I finished my Questions and Answers mini-class last night but I ended it with a few questions I didn’t have time to answer. They are:

WHAT’S UP WITH PREMILLENNIALISM AND THE RAPTURE?

and

DO WE GO TO “HEAVEN” WHEN WE DIE OR “PARADISE”? WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

I didn’t cover those because I knew they, together, would take up an entire class and I didn’t want to devote a whole class to just two questions. Fortunately, the next class I’m teaching is on “Fundamentals” and I had two weeks set aside to address Frequently Asked Questions.

Funny how that worked out, yeah?

That’s the thing about Providence: You don’t really know if the thing that is happening is Providence or not until after the fact; it’s only when you look back that you can see the whole tapestry and realize God was in control all the way. In the meantime all we can say is what Mordecai said to encourage Esther to risk her neck to save her people: “Who knows? Maybe [this happened] for such a time as this (Esther 4:14).”

I always loved the way the King James phrases it there: “For such a time as this.” It conveys the idea of purpose and planning on the part of God: He has in mind what He wants to accomplish and sometimes you are part of that plan and sometimes you’re not. When you are, sometimes you don’t even realize it until after the fact. In the meantime all you can say is: “Who knows? Maybe this is God’s providence.”

I didn’t get around to addressing two important questions, but I already had set aside two weeks in the future to answer important questions. Funny how that worked out, yeah? Is it Providence?

Who knows?

~ Matthew