Excerpt from Eternity...The Wager
Earth’s fate hangs in the balance as humanity stands condemned in Heaven’s Supreme Court of high crimes against God, themselves and nature. The Accuser, architect of mankind’s fall from grace, leverages man’s sins to demand the immediate commencement of the Biblically forewarned “End of Days.”
A Brief History of Eternity lays the foundation for Eternity...The Wager by reaching back before the time itself to uncover pre-history. There we find the unimaginable Luciferian rebellion against God in Heaven itself. In response God offers His glorious albeit fallen angels the options of summary judgment or a Trial. A Trial that continues to this very hour and which will soon culminate in a Heavenly War spilling onto Earth...
What Kind of Savior Summary
The following excerpt is a climatic courtroom scenes from "Eternity...The Wager." A work of Biblical fact-tion, the author skillfully uses "biblical forensics" and "scriptural archeology" to assemble clues scattered throughout the Bible that provide the backstory to everything, truly making this the "Greatest Story Never Told."
The exchange entitled "What Kind of Savior" is offered here for several reasons. The first is to introduce the reality of a trial taking place in the Supreme Court of Creation that greatly involves mankind. Based in part on the passage beginning in Revelation 12:7, here we find God the Father as the Chief and Only Justice, God the Son as Heaven's Advocate and humanity's Counselor and Satan, the Devil as Accuser or Prosecutor.
Secondly, it's the authors intent to give place to a great question few are willing to admit they've asked and answered one way or another. By raising the unspoken objection of billions on Earth, the devil plays humanity's advocate, though for diabolical reasons of his own.
Lastly, it is our desire to give Christ the opportunity to address the issue of the goodness of God and His role as Savior.
What Kind of Savior .Excerpt from Eternity...The Wager
God As Satan’s Witness
Chapter 34
The Advocate’s Examination
“Then I saw that there was a way to Hell, even from
the gates of Heaven.” John Bunyan
“The Prosecution calls the Advocate to the stand!”
Heaven’s Counsel humbly enters the witness box. Turning to face the gallery He waits quietly to be sworn in.
Even the mightiest Archangel in Heaven feels the gravity of the moment. Never in all eternity had a Member of the Trinity been summoned to the stand.
A gleam in the Advocate’s eye eases Michael’s apprehension. “Do you affirm the testimony you’re about to give is the Truth, the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth?”
“I do.”
“Please be seated” invites the Archangel through the thinnest of grins. With a wink from the Advocate the bailiff assumes his position.
The Devil’s smile fools no one as slowly approaching he stalks the Witness.
“Please state your name and title for the Court.”
“I have a few.”
“Don’t we all? A brief rendition should suffice.”
“I am Yeshua Hamashia, Jesus the Christ. Son of God and Son of Man. The Bread of Heaven and Water of Life. I am the slain Lamb and conquering Lion of Judah...
I am Alpha and Omega. The Way, Truth and Life. I am the Resurrection, holding the keys of Hell and Death. Possessor of the key of David, I open what can’t be shut and shut what can’t be open...
I am He who has the seven Spirits of God, who holds the seven stars, walking among the seven golden lampstands. I am the Faithful and True Witness...
I am the Angel of the Lord and Ancient of Days. King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. I am Heaven’s Counselor and Mankind’s Advocate...
I am the Word made flesh and the fullness of the Godhead bodily...” I am God the Son. The Second Person of the Trinity, the Face of Omnity...
I am...”
“My witness” Satan interrupts.
“You asked for the short list” smiles the Defense.
“The short list? Right” the Prosecutor retorts smugly. “Let me thank You for agreeing to testify.”
“It’s not the first occasion you’ve had to examine Me” reminds the Advocate, referencing His extreme torture and crucifixion on Earth at Satan’s hands.
“Water under the bridge...” whispers the Prosecutor.
What’s In A Name...
“Are these titles uniquely Yours or are they held in common by the Trinity?”
“They are Mine.”
The Adversary nods. “But as the ‘fullness of the Godhead bodily’ and the ‘Face of Omnity’ You speak on behalf of the entire Trinity. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“During Your short soliloquy I couldn’t help but note a reoccurring phrase. ‘I am.’ Isn’t that God’s most consummate name?”
