Paradise lost and regained

The English words "in the beginning", found in the first chapter of Genesis, do not do justice to the Hebrew. One may be tempted to ask "the beginning of what?" But the meaning of the Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:1 is not the common Hebrew word for "beginning". According to Christian doctrine, worked out after centuries of debates, "in the beginning" there were the Father, the Word and the Spirit.

They decided to create Adam and allow him into their friendship circle. There is no indication that Eve was excluded from the harmonious relationship between God and man. Their unity was due to the fact that God is love and love is not self-centred. Humans were still to demonstrate that they would not upset this peaceful order. Adam and Eve proved not to be completely trustworthy. They decided to "go it alone" by excluding their Creator from their decision to do the one thing that would be fatal to their fellowship with him. On that day they died spiritually (Genesis 2:17). They felt exposed and inadequate to talk to the Lord. Instead of crying out to him for help they ran away and hid. This is still the knee-jerk reaction of humans when we sin.

God was not unprepared for the turn of events. He promised that "the seed of the woman" would crush the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15). By triumphing over principalities and powers, the Deliverer would restore fellowship between the Creator and those who accepted his terms (Colossians 2:15). He seems to have made a covenant to this effect with Seth (Genesis 4:26).

In John's first pastoral letter he invited his readers to have fellowship with him and his fellow believers. He claims that their fellowship was with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. John implied that it was up to individuals to respond to the proclamation of the Word of Life which he equated with "that which was from the beginning" (1 John 1:1-3). In John's gospel he identified the Word, which was in the beginning, with Jesus. On the night he was delivered to the Sanhedrin Jesus claimed that, amongst others, he was "the Life". Before Adam sinned, fellowship with the Word of Life was automatic; after all, it was God's own breath which made Adam into a "living soul".

One of the capabilities humans have due to being created in the image of God, is the potential to procreate humans after our own image (Genesis 5:3). Sin caused God's image in us to be distorted and we reproduce the distortions in our children. They are born self-centred, "dead to God". That is why they need to be born from above to see the Kingdom of Heaven (John 3:3). The tragic story of Cain and Abel illustrates the painful consequences of the desire to "know good and evil". Cain allowed himself to be ruled by his emotions of anger and resentment. He did not seem to have any remorse for his action, only fearful of its consequences (Genesis 4:13-14).

Nevertheless, Jesus said we need to become "like little children". He could not have referred to the predisposition of children to sin. A hint at what he meant is found in Matthew 18:6 where he pronounced a curse on anyone who would cause a "little one" who believed in him  to "stumble". Although children are born in sin, they have a natural tendency to be naïve and trusting. I think God created Adam and Eve with that same characteristic. The snake sowed distrust in their minds regarding the Lord. That was the seedbed for the first sin.

Was Adam's conscience sufficient to keep him from doing evil? It would seem from the Lord's conversation with Cain that it was possible for the early humans to choose good (Genesis 4:7). Man's conscience was not yet so polluted that "every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5). But our default tendency is to want to be "free" to make our own decisions. Since we have different preferences, there has to be rules to govern our behaviour. We refused to obey the single command which was given in Eden. Now we need guidelines to help us live in harmony with each other.

After the flood the remnant of mankind was given the Noahic covenant (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Laws_of_Noah). The instructions contained in it have not been repealed. Later God made a covenant with Israel at Sinai in which he gave them the ten commandments and elaborate instructions based on them. Laws and courts are essential for a functioning society. The scribes and Pharisees codified the laws into 613 commandments. They also amplified the laws with traditions which made life for ordinary people onerous (Matthew 23:23).

If we make love our aim (1 Corinthians 14:1) we would not violate any law, since there is no law against the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). If this mindset had prevailed in Adam and Eve, there would have been no Fall - the world would not have been cursed. But those who become citizens of the Kingdom of God through the new birth receive the Spirit of adoption (Romans 8:15) which enables us to love God and our neighbour. He promises us freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17), something human beings instinctively crave. Christians are free from the ceremonial laws prescribed by Moses (Galatians 5:1-5).

While we are in this world we cannot expect to be completely free of sin (1 John 1:8-9). We mature as we learn to discern good from evil (Hebrews 5:14). Our desire for independence is clearly not from God who made us to be in relationship with him (Revelation 21:3).

End Times - the Jews

There are different opinions today about who the Jews are. The State of Israel has criteria which it uses to determine the eligibility of a person to immigrate to it. Some wisecracks have decided to use DNA tests to prove that most Jews are not descended from Jacob. For the purpose of this discussion I assume that people who say they are Jews, had a bar mitzva or bat mitzva and celebrate Passover are in fact the Jews of the last days. Although the word Jew originally meant someone from the tribe of Judah, all the other 11 tribes are also included in this designation today.

