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The Birth of God: When did God come into existence?

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Question: When did God begin?

Answer: Thanks for the question. It’s one I have dealt with before (see When God Began), but here are a few more thoughts. The answer is that God had no beginning and has no ending. He is “the everlasting God” (Gen. 21:33), “the eternal God” (Deut. 33:27), and “the King eternal” (I Tim. 1:17).

God always is, living in an eternal present. All other things in the universe were created by Him and for Him (Rom. 11:36; Col. 1:16-17), which means they had a beginning. He alone is uncreated and eternal. He established time and space as an environment within which we could dwell. But He is outside of both. He says to Jeremiah the prophet, “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” (Jer. 23:24). He is “the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity” (Isa. 57:15).

We get a sense of that eternal present tense when the Lord tells Moses His name. “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.'” (Exod. 3:14). Similarly, the Lord Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity, says of Himself, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (Jn. 8:58).

When a person trusts Christ as Saviour, he or she is born again, spiritually, by a work of the Spirit of God (Jn. 1:12-13). When that happens, we are said to have eternal or everlasting life (Jn. 3:16; I Jn. 5:11). It is endless life. We will live forever, and enjoy the fellowship and blessings of God.

However, that is not the same as God’s life. Our life had a beginning. His did not. As Moses said, “Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Ps. 91:2). And when Micah prophesies about the birth of Jesus he describes Him as “The One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Mic. 5:2).

It’s helpful to combine this great truth with another–the immutability of God (His changelessness). Not only is God the eternally existing One, in His essential nature and character He does not alter. He says, “I am the Lord, I do not change” (Mal. 3:6; cf. Heb. 13:8). The Westminster Shorter Catechism (from 1647) puts it as follows.

Question: What is God?

Answer: God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

That tells us that the Lord’s holy standard will be consistent. What was sin in Bible times is still sin. The righteous standard reflected in the Law of Israel is also expressed in the New Testament. This is also a reassuring truth when it comes to the promises of God. What He has promised He will do He will do. Whether to punish sinners, or to grant eternal life to those who trust in Christ, the Lord will keep His word.

In a chaotic and ever-changing world, this provides wonderful stability. We can rest confidently in the truths expressed in the Scriptures, because behind every line is the never-changing, eternal God.

When God Began?

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When God began? When did His life start?

There is a simple answer of course: It didn’t. The Scriptures tell us God exists “from everlasting to everlasting” (Ps. 90:2). He is “the eternal God” (Deut. 33:27). But I’m sure you want a little more than that. Here are some big ideas to think about.

Each of us human beings had a beginning. There was a time, before our conception in our mothers’ wombs, when we did not exist. But once we begin our lives, they will go on forever. We are “eternal” in the sense that God has created us to live on for endless time. Even that is hard to imagine! The last verse of the hymn “Amazing Grace” is startling. Speaking of Christians living with God in our heavenly home it says, “When we’ve been there ten thousand years, / Bright shining as the sun, / We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise / Than when we’d first begun.” If we watch a television program, every minute we watch is one less minute till the end of the program. But that is not like the heavenly kingdom. Ten thousand years is 3,650,000 days. Yet even after all those days have passed, believers will have no fewer days to enjoy the blessings of eternity!

Actually, the question is itself a contradiction. When we talk about things beginning and ending, we are speaking of matters of time. God created time, as a part of the setting in which the universe and man would function. We speak of minutes and hours, days and years. But God exists outside of time. The Bible says He “inhabits eternity” (Isa. 57:15) and He exists in an eternal now. As the Lord told Moses, His name is “I AM” (Exod. 3:13-14). Past, present and future are all alike to Him. That is why He knows what is going to happen tomorrow, or next week, or next year. In some way we are unable to grasp, He sees it all as now. So He is able to say, “I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done” (Isa. 46:9-10).

As creatures of time, these are big ideas to get our minds around. Concepts such as infinity (cf. Ps. 147:5), or eternity, are virtually impossible for us to imagine because we are finite beings, existing in time. Before, during and after are what we understand. But God is different. Perhaps we could think of time as a straight line from “A” to “B” If we go to a football game, it has a beginning “A,” and an end “B.” But God is not like that at all.

Compare a straight line with a circle. Where would you put the “A” and the “B” on a circle? It has no beginning or ending. And that is like God. If He had a cause–someone that brought Him into existence–then that someone would be greater than He. But God is, by definition, the Supreme Being. There is nothing and no one greater. He says, “I am God, and there is no other” (Isa. 45:22). As theologian Samuel Harris wrote, “He is uncaused. Therefore He must be without beginning.”

God invented time. Hebrews says, “He made the worlds” (1:2). But the writer did not use the Greek word kosmos for “worlds,” but aion, better translated “ages.” He made the ages, originating the orderly progression of time. And He is able to step into time when He chooses, but still inhabit eternity. So we read, “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman” (Gal. 4:4).

God the Son took on our humanity. “The Word [Christ] became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn. 1:14). But unlike each of us, that is not when His life began. When the prophet Micah foretold that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, he said His “goings forth are from everlasting” (Mic. 5:2). Although He was to be born as a human Baby, He never had a beginning. He became Man, but He did not stop being God when He did that. Jesus Himself declared, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (Jn. 8:57-58). We could not speak that way. Even if we were enormously old–older than Abraham (who lived around 2000 B.C.)– we could only say, “Before Abraham was I was.” But that is not like God. At any point in history He is always “I AM.”

