The Ace Theological Company’s 95 Theses #70 NOTES ON The Bloody Mess After The Blessed Bible Fight Club And The Deity of God.

Thursday, 6:27 a.m.
March 17th, can you believe it? 2022
From the Salt Lake Valley.

Greetings in the spirit of Grace.
And we can’t leave out peace, dear friend,

So, I hung out on Bruce’s channel last night. He calls his channel BLESSED BIBLE FIGHT CLUB.
Cute name.
We were suppose to discuss the trinity of God. But if you listen… to the discussion, you’ll see that it’s hard to unpack the “trinity” without the whole structure of churchianity falling apart. And thus we talked a lot about God, the savior of all, and God’s use of the word AION in the scriptures.
So, I think I figured out Bruce’s thinking… follow me here:

1. Bruce insisted that I say “Jesus is God”.
2. I insisted that Bruce acknowledge (sp?) that Jesus DIED for our sins and was really DEAD when He DIED.
   Bruce struggled with the idea that “God can and did die”.
   But I didn’t have much problem saying that “Jesus is God”. I tried to share with Bruce that there are plenty of things in the Bible that are ABSOLUTELY true and plenty of things that are RELATIVELY true. And the word “GOD” is thrown around in the Bible in that kind of way. Sometimes the word “GOD” is used of God the creator of all things, sometimes it’s used of “the God of this world” (satan), on occasion humans are called “Gods” — so says Jesus.
   So if God is a word used of Jesus, I have no problem with that. But in trying to discover the nature of “God”… and the nature of “Jesus”… why not actually embrace phrases from the Bible, like that phrase that Jesus is “the beginning of the creation of God”. (Rev 3:14).
   What an interesting snippet of God’s word?
   If Jesus is the first thing to come out of God, well, hells bells, let’s take a peek and see what we can see.
   Why, that would explain a lot of things, don’t cha see.
   The Jehovah or YHWY (Yahweh) which we see in the Old Testament, that forth fella in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, … that must have been Jesus, BEFORE He showed up in Bethlehem, Son of Mary.
   So we may suggest that the God of the Old Testament was Jesus before He was born to Mary and got the name “Jesus” which we call Him nowadays.
   Now the question is: Is it a problem to believe He is both the “beginning of the creation of God” and God ???
   No harder than believing all that three-in-one material.
   What ever comes out of God is God. Especially the very first thing that comes out of God. That would be God too.
   There’s no way for God to communicate with us dumb ones on Earth… without a whole lot of “slow talking” … So God treats us all as if we’re 5 years old… with lots of figurative language… very, very, colorful language. And some of us get it.
   So, Bruce struggles with the idea that “God died”… but doesn’t it make sense that the “beginning of the creation of God” should have the experience of DEATH… after all, putting His Son on the cross was an act of love, mercy, power, truth, evil, grace, completion, — so much — Just to bring us back ??? I mean that’s INSIGHT.
   The Son of God died a horrible death, for us.
   The Son of God was entombed for our sakes.
   The Son of God was roused from among the dead, and God, the Father was pleased. And Glorified.
   Keep in mind, we’re just kids here… 12-years old… trying to understand the revelation of God… And fighting over a kid’s understanding of things… well… it’s laughable… and ultimately forgettable in God’s timing… God “eonian purpose”.
   I think sometime in the future, we’ll have to explore the phrase GOD IS ONE… as it’s found many times in the Bible.
   It’s not a casual, throw-away, line… The Jews use that phrase… Paul uses that phrase… but by and large, we of the “evangelical” mindset… DON’T USE THAT PHRASE… but why?
   GOD IS ONE… it’s used some 16 times… by my counting.
   It must be an important idea in God’s mind if He stuck it in the Bible so many times… and …
   It must be an important phrase if the fancy-schmacy, self-righteous, James Gangers and Traditional Christians are so HOT and HEAVY about God being THREE-IN-ONE.
   How about if we go this far for the moment…
   God is One… is an understandable concept, even if we’ve never taken a moment to try to understand it. However…
   God is Three-In-One is an UN-understandable concept even if we ponder it for 55 years like I have. (I got my start in the faith in 1967 and it’s now 2022, using that ole 5-grade arithmetic, I get 55 years.)
   Now as to Jesus’ rank and status and nature and character… you know… all the stuff we know about Him… doesn’t He give glory and honor to the Father? Why would those trinitarians be so mad at us for suggesting the Son of God is a “chip off the old block”… if you meet one you’ve met the other… He is “the beginning of the creation of God”. (Rev 3:14)
   I tell you… when you see God and His Son in this way, can you feel the pain God must have felt when Christ went to the cross?
   Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani, indeed. (“My God, My God, Why Hasth Thou Forsaken Me.)
   That phrase right there, should give us pause regarding using trinitarian’s arguments. Jesus was not “God” in every sense of the word if He shouted out Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani. He was praying TO God. He was hurting. It was the end. It was a sacrifice. It was serious.
   That fella who was in the oven with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo, was now on the cross. The flames couldn’t kill Him, but He laid down His life… there… in a Roman pole… for our sin.
   And the Father raised Him 3 days later.
   Keep in mind that figurative language is both wonderful and sometimes confusing. Bruce admitted that Jesus’ (as God) death did not fit well into his understanding of things… “How can God die?” was what I remember him saying.
   So, when Jesus says “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up”, Jesus is clearly using some types of figures of speech as He calls His body the “temple” of God… get it? A figure of speech?
   And don’t forget, we, the believers are also called the temple of God”… in Paul’s writings… again it’s wonderful, figurative language.
   There is a sense in which Christ was the “temple” of God. And there is a sense in which we are the “temple” of God. But God dwells throughout the heavens, who can actually build a “temple” big enough, grand enough to hold Him ???
   Is Jesus God?
   Is Jesus the Son of God?
   The dwelling place of God?
   “Ye are Gods” ???
   The “God of this world” ??
   “All out of Him” (Rom 11:36), — compared to — “the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev 3:14) ???
   The Son of God on the cross ???
   May God give us the grace to believe Him.
   And grant us a spirit of wisdom and revelation, in the realization of Him. (Eph 1:16) — I think that’s all we really want. Ok, gotta scoot…
   Thanks for spending some time reading these notes.
   7:42 a.m. Grace to you.
   Ace.

The Ace Theological Company’s 95 Theses #69 NOTES ON The Blessed Bible Fight Club And The Deity of God.

BRUCE INVITED ME TO “DEBATE” HIM ABOUT THE TRINITY STUFF.
HERE IS HIS CHANNEL:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6xh…

IT’S SUPPOSE TO HAPPEN TONIGHT A 8:30 p.m.
LAWD, WHAT HAVE I GOT MYSELF INTO. BRUCE’S ANNOUNCEMENT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHVUB…

Wednesday, March 16th, 2022.
5:06 a.m.
Holy smoke, it’s 41º out side…
With a high of 51º expected.

Ok, I think I got the spacing right. That white line was bugging me.

Good morning Dear One,
You are in Him.

You might call today a “big day” for me. I got myself roped into a debate… ole Bruce of the “Blessed Bible Fight Club” wants me to show up on his channel to argue “trinity” stuff.
I know I’m not going to “win the debate” because I don’t care about “trinity” stuff one way or the other.
Bruce is on about “the deity of Christ”… ain’t that sweet?
Onward:

Note to Tony in Australia…
Tony,
We haven’t spoken on a personal level for a while.
I trust all is well with you.
Years ago, I used to be a news junkie. But for the past …oh… four years, I’ve ignored all the yak yak, we call “news” — as best as I could.
Even 2 years ago when covid was hot stuff… I ignored it all as best as I could and just went on with my daily business. Never even wore a mask when I went shopping. Now keep in mind I only go out “shopping” once a month or so…(hardware store, maybe a mexican food joint)  but still… I didn’t wear a mask, and was only busted by an employee one time… we exchanged words but I kept on “shopping”.
  Anyway… these days, I think ignoring the news is fun. The broadcasters (whether its prime propaganda or so-called “alternative”) all traffic in urgency and panic. It took me many years of following all that crap to realize the urgency and panic never happens like they say… and they never apologize for getting it wrong. When Reagan was elected (or selected?) as president, I was a young liberal. I was panicked beyond belief. I just “knew” this old Republican fart was going to lead us into world war 3… But the world kept moseying along… at a slow grind.
The worst I can remember happening during the Reagan years is Nancy was on about “just say NO to drugs” — and someone drove a “truck bomb” into a marine barracks in Lebanon and some 200 marines were killed.
Oh, yeah… I remember now… vaguely… Reagan wanted to do something the might be good for humanity but not good for the dark overlords of the universe, so his CIA Vice President had him shot. And then Reagan started behaving himself to avoid any other errant flying objects.
My point is the “news” and the reporting of it all is jammed packed with urgency that usually turns to a slow burn, if anything.
“If it bleeds, it leads” is a favorite quote among broadcasters.
I know I’ve got a point here… but damned if I know what it is… maybe it’s that…
All this “Ukraine” news is the same ole thing… a slow burn, dressed up as urgency and panic.
I think my last real drink at the fountain of urgency and panic… was when Bill Clinton got his BJ from Monica. I didn’t care much about that, but I thought for sure all the heightened attention on him would lead to uncovering all his other shenanigans — you know like dead lawyers found in the park and dead congressmen found in airplanes.
But no… life goes on with a slow grind, a slow burn.
On Christmas Day, some years ago, (2004?) there was a tsunami that killed something like 100,000 people in an hour or so… and I was all over that “news”… I had a girl friend at the time who was so flighty, and clueless… that she knew nothing about that “news”… for what… weeks? And when she heard that 100,000 folks perished on Christmas Day, she could have cared less. She flittered about her business.
Well… these days, I’m seeing the value in her attitude a bit more.
Covid? What’s that?
Ukraine? What’s that?
Panic and urgency? What’s that?
Dare we say the panic and urgency is a pack of lies? But how can we say it without participating in the lies as well.
HELP… URGENT… THEY ARE LYING TO YOU… YOU MUST DO SOMETHING… TO STOP THE LIES… HELP…..
How do you get to the place where you hear the manipulation and the lies and smile… and relax and breath… and know that “all is out of Him, through Him and for Him.” (Romans 11:36)
Now that I think about it… I think the James Gang and the puritans out of New England, traffic in panic and urgency. I think it’s a thing with them.
There must be a brain chemical released in the panic and urgency news cycle.
It’s a good thing God is taking His sweet time to make sure everything is right. God’s eonian purpose (EPH 3:11) has two more eons in which to play out.
They are “good” eons, compared to what we’ve been use to so far. They are called “the eons of the eons” when mentioned together. The very last one is called “the eon of the eons”.
And since eon is the longest time period mentioned in the Bible… I suspect we can settle down and see that God is no hurry and no panic.
I think we can say that the cross of Christ…gives even God peace. God knows the matter has been settled. Christ’s work on the cross brings us all to the Father. And God is in no hurry.
Slow and steady. Two more eons to go.
And then… at the “consummations of the eons” (I COR 10:11) all bets are off. Everything changes. God becomes All, in all. Breathtaking.
So, dear Tony, I can’t help it… it’s where I am at the moment… I, selfishly, recommend for you to ignore the panic and urgency, presented by the “news”… and see, understand, realize, some things other than panic and urgency… wow…
Silly me… I have this compost pile… and I find it fascinating… to watch it, grow, heat up, decompose, turn into food and a home for microbes and earth worms. And turn into sweet smelling soil. There’s nothing “urgent” in that. That stuff is going to decompose with or without much help from you. That is the way of God and nature. But nothing goes to waste.
There is a tribe of Indians in my area called the “Utes”… thus the name “Utah”. A few years ago, I was hiking out in the Unita Mountains… and got real deep into the woods… real deep… and the thought came to me that, some 400 years ago, there might have been a Ute Indian standing right there, and it never came into his mind that “I need to make the world a better place”… which was a popular sloganeering thing back then. It might still be, but I don’t get out much. But that Indian, never once thought that thought.
We are all a product of our times. There are so many influences that push us to do this or that… and my god, when you see it for lies, and shall we say “trust God”… you feel like you can rest.
So much that we think we know… we don’t know at all.
What about this for a thought:
“Timeless” things VS “urgency” and “panic” ???
How fun to discover the verb tense in the Greek of the New Testament… the aorist tense… it’s not past, not present, not future… no, it’s a TIMELESS verb tense. Like from John 3:16…
“For thus God loves the world, so that He gives His only begotten Son, that whosoever is believing on Him shall not be perishing, but may be having life eonian.”
Not past tense “loved”…. No, it’s timeless “loves”. etc.
Keep your friends close — by not giving them too much shit… those who complain and try to correct everyone else, kind of chase family and friends away.
Not good.
Grace to you.
Yours,
Ace,
P.S. My compost pile is almost ready. I’ve been using parts of it to plant tobaccos seeds, walnut seeds, apricot seeds, and some vegetable that I forgot to label, so I don’t know what it is, yet, I’ll have to wait till it gets more mature.
Grace.

