Jesus' descent into hell was an important part of His sacrifice for humanity. The burnings of the animals symbolized God's consuming fire that burns only deadness and sin. Leviticus 9:24. The sweet savour that God smelled symbolized His recovery from His consuming fire all that He ever created. Leviticus 1:17. Romans 11:36 teaches that all that God has ever created returns to Him. All this together means that one can conclude that the fires of hell serve a different purpose than does the lake of fire. All persons not saved by grace; that is, by faith in the shed blood and water that flowed from Jesus on the cross, God will judge to go to either a place called the sea, a place called death, or a place called hell. Revelation 20:13. But according to I Corinthians 3:12-15, every one of these persons will eventually be tried by God's consuming fire in order to separate and recover all the goodness that God created in them from their sin and deadness destined for the lake of fire. Revelation 21:8.
God directly connects His recovery and recreation of all humans not saved by grace to Christ's descent into hell where He left behind all of the sin and deadness of mankind. But all persons not saved by grace must directly experience this separation by God's consuming fire after their physical deaths just as all believers saved by grace must personally experience their cleansing of sin by the shed blood and water that flowed from Jesus' body on the cross while they are still alive in the flesh. The shed blood of Jesus cleanses the believer's soul and spirit of all sin. The water that flowed from Jesus' body cleanses the believer's flesh from daily sins. God's consuming fire cleanses and recovers the life of the rest of humanity from their sin and deadness.
Sin causes death, and death causes sin. Sin and death are two sides of the same coin. They are integral to each other. Romans 5:12. The original project of Lucifer was to murder God by using sin and death to ruin God's creations forever and thereby weaken God's power and Word which would cause God's eventual death. God met Satan's challenge on the cross, and through His death, burial, and resurrection Christ gained victory over death and sin to prove that His Love for all that He has ever created can never be destroyed. I Corinthians 13:8; Luke 20:38.
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Commentary on Hebrews 12:29 part one
Hebrews 12:29 clearly states that "...God is a consuming fire." This statement can only mean that God's fire must be consuming something. The question then becomes: What is God's fire consuming?
In light of Numbers 23:19 and Ecclesiastes 3:14, one can rightly infer that God's fire cannot be consuming anything He has ever created. Since God created humans in His image, then God's fire can never consume humans. In fact, according to Romans 11:36; Colossians 1:15-20; and Revelation 4:11, God created absolutely everything that has positive existence, abstract and material. In addition, these verses, along with Revelation 21:5, teach that God will one day recover and recreate everything that He has ever created that has been sullied by sin, including all humans. Furthermore, Luke 20:38 informs us that all the life that God ever created can never become dead. This truth is further reinforced by the teaching of Revelation 20:11-15 which informs us that God casts only the dead, except for the Devil, into the lake of fire. Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:10.
The false trinity called the Devil possesses what can only be called a negative consciousness. God and all of His living creations possess a positive consciousness. The essence of life is a positive consciousness. Exactly how a negative consciousness works cannot be understood by positive consciousness, including that of God's. II Thessalonians 2:7. But we can be certain that negative consciousness always equals total evil and deadness. A negative consciousness would not experience the torment of the lake of fire in the same way a positive consciousness would. For this reason, God will force a positive consciousness into the Devil when He casts him into the lake of fire. In this way, God will create a good system with the Devil that will so preoccupy his mind with horrible pain for eternity that he will never be able to think clearly enough to ever infect God's recreations with sin and deadness again forever. Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:10.
Therefore, one can conclude that God's fire never consumes anything He has ever created, but only the dead, except for the Devil. According to Leviticus chapter one, after the blood and water sacrifices had been made, then the priests were to burn the rest of the animals completely. The blood and water sacrifices symbolized God's cleansing and recreation of all life, and the burning of what was left of the animals symbolized God's fire which consumes all that is dead and useless. God cleanses and recreates the souls of all believers saved by grace by the blood and water that flowed from Jesus on the cross. God casts the sin and deadness of believers saved by grace into the sea of forgetfulness. Micah 7:19. But according to Revelation 21:1, God will also eliminate this sea, probably also by His use of His consuming fire.
In light of Numbers 23:19 and Ecclesiastes 3:14, one can rightly infer that God's fire cannot be consuming anything He has ever created. Since God created humans in His image, then God's fire can never consume humans. In fact, according to Romans 11:36; Colossians 1:15-20; and Revelation 4:11, God created absolutely everything that has positive existence, abstract and material. In addition, these verses, along with Revelation 21:5, teach that God will one day recover and recreate everything that He has ever created that has been sullied by sin, including all humans. Furthermore, Luke 20:38 informs us that all the life that God ever created can never become dead. This truth is further reinforced by the teaching of Revelation 20:11-15 which informs us that God casts only the dead, except for the Devil, into the lake of fire. Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:10.
The false trinity called the Devil possesses what can only be called a negative consciousness. God and all of His living creations possess a positive consciousness. The essence of life is a positive consciousness. Exactly how a negative consciousness works cannot be understood by positive consciousness, including that of God's. II Thessalonians 2:7. But we can be certain that negative consciousness always equals total evil and deadness. A negative consciousness would not experience the torment of the lake of fire in the same way a positive consciousness would. For this reason, God will force a positive consciousness into the Devil when He casts him into the lake of fire. In this way, God will create a good system with the Devil that will so preoccupy his mind with horrible pain for eternity that he will never be able to think clearly enough to ever infect God's recreations with sin and deadness again forever. Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:10.
Therefore, one can conclude that God's fire never consumes anything He has ever created, but only the dead, except for the Devil. According to Leviticus chapter one, after the blood and water sacrifices had been made, then the priests were to burn the rest of the animals completely. The blood and water sacrifices symbolized God's cleansing and recreation of all life, and the burning of what was left of the animals symbolized God's fire which consumes all that is dead and useless. God cleanses and recreates the souls of all believers saved by grace by the blood and water that flowed from Jesus on the cross. God casts the sin and deadness of believers saved by grace into the sea of forgetfulness. Micah 7:19. But according to Revelation 21:1, God will also eliminate this sea, probably also by His use of His consuming fire.
Friday, December 15, 2017
Commentary on Numbers chapter 16
Numbers chapter 16 highly symbolizes how God uses His consuming fire as the final means to separate all of His goodness that He created from its defilement by sin.
Korah and all his company who were in rebellion against Moses and Aaron symbolized all sins of rebellion toward God. Rebellious sins started with Lucifer, and they are totally evil. God will never forgive these types of sins. God can never forgive them because they persist in hatred toward God forever. Sins of rebellion were born from an excessive pride which seeks to murder God. John 8:44. God gave Satan his chance when He went to the cross. John 14:30.
In Numbers 16:16-19, Moses ordered Korah and his company and Aaron and his followers to appear before the tabernacle with censers filled with incense and fire. God accepted for His worship only the burning of certain types of incense. The right incense symbolized those whom God accepts because they obey Him, and the wrong incense symbolized His rejection of those who rebel against Him. Every censer had fire within it which symbolized God's consuming fire as His method for His final separation of all His perfect goodness from all rebellious total evil. Hebrews 12:29.
In Numbers 16:20-35, God separated Moses and Aaron and their followers from the rebels. The Lord then burnt the 250 rebels with fire and caused the earth to swallow them up. These rebels symbolized total rebellion against God, and His consuming fire and the earth swallowing them symbolized God's final judgment when He will consign all total evil to the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15
In Numbers 16:36-40, God told Moses to order Eleazer, the son of Aaron, to scatter the fire and recover the censers left behind by the rebels. Because these censers were hallowed, they symbolized God's goodness within these rebels that He separated from them and recovered by His use of His consuming fire. These censers were made into plates to cover the brazen altar. The brazen altar symbolized the judgment of God covered by the blood of sacrificed animals. The brazen altar and the sacrificed animals, in turn, symbolized the judgment of God falling on Christ to save all humanity from the penalty of sin which is eternal separation of humanity from God. Some of humanity God saves by His grace when they believe that the shed blood of Jesus will cleanse them of all sin. All others God saves by His mercy when He uses His consuming fire to separate His goodness within them from their total evil and recreates them to live on His recreated earth. But God's grace and mercy cannot be effective except through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Through His sacrifice on the cross, Christ saves some humans by His grace. By His descent into hell, He saves the rest of humanity by His mercy. Through His resurrection, He gives eternal life to all humans to whom He has ever given life in the first place. Romans 3:25; I Corinthians 3:12-15; I Timothy 4:10; Luke 20:38; Revelation 21:1-5.
In Numbers 16:41-50, the rebellion of the congregation symbolized the fact that some total evil exists even within the people of God. God wanted to destroy the entire congregation, but Moses ordered Aaron to put incense and fire into censers and go among the people tp placate the wrath of God. God killed 14,700 of the people with a plague which symbolized the total evil within His people. God stayed the plague because Aaron used fire and incense to symbolize that God will forever preserve the goodness He has put into His people, and He will certainly also separate all their total evil from His people. Verse 48 is especially significant because it prophesies that God's final project in the end will be to completely separate all living humans which He created to be good from all dead humans who are totally evil. Life is always good because God created it, and death is always totally evil because it equals the sin which is eternal spiritual separation from God. Hebrews 12:29; Luke 20:38.
Korah and all his company who were in rebellion against Moses and Aaron symbolized all sins of rebellion toward God. Rebellious sins started with Lucifer, and they are totally evil. God will never forgive these types of sins. God can never forgive them because they persist in hatred toward God forever. Sins of rebellion were born from an excessive pride which seeks to murder God. John 8:44. God gave Satan his chance when He went to the cross. John 14:30.
In Numbers 16:16-19, Moses ordered Korah and his company and Aaron and his followers to appear before the tabernacle with censers filled with incense and fire. God accepted for His worship only the burning of certain types of incense. The right incense symbolized those whom God accepts because they obey Him, and the wrong incense symbolized His rejection of those who rebel against Him. Every censer had fire within it which symbolized God's consuming fire as His method for His final separation of all His perfect goodness from all rebellious total evil. Hebrews 12:29.
In Numbers 16:20-35, God separated Moses and Aaron and their followers from the rebels. The Lord then burnt the 250 rebels with fire and caused the earth to swallow them up. These rebels symbolized total rebellion against God, and His consuming fire and the earth swallowing them symbolized God's final judgment when He will consign all total evil to the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15
In Numbers 16:36-40, God told Moses to order Eleazer, the son of Aaron, to scatter the fire and recover the censers left behind by the rebels. Because these censers were hallowed, they symbolized God's goodness within these rebels that He separated from them and recovered by His use of His consuming fire. These censers were made into plates to cover the brazen altar. The brazen altar symbolized the judgment of God covered by the blood of sacrificed animals. The brazen altar and the sacrificed animals, in turn, symbolized the judgment of God falling on Christ to save all humanity from the penalty of sin which is eternal separation of humanity from God. Some of humanity God saves by His grace when they believe that the shed blood of Jesus will cleanse them of all sin. All others God saves by His mercy when He uses His consuming fire to separate His goodness within them from their total evil and recreates them to live on His recreated earth. But God's grace and mercy cannot be effective except through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Through His sacrifice on the cross, Christ saves some humans by His grace. By His descent into hell, He saves the rest of humanity by His mercy. Through His resurrection, He gives eternal life to all humans to whom He has ever given life in the first place. Romans 3:25; I Corinthians 3:12-15; I Timothy 4:10; Luke 20:38; Revelation 21:1-5.
In Numbers 16:41-50, the rebellion of the congregation symbolized the fact that some total evil exists even within the people of God. God wanted to destroy the entire congregation, but Moses ordered Aaron to put incense and fire into censers and go among the people tp placate the wrath of God. God killed 14,700 of the people with a plague which symbolized the total evil within His people. God stayed the plague because Aaron used fire and incense to symbolize that God will forever preserve the goodness He has put into His people, and He will certainly also separate all their total evil from His people. Verse 48 is especially significant because it prophesies that God's final project in the end will be to completely separate all living humans which He created to be good from all dead humans who are totally evil. Life is always good because God created it, and death is always totally evil because it equals the sin which is eternal spiritual separation from God. Hebrews 12:29; Luke 20:38.
Saturday, December 9, 2017
Commentary on Matthew 7:15-20 part two
Total goodness attached itself to the other extreme of Adam's sin. Adam sinned because of self-sacrifice, because of his love for his wife. He desired to be with her and protect her. But like all humans, Adam had no power to restore himself to righteousness again. For this reason, Adam became the figure of Him who was to come, the Savior who would be God and hold the power to love humanity enough to sacrifice Himself by paying the penalty for man's sin, and yet could emerge from death wholly clean and victorious over evil. Christ accomplished what Adam could not. Christ will cleanse all men of their sins of weakness, some by the blood and water that flowed from His riven side, and all others by the consuming fires of hell. Christ will also separate total evil from man and cast it into the lake of fire. Romans 5:12-21; II Corinthians 5:21; I Corinthians 15:22; I Corinthians 15:45-49; I Corinthians 3:12-15; I Timothy 4:10; Revelation 20:15.
Jesus' teaching in the parable of Matthew 7:15-20 reflects this same truth about God's final and complete division of all goodness from all evil. The "ravening wolves" that Jesus said exist within the false prophets symbolizes total evil. In verses 16-18, Jesus taught that the good tree and its fruit are totally righteous while the corrupt tree and its fruit are totally evil. Jesus' teaching reflects the fact that God will one day completely separate total goodness from total evil. Jesus' teaching in verse 19 symbolically prophesies that one day God will cast only total evil into the lake of fire. Revelation 21:8.
In verse 20, Jesus taught that a careful observer will be able to tell the difference between the total evil in man and his total goodness. An astute observer will also be able to tell the often subtle differences between the goodness and the evil within man's sins of weakness.
Jesus' teaching in the parable of Matthew 7:15-20 reflects this same truth about God's final and complete division of all goodness from all evil. The "ravening wolves" that Jesus said exist within the false prophets symbolizes total evil. In verses 16-18, Jesus taught that the good tree and its fruit are totally righteous while the corrupt tree and its fruit are totally evil. Jesus' teaching reflects the fact that God will one day completely separate total goodness from total evil. Jesus' teaching in verse 19 symbolically prophesies that one day God will cast only total evil into the lake of fire. Revelation 21:8.
In verse 20, Jesus taught that a careful observer will be able to tell the difference between the total evil in man and his total goodness. An astute observer will also be able to tell the often subtle differences between the goodness and the evil within man's sins of weakness.
Commentary on Matthew 7:15-20 part one
Jesus taught in Matthew 7:15-20 that there exists an absolute division between goodness and evil. Goodness can be sullied by sin, but the power of goodness can never be diminished by sin. This is true because all goodness comes from God. Isaiah 64:6; Genesis 1:31. Christ immersed Himself in the sin of the whole world while on the cross, but His holy blood and water washed all that sin away, and Christ arose immaculate from the grave. II Corinthians 5:21. In the end, God will effect an absolute division of all goodness from all evil and recreate "new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness." II Peter 3:13.
Nothing was wrong with the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was perfectly good for food. Eve only sinned because she disobeyed God. But her sin was not deliberate. She sinned because of weakness. Her sin became the source of all human sins of weakness. Sins of weakness always consist of goodness that has been sullied by evil. Peter sinned because of weakness when he denied the Lord, but his sin may well have protected his life, which was good. God holds the power to bring a system of total goodness out of a sinful system of weakness as He did in the cases of Judah and Tamar and Joseph and his brothers. The Bible contains many such stories, and they all indicate that in the end, God will effect an absolute division of goodness from evil. For this reason, God always forgives sins of weakness when one repents. Genesis 3:1-7; Luke 23:34.
Adam's sin was completely different from Eve's. Adam's sin consisted of two extremes. At one extreme, Adam's sin was willful and deliberate. Adam knew full well the commandment of God, but he disobeyed anyway. Adam's sin became the source of all total evil within humanity. God never forgives total evil. Matthew 12:31-32; I Timothy 2:14.
Nothing was wrong with the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was perfectly good for food. Eve only sinned because she disobeyed God. But her sin was not deliberate. She sinned because of weakness. Her sin became the source of all human sins of weakness. Sins of weakness always consist of goodness that has been sullied by evil. Peter sinned because of weakness when he denied the Lord, but his sin may well have protected his life, which was good. God holds the power to bring a system of total goodness out of a sinful system of weakness as He did in the cases of Judah and Tamar and Joseph and his brothers. The Bible contains many such stories, and they all indicate that in the end, God will effect an absolute division of goodness from evil. For this reason, God always forgives sins of weakness when one repents. Genesis 3:1-7; Luke 23:34.
Adam's sin was completely different from Eve's. Adam's sin consisted of two extremes. At one extreme, Adam's sin was willful and deliberate. Adam knew full well the commandment of God, but he disobeyed anyway. Adam's sin became the source of all total evil within humanity. God never forgives total evil. Matthew 12:31-32; I Timothy 2:14.
