Drawn Away

     Holy Scripture has continuity; there are not really two paths to Heaven. Scripture says that by no other name than by Jesus's can anyone be saved (Acts 4:12). That is a general and all inclusive statement. The biblical patriarchs were "saved" by Jesus's Name. Church doctrine which is the Doctrine of Christ is that ye (you) are saved by faith. "You" is the whosoever from John 3:16. 

     Thus, there was never any type of salvation by works; it was always by faith. Works are the demonstration of faith as we can see from the faith of Abraham. The Hebrews were threshed-out by God. Only a few trusted in the Messiah (Christ). Those who were saved were by God's Name Who is called Jesus. 

    My point is that all Holy Scripture is for the ages. There were never two covenants - the first one was merely shrouded in mystery. Paul called that the Mystery of God. The mystery was that the mystery was the Mystery of Christ.

     Now read what Moses wrote about being drawn away:

Deuteronomy 30:15-18 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.

     Again, "keeping His statutes and judgments" are demonstrations of faith. The apostle James reinforced that doctrine when he said, "faith without works is dead" (Jas 2:20). Works, then, are evidence of faith. That's the message the Word was getting across in Deuteronomy.
     Faith must be maintained for salvation. That is "minds stayed on God" of which I wrote the other day and comes from Isaiah 26:3. Deuteronomy reinforces that truth: "Keeping God's statutes and judgments" is stayed on God. What happens when minds' are afflicted by diversions?  "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."
     Salvation is contingent on keeping the faith - being stayed on God's will. It is continually trusting God and not doubting (Deut 7:9) wherein is says, "the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments." There's that contingency again! It won't go away because it is everywhere in Scripture. Jesus didn't die to keep Christians in sin, but to deliver mankind from sin! That is imperative doctrine.
     It is not the keeping of the commandments that is essential but having steadfast faith as a display of diligence and love for God (Col 2:5). Steadfast faith is minds stayed on God. Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son was accredited to him as faith (Rom 4:9). Calvinism falsely diminishes the works of faith, even as Scripture credits works as evidence of faith. If works are not there, then by default, neither is faith.
     What are God's statutes and judgments? His statutes are profound love for him, and loving others as we love ourselves (The Greatest Commandment).  His judgments are, "Do you love me ______ (your name here)?"  He questioned Peter thrice on that because it is imperative! Another judgment is, "Do you love others ________ (your name here)?" The Greatest Commandment - to love God - has a corollary - to love others. The two commandments are one! We demonstrate our love for God by loving others. That is indeed hard work!
     That commandment was the same command as at the beginning:

1 John 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

     Let's examine the real first commandment:

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Gen 2:16-17).

     The commandment was a work: Eat of any other tree but the tree of knowledge. That is work because it is a command and something the first people had to do. They had to restrain from eating of the forbidden tree to demonstrate love for God. That is the hard work that was from the beginning, and that was to love God - the greatest Other!
     But 1 John says "love one another" which is the corollary to the Greatest Commandment. Where is that command in the beginning?
     God said, that "of every other tree of the garden thou mayest eat." eating of the Tree of Life would have demonstrated love toward God. Eating of every other tree would have demonstrated love for the other trees. What or who did the "trees" represent? Of course, the Tree of Life represents Jesus Christ as can be found in the Book of Revelation. How about every other tree? It turns out that the trees of the fields are men's lives and shall not be cut down (Deut 20:19).
     Every other "tree" which they may eat thereof represents men's lives. Lives are sacred and the preservation of life is the paramount display of love. As God wants that none should perish (be cut down) because he loves them so, likewise people must want that none should perish (not cut down). The corollary to the Greatest Commandment was there in the beginning as Adam and Eve were allowed to "eat" of every other tree!
     What was Adam's job assignment? To "dress and keep" the Garden of God (Gen 2:15). Dressing and keeping is loving and protecting from harm. Those are demonstrations of love and were operationalized with metrics written in stone by the finger of God - they are the Ten Commandments. The first four are loving God (dressing and keeping the Tree of Life) and the last six are loving others (dressing and keeping every other "tree").
     Love is work because God commands that we love. Love is the contingency for keeping Christians safe from the evil one. Satan's role is to deceive, tempt, and provoke to turn Christians away from Christ. He tests the faith of Christians as Satan is only a tool of God, only able to do what God allows him to do! Why the test of following God's statutes and judgments? To separate the good grain from the chaff. Christians can fall away and do. The Word protects us from the evil one, and provides safety until we are saved in the end.

