This is the third post I have published recently about God's love for us.
A source of strength for the Church and its individual members is joy in God's salvation. "...Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit" (Psalm 51:12). Without that joy, we can become discouraged in our efforts to overcome sin.
But that joy is hindered if we doubt God's love, perhaps because of trials or unanswered prayers.
Yet the Bible is clear that God loves us, though He tests us and corrects us with trials.
To be effective in overcoming sin and doing God's work, we need to trust God's love for us, His commitment to us, His faithfulness to us, and His power to help us, not only towards us collectively as the Church of God, but towards each one of us individually.
God can afflict us, or allow us to be afflicted, for several reasons. He can chastise us to correct us for our good. As a loving father punishes his son to teach lessons and to correct faults, so God sometimes inflicts punishment on us to teach us lessons and to motivate us to turn from our sins. This can occur whether we know we have the sin or not. Trials often cause us to examine ourselves more deeply, and God can use trials to help us see faults we never knew we had.
This can be very humbling. It is humbling to acknowledge to God and ourselves that we are being justly punished for our faults. It can be humbling to let fear of further punishment be a motivation for us to repent. Yet God does use fear of punishment as a motivator, and we should accept that. "Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known" (Deuteronomy 11:26-28). "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. The Lord will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me" (Deuteronomy 28:15-20).
"Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him" (Psalm 33:8). "Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil" (Proverbs 3:7). "In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil" (Proverbs 16:6).
"Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, 'See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you' " (John 5:14). "And Jesus answered and said to them, 'Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish' " (Luke 13:2-5). "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell" (Matthew 5:29-30).
"But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!" (Luke 12:5)
And when we are punished for a fault, we should take it patiently. "And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: 'My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.' If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed" (Hebrews 12:5-13).
"You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you" (Deuteronomy 8:5).
Suffering patiently can be hard to do when the punishment is greater than we think the fault warrants or when it is prolonged longer than we think it should. "I have repented, so why does this trial continue?", we might think. But God knows better than we do how long the trial should last or how severe it should be to drive the lesson home, and we have to trust Him and have faith in His wisdom and love to do what is best for us. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). This also is humbling. Our human nature wants control. Our carnal nature does not want to trust God to control our lives. But if we are to be prepared for the Kingdom of God, we must be like Christ, and we must submit ourselves to the Father's will without resentment or complaint (Luke 22:41-42).
But another possible reason is simply to test our faith. A trial is not always a punishment or correction for a fault. Sometimes the righteous are tested with trials to test and strengthen their faith. Job suffered a severe and prolonged trial, but it was not a punishment for his sin but rather a test of his faith in God's righteousness (Job 2:3-10, 27:1-6, 32:1, 33:8-12, 34:5-12, 36-37). Eventually he learned a lesson from that, and his faith in God's righteousness was increased. He learned the lesson that God was more righteous than he was (Job 35:1-3, 42:1-6).
Abraham's faith was tested when he was commanded to sacrifice his son. This was a severe trial for him. Imagine the turmoil in his mind. God gave him no explanation, so he may have thought, "what did I do wrong?" (Genesis 22:1-3). Yet, it worked out for good in the end, for by passing the test, Abraham qualified unconditionally for the blessings God would give him (Genesis 22:10-18).
This is why Peter said, in reference to the trial of our faith, "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:6-7). Our faith is precious to God, but it must be tested, and if we pass the test, it will be strengthened.
Sometimes doubts may come into our minds about God's love for us individually. We may think, "God loves the Church and the world, but not every individual and not me individually", or "God may love me, but not very much or He would answer my prayers". But that is not what God says about Himself. The Bible is full of instruction that God is a God of mercy and love.
"He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8). "And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16). God can't make a stronger statement about His love for us than that. He IS love.
The sacrifice of Christ is a statement about God's love. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:7-8).
"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).
And God's love is for every individual. "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
When God described Himself to Moses, He stressed His mercy. "Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation' " (Exodus 34:5-7).
God LOVES mercy. " 'But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,' says the Lord" (Jeremiah 9:24).
"Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever" (Psalm 136:1). That statement, "His mercy endures forever", is repeated 26 times in this Psalm!
