The Great Controversy from the Angels' Point of View

[tigerwillow]

We are troubled by how quickly and thoroughly a person’s attitudes toward God can be changed because of Satan’s lies, but we are also reassured by God’s merciful and fair dealings with every person in spite of what they might think of the Godhead.

When Jesus announces that He is going to personally visit Cain, who is one of our human friends in danger of permanently allowing his feelings to be ruled by Satan, we rush to the edge of heaven to see how Jesus is going to treat him. Jesus and Azaziah both try to persuade Cain to give God the permission necessary to replace the rage swelling in his heart against his brother, Abel, with humility before the uncontrolled anger causes him to do something he would regret later. Cain’s face softens as he listens to Jesus’ pleading arguments, but then hardens again as Satan tempts him to believe that his problems will be over if he just gets rid of Abel, the blamed peace destroyer.

Tears flow from our eyes when Cain decides to follow Satan’s advice. With a heavy heart, Jesus goes back to personally encourage Cain to confess his sin before it is too late. Although Cain does not repent, Jesus, mercifully gives him another chance by putting a mark on his forehead to protect his life from being presumptuously taken by those who might try to test God. We listen closely as God firmly but gently assuages Cain’s fears of facing the future with a promise that anyone who kills him would be avenged seven times. We are convinced that Jesus only made that promise to Cain out of His compassionate love for him because the knowledge that we and the Godhead must forever be shut out of his life from now on is very painful. God’s compassion toward human beings continues to amaze us as we watch Him interact with them during the countless struggles that ensue.

After Abel’s death, many more of our human friends die and struggle under Satan’s ever-increasing tyranny. We and the Godhead try to minimize the effects of Satan’s captive rule by continually pouring out glimpses of God’s love, character and mission to the earth. However, because of the heavy burdens that the battle-worn earthlings are constantly carrying around with them, they are not as receptive to the light of God as they were created to be. We wish with all of our hearts that we could simply ease their struggle by removing the heavy burdens for them, but we cannot afford to put ourselves in a position where we could later be blamed for removing their burdens against their will. So, we must find Godly people who would mirror the light from the Godhead in their own lives and share every bit of dark-dispelling truth they have with the oppressed multitudes. God’s love and mercy requires that every person in those multitudes is given as many opportunities as possible to choose between keeping the chains of darkness and continuing to live in their current condition or abandoning them in order to receive the light of freedom.

We are ecstatic to share the gigantic task of publicizing the truth about God to every nook and cranny of the world with the few human friends who have decided to help us; however, as the population on the earth continues to grow by leaps and bounds, we realize that God’s plan to save the world from the darkness that is quickly enveloping it is much more comprehensive and long-term. The first promise of an opportunity to freely receive salvation from eternal death has already been delivered to the universe, but we and our human friends must still continue to work as fast and furiously as possible while we wait to find out when and how God will fulfill that promise.

[Stan]

This is interesting,...  should be read...

[tigerwillow]

In the meantime, instead of sitting around waiting for God to demonstrate how He plans to fulfill His promise, Satan has been doing his own research and has already concluded that knowing when and exactly how this promise will be fulfilled can permanently make or break his dominion over the earth. He quickly perceives that in order for Jesus to fulfill His promise of salvation, a special generational line of people would need to be developed and maintained so that Jesus could be born into the world as a human baby. In order to prevent this from happening, Satan has to somehow figure out how to accomplish either destroying the sacredness and Godly influence of the ancestral line of people by distracting them with the world and culture around them, or making self-indulging habits appear so pleasant and attractive that people would no longer want to hear or learn about a plan of salvation which would require them to depend on a power outside of their own.

Adam and Eve are getting older now and have grandchildren and great grandchildren several generations down the line already. Apparently, Satan’s attempts to thwart the coming of Jesus is starting to work because these younger generations seem to be more easily captivated by his deceptions than those who were less distant from Adam and Eve. Today’s youth are also having a more difficult time warding off Satan’s temptations because of the self-destructing habits and thought patterns which have been passed down and increasing in intensity since the first parents succumbed to Satan’s fatal lies. We see a very disturbing trend starting to develop in the lives of the people who are choosing to allow Satan’s distortions of the truth to shape their beliefs. They are no longer considering ours' or God’s presence to be a necessary element in their lives, so therefore they are losing their connection to the Source of true life and happiness. Little by little, even God’s gift of life is becoming less meaningful to them. Their uncontrolled greed, which is motivating them to stop at nothing until they get what they desire, including mercilessly killing those who have what they want, is proving our point. We are afraid that if God does not step in and do something soon, the reflection of His character in the human race will be obliterated beyond recognition forever.

