GOD’S WARNINGS, OMNIPOTENCE, AND THE GUILT OF HUMANITY

Job was not the first or the last to indict God, charging Him with “injustice.” In fact, such indictments are ubiquitous in Western society today, where any form of punishment is disparaged as “insensitive” and “mindless.” Even now, students at OSU are mourning the death of a terrorist who had knifed and plowed down a number of students with his car. In another case, a woman refused to bring charges against a migrant who had raped her because she felt that he had been driven to commit the rape.

In our moral and intellectual climate, it should not be surprising that God is scorned as a vengeful, medieval deity. “Christian” evolutionist, Karl Giberson, affirmatively quoted atheist Richard Dawkins in this regard:

·       [God is a] “tyrannical anthropomorphic deity” and “commanded the Jews to go on genocidal rampages.” But who believes in this [OT] deity any more, besides those same fundamentalists who think the earth is 10,000 years old? Modern theology has moved past this view of God.” http://biologos.org/blog/exposing-the-straw-men-of-new-atheism-part-five/

The late and renowned atheist, Bertrand Russell had been asked, “What if you meet God after you die and he asks, ‘Why didn’t you believe in me?’ How will you answer him?” Russell answered:

·       God, there was simply not enough evidence, just not enough evidence.

Is this true? Does God punish without sufficient warning? Scripture gives us a resounding “No.” Why then do people claim that there is no evidence? According to Scripture, humanity suppresses this evidence (Romans 1:18-20) and prefers the darkness to the light of truth (John 3:19-20).

Scripture gives us many accounts that substantiate this claim. For example, Pharaoh continued to harden his heart, even after the horrific 10 plagues. His chariots even pursed the fleeing Israelites into the sea with waters walled up on either side – an unmistakable testimony to the fact that Israel’s omnipotent God was with them.

How can we account for such willful blindness and foolishness? Only in this way: that humanity’s hatred of God is so great that it overrides every other consideration.

The Book of Revelation provides another stunning portrait of the sin-hardened. Even after the plagues that had accompanied the opening of the seven seals and the six trumpets, we read:

·       The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. (Revelation 9:20-21; ESV)

Can we indict God because of our stubbornness? Even after this, God provided many other signs that He meant business. He sent two supernatural prophets to prophesy against the nations for 1,260 days. When they had succeeded in killing the two, humanity gloated over their death and refused to allow them to be buried. However, this worked against them. After several days, God raised them and brought a terrible earthquake upon the land (Rev. 11).

Did they repent? No! Was God finished with His warnings to repent? Certainly not:

·       The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish  and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds. (Revelation 16:8-11)

Instead of repenting and confessing their sin to their Creator and Provider, they “cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores.” Did they not know what they were facing? They must have, but they had hardened their hearts like Pharaoh. They were no longer amenable to reason.

At this point, we tend to raise another objection:

·       God, you are omnipotent. You can do all things. If you have the power to change the hearts of men, why didn’t you change all their hearts so that they would come to you? To know to do good and to not do it is to sin.

This objection represents a misunderstanding of God’s omnipotence. While He can accomplish all the things He wants to accomplish, He cannot accomplish them through any means. He cannot sin; He cannot violate His Word. Besides, He is also constrained by His very character. Jesus had prayed that the Father would spare Him from going to the Cross:

·       And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39)

Evidently, there was no other way. God’s character constrains Him. His holy nature demands that there had to be a sufficient payment for sin. There was no other way.

I don’t understand why there must be eternal punishment, at least, not completely. However, I am resigned to the fact that I only see in part (Deut. 29:29) and that there is much about my Savior that I still do not understand. However, I am willing to wait and to abide with the understanding that He has offered to us.

Heaven Knows Nothing of Darwin

Marrying Darwin to Scripture is to promote an extra-marital affirm. Both entail unfaithfulness and the destruction of any harmony. For example, when Jesus returns, He will restore the earth to how it had been before the Fall, just as the Apostle Peter had preached:

• He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. (Acts 3:21)

Jesus’ return is the object of great hope. Therefore, His “restoration” will not involve a return to the initiation of the Darwinian life and death struggle of the survival-of-the-fittest. Instead, it will be a glorious restoration to a world where there had been no sin and death – to the way God had always intended things to be, in which all God’s “very good” creatures had been herbivores:

• I have given you every plant-yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree that has fruit-yielding seed; it shall be food for you…and to everything that moves…I have given every green plant for food. (Rev. 1:29-30)

The theory of evolution presents an entirely different worldview, in which God’s “very good” creation (Gen. 1:31) depended on sin and death to evolve us from single-celled life-forms.  From this perspective, death isn’t the result of sin and the Fall but of God’s Darwinian plan. Therefore, death isn’t a curse but God’s chosen instrument to guarantee the survival of the fittest genes.

Such a worldview turns morality on its head. If death and the Darwinian competition for life is a good thing, then who can blame Adam and Eve for attempting to gain a competitive edge by eating the forbidden fruit? Who can blame Cain for killing his naïve, unsuspecting, and less fit brother, Abel?

The biblical teachings of heaven are equally opposed to Darwin’s marriage to the Bible. The last chapters of the Book of Revelation contain the most thorough portrait of heaven – a portrait that fails to extend even the slightest invitation to Darwin. Instead, these chapters serve to bring closure to the first three chapters of Genesis.

Genesis commences with the creation of “heaven and earth” (Gen. 1:1). Revelation addresses this beginning with its own “beginning” – a new (or renewed) “heaven and earth” (Rev. 21:1). It also addresses other teachings of the creation account. While God creates night and day in Genesis 1:5, in Revelation, He dispenses with both the night (Rev. 2:25) and the objects God had created for light (Gen. 1:16) – the sun and the moon (21:25).

