A Panoramic Study of God’S Plan: Eternity Past to Eternity Future

By Slayden MacGregor

God has a story. And just like you and me, in order for us to be known, we have to tell our story. So wouldnt you think God, who wants to be known, would tell us His story?

Pastor Slayden MacGregor provides one of the most concise, yet comprehensive studies of Gods plan Ive seen. This incredible little book is designed to be read in only a couple sittings, yet used as a paradigm for Bible study for a lifetime. To comprehend the material in this book is to receive a seminary understanding of the plan and purposes of God. These pages answer the toughest questions of theology, origins, pain and suffering, good and evil, and mans freedom of choice in Gods sovereign plan. In it, youll view the whole Bible from an eternal vantage point, obtaining a context for all human and angelic history. Slayden MacGregor has developed and used the material in this book to teach and train pastors in many different countries for over twenty years and now these truths are condensed in a profound story-like study.
This simple and clear teaching will engage you on a whole new level of understanding of your role in the epic battle that wages in the spirit realm. Hold on tight and learn more about God, Satan, and yourself than youve ever thought imaginable. No fluff here.
James P. Gills, MD
Surgeon, author, philanthropist, past president and owner of the World Triathlon Corp., Ironman.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512760507

Slayden MacGregor

Slayden MacGregor lives in Brooksville, Florida with his wife Kathleen. They have four sons. He graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1996 with a master of theology in Bible exposition, and is ordained by the Evangelical Free Church of America. Slayden has served as pastor of Faith Evangelical Free Church in Spring Hill, Florida since 1998. He provides pastoral training conferences in several countries on the plan of God, and is an adjunct instructor at Saint Leo University.

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Copyright © 2017 Slayden L. MacGregor.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-6051-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-6050-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016917239

WestBow Press rev. date: 3/17/2017

Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.

Isaiah 46:9–10

In memory of Priscilla Young,

a most faithful believer who provided

wonderful encouragement in this project.

For an extended teaching on the Plan of God, you can watch Pastor Slayden MacGregor at: www.faithevfree.com/plan-of-God

Contents

Preface

Introduction to the Plan of God

A Panoramic Study of God’s Plan

Eternal God

Original Creation in an Undated Eternity Past

Lucifer’s Fall

God’s Judgment of Lucifer and Earth

Time Begins. God Restores Earth and Creates Man. Man Falls.

God’s Judgment of Mankind and Earth and His Promise of Redemption

God’s Chosen People, Israel—the Vessel of Redemption

First Coming of Christ

The Offer of the Promised Messianic Kingdom to the Nation of Israel

The Cross

Church-age

Rapture—Removal of the Church from the Earth

Judgment Seat of Christ

Tribulation—Satan Attempts to Unite All Nations against Israel

Second Coming of Christ and the Millennial Kingdom

Satan’s Final Rebellion and Judgment

Great White Throne Judgment

Time Ends—Eternity’s Future

Conclusion and Implications

Epilogue

Endnotes

Timelines

Preface

The story of God’s master plan answers life’s most perplexing and epical questions! What is the real meaning and true value of life? Is there an eternity with certain and tangible consequences? What happens when we die? If God is the Creator and is good, why is there so much struggle, pain, and difficulty—so much evil? Is there a real spirit realm and an actual devil with some kind of destructive, calculating, rebellious agenda? Do absolute truth and righteousness exist? If so, will there be a day of reckoning? If both a spirit realm and a spiritual war between good and evil exist, how do we know what’s going on in an invisible realm? Could my life make any real difference in this crazy world? Will there ever be peace? Is there hope?

Questions about life, the human experience, and the tragic history of humanity leave us longing for meaning, answers, and personal significance.¹ In John 10:10, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, stated that He came that they might have life and might have it abundantly. In the same verse, He spoke of a thieving, murderous enemy. The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy …² An evil enemy and a good shepherd in the same passage with man, represented metaphorically as sheep, caught in the middle! It seems God wants to save us and Satan wants to destroy us—wow! What makes us so special?

Well, fundamentally, it’s because of who we are; our value comes from our origin. We’ve come from Adam, and we’re created in the very image of God; Adam was bequeathed the earth itself as his inheritance and commanded to fill and rule it for eternity. That’s a significant legacy! But Adam rebelled, and paradise was lost. And there was death in the Garden of Eden. But love, grace, and redemption were pledged to all who would believe in a promised Savior. And much later, there was another death on Golgotha.

Wow, this story is getting dangerous! There’s more. Those who would simply believe the promise of a Savior were born from above and became part of God’s redeemed family. These children were promised that God would send His Son again in the future, as the second Adam, to regain the paradise that had been lost. Presently the children of God are being prepared for that time when Jesus returns as the King of kings. He will subdue and judge this wicked world and then establish His kingdom, entrusting authority, dominion, and glory to His brethren who followed Him in faithful obedience.

Imagine yourself as a future global ruler serving the King of kings in the age to come. Imagine yourself becoming a manifestation of God’s grace as a redeemed sinner while, at the same time, a testimony and vessel of God’s righteous judgment condemning angelic majesties to an eternal lake of fire. Holy smokes!

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis, four children pass through