Episode Transcript
The following program is a first person narrative using author's license to tell stories drawn from the Bible and the books of Ellen White. Welcome to Family Storytime with Karlie Fraser. Join us as we step back in time to hear about highlights of Bible history.
Hi, my name is REISA and I am an angel commissioned to oversee the protection of humans. Oh yes. I love this book.
The Bible is such a beautiful book. Did you know it's God's love letter to the human race? God spoke through so many authors to write his message of love for the human race and to let them know that they are his treasure. It begins right here at the beginning with the story of Adam and Eve.
We had watched God create them from nothing and we loved them so much. We had so much fun spending time in the Garden of Eden with humanity's parents. We'd visit them every night.
I loved seeing their faces light up with excitement when we shared amazing things about God's universe. We'd sing and talk with God. We were devastated when they chose to eat the fruit.
I remember that day well. We had warned them that Lucifer was in the garden and he would try to trick them into eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If only Eve had stayed with Adam and they had trusted what God had said rather than doubting and believing what the snake said.
The whole universe watched on. People living on other worlds held their breath while Eve spoke with the serpent. And we prayed that Eve would trust what God had told her.
I remember crying when Eve ate the fruit and then offered some to Adam. I remember being in Heaven when God the Father had a very long meeting with Jesus, his son. It felt like forever.
And then Jesus finally came out and told us that they had a plan to save Adam and Eve. He said that he would take the punishment of death himself so that humans would be able to have eternal life. Jesus said that he would leave Heaven and be born on Earth as a human being.
He told us that he would be arrested and then killed by the very humans he went to save. We couldn't believe that Jesus would have to die and we begged to be able to go instead to offer our lives for the human race. But God said only Jesus was able to save them.
Back on Earth, we visited Adam and Eve to tell them about God's plan and to make sure they knew that all was not lost. God was going to rescue them and one day they would be able to have eternal life again. We told them that Jesus would one day come as a human and he would die in their place because they were God's treasure and God loved them so much.
There are so many stories of God looking after his people. Joseph. Now there was someone who trusted God and had a great friendship with him.
I remember the afternoon Joseph's brothers sold him as a slave. How he wept when he realized he'd never see his father again. He prayed a lot that night and decided to let our God rule his life.
I was so proud of him 13 years later when he stood in the throne room of Pharaoh and told Pharaoh about the famine that God had warned was coming. And then Pharaoh made him second in command of all of Egypt. Even though Joseph had many hard times in his life, he never gave up believing that he was God's treasure and that God would always help him.
God used him to save all of Egypt and even some other countries from the famine. And so it was that Joseph's family came to Egypt. But then, after a while, a new Pharaoh became king and he was afraid that Joseph's family was becoming dangerously large, so much so that they might want to go to war against him.
So he made them slaves for hundreds of years. I love the way God worked through Moses to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Ah, yes, the adventure at the Red Sea.
This is one of my favorite miracles that God did. The Israelites. Hmm.
They thought they were stuck the Red Sea in front, the mountains on either side and an approaching Egyptian army behind them. It didn't look like there were many options left. But then Jesus opened up the way through the Red Sea and the Israelites walked across on dry land with water piled high on either side of them.
They couldn't see us, but our mighty force of angels were walking on both sides of that multitude as they crossed over the Red Sea. We were keeping them safe. It took many, many years, but eventually the Israelites made it to the promised land of Canaan.
There are so many stories I could share with you from this time, but you will have to read them for yourselves as we don't have much time together. I will say that one of my favorites is when David was told by an angel to rescue the army of Israel from Goliath. Of course, he couldn't tell his brother Eliab that was why he was there, but he certainly did a brilliant job of listening to God and trusting that God would save him.
Goliath came tumbling down like a mighty oak tree when he hit that ground. David was always pretty handy with his sling. I guess it was from all that practice as a shepherd when he spent time talking with God out in the fields.
David was a boy with such a strong friendship with God. It was so cool to see how much he loved God. Mary Mary Mary.
Now here was a woman who understood what it meant to be forgiven. She was so broken hearted. When Jesus died, she had witnessed so many miracles taking place, including the resurrection of her brother, and she couldn't understand why Jesus allowed himself to be killed that Friday afternoon.
But Sunday morning? Wow. That day will always be imprinted on my mind. What a glorious morning.
From the moment Jesus stepped down from the throne in heaven 34 years before, we had been waiting for this event to take place, and none of us wanted to miss it. We were all waiting outside Jesus'tomb, ready to welcome him back to life and celebrate the victory over death. When we felt like we almost couldn't wait any longer, gabriel the archangel came flying through the sky and arrived outside the tomb.
