POEMS TEACHING ABOUT GOD'S PLAN

By Maurice Dyson

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Divine Design
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing,
that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day.
2 Peter 3:8

As we observe our history
A pattern fits symmetrically
Seven thousand years are set to be
The sum of their entirety
Six thousand years have now expired
One thousand yet are still required

One thousand is to God a day
As so the scriptures clearly say
A week of years would be the plan
With six days given unto man
The seventh day is one of rest
As that from God at His behest

Divisions are so evident
Two thousand years the Gentiles spent
And then two thousand for the Jew
The church itself allotted two
And so a thousand years remain
For Christ and His immortal reign

So we observe a true design
When days and weeks and years align
With six days for the working week
Then one for rest, for so we speak
When human works have had their day
The Lord will rule without delay

 

Divinely Ordered
Study to shew thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15

There are divisions
But never collisions
In Scripture that’s trusted and true
Law is first stated
With honour equated
Beginnings and what will ensue

Prophets are second
Yet equally reckoned
Foretelling events that will be
Some are completed
No longer repeated
To one we shall all bend the knee

Writings selective
Are wise and effective
Poetic, descriptive and bold
These three partitions
Admit no additions
A Covenant treasured from old

In the new era
To which we are nearer
The Scripture continues its course
Four gospel writers
Use words that excite us
Because of their powerful source

Then a transition
Marks out a division
A book that is titled as Acts
Led by the Spirit
With wonders explicit
The writer has gathered the facts

Next come epistles
With doctrine that bristles
The spiritual food that we need
Then Revelation
With mighty ovation
To whom highest honours proceed

As we have stated
Each part is related
Like bells in their harmonies ring
All that’s recorded
Will duly be ordered
Awaiting the forthcoming King

 

Great Events
Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my words shall not pass away.
Matthew 24:35

Certain events have been set by decree
All in a plan we can study and see
God has provided for man in his need
We can be sure that His plan will succeed

Each in its turn has a purpose in sight
Time is a factor as day follows night
Only in Scripture is wisdom revealed
Anything else is a mystical field

God spoke a word and creation was born
Formed with a purpose bestowed at its dawn
Angels and men with the freedom to choose
Something that creatures can guard or abuse

First we perceive that a Fall has occurred
Sin has offended and broken God’s word
Adam as leader and head of the race
Brought on a curse which no one could erase

Let us move on to the next great event
God sent a flood when His patience was spent
Thus when the waters were caused to abate
Life was restarted, but only for eight

Then their descendants assembled with pride
Let’s make a name for ourselves, so they cried
Yet soon their efforts were duly cut short
Mid the confusion that Babel had brought

Next an event that historians quote
Pharaoh was ruling his country of note
Plague after plague hit the houses and land
God freed His people by word of command

Thus did the Exodus bring a release
But for Egyptians their woes did increase
God did not use any weapons of war
Only His word of rebuke and no more

This is a pattern of things yet to be
When there is chaos on land and on sea
When all the armies are gathered as one
They will be slain by a word from the Son

Yet the event which is greatest by far
Will be the standard of just where we are
God came to earth where He died on a tree
Taking our place so that we might be free

He will return for He rose from the dead
This next event will occur as He said
Welcomed by those who have trusted His name
Dreaded by those who are bound for the flame

When time is ended and judgment is due
This old creation will terminate too
God will create a new home for His own
Every believer beloved and foreknown

Just let me add something more as a friend
Death or the grave is by no means the end
While there is breath and your mind is alert
Choose for the Lord and you’ll suffer no hurt

 

Great Effects
And when these things begin to come to pass,
then look up, and lift up your heads;
for your redemption draweth nigh.
Luke 21:28

Tremendous events will come shortly to pass
Albeit with ominous features
A world transformation will happen en masse
Wherever man’s habitat reaches

The first one will happen by way of surprise
As nations are seeking solutions
Instead of the scripture that renders them wise
They look to their ancient illusions

