- Nov 21, 2008
- 51,352
- 10,607
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- SDA
- Marital Status
- Married
I the book of Job chapter 1 we have this
1. A meeting takes place in heaven
2. The sons of God are present.
3. Satan comes among them.
4. God asks Satan where he is coming from - (as He also asks him in chapter 2).
5. Satan claims to come from Earth. Claims to know all about Earth
6. God asks if Satan is aware of the case, actions, history of the man Job.
7. God claims Job is "His servant" - "For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil". (This is a claim that the Gospel, the New Covenant, the New Heart, the New birth - actually works. "by their fruits you shall know them".)
8. Satan is well aware of Job - and claims that what God is doing is just a reuse - that Job is just as wicked as Satan and Satan says Job will "curse you to your face" -- if God just stops protecting and bribing Job.
9. The "test" is proposed to see "who is right". To see if God's claims are correct when it comes to the Gospel "Changing the person" or if Satan is correct that "it is the same person , only they are being bribed to behave out of character".
The entire episode reveals some very key details.
A. It is based on the underlying principle of choice and free will. Satan is not asking if God can robotize-zap someone , rather he is claiming that since God is not in that sort of business then the entire gospel claim is a sham and is not real. He argues that the lost/sinful person cannot be good in the free-will system of the Kingdom of God even with all the benefits of the gospel, new birth etc. Because the same ol' sinful nature still exists and choice still exists.
B. It tells us that the beings in heaven who are not God are being invited to consider the claims God is making regarding the Gospel and whether those claims are seen to work out in real life - or not.
C. It takes "time" for the experiment to yield the results that even non-God beings can see and evaluate. And their debate has real affect on humans on Earth.
1. A meeting takes place in heaven
2. The sons of God are present.
3. Satan comes among them.
4. God asks Satan where he is coming from - (as He also asks him in chapter 2).
5. Satan claims to come from Earth. Claims to know all about Earth
6. God asks if Satan is aware of the case, actions, history of the man Job.
7. God claims Job is "His servant" - "For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil". (This is a claim that the Gospel, the New Covenant, the New Heart, the New birth - actually works. "by their fruits you shall know them".)
8. Satan is well aware of Job - and claims that what God is doing is just a reuse - that Job is just as wicked as Satan and Satan says Job will "curse you to your face" -- if God just stops protecting and bribing Job.
9. The "test" is proposed to see "who is right". To see if God's claims are correct when it comes to the Gospel "Changing the person" or if Satan is correct that "it is the same person , only they are being bribed to behave out of character".
The entire episode reveals some very key details.
A. It is based on the underlying principle of choice and free will. Satan is not asking if God can robotize-zap someone , rather he is claiming that since God is not in that sort of business then the entire gospel claim is a sham and is not real. He argues that the lost/sinful person cannot be good in the free-will system of the Kingdom of God even with all the benefits of the gospel, new birth etc. Because the same ol' sinful nature still exists and choice still exists.
B. It tells us that the beings in heaven who are not God are being invited to consider the claims God is making regarding the Gospel and whether those claims are seen to work out in real life - or not.
C. It takes "time" for the experiment to yield the results that even non-God beings can see and evaluate. And their debate has real affect on humans on Earth.
