THE MYSTERY REVEALED

THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

THEY WILL SEE HIM COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY

If you have visited this site previously, there have been some changes made in both this home page and in some of the attached book introductions. Several of the introductions have been updated and two titles have been changed. The previous title for the book on Abraham has been changed to “GOD’S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM” from “ABRAHAM SAW THE CROSS”. The old introduction has been expanded to include details of God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants and how God is fulfilling His everlasting covenant promises to Abraham.

Much of what is included in the new introduction on the covenant with Abraham on this web site has been carried over and is being presented in several short papers on a new web site. These short papers are easier to read and understand and they include additional information not found on this web site. On the left-hand side of this page you will find a place where you can connect to that new web site, "godscovenantwithabraham.com".

In addition to the changes that have been made to the introduction about Abraham, the introduction to the book titled "THE MYSTERY OF THE KINGDOM REVEALED" has been rewritten and the title has been changed to "JESUS SPOKE TO THE CROWDS IN PARABLES".

Among the changes to this web site is the addition of a paper at the end of this home page that may help to answer the question of all time. It addresses the question, "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE". It basically summarizes everything that has been presented on this web site.

The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed in the parables of Jesus. Matthew tells us how Jesus only spoke to the crowds in parables but He was explaining the meaning of His parables to His disciples (Matthew, chapter 13). When the disciples asked Him why He only spoke to the crowds in parables, He told them "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted." (Matthew 13:11)

Only His disciples will hear Jesus when He explains the meaning of His parables and only His disciples will understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

We love mysteries and we love to have mysteries revealed to us. Throughout the ages man has been thrilled with the revelations that have been made known about many of life's great mysteries but there is one mystery that remains a mystery for most of mankind. It is the mystery of the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

That mystery has been revealed. It was revealed some two thousand years ago but only those who are willing to take the time to listen to Jesus speak His revealing words and who have a desire to know the truth can understand the revelation of that mystery. Remember, Jesus said of Himself, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:6)

Without God, life has no meaning at all. Those who refuse to listen to Him will spend a lifetime asking those unanswerable questions -

. Why am I here?

. What is life all about?

. Why was I ever born?

Without God, there is no answer to those questions. The unbelieving world of science will tell us there is an answer and the answer is that it all just happened. They will tell us that it all blew into existence from nothing and life just happened by chance in that primeval marsh. It never happened that way and it does not answer the question. Why?

A LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR HOST

My name is Johnny Rogers. I am past the age of seventy and am a retired Mechanical Engineer. I have been a Christian for more than sixty years but before that, my mother made sure that I was in church every Sunday from the time I could walk. For the first forty years (or so) of my life I became versed in the scriptures through weekly church bible study and from hearing thousands of sermons preached. I relied heavily on what others had found in scripture but I did enough of my own Bible study to know that some of what I heard was off target.

Somewhere in my forties I began to realize that my dedication to God was less than total commitment and I started to immerse myself in the scriptures. Over the last ten years, my study time has increased because of my retirement from active work and with the internet Bible search engines available to me my study time has been more effective.

After many thousands of hours of study and research, I decided to put together a few books of my own to explain what I have found out about the mystery and its revelation. I have written my books to assist those who care to make use of what I have written as an aid in their own Bible study.

BOOKS THAT SPEAK OF THE MYSTERY

There is really only one book that gives us the true revelation of the mystery of the kingdom of heaven and that is the BIBLE. Most people, however, refuse to believe that and others refuse to devote the time required to search its pages and find the answers. They are more willing to listen to others who profess to have found the answers and believe what they say.

I am one of those men who believes that he has found some of the answers to our questions in the scriptures. I believe that if you read what I have written and included in my web site you may be able to see those answers. You should be careful with regard to blindly believing what I have written because I am only a man and men can be wrong. I am asking that you read what I have written but you should check and comfirm what you read with the scriptures. The scriptures are God's word and your requirement is to believe God.

At this point in time, I am including the Introductions to several of my books on this web site. I have written these introductions so as to include a summary of what is in each book. If you read the introduction you will see what that book says about its part of the mystery and its revelation.

If the introduction is of little interest to you then you will not want to spend the time it takes to read the book. I am still working on the books and I may release one or more at some time in the not too distant future. In the meantime, if you will read the introductions you will see what I believe is the revelation of the mystery.

