rolandtroves.blogspot.com
Last December a well-respected and highly influential pastor in Nigeria stated that Christmas is idolatrous, thus bringing to the fore again the endless argument about the origin of Christmas. I do not respect the pastor less for that view - I am one of the millions who have been greatly blessed through his ministry. However, I feel inclined to use this forum to make my case for Christmas. I will proceed by asking the following questions and attempting to answer them as best and as honestly as I can. I will then proffer my opinion on the subject.
1. Did the date, December 25, have an idolatrous association predating Christ?
2. Was Jesus born on December 25 or any other day in December?
3. Did Jesus command us to celebrate Christmas?
4. Did the early Church ( from the Ascension to 70 AD ) celebrate Christmas?
5. Does Christmas itself have an idolatrous origin?
Q Did the date, December 25, have an idolatrous association predating Christ?
A The honest answer to this question is yes. December 25 was the day when the ancient Romans celebrated the rebirth or reborn of the Unconquerable Sun ( Sol Invictus ). Sol is the Latin for sun, while the Greek word is Helios. Simply put, the date was the occasion for celebrating the sun god ( Shamash, to the ancient Mesopotamians ). This event was preceded by the Saturnalia, a Roman festival honouring the fertility god, Saturn. This involved days of revelries terminating on December 23.
Q Was Jesus born on December 25 or any other day in December?
A No. Historical facts suggest that Jesus was likely to have been born between September and October.
Q Did Jesus command us to celebrate Christmas?
A No, Jesus did not command us to celebrate Christmas.
Q Did the early Church ( from the Ascension to 70 AD ) celebrate Christmas?
A No, there is no biblical record stating or even suggesting that the early Church celebrated Christmas.
Q Does Christmas itself have an idolatrous origin?
A No, Christmas itself does not have an idolatrous origin. The name Christmas is a combination of 'Christ' and 'mass'. The word mass derives from the Late Latin 'missa', meaning dismissal. Empirically, however, it has come to assume a celebratory denotation. In summation therefore, Christmas, which probably started some 200 years after the birth of Jesus, was then, and still is, the celebration of Christ. It was around 529 AD that Emperor Justinian declared Christmas a public holiday.
The Christians who argue against Christmas do so not because they don't know the meaning of the word, but simply because they view it as a compromise idea concocted by the Romans in an attempt to unite the pagans and Christians in their empire. But however subtle or elaborate that compromise may have been, I believe it is incontrovertible that Jesus was and remains the central focus of Christmas.
After Naaman was healed of his leprosy, and resolved to serve the God of Israel, he expressed one of the characteristic worries of a new convert.
But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my
master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning
on my arm and I bow there also - when I bow down in the temple of
Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this. [ II Kg 5:18 ]
Prophet Elisha's response in verse 19 to this worry was: 'Go in peace'. Now why did he give Naaman such an answer? Because the prophet understood that even when Naaman was forced to bow his head to Rimmon, he was bowing his heart to God.
When we pretend to understand all the principles of godliness, we miss very important messages from God. Becoming too fixated on what December 25 meant to the ancient Roman pagans has made some Christians to miss the message of Jesus in Mark 2:27, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath'. The Roman pagans had no monopoly on December 25. In a quest to make the glory of God fill the earth, the Church of Jesus had a divine prerogative to redefine that date, and with the instrumentality of a Roman Emperor, it did. The way the ancient Israelites redefined the land of Canaan when they possessed it. I believe we will do well as a Church to recognize the redefinition of December 25 as a victory for believers in Christ.
Since we do not know for sure the actual date of Christ's birth, we are at liberty to choose a date to commemorate that glorious event. Jesus didn't have to command us to do that, we do it to demonstrate that we love Him, that we understand the eternal significance of His birth, and that we are grateful to God for it. Your loved ones don't need to wait for your request before organizing a birthday party for you. The early Church did not celebrate Christmas in their time because the Church was still in its formative years, trying to fully define itself and its role in those tumultuous times of the Roman Empire.
The anti-Christmas group in the Church of Christ who hold services on Sunday have either chosen to ignore or are probably unaware of the fact that Sunday itself used to be a pagan Roman holiday. They called it 'dies solis'. that is sun's day. If this anti-Christmas group has nothing against holding church services on Sunday, why then is it wrong to celebrate Christ's birth on December 25?
I make the same argument for Easter, the occasion when we commemorate the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. That time of the year corresponds with the time when the ancient Babylonians held festivities honouring their god, Tammuz, who was brought back to life by his mother, Ishtar ( pronounced eesta, the name from which Easter was derived ). Again I ask, If we have no problem whatsoever holding services to worship our God on a day ( Sunday ) originally dedicated to celebrating the sun god, why should we hesitate to commemorate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus at a time
( Easter ) devoted in ancient times to honouring Tammuz?
