God KnowsAnd I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, See you do it not: I am your fellow servant, and of your brothers that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.(Revelations 19:10)
One of our greatest gifts from God is our ability to critically think, so let's do a bit. When thinking about God. I suspect that most people pretty much assume that the "great thinkers" over the centuries have probably thought the God subject pretty much out. I have little doubt the subject of God is probably the most thought about subject in mankind's history, well maybe not so much as sex but God I'm sure comes in a close second.
When thinking about God we are often left with a dilemma, actually several, but some of the big ones can leave a person pretty confused. For example, and I inadequately addressed this last I wrote on the subject, how is it that God can know what is going to happen, doesn't want it to happen, yet it happens anyway?
Well there is a very simple answer to this, though you might not like it and it certainly is rarely taught, the answer is simply this, everything is by the will of God.
Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.(ages) (Acts 15:18)And what are God's works? Well if it is not everything then we have competing God's out there don't we? Which is pretty much what most Christians are taught, That there are two gods; the good god-God and the bad god -the devil, Satan. By all accounts these two competing Gods are involved in some titanic struggle mostly for men's souls. Hogwash. If Satan is taking men's souls or spirit (they are different) away from God, then you might as well be worshiping the devil because by the nominal Christian score keeping the devil is winning big time.
As I said let's use the Bible to do some critical thinking and let's use as our subject matter, the most important event in human and Christian history, the crucifixion of Jesus. There is one theological point that is not much disputed, it is that God knew that Jesus was going to be crucified, "the lamb slain from the foundation of the world".
Of course God knew, it is a foundation principle of Christianity that not only did God know but that it was in His plan. Much of Old Testament is, by Christian theory and theology, supposed to be a foreshadowing through prophesy the coming of the "lamb who takes away the sins of the world." As an aside here, if John the Baptist was correct and the lamb took away the sins of the world, who gave them back?
I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.(Isaiah 44:22)Back to critical thinking. As the scripture at the top of the page states along with countless other scriptures throughout the Bible further confirm, the very proof of God's existence and Christ's Godhead rest on the prophesies that foretold the coming of Jesus and his crucifixion to atone for sin.
For the prophecy came in the old time not by the will of man, but Holy men of God spoke as they were led by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21)It is not even necessary to go through the multitude of prophecies that foretold Jesus and his fate, as I said it is the foundation of Christianity. What seems to be in question is not whether Jesus would come and die on the cross, but whether or not God planned it that way. Most Christian doctrine infers that God is just a fortuneteller, able to predict what will happen, but powerless to stop it or direct it. Wasn't it in God's plan, His Word, to send His Son into the world and to be rejected by his own people? Wasn't it in God's plan to send His Son into the world and to be crucified? Of course it was, to believe otherwise is to believe that God sits in heaven wringing his hands constantly reacting to what we humans do. How childish a doctrine is that? How many times have you seen some minister with alligator tears running down his cheeks lamenting Jesus suffering on the cross. Yes he suffered, yes it was cruel and sad and painful but it was planned by God and nobody could have stopped it. To believe otherwise is to believe that there is a power stronger than God.
Now here comes some of that God given critical thinking, if God knew "all His works from the foundation of the world" and the lamb (Jesus) was "slain from the foundation of the world." How did all this come to be without God planning it? And if God planned for the crucifixion of the lamb in order to take away sin before he created anything how surprised could He have been when Adam ate the apple in the garden? Obviously he wasn't.
Obviously too, if we are to believe our Bibles, not only did God know what Adam and Eve were going to do in the garden the so called "original sin" He must have planned for the act itself or why would He have had a plan to counteract it? The old God the fortune teller theory? God knew before he created anything what was going to transpire in the Garden just as He knew that He would send Christ to the cross.
This whole "foreknowledge" theory gets even more absurd if you consider what God went through to make the redemption part of the plan come about when He could have nipped it in the bud, "from the foundation of the world." The basic premise of most Christian theological teachings is simply this; God reacted to Adam's transgression in the garden, in other words Adam and Eve controlled God and basically Christianity has been teaching that this same relationship exists today. "Have you accepted Jesus as your personal savior today?" If not God can't save you, utter nonsense.
Back to critical thinking. It is not even necessary to go through the multitude of prophecies that foretold Jesus and his fate, it is one of the foundations of Christianity. What seems to be in question is not whether Jesus would come and die on the cross, but whether or not God planned it that way. Most Christian doctrine infers that God is just a fortuneteller, able to predict what will happen, but powerless to stop it or direct it. Wasn't it in God's plan, His Word, to send His Son into the world and to be rejected by his own people? Wasn't it in God's plan to send His Son into the world and to be crucified? Of course it was, to believe otherwise is to believe that God sits in heaven wringing his hands constantly reacting to what we humans do. How childish a doctrine is that? How many times have you seen some minister with alligator tears running down his cheeks lamenting Jesus suffering on the cross. Yes he suffered, yes it was cruel and sad and painful but it was planned by God and nobody could have stopped it. To believe otherwise is to believe that there is a power stronger than God.
Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. (Acts 2: 23 )Yes Jesus was crucified by the wicked hands of men, but it was by the determinate counsel, (at the direction of) and with the foreknowledge of God. How could a righteous God hold these men accountable for their actions when God himself planned for them to do it?
Let's get down to some specific individual cases. Judas Iscairot is probably considered one of the vilest humans in the history of mankind. But again, in order for the prophecies to be fulfilled, there had to be a Judas didn't there?
