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Understanding the Gospel
What exactly is the Gospel? The word ‘gospel’ means good news. The Gospel is the good news about salvation, and salvation comes to us through Jesus Christ.
But what is salvation? In a general sense, salvation is deliverance from danger or difficulty. It comes from the word ‘save’. It may also be seen as preservation from destruction or failure (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).
So, then, what are we being saved from? If, for example, someone is caught in a fire and that person is to be rescued from the fire, there is a certain urgency that is associated with the act or process of saving the person. In the case of the good news of salvation, what are we being saved from? If we don’t understand what we are being saved from, we won’t be able to appreciate the good news that is in it, neither will we share it with any conviction.
In order to understand what we are talking about here, without the obfuscation that is often associated with some of the popular terms that people use, that lend themselves to multiple interpretations, we’ll simply ask some questions and see what the simple answers are from the Bible, giving the appropriate references.
Consider John the Baptist, Christ and the Apostles:
1. Who was John the Baptist? John the Baptist was the greatest prophet (Luke 7:28).
2. What did he do? He preached repentance and pointed to Jesus as the saviour (Luke 3:3,4; John 1:29-34).
3. Did John do miracles? No (John 10:41). Did he speak truth about Jesus? Yes (John 10:41).
4. Did John have the Holy Spirit? Yes (Luke 1:15).
5. What are we being saved from? Sin (Matt. 1:21).
6. What is sin? Sin is disobedience to God (1 John 3:4).
7. How many types of sin exist? There are two types of sin: rebellious (presumptuous) and naive (ignorant) – 1 John 5:16; Num. 15:24-31; Heb. 10:26; 1 John 2:1).
8. What type of sin was Satan’s? Satan’s sin was rebellious (Rev. 12:7-9).
9. What type of sin was Eve’s? Eve’s sin was naive – she was deceived (1 Tim. 2:14).
10. Concerning whom was the promise of redemption when it was first given? Eve and her offspring (Gen. 3:15).
11. What is required of us and why? Believe the testimony of Jesus and repent (Acts 16:31; 2:38, 39; Rom. 4:3).
12. What was Jesus’s testimony about? The testimony of Jesus was about God, His Father (John 1:18; 17:3-8; 18:37).
13. Did Jesus reveal anything else? Yes, the truth about principalities and powers – Satan and his host (Col. 2:15).
14. What did Christ reveal about Satan and His host? That they are liars and murderers (John 8:44; Acts 2:23).
15. What does that revelation result in? Christ triumphing over Satan and his host by exposing them (Col. 2:15).
16. Through what does Christ destroy the Devil? Through His death (Heb. 2:14).
17. What else does Christ’s death accomplish? Our release from bondage and our redemption (Heb. 2:15; Rev. 5:9).
18. What kept us in bondage? Fear of death (Heb. 2:15).
19. Who had the power of death? Satan (Heb. 2:14).
20. What casts out fear? Love (1 John 4:18).
21. Who is love? God (1 John 4:8).
22. Why do we love God? Because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).
23. How do we know that God loves us? Because He sent His only begotten Son into the world (1 John 4:9; Rom. 8:32).
24. So how are we saved? By knowing God and believing the truth about Him as Jesus manifested (John 17:3-8).
25. How are we going to know the truth about God and Christ? Someone has to tell us (Rom. 10:13, 14).
25. Were there eyewitnesses who gave firsthand testimony about Christ? Yes, His disciples and the prophets (2 Pet. 1:16-21).
27. So what did Christ call upon His disciples to do? Go and teach all nations to observe whatsoever He has commanded and to be witnesses concerning Him (Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 1:18).
28. What will we do if we love Him? Keep His commandments (John 14:15, 21; 15:10; 1 John 5:2, 3; 2 John 1:6).
29. How are we changed? By beholding Christ (2 Cor. 3:18).
30. How did sin start on earth? Eve was deceived and got her husband, Adam, to join her in disobedience to God (1 Tim. 2:14).
31. What was the first step? She took her focus away from God – going to where the serpent was and talking to the serpent (Gen. 3:1-5).