Re-Origination is a must

     There are three "musts" in the Bible, and all three are associated with, "You must be born again." (See my earlier commentary: Must Be vs Shall Be).  That event is when God enlightens the sinner: You can't save yourself but I can, and the sinner submits to that truth. Theologians call that enlightenment and its resultant trust regeneration.
     "Born again" makes one think of the first birth. That is logical but is it the intent? I submit not! To  merely return to the condition of little children - innocence - is not the best standard! Little children are liars, manipulators, cheaters, self-absorbed and basically little gods and goddesses.
     On the other hand, Jesus said, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Mat 18:3). Conversion is born again. Which comes first in Jesus's words: conversion or becoming as little children? Conversion! We don't come to God in innocence but after conversion, we are to become eager to learn. To be "as little children" in behavior would not be desirable! Why so?
     King David repented of his sins when he wrote Psalm 51. His very words were, "I was shapen in iniquity," right after recounting all his sins. David was referring to original sin - the sin inherited from Adam. That lying, manipulating, cheating, and self-absorption of little children is due to original sin. When sinners are born again - converted or regenerated - does God merely want us to stay the way we were born? No! Conversion and regeneration both imply change:    

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. (Ephes 1:3-5).

     "We should be holy" was God's will for mankind in the beginning. The "mystery of God" was that salvation was not for a few but everyone. (Ephes 3:9). From the foundation of the world God has all of us in mind! That's profound. The "foundation of the world" (above) is, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen 1:1). Genesis is the book of the foundations of the world. "Genesis" means origin or creation, preference is for the former.
      Guess what? "Generated" means origin as well! Genesis is the Book of Origins. Regenerated means back to the original. What was the original condition?

Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him." (Gen 1:26-27)

      We were created "in our likeness". Who is "our"? The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are to be like God in Mind, Flesh, and Spirit. Scripture calls that love:

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" (Mat 22:37).

    It should be obvious that we are to be like Jesus who Is God! Scripture calls that Christlike. That was the original or generated condition of humankind. When sinners are regenerated, that is not merely a return to infant behavior but a return to generated condition. Sinners who become Christians have a re-genesis.
     In Genesis, Adam was truly innocent and totally without connivance. That's what Christians should be. Our reasonable sacrifice is returning our hearts to God as the Designer intended them. God's will is reversal of original sin. That is purity. Will we ever be pure? No! God knew that Adam would not maintain his purity. There was a gate out of Paradise by design for a reason: God knew that although Adam was innocent, he would still fail. He loved him anyway!
     Just as Adam had a gate out of the hedge around the Garden (Job 1:10), we too have can leave the safety of the hedge. Once Adam was out, sacred literature tells of his conflicts with Satan. Job was a type of Adam. Christians are types of Jobs!
     Adam's original condition was the same as God's. The Law of God is God's will. The will of Adam (and Job and us) can either be the law of sin or the Law of God - our own will or God's will. God asks that "His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven". I believe that to mean that the will of  Christians are to be the same as it was in God's original Paradise. (Note: I contend that the Garden Paradise and the heavenly Paradise are the same environment.)
     Adam left Paradise. It was his choice. Of course, God sent him forth from Paradise to experience tribulation (Gen 3:23), but he made his choice to leave when he ate the forbidden fruit. Adam exercised his God-given free will which was the freedom God granted to his creatures.
     Adam and Eve were given a second chance (Gen 3:21). By the death of the first living animal, Adam and Eve were regenerated back to original Design intent. They were sent out of the Garden to test their regenerated condition. Like Job and us, Adam and Eve were tempted and deceived after leaving the Garden. Why so? To test their regeneration. Was it like they once had been?  Adam could have returned to the law of sin and lived in iniquity. We don't know for sure, but sacred literature indicates that Adam remained faithful even when tested. God's Word indicates there was an Adamic Covenant:

"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

     This is a preview of what would happen on Calvary when Jesus stepped on the Serpent's head. (See my book, The Skull of Adam for a full explanation of that passage.) Regeneration, then, is to be like Adam since we will fall short of being "as God". Adam was made perfect (re-originated) by the killing of an innocent animal. When sinners accept Jesus's propitiation of his own blood, we too become re-originated or regenerated.
     Adam, although regenerated, still made human mistakes because he was like God, not God. He was willing to be like God after he was forgiven, though. We too will make mistakes (sin) because we are not God. That's where grace comes in. We are saved by grace because God knows that we deserve death as we are not really gods and we do err against Him.
     Humans exist to exist with Existence - our purpose is to love God. Satan's role is to disrupt that communion. Satan goes to and fro in the world to test, even Adam. Although Adam was re-originated, his free will remained intact. He could still choose the Serpent and God would not stop Him. Likewise, when we are in the world, we too are tested, and we can fall! Our regeneration can move to degeneration. That's why Satan exists.
     As my commentary said earlier "our minds must be stayed on God". That is called keeping the faith. Satan's role is raising doubt. One of the most flagrant doubts is that God did not Originate (Generate or Create in Genesis), so how could He re-originate (Regenerate)?

Minds Stayed on God

     Christians, if they truly are, wait anxiously for the rapture. That is when Jesus comes to take his people to Heaven, and provides for them new glorified bodies. "Glorification" is exchanging the old corruptible flesh for new incorruptible. Likewise, it is exchanging a sinful heart with a righteous one.
     Flesh and heart, in a theological setting, are much different than they are to the secular world. "Hearts" are the desires of mankind. "Flesh" are the enjoyment of the pleasures that are desired. Thus not only will our bodies be perfected - to the Designers original intent by the way - but our attitudes as well. Glorified Christians will know only the Law of God and desire only the will of God. Their heart, merely "circumcised" on earth will be transplanted in Heaven. God will supply entire new bodies, new attitudes, and new pleasures. Pleasure will no longer be on things but with contentment and joy.
     Imagine the relief and exultation when the time comes that you will no longer have pain, any type of suffering, no death and perpetual happiness. How can anyone not want those things? Scripture calls those who do not foolish. "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered." (Prov 28:26).

