Response by: Will Berry

Pertinent text #1: Matthew 22:8-14

Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
For many are called, but few are chosen. (KJV)

Pertinent text #2: Matthew 25:41-46

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (KJV)

Pertinent text #3: Psalm 145:20

The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. (KJV)

Pertinent text #4: John 3:18-19

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (KJV)

Pertinent text #5: Revelation 7:9-12

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. (KJV)

It is my strong conviction that the only people who will, at the "end of the world", find themselves in "outer darkness" are those who choose to go. I will show this by showing that all of the (rather fear-provoking) passages quoted above that involve condemnation are speaking of the condemnation of those that rejected God, and knew who they were rejecting.

Let us begin with the man who did not have on his "wedding garment" in Matthew 22. I looked in my Vine's Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words under "garment", and this is what I found:

The fact of the wedding garment, enduma in Matt. 22, vv. 11, 12 indicates that persons of high rank showed their magnificence by providing the guests with festal garments.

So we see that the man who was cast "into outer darkness" in that parable was not helpless and ignorant, but indeed had been given a wedding garment and simply did not wear it. The word "speechless" suggests to me that the man had no response to the king worthy of being spoken; he had no excuse.

It is the same way with the many people Jesus refers to in the parable. Those people spoken of in this parable who are cast into outer darkness have every opportunity to participate in the wedding of Christ (The Anointed One) and His Church. They respond either by not coming to the wedding at all or by half-hearted, reluctant compliance, as if they don't want to have a part in it anyway. This suggests that people like that don't really love Jesus; if they did, they would "wear their wedding garment".

Now let us consider the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25). The people in this parable who are cast into "everlasting fire" appear to be ignorant of the fact that they have neglected to administer compassionate aid to Jesus (v. 44). Considering this, it superficially appears cruel that God would condemn them for something they were ignorant of. There are, however, two very good justifications for this condemnation; the "goats" are not as innocent as might be construed.

First notice that the people who inherit the kingdom were ignorant of their ministry to Jesus as well (v. 37). They had no idea that their compassion for other people was considered to be compassion towards the Lord Jesus. Secondly, I bring to your attention some wisdom in I John 4:19-21:

We love him, because he first loved us.
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. (KJV)

So we see that the people who truly loved God were discerned by the fact that they brought their compassion for their fellow man into action; likewise, those who did not truly love God were discerned by the fact that they did not truly love their fellow man. And so, because they did not love God, they were cast into "everlasting fire".

Likewise in Psalm 145, we see that those who love God are "preserved", and the wicked (presumably, those who do not love God) are destroyed. Likewise in the third chapter of John, we see that condemnation does not come to people because of deeds or the whimsicality of a hateful God; condemnation comes because people do not love God. The people who get sent to hell (Gehenna in the Greek, used to refer to the "lake of fire" as in Revelation) are the people who have no love for Jesus. (notice that the wedding guests in Matthew 22 include people who are "good and bad")

And so the whole matter will be resolved when one last question is answered: Why is it the case that people who love God receive eternal life, and those who do not love God are sent into "outer darkness" / "everlasting fire"?

The answer is found in the Revelation as well as miscellaneous other places in the prophets. It seems to be a trend in all the prophetic descriptions of heaven that people worship God an awful lot. The angels are always giving praises, the saints are present worshipping God. If someone is in heaven, he is worshipping God! Who would willingly participate in such activity that did not love God? If someone did, their praise would be worthless; such empty worship has sickened the church for years and years. Considering what goes on in Heaven, I don't understand why someone who does not love Jesus would want to go there.

Given that the heartfelt worship of God is pretty much all that goes on in Heaven, it only makes sense to say that those who love Him are the only ones who would want to be there. And so it is very sensible to say that those who do not love Jesus condemn themselves, and so when the time comes they will be given what they want. Those who don't want to worship God will not be forced to; those who want to worship the God they love will not be denied that great privilege.

This is how a God that loves all people so very much could send people into outer darkness: they wanted to go.

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Response by: Will Berry

Pertinent text #1: Joel 2:29-30

And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. (KJV)

Pertinent text #2: Matthew 10:8

Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have received, freely give. (KJV)

Pertinent text #3: John 14:12

I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father. (Amplified)

Pertinent text #4: I Corinthians 12:29-13:3

Are all apostles (special messengers)? Are all prophets (inspired interpreters of the will and purposes of God)? Are all teachers? Do all have the power of performing miracles?
Do all possess extraordinary powers of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
But earnestly desire and zealously cultivate the greatest and best gifts and graces (the higher gifts and the choicest graces). And yet I will show you a still more excellent way [one that is better by far and the highest of them all--love].
If I can speak in the tongues of men and [even] of angels, but have not love (that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God's love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powers (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not love (God's love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody).

