Earth A Testing Ground?

Is the earth just a testing ground for humans? That is what one man who calls himself a pastor would have us believe.

I am not going to post the links to the source article, only because it is riddled with pop-up ads and at least one virus that attempts to convince you your computer has a virus and then get you to call an 800 number for tech support. (Don't worry, the notice is a fake and the so-called help desk will actually put a virus on your computer to hold it hostage until you fork over money. This well-known scam has been around for at least a decade. Helpful note if this ever happens to you: That notice will lock the browser screen so you cannot do anything. Press Ctrl-Alt-Del together and then open the Task Manager. Use the Task Manager to kill the browser instance.)

That said, as near as I can tell, Rick Warren from Saddleback Church poses the questions, "Have you ever wondered why God didn't just take you to Heaven when He created you? Why did He put you on Earth? You're only here for 100 years at the most, and you're going to live for eternity in Heaven or Hell. Why didn't God just take everybody to Heaven?" His conclusion is that we need to learn "God's 'giant lesson in love' so we can be ready for heaven." Yet another overly simplistic answer to a question that glosses over (doesn't even attempt to raise) the next logical question. To me, that question would be, "Wait a minute, he didn’t make the angels go through a test before putting them directly in heaven, why is God being unfair to us?” Or how about this question, “The angels didn’t have to contend with being imperfect, why do I have to prove something as an imperfect man that is sinful in nature?” That also is completely unfair.

His perception is based on the false belief that all good people go to heaven. As I’ve reasoned here before, that is not only unscriptural but doesn’t make sense. So why did God put mankind on earth? The claim that God did so to test us actually slanders God because it assumes he expected Adam and Eve to sin and had already planned to punish them. There is nothing in scripture that indicates that. He made earth with all its creatures because he enjoys making things, is an artist, loves diversity, and so much more. He had already made the angels in heaven. Making the physical universe was another expression of his love. Making intelligent mankind to be managers and caretakers of the earth was a demonstration of God’s wisdom of order. Far from being a temporary testing ground, this was (and still is) to be our permanent home. “But wait,” you protest, “the Bible does mention some going to heaven – what about those?” Click on the first link in this paragraph to get the answer.

One thing that I didn’t mention in the main article above was that Mr. Warren’s website was linked from www.christiantoday.com. (Caution: Numerous pop-up ads) On that latter website was an ad asking “Want to become an ordained minister today!?” Then welcoming people to click and join. I wonder how many writers for christiantoday are these armchair preachers that have absolutely no depth or breadth of knowledge in scripture. Really, the biggest drive for both sites seems to be generating money. Even if you don’t want to buy or join anything, they will gladly take your “donation.” Reminds me of the money changers in Jesus’ day. How often have you ever seen me even allude to asking or wanting money from my audience? Answer: Never! Why? Jesus told his true followers: “You received free, give free.” (Matthew 10:8)

Addendum: I just noticed something in Rick's first question, "...why God didn't just take you to Heaven when He created you?" Does he think that God creates each of us individually? This one completely floored me. Again, if heaven were the intended destination, why have a production plant on earth making physical beings? Just skip earth altogether and make them angels. Much less work. LOL

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Death History and Future Hope

Nowadays, it seems that not only every religion, but “everybody and his brother” has their opinion what happens at death. There are those that swear they have proof of “the afterlife” because they’ve had out-of-body experiences. If they had given it deeper thought, they’d realize that our brain, like the rest of our body, is organic material. The brain, where our thought processes (our “mind”) reside, is a vast neurological network that thrives on oxygen.  When it is deprived of blood and oxygen, it starts to malfunction (vivid dreams and/or hallucinations). It is not possible for the brain to be out-of-body and therefore it is impossible for our cognitive powers (again, our “mind”) to be out-of-body because they reside only in the brain that is still in our skull.

In my experience, the only explanation I have ever heard that made intelligent sense is what the Bible says happens at death. Adam was formed from organic material. He was reminded that: "Dust you are and to dust you will return" if he was disloyal. There was no indication that he would live on in any other form. Simply, he would cease to exist, returning to the elements from which he was formed.

