Episode Transcript
Are you ready to embark on a thought provoking journey of discovery? Curious to explore an alternative narrative that challenges the theory of evolution? What impact has the war in heaven had on our planet? And what are the implications for humanity? What can we learn from this epic battle that is unfolding between good and evil? Here is your opportunity to unlock a treasure trove of spiritual insights from the Bible that will answer these and many other pressing questions, illuminating the path to eternal life, which lies just a choice away. Here is Bill Gates presenting the war in heaven. How many people like to do jigsaw puzzles? I see a few hands going up.
Well, here's a beauty. 18,000 pieces full of beautiful animals. And so you decide to buy it.
The salesman packs it up and you take it home. But when you get home, you're in for a surprise. When you unpack it, you discover that the big picture on the front of the box is missing.
And without the big picture, how would you know where to put the 18,000 pieces of the jigsaw puzzle? And so it is when we toss out a piece of the spiritual jigsaw puzzle, maybe one entitled the state of the Dead or the second coming of Jesus. Most of the public, however, haven't got any idea of where these topics fit into the overall big spiritual picture. Once a person realises that two spiritual forces are fighting for control of this planet and that we would be wise to choose which side we're going to be on, then this subject becomes extremely important and relevant.
The whole point of these next nine presentations is that people need to see that there's a fabulous prize to be received if they choose the right side, but a terrible consequence if they decide to continue on the wrong side. At the moment, most of them do not know this, because every funeral service they attend, the dead, whether good or bad, are always automatically assigned to heaven. And that is wrong.
Bible doesn't teach that knowledge is power, biblical knowledge is power. And so today we will look at remedying this potential problem of ignorance on the subject by creating a visual overview of the whole great controversy between God and Satan, the two spiritual forces fighting for control of this planet. This will provide us with a solid foundation for all the messages that follow.
And this will also enable people to discover that entry into heaven is not automatic. We are given the freedom to choose whether we even want to go to heaven or simply just live our existence here on this planet and then cease to exist after 70 or 80 years in this war, there is no neutral ground, no fence to sit on. Now the story starts believe it or not, in heaven.
The Bible teaches that there are three heavens. Firstly, there is the atmospheric heaven, where the birds fly. Then secondly, there's the starry heaven, where the stars and galaxies exist.
When the russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was asked, what did he see when he left Earth's atmosphere on the twelveth of April, 1961, he said, I don't see God here. As a communist. You would expect him to say that, wouldn't you? But the poor guy, he'd only just left the first heaven by doing one orbit of planet Earth.
Yuri did not understand that God is not in the first heaven. God is not in the second heaven because two corinthians twelve, verse two, tells us that there is a third heaven called paradise, and that is where God dwells. So part one of the big picture today reveals that there was war in this third heaven.
So what was this war in heaven all about? And how does it impact on us humans? Well, there are two reasons. Most of us know about one, but there are two. This is important because this war is still continuing on earth, and it's about to come to a world shattering end.
We'll let the Bible tell us what the first reason for the war was about. And you'll notice from Isaiah 14, verses twelve to 15, Lucifer, how art thou fallen from heaven? O Lucifer, son of the morning, how art thou cut down to the ground which didst weaken the nations? Where thou hast said, in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high. So having been kicked out of heaven, God's new enemy, Lucifer, wants to get back there, and he is conducting his war here on earth with that objective in mind.
And so there we have the first reason. We have a perfectly created angel using his God given powers of free speech and decision making. But misusing his powers of decision making to covet God's position, he decided that he wanted to be like God and receive worship that belongs only to God.
And this accounts for the war between the two supernatural beings. But to get the second reason for Satan's rebellion, we need to get it from a gift that God promised he would provide to his church in the last days of earth's history. We find this in Joel two, verse 28.
And it says, and it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions, and also upon the handmaids, upon the servants, and upon the handmaids. In those days will I pour out my spirit. That's verse 29 and verse 31.