You should have seen the look on the faces of the Roman soldiers when he appeared before them and rolled away the stone. Gabriel's face shone like the sun, and they were terrified. Then, in a voice that shook the earth, gabriel called out, jesus, your Father is calling you.
And then Jesus himself walked out of the tomb. The earth rolled and shook, and the sound of thunder split the air, as death itself had no power to hold the Son of God. In a flash, we stepped into the human dimension and knelt down to worship Jesus.
The Roman soldiers also fell flat on their faces, terrified at the sight of this mighty host of heavenly warriors. As we bowed down and worshiped Jesus, we couldn't wipe the smiles from our faces. Jesus had finally conquered death and broken the power of sin on Earth.
The promise that Jesus had given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden had been fulfilled, and now everyone could choose for Jesus to save them for all eternity. This book, this Bible, your history, contained in a book the history of Earth, his story of salvation. While I love reading through these pages, the part that really gets me excited is towards the end.
Here, John records a vision that Jesus gives him, and I love the words he uses to describe what is going to happen. It's found here in Revelation chapter 21 and verses one to four. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
For the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared, and the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne saying, look, the home of God is now among his people.
He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain, for the old world and its evil are gone forever.
I can't wait for God to tell us that the time has finally come to take you all back to heaven with us. We love you so much and we have been looking forward to the day when we can spend time talking with you again and sharing stories about what has happened here on Earth and the times that we have protected you. You are God's treasure and we can't wait to spend eternity with you, worshipping our loving, mighty God together forever.
Will you pray with me? Dear father, thank you so much that you love us all an incredible amount, much more than we will ever understand. Father, thank you that even though the humans messed up Jesus, you still came and you died and you have saved them forever if they choose to accept your forgiveness. Father, thank you so much that one day we will be able to spend eternity worshipping you, loving you and learning just how much you love us.
Father, we can't wait for that day. We look forward to it with anticipation and we love you so much. Amen.
Thank you, Karlie, for taking us through those highlights starting in the book of Genesis and growing through right into the book of Revelation. And here is Jesse and Christopher to take us through a Bible study on those topics. Thank you, Karlie, for that very different but very interesting story giving us a big picture view of human history through the lenses of heaven.
You know, I've always found history very interesting, but imagine if you had the opportunity to watch it from start to finish like the angels do. Wow, that is a lot of history and a lot of time to sit through. Just think of the amount of books, no, the amount of libraries that you could fill with the records of human history.
It would be impossible for any human to learn it all. And yet the angels have been watching, remembering, and even at times interacting with all of it. Well, it's true that angels do have a very unique position, but they only get to interact with this history on certain occasions.
But we all live in this history every day of our lives. We are active participants in changing the very world which the angels look down upon. The more I think about it, the more I begin to realize we're almost like actors on this big grand stage, as if we're performers for the theater of the universe.
Well, I've been in a few plays before and I can tell you it's nerve wracking to go on the stage and remember your lines with hundreds of eyes looking intensely back at you. Now think about the millions of angels and other created beings god has made all watching us. There really is no hiding on the center stage.
Oh, man. Well, when you put it like that, I'm beginning to get nervous just to wake up of the morning knowing that so many people are watching me. Yeah, well, remember, it's not just you.
Every single person on this planet, all 7 billion of them are being watched. Now, human history is very interesting to watch. People even dedicate their lives to study history.
And we get to watch fascinating events take place every day. But do you think that's really the reason the angels are watching us? Or do you think that there is more to this story? Perhaps there is a bigger story taking place behind the stage. Behind the stage? But all the acting is taking place in the front.
You're right. But it's important to know why what is happening on the stage, on this planet is so important. Because what happens behind the stage influences us, the actors.
All right, I'm interested. What's this big story that's happening backstage? Well, like every good story, this one has a villain and we find him in Isaiah, chapter 14. Let's turn there together to discover the villain hiding in the shadows backstage.
Let's read from verse twelve to 14 that says how you are fallen from Heaven, o shining sun of the morning. You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, I will ascend to Heaven and set my throne above God's stars.
I will preside on the mountain of the Gods, far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the most high. So here we see that Lucifer, one of God's own angels, thinks that he could do a better job ruling Heaven than God does.
He believes that he has just as much a right to sit on the throne of Heaven as Jesus did. But hang on. That means that Lucifer is saying that God is doing a bad job ruling Heaven.
Lucifer is slandering the name and the character of God, calling him selfish, power hungry and unfit to rule. Exactly. God's character has been tarnished.
