Revelation

If you are reading this, and it is my  wish that you are, "revelation" is looking into our future, not only to the end but thereafter - forever. Some may fear reading this revelation because it should make most people uncomfortable for this eschatology is of the most remote times into the future - death, judgment, heaven, and hell.

Be comforted because if you have been born-again, there is no need to be frightened. If you're not, God gives seventy-times seven chances (or more) to experience rebirth (Mat 18:22). On the other hand, just as one's hands become calloused by manual labor, the heart can become calloused by acclimating to the rejection of God (Matthew 13:15). God calls us to salvation:

2 Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began...

He calls... we must answer. If that is "work", so be it. Our own salvation is a gift of God but we must accept the gift. The passage above is the ontology - our coming into existence to the present time. The Book of Revelation takes us the rest of the way. All prophecy is terminated as the revelation ends.  "Revelation" is "an act of revealing divine truth" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). It is singular  although most people say revelations, although there is only one truth! Some refer to the "Revelation of Saint John", but it is actually the revelation of divine truth as revealed to Saint John. Jesus Christ revealed the future to him (Rev 1:1). Jesus sent "his angel" to reveal the truth to John (1:1; I am dismissing the use of the name of the book for brevity from here onward. "1:1" is understood to be Revelation 1:1, etc. All other books shall be enumerated).

We normally think of an "angel" as another being. I believe in this case it was Jesus Himself (I will cease to capitalize pronouns in reference to Jesus henceforth). "His angel" appears to be Jesus himself from the Greek autos aggelos - "self messenger" In Holy Scripture "the Word"- the pre-incarnate Jesus, was often described as "the angel of God". He was chief messenger - or angel, and His message was the Word.   If "his angel" is another being, then it is still Jesus's message. Since Jesus is our mediator to God (1 Tim 2:5), it would appear that Jesus's himself was informing John about God's plan for mankind's future.

Of course, unlike Lucifer who was a created messenger, the Word was there in the beginning (John 1). The Word was made flesh with Jesus's carnate birth from the Holy Spirit and pure Mary. His birth was not in sin (with sexual knowledge) but the Holy Spirit knew Mary. Her womb and soul were imbued by God, and God was born a living person.  God in the flesh is who calls us to salvation. That was the purpose God was made flesh.

Since God calls us, we have limited time to respond.  We are limited by our own hearing, listening, considering, and conclusions. These senses and faculties were provided by God as a means of exercising our own will. Our human will is the instant in time when multiple choices are offered, and  mankind selects the choice of his strongest desire. Since the decision is ours, not God's or anyone else's, and no one coerces us, we were created with "free will".

Our future, then is in two hands, and two alone: God's and ours. God's will is plain as day in John 3:16, "that none should perish". Our future, then is up to us! We must choose. Our selection is by our own volition but we must be persuaded (Acts 18:4). Truth is persuasive. When Christians realize the truth, then that's the new birth because we see God's Light. What is that truth? Our destiny is death, we can't save ourselves, but Jesus can! Revelation is an aid to assist us in realizing those two outcomes - eternally living or eternally dying. I use the present participle "ing" because neither of the outcomes are finite - both are infinite!

In Revelation, Jesus himself gives us a little peek into the future.  Those who have no understanding of God will frankly find it frightening and confusing! One man I know commenced his study of scripture by reading Revelation. He was so confused that he abandoned his quest for salvation. He read but failed to understand! There is much symbolism in that book. Imagine, if you will, that John was perhaps seeing things not extant in his own times. How could he possibly describe a futuristic invention except by describing those things in terms of what was known at the time. In that sense "Locusts" may very well describe helicopters, for instance, or they could really be locusts. However, it would be wise to consider both!

I became a Christian because I was afraid of my future. I considered death, judgment, heaven, and hell. The choice for me was clear: I desired to choose heaven and the Way of God, frankly, because Hell scared me. Hence, a place of punishment and reward is imperative for salvation! We must ask ourselves: what is it that we are saved from? We are saved from Hell if we are Christians. Without a Hell, then there is nothing to be saved from! In order to be saved from Hell, there must be a place of refuge. That place is Paradise believed to be in the Third Heaven (2 Cor 12:2). That place is in the Presence of God in the Kingdom of God.

Revelation is about two outcomes. Physical death occurs in and instant. Revelation considers what comes after the sting of death. We are to love and fear God. Some question how that can be. The answer is that God is loving but also just. Hence, Revelation is about love and justice. There is a great reward for love - eternally living. On the other hand, for those who never experience rebirth, justice is eternally dying. The choice is ours. It is made by: shall we or shall we not lower ourselves and lift-up God (John 3:14). Why was Revelation written? To aid one in making that decision! What was revealed to me therein is what made me consider Christ. Once I realized that death is forever dying, I sought solace. That solace came from God, and he gave me "the hope of salvation" (1 Thes 5:8).

