Credentials

What credentials do we have to write and to expound upon such great mysteries? Mysteries hidden from the beginning of time, such mysteries as known only by the Almighty Himself. Such mysteries as did we have a preexistence, is travel at beyond the speed of light possible as depicted in SicFi? Is there life on other plants, have we aliens visiting this hunk of rock traveling at 67,000 miles per hour advancing ever so slowly its track through the cosmos? Could aliens be something the Bible has revealed as evil? Does it speak concerning such subjects? Is there a code hidden in the very writings of Moses? Could the Ancient of Days have encoded a message in the Books of Moses for today? Daniel spoke about the increase of knowledge, what knowledge could he have been speaking about and does it affect us in our time? When Christ said, “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” what did he mean? Did Christ believe that there had been “Giants” in the earth?

When one asks, “what are your credentials” one should have in mind the correct answer before asking. If I am building a bridge then I will want to see the credentials of the Engineer, I will be looking for training and a permit issued by the state acknowledging does credentials. The same would be true of a doctor; I would want him to have credentials showing his training through an established medical school and his permit from the state allowing him to practice medicine.

So first we must ask the question, what kind of credentials must someone have in order to expound such great mysteries? What university, or perhaps what courses must he have articulated, to have the credentials to speak on such subjects? How much training must he have, a masters or perhaps a doctorate? Does the Bible answer this question, does it speak of qualifications? Would you be surprised to find that it did indeed give such qualifications?

It goes without saying; I would want to know what qualifications and credentials were required of someone to expound upon such mysteries. How about you?

In order to answer this we must look at the life of someone who expounded and reveled such great mysteries, not that anyone of us dare to claim such authority as God commissioned such a one, but we can learn principals and hopefully answer this question.

We must look at the life of Paul.

Paul said, “I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day,” and a little later he says, “suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me, And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And, I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. (Acts 22:1-9) A little later he says, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” (Eph. 1:1-3:3), and then gives the conclusion by saying, “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery”.

So once again, I ask, “what kind of credentials must someone have in order to expound such great mysteries”?

Answer: One must have a “Road to Damascus experience”, such as Paul. One must see and hear the Lord in the same type of experience. Paul goes on in the Epistle to the church at Corinth to say, “I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth) such an one caught up to the third heaven(2Cor 12:2).” Most Bible scholars will refer this to the “Road to Damascus” experience as they feel Paul is expounding upon this previous experience.

So in summary, once again, I ask, “what kind of credentials must someone have in order to expound such great mysteries”?

1- Road to Damascus experience

2- Caught up to the third heaven

3- One can infer in these two examples that anyone seeking these credentials must hear and see God and as Paul, “to be caught up into paradise, and hear unspeakable words”.

*Simple credentials, know any colleges offering trips to the third heaven, complete with a conversation with the Almighty? Oh, while I am thinking about it, would this be a masters or a doctorate? What do you suppose it would cost? Anybody know God’s phone?