Podcast 19, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 5”

The power of the Book of Job is in the manner it deals with complexities. When we examine Job Chapter 5, everything Eliphaz says is sound advice if he were talking to a guilty party, but he isn’t. Job is innocent of any wrongdoing before the Lord. Remember what the Lord said of Job in Chapter One.

Job 1:8

8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Elephaz’s advice then is misplaced, unkind in its implications, and hurtful. He is essentially telling Job these tragedies came upon him because of his wickedness. The remedy, according to Eliphaz is to repent when Job has nothing to repent of.

Job 5:1-5

1 Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?

2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.

3 I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.

4 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.

5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance. 

Those words are like darts aimed at Job’s heart: ‘wrath killeth the foolish man,’ ‘envy slayeth the silly one.’ ‘I have seen the foolish taking root,’ ‘I cursed his habitation.’ ‘His children …are crushed in the gate.’ ‘neither is there any to deliver them.’  Is he calling Job foolish and silly? Is he saying Job’s children are crushed because of his wickedness? 

The irony, of course is that his proverbs are correct in the abstract: “Wrath killeth the foolish man.” “Envy Slayeth the silly one.” The foolish do put their children far from safety. They may lose their inheritance. They may be crushed in the gate. There may be none to deliver them. The foolish man may lose his harvest to scavengers and robbers. But none of those accusations apply to Job. They are not the cause of his suffering. 

Eliphaz does come up with one of the most famous lines in the Book of Job.

Job 5:6-7

6 Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;

7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

That is a proverb that perhaps we can all agree with. The next counsel of Eliphaz is also good except for one thing—he is still calling upon Job to repent. He believes the troubles came because of sin; therefore, his advice is not appropriate. 

Listen carefully to the words of Eliphaz. They are true but in another context.

Job 5:8-11

8 I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:

9 Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:

10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:

11 To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.

If Eliphaz had stopped there, he would have spoken well, but would have said nothing that Job didn’t already know. Eliphaz is on a mission to call his friend—out of love—of course, to repentance.

Job 5: 12-14

12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.

13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.

14 They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.

He is deliberately planting guilt in Job’s heart. He is of the school that believes God punishes the wicked and rewards the righteous; therefore, if bad things happen to you, it must be because you have committed some dreadful sin.

Podcast 18, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 4”

Job’s three friends have been sitting silent for a week. They are Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They are good men who have come to comfort him, but instead, in ignorance, they criticize and accuse Job of secret sins. They want to know why God is punishing Job. All three attribute the cause of Job’s suffering to some hidden sins. This philosophy is echoed even during Christ’s day.

John 9:1-3

1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Christ’s answer must make us all pause before we pass judgment or jump to conclusions. We know, for example, that laws are in play. The body is often plagued with health issues due to unwise health habits. Just as bad investments may cause bankruptcy, unwise behavior may cause disease, accident, and death. The theme is a common one: Why do bad things happen to good people? Christ’s answer is interesting. His blindness was not because of anyone sins. God allowed his blindness “that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” Neither has Job sinned. The primary message of the story of Job appears to be that, like Job, we must learn patience in suffering. Patience will give even greater rewards both in this life and the next. 

 Eliphaz is the first to accuse Job. 

Job 4:1-8

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

2 If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking?

 3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.

4 Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.

5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?

7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?

8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.

Eliphaz is directly accusing Job of committing sin with the implication that he needs to repent. If he were righteous these calamities would not have happened to him.  It is a philosophy held by many that the wicked are punished and the righteous are spared. Being punished is proof of their wickedness. Is that fair? What should we make of Matthew 5:45

“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven:

for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,

and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” 

Malachi addresses the same issue with tremendous clarity.

Malachi 3:13-18

13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?

14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?

15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

16  Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

17 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

Podcast 17, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 3”

Job has lost his fortune which was vast. He has lost his children which were many. Now he has lost his health. He has boils all over his body. He sits in ashes and scrapes his skin with a potsherd, a broken piece of pottery. We can fully understand the lamentations of Chapter Three. He curses the day he was born.