The Word was given to Christ's servant, John. Servants have one Master as they can't serve two (Mat 6:24). God selected John to write his word because he was a faithful servant. Church fathers relate that John was lowered into boiling oil but miraculously survived. With that miracle, I reflect on Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego; and their deliverance from the fiery furnace by none other that "the angel of God" (Dan 3). Just as Jesus delivered them from that hellish furnace, Jesus will deliver the righteous from fiery Hell! You see, perhaps, that Jewish scripture is all about Jesus!

In delivering John from his fiery destiny, God had a purpose. Tasting Hell himself, who better to warn mankind about a place of intense heat and pain than one who has experienced it already? Thus, John was saved from the first death for a purpose: to persuade others how to be spared from the second death, and their own fiery destiny! 

God provided a sanctuary for John. He wrote his visions on the Island of Patmos. This was considered to be an acropolis - a city of high elevation and a citadel for protection. There, just like Adam was said to live, John  saw his visions, ironically, living in a cave. "Ironically" because like Paul who needed blindness to see Jesus, John needed darkness to see the visions of Jesus. 

Jesus picked the person, place, and message. Likewise, Jesus picked the audience as well. The visions were provided that the world may see what the eyes cannot see! To give us "bright eyes" as sacred writings referred to seeing the Light.  In order to see this Light, one must know the Word. That is Jesus and what he said all along! There is little way to understand Revelation without knowing Jesus. We must understand why there is death,  judgment, heaven, and hell.

Genesis tells us why we deserve death - because mankind did not, and always failed to have no other god besides God. We deserve death because by our own will, we chose evil over righteousness. What is right is revering our Creator. Those who deny the creation, deny the Creator. Mankind, as Satan warned, became "as gods" (Gen 3:5). The penalty for disobedience is death. That is why we have to die (Gen 2:7). Thus, Revelation is all about life and death - death for some, and life for a few.

In order to be freed into Paradise or imprisoned within Hell, judgment must occur (Mat 25:31-46). The Word saw Adam's sin back in the Garden, and the Word will judge us all. Jesus makes the decision as to whether we are returned to his Garden in Paradise, or whether we are cast out -  this time forever.

Revelation is about two places: Heaven and Hell. One of those locales are the destiny of all mankind. There is no purgatory, other planet, soul-sleeping forever, non-existence, or any other contrivance. Almighty God, in His wisdom, created Heaven when He Created earth (Gen 1:1). On day one God created a place for us to live and places to reside in death. He did that with foreknowledge because from experience with the angels, God knew in advance that he needed to eternal "homes" - one for the righteous and one for the unrighteous. In order to decide who goes where, God will use His co-Creator, Jesus Christ to judge both.

Let me define the "Holy Trinity" right now because those three aspects (which theologians call "substances" from the Latin homeostasis) of One God who has one throne in Heaven! God's Mind planned it, his Word spoke it, and his Spirit was the Power behind it. What is "it"? Existence! (Our ontology). In Heaven, think not of three persons on one throne, but God himself there alone. We are to revere His Mind, praise His Word, and rejoice in His Holy Spirit. Revelation adequately describes God as we shall see him, and on another day, we will see what Jesus looks like now in his glorious "body".

Man's "Flesh" in the Beginning and the End

This is the second introduction in preparation for the eschatology from the Book of Revelation. Thus, there are two "Daily Thoughts" for today. My desire is to provide the ontology and eschatology of mankind. Why so? In the end, Christians will have the same nature as in the beginning! That is where the path comes full circle. Not only will man return to his original condition but also the Garden which now seems to be gone. We just may learn where it is!

Let's look at how mankind was created:

Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...  2:7  And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.  2:22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

You will notice that the summary of mankind's creation was put in chronological order with the details. I did this as a refutation of the "two creations" heresy. These verses are the ontology of mankind. I propose that mankind was created without human flesh. Don't let this contention bother you because it's better than that!

In the above verses, the Hebrew word transliterated "flesh" - basar, could have as easily been rendered "body". Depending on context, according to Strong's definition, fresh, flesh, body, a man's pudenda, or nakedness could be used. I submit that "body" is more appropriate because "the flesh" is sinful. If we look at how much a man should love God, we find this:

Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Hence, originally mankind was made up of matter, spirit, and mind. When one says "love with all your heart" that means to  love with all your physical existence since emotions are covered under mind. This love with all the heart is both matter and human nature.  I don't use soul and spirit interchangeably. I perceive that what we call "the soul" is the container for the "spirit", akin to space being the container for matter.

Since mankind was created immortal it follows that man had no flesh.

