British-israel.us -- "What is the Purpose and Meaning of Life?"

The "invisible things" of God "are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made" (Romans 1:20). Can our natural world teach us the meaning and purpose of life? The natural world is full of analogies. If the creation teaches us the same message that we find in the Bible, then the same One who created everything must have written the Bible also. Did the Creator put his "signature" on any of his natural-world masterpieces? As Horace said, "Keep Nature's great original in view, And thence the truthful images pursue."

It is no coincidence that the week is seven days long. The plan of salvation is seven thousand years long. Just as the Sabbath day is Saturday, the seventh day of the week, so also the Millenium is the seventh period of one thousand years. We do what we want for the first six days, but we do what God wants on the seventh day. Friday is preparation day. The Rabbi is about to return (see 2 Peter 3:8; Ps. 90:4; Rev. 20:1-7).

Seeds are the DNA instructions to reproduce the parent. Scriptures are the DNA instructions to reproduce God. It is no coincidence that Israel had a small spring harvest and a large fall harvest. The grains were harvested in the spring and the fruits and nuts were harvested in the fall. In the same way, Christians are compared to "firstfruits" of grain (Jer. 2:3; Rev. 14:4; James 1:8) while grapes are associated with wicked people (Rev. 14:15). There is the small first resurrection of Christians before the Millenium (1 Cor. 15:23) and a large second resurrection of non-Christians (Matt. 10:14-15; 11:21-25; 12:41-42) after the Millenium (Rev. 20:5). The "former rains" (Hos. 6:3) in the spring and the "latter rains" in the fall (Deut. 11:14) are the two out-pourings of the Holy Spirit. Even people who are now "fruits" and "nuts" will be given their opportunity if they repent. Every tree gets pruned. Every experience is part of God's pruning process. You've been picked out to be picked on. He cuts off fruitless branches and prunes fruitful ones. The single kernel of wheat (Jesus Christ himself) must fall into the ground, and DIE, before it can produce the harvest of much grain (those who, in faith, partake of that life) (John 12:23-28). And, for each of us, discipline and correction from God -- though unpleasant -- WILL "produce a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (Heb 12:11).

Isaiah 28:27-28 mentions different methods of reaping different grains. "Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cummin; but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cummin with a rod. Does one crush bread grain? No, he does not thresh it for ever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it" (RSV). The reason for different human afflictions is for the same cause which induces the farmer to employ various methods of reaping grain on his farm. We are not to expect the same unvarying course in God's dealings with us. It would be as unreasonable as to expect that the farmer would be always plowing, or always threshing. We are not to expect always the same kind of afflictions. The farmer uses different machines and modes of threshing, and adapts them to the nature of the grain. So God uses different modes, and adapts them to the nature, character, and disposition of his people. One man requires one mode of discipline, and another another. At one time we need one mode of correction to call us from sin and temptation; at another another. We may lay it down as a general rule, that "the divine judgments are usually in the line of our offences" and by the nature of the judgment we may usually ascertain the nature of the sin. If a man's besetting sin is "pride," the judgment will usually be something that is suited to humble his pride; if it be covetousness, his property may be removed, or it may be made a curse; if it be undue attachment to children or friends, they may be removed. God will not crush or destroy his people. The farmer does not crush or destroy his grain. In all the various methods which he uses, he takes care not to pursue it too far, and not to injure the grain. So with God's dealings with his people. His object is not to destroy them, but it is to separate the chaff from the wheat; and he will afflict them only so much as may be necessary to accomplish this. He will not be always bruising his people, but will in due time remit his strokes - just as the thresher does. We should, therefore, bear afflictions and chastisements with patience. God deals with us in mercy - and the design of all his dispensations toward us in prosperity and adversity; in sickness and in health; in success and in disappointment, is to produce the richest and most abundant fruits of righteousness, and to prepare us to enter into his kingdom above.

"There is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again ... If a man die, shall he live again? ... I will wait, till my CHANGE come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee" (Job 14:7-15). "For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and in the after time He shall stand on the earth, and after my AWAKENING (cp. Ps. 57:8) (from death's sleep), this body destroyed, yet in my flesh shall I see God" (Job 19:26-27).

The original meaning of the zodiac was that a Virgin (Virgo pregnant with sun) would give birth to a son of God pictured by the actual sun as it passed through her body. Divine scales of justice (sun in Libra) would require His death (Scorpio's sting is an orange swelling sun sore on Ophiuchus's heel) for the sins of humanity. But the dual-natured Savior would conquer death (Sagittarius' face glowing as he shoots Scorpio) and give life to his followers (living fish) by his sacrifice (Capricorn goat a burnt sacrifice on the sun altar) and let them drink the living waters of the Holy Spirit (Aquarius pouring out the sun from his bucket) which then breaks the bands of sin (sun cutting Pisces' bands to Cetus-Satan) because the Lamb was wounded for our transgression (sun wound in Aries' side). He will return to make war (Taurus charging), this dual-natured Savior (Gemini), and shelter his people (sun in Cancer) from the day of Wrath when this "Lion of the tribe of Judah" will pounce on that old serpent the Devil (Leo pouncing on Hydra). Satan will be chained for 1000 years.