6:22 a.m. coffee refill time. Hang on.
6:32 a.m. Onward:

Now, I’m suppose to have a “debate” or some type of chat with Bruce about trinity stuff tonight.
The topic of “trinity” has a long history. It’s mildly interesting. It’s mostly an un-understandable thing… and even it’s proponents don’t get, but won’t admit they don’t get it.
It’s like a blizzard of words to explain something that was originally a word salad. Is that a mixed metaphor or what?
With all them “words” surely you can find God in there somewhere. Right?
Hang on… I did a search for “How many bible verses say that ‘God is one’…
Here is my first result, let’s see if it pastes in ok:

Deuteronomy 6:4
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!

Mark 12:29
Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord;

Job 23:13
“But He is unique and who can turn Him?
And what His soul desires, that He does.

Mark 12:32
The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is One, and there is no one else besides Him;

Romans 3:30
since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.

Galatians 3:20
Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is one.

1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Zechariah 14:9
And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.

1 Corinthians 8:4
Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one.

James 2:19
You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

Ephesians 4:6
one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

1 Corinthians 8:6
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

1 Corinthians 12:13
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/God-Is-One

Well sir, I don’t know why those guys can’t settle down.
Remember the first Spiderman movie with Toby Maguire?
Well, Spiderman saves the city and Mary Jane from all hell breaking lose, he’s got Mary Jane in one arm and slinging around the town using the other arm, and she’s screaming and screaming… and Spiderman says “Mary Jane, settle down.”
With that many verses from the Bible saying “God is one”… why are these guys screaming about God is three-in-one?
Maybe we’ll find out tonight when Bruce and I have a chat.
The sun is suppose to be up in 41 minutes. Exciting.

Wow… how many times does the Bible say “God is one”??? And how many times does the Bible say that “God is three-in-one”???
Gosh, I feel silly bothering with this topic… OK… let’s move on….

HEY UNIVERSE… PLEASE NOTE:

“God was in Christ”… so says II COR 5:18-21.
That means you’re in trouble.
God was in Christ… so you have no excuse.
God was in Christ… so you’ll have to come home now.
God was in Christ… so dinner is ready.
God was in Christ… so you can stop showing off, ok?
God was in Christ… He’s not taking “no” for an answer.
God was in Christ… The kind of trouble you’re in includes killing the grain-feed calf… and throwing a HUGE party… you’ll see.
God was in Christ… changing the rules of the game.
God was in Christ… you can’t fool Him any longer.
God was in Christ… saving your butt once and for all.
God was in Christ … making sure you’re safe.
(SIDE NOTE: are the words “save” and “safe” related? One would think so… so can we change the christian lingo to be you are safe in Christ… rather than you are saved in Christ? Slight difference…but more homey. More intimate. Safe in Christ is a place… a place to be… protected… sheltered….
I think it might work better as the word “safe” is kind of active, in my mind, whereas the word “saved” seems to be used as a one-time event… like a bargaining chip.
But even the word SAVED in the Bible could mean a number of things, as you go along… you can be “saved” in the past, you can be “saved” from falling in a ditch, you can be “saved” in your understanding and “saved” from confusion, etc. And the ultimate “salvation” is revealed in I COR 15:26… when God, in Christ, abolishes death-mortality altogether at the consummation of the eons…. And God becomes all in all… THAT is the ultimate “save” or “salvation”….
Israel’s salvation is different than the salvation of the ecclesia, which is His body.
POINT: The word “saved” or “salvation” is a common noun, and you trinitarian/freewillers should be more specific about which salvation you’re referring to… so get this…
God was in Christ… saving the world… so says II COR 5:18-20.
II Cor 5:
18 Yet all is of God, Who conciliates us to Himself through Christ, and is giving us the dispensation of the conciliation,
19 how that God was in Christ,
(1) conciliating the world to Himself,
(2) not reckoning their offenses to them,
(3) and placing in us the word of the conciliation.
20 For Christ, then, are
(4)…we ambassadors, as of God entreating through us. We are beseeching for Christ’s sake,
“Be conciliated to God!”
21
(5) …For the One not knowing sin, He makes to be a sin for our sakes
(6) that we may be becoming God’s righteousness in Him.

I count six things God was doing “in Christ”…
7:21 a.m… a moment filled with grace.

So God was in Christ, conciliating the whole dang world to Himself. And while He was there, He made it so that He’s not holding anyone’s offensive behavior against them…. wow…. And then He gives us the word about this matter… so we can hop around and tell everyone we know… “Hey, ya know, God’s not mad at you anymore, so you can forgive Him, if you’ve got a minute.”
Anyway… It’s such good news. And it’s a timeless thing. Since God was in Christ… the matter is settled, and God is sitting at the supper table, with an eye on each of us… He knows we can’t resist for long. It’s the kind of love that goes beyond mere “I love you” words… You see, God was in Christ… conciliating the world to Himself.
It’s more than a “big concept”…
The word “world” in this case is “cosmos” I bet. And if that is the case, it just might mean that God is at peace with even HOW the world is going, as the word cosmos includes the “world system” ie ruling affairs, and all that stuff.
Imagine that…. God doing something in Christ so great that He’s not even mad at the Rothchilds… wow. Crime families of the world unite… God is inviting you to dinner.
Now you have to admit, the metaphor or notion of crime families being invited to the dinner table of God… it would have to change those of the crime family (that includes you Bucky, none are righteous, get it?) — They would be “changed” by the mere presence of The Father of all, don’t cha see.
I’ve heard a lot of musicians say that they play better when they are playing with better musicians… weird, huh?
And I’ve noticed in my own life, when you’re in the presence of greatness, you change your behavior as well.
So just imagine all the crime families of the world being invited to the supper table of God… and sitting down… OMG, when you’re in the presence of greatness you can’t but help become a better you.
When I was a kid, oh, say 13, 14, years old… my Grandfather was like the patriarch of the extended family. He was a “christian”, godly man. He lived about 100 miles away… and when he would come for a weekend visit, I noticed that my stepdad and all my uncles would hide the beer and the cigarettes.
“Who is this man?” I thought to myself, that he could, without a word, make my stepdad and uncles behave themselves when he was around. ???
I’m telling you being in the presence of greatness inspires greatness.
When Paul — oops, Saul, — met the risen Christ on the highway to Damascus, the words that fell out of his mouth were in essence, “oh shit”.
When you in the presence of greatness you tend to rise … rise to the occasion.
If you’re in a den of thieves, you’ll act like one of them…
I’m excited to see the crime families of the world sit down at the supper table of God… oh my, I can imagine the dinner conversation… you have to know, every heart will melt. Every head will mildly shake. Every one will toast to our Lord and Savior.
AND GET THIS… Let’s say those crime families have a bit of blood on their hands… and let’s say they killed a lot of people… now imagine this… they are seated at the supper table of God, and in walks all the people they killed and they all sit down right across from the crime family on the other side of the table… won’t that spark an interesting dinner conversation???
God was in Christ… accomplishing so much… and there is so much to play out… and Christ died for crime families, one and all.

I’m so excited.
BTW, pray that tonight, when I sit down with Bruce, that God give us both a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the realization of Him.
Grace to you.
Exit: stage right.
Ace.
7:57 a.m.

68 WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO GET CLEAR ON THIS “TRINITY” THING.

Tue, March 15, planting time. 2022.
5:20 a.m.
Grace to you this morning.
When I think about it, I suspect this trinity thing is part of the spiritual warfare we’re engaged in. Let me explain.

My morning prayer is for a spirit of wisdom and understanding, in the realization of God.

