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The Lake of Fire Installment XV, Part C The Myth of 'Free Will' Exposed It has been foolishly asked from time immemorial whether God could ever build a rock so heavy that even He couldn't lift it. Let me suggest, that if we let "will" represent a rock, and "free will" a rock so heavy that God can't lift it, then God has indeed, finally built a rock so heavy that even He cannot lift it! For just like the proverbial immovable object, man's phantom "free will" has become God's very Own Achilles heel. The only Sovereign-Buster in the universe is man's fabled "free will." According to Christian doctrine: the "Irresistible Force"-GOD'S will; has been decidedly and eternally thwarted by the "immovable object"-MAN'S will. Someone accused me yesterday of going against "The Greatest Theological Thinkers of our time." Actually I thought it a nice compliment. Not many religions spell out in just a sentence or two what they believe is the plan and purpose of God. But here's one from a "Great Theological Thinker"-Milton G. Henschel prior director of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society-Jehovah's Witnesses. He said this with regards to the plan and purpose of God:
So here we have the words of a Great Theological Thinker from a very large denomination of worldwide believers, but it is sheer nonsense. Not one word of his statement is Scriptural, and yes, like all great religions, this one too believes that God gave mankind the power of "free will." First he suggests that Satan is challenging God's supremacy (sovereignty). Not true. Satan couldn't challenge his own tail in the presence of God. Next man's integrity is being tested. Not true. Man has no integrity. And finally that the "primary purpose" of our very existence is "the vindication of God's supremacy (sovereignty). And just how does the god of this world's religions hope to accomplish this great goal of being adjudicated as "Supreme Sovereign of the Universe?" Why by creating billions and billions of humans with "free moral agency," all of which supposedly CAN, and most of which supposedly WILL, THWART AND WRECK HIS PRIMARY PURPOSE, and never ever love or obey him!! The instant that this god created "free moral, uncaused, independent of god, god-thwarting will," his plan of "supremacy" was doomed, for by so doing he created his own Frankenstein Monster which would ultimately turn on him and knock him off of any presumed "supremacy" or "sovereignty." So much for another "great" thinker. This God-demeaning, God-weakening, God-defying, God-thwarting attribute of so-called "free-will" is lauded as one of God's single-most ultra-grand achievements and gifts to humankind. Albeit the very thought that God would build a rock (man's 'free-will') so powerful that it would thwart the very will and purpose of its own Creator is absurd. SATAN AND THE ANGELS DID NOT HAVE "FREE-WILL" Was Satan once an angelic cherub named "Lucifer" who used his supposed God-given free-will to rebel against God and thus become Satan the Devil? It's a fable. It never happened. It is a Christian hoax. Satan was never "good." Satan was never "truthful." Satan does not have free-will. Satan was always Satan, and nobody but Satan "...from the beginning." For proof that Satan was never an angelic cherub named "Lucifer," see Installment IX. I will not take the time to re-write that proof here, however, we will look at Scriptural proof that Satan was Satan from the beginning, and that God created him as he is. Satan did not create himself or free-will himself into the Devil.
We all know what the earth is. The heavens, however, is a different matter. The physical heaven is where we find the moon, sun, and stars. But God's domain is a spiritual heaven.
So God created the plural "heavens" "in the beginning." And Paul tells us that there are "principalities and powers" in these "heavenly places" or "celestial s" as it is in the Greek. And that these "principalities and powers" are powers, hosts, or forces that are " wicked!"
"Principalities and powers" are part of the "all" which Jesus created "in the beginning," at the beginning of creation. And these "principalities and powers" are "wicked" forces, which we wrestle against. These powers are under authority.
Beelzebub is from the Hebrew, Baal [a Phoenician deity] and Zbuwb [a fly], thus the "god fly." Couple this with the knowledge of where flies hang out, and in parody, Satan was known as the dung god. Fitting, I think. Jesus accepted their use of this title for Satan:
Satan never was a cherub possessing free will; neither does he now have free will. Satan is a creature that obeys the commands of his Creator and never talks back. Whenever Jesus told Satan to "get thee behind Me," Satan got behind Him (Matt. 16:23, Mark 8:33, Luke 4:8). When God said he could go so far and no further in the trial of Job, then that's precisely how far he went and no further. When Jesus told Satan "get thee hence... then the devil leaves Him..." (Matt. 4:10). Satan has no "free will" to resist. ONE OF THESE CREATED WICKED FORCES WAS A SERPENT
This God-created serpent deceived Eve (I Tim. 2:14). God "made" "the serpent" who "deceived" Mother Eve. Notice that God did not create something called "Lucifer," that was "...more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made." If this "serpent" is indeed, "the Devil," then the Scripture plainly tells us that this was a beast "...which the Lord God had made." God told Adam and Eve:
Satan the Serpent, however, said:
The Old Serpent, the Devil, LIED! Now then, was there ever a time when the Devil was not a liar?
Satan the Devil was a liar "...from the beginning." But didn't he once "abide IN the truth" before he became Satan? Never. The phrase, "...and abode not in the truth..." is proof against any such theory. Someone suggested that Satan once did stand in the truth, and this verse is telling us that he "...did not continue standing in the truth..." That is not what this phrase is stating. Notice a few other translations of this phrase:
No, Satan the Devil has never stood in the truth. He was a liar and a murderer "...from the beginning." And so we have proof that God created Satan just as he is. About five times a year I get a long email from someone trying to prove to me that the "serpent in the Garden" was not Satan, but Adam's carnal mind, or some other such thing. God tells us, however, who Satan really is: "that old serpent." Proof:
Is this not the same "crooked serpent and dragon" mentioned in Isa. 27:1 which God will yet punish:
The word "liviathan" means: "SERPENT." The word "dragon" means: "figuratively the constellation of the dragon; a sea SERPENT." God is not going to "punish" a constellation in the sky or a fish in the sea. This is speaking of that great and wicked spirit : Satan, the Devil, that Old serpent, the dragon, the crooked serpent, the destroyer, the accuser, the Adversary. Did "...the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan..." (Rev. 20:2), form himself out of a perfect angel/cherub, or did God form this serpent as he now is? Answer:
God did not form a perfect cherub named Lucifer who then became the crooked serpent. Satan was not an "Angel of Light which transformed himself into Satan," as the Christian Church teaches, but rather:
The "Lucifer became Satan" fable is Scripturally contradicted by the "Satan pretends to be an angel of light" truth. Satan the serpent is a destroyer:
What is this "destroyer?" The word is taken from the Greek word, olothreutes, and guess what it means? It means "venomous SERPENT." This serpent is a "destroyer." God "formed the crooked serpent," and this serpent is a "destroyer." Isn't that the very purpose for which God created this "venomous serpent/destroyer?"
