There Is A God Ch 11

Some say God was unjust to judge and then condemn the whole human race in father Adam. What was the alternative? Create each of the billions of humanity individually and give each an individual trial? Recall the scenario of the baby and hot stove. Lacking experience, Divine wisdom knew most, if not all, of humankind would disobey Him—just as father Adam did. Then there would be billions of individually condemned sinners, not just one. To salvage that disaster, each sinner would require a separate redeemer. What a mathematical challenge that would pose! But God, in His infinite wisdom found a way to condemn all in one man (Adam) so that He could redeem all in one man’s death (the perfect man Jesus). “For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:17).

Human History Horrendous

Some complain that the tragedies of history have been horrendous—at times unbearable. If God is loving, why hasn’t He at least limited their severity?

Psalm 76:10 assures us that God is limiting man’s wrath (man’s inhumanity to man) to only those experiences that will praise Him—accomplish the purposes of His plan for mankind. All human evil which is in excess of what is necessary for humanity’s schooling will be restrained. Actually, civilization would have aborted or adversely mutated itself time and again if it was not for this Divine restraining. But the schooling of the permission of evil must of necessity be severe.

Man has to learn once—for all time—not just the error of sin, but also its horrific consequences. For the most part, the scenario of sin must be played out in ghastly detail in order for this lesson to be thoroughly learned. Further, these terrible details of sin’s consequences must become the facts of history to be studied for the eternal welfare of all. The experiences of each have not been the same. This is obviously true of those who died as babies or children. Actually, the Scriptures reveal that man’s total experience with sin will be studied throughout eternity. Certainly in the Kingdom, when the dead are raised, the total experience of all mankind will be shared. What a motivation this composite history of evil will be to inspire all to love the ways of righteousness.

Restraining the Severity of Evil

But there are ways in which God is limiting the severity of humankind’s experience with evil. In love, God has cut off nations and whole groupings of people before their consciences became irrevocably scarred by experiencing evil. Otherwise there would be no conscience left to which God could appeal when they come forth from their graves in the Kingdom (John 5:29).

Both the Ten Commandments and the preaching of the Gospel for a witness in all nations have had a tremendous influence on the moral laws of the nations thereby, limiting the practice of evil.

In his book Out of Control, Brzezinski reminded us that the insane evil of the 20th century was due to the unprecedented knowledge of our day. God kindly withheld this explosion of knowledge until the “Time of the End” (Dan.12:1, 4). This explosion of knowledge is having its God-intended effect—the destruction of our social order to make way for God’s Kingdom.

Why Will the Kingdom Succeed?

If Adam failed in his test of obedience, what assurance is there that mankind will pass the test for eternal life in the Kingdom? There are four fundamental reasons. The first three are experience, experience and experience. The fourth is that mankind will be in the hands of a sympathetic Priesthood.

Experience

The factor of personal experience is all important. Adam had no experience with the consequences of sin. In the Kingdom each person will have a vivid memory of every pain, sorrow and tragedy, and realize their debilitating effect on mind and body. Every encounter with man’s inhumanity will be relived time and again as they interact with these same individuals in the Kingdom. What a challenge each will face, to ask forgiveness and to forgive. This is one of the many practical ways they will learn to develop love one for another. What a refreshing contrast life will be in the Kingdom when they experience the rewards of health, peace and happiness for righteous living. Also, Satan, the one who took Eve down the “primrose path of deception,” will be bound.

A Sympathetic Priesthood

Humanity will be in the hands of Jesus and His Church (his faithful followers) who will be Kings and Priests to the world. Think of being in the hands of King Jesus—a King who was willing to die for his subjects that they might have life. Think of the compassion he developed for sinners by the sufferings he received at their hands. The more they opposed him and harmed him, the more he learned to understand and love them. Think also of humankind being ruled and helped by members of the faithful Church, who will be associate rulers and priests. They were once fellow sinners—representatives of every type of humanity. They have experienced every sort of tragedy which man has suffered. Oh, what an incentive it will be to realize that members of the Church understand and can help them out of every temptation to disobey!

Because man’s past experience with sin and assistance from the sympathetic priesthood in the Kingdom will be so effective, the Scriptures speak of those who gain eternal life as the “sand of the sea” in number (Gen. 22:17,18). Yes, the experience with evil will enable the vast majority of mankind to share the joys of eternity.

When the testings of the Millennial Kingdom are over, as mankind stands at the threshold of eternity, they will look back on the permission of evil and thank God for every tragedy and every sorrow. What an invaluable lesson! Compared to eternity, it will seem but a moment. And when “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death neither sorrow, nor crying” (Rev. 21:4)