THE RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS
Lifting The Veil Off of Our Minds - Isa. 25:7

After the healing of the lame man at the entrance to the temple in Jerusalem at the 9th hour of the day (between 2 and 3 PM) a crowd of people came running together to see this man, who had been a cripple from birth, "leaping (up) forth he stood and began to walk, and he went into the temple with them, (Peter & John) walking and leaping and praising God." Acts 3:8.

The people immediately recognized this man as the beggar who had evidently been there for years as he was over 40 years old, Acts 4:22. The gathering of this large crowd afforded Peter the opportunity to preach yet another sermon as he had on the day of Pentecost, a few weeks earlier. As before, he recounts the tragic events of the trial and crucifixion of their master as well as His miraculous resurrection leading the people to repentance so they might receive the forgiveness. "That your sins may be blotted out (erased)" and receive the life giving and refreshing power of the Holy Ghost the same as all those who had already been converted on the day of Pentecost.

Now, here comes some additional information Peter gives about the Second Coming of Christ and when it will occur which was not mentioned on the day of Pentecost. "And He (God the Father) shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began." Acts 3:20, 21. A paraphrased version reads: "For He (Jesus) must remain in heaven until the final recovery of all things from sin, as prophesied from ancient times." LB. The NEB reads: "He (Jesus) must be received into heaven until the time of UNIVERSAL RESTORATION comes, of which God spoke by his holy prophets."

Some may be asking, What is it that is going to be restored? Good question. When Jesus first began preaching He told the people, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand or near."

So, what is this "Kingdom of heaven?" The answer is found in Micah 4:8. "And you, O tower of the flock, the hill and stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto you the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem." So, what is this "former dominion?"

It is the beautiful earth that was lost when Adam and Eve "sinned." in the Garden of Eden according to the record of Gen. 2 and 3.

So, let us go back in time and try and review what actually happened. Let us reconstruct the "Crime scene," and analyze it. But before we do that let's take a look at what Jesus' life and death accomplished for us. About 16 years ago I was in a study group in the Seattle area and it was brought out that the word for "Justification" in the original Greek actually means to "Acquit". You can find this in Strong's 1344, 1345 and 1347. "Dikaioo, dikaios, dikaiosis" which means "Acquittal (for Christ's sake):-Justification."

Now, let's go to Webster. "Acquit: ME (Middle English) to free, to settle a claim. 2. To clear (a person) of a charge, as by declaring him not guilty; exonerate; to pay (a debt or claim) - Syn, Absolve."

So, the implication from the original Greek is that Adam and Eve were falsely accused and framed. I believe the evidence I am going to present in this article will show this to be true. Remember that Jesus, the second Adam, was also falsely accused while on earth just as He and His Father have been from the beginning. That is why Jesus said that Satan is a liar "from the beginning." John 8:44. Now, beloved, it is through the perfect life and perfect death and sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary's tree that Satan will finally be "cast out" for good from heaven. Rev. 12:9-13. The "casting down or falling of Satan" from heaven has been progressive. For example, when the 70 returned from their missionary venture exclaiming with "Joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name," Luke 10:17, Jesus "said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." vs. 18. Our Lord saw Satan falling from heaven as a result of the righteous work of these 70 disciples. So, they were an integral part of this casting down of Satan at that time. They were, in a special sense, also a "Christos" (an anointed or anointed ones) working together in harmony with Jesus to bring salvation to the world. Now, in Rev. 12 John sees another "Christos" working with our precious Lord Jesus Christ. Remember beloved, that the prophecies of the book of Revelation were written in 96 AD, 63 years after Jesus died.

Therefore, the book of Revelation is not a history book telling what has happened in the past but a book of prophecies, an "Unveiling of the Future" or "Apocalysis" of what is going to take place after 96 AD, reaching down through the corridors of time to our day. To prove this true one only has to read the very first verse of this book. "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass;" Rev. 1:1. I looked up the word "Shortly" in Strong's Concordance and it is from the Greek word, "Tachos," 1722, 5034-5036. First let us deal with "En" Strong's 1722, which is simply the equivalent of "in" in English. It is used here as a preposition with Tachos, which is a transliteration because the X = ch in Greek. (I took three years of Greek in college.) Therefore, "En Taxei" in English is "in tachei" and is expressing a specific concept of time as "in the course of time," etc. In this case it is looking into the future at a fixed position of a brief or short period of time. In Rev. 1:1 "En Taxei" literally means "quickly" or "in haste" or more to the point, "A brief or short space or span of time." Some believe this time period will be seven years, which is a very short period of time in comparison to what we have believed it to be, i.e. 2,000 years. So, "shortly come to pass" does not convey the true meaning of this phrase "En Taxei." Young's Concordance agrees with Strong's giving the interpretation of "En TaXei" as meaning "with or in speed."

Going on now we see John telling us that he "heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." Rev. 12:10

Notice the word "Christ" here. In the Greek it is "Christos" or "Anointed." Who is this Christos? It is the same as "Elect" or "Chosen" or the "Wise ones" of Dan. 12.

The message that comes across loud and clear in these verses is that these accusations against God's people are false. There are three things by which they overcome the false accusations of Jesus:

1. The blood of the Lamb.
2. The word of their (own) testimony; and
3. The fact that they were willing to lay down their lives for the sake of the gospel.

I just checked in the NIV (New International Version) Exhaustive Concordance and found under this same Greek word diakaioo (39) 1467. Here are some of the main definitions of Diakaioo: "1. Proved right, 2. Acknowledged that (is or was) right. 3. Acquitted. 4. Freed 5. Justified before God. 6. Make innocent. 7. Vindicated.

Now, let's look at a verse in Romans where Paul actually uses the Greek word "Diakios." There are at least two translations which have translated "Diakios" as "Acquit." Here they are.

"It follows, then, that as the issue of one misdeed was condemnation for all men, so the issue of one just act is ACQUITTAL and life for all men." Rom. 5:18. New English Bible.

"We see, then, that as one act of sin exposed the whole race of men to God's judgment and condemnation;, so one act of perfect righteousness presents all men freely ACQUITTED in the sight of God." Rom. 5:18, J.B. Phillips Translation, 1959. Now, I would like to assert here that in this final age of earth's history the Lord is going to allow us to see something that none of the prophets of the Old Testament saw nor that even Paul understood. Why do I say that? Because Paul calls Adam and Eve's act of eating the forbidden fruit in Gen. 3 a "misdeed" and "sin," and the KJV used the word "offence." Now, I just looked up the original Greek word Paul used here and it is from Strong's 3900 "Parapatoma," which is very interesting.

"A side slip (lapse or deviation), i.e. (unintentional) error or (willful) transgression: fall, fault, offence, sin, trespass." Furthermore, look at 2 Cor. 11:1-3 where Paul blames the serpent for "seducing Eve." NEB. The KJV uses the word "beguiled," which can be translated as "tricked or seduced" but also has other meanings. But the context of Paul's remarks shows that he believed the serpent was responsible for Eve's fall and "sin." Paul's first letter to Timothy in which he reveals his bias against women by alluding to the second version of the creation story as a pretext to silence women in the church. He also says that Eve was the one who was deceived, not Adam.

"Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety." I Tim. 2:11-15. For Adam was first "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."

