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Cosmic Conflict--Spiritual Warfare

 

 

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This new page will comprise an attempt to move toward an in-depth look at what has gone wrong with our universe, what forces counter all that is right, noble and decent.  In other words, how did the counterpart of God Himself intrude with all the evil, chaos and death working against the very purpose of the Creator within His very own Creation?

 

We are now gathering our information and perspective to share with our website visitors.  We also invite responses from our readers through our email.   

 

The Original Culprit

 

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? 18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. 19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet. 20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. 21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities. 22 For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD. 23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

--Isaiah 14:12-23 KJV

 

This flow can easily be detected, even within the good old King James Version, which, of course, lends itself to a poetic posture in translating the ancient manuscripts published in 1611 under the edict of good old King Jimmy (King James)!  Even within the New Testament itself Paul, as well as John in Revelation, deals with this fallen heavenly being known as Lucifer:

 

13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

--II Corinthians 11:13-15 KJV

 

 

The root of the name Lucifer itself means light, but following his rebellion against God during the ancient prehistoric times, Lucifer ever since bathes himself in the counterfeit light of deception.  He has been identified within both the Old Testament and the New Testament as the very originator of lies (John 8:44).  To those who love darkness rather than light, Paul states in the verses quoted that Satan (Lucifer) in appearance transforms himself into an angel of light.

 

Thus, the inclusion of the above passages of Scriptures places us within the context and framework for the origination of evil and rebellion within our world, but there yet remains one more link to understand the relationship to the fall of humanity (see Origin of Evil).

 

CHAPTER 1

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

CHAPTER 2

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. 14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. 15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

CHAPTER 3

1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

--Genesis, chapters 1-3 KJV   Also see Adam and Eve.

 

Based on the above passage of Scripture, we have the springboard for the deception and fall of humanity.  We begin with the Creation with verse 1 of the book of beginnings, Genesis, chapter 1.  In the beginning God…  May we pause to avail ourselves of some very dynamic perspectives concerning the pre-creation dimensions?

 

Many questions invade our imaginations:  How did God Himself originate?  If God created time/space continuum, what reality formed the context of the time/space continuum?  What really is meant by the Hebrew word for God elohiym (sometimes written elohim)? In the first chapter of Genesis God's description demonstrates an almost finite being, seeing that He saw that His Creation was good; how do we reconcile such limited perspective with the Christian concept of the infinite God?

 

These are a few of the popular questions we shall herein deal with briefly, but there must be an understanding that a vast difference remains between the finite world and the infinite dimensions, God’s domain extending endlessly beyond the limits of His Created Order!

 

Allow us to take each of the questions in order:

 

How did God Himself originate?

 

We could easily sidestep this issue by giving the classic response, God has always existed, having neither beginning nor ending, but such conclusion, although factually correct, can scarcely satisfy the restless, curious mind of some seekers.  There indeed needs to be some link between the infinite and the finite.  Though the finite always exists within the context of the infinite, a definite relationship exists. A link between the temporal and the eternal has been demonstrated in Jesus Christ, the God/Man (we'll seek to explore this aspect later).

 

For now, we should explore the whole matter of the specific aspects by sorting the differences and the relationships between what we refer to as the infinite and the finite.

 

We have already indicated that the infinite reflects God’s domain, but perhaps we need to go a step further.  Even the infinite lies within the context of God Himself and never the reverse.  As a matter of fact everything remains within the context of God and God Himself can never be contained within the context of anything.  This does not imply that God is never present within the finite or the infinite.  God Himself remains eternally omnipresent.  That is, God is everywhere present in instant fashion at every single moment of all history.  Even beyond that, all time, past, present and future, remains instantly present before Him.

 

Let us stretch our imagination to the very breaking point.  Even existence itself resides within the context of God.  If we may declare it another way, we may say truthfully, God Himself gave rise to existence itself.  Can God Himself then exist?  Indeed, for God pervades all His Creation, including existence.  Even though God gave birth to what we refer to as existence and precedes that existence and that existence originated in and through Him, that existence remains within the context of God and never vice versa.

 

Though much of this train of thought finds biblical support more within the expressed nature of the God of the universe than within explicit declarations within the Scriptures themselves, the character and nature of these conclusions could never represent a conclusion less than the God of the Bible.  Quite the contrary, any conclusion we can arrive at falls short of the complete character of the Almighty, for the finite can never fully embrace the infinite.  But the Infinite always fully embraces the finite, which is to say that God fully embraces humanity and never leaves us to ourselves.  We indeed are never alone in the universe!

