Why Christ Had to Die - and Not Another Way
By Jon Bowles
Bristol,UK
22 March 2003
(PLAY FROM START)
You know, undoubtedly part of the reason for attacking Iraq now as opposed to a different time of the month is that, if you've noticed up in the sky, there's a nice great big full moon in the last few days. I would imagine it is easier to travel by night with a full moon. I know they've got all the various night-vision goggles. They've got all the satellite-guided weapons and everything else that they have down there. But I still feel it would probably be a lot easier to be able to move under a full moon, or as my father used to call it" the parish lantern" -- which is, if you've ever lived out in the country, it really is a parish lantern because without that you can be completely and totally lost.
But it is interesting that, looking at that, it is now less than a month until the Passover (which was brought out in the sermonette today). It's not very long away. I was talking to Adele, I think it was, this morning; and she was talking about the various things that are happening down there in the Middle East. And it was interesting that she heard a report that France and Germany have been talking about the need for getting an army and a military force together within Europe to counterbalance the American force, because they feel America is too strong. Therefore that is very, very significant. And here we are a month to Passover, and we're watching what's going on down in the Middle East. But, you know, what we need to be looking at -- we need to be looking at ourself. We need to be examining ourselves on this lead up because, quite frankly, that is more important even than what's going down in the Middle East because, it is concerning the Government that is actually going to take over from those governments as they're slugging it out down there at the moment. We're not a member of any of them!
But, in this lead-up to Passover next week, I want to finish off the book of James in the Bible Study. The following week, I want to give a sermon on discerning the body of Christ. I was thinking about doing that this particular service today, but I figured that the subject I've got is more pertinent for us at this time. But "Discerning the Body of Christ" and also "John 6" (which was mentioned in a sermonette slightly. It was just touched on.) But John 6 largely isn't talking about the Passover. It's talking more about the Days of Unleavened Bread if you actually go back and read it and put the various bits together, which I'll bring out in about a fortnight's time. That's two weeks for everybody [laughs] that's on the other side of the water. A fortnight is two weeks. And then the following week -- that's the week before the Passover -- I'm hoping (if I can find it) is a Mr. Armstrong tape.
I actually saw a transcript this morning from a tape that he gave back in '82, just prior to Passover, which I thought was absolutely excellent. And I would like to try and get hold of that tape, if I possibly can, and play it; because it goes into examining ourselves in a way, really, that I am not qualified, or in any way, shape or form been assigned to give you. But Mr. Armstrong certainly was, and is to this day. So if we can get that tape on preparing and examining ourselves for the Passover, I would like to do that just before the Passover (in about three weeks time).
However, today I want to ask a question and, hopefully, answer it. It's a question which is a very interesting one and utterly fundamental to our belief. Utterly, utterly fundamental And yet, I remember sometime ago, listening to an evangelist in the Church that was then (that was before we actually separated), he said on camera, "I have no idea why Christ had to die." He could not understand why God had to have Christ die. Why couldn't He make it another way? Why couldn't He just forgive? And he came up with the conclusion that the idea must be to show that He really loves us. And that was the kind of essence of what he was talking about.
Now, my question is this: If it was 'just to show God loves us' that He actually had Christ die (rather than working it out in some different way, working out His plan in a different way), then it's almost like somebody who comes up to you and says, "I love you a great deal and just to show you," he gets this lighted cigarette and he stubs it out on his hand. And you think, "Well, there's something very, very wrong with that individual!" There's something unbalanced about that individual. And you'd probably run a mile from an individual like that, with due reason. And, in fact, it's somewhat blasphemous to say, "I had no idea why Christ had to die. It purely must be to simply show that He loves us." because it does give God and Christ ... It implies that He is deranged in some way.
So that's what I want to ask today. Why did God choose to have Christ die? Why didn't He have a different plan? Because he could! He was God. He could have said, "I forgive. On repentance, I can forgive." Why not? Why did He have to do it this way? He could have done anything that He wished to, and yet He chose to have this particular part of His plan. And it's a foundational part of His plan. And it is a good question. It's not an arbitrary question. As I said, this particular evangelist ... And the reason why he had no idea was that he lost his bearings. He'd lost the holy days. He hadn't put the Passover into the context of the holy days as to what the holy days were all about, and how the Passover begins the very holy days in the Plan of God.
I have seven points today (a bit different from my normal 4 or 5) and, hopefully, with fewer scriptures on each.
The first thing I want to deal with is why we are human. Why we are human. As I say, this is a foundational sermon, very much a foundational sermon.
Secondly, I want to ask the question: What does God want us to experience as human beings? What is it that He's trying to get us to experience?
Thirdly, I want to talk about man and his destiny; and, in doing so, I'll be talking about God and His Way -- because that's really what man's destiny is.
And then fourthly, I want to talk about Satan and his way. Satan's way, because Satan is a destroyer. That has a great deal to do with this particular subject.
Fifthly, I want to talk about the chaos. That you look back into in history, and you see Satan's way, and how the chaos results from that way.
Linked to that, I want to talk a little bit about the chaos in prophecy because we're looking forward as well at the prophetic chaos that will come about from Satan's way at the close of this age. And that also has a great deal to do with it.
And finally, I want to talk about our part. The part that we have today, and why God chose Christ to die, and didn't use another way -- because we are inexorably linked to this entire process.
WHY HUMAN? (PLAY FROM 8:02)
So, let's ask the question then: Why are we human? Let's turn over to Matthew 13. Why are we human? Christ gives a parable in verse 24.
Matthew 13:24-25 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: (25) But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
So we're looking at the parable of the tares. If you'll notice down in verse 36 ...