32. What was the second step? She believed the serpent’s lie – about God (Gen. 3:6).
33. What was the third step? Disobedience to God – which is sin (Gen. 3:6; 2:16, 17).
34. What is the reverse that is involved in the redemption process? Transformation by renewing of the mind (Rom. 12:2).
35. How are we drawn back to God? By beholding Christ and believing in Him (2. Cor. 3:18; John 3:14, 15; 12:32).
36. What about Him do we need to believe? That He is the Son of God, that God sent Him, that He is manifesting the Father’s character and that His testimony or witness is true – about God (John 11:42; 12:44-50; 16:27; 17:8; 18:37).
37. To what end does Christ seek to have us believe on Him? That we might be reconciled to God in our hearts and will obey God – keep His commandments (John 1:12; 12:50; Matt. 19:17; Matt. 5:19; Matt. 15:3, 6-9; Rev. 22:14).
38. How are we able to keep God’s commandments? He gives us the power to keep them (Phil. 2:13; Titus 2:11, 12; John 1:12) – it is He that worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
39. What does God have in store for those who obey Him? Everlasting life and paradise restored (Rom. 6:22; Rev. 22:14).
40. And what else is in store, most critically? A restored relationship and fellowship with God and Christ, the heavenly beings and the host of the redeemed (Rev. 21:22-27).
Look away from self and look to God through Christ – the mediator. You will be drawn to love God and others; by repentance you demonstrate that you are not rebellious but only previously duped by Satan; Christ will advocate for you and give you what you need.
Christ came to reveal the Father and expose the Devil in order to win us back to the Father and break the Devil’s hold over us that has existed because of our belief in the Devil’s lies about God.
The truth to believe is that God is good, means us well, knows what is good for us and we should believe, accept and follow everything He says. The Devil is a liar and a murderer and should be rejected.
Christ, the only begotten Son of God, who is exactly like God, His Father, in character, is the perfect manifestation and proof, in His life on earth, of God’s character.
By yielding himself to be killed by wicked hands, Christ has exposed Satan and his followers as liars and murderers whose words should be completely rejected and whose company should be shunned, thereby releasing us from Satan’s captivity in which we were held through our belief in Satan’s lies about God.
Even now Satan still holds many people captive under his deception by causing them to believe a distorted version of the gospel that still maligns God. They believe that Christ died in order to pay a price that God demanded before He would forgive us.
The truth is that the death of His Son was the price that God had to pay in order to save us. That is what it costed God to provide the basis whereby Satan’s hold on us might be broken.
Having revealed the true character of God, His Father, through the life that He lived on earth, and having discredited Satan by exposing him as a liar and a murderer, Christ now invites us to believe the truth and be saved (Acts 16:31; Rom 4:3; John 17:3). Otherwise, we’ll believe the Devil’s lies and be damned (2 Thess. 2:10-12).
It is all about relationship. That is why the Bible likens the relationship between husband and wife to that between Christ and His church. It is all about love. Righteousness is love to God first and foremost, which also leads us to love others as we love ourselves.
Sin is love of self first, which leads to lack of appreciation of others and ultimately to enmity against God and to the practice of every form of wickedness.
Nobody can love for us. We must love for ourselves. People talk about receiving the righteousness of Christ as though a righteous life is something that Christ does for us and simply gives us. Christ’s love cannot stand in place of the love that we ourselves must have and exercise.
What Christ does for us is to accept us and extend His love to us. It is entirely up to us to respond to His love by loving Him in return.
The capacity to love is something that God made all of His creatures with. It is only a question of who or what we choose to love supremely – whether God or self.
This is determined by whether we look at God as manifested in Christ, so that, in beholding we become changed or we look constantly at self so that everything for us revolves around self.
The root of the matter is all about relationship – love to God supremely and love for others as we love ourselves (Matt. 22:37-40). This is what righteousness is.
If we believe the Devil’s lies about God we cannot love Him.
