- Salvation History -
SPEAKING IN COVENANTAL LANGUAGE
HISTORY IS HIS STORY
In this life, we will never really understand or even have much of a truly decent perspective of the thing we define to be as "history." As we talked about a few times in Logic and Religion, what we understand of "history" is what was passed down from someone to someone else and so on and so forth until we have come into possession of this information. But, history, in its entirety, is every single moment in every single place throughout all of time. That makes one second ago seem like an infinity to our minds while being merely the smallest fragment of the fullness of creation. Try to fit all of that into textbook! Do you understand exactly everything in all of existence that just occurred one second ago? Hm, doubtful. It is hard enough just to try and grasp the thoughts and processes running around in our own heads let alone the events of the rest of ALL of reality. So, we in and of our own nature are helpless. We by ourselves do not have the ability to see the road of history that leads us through today to tomorrow and to the fulfillment we are meant for. But, there is hope. There is a solution. There is a shortcut. If you are going to ask for directions you need a greater perspective. You need an aerial view. You need to see where you've been, where you are, and where it is you need to be going. So, on the road of life, we need a divine perspective.
Ultimately, there is a being that can comprehend and does understand all of history. That being is GOD. Remember, not only has God been present through it all but all that happens is only possible because of God's allowing. God is the net that holds creation together. He is the ever-constant First Cause. Time is of His doing. So, actually, in other words, it is really “HIS”-story. It is not much of ours at all. We are here for decades. He is here from the beginning to end! History is God’s story! Our perspective cannot even be put on the same playing field as to what God sees in His omnipresence. So, if there is indeed a story to history to tell, if there is a driving force or some progression to history that enjoins everything together and links us to the big picture, it is not really our story at all! It is GOD’S STORY!
But, what is the theme of the story? What is the big picture? What should we be focusing on throughout all of HIStory?
Well, the purpose of Logic and Religion was to provide us a starting point so that we might answer that very question. Through the first eight discussions thus far we have reasoned our way to the beginning of the road. We may not know the way from here but we now have the compass. We are now familiar with what we must see along this journey of HIStory. We have the necessary tools to keep us on track. What I mean is, we know about the existence of the one and only First Cause and that it is a self-sufficient, ever-existing, all-powerful, ever-present, knowing and loving being - God, that the purpose of human life is to know and love God, that we have immortal souls, that we have free will, that we are now fallen creatures, that heaven and hell exist, and that God speaks to us through creation and through our free will. That is information that carries tremendous power. That is a very solid starting point. And, fortunately, the rest actually isn't as difficult of a journey as you might think. Let me explain.
We have the forms so now all we need is the substances.
- God exists
- Our purpose is to know and love Him
- We do that using free will
So, what we really need to find out is how do we use our free will properly? But, in order to do that we need to realize more about the appropriate ways to know and love God. And, in order to do that we need to come to know more about God. That is the formula for success: learn about God and in turn learn about HIStory, thus learn about how to know love Him, then fulfill your purpose.
Now, here comes the shortcut. Think about it - God reveals Himself to us through creation and through our free will. Creation has been around for a very, very long time before us. And, mankind has also been around for a very, very long time before you and I. That means that God has been revealing Himself to us for a very, very long time! That means that there should already be a huge wealth of revelation already in existence. How fortunate we are to live this far into the age of human existence! Now, all that is left for us to do is find His deposit of revelation, test it, then live it.
Out of all the religions of the world, out of the countless numbers of cults in all the ages of the world, where on this good Earth do we start? Well, lucky for us, there is only one contender. There is only one group of people that preach a revelation that matches the guidelines of the reasoning in Logic and Religion. It's all or nothing. So, that makes these people worth considering...
GOD’S
VESSEL
Thousands
of years ago, there existed a very unique group of people.
Those people were especially unique not only because they claimed
things unfathomable and unheard of to the world at their time, things
that still remain unfathomable to many, many people today.
But,
those people were and are unique because they alone and their message
and actions alone have since changed the face of the entire human
race in more dramatic ways than any other people have. What
exactly did these people do? They said God was using them as
His mouthpiece, as His vessel... and they relayed His words to
us.
They are known as the Israelites.
Before
all of philosophy and before any kind of theology, the Israelites
were revealing revolutionary truths that were unfound by any other
people in all of history until then. For instance, the
Israelites were the first
people to tell the world that there is one, singular God.