     Wisdom is using knowledge for preservation. Foolishness, then, is either lacking knowledge or having it but to no avail. Sinful men are their own gods; they trust their own hearts and are foolish. Hearts, again, are their own desires. Men don't want there to be God because if there is then they are under His authority and must do His will. 

     Men want to do what they will, that being the entire theme of the law of sin. That is why do what thou wilt is the whole law of the Satanists. In contrast to that, God's will be done on earth as in Heaven is what Christians are to pray, and is the Law of God. It takes great faith to trust in oneself when there is no reward for doing that. However, by trusting in God, Christians have the hope of salvation (Lam 3:26).

     Ironically, before God judges the living and the dead, everyone judges themselves. That is the freedom God designed into mankind in His image. "As gods: (Gen 3:7), we can and do judge ourselves. That judgment is self-inflicted and is our outlook on ourselves under the Light of God. If there is no Light shining in our lives the default is damnation. If the Light shines but is rejected, that too results in damnation. On the other hand, if any sinner looks up to God's Light and switches off his own inferior light, that is regeneration, and the only thing in the Bible which anyone must be to be saved (John 3:7). 

     When is judgment? Now is the day of salvation (2 Cor 6:2). Not that you will be saved this day but that you judge yourself this day. For instance, if you are in the dark - not buying into the truth God speaks - and reject His Truth, then you judge yourself as you read this. 

     What is truth? What God says. He says that you must be born again by diminishing yourselves and elevating Him. Look beyond the darkness of your limited knowledge and lack of wisdom, and the Light shines brightly. I see God sitting on His throne and magnify Him. How can I see God? With bright eyes because truth permeates the transparent sea of glass on which God's throne sits (Rev 15:2). Safety comes with letting God kill our snakes. In that verse I see God getting victory over the "beast" - the Serpent from the Tree of Knowledge. 

     What is it that we get victory over? False knowledge and foolishness. We come to rely on God's knowledge and wisdom rather than ours. That's why there was that tree: to judge ourselves by. "Evil" is the law of sin and "good" is the Law of God. If Adam and Eve had not eaten of that fruit, there would be no need for judgment because everything God created was "good" (Gen 1:29). Because our forebears ate of the forbidden fruit, henceforth mankind judges themselves. That self-judgment is free-will. When people sin they judge themselves: I can either sin or not sin knowing full-well that sin leads to death!

In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just. Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. (Isa 1-3, 7-8, 21)

    "In this day" is when God judges. We know what we deserve, and if we judge ourselves with God's metrics, we know that we miss the mark (Mat 7:1-4). Mercy is when God dismisses the evidence when we admit the truth and are sorrowful. Grace is giving reprieve when we deserve punishment. Because only God is good, He will be more merciful than a human judge will ever be. All the evidence is against us, but God favors us because He loves us so! 
     If we say that we are without sin, we condemn ourselves with our lies! (1 John 1:10). Thus, confession, as we look at ourselves in truth, sets mankind free from  penalty (John 8:32). Not only can sinners damn themselves by not looking at their lives in true Light, but they submit themselves to merciful judgment if they see the Truth from God's Light.
     If we judge fairly, then God is more favorable toward His judgment. If we look to God in Heaven with bright eyes, we can know the Truth. Living the truth leads to salvation. Living a lie leads to damnation. For those who look to God for Truth, they are in safety.  Review the vision from the prophet Isaiah (above).
     God's city - the City of God - has walls and bulwarks. No one can enter therein without special privileges. Truth allows any to enter in through its gates. For the Jews there are twelve gates for the twelve tribes, but Jesus is the Gate which even allows them to enter the walls of that city.
     When sinners look for truth and find it, they can see God through that transparent sea between the world and Him. That is regeneration, and for all practical purposes, their minds and hearts are within the walls of the City of God. They are safe in that sense even though their bodies are not yet there. Those certain of the truth and do God's will have the assurance of salvation so much so that in their minds, they are already saved!
    God will come and judge everyone, even Christians. For some whose name is not in the Book of Life (safety for those who have trusted God) they will await the Great White Throne Judgment. For those who are born again, both the living and the dead, they will be caught up with Jesus and taken to Heaven! Right then is when God judges them. Wise people will prepare for that day because it can come any moment. As in the days of Noah, people will again judge themselves by not electing to enter the "gate" (door) to safety (the ark). The City of God is the final "ark"!
     In order to be safe, we must trust in God for salvation. Ironically, God must trust in us as well: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" (from the passages above). Perfect peace is what we call regeneration. It occurs after sinners are born again. In order to maintain that perfect peace, minds must be stayed on Him. Faith is trusting in Jesus for regeneration. Steadfast faith are minds stayed on God. 
     It takes faith to be born again and even greater and constant faith to maintain perfect peace - safety behind the bulwarks and walls of that great City. Those walls are the hedges which Satan acknowledges that God puts around those who are faithful (Job 1), not only for the moment but stayed on Him!
    At the Great White Throne Judgment, God will judge everyone so that they fully understand the crime, punishment, and reward. For some their "reward" will be eternal damnation. For others a divine compliment before an eternal reprieve: Well done good and faithful servant!