Even with the clearest evidences of God’s love for us and God’s true character, Satan still tries to distort the truth about God. Some of the distortions are:
(i) The idea of an eternally burning hell
(ii) the idea that God required a blood sacrifice, the death of His Son, before He would forgive (that’s not what the death of Christ was all about – it was the sacrifice that God made, not what He required).
In the final analysis: believe the truth and be saved or believe a lie and be damned (2 Thess. 2:10-12; Luke 8:11, 12).
What then must be our mission? Accept and preach the gospel as John the Baptist did, as Christ did, as the apostles did and as Jesus has commanded us. The gospel is a message to repent and believe God (Mark 1:2-4, 14, 15; Acts 2:38; Matt. 28:19, 20; Rom. 4:3).
What will happen when our mission is fulfilled? The end will come (Matt. 24:14).
May the Lord help us.
“Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Mal. 4:4-6)
“And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17).
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 11:15).
For further information:
E-mail: commandmentsofgodandfaithofjesus@yahoo.com
The Three Powers of Heaven
The Truth our Safeguard Against Spiritualism
Rev. 16 speaks of unclean spirits like frogs that will be gathering the whole world to the final battle (Rev. 16:13, 14). This final battle will see the world on one side and Christ and His people on the other side (Rev. 19:19, 20). The main agency of deception will be evil spirits. This domain of religious deception is called spiritualism, which capitalizes on two things : 1. The false notion that people can communicate with the dead -who are, in reality, evil spirits and; 2. Confusion in people’s minds as to who or what is the Holy Spirit and the nature of God’s presence. The Bible gives the final warning against this deception as follows:
“And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” – Rev. 18:1, 2
“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” Rev. 18:4, 5.
Our only safeguard is to know the truth from the scriptures about this very important matter. Regarding the first deception, the Seventh-day Adventists have, for years, been teaching the truth from the scriptures that the dead are asleep and are unable to communicate with the living. Since there is an abundance of literature from that source on that particular point, it will not be the focus of this presentation. However, literature on the second deception is woefully lacking and so, the focus of this tract is to establish the truth about God – who God is, who is Jesus Christ and who or what is the Holy Spirit.
A simple text summarizes quite eloquently the consistent perspective that is given throughout the scriptures, as follows:
“And of the angels he saith, who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” – Heb. 1:7-9.
The perspective is simply that the Supreme God (the Father) anoints His Son (Jesus Christ) who is God by nature and above the angels (spirits). Thus is presented the three powers of heaven – God, Christ and angels.
There is a difference between the ministering spirits of God and the spirit of God – both are referred to as “Holy Spirit” and “Holy Ghost”. This presentation will establish the difference.
A simple question can help in showing the difference: With what was Jesus anointed? We are told:
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” – Acts 10:38.
“Holy Ghost” here is that with which Jesus was anointed.
This is clearly different from the following reference where the Apostle John is conveying grace and peace from God, Christ and the Spirits. He says:
“John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begot-ten of the dead.”– Rev. 1: 4, 5.
The Three Powers of Heaven are identified – God, Christ and the Spirits. “Spirits” here are ministering spirits. Some people represent the “seven Spirits” here as the “seven-fold Spirit”, giving the impression that it is not seven but really one. This is easily clarified by comparing this verse with another verse that is very similar, in which there are four Spirits mentioned and each goes to a different place. Here it is.
“And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.” – Zech. 6:5
These spirits are of course ministering spirits or angels. Some go into the north country and others go into the south country (Zech. 6:6).
Bible Testimony
The next few verses again speak of the three powers of heaven:
1.“I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things.”- 1. Tim. 5:21. There we see the three powers – God, Christ and angels.
2.“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”-Matt. 28:19.
[The word Pneuma translated Ghost, is also properly translated Spirit or Spirits. It is the same word translated “spirits” in reference to the ministering spirits – Heb. 1:7, 14]. So, the reference is to the three powers again – God, Christ and angels. Note also that the whole family in heaven and earth is named after the Father (Eph. 3:14, 15).
3.“For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.” – St. Luke 9: 26. There we have the three powers again – God, Christ and angels.