The real truth of the matter is that Adam was the one who was deceived because he believed there was death in the tree but Eve did not. The reason Eve did not die immediately, the instant she ate of the fruit is because she believed there was nothing wrong with the fruit of the tree. In contrast, Adam ate of it believing he would die, because he believed Eve would die and did not want to be separated from her and so took the fruit and ate of it, believing that he would die and he did begin to die that very day as his robe of light began to disappear because he had severed his connection with the mind of the Father. I am sure that when Eve saw this begin to happen she also began to believe that the fruit was bad and that she would also die, and sure enough, her robe of light also began to disappear. This was verification to them that the voice claiming to be the "Lord God" had told them the truth and that the serpent had deceived them. Jeremiah, although a prophet of God, also claimed that God had deceived both him and his people. Jer. 4:10; Jer. 20:7. "O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me." Jer. 20:7.

So, we see that even one of the most godly of the prophets did not fully understand the Lord's purposes for his life or that of Israel. Another example is the prophet Nathan, who told David that the Lord was with him and he should "Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee." David knew that Nathan was giving him the green light to go ahead and build a beautiful temple for Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel. I am sure that David was very excited to hear this wonderful news. But Nathan had spoken out of turn, so to speak, telling the king what he knew he wanted to hear. It was not a message from the Lord at all. Later that night the Lord did give the prophet a message in a night vision (vs. 17) "And it came to pass that night, that the world of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?" 2 Sam. 7:4-17. It was a long sermon the Lord gave him to deliver to David and Nathan must have had a red face and been shaking as he delivered it. Why? Because he might now be considered a false prophet and put to death. Fortunately, David had a strong connection with the Lord himself and realized that this second message was the true one and his response is recorded in 2 Sam. 7:18-29.

Another example is King Saul who was numbered among the prophets even though he was possessed of an evil spirit. I Sam 10:9-13. Saul started out with a good Spirit and a humble heart, "another heart," or a "different heart" than he had previously. "And the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.." Vs. 10. Saul continued on like this for a few years until his stubbornness and pride got the best of him. Finally we read the sad history of a great and good man gone bad. "But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him." I Sam. 16:14. Here we see how the Holy Spirit led the prophets to put the blame on God for everything that happened, both good and evil. Isa. 45:7.

Baalim is another example of a prophet the Lord used in spite of his "madness," as Peter calls it in 2 Pet. 2:15. "Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet." 2 Pet 2:15-16. In spite of Balaam's apostasy his prophecies were used of the Lord to guide the wise men to Bethlehem two years after Jesus was born to give Him gifts to finance his parent's escape to Egypt. "There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel..." Numbers 24:17.

So, it doesn't matter what man may do, good or ill. The Lord always is able to make good come out of it. This takes a lot of faith and spiritual insight. As you read through the book of Proverbs notice how many times Solomon admonishes you to seek wisdom and understanding. "Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not...Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee." Proverbs 4:5-8. Those who do this will be blessed beyond measure as we read in Dan. 12:3. "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." Matt. 24:24 tells us that these same "wise ones" will be the only one the devil will not be able to deceive in the last days.

How has Satan been so successful in deceiving people through the ages? There are two methods he has found that really work well:

1. He convinces people that he does not exist. Once he has done that then he has a free hand to do almost anything he wants and people will blame it upon bad luck, bad karma, bad advice from friends or even a psychic, bad weather or bad government. You name it. There are a thousand scape goats people have found to blame for their problems and ill fortunate instead of realizing there is a very real being called the devil with millions of evil angels who are causing havoc every day without ever being detected. Very few know how to pray against these evil strongholds and receive protection from our lovely Jesus. But you can learn how to do that and receive protection every day of your life. Psalm 34:7; Ps. 91:11, 12.
2. The other extreme is to blame it all upon the Lord. To hold God responsible for everything that goes wrong in one's life. Why is God doing this to me, people cry out. Even Christian people fall into this trap because they do not know how to discern between good and evil in the Bible and therefore in their personal lives. Once again we read the prophecy about a group of people in the end time who will know what is going on and will survive while the rest of the world is going crazy and killing their friends, relatives and each other as we read in Ezek. 38:21. "Every man's hand shall be against his brother." "But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits... Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." Dan. 11:32; 12:10.

We have been told that "Satan will work with all deceivableness of unrighteousness to personate Jesus Christ; if it were possible, he would deceive the very elect. Now if the counterfeit bears so close a resemblance to the genuine, is it not essential to be on your guard, that no man deceive you?" 2 SM 87. By EGW.

This is a quote that I have at the beginning of the last chapter of my book, "THE WONDERFUL TRUTH ABOUT OUR HEAVENLY FATHER," page 251. The title of the chapter is "THE TWO LORDS." Now, my friend, it does not matter how much proof or logic you give to some people they will not accept the fact that there are two Lords operating in the Old Testament. Let me give you one example. "And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him (Moses)." Exodus 4:24. Now, is this the true Lord who is trying to kill Moses? That is what most people believe. The next verse tells us that the wife of Moses, Zipporah, did a quick circumcision on her son and vs. 26 says that "So He (this cruel and killer Lord) let him (Moses) go." How do I know this was "Lord Satan" and not the true Lord Jesus of the Old Testament? Two reasons:

1. Because Jesus does not kill or destroy. He does not break His own law in order to uphold the law. That would be contradictory, hypocritical, illogical and unchristlike, to say the least. The law says, "Thou shalt not kill." The true Lord would not break His own law in order to maintain "law and order" and make sure His law is secure. In fact, such a violation of His own law would cause His government to collapse. That is why the Bible says that His angels obey his commandments. Psalm 103:20. God never changes because His law never changes. See Psalm 89:34; Malachi 3:6; Heb. 13:8; James 1:17. In fact, the law of God is a transcript of His very character.
2. Circumcision is not of the Lord but a tradition of the fathers, John 7:22, which the Holy Spirit led the early church to abolish. God never does away with or abolishes anything He gave in the first place. Acts 15.

A friend of mine and myself recently had an exchange or e-mail dialogue with a brother who believes in UR but also believes God destroys. The text he keeps on citing is found in Deuteronomy 32:39. "See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand." KJV. Here is another version: "I cause men to die, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; and there is none that can escape out of my hands." We must realize that the OT prophets held the Creator responsible for everything that took place. He was the "Most High God" who was ultimately responsible for all things. The Mighty El, short for Elohim. He told Moses that He would "harden Pharoah's heart." Well, we know Pharoah hardened his own heart. So, why does God say He does things when He is only allowing them to happen? Because He is the Sovereign Creator and is protecting the real culprits, Satan and his angels, as well as all of us. Like a parent, He must assume all responsibility for His earthborn children so as to retain custody. He is the Creator and the redeemer who shed His blood for us. So, we belong to Him twice. Once by virtue of Creation and again by virtue of His shed blood whereby He has purchased us back or redeemed us.

In my first book I spent considerable space on this point of why God always writes everything up as if He did it when He only allowed it. Even the SOP (EGW) wrote like that. Notice this quote: "Men will continue to erect expensive buildings, costing millions of money;...attention will be called to their...firmness and solidity with which they are constructed; but the Lord has instructed me that despite the unusual firmness and expensive display, these buildings will share the fate of the temple in Jerusalem. That magnificent structure fell. (Now notice how she explains why it fell) Angels of God were sent to do the work of destruction, so that one stone was not left one upon another that was not thrown down." (MS 35, 1906) BC 5 1098, 1099. This is a perfect example of how the Hebrew Scriptures were written. Whatever God permits to happen, by taking His hands off or removing His protection, He and His angels are said to be doing it directly. This explains not only Deut. 32:39, but I Sam. 2:6 and Isa. 45:7.