Angels: Free Will

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Question: Roselle asks, “Did God create angels with free will?”

Answer: What an interesting question! And not an easy one to answer completely, or with total certainty. Though angels come into the Bible’s story here and there, God’s Word focuses mainly on this earth, and things that pertain directly to humanity. We are told some things about angels, but the Lord has not seen fit to answer all our questions on the subject. For that reason, some of what I’ll share below is a deduction, based on clues we’re given.

Their Nature and Number

Angels are powerful spirit beings created by the Lord (Col. 1:16), and appointed to help believers (Heb. 1:14). Though they have the ability to take on a physical form when needed, in their natural state they are invisible. And there are many, many of them.

God made “an innumerable company of angels” (Heb. 12:22). And He made them all at once. That is, they differ from man in that God made two human beings, and the rest have come by procreation from the original two. But the heavenly angels “neither marry nor are given in marriage” (Matt. 22:30). They do not bear angel babies. Nor can they die (Lk. 20:36). From that it would seem that the number of angels in existence remains eternally the same.

No Sinfulness to Begin With

In our case, the sin of Adam and Eve has corrupted all who have descended from them–with the exception of the virgin-born Son of God (Rom. 5:12). We commit acts of sin because we’re first of all sinners by nature, “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). But angels, created individually, did not inherit a sinful nature as we did.

However, similar to man, they are moral agents. They’re not like mere robots, or puppets on a string. The angels all came into being by a creative act of God, and they came into existence, with a real but untested holiness. In the latter characteristic, in the beginning, they were like Adam and Eve in Eden.

The Moral Nature of Angels

The angels praise God (Ps. 148:1-2), and are called to worship Christ (Heb. 1:6). That they are “sent forth to minister” (Heb. 1:14) implies that they obey God’s commands. Such activities would seem to require a moral choice. That means they are not simply programmed to act in these ways, without thought. Angels need to choose to serve God, and worship Him. So, yes, God did create the hosts of angels with a free will.

Further, we know that there are holy angels (Matt. 25:31), and there are also evil (or fallen) angels–Satan and his demon host. The latter group were not created that way. At some point they rebelled against God and were cast out of His presence (cf. Isa. 14:12-15; cf. I Tim. 3:6). When Satan rebelled, other angels followed him. (Some take Rev. 12:4 as a reference to this–cf. vs. 9.) Hell was originally created to house these wicked beings for all eternity (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10).

The Point of No Return

My guess is that those who rebelled were then confirmed and established in their wicked state. That is, at the decisive moment, their choice radically changed them. It is now impossible for Satan or demons to repent and be restored to the service of God.

In contrast, it seems that those who refused to rebel with Satan were confirmed and established in holiness–that they can now no longer sin. I believe that is how it will be for us as well, in the heavenly kingdom. Not only will it be impossible for sinners to repent and be saved after death (Heb. 9:27), the saints will be established in an eternal state of holiness (see Rev. 22:11).

This is not quite the same as saying that angels or human beings no longer have a free will. For their love and service for God in eternity to be meaningful, it surely must be chosen freely. However, the choices are made out of a nature that is absolutely holy, without the slightest taint of corruption, and therefore choosing to do wrong would be unthinkable.

There is one more tricky issue I’d like to address. The conclusion you will reach on it may be affected somewhat by your theological position, overall.

The Election of Angels

The Bible makes reference to the holy angels as “elect angels” (I Tim. 5:21). So were they elected (chosen) by God from the beginning to be eternally holy, in a similar sense that specific human beings were chosen for salvation (cf. Rom. 8:29-30; Eph. 1:3-5; I Pet. 1:1-2)? I do not know for certain, but it would seem so.

This involves one of those pairings of Bible doctrines that must be kept in balance–because the Bible does that. We cannot emphasize the freedom to choose to the point that God is robbed of His sovereignty. Nor can we allow God’s sovereignty to remove any responsibility (of either angels or men) to choose rightly.

In some way that we cannot understand, our very real choices, and our accountability for them, operate within the certain foreknowledge and sovereign purpose of God. It may well be the same for the angels.

Christ Our Advocate: His Appeal to the Father

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Question: If the Father is all powerful, all knowing, and present everywhere, why do we need the Son to advocate on our behalf? Surely the Father already feels and understands everything the Son does.

Answer: Christ our Advocate. That’s a most interesting subject. And, with it, we move into an area where little has been revealed in the Word of God. Not only that, some of these things are beyond words, and beyond our comprehension, even if they could somehow be expressed verbally. A couple of thoughts, in response.

1) God the Father is a spirit Being (Jn. 4:24), and therefore incorporeal and invisible. The Spirit of God is, likewise. And even God the Son, though He took on our humanity, somehow didn’t lose the attributes of deity (Col. 2:9). Either through the Holy Spirit, or in His own Person, Christ is still omnipresent (cf. Matt. 28:20; Jn. 3:13).

However, even though God is an invisible spirit, in order for us to comprehend His working, and be assured of His presence, He has sometimes taken on a physical form, or revealed Himself in ways that are observable to human beings. For example, the Holy Spirit appeared like a dove at Christ’s baptism (Matt. 3:16).

