time we learn some important insights. “Memory recalls the home of his innocence and purity, the peace and content that were his until he indulged in murmuring against God, and envy of Christ. His accusations, his rebellion, his deceptions to gain the sympathy and support of the angels, his stubborn persistence in making no effort for self-recovery when God would have granted him forgiveness --all come vividly before him.” {GC 669.2}

As the experiment progressed many things did not go as planned. God kept interfering and undermining his goals, but Satan simply pointed to God's interference as the source of all the problems and pain. This created continual confusion in the minds of many, even among the angels, and the lingering doubts remained. Yes, it was obvious in some ways that many of Lucifer's ideas were not that great. But some of the questions, particularly about the Father's motives and about the Son remained unanswered. Strangely, none of the Godhead seemed eager to set things straight and confront the questions head-on. Was there inherent weaknesses in God's government that needed exposing and fixing? Were there times when force could be a legitimate tool to regain control where control had been lost? Where does true value come from? Why was there differentiation in the created order and did that imply differences in value? Why didn't God take a stronger position to squelch the damage before it got so out of hand? Why did perfect beings in a perfect universe need a law anyway? Yes, now that things were so messed up one could see how a law could be useful, but it had been revealed that the law had always been in existence long before sin had ever been thought of. These and many other questions lingered in many hearts unanswered and unspoken. Fear, much or little, became an uncomfortable companion to many more than just the fallen beings. God's essence, His character and motives were in question and He was not going to impose the answers.

God's answer to the charges brought on Him by Lucifer amazed all the universe. The Father, as one accused in a legal system, formally laid aside His privilege and responsibility as judge of the universe and installed His Son as judge. The Father allowed Himself to accept the position the accused on trial and allowed proceedings to come into play whereby His verdict would be decided by a jury of His inferiors. Since only a being who could understand his client sufficiently could function as a defense attorney, The Son also received that position as well. The Spirit would be the chief Witness and would be in charge of orchestrating all the other witnesses in this great trial of the ages. There were many surprises to come and God had a plan that He would implement as each point in the trial was reached. Satan did not know where this was going, but he was definitely nervous about what might develop in the unknown future.

As he looked on while God dealt with Adam and Eve's sin, he overheard promises that threatened to possibly undo all of what he had hoped to accomplish. This was serious. The survival of his empire was at stake and he could hold back nothing in his intense efforts to win this trial. If he could affect enough witnesses and manipulate their testimony through intimidation, deceit, coercion, fear and any other scheme he could devise, he had the potential to sway the verdict against God and justify himself before the universe. In fact, God may have just put into place the very opportunity that he had failed to accomplish in the first round of their duel.

In essence, God has challenged Satan to complete his counterfeit to its ultimate perfection while God works on perfecting His own plan. This plan involved taking all of the minds that would be submitted in loyalty to Him and creating out of the composite a new and heretofore unheard of creature. In the New Testament it is labeled the “Body of Christ”. It was and still is a mystery to the whole universe what exactly God is up to with this idea. But God has invested all of His resources into this plan and has staked the control of the whole universe on the outcome of His experiment. At its grand climax on the last day of the trial when the verdict is to be pronounced by everyone in the universe, He plans to power up this new creature and turn on the switch to show the onlooking worlds, angels, demons and all the human race what He has in mind. He claims that this “body” will perfectly demonstrate and reflect what He is really like, something that has never been revealed since the beginning of creation. The Godhead is waiting with eager anticipation for that final exposé when the veil can finally be lifted.

That veil has been descending over the face of God since the first hours of Lucifer's experiment. When Adam and Eve sinned God had to dramatically shield them further from Himself to protect them from fatal damage. It is very much like the circuit boards that make up our computers today or other electrical appliances we use. If the wiring is correct and in good condition then proper amounts of power can flow through it safely and cause it to function as intended. But if the wiring or electrical components are faulty or damaged or mis wired it is no longer safe for the full force of electrical current to flow through. To keep from causing irreparable damage and yet to keep life inside, God immediately had to insert a step-down transformer to protect sinful humans from frying their circuits with His presence.

