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The Course of History According to God's Plan

by Paul George  
8/28/2008 / Bible Studies

History is an account of what has happened in the life of a people, country, city, town, and village. History is a record of real or questionable truths of incidents that has had an impact on the world and humanity. The historian's account of the incidents that have had an impact on the world and humanity are after the fact. One lesson taught in history is the incidents that have had a major impact on the world and humanity were not the result of chance but the results of a decision made by an individual, a society, a king, a governing body to do something that was beneficial or not do something that would be beneficial. A second lesson taught in history is there are incidents that have had an impact of the world and humanity that humans have no control over.

Regardless of what fallen sinful man may believe and teach the foundation of history is not the activity of men and women. Men and women man are not directing the course of history. The Director of the course of history is the one and only true living God of Israel and Christianity.

The foundation for the fulfillment of God's plan for the course of history is laid in the book of Genesis. The first verse of Genesis chapter one is an article of faith; God created the heavens and the earth. Verse one is also a statement of an incident that happened in the past, the creation of the heavens and earth. One of the responsibilities and the authority of man is recorded in verse twenty-six of chapter one. The predetermined responsibilities and authority of man is be fruitful, multiply, fill, and subdue the earth, rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every living thing that moves on the earth. In the giving of the authority over the fish, birds, and every living thing that move on the earth, God did not relinquish His authority over the earth and its inhabitants. Man is the result of the activity of God and is under the authority of God.

Regardless of what fallen sinful men and women and even some professing Christians may think or believe, they are not the rightful owners of this earth. They are tenants and will occupy their place of residency on earth as long as the landlord will permit them to dwell rent free on His property. When the desired goal of the Creator and not the goal of Satan and humanity are achieved, the Landlord will evict all those who have forfeited the opportunity to achieve a permanent residency in His house, the new heaven and earth.

Following the forming of man from the dust of the ground and breathing the breath of life into his nostrils God planted a garden toward the east in Eden. In the garden God planted every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God placed the man in the garden to cultivate and keep the garden in the same state it was in when God placed man in the garden. The naming of every beast of the field and every bird of the sky was a sign of authority.

Out of Eden a river flowed into the garden. In the garden the river divided into four rivers, the first is Pishon, the second, Gihon, the third, Tigris, and the fourth Euphrates. Of these four rivers, which two has played a major role in the course of history from the time man was placed in the garden toward the east of Eden, to the present and will play a major role in the course of history in the future? The answer, if you have not answered the question is the Tigris and Euphrates. As the keeper of the garden the man is permitted to freely eat the fruit from every tree in the garden except the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

In the Garden of Eden something was missing; there was no helper for the man. God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man and He performed the first operation performed on this earth, He opened the side of the man, took out a rib, closed the opening and used the rib to fashion a helper for the man, a woman and brought her to the man. God was the first to give a bride to a groom and perform a marriage ceremony. Genesis chapter two verse twenty-four identifies the two personalities in marriage, a man and a woman.

The responsibility of cultivating and keeping the garden in its original state did not regard a man and a woman. If the man needed a helper in performing his responsibility to cultivate and keep it in its original state, God could have formed a second man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. There was responsibility given to man that was impossible to fulfill without a suitable helper; being fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. The fulfillment of this responsibility regarded a man and a woman.

The world that God created was perfect. The garden God planted and placed man in was perfect. God's plan for the course of history was on target; however, the world God created will be changed. The change will not be due to any activity on the part of God, regardless what men and women claim. The change will occur because the first man and woman living in a perfect world and paradise will begin rewriting history.

We are living in a revolution unheard of in this nation and the world. It is a rebellion against God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. There is a darkness sweeping over this nation and the world that is going to bring total destruction. Soon and very soon the One the Ancient of Days gave an everlasting kingdom to, a kingdom that will never be destroyed or given to another, and will come and take His place upon the throne that was given to Him. The only reason why He has not come is because God doesn't want to see anyone perish. His love is reaching out to everyone. But there will come a time when He will no longer extend His love, and the side of God that is being denied today will be revealed. We need to be ready for that day. The Holy Spirit is reaching out to those who are lost in the darkness of this present world. He will not force anyone to take His hand. The choice is left to the ones He is reaching out to, calling to come to the Savior before it is too late.