Job 3:1-10

1 After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.

2 And Job spake, and said,

3 Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.

4 Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

5 Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.

6 As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.

7 Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein.

8 Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.

9 Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day:

10 Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.

That is a clear vision of despair. Though Job has become the symbol of despair, he is not fiction or a mere parable. We must accept the idea that Job was a historical figure. In Ezekiel we learn that Job is compared to Noah and Daniel for his righteousness.

Ezekiel 12:12-14

12 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying,

13 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:

14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God.

3 RON

James also mentions Job.

James 5:11 

“Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.”

The story becomes very real, knowing that Job was human like the rest of us. He asked the Lord Why died I not from the womb?

Job 3;11-12

11 Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?

12 Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck?

Job is not the only one who has asked that profound question. And yet he received no answer. Today, the entire world, who is familiar with his story, knows the answer. He lived to be an example to all of us. It is sort of like saying, “If Job can endure his suffering, which is much greater than my own, I can endure mine. He somehow makes is possible.

Job did not suffer without complaining. Notice his comparisons.

            Job 3:13-19

13 For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,

14 With kings and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves;

15 Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver:

16 Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light.

17 There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.

18 There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor.

19 The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.

Podcast 16, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 2”

Again, we have a dialogue between the Lord and Satan.

Job 2:1-2

1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.

2 And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

We get a slightly harsher view of Satan from Peter.

1 Peter 5:8 

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

We must remember that Satan is a fallen angel of unimaginable power. There was no veil drawn over his mind when he was cast down to earth. Satan led the war against Michael in heaven. He would recognize his enemies even on earth who helped Michael cast him out. He would target his biggest enemies, one of whom would have obviously been Job. We live in a kind of vacuum, not remembering our former home. Satan doesn’t. Satan would have recognized Job as one of the noble and great in heaven. In Matthew Christ said,

Matthew 24:24

“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”

The ‘very elect’ would be people like Job. We can assume that Satan has already marked Job as a particularly desirable target.

Job 2:3

3 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

5 RON

 It is clear that Satan does know Job.

Job 2:4-5

4 And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

The story of Job is the story of all of us. We were sent to earth to be enticed by Satan and by Jesus Christ, that we might know good from evil. Job is not being sacrificed. He must go through the trials of life just like everyone else. What sets Job apart, however, is the extent of his trials. Perhaps no one, save Christ alone, endured greater trials though their suffering may have equaled Job’s, yet he remained faithful to God. God is placing Job before us that we may see him as a model on how to endure to the end.

We must also keep in mind a scripture referred to earlier.

1 Corinthians 10:13

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

God knows Job’s limitations, and because of Job’s faith, God does not allow Satan to tempt him above that which he was able to withstand.  It is perhaps fair to say that God uses Job to be a model for all mankind. God has called many prophets, yet he allowed many of them to become martyrs. Job’s position is no different. Job is a prophet as we will see. He foresees the coming of the Messiah.

I suspect many, over the centuries, have wrestled with the same questions Job had to contend with while enduring his suffering, and many have looked to Job as their model. Perhaps they found strength in his endurance. All of the Lords’ true prophets have been held up as models. Some prophets, such as David, Solomon, and Balaam, fell from grace even after serving the Lord faithfully. Yet we still study Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes for their prophecies are still true today. Truth rises above the foibles of fallen man. 

Podcast 15, Stories of the Bible, “The Book of Job, Ch 1”

Welcome to Stories of the Old Testament, Podcast 15, “The Book of Job, Ch I” 

All books of the Holy Bible are unique, distinguished by their own voice. Of course, some, such as The Book of Revelation and The Book of Isaiah, stand out as nonpareil. Few, however, demand our attention like The Book of Job. Though the author is unknown, it is written by the Shakespeare of the Bible. It pulls you into the story. Job is Everyman. Suffering is the common denominator of all mankind. Where does one find the equal to the story of Job? The uniqueness of Job is that, second only to Christ, none have suffered more, though perhaps many have suffered equally, yet he remained faithful to God. 