Now, regarding the trinity, my “main” scripture will be what John the baptists once said…
“BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD”. — That works for me. I want to see God. I want to see His Son. I want to “behold” this one who “takes away the sin of the world”
I got into it last night with a freewiller/trinity guy. Those two always seem to go together for some reason.
He was insistent that Jesus is “God” in every way, and every sense imaginable.
So, like a fool, I thought he wanted to discuss some, perhaps, big ideas… but NO… he wanted to straighten my butt out regarding this pet doctrine of his.
In one sense, I don’t thing it’s a big thing to believe or not believe in the “trinity”… But here’s where I think it’s important… I COR 15: 1-4… We believe Christ died and rose the third day for the forgiveness of sins. Believe it or not, THIS is a trinity verse. Or rather, an “anti-trinity” verse.
You see, those trinity guys actually believe that Christ did not die when He died. They insist that since Christ is some mystical 2nd person of some mystical “trinity”… and is every bit as much “God” as “God is… then, the “2nd person of the trinity” cannot die… so, they say “His body died, but He did not die”… and thus they muddy the waters when it comes to fully appreciating the fact that Christ did not deem it pillaging to be equal with the Father but left His estate and humbled Himself and became a man, and was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore… check it out… wherefore, God HIGHLY EXALTED Him. And gave Him a name above all names… so that… at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow. And guess what… every tongue will acclaim: Jesus is Lord. What a mouthful… but it doesn’t stop… all this happens to the “Glory of God the Father.”
It all kinda starts with this idea that Christ DIED for us. And if you’re not clear that the dead are dead, you kind of don’t see what we’re seeing. This is a matter of faith.
Christ died for our sins. Died. Dead. Kaput. Out of here. No more. This is serious. We’re not kidding around. Even the 11 apostles and the women were in no mood to for some screw ball coming along and saying “He is risen”… this is serious. Stop it. Can’t you see that we’re grieving here??????
So, I think, in a practical way, that the place to start in understanding trinity VS non-trinity… is in understanding DEATH… And Christ died for our sins.
So, in looking into the Bible’s teaching on “death” we have to factor in the ole favorite of man-made religion: the belief in the “immortal soul”.
So, I’m thinking you can’t look at the “trinity” without also looking at the nature of death and the teaching of the immortal soul. I.E. Christ died for our sins.
Now I admit that for many years of my epic journey into this faith… I kind of bought into the trinity stuff. I never did understand it, but I had no arguments with it. And I definitely bought into the “immortal soul” stuff. And because of this, I secretly wondered “What’s the big deal about the resurrection?”
You see, if Jesus had an “immortal soul”… He wasn’t really dead, when He was dead… And this resurrection thing was just a show, an act, not something we should take seriously. And guess what… most churches DON’T TAKE THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION SERIOUSLY.
They hardly mention the cross in their sermons. Oh yeah, they’re kind of forced to talk about it on Easter… but “Let’s get this over with” is their attitude.
Take a peek… Paul was different, he was all about the cross. He wouldn’t shut up about it. It was like his opening thought, his closing thought, and everything in the middle he was relating to God’s work in Christ’s cross.
So much so that he bragged: I HAVE DETERMINED TO KNOW NOTHING AMONG YOU SAVE CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED.
When Paul was out yakking with the Greek Stoic Philosophers in Athens… He couldn’t leave it alone. He was all about “God gives life and breath and all to all, and by the way, God raised His boy from the dead.” (Acts 17) — And they be like “Get this nut job out of here.”
So, if you can get in your mind that Christ DIED and was really dead… before God raised Him from the dead, then you get a better idea of the plan and purpose of God altogether.
Those trinity guys, sure do hate it when you say “Christ died…”
I’m thinking here…
Can we go down this road… that if Christ didn’t really die, then He didn’t really die for our sins, as well, right?
Oh my God, my brain is hurting… hang on… maybe a refill on my coffee will help:
6:00 a.m. (and it’s still dark out.)
6:04 a.m.
Sure those trinity guys have plenty of verses to back up there claim that there is this thing called a “trinity” — but somehow they jump to a wild ass conclusion that if you don’t agree with them in this trinity thing, you’re going to hell.
My oh my.
And when you look at their supporting verses for the trinity… they’re mostly inconclusive. Vague. Inference. And at best, figurative language. Nothing that you’d want to send someone to hell over, (seems to me.)
Keep in mind, Christ died for our sins and was raised the third day… and that is the topic and real discussion here. Don’t be sidetracked into useless rabbit holes. Christ died for our sins, and it means something. He was raised the third day and it means something. In fact, it means everything. It changes everything.
When we’re chatting about whether or not we should use trinity language…
OK… I can agree with Christ’s “pre-existence”. And I can look at all those verses they bring up which seem to back up their trinity notion. But we talking the DEATH and RESURRECTION of Christ, here.
And if you are confused by the vagarity of the lingo used… so am I… Is there a difference between God and His Son? Well, yeahhhhhh. Did God create His Son? Wow, is that too much to ask? How about: When did God create His Son? REV 3:14 seems to say “at the beginning”. The same with COL 1:16.
KJV:
REV 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
So, who is this Jesus? Well, He’s the “AMEN”… What, pray tell, does that mean? I confess, I’ve no idea. But He’s the Amen. So, let’s go with it.
Up next it says He is the “FAITHFUL AND TRUE WITNESS”… again, what’s that all about? I can understand Him being a faithful and true witness a bit more than Him being “the Amen”… these things are big, boys and girls. Bigger than my Kentucky fried brain.
Then… He says He’s “THE BEGINNING OF THE CREATION OF GOD.”…. Holy smoke, I think we got a big one on the line… what is this?
Dare we say that Jesus Christ is the “beginning of the creation of God”? No. No, say it isn’t so… those trinitarians will kick you out of fellowship “if you say that one more time… I mean it…”
So we say, “Please pass the potatoes and gravy.” instead.
Now, when we are looking at scriptures, it helps to keep in mind that there are plenty of figures of speech all over the word of God.
There is one figure of speech in which you say THIS IS THAT. (I forgot what this figure is called but it has a name.) For example “This cup is my blood” (THIS IS THAT)… “This bread is my body” (THIS IS THAT) … Etc.
Brother Bullinger has a lovely book on Figures of speech.
And keep in mind that often, we run into problems in our understanding when we don’t see the RELATIVE vs the ABSOLUTE.
You see, some things are RELATIVELY true… and some things are ABSOLUTELY true.
The “relative” might be true as to feeling. But not as to fact. Paul says “None are righteous, no not one”. (3 negatives in one sentence… wow.)
But John the baptist’s parents were “righteous” says the scripture.
Which is true?
Both, but in a different sense.
John’s parents were “righteous” relative to everyone else in their life… at the time of John’s birth. But Paul was right in the ABSOLUTE sense, in God’s eyes, NONE ARE RIGHTEOUS, NO NOT ONE.
So, don’t be afraid to cast your eyes on a passage of scripture and consider that it might be figurative language.
So is Christ literally “the beginning of creation” or was something created before Christ?
And REV 3:14 is not the only place where we find strange and wonderful language.
Check out COL 1:16… Christ is the “Firstborn of creation”. — wow… but again… don’t say that…just say “Pass the potatoes please.”
Again, we don’t want to stray too far down rabbit holes, let’s keep in mind CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS, WAS ENTOMBED AND WAS RAISE FROM THE DEAD ON THE THIRD DAY. And this means something. It changes everything.
If Christ was “the Firstborn of creation” and “The Beginning of creation” — it might be easier to see His role as our elder brother, with responsibilities toward the family as the “Firstborn”… right? Being “Firstborn” means among other things, that you are OBLIGATED to redeem kin who get into trouble, right? The kinsman redeemer plays a big part in our understanding of who Christ is and God’s purpose of the eons.
So the firstborn is obligated to redeem family if family gets into debt or prison. See the story of Ruth and Boaz. Ruth’s proper “kinsman” redeemer passed on his obligation and his name is blocked out of the story. It’s the way of things. If the proper kin does not redeem, his name is mud. But if the proper kinsman does what’s right (redeem) his name is exalted. As with Boaz.
And Christ, as our kinsman redeemer (Firstborn of creation) comes along and “humbles himself and becomes obedient unto death… wherefore… God gives him a name… and wow… Christ died FOR our sins… it’s part of the KINSMAN REDEEMER story.
And if Christ did not die (as our trinitarian friends suggest) then, neither are we redeemed.
What puzzles me the most, is why are these guys so insistent that we toe-the-line, regarding trinity language?
It’s to the point where I have been told I’m not saved unless I use trinity lingo.
Didn’t Paul say to Timothy… “Have a pattern of sound words”… and elsewhere… “Do not go beyond what is written” ???
So, if I don’t want to use clever trinity lingo like “God the Son” or “triune” … or all the other mystical, but non-scriptural phrases… why am I booted out of fellowship?
Is Jesus God? Sure. Is the term “God” used in a relative sense sometimes? Sure. Is it used in an absolute sense sometimes? Sure.
Did Jesus “have” a God? I think He says “My God” in His prayers from time to time.
Paul, in Ephesians even prays to “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”. — So why do they insists that we get the trinity lingo right?
I run back to the cross. What was accomplished there? Was death really death? Is the resurrection from the dead a really big deal? Did Christ die for our sins?
Are the notions of the “immortal soul” tied in with the cleverness of the “trinity” ???? They seem to be.
There is a wonderful essay over on Concordant.org called “WHAT IS DEATH?”
It’s right on the front page of their site.
And this is why we’re here chatting about the “trinity”… we want to see what was accomplished on the cross of Christ.
Did Christ “pre-exist” before He showed up in Bethlehem? Sure. Is He “eternal” like His Father? — Oh bother… that word “eternal” sure gets around a lot. It’s an English word ya know. There is no word like it, in the entire book of God. The word AION is sometimes translated “eternal”… but quite often it’s IMPOSSIBLE to translate it “eternal”… as the sentence might say “the end of the (AION)”… so it would look silly to slip in “eternal” on such a sentence.
Therefore I bugs me when we ascribe a rather new English word (“eternal” was invented by John Wyclife about 600 years ago) to God and/or His Son.
How about we ask if God is eonian? Hmmm… Yes, Romans 16:26 says as much.
What about if we ask if Jesus is eonian? Oh, my, let me think for a moment. Well, Hebrews 1:2 says the eons were made in the Son of God, so, I’d say YES Jesus is eonian.
Will I go to hell for believing Jesus is the “beginning of creation” (Rev 3:14) and for believing the “eternals” (GK aions) were made in Him?
So many questions, please, pass the potatoes and gravy.
Grace to you.
7:21 a.m. 37º out there, with a high of 60º expected.
I better scoot.
Ace.

The Ace Theological Company’s 95 Theses #67 God’s Calendar, God’s Timing, God’s Good Sense, (Notes on the cross of Christ)

Monday, Morning, 7:22 a.m.
That time change thing screws with us a lot, huh?
It’s like taking a gallon of water from one end of the swimming pool and URGENTLY pouring it into the other end.

March 14th, 2022

We have ever reason to trust God, dear Friend,

When we survey the scope of God’s creation, and glance upon the centerpiece of it all, — the cross — we gasp.

