Category: fall of man

Satan and Dispensationalism #22

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

“Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:” (Colossians 1:25,26 KJV).

Dispensational Bible Study enables us to see and appreciate the final revelation from God. Satan is thus utterly embarrassed!

By nature, Satan is a genius. From his creation, he has operated on a mental level far, far, far beyond every other creature of God. Lucifer was “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12). As creation’s song-leader, Satan was to devise ways to glorify his Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ. Lucifer became prideful (verses 15-18): his wisdom and beauty made him fall in love with himself. Lucifer concluded that he belonged on God’s throne, that he was wiser, more fit to govern creation. Thus, began the spiritual battle that is waged even today.

Beginning in Genesis chapter 3, Satan involved mankind in usurping God’s authority. Genesis chapters 4-6 were intensifications of that battle. Unbelieving Cain killed his believing brother Abel—the first murder. Man’s wickedness was so great that God finally destroyed that ancient world with a global flood. Next, the disastrous one-world government and one-world religion at the Tower of Babel (Genesis chapter 11). Satan thought he would somehow always outsmart God.

When God created His special nation Israel (Genesis chapter 12), Satan began to focus on corrupting Israel. The rest of the Old Testament documents Satan corrupting Israel. During Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, that spiritual battle reached its highest level of intensity. The bloodlust was so great in Satan that the greatest murder would occur now.

Satan could have sent an evil spirit to work in killing Jesus Christ. But, he did not. The Bible says Satan himself entered Judas (Luke 22:3). Satan was certain the job would be done right, once for all. Israel’s King would die! With Him dead, Israel’s kingdom would never come to pass. Israel was already dead in sin and Satan’s grip. The lost Gentiles could not be saved through Israel, for Israel could not rise to kingdom glory. With God’s Son dead, Satan had won. Or, had he?

The Carpenter from Nazareth (and Heaven) #7

Friday, September 25, 2015

“Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God” (Hebrews 3:1-4 KJV).

Have you ever stopped to consider why Jesus’ earthly trade was carpentry?

Today’s Scripture conveys two comparisons—Christ Jesus and Moses, and a “house” associated with each. Both Moses and Christ Jesus were “faithful” to Father God who had appointed them. The best way to understand this is in light of John 1:17: “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

As today’s Scripture teaches, JEHOVAH God gave Moses some revelation, the Mosaic Law, and Moses faithfully communicated it to Israel. Moses said in Deuteronomy chapter 4: “[1] Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. [2] Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.”

Moreover, as today’s Scripture teaches, some 1,500 years after Moses, Christ Jesus was faithful in relaying to Israel Father God’s revelation. John 8:28,29: “[28] Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. [29] And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.”

For three years, Jesus Christ loyally taught God’s Word to Israel, forming a little believing remnant. Now, it was time to be “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).

The Carpenter from Nazareth (and Heaven) #6

Thursday, September 24, 2015

“Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God” (Hebrews 3:1-4 KJV).

Have you ever stopped to consider why Jesus’ earthly trade was carpentry?

God’s purpose in creation (cf. today’s Scripture) was not simply a physical heaven and a physical earth. What He was also doing was using His spoken word to form a spiritual structure, an edifice of sound doctrine. Daily He taught Adam about what He was doing and Adam’s purpose in that plan. Then, Adam willfully abandoned that doctrine and fell into sin. God created the nation Israel to do what Adam failed to do—reign over Earth for His glory. God gave Israel His Law through Moses, but, alas, Israel willfully abandoned it in favor of sin.

Why did Jesus come to Earth? He said, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). He was “sent” to Israel, yea, He was Israel’s “Apostle” (today’s Scripture). Jesus Christ came to guide lost Israel back to Father God. She had so strayed from the path of righteousness and had become trapped in the mire of self-righteousness. God’s Son came to live a sinless life in her midst, to be the embodiment of the Law system she never even closely resembled. As JESUS, JEHOVAH-SAVIOUR, He came “to save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

What Adam had miserably failed to do, what Israel had miserably failed to do, Jesus succeeded in doing. As the perfect Man, He had so filled His heart with Father God’s Word! Now, He could teach Israel that word and thus lead her back to God! The edifice of sound doctrine Jesus Christ had built in Himself, He could now work with His Father God, building that structure of sound doctrine in the hearts of His wayward people, Israel.

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Should we use the book of John in evangelism?”

The Real Bartimaeus

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

“And they came to Jericho: and as he [Jesus] went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging” (Mark 10:46 KJV).

Who is “Bartimaeus” really?

We continue reading after today’s Scripture: “[47] And when he [Bartimaeus] heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. [48] And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. [49] And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. [50] And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. [51] And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. [52] And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.”

The etymologies of the Bible’s proper nouns (people, places, et cetera) are great teaching tools. For example, in today’s Scripture, “Bartimaeus” means “son of the unclean/defiled.” He is a son of Adam, the first sinner, and he illustrates Israel’s defiled nature as descendants of Adam.

