There are many prophecies
contained within the Bible concerning the end of time, but Daniel 12:4 takes on
a special and ominous meaning in light
of our discussion. This is most
definitely a prophecy that has come to pass within this generation. There are signs in the heavens, such as the
blood moons and fire falling from the sky.
The earth is quaking in its misery, earthquakes in divers places, and
there are news reports of huge numbers of fish and sea creatures washing up on the beaches dead.
The intensity of war keeps increasing while there are those who cry peace,
peace.
What is it that prevents
mankind from being fearful and running to God? It is the vast knowledge of good and evil that
allows us to explain all of these events away.
Natural occurrence or climate changes are usually the culprit and at the
end of the day we feel smug and protected by our vast knowledge of the earth
events taking place. We are assured that
God is not pouring out his vengeance upon an evil generation. Why? Is it because we have created a God of
love who is about to rain down favors upon his children. This type of God would not rain down wrath
upon his children. The Book of Revelation depicts a God who is storing up his wrath awaiting for that moment to pour out.
Growing up in the
Mississippi’s southern countryside in the early fifties when the knowledge of
good and evil was not freely dissimulated, we were taught to respect the works
of God. When the lightning began to
flash and the thunder roared, we were taught to find a place to sit and be
quiet. As the knowledge of good and evil
increased we began to understand the scientific definition and root cause of
thunder and lightning, in the process we lost some of our fear of God. The process began in the garden of Eden, as knowledge,
increase the fear of God diminish.
Freedom of religion was one
of the great cornerstones that this nation was founded upon, yet today there is
a movement to promote freedom from religion.
The knowledge of the world has increased and the true knowledge of God
has decreased, yet there seems to be an increased knowledge of the awareness of
God all around us, a type of God that is alien to the God of the Bible. Who God is and what God is doing is based
upon our modern day interpretation of the scripture. It
could be described as a false faith that requires a level of indoctrination to sustain
it. In a conversation with his
disciples, Jesus mused in Luke 18:8,... Nevertheless when the Son of man
cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
The earth as a testing ground,
a place for the preparation of souls to occupy the kingdom of God is a concept
or an idea that has never been fully accepted by mankind since partaking of the
fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.
After the Devil corrupted a
third of God, angels and brought corruption upon the earth, God did not choose
to make a full end. Jeremiah
4:23-25 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it
was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld
the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I
beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. Jeremiah speaks of a time before the beginning
of the restoration works of God.
Genesis 1:2-5 And the earth was without form, and void; and
darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the
face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And
God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the
darkness. And God called the light Day,
and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the
first day.
God in his creative works
spoke the words, “let there be light”.
The darkness was caused by a catastrophic event that had taken
place. God saw the light and it was
good, and he separated the light from the darkness. In a mortal and the natural world, there are
opposites, for one attribute to exist the opposite must also exist. For light to exist darkness must also
exist. Good is the opposite of
evil. When the world is restored to its
former state, before the devil corrupted it, there will be no darkness, no sin,
and even the seas will disappear. Revelation
21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new
earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was
no more sea. Revelation 21:25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all
by day: for there shall be no night there.
In the spiritual realm the knowledge of good and evil is no more, only
the knowledge of God prevails.
In God’s administration or world affairs choices are always given.
The purpose of choices is the perfect
way to root out those who are unfit for the kingdom. Choices can be viewed as a process of culling
out the bad fruit. Bad choices are only
acceptable when we accept the finish work of the Cross as an atonement for our
sins. When God restore this earth according to the plan laid out in the Book of
Revelation, what happen in the past when the Devil made the wrong choice and rebel
against God is not going to happen in the renewed Kingdom of God.
Humans are so good at doing bad,
God knows this and the Devil know this.
Down through the ages of the scripture, God has allowed the Devil to
tempt man. One of the messages we are
supposed to get out of the story of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
is, there is God’s way and there is the Devil’s way. Our vast knowledge often presents us with a
path that seems right, but is contrary to the way of God. Often the two ways seem to coincide with each
other and thereby the sin is minimized.
To promote the Devil’s agenda, there has never been a need to rewrite
the Bible even though many have expressed that need. It is all a matter of interpretation. To attempt to rewrite the Bible is a product
of a reprobate mind. Romans 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God
in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things
which are not convenient; A person who are classified by
the scripture as having a reprobate mind have some knowledge of God and it is
contained within their knowledge of good and evil. They know of His commandments, but they live
impure lives and have very little respect or desire to please God. They have no
fear of God. A person with a reprobate mind
live corrupt and selfish lives, sin is justified and acceptable it becomes a
matter of interpretation. The reprobates
are those whom God has rejected and has left to their own devices and they are
leading many astray.
How we use the scripture has always
been a matter of interpretation. It is
evil to use the word of God for the advancement of our worldly pleasures. Many are using the scripture for financial
gain and claiming it to be the will of God,
as we said, it is a matter of interpretation. In the
garden the Devil used the scripture or the Word of God to his own advantage.
He tried the same trick with Jesus. Matthew 4:5-7 Then the
devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the
temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for
it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their
hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a
stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord
thy God.
God's
exercised his authority over man, as a creature that had reason and freedom
of the will. God commanded the man, who stood as a public person, the
father and representative of all mankind, to receive the law of God, as he
had lately received a nature, for himself and all his. God commanded all the
creatures, according to their capacity; the settled course of nature is a law,
Ps 148:6; 104:9. The brute-creatures have their respective instincts; but man
was made capable of performing the reasonable service, and therefore received,
not only the command of a Creator, but the command of a Prince and Master.
Though Adam was a very great man, a very good man, and a very happy man, God
commanded him; and the command was no disparagement to his greatness, no
reproach to his goodness, nor any diminution at all to his happiness. We must
acknowledge God's right to rule us, and it is our obligation to be ruled by
him; and never allow our will to be in contradiction to, or competition with,
the will of God.
There
was nothing essentially evil about the tree or the fruit of the tree. It is
unlikely that eating the fruit truly gave Adam and Eve any further knowledge.
It was the act of disobedience that opened Adam and Eve’s eyes to evil. Their sin of disobeying God brought sin and
evil into the world and into their lives. Eating the fruit, as an act of
disobedience against God, was what gave Adam and Eve knowledge of good and
evil.
God
did not want Adam and Eve to sin. God knew ahead of time what the results of sin
would be. God knew that Adam and Eve would sin and would thereby bring evil,
suffering, and death into the world. Why, then, did God allow Satan to tempt
Adam and Eve? God allowed Satan to tempt Adam and Eve to force them to make the
choice. Adam and Eve chose, of their own free will, to disobey God and eat the
forbidden fruit. The results—evil, sin, suffering, sickness, and death—have
plagued the world ever since. Adam and Eve's decision results in every person
being born with a sin nature, a tendency to sin. Adam and Eve's decision is
what ultimately required Jesus Christ to die on the cross and shed His blood on
our behalf. Through faith in Christ, we can be free from sin's consequences,
and ultimately free from sin itself
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