Added to this, we have the poetic imagery of the Bible. For instance, Isaiah says, “The LORD has made bare His holy arm” (Isa. 52:10), and we get the idea of someone rolling up his sleeves to get to work. Or the psalmist (Moses, I believe) writes, “He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge” (Ps. 91:4), picturing a mother bird sheltering her chicks under her wings.

We’re not expected to believe that God has sleeves and feathers. These poetic pictures are, to use a technical term, anthropomorphic. They portray an immaterial spirit Being in physical and observable terms, so we can get a better idea of what God does.

Something similar can be detected, I think, when it comes to the throne of God. We have less trouble picturing the Lord Jesus sitting on a throne (His Father’s throne, actually, not His own messianic throne as yet, Rev. 3:21.). But how can we imagine Him sitting on that throne with His invisible Father, and the latter having a “right hand” (Heb. 1:3)?

The Holy Spirit’s presence there is likewise made concrete and observable for the Apostle John. “From the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God” (Rev. 4:5). Seven, in Scripture is often the number of completeness and perfect fullness. And rather than seven separate spirits being pictured by the lamps, I believe, with many commentators, that the seven-fold perfection of God the Holy Spirit is being represented. So the triune Godhead is there.

2) The other thing is this–and it gets us closer to the heart of your question about Christ our Advocate. The Lord Jesus is called our Intercessor (Rom. 8:34), and our heavenly Advocate (I Jn. 2:1), but it seems to me we have invested these terms with a kind of earthly and human significance they do not have.

We know what an “advocate” is; it’s a lawyer. And we imagine a courtroom scene where we stand charged with some crime, and our lawyer is interceding for us with a stern judge, arguing our case, in order to somehow convince the judge that we should not be condemned, because (to carry the imagery one more step) our lawyer himself has actually paid what was owed.

A dramatic scene, but I doubt that it relates to what happens in heaven. As you quite rightly observe, God the Father is omniscient. He already knows all about our case. And there can be no dispute or disagreement between Father and Son. The Lord Jesus doesn’t have to argue the Father into sparing us!

No, I think it is the very presence of the crucified, risen Saviour in heaven that is all the advocacy we need. Just the fact that He is there is enough. Christ “became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him” (Phil. 2:8-9). Christ “was delivered up [to death] because of our offenses, and was raised [from the dead] because of our justification” (Rom. 5:25).

His resurrection and ascension to the Father’s right hand are absolute proof that the sacrifice He made was sufficient, and was fully accepted by the Father. He never needs to die again for our sins (Rom. 6:9); “He always lives to make intercession for us” there (Heb. 7:25), simply by His living presence.

Charles Wesley, in his marvellous hymn, “Arise, My Soul, Arise,” dramatically pictures the advocacy of the blood of Christ in heaven:

Five bleeding wounds He bears; received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers; they strongly plead for me:
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”

My oh my! What a picture! And here’s another.

During the latter part of the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln’s government offered amnesty to Confederate soldiers who were willing to change sides, swearing allegiance to the United States of America. Nineteen-year-old Private John Ennis decided to do so. But he was a prisoner of war in Camp Douglas at the time, and the offer excluded imprisoned soldiers.

However, Ennis belonged to the 3rd Kentucky Regiment, and his powerful congressman, Henry Grider, made a successful appeal directly to President Lincoln on his behalf. Lincoln himself, signed the order to grant amnesty to this obscure teen-aged soldier.

When the incident was discussed on the PBS show History Detectives, I was immediately struck with the way Grider pictures our heavenly Advocate, the Lord Jesus Christ. The museum curator who had asked History Detectives to authenticate the note from President Lincoln (which they did) said, “That piece of paper will be the most important thing in our collection.” So the Bible’s declaration of our emancipation and pardon should be a sublime treasure to us, as Christians. All glory and praise to the Lamb of God!

Christ in Heaven: The Ascension and Present Work of Christ

The ascension and subsequent ministry of Christ may be one of the more neglected areas of doctrine relating to the Son of God. In most evangelical churches, we have special days to celebrate the birth of Christ, and His death, and His resurrection, but not His ascension. We perhaps give the day of His return to heavenly glory no notice at all. Yet the latter is vitality important, not only to our salvation, but to our ongoing life and ministry for the Lord.

As the book of Acts begins, we are told that the Lord Jesus continued to appear to His followers, teaching them, for forty days after His resurrection. Then, He ascended back into heaven once more (Acts 1:3, 9; cf. Mk. 16:19; Lk. 24:51). This occurred on a Thursday, five and a half weeks after Easter Sunday. (In many liturgical churches using the Christian calendar, the event is celebrated on the Sunday following the fortieth day.)

Though we cannot be dogmatic about it, it’s possible that Christ’s visible ascension described in the Word of God is only the last of two (or even more) ascensions. The Bible does not discuss this directly, but it is certainly possible. The idea is based up a couple of things.

Mary Magdalene seems to have been the first to see the risen Christ on resurrection morning. To her, the Lord said, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father” (Jn. 20:17). Yet later, we read that His followers “came and held Him by the feet and worshipped Him,” and Christ seems to have allowed it (Matt. 28:9).

It’s believed by some that in between those two incidents Christ may have ascended to the Father to present Himself as the final Sacrifice for sin, just as Israel’s high priest carried the blood of the atoning sacrifice into the holy of holies and applied it to the mercy seat, on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:11-16).