Everyone
around them was saying otherwise. But, that is only the very
beginning of their understanding! Seemingly out of nowhere,
they preached that this singular God is all powerful,
self-sufficient, and omnipresent. They told us that He is
indeed a “He,” meaning, He has revealed Himself as a father.
They told us that He created us with the purpose to know and love and
that we have fallen from our intended nature and that there are
things such as Heaven and Hell and so on…
Sound
familiar?
That is truly something to be taken very
seriously. How would these people have figured this stuff
out?
How did they get themselves onto the road of HIStory that took
philosophy thousands of years later to see? They were the only
ones
to put together this knowledge of God and they didn’t even have a
land, government, formal education, or anything else that the other
civilizations had at the time! No one else came
close.
Also, in no other civilization had the “Gods” (referring to
polytheism) themselves brought down the law. No one claimed
that. The Israelites, however, said that very
thing.
They said that God came to them rather than the other way
around. And, the Israelites were the first to say that there
was a universal plan for ALL of reality that involves God
Himself.
Their words match Going Deeper - Logic and Religion to a
"T" and then bring it to an unthinkable perfection. These
were some amazing, amazing
people!
They had all of this understanding while being slaves and nomads
without even having a written word. Again, THAT IS SOMETHING
TO
BE TAKEN VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY. How else could such a group of
people come up with such a perfect understanding of the truth?
THE
WORD OF GOD
Now
begins the study of the revelation. This fills in so much
missing information for us! We now have exactly what we need
to
put the puzzle together. This adds God’s supernatural
perspective upon our reasoning. Through the Israelites, the
very inter-workings of God are available for us to see!
Now,
we can more deeply explore our understanding of “HIStory” by
using the very word of God - the scriptures of the ancient Israelites
- the OLD TESTAMENT (and there will also be an introduction to the
New Testament).
ETERNITY
REVEALED
If
you were excited about any of the previous topics and discussions,
all that we have figured for ourselves is but a very tiny, minuscule
amount of information compared to the revelation that God gives to
us. He can give us not only all that we have realized thus
far
in Going Deeper but also an infinite
amount more.
To
this point, we have God limited to the roles of a creator and a First
Cause that isn’t too personable. We deduced His knowing and
loving abilities, yet, He seems like such a mystery. However,
when you start reading scriptures’ version of history, of
GODS-STORY, it starts zooming in and shedding a wonderful light on
everything that we have realized thus far and makes it so, so much
more beautiful and understandable. The Old Testament takes
all
of reality and shows us what the important things are that we
could unsuccessfully try to figure through reasoning alone.
Throughout its reading there are many numerous
activities
going on simultaneously but very certain, particular things are set
aside with importance. And, when you see the beauty of how
everything maps out… it is truly
amazing. God's divine plan and work of creation is the most
surreal beauty that existence will ever witness.
THE
MAIN FOCUS OF THE BIBLE – COVENANTAL LANGUAGE
What
we will see from scripture is that, in ALL of time, there is
something that remains the sole significance for all
of humankind and all of creation. There is
a significance
that remains steadfast no matter how you look at HIStory.
Ultimately, the important part of all of life, the one thing that we
need to focus on, is this - the
covenant relationship between God and all of us, all of creation, and
all of existence.
Our position in respect to God is the utmost vital consideration that
we must be mindful of at all times. Without God there is no
us. Without Him there is no creation, no reality, no
anything. He is the first, the last, and the only
destination.
That is why our covenantal relationship with Him needs to be
focused on above all other things.
So,
the focus is COVENANT. Covenantal language is going to be our
common tongue of the Old Testament. It is going to be the
center of all attention. That means we need to get our ability of
translation
correct. And, first, there is a big
correction that we must make.
In our common everyday language
we wrongly describe a covenant as something similar to
a written
contract. We think of it as merely an exchange of goods and
services. But, in actuality, in biblical language, “covenant”
means so, so, so much more than that!
In biblical terms, A
COVENANT IS AN EXCHANGE OF PERSONS. It is like saying, “I am
yours and you are mine.” That is why biblical covenants
usually involve the exchange of property because in a true
covenant what is one's is the other's. Covenant is a sharing
of
personhood. Also, that is why it involves such things as a
family - "the same flesh and the same blood." Or,
it also involves the sharing of meals - togetherness. True
marriage
is a covenant because it is supposed to be the unbreakable,
undeniable exchange of persons. A
covenant is so much more than “boss and employee” type of
relationship.