Thursday, December 7, 2017
An Analysis of Numbers 23:19 part two
In II Samuel 24:16; Jeremiah 26:19; Deuteronomy 32:36; Psalm 106:45; and Jeremiah 18:6-8, God describes how He applies His merciful systems to particular situations. God knows perfectly when to spare punishment or when to apply punishment as the case may be. But in either case, whether God destroys or whether He spares, He is merciful. God may destroy nations or groups of people to spare future generations from their evil influence, or He may spare a nation or group of people when He knows that His use of such a merciful system will better serve His purposes.
In II Samuel 24:16; Jeremiah 26:19; and Jeremiah 18:6-8, the Lord uses the phrase "repent of the evil." The word "evil" here does not mean a sinful system. The word "evil" in these verses means the same as it does in Isaiah 45:7 where the Lord states, "I...create evil." These verses simply mean that God allows pain and suffering as a result of sin in order to deter people from committing sins. Good parents may punish their children or withhold punishment according to how they feel about a particular situation. Parents possess these kinds of feelings because they were created in the image of God which causes them to use God's methods. God uses these same kinds of good systems except that God knows how to use them perfectly while parents can make mistakes.
The last half of Numbers 23:19 simply means that God will always make His Word good. God is Almighty, and His Word can never fail. Ecclesiastes 3:14 states the same basic idea. Colossians 1:16 informs us that God created absolutely everything that exists, "visible and invisible." "Visible" refers to the concrete universe of matter and energy. "Invisible" refers to the subjective universe of abstract thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Lucifer never created anything. Lucifer only invented sinful systems by misusing some of God's ideas. Colossians 1:20 clearly states that God will "reconcile all things to Himself." In order to do this, God must recover all things He has ever created that has been sullied by sin. Verses such as Romans 11:36; Revelation 4:11; Revelation 21:5; and Revelation 22:11-12 further support this teaching.
This truth means that God could never cast living humans into the lake of fire because He created them in His image. God will cast humans into hell in order to use the fires of hell to separate His goodness He created in them from the rebellious evil that is foreign in them. God will cast only that part of man which is totally evil, rebellious, and allied with Satan into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21:8. God could never cast living humans into the lake of fire because He would lose a part of that which He created. According to Ecclesiastes 3:14, God can never lose anything He has ever created. According to Luke 20:38, God can never lose any life He has ever created. And according to Numbers 23:19, God's Word can never fail.
In II Samuel 24:16; Jeremiah 26:19; and Jeremiah 18:6-8, the Lord uses the phrase "repent of the evil." The word "evil" here does not mean a sinful system. The word "evil" in these verses means the same as it does in Isaiah 45:7 where the Lord states, "I...create evil." These verses simply mean that God allows pain and suffering as a result of sin in order to deter people from committing sins. Good parents may punish their children or withhold punishment according to how they feel about a particular situation. Parents possess these kinds of feelings because they were created in the image of God which causes them to use God's methods. God uses these same kinds of good systems except that God knows how to use them perfectly while parents can make mistakes.
The last half of Numbers 23:19 simply means that God will always make His Word good. God is Almighty, and His Word can never fail. Ecclesiastes 3:14 states the same basic idea. Colossians 1:16 informs us that God created absolutely everything that exists, "visible and invisible." "Visible" refers to the concrete universe of matter and energy. "Invisible" refers to the subjective universe of abstract thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Lucifer never created anything. Lucifer only invented sinful systems by misusing some of God's ideas. Colossians 1:20 clearly states that God will "reconcile all things to Himself." In order to do this, God must recover all things He has ever created that has been sullied by sin. Verses such as Romans 11:36; Revelation 4:11; Revelation 21:5; and Revelation 22:11-12 further support this teaching.
This truth means that God could never cast living humans into the lake of fire because He created them in His image. God will cast humans into hell in order to use the fires of hell to separate His goodness He created in them from the rebellious evil that is foreign in them. God will cast only that part of man which is totally evil, rebellious, and allied with Satan into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21:8. God could never cast living humans into the lake of fire because He would lose a part of that which He created. According to Ecclesiastes 3:14, God can never lose anything He has ever created. According to Luke 20:38, God can never lose any life He has ever created. And according to Numbers 23:19, God's Word can never fail.
An Analysis of Numbers 23:19 part one
Although Balaam was both a true and a false prophet at the same time, God recorded only his true words in His Word. Balaam constitutes an example of how God can use even a wicked man to speak His true Word. God is Almighty. He can do as He pleases.
Titus 1:2 informs us that God "cannot lie." Numbers 23:19 informs us that God cannot lie in the way men do. Men often lie for sinful reasons. In the context of Titus 1:2, God means that He cannot lie in His promises to His people. God can lie but never for sinful reasons. When God lies, He does it for good and loving reasons. For example, I Kings 18:19-23 records that God sent a lying spirit to King Ahab in order to cause the destruction of this evil king in order to protect His servant, King Jehoshaphat, whom He loved. God holds the power to use even lies to create good and loving systems. Perfect Love always trumps sin. Proverbs 10:12; I Corinthians 13:7-8; Matthew 12:12.
The next phrase of Numbers 23:19 informs us that God never repents like a man does. Men sometimes turn away from sinful practises in order to adopt righteous practises given to them by God. John 3:21. But when God repents, He simply changes His mind. He abandons a particular good system in order to employ a different good system. God may change His methods, but He never changes His eternal purposes. God's eternal project is to destroy all sin and death and to recover and recreate all His goodness in His creations which has been sullied by evil. But God can change His methods of operation in pursuit of His eternal purposes. For example, in Genesis 6:5-7 God simply changed His mind about how He would deal with the wickedness of man that had taken over the earth. God could have stuck with His original good system of being merciful to mankind, but that would have meant that God's project for the total destruction of evil would have taken Him much longer to accomplish and would have entailed a much longer period of suffering for mankind. God intends to make a short work upon the earth to spare mankind from needless suffering. Romans 9:28. Therefore, God changed to another merciful system which entailed the destruction of evil mankind in order to cut short His work and spare future mankind from needless suffering.
A careful reading of Exodus 32:7-14 demonstrates that God thought about using a merciful destructive system against the evil that He found in His people, but He was persuaded by Moses to stick to His original, merciful system of sparing His people. God holds every right to dismantle any of His good systems for the purpose of replacing them with other good systems.
Titus 1:2 informs us that God "cannot lie." Numbers 23:19 informs us that God cannot lie in the way men do. Men often lie for sinful reasons. In the context of Titus 1:2, God means that He cannot lie in His promises to His people. God can lie but never for sinful reasons. When God lies, He does it for good and loving reasons. For example, I Kings 18:19-23 records that God sent a lying spirit to King Ahab in order to cause the destruction of this evil king in order to protect His servant, King Jehoshaphat, whom He loved. God holds the power to use even lies to create good and loving systems. Perfect Love always trumps sin. Proverbs 10:12; I Corinthians 13:7-8; Matthew 12:12.
The next phrase of Numbers 23:19 informs us that God never repents like a man does. Men sometimes turn away from sinful practises in order to adopt righteous practises given to them by God. John 3:21. But when God repents, He simply changes His mind. He abandons a particular good system in order to employ a different good system. God may change His methods, but He never changes His eternal purposes. God's eternal project is to destroy all sin and death and to recover and recreate all His goodness in His creations which has been sullied by evil. But God can change His methods of operation in pursuit of His eternal purposes. For example, in Genesis 6:5-7 God simply changed His mind about how He would deal with the wickedness of man that had taken over the earth. God could have stuck with His original good system of being merciful to mankind, but that would have meant that God's project for the total destruction of evil would have taken Him much longer to accomplish and would have entailed a much longer period of suffering for mankind. God intends to make a short work upon the earth to spare mankind from needless suffering. Romans 9:28. Therefore, God changed to another merciful system which entailed the destruction of evil mankind in order to cut short His work and spare future mankind from needless suffering.
A careful reading of Exodus 32:7-14 demonstrates that God thought about using a merciful destructive system against the evil that He found in His people, but He was persuaded by Moses to stick to His original, merciful system of sparing His people. God holds every right to dismantle any of His good systems for the purpose of replacing them with other good systems.
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount part three
The "poor in spirit" of verse three refers to those who realize that they do not possess enough spirit to get them to heaven. These are the ones who repent of having a sinful spirit and humbly call on God to give them His perfect Spirit so that they can go to heaven.
Jesus taught in verse seven that whosoever displays mercy will obtain mercy. This verse applies to anyone, not just Christian believers. Any mercy that has ever been displayed by anyone will either gain rewards for Christian believers in heaven or be recovered by God to be used in His recreation of a new race of men to live on His recreated earth.
The "pure in heart" of verse eight can only refer to Christian believers since only God can purify and recreate the sinful souls and spirits of men.
Verses 10-12 can only refer to Christian believers because only Christians have been persecuted for the cause of Christ.
In verses 25-26, Jesus taught that God's purpose for hell is to use it to separate man's goodness which God put into him from his total evil put into him by Satan. God will recover all of His goodness in man to be recreated, and He will consign man's total evil to the lake of fire forever. Christ is the adversary of sin, and those who agree with Him that they need His salvation will be spared from the "prison" which symbolizes hell. Those who do not agree with Christ that they are sinners in need of His salvation, God will judge them to be cast into hell. But God will use the fires of hell to separate His goodness that He put into them from their rebellious evil which He will cast into the lake of fire. For this reason, God will judge only the dead who are totally evil at the Great White Throne Judgment. At that time, God will have already separated all His goodness from all their deadness. God will recreate their recovered goodness into new men to live on His recreated earth, and God will cast their deadness into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21:1-5; Revelation 21:8.
Jesus taught in verse seven that whosoever displays mercy will obtain mercy. This verse applies to anyone, not just Christian believers. Any mercy that has ever been displayed by anyone will either gain rewards for Christian believers in heaven or be recovered by God to be used in His recreation of a new race of men to live on His recreated earth.
The "pure in heart" of verse eight can only refer to Christian believers since only God can purify and recreate the sinful souls and spirits of men.
Verses 10-12 can only refer to Christian believers because only Christians have been persecuted for the cause of Christ.
In verses 25-26, Jesus taught that God's purpose for hell is to use it to separate man's goodness which God put into him from his total evil put into him by Satan. God will recover all of His goodness in man to be recreated, and He will consign man's total evil to the lake of fire forever. Christ is the adversary of sin, and those who agree with Him that they need His salvation will be spared from the "prison" which symbolizes hell. Those who do not agree with Christ that they are sinners in need of His salvation, God will judge them to be cast into hell. But God will use the fires of hell to separate His goodness that He put into them from their rebellious evil which He will cast into the lake of fire. For this reason, God will judge only the dead who are totally evil at the Great White Throne Judgment. At that time, God will have already separated all His goodness from all their deadness. God will recreate their recovered goodness into new men to live on His recreated earth, and God will cast their deadness into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21:1-5; Revelation 21:8.
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount part two
Jesus taught His disciples, but He allowed the multitude to overhear His sermon. He addressed His disciples, except for Judas Iscariot, as His children destined for heaven. He demonstrated in verse 19 that His disciples can be imperfect and still get to heaven. This revelation also comports with what He taught in Matthew 21:32. The difference between the hell bound and the heaven bound is that the former practice excessive pride in that they refuse to come out of the darkness to the Light while the later humble themselves to God and admit that they are weak sinners in need of God's mercy and grace. Luke 18:9-14; John 3:17-21.
At times, Jesus directed His sermon more to the multitude than to His disciples. In verse 4, Jesus taught that anyone who has ever mourned will be comforted. In verse 5, He taught that the meek will inherit the earth. In verse 9, Jesus seemed to address both His disciples and the multitude when He taught that the peacemakers would be called the children of God. Clearly, Jesus addressed two different types of children of God in His sermon, those who would inherit the earth and those who would inherit heaven. In Revelation 21:3-5, God describes His recreated people who will inherit the earth. God will strip them of all excessive pride; they will be comforted, and they will live together in perfect peace and harmony forever.
In verses 38-47, Jesus taught again about the impossibility of man to make himself good enough to get to heaven. Jesus is the only person who ever completely loved His enemies to the extent of dying for them on the cross. Jesus went the extra mile when He carried His cross to Calvary. Jesus is the only person who gave His life to save all mankind. Jesus died for the imperfect, but He also revealed in verse 48 that one had to be as perfect as His Father to get to heaven. Clearly, Jesus meant that He would be the perfection for all who would humble themselves to Him, repent, and put their faith in His ability to save them and take them to heaven. But for all those whom God does not bring to heaven, He will recover all His goodness that He ever put into them and use it to recreate a new human race to live on His new earth. God will also consign all total evil within man to the lake of fire forever. Colossians 1:15-20; Revelation 21:1-5; Revelation 21:8.
At times, Jesus directed His sermon more to the multitude than to His disciples. In verse 4, Jesus taught that anyone who has ever mourned will be comforted. In verse 5, He taught that the meek will inherit the earth. In verse 9, Jesus seemed to address both His disciples and the multitude when He taught that the peacemakers would be called the children of God. Clearly, Jesus addressed two different types of children of God in His sermon, those who would inherit the earth and those who would inherit heaven. In Revelation 21:3-5, God describes His recreated people who will inherit the earth. God will strip them of all excessive pride; they will be comforted, and they will live together in perfect peace and harmony forever.
In verses 38-47, Jesus taught again about the impossibility of man to make himself good enough to get to heaven. Jesus is the only person who ever completely loved His enemies to the extent of dying for them on the cross. Jesus went the extra mile when He carried His cross to Calvary. Jesus is the only person who gave His life to save all mankind. Jesus died for the imperfect, but He also revealed in verse 48 that one had to be as perfect as His Father to get to heaven. Clearly, Jesus meant that He would be the perfection for all who would humble themselves to Him, repent, and put their faith in His ability to save them and take them to heaven. But for all those whom God does not bring to heaven, He will recover all His goodness that He ever put into them and use it to recreate a new human race to live on His new earth. God will also consign all total evil within man to the lake of fire forever. Colossians 1:15-20; Revelation 21:1-5; Revelation 21:8.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount part one
In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, Jesus directly taught His disciples, but He indirectly taught the multitude. In Matthew 5:19, Jesus informs us that one does not have to be perfect to get to heaven. Yet, in verse 48, He commands everyone to be perfect. This seeming contradiction can only be resolved by Jesus' teaching in verse 17. Jesus taught that only He could fulfill the law. and therefore, only He could be perfect. Jesus did for man that which man could not do for himself. Jesus lived on earth in perfect obedience to the law. Jesus has become man's perfection, and God accepts nothing less than perfection.
In Matthew 5:21-37, Jesus taught about the complete impossibility of any person to save himself from hell. Jesus' purpose in these teachings reflected His Father's purpose when He allowed Moses to write a whole set of intricate laws into His Word. The clear message in both cases was the impossibility of man to make himself perfect by keeping the law. Man's utter weakness prevents him from keeping the law. Yet, man must keep the law to be perfect, and God will only accept perfection. But in verses 17 and 48, Jesus taught that He would fulfill the law for man, and He would be man's perfection so that men could be accepted by God.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus clearly demonstrated His compassion for the weakness of man. John 8:11; Luke 22:61-62. But He also demonstrated His intense intolerance for the rebellion of man. Matthew 12:31-32. All through God's Word, He demonstrates His compassion for the weakness of man, but also His complete intolerance for the rebellion of man. In verse 20, Jesus clearly demonstrated this division in God's attitude toward man's sin when He taught that man's righteousness had to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees in order to get to heaven. The scribes and Pharisees lived in a state of rebellion toward God because they thought they could make themselves righteous by their attempted, strict obedience to the law. They had made their own efforts to obey the law their god instead of the righteous and merciful person of God Himself. Matthew 23:23. They refused to believe the instructions of God through Moses and Jesus that the weakness of man made his ability to obey the law impossible. God will only accept those who, like Abel, confess to God that they are hopeless and lost sinners, and who offer to God the right sacrifice. God requires humility, and He totally rejects excessive pride. Luke 18:9-14. Excessive pride allies itself with Satan, and God will never forgive Satan. Any refusal to humble oneself to God demonstrates a state of total rebellion against God, and a sin which God can never forgive.
In Matthew 5:21-37, Jesus taught about the complete impossibility of any person to save himself from hell. Jesus' purpose in these teachings reflected His Father's purpose when He allowed Moses to write a whole set of intricate laws into His Word. The clear message in both cases was the impossibility of man to make himself perfect by keeping the law. Man's utter weakness prevents him from keeping the law. Yet, man must keep the law to be perfect, and God will only accept perfection. But in verses 17 and 48, Jesus taught that He would fulfill the law for man, and He would be man's perfection so that men could be accepted by God.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus clearly demonstrated His compassion for the weakness of man. John 8:11; Luke 22:61-62. But He also demonstrated His intense intolerance for the rebellion of man. Matthew 12:31-32. All through God's Word, He demonstrates His compassion for the weakness of man, but also His complete intolerance for the rebellion of man. In verse 20, Jesus clearly demonstrated this division in God's attitude toward man's sin when He taught that man's righteousness had to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees in order to get to heaven. The scribes and Pharisees lived in a state of rebellion toward God because they thought they could make themselves righteous by their attempted, strict obedience to the law. They had made their own efforts to obey the law their god instead of the righteous and merciful person of God Himself. Matthew 23:23. They refused to believe the instructions of God through Moses and Jesus that the weakness of man made his ability to obey the law impossible. God will only accept those who, like Abel, confess to God that they are hopeless and lost sinners, and who offer to God the right sacrifice. God requires humility, and He totally rejects excessive pride. Luke 18:9-14. Excessive pride allies itself with Satan, and God will never forgive Satan. Any refusal to humble oneself to God demonstrates a state of total rebellion against God, and a sin which God can never forgive.
