Human Nature
Did God Create It?
By Herbert W. Armstrong
Here is a bombshell of truth almost no
one has understood. The world's evils are attributed to human nature. But are
babies born with this selfish, evil nature?
I OVERHEARD one say: Just look at that
beautiful, sweet little baby -- and to think it's filled with all that evil,
despicable human nature!"
But was it?
Think of this paradox! How can it be
explained? The human mind can produce wonders. We have sent successive teams of
men to walk on the moon. We have returned them safely through the earth's
atmosphere.
Yet these marvellous human minds cannot
solve our problems here on earth -- cannot bring the world PEACE! WHY?
All the violence, war, crime, corruption,
dishonesty, and immorality is blamed on HUMAN NATURE.
But where did HUMAN NATURE come from? Did the Creator instil it within us from
creation? Were we born with it? Why, as the Bible says, is the heart deceitful
above all things? (Jer. 17:9). Did God create in us a nature that "is
enmity [hostile] against God"? (Rom. 8:7.)
The answer requires a knowledge of the
composition and nature of the human mind -- accessible only by revelation. WHY
does such wonderful MIND power work so much evil?
Did an all-loving, all-merciful, almighty
GOD deliberately plague the human race He created with an inborn nature of
vanity, lust, and greed -- with a heart of hostility against God, of deceit,
envy, jealousy, and hatred?
Adam at Creation
Few indeed know what a human being really
is, HOW we humans came to be here on earth, the real human potential, where we
are going, or what is the WAY.
In preceding writings I have shown what
caused God to create man, why we came to be put on earth, the real PURPOSE for
human life, the AWESOME human potential. Yet we humans seem to be cursed with
this evil human nature!
In this booklet I want to show what is the
real source of this evil nature -- why the human mind works as it does. The
Bible is our source.
So first, let's see what is revealed about
the first man, Adam, and his nature at the time of his creation.
The Bible reveals only the most brief high
points of human history for the first two thousand-plus years -- a third of all
the time from the creation of man to now! Only eleven chapters are devoted to
the history of that span of time. The account of the first created couple is
merely the briefest possible summary.
The first humans were the last act of
creation on the sixth day of what is commonly called "creation week,"
recorded in the first chapter of Genesis.
God had created plant life -- the flora --
on the third day of that week, animal life -- the fauna -- on the fifth and
sixth, each reproducing "after its own kind." Cattle reproduced after
the cattle kind (verse 25), lions after the lion kind, and horses after the horse
kind, etc.
Then God said, "Let us make man in
our image, after our likeness."
In other words, "Let us make MAN
after the GOD kind!" God was actually reproducing Himself!
And notice, the name God -- the Hebrew
name as originally written throughout Genesis 1, is Elohim. It is a uniplural
noun, like family, group, church. It is ONE family composed of more than one
person. It is like one team, one church, but each composed of multiple persons.
The God to whom Jesus prayed is the FATHER of the FAMILY that is GOD. God IS a
FAMILY -- but ONE family, ONE GOD.
"So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them." WHY?
Because human reproduction is the type of God's reproducing Himself. And
physical reproduction requires both male and female.
But continue: "And God blessed them
...." Did He bless them by creating in them an evil sinful nature, utterly
unable to be subject to God's right way of life? But continue this passage:
'... and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth" (Gen. 1:28).
"And God saw every thing that he had
made, and behold, it was very good" (verse 31). If the first humans -- as
God had created them -- were VERY GOOD, could it include a hostile and evil
nature that was very BAD?
That ought to give every reader something
to think about!
No Rebellion
Now what does this record of the creation
of the first humans reveal as to Adam's nature at the time of his creation? I
repeat: Only the very most brief high spots are recorded here. The little that
is revealed gives us, however, all we really need to know.
Here it is: "And out of the ground
the Eternal God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and
brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them ..." (Gen. 2:19).
Here, in the briefest of summaries, we may
see clearly whether this short account reveals a rebellious and disobedient
nature in Adam, or one of compliance and obedience.
Absolutely NO REBELLION is indicated here.
We find, instead, the response that Adam gave names to all cattle, to the fowl
of the air, and to every beast of the field.