I end by repeating these words of Christ: The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.***
Sources: rcg.org; wikipedia.org; encyclopedia mythica ( www.pantheon.org );
thefreedictionary.com; the Good News ( UCG.ORG ); www.straightdope.com.
Wednesday 8 January 2014
Wednesday 1 January 2014
FORGIVENESS IS EARNED
rolandtroves.blogspot.com
In social interactions we sometimes offend and are offended. That is why those who teach values in society taught us to say 'sorry'. Being sorry of course presupposes that we realized that we have offended; that we are remorseful. But being sorry and actually saying we are sorry could be as far apart as the South Pole from the North Pole.
When we offend or hurt someone, it is not enough for us to feel sorry or remorseful about the offence. We need to take the crucial step of telling the offended party that we are sorry. Saying we are sorry implies that we seek forgiveness from the one we have offended. Some people will even go further by actually asking for forgiveness. But whether or not we ask for forgiveness, sincerely saying that we are sorry for our offence is usually sufficient to earn us forgiveness.This has long been the moral and biblical prerequisite for forgiveness. It is therefore baffling to see that urging someone to forgive those who wrong them has now
been reduced to psychobabble.
The following are some relevant scriptures.
So they sent word to Joseph, saying "....Now please forgive the sins of the servants
of the God of your father". When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
[ Gen 50:16 - 17 ]
If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands.....
He is to bring to the priest as a guilt offering a ram from the flock.... the priest will
make atonement for him..... and he will be forgiven. [ Lev 5:17 - 18 ]
Aaron .... said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have
foolishly committed. [ Num 12:10 - 11 ]
When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have
sinned against you, and when they pray....and confess your name and turn from
their sin....then....forgive the sin of your servants.....[ II Chr 6:26 - 27 ]
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain.....if my people.....will humble
themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will
I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
[ II Chr 7:13 - 14 ]
.....I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have
committed against you. [ Neh 1:6 ]
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your
great compassion blot out my transgression. [ Ps 51:1 ]
But unless you repent, you.....will all perish. [ Lk 13:5 ]
If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against
you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent',
forgive him. [ Lk 17:3 - 4 ]
From a purely biblical point of view therefore, it is very disturbing when someone is being asked to forgive somebody for an offence they are not sorry for. To be sure, forgiveness is not a light switch that the aggrieved party can simply flip on or off at will. It is something that can only be evoked by repentance. Forgiveness is the reward of repentance.
The question arises: How do I forgive someone who offended me long ago and with whom I no longer have any contact whatsoever? Unless a part of you perceives in any way that the offender, with whom you no longer have contact, now feels remorse for what he did, you will not be able to forgive him. Or the question: How do I forgive someone who is dead? The simple answer is, you can't. There is absolutely nothing you can do about it, beside letting God heal your wounds and moving on with your life.
How can you honestly say you have forgiven someone who robbed you blind and is boasting to his friends about his prowess, while you languish in financial misery? How do you forgive a faceless arsonist who made all your belongings to go up in flames? Granting forgiveness is not a cosmetic act. Indeed there are offences that people commit for which repentance is not sufficient atonement. They will still need to do what is called restitution. This is a form of restoration which involves giving back what we have wrongfully taken.
Your inability to forgive in the absence of repentance is not something God holds against you, as the common practice seems to suggest. God does not expect you to grant forgiveness where there is no repentance. If God cannot forgive us unless we repent, how can we be expected to do otherwise? The emotional turmoil we sometimes feel because of the hurts we suffered in the past is not partly or wholly brought on by our inability to forgive the ones who hurt us. It is simply because the hurts are emotional wounds which need time and therapy to heal.
If the offenders endeavour to summon the courage to send you a message or even come to you to tell you they are sorry, in such a situation, that becomes part of your healing process. If not, you will find your healing through other means. There are different kinds of drug for an ailment. Don't let anyone bully you, through whatever guise, into granting forgiveness that has not been provoked by repentance. That is not in your power to do. ***
In social interactions we sometimes offend and are offended. That is why those who teach values in society taught us to say 'sorry'. Being sorry of course presupposes that we realized that we have offended; that we are remorseful. But being sorry and actually saying we are sorry could be as far apart as the South Pole from the North Pole.
When we offend or hurt someone, it is not enough for us to feel sorry or remorseful about the offence. We need to take the crucial step of telling the offended party that we are sorry. Saying we are sorry implies that we seek forgiveness from the one we have offended. Some people will even go further by actually asking for forgiveness. But whether or not we ask for forgiveness, sincerely saying that we are sorry for our offence is usually sufficient to earn us forgiveness.This has long been the moral and biblical prerequisite for forgiveness. It is therefore baffling to see that urging someone to forgive those who wrong them has now
been reduced to psychobabble.
The following are some relevant scriptures.
So they sent word to Joseph, saying "....Now please forgive the sins of the servants
of the God of your father". When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
[ Gen 50:16 - 17 ]
If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands.....