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Commentary on Numbers 15:27-31
In Numbers 15:27-31, the Lord makes a distinct difference between those who sin in ignorance and those who practice deliberate sin. The Hebrew word for "ignorance" does not mean that one does not know the law, but rather that one errs through weakness in disobeying the law. This weakness reflects two levels of sin that inhered to Adam and Eve when they disobeyed God. The lowest level of Adam and Eve's sin was that they knew God's commandment, but, like Lucifer, they deliberately disobeyed God. In this respect, they joined with Satan in his rebellion against God. This level of sin can only be totally evil and can never be forgiven by God. The highest level of sin in Adam and Eve was that they simply disobeyed because of weakness. Eve saw that the forbidden fruit was good to eat, and she believed it would give her a better life. Adam sinned because he wanted to be on the same level with his wife. Both were tempted and sinned because of weakness. God always forgives sins of weakness when one repents. God has compassion for sins of weakness, but only eternal condemnation for deliberate sins. Genesis chapter 3.
Throughout the Word of God, He displays compassion for sins of weakness, even among His own people. But He also displays severe wrath and judgment against deliberate and rebellious sins. God can always distinguish the difference between these two levels of sin because He can see the heart of man. I Samuel 16:7; John 2:24-25.
In Numbers 15:27-29, God reveals that He always forgives sins of weakness when a sacrifice has been made for them. Sins of weakness happen because deliberate sin attaches itself to some good qualities that God has put into man for the attempted purpose of forever ruining that goodness. In other words, Satan seeks to destroy some of God's goodness in order to cause the eventual destruction of God Himself. Deliberate sin is the attempted murder of God. John 8:44.
Deliberate sin nailed Jesus to the cross. But Jesus willingly suffered for man's sins in order to separate the goodness that God put into man from ever being eternally ruined by deliberate sin. In this way, God vindicated His Love, and He rescued man from eternal damnation because of the ruination caused by deliberate sin by forgiving his sins of weakness. On the cross, God separated deliberate sins from humans for eternal condemnation, and suffered the eternal punishment for sins of weakness in order to cleanse and forgive them. John 1:29; Luke 23:34.
In Numbers 15:30-31, God reveals that He will forever separate the total evil of deliberate sins from the goodness that He has put into people. The goodness in people that has been tainted by deliberate sin will eventually destroy both man and God. But God will cleanse and forgive sins of weakness because of the sacrifice of His Son. In the end, God's project is to cleanse and forgive His people either by the blood and water from Jesus' body or by His consuming fire, and His separation of total evil from man by its eternal consignment to the lake of fire. Both of these methods of salvation were accomplished by Christ's sacrifice because He also descended into hell to suffer man's eternal separation from God in man's place. Revelation 20:14-15; Revelation 21:1-5; Revelation 21:8; I Corinthians 3:12-15; Hebrews 13:10-13.
Throughout the Word of God, He displays compassion for sins of weakness, even among His own people. But He also displays severe wrath and judgment against deliberate and rebellious sins. God can always distinguish the difference between these two levels of sin because He can see the heart of man. I Samuel 16:7; John 2:24-25.
In Numbers 15:27-29, God reveals that He always forgives sins of weakness when a sacrifice has been made for them. Sins of weakness happen because deliberate sin attaches itself to some good qualities that God has put into man for the attempted purpose of forever ruining that goodness. In other words, Satan seeks to destroy some of God's goodness in order to cause the eventual destruction of God Himself. Deliberate sin is the attempted murder of God. John 8:44.
Deliberate sin nailed Jesus to the cross. But Jesus willingly suffered for man's sins in order to separate the goodness that God put into man from ever being eternally ruined by deliberate sin. In this way, God vindicated His Love, and He rescued man from eternal damnation because of the ruination caused by deliberate sin by forgiving his sins of weakness. On the cross, God separated deliberate sins from humans for eternal condemnation, and suffered the eternal punishment for sins of weakness in order to cleanse and forgive them. John 1:29; Luke 23:34.
In Numbers 15:30-31, God reveals that He will forever separate the total evil of deliberate sins from the goodness that He has put into people. The goodness in people that has been tainted by deliberate sin will eventually destroy both man and God. But God will cleanse and forgive sins of weakness because of the sacrifice of His Son. In the end, God's project is to cleanse and forgive His people either by the blood and water from Jesus' body or by His consuming fire, and His separation of total evil from man by its eternal consignment to the lake of fire. Both of these methods of salvation were accomplished by Christ's sacrifice because He also descended into hell to suffer man's eternal separation from God in man's place. Revelation 20:14-15; Revelation 21:1-5; Revelation 21:8; I Corinthians 3:12-15; Hebrews 13:10-13.
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Commentary on Matthew 3:11-12
John the Baptist, like all good Baptists, could only baptize with water. God had commanded him to baptize with water. But John's baptism simply symbolized a supernatural baptism which only Christ could provide for all who would repent of their sins and put their faith in Him.
John preached that Christ would provide a miraculous baptism for those who repent and believe in Christ. John baptized only those who repented, and so John must have also meant that Christ would miraculously baptize with the Holy Spirit only those who repented and believed in Christ. John's prophecy could only mean that Jesus' baptism with the Holy Spirit, also called by Jesus the "born again" experience, would belong exclusively to the future Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 3:3.
When a repentant sinner believes in Christ's sacrifice to take away his sins, then the Holy Spirit miraculously washes that believer in the blood and water that flowed from Jesus' body on the cross, recreates his soul and spirit, and that believer becomes a child of God forever. This is the baptism with the Holy Spirit. I Corinthians 6:11; Romans 8:16-17.
But John not only preached to believers, he also preached to unbelievers. Matthew 3:7. John preached that Christ would also baptize with fire. God provides this fire baptism for unbelievers. Jesus bore the sins of all mankind on the cross, and when He died, His Spirit descended into hell and left all those sins behind Him in hell. He had to have left them behind because He rose from the dead perfectly immaculate. Jesus suffered man's spiritual death and separation from God in the place of all mankind. When an unbeliever dies, he must descend into the sea, or death, or hell, as judged by Christ, to be purged by God's consuming fire. The unbeliever must personally experience this cleansing by fire that Christ has already provided for him just as the Christian must personally experience the cleansing of his sins by the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Revelation 20:13; I Corinthians 3:12-15; I Timothy 4:10; John 1:29; Numbers 16:30-39.
John further reinforces his teaching about Christ's baptism of all men when he stated in verse 12 that God "will throughly purge His floor," meaning all mankind. The wheat that God gathers can only be 100% good. The chaff that He burns can only be 100% useless. This teaching can only mean that in the end God will recover for His use all of the good that He has ever put into mankind, and He will consign only that which is totally useless and evil to the lake of fire. Revelation 21:1-5; Revelation 21:8; Revelation 22:11-12.
John preached that Christ would provide a miraculous baptism for those who repent and believe in Christ. John baptized only those who repented, and so John must have also meant that Christ would miraculously baptize with the Holy Spirit only those who repented and believed in Christ. John's prophecy could only mean that Jesus' baptism with the Holy Spirit, also called by Jesus the "born again" experience, would belong exclusively to the future Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 3:3.
When a repentant sinner believes in Christ's sacrifice to take away his sins, then the Holy Spirit miraculously washes that believer in the blood and water that flowed from Jesus' body on the cross, recreates his soul and spirit, and that believer becomes a child of God forever. This is the baptism with the Holy Spirit. I Corinthians 6:11; Romans 8:16-17.
But John not only preached to believers, he also preached to unbelievers. Matthew 3:7. John preached that Christ would also baptize with fire. God provides this fire baptism for unbelievers. Jesus bore the sins of all mankind on the cross, and when He died, His Spirit descended into hell and left all those sins behind Him in hell. He had to have left them behind because He rose from the dead perfectly immaculate. Jesus suffered man's spiritual death and separation from God in the place of all mankind. When an unbeliever dies, he must descend into the sea, or death, or hell, as judged by Christ, to be purged by God's consuming fire. The unbeliever must personally experience this cleansing by fire that Christ has already provided for him just as the Christian must personally experience the cleansing of his sins by the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Revelation 20:13; I Corinthians 3:12-15; I Timothy 4:10; John 1:29; Numbers 16:30-39.
John further reinforces his teaching about Christ's baptism of all men when he stated in verse 12 that God "will throughly purge His floor," meaning all mankind. The wheat that God gathers can only be 100% good. The chaff that He burns can only be 100% useless. This teaching can only mean that in the end God will recover for His use all of the good that He has ever put into mankind, and He will consign only that which is totally useless and evil to the lake of fire. Revelation 21:1-5; Revelation 21:8; Revelation 22:11-12.
Thursday, November 9, 2017
God's Division of Salvation
In John 6:33, Jesus taught that He came to give life, not just to Christian believers, but to all mankind. God cannot fail to accomplish fully anything He purposes to do. Christ said that He came to give life to all mankind and that must be exactly that which He will do. Numbers 23:19.
In John 6:50-51, Jesus taught about this division in His plan of salvation. In verse 50, Jesus taught about those whom He will save by His grace. Those who receive Him as their Savior while still alive in the flesh will never be separated from Him by spiritual death. Physical death has nothing to do with separation from God. Physical death equals total non-consciousness, but one can only be separated from God if one is conscious of it. Luke 16:23. But in the last part of verse 51, Jesus taught that in addition to salvation by grace, He came that through His sacrifice He would also give life to the whole world, meaning all mankind. In order to do this, God must recover and recreate all of His goodness that He has put into every man. Romans 11:36; Revelation 21:1-5.
In John 10:10, Jesus again reveals this division in God's salvation. Christ gives life to the entire sheepfold, symbolic of the world, but He only gives His abundant life to those sheep, symbolic of those saved by His grace, that hear His voice and follow Him out of the sheepfold; that is, separated by Him from the world. John 10:1-5.
Jesus' teaching in John 12:32 seems to reflect that which the Holy Spirit taught in John 1:9. The Holy Spirit draws all men to Christ by supernatural means and not just through the preaching of the gospel. Can Christ miraculously draw all men to Him and yet fail to save them? Can the will of man override the will of God? God's almighty power means he must finish every project He starts. This verse must mean that God will provide some form of salvation for all mankind. Numbers 23:19; Ecclesiastes 3:14.
In John 12:47, Jesus clearly taught that He did not come to judge those who reject His salvation by grace, but He came to save all mankind. Christ never changes. Hebrews 13:8. If Christ did not judge the world then, then He does not judge the world ever. This verse can only mean that God will provide some form of salvation for all mankind either by grace or recreation.
In John 12:48, Jesus did teach that unbelievers will be judged by the Word of God "in the last day." This event can only be the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15. But only the dead are judged there, and they are the opposite of the living men that God created in His image. The dead can only be equal to the total evil that has invaded the life of man that God created to be good. The Great White Throne Judgment demonstrates that at that time God will have already separated the deadness of man which is totally evil from the life of man which God created to be good. God will cast only that which is totally evil into the lake of fire. Revelation 21:8; Matthew 25:41.
In John 6:50-51, Jesus taught about this division in His plan of salvation. In verse 50, Jesus taught about those whom He will save by His grace. Those who receive Him as their Savior while still alive in the flesh will never be separated from Him by spiritual death. Physical death has nothing to do with separation from God. Physical death equals total non-consciousness, but one can only be separated from God if one is conscious of it. Luke 16:23. But in the last part of verse 51, Jesus taught that in addition to salvation by grace, He came that through His sacrifice He would also give life to the whole world, meaning all mankind. In order to do this, God must recover and recreate all of His goodness that He has put into every man. Romans 11:36; Revelation 21:1-5.
In John 10:10, Jesus again reveals this division in God's salvation. Christ gives life to the entire sheepfold, symbolic of the world, but He only gives His abundant life to those sheep, symbolic of those saved by His grace, that hear His voice and follow Him out of the sheepfold; that is, separated by Him from the world. John 10:1-5.
Jesus' teaching in John 12:32 seems to reflect that which the Holy Spirit taught in John 1:9. The Holy Spirit draws all men to Christ by supernatural means and not just through the preaching of the gospel. Can Christ miraculously draw all men to Him and yet fail to save them? Can the will of man override the will of God? God's almighty power means he must finish every project He starts. This verse must mean that God will provide some form of salvation for all mankind. Numbers 23:19; Ecclesiastes 3:14.
In John 12:47, Jesus clearly taught that He did not come to judge those who reject His salvation by grace, but He came to save all mankind. Christ never changes. Hebrews 13:8. If Christ did not judge the world then, then He does not judge the world ever. This verse can only mean that God will provide some form of salvation for all mankind either by grace or recreation.
In John 12:48, Jesus did teach that unbelievers will be judged by the Word of God "in the last day." This event can only be the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15. But only the dead are judged there, and they are the opposite of the living men that God created in His image. The dead can only be equal to the total evil that has invaded the life of man that God created to be good. The Great White Throne Judgment demonstrates that at that time God will have already separated the deadness of man which is totally evil from the life of man which God created to be good. God will cast only that which is totally evil into the lake of fire. Revelation 21:8; Matthew 25:41.
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Commentary on John 1:9 part two
God's Light equals His holiness and righteousness. This means that in all these cases God can never lose His Light that represents His goodness that He has put into every man. God will recover all of His goodness that He has ever created, and divide it from the darkness either by using the blood and water that flowed from Jesus' body on the cross or by using His consuming fire, and He will recreate it all. Colossians 1:12-20; I Corinthians 3:12-15; Revelation 21:1-5.
God has accomplished His recovery and salvation of all His goodness He has put into man through the sacrifice and resurrection of His Son, the Light. Blood and water flowed from Jesus' side to purchase the salvation of the Church and all those who are ever saved by grace. The burnt offerings of the Old Testament represented Christ's descent into hell in order to separate man from his sins by the use of God's consuming fire. In John 1:29, the Baptist said that Christ would "take away the sin of the world." John did not say that Jesus would take away some people because of their sins. John said that Jesus would separate sin from all the people. God only cursed sin and evil in Genesis 3:14-15, not humans.
A person can be saved by grace only when they put their faith in Christ's sacrifice and resurrection to take away their sins. That repentant sinner must believe that only the shed blood and water that flowed from Jesus on the cross can cleanse them; that is, separate them from their sins so that the Spirit of Christ can recreate their souls and spirits and save them forever. This is the gospel, and only the gospel can save a repentant sinner. Some teach that some sinners go to hell because the Church fails to get the gospel to them. This cannot be possible since Jesus taught in John chapter ten that He knows every one of His sheep and cannot lose a single one of them. Although the Church should certainly obey the command of Christ in Matthew 28:18-20 to preach the gospel to all the world, this preaching cannot be added to salvation by grace. God commanded the Church to preach the gospel simply because He has appointed a time and place for every sinner who will be saved by grace. Only the gospel itself can save, not the preaching of it. Good works cannot be added to grace. Ephesians 2:8-9.
God uses the Church to get His message to mankind that they can choose to be saved by His grace. It is the message of the gospel that saves, not the preaching of it. The Church was afraid to preach the gospel to Saul of Tarsus, but the Spirit of Christ was certainly able to directly preach the gospel to him and save him on the road to Damascus as recorded in Acts chapter nine. This is part of the message of John 1:9. God saves because He gives Light to every man that comes into the world, some by grace and all the others in the end of the world by His recovery and recreation of all of His goodness that he has put into every man. Genesis 1:26-27; John 1:9; Revelation 21:1-5.
God has accomplished His recovery and salvation of all His goodness He has put into man through the sacrifice and resurrection of His Son, the Light. Blood and water flowed from Jesus' side to purchase the salvation of the Church and all those who are ever saved by grace. The burnt offerings of the Old Testament represented Christ's descent into hell in order to separate man from his sins by the use of God's consuming fire. In John 1:29, the Baptist said that Christ would "take away the sin of the world." John did not say that Jesus would take away some people because of their sins. John said that Jesus would separate sin from all the people. God only cursed sin and evil in Genesis 3:14-15, not humans.
A person can be saved by grace only when they put their faith in Christ's sacrifice and resurrection to take away their sins. That repentant sinner must believe that only the shed blood and water that flowed from Jesus on the cross can cleanse them; that is, separate them from their sins so that the Spirit of Christ can recreate their souls and spirits and save them forever. This is the gospel, and only the gospel can save a repentant sinner. Some teach that some sinners go to hell because the Church fails to get the gospel to them. This cannot be possible since Jesus taught in John chapter ten that He knows every one of His sheep and cannot lose a single one of them. Although the Church should certainly obey the command of Christ in Matthew 28:18-20 to preach the gospel to all the world, this preaching cannot be added to salvation by grace. God commanded the Church to preach the gospel simply because He has appointed a time and place for every sinner who will be saved by grace. Only the gospel itself can save, not the preaching of it. Good works cannot be added to grace. Ephesians 2:8-9.
