The Great Controversy from the Angels' Point of View

[tigerwillow]

Hello,

I have been writing in story format what I imagine the Great Controversy to be like from the point of view of the angels. My original intent in writing this story was to reflect God as the "good guy" just as He is portrayed in the Bible and to help people going through rough times remember that He is not the originator of evil, but of good. It really saddens me that people tend to blame God when things in their lives don't go so well. Hopefully this story can encourage people who are going through a tough time in their lives to trust Him because they know that He has their best interest at heart.

I have been blessed as I have been writing this story and would like to share it with others so they can blessed by reading it as well. The ideas are derived from several sources including the Bible, Ellen White and other authors. I am not finished with it yet, so I will post a little bit of it at a time. Enjoy!

Here goes the beginning of the story...

At an unfathomable point in history, the beginning of time, God, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were already in existence. Ever since our creation, we have been actively studying the Godhead’s character and government through the close observation of Their personalities and Their work. We are free to spend as much time as we like exploring Their universe both physically and conceptually. An enigma that has become of special interest to us is how the Godhead came into existence. We have devoted many hours, possibly even years, to trying to figure out this mystery, but as much as we have tried, we have yet to succeed.

One angel in particular has been more intensely involved in solving this puzzle than the rest of us. This angel was graciously granted many special talents and a very bright mind by God, so he could fill the coveted position of 2nd in command under Him. The high responsibility of demonstrating the Godhead’s character and method of governance to the entire living universe comes with this prestigious position; therefore we all call him Lucifer, which means to be a light-bearer.

As the King’s general, Lucifer’s close connection with the Godhead gives him the distinct advantage of knowing inside information before the rest of us. We love to pick his brain for new ideas and suggestions of subsequent adventures, as well as frequently consult with him about our various discoveries throughout the universe. He always converses politely with us as we express our thoughts about recent explorations and lay out plans for future trips. Understandably, our cognizance of the strange yet increasingly significant phenomenon which was beginning to unfold before our very eyes was minimal.

It all began hidden deep in the heart of our commanding general, whom we have grown to love and respect. Not only do we trust him as our confidante, but we sing in the choir, of which he is a masterful director. His beautiful voice and unique ability to harmonize with himself repeatedly captures our attention. But as time goes on the once imperceptible changes in Lucifer’s demeanor progressively become more apparent. As Lucifer’s destructive mentality slips into our awareness through his telltale body language and behavior we slowly begin realizing the seriousness of his contrary thought patterns toward God and His government. Our contemplations on the origins of God are eventually forgotten and replaced with uncertainty, unfamiliarity, and crazy emotions which all send shivers through up and down our spines. In an attempt to grasp this elusive mystery that is stirring our thoughts, we head to throne room of heaven to see what pertinent information we can gather.

As we enter the heavenly throne room we are compelled to stand in reverent awe. We are standing in a room that looks more like a well-tended garden than the fanciest space inside the four walls of the most exquisite earthly palace. Its boundaries are invisible in the sense that it does not appear to have what earthlings would call walls or a ceiling. Everything around us is alive and sparkling with color, from the glassy floor beneath our feet and the emerald rainbow surrounding God’s throne to the crystal clear water seamlessly flowing under the trunks of the Tree of Life standing on either side of the river, and to the Tree of Life itself with its gorgeous fruit and vibrant green leaves. This indescribably beautiful scenery combined with the perfectly holy atmosphere always brings peace to our searching hearts and satisfaction to our hungry eyes.

While all of our sensory channels are busily processing the aura of supreme majesty created by the soothing flood of light emanating from the throne of God, we find ourselves slowly walking toward the four living creatures who are continually glorifying God through their perfect obedience, trust, and reverence. The four living creatures, who are covered with eyes on their front and back sides and each having six wings, are undoubtedly aware of our growing concern for Lucifer, yet they are fully relying on God to take care of them in spite of their feelings. We have always felt completely natural trusting God implicitly with our entire beings, but for some unknown reason to us, we find ourselves amazed at the feeling of peace coming from the four living creatures and even from God Himself. The 24 beings, known as the elders, are here as representatives from other places in our grand universe, as we had already surmised based on their occupancy of the thrones closely surrounding God’s throne. Their faces lit with love and joy shine through the peaceful atmosphere around them while their complete serenity becomes almost as tangible as their presence. Everything and everyone seem to be saying through their mere existence that God is holy, pure, and righteous.

While we are in the presence of God and all those who are worshiping Him at His throne, the bubbling confusion and agitation in our hearts temporarily leaves us alone. But when Lucifer walks in and everything changes instantaneously. His usual grand entrance distracts our thoughts so the uncomfortable feelings we were harboring before coming to God’s throne room quickly rush back to our conscious awareness. We perceive, by the way he holds himself while he tries to catch our eye contact upon entrance, that he is jealous of Jesus and wants more from the Godhead than just to be second in command. Our awe for him and respect for his authority used to make us want to bow down at his feet and fulfill his every wish, but recently his apparent effort to keep our attention focused on himself through the use of his remarkable God-given gifts of singing and directing the heavenly choir have been annoying us. Aggravatingly, we find our thoughts effortlessly switching from their negative trend into amazement for his talents when he uses that irritating ability of hitting just the right note at just the right moment. A tingling sensation moves down our spines and we become speechless as we are immediately carried off in the moment, almost to the point of forgetting where we are standing, until an impressive event interrupts our reverie.

 

[tigerwillow]

We are learning that he is rightly fitted for his position as the heavenly choir leader as streams of other beings just like us file into the room in perfect order and assemble themselves into the ranks he has set up just for this purpose. Once again our spirits are lifted to the highest of the heights as he directs the harpist to set the tone and the choir, under his direction, sings the most elegant and harmonious piece of music we have ever set ears to. We could stand here and listen to the choir’s music for hours, but there seems to be an increasingly distracting undertone that is sweeping through the beautiful and solemn notes of praise to God. Exactly what that distracting undertone is evades our understanding, but we are positive we are not mistaking its presence.

As the days go by (could be years or even centuries in earth time) the situations that have been developing behind the scenes are now becoming more open. The discussions in the throne room seem to be increasing in frequency. We are invited to be a part of some of them, but not others. Up until now it had never even occurred to us to question the Godhead’s reasons for not including us in only some of their conversations and meetings. In fact, we have never felt left out or ignored because the Godhead has demonstrated over time that they would never do anything without first taking the best interest of the entire universe, including us, into account. But for some reason, which we are not sure we will ever understand, Lucifer, that grand choir leader is trying to tempt us into second-guessing God’s true motives. He slyly asks insinuating questions such as: "Are we really the loved and valued members of the heavenly government as God says we are? Should God and Jesus have all of the say of what goes on in our kingdom just because they existed before us?" In our innocence we assume Lucifer’s questions to be so reasonable that we do not stop to consider that something deeper could be behind them, but after a while we begin to see how destructive his questions are becoming to the well-being of our beloved God and His government. Since no one has ever questioned God and his government before, our understanding of where these questions are eventually going to lead our universe is very vague. In spite of the fact that we have never witnessed anything that reminisces of pain, sorrow, or selfishness, our suspicions lead us to believe that the consequences of Lucifer’s discordant attitude will be seriously unpleasant and even dangerous.

As time continues, we notice there is a division forming between us. Some in our group are wont to believe what Lucifer is suggesting about God, while others are reminding us that God has never done anything that was not for our good. We are now beginning to find out just how much God and His Son Jesus are involved in this chain of events that is turning out to be an all-out war between Lucifer and his believers and the rest of us. For the very first time, we are experiencing emotions which have unmasked themselves in ways we never imagined could exist. All sorts of actions and reactions ranging from lying to distrust are becoming a new part of our reality. We expect something powerful and extraordinary is about to happen because the Godhead now enters the throne room with new looks on Their faces which we cannot describe, but the earthlings would well recognize as pain and distress. As they exit the throne room this time the mightiest one among us, Gabriel by name, leads the way and stands squarely in front of Lucifer as if ready for a full-on attack. As Gabriel hears the command from God, he obeys by placing his strong arm straight out in front of him and giving Lucifer, along with his followers, an unsuspecting shove that launches them into the emptiness beyond.