To dare suggest that the cross is God’s perfect showpiece of creation, is unreasonable.
Human reason would see the cross as a destructive thing, not a creative thing.
Ahhhhhh… but the cross is both, and perfectly.
In the cross we see life and death meeting.
In the cross we see God’s judgment on any “flaws” in this creation.
In the cross we see God’s corrective action to make “flaws” lovely and beautiful.
In the cross we see the end of sin.
In the cross we see God smiling on the future.
On the cross we meet the Last Adam.
As a result of the cross we are introduce to the Second Man.
All evil was there, at the cross.
All good was there as well.
The cross, to us, is God’s perfect timepiece. It’s is “the clock of God”. God measures time by the cross of Christ.
For in Him all is created. Says Colossians 1:16.
The insides of a watch are a perfect metaphor for us. Intricate. Delicate. Many moving parts. All for a purpose.
One part of the watch moves another part. The owner hardly thinks about all the moving parts on his wrist. But daily appreciates the knowledge he gets from glancing at his timepiece.
Humanity meets God in Christ’s cross.
And guess what… all creation has an appointment with Christ’s cross… For the cross accomplishes so very much. We hardly know all that it achieved but we’re starting to get a peep.
Check this out: That passage that reveals that one day, every knee will bow… and every tongue will acclaim… that passage is all about the cross. (Phil 2:5-11)
I feel embarrassed that I have used that passage so many times in my battles with the freewill gentlemen… to show the final outcome of God’s infinite, overwhelming, grace… And of course, they insist that the bowing and “confessing” at that time… don’t do a damn bit of good… for “it’s toooooo late”… they say.
I feel embarrassed because I’m using that passage as a TIMEPEICE to show the final achievements of the cross… but I wish I knew how to bring those freewillers to that passage and say, “HEY BOYS, CHECK THIS OUT, THIS IS ABOUT THE CROSS AND IT’S ACHIEVEMENTS.”
But, they think God’s “timepiece” (the cross) has failed to do it’s job. They think God’s calendar precludes the redemption of the very ones for whom He died.
The cross is our argument. The cross is our hope. The cross is our glory. It’s crazy. It’s all the opposite of what human thinking is all about.
The humans brag in their Towers of Babel. We (believers) brag in the greatest destruction the world has seen (or accomplished).
They destroyed the Giver of Life. (On the cross).
But it was God’s perfect plan all along.
Three days later… the rules were changed. All of them.
Three days later, our wounded hearts were comforted.
Three days later, the Giver of Life was alive once again.
But different. Vastly different. Unable to die again.
And our hearts are terribly consoled.
“Now we know Him after the flesh no longer.” says Paul.
“Touch me, see that I am ‘flesh and bone’” says the risen Christ. (Not ‘flesh and blood’, — ‘flesh and bone’ — for He shed His blood on the cross.)
Peter and the eleven, thought, “Perhaps His resurrection means the kingdom will be restored to Israel.” But no. It was so much more.
The accomplishments of the cross — turns out — was more than Peter knew. More than anyone knew. Paul reveals to us the most about what the cross accomplishes. But even Paul said “I cannot say.” (See his chat about going to the “third heaven”.)
Seems good to me to say that the cross is God’s timepiece. All time is measured by elements of change.
And at the cross everything changed.
Death’s death began there.
Grace was revealed there.
Love was revealed there.
Truth was revealed there.
When He died, we all died.
When He rose… dare I say it??? We all rose in Him.
Human destiny is entirely dependent on the efficacy of God’s work in Christ’s cross.
Human destiny is entirely dependent on the purpose of God.
The cross reveals the purpose of God.
If you spend a bit of time in Ephesians, 1, 2, and 3… you can see the language of God, to reveal that even the ecclesia, which is His body, was born in the cross of Christ.
Got to go…
8:06 a.m.
Grace to you.
Ace.

The Ace Theological Company’s 95 Theses #65 Twelve “Twicky” Things With “All in All”

(Twelve Tricky Things – is an alliteration — all the “T”s rhyme. Not sure we have 12 things to say, but let’s try.)
Friday, March 11th… 4:35 a.m.
Can you believe we’re up at this hour?

Good morning chosen one,
(Ya know, we’re all chosen for one reason or another… some as vessels of honor, some as vessels of something less than honor…. You know, like toilet bowls, we don’t want to talk about them but they are important after all.)

Good morning, chosen one, chosen to think aloud with me about some little things of God that may be a big deal… or not… no big deal.

Ok, it’s 19º out there.
Later, it will get to a high of 38º.

Dear One … you are in Him, whether you know it or not.

ONE: You see, All are created “IN” Christ. (Col 1:16-20)

And, “IN” God, we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:25-28)
And ALL is out of Him, through Him and for Him. (Romans 11:36.
The prepositions — “IN” – “OF” – “THROUGH” – “FOR” – “BY” – “BEFORE”
Colossians 1:16-20 —
Look at all these prepositions here: in YELLOW.
16 for in Him is all created, that in the heavens and that on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or sovereignties, or authorities, all is created through Him and for Him,17 and He is before all, and all has its cohesion in Him.18 And He is the Head of the body, the ecclesia, Who is Sovereign, Firstborn from among the dead, that in all He may be becoming first,19 for in Him the entire complement delights to dwell,20 and through Him to reconcile all to Him (making peace through the blood of His cross), through Him, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens.
TWO: I’m trying to think of “twelve” things about God being all in all… because that’s what the subject line says… so far… I’ve only got two things in my mind… but let’s see if we can knock this thing out of the park.
So… item “ONE” was just cheating, kind of… there’s nothing weird or “tricky” about all being of God. So, let’s get to the tricky things…
It’s tricky that we have this innate idea that the universe is all about us. “I, I, I,” — “me, me, me,” And we’re so sure everything is all about us, and then we come along and discover that the Bible says ALL IS OF GOD… oh my. How do we stuff that into our brains. All? Even evil? What the hell, dude?
It’s hard to take our eyes off ourselves, even for a moment. But if we can get out of that solipsistic mindset and come to agree with Paul… then… behold… our forehead crinkles a bit.
So, all is of God, huh? So, it’s not all about me, huh? It takes a while to process that.
But it is “of God” to bring us along to shed the scales off our eyes to see that “all is of God.”
And once we see that it’s not all about US, the neurons in our brains have to rewire itself… and we – hopefully – will become more “slow to speak”… and “slow to anger” and more gracious and kind to others… as the world and it’s meaning starts to take shape.
All is of God, indeed.
THREE: And magically, once our take our eyes off our own navel, and the lint stuck therein, maybe we can look at the pages of history and see a different thing going on.
If we start at the “beginning”… at Adam… we see that “all is of God”…
God created Adam — “of God”
God spoke to Adam — “of God”
God says “see that tree” — “of God”
God says “to die shall you be dying” — “of God”
Adam ate — “of God”
The shit show begins — “of God”
—— let’s keep going:
The flood — “of God”
Babel — “of God”
Abraham — is surely “of God”
Moses — “of God”.
Pharaoh — the dude is “of God”.
The prophets, totally “of God”.
The fulfillment of the prophecy: Christ — “of God”
The godawful Cross — totally “of God”.
The resurrection — “of God”
Your doubt: — “of God” baby.
Your faith: — “of God”
Your expectation — “of God”
Christ’s redemption of the whole world — “of God”
Liars, deceivers, false teachers — yep, “of God”
Every knee bowing — totally “of God”
The abolition of sin and death — why of course, “of God”

FOUR: Now, I suppose we might find it “tricky” (once we come to see and understand that all is of God) to share this big idea with those around us… can they hear it? Should they hear it?

5:22 a.m. Coffee refill time. Hang on.
5:29 a.m. back at it….

So, should we tell everyone we know that “all is of God”… To me, the urgency we felt when we were “hell-fire” believers melts away… now that we see a bigger picture.
It might be helpful to share with someone that all is of God… but it might not.
SIDE NOTE: Remember the old days when we thought “miracles” were “of God”… and we didn’t know that everything is kind of a “miracle” … ???
Remember when we thought “Christmas” was special ??? I’m telling ya… we can open our eyes now and see that “every day is Christmas” now… every day is special… every day is of God.
Years ago, when I was hanging out with the Pentacostals… we saw the Pentecostal “gifts” (like speaking in tongues, divine healing, etc.) as “of God”… But how much better to see that ALL IS OF GOD…
Every day and every thing is a gift, kind of.
Even “evil” is of God…. See Isaiah 45:7.
Every “evil” results in some “good” given enough time to let the effects and results sink in somewhere.
Joseph’s brothers were evil bastards. No doubt.
They were jealous, petty, vindictive, lying, murderers.
11 brothers… Count them.
And yet… with Joseph, we add them up to get… wait for it…
THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL
The 12 tribes… and 11 of them were scoundrels ???
And don’t let Joseph off the hook. “All have sinned” remember..
12 scum buckets… we call “the twelve tribes of Israel”… and yet, “all is of God”
They sold Joseph into slavery… told their father he died… and never said a word of truth about the matter… until they were all hungry from the famine… bastards.
Liars.
Murderers.
Petty.
Vindictive.
Role models for society? LOL.
All is of God. He’s got bigger vision than we do.
Apparently God loves lying, assholes, who are vindictive, murderous, petty and extremely selfish. What’s up with that?
“Christ died for all”??? What was God thinking?
Christ died FOR our sins ??? Is that “wisdom” on God’s part, or plain ole foolishness????
With my mind, I don’t understand God’s wisdom.
But these are matters of faith… and God gives me the faith to believe these matters…
My mind and my faith are not friends in this arena.
They are opposed to each other.
All is of God… does not fit in with my human logic.
I can understand why some oppose our message.
Hell, I opposed this message for many years of my journey.
So, “all is of God” is the ultimate consideration of considerations.
The Arminians don’t get it.
The Calvinists don’t get it.
The civilians don’t get it.
And I say, we barely get it.
God grant us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the realization of you. (Eph 1:16)
So, we wake up in the morning and realize all is of God.
We lay down at night and realize all is of God.
And when we rest in the sleep of death, we too can realize that all is of God.
And note: Death, the last enemy, is being abolished. (I COR 15:26) “IS BEING” is a really cool verb structure, copied in the CLNT. It shows the process has begun (In Christ’s own resurrection) but has not been completed yet. All is of God.
God has given us so much. Tasty food and rotten maggots. Thrilling things and offensive things.
How lovely to get to the place to where you see that all is of God. You’re not so quick to judge and condemn, then. You’re willing to hold your breath and say “Let’s see where this goes.”
When you hit a bump in the road you no long shout: “IT’S THE WRONG ROAD”….
You realize it’s just a bump.
Thanks for looking over my shoulder…
I’ll try to do a live show in about 2 hours.
Grace to you.
6:03 a.m.
Friday, march 11th,
Bye for now.
Ace.

The Ace Theological Company’s 95 Theses #63 The Beauty of Hebrews 1:2— God Made The Eons Through His Son —

TO THE HEBREWS
Chapter 11 By many portions and many modes, of old, God, speaking to the fathers in the prophets,2 in the last of these days speaks to us in a Son, Whom He appoints enjoyer of the allotment of all, through Whom He also makes the eons;3 Who, being the Effulgence of His glory and Emblem of His assumption, besides carrying on all by His powerful declaration, making a cleansing of sins, is seated at the right hand of the Majesty in the heights;4 becoming so much better than the messengers as He enjoys the allotment of a more excellent name than they.

