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Spirit of the Word - Covenant Eschatology - Introductory Note - New Stuff
From The Two Hands Of God-Part 1 by Preston EbyTHE LEFT HAND OF GOD
That "all things are of God" is declared over and over again in the Bible. Did not the Lord say to Pharaoh, that wicked man of rebellion against all that was of God, "Even for this same purpose have I RAISED YOU UP, that I might show MY POWER in you, and that My name might be declared throughout all the earth?" (Rom. 9:17). The infinite wisdom of God's mind cannot be ascertained by these carnal little heads of ours. We must banish our childish theology and bring our minds into harmony with the mind of Christ. We must begin to peer through the mighty telescope of God's wisdom as it looks through the vast universe of good and evil until heavenly light bursts with blazing brilliance upon our inquiring spirits and we see with crystal clear vision that God is in all things, and is responsible for all things, including all the so-called evil things as well as good things. Is it not a fearful thing to say that evil is of God? There is nothing fearful about this view unless the TRUTH be fearful! I would not be surprised if some of the compatriots of the prophet Amos may have thought he was speaking blasphemy when by the Holy Spirit he said, "Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be EVIL in a city, and THE LORD HAS NOT DONE IT?" (Amos 3:6). There are untold millions of Christians who do not like to believe that A-L-L T-H-I-N-G-S A-R-E O-F G-O-D - including evil. They much prefer to believe, as the harlot system has taught them, that God created good, and the devil created evil!
Why, Oh why can men not believe the simple, unvarnished Word of God? Ah, we have God's own Word for it - His positive statement that HE CREATES EVIL. "That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that THERE IS NONE BESIDE ME. I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and CREATE EVIL. I THE LORD DO ALL THESE THINGS" (Isa. 45:7). God creates evil! It cannot be! But here it is in the Word. What will you do with it, beloved? "We must explain it somehow," the fundamentalist says, "surely it cannot mean that GOD creates evil, sin, sinners, devils, famines, pestilences, calamities, judgments, wrongdoing!" But the word here for "evil" is the Hebrew word "ra" which is used throughout the Old Testament to denote wickedness, sin, and all other evil things. In some five hundred passages it is so used!
It solves most all problems to realize that all the forces of good and evil are directly under the HAND and CONTROL of God. Then we can see that God has PURPOSE in it all, and that no evil forces can ever go beyond the bounds of the limits set by God to accomplish His purpose. It is not even a question of how much God PERMITS. The fact is that God creates just the right amount and kind of evil in order to bring His will to pass fully and completely in all He does. But let us UNDERSTAND! The good that God uses COMES OUT FROM GOD. The evil that God uses is CREATED by God only for the purpose that He has for it. The Bible states that God IS GOOD, IS LIFE, IS LIGHT, etc. Nowhere does the Bible say that God IS EVIL, only that He CREATES evil. There is a vast difference. Having been used of God, He then brings it to naught.
One of the fundamental laws of creation is that an OPPOSING FORCE is necessary for growth, and to produce strength, stamina, and endurance. Any living thing that grows up without any opposition is weak and powerless. God's NEW CREATION must be strong and powerful, and anything that desires to be strong, or anyone, must wrestle with a force that is contrary to them. Any man who wants to develop muscular power and be strong, must spend weeks and months and years in vigorous training doing heavy exercises, lifting heavy weights, using the OPPOSING FORCE of gravity to DEVELOP HIS STRENGTH. A plant that grows in the greenhouse sheltered from the winds and rains, pampered day after day, may grow large, but it is inherently weak, and if suddenly exposed to the elements will wither and die. But a plant that is constantly exposed to the fierce winds and pounding rains, burning heat and chilling cold, is strong and not easily destroyed.
Saints, if we would be the SONS OF THE MOST HIGH we must be STRONG in the Lord and in the power of HIS might! Our Father wants us to be strong, so He has wisely given us WRESTLING PARTNERS to wrestle with, so we will become strong. These are NEGATIVE FORCES (thank God for them!) that come from the LEFT HAND of God. Some of these adverse things are the principalities and powers in the heavenlies. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12). There is a great and magnificent future ahead for the Sons of God, and a great work our Father has for us to do in the ages to come, and He is preparing us and making us ready for the high and holy place He has for us. Can we not see that ALL THE NEGATIVE OPPOSING FORCES WE NOW ENCOUNTER are working together for our good - to develop the strength, character, wisdom, and power we must have?