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Dear Friends:

In response to my request for more in-put regarding the "Two Lords" concept here is another voice giving his testimony. And I must say that he certainly has a gift for expressing himself. This is by far the best explanation I have ever read. Whatever you do friends, do not lose this article because it is a masterpiece of the English language on this topic of the Two Lords. I doubt that the author realizes what an incredible talent he has. After you read this I think you will agree because it has both the love of God and the spirit of Jesus along with impeccable spiritual logic. This article has truly made my week and month. I am going to publish this in my paper and make a pamphlet out of it. mfc.

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Subj: Re: Subject of the 2 lords
Date: 8/19/02 2:07:02 PM Pacific Daylight Time
From: Bob Day

Hi. Here's my two cents worth about the idea of "two Lords" in the OT. From an essay....Bob

The Nature of God: Our Highest Bible Hermeneutic

By Bob Day. Portland, OR. August 19, 2002.

I'm very much helped by Marcus Borg's premise that the Bible is written in an "ad hoc" way, its authors merely expressing out of their authentic experiences of God, or maybe better put, their experiences of who they thought God to be. This is most liberating, and goes a long way in explaining why there are so many things taught and done in the bible that are frankly, contrary to what we know by faith the nature of God to be. I've felt for some time that the bible's highest interpretive authority is not superb exegesis, but ones personal relationship to God (of which I could use much more). That's to say, the bible isn't the Spirit's highest expression of truth--Jesus is, and our relationship with him. My guess is that Jesus represents the greatest revelation we have of God's essential nature. To the degree we are in sympathy with that nature (that is, have the bias of the Spirit of Christ dominant within us as our hermeneutic) we authentically interpret the "word of God", whether written by St. Paul, or any of us who like to write about God. It will probably turn out that the biblical canon is vastly larger than any of us suspect.

If we take as our major premise that our relationship with God, and our communing with his nature, is the Bible's highest interpretive tool, this is most liberating, too. I think there are two "Lords" running through the OT--the character of one expressing God's true nature (motivates the politics of compassion), the other "Lord" expressing the nature of the evil one (motivates the politics of holiness), called "the god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4). These each broadcast on a different spiritual "wavelength." A graphic example of this, and mentioned in note 1, is of the "Lord" responsible for causing fire to rain down from heaven at Elijah's request, ostensibly as a show of divine legitimacy. It is also a show of power and force, a thing that is alien to the nature of the true "Lord". Referring to that show of force, and the disciple's desire to see it implemented again, Jesus said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of."

There are many examples of "conflicting spirits" or "personalities" running through the bible, but take just one more in the exile Psalm 137: On whose wavelength was the author who wrote, "Happy shall he be who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock" (Psalm 137:9)?

Consider Jesus' action within the Temple during his last days on earth. The whole area was a "den of violent ones", considering the bloody, sacrificial system in action at the time. Which "lord" or "spirit" inaugurated such a ghastly system? That the true Spirit inaugurated this system of works doesn't fit with Jesus' revelation of the "Father" and his essential nature--that he is sensitive even about the demise of a single sparrow.

For me, "rightly dividing the word of truth" in the OT is the "separating out" the two "Lords". I think this kind of discernment, based on an authentic relationship with God, enables us to judge rightly: it's what Jesus referred to when he encouraged, "Do not judge according to appearance (the "conventional wisdom" that often seems so obvious), but judge with righteous judgment" (Luke 7:24). There's no more reason to accept all said and done in the OT as "the word of the Lord" than there is to accept everything said and done in God's name today. Those who claim to be "in covenant" with the true God often misrepresent the divine nature today in their espousing of the "politics of holiness". How often have we heard preachers announce some tragedy to be God's judgment upon a "deviant sexual lifestyle"?

Another great area of spiritual abuse is the sometimes "preaching of the gospel". Karl Barth thought the gospel to be all about God. But because of its double-faced presentation (good news for some, bad news for most), the emphasis has fallen on the side of people and their personal decisions. Our natural narcissism feeds this, resulting in endless amounts of religious scrupulosity, and the character of God gets lost in the process.

George MacDonald also saw the gospel to be all about God. He expressed it this way: "The represented God man may refuse; many refused the Lord; the revealed God no one can refuse; It cannot be that any creature should know him as he is and not desire him."

I think St. Paul's strong Universalist stand he constantly maintained in defense of this true gospel about God. He was constantly defending God's character, whose image was greatly tarnished by the Judaizers as they pitched their moralistic version of the gospel. With Paul, it was all about God and how we think about him that matters; Bob Day.

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In order to explain this texts which state that God kills or destroys, we need to first of all realize who is speaking for God here. It is Moses, as we read in Deut. 31:30-32:3. He says that his motive is to "ascribe majesty to our God, the Mighty One."

Subj: John here are some arguments I don't think you can refute.
Date: 8/19/02 2:38:29 PM Pacific Daylight Time
From: MCLUTE777

Dear John,

Since you are not on my mailing list I am sending this to you separately. I have had to deal with all of these objections for about 25 years but every week the Lord gives me new ideas and answers. I have continually offered, for about 15 years now, $10,000.00 for one text to prove that Jesus ever hurt or killed anyone while on earth. No, one can prove it, as it is impossible.

Below are some new thoughts for you to ponder. Your friend, Mike.

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Dear Friends,

Every day I get new ideas and new thoughts from the various e-mails that I receive. Well, today, Monday is no different. Just was able to access a document which has 225 quotes regarding God's character on the topic of whether or not God destroys. Now, imagine my surprise when I read a text I had not paid much attention to in the past. Before I share it, let me preface it and my comments about it with these remarks: The main objection to the concept that God does not destroy is that God is not subject to His own law. In other words, the Ten Commandments, including the 6th one, which says, "Thou Shalt Not Kill," applies only to the human race...not to Jesus or His Father.

If this be the case then why did Jesus tell the Rich Young Ruler the following: "And Jesus said unto him (Rich Young Ruler), Why callest thou Me good? none is good, save one, that is God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother." Matt. 18:19, 20.

First of all, notice that Jesus did mention the 6th commandment as binding upon the human race. This is the law from Sinai which Jesus said He did not come to change for God does not change. Mal 3:6; Heb. 13:8; James 1:17; Psalm 89:34.

So, if Jesus did not believe this law was binding upon Himself and His Father why would He even mention it? But I will go further. Paul tells us that it is impossible for God to lie. Hebrews 6:18. Paul also says, "Let God be true and every man a liar." Rom 3:4. The 9th commandment forbids lying or bearing false witness. If we are assigning an attribute to the Father and the Son which is not true about them are we not bearing a false witness about them? This is very serious business, my friend. What does this text in Hebrews imply? It implies that God always tells the truth. In other words He does not bear false witness. This means He observes and keeps the 9th commandment which says, "Thou shalt not bear false witness." Furthermore, James 2:10 tells us that if you break one of the commandments you have broken them all.

Therefore, if God breaks the 6th one whenever He feels like it then He is a liar and bearing false witness. But that is impossible for God does not lie. And if you keep one of the laws then that means you keep them all because if one is good they are all good and if one is binding then all are binding. Jesus also said in John 8:44 that Satan was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. What right would Jesus have to say "Satan kills and murders and he is a law breaker, etc. but I do not have to keep those laws which he is breaking. When I break the law I am not a law breaker." This is what we are attributing to the Son of God and His Father as well.

So, then what we are saying is that the Creator gave a law for us to honor, keep and obey and that He breaks that law in order to uphold the law. This is what the world calls contradictory and hypocritical and counterproductive. Defeating your own purpose. This is what our critics are saying about us. i.e. that God has to break His own law in order to uphold and enforce it. This is precisely what Satan has accused God of doing from the very beginning. An unclean spirit (said to Jesus) "... Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God." Mark 1:24.