Genesis 3:1 identifies the “serpent” as the agent of sin and deception, not God’s for natural selection, while Revelation brings closure to this subject. God will bring an end to this serpent – a Devil surrogate (Rev. 20:2,10).

Revelation also addresses the effects of the Fall. Instead of the flimsy fig leaves that Adam and Eve used to cover their sin (Gen. 3:7), God will clothe His people most exquisitely. An angel informed John that he would show him “the wife of the lamb” – the people of God. However, in doing this, the angel showed John the city of Jerusalem coming down from God, clothed in the most costly stones (Rev. 21:9-10) instead of fig leaves and even skins.

Heaven does not represent a remedy to natural selection, but to the effects of the Fall! Once Adam and Eve sinned, they no longer could endure the light of the presence of God (John 3:19-20) and therefore hid from His presence (Gen. 3:8). In Revelation we are shown that this condition would be reversed. Whereas before, humanity attempted to escape the light, they would now come to the light: “The nations will walk by its [Christ’s] light” (Rev. 21:24).

Because of their disobedience and failure to confess their sin, Adam and Eve were cursed along with the rest of creation (Gen. 3:17). However, in heaven, the curse will be banished (Rev. 22:3).

However, according to evolution, the problem hadn’t been a curse, but the death and suffering, which had always been a part of life. But, according to the Bible, the problem hadn’t been instituted by God; it was of our own doing! We would die because of our sin: “for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Gen. 2:17).

Because of their sin, God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden (Gen. 3:23), from the presence of God, where they had enjoyed unbroken fellowship with their Maker. However, Revelation promises that this fellowship will be restored: The dwelling of God would again be with humankind (Rev. 21:3) and:

• He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Rev. 21:4)
  
  

The effects of sin and the Fall will become history. Clearly, the focus of the Book of Revelation and of heaven isn’t upon undoing God’s evil plan of natural selection but our evil! It also regards the Fall as historical unlike Christian evolutionists.

Lest humanity would try to undo the effects of the Fall by sneaking back into the Garden to eat from the Tree of Life, God blocked their way with angelic sentries (Gen. 3:24). However, God will re-introduce this Tree (Rev. 22:2-5) for the healing of the nations and return to His original plan of immortality.

Where is Darwin in this heavenly portrait? He is entirely absent, even worse, he is entirely unwelcome. He doesn’t belong. He has no eyes for the mysteries of our God or His divine harmonies. Darwin is an intruder who breaks the theological flow of Genesis through Revelation. Instead, by the grace of our God, those who have eyes to see will reign with Christ (Rev. 22:5) and render judgments over the nations (1 Cor. 6:2-3; Jer. 3:16-17; Isaiah 2:2-4).

Grace might be far more Gracious than you had ever Imagined?

Although we yearn to fully embrace the promise of grace, many verses seem to throw a stumbling block in our way. For instance, Jesus warned the church at Thyatira:

• “I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.”(Rev. 2:23)

The prospect of being judged according to our “deeds” is reiterated throughout Scripture (Psalm 62:12; 2 Cor. 5:10). This is disturbing. It seems to suggest that we haven’t truly been separated and cleansed from our sins and will be judged according to them. Even if we are not to be judged according to our sins, the idea that we will be judged according to our “deeds” is still troubling. Perhaps this means that we might eternally grieve and regret our sins of omission.

It also creates theological problems. For one thing, it disrupts our assurance of oneness and unity in Christ, which is assured by the fact that we all share “one hope” or inheritance (Eph. 4:2-4; Romans 8:17; 1 Cor. 3:21-23 ). Perhaps even worse, it reintroduces, through the back door, a theological basis for boasting: “I have this greater position in heaven because of my good deeds!”

However, to this same Thyatiran church – and they had been promised that they would be judged by their “deeds” -  Jesus offers the hope of a joint reign with Him:

• “To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations--He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery.” (Rev. 2:26-27)

Well then, what does it mean to “overcome?” How can we be certain that the blessings of the above verses also pertain to us? In the seven letters to the seven churches, promises of eternal life and heavenly blessing are promised to “him who overcomes.” What then are the conditions for this blessedness? For the two most faithful churches – Smyrna and Philadelphia – there was only one condition. They simply had to remain faithful.

For the five other churches, there was surprisingly only one condition. They had to repent; they had to swear-off their sins, and this would make them overcomers – co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). Yes, they would be judged by their deeds, but repentance was the deed (even if it is, before all else, a gift – 2 Tim. 2:24-26; Acts 5:31; 11:18) that would trump all the rest.

I know that this sounds too good to be true. So perhaps a Biblical example might be fitting. Job had made many false and unjust accusations against his God. The prophetic Elihu confronted Job with his rash words (Job 33:8-12; 34:5-6). Following this, God reiterated the same charges against Job (Job 38:1-3; 40:8). Although, Job didn’t curse God and die, as his wife had suggested, Job had been majoring in accusations against the Divine (Job 9:21-24; 27:2-6; 16:12-17).

However, Job repented (Job 40:4-5; 42:3-6), and this was followed by one of the most incredible verses in Scripture:

• After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." (Job 42:7-8)

Job’s three friends had hurled no railing accusations against God, as had Job, but Job had repented, and that made all the difference in the world. Everything he had charged, prior to this, had been forgotten and forgiven. Only one word remained: “Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6). Nothing further was needed!

We will all appear before the judgment seat of the Lord to receive according to our deeds, but we will already have been transformed into His likeness:

• Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)

We will be standing before the judgment seat safe-and-sound in the glory of our Savior:

• For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. (1 Thes. 4:17-18)

Only this remains for us to do – to repent of all of our sins!