The Reason for Creation
Note: To properly understand the position of the writer please read the author's message "To The Reader".
[3.1]
The Search For Meaning
One question which has laughingly come to be thought of as unanswerable is,"What is the meaning of life?" No one who truly believes in God would accuse him of doing anything without a plan or purpose. Certainly God has a reason for creating man. Most who attempt to answer this profound question do so by stating a generality instead of searching for deeper reasons. They simply respond with the answer, "He made man to bring glory to himself."While this may be true, it leaves nothing settled and does little to satisfy logic. Is this all there is to it, or is there more? Are we to believe that God's only motive for the entire creation of earth and all living things was simply to bring Himself glory? I would suggest that everything God does brings Him glory; I would suggest that there was a far more specific reason for His labors. I would suggest that creation as we know it was a well-calculated part of a divine plan.
[3.2]
There is little that we know about the workings of God before creation and less that we understand. Can we glean anything from what God's word tells us about happenings taking place before creation? The scriptures are not entirely silent, they do reveal several interesting events that took place prior to man's beginning. Through these events we get a glimpse of God's purpose behind creation. It's like finding the right letters to complete a ten-letter word in a crossword puzzle when given only a few letters to start with.
[3.3]
The Battle Of Heaven
The first event we must examine is the battle of heaven. We know from scripture that before man came into existence there existed angels, beings that ministered before the Lord and carried out his bidding. From our own observations and understanding we conclude that God does nothing without a purpose. Everything he creates, he creates to accomplish some portion of his divine plan. If we can accept this as a valid point we have taken a giant step toward discovering why God created man.
[3.4]
Our own experience teaches us that there are two forces which oppose each other in the universe; these are good, an attribute attributed to God, and evil, an attribute attributed to one we call the Devil. Man, equipped with a free will,is able to serve either and therefore, must constantly make choices. The scriptures portray the Devil in many ways. He is described as the "father of lies," the dragon, the serpent, the god of this world and Satan, to name just a few. God uses examples to teach us about him. When Peter attempted to persuade Christ not to complete his mission, Christ called him Satan. Why?Because in that moment, influenced by Satan, he was trying to interfere with God's plan of salvation.
Matthew 16:21-23
21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem,and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord:this shall not be unto thee.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
[3.5]
Others not as well meaning as Peter also reflected the image of Satan in their life. One of these is the Prince of Tyre (Tyrus), and from the dialogue centering on this moment, we learn some staggering truths about Satan, the enemy of God. Take notice that while the prophecy of Ezekiel concerned the Prince of Tyrus but then, suddenly changes. Note, the prophecy below reveals the king of Tyrus the evil father of the Prince, the spiritual father, Satan.
Ezekiel 28:11-19
11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the saurdius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence,and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
[3.6]
The Picture Of Satan
In the above text we find God using the King of Tyrus as an alias for Satan. Here God reveals some facts about Satan that few truly understand. Let's recount a few.This text tells us that Satan (called the King of Tyrus) was in the Garden of Eden. We know that the Prince of Tyrus was never in the Garden of Eden,therefore, God can not be speaking of him or his earthly father. Further, you may note that when God speaks to the Prince of Tyrus, he addresses him accordingly,but when He addresses Satan, he calls him the King of Tryus, the father of the evil Prince; the influence behind him. From this it becomes clear that God has chosen to use this figure as an opportunity to reveal the character and history of Satan in the same way that Jesus did with the Pharisees as seen below.
John 8:44
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar,and the father of it.
[3.7]
It is obvious that Jesus was not speaking of the fathers of the Pharisee's flesh but rather the father of their spirit. In the same way God is not saying that Satan was the father of the Prince of Tyrus in the flesh, but in the spirit; the Prince of Tyrus was evil and his works were evil and reflected the works of his spiritual father, Satan. When we read King of Tyrus, we're speaking of Satan,whose name was Lucifer before he rebelled against God, his creator.
[3.8]
What other things can we extract from the Ezekiel text beside the fact that Satan (King of Tyrus) was in Eden?We also discover that he was the sum of perfection, he was full of wisdom and beauty and that he was adorned with a variety of precious stones which symbolized great wealth. Most surprising are those things revealed in verses fourteen and fifteen. Satan once stood on the holy mountain of God and walked in the midst of the stones of fire. He was the anointed (chosen of God) cherub (angel) that covereth (with authority over all the other angels)and God placed him in that position. Satan was perfect in all his ways until sin was discovered in him.
