Eternity

And He is now an even greater reflection of the Father who sent Him."

FOR EVERY SIN, there is a consequence. For humans or angels, where sin is flaunted whether in sincere ignorance or hatred, death takes over. Death claims the mind, the thoughts, and from there, the actions and reactions. It becomes mockery and hatred. I quote the Remedy translation a lot. It has become one of my go-to Bible versions. There is a passage in Romans 1 that describes, not just the sin of man but of angels, now devils. Sin is not a joke. This Bible passage makes that clear. What is misunderstood by most is God’s judgment of it. Verse 23 in the Remedy says, “Therefore, because they persistently refused the gracious Remedy freely offered, God gave them up to reap the consequences of the unremitting infection of fear and selfishness.” Now, this is Dr. Timothy Jenning’s paraphrase of the Greek. “Give up” here is not the “Oh, I give up!” we would exclaim but a releasing of His hands and His TLC where there is persistent sin.

Where God is not, there is only death, and to the unrepentant mind, it seems like fun at first. But it isn’t. Nor is God’s judgment, a word often used in the King James Version, the hangman’s noose of a violent God that we picture either. God’s judgment, most of the time, is mercy, but where sin is not forgiven, where people and devils “not only persist in their self-destructive ways, but throw parties and give awards to others who practice them (V32),” there will come a day of immense regret. Here is John’s Revelation.

The Spirit said to me that no one person has ever correctly translated John’s vision. This is a sober thought. Like prophecies of the past, they could only be seen correctly in the rearview mirror. The Jewish culture of Jesus’ day didn’t recognize Him from prophecy, they didn’t realize the cross was the final fulfillment of the Law, nor were they happily anticipating the empty tomb. In fact, Jesus’ disciples were hiding, terrified of what was happening. And He’d told them on repeat He would rise again. My point is, the lake of fire of John’s Revelation is not an apocalyptic glutinous lake of volcanic material nor the flames of a war which consumes the earth. Those are not God at all.

In an interview by Minister Todd White, the interviewee described God as I have experienced Him – as far more gentle and loving and kind, far more generous in nature than the church has any idea. My heart leapt to hear it. We really don’t know how big and expansive His mercy and compassion is. But a day will come when there is no place for mercy to rest and those who rejected Him at every turn will see all that they should have done and didn’t do, all they set aside for selfish reasons, everyone affected by their sinful behavior, and they will wish in vain for what God would have given them. In a vision, a woman saw Jesus weep over this moment. He does not look forward to it. Though He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, He is still the man who hung on the cross and bled and died for you and me. He walked right out of the grave, and many buried alongside Him rose as well and went into Jerusalem witnessing about Him (Matthew 27:52-53). But the gospel of the church which formed from Him in the days that followed pointed men’s and women’s gazes back toward humbleness unmatched in scale.

He who will judge nations, governments, angels, devils, and individuals, who holds all authority over all powers in this world and the world who is to come (Ephesians 1:21), hasn’t changed one whit. And He is now an even greater reflection of the Father who sent Him (John 14:9). Wrapped in light and festooned in glory in John’s vision, what John heard from Him was not to fear. What those judged will hear, what they will see, isn’t the violence and hate of darkness and death, nor man’s ideas of judges and courtrooms and punishment. What they will see are the holes in His hands, and the love in His eyes, and holiness that has, for eternity, kept angelic creatures circling the throne crying out its beauty.

For them, I feel His heart, and the contrast of the Spirit who will perform judgment. They are one, united completely, but also individual, and as has been said of Him, to curse the Spirit is not forgiven (Matthew 12:31), there is an edge He carries. Because Jesus became man, and feels as a man, remembering a childhood in the fields of Judea, and worship in the temple at age twelve, and roasted fish beside Lake Galilee, and long before it, when the earth was without form and void, how Light came and from the soil, the man He would one day be.

“They will be thrown into the eternal fire of God’s love and truth, where all sin and selfishness is consumed, causing overwhelming agony of mind and torment of soul.” (Matthew 13:42, Remedy)

“Whoever falls down on this stone will be broken in pieces of humility, but the weight of truth from this stone will crush whomever it falls upon.” (Matthew 21:44, Remedy)

“Or do you think lightly of his wealth of kindness, of tolerance, and of patience, without recognizing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to a change of heart?” (Romans 2:4, New English Bible)

“But the beastly power was caught in its own lies and in a web of intrigue, along with the false prophet who had performed miraculous signs on its behalf. It was with these signs that it had duped those who chose to mark themselves as loyal to the beastly power and model themselves after it. The two were thrown into the lake of unquenchable fire of truth and love emanating from the unveiled presence of God, which consumes all sin.” (Revelation 19:20, Remedy)

God the Father Image by Jo Justino from Pixabay
Jesus Image by Jenskuvain from Pixabay


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com