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Church called out of this world by
Jesus Christ. But even Jesus said
plainly: "No man can come to me,
except the Father which hath sent
me draw him" (John 6:44).
God thereupon, at the very foun–
dation of this world, laid out a
7,000-year master plan for accom–
plishing his purpose.
It
was Satan who deceived Eve.
Adam then sinned deliberately in
partaking of the forbidden fruit.
The whole world since has been
deceived (Rev. 12:9).
Let us pause here momentarily.
Let us reaJize this was the very
foundation of the world in which
we still live. At this point, Satan
must have gloated. He must have
believed God was defeated- that
God through Adam had fai led to
overthrow Satan's ru le on the
throne of the earth.
But God says, "My purpose shall
stand." God's 7,000-year plan will
accomplish God's purpose in over–
whelming and magnificent glory.
Understand this point , which has
been a mystery to the world. When
God closed off the tree of life, he
closed off the redemption and salva–
tion of mankind for 6,000 years, un–
til the second Adam, Jesus Christ,
after 6,000 years should return to
earth in supreme power and glory to
unseat Satan from his throne and to
rule all nations of mankind.
The first man Adam had been
given the opportunity to choose
God 's government , to restore that
government to the earth, and to un–
seat Satan from the throne of the
earth. Since he failed , salvation can–
not be opened to humanity gener–
ally, until Jesus Christ, the second
Adam, has accomplished what the
first Adam failed to do--namely, to
unseat Satan and to si t on the throne
of the earth, restoring the govern–
ment of God to this earth.
The closing of the tree of life
from the human family marked the
foundation of the present world
still ruled invisibly by Satan. How,
then, was God going to accomplish
his purpose? At that very founda–
tion of this world it was deter–
mined by God that the Word
would be born on earth as the sac–
rificiaJ Lamb of God to redeem
mankind from the rule of Satan the
kidnapper (Rev. 13:8).
But bow, then, was God ever to
January
1986
accomplish his purpose of repro–
ducing himself through tbe hu–
mans to be born during that next
6,000 years?
Salvation Through Resurrec tion
At that very foundation of Satan's
world it was also decreed (Heb.
9:27) that God had appointed that
all humans should die once, and
after that, by resurrection from the
dead, would come the judgment.
Meanwhile mankind as a whole
would not as yet be brought to
judgment- neither condemned nor
saved.
It
was at that time decided
that as in Adam all humans should
die, so in Christ the same "all"
should be brought back to life by a
resurrection to judgment (1 Cor.
15:22) . This very resurrection of
all who died in Adam has been a
mystery to the whole world de–
ceived by Satan. Even today tradi–
tional Christianity celebrates the
resurrection of Jesus on the pagan
Easter every spring, but says noth–
ing about the future resurrection of
the billions who have died in
Adam. That resurrection will be
explained later in this volume.
Meanwhile, when Christ should
come as humanity's sinbearer, he
would found the Church of God.
The purpose and function of the
Church will be fully covered in
chapter six of this book.
Pause rigbt here! Understand
what Satan has blinded tbe entire
world from seeing. Realize what a
deceived traditional Christianity
has not understood.
This is of supreme importance!
The world of traditionaJ Chris–
tianity has been deceived into sup–
posed Christian teaching of the im–
mortality of the soul, of those who
"profess Jesus" going immediately
upon death into a heaven of eternal
idleness, freedom from responsibi l–
ity and bliss in ease and laziness; in
those who fail to "accept Jesus"
going at death to a definite place of
eterna! continuous burning fire
called hell wbere they shriek and
scream in indescribable pain and
agony forever and ever without
hope.
The teaching has been that man
is an immortal soul and already
has eternal life.
lt
denies (Rom.
6:23) that the penalty for sin is
death and that man can have eter-
nal life only as the gift of God.
The false traditional Christianity
teaching might be compared to
taking a one-way railroad trip.
This trip is your life's journey. At
the end of the line a switch is
automatically set that will send
you straight to a lasting burning
hell of indescribable pain and tor–
ture. But if, at any time during
life's journey, you profess to "ac–
cept Christ," the switch at the end
of the line, at that point, is turned
to shoot you straight to heaven .
Mu c h s upposed "Christian"
teaching has been that God created
the first man a perfect immortal
being, but that when God was not
looking Satan stole in and wrecked
this wonderful handiwork of God.
Salvation is then pictured as God's
effort to repair the damage, and to
restore mankind back to a condi–
tion as good as when God firs t
created him.
In doctrine after doctrine they
have believed and taught the dia–
metric opposite of the truths
plainly revealed in the Bible.
Satan's First Lie
They bave taught Satan's fi rst lie
that man is an immortal soul. This
teaching, when one stops to give it
thought, is that "saved mothers"
who have died and gone to heaven
are continually conscious of their
lost sons who are shrieking and
screaming in indescribable torture
of hell fire.
But what is the real truth of
God's holy Word? Do the dead
know what the living are doi ng?
My wife told me shortly after our
marriage that after her mother
died, when she was only 12 years of
age, she thought her mother in
heaven was seeing everything that
she did.
1 quote now from an article in
The Plain Truth,
~arch
1985:
" Scripture plainly reveals that
when you die you are dead. Ac–
cording to the Bible, the dead don't
hear anything, see anything, think
anything or know anything. The
dead have absolutely no awareness
of any kind: 'For the living know
that they shall die: but the dead
know not any thing, neither have
they any more a reward; for the
memory of them is forgotten. Also
tbeir !ove, and their hatred, and
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