What is Your
Destiny?
There are hundreds of philosophies about life;
library shelves are filled with books on what we human beings are allegedly all about;
psychology, philosophy, religion, all try to inspire us-to assuage our grief and
frustration-to give us hope.
But do any of them truly have the answer? As shocking as it may
sound, you have never yet read the REAL purpose for human life! You will be astounded to
discover how plain, how simple the answer really is! At the same time, you will be amazed
at the miraculous complexity of it all-inspired as you never thought possible to learn of
the awesome human potential!
by Garner Ted Armstrong
Did you ever cry,
"Why ME?" How many millions, beset with frustrations, setbacks, heartaches,
personal tragedies. cry out. "Why me, Lord?"
To what degree is everything that happens to you mere
happenstance?
Is your life only an insignificant, little-noticed existence-a
few fleeting years of sensory perceptions, moods, attitudes, emotions-the never-ending
struggle for survival? Are you and your life, only an , random accident?
Or do you really "fit" somewhere, in the scheme of
things?
What is the PURPOSE of human life?
Why are you here? Where are you going? What happens when you die?
Of course, there are literally hundreds of so-called
"answers" to profound questions like these.
The so-called "Christian" philosophies say man
possesses a "soul" which is predetermined to go to an ever-burning hell unless
we somehow "get saved" and go, instead, to "heaven."
Thus, the Christian philosophies teach that conscious life,
albeit in some other form, continues after death. They see this human, physical existence
as merely the first step to some greater, transcendental existence in some other state.
But, alas and a lack, not one single "Christian"
audience has ever heard a sermon telling them what they will be doing in heaven on the
third day, third week, third month-or after three hundred and ninety-seven years, or
throughout eternity! That's because there are no such scriptures.
Many believe they were "here" before. Some believe they
will go on to some other "phase" of life after death; speaking of what they hope
they will be able to do "in their next lives". Some are convinced, probably due
to the drab, monotonous boredom of their present existence, that they must have had a far
more interesting "previous life," or they would not be so bored, today.
Atheists and evolutionists, of course, believe that man is not
unlike an animal. The "hairless ape" is here today, gone tomorrow. Thus, the
atheistic denial of God also relegates moral responsibility into the comparatively
unthreatening area of transitory societal mores-certainly not of the stature of divine
law.
But notwithstanding these and other philosophies-what is the
truth?
And, how can you know?
The answer begins with the most fundamental question of all-is
there a God? Does God exist? If so, can you prove it?
Millions say disease, poverty, squalor, crime and war prove God
does not exist!
Is it any wonder a German soldier, cowering in a
frozen trench outside Stalingrad during World War II, wrote a bitter letter to his priest
back in Germany that God could not exist? Was this embittered German soldier any different
from literally millions of other human beings who have had similar experiences? How many
plaintive cries have echoed through the corridors of time, complaining that, "If
there is a God, why does He ALLOW WAR?"
All right, why?
Why accidents, sickness and disease, crime, suffering, poverty
and privation; why murder-why WAR?
With the advent of the nuclear age, military and political
leaders gradually began to realize that science had endowed them with the means to
exterminate human life from the face of the earth!
Now, as the great powers remain deadlocked in an ideological
struggle; as more and more nations join the "nuclear club," developing nuclear
weapons of their own, it becomes increasingly clear to the more negative among historians
and philosophers that mankind may not escape the nightmare of a nuclear war prior to the
close of the present century!
By now, you have seen and heard enough about nuclear armageddon
to make you thoroughly sick of the whole thing.
The theme has been exploited by motion pictures, television
specials, magazines and books; how many pamphlets have you seen with the familiar
mushroom-shaped cloud?
But, sick of it or not, the reality still remains. The fact is,
the combined nuclear arsenals of the big powers contain enough explosive force to more
than obliterate several times the population of this good green earth!
Now, there is talk of "avoiding nuclear war by
accident"
Various scenarios are portrayed, like those in books such as
Countdown to Armageddon, and The Late, Great Planet Earth.
Many so-called "Christian" organizations, assumedly
believing nuclear holocaust is surely coming, confidently predict to their members that
some form of escape is going to be provided. Either they will; (a) be "raptured"
away to be with Jesus while billions die during the great tribulation, or, (b) be taken to
a secret "place of safety" where they will wait out the holocaust in a desert
cave or, (c) they will be miraculously protected right where they are, witnessing the
violent collapse of all civilization in a global nuclear World War III.
Down through history, men have pronounced each new weapon the
development that would virtually outlaw war. When shields and metal armor were developed
against the longbow, some enterprising soul promptly invented the crossbow, which could
shoot a metal arrow completely through armor.
The crossbow was (and is) a deadly weapon!
But then came the rifle; a method to propel a lump of metal at
incredible velocity from a metal tube, hurling it with such force over such distances that
it could penetrate human flesh and bone, smashing into vessels and arteries, delivering a
powerful, shocking blow to the vitals, and killing, instantly.
Rifles did away with crossbows, for no crossbowman could ever get
close enough to a man armed with a rifle.
Then came the machine gun.
In the battle of the Somme, approximately one million men died!
Time and time again the allied generals urged their brave soldiers '"over the
top," out of the trenches, up the slopes of the battle-scarred hills, directly into
German machine gun nests, which busily mowed them down like so much scythed hay.
Some began to wonder if the machine gun was not the
"ultimate weapon"; began to wonder if men would not now sit down and
"outlaw" war!
At first, aircraft were used merely as observation planes. Then
someone thought of dropping a wrench out of his airplane onto an enemy airplane below.
Some enterprising soul thought of taking a pistol along, and took a few potshots at an
enemy airplane. Then, came fowling pieces and rifles. Finally, someone thought of mounting
a machine gun on the fuselage and, presto, the modern fighter plane was invented.
From dropping projectiles by hand in World War I, the nations of
the world developed bombers which through evolution of military invention and design,
resulted in such bombers today being supersonic, capable of carrying in their bomb bays
more explosive force in just one bomb than all of the force unleashed by all participants
in all wars fought by all mankind to the present.
With the explosion of the first "low-yield" crude
atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, some once again thought war would be outlawed.
The United Nations was formed as "man's last chance."
Yet, the world has fought approximately 65 wars from that time to this, albeit avoiding
the use of nuclear weapons to date; and in all of those wars usually at least one or both
of the participants have been members of the United Nations, which was billed, in 1946, as
man's last hope for peace.
The historical record is not reassuring.
If one is to merely look at history as a guide-then ask the
question "Will mankind survive into the twenty-first century without a major nuclear
war?" one is not encouraged to answer in the affirmative.
And then what? What will be the outcome of such a nuclear bomb
world war?
At best, those who attempt to assess such mind-boggling
occurrences agree that civilization, as we know it, would surely perish. They paint the
ugly scenario of comparatively few areas of the earth "untouched" by direct bomb
blasts, radiation, and radioactive debris in the stratosphere.
However, they are quick to point out that such total destruction
would bring about massive upheavals in many other directions; dramatic changes in the
temperature of the earth and the jet streams, incredible pollution of the upper atmosphere
and the resultant cooling of the earth's surface which would bring about bizarre and
disastrous weather changes; pollution of rivers, bays, lakes, estuaries and the oceans
themselves; with even the remote potential of triggering shocks along the tectonic plates
of the earth, inducing man-made volcanic activity, earthquakes, and tidal waves.
The very darkest possible scenario is, of course, total
extinction of all life, and the supposition on the part of a handful of atheistic
scientists that the "whole evolutionary process would begin anew," with perhaps
some form of surviving bacteria.
So this is what it's all about? This mind-boggling, hideous and
macabre spectacle of the lemming-like extinction of humanity, is the "final
outcome" of man's frantic search for the "good life"? Is nuclear oblivion
what awaits all of us?
Are we merely here, this generation of human beings looking over
into the beginning of the twenty-first century, to become "cannon fodder" for
man's ultimate weapon; the hydrogen bomb?
Or, is there a God "up there" somewhere-"someone,
in the great somewhere," as the song goes, who is busily "soul farming''?
Are you-that is the real you, your
personality, deepest psyche and character really a "soul" held imprisoned inside
a wasting body? And if so, where did you get your soul? Did it come into you at birth?
