WHAT IF GOD...?

Thought-Provoking Reflections About God

Michael Caputo

Copyright © 2013, Michael Caputo (All rights reserved)

TO MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE, LEONILDA.

Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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OTHER  BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

The Works of the Flesh: Understanding and Defeating the Works of the Devil

How Not to Get  A Divorce

Seven Lessons From the Seven Churches of Laodicea

Who Are the Two Witnesses of Revelation?

Why Does Jesus Delay His Second Coming?

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1.  GOD’S NATURE

WHAT IF GOD DID NOT EXIST?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT REVEALED HIMSELF TO  HUMANS?

WHAT IF GOD WERE NOT ETERNAL?

WHAT IF GOD WERE NOT ALL KNOWING?

WHAT IF GOD WERE NOT LOVE?

WHAT IF GOD WERE NOT TRUTH?

WHAT IF GOD WERE NOT OMNIPOTENT?

WHAT IF GOD WERE NOT LONGSUFFERING?

2.  THE ANGELS

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT CREATED ANGELIC BEINGS?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT CREATED LUCIFER?

WHAT IF GOD HAD FACED A TOTAL REBELLION FROM ALL HIS ANGELS?

WHAT IF GOD HAD STOPPED SATAN’S REBELLION FROM ITS INCEPTION?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT CREATED MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL?

WHAT IF GOD HAD CREATED ONLY ONE KIND OF ANGEL?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ALLOWED SATAN TO TEMPT HUMANS?

3. HUMAN BEINGS: THE BEGINNING

WHAT IF GOD HAD DECIDED NOT TO CREATE HUMANS?

WHAT IF GOD HAD CREATED HUMANS OUT OF NOTHING INSTEAD OF USING CLAY?

WHAT IF GOD HAD CREATED EVE FIRST, OR HAD CREATED ADAM AND EVE SIMULTANEOULY?

WHAT IF GOD HAD MADE BOTH ADAM AND EVE ABLE TO CONCEIVE BABIES?

WHAT IF GOD HAD CREATED EVE USING ANOTHER PART OF ADAM’S BODY?

4.  FROM THE GARDEN TO THE EGYPTIAN SLAVERY

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT CURSED THE GROUND?

WHAT IF GOD HAD PREVENTED CAIN FROM KILLING ABEL?

WHAT IF GOD HAD DESTROYED ALL OF HUMANITY BEFORE THE FLOOD?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT INTERVENED DURING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TOWER OF BABEL?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT MADE ABRAHAM AND HIS WIFE WAIT A LONG TIME FOR A CHILD?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT DESTROYED SODOM AND GOMORRAH?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT TURNED LOT’S WIFE INTO A PILLAR OF SALT?

WHAT IF GOD HAD ALLOWED JACOB TO MARRY A CANAANITE?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ALLOWED JOSEPH TO BE SOLD BY HIS BROTHERS AND TO BE BROUGHT TO EGYPT?

5.  FROM EGYPT TO CANAAN

WHAT IF GOD HAD ALLOWED MOSES TO RISE OUT OF ISRAEL RATHER THAN PHARAOH’S FAMILY?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT HARDENED PHARAOH’S MIND?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT COMMANDED THE KEEPING OF THE PASSOVER?

WHAT IF GOD HAD ALLOWED ISRAEL TO GO DIRECTLY INTO THE PROMISED LAND?

WHAT IF GOD HAD MADE FOOD COME OUT OF THE EARTH, INSTEAD OF GIVING MANNA? AND HAD MADE WATER COME DOWN FROM CLOUDS INSTEAD OF HAVING IT  BURST OUT OF THE ROCK?

6. THE LAWS OF GOD

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN THE FIRST  COMMANDMENT?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN HUMANITY A SABBATH REST?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT CONDEMNED COVETING?

WHAT IF GOD HAD GIVEN ONLY THE FIRST FOUR COMMANDMENTS?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT SHOWN SPECIAL CONCERN FOR WIDOWS, ORPHANS AND STRANGERS?

WHAT IF GOD HAD ALLOWED PARTIALITY TOWARD THE POOR?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN THE LAND REST LAW?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT MADE THE SABBATH A SIGN BETWEEN HIMSELF AND HIS PEOPLE?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ORDAINED SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN THE LAWS CONCERNING SEXUAL IMMORALITY?

WHAT IF GOD HAD DESTROYED ISRAEL AND   HAD MADE MOSES A GREAT NATION?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT MADE TITHING A REQUIREMENT?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ELEVATED THE SERPENT IN THE DESERT?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN ISRAEL THE LAW  REGARDING CLEANLINESS IN THE CAMPSITE?

WHAT IF GOD HAD ALLOWED MOSES’ TOMB’S LOCATION TO BE KNOWN BY THE ISRAELITES?

7.  FROM THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN TO THE JUDGES

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ALLOWED ISRAEL’S DEFEAT AT AI?

WHAT IF GOD HAD SAVED JEPHTHAH’ S DAUGHTER’S LIFE?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ALLOWED SAMSON TO BE TAKEN BY THE PHILISTINES?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ALLOWED THE DEATH OF NAOMI’S HUSBAND AND HER TWO SONS?

8.  FROM SAMUEL TO SOLOMON

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT KILLED THE TWO SINFUL SONS OF ELI, THE HIGH PRIEST?

WHAT IF GOD HAD ASKED SAMUEL TO CHOOSE ONE OF DAVID’S BROTHERS BECAUSE OF HIS STRENGTH, LOOKS OR AGE?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT DECREED THE DEATH OF DAVID’S ILLEGITIMATE CHILD?

WHAT IF GOD HAD PUNISHED ONLY DAVID FOR     TAKING THE CENSUS, INSTEAD OF ISRAEL?

9. FROM ELIJAH TO NEHEMIAH

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN RISE TO ELIJAH THE PROPHET?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT RESURRECTED THE DEAD THROUGH ELIJAH AND ELISHA?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ORDAINED THAT ISRAEL BE TAKEN INTO CAPTIVITY?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT HUMILIATED SENNACHERIB?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT EXTENDED EZEKIAH’S LIFE?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT SENT JUDAH INTO EXILE?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ALLOWED THE PUTTING AWAY OF FOREIGN WIVES?

10. THE GOSPELS

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT SENT HIS SON TO BE A       PROPITIATION FOR HUMAN SINS?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT PROPHECIED THE COMING OF CHRIST?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT DECREED THAT CHRIST BE BORN OF A VIRGIN?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN US FOUR GOSPELS?

WHAT IF GOD HAD ALLOWED JESUS TO GET MARRIED AND HAVE CHILDREN?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN JESUS GREAT MIRACULOUS POWERS?

WHAT IF GOD HAD REVEALED TO CHRIST THE  EXACT TIME OF HIS RETURN AND HAD ALLOWED HIM TO REVEAL IT TO HIS DISCIPLES?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT RESURRECTED JESUS?

11. FROM THE BOOK OF ACTS TO  REVELATION                                                                        WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT INCLUDED THE BOOK OF ACTS IN THE BIBLE?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN THE HOLY SPIRIT ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT SENTENCED TO DEATH ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ALLOWED THE GREAT  SUFFERINGS OF PAUL?

WHAT IF GOD WOULD NOT ALLOW THE CATASTROPHES OF THE LAST DAYS?

AUTHOR'S OTHER BOOKS

WORKS CITED

INTRODUCTION

All sincere believers desire to love and trust their Creator but, because some have a limited understanding of God, their faith in Him is weak and frail. Knowing God deeply leads to loving and trusting Him deeply.  Delving into His mind, and reflecting upon His great works, leads to the realization that God’s love, wisdom and justice are without bounds.

God’s works among men manifest a Being who has a great plan for humanity that He wisely, and justly, advances in very effective and, at times, mysterious ways. In fact, on occasion, His works may even leave us perplexed and confused.  Yet, God reassures us that all He does — no matter how seemingly unusual — is based on love, justice and fairness: “I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:24 KJV).

This work was written to increase the reader’s knowledge of the great God. More specifically, it is meant to increase his/her understanding and appreciation of God’s character, His love for righteousness, His great wisdom, and His unending love. Above all, it is meant to strengthen the reader’s faith and trust in the Almighty so that he/she may turn to Him with total assurance in the fact that “He is, and that He is the rewarder of those that diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

To accomplish this aim, this book will take the reader on a journey through the Bible that will explore God’s nature and His works in a way that is both original and unusual. Each entry begins with the thought-provoking, hypothetical question, “What if God…?” and will then ask the reader to imagine a god who would have handled people and situations differently than the Eternal. Afterwards, the reader is reminded of how God truly is and the probable reasons for His, at times, seemingly incomprehensible actions.

For instance, we believers accept the fact that God is “longsuffering,” and this assures us that He will be patient toward our frailties. But what if God were not longsuffering? What if God were not willing to be patient with our rebellious and sinful spirit? If this were the case, what would have befallen humanity? Fortunately, the scriptures assure us that God is longsuffering, and many events in the Bible spotlight this great truth.

The Bible tells us that God destroyed the pre-flood world and only saved Noah and his family. This seems to be quite a drastic measure, and some skeptics point to it as an example of incomprehensible cruelty on God’s part. But what if God had not destroyed the inhabitants of the earth and had allowed them, instead, to continue in their degeneracy? Would that have been a wiser decision? Or could it be that God’s verdict was both appropriate and necessary?

Again, God appears to be very harsh when He orders Israel to totally eradicate the inhabitants of Canaan. Scoffers point to this as one more example of sadism on God’s part and insist that it contradicts the “God is Love” idea. But what if God had not ordered the Canaanites’ total destruction and had allowed all of them to live side by side with Israel, though extremely evil? Would God have shown more justice by doing that?

Moreover, God appears surprisingly unjust for decimating thousands of seemingly innocent Israelites, because of David’s stubborn sin.  Once David realized his grave mistake, he begged to be forgiven; yet God responded that His decision to destroy thousands of Israelites was irrevocable. Why would a God of goodness not forgive a repentant sinner? Most of all, why punish Israel when David was the one who sinned? Could it be that even this most perplexing event reveals God’s divine wisdom and justice?

In the New Testament, we take Christ’s dying for our sins for granted. But what if God had not allowed Christ to give His life for us, or if Christ had chosen not to come and die for the sins of humanity? In addition, Christ chose to die on the cross after hours of unbearable anguish. But what if Christ had simply died a quick death pierced by a Roman sword or by a fast-acting poison? He would have died for us anyway, but He chose a much more gruesome end. Could that have any significance in helping us understand the mind of God and Christ?

Lastly, what if God would not climax the end of our age with the horrific events described in the book of Revelation? What if He would, instead, orchestrate Christ’s return in a much more peaceful and much less catastrophic way? Would not that be much more appropriate from a loving God, or could it be that even the cataclysmic end of the age is another manifestation of God’s wisdom and greatness?

In this work the reader will see clearly that God’s actions are invariably wise, fair and just. No matter how seemingly cruel or unjustified, every one of his interventions, when looked at closely, reveals great love, patience, wisdom and justice.

This work is meant to be a mind-expanding and transforming experience. The author’s hope is that, by reading and reflecting upon God’s traits and motives, the reader’s understanding of God’s mind will reach new heights and that his love and respect for God will multiply. Most of all, the author’s hope is that by reading this work readers will be greatly reassured that the Ruler of the Universe is the best Creator there could ever be, the best Father we could ever have, and that humanity is in very good hands.

1.  GOD’S NATURE

WHAT IF GOD DID NOT EXIST?

God is, and He is the creator and sustainer of all life. God is actively involved in human affairs and has a great plan of salvation for all of humanity. This is the heart and core of the Christian religion. This is the sure foundation upon which Christians have based their faith for almost two thousand years. This is the driving force that has led countless thousands to offer their very lives by refusing to compromise with their faith and abandon their God. This is what empowers many today as they tackle painful challenges, suffer persecutions and confront death.

But what if God did not exist? What if God were simply an illusion?  What if atheists were correct in believing that the only thing that exists is an eternal universe that expands and contracts forever and ever from which life emerged accidentally?

If atheists were to be correct, the cherished Christian belief in a loving God who created everything and who reveals His will through the Bible would be a grand illusion. Consequently, Christianity would be just a fraud; there would be no God-determined right and wrong; everything would be, indeed, relative.

Within a godless society each individual could choose his own set of principles that he could modify according to his own convenience. The atheist philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre, expressed this disturbing reality quite eloquently, when he wrote the following: “On a shattered and deserted stage, without script, director, prompter, or audience, the actor is free to improvise his own part.”[i] The improvisation Sartre refers to would be for many rampant immorality, unbridled narcissism and raging competition. The French philosopher Voltaire adds, in the same vein, “If God would not exist, then all things would be allowed.”[ii]

Unfortunately this reality has already prevailed in our world during the past century with horrific consequences. Leaders like Stalin, Mussolini and Pol Pot have proven that human beings without God and His requirements can turn into ferocious beasts bent on conquering, plundering and destroying. History has also shown that man without God can bring about the enslavement of countless millions under futile ideologies that will ultimately result in oppression, cruelty and national and international disasters.

Fortunately for all of humanity, God does exist. Proofs of God’s existence abound for those who are open-minded, and want to look at the evidence with a spirit of humility. What follows are some of the main arguments that prove God’s existence.

God is the First Cause

Everything is in motion, from the galaxies in the heavens to our Earth and Moon.  Everything around us manifests energy, dynamism and changeability—that is motion. Back in time, all this motion had a beginning. Science refers to this beginning as “The Big Bang.” The One who created energy, matter and motion at the beginning is the First Cause: God.

Design in Nature

Design abounds in creation. This implies that there is a “Designer,” that is someone who is behind the amazing and wonderful order we see everywhere in nature.  The natural world abounds in design and purpose. The great many systems that operate and co-operate in the universe imply a Creator. Design abounds, even in the smallest organism. In the human body, organs are designed to perform specific functions and to cooperate with all other organs in incredible harmony. There is beauty and stunning design, even in the strangest of creatures.  All order and design points in the direction of “Someone” who willed it and who maintains it: God.

Miracles

Miracles have been a trademark of the Judeo-Christian God since the beginning. Countless witnesses have testified to and have written about God’s mighty works as they are recorded in the Bible. In the New Testament, Christ witnessed to God’s power by performing great wonders and by bringing people back from the dead. Later His followers continued manifesting God’s power by doing other mighty works, as recorded by totally faithful and truthful witnesses. As well, countless Christians throughout the ages have received miraculous answers to their prayers.  The source of these great wonders is the all-powerful God.

Fulfilled Prophecies

The Bible abounds in fulfilled prophecies that also point to God’s existence. For instance God inspired many prophecies relating to Israel, Judah and many other nations — and they were fulfilled. The prophetic warnings of captivity for both Israel and Judah came to pass. The punishments prophesied against other nations, such as Babylon and Assyria, were fulfilled as well. After a prolonged captivity, Judah was to return from exile — and it occurred, as described in Ezra and Nehemiah. After two thousand years of Diaspora, the Jews are back in the Promised Land, as prophesied in the Old and New Testament. Only an all-powerful Being can foretell events hundreds or even thousands of years in advance and then make them come to pass.

Jesus Christ’s First Coming

Many Old Testament scriptures prophesied in great detail the coming of Christ and many of the events surrounding His coming.  All the prophecies relating to Christ’s first coming were fulfilled in astonishing detail. Christ was the promised Messiah and God in the flesh that lived among men and manifested His great power before thousands of witnesses. Some such witnesses have faithfully recorded Christ’s great works, His death and His resurrection in the New Testament.

The Ten Commandments

Up to Sinai, humans were slaves to oppressive gods that demanded blind submission and offered no guiding moral law. The God of Israel revolutionized the ancient world with ten amazing Laws that had the inherent potential to bring about social harmony, mental peace and freedom from the disastrous consequences of sin. No human mind could have ever conceived such concise, yet powerfully transforming package. The Ten Commandments are from God.

The Greatest Minds Believed

Unlike what many atheists propagate, most of the greatest intellects of the past reached the same conclusion: God exists. The fathers of Science, such as Newton, Galileo, Kepler, Gilbert and Copernicus held a firm belief in God and openly professed their belief.[iii]

Most of the greatest writers, philosophers, artists and musicians also expressed total assurance in the existence of a Higher Power, and many lived very devout Christian lives.[iv] The greatest human minds looked at the evidence and concluded that there is a Mind greater than their own who created and sustains all things. Thousands of years ago, an omnipotent Being introduced Himself forcefully, and reassuringly, into the affairs of men as the “I AM” (Exodus 3:14). Consistently since then, He has given undeniable evidence that He is absolutely. He also asserts that He creates and sustains all things, and that He, and only He, determines right from wrong, and that, because of His love for humanity, life has great meaning. Lastly, this great Being promises a new Heaven and a new Earth as the eternal inheritance for all humans who are willing to submit to His will.

This is the first and grand truth of life. This is the sublime and reassuring reality affirmed by the Bible, supported by Philosophy and Science, testified to by dozens of truthful men who witnessed God’s presence and power and who wrote faithfully about it and who willingly died for it. This is also the glorious truth accepted by most of the greatest minds that ever lived. God is and, because He is, our life has great meaning and our future holds in store great promises of eternal life and glory.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT REVEALED HIMSELF TO  HUMANS?

The Creator, God of this universe, could have simply created everything and then could have stood outside of His creation to watch it evolve from the distance, without ever manifesting Himself to humans. In fact, this is the view of some intellectuals who hold that God is an impersonal force who, after creating the universe and humanity, chose not to get involved in human affairs.

What if these intellectuals were right? What if God had chosen to stay outside of His creation and had chosen to never reveal Himself to humans?

If God had not revealed Himself to humans, human beings would have remained slaves to primitive forms of idolatry unto today. They would have continued serving horrific gods who would have required appeasement in various and shocking ways, including human sacrifices. Zeus and the other capricious gods of Greece and the Roman Empire would have continued ruling supreme, as would have other Nordic gods and the various gods of the East.

Another result would have been that the two great religions of Judaism and Christianity would have never existed; consequently, there would have been no God-given moral laws to regulate human existence. Furthermore, the civilizing influence of Christianity over many nations would have never occurred; barbarism would have continued in various parts of the world with destructive consequences.

Fortunately for humanity, the Judeo-Christian God chose not to remain outside of His creation but became, instead, a dynamic and manifest part of it.  The eternal, spiritual God entered His physical creation and participated in events within it both directly and indirectly.

From the beginning, we are told by the Holy Scriptures, that He personally created Adam and Eve from the dust of the ground. He personally warned them about the consequences of sin. After their great transgression, He walked in the Garden and personally announced the penalty of death to them and all of humanity, as He had promised (Genesis 3: 8, 19).

The omnipotent God, centuries later, became personally involved in the lives of righteous individuals such as Enoch, who “walked with God” (Genesis 5:24). God personally gave directions to Noah about the building of the ark, in preparation for the worldwide flood (Genesis 6). The Great God of Heaven assumed human form and came down to earth to visit His faithful servant Abraham (Genesis 18:1). The fact that Abraham recognized Him immediately as “Lord” (V.3) seems to indicate that he may have had one-on-one encounters with God even before this occasion.

In the Holy Land, God resided among Israel and ongoing mighty signs testified to His presence.  More dramatically, in New Testament times He took the form of a man and lived among humans as Jesus Christ (John 1:1-5). After Christ’s departure, He came to reside within the minds of converted humans, so as to transform them into His own spiritual image (Acts 2).

This great, personal God also promises that in the future He will manifest Himself to all of humanity, so that all will know Him and His great power: “and I will be known in the sight of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 38:23). God, through His Son, will rule from Jerusalem from where He will make Himself manifest to all the nations of the earth, and He will teach them personally: “Many people shall come and say, come, and let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths” (Isaiah 2:3).

Fortunately for all of us, the God of Jews and Christians chose not only to create but, also, to be actively involved in His creation. Unlike what some intellectuals believe, He has entered this physical existence and has been an active part of it, since its beginning. Most amazingly, He became a part of this creation by becoming a human being, by living and suffering as a human being and by finally dying as a human being.  But the ultimate, mind-boggling news is that God the Father is planning to go one step further and  ultimately, personally reside among spiritually transformed humans in a new Heaven and a New Earth (Revelation 21).

WHAT IF GOD WERE NOT ETERNAL?

God is an eternal Being without beginning and without end.  The human mind, understandably, has trouble grappling with the concept of eternity, as we are finite beings who can only relate with that which has a beginning and an end. Yet the eternity of God is a fundamental tenet of the Judeo-Christian faiths and all believers believe in faith that God is eternal.

What if God were not eternal? What if God did have a beginning?

The obvious implication of this hypothetical idea would be that if He had a beginning He had to have been created. If so, another Creator, or multiple creators, would have preceded Him. Thus, throughout eternity an endless multitude of creators would have existed and we would have had no idea as to who the first father god really was. If there was a first father god, then he had no beginning and, thus, He would be the Supreme Being.

A created god implies finite qualities. It is difficult to conceive of infinitely great characteristics in a Being that had a beginning. Eternity, on the other hand, implies infinite qualities. The greatness of God becomes totally grand, when framed by a context of eternity. Only an eternal Being can be infinitely wise, infinitely powerful, infinitely knowledgeable, etc.

Fortunately, this problem does not exist for us Christians, as the one-and-only God Himself addresses it: “I am He, I am the first, I also the last” (Isaiah 48:12). In other words, there is no other God, and He, and only He, has been God forever: “Besides me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6).

Our great God has been forever and will be forever and ever. Unlike the gods of many religions of the past, the Christian God is not a created being. There are no multitudes of gods, making it impossible to know who the Universal Ruler truly is. The true God is one and eternal. He is totally wise, totally powerful and totally glorious and He alone is worthy of awe and worship. He “inhabits eternity” (Isaiah 57:15) and He invites us, the created, to join him forever.

WHAT IF GOD WERE NOT ALL KNOWING?

One of the supreme traits of the Judean-Christian God is that He is “omniscient,” that is, all knowing. Again, like God’s other traits, this is a trait that is difficult to wrap our minds around. Knowing all things, at all times, is a truly vast capability worthy of a great God.

But what if God were not all knowing? What if He, somehow, were limited in His ability to keep track of all that there is to know in the universe and in the heavenly realms; about the past and the present; about human actions and thoughts?

A God limited in knowledge would be difficult to conceive and be in total awe of. God’s greatness is in part manifested by the fact that nothing, ever, escapes his all-seeing eyes. The grandness of His laws rest also on the fact that no transgression can ever go unnoticed, that all sins are recorded and that consequences will invariably follow wrongdoing.

If God were limited in knowledge, humans would have limited awe and respect for Him and some might even be tempted to believe that their attitudes, thoughts and even some of their actions might somehow be hidden from Him.

The Scriptures tell us that the great God fills the heavens and the earth, (Jeremiah. 23: 24); knows all the stars of heaven and “calls them all by their name” (Psalms 147: 4). He has total awareness of the minutest detail and even knows the number of hair on our head (Matthew 10: 30).

No human action can escape His gaze. For those who think they can, the Bible has a stern warning: “Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord, and their works are in the dark; They say, ‘Who sees us?’ and who knows us?” (Isaiah 29:15). In the same vein, Daniel assures us that “He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him” (Daniel 2: 22).

God sees our actions and knows our every thought. He “searches all hearts, and understands all the intent of the thoughts” (I Chronicles 28: 9). In the New Testament, the Apostle Peter tells us that God “knows the hearts” (Acts 15: 8). Furthermore, he adds that “there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).

God, therefore, has total knowledge of every particle in the universe. Every human action is naked before Him and no thought or attitude can ever escape his awareness. He is, indeed, the all-knowing God.

WHAT IF GOD WERE NOT LOVE?

Christians take great comfort in the New Testament teaching that God is love. Such a Being has His creation’s well being at heart and does all for the best of His children. Christians, therefore, feel enveloped by God’s Divine love and are deeply reassured by the fact that their Divine Father wants their best, at all times.

But what if God were not “Love”? What if He were a self-centered, self-absorbed creator?

If this were true, can we conceive how horrific human existence would be?  Such a sadistic god would create only for his own pleasure; existence would be a stage conceived to only satisfy His every whim; He would have no reason to create humans for any higher purpose and he would have no desire to share eternity with anyone. If such a god had created humans, it would have been to simply get sadistic satisfaction from controlling them and abusing them.

We humans are blessed to be a part of an existence conceived and orchestrated by a Being who is totally motivated by love. The Bible assures us that God is love (I John 4: 8, 16); that He is a God who delights in loving kindness (Jeremiah 9: 24); and who is “abundant in mercy” (Psalm 86: 5). Everything about His essence is goodness and other-centeredness and no selfishness is to be found in Him.

From the beginning, He made everything in the universe with love, with the ultimate aim that it would all be “very good” (Genesis 1: 31). That “very good” creation was to be a special world for His last physical creation; a special gift of love for His children, made in His very image: man and woman. The Earth is “full of the goodness of the Lord” (Psalm 33:5), yet it is only a token of the future world God is planning to give to spiritually transformed humans that will, by far, surpass anything imaginable in beauty and glory.

Lastly, humans were not simply created to exist for a period of time, experience life, suffer and then die. He created humans as His supreme masterpiece with whom he wants to share all things (Romans 8:16-17). To accomplish this great aim, He sent His Son to die a most excruciating death, as supreme evidence that He wants humans with Him in His Kingdom forever.  As the Apostle John reminds us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Let there be no doubt, therefore, that our God is love and only love and that His aims are good and only good, at all times. Let all of creation be fully reassured and exult in this awesome and wonderful truth.

WHAT IF GOD WERE NOT TRUTH?

No sincere Christian doubts the truthfulness of God. All believing Christians know that, though humans may not be totally trusted, their Father in Heaven will never lie and that His Word can be totally relied upon. God is truth, He delights in truth and those who follow Him must be totally trustworthy like their Father in Heaven.

But what if God did not delight in truth, but in falsehood? What if He were a deceitful being who takes pleasure in creating grand illusions so as to deceive human beings? What if His Word were, consequently, not true?

Needless to say, if this were the case, we humans would be in a most horrible predicament. Our lord and master could not be relied upon; his word would not be truth; his promises would be nothing more than cunningly crafted deceptions. If this god were to be the true god, our future would be framed with anxiety and uncertainty, as there would be no certain promise of an eternal future awaiting us, even if he assured us of it.

Christians base their faith not only on the fact that God is, and that He is Love, but also on the fact that God is Truth, and that His Word and promises are totally true. This is a critical pillar on which the doctrine of God is built—on which our faith rests.

But is there any way of knowing — of being totally sure? The answer is entirely affirmative and the evidence is plentiful and undeniable.

From the beginning through to the end, the Bible testifies to the fact that God is Truth. When God revealed Himself to Moses, He was introduced as “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth” (Exodus 34:6). In Deuteronomy, we are told that He is “a God of truth” (Deuteronomy 32: 4). Similarly, David recognized that the great God is a “God of Truth” (Ps. 31:5), whose “word… is right,” and whose “work is done in truth” (Psalms 33:4).