Surprisingly, “old age” death was not the first recorded incident of death in the Bible. It was death by murder. The moral fiber of mankind went south a lot faster than his physical being. Regarding this, Paul wrote through one man (Adam) sin entered the world and death through sin. Thus all men die. Today, no one can rightly claim they are without imperfection. But regarding this inherited and aptly-named “Adamic sin and death,” why should we pay for it indefinitely? That is a good question.

Our Creator recognized that it was not fair what Adam did to us. Why should we, like Adam, die forever? If that were the case, there would be no reason to worship God. No reason to try to appease God. No reason for religion. No reason to even try to live a good life. Yet God, through his Word the Bible, reached out to mankind and does give them hope. Hence we read in John 17:3 that taking in a knowledge of God can mean our everlasting life, thus supplying us hope to extend our lives far beyond what we have today.

So what is the sequence of things that happened after a person dies? Psalm 146:4 confirms what I stated at the beginning of this article—namely when the breath of life (our “spirit”) goes out of us, we cease to exist—we have no more thoughts. Just like Adam, we go back to dust and are nonexistent. However, unlike Adam, it is not necessarily a permanent condition. One of Lazarus’ sisters said she believed that her dead brother would rise in the last day. To demonstrate what God intends to do for mankind in the future, Jesus immediately raised Lazarus back to life—on earth. Scripture also confirms that there was going to be a future resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous.

But do you think it is ludicrous to believe that mankind can live forever? What then do you think would be the case in heaven? Just because you'd be a non-physical being, a spirit of a sort, do you readily accept that they would live forever? Our Creator has more than enough power-to-spare to maintain the life of both spirit and physical intelligent, obedient creation.

So where does the bulk of Christendom get there belief about going to heaven? They get it by focusing on just a few scriptures and not paying attention to the bulk of the Bible and God’s general purpose for mankind. There are indeed some going to heaven but for a very specific purpose. The rest of us have the opportunity of dwelling on cleansed, restored, peaceful earth as our Creator originally intended. So while currently those dying cease to exist, sometime in the unknown future, those now dead will come back to life on earth.

(I am aware that some feel that the essence of our cognitive self actually resides in something they call the “soul.” Two of the previously mentioned scriptures demonstrate that the Bible does not teach that man has a soul but rather that he is a soul—a living person.)

More information: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102005137

Luke 23 vs 43

You probably already know the account--Jesus is being put to death alongside two criminals. One of the criminals mocks Jesus. The other recognizes Jesus is the foretold Messiah and humbly requests to be remembered favorably when Jesus "comes into his kingdom," (or, as certain ancient manuscripts put it, "come into your kingly power").

According to most modern translations, they render Jesus' response as:
"Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43)

Whether you know it or not, the original manuscripts did not contain the punctuation so familiar to people today. Did you notice the placement of the comma after the first "you"? Rendering the scripture that way would lead readers to believe that Jesus was telling the criminal that on that very day, the day of their death, the criminal would be with Jesus. Is that how you understand the scripture?

Now, I'm not going to get into the common confusion of paradise verses heaven. That, in itself, is another big discussion. Instead, I want you just to think about the timeline. Do you believe that Jesus and the criminal would, on that very day, be in paradise? If yes, then please try to reconcile that with the following scripture, also Jesus' own words:

Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" - John 20:17

Did you notice what Jesus told Mary Magdalene, three days after his being put to death, now standing in front of her as the resurrected Jesus? He indicated he hadn't ascended to his Father yet. He was dead for three days. He hadn't been anywhere but in the grave. So if Jesus was not in heaven, nor was he in paradise, why would he promise the criminal, as rendered in the NIV, "today you will be with me in paradise"?

How can this be resolved? Easy, the placement of the comma is incorrect. It is the position that Jehovah's Witnesses have taken for decades. They render that verse: "Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in Paradise." It is same as you telling someone "Look, I'm telling you right now, I will take care of the matter." You are not saying you will take care of the matter that very moment. Rather, you are making an emphatic statement that as of that moment, you are committed to handling whatever the matter is.