Matthew 13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away,
And this entire section of chapter thirteen deals with the subject of why He spoke in parables. He spoke in parables to hide the meaning from the multitudes.
Matthew 13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house [So He's not a vagabond.]: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
Matthew 13:40-41 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this [age]. (41) The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Now whether this is talking about the establishment of the Kingdom of God, or whether it's an overview going right the way through to the end of time as well, regardless, when you're looking at the Kingdom of God, you cannot have anything in there that does iniquity. And the way in which humans are dealt with -- to be excluded from that Kingdom -- is that they are destroyed. They are destroyed. So then, why are we made human? Why were we made flesh? Well, a very good part of it is so that we can be destroyed. So that we can be destroyed. If you'll turn over to Romans 8.
Romans 8:13 For if you live after the flesh, you shall die:
Again, that is part of being human. You and I, from here going back home, could quite easily end in an accident; and that would be our lot, humanly speaking. When you and I go to sleep each night, we close our eyes; and we disappear. I'm sure, I am personally convinced, that's why God has actually implemented sleep is so that it doesn't terrify us about death. Can you imagine facing death (Everybody faces death.) and have never slept? They came to the point of death and suddenly disappeared? But a merciful God gives us sleep so that every night we go to sleep, and we understand that we're going to wake up the next morning. So I am sure that is the reason why that we have sleep each night.
Romans 8:13-14 For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the Spirit do [put to death] the deeds of the body, you shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
It's those that are led by that Spirit that are going to go on into the future, being the sons of God, resurrected into the very Kingdom of God. And those that will not be led by that Spirit (those that are going to be led by the flesh, by the spirit that is linked up with that flesh, i.e. Satan's mindset and wavelength), they are going to die. That's the purpose of being born human. We are born human so that we might die, so that this attitude of mind does not have to continue.
Whatever the reason ... I mean, if you look at the entire creation. You look outside here. I mean, we see the sky. We see the sunshine. We see the leaves. We see the buds on the trees and the way everything is starting now. And you look at the detail that is there, and you look at the way in which this creation functions. And we're not just looking at, oh, a creation. We're looking even at time and space itself. We're looking at our entire existence. An incredible amount of effort has gone into our existence -- an incredible amount of effort, an incredible amount of detail. It probably did take millions and millions of years to come up with this that we see. And I'm not talking about a blind evolution. I'm talking about the design, the way in which this all came to be. The design process probably did take millions and millions of years to be designed and to be formed. And we're looking at this, and we look at this creation; and, if that creation is to have so much work done to it, whatever the reason for it, has got to be big. It has got to be huge. It has got to be monumental.
And here we find human beings. And we find then that, if we live after the flesh -- after the human way -- then we die. And the indication within Scripture is that that is the purpose. That is the purpose of being human. It's so that we can die.
WHAT DOES GOD WANT US TO LEARN AS HUMAN BEINGS? (PLAY FROM 13:36)
So let's go into the second point then. What does God want us to learn? What is it that God wants us to learn? There's an interesting scripture over in Jeremiah 21. It almost lays out what Mr. Armstrong would bring to us on a regular basis. So here is Jeremiah speaking, and he brings them the message from God.
Jeremiah 21:8 And unto this people thou shall say, [This is God speaking to Jeremiah here.]Thus says the [ETERNAL]; Behold, [You look at this!] I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.
There are two ways. There is a way of life, and there is a way of death. Now we just read that, if I live after the flesh -- this way of death -- I will die. There are two ways, two different ways of life, in Jeremiah 21:8. If you go back to Matthew 7, you find Christ also mentions exactly the same thing. He elaborates on this. It's the same Eternal who was speaking to Jeremiah. He says, "Now you go; you tell them from Me, "Thus says the Eternal." This individual became Christ.
Matthew 7:13 Enter you in at the strait gate:
The difficult gate. Remember, we are looking at a Way. We're looking at a gate that leads to that Way -- that road.
Matthew 7:13-14 Enter you in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, [to being destroyed, to dying and dying eternally] and many there be which go in thereat: [Now at the moment there are, they're going to die. Now there's a resurrection as well, and we understand that there's a plan for all of them.] (14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way [the path], which leads unto life, and few there be that find it.
So we see two ways -- a way of life, and a way of death. And, at the moment, there are very few going the way of life. The vast majority of this world is going a way which leads to death, which will lead to death. And the reason for that, if you'll go over to chapter 3, the reason God has constructed this, this system that we find ourself in, this world in which we find ourselves (and we do -- all of us find ourselves in this world, this incredible detail we look out at each day of our existence)... Yet, at the end of our existence, there is death. My parents are both in the ground. They're both dead. And that is the end, as far as we are looking forward.
Romans 3:10-11 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (11) There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God.
So, you know, we've all gone that way of death. We've all gone down that road. Every single last one of us have gone that way. So what is God wanting us to learn? I mean, obviously, He's wanting us to learn something about that way of death, a great deal about that way of death.
Romans 3:11-12 There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God. (12) They are all gone out of the way [They've all left the path that God has for them, every single human being.], they are together become unprofitable; there is none that does good, no, not one.
Not a single individual.
Romans 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
He's talking about the people that have chosen this particular way -- which is all of us, at one time or another, have chosen that particular way.
Romans 3:14-17 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: (15) Their feet are swift to shed blood: (16) Destruction and misery are in their ways [That path, that direction in which they are going.]: (17) And the way of peace have they not known:
This is the natural human mind, as it said in Romans 8 that we read earlier -- that, if I live after the flesh, then I shall die. You shall die, if you live after the flesh; then you shall die.
Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law says, it says to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
God has designed it this way. It's not happenstance. You know, this Being ... All you have to do is look at the creation and you say, "Look! This Being that made this that I find myself in, has a Mind that, as Einstein used to say, 'if you took the sum total of human consciousness, and compared it to the smallest item, as far as God is concerned, it would be absolutely nothing in comparison.'" And it is! Our entire consciousness, our entire scientific effort, has nothing to match what we are seeing out here in front of our eyes every day.
Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law says, it says to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
So what is it that God is trying to get us to learn? If we've all sinned (all come short, all gone out of the way, all gone away from the way of God), then we have all got to learn about sin. That is what God wants us to learn. That is what God wants us to experience. It is an experience God has built in for us to experience, to learn about. This is not just an arbitrary thing. If we go on a little bit, just over in chapter 6 of Romans, just over a page or two:
Romans 6:15-18 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. (16) Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves [slaves] to obey, his [slaves] you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (17) But God be thanked, that you were the [slaves] of sin, [He's talking to the Roman Church -- You were the slaves of sin.] but you have obeyed from the heart that form of [teaching]which was delivered you. (18) Being then made free from sin, you became the [slaves] of righteousness.
Now this is part and parcel of the Plan of God, that every single one of us experiences sin; and yet we're to turn from that way, into the way of God. And it's designed that way. It was designed so that we might experience it. So when we're asking the question: Why was Christ crucified? Why wasn't there another plan? Why did God have to put that individual through such an incredibly awful death? It is part and parcel of the very Plan of God. It fits into the very Plan of God.
"Well," you say, "Surely God could have worked it out in a different way? I mean Christ Himself prayed. He said, "Look, if it's possible, take this cup from Me; but not my will, but your will will be done." But you see, it was God's will. It was God's will that that death occurs, because there is a reason for it. There is something that is being impressed on our minds. The very fact is that we are going through a life where sin is inexorably bound up in with that life. We are witnessing it. We. Certainly within. We look out at the world; and we see it continually, daily, a way of life that produces a certain result all the time. We see it in our own lives. We behave a certain way to our wives, or to our children, or to our families or whatever. And we get a certain result as the result of it, and we are learning. Even now, we are repenting and turning continually as we go through this life. And it is that God wants us to learn this lesson. He wants us ... Really, He's rubbing our nose in it to a large degree. But it says that:
Romans 6:18 Being then made free from sin, you became the [slaves] of righteousness.
Romans 7:9 For I was alive [apart from] the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
In other words, I suddenly started to really recognize how off track I was. I think all of us, and I don't know about you ... well I do know about you. If you're here and you're converted, you will have recognized how off track we were as a Church those years ago. We were off track. We were away from the track that God had laid down. We were out of the way.
Romans 7:9-11 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. (10) And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. (11) For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
We cannot do this on our own strength; but the key, notice verse 13. If you want to answer the question "What does God want us, in this life, to learn?" -- the answer is in verse 13.
Romans 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin,
In other words, that God can actually rub our noses in it so that we can actually see it; and there's no shadow of doubt. So that we don't have any false illusion in our mind. We can see. We say, "Now look. I have sinned. I've come short. I've gone off the way."
Romans 7: ... But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good [i.e. the Law].
We can actually see. We can understand that we are off track, because we can see that we have broken the Law. The Law is the knowledge of sin. It gives the knowledge of being off track.
Romans 7:13 ... working death in me by that which is good that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
That verse, Romans 7:13, is a key verse that tells us "What is it that God wants us to learn?" I always remember hearing on the radio about this monkey. They were trying to potty train a monkey. Have you ever potty trained a monkey? So what they did, they got this monkey. And every time it messed on the floor, they'd grab it by the scruff of the neck, smack it's behind, and threw it out the window. And this was potty training a monkey, apparently [laughs]. So, finally, the penny dropped with this monkey. The monkey finally (and this is supposed to be a true story), whenever it messed on the floor, it smacked itself on the behind and jumped out the window. [everyone laughs]
But you see this is really it. If you've ever trained a puppy, that's what you do. You put pepper on the offending article, you go and get the nose, and rub the nose in it; or whatever else you happen to do. But you try and get the point across. That's what it says here.
Romans 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin,
That I could actually open my eyes, and see myself for what I really am, and see the problem -- the problem with going off track, with missing the mark, because sin is missing the mark,
Romans 7:13 ... working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
We can see that sin carries a penalty. When we miss the mark, there is a penalty there; and we're having our nose, basically, rubbed in it to a large degree. So the actual thing that is being brought across to us, you can see in Romans 6:23, is that the wages of sin is death. That it will work towards death. It will work towards destroying relationships, destroying ourselves that we die. We live with this death hanging over us all the time. But the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. That this gift is something that is then given to us, this freedom from what is naturally going to take place.
MAN'S DESTINY (PLAY FROM 28:27)
So what about man and his destiny? As I said in the beginning, I said, look, whatever it is that God is doing, it is big. Anybody going and looking out into this natural world should be able to see that the Plan of God is no half-baked measure. They should be able to see by the natural things that are made that it is something monumental. Something monumental is going on here. Now if we turn over to Colossians 1, we find this Being who talked to Jeremiah and said, "Look, you go and tell them about the way of life and the way of death." Turn to ... Hum, with Paul it's always difficult to know where to pick up.
