The Most Holy and the Holy...

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It goes against the values of Americans to regard some people as elite. This may not be the case in some other countries. Our Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal"; that God has given them the right of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." However, God did not write this statement; Thomas Jefferson did.

It is obvious that people are not created physically or mentally equal. Of course, the signers of the Declaration of Independence understood this. They were reacting to caste or other social systems which define limits as to which sets of people can have an opportunity to seek to better their situation.

No doubt it is a fact that uncounted multitudes of people have achieved a better environment in countries that adhere to democratic principles. Whether or not they have lived a happier life as a result may be subject to interpretation. For example, the Book of James informs us that God has "chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him."

I would rather have faith than a luxurious environment. How about you? In any case, our values in America may be questionable.

The Kingdom of God is not affected by our Declaration of Independence. God unblushingly decides what place and role in His Kingdom each saved person shall enjoy, even though all people are invited to be saved; and all people are welcome to achieve whatever they wish in the Kingdom.

This last statement must be qualified by adding that the desire to be saved, and the desire to advance in the Kingdom, come from God into the heart of the individual. Also, the additional qualification must be presented that salvation, roles, and ranks are not frozen in the mind of God. Some individuals surprise God with the strength of their determination to serve Him; and there are others who disappoint God by not rising to the opportunities offered to them.

I believe what I have just written is as true as steel. Yet, it remains true that in spite of all this, God knows what finally will become of each individual. You may say this is paradoxical. Indeed it does not appear consistent to us. But the only answer is, as Paul told us, "God is the Potter. He shapes the clay as He chooses." However, the texture of some of the lumps of clay may "surprise" Him.

A human being is far more complex than we have the remotest idea. Even God searches to see what is in the inmost nature of an individual.

I felt it necessary to say all this as a background for someone who might be disturbed by God's seemingly arbitrary practice of assigning roles and ranks in His Kingdom. One such assignment is that of inscribing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel on the gates of the new Jerusalem. A study of the origin and history of Israel does not suggest such an honor. But there it is!

Throughout the Bible we see evidences of privileges assigned to certain people. In fact, the very setting aside of Israel from the remainder of the nations of the earth enabled the Israelites to have access to the true God, that may not have been true of China or India.

The calling out of Abraham, and then his being named the father of all who believe. Was Abraham that special? Remember, he tried on two occasions to sell his wife. Yet, in one of the pinnacles of the history of mankind, Abraham would have offered Isaac as a burnt offering had not God stopped him.

So we are not implying that God plays favourites. Those whom God chooses for a high rank in His Kingdom are tested more severely than the others. Israel always receives double for her sins.

God chose David to be the king of Israel. David was an adulterer and a murderer, and he suffered for it. But Christ is the Root and the Offspring of David.

I expect in our day, as the philosophy of Humanism is prevailing, there will be many attempts to make alterations in the Bible until it conforms to humanistic reasoning. Our Declaration of Independence, although faulty in its premise, finally will prevail throughout the world until the coming of the true King puts a stop to the self-will of mankind.

My writing all this philosophy has a simple, practical purpose. I want all of God's people to recognize that in our day God is looking for those who will govern the new world of righteousness. Many of the highest thrones of the Kingdom are awaiting an occupant.

You yourself may feel within you an intense desire to follow Christ more closely than is true of your associates. As you are being set free from fears, idols, passions, and ambitions you increasingly are able to rest in God, to be aware of the will of Christ, and to obey God completely in every detail of life.

Fan your desire into flame. God may be calling you higher. But you must respond with all diligence, or that opportunity will be given to another.

Think of the way God separates people:

Consider the Prophets of Israel, and the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. They were set aside from everyone else, weren't they?

How about Enoch, always an inspiration to the fervent Christian?

The Aaronic Priesthood. No one, not even the Levites, could look inside the Tabernacle tent. Only Aaron and his descendants had this privilege.

Think about David's mighty men, separate from the remainder of the Israelites on the basis of their prowess in war. The three who stood with Christ on the mount of transfiguration. The rest of the disciples were not invited, apparently.

The first marriage of the Lamb, described in the nineteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation.

The Firstfruits to God and the Lamb, of the fourteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation.

The Holy and the Most Holy Places of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

You may notice in the above list that there is a mixture of Divine sovereignty and human response. This is my point. If God sovereignty invites you to a high place in His Kingdom, you must respond. As the Lord said, "Hold on to what you have so that no one will take your crown"!

"So that no one will take your crown." There is a spirit of inevitably that lives among Christian people. "Whatever is going to happen will happen." "God loves me too much to let me suffer very much." "Whatever place He wants for me, that is what will happen." "I am too young, too old, too tired, too busy, too encumbered with responsibilities, to think of a change in my destiny."

This is how Satan attacks the sons of the Kingdom. A little folding of the hands. 'I am where and what I am supposed to be. I had great hopes of being a witness for Christ, but now I am content to live in my mansion in the sky and do nothing unusual for eternity."

How God must hate this spirit of inevitability. He has told us that all things are possible with Him. Greater works shall you do. Some will reap a hundredfold.

I guess it finally is up to us. Will you really believe that all things are possible with Him? Or will you settle back in the swamp of inevitability, having decided that the Bible makes a lot of statements but they don't actually apply to you.

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