Category Archives: Religion

May 4, 2014 · 11:30

How Art Thou Fallen!

Angel of Light

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (Isaiah 14:12)

God deniers often challenge believers with the question of evil in the world. “If God is so good, why is there so much evil in the world?” Another closely linked question is “Why did God create Satan?” and “When did God create Satan?” My attempt to answer these questions follows.

God created Satan (his name is Lucifer) when He created the other angels. Angels were created early on during the week of creation (Genesis 1) – probably Day One or Day Two of creation. We get this from God’s response to Job’s questioning concerning the calamity that had befallen him. God asks Job:

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? … When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:4, 7, emphasis added)

“The morning stars” is used synonymously with “the sons of God” – Hebrew bene Elohim, which is used only in regard to angels in the Old Testament. From this we gather that the angels witnessed creation. Satan is included with “the sons of God.”

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. (Job 1:6, emphasis added)

Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. (Job 2:1, emphasis added)

Apparently by this time Satan, which means “accuser,” had already fallen, and he was actively attacking man. However, notice Who still has the final say – Satan still needed to get permission from God to attack Job. But when did Satan Fall? The Bible does not provide specific answers to this question, but we can at least conclude that it happened after creation was completed because we have God’s assessment of His finished product:

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. (Genesis 1:31, emphasis added).

God’s creation would not have been “very good,” if there were rebellion in the camp, and to suppose that perhaps God was unaware of a rebellion would be to deny God’s omniscience. So, sometime between God’s conclusion of creation and the Fall of man (Genesis 3), Satan rebelled against God. That brings up the question: Why would Satan rebel against God? We are given some hints in the books of Isaiah and Ezekiel.

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (Isaiah 14:12-14, emphasis added)

Thou [“king of Tyrus,” i.e., Satan] hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. (Ezekiel 28:13-17, emphasis added)

From this, especially from the Ezekiel passage, we can infer that Lucifer (“the king of Tyrus” i.e., Satan) was a high ranking angel – very likely an archangel. He was obviously very beautiful as his “covering” is described as beautiful gem stones. His name, Lucifer, means “shining one” or “day star,” therefore he must have been quite dazzling – very unlike the images of Satan we see depicted today. Notice also that his “sin” was the same sin with which he tempted Eve in the Garden: “ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).

Only three angels are named in the Bible: Lucifer, Michael, and Gabriel. Since these are the only three named, it is quite possible that these are the only archangels that God created. I arrive at this conclusion from what we read of the fall of Satan (the “old dragon”) found in Revelation 12:

And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. (Revelation 12:3-4, emphasis added)

As noted in the Job passages above, angels are sometimes referred to as “stars.” That Satan drew “the third part of the stars of heaven” along with him indicates to me that these were the angels that were under his command, leaving the remaining two-thirds under the command of Michael and Gabriel.

It is conjecture on my part, but I believe the reason Satan rebelled was because he became jealous of man who was created in the image of God and given dominion over God’s creation.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26-28, emphasis added)

Angels were not created in the image of God, nor were they given charge over God’s creation. That distinction was given to man; therefore Satan became jealous and plotted to cause man to fall. He thought “of himself more highly than he ought to think” (Romans 12:3) as described in the Isaiah and Ezekiel passages above. His sin was not in his thought, but in acting upon his thought and carrying out his plan to cause man to sin. This is probably where Satan fell.

There is evil in the world because of sin – rebellion – which was first birthed in the mind of Satan and brought to full fruition through man’s disobedience. Some may object that God should not have given man occasion to disobey by placing the tree of the knowledge good and evil in the garden, but love is a choice. God also provided another tree on a hill called Calvary. From that tree we are free to partake, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Love is a choice.

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April 27, 2014 · 22:00

The Invisible, Visible God

The Glorified Christ

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature (Colossians 1:15)

The Trinity, or the triune nature of God, is a difficult concept to grasp even for Christians. It is no wonder that Jehovah’s Witnesses and Muslims accuse Trinitarian Christians of polytheism. While we believe in one God manifested in three persons, in our conversations we treat the three persons as three separate entities, but they (He) are (is) not.

God created man “in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26, emphasis added). Man has a triune nature composed of mind, spirit/soul, body, as does God, but we do not think of ourselves as three separate entities. This thought occurred in my mind, my spirit motivated me to write it down, and my fingers, i.e., my body, carried out the will of my mind, yet I am the one writing this.

To the woman at the well, Jesus said, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24, emphasis added). A spirit is invisible. Likewise, you might be able to dissect my body and inspect my brains, but you can’t see my mind. John says, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18). “Declared” translates the Greek word exegeomai from which we get our word “exegete,” and it means to explain, make known, or reveal. In His last hours before His crucifixion, one of His disciples, Philip, asked Jesus, “Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” (John 14:8-9, emphasis added). The two, actually the three, are inseparable. Were someone to ask me, “Show me your mind.” If they were someone with whom I was well acquainted, I might reply, “As long as you have been around me, you know how I think, you know how I act – if you have seen me, you have seen my mind!” As our leading verse expresses, Jesus is the very image of God.

