Timeless Beings

By Andrew J. Miller

Every so often, a book comes along that captures your mind as it subdues your imagination. This type of book not only speaks to your heart, but it also gives you that "aha moment" of understanding. Timeless Beings is one of those books.Pastor Drew's unique commentary style proves to be extremely informative and theologically sound, without being overly academic. He explains deep biblical truths in a way that makes them easy to understand, teach, and apply to everyday life.Whether you're a Bible scholar, a baby Christian, or a believer, somewhere in between, you'll find Pastor Drew's teachings in Timeless Beings to be a source of guidance which helps God's Word (the Bible) come alive in your life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638859505

Book preview

Table of Contents

Cover

Title

Copyright

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1 God Three in One or What?

Chapter 2 The Reason

Chapter 3 Another Adam

Chapter 4 Jesus's Ministry

Chapter 5 Science of the God Question

Chapter 6 Anomaly of Time

Chapter 7 Crucial Conflict

Chapter 8 Sin Separates

Chapter 9 It's Established

Chapter 10 Adam's Belly Button

Chapter 11 Eternal Residence

Chapter 12 God Cut Covenant with God

Chapter 13 Ending the Sin Era

Chapter 14 Continuum

Chapter 15 The Celestial Sphere

Chapter 16 Rising Controversy

Chapter 17 At the Root

Appendix A: Passion Week

Appendix B: Jesus's Illegal Trial

Appendix C: Statements Jesus Made from the Cross

Appendix D: What Jesus Had to Say about Himself

Appendix E: Approximate Year Each New Testament Book Was Written

Appendix F: Set an Example for Others

Appendix G: Life before and after Being Born Again

Appendix H: Our Way of Life

Appendix I: The True Gospel Versus False Gospels

Appendix J: Distortions of Christianity Versus True Biblical Christianity

Appendix K: Our True Identity in Jesus the Christ

Appendix L: End-Time Events as Outlined in Both the Book of Revelation and Other Books of the Bible

Appendix M: Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled in Order of Fulfillment

Appendix N: The Life of Jesus Christ in Focus—Harmonizing the Four Gospels

Appendix O: Twelve Apostles and Their Fates

Appendix P: Review of Bible Translations

Glossary

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About the Author

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Timeless Beings

Andrew J. Miller

ISBN 978-1-63885-949-9 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63885-951-2 (Hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-63885-950-5 (Digital)

Copyright © 2022 Andrew J. Miller

All rights reserved

First Edition

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015, by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®, Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, by Biblica Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide, www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent Trademark office by Biblica Inc. ™ Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Copyright© 1979, 1980, 1982, by Thomas Nelson Inc., Used by permission. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

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Layani Kendell Miller

June 25, 2020–June 24, 2020

Layani Kendell Miller was born to my son Andrew Miller and Raven White on June 25, 2020. However, she never took a breath outside of her mother's stomach. Several days before she was to enter the world as we know it, there was an unanticipated problem. The day before she was born, we were told that her little heart could not be heard any longer and that she would be stillborn. Layani is my first grandchild. I will not talk about her in past tense, and I dedicate this book to her because I fully expect to meet her in heaven. She may not have drawn a breath outside of her mother, but God made her a living being. For nine months she grew, she moved, and we as a family came to love her as we anticipated her arrival.

It was painful for the Millers and the Whites when we all learned that Layani would be stillborn. We all held out hope and prayed earnestly. We hoped to find out that there had been a mistake and that she would be okay. It was, however, not to be. It's hard to understand why God would subject people to this type of an experience, and as a pastor, I have no explanation that I could give. What I do know is that the Bible is clear. In this life, we can expect trials and tribulations (1 Thessalonians 1:3–5 and 1 Peter 4:12). This does not and will not alleviate the pain that comes with such a loss; it only assures me that trials are part of the cycle of life as we know it. If we read and trust in the Word of God, we find that this is not the part of our existence in which we live happily ever after. That time is to come, but it is not now.

I know that my granddaughter Layani is a timeless being. Therefore, I dedicate this book to her as a monument of her existence. She will never be forgotten, she is loved, and she is a constant blessing to my life. I thank God for her, and I can hardly wait to meet her.