God's current/currency is pure, selfless, passionate love. When humans adopted a counterfeit circuitry of selfishness God's love became a foreign currency to them. Their computers could no longer understand His programs because their operating systems had been replaced with an inferior one. But God has a secret plan that He had already prepared long before and He put it into operation immediately. Humans could choose to accept a substitute operating system that would run parallel to the Satanic one they had adopted. The two systems were incompatible, but if they would choose to be led by the Spirit of God and submit to His plans, He would work inside of them to rework, rewire, reconnect, reprogram and disconnect them from the faulty components they had gotten stuck with.

This was the work commissioned to the Holy Spirit. He was to prepare every human who chose to accept the new OS to become a reliable and truthful witness in the trial of God. The Spirit was to reproduce within these willing humans a reflection of the truth about God. And while no human, other than Jesus Christ, is capable of being a full and complete reflection of God, collectively they were destined to become components of the amazing new creature that God intends to unveil at the final showdown.

Meanwhile, Satan also has been given similar opportunity to assemble a composite “body”, a creature of his own reflection. All those who refuse the offer of God to accept a new OS are available for Satan to perfect his blueprint for a composite creature. And while he has loudly complained that he cannot successfully finish his creation because he keeps losing his subjects to death, he is nevertheless given opportunity to perfect his principles in the lives and hearts of all his subjects.

A focal point occurred in this Great Controversy that has wondered and confused nearly everyone before and since it has occurred. The Son showed up in human form to personally demonstrate what it would look like for a human to live as he was originally designed to. But He came with severe handicaps and limitations that went far beyond the limitations that Adam could have claimed. Jesus came to demonstrate the core assertion that He had lived by from the very beginning of the GC. That was, for souls to live in the universe as God originally designed it, they must live totally dependent on power outside of themselves continuously. This exposed the very first false assumption that Lucifer had started with while still the covering cherub over the very throne of God. He had asserted that beings had capabilities and virtue in themselves independent of God. Now Jesus was demonstrating the very opposite assertion and all the universe looked on with intense interest.

Of course Satan had to take the challenge. He also saw in it a wonderful opportunity to capture a shortcut to victory in the trial if he could in any way and at any point induce Jesus to adopt any part of his counterfeit operating system even for a second. Living as he was completely immersed in a world where nearly all of his sensory input and training and examples would be tainted with corrupt motives and faulty ideas, surely Satan could reprogram some small part of Jesus brain to hiccup at some point and depend on His own power for self-preservation or even to further His Father's legitimate plans for Him.

This situation was far worse for Jesus than most even begin to comprehend. Contrary to popular religious thinking, Jesus was not fighting sinful desires and resisting temptations to show us how to earn favor with God. Jesus came with the ultimate handicap – a natural tendency to do the right thing, access to unlimited power within himself to live a perfect life. A natural love for righteousness and an unconcealable disgust for sin. It becomes obvious to an unbiased observer very quickly who would be faced with more intense temptations to use their own strength to overcome, sinful humans who can never succeed on their own strength but think they can sometimes or Jesus who could easily depend on His own strength but always chose not to avail Himself of that advantage.

In fact, it was on this very point that the war came to its greatest intensity at the end of His life on earth. Satan was running out of time to capture his shortcut to victory and he desperately needed to get Jesus to utilize His own power to do something, anything, for His own benefit. This becomes obvious when Jesus comments to Peter in the garden, “Do you not realize that if I wanted I could call 12 legions of angels to rescue me if I wanted?” The core issue in the trial of God is whether He made a mistake by creating beings that operated best by depending always on God whether in a perfect heaven or in a hell on earth designed by Satan himself.

Finally in his desperate but unsuccessful attempt to induce Jesus to save himself, Satan inadvertently made one of the greatest mistakes of his existence. In his blinded desperation to force Jesus to sin he only accomplished exposing more completely the bankruptcy of his own principles and at the same time became an unwilling accomplice in implementing the key foundation in the salvation plan for mankind. While Satan was blindly screaming in Jesus' face to “save Himself”, God was allowing Jesus to experience the results of all the sins of all mankind to weigh upon His soul and torture Him with the despair of alienation that sin creates. Jesus took upon Himself the full pain that all humanity collectively would suffer at the second death if all of them were lost and none were saved. This is what crushed out the life of Jesus and He had to choose not to sidestep it by tapping into His own power to reduce the pain in the slightest amount. He submitted to allowing the Father to choose every detail of every moment for Him and went through the horror of believing that He was eternally lost just as the wicked will feel at the second death. More on this later.