This incident reveals Adam's attitude and
nature as he was created, PRIOR TO his temptation by Satan (which is recorded
in chapter 3). Notice carefully. Absolutely NOTHING in the account of this
pre-temptation incident indicates in Adam the presence of an evil, hostile,
rebellious attitude or nature. It does not reflect a heart that is deceitful
above all things and desperately wicked, as human nature is described (Jeremiah
17:9), nor a carnal mind that is enmity (hostile) against God and which
"is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7).
Nor, on the other hand, does it reveal a
nature filled with the Spirit of God. Adam had not yet been confronted by
Satan, had not disobeyed, nor had he taken of the "tree of life" to
receive the indwelling LOVE and POWER of God's Holy Spirit, which would have
imparted the DIVINE NATURE (II Peter 1:4).
So prior to the temptation by Satan, we
have only the revelation that Adam's NATURE, as God created him, was not evil,
hostile and diabolical. There may have been the physical and mental nature of
self-preservation and such things. But NOT the evil nature of
SELF-centeredness.
We need to realize that God created Adam
and the human race for a PURPOSE. We need to have clearly in mind, at this
point, WHAT that purpose is.
A Super King
Angels had inhabited this planet before
the creation of man (II Peter 2:4-6). These angels had sinned. God had set over
them a king -- Lucifer, a super archangel -- to govern them with the GOVERNMENT
OF GOD (Isa.
This super king, Lucifer, was, of all
created beings, supreme in created perfection (Ezek. 28:12, 15). But, remember,
holy and righteous CHARACTER is something that cannot be created in one
instantaneously by fiat. It must be developed in an independent entity through
a process in which one comes to recognize the right way from the wrong, to
choose the right and reject the wrong even against self desire.
The great Lucifer and the angels who
followed him (apparently a third of all angels) were originally created as holy
beings, composed of spirit, immortal. But in order that they have personality
and individuality as independent beings, it was necessary that they be provided
with faculties for knowing, thinking, reasoning, and making their own decisions
and choices.
These angels followed their king Lucifer
in the decision to turn from and rebel against the GOVERNMENT OF God -- God's
WAY OF LIFE. That is THE WAY OF LOVE -- outgoing concern for the good of others
-- the way of humility, obedience to and love for their MAKER, of giving,
serving, cooperating, and sharing. They turned to THE WAY of vanity, lust and
greed, of rebellion, jealousy and envy, of competition, strife and violence, of
resentment, bitterness and destruction. Obviously the other two thirds of the
angels and archangels have remained holy, loyal, and obedient to God's
government.
God's Purpose
But now, to carry out God's purpose for the
inhabitants of this earth, to accomplish the grand and awesome PURPOSE
throughout the entire universe that could have been theirs, GOD IS REPRODUCING
HIMSELF THROUGH HUMAN BEINGS!
The super archangel Lucifer was the
supreme pinnacle of God's creative power in a created being. When he turned to
rebellion, it left ONLY GOD Himself who could be utterly relied on NEVER to
deviate from God's WAY -- God's GOVERNMENT. It is impossible for God to sin --
because he WILL NOT! It now became God's purpose to reproduce Himself through
human beings.
That required the development in human
beings of God's own holy, righteous character. It was necessary, for this
purpose, that man be composed of physical matter, that he CHOOSE God's
government, reject Lucifer's (now Satan's) self-centered rebellious way, and
strive to overcome it. God's PURPOSE in having put humans on earth can be
achieved only by man coming to choose God's GOVERNMENT as God s way of life --
to reject with utter finality Satan's way, completely overcoming it.
So God created MAN out of physical matter.
God created in man a MIND like God's, though of course inferior, because it was
composed of physical brain, empowered with intellect by a human spirit
(essence) in each.
Although the holy and righteous CHARACTER
to be developed within man must actually come from God, each human must make
his own decision. He must make his own choice to reject Satan's WAY, and to
obey God's government.
Adam's Choice
Adam was compelled, therefore, to make the
choice. God purposely allowed Satan opportunity to confront Adam with his way
of rebellion. But He did NOT allow Satan to get to Adam first. God Himself
instructed Adam in GOD'S way -- the way of the GOVERNMENT OF GOD based on the
LAW OF GOD, just as Lucifer and his angels had been first instructed in the
ways of THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD.
Then God allowed Satan to confront Adam.
Satan got to Adam through his wife. Satan subtly deceived Eve into DISBELIEVING
what God had taught them. Adam followed her in choosing rebellion and rejecting
God's rule and government over them. They took to themselves the knowledge of
what is good and what is evil -- deciding for themselves right from wrong.
