by Lambert Dolphin
Why God Became a Man?
The religion page in the Saturday newspaper these days treats Jesus as a
great moral teacher whose words we may or may not have accurately recorded for
us in the gospels. Jesus may have been a remarkable teacher, but so was
Confucius, Buddha, or Mohammed.
The disciples of Jesus, and the majority of the Jews who enthusiastically
followed the Master at the beginning of his public ministry clearly hoped he
would bring in the kingdom of God by throwing out the Roman overlords and
bringing Israel back to the glory the nation had in the days of Solomon.
Reading through the gospels there is plenty of evidence that Jesus' teachings
were inexhaustibly rich and profound and authoritative. His miracles were real
and brought much relief from pain, suffering and even death. His manhood, lived
out in total dependence on the indwelling Father, was startling to many because
no man living or dead had ever come close to measuring up to Jesus'
demonstration of what God intended normal manhood to be.
While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was
standing by the lake of Gennesaret. And he saw two boats by the lake; but the
fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of
the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land.
And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had ceased
speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a
catch." And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But
at your word I will let down the nets." And when they had done this, they
enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned
to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and
filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart
from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." For he was astonished, and all that
were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James
and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to
Simon, "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men." (Luke
5:1-10)
Jesus probably first realized his calling when he was about 12 years old,
And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the
favor of God was upon him. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the
feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according
to custom; and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus
stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be
in the company they went a day's journey, and they sought him among their
kinsfolk and acquaintances; and when they did not find him, they returned to
Jerusalem, seeking him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting
among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who
heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they saw
him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated
us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously." And he
said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in
my Father's house?" And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to
them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom
and in stature, and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2:40-52)
From the time He first realized why He had been sent into the world, Jesus
knew that His main purpose was to arrive in Jerusalem at a precise, exact time
and date on God's calendar that had been prophesied by Daniel 700 years earlier,
(Daniel 9:24-27). There he knew that he would be betrayed by one of his own, and
that he would become a sacrificial lamb for the sins of all the world.
"...[Jesus] strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he
was the Messiah. From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must
go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him and
began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you."
But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to
me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men." Then Jesus told his
disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his
cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever
loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man, if he
gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return
for his life? For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his
Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done. (Matthew
16:20-27)
Men today are no different from the Jews of Jesus' day. We'd all like a
Savior who would fix up the externals of our lives, solve our financial and
emotional problems, deal with our enemies and give us at the happiness that
constantly eludes us. But the Primary Mission of Jesus was much more serious and
profound and terrible. He came to undo cosmic evil and to accomplish a permanent
fix for the problem of human sin.
The solution to human ills and to the cosmic problem of evil could not,
cannot, and did not come from human skills, ingenuity, or from our meritorious
efforts. It is the Creator Himself who formulated the plans---from the beginning
of time---for the solution of man's terrible plight. Though the councils of God
are conducted in eternity "before the foundation of the world," in due season,
"...when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of
woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we
might receive adoption as sons." (Galatians 4:4, 5)
God executed His plans, as He always does, according to His own timing and
pre-planning. What God did to solve the problem of evil was to enter the human
race in the Person of the Son, as a perfect, sinless man.
Jesus,
"who, though he was in the form (morphe) of God, did not
count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied (ekenosen)
himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And
being found (schemati) in human form (homoiomati) he humbled
himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has
highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father." (Philippians 2:6-11)
Jesus, the Son of God became a substitute for each one of us, a sin-bearer, a
reconciler. He is called in the New Testament, "the Author (
archegos) and
Finisher (
teleiotes) of our Faith" (Heb. 12:2). By a voluntary act the
Son of God chose to become a man, to be an obedient servant, and to do
everything, day by day throughout his entire life on earth, in total dependence
upon the Father who indwelt Him.
This passage quoted above from Philippians is of great importance to our
understanding the nature of God and the radical solution to sin God accomplished
through the incarnation of His Son. The early church wrestled over the issue of
whether Christ had one nature or two (the problem of the "hypostatic
union")---most Christians today agree that this passage implies that Jesus
Christ is both fully God and fully man. Furthermore, Jesus lived His entire life
on earth by faith in total dependence upon the Father who dwelt in Him, thus He
did not, while He was on earth, exercise His sovereign power as God the Son.
This right and privilege (that of acting as Sovereign God), in addition to His
exalted and splendorous place beside the Father, were temporarily and
voluntarily set aside by Jesus of his own free will.