Deja vu all over again and again!

     One of the most powerful weapons Satan has in his arsenal is division. The first record of division is with Adam and Eve. The object of their scorns should have been themselves but Eve blamed the serpent and Adam blamed Eve. The unity of Holy Matrimony was divided right then. Marriage was the first institution under attack, and outside of our relationship with God, is the most holy of relationships. What's more dividing that relationship was just an outcome of separation from God:

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38-39)

    That's the apostle Paul speaking. Division is Satan's ploy to separate us from God. Note that God will never be separated from us, but we can separate from God. Hence, we never need to worry about God but only ourselves. Satan doesn't even try to make God hate us but can only make us hate God and others. That's why the Greatest Commandment and the one like unto it are so important; hatred is the mechanism of division and love is the bond of communion.
     Adam and Eve left the Garden. Satan had cunningly implemented the division. They walked through the gate out of the Garden but we know that God still loved them so (John 3:16). They suffered the consequences of sin but were still loved by God. Even in their time of troubles, Adam and Eve never abandoned God; they merely failed Him. The danger lies in the abandonment of God. That is apostasy, and that is Satan's goal. Apostasy is the unpardonable sin wherein mankind is separated from God and division is complete:

If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. (Heb 6:6)

     With the division of men from God, those persons become reprobate, committing blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. That final act of division is violating the Third Commandment - taking Jesus's Purpose in vain. In other words, the ultimate division is denying that Jesus died for us! That is Satan's "Great Omission" - to try to have mankind reject God's own sacrfice for ourselves. It is the ultimate hatred; hatred of God's authority and sacrifice.
      Not to be outdone, Cain and Abel were divided secondly. Look at the order: (1) division from God, (2) division from Holy Matrimony, and (3) division from each other. Hidden in scripture is the division between Cain and his parents - the Fifth Commandment violated. If that one is not clear enough consider Ham's sin when he humiliated Noah as he lie in s drunken state unclothed.
    You see, the Fifth Commandment doesn't have stipulations such as honor your parents provided they are without error or honor your parents if they not do stupid things or honor your parents even if they punish you too harshly.  We are to love our parents even with all their imperfections. How can we do that when our parents may even be cruel? Because God even loves us when we are!
    Noah's type of division was familial. The family was so divided that we still are! Ham is the father of the dark races, Shem of the brown races, and Japheth of the white races. Not only was Noah's family separated for perpetuity but mankind was as well. The division of families and races came about because Shem failed to honor his father. It is also to be noted that neither Ham nor Noah honored their Father in Heaven; just when sin had been washed clean from the world, righteous Noah got drunk. He did what the line of Seth did when Cain's line tempted them.
     Neither Noah nor Ham can blame Satan. It is merely his law of sin. Who was to blame? Noah and Ham! Why then were Shem and Japheth punished? Because they tried to cover Ham's sin themselves. They should have let God handle that.
     Many years later, Lot and Abraham were divided. What was the attraction that split them? Lot saw Sodom and Gomorrah and wanted to live in sin while Abraham was sanctified - set apart - in the countryside. Sanctification is choosing to live in safety so that Christians aren't divided from God:

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thes 5:23).