The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. This provides us with the context for receiving that gift. Before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.
It's a great day for the saints. It's a terrible day for the lost. And if you believe, as I do, that the times in which we live demonstrate that we're living in the last days of earth's history, then you and I should expect to see this genuine gift of prophecy in existence.
Now, its function is to throw light on the hard passages of the Bible. The doctrines come from the Bible. I want to make that clear.
But our understanding of those doctrines is enhanced when we use the spiritual gift that God said he would provide. It is a valuable gift, for it performs the same function as a torch does when you are in a dark cave. And we read of this here in two Peter 119.
Pay close attention to what the prophets wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place. And we have evidence of women being used here. Deborah Holder, the daughters of Philip, they were all given the gift of prophecy.
And so this modern day gift of prophecy was offered by God, firstly to two men, Hazen Foss and William Foy. Hazen Foss and William Foy were reluctant to share what God showed them. And so God turned to a very young woman called Ellen G.
White. But notice that the Bible said that several people will receive this gift. So there must be a further fulfilment of this prophecy in the days ahead.
But when it happens, the person claiming to have received the gift must pass the nine biblical tests. Otherwise, they are false prophets. And Ellen White, according to the medical people of her day, passed all nine tests.
Notice now that the Smithsonian Institute. Notice what they say about this lady. The Smithsonian Institute used algorithms, and they scanned the Wikipedia articles and found that on religious matters, white was the most translated female author in the history of religious literature.
In fact, her writings exceed the entire writings of William Shakespeare. That's amazing. As I said a moment ago, if we believe we're living in the last days of earth's history, then we must expect to have God's special gift of prophecy today.
But so many people seek their information from the Internet, which has a mixture of truths and lies and is not inspired. They would be far better to go to the inspired sources of God for the true information. Because Jesus also warned us against false prophets.
And if he warned us against false prophets, the implication is that there must also be true prophets. Our next slide repeats an important statement. Notice what it says.
The doctrines come from where the Holy Bible, the understanding of the Bible is enhanced when we use the gift of prophecy that God so freely provided, so we should value it as a lamp that lightens the dark and difficult passages of scripture. And this is where we will find the second reason for the war in heaven. And I'm going to quote now from a book called Patriarchs and Prophets, page 67 and 68.
And this is part of the spirit of prophecy collection. But the plan of salvation had a yet broader and deeper purpose than the salvation of men. It was not for this alone that Christ came to the earth.
It was not merely that the inhabitants of this little world might regard the law of God as it should be regarded, but it was to vindicate the character of God before the universe. In attacking the law, he that is Lucifer aimed to overthrow the authority of its author. In the controversy, he began to insinuate doubts concerning the laws that governed heavenly beings, intimating that though laws might be necessary for the inhabitants of the worlds, angels, being much more exalted, needed no such restraint, for their own wisdom was a sufficient guide.
There is the second reason for the war in heaven that created beings did not need God's objective standard of right and wrong. This law that governed the universe epitomised the law of love. Yet Lucifer was in effect saying that angels do not need God's law of love because they are angels.
And this became a direct challenge to God's authority, his character, and his government. God pleaded with Lucifer to see the error of his thinking, but to no avail. As a result, there was war in heaven and Lucifer, now known as Satan.
And one third of the angels were cast out of heaven to planet earth. But this left two thirds of the angels in heaven with an unanswered question about the law that governs God's universe, the law of love, and which Satan had challenged. But God already had a plan to deal with this issue.
But it required time for all of the created beings in the universe to witness the outcome of following Satan's subjective ideas instead of God's objective law. This, then, is a vital part of the plan of salvation, vindicating God's government, his character, his objective law, so that God and his law will never be challenged again. But Satan went one step further when he said to God that mankind would be expected to keep God's law on earth and would not be able to do that.
So the second part of the plan would be to save the willing members of the human race on earth from sin, which brings eternal death. Then have the saved ones love God so much that they actually delight to keep God's law, the very law that Satan said was not necessary and in any event could not be kept by man. Let us notice something about that law, shall we? Patriarchs and prophets, page 67 and 68.
