The Significance of Christ

The Significance of Christ

by Larry Hodges

"And having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven"
-- Colossians 1:20.

It would be a horrifying experience for one striving toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (sonship) to suddenly find, after all, that he has missed it. Is that possible? Is it possible to resist the will of God? If there is to be any weight at all given to the phrase, ". . .make your calling and election sure . . . ," then the answer must be, "Yes, it is possible to miss the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." And yes, it is possible to resist the will of God for you.

I say that it is possible to resist the will of God, but must qualify that with, "for a season." It is possible to resist the will of God for a season. For the greatest, strongest, most irresistible will anywhere in the universe is the true God. Is anything ultimately greater than omnipotence? "But we see man resisting God's will all through the Bible! The nation of Israel seems to have made it a career!" Such a statement can only be made by one who has not read the final book of the Bible, which clearly states, "Behold, I make all things new" --Revelation 21:5, and also, ". . . and so all Israel shall be saved" --Romans 11:26.

We see repeatedly while reading the Bible, that man can indeed, to his own great loss and hurt, resist the great benevolent will of His Creator . . . for a time, in some cases, for a long time. But for those who are true seekers-after-truth and not simply supporters of hand-me-down tradition, we find God always winning out in the end, always ruling in the heavens and in the affairs of men.

We often hear those who like to compare spiritual things with natural, saying, "God is a gentleman; He will not violate man's free will." God is not a gentleman, for He is not a man. Gentleman comes nowhere near describing the goodness and gentleness of His great heart. Does He violate man's free will? Without a doubt! And for man's own good! Pharaoh repeatedly attempts to release the Israelites but God repeatedly overrules and hardens Pharaoh's heart, because God had raised this man up for the purpose of showing His strength and power and glory in destroying Egypt. "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt" --Exodus 7:3.

Does man even have a free will? A distinction must be made between man's free will and man's free moral agency. We hear much about man's free moral agency even though there is no such thing found in the Bible. As for man's ability to do whatever he wills, he cannot. An agent is one who acts or does. Man cannot perform whatever he wishes, and the Bible does not support the notion that he can. What the Bible does teach is that man can choose, or will, to do this or that, and if God does not overrule, he can do it.

"The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water; He turneth it whithersoever He will" --Proverbs 21:1. "The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord" --Proverbs 16:33. "A man's heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps" --Proverbs 16:9 (There seem to be hundreds of such Scriptures). We do find, though, that what a man chooses in his heart, regardless whether he can actually do it or not, he is judged according to what he would do if he could. So, a man's attitude of heart is very, very important and extremely consequential in spiritual matters.

Most Christians we speak to today would not admit that they feel they have come into the kingdom of God by their own merits or by anything they have done or are. But the truth is, many subconsciously or intuitively believe there was something different about them. This is not merely an empty charge of suspicion. It is backed up by the circumstantial evidence of the attitude of many hearts I have spoken with and have heard from, where the salvation of all men is concerned. "They deserve to go to hell!" As if they themselves did not. "Well, I repented!" As if they repented all by themselves, and it was not the goodness of God that led them to repentance. "Well, some men want to go to hell!" As if such an insane desire would not itself mitigate their position. If you don't believe that men, even Christians, can be so cruel and heartless in their thinking and beliefs, read the following:

BAPTIST CONFESSIONS OF FAITH

a. The First Confession, 1646

Schaff, Creeds of Christendom, III

(This confession was drawn up by seven congregations in London in 1646. It contains fifty-two articles.)

(III) . . . God hath, before the foundation of the world, foreordained some men to eternal life through Jesus Christ, to the praise and glory of His grace: leaving the rest in their sin, to their just condemnation, to the praise of His justice. . . .
(XXI) Jesus Christ, by His death did purchase salvation for the elect that God gave unto Him; these only have interest in Him and fellowship with Him. . . .The free gift of eternal life is given to them and none else. . . .

III. [On Predestination, repeating Article III of the First Confession.]

X. . . . Infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ, through the Spirit; who worketh when, where and how He pleaseth; so also are all elect persons, who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word. Others, not elected, though they may be called by the ministry of the Word . . . neither will nor can truly come to Christ, and therefore cannot be saved." End of Quote --Schaff, Creeds of Christendom, III.

But before we draw ourselves up in a supercilious air of offended religious sensibility, let us first acknowledge that the light these folk had was considerably less than is available to us in the present hour. It must also be noted that this declaration was given in 1646, not so very long after the King James Version of the Bible was offered (1611), along with all 70,000 errors in it's translation (today we have managed to whittle that number down to a mere 20,000).