A day is approaching, divinely revealed
When people we know have departed
Believers in Christ who are sanctioned and sealed
Will join with the saints who’ve been martyred

The second event that has long been delayed
Will follow a time of disaster
A treaty or compact will first have been made
Presented and sealed by a master

When judgment is ended and vengeance is through
The justice of God will be finished
A righteous perspective will come into view
With holiness nowhere diminished

As both these occasions are nearing each day
We need to be prayerful and ready
The scriptures are certain and mean what they say
So let us be watchful and steady

 

Seven Wonderful Feats
Behold, I make all things new.
Revelation 21:5

There are seven great events
That cannot be repeated
Each in its magnificence
Is perfectly completed

All in all they set the bounds
Of history forever
Sin is judged on legal grounds
By competent endeavour

Everything must have a start
Which happened at creation
Yet within a creature’s heart
Occurred an aberration

This set off an evil chain
Within the spirit creatures
But it could not touch the reign
Of God with all its features

He designed another race
With like determination
Choice was given pride of place
In terms of application

Though he knew the penalty
Of negative volition
Man ate from the evil tree
Amounting to sedition

This foreshadowed six events
To bring a just conclusion
Satan with his vile intents
Could only bring confusion

God in time would intervene
With human limitations
Crucifixion was the scene
With endless implications

Resurrection brought about
The life that was predicted
Judgment had been carried out
When Satan was evicted

Thus the pattern has been set
For all the resurrected
Multitudes are waiting yet
To join the One elected

Forty days the Lord appeared
Before His great ascension
Speaking as the One revered
To those with comprehension

Waiting now upon His throne
While making intercession
For the ones He calls His own
Who own Him by confession

He is coming back again
To end the tribulations
With His bride and royal train
In their respective stations

Chosen people sanctified
Who heard His invitation
And by faith have verified
His promise of salvation

When His kingdom terminates
And punishment is meted
And the sinful reprobates
Are totally defeated

Then the universe will burn
With all its desecration
Sin and death will not return
Within His new creation

The Path to Glory
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets,
He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures
the things concerning Himself. 
Luke 24:27

In the Beginning

Let’s walk through the Bible together
And follow the path where it leads
For refuge in turbulent weather
And wisdom for everyday needs

Let’s meet with the God of creation
Who made everything by His Word
Who called for the sun’s radiation
And formed every mammal and bird

Let’s go on our journey in wonder
Beholding the scenes of delight
The lightning that heralds the thunder
The rainbow with colours so bright

Let’s go back in time through the ages
Before man was given his breath
Where Scripture records in its pages
The roots of discordance and death

When Lucifer, son of the morning
Succumbed to ambition and pride
And evil was seen at its dawning
Through which many thousands have died

Paradise Lost

Consider the setting before us
The earth with its bountiful trees
The beautiful hues with their auras
And everything fashioned to please

The husband and wife He created
In Eden with pleasures replete
The limits so clearly dictated
The fruit He forbade them to eat

So now must the couple make choices
Within their appointed abode
For soon there would be other voices
To lure them away from the road

Along came an elegant creature
Disarmingly subtle and sly
He knew that significant feature
By which they could stumble and die

He questioned the word God had stated
Asserting it was not the case
Thus Eve had her ego inflated
Which led to the fall of the race

She ate of the fruit tree forbidden
And gave to her husband who ate
Their guiltiness could not be hidden
It brought in a ruinous state

They knew they were naked completely
Their mantle of splendour had gone
The fig leaves they fitted discreetly
Could not hide the wrong they had done

The couple were hastily banished
The Garden was barred at the east
Their noble distinction had vanished
Their life of enjoyment had ceased

To add to their fateful decision
In Eden’s inaugural school
There followed a global transition
The devil exacted the rule

Amid their lamentable darkness
A promise was given that day
Though sin would remain with its starkness
A Saviour would bear it away

The coats made of skin He provided
To cover their sin and their shame
Foreshadowed a day long decided
When Jesus would carry the blame

