The Last Prophecy: The Antichrist And The Dramatic Fall Of A Publishing Empire (Chapter Four)
Chapter Four
The Immaculate Source of Sin
Like many people, by the time I was a teenager I had developed an intense curiosity to find out the essential causes of human suffering. It was easy to associate the negative aspects of a person’s situations with their erratic behavior – when this was the case. However, I could not understand why, apparently without any reason, persons of unquestionable conduct became victims of other people or of natural catastrophes. Tired of the common explanations – that they were paying for past or hidden sins – or the most cleverly ambiguous answers from spiritual leaders – that “everything happens for a reason” or that bad experiences help to build our character – I committed again to finding real answers.
Turning to the Bible as the most reliable source, I asked God for guidance and began my research. The more I read, the more I convinced myself of the presence of two answers in the Bible, the Principle of Manifold Wisdom – 0ne answer for everyone to believe and follow and another for those selected by God to have wisdom.
One of my first questions appeared while reading Genesis, chapter four. I was intrigued as to why God did not like Cain’s offering: “But unto Cain and to his offering, he had no respect”(v5) and why God planted the tree of knowledge in the Garden if the fruit was forbidden for man to eat (Genesis 2:9). Questions like these started to arise one after another, until I read the story of Jacob and Esau and learned that God found favor in one of the brothers: “…and the elder shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). Contrary to the standards of the time, when the firstborn was the privileged one, God chose the younger in this particular case. “(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth)” (v11). “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Romans 9:11-13). How can it be possible that God hated one of the brothers even before he was born? Cautiously digging in the scriptures and keeping in mind that God is sovereign, I courageously stepped into the objectionable idea that everything, including evil deeds, is the work of God. To my understanding, this conclusion was like the counterpart in the Manifold Wisdom Principle, to the established belief that the Devil working in men’s evil nature is the sinister origin of sin. I found several scriptures supporting this new reasoning, such as, “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?”(Daniel 4:35). “I am the Lord, and there is none else” (v7). “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things” (Isaiah 45:6-7). “The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil” (Proverbs 16:4). Note that the scripture says, “for the day of evil,” and not “for the Day of Judgment,” which could be any day during which evil acts are committed – in other words, every day.
For many people, this part of our theology might sound scandalous, blasphemous, heretical – especially for those who believe that they have the right to condemn others. We would say to these people, as Paul says, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). They erroneously share the idea that judging others will grant them salvation, and they will most likely reject our interpretation for the simple reason that they will never accept a total emancipation of men from blame for their sins. Paul also tells us, “Therefore, judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God” (1 Cor. 4:5). Let us analyze this scripture closely to interpret what Paul is trying to tell us. First, he says, “judge nothing before the time…” Why does he say this? Perhaps he is trying to tell us that it might be wrong to judge others. Then, what does he mean when he says that the Lord will bring to light the hidden things of darkness? ‘Light’ means righteousness as ‘darkness’ means wickedness. Might he be describing a total exoneration of men from evil acts in the day of the Lord? Or might he be trying to tell us that, since the beginning, men have not been guilty for the sins committed. What about when Paul declares that God “shall make manifest the counsels of the hearts…”? Is he insinuating that those we call ‘sinners’ are righteous in the eyes of God? Read carefully: “and then shall every man have praise of God.” Why shall we have praise of God if we are really sinners? Might we be working on behalf of God when we do something that seems wrong to others’ judgment?
The apostle Paul knew the truth and attempted to explain it, but he was cautious in his way of introducing it. He knew that people were unprepared to assimilate his teaching completely. He made this point clear when he said, “Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:” (v7) “But we speak the wisdom of God in mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.” (1 Cor. 2:6-7) Certainly, the hidden wisdom, the mystery that Paul talks about, is the mystery that has been revealed to us as “The Manifold Wisdom of God Principle”. He also says, “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part,” that is, one part of the duality in the Manifold Wisdom Principle. “But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” (1 Cor. 13:9-10). The apostle Paul was a visionary and revolutionary in his time. Peter said about him, “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things: in which are some things hard to be understood” (2 Peter 3:16). But even though Paul knew that the world was unprepared for his teaching, he set the basis for our doctrine to surge in time as the divine vehicle to deliver this new message.