Yet, many today still hold to such a contemptible view concerning the fate of their fellow man, the work and significance of Christ, and the character and disposition of their own God, that one is hard put to give a rational account! Such views that God would consign His own creation to an endless torment, without either purpose or remedy, if not enough to bring even the hardest heart to a state of madness, ought at least to bring it to a blushing shame. Such is nothing other than a god created in the image of man!

I stood transfixed some years ago as I listened to the very moving testimony of Dr. Richard Eby (Cousin to J. Preston Eby. He has several very interesting books, Caught Up Into Paradise, Tell Them I Am Coming, The Amazing Lamb of God & Didn't You Read My Book? Richard E. Eby, P.O. Box, SVL #8155, Victorville, CA 92392) tell of his appearance before the throne of God as a sinner whose name had been expunged from the book of life. As I remember, he related that the Lord spoke to him while he was visiting the tomb of Lazarus in Israel, and the lights had gone out. The Lord, he said, suddenly spoke to him, saying, "I took you to heaven and now I will take you to hell as a sinner whose name has been expunged from the book of life." He said, "God, my name's in your book. Can you do that?" God answered, "I can do it." He replied, "Well, don't forget to put it back!"

He said that he suddenly found himself in a rock-like sarcophagus and there were demons all around him taunting and mocking him and he said, "Immediately I cursed God!" Then, suddenly he found himself before a huge white throne and upon this throne was a very huge being. He said that the glory was such that he could not look upon His face, and he knew this was God. God was thumbing through a very large book with lightning speed and then He stopped, looked at Dr. Eby and said, "Hmmm, I see you're not in our family album." Then, without a word, God pointed over Dr. Eby's shoulder behind him. He said that when he turned to look, he saw great flames leaping high, and he could hear the shrieks and screams of the condemned.

He wept, obviously having been deeply affected by the experience as he recounted the sound of the shrieks and wails of the tormented . . . and to this day he boldly and fearlessly preaches and teaches that God shall in the end save every last one! I cannot explain a man who can, with dry eye, truly believe that God could save all, but will not, or that He is willing but not quite able, that those condemned to such a torment must endure it without any hope of ever an end. And it is only because we hold that the torment has a purpose and an end that we are labeled heretic. It seems that it is not enough for some that their fellow man be tormented for a very long time; it must be forever, without end!

I said at the beginning "It would be a horrifying experience for one striving after the mark for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (sonship) to find he has missed it." It would be even more horrifying, and to my mind, a thing of terrible shame and distress, to find that not only has the mark been missed, but that one has been actively fighting against the very God he professed to love and serve! Not only is this possible, my friend, but it is being done even as I write this. All because men do not care enough to prove by investigation that the final outcome of infinite grace is the eventual restoration for all. When the truth is presented to an honest man or woman, that man or woman either ceases to believe the lie of eternal torment or ceases to be honest. Those who are honest enough to investigate the matter, even to investigate it dishonestly, will find this to be the startling case. Many, setting out to prove this teaching wrong have, by their labors, proven it to be correct.

"But that does away with the need of the cross! It makes the cross of no effect." It would seem to me that to limit the scope and quality of the cross's effect to only those few we have seen come to Christ over the past 2,000 years while the large majority (estimated to be more than 100,000,000,000 [That's billion]) goes to a supposed endless torment, makes the cross of almost no effect or of very little effect. To admit that Colossians 1:16-20 is really true, not only does not do away with the cross or make it of no effect, it magnifies it and glorifies the Christ of the cross.

"Consequently then, as through one trespass the judgment came unto all men to condemnation; even so through one act of righteousness the free gift came unto all men to justification of life. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One shall the many be made righteous" --Romans 5:18,19. CLNT

"Two persons, two acts, and two results, each affecting the entire human race are brought before us in this passage of Scripture. Adam's act of disobedience and its race-wide, life-destroying result presents a dark and dismal situation. Christ's act of obedience and its race-wide, life-giving result presents a situation that is bright and glorious.

"Is it not strange that the dark part of this passage is usually believed without hesitation, while the bright part is strongly disbelieved? Conditions and limitations are forced into the bright portion until its plain statements are flatly contradicted. Lack of faith in what the Scriptures actually state, rather than lack of intelligence to grasp their meaning, has always been one of the greatest hindrances to a correct understanding of God's written revelation. (Of course, it is to be granted that if the matter at issue is truly a mystery, then it requires the illumination of the Holy Spirit before one can see it. LH)

"In order to understand the effectiveness, the success and the scope of the saving work of Jesus Christ (His true significance) set forth in this passage, it is only necessary to believe implicitly what it states.