The chastenings and judgments of God, too, are negative, though they do bring forth a positive result. The positive work of God from the realm of His right hand lies in the inner anointing, guidance, enlightening, etc., and in the precious outward ministries, those the Lord sets in the body for our exhortation, edification, and comfort. The Scriptures speak much about these positive ministries, which are all wonderful, sweet, and of great importance in the eyes of God. However, there is the work of purging, pruning, discipline, dealing, and training which must be fulfilled in each and every one of God's Sons; therefore in the work of God there is an additional part, the negative, opposing forces, from the LEFT HAND OF GOD!
The positive work of God is wrought directly by the Holy Spirit within or by the Spirit through His anointed ministries. The negative work of God is brought about by Satan, his co-horts, his instruments, and the whole negative realm of evil. All the people, things, and happenings used in the chastening and judgments of God are of Satan's manipulation. For example, if someone is opposing us and causing us trouble, this opposition or trouble is directly the work of Satan. Again, a thief who steals our money, or a fire which burns down our house, is the work of the adversary. If someone is obstinate, rebellious and sins against God, and as a result becomes seriously ill, this sickness is a work of the devil. Therefore, all the people, things, and happenings involved in the discipline and judgment of God are measured to us by God according to our need. But the one who is manipulating and acting upon us in order to harm us is Satan. BUT - that which is acting BEHIND all the people, powers, things, and happenings is the HAND OF GOD, CONTROLLING all the play and interplay til HIS PURPOSE IS ACCOMPLISHED and HIS name is praised! The purpose of our experiencing the disciplines of the Father is that we know the fullness of HIS LIFE. If there were only the discipline, but not the manifestation of His life, it would be meaningless. Thus, the two hands of God bring beautiful BALANCE in the lives of all God's elect!
We see the left hand of God revealed in the life of Job. God had blessed this man with great wealth and a large family. He had seven sons and three daughters, He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses. His household was very great with many hired servants so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. The only reliable testimony we have of Job's true state of being is that spoken by the Lord Himself, and HE declared that Job was a PERFECT AND UPRIGHT MAN, one that feared God and eschewed evil. Perfect yes, but UNTRIED, UNTESTED, and UNPROVEN, as Job himself witnessed in the midst of his ordeal, declaring, "He knows the way that I take: when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10). His perfection remained to be fully proven, tested, and demonstrated.
Now, what does God do but deliberately hand over this perfect man into the hands of Satan to do his worst upon him. It was because God desired to test Job that He brought forth "the smith to blow the coals upon the fire." Please note that it was not Satan's idea to persecute poor old Job! Oh, no! It was God Himself who brought up the subject! There Satan was, presenting himself before the Lord, appearing for duty, and God asked, "Where have you been?" Satan replied, "Walking up and down in the earth" (no mention of Job at all). "Well, Satan," the Lord asked, "Have you considered My servant Job? Have you noticed that he eschews evil and fears God? Have you noticed that, Satan?" You can be assured, dear ones, that Satan HAD noticed Job, but he wasn't doing anything to him.
Satan responds, saying, "Have You not made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth YOUR HAND now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face!" And the Lord said unto Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in YOUR POWER; only upon himself put not forth YOUR HAND." Having received these orders, Satan departed from the presence of the Lord. Hear it! "But put forth YOUR HAND now." What was that that Satan said? Did he ask permission to put forth his OWN HAND and touch Job? Not at all! He said, YOUR hand," or "God, you put forth YOUR HAND and touch him." He is not asking to be allowed to touch Job. But he challenged God to stretch out HIS HAND, and that if HE touched Job and took away his blessing, Job would curse Him to His face. Then the Lord said to Satan, "All that he has is in your power; only upon himself put not forth YOUR HAND." Can we not see by this that Satan was the NEGATIVE FORCE through which GOD WAS MOVING UPON JOB, and is it not clear that this was the LEFT HAND of God as He was working with Job to bring him into yet a higher place than he had occupied hitherto? Though Satan moved swiftly against Job, GOD WAS DOING THIS and His intention was to do Job good. This was not Satan acting out his own little plan in rebellion against God, but this was Satan as the LEFT HAND of God doing it!
In the second chapter of Job we find all this repeated. Again the sons of God have come before God to report on their activities, and again Satan comes among them. Again Job is presented to Satan by God as a perfect and upright man. We now quote from Job 2:4-6. "And Satan answered the Lord and said, Skin for skin, yea all that a man has will he give for his life. But put forth YOUR HAND now and touch his bone and his flesh and he will curse You to Your face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in YOUR HAND; but save his life." Now Job's body will be wracked with disease and tortured with pain, and he will lose his reputation before all men. His good works will be forgotten and he will become the object of ridicule from those who were formerly his friends.