[3.9]
How did sin enter? What happened? According to the biblical record, his wealth and beauty became objects of pride causing him to turn from loving and honoring his creator to loving and honoring himself. Sin and violence had gained access to Satan's heart by entering through the door of pride, a door which Satan himself had opened. His free will had been exercised and a choice made, but not the right one.
[3.10]
Think about it. Satan was perfect in all his ways until iniquity (sin) was found in him. Satan may have served God flawlessly for eons before succumbing to pride. How very much God must have loved him to have exalted him above all created beings,to have fashioned him so beautifully and given him such wisdom and wealth. The depth to which we can be wounded by another is directly proportionate to the depth of love we have extended to them. God's heart must have been in unimaginable pain when Satan's love turned to rebellion.
[3.11]
Not only did Satan turn away from his loving creator, but he also corrupted others, many others, so many that the nations of heaven were weakened. For this reason, he was expelled from his heavenly habitation and cast to earth.
Isaiah 14:12-17
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
[3.12]
The Satanic Objective
God's wrath did not provoke repentance in Satan, but instead rage, violence and vindictiveness. He roams about the earth knowing he has but a short time before he must face the awesome judgment of God. With only a short time left, he seeks to devour all who are God's children. His desire is to consume them in the same way that Balaam encouraged Balac to corrupt the children of Israel, by tempting them with greed, lust and pride.
1 Peter 5:8
8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Numbers 31:16-17
16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel,through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.
17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
Revelation 2:14
14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
[3.13]
Satan has but one objective now. Filled with wrath, he has come down to earth to destroy the church of Christ. From his mouth, he vomits a flood of filth, pornography,drugs, immorality, violence, geed and hatred; a snare to catch and destroy the holy nation of God. Why? Why is Satan so determined to destroy the saints of God? Why us? What have we done? What part of God's plan involving us has driven Satan to focus his efforts in our direction? Perhaps his motives center around God's reasons for creating man.
Revelation 12:9-17
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
12Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps Satan’s anger with the church has something to do with the fact that we, i.e.the church, as an invading army, have entered into the realm of a world that once belonged to him and, in the power of Christ, fully intend to conquer.
[3.14]
The Reason For The Creation Of Man
The Apostle Paul said, "Know ye not, that ye shall judge angels (I Corinthians 6:3)?"Could it be that Satan has reason to be jealous of us? Is it possible that God intends to replace the fallen angels with us? Is this why we were created? Is this why Satan seeks our destruction? Think about it; what would qualify Christians to judge angels unless the temptations, trials, failures, grief,pain and death suffered here by the saints was due directly to their rebellion and the resulting loss of one third of the angelic host.
[3.15]
Think about it. God has a purpose for each thing he creates. He had a purpose to be performed by each of the angels of heaven. One third of heaven's angels abandoned that work to follow Satan and were cast out of heaven. They were cast down to earth to await their final judgment and their work has been left undone. They now know that we, the children of God, are being prepared and tested to fill the positions they previously held. The glory that they once had is now going to be given to all of those Christians who endure to the end.
Revelation 2:26-27
26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Revelation 21:24-26
24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
[3.16]
God could have replaced these fallen angels with more just like them but if He had, the same problem might have been repeated. God hates rebellion,so he decided to create a being made weaker than the angels for a time. He created a being that, though weaker than an angel, would be tried and tempted as they had been. A being that would, with the help of the Holy Spirit, rise above weakness to stand against the temptation of sin. In man, God created a being intimately acquainted with the damaging results of sin. From human ranks God would select men who, in spite of sin's pleasures, would choose righteousness over sin, God over Satan and life over death.
[3.17]
One day God will collect all of those who believe in Christ and have triumphed over temptation; he will vanquish their tempter and accuser, raise them above the fallen angels and fulfill His purposes through them. Having suffered this trial, they will be uniquely qualified to judge each of the angels they will replace.
1 Corinthians 6:2-3
2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
[3.18]
In each generation, God has been able to extract a number of souls faithful to Him. He alone knows the number needed to replace the third of His heavenly nation who rebelled, and when that number is reached, earth will be harvested an end for all those who failed the test and a new beginning for all who reign victorious. We, the forgiven, blood-bought children of God, could, one day, replace angels. Wow!