As I consider this, I recall that many in the Old Testament saw God, beginning with Adam and Eve. In Genesis 3, after the first couple disobeyed God, “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8, emphasis added). Would a “spirit” make any kind of sound while walking or would a spirit have the need to “walk”? Possibly, but probably not. I conjecture that God in this case appeared as the pre-incarnate Christ. There are some who suggest that the first humans were clothed in “light” and that when they ate of the fruit, the light was extinguished and they saw their naked bodies for the first time. The Bible often describes God as surrounded by dazzling light. It makes sense, therefore, that the couple felt shame because they were no longer clothed as their maker. I further conjecture that in order for God (Christ) to clothe the couple, He personally, in physical form, had to slay the animals that would be used to cover His fallen creatures. (As an aside: He didn’t do the same for Satan when he rebelled.) This pattern of “sacrifice” would be followed by Adam and his descendants from then on. (See the sacrifices of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:3-5.) Later, Abraham had personal encounters with the pre-incarnate Christ: Genesis 12:7; Melchizedek in Genesis 14:17-20; the “angel” in Genesis 18, etc.

There are many more examples of this in the Old Testament that would take an entire study, but as I continued to ponder this, I was reminded of Isaiah’s encounter with God. “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1, emphasis added). Did Isaiah see a spirit? Does a spirit sit on a throne? Does a spirit wear a kingly robe with a long train? These are physical attributes. I think Isaiah saw the physical manifestation of God, i.e., Christ. Ezekiel saw a similar manifestation of God. Ezekiel describes a most unusual craft that transports the spirit (Ezekiel 1:20-21) of God. But upon closer inspection, this “spirit” has physical attributes. Ezekiel reports, “And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake” (Ezekiel 1:26-28, emphasis added). (Just as an aside (again), it is interesting that whenever the Lord is seen displaying His glory, men fall down on their faces to worship – no raising hands and swaying bodies – for whatever that is worth.) The Apostle John describes a similar scene at his first view of the resurrected Christ (Revelation 1), and his first view of heaven (Revelation 4).

In each instance, God is given physical attributes. But how can a spirit have physical attributes? It cannot. Jesus is the embodiment of the Godhead. The three, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are manifested in the One, the Lord Jesus Christ in whose image we are made. Jesus is the invisible, visible God.

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April 20, 2014 · 12:00

What’s Special About Sunday?

In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week ... (Matthew 28:1)

In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week … (Matthew 28:1)

And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. (Mark 16:2)

Why should Christians worship on Sunday instead of Saturday as do the Jews and certain other “Christian” denominations? After all, in fourth of the Ten Commandments, God specifically says, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11). So, are we in violation of God’s commandment by worshiping on Sunday?

First of all, let me say that setting aside one day of the week for rest and worship is right and proper whether that day be Friday, Saturday, or Sunday or any day of the week for that matter.  “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind” (Romans 14:5).

Much of the confusion comes with the interpretation of the word “Sabbath” in the Bible.  The word in the Hebrew does not mean “seventh” (shebəiʽi), but rather “rest” or “to rest” (shebbot).  Genesis 2:2 tells us that “on the shebəiʽi day God ended his work which he had made; and he shebbot on the shebəiʽi day from all his work which he had made.”  Translating that seventh day to mean Saturday “assumes” that God began His creative acts on Sunday, and we really have no textual basis for that conclusion other than what has been handed down to us by Jewish tradition – that, however, is not to say that this tradition is in error.  Furthermore, as you study the “Feasts of the Lord” given in Exodus and Leviticus, you find that each of those days is considered a shebbot (Sabbath) regardless of what day of the week it falls on.  So, we need to be careful not to become dogmatic over things on which the Bible is unclear.  However, it is clear that we need to “sanctify” – set aside – one day a week for the Lord.

Today, on Resurrection Day, we celebrate our Lord’s victory over death. (See “Risen Indeed,” where I cover the facts of the Resurrection.) The Resurrection is significant for us who believe because we have the promise that because Christ conquered death, we too can be assured of a resurrection to eternal life. “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain … But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” (1 Corinthians 15:13-14, 20). Today we rejoice in Christ’s resurrection and look forward to our own resurrection to be with Him eternally.

In the New Testament, the first Jewish Christians went to the temple or synagogue on the Sabbath (Acts 13:14; 17:2; 18:4) for the sake of the Jews, but they also met on the First Day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2) because this was “the Lord’s Day” and also for the sake of the Gentiles which were not obligated to follow Jewish custom (Colossians 2:16). The reason for this change is because this is when Christ was raised from the dead (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1).