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Man was originally born of the Spirit. No flesh was necessary. Flesh is of the world and spirit is of God. The Garden was God's Kingdom, and from that which man came, he shall return by grace. 

1 Corinthians 15:52 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. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

This is called the rapture. As the dead is raised, their bodies live again. It is presumed that at that time the living in Christ shall have the same. Since, death was the outcome of sin, corruptible flesh was put on to exist in the world. At the last trumpet, the dead shall rise incorruptible - without flesh, the exact same condition as when man was created!

What then will we have in the second paradise to cloth us? Not corruptible flesh, the sensor of pleasure. We will be made again in the image of God just as originally at the creation. We shall have God's Mind, Spirit, and Body, or if you don't like the idea of being without flesh, then God's likeness.

John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) 40 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.

Before Jesus died, the King James translators wisely used the Greek  pneuma with different contexts in the same verse: Since a "Ghost" is the Spirit of a dead man, and Jesus had yet to die, the Holy Ghost could not come down until Jesus was "glorified".

Glorification comes with death. Jesus had died, returned from the dead, and walked the earth for forty days, yet no one was allowed to touch him because he had yet to be with the Father (John 22:17). (No, Thomas was only challenged to touch Jesus but he didn't need to.) Thus "glorification" is when mankind stands in the presence of God. Scripture is very clear: that cannot be done "in the flesh" because God is entirely pure, and the flesh is not. Whatever clothing we shall wear will be incorruptible - it will never perish nor can it sin! The flesh is unwelcome in the kingdom of God in either the Garden of Eden, in the world, or in the Garden of Heaven.

Whatever we wear, we again will be in the image of God. In the Garden, mankind wore the same "skin" which the glorified Jesus wore after he ascended to the Father.

I was confused for awhile. Genesis says that we were created in the image of God. God's "Image" is Jesus Christ. On the other hand the New Testament says that Jesus was made in our likeness. It finally came to me - both are true! In the Garden, mankind had an incorruptible body. After our ancestors were removed from Paradise to the world, they put on a different corruptible flesh to both cope in the world as well as be tempted. (This hypothesis is validated by sacred writings.)  Jesus was born with corruptible flesh, just like ours, to show that mankind does not have to sin. Our flesh was necessary to be fair in Jesus's temptations by the devil.

Once Jesus died, he no longer needed our flesh. He defeated it! It died on the cross, and stayed clean until he ascended to the Father in purity. Once ascending in the air, Jesus was glorified, putting off the flesh and becoming new. Our own baptism is symbolic of that same thing!

There is still one thing missing to understand from whence we came and where we're headed. "The flesh" is much more than the dermal layers. It includes man's nature as well. Just as us, Jesus had a personality. He could be tempted since he was flesh and bones. However, Jesus had the supra-nature of God. He was born that way! In order to be like Jesus in body and spirit, we must be born-again. As we become new creatures, the old sinful nature of the flesh is tempered somewhat. It is sort of divine acclimation until we too ascend. If we're still alive, we will join the dead in the sky with Jesus and put on a new incorruptible body with whatever new skin that entails!

This commentary covers both the ontology and eschatology of mankind. Tomorrow we will proceed with the Book of Revelation..


 

And How Does That Turn Out?

Human beings should be concerned about our own existence and destiny. Prince Hamlet asked, "To be or not to be; that is the question?" in Shakespeare's Hamlet soliloquy. Our question is why are we, and how does that turn out? The study of our existence is called "ontology" (The ontological part is whether our nature is of divine origin or by chance.), and ceasing to exist is "eschatology". However, human beings never ever cease to exist. Unlike the animals, we are immortal.

Most people have an idea from whence they came. Some believe we are a product of a graceful God, and were designed to be like and love our Designer. Those that accept that oncology are "theists". Others believe we just happened by chance. Those who accept that oncology are atheists. Christians who fail to accept the creation account are de facto "atheists":

Romans 1:18 ...the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools...

Knowing that there is God, according to verse 20, is seeing Him in the Creation. Conversely, those that can't see God in the Creation do not know Him! Many claim to be Christians, but deny the Creation. To know and be God's is to buy into the divinely provided ontology - since we are in the image of God, God created us that way. Christians are Christians because they believe that God can save them in the end. It follows, that if God has the power to save, and create Paradise to which we live in eternity, then God must have the power to create the Garden Paradise and its abode! Christians, it is that simple. Cease your unbelief. Quit diminishing Almighty God, or He just may prove you wrong. It appears that belief in the Creation is imperative to be born-again.

The emotion humans have that they know more than God is called "pride". Christians must submit that pride to be candidates for heaven. Submission is not half-way - we cannot believe that God can save, yet disbelief that He can create. Evolutions think they know better than God. Hence, evolutionists cannot be Christians. Scripture cause those double-minded people "fools" (verse 22). It is folly to think that one is a Christian when they don't believe in the Almighty.