The Son of God, having become a man, grew into maturity, through suffering
and obedience, and so came to the age where He was fully qualified to die as a
substitute for the sins of the world. Then, having accomplished that terrible,
bloody work of the cross, Jesus was raised from the dead by the Father and by
the Holy Spirit. Forty days later He ascended into the heavens. This same Jesus
now sits at the "right hand of the Majesty on High." In this series of cosmic
events, Jesus has actually gained a more exalted position in the universe than
He held before. Because of his obedience and death on the cross, He has been
elevated by the Father to the place of supreme authority in the entire universe.
This "higher state" may be difficult for us to imagine---since Jesus was already
the Son of God before He became a man---but such is the language used of Jesus
in the New Testament describing his post-resurrection exaltation.
Chicago's Moody Church pastor and prophet, the late A.W. Tozer wrote these
words:
"The teaching of the New Testament is that now, at this very moment,
there is a Man in heaven appearing in the presence of God for us. He is as
certainly a man as was Adam or Moses or Paul; he is a man glorified, but his
glorification did not de-humanize him. Today he is a real man, of the race of
mankind, bearing our lineaments and dimensions, a visible and audible man, whom
any other man would recognize instantly as one of us. But more than this, he is
the heir of all things, Lord of all lords, head of the church, firstborn of the
new creation. He is the way to God, the life of the believer, the hope of
Israel, and the high priest of every true worshiper. He holds the keys of death
and hell, and stands as advocate and surety for everyone who believes on him in
truth. Salvation comes not by accepting the finished work, or deciding for
Christ; it comes by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, the whole, living,
victorious Lord who, as God and man, fought our fight and won it, accepted our
debt as his own and paid it, took our sins and died under them, and rose again
to set us free. This is the true Christ; nothing less will do."
The Seat of Original Sin
The late Arthur Custance, a gifted Canadian Bible scholar, in his book
The Seed of the Woman, (Ref. 1) makes a case that "original sin" in
the human race may very well be transmitted biologically from generation to
generation [from Adam] through the male sperm, rather than through the female
ovum. Custance took care to defend his premises thoroughly. The virgin birth,
Custance believed, allowed Jesus to be born of Mary free from all sin so as to
become a "lamb without spot or blemish," "tempted in every way, just as we are,
yet without sin." Scripture also speaks of Jesus as "The Lamb slain before the
foundation of the world." If original sin is transmitted genetically by the male
sperm and not by the female ovum, then Mary, though she herself was a forgiven
sinner and a mortal daughter of Adam and Eve, could give birth to a sinless son
through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit without ordinary fertilization by
her husband's seed.
The incarnation, the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus the Son
of God is an awesome intrusion into our limited space-time domain. These events
which we see as merely historic in our time frame constitute an eternal event, a
transaction (known in theology as "the eternal covenant") between the Father and
the Son, which really takes place in eternity, outside of time. The prophet
Isaiah records amazing "conversations" outside of time between God the Father
and His servant the Messiah, (Isaiah was written about 700 years before Jesus
was born) For example Isaiah 49 says:
Listen to me, O coastlands, and hearken, you peoples from afar. The
LORD called me (Messiah) from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my
name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me,
'You are my servant, Israel, (here the Messiah is spoken of as the true Israel)
in whom I will be glorified.'
But I (Messiah) said, 'I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for
nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with
my God.'
And now the LORD says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to
bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am
honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength---he says:
'It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of
Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will give you as a light to the
nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.' Thus says the
LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred
by the nations, the servant of rulers: 'Kings shall see and arise; princes, and
they shall prostrate themselves; because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy
One of Israel, who has chosen you.'" (1-7)
Arthur Custance's argument about the mechanism by which sin may be
genetically transmitted is a very reasonable one, (at least to my way of
thinking), and helps us to understand why the blood line of the promise through
legitimate heirs from Eve down through Mary is uninterrupted, while only the
Kingly promise (not the blood line---see Jer. 22:30, 36:30) is preserved from
Abraham to Joseph.
The conception of Jesus in the
womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit interrupted the chain of genetic links beginning
with the fall, allowing a descendant of Adam to be born into the world free from
original sin. The perfect obedience of Jesus during His life on earth also was
necessary to assure that He reached the cross as a fully qualified sin-offering.
Scripture emphasizes the humanity of the Messiah as fully as it does His Deity.
The Old Testament is replete with references to the Messiah as the "root out of
dry ground," "the seed of David," "the suffering servant of the LORD," and so
on.