We are taken aback by the power of his spirit, the power of his understanding, the power of his courage, and the power of his endurance. As Christ defeated Satan in the Wilderness of his affliction so did Job defeat Satan in the Wilderness of his suffering showing that it can be done. God expects the same of us. Many have turned against God for far less reasons. 

I stand with those who believe Job was a real person and this is his remarkable story. As we shall see, out of the depth of his suffering, comes some of the most remarkable statements in the Holy Bible. However, it does not come as a common pulpit sermon, but out of the depths of his soul. 

First let’s look at the framework of the story. First we are informed of Job’s righteousness. 

Job 1:1

1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

Job is ‘perfect and upright.’ It is important to keep that in mind, especially when his well-meaning, but insensitive friends, try to comfort him. Next we learn of his large family.

Job 1:2

2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

Next we learn of the vastness of his wealth.

Job 1:3

3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

Job’s family is primary, his wealth secondary.

Job 1:4

4 And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

The next verse demonstrates the uniqueness and humility of Job. It is clear that his riches have not corrupted him.

Job 1:5

5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. 

Job was family oriented. He taught his children faith in God. He did not want wealth to corrupt them. 

The following dialogue has historic precedent for we see it in the creation story of the Garden of Eden.

Job 1:6-12

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

7 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

9 Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

Stories of the Bible, Podcast 14, “The Fall Pt 13.”

The primary characters in the Fall were Lucifer, Eve, and Adam. There are severe consequences that follow. Perhaps they could be referred to as The Three Curses, one for Lucifer, one for Eve, and One for Adam. 

In the previous podcast we discussed the curse placed upon Lucifer for his cunning part in the fall. In this podcast we shall look at the curses placed upon Eve and upon Adam. 

The fall is a one and only event in the history of mankind. However, the consequences reoccur over and over and over and will continue to reoccur until the end of the world as we know it. We can only understand the story of the fall when we equate the fall of Adam and Eve with the fall of all mankind. In our fallen state we repeat the Garden of Eden story every day of our lives when we are tempted. Before blaming Adam and Eve, we need to consider the fact we are all subject to temptation. The Lucifer who was in the Garden of Eden is the same Satan we struggle against on a daily basis. Every time we violate a commandment, we are in effect partaking of the forbidden fruit. Is there anyone alive today of accountable age or even in the history of the world, save Jesus only, who has not eaten of the forbidden fruit?  

Lucifer, who becomes Satan, remains under the curse. The curse of Satan also applies to all those spirits who fell with him. We don’t know the number. We are only told that a third part of the spirits in heaven fell with him. Other references to the hosts who followed Lucifer are found in the New Testament. For example, remember the evil spirit’s response to Jesus when Jesus asked the possessed man his name:

Mark 5:9

“My name is Legion: for we are many.” 

That is as close as we get to a number. Of course, we do have the enigmatic verses in The Book of Revelation.

Revelation 8:13-17

“And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

3 RON

Two hundred million is a vast army. Are they evil spirits or do they represent earthly armies or both? We know they are led by Lucifer and his angels. And, of course, we have the seven spirits who entered one man. That is a seven to one ratio. We cannot take the ratio literally, of course, for we have no evidence, but we may assume that at any given time on earth there are more evil spirits than there are people on the earth. 

Revelation 9:11

“And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.”

I think it is also reasonable to assume that if evil spirits are allowed to roam the earth, there are good spirits as well, or as we would say, angels of God. The war against Satan continues to rage on earth. It is logical to think that God would not leave us unprotected.

The significant thing is that the story of the fall of man is symbolic of the plight of all mankind. In this life we are governed by the conditions placed upon the law of mercy by the law of Justice. Every one of those conditions contain a blessing and a curse. We are blessed if we keep the commandment. We are cursed if we don’t. 