I claimed earlier that human beings are immortal. The ontology of mankind is purity. We were designed in the image of God; hence, since God is "good", mankind was created good. We were not created with human flesh but imperishable. Mankind was designed to live forever - to be immortal. Our nature in the beginning was as free agents. We were endowed by our Creator with a will, just like God's will! God created everything of His own volition. Because we were designed in God's image, our will was also free. Free to do what? Decide our existence and our destiny. Our earthly existence is called life, and its study is philosophy, and our destiny, again, is eschatology.

The greatest philosophical question of all time was this: shall I ignore God's will in favor of my own? The answer to that question was eating of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It was a free choice but one with fatal consequences! The penalty, Adam was told in advance, was death. When Eve ate and didn't die, Adam ate as well. They tested God, and believed that God had lied to them.

The problem was that they lacked the knowledge of God. Compared to God, Adam and Eve were fools (verse 22 again). Since death had never before occurred, they misunderstood the concept of death. Nothing has changed! People still don't understand death! When they thought God foolish, their ontology established their eschatology. Their original nature was changed from innocence to rebellion, and their fate from life to death.

Now, let me explain immortality. Atheists - those who do not believe in God nor His power, hope to only molder in the grave. I believe that in the secret places of their minds, they know they deserve death and punishment but with their failure to accept God, do not have the "hope of salvation". Hence, their hope lies in the grave. There they can avoid eternal punishment, they think. They have deluded themselves into believing the original precept, "thou shall not surely die" (Genesis 3:4). Of course, atheists understand that someday they will indeed will physically die but deny that they will also die a spiritual death. There are two deaths by God's design. Most will never escape the first death, but some will the second death.

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Therefore, the eschatology of mankind is one of two things: immortality or spiritual death. Physical death is the birth canal to eternal life or to eternal agony. There is no relaxing in an eternal sleep as atheists believe.

Let me explain immortality. Everyone is immortal. Those who are fearful (of God), unbelieving (about God), murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers, idolaters, liars, and such will suffer the second death.  Ontologically speaking, those who are only born once will suffer the first and second death. On the other hand, those born once, and then born again, should look forward to the second life. Ironically, or by Plan, being reborn a new creature provides a new earthly life in addition to eternal life.

Those who are not born-again have a bonus (sic) too - they will be immortal as well. Rather than eternally living, they will be eternally dying. Christians will suffer pain one time to obtain eternal life, whereas non-Christians will suffer physical death, then endure pain and isolation forever. That seems unfair but it is just because it's so simple to change eschatology; not the world's but are own! That one decision, just as the first one back in the Garden, is whether to submit to God's will - His authority or not. We don't have to wait to see how things turn out for us. Scripture tells us the future of unbelievers, believers, and the world. That is eschatology.

What better place to study eschatology than the Word of God? The apostle John was inspired to write down the study of the end-of-time. Our eschatology can be found in the Book of Revelation. It is as important to know eschatology as well as ontology. Eschatology is knowing what our ontology brought about. When Adam sinned, he probably wondered: and how does this turn out? Adam was safe by grace, and is now immortal. Adam lived 930 years with hope. Hope is life's highway to the end. Tomorrow, I will commence the study of the Book of Revelation, so you too will know: and how does this turnout?

Why the Millenials Practice Atheism

America is a Christian nation... or is it? "Eighty-three percent of Americans identify themselves as Christians. Most of the rest, 13 percent, have no religion. That leaves just 4 percent as adherents of all non-Christian religions combined — Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and a smattering of individual mentions." (ABC News Poll; http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=90356). 

Where are all those Christians? I don't see them. Perhaps they are part of the supernatural as well! Apparently there are different ideas as to what a Christian is.

Another poll is similar. Eighty-one percent of Americans confess Christianity but only 68% of millennials do (Pew Research Center). Just where are all those young Christians?  Of course we don't know their hearts but even us adults have experienced the young life. During my young adulthood, I believed strongly in God. However, I confess to you: I did not understand Him! If one does not understand God, how could one even be a Christian? Nicodemus asked Jesus to explain that to him (John 3).

To be truthful, when young, I put on a cloak of belief as "fire insurance". I believed in Jesus just in case there really is a Hell. I had been taught that the only way to avoid hell is to believe in Jesus. I had no problem with that. Dietrich Bonhoeffer called that "cheap grace". Of course, Jesus paid an expensive ransom for me - His own life, but I never even empathized with Him, let alone obey God's will! Cheap grace is not cheap on Jesus's part but the way I behaved as a Christian cheapened God's sacrifice of His only begotten Son. I took God's Name in vain, not with my mouth but with my lack of faith.