"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him" (Psalm 103:8-13).
"Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:4-5). "Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful" (James 5:11).
Of course, if we want God to be merciful towards us, we have to be merciful towards others. We need to love our neighbors and we need to forgive those who sin against us. "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself' " (Matthew 22:39). "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-15). "For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13). Also see Matthew 18:23-35 and Matthew 25:31-46.
Yet, in understanding and trusting God's love, there may be one problem. The problem is not with God, but with us. We may not believe God's promises. We may not trust God to love us as He says He will. In other words, we may need more faith.
God can reaffirm His love for us in the Bible over and over, but that doesn't reassure us or give us joy if we doubt His word.
And doubting God's love for us because of trials, in spite of God's assurance in the Bible, can be spiritually dangerous. When we do that, we are doubting God's faithfulness and motives, and we may be arousing His anger by imputing wrong motives to Him in our minds. We can risk being like ancient Israel in the wilderness. "Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God; and you complained in your tents, and said, 'Because the Lord hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us' " (Deuteronomy 1:26-27). "Yes, they spoke against God: They said, 'Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? Behold, He struck the rock, so that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?' Therefore the Lord heard this and was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel, because they did not believe in God, and did not trust in His salvation" (Psalm 78:19-22).
We have to believe that God loves us. We have to exercise faith.
And that starts with a decision and a commitment to God to believe and rely on His word and His promise to love us. It is a matter of attitude. Trusting and believing in God's love is the opposite of the attitude of complaining and grumbling against God in our minds and thoughts (even when we do not speak them out loud).
We have to trust God that God loves us and He knows what He is doing. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5). "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:9). "Meanwhile the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying, 'Go and speak to Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: '...I will deliver you in that day,' says the Lord, 'and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in Me,' " ' " (Jeremiah 39:15-18).
We need to have faith in God's love. For the Bible stresses faith in Christ and His sacrifice, and that sacrifice is the greatest and most compelling statement God can make to express His love towards us (Romans 3:21-26).
We need to believe God's promises, believe in His love for each one of us individually, and trust Him to see us through all our trials, physical, emotional, and spiritual. We can then have joy in God's salvation (Psalm 51:12), and that can give us more strength to overcome our sins and finish God's work.
No matter what our trials, no matter how severe they are, how many they are, or how prolonged they are, we need to keep the big picture in mind, which is this: God has all wisdom and all power, and He has promised us eternal life in His Kingdom if we stay the course and submit to Him. And once this physical life is over and we are in His Kingdom, none of the suffering of the trials of this life will matter.
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).
Believe in God's love, and trust in His mercy towards each one of us.
Here are links to posts in this blog also related to the subject of this post, God's love for us:
"Why Did Christ Have to Suffer and Die?", dated March 21, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/03/why-did-christ-have-to-suffer-and-die.html
"Give God Thanks", dated November 27, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/11/give-god-thanks.html
"Don't Demand Old Covenant Blessings if You Are under the New Covenant", dated December 8, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/12/dont-demand-old-covenant-blessings-if.html
"God's Love for Us", dated July 17, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/07/gods-love-for-us.html
"Christ's Love for the Church", dated July 27, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/07/christs-love-for-church.html
Here are links to related chapters or sections in Preaching the Gospel:
Passover -- the Sacrifice of Christ, Chapter 2
God's Purpose for Mankind, Chapter 2
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Friday, August 14, 2015
Why Does God Communicate to Us through the Bible Today, More than through Miracle-working Apostles and Prophets as He Did in the First Century and Before?
That may be the longest title I've used for a post in this blog.
God's primary way of communicating to the Church is different today from what it was in the first century. Why?
In the first century, God communicated to the Church and to the world (those in the world who would listen) primarily through the spoken word of apostles, and God backed up the words of the apostles through miracles and signs.
Jesus Christ, the chief apostle (Hebrews 3:1), performed signs and miracles throughout the time of His ministry. He turned water into wine (John 2:3-11). He healed the sick and cast out demons (Matthew 4:23-25, 8:16-17, 9:35, Luke 4:40-41). And He preached the gospel (Matthew 4:17, 9:35).
