God's Logic

So if (Jesus) the Son (of God) makes you free, you will be free indeed.  John 8:36 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

It might be hard to imagine that there is actually a bigger problem than the majority of humanity being enslaved for two and one half millennia.  But the truth is out:  all of creation is enslaved and has been since Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden.  The Babylonian captivity is just a “small” part of the entire problem, since all of creation includes the entire universe.  Perhaps that will put our problems in proper perspective!

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God…For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.  Romans 8:20,24-25 NASB

The apostle Paul, writing to believers in Rome, explained that the record of Genesis reveals that Adam’s sin caused the entire creation to be subjected to “slavery to corruption”, meaning essentially that everything is proceeding from order to chaos, from fitness to ruin, from organization to dis-organization.  You can easily see this everywhere–just imagine what your yard would look like after a few years of no effort.

But when Father subjected the creation, He also gave it hope for a glory change.  And that glory change is on its way!  It is a change that will be revealed, in a way that can be seen.

The word “glory” is the Greek word doxa (pronounced “dock-sa”).  It has a wide variety of meanings, as can be seen here.  But we believe it hearkens back to the shekinah glory that radiated outward from Father’s presence in heaven or wherever He chooses to dwell.

When Solomon dedicated the Temple which he had constructed in Jerusalem about 3,000 years or so ago, the priests brought up the coffer of testimony, usually called the “ark of the covenant” from the part of Jerusalem known as the “City of David” where it was kept in the Tent of Meeting constructed during the much-earlier time of Moses.  After the priests deposited the coffer in the most holy place (the very inner sanctuary) and withdrew, the shekinah glory (a luminous cloud) filled the entire temple to such a degree that no one could even stand, and the priests could not minister–everyone was face down.  Here is how it was recorded:

It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord,  so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. 1 Kings 8:10-11

Our poor description in no way does justice to something which is beyond comparison, but the point is:  it will soon be seen, because it is going to be revealed.  The creation will be moved away from slavery and into freedom.  In short, the curse will be removed.  We realize that many religious insiders believe that very soon, the “great tribulation” will begin which will be anything but “glorious”.  We apologize if we are contradicting their doctrine, but we do not believe hell-fire, brimstone, widespread death and destruction are what the Lord and Paul had in mind when he penned Romans 8.  Most importantly, the doctrine of “Great Tribulation” does not lend itself to the hope Paul wrote about (or any other kind of hope, for that matter).  We do not believe anyone is “eagerly” waiting for the Great Tribulation.

The pieces go together like this:  Radiating light from God–Sons of God–freedom–curse removed–creation released–slavery of every kind is banished.

We would like to point out that Jesus, the firstborn and predominant son, revealed this glory when He walked the earth.  Read it for yourself:

And He (Jesus) is the radiance of His (God’s) glory and the exact representation of His (God’s) nature…Hebrews 1:3 NASB

The “sons of God” will, in just the same way Jesus did, become the radiance of God’s glory change.  Paul says this glory will unveil something not seen at least since the subjection of creation by Adam’s sin, if ever.  Jesus Christ, although He is the pre-eminent son, chose NOT to reveal this glory himself, but instead waited to allow his brothers (and sisters) to reveal it.  These brothers and sisters are the ones who have found freedom in the Messiah, the one who came to set us all free.

By trust, and by faith, they have received the gift of salvation, and have become partakers of the divine nature  of which we wrote earlier, and are believing Jesus to change them from the inside out and make them holy.  The glory change will be revealed into these believers and will somehow break out into a transforming freedom that will literally remove the curse from the earth.  We don’t know about you, dear reader, but we can’t wait to meet these people!

They gave up the slave mentality long ago.  What about you; why wait?  Are you, dear reader, one of the ones the entire creation is waiting upon?  If so, we urge you to be reconciled to God.  Call upon the Messiah and tell him you are ready to do your part, whatever that may be.  May the Lord cause His face to shine upon you and favor you!  May the Lord lift his face toward you and give you his shalom!

Blessed are you, O Lord our wonderful God.  Elohim baruch ha shem.  All creation shouts your praise:  beautiful is our God!  The universe will sing:  Hallelujah to you, our King!

