|
|
 |
 |
God creates man. Man rebels against God. The Second Person of the Godhead comes to this earth, takes on human flesh to save man. What does man do? Man kills God. Man kills God. What man was it that killed God: the savage man, the criminal man, or the atheistic man? No, it was the religious man, the leaders of Israel, God's true church. Sin is bad. That bad.
It has confused man and, given time, man will confuse the truth of God. Confusion - Noah to Abraham The world became so wicked that God destroyed every living thing with a flood, save for Noah and his family. "Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time …" (Genesis 6:9 [NIV]). After the flood, "… God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth" (Genesis 9:1). Although given a fresh start with a righteous man, 427 years later (Ussher's Chronology), Abraham had to be called out of Ur of the Chaldees, which was part of old Babylonia. The moon god ruled Ur, according to Harper's Bible Dictionary. His name was Sin. That's right, Sin - S-I-N. Abraham had to be
called out of Babylon, called out of sin. Confusion - Abraham to Christ God gave the PROMISE to Abraham that through his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). This PROMISE was repeated to Isaac, Jacob and his twelve sons, yet 430 years later (Galatians 3:17) the descendants of Abraham were in Egypt, in slavery and in confusion. Sin has confused man and, given time, man will confuse the truth of God. Moses leads his people out of Egypt. He is a figure, a shadow of Jesus who leads His people out of sin (Deuteronomy 18:15,18; Acts 3:22; 7:37). In the promised land, each tribe had its own territory and at first they operated kind of semi-autonomously; similar to a confederacy. The Nation of Israel was favored above all other nations on earth with truth from Heaven. Then God's chosen people, with more light than any other people, asked for a king so they could be like the other people. Saul was anointed king 396 years after the Exodus from Egypt (Ussher's Chronology). Sadly, the history of the majority of Israel's kings is, "He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord". Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament, was written in 397 BC, according to Ussher. Add to this the 33 years of Christ's life and it makes 430 years from great truth from God to the crucifixion of Christ. God has committed the preaching of the truth to man, fallen, finite, fallible man, who sees through a glass darkly. We must expect some confusion to exist. Our tendency is to
say those Jews were dumb but in condemning the Jews we condemn ourselves.
For the history of the Jews is the history of human nature. Confusion - Christ to Reformation Sin has confused man and, given time, man will confuse the truth of God.
The Reformation, which began in 1517, was the greatest Christian revival since Apostolic times. Within 30 years, the church and history were changed. Catholic scholars today acknowledge that reforms were needed. The Pope has apologized for the mistakes of these confused churchmen. Here we are, much
more than 400 years away from what many believe was a renewal from Heaven,
and the question is: HAS HISTORY BEEN REPEATED? HAS CONFUSED MAN ONCE AGAIN CONFUSED THE TRUTH
OF GOD? Four thousand years ago God began His Church on earth by calling Abraham out of Babylon. In the ancient tongue Babylon means "gate of God". In the Bible, Babel, means confusion. Babylon is a confused gate of God. Christianity, God's Church on earth, ends with a call to come out of Babylon (Rev. 18: 1-4). The five part series, "Man and His Inclination to Evil", has been prepared to answer this very question; has man once again confused the truth of God? - but it is suggested that the following be read first: 1. The Purpose of Man's Creation 2. The Extent of Christ's Sacrifice "TO GOD BE THE GLORY GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE" 3. The Extent of Man's Confusion |
|
|