Here is a demon spirit of Satan making an accusation against Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. And what is that accusation? "That Jesus is a destroyer. That He had come to destroy the evil angels." Was this true or not? Did Jesus ever hurt or kill any of the evil angels in the past or when he was here on earth? No, He absolutely did not. Nor will he ever. So, why would any Christian, if they truly have the Holy Spirit, want to join in accusing Jesus and His Father of being a Destroyer?

Does that make one little bit of sense?

And if you believe God is going to save everyone in the final analysis why would you want to join with the worldly theologians and the Roman Catholic Church and all the Muslim religions in teaching that God is a destroyer? Does this help convince them that God is a loving God. "Oh, I am going to save everyone in the final analysis but for the time being I have to show them who is boss and kill most of them in this age." So, who is going to want to believe in such a wonderful God? Not very many. Even God's angels keep His commandments:

"Bless the Lord, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word." Psalm 103:20. A final argument that has been made is that not all of the Ten Commandments apply to God. Ok, let us ask this question: When Jesus was here on earth was He still God? Yes, He was. Did Jesus advocate the keeping of His Father's law and the Ten Commandments? Yes, He did. So, which commandment did not apply to Jesus? And Jesus was God. The answer is that they all applied to Him and to the Father as well. Because, remember that the Father was in His Son...so they were One.

Would it have been possible for the Son to commit adultery? Or to worship other gods? Was not Jesus tempted to worship Lucifer? or Satan? Yes, he was. Don't you think Jesus was tempted on the 7th commandment as well? "He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin." Heb. 4:15. The Law of God is an eternal law. It existed before the human race even was created...which means that the Law of God was given for the universe because it has an application to all of the creatures in the universe both in a spiritual sense and a literal sense as well. And I will leave you to ponder one final thought that may not have occurred to some of you reading this. How can you have a "Father" without a Mother?

Is there a "Mother God of Israel?" as well as a "Father God of Israel?" If Adam was created in the image of the Father then whose image was Eve created in? God "created them, male and female, in His very own image and likeness." In the Hebrew there is built into the word Elohim three elements:

1. Masculine
2. Feminine
3. Plural.

"In the beginning Gods created the heaven and the earth." In Gen. 17:1 the "Almighty God" who appeared to Abraham was "the almighty breasted One." That is what the Hebrew word "Shad" means and is in the feminine gender. We know that Israel in their apostasy in the days of Jeremiah worshiped the "Queen of Heaven," a female deity. This was a counterfeit. So, how could they have a counterfeit of a God that did not exist? Think about that one for a while.

May the Lord bless and keep you each one as you continue to pray and study on these important matters.

Go to my web site and read the article entitled: "The Myth of Santa Clause and Mary."

This will give you all the info you need to understand re: the feminine aspect of the deity.

God's Last Call Web Site: http://godslastcall.org

Your friend, Pastor Mike Clute.

God's Last Call Ministries
P O Box 777
Newberg, OR 97132

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For every difficult text there is seems to always be another to shed light on the true meaning of the text. For example, "Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver." Psalm 50:22. Most people would take this to mean that God will tear in pieces those who do not serve Him. If one doesn't dig deeper, that is all he will get. This is "surface reading." Now, let us dig deeper with another Psalm. "O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me; let he (a third personality, Satan, is introduced here) tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver. Psalm 7:1, 2. Jesus is the deliverer, but only for those who call upon Him. The Lord is addressed as the one who can SAVE. The one who rends in "pieces" is a third party, but he is not directly pointed out, but safely kept in the background.

It was not until Jesus came in the flesh, that God permitted the finger to be put on Satan, in order to save the people. And even then, Satan brought it upon himself by coming out into the open to oppose Christ when Jesus came to deliver demon possessed people and to help others. So, in this was Satan exposed himself as a murderer and a killer when he crucified Jesus on the cross. This was his fatal mistake and death knell.

Before we go into the Two Lords in Gen. 1-3 we need to look at two texts in the OT. The first one is 2 Sam 24:1 and the second is I Chron. 21:1. The commentary states that the Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah were written by Ezra the Scribe, who returned to Judea during the reign of Artaxerxes I (465-423).

"And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah." 2 Sam. 24:1. KJV. In most Bibles with a column reference you will find a little "1" by the relative pronoun he which is in the 3rd person singular. Now let us read the same story as updated and edited by Ezra. "And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel." I Chron. 21:1. The Chronicles is in the third section of the Hebrew canon, but it is also the very last commentary of Old Testament material and thus a final commentary of the Old Testament. Obviously the Holy Spirit led Ezra to retell this story and his startling modification clearly shows that the "Lord" in 2 Sam. 24:1 is in fact "The Lord Satan," thus unmasking the tempter and deceiver for who he really is, an evil Lord, not the true Lord or Yahweh. It also proves that Satan was allowed to assume any title usually assigned to the true Yahweh of the Old Testament period. Here is one writer who saw the truth for what it was and make this insightful and important comment: "The earlier account said that the Lord (Yahweh) was responsible for the census, but in Chronicles: 'Satan stood up against Israel' (I Chron. 21:1). The inspired writer now sees that an Adversary was responsible for the evil deed, and not the Lord. A remarkable difference indeed...If God is truly all-powerful, then he is ultimately responsible for everything that happens. Both the author of Chronicles and the author of Samuel would most assuredly agree with that. But whereas the earlier author was still operating with the view that the Lord is the active cause of everything, the later writer sees evil events happening with the permission of the Lord. Perhaps an illustration can clarify the point: instead of taking whip in hand to punish the children for munching green apples, the Lord allows them to receive the stomach ache which is the appropriate reward (and natural result) for eating forbidden fruit. And there is quite a difference in those two approaches. I am much more comfortable with the way that I Chronicles tells the story, but I must also recognize the implications of the story as told in 2 Samuel, namely, that the Lord was willing to assume full responsibility for evil. Perhaps the reason was, as suggested above, his pastoral concern for his people. And if the Lord was willing thus to portray himself as responsible for evil, then suddenly we have a handle for understanding a whole group of problem passages in the Old Testament, including the hardening of Pharaoh's heart and the sending of the serpents (Num 21). There is a sense in which the Lord is still responsible for all that happens; but now I have a biblical basis for saying that he permits instead of causes evil, even in those passages where he is actually described as causing it." "Who's Afraid of the Old Testament God?" by Alden Thompson, page 51.

Throughout the Old Testament the true Lord is often portrayed in graphic word pictures as doing that which He does not prevent. If He allows it the prophets wrote it up as if He actually did it. And so it was that King David, was moved or tempted by Satan to take a census (number Israel). God did not interpose or prevent David from sinning in this fashion. He allowed his corrupt motive to be translated into action and assumed responsibility and blame for David's sinful deed.. We see this happening over and over throughout the history of Israel as in the case when they kept on crying to the Lord for flesh food. God finally allowed the quail to come in droves and many died by overeating. Psalm 78:17-35. And then in Psalm 78:41-49 we read how the plagues of Egypt were allowed to come through the agency of the evil angels. "When the Lord allows the course of evil to take its way, it is often set forth as if it were by the active intervention of God, although it is actually the force of evil that is at work producing the baneful results (see Rom 1:18, 24, 26, 28: Patriarchs & Prophets 728, 739)" SDA BC 3 184.