4.“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” – Mark 13: 32. It is evident here that the three powers are not co-equal.
The Bible is clear that we should not worship angels. It says:
“Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels.” Col. 2: 18.
“And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Rev. 19:10.
5.“For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to me a Son? And again, when He bringeth the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, and let all the an-gels of God worship Him”- Heb. 1: 5, 6. Here again the three powers are identified showing the order of precedence: God first, Christ next and then the angels.
6.“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John” Rev. 1:1. Once again the three powers are indicated showing the order of precedence – God gave to Christ and Christ gave to the angel to dispense to John.
Some persons say that the Holy Spirit is a third divine being to be worshipped. If that were the case, these verses that have been highlighted would have presented the equivalent of a big elephant in a room being missed.
Ellen G. White Testimony
The pioneers of the Seventh-day Adventist Movement fully understood the truth as presented here from the scriptures. A sample of the perspective that was commonly understood among them is reflected in the following unambiguous statements from Ellen G. white:
“Read and study the fourth chapter of Zechariah… The golden oil rep-resents the Holy Spirit.” (Ellen G. white, Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 188).
“From the two olive trees the golden oil was emptied through the golden pipes into the bowl of the candlestick, and thence into the golden lamps that gave light to the sanctuary. So from the holy ones that stand in God’s presence His Spirit is imparted to the human instrumentalities who are consecrated to His service. The mission of the two anointed ones is to communicate to God’s people that heavenly grace which alone can make His word a lamp to the feet and a light to the path. “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6. (Ellen G. white, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 408).
The same thought is expressed at another place, the only difference being that the golden oil that was said to be God’s Spirit, is now said to be divine light, love and power. It says:
“In this vision the two olive trees which stand before God are represented as emptying the golden oil out of themselves through golden tubes into the bowl of the candlestick. From this the lamps of the sanctuary are fed, that they may give a bright, continuous light. So from the anointed ones that stand in God’s presence the fullness of divine light and love and power is imparted to His people, that they may impart to others light and joy and refreshing. Those who are thus enriched are to enrich others with the treasure of God’s love.” (Ellen G. white, Prophets and Kings, p. 594).
“And when these angels empty from themselves the golden oil of truth into the heart of him who is teaching the word, then the application of the truth will be a solemn, serious matter.” (Ellen G. white, Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 337).
“The anointed ones standing by the Lord of the whole earth have the position once given to Satan as covering cherub. By the holy beings surrounding His throne, the Lord keeps up a constant communication with the inhabitants o`f the earth.” (Ellen G. white, The Truth about Angels, p. 150; The Review and Herald, July 20, 1897).
Conclusion
In summary, the ministering spirits (angels) of God bring to us God’s spirit, the golden anointing oil (Divine light, love and power). The Holy Spirit is not someone to be worshipped. Neither is the Holy Spirit someone who takes up residence inside of us.
Let us therefore hold fast to the truth and not be drawn into spiritualism or into modern Babylon.
Our worship should be given to God and Christ, as it will be in the new earth, as the scriptures say: “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” Rev. 21:22.
For further information:
E-mail: commandmentsofgodandfaithofjesus@yahoo.com
Inspiration and Infallibility – Is there a Difference?
All my life, I have been driven by my sincere belief in the inspiration of the Bible. It has been and continues to be my primary source of authority in spiritual matters and life in general. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16) and “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pet. 1:21) are among the familiar verses that speak of the scriptures as being of divine origin.
Some years ago, however, I had an experience that forced me to clarify in my mind the issues raised in the question at caption. A claim was being made on Jamaican radio that there were contradictions in the Bible. One of the cases cited was the account of David numbering the people of Israel. 2 Sam. 24:1 says that the LORD was angry with Israel and moved David to number them, while 1 Chron. 21:1 says that Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number the people.
In my efforts to gain clarity in my own mind, I found the following statements from the prophetess Ellen G. White, quite useful:
“It is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the men that were inspired. Inspiration acts not on the man’s words or his expressions but on the man himself, who, under the influence of the Holy Ghost is imbued with thoughts. But the words receive the impress of the individual mind.” (Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, Book 1, p. 21).
