| CHRISTIAN LIFE AND DOCTRINE | July 2006 |
The Everlasting Testimony
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“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” |
THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY mankind has doubted the necessity for reverencing God and avoiding evil. Mankind doubts the character of a creator who demands of his creation reverence and the avoidance of evil, then allows those who heed his demand to suffer for their obedience.
Many have cursed God and openly embraced evil while living long untroubled lives surrounded by friends and family in majestic splendor, after which, full of years, they died peacefully. Others have reverenced God with their every breath while carefully avoiding even the appearance of evil, yet these have been persistently reviled and persecuted. Many have died shortened lives alone in misery. Unable to explain how a just God could tolerate such injustice, the world doubts his character. In due time, blessed assurance will replace that doubt. Even now, the preparatory work goes on.
Since the First Advent of Christ Jesus, individuals have been drawn by God as members of his church. That selection continues until now. These have been invited, chosen, and enlisted in the cause of righteousness, the mission of which is vast and eternal in its ramifications. (John 6:44) The mission is the eradication of doubt concerning the character of God, introduced by Lucifer. When that work is completed, reverent trust, security, and everlasting peace will reside in every heart that once harbored doubt, dread, and fears about God. In due time, all Creation will understand why Lucifer was allowed to openly question the character of God. All will then celebrate God’s wisdom in allowing it.
LUCIFER’S AMBITION
God’s character was brought into question as the result of Lucifer’s ambition and pride. “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.”—Isa. 14:12-14
“Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.”—Ezek. 28:14-17
Nothing had ever existed that opposed the will and purpose of God. These two references recount the origin and growth of sin in Lucifer’s heart. The following is the account of his intent to sow it in the hearts of others.
GOD INSULTED
“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance has increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.” (Job 1:6-12) Lucifer is here called ‘Satan,’ which means accuser.
Satan used this formal gathering of the various sons of God to further his agenda. Appearing to attack the hypocrisy of superficial worship, Satan suggested that Job, whom God held up as an example of humble virtue, was a hypocrite. To expose that hypocrisy, Lucifer proposed that God remove the many blessings he had bestowed upon Job. Satan’s claim was that Job’s pretended devotion to God would vanish if his blessings were to vanish; that Job would curse God to his face.
The innocent are often accused by the guilty of the very crimes which the guilty are capable of committing. It was just so on this occasion. Satan himself was the hypocrite. In the guise of attacking hypocrisy, he intentionally insulted God. In the most public way, Satan very cleverly insinuated that God’s character alone could not inspire genuine devotion. That insult was not directly responded to for centuries. During that time, doubt about God’s character grew and deepened. In due time, however, there came a Divine response.
GOD RESPONDS
In due time, a momentous occasion took place which Satan could never have foreseen—the advent on earth of the only begotten Son of God in the flesh. (Gal. 4:4) No one had known the Creator longer than his Son, “the firstborn of every creature.” (Col. 1:15,16) He was present at the creation of everything—by whom and for whom all things were created. (Heb. 1:2; Rev. 3:14) No one had communed longer, or more closely, with God than the Son as the Logos, the Word. (John 1:1,2, Wilson’s Emphatic Diaglott) He knew the Creator’s character better than any other could have, or ever will. He was certainly present at the gathering of the sons of God when his Father’s character was first brought into question by Satan. As a joyful offering to his God and Father, the Son volunteered to participate in a transaction that would have eternal repercussions as the final and universal refutation of Satan’s accusations. “I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”—Isa. 6:8
The Son entered the world quietly as a babe named Jesus. He grew to manhood of no particular reputation until age 30. After presenting himself and being immersed in the river Jordan at that age, he began to proclaim the wisdom, justice, love and power of his Heavenly Father. He was hated and scorned for it. The very traits that Satan had long before brought so cunningly into question were the very things that Jesus proclaimed formed the basis of his Father’s glorious character. As Satan’s challenge had been public, so the Divine response to it is even now witnessed by heaven and earth—“for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” (I Cor 4:9) Christ Jesus and those who follow him even unto suffering and death, in defense of God’s holy name, are a source of wonder to men and angels.