He is to bring to the priest as a guilt offering a ram from the flock.... the priest will
make atonement for him..... and he will be forgiven. [ Lev 5:17 - 18 ]
Aaron .... said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have
foolishly committed. [ Num 12:10 - 11 ]
When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have
sinned against you, and when they pray....and confess your name and turn from
their sin....then....forgive the sin of your servants.....[ II Chr 6:26 - 27 ]
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain.....if my people.....will humble
themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will
I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
[ II Chr 7:13 - 14 ]
.....I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have
committed against you. [ Neh 1:6 ]
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your
great compassion blot out my transgression. [ Ps 51:1 ]
But unless you repent, you.....will all perish. [ Lk 13:5 ]
If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against
you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent',
forgive him. [ Lk 17:3 - 4 ]
From a purely biblical point of view therefore, it is very disturbing when someone is being asked to forgive somebody for an offence they are not sorry for. To be sure, forgiveness is not a light switch that the aggrieved party can simply flip on or off at will. It is something that can only be evoked by repentance. Forgiveness is the reward of repentance.
The question arises: How do I forgive someone who offended me long ago and with whom I no longer have any contact whatsoever? Unless a part of you perceives in any way that the offender, with whom you no longer have contact, now feels remorse for what he did, you will not be able to forgive him. Or the question: How do I forgive someone who is dead? The simple answer is, you can't. There is absolutely nothing you can do about it, beside letting God heal your wounds and moving on with your life.
How can you honestly say you have forgiven someone who robbed you blind and is boasting to his friends about his prowess, while you languish in financial misery? How do you forgive a faceless arsonist who made all your belongings to go up in flames? Granting forgiveness is not a cosmetic act. Indeed there are offences that people commit for which repentance is not sufficient atonement. They will still need to do what is called restitution. This is a form of restoration which involves giving back what we have wrongfully taken.
Your inability to forgive in the absence of repentance is not something God holds against you, as the common practice seems to suggest. God does not expect you to grant forgiveness where there is no repentance. If God cannot forgive us unless we repent, how can we be expected to do otherwise? The emotional turmoil we sometimes feel because of the hurts we suffered in the past is not partly or wholly brought on by our inability to forgive the ones who hurt us. It is simply because the hurts are emotional wounds which need time and therapy to heal.
If the offenders endeavour to summon the courage to send you a message or even come to you to tell you they are sorry, in such a situation, that becomes part of your healing process. If not, you will find your healing through other means. There are different kinds of drug for an ailment. Don't let anyone bully you, through whatever guise, into granting forgiveness that has not been provoked by repentance. That is not in your power to do. ***
Sunday 1 December 2013
THE FOUR HORSEMEN
rolandtroves@gmail.com
The Bible, in Revelation 6:1-8, describes four mysterious horsemen. These are the subject of this short article. The four represent the entities or institutions that have defined and dominated human existence ever since human societies began. On the contrary, Rev. Billy Graham's 1983 book, 'Approaching Hoof beats: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse', views these entities largely as players with a futuristic significance. The four horsemen can be identified as follows
[a] The Rider On A White Horse
[b] The Rider On A Red Horse
[c] The Rider On A Black Horse
[d] The Rider On A Pale Horse
THE RIDER ON A WHITE HORSE
"I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest" [ v 2 ]. Billy Graham was of the opinion that the rider on the white horse symbolized 'deception', appearing in a form similar to that of Christ, the King of kings [ Rev 19:11 ]. In other words, this rider connotes false religion. As much as I respect that great man of God, I wish to go a different path on the subject. The rider on a white horse indeed symbolizes the governments of human societies. '...he was given a crown...' underscores the fact that the machinery of governance in the world has divine approval [ Rm 13:1 ]. This, however, should not suggest that God chooses leaders for us. The people who constitute the nations of the world have to do that for themselves.
The leaders we choose are represented here by the rider on the white horse. This rider is not necessarily evil - as many are wont to think - just as political leaders are not necessarily evil or corrupt. The rider only epitomizes the institution and personalities of governance, bad or good. Over human history, we have seen countless numbers of both, from Nimrod to Obama.
THE RIDER ON A RED HORSE
Unlike the rider on a white horse, the rider on a red horse is clearly evil. "Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword" [ v 4 ]. This rider represents violence and violent conflicts in the world. He represents all the warmongers and terrorists ( of whatever faith or ideology ) of this world. This rider engineers large scale violence and destruction. When these elements gain political power or work in close alliance with political leaders, we can always expect nothing but chaos.
The impact of this entity has been largely felt by humanity through all the wars the world has witnessed since the beginning of human associations. From Nimrod to Hitler, to the present-day warmongers.