“The Bible is not given to us in grand superhuman language. Jesus, in order to reach man where he is, took humanity. The Bible must be given in the language of men. Everything that is human is imperfect. Different meanings are expressed by the same word; there is not one word for each distinct idea.” (Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, Book 1, p. 20).
“God had especially guarded the Bible; yet when copies of it were few, learned men had in some instances changed the words, thinking that they were making it more plain, when in reality they were mystifying that which was plain, causing it to lean to their established views, which were governed by tradition” (Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 220).
“The truths of the Bible are as pearls hidden. They must be searched, dug out by painstaking effort. Those who take only a surface view of the scriptures will, with their superficial knowledge, which they think is very deep, talk about contradictions of the Bible, and question the authority of the scriptures. But those whose hearts are in harmony with truth and duty will search with a heart prepared to receive divine impressions. The illuminated soul sees a spiritual unity, one grand golden thread running through the whole, but it requires patience, thought, and prayer to trace out the precious golden thread. Sharp contentions over the Bible have led to investigation and revealed the precious jewels of truth. Many tears have been shed, many prayers offered, that the Lord would open the understanding to His Word.” (Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, Book 1, p. 20).
My conclusion is that the Word of God is not the Bible, or Ellen G. White’s writings but the Word of God is found in them. Truth was revealed by God to fallible human beings, who wrote in the best way they could. We ignore such revelations from God to our own peril. But we must employ normal intelligence and seek understanding from God in order to decipher exactly what the truth is. To consider the example above, David numbered the people, but who motivated him to do it is someone’s opinion. There is no need to stumble over that.
In contrast, Daniel had a vision and he related the explanation that the angel Gabriel gave him. That was not Daniel’s opinion. That was coming straight from God. Is there no difference between the level of weight and certainty that one would place on such revelation as opposed to say the statement as to who motivated David to number Israel?
Can prophets make mistakes in their own understanding of some matters on which they might not have gotten specific revelations? This question is no less a question than that of whether a human being is as infallible as God Himself. In times gone by, prophets inquired of the Lord regarding matters on which they were uncertain. Obviously, they did not know everything. And if a matter was not an issue at the time, they would have had no need to inquire.
If a prophet makes an error of judgement on a matter, or misunderstands something, does God automatically cease communicating with the person and regard them as a false prophet? There is no such indication in the Bible. Moses struck the rock when God had told him to speak to the rock. He erred, but did God abandon him? No, He did not. An old prophet misled a man of God, telling the man of God that God had told him, the prophet, that it was okay for the man of God to stop and eat at the prophet’s house, even although God had distinctly told the man of God not to stop and eat. Yet God still gave the old prophet a message, after that, as the Bible says: “as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came unto the prophet” (1 Kings 13:20).
There are many other questions that could be asked and answered. But it is not necessary to try to exhaust them here. The broad framework should be sufficient to allow us to answer some of the questions ourselves. But there is an important matter of present query among many people that is worth citing here. The Advent movement of today has widely embraced belief in the Trinity – a concept that was once labelled as pagan and unscriptural by the founders of the movement, citing statements by Ellen G. White concerning a three-person Godhead as a primary basis for making the change.
The question is being asked: by what authority has a view of God that was backed up by vision given more than once been changed to this new concept? It is clear, from the report of the “Great Controversy” vision, as given by Ellen G. White that there was a hierarchy in heaven in which God, the Father was supreme and regarded as the Sovereign, His Son, Jesus Christ was next and then Lucifer was third (E. G. White, Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 1, pp. 17, 18). The prophet, in describing what was revealed to her, even went as far as to say that Christ was “the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God.” (E. G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 34).
When the prophet spoke about a three-person godhead, was there a vision that revealed a different picture of God, Christ and heavenly beings, or was the prophet simply using expressions that were in common use at the time, while discussing other issues, without trying to teach a new doctrine? I leave this question for us to ponder.
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 11:15).