 

[tigerwillow]

And now our story continues in a new territory where we have the privilege of interacting in great detail with God’s new creatures, humankind and planet earth. As Jesus and Gabriel step back from the edge of our beloved home, which the earthlings refer to as heaven, we notice those same looks on their faces we had seen earlier but with which we could not relate. Even now, we cannot describe the full set of emotions their expressions portray, but we are beginning to see a tiny picture of what had just transpired. Out of our shock and amazement rise the questions: "What did God just command Gabriel to do with Lucifer and his followers? Where are they going to end up?" We feel a slight sense of fear as these questions race through our minds. Can we still openly ask God about what is happening? Can we still trust Him to love us even if we question His government? We know deep down in our hearts that God loves us and everything in His universe with an intense love that is evident in every move He makes. So why are we afraid? We still do not completely understand our emotions, especially why we are afraid. We heard about this phenomenon, known to our human friends as sin, in some of the Godhead’s discussions in the throne room, but were unable to comprehend what they were talking about at the time. We sense that even God is challenged when He tries to wrap His mind around this new mystery which entails a supernatural ability to trick the mind into believing that very unnatural ideas and behaviors are in fact very normal. Unfortunately, these tricks played on the mind are often so subtle that they can be very difficult to detect before they turn into a deceived reality.

From now on we will experience a different side of our Godhead’s character that we have never witnessed before. Through a compilation of many conversations with the Godhead, we have gained a great source of comfort that we did not know we needed at the time. But now we gratefully let that comfort settle into our confused hearts as we learn that an impeccable solution to this problem of sin had already been established by God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit way before any other beings but Themselves existed! They understood that the risk of endowing us with freedom, the greatest gift that can be given to the subjects of a sovereign God, would be immense; even to the point of eternally losing Jesus and all His creatures including us. We are just now beginning to realize how serious this war is and the extent to which the Godhead is willing to go to bring it to an incontestable end.

We desperately want our human friends to have the chance to talk to God face to face just like we have had the honor and privilege of doing since our inception. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we must help our human friends discern the truth about the Godhead and learn to love Him through His written word, His prophets and His creation. This can be very tricky at times because Lucifer, now known as Satan, uses every device in his increasingly destructive imagination to discredit everything God says and does and will sometimes even goes as far as twisting our Savior’s words and deeds into something that makes Him appear to be the terrible monster.

In light of our new understanding of the huge risk that God is taking on the behalf of all of us, we now commit all of our physical and mental strength to showing our human friends how much we want them to live in their new home with us. We must work with the Godhead to come up with an indisputable plan that will prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that our fallen friends’ allegations against our heavenly kingdom are all false. Interacting with our human friends is one of the most effective tools we have to negate the ever-increasing accusations from Satan and his supporters. Because our human friends have not been a part of the war since the beginning, they have much to learn and understand about the universal cost of sin and their part in this battle.

Frustratingly, we watch as many of our human friends fall for Satan’s deceptions every day; however God’s perfect blend of justice with mercy forbids us to act in a persuasive or direct manner while helping them to avoid these deceptions. Not only could our efforts be interpreted as being tyrannical, but they would not learn to trust God and take Him at His word. God warns us that fear develops in their hearts when they do not learn to trust us, so we are usually instructed to act beyond their cognizance when intervening in their lives. Our human friends’ frequent reaction to God’s intervention is blaming Him for pain they feel they don’t deserve, or unjustly criticizing Him of not being involved or caring about their needs and situations. We are sure those responses cut Him straight to the heart, but our forbearing Godhead keeps on escorting our human friends back to His side without a complaint or acknowledgment of the pain we know They feel inside. In spite of the rejection we and the Godhead face, we must go on in intervening in their lives because if we allow anyone with fear in their heart live with us, the universe could never be saved even if every other detail of God’s plan was carried out meticulously. Satan knows that all too well that where fear exists there could never be perfect love or harmony so he often tempts our human friends to believe there are good reasons to be afraid even though God is continually covering the earth with His love and mercy. Fortunately for all of us and our human friends alike, our empathetic and powerful God is just a thought and a breath away when we need His help in this battle!

 

[E.T.Elijah]

Sort of reminds me of a book that came out a few years ago called "Watching The War." Not sure who wrote it but it took the view of the great controversy through the eyes of one of the unfallen beings.

 

[tigerwillow]

I have never heard of the book Watching the War. I would like to read it. Sounds interesting. I did borrow some ideas from the book Lucifer's Diary. Great book! He has a new edition out that I have yet to read.

 

[tigerwillow]

Creation - Day 1

Something is stirring in heaven, but we are not quite sure what the excitement is all about. We inch a little closer to where the action appears to be so we might sneak a peek. The conversation we overhear takes the wind right out of us. God is talking to Jesus about a new world that is soon to come into existence! The imagination of a new planet being added to His already vast universe shocks us to our cores; especially at a time which we believe to be very close to the climax of this universal battle! We are reminded through past observations and association with the Godhead that no responsibility is too big or too daunting for Them to take on and that They are a God of infinite resources and strength; however this new realization still makes our minds spin when we think of the time, energy, and resources God constantly expends to take care of all the other planets and galaxies He has already created! Jesus notices we are trying to eavesdrop and glances at us with a sympathetic expression. He knows we are very curious, so He gently informs us that although we cannot know everything right away, we will very soon. It is difficult to wait and watch patiently when we know something very exciting is about to happen, but our respect for the authority of Jesus our creator temporarily directs our attention to other matters. Where are Lucifer and his followers? What is happening to them?

Our moments of pondering on the fate of Lucifer and his followers are interrupted by the loud and powerful voice of Jesus which is followed by a bright stream of light that suddenly appears in a region of the universe which until now has never been inhabited. Our curiosity is growing stronger by the moment as we wait in anticipation to see what Jesus is going to do with that stream of light. After what seems like a long time, Jesus walks toward us. We rush toward Him in an effort to find answers to our burning questions. He motions for us to come closer and join Him as He sits down to explain what He is planning to do over the next 24 hours. He lets us see a glimpse into the future of the earth and the beings that He is going to create, so that we can better understand how what He is going to do during the next six 24-hour days will affect the life of the universe for the rest of eternity.

He tells us how He is going to create the fundamental basis of how the earth will run by marking each 24-hour day with a set period of darkness and light. The concept of a 24-hour day fascinates us since our lives have never been defined by time in that way. We never found keeping track of time in terms of days necessary, unlike our future humans friends who would depend on some way to track their days to help them deal with their constant struggle with life and death. Before our human friends are even created, we can see a tiny picture of how intimately God and Jesus care for every detail of the lives for which God and Jesus are eventually going to make an eternal sacrifice.

The concept of living with cyclical periods of darkness, known as nighttime to our future friends, is also foreign to us because God and Jesus have always been our steady source of light. We never considered what it would be like to be outside of God’s light and life-giving presence. We are now beginning to see that Lucifer’s acts are going to have much more of a far-reaching effect than we had ever dreamed could be possible. This new earth would need the periods of darkness to help our future human friends understand the immensity of the battle in their hearts. The daily cycle of darkness contrasting with light would be a continual object lesson to remind them of the great differences between living in the dark without God’s presence and living in the light filled with God’s presence.

The start of the 24-hour cycle of darkness alternating with light would mark the first earth day and continue to frame the days as long as the planet exists. As the light that was covering the disorganized mass fades into its original darkness, we wonder what Jesus plans to do with that body of water that seems to have no other purpose than to hold its place in the universe. After what seems like a long time of letting our imaginations run wild with many possibilities of what could become of that lifeless ocean, the light finally begins to reappear. In the ever-increasing light, we find ourselves squinting and giggling as Lucifer and his followers are gliding in and out of the light beams in an effort to find the perfect place to set their feet. Is this to be their new home? How lonely and uninviting!

