God’s System

      “In the beginning…” (Genesis 1:1), meaning when time commenced, because before time there was eternity, which had no count nor beginning. It is indicated by most translations that God was not alone during creation, for God said “…Let Us make man in Our image...” (Genesis 1:26) even though "Us" and "Our" were an addition by those doing the translations, there are later verses that support this understanding. It is my assumption that God was talking to His only-begotten Son, who was with His Father during creation, “He (the Word) was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:2). This means Jesus was with God, His Father, during creation and during some of eternity "No one has seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He reveals Him." (John 1:18). We later learn that God has a name, “These are the generation of the heavens and of the earth when they were created in the day that Jehovah God was making the earth and heavens.” (Genesis 2:4). Sometime after creation we see that the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve first lived, was only a part of God's total creation of earth, because after Adam sinned, they were banned from the garden to live without and to toil in the land because they sinned and were bound by the realities of God’s system, "And Jehovah said, Behold! The man has become one of us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put forth his hand and also take from the Tree of Life, and eat, and live forever. And Jehovah God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground out of which he was taken." (Genesis 3:22,23). God is perfect and His creations are to be perfect, anything imperfect would logically contaminate His pure and perfect environment and will not be allowed to exist within God’s Kingdom, which is to be established, at His appointed time.

     Because Adam sinned, a death sentence was the result of acting outside God’s system. Death isn’t a punishment from God for his sin; it is the consequence of our separation from God's perfectly designed system, anything contrary to Jehovah's perfection contaminates His system. Sin is not, cannot and will not be part of God’s perfect Kingdom. The opportunity to act contrary to God's system was not part of God’s ultimate desire for man, but it is needed to bring us past the era of learning and understanding God's system for the purpose of a necessary decision to love God, this is where we exist at this time. The element of choice was needed for His intelligent creatures, in order for love to exist, Jehovah is the God of love so this is a necessity, "...God is love and the one abiding in love abides in God and God in him." (I John 4:16), and He made love the main ingredient in the creation of man, after His own image. People are to love and to desire love in return, it’s the blood of God’s system, it’s what vitalizes us and keeps us connected with God, and our fellow earthly companions, without love we would collectively destroy ourselves and the environment God has provided for us, you may agree that this is occurring to some measure right now.

      Sin didn't exist until it was introduced to God’s system by God's most exalted angel, Lucifer (later named Satan), he became jealous of the honor, communication and glory that God received and shared with His Son. Satan desired to be equal or above God, "...I will raise my throne above the stars of God..."  (Isaiah 14:12-15). Sin cannot be tolerated in Heaven, consequently Satan and one third of Jehovah’s angels (because they were deceived by Satan) were cast out of Heaven and sent to earth, (read Revelation 12:4,9), just as Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden for their decision to sin. Death was their consequence and they grew old and died. Satan also received a death sentence, to commence at some point in the future. This sentence certainly angers Satan and he is continually trying to take as many of Jehovah’s children away from Him, to share in his final consequence, his certain eternal demise. Unfortunately, Satan has been very successful and continues in his efforts with deceiving tactics and appealing lies.

      What is our objective in light of this situation? As Satan and Adam both found out, sin is their doom. To be outside God’s system results in sure death. For man, the second death is for an eternity. "And death and Hates were thrown into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death." (Revelation 20:14), "And if anyone was not found having been written in the Scroll of Life, he was thrown into the Lake of Fire." (Revelation 20:15). Everyone will be resurrected. For all those resurrected and for those experiencing the end time tribulation, their inheritance will be for an eternity, promised for all, either eternal death or eternal life, within God’s perfect system, without the presence of any sin and death. Our obvious and most logical objective is to prepare oneself to be in the presence of God, by being listed in the Book of Life. This responsibility falls onto each person who desires to enter God's kingdom, to learn and realize the destructiveness of sin and to seek righteousness, confessing our sins to God Jehovah and repenting of our past and our present transgressions, which is only possible through Christ and His divine helping powers. God is waiting to shower us with blessings and desires only what is best for us. He is our Designer, He knows us better then we can possibly know ourselves, He knows what is best for our well being, contentment and happiness, because He is a loving God, and our Creator.

      The Bible is our instruction book and our treasure map to God's Kingdom. Christ is our example of righteousness, and our Shepherd and Savior, sent from God Jehovah to represent Him, His way, and to establish His salvation for the human race, by personally paying the price for our sins and shepherding us home to His Father, our Father, Jehovah God.

      Central in God’s system is righteousness, not only because He wants us to be obedient to Him but also, because righteousness is for our benefit, and for the benefit of all the other people around us. Righteousness is compliance to God's guidelines, His laws, and at the top of these laws are the Ten Commandments. Transgression of any of these laws causes harm to the people around us, to one self, and that includes the first four of Jehovah's commandments, insuring our proper connection with our God, which keeps us focused on the last six. Those who are listed in the Book of Life will be living in the Kingdom of God; we will be His everlasting guests, within His creations. We are invited to receive His grace and His mercy because we personally engaged in seeking Jehovah God.

      His system also involves a balance and cooperation from everyone involved. This will be designed into the animals after the new earth is established, as they were design for this current earth; we are the only beings that are given the freedom and responsibility of choosing our destiny. Our guidebook, the collection of God's words, called the Bible, contains His instruction and a multitude of examples of God’s system; its rewards and its consequences, examples of man's rejection of God's system and its pointless and tragic results. The Old Testament allowed forgiveness of sins by the shedding of an innocent animal's blood, but we now have a new system that the old pointing toward; salvation is now available through Jesus, the Christ of God. His death on the cross replaces the needed animal substitutes; for Jesus died having acquires the title "Lamb of God", by the shedding of His own blood. What remains for us, in order to obtain God's salvation is to cleanse ourselves of all iniquity, to be born again with a new heart, which can only be done by our sincere desire, our commitment, our righteous actions and to request Christ's power in order to accomplish all these traits, who came to establish salvation; unlocking the door to Jehovah's kingdom, which can only be obtained through the Book God's Son inspired, to lead us to our new perfect home, "But according to His promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells" (II Peter 3:13), to live in God Jehovah's perfect system along with His Son, the Heavenly host and the others who committed themselves in seeking the truth of God's word. How can anyone ignore such an invitation to such a pure and perfect home, Jehovah's kingdom?