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. Romans 8:18-22 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

There has been a lot of political talk in recent years about “hope” and “change”.  Dear reader, do you have any hope that anything significant in the world system will really change, meaning, for the better?  Have you found yourself wondering why things are the way they are?  Are you looking for change, and what do you think “change” would look like?  Do the words “Babylonian captivity” mean anything to you?  Check out this conversation from The Matrix (1999)(courtesy of imdb.com):

Morpheus: I know *exactly* what you mean. Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I’m talking about?

Neo: The Matrix.

Morpheus: Do you want to know what it is?

Neo: Yes.

Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work… when you go to church… when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.

Neo: What truth?

Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind.

We propose to you that what Morpheus referred to as the “Matrix” is actually the world-wide Babylonian captivity that has enslaved the world for many centuries.  It is a monetary, religious, political and military system coordinated and controlled by many very wealthy elites whose rule has now been judicially declared terminated in Father’s divine court.  We are happy to announce that “change” is coming!  It is a change that was prophesied about two millennia ago, when the apostle Paul wrote the above words to the believers who then lived in Rome, Italy, during the Roman empire.

Our post today is to discuss what this “change” will look like.  As stated in an article by Kevin Jackson, entitled The Slave Mentality, slave mentality is acquired slowly, bit by bit, over an extended period of time, and constitutes “the worst kind of prison:  the prison of the mind.”  He says, “Escape is as simple as walking away, yet few people leave.”  If all you have known for your entire life is a slave mentality, and one that you cannot see, taste or touch because the world has been pulled over your eyes, how will you free your mind from it?

First, know that the author of this change, and its revealer, is none other than Jesus the Messiah.  It is He who will free your mind–all you have to do is ask Him to do so.  Here is what He said about himself:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.  Luke 4:18-19 NASB

A coming “glory” is going to be revealed “in us”.  Setting aside briefly the question of “who”, a more important question is “what”.  Paul begins by telling us in verse 18:

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to (Greek: eis–into) us.

Paul describes this glory change by first saying that present sufferings (for him, it included the Roman Empire) are not worthwhile enough to form the basis of a comparison.  So unique is this glory that it is incomparable–there is simply nothing to which to compare it.  That sounds like a change worth hoping for!

Paul secondly says it is something “that is to be revealed into us”, or in other words, a revelation or an “unveiling”.  The Greek word “eis” means motion from the exterior to a stopping point on the interior.  Think of drawing a straight line from the outside of a circle into the middle of the circle and stopping–that’s the idea of “eis”.  In other words, this is not something someone is going to think up in their own mind.  Instead, it is something revealed, seen, and understood.

In short the glory change seems to be unveiled as it is moving into us.  The next verse makes it clear that all creation (not just mankind, or even some of mankind) is anxiously watching, and even longing for this unveiling.  Please note that Paul has directly connected the glory change to the revealing of someone he calls “the sons of God.”

For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 

It seems clear that Paul has equated “the glory that is to be revealed into us” and “the revealing of the sons of God.”  Since God first determined to make mankind in His image, He has planned to reveal His own glory through mature sons of whom Jesus was the first-born.  These sons will not be divine as Jesus was, but will be redeemed sons of fallen Adam.  The glory will be that which inhabited Eden before the fall.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into (Greek:  eis) the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

The entire creation is anxiously watching and longing because of the stakes, which for us Paul says are an insufficient basis for comparison.  However, creation has taken the brunt of Adam’s sin, since God put the sin debt upon the earth, causing it to groan and travail.  So whatever else may be said about our “present sufferings”, here are 2 points:  one, they do not merit comparison to the glory change, and two, they are not connected to the involuntary subjection that was placed upon the creation by God and which has lasted since Adam was ejected from the Garden of Eden.

When Father subjected creation, he also gave it hope!  Talk about merciful!  A hope not speculative, but instead certain and inevitable, of a coming freedom that will be found only in this “glory”.  We are talking about a glory change that will not only free all of mankind, but also all of the creation!

Say goodbye to slave mentality, and hello to freedom mentality! In part 2 we’ll examine the source of this glory and how the awesome light that radiates from Father’s presence sets creation free.

Baruch ata Adonai.  I will love you, Lord my strength.  I belong to you and I will bless you while I live, and I will lift my hands up in your name.