The Trial of Mankind

The Trial of Mankind - by Pastor Mike Taylor - http://pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-trial-of-mankind.html

 

"Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; WHICH THINGS THE ANGELS DESIRE TO LOOK INTO." (1st Peter 1:12)

 

Mankind is a mystery to the angels. God has charged them as ministering spirits to the heir of salvation. They are given the understanding that the heirs of God will judge them in the end of time.

 

"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? " (Hebrews 1:14)

 

We will instruct and judge angels, and that is why God created mankind in His own image, for the express purpose of being His family and judging in the world to come. It is something that one angel just could not handle, and rebelled against the purposes God laid out.

 

LUCIFER IS CAST OUT

 

Not being there, but imagining in my own mind, what must have gone through Lucifer's mind when God created man and gave him dominion over the whole earth. Lucifer was given the earth to administer for God and it is theorized that from Genesis 1 to verse 2 could have been a billion years, as God is outside of time and the planets could be that old. But here we have God giving what Lucifer must have imagined, an upstart called Adam priority over him. I mean, this was God's anointed Cherubim who was one of the ark angels that covered the mercy seat. Who was given an image that was glorious to behold. "What was God doing by giving my earth to a man"..Lucifer may have thought. Jealousy and pride made the anointed Cherubim rebel against the Creator of all of the universe, which included even, Lucifer.

 

The Prophet Isaiah introduces us to the first outbreak of sin in the universe when Lucifer, the most anointed of the angels, uttered the first of his five famous "I will's":

 

"For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." (Isaiah 14:13)

 

War broke out in the heavens, as Lucifer convinced 1/3 of the angelic host to follow him in rebellion.

 

For his sin of arrogance, God pronounced judgment on Lucifer, the most honored of His angels, and those rebellious angels who followed him;

 

"Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." (Isaiah 14:12-15)

 

I've often wondered, why those who were created by God Almighty, the legions of angels would follow another created being and join Satan, (which means adversary) in open rebellion. Did they not know WHO they were standing against? Did they not know that the God who created them, could not be over come by even their power?

 

What made them so crazy?  Perhaps they felt God was being unjust in His dealing with Lucifer and in so doing, were also guilty of sin and cast out.   

 

Or maybe they joined with Lucifer at the moment that God unveiled His plan to create the human race and make the angels subject to their judgment.  Maybe they were jealous.   

 

It is a unanswered question, as the Bible doesn't specifically say what was their reasoning and join Satan. Did they really think they could win against Almighty God, YHWH?

 

It is worth thinking about and considering, while mankind is a mystery to the righteous angels who did not rebel, the fallen angels understood mankind only too well. That's because we have something in common with these fallen angels. That commonality is called "Sin".

 

Sin is the great equalizer between even fallen angels and fallen mankind. From the context of the story of the fall of Satan, reading the five "I WILLS" give the impression that Satan was upset over God's decision to put man in charge of the earth. It was a bone of contention of who was going to rule, who was in charge. ..Mankind, by implication, is the reason that Lucifer felt betrayed and his pride caused his rebellion. Lucifer just could not handle that mankind, an inferior race of created beings, was going to be served by the angels in submission and then at the end of the age, be their judge. Now Satan has a deep hatred of mankind.

 

Thinking about this and trying to picture what Satan must have thought when given this plan of God, Lucifer just could not handle that plan of God and his pride got in the way of his obedience to God's ultimate plan. This is where the Five "I WILLS" began and Lucifer decided he would rise above even God.

 

DESCRIPTION OF WHAT WAS, SON OF THE MORNING

 

As mentioned, Lucifer was the anointed angel of God. He was the most blessed, the most beautiful, the most entertaining, and not so much a stretch of the imagination to say he was the most popular of all the angels. The prophet Ezekiel speaks of the beauty of Lucifer :

 

13 "Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee."(Ezekiel 28:13-15)

 

From the description, Lucifer was adorned with precious jewels, and must have been a player of music, or singing praise to God around His throne.

 

It also, isn't much of a stretch to wonder what the other angels in heaven that did not join the rebellion thought about the severity of the punishment.

 

The existence of humanity is often described by theologians as the 'trial of Satan'. Why a trial?  Because God is just.

 

Let us paint a picture of the scene of Satan being judged and awaiting the sentence that will finally be brought upon him.

 

Lucifer was highly favored before God, as he was the most beautiful, and God anointed him as a covering cherub, as verse 14 of Ezekiel 28 plainly says.

 

What was the rebellion that Lucifer pursued that brought judgment upon him?

 

Isaiah 14:14 defines that first sin as, "I will" -- the sin of pride. The trial is to prove what 'one little sin' can do -- the classic 'slippery slope' scenario.

