All Creation Will Rejoice

"Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness" (Psalm 96:13)

ALL rejoice when Christ Jesus the Lord comes to judge, not just a few Christians.

The primary word translated “judgment” in the NT is from the Greek word "krisis". This Greek word “krisis” is where we get our English word crisis. The American Heritage Dictionary defines “crisis” as “a crucial or decisive point or situation; a turning point.” Divine judgment is God's appointed “turning point.” At this turning point all will be made new and "free from the law of sin and death". And this Divine turning point comes after our Resurrection.

Note he above verse in Psalm 96 indicates it is a time of rejoicing for "all creation". This is in great contrast to what Christians have been taught for centuries. They have been taught that the judgment is a day and time of almost unmitigated horror and dread for all but a few Christians.  But if one reads and studies the entire Biblical record to discover God's plan and purpose in the ages, it becomes clear that the Psalmist is correct and traditional teaching in error. God will be "All in All" of his creation (1 Corinthians 15:29)...that will truly be a time for “all creation” to “rejoice before the LORD”.

The joy we have when we become aware of our salvation will be no less joy than for those who discover it at the judgment seat of Christ, or the Great White Throne. The GRACE and MERCY in the Judgment of God will truly bring rejoicing to "ALL creation".

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death...it is by Grace you have been saved...we have put our hope on the living God who is the savior of all people...the faithful love of the Lord never ends for His mercies never cease, they are new every morning..." (Romans 8:2; Ephesians 2:8; 1Timothy 4:10; Lamentations 3:22 )

Fire Is A Good Thing

"...Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven...removing those things that are shaken...that those things which cannot be shaken may remain...for our God is a consuming fire". (Hebrews 12:27-29)

Is FIRE good or bad? 

Well, it depends on whether your perspective is short term or long term. In the short term fire can be an awfully destructive power, but in the process it purifies its object or victim.  God is a "consuming fire" that will purify his creation. The "lake of fire" is part of that process.

"...And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire...where the beast and the false prophet are... And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire...And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:6-15)

The "lake of fire" consumes the "devil" (slanderer), and the "beast and false prophet" (adversaries of God). It will also consume "death and hell" (the enemies of mankind). And any "not found in the book of life" will be consumed as well (consumed by the fire, not eternally tortured).  But even they will eventually be "made alive" when “death is abolished”.

"As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive...(when) death is abolished...that God may be all in ALL" (1 Corinthians 15:22-58) 

All will then be "reconciled" to God...

"...and through him (Jesus) to reconcile to himself ALL THINGS, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:20)

Fire is good according to God...it is false religious doctrine that makes it eternally bad.

You Are Not Born Again - Yet

"Jesus answered and said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot SEE the kingdom of God…Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit he cannot ENTER into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:3-6)

In the zeal of Christian apologists to have people join their particular branch of Christianity, they have equated the term "born again" with being saved. It amazes me that almost all Christians buy into this teaching when the above passage says no such thing.

Jesus was simply stating that no one can SEE or ENTER the Kingdom of God until he is RESURRECTED to spirit from the death of the flesh. Just as we all were born when our mothers WATER broke, so shall we be born again of SPIRIT after we have died and are resurrected to new spiritual life. Nicodemus, like most Christian teachers today thought Jesus was talking about something that happens in this life. Jesus rebuked Nicodemus and told him he was talking about heavenly things...

"If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" (John 3:12)

1 Peter 1:3 is the only other place in Scripture that uses the term “new birth” and Peter was clearly thinking about our "living hope" of resurrection from the dead so that we can claim our inheritance that is now kept in heaven …

“In his great mercy he has given us NEW BIRTH into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4)

And Jesus, after his resurrection, instructed Paul to teach both Jews and Gentiles about this new "spiritual" creation in great detail in his letter to the Corinthians...

"So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory...it is sown a natural body, it is raised a SPIRITUAL body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving SPIRIT. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual." (1 Corinthians 15:42-45)

No one, except Jesus, has yet been born again to become "a life-giving Spirit", but we all can die with that hope and expectation. For me it is clear that the term “born again” refers to our hope of being resurrected just as Jesus was resurrected, and at that time we will be saved from death to enter the "kingdom of God". Quoting Psalm 49:15 Luke speaks of Jesus in Acts 2:27...