He also told people things about themselves He could not have known naturally, but only by the inspiration of God. "A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, 'Give Me a drink.'....The woman said to Him, 'Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.' Jesus said to her, 'Go, call your husband, and come here.' The woman answered and said, 'I have no husband.' Jesus said to her, 'You have well said, "I have no husband," for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.' The woman said to Him, 'Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet'....The woman said to Him, 'I know that Messiah is coming' (who is called Christ). 'When He comes, He will tell us all things.' Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am He.'....The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 'Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?' " (John 4:7-28).
"Nathanael said to Him, 'How do You know me?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.' Nathanael answered and said to Him, 'Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Because I said to you, "I saw you under the fig tree," do you believe? You will see greater things than these.' " (John 1:48-50).
And it was by the miracles and signs He did that those who were willing to listen could know He was a prophet and a teacher from God. It was by the miracles that Christ performed that the Father backed up Jesus's message, so the people could know He was speaking God's word.
And it worked. The Samaritan woman was persuaded that Jesus was a prophet (John 4:19). Nathanael was persuaded that Jesus was the Son of God (John 1:49).
Nicodemus and many of the Pharisees knew Jesus was a teacher from God by the miracles He did. "There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, 'Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.' " (John 3:1-2).
Moreover, Jesus taught people to look to His works and His miracles to know that His message was from God. "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves" (John 14:11).
"And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them" (Matthew 11:2-5).
Peter referred to Christ's miracles in speaking to the crowd on Pentecost, saying that God used these miracles to attest to Jesus, and by implication, to the authenticity of Christ's message as being from God. "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death" (Acts 2:22-23).
When Christ sent others out, the apostles and the seventy, to preach the gospel, He also gave them the authority and power to heal the sick and cast out demons (Luke 9:1-2, 10:1-19). It was that power to work miracles that proved that these men were giving a message from God.
On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was first given to the apostles and the New Testament church, it was the miracle of the brethren speaking in tongues (other languages) and all the people hearing them in their own language that got the attention of the crowd. Peter then used that miracle and the attention it produced in the crowd to preach the gospel to them, and the miracle also authenticated the message (Acts 2:1-43).
Later, Peter used the occasion of a miraculous healing to preach the gospel. "Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple....Then Peter said, 'Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.' And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: 'Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:1-21). "Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening....But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, 'What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it" (Acts 4:1-16).
Paul also used miracles to authenticate his message and to show that he was speaking God's word. "Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds" (2 Corinthians 12:12). "For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe" (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
Even in the Old Testament, the prophets also often performed miracles or were able to demonstrate that God supernaturally inspired them and backed up their words. "Then Moses answered and said, 'But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, "The Lord has not appeared to you." ' So the Lord said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' He said, 'A rod.' And He said, 'Cast it on the ground.' So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Reach out your hand and take it by the tail' (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 'that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.' Furthermore the Lord said to him, 'Now put your hand in your bosom.' And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. And He said, 'Put your hand in your bosom again.' So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh. 'Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land" (Exodus 4:1-9). See also 1 Kings 18:21-39 and 1 Samuel 3:19-20.
But in those days, the Bible was not complete because it was being written. Also, the fulfilled prophecies that we can use to prove that God inspired the Bible had not been fulfilled yet. Those prophecies that prove the Bible have only been fulfilled in about the last two hundred years. And the Bible was only complete after most of the events in the New Testament had occurred and widely available to the masses after the printing press was invented around 1440 AD.
Today, God does NOT primarily communicate to us and to the world through miracle-working apostles and prophets, but through the Bible. That is not to say that miracles do not occur in the Church - they do. But the miracles that occur, including healings, are usually quiet miracles, not the kind that attract attention, and they are not used by God to authenticate the truth that His apostles, evangelists, and ministers preach. Instead, God leads the ministry to prove their teachings by the Bible, and God provides the Bible and the proof of the Bible to the people who listen.
I mentioned this in a post I published June 21, 2015 titled "Paradigm Shift from Herbert W. Armstrong to the Father's Call - a Case Study in Progress". Here is a link to that post:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/06/paradigm-shift-from-herbert-w-armstrong.html
God communicates with us primarily through the Bible today. But why?