 

This trial is really, on close examination of the age of human history from the perspective of God's angels who did not join in the rebellion, who have no knowledge of sin, or how it really works.

 

Let us examine the evidence in this trial of Satan before the heavenly angels, and mankind in general;

 

MANKIND AND SIN ARE PUT ON TRIAL

 

(First: Adam and Eve.)-God creates a perfect environment for two perfect people He created and give them dominion over the whole earth, with only ONE commandment. They were not to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve allowed Satan to deceive her, and the thought of being wise and knowing what God knows appealed to her vanity, so she ate, and was deceived. But Adam was not deceived and ate the fruit against the commandment of God. He knew that Eve would be condemned, so some say, out of love for her, he decided to join her. Obviously, he never envisioned what the penalty would be when he did so, as they were cast out of the Garden of Eden and were destined to die in the future from their sin. So man inherits a sin nature.

 

(Second piece of evidence)- Man is allowed to reign until the flood and do what was right in his own mind, or the so-called "Age of Conscience" Without direct interference by God, man was allowed to follow his sinful heart, whereas mankind became so sinful and corrupted, that God repents of even making mankind and decides to destroy mankind in a Great Flood. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and his family are saved in a wooden ark that God commanded him to build.

 

(Third piece of evidence)- God makes a covenant with the Age of the Patriarchs beginning with Abraham, then Isaac, Lot, etc. Each of them having spoken directly with God commit a sin against God. Having come from the Age of Innocence with only one commandment of not eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, to direct confrontation with God during the Age of the Patriarchs, God progresses to giving mankind His Ten Commandments (the Age of the Law)

 

None of these men ever kept what God gave as what He expects from mankind, and broke all of the Commandments of God handed down by God to Moses at Mt. Sinai. Each of them sinned against God's standard for living a righteous life, no matter what the circumstance. Remember, King David broke all ten of them.

 

(Fourth piece of evidence)- During the Age of the Law, during which time that man corrupted the Law of God and perverted is so by following pagan gods from Moses to the Prophets who warned of judgment for sinning against God's Law, that God decided to scrap the whole Age of the Law, as man could not keep it..and replaced it with the Age of Grace.

 

(Fifth piece of evidence)- God knew that mankind could not stand before Him by keeping the Law of God, as all have sinned:

 

23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:" (Romans 3:23-24)

 

Knowing this, God stepped out of the Glory of Heaven, shed His Divine nature and became a man, kept the law perfectly on our behalf, and paid the price for our sin, by dying in our place.

 

25, "[Jesus,] whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,

26, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." (Romans 3:25-26)

 

By this unselfish act of supreme love for His creation, God through Jesus (God in the flesh) laid down His life, to save ours, an act of supreme sacrifice to redeem the family of man, to become the FAMILY OF GOD. In doing so, Jesus gave all mankind the free offer of mercy and grace.

 

6 "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." (Romans 5:6-9)

 

MANY ARE CALLED BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN

 

But God knew that man's pride would not want to submit to God's offer of this grace and mercy. God knew that only a remnant down through the ages would accept this free offer, which is a gift that none of us can do anything to receive it, but by faith believing.

 

I can only imagine the shock that must have filled the angelic host who gasped in disbelief of the refusal of mankind to return to what was lost, and that is a relationship with God who created them and Paradise lost. The Angelic host see how "one little sin" in the Garden of Eden, has thus far brought mankind to the point it is in today. God has allowed mankind to earn the wages of his own willful pride and the sins he commits.

 

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

 

(Sixth piece of Evidence)- The Tribulation Period. The Age of Grace ends with Jesus coming to "snatch away" His chosen people, the Bride of Christ. This HARPAZO (the forceful snatching away by definition) spoke of by Paul the Apostle in several places and even found in the Old Testament in Hebrew, removes the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit, giving Satan and the sin of mankind to grow unabated and given free reign for seven horrifying years. The end result is the near complete destruction of all human life on this planet. As Jesus said:

 

"And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."(Matthew 24:22)

 

Jesus returns in wrath in the 19th Chapter of Revelation, and Satan is bound for a 1000 years, while the King of Kings reigns from Jerusalem.

 

" And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season." (Revelation 20:1-3)

 

IN this age of the Kingdom of God, man has no excuse. Jesus is right there in front of them. He is in Person, for all to see. Each man and woman is given the free will choice to accept Jesus as personal Savior, as the Saints of God, Kings and Priest to God have instructed them in the ways of righteousness and revealing the mercy and grace of God through Jesus, by even beginning Temple sacrifices during this time, to point to the only Savior of them also. Satan is restrained, lifespans increase like it was right after the Garden of Eden (up to a 1000 years), wars are banished, famine and poverty are but a memory, and the world is returned to the Eden-like state as it began...PERFECT.

