Basic HTML Version
(Continued from paf!.e 1)
proximate 1,900 years since the cre–
ation of man on earth. But here
again, to UNDERSTAND what's going
on in our lives today and what 's
been
going on in this world, we need
to keep in mind the background–
prehistory- what CAUSED the Eter–
na! to create MAN and pul human–
kind on the earth. WHY has what we
cal! "progress" so sudden ly sped
up-and what of
the climactic
CRISIS
we are now heading into?
Once again, remember God cre–
ated angels first - spirit beings less
than God. They were to be used in
FINISHING the creation of the plan–
ets throughout the entire universe.
But fust, even their own creation
could not be completed until CHAR–
ACTER, either good or evil, had been
developed in them. Character, 1 re–
peat , CANNOT be instantaneously
CREATED by fiat. That required time,
and their own reasoning and deci–
sion-making process.
For this purpose- the completion
of the creation of this earth and the
development and creation of their
character- God placed over the an–
gels HIS GOVERNMENT, with the
SU–
percherub Lucifer placed on the
earthly throne to administer the
government of God. Lucifer's j uris–
diction was the whole earth. He led
his angels into SINN ING
(JI
Pet. 2:4),
rejecting God's government based
on His law (the way I call "GIVE" to
simplify it).
They turned to the opposite way
of "GET," which is vanity, lust and
greed , envy and jealousy , com–
petition leading to strife and vio–
lence, and resentment of God's
authority. God's way of "GIVE"
is
giving to God obedience, adoration,
worship, trust and faith , and a re–
tum of the LOVE which HE gives us.
Angeüc sin brought physical de- ·
struction to Lucifer's entire jurisdic–
tion-thewholeearth- and 1think it
is
indicated it brought waste and decay
to the planets ofthe entire UN! VERSE.
since that was the
potential
jurisdic–
tion of Lucifer and the angels.
The
PLAIN TRUTH October-November 1977
Of all spiritual beings, this left
ONLY Goo
(Elohim,
ONE God con–
sisting of "the Word," who later be–
carne Christ, and Goo) to renew the
face of the earth (Ps. 104:30) from
the physical chaos and destruction
caused by the angels' sin and to re–
form the earth forMAN.
On this renewed earth with sea
life, bird life and animal üfe, God
created MAN, male and female, out
ofMATTER from the ground.
God's transcendent
AWESOME
pur–
pose was reproducing
HIMSELF
into,
final/y, billions of God-beings like
Himself, wirh perfect, holy and righ–
teous
CHARACTER. It was the most
ambitious, maje stic, supreme
project even the GREAT Goo could
conceive and accomplish.
Angels, composed of spirit , cou ld
not be CHANGED, once their creation
was completed with their own
CHARACTER
set
in them.
MATTER, on the contrary,
is
changeable and always
CHANGING .
IF man sinned, he could either:
1) be granted and voluntarily ac–
cept REPENTANCE- that
is,
CHANGE
from the "GET" to the "GIVE" way–
and completing a Life of spiritual
growth and character development ,
be made immortal; or, 2) be put to
DEATH-become as though he had
never been-if, on being offered for–
giveness by God, he chose rebellion
and the "GET" way.
First, God talked to Adam and
Eve, the first and o riginally
cr~ated
humans. Through the reproquctive
process they were to become parents
of all humanity. God freely otfered
them ETERNAL LIFE (the tree of life),
if they chose the "GIVE" way- the
GOVERNMENT OF ÜOD.
But then Lucifer- his name now
changed to Satan-got to Adam
through Eve. This first human pair
then chose- without having experi–
enced life under either of the two .
WAYS-the "GET" way of Satan.
They rejected the govemment of
God and flagrantly disobeyed God
in TAKING of the forbidden fruit ;
taking to themselves
the knowledge
of good and evil; decidü¡g for them–
selves what was right and what was
wrong.
Adam cut himself and mankind
off from God, and from contact with
God, who alone has eterna! life to
give.
Anticipating this , God had de–
signed a fail-safe 7,000-year master
plan for working out His purpose
here below. The first 6,000 years He
sentenced man to carry out what
Adam had demanded for the
human race: to go its OWN WAY. cut
off from God.
Satan had tempted and misled
Adam into SIN. Satan, the former
Lucifer who had the EARTH as his
domain of government, must re–
main on his throne where Goo
placed him UNTIL a successor has
QUALIFIED to restore the govern–
ment of God and been inducted
into office.
So mankind started on his first
6,000 yea rs with Satan actually rul–
ing him, not directly and outwardly,
but by deception. Man didn't know
it. but he was subtly deceived into
acknowledging Satan as the "god of
this world" (II Cor. 4:4).
God had said to man. in etfect:
"Go, then, your own way. Form
your own govemments. your own
religions , your own society and civ–
ilization. 1 will adopt a hands-otf
policy for the next 6,000 years -
except
that where it suits my pur–
pose, 1 shall intervene in certain
ways and on
c~rtain
occasions. But
vou, mankind as a whole, are cut
off from access to me."
That is why J esus said plainly;
"NO MAN CAN COMETO ME. except
the Father ... draw him" (John
6:44). Except when God does inter–
vene by
cal/ing
one to repentance
and salvation, NONE can come to
Christ. WHY do not men understand
that? Because they have accepted
thei r own man-made religions!
1 realize that the human mind is
inclined to reason about
WHY
God
does things
as
He
does.
Sorne might
question: "WHY would God deliber–
ately adopt a hands-off policy
toward the whole human race (with
the few exceptions where He has
purposely intervened)?"
The answer, apparently.
is
that it
was God's PURPOSE to PROVE. once
and for all time, by 6,000 years of
human EXPERIENCE that the "GET"
way contrary to God's government
is NOT good for those who follow it,
and can result only in unhappiness,
discontent , suffering, pain. discour–
agement, frustration. and utter com–
plete FAILURE- just the OPPOSITE of
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