Many things happened in Jesus life and death that we have not yet properly understood. A careful study of Ephesians and other of Paul's writings reveal that Jesus literally took into Himself the totality of humanity just as physically humanity was in Adam and Eve and proceeded from them. In this way Jesus was able to reverse the switch of authority over this planet induced from Adam and usurped by Satan at the fall. Jesus laid claim to the title of proper representative of this world in the assemblies of heaven and rightful owner of everyone on planet earth. After His resurrection He briefly ascended to the throne room of God to confirm His successful capture of this position of authority before proceeding any further and then returned to begin immediately implementing the next stage of their plan. Remember, this is still all in the context of God's trial and Lucifer's accusations against God and everyone in the universe as the jury.

The next phase of God' plan was called spreading the “gospel”. We must be very careful to search out the meaning of many of our familiar religious words and not just assume we know what they mean. The gospel is not a list of doctrines and beliefs that people need to prescribe to and accept. In the context of God being on trial the gospel is a fresh revelation of the truth about who God really is, how he relates to His created beings, both fallen and unfallen. The gospel is light that dispels the lies that Satan has amassed against God in all his false charges. Darkness cannot be expelled by exposure but it simply evaporates when light is introduced.

God is light in every conceivable sense of the idea. God is love with an intensity that goes far beyond anything we have been willing to admit up to now. God craves openness and intimacy with His created beings with a passion and desire that burns hotter than any fire known in the universe. And His intense desire is particularly aimed at humanity. He has restrained and hidden His passion for centuries and He eagerly longs for His confinement to come to an end. The plan of salvation has actually more to do with the salvation of God's reputation than is has to do with saving humans out of sin and pain. Our narrow view of religion has horribly degenerated into a sorry system of self-focused schemes that we believe God has put into place to simply rescue us from an uncomfortable world and set us up in a heaven full of pleasure for our benefit. Take an objective look at most sermons and teachings and see is this is not true. We talk eagerly about the Second Coming of Jesus using language almost exclusively focused on getting our skin to heaven. We are almost totally uncaring about the massive scandal perpetrated against God and His reputation. Jesus came to reveal the Father and the Holy Spirit's commission is to do the same through our lives as well. Everything is being orchestrated toward the great climax, the ultimate revealing that God has planned for His vindication. The vindication of God's ways of relating to His creation is what the whole trial is about and every prophecy and prophet and instrument of God is toward that end. For us to force scripture and prophecy to make the Second Coming the focal point of our religion is to terribly distort and misdirect the trial proceedings. The Second Coming is important, yes, but for very different reasons and with possibly very different results than we have been led to think.

What is happening on earth now may very well parallel what happened in heaven during the first phase of the GC. This is a time for minds to be presented with evidence and choose allegiance. But not on the basis so much of doctrines but on what they choose to believe about the accusations of Satan against God. “Keeping” the seventh day of the week “holy” is not at the heart of Satan's primary accusations about how God treats people. The state of the dead or tithing or health reform are not the core issues of the GC. They are very much involved in the symptoms and outgrowth of those who are transformed by the Spirit into truthful witnesses in the trial of God, but they are only symptoms, not the core issues involved. When we center our religion around the externals such as these doctrines we are in danger of falling into the very first deception that Lucifer fell into – emphasizing the externals over the internals. The trial is about God's character, not about ours. Our character only comes into play as we are examined to determine whether we are truthful or false witness in the trial, not as defendants.

(read devotional by Oswald Chambers)

The Second Coming is also just a transition point in the trial of God, not the climax as we have so often been led to think. And it too is not so much for our benefit as it is to finalize details for the final day of trial, the great day of Judgment. Rev. 14:7 “And he said with a loud voice, 'Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.'” The Second Coming occurs when all humans have freely chosen what side they will be loyal to in the trial. When all have made up their minds Jesus will come quickly to capture all of His witnesses and take them to heaven to begin the next phase of His plan.

The millennium is another very misunderstood concept primarily because of our self-focused emphasis and our lack of understanding of what the GC is really all about. It is not a time of lolling about in great comfort and playing with animals and trying out our new wings. That is not why Jesus brought us to this place primarily, though it well indeed may involve some of those things and much more. Think carefully about what may and may not be happening during this most strategic time in the trial leading up to the great Judgment day.

