Not exactly the same. He wasn't banished permanently, since He could come back after His victory. But He experienced separation from God in a way that nobody has yet experienced. That's how I see it anyway.

Yeah, it's hard to imagine Jesus as an exile from heaven. His connection to the Father was dynamic. Their communion and fellowship was real and abiding. There is nothing about it that reminds me of an exile.

The “risk” Sister White wrote about is purely hypothetical. There was never any doubt in God’s mind as to whether or not Jesus would succeed on the cross.

God did not sit wringing His hands, biting His nails, wondering and worrying if Jesus would sin. No way! If such a “risk” had been possible God would not have risked creating free moral agents in the first place.

God would not have risked creating a situation where He would have had to eventually destroy every living free moral agent due to His inability to redeem humans. Such a thing cancels the whole concept of an infallible, all knowing, all loving Godhead.

The hypothetical “risk” had to do with whether Jesus would drink the cup on our behalf or if He would decide to go back to heaven and leave us to perish with our sins. Such a decision would have cost God all heaven.

In other words, it would have resulted in God having to destroy all free moral agents – human, angel, and all others species. Why? Because to abandon the human race at that stage of the plan would have proven Satan’s accusations true.

But, again, such a “risk” was purely hypothetical. There was never a nanosecond where God was uncertain as to whether or not Jesus would go through with it. He knew with absolute certainty that Jesus would drain the dregs of the cup of trembling and save everyone who embraces the Saviour of the world, of the universe.

Yes, Jesus inquired as to another way to save mankind, but He never wavered on His decision to save us. Such wavering would have constituted failure. It would have indicated selfishness. But God is love. There is not an ounce of selfishness in Him. God is holiness. God is good.

Mat 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

How did we become so convinced that the future of the human race depended on what happened on the cross? John 17 clearly shows that not even Jesus believed that. The idea itself makes no sense so why do Christians continue to believe it and try to twist everything to fit into it?

Darius

Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Joh 12:33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.
Joh 12:34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?
Joh 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
Joh 12:36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

Luk 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Luk 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Gal 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
Gal 2:18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
Gal 2:19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Gal 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
Gal 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Gal 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Gal 3:4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
Gal 3:5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

1Co 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1Co 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
1Co 1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
1Co 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
1Co 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
1Co 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1Co 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
1Co 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
1Co 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

How? Jesus asking the diciples to remember it in the bread and wine meal and Paul preaching it as he did might have some connections to were we are today.

Thomas, you should know that asking that X be remembered does not establish any link between X and Y, nor does it say anything as to why X occurred.

Hmm, you asked about the relevance of X, and I gave examples of Jesus and Paul talking about the relevance of X. I dont really know where Y comes in. In fact, I dont know what you would be refering to by Y.
As to the why, in Galatians, Paul connects Jesus death with the righteousness that God wants to give us, and in 1 Corinthians that the cross is the power of God.

This is a very important topic and I came here hoping to see a lot of good thought. Sadly I'm only seeing more of a battle that is being spread across these threads over God's foreknowlege. This is sad. It's coming to a place where if someone posts here "Good morning" it would be turned into a debate over whether it is a good morning because God sees it will be a good morning, or if God does not see that it would be a good morning. Come on, let's limit these foreknowlege debates to the foreknowlege threads and let us discuss the other topics on the threads for these other topics. But if I can put in my two cents: This debate comes from not understanding the oneness of God and the role of the trinity. God is not limited to the finiteness of time and space and looking into the future. God is transending time and space and thus has a oneness of expirenceing the moment by moment events yet lives in the eternal pressent and is part of the essence of God which is the unapproachable light/deep darkness that our western Greek minds want to penatrate, but where the Bible limits it to the phrase "Holy, Holy, Holy" Lets get back to studying the Bible and what the Bible reveals about God.