Page 128 - Apologetics Student Textbook (3 Credits)

Study Section 17: More Questions about the Condition of Man

17.1 Connect

Deists believe that God created mankind, then left them alone to develop as a society, and
has no interest in being involved in their affairs. God has a lot of other things to do besides
being involved in what is happening on earth. Do you think this is true?

Is God actively involved in history? As a Christian, you probably He is. Then why did He
allow Adolf Hitler rise to power and kill millions of people in World War II? Why was Lenin
allowed to bring communism to the Soviet Union which resulted in the deaths of over 30 million people?
If God is actively involved in history, why are all the evil rulers permitted to rise to power? And if He is
involved in history, is the conclusion coming soon? Seems like the way things are going, the world is on
a path to self-destruction. Let’s see if we can bring some understanding in this area….

17.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to show that God is integrally involved in the flow of history
from the beginning to the conclusion.

2. The student should be able to describe how the Bible says the world will come to a
conclusion.

17.3 Is God involved in the history of mankind?

The history of the earth is intimately associated with God’s plan for the salvation of mankind.
Salvation is based on the activity and plan of God. Actually the Bible is the history of God’s
plan to redeem mankind from sin and rebellion. And throughout history, we observe that
God uses those who submit to his authority to guide the progress of history, but He also uses
those who resist Him to accomplish His will.

The Old Testament is a record of the history of God’s promises to redeem mankind by sending a
redeemer, the Messiah. The culmination of the Old Testament is the cross of Christ; for it is at this point
in history that a sacrifice was made that would change all future historical events. From the cross the
church was born. Jesus left the church with the task of bringing
the Gospel to every last person on earth.

From a biblical perspective, history is not only a journey from the
past, but prophetically it will culminate in the millennial reign of
Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. History will
validate the character of God in demonstrating His tremendous
love yet display His eternal justice against rebellion.

History is actually HIS-Story. Before the creation, God had already written the pages of History into
reality. Revelation 13:8 says, "The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world". Before the
creation, God already planned to redeem mankind in coming to die for those He created. Salvation is

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