Everything that we need to know about the mystery is recorded in scripture and even the simplest of men and women can see the mystery being revealed with adequate study. My hope is that you will read some of what I have written but your real study time must be devoted to the scriptures and what they have to say.

As you read the introductions to my books, you will notice that I have shown quoted scripture in red letters. Unlike "red letter" Bibles that only show the gospel words of Jesus in red I have shown all scripture in red because all scripture, including the Old Testament scripture, is Christ speaking.

Remember what John wrote about that? He said that Christ is the WORD and the creator from the beginning and He is God (John 1:1-14). The Father spoke through Christ and did all of His creation works through Him. God spoke it all into being through the word of His mouth (Psalms 33:6).

All scripture is Christ speaking but that does not mean that all scripture is true as stated. Christ is sometimes telling us a story that includes His repeating a false statement that someone else has made in order to tell the story. When that happens, it is obvious in the context of the scriptures. An example of that can be seen in the story of Satan’s lie about what would happen if Eve ate of that tree in the middle of the garden. Remember, God had told them that if they ate of that tree they would die. Satan told Eve that if she ate of that tree, "You surely will not die!”

TITLES OF BOOK INTRODUCTIONS INCLUDED:

• DRAWING NEAR THROUGH THE VEIL

• ABRAHAM SAW THE CROSS (TITLE HAS CHANGED)

• EZEKIEL SAW THE CROSS

• LOVE IS THE WAY HOME

• THE MYSTERY OF THE KINGDOM REVEALED (TITLE HAS CHANGED)

• THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN

• KEEP THE SABBATH DAY HOLY

• HE WILL JUDGE THE NATIONS

You can view the listed introductions by selecting the one desired and clicking that topic in the upper left hand tabulation. My suggestion is that you read the introductions in the order shown above. It would be advisable not to read more than one each day so that you will have time to consider what has been written and then search the scriptures to see what Jesus is telling us.

Each one of my books builds on the ones before but each can stand alone (they can't stand apart from the Bible, however) if need be. Be sure to read the referenced scriptures from the Bible that you normally use and try to expand your reading to include other related scriptures.

The Bible is God's word and God's word is infallible. What I have written is not infallible. I have rewritten each one of these introductions (and each book) dozens of times making corrections and changes as I attempt to be as correct as possible. I am certain that there are still changes that would make these works better. If you see something that could be better written or that needs correction, please email your comments to me.

If you would rather have a short answer to the question, “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE”, I have summarized it in the following short paper.

Thanks for visiting our web site -

Johnny Rogers 1/13/07

Revised 4/19/10

Images of cross and Bible are from FreeFoto.com

Link For the Cross -
http://www.freefoto.com/preview/05-08-10?ffid=
05-08-10&k=Cross+at+Sunset

Link For Bible -
http://www.freefoto.com/preview/05-02-8?ffid=
05-02-8&k=Bible

"Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible^�,
Copyright � 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org )

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE

The big question is – what is the meaning of life? What is the answer? From the point of view of modern science, there is no meaning; it just happened. It was all just an accident that came into being out of nothing. Really! That was some accident. To start with nothing and get to this point in time with the universe and life as it exists today, that was one big accident.

Could it be that a creator planned and designed it and brought it all into being? If there really was a creator and that creator brought it all into being, then He had a reason for His creation. He would know why He created our universe and brought life into being. He would know what the meaning of life is. If that is the case, then He surely would have told us why He created this universe and brought us into being and what the meaning of life really is.

Whether it all happened by accident or if it was created by an all powerful creator, almost everyone is in agreement that this earth is not something that is permanent. Our sun and solar system is in the process of dieing and it will all be consumed in flaming fire some day. Whether or not it will only last one more year or fifty billion more years, the end will come. If it was all created by an Almighty God as just a temporary creation, why bring it into being if it will end some day? Why create life that is only temporary?

If Christians are right and our God did create it all, would He not have told us why He created it and why He will allow it to end? Is it possible that He has told us and many of us have not been listening? If the Bible is God’s word, as most Christians believe, then all that He wanted us to know can be found in that book. Let’s see what the Bible says about why we exist on this temporary earth. Maybe it can also tell us why that God would allow pain and suffering to happen to some good people.

That book begins with the words, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” After God had created the earth, we read where He created living things, including all plant and animal life and all life that would live in the waters of this earth. The last living thing that He created was man. Scripture says, “Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”. The question is why.