Jesus and the Undoing of Cosmic Evil
The most famous passage from the pen of Paul describing the resurrection of
believers also makes mention of Christ's victory over evil angels, and over
death itself. Indeed Jesus will, ultimately "put all things under himself:"
"But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits
of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come
also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ
shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits,
then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he
delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every
authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under
his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 'For God has put all things
in subjection under his feet.' But when it says, 'All things are put in
subjection under him,' it is plain that he is excepted who put all things under
him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be
subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be everything to
every one." (1 Corinthians 15:20-28)
The Bible is full of evidence that both the spiritual dimension and human
society are today influenced by an active and pernicious evil agency. The old
creation has been ruined because of active evil perpetrated by fallen angels.
Both the heavens and the material universe have become flawed and corrupted.
Some of the laws of physics we now take for granted were evidently different in
the past. Evil in the heavens means that malevolent spiritual beings, having
great influence in the universe have access to the throne of God and to
territories beyond the earth as well. Satan does not rule in hell, as popular
cartoons usually suggest. As the prince of the power of the air he has access to
heaven, (Job Chapter 1). As the god of this age he rules over the fallen social
order of the nations.
Satan and his hordes of malevolent spirit-beings rule in the activities of
men; however, only with permission from God. They are completely in subjection
to God and can not go beyond boundaries established by God. Satan's pervasive
influence of active evil influencing all human affairs is also temporary and
soon will be coming to an end. In fact, the doom and fate of the Father of Lies
has already been sealed in eternity. The victory of Jesus on the cross was a
cosmic, all-encompassing one:
God has delivered us [who believe] from the dominion of darkness and
transferred [translated] us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the first-born of all creation; for in him all things were created, in heaven
and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
principalities or authorities---all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of
the body, the church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in
everything he might be pre-eminent. For in him all the fullness of God was
pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on
earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once
were estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in
his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and
irreproachable before him...(Colossians 1:13-22)
We sons and daughters of Adam, who still live constrained in time, can rest
assured that a bright, new world lies ahead for all who follow Jesus as Lord. A
just and holy God cannot tolerate the present world situation forever. He must,
and He will, intervene and change the status Que. One such direct intervention
has already occurred, at the time of the Flood of Noah. God's next moves will be
more grand, terrible, and awesome indeed. He reigns over the entire universe
always, but He does not yet rule on the earth. The day of Christ's rule on earth
is fast approaching.
Man's Three Enemies
Man is fallen, human evil is a reality---The first three Chapters of the Book
of Romans spell this out for us in detail. How can we miss such a complete and
thorough indictment before the bar of God's court of justice? Yet amazingly
everyone of us seems intent on denying what should be perfectly obvious. Even
though we all suffer from the effects of early in life, we persist in living for
the moment denying the fact that the human mortality rate remains a flat 100%.
The fact that we begin to die as soon as we are born, attests to the fall of
our forefather Adam, "Sin came into the world through one man and death through
sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned--" (Romans 5:12).
Even those of us who know Jesus Christ as Lord, and who experience his renewing
life in us, (Rom. 8:11) still live in fallen physical bodies---bodies that are
not yet redeemed.
Non-Christians are described in the Bible as "dead in trespasses and sins."
Thus those who do not yet know God cannot be expected to live what in God's eyes
is truly moral and godly lives---by our very nature. The power to live a moral
life comes from God as a gift, as does inherent rightness which is imputed to us
when we become Christians.
Becoming a Christian does not eliminate sin, rather, conversion to Christ is
the time the real battle begins. Christians find themselves subjected to
temptations and inclinations towards evil through three mechanisms. The Bible
calls them "the flesh, the world, and the devil." However, neither the body, nor
matter, nor things in the material world are, in and of themselves, evil.
The flesh might better be translated "the self-life." The seat of the flesh
lies in the as-yet-unredeemed physical body of man, but it is Satan who
energizes and empowers the lusts of the flesh that we all experience. The enemy
seeks to draw us away from dependence upon the indwelling Lord Jesus, this
produces self-centeredness---which is how the flesh operates. The flesh and the
world are Satan's main instruments in this process. The flesh, according to the
Bible, has both "good" and "bad" aspects. The flesh always springs to life when
a Christian tries to live his life by self-effort---rather than by dependence
upon his indwelling Lord. Christians are free to "walk after the flesh" but
admonished instead to "put to death the deeds of the body" and to "sow good
works by the Spirit" since there are inevitable consequences for evil or for
good depending on all our daily choices. These contrasts are set forth in
Galatians Chapter 5.
The "world," (as the New Testament uses the term), is not the world of
nature, but culture, custom, tradition, and human society as dominated by Satan.
