Prof. T. Chuba
The archeologists talk about millions of years according to their discoveries concerning the age of the earth. The geologists also suggests millions of years according to their findings. Both are branches of Earth Science. Today they are universally accepted as true, correct and proven. Historians also talk about millions of years of human civilization and their history.
In Genesis 1:2 it is mentioned “Now the earth was formless and empty darkness was all over the surface of the deep and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters”. I believe water was not hanging on the empty space. It must have been upon some solid substance. I wonder whether there were more dispensations before the present dispensation. If there was one civilization before the present one with life or no life, in that case what the scientists talk about the million of years of existence of minerals and treasures beneath the earth surface and the discoveries of ancient civilization and existence of some life form before the Bible world, demands serious investigation and in that case what the archeologists, the geologists and the historians say may be reexamined by the Bible scholars once again.
In the same manner the Aos of Nagaland do not want to change their origin history even at the present time when every Ao knows that it is not right that their ancestors came out of stone at Chungliyimti, presently in Sangtam area of Tuensang district.
God in His eternal purpose created planet earth and planted all living and non living things on it. God does not say anything about the lives on any other stars of heaven, some of them are larger than the planet earth. Thus planet earth is most fortunate as God planted life and created history most specially the redemption story. How sweet and wonderful it is that He created man as crown of all creation. What I cannot fathom is how He loves most unlovable mankind who had never pleased Him who received from him so much, deserted him and rebelled against His love and prepared to worship the idols of their enemies. Man, His special creation according to his image from whom He wanted worship and be a living witness to all creations and to whom He had given so much is always in rebellion against His goodness and mercies. And so man became lost for all eternity. Nothing could deliver him from eternal punishment. Man became lost without any hope. God is just and righteous. He said if you sin you will die. And man sinned. Man must die because of his own sin. But God in his infinite love put love and died in his only begotten son Jesus Christ and redeemed mankind. “God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. John 3:16.
The Bible reveals that there is only one God who alone created the Universe including Planet Earth. It is His power which alone holds the Universe in their assigned axis. Only He can shaken them in His eternal timing and the Bible tells that God will shake them and all the heavenly bodies will crumble down at the time and that is happening as the time is drawing nearer each moment. There is only one God and therefore there is no recorded history of the wars of gods. There was one war according to the Bible and that was the war in heaven before the creation of the earth. Lucifer the most beautiful angel whom God had adorned with many precious stones, and that was his unbecoming. Pride entered his heart and he became jealous of God and His son Jesus. He wanted to build his throne above the throne of God. He rebelled against God. How long the war in heaven was waged by Lucifer against God, the Bible is silent about it. But finally Michael, God’s Archangel defeated him. Lucifer was then removed from heaven to the outer space with a third of the angels. The entire creation remains where they are created and placed by God. He alone will shake them and destroy them at an appointed time in His eternal plan.
According to the Bible, the time from Creation to the Present time is almost six thousand years. According to God’s perfect timing the present dispensation is coming to a close. Every prophecy according to both Old and New Testaments has come to pass and how long it will take between the fulfillment of all prophecies and the closing of the age only God knows. We human are not given to know and discern. But when all prophecies have come to pass, the end must be very, very near.
I believe we are the last day generation people. Some of this generation people will come across Rapture and the close of history of mankind. But God will not close the present dispensation without bringing His own chosen people to the Promised Land. As of now only half of the Jewish people are in Israel that means in their popular term only a remnant. I do not know if God would be satisfied with that much. Even Jesus came to the world when only a remnant of Babylonian exiles were occupying the Holy land.
From now on the history of all mankind will be the history of nations in relation with Israel. Other nations whether they like it or not will become very insignificant unless they are in support of Israel in their struggle for survival. Today the nations of the world do not realize the divine out-working to wind up the history of mankind. But it will come to a finish just as God planned it in the infinite beginning. Nothing more nothing less.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1:1. According to the Bible that is about six thousand years ago. From Adam to Abraham 2000 years, from Abraham to Jesus Christ 2000 years and the Christian era is completing 2000 years. Anytime from now Jesus is returning for a thousand year of millennial reign on this earth. Before this the rapture and seven years tribulation time will take place first. According to the Sabbatical theory God took six days for creation of all things living and non-living including the creation of man and took rest on the seventh day. And so it is implied after six thousand years the Millennium will happen. With the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day. 2 Peter 3:8.
