Plan of God


Pastor J. R. Wilhite

The following Bible study should open some windows of understanding for those who will keep an open mind. If there are any areas in question, then take them to the Lord and seek His guidance, as you should do with all things.

I need you to understand that what makes you a Christian is not attending church, giving, being on comittees, speaking in tongues, or thinking you've got it right. Baptism in water, comunion and confessing "Jesus is Lord" don't make you a Christian. What makes anyone a Christian is a relationship with God. That is, if the meaning of being a Christian is to be Christ like. Jesus was the Christ.

"Christ" is a Greek word that means "The Anointed One and His Anointing". Anointed means being rubbed in and on. Jesus told us that being anointed was having the Spirit of the Lord upon Him:

Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the LORD {is} upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the good news (gospel) to {the} poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to {the} captives ".

I Cor. 1:24 "but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, The Anointed One and His Anointing (Christ) the power of God and the wisdom of God."

Here we are told that "Christ" or the "Anointed One and His Anointing" is the power and wisdom of God.

In Is. 10:27 (KJV) we are told that the anointing removes burdens and destroys yokes. A yoke is anything that weighs you down, like sin, sickness, debt, etc.

All through the Old Testament times the Jews were told of a coming of the Anointed, and how the coming of the Anointing would bring yoke destroying, burden removing power. Remember what I Cor. 1:24 says, "Christ (The Anointed) the power and wisdom of God." Who else could destroy yokes? God, of course! So the Jews were looking for the Messiah which is Hebrew for the Anointed One. The Jews admit Jesus was a prophet and a teacher and that He did great works; they just don't admit He was the Christ (the Anointed One).

So, to be of Christ is to be soaked in, on, and through with the Spirit of God. To be of the church is to have revealed knowledge of who Jesus is and to receive revelations from the Father.

So, to be of Christ, Christ like, or Christian is to be of the anointing (Holy Spirit) of God.

That which makes the church the church is not a building.

Church is those people who have had a revelation of who Jesus is as the Christ and Son of God.


15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art a piece of the rock (petros(Peter)), and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matt 16:15-18 (KJV)

First of all in verse 18 Peter is Petros a Greek word meaning a "piece of the rock", and the rock is petras. Next, what is the rock that Jesus is referring to? It is the revealed knowledge Peter had from God about who Jesus was. Meaning if God reveals His Son to you (who His Son is) then you are a part of the church.

So what do we go to church for? The building with the steeple is not church. We are church. We have church as we gather and share, but there are many things needed to have what we call church.

We need someone full time, ready to share the word with those who are lost, and to help those who are not. We should get together, be uplifted, and edified by each other and educated on God's word and how to hear from God.

You need to understand computers and our brains are very, very much alike. Computers are inferior to our brains, but they both operate alike. For example they both store information; they both can crash; they both can recall information; and more. There is a saying around programers, "Garbage in, Garbage out" meaning if you put trash in a computer (bad or faulty program or just garbage) the computer will return to you the same. We are a lot like that. We allow garbage in and it affects us. A baby starts learning almost imediately after birth. What is around the baby during his/her growth will effect his/her emotions, learning, personality, and so forth. If a child is raised on violence, then they normally show violent behavior. But if they are raised on love and compassion they exhibit the love and compassion.

We ask, "Why do children as young as 7 years old now show such violent behavior and act so violently?" Look at what is being put into them. For example:

Television (and whose vision is being told) has about 70,000 acts of violence seen by the average child by the time he is 18 years old.

Look at movies, radio, CD's, and tapes. Our children are being filled with sex, violence, drugs, smoking, alcohol, demon worship, satanic ways, new age, and much worse.

100 years ago children might have seen violence in a gunfight, but normally all they saw was hard work and the reward for their hard work. The reward was a roof over their heads, food on the table, and a day of rest to spend with friends, family, and loved ones. We work less, earn more, and have more things to help us enjoy life. We get places faster, but what has it all done for us?

Let's look at some things that divide us!

There is so much more that divides us today, the way we spend our time, or money.

Family values are corroding at the core.

This century we have seen more to divide us, not just from neighbors, but each other.

80 years ago, as radio was starting to enter its hay day, people would get around the radio and listen. At this point the downfall of the family and comunity started. After 30 years television came in, not too dangerous at first, but in the 60's, when most had a TV or access to a TV, the Vietnam War broke out and most had a loved one or knew someone in the war. So we all sat and watched the news from Vietnam to see if we could find hope in the news of the wars end or how our loved one was doing. The problem was the news started at about 5PM and lasted to about 7 PM. So all through the dinner hour families watched TV and then after the news something was needed to help overcome all the violence that was just seen, something to up lift us. Comedy shows took up the next hour or two. Now the most important time for a family, the dinner hour where most talked about their day and what was going on in life, ended. Then the time after dinner that used to be for sitting on the porch and visiting neighbors was stolen. Since Vietnam lasted 10 years, most were so trained to watching TV, that when the war ended the time with the TV did not.