Like His Father, Jesus Christ was “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). He was “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The Holy Spirit is called “The Spirit of Truth,” who would guide Christians “into all truth” (John 16:13). We are also to be sanctified through truth, and have been blessed with a special gift from God: His Word, which is “Truth” (John 17:17).

God is a totally reliable, truthful Being. This becomes evident in His Word, from the very beginning. He warned Adam and Eve that death would follow, if they would eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil — and He kept His word. He also kept His word about the certainty of the Great Flood and about Noah and his family being spared. He promised Israel deliverance from the Egyptian bondage and, at the appointed time, He brought Israel out Egypt with powerful signs. While in the desert, He promised that rebellious generation that they would not enter Canaan, and that the same fate would befall Moses—and so it was (Deuteronomy 34:5-6).

In Deuteronomy, God promised Israel blessings if they obeyed His Commandments and curses if they transgressed them. Generation after generation of Israelites witnessed the fulfillment of His promises.  Consistently, God blessed them greatly when they obeyed and consequenced them with great punishments when they transgressed.

Furthermore, God promised a Messiah who would come of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), from the line of David (Isaiah 11:1), to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), whose coming would be announced by a prophet in the wilderness (Isaiah 40:3), who would be “rejected by men” (Isaiah 53: 3), who was to bear “our griefs” and who would carry “our sorrows” (V. 4), who would be brought like “a lamb to the slaughter” (V. 7), and who would give his life as an “offering for sin” (V. 10), so as to bear the sins of many (V. 11).

Amazingly, the God of truth went a step further and declared the time of the Messiah’s death (Daniel 9:25-27); He also foretold that Christ would be buried in a rich man’s tomb, and that He would rise out of his tomb before His body would experience decay (Psalm 16:10)— and so it all was.

At all times, God has shown Himself to be totally reliable and trustworthy.

He has also shown Himself to be the antithesis of the father of lies, Satan, (John 8:44), who continually deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9).

Our faith, therefore, rests on a very strong and unbreakable pillar: the great God is truth; He is worthy of our total trust, and all his promises for this life and for the one to come, can be totally relied upon.

WHAT IF GOD WERE NOT OMNIPOTENT?

The Funk and Wagnall’s Dictionary (1974) defines “Omnipotence” as a “divine attribute” signifying “infinite power.” Infinite power is a mind-boggling concept we humans have difficulty comprehending. Yet the Bible tells us that God can do anything, and that nothing is impossible for Him.

But what if God did not have “infinite power”? What if, in reality, He did have limits?

If this were the case, this would, of necessity, lead to another question: How powerful then is God, and what are His limits? We could, also, reasonably ask: What is it that God cannot do?  In other words, the greatness of God would be immensely diminished and, perhaps, so would our faith and trust in Him.

As seen above, our faith in God is based on the knowledge that that He is, that He is a loving God and that He is a God of truth. Accepting His magnificent promises means, also, accepting that He is an omnipotent Being on whom we can totally rely today and for eternity. We believers trust God that He will resurrect the dead, that He will come to rule over the whole earth, and that He will neutralize the hosts of evil, including the Prince of evil himself. We trust God that He will create a new Heaven and a new Earth, and that He will bring with Himself a wondrous New Jerusalem of stunning beauty and dimensions where He will reside among transformed humans. Lastly we believe that God will continue creating wonders forever and that Christians will be with Him participating as His special children. The fulfillment of such wondrous promises demands a God with awesome power—almighty power.

Christians believe in and depend on the notion of God’s infinite power.  We are awed by the reality that God created our awesome universe out of nothing but the awesome energy that emanates from Him and that He exerts titanic power to keep it all running. We are overwhelmed by the idea that God would create an unfathomably gigantic universe containing an estimated 100 billion galaxies, each of which is made up of about 100 million stars. We are awed by the fact that He created all living beings out of nothing; that he created Adam “of the dust of the ground”(Genesis 2:7). Only a Being with awesome power could bring about the inundation of the whole earth (Genesis 7), the elongation of a day to allow Israel to finish its victory over the Canaanites (Joshua 10).  Only such a mighty God could bring the dead back to life (John 11) and His Son back from the dead into a glorious state (Matthew 28).

The Bible teaches the magnificent truth of God’s omnipotence from Genesis to Revelation. It is, therefore, quite meaningful that God introduced Himself to Abraham giving emphasis to this great truth: “I am Almighty God” (Genesis 17:1). Sarah, Abraham’s wife, could not accept this reality and doubted God’s promise that He could make her bear a child, being beyond the child-bearing years: “Shall I surely bear a child since I am old?” (Genesis 18:13). God took the opportunity to teach her a fundamental truth and asked her the following question: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (V.14).

Job had no difficulty accepting God’s endless power. “I know that you can do everything” (Job 42:2). Isaiah thundered the same truth to Israel: “In YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:4). God’s mighty archangel, Gabriel, reassured Mary when she expressed doubts about the promise that she would bear a child without any sexual contact: “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37).  Christ totally supports this same great truth in the New Testament: “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). Lastly, in the last book of the Bible, we read that the great multitudes of angels shout the same reassuring truth: “The Lord God Omnipotent reigns” (Rev. 19:6).

Who is the God that we believers worship then? Is He a God of limits? Is there any situation, any person, or any great impediment that can stop Him? Has any great leader of the past, or will any great leader of the future, resist His will? Is there any disease He cannot cure? Is there any blind, deaf, mute, paralyzed person that He cannot heal? Is there dead human being He cannot resurrect? Can believers ever find themselves in any seemingly impossible situation from which He cannot deliver them?

When things get tough, we know that nothing can prevent God from intervening and from saving us, no matter how serious the problem may be. “The Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear” (Is. 59:1). Believers have at their disposal the “exceeding greatness of His power” (Eph. 1:19) and know that He is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20).

God is omnipotent, and He is the God of the seemingly impossible. Nothing is impossible for our God!

WHAT IF GOD WERE NOT LONGSUFFERING?

Another great trait ascribed to the God of Israel is that of being “longsuffering.” According to the Funk and Wagnall’s Dictionary, the word “Longsuffering” means “Patiently enduring injuries.” The Scriptures insist that God is longsuffering with us humans and that He is not an impulsive, vengeful God who punishes people severely as soon as they commit an infraction.

But what if God were not longsuffering? What if He were a being who was quick to punish and hasty at dispensing judgment?

An all-powerful Being who created all things and who has given and sustains the life of all human beings has the right to expect total submission from men and to intervene as He sees fit, any time he sees fit. Paul asserts that we are the pots, He is the pot maker” (Romans 9:20). God creates, and He has the right to destroy what is faulty, any time He wishes to (V. 21-22). If God, therefore, were not longsuffering, we puny and exasperating humans would have been destroyed long time ago. No one would have escaped God’s wrath, as we all are deserving of total annihilation. Yet He has rarely exercised that right and, when He has, He has done so on perfectly justified occasions, after awaiting repentance for prolonged periods of time.

From the beginning of creation, we see that God has always been longsuffering. Though both Adam and Eve had sinned a great sin, God allowed them to live to an exceptionally old age, before they finally experienced the death penalty (Genesis 5: 5). Cain, also, was not immediately sentenced to death, after killing his brother Abel, though he was punished for his sin.

In the book of Genesis, we read that thousands of years ago the world was totally destroyed because of its corruption. God’s action was no doubt drastic, but it was definitely not hasty. Before the decision was reached, we read that God waited until the whole earth “also was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence” (Gen. 6:11). Verse twelve seems to indicate that before God decided to wipe out life from the earth He took a very close look to make sure degeneracy was truly all pervasive. “So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” (Gen. 6:12). It was only when evil reached its fullest that God rendered His final judgment: “The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold I will destroy them with the earth” (Gen. 6:13).

God’s longsuffering is also manifested in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Some may find the total destruction of the two cities as having been drastic, but few realize how long God waited before sentencing the two cities to total destruction. God could have intervened much sooner. After all, people do not become that degenerate overnight. Sodom and Gomorrah deteriorated over a long period of time. The longsuffering God saw the deterioration and waited patiently until the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah became “great” and their sins became “very grave” (Gen. 18:20).

Kind-hearted Abraham asked God if He would be willing to abandon His destructive plans, if only ten righteous people were found in both cities (Genesis 18:32). Surprisingly, God agreed to spare both cities for the sake of only ten righteous inhabitants. As the story reveals, not even ten righteous inhabitants were found.

Clearly much time went by for such a drastic level of deterioration to take place.  In the meantime, God saw that violence, adultery, fornication, debauchery and incest abounded. Nevertheless He waited until it was clearly time to cut out the malignant tumor. Before doing so, He most probably offered warnings through “righteous” Lot, who was a living witness of righteousness in the area for a long time. We also know that Melchizedek, “Priest of God Most High” (Genesis 14:18), was in the area and it is not inconceivable that He might have warned them as well.

Another wonderful example of God’s longsuffering is found in God’s dealing with the Canaanites. Though it is true that God decreed their total destruction at the hands of the Israelites, it is also true that, as with Sodom and Gomorrah, God waited for a long time to intervene, until there was no other solution to their debauchery. In Genesis 15:16 God tells Abraham what would have happened to his descendents centuries later. He tells him that the Egyptians would have afflicted his progeny for “four hundred years,” and that, finally, they would have achieved deliverance (Genesis 15:13). Why did Israel have to wait that long? Because, God explains, “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (V. 16). God, therefore, waited hundreds of years before the Amorites became degenerate enough to deserve total destruction.

God showed patience and compassion toward ancient Israel, by waiting a very long time for them to repent of their many sins and by warning His people consistently with His prophets, but always in vain. “Yet for many years you had patience with them, and testified against them by Your spirit in Your prophets” (Nehemiah 9:30).

God is longsuffering with us Christians as well. Christian converts often start with zeal and total commitment but, with time, the fervor wanes, and, often, their fight against sin becomes slack and defeat follows all too frequently. We Christians know better. We have tasted the love of God and know what is right and what is wrong; yet we fail all too often to maintain godly standards. Does God wipe us out, because we know better? Hardly. He waits and waits for sobriety to occur and even helps us along with discipline, if necessary, so as not to see us lose our salvation (Hebrews 12:6).

The parable of the fig tree, in Luke 13:6-9, is also enlightening in this regard. A fig tree (the Christian) bears no fruit and the owner wants it chopped down, but the dresser of the vineyard convinces him to leave it for another year to “dig around it and fertilize it” (V. 8) hoping for fruit during the next season. If, after much work and effort, the tree continues to be fruitless, it will be finally cut down. In this parable we are again reassured of God’s mercy and longsuffering. He, the dresser of his spiritual vineyard, is willing to help the fruitless Christian with extra help. Only after having done all that there is to be done and, only after it becomes clear that His efforts are hopeless, will He intervene and chop the tree down.

At the end of times, we also see God’s longsuffering in the fact that He even postpones the Great Tribulation, so as to give His sinful people a chance to repent of their sins. Thus, in the context of Christ’s seeming distant return, the Apostle Peter emphasizes that “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

From the beginning of time to the end of time, God shows Himself to be a longsuffering God. Though He is a great God of justice and power, He exercises justice with patience, always hoping that the unrighteous will finally repent. No doubt God will ultimately intervene to eradicate evil, but only when there is no hope that any change is forthcoming.

2.  THE ANGELS

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT CREATED ANGELIC BEINGS?

Heaven abounds with hosts of angels. The Bible does not give us exact numbers, except for a probable approximation of “ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands” (Rev. 5:11). These one hundred million plus angels that the apostle John saw gathered around God’s throne may have been only a fraction of the angelic hosts, as the ones present on that particular occasion may not necessarily be the only angels that exist in the universe. While the vision took place, hundreds of millions more may have been busy at work in various corners of the universe and on earth. No matter how many angels God created, He is the ruler of great armies of angelic beings with roles and responsibilities that have yet to be fully revealed.

But what if God had not created any angels? What if he had decided to do without spiritual assistants? After all, does God need angels?

God is totally self-sufficient—He needs no one. Whatever responsibilities angels have in the spiritual or physical realm, God could have handled on His own without any difficulty, simply with the power of His spirit. If God had not created angels, everything would have gone along without any problem. Angels are not vital to God, nor are they indispensable.

Why then create hosts of angels? Why would God surround Himself with millions, if not billions of angelic beings?

The answer to this question seems to be related to one of God’s central characteristics: God is Love. Being Love, God must, of necessity, want to share that love and must want to do so on a grand scale. God’s love is infinite. Such a magnificent being would not bottle up that much love and store it for Himself, for this would make Him a selfish, not a loving God. To share His love, He had to create angelic children. His love is so great that throughout eternity He created, without doubt, countless hosts of angels with whom He is sharing His endless creation and, perhaps, even the responsibility to create various life forms and to administer various components of the universe.

We know that angels are a very special part of God’s spiritual realm and that the faithful hosts of Heaven greatly rejoice at God’s greatness. Again, one may wrongly assume that God may have created angels to get praise and glory from them—sort of like some human rulers who surround themselves with sycophants that continually shower the boss with flattery.  God is totally at ease with Himself. He is complete and does not need any ego building. When angels praise God and they exult in His Greatness and glory, God takes pleasure in having given them great joy and bliss and in having shared special moments with them. God is continually flowing outward. He does not need that anything be given to Him. No praise or service can add anything to His greatness.

If God had not created any angels, He could have created and maintained creation on His own; but that choice would have been a glaring statement of selfishness on His part. The creation of angels is simply one more example of God’s desire to give and to share, and it serves to reinforce the magnificent truth that the Ruler of the Universe is Love, and that giving and sharing are the very essence of His being.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT CREATED LUCIFER?

The Holy Scriptures tell us that God created Lucifer, the archangel, as a glorious being who was “the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty (Ezekiel 28:12). We are told that he was perfect until iniquity was found in him (V. 15).  We are also told that he deteriorated dramatically and “became filled with violence” (V. 16). He finally convinced one third of the angels to rebel and follow him into a destructive path that led to his defeat and to becoming the Devil (Rev. 12:7-9).

What if God had not created Lucifer? What if He had not risked creating such a magnificent being with the intrinsic potential of some day choosing rebellion?

If God had not created Lucifer, existence would have definitely taken a different path. There would have been no mutiny on his part; the angels would not have been deceived into rebelling; there would not have been a war in Heaven; Satan and his demons would not have been cast down to the Earth; there would have been no Satan to tempt Adam and Eve and all humans who have existed ever since. Human beings, most probably, would not have embraced sin and, consequently, death would not have been imposed on humanity as its consequence.

Yet this appealing scenario assumes that God would have created man, even if Satan had not rebelled. But what if the creation of humans was, in reality, a consequence of Satan’s rebellion? It is conceivable that if Satan and his angels had not rebelled humans might not have been created at all. Some, in fact, have speculated that God created humans as mortal beings to be tested before being allowed eternal life and a place in God’s family, so as to prevent another potential rebellion on the part of humans similar to the angelic rebellion.

On the other hand, if God had created humans even if Satan and his angels had not rebelled, no tempting spirits would have been around to tempt them. Given this scenario, how would humans have been tested before being given eternity? Evil spirits are the instruments that God uses to test humans during a whole lifetime, so as to determine whether or not they deserve eternal life. Without Satan and demons there would have been no intensive testing and, thus, there would have been no preparation for eternal life.

Whatever might have happened, in spite of all of Satan’s attempts to undermine God’s intentions for humanity, we humans now have the opportunity to become all that Lucifer might have been and much more. Satan and his angels fell from grace and sunk into perdition. Humans, through Christ, can rise from perdition unto glory. Thus, the loss of the rebellious angels becomes our gain.

God’s great plan reveals His very special love for humanity. Humans hold a special place in God’s heart and He wants as many of them as possible with Him for eternity. It is no wonder, therefore, that Satan and his demons have such intense hatred for humanity, and long to destroy it.  Human beings are the new children of God and being God’s children they will inherit all things. “The spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:16-17). Satan and his fallen angels, fully aware of our glorious destiny, can now only watch with envy and bitterness.

Since Satan’s rebellion, it has been a long and arduous path for both God the Father and Jesus Christ. Undoubtedly, Lucifer’s rebellion caused much anguish for both of them. Yet God, in His great wisdom, was able to turn a disastrous situation into a great success story. He may have lost a glorious cherub and millions of angelic children, but He will gain multitudes of human children who will choose to honor Him faithfully forever.

WHAT IF GOD HAD FACED A TOTAL REBELLION FROM ALL HIS ANGELS?

Before Satan rebelled, he was able to deceive one-third of the angels to follow him and to try to invade Heaven, so as to attempt to dethrone God. The attack failed, and they were all cast down to the Earth where they have been doing their destructive work among humanity ever since (Revelation 12:7-9).

But what if all the angels had rebelled? What if Satan had been able to convince all the angelic hosts that God was, indeed, an unworthy ruler, and that a more worthy and capable leader was necessary?

Clearly, no matter how many angels had rebelled, it would have been impossible for them to defeat God. God’s power is infinitely greater than all the power allotted to His angelic beings. Yet, the fact that all, or most of the angels, would have rebelled would have led to some interesting questions about God’s nature.

If all, or even most of the angels had rebelled, God’s fairness and justice as Creator and Ruler would have been in question. After all, why would all the angels rebel, if God were just and good? A total rebellion would have been a reliable indication that God may have been an unbearable tyrant who continually oppressed and abused His angelic servants. Given such a reality, Satan would have been a just and heroic leader in a rebellion that would have been both inevitable and understandable.

But only one third of the angels rebelled. Most probably, most of them were angels Satan was in charge of and had time and opportunity to deceive. When the angelic war began, two thirds of the angels led by Michael, the other Archangel, fought willingly on God’s side, and won. They won, not only because of numeric superiority, but also because of their total commitment to winning for God.  The evil side was motivated by greed for power; the good side was motivated by love and respect for a just and loving God.

This whole scenario is very reassuring not just because God won over evil but, also, because a just God won over evil. In spite of Satan’s attempts to deceive all the angels, and in spite of his ongoing and deceitful arguments meant to pollute God’s name and character, two thirds of the angels resisted his deceptions and stayed faithful to the God they knew had proven himself to have been both fair and just. That is a powerful statement in favor of the God that made us and that rules over all creation.

There was war in Heaven, and only one third of the angels fought on Satan’s side, in spite of his deceptions and lies. Two thirds resisted his evil influence, and willingly fought on the Creator’s side, because they knew that God was worth fighting for. We can be totally reassured, therefore, that our God is a God of fairness, justice and goodness. This is why most of the angelic kingdom gladly submits to Him. This is the reason why a great multitude of humans turned spiritual beings will gladly submit to Him for eternity as well.

WHAT IF GOD HAD STOPPED SATAN’S REBELLION FROM ITS INCEPTION?

God, being all knowing, must have known about Lucifer’s deterioration and his plans to attempt a mutiny. His attacks against God’s integrity, and his ploys to deceive and embitter the angels must have been quite evident to Him from the start. Yet He did not intervene.

What if He had intervened, soon after Lucifer showed signs of deterioration?

This scenario seems to be logical and reasonable. Had God intervened and neutralized Lucifer from early on, God would not have had to face a rebellion from one third of His angels, there would not have been a war in the Heavens, all the rebellious angels would not have turned into demons and humans would not have had to resist their unrelenting attacks.

Why did God not intervene, then?  Obviously God could have intervened and could have neutralized Lucifer’s efforts without any difficulty. Even if He had no intention of destroying Lucifer, He could have banished him to a section of the universe, or to another dimension, so as to render him innocuous. We know this to have been a viable alternative, because it finally becomes implemented upon Christ’s return when Satan is neutralized for a thousand years, and after the Millennium when he will be banished forever (Rev. 20:7-10).

Why did God not intervene, then? Why did the Almighty not smash Lucifer’s army instantaneously?

Everything seems to point to the fact that the rebellion and the angelic war was a time of sifting between faithful and unfaithful angels. God appears to have allowed Satan’s plot to evolve so as to test him and all his angels.

God gave the angels freedom of choice, and He did not interfere with their freedom to choose, as He also did later with Adam and Eve and now with all of humanity. The Heavens and the future new Heaven and the new Earth must be inhabited by righteous angels and righteous, spiritually transformed human beings. The righteousness of the righteous must be tested at the angelic level, as well as at the human level. God wants in His eternal dwelling beings who choose to follow and serve Him, and who have been tested in various ways and who are found unshakably loyal to their Creator.

The angels were, therefore, tested as a result of God’s willingness to allow the rebellion to evolve and for the final angelic war to take place.  It was a time of great trauma, but it did clearly manifest which angels were worth keeping and which angels were to be banished.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT CREATED MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL?

Everything in the Bible points to the fact that the outstretched wings of two archangels cover God’s throne. This amazing truth is supported by the description of the Holy of Holies in the Jewish temple (Exodus 37:6-9) and by other scriptures in both the Old and New Testament. Everything points to the fact that the first two archangels that covered the throne of God were Michael and Lucifer. Lucifer became greedy for power and rebelled against God. Michael repulsed Satan’s rebellion with a huge host of faithful angels, and won.

But what if God had not created Michael the Archangel? What if Michael had not been around to counteract Lucifer’s mutiny?

God created both Michael and Lucifer to be the two covering angels. Both must have been magnificent beings, shining with beauty and glory and having great power over all the angelic hosts. The fact that God created two Cherubim to be two powerful generals over all the angels shows His supreme intellect and wisdom. God must have known all along of the possibility of a mutiny on the part of either one of the archangels and, probably, appointed two as a preventative measure.

Somewhere back in time, Lucifer started deteriorating. It is quite conceivable that Satan may have attempted to convince Michael to join him in the rebellion. If he did try, Michael refused to be influenced by him and stood on God’s side. There is a strong probability that, while Lucifer was fomenting the rebellion, Michael may have stood for God before the angelic hosts. The fact that two thirds remained on God’s side may have been due, at least in part, to his commitment to God and his efforts to defend God against Lucifer’s vile accusations.

Had Lucifer been the only archangel, he would have been the only intermediary between God and the angels. Had Michael not been around, the angels would have only heard one side of the story. Lucifer would have had an easier time deceiving all the angels into thinking that God was unrighteous and unjust, and that he “The Light Bringer” would have been a better leader than God Himself. Lucifer must have been a very charismatic and deceptive being. His arguments must have sounded quite convincing. He, most probably, promised the angels greater freedom, dignity and power, and many angels fell for it.

By also being close to God, and by being of the same rank as Lucifer, Michael could have effectively presented the other side of the story. The fact that the majority of angels did not follow Lucifer may be an indication that Michael may have been very effective in neutralizing Lucifer’s arguments, and that his faithfulness and commitment to God was an example that many angels were willing to follow. Michael’s character and truthfulness must have been well known and his word must have carried much weight. Thus, by creating Michael God created a being that proved to be a powerful ally and an amazing supporter. While Lucifer brought God much shame, Michael became a source of pride and joy.

Michael could have been tempted to join Lucifer on his quest to defeat God and rule over all of creation, but he did not allow lust for power to take over his mind. By taking God’s side, Michael showed both great dignity and strength of character. Michael is, therefore, a superb example to emulate. He was faithful to God from the start and has been faithful ever since.

While Satan continues in his perennial quest to deceive God’s children into rebellion, Michael remains God’s great general ready to oppose anyone who would dare rebel. Therefore, let’s always remember Michael’s example and, like him, let’s resist Satan’s temptations, and let’s remain forever steadfast on God’s side.

WHAT IF GOD HAD CREATED ONLY ONE KIND OF ANGEL?

The Bible tells us that God created various kinds of angels with startling appearances. Unlike what most believe, angels are not beings with human-like bodies and wings protruding out of their shoulders, nor are they little cherubic babies with tiny wings. The truth of the matter is that angels have bodies that are both unusual and surprising.

The angelic realm teems with various kinds of beings. In Revelation 4:4 we read about twenty-four elders sitting around God’s throne. Some have speculated that these elders are angels that have been especially chosen by God to act as His counselors. We know that there are “Cherubim” with four faces and four wings (Ezekiel 10: 14, 21). There are also “Seraphim” who have six wings (Isaiah 6:2). With great probability, the angelic realm abounds in shapes and forms, and this is how the great Creator decreed that it should be.

But what if God had chosen to make only one kind of angel?

If this had been the case, God would not have been the lover of variety that He is and this, of course, could have also given rise to questions as to God’s power and creativity.

The great God shows His love for variety at all levels. God manifests this wonderful reality in the many different kinds of minerals found in the earth, the multitude of trees, plants, flowers, fish, birds, animals and last but not least, humans. Everything in God’s creation shouts that God is a God of variety and endless creativity. This reality could not have been any less in the heavenly realms.

The angelic hosts abound with bodies that are amazingly different, and the angels described in the Bible may only be a fraction of what exists in the Heavens. God would not surround Himself with exact replicas, but with a great variety of bodies, looks and personalities. Therefore, when believers will be given the opportunity to see the heavenly realms, the variety of angels they will encounter will, without doubt, overwhelm them.

The greatness of God and His love for variety is shown on the Earth by the endless multitude of wonders within the animal, the plant, the mineral and the human kingdom. The Great God has manifested His love for variety in the heavenly realms as well. Some day, when Christians will inherit eternal life, they will be overwhelmed by God’s glory and they will be awed by the great variety of angelic beings as well.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ALLOWED SATAN TO TEMPT HUMANS?

Jesus Christ taught his disciples that He had been present when Satan was defeated and was cast down to the earth. “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). Since then, Satan has sworn vengeance against God and against God’s new children: human beings. Ever since Adam and Eve were created, Satan has been at work to counter God’s plan for humans by undermining God’s work among men, by insinuating that God is a liar and by continually trying to get humans to sin – and God is allowing it all.

For thousands of years, Satan has been busy at work “going to and fro on the earth” (Job 1:7), like “a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8). In the Bible, he is now referred to as the “adversary” (I Peter 5:8), the “accuser of our brethren,” (Rev. 12:10) “The prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2), “The God of this age” (II Cor. 4:4) and, finally, “The power… who now works in the sons of disobedience.” (Eph. 2:2). Satan is a formidable adversary of humanity, and he is bent on causing them turmoil, anguish and destruction—and God allows it.

But what if God had not allowed Satan and his demons to tempt humans and to cause them pain and anguish? What if he had simply isolated them in a distant corner of the Universe and had rendered them unable to influence human minds?

At first this thought may appear to have been the better way. After all, without Satan and his demons there would have been no temptation and perhaps very little sin; evil might have been minimal, and life on earth might have been more peaceful, joyful and prosperous.

We know that the Earth will experience global peace and harmony during Christ’s millennial Kingdom. We know that the nations will exult at the abundance that will engulf the globe. Thus, if God wanted to, He could have put Satan away, and humanity would automatically experience all the millennial blessings right now.

Given the overabounding human problems, this thought may sound desirable. God could have chosen to distance Satan and his demons from humans, but He chose not to.