When God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, there was peace, harmony, and unity on earth. There were neither errors nor mistakes in Adam's knowledge. His will complied readily to the will of God, without questioning or resistance. His affections were directed toward his Creator. There was neither vanity nor rebellion found in him. What caused the change in his nature and character? It was due to a decision he made and acted on. His decision was based on the decision his wife, Eve, made. Adam's decision will have a major impact on the condition of the world.

Eve's decision to eat the forbidden fruit was based on what she is told by the serpent. The serpent is not the originator of the question. The originator of the question is Satan. In his original state he was called Lucifer. He was an anointed cherub, a guardian of the throne of God and he led a revolt against God. His revolt was put down and he was cast down to earth. Determined to have a kingdom of his own he turned his attention toward the Garden of Eden. Using the body of the serpent he entered the Garden of Eden and asked Eve if God had said you shall not eat from any tree of the garden. A very popular question, asked today in various forms, "Indeed has God said." This is a closed end question. The answer is either yes or no. It requires no explanation. All Eve had to do is answer no. Contrary to what man says, the author of the book of beginnings tell us God told Adam he could freely eat the fruit from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (read Genesis 1:16-17) .

Satan knew what God said and he knew who God told not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He is testing Eve, just as he tests every child of God. He didn't want to know what God told Adam, he wanted to know if Eve understood what she had been told by Adam and put doubt in her mind. He wants her to question what she has been told. Why is she forbidden to eat the fruit from the tree? Is there something God and Adam don't want her to know?

Satan used Eve's answer to deceive her and convince her no harm will come to her if she eats the forbidden fruit. If it would have been necessary Satan could have used the argument, God did not tell you not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is what Satan does today, through various agencies he deceives and convinces people if they commit an immoral act, violate the laws of nature, and disobey God's moral law in any shape or form no harm will come to them. He even goes so far as to say Jesus put an end to the law God gave to Moses. He even uses the argument that people are under the law of grace and there is no need to obey the law God gave to Moses.

Eve's answer, that she and Adam eat the fruit from any tree in the garden except the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden, note what Eve did, she did not identify the tree and she added to what God had commanded Adam. God did not tell Adam he could not touch the tree or its fruit. God also told Adam when he ate the fruit he would surely die. Eve's answer opened the door for Satan and he attacks the nature and character of God. You can almost hear the sarcasm in his voice when he told Eve, she would not die. Then he tells Eve God has forbidden the eating of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because her eyes will be opened and she will be like God, knowing good and evil. Satan didn't tell Eve she would become a god or goddess. He told her she would become like God. She could raise her level of knowledge to that of God's. She could gain the honor and happiness God is withholding.

Satan accomplished what he set out to do, get Eve to doubt the love, integrity and goodness of God, draw her allegiance away from God and direct it toward self, which would be the same as directing it toward Satan. Now he will use Eve to convince Adam there is no harm in eating the forbidden fruit. Satan knows if Adam eats the forbidden fruit he will gain control of authority God gave to Adam. Satan did not know if Eve would eat the forbidden fruit. He didn't know if Adam would eat the forbidden fruit. Satan does not know what we will or will not do; all he does is offer a choice. We can choose to obey God or believe a lie.

When Satan attacks the Christian, he doesn't normally get him or her to commit some crime or immoral act. He uses some incident in their life, other people, or world events to try and get Christians to doubt God's love, goodness, and integrity. If God loved you, you wouldn't be suffering like you are. If God is a loving God why does He permit evil, pain, and suffering to exist? He tests the faith of Christians. In the wilderness Satan told Jesus, if He was the Son of God He could turn stones into bread (Matthew 4:3). He was asking Jesus to prove He is the Son of God. Then he told Jesus, if He was the Son of God He could jump off the pinnacle of the temple and He would not be killed (Mathew 4:6). He wanted Jesus to test God's love. He dared Jesus to prove He was the Son of God. When Satan told Jesus to turn the stones into bread, he was using Jesus' situation He was in. He was in the wilderness, He was hungry, and there was no place where He could get something to eat. Satan's point was, if Jesus is the Son of God, providing something to eat would be no problem. Why wouldn't Satan use our situations and the events in the world to test our faith and use them to test God's love?

