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Inspiration and Infallibility – Is there a Difference?
All my life, I have been driven by my sincere belief in the inspiration of the Bible. It has been and continues to be my primary source of authority in spiritual matters and life in general. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16) and “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pet. 1:21) are among the familiar verses that speak of the scriptures as being of divine origin.
Some years ago, however, I had an experience that forced me to clarify in my mind the issues raised in the question at caption. A claim was being made on Jamaican radio that there were contradictions in the Bible. One of the cases cited was the account of David numbering the people of Israel. 2 Sam. 24:1 says that the LORD was angry with Israel and moved David to number them, while 1 Chron. 21:1 says that Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number the people.
In my efforts to gain clarity in my own mind, I found the following statements from the prophetess Ellen G. White, quite useful:
“It is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the men that were inspired. Inspiration acts not on the man’s words or his expressions but on the man himself, who, under the influence of the Holy Ghost is imbued with thoughts. But the words receive the impress of the individual mind.” (Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, Book 1, p. 21).
“The Bible is not given to us in grand superhuman language. Jesus, in order to reach man where he is, took humanity. The Bible must be given in the language of men. Everything that is human is imperfect. Different meanings are expressed by the same word; there is not one word for each distinct idea.” (Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, Book 1, p. 20).
“God had especially guarded the Bible; yet when copies of it were few, learned men had in some instances changed the words, thinking that they were making it more plain, when in reality they were mystifying that which was plain, causing it to lean to their established views, which were governed by tradition” (Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 220).
“The truths of the Bible are as pearls hidden. They must be searched, dug out by painstaking effort. Those who take only a surface view of the scriptures will, with their superficial knowledge, which they think is very deep, talk about contradictions of the Bible, and question the authority of the scriptures. But those whose hearts are in harmony with truth and duty will search with a heart prepared to receive divine impressions. The illuminated soul sees a spiritual unity, one grand golden thread running through the whole, but it requires patience, thought, and prayer to trace out the precious golden thread. Sharp contentions over the Bible have led to investigation and revealed the precious jewels of truth. Many tears have been shed, many prayers offered, that the Lord would open the understanding to His Word.” (Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, Book 1, p. 20).
My conclusion is that the Word of God is not the Bible, or Ellen G. White’s writings but the Word of God is found in them. Truth was revealed by God to fallible human beings, who wrote in the best way they could. We ignore such revelations from God to our own peril. But we must employ normal intelligence and seek understanding from God in order to decipher exactly what the truth is. To consider the example above, David numbered the people, but who motivated him to do it is someone’s opinion. There is no need to stumble over that.
In contrast, Daniel had a vision and he related the explanation that the angel Gabriel gave him. That was not Daniel’s opinion. That was coming straight from God. Is there no difference between the level of weight and certainty that one would place on such revelation as opposed to say the statement as to who motivated David to number Israel?
Can prophets make mistakes in their own understanding of some matters on which they might not have gotten specific revelations? This question is no less a question than that of whether a human being is as infallible as God Himself. In times gone by, prophets inquired of the Lord regarding matters on which they were uncertain. Obviously, they did not know everything. And if a matter was not an issue at the time, they would have had no need to inquire.
If a prophet makes an error of judgement on a matter, or misunderstands something, does God automatically cease communicating with the person and regard them as a false prophet? There is no such indication in the Bible. Moses struck the rock when God had told him to speak to the rock. He erred, but did God abandon him? No, He did not. An old prophet misled a man of God, telling the man of God that God had told him, the prophet, that it was okay for the man of God to stop and eat at the prophet’s house, even although God had distinctly told the man of God not to stop and eat. Yet God still gave the old prophet a message, after that, as the Bible says: “as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came unto the prophet” (1 Kings 13:20).
There are many other questions that could be asked and answered. But it is not necessary to try to exhaust them here. The broad framework should be sufficient to allow us to answer some of the questions ourselves. But there is an important matter of present query among many people that is worth citing here. The Advent movement of today has widely embraced belief in the Trinity – a concept that was once labelled as pagan and unscriptural by the founders of the movement, citing statements by Ellen G. White concerning a three-person Godhead as a primary basis for making the change.