 

[tigerwillow]

Creation Week - Days 2 & 3

While Jesus’ commanding voice still echoes throughout the universe, we gaze in amazement as the first steps of organizing of that chaotic body of water turn into a beautiful sky. As we are staring into the vast blue sky and wondering what happened to all that water, Jesus tells us that He had chemically split some of that unorganized body of water into hydrogen and oxygen to create two of the components in the new atmosphere. This atmosphere would not only contain the air for the future life on the planet to breathe, but would also be the medium through which the earth-specific force of gravity would keep the planet and its inhabitants from flying off in random directions as the earth travels in its course through the great universe. By now we are extremely impressed by how well God has planned everything out and thought through every detail. Then adding to our amazement, He shows us how He had spun more of that water into beautiful white clouds to decorate the sky. So far, God’s motif throughout the creation process has been turning chaos into order without waste. Through openings between the clouds we notice a distinct ball of water underneath the encircling sky. We wonder what God is planning to do with that large amount of water while we revel in God’s creativity and power by watching the clouds moving through the sky and changing shapes. Apparently Lucifer and his followers are also taking similar pleasure in God’s new creation! We stop to watch as they laugh and carry on while playfully jumping from one cloud to another. Sometimes they completely miss the cloud they intended to land on and fall into the mass of water beneath!

As the light coming in slowly dispels the night, which was spent imagining all sorts of ways God could possibly use that newly formed ball of water, we anxiously wait to witness more of Jesus’ creative power at work for the third earth day. As we listen to God speaking we realize His intention is to turn that ball of water into a foundation and support for the planet. Some of the water would be captured as underground streams and lakes in the rocks and minerals which would form the solid ground on which everything would live and rest. The water mixed with the rocks and minerals, such as iron, would give the planet a structural support for the weight of the land, life, and atmosphere above. This structured mixture would also help keep the moving planet in its proper orbit by providing an outward magnetic force which would oppose the inward force created from the atmosphere and other surrounding objects.

When we hear God speak for the second time that day, our piqued interest begs us to quickly move closer so we would not miss any of the action. As we arrive at the scene, He is inspecting the beautiful rolling hills and flat lands which He had formed out of that partly water, partly mineral structure and had just finished covering with living green grass and towering majestic trees interspersed with flowers and rich foliage. Some of the trees have delicious looking fruit in a rainbow of colors hanging from their branches, while others have flowers and leaves of varying shapes and hues, and yet other trees are covered with pine needles and cones. We cannot wait to see the expression our human friends’ faces when they first see the richness and beauty of this new world!

We are curious why He decided to leave some of the ground bare, but before we had completely formulated the question in our minds, Jesus answers it by explaining that the exposed ground would become the medium through which an intricate system of lakes, streams, and rivers would transport water throughout the planet. The surface of the earth would also be semi-permeable so that the water could cleanse and freshen the life on the earth by its flow in and out of the ground. In a similar way that the planet would depend on that gentle mist of water that comes up through the ground for its strength and nourishment every morning, our future human friends could experience a cleansing and renewing of strength by opening their hearts to bathe in the living stream of water that God sends directly to them right from under His throne in heaven.

God is not only making this new earth beautiful and inspiring, but is also turning everything on it into an object lesson of the great battle between Him and Satan that continues to transpire behind the scenes. He knows that unless his future human friends frequently experience this battle in a tangible way, they will quickly lose their strength and forget their devotion to Him. So as a way of showing the universe how much cares He about it as it is subjected to the fallout of the great battle, He created an ecosystem of the lakes, streams, and rivers within the forests and under the clouds in the sky to perpetually remind our human friends that life is not about what they can take and keep for themselves. You see, the soil takes the moisture from the atmosphere to cleanse it and convert it into carbon dioxide which then carries the added nutrients to the vegetation around it. The vegetation converts the nutrients from the soil into oxygen which helps propel the water in the nearby streams and rivers. As the oxygenated streams and rivers continue their journey to nourish the earth, they evaporate back into the atmosphere. The clouds then repeat the cycle by turning the oxygen and carbon dioxide into a moisture that can be emptied back onto the earth beneath them. No one, not even us, deserves the free gifts that come with the cycle of life that originates from heaven’s throne room, but God gives them to us not only as a reminder of where the source of our lives comes from, but also to teach us that life in the entire universe is perpetuated and enhanced when individuals take only what is necessary to give back in order to support and nurture life. This is the only way that all life forms throughout the entire universe can continue in genuine health, happiness, and harmony.

 

[rainbowinthesky]

I have only read a few lines and already I don't feel comfortable with your claim that what you are writing is based on the Bible and the writings of E.G. White. If you are basing what u r writing on these you need to give the references.

Your very first sentence is somewhat ambiguous.


"At an unfathomable point in history, the beginning of time, God, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were already in existence."

Could you elaborate a little on this please?

thanks

sky

*I plan on reading this material as soon as I can.

 

[tigerwillow]

Sky,

The story of the Great Controversy from the Angels' Point of View is my personal thoughts on how things might have happened. It is not intended to be gospel truth. It is a composite of ideas and concepts that I have gleaned from various sources including the Bible, Ellen White, and other authors.

Here is a statement from Ellen White to substantiate what I meant by "At an unfathomable point in history, the beginning of time God, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were already in existence."

"The Pre-existent, Self-existent Son of God—Christ is the pre-existent, self-existent Son of God.... In speaking of his pre-existence, Christ carries the mind back through dateless ages. He assures us that there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God. He to whose voice the Jews were then listening had been with God as one brought up with Him.—The Signs of the Times, August 29, 1900. {Evangelism 615.2}

I could not find any direct quotes from Ellen White about the Holy Spirit being in existence from the beginning but 1 John 5:7 says "For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one."

Tigerwillow

 

[tigerwillow]

Creation Week - Days 4 & 5

We have learned and observed so much over the past three days, yet the realization that we have barely discovered a microscopic piece our infinite God’s wisdom, knowledge, and creativity still boggles our minds. Our gratitude for the opportunity to serve a God who chooses to use His omnipotent power to impart life and vitality to everything in His dominion instead of using His authority for His own advantage, has so completely overtaken our thoughts, that the sound of Jesus’s voice trailing off in the distance surprises us. We did not expect to hear Him speak before the appearance of the light that would mark the end of the night. By the distant tone in His voice we perceive that He is working on something out in the universe beyond the new planet.

Suddenly a strange brightness penetrates the planet’s atmosphere and bathes it in a different kind of light than we had seen shine during the first three days. We watch curiously as Jesus creates other celestial bodies around the planet earth. The biggest one appears to be the source of this new light. We wonder why the earth would need a different light source than we have been used to until now. In an effort to get an answer to our question, we move a little closer to Jesus. We deduce by His gentle expression that He has already taken note of our curiosity, so we sit down nearby hoping for an explanation. He explains that this new source of light, the sun, will mark the passing of time as seasons and years while illuminating the earth during the day. The moon, the small, closer body, will mark the days and months while giving a softer light at night. The stars’ special sparkle will add to the gentleness of the moon’s light. Although we still do not completely understand why the brightness of God’s presence cannot continue to be the earth’s source of light, Jesus reassures us that even though we cannot get our answer now, we will later. As the sun’s light begins to fade into the moon’s light, we have to remind ourselves that even though we may still have questions without answers, our God is, and always will be, our omniscient God.

During the twilight hours, he points to the moon and tells us how someday our human friends will recognize its relationship to the sun as an object lesson of how they can relate to Him. You see, God created the moon to not inherently have any light of its own so that it would completely reflect the light that comes from the sun. God wants His people to understand that any light He gives them from His throne is to be reflected to the dark world as a beacon pointing back toward Him. Humanity will see this reflected light and look for its greater source because they realize it has to originate from a world outside of their own. Unfortunately, we sense we are not the only beings listening to this divine plan. Satan and his angels are already forming ways to block the future people on the earth from grasping the object lesson of the sun and moon. Jesus has tears in his eyes as he looks at the sun and explains how Satan will lead many of our human friends to worship it for its light and energy rather than the Creator and maintainer of it all. We wonder why Jesus would create the sun if He knew beforehand that Satan would distract millions of our human friends from seeing the true light from their Savior by turning it into an object of worship. Although the night and the complexity of our questions deepen, we still find time to ponder some of the new things that we had never imagined could be possible before.