Stories of the Bible, Podcast 13, “The Fall Pt 12.”

A very important thing occurs. The Lord establishes boundaries. First he imposes limitations on Lucifer’s powers. 

Genesis 3:14-15

“And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

Satan is allowed to remain on earth. He and his angels were cast out of heaven. Why did the Lord allow Lucifer and his angels to come to earth and create such havoc and misery? Why not just assign them forever to perdition, their final fate, and curb all their powers? 

The answer is one of the most important lessons we can learn on earth.  It relates to the independence God has granted us. The bottom line with God is our freedom. 

John 8:31–32 

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Consider four terms, each related to our ability to act independently: Freewill, Freedom, Liberty, and Agency. Please allow me to distinguish the differences among those four terms, all of which are very important to us. 

Freewill is a compound word composed of ‘free’ and ‘will.’ What is will? Will is consciousness. Will is that which sets us apart from all other intelligences. Will makes us unique even from our own species. Where did will come from? It is a question that cannot be answered in this life and perhaps not even in the next. The only possible answer is that will must self-exist. Will is a source of intelligence, a source of consciousness, a state of being. It may or may not exist as a form or shape, but it must self-exist or where did intelligence come from? Where did God come from? Where did consciousness come from? Science has no problem accepting the eternal truth that matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed. If that is true, it must also be true that intelligence or consciousness cannot be created or destroyed, or something could come from nothing.

Something can never come from nothing, including God and including man. Will, or consciousness, or a sense of self, must self-exist. Why is there something rather than nothing is perhaps a question we may never answer. It is merely a self-evident truth. The French philosopher Rene Descartes said, “Cogito, ergo sum.”—‘I think, therefore I am.’ We may have to settle for that, at least in this life. Even God cannot create himself. It simply may be that God is the most intelligent being in the universe, and to become like God, we must grow in intelligence. Since nothing can lift itself higher than its own power permits, then we must accept the truth that we depend upon God to lift us up to his level; and one of the necessary paths to exaltation is to be able to discern between good and evil.  

Another universal truth is that disobedience to law brings chaos. Obedience to law brings order. God is a God of law and order. Satan is a demon of lawlessness and disorder. One of his names is ‘Destroyer.’  One of God’s titles is ‘Creator.’ There must be a reason for that. 

Let’s define will as our self-existing consciousness. Intelligence must self-exist, or we could never account for the existence of God or life or consciousness or intelligence. However, what makes will free? Does freedom self-exist? The answer must be no. Only through law can the will be made free. There is no freedom in chaos. God is God because he is a God of Law and Order. Lucifer is Satan because he is God of lawlessness and disorder. He destroys everything he touches. 

Stories of the Bible, Podcast 12, “The Fall Pt 11.”

As we learned from the last podcast, we are deciding now which resurrection we want by the laws we live. If we live a celestial law, we shall inherit the celestial kingdom which is compared to the light of the sun. If we live a Terrestrial law we shall inherit the Terrestrial Kingdom which is compared to the light of the moon. If we live laws less that the above, then we shall inherit a kingdom that shines like the stars. If we live totally outside of the conditions of the law of mercy, then we will not inherit any of those kingdoms of glory. It is our choice.

Lucifer knows that. That is what he meant when he said, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” He also knows that Eve understands that principle. She wants to become “as the gods.” Suddenly she looks at the forbidden fruit from another perspective. Before Lucifer, the fruit held no attraction. Now it does.

Perhaps there are spirits in heaven who decided not to come to earth and get a body. I don’t know of any Biblical scripture that addresses that issue. But for those who live on earth, it is a one way street. There is no turning back. Things will never be like they were before. We shall either return to live with God forever, or we shall chose another way. Christ is the savior and redeemer of the whole world. There is no savior besides him. Eventually every child of God will have to acknowledge Christ. And confess that he is just.