The question is being asked: by what authority has a view of God that was backed up by vision given more than once been changed to this new concept? It is clear, from the report of the “Great Controversy” vision, as given by Ellen G. White that there was a hierarchy in heaven in which God, the Father was supreme and regarded as the Sovereign, His Son, Jesus Christ was next and then Lucifer was third (E. G. White, Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 1, pp. 17, 18). The prophet, in describing what was revealed to her, even went as far as to say that Christ was “the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God.” (E. G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 34).
When the prophet spoke about a three-person godhead, was there a vision that revealed a different picture of God, Christ and heavenly beings, or was the prophet simply using expressions that were in common use at the time, while discussing other issues, without trying to teach a new doctrine? I leave this question for us to ponder.
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 11:15).
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Two Types of Sin and How Salvation Relates
“If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.” (1 John 5:16, 17).
It is generally known that the gospel is about salvation from sin. A critical element to understanding exactly what this means is the largely ignored fact that all sin is not of the same nature and that broadly speaking there are two categories of sin, both of which are treated differently in the plan of salvation. In speaking about the gospel, salvation and sin, some of these expressions have become so generalized and clichéd that people do not understand exactly what is involved. The result is that their thoughts on these matters are unclear and superficial and do not lend themselves to any kind of conviction that they would be willing to lay down their lives for. In this presentation, the objective is to seek to bring clarity so as to strengthen conviction.
The last-days prophet Ellen G. White explains that the two types of sin are exemplified by the sins of Lucifer and Adam respectively. She says:
“But even as a sinner, man was in a different position from that of Satan. Lucifer in heaven had sinned in the light of God’s glory. To him as to no other created being was given a revelation of God’s love. Understanding the character of God, knowing His goodness, Satan chose to follow his own selfish, independent will. The choice was final. There was no more that God could do to save him. But man was deceived; his mind was darkened by Satan’s sophistry. The height and depth of the love of God he did not know. For him there was hope in a knowledge of God’s love. By beholding His character he might be drawn back to God.” (Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 761, 762.)
She explains also:
“There was nothing poisonous in the fruit itself, and the sin was not merely in yielding to appetite. It was distrust of God’s goodness, disbelief of His word, and rejection of His authority, that made our first parents transgressors and brought into the world a knowledge of evil . . . . By the mingling of evil with good, his mind had become confused, his mental and spiritual powers benumbed. No longer could he appreciate the good that God had so freely bestowed.” (Ellen G. White, Education, p. 25.)
So, there you have it. There is the sin of rebellion which is final and there is the sin of ignorance or naiveté for which redemption rests in the knowledge that will straighten the mind out of its confusion.
Jesus came to reveal the truth
Jesus Christ, the Son of God came to earth for the very purpose of bringing light into this dark world of confusion so that our minds may be transformed. The Bible says:
“In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:4, 5).
Again, it says:
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John3:19).
At another place, it says:
“My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee”. (Hosea 4:6).
It is by the renewing of our minds that we are transformed. We are told:
“be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind”. (Rom. 12:2.
Some people dismiss the importance of knowledge lightly, saying: “Knowlege? What’s that? That can’t save you. That’s only words or information.” But the Bible says otherwise. It says:
“the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63).
Further:
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3).
Jesus came to the world for the specific purpose of bearing witness of the truth. He said:
“To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.” (John 18:37).
The truth that He came to bear witness of is the truth about the character of God – His Father; further, to reveal the true character of Satan and the real reason for Satan’s rebellion. As was pointed out earlier:
“But man was deceived; his mind was darkened by Satan’s sophistry. The height and depth of the love of God he did not know. For him there was hope in a knowledge of God’s love. By beholding His character he might be drawn back to God.” (Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 762.)
Truth revealed in life and in death
Jesus came as the “express image” of God’s person (Heb. 1:3) and it is by “beholding” Him we see the true character of God and “are changed” (2 Cor. 3:18) from our attitude of suspicion towards God and alienation from Him. We are told that in our unconverted state, we were like the Gentiles who were described as:
“Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Eph. 4:18).
Don’t forget, it was man who went and hid from God after he sinned in the Garden of Eden. Satan speaking through the serpent told Eve that nothing was wrong with the fruit (which was correct) but led Adam and Eve to be afraid of what they were made to believe that God would do to them. The fear of death that was sowed in man’s mind then has since kept humanity in bondage to the Devil. We are told that Jesus came to “deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Heb. 2:15). But Jesus came to show us that there is no need to be afraid of God because “God is love” (1 John 4:8), and nothing such as the Devil portrayed Him. He showed that God’s instructions are for our protection and not requirements of God for His sake. Jesus showed that “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18). So much does the Son have the character of the Father that Jesus told Philip: “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9).