I know that some of my readers already understand the concept of the "TWO LORDS" which I have explained in my book "The Wonderrful Truth About Our Heavenly Father," as well as in some of my videos I made in 1987 and also in some of the articles on God's Last Call Web Site.

When Jesus identified Satan as a "Liar and a murderer" FROM THE BEGINNING that should be a very big clue for us to do a thorough investigation in the book of Genesis, especially in Gen. 1-3. Why? Because Satan has been counterfeiting God's voice and personality from the very beginning of his accusatory career in heaven itself. And then in the Garden of Eden he was able to deceive Adam and Eve into believing their very own Creator (Jesus) was threatening them with death (Gen 2:17) if they ate some fruit from one of the trees. He successfully placed a terrible sense of guilt and fear of impending death into their minds which Jesus has been seeking to remove ever since. Have you ever wondered why a voice, claiming to be the Lord God of Eden (Ezek. 28:11-28), would contradict what had been said in Gen. 1:29? This was the voice of the true Creator God who declared to Adam and Eve (who were created together instantly at the same time) that every single tree in the whole world was perfect and the fruit was perfect and all the trees belonged to them and had been created for them to enjoy and eat, with not one exception. This is the first version of the creation story and the one Jesus quoted from in Matt. 19:4. The version many scholars consider the true and real version of how this world and Adam and Eve came into existence. The second version is considered to be a parable or myth or at best a record of what was passed down from generation to generation in order to frame and blame both of our original parents in order to reinforce the imposition of guilt which was laid upon them from the beginning by the one Jesus exposed as a "liar and a murderer from the beginning." John 8:44. In spite of this we can believe all this happened for the purpose of our training and education. These terrible trials and tests Satan was allowed to bring upon us is for the purpose of perfecting our character and bringing the creation to completion. Through it all we learn that "All things work together for good," Rom. 8:28.

When Jesus came to earth Satan tried to put a guilt trip on Him, but was not able to do so because Christ knew His Father's voice and could not be tricked by the devil. Before Jesus comes again this false guilt trip Satan imposed upon our first parents is going to be removed. The Bible tells us that most of the human race will still be afraid when Jesus returns for His "own" and will be killing each other all over the earth. Ezek. 38:21. Jesus came to reverse all that has happened so all things may be restored. The "Manifestation of the Sons of God," Rom 8:19, 20 will begin this process.

Now, let me explain to you the basic difference between the word "Pardoned" and "Acquitted". When a person is "acquitted" the judge is saying that he or she never did anything wrong in the first place. The judge gives that person a sentence of acquittal which clears his name and record and vindicates his character because he has been found to be totally innocent. In our English language the word forgiveness or pardon is never equated with the word acquit. However the dictionary uses the word "forgiveness" as a synonym for acquit which is not what the original Greek meant at all. This has a tendency to erode the true meaning and importance of the word acquit. As we have already seen the words "justify" and "justification" really mean acquit, not pardon or forgive.

The book of Job is an example of what I am talking about. Satan made many false accusations against Job which were not true. The Lord allowed Satan to test Job and when the test was over Job was acquitted before the universe and he also acquitted his Creator by refusing to agree that God was not an all wise and infinitely loving Father, even though he did not understand why he was suffering so many calamities. This is also how we clear the Father's name today and vindicate His character before the universe. There was nothing to forgive because Job had broken no law or done anything wrong. Satan accused Job of serving the Lord with false motives. So, what was the purpose of the test? To erode fear out of Job's mind first of all and secondly to prove to the universe and all of our day what is going on behind the scenes. Job's fear was the chink in his armor through which Satan was able to impute guilt upon his conscience. "For the thing that I greatly feared has come upon me." Job 3:25. Satan had been able to make Job afraid that God would take away all the blessings He had freely given to Him. Jesus was continually telling His disciples to not "be afraid," and to "fear not." Jesus also showed us what the true riches really are. Another important message I learned from Job is what I believe God was saying to Job through all his sufferings. Job it doesn't matter what happens to you as long as you always know that I am with you and am aware of my Presence. And that is the last thing Jesus said before He went away. "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matt. 28:19, 20.

Let's look at another example of acquittal in the Bible. The Lord "Acquitted" King David even though he was far from perfect in his conduct or behavior. But while man looks at the out ward appearance, God looks on the heart, I Sam 16:7. We also read in I Kings 14:8 that David "kept my commandments, and ...followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes." Traditionally we have believed that David received pardon or forgiveness. But as we have seen the words for "justify" and "justification" in the NT mean to acquit. The same is true in the OT as well. In Strong's 5352 we find the Hebrew word "Naqah" which means "to be (or make) clean (lit. or fig.) By impl. (in an adverse sense) to be bare, i.e. exterpated:-acquit...blameless, cleanse, (be) clear, be free, guiltless, be (hold) innocent."

Jesus is called our Redeemer who in OT times had the right to buy back that which had been lost through debts, etc. The word "free" or "freed" is used about 60 times in the Bible. To be "set free" or "freed" has the legal force of being "ACQUITTED." The word "remit" also has the same legal force as an "ACQUITTAL," for it is "sending back" the charges and declaring the accused "NOT GUILTY."

Here is a quote I recently copied off of the internet re: what was nailed to the cross.

"What was nailed to the Cross was not the "law - nomos" but the cheirographon, a term which occurs only in Colossians 2:14. Its meaning has been clarified by its occurrence in apocalyptic literature where cheirographon is used to designate the "record-book of sin" or "the certificate of sin-indebtedness" but not the moral or ceremonial law.38

By this daring metaphor Paul affirms that through Christ, God has "cancelled," "set aside," "nailed to the cross" "the written record of our sins which because of the regulations was against us" The legal basis of the record of sins was "the binding statutes, regulations" (tois dogmasin) but what God destroyed on the Cross was not the legal ground (law) for our entanglement in sin, but the written record of our sins.

The function of the metaphor of the nailing to the Cross the record of our sins, is simply to reassure believers of the totality of God's forgiveness. There is no reason therefore for Christians to feel incomplete and to seek the help of inferior mediators, as taught by the Colossians' false teachers, since Christ has provided complete redemption."

In John 8:1-11 we read the story of the woman caught in adultery. Jesus acquitted her in front of the on looking multitude. He completely removes both the sense and the stigma of guilt from her and then says, "go and sin no more." So, she did "sin" or "miss the mark" in that she misunderstood the character of God, which put her life in a fear mode, and in this state of mind she was reaching out for the life and happiness we all are seeking but she was doing it in very destructive ways, selling her body to men for a price of some kind, be it money, favors or just love and acceptance. But it was this "reaching out for life," that Jesus understood and did not condemn her for, but simply said, I am your life. Reach out for Me, and you will stop sinning and missing the mark. Come unto Me and I will give you Rest. It is most interesting that the word for Rest is the same word used in the book of Ruth when Naomi told her two daughters in-law to go back to Moab and find "rest" each of you in the house of your husband. So, to rest or Sabbath in the context of what Jesus was talking about in Matt. 11:28-30 meant to become One with Him which union is referred to in Scripture as a marriage, which is what our spiritual union with Christ actually is. This is what never took place between Adam and Eve and their Creator. Before they became One with Jesus they fell in darkness and were kidnaped by Satan through the imputation of false guilt. This was done by creating the scenario of a false law which in this case was a tree that Satan (claiming to be God) told Adam was off limits and prohibited. So, when Eve followed the counsel and advice of the Serpent (which just reiterated what the true creator God of Gen. 1 had spoken)  she did not die because she did not believe the lie. But when Adam ate it he began to die.