Because the Israelites broke their covenant with JHWH, he raised up the Assyrians and Babylonians to take them into exile. The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. The exiled Israelites could no longer offer sacrifices. They retained their religion by establishing synagogues in the towns they lived. In these the scriptures were read and community events organised.

Pagans who were interested in the one true God could attend meetings in synagogues and even convert to Judaism. Those who preferred not to follow the ceremonial laws of Moses were given the title God-fearers. Cornelius was such a person (Acts 10:1-2) and Paul met many of them in his apostolic journeys (Acts 13:50; 17:4; 17:17; 18:7). In this way the pre-Christian gospel became available to non-Jews of the empires whether Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek or Roman.

Tragically, when the Messiah arrived, a large amount of Jews did not recognise him. However, there were tens of thousands of Messianic Jews (Acts 21:20). Believers in Jesus were called Nozerim (Nazarenes) by the anti-messianic Jews who discouraged them from attending their synagogues. They did so by introducing a benediction which the Pharisee congregations would recite when they met. Believers would in effect invoke a curse on themselves if they were to join in reciting it (https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/birkat-ha-minim). Those Jewish believers in Jesus who joined gentile churches had another problem. The churches discouraged them from continuing to observe Jewish feasts.

Over the centuries such a rift emerged between Jews and gentiles that Jews who wanted to convert to Christianity were compelled to deny their Jewishness. The words "Messianic and Christian are in theory interchangeable, but in actuality, miles apart because of the history between so-called Christians and the Jewish people" (https://www.roncantor.com/post/why-i-don-t-call-myself-christian). 

Since the middle of the 20th century things have changed for Jewish believers in Jesus. Many Messianic congregations have been established all over the world. Members of these assemblies believe in Jeshua (his Jewish name) and continue to follow Jewish traditions. Also, since the establishment of Israel in 1948, Israeli congregations have been founded. They sing, preach and teach in Hebrew. John also prophesied that 144000 Israelis would play a key role in the end times. God is keeping a record of the tribe from which each of them would come (Revelation 7:1-8; 14:1). 

The statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream (see End Times: A prequel) is eventually pulverised (Jeremiah 51:24; Revelation 17:4-5; 17:16). The statue represents the empires that ruled and will rule from the time of the Babylonians until it gets replaced by an everlasting Kingdom. The demolition of the statue comes from a stone cut out without hands (Daniel 2:34-35). That Kingdom will have its capital in Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3; 60:14). The cornerstone of that Kingdom is the One which was rejected by the rulers of the Jews (Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 28:16; Matthew 21:42).

End Times: A prequel

 Adam and Eve were given dominion over the earth. When they listened to the snake, which is also called the devil and satan (Revelation 12:9), they gave him their authority. This is how the evil one became the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4). He rules by manipulating humans, making them think they are in charge of their lives while he is luring them to do his will (2 Timothy 2:25-26).

Adam and Eve soon saw the effect of their folly. It was demonstrated by the behaviour of their first born son Cain who murdered his brother (Genesis 4:8). From there it went downhill for the majority of mankind. The Lord had put man in charge of the earth. His intention was that they should honour him as their King and treat one another as fellow stewards, ruling over everything he had created (Psalm 8:6). But they quickly started fighting over which man would be in charge. A small group, the descendants of Seth, was faithful to their Creator (Genesis 4:25-26). After about two thousand years God decided to kill all of mankind except for Noah and his family (1 Peter 3:20).

After the flood the people again started making up their own religion according to their own fanciful ideas. They were in the process of building a tower for this purpose when the Almighty intervened and caused them to be scattered by confusing their language (Genesis 11:9). The Lord knew they were going to continue competing with each other for dominance. He called Abram from whom he intended to create a culture which would ultimately be spread over the whole earth.

The Lord had meant for Adam and Eve to recognise him as their Sovereign and consult him in their decision making but they refused to listen. They distrusted him, believing that the one command he had given them, was to deprive them of their "full potential" (Genesis 3:5-6). He decided to start over with Jacob, Abraham's grandson. He renamed him Israel and showed his love for "the children of Israel" by delivering them from slavery. He gave them the "Law" (Torah) through Moses. He gave them a land in which to thrive but they were not faithful in their observance of the Torah. Countless times, when they were oppressed by their enemies, they turned to the Lord to save them. He miraculously rescued them by raising up heroes. These they called judges because the people of Israel also looked to them for judging disputes.

