God's Logic

          My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me…John 10:27 King James Version

          My sheep recognize my voice.  The Message

          My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. The New Living Translation

When Jesus was in the midst of his ministry, he often spoke allegorically about smaller, four-footed tame animals that are accustomed to grazing such as sheep or goats in contrast to larger animals such as cattle, horses or donkeys. It was one of these lost sheep (Gr. probaton) for whom he would leave the 99 in the pasture, to search without ceasing, to find, and to return with rejoicing from the place of no pasture to the place of pasture, in Luke 15:1-7 and about which we wrote in CHESED–The Prophetic Mercy of God. It is a prophetic figure of speech about people whom he has retrieved from being lost to being found, and people who as a result know him and are known by him.

Literally translated, Jesus said these “sheep” are continually hearing his voice, using a verb tense that can take place in the past, in the present and in the future. By using the verb tense he chose, he could have said, “My people have heard my voice in the past, they are hearing it now, and they will hear again in the future.”   This may be news to you but Jesus hasn’t stopped looking for the religious outsiders who are in the place of “no pasture”, so they can know him (because he already knows them; after all, he created them–that’s why he’s looking!).  And he has already stated, he will keep on looking for them until the last one is “found”.  And as he finds them, he begins conversing with them and these conversations are the subject of our post.

Don’t you think this is wonderful news? Can’t you imagine anything you would like to ask Jesus?  How about talking directly to God the Father?  Most people tend to think that Father is silent and never says anything.  But please take our word for it (until you can prove it to yourself by your own conversations with him), Father is very talkative and responsive.  If you don’t believe us, here is what Jesus said:

          But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’  Matthew 4:4

          And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me.  Matthew 5:37

          It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. John 6:45

          Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.  Matthew 18:19

You may be asking, Why don’t we hear God’s voice? or, If we do hear God’s voice, why don’t we recognize it? Our post today is the first in a series about definite and practical steps to conversing with your heavenly Father. At the outset, we concede there was once a famine on hearing the words of God, as recorded by the prophet Amos.  But we believe that time is over, and based upon the above words of Jesus, anyone who wants to talk to Father may do so.

Sooner or later, the thought is going to occur to you that you should be afraid of talking to God.  There are reasons for the idea that go beyond the scope of this post, but generally this fear originates in guilt, actual or induced by others.  You have probably heard from some of our friends who are religious insiders that Father’s holiness requires him to send somebody to hell and also prohibits him from talking to such people, and you religious outsiders are prime candidates.  So forget about talking to God, because he is not interested in talking to you; instead, be afraid, be very afraid.  This kind of thinking is so far from the truth as to be laughable! It is certainly not found in the Bible!  Jesus came into the world to re-open the communication lines between the Godhead and all mankind.

Step number 1 is to get this straight in your head:  Father loves you and ain’t mad at you!  We have repeatedly pointed out because of what Jesus did on the cross, Father is no longer counting your wrongdoing against you.  Guilt should not keep you from starting to talk to Father or Jesus.  Do not allow guilt to prevent you from asking Father yourself if what we are saying is true.  Either bow your head and close your eyes if that’s how you were raised, or walk outside and look up into the sky–but ask him!

To all of our friends who just asked Father, both religious insiders and religious outsiders, we sincerely say:  Congratulations! You just took the first step to hearing God’s voice!

Please indulge a brief history lesson to underscore our encouragement not to be afraid of hearing his voice.  The story begins all the way back at Mount Sinai, in Saudi Arabia, when the first Pentecost occurred.  The Israelites had been led out of Egypt by Moses in early April, and 50 days later were camped in the northeastern part of Saudi Arabia.  At the appointed time, Father spoke through fire, clouds and thick darkness–the top of the mountain was actually on fire.  Father caused everyone to hear him in their own language.  Years later, Moses recounted the story in Deuteronomy 4:10-12:

          Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear (Heb: yare’) me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.  And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.  And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire:  ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.  KJV

Did you catch the word “fear”?  We have gone back to one of the earliest versions to show you where this alleged fear comes from–but notice in the link that the word also means “reverence“.  Which definition is correct?  The religious insiders put it this way:  To demonstrate his “holiness”, God set the rocky mountain on fire, pierced their ears with a trumpet sound, rumbled through the clouds, smoke and darkness, to scare the snot out of them for the rest of their lives, so that they could in turn scare the snot out of their kids for the rest of their lives.  The support for this position results from the fact that it actually did scare the snot out of them, although not for the rest of their lives–they simply said, “we don’t want to talk to him anymore, because if we do we will die; Moses, you go talk to him and tell us what he says.”