Satan new the best way to conquer us was to divide us, first from our neighbors, then from our own family members.

No, I am not against TV, radio, computers or any form of technology. I am against their misuse and over use.

Now understanding that for decades we have been programed by people we do not know. We should start to understand why society has gotten so bad. Would you allow just anyone off the street to baby-sit your child? Of course not, but we allow this in the form of TV, movies, music, and more. I'll give you an example: if you were raised never hearing the word damn, then you would not use it, even though it exists. The more our subconscious mind is filled with acts of violence, sex, booze, drugs, and words from music that are negative and degrading, the more they will surface in us, in our lives.

Think about the above statement for a moment. I think you will understand and see what I am getting at.

2 Corinthians 10 5. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

As we seek God, to hear from Him and learn from Him we must understand there are only one of two places we get thoughts from, either thought are forced upon us by the world. Or we seek God and His thoughts. Why this is so important is until you understand this, Satan can convince you of almost anything and keep you from getting the promises of God and of operating in any level of faith. Think of all the terrible acts people do to each other and themselves, the horrific acts parents do to their children such as abuse and murder. We know this is not the norm or at least from our perspective it is not the norm so why do some do these things while most do not?

If we do not know that we do not have original thought and that all thoughts come from either the world or that of God that we have to seek, then the world can send us thoughts directly or indirectly to do just such things. Most will cast them down, but some for one reason or another will not, meditate on them, maybe why they thought it. Never realizing as they do this they are making it their own thought and in time they most likely will act upon it. But when we realize that we have to cast down imaginations/thoughts that do not line up with God and take the rest into captivity to the obedience of Christ, then we are on the first step of being delivered. And until we do this we run the chance of falling away, never truly hearing from God and not ever being delivered or blessed.

Now let's get to the actual study.

"The Plan of God"

In the pages to follow I will show that from the very beginning God knew we would rebel. He set up all that would be needed to help us overcome this world. Also I'll show that as any parent, God could have said, "No, they will be too much trouble, too rebellious, to even create". Like with all parents we run the risk of a child being sick, rebellious, or even dying before us, but that does not stop us from having children. If you looked at all that could go wrong you might never have children (if you have no love for children). But those who have love for children take the chance they will turn out ok. God was the same way. He preferred companions of free will and possibly rebellion to be His children rather than robots, mindless beings.

First of all you need to understand God created the heaven and the earth at the same time, and that angels were not a sub class of humans, but are totally different. Even though angels can appear as humans, they are different. The earth was only created for mankind. It was never created for angels, animals, or plants. It and everything in it was created for mankind.

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Gen 1:1

In Hebrews we read:

5 For unto the angels hath He not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.

6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?

7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:

8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.

9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

10 For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

11 For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren,

12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto Thee.

13 And again, I will put my trust in Him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

Christ shared man's mortal nature that, by His dying, men might be freed from death

14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

16 For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham.

17 Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

18 For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succour them that are tempted.

Heb 2:5-18 (KJV)

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

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. Genesis 1 & 2

Now there are three ways to look at the above verse.

  1. That Satan was cast down and the earth was destroyed.
  2. That which the earth was meant for, mankind, was not with form (yet)
  3. That out of the unformed, void, darkness of the earth, man would come.

I believe from studies with many scholars of Greek and Hebrew that Gen 1:1 - 1:5 is an outline of the Bible. It was God setting the plan and getting everything in place for our salvation.

The earth was formed for man, and only man, so that which was without form was man, and that which was void was man after sin, when the spiritual connection between Adam and God was gone. That which was darkness upon the face of the deep was evil in the depths of mankind. What was the Holy Spirit hovering over the waters? Since we are mostly water, the Holy Spirit hovered over us for many centuries.

Why, not destruction from Satan being cast down? One reason, destruction comes from sin, not before, but as an aftermath of sin, and sin had not entered the earth yet. If the earth was created for mankind, then only mankind could allow sin to enter. Think about this, even Jesus had to enter as a man to make a difference. If this were the case for Jesus, why would it be any different for Satan? Also if destruction comes from sin, and sin did not enter until day 7 then on day 1 or before there could not have been sin. If Satan could bring any change or sin, or destruction to the earth, why did he need to get Adam to sin? If this was the case, then sin was already running rampant through the earth by the time Adam arrived.

18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Luke 10:18 (KJV)

The word "beheld" is more of a perception of what is to come, seeing the future and talking about it as is with PREDESTINATION. For more on predestination refer to bottom of this study.