    God does not create division (chaos); he does created unity. Sanctification is unification with God on the basis of truth (John 17:17). Sanctification is separation from the world but it is not division from it; Christians are to go unto the world and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15). We are to take the world out of us but not take us out of the world! That occurs when we crucify our flesh by setting apart ourselves with God (Mat 16:24).
     We're not through yet. That is "deja vu all over again" and again. (That comes from a misstatement by Yogi Berra.)  There was division among Abraham's sons Ishmael and Isaac. That division still exists to this day as Isaac is the line of the Jews and Ishmael of the Muslims. There is no need to describe the hatred which still exists because of that brotherly conflict! What went wrong? Sin! Abraham depended on Sara's handmaiden to fulfill the promise God made to Sara.
     Who is responsible for that extreme division? Abraham. He was deluded by Sara who volunteered Hagar and came to resent her own sin. Sara is the cause of the Judeo-Islamic conflict that we still have today and sin is its root cause. Although Abraham is credited with righteousness as was Adam, they still had to suffer the consequences of sin.
     Division continued: Next it was with Jacob and Esau. It was the Edomites (Esau's line) who fought the Hebrew people as they entered into the Promised Land; the Edomites in defiance of God's will! Division never ends! Throughout the centuries, nation has been divided against nation. Empires came and went because of selfish interests. There has always been one constant: God's chosen people have always been persecuted. That applies to both Jews and Christians.
     The ancient church was divided early on into Jewish and Hebrew branches because the Jews just would not accept the Messiah on whom they waited. Then the Roman church was divided into the Catholic and Orthodox faiths (western and eastern branches). With the Reformation, the Church was further divided, then the protestants began to split into denominations. Then the Restoration movement split the Church even more. Now even Mennonites have been divided into nearly 1000 factions; even down to black bumper Mennonites!
     Not to be forgotten was the division of the Kingdom of David (God's Kingdom) into Israel and Judah. They even had a divided priesthood! In only a few hundred years both Israel and Judah were gone and ten of the twelve tribes of Israel were lost to oblivion! In 1948 Israel was united again to prepare for the mother of all battles - the Battle of Armageddon.
     Division is at a crescendo right now. In my lifetime, I have never seen such hatred. I'll be honest: I have trouble with hatred. It's not because of my own selfish interests but I hate hatred so much that I hate! The only way to love my fellow beings is for them to conform to my standards. That seems narcissistic, but my standards are God's Laws and His will, the way that I understand them.
     Yes, sometimes I struggle with hatred. We all do! If we say that we do not, we are liars. I find it discomfiting when others disagree with me. I hate their way of thinking but mankind's inclination is to hate the person. That is original sin; try as we may, original sin, or a hateful nature, is hard to overcome. How can we love our enemies when it's so difficult to love our friends? People minimize the importance of love. Even a minimal amount of dislike makes love less than optimum. We are to love others as God loves us; that is optimal. We can't even love superficially it seems!
     I am in the process of writing a book on the mob; not the criminal mob but people with a mob mentality. If we look at revolutions anywhere and everywhere, most places revolution has come about by mob rule. I believe the United States is in jeopardy at this very moment because of hatred. The mob seems to always win out because truth matters little to them, and intimidation is their warfare. They are very principled to the law of sin; much more so than Christians are principled with the Law of God.
    Scripture looks into the future. For a time, the mob wins out. My daughter asked me, "What happens?" I forewarned her, "We lose!" Of course, in the end, God lives on, Satan dies, and the world lives and loves in harmony, but until then, there will be greater and greater division. Life is a tribulation, and in the end, there will be great tribulation!
     Why did I not mention they most onerous division: when the mob killed God. That will be in my book. Mobs seem to get their way, but dying was God's Purpose for coming in the flesh. The mob never seems to know who is in charge. That's what makes mobs dangerous! However, God is always in charge.

In the Beginning

     Elohim is the plural of El and is "a plural of majesty, honor, or fullness. That is, he is GOD in the fullest sense of the word. He is "GOD of gods" or literally, "ELOHIM of elohim" (Deut 10:17; Ps 136:2) (Hebrew Streams; Paul Sumner). What does El mean? God in the singular and Elohim, when capitalized, means "God" in the plural. 

     God is not God's "name". In fact, God has no name. He just Is (Am), and referred to Himself to Moses as  "I AM" (Exod 3:14). Moses should have known that because God had used that expression often with previous patriarchs. "I Am" is hayah in the Hebrew. "I Am That I Am" is transliterated into English as 'ehyeh 'aser 'ehyeh. The Hebrew letters for that are Yod He Waw He (JHWH) or (JHVH). We say Yehowah or Jehovah in English. Hebrews, because God's "name" is so sacred, don't write it but use Adonai instead which is JHWH with diacritical marks and means "The Lord". Yehowah and Jehovah are actually non-words. It is believed that Yahweh is a better pronunciation of JWHW. (Wikipedia; "Tetragrammaton") 

     It seems that for some what God called himself should not be used, and for others the pronunciation of God's identity is unpronounceable. That is how Holy God Is! We should certainly take seriously to not use God's Name in vain! 

    Let's look at Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." "Beginning" is reshith or first. The second Hebrew word is bara which is create or what we call birth, although it is not a natural birth but a supra-natural one! Hence, the heaven and the earth are the first-born of God. Perhaps because God gave us his "first-born", He expects in return that we give Him our first-born:

“When the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he swore to you and your ancestors,  sacrifice every firstborn male offspring to the Lord. The firstborn male offspring of each of your animals belongs to the Lord. (Exod 11:12; GW).

     Look at that: God created the heaven and the earth for mankind. As such, the creation was God's "first born". As God was about to give the promised land to His people, look what He expected - their firstborn!  Words mean things, and "first born" was among the first thoughts of God. Giving first to God in all things is what God expects.
     He recounted that too many times to list! In modern times that expectation is called quid pro quo. God gave mankind something for something! He gave us the heaven and the earth for our firstborn sacrifice. Under Mosaic Law that firstborn was the firstborn of the animals. Under the Doctrine of Christ, that firstborn is you!

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Rom 12:1).

