I have discovered there is a real God--the father of Jesus Christ, because I have met Him. And, in spite of the misrepresentation of religion concerning his character, he takes full responsibility for his creation, understands all the heart rending issues we find ourselves in, and has extreme love and compassion for us. He cares about the “bad” guys as well as the good. He is also in total control of everything going on in our lives and everyone else's. Why then, does everything look out of control? Why is there such turmoil, pain and chaos in this world we live in? How could this be a demonstration of love?
It surely “looks” like God abandoned us by letting us rule as we see fit. The human nature does have a dominate nature about it, and many people do not want interference by a higher power, or anyone else. Doesn’t our world have dictators? Aren’t there conflicts, legal battles and wars in every institution we are apart of from our homes to corporations to nations? But in spite of it we humanely set limits. These limits show themselves in the very structures we have in place that will not allow our fellow man (including ourselves) ultimate free will.
The biggest majority of us have always been concerned with the sustaining of life, and that means harnessing freedom of expression so as to protect the innocent. For those who would sacrifice the freedoms and safety of others, we have pulled the reigns in with punitive remedies through government, laws and law enforcement. Even though our systems are less than perfect, the alternate--anarchy--is not an option. This speaks of an inner drive in mankind to establish some kind of barrier for the protection of the majority. Couldn’t this be a manifestation of the order of a higher realm? Isn’t it possible that God’s dominion and control extend themselves into this lower plane even though we can’t see them? If this is the case, free will is an illusion. And if this is the case, things are not as chaotic as they could be.
Free will is talked about mostly among the religious. Many believe that God has given man free will to choose between doing right or wrong. That way it is our “right” to make choices and, therefore, also our fault if we screw it up. Part of this is true, but it is also part of the illusion. We have been given, according to our personal calling and placements in each generation, our own private arenas to play god in. Some spaces are bigger than others, but we all have a restraint of some kind limiting how far we can go (Psalms 33:10). Some lives have been extremely limited to a narrow road with little space off that road. Various circumstances just seem to push them back onto the "path". Others have had huge fields of freedom that would give any human the false sense of “being in control”. This was allowed because their place in God’s plan didn’t include spiritual advancement in their lifetime, so they indulge in "the good life" unaware that the facade of freedom and power had kept them conveniently out of Father’s way.
Oh, Father-God loves them still, but it wasn’t time for their visitation from him. His only intervention into their lives would be if they were crossing an invisible barrier into workings of a higher order. God works all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11) and the independent dictates of men will not be allowed to clash with God’s ultimate intention. This intention has carried itself from the fall in Eden to the present, includes predestined lives of divine mission, and progressively moves forward in spite of and because of all that happens in this realm. And by the way, going to the grave--or sleeping, doesn’t mean we are out of God’s hand. God knew us before we were born and his provision NEVER ends.
Remember the old epic movies where the previews listed "and a cast of thousands"? So many “extras” were needed to successfully film these stories, as in “The Ten Commandments”; extras had minor roles and usually no lines. They just took up space, creating a great backdrop while a handful of major players represented the meat of the plot. (Excuse the pun, but this is an excellent example of our own situations.) In this movie, only one man was speaking for God. No one else was having the visitation that Moses had, but were going along with everything, like a giant herd of human cattle, they were doing what they had to do or what they were told to do. Some of them believed what they saw, but hadn’t met this God. Some were confused and didn’t know what to believe. Still others didn’t believe in anything in spite of the miracles they were witnessing, and just wanted to get by and be left alone.