Can you take it out and look at it? Have you ever seen it,
touched it, tasted it, smelled it, or otherwise "experienced" the idea that you
have a "soul" by physical or pragmatic means?
No, you haven't.
But millions are confident they have an
"immortal soul." For twenty-nine years, I have been offering a certified
cashier's check in the amount of ten thousand dollars (which I recently upped to
twenty thousand dollars) to anyone who can find the words "immortal soul" or
"immortality of the soul," in the King James Bible. And for twenty-nine years,
people have sent me various vague scriptures which they say infer the "immortality of
the soul," but in all those nearly thirty years, not one single human being has ever
been able to claim the money!
The Bible plainly says that man "became a living
soul..." at the creation of Adam. Read Ezekiel 18:4 and verse 20:
"The soul that sinneth it shall die!" But don't just
take my word for it, look it up in your own Bible, and you will see the absolute PROOF
that we are not possessed of an "immortal soul" at all, but that there is, in
fact, a "spirit in man" of which the Bible speaks; that spiritual quality of the
mind of we human beings which lifts us far above the animal plane; makes us human, made in
the image and similitude of God, possessed of a conscience, able to build character, and
creatures of free moral agency and volition.
The Bible plainly shows that, at death, there is no further
consciousness! Solomon said, plainly, that he did not know whether the spirit returned to
God, or went back down into the earth-but one thing he knew, as did David his father,
there is no further consciousness in death!
What would God want with all of those "souls," anyway?
Have you ever heard a sermon wherein the pastor tried to tell you what you will be doing
the third year you are "up in heaven"? How about your thirtieth year, three
hundredth year, or the end of your third millennium? Life on this earth can be fairly
interesting-especially if it involves a good deal of education, travel, and a wide range
of experience. As Solomon said, our eyes are never satisfied; our ears are never filled.
our thirst and taste never truly sated. Just because we have seen one gorgeous sunset does
not mean we want it to be our last, we are not yet tired of hearing the beautiful sounds
of nature, of beautiful music, the voice of loved ones, the happy laughter of our own
babies-in short, we human beings are never really through living so long as we can still
enjoy life!
What if the Bible promises you, not "heaven" in some
wraith-like condition of a "soul" wafting around shuffling through harp music
for billions of years, but promises you, instead. the first one-thousand years of
co-rulership with Jesus Christ busily straightening out the incredible evils that grip
this planet?
What if the Bible issued to you such challenges as becoming a
mayor, president, king or ruler over small or great countries? What if, once given the
great wisdom, patience, understanding, vast knowledge and experience, you are also
equipped with the spiritual POWER to carry out your edicts? What would you do? Would you
see to it there was no more crime? Would you eradicate poverty? Would you do away with
sickness and disease? Would you outlaw war? Would such an opportunity be desirable?
Believe it or not, Almighty God DOES offer you an opportunity to
help straighten out this world in the millennial reign of Jesus Christ! And, believe it or
not, God is going to outlaw war, yet, human nature will remain pretty much the same during
the first one-thousand years of the rulership of God's kingdom on this earth!
No, the world is not a "soul farm" with thousands dying daily and going either
to "heaven or to hell."
What is Man?
To truly understand what we are, we must decide,
based upon the facts, in favor of only one or two great alternatives. They are evolution,
or creation.
There are no other possibilities. We're here, we know that! We
got here by the process of birth, and, so far as we can discern through any physical or
scientific evidence, so did our ancestors, as far back in history as fossil remains
indicate there was life on this earth.
Evolutionists say, "In the beginning was the hydrogen
atom..." God says, ''In the beginning God..." (Genesis 1:1).
Which is correct?
Evolutionists propose an extremely wide variety of possible
origins for the earth, our solar system and the universe.
The "big bang" theory is most in vogue. It presupposes
that in the far distant past, there was one "giant hydrogen atom" (which boggles
the mind) which for some reason or other, exploded.
Science knows the "basic building block" of the entire
universe is the hydrogen atom. The "big bang" theory helps them account for an
'expanding" universe, apparently rushing in all directions outward from the supposed
"center" of the universe (if, indeed, something so fathomless as interstellar
space has a "center").
Another less popular theory is the "oscillating"
universe; supposing that, eventually, all of the billions upon billions of stars will come
back together in one gigantic super-cataclysmic explosion, and start the whole process all
over again. Then, there is the "steady-state" theory.
So far as the origin of life is concerned, evolutionists promote
a wide variety of completely contradictory theories.
Some say life began by a chance spark, perhaps touched off by a
lightning bolt in a primordial methane and ammonia soup.
Another theory claims life began in "cracks in rocks."
Still another claims life began from "brown scum." Then there are the believers
that life began in "green slime," or on "polka-dotted air bubbles in the
sea."
There are the advocates of life beginning under conditions of
extreme cold, and their opposite numbers, who believe life began under conditions of
extreme heat.
Hydrogen atoms, amino acids, proteins, cells, living
forms-evolutionists are thoroughly universal in their adoption of the theory that all
life, as incredibly complex as we know it to be, began with something which they call
"simple."
There is insufficient space in this booklet to completely expose
and destroy the theory of evolution, for such would require several volumes. However, I
would urge you to obtain a few books for your own personal library, and study them.
Excellent reading on creation versus evolution can be found in The Deluge Story in Stone
by Nelson; The Story of the Fossils by George McCrady Price (Pacific Press Publishing
Association, Mountain View, California); The Genesis Flood (Whitcomb and Morris);
Evolutionary Geology and New Catastrophism (George McCrady Price).
There are many, many others, including a very recent book
entitled The First Genesis by William Dankenbring which I would recommend as a
collegiate-grade textbook on the subject, for it pulls together information from dozens of
quarters and leaves no stone unturned.
Here are a few facts for you to consider:
First the concept that one always finds fossil forms of life from
"simple" to "complex" is utterly false. There is nothing
"simple" about any life forms; and certainly nothing simple about the trilobites
found in the so-called cambrian strata.
Secondly, there is no such thing as a uniform geologic succession
of strata! The strata are found in every conceivable condition of disarray. Evolutionists,
in order to twist the facts to suit their theories, have claimed that whole mountain
ranges have moved scores of miles to explain why certain so-called '"older"
strata are resting '"conformably" atop so-called "younger" strata.
They refuse to believe what their own minds and eyes ought to tell them; that when the
fossil record appears to be in jumbled disarray, it is not the fossil record in disarray,
but their theories! Clinging to their theory, they seek to explain away dozens of
instances in global geologic phenomena where "older" fossil forms are found high
above so-called "younger" fossil forms; and where, according to their theories,
literally millions upon millions of years separated the different forms. So how did the
"older" fossils end up on top of the "younger"?
They refer to such puzzles as "deceptive conformity,"
saying that even though the layers of stone appear to your human eye as being
undisturbed-leading you to believe they were laid down exactly as you see them-they say
your eyes are deceiving you, and this is merely deceptive conformity!
Note this well! There is no place on earth where even a major
portion of the so-called geologic succession of strata is in evidence! It is in evidence
only in textbooks, in such books as North American Index of Fossils or various
collegiate-grade books on geology and paleontology, but is nowhere visible in nature.
The books I have mentioned cover such points, as well as dozens
of others including such interesting questions as why fossils are found on the tops of the
highest mountains on earth; why dozens of varieties appear to have died suddenly, and were
buried alive; why mammoths were found in the frozen tundra (like one specimen in the
Smithsonian with greenery still in its mouth) "quick frozen" and preserved for
our inspection today; what carbon-fourteen dating is all about; why there are no
"intermediate species"; the proof of creation illustrated by symbiosis-wherein
animal and plant mutually support and preserve one another (for example, the helpful
bacteria in our own digestive systems without which we could not survive); and many, many
other interesting aspects of the proofs of God's creation.
There are seven basic proofs God exists. Properly, they belong in
a separate book all by themselves, but I will cover them briefly here.
(1) That there is a great CREATION is obvious. The very fact of
the existence of THINGS; the universe, the solar system, the earth and all myriad forms of
life upon it, demands a CREATOR!
(2) The existence of great, immutable, powerful LAWS (and I speak
of the "laws" governing the physical universe; the laws of science and
chemistry; laws governing the action of water in its three states; the cleavage and
fracturing properties of minerals; gravity, inertia, isostasy, etc., etc.). The existence
of these great laws demands a lawgiver!