English Words: Behold, Beheld

Usage Number: 1

Strong's Number: 3708

Greek Word: horao

Usage Notes: with its aorist form eidon, "to see" (in a few places the AV uses the verb "to behold"), is said (a) of bodily vision, e.g., Mark 6:38; John 1:18, 46; (b) of mental perception, e.g., Rom. 15:21; Col. 2:18; (c) of taking heed, e.g., Matt. 8:4; 1Thess. 5:15; (d) of experience, as of death, Luke 2:26; Heb. 11:5; life, John 3:36; corruption, Acts 2:27; (e) of caring for, Matt. 27:4; Acts 18:15 (here the form opsomai is used). See APPEAR, HEED, LOOK, PERCEIVE, SEE, SHEW.

18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Luke 10:18 (KJV)

Strong's Greek Number 3708

Greek word: horao hor-ah'-o

Root: properly, to stare at cf 3700

Cross Reference: TDNT - 5:315,706

Part of Speech: v

Vine's Word(s): Behold, Beheld, Consider, Heed, Look, Look (to), Perceive, See, Seeing

Usage Notes:

KJV - see 51

- take heed 5

- behold 1

- perceive 1

- not tr 1 [Total Count: 59]

to see with the mind, to perceive, know

To help you even more, some say that Satan was cast down in the beginning, but we are told when he is cast down he knows his time is short. Now consider that in the beginning Satan would not have known time was short. That is a reference that did not come about until the New Testament, so if he knew his time was short it had to be New Testament times. God would not share with Satan His plans so, until the New Testament was written, Satan had no idea he had a short time. So if he was not cast down at the beginning then it must be during the last 3.5 years of tribulation. That would give him an idea time is short. Paul said there were three heavens, the one he went to was the third, the one we see is the first, so the second must be where Satan is accusing us day and night. Also remember Satan is not omnipresent like God; he can only be in one place at one time. If he is accusing us day and night, how could he be here?

Creation of the light

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. Genesis

We know that the light mentioned in Vs 3 is not the light of God, for He is light. It is not artificial light and it is not the light of the sun, moon and stars, since they were not created until day 4:

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Gen 1:14-19 (KJV)

But the light is our salvation; it is Jesus being anointed as the light.

4 In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John 1:4-5 (KJV)

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

God setting His word up to separate evil from good, saved from not saved.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Gen 1:1-5 (KJV)

Here is Judgment day, the separating of the sheep from the goats.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Gen 1:28 (KJV)

In verse 28 man had dominion over all the earth and all that is in it, so only by man could sin and its ramifications enter the earth. In Hebrew there is no punctuation, it reads as one long sentence, but to make it readable for us, words were added and so was punctuation. In all but the King James Version I have found words (many important words) dropped. In the King James I found words added to make a point to help the reader understand a language that is very graphic.

Some people get hung up on the space between the lines of verses one and two in Genesis because later it says God told mankind to "replenish" the earth.

Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth,

They take the word "replenish" word literally in the sense that we know it in the 20th century, as if the earth had become empty and needed to be RE-filled. This is not the case if you look into the Hebrew definition of the word translated as "replenish":

4390. male', maw-lay'; or mala' (Esth. 7 : 5), maw-law'; a prim. root, to fill or (intrans.) be full of, in a wide application (lit. and fig.):--accomplish, confirm, + consecrate, be at an end, be expired, be fenced, fill, fulfil, (be, become, X draw, give in, go) fully (-ly, -ly set, tale), [over-] flow, fulness, furnish, gather (selves, together), presume, replenish, satisfy, set, space, take a [hand-] full, + have wholly.

Replenish is not a very large part of what this word "male'" means. I get the sense that the earth needed mankind to make it complete.

10 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.

11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Rev 12:10-12 (KJV)

Plus, if Satan was cast down early on, why the celebration of one who accused the brethren being cast down. If he was cast down in Genesis 1:2 he could no longer be in heaven to accuse the brethren. So it must be later that he is cast down. It is stated that his time is short. How about the last 3.5 years of tribulation, we know he is there and rules, and that is a short time. Later I will get into this more.

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Job 1:6-8 (KJV)

Job 8 is a perfect example of the problems that occur if one is reading the King James without the understanding of the Holy Spirit. It appears (in modern interpretation) that God is pointing out Job to Satan. In 1612 AD, when the KJV was written, the verse meant something more like "have you something in your heart against my servant Job?" not pointing out, but requesting what Satan was doing. If you re-read the verse you can see how over 387 years ago it was perceived the same way.

Now to get on to the main point of Genesis, sin. Adam was told in Genesis 2:17 not to eat of the fruit, nothing about not touching, or that anyone else could not eat, just him. He was the only human alive anyway; Eve was not yet made. Remember Eve was created from Adam, Adam was the original.

15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

16 And the LORD God comanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Gen 2:15-17 (KJV)

Notice in verse 3 Eve added, either on her own or by what Adam told her, that she could not even touch it. But that is not what God said, and that is why it is deadly to add to what God states, and why I always insist on people verifying everything with God.