As the sun begins to appear over the horizon, we gaze at the beautiful world and marvel at God’s creativity. But when Jesus speaks, we realize we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg. On the trail of His voice comes melodious singing we have never heard before. It is not like any of the singing we know so well from Lucifer or the heavenly choir, so we look for Jesus so He can tell us more about the new things He has created. As we are walking, we are startled by a flutter above our heads. We look up in the trees to see what startled us and see the most beautiful little winged creature we have ever seen. It looks back at us and the melodious singing pours out of its little throat. We follow it as it effortlessly lifts itself off the branch and flies into the sky. Before we realize what is happening, the little bird has taken us to the edge of the lake where Jesus is sitting and watching His new creatures enjoy their new life. We sit next to Him and watch as tiny fish and gigantic fish fill their new home and seem to be thanking Him for giving them life and freedom to swim wherever they please. As the daylight hours go by we enjoy hearing the birds sing their beautiful songs and watching the fish show their excitement by leaping and jumping in and out of the water. The sinking sun finds us still sitting by the lakeside soaking in the delightful new sights and sounds.

 

[tigerwillow]

Creation Week - Day 6

The rising sun greets us with sounds of creatures we have never seen before. We reach out to pet one of them as it comes toward us. It lets out a throaty roar. Jesus laughingly tells us not to be afraid because that is its way of greeting us. All throughout the first part of the morning we thoroughly enjoy meeting and greeting many animals of various sizes, shapes, and colors. As the sun nears its halfway point to the peak of the sky, Jesus does something we have never seen Him do before. Normally when Jesus creates something, its appearance is prefaced with His powerful voice, but not this time; He is actually gathering piles of dirt! Since we have never seen Him physically create anything, this really captures our attention. He takes the meticulously-shaped piles of dirt and delicately places them with all the necessary hand-crafted support structures inside the body before covering it with skin and painstakingly outlining every external feature. The detail He puts into constructing the inside and expressing character on the outside is exquisite! We find the lifelike appearance of the dirt to be the most striking feature of this new creation. Just as we think Jesus is almost done, we watch as He carefully kneels next to the face of His creation and bends over it almost touching it with His own face. Jesus lets His hair gently caresses the sculpture’s cheeks while He breathes long and deep into its nose. To our amazement, the sculpture blinks open its eyes and smiles! What was a dirt figure just a few minutes before now sits up and looks around with an expression of wonder. It is alive!

We remember back to when we were first created. Everything seemed so fresh and exciting! We relived in our minds the breathlessness we felt when we first saw all the beauty around us and realized that we were created to enjoy every bit of it in the presence of Someone who loves us very intimately. Those memories still bring deep gratitude to our hearts and tears to our eyes. Now it is our turn to watch the very first human being have that same experience, but with more intensity. This being relishes in the few coveted moments before anything else catches his attention, where he looks deeply and absorbingly into the face of Jesus. We dare not move in case we inadvertently disrupt the initial communion of Creator and created being. As Jesus stands up, He puts out His hand to help him to his feet and lead him into the garden where they bask in its beautiful serenity while enjoying each other’s company. In our excitement, we cautiously inch closer, but no too close, so as not disturb their privacy. Jesus notices our desperate attempt to contain our eagerness while at the same time trying to stay quiet in the background, so He graciously beckons us to come closer so He can introduce us to our first human friend, Adam. His name fits him perfectly since he came from the earth and has a healthy reddish-pink glow radiating from his being indicating an abundance of strength and vitality. We learn more as time goes on that when God gives someone a name, that name is more than just a title; it is a description of who that person is, what they stand for in life, and also a sign of His ownership.

As we listen to the conversation between Adam and Jesus, we understand that God created Adam to be a ruler like Him and to have direct authority over all created life on the new planet. His job is to make friends with all the animals, birds, and fish and to care for all the plants. As Jesus and Adam continue to walk, we overhear Adam taking his rulership responsibilities very seriously by giving a name to every animal, bird and fish they pass. By naming them, he shows his recognition and gratitude for the Creator’s bestowal of kingship, that up until now no other being possessed other than the Godhead. Satan and his followers are noticeably trembling behind a large tree a few yards away because they sense that by Jesus’ giving Adam the full dominion over the life on the new planet, something very significant is about to happen that has never been witnessed in the history of the universe.

We all listen intently as Jesus and Adam continue to talk about many things that fascinate us more than ever before, but we hear one piece of conversation that really catches our attention. Adam is telling Jesus that after meeting and naming all the creatures in the garden, he noticed that they each have a partner which looks similar to themselves or one that they feel especially close to. "But," exclaimed Adam, "there is no other one like me!" When Jesus gently responds to Adam’s concern by telling him to lay on the ground and a compassionate expression emerges on the face of Jesus which shows His empathy of Adam’s feelings, we fly to the scene. "What Jesus is going to do while Adam lays on the ground?" is the question that begs to be answered.

After Adam slips peacefully into a deep sleep, Jesus sits down next to him and with just as much care, tenderness and energy as He had used earlier in the day when creating Adam, He shapes another being in the dirt that, although may share similar features to Adam, is quite different in appearance. But before He finishes the interior of this new creature, He pauses to carefully open up the strong chest of Adam and gently remove one his ribs. Jesus taunts our curiosity by taking a few moments, which seem like an eternity to us, to touch and caress that rib before inserting it into the side of Adam’s soon-to-be new life partner. He then closes up the inside of her body, finishes the last details on the outside and breathes long and deep into her nose. Just like Adam, she awakes and sits up with an expression of wonder on her face. Jesus, with a twinkle in His eye, tenderly takes her hand and leads her to where Adam is still sleeping. He tells Adam to quickly wake up so he could meet the lady who is to be his new special life partner. Adam’s face lights up with delight when he sees her for the first time.

We watch intently as Jesus takes hold of both of their hands and performs the first wedding ceremony where He tells them that they are created to work, play, and live together and have been given the special ability to bring offspring into the world through their unity. Jesus also gives their future lives together a special blessing that will help keep their minds and hearts in harmony with each other and His creation. But there is also a note of sadness in His voice as He tells them that they must stay close to each other because there is a being out there who will try to do everything in his power to separate them from each other and God’s presence.

Jesus’ whole being beams of happiness and pride in His work, including our first human friends. We deduce through listening to their conversations with Jesus and our observations, that these two new humans are the ones who God plans would eventually fill the void that we all still feel to this day. We have learned through the ages that our God is a loving God who cares for all of His creation in the entire universe and wants joy and harmony to fill every corner and space between. However because Lucifer and his followers are choosing to live a different way than God had originally intended, a tiny portion of His grand universe cannot experience that joy and peace unless He quickly and masterfully employs His skill to fix the problem, which could become universal if not put in check promptly. Jesus has already taken the first steps in this journey by creating a whole new kind of being that has the capacity to step into Lucifer’s place where he had ruling authority. You see, humans are given an entitlement to which no other created being in the history of the universe could ever lay claim: being created completely in the image of God. Among the unique distinctions from all the other created beings, they would be able to contemplate the life and activities outside their own world in an effort to more fully understand and share God’s mission of bringing the great war to an end. Since they would be able to receive special insight into His divine plans by talking to God in prayer or in face to face communion, they were expected to represent and demonstrate the attributes of His character including how He delights in giving the best of everything to all of His creation, no matter how big or small.

 

[tigerwillow]

End of Creation Day 6 (edited from previous post) and Day 7

We watch intently as Jesus takes a hold of both of their hands and performs the first wedding ceremony where He tells them that they are created to work, play, and live together. Jesus invites us to the celebration where He announces that He has given Adam and Eve a special ability to bring offspring into the world who will represent their kind and also continue to mirror the image of God in their own way. Everyone and everything seems so happy, yet we see a note of sorrow faintly cross the brow of Jesus and then just as quickly as it appeared, it is gone. Did we just imagine that look? When we turn to catch a second glance, Jesus’ whole being is beaming with happiness and pride in His creative work which includes our first human friends.

Through our observations listening to conversations between Adam and Eve and Jesus we deduce that these two new humans are the ones who God plans to eventually fill in that empty void that we all still feel to this day. We have learned through the ages that our God is a loving God who cares for all of His creation in the entire universe and wants joy and harmony to fill every corner and space between. However because Lucifer and his followers are choosing to live a different way than God had originally intended, a tiny portion of His grand universe cannot experience that joy and peace unless He quickly and masterfully employs His skill to fix the problem, which could become universal if not put in check promptly. Jesus has already taken the first steps in this journey by creating a whole new kind of being that has the capacity to step into Lucifer’s place where he had the ruling authority. You see, humans are given an entitlement to which no other created being in the history of the universe could ever lay claim: being created completely in the image of God. Among the unique distinctions from all the other created beings, they would be able to contemplate the life and activities outside their own world in an effort to more fully understand and share God’s mission of bringing the great war to an end. Since they would be able to receive special insight into His divine plans by talking to God in prayer or in face to face communion, they were expected to represent and demonstrate the attributes of His character including how He delights in giving the best of everything to all of His creation, no matter how big or small.