God is still able to communicate with the Church or the world with miracles and by direct inspiration of His servants by the Holy Spirit to deliver prophetic messages as He has in the past. And He may yet do that, and will do that through the two witnesses, before the end of this age. But right now, He is not doing it, and He has not done it in modern times as far as I know, except perhaps in rare instances.
Why does God not communicate with us in the same manner as He did in Bible times?
God does not give reasons in the Bible. We therefore cannot know with certainty what God's reasons are. God has created the circumstances, or allowed the circumstances to develop, to make the Bible widely available today and to provide proof that the Bible is His word. And it is God's choice to withhold public miracles and not give direct prophetic inspiration and revelation to His servants of messages to deliver to the Church or the world apart from the Bible.
But, while God does not say what His reasons are for this, we can speculate on what some of His reasons might be for communicating with us primarily only through the Bible in these modern times rather than directly communicating by the Holy Spirit to apostles and prophets and backing up those apostles and prophets with miracles.
What are some possible reasons?
The time we live in is unique in that most people who will go through the great tribulation and the Day of the Lord are probably alive today. It is God's will to get the Ezekiel warning and the true gospel message out to hundreds of millions of people, far more than the number of people Peter, Paul, and the first century apostles reached. A miracle-working servant of God can reach only a few people in person, but millions more can be reached by making the Bible widely available all over the world, especially in the Israelite-descended nations.
But could not the miracles of God's servants be publicized in mass media, on TV and on the Internet, to give their message publicity and to prove that their message is from God? To some degree, that may occur, but in the current atheistic-dominated environment, it is unlikely. People would be skeptical. It is one thing to see a miracle before your eyes, in person, such as seeing a disabled person you have known for years be healed. It is something else to see that reported on TV.
Anyone on TV or the Internet can claim to have seen a miracle, but what credibility would that have? Even if such miracles are recorded and played on TV, people can think they are faked, even with special effects if necessary. And an atheistic, secular dominated news media is unlikely to give much publicity to things they themselves may think are faked. Atheists do not believe alleged miracles are real. They would insist there were gimmicks and tricks involved, things that can be explained as natural events.
The technology that exists today allows messages to go out to millions, but few people could witness miracles in person, which alone could carry maximum credibility, since people can excuse themselves that they thought the miracle was phony, trick camera work, false testimony, special effects, etc.
But by putting the message in the Bible, which is widespread, all that is required is for God's servants to "connect the dots" in scripture for the public, and those who hear can check for themselves, both the proof that God inspired the Bible (fulfilled prophecy) and the true gospel and Ezekiel warning in the Bible.
God can thus test people, basically to demonstrate to them what He already knows, to show that they refuse to believe and obey Him even when they have the opportunity by hearing the message along with the proof of the message. Thus they have no excuse.
And since the Church must practice what it preaches, the Church learns the truth the same way, through the Bible.
Another reason: Direct divine revelation by the Holy Spirit to God's servants would have to be backed up with miracles for those servants to have any credibility. But for God to do it that way today and give it widespread publicity, if the miracles can really be proved to a mass audience, would make secular atheism virtually impossible. If miracles are convincing, people would realize that the supernatural exists and therefore God exists. And to allow Satan to continue in his role as the deceiver of mankind, God would have to allow Satan to work signs and wonders for his false prophets teaching false religion. And false religion would become the majority, predominant influence. But without atheism to counterbalance false religion, false religion could dominate society and government so much that the Church of God's freedom to preach the gospel would be curtailed.
It is the tension and conflict between materialistic atheism in courts, education, and media and false religion embodied in traditional, mainstream church bodies and members that allows us the freedom to preach the gospel, because atheists do not let false religion become powerful enough to stop our message on religious grounds and false mainstream religion does not let atheists become so powerful they can stop our message on atheistic and materialistic grounds.
Thus, we do God's work in the gap between two major false forces: atheism and false religion.
But if God communicated with the world and the Church as He did in the first century, miracles by the Church and signs and wonders supporting false religion would be so obvious that atheism would be hindered, the balance and check against unbridled false religion removed, and false religion would take away our freedom to live and preach the truth.