So, in His life on earth Jesus revealed by living demonstration the truth about God’s character. And then, by allowing Himself to fall into the hands of Satan, He allowed the entire universe to see the truth about Satan’s true motives and character as a murderer, a liar and the real cause of death, suffering and misery.
As is explained in another presentation on this site, “Who Killed Jesus and what is the Significance of His Death?”, it was Satan and his evil host that murdered the innocent Son of God and by so doing, exposed the true character of Satan so that the last link of sympathy for Satan among the loyal angels of heaven was forever broken. It is supposed to have the same effect on the human mind, if we understand what really happened and what it was all about.
The death of Christ was specifically the basis on which the Devil’s destruction is assured, as we are told:
“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8).
And
“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14).
It is all about the truth
It is by believing the truth that we are saved! We are told:
“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16).
Hence, the real objective of the Devil is to deceive people or cause them to stop their ears – anything that might lead them to not receive the truth, which, in believing it they would be saved from joining him in rebellion. In the parable of the sower, we are told:
“Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.” (Luke 8:12).
Further, the Devil will work
“with signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” (2 Thess. 2:10).
Those who make miracles their benchmark for determining authenticity will be sent
“strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thess. 2:11, 12).
It is by our repentance when the truth comes to us that we provide the basis whereby Christ can plead our case, before the heavenly tribunal and the entire universe presided over by the Father. We are told that we should not sin, but if we miss the mark, we have an advocate with the Father:
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).
People wonder what Christ’s advocacy on our behalf could be all about, in relation to us having sinned and being in need of forgiveness. But a clear illustration of it is given when Jesus was on the cross. He prayed to His Father, saying:
“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34).
Mercy because we are ignorant and naive
Throughout the Bible, the fact that we are ignorant and naive has always been referred to as the basis on which we are not classified with Satan. Here are a few cases:
Speaking of the death of Christ, Peter said:
“ And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.” (Acts 3:17.
- We mentioned already the Gentiles, being alienated because of ignorance, but it is worth noting again:
“Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Eph. 4:18).
- The former lusts in which people walked were due to ignorance:
“As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance” (1 Pet. 1:14).
- The people of Nineveh, to whom Jonah was sent, were described as not knowing their right hand from their left hand. That’s ignorance.
“And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?” (Jonah 4:11).
- The priests that ministered in the earthly sanctuary were chosen such that they could have compassion on the ignorant, in order to be able to minister for them.
“For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.” (Heb. 5:1, 2).
- Jesus told the Pharisees that their sins remained if indeed they were not blind but saw clearly.
“Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” (John 9:41).
- Again, He told them that they might have had an excuse if He had not come and spoken to them.
“If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.” (John 15:22).
The Apostle Paul said that all his previous actions in persecuting God’s people were due to ignorance, and for that reason God had mercy on him; and further, that the ignorance was due to his unbelief at the time.
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.” (1 Tim. 1:12, 13).
- People in the last days who are willingly ignorant in denying the creation and the flood are warned that destruction is coming upon the earth and they need to repent before it is too late.
“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:3-9).
Truth in the sanctuary and the final conflict
The fact that Christ pleads for us on the basis of our ignorance and naiveté is clearly taught in the sanctuary services that were given to ancient Israel. It was only sins of ignorance that were ministered for in the sanctuary on earth (Lev. 4:2, 3, 13, 22, 27; Num.15:25-29) and all those confessed sins are eventually laid on Satan, represented by the scapegoat – Azazel, on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:9, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22), as the one who is truly responsible for them through the darkness and confusion that he has unleashed on the whole earth, that has caused us, the ignorant and naive descendants of Adam, to repeatedly stumble and miss the mark. Sins that were considered presumptuous were not atoned for (Num. 15:30, 31).
The fact that we are ignorant and naive and not rebellious, as Satan is, and we have not genuinely rejected God, provides the basis for our redemption. But if we reject the truth that is to straighten us out and lighten our dark understanding, we have no basis on which our sins might be laid on Satan as the real culprit. We must bear the responsibility for them ourselves and perish with them.
Those who remain in ignorance will be destroyed for lack of knowledge.
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee” (Hosea 4:6).