THE RIDER ON A BLACK HORSE
When our bank account is in the black, that's good news, because it means we have a good amount of money in the account. The rider on a black horse symbolizes the financial systems and institutions in the world, from their crudest forms to what they are today. "....I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand" [ v 5 ]. Like the rider on a white horse, this rider is not necessarily evil. I'm an admirer of IMF's Christine Lagarde, but we all know the headaches that the banking industry has caused the world, especially in recent years.
The rider on a black horse has the ultimate duty of regulating finance in the world. This, God expects the rider to do with a deep sense of responsibility and compassion, considering the fact that a vast majority of humanity live in abject poverty. Forget about the multimillion-dollar colourful adverts governments pay for on CNN.
THE RIDER ON A PALE HORSE
"I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him...." [ v 8 ]. Like the rider on a red horse, this rider is obviously bad news. The rider is specifically identified as Death, working in collaboration with Hell ( or Hades ). This rider is responsible for all the plagues and natural disasters the world has ever experienced. His business is to end life, through natural and artificial means.
CONCLUSION
I hope this very brief exposition has helped to demystify the personalities often referred to as 'The Four Horsemen'. They are neither recent nor futuristic entities in world affair. They have always been with us since the founding of human societies.
The Bible, in Revelation 6:1-8, describes four mysterious horsemen. These are the subject of this short article. The four represent the entities or institutions that have defined and dominated human existence ever since human societies began. On the contrary, Rev. Billy Graham's 1983 book, 'Approaching Hoof beats: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse', views these entities largely as players with a futuristic significance. The four horsemen can be identified as follows
[a] The Rider On A White Horse
[b] The Rider On A Red Horse
[c] The Rider On A Black Horse
[d] The Rider On A Pale Horse
THE RIDER ON A WHITE HORSE
"I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest" [ v 2 ]. Billy Graham was of the opinion that the rider on the white horse symbolized 'deception', appearing in a form similar to that of Christ, the King of kings [ Rev 19:11 ]. In other words, this rider connotes false religion. As much as I respect that great man of God, I wish to go a different path on the subject. The rider on a white horse indeed symbolizes the governments of human societies. '...he was given a crown...' underscores the fact that the machinery of governance in the world has divine approval [ Rm 13:1 ]. This, however, should not suggest that God chooses leaders for us. The people who constitute the nations of the world have to do that for themselves.
The leaders we choose are represented here by the rider on the white horse. This rider is not necessarily evil - as many are wont to think - just as political leaders are not necessarily evil or corrupt. The rider only epitomizes the institution and personalities of governance, bad or good. Over human history, we have seen countless numbers of both, from Nimrod to Obama.
THE RIDER ON A RED HORSE
Unlike the rider on a white horse, the rider on a red horse is clearly evil. "Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword" [ v 4 ]. This rider represents violence and violent conflicts in the world. He represents all the warmongers and terrorists ( of whatever faith or ideology ) of this world. This rider engineers large scale violence and destruction. When these elements gain political power or work in close alliance with political leaders, we can always expect nothing but chaos.
The impact of this entity has been largely felt by humanity through all the wars the world has witnessed since the beginning of human associations. From Nimrod to Hitler, to the present-day warmongers.
THE RIDER ON A BLACK HORSE
When our bank account is in the black, that's good news, because it means we have a good amount of money in the account. The rider on a black horse symbolizes the financial systems and institutions in the world, from their crudest forms to what they are today. "....I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand" [ v 5 ]. Like the rider on a white horse, this rider is not necessarily evil. I'm an admirer of IMF's Christine Lagarde, but we all know the headaches that the banking industry has caused the world, especially in recent years.
The rider on a black horse has the ultimate duty of regulating finance in the world. This, God expects the rider to do with a deep sense of responsibility and compassion, considering the fact that a vast majority of humanity live in abject poverty. Forget about the multimillion-dollar colourful adverts governments pay for on CNN.
THE RIDER ON A PALE HORSE
"I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him...." [ v 8 ]. Like the rider on a red horse, this rider is obviously bad news. The rider is specifically identified as Death, working in collaboration with Hell ( or Hades ). This rider is responsible for all the plagues and natural disasters the world has ever experienced. His business is to end life, through natural and artificial means.
CONCLUSION
I hope this very brief exposition has helped to demystify the personalities often referred to as 'The Four Horsemen'. They are neither recent nor futuristic entities in world affair. They have always been with us since the founding of human societies.
Friday 22 November 2013
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT DIVINE JUDGEMENT: PART 5
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THE REALMS OF ALIENS
The non-human beings that we call aliens do not have a conscience. They know neither good nor evil. The ultimate guiding principle of their existence is purpose. Since this is the case, God does not sentence any of them to Hell after death. They have no soul, and when they die, they simply cease to exist. They are allowed to travel anywhere outside their realms, but they do not engage in any form of conflict with beings in other realms. So there can never be a war between us and them. Forget about what you see in the movies.