In the case of the criminal, he even knew it could not be that very day. That is why he said "WHEN you come into your kingdom." He recognized it would be some time in the future. When was that? In Acts 1:1-7 Jesus appears over a period of 40 days to his faithful followers. In the course of that time, they ask if he is restoring the kingdom at that time. His response is, basically, it is none of their business. They have a preaching work to concentrate on. After that time, Jesus did ascend to heaven, but where was that criminal? Approximately 20 years later, Paul wrote the Thessalonian congregation that the time was yet future. In speaking of those that would be resurrected to rule in heaven, he wrote these words at 1 Thes.4:15-18 (click link to read). So even some 20 years later, if that criminal was headed to heaven, it hadn't happened yet. He was still dead. (Again, it is yet another discussion as to where that criminal is going to be. If you'd like to read more about that, see this article.)

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Understanding Heaven and Human Destiny

Before I get into it, I want to lay the groundwork for the concept so you don’t immediately dismiss it without at least seeing the reasonableness of it. So think…Have you ever known of any government where those in authority exceed (in number) the masses that were being ruled?  How about a government where everybody is ruling and nobody is ruled over. I’m sure you’ll agree both scenarios are ridiculous.

What does this have to do with heaven? Notice what the Bible states about humans going to heaven.  In the last book of the Bible, we read that Jesus: “bought persons for God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are to rule as kings over the earth.” (Revelation 5:9,10) (The KJV, DRA and NIV all say they will reign “on” the earth; the AMP says they will rule “over” the earth.)

So these “bought” ones are heaven-bound not to play golf or laying around aimlessly on clouds as pictured by so many. They have a very specific purpose—to act as rulers with Christ over the earth, restoring the earth to God’s original purpose. 

But back to the illustration…. Many are also taught that besides living in bliss in heaven, all deserved mankind will go to heaven. That cannot be because that places everyone as rulers in heaven with no one on earth to be ruled over. How can those in heaven be “kings and priests” if they rule over nobody? Yet the scripture above is quite clear that they will rule over the earth.

Indeed, the more sensible concept is that they rule over a large multitude of people on earth. This is mentioned pictorially in Revelation chapter 21, wherein “New Jerusalem,” the heavenly administration, is seen “coming down out of heaven” and the resulting benefits will be a cleansed earth, ecologically, morally and spiritually speaking. So while a small number become rulers, the vast majority of mankind will benefit from that rulership right here on earth.

But some have taken Jehovah’s Witnesses to task about their belief in the literal number of 144,000 being invited to heaven. Ok, so you can’t accept that now. But can you accept that whatever the number is, it has to be a smaller number than those being ruled over? Just as we already covered, it makes sense that the number of rulers would be less than those on earth who are being ruled over.

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Future Rewards

Every once in a while I come across an idea that I think would be excellent to help prove or at very least support what I believe the Bible’s teaching is regarding death and resurrection.

• Unlike mainstream Christendom, I believe that we were created as living souls (aka “beings”), not that we have some non-physical component in us called a soul. (Genesis 2:7)
• KJV, DRA(Catholic Douay) “became a living soul”;
• NIV, AMP “became a living being”;
• GNT, “the man began to live”

• Sometime (not long) after Adam had the breath of life breathed into him and he “became a living soul,” he was told that, if disobedient, at death he would merely return to the ground, “for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19)

• Jesus and indeed the whole of the Greek Scriptures (“new testament,” as some call it) attest to early Jewish converts to Christianity as already having common knowledge that being resurrected was supported and taught in the Hebrew/Aramaic scriptures (“old testament”).

I felt sure that I should be able to find proof of this belief in Jewish teachings today. So I wondered: What hope of future reward or what hope for the future is there for a loyal Jew (or “Hebrew,” as some prefer)? To that end I read a few websites that cover the idea(s). Surprisingly (or maybe not), those of the Jewish faith, living as our contemporaries, do not have have one common belief.

