There are only two sides to a coin!

Let me make this clear, so that everyone can understand it.  There are only two sides to a coin, unless that coin is in the hand of a magician.  It is the same with God, there are only two sides to the coin – choose God, or don’t choose God.  Oh, there is a third side, but it is in the hand of a magician – Satan, himself, and with him come all the magical, mystical, non-gods of the world.

God did create the universe, believe it or choose not to believe it.

God created man and woman in His own image.  He did not create animals, birds, fish, etc., in His own image, just man and woman.

He created us for a relationship with Him, and that has always been His desire.  He walked with Adam and Eve in the garden, until one day, they chose the other side of the coin.

‘Really?’ he asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you must not eat of any of the fruit in the garden?’

The woman replied, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.”‘

‘You will surely not die,’ the serpent replied, ‘For God knows when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’   (Gen 3:1-3)

The rest is history.  Eve chose the third side of the coin, with promises of wonderful things, straight from the mouth of the great deceiver and master magician. Their bodies did not die, but their spirits died as the connection between God and mankind was severed.  God had given them everything, including a close relationship with Him.  He also gave them free will to choose.  In was in that moment of deception, when the non-existent third side of the coin looked better than everything God had given them, that they made the wrong choice.

God’s plan of redemption began with Abraham, a man who by faith alone, without anything other than his belief in the God who called out to him, and spoke to him, and promised him an inheritance of nations, took his family and livestock and left every thing and everyone they knew and began a journey to an unknown destiny.  They followed God.  They followed Him even when God told them that in future generations their ancestors would be slaves in a foreign land for 400 years.

 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. (Gen 15:13-14)

Then God again progressed His plan through Moses, who God placed in a position to bring God’s people, his people, the Israelites, out of their slavery, and lead them on to the land he had promised Abraham that He would give to his descendants, the “Promised Land.”  It is worthy to note here, that God’s promise to Abraham was that they would be brought out with great possessions.  God’s word was true, all these many years later.  When the Israelites were finally freed from slavery, the Egyptian people all gave them their gold and jewelry and begged them to leave.  When God promises, He always delivers.

Note that God spoke to Abraham, who believed, and followed.  Note that God spoke to Moses, who believed and followed.  God spoke to many who came after these great men of the Old Testament, and they listened and followed.

God was moving His people toward the Royal Coin, the ultimate choice for people of all time.

God continued to speak to people, until around 400 BC.  Following the life of Malachi, in 430BC, God was silent.  He did not speak to a single person in the 400 years until the silence was broken, when God spoke to John the Baptist, and told him to “make a ready a people prepared for the Lord” Luke 1:17.   John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit of God, and through him, God spoke to the people of repentance and forgiveness.

Then came the Royal Coin, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of the most high God.  Born of a virgin, who lived and taught repentance and forgiveness, who reached out to the poor, the hungry, the sick, and the sinners.  He blasted the religious leaders for failing to take care of the people of God, no matter their standing in life.

 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. (Matthew 23:23-24)

They made sure the world saw that they gave their 10% to the offering, but totally ignored, pushed away, despised the “unworthy” ones.  Jesus ate with the tax collectors, he ministered to those in sin, healed those who were sick.  Think of the lepers he healed, they were banished and not allowed to approach people, but they did approach Jesus, why?  Because they had heard of his healings, and knew he would not turn away from them.  They believed He had the power to make them whole again.  He did, and they were.  The religious leaders could not be bothered with these people.

Jesus made it plain that it was what was on the inside of us, in our hearts, more than what was on the outside of us, like our wealthy clothes, cars (or in their day carts).  Jesus looked into the heart of man, just like the God that he is.  That is where he healed in the greatest way.

People had a choice to believe in him or not (two sides of the coin), but there was still the sneaky one offering a third side.  So the religious leaders of the day, whose hearts had already refused to believe, were tempted with the third side of the coin.  Here their rationalization for having Jesus killed.

Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs.  If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” (John 11:47-50)

They believed the whisper, “You know you could lose everything if Jesus keeps this up.”

Royal Coin side one – believe Jesus is the son of God, their long-awaited Messiah

Royal Coin side two – believe Jesus is just a man, who is doing amazing things

Not so royal side of the coin three – Jesus is a threat to our lifestyle.  He doesn’t follow our ways.  We need to get rid of him.

They believed the greatest liar of all times, Satan, and chose the third coin.

God has completed His plan. He has presented a coin with two sides.

1.  We can choose to believe that Jesus is the son of God who died that we might live.
2. We can choose not to believe that, that Jesus never existed, or was just a great teacher
3. We can choose to believe in spirit beings, false gods, fortune tellers, false prophets, nature, or anything that gives us a sense of something outside ourselves that we can worship.

God has created an eternity with two possible places for our eternal spirits/souls to exist.  The first side of the coin will bring us to the throne of God and then to an eternity of paradise.  The second and third sides of the coin both will bring us to the throne of God, and then we will be propelled away into the darkness, and God closes the gate for all eternity.

Coin side one – heaven

Coin side two – outside of heave (Some label it “hell.”  What I know is when you take all the love, joy, peace, goodness, gentleness, patience, health, humbleness, beauty, flowers, trees, water, music, angels, and the throne of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit and close the door to all this for eternity, that sure would be hell.)

So what side of the coin are you interested in?

Side One, Side Two, Side Three

God allows you to choose, but he longs for you to choose Him.

If you are wondering about all those who have never heard of the Royal Coin, what is God’s plan for them?  Stay tuned for the next post.