Sunday, December 18, 2005
"And To This Day It Is Said...
...On the mountain of the Lord, it will be provided."
One of my more intellectual friends (meaning the balance between faith and thinking is a little off) tried to explain her theory: Because God may not be limited by time and space in any way, perhaps we all reach salvation on His eternal continuum somewhere, in some other state of being…in another existence or as we are passing into death. Purgatory came to my non-Catholic mind. Wayne, Questions and Answers, brought to our attention the dismissal of “limbo” from Catholic doctrine. I see this as a step in the right direction, but back to my friend’s metaphysical beliefs. This idea came after some thoughts she had on the Bible being unnecessary because it only “complicates” things! Really?
In all the webbing of confusion, there is a thread of truth. God did a work of salvation in one place, at one time, which mysteriously did apply itself to all eternity. Concerning the sacrifices in the temple, each lamb was for one time of entering into God’s presence on the Day of Atonement. According to Biblical Law, justice is one human death for taking human life. Jesus’ death was different because He was God. God can do that because He does defy space and time. We, on the other hand, are finite in our physical existence. We have only so much time as limited beings to make our choices and abide the consequences. If there were some other realm, dimension, or life where we could continue making choices, don’t you suppose the imminence declared in God’s Word would have been omitted? And when can we know our time is up? When is our final answer? Is there a last chance? Do we know when that is? Much of the Bible, even if you like to call it mythology, would not jive with the notion of endless opportunity, an eternity of second chances for salvation. But then my friend doesn’t accept the Bible.
Jehovah-Jireh, "The Lord Will Provide", refers to a geographical place so named at a time in human history. Genesis 22:14 “…And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord, it will be provided.’” The Lord did provide the Lamb at this place named by Abraham at a later time in our history. God might not be enclosed by time but He uses space and time for our benefit, one place and time in history. Billy Graham always says, “Don’t put it off. This could be your only chance. You could leave here and never reach home.” God can choose one place and time for all eternity. We must choose our eternity in one place and time.
One of my more intellectual friends (meaning the balance between faith and thinking is a little off) tried to explain her theory: Because God may not be limited by time and space in any way, perhaps we all reach salvation on His eternal continuum somewhere, in some other state of being…in another existence or as we are passing into death. Purgatory came to my non-Catholic mind. Wayne, Questions and Answers, brought to our attention the dismissal of “limbo” from Catholic doctrine. I see this as a step in the right direction, but back to my friend’s metaphysical beliefs. This idea came after some thoughts she had on the Bible being unnecessary because it only “complicates” things! Really?
In all the webbing of confusion, there is a thread of truth. God did a work of salvation in one place, at one time, which mysteriously did apply itself to all eternity. Concerning the sacrifices in the temple, each lamb was for one time of entering into God’s presence on the Day of Atonement. According to Biblical Law, justice is one human death for taking human life. Jesus’ death was different because He was God. God can do that because He does defy space and time. We, on the other hand, are finite in our physical existence. We have only so much time as limited beings to make our choices and abide the consequences. If there were some other realm, dimension, or life where we could continue making choices, don’t you suppose the imminence declared in God’s Word would have been omitted? And when can we know our time is up? When is our final answer? Is there a last chance? Do we know when that is? Much of the Bible, even if you like to call it mythology, would not jive with the notion of endless opportunity, an eternity of second chances for salvation. But then my friend doesn’t accept the Bible.
Jehovah-Jireh, "The Lord Will Provide", refers to a geographical place so named at a time in human history. Genesis 22:14 “…And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord, it will be provided.’” The Lord did provide the Lamb at this place named by Abraham at a later time in our history. God might not be enclosed by time but He uses space and time for our benefit, one place and time in history. Billy Graham always says, “Don’t put it off. This could be your only chance. You could leave here and never reach home.” God can choose one place and time for all eternity. We must choose our eternity in one place and time.