First of all, God is not going to suddenly change the way He operates and impose on the minds of the saved a full understanding of all the issues and a complete erasure of all of our doubts and questions. If he wouldn't do it for the highly intelligent angels and other beings before the creation of man I don't believe he will do it for humans either. Given that probable assumption, then what kind of collection of people are going to be gathered together for 1000 years away from planet earth? Very immature minds at all stages of the chart. Possibly millions who have never even heard of God or Jesus but who were saved because God knew they were safe and salvageable to be reliable witnesses in His trial. And what will happen then? Well, personally I believe that initially He has a number of activities planned to build up their joy strength, that part of their brain that gives them capacity to endure stress effectively, to prepare them for what is to happen next. (Dr. Jim Wilder has been gifted by God in bringing out many important insights about how God created our brains and how they function. For more very important information about this refer to his materials available from carepkg.org.) They will join together in feasting, fellowship, incredible choreography and moments of high drama and emotion that will create and strengthen healthy joy bonds interlocking and synchronizing their hearts not only to God but to each other. The dramatic meeting of Adam and Jesus described by Ellen White that can bring intense emotion and tears just reading about it, has to be an incredible moment of education as well as bonding for the millions who know almost nothing about the great war and the issues of the GC.

First I would like to suggest that maybe God needs priests to minister to Him as well as to His hurting people. God's feelings have been hurt in this terrible war far worse than any of us and He can also receive comfort from ministry to Him as well as for Him.

Another point that we don't really understand as I believe we could with more study is what is involved in reigning with Him. Personally I believe that it may in part mean Jesus giving some of the more mature among the saved responsibility to educate and mentor and mature the ones who have less understanding.

And finally, I would like to suggest that everyone, even some of the unfallen beings, will have unanswered questions that need to be examined in complete freedom and resolved completely before the day of full revealing. This resolution is crucial to happen before God can fully unveil His face. If there is anything not fully repaired, any circuit not fully rewired and tested, any components with any weakness at all from unanswered questions, the results would be catastrophic failure when the full power surges through the circuitry at the great revealing.

(read A Witness)

After the millennium the stage for the final resolution of the GC is set. This is the last great transition point before the final showdown between Satan's form of governing and God's form of governing. All of Satan's resources are put at his disposal in the resurrection of the soon-to-be-lost. Satan is allowed as much time as he needs to assemble his counterfeit “body” and get it fine-tuned and working as much as it can. God's creature that received its final tuning during the millennium, His body with all its circuits and systems in perfect synchronization with His own heart, sits waiting with eager anticipation for the “revealing” or unveiling. Satan's creature tuned to reflect himself and synchronized with his principles of force, fear and intimidation stands ready to implement his plans to take the city by force of arms and capture its riches and enslave its submissive population.

What is very interesting is a little detail that happens at this point that speaks volumes about the principle of freedom by which God has always operated. Mrs. White says that the gates are closed. That means that they were open up to this point and any of the lost could just wander in and look around and stay--if they could stand it . God does not force anyone out of the city or block them from entrance as individuals. They have so unfit themselves by their choices that they cannot stand the totally pervasive atmosphere of selfless service that fills every heart in that city. It is shear torture to them and, if they did happen to venture in, they flee in panic back to the camp of the wicked where they feel at home again among like-minded souls.

God closes the gates against the collective “body” assembled and controlled by Satan, not against individuals who wish to enter. When both sides have perfected their “creatures” and fully possessed them, the final day of Judgment has arrived. Judgment means discerning, revealing, exposing what is real. The One on trial is the Father and Jesus sits as Judge. All the universe stands as jury and everything is ready for all the evidence to be presented in full. With not one being dead in the whole cosmos, every intelligent mind is riveted on the scene. Before everyone's astonished face the whole Great Controversy is revealed from beginning to end and every lie and choice is exposed. In every situation it is fully exposed that God was completely fair and never used force and any other of Satan's tools in the battle. Satan has consistently and repeatedly charged God with possessing the character that was really Satan's own. But now it is shown that Satan's plan was impossible to succeed because of it's inherent flaw of separation from the only source of life.