"In the following arrangement, the two parts of the passage are placed in parallel columns as an aid in comparing them. Notice the close correspondence of the clauses.

Consequently then,

AS EVEN SO

Through one trespass Through one righteous act

The judgment came The free gift came

Unto all men Unto all men

To condemnation To justification of life.

FOR

AS EVEN SO

Through the disobedience Through the obedience

Of the one man Of the One

The many The many

Were made sinners Shall be made righteous

"Adam's one offense brought judgment to all men to their condemnation. None escape this condemnation to death. "All are dying" --I Cor. 15:22. EVEN SO, Christ's one act of righteousness brings the free gift unto all men unto their justification of life. Not one will be left out. "All shall be made alive" --I Cor. 15:22. And the matter of faith or acceptance is not introduced on either side of the passage. The subject is not Eonian Life. When that is discussed, faith does have its place. Neither is the time of this justification brought up. All are not justified at the same time. The point being emphasized is the fact that all men shall be made righteous through the obedience of Jesus Christ just as surely as they have been made sinners through the disobedience of Adam. This fact is first stated in Romans, verse 18, and the inspired explanation follows in verse 19. Notice the "for" which links the two texts together.

"But someone will ask, "Why does it say 'the many' instead of 'all' in verse 19?" It is because the one disobedient man and the One righteous man are put in a class by themselves. They are in contrast with "the many."

"We may put it as follows: The one disobedient man plus "the many" equals all mankind made sinners. The One obedient Man plus "the many" equals all mankind made righteous. The "one" plus "the many" made sinners, includes all mankind; few, if any, attempt to deny. Even so, "the One" plus "the many" made righteous is all inclusive and guarantees justification of life for all mankind.

"Jesus Christ came into the world to save the world. He will not fail in the slightest degree. He has not died in vain for a single person. Man's present failure to comprehend the significance of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ does not take away from the ultimate value of His saving work in the least. "God will have all men to be saved" --I Timothy 2:3-6; 4:9-11. Our risen, living Lord and Savior is equal to the task. He cannot fail.

"Does this deny what the Scriptures teach concerning the future judgment and punishment of unbelievers? Absolutely not! There will be judgment and punishment. See Romans 2:1-6 and Revelation 20:11-15. But thanks be unto God, beyond the punishment there will be justification of life for all mankind, through Jesus Christ. See also I Cor. 15:22-28; Colossians 1:20; Philippians 2:9-11." END QUOTE

"Well, if God is going to save everybody, then we might as well all just go out and live it up. We might as well go out and sin and do whatever we want to!" To those who do not see the utter stupidity in saying such a thing, let me encourage you to go out and do just that! For if the fear of an eternal hell is all that is keeping you from living for yourself, then you are only serving your own self-interests and need to truly give your heart and life to Jesus. The idea which lies latent in such a question is that they decided all on their own to serve God. There is the suggestion that their salvation and security in Christ rests solely with themselves.

"Faithful is the saying and worthy of all acceptation. For to this end we labor and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, specially of them that believe. These things command and teach" --I Tim. 4:9-11 R.V.

"Think of it, the living God is the Savior of all men. Not the "preserver of all", as some would have us believe. The Greek word used here is "soteer." It occurs twenty-four times in the New Testament and is correctly translated "savior" every time. See Luke 1:47; 2;11; John 4:42; Acts 5:31; 13:23; Eph. 5:23, just for a few references.

"Nor does the text say, God is the "provider" of salvation for all. This would not make Him the Savior of all. He is only the Savior of all He actually saves. In order to be the Savior of all, He will save all. The Living God is the Savior of all men! Such a fact should fill the hardest heart with joy and cause continual thanksgiving to God for His power, wisdom, love, grace and righteousness.

"Knowing how difficult it would be for man to believe this plain statement, God offers man encouragement by assuring him that it is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. It is faithful to God, faithful to His Son, faithful to His Word, and faithful to the desire of all who have had the love of God poured into their hearts by the Holy Spirit. It is hard to understand why so many should condemn it as unfaithful and worthy of all rejection, when God has so plainly declared it to be a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.

