Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisra'el and Mishpachah, welcome back to the 22nd part of the series on the Book of Revelation. As everyone is by now an expert in the Seraphim, Zoa or Four Living Creatures, I am going to forego a summary of last week's message. Also, as I have been particularly unwell this last week, I have been too exhausted to give you a robust and exhaustive presentation of Chapter 5 which I had intended to do, and since I don't want to do a shoddy job, I have postponed that another week. So my apologies for that.

Instead what I want to do today is to pose a question that I have been wrestling with now for over a year and which ties in with the 'end times' vision of the Book of Revelation, and it is this: Why did Yahweh create this 'set-up', as I call it, down here? Why this arrangement on an apparently chaotic world with so much disease, war and death, with so few for millennia ever having the possibility of either having contact with ancient Israel (which was supposed to be the model nation to emulate for the planet, but which, as we know, ultimately failed) or contact with the unadulterated Gospel of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ)?

Some months ago I made an ex tempore video presentation (so there's no written text) of the ancient Americas - which though they clearly had angel visitations, had absolutely no clue about Adam and the patriarchs, though their garbled and corrupted histories did preserve memories of a worldwide Flood. They knew nothing of the ancient Kingdom of Israel or indeed of the Besorah (Gospel) until the Spanish conquisadores brought Catholicism along with them a very corrupted version of it, not to mention disease and the sword as well. Many of the nations Amerindian nations overrun by the Spanish were as depraved and ripened in iniquity as the ancient Canaanites had been whom Joshua subdued in part. They had no exposure to the truths of the ancient patriarchs, to the Law of Moses, or the Message of the Cross. And not just them, mind you, but the nations of sub-Saharan Africa (minus Ethiopia) too and vast swathes of Asia. And when Christianity did start penetrating Asia through the Portuguese, it was usually in corrupt forms. The world has been in darkness a long, long time.

I guess what I am doing is asking a philosophical question in an attempt to understand how the Plan of Yahweh fits in with hundreds of generations consiting of millions of people who seem to have been immersed in darkest paganism seemingly 'forever'? Why, I have asked myself, did not Yahweh establish a different 'set-up' where the odds were more in people's favour to hearing about the Torah and (later) the Gospel? Why not more divine interventions? Why this particular arrangement where on the surface so much chance is involved in terms of people actually having the opportunity to hear any truth taught to them?

Actually, this question, which is asked by sceptics in particular, has led them to conclude that there is no Elohim (God), that everything is just chance, has been plaguing me for decades. Christians have given over-simplistic, trite answers that have never really satisfied me. Only on Thursday 2 June 2022 at 9.50 am, nearly four weeks ago, did I finally get the answer and a new understanding I had been searching for which I then committed to paper and felt the Ruach (Spirit) prompting me to share it with you today instead of resuming a study of Chapter 5. Actually, I had planned to tack Chapter 5 onto today's message but soon realised I had bitten more than I could chew and that not many of you would be willing to sit through a massively long sermon again! Fair enough.

It's only in recent times that I have obtained the necessary keys from multiple disciplinary fields to begin tackling this huge question. And, to be fair, and as I pointed out in my video on Pre-History in Meso- and South America [1], Yahweh did not leave the ancient Americans in complete darkness - He did send angelic messengers to instruct them, the leader being called, variously, Viracocha and Quetazcoatl [2], though the memory of them and their teachings in the legends of the Amerindians is now very garbled, as we would expect after so long a time. So Yahweh has intervened periodically and we must trust it has been sufficient, remembering that Yahweh showed Paul that those without the Torah or the Besorah (Gospel) are judged on the basis of what they knew of the Light and their responses to it. In that regard, the Law of Justice is satisfied and this is in itself an act of grace or undeserved loving kindness. One of the rôles of the Seraphim or Zoa is to ensure that a continuous link between Heaven and Earth viô angelic intermediaries is always maintained.

Whilst Yahweh's grace or unmerited favour will finally 'save' everyone from either what would otherwise have been an eternal hell (or, worse, annihilation), universal reconciliation does not mean everyone will inherit the same glory (or indeed any to speak of at all). Whilst every humen being is valuable to Yahweh (or has 'worth') it does not mean than everyone is worthy of the Throne Room Kingdom of the Sun, clearly, if we believe the Book of Revelation and our New Testaments as a whole. Do you remember how, when we started studying Chapter 1, I said it was necessary to integrate the teachings of Paul and John, and not to simply pick or choose what we fancy? Protestant Evangelical Christianity is essentially the Pauline version (with some pagan residue) and an aversion for everything remotely smacking of 'Law'; Messianism is essentially a New Covenant version of the Law of Moses, Catholicism is essentially the Messianic version but with the pagan equivalents of the Torah more strongly emphasised plus a dollop of Paulism, and Eastern Orthodoxy is all of these with a dollop of the Johannine tradition in the mix. (That's an over-simplification, of course, but I am, as always, trying to give you a broad perspective).

