I believe that even skeptical people would agree that evil is real. The evidence surrounds us every day. Innocent people suffer unspeakable horrors at the hands of their fellows. History is very vivid in details of cultures greatest moments and their darkest. I am not going to detail, to a great extent, the evidence of such actions. I will however detail a few, evil on a massive scale and on a very personal one.
The question at hand is, the origin of evil. Did evil always exist? My opinions and beliefs will be based upon my experiences, biblical understanding, and again, minor historical information. This may come as a surprise, I do not believe began with our first inhabitants. I refer to them as Adam and Eve, as found in the book of Genesis. Evil had its origin prior to Genesis and most likely before the created order was called into being.
First, holiness, righteousness, purity, all virtues, had no beginning point in time. As God Was, Is, and Will Be, His character is timeless. Everything lovely and Godly always has been. Now, scripture gives us an understandable, though slightly veiled, picture of evil and its origin. It would be very helpful to all of us if scripture explicitly told us that at such a time and place all angelic beings were created. We do not have those details. But, what we do have is understandable.
The prophet Isaiah speaks about a being falling from heaven. Known as, Star of the Morning, Daystar, Lucifer, this spiritual being (angelic) was considered to be the most beautiful and magnificent of all angels. In Isaiah, chapter fourteen, verses twelve through fourteen, this angelic being is cast out of the heavenly realms down to earth. His sin of pride and arrogance led to rebellion and the original sin. So, I believe the source and spring of evil find their source in Satan, prior to mankind.
As in the world today, actions have reactions, results always follow thoughts turned to actions. At the rebellion and desired overthrow of God's authority, multitudes of angels were cast out with Satan. These angels took on demonic character as their nature was corrupted. The Second Epistle of Peter, as well as the book of Jude tell of God casting down the rebellious angels.
many people reject the idea of an angelic being corrupted by pride and arrogance, thus bringing evil into a present reality. That being so, it is my belief and understanding that evil, as a malevolent force, originated before mankind. This source of evil, Satan, is and always will be, consumed with thwarting God's design. Evil has a spiritual origin. Satan was created to be a spiritual messenger and his condemnation was based on the sin of the spirit, pride and arrogance. He did not want to serve, he wanted to be served. He did not want to listen, he wanted to command. He did not want to subject his spirit to God's authority, he wanted all to be in subjection to him.
Showing posts with label sin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sin. Show all posts
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Friday, December 17, 2010
Gabriel- God's Messenger
The angel of the Lord, Gabriel, stands in the presence of Father and Son. As God's Messenger, Gabriel is to be the voice of Jehovah. There needs to be no conversation, Gabriel understands his message, just as he did before when he appeared to a man, Daniel. His messages to Daniel were the awesome words concerning the end of days. Now he knew he was to represent the Most High and bring a message to a young virgin.
In a moment, not able to measured by man, the Flaming Messenger of God is gone. His journey to Mary will be in an instant as distance is no hindrance. The message to Mary will be most amazing and change the order of the cosmos. The virgin has been chosen by God to bring the Anointed one of God, His Christ, into the world. The message is given to Mary and in less than the blink of an eye, Gabriel is again in the presence of the Father and Son.
As Gabriel is in the presence of Triune Sovereignty the multitude of created Seraphs and Cherubim gather together. The message given to them is of a mystery that has been hidden for ages. The Lord will become flesh and offer up his life as a sacrifice for the sin of mankind. The gathering of flaming servants seems moved at the message given to them.
As the host are gathered they sing their message of acknowledged Holiness. Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts! Over and over the words proclaim and instead of diminishing in strength and power the resonance and spirit grow without crescendo. As the pronouncement continues to grow in intensity the Lord raises His arms. In a flash of light that blinded the Army of God, and created such a brilliance that all stars and galaxies were diminished, the Lord God himself vanished.
In a moment, not able to measured by man, the Flaming Messenger of God is gone. His journey to Mary will be in an instant as distance is no hindrance. The message to Mary will be most amazing and change the order of the cosmos. The virgin has been chosen by God to bring the Anointed one of God, His Christ, into the world. The message is given to Mary and in less than the blink of an eye, Gabriel is again in the presence of the Father and Son.
