Man or Beast

Ephesians Chapter Three (Vss. 16-22)

Man or Beast:

15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. 17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. 18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. 20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? 22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

Once I expressed my belief based upon God’s word, that there was no time with God. Eternity does not run a time line from here to there. Alpha and Omega means just that God always has been, is and will always be. There is nothing new under the sun, even if we don’t recognize it. In the beginning God created all the beasts; all things that creepeth upon the earth. Seeing that it was very good He made man from the dust of the earth. He breathed into the clay form the likeness of God. New formed Adam’s first effort at breathing was to exhale the breath of God and inhale his own breath from the garden air. Could this have been foretelling of the fall. Man drew his first breath in power and mighty spiritual strength. Then the fall came. Humans took on the status of the beast that their form was patterned after and the soul of man became evil and weak. They became beasts without the power of God residing within them. Beasts, Humans, all suffer the same life changes and death. Solomon knew, David recorded. Human kind still have not opened their eyes to the full truth and impact of the fall from Grace. Solomon seems to express his wish that men might perceive, that by choosing this world as their portion, they brought themselves to a level with the beasts, without being free, as they are, from present vexations and a future accounting. But as none can fully comprehend, so few consider properly, the difference between the rational soul of man, and the spirit or life of the beast. In the last of time the glorified bodies of humans meet in the heavens. Their spirit is judged, and is then assigned forever to exist in an unchangeable state of happiness or misery. It is certain that the spirit of the beast goes downward to the earth; it perishes at death. In life considers not at all what will happen to anything it has marked in life as its own. Some people’s hopes and wishes are, that they may die like beasts. Some believe that in death they know nothing and are no more in any state or form. They don’t want to be accountable. Still others think that it matters what they have accumulated when this life ends. We cannot know what will happen to our “stuff” after we leave this world. It doesn’t matter to us at all when that time has come. What matters is how can eternal existence be an eternity of enjoyment? God’s word reveals that Jesus is the Son of God, Lord of all and the only Hope of sinners. Know God, know peace. Amen 11-09-19 BLL