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.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
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.
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