Another reference to this destroyer:
The Word of God was sown to both Eve and Adam "by the way" and Eve certainly "heard" the Word in her ear, and took it "to heart." But it obviously was not well rooted. It had not as yet become part of her spiritual character. And so the serpent came on the scene very quickly:
The serpent appealed to Eve's carnal mind and took away the word of God. Next:
Now then, just who is it that Jesus tells us plainly "takes away the word" when it has not had time to be properly rooted? Answer:
It was the serpent in the Garden, which took away the word of God from Eve. Hence we have proof that "the serpent" was "that Old serpent- Satan." And although God said that "He" destroyed and killed the firstborn of Egypt, there is one verse that specifically tells us Whom it was that God used to accomplish this slaughter:
We now have a mountain of Scriptural proof that Satan is "the serpent," and that he has always been the serpent from his creation:
Satan deceived our first parents in the Garden, and he has been deceiving the whole world ever since. There is absolutely not one scrap of Scriptural proof that Satan was a perfect cherub or that he has EVER exercised a power known as free will. Satan thinks he has free will. Eve thought she had free will. All mankind still thinks he has free will. But the Scriptures disprove it over and over and over again. EVEN GOD'S CHOSEN ELECT WERE ONCE DECEIVED The workings of Satan have deceived the whole world including the ones whom God would later call to be His elect:
And just how much of mankind and how much of this world has God given to that same Old Serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, to deceive?
Once one becomes a member of God's very elect, he can be deceived no more. Don't you be deceived. This verse does not say: "Satan, which deceives the whole world (except the two billion twenty-first century professing Christians of the world)." No, Satan deceives "the whole world," including the two billion professing Christians. How many have escaped the deception of Satan by the use of their "free will?" Not one man possesses a will by which he can freely resist Satan. If we are to "resist the Devil so that he flees from us," we will need the power of God's Spirit in us. THE INVISIBLE HAND OF DECEPTION Just how does God deceive mankind into thinking that their thoughts and choices are "free and uncaused?" The answer is quite simple: man does not see, feel or perceive in any way, either internally or externally, any force or power causing him to think or do anything other than what he consciously wills. Surely that is enough proof for any carnal-minded person that his will and choices are free from any causality whatsoever. If he can't see, feel, or perceive of anything making or causing him to choose a particular way, then surely, there is nothing there, and his "will is free." As though a mortal, carnal-minded man can perceive things of the spirit. A little later we will look at a verse that unlocks the secret as to why carnal people cannot understand the reason why they don't have a free will. God uses means and ways that are not perceived by man in causing his thoughts, will, and choices. What are always miracles from God are perceived by the carnal mind to be merely routine acts of nature. Here is an example that doesn't involve any real danger or evil that should be apparent to any thinking person: All week your wife and you plan to take the children on a picnic at a local state park. Everything is prepared and ready; everyone is excited; and the will of everyone is set on this picnic. But when Saturday morning arrives and the car is loaded and ready to go, everyone changes his will about going on the picnic. In a matter of moments all decide that they no longer want to go on this picnic that they have been looking forward to all week. Why? What happened? What changed their minds? Answer? It's raining. God does, of course, as we shall see from the Scriptures, often use much harsher and more painful means to cause men to exercise their carnal minds in very evil ways. But even then, they are totally oblivious to the actual causes of their thoughts and deeds. Is it a sin to want to go on a picnic with one's family? No. Is it a sin for God to make (cause) it to rain? No. But when shown from the Scriptures that God often uses ways and means that are very severe and brutal, virtually all, professing Christians refuse to believe even the very words of God Himself. They instead become extremely angry with me for showing them these Scriptures, and for insisting that these hard-to-accept Scriptures are true, and actually eventuate in a much higher good than would have been otherwise possible. Back to our example of a family picnic: God doesn't force our family to desire a picnic or force them to change their mind about going on a picnic, but God does control the weather, just as He controls all circumstances leading up to the rainy day. The weather is but one of millions of things that control and influence our daily decisions. Weather is no more a natural uncaused event than was the recent Christmas tsunami:
God, "causes," "makes," and He "brings" into existence the manifestations of nature's powers. Nothing "just happens" without a cause, and God says that He is the cause-every time and always. Yet how many Christians reading this will now believe that it is God Who causes the weather and all catastrophic (even acknowledged by insurance companies as "acts of God")? It is not really "me" and "my" statements that people find difficult, if not impossible to believe, but rather the Scriptures that I quote to them. So maybe most of my readers will concede that it was indeed God who caused the rain, which caused our family to change their minds rather than to have a wet picnic. But is God the ultimate cause of all things that cause all mankind to make every choice and decision based on powers and circumstances way beyond their control and often beyond their knowledge? If it is God, who causes all circumstances which cause all of our thoughts and decisions and acts, then clearly our thoughts and actions are not based on uncaused and non-existent circumstances. Clearly our will is caused and not "free" or "uncaused." Did God, for example, cause the Christmas tsunami that killed and injured hundreds of thousands of people, which in turn, caused millions of people worldwide to think and make choices based solely upon this one disaster? We shall see. GOD HAS PERFECTLY CHOREOGRAPHED HIS CREATION All that has been, and is, and will be, has been planned and choreographed down to the movement of the last atom, by the Designer and Operator of the Universe, without Whom everything would fall apart in oblivion:
Since "by Jesus all things consist and have their cohesion," why is it that only man and his fabled "free-moral-agency-will" is the only truly "free radical" in the universe? Nonsense! Even "free radicals" operate under law-God operates all that exists, by law. Jesus did not create the universe and all that in it is, and then goes off on a trip to let the universe fend for itself. God presently is "working-operating" all that exists, and that includes the "will" of all mankind. Here's some more Scriptural proof: "...God which works ['operates'] all in all " (I Cor. 12:6). God works all that there is in all that there are. Pretty neat, huh? When we have a God this great, we can expect nothing but perfect assured success. The Christian teaching that God only can "desire" great things, but He cannot actually "accomplish" great things is absurd. Here is Christian theology at its best: God invents man. God desires for man to work a certain way. Man fails to work in the way that God desires. Out of uncontrollable frustration, God tortures his mal-functioning invention for all eternity. And no one sees a problem with this anti-scriptural heresy. Who among us has not seen in real life or in the movies: A man invents a machine. He desires for his invention to work a certain way. The invention fails to work in the desired way. The inventor smashes the mal-functioning machine into a thousand pieces? We laugh at such stupid and juvenile behavior, yet we worship a god who supposedly acts a thousand times more stupid and evil than our carnal-minded inventor. Go figure. What kind of insanity blames a "created machine" for any mal-functions? God created the human race; God is responsible for any and all activities of the human race. No one asked to be born! And yet... and YET, there are those evil-minded theologians and Christians who believe that God will not only torture most of His creatures, but that He actually knew in advance of their creation that He would torture most of them in literal fire for all eternity! Not only would such an "Inventor" be stupid, but he would be evil beyond words to describe. Yet even all of this stupidity and evil of the human heart, "...is of God." Most have not yet even conceived of the Judgment that will come on them for the heresy of their own hearts. This judgment of our hearts is also part of God's grand plan. God has made man in this weakened spiritual state for a grand and glorious destiny. Man is not yet created in God's full spiritual Image, but that is the process, purpose, and destiny of the human race-to finally be the very Image of God Himself. The Scriptures plainly show and state in many places, that the natural mind of man cannot love and obey God. Yet theologians tell us that unless man does, of his own free will, love and obey God, that God will torture them in fire for all eternity. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place!