For further information:
E-mail: commandmentsofgodandfaithofjesus@yahoo.com
Who Killed Jesus and What is the Significance of His Death?
Jesus Christ, the Son of God came to earth and died a cruel death, being crucified on a cross, a most torturous method of execution reserved for the vilest of criminals. At the heart of the Christian faith is the belief that through His death, salvation is brought to humanity. Unless we understand, however, the issues behind His death and who did it, we may end up seeing God as being no better than the pagans who sacrifice their most loved children in order to achieve what is perceived to be some good.
A songwriter captured some of the questions that may naturally arise, in the following words:
Who killed Jesus? I would like to know.
Who is guilty of a crime so low?
Why did He have to die?
What is the reason why?
Who killed Jesus? I would like to know.
Was it Roman Soldiers, with their tools of war?
Pounding nails through hands that did no wrong.
Mocking and abusing, crowning Him with thorns,
All the evidence is very clear.
Was it Pontius Pilate, he was Governor,
Trying to decide the case that day?
Finding that the Savior had no fault His own,
Was he guilty when he turned away?
Was it Hebrew children, proud of who they were?
Shouting “Crucify Him” to their King.
Rejecting their Messiah for a common thief
Turning down the Kingdom He could bring.
The songwriter eventually concluded that he was the guilty one, in the following words: “It’s for me the Sacrifice was made. . . . . I am guilty, now it’s plain to see, that it was really me!”
The conclusion, takes us from the literal realm into a spiritualized realm because in a literal sense, it could not have been the songwriter who did it, since he was not yet born. True, he, like all repentant sinners, benefitted. But that is a different matter. We are talking about who did it! Was it God? Did God motivate or collude with wicked people to do this, in order to satisfy His own requirement? It is not a rude question. To many, it might appear so, because they have unwittingly bought into the Devil’s misrepresentation that has clouded the issues in order to keep us in darkness and deceive us.
Let there be no mistake, Jesus was killed by wicked people. The Bible says: “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death” (Acts 2:23, 24).
Condemnation is on those who crucified Him, not blessing and reward! We are told: “The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.” (Matt. 26:24).
In order to understand the plan of salvation we have to go back to the beginning and work our way forward.
The issues behind the plan of salvation
First, let us be reminded of that most pivotal revelation of the Great Controversy that was given to Ellen G. White that she published in 1858. She said:
“The Lord has shown me that Satan was an honored angel in heaven, next to JESUS CHRIST. His countenance was mild, expressive of happiness like the other angels. His forehead was high and broad, and showed great intelligence. His form was perfect. He had a noble, majestic bearing. And I saw that when God said to his SON, Let us make man in our image, Satan was jealous of JESUS. He wished to be consulted concerning the formation of man. He was filled with envy, jealousy and hatred. He wished to be the highest in heaven, next to GOD, and receive the highest honors.” (E. G. White, Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 1, pp. 17).
Because of his rebellion, Satan was cast out of heaven. What many people do not know, is that Satan sought reinstatement, which was denied because he had not changed. Here is the account of it:
“Satan stood in amazement at his new condition. His happiness was gone. He looked upon the angels who, with him, were once so happy, but who had been expelled from heaven with him. Before their fall not a shade of discontent had marred their perfect bliss. Now all seemed changed. Countenances which had reflected the image of their Maker were gloomy and despairing. Strife, discord, and bitter recrimination were among them. Previous to their rebellion these things had been unknown in heaven. Satan now beheld the terrible results of his rebellion. He shuddered, and feared to face the future and to contemplate the end of these things.” (E. G. White, The Story of Redemption, pp. 24, 25).