The Israelites were not happy with the governance the Lord had provided for them. They wanted a king "like the nations" (1 Samuel 8:4-5). During the reign of their third king, Solomon, Israel became the most illustrious kingdom on earth (1 Kings 10:23). But Solomon in all his wisdom, could not handle the power and riches entrusted to him. After him the Israelites divided into two nations who actually made war on each other (1 Kings 14:30). After the Northern kingdom had been taken into exile by the Assyrians, God sent several prophets to the kings of Judah in the south to persuade them to turn from their wicked ways. They mistreated the messengers of the Lord and worshipped idols instead.

Since the Israelites had failed to become a "light to the nations", the Lord put other nations in charge of the world's population. The first was Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (Jeremiah 27:3-7). He took the cream of Judah to Babylon where some of them became prominent in his kingdom (Daniel 1:1-4). After that God called Cyrus the Mede (Isaiah 45:13) to conquer Babylon and allow the Jews to go back to their land (Ezra 1:1-4). The empire of the Medes and Persians was the second in Daniel's interpretation of  Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel 2:31-45).

The statue Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream was prophetic. It predicted the future empires of the world until the end of "this age". Alexander the Great came after the Medes and Persians to rule the world and inaugurate the Hellenistic period. That was the time during which the Greek language and culture became predominant over the world. Thereafter came the Roman empire which later split into an eastern part with Constantinople as capital and a western part with its capital in Rome. Orthodox Christianity was the state religion in the east while Roman Catholicism was the official religion of the west.

The eastern empire later became known as the Byzantine Empire which was at its peak in the 6th century. In 1453 the Turks conquered Constantinople and renamed it Istanbul which became the capital of the Islamic Ottoman Empire. The western empire morphed into the Holy Roman Empire of which Charlemagne was one of the early emperors. The last emperor ruled until 1806. This was during the time of Napoleon's military escapades. After he had been defeated at the battle of Waterloo in 1815, the European powers made agreements on the future boundaries for the states of the former Holy Roman Empire. The Ottoman Turks in the east were defeated in World War I and the territories under their rule became mandates of the League of Nations at the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Some were administered by Britain and some by France.

The predictions of Nebuchadnezzar's statue which still need to take place relate to the ten toes. They are the same as the ten horns on the beast in Revelation 13:1. The stone which was cut out of a mountain in Daniel 2:44-45 represents the Kingdom of God which will replace the government of the beast with the ten horns. See https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bs-nebuchadnezzar-statue.

The role of Israel in the last days is significant. Today the state of Israel is under threat. It is part of the "birth pangs" of the coming Kingdom (Matthew 24:8). Jesus will return to Jerusalem (Acts 1:11). That is why the temple mount is such a disputed area today. An interesting perspective on the present crisis in the Middle East can be read in https://www.oneforisrael.org/news/israel-at-war/feet-of-iron-and-clay/.

Freedom

 I believe much of the identity crisis epidemic, which many a young person is experiencing today, is a response to an urge to be free. Free to express any thought or to act on any desire. It is partly due to permissive upbringing by parents who dote on their children. It can also be blamed on the ridiculous excesses of our culture. These can be attributed to people who drive to extreme limits the mantra of the enlightenment: "liberty, equality, fraternity".

But Jesus had another concept of freedom. While his country was under Roman occupation he did not rebel against it. His disciples were hoping he would inaugurate his earthly kingdom in their time but that was not to happen right then (Acts 1:6-7). However, he was anointed to set the hostages free (Isaiah 61:1 & Luke 4:18). He could be likened to a hero risking his life to free us. Who would not despise hostages if they were to refuse freedom after such a daring mission?

The people Jesus came to save are those held captive by the devil to do his will (2 Timothy 2:25-26). The method of satan was, and still is, to get us all addicted to sin (John 8:34). We can get so addicted that we do not seek the freedom which our innermost beings crave. We seek freedom in rejecting all forms of authority, namely authority of parents, teachers and even laws. Instead of feeling freer, the rebel often ends up feeling depressed. Fear of death is another tool of satan to enslave us (Hebrews 2:14-15). By rising from the dead Jesus proved that there is life after death for those who believe in him (Revelation 1:18).

When Jesus told Pilate that he had come to testify to the truth, Pilate showed no interest in what that might mean (John 18:37-38). But Jesus had told the Jews that the truth would set them free (John 8:32). Paul's instruction to believers in Jesus was that they should remind themselves of the fact that they had been set free (Galatians 5:1). We are freed from the punishment of sin by believing Jesus took the punishment on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 2:2).