 

Therefore, if everything within existence (as well as existence itself) remains within the context of God. it stands to reason that God can be understood as the reason for everything and that logic and reason must center in Who He is to be themselves authentic.  Then if God Who has never had a beginning remains the reason for His Own existence, then all His creation must be understood to exist only because of God and Who He is.  Beyond that, He then must be His own reason for existence, since existence itself remains within the context of God.  To understand fully this marvelous reality, we ourselves would need an infinite mind.

 

Yet, we do certainly have pointers toward the infinite.  Let us allow that the ultimate answers and resolution of every issue resides across the great divide which separates the finite from the infinite domain.  If the infinite swallows up the finite such that the reason for existence as we encounter within the finite, temporal world can only have authentic meaning because of the infinite (the nature of the very Being of God Himself), a bridge across the great divide must of necessity take place to resolve our deepest and most divisive human issues.  Allow us to suppose such bridging of the humungous gap requires superhuman negotiations. 

 

GREAT NEWS!  Such has been supernaturally accomplished in the God/Man, Jesus Christ.  He is the infinite God of the universe Who became one of us, not within our blemished, fallen estate, but within genuine, unfallen humanity to identify with us that He might conjoin us to God through taking our guilt on Himself at THE CROSS to restore our union with the living, infinite God.  Only within that perfect, redeemed relationship can we truly understand the essence of the living God, that within that dimension of infinity He needs no beginning to be Who He is, for He is the only reality that by nature needs no beginning.  Yet, He gives the whole universe, including mankind, a beginning through creation.  Therefore, we can only find meaning to our existence through the One Who gave us existence and calls us back to Himself to find our meaning and purpose.

 

Christ Himself lays credible claim to being the alpha and the omega, the first and the last (Revelation 22:13).  All meaning and purpose resides in Him, from creation itself and always in Him all things consist (Colossians 1:16-17).

 

Another way of looking at this link between the finite and the infinite resides in simply understanding Christ to be the key, much in the same way as the significance of the Rosetta stone became the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphics.  In other words, the infinite as revealed to the limit of our capacity to understand through Jesus Christ gives us meaning on the finite plane.  He is the infinite God made personable and relevant to us who are earthly, limited to this time/space continuum.

 

Just how can we understand God to be without any origin?  Just how could a three month old child come near understanding the theory of relativity?  After all, the fullest capacity of the greatest genius in the universe would scarcely equal a single grain of sand compared to the vastness of every grain of sand in every beach and desert in the whole world, where each of those grains represents vast storages of untapped knowledge.  But keep this in mind, the mere fact that God has no beginning or ending can not be contingent upon any person’s ability to understand it!

 

 

If God created time/space continuum, what reality formed the context of the time/space continuum?

 

Since we are finite, physically, emotionally and psychologically tied in to the fabric of the finite, does it not follow logically that we seek to get a handle on concepts by structuring them within the format of our own understanding as finite creatures?  Step beyond our own world and experiences into the infinite domain, what faculty do we have even to sense the realities beyond dimensions we have never developed the senses that could link us, that could put us in touch with that world totally beyond us?

 

In other words, even the question makes an assumption, that the time/space continuum can be framed within the context of a greater (or more expansive) context.  Just to tickle our imaginations a bit, if such envelope could contain the time/space continuum, what would be the purpose of the envelope?  Would it become a larger, more expansive, infinite domain in which to house the infinite expanse of time and space itself?  Then, if that were true, what larger context would house the envelope housing the time/space continuum?  Could we not keep going without end in placing each in a higher context?  But for what purpose?

 

We have already established the understanding that by nature God Himself can be in the context of nothing, but everything lies within the context of God, the Creator of all things. 

 

Indeed, we have not explained the question other than allowing it to rest beyond human ability to measure the infinite.  But then, how could anyone explain the infinite without himself being infinite?

 

 

 What really is meant by the Hebrew word for God elohiym (sometimes written elohim)?

 

Many other Hebrew words also refer to God, such as Yahweh (Jehovah in some translations), the Hebrew word which for sake of reverence would never be pronounced by the Hebrew people, for that word had been revealed to be the very name of God and based on being, the basic reality upon which all creation originated and rested and el, the singular word for God and often in combination with a distinct characteristic of God, such as el- jireh (God will provide), and on and on.

 

But elohiym is the plural word for el.  Thus, conceivably, the word could be translated as gods rather than God, which in reality the writer quite obviously by context and usage means the one and only God.  Often this case is strengthened considerably by following the elohiym with a singular verb.  Then, why did Moses choose to use the plural form for God?

 

Several suggestions have been set forth to account for this usage.  One of these suggestions may readily be dismissed as offensively radical, based more in forced interpretation through a predisposition to reduce this biblical account into an ordinary byproduct of pagan influences on primitive Hebrew culture.  It does not tally with the overall scheme and principal direction pursued throughout the entire biblical account within the book of Genesis.  Just by very remote possibility that such usage of elohiym implicitly marked pagan influences, such would have been purged from the Hebrew Scriptures through utter disgust without ever becoming a part of the Pentateuch.