Lucifer's character assassination plot is in full effect, to the point where a third of God's angels decide to follow Lucifer's lies instead of the truth himself. Okay, that's pretty bad. It's not just a few people who are questioning God's character now.
It's millions of angels. And think about all of God's other creations who are watching Lucifer being banished from Heaven. How is God possibly going to fix this problem? Well, God needed a way to show that his true character was not arrogant, selfish and proud, but compassionate, loving and kind.
And so since God couldn't just tell them that he was all of these things, he decided to show them by creating a new creation who would bear his image and show compassion, love and kindness. Hang on. That's us, right? That's Adam and Eve.
They were made in the image of God. But hang on. I feel like humans, we might have failed to live up to the honor of the responsibility that God's given us.
Sure, sometimes we're loving and we're kind, but if we're honest, we can be equally arrogant and selfish. The complete opposite of God's character. So if we are failing our job because of the sin of Adam and Eve, how is God supposed to show his true character? Well, as you said, sometimes human beings can be loving.
And just like Kali told us, there have been many people that God has used to reveal his character on this grand stage. Think about Joseph and the immense trust he placed in God. Even when he was in his darkest moments, spending time in the dark, gloomy prison for a crime he didn't even commit.
Forgotten by the world, but not forgotten by God, joseph continued to trust in his best friend. And so Joseph showed through his trust that God was loyal, selfless and a friend worth trusting in. And remember the story of Moses, where God delivered his people from Egypt and protected and provided for them on their journey to the Promised Land.
And all throughout his life, Moses obeyed God and even risked his own life for the people he led. And then, through Moses'dedication and obedience, god was able to show that he will always deliver and rescue his people, that he will never abandon them in a desolate wilderness, but will guide them to the Promised Land. David, in the face of a giant as tall as a house and as fearsome as a grizzly bear, defeated Goliath in the name of God.
And so, through David's character, god was able to show that he will help his people overcome any trials they are faced with, no matter the size. But as amazing as all of these historical characters are, I can think of just one big problem. Really? What's that? Well, remember how you said that humans can be loving, but you also said humans a lot of the time can be arrogant, cruel and unloving.
And as obedient and loyal Moses was to God, he often lacked patience and could be quite abrasive. Oh, yeah, and then there's David. What didn't David do? Adultery, murder.
He was envious and jealous. A poor father for his children. Yeah, David wasn't exactly the best example of God's character.
So then God is still faced with this problem of showing all the angels what his character is truly like, then he's still trying to recover from his character assassination. So how is God going to fix this? Well, what man can't do, God can. And so God sent down his son Jesus as a human, to live a perfect life without sin and without arrogance, selfishness and pride.
Jesus came from the backstage and stood in the spotlight, joining us as actors in this theatre of the universe. And then we see through the story of Mary Magdalene, jesus'love compassion and forgiveness. This is the true character of God for all the universe to see.
Let's turn to Romans, chapter five, to discover the importance of Jesus revealing his true character for all the world to see. And let's read verses 17 through to 19 for the sin of this one man. Adam caused death to rule over many.
But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness. For all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Yes, Adam's.
One sin brings condemnation for everyone but Christ's. One act of righteousness brings the right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners.
But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. Ah, I get it. So when Adam failed to show the true character of God, jesus had to step in as the new representative of humanity and the perfect image bearer of God's loving character.
Alright, but what does this mean for me? Perhaps I can answer that with an experience I had myself. One cold winter's day, my pastor and I were knocking on the doors in our local community, asking them whether they would be interested in learning about God. But no matter how many doors we knocked on, not one person was interested in what we had to share.
I remember feeling down and discouraged. I felt like I had completely failed. But then my pastor said something to me that has been etched in my mind ever since.
He told me even if you don't have any visible success, you are still succeeding and showing the universe the true character of God. Wow. So just like Joseph, Moses, David and Mary, we can choose to reveal God's true character in the way that we live.
It might not be perfect, but we still have the choice to show God's love, compassion and kindness. But how can I avoid sinning and failing to meet that standard of character? Well, Paul tells us in two Corinthians three and verse 18 so all of us who have had the veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord, who is the Spirit, makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
In other words, if we spend time at Jesus'feet, if we trust and obey Him and create a close and personal relationship with Him, we begin to reflect his perfect image and character. And thus, we can all play a part in fixing the assassination of God's character. We can choose the role we wish to play on the stage, and God encourages each one of us to play a part for Him.
So then, the challenge that is set before you and me is this what does your life say about God's character? What does your history reveal about your relationship with God? If your life was a painting, what image would it reflect? Because the universe is watching and we are all actors on its stage. You have been listening to Family Storytime, a production of Three ABN Australia radio.