Then, something happened to the minds of
Adam and Eve -- the eyes of both of them were opened (Gen. 3:7). The spirit and
attitude of rebellion had entered their minds. Their minds (hearts) now had
become perverted -- deceitful and desperately wicked.
And THAT EVIL IN THEM CAME FROM SATAN, NOT
FROM GOD! They were NOT created with this evil nature.
But how did humanity, today, come to have
this evil attitude we call "HUMAN Nature"? Did the children of Adam
and Eve inherit it from them? Or, was it passed on by heredity?
Let me give you an example of heredity.
God put Adam to sleep and removed one of his ribs, out of which He made Eve. Do
all men today find themselves short one rib by heredity? Of course not.
Acquired characteristics are not passed on by heredity.
Evil Nature by Heredity?
Adam and Eve chose and acquired the
"nature" or attitude of sin from Satan. It was not passed on by
heredity. Jesus Christ called their second son "righteous Abel."
Then how do we humans come to have
(universally) this evil attitude we call human nature today?
It's partly explained in the Apostle
Paul's second letter to the Corinthian church. He said he desired to present
that church "as a chaste virgin to Christ. BUT I fear, lest by any means,
as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be
corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (II Cor. 11:2-3).
Satan was still around when Paul wrote.
(The reason is explained elsewhere.) The people at
Eve did not have a mind that was evil
before Satan came along and confronted her. But Satan, by subtlety, deceived
Eve. Eve's children were not born with this evil nature. Nor were the people of
the Corinthian church. But Paul feared lest Satan, still around after some
4,000 years, pervert Corinthian minds directly, as he had done to Eve.
Satan was still around when Christ was
born. He tried to destroy the Christ child by having Him murdered. Satan was
still around when Jesus was thirty and baptized. And he tried to destroy Jesus
spiritually then, in the temptation. As Satan destroyed (spiritually) Adam, he
tried to destroy the "second Adam." Satan is still around TODAY!
But the wily Satan has succeeded in
deluding many, if not most, of the best minds into believing he is a
nonexistent myth. The best minds, unsuspecting, are deceived (Rev. 12:9).
Here is a truth you, the reader, need to
know!
Satan's Wavelength
To the church at Ephesus, God said through
the apostle Paul (Ephesians 2:1-2): "And you [who] ... in time past ...
walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience ...."
GRASP IT! Satan is here called "the
prince of the power of the AIR!" I could not have understood that 60 years
ago. I did not then realize how communication by sound and by picture can be
broadcast instantaneously through the air.
I have stressed the point that Satan, the
former great archangel cherub Lucifer, was the most perfect and powerful being
that God could create as an individual being. He was perfect as originally
created. But he is composed of spirit, and thus he is invisible to human eyes.
This great and powerful being, even though
evil, has power literally to surcharge the air around
this earth. HE BROADCASTS!
Wherever you are as you read these words,
chances are there are voices and perhaps music in the air around you. A radio
or television set tuned to the right wavelength would make them audible to you.
The spirit in every human being is
automatically tuned in on Satan's wavelength. You don't hear anything because
he does not broadcast in words -- nor in sounds, whether music or otherwise. He
broadcasts in ATTITUDES. He broadcasts in attitudes of SELF-centeredness, lust,
greed, vanity, jealousy, envy, resentment, competition, strife, bitterness, and
hate.
In a word, the selfishness, hostility,
deceitfulness, wickedness, rebellion, etc. that we call "Human NATURE' is
actually SATAN'S NATURE. It is Satan's ATTITUDE. And broadcasting it,
surcharging the air with it, Satan actually NOW WORKS IN the unsuspecting all
over the world today! That is HOW Satan deceives the whole world today (Rev.
12:9; 20:3). Being invisible, Satan is not seen by people.
This prince of the power of the air --
this god of this world -- IS THE REAL SOURCE OF WHAT WE HAVE COME TO CALL
"HUMAN Nature"!
Here is the real CAUSE of all the world's
evils!
But it seems nobody understands it, and
therefore the world does nothing about it -- except to go along with it,
blaming human nature and supposing it was GOD who created us with an evil
nature. Actually, it is Satan's nature.
