The Character of God, the Law of God and the End of the World
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” (2 Cor 10:5)
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph 6:12)
This battle we are in will come to a climax at the end of the world. The battle is over the knowledge and understanding of the character of God. In the time of the end especially that the battle will intensify:
“God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” (Rom 3:4)
People have judged God (evaluated His character) all through history but this will come to a climax at the end. To understand the end, we need to go back to the beginning.
A Rebel Cherub
“Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.” (Eze 28:14)
The word “art” is supplied. Satan was that anointed cherub, But then something happened:
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” (Isa 14:12-14)
A throne implies rulership, government, law. Here is an interesting verse:
“Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?” (Psa 94:20)
The throne of iniquity is certainly not God’s throne.
“God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.” (Psa47:8)
To “frame” as in “frameth mischief by a law” is to form something, to fashion it, to make
“Mischief” is:
H5999 עָמָל ‘amal aw-mawl’
from H5998; n m/n f;
AV-labour 25, mischief 9, misery 3, travail 3, trouble 3, sorrow 2, grievance 1, grievousness 1, iniquity 1, miserable 1, pain 1, painful 1, perverseness 1, toil 1, wearisome 1, wickedness 1; 55
1) toil, trouble, labour
1a) trouble
1b) trouble, mischief
1c) toil, labour
Perhaps we could think of this as causing mischief or trouble by the laws he has promoted. Here are other versions:
“Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, Have fellowship with You?” (Psa 94:20, New King James Version)
“Can a throne of destruction be allied with You, One which frames and devises mischief by decree [under the sacred name of law]?” (Psa 94:20, Amplified Bible)
The “one” there is referring to the “throne of destruction.”
“under the sacred name of law” would be like claiming to be a sacred or divine law. Here is yet another version:
“Selfish leaders who practice evil are not allied with you; they pass imposed laws to cause suffering and injustice.” (Psa 94:20, RNT)
We will see that the term “imposed laws” is very important to understand.
The Law of God is the Issue
A throne is associated with a kingdom, a government and laws.
| Are | ||
| God’s laws | given out of love | to bless us |
| and | ||
| Satan’s laws | given to promote his system | to exalt himself |
fundamentally different?
They must be. How are they different? God is the creator who designed how the universe and life were to operate. Satan is a created being subject to those laws and who cannot create. Isaiah speaks of Satan’s fall:
“For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” (Isa 14:13-14)
In what ways could he not be like God?
- He cannot create
- He was not aiming to be like God in character
- He cannot tell the pure truth. If he says anything true, he mixes it with error to deceive. (John 8:44, Rev 12:9)
In what way(s) could he aspire or hope to be like God?
- to have reverence, worship
- to have power over others
- to be loved
- to have authority
Having authority would include the ability to make laws.
Imposed vs Natural/Design Law
Since Satan was a created being who could not create anything, he was and is subject to whatever physical laws apply to angels.
From the Character of God and the Gospel Glossary:
Law, Design
Design laws are the laws the Creator established for the universe to run on. They include all the natural laws of physics (gravity, light, atomic structure), laws of life (respiration, photosynthesis, enzymatic action) and also God’s moral laws. All deviations from design laws cause damage in some way. God, the Designer, seeks to have us understand His design laws for our own good and keep them for our benefit and protection. https://characterofgod.org/supplemental-terms/#design-natural-law
Law, Imposed
Within our human-law system, there are imposed penalties for breaking laws. Those penalties must be arbitrarily imposed as, in many cases, there is nothing inherently wrong with breaking such laws. Driving 90 km/hr in an 80 km/hr zone doesn’t naturally cause any damage or hurt to anyone. However, going too fast may cause damage if the laws of physics (which are unchangeable design laws) are violated.
God’s law cannot be changed:
“And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” (Luke 16:17)
What was the first attempted/supposed/claimed change in God’s design law?
“And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” (Dan 7:25)
There are some things, even in scripture, that seem like changes to God’s law but they are not actual changes to His design. For example:
“For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.” (Heb 7:12)
It would make sense that this is referring to the law that designates who should serve as a priest. God has always seen and provided for our need of a priest, a mediator (when correctly understood):
The Levitical priesthood was an accommodation for man’s needs.
“Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;” (Eze 20:25)
He is not saying that He gave them statutes so that they would die and not live; He was not trying to kill them. Rather, He gave or allowed those statutes even though they were not good and could potentially shorten their lives and reduce their happiness. He gave them because of the stubbornness of their hearts and because He does not force the will but honors it.