Grace 'saves' from eternal hell or permanent extinction (take your theological pick) but Justice sorts believers and unbelievers into different categories of 'worth' as far as rewards are concerned (or no rewards, as the case may be). So why the present 'set-up'? Well, yes, it's a test to see who will choose what in whatever circumstances they find themselves in (e.g. Jas.2:3; 2 Cor.2:9), but it's also an incredible opportunity to advance beyond being 'merely human', not to be 'gods' (as the Mormons teach), or 'godlets' as charismatics teach, but to become overcomers and so be invited to become a part of Yahweh's immediate world as 'elohim' (with a small or lower-case 'e') otherwise known in Scripture as the "Beni Elohim" (Sons of God - Gob 1:6; 2:1; 38:7) through Torah-obedience and trusting in Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) - or as the Book of Revelation describes those souls, believers "[singing] the Song of Moses the servant of Elohim (God) and the Song of the Lamb" (Rev.15:3, NIV). Yahweh is looking to expand His immediate Family and only the most worthy, who know and appreciate His worth, may be a part of the intimate circle! That is His prime directive and everything else conforms to it. Those who reject that privilege and opportrunity must take the consequences.

So you see, even the heretical charismatics, the heretical Mormons and, yes, even the pagans themselves, have elements of truth in their religions (otherwise they wouldn't be believable on at least some level), but it's all mixed together with the false, making it very, very hard to tease the jumbled up mixture apart. Yahweh is not a Protestant...or a Catholic, or a Mormon, or an Eastern Orthodox, or a Charismatic, or a Buddhist, or a pagan or an occultist, but His truths are scattered amongst all of them - here a little, there a little, more in some than others; they are lost because they have become repulsive to those who love truth and purity, being understandably repulsed by people or groups who have huge lies mixed in with smatterings of truth. They throw out the baby with the bathwater because of prejudice. That's the way it is down here and there is no way of properly breaking out of that obfuscating mix without the threefold vision of truth that requires using the built-in ability to view everything from three principle angles:

• 1. Salvation (Evangelicals are good at that one);
• 2. Torah (Messianics are good at that one); and
• 3. Humanism/Wisdom (where Christian Liberals, believe it or not, are often more loving than their extremist conservative counterparts because the radicalism of Messianics and Protestants tends to leave them with a massive blind spot).

So this is the bigger purpose of the 'set-up', because this the only way human beings can prove their worthiness - through obedience and fait; for 'the Main Thing' - the chief objective - is to dwell forever in the exalted atmosphere of the Throne Room world that will eventually relocate to Earth. Everything else is subordinated to this goal and yet provision is made by the graciousness of Yahweh for those who fall short of His requirements and who may not therefore enter this supreme realm for which Creation exists - the other realms are gracious concessions on the part of Yahweh. That's one reason Yahweh's Son became a human-being (as well as to make atonement and make reconciliation between fallen man and Yahweh) and remains a resurrected human-being even thouh He is Elohim (God) too because that's the only way this new 'elohim sub-set' can be created and incorporated into the highest realms. Everything else is subtended to this objective which, because it is a purification system, of necessity requires lots of time and means there must also be masses of dross (tares) which must hang around until it is finally removed, something that must wait until the end time (which is what the Book of Revelation is all about) so as not to destroy the wheat berfore it is mature and strong, and able to endure the fire of testing (Mt.13:24-30).

Those who choose not to respond to the invitation of His love to join Him as family in the Throne Room realm, but instead choose wrong-doing and evil, nevertheless have grace (undeserved loving-kindness) extended to them right at the end of history, and because "Elohim (God) is ahavah (love)" (1 Jn.4:8,16), are in the end taken care of and rehabilited in worlds of lesser light (like the moon) or a twilight existence (like the light of the stars...they're not permanently and deterministically 'reprobate' in the obscene Calvinist sense) though they must inevitably suffer the consequences of their choices because of the guiding compass of conscience they were born with (e.g. 1 Cor.4:4). Yahweh desires to have all humanity directly integrated into His Kingdom but has to give mankind free choice for him to prove worthy of coming into possession of all He has. And only a few rise up to that challenge and accept that invitation - "many are called but few are chosen" (Mt.20:16; 22:14). The rest choose to reject it and deserve far, far worse that they in the end receive.