(3) The intricacy of complex design; whether the feathers on the
wing of a bird; the eye of a fly; the breathing apparatus of a dolphin; billions of
intricately-designed snowflakes; your own muscular, skeletal, digestive and circulatory
systems-etc., etc., requires a great DESIGNER!
(4) LIFE exists. Life in myriad forms. You and I both know that
life only comes from preexisting life! This is called the "law of biogenesis."
Life demands a great LIFE GIVER!
(5) Life only comes from preexisting life of the same kind! Thus,
there is procreation, and the sustaining of life on our planet; the constant recycling of
falling trees, rotting vegetation; the bacteria which break it down to become food for the
insects which are food for dozens of other creatures, which are in turn food for larger
creatures, which are in turn food for man; the cyclical character of our symbiotic
environment which, like a gigantic machine was once "wound up," and is gradually
running down, requires a sustaining force. Inherent within this proof are the laws
governing the "conservation" of energy" and the laws of thermodynamics. It
is obvious our universe has a great sustaining force-a GREAT SUSTAINER!
(6) Fulfilled prophecies, of which there are dozens, with dozens
more yet to be fulfilled, constitute a great proof of Almighty God. Even simple high
school or beginning college-level Bible handbooks such as Halley's, or the Angus Bible
Handbook contain fascinating proofs from the spade of archeologists corroborating the
prophecies of men who foretold the collapse of great empires and the emergence of others
centuries and centuries beyond their own lifetime. Now, we are able to look back at such
men as Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and others, and see what they foretold actually HAPPENED
exactly as they foretold it!
Many of the biblical prophecies are in process of being
fulfilled. The serious student of biblical archeology knows that it is axiomatic that,
wherever archeology reveals information about ancient civilizations, it always
corroborates the biblical record, never refutes it!
(7) The final proof--one which dyed-in-the-wool disbelievers will
doubtlessly scoff at--is answered prayer! Of course. God does not answer the prayers of
skeptics and disbelievers. However, those individuals who have experienced the answer to
PRAYER; those who have been healed of their sicknesses and diseases, who have actually
seen miracles performed, are no longer doubting, but believing. Answered prayer is
definitely a proof that there is a God who can hear. and answer!
We Are Mortal-Temporal-
Subject to Death
Each one of these proofs of God deserves a
whole book. For twenty-nine years, I have been offering proof that Almighty God exists; I
have done so in thousands of radio and television broadcasts, in hundreds and hundreds of
hours in college classrooms, and in dozens of articles and booklets on the creation;
exposing the fallacies of evolution.
You can prove Almighty God exists!
Think about it! Do explosions in print shops result in
encyclopedias? Does randomness and happenstance bring about intricate design and beautiful
order?
Everywhere around you, you see intricacy, interdependency.
harmony, beauty, flawless design! Place the feather of a bird. the wing of a fly, the
petal of a rose, or a human hair under a powerful microscope. The closer you look at those
things in the natural creation, the more you become overawed by the marvelous creation of
God!
Go to any high school level encyclopedia (like the World Book)
and read a few of the articles on such subjects as water, air, the sun, the human eye, the
articles on electricity, magnetism, gravity, or the cleavage properties of minerals.
How long has it been since you pondered the fathomless mysteries
of this beautiful creation of which you are a part?
When we ask "What is man?" we can only answer that he
is a created being, given limited CREATIVE powers!
We are a physical, chemical, air-breathing, food-eating,
water-drinking temporal existence-absolutely dependent upon our surrounding biosphere for
our survival.
Study the marvels of reproduction! Ask yourself about the miracle
of heredity and environment; how we pass on to our children the genes and the chromosomes
that determine general height, shape, weight, texture of skin, color of hair and eyes;
that oftentimes determine even certain special proclivities. talents, and abilities, as
well as striking similarities to grandparents, maternal or paternal!
The cycle of birth is a true cycle. It is interrupted at death,
or by abortion. However, there is no other method by which human beings can be brought
into existence than by conception; introducing a male sperm cell into a female ovum, or
female egg. The beginning for this cycle was at creation!
Is there anything so approaching the miraculous in our
environment as is our ability to reproduce after our own kind?
As human beings. we look about and see no greater living creature
in all of God's creation than ourselves. Man stands at the top of the "food
chain." We have been endowed with a mind. With that mind we can assimilate knowledge
and information: think, reason and PLAN! We can then. with the marvelous skills of the
human hand and body, form, shape, construct and bring about the production of things
according to the plan formed and shaped in our minds.
Man has been endowed with inventiveness, creativity, ingenuity; a
thirst for knowledge, and a desire to produce and achieve.
God inspired the apostle Paul to write "But one in a certain
place testified, saying, what is man, that thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man,
that thou visitest him?
Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedest
him with glory and honor. And didst set him over the works of thy hands:
"Thou has put all things in subjection under his feet"
(Hebrews 2;6-8).
Read that again! Notice that God says He created man only a
little lower than the angels! At the physical creation. God said "Let us [the word
for 'God' is Elohim, which means MORE than one] make man in our image!" (Genesis
1:26).
The Bible says, "So God created man in His own image, in the
image of God created He him; man 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).
Almighty God used the physical materials of this earth in His
creation. "And the Eternal God formed man of the dust [physical, chemical elements of
the earth] of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man
became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7).
How is your physical, chemical life sustained? It matters not
whether you sit down to dine in the most fabulous restaurant in Paris, France; eat from a
tray on your lap at thirty-nine thousand feet high above the Atlantic Ocean in a jet
airplane; eat at your the favorite restaurant near your own home, or simply sit on a log
over a campfire, eating out of doors with your own hands. Foods do not come from kitchens.
Milk does not come from a carton. Foods come from the ground; milk comes from cows.
Not only are we human beings composed of the very
"dust" (meaning chemical elements of the earth) of the ground. but our lives are
supported by eating those things which grow in that same earth from which we came!
And what happens to us when we die? Even as the oft-repeated
phrase at funerals, "ashes to ashes, dust to dust," so it is true that our
bodies decay and become just so much fertilizer, returning to the ground from whence we
came! That much, medical science affirms. Medical science, of course, cannot tell us
anything about an alleged "soul" within this human flesh, and does not attempt
to do so.
Did you notice, carefully, what God said? He said, when He
breathed the breath of life into Adam that Adam BECAME a living "soul." The
Hebrew word (the Bible was not written in English) is nephesh. This Hebrew word is used
five times in the first chapter of the book of Genesis of lower life forms BEFORE it is
ever used of man.
Man is mortal! We are temporal, of this earth. As a fleshly,
chemical, transitory human being, we are subject to aging, senility. and death.
Of these fleeting lives, the Bible says, 'There is one Lawgiver.
who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
"Go to now, ye that say, today or tomorrow we will go into
such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what
is your life? It is even a vapor. That appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth
away" (James 4:12-14). God says. "All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness
thereof as the flower of the field:
"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the spirit
of the Eternal bloweth upon it: Surely the people is grass.
"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our
God shall stand forever" (Isaiah 40:6-8).
Of this physical, chemical existence, the apostle Paul said,
"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all
men most miserable.
"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the
flrstfruits of them that slept.
"For since by man came death, by man came also the
resurrection of the dead.
"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made
alive
"But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits;
afterward they that are Christ's at His coming.
"Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the
kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority
and power.
"For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His
feet.
"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (I
Corinthians 15:19-26).
Notice! "The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second
man is the Lord from heaven.
"As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and
as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
"And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also
bear the image of the heavenly.
"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
"Behold. I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but
we shall all be changed,
"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed" (I Corinthians 15:47-52).
What fabulous information is contained in these few verses! Here,
we see that the fate of physical, carnal man is nothing more than death. Adam is said to
be "of the earth, earthy." We then see revealed that, unless there is a
resurrection from the state of death, we have no future life! It is in the "hope of
the resurrection" that true Christians die. God says when we die "our thoughts
perish," and says there is "no consciousness" in the grave!
He says that "God only hath immortality!" and says
"The soul that sinneth it-that soul-shall die!"
