WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS
God made promises about His plans to Noah, Abraham, David, the Prophets and Apostles.
On page 2c I explained my reasons for believing that when God created the earth and all that is in it He had a clear purpose in mind.
The purpose is that it should be filled with His glory. If you will look at Exodus chapters 33:18 to 34:8, you will see that God`s glory is not only power and light and physical things like that.
His `glory` includes His character, His mercy and also His justice.
This is why God gives people laws; because when people keep them they become a little bit more like God himself – they are showing His glory in their lives here and now.
It is not possible, though, for the whole earth to be filled with God`s glory by the effort of a few individuals in each generation.
Men and women have free will, so the people who want to be obedient will always be outnumbered by those who decide to please themselves.
God`s way was to tell particular people called prophets, and apostles, about His plans and His laws.
They were told to pass on the information to everybody who would listen.
That way, although only a minority in each generation would listen, over the centuries a `great multitude` would steadily be formed.
Of course, each generation would die, but the God who made Adam & Eve from the dust in the first place can just as easily re-create (or `resurrect`) those who die.
The result will be that when the Resurrection takes place, this `great multitude` will be alive again, eager to fill the earth with God`s glory as He has always planned.
So, progressively, God announced His plans and his promises.
To Noah God promised that the earth would never again be destroyed by a flood, and the rainbow would be the guarantee of that (Gen 9:11-15).
To Abraham God promised that he would have many descendants; that he would possess the land that we call `Israel`; and that one of his descendants would bring blessing to all mankind (Genesis 12:1-3, 15:4-7, 22:15-18).
In time, Abraham`s descendants (the Jewish people) were formed into a kingdom, with their own King.
To Prophets and Psalmists God promised that some time in the future He would create a world-wide kingdom in which those promises to Abraham would be fulfilled.
God would be obeyed, and the human race would at last enjoy peace and justice (Psalm 72, Isaiah 2, Micah 4).
To King David God promised a descendant who also would be the son of God, and would be so special that he would reign over this kingdom for ever.
On page 2c we looked at Luke chapter 1 - `the Christmas story` - and saw that Jesus is that One who was promised so long before.
To the Son of David, God had promised rulership over the nations (Psalm 2:7-9).
And when he did come, one thousand years later, he promised to share that position with his `apostles`, as his first followers were called. (Matthew 19:28)
To the Apostles Jesus promised that they would be administrators in his kingdom (Luke 22:28-30). It will be a real practical government – one that is fair, and works for the benefit of all (Psalm 72)
To his ordinary followers, amazingly, Jesus promises the opportunity to help him in that wonderful work of turning this misused planet into a place of peace and praise and plenty
(Revelation 2:26-29) - `filled with the glory of the LORD`, with `all nations blessed in Abraham and his descendants`, as promised so long ago.
We must next think about God and His laws – and what happens when we humans break them
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What The Bible Says