"The scriptures make it very plain that all are not saved at the same time. "Who gave Himself a ransom for all; the testimony in its own times" --I Tim. 2:6 R.V. "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order" --I Cor. 15:22,23. At the present time God is saving only those He has chosen and called unto the special salvation of the ages (I Cor. 1:26-30; I Tim. 6:12) He will use these in various ways in bringing about the salvation of the rest (Eph. 3:8-12; 2:6-10). Note please, the text says, "God is the Savior of all men specially (not exclusively) of them that believe." Because of this the Apostle Paul wrote, "Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." (literally, 'eonian' or 'age lasting' glory, II Tim. 2:10) And again he wrote, "But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Gentiles foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God" --I Cor. 1:23,24.

"Election and predestination become most precious portions of God's truth once it is seen that the reason some are elected to a special salvation is that through them the rest may be reached. (Otherwise we might arrive at the same conclusion as the Baptists of 1646. LH) There is a special salvation for some and a general salvation for the rest later on. Those who believe now will be made like Christ when He returns and will live and reign with Him during the coming eons or ages. They will be delivered from the Second Death.

"The non-elect will be saved at the end of the ages solely as the result of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ in their behalf (Does this do away with the cross or make Christ of no effect?). Does this mean a second chance? By no means! Salvation is not a matter of chance, first or second. Had it been left to chance no one would have been saved, now or later (Ro. 1: 28-32 3:10-12). Salvation is of God! He assures us that He will save all.

"Let no one think for a moment that there will not be judgment and condemnation. "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." (Rom. 1:18) Those who are hard and impenitent of heart treasure up for themselves wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, Who will render to every man according to his works. To them that are factious and obey not the truth but obey unrighteousness shall be wrath, indignation, tribulation and anguish. All that the Scriptures actually teach about the wrath of God will surely come to pass. The wrath of God is an awful thing and it is not our purpose here to minimize it in the least. However, too much condemnation and punishment is just as unrighteous as too little." End of Quote by Unknown Author.

If we become like what we worship, and we worship a God who would, with foreknowledge and the power to do otherwise, create a situation whereby about 100 billion of His creatures were committed to a torment too grievous to even think about, into what image are such people made? Into the image of Love? Into the image of mercy? Look at those who, during what is now called the Dark Ages, persecuted Christians, putting them to death by the millions for the cause of their god, and you will see the image of such a god. Look at those who took babies and tore their little bodies apart, dashed their heads against stones, raped and disemboweled mothers and daughters together, split men in two from the head down, tore out their tongues by the root, burned them alive and committed every torture upon their fellow man of which the depraved human mind is capable; look at this and you will see the image that is begotten through the worship of such a god. It is a god made in the image of man.

Then look upon the Waldenses, or the Vaudois, as they were often called. Here were a people who were harmless, going like sheep to the slaughter for more than 1,000 years! One is almost worn out from just reading of the relentless and brutal murder, rape, pillage, and burnings committed upon these gentle folk whose only crime was that they loved God too well. They were literally required to lay down their lives or lay down their worship of the true God. What one sees while gazing upon people like the Waldenses is the image of the amazing, gentle Lamb of God! Only this shall represent Him! Only this has earned the right to speak and act on His behalf.

The Bible we read is a translation, a version of the original. We must remember that it was not translated from the original Hebrew or Greek, but from Latin. The KJV, therefore, is a translation of a translation. Contrary to what some must think, God did not originally speak in King James English. Our contention is not with the original Word of God. It was inspired of God. It is the translation errors which have brought in the wrong ideas and much confusion.

There is no end to the literature available on the subject of which others have already done all the tedious and time-consuming research. One has but to ask in order to receive an avalanche of material to consider. Preston Eby is a leading authority on the subject. His address is: P.O. Box 371240, El Paso, TX, 79937.

If you have not the heart to hope this teaching is correct, then at least attempt to prove it wrong! Especially if you have the oversight of people for whom you are to someday give an account. You have no right to suppose this teaching wrong upon the flimsy basis of what you think, or upon the basis of who believes it and who doesn't, or upon the basis that orthodoxy frowns upon it. And you certainly have no right to leave your brother in presumed error without at least attempting to prove to him his error.

What kind of God must men think we have who said, "Let us make mankind in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over all our creation" --Genesis 1:26 paraphrased KJV, and then ends up with the stupefying mess we see today? Even normal intelligence must recoil from it. Many throughout Christendom are apparently not yet in His image and likeness, for their hearts cannot seem to admit to His great mercy and infinite goodness toward His creatures. He's not finished yet. He is still working out His original plan to bring forth His original thought: "Let us make mankind in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion . . ."