Actually, that time is coming, right before the end. The two witnesses will be given power to preach the gospel and work public miracles (Revelation 11:3-12), and the false prophet will work signs and wonders to deceive the whole world (Revelation 13:11-18, 16:13-14). But that will be during the great tribulation, and the time for the Church of God to preach the gospel and the Ezekiel warning to the world will be over. The two witnesses will preach the gospel, but the Philadelphian portion of the Church will be in a place of safety and the Laodicean portion will be persecuted and suffering martyrdom and will have little opportunity or power to preach the gospel (Revelation 12:13-17, Revelation 3:7-10, 14-18).
For the Church of God to preach the Ezekiel warning and the true gospel to the world, as a witness and a warning BEFORE the tribulation occurs, so people can hear the message and have their opportunity to heed the message and escape the punishment, we must have the freedom to do so. That freedom exists today in much of the world because neither atheism nor false traditional religion can be powerful enough to take away our religious freedom and stop our message. And for tension that exists between atheism and false religion to continue, atheism must have credibility with millions of people. That can't happen if there are public miracles that cannot be denied. And if they can be denied because they can be faked, then they are not proof.
God communicates with us in the Church and those in the world willing to listen through the Bible. He gives those with an open mind the proof, through fulfilled prophecy, that the Bible is His word. But He doesn't force atheists to believe in the Bible, nor does He force those in traditional religions to give up their beliefs and believe His word. He allows Satan to deceive the whole world, but with a combination of different false religions and atheistic materialism that allows a culture of freedom within which we can preach the gospel.
In has been within this "window of opportunity" in Satan's world that God prepared and called Herbert W. Armstrong, opened his mind to understand the Bible, and used him to preach the gospel to the world and raise up the Philadelphia era of the Church of God.
And that window of opportunity is still open for those in the Church of God whose hearts God has stirred up to preach the gospel and the Ezekiel warning to a world that desperately needs it.
What I am calling a "window of opportunity", to use a phrase that is commonly used today, the Bible calls an "open door" (Revelation 3:8, 1 Corinthians 16:9).
We need to go all out to deliver the true gospel and the Ezekiel warning to the nations that will go through the great tribulation while there is time for them to repent and escape. And we need to base our beliefs on the Bible, because that is how God communicates with His Church today.
There is a time coming when the freedom we have to publicly preach the gospel will be ended. Satan will be allowed to work deceptive signs and wonders through the false prophet and possibly many false prophets. At that time, we will not be able to preach the gospel publicly anymore. We need to work now, while we can (John 9:4, Amos 8:11-12).
And when we preach, we have to prove what we teach by the Bible. We have to show people how to prove for themselves that God exists and that He has inspired the Bible. And we have to practice what we preach, which means we must believe the Bible more than any other source. Then we can show the people of the Israelite nations their sins and warn them to repent or face the punishment of the great tribulation and the day of the Lord (Isaiah 58:1). And we will do that by the Bible.
Here are some links to posts related to this subject:
"What Is the Most Important Issue in the Whole Church of God?", dated June 30, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/06/what-is-most-important-issue-in-whole.html
"Christ as Head of the Church", dated July 3, 2014, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2014/07/christ-as-head-of-church.html
"Does the Church of God Need Prophets Today, and If Not, Why Not?", dated February 15, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/02/does-church-of-god-need-prophets-today.html
"Paradigm Shift from Herbert W. Armstrong to the Father's Call - a Case Study in Progress ", dated June 21, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/06/paradigm-shift-from-herbert-w-armstrong.html
Here are links to related chapters or sections in Preaching the Gospel:
Chapter 1 - The United States and Britain in Prophecy
CHAPTER 6 - OBTAINING GOD'S HELP -- PRACTICING WHAT WE PREACH
God's primary way of communicating to the Church is different today from what it was in the first century. Why?
In the first century, God communicated to the Church and to the world (those in the world who would listen) primarily through the spoken word of apostles, and God backed up the words of the apostles through miracles and signs.
