Post # 108 – June 14, 2017.
An overview of creation: the history and the present, with a glimpse into the future. – updated October 9, 2018.
John 1:1-4, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” The World English Bible is used throughout because it is free.
I believe that long, long ago, God had a dream, a great vision and it involved a plan; a plan to create a large family of people to love and share his life with, forever.
But before God created humans he created a host of angels, who possessed eternal life in the spiritual dimension, and who would be servants and messengers to help take care of the humans (see Hebrews 1:13-14 and Job 38:4-7); and possibly to be witnesses of all his physical creation activities later on (such as in the Judgment Day – more on that later).
God, the Word and the Spirit, decided to create humans in their own image, so they (the humans) could communicate in a two-way relationship with himself, but the humans would live in a different dimension, the physical dimension; and, being physical, they could die. God exists in the spiritual dimension, and cannot die; but he is able to interact freely with his creation.
Humans would need a physical support system to keep them alive. It would have to be a very elaborate system. Humans would need something physical to walk on and to sleep on. They also would need finely controlled temperature, a source of fresh air, as well as nutritious food and safe drinking water. God started with two people but he had in mind for them to multiply and fill the earth with people as numerous as stars in the sky. Genesis 15:5 says, “Yahweh brought him (Abram) outside, and said, ‘Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ He said to Abram, ‘So will your offspring be.’ ” .
So God created the huge earth that would orbit around the sun by the law of gravity, which holds everything in place. The sun gives the earth sufficient light and heat to support life, as we know. To make an ongoing source of clean air, God created a balanced ecosystem of fauna and flora, which the people could use to supply all their physical needs. God also created the moon which orbits around the earth and reflects light from the sun at night. Without detracting from the story of God’s vision of creating a family, it should be mentioned that he added seven or eight other planets to the solar system and innumerable stars and planets to the vast universe. In this way he provided a beautiful night sky full of shining diamonds and filled the peoples’ minds with questions as to where they all came from.
God could talk to the humans and they could talk to Him. God promised to listen to the people and He gave them the power of free will so they could choose to listen to Him and talk to Him, or NOT. God instructed them how to live forever, and if they chose NOT to pay attention, or follow His instructions, they would die; and not live forever. Genesis 2: 15-17 says, “Yahweh God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. 16 Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.’ ”
It should be noted carefully that a very important event took place in the Garden of Eden that has affected human history, because the mixture of good and evil in human behaviour was introduced. God taught Adam that they could eat the fruit of all trees in the garden except the Tree of the Knowledge of God and Evil. God had granted them free will to obey his instructions and live forever or to disobey and die (and not live forever as God does).
Two types of responses to having God-given Free Will emerged – 1. Those who value God’s instructions and humble themselves and see their need for God’s help in order to love him and to live his way of life and so they pray, “YOUR WILL BE DONE, LORD”; and 2. Those who don’t value His word and refuse to believe him or to love him or don’t want to live his way of life or to surrender their wills to him; God says to them, “VERY WELL, YOUR WLL BE DONE”. However, God promised to send a Saviour to reconcile all people to himself in Genesis 3:15, who would be born of a woman. (More about this later.)
Human will power and thought processes are limited to the physical / material realm and do not lead on their own to the spiritual gift of eternal life. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (and not to eternal life).
This law of free will was necessary to be instituted in order for people to freely choose to love their Creator and each other. However, on the downside, most people have chosen not to love their Creator or their neighbours and resort to all kinds of intrigue in order to satisfy their own desires: even to the extreme of going to war. The unbelievers would also be in opposition to believers locally and would test their faith and resolve to obey God.
It may sound like a simple matter to choose to follow Jesus, but it is not easy to live up to. It is necessary to arrive at the place where we realize our past way of life is not working and will not work for us any more; so we turn to God with our whole hearts for help and direction. Jesus taught that we should ask him questions and we shall receive answers, to seek and we shall find him, knock and doors will open.
Nevertheless, God has planned a time of resurrection and judgement (Hebrews 9:24-27) for all humans to live again; to stand before God and be accountable for how they lived their lives on earth (Revelation 20). They will hear the charges against them in a fair trial. The angels, no doubt, will be there as God’s eye witnesses (Job 38:4-7) to confirm that He, in fact, created the heavens and the earth as He said in Genesis chapters 1, 2 and 3.
A Saviour was promised in Genesis 3:15 which says, “I will put hostility between you (the serpent) and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.” When Adam and Eve did what the serpent assured them that it would be good for them to do, they unwittingly gave over their God-given dominion over all things to him. When the Saviour comes he will bruise the serpent’s head, meaning the serpent, or Satan, will no longer have dominion over the earth. The Saviour, Jesus Christ, will begin to rule the world from then on and forever.
Throughout all the Old Testament no human king, priest or prophet qualified to be our Saviour. However the good news is God gave His own Son, the Word of God who became flesh in the person of Jesus (John 1:14); so that all who believe in Him should not perish, but receive the gift of eternal life (John 3:16, 17). That is good news; the best news in history.
I believe God’s dream and will is for all humans, who have ever lived, to freely choose to live with Him in His Family Kingdom in the new heavens and new earth, which he will create following the Great Day of Judgement.
I do not believe God will change His policy of granting humans free will and informed consent in the Judgement Day. He has never forced anyone to believe in Him, to love Him or to follow Him; even though historically some people have forced others to believe: claiming God’s authority. The Judgement, based on how people will plea after hearing their sins read by Jesus, the judge (who has perfect memory of what everybody in history ever did), will be followed by pronouncements of reward or punishment. I believe a decision to plead guilty of sin may lead to repentance, forgiveness and eternal life, while a not guilty plea probably may not. This, I believe, is a possibility according to Revelation 20:11-15.
I believe the good news for those who become followers of Jesus in this life, is to be resurrected when Christ returns and reign with Him for one thousand years prior to the time of judgement in Revelation 20. Christians are being judged now during their life in the church age (1 Peter 4:17).
The incredible purpose of human life is to fulfill God’s dream to have a family of persons who freely choose to love him unconditionally, and desire to live in peace and love with him, Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the Kingdom of God forever. It may be surprising to many that the reward of the saved is not to go to a place called heaven, but to be glorified and changed from the physical realm to the spiritual or heavenly realm. Then God will bring the New Jerusalem down to the new earth, where he will dwell with resurrected people; those who will have received his gift of eternal life (see Revelation 21 & 22).
References and further information:
Dr John Lennox – See Youtube Lectures and Debates
Ravi Zacharias – See Youtube Lectures.
Mymoss's Weblog 