Is God, therefore, cruel and sadistic? Is He using Satan to be an agent to satisfy His cruelty? Or is God simply unwise?

God knows what is best. He always comes up with the best of plans, though, superficially, they may appear to be faulty. God has His own aims and knows what are the most perfect ways to accomplish them. In this regard, He reminds us of a critical point: “‘for my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts’” (Is. 55:8-9).

Mankind is being prepared for an awesome destiny. Man’s future is to inherit all things and to rule the Universe under Christ and God the Father (Romans 8:16-17). God the Father will not allow evil to ever again enter the spiritual realm. Before humans become spirit beings, they must taste the way of the Adversary at the personal and at the global level.

God has chosen to allow evil spirits to roam the earth and to tempt all humans. God has given mankind the freedom to choose evil, if they so desire. Humans have chosen to taste of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil at the beginning, and ever since—and God has allowed it.

Humans taste every single day the results of their sins and the sins of others. Humans insist on drinking from the fountains of evil, and they are allowed to do so. God warns them that the waters from Satan’s fountain is poisoned and does so through His teachings and through the human conscience. Satan and his demons tell the human mind the great lie that sin will not hurt. Humans continue choosing to believe this lie and, consistently end up paying terrible consequences. The plan of God moves on. Humanity continues to see the horrible consequences of following Satan’s philosophy, generation after generation.

At the end of times, humans will finally look back, and they will see the catastrophic results of Satan’s sinful ways. Christ, fortunately, will return on time and will save humanity from total destruction. He assures us that “unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved” (Matt. 24:22). Christ will be the one to shorten them.

After thousands of years of experimentation with evil; of endless misery and anguish at the physical and psychological level and of catastrophic wars, humans will be ready to look back and finally admit that Satan’s way is destructive and worth staying away from.

To reinforce the lesson, at the end of the Millennium, God will free Satan for a short while, and Satan will immediately go out to “deceive the nations” (Rev. 20: 8) so as to again cause havoc among them.  God will make it perfectly evident, for the last time, that no evil rebellion will be tolerated, and He will intervene in a most dramatic way by crushing the opposition: “And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them” (V. 9).

After this most dramatic and traumatic of lessons, humans will have no doubt that Satan’s way can only bring about anguish and destruction. By then humans will have learned the eternal lesson that God is Ruler Supreme, and that He will not tolerate the existence of evil in His universal realm, and that He will finally crush all insubordination.

Therefore, if God had not allowed humans to be tempted by Satan and his fallen angels, a critical dimension in God’s plan of salvation would have been missing. Humans would not have had a chance to taste Satan’s way and its destructive consequences and, thus, would have been naïve as to the potential destructive power of evil. Most importantly, humans would not have tasted the destructive power of sin in both their lives and globally. The need for Christ’s sacrifice would not have been seen as being critical. God’s help in resisting Satan would not have been seen as necessary.

God is, therefore, neither cruel nor malicious. Allowing Satan and demons to tempt humans is a critical part of His plan of salvation. Without their negative contributions, humans would never have learned some vital lessons that must stay with them for eternity.

3. HUMAN BEINGS: THE BEGINNING

WHAT IF GOD HAD DECIDED NOT TO CREATE HUMANS?

We humans must understand that the creation of mankind, at one point in time, was not even a thought in God’s mind.  There was a time, back in eternity, when we did not even exist as a concept. Sometime in the distant past, the thought of creating humans arose in God’s mind. What brought about the concept we don’t know with certainty. Was it the result of Satan’s rebellion? Was it simply the desire to, in a sense, procreate and have a multitude of children? Was it both?

We do know with certainty, though, that somewhere back in time, after much reflection and discussion, God the Father and the Son, concluded that they would go ahead with the most important project they had ever undertaken: the creation of mankind.

What a providential decision that was for us humans. Were the angels involved in that decision? Did anyone oppose the decision? Was Satan, perhaps, one of the biggest opponents? Was it put on hold for a while? For a long time? Was the idea shelved and then reconsidered? For now, we can only speculate.

There was a moment in time, though, when the verdict was issued and God announced to the angelic hosts that He would go ahead and create humans, and that they would be a part of a plan in which both the Father and the Son would be heavily and lovingly involved. Man was to procreate into billions and would be given the opportunity to live forever as God’s special children, with glory superior to that of the angels.

But what if God and Christ had finally decided to move on without us humans? What if they had set aside their plan and had given a “no go” to our existence? What if the evidence weighed heavily against us, and another less risky and less involved plan had been adopted instead?

The very thought that eons ago our very existence was in the balance is chilling. The fact that we may have been shelved as a possibility is distressing. If God had not created us, there might not have been any need for the universe, for this earth. Adam and Eve and all the great biblical figures would have never existed – and we would have never existed.

Today we take human existence for granted. We also take for granted that our children exist. We take for granted that we have a life to live rich with growth and experiences. We take for granted that life has great meaning for all of humanity. Yet, once-upon-a-time, it might have all been scrapped.

Thankfully, both the Father and the Son finally and joyfully accepted the idea of our existence and it was implemented. We exist because God and Christ decided to share their love with a new puny, insignificant, fragile being who would have to rely totally on their mercy.                                       Our Great God loved us as a concept, way back in time and, more than ever, He loves us as a present reality. The fact that they were pleased with their decision is amply reinforced by the fact that they were both willing to go through the agonizing sacrifice of Christ, so as to save us all from eternal annihilation. That alone strongly validates our worth before God and Christ.  We are, and will forever be, therefore, enormously important to God our Father  and Jesus Christ our brother.

WHAT IF GOD HAD CREATED HUMANS OUT OF NOTHING INSTEAD OF USING CLAY?

Strange, isn’t it, that God would create the first human out of clay and not out of nothing, as He did with the rest of creation (Genesis 2:7). Why the difference?

What if God had made man out of nothing? What if He had simply willed Adam to simply appear out of nowhere, complete and alive?

If God had created Adam out of nothing, humans would not have had the opportunity to see God’s greatness as vividly as they do because of their humble origins. When God shaped Adam lovingly out of clay, He was completing the physical man as a foreshadowing of God’s involvement in completing the future spiritual man. God made Adam out of clay and gave him temporary life. In time, He would take this humble mold and turn it into an eternal being.

Had God not used clay to create the first human some critical negative ramifications would have ensued. First of all, we humans would have forgotten what, in essence, we are. We would have been deprived of the sobering and humbling awareness that we are dust and that to dust we shall return.   Also, Man could have mistaken his origins as having emanated directly from God and might have, in fact, deceived himself that he was a god.

Obviously, God did not want humans to fall into these two traps. He wanted them to know that they were a perishable creation, with a temporary existence and with no hope of any great destiny, unless He provided it. He wanted humility to be engraved in the human psyche from the beginning. Thus, though humans try to escape this intrinsic and sub-conscious inferiority complex by pursuing self-aggrandizing projects in manifold ways, the reality of being a decaying creation cannot be escaped.

Satan had been created beautiful from the beginning, yet pride filled his mind and poisoned him. Having become arrogant and rebellious, he persuaded one third of the angels to follow him, and tried to take over God’s throne. This was never again to be risked. God would not contribute to any future human arrogance.

Unlike Satan and his demons, we humans were made of clay from the earth and to earth we are destined to go back. We must never forget our origins, lest we make the mistake of deceiving ourselves that we are of any worth independently from God. It is the recognition that we are nothing that gives us a more malleable frame of mind that God can work with. Thus clay can aspire to become an eternal being, a child of God who will share eternity with the source of everything: The Almighty.

WHAT IF GOD HAD CREATED EVE FIRST, OR HAD CREATED ADAM AND EVE SIMULTANEOULY?

God, in His wisdom, decided to make the first human of the male sex. He could have made the first human of the female sex, but He did not. He could have made man and woman simultaneously, but He did not. He obviously intended to create woman as well, but He waited until later.

The Scriptures tell us that Adam was made first, because he was to have the leadership role within the family system and that the woman was to be his help mate. Paul tells us that this is one of the reasons why woman must respect the leadership position of the man within the family unit (Genesis 2:18; I Cor. 11:9).

But what if God had created Eve first, or simultaneously with man?

Clearly, if this had been the case, it would have been next to impossible to justify man’s leadership role. Eve could have, justifiably, argued that the leading role belonged to her. Adam, being generally physically taller and stronger would have resisted and much friction would have ensued.

Furthermo, if God had created both simultaneously, it would have been significantly harder to support the pre-eminence of either. Thus, the family unit would have had two equally powerful leaders. This would have led to power struggles and much friction and resentment. In fact, it may not be a coincidence that with the rise of feminism and the anti-patriarchy movement there has been a simultaneous rise in marital breakdowns and divorces.

God did not ordain two leaders within the family unit, but one. He did this because He knows the human mind and human dynamics better than all of us. Unlike what radical feminists and some intellectuals propagate, the patriarchy, though imperfect in a Satan-inspired world, is the best form of family structure. It is so because the Creator of humanity made it so.

Nonetheless, God made man to lead, not to abuse. God’s intention was for man to provide for and protect his wife and children. From the start, man was to reflect the traits of the Supreme Father, such as patience, goodness, love and commitment.  God wants leadership in the home, but the kind of godly leadership that protects, causes no harm and abounds in love and goodness.

God created man first and gave him the tremendous responsibility to lead in his home. He created Eve second not be treated as an inferior but to be loved, as she fulfills her duties as a help meet for man. She was also created to be a source of support to man and to be the primary nurturer to her children.

Though some humans have rebelled against the God-established order within the home, they have done so to their own peril and are reaping the destructive consequences of family turmoil and breakdowns. Believers know that God’s will was right and good from the start and that submitting to it will lead, invariably, to wonderful blessings.

WHAT IF GOD HAD MADE BOTH ADAM AND EVE ABLE TO CONCEIVE BABIES?

We all take for granted that man inseminates the woman who conceives and then gives birth to babies. This has been the case since God created Adam and Eve and this, too, reveals the greatness of God’s mind.

But what if God had made both men and women able to conceive children?

If both men and women could bear children, the problems would be many. Throughout time, man did most of the backbreaking physical labor and provided his protection for his family. If man could have also been pregnant, often at the same time as the woman, it would have greatly interfered with man’s role as protector and provider. In fact, at times both man and woman would have suffered from the sickness that often accompanies pregnancy and, in some cases both would have given birth around the same time. No need to explain how many problems that would have caused.

The biggest problem, though, would have been the dynamics that would have arisen within the family unit. Clearly, both man and woman would feel a special attachment toward the child they had carried for nine months and given birth to. Favoritism and competition would have ensued. All this would have led to friction, division and a high potential for separation. In some cases, in normal families, parents have shown preference for one child over another, and the consequences have been unhappiness in the less loved child and friction between parents who favored one child over the other. The story of Jacob in the Bible is one such example, and the results turned out to be very unpleasant for all concerned.

God, in His great wisdom, had the option of creating both man and woman able to conceive but, fortunately, decided to set it aside for a much more brilliant idea. God made the father very much a part of the conception of a child. The mother, having the qualities necessary to take care of children, bears them for nine months, gives them birth and nurtures them. To humans, "Mother" is the  sweetest word; "Dad" is the most reassuring — a perfect balance  from the Father of all perfection.

WHAT IF GOD HAD CREATED EVE USING ANOTHER PART OF ADAM’S BODY?

Not long after being created, Adam felt the necessity for a companion to share his life with. To satisfy this need, God put him to sleep, took a rib out of his body and out of it fashioned Eve. Adam woke up to find a beautiful woman who would be his companion for life. Our first parent was jubilant, not only because of Eve’s beauty, but also because she had been shaped out of his own being. “Now this is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2: 23).

But what if God had shaped Eve out of the dust of the ground like Adam had been? What difference would that have made?

If Eve had been shaped independently from Adam, the immediate psychological bond that took place would not have been there. Both would have been strangers who had to get to know each other and then, hopefully, fall in love over time. Also, we can safely surmise that Adam’s love and his protective spirit toward Eve would not have been as intense. Perhaps a spirit of competition would have prevailed, as opposed to a spirit of unity and harmony that God intended.

Adam and Eve were totally one from the start. They were literally the same flesh and the same bones. Knowing that Eve had been pulled out of his being, made Adam cherish Eve. Knowing that she had come out of Adam made Eve feel strongly bonded to Adam.

Christ tells us that this reality foreshadowed the kind of bond that God would like to see in all marital relations. This is why, He asserted, “...a man shall leave his mother and father and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Mathew 19:5). He wants husbands and wives to feel like a part of each other’s flesh; one unit for life, each totally committed to the welfare of the other, as opposed to competing and pulling in different directions.

The apostle Paul tells us that the powerful bond between Adam and Eve also foreshadowed the total unity that must exist between Christ and the Church: “For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones” (Ephesians 5:30). Christ, like Adam, sees us as a part of Himself and loves us intensely (V. 29). We Christians look to Christ, the source of our life, as our spiritual husband with deep love and gratitude.

Therefore, though creating Eve out of Adam’s rib seems to be strange and unimportant, it had great depth and carried long-term, profound symbolic implications. Only a God of infinite wisdom would have conceived such a brilliant idea.

4.  FROM THE GARDEN TO THE EGYPTIAN SLAVERY

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT CURSED THE GROUND?

The taking of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil led to disastrous consequences for Adam and Eve and all of humanity. The penalty of death followed hundreds of years later, and it has been imposed on humanity ever since. Eve’s childbirth pain was to be multiplied, and the ground was to be cursed as well. Essentially, life was to become a burdensome, grueling experience, until the establishment of God’s millennial kingdom on Earth.

God had promised Adam ad Eve that they would die, and He kept His promise. But he went a step further and punished Adam and Eve beyond simply dying of old age. The ground, which was to provide them with the means of survival, was cursed and their long life was to be filled with toil and sorrow until the end.

But what if God had not punished Adam and Eve as grievously as He did? What if He had only permitted the death penalty but had not cursed the ground and, by extension, human life?

Adam, we are told, lived to over 900 years of age. His descendents lived very long lives as well. Since death did not ensue immediately, if God had not added the extra life-long punishment, it would have been easy for humans to conclude that there would have been no consequences to sins, no matter how serious they might have been. Thus, God addressed this need by adding daily anguish to accompany the lives of humans.

God, in His wisdom, saw fit to make human life arduous and painful by cursing the ground. He clearly wanted mankind to be reminded, generation after generation, that sin invites curses, misery and anguish. Humans had to experience daily that independence from God leads to a struggle for existence and to an anxious life, and that following Satan results invariably in great stresses and sorrows.

Every nation and every generation since then has tasted the curse. Humans know that the basics of life are rooted in the soil and its production. The soil’s production is unpredictable, even where the land is generally fruitful, and even abundant crops are always related to exhausting labor. Nations that veer away from agriculture experience the “essence” of the curse by tasting exploitation and abuse in factories and offices where bosses are often demanding and unfair, where hours are long and exhausting and where remuneration is often incommensurate with the effort.

The curse was to last until Christ’s return when the times of refreshing would come. Those are the days when “the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose” (Isaiah 35:1). During those awe-inspiring times “the parched ground shall become a pool and the thirsty land springs of water” (V. 7), and “sorrow and sighing shall flee away (V. 10). They will be days when “the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine and all the hills shall flow with it” (Amos 9:13).

Since Adam and Eve partook of the Tree of Knowledge, the overall human experience has been and continues to be very painful. Humans taste daily the consequences of rebelling against God’s will and the curses that accompany sin. But, thankfully, God’s plan will soon proceed to the next stage when curses will be finally lifted, and blessings will abound throughout the earth.

WHAT IF GOD HAD PREVENTED CAIN FROM KILLING ABEL?

The first shocking human murder is described in Genesis 4. The event was exceptionally tragic for various reasons.  First of all, it was the first murder of a human being; secondly, it was a fratricide, that is a murder of a brother by a brother; thirdly, because it foreshadowed a harsh reality of human existence that has characterized humanity ever since.

The event is also meaningful because, for the first time, God does not intervene in human affairs and allowed the actual murder of an innocent person to take place, even though He clearly knew it was going to happen and witnessed its happening. God had warned Cain that sin lay at his door “and its desire is for you” (Genesis, 4:7). But God’s warning fell on deaf ears and Cain allowed his hatred to prevail, and “it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.” (Genesis, 4:8).

But what if God had chosen to intervene and prevent Abel’s death? What if God had simply warned Abel of Cain’s intent and had asked him to stay away?

If God had intervened, a different pattern would have been set for God’s relationship with humanity. To be consistent, God would have had to intervene every time a potential murder was on the way, or before any wars occurred. If God had chosen the path to intervention and prevention, it would have also made logical sense for Him to also prevent thefts, lying, fornication, adultery, and so on.

Some might say that this approach would have been more reflective of a just and loving God. After all, God’s consistent intervention in preventing evil would have brought about a decent, peaceful and safe world free from sin and suffering. This reasoning seems to be sound, but is it?

When Adam and Eve took of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they placed all of humanity on a path to independence from God and of slavery toward Satan. The Bible makes it plain that Satan, not Almighty God, is humanity’s chosen god (II Cor. 4:4, Eph. 2:2). From the start God has been set aside by a rebellious humanity, and He “gave them up to uncleanness” (Romans 1:24) and “a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting” (V. 28). Adam and Eve, and their descendents, were going to be allowed to taste the horrors of sin in their entirety. Humanity would learn the hard way what it means to reject God and follow in Satan’s footsteps.

No doubt standing aside and watching untold evil and its tragic consequences from taking place has been and is very painful for a God of love. Yet, in the long term, God is showing a kind of love we do not understand. We humans can only see the immediate; God sees the very long-term, eternal benefits.  He sees that the learning of this eternal lesson will ultimately lead to eternal peace and joy. Thus, He is willing to suffer along with humanity as long as, in the end, humanity will inherit eternal blessings.

God, therefore, is allowing sin to be manifested for what it is: a destructive, pain-filled choice that hurts perpetrators and bystanders. God wants humans to see the horrors that Satan-inspired actions will bring upon humanity.  The long-term lesson is that sin is destructive and that righteousness is, by far, the better way.

WHAT IF GOD HAD DESTROYED ALL OF HUMANITY BEFORE THE FLOOD?

For hundreds of years after Adam’s creation, humanity pursued a course of rebellion set by the two first humans. Sin abounded on the earth, but God did not intervene. As the centuries went by, “the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6: 5). And God concluded that mankind did not deserve to exist any longer and thus the fatal verdict: “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth” (V. 7). But eight people found favor in God’s eyes: Noah, his wife, his three children and their wives. Thus the human race was preserved from total destruction, and we are here today, because of the righteousness of the few and, most of all, because of God’s endless mercy.

But what if God had not spared Noah and his family? What if God had simply said, “Enough with these incorrigible humans; no more time will be wasted on them; I will destroy them all, once and for all”?

Needless to say, if this had been God’s verdict, the plan of God for humanity would have ended then and there; the rest of human history would have never taken place, and we would have never had a chance to exist, let alone long for eternal life.

But God did spare a seed in Noah and his children, and He did go on with His plan that later involved His Son’s coming to Earth and His death for all of humanity.

God and Christ must have a very special love for this very trying species called humanity, as both would have had a perfect excuse to scrap the plan and, consequently, not allow Christ to suffer all the agony He was destined to suffer.  Had Christ not been filled with unending love, He would have had a perfect opportunity to push for a “let’s-forget-about-it” approach so as to spare Himself the humiliation and the agony He was to endure thousands of years later.

The fact that both the Father and the Son did not scrap the human plan, but protected Noah and his family from total obliteration, is another stunning proof that God the Father and Christ are totally committed to bringing their plan of salvation for humanity to completion.  There is, therefore, no doubt that, no matter what the impediments and barriers may be, God and Christ want humanity to inherit eternal glory, and that they are determined to do whatever it takes to make it come to pass.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT INTERVENED DURING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TOWER OF BABEL?

After the flood, “The whole earth had one language and one speech” (Genesis 11:1). Humans journeyed to the land of Shinar where they found a plain and dwelt there. There they built a very high tower so as not to be scattered over the face of the earth (Genesis 11: 4).

The Lord came down and saw the tower humans had built and became concerned. This was just the beginning of a long line of great human achievements and, from that point on, they would have achieved any project they would have aimed at. God’s assessment was from that point on, “nothing they propose to do will be withheld from them” (V. 6). To counteract this trend, God’s verdict was to confuse their language, and to scatter them all over the Earth (V. 8).

But what if God had allowed humans to continue undisturbed? What if He had not confused their language and had not scattered them all over the Earth?

The human mind’s potential is immense. Scientists estimate that when it comes to storage of information alone, humans can probably store between 1000 to one billion times more than we do at present.[18] Our potential is becoming more and more evident, as humans from different countries pool their intellectual resources and achieve evermore-stunning feats.

Humans, unfortunately, don’t just conceive and create helpful technologies and innovations. Right along with the helpful ones come the destructive ones as well. Since early times, humans had the innate capacity to create the kind of technology that could destroy the Earth over a short period of time. The atomic age, most probably, would have been reached millennia ago; weapons of mass destruction would have abounded then and would have been used with disastrous consequences, long ago.

God’s plan for humanity involved a set period of time. Thousands of years were to elapse, before Christ would come to earth to die for humanity, and thousands more would have passed before humans would have needed the return of Jesus Christ to save them from total destruction (Matthew 24: 22).

God was compelled to confound the languages of mankind, to spread humans all over the globe, to keep their contact to a minimum, and to frustrate their communication by creating different languages. Had He not done so, humans would have wiped out themselves and all hope of salvation intrinsic to God’s plan of salvation for humans.

God could not afford to allow His great plan to be interfered with by the ingenuity and cooperation of humans. As always, He intervened wisely and, thus, His plan for humanity continues to evolve as planned.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT MADE ABRAHAM AND HIS WIFE WAIT A LONG TIME FOR A CHILD?

Sometimes the Almighty does things in very perplexing ways — even with His very special servants.  In Genesis 17, He promised Abraham an offspring through whom he would become the “father of many nations” (V. 5). Yet much time went by and no child was conceived. Finally, God kept His promise, when Abraham and Sarah had grown very old and were physically unable to have children (Genesis: 18: 12-14).

What if God had kept His promise while both Abraham and Sarah were young? What if He had not made them wait into their old age and had granted their wish much sooner when Sarah was of child-bearing age?

Throughout the Bible, God makes it quite evident that He is the Omnipotent God. If He had allowed Sarah to become pregnant while fully able to bear children, the conception would have been both natural and uneventful. Because of Sarah’s old age, Isaac’s birth would not have occurred, unless God had intervened. But God wanted all to know that Isaac’s birth was very special and, therefore, He made it a miraculous event.

Isaac’s birth was meant to give Abraham undeniable evidence that the God he worshipped was, indeed, the supreme God. God also wanted future generations to understand that He is the Almighty, the God of the impossible (Genesis: 18:14). Also, because in Isaac all nations would have been blessed (Genesis 17:19, 18:18), God wanted all to realize that He would be miraculously involved with Isaac and his descendents to the end of times.

God promised a child to Abraham and Sarah and made them wait decades until the possibility of bearing children had become impossible. When all seemed hopeless, God intervened and made it evident that nothing was impossible for Him and that, as He was miraculously involved with Isaac from the start to the end of his life, He would have continued being involved with his offspring to the end of times, in a wonderfully miraculous way, as well.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT DESTROYED SODOM AND GOMORRAH?

After His visit to Abraham and Sarah to assure them of a child, the Divine Messenger, and His angels “looked toward Sodom” (Genesis 18:16). Abraham accompanied them to a certain point where God revealed to him His plan to annihilate both Sodom and Gomorrah. The reason for the coming destruction of the two cities was the fact that their sins and their evil deeds were “grave” (V. 20).

Abraham attempted to convince God to spare the two cities, but their wickedness was so pervasive that not even ten righteous inhabitants could be found in them. Thus, God “rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah” (Gen. 19: 24), and “He overthrew those cities, all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground” (V. 25).

God’s intervention was, no doubt, radical. Because it was radical, some find it difficult to understand why a God of love would do something so seemingly cruel and destructive. After all, the entire population of the two cities was eradicated — and that included the old, women and children. To skeptics, such an all-encompassing destruction appears unnecessary and capricious. But is that really the case?

What if God had simply punished the people of Sodom and Gomorrah in some other way, so as to get them to change, instead of destroying them?

Let’s first understand the extent of the wickedness prevalent within the two cities. As stated above, God describes the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah as being “very grave” (Genesis 18: 20). One quickly understands how grave their sins were, by reading the story very carefully. The Scriptures tell us that, when the angels went down to the city of Sodom, Lot invited them into his home. We read that, upon entering Lot’s house, “the men of the city…both old and young, all the people from every quarter surrounded the house” (19:4). They then demanded that Lot bring out his angelic guests so as to “know them carnally” (V. 5). Lot, instead, offered to them his two young virgin daughters, but the men of Sodom refused the offer and arrogantly tried to force the two angels out, so as to abuse them sexually.

This picture reveals a level of depravity that is difficult to conceive. Let’s note that “all the people” of Sodom, “from every quarter,” that is, rich and poor, young and old, were lusting after the two foreigners and craved to rape them. Their lurid lust was also accompanied by both aggression and arrogance.

From this picture alone, we may safely infer that the Sodomites were a totally brutal bunch, without conscience and self-control. We can also safely infer that within those two cities violence abounded, as did other sinful acts such as lying, cheating, stealing, adultery and all kinds of sexual depravity.

Sodom and Gomorrah were the nest of a virulent, evil virus that was spreading quickly through the area and onto other cities. Evil has a way of spreading far and wide, when left unchecked. The two cities had to be dealt with, not only because their evil deeds could no longer be tolerated by the God of righteousness but to also prevent their debauchery from spreading far and wide.

The New Testament tells us that another reason why God overthrew the two cities was because He wanted their destruction to be “an example to those who afterwards would live ungodly” (2 Peter 2: 6). God’s intervention was meant to be so powerful, and so drastic, that all would hear and tremble. He wanted generations to come to know that His will is supreme, that He will not forebear evil forever and that, though He is longsuffering, the day will come when He will extirpate evil in very dramatic ways. Jude warns that “Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 7).

If God had not intervened, the evils in Sodom and Gomorrah would have continued, and it would have actually become much worse. As a result, the suffering that invariably accompanies evil would have multiplied; the influence of the two cities would have increased, and it would have affected a great many near and far; God would have been perceived as distant and uninvolved and, lastly, the great lesson of God’s ultimate punishment of evildoers would not have received the powerful emphasis that it received.

God’s intervention was, therefore, timely and appropriate. It shouts to all generations that God is a righteous God, that he will not endure depravity forever, and that He will finally punish evildoers by using, if necessary, very drastic means.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT TURNED LOT’S WIFE INTO A PILLAR OF SALT?