Bartimaeus recognizes his physical blindness, symbolic of his (and his nation Israel’s) spiritual blindness. He cries out to the Saviour for help, but people want him to be quiet. The Lord Jesus has compassion, and asks Bartimaeus what he desires of Him. Representative of believing Israel, Bartimaeus shouts, “Lord, that I might receive my sight!” Jesus Christ acquiesces. He wants Israel to give Israel spiritual sight, that she see His truth. To demonstrate it, He grants physical sight to Bartimaeus! Bartimaeus depicts Israel’s believing remnant. They come to Jesus Christ to be healed of their sin problem, and through the endless ages to come, they follow Him in their identity as His people. Israel has a grand hope in store for her! 🙂

If Thou Be #4

Sunday, June 7, 2015

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3 KJV).

Beware, Satan’s main goal is to draw God’s servants away from God’s Word!

Part of the first dispensation, or set of divine instructions given to man to believe and obey, was Genesis 2:16,17. In this very simple dispensation, there was no sin to complicate life and no suffering to spoil it. Adam and Eve lived peaceably together with their Creator God. They had an entire garden of paradise and provision—and daily Bible study with Jesus Christ Himself! Adam, the federal head, deliberately threw away all that abundance for temporary pleasure and long-lasting inferiority. They lost their Creator, their spiritual lives, their home, their perfect marriage, their two sons, and eventually their earthly lives. Such is the destiny of all who spurn God’s Word and trample His grace under foot!

When the Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself human nature, He never forgot His original (divine) identity. He continually had His mind set on God’s Word to Him. Satan defeated Adam, for Adam willingly succumbed to sin. However, he would not, could not, and did not defeat Jesus. The Lord Jesus never gave in to sin. He always operated in absolute tandem with Father God. Therein was Jesus Christ’s complete and final victory of over sin and Satan!

Considering Adam and Eve’s misery in departing from their identity, recognizing Jesus Christ’s victory in remembering His identity, now we understand the enormous division within the Church the Body of Christ. Genuine Christians are often too focused on someone else’s (that is, Israel’s) identity that they forget their identity in Christ found in Paul’s epistles. We need not wonder why many are confused, weak, discouraged, ignorant, deceived, defeated, and miserable concerning the Bible and Christian living. They are following Adam instead of Jesus Christ! Satan has “corrupted their minds from the simplicity that is in Christ” (today’s Scripture)! They have disregarded their provisions in Christ to embrace inferiority—ceremonies, rites, rituals, scholarship, creeds, philosophy, denominational dogmas, et cetera. Sound Bible doctrine is how they need to recover themselves out of Satan’s snare (2 Timothy 2:24-26)!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “How do God’s foreknowledge and our free will work together?”

If Thou Be #3

Saturday, June 6, 2015

“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4,5 KJV).

Long before Satan tried to seduce Jesus Christ from understanding His identity, long before he attempted to mislead us from our Christian identity, he deceived Eve regarding her identity.

In the beginning, Adam and Eve were fully blessed of God. Sin, suffering, and death were unknown. God’s only commandment was Genesis 2:16,17: “[16] And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: [17] But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” God in His grace had given them many provisions—innumerable species of trees and plants from which to eat. They could “freely eat” of every tree, save the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam communicated to Eve that Word of God originally given to him.

When Satan attacked mankind, he singled out the woman. After craftily asking Eve if God really said not to eat of every tree, Satan observed Eve depart even further from the truth. Genesis 3:2-5 says: “[2] And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: [3] But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. [4] And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: [5] For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

Eve neglected the abundance God gave her and Adam. She omitted “freely” from “freely eat,” ignoring the free will God gave her. Made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-28), she was misled to believe that she could have a better position (“gods”). Once Adam ate, they lost that perfect identity, and all its provisions.

The Hope of Creation

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22 KJV).

Having recently taken our family pet dog to the veterinarian, I was reminded again that the curse of sin affects all creatures, not just us.

In the waiting room, an enormous Great Pyrenees dog limped with “flopping” hind legs. Puzzled, I asked the nurse what was wrong with it. She said “old age.” The dog was 12 years old—roughly 60 in human years—and suffered from severe arthritis. The aging dog could not stand for long. My mind immediately recalled today’s Scripture—“the whole creation….”

If we were to go to heaven and ask Adam, “Given the chance to do it all again, would you eat that forbidden fruit?,” I wonder what he would reply. That sin was certainly enjoyable but it had such awful consequences. Adam foreknew death for himself and Eve, but not the long-term and extensive damage. He had no idea that his one act of unbelief and disobedience would impact over 10 billion people and innumerable animals and plants. They would all suffer the repercussions—disabilities, disease, and death—for something he did. He had no idea that his sin would require the Creator’s very life!

Everywhere we turn, we see problems, problems, and more problems! It is such a comfort to know that our Creator God has abounding grace and pity toward us. It was not His will that such difficult human, animal, and plant conditions would exist. He has not left us hopeless and helpless. All hope for creation rests solely upon the Lord Jesus Christ. No pope, priest, “prophet,” president, preacher, pundit, professor, or person has any power to undo what Adam did. Scientific analyses, political agendas, social movements, economic theories, religious participation—all the works and thoughts of weak and faulty men such as ourselves. Oh, how Jesus Christ is so desperately needed here. He is the answer to all our problems.

