Putting Our Trust in The God of the Universe
By Pastor Dan Kennedy
© August 2 / 9, 2020
Throughout Scripture God has woven a tapestry of lineage, learning, language and location that sometimes hides and integrates His Scarlet Thread so cleverly that one wonders at the mystery complicating the pattern. Sometimes though, the pattern isn’t hidden at all through the multiple intensities of the thread which augment the magnitude of the pattern. Certainly, the center of the tapestry is the first coming of Jesus Christ – His Birth, Ministry, Death, Resurrection and Ascension, while all the edges of the tapestry resolutely support the center brilliance and point to either a beginning or an end of this masterpiece of time and space.
As in any profound creation, an intricate creative and dynamic tapestry interwoven with billions and billions of individual living and spontaneous parts must be first conceived and precisely formulated in the mind of its creator…in the case of this Divine “Tapestry” it all begins with the Foreknowledge of God before the Creation of the World.
Just as rotundas of many capitals of the world reveal paintings and tapestries of historical significance, every person and all things in the history of the world are woven into God’s magnificent “Tapestry.” This living “Tapestry” in its own unique form very possibly may be revealed in its own amazing way (“we will be known even as we are known” – 1 Cor. 13:12) to all in the coming Holy City, The New Jerusalem, in our Eternal Home!
Planning and Preparation for the Tapestry’s Design
· The Comprehensive Plan of God before the Foundation of the Earth
o Any human tapestry – intricate or simple, to be successful, must have considerable planning and preparation before the tapestry’s creator begins to initiate their chosen design…God’s design for His Creation was phenomenally complex and astoundingly detailed – before the creation of the world!
o God planned the special Creation of Living Beings to oversee His new world to be formed in His Own Image.
o These Beings are to have Supernatural and eternal invisible spirits which have their dwelling in and in command of profound individual, tangible human bodies, but these bodies are not supernatural or eternal – that is still to come! (1 Cor. 15:35-58)
o These Beings are to live on a habitable planet with its own solar system, in a balanced dynamic galaxy – far away from everything else in the universe.
o Every Person and everything which would ever exist is foreknown by God and is incorporated into the profound “Tapestry” God planned…before the foundation of the earth!
Romans 8:29
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son….
Revelation 13:8
8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
o These Beings are to have the opportunity of developing and creatively building their own lives (since they were Created in the Image of their Creative God).
With both perfection and good, but then experiencing the loss of perfection, not avoiding the choice of evil, while also being given the provision of redemption.
All is established securely on God’s Sovereign Plan integrated with human choice, including sin, failure and suffering – truth to be revealed by the inner thoughts and intents of the human heart.
The Creator’s Plan but also including intervention and forgiveness for sin by a perfect, appropriate and acceptable (God Himself) sacrificial Savior and Redeemer.
1 Peter 1:20
20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you…
Acts 2:23
23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
These beings will have a spirit that will live forever and are given a choice of eternal life in God’s Sovereign purpose, or “default” to the place God prepared for Satan and his angels.
The end goal for God’s pre-earth Plan will always include the complete establishment of His Perfect Everlasting Kingdom for those who put their faith in Christ and are “Born Again.”
The Weaving of The Tapestry Begun
A Creation of Perfection in the Beginning
· Perfection in the Creation of the “Heaven and Earth.”
· Angelic Turmoil with Confusion, Pride, Rebellion and a Fall of Angelic proportion, setting the stage for Earthly Depravity.
· Perfection in the Garden of Eden. Jealousy, Hatred and a desire to have and to destroy, from the fallen angels.
· Deception of humankind…nakedness, the promise of Messiah and the covering of skins.
· The Crushing rush of World-wide Depravity with the introduction and curse of universal sin, sickness, suffering and death.
Deepening Depravity and finally Judgment
· After the Fall there were some two thousand years of deepening depravity, darker violence, murder and immorality. This time was egregiously defiled in a volatile supernatural breach by a group of rogue evil angels (Jude 6; 2 Peter 2:4) with a gross deterioration of all that is good and right before God…so that humanity’s mind and heart was being only evil continually.