Even though we believe our anxiousness for God to act has merit, we must remember that God’s timing is always more trustworthy than our own judgment. Jesus reads our thoughts and calls us into the throne room of heaven where the Godhead is discussing the final agreement on what needs to be done in order to intercept Satan’s obvious intention of replacing the image of God in the human race with the declaration of his ownership. Jesus explains that although things look bad now, we must not act yet. He reminds us that God’s plan to save the world has to be implemented in the perfect way and at the right time. When everything is over and said and done, there are to be absolutely no questions in anyone’s mind that the Godhead has been truly righteous and just during the entire process of saving every soul that seeks salvation. In order to be truly fair, we must give Satan the freedom to develop his kingdom as he sees fit or he will have grounds to call foul and say that his accusation of the Godhead being dictatorial was correct all along. "But," says Jesus, "I am raising up a man who will faithfully warn the entire world for 120 years of an impending flood of water that will destroy everything on the planet that is outside of the ark which he will build."

Until Noah arrives on the scene to warn the world of it’s imminent doom, our observance of Satan using the full extent of his freedom to do everything possible to keep Jesus out of his territory so he can develop his kingdom is motivating us to keep working and encouraging our human friends even in the face of apparent defeat. Although Satan’s plans seem to be working marvelously for his cause, they are definitely making our work much more difficult and complicated. Not only do we now have to deal with a lack of Godly influence in the world, but also with people who are becoming very complacent as a result of their self-indulging habits. In their indolent and superficial state of pleasure, they forget that the gift of life was created to be so much deeper than just merely satisfying their daily temporal needs. They never bother to petition God for the more abundant life and gifts that we would gladly and freely give to them if they would only ask. One of the gifts that God yearns to give to everyone is a new heart that desires to live life with all the joy and richness it was originally created to possess. Trying to convince people to ask God for this gift when their current condition obscures the perceived value of it, is a very difficult and discouraging task indeed. But unless we work double time to plead with people to ask God for that new heart which looks beyond what they can obtain just for themselves, things will only get worse.

[tigerwillow]

To everyone who reads this post,

If you are inspired, please share this with others.  The more people that can be reminded of God's goodness and amazing love for us, the better!

[tigerwillow]

After what seems like an eternity of battling with Satan in order to maintain a line of people who are still loyal to God, Noah is finally maturing into that faithful man whom God could trust with the instructions of how to build the ark and to continue telling the world how to be saved from the coming flood. Enoch, one of our faithful human friends who now lives with us, was instrumental in voicing God’s warning to the world that their continual belief in the deceptions of Satan was going to eventually lead to their eternal ruin. Now Noah is continuing to preach the same warning from God with more urgency. Some of our human friends remember Enoch’s warning and again feel the conviction to turn from their old ways. But sadly, the longer Noah preaches, the more Satan is determined to make God’s message of salvation to the world as ineffective as possible. People are becoming more convinced that an immediate action on their conviction to repent is unnecessary since Noah and his family have been building the boat for almost 120 years already.

The people are now more brazenly expressing their opinions about Noah’s predictions of the worldwide flood than when he first started to preach. Some are calling him demeaning names and claiming that he needs to be locked up for insanity, while others believe that threats of physical harm to him and his family will make him stop sounding the alarm. Every day people from different parts of the world show up just to gawk at the strange sight of a gigantic boat being built on dry land. People mockingly say that if the rain ever does come, he will have to figure out how to move it closer to a pond by himself. Although, we have to admit that preaching about a flood of water destroying the world to a people who have never seen rain fall from the sky before does seem a bit bizarre; we are hoping that people would at least stop to think about what Noah is saying long enough to question if there might be any truth in it, especially since his warning has been accompanied by the building of a boat large enough to hold everyone who decides to listen and be saved.

After 120 years of protecting Noah and his family from the jesting crowd’s propensity toward violence, we are relieved that God is finally giving the signal to move forward with the preparation for the flood. Noah walks up the ramp to deliver the last message to the world while his sons give the ark its final touches. We are also sent to perform a miracle so that even the most defiant scoffers will have one last chance to at least consider the validity of God’s gift warning and accept His offer of salvation. We are instructed to gather from all parts of the globe the animals, birds, and everything else that creeps and flies and line them up in an orderly fashion to begin their march toward the ark’s open door.