“Satan trembled as he viewed his work. He was alone in meditation upon the past, the present, and his future plans. His mighty frame shook as with a tempest. An angel from heaven was passing. He called him and entreated an interview with Christ. This was granted him. He then related to the Son of God that he repented of his rebellion and wished again the favour of God. He was willing to take the place God had previously assigned him, and be under His wise command. Christ wept at Satan’s woe but told him, as the mind of God, that he could never be received into heaven. Heaven must not be placed in jeopardy. All heaven would be marred should he be received back, for sin and rebellion originated with him. The seeds of rebellion were still in him. . . . He repented not of his rebellion because he saw the goodness of God which he had abused. . . . To be commander out of heaven was vastly different from being thus honoured in heaven. The loss he had sustained of all the privileges of heaven seemed too much to be borne. He wished to regain these.” (E. G. White, The Story of Redemption, pp. 26, 27).
It was this failure to gain reinstatement that led Satan to try another plan that involved getting Adam and Eve to sin. Here is the plan:
“His followers were seeking him, and he aroused himself and, assuming a look of defiance, informed them of his plans to wrest from God the noble Adam and his companion Eve. If he could in any way beguile them to disobedience, God would make some provision whereby they might be pardoned, and then himself and all the fallen angels would be in a fair way to share with them of God’s mercy. If this should fail, they could unite with Adam and Eve, for when once they should transgress the law of God they would be subjects of God’s wrath, like themselves. Their transgression would place them, also, in a state of rebellion, and they could unite with Adam and Eve, take possession of Eden, and hold it as their home. And if they could gain access to the tree of life in the midst of the garden, their strength would, they thought, be equal to that of the holy angels, and even God Himself could not expel them.” (E. G. White, The Story of Redemption, pp. 27, 28).
Salvation through the truth that puts enmity between us and Satan
When the first sin was committed by our fore-parents, Adam and Eve, God predicted exactly how salvation would come in Gen. 3:15 as follows:
“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Gen. 3:15.
Satan had hoped to have humanity fully on his side but God said He would break up the alliance by causing humanity to hate Satan and his ways. He would achieve this by sending His Son as the woman’s seed to bruise Satan’s head but in the process Satan would bruise the heel of His Son.
This was fulfilled at Calvary where, through death, Christ bruised Satan’s head by exposing him to the universe as a murderer while Christ’s heel was bruised by Satan, in that Satan took Christ’s life. But for Christ it was only a bruising of His heel since His Father would raise Him back from the dead (Gal. 1:1).
This is substantiated by many scriptures that show:
- That man was Satan’s captive – example, Heb. 2:14, 15.
- That Christ delivered man by converting man or changing man’s mind – that is, causing man to believe in Him rather than believing Satan. It is by believing God that we are saved – example, Luke 8:12; John 3:15; Acts 16:31; Rom. 4:3; Rom. 12:2.
- That Satan’s destruction is assured by the death of Christ – example, 1 John 3:8; Heb. 2:14, 15; Col. 2:14, 15.
- That those who believe in Christ will be given power to become sons of God (John1:12) – that is, power to overcome the devil (first and foremost) – Titus 2:11, 12 – and in some cases to work miracles (only in some cases) – Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:29: “Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?” He says again in 1 Corinthians 12:10: “To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues”.
Generally, spiritual gifts are given for the purpose of advancing the cause of truth and preparing people for God’s kingdom. We are told:
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” Eph. 4:11-15.
- That eternal life will be given to those who believe in Christ, at the second coming of Christ (not before, except in special cases) – example, Mark 10:30; Rom. 2:6-8; 1 Cor. 15:22, 23 – even though God can speak of things that are not as though they were because of the certainty of such things (Rom. 4:17).Finally, it should be understood that through His foreknowledge, God knows and declares what will happen but it does not mean that He manipulates people’s minds to make them do evil things. He will even act, based upon His foreknowledge, in order to achieve a desired end, knowing what people will do, but He is not necessarily the one responsible for it being done or the one doing it. Such is the situation with the death of Christ. He yielded His Son. But it was the Devil and evil men who killed Him, thus playing right into God’s purpose of revealing the true nature of sin, which is enmity against God (Rom. 8:7) and a manifestation of a disposition to crucify the Son of God afresh each time it is committed (Heb. 6:6).
