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As I was going over the bible study for this week, I came to a clearer understanding of the sequence of events that began before the beginning of this Earth, and that will finally end with Jesus' second coming. With 2016 right around the corner, it made me think about the choices I have ahead of me. I would like to share those thoughts with you.
1) Before the Earth was created, Lucifer had feelings of selfishness. He was jealous of God. He treasured these feelings, which led him to accuse God of being unjust. He wanted to be like God. A spiritual war broke out in heaven. Lucifer spread out his ideas to the other angels. Many believed his lies, and were finally cast out of heaven. They could no longer live there.
2) God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit went on with the plans to create Earth. God gave Adam the authority to rule over the Earth, as he was put in charge of naming all the other created things. God established the law: I am the Truth and the Life. If you decide not to believe in Me and not to obey Me, you will NOT be choosing Life. This means you will be choosing Death. An existence without God is an existence in sin. Sin = Death. Satan came to Earth, and as a being who chose an existence without God, Satan decided to bring on Death and destroy God's creation.
3) Adam and Eve gave away their authority to rule the Earth by believing and obeying Satan's lies, instead of believing and obeying God. Satan said: "God lied to you", they believed it. Because Satan wanted to force a master-slave relationship with God's creation, he then said to them, "Eat this forbidden fruit", and they did it. Suddenly Death was all around them and in them. Plants and animals started dying. It was such a strong event that they were clothed with garments made of animal skin. It was like they were wearing Death itself.
4) God loves us too much to let Sin take over. So God made a promise to send the Messiah, who would be born in this world to save humanity from sin. Even though the Messiah would be born as a human, he could not be human in nature or a created being. As it was in the days of the Old Testament kings (followers of God or not), once the king created a decree, the law had to be followed to the letter. There was no way around it. The king's decree could only be abolished with that king's death. God's law 'Sin = Death' had been questioned and challenged in the beginning. There were only 2 options available to solve this challenge: either humanity dies, or the King dies.
5) If humans were to die, they would die under the rule of the new representative of Earth, Satan. This would mean death forever, since God is the only one who can give Life. The blood of the Creator would have to be shed on behalf of humankind in order to regain authority over this Earth, and prevent humans from dying under Satan's rule. God knew people needed to understand this Salvation plan. And so, He established sacrificial rituals, where an innocent and pure animal had to die as a symbol of the sacrifice Christ would one day make for us. Jesus was born, perfectly fulfilling hundreds of prophecies mentioned in the Bible about his birth and life. His mission: to make God the Father known, and to show how God the Son and the Father are one in the same. Jesus came to seal the Plan of Salvation, which was the utmost demonstration of love for humankind.
6) By dying on the cross, Jesus showed the entire universe the true nature of Life and the true nature of Death. He fulfilled the 'Sin = Death' law that had been challenged back in the Garden of Eden. By doing so, He displayed His unquestionable sovereign role as ruler and protector of those who believe in Him and obey His commands. There is no need for sacrificial rituals anymore. Satan no longer has access to Heaven as the representative of Earth, and is once and for all cast out of heaven. The enemy simply cannot stand between Christ and those He came to save. In fact absolutely NO ONE can stand between us and the Son Of God. Jesus returned to Heaven to take His place on the Throne so He can cover our imperfections with His Grace. This way Jesus can present us whole before the Father. Restored for His Glory, we can come directly to Christ. No one else earned the rights that Jesus received at the cross. His death allowed Him to create a direct line between us and Him. No one else has the right to serve as our intercessor. Only Jesus.
7) Jesus promised to return a second time to take home to Heaven all those who He died for. But as significant as Jesus' death was within the Plan of Salvation, His sacrifice did not take away our free will and option to choose whom we want to serve. The options are still the same as they were in the beginning: Life or Death. Jesus died to save everyone who WANTS to be saved. The choice is ours to make. And that is why there is NOTHING we can DO to be saved. No amount of good deeds, or earthly treasures could possibly help us get to Heaven. It was through Adam and Eve that the Creator gave us the authority to rule over the planet Earth. Satan didn't buy from Adam and Eve the right to rule the world. He did not give them riches, or things. The transfer of rulership was not done by "works". Adam and Eve lost their rights when they chose to believe and obey the enemy. The way we lost this authority is the same way we are going to get it back: with our choice. When we trust God we can't help ourselves but follow His teachings. Now, this is how we are saved: God says "I love you so much, I sent my Son to save you", we believe Him. And because He wants to offer us a Father-child relationship, He then says to us: "Love Me above everything else, and love the people around you too", and we obey Him. When we do this, Life surrounds us, and we start living an abundant spiritual life. And this feeling is so strong that when Jesus comes back we will receive robes of Glory to wear. It will be like wearing Life itself.
We have this choice in front of us every day. We only have our own lifetime to make this choice. In a way, Jesus is coming in our lifetime, even if the actual date of His Coming doesn't coincide with our time on this Earth. No one can choose for me. NOW is the time to choose. I choose LIFE!
Happy and Blessed 2016!
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