August 10, 2021
If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, then both men in the controversy shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days. And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother, then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you. Deuteronomy 19:16-19
This sound principle is the basis for our court system. A case is tried by an impartial third party: a judge and a jury of peers. The day is coming when all of the true followers of Jesus will serve in jury duty.
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? 1 Corinthians 6:3
Looking back to the very first war that broke out in heaven, there must have been a powerful war of words and ideas. Lucifer had begun to think in his heart that he could be righteous apart from obedience to God. He declared that he would be “like the Most High” while rebelling against His law. He had a strong influence as we see by the one-third of the angels who were convinced to join him in rebellion. His ideas probably sounded plausible. Those who fell under the sway of his arguments came to believe that God’s government needed reforming. They could do it better. God’s law needed to be altered. This entire episode resulted in the very first congregation split: the congregation of angels! At this point, there were two sides to the argument. But there was no third party.
God created our world and us. We are to form the third party needed in the settlement of the Great Controversy. It is vital to understand what the controversy is all about, otherwise we may be deceived into taking a stand for the wrong side. Jury selection is underway, and there are several essential criteria that must be considered. A member of the jury must:
- Have no first-hand knowledge of the incident
- Be a law-abiding citizen
- Possess wisdom, able to discern right from wrong
- Not be swayed by public opinion
It is only to be expected that the enemy would buddy-up to potential members of the jury. We see, in the garden of Eden, the first attempt on earth to bribe the jury. It has been going on ever since, but will soon be halted. By the way, the payment offered in the bribe is never truly what the enemy describes. It is a lie!
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4-5
Some translations say, “like God”. The Hebrew word for God here is plural: Elohim which can mean “judges”. The statement “You will not surely die” is the deceiver’s way of saying that God doesn’t mean what He said. Then he follows up with a promise that disobeying God is the way to become godlike, to judge what is right or wrong apart from God. This convoluted logic is the very same logic that worked before. One-third of the angels adopted it. And when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they lost their status as law-abiding citizens. But Jesus came to the garden, seeking Adam and Eve! He established the plan of salvation: the way to restore individuals to being law-abiding citizens and sound jurors who are able to discern between right and wrong. The entire purpose of the Gospel is to restore citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven. A restored citizen is willing to joyfully submit to Heaven’s laws.
This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel [Israel means Overcomer] after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be My people. Hebrews 8:10 and Jeremiah 31:33