Notice that Jesus Christ is called the "first-born among
many brethren" (Romans 8:29) and "the first fruits" (I Corinthians 15:20,
23).
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things
were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made" (John !:1-3).
"That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that
cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His
own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. And the Word was made
FLESH. and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of
the Father,) full of grace and truth" (John 1:9-12, 14).
The Greek for "word" is logos. This word means
"spokesman," indicating the executive member of the Godhead who did the
commanding; who did the creating!
Read, with your own eves in your own Bible what this scripture
plainly tells you! You need no interpreter to understand the meaning of these plain
scriptures. It is telling us that the very individual who MADE THE UNIVERSE: the
individual who was in the very beginning with "God" and who "WAS GOD,"
was that individual who became Jesus Christ. born of the flesh, of the virgin Mary, and
who became a human being (the "Word was made flesh"!) and lived here on this
earth! Now turn to and read Hebrews, the first chapter.
"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets. Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His
Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, BY WHOM also He made the worlds; Who being
the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things
by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right
hand of the Majesty on high. But unto the Son He saith, thy throne, 0 God, is for ever and
ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. And, Thou, Lord. in the
beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine
hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a
garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed; but thou art
the same, and thy years shall not fail'' (Hebrews 1:1-3, 8-12).
Here is absolute corroborating proof that the individual who
"made the worlds" is that same individual who "by Himself purged our
sins" and who is Jesus Christ!
Notice verse 10 again! "Thou, Lord [speaking of Jesus
Christ] in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the
works of thine hands!" And who was Jesus Christ?
Jesus Christ was the very Son of God!
By the miracle-working power of God, He was changed from divine
life-from VERY GOD life-into a tiny, human embryo. He developed in the womb of His mother
in exactly the same fashion as did you and I. He was born of the flesh and He was flesh!
He was God-lN THE FLESH!.
And when He was human-He was just as human as you and I are
human; subject to the same emotions, longings, desires, temptations-subject to cold, heat,
hunger, fatigue, pain.
Notice! "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than
the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace
of God should taste death for every man. For it became Him, for whom are all things, and
by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of
flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He
might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who
through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily He took not
on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all
things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and
faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of
the people. "For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to
succour them that are tempted" (Hebrews 2:9,10; 2:14-18).
Christ took part of flesh and blood.
Now, notice what the Bible says about His visage; His form and
shape:
"Who [Christ] being the brightness of His [God, the Father]
glory, and the EXPRESS IMAGE of HIS PERSON, and upholding all things by the word of His
power..." (Hebrews 1:3).
The words "express image" are clear. Christ was made in
the exact image of God, the Father. The Greek word for the expression "express
image" is karakter, which means, "the figure stamped" (as, a certain letter
is a "character," etc.), or the ''engraving," or "exact copy," or
"representation."
As the "only begotten of the Father," Jesus Christ was
absolutely preeminent as the Author; Captain, Originator; the Guarantor of our salvation!
He was the PIONEERING member of the God family who took upon Himself the incredible
challenge of becoming human; subjecting Himself to the pulls and tugs of human nature,
overcoming sin in the flesh; living perfectly, according to the spiritual intent of God's
perfect law-then dying for our sins!
God said. ".. when He bringeth the firs begotten into the
world, He saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him" (Hebrews 1:6)
Do you know why the angels of God literally worship Christ? Why
He is called the ''captain'' of our salvation?
Because Christ is the greatest HERO of ALL TIME! He is the
CHAMPION of ALL CONTESTS-the CONQUEROR of the greatest challenge of all-that of overcoming
HUMAN NATURE! He conquered SATAN. He conquered DEATH!
Now, you need to understand one of the most
profound truths of the plan of God!
By its very definition, character, believe it or not, is
something which cannot be instantaneously produced by divine flat. Almighty God, in His
infinite wisdom, is the greatest, supreme Character in the universe!
One very good definition of character is as follows:
Character consists of the wisdom and discernment to define the
difference between right and wrong-then consists of having the will power to force the
self to choose the right!
Character is the purest form of self-rule; of self-government.
As such, it is something that must be acquired through education,
testing, and experience. God has so decreed it.
Many fail to see what a great Savior they have-they fail to
realize Christ faced daily CHOICES during His human, physical life-that He oftentimes
wrestled with HIMSELF-forcing Himself to make the right CHOICE every time!
Many are so ignorant of the great purpose and plan of God it
would be blasphemous to them to admit CHRIST COULD HAVE FAILED! To many, there was no
"real" risk involved! Christ, to some, is like the world-champion weight lifter,
who is accustomed to picking up many hundreds and hundreds of pounds. His trials in the
human flesh are viewed as a little twenty-pound weight, which he tossed off with
consummate ease!
But no. Your Bible shows Christ made daily decisions; that He
faced many temptations!
Read it! "Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered
up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save
Him from death, and was heard in that He feared:
"Though He were a Son, yet LEARNED HE OBEDIENCE BY THE
THINGS WHICH HE SUFFERED" (Hebrews 5:7-8).
Jesus Christ made supplication to God the Father with
"strong crying and tears." He put His heart into it! He meant it! One does not
pray with loud, choking sobs; with brokenhearted cries of anguish-unless one REALLY MEANS
it!
Time and again, the disciples said Jesus would rise up early,
while it was yet dark, and go to a mountain alone, to pray! He prayed all night long
before making the decision to choose His disciples. He struggled with Himself-DRIVING
Himself to His knees--forcing Himself to pray--working, laboring in prayer before God.
On the night He was betrayed, three times He flung Himself down
on the ground, imploring His Father to "to work it out some other way." He
FASTED and prayed for forty days and nights before meeting Satan in a terrible battle of
wills-His great temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4).
Jesus Christ did not just "toss off'' these great trials; He
did not treat great events casually; carelessly ignore the need for prayer! No, He
wrestled with Himself; He fought the pulls and tugs of human appetites and carnal
nature-He battled temptations, and HE WON!
Yes, He had God's Holy Spirit! But, He knew the Holy Spirit could
wane-that He could grow lukewarm if He did not continually drink in of the mind, will and
love of God through prayer. He described the Spirit of God as LIVING waters; like a
flowing, rippling, happy brook-moving, flowing IN from God, and out in love, and good
works toward God and fellow man.
Do you see?
Christ COULD HAVE FAILED! It was POSSIBLE! If not, you HAVE NO
SAVIOR! If there was NO RISK involved; if Christ did not RISK IT ALL-then there was NO
SUFFERING involved; no BATTLING; no WRESTLING with human nature; no STRUGGLING with the
temptations that came along.
But what does the Bible say? "Though He were a Son, yet
learned He obedience BY THE THINGS WHICH HE SUFFERED; and being MADE perfect, He became
the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him!" (Hebrews 5:8-9).
Christ SUFFERED in His trials. He suffered greatly-suffering
mental anguish on the night He was betrayed. Then, He suffered, and bled, and
died-suffering physically as well as mentally, on the stake. He WON a GREAT victory!
BUT HE HAD TO CONTINUALLY CHOOSE!
Always, looming just ahead-every single day, was the possibility
of making JUST ONE MISTAKE!
Jesus Christ was a free moral agent. He was not an automaton; not
"automatic" in His resistance to the pulls of the human flesh. No, He had to
resist those pulls by conscious effort. He had to choose.
How could Jesus. who was a PERFECT baby; a perfect child of
twelve; a perfect man- "be made perfect?''
Does Paul imply Jesus was IMperfect in some way?
Not at all. Jesus, as a child of two or three, did not sin. He
was perfect. But a child of two or three is nowhere near so well developed, or
knowledgeable, as a child of twelve. Nor is a boy of twelve so knowledgeable and mature as
a young man of twenty-one.
Through each year; through each phase of His growth and
development, Christ had to meet every challenge. He had to choose, daily. By continually
struggling with human nature; by staying close to God in prayer; by allowing the Holy
Spirit to flow powerfully through Him in good works and love toward God and man. Christ
BUILT HOLY, RIGHTEOUS, PERFECT CHARACTER. You see, CHARACTER REQUIRES TIME!
It is NOT Automatic!
Satan was created a PERFECT being. Perfect in beauty; in stature,
in radiance, in his music, and his splendid appearance. (Read Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28.)