Our human friends flock to the scene as the long and organized trail of animals marches by on their way into the ark from all corners of the earth. The animals know exactly what to do and where to go because we are guiding them, but the people cannot see our presence and find this event to be very mysterious. We snicker as we hear the renown leaders of the world try to explain what is happening as if it is all some kind of magic. They are coming up with all sorts of explanations, some of which sound logical, and some of which are simply off the wall. Then the birds and insects begin their migration, making the sky appear dark from the sheer amount of them. For a moment, while the migratory paths block out the sun, we notice the people’s panic level starting to rise and sense that they are starting to question the legitimacy of what Noah had been saying all along. Of course, by now Satan has learned how to quickly and effectively take advantage of the situation when people fear losing their security. Through the leaders, Satan is able to convince the masses that just a fluke in nature had caused the strange happenings and that everything would return back to normal very shortly. This proclamation gives the people a momentary sense of peace, making their need to stop and evaluate the extreme urgency of the situation not so keenly felt. Our hearts cry out as still no one seems to take our even more dramatic warnings seriously. But one last ditch effort must be tried to save anyone who might still accept the offer to be saved if given one final opportunity. We cannot afford to give Satan an opportunity to accuse the Godhead of not saving someone because there was not have enough time to make a final decision. Noah and his family tearfully make the final announcement to the masses surrounding the ark that once the massive door is shut no one will be able to enter the ark with them. They then turn around and sadly go through the door of the ark. Just as they disappear inside, a flash of light brighter than lightning appears over the door and remains there for a moment as if waiting for that last person to decide to enter. When it becomes obvious that the people would rather look to their leaders for a scientific explanation instead of seeking salvation inside of the ark, we are told to slowly push the door of the ark closed in such a way that no human would be able to open it. We are heartsick that Satan is now enjoying an apparent victory because the people would not listen to us, no matter how hard we tried to get their attention. Jesus tries to comfort us by telling us that it was not our fault that the people chose not to listen to us even though we valiantly did everything possible in our power to make sure every person had ample opportunities to accept our free invitation to be saved. We and the Godhead are very deeply hurt that the coming flood will destroy the lives all of our human friends whom we have grown to love even though they did not choose to love us back.

While Noah and his family are inside the ark safely behind the divinely closed door, the people outside are still trying to explain the miraculous events of the last few hours. They believe that Noah’s last warnings were not as life-threatening as he made them out to be, since the sun is shining as freely as it had always done in the past. That evening the moon and stars faithfully lit the sky without a hint of anything amiss in nature. This trend of normalcy continued for a whole week. Soon the people began concluding that Noah was just some old fool who had tried to deceive them because they had never seen rain before, nor had the movements or appearance of the clouds deviated from the patterns that had been observed for almost two millennia. The mobs that were cruel to Noah before he entered the ark just carried on their cruelties to new heights. They seemed to take pleasure in taunting Noah and his family and making his life in the ark as miserable as possible. Day after day for that entire week we were sent to protect the ark and its inhabitants from any malicious act that would prevent the ark from safely navigating through the flood waters that were soon to cover the planet. Finally on the seventh day after Noah and his family had entered the ark, the command came from the heavenly throne room to release the water suspended above the atmosphere and gathered below the earth’s surface. Destructive lightning strikes and deafening thunder peals preceded the raindrops falling from the clouds which were rapidly covering the sky. At first the rain was light, but as the dark clouds above thickened, it increasingly picked up momentum until the steady downpour began to overflow the banks of the rivers.

Even as the plains start to flood and searching for higher ground becomes essential for survival, the people still think that they would be able to cling to the sides of the ark or even persuade Noah to let them in so they could ride to safety. The people and the animals are roaming the surface of the earth desperately looking for higher ground that is not cluttered with debris. They are forsaking the safety of their homes and are running for their lives in every direction while trying to avoid being killed by the rocks and trees that are being catapulted from the earth by the force of the geysers erupting from deep under the ground and powerfully thrusting through the earth’s crust to the surface. The debris caught in these geysers is flung into the air so high that by the time it falls back to its final resting position, it has been buried several feet under the layer of mud which is now covering the planet. We cringe and feel heartsick as we listen to the desperate screams and cries of the people and animals who are being swept off their feet and washed away, never to be seen again. Even the ones who try to fasten themselves to the ark with chains or ropes eventually lose their grip and are caught in the swirling waters beneath them.