Because the truth is the only basis on which we can be straightened out of our confusion and be redeemed to God in an unswerving relationship, the truth is the focus of the Christian warfare. Satan seeks to distort the truth, whereas the followers of Christ are called upon to cast down every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” (2 Cor. 10:3-6).
It is for this reason that the finishing up of God’s mission on this earth is tied to the gospel being preached in the entire world, because people cannot believe if they do not know.
“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matt. 24:14).
Further,
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Rom. 10:13, 14).
It is the truth that sanctifies us. It is not some strange miracle that causes us to be seen as righteous when we are not in reality, as propounded by the new theology that I wrote about in a previous presentation. Accordingly, Jesus prayed:
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17).
The final conflict will be fought by persons who are sealed – people who will not turn away from the truth or their allegiance to God, even when faced with weariness, hunger, delay and the prospect of losing not only their reputation but their very lives. The last-days prophet, Ellen G. White tells what the sealing is. We are told:
“Just as soon as the people of God are sealed in their foreheads – it is not a seal or mark that can be seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved – just as soon as God’s people are sealed and prepared for the shaking, it will come.” (Ellen G. White, Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, p. 1161)
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 11:15).
For further information:
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Who Killed Jesus and What is the Significance of His Death?
Jesus Christ, the Son of God came to earth and died a cruel death, being crucified on a cross, a most torturous method of execution reserved for the vilest of criminals. At the heart of the Christian faith is the belief that through His death, salvation is brought to humanity. Unless we understand, however, the issues behind His death and who did it, we may end up seeing God as being no better than the pagans who sacrifice their most loved children in order to achieve what is perceived to be some good.
A songwriter captured some of the questions that may naturally arise, in the following words:
Who killed Jesus? I would like to know.
Who is guilty of a crime so low?
Why did He have to die?
What is the reason why?
Who killed Jesus? I would like to know.
Was it Roman Soldiers, with their tools of war?
Pounding nails through hands that did no wrong.
Mocking and abusing, crowning Him with thorns,
All the evidence is very clear.
Was it Pontius Pilate, he was Governor,
Trying to decide the case that day?
Finding that the Savior had no fault His own,
Was he guilty when he turned away?
Was it Hebrew children, proud of who they were?
Shouting “Crucify Him” to their King.
Rejecting their Messiah for a common thief
Turning down the Kingdom He could bring.
The songwriter eventually concluded that he was the guilty one, in the following words: “It’s for me the Sacrifice was made. . . . . I am guilty, now it’s plain to see, that it was really me!”
The conclusion, takes us from the literal realm into a spiritualized realm because in a literal sense, it could not have been the songwriter who did it, since he was not yet born. True, he, like all repentant sinners, benefitted. But that is a different matter. We are talking about who did it! Was it God? Did God motivate or collude with wicked people to do this, in order to satisfy His own requirement? It is not a rude question. To many, it might appear so, because they have unwittingly bought into the Devil’s misrepresentation that has clouded the issues in order to keep us in darkness and deceive us.
Let there be no mistake, Jesus was killed by wicked people. The Bible says: “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death” (Acts 2:23, 24).
Condemnation is on those who crucified Him, not blessing and reward! We are told: “The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.” (Matt. 26:24).
In order to understand the plan of salvation we have to go back to the beginning and work our way forward.
The issues behind the plan of salvation
First, let us be reminded of that most pivotal revelation of the Great Controversy that was given to Ellen G. White that she published in 1858. She said:
“The Lord has shown me that Satan was an honored angel in heaven, next to JESUS CHRIST. His countenance was mild, expressive of happiness like the other angels. His forehead was high and broad, and showed great intelligence. His form was perfect. He had a noble, majestic bearing. And I saw that when God said to his SON, Let us make man in our image, Satan was jealous of JESUS. He wished to be consulted concerning the formation of man. He was filled with envy, jealousy and hatred. He wished to be the highest in heaven, next to GOD, and receive the highest honors.” (E. G. White, Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 1, pp. 17).
Because of his rebellion, Satan was cast out of heaven. What many people do not know, is that Satan sought reinstatement, which was denied because he had not changed. Here is the account of it:
“Satan stood in amazement at his new condition. His happiness was gone. He looked upon the angels who, with him, were once so happy, but who had been expelled from heaven with him. Before their fall not a shade of discontent had marred their perfect bliss. Now all seemed changed. Countenances which had reflected the image of their Maker were gloomy and despairing. Strife, discord, and bitter recrimination were among them. Previous to their rebellion these things had been unknown in heaven. Satan now beheld the terrible results of his rebellion. He shuddered, and feared to face the future and to contemplate the end of these things.” (E. G. White, The Story of Redemption, pp. 24, 25).