1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

Gen 3:1-4 (KJV)

So she touches and as Satan stated she did not die, then she ate and nothing happened. But it was not Eve that was forbidden to eat of that fruit; it was Adam, so he sees her eat and must have thought it was safe.

What happened here? First, someone added to God's word and it hurt them both. Then Adam forgot or was just disobedient, because he should have known that God never stated any other could not eat.

We still do that; we add to the word of God or take it out of text to use it for our own benefit. We have not changed.

I believe God was doing with Adam, as we do with children and matches. We tell children not to play with matches. We do not get rid of all matches worldwide because they have a purpose. We wait until they are old enough and teach them how to use them. Until then, we tell them not to play with matches, but some do, and some get hurt. Adam was the same as a little child in this respect. He ate of what he was not yet ready for and it hurt him (and us). How? It unleashed knowledge of evil into us way before he or we could handle it, before we were mature enough. Throughout the word we are referred to as His (God's) children, not adults. Even Jesus called Him Abba (Daddy). Most adults do not call their father "Daddy" in this fashion.

9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?

10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.

11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;

12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

Gen 4:9-14 (KJV)

Here we see sin growing. First, Cain was not right in his heart, or his offering would have been accepted. Then he gets angry and kills 25% of the earth's entire population!

But notice the point he (Cain) makes about not being in God's presence any longer. Where later (hundreds upon hundreds of years) Moses can not look upon the face of God or he would die.

As we continue watch how this changes.

As we are born physically into this world and then in this world we are born again spiritually (John 3) so were the attacks on us from Satan. But in reverse, Satan first cut us off by sin from God spiritually and then physically.

1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

Who are the sons of God? We are not called that yet, not until after Jesus.

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Job 1:6-8 (KJV)

The sons of God reference is of angels, and the angels in Job are the two thirds which are still of God, the ones in Genesis are those which follow Satan.

What would happen if you crossed a dog with a wolf? It would not be pure dog or pure wolf any more, actually a perversion of what God created.

3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

Here is the only time God refers to striving with man or a length of time in this fashion. We know the year of jubilee, or God's year, is every fifty years.

8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.

9 Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.

10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.

Lev 25:8-10 (KJV)

So 120 of God's years equals 50 times 120 or 6,000 years. This is the lease on the earth He was giving man.

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

"Giants and men of renown" does not necessarily refer to physical stature here. It should be translated as men of great wisdom and ingenuity (technologically advanced).

5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

As with Babel, the more men build big cities and develop technology and become dependant on each other, the less they are dependent on God, and the more doubt that He "is" enters. Remember this is all His.

6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart.

7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

Noah finds grace

8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Perfect in his generation, we know that is not spiritually, because due to sin the spirit connection was gone. So it was physical. Now look at the age of Noah; he was born right at the beginning of the time when angels and women mated, so to be perfect, none of his ancestors were products of these perverted unions.

10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted His way upon the earth.

Gen 6:1-12 (KJV)

As we become more intelligent (not intelligent in God and His ways) in the ways of the world and technology, the more evil, violence, and perversion grow.

Here is some more proof that God considers us above the angels and why it has to be us to let sin enter the earth, not angels.

11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;

12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

13 But to which of the angels said He at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Heb 1:11-14 (KJV)

God created the earth and the heaven. We know it was not the heaven we see, because that started in day 2, so it was the heaven for the angels. The angels are of heaven, we are created for the earth, or I should say the earth was created for us.

God created the angels and man. Man fell from grace. Knowledge of evil filled man, and it was not long until this evil grew. By Genesis 6 or about 1,000+ years the evil was so strong God repented of His creation. But He found one, Noah, and through Noah a new beginning and salvation of mankind was at hand.

Noah's sons were not found to be perfect as Noah was, and one even was extremely perverted. That seed of perversion still survived the flood through Noah's wife and the children they had together. The son's were not perfect in their generations on the mother's side. This manifested very soon after the floodwaters receded and they were back on the earth.

22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

Some say there may have been a homosexual act here, but just the fact that Ham dishonored his father by gossiping and announcing what he saw was certainly bad enough in the eyes of God. God never changes, and He had not yet written the Ten Comandments, but a sin is still a sin

23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.

24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

Gen 9:22-25 (KJV)

So we have two sons who are not perfect, but not perverted as Ham. Notice the curse was on the offspring of Ham, Canaan. All of this evil started to grow again in man. For man had no knowledge of how to handle it, as we still don't today.