Mrs. White portrays in gripping language the details of that event. This is the moment of the revealing – the revealing of God Himself – the mystery of Godliness. As it is seen in its totality, the saved are overcome with wonder and adoration and the lost are also overcome with the same. The difference is, the righteous have allowed themselves to be perfected into instruments of praise and worship by the Holy Spirit but the wicked have lost all capacity to return love and praise. They do fall down in worship and they may even desperately wish they could respond in love but they simply don't have the circuitry available to them when they want it the most.

At this point there are no places for lies to hide anymore. Satan is fully unmasked simply by the revealing of truth, not by pointing out his faults. The wicked are disgusted and enraged and all the pent-up hatred and anger of all the ages are focused on their leaders and especially Satan. The beauty of God is beginning to be fully revealed and His glory, the passionate love that He has kept pent up for eons, is finally unleashed on both the righteous and the lost.

When love that is like an immeasurable amount of electrical current is unleashed into the circuitry of both of the assembled “creatures”, the body of Christ lights up like billions of brilliant suns in a stunning display of glory that we can't begin to imagine. But the same glory of passionate love that embraces the lost sinners with their malfunctioning circuits creates a terrible fireworks of resistance, smoke and meltdowns dependent in length on how many lies they cling to about this God of unrelenting love. It is not an angry God that strikes them dead in torturous flames, it is a passionate God whose heart is ripped out and torn apart in losing so many of his children including Lucifer, one of the finest specimens of all His creation. Yes God is angry, very angry – but not at sinners. He is angry that sin itself has tragically forever torn from His very heart so many that He will forever miss.

The fire that destroys the wicked initially comes from within. They have built-in to their character, the very essence of who they have become, resistance to love which is God's current of power, and resistance produces heat. Just ask any electronics engineer. Take a look at the sanctuary system in the Old Testament which was given as a model of the Great Controversy. Do you ever read of a sacrifice being burned before it had died? NO! The fire always came after it was dead from the results of sin. It was first killed by the sinner himself. So too, in the final day of retribution. The wicked are in torture in the presence of the Lamb and in the presence of angels. The conflict between their twisted characters and the perfection and beauty of the characters of heavenly beings literally produce mental and physical flames that eventually destroy their lives. Then God's cleansing fire finishes cleaning up the mess created on this planet by melting down all the leftovers and residue back into the basic building elements that were here before creation week.

Returning the reins back to the Father after finishing His function as Judge

After that the saved, now as the “body of Christ” get to watch or maybe participate in a new creation of the earth. The last few paragraphs of the book Great Controversy say it best. All creation is perfectly synchronized and one pulse of perfect harmony and love throb throughout all the universe. And the rest is history, as the say – His Story.

Resources:

Jean Sheldon, professor at PUC, has audio tapes explaining the two opposing paradigm systems and also very good insights about the veiling and unveiling of the face of God. These tapes can be purchased from Kirk & Deidre VanBuren (707) 965-2020 kirkdede@hotmail.com.

Jim Wilder has excellent books, tapes and videos explaining stages of maturity and incredible insights into how our brains are designed as well as understanding the symptoms of when things come up short. His most comprehensive book to date is Living With Men. His materials can be purchased from carepkg.org (231) 745-4950.

Notes about Hell

2006-04-29T11:34:00.001-05:00

Agape love – if God is totally selfless and always other-centered it is incongruous that He would want to get even with those who oppose Him and satisfy Himself in revenge.

Family paradigm vs. Babylon paradigm

Perfection through maturing – are we getting closer and closer to killing our enemies the closer we get to God? Why does God demand we love our enemies to be like Him and then turn around and lash them with torture and burning Himself?

A person who insists on viewing religion and God through the Kingship paradigm will not be able to understand or accept a passionate, always-loving God. Until one becomes a newborn baby and grows into the family paradigm of thinking he cannot even see the “kingdom” of God – which, it turns out, is not really the best description of the relationship anyway.

Notice all through the Bible the “pairs” where the glory and the wrath are presented side by side sometimes with the same language. Take note also of the bias of the translators in choosing words more reflective of human anger in place of a passionate creator.

