Spiritual Amnesia
Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you
The Unknown God
Excitement stirred the whole region like an uncontrollable forest fire, spreading and growing stronger, consuming everything in its path. Curiosity and interest were quickly spreading among the people of the local area. The philosophers of the city had never heard such unfamiliar teachings before. Some said, “What will this babbler say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange gods.” The Apostle Paul was preaching unto them Jesus Christ and the resurrection from the dead. Many were deeply interested and desired to understand Paul’s teachings more clearly.
Around 51 A.D., Paul arrived at Athens, Greece, one of the most celebrated cities in the world, distinguished for its military talents, schools, philosophies, arts, learning and beautiful temples. The apostle became troubled when he observed that the whole city was full of idols. Paul, therefore, disputed daily with religious persons in their synagogues and market places.
Paul preached to certain philosophers at an amphitheater on Mars’ hill. He stood among them and said, “You men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious and superstitious. For as I passed by, and observed your images and objects of worship, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore you ignorantly worship, Him declare I to you.” Paul then began introducing the one true, living God to that religious and superstitious generation.
Is this not a remarkable record in history? Here a city full of smart, educated and religiously inclined people and yet they did not know God, their own creator? The city was full of idols! There were idols of wood, idols of stone, idols of metal forged with men’s hands. How could intelligent people ignorantly worship and pray to wooden, or golden images and objects of their own making? The men of Athens, however, are not the only ones guilty of worshiping idols and failing to know their own creator; this is the history of mankind, from his beginning even unto this present day.
Throughout all of history, there have been vast descriptions of God through philosophy, mythology and paganism. Men have expressed a deep desire to understand and worship God. Some have tried to satisfy this desire by forging images out of earthly materials and worshiping them. Some, in pursuit of finding God and finding peace in their souls, have ignorantly worshiped the beasts of the earth and the fowls of the air. Some have worshipped the sun, the moon, the stars and the wind, all the while not realizing that they were worshiping the creation instead of the Creator.
Why Is God Unknown?
Shockingly, many people today find themselves in this same position. Though mankind has reached scientific achievements beyond those at any other time in history, and is wiser than in past ages, God our creator is UNKNOWN to most people. Why is this? The Bible answers this question.
To find the answer we must go back before the earliest records of history. We must go back before the creation of the earth, before there was a universe or a molecule, even before time began. Billions of years before the solar system was ever formed, there was a God, He was a great supernatural, Eternal Being, without a beginning and without an ending. There were no angels nor anything else. There was just the great, all-knowing God, the Eternal One, alone with His perfect thoughts. This will sound strange, but at this point, God was not yet even God, for the word God means “object of worship,” but there was nothing to worship Him. We will call Him, “the great, self-existing One.” He was great, inexhaustible fountain of purity, dwelling by Himself, and He had a plan in His mind.
As He spoke what was in His mind, slowly His thoughts began to materialize. He desired to be worshiped, so He created holy angelic beings, and then He become God, the “object of worship.”” Still, all that was in His mind was not yet fulfilled.
He spoke worlds into existence and created the solar system. “God created the heaven and the earth.” And the earth was without form, and void; without order, and covered in darkness. And God said, “Let there be light,” and light broke out upon the earth. God created the atmosphere, and the trees and vegetation upon the earth. He then created all of the fish, birds, beasts and every living creature upon the face of the earth. God transformed the earth into a beautiful paradise.
Finally, God crowned His creation with His great masterpiece. His great masterpiece. His greatest desire was to have a family, sons and daughters in His very image, that possessed His own characteristics and nature; beings like Himself, with whom He could fellowship, that He could love and enjoy. God created Adam and his wife, the expression of His Own Eternal thoughts before the world ever existed, and told them to multiply and fill the earth. From this man and woman, the entire human race would begin, thus God’s great purpose was being fulfilled, and He would never again be the self-existing One dwelling alone. As long as Adam and his wife believed and obeyed God, they lived as immortals in the great paradise of God, in happiness and perfect harmony.
However, God’s great archenemy, Satan, who was once one of Heaven’s greatest angels (before he fell form his position), sought to destroy God’s great masterpiece. He caused Adam and his wife to disbelieve and disobey God in the Garden of Eden. The instant that Adam and his wife disbelieved God and broke His commandment, they and all creation fell. Sin, which is unbelief in God’s Word, separated man from God. Adam, who was once eternal, became a prisoner of time. Adam, who was once immortal, now would grow old and die. Adam sold the whole human race into death, and mankind would now experience sickness, sorrow, war, heartache and death. Mankind fell into the horrible state of spiritual amnesia.