These statutes were things like giving them a king, allowing divorce and slavery but they were also accommodations for the condition of fallen man. Thus, what might be understood as God’s laws can be divided into two categories.
God’s natural/design laws include all natural laws (gravity, respiration etc) designed to allow life to exist and thrive and we could include behavioural laws designed to promote man’s happiness. These are the laws that cannot change.
God’s accommodations to meet man’s needs or changing situation. God never intended originally that man should need a priest as it was not in His plan that sin should happen. Such accommodations or “changes” are not to God’s design law. Read more about the principle of accommodation at these links:
https://characterofgod.org/gods-accommodation-for-man/
https://characterofgod.org/love-allows-for-growth/
So, we have defined natural/design law and given some examples. Man cannot change those. Man cannot pass a law to reduce gravity to make our work load lighter.
Those who believe God’s law functions like human law will teach things like:
- God is required by justice to impose death on unrepentant sinners.
- God personally uses His power to inflict punishment including death for sin.
- God killed Jesus as our substitute to satisfy His wrath or to meet the demands of the law or to pay our legal penalty.
- God is angered by sin and needs a mediator between Him and us to propitiate His wrath (calm Him down).
- God cannot simply forgive but requires a legal payment before He can forgive.
- Sin doesn’t actually harm the sinner and cause death, sin is rule-breaking that gets one in legal trouble with God.
- Jesus’ must cover or hide the record of our sins in the judgment or the Father will be required to kill us
Israel and God’s Law – Then and Now
“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” (1 Cor 10:11)
“These things” were recorded about the experience of the people of Israel. Their situation provides lessons for us at the end of time. Where did Israel go wrong?
They had been slaves under a system that was “obey or suffer the (imposed) consequences.” That would have influenced their understanding of how law is meant to work. Their understandings of God’s laws simply reflected that of the world around them and so, in their thinking, God’s laws were just like man’s laws – imposed rules that needed to be enforced.
Those understandings were perpetuated by Israel and by a multitude of religious teachers and denominations until now. We know that there was a lot of force used to compel obedience to what the church thought was God’s law – the Crusades, the Dark Ages, the Inquisition etc.
Israel Today
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israelis were united in their fight against Hamas, whom he described as an enemy of incomparable cruelty. ‘They are committed to completely eliminating this evil from the world,’ Netanyahu said in Hebrew. He then added: ‘You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible. And we do remember.’” https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/11/benjamin-netanyahu-amalek-israel-palestine-gaza-saul-samuel-old-testament/
“Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” (1 Sam 15:2-3)
Is this God promoting genocide? I have an explanation for that at:
https://characterofgod.org/1-samuel-15-3-smite-amalek/
Another explanation is given by Kevin Mullins at:
https://lastmessageofmercy.com/article/view/1-samuel-151-3-why-would-a-god-of-love-command-king-saul-to-kill-men and briefly described below.
“And he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them.” (1 Sam 14:48)
Notice, that verse comes before the verses in chapter 15 above. Here is one version that takes account of that verse and parenthetically puts the events of chapter 15 in the past (but after 14:48).
“’Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, I have looked after that which Amalek did to Israel, that which he laid for him in the way in his going up out of Egypt. Now, go, and thou hast smitten Amalek, and devoted all that it hath, and thou hast no pity on it, and hast put to death from man unto woman, from infant unto suckling, from ox unto sheep, from camel unto ass.’” (1 Sam 15:2-3, Young’s Literal Translation)
Verses 4 and following give an account of that event. We might think of this event as Divine justice but the bible defines true justice:
“Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: execute true justice, show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother.’” (Zech 7:9, 10, New King James Version)
Notice in the above verse how God’s “true justice” is executed:
- Show mercy and compassions every man to his brother.
- Oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor.
- Let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
When we read a verse like 1 Sam 15:3 we should question. Can you believe every word your Bible says according to your understanding of the meanings of the words printed on the page?
Could you believe every word that comes out of the mouth of God knowing the correct, original meaning of the words? Of course. The problem is everything that has happened between God speaking what He intends and our hearing and perception of His message.