Colossians 1:13-16 Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (14) In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (15) Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: (16) For by him [this is Jesus Christ, now] were all things created,
You see, when we looking at Jesus Christ, this Individual who came down and who died, whom God the Father decided -- right, both God the Father and Jesus Christ decided -- this is the way in which it must be within the Plan. There is no other way of actually doing it. This Being that came down is the Creator.
Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
He's going to be over them all, that He may be before all things; and by Him all things consist. His words hold what we have today together. His word -- that He sent out of His mouth when He said "Let there be light." -- that light is still. We're looking out here now. It's still there, and they're all made for Him. And this outgoing, this giving God ... And in Genesis 1 it talks about "and He looked at all that He made, and behold it was very, very good." What He had made was very good. And this was the Eternal God. This was the One that became later Jesus Christ. If you'll go back to Romans again, we find that this Being who was God before His birth, who went through and lived this life and died, and died that excruciating death that we're going to commemorate and have a memorial of on the day of Passover, the One that we're asking, "Well, why did God have to work it out this way? Why couldn't He work it out a different way?
Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate
Or He planned. He planned. Probably a better word to use for predestinate is planned, because it's not a case that individuals are going to be there. It's a case that some individuals are going to be there. Not necessarily you or me. It's up to us whether we respond to the calling that's been given to us.
Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [or planned] to be conformed to the image of his Son,
So we are to be like this Being who was the very Creator, Who spoke and it was. That is a phenomenal thought, an absolutely phenomenal thought!
Romans 8:29 ... to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Now, this is the very Plan of God. This is the monumental thing that God is doing. This is why you look out your windows each day, and you see the creation, and we see the atoms and molecules and everything else -- the way in which this world is put together; and it is phenomenal. You open your eyes, and if you just stop and think and ponder a little bit about it, it almost blows you away that anything exists here at all. Just look at it. It's amazing. It's absolutely amazing, what we look out of our eyes at, every single day of our life. And yet the One that did this says that we have got to be conformed to His Image. That He is going to be the Firstborn among many brothers and sisters. That we are part of that Family. That's what He wants.
Now we've just read, and we've just seen, how God wants us to learn something about sin. How sin causes problems; and He's built it in, in such a way that we cannot get away from it. That when we miss the mark that God gives, then we can see the result. When we see others missing the mark that God gives, and it's all around us, we can see the result. That's all part and parcel of it.
Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, [So here is the Father, delivering Christ up for us all. This was part and parcel of the plan.] how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
You see, being conformed to Him. It talks about being the Firstborn among many brethren. All of creation, as He is Creator. We will be Creator. As He speaks and it is, we speak and it is. It will be. That again, this is the monumental thing that has been planned. And it's found within the pages of Scripture. We'll go back there later into I John 3, where it talks there about how we will eventually see Him as He is. At the moment, we can't; but, eventually, we will see Him as He is. Turn over to Philippians 3. I read this scripture in Over Haddon at that time. It is an astounding scripture to me.
Philippians 3:21 Who shall change our vile body,
This is the Plan of God. The Plan of God is to change this body, with all its aches and pains that you and I have every morning; this body is to be changed.
Philippians 3:21 that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body
Now conformed to the image of Christ. It is literal, quite literal. Not only is it going to be that we are going to be conformed to His image mentally and spiritually, but spiritually in the sense of His body.
Philippians 3:21 fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
He speaks, and it is. What He says stays where it is. It goes out of His mouth through the very Spirit of God; and it stays in that Spirit, creating the very reality that we see. We, as the sons and daughters of God, will have the same kind of power through the body that is to be given to us. That, again, is a phenomenal thought! A destiny that is beyond all belief, almost, when you look at the aching human frame that we have got; and yet this is what it says. This is what this Word says. This Being -- this God -- who is outgoing, who is giving to such a degree that He designs a Plan whereby He can give to mankind such power and such incredible existence, beyond anything that we could possibly understand or realize. And yet that is what this Word explains very clearly. As we've been reading in James, where James says, you know, this Being -- this God -- remember is without variableness or shadow of turning. He lives a certain Way. His Way is a way of peace. His Way is different from the human way. It is diametrically opposed to the way that Satan has chosen for himself.
But in this scripture here in Philippians 3:21{1}, where it talks about being fashioned to His glorious body, you put that together with scriptures such as 1 Corinthians 13:12{2}, that talks about how we will then know, even as we are known. Not only will this change be of our physical bodies, it will change our minds as well. God knows through His Spirit. He knows us intimately through His Spirit. He seems to almost be able to feel through that Spirit. He can operate things through a distance through His Spirit. And it says we will know as we are known. So, we will know in that same way. This is the destiny that we are looking at.
Let's go over to John as far as this destiny that you and I have in front of us, in the context of why did Christ have to die? Why couldn't it be worked out in a different way?
John 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, [or the Logos] and the [Logos] was with God, and the [Logos] was God. (2) The same was in the beginning with God. (3) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (4) In him was life;[real, true Life] and the life was the light of men.
It lights up the Way in which we are to then walk, the Way we are to go in order to have the same kind of Life.
John 1:5 And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness [couldn't grasp] it.
The word comprehend is to both grasp hold of and understand, same thing. They just didn't grasp it at all.
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
You see, their way was going the way which was natural to a man linked up to the very spirit of Satan. It is a way which is off track. It's missed the mark. And every single one of us have learned about that way.
John 3:20-21 For every one that does evil hates the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. (21) But he that does truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
So that there is a Way in which God has given us that allows us to counteract that. There is a Way that we've been illuminated to, through an individual sent to us. Not only Christ, but also a human individual through whom God revealed His Way. And that Way of life, as it says in John 10:10, is a Way of life that is more abundant.
