Volume XIX, Issue I: Taking the Afterlife Seriously
Courts of Heaven Autonomous Zone
ISAIAH 14:12-14 Describes the fall of Satan. Basically, the devil challenged the authority of the Divine, saying: “I will Ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit 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.”
Many young people today openly seek to cast of what they consider the archaic constraints of Biblical Authority. They take issue that a loving God would deny them the ‘right’ to be who they see themselves as. “How could a loving God send anyone to Hell?” they ask. They scoff at the notion of an afterlife as depicted in literature or as these poor souls above, simply say: “I’m Going to Hell.” Rejecting objective truth, they insist on truth being what they believe about themselves. It is considered ‘hateful’ to challenge this mindset. Indeed, in the new order of things we are told we must ‘celebrate’ such things. So, one is defined by one’s own perception of his or her own sexual identity rather than the teaching of Genesis 1, that we are made in the Image of God. IMAGO DEI.
This creates problems on so many levels as the Declaration of Independence asserts that human rights are endowed by God. If there is no God, what is our standard for rights? Anything we want it to be. And so begins the hijack of conscience, as we allow the popular culture, rather than the Wisdom of the Ages, determine what is ‘right’ and what is ‘wrong’ (after casting those very terms in relativistic language). Thus it is that we no longer repent for personal sin, but for ‘being the wrong race’ or ‘Climate Change.’ It is an empty repentance without a Savior though. Yes, we can save tin cans, but we can’t really save the planet. Contrast this with Romans 10:13 which says “Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.” Biblical Wisdom asserts that there is a repentance that leads to salvation.
But isn’t God just a meanie for insisting on obedience and calling upon His name? Shouldn’t He just ‘Save Everybody?’ Why should He tell me how to live and what to do? Well, recently anarchists in Seattle created the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone CHAZ/CHOP. They put up a barricade around several blocks of Seattle and said they wanted no authority of the city in there. No police, no city officials. Of course, they created a ‘Nirvana’ that quickly became ‘Hell.’ In the vacuum of authority unthinkable crimes were committed. People were murdered. Eventually the city of Seattle had to break up CHAZ/CHOP for the safety of all.
Unwittingly, the anarchists of Seattle created a replay of the anarchists of Heaven. Denying authority (Civil or Divine) they sought to create their own order. The result was deadly chaos. Seeking to live apart from authority does not produce a peaceful life , far from it. The Divine allows choice because He seeks a loving relationship, not robots. Hence rebellion is possible and has occurred (among angels and men). But anarchists cannot run rampant in any ordered society. Be they angels or men, they will wreak havoc. Thus the Divine had to provide a place apart for those who refuse His authority.
Order or Chaos
But, you argue, isn’t the universe simply a random happenstance? Observation of nature itself suggests otherwise as one finds order and observable, repeatable truths at many levels. If this were not true, there would be no science possible. While science cannot ‘prove’ that this order extends into realms unseen, it is most reasonable to consider that possibility. Likewise we cannot ‘prove’ the afterlife, but a study of the prevalence of Near Death Experiences as reported around the world suggest strongly that we continue in existence after death. This should give us pause, especially if we take to heart that the human soul is Eternal – that is what Biblical Wisdom asserts. But Eternity where? Scripture is clear on TWO possibilities: Eternity in Heaven with God or Eternity separated from God in Hell. It offers no third choice, no middle ground. If Hell is devoid of the influence of the Divine – His Order, His Beauty, it is a very sorrowful choice to live separately from that for all time. But it is a reality. To scoff at God is dangerous business. To reject His authority is to reject the underlying order that gives beauty to life itself. Choose carefully. Fortunately 2 Peter 3:9 reminds us: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Indeed it is God’s will that you choose Him for all Eternity.
Do NOT miss this!
The End of CHAZ
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Early this morning, a phalanx of Seattle police officers, armed with long batons and semiautomatic rifles, cleared out the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), also known as the Capitol Hill Occupation Protest (CHOP). Unless Antifa militants stage an unexpected counterattack, this marks the end of the 24-day occupation of the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Seattle can now begin to reckon with the damage. The CHAZ saga began on June 8, under the premise that capitalism, police brutality, and the “fascist regime” of Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan were upholding a social order that systemically oppressed African-Americans. Black Lives Matter and Antifa-affiliated activists hoped to create a new regime based on familiar social-justice principles of recent years: they established a social order based on a “reverse hierarchy of oppression,” implemented race-based segregation in public spaces, and maintained a “police-free zone” that they believed would protect “people of color” from the depredations of the state. As it turns out, however, maintaining public order is a complex undertaking and can’t be replaced by academic symbolism. BLM activists might despise George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, but a regime based on the principles of Nikole Hannah-Jones, Ibram X. Kendi, and Robin DiAngelo doesn’t work too well. As CHAZ’s experience demonstrates, when left-wing radicals shift from protest to governance, things fall apart. Ultimately, the problem of violence—and a dangerously naive understanding of policing—doomed the CHAZ. (read more)
Justice Without a Judge?
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Can you have justice without a judge? This week Dave Zanotti delivers his annual Fourth of July message at Bethel Baptist Church as part of The American Mission® series on The Public Square®. What is justice? How would you define justice? (read more)