But his righteousness CORRUPTED him. He allowed vanity to creep in. He became puffed up
with egotism; with pride, and self-importance. He began to think HE was alone supreme in
beauty, and in power. You see, Satan did not have perfect character. He was perfect in
beauty-in his radiant, magnetic appearance. God says, "Thine heart was lifted up
because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom [befouled your character-your
knowledge] by reason of thy brightness..." (Ezekiel 28:17).
Character must be developed.
Christ was never IMperfect-but He was not as MATURE at age twelve
as at age thirty. At age thirty, He had not yet experienced His turbulent, trying,
exhausting, demanding three-and-a-half-year ministry. He had not yet suffered, and bled,
and died! He was MADE PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING-so says your Bible! (Hebrews 2:10).
If God could create holy, righteous, perfect CHARACTER by divine
fiat-then He would have done so. But no, He created MAN, and gave man a natural, carnal,
human nature-a nature that can, and must be changed.
The Carnal Nature of Man
Physically, we human beings have a mere
chemical existence. God says, "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return"
(Genesis 3:19).
Mentally, emotionally and spiritually, however, man is possessed
of what we call "human nature."
And what IS "human nature"? The answer to this question
contains the key to understanding the so-called fall of man, and the need for spiritual
redemption.
Almighty God placed within man the senses, and an imaginative,
creative, fabulously intricate mind, by which man could accumulate knowledge.
Almighty God placed clear-cut choices in front of our first
parents. Read the first three chapters of Genesis! Notice how our first parents were
completely "neutral" toward God-feeling neither fear nor threat from the Divine
Presence. Books could be written describing the first few days of creation; how God led a
procession of animals before Adam to see what names he would give them; the creation of
Eve, and the presentation to Adam of his wife.
God gave the man and woman careful instructions. They could
freely eat of every one of the trees in the garden-bearing every type of fruit. There was
only one "forbidden fruit" of which man was not to partake. Notwithstanding the
arguments which have lived through the centuries as to whether the trees were literal or
figurative or both, the biblical account tells us that a bright, magnetic being (not
appearing as a "snake." which the Hebrew word nachash does not demand) subtly
caused Eve to make the wrong choice; to partake of the "forbidden fruit" from
the tree of the "knowledge of good and evil," and to give of the fruit to her
husband.
Read the account! Immediately after their sin. our first parents'
very nature seemed to have become sullied, altered.
Where they were cheerfully companionable with God, neither
fearing His presence nor His voice-now, suddenly, they hid from Him!
Where they were unconscious of their nudity, exactly as tiny
babies are completely unabashed and unashamed (how many mothers have been shocked when
their tiny toddlers of only a year and a half or so have ventured out into the yard or
even down the street following their bath, wearing not a stitch?), now, they were
"ashamed" of their nudity!
Why?
First, you need to understand that the popular view of what
happened in the garden is sheer nonsense! The tree was not an apple. The protuberance in
human necks is not an ''Adam's apple," but the vocal apparatus, the "forbidden
fruit" did not consist of sex! After all, had not God commanded them "Be
fruitful, and replenish the earth!"? Read Hebrews 13:4! God says. "Marriage is
honorable in all, and the bed undefiled." He had explained that the very purpose for
presenting Eve to Adam, was that a "man should leave his father and his mother, and
cleave unto his wife," saying they "twain" (together) "shall become
one flesh!"
In other words, Almighty God instituted marriage!
It is not true, no matter the philosophies of human religious
organizations; the books and doctrinal arguments that have gathered dust down through the
ages alleging to the contrary, that the first sin was sex!
Actually, Adam and Eve broke several of the Ten Commandments!
They disobeyed their only parent, thus breaking the fifth
commandment. They coveted what they saw with their eyes, thus breaking the tenth. They
stole that which was not rightfully heirs, thus breaking the eighth commandment. They
allowed their desire for the "forbidden fruit" to come between them and God,
thus breaking the principle of the commandment against idolatry, the second commandment!
(Paul said "covetousness is idolatry''!) Thus, they directly broke four of the
cardinal points of God's Ten Commandments, and as James said, if we break one point, we
are guilty of all!
''Sin is the transgression of the law'!'' (I John 3:4).
Adam did not "fall," he was pushed by Eve, who had
listened to Satan, the devil!
Now, what was changed?
The change was in the ATTITUDE of man toward God! God's attitude
toward man had not changed one whit! But Adam and Eve, by giving in to the pulls and tugs
of their human sensory perceptions; by seeing with the eye, perhaps smelling with the
nose, reaching out to investigate with the sense of touch and feel, they lusted after the
very fruit which God had forbidden!
Now, guilt and shame set in.
God says, "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace.
"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is
not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:6-7).
As a result of breaking God's laws, Adam was denied access to the
tree which represented eternal Life!
Think about it! Almighty God possesses all power. He is Creator.
Since God has the power to create, He also has the power to DESTROY! But Almighty God is
holy, righteous, PERFECT character! He is not capricious; not whimsical, not given to
radical change-but sound, wise, righteous, just and GOOD!
Now, Almighty God could not allow our first parents to become
immortal, spirit beings, because, in their corrupted state of sin; with their attitude of
guilt, shame and resentment, they would have the power to DESTROY-they would not be
perfectly SELF-governed!
Paul explains it thusly, "If in this life only we have hope
in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and
become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also
the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made
alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the flrstfruits; afterward they that are
Christ's at His coming. Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom
to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
For He must reign, till he hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall
be destroyed is death" (I Corinthians 15:19-26).
Notice it is "by man" that death reigns!
Because Adam directly rebelled against God. Adam died.
"In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die," God said.
"...in Adam ALL DIE..." says Paul. The wages of sin is
death! (Romans 6:23).
But, "In Christ shall all be made alive!"
Obviously. the first death-human, physical natural death, from
whatever cause, is not the penalty for sin. Sin may cause death, as in murder. But the
murderer who is put to death (very rare in today's society) is not paying the penalty for
his sin. Society may exact a penalty, according to its laws, but society cannot carry out
God's penalty!
No matter how "good" you are-no matter how fine a
person-the day is coming when you shall die. Death is the natural end of life, because
life is a physical, chemical, temporary span of time-sustained by the air we breathe, the
water we drink, and the food we eat. Deprived of any of these three, we die.
God says. "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but
after this the judgment; So Christ was offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them
that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation"
(Hebrews 9:27-28).
God says, speaking of the great resurrection to judgment (NOT to
"sentencing," there is a difference!), "But the rest of the dead [those who
were not the 'dead in Christ'; not converted Christians-but those who had died in
ignorance and disbelief ] lived not again until the thousand years were finished"
(Revelation 20:5).
Notice! The Bible speaks of TWO DEATHS! The "first
death" is what has come upon man, naturally, as a result of Adam's sin-the inevitable
consequences of living; whether through old age. Or for whatever cause-death.
But the Bible speaks of a "second death"-a death in
GEHENNA FIRE, which is the final result of sin which is UNREPENTED of! "Blessed and
holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no
power..." (Revelation 20:6).
Do you see? The wages of sin is death-the SECOND death, from
which there is NO RESURRECTION! "And death and the grave [margin] were cast into the
lake of fire. This is the second death" (Revelation 20:14).
The traditional view of man and his destiny
goes something like this; Almighty God constructed a beautiful creation. He placed
innocent, child-like, perfect human beings in the midst of a garden filled with wonderful
animals and beautiful trees, shrubs and flowers. Here was an absolutely fabulously,
PERFECT creation! God was completely satisfied. Apparently, while God's "back was
turned" (as if that is possible with God), along comes Satan the devil, like a garter
snake entwined around the branches of a small tree, and somehow entices the woman to give
the man of the forbidden fruit.
God then returns from His journey, and lo and behold, His perfect
creation has been wrecked! Satan the devil has managed to somehow "sneak in,"
influence the man and woman, and DESTROY God's beautiful handiwork!
Now, God devises an idea. It may be makeshift; something like the
chewing gum and baling wire approach the farmer might use on his broken-down tractor, but
God decides He will attempt to "redeem" man; He will try to salvage His perfect
creation, by sending His own Son to die for the sins of suffering mankind-and then, those
who will receive and accept Jesus Christ can once again achieve a beatific state, and
someday their "souls" can go to heaven!