After visiting Sodom and Gomorrah, God had no doubt that the cities had reached the point of no return. The two cities were, therefore, condemned to total annihilation and only Lot, his wife and two daughters would have escaped. The warning to Lot and his wife and daughters was undeniably explicit: “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains lest you be destroyed (Genesis 19:17). Unfortunately, Lot’s wife dared to disregard the angelic warning, and looked back. As a result, “she became a pillar of salt” (V. 26).

But what if God had shown her mercy and had not punished her? Certainly that would have spotlighted God’s patience and mercy, and it would have definitely prevented the scoffers’ insinuation that the Judeo-Christian God is not a God of love.

Was Lot’s wife simply committing a small act of disobedience? Was she, perhaps, simply looking back, because she was distraught over her children that were left behind and who were about to be destroyed?

Unless Jesus Christ had brought meaning into this event, it might have seemed perplexing. Having been present, Christ beheld the events as they happened and was fully aware of Lot’s wife’s true motives. Thus, He warns Christians at the end of times to, “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32).

Why should Christians “Remember Lot’s wife”? Just like Sodom and Gomorrah, before Christ’s return the world will be saturated with evil. Christians are warned to come out of the world and not be a part of it. God gives us the following warning, in the last book of the Bible: “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues” (Rev. 18:4). To “share in her sins” means partaking of the horrendous destruction that will befall sinful humankind at the end of times.

The warning is again explicit. Come out of sin and do not desire to return to it. He who loves the world is the enemy of God (James 4:4) and thus a friend of Satan. Not heeding such a command means bringing upon oneself terrible consequences—like Lot’s wife.

Christ’s warning to remember Lot’s wife is a warning for us not to long for the sinful world we left behind. Lot’s wife was not simply looking back at Sodom out of curiosity, or only because she was distraught and made a fatal mistake. Lot’s wife did not want to leave Sodom and its sinful ways. Her carnal mind had grown accustomed to the pleasures that Sodom had to offer. She had become a part of it, and regretted leaving it behind.

How much had Sodom affected Lot’s wife? We do not know. We do know that since she had lived among degenerates, she had been influenced by them and did not seem to mind.

Contrariwise, the New Testament tells us that while in Sodom Lot “was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked” (II Peter 2:7), but there is no mention that his wife felt the same way. Could it be that Lot stayed in Sodom as long as he did, because his wife wanted to stay?

It may be meaningful to note that the verse that follows Peter’s description of Lot’s anguish over the sins of the Sodomites, also addresses God’s attitude towards two different kinds of people: the righteous and the unrighteous. “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment” (II Peter 2: 9).

All indications are that Lot (The godly) was delivered, while his wife (The unjust) was punished. God is consistent throughout time. He warns the unjust, and then He severely punishes, if they are beyond redemption. Lot’s wife was beyond redemption, and thus she was dealt with as she deserved. She was also an example of moral degeneracy and rebellion that we must not emulate. Let’s, therefore, heed Christ’s warning and let’s “Remember Lot’s wife.”

WHAT IF GOD HAD ALLOWED JACOB TO MARRY A CANAANITE?

Abraham was asked by God to leave his family behind and move to the Land of Canaan, the future abode of his descendents. But God did not want Abraham’s children to intermarry with the degenerate people of the land. Abraham, knowing God’s wishes, forbad Isaac to marry a Canaanite. Isaac, in turn, did the same with his son Jacob. “Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, and said to him: ‘You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan’” (Genesis 28:1).  Jacob was to go back to his own people and marry someone from his own extended family, and so he married his cousins Leah and Rachel who gave birth to the twelve tribes of Israel.

But what if God had allowed Jacob to marry a Canaanite? What if the twelve tribes had been born of a Canaanite woman?

If Jacob had married a degenerate Canaanite, it would have had potentially disastrous consequences. Jacob’s family would have become a part of a people whose extreme immorality and evil ways was a daily offense to God and whose destiny would ultimately be destruction. Sodom and Gomorrah had been eradicated, but the rest of the Canaanites were moving in the same evil direction. God had already foretold to Abraham that the inhabitants of the land would have been, ultimately, eradicated, though their iniquity was “not yet complete” (Genesis 15:16). Though not complete, the iniquity of the Canaanites was quite pervasive, and God did not want His chosen family to be polluted by them in any way.

Intermarriage could have led Jacob into potentially embracing the evil ways of the land. That would have led his immediate descendents into embracing idolatry and other immoral ways. Such unacceptable evils would have led to God’s pouring His wrath upon them within a few generations.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob listened to God’s wishes and were blessed. Later on, their descendents did not heed God’s warning and took Canaanite women to wife, learned the ways of the land, deteriorated drastically and, consequently, were sent into captivity.

God’s warning not to be “unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (II Cor. 6:14) remains intact into the New Testament, and it is to be heeded today as well. Not heeding it, can lead to spiritual deterioration, an eventual fall from God’s ways and, consequently, God’s rejection.

God did not want Jacob to marry a Canaanite, because the  holy seed was not to mingle with the degenerate Canaanites. God knew that rotten apples have a certain way of affecting the good ones. That was not to be, as He had a plan for Israel that entailed spiritual purity. Fortunately, Jacob and his sons followed God’s ways and God’s plan went ahead as intended.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ALLOWED JOSEPH TO BE SOLD BY HIS BROTHERS AND TO BE BROUGHT TO EGYPT?

“Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: Also he made him a tunic of many colors” (Genesis 37:3). This is the preface to a tragic story that led Joseph’s older brothers to hate him and to finally sell him as a slave to the Egyptians. The rest is a magnificent story of great trials, and immense final rewards for Joseph who, for years, had been overpowered by a vortex beyond his control.

What if God had not allowed Joseph to be sold into slavery? What if He had simply intervened and had not permitted Joseph’s brothers’ evil plans to succeed?

The biblical story tells us that, though initially Joseph suffered greatly, the end result was very positive for both him and his family. As the years went by, Joseph rose to the position of Pharaoh’s First Minister. Furthermore, the children of Israel were allowed to live in Egypt, so as to escape a deadly famine that was prevalent in Canaan.

On the negative side, Israel became a slave to future Pharaohs “who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8). But centuries later, God had the opportunity to declare his great glory by pouring his wrath upon Egypt and by manifesting to all the nations that He was the Omnipotent God.

Had God intervened and had He prevented Joseph from being sold, some of the most inspiring and meaningful parts of the Bible would have never been written. We would have never read about God’s miraculous interventions to save Joseph’s life and to finally elevate him to number two in Egypt. We would not have been inspired by God’s dealings with Moses. We would have never been awed by the great plagues God rained upon Egypt. There would not have been a crossing of the Red Sea and there would not have been a giving of the Manna. The giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai would have never taken place. The forty years in the desert and all the surprising twists and turns faced by Israel would not have been in the Scriptures. Lastly, the glorious entering of the Children of Israel into the Promised Land would have never happened.

The selling of Joseph, and his slavery in Egypt, therefore, was the introduction to a series of stunning events brought about by God to astonish future generations. What at first glance seems to be God’s perplexing unwillingness to protect a faithful servant was, in reality, a critical and necessary part of a long and glorious chain of events that introduced the Almighty to the nations and to generations to come.

After Joseph revealed his true identity to his brothers, he shares with them the following amazing insight: “And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Genesis 45: 7-8).

Truly God was the great orchestrator who directed the whole chain of events. He allowed jealousy to saturate Joseph’s brother’s minds; He allowed resentment to build and, finally, He brought about the events that made it easy for Joseph to be sold to the passing caravan and be brought to Egypt. From the start, God was totally in charge of the script, and made it all come to pass according to His great plan.

5.  FROM EGYPT TO CANAAN

WHAT IF GOD HAD ALLOWED MOSES TO RISE OUT OF ISRAEL RATHER THAN PHARAOH’S FAMILY?

The story of Moses reveals, from the start, God’s active involvement with Moses and Israel. While all the other baby boys of Israel were being killed, God inspired Moses’ mother to place the baby in an ark of bulrushes and to let it float down the River Nile. The baby’s short journey brought Moses to Pharaoh’s daughter who adopted him and who, unbeknown to her, asked Moses’ mother to raise the baby until he was ready to enter Pharaoh’s household.

Josephus tells us that Moses later became one of the great Princes of Egypt and that he was highly esteemed in the land. He had wealth, power and prestige, until God made manifest His will to him.

But what if God had not allowed Moses to grow up in Pharaoh’s household? What if Moses had simply arisen as the Deliverer from a poor Israelite family?

The option may seem quite reasonable. After all, it might have been very exciting and inspiring to see a poor slave become a mighty leader who brought his people out of slavery. Some heroes followed this pattern and became very inspiring figures.

But God chose to do things the ironic and unexpected way. He brought Moses into the enemy’s household, and had him protected by those very same people who would have wanted him dead, had they known the future of the child.

Had God allowed Moses to rise out of Israel, many important components of God’s plan would not have been accomplished.

First of all, by bringing Moses into Pharaoh’s household, God showed how he can skillfully heap scorn on the powerful and the proud. How ironic it was for Pharaoh’s own daughter to end up adopting the very child her father wanted dead more than any other in Egypt. How astonishing it was that Pharaoh would have as a grandchild the very enemy that would bring about Egypt’s demise.  This brilliant orchestration not only reveals the wisdom of God, but it also reveals His ability to manipulate events so as to humiliate the most powerful and the most wise. As Paul tell us, God, “catches the wise in their own craftiness” (I Cor. 3:19), and He does so, at times, in the most surprising and humorous of ways.

Also, if God had chosen to elevate Moses directly from slavery, one great test that qualified Moses for the challenging job of delivering Israel would not have taken place. Moses is considered one of the greatest figures in biblical history. Not only was he used to free the Israelites, he was also given the great job of leading Israel to the Promised Land, and was the one through whom God gave Israel, and all of humanity the God's Laws. Such a job required a man who was thoroughly tested and found to be faithful.

Moses had it all; he was a Prince of Egypt; he had power, riches, and lived in pleasure and abundance. In spite of his greatness and power, he answered God’s call and, “when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt” (Hebrews 11: 24-26).

Leaving all the carnal pleasures and benefits of being a Prince of Egypt must have been difficult. He left glory for the shame of being a slave; he left the carnal pleasures of sin for a life of abstinence; he left security for total insecurity. Moses proved to God to be the man for the job. Being a Prince of Egypt was, therefore, an ideal situation in which God could test the mettle of the man, and the results proved him ready and deserving.

Lastly, being a well-known Prince of Egypt, when the time came for him to appear before Pharaoh, Moses gained immediate access to Pharaoh and his court. The leading Egyptians must have been in shock when the valiant Moses, the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, stood before them as the representative of a slave people and of an unknown God.  Moses was back and was threatening the land with terrible plagues. All eyes were quickly focused on the man who represented God, as God intended.

Had an unknown, poor, ignorant slave attempted to appear before Pharaoh as Yahweh’s representative, demanding that Israel be allowed to leave Egypt, he would have been laughed to scorn and would have been immediately taken and brutally beaten or killed.

God knew how the drama had to evolve. Everything was perfectly in place and well ordered. All the steps had been perfectly planned by the Master Planner, and all worked as He intended. The human protagonist fits the part excellently and did all he had to do with perfect timing. The result is a story that is powerful in content, awe inspiring in its details, and very reassuring in its results.

The Great Ruler of Life is indeed a God of great wisdom, and His plan here on earth evolves in the best possible ways. The ones He chooses to participate in his plan are the best possible candidates, and the results invariably follow His intended ends. He is a mighty and brilliant orchestrator — He is the Almighty, all wise God.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT HARDENED PHARAOH’S MIND?

The manifestation of Moses, Prince of Egypt, as the Deliverer must have been a shock to all Egyptians. Moses, the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, was turning against Egypt and was demanding the liberation of millions of slaves. As the biblical narrative reveals, the new Pharaoh reacted with absolute refusal and continued to do so, even though the God of Moses manifested His undeniable superiority to all the gods of Egypt.

The book of Exodus reveals that Pharaoh’s irrational, self-destructive attitude was God inspired. “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 7: 3-4).  As a result, great destruction befell the mighty Egyptian nation, until the people of Egypt begged Israel to leave.

But what if God had not hardened Pharaoh’s heart? What if He had allowed Pharaoh to witness the first plagues, and had become quickly convinced that it would have been futile, and suicidal, to resist such a mighty Being? Or why not simply give Israel favor by softening Pharaoh’s heart, and thus making the departure less dramatic?

The answer to these valid questions is that, had God made Israel’s liberation easy and uneventful, several critical and necessary aspects in God’s plan would have been left unaccomplished.

First of all, the great judgment of God would not have befallen a terribly sinful nation.  Egypt was a very idolatrous and degenerate nation. In fact, in Leviticus 18:3 God commands Israel not to emulate the Egyptians. “According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do.”  The rest of the chapter lists heinous sins that were quite common among the pagan nations of the time and that invariably invite God’s mighty judgment. The Egyptians, like the Canaanites, had reached their fill of sin, and God was ready to judge them with horrific punishments.

Secondly, the Egyptians had treated the Israelites harshly and cruelly. They had turned all of Israel into a nation of slaves and had, on certain occasions, such as the killing of the baby boys of Israel, shown callous cruelty. God remembered, and gave Egypt a just recompense.

Thirdly, Israel was being reintroduced to its great God, after four hundred years of separation. Because they were slaves, and because they lacked religious leadership, they had lost most, if not all remembrance of God’s ways. God needed to make it abundantly clear to them that He was their God and the supreme God of all the Earth as well. He also had to give undeniable evidence that He was superior to all the Gods of Egypt, and that He, and only He, was the ruler of all the Earth.

Furthermore, God had to show Israel that He was Lord and Savior; that He delivers the weak from the strong; and that great salvation belongs to Him only. This great truth was especially reinforced by protecting Israel from the great plagues, by sparing the Firstborn of Israel, and by protecting Israel from the pursuing, invincible Egyptian army.

Lastly, the great wonders God performed in Egypt were to remain as signs of His great power for all generations — including our own.

If God had not hardened Pharaoh’s heart, all of these critical factors would not have been addressed. But all were addressed within a short period of time, simply because God, in His great wisdom, made the heart of one man impenetrable.

By hardening Pharaoh’s heart, God punished Egypt as it well deserved; He manifested Himself as the Supreme Ruler of Heaven, and Earth and as the Savior and protector of Israel; His great works were recorded so that Israelites and Christians would be reminded perennially of His mighty acts and of His mighty judgments over evil.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT COMMANDED THE KEEPING OF THE PASSOVER?

One of the most profound and significant events in the Bible is the establishment of the Passover as an eternal institution, as described in Exodus 12. On the tenth day of the first month of the Hebrew calendar, each Israelite household was to take a lamb without blemish and keep it until the fourteenth day. At twilight, they were to kill it and then they were to take some of its blood and smear it on the doorposts and the lintel of their house were the lamb was being eaten (Exodus 12: 1-7).

This action led to the protection of all the firstborn of Israel, while the angel of death was killing the firstborn of Egypt. Thus, in commemoration of this great event, Israel was to keep the Passover from generation to generation.

But what if God had not ordered the killing of the Passover lamb as described in the book of Exodus and, consequently, had not ordained the commemoration of that event throughout all generations?

Obviously, had this been the case, the firstborn of Israel would not have been spared. Of course God could have simply ordered the death angel to pass by the Israelites’ homes and concentrate only on the Egyptians. The Israelites could have been ordered to commemorate the event in some other way, rather than the yearly killing of a multitude of gentle lambs. But He chose the more dramatic and memorable way for a special reason.

Christians who understand typology know that the killing of the lamb represented much more than just the sparing of the Israelite firstborn. The Passover not only looks back to a time of physical protection, it also looks forward to a time of spiritual protection, as a result of the great spiritual lamb: Jesus Christ.

The Passover foreshadowed Jesus Christ, “the lamb without blemish… foreordained before the foundation of the world” (I Peter 1: 19-20). That precious Lamb was to be sacrificed “to bear the sins of many” (Matthew 26:28, Hebrews 9:28),  so that we might be delivered “from the wrath to come” (I Thess.1:10).

To give total and undeniable evidence that Christ was the fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover, God orchestrated the events, so as to bring about the sacrifice of Christ on the day and the hour when the Passover was killed (Matthew 27:46-59). Thus, the New Testament Passover Lamb was sacrificed and, as a result of His shed blood, the death angel spares those who now believe.

If God had not instituted the Passover, the truth of Christ’s sacrifice as the Lamb of God who died for the sins of the world would not have been as powerfully demonstrated. Also the grand design of God’s plan would not have been as astonishingly evident. All along God has given foretastes of what is to come with brilliant typologies, and He has brought about their fulfillment with perfect timing.

WHAT IF GOD HAD ALLOWED ISRAEL TO GO                DIRECTLY INTO THE PROMISED LAND?

When Israel came out of Egypt, the people had no idea that their dramatic departure was going to be just the beginning of a very long journey. Rather than marching directly into Canaan, God made the bewildered nation roam around the desert for decades.

But what if God had allowed Israel to go directly into the Promised Land? Would not that have been a more merciful thing to do for a people that had just left slavery and was longing for its own land where to settle?

In Deuteronomy 8 we find several reasons why God decided to postpone the occupation of Canaan.

The first reason is that Israel needed testing. God needed to know if they were truly worthy of the land that flowed with milk and honey, and if they were deserving of being His representatives on earth. “And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not” (Deuteronomy 8: 2).

The second reason is the fact that God wanted Israel to learn the lesson that in this life total obedience to God is the most important thing, and that obeying God leads to wonderful benefits. “So He humbled you and allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord” (V.3).

The third lesson Israel needed to learn is that God is a miraculous provider of his people’s needs. Thus, Israel’s clothing did not get old for forty years (V. 4), and their health was protected so that not even their feet swelled in spite of all the walking (V. 4).

The fourth lesson was the fact that God loved His people and that chastening was only for its own benefit. “So you should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you” (V. 5). The aim of the chastening was to lead Israel into keeping “the commandments of the Lord… to walk in His ways and to fear Him” (V.6).

Lastly, the final lesson was that if Israel obeyed God He would bless them in the end with a land overflowing with abundance where they would “lack nothing” (V. 7- 9).

These lessons were critical for Israel to learn and for Christians as well, since God is the same today as He was then.

When he calls Christians out of this world, He essentially allows them to go through their wilderness and tests their faithfulness. Paul tells us that what happened to Israel was recorded “for our admonition on whom the ends of the ages have come” (I Corinthians 10: 11), and that we should not sin as they did (V. 1- 9).

In Matthew 4:4, Christ, in response to Satan’s temptation, reiterated the critical importance of living by every word of God: “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” What was true for Israel is true for Christians and all of mankind. A truly abundant and healthy life is contingent upon total submission to God, the author of life.

The New Testament fully supports the third lesson as well where we are told that it is God who provides for the needs of his chosen ones. “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ” (Philippians 4: 19). God want us to have “sufficiency in all things” so as to abound in “every good work” (II Corinthians 9:8).

Chastening for the good of the chastened is as much a reality for Christians as it was for ancient Israel. “For whom the Lord Loves He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives” (Hebrews 12: 6).

Finally, just as the end result of the prolonged test was a land of plenty for Israel, Christians will be rewarded for their enduring faithfulness with a Kingdom of eternal bliss where they will also lack nothing. But Christians’ reward is greater than Israel’s, for they will inherit eternal life (II Corinthians 5:1-2), and they will be with Jesus Christ and the Father forever.

It should be quite evident, therefore, that not allowing Israel to enter the Promised Land immediately was critical in testing and preparing Israel for its reward. The decision also created a reference point for Christians who are now God’s spiritual called-out-ones, the New Israel, bound for its eternal Promised Land.

WHAT IF GOD HAD MADE FOOD COME OUT OF THE EARTH, INSTEAD OF GIVING MANNA AND HAD MADE WATER COME DOWN FROM CLOUDS INSTEAD OF HAVING IT  BURST OUT OF THE ROCK?

As Israel entered its long journey through the Sinai Desert, food and water became scarce. The Israelites complained, and God immediately made manna come down from heaven, so as to give evidence of His great power and concern (Exodus 16).

This strange food that looked like fine frost and tasted very sweet, fell from the sky daily, except for the Sabbath. Israel was well fed and well nourished by their Savior God.

Nonetheless, it does seem strange that God would use food from heaven to feed Israel as opposed to creating fruit trees and vegetables right out of the ground.

What if God had used natural, common food, like fruits and vegetables, instead of manna? Would that not have been more sensible and satisfying for the Israelites?

From the start, God wanted Israel to know that they were dealing with the greatest power in the universe. Each of the plagues that fell upon Egypt was evidence that this God had unimaginable powers. The opening of the Red Sea also reinforced this reality dramatically.

Clearly, making trees and vegetables come out of the ground would have had a very convincing effect on the people, but to God that was not enough. God showed Israel that He could provide for them daily with food that was of the most miraculous kind: food that did not come from the ground but from above, and this food would have been of a kind that had never existed before –clearly a miracle beyond imaginable miracles.

This truth was reinforced later on by another astounding miracle having to do with water. When Israel reached the Wilderness of Sin, the people became thirsty and complained to Moses (Exodus 17). Moses “cried out to the Lord” (V. 4), and God told Moses to go to the rock in Horeb, and then God said: “You shall strike the rock and water will come out of it, that the people may drink” (Exodus 17: 6).

Once again, we see that God chose a very unusual and totally unexpected way to create water. He did not create clouds and made them pour rain, nor did he make water gush out of the underground. He chose the most unlikely way to provide water: He made water gush out of a dry, hard boulder.

The message was, once again, the same as with the manna. Israel was dealing with a mighty Being that could do the virtually impossible, and the totally unexpected. Thus Israel would learn that their Savoir was, indeed, The Almighty.

According to the New Testament, all of these events were to be recorded, so as to teach the same lessons to another group of called out ones: Christians. Paul explains: “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (I Corinthians 10: 11).

As we read about God’s heavenly food, water that gushed out of a boulder and the other astonishing events that occurred in the Old Testament, we Christians must remember that nothing is impossible for the Almighty, and that He can answer any of our prayers in the most unexpected and miraculous of ways

6. THE LAWS OF GOD

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN THE FIRST               COMMANDMENT?

One of the greatest events in human history took place during Israel’s exodus to the Promised Land. Once Mount Sinai was reached, God asked Moses to climb it and there He gave him the greatest set of laws humans had ever known: The Ten Commandments. The first of these Ten Commandments asserts the total supremacy of Yahweh as the one and only God. Thus, in one fell swoop, all the myriads of gods worshipped on earth were declared nothing but illusions.

But what if God had not introduced Himself to humanity as the only Supreme Being who alone is worthy of worship? What if humanity had never been blessed with this revolutionary concept?

Throughout its history, humanity was cursed with the worship of a multitude of fearsome and cruel Gods. The only known example of an attempt at Monotheism happened in Egypt where Pharaoh Akhenaton set up Sun worship.  His attempt proved to be short lived and futile for, after a brief while, he was overthrown and all his efforts at elevating Monotheism were erased.

Few people fully understand how revolutionary the introduction of this Commandment truly was. Up to Moses, human beings, with the exception of the few that God had revealed Himself to, had been slaves to horrific beings who had to be continually appeased in manifold ways, including human sacrifices. The manifestation of the one true God marked the beginning of the end of all the ancient gods. Joy Davidman eloquently captures this dramatic overturn in her book, Smoke on the Mountain, with the following statement: “... the belief in one God…laid the axe to sacred trees watered by the blood of virgins, it smashed the child-eating furnaces of  Moloch, and smashed the gem-encrusted statues of the peevish divinities…served by Greece and Rome.”[v]

Unlike Pagan gods, the God of Israel was neither cruel nor immoral. He insisted on faithfulness to Him alone, but He also demanded righteousness and love toward one's neighbor.

The first commandment was, therefore, the grand opening to a brand-new era that was to last perennially, and that would bring about freedom from psychologically oppressive and socially destructive ideas that had enslaved humanity for generations.  It also introduced to Israel, and later to humanity,  a supreme God who is outside of the physical creation, and who will not bear the worship of other false gods.

Therefore, if Monotheism had not been introduced, humanity would have continued to worship and to endure the oppression of a multitude of ghoulish gods that gave nothing and demanded much. Most of all, humanity would not have known the true God, a Being who desires and practices holiness, and who has the best for humanity at heart.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN HUMANITY A SABBATH REST?

Before God thundered the Sabbath commandment, humans had no God-imposed, cyclical, weekly pause to restore them spiritually, mentally and physically. No doubt, there were "almost universal customs of keeping days of rest,"[vi] but it's difficult to know to what extent they were kept, or how they were kept. Some have speculated that the Sabbath finds its roots in the Babylonian "Dies Nefasti" that were kept on the seventh, fourteenth, twenty-first and twenty-eighth days of some months.  This hypothesis is weakened by the fact that the Babylonians had "five-day" week cycles, and by the fact that Babylonian tablets indicate that work projects had no interruption on the seventh day.[vii] The Sabbath was a day of rest and joy,[viii] while the Babylonian "Dies Nefasti" were days of prohibitions, especially for kings. [ix] Any supposed similarity with the Akkadian "shappatu/shapattu" holds little weight, as it was the fifteenth day of the month, the day of the full moon.[x] This day is now believed to have been a propitious day in which the king sought to appease the gods, but there is no evidence that it was a day of cessation of work.[xi]

God thundered: “You will keep the seventh day holy,” and He insisted that the Sabbath be a day of rest for strangers, for slaves and even for animals. The God who made all life knew that a cyclical day was critical for the well being of all human beings and even for the animals that toiled for them.

But what if the Sabbath Day had never been given? What if humanity had not been introduced to the concept of a cyclical rest?

Let’s first of all look at the reasons for the giving of the Sabbath, and it will become quite clear what its absence would have led to and, consequently, where disregard of its value will finally lead societies that refuse to sanctify it.

The Sabbath was to remind Israel that Yahweh, who created all things, and who had delivered them from Egypt, was their Savior and God, and that they had to set aside sacred time to "reconnect" with Him weekly so as to maintain a strong spiritual relationship. Today it is meant to remind all of humanity that God is the only One that can give humanity freedom from the toils and illusions that it continually and vainly pursues.

The keeping of the Sabbath was to be a day that celebrates the dignity of man, the epitome of Gods physical creation.  Among all living beings, man has been given the privilege of knowing God and of enjoying a special relationship with Him.  This physical being also has the special opportunity to meet with His Creator weekly so as to be instructed in His ways and thus deepen his knowledge of Him.

The Sabbath is to be a day of joy, not a gloomy day of bad omen, as celebrated by the Babylonians. It is especially a day of joy for the weak and the oppressed, such as workers and even animals (Exodus 20:10, Deuteronomy 5:14). God demands that employers allow their workers to take a breather, one day a week. This is not an "only-if- you-see-fit" principle. It is a divine command from the highest power of all.