How insane, then, seen from this perspective, it is to ever complain about Yahweh's intentions or modus operandi (the way He works)! It also makes better sense of why, as Paul reminds us in quoting from Malachi 1:3, Yahweh said: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated" (Rom 9:13, NIV), a passage exploited by atheists and antagonists of the Gospel in general to imply (as Calvinits wrongly believe too, and perversely celebrate as 'giving glory' to their god), that the Creator hates His creatures when everywhere else we're told He patiently and lovingly awaits wayward sons and daughters to repent and come home. Again, such misinterpretation comes from a failure to understand the way biblical language works, and specifically here, the Hebrew language.

'Jacob' and 'Esau' here refer to their chosen characters (and by extension, their sinful mindset that becomes incoporated into the nations and cultures of the world) which are formed by the original bearers choosing to sin, or not. Jacob repented and got a name change to Israel. When in the past I said that I hated Bolshevik Russia it doesn't mean I hated Russians or the country of Russia, but Bolshevism. The same goes for nazism and other totalitarian systems. We don't hate people, we love them - we rather hate what they sometimes do, and which they themselves choose to own and identify with, bringing condemnation on themselves in the process. And we love it when justice is served to the unrepentant wicked because Yahweh's justice is reformatory in the long-term even if it may appear drastic in the short-term. Those crying from beneath of the altar of martyrs are justified in wanting Yahweh to avenge them (Rev.6:9-11). We are judged and condemned only because of what we choose to own in ourselves while on earth, because that becomes our spiritual-essence by which we are sorted for this kingdom or that one once the earthly probation is over, not who we were as pristine creations of Elohim (God), and what we could have become had we chosen aright.

Distilling all that out, then, we may say this:

• 1. Humans were created to inherit the Throne Room realm by choosing to love, trust and obey the Creator;
• 2. Humans were given agency to freely choose or reject that, necessitating the loss of large numbers of them;
• 3. Those rejecting this amazing offer deserve either an eternal hell or annihilation, which is not in the mind of the Creator whose heart is Love and Reconciliation;
• 4. Therefore He elected for universal reconciliation of mankind since He is unable to perpetually torture or destroy them as that is contrary to His nature; but
• 5. Because His heart is also Justice, He cannot reward everyone equally (which would be unfair and a form of socialism), but must first separate them, punish them, and finally assign them to different realms based on their relative worth or value as defined by their chosen character and deeds (Hos.10:12);
• 6. Because free agency requires a long separating process, evil will inevitably accumulate on earth over time through which successive generations of mankind must contend with;
• 7. Though Yahweh has periodic 'clean-ups' (like the Flood and the Conquest of Canaan), that can only happen when a certain level of wickedness has been reached and final lines crossed by the majority so as not to cut short or harm the wheat when the tares are being collected up for burning (Mt.15:25-30); and
• 8. The Book of Revelation is the program for, or blueprint of, the drastic but necessary final 'clean-up', ending the curse of the Fall and restoring the earth to a pre-Fall condition.

In the judgment of Yahweh, everything finally boils down to character, and that's a reason so much of Scripture comprises wisdom literature forming a part of the Torah known as the Kethuvim or 'Writings'. There is yet wisdom to be sought and applied by all men and women everywhere in every age and culture. Though millions of human beings never heard of the Torah or of the salvation of Christ through the mouths of teachers, preachers and prophets, whether in the steep Andes mountains of South America or in the deepest rainforests of Africa, they knew enough to decide between righteousness and wickedness, and all possessed an inner teacher, preacher or prophet through the inner light of truth, the Light of Christ, their conscience, given to every man born into the world (Jn.1:9), which operates in the medium of opposities whereby each soul is forced to choose day by day, moment by moment, between two ways - the one of Yahweh and the other of the devil, between right and wrong. So there is always a witness present, however defiled and thereby hampered the conscience may become, of that truth that enobles the soul and which, if embraced, will one day recognise the Saviour of the World who is its author.