Rather, it is more of a "husband and wife" or "father
and son" bond. It is the kind of exchange of
persons that implies one-without-the-other would be a
frustration of identity.
We, as a culture, have deeply
misunderstood the significance of its true meaning.
But,
fortunately, the Israelites DID understand its true meaning.
So, we are going to study the Israelite's story of the
covenant
- the story of HIStory.
Now, it is time to start moving along
the road. It is time to see where we have been so that we may
hopefully better understand where we are. Then, by knowing
where we stand we may know where to go next. Sure, we already
know the destination. We are all meant for heaven.
But,
do you know how to get there? That's what the study of God's
revelation is for. He has given us the directions.
So,
hopefully, after reading this next series of discussions you just
might see the map...
SALVATION
HISTORY
The
Israelites' scriptures, the Old Testament, are a very complex set of
books. They were written in a language and character that is
very far removed from most modern culture so they can be very hard to
understand. So, having a primer on what we will be discussing
may be necessary. To give you a short overview of God's
covenant history with us…
The premise
is simple: God created all things and set mankind as the pinnacle of
creation. Then, God made a covenant with all of creation
through mankind. Unfortunately, mankind turned away from
God's
covenant thus cursing themselves and all of creation. But,
God
did not give up. He kept His mercy and grace outstretched to
us
so that we may find our way back to Him through the path of
salvation. Thus, the story of salvation history and the
series
of covenants that God formed with mankind begins.
Through Adam
and Eve, the first two humans, in their primordial covenant with God,
everything was the way it was supposed to be. Creation was at
its state of origin and goodness. All was in fulfillment of
its
design… until the “fall” where everything became “not what it
was supposed to be.” Mankind abused their free will and chose
to alter the relationship that God created. But, we have a
God
that is merciful and loving beyond human comprehension.
Therefore, God threw into action another plan. He did
everything that was necessary to keep humankind in existence and
still be able to embrace their purpose – to embrace love - to
embrace covenant with God. He re-established the
broken
covenant from one with a couple
into one (that became a little bit bigger) with a household (Noah and
his family).
Eventually, mankind disobeyed Him again, so, God attempted another,
bigger covenant with a tribe
(Abraham and his people) which humankind failed again, then to Moses
and his many tribes (a nation
- failed), and then to the entire kingdom of David (failed).
Humankind, through all of HIStory, has failed to stay loyal to God
and remain in fulfillment with Him due to the stain of
original
sin and the fall of Adam and Eve that we all inherit. From
that
bloodline, all of mankind inherited a tainted and skewed nature that
gives us the instinct where being one in mind and heart with God has
become an uphill battle. So, God did something amazing.
He
did something that humanity did not deserve. He showed us His
divine and unsurpassable mercy in a way that is so far beyond our
worthiness. We couldn’t do it ourselves so therefore, through
the service of one holy woman, GOD BECAME MAN and fixed the covenant
between humankind and Himself for all of time. Through the
volunteering of Mary, the culmination of human participation in
salvation history, Jesus
Christ, God Himself
incarnate, was born human, fulfilled the covenant through His life,
death, and resurrection and thus has finally offered us salvation.
SEVEN
But,
there is a very, very important part that is missing from all of
that. Through the fulfillment of the sixth covenant God took the
work into His own hands and has allowed us the potential to be back in
covenant with Him. Yet, that
doesn’t mean that the story is over just yet...
In
Hebrew, the number seven is translated as "sheva."
And, "sheva" is arguably the most important number
throughout all of scripture, throughout ALL of the bible.
That
is because the ancient Israelites referred to swearing a covenant as
"sevening one's self." So, as you will see, in
covenantal language the number seven is always a central
concept.
But, however, all of the above mentioned events
and covenants only sum up to 6 attempted covenants between God and
humanity. There’s something missing!
So,
where is the seventh part of salvation history? What is
missing
from that picture? Ah, well, the best is yet to come! Christ has allowed for us the possibility of salvation.
Now,
the rest is in our hands. When you “seven” yourself with
God you are participating in the sixth part of the grand picture of
salvation
history and are in transition into what is next to come! It
is up to
each and every one of us to
embrace
our called nature and to participate with God by knowing and loving
Him and all things good He has created for us as we usher in the
new and everlasting covenant!