In one's attempt to understand God's plan for mankind's salvation it is important to start at the very beginning of time. Time is a relative term, especially when it comes to understanding the need for God, the creator of all things, to create a plan designed to rescue us from eternal damnation. We now know that during creation God was not alone. The Lord Jesus, also referred to as the Word, was with Him from the very beginning. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made." (John 1:1-3). The first book in the bible, Genesis, tells us all about God's creation, here is a portion of what the bible explains for us in the beginning chapters:
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And seeing that the light was good, God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness He called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters." So God made the expanse and separated the waters beneath it from the waters above. And it was so. God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear." And it was so. God called the dry land "earth," and the collection of waters He called "seas." And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth vegetation, seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind." And it was so. The earth produced vegetation, seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between day and night and to mark the seasons and days and years, and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth." And it was so. God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. And He made the stars as well. God set these lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth, to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
And God said, "Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky." So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed according to their kinds, and every bird of flight after its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, land crawlers, and wild animals according to their kinds." And it was so. God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth." Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food. And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day."
Only the one true living God could create so much out of nothing doing so by just speaking words to make it so. Creation itself defies what our human intellect can fathom. In our attempt to make sense of the incomprehensible existence and power of the one true living God we have produced countless theories, explanations, and differing point of views to explain such a mighty God. Many have made the choice to discount God altogether as a reality following a "look the other way" atheistic perspective to find consonance. Nevertheless, even though we will not reach a full understanding of such an almighty God in this lifetime that does not negate all He has done and will continue to do until the end of time. However, the proof is there and we may seek to ignore it, but in the end, we will not be able to justify our decision to reject His plan of salvation for our lives. "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).
The creation of heaven and earth is where it all began for us. Consequently, creation is the true foundation of all that has and continues to exist within this world we live in. "Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" (1 Corinthians 1:20). "Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear" (Jeremiah 5:21). "He made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding" (Jeremiah 51:15). "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands" (Psalm 19:1). Therefore, after God created all things life began for all men, women, and children who have lived, exist in present time, and all who will live here on earth in the future. Finally, after God completed His creation the bible tells us, "By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished" (Genesis 2:2-3).
Therefore, the LORD God "Took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. And the LORD God commanded him, "You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die." The LORD God also said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper." And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man's ribs and closed up the area with flesh. And from the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman (Eve) and brought her to him. And the man said: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for out of man she was taken." For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed" (Genesis 2:15-25).
Thus, the LORD God's perfect creation was complete and everything was perfect. Man was spiritually alive and in constant communion with the Creator day and night. The LORD God dwelled upon the earth with mankind, and He lived with them. They were His people, and God Himself was with them as their God. There were no tears in mankind's eyes, and there was no death, mourning, crying, or pain. All things were perfect and it was God's plan for it to stay that way forevermore! It was a perfect time and all of God's angels who dwelt in heaven could see the great things the LORD God had done and continuously praised and worshiped Him for His greatness.
However, incredibly somewhere during this time there was a great war in heaven due to a rebellion among the angels. The leader of this rebellion was the Archangel Lucifer, also known as Satan (the devil), who made great boasts of how he was as great or greater than the LORD God. Lucifer boasted he was going to raise his throne to be above the LORD God's. In doing so, through his lies he was able to convince one third of the angels in heaven to join him and rebel against God in heaven. However, God is almighty and has no equal; therefore, He had the Archangel Michael lead the remaining two-third of His angels to war with Satan and his angels casting them all to the earth below. God could have simply spoke these rebels out of existence; however, He demonstrated His mercy by casting them out of heaven. Meanwhile all of the remaining angels who stood with Michael against this rebellion were witnesses of God's compassion praising and worshiping the Almighty. Yet, it would not be long before all of creation would witness just how corrupt and evil Satan and his followers really are.
Here is what the scriptures tell us about this rebellion: "How you have fallen from heaven, O Morning Star, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations. You said in your heart: "I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:12-14). "Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him" (Revelation 12:7-9). Jesus, Lord of heaven and earth said, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" (Luke 10:18).
Consequently, once Satan's fall from heaven took place it would not be long before he went on the attack here on this world. Satan soon discovered mankind's (Adam and Eve's) weaknesses and set out to exploit them causing them to disobey God as he had by way of rebellion. Mankind's fall from grace will be discussed in detail in the next chapter. Yet Satan did not stop there and continues to relentlessly attack mankind by destroying anything that is good in the eyes of the LORD God. This is why the one true living God sends us all a warning, "Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). It was not enough for Satan to bring conflict through his evil ways into heaven; he has made this his primary purpose here on earth. Therefore, it is understandable why Satan and his followers, to include mankind who reject God's plan, remain at work to this day to cause God's people (Jew and Christian alike) pain and suffering here on earth.