Spirit Communication
Let me give you an illustration of how we
can be swayed, influenced, and driven Satan's wrong way by his broadcasting
through the air. When God wanted to cause captive Jews in ancient
"Now in the first year of Cyrus king
of Persia ... the Eternal stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that
he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom ..." (Ezra 1:1) that a
contingent of Jews return to Jerusalem.
God did not speak to Cyrus in words or
direct communication, as He talked with Moses and God's prophets. God reached
Cyrus through Cyrus' spirit. God stirred up his spirit, causing him to want to
do it. God did cause King Cyrus to know that in issuing this proclamation he
was doing it according to the will of God.
Utilizing this same principle, Satan,
prince of THE POWER OF THE AIR, stirs the spirits of humans, injecting into
them attitudes, moods, and impulses of selfishness, vanity, lust, and greed,
attitudes of resentment against authority, of jealousy and envy, of competition
and strife, of resentment and bitterness, of violence, murder, and war. People
do not recognize the source of these attitudes, feelings, motives, and
impulses. As I said, they do not SEE the invisible Satan. They hear no audible
voice. They do not know the attitude comes from Satan (Rev. 12:9). But they
come to FEEL such attitudes, impulses, and desires. That is how Satan DECEIVES
THE WHOLE WORLD.
Self-Centered Attitude
People will feel depressed and won't
realize why. But those unaware of this phenomenon, with this self-centered
attitude being broadcast and injected into their unsuspecting minds from
earliest childhood, do, to a greater or lesser degree, absorb it until it
becomes their normal attitude. It becomes habitual. It does not, of course,
exhibit the same degree of effect in all minds -- one person will become more evil
than another. But the natural tendency is there. They come to have it
naturally. It becomes their very NATURE. And we call it "human
nature."
All this is an outstanding example of just
how subtle Satan is! The finest and most brilliant human minds have been
deceived by it. Thus the WHOLE WORLD has been swayed by Satan into what I often
term, simply, the "GET" way of life -- the way that has become
HABITUAL and NATURAL which we term "HUMAN NATURE."
Few realize how many passages in the
Bible, especially in the New Testament, warn us about Satan and his subtlety.
But first, before I take you to more of these, let us follow on through the 2nd
chapter of Ephesians.
In chapter 1 of this letter to the church
at
I urgently suggest the reader carefully
read this first chapter in the Moffatt translation. As translated by Moffatt I
think it is one of the most beautiful, uplifting, and inspiring pieces of
literature I have ever read.
Power of the Air
Now the highlights of chapter 2: You
Christians at
But here in Ephesians 2 Satan is referred
to as the PRINCE OF THE POWER OF THE AIR! Notice the word POWER -- the POWER of
the air. Then it calls him the SPIRIT (being) that NOW -- the time when they
were living -- actually was WORKING IN those of the world who were not obedient
-- that is, the world in general. The Phillips translation in modern English
renders this: "You [then] drifted along in the stream of this world's
ideas of living, and obeyed its unseen ruler [who is still operating in those
who do not respond to the truth of God]."
Emphatically this shows Satan is the
UNSEEN one who, unrealized by the people, is actually swaying their minds,
leading them in what I term the "GET" way.
The Phillips translation continues (verse
3): "We all lived like that in the past, and followed the impulses and
imaginations of our evil nature ... like everyone else." This
"nature" has been acquired from Satan. It was not inherited from our
parents. It was not created in us by God. That which has become habitual and
therefore natural becomes a NATURE within us.
Such nature IS NOT hereditary, but an
acquired characteristic. This very passage shows the AUTHOR of this
"nature" to be Satan, NOT GOD. The next words in the Phillips
translation are: "being under the wrath of God by nature." It would
make no sense at all for God's wrath to be on us BECAUSE OF WHAT GOD PUT WITHIN
US. Adam was NOT created with this "EVIL nature." Adam acquired it
from Satan. Lucifer (Satan) was created PERFECT. He acquired it by false
reasoning. These Ephesians, in their generation, had acquired it from Satan.
But now, IN CHRIST, through His grace, Christ had given them LIFE, who were spiritually dead because of this acquired evil nature.
Effect on Converted Christians
But how about the converted Christian? His
spirit, like all others, is tuned on Satan's wavelength. The same tendency,
just as if this evil nature were inherent in him from birth, is present. Satan
has been injecting it since early childhood. But the true Christian has
repented of that attitude and WAY. He has REJECTED it. He has turned from it.
