Act II
The Creation
God chooses to create company. Why? Why would the greatest being of all, The Most High God want company? By getting to know Him through His word (the Bible) I'm convinced it was because He wanted to share. In His perfect unselfish way, He longed to share; His love, His pleasure and the perfect relationship The Triune God already completed. So He creates the Angelic beings to populate the heavens and to share His domain there. Being spirit beings, they have the incredible capability of face to face contact with the Almighty God. Now I'm not going to sit here and tell you I'm an expert on Angels but I think I can give you a glimpse of some of their attributes through what is said about them in God's Word.
A little about Angels
They are called the "sons of God" because they were created directly by God (ie no parents beings). They see God face to face, (see Job 1:6) so they are, or can be, in His presence. They are His subjects and servants. I get the idea they served, not because they had to but because they were in awe of this incredible being we call God. Angels are not subject to time or death like we are. The same beings that were around thousands of years ago, for all we can tell, are still around today. Some have wings, some have features that seem to combine both human and animal likenesses. They can cause "miraculous" (in human terms) occurrences (Daniel 6:22). They are greater and more powerful than both human beings and animals (Numbers 22:23). Man is almost always fearful when he comes in contact with these beings (many times their first words to man are "fear not"). Some are warriors (Exodus 23:20), some are messengers (Genesis 22:11), some are sent to help us (Genesis 24:40). Some we know their names (like Luke 1:19). They don't seem to be able to reproduce and there is only mention of manlike beings (i.e. no women and little fat babies or children). And one more thing, they can travel great distances, perhaps the whole of the universe, unaided by any vehicle, so they defy our laws of nature. No matter what else they might be able to do in physical terms, compared to us they are truly magnificent and mysterious beings.
So this seems to be God's first creation, the Angels (called "sons of God" in many translations of scripture). As to how many there are, we aren't given a specific number, but we are given the idea there are a lot of them. They have free will and from all I can tell, all choose to worship God.
Creation (part 2)
A new adventure begins as God creates a magnificent stage (our universe) for an entirely different set of beings, Man (Job 38:7 tells us the "sons of God" [angels] sang praises and shouted for joy as He created). God is so in love with Man, He gives him everything (our problem?). All God asks for in return is Man's heart. True love only comes from the heart. How is this love demonstrated? Through faith and obedience. But that's where the danger is, and God is well aware He is taking a risk.
Naked in Paradise
God's word tells us that about six thousand years ago, God created the heavens (three of them), the earth and everything in it, in just six revolutions of the earth ("days", and there are specific reasons* for doing so). Man and woman are very special, they are created in God's own image and God loves them dearly. God seeks a personal relationship with man, on an individual one on one basis. God is wild, almost reckless about it at times. Just look at His creation, it's wild.
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*God created the entire heavens and earth and everything in them in exactly 6 days for the same reason: the Israelites were in the desert 40 years, the Jews had to march around Jericho seven times, Jonah was in the whale and Messiah in the tomb for 3 days, and many more examples including future events. What all these specifically numbered patterns do, is simply prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, God is completely in control! |
Have you ever wondered what would it have been like for man in the beginning? Let's dream a little: What is the most beautiful place you can imagine? What is there and who are you with? What's the weather like? What are you wearing? My curiosity and love for science and nature has really made me take a long, hard look at this. From my studies, no place on earth today can compare to the environment God provided for Adam and Eve. It is almost indescribable in it's beauty and content. But it is not totally lost, there are hints of it every where if you take the time to look.
Here is what I've found, I'll start with some often overlooked background. To begin with things were different. Something provided better protection for the earth and whatever it was it may have created a green house effect so there was a similar temperature from pole to pole. Both the atmospheric pressure and oxygen level were greater (extra oxygen is pumped into the gambling rooms in Vegas so you won't get tired and will gamble longer. Maybe we should do this in our churches!). It's possible the harmful short wave rays (UV, X-rays, Gamma & Cosmic rays) were also screened out and aging was slower. Perhaps this is what accounts for men not starting families until they're 60+ years of age, and reaching unbelievable ages of 900 + years just as we read it in the Bible? If this is true, we should see this same evidence in other areas also. Let's take a look.