Every bit of this traditional fable is just that-FABLE! It is
sheer nonsense.
Believe it or not, Almighty God has never allowed anything to
occur over which He had no control!
If you can get this concept down deep into your mind; if you can
come to UNDERSTAND what you have already read about CHARACTER-about the requirement that
character must be built, and cannot be produced by divine fiat, automatically, then you
will come to a level of understanding that is shared by only a minuscule percentage of the
human race.
That truth is this: The creation was not COMPLETED in the garden
of Eden-it was only BEGUN!
Adam and Eve did not represent a "finished" creation!
They were merely a clay model-a prototype! Physically, they were made in the similitude
and image of God. But spiritually, they fell far short! God's great PLAN of redemption was
conceived from the far reaches of eternity-long before the construction of matter, and the
creation of our universe, solar system, and this earth!
Man's Nature Must be CHANGED
God's Word reveals that all of us, from the
time of our childhood, have been human beings possessed of a carnal nature! That nature is
defined as an almost automatic resentment against God; resenting control, direction, law
and authority! Of and by ourselves, we are cunning, avaricious, greedy, egocentric,
selfish, impatient, angry; we have resentment, jealousy, hatred; human nature is basically
a collection of vanity, jealousy, lust, and greed! It is, above all things, egotistic! It
wants to acknowledge no authority but that of SELF!
Anciently, God set down the parameters for human behavior. Get
this! Understand it! Almighty God has decided HOW we are to worship Him-He has left man to
decide whether!
He places before us daily choices! Read it! "See, I have set
before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to
love the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes
and His judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless
thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that
thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I
denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong
your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call
heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and
death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may
live" (Deuteronomy 30:15-19).
From time immemorial, our human forebears have made the wrong
choice!
Look around you in the world today, and you will see that man
persists in making the wrong choice every time! The world is ravaged by despotism,
dictatorships, leftist guerrillas, communist insurgents, Islamic mystics and "holy
men" who drench the gulf region in blood. Brutal, egotistical, self-centered human
leaders have sacrificed the lives of countless millions of human beings down through the
ages to satisfy their own lusts!
Men such as Attila the Hun, Alexander the Great, Adolph Hitler,
Joseph Stalin, and the Ayatollah Khomeni have sacrificed countless millions on the altar
of their own incredible, swelling ego!
Our society is filled with pornography, burglary, arson, rape,
robbery, incest, homosexuality, child abuse, kidnapping, mass murder! We view a planet
ravaged by war! Civil war, with participants from every conceivable political and
religious point of view continue to fight in the turbulent, war-ridden Middle East!
Guerrilla-type warfare rages in country after country from Central America to Southeast
Asia. "Christians" murder each other under the symbol of the ''cross" in
northern Ireland!
Today, in a world armed with supersophisticated nuclear weapons;
with the capacity for the destruction of the WHOLE EARTH-human leaders continue to reject
the government of God; to attempt, instead, to rule through the human, carnal reasoning of
selfish, egotistical human nature!
The harsh truth is, that until HUMAN NATURE is CHANGED, we shall
have only WAR!
God's great plan has to do with the changing of human nature!
That change is called "repentance" in the Bible!
Following his inspired message on the day of Pentecost, fifty
days after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, Peter said unto them,
"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).
When we repent, God says He will, after we undergo baptism (study
the sixth chapter of Romans!) give us of His Holy Spirit! Yet, God says He gives His Holy
Spirit to those who "obey Him!" (Acts 5:32).
Now, we are called a "new creature in Christ Jesus."
At this point, God begins to use the analogy of the family.
Remember, God created man in the image of God!
As stated, human reproduction is a true cycle. We can discover no beginning of the cycle
short of actual creation.
Not only did God reveal that He created man "in His
image," but when Adam and Eve had children, the Bible says "And Adam lived an
hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his own image; and
called his name Seth" (Genesis 5:3). Of course, Cain and Abel came along before Seth,
and perhaps several daughters were born somewhere in between, but the important point is
that in this first of the genealogical tables of the Bible, God's Word says Seth was
"in the image" of Adam and Eve, his parents.
There is no more obvious law at work in our ecosphere than that
of the law of biogenesis! Kind begets kind. Like produces like. Horses do not produce
dogs; chickens do not produce cows; dolphins do not come from elephants, and, for all the
obvious similarities in comparative embryology, (which should prove to questing minds the
fact that the same great DESIGNER produced all forms of life!) the embryo of the egg
becomes a chicken, and the human embryo becomes human!
It is a fabulous MIRACLE that a microscopic spermatozoon (male
sperm cell) can unite with a virtually invisible human female egg in the womb of the
mother, and that this new life which is now engendered by the uniting of male and female
cells, is on its way toward becoming a separate, individual HUMAN BEING!
I have said, for many years, that birth is ABSOLUTE! There was a
moment when you did not exist! Then, there was a moment when that life which became you
was the result of intense competition between potentially hundreds and thousands of
others, but YOU were begotten, instead!
Humorously, I have told audiences for many years that "never
has a young girl come home, frightened, and said to her mother, 'Mom, I am half
pregnant!'"
Begettal is a positive act. When it takes place, a separate,
unique human life is being developed!
It is a fabulous miracle that height, shape, weight, texture of
skin, color and texture of hair and eyes, tone of voice, abilities and proclivities,
talents and aptitudes can be conveyed from parent to child.
No wonder David marveled that he was "fearfully and
wonderfully made!" No wonder David gave God the credit for having "knit me
together in my mother's womb," and exulted, "How marvelous art all thy works, 0
Lord God!"
When human parents reproduce, it is as if a microcosm of the
whole plan and purpose of GOD-a microcosm of ultimate human destiny!
There was a moment in time when you were begotten. For the sake
of understanding one of the great "mysteries" of the plan of God-understanding
your own human destiny, you need to understand the process by which YOU came to be! You
need to understand the difference between begettal (conception), the gradual development
of the fetus in the womb, and actual parturition, or birth!
Obviously, begettal and birth are not the same! There is
difficulty with a Greek word, gennao, which means the entire process of begettal and
birth! The Greek makes no distinction between begettal, and birth, but is used
interchangeably.
It is only in the context that we can discern whether the Bible
is speaking of a spiritual begettal, or spiritual BIRTH!
And there is a DIFFERENCE!
When you were begotten, your mother was probably unaware of it.
She may have discovered it about a month or so later, but wasn't really sure, until after
two or three months, and a visit to the doctor. Meanwhile, you were gradually developing
within the womb of your mother. Now, the placenta that was forming was causing the
nutrients from your mother's own bloodstream to flow into the tiny, strange-looking little
shape (bearing resemblance to other types of embryos) that was to someday become YOU!
The Bible instructs us through analogies often. It speaks of God
(the great God whom Jesus came to reveal, but who no man has ever seen!) as "the
Father."
Jesus said we are to pray "our Father, which art in
heaven..." He warned us not to call any man "father," in a spiritual sense
on this earth, for "One is your Father, who is in heaven!"
Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
The church is depicted as a woman (see Revelation 12) and is
spoken of as the "mother" of those who are the members of the church.
Within the church, converted men and women are called
"brothers and sisters." The apostles spoke of "the brethren," and
these family terms are found throughout the New Testament!
What have we here? We have words commonly applied to a human
family being applied to God and Christ in heaven, to the church, and to members of the
church!
Now, follow the analogy: Even as you, as a tiny embryo, had to be
protected and nurtured in the womb of your mother; so newly-begotten Christians must be
"fed with the milk of the word" (I Corinthians 3:1,2), and must be nourished and
protected within the church, which is a group or assembly of "called-out ones."
The nourishrnent is not physical, but SPIRITUAL! The food comes
through sermons from the pulpit, perhaps radio broadcasts or telecasts, written literature
such as articles, Bible study courses, pamphlets and booklets, through personal/social
contact with other Christians, through private conversation, and, MOST importantly,
through personal Bible study and PRAYER! In these ways, God's Holy Spirit flows into the
mind of the newly-developing Christian, in sirnilar fashion as nutrition flows through the
mother's body into the placenta, and to the developing embryo.
At last, after approximately nine months in the womb, you were
"full-term," and ready to be BORN!
Now, a shocking change occurs!