Pertinent text #5: Luke 11:13

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (KJV)

Pertinent text #6: I John 3:23-24

And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. (KJV)

Pertinent text #7: James 4:2-3

Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. (KJV)

(I assume here that the reader understands that when miracles are performed in Jesus' name, they are performed via the Holy Spirit.)

First of all, I disagree with the assumption that this question makes: that miracles do not happen in today's world. If the reader disagrees, I would recommend any biography of John G. Lake, a man who was extremely gifted by God's Spirit in the area of healing. He lived within the past 100 years. Lots of supernatural healing also goes on in the charismatic and pentecostal churches of America.

In case anyone wants some actual examples of supernatural phenomena, I have a couple:

I met a man recently from Ghana, Africa who went by John Ouno. He is a very loving man who was priviledged once upon a time to raise a woman from the dead. Funerals in Ghana are elaborate and involve many people. It was at a funeral for a young woman (who had been dead for either three or four days by that time) when he felt as if God was telling him to lay his hands on the woman's body (it was an open-casket kind of thing) and pray for her to be raised. He at first, though, decided that it was just his imagination. However, this urging did not go away but intensified until he casually strolled over to the coffin (trying not to be noticed), turned to face away from it and dropped his hand back and touched her hand. At that moment his other hand (involuntarily) shot up in the air and he began shouting out in tongues. Of course everyone stared at him as if he was crazy... until the woman sat up in her coffin! According to him, half the people fainted and the other half ran like hell.

I attended a conference in which a young woman named Bonnie spoke about a time when God comforted her when she really needed comfort. Her baby brother had died when only a few months old. She was devastated, and one night sat on her bed crying and looking at old pictures. She had intense feelings of despair, and was asking God why. Why her brother? She finally asked God to please help her to deal with her brother's death, and to tell him (wherever he was) that she loved him. She put the scrapbook away. Presently the phone rang; when she answered she heard a young boy speak six words.

"I love you too, big sister."

Then she heard the characteristic click of a phone hanging up.

There has been no real stoppage of miracles; those who have never seen them or even spoken to eyewitnesses of them simply haven't looked in the right places. I think the real question is, "Why aren't miraculous occurrances more common?" Why don't they happen in Baptist, Presbyterian, or Lutheran churches as well as charismatic ones?

I see two reasons (there may be more) that God would not manifest His power in a congregation of believers:

• The believers do not ask for or desire supernatural manifestations of God's Spirit.
• The believers do not love their fellow human beings as highly as they are commanded (only in a "common courtesy" way), and so would make any miraculous happenings empty and pointless.

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Response by: Will Berry

Pertinent text #1: Ecclesiastes 4:1-3

Then I returned and considered all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun: And I beheld the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they [too] had no comforter.
So I praised and thought more fortunate those who have been long dead than the living, who are still alive.
But better than them both [I thought] is he who has not yet been born, who has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun. (Amplified)

Pertinent text #2: Ecclesiastes 7:11-14

Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, yes, more excellent it is for those [the living] who see the sun.
For wisdom is a defense even as money is a defense, but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom shields and preserves the life of him who has it.
Consider the work of God: who can make straight what He has made crooked?
In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider that God has made the one side by side with the other, so that man may not find out anything that shall be after him. (Amplified)

Pertinent text #3: Hebrews 12:5-11

And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. (KJV)

For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes.
You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline?
Now if you are exempt from correction and left without discipline in which all [of God's children] share, then you are illegitimate offspring and not true sons [at all]. (vv. 6-7, Amplified)

Pertinent text #4: John 15:18-21

If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you.
If you belonged to the world, the world would treat you with affection and would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world [no longer one with it], but I have chosen (selected) you out of the world, the world hates (detests) you.
Remember that I told you, A servant is not greater than his master [is not superior to him]. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word and obeyed My teachings, they will also keep and obey yours.
But they will do all this to you [inflict all this suffering on you] because of [your bearing] My name and on My account, for they do not know or understand the One Who sent Me. (Amplified)

Pertinent text #5: Job 2:9-10

Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. (KJV)

Pertinent text #6: Matthew 10:40-42

He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. (KJV)

In answering this very difficult question, I wish to treat all people as part of one of two groups: believers in Jesus as Savior and Lord, and everyone else. I feel it is necessary to answer this question in two cases.