Evil Spreads

The image that God had invested
In man for his privileged role
Was so much the less manifested
Because of the trend of his soul

The sons who were born, Cain and Abel
Chose different paths for their life
Yet Cain was profane and unstable
And murdered his kin with a knife

And having no place for repentance
It boded a future so dark
He heard God’s inflexible sentence
And had placed upon him a mark

His brother had been well regarded
Because of the offering he brought
While Cain had in essence discarded
The truth that was visibly taught

The world population exploded
While evil continued to grow
God’s image was almost eroded
With morals exceedingly low

The Lord warned the people through preaching
The ark bearing out His appeal
The ultimate day they were reaching
Would prove that His warning was real

With only one person remaining
Who found God’s unmerited grace
There would be no further refraining
From starting a newly formed race

The Flood came as Noah predicted
And swept all the evil away
For men had become so addicted
It must not, nor ever, hold sway

A New Beginning

The earth was again populated
The people had cities so grand
Ambitions were soon elevated
They thought they could do as they planned

For Nimrod, a hunter by nature
Was building a height on the plain
He thought it would further his stature
But God knew his motives were vain

The builders were thwarted and scattered
The project was put out of reach
Their lofty ambitions were shattered
For God had confounded their speech

The nations which thereby resulted
Established themselves far and wide
Yet still with their gods they consulted
Which neither could counsel nor guide

A Chosen People

Among these idolatrous nations
God spoke to a resident there
He told him to leave his relations
And make his departure from Ur

So Abraham went as directed
And set up his tent in the Land
For he and his line were selected
To further the Seed that was planned

A nation was born in affliction
And given God’s Law on the mount
A charter without contradiction
Made clear in its holy account

The sovereign tribe would be Judah
As Jacob had formerly known
There have been attempts to exclude her
Since David ascended the throne

A covenant-keeping adherence
Would mark out their worship from all
And if there was such perseverance
Their standing with God would be tall

When centuries later they faded
Resorting to idols again
Their spiritual life became jaded
And rendered them captives of men

Messiah Comes

At last the event long awaited
The promise of God never fails
The birthplace had been designated
The shepherds were out in the dales

A virgin gave birth to Messiah
For such had the prophet foretold
He came with a fervent desire
To gather His sheep in the fold

His mission was flatly rejected
His kingdom was not as they thought
He was not the King they expected
In spite of the lessons He taught

And yet were the Scriptures completed
The Saviour was true to His Word
Though sin had been soundly defeated
His kingdom on earth was deferred

His death marked the end of an era
Salvation from sin is complete
The light of the gospel is clearer
And He is the Judge we shall meet

The fact of His great resurrection
Conclusively settled His word
It seals our belief and protection
Confirming the truth we have heard

A Bride is Prepared

Today we await His appearing
A passage of two thousand years
To whom He is ever endearing
His advent will quell any fears

His body, the Church He is making
Will be His celestial bride
It has a divine undertaking
To witness as well as abide

Its members are called to be holy
Reflecting the Saviour on high
Who came as a Carpenter lowly
To offer His life and to die.

A Time of Great Trouble

And so when the Church has been taken
To heaven with all its delight
The nation He has not forsaken
Will enter its prophesied night

The time of the Great Tribulation
Will come with its season of woe
Upon every country and station
On hilltops and valleys below

The time that is called Jacob’s Trouble
Will sift out the wheat from the tares
The cities will turn into rubble
And catch many folk unawares

Amid the refining and trials
Through seven unspeakable years
The angels will pour out their vials
Before the Lord’s kingdom appears

For nation will rise against nation
And love will decline and grow cold
Yet all who call out for salvation
Will live as the Lord has foretold

For those who remain at its closure
When all the convulsions are through
There will be an open exposure
Of things that will quickly ensue

The King of Glory

There will be a great visitation
Of glory and light in the sky
As Jesus returns to His nation
To set up His kingdom from high