Angels, being more exalted, needed no such restraint, for their own wisdom was a sufficient God. What a challenge. And it says here in the Bible, ecclesiastes 1213 and 14.
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God, that means reverence, or revere God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole duty of man.
For God shall bring every work into judgement with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. Ecclesiastes twelve, verses 13 and 14. And we have another text here from Jeremiah, chapter seven, verse 21 to 24.
To love God is to obey God. And when this obedience occurs from a motive of love, it proves that Satan was wrong and that God was right. Now, what are these ten commandments? The ten commandments express God's law of love.
That is because if you love someone, you won't kill them or steal from them, et cetera. Nor will you bow down and worship idols or take the name of God and use his name vainly if you love God. These God given laws are objective in nature and are not subject to negotiation or change by Satan or mankind.
Hence, when religious people go around killing other people not of their faith, and claim that God approves of their actions, they are deluded and away with the fairies. For such actions are not loving your neighbour. And they are breaking the 6th commandment which says, thou shalt not murder.
These ten commandments preexisted the arrival of the Christians and the Muslims. They are not for Christians or Muslims or anyone else for that matter to change. They are there for all to obey for the good of the world's nations and peoples.
Obeying the first four commandments is how we show our love for God. Let's notice what those first four commandments say. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
Obeying the last six commandments is how we show our love for our neighbour. Honour thy father and thy mother. Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not be a false witness.
Thou shalt not covet. But Satan challenged this law of love that governed the universe. And after Lucifer, now called Satan, and his evil angels, were cast out of heaven, the battle shifted from heaven to planet earth.
God had built a beautiful planet, as we shall see. And he put Adam and Eve into a beautiful garden with particular instructions. Genesis two, verses 16 and 17 tells us, and the Lord God commanded the man, you are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you shall surely die.
To understand what God was doing here, let us look at a comment from the spirit of prophecy, writings, patcharchs and prophets, page 53. They could obey and live, or disobey and perish. God had made them the recipients of rich blessings.
But should they disregard his will, he who spared not the angels that sinned, could not spare them transgression, would forfeit his gifts and bring upon them misery and ruin. So God isn't going to banish angels out of heaven for disobedience and then suddenly have a change of heart with humans and tolerate their disobedience. And as it says here on this screen, Isaiah 46, verses nine and ten, remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is none else.
I am God, and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times, the things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. So God says what he means, and he means what he says.
But Eve did what God told her not to do. She went to the only tree that God told them not to go to, and the rest is history. Satan tempted her to disobey, and then Eve got her husband to eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree.
And so it's at this point that Satan became the ruler of this world. Want you to notice what Jesus said in these two Bible texts. The first one, John 14, verse 30.
I will no longer talk much with you, for the prince of this world is coming, and he has nothing in me. That was Jesus talking. So in Genesis 128 and Genesis three, verses four to six, how did Satan become the prince of this world? Well, God made Adam and Eve rulers over this world.
The word dominion means rulership. Satan usurped that position when he deceived them. By the way, the issue was not the fruit.
The issue was disobedience. Versus obedience. And this started the battle between good and evil here on planet earth.
Now I want you to notice this chart here between good and evil. Take the o out of good and what have you got? You've got God put a d in front of evil and what have you got? You've got the devil. God is the author of all that is good.
The devil is the author of all that is evil. Let us notice something important. If God declares that something is morally wrong, then it can never be legally right.
And this is something that modern day legislators around the world seem to be overlooking as they seek to pass laws that are contrary to God's eternal laws. Remember, if God declares that something is morally wrong, then it can never be legally right. You see, bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny.
As a result, some of society's legislation is contrary to what God says is good for a nation and for individuals. And if you take the example of America and England, when those countries were strong in the protestant faith, they were prosperous and blessed. And so God says it is good to discriminate between what is morally right and what is morally wrong, as defined objectively by the supreme God of the universe himself in his law of love called the ten Commandments.