Next man had to sacrifice to cover the sin in their lives. Imagine it like taking a shot for the pneumonia. It is like a disease that is running throughout mankind. A solution needs to be found to cure this disease. When Adam ate the fruit he inherited the germ. We still have to deal with it, but we can get a blood transfusion from Jesus and be cured of the bacteria. This does not mean it will not try to raise its ugly head and overcome us again. Like with any transfusion of blood, if you allow anything contaminated in it starts losing its effect in curing you. With the infection reduced in the body, but not totally removed, it could at any time come back full force if you were not careful. Let's say it is 20 degrees out and you go out barefoot; that could trigger pneumonia again. It's not the fault of the antibiotics, but your fault. The law showed how sin was in our lives and how it would affect us, and how something had to be done to cure this disease known as sin.

So God had to first find one who would have the faith to work with Him so He could get His word into the earth.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:38 (KJV)

For Mary to be able to have faith enough to agree with the angel, she had to have had the word shared with her. It took God 2000 years of looking for a man/woman of God here and there to use to get His word into the earth.

Most of the Old Testament is setting things up for the New. It is setting up the coming of Jesus and the return of mankind to God. In order to do this, first sin had to be pointed out in mankind. So the law was given to spell out sin, the problems resulting from sin, the punishment for sin, and why Jesus was needed. Then for 2,000 years God used whom ever He could, whenever He could to sow His word into the earth.

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 (KJV)

It seems it has taken so very long, but remember what Peter said,

8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

2 Peter 3:8 (KJV)

So it was only a couple of days from Adam sinning until Abraham, a couple more until Jesus, and then a couple more until now.

Let's go back to Genesis.

After mankind started populating the earth again God had to find another, and He did with Abram (Abraham).

Notice Abraham was 75 years old before God used him. Did it take 75 years to get through to Abraham or just that long to get him prepared? Remember Moses was 80 when he went to Egypt to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt.

It was during Abraham's time that Sodom was destroyed, and Abraham negotiated with the Lord whether or not He would destroy the city if He found even 10 righteous men in it. After Abraham, God searched the hearts of man to find those He could use. It would be a trying 2,000 years.

During the 2,000 years until Jesus, many men and women of God came but so did many who used the word of God for their own ends. When Jesus got here Israel had been conquered and re- conquered looking for a king to lead them in victory, not a lamb for the slaughter.

Some followed; some did not, but compare the days of Jesus to today. They went to church once a week, and gave tithes and offerings, they even helped with the church, and they went to have studies of the scriptures and hear from the man of God.

Don't we have the same today?

You ask why should we attend church then?

Remember what church is. It is those who have the revealed knowledge from God about who Jesus is.


15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matt 16:15-18 (KJV)

That means if God reveals His Son to you, who His Son is, then you are a part of the church.

50 Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

The veil was what kept God in the box and separate from us, now He was free to enter us.

52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

53 And came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

Matt 27:50-53 (KJV)

Notice 'many' not 'all' came out with Jesus from the grave. What did you think Jesus did in the grave for 3 days? It only took a few minutes to defeat Satan; the rest was sharing God's word with those there so they could leave prison for salvation. But not all followed, and those who did had to go into Jerusalem to confess Jesus as Lord and Savior.

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Romans 10:9 (KJV)

Imagine, here comes the aunt, uncle, brother, sister, mother, father or child that was just laid to rest in the past weeks, months, or years, walking down the street saying, "Jesus is Lord!" It's the same as saying, "Hey you guys, the One you crucified was the Lord."

Rapture is the removal of the church before tribulation. Look at Enoch in Genesis 5, those in the above verse and more, altogether there have been 4 rapture style removals so far, with 3 to come to make 7, the number for completion.

The 5th one is pre-tribulation, 6th is mid-tribulation and 7th is the end of tribulation.

Now let's look at the last generation. Jesus came and was here for 33 years, the tribulation is 7 years. Add them together and you have 40 years. Forty years in the Bible is a generation, so what is the time in between the first 33 years and the last 7? Grace. Think of a time of grace as you would have with a bill, a few extra days to get it paid before it is counted as late. This is our time to get it right. A time to talk to and obey God before it is too late.

Jesus had one passion in His life here and that was to die for us. In doing so He re-opened a door that was closed by Adam. Jesus is the cure for the virus of sin, but to get full use of the cure knowledge needs to be used with it, like taking medicine. When you take antibiotics you do not go, "Well I will take two now and three later." You take what the doctor says to take. The same concept is here as well. Once we have the blood we need to learn to listen, follow, and obey God.

So what is the tribulation? It is a last ditch effort of God to save His children. The first 3.5 years after the first rapture is man (Anti-Christ) leading man without God. Some will realize that this is wrong and call upon God and be saved and raptured before the last 3.5 years. The last 3.5 years is for the most stubborn people. God allows Satan (after casting him down) to rule man without God. Some will realize this is not the way. Well, what is left is the most stubborn of stubborn.

The final wrath of God is poured out for one hour, and those who worshiped and received the Mark of the beast will die. Those who did not receive the Mark will live.

