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On Earth as It is On Heaven - Preview 5

What good is it if the tales of Scripture are nothing more than cheery postcards from Heaven?

Outsiders Looking In

Postcards From Heaven

Ever heard the saying: Some people are so heavenly minded, they’re no earthly good? Just ask that sort: “What’s the most important message in The Bible? I mean, sure, it’s a book about faith, hope, and love, about Christ dying for our sins, about receiving forgiveness for those sins and finding the road to eternal life. I get that. But apart from that: What is it about The Bible that lets us know it’s more than just a nice story with a happy ending? Isn’t The Bible supposed to contain a message of why all the things like faith, forgiveness, and eternal life are possible? Isn’t it supposed to demonstrate that God is in control, and that because He’s in control, He can be trusted to keep His promises to humanity?”

If God is like the Deists tell us, then sure, He made the Universe, wound it up like a clock, and set all the laws of the Universe into motion. But after that, if He checked out and left the Universe to mankind, then there’s no evidence that He’s in control of anything that’s important to us, as in, the destiny of the nations of the world or the people who make up those nations. If He isn’t in control of the nations or us, then all this talk of faith, hope, and love is out the window. It’s meaningless, because even if God built into the Universe the free will of every living entity, it doesn’t mean He’s a God Who can be trusted.

“But of course God can be trusted,” insist the sincere believers in Scripture. “Of course God is in control.”

At which point, one quite naturally asks for some tangible proof of God’s control over history, over the nations, over us.

(…you’re reading Part 9 of a 24-part series. If you like what you’re reading and want to continue, please SCROLL DOWN. Or to read this series from the beginning, go to Part 1…)
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To watch author and historian W. Kent Smith discuss the contents of his book On Earth as It is On Heaven, at the Sacred Word Revealed Conference ’23, hosted by Zen Garcia, CLICK BELOW.

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But instead of hearing about this proof from Scripture itself, we’re offered only platitudes, like: “Well, you just have to trust that He’s in control; that’s all there is to it. When you see nation rising up against nation, when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, when there are earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in many places, you’re not supposed to see confusion and disarray in all that; you’re supposed to see that God is in control. Right?”

To which I’d reply, “Oh, really, that’s your proof? When we see disaster and chaos, we’re supposed to see God’s faithfulness to His word? Is that all there is to it, then?”

“Well, yes,” comes the befuddled response. “I’m sorry I don’t have a better answer for you, but that’s all I’ve got, friend. But fear not, the Lord will restore all things someday, when He splits the sky and returns in all His glory. Till then, we have the hope of being made worthy in God’s sight, the hope of eternal life, the hope of being received into Heaven after we die. Isn’t that enough?”

To which I’d reply, “I suppose so, sure. The only problem with your train of thought is: If The Bible doesn’t reveal the way in which God is in control, then what’s the point of looking to it? What good is it if the tales of Scripture are nothing more than cheery postcards from Heaven, telling us to keep a stiff upper lip until God makes it all better someday? If The Bible doesn’t provide us with evidence of God’s control over history, then how do we know He controls our lives as individuals? If God isn’t in control of our lives—in this mess of a world we call ‘life’—then how can we trust Him? And if we can’t trust Him, then how can we inherit this eternal life you speak of? Without trust, what are we to make of this thing you call hope?”

So ends this Preview of ON EARTH AS IT IS ON HEAVEN. To read more, please click on one of the following links:

To continue with this series, read an Excerpt to learn that just as Adam and Eve became outsiders of God’s world after the Fall, God also became an outsider to their world.

Read the Next Preview to dispel three myths about the creation of the United States of America.

Read the Next Excerpt to see that although America is criticized, it’s only vulnerable as long as it remains ignorant of its true origins.

Read the Previous Preview to discover the amazing story of three things that at first glance don’t seem to have any direct connection.

Read the Previous Excerpt to see that while God is the Lord of the Nations, He knows that only humans can respond to His still, small voice.

To read this series from the beginning, go to the First Preview to see that just because Jesus’ Kingdom isn’t of this world, it doesn’t mean Earth is an enemy of God’s Kingdom.

To hear Kent talk more about his book On Earth as It is On Heaven, CLICK HERE.

To listen in on some private musings, in which Kent dictated audio notes in the process of writing the book, CLICK HERE.

To read about the Sacred Word Revealed Conference ’23, hosted by Zen Garcia, in which Kent discusses his book On Earth as It is On Heaven, CLICK HERE.

To get a copy of On Earth as It is On Heaven, CLICK HERE.