Can we see how benevolent and how divine that is?  Forcing everyone to stop and rest; commanding families to rest together a full day a week and be recharged; stopping all trade and commerce so as to give everyone, rich and poor, master or slave, a chance to be refreshed, is both revolutionary and powerful in impact.

Author Samuel H. Dresner effectively emphasizes the equalizing power of the Sabbath. "On the Sabbath there were neither banker nor clerk, neither farmer nor hired hand, neither rich nor poor. There were only Jews hallowing the Sabbath."[xii]

Sabbath scholar Samuele Bacchiocchi eloquently captures the worth of the Sabbath in the following reflection:

The Sabbath (gives) a chance to our souls to catch up with our bodies to give a change to our souls, through worship and meditation, to be enriched with new moral and spiritual values. This spiritual renewal that comes to us on the Sabbath through worship and meditation enables us to turn a new page in our life, to start a new week with a fresh provision of divine wisdom and grace.[xiii]

The Sabbath is a gift from God to all humans for their mental, physical and social well-being. As Christ reminds us in the New Testament, "The Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27). It was made for our benefit, not as a limit to our potential. This is undeniably a manifestation of Divine love.

Yet there are powerful forces in our Western World that see the Sabbath as an economic impediment to be gradually faced out. Unfortunately, their arrogant plot is coming to pass, as more and more businesses operate seven days a week and more and more workers are manipulated or coerced to work on weekends. The result: More families will come asunder, more mental and physical illness due to stress and, most of all, more spiritual deterioration.

Therefore, if God had not given the Sabbath to mankind we would have remained slaves to seven-day-a-week labor with no pause and relief. The weekly spiritual rejuvenation that accompanies a proper keeping of the Sabbath would not be experienced and materialism would have been first and foremost in our minds. Christians would have had a very tough time maintaining the necessary closeness that the Christian family must maintain and spiritual growth would have been much more difficult. Most of all, the cyclical reminder that God is supreme, that He created all things, and that He is worthy of praise and worship would not have existed.

The Sabbath is a great gift God gave to humanity to address fundamental physical, mental and spiritual needs. Hopefully, humans will come to see that rejecting it can only lead to great damage to individuals and society. Keeping it, on the other hand, will bring about great blessings on individuals, families and to society.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT CONDEMNED COVETING?

One of the greatest evidences of the divine origin of the Ten Commandments is the last Commandment. While the first nine focus on what man should not do, the last one focuses on what he must not think.  The tenth commandment forbids lusting after anything that belongs to others. Thus, to God not taking what is not ours is not enough; the very desire is condemned as well.

But what if God had not included coveting in the Ten Commandments? What if He had not shown any concern toward the evil motives that often arise within the human mind?

Upon reflection, one is overwhelmed by the profound wisdom inherent within this commandment. The forbidding of coveting reveals not only a profound understanding of the human mind but, also, an astonishing understanding of how many sins originate.

In the New Testament, the Apostle James explains the steps that precede sin: “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1: 14-15).

Therefore sin has a psychological starting point, and lust is one of its major driving forces. God, the great designer of the human mind, knew that forbidding actions was not enough. For sin to be dealt with effectively one must, first and foremost, address its origins. In trying to control many evil action, not dealing with the coveting factor means almost certain failure.

Coveting is what precedes a multitude of sins. Before stealing, one must desire the object he or she is stealing. Before committing adultery, one must lust after someone else’s wife. Lying is often used to get what is lusted after. God knew the steps and taught us the need to deal with sin at its origins. His great wisdom becomes evident in the last Commandment.

Christians must understand this principle in their battle against sin. They must always be on guard, by monitoring their thoughts and attitudes. We have been given a great gift directly from God on how to win the life-long battle against temptation and Satan, and we must gratefully accept it — and use it.

It is also very meaningful that God included this principle in the Ten Commandments. God doesn’t simply teach us about the need to deal with coveting — He commands us to do so. We are commanded to search and destroy any form of illicit desire, so as to stay a safe distance from sin.

Some Christians fail their battle against sin, because they have never understood, or because they have never given heed to the importance of dealing with first steps. God has made it perfectly clear that resisting coveting is of utmost importance. Christ also reinforced this reality, by stressing that adultery is not just the action — it is also the desire that precedes the action. He stressed,“ You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You Shall not Commit Adultery,’  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5: 27-28).

The battle with sin is very hard, but it can be made much easier, if we fight it at the source when the temptation is still at its inception. If God had not included the last commandment in the Great Code, we would have been deprived of a most critical and powerful tool in fighting sin. Therefore God, in His great wisdom, made sure the Ten Commandments included coveting and, by making the battle against it central to our spiritual warfare, we can be victorious over sin.

WHAT IF GOD HAD GIVEN ONLY THE FIRST FOUR COMMANDMENTS?

The first four commandments address man’s relationship with God. God is to be the sole object of worship and He will not tolerate idolatry. His name is to be revered, and the Sabbath is to be a sign that God is Creator, and that man is His special creation. The other six Commandments deal with man’s relationship with man.

But what if God had only given the first four Commandments on one tablet and had made the last six simply a part of the Book of the Law?

The fact that God made man’s relationship with man a part  of the Great Code is exceptionally significant. First of all, it reveals that God is not a self-absorbed creator. He could have placed only the first four Commandments in the “Great Code,” and He would have been totally justified in doing so. He is “The All,” and He deserves all the focus, being the source of everything. But He didn’t. By including the last six as well, He demonstrated that we, His children, have a high level of importance for Him as well. The last six Commandments follow the first four, showing that what pertains to God is, obviously, primary. Nevertheless, the last six are on the same tablets showing that our well being is a top priority to God as well.

By commanding man to abide by the last six Commandments, God made clear that the welfare of His children is very important to Him. He is not a Being that is merely interested in obtaining man’s worship. He wants humans to treat each other with utmost dignity. God wants humans to recognize that they are equally important before Him, and that He will not tolerate that any human take advantage of or abuse any other.

Of course, there is a need to emphasize that even the first four Commandments were given to humans not because God needs our worship, but because man needs to be properly focused on His Creator, if he is to escape foolish religious ideas and be blessed.

Every time we read or think about the Ten Commandments, therefore, let’s not forget, that God commanded all Ten Commandments, because God loves humanity deeply and expects that each and every human being do the same.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT SHOWN SPECIAL CONCERN FOR WIDOWS, ORPHANS AND STRANGERS?

One of the greatest signs of God’s love of justice and kindness is revealed in His consistent concern for widows, orphans and strangers.  In the book of Exodus, He commands the following: “You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child” (Exodus 22: 21-22). Transgressing God’s will in this area would bring about God’s wrath: “ If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to me, I will surely hear their cry; and my wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will be widows and your children fatherless”(Exodus 22: 22-24).

But what if God had ignored the weak of society? What if they had not received His special focus and attention?

God could have simply demanded man’s worship and nothing else. He could have simply given a Law that stressed fear of God and ongoing sacrifices simply designed to please and appease Him. He would have been like Pagan gods who were not concerned with the weak and the needy but only demanded fear and ongoing sacrifices to keep them appeased.

Obviously, if God had not commanded that His followers care for the widows, the orphans and the strangers, the needs of these groups would not have been addressed, and their suffering would  not have been alleviated.

Furthermore, we would have been deprived of one of the most important signs of the fact that God is a God of love; for a God of love would definitely do what the true God did: see to it that the needs of the ones who are suffering are addressed.

It is worth noting that God did not simply suggest that the needy be looked after – He commanded it. Looking after the needy in Israel, and within the Church, is a commandment, not a suggestion.

It is also worth noting that He not only demanded that the needy be treated with dignity, He also made it undeniably clear that not doing so would bring about great wrath upon his people. God is, therefore, deeply concerned with the plight and the suffering of the weak that the strong could easily take advantage of and will punish such people severely, if His wishes are not obeyed.

In the New Testament, His deep concern for the needy is evident as well. James tells us that “Pure and Undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble…” (James 1:27).  Love and respect for the needy was and remains a major focus in God’s true religion unto our day and will continue for as long as the needy exist.

Thus, the mind of God remains constant on the fact that the needy are not to be ignored. Though He is lofty and mighty, He has time and concern for the weakest and, He insists — actually He commands — that they are not to be ignored or abandoned. He expects true believers to show their true colors by serving and treating with dignity the weak of society and will intervene dramatically if they are not. What a mighty and very loving God He is.

WHAT IF GOD HAD ALLOWED PARTIALITY TOWARD THE POOR?

It is quite tempting for righteous people to be moved by the plight of the needy and the poor in dispute situations. After all, some believe, godly people are to show special concern for the weak in their struggles against the rich and the strong. Yet the Almighty took the opportunity to stress that this must not be and commanded: “You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute” (Exodus 23: 3).

But what if God had not given this principle? What if God has not emphasized the critical necessity not to allow the state of the poor to influence judgment?

God is a God of total righteousness. Total righteousness implies total justice. Total justice must rule supreme in judgment, no matter who the disputing parties may be. In most cases the strong and the rich take advantage of the weak and the poor. This has been one of the painful realities of life throughout time, and God clearly condemns it. But He also condemns taking the side of the poor, because of an emotional response to their poverty.

If God had not stressed the need for total objectivity, God’s greatness would not have been as evident. He truly is a God of righteousness and justice who will not allow anything to interfere with His total objectivity. The judges of the world may favor the rich and the powerful. Kindhearted judges may err on the side of the poor and the weak of society. God supports neither and wants his followers to do the same.

It is wonderfully inspiring to know that our God is such an amazing Being and that He is so bent on supporting righteousness and justice. The Righteous Judge takes only the side of absolute righteousness and demands that we do the same.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN THE LAND REST LAW?

After emphasizing the need for justice among his people, God surprises the reader with another seemingly strange command: “Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow; That the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beast of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove” (Ex. 23:10-11).

What if God had not included this commandment? What if He had not shown any concern for the land?

God created the land and knows how to maintain its health and productivity. With this commandment He shared with His people a wonderful principle that would have prevented the land from being depleted, and it would have produced abundantly, generation after generation.

If God had not included this commandment, He would have denied His people knowledge that was critical for their long-term well being. The Israelites were to be in the land for hundreds of years. The population would have grown, and the temptation would have been to squeeze as much as possible out of the land. Giving vineyards, olive groves, etc. a year- long break would have allowed a high level of natural rejuvenation and a restored level of productivity.

This commandment reveals God’s undeniable special touch, not only because it manifests God’s love and wisdom toward his people, but also his deep concern for the needy. In fact, the land rest law was also meant to be God’s gift to the poor and the needy. During the seventh year the fruit of the land was to go fully to the poor who could freely gather from un-gathered fields (V. 11).

Though beneficial to the people at large and to the needy, it can be stated with total certainty that no human being would ever dream of conceiving of such an amazing principle. The concept was simply too strange and extreme and demanded such a high level of faith (God promised double gathering on year six) that very few would have gone along with it. God alone could have asserted such a challenging, yet grand concept.

Giving the land a seventh-year rest may appear perplexing at first, yet if God had not given Israel such a great gift we would have been denied another solid piece of evidence that God exists, that His wisdom is endless, that He loves His people, that He cares for the needy, and that His ways are always grand.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT MADE THE SABBATH A SIGN BETWEEN HIMSELF AND HIS PEOPLE?

Few people know that God’s Sabbath was given to Israel not only as a day of rest and worship but also as a perpetual sign between God and Israel. “Surely my Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you” (Exodus 31: 13).

What if God had not made the Sabbath a sign between Himself and Israel? What if He had just given Israel the Law and had not given special emphasis to the Sabbath?

At first glance it seems quite strange that God would include the Sabbath in the Ten Commandments and that He would afterwards give it extra emphasis by declaring it to be a special sign between Himself and His people in perpetuity. Yet what God does is consistently right and totally wise.

The Sabbath is crucial in the worship of the true God. Once a week His people were to be reminded that God is the Creator of the universe. Each week, they were to be reminded that God is a God of righteousness who demanded from His people holiness and justice. Each week He had to be their total focus, and all other pursuits were to be left aside. The Sabbath, therefore, was meant to be a time of physical, mental and spiritual renewal that would add to their physical, mental and spiritual well-being. But there was more.

Throughout the past three thousand or so years, the Sabbath has been central to the worship of the true God, wherever Jews were exiled to. The Sabbath was to be a day of total ceasing when Israel focused on its Savior and was reminded of His will. No other nation had such a day and no other nation reaped the accompanying benefits.

Later, when Israel was taken into captivity and its inhabitants were taken to the far-flung areas of the world, though no longer able to worship in the Temple, there was one central gathering place that all Jews could meet therein, and that was the holy time God had established for them: The Sabbath.

No matter where Jews were taken; no matter how distant different groups may have been; on the holy Sabbath all faithful Jews gathered to worship the same God, they learned the same laws, and longed for the same hope: the coming of the Messiah and their return to the Promised Land.

The land God had given to them was there no longer; the Temple that was the focus of Jewish worship was no longer; but the perpetual sign between God and Israel remained. The Sabbath was a gift that God would not take away and that only Israel could reject. It remained as the unquenchable flame that God’s people could gather around and get light and warmth from, no matter where they might have been.

Furthermore, the Sabbath is in large part responsible for the survival of the identity of God’s people during hundreds of years of wandering around the nations. Every week Israel is reminded that they are a special people who worship the true God and that, someday, they will again keep God’s Sabbath in the Holy Land. All thanks to a special covenant made between God and His people.

If God had not given Israel the Sabbath a special sign between them and their God, they would have been deprived of a special banner that distinguished them from the rest of the world; they probably would have lost their identity as God’s people, and they would not have had a critical tool that keeps their faith alive. Truly, the Sabbath is a special and critical sign between God and His people Israel.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ORDAINED SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS?

To our modern, sanitized, civilized minds, the idea of killing thousands of animals as a central part of worshipping God seems to be strange and cruel, especially given the fact that most of the animals to be sacrificed were gentle animals such as cows, sheep, goats and doves. Certainly, some may think, there must have been better ways to handle temple worship.

What if God had not ordained animal sacrifices as a central part of worship in ancient Israel? Would anything critical have gone missing?

To understand the reason why God ordained animal sacrifices, we must address the following two questions. The first question is why did God ordain sacrifices? The second one is what could have been an acceptable alternative?

The answer to the first question is that sacrifices were both a gift to God and an atonement for sins, whether intentional or unintentional (Leviticus 1-7). The answer to the second question is that if God had not ordained which animals were to be sacrificed Israel could have adopted the ways of the Gentiles and could have sacrificed “unclean” animals such as swine and other scavengers, or they could have gone a step further and adopted the revolting ways of the Canaanites who had turned to child sacrifice. In fact the Bible tells us that on a few occasions the practice did, in fact, filter into Israel as well (II Kings 21:6, Judges 11: 30-31).

Knowing that sacrificing had the potential of deteriorating, God gave very specific ordinances to regulate it. Therefore, if God had not ordained and regulated sacrificing, Israelites would have, for certain, adopted the ways of the Heathen and would have ultimately sacrificed humans, as some did.

But there is more. If God had not ordained sacrifices, Israel would have been deprived of a great lesson that God was trying to teach Israel: sin costs even if it is done out of ignorance.

Sacrificing a bull must have been quite a financial sacrifice, as was sacrificing goats and lambs. On top of that, Israelites had to travel for days to get to Jerusalem to perform a sacrifice. The travel and the sacrifice amounted to a loss of much time and money. Thus, the people of Israel learned the lesson that sin is simply not worth it.

But it also taught them that being careless with God’s laws would also be quite costly. “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a person sins unintentionally against any of the commandments of the Lord in anything which ought not to be done, and does any of them…then let him offer to the Lord for His sin which He has sinned a young bull without blemish as a sin offering’” (Leviticus 4:2-3). A bull was a costly sacrifice, and people of Israel would not want to incur such a loss too often.

Finally, and most importantly, if God had not ordained sacrifices, Christians would not have been able to fully comprehend the necessity of the sacrifice of Christ. God made it perfectly clear that only the shedding of blood could fulfill the requirements for sin. “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil…and sprinkle it on the mercy seat. So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins…” (Leviticus 16: 15-16).

Though very helpful in teaching the seriousness of sin, sacrifices were not enough for cleansing humans of sins; there was a necessity for something greater, something much more powerful. Paul tells us what this something was in the book of Hebrews:

But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance (Hebrews 9:11-15).

Paul adds that all that sacrifices pointed to Christ and to the necessity of His intervention.

For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins (Hebrew 10: 1-4).

Therefore, the sacrifices ordained by God were neither needless nor cruel. They were meant to keep Israel from following the gruesome customs of the Canaanites, they were intended to chisel in their minds that sin demands a payment and, finally, they were to foreshadow the greatest and all-encompassing sacrifice of all: Jesus Christ.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN THE LAWS                CONCERNING SEXUAL IMMORALITY?

The Ten Commandments are great laws that are meant to regulate our relationship with God and our fellow man. The only Commandment that regulates human sexuality is the one forbidding adultery. Other sexual sins are defined as such in the Book of the Law.

What if God had not emphasized that incest, homosexuality and bestiality, etc. were also sinful?

God dedicates all of Leviticus 18 to sexual sins. He prefaces the chapter by emphasizing that Israel was not to emulate the depravities of the heathen. “According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances” (Leviticus 18:3).

God proceeds to forbid incest and lists all the incestual acts that they were to evade. He also made sure that Israel had no doubt as to where He stood in relation to homosexuality and defined it as “an abomination” (V. 22). He then forbids bestiality for both men and women (V. 23), and concludes with a warning that doing such things would lead to their being vomited out of the land as the Canaanites were about to experience (V. 28).

If God had not listed the various sexual sins, Israel, without doubt, would have perpetuated some of the perversions learned in Egypt that some of them may have internalized. Once in Canaan, the disgusting, yet appealing behaviors that characterized the people that inhabited the land would have been emulated by Israel, to their own demise.  Israel needed cleansing, and God provided the education needed for the cleansing to take place. Israel also needed to know what is morally right and wrong. Only God has the right to determine right and wrong, not humans, and so He did— clearly, thoroughly and explicitly.

By not giving the instructions in Leviticus 18, God would have left Israel at the same level as the degenerate nations of the time. By instructing them as to what is unacceptable sexual behavior, God took the first step to elevate Israel above all other nations and warned Israel against behavior that would have led to their ultimate destruction.

Modern nations need to read and heed. Such wonderful knowledge is available to the millions who have to a Bible in their possession. The nations of the Western World, (North America in particular) know full well God’s divine expectation in regards to sexuality. They also know that trampling on those laws was in the past a sure way to invite God’s wrath. God does not change. His moral expectations are still very high, and His powerful interventions against sinful societies will be very drastic today as they were in the past, unless humans repent.

WHAT IF GOD HAD DESTROYED ISRAEL AND   HAD MADE MOSES A GREAT NATION?

After Israel left Egypt, God provided for the needs of His people with great and mighty interventions. Israel was finally poised to enter the Promised Land but, because of the fearful report brought back by the spies, Israel refused to proceed and again murmured against Moses and Aaron. In fact, some among them selected a leader to bring them back to Egypt.                                                                                                                                                                                         Because of Israel’s lack of faith, God became angry and threatened to wipe them out and build a nation from Moses’ descendents. He said to Moses: “I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they” (Numbers 14:12).             But Moses refused God’s offer and interceded on Israel’s behalf with such sincerity and intensity that God heeded his word and reassured Moses that He would again show mercy to Israel. “I have pardoned, according to your word” (14:20).                                                                                   But what if God had not heeded Moses’ words? What if He had destroyed all of Israel and had built a new nation from Moses’ descendents?                                                             If that had occurred, the ramifications would have been enormous, indeed. Though it is true that the descendents of Abraham would have continued being the inheritors of the promises to their ancestor, it is also true that the promise given to Judah by Jacob regarding the Messiah would not have been fulfilled. In Genesis 49 we read: “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the people” (Genesis 49:10).       Of course, God could have made the Messiah emerge out of Levi (Moses was a Levite), if He so wished.  After all, He can modify His prophecies whenever He wants, if rebellion comes into play. Yet, if He did change His plans, things would have been quite different. Moses had a point in emphasizing to God that if He had destroyed Israel it would have been quite hard to convince the nations that God was a merciful God.  On the other hand, though exceptionally longsuffering, God is not a pushover and did consequence Israel anyway. The generation of murmurers who had left Egypt was condemned to forty years of wondering in the Wilderness, until they all died. Only their children would have been allowed to inherit the land (Numbers 14: 22-38).                    Moses’ beseeching God and God’s merciful reply is marvellous because it reinforces the fact that heartfelt, sincere, prayers do indeed avail much with God (James 5:16). Yet, we also see that God is patient — but up to a point. There is a point when God is patient no longer and does administer punishments, especially if humans become insolent and ungrateful.       Lastly, if God had destroyed Israel, we would have been deprived of the rich and inspiring history that fills the Old Testament. For instance, we would have never heard of special people like Samson, David, Solomon and other unforgettable characters.                              Had it not been for the fervent intervention of a humble and faithful man named Moses, the history of the Holy People would have been dramatically altered, our view of God might have been negatively affected, and His longsuffering and merciful nature would have been somewhat negated. The event is very meaningful indeed.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT MADE TITHING A                    REQUIREMENT?

God ordained that the Levites be totally dedicated to the service of the Temple and the congregation. The tribe of Levi was to be a special gift that would have greatly benefited God’s people. “Behold, I myself have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; they are a gift to you, given by the Lord, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting” (Numbers 18: 6). But such a gift needed financial support, and God provided such support as well: “Behold I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting” (V. 21).

What if God had not instituted the tithing system as a way of supporting the priestly tribe?

If tithing were not implemented, the other logical option would have been to leave the sustenance of the Levites to free-will offerings. No doubt, people would have given to the priestly “fund” but sporadically and according to their whims. Thus, the Levites would have been at the mercy of the whims of the people, and may have had to turn to begging to survive. This is unfortunately what some Christian ministers end up doing today in some congregations where the tithing system is not practiced. Because of constant financial want, many clergymen have to remind the congregation, on an ongoing basis, to contribute financially. This is both stressful and humiliating for people who are dedicating their whole life to serving God and believers.

God is the best employer of all. Though Levi was one of the smallest tribes, it would have reaped the tithes of the other ten tribes. Their income would have been sufficient and relatively predictable, thus they could dedicate themselves fully to the task of serving the congregation, while being fully able to provide for the needs of their families.

God’s servants live very stressful lives. They certainly do not need the stress of uncertainty, when it comes to making a living. They have families with the same needs as anyone else. God saw to it that their needs would be addressed sufficiently so that they could dedicate themselves to the service of God’s people without financial anxiety.

Furthermore, it should also be stressed that having an assured source of income prevented the human temptation to give special attention to wealthy “benefactors” who would give more than the rest. The tithing system would have also taken away from such benefactors the power and influence that they, in turn, would exert over the clergy. God’s servants must be totally objective towards all, and must never favor the rich. A God-imposed and directed system would effectively prevent such a possibility.

The tithing system, therefore, reveals God’s love and concern toward His priesthood and His brilliant way of preventing favoritism. Most of all, it reveals his fairness and concern toward those who dedicate their whole lives to His service.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ELEVATED THE SERPENT IN THE DESERT?

As Israel was journeying toward the Promised Land, the people became very discouraged (Numbers 21: 4). As a result, they “spoke against God and against Moses…” (V. 5). God in anger “So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.” (Numbers 21: 5-6).

The trauma of the event quickly brought the people to a state of sobriety, and they begged Moses to pray to God that the serpents be taken away. God commanded the people to make a “fiery serpent” and to “set it on a pole,” so that whoever would have been bitten and would have looked at it would have lived (V. 8).

What if God had not asked that the serpent be created and then be lifted up? What if He had simply used another less unusual approach to heal the people?

Obviously God could have intervened and killed all the snakes, but, strangely enough He allowed them to continue their job of terrorizing the Israelites for a while.

Whatever God does, no matter how strange it might seem to our limited human understanding, is wise and just. The fact that God allowed the snakes to continue biting Israelites appears to indicate that God had something very important to teach the Israelites. Of course, one can surmise that God allowed the snake to continue biting the Israelites because the time of punishment was not yet over. Yet God seems to also have wanted to reinforce the wonderful and reassuring lesson that even when severely punished by God one can turn to Him for mercy and that he is liable to be heard.

The New Testament tells us that the serpent was also a foreshadowing of something yet future and grander; that is Christ as the Savior of humanity. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3: 14-16). The serpent was, therefore, symbolic of Someone to whom all people of the earth “bitten” by serpents (Satan and his demons) could turn to for salvation. It had, therefore, a profound typological significance that was to be explained in the New Testament.

God does things for wonderful reasons that may, at times, not relate necessarily to the immediate at all. The raising of the serpent had immediate significance and benefit, no doubt, but it also manifested the reality that God might show His mercy even while He dispenses punishments. Most of all, though, it foreshadowed a meaning with universal implications: the salvation of humanity through Christ.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN ISRAEL THE LAW  REGARDING CLEANLINESS IN THE CAMPSITE?

One of the less known laws of the Old Testament is the law of cleanliness in the campsite. “Also you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out; and you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse” (Deut. 23: 12-13).

What if God had overlooked this law? Was it really that crucial?

The answer is definitely yes. Millions of Israelites were camped together, and they all had to relieve themselves. If they would do so anywhere in the camp, the whole area would have been covered with feces in just a few days. This, in turn, would have given rise to terrible pestilences that would have decimated the nation.

Grant Jeffrey, author of the very fine work, The Signature of God, tells us that “A huge percentage of the diseases of mankind, especially in war or refugee situations, developed due to the lack of sanitation regarding waste disposal”[xiv]

By giving this law to Israel, God was giving them rules of hygiene that would have spared them untold deaths and much misery. This law alone would have given Israel an amazing edge over the nations that surrounded them. They would have multiplied faster, because of a low mortality rate, and they would have been healthier than other peoples in the area.

It has taken human beings separated from God thousands of years to finally understand how germs operate and the relationship between proper hygiene and health. Had Humans over the centuries looked in the Bible, and had they obeyed its precepts, millions of people would not have experienced premature deaths, and the health of humanity would have been significantly better.

Thus, once again, God’s love and wisdom shines through. Humanity has a great treasure at its disposal: The Word of God.  Applying the wisdom found therein would bring about great and marvelous positive changes within societies, as it did within ancient Israel.  Human stubbornness refuses to heed God’s directives and insists on doing its own thing and trusting its own wisdom — unfortunately to its own demise.

WHAT IF GOD HAD ALLOWED MOSES’ TOMB’S LOCATION TO BE KNOWN BY THE ISRAELITES?

At the end of the book of Deuteronomy, we are told that Moses died at the ripe old age of 120 years. “So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the Land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And He buried Him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day” (Deut. 34: 5-7).

But what if God had allowed him to be buried in a known location? Or, better still, what if God had allowed his body to be embalmed, and to be taken to the Promised Land where it would have been buried in a tomb known to all?