First, rapture is needed to remove the church so the power and wisdom of God, the power to cast the demon out of the antichrist is removed. (I Cor 1:24 and Mark 16)

We are not meant unto the wrath (I Thess 5) so if there is one rapture, why not more?

Second, those who live after the wrath of God, live on like before, except now Jesus rules for 1,000 years, and we are with Him. We will be teaching these stubborn people and trying to help them see the truth.

Some will not, because at the end God releases Satan one last time to tempt whom ever he can.

Why is there a Hell?

Hell is a place where God is not, and anywhere He is not is torment. But some will prefer the torment to God. Hell is cast in the lake of fire, not the people; they are in Hell and it is cast in the lake of fire. Plus Hell was never meant for man. It was created for fallen angels only, but those who would rather rule in hell than serve in heaven (Milton) have a choice, because God gives choices where Satan does not; he forces.

Here is an outline of how to grow in your relationship with God.

The above ideas will help you establish the basis for a good relationship with God. He loved you and died for you and everyone else. Since He saw all worthy, we should look past all the prejudices, stereotypes, and acts we see in and from others and just love them.

If we get up in the morning and talk to God and always start the day off with Him it will always be better than it would be otherwise. That does not mean bad things will not happen, it means they will not be as bad as they could have been if we had gone through the day praising Him and talking with Him.

No, it is not a sin if during work you get busy and do not talk to Him; He understands. But it is better to always have Him as close as possible in all you do. Since He is there anyway, why not try to do everything with Him.

Most of all, understand He is your Father, your Daddy. He wants to love you and bless you. But like all fathers He knows there are times we do not need what we are asking for, and He will help us see that, and understand why.

As with any father, He is hurt by His children's rejection, rebellion, and just down right sinful nature. Sin is like a virus that can be cured through time by the blood of Jesus, but sin is also anything that cuts you off from God. So a lie is as bad as murder in God's eyes. Why? Because if you stay connected you would never do either. Anything that disconnects you from God is a Sin, and sin leads to death, hell and the grave. Imagine being on a mountain climbing to the top. All that keeps you safe is a safety line that is attached to you and the mountain. Now if that line got cut, you are no longer safe. It does not matter what cut it. What matters is that it is cut. Now you have no safety line and could fall to your death. Sin is what cuts that line.

Adam sinned; he cut the safety line; Jesus came and fixed the line, and we can attach the line to us or just go without. If we connect to the line, then we begin a new relationship with God while we're still here. The relationship is nothing more than a loving relationship between a Father and His child. Being saved, born again, or what ever you want to call it is all about relationship between you and your heavenly Father.

All you have to do to accept this line is accept Jesus into your life. It is by His name that you will be saved from death, hell, and the grave. Why? Because He already died for those who will accept His blood. He is the cure for the virus called sin, which produces death. Yes, your body will die. Like an old car it is tossed aside for a new one, but the new one will last forever, never age, or be damaged.

The areas that are dangerous in our lives are as follows:

Here are some other areas people get confused about or misunderstand.

WOMEN

21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

Eph 5:21-22 (KJV)

It is meant that women should submit to the husband as the protector, provider, teacher, and love as he does to the Lord.

PREDESTINATION

This is nothing more than God having the ability to see ahead and see who would make it and who would not. Imagine a parade and you are on one of the streets the parade will pass by. Until the parade passes you by you can not see it, or know what will be in it, but if you were on top of a building say 15 stories high. Then you could see the beginning of the parade, the parade the route and the end of the parade route. That is what God does, He is sitting above seeing all and knows who will and will not make it. It's not based on Him choosing, but based on our free will to reject Him. He is still hoping we will change even though He has already seen what will happen. This hope is based on our free will. If God had predestined us for glory and others for Hell, then He would be a liar. We are told in Matthew 7 and throughout John that we are judged based on our words and our heart not on comparison to others. We can become a new creature (2Corinthians 5:17) and be renewed.

WATER BAPTISM

Others misbelieve that water baptism saves anyone. Yes, you should be baptized in water, not to save you, but to show your faith. If being baptized in water saved anyone, then the blood of Jesus would have no meaning and if we could do anything to earn our salvation, then the death of Jesus would be in vain.

COmUNION

Comunion is a partnership. As used by Jesus, it is a relationship, a comunion in all you do with God the Father. Not just at a building taking a wafer and wine, but in all you do you should have a remembrance of all Jesus did and a relationship with God moment by moment.

The problem is too many people think that going to what we call church and participating in man's religion is what is needed. It is needed to uplift and edify each other. A man of God is needed to help the body of Christ and the church learn how to listen to God on a regular basis and be more open to hear from God, to follow and obey God's voice not man's (I John 2:27). Church today is no different than it was in the days of Jesus, people attend once a week for the most part, listen to a man of God and give of their funds and talents. That is about all they did 2,000 years ago, and that was part of what Jesus came to end.