God uses the Church to get His message to mankind that they can choose to be saved by His grace. It is the message of the gospel that saves, not the preaching of it. The Church was afraid to preach the gospel to Saul of Tarsus, but the Spirit of Christ was certainly able to directly preach the gospel to him and save him on the road to Damascus as recorded in Acts chapter nine. This is part of the message of John 1:9. God saves because He gives Light to every man that comes into the world, some by grace and all the others in the end of the world by His recovery and recreation of all of His goodness that he has put into every man. Genesis 1:26-27; John 1:9; Revelation 21:1-5.
Monday, November 6, 2017
Commentary on John 1:9 part one
In John 8:12, Jesus assured us that "I am the Light of the world..." By saying this, Jesus meant that He is the medium by which a person can come to see God spiritually and to know God personally. Those who have repented of their sins, who have put their faith in Christ's sacrifice and resurrection in their place, who have received cleansing of their sins by Jesus' blood, God's forgiveness, and reconciliation with God: they possess the Spirit of Christ in their hearts and salvation by grace while still in their flesh in the world. These are the "born again" believers who possess the Light of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts, and who know God personally. Salvation by grace constitutes God's highest form of salvation. II Corinthians 4:6.
However, John 1:9 extends God's Light much further than just salvation by grace when it teaches that God "lighteth every man that cometh into the world..." Genesis 1:2-5 records the fact that God created the light, divided it from darkness, called the light Day and the darkness Night. Physical light; that is, electro-magnetic energy, constitutes the medium by which the consciousness of man can experience the world. God did not create the darkness. He divided the light from the darkness which already covered the earth. But God took power over the darkness when He named it Night. God gave the Day and the Night to every man He created. In this way, God demonstrated by His physical creation of light that in the future He would bring all the goodness that He would ever put into man back to the Light, and He would gain power over darkness. John 1:9 reflects God's original creative project.
In the gospels, Jesus taught us a lot about the meanings of Day and Night, light and darkness. Jesus repeatedly associated night and darkness with sin and an inability to be creative in doing good works. In this way, Jesus related sin to the darkness and chaos which originally covered the earth. In John 3:19-20, Jesus taught that those who love darkness, which is symbolic of sin, refuse to come to the Light, which is symbolic of goodness and truth, because they are too proud to have their sins reproved by Christ. In John 8:12, Jesus taught that He is that Light to which men should come by faith in order to get out of the darkness of sin. In John 9:3-5, Jesus taught that God only does creative work in the Day since Christ is the Light of the world. Jesus related the night to a time when no man can do creative works. In John 11:9-10, Jesus taught that the day and the light specify a specific time that God gives to man to come out of darkness toward the light. In John 12:35-36, Jesus taught that those who believe in the light, symbolic of Himself, can see clearly and know what they are doing while those who walk in darkness remain confused and disoriented. In John 12:46, Jesus taught that the only way to get out of darkness is to come to the Light of Christ by faith.
In all of His teachings about light and darkness, Jesus demonstrated with spiritual truths the same creative approach that He had when He overcame the darkness and chaos of the earth by His creation of light to penetrate the darkness so that He could do His creative work in the Day. Genesis 1:1-5. Jesus taught that everyone who sees the light can chose to either move toward the light and obtain spiritual salvation or retreat from the light into deeper, chaotic darkness. But John 1:9 also teaches that God will give every human the ability to see the light. God absolutely divided the light from the darkness. This truth can only mean that no matter how far any person may move into the darkness, he will still see the light of God's goodness that He originally put into him, and that his goodness will eventually move back into the Light.
Some will move into the Light while still in the flesh and become Christians. Some will move partly toward the Light and after physical death Christ will judge them to be cast into a place called the Sea. Micah 7:19; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:13. Others will see the Light but will retreat from it into deeper darkness and Christ will judge them after physical death to be cast into a place called Death. Matthew 22:13; Matthew 25:30; Revelation 20:13. Still others will rebel against the Light and become cruel sinners whom God will cast into a burning Hell. Luke 16:23; Revelation 20:13.
However, John 1:9 extends God's Light much further than just salvation by grace when it teaches that God "lighteth every man that cometh into the world..." Genesis 1:2-5 records the fact that God created the light, divided it from darkness, called the light Day and the darkness Night. Physical light; that is, electro-magnetic energy, constitutes the medium by which the consciousness of man can experience the world. God did not create the darkness. He divided the light from the darkness which already covered the earth. But God took power over the darkness when He named it Night. God gave the Day and the Night to every man He created. In this way, God demonstrated by His physical creation of light that in the future He would bring all the goodness that He would ever put into man back to the Light, and He would gain power over darkness. John 1:9 reflects God's original creative project.
In the gospels, Jesus taught us a lot about the meanings of Day and Night, light and darkness. Jesus repeatedly associated night and darkness with sin and an inability to be creative in doing good works. In this way, Jesus related sin to the darkness and chaos which originally covered the earth. In John 3:19-20, Jesus taught that those who love darkness, which is symbolic of sin, refuse to come to the Light, which is symbolic of goodness and truth, because they are too proud to have their sins reproved by Christ. In John 8:12, Jesus taught that He is that Light to which men should come by faith in order to get out of the darkness of sin. In John 9:3-5, Jesus taught that God only does creative work in the Day since Christ is the Light of the world. Jesus related the night to a time when no man can do creative works. In John 11:9-10, Jesus taught that the day and the light specify a specific time that God gives to man to come out of darkness toward the light. In John 12:35-36, Jesus taught that those who believe in the light, symbolic of Himself, can see clearly and know what they are doing while those who walk in darkness remain confused and disoriented. In John 12:46, Jesus taught that the only way to get out of darkness is to come to the Light of Christ by faith.
In all of His teachings about light and darkness, Jesus demonstrated with spiritual truths the same creative approach that He had when He overcame the darkness and chaos of the earth by His creation of light to penetrate the darkness so that He could do His creative work in the Day. Genesis 1:1-5. Jesus taught that everyone who sees the light can chose to either move toward the light and obtain spiritual salvation or retreat from the light into deeper, chaotic darkness. But John 1:9 also teaches that God will give every human the ability to see the light. God absolutely divided the light from the darkness. This truth can only mean that no matter how far any person may move into the darkness, he will still see the light of God's goodness that He originally put into him, and that his goodness will eventually move back into the Light.
Some will move into the Light while still in the flesh and become Christians. Some will move partly toward the Light and after physical death Christ will judge them to be cast into a place called the Sea. Micah 7:19; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:13. Others will see the Light but will retreat from it into deeper darkness and Christ will judge them after physical death to be cast into a place called Death. Matthew 22:13; Matthew 25:30; Revelation 20:13. Still others will rebel against the Light and become cruel sinners whom God will cast into a burning Hell. Luke 16:23; Revelation 20:13.
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Commentary on John 1:29
John the Baptist, inspired by the Holy Spirit, specifically said that Jesus came to "take away the sin of the world." The word "world" here means all mankind. God can never fail to fully accomplish any creative project that He begins. Otherwise, He would not be almighty. Therefore, the only possible conclusion that can be reached about the truth of this verse is that Jesus came to the world to provide some form of salvation for all mankind by separating, in one form or another, all mankind from their sins. Other scriptures reinforce this conclusion including John 3:35; John 6:33; John 6:50-51; John 12:47, and Revelation 21:1-5, just to name a few.
John 3:35 informs us that God has given all things into the hand of His Son. God originally created all things. Romans 11:36; Revelation 4:11. Mankind is one of the good things that God created. God created man in His own image. Therefore, since all things belong to Christ, then God must recover and recreate all of the good things He originally put into man. Revelation 21:1-5.
John 6:33 informs us that Christ came to give life to all mankind. This verse can only mean that Jesus will do exactly that which the infallible Word of God says He will do. In the end, Christ will recover and recreate all of the good things He has ever put into man. Revelation 21:1-5.
John 6:50-51 teaches that those who receive Christ by faith while still alive in the flesh will attain the highest form of salvation which is the gift of the everlasting life and righteousness of Christ and a home with Him in heaven forever. God provides this highest form of salvation by His grace. But the last part of verse 51 states that Jesus also sacrificed Himself to give life to all mankind. This fact can only mean that God will recover and recreate all of the good things He originally put into man. Revelation 21:1-5.
In John 12:47, Jesus taught us that He did not come to judge mankind but to save mankind. This verse can only mean that God cannot condemn the good things He has put into man, but He will recover and recreate all of the goodness of man. God will condemn evil itself. Revelation 21:8; Genesis 3:14.
In John 12:48, Jesus taught that those who reject Him will be judged by God's Word in the last day. Jesus refers here to the Great White Throne Judgment. Revelation 20:11-15 informs us that the Word judges only the dead at the Great White Throne Judgment. The Word judges only the dead because God has already used His consuming fire to separate and recover all of the living and good things He has ever created to be recreated according to Revelation 21:1-5. Those who reject Christ must be the same as the dead. Sin is deadness and total evil. Lucifer invented sin and deadness by misusing the good things of God. Therefore, in the end God will purge His creations of all that is dead and totally evil which He did not create, and He will recover and recreate all of the good and living things that He originally created. Colossians 1:15-20; I Corinthians 3:12-15.
John 3:35 informs us that God has given all things into the hand of His Son. God originally created all things. Romans 11:36; Revelation 4:11. Mankind is one of the good things that God created. God created man in His own image. Therefore, since all things belong to Christ, then God must recover and recreate all of the good things He originally put into man. Revelation 21:1-5.
John 6:33 informs us that Christ came to give life to all mankind. This verse can only mean that Jesus will do exactly that which the infallible Word of God says He will do. In the end, Christ will recover and recreate all of the good things He has ever put into man. Revelation 21:1-5.
John 6:50-51 teaches that those who receive Christ by faith while still alive in the flesh will attain the highest form of salvation which is the gift of the everlasting life and righteousness of Christ and a home with Him in heaven forever. God provides this highest form of salvation by His grace. But the last part of verse 51 states that Jesus also sacrificed Himself to give life to all mankind. This fact can only mean that God will recover and recreate all of the good things He originally put into man. Revelation 21:1-5.
In John 12:47, Jesus taught us that He did not come to judge mankind but to save mankind. This verse can only mean that God cannot condemn the good things He has put into man, but He will recover and recreate all of the goodness of man. God will condemn evil itself. Revelation 21:8; Genesis 3:14.
In John 12:48, Jesus taught that those who reject Him will be judged by God's Word in the last day. Jesus refers here to the Great White Throne Judgment. Revelation 20:11-15 informs us that the Word judges only the dead at the Great White Throne Judgment. The Word judges only the dead because God has already used His consuming fire to separate and recover all of the living and good things He has ever created to be recreated according to Revelation 21:1-5. Those who reject Christ must be the same as the dead. Sin is deadness and total evil. Lucifer invented sin and deadness by misusing the good things of God. Therefore, in the end God will purge His creations of all that is dead and totally evil which He did not create, and He will recover and recreate all of the good and living things that He originally created. Colossians 1:15-20; I Corinthians 3:12-15.
Monday, October 23, 2017
Physical and Spiritual Death in the Bible part three
Many of the Old Testament concepts which are difficult to understand, Jesus clarified in the New Testament. The differences between physical and spiritual death in the Old Testament can be subtle, but in the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead, Jesus cleared up the differences between physical and spiritual death. John 11:1-44.
In verse four of this story, Jesus declared that Lazarus' sickness was "not unto death." But in verse fourteen, Jesus plainly stated that "Lazarus is dead." These two statements cannot be contradictory because Jesus meant spiritual death by His first use of the word and physical death by His second use of the word. This distinction can clearly be seen in verse eleven where Jesus declared that Lazarus was merely asleep. One who is asleep is still alive. So Jesus was saying that Lazarus was still spiritually alive even though he was physically dead. Lazarus was spiritually alive because he was a believer in Christ. Lazarus was one whom God had caused to pass from spiritual death to life as Jesus had taught in John 5:24. In verse fifteen, Jesus actually declared that He was glad Lazarus had died because his death gave Jesus the opportunity to prove, by raising Lazarus from physical death, that He also had power over spiritual death.
By that which Jesus said to Martha in verse 23, He clearly meant that God would raise Lazarus to life as a whole person, both spiritual and physical, but in a future resurrection.
Jesus responded to Martha's faith in verse 25 by assuring her that Lazarus still had to be alive because of his faith and that Jesus, being the very power of resurrection and life, could certainly restore Lazarus to physical life. One can only believe if one is conscious. Jesus was telling Martha that Lazarus was still conscious and spiritually alive, and that He had the power to restore him to physical life. As Jesus used the word "dead" in this verse, He had to have meant both physical and spiritual death. By raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus meant to prove that He also had the power to raise a believer from spiritual death to spiritual life as He had taught in John 5:24.
In verse 26, Jesus further assured Martha that all those who possess spiritual life because of their faith in Him can never die. Jesus could not have meant physical death. He had to have meant that believers will never suffer a spiritual separation from God forever. God not only creates a new, living spirit and soul for believers the moment they believe, He also creates a new spiritual body for them that He holds for them in heaven until the Rapture of the Church. At the Rapture of the Church, God will restore every Church believer to being a whole, living person by uniting their recreated souls and spirits with their created spiritual bodies that God will bring to them from heaven. Living believers must leave behind their physical bodies in order to be clothed upon with their spiritual bodies. II Corinthians 5:1-5; I Corinthians 15:50.
By all His teachings about life and death, Jesus demonstrated that consciousness always resides in the spirits and souls of humans. Unbelievers possess a spiritual death because they have no consciousness of faith, but believers possess eternal life even if physically dead because of their consciousness of their faith. Dead bodies have no consciousness whatsoever. Therefore, physical death never constitutes a separation from God, and this means believers never die. In addition, God created life and He can never lose anything He has ever created. This fact means God will eventually recover and recreate new, living persons from all His goodness that He originally put into them. Revelation 21:1-5; Luke 20:38.
In verse four of this story, Jesus declared that Lazarus' sickness was "not unto death." But in verse fourteen, Jesus plainly stated that "Lazarus is dead." These two statements cannot be contradictory because Jesus meant spiritual death by His first use of the word and physical death by His second use of the word. This distinction can clearly be seen in verse eleven where Jesus declared that Lazarus was merely asleep. One who is asleep is still alive. So Jesus was saying that Lazarus was still spiritually alive even though he was physically dead. Lazarus was spiritually alive because he was a believer in Christ. Lazarus was one whom God had caused to pass from spiritual death to life as Jesus had taught in John 5:24. In verse fifteen, Jesus actually declared that He was glad Lazarus had died because his death gave Jesus the opportunity to prove, by raising Lazarus from physical death, that He also had power over spiritual death.
By that which Jesus said to Martha in verse 23, He clearly meant that God would raise Lazarus to life as a whole person, both spiritual and physical, but in a future resurrection.
Jesus responded to Martha's faith in verse 25 by assuring her that Lazarus still had to be alive because of his faith and that Jesus, being the very power of resurrection and life, could certainly restore Lazarus to physical life. One can only believe if one is conscious. Jesus was telling Martha that Lazarus was still conscious and spiritually alive, and that He had the power to restore him to physical life. As Jesus used the word "dead" in this verse, He had to have meant both physical and spiritual death. By raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus meant to prove that He also had the power to raise a believer from spiritual death to spiritual life as He had taught in John 5:24.
In verse 26, Jesus further assured Martha that all those who possess spiritual life because of their faith in Him can never die. Jesus could not have meant physical death. He had to have meant that believers will never suffer a spiritual separation from God forever. God not only creates a new, living spirit and soul for believers the moment they believe, He also creates a new spiritual body for them that He holds for them in heaven until the Rapture of the Church. At the Rapture of the Church, God will restore every Church believer to being a whole, living person by uniting their recreated souls and spirits with their created spiritual bodies that God will bring to them from heaven. Living believers must leave behind their physical bodies in order to be clothed upon with their spiritual bodies. II Corinthians 5:1-5; I Corinthians 15:50.
By all His teachings about life and death, Jesus demonstrated that consciousness always resides in the spirits and souls of humans. Unbelievers possess a spiritual death because they have no consciousness of faith, but believers possess eternal life even if physically dead because of their consciousness of their faith. Dead bodies have no consciousness whatsoever. Therefore, physical death never constitutes a separation from God, and this means believers never die. In addition, God created life and He can never lose anything He has ever created. This fact means God will eventually recover and recreate new, living persons from all His goodness that He originally put into them. Revelation 21:1-5; Luke 20:38.
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Physical and Spiritual Death in the Bible part two
Whenever the Bible speaks of physical death, it either attaches no connotation of good or evil to it or it speaks of God's approval of it. In Psalm 116:15, God actually approves of the deaths of His saints. God approves because He gathers their souls and spirits to Himself and creates a new spiritual body for them. Since no consciousness whatsoever exists within physical death, then the dead saints cannot be separated from God forever. One must be conscious of one's separation from God to be thus separated. God has stated that death is the enemy of God and man. I Corinthians 15:26. This statement of God can only refer to spiritual death since God approves of the physical deaths of His saints.