He has accepted and turned to GOD'S attitude -- the way of GOD'S GOVERNMENT!
The passage in Ephesians 2 explains it.
People generally, in the world, are spiritually dead. They have gone along with
the rest of the world in the self-centered way. As the Phillips translation
renders it, they have "drifted along on the stream of this world's way of
living." They have "obeyed its UNSEEN ruler [who is still operating in
those who do not respond to the truth of God]."
I have quoted from the Phillips
translation, not because it is a more accurate or dependable translation, but
because it brought out the meaning more clearly in this particular passage.
Conversion does not disconnect Satan's
wavelength. The tendency to become resentful over real or fancied wrongs or
injustices from others, the tendency to try to get the best of others, may
still prove a temptation. THESE are the things the converted Christian must
strive to overcome!
When Jesus spoke of OVERCOMING, He
referred to overcoming these attitudes and WAYS of Satan, which are contrary to
GOD'S way. The Christian must, as Peter was inspired to write, GROW in grace
and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ -- be a spiritual
student.
We read in James 4: "Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
This is speaking of resisting these very self-centered thoughts, attitudes,
tendencies, and ways which Satan injected into us from childhood and is
constantly broadcasting and injecting into unsuspecting minds through the
spirit in man.
However, no man is IMPELLED to respond to
and obey these impulses being broadcast by Satan. Satan has no power to FORCE
anyone to think or do wrong. But the unsuspecting automatically do without
fully realizing what is taking place in their minds. They drift along.
Evil Nature Acquired
The passage in II Corinthians 4:4 adds
clarity to the entire thesis that this evil spiritual nature in humans has been
acquired, individually by each person, from Satan.
Before I became familiar with radio, I
could not have understood HOW Satan injects this evil attitude into humans. He
is a SUPER POWERFUL spirit being. He was set on a throne as king over the
earth. He himself, by his own reasoning processes, acquired this evil nature.
God did not create it in him (Ezek. 28:15). Though disqualified now to
administer the GOVERNMENT OF GOD over the earth, he must remain here UNTIL his
successor has qualified AND been inducted into office. There is a REASON why
Christ has not YET come to take over that office, remove Satan, and restore the
government of God.
Before Jesus Christ could qualify to
restore the GOVERNMENT OF GOD and RULE all nations, He had to withstand Satan's
most severe temptation. You'll read of that supreme struggle in the 4th chapter
of Matthew. Jesus had to -- in human flesh -- reject Satan's way and teach and
prove OBEDIENT to the GOVERNMENT OF GOD -- so He can RESTORE it on earth!
It was immediately after that -- after
Christ QUALIFIED to restore the GOVERNMENT OF GOD to earth -- that Jesus came
into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the KINGDOM OF GOD, and saying, "The
time is fulfilled" (Mark 1:1,14-15). It was never fulfilled until that
titanic struggle in which Jesus resisted Satan, conquered him, and showed His
MASTERY over him.
Now notice something you probably never
realized before:
I have said repeatedly THIS IS NOT THE
TIME GOD IS TRYING TO CONVERT THE WHOLE WORLD. He is calling only a comparative
VERY FEW, now.
WHY? WHY does not God call everyone on
earth NOW?
Are those of us called NOW getting a real
SPECIAL deal?
Well, THINK OF THIS: We, now called, must
resist Satan, who will PULL OUT ALL STOPS to attack
and DESTROY those of us called Now!
All others are drifting along SATAN'S WAY
ANYWAY. Sure, he broadcasts to sway everyone to his SELF-centered way, contrary
to GOD'S WAY. But he has the whole world already going his way. But those of us
who have turned from his way are fighting to OVERCOME his way, and turning to
GOD'S way -- the WAY of God's GOVERNMENT -- are the ones Satan HATES. He seeks
specially to destroy us! Without God's protection and restraining power over
Satan, we could never make it!
We Must Withstand Satan
Few, even among professing converted Christians,
realize the vital and SUPREME NEED to be conscious and constantly aware of
Satan's efforts to get to US, who already have turned from Satan's way and to
the WAY of the GOVERNMENT OF GOD.
Few actively heed what God, through Paul,
said later to the Ephesians: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord,
and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be
able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against POWERS, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness [wicked SPIRITS] in
HIGH PLACES" (Eph.
There is a reason WHY God allows those
predestinated to be called NOW to have to withstand Satan and his REBELLION
AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD.