Regarding God’s creation, scripture says that “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” God had completed His creation on day six and He rested from all His work that He had done on day seven. God had completed a creation that was very good. His best work was when He created man in His own image.

Adam was a part of a very good creation but man disobeyed God and messed it all up. What happened to cause that? Satan came along. God had created a wife for Adam. Adam named her Eve. God told them they could eat of all of the trees in the garden with the exception of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were not to eat of that tree or they would die. They would die on the day they ate of it.

Satan came along in the form of a serpent and deceived Eve. He came to her and said, "Indeed, has God said, `You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" She knew the answer to that question. She told Satan that God had commanded them not to eat of the tree in the middle of the garden and that if they touched it or ate from it they would die. They would die on the day that they ate it.

Satan told her, "You surely will not die!” He told her that God knew that in the day that she ate it that her eyes would be opened and she would be wise like God and know good from evil.

Scripture says that when Eve saw that the fruit of that tree was good for food and she saw how delightful it looked to the eye and when she thought about how it would make her wise like God, she took it and ate it and she gave it to her husband and he also ate.

Satan’s temptations, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life overcame her respect for God’s word and she disobeyed God and she also caused her husband to disobey Him and they gained the knowledge of good and evil. Having gained that knowledge Adam brought sin and death into being and he doomed this creation to a fiery end. He also brought sorrow and pain into the lives of all mankind.

Man chose to believe Satan’s lie rather than believe God’s word and he died, spiritually, that very day. Since that day in the garden all mankind has become guilty of sin and all unbelieving sinners are dead.

Did Satan show himself as being greater than the LORD GOD when he brought about an end to God’s good creation? If there is an Almighty God who brought it all into being and if He is the LORD GOD of all, then He should be greater than Satan. If that is the case, then He should have known about Satan’s deceptions and how he would cause man to fall and bring an ultimate end to God’s creation.

Any God with the power to create this awesome creation would likely foreknow what the future holds. Did God know what would happen and did He include it in His plans? Does the Bible say anything about God having had foreknowledge of what is to come?

David said something about that in Psalms, chapter 139. David spoke of God’s having foreknown him when he wrote, “And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.” David says that God even knew what he would say before he said it. It is no wonder that David would say, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.”

If there is a God and He has that kind of power and foreknowledge, then He foreknew what would happen to His creation before He created it. That brings us back to a question that we asked previously. Why bring into being a creation that will end and why create life that is only temporary? Did He foreknow what would happen and had He planned beforehand how He would correct the damage that Satan would cause?

Speaking of what God foreknew and what He planned for man, Paul tells us that, “- we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:28-29).

Paul is speaking of God having foreknown who would choose to love Him and how He is working in their lives to cause all things to work together for their good. He has predestined for them to become conformed to the image of His Son. In other words, He is creating them in the image of God by creating them in the image of the Son of God who is the image of God.

In another place Paul says the Father has, “rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” (Colossians 1:13-15) Paul then says that He is “the firstborn from the dead”. The Father has rescued the faithful from darkness and transferred us into the Son’s kingdom.

Christ is the image of the invisible God and the Firstborn of all creation. When He became the Firstborn from the dead did He also become the Firstborn of a new creation? He is the Firstborn of a new creation of children that have been made sinless by His blood.

John wrote of how Christ came to earth to provide a way for mankind to become children of God. He said of Christ, that, “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:11-13)

When we become born again of God we have been created in the image of God in His new creation. Christ was the sinless Firstborn Son. He was perfect and we are being recreated as sinless and perfect children of God in His image. It happens when we receive Jesus and accept His sacrifice for our sins.

It was all planned from the beginning. Peter says, “For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you” (1 Peter 1:20).

It sounds like the fall of this creation brought into being a new creation. It also appears that God’s foreknowledge of what was to happen may have caused Him to plan both creations before He began work on the first one. It also sounds like God brought into being that new creation because He wanted a family of children who would choose to love Him and believe in Him and have Him as their Father.

In God’s first creation Adam had no choice regarding his being created as a son of God in God’s image. In the new creation man has been given a choice for whether or not he wants to be born of God. If we choose to receive Christ we have the right to become a child of God.

