The Invisible God

THE INVISIBLE GOD

The thoughts and ideas for this article have seemed to occupy my mind for the past several days.  It is being written down, for no actual purpose, for better or worse, other than to relay some of my thoughts and beliefs.  Before delving into the heart of this article, I would like to say that there is no doubt in my mind there is a God the Father inhabiting a dimension referred to as heaven.  There is also no doubt in my mind that God sent Jesus the Christ into the world as a man for the purpose of offering His life for the redemption of all other humans that have ever been or will be born on the face of the earth.  I completely believe that God is in complete control of all things and events; that Mystery, Babylon is currently being dismantled around the world; and before long the Kingdom of God will begin.

I could be wrong but it is my opinion that the majority of believers of today do not consider the location of heaven to be somewhere outside the universe as in times past, but rather in another dimension that can be as near or as far as needed. 

The Spirit of God

My faith and belief in God is not of my own will and intellectual decision, but comes through the power of the Holy Spirit of God.  Trinity believers, to whom I am not opposed, consider the Holy Spirit to be a person who is the same as God.  That may be true, but for me the Holy Spirit works as the power of God that can indwell certain individuals for the purposes of belief, righteousness, and for the accomplishment of certain acts of God that He (God) desires to be accomplished.  Anyone attempting to define and/or differentiate the difference or sameness of God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit is engaging in an impossible task that cannot accurately be done in this current existence with our current knowledge.

True believers cannot believe in God, or Jesus Christ, or the gospel of Christ, without receiving the power of the Holy Spirit in some manner.  This also includes believing that God is in complete control of all things at all times, even if it may occasionally not appear that way.  Although we should perform the tasks necessary for health and survival, scripture insists that we trust God with our life even if given the choice of renouncing our faith in God or death.

It is my opinion and understanding (although yours may be different) that all believers do not have the same amount of the Holy Spirit given to them.  For many, it is not given at all.  Only with the Spirit can someone truly believe.  An evangelist can talk to an unbelieving person until they are blue in the face but only through the power of God will they ever become a Christian believer.  Coming forward at the last hymn is essentially a useless endeavor if they are not called by God and it doesn’t need to occur within a church building.  It can happen anywhere at any time.  That may sound awkward, however, if God truly wanted everyone to believe, at this point in history, then everyone would believe.  Eventually, through resurrections of the dead and a thousand plus years, every knee will bow and every mouth will confess, and it will not be through forced coercion but though true faith and understanding.

Romans 14:11 KJV  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

The phrase “for it is written” refers to Isaiah 45:23.

Isaiah 45:23 KJV  I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Visions of God

There are several metaphoric word pictures within the Old Testament describing the appearance of God and His throne, but I would expect they are not actual valid portrayals.  Over the centuries various European artists have attempted to paint or draw a portrait of God and His throne based on Old Testament descriptions or their own mental image.  However, it is suspected that no one will see the actual God in this lifetime and possibly the next as well. It may be that He can’t be seen or perhaps not.

Moses saw God as a fire or flaming bush but no features were provided by him or written within scripture.  Abraham met three individuals – two were said to be angels and the third was called “the Lord” (possibly Jesus) but again no details are given.  The prophets Ezekiel and Daniel saw a vision of God and his throne but their descriptions were mostly metaphoric symbolism and not actual descriptive features, although the concept of fire or a type of fire was always present.  It has been suggested the fire of God is no ordinary fire but perhaps something along the idea of an atomic type of fire that blinds the eyes and evaporates the living elements.  The fire of God, whether symbolic or not, represents the justice and righteousness of God.

It could be said that many people throughout history, envision God as an older quite masculine gentleman with white hair and a white beard who shines brightly as the sun.  This description could perhaps be influenced by the renderings of various artists throughout the years.  There are several descriptive terms rendering this characteristic in some prophetic visions.

A Description of Jesus

The Son of God whose earthly name was and is Jesus (Yeshua or Yehoshua or Yahushua) was seen by many people during the time of 2 BC through 32 or 33 AD.  Jesus appeared in Judea around Jerusalem at a time when there were apparently no sketching, drawing, or painting artist-type people of any kind.  Egypt, Greece, or a few other places would not have provided that security.  Was this purposeful?  Apparently it was, because God is always in control.  An actual sketch of Jesus would most likely cause undue arguments and possible racism. 

There is actually no description of Jesus at all in the Bible or various secular sources other than the mention of a beard.  Regardless of various artistic renditions, which are probably wrong, no one has a clue as to the appearance of Jesus.

As a side note: it is my belief that people who claim to have momentarily died, almost died, or in a coma and claim to see God, heaven, or talk to Jesus are mistaken, deluded, or lying (either knowingly or unknowingly).  There is no one who has died and gone to heaven.  Some of the dead and living will be resurrected at the return of Jesus and the rest will be resurrected at the end of the Millennium.  If every Christian and person of God who have died were currently in heaven, would they be required to return to the ground for the resurrection?  That doesn’t sound reasonable at all.  The souls are pictured as residing under the altar of God in heaven (Revelation 6:9).  If that is a fact, and not metaphoric or symbolic, the souls will be returned to their glorified bodies at the first fruits resurrection because their glorified bodies are not currently in heaven.

The Kingdom of God

Scripture proclaims that every eye will “see” Jesus at His return “with the clouds”.  This could literally mean that Jesus will be seen by every human being on the face of the planet, which would be quite a supernatural event.  According to the Word Study Dictionary it could also mean:  “metaphorically, it means to open the eyes of the mind, i.e., cause to perceive and understand”.

Revelation 1:7 KJV  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

It has been my scriptural understanding that, at some point, after the dissolution of Mystery, Babylon (which is currently ongoing) the resurrected and living first fruits (overcomers, elect) will appear as glorified individuals and will be given the task of administering the Kingdom of God on the earth which will eventually include the entire earth as the stone in Daniel 2 crushes the feet of the entire world kingdom’s statue and spreads over the entire world.  This event (the appearance of glorified saints) will cause many to finally comprehend the truth of the Bible as the word of God although Jesus who will rule with a rod of iron may not be visibly present on the surface of the earth.  It is doubtful He will be sitting in an office in a building in Jerusalem or anywhere else for that matter.  For more information concerning resurrections see:  The Appointed Times Of The Lord  Appointed Times

Daniel 2:44 KJV  And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

It is also my understanding that only the glorified overcomers will have access to the heavenly dimension.  What they will actually see is beyond my comprehension.  All others will live out their lives on the earth and all except the overcomers will appear before God at the second resurrection at or toward the end of the Millennium.  For more information see:  The Establishment of The Kingdom Of God   Millennium