The Division

My purpose in writing about this latest topic is to basically get you thinking about religion and your own faith, and then bring us up to the current state of affairs in the world of politics and religion… ending with some info on eschatology from these sources and where these texts say we’re heading. I’ll divert momentarily to make a point then get back on track.

Having a foundation, belief and knowledge of these things provided my wife with a supernatural degree of peace about where she was going once her life ended here with me… and this knowledge gives me the same peace now that she is gone and my life goes on without her. I have a lot of wonderful support, but it is this knowledge that is at the core of why I feel I am doing so well. I would wish the same for you and that is why I’m putting all of this out here for you. I’d just like you to think about it.

We’ve talked briefly about some of the eastern religions, but I honestly don’t believe the God of the universe gave us the capacity or knowledge to make up the rules and simply guess at how all of this creation came into being. The first several religions are simply a free for all. Do whatever you want and just make it up if it feels right to you. I think you know how I feel about this approach to faith by now, and thus I won’t be going back over them again.

We have volumes of texts and archeology from both biblical and secular sources that show us that a basis of information was provided thousands of years ago to mankind. It was well known and used in the earliest of civilizations. God basically provided a series of suggestions to live by. It is probably best known as the “Law” although that really isn’t likely the best term for it. Much of this dates back thousands of years and was handed down in oral tradition until the texts began showing up in scrolls and on stone.

Mankind was given free will, and we know where that has gotten us! God needed to restore some order. It wasn’t that he was a stickler for rules or that he wasn’t all about fun! They were set in place to protect mankind from harm, and also prepare us for future appointments with God on his time table. Some of the events, known as festivals were organized around the agricultural calendar and were repeated every year for thousands of years. They were meant to be ingrained in our very core so that when God actually had a future appointment with mankind; it would be recognized as a God thing!

The population centers of the world were fairly small and widely spread apart. Word traveled slowly, but somehow these truths made it into virtually every culture. Man in turn decided to make up his own rules. As you’re probably aware, these were almost exclusively made up by the men in society. They ended up keeping people in slavery, keeping them in poverty, keeping women under the rule of men, and created wealth for a privileged few.

As these cultures developed, the oral traditions that were once common knowledge began to be removed from culture. The earliest forms of language in the Asian world was a prime example of this (the pictographs related to old testament principles I mentioned in an earlier post) but there are hundreds of similar examples. They started with a similar basis of knowledge, and then corrupted later for man’s purposes.

God had a pretty sweet deal set up for mankind. We were provided with a perfect setting in which to live… with constant and immediate access to God himself. But what is cool about God is that although he wants the best for mankind, he gave us the option of following his way or not.
OK, for those of you that are new to religion, this is gonna seem like we’re in a fiction novel for a bit. Hang with me again. We’ll cover a bit now so we can get back on track with the religions again… but this is important.

Because God gave mankind free will, he knew man would fall. God is omniscient so he knew this would happen and knew of the plan it would require to have man come full circle over several thousand years. Mankind would be given the opportunity to do it his/her own way but would eventually come to the realization that God had a better plan.

I’m probably going to do a series in the future on angles, but for now just know that there are two theatres of action going on in the universe. One physical and one spiritual at all times. God created a spiritual realm with a host of angelic beings. God then created man in his own image. The two are not interchangeable nor does one become the other at any time in their existence. They both are given different responsibilities, different domains, and different functions.

There are only three angles know from oral tradition or in the vast amount of texts that have been discovered. They are Lucifer, Gabriel and Michael. There is a hierarchy in the spiritual realm and Lucifer was provided with the most powerful position. In fact, his power in the universe is second only to God’s. He was also the most beautiful creation that God had ever made. Seriously, I mean crazy pretty!! I mean, probably underwear catalog pretty!! Angels in general, but Lucifer in particular, was granted with exceptional supernatural power and domain.
But once again, God being so cool like he is… gave the same free will in the angelic world. Now that is seriously cool (and I see another future topic coming!) So…. You’ve got a really pretty-boy angel with crazy good looks and power second only to God. Things are not that different in heaven and on earth and so you can probably guess what was gonna happen. Lucifer thought that he could probably do as well or better than God in running things… and he convinced 1/3 of the angelic realm to follow him and disassociate from God.