"Thou will not leave my soul in hell (sheol - the grave)..." (Psalm 16:10)

My faith is that God will not leave anyone in the grave, but will changed from a former "living soul" into a  "live-giving Spirit".

Is Jesus God?

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1-2 ESV)

The Greek does not say “and was God” as rendered above by the ESV. It says “God was the word”.  A big difference.  The above ESV translation and other similar versions are unfortunate. John is not talking about Jesus being God. John is saying that God has communicated through his Word (logos - the word). This word was "toward" God (reveals what God is like).

“And the Word became flesh and tabernacles among us, and we gaze at His glory, a glory as of an only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

When God was ready to show what He would be like in a human form, His likeness (word) "became flesh" in the person of Jesus His Son. God showed us His “image” by revealing Himself through a Son, Jesus, who was both the Son of God and the Son of man and the "Savior of the world"...

“…he is the image of the invisible God, firstborn of every creature…And we have gazed upon him, and are testifying that the Father has dispatched the Son, the Savior of the world. Whoever should be avowing that Jesus is the Son of God, God is remaining in him, and he in God.” (Colossians 1:15; John 4:14-15)

God is Father and is Spirit.  We cannot see Spirit.  Jesus is the firstborn Son of God. He communicates to mankind what God is like and what we will be like after our resurrection when we too will be a new creation made in the image of God.  Here is the best English translation of John 1...

“In the beginning was the word, and the word was toward God, and God was the word. This was in the beginning toward God...And the Word became flesh and tabernacles among us, and we gaze at his glory, a glory as of an only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-14 CLNT)

When all have been resurrected to immortality all will be a new creation, completed, like Jesus, in God's image...

“Thus also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is roused in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor; it is roused in glory. It is sown in infirmity; it is roused in power. It is sown a soulish body; it is roused a spiritual body. If there is a soulish body, there is a spiritual also. Thus it is written also, The first man, Adam, became a living soul: the last Adam a vivifying Spirit. But not first the spiritual, but the soulish, thereupon the spiritual. The first man was out of the earth, soilish; the second Man is the Lord out of heaven. Such as the soilish one is, such are those also who are soilish, and such as the Celestial One, such are those also who are celestials. And according as we wear the image of the soilish, we shall be wearing the image also of the Celestial” (1 Corinthians 15:42-49)

Jesus is the Son of God. The world will be saved when we all become like Jesus.

Trust Free Will or Trust the Lord

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

The term “free will” has gone the way of the word “love” in the English vocabulary. The terms have been so misused that few have a clue what is intended when the words are used in conveying biblical truth. Read 1 Corinthians 13 for what biblical love involves but that is not what I want to post about today.

When I use the term free will of mankind I mean those things God allows mankind to self-determine.  God does not give that right to mankind for all things.  Some things, especially the eternal things, God reserves for Himself. 

For instance it is clear to me in studying Scripture that man does not self-determine his birth nor does he self-determine his eternal destiny. God is solely responsible for both.  It is also clear to me that the choices we make after our birth and before our death have consequences that play out in this present life. The bad choices we make the bible calls SIN, and death is the result for even one sin,,,thus the term sinners.

The Scripture is also clear that death, the penalty for being imperfect, was determined by God alone.  Since we all sin, we all die, and that is the will of God.  Only the timing of our death can be influenced by our own choices.

And what follows death God has reserved Himself and that is what the Bible terms the Gospel.  The term refers to the GOOD NEWS that God has determined to give mankind a new life after death.  And not just the same old imperfect mortal life, but a perfect and immortal new life.

And since the bible teaches that God is no respecter of persons, He gives the gift of life to all for free, not by a choice we make, but according to His grace and love for us. He created us imperfect, and it is His responsibility to save us from that imperfection...and He says in the Bible that He will do so....