There is no 'machine world' either. The aliens have the intellectual ability to build, and do possess, technologies that are light-years ahead of our 'last-frontiers' ideas. But they control whatever they build, so however sophisticated or gigantic their machines are, they are firmly within their control. Moreover, God has supervising angels assigned over these realms.
THE LAST JUDGEMENT
The Last Judgement, sometimes called 'The Great White Throne Judgement' in Christian Doctrine, will only involve the Wicked. Revelation 20:15 says, "If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire". We may rephrase that by saying "( Among the Wicked ) If anyone's name was not found...." Of course, none of the Wicked will have their name in the Book of Life; checking for their name there is simply part of the divine legal process. The Wicked are the ones described in Revelation 21:8.
Before this Judgement, the devil and his cohort will have been sentenced to the Lake of Fire
[ Rev 20:10 ]. This is the final phase of their judgement, which began ever before Adam and Eve were created.
[ Concluded ]
THE REALMS OF ALIENS
The non-human beings that we call aliens do not have a conscience. They know neither good nor evil. The ultimate guiding principle of their existence is purpose. Since this is the case, God does not sentence any of them to Hell after death. They have no soul, and when they die, they simply cease to exist. They are allowed to travel anywhere outside their realms, but they do not engage in any form of conflict with beings in other realms. So there can never be a war between us and them. Forget about what you see in the movies.
There is no 'machine world' either. The aliens have the intellectual ability to build, and do possess, technologies that are light-years ahead of our 'last-frontiers' ideas. But they control whatever they build, so however sophisticated or gigantic their machines are, they are firmly within their control. Moreover, God has supervising angels assigned over these realms.
THE LAST JUDGEMENT
The Last Judgement, sometimes called 'The Great White Throne Judgement' in Christian Doctrine, will only involve the Wicked. Revelation 20:15 says, "If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire". We may rephrase that by saying "( Among the Wicked ) If anyone's name was not found...." Of course, none of the Wicked will have their name in the Book of Life; checking for their name there is simply part of the divine legal process. The Wicked are the ones described in Revelation 21:8.
Before this Judgement, the devil and his cohort will have been sentenced to the Lake of Fire
[ Rev 20:10 ]. This is the final phase of their judgement, which began ever before Adam and Eve were created.
[ Concluded ]
Thursday 21 November 2013
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT DIVINE JUDGEMENT: 4
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CATEGORIES OF HUMANITY
We can better understand the principles and premises of divine judgement if we identify the categories of humanity. These are:
[a] The Children
[b] The Wicked
[c] The Ignorant
THE CHILDREN
The Bible says, '....God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his"....' [ II Tim 2:19 ]. Jesus said that He was sent to the 'lost sheep of Israel'
[ Matt 15:24 ]. By that He meant all believers in Christ; the Israel of God [ Gal 6:16 ], those whose names have been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world [ Rev 13:8; Acts 13:48 ].
What all this points to is that among the whole of humanity, there is a vast group that can be called "The Children of God". They had always been known by God and God had always identified with them, even before they were born on earth. Being born with the sinful nature alienated them from God, but the moment they believe the Gospel and accept the Lord Jesus into their life, they become reconnected with God. They've always belonged to Heaven; that is their home. They came to earth and became lost in sin. Jesus came to earth to find them, and even though He has returned to Heaven, His Gospel is still seeking out the lost.
If you are not born again, you may not know if you belong to this elite group of humanity until you surrender your life to Christ Jesus. God disciplines or judges His Children while they are on earth
[ Heb 12:6 ], so that they will not have to be judged after death. When believers in Christ die, what awaits them is not judgement, but a reward for their labour on earth. [ Matt 25:21 ].
THE WICKED
Psalm 19:17 proclaims, "The wicked return to the grave ( Hell or Tartarus ), all the nations that forget God". This category of humanity consists of people who are by nature evil. Even if they claim to be religious or to be serving God, God does not know them as belonging to His House. These are people whose hearts are continually filled with evil [ Gen 6:5; Ps 36:4 ]. They only do good in pretense; it is not in their nature. They can commit murder without any remorse, and if on a rare occasion they feel something close to remorse for an evil act, there is no repentance, because they are capable of doing it again.
The Wicked only get into a romantic relationship with someone for pleasure, or for some other selfish gain. This is because they are incapable of receiving or giving love.And if they are not getting what they want out of a relationship, they will stop at nothing to break the heart of their partner. The Wicked have a peculiar penchant for hurting others - especially the innocent - with their words or deeds. They take great pleasure in the pains or misfortunes of others.
For them, peace is an alien concept; if they cannot cause one form of choas or the other in the present, they work very hard in setting the machinery in motion to ensure it in the future. To these people, Heaven's Gates are forever shut.