Try this for a different perspective:  “Instead of worshiping snakes, fish, the sun and moon, and crocodiles (all of which you can see), I will set a stone mountain on fire, announce my arrival with a trumpet and speak to you in your own language, so that you will know I am alive even though you cannot see me, and so that you will reverence me as the true God and will teach your children to do the same.”

Which perspective makes the most sense to you? The god that frightens children, or the God that wants to have relationship and conversation with you?  The people had just heard God’s voice–why did they say “if we hear God’s voice we will die”?  Has anyone ever heard God’s voice and died from it? Is that the kind of god you have? God is love and he doesn’t kill people by talking to them!

And so we have come to the first important lesson about hearing from Father:  the people did not mean that they would die physically–they understood that hearing Father’s voice usually means your will has to die to itself, sometimes a little and sometimes a lot.  Do not ask to hear God’s voice until you are ready to agree with what he has to say.  As one of the brothers says sometimes:  maybe you are not sure you are ready, but you are willing to be ready.

This is why they were afraid to hear his voice.  Someone who is unwilling to agree with whatever Father says will generally be afraid to hear his voice.  So, make up your mind to agree with him quickly.  We say, be confident in his love for you and you will see that whatever he says will always be for your good–you can trust your Father!  Try him and see for yourself!

Blessed are you O Lord, the Father from whom every family gets its name.  How faithful are your love and your words and how we live and breathe in them.  Thank you for speaking to us!  We repent of falsely believing that you are silent and angry. We had a false image of you, and thank you for freeing us from it, and for the joy of your fellowship!

I have recently been reading a book called A Severe Mercy. The autobiographical story follows the lives of a couple over the course of their short but loving marriage.  The author describes the early years of his marriage as being years of learning to “share.”  He and his wife decided that the best way to grow together was to share as many experiences as possible. So, aside from the common interests and ways of thinking they already shared, they committed to sharing in whatever new ideas, books, activities, or interests the other took up.  As they did, they grew in love and friendship.

It occurred to me that this idea of “sharing” is truly foundational to friendship.  And it is true of our relationship to God as well. Why do I love God? Well, partially because I LIKE Him.  And I like Him because we share so many things:  I love music- so does He, heaven is full of it;  I love exercise and activity and healthy eating: he loves the body too, that is why He made it His temple; I love the outdoors: so does He, He made all of creation and said “It is good.”  I love to study and think and He himself is called the Logos, or Logic, the namesake of this website….The list goes on and on. And so, with all experiences I have, all interests that I have, all feelings and thoughts and dreams I have- I can SHARE those with my God, my Friend, and He understands! I believe this is true for every human being, because all are made in His image- all have characteristics of God Himself, and thus can share the manifestations of those characteristics with Him.

How wonderful to know that God not only knows us, but relates to us. Isn’t it a wonderful feeling when you reach a level of friendship where your friend knows exactly what you mean without you even having to explain yourself?! The understanding between the two of you has grown from all the things you have shared with each other.  You KNOW them and they KNOW you.  Not just ABOUT you.

Psalm 25:14, TLB, says “Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence Him. With them alone He shares the secrets of His promises.”

Let us seek to be friends of God. I am sure that God is glad when we recognize Him as our Savior, our Creator, our King, even our Master, but I think He especially delights in being our Friend. Let us see Him as such, and give Him the pleasure of sharing His secrets with us.

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.  Matthew 5:22 ESV

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  Matthew 16:18 ESV

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;… 2 Peter 2:4 ESV

         It is simply not controversial, by any reasonable application of the term, that the origins of the hideous doctrine of “hell” are for the most part pagan and extra-biblical superstition. 