Simultaneously, the socio-economic evolution of humanity has brought to unprecedented levels the progress of man’s intellectual culture. Nonetheless, it is important to acknowledge that a few areas of our intellect have been incomprehensibly left behind. Specifically, we can be sure that our spiritual understanding has been developed to a significantly lesser extent than our comprehensive capacity in other areas, such as science and technology, and this is the primary reason why people have been questioning their faith so often. Today, we have so many “Solomons” walking around; we even have a few who are smarter than the wise, ancient ruler asking for real explanations, and they are doing it so demandingly that an urgent upgrade to the standards in the traditionally accepted doctrines is urgently necessary. We need to upgrade to a more sophisticated set of new concepts and ideas that are more compatible with the questions of the time. People need answers, so a complete reformation from the obsolescence of the established beliefs is our only choice. Jesus did it in His time, and now is our time to do it under His guidance and by following His precepts.
To substantiate our proposition, then, we should elucidate first the question that most Christians fear asking and that which scholars seem to avoid answering most. Through study and personal observation, we have learned that the average believer, at one point in his spiritual journey, faces the challenge of asking himself the difference between God and Jesus. We all know that we should direct our relationship to God in the name of Jesus but, at the same time, we identify Jesus as God Himself. So the question is, should we pray directly to God or do it through the mediatory intervention of Jesus? This question creates an internal conflict that spawns a subconscious doubt in our personal acceptance of ourselves as true believers – a shadow over our tenets. A few years ago, I solved this conflict by channeling my love toward Jesus while adopting an attitude of complete reverence to God, mainly based on veneration and fear. I assume that you may be asking yourself why we should fear God – another puzzling question. For believers, the fear of God means respect for His judgment; for unbelievers, the fear of God is a justification to refuse obedience and, in some cases, fear of eternal condemnation – if, ultimately, God really exists. But the fear of God is something more complex. To fear God means to be aware that He can use us at any moment as a vehicle to fulfill His plan, whether it means we suffer or not. It sounds terrible, but do not panic, and I will explain why. The secret is that, in order to avoid affliction, we need to maintain confidence in God’s righteousness. This attitude keeps us from being chosen to suffer, and when we are actually affected, the same confidence rewards us exceedingly. This is the only way to cope successfully with the true fear of God: “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).
On the other hand, there is another possibility, and that is, when you are chosen, not to suffer but to cause affliction to others or to commit sin. Once and for all, we need to understand that, when God prompts us to do something apparently wrong, something that we might erroneously catalog as ‘sin’ or that makes us suffer, He does not do it with the evil intention that our judging eyes perceive. He would not do it with the mere purpose of wrongfully affecting us but, instead, He does it with the kind intention of creating the conditions to satisfy our future needs. His love totally surpasses our ability to comprehend; our selfish nature does not let us see beyond the limits set by our personal ambitions. Contemporary spiritual leaders could tell us that bad things, like everything, happen for a reason and help to shape our character; but they fail to explain to us that, when something apparently wrong occurs, it is only because it is needed in order to make a change for the better; a change that will be not only beneficial to us in the future, but to others as well in a shorter period of time. The apostle Paul tells us, “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20).
We need to accept that, unfortunately, uncomfortable situations will always exist. We need to learn that they are indispensable in our lives because they are the indissoluble essence, the main substance, constantly feeding the irreversible process of human evolution. What is good today will be not good enough tomorrow, and after tomorrow, will be insufficient or obsolete. We cannot appreciate the beauty of the morning if we do not see first the darkness of the night. We cannot appreciate the necessity to drink water if we do not experience first the anguish of thirst.
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Author Bio: www.zondervansfall.com
Category: Religion
Keywords: Antichrist,end times, prophecy, christianity, 2012,