In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Then there was much that happened, much more than we’ve been told, much more than we can remember at this time. Then... The earth became formless and empty.
It’s very difficult, almost impossible to try and imagine how things started out in the beginning. We presently live in a four dimensional world (height, width, depth & time); this is our physical universe. It’s this physical universe we try to use as a standard to understanding the mysteries of life. That would be fine if all life resided in this physical universe but that’s not the case. There are four kingdoms: mineral, vegetable, animal and spirit. The kingdom below cannot touch the kingdom above, but the kingdom above can touch all the kingdoms below it. A mineral cannot reach out and touch a vegetable but a vegetable can touch the minerals as it grows. A vegetable cannot chase down an animal but an animal can touch a mineral or a vegetable. We can learn about the first three kingdoms because they’re all around us and we can touch and examine those things. The things of the spirit however are untouchable by the first three kingdoms. For this, we use our faith stemmed from the foundation we have (if any) in the Living Word.
Let’s try to imagine the creative process of our origins. Life started with God at the center. Even though His presence fills the universe, for the sake of this analogy lets just say that God is the center. As He created His children around Him, He created more children around them and so on and so on. Soon the heaven He created was filled with His children.
In the beginning God created heaven and earth. With the creation of heaven, He created His heavenly children; with the creation of the earth, He created a physical plane of existence. Back then, earth was just a ball of exotic life in a void of nothingness. By nothingness I mean that there was no other physical matter. Earth was it. There were no other galaxies or solar systems filled with stars, planets, comets and asteroids etc. These would come later on the fourth day of the six days of restoration (Gen. 1:14-19). Earth was a lone ball of tropical paradise on the physical plane and encasing the planet was something like a giant glass-like shell made of water. I use the word shell because I associate the earth back then as like a yoke in an egg. The illuminating presence of our Father God filled the earth because God is Light and where-ever He is, there is no darkness or shadows.
Imagine if you can, in the prehistoric era, the majority of oceans on the earth today together as one above the earth. Now imagine the earth illuminated from no discernible source of light such as the sun. The earth just seemed to glow within its shell of water. Looking up to the sky, instead of seeing the stars, planets and moon, you would see a ceiling of water which sparkled and shined like a prism with all the colors of a rainbow. Around the globe was a beautiful, spectacular, tropical utopia.
But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. (Zechariah 14:7) And there will be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light: and they will reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:5) Soon the Lord will restore the earth; greater than its original beauty.
Continuing the outward growth of His children, not too long before the last Ice Age began, perhaps about 14,000 years, God created men to inhabit the earth. In the first earth, meaning before the Ice Age, there were no women, just as in heaven gender among His children does not exist. God was the Only One Creating children. Even in the very ancient mythology of several cultures concerning creation, most of them agree that at first only men walked upon the earth.
In essence, God created His children with instant intelligence for the purpose in which they were created. However, this was not to say that His children were created with instant maturity. This would take some time.
One of the first (if not the first, second if you consider Jesus to be the first-born) of the heavenly children God created was the one commonly known as Lucifer. When God created Lucifer He held nothing back. Lucifer was created full of beauty and wisdom and had a great responsibility to God and all his siblings. Lucifer was an Archangel, guardian cherub of God’s throne. Another guardian cherub was the Archangel Michael. To be a guardian cherub was the highest position the children of God could have. So these two were second to God and responsible for maintaining truth and order among all of God’s children. They were our big brothers and the will of God was to be passed down through them.
By the time the maturity level of God’s children became equivalent to someone in their late teens, the Archangel Lucifer became overwhelmingly wanting. The pride in his heart festered greed and contempt for God’s authority. He wanted to be like God with no one above him and everyone beneath him. He wanted to be God. So Lucifer started a campaign of deception on God’s children to go against their Father.
