You've Been Blocked

We all hate those awful words: "You've been blocked!" There is one way to avoid that - to be a true friend. Those who have been ejected from the lovely world of Facebook to the wilderness of real life know the hardships lying out there! Just think, outside Facebook people are on their own. It's a tough world out there, but perhaps there is a way to get back in.

Being obnoxious, belligerent, hateful, arrogant, or self-righteous can get people ejected. Maybe Facebook itself won't act, but another person may. Maybe you'll still be on Facebook but not part of it. "Woe is me!" you think. "I have few friends"  As you  enter into the real world without the comfort of your Utopia, you glance back. There is an invisible despot who wants you out. The entryway back in is guarded by a giant digital gremlin. You feel so alone!

There is a reason for this madness! Facebook is entirely insignificant, but people live for it. It has rules and everyone obeys, or gets kicked out. Sometimes, when even one person "unlikes" you, you are removed from their "wall". At a bare minimum, a gremlin just causes you to not be "followed". You sense that you have been dismissed, but there is no way to know for sure. People may hate you slyly. Given all the drama there, people still want to have their place on Facebook.

Facebook is a trivial example, but there is a case that is not so trivial. In fact your life - eternal life, depends on it. I'm speaking of when Adam and Eve were sent out of the Garden of Eden - on not so good terms. Because they "hurt" God, God allowed them to live, but live outside his hedge of protection. Outside Eden is the wilderness where temptation thrives. God won't allow evil to kill their soul, but their flesh could be tempted. The soul, because they were ashamed and sorry, was protected by God, and was "safe", but Satan and his fallen angels could attack the soul through the flesh.

Outside the Garden was the world. That's where Satan reigns. I can see Adam and Eve now as they dutifully walk through the Gate where no man had been before, oh so sorry that that had disappointed their Father. This new adventure was as a slave in "Egypt", and their Pharoah was the Devil himself. For him they would toil, but they could not go back into the Garden for it was guarded:

Genesis 3:23 "Therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

To hell there are many gates. Satan stands at each one with a welcome sign. Satan doesn't stand in the Garden but adjacent to it, because the world lies between the Garden and Hell. Satan's self-appointed task is to tempt man to take any one of his gates to Hell, but he must not kill man. This is the test of God. Satan is His mere valet, doing only what God allows him to do.

For those who pass the test - that is live for God until their demise, have one password to return to the Garden. That word is what God is called, and only his disciples know to speak it from their hearts. It's not merely saying the password, but trusting that He will do what he says He will do. The password is entry by the name of Jesus. He is the straight gate to re-enter the Garden which few will enter. There are no back entrances or other passwords. There is only one Gate and it is guarded by God's own "gremlins". They are real and trusty angels who wield a flaming sword. They allow no one to enter except those who are born-again as Sons of God, for the Garden is the kingdom of God.

The Garden was beautiful, and everything there thrived. There were no buildings because there was nothing to fear. When Adam and Eve left, what happened to the Garden? Perhaps it ascended to the third heaven where Jesus ascended so many years later. There the Word still speaks in a loving Voice, and is the Tree by the River of God. That river is the headwaters from which the other rivers flow. I am implying for those looking for the Garden, that it is no longer where it was but now in Glory - the presence of God. You see, Glory is where God Is, and he dwelt in the Garden and must still, because that is His realm.

In the Garden were two people. There was no need for much, but in Glory there is a city - the City of God. Since our forebears left, God has prepared a place for many - not most, but a City with a Mansion. There are two rooms already taken by Adam and Eve. They went home when they died. There are many more rooms. One is for me. One may be for you!

When the earth is cleansed again - next time by fire, this City will return form whence it came. I believe the Garden stood in Jerusalem - the foundation of peace, because peace will return to earth from whence it came. The City of God, the New Jerusalem will come home to where it was. Right now where that awful Golden Dome stands, a New Temple will be built. It will house the throne of God. The earth will be more than his footstool, but the seat of peace. In One, three will sit on that throne. God will be there, but we'll see Jesus and be comforted by His Holy Spirit! We will finally see God face to face; at least some will. The question is: "Will that be you?"

The Garden is certainly not Facebook. That heresy was used just to get your attention! Some are sad with the drama of that fantastical fictional world, but Heaven and Hell are real! Dismissing our thoughts from reality by living in a Facebook fantasy doesn't make things less real. We need to get out and experience life, and experience God. If people were as dedicated to God as they are to Mark Zuckerberg, then God would not shed tears for us.