For me, the propitiation of Jesus's blood was payment for my fire insurance, and I owed Him nothing in return. I came to realize that that's not Christianity. It's role-playing, and the acting was done poorly! My life was a third rate movie with many of us poor actors!

Christianity is more than belief in Christ:

James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

To be honest, I too trembled as I thought of a just God!  Why so? Like the demons, I knew that I deserve punishment, and I feared that it was forthcoming. Therefore, just as the demons, I too believed! With that type of belief, I was no better than the demons. I wasn't truly practicing Christianity but playing games with God!

Demons are smarter than me. Sometimes they ask of me, "Are you truly a Christian, or are you still play-acting for fire-insurance?" Then, I'm sure they cackle when I wonder that myself! I had become so accustomed to acting the part of the Christian, that I questioned my true identity. I believe that most people, especially young "Christians", have little idea what a Christian's identity is. All those out there who seem to be young demons may be young demons. Many may believe in Jesus but they practice atheism. Atheism is not how one behaves but what he believe. The God who has no rules to obey is not the true God. The God with whom most  fail to communicate is the real God, and the gods with whom most communicate is themselves. 

Non-practicing "Christians" are not truly atheists. They really worship themselves, and Satan is satisfied with self-worship.  Albeit, they are their own gods, in practice they ignore God, and as such, are practicing atheists. How do I know that? Because when I was young, God was not real to me. I called on Him, but hoped that He wouldn't answer. I preferred to remain in ignorance so that I could go on practicing sin.

When God has little or no importance in one's life, that person just as well not believe. "Belief" is not just a thought; it is trusting and obeying! I'm sure God doesn't see all that much obedience out there, and frets because obedience is how we demonstrate to God that we love and appreciate Him.

Christians are generally trained to be Christians. Even the Bible comments on that:

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Sure, children are taught to be Christians! That is God's transparency. Atheists see that as manipulation, but they train up a child in the way they want them to go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Thus, just like children who are trained to be theists, most children are trained to be atheists.

How are children trained to be atheists? Parents do not bring a child up in God's way! Children are allowed to do what they want to do, and to believe what they want to believe. Parents are overly permissible to their children because they are lax in their own lives. How can a child take their parents' religion seriously if they watch whatever comes on their TV's, and do those things the world does. It appears that even modern adults are not serious about their redemption! 

Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

I've wrote on this command before but it is worth repeating. "Take" is nasa' in the Hebrew. It means to "lift up". Jesus explained that "born-again" is "lifting up Jesus", referencing Moses lifting up the bronze snake (John 3). This command, I came to realize, has little but some, connection to saying the word "God".  It is taking the Lord God's "name" in vain. In the Hebrew "name" is shem, and refers to God's "conspicuous position" (Strong's Dictionary), not the word "God". What is God's conspicuous position? He Is Creator and Savior. In fact, God just Is, and is without name. However, He is "called Jesus" (Matthew 1:25).

"In vain" in the Hebrew is shav', "a sense of desolation". Thus "in vain" is to act as if God does not exist. In summary, it became obvious to me that this commandment is failing to lift up Jesus by not taking him seriously. The penalty for this is "guilty". In other words, since blaspheming the Lord is the unpardonable sin, and that's taking Jesus's blood sacrifice and death frivolously or even scurrilously.

When one believes but does not change, then that's "cheap grace" - trying to enjoy the rewards of Christ but ignoring His will. That is "lifting Him up" frivolously, and is vanity. Thus "taking the Lord's name in vain", is not a sin of commission but one of omission. It's failure to truly be born-again. One may believe in Jesus, but in their hearts, the demon still exists.

Therefore, many millennials profess Christ but seem to be atheists. It's the difference in what they profess to how they live. They believe as theists and live as atheists.

Preservation of the Faithful

The doctrine of eternal security is called "preservation of the saints" in Calvinism. From scripture we find that a "saint" is the following:

Psalm 50:4 He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. 5 Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. 6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself.

"He shall" are the first words. Of course, "He" is understood as "the mighty God" from verse one of this psalm. "Shall" is sometime in the future, thus this passage is prophetic. Hence, the song of God is about His arrival for in verse 2 we read: "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined." Christians understand that Zion is Israel, even specifically Jerusalem, or the Temple Mount.

"The perfection of beauty" is God in the flesh - called Jesus whose death gave light unto the world!

It is necessary to understand that the Old Testament is all about Jesus. Those who minimize it as history or only for the Hebrew people are missing most of inspired writings about Jesus Christ.

Reading verse 4 above, that perfect person shall judge everyone living or dead. Jesus is much more than graceful; He is also just. People don't like the idea but it is Jesus who shall judge. Some say, "No, God will do that," carelessly forgetting that Jesus Is God. Yaweh is Yeshua,  who in English is called Jesus.