Amnesia is a partial or total loss of memory. Just as fighting in a war may so traumatize a soldier that he loses all sense of who he is and where he came from, sin caused mankind to experience a spiritual amnesia, meaning that he forgot the very God who created him. Man forgot where he came form and his purpose for being on earth, because he fell form the high position where God had originally placed him.
The Grecians in the Apostle Paul’s day were suffering from the effects of this spiritual amnesia and so is mankind today. When man lost his point of origin, he lost his peace with God. Since then, the human race has become exceedingly evil in nature. Wars, violence, and slavery have ravaged the earth for nearly six thousand years. The pain, suffering and tragedy, that has followed the human story, is the result of spiritual amnesia caused by the original sin trauma. This is why women ignorantly throw their babies to crocodiles, to appease what they think is God. This is why people torture themselves in the name of religion, trying to find peace in their souls. Spiritual amnesia!
Mankind lost his peace and has tried every invention to bring it back, yet his eyes are never satisfied nor his appetite ever full. Alcohol can never do it; cigarettes and drugs can never do it; sex and immorality can never do it. Only God can give man the peace that he seeks. While the entire animal kingdom appears to be content with what God has created them to be, man has brought great misery upon the earth. Why? Because of spiritual amnesia.
How Does God Become Known?
Since the fall of Adam, God has desired to redeem man and reveal Himself to man, but, because of spiritual amnesia, man cannot grasp God. God is too mysterious for fallen man to understand. “How can God never have a beginning or an ending? How can God know all things? How can God be self-existing?” So, throughout history, God has revealed Himself to mankind, little by little.
Over the ages, God has revealed Himself to man in many ways. God, the very author of creaiton, reveals Himself through nature. He manifested and revealed Himself through the prophets of the Bible, foretelling the future and fulfilling it every time, perfectly without error or flaw. God has revealed Himself through the Holy Scriptures, making His ways known, His Word and Divine purpose. God has also revelaed Himself through signs and wonders. He has done all of this because he wants to redeem (buy back) and restore man to what he was in the beginning.
To reconcile man back to his original state, God manifested Himself in the flesh of Jesus Christ. Jesus revealed God to man, by demonstrating God’s love and power. He healed the sick and forgave sins. Jesus paid the ultimate price for our reconciliation and the forgiveness of our sins when He shed His blood and died on the Cross of Calvary. By His death we could have His life. He then resurrected from the dead and ascended to Heaven, and sent back His Holy Spirit to live within man. This is the “unknown God” that Paul proclaimed and that all men must come to know.
In every age, God has progressively revealed more of Himself. He never changes; He only adds understanding so that we can know and love Him more. There is no age that God has not visited the earth and revealed Himself. But mankind misses God’s visitation, or misunderstands it, for very few recognize the manifestation of God in their day.
The Apostle Paul was declaring the living God to his generation Those who recognized and embraced it were awakened from their spiritual amnesia and received Eternal Life. God has been faithful to send His ambassadors to the earth in every age, declaring Himself to the world.
The Bible tells us, in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” What this means is that man’s attitude and nature will remain the same through all ages. Man will continue to repeat his same behavior and mistakes. We can see this human cycle clearly from studying history.
Who formed me?
Where do I come from and where am I going?
What is my purpose on earth?
Why does my soul thirst for more than this world provides?
Answers for the Searching Soul
We have had six thousand years of human history, and today, sadly, God is still very much “THE UNKNOWN GOD.” Many show very little interest in the subject of God and the life hereafter. Sadly, many have spiritual amnesia and are spiritually superficial. They do not think beyond their existence of food, water, clothing, and entertainment. But the following questions warrant clear answers. “Who formed and created me? Where did I come from and where am I going? What is my purpose here on this earth? Why does my soul thirst for more than what this world provides?”
There is good news. These questions can be answered for the searching soul. God is revealing and declaring Himself in this generation as He did in the past generations. We are now receiving one of the greatest visitations of God known in the history of mankind. God is now completing His work of redemption upon the earth. but only a few will recognize Him and turn to Him for deliverance and the healing of their spiritual amnesia.
The hunger that you feel in your heart for God, is Him trying to reveal Himself to you. At this moment you are confronted with a great choice. Will you allow the “unknown God” to make Himself KNOWN to you?
This is your hour of visitation.