Preface

Over the years, I have found it to be common for us Christians to find ourselves going through the motions of religious stagnation. We find ourselves in this position because we are unable to understand the teachings found in the Bible. We therefore don't experience the real power and presence of God, we don't grow in grace, and our faith never seems to take root.

Through the pages of this book, I have unpacked some key biblical topics that I feel will give you a newfound joy for seeking deeper biblical insight. My aim through this book is to spark a fire of biblical curiosity in you that will launch you into a life of purposeful Bible study. I pray that you learn to enjoy studying the Bible as it helps you grow in grace and build a solid relationship with our Father God through our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

If in your reading of this book you come across something that I wrote that you disagree with or that disagrees with your current position, I hope that it causes you to study God's Word closer and email me with your findings at [e-mail].

But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God's approval will be recognized! (1 Corinthians 11:19)

Clearly the apostle Paul acknowledges here that there will be differences among us born-again Christians, but we are to help one another to recognize which interpretation God actually approves of. I've written this book as a systematic commentary designed to convey topical biblical information in a way that most people will be able to easily understand. This book is not meant to be a detailed commentary or a chronological sequence of events.

I pray that as you read this book, it will answer a lot of your questions and lead you to a deep everlasting love relationship with God and the study of His Word (the Bible).

Always in the Master's service,

Your brother in Christ, Andrew Pastor Drew Miller

Acknowledgments

Giving all honor and glory to our Father God and Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior, I want to first thank you, the readers of this book. My prayer is that through this book, you will gain a renewed or newfound hunger for the Word of God, a greater understanding of who the Almighty God is to us, a zeal for the things of God, and a closer relationship with God.

I'm also grateful to the following people for their time, input, and inspiration. Without them, this book would have taken a lot longer to complete.

My mother, Virginia, for all the love, wisdom, support, and direction she gives me.

My boys, AJ and Chris, for the love, understanding, patience, and support that they give me.

Dolores Garcia (True Hope Church board member), for her guidance, time, encouragement, and immeasurable friendship.

Joseph Watts (associate pastor), for being a solid sounding board for me, a constant source of brotherly encouragement, and an immeasurable friend.

Kenneth Elliott, for reviewing my writings related to this book, helping me adjust my thoughts when needed, being a stable source of biblical integrity for me to model, and his true friendship.

Brandon Green, for his good supportive attitude and refreshing friendship.

Santana Bayuk, for his tireless efforts to help me complete this book in a timely fashion. (I would write, he would type. I would rewrite, he would retype.)

Desiree Jones (my personal assistant and the True Hope Church administrator), for keeping me focused and organized. I also must thank her husband and children for their understanding and patience.

Antoinette Tenorio; Ricky Romero Jr.; Marisel Camacho; Race Rice; Paul Johnson (Pastor PJ), Clay Henry; Warren Smith; James Noland; Scott and Amy Green; and the rest of the True Hope Church family for the love, support, and perspective I received through them individually and as a whole.

Introduction

One Sunday morning (during the time that we at True Hope Church were meeting out of God's Warehouse in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on the corner of Tennessee and Central), as I completed preaching a sermon and was coming from the pulpit, I went about making my rounds (as I do each week), greeting members and guests. I made my way to the church office, which was right outside of the sanctuary. There I noticed a little six-year-old girl who I'll call Annalise. Little Annalise was there to ask me an age-old/timeless question. Here is my memory of the conversation that followed:

Annalise. Pastor Drew, I need to talk to you. It's very important!

Me. Okay, young lady, what's on your mind?

Annalise. Not out here. In your office!

Me. You need to get to the church van so that we can get you home. This will have to be fast. (I open the office door, go in, and we both sit down.) (I ask her jokingly) Am I in trouble?

Annalise. No, silly! I just wanted to know where God came from. I asked my mom, and she told me to ask the people at church. I asked Lynn (her Sunday school teacher at the time), and she told me that God came from nowhere.

Me. That's a big question, but Lynn is right. God didn't come from anywhere.

Annalise. Pastor Drew, don't be silly. Everything comes from somewhere.

Me. Actually, everything started with God. He is not like us. He has always been there, always is there, and always will be there. That is why He is God and we are not.