As the sun is just about to slip over the edge of the horizon, Jesus is in the middle of giving Adam and Eve a tour of the garden that He created specifically for them. We decide to join them as they come to a luscious green area where Jesus motions for them to sit down on the grass next to Him. Jesus smiles gently as He explains His final act in His week of creation: the gift of a sacred 24-hour period from sunset of the 6th day of every forthcoming week to sunset of the 7th day of that same week. During this special time all of His creation can choose, without any obligations, to rest in His presence, learn from the object lessons of His character in nature, reverently reflect on the things He has done for them, and thoughtfully contemplate on the blessings which He has bestowed on them. This weekly 24-hour day, if spent as specified, is designed to bring a renewed joy to the soul and a fresh sense of gratitude to the heart.

As the sun rises on that first sacred day that Jesus called Sabbath several hours ago when He set it aside, we unselfishly let the Godhead spend the first several hours alone with Adam and Eve; even though we are bursting at the seams to tell them all the wonderful things we have learned about God’s character, power, and creativity just within the last week!

 

[tigerwillow]

In the meantime, while we are taking our own tour of the garden, we stumble across a little patch of wooded area where Satan has gathered his troops and is without remorse afflicting the already miserable angels with of his ideas of getting even with the Godhead by somehow deceiving Adam and Eve into believing that God does not love them as much as He claims. He tells his followers that he has not quite got everything figured out yet, but that he is going off to spend some time alone where he can think through his plans. He marches off with the words “you be ready to move when I return” trailing behind him and leaving a burning sensation in the ears of all his hearers, including ours. We feel so sorry for those angels, but we know the Godhead gave them, and Satan, every opportunity to return if they chose to turn from their original decision.

After our visit with Adam and Eve, we all come back to heaven to talk with the Godhead about what we observed and heard on earth. While Jesus and the Father talk amongst themselves about their next move in the controversy, we marvel at God’s compassion toward the two earthly humans who have to deal with the undeserved backlash of Satan’s wrath toward the Godhead. God could just leave them alone so He wouldn’t have to deal with Satan personally, but from our understanding, He is willing to give every drop of strength and support from His entire kingdom on their behalf, if it was necessary.

We are curious about what our part is going to be in helping to win the great war. After a few moments, Jesus turns to us and announces that the Godhead has given each one of us a special assignment in Their universal kingdom to complement our particular interests and talents. He goes on to say that Azaziah* and Shylah*, two of our trustworthy members, have been specifically chosen to become the primary messengers between heaven and earth from this point forward, to inform Adam and Eve of the Great Controversy between Him and Satan, and also to warn them of the danger they would place the entire universe in if they choose to listen to Satan instead of trusting in God’s all-sacrificing love and continual care for their every need. Jesus explains to us that the fruit on the tree in the middle of the garden of Eden will be Adam and Eve’s simple test of loyalty. You see, they must prove that they are able to trust God to help them follow His basic instructions of staying in each other’s company at all times and keeping away from that tree. If they lean on God’s help to pass that test, they will have proven to the universe that they love God and His kingdom enough to do anything He asks without following the round-about path of Lucifer. If they follow their guidance from God, they will become incorporated into the heavenly family and the universe will never again be subjected to the temptations of Satan.

While we watch from heaven with intense interest, Jesus goes down to the earth to meet with Satan and to discuss with him in no uncertain terms the rules that he must play by until he gains rulership of the world. Jesus very clearly states that the only place he will be allowed to physically enter into Adam and Eve’s world is in that tree at the very center of the garden. “But”, says Jesus, as if to give him the advantage, “you may use any method you choose to manifest yourself to them.” He then attaches the catch by firmly saying, “However, you must not disturb Adam and Eve when they are walking by in other’s company or simply looking for something to eat”. We stare at Satan in disbelief as he defiantly turns to face Jesus with arms folded boldly across his chest, an angry stare in his steady eyes, and lips formed into a sharp line of determination; but he says nothing, for he realizes from the tone of Jesus’ voice and the look in His eye that no argument, no matter how persuasive, will gain him another inch of room in which he can assert his ideas into the minds of the ruling couple of the earth.

The next morning, Azaziah and Shylah receive the signal from Jesus to begin their mission right away. They are so eager to go that they are already almost out the door before Jesus lowers His hand back down to His side. They do not have much time to waste. Adam and Eve must be told the divine message before they have a chance to walk into Satan’s trap without knowing anything about his purpose, or who he is.

Adam and Eve are sitting near a little brook teeming with fish and shaded with overhanging ferns. They are so engrossed with observing the delicate, yet swift, movements of the fish, that they do not notice our presence at first. After a few moments they look up expecting to share their thoughts about the fish and the ferns with each other, but are instead surprised to see us. They excitedly try to engage us in conversation about all the things they are learning, but quickly realize that we are not as enthusiastic about hearing about their discoveries as usual. We apologetically inform them that although we would love to converse with them about their findings, we have come with an urgent message. They courteously allow us to speak without interruption, so we set before them the whole story of the Great Controversy between their beloved Godhead and the fallen enemy of the universe, Satan. We make a special point to tell them how God will do anything and everything in His power to prevent them from falling into Satan’s trap of deception; “however, we remind them, “since God is a God of love, by His nature He will not be able force you to stay away from that tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the middle of the garden. The result of the test at the tree will declare to the universe which side of the battle you are deciding to cast your loyalty.” After listening intently, Adam and Eve agree to remain loyal to God by heeding all the warnings Azaziah and Shylah have brought to them from heaven’s throne.

* Azaziah and Shylah are fictitious names of angels. Azaziah is a male name that means 'he whom God gives strength' and Shylah is a female name that means 'loyal to god, strong'.

 

[tigerwillow]

We all enjoy countless happy hours with Adam and Eve as they build their home in the garden, cultivate the plants, and become good friends with us and the animals. We are always eager to answer any of their questions, go on discovery adventures with them, and look forward to spending Sabbath with them and the Godhead at the end of every week. With the help of Adam and Eve’s ever-curious minds, we learn so many wonderful things about Jesus and God that we would never of dreamed of investigating otherwise. We are so thankful to God for creating this new order of being and eagerly await for the day when they can officially become part of our heavenly family.

One day while we watching the human pair joyfully gather flowers and plants to decorate their home, we notice something that starts out very subtly at first, but quickly crescendoes into an intense warning signal that blazes through our beings and leaves us all feeling sick to our stomachs. Azaziah and Shylah instinctively jump up from what they are doing and run toward the edge of heaven where they are about to jump down to the earth to conduct their rescue mission, but Jesus puts up His hand to stop them. We all look puzzled as He sadly says to Azaziah and Shylah that they cannot go to earth to help Adam and Eve because they are not ready to receive His help. The Holy Spirit can read Eve’s self-confident thoughts like an open book. He tells us that it would be in the best interest of the universe for the Godhead and our heavenly hosts to let the conflicting emotions of self-confidence and humility play out in her mind. This way, anyone who later tries to accuse the Godhead of momentarily removing or manipulating her freedom of choice, would be mistaken because the final decision would be hers alone, without any of us interfering. We watch with heavy hearts as we yearn to help the distracted Adam and Eve, who do not yet realize the danger they are imposing on themselves by being separated from each other. We are aching to say something, anything, that would encourage the scales to tip in favor of her choosing to humbly obey God by seeking Adam’s presence rather than to rely on her own ability of recognizing and averting any temptations the enemy will inevitably throw her way.