The people from every location
Will hear their impending estate
For some it will be condemnation
For others a heritage great

The issue has never been altered
The pathway has always been true
If any have stumbled or faltered
It’s what they have chosen to do

Whatever the clime or the season
Should there be dishonour or fame
We must give an answer or reason
For not having trusted His Name

As Jesus has stated so clearly
A truth that betokens His love
And having redeemed us so dearly
We need to be born from above

His kingdom is for the believer
The soul who admits he was lost
Once bound by the artful Deceiver
But now become free at great cost

The cost of our freedom and station
Was paid by the blood of the Cross
It brings everlasting salvation
Or seals our perpetual loss

For All Eternity

Our journey is nearing its finish
As day follows day in the year
Our hopes either rise or diminish
Our thoughts turn to glory or fear

What started way back in the Garden
When Adam committed the crime
Has been reconciled by a pardon
Extending beyond mortal time

The Lord has another creation
For those with the right of access
For others, a dark destination
Too ghastly for words to express

The Scriptures are telling the story
Whatever I write must agree
The path follows Jesus to glory
The home of the ransomed and free

 

A Thousand Year Day
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing,
that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day.
2 Peter 3:8

A day is as a thousand years
With God, in their succession
The passing times are ships He steers
As fleets in their procession
His word brought forth the earth we see
By six creative orders
The pattern set by His decree
For epochs in their borders

A thousand years had so elapsed
With all the world corrupted
Society had so collapsed
As evil had erupted
The Flood marked off that wicked age
With only eight surviving
So God would now begin the stage
With Israel arriving

The calling forth of Abraham
Marked off the second era
He sacrificed the chosen ram
Now past the test severer
Two days would mark the next event
The Holy Incarnation
For Jesus was the Saviour sent
Through whom is mediation

The age we call the age of grace
Is now two days completed
It has a very special place
While Christ the Lord is seated
But very soon He will be roused
As Revelation’s story
To wed the bride He has espoused
And take her home to glory

The final day will then be here
With peace and joy abundant
The devil’s rule of pain and fear
Will have been made redundant
So when this day has reached its goal
It seals the perfect era
As seven thousand makes the whole
So God makes all things clearer

 

Distinctions
Behold, I show you a mystery;
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1 Corinthians 15:51

The Scripture has distinctions
That everyone should learn
They keep us so we do not go
Astray at any turn
Its teachings and predictions
Must tally with the whole
We must define this study line
And keep it as our goal

There is a sad confusion
About the Christian church
It did not dwell in Israel
For such we vainly search
It is a clear illusion
To correlate the two
So earnest men should think again
If this is what they do

The Jewish state or nation
Has always been unique
Its history has been to free
The Gentile or the Greek
Its heritage, salvation
Was settled in the past
For prophecy could then foresee
The Saviour as He’s cast

The Church is made of Gentiles
Comprising also Jews
It penetrates through all the states
Proclaiming gospel news
Apostles as they went miles
Sent out by God’s command
Evangelised the circumcised
And men in every land

When times have been completed
And all the Church is called
The Lord will come and take it home
By which it is enthralled
It never is depleted
It cannot be curtailed
The Lord will build until He’s filled
The temple He unveiled

The nation will continue
With restoration near
It must go through a purging too
A testing time severe
So let this truth dwell in you
If you should be perplexed
The next event will represent
A well known Bible text

The Church will have been taken
To its eternal rest
Then Israel will know too well
Its long-awaited test
This era will awaken
With promises of peace
But it will be a falsity
As ravages increase

The Church will be returning
But first it must be tried
The faithful work of judge or clerk
That can’t be falsified
Whatever is for burning
Will nowhere find a place
But as sapphire endures a fire
Rewards will be of grace

 

Dispensations
If ye have heard of the dispensation
of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
Ephesians 3:2

A Bible dispensation
Is God's administration
The stewardship appointed for each age
Without this recognition
We lack a definition
When studying God's word at any page