          Among the more insidious problems caused by intentional mis-translations, this doctrine is the leading instigator of more wrong thinking than just about any other, for reasons unrelated to its hideousness or perhaps we should say, in spite of it.  Almost all translations and paraphrases of the Bible uniformly translate three different Greek words (and for extra measure, one Hebrew word) as “hell”–the above three verses are somewhat well-known examples.  In the first verse above, the word used is actually “geenna“, pronounced “Gehenna”, a well-known place from Jewish antiquity which can with reasonable certainty be located upon a map of Jerusalem today.

          In the second verse above, the word used is actually “hades“, pronounced (correctly) “ha-DAHS”, originally equating with the Hebrew word “sheol“.  The third use of “hell” above is actually “tartaroo“, or more commonly “Tartarus”.  Tartarus originated with the ancient Greeks as the abode of the wicked dead, or the “deepest part of Hell” (we’re not making this up–look at the etymological key in the preceding link).  In short summary, there is Jerusalem’s ancient city dump–Gehenna; the grave or similar place under the earth–Sheol/Hades; and a literal or figurative multi-level subterranean place of Greek mythology  (judging from the depth of current offshore oil and gas exploration, it must be very subterranean).

         We trust that the breadth of these different words is beginning to cast some doubt upon the commonly speculative place of the Devil in a red suit with a pitchfork, flames, never-ending punishment in burning torment, etc. etc.  It is time for the church to face the questions:  Is there a “Hell”,  and exactly WHAT and WHERE is it?  Is it in this realm (i.e., under the physical earth) or is it in another realm (i.e., a spiritual realm somewhere removed from heaven, the throne of God)?  If the supposed place does NOT exist, why is the church threatening so many people with it?  (In some parts of the church, it is believed to be the destination of the vast majority of all humans who have ever lived!)

          It is time for the under-shepherds of God’s flock to stop the psychological mind-control of God’s sheep that occurs when the sheep are actively or impliedly given the choice between heaven or hell, turn or burn, and utopia or eternal separation from God.  Perhaps the under-shepherds do not themselves know better, or perhaps their livelihoods depend upon keeping the sheep in line!  If you are an under shepherd and are not able to convince your parishioners that the life of the indwelling Jesus Christ is better by far than anything this world has to offer (and we mean ANYTHING), without the fear of eternal torment, perhaps you are in the wrong calling!

          In keeping with our practice of not dis-proving what is false, we will instead focus upon what is true and trust that He will guide us to Himself by the Holy  Spirit.  Let’s take “Gehenna” first.  The following is a well-known passage from the gospel of Mark:

If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell (Gehenna), into  the unquenchable fire, WHERE THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.  If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off;  it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell (Gehenna), where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.  If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell (Gehenna), where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.  Mark 9:43-48 New American Standard Bible (NASB) (capitalization in original)

          You may, dear reader, be able to tell that the Lord Jesus was here speaking figuratively to make His point, if for no other reason than your recollection of the number of preachers you have seen with one hand, one foot or one eye resulting from obedience to these words.  (Thank God no one has taken Him literally here.)  Before we consider what He actually did mean, we would like to point out that this link (it is the 5th picture from the left) is to a photo of the Valley of Hinnom, which was later called “Gehenna”.  You will please note that the unquenchable fire has obviously gone out, and the worm has died!  We think it is fair to say that the Lord was not speaking literally or Gehenna’s fire would still be burning! 

           The Lord’s point, in the Mark passage and other places, is that the seriousness of life issues require constant vigilance for oneself and for others so as not to unnecessarily consign one’s own life or the life of another to the trash dump of life.  The same is true for the passage in Matthew–one risks throwing one’s own life or the life of another upon the trash dump by calling him a fool.  Please note that nothing in the Lord’s words here indicate that the fire (assuming that it is the fire of judgment) continues AFTER the end of life–it is simply not there.  One must read it into the passage.  Much more could be said about the restorative effects of God’s fire, but that will be for another post.

