Seeing Is Not Believing

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8 CSB)

Many people said that if they see God, they will believe in Him. This is not true.

Adam saw God but did not believe in Him. He chose to eat the forbidden fruit.

The Israelites saw God speaking to them at Mount Sinai. They worshipped the golden calf not long after.

The Jews saw Jesus but they did not believe in Him.

"But Abraham said, 'If they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'" (Luke 16:31 NLT)

Jesus Saves Those Who Believe

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6 KJV)

Truth will still be true even if you do not believe. However, Jesus saves only those who has faith in Him. There is no salvation for the sin of unbelief.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6 BSB)

Faith Love Hope

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 ESV)

1. Work (ἔργου) of faith
2. Labor (κόπου) of love
3. Endurance (ὑπομονῆς) of hope

God Use Israel to Prove His Existence

"Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. (Ezekiel 36:22-24 ESV)

So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD. (Ezekiel 38:23 ESV)

So I will make my holy name known among my people Israel and will no longer allow it to be profaned. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. (Ezekiel 39:7 CSB)

It is not possible to prove that God exist. So God use the existence of Israel to prove His existence.

God's Kindness and Severity to Our Sin

See then the kindness and severity of God: to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; for otherwise you too will be cut off. (Romans 11:22 NASB)

Sin has two purposes, to show the kindness of God and also His severity.

No matter how heinous a sinner you are, if you come to God for mercy, He will show it to you and pardon you through His Son, who had died for the sins of the world. And let all the wicked people rejoice at this good news from Jesus Christ. There is no one so bad that he cannot be saved by the blood of Jesus.

This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" - and I am the worst of them. But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:15-16 CSB)

If you think that you are good enough to face God, you will realize how severe is His judgement. Every evil thought and every idle word have to be accounted for. There is no one so good that they do not need the saviour.

And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. (Matthew 12:36 NLT)

God's Kindness and Severity

Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. (Romans 11:22 ESV)

The elects are chosen to show God's grace and kindness, the rejects are to demonstrate God's justice and severity.

The 144000 in Revelation

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads." And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad, 12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed. (Revelation 7:1-8 ESV)

The 144000 will be sealed at the sixth seal and martyred by the seventh trumpet.

Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless. (Revelation 14:1-5 ESV)