To be really sure, you may have to consider the use of idioms and metaphors and similes and parables, and verb forms and tenses, and parenthetical statements and punctuation and changes in word meanings over time and bias in translation and even verse divisions. As well as Biblical principles and the fact that there is a veil over your understanding unless you are reading the Old Testament through the lens of what Jesus revealed of His Father’s character in the New Testament:
Here is a page that might help with this way of interpreting scripture.
Israel will play a part but not like most people think. Another country is going to play a major role.
America in Prophecy
| Satan is trying to capture the whole world but because the US is so influential in so many aspects of life and culture around the world it has to be captured to complete his plan.
Especially the US constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion and various civil rights, has to be torn down. This is all in process and largely being accomplished by dividing Americans into two groups with the potential even to start a second civil war. |
|
The United States, right now is very divided:
Donald Trump and Joe Biden are actors; I am not saying literally but they are acting parts in events that are orchestrated behind the scenes, ultimately by Satan.
The USA had Trump from 2017-2020 and now Biden 2021-2024 and quite possibly Trump again in 2025. It’s back and forth Republican and Democrat, back and forth Conservative and Liberal. Presently, the Democrats are doing some outrageous things calculated to annoy, even enrage the more-conservative Americans. They are restricting liberties and free speech, supporting unpopular wars, pushing the woke agenda etc.
Dividing to encourage division, animosity etc
On March 29, 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden issued a proclamation declaring March 31, 2024, the Transgender Day of Visibility — that is, he formally recognized the day as one dedicated to celebrating the transgender community. The day also happened to be Easter Sunday.
Donald Trump Jr. commented
“Biden is banning religious symbols from Easter celebrations at the White House, while flying the trans flag and declaring Easter Sunday to be ‘Trans Visibility Day.’ This is the left’s new religion. They want people worshiping the trans flag instead of God. They must be stopped.”
The Ten Commandments
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” (Exo 20:8-11)
Israel broke the commandments after they were given within how long? Within days, they were worshipping the golden calf. After Moses smashed the tables of the law, he received a second set:
“Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. 13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: 14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. 15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and [that] the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.” (Deut 5:12-15)
The second set reflected their understanding of God – a God of might and power. The law is effectively the same but the reason given for it in verse 15 (in place of that in Exodus 20:11) was an accommodation to their understanding.
Light on the Law
Around 1844 (an important year in prophecy, another topic) God raised a group of people in New England (North-eastern US) to turn people back to the true understanding of God and His laws. It is interesting that one thing they highly promoted was the three angel’s messages of Revelation 14 which start with:
“Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (Rev 14:7)
This is turning attention back to God as Creator and Designer; One Who made natural, design laws rather than imposed laws. Unfortunately, most in that group reverted to an imposed-law understanding which is what they officially teach today. The end-time remnant will leave the system of imposed-law theology. They will return to worshipping God as the Creator and will return to keeping the true seventh-day Sabbath. But more than that – they will return to a design-law understanding.
“And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” (Rev 14:8)
Babylon was the first nation to have a code of justice – the code of Hammurabi:
“The Code of Hammurabi was one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes and was proclaimed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi, who reigned from 1792 to 1750 B.C. … The Hammurabi code of laws, a collection of 282 rules, established standards for commercial interactions and set fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice.” (https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/hammurabi)
The message that Babylon is fallen is repeated with the addition to come out of her:
“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” (Rev 18:4)
That includes to come out of that system of belief, that understanding of how God’s law functions. The 144,000 are those foremost in proclaiming the three angel’s messages and are described as:
“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” (Rev 14:12)
You can’t keep God’s laws the way God intends if you believe in an imposed-law system. Those who defend a right understanding of God ‘s law are also referred to as repairers of the breach:
“And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.” (Isa 58:12)
The law of God is like a hedge of protection. Breaking the hedge is making a breach in the law. The NIV translates “Repairer of the Breach” as “Repairer of Broken Walls.”
The real breach is the understanding that God’s law is changeable, arbitrary and imposed. The Sabbath change is simply a fruit of that wrong understanding.
Those who are teaching an arbitrary Sabbath – Sunday – are teaching a wrong law.
Those who are teaching the correct day – Saturday – but including God’s need to punish for not keeping it are also teaching the wrong law and the wrong God.
Satan is trying to convert all to his version of how the law functions – imposed rules with penalties imposed for violations.
Modern Conditioning
Today, we are subject to considerable conditioning through the media. News reports in stories of results of trials and crimes from years ago and appeals for justice. TV shows often portray the good guy winning and the bad guy being brought to justice.
