Hi Mike,
Here is something That Ray has written about you question. Actually he has quite a lot to say about it.
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,6142.msg49583.html#msg49583Excerpt from: What Is The Gospel Of The Kingdom?
The Image Of God
He is creating, not created - finished - done.
If God created (ed - past tense) man in His image, why oh why did he sin? Think about it, are we saying that the image of God is a sinning image? How could the very image of God, sin? Well that’s what they say, they say he (Adam) was perfect.
One day Copeland said, Adam was so glorified, so majestic, so spiritual that you couldn’t see his body. That he glowed like a white star. He was so glorious you couldn’t even see his body, that’s how glorious he was before he sinned. Well why did he sin? How could anything so God-like sin? Because he wasn’t God-like at all! He was as carnal as any slob who has ever drawn breath. That’s why he sinned.
So this is the plan of God, He is making children in His very own image. We are going to be like God. We are going to be God’s children. You know what children are like. So we’ll be like God, if we’re going to be the children of God. We’re going to be like Christ. Christ is called God and we are going to be brothers and sisters. We’re going to be sons of God.
UNDERSTANDING THE BOOK
If we don’t understand that God never intended for the masses of humanity to understand this Bible, then we won’t understand this book. This is not a book written to be understood. Human intellect will not allow you to understand this book. You can learn a lot about it, where and how it was written, the culture, the history and you can memorize it.
You can be like Jack Van Impe and I don’t know he says he’s memorize 25,000 verses or whatever. But he has not a clue as to what the gospel is, not a clue. I don’t mean to pick on people. James Kennedy speaks Greek and Hebrew fluently and has not a clue as to what the gospel is. I’m serious, not a clue. You say, ‘oh well he doesn’t have it quite down yet.’ No, not a clue, he has not a clue.
If you think God is going to torture most of humanity for all eternity, then you have not a clue as to what the gospel is… you have not a clue as to what Jesus Christ is… you have not a clue as to what God the Father is. Not a clue. You can not say in the same breath that God is love and God tortures most of humanity for all of eternity. You can’t say that! That is as opposite as God and Satan, to say that. Yet this is fundamental Christianity... God is love… God will torture most of humanity in real fire for all eternity. It’s insane! If you can’t see that that is insane, if you just sit there and say, ‘well I don’t know Ray, it makes sense to me.’ Then you will never understand this book. You just will never understand this book.
This book was written so that nobody could understand it, until God picks somebody out and says I want you to understand this book and I’ll show you how to understand it. That’s the only way. He’s got to pick you out and open up your mind or you will never understand this book. This book is written in all kinds of symbolism, figurative language, types, figures, images, examples, analogies, parables, metaphors and people think all those things are literal. That is confusion. That’s why the church is confused. That’s why there are supposedly 3000 Christian denominations in the world, because they don’t understand any of this stuff.
Jesus Christ said to His Apostles, to you it is given to understand, but to them it is not given to understand.
Mark 4:11 And he said unto them, Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all things are done in parables:
Mar 4:12 that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand;
To you it is given, to them it’s not given. There’s you and there’s them and that’s just the way it is and the way it will be until the close of the age.
They are talking about worldwide revival. Ron Parsley was saying at the rate they are converting people, 250,000 a day, that in 12-14 more years the whole world will be Christianized, in just a matter of not too many years. But Christ says when He returns will He find faith? Well that‘s all He’ll find is faith, everywhere, in every human being. NO! No, He ask the question because He won‘t find faith. There is not faith among millions, no, billions, we have to say billions now, there are 2 billion professing Christians.
george.