Change Your Mind

“Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like… an image formed by the art and thought of man…God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should REPENT, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:22-31)

Paul is speaking to the educated Greeks in Athens and tells them plainly that ALL of them and everyone else are children of the one true God unknown to them.
The Greek word translated "repent" is "metanoeo" and means to change your mind.  All Greeks worshiped a god of some sort at the time. These false gods had images made up by men and were depicted as needing to be appeased with gifts in order to avoid their wrath.

Paul says it was time for mankind to change their minds with regard to the idea of a god we must appease or suffer his wrath. He does NOT tell them to repent of their sin and offer gifts to God, but to change their mind about the nature of the one true God.

Jesus gave Paul new information about our Father God that had previously been hidden from man. These revelations came AFTER Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. It revealed that salvation is for all and by the GRACE God, not by works. As our Father, God chastens all of his sinful children out of Love in order to mold them into His image, a process to be completed in their resurrection to immortal life.

“He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation…and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead…For it was the Father’s good pleasure…through Him to reconcile all things to Himself… the mystery which has been HIDDEN from the past ages and generations…which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present EVERY man complete in Christ.” (Colossians 1)

Just before his death Paul admonished Timothy to teach this new information of the salvation of all by the Grace of God:

“it is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope of the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.  Prescribe and teach these things...therefore, my son, be strong in the GRACE that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (1 Timothy 4:9-11; 2 Timothy 2:1-2)

The Destiny of Mankind

“He who OVERCOMES will thus be clothed in white garments; and I WILL NOT erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” (Revelation 3:5)

It seems to me that everyone must initially be listed in the “book of life” or they could not be “erased”. So who and how many are the OVERCOMERS who will not be erased?

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:4-5)

Those born of God and everyone who has faith are overcomers. Paul tells the Athenians that we are ALL the children of God…

“...hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation…we are the offspring of God…” (Acts 17:26-29)

So how many of mankind have faith…

“…God has allotted to each a measure of faith…” (Romans 12:13)

All have faith.  So the question seems to be WHEN all will exercise this allotted faith to believe that Jesus is the Son of God?

“…at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and EVERY TONGUE WILL CONFESS that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)

The only time this could happen is before the Great White Throne of Revelation 20 where the book of life is seen opened...

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life.” (Revelation 20:11-12)

And I cannot imagine anything more glorious than every knee bowing, and every tongue confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord at that time. So I do not believe anyone is erased from the book of life.  For salvation, not condemnation, is the destiny of mankind…which will bring Glory to God our Father!

“Thou shalt not steal…” (Exodus 20:15)

When I was very little I would go to the grocery store with Mom and when I saw the candy I would take some of it. Mom would tell me “no” and would explain why it was not a good thing to do. I would grab some more and she would get “irritated” and sternly try to shame me into being sorry for not obeying her. Of course I did it again, and then, in her “wrath”, she would spank me. The result is that I would no longer steal candy - in her presence.

Mankind are all the children of God according to the bible….

“He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God… and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist…for we also are His children. Being then the children of God …” (Acts 17:26-29)

We children do all sorts of bad stuff which God says we should not do in the course of a lifetime. Some worse than others. The Bible calls it sin and our Father God deals with us as follows it seems to me:

First He lovingly advises us of what is bad and tells us in the Bible what not to do. Unfortunately, what we want is more attractive than doing what He wants, so we do it anyway, usually making all kinds of excuses why it is OK, sometimes even forming religious institutions to join to help us feel better about ourselves.

This makes God irritated – because we do not trust that His advice is for our own good. It is apparent to me that God has arranged this life experience in such a way that all bad behavior eventually brings a negative consequence. These consequences help control our bad behavior until we die – for it is written that the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 3:23).

When we are honest with God and ourselves we realize with Paul that we have a problem that only the GRACE of God can fix…

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Grace! Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24 CLNT)

The wrath of God toward his sinful children is finished when death comes. There is no eternal conscience torment for anyone. And God is NOT finished with us in death. He will fix us after our repetitive disobedience has served its purpose, because of His GRACE…

“The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, GRACE abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so GRACE would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20-21)

The plan of God to make mankind in His image WILL be completed. God WILL be ALL in ALL.

"Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule… as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive… The last enemy to be destroyed is death…so that God may be all in all.” (Genesis 1:26; 1 Corinthians 15:22-28)