Rather than looking within ourselves, or looking to others like ourselves, let us look in the Holy Bible to learn that Jesus Christ is the only Hope for heaven and earth and all their hosts. He will set it all right in His time! 🙂

Our special edition 150th Bible Q&A: “Who wrote the book of Hebrews?”

The Crown of Thorns

Monday, April 13, 2015

“And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!” (Mark 15:17,18 KJV).

What is the significance of the crown of thorns?

Matthew 27:29 affirms: “And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!” “And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands” (John 19:2,3).

After scourging (lashing) Jesus, the soldiers braided a crown of thorns and forced it onto His head! Mocking Him, they put a purple robe on Him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They knelt before Him to further tease Him. They punched Him to humiliate Him. He could have called down tens of thousands of angelic soldiers, but He chose not to. He could have instantly destroyed those Roman soldiers, but He chose not to. All of creation watched in horror as the Creator manifested in human flesh was beaten mercilessly. The most graphic event in human history was just beginning but He chose not to fight it.

Pause and think about the crown of thorns. Where did thorns first appear in the Bible? When God cursed the ground because of Adam’s sin, “thorns and thistles” sprung up (Genesis 3:17,18). The land that Adam once loved and tilled would now be a burden… and literally a pain. Thorns are part of the curse of sin.

Jesus Christ being forced to wear a crown of thorns emphasized Him bearing the curse of sin. Yes, He was the rightful King of creation, but He had to pay our awful sin debt first. Now resurrected, He has since taken off that crown of thorns, never to don it again. One day, He will return, wearing “many crowns” (Revelation 19:12), to rule and reign, proving He is indeed KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Did John really write ‘The Gospel of John?’”

Thee and Two Gardens #5

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

“And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8 KJV).

Wilt thou choose to “live” in the Garden of Eden, or in the Garden of Calvary?

To defeat one’s enemy, one only needs to get into the enemy’s mind. Satan knows this good and well, so at every opportunity, he uses false teaching to distract God’s people. It is exactly how he manipulated Eve in the context of today’s Scripture. Satan first questioned God’s Word (“Yea, hath God said…?,” verse 1), Eve then misquoted God’s Word (subtracting from it, adding to it, watering it down; verses 2,3), and Satan finally denied God’s Word (verse 4,5). In just a few moments, Satan had Eve exactly where he wanted… she did not have one whit of sound Bible doctrine to uphold her, so her mind was corrupted. Adam, aware of the deception, just gave in. They lost paradise because of it.

The Bible warns us in 2 Corinthians 11:3: “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Just as Satan confused Eve regarding God’s simple instructions, he feeds the Body of Christ false information so they do not know what God is doing today. Satan encourages us to take parts of the Bible not written to us and make them apply to us, as well as encourages us to throw away the Bible completely and put a denominational handbook in its place.

So, just as Satan messed up the lives of Adam and Eve with false doctrine, and made them unusable to God (today’s Scripture), Satan uses false doctrine to make us unusable to God. Dear friends, we must be on guard. We must never let our minds wander far from Christ’s finished crosswork, and the Garden of Calvary when it was completed with the resurrection, for Satan will surely weaken and destroy our Christian lives….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Why did Paul tell the Corinthians to be ‘reconciled to God?’”

The Prince of Peace, Born in the Middle East

Friday, December 19, 2014

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6 KJV).

Ironically, God’s wisdom ordained the birthplace of the Prince of Peace to be the contentious Middle East….

Almost from the very beginning of time, the Middle East has been a battleground, the chief war zone of good and evil. Originally the peaceful home of Adam and Eve, today it is the most contentious region on the globe. Because of Adam’s sin, what was a paradise is now known as the area where man joined Satan in his rebellion against God. Adam and Eve utterly failed to reign over the earth for God’s glory (Genesis 1:26-28). Instead they united with the opposition, and were banished from God’s presence and the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:23,24).

“Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin” (Romans 5:12). Verse 14 says that Adam “is the figure of him that was to come.” God would send another Man, Jesus Christ, and He would accomplish what Adam failed to do: glorify God on the earth by dispossessing it from Satan, and reigning in righteousness. This is the “government” spoken of in today’s Scripture.

“For if by one man’s [Adam’s] offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ” (verse 17). Adam plunged the human race into sin and made it God’s enemy; Jesus Christ offers mankind eternal life, forgiveness of sins and a reconciled relationship with God! This was God’s goal in sending Jesus Christ.

As our world desperately continues to seek peace, let us remember there will be no peace on earth until the Prince of Peace returns to His nation, Israel, and rids our planet of Satan and his policy of evil (the root of the Middle Eastern turmoil). At Christ’s Second Coming, there will be peace on earth (Luke 2:14), and especially in the Middle East.

First of five special-edition Christmas Bible Q&As: “Should I display a Christmas tree?”