In suspense, we inhale deeply and hold our breath while Eve rounds the corner humming a sweet tune in a blissful ignorance of Satan’s cunning ability to manipulate her undetermined frame of mind to suit his purpose. In a flash, he takes on the form of the most beautiful and glittering serpent we have ever seen. He carefully picks the perfect landing spot within grabbing distance of a piece of fruit that is seductively dangling at eye level next to where she is still dreamily walking in what she believes to be a peaceful environment. We are already beginning to feel a sense of deep loss taking shape in our hearts as she absentmindedly fools herself into thinking that nothing is wrong and everything is the same as when Adam is there by her side. The gleaming serpent intentionally slithers through the leaves, making them rattle and shake so that he would catch her attention just at the right moment. We continue to hold our breath, as if it would help her remember to ask for our help, but when she turns to look at the serpent, who is speaking to her, and responds to its voice without a bat of the eyelash, we know from deep down inside that everything is over. In sadness and frustration, we futilely try a last ditch effort of shouting out to her to walk away from the tree; even though we know she cannot hear us. Even if she could hear us, she would not listen now because she is being swept off her feet by the serpent’s insidious way of stroking her ego. He continues to deepen her sense of self-reliance by telling her how beautiful and smart she is. We look on incredulously as Eve goes on conversing with the serpent and answering its questions as if nothing is out of the ordinary. Tears begin to stream down our faces as we hear the serpent slyly tell Eve that God cannot be as loving and powerful as He claims to be. He punctuates his point by picking the fruit and taking a huge bite out of it. “Now”, he continues, “if God is as powerful as He says He is, would I not be able to defy the death penalty that He has said would be the result of eating this fruit? Does it not confuse you that I am still here eating this fruit and talking to you in perfect health? I asked myself, ‘What is so special about this fruit that God would threaten Adam and Eve with death if they simply touch it?’ So I decided to try and find the answer to my question by taking a bite of the fruit for myself. And to my pleasant surprise, I gained a special ability to talk!” He takes another bite and slides into a more relaxed position. “When I took a bite of this wonderfully, delicious fruit , I discovered it contained much more than just good taste.”

We cannot believe our eyes as Eve seems to be pondering what he is saying and actually considering its validity instead of defending the God she has grown to love while running the other way! Satan, through the serpent, continues to add fuel to the fire by insinuating that since she had eaten from the Tree of Life many times before, she could not possibly die now if she decides to try the fruit and experience its special powers, just as he courageously did a few moments ago. He picks another fruit and hands it to her as he convincingly says, “Go on, try a bite, so you can know for yourself what other wisdom and understanding God has in store for you that you may have never known about otherwise!” She quickly rationalizes that the serpent must be telling her the truth since he is so eager to share his special knowledge with her. She takes the fruit from him and savors her first bite which seems to melt in her mouth. If they were not going to die, why would God forbid her and Adam to eat the fruit, seems to be the only question presently surfacing in her mind. Already, the seeds of doubt that Satan has successfully planted in her mind about God’s true motives are starting to sprout as she turns to find Adam so he could also taste of the forbidden fruit to discover its secret powers.

By this time Adam has realized that Eve has left his side and is setting out to look for her. He finds her near the forbidden tree and instantly realizes what she has been up to in his absence. He watches in horror as the serpent glides away from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil with a piece of the forbidden fruit in his mouth. Adam then sees Eve holding a piece of the fruit out to him with a bite already taken out of it. With a strange twinkle in her eye, she offers him the deadly fruit.

 

[tigerwillow]

After an intense struggle in Adam’s mind over where his loyalty stands, he grabs the fruit from Eve’s hand to seal his decision to join her in whatever consequences she may face, including death. Adam still believes what God had said about receiving the death penalty from eating the forbidden fruit, so he says to himself that if she has to die, he would rather eat the fruit and die with Eve than live alone in the world. We are saddened to the very core of our beings when he the earlier conversations between him and God, and the trust he had established in God as a result of spending so many hours in communion with Him seem to be forgotten. At the time, Adam had understood that God would do everything in His power to save the person who did not eat the fruit, even as far as possibly creating another human being, if He deemed that to be a good solution for the problem.

Adam’s face full of light quickly turns dark and angry as he realizes that what he and Eve have just done can never be taken back without serious consequences. Eve feels fear for the first time when she looks into Adam’s face. In her uncertainty of how to respond, new thoughts filled with distrust and resentment race through her mind. Not only are the changes taking place in their minds and attitudes, but also in their surroundings. The animals are not as friendly anymore and begin to run away with sad looks in their eyes. An unusually strong breeze blows some of the leaves off of the trees and makes the air feel cooler. The coolness of the air against Adam and Eve’s skin makes them realize their need to prioritize the replacement the robes of light which clothed them before they ate that piece of fruit from the forbidden tree.

While Adam and Eve are discussing their uncertain future, they hear Jesus calling out their names and asking them where they are. Adam grabs Eve’s hand and runs to the nearest clump of bushes and squats down, hoping to be less visible. In his shame, Adam assumes that Jesus is coming to condemn them. A quick calculation of the nearness of the voice tells Adam that Jesus already knows exactly where to find them, so he sheepishly responds and comes out from behind the bush in a manner that betrays the uneasiness he now feels in the presence of his divine visitor. Before Jesus has a chance to explain His reason for coming, Adam expresses his guilt for what he did by blaming Eve for all the sadness and the taint of death that has been encompassing their beautiful garden home during the last few hours. Jesus patiently listens as Eve blames the serpent for deceiving her. With tears in His eyes, Jesus turns to the serpent that is gliding by and ends the blame session by promising the most significant gift the Godhead could ever give to the universe: His own life as a ransom for theirs. As Adam and Eve stand in amazement at His willingness to give so much after they had let Him and the entire universe down, He tells them that He did not come to accuse, but to redeem what was lost. Those words are like music to Adam and Eve’s ears! We join Adam and Eve in praising God, but our praise is not unmixed because we know that someday we will have to witness our beloved Creator suffer and die at the hands of those He created.

The next thing Jesus does after helping Adam and Eve adjust to their new home outside of the Garden of Eden is still even more amazing to us. He kills a young lamb, not only so that Adam and Eve could have something more fit to wear than the fig leaf garments they had fashioned, but also to show them that the natural consequences of being separated from God is death. Jesus explains that even though the death of a lamb is very painful to watch, it is a necessary reminder that allowing Satan’s temptations to lead them away from God will only bring death and misery to all of God’s creation. The death of the lamb also serves as sign of Jesus’ promise to come to their world and die for them so that their lives can be redeemed through the acceptance of His gift. He tells them that they must kill a lamb every time they perform an act that perpetuates death instead of life to symbolically represent that by faith they are accepting Jesus’ perfect life in place of their own spotted one.

 

[reddogs]

Sky,

The story of the Great Controversy from the Angels' Point of View is my personal thoughts on how things might have happened. It is not intended to be gospel truth. It is a composite of ideas and concepts that I have gleaned from various sources including the Bible, Ellen White, and other authors.

Here is a statement from Ellen White to substantiate what I meant by "At an unfathomable point in history, the beginning of time God, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were already in existence."

"The Pre-existent, Self-existent Son of God—Christ is the pre-existent, self-existent Son of God.... In speaking of his pre-existence, Christ carries the mind back through dateless ages. He assures us that there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God. He to whose voice the Jews were then listening had been with God as one brought up with Him.—The Signs of the Times, August 29, 1900. {Evangelism 615.2}

I could not find any direct quotes from Ellen White about the Holy Spirit being in existence from the beginning but 1 John 5:7 says "For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one."

Tigerwillow

Need to be careful when its of self...

 

[tigerwillow]

Jesus, as gently and firmly as possible under the circumstances, tells Adam and Eve that they are no longer allowed to have access to the Garden of Eden because they cannot eat from the Tree of Life in their current condition. However they have the freedom to cultivate the rest of the earth and live in it as they please. The soil and vegetation is more difficult to care for than they had been used to before, but they do not complain because God has been more than merciful to them by offering them a way out.

Behind the scenes, Satan is gloating at his success. He has now become ruler of the planet earth and the Godhead’s access to His creation has restricted. He sits down to develop his ideas of how he wants to govern the world that he has just usurped. But a nagging question keeps interrupting his train of thought. Just exactly how and when is Jesus planning to come to this earth to take back what was originally His? He rallies his followers and tells them to be his eyes and ears and to report back to him everything they see and hear that even remotely resembles the coming of Jesus.