As Gabriel is in the presence of Triune Sovereignty the multitude of created Seraphs and Cherubim gather together. The message given to them is of a mystery that has been hidden for ages. The Lord will become flesh and offer up his life as a sacrifice for the sin of mankind. The gathering of flaming servants seems moved at the message given to them.
As the host are gathered they sing their message of acknowledged Holiness. Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts! Over and over the words proclaim and instead of diminishing in strength and power the resonance and spirit grow without crescendo. As the pronouncement continues to grow in intensity the Lord raises His arms. In a flash of light that blinded the Army of God, and created such a brilliance that all stars and galaxies were diminished, the Lord God himself vanished.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
A Monster from the Detroit River
As soon as school got out for the summer it was time for two of my favorite past times- sleeping out and fishing in the Detroit River. At night my brothers and I would catch night-crawlers. Our neighbors who watered their grass were fair game for our late night, flashlight guided, worm hunts. The slimy fish food was tossed into a can and when our slippery and succulent (for the fish) casche reached three or four dozen then it was only a matter of waiting for daybreak.
With the rising of the sun it was off to the river. We would ride our bikes to the Grosse Isle toll bridge. Once across the bridge the bikes were ditched on the side of the road and over the fence we went, fishing poles and worms at the ready. Many will remember that during the mid to late sixties the Detroit River was a bit of a hazardous, combustible, and slightly green movement of what was called water. Needless to say the catch of perch, bullheads, carp and the occasional bass were never eaten due to their combustion properties (smelled like gas).
Well it just so happens that one of our fishing excursions was on an unusually hot day. So after our time of drowning worms and rescuing flammable fish my little brother and I decided to take a swim. We crossed the bridge and went down to the Riverview docks. Off came the jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes. Standing on the end of the dock in our white Fruit-of-the Looms, into the river we dove. After a few minutes of cooling off in the refinery tributary it was time to get out.
Little did I realize, and of course my little brother, who is obviously dumber, he never had a clue, what would happen to us as we enjoyed the coolant. As we climbed onto the dock our white Fruities were a sickly mix of grape green and pea soup. As our luck would have it, as we stood on the dock, a Riverview Police patrol car drove into the parking lot of the dock. We must have looked like Green River Monsters, and I was sure we were beyond recognition. The patrol car did a slow circle in the lot and left.
Well it must have been fate or the Detroit River Specter, but the officer recognized the Galloway kids and promptly told my father of our excursion into the river and the green aftermath. He, dad, was waiting for us when we got home. After a ton of verbiage on the risks of swimming in the river he let us go. We did a lot more fishing that summer but we decided to deal with the heat and stay out of the river.
How many times have you and I thought we were going to get away with something? I could take hours re-telling stupid episodes in which I was sure I would never be found out. Most of the time I was found out, usually in record time. Remember what the Bible has to say about trying to hide your sickly green Fruities, "be sure your sin will find you out."
With the rising of the sun it was off to the river. We would ride our bikes to the Grosse Isle toll bridge. Once across the bridge the bikes were ditched on the side of the road and over the fence we went, fishing poles and worms at the ready. Many will remember that during the mid to late sixties the Detroit River was a bit of a hazardous, combustible, and slightly green movement of what was called water. Needless to say the catch of perch, bullheads, carp and the occasional bass were never eaten due to their combustion properties (smelled like gas).
Well it just so happens that one of our fishing excursions was on an unusually hot day. So after our time of drowning worms and rescuing flammable fish my little brother and I decided to take a swim. We crossed the bridge and went down to the Riverview docks. Off came the jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes. Standing on the end of the dock in our white Fruit-of-the Looms, into the river we dove. After a few minutes of cooling off in the refinery tributary it was time to get out.
Little did I realize, and of course my little brother, who is obviously dumber, he never had a clue, what would happen to us as we enjoyed the coolant. As we climbed onto the dock our white Fruities were a sickly mix of grape green and pea soup. As our luck would have it, as we stood on the dock, a Riverview Police patrol car drove into the parking lot of the dock. We must have looked like Green River Monsters, and I was sure we were beyond recognition. The patrol car did a slow circle in the lot and left.
Well it must have been fate or the Detroit River Specter, but the officer recognized the Galloway kids and promptly told my father of our excursion into the river and the green aftermath. He, dad, was waiting for us when we got home. After a ton of verbiage on the risks of swimming in the river he let us go. We did a lot more fishing that summer but we decided to deal with the heat and stay out of the river.