In his own infinite wisdom when God initiated the work of the redemption of mankind he called Abraham from the land of Chaldeans from the city of Ur to raise a holy nation through him. God revealed to him the entire history of mankind from the infinite past to all future history of humanity. This revelation God withheld from some of his future prophets. God’s purpose was to send through this nation His only son Jesus Christ. To some prophets God had shown the birth of His son by a virgin. God had also revealed where to be born and what would happen because of the birth of the King of the Jews. King Herod ordered to kill male children two years and below. Even how He would die was told through the prophets. But many prophets wondered why Jesus was to die because the Lord God withheld the visions from them of the redemption and salvation of mankind. Even the angels wanted to see the Jesus day on earth and so they were anxious to look into the future concerning Jesus day. 1 Peter 1:10-12.
In the fullness of time the son of God came about 2000 years ago into this world and paid the ransom for the sins of the world. But when the son of God came unto his people they were not aware of his visitation and they killed Him.
The fullness of God’s time came when there was only a remnant who returned from Persia who occupied the Holy land. But they had all the evil qualities of their ancestors.
After the fall of Babylon, the Medo Persian king Cyrus who became king of the consolidated kingdom of Medo Persia, the God of Israel appeared to him in a vision and told him to allow the captive Israel to go home to repair the temple and walls of Jerusalem. Ezra 1:1-4. The first batch comprising of 49,942 started from Babylon with the leadership of Nehemiah and Zerubabel. God used many prophets and governors- Zerubabel, a prince of king David’s descendant, Nehemiah, a faithful servant of the Persian king, Haggai and Ezra both prophets of post diaspora to build the second temple and to restore the temple worship.
According to God’s fullness of time when it came, among this remnant who returned from Babylonian captivity, the worship was corrupted. The higher echelons were wholly weakened, wicked, selfish, self-seeking and arrogant. In their position they felt very insecure because they were not worthy of the high position they occupied. Purity of heart and true worship was not to be found among them. In order to stay in the position which they did not deserve they would do everything in their power without any qualm. Jesus message of love, humanity, eternal life and salvation had no room in their life.
The Jewish leaders did not feel comfortable with the message of Jesus and decided to kill Him and finally they killed Jesus their only Messiah. It was not the Jewish people who killed Jesus, in fact they thought He was the Messiah their deliverer but it was their leaders who killed Him.
But the early Church Fathers blamed the Jewish nation as a whole as killers of Jesus and declared the church as new Israel. St. Bernard, St. Chrysostom, the golden mouthed and the founder of Protestant church Martin Luther etc have maligned the Jews so much the Christendom have been misled into a wrong theology, as a result the Jewish nation as a whole suffered for nearly two thousand years. This is the reason why Jews are resentful of Christian offer of peace and reconciliation even until today. Especially in the state of Israel the Jews are resisting the presence of foreign missionaries.
In the first century AD it was the Jewish religious leaders who persecuted the Christians but since then the Christian Catholic Church who propounded a wrong theology “church had replaced as new Israel” and persecuted the Jews all over the gentile world as “Killer of Jesus”.
As it was the will of God that His first coming as the Lamb of God and the suffering Messiah, He was to die for the sins of mankind. Because in God’s own plan for the salvation of humanity innocent blood alone could atone the sinners, no prophets nor no man of God could have atoned mankind. And so God sacrificed His only begotten son and made Him suffer the torture, pain and humiliation in the hand of sinful man even that in the hands of His own chosen people whom He wanted to save first, have killed Him on the Cross of Calvary.
The first Adam through disobedience brought sin and dead. The second Adam, who was also born of a woman, Jesus Christ, the son of man and son of God redeemed man from eternal dead and eternal loss by perfectly doing the will of the Father. This is the eternal plan of the Father for mankind.
The first coming of Jesus into the world was to proclaim the kingdom of God and to die for the sins of the world. His message of love, forgiveness, mercy, salvation of soul and eternal life was rejected by His own people. At that time the gentile world was unknown to God who created them and therefore they were known as heathen as those of Canaanites. But His own people who knew God for nearly two thousand years from the days of Abraham who called Abraham that His descendants would be a holy nation and through them He was to send His son to the world, but they were not aware of His coming to them. They killed their only Messiah and they sent themselves into thousands of years into exile and suffered terribly.
Now all the prophecy of both the Old Testament and New Testament have come to pass. Only the second coming of Jesus is awaited. The believers are anxiously awaiting His appearance from heaven with the saints of Old Testament and New Testament time, together with His holy angels.
But God will not bring the history of mankind without bringing His people to the Promised Holy land and justifying them as His people after suffering for a long time in the hands of the Gentile nations.
This time He is coming to judge the nations with truth and righteousness.