Annalise. Wow! Pastor Drew, you're smart. Bye, see you later.

With that, little Annalise took off out of the church office. As I sat there, the first thing that came to my mind was I'm really not that smart. My mother came in, and we started to talk about something else. Later, out of the blue, my conversation with little Annalise came back to my mind. As I played it over again, it came to me. I really had not answered her question. What I said to her was true, but it was her childlike faith that made what I said easy for her to accept.

That same summer (2016), we were using Facebook and other social media at True Hope Church to share the Gospel and invite people to church. I opened my instant messenger one day and came across a message that read as follows: Sir, I've been following your post and Facebook live services since you started them from what I can see, and I would like to visit your actual church. However, before I bring my family to your church, my wife and I would like to stop by and talk to you personally.

The man's name was Kent and his wife's name was Brooke, and they had two children. I agreed to meet with them. During the meeting, I found out that Kent was an airline pilot, and his wife, Brooke, was a geologist. I felt like they were a very smart couple, yet here they were, sitting in my office. Brooke was sitting in the same chair that little Annalise sat in when she asked her question.

The conversation started out with small talk and then we got to the heart of the matter, and it went as follows:

Brooke. I believe in a creator. I just don't know who that creator is.

Kent (gives me his viewpoint on God for the next forty-five minutes). With all due respect, sir, I'm starting to believe that there is no God.

Brooke. He is just really frustrated. This is why we are here. We've been talking about spiritual things for the last few months. We agreed that we needed to talk to a Christian pastor about all this.

Me (I had never met either of them). How did you find me, and why did you choose me?

Brooke: We just felt like you would understand, and you answered our email in a timely manner.

(I was not sure if this was a compliment or not, nor did I ask.)

Kent: Pastor, give me some kind of proof that there is a God.

(I immediately thought back to Annalise. However, something told me that there was no childlike faith here. How I answer this question could be a matter of life and death. I was tempted to pull out my Bible, but I felt moved by the Spirit to answer.)

Me. I have no proof. All I have is faith.

Kent. What are you talking about?

Me. My faith leads me to believe that the reason you are here in this office asking a Christian pastor about God is because God is dealing with your heart.

I could tell that this was not the answer Kent was looking for. However, I had no other answer to offer him. The three of us talked for about another hour and a half. As they were leaving, they told me that they would visit again. True to their word, they showed up to our church anniversary, where I was able to meet their children. Brooke even came down for the altar call. Kent called a few times, and I was there for their family when his mother passed away (I officiated her funeral for them). They never made a commitment to True Hope Church, and they ultimately moved out of New Mexico. My visit with Kent, Brooke, and little Annalise got me to thinking:

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

People want to know God. Does He exist? Where did He come from? These questions cannot be answered from a human standpoint, but there is so much that the Bible does reveal about God that I thought someone should write an easy-to-understand book covering a few of these topics. At True Hope, if a member comes to me and says, Pastor, I think we should… I say, That sounds like a good idea. Get it going. In other words, if you come up with an idea, you should move it forward.

From that standpoint, the formation of this book took shape. In this book, we will not rehash the work done by Lee Strobel in The Case for Christ (Zondervan, 1998, 2016); Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell in More Than a Carpenter (Tyndale, 2009) and Evidence that Demands a Verdict (Nelson, 1972); and Warner Wallace in Cold-Case Christianity (David C. Cook 2013). These authors did a great job laying out the facts. Through impeccable research, they firmly established the authenticity, accuracy, and trustworthiness of the Bible. I found no need to go back and redo what they have already done. Therefore, I'll move forward with their work as my frame of mobility.

Using the Bible and writings from early Christians, I'll show you a clear picture of Jesus the Christ. There are many other books out there that set out to do this very thing, but I'm setting out to do it in a way that will make it easy to follow and understand.

For example, one of the biblical truths that relate to Jesus the Christ is that He is God. He is part of the One God in three Persons. This is one of the most questioned facts of Christianity. It has been, is, and will always be an absolute, essential, and foundational belief of the Christian faith. Many Christians, however, are not sure if they believe it and really don't understand it anyway. They understand God the Father as being God, and they understand God the Holy Spirit as being God, but they don't get how Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ) is God.