John 10:10 ... I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Now, that's man and his destiny; and it is inexorably linked up to God. It is inexorably linked up with the way God is. Yes, we have an experience of missing the mark. But the Plan that God has, the destiny that He has designed before us, is one that we become a Creator the same as Jesus Christ is a Creator. And this: Remember it talks in John, it talks about how He is Light.
SATAN'S WAY (PLAY FROM 42:34)
Now when you go on to the other side, and you say, "Well, let's have a look at this next point, about Satan." -- you see, Satan's way is the way of a destroyer, the way of destruction; and this is the heart and core.
2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned,
So we in our lives, built into this life that we are part and parcel of, is the fact that we miss the mark; and angels also missed the mark. Angels also sinned
2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to [tararoo], and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
Or a place of restraint. So if they have been restrained, and it then goes in and gives a list, one after another. He lists one after another. He says ...
2 Peter 2:4-9 For if God spared not the angels that sinned ... (5) And spared not the old world, but saved Noah ... (6) And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them ... (7) And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (8) (For that righteous man dwelling among them [couldn't put up] with their unlawful deeds;) (9) The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of [trials], and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
You see, each of these examples that we're given, previous to verse 9, shows us an example of missing the mark -- of sin. It shows one after another. It says, "Look, God knows how to deliver the righteous out of trials and reserve the unjust unto the Day of Judgment. He is able to sort this mess out." And he starts off with the angels (in verse 4) that sinned.
Now what actually happened? We know that when we sin the penalty is death. We can find that within Scripture. We just read it. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life." But what about an angel? What's the wages of sin for an angel? Well, it's to be restrained (according to this). What's the result of sin for an angel? What actually happens? What's the penalty of sin? If an angel sins, or if a human sins, or if anybody sins, what actually happens? What is sin? Sin is transgression of the Law. It's lawlessness. It's going against the Way of God. It's going in a different direction. And the result? Remember, God is the Creator. God is the One who is outgoing, who creates, who gives, who has designed a Plan that you and I are part and parcel of, so that we might share that Life with Him. So what is sin? What actually is the penalty of it? What's going to happen?
Well, it's destroying. It's destruction. And really, when we're thinking of Satan, it's almost like the ripples in a pond. You've all thrown a stone in a pond. You throw it in a pond. And wherever that stone goes in, okay, that might be where the stone lands; but the ripples then spread right out from that point, and it goes into the entire area of the pond. Wherever you happen to be on the area of the pond, depending where you are, it depends on how great the ripple is going to be. But the influence is from that stone that goes in there. It's the same as when somebody misses the mark, when somebody goes against the Way of God. God is the Way of creation, of trying to up build, to try and lift up people, of outgoing. The nature of God is totally different from Satan. But where that is broken, where you've got somebody missing the mark, there are going to be penalties that then ripple out from that point; and you will find it throughout the world today.
The penalties that come out from the war in the Middle East today are in your forecourt. They're in the price you pay for petrol. They are in -- presumably it will be -- in the plastics that you have. They ripple out. They come out from whatever happens. It is not a case that it just happens in isolation. If we sin, it doesn't just happen in isolation. It ripples out from there to all around us as well. And the repercussions for an angel sinning (because an angel is able to sin in a way far, far greater than a human being can) ... You've got the repercussions as far as Noah, as far as Sodom and Gomorrah, as far as you and I. But as far as an angel, the damage that can be done, the destruction that can be meted out, the devastation that will come from the power that is there, is horrendous. Absolutely horrendous! And the ripples that come from that act are also horrendous.
If you get a stone and you throw it in a pond, you get a certain amount of ripples that come out from there. If you get an earthquake that drops halfway down underneath the sea over near Japan somewhere, the ripples that come from that lump of rock that disappeared into the sea are entirely different. You get TSUNAMIS! {} Hundreds of feet high. And it's not exactly getting a pebble and throwing it into a pond, but you just get one great lump of rock that disappears. And the tsunami then, the water goes down and the tsunami then comes across, hundreds of feet high. And in the case of an angel (the power that was there, the repercussions and the ripple that came out) the "tsunami" that rippled out from that was huge -- utterly, utterly huge.
You see, the penalty of sin is destruction. It destroys relationships. It destroys creation. It destroys creation. You see relationships have also got to be created. You have a relationship ... It's like I read last week. I read that the person that you call an idiot is a different person afterwards than he was before, because the relationship before was one way. You then call them an idiot, and the relationship afterwards is a totally different thing. That was from de Bono, and it's true. It is a destruction.
You have sin. You have a missing of the mark and you have a destruction that occurs. And it will destroy relationships, human relationships, yes; but it also destroys physically as well. You miss the mark. We drive too fast, we skid on the road, we hit some bus shelter with people inside -- we sin! And the repercussions are huge, on all sorts (on them, on us). The repercussions are huge! For us taking certain choices, the ripples from that are much, much greater than just yelling at the wife or the wife yelling at you. Depending, [as] that might be the final straw. But whatever, what actually could happen. You go out and you kill somebody, the ripples are going to be much greater.
But whatever it is, the penalty of sin -- of missing the mark -- is destruction. In the case of a spirit being, that destruction is a destruction of the creation because, you see, God is outgoing. Yes, it destroys relationships as well; but God is outgoing. He is up building. He is upgrading things. Whereas Satan, because he is going in a different way, he is pulling down what is being created. Now that is the essence of it. That is the essence of Satan being a destroyer. If we turn over to Revelation 9 ... If you want to put in your notes that Revelation 11:7{4} and Revelation 17:8{5}, you'll find that the Beast's habitation is this area here that we're about to read about. And also, you can read Revelation 20:1-3{6}, where Satan is actually put into the abyss.