It is necessary -- in order for us to
QUALIFY to become rulers (under Christ) in the KINGDOM OF GOD -- that we NOT
ONLY reject Satan's false way but strive against it until we OVERCOME IT,
relying all the while on GOD for the power to do so.
As we, from earliest childhood growing up,
acquired Satan's nature, so, through conversion and the struggle of OVERCOMING,
we rid ourselves of it. We ACQUIRE, instead, the DIVINE NATURE. Peter wrote
that we become "PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE" (II Pet. 1:4). We
most certainly were not born with it.
So, Lucifer ACQUIRED that Satanic nature
by his own reasoning and choice. Humans have ACQUIRED Satan's nature from
childhood and call it "human nature." But converted Christians, who
reject Satan's way and OVERCOME it, turning to GOD'S WAY, BECOME PARTAKERS OF
-- i.e., ACQUIRE -- the DIVINE NATURE. But for God's PURPOSE, it was necessary
that we first know and totally REJECT Satan's way and accept GOD'S GOVERNMENT.
When God does set out to CALL EVERY HUMAN
ON EARTH to spiritual salvation, Satan will be BOUND a thousand years, unable
to broadcast his impulses and attitudes. The world will be at PEACE! Those
called then will not have to battle what we do now.
But why? There has to be a reason!
Qualify to Rule
To those of us being called, now, Jesus
said: "And he that overcometh [Satan and his own self], and keepeth my
works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall
rule them with a rod of iron ..." (Rev. 2:26-27).
When Christ comes to RULE, as the KING of
kings and LORD of lords, we who are called now will rule with and under Him, as
He restores the GOVERNMENT OF GOD to this earth.
Notice again: "To him that overcometh
will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set
down with my father in his throne" (Rev. 3:21). Those who shall reign WITH
Christ, when He comes to restore the GOVERNMENT OF GOD, MUST OVERCOME (and that
includes overcoming SATAN), EVEN AS JESUS DID!
Now does this apply equally to those who
shall be converted after Christ comes, during the millennium?
The answer is NO! These two quotations
(above) are found in Jesus' message to the seven CHURCHES that span this CHURCH
AGE! They do NOT apply to those called later! Do they apply only to the era of
Thyatira and
But GET THIS CRUX POINT! Jesus had to
QUALIFY to RULE the earth. God's WHOLE PURPOSE IS TO RESTORE THE GOVERNMENT OF
GOD on earth and set up the
Those called to spiritual salvation after
Christ comes will not have to battle Satan.
God's Government Restored
Notice, Matthew 25 and Revelation 20:
First, Matthew 25, beginning verse 31:
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with
him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory." Christ is coming in
all the supreme POWER and GLORY of the Creator GOD! He is coming to RESTORE THE
GOVERNMENT OF GOD over the WHOLE EARTH -- over ALL NATIONS! One SUPER WORLD
GOVERNMENT! He will restore the throne of David at
Continue: "And before him shall be gathered
all nations" (verse 32). He is coming to RULE the WORLD -- to RESTORE the
GOVERNMENT OF GOD! Every government is founded on a basic LAW.
The law of God is unlike any man-made law
of any human government. It is a SPIRITUAL law (Rom.
But that basic LAW of the GOVERNMENT OF
GOD is also the law of the
Christ is coming also to call ALL PEOPLE
to spiritual salvation and eternal life. That is when God will seek to
spiritually save THE WHOLE WORLD -- and NOT TILL THEN!
Continue: "And he shall separate them
one from another, as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats: and he shall
set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king
say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt.
25:32-34).
The nations before the king on his throne
are the nations of this world. Those called to salvation during the church age
and previously (prophets, etc.), will have been resurrected to meet Christ in
the air, as He descends to earth on His return (I Thes.
Government and Kingdom
It is necessary, here, to explain the
difference between the GOVERNMENT OF GOD and the
But the
Now let's notice the 20th chapter of
Revelation:
The apostle John is recording what he saw
in vision: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key to
the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the
dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a
thousand years" (Rev. 20:1-2).
When Christ comes again to earth in
supreme POWER and GLORY, He shall already have been crowned with many crowns.
The coronation ceremony will have taken place in heaven (throne of God the
Father) before His return. Christ then shall have been qualified AND inducted
into office. I have said before, Satan must remain on earth swaying the nations
his way UNTIL Christ, the successor, has both qualified AND been inducted into
office.