A few years ago Oprah Winfrey had some people on her talk show program who had been misdiagnosed as having contracted AIDS. In other words, for some reason or other they had been tested for AIDS and were told that they had this disease. But in reality they did not have it. Nevertheless, in the days that followed they developed all of the symptoms of people who actually have AIDS. Why? Because what the mind accepts as truth the body responds to as reality and reacts accordingly. Therefore, when they believed they had AIDS they began to be tired and listless, etc. and developed all the characteristics and symptoms of people who really do have AIDS. And this is precisely what happened to Adam and Eve and all their descendants. Each generation became worse because of the anger, bitterness, resentment, etc. They were all told the lie about how Eve caused Adam to fall and each generation in turn acted out their sinful attitudes and fallen nature reinforcing Satan's claims that they were defective and deserved to die.

Now, in order to reverse this curse Jesus had to come and re-program our minds completely about our Heavenly Father so we would lose our fear of Him and come into His waiting arms of love and be healed. This is what is known as the "New Birth Experience" or "being born again."

Jesus said, "Come unto me and I will give you rest." Matt. 11:28-30. And this is precisely what happens. This is the heart of the Restoration message which the Sons of God will teach as they are manifested or presented to the world in the final age.

There is a popular movie entitled, "THE MONEY PIT," starring Tom Hanks and Shelly Long that was produced a few years ago. It is a story about this young couple who fall in love and buy their dream house from a real estate rip off artist, played by Maureen Stapelton. Their dream house turns out to be a nightmare junkard, a real fixer upper, a "Money Pit." Although they bought it for only $200,000.00 it costs them close to a million dollars to fix it up. So, they have to borrow money from friends.

Shelly Long's character, Anna, goes to her ex-husband, Max (played by Alexander Godunov) who agrees to help loan her about half of the needed funds. She has to go in town to see him and ends up sleeping on his sofa. In the morning he wakes her up and begins recounting what a wonderful time they had together the night before. She had some drinks and cannot remember anything that happened so takes his word that they had sex. She is horrified and thinks that she has been unfaithful to her new love, Walter. She decides that she will lie to him if he asks her any questions.

So, that night Walter does ask her where she went and what happened. He is jealous and suspicious. At first she lies but about an hour later she feels guilty and wakes him up to tell him that she evidently did sleep with Max and decides that it is best to confess her "sin." Walter, although, half asleep by now turns on the lamp next to the bed and tries to wake up so he can better understand what she is saying. Finally, it dawns on him that she is confessing her unfaithfulness. He jumps out of bed and begins calling her a whore and all kinds of names, etc. He sleeps on a sheet of plywood the rest of the night as the repairmen are still in the process of fixing the place up. They sleep in different sections of the house for the next week or so until the house is completed. When Anna's ex-husband finds out about the split he feels bad and confesses to Anna that he had just made the story up about them sleeping together as a joke. She is very relieved but decides not to tell Walter. She obviously wants to see if he is going to forgive her or not for her "unfaithfulness" and "sinful behavior."

A week or so later the place is finished. But by mutual agreement they have now decided to sell the place and go their separate ways. It is a sad scene. But Walter (Tom Hanks) has had second thoughts. As they are standing on their new stair case Walter tells Anna that he doesn't care if she slept with Walter or not. That his love for her is too great to let her go for just a one time fling. It is at that moment she smiles and tells him that she didn't actually sleep with Max. This is the moment of truth that restores their relationship as it had been before she was made to believe the lie that she had been unfaithful.

The final scene is a wedding in the front yard of their dream house with all their friends and the repairmen. The parallels are so obvious no explanation or commentary is necessary. It was some time after I had seen this film that it occurred to me this was a perfect example of what happened to Adam and Eve. They were told a lie which they believed and they reacted with anger, guilt and shame and each generation has just been getting worse. All because of that first lie. Beloved, don't you think it is time that the world knows the truth about what really happened back there in the Garden of Eden? I certainly do because it is going to begin to reverse the curse so the Sons of God can be manifested, Rom. 8:19, 20.

In Ezekiel 28:11-13 we read how God tells the prophet to "take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, 'Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering.'" These passages are reminiscent of Isa. 14:12 where the Creator is appealing to Lucifer; "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!" Yes, when Satan pronounced all those curses upon God's creation, the Serpent, Adam and Eve, he was only cursing himself who would henceforth be represented as a snake crawling around on the ground (in contrast to a snake being lifted up, which represented Jesus). And who is it, beloved, who curses? It is Satan, not Jesus. Someone may say Jesus cursed the fig tree, but that is not true. Those were the thoughts and words of his disciple. Jesus did not pronounce a curse upon the tree but simply gave the tree permission to continue on as it had been...fruitless. It was thus a symbol of the Jewish nation.

Let's go back to the voice in Gen. 3 who was cursing the serpent, Eve (who knew the voice of Gen. 2 was lying about God's tree and fruit being defective) Adam and the earth itself. Can you see now why Satan, the god of Gen. 2, knew right at the very dawn of civilization that the only way he would ever be able to control Adam, and thus the human race, was to control Eve. And the only way he could control her would be to make it look like she was the one who brought in all the evil into the world. Blame her for it all and put a terrible guilt trip on her. So, he began to pronounce curses. The voice that was pronouncing these curses said, "Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field." Gen. 3:18. So, who is the author of the thorn and the thistle? Did God create them? If we can identify the creator of the thorn and the thistle then we will know the voice who is speaking in Gen. 3. The very voice of the "god" who pronounced all of the curses. Are you ready for the truth, my friend? Here it is: "THE SAME GOD WHO GUIDES THE PLANETS WORKS IN THE FRUIT ORCHARD AND IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. HE NEVER MADE A THORN, A THISTLE, OR A TARE. THESE ARE SATAN'S WORK, THE RESULT OF DEGENERATION, INTRODUCED BY HIM AMONG THE PRECIOUS THINGS; BUT IT IS THROUGH GOD'S IMMEDIATE AGENCY THAT EVERY BUD BURSTS INTO BLOSSOM." 6T 186.

This proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that the voice cursing the serpent, Eve, Adam and the earth itself is Satan, the fallen angel, Lucifer. This means then that the serpent speaking to Eve was not Satan but Jesus (speaking through). This, the 144,000 must know and understand in order to accomplish their work in this earth and during the 1,000 years as they travel from planet to planet and world to world with Jesus. See additional notes.

But, remember that this serpent (lifted up not crawling on the ground) also represents the healing power of God in Num. 21 when Moses, at God's command, no less, tells him to make a bronzed serpent and to tell the people to look at it and be healed. Would God command Moses to have the people look at a symbol of Satan? Hardly! Furthermore, Jesus used this very experience to symbolize the real meaning and mission of His death on the cross. "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:14, 15.

Now, let's go back to Lucifer's rebellion and fall. The servant of the Lord has told us the mind of Lucifer and his motive and plans in the book, "Story of Redemption." He tells his angel followers that he has devised a plan to "wrest from God the noble Adam and his companion Eve. If he could in any way beguile them to disobedience, God would make some provision whereby they might be pardoned, and then himself and all the fallen angels would be in a fair way to share with them of God's mercy." Page. 27. He also had a couple of backup plans should this fail which you can read for yourself. But I quote this important clue here to show you Lucifer's (Satan) mind. He was convinced that Daddy did not love him anymore but had transferred all of His love to His newly created creatures. Therefore, if Lucifer could somehow cause Adam and Eve to become separated from the Father then Daddy would devise a rescue plan to save them but Daddy would never devise a plan to rescue him and his angels for they had been too naughty.