Revelation 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
If we go over to verse 11, it talks about coming out of this abyss and it says:
Revelation 9:11 And they had a king over them, [Now the king over them was Satan, or is going to be Satan, because he is over the demons.] which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue has his name Apollyon.
That is to say, if you look over in the margin reference, it is the destroyer. One of the very names of Satan is Apollyon, is Destroyer. That is one of his names because not only does he destroy relationships, which he does, because he's the devil as well (He's the slanderer, which destroys relationships); but that mindset, if it's unchecked, it destroys enormous.
I mean, you've seen on the news last night? In Baghdad, Rageh Omaar in his hotel, looking out, and all the panorama of the cameras looking at all the various bombs going off. Have you seen those palaces that Sadaam Hussein had? They were lavish. They were absolutely palatial. They were palaces after all and they're now lying in absolute, abject, utter ruins. It is total utter abject destruction.
And why? Wouldn't it have been better to have gotten together, and to have talked together, and to have resolved the difference? But they weren't about to. Why? Because there was a certain mindset. I look at Sadaam Hussein and I see Stalin. I think there's a satanic force there. I honestly feel there's a satanic force, within that individual. So why is that mindset there? Because it's coming from the king of them -- whose name is Apollyon, the destroyer. And the penalty of sin is that sin destroys what God creates. Sin destroys what God creates.
God creates this natural world. Sin destroys it. God creates our bodies functioning properly, healthily. Sin destroys it. God creates relationships between individuals. Sin destroys that relationship. And God wants a relationship between Himself and human beings; and sin destroys that relationship, as well. So sin destroys what God creates.
There is more to it than that, because God is a certain type of God. God, as the creator, He is a certain way. He creates in a certain way. You look at the natural world; and I mean, the Orientals have made it into a religion, the Yin and Yang -- that everything is in balance. You've gotta keep the yin and the yang; and you've gotta have all this, that, and the other. And they've made that into a religion. All they're looking at is the way in which God creates, the way in which God is. He is a balanced individual. He says, "Vengeance is mine, says the Eternal. I will repay." And He does repay. He does cause vengeance to balance things out. This is the kind of God He is. This is the kind of Being He is.
He creates things in such a way that things are in balance. If you've done any geography at all, you know you have the evaporation from the sea; and it condenses and goes on the land. It runs down. You have these cycles. There is the nitrogen cycle. It goes into the nitrogen in the air, and the nitrogen fixation bacteria, and the grass is eaten by the animal; and the animal dies, and up it goes back into the air again. You've got these cycles. You've got everything in balance; and, if something gets out of balance, then something else corrects it. And this is the way that God has made so much of this world. It is in balance and in harmony. That's the way He is. He is a God who is organized, and you can see it throughout the creation.
So when we look at this penalty of sin, the fact that sin destroys what God creates, He's made something else. He said, then, "Okay. If you are the one who sinned, and you are the one who goes ahead and drops that stone in the center of the pond, and the ripples go out from you, the primary one affected will be you. Somehow, that primary one affected is going to be you. That's the primary, well, not primary directive. [laughs] It is the way that God tends to work. And when you are looking at sin in a human being, we know that sin causes the destruction of the creation; but we are part of that creation. Sin destroys us! Because we're physical, sin destroys us.
CHAOS (PLAY FROM 58:38)
We look at the chaos that occurred after Lucifer became Satan, became the enemy; and we just see what it talks about in John 8:44{7}. It says about how Satan was a murderer, a destroyer, from the beginning. A murderer is a destroyer. That's his frame of mind. That's how he is. That's his entire modus operandi. But you see, God, as it says in I Corinthians 14:33{8}, it says He is not the author of confusion. He is the antithesis of that. He's an organized Being. He works in a different way. He's an outgoing individual. It talks in Psalms 104:30{9} how he renews the face of the Earth. He up builds. He constructs. He's not a destroyer. He's the antithesis of the destroyer. If it's destruction, it's within a cycle -- within a cycle of life -- so that there might be more life.
You look at the natural world, that's the way it's been designed. Nothing dies of itself in that regard. Isaiah 45:18{10}, it says specifically that God did not create in vain. Now the word "in vain" is the same word you find over in Genesis 1 where it says the Earth was without form, which is tohu in verse 2{11}. And that word in Isaiah 45:18, where it says it was not created in vain, is that same word. And yet it says here that the Earth ("In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.") and the Earth became without form. That's tohu and bohu, without form and void{12}. Desolation. Destroyed. That's really what we're looking at. If we go over to Jude 6, right before Revelation:
Jude 1:6-7 And the angels which kept not their first estate, [that first principality. In other words, they didn't stay where they were put. They weren't doing what they were told. The angels that kept not their first estate ... ] but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (7) Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to [pornéo], and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of [age-lasting]fire. [from this fire that came down and destroyed them.]
So, we see these angels. Again, you see sin that occurred; and you see the chaos that actually was the result of that. That from this event, they didn't keep their first estate. They left their habitation. They ascended to try and presumably knock God off His throne. And, in so doing, caused destruction on a vast scale of the creation. And we see the creation becoming tohu and bohu -- without form and void. And as I said, we're looking at a destruction that is far greater, as far as an angel is concerned, as far as a spirit being is concerned, than a mere human being. The destruction that can be done to the creation is vast. It obviously was.