“Yes.”
“I Am...” the Devil muses. “So You’re the Divine present tense participial! A fact You like reminding us of. Preincarnate, You introduced Yourself to Moses by it before a burning bush. During Your Earthly ministry You repeatedly used it in preaching and even to miraculously escape being stoned by an angry mob of Jews. You used it again in Gethsemane, knocking the feet out from under a Roman cohort of hundreds of soldiers before Your arrest.”
“Your point?”
“My point, Counselor, is that I Am seems to be Your favorite nick name. Yet there’s one I Am I’ve never heard You use. I Am responsible!
Truth is, God’s more than just the great I Am. God’s the great ‘You are!’ As Omnity...Your a class all by Yourself!” Not just knowing, You Are all knowing! Not just powerful, You Are all powerful! Not just here or there, You Are everywhere at all times!
Again there’s one thing that apparently You Are not. You Are not to blame. Never, no how, no way! In fact, what You Are is the biggest bully on the block touting ‘I’m paper and you’re glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.‘ Who can question You without being labeled a heretic or Rebel and accused of treason? "
”Apparently anyone,” intervenes the Advocate staring holes in the Devil. You’ve been doing so for billions of years. You’ve put the question, ‘is God good?’ on lips and in hearts throughout creation. And not just in so many words” the Son of Man continues. “Since arranging humanity’s fall you’ve hurried and harassed man from one false paradise to another. All while whispering in their ears, ‘God’s to blame.’”
You harness every disappointment and heartache, every betrayal and act of violence to sow your theory of a distant and silent God, or even none at all. You drive them into deserts of selfishness, into wildernesses of entitlement. You hold out the carrot of unlimited personal freedom while alienating them from their friends and family, their conscience and Creator.
You keep individuals and society too busy scrambling from mirage to mirage to notice they’re running out of time.” You coach you should be as Gods while all the while inspiring even greater acts of godlessness. You tempt children, teens and adults. You break up marriages and families while breaking down social order. You topple governments, instigating war and atrocities against the weak and helpless.
And to top it all off You twist Omnity’s patience into evidence God doesn’t care or even exist.”
“Well its true isn’t it!” demands Satan. “As far as mankind’s concerned You don’t exist! How dare You claim to care in the face of the carnage you just described?”
What Kind Of Savior?
“Carnage you create” objects the Advocate.
“Carnage You allow! Even if creation buys Your innocent act what of Your failures to intercede? Your omission level’s off the charts. Ask a hundred thousand parents of children dying of cancer every year. Ask six thousand children a day left orphaned by AIDS. Ask a billion starving right now on Earth while we’re chatting in Heaven.
“Your Hypocrisy’s glaring!” denounces the Accuser. “You deliver Your famous Good Samaritan sermon and then refuse to end human suffering. Like the Priest and Levite it’s You who’s passed mankind by for millennia! You who’s leaves them wallowing in their pain day after day, passing the buck on to humanity to save themselves.”
God the Son objects, “You’re the one...”
“It’s my fault, it’s their fault! When Your kids are asleep and Your house is on fire who cares?” decries the Prosecutor. “For all Your fancy titles one of two things is happening here. Either You can’t save Earth or You won’t.”
“I’ve made a Way...”
“A Way?” interrupts the Devil with a laugh. “A Way few can find and even fewer follow! Ready? Here comes another of Your ‘I Am’s’. ‘Be ye perfect as I Am perfect...’ I’ve got a news flash Counselor, ‘nobody’s perfect!’ From the look of things, maybe not even You. It’d be funny if it weren’t so pathetic. You knew the end from the beginning. You knew salvation would leave most of humanity lost for eternity. We know because You said so. ‘Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.’
And it’s not just the wicked You threaten. Take Your Ten Virgins. Aren’t Virgins pure? All ten believe in You. All ten go out to meet You. All ten have lamps lighting up the darkness. And what’s their reward? You reject five for not having taken extra oil. What kind of Savior condemns half those He’s saving on a technicality?
And if that’s Your own church, good luck to the rest of humanity. Most can’t even find the gate. So much so You Yourself warn, ‘when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the Earth?’