Jesus said that the Devil was a murderer from the beginning. John 8:44. From the beginning, Lucifer sought to kill God. Satan tried to use physical and spiritual death as a means to separate God from Himself, and having failed in that attempt, Satan then sought to use spiritual death to try to separate some of God's creations from Himself in order to weaken God's Word on which His creations are based and thus cause the slow death of God. Numbers 23:19; Ecclesiastes 3:14. Satan tried again to kill God on the cross, and again he failed. Love conquers all. I Corinthians 13:8.
God takes no pleasure in the deaths of the wicked. Ezekiel 33:11. God grieves for the wicked when they die because their souls and spirits suffer a temporary separation from God in either a place called death, a place called the sea, or a place called hell according to the judgment of Christ. Revelation 20:13. In each of these places, God uses His consuming fire to separate their good works from their evil works so that eventually only the dead, who are totally evil, will stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment. Revelation 20:12; I Corinthians 3:12-15; Revelation 22:11-12. God will recover all of His good elements that He has ever put into every human being and use those good elements to recreate a new, righteous humanity to live on His recreated earth. Revelation 21:1-5; Romans 11:36; Revelation 4:11. If God should lose entire humans to the torment of hell forever, then He would lose a part of that which He originally created. Such an event would weaken the Word of God which would cause the slow death of God. God must make His Word good. Numbers 23:19. Should God lose entire humans to the power of the Devil, then He would have failed in His promise to destroy death as a permanent spiritual separation from God. God must make His Word good. Numbers 23:19. Whenever the Bible speaks of spiritual death, it almost always denotes it by the use of phrases which signify darkness or a place separate from God. Job 3:5; Psalm 23:4; Hosea 13:14; Luke 1:79; John 5:24.
Jesus said that the Devil was a murderer from the beginning. John 8:44. From the beginning, Lucifer sought to kill God. Satan tried to use physical and spiritual death as a means to separate God from Himself, and having failed in that attempt, Satan then sought to use spiritual death to try to separate some of God's creations from Himself in order to weaken God's Word on which His creations are based and thus cause the slow death of God. Numbers 23:19; Ecclesiastes 3:14. Satan tried again to kill God on the cross, and again he failed. Love conquers all. I Corinthians 13:8.
God takes no pleasure in the deaths of the wicked. Ezekiel 33:11. God grieves for the wicked when they die because their souls and spirits suffer a temporary separation from God in either a place called death, a place called the sea, or a place called hell according to the judgment of Christ. Revelation 20:13. In each of these places, God uses His consuming fire to separate their good works from their evil works so that eventually only the dead, who are totally evil, will stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment. Revelation 20:12; I Corinthians 3:12-15; Revelation 22:11-12. God will recover all of His good elements that He has ever put into every human being and use those good elements to recreate a new, righteous humanity to live on His recreated earth. Revelation 21:1-5; Romans 11:36; Revelation 4:11. If God should lose entire humans to the torment of hell forever, then He would lose a part of that which He originally created. Such an event would weaken the Word of God which would cause the slow death of God. God must make His Word good. Numbers 23:19. Should God lose entire humans to the power of the Devil, then He would have failed in His promise to destroy death as a permanent spiritual separation from God. God must make His Word good. Numbers 23:19. Whenever the Bible speaks of spiritual death, it almost always denotes it by the use of phrases which signify darkness or a place separate from God. Job 3:5; Psalm 23:4; Hosea 13:14; Luke 1:79; John 5:24.
Monday, October 16, 2017
Physical and Spiritual Death in the Bible part one
When God created man and gave him a paradise in which to live, God also gave him a free will and a constant choice to make. God allowed man to eat of every tree in the garden, including the tree of life, but forbade man from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told man that he would die in the very day that he ate of the forbidden fruit. Genesis 2:17. By God's use of the word "die," He had to have meant separation from fellowship with God which Adam and Eve had enjoyed every day. Genesis 3:8. God could not have meant physical death because Adam and Eve did not die that day, but God did banish them from paradise and daily fellowship with Him on that very day. Genesis 3:23-24. This meant Adam and Eve died a spiritual death since in their souls and spirits they no longer had any consciousness of their need for God. They no longer fully depended on God to sustain their lives, but were forced to labor in the field and in childbirth to sustain human life.
Adam did not suffer a physical death until over 900 years later. Many suppose that God created mankind to live in paradise on earth forever, but the Bible does not state this. If God had created man to live forever in paradise, then for what purpose did He create the tree of life? If man already had immortal life, then the tree of life would have served no purpose. The purpose of the tree of life had to have been the opposite of the purpose of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Since the purpose of the forbidden fruit was to cause spiritual death, then the purpose of the tree of life must have been to impart an eternal spiritual life to man. If man had rejected the forbidden fruit, and had eaten of the tree of life instead, then God would have created an eternal soul and spirit for them similar to the way God creates an eternal soul an spirit for every "born again" believer the moment he believes. If Adam and Eve had eaten of the tree of life first, then they would have lived in the garden for over 900 years. Their physical deaths would have been quite a natural and painless event; their eternal souls and spirits would have returned to God in heaven where God would have clothed them in a new spiritual body that He had already created for them. This event would have been similar to the Rapture of the Church. Such an event did happen to the patriarch Enoch because he "walked with God" which meant he had become a "born again" believer.
In Genesis 1:28, God commanded mankind to "multiply, and replenish the earth." The word "replenish" means to fill again something which has been depleted. God had commanded man to replace the physical lives of those who would die a natural physical death. Physical death never means an eternal separation from God. Physical death simply means that a person's body will return to the dirt from which God created him, as God told Adam in Genesis 3:19. Physical death actually symbolizes God's recreative powers. Man returns to dirt which feeds plant life, which in turn, renews the physical lives of new people. God enjoys breaking down existing systems into their constituent elements in order to recreate new, individual systems. This fact accounts for all the diversity of life on the earth. Every human, every animal, and every plant are not like any other on earth. Even snowflakes melt and are replaced by snowflakes that are not like any other that have ever been created.
Adam did not suffer a physical death until over 900 years later. Many suppose that God created mankind to live in paradise on earth forever, but the Bible does not state this. If God had created man to live forever in paradise, then for what purpose did He create the tree of life? If man already had immortal life, then the tree of life would have served no purpose. The purpose of the tree of life had to have been the opposite of the purpose of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Since the purpose of the forbidden fruit was to cause spiritual death, then the purpose of the tree of life must have been to impart an eternal spiritual life to man. If man had rejected the forbidden fruit, and had eaten of the tree of life instead, then God would have created an eternal soul and spirit for them similar to the way God creates an eternal soul an spirit for every "born again" believer the moment he believes. If Adam and Eve had eaten of the tree of life first, then they would have lived in the garden for over 900 years. Their physical deaths would have been quite a natural and painless event; their eternal souls and spirits would have returned to God in heaven where God would have clothed them in a new spiritual body that He had already created for them. This event would have been similar to the Rapture of the Church. Such an event did happen to the patriarch Enoch because he "walked with God" which meant he had become a "born again" believer.
In Genesis 1:28, God commanded mankind to "multiply, and replenish the earth." The word "replenish" means to fill again something which has been depleted. God had commanded man to replace the physical lives of those who would die a natural physical death. Physical death never means an eternal separation from God. Physical death simply means that a person's body will return to the dirt from which God created him, as God told Adam in Genesis 3:19. Physical death actually symbolizes God's recreative powers. Man returns to dirt which feeds plant life, which in turn, renews the physical lives of new people. God enjoys breaking down existing systems into their constituent elements in order to recreate new, individual systems. This fact accounts for all the diversity of life on the earth. Every human, every animal, and every plant are not like any other on earth. Even snowflakes melt and are replaced by snowflakes that are not like any other that have ever been created.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Commentary on John 6:50
In John 6:50, Jesus taught that all those who receive His salvation by grace while still alive in the flesh will not die. But Jesus could not have meant physical death since all men must suffer physical death. Jesus had to have meant a spiritual death which is separation from God. When believers saved by grace die, their recreated souls and spirits immediately go to heaven to be with God. God also creates a spiritual body for His Church believers which He will bring with Him and give to His Church believers at the Rapture of the Church. The physical death of believers saved by grace never becomes a separation from God. Therefore, in the sense of death being a separation from God, believers saved by grace never die. II Corinthians 5:1-8.
When unbelievers die, their souls and spirits go to one of three places according to the judgment of Christ. Hebrews 9:27. Revelation 20:13 definitely teaches that the dead who stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment come out of three different places. Some come out of the sea, some from out of death, and some from out of hell. The Word of God does not inform us exactly what kind of places the sea and death are, but it does tell us that hell is a place of fiery torment. Probably, only the worst humans go to hell. But the souls and spirits of unbelievers in all three places are separated from God, and that is why they are called "the dead."
In I Corinthians 15:26, God promised that He would destroy death itself. Revelation 20:14 records the exact event when God destroys the place called death by casting it into the lake of fire. This also means that God must destroy hell when He casts it into the lake of fire. God will have no more use for hell since He has emptied it of all its dead, and it has therefore served God's purpose. Revelation 21:1 relates that God will also eliminate the place called the sea when He recreates the heaven and the earth. Since God destroys the first death, then the lake of fire, called the second death, must be something entirely different from the first death. Revelation 20:15. The difference must be that the first death is for unbelieving humans while the second death is for total evil itself. Revelation 21:8. In addition, if the lake of fire amounts to but a continuation of hell, then the first death would be the same as the second death, and that condition would contradict God's promise that He will destroy death itself which is separation from God. Since God destroys death itself, then this fact can only mean that He will recover from death all the goodness that He originally created to be recreated as new, righteous humans to live on a righteous, recreated earth. Revelation 21:3-5; Revelation 22:11-12; I Corinthians 15:25-28.
When unbelievers die, their souls and spirits go to one of three places according to the judgment of Christ. Hebrews 9:27. Revelation 20:13 definitely teaches that the dead who stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment come out of three different places. Some come out of the sea, some from out of death, and some from out of hell. The Word of God does not inform us exactly what kind of places the sea and death are, but it does tell us that hell is a place of fiery torment. Probably, only the worst humans go to hell. But the souls and spirits of unbelievers in all three places are separated from God, and that is why they are called "the dead."
In I Corinthians 15:26, God promised that He would destroy death itself. Revelation 20:14 records the exact event when God destroys the place called death by casting it into the lake of fire. This also means that God must destroy hell when He casts it into the lake of fire. God will have no more use for hell since He has emptied it of all its dead, and it has therefore served God's purpose. Revelation 21:1 relates that God will also eliminate the place called the sea when He recreates the heaven and the earth. Since God destroys the first death, then the lake of fire, called the second death, must be something entirely different from the first death. Revelation 20:15. The difference must be that the first death is for unbelieving humans while the second death is for total evil itself. Revelation 21:8. In addition, if the lake of fire amounts to but a continuation of hell, then the first death would be the same as the second death, and that condition would contradict God's promise that He will destroy death itself which is separation from God. Since God destroys death itself, then this fact can only mean that He will recover from death all the goodness that He originally created to be recreated as new, righteous humans to live on a righteous, recreated earth. Revelation 21:3-5; Revelation 22:11-12; I Corinthians 15:25-28.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Commentary on John 6:33
John 6:33 clearly teaches that Christ came for the express purpose of giving life to the world; that is, all mankind. God created all life, and since God can never lose anything which He has ever created, then this verse must mean that God will recover and recreate all of His goodness that He originally put into man when He created man in His own image. Ecclesiastes 3:14. John 6:33 expressly teaches that Christ came to give life to all mankind, and this fact means that God cannot fail to do precisely that which He states. Numbers 23:19. John 1:9 and John 3:20-21 further reinforce this teaching. These verses teach that every man has some of the Light of God's Truth in him and that God will eventually effect a complete separation of all of His goodness that He originally put into man from all of the evil that has infected and sullied man's goodness.
The Church teaches that God saves only by grace, and all others go to hell forever. But this teaching means that God will lose the goodness He put into those who go to hell forever, and this is impossible. God can never lose anything He has ever created. Thus, John 6:33 must mean that God will provide different types of salvation for all mankind.
The Church correctly teaches that God saves some people by His grace. Jesus' teaching from John 6:35 through 70 concerns salvation by grace, particularly the salvation of the Church. In these verses, Jesus responded to the direct request of verse 34. One eats and drinks while still alive in the flesh. In that same vein, Jesus taught in these verses that a person can obtain everlasting life by receiving His blood and flesh while still alive on the earth. Jesus knew that this teaching would offend the unbelievers, and that they would separate themselves from Him. But in verse 63, He reassured His disciples that He spoke of a spiritual salvation. The Church becomes saved by the work of the Holy Spirit. In verse 37, Christ assures believers that God will never refuse spiritual salvation to anyone who chooses to come to Christ by faith. In verses 39 and 40, Jesus spoke about a "last day." But in God's economy, there is no such thing as an absolute last day. God's creations last forever. Jesus had to have meant that He would provide a bodily salvation for His Church on the last day of the Church Age which will happen at the Rapture of the Church. In verse 51, Jesus taught that He can give immediate life to those in the flesh who believe, but He also taught that He gave His life for the life of all mankind. God can never fail to do whatever He has said He would do. Numbers 23:19. This fact can only mean that Christ will provide a different type of salvation for all people not saved by grace. Revelation 21:1-7 teaches that not only will God save by grace, but He will also recover and recreate all of His goodness that still resides in all of mankind not saved by grace.
The Church teaches that God saves only by grace, and all others go to hell forever. But this teaching means that God will lose the goodness He put into those who go to hell forever, and this is impossible. God can never lose anything He has ever created. Thus, John 6:33 must mean that God will provide different types of salvation for all mankind.
The Church correctly teaches that God saves some people by His grace. Jesus' teaching from John 6:35 through 70 concerns salvation by grace, particularly the salvation of the Church. In these verses, Jesus responded to the direct request of verse 34. One eats and drinks while still alive in the flesh. In that same vein, Jesus taught in these verses that a person can obtain everlasting life by receiving His blood and flesh while still alive on the earth. Jesus knew that this teaching would offend the unbelievers, and that they would separate themselves from Him. But in verse 63, He reassured His disciples that He spoke of a spiritual salvation. The Church becomes saved by the work of the Holy Spirit. In verse 37, Christ assures believers that God will never refuse spiritual salvation to anyone who chooses to come to Christ by faith. In verses 39 and 40, Jesus spoke about a "last day." But in God's economy, there is no such thing as an absolute last day. God's creations last forever. Jesus had to have meant that He would provide a bodily salvation for His Church on the last day of the Church Age which will happen at the Rapture of the Church. In verse 51, Jesus taught that He can give immediate life to those in the flesh who believe, but He also taught that He gave His life for the life of all mankind. God can never fail to do whatever He has said He would do. Numbers 23:19. This fact can only mean that Christ will provide a different type of salvation for all people not saved by grace. Revelation 21:1-7 teaches that not only will God save by grace, but He will also recover and recreate all of His goodness that still resides in all of mankind not saved by grace.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Commentary on John Chapter 3 part two
In the first phrase of John 3:17, Jesus taught that He did not come to judge the world while He was on earth. But in the second phrase of this verse, He provided the reason why He would not judge the world. He could not judge the world because He came for the express purpose of saving the world. The word "world" here means mankind. Christ will judge the world, but only at a future time. John 12:47-48. God can never fail to do whatever He purposes to do. Numbers 23:19; Ecclesiastes 3:14. Therefore, the correct interpretation of John 3:17 and John 12:47 must be that Jesus came to save mankind and that He has accomplished this task.
God will divide this salvation of all of mankind which He has provided into two levels. The highest level will comprise those saved by God's grace. I Peter 1:3-5. The lowest level will comprise those whose good works God will recover to recreate into new humans to live on His new, righteous earth. Revelation 21:1-5. God will divide the lowest level also into two levels. God will put faithful Jews into the highest of the lowest level. They will live in the recreated nation of Israel that will rule the earth. Recreated Gentiles will occupy the lowest level, not as nations, but in ethnic groups. Jeremiah 3:17; Isaiah 56:7.
The first phrase of John 3:18 applies to all those saved by grace while still in their flesh. The second phrase of this verse means that unbelievers remain in a state of self-judgment; that is, they separate themselves from salvation by grace because of their unbelief.
In John 3:19, Jesus expressly describes this judgment as being the fact that unbelievers refuse to come out of the darkness of evil into the light of His salvation by grace. Jesus did not mention that the judgment of unbelievers would be an eternal separation from God in hell although this had to be the perfect time to state this result had it been a fact. The facts of this condemnation will be that at a future date following the second coming of Christ, He will effect a general resurrection of the dead from their graves. God will recover their good works recorded in His books in heaven and pool them to recreate a new, righteous humanity to live on His recreated earth. God will separate from the dead all that is totally evil in them and condemn this total evil to the lake of fire forever. John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21:1-8; Revelation 22:11-15.
In John 3:20, Jesus taught that the evil part of man is very prideful and prevents the good part of man from coming to the light of God's salvation by grace. But this verse does not mean that God will fail to save all of mankind originally created in His image.