          What about Hades and its “gates” or what in the Old Testament is called “Sheol”?  Is it time to be literal yet?  Yes and no.  The grave is very real, as is the spirit of Death which empowers it.  And for now Death and the grave have some measure of victory, as we all know.  But our Lord has conquered Death AND the grave.  He has promised that all who are believing in Him will never die.  And even if a believer should for some reason die, He has promised to nevertheless raise that believer up on the last day.  Again we point out, there is nothing “everlasting” or “eternal” about Death and the grave, or “Hades”.

          This is precisely the point the apostle Paul made in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians.  He began by saying “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.”  Understanding Paul’s point will help with what appears to be an inconsistency with the Lord’s words:  Paul is not saying there are some who never die; instead he is saying that in the same way that all WOULD die but for Christ, BECAUSE OF Christ all WILL be made alive.  Death is going to be ABOLISHED!  Graves are going to be abolished, just like Gehenna was!  The unquenchable fire (not to mention the worms) will no longer be necessary!  Read it for yourself.

For He (Jesus) must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.  The last enemy that will be abolished is death…When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all…But when this perishable (body) will have put on the imperishable (body), and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?’   1 Corinthians 15:25-26, 28, 54-55 NASB

          Finally we come to Tartarus.  We should perhaps be grateful that it is only mentioned one time in the entire Bible.  Clearly, it is some type of abode for “angels who sinned”.  But do you notice there is no mention of fire?  Instead, we are told of “gloomy darkness”.  In addition, it is clearly not an unending period without termination–Peter says “UNTIL the judgment.”  So, we have gloomy darkness…until the judgment.  Peter’s point is that Father knows how to correct bad behavior–He did it with the angels and he will do it with all others also:

(T)he Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,… 2 Peter 2:9 ESV   These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. 2 Peter 2:17 ESV

          Notice, again, the “gloom of utter darkness’…”until the day of judgment.”  So whether we are referring to angels or ungodly men, described in some detail by Peter, the environment is the same, and there is a definite end-point–the day of judgment.  It seems self-evident if the vast majority of all mankind from every age were ultimately destined to this fiery, tortuous “end”, Father would have been a little clearer in warning against it.

          In point of fact, He did not warn against “Hell” (at least as it has been typically presented) because there is no such place.  Likewise, “Hell” is not the ultimate destination for most of mankind, as the apostle Paul faithfully reported in the verses above from 1 Corinthians.  Finally, Father’s punishment is not perpetual and un-ending, and it is a terrible and false accusation to ascribe the hideous doctrine to Him.  Frankly, it has never entered His mind to burn any of His children, so you’ll just have to blame that idea on the next one-handed, one-footed, and one-eyed preacher you happen to meet. 

Blessed are You, O Father of Love, who intends for all to be granted repentance in the fullness of time, because You do not want anyone to perish.  By Your great plan, with Your great power,  fulfill this great purpose in all mankind.  There is no one like You, O Lord.

“And should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”  Jonah 4:11

This verse is the last verse in the book of Jonah, but it captures the heart of God in this story, and shows His purpose: to redeem and restore those who have been against Him, and to have mercy upon all.

The story of Jonah follows a prophet who receives a call from God to go the most heathen of heathen: the Ninevites, idol worshippers living in the Assyrian capital.  Jonah’s message is one calling for repentance from wickedness, that God might be gracious to them and relent from the calamity He planned to bring on them.  Instead of going to Nineveh, Jonah decides to flee in the opposite direction and hopefully dodge his duty.  In an interesting side note, Jonah flees to the city of Tarshish, the name of which means “refinement.”  God had to refine Jonah in the belly of the whale, where he learned afresh to trust God and willingly come into agreement with Him.  After three days in the whale, God gives Jonah a second chance to go and preach to the Ninevites, and he goes and proclaims God’s message.

When the Ninevites hear Jonah’s message, they immediately turn to God in fasting and repentence, from the king down.  And it says in verse 10, “When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.” 

Jonah actually gets upset with God for His mercy on these people, but fittingly describes God’s handling of the Ninevites: “I knew that Thou art a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.” (4: 2).