"It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Prescribe and teach these things." (1 Timothy 4:9-11)

Again, life and death are determined by the sovereign choice of our Creator. He determines when, where and to whom we are born an imperfect and mortal living soul, and He alone has determined that soul’s perfect immortal destiny. 

All of us will give account for how we responded to the various circumstances we encounter in our imperfect, mortal body.  Some of our responses will get rewarded and some tossed on the garbage heap.  But all of our circumstances were allowed and directed by God from birth to death. Along the way some of us choose to trust God, some choose to trust man, and others choose to trust one religion or another.  But when all are resurrected and look back on this life, we all will realize that trusting God is always a good thing, trusting men and their religions not so much.

Politics and God

OK all you Christians...here is what this Christian has learned from the Bible about Politics.  No amount of ranting and raving about how godly or ungodly a candidate is will get him elected or defeated. And no amount of prayer for my guy will do so either. Whomever is elected will assume that post because God has determined to put him there.

“…the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes… for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (Daniel 4:17; Romans 13:1)

OK God, I get it.  And one more thing, ranting and raving against President Obama, who God put in that position, will not change anything, and you will not receive a reward for doing so...but you may lose a star or two in your crown.  You may not agree with his policies, that is OK, but show a little respect for the President of the United States.  After all God voted for him and “established” him in that position, assuming you read the Bible and believe it.

Sure, we are free to vote for whomever we like - and today it would either be Trump, Cruz, Rubio or Carson for me - however, whomever is finally elected (even Hillary or Bernie) will have my respect as President, just like President Obama has it now…I hear the weeping and gnashing of teeth. J

When I start to rant and rave, or hear it from others, I begin to wonder whether the god we are following is really named Glenn Beck, or Rush Limbaugh, or Mark Levin or Charles Krauthammer, etc.

And then I mellow out because deep down in my Spirit, I really do trust God to know what He is doing….and I find peace!

Just writing my random thoughts...feel free to write your own - elsewhere J

Unashamed

2 Timothy 1:8-15:

“…do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity…”  (verses 8-9)

Paul suffered for preaching that the purpose and the power of God is to save sinners by His grace freely given before they were created, not by works done or choices made.  

“…but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.”  (verses 10-11) 

Jesus revealed this purpose of God when he appeared and suffered death on the cross. His death, burial and resurrection brought to light the once hidden good news that “life and immortality”  will follow death.

“…I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”  (verses 12)

Paul, and all who proclaim the truth, suffer for doing so, however, we do so unashamed, being convinced that salvation from death will come to pass for all in accord with the grace of God. 

"Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me."  (verses 13-15)

We guard this treasure and entrust it to others, even though many will turn away from the truth. One can enjoy and be comforted by this glorious hope only by believing we are standing in the grace of God.

“...be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus…we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand.” (2 Timothy 2:1; Romans 5:2)

Wings Like Eagles

“But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”(Isaiah 40:29-31)

There is coming a time for all of us when our strength will no longer be renewed. No longer will we be able to walk, run or catch our breath. Our time will have come to return to the dust from which we were formed…and “wait on the Lord”. When he comes, only then will the reality of Isaiah words become eternal. For then, truly we shall…

“…mount up with wings like eagles, run and not be weary, walk and not faint.”

It will be worth the “wait” because the “grace of God has appeared”…

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” (Titus 2:11-14)

A Really Good Thing

“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (John 3:19-21)

There once was a vicious evil predator who did all manner of horrible crimes against humanity. He eventually was arrested, tried, sentenced to death, executed and his body cremated and returned to the dust out of which that body was formed.

Death is a good thing.

Out of the ashes came forth a new creation, immortal and full of love, grace and mercy who will spend all of eternity doing all manner of good for all that he would encounter. Those horrible but temporary crimes having been drowned out by the wonderful and eternal good of a life redeemed.

A redeemed life is a good thing.

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." (Revelation 21: 4-5)

“Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb...On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations…and they will reign forever and ever… and he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”…”I am coming quickly.”…The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” (Revelation 22:1-20)

Grace freely given to sinners is a really good thing.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life...” (Romans 6:23)