A further support for this idea comes from the Feast of Firstfruits in the Old Testament (Lev. 23:9-11). At the time of harvest in Israel, the first sheave of grain was to be presented to the Lord on the day after the Sabbath (i.e. the first day of the week). This could point to Christ’s presentation to the Father on the day of His resurrection. Significantly, He is called in the New Testament, “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep [in death]” (I Cor. 15:20).

Whether there is one or more “ascensions,” Christ’s final entry into heaven restored Him to the glory He had with the Father from all eternity (cf. Jn. 17:5). In addition, His completion of the work of redemption gave great cause for rejoicing in the heavenly sphere (Ps. 24:7-10; Phil. 2:8-9). In heaven, the Son of God took His seat at the right hand of the Father (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 1:3; I Pet. 3:22).

Believers are assured, by His presence there, that it is a place we too shall share. Someone in human flesh (albeit in a glorified, resurrection body) is in the presence of God. “That where I am, there you may be also” (Jn. 14:3; cf. Heb. 6:18-20). His current ministry deserves some careful study. At the present time, the Lord Jesus Christ is:

1) The Mediator

Christ is the One who mediates between God and man (I Tim. 2:5). This roll is anticipated in a finite way by the priests of Israel. They represented the people before God, and represented God before the people. In fulfillment of this imagery, Christ is our “great High Priest” (Heb. 4:14; 9:24). As the One who is both fully God and fully Man, He is able to perfectly identify with each, and be our means of access to God the Father (Eph. 1:6; 2:18).

2) The Intercessor and Advocate

One of the great priestly ministries of Christ in glory is to serve as our Intercessor (Heb. 7:25), and heaven’s Advocate (I Jn. 2:1-2), on our behalf (Heb. 9:24). When we stumble into sin, as all Christians do, we have One who intercedes for us and represents us before God. When Satan accuses us (Rev. 12:9-10; cf. Rom. 8:33-34), the Lamb of God has only to plead the effectiveness of His shed blood. It is through His shed blood also that we receive forgiveness (I Jn. 1:7, 9).

3) The Dispenser of Grace

Associated with His priestly ministry, Christ sympathizes with our weaknesses, assisting us by giving us access to the resources of heaven, “mercy and…grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 2:18; 4:15-16; cf. Phil. 4:13, 19). Through our vital relationship with Him, and through believing prayer, we receive power for life and service (Jn. 15:5, 16).

4) The Head of the Church

The church is described as the spiritual body of Christ, a body of which He is the Head (Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4, 12; Col. 1:18; cf. I Cor. 12:12-13, 27). Though local churches and denominations may have their leaders, the Head over all is Christ–because it is His church. As He told His followers, “I will build My church” (Matt. 16:18, italics mine).

Fittingly, “all authority” is given to Him, and He commissions believers to work at building the church, under His control, and by His power (Matt. 28:18-20). Christ continues to sanctify His church, through the Word of God (Eph. 5:25-26), and “the church is subject to Christ” (Eph. 5:24).

5) The Giver of Gifts

It is the Lord Jesus who promised to send the Holy Spirit to engage in His unique Church Age ministry (Jn. 15:26; 16:7)–though God the Father is also involved in sending the Spirit (Jn. 14:26; cf. Acts 2:32-33). In order to equip His church to carry on its work, the Lord Jesus Christ gave certain gifts to the church (Rom. 12; I Cor. 12). In Ephesians, various gifted individuals are described who are specially equipped to serve the church (Eph. 4:7, 11-12).

6) The Builder

The Lord Jesus declares that there are “many mansions [dwelling places, or permanent residences]” in the heavenly city, and He told His followers that He was going to prepare a place for us there, in readiness for His return to take us to Himself (Jn. 14:2-3). What this preparation entails, we’ll have to wait to find out. But the people of God may be assured that the place where we will dwell will be exactly suited to our needs.

7) The Expectant One

We are told that Christ, at the Father’s right hand is “waiting [expectantly] till His enemies are made His footstool” (Heb. 10:13). He looks forward to those events that are the glorious fruit and final fulfillment of His earthly suffering. They are “the joy that was set before Him” (Heb. 12:2; cf. Eph. 5:27; Col. 3:4). These events include: His return for His church, and the raising of the dead in Christ; the rewarding of Christians; the putting down of His enemies; and His reign as Messiah-King from the earthly throne of David.

8) The Ever-present Companion

Though Christ is now seated at the Father’s right hand, because He has all the attributes of deity He is also able to be present with the saints on earth (cf. Jn. 3:13). His promise to His followers is, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20; cf. Jn. 14:18, 20; Col. 1:27).

All of this and more the Lord Jesus Christ continues to accomplish for us. “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Heb. 13:15).

Knowledge in Heaven: Do Those in Heaven Know What Is Happening on Earth?

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Question: After your loved ones die, can they see what you are doing here on earth? Are they aware of what you are going through, or how you are suffering?

Answer: Knowledge in heaven? It’s a great question. And the evidence seems to suggest that yes, those in heaven do have at least some awareness of earthly events. Whether this is continual, or simply occasional, I don’t know. And how much detail is known, I’m not sure. But there is knowledge of earthly affairs in heaven.

