God wanted to forgive them but could He do this unconditionally? No! Let’s imagine how God determined the formula for man’s salvation. Suppose there was another brother of Adam who, standing intact from the fall, would go to the Father and beg him to forgive his fallen brother and promise the Father that he would assume responsibility for the brother’s mistakes – he would be willing to be beaten, killed or whatever for the sake of his fallen brother. Such a sacrificial heart would merit God’s forgiveness and such a man could be called ‘saviour’ because he saved his brother from his sins. Such a man was Jesus Christ who came to restore God’s children, but whose abominable and cruel death on the cross of shame was the most atrocious act in human history and has caused all men to be targets of Satan’s vicious schemes to this day.

Such a person is supposed to be one who can receive perfect love from God – he must be triumphant over Satan and to sacrifice himself for fallen mankind. A study of the Bible reveals that God developed this kind of salvation providence calling forth men as central figures beginning at the family level with Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through whom the salvation of the race began. Remember his victory over the angel at the Ford of Jabbok on his way from Haran to Canaan? Jacob had successfully offered conditions acceptable to God for restoring man’s dominion over the angels, (suffering under uncle Laban for 21 years). For this he was named ‘Israel’ and was selected by God as the first ancestor of the chosen people (Gen. 35:10:,11) and (Exodus 3:6). After giving Esau all his wealth and worth, accumulated in Haran, he brought about Esau’s voluntary submission. The fact that Esau united with the man of God’s own choosing meant that for the first time since the fall God’s side had made Satan’s side submit.

Thus, the Israelites became God’s chosen people as a result of Jacob’s individual and family victory in subjugating the satanic side, setting the course for everyone coming after him – Moses, the prophets, the whole Israelite race and eventually, the Messiah Jesus. The history of the Israelites described in great detail in the Bible, provides the historical data which show the model course for subjugating Satan. Up to the time of Jesus’ coming, their history was the central history of God’s dispensation for man’s salvation and restoration.

The long awaited Messiah Jesus arrived on the scene 2000 years ago as the central figure of the Age. As second Adam (Cor.1, Chapter 15 v. 45), he was supposed to indemnify the failure of the first Adam the fallen parent of mankind. Naturally, no one can expect to find sinless parents of among fallen men. Such parents should descend from heaven and Jesus was the parent to mankind who had come in that manner. This means that He came as the true father in order to realise the earthly Kingdom of Heaven by giving rebirth to fallen men and restoring them to become children of goodness without original sin. A man is lying dead – he is raised to life; another is dead; his hearing returns; there’s a dumb man whose speech is restored and last but not least, a man over there who, blind from birth, is made to see. What more was Jesus supposed to do to make the people of his time believe in and accept Him? O. wicked and adulterous generation, who will save you from the wrath to come?

Today, Christianity, worldwide religion, has failed to separate itself from the satanic world and come into God’s true love as an offering to be used for the salvation of all mankind. As God has repeatedly had to do throughout biblical history, he will beat and punish Christianity in order to purify it and send the returned Christ as the central figure to a group or nation willing to be the offering at the world level to save all mankind. As Christians, our duty is to hate what Satan loves, to feel the love of God, and sacrifice for the sake of others as Jesus admonished before He left the earth. Through Christianity God wishes to unite all religions and cultures into one world cultural sphere, to put an end to religious conflict and bigotry, immorality and amorality and to usher in a world of purity and external peace.
Will we crucify Him again?
MEGAN ANDERSON