If Israel's Exodus had been orchestrated by humans and had been led by a man obsessed with power and glory, his body would have been buried in a known location, without any doubt. Moses, the great deliverer, would have received great honor by his grateful followers, and they would have buried him in a tomb known to all, so as to be revered forever by all. This did not occur, because the Mind that led it all was not human but Divine and knew of the negative long term consequences that it would have had for the nation of Israel.

God knew that allowing Moses’ body to be buried by Israel and in Israel would have led to certain idolatry.  Moses' tomb would have become the focus of undue attention and, over the years, would have competed with the Temple as a pilgrimage destination. He knew the human tendency to revere great human leaders, and did not allow such a snare to exist in Israel.

It was God who was the real author of Israel’s departure from Egypt. It was God who humiliated Egypt with a great show of power. Finally, it was God who authored the Torah, even though at times it is referred to as The Law of Moses. Moses was simply a messenger. Yet he was the one that Israel saw perform the great miracles, and it was he who brought the Law to them. Thus, Moses was a perfect choice for reverence and final worship. This could simply not be allowed, as God is a jealous God who will not share His glory with anyone.

Therefore, God’s decision to take Moses’ body away and to prevent Israel to know the place of his burial is a tangible signature of God’s presence in the story of Exodus. It reveals a wisdom that is beyond what humans would ever conceive and what human nature would ever allow. It reveals most of all that God was the centre and the core of the Exodus story, not Moses, and that only He is worthy of praise and honor.

7.  FROM THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN TO THE JUDGES

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ALLOWED ISRAEL’S DEFEAT AT AI?

All along the way to the Promised Land, God had proven to Israel that He would provide for their needs, as long as they submitted to His will and obeyed His laws. Soon after they entered the land of Canaan, the mighty city of Jericho stood in their way. God would allow a miraculous entrance into the city by making its walls crumble and by making the defeat of its inhabitants certain. What God required of them was that they were not to take and keep anything found in the city. “And you, by all means keep yourselves from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it” (Joshua 6:18).

Unfortunately, one Israelite did not heed the warning and went against God’s injunction, thus attracting God’s wrath. “But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel” (Joshua 7:1).

The consequence of this secret action was that God pulled back His protection. When Ai, a small city, was later to be taken, even though two to three thousand men were sent to conquer it, the inhabitants resisted them mightily and “they fled before the men of AI.” As a result, “The hearts of the people melted and became like water” (Joshua 7: 4- 5).

Joshua was shocked by the turn of events and turned to God for clarifications and help. God’s answer was:

Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you (Joshua 7: 11-12)

As punishment, Achan was to be taken and be stoned to death, for having done “a disgraceful thing in Israel” (Joshua 7: 15).

What if God had totally disregarded Achan’s sin and had not punished the whole nation of Israel? What if He had just stricken him dead “privately” instead of turning the situation into something national?

Some scoffers might point to this situation as incomprehensible and clearly excessive. But was it really? The covenant made between God and Israel included all the people and they all had agreed to obey God. In return God would march before them and give them total victory. There were to be no exceptions.

If God had bypassed Achan’s sin, He would have missed the opportunity to remind the new generation of Israelites what the Covenant was all about. The old generation had tasted the bitter fruits of rebellion that had kept them from entering the Promised Land. The new generation had not witnessed God’s response to disobedience yet. God took the opportunity to enlighten them.

The primary lesson to be learned by the Israelites was that God saw all things, even the secret actions of men. Achan thought that his secret action would have gone unseen by God; he lived to see otherwise.

They also had to understand that God expects total righteousness from His people. The command, “Be you holy for I am holy,” stood stronger than ever. God does not compromise with righteousness and obedience. His people are to totally submit to Him at all times.

Furthermore, they had to learn that God is very stern toward rebellious, sinful people; that He will intervene very strongly against such sinners, and that He would show no mercy toward them. Those who know the truth and rebel “willfully” against God will pay severely. This is an eternal truth.

Lastly, they were to never forget that sin affects not just the sinner but also the whole group. When sin entered the family of Israel, the whole family paid the consequences. God’s blessings would be pulled back and a curse would follow the nation. All had to make sure that the whole body of Israel was healthy and sin free, so as to allow the blessings to fall upon the nation.

If God had not intervened dramatically, we Christians would not have had the opportunity to see these same lessons reinforced, and would not have been reminded that they apply to Christians as well.

Christians, too, must never forget that God sees all things and that no sin is hidden from His view. We must never forget that to God willful, arrogant sins are very serious transgressions, and that severe punishments will always ensue (Hebrews 10:27-31). Sin affects innocent bystanders, not just the sinner. By withdrawing His blessings from a family member the whole family will suffer and this applies to church bodies as well.

If God had not punished Achan, His hatred for rebellious sin would not have been spotlighted. By punishing Achan, God made clear to them, and to generations to come, that God detests rebellion and that if it takes place the consequences will be severe. This was true for Israel as it is true today for Christians as well.

WHAT IF GOD HAD SAVED JEPHTHAH’ S DAUGHTER’S LIFE?

One of the most heart rending and perplexing stories in the Bible is the story of Jephthah and his daughter. Jephthah was the son of Gilead and a harlot. His brothers, sons of Gilead’s wife, drove Jephthah out so as not to share their inheritance with him. “Then fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with and went out raiding with him” (Judges 11: 3).                                Some time later, the children of Ammon made war against Israel, and so the elders of Israel went to seek out to convince him to come back and lead the army against the Ammonites.  Jephthah accepted the offer and became the leader of the army. Before the confrontation between the two armies took place, Jephthah made the now infamous vow: “If you will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s and I will offer it up as a burnt offering” (Judges 11:31).

God delivered Israel and gave them a great victory and “the people of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel” (Judges 11:33). Ecstatic Jephthah returned home “with timbrel and dancing,” but, unfortunately, the first one to welcome him was his only child. Jephthah was devastated by what he saw, and “tore his clothes” and said to his daughter, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the Lord, and I cannot go back on it” (Judges 11: 35).

Jephthah’s daughter reacted with a total spirit of submission. She simply asked her father that she be allowed to wander on the mountains for two months to bewail her virginity (Judges 11:38). At the end of the two months, “she returned to her father and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed” (Judges 11:39).

(At this point it is crucial that we emphasize that some scholars have proposed that, in reality, Jephthah’s daughter was simply prevented from marrying and, thus, the reason why she went for two months to “bewail her virginity.” This author and other major scholars disagree. Jephthah did not promise to keep his daughter from marriage, he promised to “sacrifice” the first living being that came through his door at his return. This author appreciates the attempt of some to soften what would otherwise be an excruciating and agonizing event, and to perhaps even justify God for not intervening, but the phrasing of the story leaves no doubt that what happened was much more serious than simply preventing the young lady from getting married.)

While all this was transpiring, God watched the whole story and did not intervene. This is perplexing. After all, had He not intervened with Abraham and Isaac? Is God not averse to human sacrifices? Did God not cleanse the land of Canaan of its inhabitants because, in large part, they “passed their children through the fire;” that is, they sacrificed their children to their gods? How could that same God, therefore, allow Jephthah to sacrifice his own daughter?

Let’s go back to Jephthah’s original mistake. Jephthah vowed to God that he would sacrifice “anything” that would come out to welcome him upon his return. By that he also included humans—most probably his servants. Could it be that that was the reason God allowed him to go through his excruciating experience? Jephthah’s callousness may have deserved a sobering consequence. His seeming callousness and cruelty toward others appears to have ended up rebounding onto himself.

What if God had intervened? What if God had sent an angel to stop him from his horrific act like He did with Abraham?

If He had intervened, we would have been reassured as to God’s seeming kindness and forgiveness, but what would have happened to Jephthah? What would have happened within Israel? What effect would it have had on the multitudes that would have heard about it in Israel?

We can speculate that if Jephthah would not have been consequenced, he might have remained hasty and foolish. Israel would have had a written record that God overlooks foolishness all too easily. Oaths are promises made before God and they must not be made hastily. The book of Deuteronomy emphasizes the seriousness of making vows to God. “When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God surely will require it of you, and it would be sin to you” (Deut. 23:21).

If God had intervened, the seriousness of the event would have been undermined. The fact that oaths must not be taken lightly would not have been emphasized, nor the reality that foolishness has a way of bringing about disastrous consequences. Therefore, what appears to have been an incomprehensible act of callousness on God’s part once again shows much wisdom and justice, as do all of His actions.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ALLOWED SAMSON TO BE TAKEN BY THE PHILISTINES?

Samson is one of the greatest figures in the Bible. The story of this great man of God has been told countless times as a story of great courage. Yet when looked at closely one might feel puzzlement at the fact that God would, seemingly, abandon this great servant in the hands of the Philistines who blinded him, humiliated him and then finally killed him.

What if God had not allowed Samson to be taken? What if He had delivered him from the Philistines and had not allowed any harm to befall him?

Samson was clearly born to do great things on God’s behalf. He, like few others, was born miraculously from a woman who could not conceive. He was set apart by God as a Nazirite and was to leave his hair uncut. Getting his hair cut would have meant certain loss of strength. Therefore, revealing this secret would have placed Samson at great risk.

In Judges, chapter 14, we are told that Samson went down to Timnah and, upon his return home, he asked his parents to get him a specific Philistine woman as wife (V.1).  His parents reacted negatively. “Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren, or among all my people, that you must go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” (V.3). Samson did not relent and replied: “Get her for me, for she pleases me well” (V.3).

Verse 4 clarifies the reason why Samson did not relent: “But his father and mother did not know that it was of the Lord—-that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.”

Clearly God was the orchestrator of all those events. He was up to something big, and Samson was going to be His instrument.

Most know what follows. Samson took several opportunities to agitate the Philistines and then took advantage of their reaction to defeat them. Finally, he got involved with Delilah, a cunning, manipulative Philistine woman, who extracted from him the secret of his strength. As a result, while he was asleep, his hair was cut, he was captured, his eyes were put out, and he was brought down to Gaza bound with bronze fetters where “he became a grinder in the prison” (Judges 16: 15-21).

In time his hair grew back and so did his strength. One day, the Lords and a large number of Philistines were celebrating in the temple. The people asked that Samson be brought to perform for them. Samson asked that he be placed between two pillars.  He pushed both pillars down and, as a result, the whole temple collapsed and “the dead that those he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life” (V. 23-30).

What if God had not allowed this scenario? God could have easily prevented Samson from revealing his secret, and He could have sent his angels to deliver Samson, but he chose not to. Why?

Samson was born to bring about terror among the Philistines, therefore God allowed certain events to take place and used Samson’s errors and foolishness to lead to a situation that would humiliate them. It is not necessary to believe that God inspired every last mistake that Samson made. It is just as reasonable to assume that God used Samson’s errors, or some of his errors, to bring about His aims against the Philistines.

Did God need to have Samson imprisoned? Was there really a need for his eyes to be gouged out? Could not God have used Samson to defeat thousands of Philistines, including all their Lords without Samson’s demise? Of course He could have. Yet, it appears that God allowed Samson a level of choice in the situation and that, in having this freedom, Samson made some very foolish mistakes that he dearly paid for. God can even use the errors and frailties of his servants to bring about His will. But He does allow consequences to ensue, so as to mature us and transform us.

God could have intervened to protect Samson, but He chose to allow Samson to go through his crucible, so as to be perfected for whatever purpose He may have had for him in his Kingdom. God used many circumstances to perfect Samson, while using this great servant to bring about the deserved punishments upon the wicked Philistines

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ALLOWED THE DEATH OF NAOMI’S HUSBAND AND HER TWO SONS?

The Book of Ruth begins with the tragic death of the three men of the house: Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, and his two boys, Mahlon and Chilion. As a result, in what appears to be a short period of time, Naomi was left without a husband, and her only children, while Ruth and Orpah were left without husbands.

Naomi showed her concern for the two daughters-in-law by insisting that they go back to their respective families. Orpah left Naomi and returned to her family; Ruth refused to abandon Naomi and accompanied her back to Israel to look after her.

One would expect very little good to come out of such a tragedy; but much good can follow even the greatest of tragedies — if God is involved.

But what if God had not allowed the death of the three men? What if He had shown mercy to the three women and had left the three men alive?

Without doubt, Naomi must have beseeched God for mercy, but God did not answer her prayers and allowed all three men in her life to die, thus leaving her old, and potentially alone and destitute.

No doubt, God could have prevented the three deaths and, if He had done so, their lives would have gone on and nothing particularly eventful would have transpired for any of them. God looked down and decided to use the tragedy as a lesson that would show us that He can bring forth wonderful fruits, even out of the most desperate situations.

The death of the three men quickly turned the spotlight on the heroes of the story. Naomi quickly emerged as a woman of kindness who had deep concern for the welfare of others. Though she was old and in need of care, she did not insist that the two younger daughters-in-law stay with her to look after her; rather, she invited them to go back to their respective families, so as to rebuild their lives.

Ruth’s nobility of heart becomes evident in the fact that she refused to abandon the old woman and made the following astonishing oath: “Wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me” (Ruth 1: 16-17).

The true mettle of human beings is often shown in the crucible of life and during the many tragedies that life brings about. The true mettle of these two women, and Ruth in particular, shone forth amidst the gloominess and anguish of a most horrible situation. Thus, the true worth of these two special women was revealed as a result of a most trying time, and God saw and was very pleased.

Seeing the dignity and the heart of both women, God decided to reward both.  As a result of the love and kindness Ruth showed toward Naomi and her conversion to the true religion, God brought about a series of circumstances that finally led to her marriage to another person of great dignity: Boaz.

Boaz, overwhelmed by Ruth’s character and determination, redeemed her from another uninterested relative and married her. The result was the birth of a child named Obed who became Jesse’s father, who later became David’s father (Ruth 4:17).

Naomi was rewarded with a daughter-in-law who loved her and faithfully looked after her. She was also given the joy of becoming the nurse to Ruth’s child. Her attachment to the child was so great that the neighbors would comment, “There is a son born to Naomi” (Ruth 4: 17).

Initially God chose not to listen to Naomi’s prayers, and He did not prevent the death of her husband and two children. He did allow a tragedy to befall Naomi’s family; a tragedy of such magnitude that no good thing seemed to ever possibly come out of it.

Yet, in His great wisdom, God directed the events so that Naomi would be greatly rewarded for her kindness; so that a most wonderful Gentile woman would be engrafted into King David’s lineage and become an ancestor to the Savior Himself.

8.  FROM SAMUEL TO SOLOMON

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT KILLED THE TWO SINFUL SONS OF ELI, THE HIGH PRIEST?

Eli, the High Priest, had two sons who were “corrupt” and “did not know the Lord” (I Samuel 2:12). They took from people meat offered to God by force and “lay with the women who assembled at the door of the Tabernacle of meeting” (V. 22). Because of their heinous sins, God hardened their hearts, and they would not heed their father’s rebukes (I Samuel 2:25).

God, finally, used a prophet to announce his verdict on their behalf: “Now this shall be a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die, both of them” (I Samuel 2: 34). God’s longsuffering had reached its limit, and the axe finally fell inexorably upon both men.

What if God had not punished Hophni and Phinehas? What if He had simply rebuked the two men without intervening drastically?

From the very beginning of His dealings with Israel, God had made it perfectly clear that his expectations for holiness were high and unchangeable. The highest expectations were directed at the priests who represented God, and who were to teach and demonstrate His ways to the people.

Being children of the High Priest, Hophni and Phinehas had the great responsibility of honoring their father and the God of their father. Instead, they arrogantly, and knowingly, rebelled against their father’s wishes and the will of God. God had warned all of Israel in the book of Numbers that any person “who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the Lord, and he shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be cut off; his guilt shall be upon him” (Numbers 15:30-31). Thus, from the very beginning, God made it very clear that dishonoring Him intentionally would lead to severe consequences.

If God had not condemned Eli’s sons to death, His word would have been questioned, as would have been His expectations. Without doubt, the Israelites knew what Hophni and Phinehas were up to and, most probably, wondered why both their father and God were tolerating their scandalous behavior. The people of Israel could have easily concluded that if it was OK for religious leaders to sin it was OK for everyone as well.

If God had not intervened, God’s holiness would have been greatly questioned; all of Israel would have fallen into moral degeneracy and the priesthood would have lost total respect. This could not be allowed. Therefore, God finally intervened and “the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died” (I Samuel 4: 11).

The death of Eli’s children must have made plain to all that, though God is longsuffering, He will finally intervene drastically against unrepentant and insolent sinners – especially those who are His representatives. If God had not intervened, this crucial lesson would not have received the necessary emphasis and many would have been emboldened to sin without fear of retribution.

WHAT IF GOD HAD ASKED SAMUEL TO CHOOSE ONE OF DAVID’S BROTHERS BECAUSE OF HIS STRENGTH, LOOKS OR AGE?

Saul, the first king of Israel, was a great disappointment to both God and Samuel. Having concluded that Saul’s line was not worthy to continue reigning over Israel, God chose a worthy replacement. He sent Samuel to Jesse, a Bethlemite, to anoint one of his several sons as the next king of Israel so as to replace Saul.     Samuel obeyed God’s orders and went to Bethlehem. He invited Jesse and his sons to a sacrifice, and “When they came…he looked at Eliab and said ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him’” (I Samuel 16: 6).  All except one son of Jesse were brought before Samuel but, no matter what outstanding physical qualities Samuel saw in them, none of them was chosen by God.                                 Once the last one was rejected, Samuel asked: “Are all the young men here?” (V.11). The answer was that there was one missing, and that he was keeping the sheep.  He was David, the youngest. David was “ruddy, with bright eyes and good looking” (V. 12), but he was not the tallest or the strongest. Yet God chose David, not the others.                             What if God had chosen one of the other taller, stronger brothers?  Would not that have made more sense?  After all, it is leaders who are tall and strong that demand the greatest respect. Was not Saul physically impressive? Was he not the handsomest and the tallest man in Israel? And did not Israel immediately accept him as King? (I Sam. 9:2).                God allowed Saul to be chosen according to human standards, because he wanted all to see how wrong human standards can be. He may have been the handsomest and the tallest man in Israel, but in time he became stubborn, proud and rebellious, and he brought much anguish upon his people.                                                                                                 Once the lesson had been learned, God wanted all to see that His standards are by far superior to man’s standards. Thus, the second time around, the King of Israel was chosen, not because of looks or human strength but because of his malleable spirit.                                                               The summary of the whole story is found in I Samuel 16:7. “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” God is not interested in appearance. Satan was a very beautiful angel, and He became proud and arrogant and caused havoc in the universe. Looks have led many humans to vainglory, arrogance and final anguish for themselves and others. God had no intention of allowing history to repeat.                                                                                                  If God had chosen one of David’s better-looking and stronger brothers, it would have indicated that God had not learned from the Saul experience. It would have also shown that God was a being who is impressed by superficiality and not what really matters. But God is not a human being who looks at appearance and who gets impressed by physical traits. Only character impresses God; the rest is vanity.           God allowed Israel to have its way and allowed them to choose a man with very impressive looks. In spite of his striking physical qualities, Saul did not succeed in being an honorable and righteous leader. God taught Israel the lesson that great leaders must be people who submit to and fear God. God chose David over his brothers, because he had the kind of qualities that God could work with. Though David made some serious mistakes, unlike Saul he repented sincerely and went on to become one of God’s great saints and the ancestor of Jesus Christ.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT DECREED THE DEATH OF DAVID’S ILLEGITIMATE CHILD?

The story of David and Bathsheba is one of temptation, sin and ensuing anguish. Because of a shocking act of adultery, Bathsheba became pregnant and had a child by David.  God’s sentence was that the child should not live. Though David fasted and begged God to spare the child’s life, God remained resolute and allowed the child to die (II Samuel 12:14).

But what if God had spared the child’s life? What if He had shown mercy to David, Bathsheba and the child and had foregone the punishment?

No doubt God’s decree was sore, but there was a lesson that He had to teach David and future generations. David had to learn the great lesson that sin is detestable in God’s eyes, and that He will punish sinners, no matter what their rank may be. Moreover, God wanted David to learn that, though much had been given to him, much was expected from him and that, as God’s anointed, he had the duty to set a righteous example for the whole nation. If God had allowed David to escape his punishment, that lesson would have never been learned, and David might have continued to rebel against God’s will in the future.

Furthermore, David’s servants who were aware of his sin, and the whole nation that would have finally found out about it might have concluded that God has double standards, and that rulers receive special treatment, even when they commit heinous sins.                                                           In fact, when Nathan the prophet confronted David, he stressed the fact that, as a result of David’s sin, God’s enemies had received an occasion to blaspheme (V. 14). This was unacceptable to God. God was willing to forgive David, but He decreed that he had to be consequenced to silence the opposition. God had to make clear to all that sin is reprehensible to Him, no matter who the perpetrator may be, and that He judges all humans equally.

Had David been allowed to escape the just consequences to his evil deed, all believers throughout the ages may have been emboldened to conclude that God had a slack approach toward sinners and, consequently, might have adopted a relaxed approach toward similar sins.  Worse of all, many might have concluded that God had double standards, and was, therefore, unfair and unjust.

Clearly, the punishment for David and Bathsheba’s sin was heavy. But if God had allowed David to get away with it, the long-term ramifications would have been disastrous for many.  God knew this and intervened, lest there would be any doubt in anyone’s mind that sin is detestable in His eyes, and that transgressions to His Holy Laws carry strong penalties, even if great biblical characters such as David perpetrate them.

WHAT IF GOD HAD PUNISHED ONLY DAVID FOR     TAKING THE CENSUS, INSTEAD OF ISRAEL?

One of the most perplexing events in the Bible is found in II Samuel 24. Herein we find that David appears to offend God by ordering Joab to take a census of Israel and of his army in particular (V. 2). Joab tried in vain to discourage David from taking the census. Finally Joab relented and fulfilled the King’s wishes.

In verse 10, we find that “David’s heart condemned him, after he had numbered the people.”  In fact, he confessed his sin and begged God for mercy. “I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly” (V. 10).

But God did not forgo His intended punishment for David. Instead, God sends Gad the Seer to explain to him that his punishment was unavoidable, and that he would have three punishments he could choose from:

1.     Seven years of famine on the land.

2.     Three months of fleeing before his enemies.

3.     Three days of plague in the land.

Wisely, David handed himself over to God’s mercy and asked that his punishment would not entail falling “into the hands of man” (V.14). Thus, God “sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time” (V. 15). The result? “Seventy-thousand men of the people died” (V. 15).

What if God had not punished Israel for David’s sin? What if God had punished David instead of Israel? After all, was it not David that sinned? Why, therefore, would God punish the innocent?

Though seemingly perplexing and unfair of God, the truth reveals otherwise. II Samuel 24: 1 is the key that opens our understanding: “Again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, ‘Go number Israel and Judah.’” God was, therefore, angry at Israel. Though the scriptures do not give us the details, God’s anger is invariably related to moral deterioration and abandonment to sin. This is the motivating factor for God’s decision to move David against them, that is Israel.

I Chronicles 21:1 tells us that Satan was also manipulated by God to be involved in this event, as he “stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.” Therefore, it appears that God inspired Satan to inspire David to do what was unacceptable before God: number Israel. David became a part of God’s plan and the result was the three punishments that, interestingly enough, would have become great punishments on the sinful nation of Israel, not on David.

What if God had not punished Israel? What if God had punished David severely and had left Israel untouched?

Given the fact that God was angry at Israel for their sins, the seventy thousands that were killed by the great plague, without doubt, deserved to be killed. There cannot be unrighteousness with God (Romans 9:14). The innocent would not be punished, if they have not sinned and have not deserved their punishment. The plague was a perfect way to pick and choose among the people and to consequence the unrepentant sinners.

If God punished David directly, He would have not dealt with the focus of His anger. If He had spared the sinners within Israel, they would have deteriorated and their poison would have infected others. God’s mighty intervention reminded Israel that He would not bear any degeneracy among a people who were to be Holy. David was also reminded that God will intervene when and how He sees fit.

The event also spotlights the nobility of David’s heart. By not being the recipient of the punishment, David could have stood quietly by until the scourge was over. Instead, he turned to God in prayer and said: "Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who had sinned and done evil indeed; but these sheep, what have they done? Let your hand, I pray, O Lord my God be against me and my father’s house, but not against your people that they should be plagued" (I Chronicles 21: 17).

This heartfelt prayer gave undeniable evidence to God that David was neither selfish nor calloused; that he was repentant, and that he was willing to take responsibility for his own actions. This was further proof to God that David was clearly the right man for the job, and a man worthy of being an ancestor to the Messiah.

Thus, by punishing Israel in this most peculiar way, God proved, once again, His intolerance of sin, His power to manipulate Satan’s mind, His just intervention against unrepentant sinners, and His great wisdom in testing key figures, such as David. Furthermore, by allowing this story to be included in the Bible record, God has given scoffers, throughout the ages, an opportunity to stumble, and believers an opportunity to exult at God’s justice and brilliance.

9. FROM ELIJAH TO NEHEMIAH

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN RISE TO ELIJAH THE PROPHET?

Elijah Appeared in Israel during the reign of the very evil king, Ahab. This king is described by the Bible as having done “evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him” (I Kings 16: 30). It is not a coincidence that God allowed one of his greatest prophets to appear during Ahab’s reign.

But what if God had not given rise to Elijah during Ahab’s time?

As the Old Testament reveals, Ahab was a very arrogant and sinful man. He married the infamous Jezebel, the daughter of a Philistine king. He “served Baal and worshipped him. Then he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he built in Samaria” (I Kings 16: 32).

Jezebel became a dangerous and formidable foe that was bent on destroying any remnant of the true religion so as to replace it with her own.  To do so, she plotted to kill Elijah, the foremost defender of  Yahweh worship. In the meantime, in part thanks to her evil influence, Israel distanced itself from God, and His ways and embraced Baal worship. Elijah bemoaned that “the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword” (I Kings 19: 10).

Israel had clearly hit bottom, and its re-emergence demanded the appearance of a mighty prophet who would be up to the job—and Elijah was the one.

God, through Elijah, tried to first of all bring Israel to repentance by bringing about a great drought. He then inspired Elijah to go directly to Ahab to confront him with his sins and to challenge his pagan prophets to a contest.  God used Elijah to ridicule and finally humiliate hundreds of prophets of Baal and of Asherah.

Although Elijah faltered later on, when he ran away from Jezebel, he was a great man of courage and was very committed to His God. It took this great man of God to deal with two very dangerous and insolent foes. Another prophet might have been intimidated sooner, and God’s plan might not have worked out as well as it did.

Elijah was the best man for the job, at a very challenging time. God knew he was up to the task and, consequently, used him powerfully.

The Bible tells us that one more prophet is yet to appear on Earth who will have the same mental set as Elijah, who will also be used mightily by God to “bring the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers,” so as not to “strike the earth with a curse” before the Day of the Lord (Malachi 4: 5-6).  Once again, God will choose the right person for the job and, once again, like the original Elijah, he will do a mighty work.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT RESURRECTED THE DEAD THROUGH ELIJAH AND ELISHA?