All energy, all matter, all creation, and all humans are in God. We can only "live and move... IN HIM." And this is why:
No man has a will that can choose contrary to what God already knows will be: "...and calls those things which be not [thoughts and deeds which have not yet been supposedly 'freely' thought of] as though they were [as though they already were thought of-how is that 'freedom' of the will?] " (Rom. 4:17). I will repeat this until I am blue in the face, and perchance somebody out there will say, "Ah, yes, now I get it." Once more: Since God says very plainly that He knows all things and that He knows all things before they happen, how is it then possible that anyone can think a thought which God didn't know he would have to think? And if God already knows every thought that you must think: how are you free to not think those very foreknown thoughts and those foreknown thoughts only? If any person in the history of the world can think one thought that God did not foreknow that he would think, then God cannot;
No one can make one statement out of his mouth, unless it was first pre-ordained, foreknown, and approved of, by God!
THE CHRISTMAS TSUNAMI IN INDONESIA-ALL IS OF GOD Shortly after what has been called the Christmas tsunami which destroyed the coastal regions in a half dozen countries surrounding the Indian Ocean, Joe Scarborough of MSNBC News had 700 Club President Pat Robertson on his show. The previous night Scarborough asked religious leaders why a loving God allowed so many thousands to die in this disaster. He reported that the L.A. Times and the Washington Post also asked similar questions. Mr. Scarborough introduced his evening topic by asking the following: "So, is God a loving father or a mass murderer?" Is God a mass murdered? How did guest Pat Robertson answer this question? By leaving God out of the equasion altogether! The truth be known: God does kill, destroy, and war, but He does not "murder" nor has He ever sanctioned "murder." The 6 th Commandment is: "You shall not murder" (Ex. 20:13). After introducing Pat Robertson, Mr. Scarborough posed the following question: "Pat, I want to ask you a question... that Christians, Jews, Muslims, men and women of faith all over the world are asking tonight. And that is, how does a loving God allow a disaster like this to happen? After giving a plug for his own relief program in the disaster area, Mr. Robertson said the following (I have the transcript): "...the truth is, Joe, that natural disasters will happen on this planet. It was one of a subduction of one of the tectonic plates in the Indian Ocean. And it's not God's do [doing?]. It was one of those things, like a hurricane. It's a natural release of heat in the atmosphere. And if people choose to live along the coastlines in dangerous areas, they are in trouble, just like people who live on the San Andreas fault in California ...but you can't blame God for your foolishness. If you want to live there, that's too bad." What? It was a natural release of heat? It was just one of those things? God had nothing to do with it? If you want to live there, that's too bad? And he takes the liberty to use the word "foolishness?" First we are told that God has nothing to do with this tsunami. As though it is not God's fault if this earth is fraught with unseen dangers of Biblical proportions. What does "God" have to do with such things? I mean, after all, God only created this earth and its surrounding universe. Is God's "sustaining" ability a little lax, seeing that an awful lot of bad things on earth just "seem to happen out of the blue?" Second, maybe we are to believe that God was even unaware of this tsunami before it was too late for Him to do anything about it? I speak as a fool. Since Pat Robertson really personifies much of fundamentalist Christendom, it might be a good idea to pursue his premise a little further. Just where does Mr. Robertson think that the six billion people on this earth should be living? Let's look at Mr. Robertson's answer a little more closely and see if there is a lick of Scriptural truth or wisdom to what he said. If Pat Robertson were to read the book of Joshua, for example, he would see where God specifically gave Judah a border on the Mediterranean Sea Coast for a possession to dwell there (Joshua 15:12). So let's not be assuming that God considers all people "foolish" who live in coastal areas of the world. If, however, coastal areas are to be avoided as foolish places to live-that would render huge portions of the earth uninhabitable, as would most of the remaining land of planet Earth: And he already mentioned that living near fault lines is a foolish thing to do (there are fault lines virtually everywhere on earth). What about living on the plains where tornadoes are a constant threat to life, limb and property, not to mention killer hail storms. Certainly steep hills and mountains are not a good place to live. There is the constant threat of mudslides such as witnessed in Southern California, and avalanches which have already claimed many lives, and rock slides. What about the many islands and areas of volcanoes? We have much historical evidence of the dangers in living at such places (witness Mt. St. Helen). There is also the infamous "ring of fire" which virtually surrounds the Pacific Ocean. Are the deserts of the world a good place to live? Hardly anything can live in such arid areas, not to mention the perils of constant sand storms. And the whole Caribbean is potentially a dangerous place, seeing that we have killer hurricanes in this area. Maybe the many river valleys of the world would be a good place to live. Of course there is the constant threat of flooding. Many lives are lost, crops are wiped out, and damage caused annually by the over-flowing of major and minor rivers. So with that all said and considered, just where, Mr. Robertson, do you propose that the six billion people on this earth live? Just where can six thousand million citizens of planet earth live where they are guaranteed permanent "safe soil?" No, Mr. Robertson, the people in Indonesia did not die because they were foolish for living in an unsafe area of the Earth. The tsunami was the means by which these people in Indonesia were killed, but it was not the reason that they were killed. God always has a purpose behind His means, and God was behind that tsunami. CAN YOU HANDLE THE TRUTH? Even if we were to accept Mr. Robertson's theory that God had nothing to do with this Christmas tsunami, we would still be forced to concede that "God allowed it." That is, in fact, the terminology that is used in most discussions of this subject-Why did God "allow" it? Why does God "allow" this, that, and the other thing? Allow, allow, allow. That is the mind-set of most discussions whether they are religious or secular-Why did God "allow" it? Surely no one doubts God's ability to stop any or all such catastrophes if He so desired? A man in an Atlanta Court House murdered three people. Since God obviously did not stop it, why then did God "allow" it? Would you really like to know why God "allowed" those murders and why He allowed the Christmas tsunami? And not only why did He allow this tsunami, but all tsunamis, and typhoons, and hurricanes, and floods, and tornadoes, and violent thunderstorms, and rock slides and mud slides, and avalanches, and volcanoes, and earthquakes, and forest fires, and droughts, and famines, and diseases, wars and holocausts, and (not just the killing 3 people in Atlanta), but all deaths? Do you really want to know why God "allows" these things? Are you sure you are ready for God's answer to this most profound mystery in all creation? I am reminded of the film, "A Few Good Men." In a dramatic court scene Tom Cruise demands of the witness: "I want the TRUTH!" To which Jack Nicholson shouts back: "You can't HANDLE the TRUTH!!" This is what I fear is the situation here. People think they want the truth, but they can't handle the truth. Very few indeed want the whole Truth: the whole counsel of God. And most of those who have heard it have been highly offended by it. Often they killed the messengers who brought God's message of Truth. That's just how offensive the Truth of God is to the carnal mind. I have a drawer full of emails that speak volumes against God's Truth. But I know that there are a few chosen of God to whom the Truth is not offensive. For those few I will continue. As Joan Rivers used to say: "Can we talk?" Are your kids in bed? Can we talk? The remainder of this series on free will is not for the immature or faint of heart. Okay then, back to our question: Why does God "allow" all of the pain, suffering, disasters, and even mass killing of the innocent to happen? Actually, the question is not even a legitimate question because God does not "allow" any of these disasters to happen. Here then is one of the greatest truths in all the world and of all Scripture: God does not "allow" anything to happen: God is the ultimate CAUSE of all things that happen! If a person is able to prevent a crime (let's say without any expense or harm to himself) but doesn't, he is no better than the one who commits the crime. So now the question is: "Where is Jesus Christ when all such crimes are committed?" Is Jesus no more powerful or responsible than the god Baal?