In a piece of masterful poetic revelation, we see an example of what I mean, and how extraordinarily blessed are those who are given the opportunity to dwell in the fullness of light and not in the shadows of mixed truth and falsehood:

"But for Your qodeshim (saints, holy/set-apart ones) all was great light.
The Egyptians (a pagan nation) who could hear their voices, though not see their shapes,
called them fortunate because they had not suffered too,
they (the Egyptians) thanked them (the Israelites) for doing no injury in return for previous wrongs
and asked for forgiveness for their past ill-will.
In contrast to the darkness, You gave Your people (Israel) a pillar of blazing fire,
to guide them in their unknown journey,
a mild sun for their ambitious migration [to Canaan],
But well they (the Egyptians) deserved, those others, to be deprived of light and imprisoned in darkness,
for having kept in captivity Your children (Israel),
by whom the imperishable light of the Torah (Law) was to be given to the world"
(Sirach/Wisdom 18:1-4, JB).

In this short passage we see two principle features of the redeemed character that answer to the demands of genuine salvation - no desire for revenge for previous wrong-doing and the gift of forgiveness. In every culture that has not been penetrated by the Gospel or the Law, the invisible instructor of souls teaches forgiveness for wrongs done and restrains the aggrieved from a desire for retribution, preferring to leave that to the Righteous Judge above who promises to meet out perfect Justice in a future day, and who asks His people to restrain themselves...to "wait a little longer" (Rev.6:11, NIV). Whether in ancient pagan Peru or Mexico, ancient pagan Ghana or Zimbabwe, ancient pagan Greece or Rome, ancient pagan China or India, where souls chose peace over violence, love over hatred, forgiveness over revenge, there Yah'shua (Jesus) was, and was being embraced by them, even if He was yet unknown to them by name, and by choosing such courses of actions, became sanctified in their souls in the days of their ignorance.

In some ways they had the advantage over us because we who have been given a great Light and know who its author is and all about His life and salvation, have an even greater accountability, and should we fall in that knowledge, will fare much worse than those who knew no better. In that way, everything is equalised. Look at Israelite and Christian history - even with such superior knowledge, men and women still chose to rebell and descend into no lesser a darkness than the pagans they often derided. Understand I am not preaching equality of religion or spirituality - this is no message of ecumenism (true Christianity unapologetically makes exclusive claims), but rather it is to point out that nobody, whatever the circumstances, has the excuse that he or she did not know enough to do what was right. That is why that Wisdom, Liberty/Libertarian or Humanism sphere I like to remind people of, is so important, and why those Christians and Messianics who diminish or disparage it are hypocrites and fools.

Today is my 68th birthday and the least I can do is share with you - my gift to you at this time of traditional gift-giving which so upsets some Messianics who are blinded (because, like the Jehovah's Witnesses, they think birthday celebration us pagan) - the benefit of what I have learned about this third sphere that is represented in that Venn diagram which we as Messianic Evangelicals speak so often about is that it shows us the balance of the componenets of the Good News in Christ. Why, we even sometimes see the threefold nature of this sphere at work in animals, on their own level of consciousness - acts of kindness and self-sacrifice are not unknown in lesser creatures! If found in lowly creatures, then how come some believers cannot understand that it is found in unbelievers too, at least those who do not oppose the truth that they know of and who seek to embrace it even if by other names or labels in the days of their ignorance - a reason to be cautious in judgment, and not to be over-hasty in concluding that every issue exists in only purely black-and-white terms as some Calvinists and Messianics do. We are not as superior or more righteous than the righteous among the pagans as we might suppose or wish to believe.

That does not mean that we can just sit back and assume we do not need to witness to these souls by counting them as 'saved' and Yahweh's work in them completed. If born-again believers need discipling after salvation, then righteous pagans need no less. Yahweh wishes no one to remain in ignorance and though they, who have not heard, are not guilty, since they do not know the whole Torah-emet (truth), they yet remain in great need and cannot advance further in their spiritual journey until they have heard and received the whole message of salvation. We have no right to keep people in ignorance, however justified they may be for the time being. We too were once ignorant as they - would you be content to return to your former ignorance, knowing what you now know, and possessing what you now possess? For remember, the goal is to enter the Throne Room sphere and join the Family of Yah and to do that - to become part of the Bride - you have to be an overcomer seven-times over! Our joy is not just to be plucked from the flames which would otherwise consume us when "thrown into the Lake of Fire" (Rev.20:14-15), but to be transformed so we can live in those flames as Yahweh Himself does!

No, these 'unbelievers' deserve to know the fullness, just as we once did, and still do. We, who are now privileged with so much, owe it to them to share fully and to bless them as we are blessed. It is, in any case, Yahweh's will that we do. He wants to gather His Family to Himself and cannot rest until He has done so! Is this not the whole basis of evangelism? Does it not lie at the heart of witnessing? Are we not seeking out those whom Yahweh foreknew would choose the right?