If you'll go back a few pages to I John to chapter 3:
1 John 3:1-8 Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not. (2) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. [This is our destiny.] (3) And every man that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure. [So, we'll become perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect.] (4) Whosoever commits sin [missing the mark -- breaks] the law: for sin is [lawlessness. It is the transgression of the Law. It's not just transgression of the 10 Commandments. It's a state of mind. It's lawlessness]. (5) And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. (6) [Whoever lives in Him does not sin, or doesn't practice sin. He's not continually sinning; Whoever is continually sinning ... ] has not seen him, neither known him. (7) Little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. (8) He that commits sin is of the [slanderer, the] devil; for the devil sinned [missed the mark]from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, [This is why Christ came.] that he might destroy the works of the devil [of the slanderer].
So we see how the penalty of sin is destruction, how sin destroys what God creates; and we see this attitude of mind that's coming from Satan, from the enemy. And we see that Christ came, so when we're asking ourself, "Why was He crucified? Why not another plan?" We see that this has got to do something about the fact that He's destroying this work of Satan. If we have sin in us as spirit beings, we also would create the chaos and destruction that happened in the case of Satan. We would be exactly the same; and that has got to be utterly, utterly destroyed. So as we approach this Passover and we're examining ourselves, and I'll play the tape by Mr. Armstrong, he's talking there about how repentance is so vital -- about whether we have actually turned, you know, examining ourself. We're not examining ourself as to whether we are perfect or not. It's examining ourself as to whether we have TURNED or not. Have we effectively turned from that way to the Way of God? That's what we're examining ourself all about.
CHAOS IN PROPHECY (PLAY FROM 66:00)
It's interesting, if you do a Bible Study on the word tohu and bohu, something very interesting comes out of the Bible Study. There's about three times the word bohu is mentioned, which is meaning to be empty or void or emptiness. And sixteen times the word tohu is mentioned -- desolation or wilderness, or without form or confusion -- an empty place. But you tend to find that it's a time of war, when these words are being mentioned. And it tends to describe the end-time, the time that we're approaching now. That's the tendency. That's where you tend to find those words. I don't want to ... I don't think I'm going to really go into a great deal on that. Oh, we could. Yes we could.
Turn over to James 3, just a recap. We just read about how, in a Bible Study, how a fountain sent forth form the same place, sweet water and bitter in verse 11.
James 3:14-16 But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. (15) This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. [It's coming from Satan. It's from his mind frame.](16) For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
James 4:1-3 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? (2) You lust, and have not: you kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: you fight and war, yet you have not, because you ask not. [There's no relationship there between yourself and God.](3) You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon [what you want].
You get on your knees, and you ask; but you only ask for what you want. Your mindset is different. Your mindset is going in a different direction. Notice over in Jeremiah 4. Notice I mentioned about how it's a time of war, and it describes the end time when you find these words being used.
Jeremiah 4:19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the [shofar], the alarm of war.
We're looking at this time of war that is about to come upon us, unfortunately.
Jeremiah 4:23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was [tohu and bohu] without form, and void
Exactly the same as you find at the end of Satan's rebellion. The result of sin is destruction. The result that we are going to see in the years ahead is going to come from missing the mark. And we are going to have our noses, and the world is going to have its nose, rubbed in this so that we fully and totally understand the process -- because, when the power is given to us, we've got to know. Absolutely got to know!
Jeremiah 4:23 and the heavens, and they had no light.
There was no light; and, again, you can look and see the analogies there.
Jeremiah 4:24-26 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. (25) I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. (26) I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the [ETERNAL], and by his fierce anger.
He allowed this to happen. It's coming from the results of man's ways, and God is about to step in and cause these problems.
Isaiah 34:1-3 Come near, you nations, to hear; and hearken, you people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. (2) For the indignation of the [ETERNAL] is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he has utterly destroyed them, he has delivered them to the slaughter. (3) Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcasses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
In other words, here is the recompense for living a certain way. The world is about to come into the Millennium, but that recompense has got to be put onto the world. God is a God of balance. The balance has got to be there.
Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
The result of that balancing out will eventually flow into the very Kingdom of God itself, but you're looking at utter and total chaos. We'll leave that concept as far as the end of this age.
OUR PART (PLAY FROM 71:46)
Now, what about our part? We still haven't really answered, "Why does Christ have to be crucified? Why isn't there another plan?" Well, basically, sin causes destruction. We know that. We've seen scriptures that indicate that. We can see very clearly that, where we miss the mark, destruction is the result. If a spirit being misses the mark with the power that a spirit being has, it is a monumental destruction. We know that. But also, God tends to focus (just like the pebble in the pool, it focuses that, it rebounds) on the person actually causing that destruction, causing that sin. In our case, because we are human, then it is us that has to be destroyed. It's us that's got to be destroyed. We are part of this creation that is being destroyed by this way of life. Being part of this creation, we will be destroyed with it. We will actually suffer that penalty.
Remember what we stated at the beginning. God's purpose for making man human is so that we can be destroyed. It's so that we can utterly be wiped away. So we don't have to stay. But, you see, if there are some that turn, if there are some that understand a different way -- and we've all gone out of the way, we've all gone aside; but there are some that decide, yes, and their minds are open and they turn. But how can God possibly save them? Rescue them? That's why Christ had to die.
It's the destruction of missing the mark, of going away from that Way of God, that will destroy everything. It's not just human beings that are destroyed. It's not just the penalty of sin is death. The penalty of sin is destruction. It destroys the creation of God. The fact is that God has deliberately made us human, and made us human so that we can be destroyed. So that it does not affect ... The ripples coming out from the sin that will come from us will not be the kind of ripples that came from Satan. That that will never happen again.