Genesis 6:5–6
5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
· Enoch’s prophetic message and warning during this dark time:
Jude 14–15
14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
· God’s Judgment on the world was through the world-wide flood with the salvation of Noah and his family and the reestablishment of humanity.
Genesis 6:8
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Records and/or traditions of a number of ancient civilizations corroborate a catastrophic event similar to the Biblical Flood, as do fossil deposits and flooding sculptures found high and low over the whole earth.
Modern atheistic archeologists are afraid to accept the account of the Flood because it would be an acknowledgement of God’s Existence, including an affirmation of God’s past Judgment …and a Judgment which is to come
2 Peter 3:4–7
4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
God IS and there will be accountability to Him
· Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Egypt.
· The Exodus, Moses, the Levitical System, and the Prophets.
Faith and Righteousness – Blood Sacrifice and the Forgiveness of Sins
Hebrews 9:22
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Kings, Chaos and Captivity
· There were good kings and terrible kings in Israel until, because of the continued sins of Israel and Judah, God brought judgment on His Chosen People and took them away from their Promised Land, including the destruction of Solomon’s temple. This judgment of captivity in Babylon lasted for 70 years. (2 Chron. 36:17-21)
· Persian King Cyrus’ decree (2 Chronicles 36:22 ff), Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah and the eventual rebuilding of the second Jewish Temple and restoration of the land of Israel…but always under the oversight and rule of other nations, until the time of The Messiah.
Tisha B’Av – Mourning the Destruction of the Two Jewish Temples
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JET0-Au-47w&feature=youtu.be&utm_
Tisha B’Av, the nineth day of the Hebrew month Av (which in 2020 is July 30th) is remembered as the same day both temples were destroyed, 657 years apart. It is known to be the saddest day in the Jewish Calendar, a day for mourning and fasting for at least five calamities suffered by the Jewish people – believed to be a day destined for tragedy. It is also associated with the day that the Jews failed to first enter the Holy Land when only two chose to enter and 10 resisted, thus causing the tribe to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.[1]
The Coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah
Jesus’ Birth, Ministry, Death, Resurrection and Ascension
· In the fullness of time (center tapestry - “0” B.C./A.D.) the Coming of Jesus Christ.
· The destruction of the second Temple and Jerusalem by Rome in 70 AD.
· The Dispersion of the Jewish people to the four corners of the earth.
· The Beginning of the Church Age.
· The issues of the Church and the rise and fall of nations.
· Enduring over 2,000 years.
The Final Pieces of God’s Tapestry regarding His End-Time and Eternal Plan
· Time began with Satan’s deception of those made in the Likeness of God in the Garden of Eden, and the progression to the End-Times will become more and more infused and hostile with his deception.
Revelation 12:12b
12 … But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
Matthew 24:24
24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
· The Final spiritual Deception of the human race will be with Rebellion, Dictatorship, and the Mark of the Beast.
2 Thessalonians 2:1–4
1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
· The rebuilding of a 3rd Jewish Temple which we believe to be the “Tribulation” Temple.
o NOTE: This is not Ezekiel’s Temple (Ezek. 40-46) – a Temple uniquely built for the Millennium Kingdom. (Rev. 20:1-10)
i.e. See the unique furniture in this Most Holy Place instead of “the Ark of the Covenant” which was always in the previous Temples. In this Temple there is an altar of wood 5 ¼ feet high and 3 ½ feet across in the Most Holy Place called: “the Table that is before the Lord.” (Ezek. 41:21-22)
Why do we believe a 3rd “Tribulation” Temple will be built (and destroyed), before Ezekiel’s Temple is built? We anticipate this 3rd Temple will be built before or during the first 3 ½ years of the Antichrist revelation and reign…
“In the middle of the ‘seven,’” because the Scripture says there is a renewal of Jewish sacrifices and offerings and the Antichrist will put an end to that worship. (See also Rev. 13:11-18 regarding forced worship of the Antichrist.)