Jesus answered, "It is he it whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it." And when he dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot the son of Simon. And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said unto him, "What you must do, do quickly"( John 14: 26-27)Again the question is did God just know that Judas was going to betray Jesus, or was it God's will that Judas betray Jesus? Who directed Satan to enter into Judas? Most people are taught that either Satan did it of his own accord, with the foreknowledge but not the consent of God? Or it could have been Judas, acting of his own free will, with the foreknowledge but without the consent of God? Regardless of whom you choose to hold responsible, it was the fulfilling God's prophecy, prophesies that according to the Bible were fortelling events planned by God before the foundation of the world. So even if it was not Judas it would have had to have been someone else. If it was Satan who, without God's
consent made this happen then we have another God out there now don't we.
This is a basic belief of most Christians, that Satan is another God. Read Job sometime and see who directs the actions of Satan. Either of those two possibilities besides demeaning the power of God, are neither spiritually true or are in anyway based upon the scriptures that every Christian says they believe to be the God's honest Truth.
If it were Judas acting on his own, then how can God who foretold it happening, hold him accountable when God planned, excuse us, we forgot God doesn't plan does He? Perhaps we should say what God knew was going to happen.
You will say that Jesus said that it would have been better for Judas not to have been born than to have betrayed him. Well considering the outcome of Judas life in the flesh, we guess it would have been better that he not have been born. However based upon the outcome of Jesus' life in the flesh it would have been better that He would never have been born in the flesh either. But there is some good news for you Christian, your religion is not supposed to be based upon your life in the flesh, but on the one you now enjoy in the Spirit. Whether or not God permits you to understand that while you are in the flesh, your religion which you have based upon Jesus life in the flesh, is supposed to be and will be based upon Christ's life in the spirit. "Christ in you, your hope for glory."
If none of those arguments convince you that Judas shouldn't and won't be held
accountable for the crime, at least not in hell, how about this. We all know that Jesus knew who would betray him right? He knew well before the last supper, if Jesus knew what Judas was going to do, why didn't the Lord just turn to that big hot headed fisherman and say, "Hey Peter, Judas has a demon in him, lock him up in the back room until I can talk some sense into him." Did he say this, no, what he said is "what you do, do quickly." So could our Lord and Savior then turn around and condemn Judas for what Jesus himself could have stopped Judas from doing?
The reason that he did not stop Judas is obvious, Jesus knew He was destined to be crucified, He knew that the Father had sent Him into the world for this very
purpose, He knew that Judas would betray Him and He knew that God had sent Satan into Judas so that God's plan could all come true. Judas like Jesus was a part of God's plan.
Is this a littie too abstract to understand? A little too much critical thinking? A little too much common sense? Too simple? Then let's get right down into the middle of this with scriptures that can only be read one way, at least you would think so until you apply some of man's vain theology to it instead of common and spiritual sense.
Another not quite so well known villain in the crucifixion was a man named Caiiaphas. The following scriptures should explain his position and his role. But the conversation that precedes this, is the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem worrying about too many people following Jesus and bringing the anger of their Roman rulers down on Israel.
And one of them, named Caiiaphas, being the high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all. Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one should die for the people, rather than the whole nation perish." And this he spoke not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation: And not for that nation only, but he should gather together the children of God that were scattered abroad. (John 12: 49-52)Even as the high priest of Israel was doing everything in his power to kill Jesus, for his own self interest, of his own free will? He was in fact prophesying and fulfilling prophecy at the same time, amazing isn't it? Perhaps that is what Jeramiah meant when he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to say,
Oh Lord I know that the way of a man is not in himself: it is not in man that walkelh to direct his steps. (Jeremiah 10: 23)Based on the evidence, the facts, the scriptures, God's Word, not some ambiguous theology, there can only be one possible conclusions as to God's part in the crucifixion. God planned it, knew exactly what was going to happen and directed men's steps to bring it about to that conclusion He wanted it to come about. You can deny it, but God's Word and plain old common sense shows that it is true. Why do you think the writers of all the so called Gospels went to such pains to let us know that Jesus knew how He was going to die and Jesus knew
who would betray Him and that Jesus knew that Israel would reject Him as their Messiah? Why? Because they wanted everybody to know that it was in God's plan.
After all how could have all the prophecies of the Old Testament come true if God had not directed everybody's part in the process? Seems simple enough, it is simple if you believe God is Almighty. But if you don't believe God is Almighty then a whole bunch of convoluting, hypothesizing and theorizing has to be done to explain away God's power and the most important event in man's relationship with God, the crucifixion. Who denies Christ?
Yet it was the Lords will to crush him and cause him to suffer and though you* make his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hands (Isaiah 53:10) .*"you" is the actual Hebrew translation, not Lord as is in the text of most Bibles. You, Christianity, made Christ's' life a guilt offering, not the Lord. Why should God offer up a guilt offering to Himself? And God does not require a guilt offering from us either, all that God has ever asked is that we love and worship Him and love our neighbors as ourselves. Why? Because we are all a part of God's creation and God's creation is good, and it is going to get better. But how can you recognize good unless you are exposed to evil, or love without knowing the destructiveness of hate, or righteousness without the temptation of sin and how can you appreciate life without the fear of death? Yes our God is a wise and patient Father, it is only men in the flesh who are impatient and foolish.
This all, if true, it is, leads to a very frightening conclusion for most Christians. Since God did not stop His works at the end of the Book of Revelations, and we believe in a God who is working still, then this would mean that God directs men's steps of which we will discuss more of in the future. But it also means that God uses what we perceive to be evil to accomplish His goals and this certainly is not something that we hear in our churches is it?
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.(Isaiah 45:7)If this is frightening to you it is simply because in the flesh we see things in the temporal sphere however being "born again" in the spirit we are called upon to look upon life as eternal.
Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.
Eat the Meat.
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