The Greek word
cosmos, translated "world" means "ornament, decoration,
arrangement." Cosmos gives us our English word "cosmetics." Hence worldliness is
a concern for external appearances more than inner content and quality. The
world system is outwardly religious, scientific, cultured and elegant. Inwardly
it seethes with national and commercial rivalries.
The influence of the "world" on a follower of Christ shows up in the
following ways: a conformity to cultural norms or traditions and stifles
individuality, the use of force, greed, ambition and warfare to accomplish
objectives, the use of financial reward, position, power or social status as a
important aspect of identity. The world cares nothing for the worth of the
individual or his uniqueness, promotes myths and illusions which appeal to human
vanity and pride, diverts attention from spiritual values by appeals to pursue
pleasure, pride (vainglory), or to power, is permissive in regard to sexual,
moral and ethical values to encourage self-indulgence, makes an appeal to
immediate pleasure rather than long-term goals, ignores eternal values and
invisible realities, offers false philosophies and value systems to support its
goals. The root problem behind worldly values is pride. The world exalts man,
his abilities and his supposed "progress"---e.g. through the myth of social
evolution, glosses over and hides suffering, death, poverty, the depravity of
man, and man's accountability to God. The "world" seeks to unify mankind under
an atheistic humanistic or pantheistic banner, and emphasizes pluralism while
denying Biblical absolutes. Worldly philosophy teaches human progress and
advancement through better education or social welfare.
The third enemy of man is Satan. The Devil is "the god of this world" (or in
Greek this "age.") He does not preside over hell, but over the earth, that is,
over society. He has access to heaven. As a "liar and a murderer from the
beginning," Satan seeks to twist, warp, cripple and destroy man, and to further
ruin God's creation. His basic appeal is to persuade men to be their own gods,
to be self-sufficient, to attempt mastery of their own fates and destinies.
Satan is not equal to god, and must obtain permission from God for all that he
does. He is clever, deceitful, treacherous, and man's deadly enemy. (C.S. Lewis,
Screwtape Letters is an excellent fictional story of conversations
between the devils---revealing much about the stratagems of Satan and his
devices).
The good news of the Bible is that God has already solved the problem of evil
in both dimensions, that is, "in heaven" and "on earth". This is why the theme
of victory, triumph, and hope pervades the New Testament. "...I would have you
wise as to what is good and guileless as to what is evil; then the God of peace
will soon crush Satan under your feet." writes Paul (Romans 16: 19-20) To the
Corinthians he says, "For he (Jesus) must reign until he has put all his enemies
under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 'For God has put all
things under his feet.'" (1 Corinthians 15:25-27)
The Work of the Cross: The Central Accomplishment of Jesus
In Scripture, when God has something important to say, it is sometimes
repeated. Usually one repetition is sufficient to tell us to pay attention, as
when Jesus would begin a statement with the words "Truly, Truly I say to you..."
(In the original language the word "truly" is actually the word Amen. "Amen,
amen, I say to you). Sometimes Scripture repeats something twice to make very
certain we don't miss something important. A very few times does Scripture
repeat something three times for emphasis---for example "Holy, holy, holy is the
Lord God of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory," are Isaiah's words
when he became aware of the holiness of God and his own deep-seated sinfulness
(Isaiah 6).
When it comes to the life of Jesus---His temptations, betrayal, trial, death
and resurrection---four, not two, not three, Gospels were written. Surely this
strategy by the Holy Spirit is intended to help us see the supremely great
importance of God becoming a man. We must not miss the message that "...in
Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses
against them..." (2 Corinthians 5:19)
John R.W. Stott has written a thorough treatment on the cross of Christ,
revealing the importance of this subject from God's point of view (Ref. 2). But,
the cross of Christ is all-too-frequently neglected or even crowded out of
Christianity by other less "offensive" aspects of theology and Bible study. Not
only is the subject of the Cross all about the death of Jesus on our behalf, but
also it points to the fact that we, too, must be put to death, in Christ, on
that same cross, to gain eternal life. Our crucifixion with Christ shows us that
there is nothing in the old creation, in the first Adam, that can be saved apart
from death. Paul writes, "I have been crucified with Christ; nevertheless I
live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh I
live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I do
not nullify the grace of God, for if justification came by the law, then Christ
died to no avail." (Galatians 2:20-21)
While writing to encourage the Christians in the early church at Colossae,
the Apostle Paul reveals to them some of the mighty once-for-all-time
accomplishments of Jesus on the cross:
"As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in him,
rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were
taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one makes a prey of you by
philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the
elemental spirits (stoicheia) of the universe, and not according to
Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily (permanently), and
you have come to fullness of life in him, who is the head of all rule and
authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without
hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; and you
were buried with him in (the) baptism, in which you were also raised with him
through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who
were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive
together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having canceled the
(legal) bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside
(blotted out), nailing it to the cross. He disarmed (stripped of power and
authority) the principalities and powers (in the heavenly places) and made a
public example (spectacle) of them, (bodily) triumphing over them in him."