6:10 a.m.
We got about 4 inches of snow last night.
It’s 35º out there right now…
Maybe it will get up to 39º

Wednesday, March 9th, 2022

 I woke up thinking about Hebrews 1:2, Dear Saint, 

So… with your indulgence… shall we see what we can see?
When I went to copy and paste it in here… just verse 2… my itty bitty eyes fell on the surrounding words… and they too were lovely, downright beautiful… so I pasted in all the way to verse four.
Let’s start with verse two…
He made the eons through His Son.
And IF you want to crawl outside our own skin… you know… that ole “me, me, me” stuff… you know… “God is on MY side.”… you know… “God made ME.”… etc….
Check it out…
He made the eons.
So, might we say that the eons are His?
And everything within the eons are His?
And not only did He MAKE the eons…
He made them IN or THROUGH His Son… would it be right, then, to dare suggest the eons are “perfect”… right now… even if scripture calls the current eon “wicked” (Galatians 1:4)
Hang on… I’m checking to get that verse right… in the meantime I found this cool web page on THE EONS… in the Bible… and you might want to take a gander…
http://saviourofall.org/Tracts/Eons2.html
I’ll put it in the side notes for your clicking pleasure.
So, the eons were made through His Son… Let’s check the beloved ole KJV… hang on….
As expected, they used “worlds” instead of “eons”… but let’s go with it for a moment…
Hebrews 1:2, KJV: “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”
If the KJV is going to use the word WORLDS… can we even take it a step further… and say, God, through His Son, makes the POSSIBILITIES? —
You know the King James Bible gets real jiggy with the Greek word AION. They’re all over the board with this word. They translate it AGE, ETERNAL, WORLD, EVER, NEVER, and a hand full of other words too.
So, if they can get jiggy, why can’t we?
“God made the possibilities through His Son.”
Now, I take the liberty to head down this road because our limitarian buddies condemn us for being so-called “universalists”. And they say “Universalism is impossible.”
Well sir… didn’t Jesus say “With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible!!!” ??
So, dare we say God made the eons, God made the worlds, God made the possibilities? (Hebrews 1:2)
I was told last night, in a bible thumper’s channel that universalism is a false doctrine, and “impossible” and that I should give up universalism… So, I, immediately typed in UNIVERSALISM SUCKS, THANK GOD HE’S GOING TO BURN DEM SINNERS IN HELL FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER AND EVER AND EVER.
Apparently that wasn’t good enough for them. They said I was mocking and kicked me out of the room.
They also said I was “cherry picking” the scriptures.
Wait a minute… doesn’t everyone “cherry pick” the Bible… we’re all reading that thing, trying to make sense out of it… hoping it holds some answers for us. Right.
And of course most folks use the Bible like a Rosetta Stone… or a ouija board…. And even the limitarians “cherry pick” bible verses to “PROVE” God is going to burn the vast amount of humanity in hell endlessly.
Now, I came into the way about 1967… and I confess, we “christians” pretend to honor the Bible, but on the whole, we’re not really bible students. We carry the thing to church. We open it up when the preacher says “Our passage today is XXX, verses one and two.”
That’s it… two verses a week.
It takes a lot of work to really crack that book open and see what you can see.
Most of us depend on the Bible crackers. Sometimes we call them “scholars” but they are crackers. They crack open the Bible and take a peek. If they survive, they come back and tell us what they saw.
Where was I… got distracted by the side chat.
I was grateful when A. E. Knoch cracked open that book and lived to tell about it. He came back and told us that “God was the savior of all.”
So, I believed Mr. Knoch… and had the courage to seek around and crack open the book when no one was looking and found out indeed that “God is the savior of all”… (I TIM 4:10)
I’ll need to go in about an hour, to shovel the driveway and the snow off the car. Remind me, just incase I get all caught up and jiggy with the scriptures.

 6:55 a.m. coffee refill time… hang on. 

Now, I suppose we could argue that whatever God “makes” we should appreciate… right?
God makes the flowers.
God makes the rainbows…
God makes beautiful women.
God makes sunsets… etc., etc.
Well… I’m here to suggest that GOD MAKES THE EONS and it makes sense to me to let this thought take our breath away…. GOD MAKES THE EONS, in His Son.
So, the eons did not exist at one time, right. Then God made them. And not only so, but he made them through His Son, and that’s a special thought… He didn’t make them by accident… He made them through His Son… So, based on this thought can we dare suggest that “THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT”…????
Steely Dan did a song years back before they became “steely”… (Donald Fagan’s song called IGY-What A Beautiful World.) — It’s a great song… cynical, sarcastic, playful, with lots of rhythm and 9ths and 7ths in it… but there’s a cynical line in the song that says “THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT”…. And he’s making fun of the line constantly fed to us from the establishment… and some of us can see through it all… but here I am, Mr. Ace Theo… suggesting to you that on a larger scale… on an eonian scale… yes, indeed the future does look bright. Because “God made the eons in His Son.”
Forgive me… but I want to make sure I get the “context” of verse two… so let’s back up…
1 By many portions and many modes, of old, God, speaking to the fathers in the prophets,
God, apparently “speaks” in all kinds of ways. He doesn’t just speak to us in Evangelical Lingo. Hilldale songs, move over. Kenneth Copeland, move over. Freewill preachers, move over. God speaks in “many modes”… oh my… where do we go with that. That’s down right scary, when you think about it… it might mean that “WE” don’t know it all… “WE”… can’t be so damn dogmatic about “tings”.
Those freewillers and hell-fire preachers who kicked me out of the class and the chat rooms… they for sure won’t like the idea that God speaks in “many modes”.
To tell you the truth… I don’t like it very much. Why? Because I tend to “trust” my own eyes and my own experience… and I’m a bit suspicious of contradictors coming along and busting my chops about things.
I’m comfortable in my assumptions and reasonings. I don’t want anyone telling me I’m fulla bulla. I might have to think. And you know, thinking a new thought is hard to do.
So, according to verse one, God, in the old days, spoke to the fathers… in the prophets. I bet the fathers didn’t like it. Come to think of it… didn’t they kill the prophets?
So along comes verse two….
2 in the last of these days speaks to us in a Son, Whom He appoints enjoyer of the allotment of all, through Whom He also makes the eons;
And is the world any happier about the matter? Is the world happier that now “God speaks to us in a Son”?
Well, they did kill Him. However, the plot thickens… God appoints this Son of His to be something called “the enjoyer of the allotment of all”… holy smokes… what does that mean.
If He is the enjoyer of the allotment of all, how can the freewillers preach endless hell??????
You see…
Hang on…
Back….
If the Son of God, is appointed the enjoyer of the allotment of all… wow, He must feel pretty comfortable about things, right now and all the time.
And guess what… since we’re all a bit selfish… verse two says… “these days God speaks to US in a Son.”
See the word “US” there… I think God knows were rather solipsistic…. So he feeds into our little egos… and says God speaks to “US”… whoa… how kind of Him to even speak to US…
After all, “I” … “I” … “I”… “me, me, me.”
And so forth.
So in this verse we jump from US to ALL to the EONS.
2 in the last of these days speaks to us in a Son, Whom He appoints enjoyer of the allotment of all, through Whom He also makes the eons;
He makes US.
He makes ALL.
He makes THE EONS.
As Donald Fagan, once said “The future looks bright”.
God makes the “eons”… and “us” and “all”… He is the enjoyer of the allotment of all… and lord have mercy I’m thrillingly repeating myself.
Next verse:
3 Who, being the Effulgence of His glory and Emblem of His assumption, besides carrying on all by His powerful declaration, making a cleansing of sins, is seated at the right hand of the Majesty in the heights;
 Wait a minute… does it say sins are cleansed already? ????? How come the freewill, hell-fire preachers don’t carry on more about this passage??? Is it “cherry picking” to notice “good news” in the “good news book” we call the Bible?
So, with sins cleansed, the work is done, now He can sit down and rest. Right?
Remember, the other day when brother Sterling was going on about how God’s word (sound) is the creative force in the universe… look at this passage (verse 3) carrying on all by His sound… by His voice… by His declaration… carrying on ALL… can we make a big to do over this passage?
3 Who, being the Effulgence of His glory and Emblem of His assumption, besides carrying on all by His powerful declaration, making a cleansing of sins, is seated at the right hand of the Majesty in the heights;
In looking at the verse, I think it’s saying the Son of God is both LIGHT, and SOUND to us. The SON is the EMBLEM (what we can see) and very connected to/with His DECLARATION. Mercy… I’m not smart enough to connect the dots… but I can see dots.
I see dots everywhere. Don’t tell nobody.
I just looked up “effulgence”… behold:
emanating joy or goodness.
So, the Son of God, emanates JOY. And emanates GOODNESS. — Someone should tell those hell-fire boys that I’m “cherry picking” again.
I guess if you see “hell-fire” everywhere, you’ll find it everywhere… but if you see that God is the Creator of all, the Father of all, and the Savior of all… then, you’ll find that everywhere.
“Cherry picking’ indeed.
We love God… ecause.
Now check out this “cherry picking” verse we call Verse four…
4 becoming so much better than the messengers as He enjoys the allotment of a more excellent name than they.
You know, your “name” is important. Your name being your “reputation”… And if the Son of God has a more excellent “name” than everyone else… it must be for a reason…. Could be at the NAME of Jesus every knee will bow… HOT DOG… and every tongue will ACCLAIM… that “Jesus” is Lord. — Hell-fire isn’t ‘lord’… “Jesus” is Lord.
Those freewillers make it sound like HELL-FIRE will rule the vast majority of the universe. Shame on them.
Jesus is Lord. Every knee will bow to Him.
They won’t bow to hell-fire.
He has “a more excellent name” than anything that can be named. Didn’t Paul say something like that in Romans… something like “nothin’ can bug you, not anything that is named”. ?????
….Love them ‘cherry-picked’ verses, which reveal the Son of God. Ha.
Ok… Got go boys and girls… thank you so much for looking over my shoulder and having fun in the comments section.
EMC… Lawrence.. Wild, Tommy, Ronin, Mac, Dana, Rhonda, etc.
Beware the leaven of Pharisees… a little leaven leavens the whole dang lump.
And one for the road:
TO THE HEBREWS
Chapter 1
1 By many portions and many modes, of old, God, speaking to the fathers in the prophets,
2 in the last of these days speaks to us in a Son, Whom He appoints enjoyer of the allotment of all, through Whom He also makes the eons;
3 Who, being the Effulgence of His glory and Emblem of His assumption, besides carrying on all by His powerful declaration, making a cleansing of sins, is seated at the right hand of the Majesty in the heights;
4 becoming so much better than the messengers as He enjoys the allotment of a more excellent name than they.
Maybe we can go over this later.
Bye for now.
Grace to you, and peace.
Ace,

The Ace Theological Company’s 95 Theses #61 The Teachings Of The Eons.

Good Morning Saint of God.
It’s 4:01 a.m. wow.
It’s 52º out there. Planting time.
A high of 63º expected.
Friday… finally.
March 4th, 2022

Ya know, the Bible has some 800,000 words. Apparently that’s not enough to some folks.
So, they come along and invent dozens of new words to add to the bible’s message… words of their own making. And they don’t even see that their own personal made-up words, are effecting and changing the entire story of the Bible.
I’m speaking of words like: “offer”, “chance” “too late” —

As in God’s “offer” of salvation.
As in God gives every sinner a “chance” to be saved.
As in God’s “offer” stands until it’s “too late”…. Then, too bad.
Like a fool, I went over to Bill’s channel of freewillers and so-called “free gracers” … And of course, like a fool, I started DECLARING the good news of what Christ accomplished on the cross — i.e. our salvation, or more specifically THE SALVATION OF ALL. No “offers” no “if’s” no “buts”.
As brother Wildboard taught me… the “gospel” is a declaration. It’s not an “offer”. And that makes perfect sense, as the word GOSPEL means GOOD NEWS… not “good offers”. — it’s funny when you think of it that way.
Imagine this: I’m here to tell you about the “God of good offers”.
And the hearer turns and says, “You interrupted my card game for this????”
So, I went over to Bill’s channel and it was filled to the brim with freewillers and limitarians. And when I began DECLARING the good news, they got very upset. I was asked to leave the live stream after perhaps only 30 minutes of aggravating the hell out of them… with the good news that Jesus died to save all and lo, and behold, He did not fail to save all when He died to save all.
You see, their message and understanding is very dependent on the words “offer” and “chance” and “too late”.
If we want to address each word, let’s start with OFFER.
1. If we preach that God “offers” salvation… we all know intuitively that we’re dealing with a “wheeler dealer”… someone who “makes an offer” … has something to gain. And generally, if he’s going to gain, you’re going to lose. We don’t trust the fella who’s making “an offer”.
But if God saves… and we declare that God saves… we’re like bringing good news, man… good news.
But what’s with this “offer” business????
Check it out… the word OFFER is in the Bible. But, with a bit of care we can see that CHRIST WAS OFFERED TO GOD. And nothing was “offered” to us. The question is… DID GOD ACCEPT CHRIST’S OFFERING OF HIMSELF????
I say YES… and the proof that God accepted the OFFERING of Christ, is that He raised Christ from the dead.
We all know intuitively that an “offer” of salvation comes with strings attached. An “offer” of salvation possibly suggest that God has the weak hand. And that means YOU have the strong hand. And if you listen to these OFFER PREACHERS… you indeed do have the strong hand… as you have an almighty, non-violatable “freewill”.
They are always telling folks, “God is a perfect gentleman and would NEVER violate your ‘freewill’.