 

(Seventh piece of Evidence)-  With God Himself on the Throne of human government, ruling with a rod of iron for a thousand years, Satan is loosed for 'a little season'.

 

"And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea." (Revelation 20:7-8)

 

I can't even begin to imagine that having perfect harmony of God's creation, God reigning on earth for the entire time, and returning the world to what it was intended to be, when Satan is loosed "for a season" his influence is able to raise an army to come against the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords Himself....To me, this is total madness to come against a Living God.

 

"For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law." (Romans 2:12)

 

7 "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (Revelation 20:7-10)

 

MANKIND IS JUDGED AND SENTENCED

 

The trial of mankind is over. Sin has been judged according to it's works, and all appeals have been exhausted. Sentence of Satan and the rest of mankind is pronounced and justice is about to be served:

 

"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them." (Revelation 20:10)

 

This is the SECOND resurrection. Unlike the first resurrection, it has only one phase.

 

11 "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."(Revelation 20:11-15)

 

The first resurrection had many phases, as Jesus was the beginning of that resurrection, and those raised at the end of the Tribulation will be the end of the 1st resurrection. Here, there is only one phase and it is the Great White Throne judgment of all who have ever lived and have died in their sins and not accepted the Free Gift of Eternal life found through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Man has been found to not be able to be trusted in his mortal state.

 

Even with God in the middle of them, man is prone to pride of what made Lucifer to fall. God will change all who belong to Him, into what the Church has been changed into....the image of Jesus Christ..

 

As the Apostle John wrote in explaining of what we will be, what mankind will be going into eternity...he wrote:

 

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

 

2, Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." (1st John 3:11-2)

 

We will be just like our Savior, Jesus Christ. In all points we will be just as He is, save His deity. We will have the mind of Christ, be immortal, and unable to sin ever again.

 

In the grand Plan of God, as revealed in the Holy Bible, everything has a purpose. There is no omission, there is no mistakes, or inconsistencies.

 

From Genesis to Revelation, a central theme is that sin is the cause of death. Sin is what condemned Lucifer and all who follow his deception and sent all of them into the Lake of Fire to be forever separated from God Almighty for all eternity. Sin will be eradicated from existence. And all who have rebelled against God and have not received Jesus will receive the ultimate judgment.

 

BEHOLD I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW

 

This is not the end of the story...judgment has been passed on all sinful mankind, the Anti-Christ, the False Prophet, Satan and his demon angels and all sinful mankind. Men, Satan, and his angels were created immortal, so they had to go somewhere. The Lake of Fire was created for sentencing Satan to outer darkness and was not designed for mankind, but man chose to follow Satan's deception, just as the fallen angels did, because of pride and desire for sinful living. God gives them what they want, as He is a just God who is completely fair. Each of these beings had free moral choice to choose God, or choose evil. Judgment is passed, and sentencing is carried out...the Case against mankind is closed with this last judgment...but wait, God is not done yet.

 

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." (Revelation 21:1-5)

 

Thus begins our Love and Devotion to God Almighty, as we bathe in His power and glory, never to see evil again, to ever shed a tear, or to depart from being obedient to God for all eternity. Reminds, me of a passage of scripture that as a finite, limited, and mortal man cannot fully grasp in this life what is coming for all who put their faith and trust in the Only Begotten Son of God for the remission of sins, and promise of future glorification:

 

"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. " (1st Corinthians 2:9)

 

TO ALL WHO WILL....COME!

 

But I close up this message with what is written at the end of the last book of the Bible. The Spirit and Bride beckon to all who will come to this place called eternity with God Almighty and become part of the Family of God..

 

"17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17)

 

The Bride of Christ, whose names have been written down before the beginning of time, before the foundation of the world was laid, have had their names written in the Lamb's book of Life, as God foreknew who would be His. The passage beckons to all who will hear "let him who has an ear, let them hear what the Spirit says to the Churches,"...the Bride and the Spirit beckons all who will heed the call to come join them, in this glorious period of end of the Age of Mankind into eternity...

 

16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16-18)

9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed."(Romans 10:9-11)

 

CASE CLOSED.

 

This is Pastor Mike Taylor, praying you find the door that is Jesus Christ, my Lord. If you should need prayer, counseling, or just a listening ear, email me at realteam1999@sbcglobal.net, or visit me online for more Biblical messages from the Word of God, at www.pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com, God bless you all

 

 

TILL WE MEET AT JESUS FEET

 

 

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