But Eve did not know right from wrong. And therefore when Eve disobeyed God, this exposed them to a knowledge of good and evil. Whereas if they had obeyed God, they would never have known what evil was.
Obedience can start from a sense of duty, as it did in my case. But ultimately obedience should occur because of an ever growing love for God. And the important point about this law is that God's ten Commandment law is what he uses in the judgement to determine amongst the christians as to who were real christians and who were phonies.
As the spirit of prophecy says Marinatha. Page 292, October 11. The judgement scene will take place in the presence of all the worlds.
For in this judgement the government of God will be vindicated. So there's to be a judgement day. And obedience, if rendered from love and kept on earth by God's followers, vindicates God against the unjust charges made in heaven by Lucifer.
How great to know that God and his followers come out fully vindicated. It has taken 6000 years so far, but it is soon to come to its mighty conclusion. And what were those charges again? Story of redemption, page one eight.
That law was a restriction of their liberty and that to abolish law was one great object of his standing, as he did, and the he there being a reference to Satan and the sign to the times, July 10, 1901 those who live the life of a Christian are battling against the devil's lie that man cannot keep God's law, and so the plan of salvation cannot be finished until the devil's lie is exposed and proven to be false. Why? Because God's character, his law, and God's government, designed for the good of the entire universe, has been challenged. So what is the character of God like? Well, Exodus 30 319 tells us then, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.
So at this point you might be thinking, how can God be good when he allows innocent children to suffer, right? At this point let me say that you're blaming the wrong supernatural being for the trials and tribulations that are on this planet. This evil being known as Lucifer in heaven and Satan here on earth is the one who is causing mankind's sufferings, not God. Please note, all that is good comes from God.
But I can imagine people saying, no, that cannot be true. Why should 185,000 members of the midianite army be killed by one of God's angels overnight? That's not good. When God decides that someone has presumed on his mercy or has attacked God's people, then in the name of God's justice, God has every right to remove the problem.
In this way, God is seen to be protecting those who are trying to please him, and that is good. As I said a moment ago, all that is bad and unjust comes from Satan. Yet he has got people blaming God when things go wrong.
So it is in Satan's interest to keep doing bad things, especially as God gets the blame. Even insurance companies refuse to pay out on so called acts of God. They do not realise that Satan has studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature.
He lived with God for a long, long time. We don't know how long. And because he understands the secrets of the laboratories of nature, he is the cause of much mayhem.
So let us look at a partial summary. So far. We'll notice here the two reasons for God's plan of salvation.
Saving God's government, his law and his character for eternity. Saving humans from the penalty, the power and the presence of sin. These are the two parts of God's plan to deal with sin, suffering, pain, death and the challenges to his law, his government and his character.
Having identified the two reasons for the plan of salvation, our next slide now makes some sense. This is a quotation from one corinthians, chapter four, verse nine. And it says, for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels and to men.
The unfolen angels in heaven are watching to see if God is right or whether their former leader, Lucifer, is right. So we are indeed a spectacle to the world and to the unfolen angels. Perhaps that is a new thought.
But what a privilege. The keeping of God's law is not something we do to appease an angry God. It is motivated by love for him and comes naturally after God changes our desires.
After all, God did say he would write his law on our hearts, as our next Bible verse says. And this comes from Hebrews chapter eight, verse ten. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.
Hebrews 810. So if you want to be one of God's people, let him write his law on your heart. This new Testament reading mentions two parties, the house of Israel and the Lord.
So who is the house of Israel? Well, Galatians tells us that in Galatians three, verse 29. And it says, if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 329.
So, as you can see, God has transferred these promises from the literal nation of Israel to spiritual Israel, as defined in Galatians 329. This is because the literal nation of Israel rejected Christ as the promised messiah. When God was challenged in the courts of heaven by Lucifer, God already had a plan to save the universe by getting rid of sin and rebellion once and for all.