… 4:32 a.m. coffee refill time.
Hang on…

4:36 a.m.

God does not “offer” salvation, He saves. Let’s cut to the chase, on this. And those dudes who preach the “offer salvation” are painting God, the creator of all, the Father of all, and the savior of all, in a bad light.

2. Now let’s look at the word “CHANCE”. To suggest that God gives the sinner a “chance” to be saved, also paints God in a bad light. Man, oh man. When you’re telling a story… and one of the main characters in the story (God?) gives the other main character a “chance” to do something… there’s good tension there…. Story-telling tension. But all the focus is now on the one “offered” a “chance”… not on the giver of the offer, or the chance. The tension lies in the fact that we don’t know the outcome of the story… we’re watching intently… to see if the sucker will take advantage of the “chance” to do thus and so. So, I come along to Bill’s channel and try to tell those guys that God does NOT operate in “chance”… and there is no “chance” to be saved, as SALVATION is the work of God, not the “offer of God or the “chance” of God. And Bill’s people freak out. In essence — they worship man… and man’s freewill… and man’s response to the “offers” of God and… they worship man’s clever ability to take advantage of every “chance” that comes along. Poor God. He wants to save all, but He just can’t. He’s waiting and waiting…. Waiting for man to “accept this offer” business…. Waiting for man to “take a chance” on God’s offer. We’re all hoping against hope that humanity will “do the right thing.” Well… I’m saying forget it… That’s not the right story. I’m saying GOD IS THE SAVIOR. He saves. He needs no one’s permission to save. He saves. I admit that the “tension” belongs to Bill’s people. If you’re with me, and know the “secret” of the evangel, then, the tension is different. We know the outcome. We know that God is the Savior. But we’re still interested in the play nonetheless. We know the outcome because we’re part of the outcome. We’re folded into the story. We’re the “body of Christ.” We’re “the first to hope in Christ”. (KJV) We’re “pre-expectant in the Christ.” (CLNT) We’re “the display of His Grace” to the rulers and authorities among the celestials”.
   3. Now to this word “TOO LATE”.
      We’ve trying to work our way through the Bible’s teaching of the eons. And “too late” is a fine place to pick up our eonian story.
      You see, if you do a concordant study of the scriptures regarding this word AION… you’ll discover there are plenty of problems concerning this word and how it should, or should not be translated.
      So, because most bible translations make a mess of this word (aion) we get a concocted story about how God would like to save humanity, but the “offer” is only extended so far… after that, IT’S TOO LATE.
      And to capture the spirit of the limitarian preachers… allow me to quote in bigger fonts… bigger type…
      IT’S TOO LATE

So, the poor sinner lives no more than 70, 80 years… and then meets his maker. And if during his earthly years… upon meeting his maker… he has not “accepted the offer” of “salvation”… then the great God of heaven shouts — “IT’S TOO LATE” — and it’s off to hell will him.
A biblical study of the word AION should clear up this matter in your mind. Not just any “biblical” study, but a “concordant” study, where you use a concordance to prove to yourself that THIS MEANS THAT.
A concordant study is where you look up every place where the word under consideration appears… and you don’t depend on scholars to define the thing for you… you see it with your own eyes.
A concordant study will break the gaslighting theology of those who say “Don’t believe your lying eyes, believe what I tell you.”

Doing a concordant study, we can see that any punishment meted out by God is “eonian” not “eternal”… meaning it’s a punishment of or concerning God’s eonian times and eonian purpose.
Eternal Punishment: punishment without beginning and without end, is actually a foreign concept in the Bible. TOO LATE, is not there in the Bible.
In the Bible the AIONS (Eons in English) have a beginning and an end. Punishment is eonian. — relieving, huh?
So, there is no such thing as “TOO LATE” in the vocabulary of God. The God of “too late” … is a God who’s options are limited, and must press for a decision.
Like a used car salesman… who makes an “offer”…. And gives you a “chance” to buy the car… he also has to cut the time short, as if you don’t take the “offer”… he must move on to the next sucker. “Too late” is part of the “used car salesmen’s bag of sales tricks”.
Again, this does not paint God in a good light. Bother.
God’s revelation of TIME and ETERNITY is actually a revelation of Himself. Of all the TIME words in the Bible, “eternal” is not one of them.
“Eternal” is not a word found in the Bible. It’s an English word that was invented by Wycliffe when he made the first English bible using a latin translation.
So, “eternal” generally speaking means “without beginning and without end”… So, we can agree that God is “eternal”… but punishment is not. Punishment has a beginning. It begins as soon as the poor sinner is tossed into the proverbial “hell”. So, let’s not call it “eternal punishment”… and if it has a beginning, does it have an end? Oh, why not… !!! After all, in the Bible “AIONS” are said to have a beginning and an end. So, let’s give the poor sinner a break. Let’s say the words TOO LATE are just not in the book of God.
So, how will Jesus, the Savior of the world, save the world?
I say Jesus will have to respect the TIME words actually revealed in the Bible. And since the words TOO LATE are not in the Bible… I suggest Jesus has at least two more AIONS in which to accomplish His work of saving the world.
When the Bible is referring to the final two EONS of time — (GREEK AIONS=ENGLISH EONS) the phrase is “the eons of the eons”… kind of like saying “the holy of holies” … it’s the best eons of all the eons. But all the popular versions of the bible stumble over this expression. They say “for ever and ever”… Completely cheesy. Completely misses the point of God’s revelation.
But it gives ammo to the cheesy idea that “TOO LATE” is part and parcel of the story.
How will the Jesus, the savior of the world, save the world?
Well, He did die to save all. And God did accept His “offering”. And dare we say it’s going to take a while to get the news out and spread all around the world and the universe as well.
Here’s a cool phrase found in God’s book: “in due time”… it’s really there… and doesn’t that answer our query?
In due time… indeed. Hang on, let me find it…. It’s either Ephesians or I TIM…

I found it… I Timothy, 2…
3 for this is ideal and welcome in the sight of our Saviour, God,4 Who wills that all mankind be saved and come into a realization of the truth.5 For there is one God, and one Mediator of God and mankind, a Man, Christ Jesus,6 Who is giving Himself a correspondent Ransom for all (the testimony in its own eras),
“In due time”… actually says “the testimony in it’s own eras.”
Same same..
There are concordant bible teachers who have charted out The eons of God’s plan. And at the moment, I’m going to defer to their work… primarily Adlai Loudy.
But for my purposes here and now… I’m sticking to THE TESTIMONY IN IT’S OWN ERAS. — Give God time… after all, why are you in a hurry… you’re not God, right?
If God wants to save all and does save all at the conclusion of the eons, are you going to be flat out pissed at God?
I hope not.
After all Jesus, the Savior of the world, died for the sins of the world… lot of love there… And the plan and purpose of God would never be left up to “chance”… or a mere “offer”… and certainly no “too late” business would be thrown into the story-line. Mercy.

I love God. I love the story of His eonian purpose. I love His love for all creation. He, after all, is the Creator of all… and the Father of all… and the Savior of all.
Eonian salvation is special and wonderful… but after the eons are concluded… all we have is one word: God. That should answer all questions for us. God !!!
God is love. God is spirit. God is all. And in all.
This story is big. Why limit the story… ???
God is love. God is God. God is all and in all.
Wow.

5:58 a.m.
Grace to you.
Thanks for joining me.
Bye for now.
Ace.

The Ace Theological Company’s 95 Theses #62 (?) The Teachings Of The Eons. Part Six: (?) An Open Letter To Those “Freewill” Kids.

Saturday… March 5th, 2022
There should be rain today.
43º right now, 50º high, later today.
It’s warm, relatively.

Good Morning Son or Daughter of God,
I wrote the following riddle to Stacy, the Freewill Chick, yesterday. I thought I’d post it here and riff on it.
RIDDLE ME THIS BATGIRL:
The bible has three unique phrases…

1. The eons of the eons.
2. The eon of the eons.
3. The eon of the eon.
   Keep in mind, THIS IS THE WORD OF GOD… we’re talking about… and you are a “teacher of the word of God”… so you should be able to answer this question…
   What is the difference between these THREE PHRASES ?????
   I know that most bibles haphazardly translate all three phrases by the term “FOR EVER AND EVER”.
   But this is the WORD OF GOD, right?
   And if GOD, Himself uses three distinct phrases… what does He mean by each one?
   Remember, the bible says:
   “Study to show thyself approved”…
   “Have a pattern of sound words”…
   “Distinguish the things that differ”…
   And “test the things of consequence”…
   Also, there is an O.T. verse that says “the words of God are refined as by fire seven times”…

So, God is not messing around when He speaks.

Three clear, phrases from the WORD OF GOD… and you can’t use that cheesy, lazy “forever and ever” business.
the word “AND” is not in those phrases…
it’s OF THE… not “and”.
Note the plural and the singular in each phrase.
Now, explain to me the difference.
Yours,
Ace.