The throne room of heaven constantly buzzes with new messages of comfort and courage for Adam and Eve who do not share our heavenly vantage point from where we can observe the activities of Satan and his followers. Azaziah and Shylah fervently deliver reminder messages to Adam and Eve of the hidden foe’s mission to somehow sabotage God’s promise of sending Jesus to take their sins and guilt on His shoulders by dying in their place. Azaziah and Shylah’s messages also bring a renewal of strength to our heavenly friends who are standing guard at the gate of the Garden of Eden to protect the Tree of Life from Satan who is trying to immortalize his rule over the planet by deceiving a human being into eating its fruit. We perceive that Satan is thinking that if he is somehow able to permanently defend his rulership, then Jesus will not be able to come to the earth to save the human race and he will get the retribution he thinks he deserves from the Godhead.

The thought of Jesus innocently taking on the punishment of death that Adam and Eve deserve weighs heavily on their minds as they walk by the gate of the Garden of Eden. They often stop to talk to the guardians of the gate and renew their devotion to the God of the universe who reveals His presence to them there. Through the visits from Azaziah and Shylah, the conversations with the guardians at the gate, and God, Adam and Eve learn that when they feel overwhelmed by thoughts of guilt and self-hatred they must not depend on their own strength, but rather divine help to overcome those feelings and to refocus their eyes on Jesus’ promise of redemption instead of their insufficiencies.

Unfortunately, by the time a couple of generations have been born into the world Satan has already been able to masterfully turn people’s attention away from God and toward themselves by using the information he has gathered from carefully watching and testing his theories on Adam and Eve and their children. People’s shame and guilt have been one of the mediums through which he has been able to successfully exploit his skills time and time again. We have observed that when people feel ashamed of who they are or guilty for things in their past, they seem to be much more likely to believe Satan’s insidious lies that whatever mistakes they have made will make them become less acceptable to God; so therefore, they conclude, they must use their own strength or creativity to somehow prove they are worthy to receive God’s forgiveness! Sadly, the people caught in these lies will oftentimes eventually turn their backs on God because they believe they will never be good enough to keep God’s favor, which leads them to the false conclusion that they can never be loved or accepted by God. Satan boasts that he can now more easily use these poor souls to misrepresent God to others in their circle of influence. We feel so sorry for our human friends who fall into this deceptive trap because they tend to unmercifully injure themselves and others, both physically and emotionally, without ever satisfying their need for God’s true forgiveness or His unconditional love. We are troubled by how quickly and thoroughly a person’s attitudes toward God can be changed because of Satan’s lies, but we are also reassured by God’s merciful and fair dealings with every person in spite of what they might think of the Godhead.

When Jesus announces that He is going to personally visit Cain, who is one of our human friends in danger of permanently allowing his feelings to be ruled by Satan, we rush to the edge of heaven to see how Jesus is going to treat him. Jesus and Azaziah both try to persuade Cain to give God the permission necessary to replace the rage swelling in his heart against his brother, Abel, with humility before the uncontrolled anger causes him to do something he would regret later. Cain’s face softens as he listens to Jesus’ pleading arguments, but then hardens again as Satan tempts him to believe that his problems will be over if he just gets rid of Abel, the one blamed for being the destroyer of peace.

Tears flow from our eyes when Cain decides to follow Satan’s advice. With a heavy heart, Jesus goes back to personally encourage Cain to confess his sin before it is too late. Although Cain chooses not to repent, Jesus mercifully gives him another chance by putting a mark on his forehead to protect his life from being presumptuously taken by those who might try to test God. We listen closely as God firmly but gently assuages Cain’s fears of facing the future with the promise that anyone who kills him would be avenged seven times. We are convinced that Jesus only made that promise out of His compassionate love for Cain, because knowing that we and the Godhead must be forever shut out of his life from now on is very painful. God’s compassion toward human beings continues to amaze us as we watch Him interact with them during the countless struggles that ensue.

 

[tigerwillow]

After Abel’s death, many more of our human friends die and struggle under Satan’s ever-increasing tyranny. We and the Godhead try to minimize the effects of Satan’s captive rule by continually pouring out glimpses of God’s love, character and mission to the earth. However, because of the heavy burdens that the battle-worn earthlings are constantly carrying around with them, they are not as receptive to the light of God as they were created to be. We wish with all of our hearts that we could simply ease their struggle by removing the heavy burdens for them, but we cannot afford to put ourselves in a position where we could later be blamed for removing their burdens against their will. So, we must find Godly people who would mirror the light from the Godhead in their own lives and share every bit of dark-dispelling truth they have with the oppressed multitudes. God’s love and mercy requires that every person in those multitudes is given as many opportunities as possible to choose between keeping the chains of darkness and continuing to live in their current condition or abandoning them in order to receive the light of freedom.

We are ecstatic to share the gigantic task of publicizing the truth about God to every nook and cranny of the world with the few human friends who have decided to help us. However, as the population on the earth continues to grow by leaps and bounds, we realize that God’s plan to save the world from the darkness that is quickly enveloping it is much more comprehensive and long-term. Although the first promise of an opportunity to freely receive salvation from eternal death has already been delivered to the universe, we and our human friends must still continue to work as fast and furiously as possible while we wait to find out when and how God will fulfill that promise.

In the meantime, instead of sitting around waiting for God to demonstrate how He plans to fulfill His promise, Satan has been doing his own research and has already concluded that knowing when and exactly how this promise will be fulfilled can permanently make or break his dominion over the earth. He quickly perceives that in order for Jesus to fulfill His promise of salvation, a special generational line of people would need to be developed and maintained so that Jesus could be born into the world as a human baby. In order to prevent this from happening, Satan has to somehow figure out how to accomplish either destroying the sacredness and Godly influence of the ancestral line of people by distracting them with the world and culture around them, or making self-indulging habits appear so pleasant and attractive that people would no longer want to hear or learn about a plan of salvation which would require them to depend on a power outside of their own.

Adam and Eve are getting older now and have grandchildren and great grandchildren several generations down the line already. Apparently, Satan’s attempts to thwart the coming of Jesus is starting to work because these younger generations seem to be more easily captivated by his deceptions than those who were less distant from Adam and Eve. Today’s youth are also having a more difficult time warding off Satan’s temptations because of the self-destructing habits and thought patterns which have been passed down and increasing in intensity since the first parents succumbed to Satan’s fatal lies. We see a very disturbing trend starting to develop in the lives of the people who are choosing to allow Satan’s distortions of the truth to shape their beliefs. They are no longer considering ours’ or God’s presence to be a necessary element in their lives, so therefore they are losing their connection to the Source of true life and happiness. Little by little, even God’s gift of life is becoming less meaningful to them. Their uncontrolled greed, which is motivating them to stop at nothing until they get what they desire, including mercilessly killing those who have what they want, is proving our point. We are afraid that if God does not step in and do something soon, the reflection of His character in the human race will be obliterated beyond recognition forever.

Even though we believe our anxiousness for God to act has merit, we must remember that God’s timing is always more trustworthy than our own judgment. Jesus reads our thoughts and calls us into the throne room of heaven where the Godhead is discussing the final agreement on what needs to be done in order to intercept Satan’s obvious intention of replacing the image of God in the human race with the declaration of his ownership. Jesus explains that although things look bad now, we must not act yet. He reminds us that God’s plan to save the world has to be implemented in the perfect way and at the right time. When everything is over and said and done, there are to be absolutely no questions in anyone’s mind that the Godhead has been truly righteous and just during the entire process of saving every soul that seeks salvation. In order to be truly fair, we must give Satan the freedom to develop his kingdom as he sees fit or he will have grounds to call foul and say that his accusation of the Godhead being dictatorial was correct all along. "But," says Jesus, "I am raising up a man who will faithfully warn the entire world for 120 years of an impending flood of water that will destroy everything on the planet that is outside of the ark which he will build."

Until Noah arrives on the scene to warn the world of it’s imminent doom, our observance of Satan using the full extent of his freedom to do everything possible to keep Jesus out of his territory so he can develop his kingdom is motivating us to keep working and encouraging our human friends even in the face of apparent defeat. Although Satan’s plans seem to be working marvelously for his cause, they are definitely making our work much more difficult and complicated. Not only do we now have to deal with a lack of Godly influence in the world, but also with people who are becoming very complacent as a result of their self-indulging habits. In their indolent and superficial state of pleasure, they forget that the gift of life was created to be so much deeper than just merely satisfying their daily temporal needs. They never bother to petition God for the more abundant life and gifts that we would gladly and freely give to them if they would only ask. One of the gifts that God yearns to give to everyone is a new heart that desires to live life with all the joy and richness it was originally created to possess. Trying to convince people to ask God for this gift when their current condition obscures the perceived value of it, is a very difficult and discouraging task indeed. But unless we work double time to plead with people to ask God for that new heart which looks beyond what they can obtain just for themselves, things will only get worse.

