(September 12, 2023) Dr Jim McClure shares an encouraging truth… 

While the Bible is a library of 66 books of a variety of styles –  stories, history poetry, songs and letters – they all unite to form one ‘big picture’ that has a beginning, a middle and an end. 

Paul made a reference to this big picture when he wrote, ‘He (God) made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment  to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ’ (Ephesians 1:9-10).

The Bible reveals that God has a plan to bring all things to a conclusion according to His will. Nothing happens in the world that takes Him by surprise even when it may appear that everything is spinning out of control.  Before He created the universe, God knew exactly what was going to happen on earth and He knows precisely how everything is going to end.  

He has never abandoned the world and always get involved at exactly the right time! Paul again mentioned one of those ‘right time intervention’ in when he wrote,  ‘When the time had fully come, God sent His Son’ (Galatians 4:4).  While it may appear to us that our world is stumbling towards irrecoverable disaster, the biblical account, from Genesis to Revelation, reveals that things have not spun out of God’s control and that God has not, and never will, abandon us.

1.  The Beginning (Genesis 1:1 to 3:5)
(i) The beginning of earth
Unsurprisingly ‘the beginning’ starts with the first sentence in the first book of the Old Testament where we read in Genesis 1:1, ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ In fact the very first Hebrew word in the book of Genesis is bereshith which means ‘In the beginning.’

The beginning starts with God!  The earth, planets, stars and galaxies all had a beginning and it was God who brought them into being. The first verse of Genesis asserts that all these things did not eternally exist but, at the beginning of time, the eternal God brought something entirely new into existence. It also tells us something important about God – He is indescribably powerful!

In  Romans 1:20 Paul wrote, ‘Ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature, namely, His eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.’

In the midst of this vast universe that God created stood one little planet that is called ‘Earth.’ Verse 2 turns the focus on this planet which we see was desolate and dark. 

And then began God’s plan for earth. He remodelled it for human habitation and what a beautiful renovation job that was. Then on the sixth day God created and placed humankind on this planet that had especially been made for us to enjoy.

Seven times in the first chapter of Genesis we read the words, ‘God saw that it was good.’ In fact, the concluding verdict on all that had been done to prepare the earth for human habitation is found in verse 31 which says, ‘God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.’   

And so began the divine drama of the relationship between God and humankind.

(ii) The beginning of humankind
At the beginning everything went so well for us. Chapters 1 and 2 describe our beautiful planet. We had a everything we needed to enjoy an amazing life.  And we had a close, intimate relationship with Almighty God At the beginning everything was literally perfect. At the beginning in Eden the scene was set for a wonderful life for us to enjoy.  So, what could possibly go wrong?  Sadly, the answer is, ‘Everything!’

Chapter 2 gives us a final look at our perfect world where everything was perfectly in place. It is our last glimpse of the world before Satan began his plan to challenge God by calling into question the integrity of God’s word.

(iii) The beginning of human rebellion
While the first two chapters in Genesis tell us about a God who creates, the third reveals a devil who destroys.  In chapter 3, which is a critical chapter in the Bible, we discover that harmony and contentment on earth was to be shattered. We read that Satan first targeted Eve and he said to her, ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ This was a deliberate and subtle attack on the integrity of God’s word – and that same attack continues to flourish today. Craftily, Satan placed doubts in Eve’s mind.  In 2 Corinthians 11:3 Paul wrote, ‘… the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness.’

And so began the wrecking of the perfect world by Satan’s interference and Adam and Eve’s flagrant disobedience. First, they succumbed to Satan’s deception and the seed of sin was sown, and so began the corrosive consequences of human rebellion against God’s authority. Humankind’s relationship with God was severely fractured. Rebellion had now replaced relationship. Everything was changed now that human nature had been tainted by a disposition to discard God’s directions.

This is our last view of a perfect earth before it was ruined by human sin and rebellion against God.  

2.   The Middle  
‘The Middle’ is now covered by most of the rest of the Bible, from Genesis 3:6 through to Revelation 20 in which it is clearly revealed that the consequence of humankind’s disobedience to God threw the world into revolt, turmoil and death. And that is still where we are today.

(i) Hiding from God
The first consequence of rebellion against God saw the first representatives of humankind attempting to shut God out of their lives!  In Genesis 3:8 we read, ‘They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.’ 