The battle is over. When Eve saw the fruit from the tree of the knowledge was "good for fooda delight to the eyesdesirable to make one wise" she ate the forbidden fruit. Looking at the tree from her point of view the tree looked like the rest of the trees in the garden. It grew out of the same ground. There was nothing in the outward appearance of the fruit that indicated it was a danger to ones health or the eating of the fruit could cause a person to die. There was nourishment in the fruit. What harm could come from eating the fruit? The conclusion Eve came to was influenced by what she saw.

We need to be careful what we look at. The eyes are the windows of the soul. Windows Satan can throw fiery darts through and pierce the heart. These darts are loaded with a deadly virus, called sin. While it is true there is no way we can avoid seeing things that are inappropriate, we are surrounded by them. What was once hid behind closed doors is telecasted into our living rooms in living color. Satan is able to use them to lead a person astray when that person follows Eve's example.

Satan didn't tell Eve the truth and she believed a lie. She took the fruit from the tree and ate it. Satan didn't give Eve the forbidden fruit, she took it from the tree, and he didn't force her to eat the forbidden fruit. Satan could not make Eve do anything she didn't want to do. Satan can tempt us but he can not force us to do anything we don't want to do. We can blame God, Satan, parents, pastors, teachers, the media, friends and neighbors for our shortcomings, but no one can force us to do what we don't want to do or what we know is not the right thing to do.

Adam knew what the right thing to do was. He knew what God had said about the forbidden fruit. No one forced him to eat the forbidden fruit. Why did he take the forbidden fruit and eat it? We aren't told. Could it be Eve used the same argument Satan used to convince her to eat the forbidden fruit? We don't know. We don't know what the state of Adam's mind was when he ate the fruit or what he was thinking. When he found out Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit did the words "you shall surely die" come to mind? Did he picture himself alone in the garden as it was before Eve was given to him to be a help mate? Is it possible God was wrong or he misunderstood what God said? We don't know. All we know is he ate the forbidden fruit.

We have all seen people do something that was contrary to their normal behavior. We ask the question why they did what they did. We even speculate and form opinions. But we may never know why did they do what they did or what motivated them to do what they did. We have all done something that was contrary to our normal behavior and afterwards ask ourselves why I did that, I knew it wasn't the right thing to do. From the human point of view, I believe Adam and Eve both asked that question many times.

Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and their eyes were opened. This is not a reference to their physical eyes but to the eyes of their consciences. They saw it was now too late. They had believed a lie and now they must pay the consequences. They saw a loving God provoked. They saw their natures were corrupted and depraved. They saw they were naked. They were stripped, deprived of all honor and favor. They saw the serpent was a deceiver, a liar. He told Eve her eyes would be opened and she would be like God. They didn't become like God they became like their deceiver.

The first step they took after eating the forbidden fruit was not upward but downward. A strong sense of guilt overcame them. When they heard the Lord God walking in the garden their hearts were filled with fear and they tried to hide from His presence among the trees of the garden. Before they disobeyed God if they heard the voice of the Lord God in the garden I believe they ran to meet Him. They welcomed His presence. But now, they fear Him. They knew they had done an evil deed. They saw God coming into the garden as a Judge and they tried to flee from justice.

They realized Satan is not going to protect them. He is not going to accuse them. They will accuse themselves. The garden becomes what it never was intended to be, a court room. The earth will become what it was never intended to be, the domain of the enemy of God. The world will become what it was never intended to be, a terrifying place. Evil, violence, pain, suffering, lawlessness, and wickedness will run rough shod over the land.

Why didn't God nip in the bud what was coming upon the earth? He could have wiped out all that He had done and start over. Why didn't He? He had set the course of history into motion and He will not go back and begin again what He has determined to do. Satan and his demonic host, man nor beast can turn Him away from the course He has set. He will accomplish His goal. At the end of time the morning stars and the sons of God will sing together and shouts of joy will be heard around the throne of God as it was at the beginning of time. The good news is the redeemed will join in the singing and shouting. I want to be in that great celebration. Do you? You will be if you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. You can be if you will accept Him as your Savior and Lord.

Retired pastor,Church of the Nazarene

Author of web site Exploring God's Word

www.thewordofgodonline.net

New American Standard Bible

King James Version

The World English Bible

Sermons and Bible studies preached and taught by author

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