So what should church be? It should be when you spend time with the Lord, every moment you spend time with God you are having church. Every time He reveals Himself to you in comunication or some revelation of His word you are having church. So should we attend church as it is called today? Yes, if it is a place that is trying to teach you how to hear from God, to uplift you and edify you. In the first century church they got together many times a day just to share the blessings and to uplift each other. Yes, there was and still is needed a man of God, but we should all be striving to be men and women of God.

TITHING AND GIVING

Giving should be done of the heart, led by the Holy Spirit. You should tithe to where you are fed the meat of the Word of God, and give as the Holy Spirit leads, and always with a heart of joyous giving.

Giving that is of the heart or led by the Holy Spirit and joyously done will always be rewarded. Otherwise giving is a waste. It will do nothing for you and little for whoever you are giving it to. So be sure to always give from the heart, not only from the pocket.

In preparing this Bible study I had many attacks. In addition to my computer crashing, different things to tried to keep me from finishing. But after each crash as my system was re-booted, I still had what I had worked on prior to the crash. Satan attacked, but God protected.

Many have preached that we should fear God, hell, fire &brimstone, and so forth, but they have forgotten the love of God. Most of them even say it is dangerous to preach the Love of God or that the love of God has been preached too much. I do not think that a God Who would sacrifice His own Son or tolerate what He has from us would be so scary. Maybe He is frightening if you do not accept Him. The fear that should be preached is reverence and awe, not a shaking in the boots type of fear.

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Tim 1:7 (KJV)

14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Gal 5:14 (KJV)

11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. 2 Cor 13:11 (KJV)

13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

1 Cor 13:13 (KJV)

Charity is love.

How much more do you need to know God is a God of love.

We learn in John 3 that God does not judge us, but we judge ourselves.

God made mankind; mankind (Adam) let Him down. Adam's own son killed his own brother and from then on, but for a handful of people, God was let down. Even when He repented of making mankind (Genesis 6) He found one (Noah), and through this one He still gave mankind a chance.

All throughout the Old Testament you can read about how mankind let down God. In Exodus through I and II Kings where God set up men to be king (when God was ready to rule man) man feared God, not a type of fear as being afraid, but of the awe and power of God.

God continued to work with mankind, and then Jesus came to the earth to give His life for us.

Jesus lived 33 years, a generation in the Bible is 40 years. The last 7 years of the 40-year generation that starts with 33 years of Jesus life is the 7 years of tribulation. Jesus spent 33 years here to save mankind, then there are 7 years of tribulation, and then the end as we know it. But what happened you may ask, we are more than 7 years times 70 since the death of Jesus? We are in a period of grace. After grace is the last 7 years of the last generation. Jesus said this generation would not pass away until His return. It is a time that is of Grace meaning those of the grace period.

Tribulation is not what some have taught. Many are close. Tribulation is just what it sounds like, a tribulation. Mankind is given the period of grace to get right with God. Then comes the time when those who have not reconciled themselves to God have a short time to do so. To help them, God is going to use things to wake them up. First those who are of Christ will be removed as has happened at least 4 times before starting with Enoch in Genesis 5:24, Elijah in II Kings 2:9-11, those who arose with Jesus in Mathew 27:52-53, and Jesus in Acts 1. I see three more raptures, since 7 is the number for completion. One is at the beginning of tribulation to remove those who are operating in the power and wisdom of God so they will not interfere and cast the demon out of the Anti-Christ, and also to protect them (I Cor 1:24 and Mark 16). The 6th rapture to take the recent believers out at mid tribulation. The 7th and final rapture is at the end of tribulation, before the wrath of God. So here is an outline.

  1. Rapture occurs leaving one who seems to have been of God and a leader of people who also will be the anti-Christ.
  2. First 3.5 years of tribulation - man ruling man without God. A lot of people will see the wickedness of man without God and realize they need God and will be saved.
  3. Mid Tribulation Rapture to take those who have been saved since the pre tribulation rapture.
  4. The last 3.5 years of tribulation, this is for the most stubborn people. This is when Satan is cast down and he knows his time is short this is when real evil is loose in all forms.
  5. The last rapture will take those who woke up in the last 3.5 years under Satan's rule, realizing Satan is not the way to go.
  6. The wrath of God is poured out, a one-hour battle and those who received the Mark of the beast and worshipped it will die. Those who did not take the Mark will live under Jesus as He rules for 1,000 years.
  7. Satan is released one last time to tempt those who are on the earth.
  8. Judgement for those not of God, God creates the new earth and heaven, all who are of God go there.

The earth was for man, so a new earth free of sin will be created.

Now figure the size of the new city compared to an average city today and the new earth could be as big as 10 times the size of our sun. Our present earth fits in the sun like a pinhead in a basketball. So it might take eternity to just explore the new earth. It will be an earth without Satan, sin, evil, sadness, sickness, etc.