But there are other issues at stake here. What are these issues? Well, from God's point of view, who is going to govern planet earth, the creator God who made it, or Satan who wants it? Secondly, how could God show to the universe that there is a price to be paid for breaking God's law of love, and yet at the same time show himself to be merciful and just? We call it the plan of salvation designed in heaven before any human being had sinned. But a holy God cannot come near sinners, for sinners would perish at his presence.
So God came into a human body, and that body was called Jesus, thus concealing his divinity. He came to show us God's true character, which is a character of mercy and justice. Justice demanded the sinner's life for breaking God's law.
But the other side of God's character, which is mercy, said, I will pay that price for my beloved creatures on earth. What love. And so justice and mercy were sweetly blended together.
But that begs the question, what does God say is sin? This is quite a different question from what men say is sin. What does God say is sin? Well, the Bible tells us the answer to that question, and we have about five verses of scripture. The first one, by the law, is the knowledge of sin.
From Romans 415. For where no law is, there is no transgression. Romans 513.
Sin is not imputed when there is no law. And romans seven, verse seven. I had not known sin except the law had said, thou shalt not covet.
The only law that talks about coveting is the 10th of the ten Commandments. And so God is saying that sin is the breaking of God's ten commandments. Why then, is there so much confusion about the role of the law of God, especially as our next slide states, and this is coming from one corinthians 1433.
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. The Bible messages of salvation bring peace to those who accept it, but turmoil to those who reject it. But the confusion is caused by the fact that many christians, they have not been taught that God has more than one law.
There was the law of God given to Moses and written on parchment, that's called the mosaic law or the ceremonial law. And there was the law of God called the ten Commandments, written on tables of stone. We have a contrast here.
Notice it if you can. The law of God written by God on tablets of stone. But the law of Moses was written by Moses in a book.
The law of God was put inside the ark of the covenant, but the law of Moses was put beside the ark, on the side of the ark. The law of God is a moral law. The law of Moses was a ceremonial law.
The law of God was exalted by Christ and has not been abolished. But the law of Moses was abolished by Christ at the cross. The law of God is spiritual.
The law of Moses is fleshly. The law of God was there before sin, and the law of Moses has been added because of sin. The law of God is a law of liberty and is not burdensome.
But the law of Moses is a condemning law and a heavy yoke. The law of God is perfect, but the law of Moses was imperfect, and so the law of God, being the ten Commandments, is still binding, for it tells us what is sin. But the function of the ceremonial law of Moses was to teach the Old Testament believers about a coming messiah.
Thus, when the real Messiah actually came and died for their sins, the ceremonial law of Moses was no longer needed and was done away with, as the next Bible text says. Here is the first reference to a law being nailed to the cross, and this comes from ephesians 215. Ephesians 215, having abolished the law contained in ordinances, and that word ordinances in the dictionary means ceremonies and rites.
And two, colossians 214 says, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances, nailing it to his cross. These two references have to be referring to the law of Moses and not the ten Commandments. Excuse me, because there are no ceremonies or rites in the ten Commandments, but there were plenty of ceremonies and rites in the law of Moses.
The second area of confusion is caused by the fact that many christian people do not seem to understand that God wants to save us from three areas of sin, not one. Our next slide makes this very clear. The first reference, ephesians two, verse eight, you have been saved.
One, Corinthians 118 says, us who are being saved, and romans five, verse nine says, you shall be saved. So there are three dimensions to the salvation process. God wants to save us from the penalty of sin, and that only takes a moment to be saved from that when you accept Jesus Christ's substitutionary death on your behalf.
Secondly, we are to be saved from the power of sin, and it takes a lifetime to be saved from that. And thirdly, we are to be saved from the presence of sin, and that only takes a moment in the twinkling of an eye, to be saved from that when Jesus returns the second time. Concerning the first part, which is being saved from the penalty of sin, we can only be saved from that when we accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, for he is the only human who ever lived who never sinned.