Jonah unfortunately responded in the way many people do today at the thought that God actually could and would redeem all people.  We wonder how people as horrible as Hitler could ever come into the kingdom of God.  But here we see how God’s heart is to bring all people, especially the worst, to Himself.  Jonah’s name means “dove”, which is a symbol of peace, restoration, and the Holy Spirit.  God plans to bring restoration to even the worst of the worst.  He is ABUNDANT in lovingkindness, having compassion on those who “do not even know their right hand from the left.” God is saying that these people are spiritually dead: they are too spiritually “dumb” to even know one hand from the other.  Paul calls these kind the “natural man”-those who have no spiritual discernment whatsoever: “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” 1 Cor. 2:14

We are all dead in our trespasses and sins until God in His mercy makes us alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:1-5).  He came and opened our darkened minds and hearts so that we could be aware and understand the things of the Spirit of God.  God extended mercy to the Ninevites in kindness. He did not immediately bring calamity on them, for He does not delight in that.  What He DOES delight in is a contrite heart.  And it was His kindness that led them to repentence (Rom. 2:4). 

Does God have to correct and discipline? Yes.  We can choose to rebel and take the long way around, as Jonah did. But ultimately, God’s will prevails.  Nineveh was a glimpse into the plan of God to bring all people to Himself, because of His unfailing love.

“Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  2 Cor. 5:18-21

For many Christians, “the gospel” they have been taught, and thus teach others, is not the complete gospel that Paul defines for us in the above passage.  Most think that the gospel, or good news, is that Jesus came to save us from our sins and allow us to be right with God.  This is the latter part of this text-that Jesus became ‘sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him,’ and thus is definitely a key component of the gospel message.

But there is more to the gospel-“the good news”-than this.  Paul tells us in verses 18 and 19 that God has done a marvelous thing: He has reconciled THE WORLD to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them.  Here we see God doing two things that we can hardly believe: He has reconciled, or restored, the entire world-all people– to Himself.  It’s a done deal in the heavenly realm, where time does not exist.  God, who is the Alpha and Omega, can declare things as done because the beginning and the end are the same for Him.  And this restoration has been accomplished for ALL MANKIND.  In order to accomplish this restoration, He had to first take care of our trespasses (wrongs/debts/sins) against Him.  So what did He do? God did not count them against us, but put all the sin of the entire world on Christ instead.  He took it FROM us and put it ON Jesus, so that we might be righteous (blameless-the condition of fully restored)  in His sight.

So Paul establishes what God has done already for all mankind, apart from anything a man may (or may not) do in his relationship with God.  However, after Paul has explained that God has done the work of saving all, he then pleads with the Corinthians to be reconciled to God.  He is saying “God has done all that is necessary for you to be with Him and know Him. So turn away from your wicked ways and turn TO Him.”  That is what repent means- to change your thinking around.  This is where the emphasis of today’s gospel message is: Our turning to God.  And that is indeed what God wants.  But contrary to what many preach, God doesn’t rescind his reconciling act when someone doesn’t turn to Him in this life. No, He is able to wait, and discipline that person in the ages to come, until they repent and reconcile themselves to Him. Paul, however, realizes how much better it is to repent now rather than later, and says so emphatically.  And further says with Paulean passion that this is the message we are to go and give to others: God has already done what is needed to save you. It’s a done deal. Turn and know Him now.”

How much more willing I would be to turn to a God that I know has already saved me! He is not threatening me with eternal hell if I do not turn to Him.  Just like the prodigal son, who went away from his father and lived a life of sin, only to return expecting rejection, but was instead welcomed home with open arms of love, we too have a Father who cares about restoring us to Himself, not casting us off for our sin against Him. 

So what is the REAL gospel we are called to preach? Just this: that God has cast all the curse of sin upon His Son Jesus.  His death on the cross forever removed the guilt of sin of all mankind.  As Jesus Himself said, “It is finished.”  Now, we can know God and be rightly related to Him. There is no fear in His rejection, no doubt about His love. We can lift up our heads and look into His face, full of love and compassion for us.  God has no intention of forever separating Himself from those He paid so high a price to reconcile to Himself.  As we have said, He may discipline, and it may take time (ages) for some to turn to Him, but He can wait patiently, and will work dilligently to correct those who are stubbornly against Him, until they too will bow in sincerity and say “Jesus is Lord”, to the glory of God the Father. And once again, at the time the Father has decided, all that has come from God will return to God so that He will be All in all.