Hope For The Future

“God is love” (1 John 4:8) In these three words are held thoughts of immortal importance. The word ‘God’ means supreme authority, relaying the sense of government; and therefore the basis and foundation of God’s government is love. Love requires free choice, and choice intimates morality, since morality is that which is concerned with right and wrong. And so philosophically, we may rewrite that Scripture to read, “government by choice”

“The law of love being the foundation of the government of God, the happiness of all intelligent beings depends upon their perfect accord with its great principles of righteousness. God desires from all His creatures the service of love--service that springs from an appreciation of His character. He takes no pleasure in a forced obedience; and to all He grants freedom of will, that they may render Him voluntary service.” – {Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pg 34.3}

“When the service, the worship, and the allegiance of each intelligence is to be rendered entirely upon his own free choice, this, on the part of God, the Supreme and true Governor, reveals the principle of Government with the consent of the governed.” – {Alonzo T Jones, EoB, pg xi.1}

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” – {United States Declaration of Independence}

A republic is governed by means of representation, and so “there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them” (Job 1:6) Each world inhabited by intelligent creatures sends a representative to the courts of heaven.

If therefore God’s government is a republican monarchy, and therefore relies wholly on the free choice of intelligent creatures, what government would Satan’s rebellion seek to establish? A republic can only be a republic if the citizens are themselves self-governing individuals “against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:23). This is because a republic is itself a government of self-government where through representation and free choice, the citizens govern themselves. “If we will consent, God can and will so identify us with Himself, so mold our thoughts and aims, that when obeying His will, we are only carrying out the impulse of our own minds” (Pacific Union Recorder, Feb 16, 1905, par. 4) And therefore Satan’s rebellion would seek to have the citizens unable to govern themselves, and thereby incapable of free choice. A tyranny would result, where instead of each mind governing itself under the freely chosen influence of God, he would set up a state were one mind rules another mind. “Cast out of heaven, Satan set up his kingdom in this world, and ever since he has been untiringly striving to seduce human beings from their allegiance to God. He uses the same power that he used in heaven--the influence of mind on mind.” (Letter 114, 1903) No longer is it the kingdom of God which is a family where men are equal under God and equated in their free subjection to God’s government of love, but Satan’s government is a value- based performance-based system where survival is for the fittest. And to secure allegiance, force is required. Cometh the age of territorialism, war and conquests, nations and empires.

God has long suffered this rebellion and will soon bring it to a close. “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44) “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4) “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20)