Why do I figure there will be multiple raptures? As Goshen was protected against 6 of the 9 plagues of Egypt so should we.

Why is the wrath after tribulation?

29 Imediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Matt 24:29 (KJV)

In the above verse is a brief description of the wrath of God as described in Revelation.

As God is a God of love, and since the period of tribulation is just that a tribulation, there is no need for those who are of God to go through this period. It is only for those who are not of God. It is a last ditch effort on God's part to get man right with Him.

Here are a couple of points to help you understand God and His plan.

  1. In regards to the Holy Spirit - "gifts", translated from the Greek could also have been called "manifestations".
  2. Father, Son, Holy Spirit - the Trinity.

The manifestations of the Spirit of God can also be seen in John 14:26 as Jesus stated,

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 14:26 (KJV)

Also what powers (gifts, manifestations) of the Holy Spirit.

Strong's Number: 1431

Greek Word: dorea

Usage Notes: denotes "a free gift," stressing its gratuitous character; it is always used in the NT of a spiritual or supernatural gift, John 4:10; Acts 8:20; Acts 11:17; Rom. 5:15; 2Cor. 9:15; Eph. 3:7; Heb. 6:4; in Eph. 4:7, "according to the measure of the gift of Christ," the "gift" is that given by Christ; in Acts 2:28, "the gift of the Holy Ghost," the clause is epexegetical, the "gift" being the Holy Ghost Himself; cp. Acts 10:45; Acts 11:17, and the phrase, "the gift of righteouness," Rom. 5:17.

As you notice in the above definition the gift is the Holy Spirit Himself. From this gift will come many manifestations. Whatever is needed at the time will be manifested. Not that each person will have a different gift, but that each person will have the same gift the Holy Spirit and from the Holy Spirit will come manifestations.

Jesus is the side of God that is defending us, while Satan, on the outside, is condemning us. He is a physical part, the Body of God. Satan actually accuses us, but it is the soul of God that makes the final decision. The accusations go into the body, but it is always the soul that decides after it receives all it needs to make the decision.

Your body receives input, taste, sound, sight and so on, but the body does not decide to use what it gets, it is the soul, the mind, will and emotions that does that. So as Satan accuses us, it goes to the body then to the soul. Since Jesus is the body, if that person who is being accused is of the body of Christ, all the soul sees is Jesus.

A brief look at the Plan.

God created. His only anointed angel tempted man into sin.

Man fell from glory not grace. Grace is a time (we are in now) to get right with God. Before Adam fell from glory he had no reason to get right with God, he was already right with God.

God spent many thousands of years planting His word (John 1:1-3) in the earth to find one who would have the faith (Romans 10:17) to accept His word (Luke 1:38).

During this time God only found a handful of men and women who would listen and convey His word. First God, through Abraham, setup the physical seed, and through Jesus it became the spiritual seed.

Jesus finally enters the earth. He brings the way back to God. This is the last generation of mankind on earth. A generation in the Bible is 40 years, not how long one would live, but the length of a generation. Jesus' life birth to physical death was only 33 years. He did not get His full generation, so add in tribulation's 7 years for a total of 40 years. God gave us Grace, a time to get it right with Him a time between the death and resurrection of Jesus and tribulation.

Tribulation a last ditch effort of God to save man. God first raptures those who are saved, then allows those who remain 3.5 years to see that man ruling man with out God is not the way. Some will come around and be raptured before the second half of tribulation. The last half or second half of tribulation is a time for people who are even more stubborn. God allows those left behind to be ruled by Satan so they can see this is not the way. After the 7 years there is the last rapture. Then whoever is left is the most stubborn of all people. God's wrath is poured out (Matthew 24, Rev 6:12-14). Those who received the Mark of the beast and worshipped it will die. Those who did not take the Mark will live. Then comes the 1,000 year reign of Jesus over the remaining people. Remember this the most stubborn group ever. They had enough snap to not worship and receive the Mark of the beast, but not enough to accept Jesus as Lord. So it will take 1,000 years to weed the bad ones out. Then Satan will be loosed one more time to be used to make sure whoever is left is of God.

Time ends, the old earth is put away and judgment day happens. We spend eternity exploring the new earth, a planet 10 times the size of our sun. The size estimation is based on the size of the New Jerusalem on the new earth Vs the old one on the old earth. We will have a chance to walk & talk with the animals and explore. This may take an eternity for a planet this size while at all times visiting and being in the presence of God.

Bottom line the plan of God is the salvation of mankind from death, Hell, the grave.

God is a God of love. Do not judge God based on man. Man can and will make mistakes; God will not. Too many Icons (Jim Baker for example) have led people the wrong way; their intentions were good at first (the way to Hell is paved with good intentions), but as they fell many that followed fell as well. That is because they followed man, not God, because their eyes were on man not God.


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