The Gentiles have their seasons
For providential reasons
They live throughout the history of man
But with the call of Abram
A new race had a program
The state we know as Israel began

Yet at their visitation
This small historic nation
Denied the One of whom the Scriptures wrote
This nationwide rejection
Brought on a new projection
And so the Church began its term of note

A most important factor
For critic or detractor
Is that he understands the household rules
To blur the demarcation
In any dispensation
Is simply a neglect of valid tools

Ages
Tell us, when will these things be?
And what will be the sign of Your coming,
and of the end of the age?
Matthew 24:3

Our history falls into stages
Distinct and defined as the ages
These spheres or divisions
Are God’s own previsions
Confirmed in the scriptural pages

The first is the age of the Gentile
Which saw the decline of our lifestyle
It was the transition
From Adam’s decision
That started our sorrowful profile

The next is the Jewish projection
A nation called out by election
Their God-given calling
Now seemingly stalling
Will one day be brought to perfection

The age of the church is before us
Distinct by its mystical auras
This characteristic
Not merely linguistic
Will soon be a heavenly chorus

An age yet to come is awaited
That scripture has openly stated
The Lord will be reigning
With glory pertaining
And righteousness clearly mandated

 

Ages Made
God…hath in these last days spoken unto us
by his Son, by whom also he made the ages;
Hebrews 1:1, 2

History falls into ages
Seen as we study God’s word
They come at critical stages
Distinct and clearly inferred

First is the age of the Gentile
Covering 2000 years
It is not marked by its lifestyle
Rather with violence and fears

With Abram’s call intervening
So came a radical change
Now a new age had a meaning
Glory comes now into range

This age was then superseded
Israel’s kingdom had failed
But still the ages proceeded
God’s plan forever prevailed

So the Church Age as we know it
Started that Pentecost day
Nothing can e’er overthrow it
It will be lifted away

Lastly the age of Messiah
Set for the saints whom He chose
Leading to vistas much higher
Treasures that only He knows

 

Civilisations
And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one,
and they have all one language;
Genesis 11:6

The record of earth’s populations
Can best be described as gradations
They each have a start
With faith in the heart
Yet fade with some dire implications

The couple that God had created
With perfect provision as stated
Gave birth to a race
That flourished apace
Till evil broke out unabated

The end of this civilisation
Brought judgment upon every station
Yet eight did survive
To flourish and thrive
And furnish today’s habitation

This present diverse population
Is heading towards decimation
When judgment again
Has fallen on men
It signals a new revelation

This third population awaited
As God’s holy word has narrated
Will see the release
Of justice and peace
And righteous decrees delegated

But when this great kingdom has ended
And truth with its laws well defended
A riot breaks out
With devilish shout
And time will expire as intended

So as goes this third population
It signals the last separation
Believers will share
The Lord’s loving care
While others will go to damnation

 

God’s Administrations
To every thing there is a season...
Ecclesiastes 3:1

God has appointed a rule for each age
Known by the term dispensations
Found in the Scriptures upon every page
Whether for people or nations

Innocence was the condition of man
During his time of probation
Yet for a season this liberty ran
While he remained in his station

Sin interrupted this era of bliss
Coming by way of deception
Then it went on to a further abyss
Man lost his higher perception

Conscience became man’s effectual rule
Now in his fallen condition
Living on earth as the enemy’s tool
Bound for a godless perdition

After the flood had achieved its desire
Cleansing the earth from pollution
God with the knowledge of what would transpire
Brought in a new resolution

Government now was allotted to men
With a divine jurisdiction
Yet God would rule over all even then
Keeping men under restriction

Following Babel when tongues were confused
God ushered in a new era
Known as the promise He thus introduced
No covenant could be dearer

Then when the Exodus brought in the Law
So a new guideline succeeded
Not that it nullified what passed before
But for God’s plan it was needed

Christ brought an end to the age of the Law
Meeting its strict regulations
With His salvation He opened the door
Offered in full to the nations