The First Day of the week was also the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples gathered in the upper room (Acts 2:1). Scripture does not specify the day of the week, but when you consider that Jesus arose on the first day of the week and count forward 50 days (the Day of Pentecost) you will find that day to be Sunday also. The day that Jesus arose was the “First Omer” (Nisan 16) and the Day of Pentecost was the “50th Omer (Sivan 6). Not only were these days important on the Jewish calendar, but they have even greater significance in the Christian calendar. For this reason, it is proper that Christians should meet on the First Day of the week to celebrate the Risen Lord and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

 So, as you celebrate this Resurrection Lord’s Day, remember why it is so special. He is risen indeed!

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April 18, 2014 · 08:00

No One Escapes Judgment

It is Finished!

It is Finished!

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)

When challenged with the question, “When you die and meet God face to face, and He asks you, ‘Why should I let you into My heaven?’ how will you respond?” many answer by saying that they have been basically a good person, they have been kind to others, they have given to the poor, etc. They mistakenly assume that God will weigh their good deeds against their bad deeds, and that their good will outweigh their bad. The Bible clearly says, “for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Galatians 2:16). This fact not even the sinless Son of God could escape.

From the dawn of creation, sin separated man from God (Genesis 3:23-24), and innocent blood has been shed to cover (atone for) the sin of man (Genesis 3:21). But this was only a temporary fix. “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). Animals did not sin. Man sinned. Man is the violator, and responsible for his own infraction; but the infraction demands payment in blood. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11, emphasis added); but it must be innocent blood. What man can claim innocence? “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Ecclesiastes 7:20); “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). What can man do! “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

Can man live a sinless life? “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10, emphasis added). There is nothing man can do. Man is doomed to die for his sin.

There is only one solution to this dilemma: “Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8, emphasis added). And “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, emphasis added). “[God] hath made [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Alone, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:3-5). As our sin, for which we could not atone, was cast upon Him, He looked up into heaven and cried, “It is finished!” (Paid in full) “and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30)

Problem solved! Now He says, “I am the way, they truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6, emphasis added). Jesus’ death on the cross provided the way for you and me. He took upon Himself our judgment so that we would not have to, but for the one who insists on making it through his own merits, that one will face the judgment on his own. No one escapes judgment.

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April 13, 2014 · 12:00

A King On A Donkey

 

Hosanna!

Hosanna!

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Zechariah 9:9)

Passover was just a few days away. Jerusalem buzzed with activity. Jews from all parts of the Roman world made the pilgrimage to the Judean capitol to celebrate the first of three Feasts of the Lord that required mandatory attendance by every Jewish male (Deuteronomy 16:16). In spite of Roman oppression, this was a time of celebration as everyone anticipated the promised king that would deliver them and restore Israel’s former greatness. “Perhaps this year,” they thought.

To this cacophony of festivities entered the unassuming King of Kings. Daniel had prophesied this event more than 483 years before. “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined” (Daniel 9:25-26). Today the prophecy appeared – lowly, and riding upon a donkey’s foal as prophesied by Zechariah. Even this unnoticed act was miraculous. A foal is a donkey (or horse) that is not yet a year old. This one, a colt (male), had never been ridden (Mark 11:2; Luke 19:30). Surely anyone reading this knows what happens when a donkey, horse or mule is mounted for the first time, but not so here. “And they brought him [the colt] to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way” (Luke 19:35-36). Somehow, that little animal understood the significance of the rider. He was carrying the Creator, the One who said, “Take my yoke upon you … For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30).

Thus Jesus entered His city to present Himself as the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). A conqueror would have entered upon a white charger parading his conquests before him, but a king who comes in peace enters in on a mule or a donkey (1 Kings 1:30-40). As Jesus made His way into the city, the crowd thronged Him singing the words of the psalm “Hosanna!” meaning “Save now!” “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD” (Psalm 118:25-26). Who knows if the mob understood the significance of the psalm or of the Man to whom they sang? When the religious leaders compelled Jesus to silence the crowd (for they understood very well the significance of the words), “he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out” (Luke 19:40).

Interesting that at the first Passover, when the children of Israel were in Egypt, Moses required each family to take an unblemished lamb into their home at the first of the month. This lamb would become endeared to the family, and then on the fourteenth of the month, the lamb would be slain and its blood painted on the door posts of the house (Exodus 12:1-12). Now the Lamb of God entered the house of Israel to be sacrificed for the sins of the world. All things foreordained “from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). Thus Messiah, the King on a donkey, presented Himself only to be “despised and rejected of men” (Isaiah 53:3). Soon the Passover Lamb would be “cut off” (Daniel 9:26).

The King will return. When He returns, His mount will not be a lowly donkey, but a mighty, white steed. “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war … And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:11, 16) – no longer a King on a donkey.

Hallelujah! “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20)

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