Among the great miracles performed by Elijah and Elisha there is one that stands high above the rest: resurrecting the dead. Elijah resurrected a widow’s son while being a guest in her house. Elisha, on the other hand, resurrected the son of the Shunamite woman.

What if God had not performed these mighty miracles through these two great prophets?

Elijah and Elisha are the only prophets that are mentioned in the Bible who had the power to bring the dead back to life. The only other great one who performed such mighty miracles was Jesus Christ. Any other miracle may have been impressive, but giving life back to the dead is a prerogative that belongs only to God. Allowing both prophets to perform such mighty miracles was a definite and undeniable sign that God was with both, and that He had given them tremendous power to do their job.

Both had very challenging and very dangerous jobs to do. By giving them the power to resurrect the dead, God made it clear to both that He would support them with all the power they needed and that they could move on with total assurance.

It is critical to note that both events took place as a reward for people who had been kind to God’s servants. There is a wonderful message in all this: supporting God’s messengers will bring about great favor from the Almighty.

Christ emphasized this reality in Matthew chapter ten: “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.” (Matthew 10:40-42).

Therefore, by giving Elijah and Elisha the power to bring the dead back to life, He gave both total assurance that they would have had all the necessary power to accomplish their arduous mission. In so doing He also made it perfectly clear that supporting God’s servants would not pass unnoticed and that blessings are sure to follow.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ORDAINED THAT ISRAEL BE TAKEN INTO CAPTIVITY?

After many warnings by many different prophets, God finally decreed that Israel be “vomited” out of the Promised Land as the Canaanites had been. Thus, “the king of Assyria…carried Israel away to Assyria…” (II Kings 17: 5-6).

What if God had not allowed the total exile of Israel from the Promised Land? What if He had simply punished them locally and had foregone the exile altogether?

The story of Israel, and God’s dealings with it, is a wonderful study in the character of the Almighty. Through His dealings with Israel, He manifested His total reliability by keeping His promise of delivering Israel out of Egypt. He also revealed His love and righteousness, by giving Israel Laws that would have elevated them above all the other surrounding nations, and that would have brought great blessings on them generation after generation.

Furthermore, God manifested His longsuffering nature by warning Israel through His prophets before punishing. Finally He intervened but with the sole intent of sobering them into repentance.

Lastly, His dealings with Israel manifest that, though God is longsuffering, He has His limits, and that the day will come when He will finally bring about very stern punishments upon humans, if they refuse to repent.

It is important to note that II Kings 17, the chapter that describes the Israel’s exile, also gives an exhaustive list of the sins embraced by Israel. The chapter also describes God’s many attempts to bring Israel back to sobriety before having to finally send them into exile.

The list of Israel’s sins is quite extensive and serious. The people forgot that God had delivered them from Egyptian slavery and “feared other gods” (V.7). They walked in the way of the nations that had been cast out of Canaan (V. 8). Furthermore, they built high places and burned incense to idols (V. 11-12). Because of their rebellious attitude, God warned Israel and Judah “by all His prophets (V. 13), but they did not repent and, instead,  “stiffened their necks” (V. 14).

In spite of all the many warnings, “They rejected His statutes and His Covenant…they left all the commandments” (V. 15-16) and “made for themselves a molten image and two calves, made a wooden image and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal”(V.16).  Lastly, they “caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire (sacrificed their children to other gods), practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger” (V. 17).  Thus, the final judgment: “You shall be plucked off from the land…” (Deuteronomy 28: 63).

God had made a covenant with Israel centuries before, and had promised to pour great blessings on them if they obeyed and great curses if they disobeyed. The curses are listed in Deuteronomy 28 in increasing severity. Israel did not heed the many warnings and was finally eradicated from the land, as God had promised centuries before.

If God had not sent Israel into exile, His word may have been questioned, and His inevitable intervention toward obdurate sinners would not have received proper attention. Paul reinforces this reality in the New Testament: “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives” (Hebrew 12: 6). Israel needed to see that God had reached His limit, and that they had pushed Him to the point of no return.

If God had not intervened and had not kept His promises of total exile, God’s longsuffering nature might have been misunderstood for weakness, and Israel might have concluded that God is willing to turn a blind eye to persistent sin.

God’s people must know that, though they may be special in God’s eyes, and though He is very patient toward their frailties, if they sin willfully and stubbornly He will finally intervene powerfully and dramatically—and that is true for spiritual Israel as it was true for ancient Israel.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT HUMILIATED SENNACHERIB?

One of the most arrogant despots described in the Bible is Sennacherib. The Bible tells us that “in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib King of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them” (II Kings 18:13). In II Kings 18:17-23 we read that Sennacherib’s messengers went to Jerusalem to ask Hezekiah and the people to surrender.

As the inhabitants of Jerusalem looked down upon the surrounding army, Sennacherib’s messengers yelled out to them: “Do not listen to Hezekiah lest he persuade you, saying, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria?” (V.32-33). The messengers continued: “Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand” (V. 35).

Because Hezekiah and the people did not surrender, Sennacherib again sent his messengers to warn Hezekiah that his God would not have been able to shield him from his power. Thus, Sennacherib sealed his fate for having dared to elevate himself above God Almighty Himself.

The rest is history. Hezekiah turns to God and beseeches Him for his intervention; God heard and effectively humbled Sennacherib. “And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty five thousand; and when the people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead” (19: 35). Sennacherib, humiliated and afraid, returned to Nineveh, and, as he was worshipping in the temple of Nisroch, his god, two of his sons killed him (35- 37). Thus ended the life of the man who dared to show insolence toward the great God of Israel.

But what if God had not intervened so drastically with Sennacherib? What if He had simply terrorized both him and his army, so that they would have simply fled back to their land without there being a great slaughter.

The sin of Sennacherib was exceptionally grievous, not just because he dared to invade the Holy Land, but because he dared to show arrogance and insolence toward the Almighty.  God is longsuffering, but His patience seems to quickly come to an end, when He encounters arrogance and insolence. Nobody can rise up against Almighty God and escape His wrath. Sennacherib dared to insinuate that his power was actually greater than that of the God of Israel. This kind of sin inevitably brings about very serious consequences.

God will not allow arrogance from anyone to go unpunished. Sennacherib had to learn, like Nebuchadnezzar, that there is only one Supreme Ruler, and that no one can dare oppose Him. Because of his extreme insolence and because of the cockiness of his servants and his armies, God intervened in a way that would leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that the True Sovereign must not be contended with.

Throughout the Millennia, all tyrants have assumed that they were invincible, and that no power in Heaven or Earth could stop them. This kind of insolence inevitably brings them to their own destruction. The lesson is there for all to read, but many have not heeded it. There is only One Supreme Ruler who determines who rules and who will not. There is only One Supreme King who rules the nations and who determines the rise and fall of all empires. The story of Sennacherib is a reminder of this great truth. But will the arrogant ever heed the Word of God?

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT EXTENDED EZEKIAH’S LIFE?

Hezekiah stood out among the Kings of Judah as a great and noble King. He is listed in the Book of Kings as one who “did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done” (II Kings 18: 3). After having been delivered from Sennacherib, Hezekiah became severely ill. Consequently, God sent a messenger to Hezekiah to announce his approaching death. “Thus says the Lord: ‘set your house in order, for you shall die and not live’” (II Kings 20: 1). In response, Hezekiah begged God to have his life spared and God mercifully extended Hezekiah’s life by fifteen years. To confirm His promise, God made the shadow go back ten degrees (V. 2-11).

But what if God had not answered Hezekiah’s prayer? What if He had been rigid and unbendable, and had allowed Hezekiah’s death to occur immediately, as originally intended?

This event is a wonderful example of God’s flexible and merciful Spirit. He is the One who gives and takes life, and no one has the right to oppose His will. Hezekiah had his part in God’s plan, and the time had arrived to include a new protagonist to take his place. Yet he understood something that many don’t fully understand: God is a God of love and mercy. Since He understood this great reality, he appealed to God’s mercy with the following heartfelt prayer: “'Remember now, oh Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in your sight.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly’” (II Kings 20: 2-3).

God was so moved by Hezekiah’s heartfelt prayer that He communicated with Isaiah “before he had gone out into the middle court.” That is, God asked Isaiah immediately after Hezekiah’s prayed, to return to him with a new message: “I have heard your prayer, and have seen your tears; surely I will heal you” (V. 4-5).

This turn of events should be very inspiring to us believers for several reasons:

First of all, it reveals that God listens to our prayers. He is not a distant Being that is too busy to hear what we bring to Him. “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry” (Ps. 34: 15). Hezekiah’s prayers reached God immediately, and He responded immediately.

Secondly, sincere, heartfelt prayers move God. James assures us that “The effective fervent prayer of the righteous man avails much” (James 5:16). Fervent, sincere prayers avail much with God; lukewarm prayers do not. God is responsive to an intense, fervent approach.

Thirdly, we Christians must not hesitate to pour our heart and express our deep-felt emotions before God. God sees our tears and all that they imply, and takes them into account. Emotions are revealing of our needs and mental condition. God is sensitive to our inner state.

Fourthly, God will reward our believing, heart-felt prayers with abundant blessings. It is important to note that He could have extended Hezekiah’s life by a few month or a few years, but, instead, He extended his life by fifteen years. Hezekiah’s fervent prayer was rewarded abundantly.

Lastly, God can make us wait for an answer, or He may choose to answer immediately. If our pain is very intense and our anxiety is very deep, He can choose to answer and give us relief immediately, as He did with Hezekiah.

God does not change. He was a merciful and loving God then and He is still merciful and loving today. His mind is still the same and His heart abounds with goodness today as ever. Thus, we believers can confidently turn to God at any time, and pour our broken hearts to Him, and He will listen; and if our prayers are according to His will, He will answer immediately in ways that are above what we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

If God had not responded to Hezekiah’s moving prayer, we would have been deprived of a great example of how God is moved by sincere, heartfelt prayer. Hezekiah’s story was written to stir us to follow his example and to reap, like Hezekiah, unexpected and wonderful results.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT SENT JUDAH INTO EXILE?

Even though the Northern Ten Tribes had been taken into captivity, Judah did not heed God’s warning and chose to assume that the same punishment would not befall it as well. After all, they had been spared before, and it all appeared as though God would continue favoring them. Did they not have the Temple among them? Did they not sacrifice to God? Were not God’s priests active among them? All should have continued as before, and God would have ignored their sins.

But God does not ignore prolonged, entrenched, arrogant sinning. The people of Judah had hardened their hearts, and were bent on continuing to rebel against God—and God knew it. Thus, His fury finally befell Judah as it did Israel, and they, too, were taken into captivity.

But what if God had not decreed that Judah be taken into captivity? What if He had decided to spare the Judeans and had left them in the land?

Though Josiah had cleansed the land of idolatry, and though he had killed the sinful priests that had led Judah astray, the people of Judah had not truly repented of their many sins. Consequently, God remained bent on punishing them severely and on taking them away to Babylon — but not immediately. In fact, Josiah died in battle, and was followed by Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, three very evil kings (II Kings 23: 31-32, 35-37, 24: 8-9, 19). Finally God unleashed His wrath through the King of Babylon, and all of Judah was taken into captivity (II Kings 25:1-21).

Captivity is a terrifying experience. People are captured; they are taken by force from their homes and their land; they are then made slaves, and they are treated with disdain and abuse. In spite of the great grief that was to befall Judah, God did not prevent it. In fact He orchestrated it and made it happen as He had warned.

No one can deny that God waited patiently for Judah to repent, but they did not. God sent His prophets to warn Judah, but without success (Ezekiel 21-23). The prophet Zephaniah describes the rebellious spirit of the people of Jerusalem and of Judah, by extension, in chapter three. “Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, to the oppressing city! She has not obeyed His voice, she has not received correction; She has not trusted in the Lord, she has not drawn near to her God” (Zephaniah 3: 1-2). Thus, God waited and hoped in vain, and the result of their obstinacy was disastrous.

If God had not finally punished Judah, He would have been perceived as unjust and unfair. He had poured His judgment upon Israel, and He had to treat Judah the same way. In the Law, God had warned all of Israel of the disastrous consequences that would have befallen arrogant disobedience (Deut. 28). As with the Northern Tribes, He also warned the people of Judah, and they failed to respond. Finally God was forced to intervene and punished the nation with exile.

Again we see a God who waits very patiently for His people to repent, but, finally, He intervenes and does so quite drastically. We also see a God who is consistent and shows no favoritism. That was the case for Israel; it was the case for Judah, and it will be the case for any nation who knows God’s will and chooses to rebel against it.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ALLOWED THE PUTTING AWAY OF FOREIGN WIVES?

After having allowed a prolonged and arduous captivity for the children of Israel, God fulfilled the prophecy made through Jeremiah to move Cyrus, King of Persia, to allow their return to the Holy Land. Ezra, Nehemiah and thousands of others returned to the Land of Israel bent on rebuilding the nation and the Temple of God in particular.

While in the process of rebuilding, the leaders of the people went to Ezra with a very serious concern:

The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed is intermingled with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hands of the leaders and rulers have been foremost in their trespass” (Ezra 9: 1-2).

The transgression was serious, and it needed immediate addressing. Consequently, the males of Israel were asked to attend a meeting in Jerusalem within three days so as to deal with the problem. The problem was discussed Jerusalem; the verdict was direct and drastic: all pagan wives and their children had to be put away

This verdict involved hundreds of Israelites, including several leaders. The decision must have been heartrending for the men, women and children involved — but it had to be done.

What if God had not allowed this most seemingly cruel event from taking place? What if He had intervened and had not allowed the families to break up? Would not that have been more appropriate and merciful?

To understand God’s lack of intervention, we must go back to God’s view on intermarriage found in the book of Deuteronomy. In chapter seven, God firmly asserts that upon the conquest of Canaan the Israelites were to totally destroy the people of the land, and they were to abstain from intermarrying with them. “Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter, nor take their daughter for your son” (Deut. 7:3).  The reason? “For they will turn your sons away from following me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly” (7: 3-4).

The Bible tells us that Israel refused to do as they were told; they left many Canaanites alive and, finally, some of them intermarried. The result was not just the forming of marital relationship with foreign wives but, also, the embracing of their gods and their ways. Over time, this brought about moral deterioration, the worship of foreign gods, and distancing from God’s ways and from God Himself. Ultimately God’s wrath was kindled and captivity ensued.

Decades later, Israel was being given another chance. To start anew God demanded total repentance from the old ways. God expected, in particular, that the people free themselves from one of the root causes of their former problems: allowing themselves to become polluted by accepting foreign wives and by embracing their ways. Refusing to cleanse themselves from this root cause meant leaving the cancer in the body and, thus, moving again toward attracting God’s wrath and another inevitable captivity.

Undeniably, the move was drastic and painful, but it was not as cruel as we may perceive it to be. What did putting away their foreign wives and children really mean for the men of Israel? Were the wives and children sent back to their peoples? If so, were they sent back empty handed? Would God allow them to be sent away and become destitute, when He is so consistently for providing for the fatherless and the widows throughout the Bible?

We can safely assume that if the foreign wives had converted to the God of Israel and had rejected their own gods, they would have been left undisturbed. If they had accepted God’s laws, they would not have been a stumbling block. On the other hand, if they had refused to abandon their gods, they would have had to be dealt with by being sent back to their own people. In being sent back to their families, the men of Israel would have provided for them, and would, without doubt, have continued providing for them in the future.

The important point is that it was crucial that the cancer be totally eradicated, so as to keep it from spreading. Huge numbers of Israelites had been killed in battle by invading armies; others had died while traveling to the land of captivity. Some had perished while attempting to settle in the new land. To prevent this great calamity from reoccurring, the price paid by the few for the benefit of the many was by far less painful.

The putting away of wives and children by returning Israelites, therefore, may appear to be have been cruel and painful, but it was a necessary step to prevent a much greater calamity from befalling the nation of Israel. The returning leaders understood the ramifications of the matter and took the right step, and, by so doing, God blessed their efforts greatly.

10. THE GOSPELS

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT SENT HIS SON TO BE A       PROPITIATION FOR HUMAN SINS?

We do not know when it became obvious to God and Christ that humanity would have required a Savior. When they did, the Father and the Son may have discussed and considered different options. The option that was finally chosen would have entailed great anguish for both the Son and the Father — and both knew it.

But what if the Father had decided not to let it happen? What if he had concluded that sending Christ was too much of a price to pay for puny humans? What if, after weighing the options, the Father had said: “It’s a no!”? What would have been the ramifications of such a decision?

The thought that God the Father might have not allowed Christ to come and die for us humans is highly perturbing. If Christ had not died for us, we humans would have remained under the penalty of death — with no recourse. The end of all human life would have been a horrifying eternal punishment. Human life would have been nothing but a hopeless and painful ride. Satan would have remained victorious.

Fortunately, God the Father decided to prevent this horrendous fate for humans and made the fateful decision: His Son would have divested Himself of power and glory; He would have grown among men free from sin; He would have taken upon Himself the death penalty on humans’ behalf. The decision was probably the most difficult decision ever made. Yet our great Father chose to go along with it and, thus, He put into action a plan of salvation of which we all are beneficiaries.

Truly a God who would give His Firstborn for a temporary, mortal creation is a God of endless love.  A Son who is willing to divest Himself of His glory and offer His life for His brothers and sisters is a brother who overflows with love. The well-known verse, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son,” takes on new meaning, when one considers that God and Christ did not have to go ahead with their plan. The expression “God so loved the world” reveals great intensity of love and a profound concern for us humans. Undeniably, we human beings are  very special to both our magnificent Father and our loving Brother Jesus Christ.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT PROPHECIED THE COMING OF CHRIST?

Jesus Christ is accepted as Lord and Savior by hundreds of millions of Christians worldwide. Most accept Him as Lord because they were born in Christian homes and were taught to be Christians. Many have delved into the reasons why Jesus Christ is believed to be Lord and Savior and, by so doing, they have greatly strengthened their own faith.

Preachers and the New Testament writers teach us that one of the greatest proofs that Jesus Christ was the promised Savior is the prophecies of the Old Testament. In fact, the Old Testament abounds in prophecies that describe in advance the many aspects of Christ’s ministry on earth, including His death and resurrection.

But what if God had not inspired all the prophecies relating to Christ? What if He had just come and had simply allowed only His miracles to testify to His Divinity and to His being the Messiah.

If Christ had come and declared himself to be the Messiah and had accompanied His claim with great miracles, no doubt many would have been impressed and would have followed him, as they had followed others before him (Acts 5:33-37). The foundation, though, would not have been very solid, as He, over time, might have been accused of being just another impostor who happened to deceive the masses through witchcraft.

Although His resurrection would have astounded them, accusations of deceit and magical manipulations would have finally undone all His labors and teachings. In fact the most cherished Jewish rationalization of Christ’s identity revolves around him being a sorcerer, and his disciples being cunning deceivers who stole Christ’s body from the tomb and who then concocted the idea that he had been resurrected.

Jesus Christ had to be confirmed as both Messiah and Son of God by something much more reliable than just miracles. He had to be confirmed by God’s Word. Christ affirmed this powerful reality in the book of John: “And the Father Himself who has sent me, has testified of Me…You search the scriptures…and these are they which testify of me” (John 5:37-39). Yes, the Scriptures spoke of Christ centuries in advance in great detail, and they were to be the greatest foundational proof that Christ was indeed the Messiah.

The Old Testament teaches us that Christ was to come to earth and that he would totally submit to God’s will (Psalm 40:7-8). He was to be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), from the seed of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1), in the city of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). He was to be announced by a great prophet (Isaiah 40:3), and was to be persecuted by a mad man bent on destroying Him, even if it meant killing all other children of His age (Jeremiah 31:15); He was to have a gentle temperament (Isaiah 42:1-4); He was to go to His death in Jerusalem riding a donkey (Zech. 9: 9); He was to be rejected of His own people (Ps. 118: 22), and by His own disciples (Zech. 13: 7); He was to be sold for thirty pieces of silver which were to be used to buy a potter’s field (Zech. 11:12); Soldiers were to cast lots over His clothing (Ps. 22:18); He was to go through a most gruesome treatment and abuse and, finally, was be killed for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:1-8);

Furthermore, He was to have his skin and flesh torn off his bones and His hands and feet pierced (Psalm 22:16-17, Zech. 12:10, 13:6); He was to be placed in the tomb of a rich man (Isaiah 53:9) and was to be finally resurrected (Ps. 16:10).

The abundance of specifics and their total fulfillment, together with Christ’s great miracles, were a necessary and complete package that undeniably proved Christ’s true identity. Had God not included the prophecies in the package, a powerful ingredient would have been left out, and the preaching of Christ as Messiah would have been more challenging to make credible.                                                          God knew that Christ’s true identity was to be fully supported with undeniable evidence, and He did provide it in a most compelling way, not only through great miracles, but also through the fulfillment of many astounding Old Testament prophecies that point to Christ and His redeeming work for mankind.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT DECREED THAT CHRIST BE BORN OF A VIRGIN?

Mary was a typical, yet very special young lady. Little did she know that she would have been chosen to bear the One who would have saved humanity from sin, and who would have ultimately ruled the nations. Amazingly, the child she would bear was not to be conceived by Joseph but by God Himself.  The Gospels tell us that Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, but “before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18).

But what if God had allowed Joseph to conceive Jesus? What if Jesus had been a totally human child born to fulfill the role of the Messiah?

Jesus Christ was more than simply a human being. Isaiah tells us His true divine identity by the names ascribed to Him. His name would be “Immanuel,” that is, “God with Us” (Isaiah 7:14), and “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). He was in existence at creation, and by Him God the Father created the universe (John 1:1-4).

He was not to be just a human sacrifice that would have been equivalent to only one human life, but a Divine Being whose life would have been worth by far more than all of humanity. The Savior had to pay for all the sins of humanity. He died for all the human beings that ever lived or will ever live. Such a sacrifice would have had to have gigantic worth, and one human life alone would not have sufficed.

If Jesus, therefore, had been simply the son of Mary and Joseph, He would have been just that: the son of Mary and Joseph; but He could not have been the Savior of mankind. He was conceived by God and had God’s divine nature in Him; He was a perfect sacrifice; most of all, He was a “sufficient” divine sacrifice for all of humanity.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN US FOUR GOSPELS?

The coming, ministry, death and resurrection of Christ were pivotal events in human history. God came in the flesh, performed great wonders, died for all our sins, was resurrected and returned to Heaven. Many disciples and thousands of witnesses witnessed these events. But, in time, all the witnesses would have died, and the events would have been forgotten. God chose four reliable sources to record the most important events surrounding Christ’s human life and His teachings, for the benefit of all future generations.

But what if God had not inspired four accounts? What if He only had inspired one or two? Would that have made any difference?

The human life of Christ was the most important event that ever occurred on Earth. His identity as the Messiah was of critical importance to all future believers. Future generations would have been taught about Christ, and the sources would have had to be totally reliable. The Gospels of Matthew and John were written by Christ’s disciples. The Gospel of Mark is thought by some scholars to have been dictated by, or to have been heavily influenced by Peter’s experiences.[xv] Luke was a doctor and a historian who wrote his account based on interviews with people who witnessed the events. The sources were totally reliable.

But why four Gospels? The answer could be related to a rule established by God Himself in the Old Testament: “by the mouth of two or three witnesses shall a matter be established” (Deut. 19:15).  One witness could be erroneous, false or biased; two would be sufficient; three would be ideal; four witnesses would have been undeniable. Thus, God made sure that the greatest event in human history would be supported not by two or three witnesses, which would have been sufficient, but by four which was above and beyond what was necessary.

God does everything for a reason and having four Gospels had the critical purpose of leaving no doubt in believers’ minds that Christ had come, that He had done great works, that He had died for us and that he had been resurrected. Most of all, they prove beyond any doubt that He was the Son of God and that through Him humanity has a living and eternal hope.

WHAT IF GOD HAD ALLOWED JESUS TO GET MARRIED AND HAVE CHILDREN?

Jesus was a healthy and strong young man. He was a carpenter and was “in all points tempted as we are” (Hebrews 4:15). Thus, He was human in all aspects, with all the needs that humans have—including the need to love and to be loved. No doubt He continually had to fight temptations relating to the beautiful Jewish young ladies that lived in His area. As a human being, He too would have liked their companionship and affection, yet He had to fight such thoughts and not one such temptation was ever allowed to take root in His mind.

But what if God had allowed Him to live a normal human life? What if He had allowed Christ to marry a pure and blameless young lady and have children? Would that have made any difference to God’s plan?

If Christ had married a human being, the ramifications would have been nothing short of gigantic. First of all, He knew the reason for His human existence. His future had been pre-ordained, and it included a gruesome death at the relatively young age of thirty-three. Had He married a young woman, Christ would have suffered terribly at the knowledge that she would have had to face up to His future gruesome end. If He would have had children, accepting His own death would have been much more difficult, knowing about their great suffering and that He would have had to leave His children behind.

Christ could not allow Himself to have such potential barriers to His vital sacrifice. We know that He begged His Father to allow “the cup” of death to pass from Him (Luke 22:42). Clearly His march toward death was a fearful thing. How much more difficult the whole experience would have been, if He had to leave his wife and children behind.

Another point to be stressed is that if Christ had children they, too, would have had a divine nature within themselves. They, too, would have been part God beings. Consequently, after Christ’s departure, this would have led His disciples to revere and worship them as divine. In time, the focus of the Church would have become Christ’s physical descendents rather than God the Father and Christ Himself. It is quite possible that such a status could have led some of Christ’s descendents to arrogance and to total dictatorial control and abuse over God’s people. God would have never allowed such a scenario.

Theologically it is well understood that Christ was already figuratively married to His Church. The Church is labeled in the Bible as the “Bride of Christ.” (II Cor. 11:2, Rev. 19: 7-9). Christ was, therefore, stayed totally committed to His bride for whom He was dying and with whom He would spend eternity.

God the Father knew full well the ramifications of allowing a human relationship between Christ and a woman to take place. God knew that no obstacle should have been in Christ’s path, beyond the essential. It was also imperative that the focus of the Church be kept on the Father and Jesus Christ and no one else. God’s plans regarding Christ’s mission were well thought out, as is the rest of God’s plan of salvation and, because God’s plan is well thought out, it will continue unfolding perfectly to the end.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN JESUS GREAT MIRACULOUS POWERS?

