Another Time Problem?

While writing the recent "Time Problem" post, I began to wonder if Jesus suffered the same time restrictions we do while he was living on our time-controlled planet.

It seems there were some time-related questions that he didn't choose to answer, or maybe, couldn't answer because he was stuck with our time limitations.

Let's consider these two occasions:
The Kingdom Question.

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority."
[Acts 1 : 6, 7  NIV]

The Lord's Day Question.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
[Matthew 24 : 42, 44  NIV]

I appreciate there are other issues at play here, especially the need for Jesus' disciples to be alert and remain faithful, but I still wonder if there is a time restriction factor involved here.

What do others think?
Blessings, Barry
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Published BLOG at https://barrysgracespace.blogspot.com
Other published Writings at https://www.ibtechservices.com.au

The Time Problem

Have you ever wondered how this could have happened?

He (Christ) was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
[1 Peter 1 : 20  NIV]

I have been musing about the sovereignty of God and the eternal realm he inhabits for decades, trying to understand, as a mere creature living in the time realm, our powerful Creator living in the timeless realm.

In a previous post, Understanding Eternity, June 27, 2012, I offered some illustrations to show how God might know events well before they happened in our time-controlled world. But I didn't take the next step and explore God's intervention in our world well before we could see the effect of that action, as described by the Apostle Peter above. 

Let's use the Mother's Basket of Goodies illustration from that previous post.

Mother has a basket of goodies.  When she looks into the basket, she sees all the goodies at the same "time". (Eternity view)
Mother takes items out of her basket, one at a time, and gives them to her children.  They see the goodies as they are given to them, one at a time, and in the order in which they are given. (The Ages view) 

Let's see if we can use this simple illustration to help us imagine God's choosing of Christ before the creation of the world.

God looks into his basket of goodies - all the events that will ever occur in the heavens and on the earth. He sees these all at the same "time". Indeed, he is continuously seeing them - seeing them during all of time.

One of his goodies is Jesus putting on an earth-suit, being humiliated and rejected, removing sin and death from mankind, and restoring mankind to its original God-image nature.

So by the time God handed out the goodie called the creation of the world, he had already placed the Jesus' goodie in his basket, which he then decided to hand out "in these last times".

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
[Galatians 4 : 4  NIV]

Let's look at another "creation of the world" verse.

For he (God) chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
[Ephesians 1 : 4  NIV]

Here's another one of the goodies that was in God's basket long before he handed out the goodie called the creation of the world.

Every event that will happen throughout the ages, and beyond, God has in his basket of goodies - to be handed out at the right time, the time of his choosing.

This way of thinking helps me give meaning to the distinction between the timeless realm, in which God lives, and the realm of the ages, in which we currently live.

Blessings, Barry
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Published BLOG at https://barrysgracespace.blogspot.com
Other published Writings at https://www.ibtechservices.com.au

Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day, the day lovers express their affection for one another with greetings and gifts.
It is most popular in United States, Britain, Canada and Australia. It is also the most common wedding anniversary date in the Philippines, with mass weddings of hundreds of couples often occurring on that day.
So where does love actually come from?
Science seems unable to answer that question. Those who believe in the Big Bang and the Theory of Evolution to explain human origins don't seem to have an explanation for the existence of things like love.
Others, who use the Bible to explain human origins, believe that since the Creator God is love, and humankind was made in his image, then the capacity to love, and the desire to be loved, is built into us.
I am so pleased this is so. I love to love and be loved.
Blessings, Barry
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Published BLOG at https://barrysgracespace.blogspot.com
Other published Writings at https://www.ibtechservices.com.au

Australia Day

Celebrating Australia Day on January 26 is a tradition that has evolved to honour the Australia's  history, achievements, and diverse culture.

It commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788, which marked the arrival of British settlers in Australia, and is a time to celebrate the modern, multicultural society Australia has become, recognising the contributions of all its people, including Indigenous Australians and migrants from around the world.

Indeed, as previous PM Tony Abbott suggested, we could describe Australia as a  country with an indigenous heritage, a British foundation, and an immigrant character.

Almost forgotten, there is another very significant event which occurred on this day. On 26 January 1949, the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 became law and Australian nationality came into existence.

It was the first time that the term "Australian citizen" had been used in any Australian legislation, including the Australian Constitution. (Up to that point all residents, both aboriginal and settlers/migrants, were British subjects and we given British passports when travelling overseas.)

This law meant that all people living in Australia, including Indigenous people, were now Australian Citizens.  And since that day, people who have arrived and want to be an Australian citizen become so at Citizenship ceremonies, most often held on this date as well.
This is why 26th January can really be called Australia Day, and has been since 1949.

Whereas most people focus on the First Fleet arrival, which a few others call an invasion, I like to focus on the recognition of our national identity. 

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Published BLOG at https://barrysgracespace.blogspot.com
Other published Writings at https://www.ibtechservices.com.au

Enlightened Reasoning

People face many hurdles when trying to see that universal reconciliation (UR) is the plan and purpose of God.
Some are caused by translation issues in modern English Bibles. 

One of these describes salvation as being dependent on one's faith IN Jesus rather than salvation having been provided, without any input from us, by the faithfulness OF Jesus (in playing his part in his Father's plan to save the creation).

The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was an intellectual and philosophical movement in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, which brought profoundly beneficial changes in society - intellectual liberation, scientific advancement, political reform and economic development among them. 