THE IGNORANT
The Ignorant are the people who have no knowledge of spiritual things whatsoever, whether these are things that have to do with the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of the devil. So when it comes to spiritual matters, they are fools, even if they happen to be academic ( even theological ) professors. God ignores the foibles of the Ignorant [ Acts 17:23 ], but punishes their sins while they are still on earth. Unlike the Wicked, the Ignorant are incapable of evil because they always listen to their conscience [ Rm 2:15 ].
The conscience is God's voice of morality in every human being. Other beings in God's Creation don't have this peculiar gift. The Wicked have formed a habit of silencing their conscience, apparently to the point of searing it with a hot iron [ I Tim 4:2 ]. So in them, the conscience is seemingly dead. The Ignorant, on the other hand, revere their conscience like a wise old school teacher.
God does not consider the Ignorant as part of His Family, but He loves them all the same, the way a man may love his next door neighbours, even though they are not family. God loves the Ignorant because they have a good heart, what we sometimes call a 'good conscience'. He does not hold it against these people that they do not have a personal relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus. They are fools, remember? Incapable of comprehending spiritual mysteries like the mystery of Salvation. Nonetheless, God sympathizes with their ignorance.
When the Ignorant die, God does not send them to the Hell of torment ( Tartarus ). Rather they end up in realms similar to those of the aliens; places specially prepared by God for this group of people. These are realms in which the souls of the Ignorant continually relive the innocent pleasures of their earthly lives. Ironically, they remain enslaved to the fear of death, even though death cannot touch them anymore. They roam; they aspire; sometimes they experience peace, at other times they are overcome by some of the anxieties of their previous life, anxieties that are of no consequence now.
[ To be continued ]
CATEGORIES OF HUMANITY
We can better understand the principles and premises of divine judgement if we identify the categories of humanity. These are:
[a] The Children
[b] The Wicked
[c] The Ignorant
THE CHILDREN
The Bible says, '....God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his"....' [ II Tim 2:19 ]. Jesus said that He was sent to the 'lost sheep of Israel'
[ Matt 15:24 ]. By that He meant all believers in Christ; the Israel of God [ Gal 6:16 ], those whose names have been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world [ Rev 13:8; Acts 13:48 ].
What all this points to is that among the whole of humanity, there is a vast group that can be called "The Children of God". They had always been known by God and God had always identified with them, even before they were born on earth. Being born with the sinful nature alienated them from God, but the moment they believe the Gospel and accept the Lord Jesus into their life, they become reconnected with God. They've always belonged to Heaven; that is their home. They came to earth and became lost in sin. Jesus came to earth to find them, and even though He has returned to Heaven, His Gospel is still seeking out the lost.
If you are not born again, you may not know if you belong to this elite group of humanity until you surrender your life to Christ Jesus. God disciplines or judges His Children while they are on earth
[ Heb 12:6 ], so that they will not have to be judged after death. When believers in Christ die, what awaits them is not judgement, but a reward for their labour on earth. [ Matt 25:21 ].
THE WICKED
Psalm 19:17 proclaims, "The wicked return to the grave ( Hell or Tartarus ), all the nations that forget God". This category of humanity consists of people who are by nature evil. Even if they claim to be religious or to be serving God, God does not know them as belonging to His House. These are people whose hearts are continually filled with evil [ Gen 6:5; Ps 36:4 ]. They only do good in pretense; it is not in their nature. They can commit murder without any remorse, and if on a rare occasion they feel something close to remorse for an evil act, there is no repentance, because they are capable of doing it again.
The Wicked only get into a romantic relationship with someone for pleasure, or for some other selfish gain. This is because they are incapable of receiving or giving love.And if they are not getting what they want out of a relationship, they will stop at nothing to break the heart of their partner. The Wicked have a peculiar penchant for hurting others - especially the innocent - with their words or deeds. They take great pleasure in the pains or misfortunes of others.
For them, peace is an alien concept; if they cannot cause one form of choas or the other in the present, they work very hard in setting the machinery in motion to ensure it in the future. To these people, Heaven's Gates are forever shut.
THE IGNORANT
The Ignorant are the people who have no knowledge of spiritual things whatsoever, whether these are things that have to do with the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of the devil. So when it comes to spiritual matters, they are fools, even if they happen to be academic ( even theological ) professors. God ignores the foibles of the Ignorant [ Acts 17:23 ], but punishes their sins while they are still on earth. Unlike the Wicked, the Ignorant are incapable of evil because they always listen to their conscience [ Rm 2:15 ].
The conscience is God's voice of morality in every human being. Other beings in God's Creation don't have this peculiar gift. The Wicked have formed a habit of silencing their conscience, apparently to the point of searing it with a hot iron [ I Tim 4:2 ]. So in them, the conscience is seemingly dead. The Ignorant, on the other hand, revere their conscience like a wise old school teacher.