No longer are you carried about in the womb of your mother; no
longer are you fed through the umbilical cord directly into your stomach from your
mother's bloodstream and the placenta. Now, shockingly, you enter the world, gasp your
first breath, perhaps begin to cry from the shock and surprise of it all, and are truly ON
YOUR OWN! Of course, if a loving mother (or nurse) did not care for you immediately, you
would die of starvation or exposure, or both.
But now, you are truly a separate human being!
Another analogy can be developed beginning at birth, relating the
Christian development, but for the sake of the analogy I am drawing here, being BORN of
your human parents, becoming completely SEPARATE; beginning to develop your own
personality, your own peculiar talents and abilities, developing your own thoughts and
mind, developing your own individuality, your own conscience and personal morality-all
these things are uniquely YOU!
These analogies are not imaginary-the Bible truly uses analogous
representations of the family unit as a teaching method. It is through understanding the
physical creation we can come to understand Almighty God as an invisible Spirit Being!
"The invisible things about God are clearly seen by looking
at what He has created-they are understood by the things He made-including His eternal
power and godhead-so ungodly men are without excuse!" (Romans 1:20, paraphrased).
Jesus used the physical creation; specifically, the phenomenon of
wind and its actions in attempting to teach Nicodemus about spiritual rebirth.
Jesus told Nicodemus "Verily, verily I
say unto you, except a man be born again [gennao, Greek-meaning 'born from above'], he
cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).
The Greek word Jesus used has already been explained. You can
only discern whether He intended "begotten" or "born" in the context.
In this case, we need not wonder, for Nicodemus was responding to
Jesus in the Greek language.
"Nicodemus said unto Him, how can a man be born [gennao,
Greek] when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be
born?" (John 3:4).
Do you see? Was Nicodemus engaging in a little sarcastic humor?
The point is, Nicodemus did not misunderstand the word Jesus used. He knew the word Jesus
used connoted birth! Stunned, dumbfounded by Jesus' statement, Nicodemus spoke of the
utter impossibility of what Christ implied.
Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man
be born of water and of 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!
"Marvel not that I said unto you, you must be born again.
"The wind blows where it will, and you hear the sound
thereof, but cannot tell where it comes from, and where it goes. So is everyone that is
born of the spirit" (John 3:5-8).
Paul was inspired to write, "And as we have borne the image
of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption.
"Behold, I show you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but
we shall all be changed,
"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump;
for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised in-corruptible and we [we who
are alive and remain at that time] shall be CHANGED!
"For this corruptible must PUT ON incorruption, and this
MORTAL must PUT ON immortality" (I Corinthians 15:50-53).
Read that again! Come to understand!
Your Bible plainly tells you that you CANNOT ENTER the
"kingdom of God" as a human being!
Jesus Christ said you must be born anew-born from above! When
Nicodemus assumed Jesus was referring to the impossible, Jesus told him "Marvel
not!" He then explained. He said you can hear the noise the wind makes in the trees,
or under the eaves of the house-but that the wind, while powerful enough to uproot trees,
blow down buildings, or sink ships with hurricane force, is invisible!
And what did He say? "SO IS everyone that is born of the
spirit!''
How is one who is born of the spirit? He is like the wind! He is
invisible! He IS SPIRIT!
WHY cannot many sincere, yet deceived people see the plain,
simple TRUTH of what Jesus SAID?
He said, "That which is born of the flesh [you and I-we
human beings who are physical, fleshly, created 'in the image' of our physical parents!]
are flesh!"
So far, so good. Are you physical? Are you human? Are you FLESH?
Of course you are!
Were you born of fleshly parents? Of course!
And what are you? You are FLESH!
Jesus said, "That which is born of the flesh IS FLESH!"
Now then. Read the rest of John 3:6. "and that which is born
of the spirit IS SPIRIT!"
Have you, then, been "born" of the spirit? How to
answer the question? ARE you spiritual essence? Are you composed of spirit? Can you appear
or disappear at will? Can you walk through solid stone, granite, concrete block or brick?
Can you zip around the heavens, visiting Mars, Venus and Jupiter?
No, you are mundane, temporal, mortal, human, FLESH!
Then you HAVE NOT been "born of the spirit" according
to what your Savior, Jesus Christ, plainly tells you!
You can become "begotten" by God's Holy Spirit! You can
repent, be baptized, and receive a spiritual begettal by receiving the Spirit of God!
(Acts 2:38).
But you cannot, now, be "born of the spirit" UNTIL a
certain moment, of which you have already read! (I Corinthians 15:23).
Go back and read that quotation from I Corinthians 15 again!
Better yet, turn to and read the entire chapter of I Corinthians 15! Here is the
"resurrection chapter." If you read it slowly, carefully; if you ponder what you
read, drinking in meaning from each word, you will learn great and profound truths which
are not known; not taught, by the churches of this world!
No one, reading the simple and beautiful words of Almighty God
concerning the coming resurrection at the return of Christ could believe in the pagan
fables of the "immortality of the soul"; that people go either to heaven or an
ever-burning hell when they die!
Rather, they would come to know the TRUTH of the Bible; that man
is physical, fleshly, mortal! That when man dies, his very thoughts cease, and he shares
the very same kind of death as do beasts.
And what did Paul say? "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God!"
You have heard of "the plant
kingdom," "the animal kingdom," and "the human kingdom."
Biologically, the term "kingdom" is often used to
connote flora and fauna, or humankind. A famous television series is entitled, "Wild
Kingdom."
Technically, however, a "kingdom" is the government of
a king.
A "kingdom" correctly includes four parts: (1) A king,
(2) A territory over which that king rules; (3) Subjects, living in the territory under
the rulership of that king; (4) Laws, by which that king rules over his subjects in his
territory.
When we speak of "the kingdom of Great Britain," or
"the kingdom of Norway," we know exactly what we mean. Even though parliamentary
and democratic-type governments have supplanted monarchies, the expression
"kingdom" is clearly understood.
Read Revelation 19! In this shocking chapter, you see the
description of the returning, conquering CHRIST! Notice! "And He hath on His vesture
and on His thigh a name written KING OF KINGS, and LORD OF LORDS!" (Revelation
19:16).
The great KING of the coming kingdom of God is Jesus Christ!
His territory? THIS EARTH! Notice many Bible PROOFS! "And
out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: [the
physical, human nations of this earth!] and He shall rule them with a rod of iron..."
(Revelation 19:15).
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the
EARTH!" (Matthew 5:5).
"...ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?
This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven SHALL SO COME in like manner as ye
have seen Him go into heaven!" (Acts 1:11).
"Behold, the day of the Lord cometh. . then shall the Lord
go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle.
"And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of
Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east.. .and the Eternal shall be King over all
the EARTH: in that day there shall be one Lord, and His name one!" (Zechariah
14:1-9).
"And hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we
shall reign on the earth!" (Revelation 5:10).
"And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end,
to him will I give power over the nations [on this physical earth!] and he shall RULE them
with a rod of iron... (Revelation 2:26, 27).
"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my
throne [on this EARTH!] even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His
throne!" (Revelation 3:21).
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was
given unto them... and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years... blessed and
holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no
power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand
years!" (Revelation 20:1-6).
Study Isaiah 11, the whole book of Zephaniah, Zechariah 14, and
especially the latter chapters of the book of Revelation!
Jesus Christ is the returning, conquering KING of the kingdom of
God!
The territory over which His kingdom will rule is this earth! The
subjects are those human, physical remnants of rebellious, war-making nations which will
still be alive following the great battle of Armageddon, the outpouring of the last
plagues of God, and who will be forced to submit to the government of God after the second
coming of Christ!
The laws by which Jesus Christ will administer His kingdom are
God's Ten Commandments as magnified by Jesus Christ; GOD 'S LAWS, mercifully and justly
applied at last to a sinning, rebellious, war-mongering world!
The kingdom of God is the living, ruling, governing FAMILY of
God! At this present moment, it consists only of Father and Son!
Yet, it is into this ruling family we must be BORN!
Now comes the greatest truth you could ever come to understand!
Jesus Christ is called the "firstborn
from the dead"!
"For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many
brethren" (Romans 8:29).
Do you now understand what that scripture means?