Almighty God "will gather my saints unto me" verse 5, and then goes on to explain who His saints are: "those who have made a covenant with my sacrifice".  God's sacrifice was the life of His "only begotten son" (John 3:16). The covenant made with the saints is the Covenant of Blood - those sanctified (made holy) by the Spirit of Grace. (Hebrews 10:29). This is shortened to the "Covenant of Grace". Rather being sealed by circumcision of the flesh, it is sealed by circumcision of the heart which we profess at baptism. Baptism is a testimony of sanctification, and is our part in accepting the covenant of grace.

Our part in sealing the deal is "by sacrifice" (verse 5). What is it that is sacrificed? Ourselves (Romans 12:1). Our living sacrifice from that passage is "circumcision of the heart," (Romans 10:29).

Thus, "saints" are those who have a changed nature as faith emerges, and God washes them clean with the blood of Jesus (Revelation 1:5).

I explain all this because if you are a sanctified Christian, you are a saint. God does the "setting apart" with sanctification. We don't need the Pope nor his cardinals to do God's job for Him. Neither do we need to be miracle-workers or be dead to be saints. However, we are to be dead to sin as God has made us righteous (Romans 5:19). Neither do we have to die for Jesus's name, but be willing to! (Luke 9:23). Taking up our cross and following Jesus doesn't end in the new birth but continues throughout life unto death. Taking up the cross" is hard work! Blessed are we, because as Simon helped carry Jesus's cross, Jesus bears ours with us! That takes me to the object of this commentary:

Psalm 31:23 O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.

It's for us who are His: "ye his saints" - all born-again Christians.  The key phrase is "the Lord preserveth the faithful".  This is "preservation of the saints" in action. However, it certainly is not the Calvinistic idea of that, but how it really is!

If we look at only "preserveth the faithful" the negative of that is "not preserveth the unfaithful". Hence, what faith is, determines doctrine.

Is it faithful when one first believes? Surely it is. How long must one be faithful? Five minutes? Ten? A month? I submit that one must be faithful to the end or it is not faith. Faith is: "belief and trust in and loyalty to God" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). How long must we believe-in, trust, and be loyal to God. Fidelity is until death do we part! 

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Love must be forever. We can't just love God for a few minutes because that is merely infatuation. Love must be enduring.

Perseverance is enduring temptation, and the reward is eternal life - "the crown of life". "Endureth" how long? Until receiving eternal life. God does "preserve the saints", however, they have a part in the preservation. Saints must remain saints unto the end. They do that by maintaining their faith. Faith is indeed a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8) but that gift must be kept and exercised (1 Thessalonians 1:3) which refers to "the work of faith".

The "proud doer" (Psalm 21:23) are the saints who willingly work for God. They, with God's help, remain faithful. However, faith is continuously given but our part is continuing to keep it!

Maintaining our faith is our responsibility. God gives us a gift, and we are to use it. However, he bears that work with us. We are preserved as saints if we endure - have faith, until the end.

Seeing Good in Everyone

Silliness! Someone said: we must see the good in everyone. That was meant to be positive and loving but is entirely wrong! First off, how we view other people has no bearing on their spiritual condition. Salvation is a personal thing to be "worked out" between them and God.

Philippians 2:12 ...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Thinking "good" thoughts about evil people is meaningless. Using God's rules, even those whose works are  "good" that "goodness" is as  filthy rags  (Isaiah 64:6).

Let's take this to the extreme: "Everyone" included Hitler. To what avail was it when his admirers saw "good" in him?  Many people did you know? In fact, their "positive Christianity" - their official religion, saw "good" in evil people, and evil in "good" people. That certainly didn't get Hitler to heaven but it did send others to their death. Death is a reward which only God can make, and if accomplished by another, is punishment.

Now, let's get more general. The epitome of "goodness" was Mahatma Gandhi. Nearly everyone saw goodness in him. However, Gandhi was a self-professed non-Christian. What then, was accomplished by seeing his goodness. Our senses and thoughts have no bearing on the righteousness of another. In fact, it is more likely if we see the evil in "good" people, it is more efficacious!

There are two ways of seeing our fellow man: (1) righteous or (2) unrighteous. Righteousness is not the measure of "goodness". Since our good works are as rags, it must be something else! What is righteousness? Obeying the Law of God. What is God's Law?

Matthew 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Firstly, the Law is not voided. With this statement Jesus validated the Law. The Ten Commandments are the metrics for the Greatest Commandment and the "second like unto it".  The Greatest Commandment is to love God, and the second is it's corollary. Essentially, there is one Commandment - to love God, and that love is manifested in how we love others.