God does not consider the Ignorant as part of His Family, but He loves them all the same, the way a man may love his next door neighbours, even though they are not family. God loves the Ignorant because they have a good heart, what we sometimes call a 'good conscience'. He does not hold it against these people that they do not have a personal relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus. They are fools, remember? Incapable of comprehending spiritual mysteries like the mystery of Salvation. Nonetheless, God sympathizes with their ignorance.
When the Ignorant die, God does not send them to the Hell of torment ( Tartarus ). Rather they end up in realms similar to those of the aliens; places specially prepared by God for this group of people. These are realms in which the souls of the Ignorant continually relive the innocent pleasures of their earthly lives. Ironically, they remain enslaved to the fear of death, even though death cannot touch them anymore. They roam; they aspire; sometimes they experience peace, at other times they are overcome by some of the anxieties of their previous life, anxieties that are of no consequence now.
[ To be continued ]
Sunday 17 November 2013
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT DIVINE JUDGEMENT: PART 3
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THE PRIMAL MAN AND THE ANGELIC DISPENSATION
Millions of years ( talking in human chronological sense ) before God made Adam and Eve, He made beings that looked like man, but who were inferior to man in form and intelligence. These were the primal men, among them the Neanderthal group. These were the first inhabitants of planet Earth. They also populated the other planets in our solar system. In that same period God made the 'aliens from space', (category b above ), who populated realms that were outside our solar system. Those reals are not in the spherical planet shape that we are familiar with. The scientific and technological advancements of these realms preceded and far supersede ours.
Long before this, God had made the angels, among whom He appointed seven as archangels. The first of the seven was Gabriel, while Lucifer ( later known as Satan ) was second. The archangels, together with their deputies, were given dominion over all of God's Creation during the period under discussion. Which means they governed the supernal, the supernatural and the natural realms. This period is known as the Angelic Dispensation.
Lucifer ( or morning star ) was the ruler of the earth, while Gabriel co-ordinated the affairs of all the realms from his headquarters in Heaven. The whole of this period is what the Bible alludes to in one short sentence, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" [ Gen 1:1 ]. That Creation also included animals of various forms and sizes that are all now extinct.
LUCIFER'S REBELLION
Isaiah 14:12-17 describes the fall of Lucifer. At one point while governing the earth, he turned into a tyrant [ 16-17 ], and as if that was not bad enough, he wanted to overthrow God [ 13-14 ]. Such was his conceit. At that stage he had corrupted the minds of many angels, among them deputies to the other six archangels. These six, however, were not part of his plot. God dethroned Lucifer and sentenced him and his cohort to Hell ( Tartarus ), although they were, and still are, allowed to operate outside of Hell for a period of time. That until God's purposes for mankind have been fully accomplished. The judgement of the fallen angels is in phases. The last phase will come at the end of time.
The other archangels and their loyal deputies who had been given dominion in the other realms were recalled to Heaven. Thus God put an end to the Angelic Dispensation, which probably lasted for thousands of years in human term. By the end of his reign, Lucifer had thoroughly corrupted the natural realm - earth and the other planets in the solar system. There was so much wickedness that God had to wipe out life in all the planets with phenomenal floods. This is what we read about in Genesis 1:2. The realms of the 'aliens' were not affected by this great purge, so they continued to exist, as they do today.
[ To be continued ]
THE PRIMAL MAN AND THE ANGELIC DISPENSATION
Millions of years ( talking in human chronological sense ) before God made Adam and Eve, He made beings that looked like man, but who were inferior to man in form and intelligence. These were the primal men, among them the Neanderthal group. These were the first inhabitants of planet Earth. They also populated the other planets in our solar system. In that same period God made the 'aliens from space', (category b above ), who populated realms that were outside our solar system. Those reals are not in the spherical planet shape that we are familiar with. The scientific and technological advancements of these realms preceded and far supersede ours.
Long before this, God had made the angels, among whom He appointed seven as archangels. The first of the seven was Gabriel, while Lucifer ( later known as Satan ) was second. The archangels, together with their deputies, were given dominion over all of God's Creation during the period under discussion. Which means they governed the supernal, the supernatural and the natural realms. This period is known as the Angelic Dispensation.
Lucifer ( or morning star ) was the ruler of the earth, while Gabriel co-ordinated the affairs of all the realms from his headquarters in Heaven. The whole of this period is what the Bible alludes to in one short sentence, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" [ Gen 1:1 ]. That Creation also included animals of various forms and sizes that are all now extinct.
LUCIFER'S REBELLION
Isaiah 14:12-17 describes the fall of Lucifer. At one point while governing the earth, he turned into a tyrant [ 16-17 ], and as if that was not bad enough, he wanted to overthrow God [ 13-14 ]. Such was his conceit. At that stage he had corrupted the minds of many angels, among them deputies to the other six archangels. These six, however, were not part of his plot. God dethroned Lucifer and sentenced him and his cohort to Hell ( Tartarus ), although they were, and still are, allowed to operate outside of Hell for a period of time. That until God's purposes for mankind have been fully accomplished. The judgement of the fallen angels is in phases. The last phase will come at the end of time.