     It should be obvious that our firstborn are ourselves. God really doesn't want or need our animals. He wants us! God gave His firstborn - Jesus - for our firstborn - us. We are to present our bodies, inclusive of heart, mind, soul, and strength. (Mark 12:30. What more do we have? It is our firstborn.
     Our natural firstborn is blemished. Although, the priests had to bring an unblemished lamb for the sacrifice, that is understandable. The priests' sacrifices represented the perfect Lamb of God - Jesus. In our case, under the Doctrine of Christ, God expects his creatures to bring their firstborn - us because we belong to our father the Devil (John 8:44).
     We are to come as we are - all dirty, blemished, and beastly. That sacrifice is how God's creatures, His firstborn, are born again. Jesus said, "You must be born again." (John 3:7). That is his requirement for entering into Heaven (John 3:3) - His firstborn location, noting that I believe the Garden and Heaven are the same creation., is Paradise or the Garden in Heaven which is now the City of God.
     Since we must be born again, then presenting ourselves a living sacrfice is our "reasonable service". That sacrifice of the self is what we do to be reborn a new creature. How do we sacrifice ourselves? To willingly allow our natures to be changed.
     Since God created us, it is He that can recreate us. That is termed regeneration since the Creation was Generation (Genesis). Born  gain is re-genesis or re-originating. However, our part is the willingness to change. That change is a new attitude, going from proud to meek, from hating to loving, from meanness to kindness, and from self-serving to Christ-serving (self-esteeming to Christ-esteeming). Our sacrifice is our hearts, minds, souls, and strength. Note that God doesn't want our contaminated bodies because they are not an acceptable sacrifice. He wants everything else though. He created our first bodies and He will recreated a better, pure, incorruptible glorified body such as Adam had as the firstborn man!
     Why all this? Because creation is important. We know that the natural world is complex and we should credit God for creating all that complexity. It is made up of trillions of identifiable permutations of various systems. However, his firstborn was created with just a few identities: dust, heart, mind, soul, and strength. How simple yet so complex! The dust will return from where it came!
     While we have those aspects. God has three: His own Mind, Heart, and Strength. Why only three? They are the Holy Trinity: the Creator Father, the Savior Son, and the Comforter Holy Spirit; the latter aspect which is God's Power! Elohim, God in the plural, represents God's three aspects. El, God in the singular, represents the Godhead, or the three-in-one aspects which are called the Holy Trinity.
     Mankind, God's firstborn tame creatures, were made in the image of God. God's image has Spirit. We, however are not spirit, so we needed a container to hold God's Spirit. That "container" or "cup" is the human soul! Unfortunately, mankind were born with original sin since the time of Adam. Our trinity is more unholy than holy and requires re-creation; being born again.
     Mind, body, and soul are the pride, flesh, and lust with which we are born. They require replacing with humility, love, and reverence. That exchange is how regeneration (rebirth) makes new creatures from old ones.
     I marvel at God's Word! It is not by chance that El and Elohim are used; the singular and plural for God. Those two words describe our monotheistic God with three aspects. I don't use the term "persons" intentionally because God is not three persons; he is one Existence - what I AM means! The single "person" of God is called Jesus. That is the Name which we are to not use in vain!
     Why do we exist?  We exist because God Exists. He wanted us, and we need Him!

Persuasion

     What does it take to become a Christian? Some say that God "elected" at the beginning of time who would be saved. There was no metric of whom would be saved but the elect was chosen by grace. Of course, since God is omniscient, he does know who will be saved and who will not be! Few disagree with that but foreknowledge does not support election. Let's examine one of the many passages where elect or election is used:

Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (2 Pet 1:10-11)

    Strong's Lexicon is very Calvinistic. "Election", in their opinion, are those persons chosen to be Christians by God's own free will by His grace. Thus, Christians are the chosen few of whom Matthew 7:14 speaks. If salvation is by election only, then God would have no grace for those not chosen. Calvinists believe in the concept of sola gratia (by grace alone). With that notion, God's grace is sufficient for salvation without any activity or thinking (work) on the part of individuals.

    Sola gratia is fatalistic even for those chosen because how would they know if they are chosen or not? Attending a Calvinistic church would not be enough evidence. What test would they use to determine if Christians are chosen or not? Believing in election? Believing is a work, and would not be grace in the minds of Calvinists. Mark 16:15 explicitly says that salvation is dependent on belief. Jesus said, "You must be born again," (John 3:7) then went on to compare what one must do to be born again. That is to elevate Jesus just as Moses did on the pole. That is hard work and takes convincing!

     Moses did something - he lifted the pole. The Hebrew people who were saved did something - they looked up at the lifeless serpent on the pole. Being born again requires effort just as the unborn baby must assist in the first birth. Either way, birth is a gift of God but something needs to be done to receive the gift. For the unborn baby it is squeezing through the birth canal. For rebirth it is the same struggle - belief.

     Doing something such as believing is "work" in the doctrine of Calvinists. Election is by grace alone. I believe they get around that doublethink by claiming that God picks who will believe. In other words, the believer has no choice to believe. They call that "irresistible grace". Christians would have to love God out of force. Rather than being released from bondage of the Law ,they would be put in chains to grace.

     Even if God elected just a few to be saved, doubt would stress Christians badly. How would they be sure they are saved? Everyone would be sure if they truly believed that doctrine or would they? Since the path is narrow, most people would conclude that they are not elected. The odds are against them because they were either elected by some type of random lottery or God knew that they would believe. The former is true election, but the latter is foreknowledge and still leaves open the idea that the Christian must do something, and that something is to believe (trust) God for salvation which is by the grace of God.