Immediately on Christ's return, Satan
shall be BOUND.
Continue: "And cast him into the
bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should
deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and
after that he must be loosed a little season" (verse 3).
Those resurrected then shall reign over
all nations with Christ -- and a thousand years of PEACE on earth will ensue.
Imagine what it shall be like with Christ
and resurrected saints forming the
Satan Loosed
But now notice! Verse 7: "And when
the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and
shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth
... to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the
sea" (verses 7-8).
Grasp it! These are people at PEACE! They
have not been inoculated with the satanic NATURE we now call "human
nature." They shall have been living happily in PERFECT PEACE. Now Satan
once more BROADCASTS. Remember these nations are HUMAN. Satan is INVISIBLE to
them. But notice the CHANGE come over them as soon as Satan is loosed and able
again to sway humanity:
Verse 9: "And they [the human
nations] went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the
saints about, and the beloved city ...." Immediately "Human
Nature" shall have entered into them! Immediately they shall have been
filled with envy and jealousy against the saints of God, filled with wrath and
violence! But God will not allow them to destroy. They shall have been told --
have been warned about Satan. "... And fire came down from God out of
heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the
lake of fire and brimstone ... and shall be tormented day and night for ever
and ever."
Great White Throne Judgment
After this shall occur the "Great
White Throne Judgment" -- the resurrection of all humanity from the time
of Adam to Christ's coming who had not been in the first resurrection or called
by God. In this judgment is to be "the book of life," meaning many,
perhaps most, shall then find spiritual salvation and eternal life. In the time
of their judgment, Satan will be GONE!
Up to now, God has called VERY FEW to
spiritual salvation, contrary to general tradition and opinion in the
"Christian" world!
From Adam to Noah we have the record of
only Abel, Enoch, and Noah -- some 1,900 years! From Noah to Christ, there was
Abraham,
From Adam to Christ, NONE were called to
spiritual salvation except those called to perform a SPECIAL MISSION.
From Christ to now, only a VERY MINUTE
PORTION of humanity has been called, and they for the SPECIAL MISSION of THE
GREAT COMMISSION -- "GO ye therefore and TEACH (Matt. 28:19) those who are
to be RULERS and TEACHERS (Rev. 5:10) in the Millennium.
We who have been called in this
"church age" have been called to qualify as rulers with and under
Christ in the Kingdom of God, restoring the GOVERNMENT OF GOD; in other words,
to develop the holy, righteous CHARACTER of God. But OUR PART in the GREAT
COMMISSION is the assignment God has given as the means of preparing us for
rulership with and under Christ when He comes -- and that is now soon!
Little Children and Human Nature
This booklet began with the question of
whether this evil "human nature" is born in a sweet tiny baby. Let me
now, before I conclude, quote three passages from the Bible.
"And they brought unto him [Jesus]
also infants, that he would touch them .... Jesus called them unto him, and
said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such
is the
"At the same time came the disciples
unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus
called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said,
Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children,
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18:1-3).
"Jesus said, Suffer little children,
and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of
heaven" (Matt.
We humans start out at birth all right.
But soon we begin to absorb and ACQUIRE the selfish, self-centered attitude
broadcast by Satan. But Satan's kingdom of angels -- now turned to demons --
rejected the GOVERNMENT OF GOD, and it was thus removed from earth.
GOD'S PURPOSE in having created and put
HUMANS on earth was to develop in them GOD'S own holy and righteous character.
God wants a people who will REJECT and overcome Satan's WAY OF LIFE and turn to
THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD -- which is GOD'S WAY of life.
That GOVERNMENT OF GOD exists at this time
on earth only in the one true
But I repeat,
LUCIFER was created by God "perfect in all his ways, until iniquity was
found in him." He acquired the nature of rebellion and evil by false
reasoning. Adam acquired it from Satan. The Ephesians (Eph. 2:1) acquired it
from Satan -- as has all humanity, except Jesus Christ. But now, IN CHRIST,
through His grace, we may ACQUIRE the DIVINE NATURE (II Pet. 1:4).
God's GREAT PURPOSE is to RESTORE THE
GOVERNMENT OF GOD to this earth, in and through the
We CAN, by Christ's grace, CHANGE
"human nature" and eradicate it entirely from us, replacing it with
the divine nature!