Pandemic Conditioning
“And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.” (Rev 18:23)
Even more serious than the deception about safety and effectiveness was the deception involved in the coercive measures used to restrict freedom, close businesses and churches, limit travel and censor those who were at very minimal risk. Many more people have become aware that there were existing safe and very effective treatments that negated the need for experimental procedures.
The deception was that it was necessary to coerce and enforce people in various ways against their consciences. For those thus deceived, it strengthened the understanding that people who do not conform to official narratives deserve some form of punishment.
Environmental Crisis
It turns out that this demonized gas (CO2) actually has benefits for the environment; plants need it to grow, deserts are shrinking, the earth is becoming more habitable in some ways. The situation is just giving opportunity to introduce more regulations and more enforcement measures.
All this is being done to further condition people to the idea that legal justice must be done, that every sin must be punished. However, legal justice is not the same as Biblical justice which is described here.
A Sudden Change
Most people do not understand these issues or that they are leading to the final crisis and the end of the world. Things will suddenly change and it may be initiated by some rather dramatic events. There is one very interesting possibility concerning Nashville, Tennessee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3_uCMiU8ec
Such an event would result in that shift to the right, to conservatism, to law enforcement even in the name of God.
Those who believe God would send fire from heaven to kill and destroy will accept Satan’s methods of coercion and force. See the videoFire from heaven, Fire from God
When James and John called for fire, Jesus did not react favourably:
“And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.” (Luke 9:54-55)
They were rebuked showing that this was not God’s way of dealing with enemies.
The Law of God the Issue Again
There is pressure in society today to feel outrage, indignation and a desire for justice which tempts people to use Satan’s methods to fix wrongs. Satan’s aim is not just to have people break God’s law but to have them adopt his principles and methods to force others to observe them or their version of them. He is trying to get righteous people to feel outrage and anger at things that offend them so that they will seek to make things right by using Satan’s methods.
You can’t win God’s cause using Satan’s methods.
In man’s understanding of law (promoted by Satan), you can’t let them get away with it. Actually, the never get away with it; never get away with sin without hurting themselves. When a person sins, it warps their character, sears their conscience, and hardens their hearts. Sinful actions hurt people and that is why God says to not do them. It is not arbitrary; it is reality.
As Satan pushes His version of God’s law, breaking them will be linked to all the disasters and “acts of God” (which are not His acts at all) that are happening and society will finally seek to kill those who go against them under the justification of doing so to save the world. That is similar to the declaration by Caiaphas about Jesus:
“… Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.” (John 11:49-50)
But, at the end of the world, it will be spoken of God’s remnant, who are following His will and obeying His law. The Beast of Revelation will be rising to do “justice;” it will be seen as doing right while using the commonly-accepted beastly methods.
Change in Understanding of God’s Law
Satan has already managed to “change” God’s law in the thinking of the vast majority of people. Anyone who investigates can readily see that the Catholic church has moved to change the day of rest from Saturday to Sunday. Here are examples of two statements from Catholic sources:
“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:” (Rev 13:16)
The false sabbath (Sunday) is Satan’s mark of allegiance to him whereas the true Sabbath (Saturday) is the sign of allegiance of God’s people to Him and his laws.
“Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.” (Exo 31:13)
“It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” (Exo 31:17)
Not only has Satan “changed” the law of God, He seeks to change our perception of the character of God.
“[Ultimately, Satan] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (2 Thess 2:4)
This is not a reference to a temple in heaven. There is no temple on earth although I believe Satan is moving on certain groups to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem so that He can carry out a great deception. Ultimately, there is another meaning:
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1Cor 6:19)
God wants to reside within us, that is within our minds:
“And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Eze 36:27)
“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jer 31:33) (also Heb 8:10)
While the sabbath is a sign, a sign points to a greater reality, to God Who is love.
Which is more important, the Sabbath (fourth) commandment or the principle of love?
Death Decree
Satan wants people to believe in an imposed law system so he can impose a death penalty with the hope that all will obey him.
“They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” (John 16:2)
Those in Satan’s service will be so deceived about the law and about God’s character that they could imagine that in killing God’s people they are doing God’s will.
“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” (Rev 13:15)
“Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.” (Exo 31:15)
That needs to be correctly understood, as explained on this page.
No true Sabbath believer would ever enforce Sabbath observance.
“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matt 24:14)
See a video of the group study of this topic.
Return to the Home Page