That does not mean, incidentally, that we are not obliged to witness to those Yahweh knew would reject the message of salvation either. Everyone must be given aty least one chance to consciously choose one way of the other. Indeed, whether those we witness to repent and embrace Yah'shua (Jesus) or remain in their wickedness and sins, is in one sense irrelevant because the justice of DElohim (God) demands that all have the opportunity to hear the Word of Salvation at least once whether in this life or, as one must suppose, then at least in the invisible realm after they are disembodied.

Did not the Messiah Himself preach to the dead? For it is written that He (Christ) "went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when Elohim (God) waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built"? (1 Peter 3:19-20, NIV). And recall, most of these souls were 'beyond the pale'. An important reason they were not admitted on the ark was that their DNA was contaminated by that of the fallen Watcher malakim (angels) which posed a risk to the messianic line and therefore to the salvation of mankind itself. And though Noah preached for over a century, it is highly unlikely that the whole planet heard his warnings to repent. And whilst there are those who claim Yah'shua (Jesus) simply went to make an announcement to the dead and not to actually preach to those who never heard the truth, is it not a little odd that He only witnessed to the pre-Flood folks and not, apparently to those who died after flood who did not have a knowledge of Yahweh's truth? Why only one specific group? How were they different from post-Flood sinners? Answer: they were polluted by contaminated Nephilim DNA, part angelic and part human DNA which was turning them into another species, one that was not in the image of Elohim (God) which the incarnate Son of Man could not possibly inherit as His own flesh or atone for. So whilst the majority of the population was depraved and 'beyond the pale' of salvation, not all were, and deserved to hear the Message. That is my view.

I believe we have a working model that presents a proper balance between Justice and Mercy (Grace) that offers an explanation for the world's 'set-up'. That as a species there is a plan of deliverance that has a clear-cut historical unfolding and end as described in the Book of Revelation is not in question. But has every human being that has ever lived since Adam had the opportunity to sufficiently work out his (or her) salvation in their local circumstances of birth, migration, enslavement, and so on? I have to believe the answer to that is 'yes' because the alternative is either atheism or reincarnation. And the problem with reincarnation, like Panspermia, is it creates even more questions than it answers. Our website on reincarnation addresses these issues. As for atheism, well, that is patently absurd given the complexity of life and the universe. It just isn't possible for nothing to make everything out of nothing.

Finally, what of all those infants who either die in the womb (through, for example, abortion) or who are cut off by war, disease or murder when they are still tiny? Traditionally two answers are given to address this issue. The first, is that infants are small, are innocent, and so will obtain the first resurrection because 'they were too pure to remain here' but that negates justice and their own need for character development, making the same kinds of choices that adults do, and as Yah'shua (Jesus) Himself did. Certainly I believe them to be innocent and that they are not sent to hell (though Calvinists are willing to throw millions there because they were 'predestined' to that fate), but what of those, say, from 8 years onwards to early teens? Again, I think this poses more questions than it answers, even if you factor in pre-existence.

I wrestled with this problem a very long time ago and arrived at what I consider the only just and possible solution: these spirits are given their bodies back by a supernatural act of Yahweh (the only other alternative is that they are birthed naturally by new, or their same, parents but that is practically reincarnation all over again) where they can live out life and make the choices the rest of us do. The only possible problem there is that the Millennial world is a demon-free world so the challenges are less severe...except at the very end of the one thousand years when Satan and the demons are released one final time, which may well be allowed for them as their proving ground, in which case they may only be restored right at the end. This is speculation, of course, and I would certainly appreciate further input. There are one or two other options but I find them unsatisfactory because they involve adopting some Calvinistic notions which I am not prepared to entertain, for obvious reasons.

Anyway, I hope this has been interesting and thought-provoking. Consider it as one of my 'bigger question' challenges which, though many think is unimportant, does factor into discussions with atheists and in particular those who believe in reincarnation. As I have only recently read the autobiography of the current head of Tibetan Buiddhism, the Dalai Lama, I forced myself into an imaginary conversation with him and anticipated his questions to Christian/Messianic doctrine, especially in those grey areas like the one we have been talking about today. I look forward to seeing you at Rosh Chodesh for an important message in two days' time. Amen.

Endnotes

[1] Bibliophiles, A Pre-History of Meso- and South America, Episode 30, 24 September 2021
[2] See, for example, Graham Hancock, Fingerprints of the Gods: The Quest Continues (Century, London: 2001)

Comments from Readers

[1] "Your latest message is an extremely important understanding! I am spreading it to many!!!" (GL, Sweden/Rwanda, 30 June 2022)