• Why does God allow His children (Christians) to suffer?
• Why doesn't God provide for that two-year-old starving child in Africa?

Not too many people wonder about the first of these two issues. I will leave the above verses that refer to believers (Hebrews 12 and John 15) to pretty much speak for themselves. We are God's children and we require discipline; also, since Jesus Himself suffered greatly, we believers should not expect to be treated any "better". Indeed, believers should expect hardship and be pleasantly surprised when life is pleasant.

However, the case of people, even little children, dying of starvation in third world countries every day seems to betray the idea that God loves everyone. If he loves us so much, why does he not supernaturally interfere and feed them like he fed Elijah? (see I Kings 19:4-8) Why should that one prophet be so special?

What is really being proposed is a "proof by contradiction" of sorts aimed at suggesting that either God does not exist or God does not really love us. Since God is real, God has great supernatural power, and since God loves all the people of the world, then surely God would use His great supernatural power to provide food for starving people, healing for those with miserable diseases, and clean clothes for the homeless.

I first want to offer to you the perspectives of Job and Solomon. Reading the book of Job will change one's outlook on suffering. After all, Job was a "perfect" man, who feared God (chapter 1). And God simply allowed Satan to take away everything he had, even his family, and give him horrible diseases instead.

When one reads the final five to six chapters of Job, one comes to an understanding that when God speaks to Job about all the mysteries of nature with questions like "Hast thou an arm like God?" (40:9) and "Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him?" (40:2), what God is really saying is this:

Human suffering or well-being is insignificant when compared to the state of a man's heart (whether or not a person loves God with all his heart).

The book of Ecclesiastes also presents this idea in a clear manner. The extreme nihilism of some parts of that sermon stagger the mind, especially Solomon's statement that in his opinion, those who are dead are better off than the living, and that better yet are the people who have not yet been born into this emptiness we call life. Solomon observes that the wise and the foolish are all the same. They all go to the grave; the lives of both are a "chasing after the wind". (Eccl. 2:12-17)

Ecclesiastes concludes with this statement:

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Ecclesiastes 12:13, KJV

Human suffering is just the same as materialistic happiness: both are emptiness, and pursuing them is "vexation of spirit". Human feelings of pain, hurt, joy, or happiness are completely irrelevant to what is really important: that men follow the commandments of God. And the most important commandment of them all is this:

The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
Mark 12:29-30, KJV

This has the danger of sounding harsh, but people who deem it important that they maintain a specific "quality of life" have missed the purpose of their existence. Those who are mad at God because God does not take away their pain and suffering are demanding that God serve them. In the most animal sense, we humans are very often self-centered; we want a full stomach and a comfortable life. This is why this question is such a big one for many. Many ask, "Why doesn't God give me what I want? After all, He loves me, right?"

Most people realize that when a child's parents refuse to give him/her something that he wants, it is not implied that the parents are not real or do not love the child. I know a young woman who, when she was sixteen years old, demanded a Lexus from her middle-class parents. She didn't want just any car (which anyone must admit is somewhat normal); she wanted a $40,000+ Lexus. Of course her parents did not give her the car. So she went through the proper proceedings to get a 'divorce' from her parents, and moved back in with her biological mother (who did not give her a Lexus either).

How different from her are those of us who say, "Why doesn't God give me a wife, 2.3 kids, a corporate job and a 401-K? Doesn't God love me? Isn't God real?" Now ask yourself how different it is to gripe at God because you are homeless, and have to beg for money to buy food and a cot at the local Salvation Army. Many homeless wish for nothing more than a steady job. Now ask yourself how different it is to blame God for the fact that you are starving to death.

God is not obligated to give us that which we desire "in the flesh". Rather, God demands that we love Him regardless of our condition in life. Jesus loved the Father perfectly, and so willingly walked into pain and suffering on the cross. Likewise, if we love Him perfectly as Lord, it will not matter to us whether we flourish or starve, whether we are clothed or naked. Our pleasure or suffering becomes irrelevant when we are in love with God.

(notice that in pertinent text #1 both the oppressed and the oppressors were without comfort)

Take note what I am not saying. I am not saying that God sadistically desires to "make all sinners pay." God simply does not give importance to satisfying our desires in a way that has no real significance. By real significance I mean a significance beyond such that the desire satisfied will return in another day, like the desire for food, water, or the curing of the flu. The fundamental desire to be loved unconditionally and to be part of a lasting, loving relationship has real spiritual significance, and God desires to meet that need in people more than we will ever realize.