Hang on… let me check to see if she reply to my post yet.
She replied… it’s kind of long, let’s see if it’s worth pasting here… hang on.
Oh, bother… I don’t know how to respond… so, I’ll paste in here and let’s go over it together… I’ll comment and watch you guys in the side chat to see what you can contribute. It’s insane.
Here we go:
Oops… it did not retain it’s formatting… oh well, let’s work through it. I’ll put my rely in yellow: EXCUSE ME BUT:
REPLY FROM STACY (here in white):
“AceTheo” instructs me to “Keep in mind’
Do you mean to tell me that I CAN keep something in my own mind, even the WISDOM OF GOD? Wow, that means if I am without the wisdom of God I can’t blame anyone but MYSELF for refusing to EMBRACE her when she is being delivered to me…interesting.
EXCUSE ME BUT: Here she is making some vague argument for her beloved freewill teaching. You see, she believes man has a freewill and I believe that God has a freewill.
Also note, the love of human freewill worship is so foremost in her mind that instead of addressing anything I asked of her, she instantly… without a heartbeat… jumps right into a defense of the idea that, according to my vocabulary, I too, must believe that ‘she can’ do it (“keep in mind”) she can of her own freewill ‘keep something in mind’… OK… let’s play that game… can she of her own freewill “keep” anything in mind… other than what’s foremost in her mind????? Hmmm…. Since I ask her to define and explain God’s use of 3 different terms… and she CANNOT venture into that new thought… without defending FREEWILL yet again… I’m thinking her “free” will is not very “free” of binding old habits.
LOL
Now, this is not a condemnation of her, as I neither have a “freewill”… my will is bound up by many limitations and constraints and ole habits as well. Only God’s will is free of influence, constraints, causality, etc… as we understand it all… God’s will is not opposable… but man’s will — including Stacy’s will is very opposable… I certainly oppose her will… and obviously God opposes Stacy’s will… that’s why Romans 11:32 says that God locks up Stacy’s will in stubbornness — so that God can be merciful to Stacy. LOL.
Again, towards the end of this paragraph… makes the argument that if a sinner goes to hell, he can only blame himself… I’ve suggested to her before that if a sinner can only blame himself for going to hell, the christian can only praise himself for going to heaven… as praise and blame must come from the same foundational idea.
But, she sticks to the argument that you don’t want to blame God for this messy hell-fire business. And I kind of agree… you don’t want to blame God for endless hell. And how convenient, if we invent a “freewill” doctrine, we can free God of the blame for all this… and place the blame of endless torment back on the shoulders of the poor sucker, sinner, who ends up there.
In her mind, our belief that “all is of God” (Romans 11:36) is horrid. Her focus is on the evil of the world… and not the redemptive power of God. She has repeatedly argued that it would be horrible if God actually saved all those bad people out there who hurt children, etc.
My view is not concerning human actions… but God’s actions — and redemption is clearly one of God’s things… it’s something God does… He redeems. Human dirty action only makes His redemption appear even more dramatic and shining and wonderful.
Keep in mind that — (oops, there I go again, using that phrase “keep in mind” as if I believe in freewill…. Shame on me.) Keep in mind that we claim to believe the Bible is the “word of God” and the Bible says that Paul was the worst of all sinners … and man oh man… should —

——sorry, got kicked out by my weak wi-fi connection or something… so I refilled my coffee while I rebooted.
—— So the Bible says that Paul was the worst of sinners, and that verse comes to mind when I hear someone gasp over whether or not Hitler and all them child molesters are going to be allowed “into heaven”… we’re just not on the same page. I’m looking at the redemptive power of God… and not putting any limits on it from my own mind… at least I’m trying… and the freewill chick instantly grasps for limits…. She’s not seeing what I’m seeing.
Now, I don’t mind if God deals harshly with them there bad, bad, bad, sinners… but what makes the freewill chick think for a minute that she’s actually any different than them???????
Let’s say some child molester shows up before the thrown of God, and has to give an account of himself/herself. — the freewill chick suggest that that one DESERVES ENDLESS HELL…
But what about the freewillers who in their minds CONSIGN MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS TO ENDLESS HELL… including nice fellows who just never bought into her brand of fundamentalist theology ???? Isn’t that mentality as bad as any child molester who merely molests say a dozen children in his short life? She in essence “molests” millions in hell… with her course theology about YOU MUST BELIEVE OR YOU’LL GO TO ENDLESS HELL.
My question is… BELIEVE WHAT?
BELIEVE WHAT???? I’M WAITING????
Believe that Jesus’s work on the cross was merely symbolic but mostly powerless? That it does nothing to save?
Stacy has said… honestly said, that we’re not saved by Christ’s death on the cross. She says we’re saved in His life. And then it got too long and boring to follow after that…
But what I want to know from all these freewillers… is…
BELIEVE WHAT?????

Anyway, they do not all translate “forever and ever.”..They translate forever, everlasting, perpetual, forever and ever.

Forever AND ever is to say, both, during the ages AND in the world to come…it’s not a redundant saying, it means something.

I know God isn’t messing around when HE SPEAKS and He is SPEAKING to every single person via HIS BODY so that there are NO EXCUSES on judgment day as to the REASON a man is during this eon is WITHOUT His wisdom, faith, and Spirit.

You have been diverted by the adversary to FIGHT for the EONS rather than for the LOST. I don’t think you understand who the “lost” are. They aren’t children at the zoo that lost sight of their parents and found themselves to be without their parents…they are children that WILLINGLY walked away from God to be WITHOUT Him and do not desire to come home because they FOUND pleasure IN the way of unrighteousness and LOST THEIR MINDS…so, God SENT us counselors, preachers, and teachers to GIVE us good sound advice so we might be PERSUADED to CONSIDER the wisdom of God and if we DO, she will MAKE US WISE and BRING us understanding and faith as a gift of God….KEEP IN MIND that the synagogues, marketplaces, and streets are filled with people that are FILLED with the wisdom of the WORLD which is what MADE them lose their minds and BECOME fools…Acts 17:2 “And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,” Acts 18:4 “And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.”

1 Timothy 1
17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the ONLY WISE God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
19 HOLDING FAITH, and a good conscience; which some having PUT AWAY concerning faith have made shipwreck:
20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may LEARN not to blaspheme.

The Ace Theological Company’s 95 Theses #62 Eric Said Universal Salvation Is Impossible

3:58 a.m. Tuesday, March 8th, 2022
It’s 30º out there, not bad.
A high of 41º is expected.

Good Morning Dear Saint,
I thought I’d recount my discussion with Eric, from yesterday, while it’s still fresh in my mind.

Eric is some ole time evangelical christian who defends eternal conscious punishment and/or annihilation.
But he will have nothing to do with universal salvation. Now, normally it’s not terribly important what these guys say or feel about God’s purpose. But in this case, Eric structured his reply to me in a striking way.
Here’s the deal:
He said something like “I can see the case for eternal conscious punishment. And, I can see bible verses saying annihilation, but no way on universal salvation.” — words to that effect.
Let’s break it down.