“Satan trembled as he viewed his work. He was alone in meditation upon the past, the present, and his future plans. His mighty frame shook as with a tempest. An angel from heaven was passing. He called him and entreated an interview with Christ. This was granted him. He then related to the Son of God that he repented of his rebellion and wished again the favour of God. He was willing to take the place God had previously assigned him, and be under His wise command. Christ wept at Satan’s woe but told him, as the mind of God, that he could never be received into heaven. Heaven must not be placed in jeopardy. All heaven would be marred should he be received back, for sin and rebellion originated with him. The seeds of rebellion were still in him. . . . He repented not of his rebellion because he saw the goodness of God which he had abused. . . . To be commander out of heaven was vastly different from being thus honoured in heaven. The loss he had sustained of all the privileges of heaven seemed too much to be borne. He wished to regain these.” (E. G. White, The Story of Redemption, pp. 26, 27).
It was this failure to gain reinstatement that led Satan to try another plan that involved getting Adam and Eve to sin. Here is the plan:
“His followers were seeking him, and he aroused himself and, assuming a look of defiance, informed them of his plans to wrest from God the noble Adam and his companion Eve. If he could in any way beguile them to disobedience, God would make some provision whereby they might be pardoned, and then himself and all the fallen angels would be in a fair way to share with them of God’s mercy. If this should fail, they could unite with Adam and Eve, for when once they should transgress the law of God they would be subjects of God’s wrath, like themselves. Their transgression would place them, also, in a state of rebellion, and they could unite with Adam and Eve, take possession of Eden, and hold it as their home. And if they could gain access to the tree of life in the midst of the garden, their strength would, they thought, be equal to that of the holy angels, and even God Himself could not expel them.” (E. G. White, The Story of Redemption, pp. 27, 28).
Salvation through the truth that puts enmity between us and Satan
When the first sin was committed by our fore-parents, Adam and Eve, God predicted exactly how salvation would come in Gen. 3:15 as follows:
“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Gen. 3:15.
Satan had hoped to have humanity fully on his side but God said He would break up the alliance by causing humanity to hate Satan and his ways. He would achieve this by sending His Son as the woman’s seed to bruise Satan’s head but in the process Satan would bruise the heel of His Son.
This was fulfilled at Calvary where, through death, Christ bruised Satan’s head by exposing him to the universe as a murderer while Christ’s heel was bruised by Satan, in that Satan took Christ’s life. But for Christ it was only a bruising of His heel since His Father would raise Him back from the dead (Gal. 1:1).
This is substantiated by many scriptures that show:
- That man was Satan’s captive – example, Heb. 2:14, 15.
- That Christ delivered man by converting man or changing man’s mind – that is, causing man to believe in Him rather than believing Satan. It is by believing God that we are saved – example, Luke 8:12; John 3:15; Acts 16:31; Rom. 4:3; Rom. 12:2.
- That Satan’s destruction is assured by the death of Christ – example, 1 John 3:8; Heb. 2:14, 15; Col. 2:14, 15.
- That those who believe in Christ will be given power to become sons of God (John1:12) – that is, power to overcome the devil (first and foremost) – Titus 2:11, 12 – and in some cases to work miracles (only in some cases) – Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:29: “Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?” He says again in 1 Corinthians 12:10: “To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues”.
Generally, spiritual gifts are given for the purpose of advancing the cause of truth and preparing people for God’s kingdom. We are told:
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” Eph. 4:11-15.
- That eternal life will be given to those who believe in Christ, at the second coming of Christ (not before, except in special cases) – example, Mark 10:30; Rom. 2:6-8; 1 Cor. 15:22, 23 – even though God can speak of things that are not as though they were because of the certainty of such things (Rom. 4:17).Finally, it should be understood that through His foreknowledge, God knows and declares what will happen but it does not mean that He manipulates people’s minds to make them do evil things. He will even act, based upon His foreknowledge, in order to achieve a desired end, knowing what people will do, but He is not necessarily the one responsible for it being done or the one doing it. Such is the situation with the death of Christ. He yielded His Son. But it was the Devil and evil men who killed Him, thus playing right into God’s purpose of revealing the true nature of sin, which is enmity against God (Rom. 8:7) and a manifestation of a disposition to crucify the Son of God afresh each time it is committed (Heb. 6:6).