The four Gospels abound in evidence that Christ had great miraculous powers such as had never been seen before. Christ’s first “recorded” miracle was the result of His mother’s request to create some wine for their distraught hosts. In the Gospels we find the description of many more astonishing miracles, such as the healing of the leper (Matt. 8:1-4), the centurion’s servant (Matt. 8:5-13), Peter’s mother-in-law (Matt. 8:14), a palsied man (Matt. 9:1-7), the raising of Jairus’ daughter (Matt. 9:23-25), the two blind men (Matt. 9:27-30), a man with a withered hand (Matt. 12:10-13), the epileptic boy (Matt. 17:14-18), and several more, including the raising of Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38-44).      But what if God had not given Christ such mighty miraculous  powers? What if God had simply allowed Christ to come and die for us, as prophesied in the Scriptures, without ever performing great miracles?                                                                         Christ’s identity as Messiah had to be proven beyond any doubt. Just as doing great miracles alone would not have sufficed, prophecies alone would not have been sufficient either. During Christ’s earthly ministry, there was a need to quickly and dramatically attract the attention of the people, so that they would listen to and consider His message. The relationship between Christ and the messianic scriptures would have been established later on. In the immediate, God’s power in Christ had to be manifested with undeniable works. Christ was not just another self-proclaimed Messiah; He was the Savior sent by God and great miracles would testify to it.                                                     This theme becomes evident from the beginning of Christ’s ministry when John, “heard about the works of Christ,” and sent two of his disciples to confirm if indeed He was the Messiah. “Are you the coming one or do we look for another?” (Matt.11: 2-3). The evidence Christ offered was conclusive: “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached unto them” (Matt. 11: 5).                                                                                   As the word spread, multitudes “followed him on foot from the cities” (Matt. 14: 13). Great numbers of physically and mentally afflicted people thronged Him, and Christ healed them (V. 14). As the numbers grew, Christ had a perfect opportunity to preach the Gospel to them and, indirectly, to the many who would have heard about Christ’s message when the crowds went home. As time progressed, the approach produced great results to the point that the crowds became a great many and, finally, the number of people who followed Christ became vast.

…great multitudes came to Him having with them those who were lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them. So the multitudes marvelled...and the glorified the God of Israel (Matt. 15: 30-31).

The apex of God’s involvement with Christ is, of course, His resurrection from the dead. After Christ paid for the sins of humanity, God was now ready to show to all the ultimate evidence that Christ was His beloved Son and Messiah. Thus, a badly mangled body, emptied of blood that had been dead for three days and three nights is brought back to life miraculously. To make sure that there would have been no doubt as to the event, Christ appeared to His disciples (Matt. 28: 9, 16-18), and then to over five hundred brethren (I Cor. 15:6). From the beginning of Christ’s ministry to the end, God bore “witness both with signs and wonders with various miracles” (Hebrews 2:4). Christ was the promised Messiah, as the scriptures attested to and as great miracles proved beyond any doubt.

There was a critical need, therefore, that the coming of Christ be framed by great power — and so it was. Had God not accompanied Christ’s redeeming work on earth with great wonders, the Gospel message would not have received the enormous attention that it received, and Christ would not have become the focus of the nation of Israel as quickly as it did. God gave Christ the stamp of approval in every necessary way, so as to make His credentials undeniable. For those who have ears to hear and eyes to see, Christ was indeed the mighty Son of God and your and my Savior.

WHAT IF GOD HAD REVEALED TO CHRIST THE  EXACT TIME OF HIS RETURN AND HAD ALLOWED HIM TO REVEAL IT TO HIS DISCIPLES?

One of the most fundamental and glorious truths relating to Christ is the promise of His Second Coming. During His earthly ministry, several times He made it perfectly clear to His disciples that He would come again: “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in Heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24: 30).                                                                               Yet, paradoxically, Christ did not share the exact time of His second coming. The reason was, as Christ informed His disciples, the Father did not share with Him the exact day and hour (Matthew 24:36), though He knew the general time of His return. Christ only went as far as giving His disciples general warning signs to look for, and no more. In addition, He warned His followers several times to always be in a state of readiness: “Watch therefore, for you know not neither the day nor the hour in which the son of man is coming” (Matthew 25:13).                                                                           But what if God had made known the day and the hour of Christ’s second coming? What if Christians had been entrusted with that amazing knowledge from the start?                    Obviously God could have chosen to make that knowledge available to us Christians, but, in His great wisdom, He chose not to. If God concluded that this was the better way, He had very good reasons.                                      If Christians had known that Christ would have “delayed” His coming and that millennia would have passed before His return — as it has— how many Christians would have been motivated to be on guard and to maintain themselves in a healthy spiritual condition? Probably, not many.                      The Parable of the Faithful Servant sheds light on this very reality. Christ warns: “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his father made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes will find, will find so doing” (Matthew 24: 45-46). Christians are the servants, and they have been assigned duties of service and love. They are expected to persevere in such works, until the very end without any pause. Not doing so will carry severe consequences.                    Unfortunately some will take advantage of the fact that the Lord is “delaying” his coming and begin to beat “their fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunkards,” thus inviting a certain future judgment upon themselves (V. 48-49).                                                                                                  These evil servants will be caught by Christ’s return in their state of rebellion, when they least expect it. Christ warns that the master (Himself) “will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites” (V. 50-51). The punishment is great, but the attitude that it is a consequence of is both deplorable and deserving. These servants are so arrogant that they set aside the Holy Commandments of God and take advantage of God’s people, while believing that, someday, they can conveniently repent and not pay any penalty. These are the kinds of games that hypocrites are bound to play over time, simply because they believe that Christ’s return and His judgment are far into the future.  Therefore, not knowing the time of Christ’s return becomes a great test of faith, endurance and true commitment to God and Christ. Had God not implemented this test, many undeserving types might have worked their way into God’s kingdom, though untested by time. God, in His wisdom, made sure that Christ’s return would remain a mystery until the very end. It is our individual Christian duty therefore to make sure we will be faithful Christians until Christ’s second coming.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT RESURRECTED JESUS?

Christ came to earth and showed great wisdom and power; His teachings were revolutionary; His miracles left thousands dumbfounded; He healed the blind, the deaf, the dumb, the paralyzed and others who suffered great afflictions; He fed miraculously thousands of hungry people. To top it all off, He made the dead come back to life.

Everything pointed to one undeniable truth: Christ was the greatest of all the messengers that God had ever sent to Israel, and not one of them could compare.

But there was more. Jesus was not just a great messenger from God, He was declared God’s Son by a voice from Heaven, and He asserted that He was the expected Messiah. This was a very big package to accept on the part of both the disciples and the Jews.

After three-and-one-half years of preaching and of doing great miracles came the shocking arrest of Jesus by the Roman soldiers and the Jews. Unexpectedly, He did not fight back as the expected Messiah should have done. He was accused of blasphemy, was scourged and was finally crucified. To the amazement of Christ’s disciples, the “Conquering Messiah” did not resist. Ultimately He died a most gruesome death and was entombed like any other human. Was Jesus Christ really the Messiah, therefore, given this shocking turn of events?

As promised, the resurrection did take place three days later, and hundreds witnessed Christ’s return to life. There was no doubt that He had been resurrected, as He had promised. The greatest wonder of all had taken place, and all of Christ’s disciples knew that Christ was much more than just a prophet — He was the Son of God.

But what if the three days and three nights had passed and God had not resurrected Christ?

If Christ had not come back to life, His promise that He would have risen the third day would have been rendered null and void. Also everything surrounding Christ would have been subject to question. Christ’s teachings would have held no value, as they would have been seen as the words of a deceiver. His great deeds would have been attributed to demonic powers working through Him. His promises to His disciples of a glorious future would have been seen as rubbish. His prophecies regarding His return to rule the Earth would have been valueless. Lastly, His promise that He would have shed his blood for the sins of the world would have been insignificant.

When God resurrected Christ, He gave humanity the critical and undeniable proof that Christ was the promised Savior, and that Jesus was, indeed, totally trustworthy and reliable. Furthermore, the resurrection also validated the worth of Christ’s teachings and of all His promises. Most of all, it validated the powerful meaning of His sacrifice for all of humanity, and His central role in the future establishment of the Kingdom of God.

After the resurrection, the disciples no longer doubted that Christ was the Son of God. Even “Doubting Thomas” received sufficient evidence from Christ that He had come back from the dead, which led him to exult: “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). After three agonizing days the disciples were overwhelmed with feelings of joy. Their Lord was back, as He had promised, and everything surrounding Him was totally true.

Thus, the resurrection was the pivotal sign needed from God to totally validate Christ, His teachings and His promises. The sign was given, and it was witnessed by hundreds (I Corinthians 15:6), who gladly went on to share the good news that Christ had died for all sinners, was resurrected, had risen to the right hand of God, was offering salvation to all who believed and had a great eternal reward in store for them who endured to the end.

11. FROM THE BOOK OF ACTS TO  REVELATION WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT INCLUDED THE BOOK OF ACTS IN THE BIBLE?

The book of Acts is a dynamic piece of history with many exciting and suspenseful events reminiscent of the drama of Old Testament books.  We read it and are amazed by the transformation of the disciples. We are encouraged by the miraculous survival of a fledgling group that was destined to transform civilization. We are awed at how God transformed a dangerous persecutor of the Church by the name of Saul into the amazing Apostle Paul.

But what if God had not included the Book of Acts in the Bible? What if that wonderful piece of history had been totally left out?

The Book of Acts is one of the most important books in the Bible. It is a work that is foundational to solidifying the validity of much of the New Testament. It spotlights the presence of God and Christ in the origins of the Church, and it manifests God’s miraculous ability to change lives and to effectively spread the Gospel to the nations.

Paul wrote fourteen critical treatises on Christ, His divine origins, His work of salvation, the Church and its relationship to Christ and the Church’s destiny. Without his Epistles, our understanding of the validity and grandness of Christianity would have been hampered significantly.  Furthermore, without the Book of Acts, Paul, the author of this powerful collection of critical Epistles, would have been an unknown, as there is no mention of him whatsoever in the four Gospels. It is in the context of the book of Acts that the Epistles gain both relevance and power.

The book of Acts, therefore, serves to establish Paul’s credentials and to give greater credibility to his works. The fourteen Pauline Epistles were not just the work of a brilliant theologian; they were, in reality, the inspired work of Jesus Christ made available to the Church through a former enemy of Christianity who, through God’s intervention finally was converted to Christianity and became a powerful tool in God’s hands for the spreading of the Gospel to the world.

The beginning of the Christian Church was no mean thing. God started a Work that was to include all of humanity and extend into eternity. Yet it started very small and with very weak, unassuming people. God chose the weak and the lowly and through a miraculous intervention witnessed by thousands He transformed frail humans into a small army that was to slowly march into the mighty Roman Empire and begin an inevitable conquest.

Christianity was to be a powerful and unstoppable arrowhead in God’s hands that that was meant to fulfill God’s eternal aims. The beginning of such a dramatic event demanded a record accessible to all for millennia to come, so that all Christians would be conscious of the humble beginnings of their religion and God’s power in transforming very frail human beings into powerful spiritual giants.

One of the great messages of the book of Acts is that God can humble proud and difficult humans and mould them into spiritual giants. Paul was such a mind. Having consented to the death of Stephen, Saul (Paul) “was breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord…” (Acts 9:1). But God had a humbling plan for him and, thus, He was  struck down and was rendered blind by Christ Himself. The rest was to be a story of deep repentance and total commitment to our Savior and a willingness to suffer any hardship for the Gospel’s sake—including death. God can help change tough, useless minds and, once willing, He can turn them into mighty instruments, and that is one of the great messages in the book of Acts.

Luke, the doctor and objective observer and historian, wrote the Book of Acts. Unlike his Gospel, which was based on the testimony of many witnesses, most of the events in the book of Acts were written as a result of his own active participation in them.

Luke accompanied Paul in his trips through the Mediterranean and carefully recorded the salient events. Luke saw Paul’s transformation, witnessed God’s power in him and recorded it for our benefit and inspiration.

Luke was there when Paul was beaten and persecuted; he was there when Paul healed the sick; he experienced the shipwrecks and the beatings with him and with Paul he traveled to Rome. Luke suffered for the Truth and was totally committed to the Truth.

From Luke we have an accurate, dynamic, dramatic and suspenseful account that strongly contributes to our faith and to the assurance that as God was with the fathers of our Faith, He is with us today as well.

Thus, the book of Acts is a pivotal book. It validates Paul’s credentials as an Apostle of God and as the author of fourteen    critical epistles. It manifests God’s ability to transform a few weak human beings and then turn them into an unstoppable army that was to spread the Gospel worldwide. Most of all, it spotlights God’s power and His involvement in the lives of His servants and  of His churches.

God is as involved with His people today as He ever was and will continue using Christianity to spread His message of salvation to the whole world with unstoppable power.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT GIVEN THE HOLY SPIRIT ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST?

Before ascending to Heaven, Christ gathered his Apostles and “commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father” (Acts 1:5). Christ then added: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the Earth” (Acts 1: 8).

The disciples obeyed Christ’s command and went to the upper room of a house where they “continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with His brothers” (V. 14).

When the Day of Pentecost arrived, Christ’s promise was fulfilled.

Suddenly there came a sound from Heaven, as a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and one sat upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2: 1-4).

The rest of the story describes the mighty wonder of speaking in tongues, the conversion of thousands to the Faith and the beginning of the Christian Church.

But what if the Holy Spirit had come down on another day? What if God had not chosen Pentecost as the day to begin the Christian Church?

To many this may sound irrelevant. After all, God could have sent His Spirit down at any time. Amazingly, there is a very special reason why Pentecost was chosen as the day for such a momentous event to take place.

To understand why God chose Pentecost as the day of the inception of the Christian Church, we must go back to the book of Leviticus 23. God commands Israel to “bring …two wave loaves …of fine flour;” Then He adds that “They are the firstfruits of the Lord” (V. 17). The priest was then to wave the sacrifices and the bread of the firstruits as a wave offering (V. 20).

These offerings and the bread of the “firstfruits” were a foreshadowing of the “first fruits” that were to be converted later in the New Testament. In fact, the first group of converted Christians was the “first fruits” to be gathered, and many more who would have followed later. The Day of Pentecost marked the beginning of the gathering that was to continue for millennia.

It is also worth noting the great significance of the Passover Day, another great holy day commanded by God. It was during that special day that the Passover Lamb was to be sacrificed. On that same day, Christ was killed as our Passover. Christ was the true Passover lamb that was to replace the old Passover lamb sacrifices, once and for always. How wonderful that God would sacrifice the ultimate Passover Lamb on the same day and time when the Passover lamb was killed.

It is also important to note that in the middle of the Days of Unleavened Bread, which immediately follow the Passover Day, a sheaf of the first fruit of the harvest was to be brought to the Priest who would then wave it as an offering to God on the day after the Sabbath. This is understood to symbolize the resurrection of Christ, the very “First Fruit” among the many other first fruits to be gathered at the resurrection (Lev 23: 10-11, I Cor.15: 23).

Clearly the Holy Days commanded by God to Israel had tremendous prophetic significance and foreshadowed many events relating to Christ and the Church which were to occur centuries later.

If the Holy Spirit had not come on the Day of Pentecost, God would not have reinforced this great reality, and the typology inherent within the Holy Days would have been greatly diminished. The fact that God did begin the New Testament Church on the Day of Pentecost and the fact that other prophesied events occurred on other Holy Days reveals a God who has a plan that unfolds at the times appointed. All this gives us great reassurance, and we can have absolute trust that God’s Plan will continue unfolding in the future exactly as intended by Him.

In fact, the rest of God’s Holy Days also have typological significance. All indications are that the Day of Trumpets symbolizes the day of Christ’s return; the Day of Atonement is a foreshadowing of the imprisonment of Satan for a thousand years; the Feast of Tabernacles is symbolic of the Millennium, while The Last Great Day represents the Great White Throne Judgment.

Everything God does and commands has a reason, and in His commanded Holy Feast Days, we find hints of a Plan conceived by a brilliant and reliable Mind that is unfolding miraculously and wonderfully.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT SENTENCED TO DEATH ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA?

The Church had just been established and confirmed by an undeniable manifestation of Divine Power. Hundreds had been converted, and God showed His great might by allowing the newly converted to speak in tongues and to prophesy.

Among the many who were converted were two disciples by the name of Ananias and Sapphira. They sold their possessions and brought some of the proceeds to the Apostles making all believe that they were giving all they possessed. God through Peter decreed that because they had been lying to the Holy Spirit they were to die publicly. As a result of their public death, “great fear came upon all the church, and upon all who heard these things” (Acts 5:11).

But what if God had forgiven Ananias and Sapphira? What if He had shown mercy on them and had not allowed the Church to experience such a shocking and traumatic event immediately after having experienced unspeakable joy?

Before He rose to Heaven, Jesus asked his disciples to go to Jerusalem and promised them a very special gift (Acts 1:8). Christ kept His promise on the Day of Pentecost

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2: 2-4).

The result was excitement and great bonding among the newly converted. Many sold their possessions and gave the proceeds to the Apostles, so that the needs of the brethren would be looked after (Acts 4:34-35).

Experiencing such astonishing power must have left the disciples in awe. They were, beyond doubt, the chosen ones, and God was making it evident to all in Jerusalem with undeniable signs. But feeling favored could have led to a spiritually superior and, perhaps, even a slack attitude. Some probably did not yet understand that being chosen also meant carrying the great responsibility of being God’s righteous representatives. They had not been chosen to simply enjoy the spiritual benefits of their calling, but to shine on God’s behalf.

Ananias and Sapphira rejected righteousness and adopted deceit. Because of this God decreed that they receive a most stern punishment: death. Their death was also to be a warning to all that the New Way was not to be taken lightly. Thus God allowed fear to fall upon the whole group. To make sure the lesson would remain for all future Christians to heed, the story was included in the Holy Scriptures.

Furthermore, this was an ideal opportunity to sober up the Church and to make them remain conscious of the fact that though God gives much He demands much as well. Consequently, God was going to watch the actions and attitudes of each and every one of them. The critical message was to be loud and clear for all that “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God” (Hebrews 10:31).

The Church began with great signs and wonders. The first Christians were the recipients of great gifts and great accompanying joy. In His wisdom, God saw fit to allow the death of Ananias and Sapphira to sober up the Church and to remind the newly-converted Christians that, though the great God gives great gifts, He also demands total righteousness. That lesson is as valid today as it was then.

WHAT IF GOD HAD NOT ALLOWED THE GREAT  SUFFERINGS OF PAUL?

Before his dramatic conversion, the apostle Paul was an aggressive and brutal man. Being a fanatical Pharisee, he was an avowed enemy of Christians and persecuted them without pause. “Saul (Paul) was breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord and gladly consented to the death of Stephen” (Acts 9:1; 8:1). Yet God in His mercy began unfolding a plan that was to bring Paul to Christ and then turn him into a dynamic, unstoppable force for the spreading of the Gospel around the Roman Empire.

But God also had in store a long series of trials and tribulations that were to make his Christian experience an enormously difficult and challenging one.

What if God had not added all the many trials to Paul’s Christian experience? What if He had simply helped him carry his Gospel responsibilities without the many trials he also had to endure?

Paul’s life was overturned when Christ appeared to Him on his way to Damascus. A bright light shone and he fell off his horse. Immediately he lost his sight and became blind. The forceful, brutal man was now ready for some transforming.                                                                                    After three days of blindness, Christ sent a messenger to Paul telling him the good and bad news. He had been chosen to bring the Gospel to “the Gentiles, Kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). This was the good news; the bad news was that he was going to suffer “many things” for Christ’s name’s sake —and he did. Most of the book of Acts is the story of Paul’s sufferings as he goes about preaching the Gospel. Paul finally summarizes many of  his trials in II Cor. 11: 24-27.

From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

Besides many persecutions, Paul also had to bear an infirmity we know little about which he described as follows: “a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me” (II Corinthians 12: 7). He fervently beseeched God for healing, but he got a firm “No!” each time. All in all, Christ’s prophecy about Paul’s sufferings was fulfilled.    Obviously if God decided to add all the suffering to Paul’s life He had His very good reason. It appears that to bring about a true lasting transformation, Paul needed intensive therapy — and that is exactly what God provided.          Paul was forceful and fiery. God made sure he had plenty of trials that would produce much longsuffering. Paul was harsh and judgmental. God made sure that his many painful experiences would tenderize him and make him more tolerant. Paul had tendencies toward pride and arrogance. God made sure his pride was squeezed out of him.

Paul understood that God knew what He was doing and that His intentions were only good.  Paul knew that all things would have worked out for his best and, thus, took all the afflictions with a most positive attitude. “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak then I am strong” (II Cor. 12:10).

Paul needed God’s intensive and transforming program. He had to be cleansed, purified, solidified and perfected. Had God not arranged for the many trials and afflictions to befall him, he would not have been a proper and mighty tool in God’s hands and God would not have used him as powerfully as he did.                                                                  Because Paul endured and did go along with God’s training program, at the end of his life he was able to confidently assert:

For I am already been poured as a drink offering and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day…(II Timothy 4: 6-8).

WHAT IF GOD WOULD NOT ALLOW THE CATASTROPHES OF THE LAST DAYS?

Though believers look forward to Christ’s return, they do not look forward to the catastrophic events described in the book of Revelation and elsewhere in the Bible. The “End of the Age” was described by Christ as a time when “there will be great tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21).                                                                                                                                      This time of great punishments to befall humanity is described in the Bible as “The Great Tribulation” and “The Day of the Lord.”  The prophet Isaiah tells us that those days of global anguish “will come as destruction from the Almighty” and that “every man’s heart will melt and they will be afraid” (Isaiah 13: 6-7.                                                    In the Book of Revelation we are provided with the shocking details of that horrific time that will bring about the death of billions of humans and will leave the Earth in a state of total chaos and destruction.

The Day of the Lord is one more event that scoffers use to insinuate that the Christian God is a brutal and sadistic being. Some believers, instead, may wonder why such a catastrophic climax is even necessary. After all, they might ask, why would a God of love conclude this age in such a traumatic way?

What if God would not climax the end of the age with destruction? What if He would conclude man’s time with the mere peaceful return of Christ without all the destruction described in the book of Revelation and elsewhere?

First of all, let’s ask why God would show so much fury at the end of the age? Is it simply a capricious decision on God’s part to simply dramatize Christ’s return? Could it be that there is much more behind it all?

Let’s note, first of all, that Christ describes the days preceding the time of the end as a time when “lawlessness will abound” (Matthew 24:12). In his epistle to Timothy, Paul gives us a more detailed description of the kind of extreme degeneracy that will prevail among humans in those days:

For men shall be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God (II Timothy 3: 2-5).

In short, at the end of the age, the inhabitants of the Earth will be cruel and fierce. Wickedness will reach levels probably never seen before. In the end times, the God of righteousness, who is Lord over all things, will bear human degeneracy no longer and will intervene to sober up all of humanity.

It is critical to note that the punishments that will befall humans are not sudden but gradual. The intensity of God’s intervention will multiply, only because of human arrogance and its stubborn unwillingness to repent.                                        Let’s note humanity’s reaction to the catastrophic plagues that will rain upon them and that will kill hundreds of millions of humans:

But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts (Revelation 9:20-21).

Humans in those days will be so bent on evil that they will persist in their wickedness, even though God makes His displeasure more than abundant and evident through horrible punishments.

Though the great plagues of the last days will serve to show humanity that God will not forebear evil forever, and that He will finally crush it dramatically, they will also serve to introduce Christ to the whole world in a most memorable and dramatic way.

Christ foretold that unless He would finally intervene, “no flesh would be saved” (Matthew 24: 22). Before the Earth will be totally incinerated, Christ will make His grand entrance with thousands of angels and resurrected saints, and will set up His Kingdom with headquarters in Jerusalem from where He will assert His power and will over the whole Earth.

No doubt the end of the age will be a horrific and traumatic time for humanity. Yet such a dramatic conclusion is clearly merited by an exceptionally evil and arrogant world. If God would not intervene with great punishments, human wickedness would reach levels never before seen, as would the human anguish that follows such levels of depravity.                                                                                         Furthermore, God’s re-establishment of His supremacy, His expectations and inevitable punishment of the wicked would not have received the necessary focus, and Christ’s return would not have received the kind of dramatic emphasis it deserves.

For thousands of years, humans have been left to their own devices. They have chosen to serve the great deceiver, Satan, and the end result has been and will continue being, pain and anguish for untold millions up to Christ’s return. The great events of the last days are God’s statement that His turn has come to rule the Earth, and that He, and He alone, is God, and that He alone is to be worshipped, and that only His standards of righteousness will finally prevail.

Michael Caputo

Ordained Christian minister since 1985.

Author of the award-winning, God Seen Through the Eyes of the Greatest Minds.

AUTHOR'S OTHER BOOKS

The Works of the Flesh: Understanding and Defeating the Works of the Devil

Seven Lessons From the Seven Churches of the Book of Revelation

Who Are the Two Witnesses of Revelation?

The Ten Commandments: Great Proofs of God's Existence

Jesus Christ: A Personal Autobiography

God Seen Through the Eyes of the Greatest Minds

The Churches of Philadelphia and Laodicea in Revelation

Why Does Jesus Delay His Second Coming?

What Will Christians Do for Eternity?

The Young King and the Cross

How Not to Get  A Divorce

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WORKS CITED

[i] Killinger, J. Hemingway and the Dead Gods. A Study in Existentialism. University of Kentucky Press, 1960, 64.

[ii] Pomeau, R. Ecraser L’Infame 1759-1770. Voltaire Fundation, 1995, 660.

[iii] Caputo, M. God Seen Through the Eyes of the Greatest Minds. West Monroe, Louisiana: Howard Publishing, 2000.

[iv] Ibid

[v] Davidman, J. Smoke on the Mountain. Philadelphia: The New Westminster Press, 1954, 22.

[vi] Gehman, H. (Editor), The New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1970, 814.

[vii] Douglas, J. D. The New Bible Dictionary. Grand rapids, Michigan: W. W. B.  Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1962, 1110.

[viii] Williams, J. Ten Words of Freedom. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971, 145.

[ix] Gehman, H. (Editor), The New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible. Philadelphia: The New Westminster Press, 1970, 814.

[x] Philips, A. Ancient Israel's Criminal Law. New York: Shocken Books, 1970, 65.

[xi] Ibid, P.65.

[xii] Dresner S. H. The Sabbath. New York: 1970, 43.

[xiii] Bacchiocchi, S. "Rediscovering the Sabbath." http://www.sdanet.org/atissue/sabbath/bacchiocchi.htm).

[xiv] Jeffreys, G. The Signature of God. Toronto: Frontier Research Publications, 1996, 158.

[xv] Douglas, J. D. The New Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1962, 782.

Table of Contents

Copyright

DEDICATION

INTRODUCTION

1. GOD’S NATURE

2. THE ANGELS

3. HUMAN BEINGS: THE BEGINNING

4. FROM THE GARDEN TO THE EGYPTIAN SLAVERY

5. FROM EGYPT TO CANAAN

6. THE LAWS OF GOD

7. FROM THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN TO THE JUDGES

8. FROM SAMUEL

9. FROM ELIJAH TO NEHEMIAH

10. THE GOSPELS

11. FROM THE BOOK OF ACTS TO REVELATION

AUTHOR'S OTHER BOOKS

WORKS CITED