Thus was the age of the church brought about
As it is still now proceeding
Being complete with the archangel’s shout
Joy for believers exceeding

Then tribulation will fall on the earth
Just as the word has predicted
Judgment will happen for all it is worth
On sinful men thus addicted

Finally with the Lord’s coming again
History will be completed
One thousand years of His glorious reign
Until His foes are defeated

 

This Passing Earth
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:
for the first heaven and the first earth
were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Revelation 21:1

The Scriptures give a portraiture
Of fundamental stages
The earth will be subjected to
Throughout the passing ages

Before it was inhabited
By human generations
It could have been the dwelling place
Of ethereal creations

The Bible tells of precious stones
Where Eden was located
The habitat of cherubim
And angels so related

There is explicit reference
That warfare had erupted
And numbers of the angel host
Had then become corrupted

The next declared environment
Was done by renovation
Because the said rebellion
Had wrought such devastation

And so upon successive days
For six must be completed
The earth would be in readiness
For life which Adam greeted

This wonderful environment
With all that it included
Was excellent in every way
Till arrogance intruded

Though earth retained its comeliness
And good climatic features
There was a changed relationship
With God and with His creatures

The earth assumed another form
Through global inundation
The wickedness of humankind
Had gone to saturation

So when the flood had soaked away
The torrents being lifted
The earth received a massive change
Geographies were shifted

The next stage in its history
Will come when wars have ended
The earth will be restored again
As first it was intended

A thousand years of perfect rule
Has yet to run its courses
When everyone will have a share
In all the earth’s resources

Because this earth is temporal
And therefore not eternal
A judgment day is prophesied
Inclusive and infernal

A new earth will eventuate
Amid the heaven’s glory
A place for us to contemplate
But that’s another story

 

The Master Plan
For of him, and through him, and to him,
 are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
Romans 11:36

Our history as we can see
Has got a sinful tendency
It started on a downward track
Resulting from a vile attack
For Satan’s overriding goal
Was sworn to damn each living soul

So in the garden scene he came
Maligning that Immortal Name
His subtlety had great success
Our sin has led to emptiness
We know the story very well
It opened up the way to hell

The outlook for the race was grim
For Adam and those after him
But God had known that all along
Our mortal will would not be strong
A Second Adam would be born
To save a human race forlorn

Because corruption would inbreed
From Adam down throughout his seed
The Second Adam’s promised birth
Could not be coming from the earth
A virgin would bring forth a Son
Remaking what had been undone

With history we then proceed
Down through the ages as we read
While Satan as the deadly foe
Tried every plot to overthrow
The plan the Father had in store
To bring redemption evermore

Now after Abel had been slain
By Abel’s elder brother Cain
Another son was born to Eve
In line with those who would believe
And then we come to Abraham
Whose son would typify the Lamb

A turning point was now achieved
Through Abraham as he believed
A nation was elected there
A blessing that the world would share
A land was deeded and a name
Predestined to inherit fame

His family in search of fare
Went down to Egypt seeking care
Yet they did not assimilate
Preserving their unique estate
Awaiting their deliverance
In God’s abundant providence

So we observe the Exodus
As records have come down to us
A clear example as we see
Salvation-judgment vividly
Without the blood a soul must die
A warning both to you and I

So Israel as it was named
Dwelt in the land that they had claimed
But when they set aside God’s law
Which came at Horeb years before
They suffered by a foreign band
Excluded from their promised land

Successive empires ruled the world
As God’s redemptive plan unfurled
The Romans ruled when time was right
With iron fist and armoured might
It was the time in God’s decree
To set His ransomed people free

A Child was born in Bethlehem
A Branch appeared from Jesse’s stem
Fulfilling every promise made
The ransom for salvation paid
At Calvary His work complete
His enemies in full defeat

He rose triumphant from the tomb
Ensuring Satan’s fiery doom
And then unto His own appeared
Dispelling doubts of what they feared
Then from Mount Olives to the sky
Where now He reigns enthroned on high

 

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