But helping an addict to get "clean" is only a first step in the process of rehabilitation. Resisting the temptation to fall back is a life-long journey. Attempting to live morally upright in our own strength is not good enough (Matthew 5:20). But we can please God after a change of heart (Proverbs 4:23; Ezekiel 36:26; Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10). Then we are as good as dead to the old self who only sought its own gratification (Romans 6:11). We do not need to obey our old master, namely the sinful nature with which we were born (Romans 6:14).

Jesus told his followers to "remain" in him (John 15:4). Paul told believers to "walk in the Spirit" and so exhibit the "fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16; 5:22-23). He also instructed believers to make their bodies available to God as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:13). Our reward for becoming "slaves of God" is firstly that we find purpose in this life and are promised eternal life (Romans 6:22). Like Bob Dylan sang in his first album after becoming a believer: "It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you gonna serve somebody" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM149kcmmKk). 

End times 1

There are many theories about the meaning of portions of the book of Revelation. The framework in which one looks at the book makes all the difference. I shall attempt to sketch my point of view in broad strokes.

The Church is not the same as the Kingdom of God. The Church may be regarded as a "school" in which we learn how to behave in the Kingdom. Jesus did not engage in political activity. The Kingdom, on the other hand, is a political entity in which the rightful ruler will be the King. The earth was given to the human race (Genesis 1:26-28; Psalm 8:6-8). God does not intend to take it back so that he can implement his righteous laws. Yet he is taking it back in the sense that a Man who is completely dedicated to him will become its supreme ruler.

Jesus instructed his followers to pray "may your Kingdom come". He said all authority in heaven and earth was given to him (Matthew 28:18). He did not start his earthly rule when he rose from the dead. The apostles asked him when he would restore the kingdom to Israel. He answered them by saying it was not for them to know the times or dates the Father had set by his own authority (Acts 1:6-7). Only later did they realise that his Kingdom was to include all the earth and all the nations. When people from other ethnic groups received the Holy Spirit, they reluctantly accepted them (Acts 10:44-48). Even so, there were some who believed that all Jesus followers had to keep all the laws of Moses including circumcision (Acts 15:1-21).

The words "church" and "churches" occur only twice in the gospels and almost 100 times in Acts and the letters of the new Testament. The Kingdom of God/Heaven, on the other hand, is mentioned more than 120 times in the gospels. Is it any wonder that the apostles expected Jesus to set up his kingdom on earth after he was raised from the dead? But he sent the Holy Spirit to enable them to establish his Church (Acts 1:8). He had promised to build his Church but is doing so through his followers (Matthew 16:18).

The first command given to humans was to multiply and have dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:28). The author of the book of Hebrews wrote that he did not yet see all of creation subject to mankind. But he saw Jesus who had become a man (Hebrews 2:8-9). The Man to whom all creation was to be subjected, had been identified (Acts 2:34–35; Hebrews 1:13; Psalm 110:1). But first he had to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

In Revelation 5 a scroll is handed to the Lamb. He was finally going to take possession of the earth. As he pulls off the first seal a conqueror is let loose. This conqueror is seen by some as Jesus conquering with the gospel. If that is the case, the first horse is the odd one out among the four. The other three are destructive and many people get killed. Whatever the first horse signifies, it implies an empire or empires of which there have been many. The Roman, Islamic, Chinese, British, Russian and American Empires come to mind.

In Revelation "kingdoms" mostly refer to evil kingdoms which will become "the kingdom of our God and of his Messiah" (Revelation 11:15).The Church is mentioned 19 times in the first 3 chapters of Revelation. They contain messages to the 7 churches of Asia minor. The churches are also addressed by Jesus at the very end (Revelation 22:16).

Most of us are curious as to what is next on God's agenda, just like the apostles (Acts 1:6). We would also like to know the meaning of chapters 4-21 of Revelation. Maybe the Lord's answer to us is not very different from what he told them. We need to be faithful in what he has called us to do and leave the rest to him (Acts 1:7-8). Nevertheless, we are encouraged to read the book, not necessarily to understand it (Revelation 1:3).

Does God change?

Many Christians find it hard to understand how the God of Jesus could be the same as the God who instructed Joshua to kill men, women and children of Canaanite cities (Deuteronomy 7:2; Joshua 10:40). How could the wrathful God of Israel have the same agenda as "gentle Jesus"? We must not forget God's incredible patience with sinful Israel, with Nineveh (Jonah 4:2; 4:10-11) and even with Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:22-32). He offered forgiveness to those who repented and brought blood sacrifices as he had originally prescribed to Adam. This instruction can be read "between the lines": God must have killed an animal to make garments of skin for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21). Also, he looked with favour on Abel's "fat portions" of his flock (Genesis 4:4). Neither must we forget how often Jesus spoke about Hell and his promise of eternal condemnation to those who rejected his offer of salvation (Matthew 10:28; 24:48–51; 25:46; Mark 9:43).