If, for the sake of argument, I were found to be wrong in my assertion that God shall eventually save every last man, each one in his own order; of what am I found guilty? That I saw God as more merciful, more loving, than He actually is and have taught others to believe it also? Is that even possible? Our problem is not that we see God as too loving or too merciful. No one has yet to plumb the depths of Calvary Love in any description I have ever heard.

But on the chance that there is someone reading this who has not seen the glory of this truth, let's just suppose for a moment that you are wrong in your assessment of the matter of eternal torment. Of what, in such a case, are you guilty? You would be guilty of painting God in such a hideous and repulsive light as One who created a situation, with foreknowledge, whereby most of His creation is consigned to endless torment, who could have averted it and still could but does not!

There is, to my mind, no criminal of recent or ancient villainy who is so great an antagonist to mankind as this grotesque gargoyle imagined by much of the so-called church. And this they call God! I can think of many things I have done as a sinner before coming to Christ but none so evil as portraying the infinitely loving and eternally merciful God, who went to Calvary in the person of Jesus Christ, as One who appears as no less than Satan.

There may be those who would wonder why I dwell here on such a topic as the salvation of all. In fact, I heard a friend exclaim, "Why must it become an issue!" Because truth is always an issue. Jesus, in the form of one truth or another, is the sword which inevitably separates among family and among friends. The issue really is not "the salvation of all." The issue is the heart of God and in what light it is presented.

Whenever someone writes and asks to be placed on our mailing list, one of the first things we send them is, "The All-Encompassing Work of Christ." It is a fairly thorough introduction to the subject of the salvation of all. If they cannot accept that, there is little reason for them to spend time on anything else we might send them.

Christ Jesus, not merely Christ the New Age generic, stands as the pivot of all things in both heaven and earth. He stands as the Father's best gift to mankind and mankind's all-glorious, all-persistent and all-prevailing Savior. There is nothing wanting in Him, in His offering at Calvary or in His goodwill toward mankind. His significance is unmatched by anything else and infinitely out-distances His nearest rival. He is Sovereign Lord, and to Him shall every knee bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. His name is Jesus! If He is willing, as He says, to leave the ninety and nine to go out and seek and to save that one lost sheep, shall He not also leave the 1-2% of those safe in the fold to go out after the other 98-99% still lost to Him?

For sheer poetic beauty and power, the following example of the logic (the logos) of the cross by godly Andrew Jukes is in my estimation without equal.

"The second death therefore, so far from being, as some think, the hopeless shutting up of man forever in the curse of disobedience, will, if I err not, be God's way to free those who in no other way than by such a death can be delivered out of the dark world, in whose life they live. The saints have died with Christ, not only "to the elements of this world," but also "to sin," that is, to the dark spirit-world. By the first they are freed from the bondage of sense; by the second, from the bondage of sin, in all its forms of wrath, pride, envy, and selfishness. The ungodly have not so died to sin. At the death of the body therefore, and still more when they are raised to judgment, because their spirit yet lives, they are still within the limits of that dark and fiery world, the life of which has been and is the life of their spirit.

"To get out of this world there is but one way, death; not the first, for that is passed, but the second death. Even if we have not light to see this, ought not the present to teach us something as to God's future ways for is He not the same yesterday, today and forever? We know that in inflicting present death, His purpose is through death to destroy him that has the power of death, that is the devil. How can we conclude from this, that in inflicting the second death, the unchanging God will act on a principle entirely different from that which now actuates Him? And why should it be thought a thing incredible that God should raise the dead, who for their sin suffer the penalty of the second death (For the wages of sin is death, not eternal torment)? Does this death exceed the power of Christ to overcome it? Or shall the greater foe (the second death) still triumph, while the less, the first death, is surely overcome? Who has taught us thus to limit the meaning of the words, "Death is swallowed up in victory"?

"Is God's "will to save all men" limited to fourscore years, or changed by that event which we call death, but which we are distinctly told is His appointed means for our deliverance? All analogy based on God's past ways leads but to one answer. But when in addition to this we have the most distinct promise, that "as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive,"--that "death shall be destroyed,"--that "there shall be no more curse," but "all things made new," and "the restitution of all things;"--when we are further told that "Jesus Christ is the same," that is a Savior, "yesterday, today, and for the ages;"--the veil must be thick indeed upon man's heart, if in spite of such statements "the end of the Lord" is yet hidden from us.

