"The truth is that if the Bible did not teach that God possessed endless being in the ultimate meaning of that term, we would be compelled to infer it from His other attributes, and if the Holy Scriptures had no word for absolute everlastingness, it would be necessary for us to coin one to express the concept, for it is assumed, implied, and generally taken for granted everywhere throughout the inspired Scriptures."³

We learn that Abraham had received revelation of God's eternity by the time he made his covenant with Abimelech and Phichol in Genesis 21. We do not know whether Abraham learned, as Moses did later, that God had no beginning, but was "from everlasting to everlasting" (Psalm 90:2), nor whether he understood as Isaiah did that God's eternity is not an endless extension of time as we experience it, but actually outside of time ("…the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity…" Isaiah 57:15). The revelation that Abraham received, however, was sufficient for those promises in which God had asked him to trust. God had given to Abraham an "everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:7,13,19), and had promised him the land of Canaan as an "everlasting possession" (Genesis 17:8). What kind of God can enter into an everlasting covenant and be able to perform what He promises? Only an everlasting God!

The letter to the Hebrews gives us additional information about Abraham's revelation of God. According to the writer of Hebrews, Abraham "waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Hebrews 11:10), he was seeking a homeland (11:14), and desired "a better, that is, a heavenly country" (11:16). Here we see how high the revelation of God's everlastingness will take us. As soon as the revelation that God is eternal is taken seriously and sinks in, human life immediately takes on new meaning – or to put it more clearly, human life sheds all kinds of false meanings that our darkened minds have created for it. When we grasp that God is everlasting, then human life – no matter how long – is revealed to be a vapor (Psalm 39:5,11), and human glory to be a flower that blooms overnight and then dies (Isaiah 40:6, 1 Peter 1:24). The only thing that matters is the everlasting reward that can be given only by the everlasting God. And thus Abraham found strength to be steady throughout his life. Abraham was not the one who wrote "one thing I do… I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God" (Philippians 3:13-14), but he would have agreed!

The Everlasting God of Abraham is the same God who lives inside of us if we belong to Jesus. Let us also press on to know this One who has eternal reward for those who seek Him!

¹ All scriptures quoted from the New King James Version, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), unless otherwise noted.

² Note that Exodus 6:3 seems to say that Abraham did not know the name Yahweh (YHWH – an abbreviation for "I AM THAT I AM" – Ex 3:15), but this cannot be reconciled with Genesis 15:7 and 18:14. The best understanding seems to be that God revealed the Name to Abraham, but did not explain it.

³ Tozer, A.W. The Knowledge of the Holy (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1961), p. 38-39

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The eSchool (GEC) would like to announce 2 new classes – Mystical Life of Communion and Attributes of God – for only $25 each (50% off) through July 31.

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Mystical Life of Communion
with Stephen Venable
The ardent desire for lives of lovesick prayer filled with the Word of the Lord and manifestations of the supernatural are not NEW but rather an ancient path of radical Christianity. This class will bring together treasured teachings from historic mystics, experiences of the prophets and New Testament lifestyles that lead to communion and the activity of the Holy Spirit that transforms us. We will take a journey together into these fiery realities that not only give us hope and faith that such a life is possible but will even set us on that path by giving us the practical helps we need to enter into and remain in the life of communion.

1. We live in an era in which more, better, and more intense are an insatiable demand. Diablo was a really fun game in a gothic horror genre in which traditional role playing characters attempted to kill, essentially, the devil.
   
   In Diablo II, 5 years later, the graphics got much better, the blood and gore were more graphic, and occult elements were more prominent (for example, you could play a necromancer and raise dead monsters as skeletons to fight for you.)
   
   Now, in Diablo III, the graphics are all 3D and look amazing. The blood and gore is quite graphic (the gameplay demo had flying body parts all over the place and a boss monster who killed a player by picking him and biting his head off), and I'm sure the boundaries of occult elements will be pushed even further.
   
   When is it enough? Does anybody see what we're doing? Is there ever a point where people will begin to wake up and say, "more of the same hasn't scratched my itch in the past 10 years of doing this - why do I think it will satisfy this time?"
   
   
2. Blizzard has always been rather tone-deaf to the religious elements of their games.
   
   The original Diablo game was premised upon a Zoroastrian-like dualism with angels and demons fighting for cosmic dominance in something called "the sin war," in which humans could pick sides and participate. However, the game was chock-full of Christian imagery - a haunted cathedral, catacombs to explore, a character called "Archbishop Lazarus" who had made a deal with Diablo, and even a number of celtic crosses in various places.
   
   In Diablo II, the composer of the musical score commented that he based one of his pieces on the latin phrase "miserere" commenting that he thought it was appropriate for the "misery of souls in hell." The problem, of course, is that he apparently didn't know that "miserere" means "have mercy." The reason you hear it over and over again in old Latin choral pieces is because they were all filled with cries for a sovereign and loving God to have mercy on poor repentant sinners. There's no room for a sovereign God in the Diablo universe.
   
   There are hints that the plot of Diablo III involves corruption entering into the "high heavens" and now "fallen angels" are going to be involved in attacking the innocent citizens of Sanctuary. The tagline "And the heavens shall tremble" once again hearkens to Christian imagery (in this case, the King James translation of Joel 2:10), but pulls it out of context and misses the point.
   
   Who is causing the heavens to tremble in Joel 2:10? The earth is quaking and the heavens are trembling before an evil, viciously destructive army, which seems to fit the Diablo III usage well enough; but look who is responsible for this army:
   
   10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: 11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
   (Joel 2:10-11, KJV)
   
   
3. My final observation is that the language of eschatology (that is, the end-times) is becoming more and more common in popular culture. This is no Left Behind series game that we are talking about, a niche product for evangelicals and those with curiosity about the end of the world. This is likely to be the single most popular PC game on the planet in 2011 or so. And the first line of the cinematic trailer is "It has been said that in the end of all things..."
   
   This is not an isolated incident either. It's happening over and over again in popular entertainment. Even those with no thought of religion have a latent sense that things can't keep going on like they are too much longer. People don't like to think about the fact that it could actually be true that "the end is at hand," but there is a horror-movie chic to the idea of The End.
   

So here's my point, and the reason for posting random thoughts about a video game on this blog. The truth is that the universe that we live in is not a dualistic Zoroastrian universe. It is an absolute monarchy, and the Creator is absolutely sovereign and radically involved in His creation. We are indeed speeding towards the end of all things and the heavens shall indeed tremble, but the One who is going to shake all things is the One who made them. He is utterly unthreatened and unmoved by the "prime evil" - which in fact is only one of His creatures who rebelled against Him, and who is now unwillingly but inexorably serving His purpose of bringing judgment on His rebellious creation.

The day is coming soon when those who do not want God to rule over them will say to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:16-17)

What will you be saying in that day? The loving, sovereign God has opened a way for you to be reconciled with Him and to be absolutely safe on that Day. It does not come easily - if you choose to be reconciled with Him it will cost you everything, because He requires absolute allegiance. But He is worth it!

Voice-over text for Diablo III cinematic trailer:

It has been said…
That in the end of all things…we would find a new beginning.
But as the shadow once again crawls across our world,
and the stench of terror drifts on a bitter wind,
the people pray for strength and guidance…they should pray for the mercy of a swift death…
For I have seen what the darkness hides.

I don’t think its safe here.