Christ was the Word of God and the creator from the beginning (John 1:1-14). God created it all by the Word of His mouth and Christ is the Word. Christ created both the old creation and the new creation.

Is the old creation an imperfect copy of the new creation? Did God plan it so that He could have a means by which man could choose to meet His conditions for becoming a child of God by receiving Christ, the Word? We must receive God's Word to have that right. Receiving God’s word requires us to believe the word means what it says.
We heard Paul say how God is working in the lives of those who love Him to cause them to become conformed to the image of His Son. The requirement is that we choose to love God. The kingdom has been promised, “to those who love Him” (James 2:5). Jesus said that only those who keep His commandments love Him (John 14:15 and 21).

His requirement for becoming a child of God in the new creation is that we must choose to love Him with a love that is obedient to His word. We must make the choice to obey His gospel message to be redeemed from our sins and be made perfect by the blood of Christ so that we can become children of God in the new creation.

Paul tells us that we are children of God, “and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Romans 8:16-17)
Christ had to suffer and die so that He could redeem us from our sins. God has asked us to show our love for Him and do a copy of what Jesus did for us and suffer with Him. We must take up our cross and follow Him.

Satan is crafty now just as he was crafty when he spoke to Eve. He tells us that the Bible is no longer reliable because man has changed it and added to it so how can it be reliable. He is asking, “Did God really say that”. “Did He really say that you must suffer with Christ?”

He says that we surely do not have to suffer with Christ in this world. He says that if God is truly a God of love, He would not want His children to suffer. He also says that we should question any God who would allow pain and suffering to come upon good people in this world.

Most people do not believe God’s promises and they refuse to obey Him because, “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

Satan is the god of this world. He is the ruler of this world and its dominion of darkness but the ruler of this world has been judged (John 16:11). Christ’s kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). His kingdom is the kingdom of heaven. God's children of the new creation have been transferred out of Satan's dominion of darkness into the kingdom of heaven.

Just as Satan blinded the mind of Eve so that she would not believe God’s word, he blinds the minds of all who refuse to believe and obey the gospel message. Satan says that a God of love would never condemn anyone.  He says that "You surely will not die in Hell!”

He also says that God wants His children to prosper here and that we should live for what we can get out of this world while we are here and do whatever it takes to get ahead in this world. He also tells us to enjoy our bodies and do whatever gives us pleasure and makes us feel good.
Most people obviously believe Satan because they are living just as Satan says we should live in this world. He keeps telling us the same thing and our bodies keep getting older and more wrinkled and ugly. We are slowly dieing in this creation and we just ignore that fact and keep trying to hang on to what little we can salvage in this world.
We keep trying to hide our flaws so that we will look young and beautiful but to no avail. Nothing that we do here will matter in the end unless it has to do with obtaining that new world. The big picture is not about our obtaining health, wealth, and happiness in this world. It’s about obtaining true life in an everlasting world.

Even the most successful and happiest lives on earth will end in tragedy at death if that’s all there is. What happens before our death will mean nothing if there is nothing to look forward to after that.

For the faithful there is something to look forward to after life on this earth has ended. It is the salvation provided through Jesus Christ. It is the promise of a home in glory with the Father. If we truly believed that, we would be living our lives as though we are only aliens on this earth.

Peter began his first letter saying that it was, “To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure”.

He says, “For, "ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS 0FF, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." And this is the word which was preached to you.”

We have seen how God foreknew every day of David’s life before he lived it and how He foreknew what he would say before he said it. He foresaw David as a man after His own heart. We also heard Paul tell us that God foreknew the ones who would choose to love Him and He has predestined them to become conformed to the image of His Son. Now we are hearing Peter tell us how God foreknew all of the faithful and He has chosen them to be sprinkled with Christ’s blood.

If God foreknew the faithful, has the infinite mind of God foreseen the entire history of the world and every life that would be lived before it happened? That would include foreseeing everyone who would choose to love and obey Him. If so, it would be as if everything that will ever happen on earth has already happened in the mind of God.

Solomon did say, “That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

Later he says, “That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.” (Ecclesiastes 3:15)

If He foresaw it all before it is happening, has He not made adjustments in what He foresaw to bring about salvation for the faithful? The faithful are those who will choose to love and obey Him. Remember, Paul said that He foreknew those who would love Him and He is causing "all things" to work together for their good. He has "predestined" them to be conformed to the image of His Son. He is creating them in the image of God in the new creation.