At this point, there were the children of heaven and the children of earth and both types had not yet experienced death. Generally speaking, the children of heaven were to remain in heaven and leave the children of earth to their own progress. Some in heaven however, were allowed at times to intervene with the children of earth but they were to do this in ways that glorified God and not themselves. They might have also had a time limit as to the amount of time they could spend among the men of the earth. These were the archangels and each one of them had their own designated region to watch and keep record of. Lucifer’s hunger for power compelled him to control and enslave the men on earth from the regions assigned to those archangels under him. One-third of heaven’s children followed Lucifer’s lead down on earth. By doing this, they were going against God and giving Lucifer their total support to the idea that they were ready to be on their own, without their Father’s supervision and guidance. In the eyes of the children of earth, they would appear as gods. This fallen one-third amused themselves with the men of earth by making them perform in ways like a child manipulates an insect for a while, then feeds it to another animal or steps on it. The majority of this fallen third, if there was a time limit, over-stayed their welcome and were not allowed to return to heaven. The works done by these adolescents caused a great disruption in the harmony of all life that God had created. This alone should have been enough evidence for the children to see that they weren’t ready to be on their own. Can the arm tell the body it doesn’t want to be attached anymore? Collectively, all life makes up the body of God and now there was a cancer growing in God’s body.
At the peak of all this unrest caused by Lucifer, the illuminating presence of our Father God had left the earth and the glass-like shell collapsed upon the earth and the whole earth fell into a cold and empty darkness. The earth’s axis was knocked off tilt and the vast majority of life including the giant reptiles perished in the cold darkness; the Ice Age. Thus, the earth became formless and empty. (More than likely, as science tells us, by this time the dinosaurs would have already been phased out. Perhaps the giant reptiles had been a period of experimenting with physical life-forms in preparation for human life. Who knows? It might even be possible that several million years ago, it was the children in heaven working on the earth that got the idea to make man in their likeness.)
I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone. I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking: all the hills were swaying. I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away. I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the Lord, before his fierce anger.
This is what the Lord says; The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely. Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens will grow dark, because I have spoken and will not relent, I have decided and will not turn back. (Jeremiah 4:23-28)
For this is what the Lord says; He who created the heavens, He is God; He who fashioned and made the earth, He founded it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited. (Isaiah 45:18)
What would the Perfect Father and God do in a situation like this? Nearly all of His children have disappointed Him. The remaining two thirds of the children didn’t do anything to stop Lucifer’s campaign against God’s authority. In fact, if God had not stopped Lucifer when He did nearly all of the children would have left the heavens to do as they pleased upon the earth. God, being the Almighty Creator could have just wiped the whole slate clean and started over. But it was for the sake of the elect; those who were directly involved in the fight against Lucifer’s campaign that He made a plan to redeem His children and reconcile them back to Him.
In chapter 18 of Genesis, Abraham pleads and haggles with God over any of the righteous few that might fall victim to God’s wrath on Sodom. This is much like, and in fact, an historical, God-made allegory of the conditions in heaven during the rebellion of Lucifer and his followers. It’s also the condition of the world in the last days.
The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but
Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham approached Him and said:
"Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous
people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of
the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing; to kill the
righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from
You! Will not the judge of all the earth do right?"
The Lord said, "If I find fifty righteous
people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
The Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have
been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, What if the
number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will You destroy the whole city because
of five people?"
"If I find forty-five there," He said,
"I will not destroy it."
Once again he spoke to Him, "What if only
forty are found there?"
He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not
do it."
Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry,
but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?"
He answered, "I will not do it if I find
thirty there."
Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold
as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?"
He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not
destroy it."
Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry,
but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?"
He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will
not destroy it."
When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham,
he left, and Abraham returned home. (Genesis 18:22-33)
So, are God’s children ready for independence from His authority? Are these teenagers ready to be on their own? To be perfectly fair to all His children, God set up a trial as only a Perfect Father and God could. He would rejuvenate the earth and have His children in heaven experience mortality in the physical world. This would be each child’s testimony as to where their heart is with God. In this trial, God gives everyone just enough rope for the wicked to hang themselves. The LORD is known by the judgment which he executes: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. (Psalm 9:16) While in our physical body, our soul, which is our spiritual body, is on the witness stand in this trial.