Even though it pains us to watch the massive destruction that is causing such an enormous amount of pain and suffering, we are confident that God is sending this worldwide flood out of mercy to the planet and the future human race. It has become evident through the centuries that the people’s obsession with doing things their own way would eventually destroy not only their own race, but the rest of God’s creation as well. Not only is the Godhead is being merciful by ending their misery now rather than waiting until they are on the verge of self-destruction, but They are also ensuring that one day Jesus will still be able to be born into the world for the people’s salvation from eternal destruction. The fact that there is still a chance that some of the people who are dying in the flood will be able to live with us because this is only their first death consoles us a little bit. We know that Jesus will be perfectly fair when it comes to deciding the eternal destiny of the people. After all, He knows their hearts and minds better than even they know themselves since He was their Creator and existed before the formation of the genetic line that helped to shape who they are.

The rain storm continues to rage for days on end. As we strategically place ourselves between the ark and the pounding waves with debris sharp enough to wreak havoc on the ark, we watch from the corner of our eyes as Satan and his followers fly about desperately trying to find a place where they can rest their weary minds. We can actually see the fear for their own survival written on their faces. They are probably wondering if God might be trying to kill them along with the humans and the animals. We are tempted to laugh at them, but secretly we are glad that they are so afraid because they are more focused on themselves than trying to make our job more difficult than it already is. We cannot let ourselves get distracted from our mission of carrying the boat to safety. The rough water continues to threaten the ark’s upright position so we have to constantly be on guard and ready to catch the boat when it starts to lean.

[GayatfootofCross]

I'm saving for my own file .

thank you tigerwillow

GBU!

[Tom Wetmore]

Moderator Note: This is not really a discussion topic, but rather an original story being written by Tigerwillow.

Please continue, Tigerwillow...

Edited September 12, 2015 by Tom Wetmore

[tigerwillow]

After the non-stop downpour for forty days and nights, the water’s depth eventually reaches approximately 22 feet above the highest point on the surface of the earth. At this point, we are hoping the worst is over even though the water is still in a swirling fury as the crust of the earth beneath the flood waters adjusts to its new, more rugged structure. After five months of being tossed about, God, out of His compassion for the inhabitants of the ark, guides the ark into a calmer area where He did not permit the landscape to change so drastically. The shape and location of this valley between two gently sloping mountain sides allows the ark to drift about a little less violently until the surface of the earth dries.

Noah notices that the water is starting to subside a little and opens the top of the boat to see if there is any hope of landing soon. When he sees the sea of water still surrounding him, he does not bow his head in depression but instead with his chin lifted high in the confidence of God’s soon delivery sets a raven in the opening in the boat and encourages it fly off into the sky that is no longer so dark and angry. It returns a little while later after finding that the endless sea of rolling water did not meet the requirements of a good resting spot. A week later, Noah lets out a dove with the hope that the watery landscape that has been carrying the ark for so many weeks is finally beginning to transform into a more solid one. When the dove returns with a branch in its mouth, there is much rejoicing in the ark.

But they must still trust God to let them out of their captivity just at the right time. In an effort to keep their morale from ebbing back down again, the Father sends us from the throne room with instructions to encourage Noah and his family in creative ways without making ourselves known. We enjoy loads of fun by frolicking with the animals and whispering to them. The animals’ silly sounds and funny tricks are temporarily, but masterfully, crowding out the constant temptation from the humans’ minds to wallow in their self pity and averting their propensity to question whether God in fact does know best.

However, before we are allowed to unfasten the door of the ark, there is some cleanup work that must be done to ensure the earth will have the necessary resources to perpetuate life for the future inhabitants, and also to hinder the human proclivity for avarice and idolatry that emerges from having unrestricted access to the earth’s natural elements such as oil, precious metals and water. We set the jet stream in motion which causes a strong wind to blow over the surface of the ground to cover all of the loose remnants from the cataclysmic flood waters. The scattered remains of the trees, along with the people and animals, are buried deep under the ground so that a source of oil and fuel would still be available for people many centuries later in earth’s history. The metals such as gold, silver and copper are buried in largely difficult places to reach such as under mountains, in deep valleys, and under ocean floors. The humans will have to purposefully mine and dig to gain access to them; and even then some of the metals will never become completely accessible. We also mix salty elements into some of the remaining flood water so that large bodies of salt water now cover expansive portions of the earth as a way of preventing people from hoarding too much land and water and using it to their own destructive ends.