Jesus Christ, the chief apostle (Hebrews 3:1), performed signs and miracles throughout the time of His ministry. He turned water into wine (John 2:3-11). He healed the sick and cast out demons (Matthew 4:23-25, 8:16-17, 9:35, Luke 4:40-41). And He preached the gospel (Matthew 4:17, 9:35).
He also told people things about themselves He could not have known naturally, but only by the inspiration of God. "A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, 'Give Me a drink.'....The woman said to Him, 'Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.' Jesus said to her, 'Go, call your husband, and come here.' The woman answered and said, 'I have no husband.' Jesus said to her, 'You have well said, "I have no husband," for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.' The woman said to Him, 'Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet'....The woman said to Him, 'I know that Messiah is coming' (who is called Christ). 'When He comes, He will tell us all things.' Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am He.'....The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 'Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?' " (John 4:7-28).
"Nathanael said to Him, 'How do You know me?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.' Nathanael answered and said to Him, 'Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Because I said to you, "I saw you under the fig tree," do you believe? You will see greater things than these.' " (John 1:48-50).
And it was by the miracles and signs He did that those who were willing to listen could know He was a prophet and a teacher from God. It was by the miracles that Christ performed that the Father backed up Jesus's message, so the people could know He was speaking God's word.
And it worked. The Samaritan woman was persuaded that Jesus was a prophet (John 4:19). Nathanael was persuaded that Jesus was the Son of God (John 1:49).
Nicodemus and many of the Pharisees knew Jesus was a teacher from God by the miracles He did. "There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, 'Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.' " (John 3:1-2).
Moreover, Jesus taught people to look to His works and His miracles to know that His message was from God. "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves" (John 14:11).
"And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them" (Matthew 11:2-5).
Peter referred to Christ's miracles in speaking to the crowd on Pentecost, saying that God used these miracles to attest to Jesus, and by implication, to the authenticity of Christ's message as being from God. "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death" (Acts 2:22-23).
When Christ sent others out, the apostles and the seventy, to preach the gospel, He also gave them the authority and power to heal the sick and cast out demons (Luke 9:1-2, 10:1-19). It was that power to work miracles that proved that these men were giving a message from God.
On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was first given to the apostles and the New Testament church, it was the miracle of the brethren speaking in tongues (other languages) and all the people hearing them in their own language that got the attention of the crowd. Peter then used that miracle and the attention it produced in the crowd to preach the gospel to them, and the miracle also authenticated the message (Acts 2:1-43).
Later, Peter used the occasion of a miraculous healing to preach the gospel. "Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple....Then Peter said, 'Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.' And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: 'Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:1-21). "Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening....But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, 'What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it" (Acts 4:1-16).
Paul also used miracles to authenticate his message and to show that he was speaking God's word. "Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds" (2 Corinthians 12:12). "For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe" (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
Even in the Old Testament, the prophets also often performed miracles or were able to demonstrate that God supernaturally inspired them and backed up their words. "Then Moses answered and said, 'But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, "The Lord has not appeared to you." ' So the Lord said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' He said, 'A rod.' And He said, 'Cast it on the ground.' So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Reach out your hand and take it by the tail' (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 'that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.' Furthermore the Lord said to him, 'Now put your hand in your bosom.' And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. And He said, 'Put your hand in your bosom again.' So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh. 'Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land" (Exodus 4:1-9). See also 1 Kings 18:21-39 and 1 Samuel 3:19-20.
But in those days, the Bible was not complete because it was being written. Also, the fulfilled prophecies that we can use to prove that God inspired the Bible had not been fulfilled yet. Those prophecies that prove the Bible have only been fulfilled in about the last two hundred years. And the Bible was only complete after most of the events in the New Testament had occurred and widely available to the masses after the printing press was invented around 1440 AD.
Today, God does NOT primarily communicate to us and to the world through miracle-working apostles and prophets, but through the Bible. That is not to say that miracles do not occur in the Church - they do. But the miracles that occur, including healings, are usually quiet miracles, not the kind that attract attention, and they are not used by God to authenticate the truth that His apostles, evangelists, and ministers preach. Instead, God leads the ministry to prove their teachings by the Bible, and God provides the Bible and the proof of the Bible to the people who listen.