No, Jesus does not live far far away on the other side of the universe in a place called heaven. Heaven is not a place; heaven is the realm of spirit. Jesus does not sleep in heaven. Jesus does not live in a physical heaven. Jesus will not live in a physical body full of holes, for the rest of eternity either. It is impossible to even think about these important issues of life with the mentality of Christian doctrines. Jesus Christ is "spirit": "Now the Lord is that SPIRIT..." (II Cor. 3:17). Make no mistake about it; Jesus Christ is present at every crime scene that ever was or will be. Jesus is at the scene of every crime in the world, and He is there before the crime actually happens. What would Jesus say to a woman if she were in the presence of some slimeball who is hell-bent on raping her little daughter? We know that Jesus is there, but what if Jesus manifested Himself right there, at the scene? What would Jesus say when the woman would beg Him to stop this slimeball from raping or murdering her daughter? Surely He would stop the crime, right? Well if that be the case, how come there are so many rapes and murders that have not been prevented by Jesus? Do not all parents (almost all) pray for the safety of their children? So the pat Christian answer is: "Well, we don't know why, but God allowed it." God no more allows crimes that harm one or two individuals than he allows tsunamies that harm and hundreds of thousands. I am well aware of the fact that Jesus does at times intervene and stop some crime or evil from taking place. I am now referring to those times when He does not intervene and stop the crime. Why does He "allow" it? You say, "Well, nobody knows the answer to that!" Oh but we do know the answer. The Scriptures give us the answer. We don't want the Scriptural answer. We don't want the truth. We can't handle the truth. And woe to the messenger who delivers the truth! And just what do we think we gain by using the catch phrase: "God allowed it?" Does that phrase get God off the hook of responsibility and place the responsibility upon His mal-functioning inventions? Does the word "allow" carry the connotation: "I had nothing to do with it?" "My hands are clean?" "It's not my job to prevent evil crimes?" Is this what the word "allow" really means?
Now then, do we feel better about this theological heresy and nonsense by using the word "allow"? If a Police Officer were to, LET HAPPEN, PERMIT, CONSENT, GRANT, and AFFORD OPPORTUNITY for a horrible crime to take place without lifting a finger to stop it, would he be morally guiltless for "allowing" it to happen? Does the catch phrase "allow" with all of its definitions somehow make void the responsibility of the Police Officer? Is God Almighty less capable and less responsible than even a carnal-minded Police Officer? Why then do theologians invent their own solution to the problem by applying the unscriptural word "allow" to the acts of God, rather than to accept the plain truth of Scripture concerning these matters? Well, for the exact same reason they invent the unscriptural phrase "free-will" to get God off of the hook of responsibility for the evils in God's Own creation! They don't want the truth; they can't handle the truth; the truth would convict their own evil and carnal-minded hearts, and they would be forced to humble themselves and repent! Could any of us honestly say with respect to our presence at an imminent crime, that if we: "allowed, let happen, permitted to happen, consented to its happening, granted it to happen, and afforded it the opportunity to happen," then our hands are clean? We have no involvement in the crime? We had no obligations, and we are not to be held accountable and responsible? You know that I speak the truth, but many of you can't handle the truth. So am I saying that since God is the Creator of all, and Sustainer of all, and by Him all things Consist, and He already knows all that is and will be, and He works all things after the counsel of His Own will, that all of the crimes of the world are a part of God's plan? No, that is not my teaching. But this is precisely what the Scriptures say! This is not some perverted theory. I read it in the Bible-in hundreds and hundreds of places! I have no problem in justifying God in all of His doings, even though I personally am overwhelmed at times over the magnitude of pain and evil that God has subjected us to. It is humbling! It surely does produce God's desired purpose, and I can personally attest to this fact. Inventing an unscriptural and anti-scriptural term like "human free will" or "free choice" does not remove the consequences of evil from God's shoulders. GOD THE CREATOR OF EVIL
Notice that God did not create light to shine IN the darkness. No, God "created" darkness, itself. Darkness is not just the absence of light. Darkness was created by God. It does not "naturally" exist independent of His creating it. This, like everything else in the Bible, is a parable. Mankind is spiritually in "darkness." And it is a very painful thing to come out.
Before we go further, it is necessary for those who have never seen it proven, that it is God Who is the Creator, User, and unltimately, the Destroyer of evil. I often receive emails from readers who assert that the word "evil" in this verse should be translated "calamity." That is decidedly a fabricated assertion, but little would be gained by it even if it were true. Would the Christmas tsunami in Indonesia have reeked less havoc had it been a "calamity" rather than an "evil?" What would be gained by calling "evils" by the name "calamities"? That is nonsense. Nevertheless, let it be known that the word translated "evil" in Isaiah 45:7 is the Hebrew word ra. The Hebrew word for "calamity" is the Hebrew word ade which means "misfortune, misery, or ruin. Whereas the Hebrew word ra means "bad or evil." It is the same word used for the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil [ ra] ." It was not the tree of the knowledge of "good and calamity ." Did Jacob really mean to say, "a calamitous beast" had devoured his son? (Gen. 37:33)? Did Israel really "do calamity in the sight of God" by worshipping Balaam, or did they do evil? (Jud. 3:7). The Hebrew ra means "bad or evil" and it is used over four hundred times to represent bad or evil, not calamity. God created ra- EVIL. Furthermore God used evil and continues to use evil against His creatures all day long. Understand that I take no emotional pleasure in teaching these truths other than that they are absolutely necessary if we are to understand the deeper ways of God with His creatures. But I will haste to add that like all of God's deeper truths they can only be discerned spiritually by the Spirit of God. The carnal mind cannot and will not understand these truths. THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH GOD CREATED EVIL This is all the strange work of God. There is no free will about it. We are all born out of a dark womb into the natural light of day, but this too is but a parable. We must be "born again" out of spiritual darkness of this age into the glorious light of the Sun of God. It is a painful journey, and requires an experience of evil to accomplish.