When Jesus came back to His disciples after His resurrection He
said, "ALL POWER is given unto me in heaven and in earth-go ye therefore..."
(Matthew 28:18-20).
Did you notice it? Jesus said He had now inherited ALL POWER!
Now, He was no longer merely flesh and bone, but SPIRIT! He was once again VERY GOD!
He had risked everything, and won! He had overcome Satan the
devil; dispossessing and disenfranchising him as the present world ruler. He had overcome
sin in the flesh. He had qualified to become the super WORLD RULER! Now, as VERY GOD;
having been BORN OF GOD by a resurrection from the DEAD, He said He had inherited
"all things!"
Yet, He says you and I have the opportunity to be born of God
just as HE WAS!
He is the Captain and Author of our salvation-the "first
born" from the dead!
Notice! "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage
again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption [son-ship!] whereby we cry,
'Abba,' Father.
"The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we
are the children of God:
"And if children, then HEIRS [not yet inheritors!] heirs of
God, and joint heirs with Christ..." (Romans 8:15-17).
And what did Christ inherit?
ALL THINGS! He has been given eternal life forevermore! He now
has ALL POWER! He has conquered death! He will live forever in joyous happiness; ruling,
administering, carrying out the plans, policies and purposes of God the Father at His
right hand! As such, Christ is the executive member of the Godhead; the KING of the coming
"kingdom of God" to rule on this earth for one thousand years and throughout the
UNIVERSE for all eternity!
And what did He promise you? Read again the promises of
Revelation 2:26 and Revelation 3:21!
He promises you... are you ready for this? Are you willing to
believe it? He promises you CO-RULERSHIP with Him in His kingdom!
Notice! "But now is Christ risen from the dead and become
the FIRSTFRUITS of them that slept" (I Corinthians 15:20).
Christ has been resurrected from the dead! He is alive! He is
VERY GOD.
If you are to be BORN into the very family of God, then what will
you BE?
Will you be a kind of "superhuman"? Will you be at the
angel level? Will you be like a spiritual "plaything," a "pet," or
some lesser being, staring up adoringly into the eyes of the Father?
What are you, now, in relationship to your human parents? Are you
not, in every way their equal, except that you owe them HONOR as your parents? Are you not
of their very flesh, bone and blood? Are you not a mature, adult human being, on an equal
level with your fleshly, human parents? Are you not an intimate member of their family?
Of course you are!
And when you are BORN OF GOD what will you be? Will you not be a
member of the very FAMILY OF GOD? Notice! "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall
all be made alive.
"But every man in his own order: Christ the FIRSTFRUITS;
afterward they that are Christ's at His coming!"
No one has ascended to heaven except Christ Himself. He said so!
"And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the
Son of man which is in heaven" (John 3:13).
What is the order of events-WHEN can you and I be born into God's
kingdom? You just read it-"AT HIS COMING!" And not one second before!
Do you see, now? God is your Spirit FATHER! Christ is your Spirit
OLDER BROTHER.
IF you are converted-begotten of God by His Holy Spirit, then you
are ON YOUR WAY to becoming a full-BORN member of GOD'S OWN FAMILY!
Now, drink in what you are about to read-and NEVER FORGET it!
The Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning, God
created..." is "Elohim." Elohim is a plural. The "im" ending
connotes MORE than one-a duality of Persons in the Godhead.
Notice! "And 'Elohim' [God] said, 'Let us make man in our
image...'" He did not say, "I will make man in my image"-but, "Let
us," MORE THAN ONE-"make man in OUR image."
You know now that Jesus Christ of the New Testament is the Person
or the Godhead who DID THE CREATING! (John 1:3, 10). The member of the Family of God who
wrote the Ten Commandments with His own finger; who parted the Red Sea; who wrestled with
Jacob; who spoke to Abraham-that Person was one of the Divine Beings called, in the Hebrew
tongue, Elohim. He became HUMAN; changed from Spirit to flesh, born of a virgin, and came
among us as Jesus Christ of Nazareth-a human, to become the Author of our salvation; our
redeemer from sin and Satan-the firstborn from the dead.
He revealed to us that He had a FATHER in heaven!
He said, "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).
Jesus said, "I am one that bear witness of myself, and the
Father that sent me beareth witness of me..." (John 8:18). He enraged the Jews when
He proclaimed, "Verily, Verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I AM!" (John
8:58).
The Jews knew by heart what God had said to Moses, "I AM
THAT I AM; and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel; I AM hath sent me
unto you!" (Exodus 3:14).
To them, this was BLASPHEMY! They "took up stones to cast at
Him" when He made that statement! They later accused Him of "making Himself
EQUAL WITH GOD!"
And WHO WAS Christ?
He WAS THE CREATOR-come in HUMAN FLESH! He was the executive
member of the Elohim (GOD) who did the commanding; who "Spoke, and there was
light," Truly, before Abraham was ever thought of-HE EXISTED!
He reveals to us that there is a divine FAMILY of beings;
which HE chooses to call the "Father," and the
"Son."
He says we can be "begotten by His Holy Spirit, and become
"children" of God! We are then "brothers and sisters'' in Christ.
The church, which nourishes and protects us, is likened to our
"mother." When we are resurrected, or when we are instantaneously changed,
"in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump..." at the second
coming of Christ, then we are BORN OF GOD! Yes BORN into our new, spiritual, divine
FAMILY!
We are then "JOINT-HEIRS WITH CHRIST!"
And what did Christ "INHERIT?"
ALL THINGS!
Now do you see?
Your great human potential-your divinely-appointed human
destiny-YOUR PERSONAL FUTURE is to become a MEMBER OF GOD'S OWN DIVINE, SPIRIT FAMILY!
YOU are to become a MEMBER of the FAMILY (KINGDOM) OF GOD!
Paul said, "Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" (I
Corinthians 6:3).
Yes, those who are resurrected in the first resurrection
(Revelation 20:5) are to share RULERSHIP OF THE WORLD with Christ for the first one
thousand years (Revelation 2:26, Revelation 20:4), and are to be like "pillars in the
temple of God" (Revelation 3:12) living, ruling, reigning with God the Father and
with Jesus Christ His Son FOR ALL ETERNITY!
God says the time will come-after the millennium-AFTER the great
judgment of the "rest of the dead" (Revelation 20:5, 11:15) that He, God the
Father, will come down to THIS EARTH-and ".... the throne of God and of the Lamb
[Christ] shall be in it..." (Revelation 22:3), and then Christ says, God
will"... MAKE ALL THINGS NEW" (Revelation 21:5).
Then is a "NEW BEGINNING" in the great plan and purpose
of God!
THEN it will come clear WHY Almighty God is SO GREATLY enlarging
HIS FAMILY! Then we will know perfectly what we can now know only in part!
Does your mind comprehend it? Can you really grasp it? YOU were
born of your human parents as a POTENTIAL MEMBER OF GOD'S SPIRIT FAMILY! As you are a
full-fledged member, an equal, in your HUMAN family, so through God's Holy Spirit-through
growth, development, overcoming-and, finally, through an actual, literal CHANGE; a change
from HUMAN to DIVINE; a change from FLESH TO SPIRIT-you will experience your own great
personal, human destiny-YOU WILL BECOME A SPIRIT BEING-A MEMBER OF THE GOVERNING KINGDOM,
THE FAMILY OF GOD!
This GREAT TRUTH is somehow hidden from the eyes of the MILLIONS,
today! The churches don't teach it! But you have SEEN, with your own eyes, in your own
Bible, the real truth about YOUR personal DESTINY!
May God help you to surrender your will to HIM; to repent; to be
baptized; to receive His Spirit-to become HIS CHILD-to finally be BORN into His great
Spirit FAMILY. That is the only real reason you are living on this good, green earth!
-End-
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WITHOUT MAKING ANY CHANGES and WITHOUT CHARGE TO ANYONE
This publication is intended to be used as a personal study tool. Please know it is not wise to take any man's word for anything, including ours, so prove all things for yourself from the pages of your own Bible. Because your salvation is between you and God, it is through such personal verification that you will gain confidence and come to know for yourself what is truth.
For additional knowledge and understanding, may we suggest the following titles:
The Real Jesus
Why Should You Repent?
Do You Have an Immortal Soul?
The Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association
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