The Lord is causing it to happen. Remember, the Lord is the Potter and we are the clay (Romans, chapter 9). The Potter is working in the lives of those whom He foresaw loving Him so as to create them into vessels meant for glory.

It sounds like He is allowing man to make his own choices but He foresaw what choices we would make and He is interceding to help those who will choose to love and obey Him to become His children. Is becoming a child of God really our choice to make?

Peter is telling us that very thing when he says that the Lord is "not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) As the LORD says in another place, “For why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord GOD. "Therefore, repent and live." (Ezekiel 18:31-32)

God does not lie. If scripture says that the Lord wishes that all would come to repentance then that is His wish. His wish is that all would repent of living for the things of this world and become born again children of God but He knows that only a few will. He knows that most will choose to keep living for the things of this world and they will die in their sins. He foreknew those who would repent and He has called them.

He will not take away all of the troubles of those who will choose to love Him because those who choose to follow Christ must suffer with Him but He will make it possible for them to bear up under their burdens. He will limit their temptations and help provide a way for them to be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).
We heard Paul tell us that we are children of God and fellow heirs with Christ “if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” He then spoke of how little that suffering really means when he says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.” (Romans 8:17-19)

Jesus was glorified by what He suffered. As He said in His great prayer, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You” (John 17:1).
The hour had come for Jesus to die in the fire of the cross as our sin offering.  Christ brought glory to God when He suffered on the cross to redeem God’s children. If we follow Him, we will suffer with Him but the sufferings of this life are trivial when compared to eternal glory. That glory will dwarf all of our sufferings here.
The question was, What is the meaning of life? What is the answer? It is not for the purpose of our having a life of joy and happiness from an earthly prospective. We are not here on this earth to obtain the things of this earth. We are here to obtain the things of the next earth. We have been placed here to see if we have the faith required to bring glory to God and obtain that home in glory.
God is telling us what the meaning of life is as He works through Christ to create us in Christ’s image as children of God. He tells us what the meaning of life is in Isaiah, chapter 43.
In that chapter the LORD speaks through Isaiah to tell us how the Father is being glorified through the children He has created. He says, “Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made."

Life on this earth has been created for God’s glory.
God is glorified by the children that He has created. God is speaking of His children of the new creation who are called by His name and how He created them in Christ Jesus for His glory.
When He speaks through Isaiah of those children who are called by His name, would that not be those children of the new creation who are called, “Christians”?  Are they not the ones who are being brought to glory?
Jesus once told His disciples, "You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.” (Mark 13:13) Being saved means being given that home in glory. Through His sufferings, Christ is “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10).

Peter is telling us about that when he speaks of the testing of our faith. He spoke of their having being distressed by various trials, “so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7).

In chapter 4, he speaks of their testing as being fiery ordeals and says, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.” He also said that “if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.”

We have been created in Christ Jesus for God’s glory. We have been called by His name, the name, “Christian”. That is God’s name that He gave to Christ and Christ has given to us (John 17:11). When we take up our cross and follow Him and suffer with Him in His name, we bring glory to God. We do that when we overcome this world and the testing of our faith.

We heard what Peter said about that. James also spoke of our short lives and of how our faith is being tested. He said that our life on earth is like a vapor that appears for a little while and then passes away (James 4:14).
James began his letter by telling them to “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Christ suffered and died to create us in His image and bring us to glory with Him. Regarding that suffering, He told His disciples, "But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!” (Luke 12:50)
Christ was baptized in water by John long before He said those words but He had another baptism, a baptism by fire, that He also had to endure. His cross was our sacrifice for sins but it was His baptism by fire. We must take up our cross and follow Him and suffer with Him.

We must be baptized by water and Spirit but we must also be baptized with fire in the testing of our faith. We must overcome the fiery ordeals of that testing so that we can reign with Him in glory.
Is that not the baptism of fire that John the Baptist was speaking of when He told of one who would come who “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:16)? It was a baptism that Christ had to face and if we are to be glorified with Him we must suffer with Him.

We heard Peter speak of our various trials and how that through them our faith "even though tested by fire" may result in praise, glory and honor. The Psalmist may have been speaking of our coming through the fires of our testing when he wrote, “For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined.” He then added, “You made men ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water, Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.” (Psalms 66:10-12)

It appears that God has placed us here in this old creation to test our faith to see if we will believe His promises. If we really believe Him we will know that the testing of our faith is our trial by fire. As we travel through this world our faith is being tested by the fiery ordeals that we face to see if we will suffer with Christ and overcome this world.