After what seems like an interminable period of waiting to the inhabitants of the ark, God gives us the go ahead to open the doors of the ark and guide the captives into the freedom of the newly renovated world. The grass is starting to grow and cover the bareness of the rough ground. Noah and his family stand in front of the ark for awhile to take in the harsh changes to the planet. Now they will have to figure out how to sustain their lives in a very different atmosphere than they were used to before. The air does not quite seem so rejuvenating as before and the terrain is much less hospitable. But Noah has learned gratitude in the face of adversity and challenge. The first thing he does is find some large rocks and build an altar so that he and his family can worship God together and thank Him for their safe journey and ask for His divine help as they learn to navigate their new surroundings. We are delighted to watch how God responds from His heart with the beautiful light that surrounds His throne room. He installs the most magnificent rainbow in the clouds overhead with the promise that a flood of water on such a grand scale will never again prevail the earth.

[tigerwillow]

We huddle near the throne room in an eager attempt to pick up any additional information we could about how God is going to bring about His plan of redemption through the new human family.  Jesus and God are talking in the throne room and invite us in to listen to their conversation.  Based on Jesus=s observation that Shem seems to have the noblest character of the three sons of Noah, the Godhead selects Shem to be the patriarch of the line of people who would eventually bring Jesus into the world.  At Jesus announces this decision, He turns solemnly towards us and with tears in his voice warns us that our need to keep a vigilant awareness of Satan=s influences on people and to be ready for productive motion in any and all directions is necessary to, at the very least, be one step ahead of him.  In no time flat Satan will have figured out how to use deception and any other means in his power to circumvent the Godhead=s plan of redemption.  Very quickly we discover the accuracy and urgency of Jesus= warnings.  When determining our next moves, our prudent use of this counsel is essential for our success in the battle now and on down the road.

 

We can see how Satan is planning to use the constant struggle for survival and the pressures of daily life to make people believe that God has forgotten about them and left them to figure out how to survive on their own.  Although we provide rain and sun at the times most needed for the crops and animals, Satan’s web of deception in the minds of the people with the most cultural influence is choking off the desire to continue a relationship with a god who they are coming to believe as arbitrary and disconnected.  As a result their confidence in God’s promise to never send another worldwide flood is destroyed.

 

The cultural leaders conspire among themselves, “After all, if God is as omnipotent as He appears; what proof do we have that He will never change His mind or annul His promise?  We must do something ourselves to prevent another worldwide flood and our ultimate destruction.”  Henceforth much time and effort is spent in drawing up plans to group the scientific minded people together to study the inner workings of nature.  They conclude that if they can somehow figure out how to control the weather themselves then they can outsmart God so He could never wipe them out with a flood of water again.  So the leaders pull all the people’s energy together into the construction of a tower tall enough reach the clouds.  This tower would be the means to discover how the rain works.  The downsides of these plans are quickly becoming apparent when the people working on this tower start acting more like warlords than compassionate human beings.  We watch in horror as the leaders spread all sorts of false ideas so the people will have a false sense of security and feel more compelled to put everything aside including the commandments of God, if necessary, in order to complete the tower.  Any animal or human who allegedly gets in the way runs the risk of having their life unmercifully sacrificed for the cause.

 

The Godhead is well aware of the need to curtail this center of culture’s trajectory toward a breeding ground for all sorts of evils against God and humanity.  The tower is growing taller by the day and so is the world’s insensitivity to our visits.  We keep getting the cold shoulder and, even worse, receiving threats of bodily harm.  Jesus reminds us during a meeting in the throne room that humans beings tend to learn best when they are left to discover the consequences of their actions without our premature interference.  After the meeting ends, He invites us to go down with Him for a personal visit to the tower.  We hope that having Jesus with us gives us more credibility in our effort to reason with them, but our hopes are quickly dashed to pieces.  Jesus, disguised as a human, takes us to the center of the action where some men are in a brawl over something that was not going according to plan.  He tries to break up the fight by proposing thought provoking questions to make the workers think about what they are doing.  His intent is not to judge them but to help them see that they are being deceived by their leaders.  But they misunderstand his mission and try to run him out of the place.  We instinctively know that we could not physically step in and force them to listen to Jesus without changing the outcome of the visit, so we hang back and wait for Jesus to instruct us what to do next.

