WHOSE
WORLD
IS
IT?
- #31
Written
by Johanna Hobrath
(March
4, 2002) While worshipping God with adoration and thanksgiving
today, the title of "WHOSE
WORLD IS IT?"
was placed upon my heart. Although the title of this article has a
phrase that brings a question, I believe many more questions may be
asked. Those age-old questions are:
WHOSE
WORLD IS IT?
WHO
RULES THIS WORLD?
WHY
IS THERE SO MUCH UNREST?
WHEN
WILL PEACE PREVAIL?
WHY
INJUSTICE IN THIS WORLD?
WHY THE SUFFERING IN THIS WORLD?
WHY
DO PEOPLE DIE?
WHY
MUST I BE SAVED?
IS
THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH?
WHEN
WILL JESUS RETURN?
WHAT
DOES GOD REQUIRE FROM US?
WHOSE
WORLD IS IT?
Several
years ago I read Genesis
Chapter One with
discernment. Verses
1 and 2 brought
astonishment to my spirit.
Genesis
1:1 states: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the
earth."
Please
note: The creation of that earth and heaven could have occurred
during billions of years.
Genesis
1:2 states: "And the earth was without form, and void; and
the darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God
moved upon the face of the waters."
Please
note: The earth was a dismal place at that time prior to the
six-day creation. The Spirit of God brought life into the
then-existing world. May the Spirit of God continue to bring
spiritual life into people's hearts and homes.
The
six-day creation is outlined in the first
chapter of Genesis.
Do you know that God - in Three Persons - was present at the creation of
the six days?
Genesis
1:26 states: "And God said, Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness: and let them, have dominion over the fish of
the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all
the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the
earth."
Have
you ever questioned the dismal world prior to its six-day creation?
Scripture
tells us that Satan was a beautiful angel. He rebelled against
God. Also, a group of angels rebelled against God, and they were
thrown out of Heaven.
I
believe that prior to the six-day creation, Satan and the fallen angels
were living upon the
then-dismal world. Satan was a beautiful angel when he lived in
heaven.
Isaiah
14:12-14 tells us: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O
Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart,
I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of
God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the
sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will be like the most High."
Satan
and the fallen angels lived upon the dismal world -- perhaps for
centuries.
(Read
IN
THE GARDEN OF EDEN
for additional insights to the creation of mankind)
WHO
RULES THIS WORLD?
Scripture
tells us that the God of heaven permits the sun and the rain upon all
mankind.
Matthew
5:45 states: "...for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil
and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
WHY
IS THERE SO MUCH UNREST?
It
was God's design that the Bible Adam and Eve live peacefully in the
Garden of Eden. Because of disobedience, they were driven from
Paradise. (Genesis
3:24)
The
world also suffered because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve.
Matthew
24:6 tells us: "And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of
wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must
come to pass, but the end is not yet."
WHEN
WILL PEACE PREVAIL?
Anyone
that studies history will read about the wars that have occurred over
the many centuries.
The
news of the present time also tells us of the many disruptions that war
causes throughout the world.
Matthew
24:5, 7, and 8 tells us: "For many shall come in my name,
saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. For nation shall rise
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be
famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All
these are the beginning of sorrows."
Christ
is our perfect peace - Ephesians 2:14!
WHY
INJUSTICE IN THIS WORLD?
I
believe people desire to trust those in leadership positions.
Because there are times when such a trust is disappointed, we may ask
"Is Anything Trustworthy?"
Jesus
tells us: "...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no
man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6
WHY
THE SUFFERING IN THIS WORLD?
Suffering
- physically, mentally, or emotionally - comes because of many
sources. Some of those negative sources may be:
a)
relationships
b)
illness
c)
monetary shortage
d)
job situations
e)
war
Scripture
tells us: "...These things I have spoken unto you, that in me
ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation:
but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33
In
adverse happenings, we can receive strength by trusting God through
Christ Jesus. (Psalm
125:1)
WHY
DO PEOPLE DIE?
It
has already been stated that God intended the Paradise in the Garden of
Eden to be a perfect place. Because of disobedience, it is
appointed for mankind to die and to face the eternity of one's choice.
Hebrews
9:27 states: "...And as it is appointed unto men once to die
...."
WHY
MUST I BE SAVED?
The
previous point - Why Do People Die? - tells us that we will face the
eternity of one's choice. For more insight about Salvation, click "SALVATION."
IS
THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH?
God
made mankind (Genesis
1:26). Also,
God intended for mankind to live eternally with Him. It is awesome
that among the six billion plus people, Jesus took the sins of all the
people that lived since the Calvary Event, the present time, and the
time to come.
(John 3:16)
A
powerful Scripture Passage tells me that Jesus prayed:
"Sanctify
them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
"Neither
pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me
through their word;
"Father,
I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am;
that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou
lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
"O
righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee,
and these have known that thou hast sent me.
"And
I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the
love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them."
John
17:17,20,24-26
JESUS
IS LIVING IN HEARTS AND LIVES TODAY, TOMORROW, AND FOR EVER!
WHEN
WILL JESUS RETURN?
The
Return of Christ is not a fable (or a story). Let us briefly
review the Life of Christ:
a)
Born in Bethlehem (Micah
5:2)
b)
Walked among mankind and healed people (Matthew
4:23)
c)
Died on Calvary's cross for all mankind (Luke
23:46)
d)
Rose from the dead and was seen by many people (Luke
24:49)
d)
Returned to Heaven among witnesses (Acts
1:8,9)
f)
Christ will return. The angels stated: "...Ye
men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same
Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like
manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11)
(To
read about a Vision/Dream, click
"DREAMS
AND/OR VISIONS #1")
WHAT
DOES GOD REQUIRE FROM US?
"AND
HE ANSWERING SAID, THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART,
AND WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL THY MIND;
AND THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF."
LUKE
10:27
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