Ordinary Christians often don't consider the logical conclusion of their attitude to the "Old Testament God". I had a friend who refused to read the Old Testament because of the way it seemed as if God advocated inhumane laws and genocide. But he loved reading books on World War II. I found books and films on WW II more offensive to my sensitivities than the Old Testament stories. Furthermore, every book is written from the perspective of the author who is often pushing some political agenda. The Bible, I believe, presents God's agenda.

One of the acrobatic mental maneuvers theologians make is to ascribe to God different attributes during different so-called dispensations. In the Old Testament he condemned sin by killing sinners (Dispensation of Law) and in the New Testament by offering forgiveness (Dispensation of Grace). Nevertheless, most of them agree that the God who revealed himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as well as to Moses and the prophets, is the pre-incarnate Christ - Jesus before he became flesh. But God does not change (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). Jesus came to show us what God is really like. The eternal agenda of God has never changed. It is found in Ephesians 3:6, 10, 11.

Another heresy is introduced when Bible scholars perpetrate Replacement Theology. According to this view, Abraham's spiritual descendants, namely the Church, have taken the place of his descendants after the flesh, namely the Jews. All God's promises to Israel are supposed to be fulfilled in Jesus. They spiritualise all the portions in the Old Testament which deal with the future of the nation of Israel such as Deuteronomy 30:4-5; Isaiah 43:6-7; Zechariah 12:8-10.

There are Christians as well as orthodox Jews who say the state of Israel and Zionism are not inspired by God. One of their arguments is that modern Israel was founded by non-religious Jews. They forget that God called Cyrus, a pagan king of Persia, by his name, to be his servant (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1, 13). They also don't pay enough attention to New Testament passages such as Acts 1:6-7 in which Jesus did not deny that the kingdom would be restored to Israel. Neither do they seem to take the words of Jesus seriously when he promised the twelve apostles high positions in the coming kingdom (Matthew 19:28). Furthermore, Paul was convinced of the role Jews would play in the last days (Romans 11:25-29).

My view on Israel is pretty close to that of Bobby Harrington (https://renew.org/does-god-still-have-a-plan-for-israel). One of the weaknesses of this article is that he quotes Genesis 17:7-8 but ignores Genesis 17:6. Abraham had many children who were not borne by Sarah (Genesis 16:15; 25:1-4) . His descendants include many nations of the Middle east. However God's promises to Jacob (Israel) apply only to his descendants, known today as the Jews (Genesis 28:13).

Ecclesiastes

I have often heard it said: "It is better to learn from someone else's mistakes than from your own". King Solomon has done modern man the favour of making the mistakes we should avoid if we don't want to end our lives with the conclusion that "Everything is pointless". In this book the wisest king who ever reigned calls himself the "preacher".

He set himself the task of finding out what God intended humans to do "under the sun". He found that nothing he did gave him the satisfaction he deeply craved. First of all he explored pleasure including cheering himself up with wine, women and song. He endeavoured to learn as much as he could about nature and human behaviour. This he put to good use by undertaking building projects as well as pursuits in agriculture. He found it all meaningless and his "heart began to despair" because all his "toilsome labour under the sun" might not be appreciated by his successor.

To understand the context of the book it is revealing to read about the "Law of the king" as outlined in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. He was not supposed to get horses from Egypt, accumulate much gold or marry many wives. He was to read and obey the commandments of the Torah (first five books of the Bible, written by Moses). But Solomon had more gold than any other king, he imported horses from Egypt and elsewhere (12000) and had 700 wives plus 300 concubines. On top of that he angered the Lord by erecting idols for his foreign wives (1 Kings 10:23-11:10).

Solomon must have known what Moses taught. His father David was very familiar with it and undoubtedly brought him up according to the dictates of the Torah. But, understandably, he wanted to learn for himself what life was about. Not all of us are granted the freedom to explore life in all its facets like he was. But the "Law of the king" was written for a reason. We should not forget that the first sins were committed in Paradise. At the end of his life Solomon concluded that all his energies were spent on that which did not have eternal value, although God had "put eternity in the human heart".

If the successful young man who enquired about eternal life had grasped Solomon's dilemma he might have chosen the "treasure in heaven" above earthly riches (Matthew 19:16-22; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 18:18-23).