We would now draw your reverent attention to the magnificent words which reveal Job's reaction to all this. "Then said his wife unto him, Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die! But he said unto her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. 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" (Job. 2:9-10). Notice! Job never did recognize any such person as Satan in all his trouble. He recognized ONLY GOD in this and said that even as he had received good from the HAND OF GOD was it not logical that he should receive EVIL ALSO FROM GOD? What faith! What marvelous UNDERSTANDING! Job actually attributes all this evil to the work of God. He doesn't even recognize Satan as doing anything, no sitting on the ash heap moaning, "The old devil has been after me all week!" It will be an appalling shock to many precious people to learn that in ALL this Job did NOT SIN with his lips! We have every right to conclude from this that Job was speaking the absolute truth when he attributed all this evil to God. What he had said was right in the sight of God. No place did the Lord rebuke Job for his words in any way. In fact, in the end of the experience God said that Job had spoken RIGHTLY of Him and ALL OTHERS HAD NOT.
Job has yet a further word on all this and let us see what it is. "Have pity upon me, O my friends: for the HAND OF GOD HAS TOUCHED ME" (Job 19:21). The hand of who? The hand of God! WHICH hand of God? Why, beloved, it was the LEFT HAND of God! Job knew that the hand of God had not been laid upon him for good, but for evil. Yet he recognizes it as THE HAND OF GOD. Prior to this experience, Job had known nothing but the RIGHT HAND of God in good and blessing, in the anointing of God. There had been no adversity. There had been no testing. No severity. Now God has begun using His left hand in His dealing with Job, yet Job still recognizes it as God's hand. What wisdom and understanding!
The nominal Church and its preachers try to make us believe that Satan conspired to do all this to poor old Job by his own design. But it was God, my friend, and Satan was only the LEFT HAND of God, or the negative means God used. These people have no knowledge at all of what they are talking about. They know nothing of the ways and the workings of God. They have exalted Satan to godhood, giving HIM the glory for all he does, and, indeed, in most things, they attribute more power to him and praise him more than they do God! Ignorantly these foolish ones talk about poor little God "trying" to do this and that, while the shrewder and smarter devil slips up on God's blind side and demolishes His whole work. Rubbish!
Dear saints of God, don't believe for one moment that anything in all God's great universe in not in the control of HIS HANDS or part of His plan. God IS GOD, He IS in full control of every sphere of activity, and Satan himself is under the province of God. May the blessed Holy Spirit enlighten our minds to perceive the truth that Satan has no power at all except that which God delegates to him. My friend, if you believe that Satan is a problem to Almighty God, then your God is entirely too small! Oh yes, those who would be Sons of God MUST OVERCOME HIM. Beloved, when that purpose is accomplished, you will have been fully dealt with by God's LEFT HAND, that you might be exalted to a place of eminence, glory, and power at GOD'S RIGHT HAND! Hallelujah!
The left hand of God is manifested through a people, those in the kingdom of darkness. The right hand of God is likewise revealed through a people, the Sons of the Kingdom. Thank God! we are not called to be a part of the left hand company. "If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, WHERE CHRIST SITS ON THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (Col. 3:1-2). "Him that overcomes will I grant to sit WITH ME IN MY THRONE, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne" (Rev. 3:21). "The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the RIGHT HAND of the Lord does valiantly, the RIGHT HAND of the Lord is exalted" (Ps. 118:15-16).
Although at this time there is humiliation and suffering, there is coming a time of exaltation, already experienced within. Although today it seems as though not much is happening outwardly, yet there is a time approaching when GOD'S RIGHT HAND COMPANY shall step forth in the fullness of the power of HIS THRONE and there shall be a manifestation of the "greater works" Jesus spoke of. When on earth, the firstborn Son suffered reproach and finally death - but where is He now? Exalted to the RIGHT HAND of the Father, far above all principalities and powers, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but in that which is to come. He passed through a season of shame and reproach, but dwells now in a glory that can never fade. And there is a place with Him and in Him for all who overcome, a place of glory and eminence and power at the right hand of God for all who move on into God!
The Two Hands Of God-Part 1 (2nd - 3rd) - BACK -
The Serpent-Where Did the Devil Come From (2nd - 3rd - 4th) -
The Purpose Of Evil - A Take On the Problem Of Evil -