Jesus endured until the end and He overcame this world (John 16:33). John said that everyone who is born of God must overcome this world. He says, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.” (1 John 5:4)

We can now understand how God can let bad things happen to good people when we see how we are being tested. Bad things happened to Jesus and bad things will happen to us. Jesus overcame this world and we must overcome this world. Overcoming this world’s trials will be the spiritual fires that we must endure as we suffer with Him. Those who fail to overcome may be faced with the fires of another world.

We can only pass our tests and overcome this world if we believe God's word. We must believe like Abraham believed. When God promised to give to him and to his descendants an everlasting Canaan, Abraham knew that meant a heavenly Canaan. Scripture says that He lived as an alien in that land but “he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:9-10)

God gave Abraham credit for righteousness because of his faith but He also tested Abraham’s faith. Just as Abraham was tested, we also will be tested. We will be tested to see if we will suffer with Christ and bring glory to God. Abraham overcame the fire of his test as our example and we must overcome the fires of our testing. We can only do that if we have his faith and believe that we are only aliens passing through this world on our way to that home with God.
God foreknew who would pass the test and choose to love and obey Him and suffer with Christ but He requires that we go through it just as Jesus had to go through it.  We will be tested with our cross and be baptized with fire just as Jesus was tested and baptized with fire. Our fire, however, will be trivial compared to His fire because His fire was the sin offering of all time.

We must overcome this world if we are to receive the prize.  Those who suffer with Christ and overcome the fires of this world will become sons of God and heirs of God in that new world to come. They will live forever in a land of glory where there will be no more fires.
Paul tells us there are many who “set their minds on earthly things” (Philippians 3:19). God's children must not be like that. He says, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ - -”

In another place Paul tells us that if we have been raised up with Christ we are to seek what is above, where Christ is (Colossians 3:1). He says that we are to “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:2-4)

Have we set our minds on things above or on the things of this earth? Are we living as if this world is not our home and that we are only aliens passing through on our way to another place or have we settled down to a life of living for what is here on this earth? If we are looking ahead, we will live as though we are just passing through this world on our way home.
The old covenant promise to God’s earthly chosen people was an earthly copy of God’s true covenant promise to His spiritual chosen people. Our walk is a spiritual walk toward a spiritual land, not an earthly walk toward an earthly land. Our goal should be to be raised from the dead “in Christ” so that we can enter that land. It will only happen if we follow the LORD and overcome the testing of our faith.

It was all foretold in that old Hebrew story. Moses told that earthly nation that they were to keep all of the LORD’S commandments in order that they could live and multiply and “go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to give to your forefathers.” (Deuteronomy 8:1)
Moses then told them, "You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”

The things that happened to them happened for our instruction. Paul referred back to that old story and the things that happened to them and said, “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction - -” (1 Corinthians 10:11).

In the same way He is testing us as we travel through our spiritual wilderness. The LORD is testing us that He might humble us “to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”
Remember, of the army of God that came out of slavery in Egypt, only Joshua and Caleb would enter that land of promise. Scripture tells us that they would enter because they had followed the LORD fully.
Just as that earthly Israel had to overcome the adversities of their wilderness and keep faithful until the end, we must overcome our wilderness (We must overcome this world) and keep faithful to the end. He has brought us out of slavery to sin to lead us to our land and we must continue to follow Him fully.

Jesus said that heaven and earth will pass away but His words will not pass away (Matthew 24:35). The God who created the heavens and the earth said those words. The God who is not limited in time and who could foresee the future said those words.
I believe that the all powerful God who said those words had the power to keep His promise. I do not believe that man or Satan could stop Him or silence Him. I believe that He kept His promise and He has given us His word in the Bible.
The Bible as given in the original Greek and Hebrew is God’s inspired word. Not all of our modern translations are good translations but most are very close to the original. When we study from several different translations and from the Greek and Hebrew we can learn what God’s covenant requirements are for us to receive that home in glory. He will tell us that the meaning of life is to live a life that brings glory to God.

The meaning of life on this earth is to bring glory to God and we do that when we show our faith and love for Him with obedience. All fathers are glorified when their children are faithful and obedient.