"To me too the precepts which God has given are in their way as strong a witness as His direct promises. Hear the law respecting bondmen, and strangers, and debtors, and widows and orphans, and the punishment of the wicked, which may not exceed forty stripes, "lest if it exceed, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee;" yea even the law respecting "asses fallen into a pit:"--hear the prophets exhorting to "break every yoke," to "let the oppressed go free," and to "undo the heavy burdens:"--hear the still clearer witness of the gospel, "not to let the sun go down upon our wrath," to "forgive not until seven times, but until seventy times seven," "not to be overcome of evil, but to overcome evil with good:" to "walk in love as Christ has loved us," and to "be imitators of God as dear children:"--see the judgment of those who neglect the poor, and the naked, and the hungry, and the stranger, and the prisoner; --and then say, Shall God do that which He abhors?

"Shall He command that bondmen and debtors be freed, and yet Himself keep those who are in worse bondage and under a greater debt in endless imprisonment? Shall He bid us care for widows and orphans, and Himself forget this widowed nature, which has lost it Head and Lord, and those poor orphan souls which cannot cry, Abba, Father? Shall He limit punishment to forty stripes, "lest thy brother seem vile," and Himself inflict far more upon those who, though fallen are still His children? Is not Christ the faithful Israelite who fulfills the law; and shall He break it in any one of these particulars? Shall He say, "Forgive till seventy times seven," and Himself not forgive except in this short life? Shall He command us to "overcome evil with good," and Himself, the Almighty, be overcome of evil? Shall He judge those who leave the captives unvisited, and Himself leave captives in a worse prison for ever unvisited?

"Does He not again and again appeal to our own natural feelings of mercy, as witnessing "how much more" we may expect a larger mercy from our "Father which is in heaven:? If it were otherwise, might not the adversary reproach, and say, 'Thou that teachest and judgest another, teachest Thou not thyself?' Not thus will God be justified. But, blessed be His Name, He shall in all be justified. And when in His day He opens "the treasures of the hail," and shows what sweet waters He can bring out of hard hailstones; when He unlocks "the place were light now dwells" shut up, and reveals what light is hid in darkness and hardness, as we see in coal and flint, those silent witnesses of the dark hard hearts, which God can turn to floods of light; when we have "taken darkness to the bound thereof," and have seen not only how "the earth is full of God's riches," but how He has "laid up the depths in storehouses," in that day when "the mystery of God is finished," and He has "destroyed them which corrupt the earth,"--then shall it be seen how truly God's judgments are love, and that "in very faithfulness He hath afflicted us." End of Quote Andrew Jukes, Restitution of All Things.

If the sons of God shall represent the heart of God as it truly is, if they shall be moved by His heart and His alone, how shall they who believe that He will leave any of His creation to suffer endlessly represent Him? The undeniable truth is that they mis-represent Him to their shame and surprise. Unless Jesus Christ has the power to entirely undo what the first Adam has wrought upon mankind, then He has no right to the appellation, "the second Adam." The significance and consequence of Christ is beyond one's ability to measure. We have not understood either God or His Christ and the real reason we have not understood the book of Revelation is because it is nothing other than the unveiling of Christ Jesus and He is not what we had thought. Instead, He is the embodiment of pure mercy and pure love. He is not a voice from some Sinai thundering out ". . . or else!"

Two things happened to me when God revealed this truth to me. 1. Something within that I hadn't even known to be closed, began to open all by itself. 2. All fear of death simply vanished. Please, for your own sake, if you cannot see this truth yet, do not fight against it, but just put it aside until God shall reveal it to you. If you have any questions about it that you would like to have answered, please do write and ask for our book, The All-Encompassing Work of Christ and please allow at least 2 weeks for receipt of book. Or write to Preston Eby, P O Box 371240, El Paso, TX 79937 or Elwin Roach, P O Box 4004, Alamogordo, NM 88311 or Elaine Cook, P O Box 371, Summerland, BC Canada, V0H 1Z0 or Terry Crisp, 672 Goodman Rd, Dawson, GA 31742 or any of the writers of the kingdom message for their writings on the restitution of all things.

It should be admitted that one is not truly a writer of the kingdom message without this particular part of the message. It is such an integral part of the message. As there were messages which uniquely proclaimed the feasts of Passover and Pentecost, this message proclaims Tabernacles.

END OF MESSAGE