 

[tigerwillow]

After what seems like an eternity of battling with Satan in order to maintain a line of people who are still loyal to God, Noah is finally maturing into that faithful man whom God could trust with the instructions of how to build the ark and to continue telling the world how to be saved from the coming flood. Enoch, one of our faithful human friends who now lives with us, was instrumental in voicing God’s warning to the world that their continual belief in the deceptions of Satan was going to eventually lead to their eternal ruin. Now Noah is continuing to preach the same warning from God with more urgency. Some of our human friends remember Enoch’s warning and again feel the conviction to turn from their old ways. But sadly, the longer Noah preaches, the more Satan is determined to make God’s message of salvation to the world as ineffective as possible. People are becoming more convinced that an immediate action on their conviction to repent is unnecessary since Noah and his family have been building the boat for almost 120 years already.

The people are now more brazenly expressing their opinions about Noah’s predictions of the worldwide flood than when he first started to preach. Some are calling him demeaning names and claiming that he needs to be locked up for insanity, while others believe that threats of physical harm to him and his family will make him stop sounding the alarm. Every day people from different parts of the world show up just to gawk at the strange sight of a gigantic boat being built on dry land. People mockingly say that if the rain ever does come, he will have to figure out how to move it closer to a pond by himself. Although, we have to admit that preaching about a flood of water destroying the world to a people who have never seen rain fall from the sky before does seem a bit bizarre; we are hoping that people would at least stop to think about what Noah is saying long enough to question if there might be any truth in it, especially since his warning has been accompanied by the building of a boat large enough to hold everyone who decides to listen and be saved.

After 120 years of protecting Noah and his family from the jesting crowd’s propensity toward violence, we are relieved that God is finally giving the signal to move forward with the preparation for the flood. Noah walks up the ramp to deliver the last message to the world while his sons give the ark its final touches. We are also sent to perform a miracle so that even the most defiant scoffers will have one last chance to at least consider the validity of God’s gift warning and accept His offer of salvation. We are instructed to gather from all parts of the globe the animals, birds, and everything else that creeps and flies and line them up in an orderly fashion to begin their march toward the ark’s open door.

Our human friends flock to the scene as the long and organized trail of animals marches by on their way into the ark from all corners of the earth. The animals know exactly what to do and where to go because we are guiding them, but the people cannot see our presence and find this event to be very mysterious. We snicker as we hear the renown leaders of the world try to explain what is happening as if it is all some kind of magic. They are coming up with all sorts of explanations, some of which sound logical, and some of which are simply off the wall. Then the birds and insects begin their migration, making the sky appear dark from the sheer amount of them. For a moment, while the migratory paths block out the sun, we notice the people’s panic level starting to rise and sense that they are starting to question the legitimacy of what Noah had been saying all along. Of course, by now Satan has learned how to quickly and effectively take advantage of the situation when people fear losing their security. Through the leaders, Satan is able to convince the masses that just a fluke in nature had caused the strange happenings and that everything would return back to normal very shortly. This proclamation gives the people a momentary sense of peace, making their need to stop and evaluate the extreme urgency of the situation not so keenly felt. Our hearts cry out as still no one seems to take our even more dramatic warnings seriously. But one last ditch effort must be tried to save anyone who might still accept the offer to be saved if given one final opportunity. We cannot afford to give Satan an opportunity to accuse the Godhead of not saving someone because there was not have enough time to make a final decision. Noah and his family tearfully make the final announcement to the masses surrounding the ark that once the massive door is shut no one will be able to enter the ark with them. They then turn around and sadly go through the door of the ark. Just as they disappear inside, a flash of light brighter than lightning appears over the door and remains there for a moment as if waiting for that last person to decide to enter. When it becomes obvious that the people would rather look to their leaders for a scientific explanation instead of seeking salvation inside of the ark, we are told to slowly push the door of the ark closed in such a way that no human would be able to open it. We are heartsick that Satan is now enjoying an apparent victory because the people would not listen to us, no matter how hard we tried to get their attention. Jesus tries to comfort us by telling us that it was not our fault that the people chose not to listen to us even though we valiantly did everything possible in our power to make sure every person had ample opportunities to accept our free invitation to be saved. We and the Godhead are very deeply hurt that the coming flood will destroy the lives all of our human friends whom we have grown to love even though they did not choose to love us back.

While Noah and his family are inside the ark safely behind the divinely closed door, the people outside are still trying to explain the miraculous events of the last few hours. They believe that Noah’s last warnings were not as life-threatening as he made them out to be, since the sun is shining as freely as it had always done in the past. That evening the moon and stars faithfully lit the sky without a hint of anything amiss in nature. This trend of normalcy continued for a whole week. Soon the people began concluding that Noah was just some old fool who had tried to deceive them because they had never seen rain before, nor had the movements or appearance of the clouds deviated from the patterns that had been observed for almost two millennia. The mobs that were cruel to Noah before he entered the ark just carried on their cruelties to new heights. They seemed to take pleasure in taunting Noah and his family and making his life in the ark as miserable as possible. Day after day for that entire week we were sent to protect the ark and its inhabitants from any malicious act that would prevent the ark from safely navigating through the flood waters that were soon to cover the planet. Finally on the seventh day after Noah and his family had entered the ark, the command came from the heavenly throne room to release the water suspended above the atmosphere and gathered below the earth’s surface. Destructive lightning strikes and deafening thunder peals preceded the raindrops falling from the clouds which were rapidly covering the sky. At first the rain was light, but as the dark clouds above thickened, it increasingly picked up momentum until the steady downpour began to overflow the banks of the rivers.

Even as the plains start to flood and searching for higher ground becomes essential for survival, the people still think that they would be able to cling to the sides of the ark or even persuade Noah to let them in so they could ride to safety. The people and the animals are roaming the surface of the earth desperately looking for higher ground that is not cluttered with debris from the buildings and structures they erected. They are forsaking the safety of their homes and are running for their lives in every direction while trying to avoid being killed by the rocks and trees that are being catapulted from the earth by the force of the geysers erupting from deep under the ground and powerfully thrusting through the earth’s crust to the surface. The debris caught in these geysers is flung so high into the air that by the time it falls back to its final resting position, it has been buried several feet under the layer of mud which is now covering the planet. We cringe and feel heartsick as we listen to the desperate screams and cries of the people and animals who are being swept off their feet and washed away, never to be seen again. Even the ones who try to fasten themselves to the ark with chains or ropes eventually lose their grip and are caught in the swirling waters beneath them.

Even though it pains us to watch the massive destruction that is causing such an enormous amount of pain and suffering, we are confident that God is sending this worldwide flood out of mercy to the planet and the future human race. It has become evident through the centuries that the people’s obsession with doing things their own way would eventually destroy not only their own race, but the rest of God’s creation as well. Not only is the Godhead is being merciful by ending their misery now rather than waiting until they are on the verge of self-destruction, but They are also ensuring that one day Jesus will still be able to be born into the world for the people’s salvation from eternal destruction. The fact that there is still a chance that some of the people who are dying in the flood will be able to live with us because this is only their first death consoles us a little bit. We know that Jesus will be perfectly fair when it comes to deciding the eternal destiny of the people. After all, He knows their hearts and minds better than even they know themselves since He was their Creator and existed before the formation of the genetic line that helped to shape who they are.

The rain storm continues to rage for days on end. As we strategically place ourselves between the ark and the pounding waves with debris sharp enough to wreak havoc on the ark, we watch from the corner of our eyes as Satan and his followers fly about desperately trying to find a place where they can rest their weary minds. We can actually see the fear for their own survival written on their faces. They are probably wondering if God might be trying to kill them along with the humans and the animals. We are tempted to laugh at them, but secretly we are glad that they are so afraid because they are more focused on themselves than trying to make our job more difficult than it already is. We cannot let ourselves get distracted from our mission of carrying the boat to safety. The rough water continues to threaten the ark’s upright position so we have to constantly be on guard and ready to steady the boat when it starts to lean.