It is no coincidence that the Bible compares a man to the sun and a woman to the moon (Gen. 37). Every day he rules over her in political, religious and financial matters and every night she rules over him in sexual matters. He generates the light (love) and she reflects the light (love) back. "We love him because he first loved us" (the woman is speaking). While we were yet sinners Christ died for us." The woman shines at night just like the moon. The woman rotates in 28-day cycles, but the man burns constantly. The woman revolves around the man, not the man around the woman.

Sperm is the life-giving substance from our human father just as the Holy Spirit is the life-giving substance from our Heavenly Father. "Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, but this spake he of the Holy Spirit" (John 6). We as Christians are "begotten of the Holy Spirit as Sons of God" just as the female ovum is begotten by the sperm to become a son of a man. That is how we understand the Scripture which says, "Ye are all gods" (Ps. 82:6; John 10:34). The female womb feeds and protects the tiny embryo, just as the church -- "the mother of us all" -- feeds and protects Christians. Therefore, the man typifies Christ. Sperm is the Holy Spirit. The woman is the church assembly. Fertilization is conversion. An abortion is an apostasy. Adultery is idolatry. Birth pains are Great Tribulation before being born again. Christ was beaten with stripes because of the sins of the church (woman). Is this sado-masochism? God is immortal eternal spirit. Man is temporary decaying matter and only lives 70 years or so. Thus sex is necessary in order for man to be perpetuated and to portray immortality which is a characteristic of God's image. The human son looks like the human father and is educated by the father to think and act like him. Thus the man is "eternal" too even in physical type.

Just as God created man in his physical image in less than a day, so he intends to create man in his moral and spiritual image within a 70-year lifetime. Righteous godly character is the ability of an individual to know right from wrong and then to choose to do what is right and avoid what is wrong even if he is ridiculed and persecuted and even if nobody else agrees. This requires Bible study to read God's mind to learn how he would talk and act in any given circumstance, "till we all come to A PERFECT MAN." Thoughts become words (Matt. 12:34); words become actions; actions become habits; habits become your destiny (Pr. 23:7). Paul styles Jesus "the last Adam;" and says, that as the saints have born the image of the first Adam (physical clay likeness), so also shall they bear the image of the last (1 Cor. 15:45-49) (moral righteous character). They shall be in nature like what he is now. But, in a moral sense they are required to be now like what he was while on earth "LEARNING OBEDIENCE by the things which he suffered." This tuition developed the moral image of Deity. It is a divine prerequisite, therefore, that all who shall inherit salvation in the kingdom of God shall be "conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the Firstborn (or Chief) among many brethren." "And we all ... are being changed into his LIKENESS" (2 Cor. 3:18). Humans begin as shallow imitations of the genuine pure God who is without any faults. Paul says, "ye have put off the Old Man," or moral image of the First Adam, "with his deeds; and have put on the New Man," or last Adam, "who is renewed by knowledge after the IMAGE of him that created him" (Colossians 3: 9,10). They were conformed to the last Adam's MORAL IMAGE, in hope of being conformed to his spiritual image at the coming of our Lord. God is REPRODUCING HIMSELF. Paul summarizes the Old Adam in Eph. 2:12; and the description of his vices in Rom. 1:21-32. The whole world of unenlightened natural men of all ages and generations constitutes collectively the Old Adam. This man has long since come to the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Antichrist. He is strong and lawless, doomed to perdition. There is only one PERFECT man. We are all more or less imperfect superficial copies of him now.

What do CLOUDS mean? Christians are DEW DROPS ("remnant of Jacob ... like DEW" -- Micah 5:7; cp. Jude 1:12) that will RISE (evaporate) "be caught up together" (1 Th. 4:17) from "many WATERS" ("people" -- Rev. 17:15) up into CLOUDS ("a great cloud of [resurrected] witnesses" -- Heb. 12:1; 1 Th. 4:17) typifying the resurrection of saints when Christ our SUN returns ("the SUN of righteousness ARISE" -- Mal. 4:2) in Millenial DAWN (Ps. 110:3; Isa. 26:19). The DEW DROPS wait in DARKNESS (hades or grave) but begin to sparkle and refract with prismatic glory and starlike splendor when the SUN RISES. Then the SUN'S heat EMPOWERS them to RISE invisibly until they reappear at the atmospheric DEW point in the form of CLOUDS (authority to rule in the political heaven as kings and priests -- Rev. 5:10). Just as a CLOUD received him as he left the earth (Acts 1:9), so also "He cometh with CLOUDS" referring to a "CLOUD of WITNESSES" (Heb. 12:1) -- "ten thousands of his SAINTS" (Jude 14-15; Dan. 7:22) "who meet the Lord in the air" (1 Th. 4:17) as well as a CLOUD (Matt. 24:30) of "holy ANGELS with him" (Matt. 25:31). Zechariah 12:10-11 mentions that Jews who pierced their Messiah will mourn at his coming because of their previous rejection of him. Jesus Christ as "alpha" created man in his physical image, but man lost paradise in Genesis. Jesus Christ as "omega" will finish that creation in his character-image and restore paradise in Revelation using Israelites.