Today we know there are many reptiles and some insects that will continue to grow until something kills them. If you look in our fossil record, you find reptiles (dinosaurs are large types of reptiles) over 100 feet in length, dragonflies with 3 ft. wingspans and 18 inch cockroaches (step on that bare foot in the middle of the night). Even the foliage was different. Huge trees and plants (50 foot cat tails), many with extremely small root systems that couldn't survive Earth's present weather conditions. How can this be? Unless...maybe it happened the way God said it did! Also Genesis 1:9 tells us "Earth" is one land surrounded by water. It's possible all water, even ocean water may be less salty and closer to fresh water at this time.
With all this in mind, let the dream begin. Try to imagine what God intended for Man in the beginning:
Picture yourself on a huge island with soft gentle hills covered with all the flowers and greenery from all over the world, everywhere, all around you. No rain forest, arboretum, nor all of the flower and garden books available to us today, can compare to what our fossil records show was here at one time. Nothing would be barren, life was everywhere. There's no wind or rain so plants grow to enormous heights requiring little root systems making room for incredibly lush and dense vegetation. And the animals, talk about diversity! My studies into paleontology has my mind spinning with excitement over the vastness of the different kinds of life that once roamed the earth.
Check it out yourself. Go to any library and pick up the biggest books on insects, birds & reptiles. Get as much as you can on mammals too. But don't stop there go get 'em on fossils, all the fossils, especially the dinosaurs (could it be these great beasts were specifically created to make the pathways or "roads" and also to allow light in through all that dense vegetation?). Keep in mind that God says in Genesis 1- 24 & 25 He created everything that roamed the earth on the sixth day, so make sure you get all the "time periods" because most likely they're all here, and so much more. And here's another thing a lot of people aren't aware of, you never want for food 'cause it's all around you. Look at Genesis 1- 29 & 30. There man is given seeds and the fruits of trees "for meat." Also to every beast (yes, lions and tigers and bears), bird and everything that creepeth (fleas too?) on the earth, everything that has life, He gives "green herb for meat". God gives bountiful fruits, seeds and herb as food for all creatures. And understand, when God finished His creation, He declared it all good! Keeping that in mind, try thinking this one through; nothing dies. (Would you call it paradise if it did?) Can you imagine? There's NO DEATH so what would that mean? NO FEAR! Absolutely nothing to be afraid of! There is nothing to steal or covet 'cause you own it all. God gave it all to you. You can't consider cheating on your spouse 'cause there's no one else here!
Imagine; a guy and a girl who were created specifically for each other, running around in the buff, eating their favorite fruits, in perfect weather, hugging a lion*, or pettin' a T-Rex!* And except for the fruit of one tree, you can do no wrong. This is it, and you are Naked In Paradise. There's no fear or shame, there's no sin, only blind innocence. Could you, in your wildest dreams, think of a more incredible vacation? But wait, it's not a vacation, it's life as God intended it to be! I'm not crazy, I'm convinced this is somewhat similar to the paradise God intended for us and there is plenty of evidence to back it up!
*This
seems to be the extent of our "work" at this time, caring for the creation God gave us.
I got a great introduction to this when I raised a wild
raven by the name of Huey.
What a fun experience having a wild animal come to you for pleasure!
Wait...I think I know a little how God must feel with us!?!
And now for the best part...God is here also. You
have a one on one relationship with
the all powerful...the awesome Creator of
all that exists. This boggles my mind.
But this I believe is what God created for Man...
Bounty and Beauty,Relationship and Romance,
Love, Joy and Innocence...
At the end of creation God saw that everything was good. That meant everything. God created angels for the heavenly realm and man for the earthly realm, but understand this; God created angels and men, not robots.
(Uh oh...can you see it coming?)
Intermission
I realize that in this day and age I have presented ideas that some would call old fashioned, wild, or just plain childish. But I'm confident because through God's Word, serious research and by what I've seen enough with my own eyes, that what I'm presenting here (and much more; the creation story, Noah's days, the flood, the division of the continents and the fact that man is only about six thousand years old) is not only possible but can be backed up by both other Jewish writings and scientifically (do you know what kind of dates they get when they date dinosaur bones?) by looking at simple evidence of what is in our world today. For those who want to look into creation, prophecy or just find out how to figure out what God may have planned for your life, I have some fabulous resources (books, videos etc.) for further research. Contact me and I will be more than happy to make them available to you.
Rick