Part of meeting that need involves meeting other, more superficial needs, such as cooking soup for the homeless, providing medical care for the sick, or (even better) the supernatural healing of a disease. God greatly desires for the hungry to be fed and the sick healed so that this boon can be a means for the ministry of the gospel. After all, what is important is not that the starving children be fed (they will be hungry again tomorrow), but that they be introduced into a loving relationship with God.

Of course, not every starving child is fed. Not everyone is introduced into a loving relationship with God. Why not?

The answer to this is sad and (for me) quite sobering. The answer to this question is that it is my fault as well as the fault of every believer who does not consider it important to spread the love of Jesus throughout the globe. Recall what Jesus told his apostles regarding ministry: "Freely ye have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:8) I do not give; I daily fail in my mission to love the people I encounter. Perhaps if I really cared I would take a homeless man to lunch; perhaps if I really cared I would sponsor a foreign child through a reputable charity organization. And I am not the only Christian who fails in his mission from God.

You see, God gives Christians great authority in the world. We are given the authority to forgive sins. We are to judge the angels on the judgment day. I believe that part of God's gift to us, the Church, the bride of Christ The Anointed One is the responsibility of carrying out God's purposes here on earth. When we fail in that responsibility, it has the effect of God appearing to be distant and uninvolved. In reality, however, it is the Christians who are complacent, sleepy, and uninvolved.

To sum up, God is not interested in fulfilling the superficial desires of people except as a means of fulfilling the more important need of having a loving, eternal relationship with God.

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Reponse by: Will Berry

Pertinent text #1: Psalm 103:8-13

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Like a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. (KJV)

Pertinent text #2: Matthew 12:24-32 (parts)

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons."
(25) And knowing their thoughts He said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand.
(30) "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
(31) "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.
(32) "And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come. (New American Standard)

Pertinent text #3: Mark 3:28-29

Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter;
but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" (New American Standard)

Fortunately for the human race, God is a forgiving god! David's psalm quoted above expresses quite beautifully the depth of love and self-restraint that God has toward us. God withholds His wrath by not "rewarding us according to our iniquities"; God has removed our sins from us "as far as the east is from the west"! Certainly, God forgives all kinds of sin.

But Jesus tells us that "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" is never forgiven. Why not? What is this blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? Well, as is not very surprising, this is a debate with a long history. I do not claim to know the correct answer; I will give my educated opinion. I only claim that this is an explanation consistent with the remainder of Biblical teachings.

First, notice that the Greek behind the word "blasphemy" means, literally, "injurous speech". Now since Jesus is talking about "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit", we can conclude that this speech causes injury to the Holy Spirit in some way. Knowing that spoken words and words simply thought by people are the same with God (for God knows our hearts -- I Samuel 17:7), we can conclude that this blasphemy really is something on the inside of us.

Secondly, notice that Jesus includes this statement in a reply to the Pharisees, who accused Him of being possessed with the devil. Jesus had been anointed with the Holy Spirit, and by the power He had in the Holy Spirit, He cast out demons. But these people declared in their hearts (and with words) that the power of the Holy Spirit was of the devil. Jesus used this fact to Illustrate His statement that anyone not definitely for Him is definitely against Him, and then proceeded to this deeper idea.

He said that if people spoke out against Him (believing what they were saying), then it is forgivable. However, because they had seen the power of the Holy Spirit at work and declared it within themselves to be Satanic, they were beyond forgiveness. Why? I believe the reason why is that there is no way to do this without actually choosing to reject what is obvious supernatural evidence of the reality of God. When one rejects God when His power is so obviously demonstrated before them, then they will never be reconciled.

It is not that this is a "special" sin really; it is just that if someone does not choose to enter into a relationship with God after such a display of His reality, he never will. And if a person never chooses to enter into a personal relationship with God, he will be given what he desires; eternal separation from God. Furthermore, if someone at any time enters into a personal relationship with God, we can be certain that at no time did he ever commit blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Again, I do not claim that this explanation I have given is absolute truth; I have a certain level of doubt about this idea concerning triviality. But I think it is fairly consistent with the remainder of Biblical teachings. At any rate, be assured that God is a very forgiving God, and can forgive even the most vile murderer. He can certainly forgive you.