How foolish!  They thought that they could hide from God – but they couldn’t! 

No one can hide from God!  The All-knowing God obviously knew where Adam and Eve were – and He knows where we are! Hiding from God is an impossibility.

When little children play ‘Hide and Seek’, they try to hide in a place they think will offer them invisibility, especially if they put their hands over their eyes. But they are not actually hiding from anyone – they only think they are!  That was where Adam and Eve were that day – standing among the trees and thinking that God didn’t know exactly where their so-called ‘hiding place’ was. 

How foolish they were; but they were no more foolish than we are if we think that we can hide our wrong actions and our evil thoughts from God. 

However well we may hide them from others behind our pious words, sentiments , pretences and lies, God always knows precisely where we are!  King David realised that when he wrote, ‘Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there’ (Psalm 139:7-8).

And in Hebrews 4:13 we read, ‘Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.’

(ii) Hardening of heart 
Disobedience to God’s commands always leads to a hardening of heart. Adam and Eve’s deliberate choice of disregarding God’s direction resulted in their eviction from Eden.   While they made the choice to live their lives apart from a close relationship with God and in obedience to Him, they were wholly unaware of the enormous consequences of their actions, not only for themselves but for every generation that followed them right up to today!

In Proverbs 28:14 we read, ‘Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.’  A heart becomes hardened when we disobey God’s word and disregard His guidance and live according to our own whims and pleasures and wants.

(iii) Hostility throughout the centuries
The consequence of the hardened heart is hostility.  From Genesis 4 onwards we see that the outcome of that hostility is anger, resentment, jealousy, hostility, deception, greed, corruption, hatred, pride, murder and social chaos.

But… while the generations that followed Adam and Eve’s rebellion continued to defy and disobey God, the prophets promised God’s forgiveness for those who turned to Him in repentance.

Jesus, the Son of God, came and preached the message of God’s love and forgiveness but the hostile world crucified Him!  The apostles were vigorously opposed, and those, who over the centuries have proclaimed the good news of God’s forgiveness, have often encountered hostility, persecution and death for daring to announce the message of God’s love and reconciliation.

Throughout the centuries millions of people have indeed repented and gratefully turned to God, but generally, from the beginning humankind has continued to dismiss God and His commands from their lives.

We are still living in this ‘Middle Period’ of hostility and daily we see the undeniable evidence of this reality every time we watch the news on TV or read a newspaper. For thousands of years, we have been living in a hostile and dangerous world. And we would live in constant despair if we were not aware that this is not God’s final word.

3. The End
God has said, ‘I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please’ (Isaiah 46:10).

(i)The predictions of the end of the ‘middle’ 
Matthew 24:3 states, ‘As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”’

Jesus then spoke about the deceptions, wars, Christian persecution, false prophets, social division, international hostility, natural disasters and an increase in wickedness all of which would indicate that the end is near. 

Paul also referred to those coming days. He wrote, ‘But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God’ (2 Timothy 3:1-4).  What an alarming list!

In Matthew 24:14 Jesus spoke about one more thing that must happen. He said, ‘This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.’

We do not know precisely when Jesus will return.  However all we really need to know is that He will return at the right time to take all His people home and we must always be prepared for that. His return will signal not only the end of the old but the beginning of the new.

(ii) The promise of the beginning of the new 
The last two chapters of the book of Revelation are the end of the Bible… but they promise the beginning of a whole new dimension and experience of life. 

In these final chapters we are introduced to the glorious truth that the best is yet to come. In Revelation 21:5 we read, ‘He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

(iii) The prospect of an unending inheritance
Chaos may rage around us now but our future is secure!
The Bible’s narrative, which began with the bliss and beauty of Eden in the company of God, ends with the promise of a secure and eternal presence with our loving heavenly Father. 

Peter explained it this way,  ‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time’ (1 Peter 1:3-5).

Our future is secure. Nothing can challenge the certainty of our inheritance because God is guarding it. Despite the present chaos and the stress, the future looks great! 

That is God’s promise! 

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Dr Jim McClure, author of several books and Bible studies, offers them free in electronic version in EPUB, Kindle and PDF formats.

 Looking for Answers in a Confusing World is particularly recommended. Questions seeking enlightenment on biblical perspectives are welcomed. Link: OnlinerConnect@gmail.com
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