The other archangels and their loyal deputies who had been given dominion in the other realms were recalled to Heaven. Thus God put an end to the Angelic Dispensation, which probably lasted for thousands of years in human term. By the end of his reign, Lucifer had thoroughly corrupted the natural realm - earth and the other planets in the solar system. There was so much wickedness that God had to wipe out life in all the planets with phenomenal floods. This is what we read about in Genesis 1:2. The realms of the 'aliens' were not affected by this great purge, so they continued to exist, as they do today.
[ To be continued ]
Friday 15 November 2013
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT DIVINE JUDGEMENT: PART 2
rolandtroves@gmail.com
Lazarus did not end up at Abraham's side after death simply because he was poor. It was because, although a beggar, he was a righteous man. Likewise, the rich man was not sent to the place of torment because he was rich. He had sealed his own eternal fate with his wickedness while on earth. The part of Hell ( Hades in Greek ) where the rich man found himself is called Tartarus. This is where all the wicked people go after their death ( Ps 9:17 ). And never mind what Hollywood ( "Drive Angry" for example ) says about it, once the wicked get to Tartarus, they can never come out, not for any reason, not for any length of time.
As for the part of Hell where Lazarus was sent to, that place is now empty. That is because, on the day Jesus ascended to Heaven, He liberated all the righteous souls - from Adam to that point in history - who inhabited the place. Until then they could not go to Heaven because Jesus had not carried out the Work of Redemption. Ephesians 4:8 reads in part, "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train..." These captives were among 'those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death' ( Heb 2:15 ).
So the only Hell there is now is Tartarus, the place of torment for the wicked. What we refer to as 'Hell Fire' or 'The Fiery Lake' in Christian teachings is a place that currently has no occupant. Revelation 20:13-14 says, "The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death".
We may however consider another view of the concept of hell. If we take it to connote being away from God's presence, or being outside the peace and safety of God's mercy and grace, then the word hell assumes a semantic spectrum. Ephesians 6:12 talks about 'heavenly realms'. This is a reference to spheres of existence that are not natural or human. They are supernal and supernatural. For my purpose, I wish to consider supernal beings as spirits - good or bad - whose forms cannot be seen with the natural eyes. Although the word supernatural could be used generally to describe any being that is not natural, I would like to view supernatural beings as consisting of these two groups:
[a] restless spirits that seek gratification from taking on human form, thereby impersonating
the dead. These we commonly refer to as ghosts.
[b] beings ( not machines! ) in realms outside our solar system who exist in a physical form,
but whose form is superior to ours, so much so that they can appear and disappear at will.
They move at unimaginable speeds, and for them, gravity is of no consequence whatsoever.
[ To be continued ]
Lazarus did not end up at Abraham's side after death simply because he was poor. It was because, although a beggar, he was a righteous man. Likewise, the rich man was not sent to the place of torment because he was rich. He had sealed his own eternal fate with his wickedness while on earth. The part of Hell ( Hades in Greek ) where the rich man found himself is called Tartarus. This is where all the wicked people go after their death ( Ps 9:17 ). And never mind what Hollywood ( "Drive Angry" for example ) says about it, once the wicked get to Tartarus, they can never come out, not for any reason, not for any length of time.
As for the part of Hell where Lazarus was sent to, that place is now empty. That is because, on the day Jesus ascended to Heaven, He liberated all the righteous souls - from Adam to that point in history - who inhabited the place. Until then they could not go to Heaven because Jesus had not carried out the Work of Redemption. Ephesians 4:8 reads in part, "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train..." These captives were among 'those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death' ( Heb 2:15 ).
So the only Hell there is now is Tartarus, the place of torment for the wicked. What we refer to as 'Hell Fire' or 'The Fiery Lake' in Christian teachings is a place that currently has no occupant. Revelation 20:13-14 says, "The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death".
We may however consider another view of the concept of hell. If we take it to connote being away from God's presence, or being outside the peace and safety of God's mercy and grace, then the word hell assumes a semantic spectrum. Ephesians 6:12 talks about 'heavenly realms'. This is a reference to spheres of existence that are not natural or human. They are supernal and supernatural. For my purpose, I wish to consider supernal beings as spirits - good or bad - whose forms cannot be seen with the natural eyes. Although the word supernatural could be used generally to describe any being that is not natural, I would like to view supernatural beings as consisting of these two groups:
[a] restless spirits that seek gratification from taking on human form, thereby impersonating
the dead. These we commonly refer to as ghosts.
[b] beings ( not machines! ) in realms outside our solar system who exist in a physical form,
but whose form is superior to ours, so much so that they can appear and disappear at will.
They move at unimaginable speeds, and for them, gravity is of no consequence whatsoever.
[ To be continued ]
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