[tigerwillow]

Back in the safety of the throne room, we ask Jesus what the Godhead plans to do about the tower.  If something does not change very soon, how is society’s imminent ruination going to be avoided?  Jesus informs us that the Godhead plans to use nature to confuse them so that they cannot continue building any more.  We watch as the men lay the last bricks on the final landing that will eventually lead up to the pinnacle of the tower. Suddenly, our thoughts are interrupted by a whirring noise and a swift breeze that ruffles our hair.  Jesus and the Father are on the way to the earth to implement Their plan of immediately stopping the progress on the tower!  We are startled by the abrupt change in the tone of voice of the workers.  They are no longer dispensing their normal, intelligible commands but are screaming out curses in every conceivable language!  No one seems to understand what anyone else is saying or can offer any sensible explanations of what has just happened to them.  In a panic, they pick up their tools and start scrambling down the tower.  They mull around the base of the tower like swarms of confused ants crawling all over each other as they try to find other people who are able to speak their language.  In the midst of their confusion, we are commanded to strike the uppermost parts of the tower with a lightning bolt strong enough to send the top of the building hurling down in a million pieces to the ground far below.

The people’s hope in the future suddenly and unexpectedly vaporized with the shattering of the tower.  The tower had not only become their home, but more importantly a site of temporary respite from the nagging fear that God might destroy them again.  The God in whom they had stopped believing had just turned everything they had put their trust into upside down with a single act.  Now our human friends have to start their lives over again from square one.  As the people reconvene into groups according to their new languages, they begin to leave the area in search of other suitable places to raise their families. 

We cannot help but to giggle to ourselves when Satan’s intense anger and frustration temporarily plunges him an uncontrollable convulsions.  The energy with which he is screaming while shaking makes us think that he is releasing some emotions that have been silently bottled up somewhere near the ends of his toes for a long time.  We stop chuckling and turn away in disgust when the awful shrieks of curses mixed with painful cries resembles a razor blade slowly scraping a metal surface.  We try to tune out the rampage in the background as best we can so we can focus on the next plan of action before Satan’s momentary disabling fit of rage turns into a frantic whirlwind of activity.  There is no time to lose, so whatever we do, we must do quickly.  Since Satan’s attempts to unite the human race into one movement against God is not going according to plan, he is undoubtedly going to implement his next scheme with an unrivalled intensity as soon as the first fallouts of the Godhead’s brilliant, but calamitous move become apparent. 

The tower that now lays abandoned in ruins is named Babel because of the confusion that happened there.  We are beginning to see the appropriateness of the name not only because the people’s languages have been jumbled; but their understanding of who God is and His desire for them to live an abundant life, has also become twisted.  If only the people would realize that the belief systems that were taught about God by the leaders at the tower are leading them away from, not toward, the source of true freedom.  Over time Satan’s deceptive influence has tricked the people into believing that they must earn God’s favor by practicing various rituals in order to ensure their safety and the perpetuation of their decadent lifestyles.  These distorted concepts have caused our human friends to unwittingly hold faulty expectations of God.  Naturally, anger and confusion abounds when the Godhead does not follow through as expected.  Although this seems to us to be one of the most dangerous curve balls Satan has thrown our way so far, we try our best to empathize with their feelings of loneliness and abandonment.  We go down to the earth, when directed by Jesus, to try to encourage those who are searching for meaning in the daily rituals they have been taught to practice.

[tigerwillow]

Just before leaving the throne room on one of our assignments to the earth, Jesus had revealed a few little tidbits about a special mission He had in mind for Abram, a young man whose family had managed to regain the respect they felt they deserved in their community after the terrible struggle they faced in the aftermath of the destruction of the Tower of Babel.  Abram’s father had not been as closely involved in the culture that had been fostered at the tower as his father had been, however the traditions that were being handed down through the generations were still quite heavily influencing the family.  The familiarity of the daily routine of manual labor interspersed with worship rituals and festivities with close friends and relatives had become a part of their heritage.  Within a few generations, the mingling of beliefs in the God who had mercifully destroyed the world with a flood with the gods who destroyed them to get revenge had created a very twisted picture of the God they believed they were worshiping.  The Godhead had predicted that Satan would use this faith-shaking experience in the gods the people had invented to create a blanket statement that is covertly and conveniently misapplied to God Himself.  The prevalent assumption now is that the King of the universe is more responsible for inciting than alleviating their distrust in a supreme being’s concern for their wellbeing.  However, as always, the Godhead is more than one step ahead of Satan and has already begun working on His strategic plan to change the future of the universe forever and permanently strike down the counterattacks of Satan.  God is commissioning us to help prepare Abram to be the head of the line of people that will eventually give birth to Jesus.