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In 1972 Augsburg Press published a volume entitled, "The Serpent Was Wiser", By Richard S. Hanson. I was able to talk to him this morning by phone as he still teaches at a college in Iowa. I am going to share a few ideas from his book. Although we may not agree with everything he says or the way he says it let's just be willing to listen and try to understand where he is coming from and some of his feelings and even his frustrations in trying to comprehend what really happened. Here is just one of the ideas he expressed. "The woman succumbs. She takes of the fruit and eats. Then she beckons to Adam and together they share the moment of truth, the discovery of what it is like to grow up. 'Now the serpent, was wiser,' it says, 'than all of the creatures God made.' (The word for wise is 'Aroom. A similar sound means naked.) But who is this creature, the serpent? The devil in disguise or the devil without his disguise? No, not the devil at all. Perhaps, then, a god-...the same who both poisoned and healed Jacob's sons in the desert (Numbers 21). So, we must ask, 'Which serpent is this?' and the playwright supplies the answer. This is one so wise that he knows the secret which the conscience of man withholds: the secret of realization. This is the voice which says, 'Dare! Dare and discover! Dare, and become what you're destined to be: a creature who bears God's image. Dare to reach out, to grasp and to taste, to challenge the sculptor who made you from mud. Make him behold the truth of his deed! Let him regret what he's done." Page 43, 44.

In his Notes in the back of his book, "The Serpent Was Wiser," Dr. Hanson cites an old book first published in 1903, that he highly recommends but which I have not been able to find yet. It is entitled, "THE SOURCE OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE FALL AND ORIGINAL SIN," by F. R. Tennant.

In the last quote the author was quoting the thoughts and words he no doubt believes Adam and Eve thought. In another sentence he refers to the Creator thusly, "So shifty a rascal is this that with equal ease he plays both villain and savior." Now, how, pray tell, could anyone refer to God, our Creator, as a "shifty rascal?" The reason is simplicity itself. He does not realize that there are two personalities at work here at the very dawn of civilization. But neither did Moses, not only when he was writing the book of Genesis, but when he was up on the Mountain receiving the Ten Commandments. (Ex. 19) Nor even later when Israel worshiped the golden calf, Ex. 32. Read v. 12 in which Moses actually rebukes the Lord and urges Him to "repent of this evil against thy people." The "evil" was God's threat to destroy Israel. Does this sound like our lovely Jesus whose teachings repudiated the "eye for an eye" law and taught us to turn the other cheek and to not return evil for evil? Let him/her who has spiritual discernment decide which God you will listen to and follow? Poor Moses did not have the advantage of six thousand years of history to study in order to know which voice was the true God and which one was like Jesus. He was so exasperated that he implored, yes, even begged the Lord to reveal Himself and to plainly tell him whether or not He was going to lead them on to the promised land or not. For one day one voice would tell him to "let me alone that I may destroy these people and make you a great nation," and then change his mind and say He wouldn't. Then the next day He would get angry and tell Moses that He wasn't going to lead them anymore because He was sick and tired of the whole affair. And so it went, back and forth until Moses was completely at his wits end. And who wouldn't be? No wonder Jesus resurrected His faithful servant and took him to heaven for some nice long R & R and some heavenly instruction on what "in the earth" was really going on.

But how could Moses know these were two different gods? The true Creator God and then Satan, the pretender god. Most people still can't see it or figure it out even when you show it to them in black and white. And why would the Creator-God, Jesus Christ, even allow Satan to do this in the first place? Good question. But we are not quite ready for any kind of explanation. Not just yet.

In his book, "The Cipher of Genesis," author Carlo Suares tries to sort out and reconcile the inconsistencies of Genesis 1 and 2. He says, "Verse 25 goes on to say that they are naked and unashamed, but that Adam (he is not mentioned as Eesh) and his Esha (Eve) both incorporate the number 70, which is the realization of all the possible possibilities." "The Cipher of Genesis," by Carlo Suares, page 115. Again we have a frustrated author who is trying to sort out and reconcile the inconsistencies of Gen. 1 and 2. Once more we may not agree with his words or what we may think his intended meaning is. But let us be willing to be fair and listen and then rationally evaluate what he is trying to express.

"Let us now consider some of the incongruities in the accepted narratives concerning the Garden of Eden. Why did the so-called God need to plant a tree giving the knowledge of 'good and evil,' in a garden whose only inhabitants were forbidden to eat of it? For whom, then, did he plant that tree?...We know from Gen. 2:9, that the tree of life is in the midst of the garden. Now just think for a moment: not only did this perfidious 'God' set a trap for his creatures, but he deliberately caused a misunderstanding. For both of these trees were in the middle of the garden, and they were surely just alike. How could anyone know which was which? Esha (Eve) in good faith had no idea of disobeying. Moreover (and here is another incongruity in imputing a fault to Esha/Eve), she could not disobey because the interdiction had been placed only upon Adam. Look at the situation again. Not only was there no prohibition laid upon Esha, but was not Esha (Eve) herself created expressly so that Adam, in case he should eat of this fruit, would not 'die a dead death' as would have been the case had he been left alone!" Please realize, dear friend, that I do not necessarily agree with every word and idea of this quotation. However, there is no indication that anyone ever hung a sign on the tree of knowledge of good and evil. For all we know, it may have looked exactly like the tree of life. Personally, I believe they did know which one it was even if it did look like other trees. So, I disagree with the quote on that point. But let us go on for even if we do disagree in some points we can agree on the major issues.

"Two questions arise: why is this story always read 'upside down,' and why does this version enjoy such great popularity? The answer springs from a profound psychological truth. The story, in its veritable nature, is frightening. But how can one be afraid of it if one has not understood it? That answer is that the psyche knows unconsciously that the story is dangerously upsetting. It creates a religious taboo to protect itself. The teaching that results from this translation is that mankind must remain in an infantile state and obey those who speak in the name of a 'father' located in heaven. The dogma of original sin as disobedience is maintained to prevent disconcerting discoveries concerning that deity. For instance, an obvious ambiguity is created by YHWY with two trees. Then, having created two adults who from the outset knew how to talk, why could not 'he' or 'it' have told them how to discriminate between a green and a red light (or how to recognize any other signal as being a danger zone, had there been one)?"

"The truth is that this story is a magical snare where fear sees birth as sin, (that is growing up by learning good from evil and right from wrong) freedom as disobedience, nobleness as ruin. It is not the serpent who is the tempter. The deceiver is the so-called God, YHWY, and the deceived is the reader. Does this appear ridiculous? The scandal is the world-wide picture of a good old father seated in the heavens, benignly observing us." Page 120.

Obviously, the author is somewhat irritated with this whole mystery which neither he nor anyone else can possibly solve without the knowledge and understanding that there are two different Gods or entities involved here. His comments and satirical asides betray his cynicism. But can you totally blame him?

How many of us have been through the same mental and emotional turmoil or trauma as we have read many blood soaked, gory stories in the Old Testament trying to not only understand but justify what we have thought of and or conceived to be a changeable, fickle, angry, cruel and even sadistic God who would command the armies of Israel to slaughter thousands of innocent women, babies, elderly folk along with domestic animals? (I Sam. 15:1-3) Probably all of us.

But then we turn right around in the New Testament and read where this same God is telling His followers this is not the way to live but that we should honor all life, even little sparrows, whose death touches and even causes grief to our heavenly Father's heart. Furthermore, we are told that Christ does not even speak harshly to the devil himself. Jude 9. Surely, Jesus came to show us the real truth about our Heavenly Father, that He is a dependable and trustworthy God. But, again we must ask: Why has Satan been given such freedom to deceive and lead astray the whole human race the way he has? This I will attempt to answer. But please be patient for I do not think that I can explain it in a few sentences.