But, if we are turned -- if we do, in fact, put ourself under the Government of God, under the way of God -- then something has got to happen. God is a God of balance. He does not change. You look at the creation, and you see this God of balance. There's got to be a penalty paid. A penalty has got to be paid. The destruction has got to take place. Otherwise, he's no longer a consistent God. He has no variableness, no shadow of turning{13}. When He says, it is. And if He says "This is the way it must be." and we go in a different way, destruction will occur; and it will rebound on us. So there's got to be a substitute.
If we look at the balance in nature, if you want to put some of these scriptures down in your notes,
Genesis 9:6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
Again, it illustrates the mind of God.
Matthew 26:52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. [Whoever takes the sword is going to perish by the sword.]
Revelation 13:10 He that leads into captivity shall go into captivity: he that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
We will see the destruction that happens in this Earth, but we know that God is this way. He's a God of vengeance. He's a God of balance. He's a God of recompense, and He will cause the recompense. The recompense will take place. Now (when we look at that, and we understand that), this is the faith and the patience of the saints. The saints are going to watch this. They're going to see it within this Earth. "He that leads into captivity must go into captivity." "He that kills with the sword MUST be killed with the sword." There's no compromise. But, you see, you and I sin. You and I go that way. You and I go the way that's got to end up in disaster, in destruction. So there has got to be built into that purpose something that will give us, well, turn over to John 3.
We read in Romans 7:13, we read the scripture that talks about how we must learn that sin becomes exceeding sinful. That we have our nose rubbed in it. We're like little puppy dogs that get our nose rubbed in it to teach us a lesson. It's built into the process. God wants us to understand this lesson. To have it abundantly clear in our mind so that the destruction does not occur in the future.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
That you and I may be rescued from the destruction that would naturally be there, because of sin. We've got to learn it. We've got to learn the lesson. We're living in a world that is absolutely steeped in it. We sin, continually. And we've got to go, in repentance, to God; and God is a God of balance. He insists on that penalty being paid (otherwise His Word is not valid) physically and spiritually. Physically and spiritually. And that's why there's a Passover. That's why Christ died.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
May be rescued from the destruction that would naturally occur if sin was left unchecked. And yet you see this love. It's not a case of getting a cigarette and saying, "Oh, just to show how much He loves you." It's not that. It's not some deranged individual. You look at the creation. This is no deranged individual. This is an Individual that has such high standards, and who absolutely insists on those high standards for anyone who is going to share those high standards with Him. I wasn't going to read this, but let's just do this. Let's turn over to Psalms, the fifth Psalm.
Psalms 5:1-4
It's not just that it will be in God. It's that we, as wicked, will not dwell there. I think of the first Psalm.
Psalms 1:1-6 Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (3) And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper. (4) The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. (5) Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. (6) For the LORD knows the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
God will not allow sin to be present in that coming Kingdom, in His government with His way. This is the reason why God chose to have Christ crucified and not another plan. He's learned from His experience with Lucifer. We know that, if we go against that expression of God's will, sin will always -- but always -- carry a penalty. And that penalty of sin is the destruction of the creation of God -- be that creation a relationship, be that creation physical. For us physically, that destruction is going to, as we are part of that very creation, it's going to mean death; so the creation doesn't get destroyed, so we don't carry on living. But He wants us to learn. He wants us to get absolutely sickened, sick and tired of this system in which we find ourself today; so we completely and totally reject it. Forgiveness isn't enough. It always carries a penalty. God makes it that way and that destruction is got to, therefore, be there.
Christ therefore had to be crucified, had to die, had to be destroyed -- on our behalf. It was His body that was broken for us breaking His Laws that ends in our physical bodies being broken. It was His blood that was shed, so that our blood doesn't have to be shed when we break His spiritual laws, eternally. So, just a couple of scriptures in closing.
At the end of it all, this entire system that has been made, this entire effort that has gone in, the sacrifice that was given, which was a monumental sacrifice, but Revelation 16.
Revelation 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Now that, you know, on the surface "It's done." No, it's not "It's done." In other words, that phase is over. That phase can be finished. Satan can be put away, and the phase of which people have their noses rubbed in this destruction that comes from missing the mark. The mark that God has set. And, eventually, over in Revelation 21, we find exactly the same thing. We find a new heaven and a new earth in verse one, and the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven.
Revelation 21:4-6 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (5) And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. (6) And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
That again is the next stage. It's a stage where the whole human experience is finished. But the human experience is to make sure we fully understand that fact that all sin carries a penalty. All sin ends in destruction. Let's make sure that we examine ourselves between now and Passover, and we really do understand that; and that we thoroughly, thoroughly learn that lesson.
Transcribed by JF, March, 2006
{1} Philippians 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.,
{2} 1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.,
{3} Mr Bowles gets his words confused!: "You get ... What do you call them? Satsumis? That's not it [everyone laughs] but something like that. Satsuma? Yeah, that's right. This tawdry great Satsuma that comes right away across the sea. Great orange thing -- TSUNAMIS! That's what it was. Yes, I knew it was something like that. The tsunamis. But you get these things, what, hundreds of feet high."
{4} Revelation 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
{5} Revelation 17:8 The beast that you saw was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.,
{6} Revelation 20:1-3 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. [2) And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, [3) And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.,
{7} John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father You will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it..
{8} 1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.,
{9} Psalm 104:30 You send forth your spirit, they are created: and you renew the face of the earth.
{10} Isaiah 45:18 For thus says the [ETERNAL] that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he has established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the [ETERNAL]; and there is none else.,
{11} Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
{12} Genesis 1:2
{13}James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
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