We have been observing Abram for some time now while trying to determine how we could best help him develop the necessary character traits for the mission that God has in mind for his life.  Fortunately, for us, the kindness and generosity in Abram’s family life had a much more powerful influence on him during his formative years than the greediness and dishonesty of his friends and neighbors who had allowed the corrupt traditions and unscrupulous societies at the Tower of Babel to shape them.  We are also grateful that when he took on part of the responsibility of raising his nephew, Abram made a conscious decision to shun the vileness around him.  Although we are proud of him endeavoring to live a virtuous life for his nephew’s sake, we still must pour all of our energies, as far as he will let us, into helping him smooth out some of his rough edges.

We start by bringing back to Abram’s mind some of the influential moments in his early childhood which he still analyzes retrospectively from time to time.  During one of these reflective moments, he unexpectedly finds himself reliving a vivid memory of hearing a message from Shem, one of Noah’s sons, about a God who loves and cares about all people.  He recalls the surge of warmth and comfort that pulsed through his entire body when he learned that this God is not the vengeful, hateful tyrant that He has been perceived as.  In fact, this God loves people from all walks of life and all ages.  Henceforth, the tradition instituted at the Tower of Babel of sacrificing innocent children to appease the gods, has deeply bothered him.  The sight of the smoke rising from the top of the hill still sickens and confuses him.  The juxtaposition of a loving God with such a horrific ritual feels so jarring in fact, that he could never bring himself to participate in these and other similar worship rites.

While lying in bed that night, the same flashback fills his mind once again.  In his half-awake state he wonders why that particular memory would resurface twice in one day.  It had been an exhausting day, so he drops it and wearily drifts off into dream world.  The next thing Abram knows, he is enthusiastically being revealed more details about the compassionate God Shem had introduced to him in that crowded market place so many years ago.  The next day, while walking alone through the fields he notices two beings walking toward him and instantly recognizes us as the two beings who had talked with him in his dream the night before.  At first he is caught off guard so he is a little apprehensive, but when hears our voices he immediately calms down and bows down to worship us.  We tell him that we have not come to receive homage but rather to relay an important message straight from the throne room of God.  There, sitting on an old log surrounded by ferns in the soft, early morning light, we begin to unfold God’s plan of salvation for the world.  Abram is enraptured by our words.  He had never imagined that a Being with such an intense love for a race of people that had, in effect, turned their backs on Him, could exist.  Yet, this Being goes a great deal further than just existing; in fact, He is desperately trying to secure a means by which this renegade people can choose to be redeemed and to live with Him in His home forever.  The power of such a devoted love leaves Abram speechless and in awe.  When he finally finds his speech again, he asks us how he can be involved in this universal plan.  This is the question we have been waiting to hear for a long time!  The intense joy that we feel starting to well up inside of us is almost overpowering.  In our excitement to get back to the throne room to announce the great news, we tell Abram that we will be back shortly with the answer to his question.

[tigerwillow]

In the meantime, Abram is in a state of shock trying to comprehend what had just happened, so we visit him a few more times with insightful and encouraging messages to prepare him to become one of the main figures in the advancement of God’s universal plan of salvation.  When God ascertains that Abram’s trust in us and Him is strong enough that he will do anything we ask him to do, no matter the cost, Jesus directs us to appear to him in a dream.  The call Jesus imparts in the dream through us to Abram is very unsettling indeed.  When he wakes up the next morning, he realizes with a heavy heart that what he was asked to do was not just part of an ordinary dream where he could forget about it and go on with his day as if nothing had happened, but it carried much more serious consequences.  The words “leave your country and your family and go to a place that I will show you” feel as if they are burning right through to the very core of his soul and gouging out every safeguard against his vulnerability to the outside world.  However, he is convinced that he must not allow his feelings to stop him from taking action.  Immediately Jesus sends us to give him the courage and strength he needs to start packing his belongings and preparing for his journey into the unknown.