Your own scriptures prophesy You’ll failure to save billions. All the gospels predict failure. All the epistles of Your apostles predict failure. Then there’s good old John’s Book of Revelation! Here we got Your favorite disciple describing the big finale in painstaking detail. And what does he reveal? Scorched Earth and blackened sky, poisoned water and seas of blood. And last but not least, over two thirds of mankind dead and dying! That’s more than four thousand million dead! All part of the hit parade of Your greatest failure of all!
And if I read my Bible right” Satan smirks turning to face the gallery, “the players for the last inning should be taking the field right about now...”
God’s Reply
Chapter 35
One And Only
God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain. C.S. Lewis
The hum of commotion from the gallery spikes into pandemonium over Satan’s railing indictments. Shouts ring out from celebrities among the faithful.
Peter and Paul the apostles bellow, denouncing the Devil’s slander. James roars, declaring fallen angels will tremble like spineless demons before the Judgment! Samson and David exchange blows with mighty angels who’s blasphemy’s crossed the line.
Moses and Elijah’s eyes flash fire as a whirlwind of righteous indignation grows, whipping around the Courtroom and the Third Heaven!
“Enough!” demands the Throne, flashing fire of it’s own. “Let the Advocate respond!”
“Yes Your Honor,” thanks the Defense. Heaven’s Counselor stands, a slight nod to the Prosecutor assuring He’ll not be interrupted.
“The Courtroom’s Yours Counselor.”
The Advocate takes a breath. “Let me begin by saying I appreciate the important questions being raised, if not the spirit in which they’re offered. As you either know or have forgotten, your minds were designed to thrive on inquiry. Your souls to crave understanding. Your spirits to rise to the heights.
We created your hearts to yearn for meaningful relationship with each other and your Creator. To the degree you’ve failed to do so I am... sorry.
The pertinent question being framed by the Prosecution is ‘how sorry?’ How much does God care? It’s a valid concern raised in various ways across Three Heavens.The Adversary acknowledges that I Am while accusing I Am not enough. As for Earth, he asserts God lack’s the power or concern to immediately and completely save mankind.
He’s greatly mistaken on both counts.
On Earth the Accuser’s taught billions to echo his refrain, ignoring any evidence to the contrary. While his is the popular opinion, some question it. One poster reads, “I asked Jesus how much He loved me and He said, ‘this much’ then stretched out His arms and died.”
During his examination the Prosecutor posed an important question. What kind of Savior... I’d like to clarify with a few questions of My own.
What kind of Savior generously shares His glory through creating billions of angels, providing them with unparalleled pleasures to enjoy eternally... and honors three among as Archangels, entrusting one of the three among them as the pinnacle of His creation?
What kind of Savior responds with infinite restraint while His authority’s usurped and love’s betrayed by the very one who should be most thankful... and exercises Divine patience in the face of this Evil One corrupting billions he was created to bless and serve?
What kind of Savior demonstrates unfathomable compassion to assure fallen angels their day in Court, a day lasting billions of years... and creates the First Heaven to reveal the true nature of the Rebellion?
What kind of Savior creates mankind to love so completely as to lay aside Omnity and be born humbly among them... and pays the price to heal the sick, the blind and lame while casting out demons and opening the floodgates of eternal life to thieves and prostitutes, addicts and ‘whosoever will?’
What kind of Savior endures torture, shame and crucifixion at the hand of humanity He’s come to save... and is both able and willing to become sin, paying the full penalty of eternal punishment for lost humanity?
What kind of Savior's resurrected from the dead, as the firstborn of many brothers, spending the next two millennia interceding for mankind who so often reject Him... and hears every cry of the oppressed, stores every tear, records every prayer while feeling their every pain?
What kind of Savior will soon put right the wrongs on Earth, rewarding true human kindness throughout Eternity?”
Pausing, the Lord of Glory takes a breath and slowly sits, weary of being misunderstood. “In the end the answer to the question what kind of Savior I Am is as simple as it is complex. I Am the One and Only!”
Wanted: Guest Psalmists What do you think? Do we need Modern Psalms to address the questions and issues of modern life? If you'd like to submit a psalm for consideration please contact Rob Pennington at Rob@GodBlog.net.
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