Christ is our example of how God’s children bring glory to the Father. We heard Him say, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You” (John 17:1).  He will then tell us how He glorified the Father when He says, "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.”

Christ glorified the Father when He did His works of love for us. He has commanded us to take up our cross and follow Him. We glorify the Father when we follow Christ and do what God has commanded us to do. Paul tells us about that when he tells us that we are His workmanship, "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10)

We have been created for the Father's glory but we have been created in Christ Jesus for good works. Those good works can never save us; only faith in Him can save us but it must be the faith of Abraham. We must be like Abraham and believe God's word.

Remember, Christ was the Word from the beginning. We must believe the words of Christ when He tells us, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.” (John 15:10) As Jesus told a crowd of Jews, “- he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life - -” (John 5:24). He is telling us what John 3:16 really means.
We must believe the Word of God if we are to have eternal life with Him. If we truly believe Him and show our belief with obedience, we will bring glory to the Father and He will glorify us with Him.
For those who follow Christ and overcome, they will bring glory to God and they will be given His glory and they will reign with Him in glory. For those who believe and obey God, it is a journey through this old creation toward an everlasting home with God in that new creation.
Most people don't believe God and follow Him because they can’t see beyond this world. They believe and follow the god of this world and he will take them to a different everlasting place.

Will we believe Satan or will we believe God. Will we follow the god of this world or will we follow the LORD GOD? Will we choose to live for the things of this world or will we choose to live for the next world?
Christians have their minds set on what is above, not what is of this world. They know that God requires that we work for a living but not for the purpose of gaining worldly riches. They also know that God will provide them with the things that they need in this world and they appreciate and are happy with the little things that they have been given in this life and they gladly share what they have with others.

The people of this world, however, will never be happy with what they have no matter how much they obtain. That is why Solomon, the man who had it all, could refer to what he had done and what he had gained and say that “all was vanity and striving after wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).
Striving for the things of this world is like striving after the wind. Those earthly things will not make it into eternity. An analogy might be like a three year old child that has been offered the choice between having his favorite candy bar today or having one million dollars tomorrow.
We can understand it if he chose the candy now because he is not capable of making that choice. That candy will be forgotten in the days ahead but a little child cannot foresee that. He wants things, now!

It is different with those of us who are mature. Mature adults have the power to make choices and they have been given a choice by God. They have been offered far more than all of the treasures of this earth if they will forego a lifetime of pursuit of those earthly things and pursue that heavenly home.

Any adult who does not believe God’s promise of that heavenly home will choose the candy, today. They want things now because they can’t see tomorrow. One must have faith to see tomorrow. It must be a faith that can endure testing because all of us will be tested.
Our faith will be tested to see if we will follow the LORD God or follow the god of this world. That god is telling us to follow him and he will give us the good life. He makes it sound like a fairy tale.
It will not happen that way for those who live for this world. There will be no earthly endings where they will live, “happily ever after”. Only those who follow the LORD God will live a happy life, forever. It will happen in that new world, not this world.
During our short time on earth our faith will be tested. We hope not to have too many bad times but the greatest of the faithful had some very bad times. Some early Christians died on crosses. Some were fed to the lions. Some were put to the torch. Worse yet, it has been said that some Christians were forced to watch as their children were put to death.

It did not have to happen to them. They had a choice. They could have denied Jesus and been like the ones of this world and worshipped the gods of this world. They did not give in because they could see the big picture.  They could see by faith the picture of eternal glory in that new world to come and they were willing to suffer for a short while on this earth in order to obtain it.

Some people will never hear Jesus tell them how they must follow Him and suffer with Him and overcome this world if they are to glorify God and obtain glory with Christ in that new world. They hear Satan telling them that the meaning of life is to live for what we can get out of this world. Most people obviously believe him because that is how they are living their very short lives in this doomed creation.

For those who continue to search the scriptures for the truth they will find it if they truly believe God. For those who are looking for something else, they will find something they were not looking for.
Some day they will find themselves looking back at a wasted life of chasing the wind. They will have chosen today’s candy and lost eternity. They will have spent a lifetime of striving after the wind and the rubbish in this dieing world and they will never obtain what is real and everlasting in that new world to come.

Johnny Rogers 3/10/10
Revised 8/24/10

"Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible^�,
Copyright � 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)