 

One of the suggestions bases its conclusion on the doctrine of the Trinity, one God in three persons.  No one could seriously question that God as a triune Being certainly can be understood to be implicit within words used for God in the Old Testament, as well as being more specifically set forth within the New Testament.  However, there remains a serious weakness within this view.  Three Persons in One God cannot justifiably be referred to as three gods so that the Hebrew word elohiym for gods in this case could even make any reasonable sense at all.

 

While the question may never be completely settled, we must contend that plurality of the word does not suggest more than One God.  One way to understand this comes into play by the Hebrew practice called plurality of majesty, which within context can be established.  As example, an extremely high mountain peak could be referred to as mountain peaks.  The context must of necessity indicate only one mountain peak, but the use of the plural peaks idiomatically refers to its majesty expressed through height.  Since the context of elohiym is used with a singular verb, this fact could easily be interpreted very plausibly to indicate the Hebrew majestic God.

 

 

In the first chapter of Genesis God's description demonstrates an almost finite being, seeing that He saw that His Creation was good; how do we reconcile such limited perspective with the Christian concept of the infinite God?

 

A description of God in human characteristics has been used on occasions throughout biblical writings for the purpose of communicating God’s character in terms easily understood by the readers.  This process, called anthropomorphism, must be deduced from the context.  As for example, the use of the hand of God certainly can be understood that such figuratively terminology provides imagery of God’s presence, for obviously God, being infinite and of Spirit, does not have the limitation of a physical body. 

 

While there can be a suggestion of human emotion within this first chapter of Genesis, there is a deeper reality reflected.  When God saw His creation and declared it good, He did not draw a conclusion from what He did, for His knowledge remains absolute and complete within His infinite disposition.  Rather His declaration communicated to His creatures for future readers that God declares all that He does good!  Hence, we must be careful how we handle and care for His creation.  This becomes the basis for good stewardship among God’s human creatures.

 

Thus, when God saw, that in and of itself manifested a perspective from humanity and thus retained an element of anthropomorphism and, by this communication, God identified with humanity and interacted with His creatures through the Scriptures!  Yet, this first initial entrance into prehistory pointed to the ultimate anthropomorphism by the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ millenniums later, for Jesus Himself as God took upon Himself human flesh and fully identified with humanity as both God and Man.

 

And when God declared it good He brought humanity through the gateway to His purpose, for no matter what, whatever God does is always good!

 

But what of the misunderstanding humanity receives with images of God that forms in the finite character, thinking of God only in that limited form?  Question:  Do we insist that our children, the ones who have not achieved a level to understand as mature adults do with respect to more complex issues, never receive any information that they cannot understand fully?  Absolutely not; that would be folly to think in those terms.  Children broaden their abilities to understand more and more as time goes on and they are exposed to situations they do not immediately understand.

 

As for example, children are satisfied to think of their world to be exactly as they see it.  Very early, they may perceive distant mountains as being much smaller than they really are.  That’s OK.  They learn as they are able.  One day as children take a journey toward the distant mountains, they begin to notice how those mountains start to change, to grow taller and specific peaks begin to strip away from the range.  Then will the children realize more completely just what constitutes mountains.  After such experiences, they will look at the range of mountains from a distance and know that they are much more than a small ridge a short distance away.

 

The same must be true with God’s children.  True, we will never achieve complete knowledge in this world, but we can come to understand God on a much higher level as we study His word and begin to see anthropomorphisms as useful means of insights into the character and nature of God much better than we ever could without them.  Yet, we must come to the disposition to understand God to be much beyond our comprehension each step along the way.

 

Sure, God in His infinite character can never be embraced completely by any of us, for we will never have an infinite mind with which to fathom the endless depths of all that God is.

 

From here, we see the story of creation unfold, leading to the climax, the creation of Adam and then Eve.  In the movement toward that crowning event, an interesting, thought-provoking observation occurs:  As God created the heavens and earth, the earth was without form and void.  This language may well suggest a state of fallen nature and/or a condition of judgment against the created order.  Just what could have gone wrong?

 

Many suggestions have been proposed.  Some have deduced that Satan had fallen by that early time and possessed the earth during the process of creation.  However, others point out that such speculation is flawed since God continued to declare His creation good; yet, we must admit that when Satan fell, he brought with him chaos, darkness and evil.  Then why would God continue to call His creation good, if that were the case? 

 

Perhaps a better understanding comes from the fact that God alone is good and all goodness originates in Him.&n