This is what is called a ransom, where an innocent party pays the price for the guilty one. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is that ransom. But to get the benefit of his supreme sacrifice, we all have to acknowledge that we are sinners by virtue of breaking God's law of love.
Then be willing to repent of those sins and God will accept you. You don't have to work. You cannot work your acceptance from God.
It's a free gift. And then the record of sins in the books of heaven has the word pardon placed beside every one of your sins. When you do that, you have been saved from the penalty of sin.
And it only takes a moment, the moment you humble yourself, acknowledge that you're a sinner and therefore in need of salvation. That then is the first part of a human being saved. The second part is this one, corinthians 118 being saved from the power of sin.
I mentioned that this salvation process takes a lifetime of seeking, with God's help, to become an obedient saint by obeying God's law, which he said he would write on the hearts of his people. Now for those who think this is unnecessary, just notice the next few verses. We have a quotation here, and it comes from Hebrews 1214.
Hebrews twelve, verse 14 follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. So this is confirming that we need to be saved from the power of sin in addition to being saved from the penalty of sin. Jesus said that those who go through the pearly gates of heaven are commandment keepers, not commandment breakers.
And the second quotation, revelation 20 214, confirms that blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city. So Jesus measures our relationship with him by our obedience to God's commandments. And you'll see this shortly.
After all Jesus did say in John 15, verse 14, a very powerful statement. John 15, verse 14 says, you are my friends if you do whatever I command you. And because the law of God is the law of love, then Romans 1310 sums it up very well.
Romans 13, verse ten, love does no harm to a neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law. So when a Christian says that God's ten commandment law was nailed to the cross, and therefore I do not need to keep God's law, they are so wrong and they are playing right into the hands of Satan.
They should be saying that it was the law of Moses that was nailed to the cross, not God's ten commandment law. And of course, this is just what Satan wants. And Satan doesn't want you knowing about this, nor does he want you keeping the very law of God that he is opposed to.
As the next two slides reveal, we had this before the story of redemption, page 18 from the spirit of prophecy collection, that law was a restriction of their liberty, and that to abolish law was one great object of his standing, as Satan did. And the signs of the times, July 10, 1901. Those who live the life of a Christian are battling against the devil's lie that man cannot keep God's law.
And yet we've got christians who will claim the promises of Philippians 413 which says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. But the implication then is, except keep the law of God. Well, that's just not being true to God.
And so the plan of salvation cannot be finished until these two false claims are demonstrated to be wrong, that angels do not need God's objective law of love and that man cannot keep that law for the good of the universe. God needs his people to love him and keep his commandments. James chapter two states that a faith that obeys God in response to God's love means that obedience is a legitimate test of discipleship.
It is not salvation by works. And on judgement day, God looks for these evidences from those who claim to be his children. After all, we certainly don't want to end up missing out on eternal life, as some christians will, as our next two Bible texts show.
And have a look at this. Matthew seven, verse 22. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, and in your name have cast out devils, and in your name done many wonderful works? And verse 23 and then will I profess unto them, I never knew you depart from me, you that work iniquity.
So how can we know that we are in him? Meaning in Christ? How can we know that this Bible text answers the question for us. This comes from first John, chapter two, verses three to five. Notice it very, very carefully.
And hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. He that says I know him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoso keepeth his word in him. Verily is the love of God perfected.
Hereby know we that we are in him. So that's how you can know that we are in Christ. I hope we've grasped the importance of that Bible text.
Claiming to be a Christian and doing wonderful things in the name of God, yet disobeying the very law he came to help you keep shuts you out of heaven. Why? Because instead of having faith, you actually have presumption. As ecclesiastes 1213 says, fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
This is how God tests whether or not we have a genuine relationship with him and with Jesus. And psalm 19, verse eleven says, and in keeping them there is what great reward. Now, don't you think the world would be a better place if we went back to keeping God's law and had it taught in our homes, our schools, and in the churches.