But all authority and power are ultimately Gods… so God (knowing this was going to happen) set up a system for Lucifer as well. He was given dominion over the world and space and also the power and authority to basically create havoc on the earth. But only what God allows.
(OK, I’ll probably do a series on Lucifer too as I can see some eyes rolling already. Hang with me!)

Now, back on earth… Lucifer started his little temptation plans with mankind and we took the bait. Why can’t man live without God? Why not do it on our own and make up our own cool rules… like naked girls day and eat-all-the-candy-you-want month.

Come on now… we’ve all stood naked in front of the mirror and thought “I’m looking damn good today… who wouldn’t want this… I think I can take on the world”. Then we stub our toe and cry like a baby for an hour. Well, maybe not a great example but you get my idea. So… this ego thing was bound to get out of control. In fact, it took just the first human to actually create the fall of mankind. And if you had been God’s first creation, it would have been you. But the Lord knew this would happen.

OK, so after the fall mankind’s soul was opened to knowledge it had not been exposed to before. At the time of the fall, God removed the protective ‘shield’ if you will, from the spirit of man. The built-in protection of eternal life, eternal health and eternal happiness was removed. The big one being life and no death.But again, God knew it would be impossible to lead a perfect life. God longs for a personal relationship with his creation… for eternity… so he needed to put an organized plan in place to “cover” or “atone” for the sinful nature of man. We can’t enter into the presence of the God of the universe when we’re still thinking about us standing proud in front of the mirror:) So a system was set in place and it spread from its roots in the Middle East to every corner of the world in time.

That was my little digression, so we’re now back on track. I fill you in later on what we covered above.

Let’s go back 4174 years. Abraham was born and as an adult he moved to the area in the Middle East known as Canaan. He had two sons, Ishmael (his first born) and then Isaac. Virtually every conflict we are facing in terms of terrorism, oil, war, and the lack of peace is due to the birth of these two sons. Ugh.

I’ll repeat the most important sentence I’ve written so far in this series: God told mankind there would be his Original Law, a Fulfillment of the Law, and a Deception of the law. This division would cause a period of conflict that would result in the most difficult period of time in history. This prophecy was given thousands of years ago… before the divisions or even the religions existed.

Where did this division and deception begin? I’ll shorten up the story: For nearly 5500 years, the word of God given in the Old Testament was known around the world. The conflict started with Abraham, the father of Isaac and Ishmael. Ishmael, who was the first born, was a rebel and actually gave up his birthright (long story). God pointed Isaac in the direction of a tiny sliver of real estate now known as Israel. He pointed Ishmael the other direction, which was vastly greater in size. The good boy gets the sliver. The bad boy gets a huge domain. Go figure. Each was given the land for all their descendants. God told Isaac the "chosen land" he was given would be his heirs for eternity. God said he would reveal his plan through Isaac’s people. They would be his chosen. Not because they were better than anyone else, but because God’s plan would be simply be shown through them as an example. Those descendents of Abraham -> Isaac -> and eventually Jacob would have an everlasting convenant with God. They would have eternal rights to the land. The descendents of Ishmael would have the remaining lands of the Middle East. Vast amounts of land.

As I mentioned earlier, the most accurate record of genealogy in human existence follows the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael all the way to this year, 2008. Isaac is the father of the people that would be Jews and Christians. Ishmael would be the father of the people that would be Muslims.

Both are children of God. Both were loved dearly by God. Both would create a different path. One would keep the law and a division of them would see the fulfillment of the law. The other son “will be like a wild ass (mule). His hand will be against all his brothers yet he would dwell in the face of his brothers”. One group would be men of light. The other would be men of darkness. One group would be men of peace and part of God’s plan of creation and they would be peace loving people. One would be part of God’s plan of destruction and they would live and die by the sword.

Next: The Islamic faith