The Second Coming may not be the focal point of the ages like we have made it out to be. The Second Coming does not end the great controversy. It does not vindicate God in the judgment. If anything it creates more questions about why He selected the ones who show up in heaven and why not others. The mystery of God is not revealed fully yet and the mystery of sins experiment is not yet finished. The Second Coming is just a transition to another phase of the GC to bring it closer to complete closure.

The mystery of God is His passionate love for His enemies – all the way to the end. God changes not. His strange act is not strange to Him but to sinful beings who can't grasp the reality of His love and the danger of His passion.

God's intense desire and passion is to be completely intimate and vulnerable with every created intelligence in the cosmos. He has been restricted from expressing or experiencing His full desire ever since Lucifer began distorting His image and God has been forced to hide Himself more and more to protect His damaged children from suffering “hell” by His presence. Imagine the immensity of pain and longing and frustrated desire in the heart of the Father as He has had to progressively distance Himself for our protection.

But He will not allow this condition to go on forever. His greatest desire is for restoration of the complete trust of all His creatures so it will be safe again to open His own heart and release all the pent up love and transparency that is His essence.

His strange act is that of not shielding the rebellious hearts from the unrestricted, overwhelming passion of His undiluted love. He has protected everyone from Himself since the inception of evil. But when evil has been fully perfected and organized into one unified body – the great counterfeit of the body of Christ, then there is nothing else left to prevent God from releasing Himself. There is no longer any benefit gained by restricting His glory, even from the loyal beings.

But it is not safe, especially for the loyal universe or redeemed humans, to fully reveal Himself until every last question, however small, remains unresolved in any mind. And every question must be resolved in complete freedom by the mind and heart where it resides, never settled by imposition of an answer from the outside. That only multiplies the doubts and is the method Satan has promoted as his alternative to God's method.

The Third Coming initiates the last phase counting down to the final resolution of the GC by the completely unforced acknowledgment of God's fairness from every being. Unforced by God but forced by the complete exposure of every detail of every event and life that has ever happened. There is no place for lies to hide anymore when everyone can see everything.

At this point every being is exposed to the contrast of the truth about God and His character and dealings in clear relief against the complete truth about Lucifer, his character and dealings and the resulting destruction of capacity to live in the presence of the Source of Life.

This moment of final vindication of God by the free minds and hearts of every being is the passion of the Bible writers inspired by God. The lost have permanently damaged their heart capacity to respond to love. Many, if not all, have come to only live from their left brain and their lower brain completely ruining the intended abilities of the right brain to synchronize with others in a healthy, uplifting way. So when God's face is finally fully revealed at the last day of judgment every right brain that has stayed in dysfunction will suffer unimaginable torture from their hearts inability to receive and respond to love. Judgment does not mean condemnation, but a full revealing of all that has been in hiding. However, the wicked can perceive reality only through the distorted lens of the lies of sin about God. So they fully believe, and thereby experience, that God's passion of love is actually wrath and condemnation. Is it possible this is a covenant they have made to God? Ps. 18:26.

God has often presented His passion in language of anger because His hearers could only relate to that language, not because it was an accurate description of His true nature. The change in language reflects the filters we have been saddled with and God is forced to use terms we will identify with. If He talked about passionate love we might minimize the importance and not realize the lethal results of sinful exposure to holy passion. But we must turn away from the simplistic urge to take the wrath language of the Bible at face value, particularly after being influenced by scribes and translators over thousands of years with their own misunderstandings of God's passion. The truth is still in there but it must be carefully uncovered like archaeologists.

This truth about God has the potential to strongly polarize every person who hears it. Those who choose to oppose it will cling more strongly to a concept of God created in human image and based on that concept will be compelled to discredit and attack anyone accepting this revelation, emulating the God of their creation.

But to many it will be a stream of life-giving cool water in a parched desert. They will suddenly see sense in much that always seemed incongruous about God and they will hurl themselves into the river of life with abandon and delirious joy. The glory from the angel of Rev. 18 will fill the whole earth and the sides will sort themselves out quickly as the last confusing pieces of the great puzzle begin to drop into their proper place and His face begins to emerge.

Remember, it is the lost who say the Lamb is full of wrath. The saved all through Revelation declare with boldness that God is worthy of trust, praise and honor. He is fair and just.

Both sides will receive their perception of God. The good will enter into His joy – which is true reality. The lost will enter into torture as they experience His presence. Because love and resistance to love become the irresistible force and the immovable object.

