He tells us this very thing in Matthew 7:13: Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.
What is he saying to me? He is saying that the vast amount of his very own creation, whom he created with his own hands, in his own image, and breathed his own breath of life into our bodies, that he claims he wants to have a relationship with; the vast amount of them will be cast into eternal damnation. Only a select few will achieve eternal reward. He already knows who is going to eternal damnation, and who is going to eternal reward, and has known this for infinity. He either knows this and retains his status as omnipotent, infinite, and without limitations, or he does not and therefore is not infinite, omnipotent, and without limitations.
There is no other way around this. You cannot put a ‘but’ into infinite, omnipotent, or without limitations. As soon as you do, he ceases to be all powerful. You cannot say ‘Well, he does know, but we have freewill.’ That doesn’t work.
You see, in my studies, the whole biblical story hinges upon one event, and it’s not God coming to this earth in the form of man, to die on the cross to save us from our sins…..which he created. It happens much earlier with the creation of angels. Now some of the angels were very important. You don’t even have to crack the binding on a bible to know who Gabriel is. However, there was one specific angel. He is known by many names: Lucifer, Roaring Lion, Belial, The Prince of Darkness, Satan. God created Lucifer with the express, infinite knowledge that when he created Lucifer, the following would happen:**
- God** knew Lucifer would rebel and try to pull a coup d’é tat on an infinite, omnipotent God, without limitations. Lucifer wasn’t very bright in my estimation.
2. God knew he would kick Lucifer out of Heaven.
3. God knew Lucifer would take a hoard of angels with him.
4. God knew that Lucifer and his horde of angels would make their first stop on planet earth, specifically Eden, where Lucifer would tempt the first two inhabitants of this planet.
5. God knew that Adam and Eve would succumb to temptation.
6. God knew he would kick Adam and Eve out of the Garden Of Eden for their disobedience.
7. God knew that this act would forever plunge the world into sin, sorrow, pain, agony, death, destruction, famine, wars, pestilence.
God knew this with express, infinite, knowledge, and he did it anyways.
That’s a hard pill to swallow. I was forced into this world, not of my own accord or freewill. I was immediately branded a sinner, headed to eternal damnation for eternity, because of two people whom I’ve never met, who were apparently responsible for the entire fate of mankind. This is the way God created the plan for this planet’s inhabitants.
I realize that I am the molded, asking the molder, ‘Why?’ I have been told that this is arrogance on my part, to question the will of an almighty God. However, he gave us a direct command to do just that in 1 John 4: Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Additionally, in Isaiah 1:18: Come now, and let us reason together, saith the lord. Here he is giving us a direct command to ask questions, and I have a very long list of them.
Look around at this universe, complex and mind blowing, and yet it is very logical. It fits together like a jigsaw puzzle. Where we may have seen chaos before, with a different perspective coupled with technology, we now see order. Top notch work I’d say. The flora and fauna of this planet, equally as complex and mind blowing, and yet it all fits together in a very logical manner. Again, top drawer work. However, humanity? I’ve got to say, not his best work and definitely not logical for the most part. Given the logic of this universe, and the logic of the flora and fauna of this planet, I would expect a God of that magnitude to be quite logical. Yet, I cannot find the logic in creating mankind just to torture them while they are alive, and to step up that torture after death, in eternal damnation. Human beings he says that he loves.
I don’t know about you, but I have been in a relationship for over 4 decades now. I love my partner unconditionally. Meaning, there is nothing she has to do to receive my love, and there is nothing she can do to make it stop. It just is. I don’t go home and beat my partner. Why? Not because I may get into trouble with the law, or that it might run afoul of morality, but because I love her unconditionally. Also, because I don’t know that much karate. We do not cause intentional pain and harm to those we love. This is just on a human level. How much more on a God/creator level? However, I fail to see the love.