Genesis 3:6

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,

This reminds one of Isaiah’s warnings.

Isaiah 5:20 

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

Notice how subtle Satan is: Eve suddenly saw that the tree was good for food, a thing she had not noticed before. She saw that it was pleasing in appearance. She became aware that it could fulfil her desire for wisdom. More importantly she saw that partaking of the fruit was the only way she could become like the gods.  That implied that Adam and Eve, though innocent, were not unintelligent. They had the powers of reasoning. They wanted more knowledge. Eve followed Lucifer’s reasoning. Also keep in mind that Eve knew of the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth. She wanted children and she knew that partaking of the forbidden fruit was the way to get them. That well could have been Eve’s primary motive. 

Eve has a body of flesh and bones. Lucifer doesn’t. Lucifer is probably jealous of Eve. In his cunning, he instinctively knows how to use her body to his advantage. After the fall one of Satan’s primary tools is to persuade Adam and Eve’s posterity to give in to the natural man, thus ignoring the spiritual. Satan promotes the concept, ‘Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.’ I remember an old beer commercial, “You only go around once. Do it with gusto.” Following the natural man has led many to self-destruction. Satan is using the natural man in waging chemical warfare against our youth with a lot of help from drug profiteers who will do anything for money, even mass murder

Eve eats the fruit. We must assume that it is Eve, not Lucifer, who persuades Adam to eat the fruit. What argument would she use. Logically, she would use the same argument that persuaded her to eat the fruit.

Genesis 3:6 cont.

“She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

On the one hand, neither Adam nor Eve could have fully understood what it would be like to live in a fallen world. Experience is required for that. The knowledge of good and evil did not lie in the fruit itself. 

Stories of the Bible, Podcast 11, “The Fall Pt 10.”

Without Satan and Christ, we could never become as the Gods knowing good and evil. Becoming as the Gods is at the core of it all. To his followers, Satan is a God. To his followers Christ is a God. We choose which God we serve, and we will be rewarded by the God we serve. Christ offers us eternal life with Him. Satan offers us eternal captivity with him. If we follow Christ, we will become like Christ. If we follow Satan we will become like Satan. If we follow Christ we will gain exaltation and eternal life with him, being free forever. If we follow Satan, we will be his slaves forever, ever bound by the chains of hell. That is all he has to offer.

Why is Satan necessary? The very laws of the universe require opposition in all things, or everything would stay the same. It would be an imitation of death, going neither forward nor backward. Adam and Eve were not happy in the Garden of Eden because they didn’t know what happiness was. They didn’t know what happiness was because they didn’t know what sorrow was. Someone coined the phrase ‘ignorant bliss.’ That is a stagnant state.

If Lucifer had not entered into the Garden of Eden, they never would have known that they had a choice. Lucifer would have done more damage to the plan of salvation and exaltation by staying out of the Garden of Eden. It was Lucifer who introduced the choice, and they took it. God could not tempt man, or he would cease to be God. But God knew that for Adam and Eve to become like him, they had to choose for themselves. The only reason God allows Satan in this world is to give us agency. Satan is necessary to agency. There is nothing in this world more paradoxical than Christianity.

God is God only because he lives the law of justice perfectly. Christ is our Savior only because he never gave in to the temptations of Satan. Even on earth he obeyed the Father in everything and lived the law of Justice perfectly.  Christ died to satisfy the law of justice and bring us back into the presence of God. And that was the plan from the beginning. God knew that Adam would fall; therefore, he provided a savior for Adam and Eve and all of their posterity. When they fell they suffered both a spiritual death, being cut off from the presence of God, and temporal death, the spirit being cut off from the body. Christ, having satisfied the demands of the law of justice, overcame both spiritual death and temporal death, thus giving us a choice whether or not to return to live with God.