A General Awareness

First, we know that earth’s history will be recalled, at least in a general way, and those who were involved there will be remembered and recognized in heaven. In Revelation 15:3, we read of those in heaven singing “the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb [Christ].” That indicates a knowledge of who Moses is, and what he did during his earthly life. And, of course, there will be an awareness of what Christ accomplished while on earth, in particular of His saving work on the cross.

Further, we read of martyred saints in heaven asking how long it will be before God avenges their deaths (Rev. 6:9-11). They obviously know it hasn’t happened yet. And it seems to me this can be looked upon as a kind of prayer of those in heaven, concerning earthly affairs. So, can we generalize and say that believers continue to pray in heaven for those still on earth? That is possible.

Surely our family members and friends there will continue to be concerned about us, and perhaps even appeal to the Lord on our behalf. But there is absolutely no indication in God’s Word that we, on earth, can or should pray to departed saints–whether Mary, or anyone else–asking them to speak to the Lord for us. We are to pray directly to our heavenly Father, on the authority of Christ, our one “Mediator,” and pray by the enablement of the Spirit of God (Matt. 6:9; Eph. 2:18; I Tim. 2:5).

A Specific Awareness

Are there any biblical statements describing an awareness of current events–what is happening at that very moment? Yes. But first, a verse that probably doesn’t mean that.

Sometimes Hebrews 12:1 is used that way–mistakenly, I believe. The great cloud of “witnesses” refers to those described in Hebrews 11. But the word “witnesses” may not be used in the sense that they are watching us now. It is, I think, more like witnesses in court. In Hebrews 11, they bear witness to the fact that those who trust in the Lord will find Him faithful. They may or may not know what is happening on earth. But there are other examples that are more to the point.

Moses and Elijah returned to speak with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration. They were aware that His death on the cross still lay ahead (Lk. 9:29-31).

The angels saw Christ while He was on earth (I Tim. 3:16), and they are now watching what transpires with regard to His church (Eph. 3:10-11). Since they are God’s servants, ministering to the saints (Rev. 1:14), they have to know what is happening in our lives. For instance, in the Old Testament, an angel came to aid Daniel, in response to his prayers (Dan. 10:10-12). How much of this is passed on to the saints in heaven, I’m not sure. But it would not be surprising if news of it was shared abroad, so that all might have further cause to praise the wisdom and power of the Almighty.

Significantly, we are told there is joy in heaven when even a single sinner repents (Lk. 15:7). This latter example seems to me to be quite decisive. Heaven recognizes and celebrates when a single individual on earth comes to Christ. Of that there is definitely knowledge in heaven.

There are a couple of special cases that may suggest the awareness of individuals beyond the point of death. Both contain mysteries beyond the scope of this article, but they imply a knowledge that is relevant to the discussion.

First, we learn that Samuel returned from the grave to pronounce God’s judgment on King Saul of Israel. He seems to have known what had happened, and what was going to happen, to Saul (I Sam. 28:15-19).

Second, though some treat Luke 16:19-31 as a parable of Jesus (and thus a made-up story), there are reasons to believe Christ is describing a real incident. If so, it is clear that those in the place of blessing after death are aware of what is happening to those in the place of judgment. And the sinner, tormented in Hades, is still aware of his brothers’ spiritual needs on earth. (Fretting over their unsaved condition is part of his torment.)

The Problem of Sorrow

All of this begs the question: How can heaven be a happy place, if the saints can see all the wickedness, pain and misery being lived out below? The answer to this is twofold.

1) First, heaven may not now be as happy a place as it will one day be. Does that surprise you? In Revelation 21:4, we read that there “God will wipe away every tear.” We are not told exactly why there are tears in heaven. But it suggests that there is more and better up ahead, even there.

In the sovereign purposes of God, Satan is still allowed to rampage across the earth, “seeking whom he may devour” (I Pet. 5:8). Further, he still has some limited access to the throne of God. We see that in the book of Job (Job. 1:6; 2:1)–and he is still the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:9-10). Of all of this, those in heaven are certainly conscious.

The first sin (involving the fall of Lucifer, who became the devil, Isa. 14:12-14) was committed in heaven. Possibly that’s why “the heavens are not pure in His [God’s] sight” (Job 15:15). They will apparently require special cleansing after Satan is forever cast out and confined to the Lake of Fire (cf. Heb. 9:22-23).

2) The second qualifier has to do with the elevated outlook of those in heaven. Heaven is a wonderful place, though, if I’m correct, it is not now as perfectly free of sorrow as it will finally be. But…

The saints there will see things differently from what we do (I Cor. 13:12). As author Randy Alcorn put it: “Happiness in heaven is not based on ignorance, but perspective.” For example, regarding the evil on earth, there can be admiration for the wisdom of God that allows it to run its course, and for His sovereign power in limiting it. In addition, His holy character will be praised in the judgment of the wicked.

We know the angels observe the destruction of the wicked in eternal fire (Rev. 14:10), and this surely does not lessen their praise and admiration of God.

We see this also in the destruction of “Babylon” (Rev. 17-18). Prophetic scholars differ as to whether this will be a rebuilt version of the Babylon of ancient times, or a new entity that is called “Babylon” because of some similarities with what came before. Discussion of this detail is not relevant here.