That aptly represents the stage set for us when we are born into this realm. Throughout time, God has always had his remnant, always a minority in comparison to the major population--the cast of thousands. These people were blessed with his fiery dealings to manifest the kingdom of God for that day. God’s plan has existed always and each generation of man has been placed, according to the unfolding progression of truth--the next chapter, for God's grand story. We couldn't interfere if we wanted to, since we can't see what's really happening. Does creation have the Divine perspective, intelligence and ability to handle the affairs of millions (or billions) of people at one time? Do mortals command hosts of spiritual entities? Do they perceive the intricate operating system and networking of the higher realms? No. But the Creator does. This awesome reality is too much for human understanding, so we must come to a place of trust in what we do not understand. While most do not come to this place, it is a desirable place to be in, for no peace comes without it. I have great assurance knowing that the Creator has set into motion who will rule and when that reign will end (Dan 4:17, 25, 35) It all has a purpose.
Things are not as they appear because we don’t know who we really are. And we can’t see where we really are. We are first and foremost a spiritual creation--with a soul (personality), having a temporary experience in a self-destructing human body. Things are definitely not what they appear! We reside on planet earth, and here we can find heaven or hell. Those who are fortunate enough to know and "feel" the hell they are in, can really appreciate heaven. Those who don’t believe in the reality of hell or who don’t believe they will ever have contact with it will have the hardest times accepting that they are already there. Hell, as I’ve explained in an earlier chapter, is death and darkness, and has nothing to do with fire. But that doesn’t mean that our trials here don’t have heat.
When mankind fell out of the realm of perfection--Eden (NOT a geographical place), this lowering was not only allowed by God, but planned. Our understanding is what fell. We could no longer sense safety and truth (God’s presence). He was still there, but hidden while we learned to live without him, or actually--to die without him. We fell into a realm of dual choices, thanks to the judge of this realm, our advocate: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (law). This duality concerns two choices. We have the good guys and the bad guys. An action is good or it is bad. A person is good or they are evil. No gray areas. What was missing was the tree of life, but the soul (Eve) could not appreciate that tree just yet.
Eve was enticed by the serpent (power of the natural mind) and desired freedom to do her own thing. She had to find herself. She needed to sample life without a master. She hungered to establish her own rules, make her own world, make her bed with whom she pleased. Our spirit (Adam) had no power in itself without the tree of life (God’s spiritual provision), so he became a silent hostage, since soul and spirit are attached, (accessible only by God: Heb 4:12). So the estate of life in the Garden of God where the spirit led and the soul was in agreement, became life in hell where the soul is in control and the spirit is submissive and powerless. Eve (the psyche) does her whoring around led of her own desires as dictated by the power of this world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life (1 John 2:16).
In this lowered state of being, our spirit doesn’t have a say anymore. You might say that women are running the world, and they are. But most of them look like men. That’s because all of us have a male and a female (a spirit and a soul) that is being led by the soul until a collision, of sorts--with the Christ--rocks the kingdom of self. It starts as a love affair, but rebellion in the soul has deep roots, so when the Holy Spirit "moves in", so does a battle. Armageddon rages until the reign of the woman ends. This ending is also a love affair. The ego yields to the Christ and God takes back his rightful territory. And in case it isn’t already obvious, the Genesis telling of the Garden of Eden is a wonderful parable, an allegory of God’s unfolding plan of perfecting his creation to bring them back unto Himself again over time.
But before this “conversion” happens, the tree of life resides in the higher, hidden realm of heaven, smoked over in our darkened understanding from our loss of contact with God. We can no longer see or hear him in our sleepy state. In Genesis, Adam was put into a deep sleep when God did his surgery. There is no mention of Adam being awakened. That awakening can only come through Jesus Christ. So, whether we like this status or not, it’s where we live. In this state we believe that God no longer wants or loves us, or no longer has power in our lives, or is no longer even there. We form our own belief system derived from our minds and our five natural senses. We believe what we can see, hear, taste, touch and smell. This is our prison existence without the tree of life.
Each person will have their time and season to be freed from that prison. An awakening to the truth inside of us will enliven our spiritual senses as we discover our world for what it truly is. With each new "coming" of Christ enlightenment, we emerge from our lethargic state, like waking from a dream (or nightmare). It isn’t that we aren’t real, because we are, but our true life source--our spirit, has lost its potency and has not been allowed to be a witness of truth because of the powers of darkness in this realm. And each man will be restored in his own order (1 Corin 15:23).