IMPOSSIBLE DEVOTION
Jesus proclaimed the love, the infinite mercy, of his Father; his eagerness to provide all things perfect and beneficial for his Creation. Jesus was hated for his message. The more he was hated for the Father’s sake, the more he loved the Father. Satan had claimed such genuine devotion was impossible. The focus of heaven and earth was, therefore, upon the moment. Their perception of God would be determined for eternity by any degree of reservation shown by the Son. In adversity, he continued to proclaim the beauty, the depth of loveliness, and the infinite richness of the character of God. The Son’s devotion to his Father was infinite. Christ Jesus counted his own life as nothing compared to the joy of defending the Father of life.
Reviled, mocked, spat upon, stripped of his clothing and mercilessly beaten, Jesus endured all, even unto the indescribable torment of the cross, for his Father’s holy name. This established the eternal, unassailable fact that God’s character is so luminous with love, so deep with compassion for and commitment to his Creation, that the very knowledge of his character could elicit selfless and limitless devotion even at the human level, the lowest intelligent estate. Jesus thereby “condemned sin in the flesh.”—Rom. 8:3
A FATAL BLOW
This constituted a fatal blow to Satan, the accuser. His doom is sealed. Many subsequent blows have since fallen upon Satan. Following the example of Christ Jesus, many of God’s people have eagerly availed themselves of the Gospel Age privilege of proclaiming their own undying devotion to their wonderful Creator. At the conclusion of the age, one hundred and forty-four thousand individuals will have added their voices to that of the Son in a rising chorus of loving praise for God’s holy character, the praises of most coming at the cost of privation, blood and tears. (Rev. 14:1) When finished, those praises to God will have driven Satan and his minions to the ground. “I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.” (Ezek. 28:17) Though the church has preached throughout the present Gospel Age the Truth of what was accomplished on behalf of God by Christ’s life and death while on earth, much of mankind remains either unaware, or skeptical. When the Lord has fully completed his answer to Satan’s insult, there will be nothing left of doubt in the heart of any intelligent creature, whether it be spiritual or earthly.
UNDESERVED FAVOR
There is to be an everlasting reminder of the unimaginable goodness, generosity and power of God. There is to be a lasting testimony to his wisdom, a devoted eternal presence continually and eagerly testifying to the incomparable splendor of his character. In the ages to come, the Father will refer to that as indisputable evidence of the infinite transforming power of his love. That living testimony is to be the church.
The Apostle Paul, writing to his brethren in Ephesus, also addresses those of like faith here at the end of this Gospel Age, “God is so rich in mercy; he loved us so much that even though we were spiritually dead and doomed by our sins, he gave us back our lives again when he raised Christ from the dead. Only by his undeserved favor have we ever been saved and lifted up from the grave into glory along with Christ, where we sit with him in the heavenly realms … all because of what Christ Jesus did. Now God can always point to us as examples of how very rich his kindness is, as shown in all he has done for us through Jesus Christ.”—Eph. 2:4-7, The Living Bible
TRANSFORMED FOR SERVICE
The church is to be that testimony to our Father’s loving generosity. It is to be an everlasting example composed of individuals who, during this present Gospel Age, preached the very Truth of what our Lord Christ Jesus accomplished by his devotion while on earth. To these called-out ones, the truth of God’s character has been as a fire shut up in their bones; a fire that compelled them to express the wonder of that knowledge regardless of the consequences to themselves. (Jer. 20:9) They pray earnestly that they be transformed to serve whatever purpose he desires to his greater glory and honor, whatever the cost to them. These chosen and faithful ones have experienced the beauty, goodness, and majesty of God’s character in advance of the world. In thanksgiving, these submit, “Now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.”—Isa. 64:8
With his dear Son, the church is to become an eternal living testimony to God’s wonderful character. What amazing grace is poured upon those invited to such a prospect. What unspeakable honor it will be for those chosen and faithful of the Gospel Age to have a place in that eternal shrine to God’s wisdom, justice, love, and power. Let those who have been thus called and chosen be faithful. Let them continue to preach the goodness of God, to bury self at all cost in total submission to him, to wash one another’s feet in the spirit of his pure love, to bear each other’s burdens, and to build each other up in the most holy faith. Finally, while eagerly looking forward to their place in that future monument, the completed church, let those now so favored determine to bind themselves ever closer in love as a present testimony to its marvelous power.