First of all, we must let go of and forget our traditional understanding of time. For, our God does not dwell or function in any kind of "Time Frame" or "Time Zone" as we do. Instead He dwells/lives/exists in the ETERNAL NOW. He declared His timelessness to Moses when He said, "I AM THAT I AM" which basically means, "I am the Eternal, Self-existent One."

The advantage we have over past generations, especially over Adam and Eve, is that we can look back over the entire scope of history and break up the time continuum, as we are doing by examining the various experiences and scenarios of history and sitting as it were as judges to discern the truth about our Heavenly Father. In this respect, we truly are living in a "Time of Judgment." We can run the tape back again and again, as it were by studying the story of Abraham in Gen. 22 and finally discerning that it was not the true God after all who commanded Abraham to slay his son so he could offer him up as a burnt offering. Thus it is that we can move anywhere we please in the time continuum of the 66 books of the Bible and carefully examine each and every account to see "who dunnit," so to speak and thus solve the great murder mystery of eternity. Jesus Himself has already revealed Satan as the "murderer from the beginning." This was not spoken by our Lord as a condemnation but as a revelation to all the universe...especially to those of us alive in this last generation who must decide who is the true Christ and who is the false?

My friend and historian, John Matthews has written an excellent definition of "TIME." "Time is the measurement for determining the rate of speed in which reality moves from point 'A' to point 'B' in relationship to point 'C.' The 'time' it takes matter to go from point 'A' to point 'B,' as perceived from the vantage point of point 'C' is a measurement of the motion of reality. Man comprehends 'Time' from his perception of it at point 'C.' With God there is no passing of time because God Himself moves with reality as it travels from point 'A' to point 'B,' therefore God's perception of time is the same as having 'Time Stand Still.'"

In I Peter 3:8 we read that "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." From this verse we can conclude that God is not bound or constrained by the limits of time. He dwells in the eternal NOW. Isa. 46:10 reveals that God knows the end from the beginning. Therefore, He can see into the future as easily as we can see yesterday and the day before in pictures, films, books, etc. The future already exists as far as God is concerned. Albert Einstein, the father of modern physics, believed that there is no absolute time. He said that time changes with the motion of the observer. We treat time as though it were linear, one thing leading to another in an ordinary time sequence as we live it day by day. But Einstein showed that past, present, and future need have no fixed status. He believed it is possible to see them in varying order---the future before the present, for example. Perhaps this is one of the gifts that Adam and Eve lost when they broke their light connection with the throne of God by believing Satan's lie that something was wrong with one of God's trees. This caused them to become afraid even though Eve proved to Adam that nothing happened to her when she ate of it.

Carlos Suares writes further about Eve regarding her conversation with the Serpent. "When she is questioned concerning this event, she does not--as the translations assert--reply, 'The serpent beguiled me (Gen. 3:13). What the true reading gives is far more significant. The Hebrew phrase, Hanahhas Hashayiny, as is so often true in the most beautiful passages, is impossible to translate in two or three words. It has to do with the action of the letter 'Sheen' which we met with after Adam's so-called sleep. 'Sheen' (300), it is remembered, stands for the cosmic breath of life, and we have seen that the true meaning is not that they were 'naked' and 'not-ashamed' (which has nothing to do with the letter-numbers of the text), but that they were left without the 'Sheen.' Now Hanahhash Hashayiny simply means that Nahhash, the serpent, 'Sheens' her: that is, he blends his earthly fire with her lost heavenly fire, which thus comes to life again. Some traditions have identified this 'Sheen' (300) with the mythical 'Spirit of God.'" "The Cipher of Genesis," Page 127.

Although I may not agree with all the philosophy in the above book I find myself challenged by many of the author's ideas and assertions. For example, I checked out the following assertion he makes on page 125 and found he was absolutely right. Here is what he said: "The fact (which one can verify for oneself) is that the copyists, priests, rabbis and theologians have systematically discarded every statement in the Bible that destroys man's sense of security in a steady continuity of existence. But the bible is a Revelation only in so far as it includes death in life, thereby disrupting every psychological certainty." He says that this important Biblical message has been reversed and betrayed. Just what he fully means is not clear but I can only tell you what I believe Jesus tried to teach us which we do not wish to hear. And that is the concept that in losing our lives, as we know it, we gain life. When we apply this idea to Eve's action of eating the fruit that Satan forbade, on the grounds that she would die, we see that at first she believed the truth that the fruit was actually good. She did not die. Nothing bad happened to her at all...that is until she shared her discovery with Adam who just happened to be a firm believer in the voice who said he would die. Was their oneness so strong that his negative reaction and belief that they would die took Eve down with him? This I do not know. But what I did find out by looking up the Hebrew word translated "beguile," was that it does not mean "deceived" or "seduced" or "tricked" or "led astray" or any such thing. It in fact, means "lift up," as in "to lift up one's person from a humble condition, to be cheerful, to look forward hopefully to, to lift up the soul to anything." Even the word "beguile," can have a positive connotation. If, as so many believe, the serpent was a medium through which Christ was speaking to Eve to counteract the lying voice of Gen. 2, then He surely knew what would happen to her when Adam's negative reaction took her down with him. In one of the sources Eve encourages Adam to continue on in life and live. So, it is possible that Jesus re-lighted her fire by breathing back into His own breath. And perhaps this is the meaning of "The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Rev. 13:8. That Christ began unselfishly giving of His own life right at the moment Adam and Eve doubted His Word.

Now, this brings us right back to the concept of time. For on a time continuum, the experience of Adam and Eve just happened a split second ago and we, as witnesses of this "tragic" event can learn from their failure and know how to "get it right" here at the "end of the world." So, what we may view as a tragedy God simply views as part of our birth and growing up into the full stature of Christ whose life was also lived on the stage of action a split second ago. And we can see it again and again as often as we like until we fully understand the true significance of it and finally "get it right." And "getting it right," means to no longer "miss the mark" regarding the truth about God's character. That He is "holy, harmless, undefiled," Heb. 7:26 and we can "eat His flesh and drink His blood," and know that He will never hurt us and He is not out to get us and all of His trees are as good and perfect and life sustaining as He Himself is and was and ever shall be. Amen.

This is why then that John the Revelator saw the vision of Rev. 15:1-4 in which God's people are standing on the sea of glass declaring the total and complete victory of our precious Lord Jesus Christ when "All nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments (decisions) are made manifest." "Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." This is the final affirmation of all of God's creatures that everything He has ever done from the very beginning has been absolutely perfect and what we have viewed as a terrible tragedy, heartache, loss and sorrow have really only been heavenly lessons to perfect our character. And for these we can now thank Him and praise Him for on the time continuum, which we can now see at a glance, "All things" truly do work together for good to them that love God and are the called according to His purpose." And FEAR truly is 'FORGETTING EVERYTHING IS ALL RIGHT," for now we can see through eyes of the faith of Jesus that everything is happening right on schedule just as it should have and was planned to be from the fall of Lucifer to the Garden of Eden to Gethsamne to the final Sunday law and death decree and coming of Jesus and 1,000 years and finally the Holy City coming down, the end of sin and the creation of the New Earth. Everything is happening right on time and it is happening right now and we are the eye witnesses to declare that Jesus truly is our Wonderful and Eternal Saviour and we can be just like Him. Amen. Pastor Mike Clute.