 

Although the command is very burdensome to Abram, he believes that sharing it with the majority of his family and friends would be counterproductive at best for him.  They had not had the same encounters with a living God as he had experienced as of late.  Therefore, he feels they would not understand why he insists on taking the dream so seriously, even if he tries to explain his motives.  The two promises that he would be the progenitor of the Son of God and that through him all families of the earth would be blessed, given in conjunction with the command to leave his country and his people is very clear evidence in Abram’s mind that God does not intend for this dream to be taken lightly.  But there is a significant detail that is bothering him greatly, which he knows would be ground for ridicule when his family and friends find out that he is leaving everything behind without knowing where he is going; his wife is unable to have children.  How could God make such a promise knowing that he and Sarai cannot have a child together?  This one difficulty niggles at Abram’s mind more than any other challenge associated with this grandiose move.  What would happen to them if they move away from all their relatives and everyone they know?  Would they be just left to die alone in their old age with no one to carry on for them?  But Abram tries not to allow these thoughts to tempt him into doubting God’s leading.  After all, everything that God has revealed to him so far has been proven to be trustworthy.  So why should he start questioning His motives now?

 

Abram painstakingly gathers the courage to tell the people closest to him, starting with his wife Sarai, about the news.  Understandably, she does not take it well at first, but the fact that Abram does not usually take great risks, especially at his family’s expense, clues her in to the severity of Abram’s distressing situation.  Needless to say, Abram’s father and brother are not particularly thrilled about the idea either.  After a few heated discussions between all the parties involved, everyone insists that Abram cannot go alone.  Of course his wife and father, along with his side of the family, must accompany him on the journey with all their servants, flocks, and herds.  This would be a dangerous pilgrimage.  They would have to rely on us to help them find the food and water they would need to sustain such a large group.  They start heading northeast, following the Euphrates River.

After a few laborious days of being on the move, they stop to set up camp in Haran and end up staying there for weeks, months, and eventually years.  During this time, Abram’s father and brother cannot seem to break free from the traditions and worship rituals they had become accustomed to keeping back in their home in Ur of the Chaldeas.  We cannot allow Abram and Sarai to fall into the same trap, so we are sent from the throne room to warn them that they must protect themselves from becoming involved in the society around them.  Their involvement will only make things more difficult for them when the time comes to move on.  Along with this stern warning, we also give Abram and Sarai many opportunities to strengthen their trust in us and the Godhead by frequently reminding them of our presence during every step of the journey.  We not only remind them of our presence, but also give them a practical suggestion to help them keep their minds from wandering and being tempted into joining the social life of their friends and neighbors.  If they seize as many opportunities as they can now to shed as much light as possible about a different God than the gods whom their popular culture is promoting for them to pay homage to, then not only will they be too preoccupied to participate in the superficial lifestyles around them, but they will be more prepared for the monumental mission the Godhead has in mind for them.  We are ecstatic that Abram and Sarai are able to so clearly explain to people how the redeeming love of the Godhead contrasts with the spiral toward unhappiness and death that comes with the worship of gods who cannot provide for their daily needs, let alone save them from destruction.  The more light of the Godhead’s love that can shine in people’s lives, the more they can perceive that the sacrifices of their time, energy, resources, and even of their own lives that they make every day for their gods are not giving them the joy, prosperity and freedom they are seeking for, but only more pain, sorrow, and guilt.  Watching so many people needlessly living under a cloud of darkness that they cannot seem to shake off is heart-wrenching.

[Gregory Matthews]

I am not suggesting that this work is ready for publication now. 

But, I do believe that it is of value and that it could be developed into a published work that would not only be of value, but could be sold commercially. 

I would like to see some of the theological concepts present further refined/developed. 

With an experienced, published author involved, I believe that the story line could be further refined. 

If the above were done, I believe that this work could be published and commercially sold as well as being of benefit to many people.

NOTE:  As Tom has said, this is not a discussion topic.  Rather it is a story.  So, let us not sidetrack this story with a discussion of its merits for publication and the manner I which it might be prepared for publication.  In posting this, I simply want to affirm its value both for now and what I would like to see in the future.  So, please, back to the story.

 

 

 

[JoeMo]

I find this story line to be a fascinating yet faithful "fictional" look at the beginning of God's interaction with man from an angel's point of view.  I have been blessed and intrigued  reading through it.  The style kind of reminds me of "The Shack".  Although I don't fully embrace some of the implied theology, like "The Shack", the message is a blessing; and draws one to God's love.