A father expects gratitude and obedience from his sons and daughters. He gave them life itself and supports them financially and guides them as they grow up. In the same way God our Father expects gratitude and obedience from his sons and daughters -- all humanity. He created us and sustains us and guides us as we grow up and throughout our lives. Just as we can anger a human father through disobedience and taking his kindness for granted, so also our Father in heaven is angry at disobedient, ungrateful children. We live in a physical simulation "on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10). When a man marries a woman, he provides support for her, loves her and protects her. She obeys him and respects him. In the same way, the Christian Church is the bride of Christ. Christ our Lord has married us. He provides support for us, loves us and protects us. We must obey and respect him. Just as a woman can anger her husband through disrespect and rebellion, so also there are "Christian Churches" who disrespect and rebel against our Lord. We live in a parallel universe "on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10).

God designed life so that we, as human FATHERS, must be tolerant, merciful, and generous to our CHILDREN if we want God, our heavenly FATHER, to be that way with us his CHILDREN. Human MOTHERS must be tolerant, merciful,and generous to their CHILDREN if they want the heavenly CHURCH -- the body of believers -- to be that way with them, their CHILDREN. We, as human HUSBANDS, must be tolerant, merciful and generous to our WIVES if we want God, our heavenly HUSBAND to be that way with us, his WIFE. God will use our own lives as the standard and measuring stick for how he deals with us -- "For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged." "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" and "give and it shall be given to you." God created man in his physical image and put him in a physical SIMULATION of the world God lives in. In this PARALLEL UNIVERSE "on earth as it is in heaven," man must struggle to attain God's character image. Adopting God's "modus operandi," a human actually learns to act like God in his or her role as FATHER, HUSBAND, MOTHER, WIFE etcetera. "With sage advice, and many a sober truth, The pious mother moulds to shape the youth." -- Horace

Just as a farmer chooses his BEST SEED for planting and eats the rest and tries to develop a pure-bred strain that is bred for over-all quality and hardiness, instead of for one or two isolated characteristics; Just as a rancher tries to breed the BEST ANIMALS to have the strongest characteristics, disease-resistance, tolerance of extreme weather, not necessarily the most milk production, most egg-laying or wool-producing; so too God is working on "crops" and "livestock" and trying to develop the BEST CHARACTERISTICS in humans. He won't have ill-bred, uncouth, dis-courteous sons living in his house. How much money they make in life is not necessarily relevant.

Metamorphosis ("change" + "form") from a caterpillar into a more beautiful and more powerful butterfly typifies the resurrection from human to divine. The pupal cocoon or chrysalis is the tomb where the corpse is wrapped in silk. The caterpillar must die. Nothing remains of you -- "thou worm Jacob" (Isa. 41:14). "The spirit (your mental character image) shall return unto God who gave it." (Eccl. 12:7) "So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." (1 Cor. 15:42-44) "the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed" (1 Cor. 15:52). We are changed into the (character) image of God (2 Cor. 3:18).

"Unfruitful though I be
And barren, Lord, to Thee,
Yet do Thou come to me,
And sow my heart again
With Thy most holy grain,
And make it take deep root,
And live and upward shoot,
That when Thy angels come
To take the harvest home,
A large and goodly yield
Be found in me, Thy field"
-- Perring

1. God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea (Ps. 77:9-10),
And rides upon the storm (Ps. 68:4).

2. Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill (Job 23:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:7),
He masterminds His bright designs,
And works His sovereign will.

3. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take.
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

4. His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower (Heb 12:11).

5. Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain (Job 28).

Did You Know?
1.) Psalm 118 is the middle chapter of the entire Bible?
2.) Before Psalm 118, Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the Bible?
3.) After Psalm 118, Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible?
4.) That there are 594 chapters each before and following Psalm 118.
5.) That if you add up all the chapters except Psalm 118, you get a total of 1188 chapters?
6.) And incidentally, 1188 or Psalm 118 verse 8 also happens to be the middle verse of the entire Bible.
7.) This central verse should have a fairly important message don't you think? Psalm 118:8 says, "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." "The knowledge of the end is of great consequence in the conduct of life, as archers having fixed their aim are more likely to attain their purpose." -- Aristotle Eth. 1:2