Death was essential. Adam and Eve were the only ones who had immortal bodies. To have children, they had to fall. They had to eat the forbidden fruit. They had to become mortal, and all the rest of God’s children were foreordained to come through the seed of Adam and Eve. In other words, unlike Adam and Eve, we are all born into a fallen world. We were immortal spirits just like Adam and Eve, but we have never known what it is like to have an immortal physical body. 

As with Adam and Eve, it was our choice to come to earth. While in heaven, we chose to fight with Michael against Lucifer and his angels. Michael fought on the side of Christ. He was an archangel, a four-star general. Even in Heaven, by joining Michael’s army, we chose the side of Christ. Lucifer has always been anti-Christ. He wanted Christ’s position, but the Father chose Christ rather than Lucifer because Lucifer would have taken away our agency. We also chose to come to a fallen world and gain a mortal body, knowing that we would have to die to escape this earth. Why? Because we wanted to be as the gods knowing good and evil. We wanted total agency.

Stories of the Bible, Podcast 10, “The Fall Pt 9.”

Now we can see what is at stake in the Garden of Eden. The command to not eat of the forbidden fruit was not a moral law. Moral law applies only in a fallen world. The world had not yet fallen. For example, apply the Ten commandments to the Garden of Eden. None of the ten commandments could make any sense to Adam and Eve who are entirely naked but not ashamed because they don’t even know what nakedness is.  They can’t kill. They are immortal. Everything in the Garden of Eden is immortal. They can’t commit adultery. First, they were married by God himself, but most of all they didn’t even know what desire was. You may as well tell a two-year old not to commit adultery. They can’t steal or lie or cheat or bear false witness. Everything was free for one thing and for another they were unable to comprehend any of those terms. They can’t even love God because they don’t know what hate is; therefore, the first four commandments would mean nothing. The fifth commandment would mean nothing as they have no mother and father nor do they have children. Besides they don’t know what love is. How could they? They don’t know what joy or sorrow is. 

Satan cannot use any earthly temptations against Adam and Eve. They wouldn’t comprehend what he was talking about. They couldn’t practice any virtues or commit any vices. We take passions for granted because we live in a passionate world. Imagine living in a world without any passion. The Garden of Eden would have been a very boring place if they had known what boredom was, but they didn’t. It could have continued forever with no change.

There is another dilemma in the Garden of Eden. They are immortal but they don’t know what immortality is since they have never known anything else. Their immortal spirits were placed in an immortal body. They are stuck in the Garden of Eden forever. What would happen, for example, if God simply took them back to heaven in their present immortal state? What would they do in heaven? They would never know the difference between good and evil. Their bodies are immortal yes, but they are not exalted and could never be exalted, meaning they could never become as the Gods. Death was necessary to the plan of eternal progression. Exaltation requires a resurrection. 

For the resurrection to occur, there must first be death. Every step in God’s plan means either progression, going forward, or digression, going backward. By keeping the commandments, we move forward. By breaking the commandments, we regress backwards. How could they keep the commandments if they didn’t understand the commandments. After t

he fall, Christ introduced the principle of repentance thus giving Adam and Eve and all their posterity even greater agency. Adam could not repent of the fall. It was irreversible. It was only after the fall that the law of mercy was introduced. It was only after the fall that the law of mercy was necessary. In the Garden of Eden, they could do neither. Time had no arrow.

Christ forgave Adam and Eve for the fall. Now, that was a free gift. Christ had to sacrifice his life to reverse the effects of the fall, but he did that willingly. Christ did not hold us accountable for the fall because it was not our fault.  That is another example of free grace. The resurrection is another. The list is actually quite long, but that does not excuse us from the conditions the law of justice placed on mercy.

The sons of perdition can never be saved by the law of mercy because they live forever at odds with the law of justice. That is because they willfully rebelled against God while in the presence of God. They live forever outside the law of justice because they live forever outside the conditions placed upon the law of mercy by the law of justice. All commandments of Christ are conditions placed upon the law of mercy by the law of justice.