Here are the three search phrases I used and a few choice returrns:

• what is the future reward for faithful jews
• do jews believe in an afterlife
• did ancient hebrews belief in resurrection

http://www.worldofjudaica.com/judaism/beliefs/does-judaism-believe-in-an-afterlife/
http://www.bibleandjewishstudies.net/articles/afterlife.htm
http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Do_Jews_believe_in_an_afterlife

Essentially, it seems the Jews, down through centuries of influences from peoples worshipping “foreign” deities, have had their faith compromised by philosophies not found in the Bible. Even though Jewish scripture canon has no teaching of an immortal soul, some teach that humans do indeed have such. The result of this belief allows them to adopt and adapt the unscriptural belief of reincarnation. It also has the belief of “a nonphysical place where only the intellect remains to ‘bask in the Glow of the Divine Presence.’” This quote was taken from the first link cited above. Even the author admitted: “Nobody is quite sure what this means” But one thing I could not find was any indication just what they would be doing in this Divine Presence. The author does state that: “The logic goes that if the afterlife is only intellectual, only those who used their intellect would want to be there in the first place. Otherwise, they will simply cease to exist, ….” So intellectual ones get to bask in the Divine Presence but I guess they are too much in awe of the presence to do much else than stare in amazement. My words may sound unkind or glib but I truly do not mean them that way. It is my honest conclusion from reading the links above. (In fact, after reading the notes of the first link, I actually gained respect for the objective research that was done.)

The second link at least partially supported my hopes that Jewish belief would back up my Christian belief in the resurrection. The only “pop my bubble” concern is that it is not a unilateral belief across Jewish believers. Instead it really becomes just another point of contention between me and others. They will point to Jews who believe in reincarnation, an immortal soul and other such things as proof of their roots just as firmly as I will point to those that agree with my point. So that line of proof cannot be pursued with the expectation that it will authoritatively answer the question.

Reflecting again on the article in the first link, I was intrigued by the author’s assertion that the holy canon of Jewish writings (Hebrew/Aramaic scriptures) only supported the idea that those writings concentrated on the “present.” The reward for obedience was peace with God during the immediate lifetime of each generation. He claims there was not a dwelling on what happens after death or any expectation of future resurrection. And although to the greater degree that was true--God’s message to each generation dealt with loyalty now and the resultant blessings--just because the spattering of support for coming back as a human again are minimal, that doesn’t reduce the fact that they are there, even as the second cited link makes clear.

So here is what makes sense to me:

• God created humans to live on the earth. (Psalms 115:16 “As regards the heavens, to Jehovah the heavens belong, but the earth he has given to the sons of men.”)

• Death was not originally in God’s scheme of things. As evidence of this, the faithful angels have lived for millenniums. Adam’s death would only occur if he were disobedient. Otherwise the threat of death would have been inconsequential if Adam would die regardless.

• God would not have put all the effort that he did into preparing Earth for mankind only to abandon those plans because Adam & Eve sinned. (Isaiah 55:10,11 “For just as the pouring rain descends, and the snow, from the heavens and does not return to that place, unless it actually saturates the earth and makes it produce and sprout, and seed is actually given to the sower and bread to the eater, so my word that goes forth from my mouth will prove to be. It will not return to me without results, but it will certainly do that in which I have delighted, and it will have certain success in that for which I have sent it.”) (The “word” regarding God’s wishes for the earth was that man should live in a beautiful garden-like home forever. That “word” has never changed.)

• If God had planned for obedient mankind to eventually live in heaven, why didn’t he just put them there in the first place? He had already created angels there--why not just put us there to begin with as well? (The response that we had to be tested is illogical and unscriptural.)

• Just as a fair & good landlord evicts bad tenants but does what he can to keep his good tenants happy, God plans to evict those that are immoral and ungodly so that those that love God and neighbor can live in peace. (Psalm 37:10, 11 “And just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more; And you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be. But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, And they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.”)

• Those who have died and will yet die before the fulfilment of the above point are not cheated. They will come back to life as humans on earth to enjoy the life promised in Psalms 37. (Matthew 5:5 “Happy are the mild-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth.” See also Matthew 6:10; Revelation 21:3,4)

As a sidenote, I had previously mentioned that it appears one particular teaching of the Jews says they will bask in God’s glory but doesn’t explain it. What I have come to believe is that the small number of those being invited by Christ to heaven have a very specific purpose. (Revelation 20:6) Their rulership will be directly over those “meek” ones that will inherit the earth.