Most persons who have lived didn’t experience a new birth (John 3:6-7) in this realm. The grave is only the end of the death realm (entered upon birth). Our corruptible human body is temporary, but we have a spiritual body that exists beyond our sight and perception. Paul speaks of this reality (1 Corin 15:44-46). It is the habitation that Jesus went to prepare a place for us in. When he died and resurrected, he created a new body style, demonstrated in form and abilities before Pentecost. He could appear in a room whose door was shut. He could look different or the same as he had been. He was immortal. He could be in the visible and the invisible at the same time. He was God standing in the invisible, speaking and touching and loving us in the visible. This was always his intention!
God loves every person, because each one has a replica of him in their soul. The soul is uniquely who we are--our personality, or mind, emotions, will, memories and desires. The spirit attachment to each soul (because all came out of God and God is spirit) is a guarantee that each person will experience the spiritual rebirth, but--back to God’s order, it is all in His time. Thankfully, all came out of him, all is to him and for him, and all will return, for nothing can be separated from him. (Col 1:17, Roman 11:36, Rom 8:38-39)
You see, it really doesn’t matter whether we believe in God or not. He believed in us first, he birthed us in our time, and he will revive us. Salvation is for all men; Jesus is the Savior of the world. The victory at Calvary permanently re-opened the spiritual realm to all mankind whether they are interested or not. At that moment, every person who has every lived, who is alive now and who is still to be born, was reconciled to God (Romans 5:10). Then, when the Holy Spirit enlivens Himself within us (where he was hidden in a higher frequency), he begins the works of the Christ in our soul, wooing Eve back to Adam, and this is where the salvation process begins. (The altar is our heart.)
Jesus said he would draw (drag) all men to himself, and God never fails. He did not give his life in his son so that multitudes could do their own thing and miss eternity. Oh no! Would an artist creating a masterpiece of priceless beauty allow amateurs to come in and spoil it? I think not! Neither would God. We are that masterpiece, we are His. And being the Master, he will not let an inferior, blinded mind set (the human condition) ruin his perfect plan. Again, God works all things after the counsel of His own will (Ephes 1:11).
Since we operate in a lower level of order and justice, how does equity come into play? The best meaning of righteousness, speaking of God’s, is equity or fairness. How do we bring God’s "fairness" down into our arena and make concessions? We really can’t but he does oversee all that we do and how we handle all situations. All outcomes are his even though we think we are in charge. One beautiful translation of Proverbs 16:33 states that even though we throw the dice, God determines how they fall!
God is in charge of this whole psychotic masquerade party that we live in. Some humans are so indifferent to suffering, others are humanitarian. Some are loving, others cruel, and everything in between those opposite points exist. There are vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor. How does man judge? Can he judge well with extreme scenarios placed before him? Haven’t we seen the beasts in our societies? And how do we deal with these dark, tormented "dead people" when we are able? We do the best we can, for sure, but we do not expend righteous judgments. We cannot tell by looking at anything in this realm what is really happening in a higher scheme. Without the light of Christ in our understanding, we can only see through a glass darkly. (1 Corin 13:12)
We don’t really know the heart of any circumstance or person unless we were there from the time of birth (and before) and walked with that person each moment for all of their life. What man knows the soul condition of a child that is born? Even the child didn’t have a say in the family, the time, the country they were born into. Imagine two children raised in horrible circumstances. One of them seemingly conquers hell and becomes a beautiful person, while the other turns into the exact product they were molded from--evil. (And who could blame a child for turning into a monster if they were raised horrendously?) But only God can truly judge a heart. Only God knows the truth of these things. Deep, heavy issues for sure, but his control also puts the burden of responsibility on his shoulders, not ours. We do have grief and we do suffer. During those times, our "field" (earth) receives precious seed for a spiritual growing season. No pain is wasted; all tears are seeds to reap joy. Every human action that manifests has been allowed, with nothing amiss. No coincidences. On the flip side of that coin, every human intent to act outside of the divine blueprint will NOT be allowed.
