Seeing the Forest Despite the Tree

As I began an intense study of the Bible, I noticed there are a lot of mysterious verses that nobody ever talks about. Consider what difference it would make if we understood how these verses fit into the plan for creating this world.

The Elect of God: "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened." (Matthew 24:22). "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24). "And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven" (Mark 13:27). "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? " (Luke 18:7). "Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory" (2Timothy 2:10).

Our Pre-existence and Predestination: "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them" (Psalm 139:16). "LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. ² Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world (Psalm 90:1-2b). "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." (Hebrews 11:13). "Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: &sup5; "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1:4-5). "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" (2Timothy 1:9). "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." (Hebrews 11:13). "Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, ² in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began" (Titus 1:1-3).

That We are Angelic Spirits in Bodies of Flesh: "I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me" (Daniel 7:15). "Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him" (Zechariah 12:1b). "Then they fell on their faces, and said, "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the congregation?" (Numbers 16:22). And Jesus Put on Flesh Like We Did – "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹5; and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:14-15).

And as I participated in many Bible Studies, I sought to answer the questions that people asked. Consider what difference it would it make if these questions we ask about the Bible were answered in a way that made sense and formed a Big Picture Story describing the Meaning and Purpose of Life on Earth?

• If God is all powerful and He is a God of love, why is there so much evil on the earth? Either He is not all powerful or He is not a God of love.

• Why does God seem so harsh in the Old Testament, killing whole nations, children and all; and so much more gentle and kind in the New Testament? Did God change? Did He learn?

• Was God the Father calling the shots in the Old Testament and the kinder and gentler Jesus given that authority in the New Testament?

• Did God learn as He went from the Old Testament to the New?

• Where does the "original sin" doctrine come from and why are we guilty of Adam's sin before we were even born?

• Why did God hate Esau and love Jacob before they were born and before they even have a chance to do anything good or bad as described in Romans chapter 9?

• What did Jesus mean when He said of the bread and wine in the Last Supper, "This is My body" and "This is My blood"?

• We are taught that Jesus died to save us, but exactly why did He have to die on the cross?

• Why did God give us the Law if He knew it would not save us?

• If God has separated the believers that are His in the Rapture and by the end of the Tribulation, what purpose does the Millennium serve? Why doesn't He take us right to heaven?

• If God promised the land in the Middle East to the Jews, why don’t they possess all the land now?

• How come all the Jews are not saved? God promised Abraham that his descendants would be saved?

• How can those who are not Jews be saved?

• How come God said let there be light, and there was light in the first day of creation but God did not create the sun the moon and the stars for light until the fourth day?

• If Eve sinned first, why is Adam blamed for the fall of man?

• What kind of fruit is the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Is it an apple?

• Why was the way to the Tree of Life blocked so that Adam and Eve could not eat of it and live forever?

• If God's almighty power cannot rescue us from bondage to Satan, how can faith rescue us?

• What is predestination all about?

• Who are the Elect of God and when and why were they elected?

• When does the rapture occur – Pre Tribulation, Mid Tribulation or Post Tribulation?

• What is the great mystery of Oneness – Unio Mystica – Man and his wife & Christ and His church?

• What is the correct baptism and what is it for?

• What does it mean to be born again, born of the spirit, born of God?

• Why does God create man on earth where Satan and his fallen angels, called demons, are instead of in Heaven?

• What does it mean to be in the Spirit?

• Why, when Christ was raised, did He first descend into Hell?

• How is it that God created man in His own image but the Bible says that Seth, the third child born to Adam and Eve, was born in the Image of fallen Adam?

• Who is the Holy Spirit?

• Who is Satan and how did he become our adversary and enemy of our souls? "By the end of this book, we will know and understand the meaning of these mysterious verses and know the answers to these questions and much more!