     You can easily see that Calvinistic doctrine is in conflict with its basic tenet of sola gratia. Calvinism should and must be completely discarded because it is not the truth - the Doctrine of Christ. For instance, the Hebrews were God's chosen people:

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. (Deut 7:6).

     If God chose them, and He did, why did Paul turn away from them unto the Gentiles? Because although the Jews were chosen, only "peculiar" people were persuaded (1 Pet 2:9). What determines peculiar people? Those who depend on wisdom (1 Cor 1:22). Peculiar people are those who are wise enough to trust Jesus. The Jews, although chosen (elected), did not. On the other hand, God wanted the Jews to be saved but they weren't. After the elect denied Jesus, the apostles turned to the Gentiles who were merely peculiar, not chosen, people.

     The mystery of God is that it was never only the elect (Jews) for whom Christ would die but for everyone. John 3:16 testifies to that with "whosoever believeth in him should not perish." The same mystery would then be that neither were you chosen any more than the next person, and that all were chosen! What then separates the chosen from the unchosen (sic)? The decision to diminish oneself and elevate Jesus! For that to happen, everyone must consider Jesus. Those who fail to consider Jesus are damned by default. The second part of John 3:16 is that whosoever believes. That entails that "whosoever" do something!

     It is God's will that all will hear the Word and choose wisely. In fact, the end will not come until everyone has heard about Jesus and the resurrection (Mark 13:10). Why everyone? Because everyone by grace should have the opportunity to make a choice - they must be persuaded to lift up Jesus and follow his Way! How can we know that? Because it's in Holy Scripture:

Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. (Acts 26:28)

    To be a Christian is not by a divine lottery. Anyone and everyone are to have an opportunity to decide for themselves. That is using their free will to evaluate the evidence and either deny Christ or trust him. Even those who have not heard of Jesus should seek him out because the proof is in the complexity of the creation (Rom 1:20). That is the primary reason the Creation story is so imperative to Christianity. It should help doubters to have evidence of God!

     Christians must be persuaded to be Christians. Children are more easily persuaded than adults because they have less baggage, that being false knowledge. How can one be persuaded when evolutionists teach that the universe was not created? That claim diminishes God as it elevates them! We are to be as the little children (Mat 18:3), and reject that false hunch for that is what it really is! 

     Some just won't be persuaded. They are not damned by divine decree but because they just cannot be convinced to trust the Word:

And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (Luke 16:31)

     Scripture tells Christians what to do with those who cannot be persuaded:

And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. (Mat 10:14). 

     Why would Calvinists even go to them if they are already chosen?  If people are already elected why would Christians even waste time with the Great Commission? The answer is that hyper-Calvinists do not. The proof for them is that the elect are those who come to their particular church; thusly they are called Particular Baptists.  (All reformed churches are particular in that salvation is not available to all but only to the elect, and is not a general atonement.)

     If people are already elected, why would other Christians be able to reject their election? We see "whosoever" again in Matthew 10:14. Christians are expected to take the gospel to whosoever; that is everyone. Christians would then (under Calvinism) determine who the elect are and who are not. That is arrogant!

     Paul and Barnabas were able to persuade converts to be converted. Conversion is born again. It took logic and reasoning for them to be converted. The converts did something - they changed their false knowledge for truth, and by the truth, they were set free (John 8:32). What must anyone do to become a Christian? Accept the truth! What is truth? Pilate asked that (John 18:38). The answer is that there is one and only one Way to salvation and that is by the Name of Jesus (Acts 4:12). Christians must believe that to be saved. They must be persuaded of that:

Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. (Acts 13:43)

     Like it or not, persuasion is hard work. The job of all Christians is to go unto the world and persuade people to follow Christ. 
     If they are already elected, why would they need persuasion? Because all are elected to hear but few receive the truth (Mat 11:15)! Believing the truth is hard work. People don't want to be persuaded because if they do, they lose their stature. They must crucify themselves, in a spiritual sense, and they don't want to do that. They want to keep their self-governance and resent God's Law as an encumbrance on their own laws, which by the way, is the law of sin.

    Paul was a murderer. He persecuted and had Christians killed. With that said, there was no one more unconvinced of Jesus's Deity than Paul. Jesus struck Paul blind and he was convinced:

For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. (2 Tim 1:12)

     Paul was a Jew. God knew that he could not be convinced unless he was struck blind. To persuade Paul, Jesus made him see the truth through blindness. That was God's way as making him as a child and more easily persuaded. If Paul was merely chosen, why blind him? To make him see the truth. 

     I guarantee anyone, if Jesus struck you blind and spoke with you, no doubt you would be persuaded! I am persuaded, for one of the many reasons, because Paul was. I don't need to be struck blind because Paul was. I am persuaded by what Jesus can do, and with that, I trust that his promises will be kept. What is it that I did? I accepted the evidence presented and have been persuaded! That was hard work but by grace I was given the opportunity! 