I mentioned this in a post I published June 21, 2015 titled "Paradigm Shift from Herbert W. Armstrong to the Father's Call - a Case Study in Progress". Here is a link to that post:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/06/paradigm-shift-from-herbert-w-armstrong.html
God communicates with us primarily through the Bible today. But why?
God is still able to communicate with the Church or the world with miracles and by direct inspiration of His servants by the Holy Spirit to deliver prophetic messages as He has in the past. And He may yet do that, and will do that through the two witnesses, before the end of this age. But right now, He is not doing it, and He has not done it in modern times as far as I know, except perhaps in rare instances.
Why does God not communicate with us in the same manner as He did in Bible times?
God does not give reasons in the Bible. We therefore cannot know with certainty what God's reasons are. God has created the circumstances, or allowed the circumstances to develop, to make the Bible widely available today and to provide proof that the Bible is His word. And it is God's choice to withhold public miracles and not give direct prophetic inspiration and revelation to His servants of messages to deliver to the Church or the world apart from the Bible.
But, while God does not say what His reasons are for this, we can speculate on what some of His reasons might be for communicating with us primarily only through the Bible in these modern times rather than directly communicating by the Holy Spirit to apostles and prophets and backing up those apostles and prophets with miracles.
What are some possible reasons?
The time we live in is unique in that most people who will go through the great tribulation and the Day of the Lord are probably alive today. It is God's will to get the Ezekiel warning and the true gospel message out to hundreds of millions of people, far more than the number of people Peter, Paul, and the first century apostles reached. A miracle-working servant of God can reach only a few people in person, but millions more can be reached by making the Bible widely available all over the world, especially in the Israelite-descended nations.
But could not the miracles of God's servants be publicized in mass media, on TV and on the Internet, to give their message publicity and to prove that their message is from God? To some degree, that may occur, but in the current atheistic-dominated environment, it is unlikely. People would be skeptical. It is one thing to see a miracle before your eyes, in person, such as seeing a disabled person you have known for years be healed. It is something else to see that reported on TV.
Anyone on TV or the Internet can claim to have seen a miracle, but what credibility would that have? Even if such miracles are recorded and played on TV, people can think they are faked, even with special effects if necessary. And an atheistic, secular dominated news media is unlikely to give much publicity to things they themselves may think are faked. Atheists do not believe alleged miracles are real. They would insist there were gimmicks and tricks involved, things that can be explained as natural events.
The technology that exists today allows messages to go out to millions, but few people could witness miracles in person, which alone could carry maximum credibility, since people can excuse themselves that they thought the miracle was phony, trick camera work, false testimony, special effects, etc.
But by putting the message in the Bible, which is widespread, all that is required is for God's servants to "connect the dots" in scripture for the public, and those who hear can check for themselves, both the proof that God inspired the Bible (fulfilled prophecy) and the true gospel and Ezekiel warning in the Bible.
God can thus test people, basically to demonstrate to them what He already knows, to show that they refuse to believe and obey Him even when they have the opportunity by hearing the message along with the proof of the message. Thus they have no excuse.
And since the Church must practice what it preaches, the Church learns the truth the same way, through the Bible.
Another reason: Direct divine revelation by the Holy Spirit to God's servants would have to be backed up with miracles for those servants to have any credibility. But for God to do it that way today and give it widespread publicity, if the miracles can really be proved to a mass audience, would make secular atheism virtually impossible. If miracles are convincing, people would realize that the supernatural exists and therefore God exists. And to allow Satan to continue in his role as the deceiver of mankind, God would have to allow Satan to work signs and wonders for his false prophets teaching false religion. And false religion would become the majority, predominant influence. But without atheism to counterbalance false religion, false religion could dominate society and government so much that the Church of God's freedom to preach the gospel would be curtailed.
It is the tension and conflict between materialistic atheism in courts, education, and media and false religion embodied in traditional, mainstream church bodies and members that allows us the freedom to preach the gospel, because atheists do not let false religion become powerful enough to stop our message on religious grounds and false mainstream religion does not let atheists become so powerful they can stop our message on atheistic and materialistic grounds.