The popular ‘gospel’ makes death, which the Bible calls an enemy, a requirement of God before He can forgive. Unlike the popular ‘gospel’ that says that the death of Christ has satisfied once and for all, everything that the Father required, the truth is that the death of Christ, far from being required by God, was brought about by Satan and provides the basis whereby Satan will be condemned and ultimately be held responsible for all the sins that he would have caused the penitent to commit. The Bible says that through death, Christ destroys “him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Heb. 2:14, 15); and further, that by His death, Christ, “having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:14, 15).
So, death remains an enemy, wholly a consequence of sin (1 Cor. 15:26; Rom. 6:23). God is life and is not constrained to give life. He quickeneth whomsoever He wills, whenever He wills, without needing death to take place as a precondition (John 5:21).
Satan, the murderer, unmasked
In closing, I’ll leave with you the following description of the death of Christ from the pen of Ellen G. White for your thoughtful meditation:
“But God suffered with His Son. Angels beheld the Saviour’s agony. They saw their Lord enclosed by legions of satanic forces, His nature weighed down with a shuddering, mysterious dread. There was silence in heaven. No harp was touched.” (E. G. White, Desire of Ages, p. 693).
“Not until the death of Christ was the character of Satan clearly revealed to the angels or to the unfallen worlds. The archapostate had so clothed himself with deception that even holy beings had not understood his principles. They had not clearly seen the nature of his rebellion”. (E. G. White, Desire of Ages, p. 758).
“Heaven viewed with grief and amazement Christ hanging upon the cross, blood flowing from His wounded temples, and sweat tinged with blood standing upon His brow. From His hands and feet the blood fell, drop by drop, upon the rock drilled for the foot of the cross. The wounds made by the nails gaped as the weight of His body dragged upon His hands. His labored breath grew quick and deep, as His soul panted under the burden of the sins of the world. All heaven was filled with wonder when the prayer of Christ was offered in the midst of His terrible suffering,–“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34. Yet there stood men, formed in the image of God, joining to crush out the life of His only-begotten Son. What a sight for the heavenly universe!
The principalities and powers of darkness were assembled around the cross, casting the hellish shadow of unbelief into the hearts of men. When the Lord created these beings to stand before His throne, they were beautiful and glorious. Their loveliness and holiness were in accordance with their exalted station. They were enriched with the wisdom of God, and girded with the panoply of heaven. They were Jehovah’s ministers. But who could recognize in the fallen angels the glorious seraphim that once ministered in the heavenly courts?
Satanic agencies confederated with evil men in leading the people to believe Christ the chief of sinners, and to make Him the object of detestation. Those who mocked Christ as He hung upon the cross were imbued with the spirit of the first great rebel. He filled them with vile and loathsome speeches. He inspired their taunts. But by all this he gained nothing.
Could one sin have been found in Christ, had He in one particular yielded to Satan to escape the terrible torture, the enemy of God and man would have triumphed. Christ bowed His head and died, but He held fast His faith and His submission to God. “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” Rev. 12:10.
Satan saw that his disguise was torn away. His administration was laid open before the unfallen angels and before the heavenly universe. He had revealed himself as a murderer. By shedding the blood of the Son of God, he had uprooted himself from the sympathies of the heavenly beings. Henceforth his work was restricted. Whatever attitude he might assume, he could no longer await the angels as they came from the heavenly courts, and before them accuse Christ’s brethren of being clothed with the garments of blackness and the defilement of sin. The last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world was broken”. (E. G. White, Desire of Ages, p. 759 -761).
Let us not spiritualize away the reality
In conclusion, it was Satan and his host of both evil men and evil angels who killed Christ. In doing so, Satan’s true character was revealed, in contrast to the character of God and Christ. It is this belief in the truth that transforms our minds and makes us single-hearted towards God. Spiritualism seeks to spiritualize away the reality of who God is, who Christ is, who Satan is and who the angels are so as to cause people to be blinded to the issues of the controversy and the issues of salvation.
May the Lord help that we will be settled into the truth both intellectually and spiritually so that we cannot be moved, because the time is coming and is not far from now when all will be shaken and only those who cannot be shaken will remain.
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 11:15).
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