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And seeing that the light was good, God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness He called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters." So God made the expanse and separated the waters beneath it from the waters above. And it was so. God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear." And it was so. God called the dry land "earth," and the collection of waters He called "seas." And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth vegetation, seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind." And it was so. The earth produced vegetation, seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between day and night and to mark the seasons and days and years, and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth." And it was so. God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. And He made the stars as well. God set these lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth, to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
And God said, "Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky." So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed according to their kinds, and every bird of flight after its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, land crawlers, and wild animals according to their kinds." And it was so. God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth." Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food. And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day."
Only the one true living God could create so much out of nothing doing so by just speaking words to make it so. Creation itself defies what our human intellect can fathom. In our attempt to make sense of the incomprehensible existence and power of the one true living God we have produced countless theories, explanations, and differing point of views to explain such a mighty God. Many have made the choice to discount God altogether as a reality following a "look the other way" atheistic perspective to find consonance. Nevertheless, even though we will not reach a full understanding of such an almighty God in this lifetime that does not negate all He has done and will continue to do until the end of time. However, the proof is there and we may seek to ignore it, but in the end, we will not be able to justify our decision to reject His plan of salvation for our lives. "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).
The creation of heaven and earth is where it all began for us. Consequently, creation is the true foundation of all that has and continues to exist within this world we live in. "Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" (1 Corinthians 1:20). "Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear" (Jeremiah 5:21). "He made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding" (Jeremiah 51:15). "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands" (Psalm 19:1). Therefore, after God created all things life began for all men, women, and children who have lived, exist in present time, and all who will live here on earth in the future. Finally, after God completed His creation the bible tells us, "By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished" (Genesis 2:2-3).
Therefore, the LORD God "Took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. And the LORD God commanded him, "You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die." The LORD God also said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper." And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man's ribs and closed up the area with flesh. And from the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman (Eve) and brought her to him. And the man said: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for out of man she was taken." For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed" (Genesis 2:15-25).
Thus, the LORD God's perfect creation was complete and everything was perfect. Man was spiritually alive and in constant communion with the Creator day and night. The LORD God dwelled upon the earth with mankind, and He lived with them. They were His people, and God Himself was with them as their God. There were no tears in mankind's eyes, and there was no death, mourning, crying, or pain. All things were perfect and it was God's plan for it to stay that way forevermore! It was a perfect time and all of God's angels who dwelt in heaven could see the great things the LORD God had done and continuously praised and worshiped Him for His greatness.
However, incredibly somewhere during this time there was a great war in heaven due to a rebellion among the angels. The leader of this rebellion was the Archangel Lucifer, also known as Satan (the devil), who made great boasts of how he was as great or greater than the LORD God. Lucifer boasted he was going to raise his throne to be above the LORD God's. In doing so, through his lies he was able to convince one third of the angels in heaven to join him and rebel against God in heaven. However, God is almighty and has no equal; therefore, He had the Archangel Michael lead the remaining two-third of His angels to war with Satan and his angels casting them all to the earth below. God could have simply spoke these rebels out of existence; however, He demonstrated His mercy by casting them out of heaven. Meanwhile all of the remaining angels who stood with Michael against this rebellion were witnesses of God's compassion praising and worshiping the Almighty. Yet, it would not be long before all of creation would witness just how corrupt and evil Satan and his followers really are.
Here is what the scriptures tell us about this rebellion: "How you have fallen from heaven, O Morning Star, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations. You said in your heart: "I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:12-14). "Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him" (Revelation 12:7-9). Jesus, Lord of heaven and earth said, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" (Luke 10:18).
Consequently, once Satan's fall from heaven took place it would not be long before he went on the attack here on this world. Satan soon discovered mankind's (Adam and Eve's) weaknesses and set out to exploit them causing them to disobey God as he had by way of rebellion. Mankind's fall from grace will be discussed in detail in the next chapter. Yet Satan did not stop there and continues to relentlessly attack mankind by destroying anything that is good in the eyes of the LORD God. This is why the one true living God sends us all a warning, "Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). It was not enough for Satan to bring conflict through his evil ways into heaven; he has made this his primary purpose here on earth. Therefore, it is understandable why Satan and his followers, to include mankind who reject God's plan, remain at work to this day to cause God's people (Jew and Christian alike) pain and suffering here on earth.