In John 3:21, Jesus taught that only those who "doeth truth" comes to the light of God's salvation in its complete sense. Since evil can never do truth, then Jesus must have meant that all those who do truth must be the same as those whom God originally created in His image. Jesus further taught that God will manifest; that is, He will separate all of the good deeds of the truth doers from all of their evil deeds. Jesus taught that God will absolutely separate and save all of His goodness that He has put into man from all of his total evil which will be forever condemned to darkness which is the lake of fire.
God will divide this salvation of all of mankind which He has provided into two levels. The highest level will comprise those saved by God's grace. I Peter 1:3-5. The lowest level will comprise those whose good works God will recover to recreate into new humans to live on His new, righteous earth. Revelation 21:1-5. God will divide the lowest level also into two levels. God will put faithful Jews into the highest of the lowest level. They will live in the recreated nation of Israel that will rule the earth. Recreated Gentiles will occupy the lowest level, not as nations, but in ethnic groups. Jeremiah 3:17; Isaiah 56:7.
The first phrase of John 3:18 applies to all those saved by grace while still in their flesh. The second phrase of this verse means that unbelievers remain in a state of self-judgment; that is, they separate themselves from salvation by grace because of their unbelief.
In John 3:19, Jesus expressly describes this judgment as being the fact that unbelievers refuse to come out of the darkness of evil into the light of His salvation by grace. Jesus did not mention that the judgment of unbelievers would be an eternal separation from God in hell although this had to be the perfect time to state this result had it been a fact. The facts of this condemnation will be that at a future date following the second coming of Christ, He will effect a general resurrection of the dead from their graves. God will recover their good works recorded in His books in heaven and pool them to recreate a new, righteous humanity to live on His recreated earth. God will separate from the dead all that is totally evil in them and condemn this total evil to the lake of fire forever. John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21:1-8; Revelation 22:11-15.
In John 3:20, Jesus taught that the evil part of man is very prideful and prevents the good part of man from coming to the light of God's salvation by grace. But this verse does not mean that God will fail to save all of mankind originally created in His image.
In John 3:21, Jesus taught that only those who "doeth truth" comes to the light of God's salvation in its complete sense. Since evil can never do truth, then Jesus must have meant that all those who do truth must be the same as those whom God originally created in His image. Jesus further taught that God will manifest; that is, He will separate all of the good deeds of the truth doers from all of their evil deeds. Jesus taught that God will absolutely separate and save all of His goodness that He has put into man from all of his total evil which will be forever condemned to darkness which is the lake of fire.
Commentary on John Chapter 3 part one
The Church possesses an accurate interpretation of John 3:1-14. Any person still in the flesh on the earth can obtain a spiritual birth into the kingdom of God through faith in Christ as his Savior. Any person who is willing to humble himself to God, admit he is a sinner, repent and believe that only Christ can save him from his sins, will experience the miracle of God's recreation of his soul and spirit to have eternal fellowship with God.
Except for the word "perish," the Church possesses an accurate interpretation of John 3:15-16. The Church's interpretation of the word "perish" can be called into question. The Church interprets this word to mean that unbelievers will suffer torture in the fires of hell forever. The Church interprets this word this way even though Jesus said nothing about such a punishment. The word "perish" in these verses means "to destroy." But the word "destroy" has always meant to break a system down into its constituent elements. If a whole person burns in hell forever, that does not constitute a breakdown of his system. Destruction also never equals annihilation. In God's economy, there exists no such thing as annihilation. God created everything including the laws of nature. The laws of nature reflect the Word of God as Psalm 19:1-6 and Romans 1:19-20 teach. One of the laws of nature states that matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed except by God. God never loses anything He has ever created. Ecclesiastes 3;14. Therefore, Jesus had to have meant by His use of the word "perish" that God will break down the system of the unbeliever into its constituent good elements all of which were created by God. Only the individuality of the unbeliever, as a system, will be lost. Matthew 16:25. The unbelief, the deadness, and the sins of the unbeliever are all equal to each other and are totally evil. God will cast the totally evil part of the unbeliever into a lake of fire forever. The lake of fire is impossible for a positive consciousness to understand. The dead there will possess a kind of negative consciousness of their deadness, but they will not be annihilated. They will be in the abyss which non exists nowhere and at no time, and yet they will not be annihilated.
Except for the word "perish," the Church possesses an accurate interpretation of John 3:15-16. The Church's interpretation of the word "perish" can be called into question. The Church interprets this word to mean that unbelievers will suffer torture in the fires of hell forever. The Church interprets this word this way even though Jesus said nothing about such a punishment. The word "perish" in these verses means "to destroy." But the word "destroy" has always meant to break a system down into its constituent elements. If a whole person burns in hell forever, that does not constitute a breakdown of his system. Destruction also never equals annihilation. In God's economy, there exists no such thing as annihilation. God created everything including the laws of nature. The laws of nature reflect the Word of God as Psalm 19:1-6 and Romans 1:19-20 teach. One of the laws of nature states that matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed except by God. God never loses anything He has ever created. Ecclesiastes 3;14. Therefore, Jesus had to have meant by His use of the word "perish" that God will break down the system of the unbeliever into its constituent good elements all of which were created by God. Only the individuality of the unbeliever, as a system, will be lost. Matthew 16:25. The unbelief, the deadness, and the sins of the unbeliever are all equal to each other and are totally evil. God will cast the totally evil part of the unbeliever into a lake of fire forever. The lake of fire is impossible for a positive consciousness to understand. The dead there will possess a kind of negative consciousness of their deadness, but they will not be annihilated. They will be in the abyss which non exists nowhere and at no time, and yet they will not be annihilated.
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
God's Salvation part three
It took Jesus about three days from His suffering in the garden of Gethsemane through His crucifixion, death, and resurrection to accomplish His task of rescuing man from permanent separation from God, some by His grace and the rest by His recovery of His goodness in man and His recreation of man. This victory means God accomplished an eternal task in a finite amount of time. How God did this is a mystery, but God is all-powerful and can do anything. Luke 1:37.
In His death, burial, and resurrection Jesus provided three methods God uses for the salvation of mankind. Jesus shed His blood on the cross to cleanse believers from sin, separate them from sin, and empower the Holy Spirit to recreate their souls and spirits by giving them the righteousness of Christ and everlasting life with God in heaven. These are the believers who are saved by grace while still alive on the earth. I John 1:7; Revelation 1:5. But the blood of Jesus does not save the bodies of believers. The sinful nature of believers adheres to their flesh after they obtain salvation by grace. But Jesus shed water from His side on the cross to cleanse the fleshly sins of believers as they daily repent. John 13:1-17; I John 5:6-8. The shed water from Jesus' side symbolizes the power of the Holy Spirit to cleanse the fleshly sins of believers, but it also symbolizes the power of the Holy Spirit to cleanse the Church thoroughly from all unrepentant sins so that the Church can be presented as a chaste Bride for Christ at the Rapture of the Church. Ephesians 5:25-27; John 15:3. But just as God recreates the souls and spirits of believers, God must also recreate the bodies of believers as spiritual bodies like that of Christ Himself. This recreation means that God must use the water of His Word to separate the old, sinful bodies of believers from His new, recreated bodies of believers at the Rapture of the Church. Believers will leave their old, sinful bodies behind and will receive their new, spiritual bodies at the Rapture of the Church. Philippians 3:20-21; II Corinthians 5:1-5; I Corinthians 15:42-50; I John 3:2-3.
God possesses yet a third method that He uses to save the rest of humanity for recreation to live on His recreated, righteous earth. When Jesus died on the cross, His Spirit descended into hell and left behind all of the sins of humanity. This has to be true because Jesus' body was dead and separated from God because of man's sins. His Spirit was also separated from God in hell because of man's sins. But when He rose from the dead, He was again completely holy and righteous. Christ also possessed the keys of hell and death when He arose which clearly shows that He came to earth to destroy all the works of the Devil including the separation of all of mankind from God. The possession of keys means the power to liberate. Revelation 1:18. I John 3:8 clearly teaches that Jesus came to "destroy the works of the devil." One of the main works of the Devil consists in his attempt to destroy all mankind in hell, but according to I John 3:8, Jesus had to have destroyed that evil work of the Devil by rescuing all of mankind from hell. God created hell for the Devil and his angels, not for humanity. Matthew 26:41. This fact can only mean that God uses hell as His consuming fire to burn away and separate the sins of humanity not saved by grace from their good works which He recovers in a pool that He uses to recreate a righteous human race to dwell on His recreated earth. Just as the Holy Spirit can wash the believer in the blood of Jesus the moment he believes even though Jesus died on the cross two thousand years ago, so the unbeliever must await the judgment of God's consuming fire to have his good works separated from his sins even though Jesus left the unbeliever's sins behind in hell two thousand years ago. God can do this because He connects every moment of time to eternity. Perhaps this fact also explains how Christ could accomplish an eternal work in a finite amount of time. I Corinthians 3:12-15; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21:1-5; Revelation 22:11-12; Hebrews 12:25-29; Hebrews 13:10-14; Romans 11:36; Revelation 4:11.
In His death, burial, and resurrection Jesus provided three methods God uses for the salvation of mankind. Jesus shed His blood on the cross to cleanse believers from sin, separate them from sin, and empower the Holy Spirit to recreate their souls and spirits by giving them the righteousness of Christ and everlasting life with God in heaven. These are the believers who are saved by grace while still alive on the earth. I John 1:7; Revelation 1:5. But the blood of Jesus does not save the bodies of believers. The sinful nature of believers adheres to their flesh after they obtain salvation by grace. But Jesus shed water from His side on the cross to cleanse the fleshly sins of believers as they daily repent. John 13:1-17; I John 5:6-8. The shed water from Jesus' side symbolizes the power of the Holy Spirit to cleanse the fleshly sins of believers, but it also symbolizes the power of the Holy Spirit to cleanse the Church thoroughly from all unrepentant sins so that the Church can be presented as a chaste Bride for Christ at the Rapture of the Church. Ephesians 5:25-27; John 15:3. But just as God recreates the souls and spirits of believers, God must also recreate the bodies of believers as spiritual bodies like that of Christ Himself. This recreation means that God must use the water of His Word to separate the old, sinful bodies of believers from His new, recreated bodies of believers at the Rapture of the Church. Believers will leave their old, sinful bodies behind and will receive their new, spiritual bodies at the Rapture of the Church. Philippians 3:20-21; II Corinthians 5:1-5; I Corinthians 15:42-50; I John 3:2-3.
God possesses yet a third method that He uses to save the rest of humanity for recreation to live on His recreated, righteous earth. When Jesus died on the cross, His Spirit descended into hell and left behind all of the sins of humanity. This has to be true because Jesus' body was dead and separated from God because of man's sins. His Spirit was also separated from God in hell because of man's sins. But when He rose from the dead, He was again completely holy and righteous. Christ also possessed the keys of hell and death when He arose which clearly shows that He came to earth to destroy all the works of the Devil including the separation of all of mankind from God. The possession of keys means the power to liberate. Revelation 1:18. I John 3:8 clearly teaches that Jesus came to "destroy the works of the devil." One of the main works of the Devil consists in his attempt to destroy all mankind in hell, but according to I John 3:8, Jesus had to have destroyed that evil work of the Devil by rescuing all of mankind from hell. God created hell for the Devil and his angels, not for humanity. Matthew 26:41. This fact can only mean that God uses hell as His consuming fire to burn away and separate the sins of humanity not saved by grace from their good works which He recovers in a pool that He uses to recreate a righteous human race to dwell on His recreated earth. Just as the Holy Spirit can wash the believer in the blood of Jesus the moment he believes even though Jesus died on the cross two thousand years ago, so the unbeliever must await the judgment of God's consuming fire to have his good works separated from his sins even though Jesus left the unbeliever's sins behind in hell two thousand years ago. God can do this because He connects every moment of time to eternity. Perhaps this fact also explains how Christ could accomplish an eternal work in a finite amount of time. I Corinthians 3:12-15; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21:1-5; Revelation 22:11-12; Hebrews 12:25-29; Hebrews 13:10-14; Romans 11:36; Revelation 4:11.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
God's Salvation part two
The stories of the Bible concern men and women whose obedience and faith were tested. Some succeeded and passed their test. Others failed. God rewarded those who succeeded and caused those who failed to suffer for their sins. But from God's point of view, the success or failure of man's faith only matters in a temporal sense. One man succeeds and God rewards him. Another fails and suffers for his sins.
But to God, the most important and overriding question is this: Can God and His creations be permanently destroyed by sin? The ultimate test is the test of God's Love. Can God continue to love a fallen race sullied by sin, an affront to God's holiness? Even when the Devil causes man to do his worst to each other, can God still love him? God cannot allow the Devil to cause a permanent destruction of any of God's goodness that He originally put into man. That effect would cause God's Love to fail, and the eventual destruction of God. I Corinthians 13:8. For this reason, God must save man by grace and recover all His goodness that He put into man and recreate the entire human race. Colossians 1:15-20.
Man suffers for his sins on a temporal basis, but man also suffers from the danger of being separated from God forever in hell under the Devil's control. This possibility means sin can cause a permanent spiritual death in mankind. Sin and death are two sides of the same coin. Sin separates a person from God, and this separation is spiritual death. Romans 6:23. In I Corinthians 15:26, God promised man that He would destroy death, the last enemy of God and man. This promise must mean that God will destroy all separation from Himself. This can only mean that God must recover and cleanse all that He originally created from its being sullied by sin and recreate it to be wholly righteous. Revelation 21:5; Revelation 22:11-12.
To a certain extent, a person can avoid a lot of his temporary suffering for his sins by yielding his life to his good nature by being moral and doing good works. But man finds it impossible to save himself from a permanent separation from God because of his sins. Luke 18:26-27. To accomplish this monumental task of saving man, God in His love and compassion for a lost humanity and to prove that His Love is all-powerful and can never be destroyed, God became a perfect man, took all the sins that cause permanent separation from God on Himself on a cruel cross, paid that permanent penalty for man's sin in his place, and rose from the dead to prove His power over sin and permanent death. Acts 26:18; II Corinthians 5:21; Colossians 1:20; Matthew 27:46; Romans 7:24-25; I Corinthians 15:20-27. In Luke 23:34, Jesus prayed for His Father to forgive all humanity whose sins had caused Him to be nailed to the cross. How could His Father not give Jesus that which He prayed for?
But to God, the most important and overriding question is this: Can God and His creations be permanently destroyed by sin? The ultimate test is the test of God's Love. Can God continue to love a fallen race sullied by sin, an affront to God's holiness? Even when the Devil causes man to do his worst to each other, can God still love him? God cannot allow the Devil to cause a permanent destruction of any of God's goodness that He originally put into man. That effect would cause God's Love to fail, and the eventual destruction of God. I Corinthians 13:8. For this reason, God must save man by grace and recover all His goodness that He put into man and recreate the entire human race. Colossians 1:15-20.
Man suffers for his sins on a temporal basis, but man also suffers from the danger of being separated from God forever in hell under the Devil's control. This possibility means sin can cause a permanent spiritual death in mankind. Sin and death are two sides of the same coin. Sin separates a person from God, and this separation is spiritual death. Romans 6:23. In I Corinthians 15:26, God promised man that He would destroy death, the last enemy of God and man. This promise must mean that God will destroy all separation from Himself. This can only mean that God must recover and cleanse all that He originally created from its being sullied by sin and recreate it to be wholly righteous. Revelation 21:5; Revelation 22:11-12.
To a certain extent, a person can avoid a lot of his temporary suffering for his sins by yielding his life to his good nature by being moral and doing good works. But man finds it impossible to save himself from a permanent separation from God because of his sins. Luke 18:26-27. To accomplish this monumental task of saving man, God in His love and compassion for a lost humanity and to prove that His Love is all-powerful and can never be destroyed, God became a perfect man, took all the sins that cause permanent separation from God on Himself on a cruel cross, paid that permanent penalty for man's sin in his place, and rose from the dead to prove His power over sin and permanent death. Acts 26:18; II Corinthians 5:21; Colossians 1:20; Matthew 27:46; Romans 7:24-25; I Corinthians 15:20-27. In Luke 23:34, Jesus prayed for His Father to forgive all humanity whose sins had caused Him to be nailed to the cross. How could His Father not give Jesus that which He prayed for?
God's Salvation part one
When one reads the Word of God, one should first pray for the guidance and teaching of the Holy Spirit for its correct interpretation. John 16:13. Unfortunately, most people read the Word of God and interpret it according to a preconceived set of rules. The atheist reads God's Word as pure fiction. The Church reads the Word as teaching that only the Church, and all others saved by grace, comprise the only salvation which God supplies. The Church must possess a little pride to believe that it happens to be God's only form of salvation, but that is the set of rules by which the Church interprets the Bible. When one reads the Bible, one should put all preconceived rules out of one's mind, and simply believe exactly that which the Word states while prayerfully guided by the Holy Spirit.
For example, John 1:29 and John 12:47 clearly teach that Jesus came to save the world that He originally created, including all humans, and not just those saved by grace. While it is true that according to John 3:3 and John 5:24, a person can repent, believe in Christ, get saved by grace and obtain a home with God in heaven forever; this does not mean that God provides no form of salvation for the rest of humanity.