What a horrible translation! My King James has three superior numbers in this one verse indicating three different words in the margin. Especially the last phrase:
What pray tell does that mean? One of the most all-encompassing and profound verses in all Scripture, and most translations butcher it beyond understanding.
This is really an important verse; we have got to get it right. Young's Translation gets a little closer to the truth than the KJV or the previous three references. He got the humbled part right. But what is all this "sad travail," "heavy burden," "thankless task," business all about? It is not that difficult if we will just look at the Hebrew words: Ecc. 1:13 from the King James: First, the word "this" may be better translated "it," as some have done. But far, far more important than all, the word "sore" should be translated "EVIL" as almost none have done. It is the Hebrew word ra which always means "EVIL," and is translated as "evil" in hundreds and hundreds of other verses. Why not in this verse? The few times that ra is translated "sore" in the KJV, it ALWAYS means "evil" as in "evil sickness" or "evil troubles." The word "travail" in the KJV is not out of line with the Hebrew, but is nebulous and not easily understood by most. It would better translated as "employment" or "experience." And we have already seen from other versions that the KJV "exercised" is better translated "humbled" as Young's and Concordant has done. Here then is a proper translation of this most profound verse:
Now we can easily understand what is being said in this verse. This "experience of evil" is not the purpose or goal of human existence, but this is indeed the process by which God is bringing His Sons and Daughters into glory! Most translations have hidden the meaning of this verse of Scripture. The translations just couldn't believe that God would do such a thing. They see it all around them. They see it in thousands of Scriptures, but they just couldn't bring themselves to come right out and say it, as God obviously has stated in the original Hebrew of this verse.
And to this agrees the rest of Scripture:
The destiny of the human race is indeed GLORIOUS, but the journey is filled with evil and sorrow. This not to say that there are not many beautiful and good things in life, but for most the misery far far outweighs the pleasurable. Do not be deceived: when Jesus said- "...I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10), He was surely not speaking about this life, now, in the flesh! Contrary to the evil teachings of prosperity ministers, Jesus never promised us LARGER HOMES AND GREATER MATERIAL POSSESSIONS after we start following in His steps. Jesus said that if we leave our parents, families, houses and possessions for His sake that we would receive a hundred fold of parents, families, houses and possessions NOW. But He was not speaking of receiving back NOW, these same PHYSICAL parents, families, and possessions, but rather the families and possessions we would receive NOW would be SPIRITUAL. Does anyone really believe that if we leave our PHYSICAL PARENTS that He will give us another, different set of PHYSICAL PARENTS? Well, yes, I guess there are those who are so spiritually ignorant that they might really believe that they will receive a brand new set of BIRTHING PARENTS to take the place of the ones they left. However, the truth is: "...the words that I speak unto you, they are SPIRIT..." (John 6:63). JOB'S TRIAL ANSWERS MANY ENIGMAS Who was responsible for Job's trial? Satan? Job? God? Are "calamities" better than "evils?" Can Satan operate independently of God? Does God use evil for good? Is it a sin to hold God responsible for all the evil in the world? Job was a man who feared God and eschewed [shunned] evil. God gave Satan authority to test Job. God set the guidelines. Satan caused all of Job's oxen, sheep and camels to be stolen, and his servants to be killed. He also caused a house to collapse in a wind and kill all the young men and Job's sons and daughters. Satan then covered Job with painful boils. Would anyone suggest that these trials that came to Job were not "evil?" Well here is what Job called them:
Calamity is the proper translation in this verse. Now then, does the argument (which is totally untrue) that God created "calamity" in Isa. 45:7 rather than "evil" carry any weight whatsoever in any practical way. No, Job's "calamity" was very evil. Who was responsible for these evils and calamity that came upon Job? Satan, right? Wrong. Satan was merely the club in God's hand. Notice what Job was inspired to say:
Dr. Fred Price wrote me a letter along with a booklet he wrote in which he states that the phrase, "...the Lord has taken away" in this verse of Scripture, is not true. Dr. Price argues that God does not take away. Clearly God did more than "allow" these evils to come on Job, rather God caused these evils to come on Job. It was "The Lord" Who took away all of Job's possessions and his family. Satan was merely the club in God's hand. Surely all of my readers are aware if you or I did to Job and his family what God did, it would be a crime of the highest magnitude and would be punishable by death. All through the remaining chapters, Job charges GOD with being responsible for his trial, not Satan. In the last chapter God reprimands Job's three friends by saying:
Job charged God with all the evils that came on him and God said Job spoke the truth and what was right, Job had no "free will" in any of this. God was in total control and God was responsible for all that happened. God caused Job's uprightness; God caused Job's downfall; God caused Job's restoration and blessing. He will do the same for all humanity, with the exception that our blessings will be spiritual and eternal, not just physical and temporary as Job's were. Job's spiritual blessings will come when "...the heavens be no more" (Job 14:12). The book of Revelation tells us precisely when this event will occur in the life of Job and the Patriarchs of old. THE KINGDOMS OF SATAN AND HIS ROLE AS ADVERSARY A note of great importance: Why didn't God personally, and directly bring all of these trials and calamity of evils upon Job? Why did God USE Satan? Or is this just another case of God "allowing" Satan to test Job? We shall soon see how much God "allows" in the Scriptures, and it will shock most people when they learn the Truth. At the start of this paper we learned that Satan ( Beelzebub) has a "kingdom." And that it involves the spiritual realm of demons and devils. But Satan rules over far more than just the realm of demons. Lets learn a few more Truths that have been hidden from the eyes of Christendom. Did God really, merely, allow Satan to try Job? God will reveal to our spirit many many spiritual truths of paramount importance if we will read His word and BELIEVE WHAT WE READ.
Now really, is this whole scenario something that Satan thought up? Is this something that God is just "allowing?" Be honest. God set this whole thing up from the beginning. GOD goaded Satan into a negative response. GOD pushed Satan to find an excuse for Job "eschewing evil." GOD set up this trial. GOD commissioned Satan to bring evil against Job. GOD instructed Satan as to just how far that evil could extend. THIS WAS ALL OF GOD! But God does not work this way with all mankind, seeing that God is a respecter of persons and God changes His overall approach to the trying of mankind, doesn't He? I speak as a fool: All mankind:
A respecter of persons:
God changes:
No, God CAUSED and USED Satan in the trying of Job. Did God merely "allow" Satan to try Jesus Christ our Lord?
