Chapter 1, Part "5"
"Book Review"
"Book Review"
Understanding The Word Of God
The divine commandment given by Jesus to his eleven disciples in
a closed room was not a commandment to the gentiles, nor was it given to the non
existence church. The application of the
rule, who is speaking, who is being spoken to and what is the subject matter is
always an important key to understanding the word of God. (Mark 16:14-18) Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they
sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart,
because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (This next verse
must remain within the same context, he is speaking to his “unbelieving disciples”.) And these signs shall follow
them that believe; In my name shall they
cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up
serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they
shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
If this divine command were to apply to all believers down
through the ages, then the question would be where the believers are. “They
shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover”, as presented by those
who are seeking to make a name for themselves have left many standing in a
state of confusion. Yet, this is
something that cannot be openly addressed, because we are told that if the Bible
said it, then it must be so. In another
command given to the disciples, Jesus said, “(Luke 24:49) And, behold, I send
the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until
ye be endued with power from on high.” A loose interpretation of this scripture
would require all believers to make a trip to Jerusalem.
These divine commands are blessing bestowed upon the
disciples. The blessing offers no
material gain, He is empowering the disciples to go out and act in his name. Blessing as well as miracles has been
redefined to make them more applicable in today’s setting. A blessing of this nature would not be
attractive enough to draw people into a church setting. A blessing must offer something tangible,
something useful that will enhance the day to day life experience of the
receiver. The key to obtaining these
blessings would be through an unholy interpretation of the scripture call “the
planting of a seed”. Once the seed is planted, the faith of the person
planting the seed would be the determining factor whether the blessing was
received or not. To insure blessings were
falling all around, the definition of a blessing must be constantly updated. Simple things such as waking up in the
morning became a blessing. Your tax
return came and you can’t wait to tell of the blessing of God. Jesus
attempted to correct the imprecision of this thinking when he stated, “(Matthew
5:45) For he maketh his sun to
rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the
unjust.” Prayer or thanking God is not a prerequisite of waking up. There are things that God has preordained and
is allowed to take place in this world without regard to one’s status as a
believer or not.
The next item on the agenda was Heaven itself. Traditionally, Christianity has taught Heaven
is the location of the throne of God as well as the holy angels. In most Christian denominations, Heaven is
also understood as the abode of the righteous dead in the afterlife, usually a
temporary place of the soul before the resurrection of the dead and the saints'
return to the New Earth and rule with Christ.
Who they will rule over is a question that we shall attempt to answer
later.
Heaven once was looked upon as an exclusive abode, there were
restrictions on who could or could not enter.
Under the new and reconstructed plan,
the doors of Heaven were thrown wide open and it has become a place for everybody. Rock stars usually arrive in Heaven long before
their funeral is held and is usually assigned a position in the Heavenly
choir. A God of love would not send his
wayward children to a place like Hell.
Heaven is now that place where we all go when we depart this life. Our loved ones sprout wings and fly around in
Heaven all day looking down on us, regardless of the life they live here on
earth. They are looking down and
protecting us while shouting Holy, Holy, Holy all day long. An earlier concept of Heaven that I was taught
that was it was a place the righteous would go and, “have nothing to do but March
around Heaven all day.” All of these concepts of Heaven can be rather
boring when considering the prospect of eternity, nor do they address the plan
of God.
Heaven can be one of the most confusing aspect of Christianity,
yet there is so much knowledge of Heaven recorded within the Holy
Scripture. Jesus often told his
listeners, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like”, even John gave his dissertation on
a view from heaven. Much of the
confusion exists because of what we once were taught or not taught because of a
lack of knowledge of the Holy Scripture.
John’s rendition of the afterlife does not set well with many,
because it forces a belief that many are not prepared to accept. Many of our religious leaders have abandoned
the concept of Heaven and Hell as an intricate part of their message. The elements of its application are
considered too harsh for developing minds and many religious leaders have
concluded that exposing our children to this ancient concept would result in
traumatic experiences. What once was at
the forefront of the teaching of Christianity has now been cast aside in favor
of a message of love.
In 2003 a news organization
did a survey that showed nine out of ten people in the United States believed
in Heaven. Today that number is more like six out of ten and
dwindling. The religious attitude of the United States is changing.
In the midst of all of our praying, preaching and teaching our younger
generation does not believe as we do. Is it safe to say their belief
structure is not the same as that of their parents? Christianity,
religion, Heaven and Hell are becoming abstract terms and their use is
superficial at best. Every culture has wrestled with the question of an afterlife, and most
have come to a similar conclusion: The bad end up in a place of punishment
called Hell or by some other name, the good go to Heaven. The promise of
Heaven or a similar place plays a central role in the belief structure of most
religions. For most people who believe in Heaven, proof of Heaven is not
necessary. Faith is all they need. To some this faith comes easily,
but to others it is elusive. When the
question is asked, what is Heaven like, this is where the lack of knowledge is
amplifies.
In the eighteenth century, few, if any understood the
concept of nuclear energy, yet the knowledge was there waiting to be
discovered. The young child’s mind that is filled with pictures of dinosaurs
is often tempted to ask, did dinosaurs exist in the bible? A deeper
understanding of God’s word would allow a Bible teacher to answer with
confidence, “Yes, and God talked to Job about them.” The answer to,
“What is Heaven like,” and “Where is Heaven “ is in the
Bible, but many times it is overlooked for a more excitable
message. A message of overcoming the hardships of this life is more
exciting than the message of Jesus telling you of your reward if you can endure
the hardships of this life.
Jesus gave a starling dissertation of a righteous beggar and
a rich man living and dying. (Luke 16:23) And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in
torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. In that
elucidation we are privy to a conversation between two dead men.
There is no indication that Lazarus saw the rich man in Hell, This would
have been too traumatic, but the rich man saw Lazarus, which added to his
torment. .” (Luke 16:24-25) And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy
on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and
cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son,
remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. If one
came back from the dead would it make any difference to what we already
know? There is much to be learned here.
Ask a minister or teacher about Heaven and you might get
abstract responses such as, “Heaven is a beautiful place”, “Heaven is a
prepared place for a prepared people” or “Heaven is where Jesus is.”
Heaven by some is described as a place where the saints just march around
heaven all day.
In a
children's book by Maria Shriver called “What's Heaven”, she describes it as "a beautiful place where you
can sit on soft clouds and talk. If you're good throughout your life, then you
get to go there... When your life is finished here on earth, God sends angels
down to take you heaven to be with him." This is a distorted
view of Heaven, according to a noted Bishop in the Church of England.
This distorted view is allowed to exist even in modern society because the
focus of Christianity has shifted from the hereafter to the now.
The
selling of the Christ has distorted the view of God, Heaven, Hell and even the
Word of God. The focus is about making
money and amass blessing. The sacredness
of the supernatural realm has eroded and the name of God has become common fodder
for the unscrupulous.
As a child growing up in a church going family the name of
God was spoken with reverence and respect. We were taught to never
use the name of God in vain. There was the proper place and time to honor
and praise God. Our praise and prayer was a private affair being
careful to adhere to the teaching of the Bible.
(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.
This new or reconstructed God can now be found in many places
where he once was not found. Many of the older Christians are doubtful as
to whether God wants to be acknowledged in some of the venues that make the
claim of honoring God. The rap star, whose music caused many to
blush, often gives thanks God for his blessings when the awards are handed
out. God has exploded all over the
social media and many have concluded that God is doing great things. If
you type “Amen” under a picture of a stack of money God will give it to
you. Prophets are revealing that God has given them a message and they
will reveal the message for a small fee.
How profane.
To be continued
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