God cannot fail to accomplish everything He ever said He would do. Numbers 23:19; Ecclesiastes 3:14. Since God has stated in His Word that Jesus came to save the world, then that is exactly that which Jesus will do. God will recover, cleanse, and recreate everything that He originally created that has been sullied by sin, including all humans not saved by grace, to live on His recreated and righteous earth. Romans 11:36; Revelation 21:1-5. The main difference between those saved by grace and those saved by recreation will be that those saved by grace will be saved as individuals; that is, they will retain most of their former identities and personalities while the recreated humans will lose their former identities and personalities because God will recreate them from a pool of good works that He has recorded in His books in heaven. Revelation 20:5, 12; Revelation 21:5; Matthew 16:24-27.
Sin has always been destructive. Sin causes pain, sorrow, and spiritual death. In a temporal sense, man suffers for his own sins. Job 14:1.
The Devil's project has always been to use sin as a means to destroy both God and His creations permanently. Satan seeks to cause the goodness that God originally put into mankind to become so nasty with sin that it cannot be rescued. Satan seeks to turn some of God's goodness into sin itself. Satan seeks to nullify God's Love by causing man to become so filthy with sin that God gives up on saving man and turns man over to the control of the Devil. Should Satan succeed, God would become permanently alienated from Himself and eventually suffer permanent death. Satan would then win and become the sole ruler of the universe. Genesis 3:1-7; Isaiah 14:12-15; Matthew 4:1-11.
For example, John 1:29 and John 12:47 clearly teach that Jesus came to save the world that He originally created, including all humans, and not just those saved by grace. While it is true that according to John 3:3 and John 5:24, a person can repent, believe in Christ, get saved by grace and obtain a home with God in heaven forever; this does not mean that God provides no form of salvation for the rest of humanity.
God cannot fail to accomplish everything He ever said He would do. Numbers 23:19; Ecclesiastes 3:14. Since God has stated in His Word that Jesus came to save the world, then that is exactly that which Jesus will do. God will recover, cleanse, and recreate everything that He originally created that has been sullied by sin, including all humans not saved by grace, to live on His recreated and righteous earth. Romans 11:36; Revelation 21:1-5. The main difference between those saved by grace and those saved by recreation will be that those saved by grace will be saved as individuals; that is, they will retain most of their former identities and personalities while the recreated humans will lose their former identities and personalities because God will recreate them from a pool of good works that He has recorded in His books in heaven. Revelation 20:5, 12; Revelation 21:5; Matthew 16:24-27.
Sin has always been destructive. Sin causes pain, sorrow, and spiritual death. In a temporal sense, man suffers for his own sins. Job 14:1.
The Devil's project has always been to use sin as a means to destroy both God and His creations permanently. Satan seeks to cause the goodness that God originally put into mankind to become so nasty with sin that it cannot be rescued. Satan seeks to turn some of God's goodness into sin itself. Satan seeks to nullify God's Love by causing man to become so filthy with sin that God gives up on saving man and turns man over to the control of the Devil. Should Satan succeed, God would become permanently alienated from Himself and eventually suffer permanent death. Satan would then win and become the sole ruler of the universe. Genesis 3:1-7; Isaiah 14:12-15; Matthew 4:1-11.
Monday, September 18, 2017
Commentary on John 1:29 and John 12:47
Being the Word of God, John 1:29 can only mean exactly that which it states. Jesus came into the world for the actual purpose of removing sin from the world and not just from believers saved by grace. God's project has always been to effect an absolute separation of all the goodness He put into His original creations from all of the sin that has infected it. Jesus came to save the world that God created, not the sinful part of the world. John 12:47. God will save His created world by effecting an absolute separation of all goodness from all evil. Revelation 22:11-12.
God demonstrates this same kind of project in the case of believers saved by grace. God actually saves believers forever while still living on the earth because they put their faith in the blood of Jesus to cleanse their souls and spirits from all sins so that God can recreate them. They experience a separation of their sins from their inner being while still alive in the flesh. God gives them the "born again" experience of John 3:3 and John 5:24. But the fleshly nature of the believer does not get cleansed from sin in the "born again" experience. The fleshly, sinful nature of the believer must await the Rapture of the Church for God to cleanse him thoroughly and give him a recreated body like that of Christ Himself. I John 3:2. God allows only these special believers saved by grace to obtain a home with Him in heaven. When God planned the salvation of the world, He recognized that certain people whom God calls "the elect" would be capable of believing in the sacrifice and resurrection of His Son while still alive in the flesh on the earth. This special class of people constitutes all those who are saved by grace through faith. I Peter 1:2-5.
But the salvation of the world that John the Baptist spoke about in John 1:29 and which Jesus spoke about in John 12:47 extends far beyond salvation by grace. It extends to God's recovery of all His goodness that He originally created, and His recreation of a righteous people to live on His recreated earth. Colossians 1:15-20. The "all things" of verse 16 is the same "all things" of verse 20. Verse 18 also reveals that the Church is but "the beginning, the firstborn from the dead" of God's complete salvation denoted by the phrase "that in all things He might have the preeminence." The phrase "all things" can only mean God's complete creation. But God's complete salvation effected first by grace and then by His recreation of His recovered goodness as a new human race to live on His new earth all connects directly to the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Without the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, God's complete salvation would not be possible. God proved that His love for mankind could never be broken when He took the whole of the sins of humanity on Himself on an old rugged cross. God never does anything without a purpose. There would have been no purpose for Christ to take all of the sins of mankind on Himself unless He intended to save all of humanity. Colossians 1:20. In Christ's sacrifice and resurrection, God's Love passed the most extreme test possible. I Corinthians 13:8.
God demonstrates this same kind of project in the case of believers saved by grace. God actually saves believers forever while still living on the earth because they put their faith in the blood of Jesus to cleanse their souls and spirits from all sins so that God can recreate them. They experience a separation of their sins from their inner being while still alive in the flesh. God gives them the "born again" experience of John 3:3 and John 5:24. But the fleshly nature of the believer does not get cleansed from sin in the "born again" experience. The fleshly, sinful nature of the believer must await the Rapture of the Church for God to cleanse him thoroughly and give him a recreated body like that of Christ Himself. I John 3:2. God allows only these special believers saved by grace to obtain a home with Him in heaven. When God planned the salvation of the world, He recognized that certain people whom God calls "the elect" would be capable of believing in the sacrifice and resurrection of His Son while still alive in the flesh on the earth. This special class of people constitutes all those who are saved by grace through faith. I Peter 1:2-5.
But the salvation of the world that John the Baptist spoke about in John 1:29 and which Jesus spoke about in John 12:47 extends far beyond salvation by grace. It extends to God's recovery of all His goodness that He originally created, and His recreation of a righteous people to live on His recreated earth. Colossians 1:15-20. The "all things" of verse 16 is the same "all things" of verse 20. Verse 18 also reveals that the Church is but "the beginning, the firstborn from the dead" of God's complete salvation denoted by the phrase "that in all things He might have the preeminence." The phrase "all things" can only mean God's complete creation. But God's complete salvation effected first by grace and then by His recreation of His recovered goodness as a new human race to live on His new earth all connects directly to the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Without the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, God's complete salvation would not be possible. God proved that His love for mankind could never be broken when He took the whole of the sins of humanity on Himself on an old rugged cross. God never does anything without a purpose. There would have been no purpose for Christ to take all of the sins of mankind on Himself unless He intended to save all of humanity. Colossians 1:20. In Christ's sacrifice and resurrection, God's Love passed the most extreme test possible. I Corinthians 13:8.
Monday, September 11, 2017
Commentary on Revelation Chapters 6 and 7
Revelation chapter six records the beginning of Satan's counterattack against the wholesale worship of God by all of His creations. Just as God allowed Satan to ruin Job completely except for taking his life, so God must allow Satan to ruin the earth and mankind completely in order to prove that His Love and Being cannot be destroyed. God's Love must be absolutely and thoroughly tested in order to prove its eternal worth. Any partial test would still leave some doubt and fear within His creations. Doubt and fear probably open those little doors that allows evil to enter God's creations from the abyss. God will shut that door completely.
God will no doubt recover His image in man completely, and He will no doubt consign total evil to the lake of fire forever. But the book of Revelation, and the whole story of mankind, relates that which God does to rescue man from his weakness that causes sin. Cleansing anything from dirt requires work. Man happens to be far too weak to cleanse himself. God, in His love and compassion for man, took on Himself the job of cleansing man from sin.
In Revelation chapter six, Jesus begins to open the seven seals on the book He received from His Father. In the entire book of Revelation, God directs His wrath towards total evil, never towards mankind. By opening the seven seals, God allows Satan to begin his evil work in the Tribulation period of seven years. God allows Satan to do his worst in order to test His Love thoroughly. Satan believes that if he can only ruin God's goodness in just one man, he can begin the process that will cause the downfall of God. Satan brings war, famine, and torture on mankind in his efforts finally to break the power of God's goodness in man and thus to break God Himself.
But in Revelation 6:9-11 and the entire seventh chapter, God shows that all of Satan's horrible efforts to ruin man and God forever always continuously fail. God continuously saves believers even in the Tribulation, takes them to heaven, washes them in the blood of Jesus, separates them forever from their sins, and gives them a home with Him forever. Revelation 7:13-17. God even separates and recovers all of His goodness that He put into unbelievers and uses these good elements to recreate a righteous human race to live on His recreated earth. Revelation 21:3-5; II Peter 3:7. God can never lose any good element that He has ever created. Ecclesiastes 3:14.
But Revelation 6:12-17 records that those men who surrendered to their totally evil nature, and who kept quiet during the great worship service, will then begin to try to run and hide from God's revealed holiness. They hate God and desire only that second death that will separate them from God's presence forever. God will accommodate their desire when He casts all that is totally evil into the lake of fire forever. Revelation 20:15; Revelation 21:8.
However, God will separate for Himself all that is left of His image, even from these evil men, by the use of His consuming fire. God will recover all of His goodness that He put into His creations and use it to recreate righteous men to live on His new earth. Colossians 1:20; Romans 11:36; Revelation 4:11; Revelation 21:3-5; Revelation 22:11-12.
God will no doubt recover His image in man completely, and He will no doubt consign total evil to the lake of fire forever. But the book of Revelation, and the whole story of mankind, relates that which God does to rescue man from his weakness that causes sin. Cleansing anything from dirt requires work. Man happens to be far too weak to cleanse himself. God, in His love and compassion for man, took on Himself the job of cleansing man from sin.
In Revelation chapter six, Jesus begins to open the seven seals on the book He received from His Father. In the entire book of Revelation, God directs His wrath towards total evil, never towards mankind. By opening the seven seals, God allows Satan to begin his evil work in the Tribulation period of seven years. God allows Satan to do his worst in order to test His Love thoroughly. Satan believes that if he can only ruin God's goodness in just one man, he can begin the process that will cause the downfall of God. Satan brings war, famine, and torture on mankind in his efforts finally to break the power of God's goodness in man and thus to break God Himself.
But in Revelation 6:9-11 and the entire seventh chapter, God shows that all of Satan's horrible efforts to ruin man and God forever always continuously fail. God continuously saves believers even in the Tribulation, takes them to heaven, washes them in the blood of Jesus, separates them forever from their sins, and gives them a home with Him forever. Revelation 7:13-17. God even separates and recovers all of His goodness that He put into unbelievers and uses these good elements to recreate a righteous human race to live on His recreated earth. Revelation 21:3-5; II Peter 3:7. God can never lose any good element that He has ever created. Ecclesiastes 3:14.
But Revelation 6:12-17 records that those men who surrendered to their totally evil nature, and who kept quiet during the great worship service, will then begin to try to run and hide from God's revealed holiness. They hate God and desire only that second death that will separate them from God's presence forever. God will accommodate their desire when He casts all that is totally evil into the lake of fire forever. Revelation 20:15; Revelation 21:8.
However, God will separate for Himself all that is left of His image, even from these evil men, by the use of His consuming fire. God will recover all of His goodness that He put into His creations and use it to recreate righteous men to live on His new earth. Colossians 1:20; Romans 11:36; Revelation 4:11; Revelation 21:3-5; Revelation 22:11-12.
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Further Comments on Revelation
John's vision in the book of Revelation switches back and forth between scenes in heaven and scenes on the earth. In chapters 4 and 5, John recorded a tremendous worship service that occurred both in heaven and on the earth. God exerted His mighty power to cause all that He had ever created to praise and worship Him with thunderous exuberance. That part of every human who ever lived that was created in God's image participated in this worship service.
But that part of man's nature which is totally evil and depraved refrained from worshipping God. Total evil never repents or worships God. But in this worship service, God's power caused the totally evil part of man's nature to keep quiet while the good part of every human worshipped God.
But there exists a third part of man's nature which consists of his goodness that has been sullied by his depravity. This part of man's nature often causes him confusion about what is right and what is wrong. This constitutes the weakness in man that causes him inevitably to sin. God understands this helpless weakness, and in His compassion for fallen man, God sent His Son to separate man's goodness from his evil, and save believers from hell by His grace. God also has the power to recover all of the good works of the rest of humanity because when Jesus descended into hell He left behind there all of the sins of mankind. This means God possesses the power to separate man's sins from his good works by the use of His consuming fire. Jesus' descent into hell was a part of His sacrifice, and so this recovery of God's good works in man directly connects to the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ. The burnt offering in the Old Testament symbolizes this power of God.
Satan's project has always been to exert his power to the utmost in his efforts to cause his total evil to so overpower God's goodness in man that the image of God itself becomes depraved and lost forever. Should he succeed, he would cause sin to enter into the very nature of God and cause His downfall. Satan demonstrated his project when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Satan has no gratitude to God for giving him free will. Satan believes God made a mistake in creating free will, and that he can exploit this mistake in man to make God's goodness filthy and so destroy both God and man. But God's love for man and His gift of free will to man has been tested to the absolute limit by Christ's sacrifice on the cross. God proved through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son that He still holds the power to separate mankind from the eternal penalty of his sins no matter how horribly depraved they may be. Satan has already lost and will end up in the lake of fire. Revelation 20:10.
But that part of man's nature which is totally evil and depraved refrained from worshipping God. Total evil never repents or worships God. But in this worship service, God's power caused the totally evil part of man's nature to keep quiet while the good part of every human worshipped God.
But there exists a third part of man's nature which consists of his goodness that has been sullied by his depravity. This part of man's nature often causes him confusion about what is right and what is wrong. This constitutes the weakness in man that causes him inevitably to sin. God understands this helpless weakness, and in His compassion for fallen man, God sent His Son to separate man's goodness from his evil, and save believers from hell by His grace. God also has the power to recover all of the good works of the rest of humanity because when Jesus descended into hell He left behind there all of the sins of mankind. This means God possesses the power to separate man's sins from his good works by the use of His consuming fire. Jesus' descent into hell was a part of His sacrifice, and so this recovery of God's good works in man directly connects to the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ. The burnt offering in the Old Testament symbolizes this power of God.
Satan's project has always been to exert his power to the utmost in his efforts to cause his total evil to so overpower God's goodness in man that the image of God itself becomes depraved and lost forever. Should he succeed, he would cause sin to enter into the very nature of God and cause His downfall. Satan demonstrated his project when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Satan has no gratitude to God for giving him free will. Satan believes God made a mistake in creating free will, and that he can exploit this mistake in man to make God's goodness filthy and so destroy both God and man. But God's love for man and His gift of free will to man has been tested to the absolute limit by Christ's sacrifice on the cross. God proved through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son that He still holds the power to separate mankind from the eternal penalty of his sins no matter how horribly depraved they may be. Satan has already lost and will end up in the lake of fire. Revelation 20:10.
Monday, September 4, 2017
Commentary on Revelation Chapters 4 and 5.
Revelation 5:1-12 prophesies about events that will occur in heaven immediately following the Rapture of the Church. When the Church gets to heaven, symbolized by the translation of the Apostle John in Revelation 4:1, a tremendous worship service begins which has been prophesied by John. This worship service begins in the fourth chapter with the continuous worship of the four beasts who must be the same creatures that Isaiah called the Seraphims in Isaiah 6:2. This continuous worship of the Seraphims who cry "Holy, Holy, Holy" day and night forever inspires the 24 elders who symbolize the Church to fall down also and worship God.
When the Church begins to worship, then Christ appears who only has the power and the right to open a book that He receives from the hand of His Father on His throne. The 24 elders who represent the Church worship Christ because of their redemption by the shed blood and water of Jesus; that is, their salvation by grace. The Church also worships the Lord because He has given them the right to be judges on the earth during the coming millennial reign of Christ. Although the Bible does not directly state this, but in accordance with the context, this book that only Christ can open must contain all of God's new names of all believers who have ever been saved by grace.
This worship service begins to grow exponentially as millions of angels join in the worship of God. This worship service now becomes gigantic and thunderous,
But this worship service grows even more thunderous. Verse 13 records that every creature whom God has ever created begins to join in the worship of God. They begin to fulfill the prophecy of Revelation 4:11. All creatures, including humans, begin to worship God to give Him pleasure. All creatures in heaven and on the earth, including humans, begin to worship. All creatures under the earth, including all humans in hell, begin to worship. All creatures in the material sea, but also all dead humans in that place that God calls "the sea" in Revelation 20:13, begin to worship. In short, all that God has ever created, including all humans, join in this stupendous worship service.