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Response by: Will Berry

Pertinent text #1: John 1:1

In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. (Amplified)

Pertinent text #2: II Peter 3:8

Nevertheless, do not let this one fact escape you, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. (Amplified)

Pertinent text #3: Revelation 21:6

And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. (KJV)

In my childhood, I found this question to be quite a riddle. My dad told me that God didn't come from anywhere, but had always "been there". And I remember thinking that, surely, God had to come from somewhere. What I did not realize was the assumption I was making.

When someone asks the question, "Where did God come from?", he is assuming that God has an origin. This is a flawed assumption because to originate implies a flow of time.

To originate means to begin or arise, and origin means a beginning or starting point. So to originate in one's existence seems to imply a flow of time.

The dilemma is resolved through the realization that time itself is part of God's creation. It seems almost self-evident to say that God did not create Himself; nor is God part of His own creation. So God is outside the domain of time, as the verses above suggest (this is how God knows the future). So the concept of origin loses meaning when applied to God.

To sum up, God did not "come from" anywhere because the concept of origin requires the medium of time. God created time, and so God is outside of time (and has authority over it); this is how it can be said that God has always been and always will be.

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Response by: Will Berry

Pertinent text #1: John 14:12-14

Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth in me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do: because I go unto my Father.
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. (KJV)

Pertinent text #2: John 15:7

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (KJV)

Pertinent text #3: John 15:16

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. (KJV)

Pertinent text #4: John 16:22-27

And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.
At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. (KJV)

Pertinent text #5: Genesis 5:2

Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam in the day when they were created. (KJV)

Here we have four different records of Jesus stating that God will do anything that we ask of him in Jesus' name, no matter what it is. Now, I have seen people pray out loud in church things like, "I pray in Jesus' name that Mr. X be healed from his disease," and the person die. There was a time that I prayed with as much emotional fervency as I could muster for a friend of mine to be healed of seizures. He still has them at the rate of twice a year.

Is Jesus' promise broken? I don't believe that it is. We have from Jesus a conditional statement quite suitable for logical analysis. If we ask God something in Jesus' name, then God will fulfill our request. Therefore, if God did not fulfill our request, we can have confidence that we did not ask Him in Jesus' name. (Of course, this deduction assumes that Jesus' statement is true.) Thus, we can deduce that emotional fervency in prayer is not the same as asking in Jesus' name. We can deduce that simply saying (mentally or aloud) the words, "I pray this in Jesus' name", is not the same as actually praying in Jesus name.

So what does it mean to pray in Jesus' name?

My fiancee's name is Amy. I know her quite intimately, and I have known her for a long time. If someone I did not know were to come up from behind and wrap her arms around me, I would immediately know because of the intimacy of my relationship with Amy. If I had my eyes closed and another woman bent down and kissed me silently, I would immediately know because I know the contour of Amy's lips. I know that her curly hair prevents me from running my fingers through it. I know when she calls, as Confederate Railroad says, "by the way the telephone rings." Indeed, the only things that differentiate us from a typical newlywed couple is a marriage license and the fact that we haven' had sex. But as far as I'm concerned, we're already married.

The union of marriage is described in Genesis 2 with the words, "and they shall be one flesh" (Gen 2:24). We can also note the quoted text above, which states that according to God, the first man and his wife shared a name: Adam. They had one name; they had one identity. That was the depth of their intimacy, and this is not an unimportant detail. The unity of husband and wife is reflected even in American culture by the tradition of a woman taking her husband's last name. Husband and wife are seen collectively as having one name and one identity.

Our relationship with Jesus, The Anointed One, is the same way. Paul said, "he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit" (I Cor. 6:17) in the same way that a man and his wife are one flesh. When we become as intimately joined to the Lord by vehicle of our intense love for and servitude to him (see quoted text #4 above), we are seen as having the same identity in the spirit, the same name. Thus, as we grow closer to and more intimate with God, our very thoughts are thought in His name. This is true in a very real way, and it reveals the difficulty in understanding what Jesus means by asking something in His name.

In case the reader is theologically minded and is questioning this position, I wish to remind the reader of the fact that the 144,000 elect of Revelation had their Father's name sealed on their foreheads. I also wish to remind the reader of that famous verse in Chronicles: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, ... then I will ... heal their land."

In summary, what Jesus means by asking something in His name is that we, out of the depth of our intimacy with and love for Him have a close, shared identity with Him, which results in our ability to allow God to perform the acts we both want done and our unwillingness to resist Him. Thus, when we ask in His name, He will do it.

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