Sadly, it is the mainstream churches that seem to have abandoned God's law. And the secular world is quite happy with not having to worry about God's law that restrains their sinful passions. God's objective Ten Commandment law, which defines sin for us, is the law that Satan challenged in heaven, and he is still attacking it here on earth.
So how will God be vindicated against the unjust charges of the devil? Well, the answer is simple. Satan accused God and challenged God regarding his law of love in a perfect place and in the full, visible presence of a perfect and holy creator God, and in the full, visible presence of perfect angels, yet having the ability to think they weren't not robots. Where, here's where the vindication comes from.
We who have never seen God, we who live in an imperfect place and are constantly tempted by Satan to break God's law, still choose to love God and obey that holy law, not to be justified. The blood of Jesus Christ does that, but in order to be sanctified and turned into holy people by none other than God himself. And this proves the devil wrong, satisfies the unfollowen angels in heaven, and thus vindicates God.
That war that Satan is waging heated up big time in the early 1960s. Those of us who were alive back then know what I'm talking about. Around the 1960s, the forces of evil succeeded in having God's objective standard of right and wrong tossed out of public life.
As a result, God's ten Commandments are no longer taught as a public and religious expectation in homes, churches, or schools. Satan is succeeding so far with his ongoing challenge to God's law, and in its place, he has arranged to have people decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong. This is called subjective law, means different things to different people.
The sad thing, however, is this. The very law that provides firm social boundaries, the Ten Commandment law, is being taken away from prominent government sites and placed in obscure private places. Notice this example from Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court recently ordered the Ten Commandments monuments must be removed from the state capitol, saying it violates the constitution, which bans using public property for the benefit of religion. Those who have been born after the early 1960s have no concept of the better life that existed before then. Sure, there were wars, sure, there was crime, but most of the people had a basic understanding of what was decent, right, proper, and moral when they followed God's law of love.
To illustrate, in my country between 1940 and 1960, it would be very rare to read in the newspapers of a murder. There might be one or two a year at the most in the whole country of New Zealand. And when it happened, it was front page news.
Whereas now, 55 to 60 years after the new wave of subject of laws swept the world, murders happen nearly every day. Just in Sydney, Australia, where I live now, doesn't make front page news. That's just common practise now.
And so, sadly, the individual who follows the subjective laws of his own making no longer gets the feelings of guilt that he used to get when we followed God's law of love. And as a result, the new subjective laws is presented by the forces of evil as progress and enlightenment. And it is nothing of the kind.
It represents moral degradation and is a steady march to the total collapse of objective morality and good government on planet earth. What we're seeing today is the fruitage and outworking of Satan's claims in heaven that his subjective laws are better than God's objective laws. Everyone does their own thing and as a result, the world is getting into a big mess.
But God has the last say on this, as he says here in this Bible text. Isaiah, chapter five, verse 20. Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil.
Here then, is the origin of all evil, sickness, suffering, pain and death. It is Satan who is the instigator of all that is bad, not God. But God gets the blame.
And so God's character of love, mercy and justice has been trampled in the dust by his enemy, Satan, who seeks to be the God of this planet. Now remember, we are looking at the big spiritual picture so that when we take the individual pieces of the spiritual jigsaw puzzle, we can then see where the pieces fit into God's brilliant plan of salvation. But more importantly, our Bible students will see and understand it, too.
And over the next eight presentations, I'll show you right from the beginning of earth's history, right to God ending up with a clean universe. How all the parts fit in. So let us now do two summaries before proceeding to the next part of this message.
The first summary covers the main events so far between God and Satan. There was war in heaven between God and Satan, who was a perfect being until he chose to rebel. Number two, God kicked Satan out of heaven along with a third of the angels who took Satan's side.
Number three, they live here on earth in the invisible and spirit realm. Number four, these evil spirits try and tempt us to break God's holy law of love so that Satan's unjust charges made in heaven will seem to be right. Number five, Satan tempts mankind to sin and succeeds and therefore takes over as the prince of this world.