(Colossians 2: 6-15)
Christ's Return Seen from Eternity
Speaking of the return of Christ as one grand event, Paul wrote this to the
Thessalonians:
"We are bound to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is
fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of
you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast of you in the
churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in
the afflictions which you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous
judgment of God, that you may be made worthy of the kingdom of God, for which
you are suffering---since indeed God deems it just to repay with affliction
those who afflict you, and to grant rest with us to you who are afflicted, when
the Lord Jesus is revealed (apokalupsis) from heaven with his mighty
angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance upon those who do not know God and
upon those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They shall suffer the
punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord
and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in
his saints, and to be marveled at in all who have believed, because our
testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our God
may make you worthy of his call, and may fulfill every good resolve and work of
faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,
and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." (2
Thessalonians 1:3-12)
If death for the follower of Jesus Christ means leaving time and entering
eternity, then a similar kind of happening transpires when physical death comes
to those who have rejected all of Christ's rights and claims to rule their
lives. Since the issue of sin has been dealt with once for all by Jesus, it is
only our proud unwillingness to be forgiven that ultimately stands between us
and our full reconciliation with our Creator! Physical death for those who are
not God's children means that spirit, soul and body exit our space-time
dimension and "time travel" to the end of the age when the Day of Judgment is
held. This event (in eternity) will also intersect human history, like the
Second Coming, at some future date on our calendars. But it is no more than a
split second away in the consciousness of a person who dies in unbelief! The
passage quoted above describes the terrible last glimpse the lost have of Jesus
before they are separated from Him forever.
The book of the Revelation records what is known as the judgment of the great
white throne, which follows immediately:
"Then I (John) saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it;
from his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And
I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were
opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead
were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done. And the sea
gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were
judged by what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of
fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; and if any one's name was not
found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
(Revelation 20:11-15)
Most Bible commentators teach, first, that all those judged at the Great
White Throne are non-believers, and second, that there are degrees of punishment
in hell---because of the reference to books (angelic records) being opened and
the dead being judged according to what they have done. All those present at
this judgment will find that their names have not been written in the book of
life.
Conclusion
All paths in life lead ultimately to a face-to-face meeting with the man
Jesus of Nazareth. There is no escaping Him. Jesus is the One who spoke the
universe into being, carrying out the Father's design and plan for the creation.
All things were made through him, and according to Colossians, "for him." He is
the absent landlord who will one day come back and claim what is His own. We are
only house-guests in Some Else's universe.
Quoting from and applying Isaiah Chapter 45, the Apostle Paul says,
"None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we
live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether
we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and
lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Why do
you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For
we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, 'As I
live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give
praise to God.' So each of us shall give account of himself to God." (Romans
14:7-12)
Notes
1.
The Seed of the Woman, by Arthur C. Custance. Available from
Doorway Publications, %Evelyn M. White, 38 Elora Drive, Unit 4, Hamilton,
Ontario, L9C 7L6, Canada 1980.
2. John R. W. Stott,
The Cross of Christ (Intervarsity Press;
Downers Grove, Illinois, 1986).
Read more at -
http://ldolphin.org/accomplish.html
A colleague, the Calvinist Whitefield, substituted the familiar
opening line over the protests of the author. In 1855, after both Wesley and
Mendelssohn were dead, Dr. William Cummings put the words and music together in
spite of evidence that neither author nor composer would have approved.
December 24, 2012 – CLIMATE - An outbreak of severe weather, including tornadoes, threatens to ruin Christmas Day for families and communities across the Gulf Coast states. The area at greatest risk for damaging thunderstorms and tornadoes on Christmas Day stretches from southeastern Texas to the Florida Panhandle and southwestern Georgia. That zone is home to College Station and Houston, Texas, Lafayette, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, La., Jackson and Gulfport, Miss., Montgomery and Mobile, Ala., Pensacola, Fla., and Albany, Ga. 
Now evidence has come forth that correlates with school staff claims that the shooters were “disguised group of nuns” in a shocking audio capture of Newtown Police operations on the morning of the shooting.