If we merely "love thy neigbours as thyself", that is humanism. Anyone can love others. In fact, it is damning to love others without first loving God. (The story of the rich young ruler demonstrates that). Most people are content with secular humanism. However, they miss the gist of the Command: love God, not with impunity, but with our very being: heart, soul, and mind. Those three aspects of our identity are our existence. We exist for God's sake - communion, love, and obedience.

If "good" is done for any reason other than for God, it is fruitless!

Building up Gandhi did nothing for Gandhi. On the other hand, tearing him down, so that the Lord would lift him up would have! Let me explain: Building Gandhi up would have preserved his fiction and that of others. Gandhi could never be good enough to go to heaven; living in peace is not even half the requirements for heaven. The rest and most of the story is loving God. It is only through  the blood of Jesus that anyone is made righteous: "without shedding of blood is no remission (of sins) (Hebrews 9:22).

Of course, Jesus shed His blood for Gandhi too because Gandhi is one of the "whosoever" in John 3:16, but again, the rest of the story is "that whosoever believeth in him should not perish". In fact, seeing the evil in everyone is what can save! 

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God...

Perhaps if some Christian had seen the evil in Gandhi, he could have been persuaded. However, Gandhi was credited with saying that he could have been a Christian if not for Christians! I submit that one way Christians failed Gandhi, was only looking at the "good' in him. Perhaps for Gandhi to see evil, the Christians around him should have looked at the evil inside him.

Seeing "goodness" in mankind elevates them too highly. Scripture says this:

James 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

In fact, James goes on to point out that those who humble themselves shall have the Lord to lift them up. (James 4:10). In another place, Jesus said that those who are forgiven the most tend to love him the most! (Luke 7:47). "Seeing good in everyone" is not efficacious. However, seeing evil in everyone is, because in God's sight we are all evil-doers; even Gandhi!

How should we look at our fellow man then? As fellow-sinners who need redemption. It's okay to look at human potential, but without God, there is no potential. Only destruction exists. When we look at "good" people as well as "evil" people, we can indeed look at their divine potential. They can be fellow heirs to God! How can anyone be transformed if they are seen as already good? How can the old person be converted to the new without evil to exist within them in the first place?

If we look at fellow Christians, we do an injustice if we think them "good". Why so? Jesus Himself said that "only God is good" (Mark 10:18). When one considers himself  "good" that is pride. Why would it not be propagating evil by considering another "good"? The intent is noble, but the outcome is ignoble!

Test everything by scripture. Linkletter said "Children say the darndest things!" Scripture indicates that mankind says the most foolish things! My conclusion, is that foolish adults are yet children in their thinking.

Theism and Atheism

The Judeo-Christian viewpoint on "theism" is "belief in the existence of one God viewed as the creative source of the human race and the world who transcends yet is immanent in the world"  (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). I don't care much for that definition. It is too abstract. Much better, in my biased viewpoint, is that there is an Existence well beyond the intelligence and power of mankind Who is responsible for reality. We call that Existence "God". He refers to Himself as "I AM" - Existence "Itself". 

God is not natural never having been created but always Existing. He was there in the beginning and will be in the end. He now Is. God can never die because he is incapable of that. Thus, God is supra-natural - transcending the natural. Because He is transcendent, His presence cannot be detected by the senses, and is immeasurable because measurements have only been designed for the natural. In their ignorance, man has no way of measuring God by invention. Only those who are said to be enlightened can measure God because they have experienced Him.

The only natural measurement of God is in His Creation.

Romans 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Atheism is a belief not that God is dead but that there is no God. Let me demonstrate how their belief is doublethink: disbelief in God, and at the same time believing in chance! Which takes greater faith: believing in intelligent creation or believing in the infinitesimal probability that complex systems all came together by random existence and attraction?

Since scripture proclaims God is measurable by what we see, atheists deny that what we see was made by God! Because atheists know not God, they vainly imagine things to rationalize the Creation. Rather than JHVH God being a myth, the premise that there is no God is imaginary. Who believes the myth then?  To be a genuine theist,  one must believe in the Creation because that is how God manifests himself to unbelievers. Until a person recognizes that only God could have Created the visible, that person is not a true theist. Their God is an invention of foolish minds.

Ironically, so-called intelligent minds cannot accept that because their minds are in the proverbial box. To fix that darkened knowledge, mankind was endowed with a sixth sense - the conscience, defined as " the sense or consciousness of the moral goodness or blameworthiness of one's own conduct, intentions, or character together with a feeling of obligation to do right or be good" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).Anytime a definition uses its own identity to define, it is not a good definition! In the Herrin lexicon more befitting is that the conscience is the emptiness lurking within as a result of doing wrong - not in accordance to the will of the Creator. 