Is this not the very same thing we read concerning Job; that he was "tested of God" through the vessel of Satan?
Satan has a kingdom. Jesus said he has a kingdom. Jesus Himself created all of those "powers and principalities" and kingdoms:
Notice that Jesus created "dominions-RULERS." Are we told anywhere specifically who or what these "rulers" are?
The Greek word translated "rulers" in Strong's Greek Dictionary is "#2888, kosmo [from #2889, the world] krator [from #2902 to seize/strength], a world ruler an epithet of Satan" (Strong's p. 143-144). "A WORLD RULER"! An epithet of SATAN! Wow! Where have we seen this before? This word kosmokrator-A WORLD RULER-an epithet of Satan is used nowhere else in the entire Bible but in Eph. 6:12, and refers to no one else except Satan. And rightly so: after all, how many "world rulers" can there be? There is only ONE "ruler of this world" and it is SATAN! Make no Scriptural mistake about it: Satan has an invisible kingdom in "heavenly places" but he also has a kingdom "in the EARTH." Get ready for a spiritual EARTHQUAKE.
Notice how Jesus answers Satan. Jesus does not say to Satan: "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt NOT LIE..." Jesus doesn't accuse Satan of "lying." No, Satan didn't lie: Satan "TEMPTED" Jesus with the TRUTH. ALL OF THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD REALLY DO BELONG TO SATAN! How many reading these awesome Scriptures will believe them? Maybe a "few" whom are "chosen." There's more: Not only is Satan the possessor of all the kingdoms of this world, but he is, in fact, THE GOD OF THIS WORLD:
And where do you suppose Satan has his throne to all his kingdoms? Answer: In the church!
And the very "depths of Satan" are in the church (Rev. 2:24). Satan did not gain and acquire all the kingdoms of this world as personal possessions against the purpose and intention of God his very Creator! What greater power and authority could there possibly be than to be the possessor of "ALL the kingdom of the world," and to be the very "god OF THIS WORLD?" Is all this power and might just "allowed" by God or rather is it not purposefully ORDAINED of God?
There is an important distinction to be made between [1] the "god of this world"-Satan/ kosmokrator- world ruler-who is Satan (II Cor. 4:4/Eph. 6:12), and [2] the civil "powers" and "rulers" which are called "magistrates" in the Greek, who make laws that govern and suppress some of the evil in the world. Both the "world ruler/god of this world" AND the "powers and magistrates" are "ordained [Gk: 'appointed'] " OF God, but one we are to "be subject to" but the other we are to "resist."
BUT:
This is a most important point, and our own Lord has given us the perfect example of how we are to "resist the Devil," but, "be subject unto the higher powers:"
Though Jesus resisted the Devil, He was then "subject to the higher powers" for the rest of His ministry:
But above all:
And so we have read that God used Satan to try, and test Job, He used Satan to try, and test Jesus, He uses Satan to try, and test believers, and He also uses Satan to try, and test THE WHOLE WORLD:
As I have said before, God does not turn man's lemons into His lemonade. No, God first creates the lemons and then turns them into lemonade. God does not "allow" Satan to do ANYTHING. Satan was created by God to do exactly what God wants him to do-nothing more and nothing less. Satan is an intricate and necessary creation of God to accomplish His awesome purpose and goal for the human race. When God desires something, HE CREATES IT. God desired an "adversary," an "enemy," but there is no natural adversary or enemy of God:
And so when God needed a "god" to rule ALL THE NATIONS of this world, HE CREATED ONE-one that would lie, deceive, accuse, tempt, and murder. A Devil who would "deceive the WHOLE WORLD." But one who would appear as "An ANGEL of Light." My how flawlessly he has performed his duty to God. And you thought he was a "free moral" renegade running amuck through heaven and earth destroying God's handiwork! God have mercy upon our stupid and foolish hearts for ever believing that Your Own creation could wreck and destroy Your Own creation. ALL THE BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF WHAT GOD ALLOWS Here then are all the Biblical examples of what God "allows":
That's it! That is the totality of everything in the Bible that God "allows." NOW A FEW BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF WHAT GOD CAUSES: EARTHQUAKES : The Christmas tsunami was caused by an under water earthquake. Pat Robertson says this earthquake was not from the Lord. Earthquakes are mentioned in 17 verses of Scripture, and everyone one of them is FROM THE LORD:
After each category of evil that I will Scripturally prove comes from God, we need to ask ourselves, "Does God 'allow' all of these things, or does God create, cause, and bring these evils upon humanity?" God does not "allow" earthquakes, but rather He causes and brings earthquakes. I will give a second witness to each of these categories, although with some of these evils, there are hundreds of Scriptural examples. FLOODS :
Sounds pretty much like what God did in the Indian Ocean to destroy the coastal regions of Indonesia, doesn't it? Theologians refuse to believe that God would purposefully CAUSE the Christmas tsunami:
Does Mr. Robertson believe that this too was just a "subduction of one of the tectonic plates in the ocean?" Was it really just "a natural release of heat in the atmosphere?" Or was it a work of God to "...destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth..."? (Gen. 6:7). PLAGUES AND DISEASE :
POVERTY :
FAMINE :
AFFLICTIONS :
THE SWORD :
WAR :
DESTRUCTION :
" PESTILENCE:
HAIL :
ICE, COLD AND FROST :
KILLING :
SLAUGHTER :
CALAMITY :
WIND :
GRIEF :
FIRE :
FOREST FIRES :
WILD BEASTS :
EVIL :
Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera! (My wife and I spent a weekend in the room next door to Yul Brynner at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis during his last performance of "The King and I." I copied the "Etcetera.." thing from the King's repeated line in the play. Didn't want you to think that was original or anything). Just trying to lighten things up a bit after that long list of human misery and evils. Teaching that God does not cause and use evil, but only allows it, is nothing less than theological buffoonery. Do you comprehend what you have read? Do you really? Well if you haven't gotten it yet, let me make it clear: Things don't just happen on this earth or in the universe; rather God makes them happen, He causes them to happen, He brings them about.
GOD CAUSES EVIL IN THE CITY Let's take a close look at that last Scripture in our list:
There's the question; what's the answer? The answer from all Christendom is "Yes." "Yes" there shall be all kinds of evil in a city, and the Lord has not done it. In fact, according to their teaching, the Lord does no evil in any city, ever. World famous teacher/preacher/theologian/author, Billy Graham said before a packed house in the National Cathedral, that GOD DOES NOT CREATE EVIL. But what saith the Scriptures (Amos 3:4-6):
Answer: NO!