How many times have you and I thought we were going to get away with something? I could take hours re-telling stupid episodes in which I was sure I would never be found out. Most of the time I was found out, usually in record time. Remember what the Bible has to say about trying to hide your sickly green Fruities, "be sure your sin will find you out."
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Knocked Down By a Parasite
The nausea and fever were the first clues that something was wrong with me. I tried to fight it off for the better part of a day and it began to dawn on me that I wasn't going to get any better. I figured that I had better walk up the road to the hospital and have then stick me in the arm and check for bugs. The five minute walk from the house took me twenty and I was soaked with perspiration. The ultra-polite lab student took some blood and I waited a few minutes for our Dutch friend to give me the news.
It didn't take long for the news to come back to me, and everybody else. The big Magua (white guy), has malaria. Well, they put me in one of the small private rooms and tried to make me comfortable. My dear friend, Elvis Shimamvwa, came and told me that if I was good he might bring me a coke. He also told me about the coming malaria attractions that I might look forward to. Like a headache that could make your head explode and digestive issues that are better left undescribed.
I settled in my room and Donna was in to see me. We talked about the only mosquito that we had seen in the last two weeks. There was one lone pointed-strawnosed bugger in Zimbabwe that I couldn't kill. He must have got to me because it takes 5 to 10 days for the parasites to start their work. Later that evening I had some other visitors in my hospital room in the bush. The roaches must have heard that there was a big white guy in one of the rooms. And, they all wanted to come and see me and do relay races down the walls and across my bed.
The headaches and other bodily dysfunctions continued for about three days and then I began to feel a bit better. The anti-malaria drugs began to help and I knew I was on the mend. I realized that I was fortunate because hundreds of people around us died every year of malaria. After a couple of more days I found myself home for a few days rest. The doctor told me that I would feel pretty powerless for a couple of weeks, but should get back to normal.
It is amazing what a small unseen object can do to a person. that Zimbabwean mosquito stuck her straw-nose in to get some blood for her babies and she deposited a parasite that can only be seen through a microscope. Once inside the parasites began their work of reproduction and the destruction of red blood cells. The tremendous headache is caused by the dead blood cells moving through the circulatory system and ending in the brain.
How many dangerous little things do we allow in our lives? I don't know about you, but I can make an excuse or rationalize away a lot of little things. I read once that, "Sin in the heart is more dangerous than gunpowder in the cellar." God help me to allow the search light of your spirit to reveal the little things that want to knock me down.
It didn't take long for the news to come back to me, and everybody else. The big Magua (white guy), has malaria. Well, they put me in one of the small private rooms and tried to make me comfortable. My dear friend, Elvis Shimamvwa, came and told me that if I was good he might bring me a coke. He also told me about the coming malaria attractions that I might look forward to. Like a headache that could make your head explode and digestive issues that are better left undescribed.
I settled in my room and Donna was in to see me. We talked about the only mosquito that we had seen in the last two weeks. There was one lone pointed-strawnosed bugger in Zimbabwe that I couldn't kill. He must have got to me because it takes 5 to 10 days for the parasites to start their work. Later that evening I had some other visitors in my hospital room in the bush. The roaches must have heard that there was a big white guy in one of the rooms. And, they all wanted to come and see me and do relay races down the walls and across my bed.
The headaches and other bodily dysfunctions continued for about three days and then I began to feel a bit better. The anti-malaria drugs began to help and I knew I was on the mend. I realized that I was fortunate because hundreds of people around us died every year of malaria. After a couple of more days I found myself home for a few days rest. The doctor told me that I would feel pretty powerless for a couple of weeks, but should get back to normal.
It is amazing what a small unseen object can do to a person. that Zimbabwean mosquito stuck her straw-nose in to get some blood for her babies and she deposited a parasite that can only be seen through a microscope. Once inside the parasites began their work of reproduction and the destruction of red blood cells. The tremendous headache is caused by the dead blood cells moving through the circulatory system and ending in the brain.
How many dangerous little things do we allow in our lives? I don't know about you, but I can make an excuse or rationalize away a lot of little things. I read once that, "Sin in the heart is more dangerous than gunpowder in the cellar." God help me to allow the search light of your spirit to reveal the little things that want to knock me down.
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