However, all that God did not create does not join in this worship service. Satan, and all else that is sinful and evil, lies outside of the creations of God because it invented itself by misusing God's Ideas. Satan and sin always equals that which is totally evil. All that is totally evil will never worship God under any circumstances. Revelation 9:20-21. All that is totally sinful and evil possesses only a kind of stolen life obtained by the use of negative consciousnesses. In a sense, this negative life only exists because it continuously attempts to destroy God's positive creations. But in another sense, it does not exist at all because it originally came from absolute nothingness which the Bible calls the abyss. Revelation 17:8.
All of this put together can only mean that in Revelation 5:13, all humans that God ever created, whether on the earth or under the earth, alive or dead, begin to worship God despite the sin that attaches to them. That part of them that God created begins to worship Him. That part of them that God created in His image begins to worship Him.
When the Church begins to worship, then Christ appears who only has the power and the right to open a book that He receives from the hand of His Father on His throne. The 24 elders who represent the Church worship Christ because of their redemption by the shed blood and water of Jesus; that is, their salvation by grace. The Church also worships the Lord because He has given them the right to be judges on the earth during the coming millennial reign of Christ. Although the Bible does not directly state this, but in accordance with the context, this book that only Christ can open must contain all of God's new names of all believers who have ever been saved by grace.
This worship service begins to grow exponentially as millions of angels join in the worship of God. This worship service now becomes gigantic and thunderous,
But this worship service grows even more thunderous. Verse 13 records that every creature whom God has ever created begins to join in the worship of God. They begin to fulfill the prophecy of Revelation 4:11. All creatures, including humans, begin to worship God to give Him pleasure. All creatures in heaven and on the earth, including humans, begin to worship. All creatures under the earth, including all humans in hell, begin to worship. All creatures in the material sea, but also all dead humans in that place that God calls "the sea" in Revelation 20:13, begin to worship. In short, all that God has ever created, including all humans, join in this stupendous worship service.
However, all that God did not create does not join in this worship service. Satan, and all else that is sinful and evil, lies outside of the creations of God because it invented itself by misusing God's Ideas. Satan and sin always equals that which is totally evil. All that is totally evil will never worship God under any circumstances. Revelation 9:20-21. All that is totally sinful and evil possesses only a kind of stolen life obtained by the use of negative consciousnesses. In a sense, this negative life only exists because it continuously attempts to destroy God's positive creations. But in another sense, it does not exist at all because it originally came from absolute nothingness which the Bible calls the abyss. Revelation 17:8.
All of this put together can only mean that in Revelation 5:13, all humans that God ever created, whether on the earth or under the earth, alive or dead, begin to worship God despite the sin that attaches to them. That part of them that God created begins to worship Him. That part of them that God created in His image begins to worship Him.
Commentary on John 1:9
John 1:9 teaches that the Light, which is both Jesus and the Holy Spirit, gives light; that is, spiritual insight, to every person who has ever lived. The Holy Spirit can directly witness about Christ to a person and save him by grace as He did with the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. But in a more general sense, this verse means that God influences every person to choose to live a good life and eschew sin as much as possible. God desires that every human live in accordance with his being in the image of God. God will reward those who choose to be good and do good by recreating them to live a blessed life on His new earth in a form that will be similar, but not the same, as their former identities and personalities when they lived on the old earth. The extent to which each recreated person will retain their former selves will belong to the judgment of Christ. That part of all humans who deliberately choose to be evil and do evil can never be saved. Total evil can never repent. These are the evil dead whom God will consign to the lake of fire forever. What few good works the evil dead did while on the old earth will be recovered by God to be recreated, but these evil dead will completely lose their former identities and personalities. God will allow only those saved by grace to retain most of their former identities and personalities. That which absolutely and completely divides God's goodness from the Devil's evil will be the shed blood and water of Christ in the case of those saved by grace, and the consuming fire of God for the rest of humanity. Matthew 16:24-27; I Corinthians 3:12-15; Revelation 22:11-12; Revelation 21:3-8; Hebrews 12:25-29.
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Commentary on John 5:21-29 and Revelation 20:11-15 through Revelation 21:1-8 part two
This general resurrection of the dead that Jesus prophesied about in John 5:28-29 must be the same resurrection recorded in Revelation 20:11-15 through Revelation 21:1-8. In both resurrections, the dead are judged according to their good and bad works. Only the dead stand before God because He will not yet have recreated their good works into new humans at that time. The book of life will be opened where God has recorded His new names for all His future humans whom He will recreate to live on His recreated earth. Other books will be opened which will have recorded all of the good and evil works of the dead. At that judgment, God will recover all of His good works that He put into man and collect them into a general pool from which He will create righteous men to live on His righteous, recreated earth. All of the evil dead will be cast into the lake of fire. Thus, in this general resurrection, God will absolutely and completely separate all that is totally righteous from all that is totally evil.
The main difference between those saved by grace and the recreated humans will be that those saved by grace will already be enjoying a new life with God in heaven while the recreated humans can only reside on the new earth. In addition, humans saved by grace will retain most of their former identities and personalities that they had on the old earth while the recreated humans will lose their former identities and personalities because God will have recreated them from a pool of recovered good works as He sees fit to recreate them. Matthew 16:24-27; Mark 8:34-38; Luke 9:23-26.
Revelation 20:13 reveals that God will raise the dead from three different places called the sea, death, and hell. If unrepentant sinners go only to hell when they die, then the Bible could only state that. Revelation 20:14 teaches that both death and hell will be cast into the lake of fire to be destroyed. God promised in I Corinthians 15:26 that He would destroy death. God will also destroy hell because the lake of fire is called the second death. In addition, God will have emptied hell of all its dead which will show that hell has already served its purpose. All of this shows that the second death must eliminate the first death. Revelation 21:1 reveals that the sea from which some of the dead were raised will also be eliminated by a manner not specified. Revelation 21:5 provides God's assurance that He will make all things new. Since God created all things in the first place, then this promise can only mean that God will recover every good element He has ever created as Colossians 1:20 and Romans 11:36 relate. Since God recovers and cleanses all of His good elements that have been temporarily subject to being sullied by sin and uses them to recreate a new earth and mankind, then this can only mean that the dead whom God casts into the lake of fire must be totally evil as Revelation 21:8 describes them as being.
Whether lost souls after death go into the sea, death, or hell depends solely upon the judgment of Christ. Christ is the sole and final judge in all matters as John 5:21-22 and 27 clearly teach. God allows believers to recognize sin when they see it, but Christ never allows believers to make final judgments about any person. Matthew 7:1-2; Matthew 7:20. Christians must recognize that God has appointed Christ alone to be the final judge and leave it at that. This means that whenever believers make such final judgments, they must put themselves in the place of Christ, and that can only be a sin. Hebrews 9:27.
The main difference between those saved by grace and the recreated humans will be that those saved by grace will already be enjoying a new life with God in heaven while the recreated humans can only reside on the new earth. In addition, humans saved by grace will retain most of their former identities and personalities that they had on the old earth while the recreated humans will lose their former identities and personalities because God will have recreated them from a pool of recovered good works as He sees fit to recreate them. Matthew 16:24-27; Mark 8:34-38; Luke 9:23-26.
Revelation 20:13 reveals that God will raise the dead from three different places called the sea, death, and hell. If unrepentant sinners go only to hell when they die, then the Bible could only state that. Revelation 20:14 teaches that both death and hell will be cast into the lake of fire to be destroyed. God promised in I Corinthians 15:26 that He would destroy death. God will also destroy hell because the lake of fire is called the second death. In addition, God will have emptied hell of all its dead which will show that hell has already served its purpose. All of this shows that the second death must eliminate the first death. Revelation 21:1 reveals that the sea from which some of the dead were raised will also be eliminated by a manner not specified. Revelation 21:5 provides God's assurance that He will make all things new. Since God created all things in the first place, then this promise can only mean that God will recover every good element He has ever created as Colossians 1:20 and Romans 11:36 relate. Since God recovers and cleanses all of His good elements that have been temporarily subject to being sullied by sin and uses them to recreate a new earth and mankind, then this can only mean that the dead whom God casts into the lake of fire must be totally evil as Revelation 21:8 describes them as being.
Whether lost souls after death go into the sea, death, or hell depends solely upon the judgment of Christ. Christ is the sole and final judge in all matters as John 5:21-22 and 27 clearly teach. God allows believers to recognize sin when they see it, but Christ never allows believers to make final judgments about any person. Matthew 7:1-2; Matthew 7:20. Christians must recognize that God has appointed Christ alone to be the final judge and leave it at that. This means that whenever believers make such final judgments, they must put themselves in the place of Christ, and that can only be a sin. Hebrews 9:27.
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Commentary on John 5:21-29 part one
In verse 24, our Lord clearly equates death with original sin. When God cast Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden, they lost all direct fellowship with God. Since that day, all humans have been born with a deadness of spirit and soul; that is, no consciousness of God. No consciousness of God results in sins committed and spiritual death. Genesis 2:17; Genesis 3:23. Spiritual death has nothing to do with physical death. Actually, physical death always results in a person's soul and spirit being returned to God for judgment. Psalm 115:16; Hebrews 9:27. Physical death actually only symbolizes God's ability to create and recreate.
In verse 24, Jesus taught that any person who is physically alive but spiritually dead can be made alive forever by putting their faith in Him. Jesus refers here to the "born again" experience of John 3:3-8. By His phrase "and believeth on Him who sent Me," Jesus meant that a person must put his faith in the Father and the Son in order to receive the "everlasting life" which results from God removing all sin from the believer's soul and spirit and recreating his soul and spirit to have direct fellowship with God. In a sense, all "born again" believers spiritually return to the garden of Eden. Jesus further taught that all "born again" believers never receive any "condemnation" whatsoever from God's judgment. In other words, God never separates them from His fellowship again. God may punish them to correct them, but He never again separates them from Himself. In verse 24, Jesus refers to all believers ever saved by the grace of God including Old Testament saints, Church Age saints, and Tribulation saints.
In verse 25, Jesus taught about both a future and a present event. Jesus meant that in a present event God can raise a believer from spiritual death to spiritual life. But Jesus also meant that in a future event, God will raise the dead from their graves to a recreated life on the new earth. Jesus refers to this future event further in verses 28 and 29. By His phrase, "all that are in the graves shall hear His voice," Jesus could only mean all humans who ever lived who were not saved by grace since all die and go to some form of a grave. Jesus further taught that all whom God raises in this event will be judged by God to receive a "resurrection of life" for good works and a "resurrection of damnation" for their evil works. This future resurrection has nothing to do with salvation by grace through faith since no good works are required to receive this spiritual salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9. In addition, all "born again" believers will be safe in heaven with God when this future resurrection occurs as Revelation 20:4-6 teaches.
In verse 24, Jesus taught that any person who is physically alive but spiritually dead can be made alive forever by putting their faith in Him. Jesus refers here to the "born again" experience of John 3:3-8. By His phrase "and believeth on Him who sent Me," Jesus meant that a person must put his faith in the Father and the Son in order to receive the "everlasting life" which results from God removing all sin from the believer's soul and spirit and recreating his soul and spirit to have direct fellowship with God. In a sense, all "born again" believers spiritually return to the garden of Eden. Jesus further taught that all "born again" believers never receive any "condemnation" whatsoever from God's judgment. In other words, God never separates them from His fellowship again. God may punish them to correct them, but He never again separates them from Himself. In verse 24, Jesus refers to all believers ever saved by the grace of God including Old Testament saints, Church Age saints, and Tribulation saints.
In verse 25, Jesus taught about both a future and a present event. Jesus meant that in a present event God can raise a believer from spiritual death to spiritual life. But Jesus also meant that in a future event, God will raise the dead from their graves to a recreated life on the new earth. Jesus refers to this future event further in verses 28 and 29. By His phrase, "all that are in the graves shall hear His voice," Jesus could only mean all humans who ever lived who were not saved by grace since all die and go to some form of a grave. Jesus further taught that all whom God raises in this event will be judged by God to receive a "resurrection of life" for good works and a "resurrection of damnation" for their evil works. This future resurrection has nothing to do with salvation by grace through faith since no good works are required to receive this spiritual salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9. In addition, all "born again" believers will be safe in heaven with God when this future resurrection occurs as Revelation 20:4-6 teaches.
Monday, August 28, 2017
The Nonconsciousness of Unreality
The calculation 2+3=6 constitutes a false system even though every element of this system is a true and real element. We know the system is false because it is useless and means nothing. The false system equals nothing.
The idea of nothing identifies the falsity of the system. Consciousness can use the real idea of nothing to identify falsity, but it cannot tell us what falsity is. The idea of nothing cannot be false. It is a true and real idea just as all of the other symbols in the false system are. But this seems to make the useful and real idea of nothing equal to falsity which is useless. The useful cannot equal the useless. In order to identify falsity, we imagine the idea of nothing and falsity to be equal, but they cannot be equal. Actually, every symbol in the false system must be true and real except the falsity for which no symbol exists.
We know the system is false, and yet we cannot identify this falsity without using a real idea. Even falsity itself seems to equal a real nothingness. All of this rumination raises the question: Where is falsity? It can nowhere be found in reality. In thinking below the level of the real idea of nothing, we find falsity nowhere and at no time. We can create no symbol for falsity because every symbol would merely equal the real idea of nothing. The closest we could get to such a symbol would be the phrase "minus zero." What does "minus zero" mean? No one knows. To consciousness, it means absolutely nothing. Absolute nothingness equals chaos. It nonexists nowhere and at no time. It nonexists below the real idea of nothing.
Many false systems exist in the world. They are all useless and equal to the real idea of nothing in consciousness. Usefulness equals reality, but uselessness indicates chaos. The real idea of nothing proves to be useful to identify the useless, but below the level of uselessness nonexists absolute nothingness. We cannot be conscious of absolute nothingness. Even when we think we can be conscious of it, we can actually only be conscious of the real idea of nothing. Nonconsciousness equals the unreal. This condition can only mean that everything of which we can be conscious must be real.
How did this nonconscious unreality invade reality to cause false systems to exist? No one knows. This is a mystery even to God. II Thessalonians 2:7. But it all started when Lucifer rebelled against God in heaven. Lucifer never created anything. Lucifer merely stole some of God's good ideas and misused them to invent false and useless systems. Somehow, Lucifer brought a nonsconscious unreality; that is, absolute nothingness into reality in order to distort it. Unreality always equals a nonconscious distortion of reality. This fact accounts for all the false systems of the world including those called sin. Analyze any false system and one will find that it always comprises God's true and real ideas that have been distorted by a falsity of which one cannot be conscious except as seeming to be equal to the real idea of nothing. Ezekiel 28:15.
The idea of nothing identifies the falsity of the system. Consciousness can use the real idea of nothing to identify falsity, but it cannot tell us what falsity is. The idea of nothing cannot be false. It is a true and real idea just as all of the other symbols in the false system are. But this seems to make the useful and real idea of nothing equal to falsity which is useless. The useful cannot equal the useless. In order to identify falsity, we imagine the idea of nothing and falsity to be equal, but they cannot be equal. Actually, every symbol in the false system must be true and real except the falsity for which no symbol exists.
We know the system is false, and yet we cannot identify this falsity without using a real idea. Even falsity itself seems to equal a real nothingness. All of this rumination raises the question: Where is falsity? It can nowhere be found in reality. In thinking below the level of the real idea of nothing, we find falsity nowhere and at no time. We can create no symbol for falsity because every symbol would merely equal the real idea of nothing. The closest we could get to such a symbol would be the phrase "minus zero." What does "minus zero" mean? No one knows. To consciousness, it means absolutely nothing. Absolute nothingness equals chaos. It nonexists nowhere and at no time. It nonexists below the real idea of nothing.
Many false systems exist in the world. They are all useless and equal to the real idea of nothing in consciousness. Usefulness equals reality, but uselessness indicates chaos. The real idea of nothing proves to be useful to identify the useless, but below the level of uselessness nonexists absolute nothingness. We cannot be conscious of absolute nothingness. Even when we think we can be conscious of it, we can actually only be conscious of the real idea of nothing. Nonconsciousness equals the unreal. This condition can only mean that everything of which we can be conscious must be real.
How did this nonconscious unreality invade reality to cause false systems to exist? No one knows. This is a mystery even to God. II Thessalonians 2:7. But it all started when Lucifer rebelled against God in heaven. Lucifer never created anything. Lucifer merely stole some of God's good ideas and misused them to invent false and useless systems. Somehow, Lucifer brought a nonsconscious unreality; that is, absolute nothingness into reality in order to distort it. Unreality always equals a nonconscious distortion of reality. This fact accounts for all the false systems of the world including those called sin. Analyze any false system and one will find that it always comprises God's true and real ideas that have been distorted by a falsity of which one cannot be conscious except as seeming to be equal to the real idea of nothing. Ezekiel 28:15.
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