31 March 2022
We really must learn to ditch the instinctive notion that God owes us as humans a fair chance, or that He has promised any such thing. I realize I'm asking for a radical shift in thinking for most of my readers, but the human race as mortals start out doomed by default. Only the intervention of our Creator offers any hope, and the Word says flatly that He's selective on a basis we cannot comprehend. There are statements in Scripture that indicate something about His motives, but it is simply not possible to really get a handle on it. We cannot understand, and we cannot pretend that our standards of justice can be projected onto Him.
God declared the doom on humanity in the Garden of Eden. It is a wholesale doom on all mortal flesh before anyone was born. The fault lies with those who were at the root of the human race. We simply have no concept for how Creation itself is inherently feudal like that. The ultimate mother and father of all humanity chose it for us, and God had already granted them the authority to make the choice. From that day forward, all of the human race has been under the Curse. Inherent in that fallen choice was the elevation of human capabilities to primacy in human thinking, and the closure of faith.
I don't pretend to know why God felt it was necessary to make things like this. What I do know is that the basis for the Curse is that we have been handed over to the dominion of our own fallen faculties, since that is what Adam and Eve chose when they listened to the Tempter. Relying on our own faculties automatically subjects us to the Devil's authority. The only alternative is listening to the Holy Spirit speaking in our hearts.
That is, we can listen to Him if He is there. This is the question behind the biblical teaching of Predestination. Without the Holy Spirit, a heart-borne life of conviction means you will never have a clear revelation of God's ways. You'll be subject to rather random influences that Satan plants in your life, and so far, that means any number of pagan teachings. So, on top of having to face a misguided heart darkened by deception, a major portion of the humanity is actively hostile to consciously trusting their hearts in the first place. Instead, the darkened heart dominates from the background, and the intellect only imagines that it is free.
However many humans are naturally procreated will all be under the Curse; they are part of the natural world. They are not the eternal beings God placed in the Garden of Eden. They are subject to many of the same random deaths and births that characterize the animals and plants. It has no apparent meaning from a human standpoint. The 200,000+ who died in 14 different Asian countries in the 2004 tsunami were not particularly hated by God, but they were not standing in the Covenant. Without the Covenant, they chose to live in the path of a tsunami God has scheduled for that day. Had they been under the Covenant, it's virtually certain they would have gotten a word from God about it in advance.
It's not that God doesn't care, but human life in itself is of no great value, given that it's the primary mark of the Curse. We who walk in the Covenant are taught to despise this life and look forward to leaving it. One of the greatest gifts God gives to His children is redemption into Eternity. Dying is a blessing when it comes at His time. Yes, death means sorrow for the survivors in most cases, but that's not to signify that this life should be regarded as precious in itself.
The only reason people think human existence is somehow a wonderful thing to be treasured is because they have rejected divine revelation. Instead, they substitute a fallen human value in place of what God says. The only value for our fallen existence in the Bible is as a chance to bring God glory. There is no other purpose for living as a human. Whether your life experience includes things pleasant or sorrowful has no bearing on the question.
So, now that we know God has decreed a time of apocalypse stretching into the foreseeable future, all this does is give us some kind of warning that our opportunities to glorify Him will be far greater than those who lived through global prosperity. Tribulation is the native element of His Children in this life. This is when we are more clearly revealed as His Children (Romans 8:18-25). When you get to the point where you consider this life expendable, then you can focus on the mission in the midst of great sorrow.
Meanwhile, millions of people throughout human history have been Elect without ever knowing it during their time in this life. What they missed was the chance to enjoy all the blessings of the Covenant. Human intellect is not sufficient to distinguish us from animals, except in the sense that we have more of that one capability. But it doesn't offer anything that makes life any more worth living. A purely human existence is just as futile as any animal, insect or plant. Only the Presence of the Holy Spirit changes that, and it's only in terms of potential. It's not automatic; you still must adhere to the Covenant as best you can discern it. Without faith -- i.e., a feudal commitment to His Lordship -- you cannot gain the best this life has to offer. And that best is within the Covenant boundaries.
So if you have access to Scripture, you are accountable for that. If you grow up in some situation where you are never exposed to the Bible, the essence of the Covenant is still written in your convictions. The Holy Spirit unfailingly prompts you to care about what's ultimately true in our God, even if you aren't aware of His official name. The Spirit will compel you to sense an obligation to seek Him. You have to go out of your way to fail on the Covenant.
Without fail, in every generation, God has always had a witness to His Covenant. It has always been possible to find peace with Him regardless of the context. It remains for us not to repeat the mistakes of previous generations, but to turn to His Covenant. With the tribulation, there will be fewer temptations of dissipation to get in our way.
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