Thus, we do God's work in the gap between two major false forces: atheism and false religion.
But if God communicated with the world and the Church as He did in the first century, miracles by the Church and signs and wonders supporting false religion would be so obvious that atheism would be hindered, the balance and check against unbridled false religion removed, and false religion would take away our freedom to live and preach the truth.
Actually, that time is coming, right before the end. The two witnesses will be given power to preach the gospel and work public miracles (Revelation 11:3-12), and the false prophet will work signs and wonders to deceive the whole world (Revelation 13:11-18, 16:13-14). But that will be during the great tribulation, and the time for the Church of God to preach the gospel and the Ezekiel warning to the world will be over. The two witnesses will preach the gospel, but the Philadelphian portion of the Church will be in a place of safety and the Laodicean portion will be persecuted and suffering martyrdom and will have little opportunity or power to preach the gospel (Revelation 12:13-17, Revelation 3:7-10, 14-18).
For the Church of God to preach the Ezekiel warning and the true gospel to the world, as a witness and a warning BEFORE the tribulation occurs, so people can hear the message and have their opportunity to heed the message and escape the punishment, we must have the freedom to do so. That freedom exists today in much of the world because neither atheism nor false traditional religion can be powerful enough to take away our religious freedom and stop our message. And for tension that exists between atheism and false religion to continue, atheism must have credibility with millions of people. That can't happen if there are public miracles that cannot be denied. And if they can be denied because they can be faked, then they are not proof.
God communicates with us in the Church and those in the world willing to listen through the Bible. He gives those with an open mind the proof, through fulfilled prophecy, that the Bible is His word. But He doesn't force atheists to believe in the Bible, nor does He force those in traditional religions to give up their beliefs and believe His word. He allows Satan to deceive the whole world, but with a combination of different false religions and atheistic materialism that allows a culture of freedom within which we can preach the gospel.
In has been within this "window of opportunity" in Satan's world that God prepared and called Herbert W. Armstrong, opened his mind to understand the Bible, and used him to preach the gospel to the world and raise up the Philadelphia era of the Church of God.
And that window of opportunity is still open for those in the Church of God whose hearts God has stirred up to preach the gospel and the Ezekiel warning to a world that desperately needs it.
What I am calling a "window of opportunity", to use a phrase that is commonly used today, the Bible calls an "open door" (Revelation 3:8, 1 Corinthians 16:9).
We need to go all out to deliver the true gospel and the Ezekiel warning to the nations that will go through the great tribulation while there is time for them to repent and escape. And we need to base our beliefs on the Bible, because that is how God communicates with His Church today.
There is a time coming when the freedom we have to publicly preach the gospel will be ended. Satan will be allowed to work deceptive signs and wonders through the false prophet and possibly many false prophets. At that time, we will not be able to preach the gospel publicly anymore. We need to work now, while we can (John 9:4, Amos 8:11-12).
And when we preach, we have to prove what we teach by the Bible. We have to show people how to prove for themselves that God exists and that He has inspired the Bible. And we have to practice what we preach, which means we must believe the Bible more than any other source. Then we can show the people of the Israelite nations their sins and warn them to repent or face the punishment of the great tribulation and the day of the Lord (Isaiah 58:1). And we will do that by the Bible.
Here are some links to posts related to this subject:
"What Is the Most Important Issue in the Whole Church of God?", dated June 30, 2013, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2013/06/what-is-most-important-issue-in-whole.html
"Christ as Head of the Church", dated July 3, 2014, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2014/07/christ-as-head-of-church.html
"Does the Church of God Need Prophets Today, and If Not, Why Not?", dated February 15, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/02/does-church-of-god-need-prophets-today.html
"Paradigm Shift from Herbert W. Armstrong to the Father's Call - a Case Study in Progress ", dated June 21, 2015, link:
http://ptgbook.blogspot.com/2015/06/paradigm-shift-from-herbert-w-armstrong.html
Here are links to related chapters or sections in Preaching the Gospel:
Chapter 1 - The United States and Britain in Prophecy
CHAPTER 6 - OBTAINING GOD'S HELP -- PRACTICING WHAT WE PREACH
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