Left Behind

     The resurrection of the dead is the hope of salvation. When Jesus returns to save mankind, those who are living as well as the dead in Christ will be taken into Heaven with Jesus. This is the actual second coming of Christ although his feet do not touch the ground. That event is called "the rapture" which means snatched up. Examine that glorious day in the passages following:

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thes 4:15-17).

For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished... For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive... 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. (1 Cor 15:16-18, 22, 51-52)

     Neither the living nor the dead have the power to ascend to be with Jesus. The power comes from above. It is God's will (Jesus's) that they ascend as they will. Only those who are either "dead in Christ" or alive in Christ will ascend unto Heaven. All the dead and living who are not in Christ will be left behind.

     When the trumpet sounds, it will be too late to choose. I suppose all will hear the trumpet but only those who have been awaiting Jesus's return will react to its sound. Those dead to Christ will surely look up in amazement into the sky and wonder what is happening. They will be left behind, but maybe will even consider themselves fortunate for having missed the "abduction". Likely, the rapture will be written off as alien kidnapping or some other foolish idea.

      The time when God tires of rebellious living and leaves sinners behind will  be as in the days of Noah:

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Mat 24:36-39)

     Those who are alive today don't know when the rapture will come. Neither did Noah, but he prepared for that day. Yes, Noah and his family, eight in number, where raptured from the earth and saved from perishing. That is a picture of the end-of-time rapture. In that situation, the door to the ark was trusting in the Lord - the last chance to be born again with Noah. In the new world, all who entered in would be born again. Note that at that time they would not be perfect, as we soon found out, but given another chance. At the real rapture, all those who are saved will be perfected in body and mind - or glorified.

     Noah's ark is symbolic of Heaven. The eight were saved in the ark. Thus, righteous Noah was symbolic of perfect Jesus. The cleansed earth to which they returned was symbolic of the New Earth to which the City of God will return in the end of time. Noah knew what he was doing. He trusted the Word who instructed him on the ark's design to save him and his household. God Designed the ark, and Noah obeyed. Jesus is the Word. 

     Noah trusted in Jesus before Jesus was ever born. Therefore, Noah, as well as Elijah, Moses, Abraham, and the other patriarchs will be the first to rise at the rapture as they believed in Jesus before God ever came in the Flesh. 

     Noah was saved by the water, and actually looked forward to salvation by the blood. Those are the two conditions for salvation (John 19:34, 1 John 5:6). Sinners can only be saved by water and the blood. Those who were raptured were saved by both the water from God and the blood of Jesus. Those who were left behind denied both the water and the blood. Were those two events? No. When Jesus died, he was pierced in the side, and water and blood both came forth. 

     Some suppose that means regeneration and baptism. I do not. Blood represents Jesus - the Lamb - who made the final sacrifice for sin, and water represents the Holy Spirit who experienced death with him but lived. Blood is the sacrifice but water is the Power to save. Noah shed innocent blood at the altar after he was saved in recognition that the blood is what saves, and the water was the power which floated the vehicle of salvation.  The flood of Noah represents the power of God's Holy Spirit. 

     Read the story of Noah and the ark: Gen 5:32-10:1. The door to the ark represented a choice. It is the "straight gate" referred to in the New Testament. Only by that gate was salvation possible. Whose "gate" was it? God's! He was the one who made the gate, allowed anyone (whosoever) to enter, then Himself closed the gate after anyone who would came aboard. That "choice" was the trumpet sounding. God gave them all a choice right up to the last trump. Likewise, in the end of days, everyone will have a chance until the last trumpet. The sound of the trumpet closes the opportunity, All who would have come in will have done so. 

     When God closed the door to the ark, the time had come for the rapture. The water from the bowels of the earth snatched the blessed up in the ark and they were saved, and they were few. Those who had not entered the door to the ark were left behind and perished. They were destroyed by water, which God promised never to do again. The destruction at the end of days will be by fire. Those who fail to enter the gate and walk the path (the ramp into the ship in Noah's day) will perish. They will be left behind to be destroyed alongside Satan. 

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Mat 7:13-14)

     Those last verses are our choices to be raptured. They are no different than all the peoples' choices in Noah's time. That door to the ark was the same door as the "gate" mentioned above. Not just anyone can enter in because it, just like the gate to Paradise, it must be guarded by cherubim. 

     Note that it was God who shut the door to the ark. I'm sure he used His angels for that task. Did cherubim shut the door? I think they may have. The password to the gate to Paradise was the Name of God - Jesus. By no other Name can anyone be saved (Acts 4:12). The Name Jesus was the password to enter the ark. Not just saying the Name but realizing Jesus's purpose: to save by the water and blood - his own!

     Broad was the way which led to the world's destruction. There was not even a door it was so wide. All the people of the world needed to do is trust Jesus for salvation by entering into the door of the ark. They failed to do that one simple thing and were left behind. The same holds true for the rapture. To be snatched up from death merely requires trusting Jesus. He supported Peter in the water, and he will support you in the air. Let all who will ascend with Jesus. That's the prize for which all Christians await! Don't be left behind. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life - eternal life (John 14:16)!