In this book, I'll lay out the complete biblical picture of our Three-in-One God and other Christian beliefs in terms that are easy to understand and remember. As you read through the pages of this book, I want you to keep in mind that the God of the Bible is the only true God. The first command of His Ten Commandments is You shall have no other gods before Me (Exodus 20:3; also see Deuteronomy 6:14–15). God will not take a back seat, a side seat, or any other seat in your life, then His own seat which should be the throne of your life. He is God, and He made us in His image. We are humans, the creation of God. He set life in motion for us. We may try to make Him in our likeness, but He called life what it is.

God can do anything or be anything He wants. Whatever that is, it is right, good, and just. When He decided to take on the form of man, He didn't have to consult anyone. However, even though we don't or didn't have a say in the matter, God still spelled it out for us in His Word, the Bible. He gave us the how, where, when, and why as it pertains to the divinity of Jesus the Christ. Through this book, you will be shown the divinity of Jesus Christ and an overview of the Bible as it relates to us humans.

Chapter 1

God Three in One or What?

Unapologetically the Bible presents God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present eternal being who created all things (seen and unseen). There is no explanation that can be found in the Bible for the existence of God. The clear forgone conclusion that the Bible gives is that God exists. It does not try to explain where He came from or how He came to be. It simply states, In the beginning God… (Genesis 1:1) or In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). According to the Bible, God always existed. We are given no explanation as to why or how. We either believe that God exists, or we don't. As far as the Bible is concerned, God's existence is not in question. Another thing that I've noticed is that the Bible does not go out of the way to try to convince us. The Bible stands on its own as the Word of God, and I believe that it speaks for itself, and it gives self-explanation. However, for some people, the Bible is hard to understand.

Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? (Romans 10:14–17)

That is why the Scriptures say, How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news (Romans 10:15b NLT)! But not everyone welcomes the good news, for Isaiah the prophet said, Lord, who has believed our message (Isaiah 5:7)? So faith comes from hearing—that is, hearing the good news about Christ.

This is why messengers are sent out. We have the job of helping people see and understand the good news of Jesus Christ. I really believe that people have to convince themselves that God does not exist. There is an inherent desire for a creator in each of us. However, we have come to the point in the world today that everybody who does believe in God sees Him the way they want Him to be. The problem with this is that God was, is, and will be God before we were ever made. We didn't make God; God made us.

I remember when I was young, a popular restaurant chain had a slogan that amounted to Have It Your Way. It was the era of the customer is always right. I feel like this is an attitude that runs rampant when it comes to God. So many people in our world want a god that they can understand, a god that approves of the life they want to live, a god they agree with, and a god they can control. This would be a god made in the image of man. This is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible offers real comfort during times of personal crisis. He can calm our fears, He gives us hope in seasons of doubt, and He gives us assurance in the face of death. We are made in the image of God, and nothing and no one can redefine the nature of God.

This, however, did not stop the third president of the United States of America, Thomas Jefferson. He had been in office for about three years. He sat down presumably at his desk in the White House; he had a razor blade and a copy of the New Testament of the Bible. The year was 1804, and President Jefferson, a rationalist, had decided to cut and paste his way to a Jesus that he could accept. He cut away all the parts of the Gospel accounts that spoke of any miracles or the divine nature of Jesus. He left intact what he believed to be the ethical teachings of Jesus, and he called this work The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth. Then in 1829, after he had completed his last term as president and had been out of office for about ten years, again hacking away at the Bible, Jefferson pasted his way to another version of the teachings of Jesus; this edition he called The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth. According to Jefferson, the real Jesus was no more than a good ethical man who taught good morals and had a good message. Jesus, according to Jefferson, was no more divine than anyone else.

Thomas Jefferson, like many people today and throughout history, wanted to be able to explain God. He wanted God to fit into his way of thinking. There is only one source of information about God, and that source is the Bible.

The problem with Jefferson's way of thinking is that it does not coincide with the rest of Scripture. It also does not line up with the eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus.

Though no one text in the Bible uses the word trinity, the fact that God is one Being in three Persons is clearly established throughout the Bible, in the Old and New Testaments.

Starting in the Old Testament:

Then God said, "Let us make human beings [man] in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along