In this realm, men are born for their season. Some live long lives, others don’t. The time of arrival of each person is of the Creator’s time table, and so is the purpose of that soul. The day we leave this realm and all events experienced are also pre-set. Nothing is an accident. If a person dies from an act of violence, the method of his demise was a powerful tool in the left hand of God for a higher purpose. He would not have lived beyond that day in any case. (Note: left hand = administration of law for security of God's structure; an unappreciated side of love)
Toward the end of 1985, I had a vision of the space shuttle Challenger exploding. The vision appeared on my wall just like a movie playing. I didn’t know what I was seeing, but it was disturbing and I actually thought about calling NASA. But what would I have said? As the weeks passed, the vision waned. Then, in January, 1986, I was flipping my TV channels and saw the lift-off of the Challenger. I held my breath as I watched it, realizing that this was a replay of what I had already seen. The hairs stood up on my arms as I saw it explode exactly as I had a few months before. I questioned God as to why he had allowed me to witness a tragedy that I could have done nothing about. Should I have called NASA? Could I have stopped it from happening by praying, even though I didn’t understand at the time what I was seeing?
No, he assured me. I would not have stopped what was destiny for all those lives. At that time, I was having a problem with fear concerning life and death. I had a young son who I worried about--for many reasons, and my heart was seeking assurance. God used this vision and its outcome to teach me a powerful truth and reality. He wanted me to know that all of those people would have died anyway on that day; it was their appointed time. They might have died of cancer, or in a car accident or died in their sleep, but they would have died. He just gathered them all together in the shuttle incident to serve a higher purpose reflecting human motives and other things attached to that happening. The circumstance of their departures sent out stronger waves in our world than had they died individually by other means. He was assuring me to trust him, that no one can take our life from him. Regardless of how good or bad things may look, we cannot trust what we see, but we can trust him. This brings us back to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
In this realm of duality, good looks good and evil looks evil, but that is just the nature of law. Law keeps the human nature structured and ordered to some degree. But the Tree of Life is merely hidden from us and behind every functioning of the other tree. What looks good can be good or evil. What looks evil could be good or evil. In other words, what we see isn’t always what is really working. When our consciousness is raised to God’s realm, heaven--even while we are alive right now, we can see everything as being good. All acts of evil or all acts of good are basically good, because they are God-sent to serve a purpose that will affect our future lives in ways we just cannot understand right now.
For the soul who represents a social monster, or for his victim, we don’t know the purpose. We don’t know the true content of each soul, or the nature, or spiritual level of that happening as God sees it and knows it. We surely cannot trust what we see as such, but our mind and senses will not entertain thoughts of higher happenings because they are not attune to them. These are high assessments, too high for human reasoning. But we can get comfort from Father-God to be assured with each specific situation that He is in control, that Divine love was always the purpose. And we must believe that God loves each life that is taken from us. I have seen His presence with children when they died, and he was not only with them, he was in them. For those who have lost a child, remember that God loved them first. He had a plan for them first. They are his children too, and not the grandchild. No, we are not alone when we pass, and we aren’t going far--just beyond our limited earthly sight.
Our attachment to this realm is understandable. God wanted us to live here or we would not be here. And, even though it is a temporary arrangement insofar as our corruptible bodies are concerned, it is not temporary in the scheme of things. Life here will get brighter; love will abound and abide. We are all in a cycle (out from him) of being perfected, learning to live without Him, so we can live with each other in Him. No more good or evil, just life, and more abundantly. This is possible through the beautiful habitation that the Holy Spirit has with us even now. As each man is awakened to the true world they live in--heaven, he will understand the chaos was just a design to bring about a higher order. Thankfully, what we see around us is only a product of a temporary darkened understanding. We can have our eyes open to the Eden available to us--thanks to Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit--right now. God’s order reigns. God rules in His heaven, and it is here!