1. the Bible teaches the sinner will be eternally tormented.
2. the Bible teaches the sinner will be annihilated forever.
3. the Bible teaches the sinner will be eventually reconciled to the Father.
   I’m shocked, shocked, I say…
   So, Eric can see a case for torment, or annihilation, but not for reconciliation… I mean he was adamant that NO, NO, NO, we can’t have the ultimate salvation of all, that will never do.
   Puzzling. Very puzzling. He won’t commit to either endless torment or annihilation, but he’s quite sure that God will not or cannot save all. Hmmmm.
   If the Bible’s teaching regarding final human destiny were clearly against some good outcome… one would think that Eric and his crew would be able to take a stand on endless torment… or absolute annihilation. But they can’t see either one clearly — but they are dang sure it’s not the salvation of the sinner…
   What’s the deal here… why the focus on the sinner and not on the Savior?
   Let’s put it this way…
   He’s not sure if the sinner will be tormented forever.
   He’s not sure if the sinner will be annihilated.
   But he is sure the sinner will never come home to the Father.
   The sinner might be tormented, he might be annihilated but he will never be reconciled.
   I’m telling you saint of God, this view is very “sinner centered” and it’s not very “God centered”.
   God is the creator of all.
   God is the Father of all.
   God is the savior of all.
   And God who directs steps…. Just might direct the sinners’ steps home one day… (Note: the story of the prodigal son. — and also note, the story of the prodigal son was really a story about the Father.)
   Eric, like many regular ole christians is very focused on the sinner and the sinner’s so-called “freewill”.
   In my discussion with him, he ask for a scripture proving my position. I gave him Romans 5:18.
   18 Consequently, then, as it was through one offense for all mankind for condemnation, thus also it is through one just award for all mankind for life’s justifying.
 19 For even as, through the disobedience of the one man, the many were constituted sinners, thus also, through the obedience of the One, the many shall be constituted just.
   He flat out rejected my “proof text”. But he loved all of his proof texts that showed that God was either unable or unwilling to save all.
   Eric was disturbed at the word ALL… and said that “all doesn’t mean all”.— words to that effect. He’s proof was that “All Jerusalem went out to see Jesus” was obviously an exaggeration… so there !!! So that means if the Bible says “All” will be saved, reconciled, justified, bow the knee, redeemed, conciliated, etc… you can just forget it… because “all” doesn’t always mean “all”.
   Well, my reply is… “all” have sinned, right? He agreed. But “all” redeemed? He’ll have none of it.
   We also got onto the topic of the eons. And of course he insisted that “aion” can and does in many cases mean ETERNAL. He was downright insulted when I made the case that the eons have a beginning (Hebrews 1:2 and Ephesians 3:11) and that the eons have an end (I Cor 10:11 and Heb 9:26).
   You see, he wants to make sure that he and his pals get “eternal” life… for doing the right thing… as a reward. And he insists that the punishment of those who do the wrong thing are just as “eternal” as his “life” and rewards.
   Oh, plus, he insists that God is eternal. And how dare I suggest that “AION” when applied to God means something less than “eternal”.
   Well sir… as Hebrews 1:2 says, God made the eons in his Son. So, if God MADE the eons, then obviously God exists before the eons… so we can concede that God is “eternal”.
   Plus… Ephesians 3:11 says God made the purpose of the eons in Christ… Ok, again… if God MADE the eons and the purpose of the eons, God existed BEFORE He made them, right? Let’s continue:
   So if God MADE the eons, and brings the eons to a conclusion (I Cor 10:11, Hebrews 9:26) of course, God will not end when the eons end. So, what does it mean when the bible refers to THE EONIAN GOD ??? Is Eric right, does that mean THE ETERNAL GOD ???
   Eric was suggesting that I’m saying God will end when the eons end. No silly rabbit. “EONIAN” is merely an adjective… reliant on the noun… from which it came.
   Like “day” and “daily” — as in “daily bread”. The bread doesn’t necessarily end when the day ends. The bread might last for days. It’s just an adjective, relating to the noun.
   The eonian God, of course is “eternal” as we understand that English word (eternal). But how delightful knowing that God is concerned with the eons He made in Christ, in his Son, — concerned enough with our role and experience in the the eons, especially “the current wicked eon” to call Himself “the eonian God”…. (Rom 16:26).
   Now, Eric appealed to “the Bible” as his source of authority. But, he failed to mention “which” bible…. As there are at least 5 or 6 “bibles” out there which have cleared up this problematic word “eternal” — and replaced it with the more correct word “eon” or “eonian”.
   A few of those bibles consistently use “age” or “age-lasting” — instead of “eternal” or “forever” or “everlasting”… But at least they are consistent.
   All the popular bibles, are very inconsistent. They translate “aion” (noun) and “aionious” (adjective) by many different words: eternal, age, world, never, everlasting, forever, and ever, etc.
   Oh how wonderful to discover one of the Bible translations that uses consistency regarding this word (aion)… the picture of God and God’s love becomes every more clear when you study from one of these.
   Eric insists that it’s either Endless torment, or annihilation but it CANNOT BE that God loves all and intends to save all.
   But why?
   I think Eric loves and worships HUMAN FREEWILL more than he does God’s operation of grace and God’s eonian purpose.
   Does God honor man’s stubborn will?
   Not really. God gave man a stubborn will. (See Romans 11:32— “God locks up all together in stubbornness that He might have mercy on all.)
   Oops… here’s that word “all” again… Will Eric have a problem with the idea that “God locks up ALL in stubbornness”??? Perhaps.
   Those who worship HUMAN FREEWILL tend to ignore any scripture that reveals God’s causality in all things.
   You see, those who worship HUMAN FREEWILL, clearly don’t want to blame God for this business of endless conscious punishment… they hope it might be endless annihilation… but in no way will they allow God to be blamed for man’s nasty endless destiny.
   Never mind God’s will. It’s man’s will that is most precious and most honored… according to them.
   The other day, on one of the freewiller’s channels… I was prattling about God’s purpose and plan to bring all home… and one of the sidebar commenters said my idea was not good, as it would be like a “forced” marriage. You know, like if you ask a girl to marry you and she says “NO”… and the commenter did not like my idea that God is God… and man’s will is not all that.
   Well, his metaphor was weak, as history seems to show that arranged marriages work better than the American system of “twooooo love”.
   Never mind.
   The fact is… the scriptures often show that man’s will and effort are not designed to accomplish much.
   (Romans 8:20-21, Eph 1:11, Romans 11:32, Romans 11:36, Romans 9:16, 18, etc. )
   So, when Eric and the boys prattle on about man’s precious and Almighty “freewill”… I’m not buying it.
   Yes, man has a will, but so what? It’s not “free” of influence and causality. And guess what… We believe God. We believe God is the ultimate in influence and causality.
   Apart from God… you get nothing.
   Acts 17:25, 28… in Him we live and breath and have our being. He gives life and breath and all to all.
   Eric and the boys have a mythology. It’s based on a mixture of ancient Babylonian religion and inferences from poor translations of the Bible. It’s a mythology that any 12-year old kid would come up with to spook you at story time. That there is this “God” who got creation started but somehow lost control of it all, and now offers one last “chance” to creation to save itself, and if creation doesn’t do the right thing, there’s endless hell-fire awaiting the poor sinner.
   Cheesy.
   B-movie roll.
   Godzilla? Gamera? King Kong?
   Yeah, B-movie scripts.
   But, as I see the picture… This is big budget, A-list, award-winning story telling by God and His Son.
   Yes, the film looks dark at the moment… but the plot thickens and thickens… and don’t tell anyone… (SPOILER ALERT)… but… all creation comes home to the Father… and God becomes all in all.
   Now I brought this up with Eric… and he flipped.
   The reference is in I Cor 15:20-28… where it says that God will become all in all…. And Eric, peeled away any meaning and depth of that verse to suggest that God will be all ONLY in “all who are left”… as the vast majority (he says) will be in hell or the lake of fire, or somewhere unpleasant… for ever, and ever, and ever, etc.
   But… I Cor 15:28 is a really cool Bible verse… and promises so much more than we can understand… and it’s all good, you see.
   In fact, I’m quite sure that “all in all” are the three biggest words ever written in any book anywhere.
   That God will be all…. in all… oh my.
   Note to Eric: God will not be all in some.
   Note to Eric: God will not be some in all.
   Note to Eric: God will not be some in some.
   Note to Eric: God will be all… in all. Check it out dude. So we come along and we’re trying to see God. And Eric and his boys want us to focus, not on God, but on man and man’s FREEWILL. I used to do that. For years and years…I was sure that endless hell and HUMAN FREEWILL were clearly taught in the Bible… Well one day… I stumbled on I Timothy 4:10 … “God is the savior of all mankind, especially of believers”… And guess what… it does NOT say EXCLUSIVELY of believers… It says “especially”… and I knew in my heart that “especially” put a temporary emphasis on things but not a permanent one.
   If I Timothy had said “exclusively” of believers, I would have comfortably stayed in my evangelical, fundamentalist bubble.
   But when I laid my eyes on I Tim 4:10… for the first time… I was ruined. It was only a matter of time… before I came to embrace the God who IS the savior of all.
   So Eric and his boys pretend to be bible teachers… but if you hop over to I Tim 4:10 your eyes just might fall on the next verse… which clearly says to teach the very thing you just read in verse 10… and lawd have mercy… those guys DO NOT teach that God is the savior of all. They don’t casually use that phrase… and carefully avoid it.
   But I LOVE verse 10… So, let me repeat it here for your thrills and entertainment…
   I Timothy 4:10: We rely on the living God, who is the savior of all mankind, especially of believers.
   the living God, who is the savior of all
   the living God, who is the savior of all
   the living God, who is the savior of all
   the living God, who is the savior of all
   the living God, who is the savior of all
   the living God, who is the savior of all
   the living God, who is the savior of all
   the living God, who is the savior of all If I did all that cut and paste on someone else’s channel they’d bust me for “scrolling”… but I think it’s such a cool bible verse… I just love it. I Timothy 4:10… tell everyone you know.
   The problem with Eric and the freewillers, is they are not SEEING and ADORING God… they are so very focused on the human and the human’s beloved little freewill. It’s like self worship, kind of.
   As I see the plan and purpose of God, humans are only part of the picture. God intends to reconcile and restore all creation. We’re just a small part of the show.
   See Colossians 1:20. And Ephesians 1, 2 and 3.

Wow… almost 6 a.m.
Coffee refill time….
5:58 a.m.

Eric also had a hard on for “time limits” in God’s operations. I suggested to Eric that the words “TOO LATE” are not in the Bible. And he freaked. He insisted that God does put time limits on His offer of Grace.
I couldn’t respond properly to this popular mythology, as Eric was talking over me, with a vengeance. But I can do so now… you see, the concept of “TOO LATE” is not in the Bible. Why? Because God is the author of time itself. (See Hebrews 1:2) And because — come closer… this is the really cool insight regarding this “too late” business….
“Too Late” is not in the Bible because God is not “offering” grace. If God “offered” grace, there might be a time limit on the deal. But NO, God operates in Grace and does not nor can He “offer” grace.
You see, if you “offer” grace, then “grace” is no longer “grace”. It’s a contract. It’s a deal. It’s a bargain. It’s something you EARN by keeping up your end of the deal.
Let me repeat… if “grace” is “offered”… it’s a deal and not a gracious thing.
But if God OPERATES IN GRACE… then there are no time limits on God’s operations.
Note to Eric and the boys:
— Grace is the unearned favor of God.
Note to Eric and the boys:
— Grace is the undeserved favor of God.
Note to Eric and the boys:
— Grace is the unmerited favor of God.
Note to Eric and the boys:
— Grace is Grace. Not a bargaining chip.
Note to Eric and the boys:
— If God merely “offers” grace… as you say… then you’ve reduced the great God of Heaven and Earth to a Time-Share Real Estate salesman.
And a Time-Share salesman MUST put time limits on the “offer”… if you don’t accept his “offer”… soon enough, he will say “IT’S TOO LATE”… and move on to the next prospective customer for his wares.
Brother Lawrence just made a good point: Love NEVER FAILS… also suggests you can’t use TOO LATE in the plan and purpose of God.
Note to Eric and the boys:
— Christ died for all.
Note to Eric and the boys:
— Christ died for all SIN, including the sin of not believing He died for all sin.

(I have to point this out, as Eric was insistent that YES, Christ died for all sin, but you must BELIEVE He died for all sin.)…

I didn’t have the chance to point out the nuttiness of this idea… as Eric was quite excitable… but listen… If Christ died for all sin… then He also died for the sin of not believing He died for all sin.
And if Eric’s take on the matter is true, that would mean YOU’RE NOT SAVED by Christ’s death on the cross… instead, you’re saved by YOUR BELIEF IN HIS DEATH ON THE CROSS.
DO YOU see the idea here?
Eric believes in his belief.
Eric trusts in his trust.
Eric has faith in his faith.

For… it’s not Christ’s work on the cross that saves you (according to Eric and the boys) but it’s your proper response to that work on the cross.
Eric and the boys would have you believe that it’s a free gift that you “must” receive, or else it’s meaningless.
Let’s say someone gave you a “free” brand new, Tesla car… they put it in your drive way… keys, title, paid the insurance on it… everything. It’s sitting there in your driveway… it’s yours. It’s a free gift…
What the hell is Eric on about… “you must receive it”… ??? Talk about non-sense. It’s sitting in your driveway… keys, title… everything… it’s just a matter of time… before you go out and smell the “new car smell”… and start ‘er up… and drive around the block. There’s no way in hell you’re going to NOT be able to “receive” the free gift.
Eric and his pals are just in love with pagan myths. Hell is not endless. God is love, dude. Check it out.
“Too late” indeed.
God, who created time itself (Hebrews 1:2) and the purpose of time (Ephesians 3:11) also can change the rules to suit himself. Eric’s insistence on endless hell for the sinner… is… well… stupid and childish… as I see the thing.
Ok… I think I’ve covered the main topics of my conversation with that dude.
1. He had a problem with AION being age or eonian.
2. He was sure that God has to respect man’s itty bitty freewill… and cannot go against man’s will.
3. He was sure that human destiny will be either ENDLESS PUNISHMENT… or ETERNAL ANNIHILATION but not UNIVERSAL RECONCILIATION… oh no… we can have the bad… but not the good.

That’s it… the simple mythology of the ancient Babylonian empire, dress up in christian garb.
I try to teach that the Bible is not a “road map” to guide your life… but instead it’s an itinerary of where we’re all going.
“On the left, you’ll see the cross…”
“On the right, you’ll see the resurrection…”
“In a few moments, we’ll come up on the 1,000 year reign of Christ…”
“Refreshments are at the back of the car.”

God’s purpose is — I want to say it’s “clear”… but I know most folks don’t get God’s purpose. So, it’s not “clear” to all. But it is “get-able” … you can get and see God’s purpose. And it’s not to create billions and then toss them into hell forever.
His purpose is revealed in Christ’s cross. A horrible death, and then, 3 days later, a resurrection from the dead UNABLE to die again. And if you’re UNABLE TO DAY… EVERYTHING changes… attitudes, especially.
You see, dying and mortality are not only man’s enemy but God’s enemy. (See I Corinthians 15:22-28) There it says “Death, the last enemy, is being abolished”.

Death is God’s “enemy” because it keeps us (us dead ones) apart from the tender heart of God. And one day… death will be abolished and all made alive in Christ. Oh my.

Christ died for all… and God was happy with Christ’s “offering”… You see, nothing was “offered” to man, but Christ was “offered” to God. And the proof that God accepted Christ’s offering is that He raised His boy from the dead. This changes everything.
You “must” believe for it is true. Not to make it true… it is true.

Grace to you. 
Tuesday… 6:47 a.m. 
Ace. 

ROMANS 8
20 For to vanity was the creation subjected, not voluntarily, but because of Him Who subjects it, in expectation
21 that the creation itself, also, shall be freed from the slavery of corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 For we are aware that the entire creation is groaning and travailing together until now.