The popular ‘gospel’ makes death, which the Bible calls an enemy, a requirement of God before He can forgive. Unlike the popular ‘gospel’ that says that the death of Christ has satisfied once and for all, everything that the Father required, the truth is that the death of Christ, far from being required by God, was brought about by Satan and provides the basis whereby Satan will be condemned and ultimately be held responsible for all the sins that he would have caused the penitent to commit. The Bible says that through death, Christ destroys “him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Heb. 2:14, 15); and further, that by His death, Christ, “having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:14, 15).
So, death remains an enemy, wholly a consequence of sin (1 Cor. 15:26; Rom. 6:23). God is life and is not constrained to give life. He quickeneth whomsoever He wills, whenever He wills, without needing death to take place as a precondition (John 5:21).
Satan, the murderer, unmasked
In closing, I’ll leave with you the following description of the death of Christ from the pen of Ellen G. White for your thoughtful meditation:
“But God suffered with His Son. Angels beheld the Saviour’s agony. They saw their Lord enclosed by legions of satanic forces, His nature weighed down with a shuddering, mysterious dread. There was silence in heaven. No harp was touched.” (E. G. White, Desire of Ages, p. 693).
“Not until the death of Christ was the character of Satan clearly revealed to the angels or to the unfallen worlds. The archapostate had so clothed himself with deception that even holy beings had not understood his principles. They had not clearly seen the nature of his rebellion”. (E. G. White, Desire of Ages, p. 758).
“Heaven viewed with grief and amazement Christ hanging upon the cross, blood flowing from His wounded temples, and sweat tinged with blood standing upon His brow. From His hands and feet the blood fell, drop by drop, upon the rock drilled for the foot of the cross. The wounds made by the nails gaped as the weight of His body dragged upon His hands. His labored breath grew quick and deep, as His soul panted under the burden of the sins of the world. All heaven was filled with wonder when the prayer of Christ was offered in the midst of His terrible suffering,–“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34. Yet there stood men, formed in the image of God, joining to crush out the life of His only-begotten Son. What a sight for the heavenly universe!
The principalities and powers of darkness were assembled around the cross, casting the hellish shadow of unbelief into the hearts of men. When the Lord created these beings to stand before His throne, they were beautiful and glorious. Their loveliness and holiness were in accordance with their exalted station. They were enriched with the wisdom of God, and girded with the panoply of heaven. They were Jehovah’s ministers. But who could recognize in the fallen angels the glorious seraphim that once ministered in the heavenly courts?
Satanic agencies confederated with evil men in leading the people to believe Christ the chief of sinners, and to make Him the object of detestation. Those who mocked Christ as He hung upon the cross were imbued with the spirit of the first great rebel. He filled them with vile and loathsome speeches. He inspired their taunts. But by all this he gained nothing.
Could one sin have been found in Christ, had He in one particular yielded to Satan to escape the terrible torture, the enemy of God and man would have triumphed. Christ bowed His head and died, but He held fast His faith and His submission to God. “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” Rev. 12:10.
Satan saw that his disguise was torn away. His administration was laid open before the unfallen angels and before the heavenly universe. He had revealed himself as a murderer. By shedding the blood of the Son of God, he had uprooted himself from the sympathies of the heavenly beings. Henceforth his work was restricted. Whatever attitude he might assume, he could no longer await the angels as they came from the heavenly courts, and before them accuse Christ’s brethren of being clothed with the garments of blackness and the defilement of sin. The last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world was broken”. (E. G. White, Desire of Ages, p. 759 -761).
Let us not spiritualize away the reality
In conclusion, it was Satan and his host of both evil men and evil angels who killed Christ. In doing so, Satan’s true character was revealed, in contrast to the character of God and Christ. It is this belief in the truth that transforms our minds and makes us single-hearted towards God. Spiritualism seeks to spiritualize away the reality of who God is, who Christ is, who Satan is and who the angels are so as to cause people to be blinded to the issues of the controversy and the issues of salvation.
May the Lord help that we will be settled into the truth both intellectually and spiritually so that we cannot be moved, because the time is coming and is not far from now when all will be shaken and only those who cannot be shaken will remain.
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 11:15).
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