Our mortal bodies cannot be saved. God gives everyone a new frame to build their honeycomb on and disconnect from the old combs. Those who have completely separated their spirit from attachments to the “fleshly” comb will have a new rescue raft for their spirit to inhabit when the fire appears at eh Second Coming. But their mortal bodies may be consumed in the fire along with it's inherent sinful nature and they will be free to safely inhabit a new body that reflects the personality, maturity and individuality they have developed on earth. The ones who have tried to mingle the new wine with old skins will have no escape raft/body ready for them and they will find themselves stuck with the vulnerable, mortal body that cannot survive the presence of glory. All mortal bodies will be consumed by the brightness, both wicked and righteous. But the new body/creature that has been invested in wholly by the righteous will then be revealed when the old exterior body is burned away.

After the millennium the lost are given back the old style bodies because that the only kind they can function in. since that kind of body is inherently vulnerable to being consumed by glory, God has to protect them from Himself until all the issues of the GC are full exposed. Then the truth about Him, which is in fact His glory, is fully revealed in the great video replay, all who have synchronized holy bodies will glow as suns and all who have dissonant, fleshly, earthly bodies will suffer resistance heat that burns and self-destructs.

Resistance is the core problem of sin and resistance causes heat.

Why did Jesus suffer and die? I think we have almost completely missed the point. Jesus came to demonstrate God's passionate love on a scale small enough for us to survive. When He entered the garden He was taking on the actual feelings of guilt, shame and condemnation that we feel and that we think comes from God when we are out of sync with Him. Then He was forced to experience the passionate love of God from the perspective of a lost sinner with no hope and no ability or capacity left to receive that love. He suffered the torment of losing out on all the glories of heaven forever, but far more excruciating to Him, He was losing out His intimacy with His own Father forever which is what He had always lived experienced. At the same time He was passionately displaying to everyone around Him the undiluted, unaffected, unconditional love and forgiveness that His Father and He had always had toward us without reserve. He was determined to love us if it killed Him—and it did, or rather we did it to Him. But in so doing He redeemed us from the obligation to suffer those feelings ourselves, not only at the judgment but even today.

(Matthew 22:10-14) "Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. "But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he *said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless. "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "For many are called, but few are chosen." (NAS95)

The robe of light that is a gift to us, the righteousness of Jesus, is the very mechanism by which we can live in the presence of the eternal fire. When filtered through this robe we can shine instead of being consumed. Through the eternal forgiveness of God we can live in His presence and see His face safely. Without this protection, which means depending in the slightest on anything we are or can do to merit favor, we become susceptible to the flame of God in a lethal way. The same passionate love that can save us will destroy us if we dilute in the slightest degree a total dependence on the merits of Jesus ALONE.

That is why Adam and Eve lost their robes of light. When they began trusting themselves more than God they lost their protection from His fire and they had good reason to fear being in His presence. And if Jesus had not immediately taken their place for suffering the natural consequences of being out of sync with God while being exposed to His fiery presence, they would indeed have died that very day as soon as God showed up.

Robes or coats are part of the exchange in a Covenant relationship. They signify the authority of the Covenant partner. If we do not accept the robe of Jesus we cannot have His authority and also cannot appear in the presence of His Father.

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Surprise Ending

Book Outline

Overview

GC from God's perspective – context

What's the bottom line, the core issues in the GC

Fundamentals of the two systems

How does Satan operate

Control vs. Freedom

Fear vs. Love

Force vs. Attraction

Shame vs. Blessing

Resistance vs. Synchronization

What is God really like

Character of God consistent throughout GC

Does God run out of patience?

God's wrath and anger

Wrath/anger – original meaning and translation bias

Have we created God in our image?

The fire of God

Fire – what is it, literal and symbolic

God's presence is fire

Duelism throughout the Bible

Language adaptations

True meaning of religious words

Salvation

Sin

Forgiveness

Does God torture people for not loving Him

Character of God consistent throughout GC

Its a matter of what you expect

WYSIWYG

Does God run out of patience?

Have we created God in our image?

God does not treat people different, they respond differently

What is God really after in this world

Bonding, maturing, perfection

Covenant issues

What point is God's passion focused on

Where is God's fixation?

Subjects to include