We do know the wicked city will be a centre of both false religious power (Rev. 17), and worldly political and economic power (Rev. 18). When Babylon is brought down, those in heaven definitely know about it (Rev. 18:20). But notice carefully what their focus is. The multitude in heaven cries, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honour and power belong to the Lord our God! For true and righteous are His judgments” (Rev. 19:1-2). All the attention is on glorifying the Lord.

What is it on earth (and will be forever in heaven) that will be a major occupation of the saints? Is it not that we worship and glorify God? (cf. Rom. 11:36; Rev. 1:6; 4:11; 5:12-13). And in that case, what would be the purpose of God allowing those in heaven to know at least something of earthly happenings–as I believe He does?

Why is there such knowledge in heaven? At the very least it is so those who are there will have further reason to praise Him. It may also be so they will, with more eager anticipation, look forward to the consummation of all things–just as the saints on earth do (I Thess. 1:9-10; II Tim. 4:8; Rev. 22:20-21).

Abraham’s Bosom: Where did Old Testament believers go, after death?

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Question: Were the people in the Old Testament, and the under the Law, saved by offering sacrifices as mandated by God? Did they go to heaven, or did they go to Abraham’s bosom?

Answer: Thanks for the two questions. As to the first, I wrote an article on that some time ago, and posted it on my web site. In one sense, sinners in every age are all saved the same way, by the grace of God, and through faith in Him. But there are some differences, before and after the cross. You can find the article on that subject here: Old Testament Salvation.

As to the second question, you are referring to the teaching of the Lord Jesus in Luke 16:19-31.

Some treat this passage as a parable, but I don’t believe it is. The parables of the Lord Jesus were made-up, fictional stories, used to teach important truths. (They also served to conceal truths from those who refused to believe on Him, Matt. 13:10-16.)

Generally speaking, the parables each taught one central lesson. The details were added to make a good story, but it’s not necessary to find some hidden meaning in every detail, unless the Word of God specifically assigns a meaning to some detail(s).

The Luke passage distinguishes itself from the parables of Jesus in a number of ways.

☼ For one thing, we are not told it was a parable, which the Gospel writers often indicate (cf. Matt. 13:24, 31; Lk. 20:9; 21:29).

☼ The words “there was a certain rich man,” and “there was a certain beggar” (Lk. 16:19, 20) seem to indicate that the Lord had specific real-life individuals in view.

☼ No parable names the people in it, but the Lord names several characters in this account. There is a beggar named Lazarus, with Abraham and Moses mentioned too. The rich man is sometimes called Dives (DIE-veez). But dives is simply Latin for “rich man,” and we don’t actually know his name.

☼ Most significantly, Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel, is not only named, but his comments are recorded (vs. 25-16, 29, 31). It seems to me this is a big problem for those who claim that Christ is telling a made-up story. They make the Lord guilty of attributing statements to a real person that he never made. In effect He would be creating a mythological Abraham.

It’s better to see this as actual history, describing what happened to a believer and to an unbeliever, before the time of Christ’s ascension. From it, we learn a number of things.

  1. We learn that individuals back then had a conscious existence after death. They could think, and feel, and speak.
  2. In Old Testament times (and until Christ went back to heaven), there was a special, temporary accommodation for believers, a place of peace and comfort called “Abraham’s bosom” (in Luke 16:22).
  3. There was a temporary place of fiery judgment to which the unsaved dead were sent, while awaiting the final judgment, and consignment to eternal hell (“the lake of fire,” Rev. 20:15).
  4. For the unbelieving rich man, there was no second chance to be saved after death, no possibility of crossing over to Abraham’s bosom (Lk. 16:26). It is the same today (cf. Heb. 9:27; Rev. 22:11).
  5. Dead Lazarus was not able (or not permitted) to return and communicate with the living (vs. 27-31). This, and other Scriptures such as Hebrews 9:27, indicate that there’s no such thing as ghosts. (When spirits reputedly appear, or are heard from, they are more likely evil spirits in the guise of the departed.)

So, what happened to these two places accommodating the departed dead, after Christ’s ascension? I believe the unsaved of ancient times are still there, and that the unsaved who die today go there as well, awaiting the last judgment at the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15).

But today, those who are saved go immediately into the presence of the Lord, in the heavenly city where God’s throne is (Phil. 1:21, 23). The saved who were sent to Abraham’s bosom are now in heaven with the Lord as well. Included with them would be the believing thief who died on the cross next to the Lord Jesus. We know that because the Lord said to him, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Lk. 23:43).

Though Ephesians 4:8-10 is interpreted differently by some, it is often taken to mean that when Christ died He visited Abraham’s bosom, and “led captivity captive.” That is, He showed those Old Testament saints that the final sacrifice for sin had been made, and that they could now enter God’s heaven.

At death, Christians (Church Age saints) are ushered immediately into the heavenly kingdom to be with Christ. “To be absent from the body [is] to be present with the Lord” (II Cor. 5:8). And Paul had “a desire to depart and be with Christ, which [he said] is far better” (Phil. 1:23).

Old Testament Salvation (Salvation before the Cross)

We praise the Lord for His wonderful salvation. God the Son became Man and died upon a cross, taking upon Himself the punishment for our sins. When an individual puts his faith in Christ as Saviour, God cleanses and forgives him, and gives him the gift of eternal life (Jn. 3:16; Eph. 1:7).