Answer: NO!
Answer: NO!
Answer: NO!
Answer: NO!
Answer: NO!
Answer: NO! The Answer is " NO"! I am now speaking to the mature only. This information is too heavy, too hard, too overwhelming for the carnal-minded person. Have you ever wondered just where it is that the proverbial "rubber meets the road?" Well, right here is where the rubber meets the road. If you don't accept; if you cannot accept, if you will not accept the truth of all these double-witness Scriptures presented above, then you will never understand God's plan of salvation for the human race. Seven times in Amos 3 God asks us a question, and SEVEN TIMES THE ANSWER IS "NO"! NO, there shall not be EVIL in a city [any city-all cities] unless THE LORD HAS DONE IT! The truth of this Scripture (along with hundreds and hundreds like it) is so powerful, so absolutely earth-shattering, that the mere fact of me quoting it and suggesting that it is a true statement, will evoke hate mail from far and wide. The world of Christendom will not tolerate, anyone quoting these Scriptures and then teaching that they are true and factual as to the character of our Great Creator God. They do not approve of God "creating" evil, nor do they approve of God "using" evil-even if God's use of evil always eventuates in the GREATEST POSSIBLE ETERNAL GOOD. It never dawns on their carnal minds for one moment that God might cause and use these unspeakable evils for a great and redeeming purpose beyond our wildest dreams or expectations. Unless we can see the plan, the purpose, the Goal of God for the human race, we will never see or be able to justify the hard, and painful, and difficult, and humanly impossible journey through evil to reach that marvelous eternal goal that God has purposed in Himself and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! God does not reproduce Himself as Sons and Daughters of God, in His Own Image and Likeness, with His own Love, Power, and Eternal Glory, by using a cookie cutter and a sheet of Styrofoam. Do we think that the Awesome Creator of the universe is little more than "sugar and spice and everything nice?" Listen: God knows all about "evil":
A QUICK STUDY ON THE PURPOSE FOR HUMANITY
And it is this purification of the physical, carnal, temporal Adam, into the spiritual, holy, eternal Christ, that requires severe heat and pressure-a real life experience of overcoming EVIL with GOOD. Here is the destiny of the whole human race:
There are far more answers to mysteries of life found in the Scriptures than most would ever dream. But the Scriptures that answer the really hard and deep mysteries of creation are often so offensive to Christians that they do not consider them for even a moment. Well today, we are going to consider some more of them in detail. I will also state that the Translators have sometimes done more to hide the meaning of some verses than they have done to reveal their real meaning. We learned from Ecc. 1:13 that God has given to the sons of humanity an experience of evil, to humble him by it. Are the sons of humanity-the human race, aware of this plan and process of their Creator? Not many. ANOTHER TRANSLATION NIGHTMARE Try to get through this next section as it contains some essential knowledge. Here is another Scripture of major importance, if only we could understand it:
Again, what pray tell, does all that mean? "He [God] has made [past tense] every thing BEAUTIFUL in His time...? Oh really? Is "everything" that God created in this world, "beautiful?" Hardly. How would that statement square with "an experience of EVIL" for the whole human race? And remember chapter 2:23:
Or this one:
Or this:
How "beautiful" does any of that sound? GOD DID NOT PUT 'ETERNITY' IN THE HEART OF MANKIND Next we read in verse 11:
Which a few translations render even worse as
Then we are told that the reason for setting the "world" or "eternity" in their heart is:
There is absolutely no way to understand this Scripture as it is translated in the King James and some other modern English Versions. Let's see if we can get some clarification on this phrase from a few other translations:
Some of you may be asking, "Well, how are these translations any better?" Well, they are better-much better. A little help from Strong's Concordance: As we have seen above, the word translated "world" and "eternity" by some translations, is rendered as "mystery" and "obscurity" by others, and it is taken from the Hebrew word olam . Here is what we read in Strong's:
So "mystery" or "obscurity" are certainly very close to this definition. Next notice the last verse of the last chapter in Ecclesiastes:
The word translated "secret" here is the Hebrew word alam. And here is what we read in Strong's: #5956; a prim. root; to veil from sight, i.e. conceal." The first definition of #5760, olam is concealed; and #5760, olam is taken from #5956, alam and its definition is veil or conceal. I went through this slightly technical explanation to prove to you the real meaning of this verse. The understanding of this verse will greatly assist our understanding of the Sovereignty of God and man's absence of anything akin to a "free will" which could operate independently from God. Let's read the last version of this verse again:
So God has made everything that there is (even though much of it is evil, ugly, and NOT 'beautiful,') fitting, proper, appropriate, and suited for its own season, "but" or "however"-here comes a counter proposal, if you will. So God makes EVERYTHING proper and appropriate for His plan, however.... BUT, "...He has put OBSCURITY in their hearts..." so that, or in order that, they CANNOT know or understand what it is that He is doing to them in this human existence we call "life." What a spiritual revelation! We have hundreds of Scriptures that verify the fact that God does do according to His plan and intention, always, and everywhere, but there are few verses as this verse which tells us specifically how He had HID [ concealed, obscured] this marvelous operation from the eyes of carnal humanity as this verse does. But Jesus Christ can set us free from the carnal mind, and give us spiritual discernment, and increase our knowledge, and make us wise so that we can understand. Here then is the revelation of a major mystery: God uses mankind with his "obscured heart" to do all of His intentions without mankind every consciously knowing that God is working His purpose through them- "so that no man can find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end."
THE KING OF ASSYRIA'S OBSCURED HEART
Last time I said that I would show you in the Scriptures an example where God tells us that He uses people to do His will, but that the one being used doesn't know it, but rather thinks that he himself is doing the choosing and making the decisions and carrying out the intentions of his heart all according to his own presumed free will, whereas God says that it is He, and not the person being used, Who is in total control of the one being used. Isaiah 10:5-17:
That section of Scripture is pretty much self-explanatory. This is a perfect example where God fills in the whys and wherefores of how He operated and worked with the king of Assyria to punish His people, Israel. But this is also how God works with all kings and presidents, and heads of corporations, and heads of families, and all humanity. God "...works ALL according to the counsel of His Own will." But just like the King of Assyria, not so is all humanity thinking in THEIR heart. They don't believe that God uses them on a daily basis just as He did with the King of Assyria. That's because:
What an amazing Scripture. Imagine a preacher ever giving a sermon on a Scripture as "OBSCURE" as this? Back in Gen. 50:20, we have another excellent example of how God put "obscurity" into the hearts of Joseph's brothers. They, like the Assyrian King, had one plan in their hearts, while God was using them for His plan-a totally different plan:
Did Joseph understand in his "obscured" heart that it was GOD sending him to Egypt to do His will? No. Did the King of Assyria understand in his "obscured" heart that it was God sending him to Jerusalem to do His will? No. Does Christendom understand in their "obscured" hearts that it is God sending them to deceive the world and to blaspheme His name through their evil doctrines? No.