Number six, mankind now has no hope of living with God forever and ever. Number seven, enter Jesus, who pays the price for mankind's sins and thus gives mankind a second chance to live forever and ever. The second summary outlines the twofold goal of the plan of salvation.
The first part of the plan has God saving the willing members of the human race from the penalty, the power, and the presence of sin. The second part has God empowering the justified saints to obey God's ten commandments, thus vindicating God's authority, his character and law from the unjust charges of his enemy, the devil. You'll notice on the slide that it's the saved ones who vindicate God, which allows God to destroy all evil, including the devil.
And these saved ones do it from a motive of love for God. The first three chapters of Genesis, which is the first book of the Holy Bible, tells us about God making a perfect and beautiful world. He did this in seven literal 24 hours days, and this is where we get our seven day week of 724 hours periods of time from.
The last three chapters of the Bible, called the Book of Revelation, tells us about God remaking a perfect and beautiful world again, and he wants every one of us in that beautiful new world. In between those books is the whole drama of the ages, spelt out for any who care to read it. But today you might be thinking, what's in it for me now? For those who want to be on God's side, you can have an inner peace today that money cannot buy.
I've experienced it. It is fabulous. And you can be freed from guilt and shame for your past sins.
Jesus will do that for us. He also offers us a chance to rule with him again as a king in the coming kingdom of glory. Hence, you will receive a crown, such as I've shown by way of example.
But God is the only one who can offer us that. But he cannot let us join him in his kingdom of glory yet until he is satisfied that nobody will ever question him or his law of love again. So God invites us to join his kingdom of grace here on earth, and then he tests us to see if we can live and abide by God's objective law on earth, just as he tested Adam and Eve.
For that objective law of love is the law that he uses in heaven. And if we can obey from a motive of love while subject to temptations in the school of hard knocks here on earth, we will certainly be happy to do that in God's kingdom of glory, nor can he give it to us yet until he has destroyed his enemy, Satan and all who choose to rebel against God. That day is coming.
But if God wants a permanent solution to the sin problem, he does have to wait until all created beings can see that God's objective laws are far superior to Satan's subjective laws as practised now by mankind. And it will take more time yet for Satan's subjective laws to reach their ultimate depths of degradation, thus ensuring that no one will ever want Satan's subjective laws again. But today you might be thinking, what if I do not want to acknowledge my sins and accept Jesus as my personal saviour? That decision will cost you dearly, for God will respect your decision, and this is what will happen.
Jeremiah 25, verse 33 and the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth. Thus the people who refuse to accept God's plan of salvation remain either as corpses on the ground or remain in the grave at the second coming of Jesus, until God returns to make this planet his capital of the universe. And that happens a thousand years after the second coming of Christ.
Then the wicked are resurrected to acknowledge that God was just in leaving them out of heaven, for God was simply honouring their decision to reject salvation, after which they are destroyed and cease to exist forever. But the public, by and large, do not know about this aspect of the big picture. Instead, they are taught to believe that entry into heaven is automatic when it is not.
And once the evil and rebellious ones have been dealt with, initially at the second coming of Jesus, and then again a thousand years later when they have to acknowledge the justice of God. God then makes the earth all beautiful again. For the benefit of the saints.
There will be no weeds, no death, no sickness, no suffering, no pain or crime ever again. Instead, everything will be perfect because God's enemy will have been destroyed. What we've done so far is looked at the background of the war between God and Satan, from the time when war broke out in heaven until Satan was cast down to planet Earth, and we drew partial attention to some aspects of how that war is being played out here on earth today.
So how does this battle between good and evil, between God and the devil, continue on in planet earth? We'll get the answer to that question in our next presentation. You've been listening to spiritual treasure chest with Bill Gates, brought to you by 3ABN Australia radio. For more resources like this, visit the YouTube page Bill Gates spiritual treasure chest.