Cross tomb

“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). No good works of ours can earn that, or it would not be a gift (Rom. 4:4-5). Salvation is not a “do” but a “done.” In simple trust, we commit ourselves to what God has already done for us, in Christ. “The Father has sent the Son as Saviour of the world” (I Jn. 4:14).

But what happened before Christ came? Could people be saved back then, as well? And if so, how? In answer to these questions, there are a number of key factors to be considered.

1. They Believed in Eternal Salvation
The Old Testament saints looked forward to eternal blessing in the presence of God, just as we do. As David says, “In Your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Ps. 16:11). And, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Ps. 23:6). “God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for He shall receive me” (Ps. 49:15). Yes, the saints before the cross were saved eternally. We will meet them in the presence of God one day.

2. God’s Revelation Is Progressive
But though the first point is true, there is relatively little teaching in the Old Testament about life beyond the grave. God’s revelation is progressive. That is, He revealed more and more about various subjects, as time went by. It is in the New Testament that we find most of the information about our eternal future. The focus in the Old Testament was mainly on this life and this material world.

In keeping with that, the “salvation” spoken of is usually a physical deliverance of some kind, rather than being spiritual and eternal. When Moses tells the Israelites to “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exod. 14:13) it is a deliverance from the Egyptians at the Red Sea to which he is referring.

3. No “Christians” in the Old Testament
In terms of eternal salvation, it was simply not possible for those in the Old Testament to trust in the shed blood of Christ. For one thing, Jesus had not yet died. And in any event, they knew little of what was to come. No one back then is told, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

For this reason, it is not really accurate to refer to the saints before the cross as “Christians” (Christ-ones). By faith, today, we are “accepted in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:6). “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (vs. 17). But it has only been possible to be placed into Christ by the Holy Spirit since His death and resurrection (cf. Gal. 3:26-27). Only Church Age saints can rightly be called Christians. It is better to refer to those before the cross simply as believers, or as saints (God’s set-apart ones).

4. Only One Way of Salvation
So does this mean there was a different means of salvation before the cross. No. Salvation in any age is always and only “by grace, through faith” (Eph. 2:8). Grace is God’s unearned, unmerited favour. And salvation is always by grace, since we are totally undeserving of it. When Adam and Eve sinned, it was grace that promised One who would crush the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15). And it was in grace that God called Abraham, and promised to make of him a great nation (Gen. 12:1-3).

When the Bible makes a distinction between Law and Grace (Rom. 6:14) it does not mean that there was no grace at all shown in the Old Testament. There was. But since the coming of Christ, we have experienced an explosion of grace. The Amplified Bible renders John 1:16 this way: “Out of His [Christ’s] fullness (abundance) we all received–all had a share and we were all supplied with–one grace after another, and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, and even favour upon favour, and gift heaped upon gift.”

5. Faith Receives God’s Gift
Likewise, salvation is always “through faith.” And it is always faith in God, and faith in God’s promise. But that promise, before the cross, could not be a “John 3:16” promise. Not a call to, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” That was something in the future. Faith had to rest on other promises, instead.

For example, the Lord promised Abraham “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). Today, we understand that to mean that all nations would be blessed by the salvation provided in Christ. But Abraham did not have that awareness. Even so, he believed God; he put his faith in God. “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Gal. 3:6).

Righteousness was credited to his heavenly account, when he believed God’s Word. That is justification by faith, and it is the way all are saved (Rom. 3:24, 28). “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham” (Gal. 3:9-10).

6. Old Testament Sacrifices Were Symbolic
The sacrifices offered before the cross figure prominently in this whole matter. Each sacrifice represented the death of an innocent substitute, the innocent dying in place of the guilty. Leviticus 1:4 gives this significant instruction: “Then he [the offerer] shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.”

The word atonement there simply means to cover. The sacrifices “covered” sin until the day when the Lamb of God would give His life for the sins of the world (Jn. 1:29). Then the debt could be cancelled completely and forever.

7. The Sacrifices Were Offered in Faith
The one offering the sacrifice acted in faith. He believed that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). (That is not an exclusively New Testament concept. Cf. Gen. 2:17.) And he believed the sacrifice was dying in his place. He identified himself with it. (Putting a hand on the sacrifice indicated that.)

But it is important to add that offering a sacrifice was not a work that earned salvation. As noted above, the Old Testament believers were saved by grace (God’s unearned favour) through faith, just as we are. Offering the sacrifice was an outward demonstration of inward faith in God’s promise. Without faith, the sacrifice was just an empty ritual–in fact, it was an abomination to God (cf. Isa. 1:10-17).

8. Christ Fulfilled Old Testament Symbolism
Saints before the cross experienced real forgiveness, through faith. Yet we know that “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins” (Heb. 10:4). It needed a man to die for sinful man–and only a perfect Man could do it, or he would need to die for his own sins. That is why Christ had to come.

“God set forth [Christ Jesus] as a propitiation [to fully satisfy His justice] by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness [by punishing sin, in Christ], because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed” (Rom. 3:25). Before Calvary, God “passed over” sin, accepting the temporary means of “covering” it, through the shed blood of the sacrifice. The sacrifices pointed forward to the cross.

In Summary
Those on the far side of the cross were saved by grace through faith, just as sinners are today. The death of an innocent substitute (a sacrificial animal) was accepted by the Lord, when offered in faith, in anticipation of the later fulfillment of the symbol at Calvary. There our Substitute, the Lamb of God, died for the sins of all.

