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The Great Reveal: Our Epic Journey Through Time, Space and Eternity – Part 16

God’s eternal plan for time and space is underway. First, we saw creation. Next, we saw corruption. The third and final part of God’s plan is redemption.

How would God introduce the idea of redemption into His plan? He already did –

“So the Lord God said to the serpent: ‘Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:14-15

Adam and Eve sinned against God and plunged creation into corruption. God immediately introduced redemption. It was an eternal plan based on the Son of God’s death and resurrection that would be carried out in time and space –

“… who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.’ 2 Timothy 1:9-10

Continue reading “The Great Reveal: Our Epic Journey Through Time, Space and Eternity – Part 16” →

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The Three-Million Mile View

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9

We often hear people talk about the “five-thousand” or “thirty-thousand-foot view” for looking at the big picture of a business project. However, when we talk about how God sees things, even thirty-thousand feet is an extremely short distance – just a little higher than Mount Everest (29,029 feet).

The picture above (Image Credit: NASA/OSIRIS-REx team and the University of Arizona) is a composite of three photos taken from a distance of three-million miles from earth. The earth is the small blue dot in the upper left and the moon is the small white dot in the upper right.

The photo, taken inside our solar system, gives us some insight into the tiny size of the earth. However, given the extremely small size of our solar system in the vast universe we still have a long way to go to understand Isaiah’s statement that God’s ways are higher than our ways – comparing how the heavens are higher than the earth.

Continue reading “The Three-Million Mile View” →

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The Great Reveal: Our Epic Journey Through Time, Space and Eternity – Part 15

In the last part of our study we saw how God responded to Adam and Eve after they failed God’s simple test –

“… but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:17

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” Genesis 3:6-7

God met with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and told them how their lives were going to change. They would experience pain, sorrow and death because of their disobedience to God.

What happened next is deeply important to the eternal plan of God that is playing out in time and space.

Continue reading “The Great Reveal: Our Epic Journey Through Time, Space and Eternity – Part 15” →

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The Great Reveal: Our Epic Journey Through Time, Space and Eternity – Part 10

In the first nine articles of this special series we have shared about extraordinary events that occurred in eternity – prior to time and space.

We’ve seen that God is One and Three: One in Essence and Three in Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

“… baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19

We have seen that God’s existence is eternal and not limited by time or space –

“Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Psalm 90:2

We’ve seen that God developed a grand plan in eternity that would be revealed in time and space. That plan included the suffering, death and resurrection of God the Son –

“… the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” 2 Timothy 1:8-10

“… knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” 1 Peter 1:18-21

We have seen the angelic host sing together and shout for joy at God’s creation of the earth (Job 38:4-7).

“To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

We have seen Satan fall from his privileged position in Heaven and become the origin of evil and suffering in the world.

“And He said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Luke 10:18

The stage is set for – The Great Reveal.

Continue reading “The Great Reveal: Our Epic Journey Through Time, Space and Eternity – Part 10” →

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The Great Reveal: Our Epic Journey Through Time, Space and Eternity – Part 8

The great eternal plan of God is established. God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – determined in eternity – “before time began, before the foundation of the world” – that the Father would send the Son and the Son would send the Spirit into the world they would create together.

The Father would love the world so much that He would give “His only begotten Son” so that “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:15).

The Son would “glorify” the Father on the earth by finishing “the work” which the Father had given Him to do (John 17:1-5), which was to die on the Cross and rise from the dead.

The Holy Spirit would convict the world “of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” and would guide the Son’s disciples “into all truth.” The Spirit would not “speak on His own authority,” but would speak “whatever He hears” and would tell the followers of the Son “things to come.” The Spirit of God would “glorify” the Son by declaring to the followers what belonged to the Son and the Father (John 16:5-15).

Continue reading “The Great Reveal: Our Epic Journey Through Time, Space and Eternity – Part 8” →

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The Great Reveal: Our Epic Journey Through Time, Space and Eternity – Part 7

We are looking at what God did in eternity, “before time began, before the foundation of the world,” that impacted what has happened and will happen in time and space. We’re calling it the Grand Plan that led to the Great Reveal!

Each member of the Godhead played a vital role in the execution of the plan. Here’s how we’ve described it in previous studies –

  • God the Father sends God the Son
  • God the Son sends God the Spirit
  • God the Spirit speaks of God the Son
  • God the Son glorifies God the Father

It’s a beautiful and powerful completed circle where every member of the Godhead is demonstrating love to each other and to the world they created.

Continue reading “The Great Reveal: Our Epic Journey Through Time, Space and Eternity – Part 7” →

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The Great Reveal: Our Epic Journey Through Time, Space and Eternity – Part 6

In our last study we looked at the role of God the Father in the grand plan designed in eternity – “before time began, before the foundation of the world.”

  • God the Father Sends God the Son

What did God the Father send His Son to do in time and space?

  • God the Father sent God the Son to be the Savior of the world.
  • God the Father sent God the Son to be great and reign from the throne of David over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever. God the Son would be the “Lord” of the world.
  • God the Father sent God the Son to be “Savior” and “Lord” of the world.

Continue reading “The Great Reveal: Our Epic Journey Through Time, Space and Eternity – Part 6” →