However, it also elevated mankind's opinions of himself and his supremacy over his world, reviving the ancient doctrine of man's free will with the capability of even outsmarting God's will and sovereignty.
Notice the outworking of this in Galatians 2:16 from a modern translation (NIV, first published in 1973) with those of older (KJV, published 1611) and more literal (DBH) translations.

know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. [NIV]

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. [KJV]

and who know that a human being is vindicated not by observances of Law but by the faithfulness of the Anointed One Jesus - even we have placed our faith in the Anointed One Jesus, so that we might be vindicated from the faithfulness of the Anointed and not from observances of the Law. [DBH]

The result of the Enlightenment, and popular English translations produced in its wake, was the transferring of responsibility for man's salvation from God's sovereign choice to man's free will choice.
What a shame. Because God's choice is for us all to be reconciled to God, which sounds much better than leaving the choice to us rebellious souls.

Yet the Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, has not enabled many of us to steer clear of some very illogical reasoning regarding God's UR plan for his creation. Let's think about this example.

If God knows all things and therefore knew from the beginning that the final fate of people who make the wrong choice about Jesus, or of people who have never been exposed to the good news about Jesus, would be to suffer everlasting punishment, then God's choice to create those people would surely be an act of extreme cruelty.

The millions of church-goers who believe this end result for unbelievers will usually also declare God to be a God of love (and mercy and forgiveness) who sent his Son to die for the sins of the world.

I happen to believe that God is a God of love and that God gets his way (will reconcile all of his creation in the end).

Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
[Ephesians 1 : 9, 10  NKJV]

Blessings, Barry

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Published BLOG at https://barrysgracespace.blogspot.com
Other published Writings at https://www.ibtechservices.com.au

Australian Parliament Operation

I love Australia, and have been truly blessed to have been born here more than 8 decades ago.

I fully appreciate our constitutional monarchical form of government, and the way our national parliament is elected, including the original purpose of giving each state, regardless of its population, the same number of senators.

However I have reservations about how ministers of the Crown are appointed and perform their duties.

Firstly, I have never understood how the Senate, as a House of Review, could possibly contain ministers, whose decisions and performance should continually be under review, by the same body that they belong to.
Maybe, Senate Estimates does this job, but possibly doesn't cover more aspects of a minister's or department's performance beyond financial ones.

Secondly, the fact that a minister who has the responsibility to represent and promote Australia's interests above all others, also has the responsibility to represent and promote the interests of his/her electorate. And because of the possible composition of a minister's electorate this may cause a conflict which the current system seems unable to avoid. (Jason Claire and Tony Burke seem to be perfect examples of this conflict at the present time.)

Are any readers aware of any discussion or websites or publications suggesting possible tweaks that could be applied to our current democratic system of government that could ease/remove these conflicts without losing the advantages our current system gives us.

Thanks. Blessings, Barry

Can Israel Survive?

The nation state of Israel is constantly in the news; no more so than since the terror organisation Hamas invaded her southern border on October 7th, 2023.
Israel is often portrayed as an occupying power, yet it has historical links to its land, and even a greater area than it currently covers, for over 3000 years.
Israel's official recognition in 1948 by the United Nations, and subsequent survival since then, seems miraculous given several nations began attacking the moment official recognition was given; and have continued to threaten ever since.

I am writing this at the beginning of October 2024 and wondering (aloud) what plans God is currently in the process of implementing for Israel since she is/has been under fresh attack on several fronts (south, north, east) simultaneously for the past year, and is now fully engaged in both defence and retaliation.
Brilliant intelligence and sophisticated electronic "weaponry" have shown Israel's military and technical strength, often in unbelievable ways, especially for such a small, young nation.
(Modern Israel is less than a third the size of Tasmania and only 76 years old.)

Is this brilliance and "ability to fight well above its weight" a sign of God's involvement?
Are we seeing a repeat of previous defences and victories in Israel's ancient history as recorded in the Bible?
For example, Joshua chapter 11 describes one such series of battles:

For it was the Lord himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally,
[Joshua 11 : 20  NIV]

This sounds a little like God's involvement in Israel's exodus from Egypt back into their own land and described in Exodus chapter 14 (about 1500 BC).

Then the Lord said to Moses, " ... And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord .... I  will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them .... During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion."
[Exodus 14 : 3, 17, 24  NIV]

Another example is recorded in Isaiah 10 verses 1 - 19. God is using the Assyrians to attack Israel as a disciplinary measure, even though the Assyrians felt they had made the decision to attack and destroy Israel. And the end result? 

When the Lord had finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, "I will punish the king of Assyria for the wilful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes."
[Isaiah 10 : 12  NIV]

The description of that punishment follows after verse 12.

I am not a prophet, so I'm not prepared to make any predictions about the present situation with Israel. But the Bible gives some strong hints about Israel's future and, when built upon its Biblical past and its more recent history of the 20th and 21st centuries, I am deeply interested in news bulletins coming from the Middle East each day.

These questions regularly invade my thinking as I watch and listen:

Is modern Israel a continuation (and the re-establishment) of God's ancient chosen people?

I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
[Isaiah 41 : 9  NIV]

Will modern Israel survive?

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
[Isaiah 41 : 10, 13  NIV]

Will modern Israel destroy her enemies?

All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.
Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.
[Isaiah 41 : 11, 12  NIV]

Will modern Israel be the nation to enjoy God's prefect blessing?

Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.
[Romans 11 : 25 -27  NIV]

Blessings, Barry
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Published BLOG at https://barrysgracespace.blogspot.com
Other published Writings at https://www.ibtechservices.com.au