Animal Sacrifices: Were the Old Testament Animal Sacrifices Effective?

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Question: There is a hymn by Isaac Watts that seems to suggest that the Old Testament sacrifices were ineffective. If that’s the case, was there any purpose in the Lord commanding them?

Answer: The hymn referred to is likely Watts’s Not All the Blood of Beasts. It begins:

Not all the blood of beasts
On Jewish altars slain
Could give the guilty conscience peace
Or wash away the stain.

All the blood…all the beasts! What an uncountable number of Old Testament offerings are summed up in that little word “all,” in the opening line of the hymn. Century after century, altar after altar, thousands upon thousands of animals slain. But…

Was it “all” for nothing? All useless? No, the Lord would hardly command something that had no point and purpose.

1) First, we must see the last two lines above in the ultimate sense. No, there was no possibility that the death of an animal could pay finally for the sins of a man or woman. The sacrifices didn’t have the power to “take away” sins (Heb. 10:4).

However, they did cover over sin, in the eyes of God, and secure forgiveness for the sinner, because He saw them as anticipating what Christ would do in the future.

When the offerer recognized that he had broken God’s Law, and saw the offering as involving the death of an innocent substitute taking his place, it was accepted by the Lord as efficacious.

Repeatedly, in the instructions given regarding the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16), it is said that the sacrifice atoned for all the sins of the people. “On that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD” (vs. 30, cf. vs. 16, 17, 21, 22, 33, 34).

2) In addition to providing real forgiveness, the sacrifices were a foreshadowing of the final remedy. The death of an innocent substitute in place of the guilty sinner was enacted each time a sacrifice was offered. That principle of substitutionary atonement was finally and fully brought to fruition on the cross.

Christ was “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29), “a lamb without blemish and without spot” (I Pet. 1:18-19; cf. 2:22). “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12). “Christ died for our sins” (I Cor. 15:3). As Dr. Watts’s hymn puts it:

But Christ, the heav’nly Lamb,
Takes all our sins away;
A sacrifice of nobler name
And richer blood than they.

3) There is, further, in the almost ceaseless repetition of the Old Testament sacrifices, a vivid reminder of the absolute holiness of God, and the terrible universality of sin. Habakkuk says of the Lord, “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness” (Hab. 1:13). And Isaiah reminds the people, “[Our] iniquities have separated [us] from our God” (Isa. 59:2).

Each one of us is disqualified from standing in the presence of God, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). God must punish sin, and all have sinned. Of that, the many sacrifices were an ongoing reminder.

4) Finally, the animal sacrifices demonstrate again and again the necessity of a personal appropriation of God’s remedy for sin. Just reciting words and going through rituals was not enough (Mk. 7:6). The words and actions of the offerer needed to be a meaningful expression of an attitude of heart.

In the Old Testament, when an offerer laid his hand upon the head of the sacrificial animal (Lev. 1:3-4), he was saying, “This represents me. This is what I deserve. This animal is dying in my place.” And we do likewise, when we turn, as sinners to the Saviour, and say sincerely, “I believe that Jesus died for me. He bore the punishment that I deserve, upon the cross.”

My faith would lay her hand
On that dear head of Thine,
While, like a penitent, I stand,
And there confess my sin

While the Old Testament sacrifices were not (and could not be) the final remedy for sin, the were definitely effective and meaningful, in their time, and in a limited sense.

Amen! In Prayer: The Meaning of “Amen”

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Amen. The word is a carry-over from Hebrew language. It is used some 72 times in the Old and New Testaments. The root meaning of the word indicates firmness, dependability, and certainty. It is easy to see how this term came to be associated with God’s truth and faithfulness. And when uttered by human beings, it is a way of saying, “Yes, I agree!” or, “May it be so!”

Prayer - Amen!
  1. When Jesus precedes a statement in the gospels with “Verily, verily, I say unto you…” (sometimes translated “Truly, truly…” or “Most assuredly…), He is literally saying, “Amen, amen, I say to you…” (Jn. 5:24; 12:24; 13:38). In other words, “What I am saying is true and faithful. You can definitely count on it to be so.”
  2. The Lord Jesus calls Himself “the Amen” (Rev. 3:14), because through Him the promises of God are steadfast and certain (II Cor. 1:20).
  3. The expression is found at the end of Bible prayers, to indicate, “So be it! May it be so!” (Ps. 41:13; 72:19; Eph. 3:21). In a similar way, it is used at the end of a vow, showing agreement and acceptance of the vow– “So be it! I agree!” (Deut. 27:14-15).
  4. When we read or hear of the promised blessings of God, and respond with a hearty “Amen!” we affirm our confidence in their fulfillment (Rev. 22:20).
  5. In the early church, it was apparently common for members of the congregation to say “Amen,” at the end of prayers (I Cor. 14:16). Of course, Amen-ing in public worship can be overdone, becoming a meaningless and distracting habit. But spoken sincerely, and used thoughtfully, the word is a declaration of faith that honours the Lord.
  6. This is an expression the saints will also use in heaven. When an exclamation of praise is uttered, it will be a fitting way to respond and show our agreement (Rev. 5:13-14).

For further study of this Bible term, see W. E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary.

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