And I declared that the dead, who have already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive. But better than both is he who has not yet been (born from above), who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 4:2-3) Our lives on earth are as if it were possible to make a video-like recording of the person within the core of our being. In other words, if we could make a video of the person inside our heart, our true self, then compared to our spirit, this physical existence would be it. This life we have on earth is the hard physical evidence to the way we were leading up the rebellion in our pre-existence (not a previous incarnation) and the way we are towards God and each other. This doesn’t mean that this is the way we will remain. From our experiences in this mortal life, we see the need for God’s laws and how important it is to obey. Outside of God is only pain and destruction. The laws of Love must be followed for life to continue. Those that cannot love cannot continue. They will be consumed by God, who is a Consuming Fire.
So then, are we really in control of our lives? Do you remember the dialog between Jesus and Pilate? (John 19:10-12) Pilate says, "Do you refuse to speak to me? Don’t you realize I have the power either to free you or to crucify you?"
Jesus answers, "You would have no power of me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."
From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who opposes the king opposes Caesar."
Who was it that was actually responsible for handing Jesus over? Who is the one called the Accuser? (Accuser or Adversary is the meaning of the name Satan.)
Jesus set the perfect example for all of us. On the same token, fate and destiny weren’t solely given to the players in the earthly life of Jesus and the people of the Bible. Everyone has a mission in life, some have a destiny. No matter who we are, we are here to learn from ourselves and from others so we can mature and grow spiritually to become more God-like. We are all the children of God and we should all aspire to be totally like our Father. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29) ...He that has seen Me has seen the Father... (John 14:9) I’ve heard this saying several times lately: "We are not humans having a spiritual experience but rather we are spirits having a human experience."
The God I know as my Father is perfectly fair and just in every way. Lucifer wanted to be god and rule as ‘The’ king. In this physical world Lucifer is the ruler. Politics, economics, education and religion are his hidden dominions of power over the earth and mankind. As we can all see, unlike other life on earth, mankind is confused as to its purpose. Lucifer keeps everyone in darkness. In his delusion of godliness, he would rather see everyone confused and destroy each other along with the world and all the living creatures on its surface. The Destroyer is just one of his many names (Revelation 9:11). For Lucifer’s rebellious actions against God he was sentenced to die. Hence the reason he is also called the Son of Perdition (John 17:12 & 2Thessalonians 2:3 KJV). It’s true, misery loves company.
In the pride of your heart you say, I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas. But you are a man and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god. Are you wiser than Daniel? Is no secret hidden from you? By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself and amassed gold and silver in your treasuries. By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud.
Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you think you're wise, as wise as a god, I am going to bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations; they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom and pierce your shining splendor. They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the seas. Will you then say, "I am god," in the presence of those who kill you? You will be but a man, not a god, in the hands of those who slay you. You will die a death of the uncircumcised at the hands of foreigners.
You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz & emerald, chrysolite, onyx & jasper, sapphire, turquoise & beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the Holy Mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created 'till wickedness was found in you.
Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the Mount of God, and I expelled you, Oh guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the Earth; I made a spectacle of you before the kings. By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more." (Ezekiel 28:2-19)
They will respond, they will say to you, "You have become weak, as we are; you have become like us."
All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you. How you have fallen from Heaven, oh morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the Earth, you who once laid low the nations!
You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of god; I will sit enthroned on the Mount of Assembly, on the utmost heights of the Sacred Mountain. I will ascend above the tops of clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.
Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: "Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a desert, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?"
All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb. But you are cast out of your tomb like a ejected branch: you are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who descend to the stones of the pit. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, you will not join them in burial, for you have destroyed your land and killed your people.
The offspring of the wicked will never be mentioned again. (Isaiah 14:10-20)
From the two scriptural references you can see that Satan’s fate involves becoming a man on earth. God became a man and so does Satan; only not by his choice. At first, people are amazed at his abilities but near the end of his time, his true identity is revealed, his dominions of power are destroyed and he is taken captive for a thousand years; only to be destroyed shortly after he is released.