It is not in a king to direct his ways, neither is it in ALL MANKIND to direct his steps:
If mankind cannot direct his own steps: Who then does direct his "steps?"
All is OF God. GOD'S JUDGMENT AGAINST THINKERS OF FREE-WILL Actually the belief of "free will is in the Scriptures. Oh it's there alright: but it is there for the express purpose of showing us just how FALSE, AND EVIL, AND BLASPHEMOUS this false doctrine is! God claims sovereignty:
The King of Assyria contradicts God's claim of Sovereignty over his life:
Clearly here is maybe the best personal demonstration of presumed "free will" in all Scripture. Does anyone doubt that this King is expressing in no uncertain terms, the belief that he himself possesses 'FREE WILL?" God will punish the King for his presumed "free will" attitude:
Why is God going to "punish" the King of Assyria. Why does God call him "ARROGANT AND HAUGHTY?" Didn't the King merely do what God INTENDED for him to do? Yes, God PLAINLY tells us that the King of Assyria did only what God Himself intended for the him to do. God does not say He will punish the King of Assyria for killing and slaughtering, or pillaging and plundering. It was God Himself who gave to him:
God is not going to punish the king for doing these things. Well, why then does God find fault with Him:
God tells us that the Assyrian did only what He Himself intended for him to do. Paul, likewise, assures us that no one ever has or can go against God's "intention or purpose." How then is God justified in punishing the King of Assyria or anyone else for doing what God "intended" for them to do? The answer lies in the HEART of mankind. God said that He would punish "the fruit of his ARROGANT HEART" The Bible doesn't say that man doesn't have a HEART. It doesn't say that he doesn't have a MIND. It doesn't say that he can't THINK. It doesn't say he can't make CHOICES. It doesn't say he doesn't have a WILL. It doesn't say he can't carry out his will through his thoughts, choices, planning, action, and deeds. What it does say is that: MAN IS NOT A GOD WHO CAN DO THESE THINGS INDEPENDENTLY AND FREELY FROM THE INTENTIONS AND PURPOSE OF HIS CREATOR!! THAT'S what the Bible really says! The King of Assyria is being punished because he is claiming to possess FREEDOM OF HIS OWN WILL. He claimed that he came up with the ideas, he made the plans, he carried them out, he reaped the rewards, he took credit for being someone great, etc., etc., when in reality God tells us it was all of Him, and that the king was merely a club in God's hand. A final note: Assyria is just one of "ALL the kingdoms of the world" which are the personal domain of Satan the Devil. Did Satan exercise his "free will" over Assyria? Or did God say that He used Assyria like it was a club in God's own hand? God uses Satan over the nations as He wills Satan to will, not as Satan himself "free wills." God uses the nations themselves to will as He wills the nations to will, not as the nations themselves "free will." If we are to believe the Scriptures rather than the heresy of men, where does Satan or any of the nations possess "free will?" How is it that God has already foreseen the precise end of all nations, when according to the Church, all of the nations are operating upon their own "free will" and Satan himself is also supposedly operating all that He desires contrary to God's purpose and intentions upon his own "free will?" Does anyone see a Scriptural problem with this rank heresy? Can you say, "CONTRADICTION?" CLAY DOES NOT POSSESS SELF-DETERMINISM "God is the Potter; we are the clay." When will we ever humble ourselves and believe the Word of God? This is GOD'S metaphor, not mine. Clay does not possess the power to thwart the plans of the Potter. Yet Christians profess that they possess a power that can thwart the purpose of God, and they even go so far as to say that God Himself gave to them this God-thwarting power. Do some think that when they exercise their "free will" contrary to God's purpose that maybe "THEY are the Potter and God is the clay?" And so, God has "obscured" his heart from seeing and understanding this Spiritual Truth. It takes a supernatural revelation from God to "spiritually discern" this deepest of human mysteries. And it is for the very fact that it is from the very HEART of man that he presumes to take to himself a presumed power GREATER THAN GOD HIMSELF, that He will "PUNISH HIS [MAN'S] ARROGANT AND HAUGHTY HEART." We are "accountable" for what comes out of our arrogant heart, but God is "responsible" for giving us such an heart in the first place. Ignorantly assuming that one has a "free will" is a sin for which God can grant repentance [NOW]. But is "Arrogantly" clinging to this idol of the heart after God has shown it to you in His Word is BLASPHEMY, which assuredly will be punished [LATER]! The obscured heart of the King of Assyria did not know that it was GOD Who was using him as a club in God's Own hand to punish Israel. The king didn't know, but we now know because God has plainly told us so. But "Lord, who will believe our report?" (Isa. 53:1 & Rom. 10:16). Free will? Man possesses free will? Balderdash! Man has no more a free will by which he can go against, contrary to, or thwart the plan and intentions of God Almighty than could the king of Assyria. And be warned: God will "PUNISH the fruit of the arrogant heart" of all those who presume to have powers above what their Maker has given them.
Every vessel of humanity is first made "marred in the hand of the Potter." ... "the carnal mind is enmity against God," ... "for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts." Every vessel must be refashioned-- regenerated, converted, judged, purged, and born again of the Spirit. This regeneration of the human heart and mind occurs during two appointed times: JUDGED NOW OR JUDGED LATER
There will be more on these judgments in future Installments of this series. Next time we will see right out of the Scriptures, that not only does God know all and control all, but He has foreknown all and predestined all to happen at a certain specified time and date. Can an accident, poor health, or suicide alter the day on which God knows you will die? The very day that you were born was predetermined by God, as was the very day on which you must die. Nothing can alter anything that God has predetermined, as He already knows what will happen from the beginning to the end. This really scares some people. It gives me absolute confidence in the power and stability and predictability of God's character and love. God is not a god of evil and stupid contradictions, as portrayed by the Church. In Part D we will examine scriptures that will shatter some of the most coveted doctrines of the church. Most will not believe how perfect and exact God's plan is. God's plan is operating on a pre-arranged schedule. It cannot be changed or altered one iota, ever! God created man in a "marred" condition, but God's plan has no mars whatsoever. It was not wrong or a sin for God to create mankind in a "marred" condition. It was a perfect plan. It is now and always will be a perfect plan. God has always worked all things after the counsel of His Own will. His plan needs no midstream adjustments, corrections, or refinements. It cannot be improved upon. It cannot be added to or detracted from. IT IS PERFECT. GOD IS PERFECT. ALL WILL TURN OUT PERFECT. WE ALL WILL BE PERFECT BECAUSE GOD WILL BE "ALL IN ALL"! I believe it. I hope you do too. Well, lest I turn fifty pages into a hundred on this section, I had better stop until next time. God be with you all--Ray
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