Even atheists have that sense but they credit it to themselves, as if they had any power to create anything!  God refers to the Creation and moral "goodness" as "truth". We can see the Creation, and spiritually discern reality; everyone can but few accept it!  Reality is existence, both natural and supra-natural. Spiritual blindness is when a person can't detect the unseen. For them it is not reality merely because their means of detection has gone awry. The over-study of physical things diminishes the ability to detect unseen things. Agnostics are skeptical; they must have proof. Unfortunately, what cannot be seen cannot be proven until they see it. Thus, agnostics - skeptical atheists, have spiritual blindness. They admit it by their unbelief!

Ironically, in their disagreement with God, atheists have become the creators. What they created is a false reality; one where the unseen is not part of it! In that scenario, in their false knowledge, they have created gods - themselves. They elevate their own intelligence beyond God who is omniscient. God saw that coming, and prepared for it! He knew that mankind would eat of that tree of knowledge, and devised a plan to discourage it. Those who think they have more knowledge than God have eaten of that "tree", and deserve death because they have the attitude that they are as gods. 

Therefore, theists believe in God, and atheists believe in billions of human gods. It requires more faith to believe that mankind has any power than it does to relegate existence to the Creator. All those atheist gods are blind to their own pride as they seem to know more than God. Thus, atheists operate in spiritual darkness. When one comes to know that the unseen is part of reality, that enlightenment is called rebirth. Those "born-again" see things through new eyes which sacred scripture calls "bright eyes". Atheists have somewhat of a cloud between them and truth. In order to be "saved", that cloud must be removed. 

Scientific evidence, since it cannot detect things beyond the natural, cloud the supernatural. Because of my conscience, I can detect the unseen. Atheists can as well but credit the unknown for those moral evaluations. The philosophers worshiped an "unknown god" in Athens when Paul went there to argue his premise. Atheists worship that unknown god whether they realize it or not! Because atheists know their self-gods have no power to create, they have invented an unknown god. They call him "knowledge" but his real identity is "Chance". Atheists have even built statues of "her" as the goddess of Reason. 

You see, atheists even deceive themselves. They are great advocates of other or any gods besides God. They have created an identity as if they are enlightened ones but are in spiritual darkness. They reject anything which they cannot "see", even when it is logical that a Higher Being is one possibility that they reject without proof!  Even though scientific principles prohibit creation  by chance, atheists still accept it.  That is foolishness!

When thermodynamic processes occur, energy is lost. It can never be regained; therefore the natural order of things is disarray. Evolution is toward more order; thus atheists ignore the laws of dynamics because they do not fit into their false reality. Of course, I'm not speaking of adaptation but transformation. Although no intermediate life-form has ever been found, by faith atheists believe it exists (missing link theory). Atheists accept scientific theory as fact even though scientists don't present it as such! Scientific hypothesis can never prove anything, only fail to disprove the null. However, atheists blindly accept circumstantial evidence as "proof". (They would not make good jurors in the court of truth!)

By logic, because something is unseen, doesn't make it non-existent. For most of time, atoms went unseen. Until a way of detecting them became available, for all practical purposes, they did not exist! They are modeled on what is seen in the universe, and that is not by chance. Mankind should have realized that there was a mini-universe which they could not see, but were blind to every physical thing in existence. Perhaps, they are blind to much more! That is theological - atheists are merely blind to what is real.

The conclusion is that atheists are spiritually ignorant. We understand that well because at one time we were all blind to truth. God is real because I have experienced Him. I feel sorry for those who have not. I don't hate them because I once was blind myself. Hope arose when that veil was torn from my eyes, and now I can see! 

I don't know all there is "out there" but I know it is real. Knowing that we are not alone provides a sense of belonging for me. I cannot and will not define God. Neither is He "as we know Him" We haven't one iota of knowledge to define God. It is prideful to think that we have that much power. Neither can I reject God because to do so would be prideful. I would elevate human knowledge and our instrumentation to Godhood status. You see, atheists do have gods and idols. Man's wisdom is their God, and instruments which measure are their idols! Part of seeing the unseen is the realization that with extant instrumentation, the supra-natural cannot be measured. Because it is immeasurable does not mean it is non-existent.

Ironically, atheists are blind to what may be truth. They reject what can be just because it is beyond their senses. Their minds are closed by what they perceive. Physical things become a cloud over their cognitive exploration, slamming their minds shut. It is atheists who are truly closed-minded. Existence, for them, is in their frail minds! If they opened their minds, they just may discover truth. Truth was revealed to me by prophecy. Thousands of years ago the Word told mere men what  would come about in apostolic times. It came about exactly as predicted. The patriarch saw what average men could not see! Now with that same divine "sight" millions sense God as well. Christians are called to make the spiritually blind to see. Open those eyes and see with bright eyes what God has done!