2 Thessalonians 2:3b–4
…the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
Daniel 9:27
27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”
John, the author of Revelation, was given a vision of the “Temple” that exists during the Tribulation (this passage is revealed during the prophesied turmoil) – with an Outer Court trampled by the Gentiles for 42 months (3 ½ years), a place where the “two witnesses” prophecy for 3 ½ years) – most likely the second half of the seven year Tribulation period.
Revelation 11:1–3
1 I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. 2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
“Sacrifices and offerings” by Jewish people have technically not been offered for 2,000 years, because of the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD and the Orthodox Jew can only righteously offer sacrifices and offerings in the Jewish Temple.
The Book of Revelation Revealed
Extreme times of trouble such as never has been seen before.
Daniel 12:1
1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.
Jeremiah 30:7
7 How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.
Matthew 24:21
21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
Revelation 16:18
18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.
· End-Time Plagues, Disasters and the Wrath of God.
God begins with “Perfection” and He Ends with “Perfection”
Conclusion – Perfection: The “New Jerusalem” and the Eternal Kingdom of God (Rev. 21-22)
Why do we need God?
Why do we need Christ as the One who Saves us?
We human beings, formed in the Image of God…are visibly alone on this awesome planet, so we need the reality of true security and unshakable hope.
· Hope and security for anyone cannot be gained through wealth or any earthly acquired protection.
What is everyone’s ultimate insecurity? …DEATH.
We all die, and can take nothing with us, and not one thing can be purchased or manipulated on earth to protect us from our own death.
· Our need for Personal Security and Hope doesn’t come from something outside, it radiates from the very core of our being – it originates within our spirit.
So, this critical need becomes a “Spiritual” need and can only be fulfilled from a powerful, dynamic Spiritual Source: The One Who Created Us!
(God’s enemy, Satan and his deceptive spiritual forces, try to substitute their own replacement spiritual power, or religions, or things, or the people they control, to give a form of spirituality and supernatural security, but no enduring security can be found there…especially when it comes to eternal life, but Satan’s kingdom and pseudo spirituality has not and will not prevail.)
Jesus Christ is the only one who conquered and gives victory over sin and death through His Sacrifice and Resurrection.
Look at how Our need for Security and Hope is addressed in Psalm 27.
Psalm 27:1–3
1 The Lord is my Light and my Salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me, yet I will be confident…
Who is our Light and Salvation, if we are a believer in Christ?
Who should we fear?
Luke 12:4–5
4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!
Who is the Stronghold of our life?
Of whom should we be afraid?
No matter what adversarial things rise in our lives…
(what are some of the things that could rise against us?)
Should our heart fear them?
Psalm 27:5
5 For He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble;
He will conceal me under the cover of His tent;
He will lift me high upon a rock
Where should we want to be hidden in the day of trouble?
My Savior will conceal us under the cover of His Protection.
My Savior will lift us high to a place of His Security!
And, when life fails (which will happen for all of us one day),
He will take us to be with Him in Glory!
Psalm 27:14
14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
o The Scripture is our Resource
o Reliance on God’s Holy Spirit is our Empowerment
o Jesus’ Name is our Refuge
o Eternal Life is our Enduring Hope
o Wait on the Lord, let your heart take Courage!
Romans 8:35–39
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Comprehensive Plan of God
God Planned His Creation of you and me as Human Beings to be formed in His Image!
We have Supernatural and Eternal invisible spirits which have their dwelling in profound tangible human bodies, but these bodies will die and are not supernatural or eternal — incorruptible, spiritual bodies are still to come! (1 Cor. 15:35-58)
God formed us to live on this habitable planet with its own solar system, in a balanced dynamic galaxy – far away from everything else in the universe.
Every human being and everything which would ever exist is found in God’s profound “Tapestry”… His Comprehensive Plan – far more profound than we could imagine.
God has been, and is now, unveiling and completing the Plan He has formulated from before the Creation of the World!
You and I are appointed to His future Eternal Kingdom, if we know Christ!
May we daily put our trust in Him.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tisha_B'Av