Grace Bible Church Bible Study Series God is Light Thi nk of some words that would describe visible light and write them here What are some of its characteristics? _______________________________________________________________________ _________________ _________________________________ _____________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Now, write at least two sentences using the word “light” in a sense other than visible light. ___________________________________ _________________________________ ___ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Using your Strong’s Concordance , find the reference in your Bible that says: “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” and write the reference here _________________ Do you think there is a visible manifestation of light associated with God? _________ ___ Obviously, candles, light bu lbs, lighters, and even the most powerful source of light we can see, the sun, are not God. These artificial sources of light are only t _ _ _ _ _ _ _ y. But God’s light, which we cannot see today, is e _ _ _ _ _ l. (Hint : see II Corinthians 4:18). The Lord Jesus Christ’s Birth At the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the angels came to the shepherds and the Bible says that “the ________ of the Lord _________ round about them.” Write the reference where we find this Scri pture ___________________. What synonym is used for ‘light’ in this verse? ______________ Glory is a synonym for God ’ s visible light that is very important to understand. Understanding this synonym for light and your answer to the next question are very important to our study. Was it the angels’ glory that shone? ____________ Whose ‘ glory ’ was it? ________ 1 The Lord Jesus Chr ist’s Transfiguration When the L ord Jesus Christ was on the earth with the twelve disciples , He told them about the future. He called Himself the “Son of Man”, which is how He referred to Himself as a human man. He said that, in the future , He would com e back to earth as the glorified Son of Man. Using your Strong’s Concordance , find the verse that says: “For the Son of Man sh all come in the glory of his Father ...” and write the reference here ____________________. Will the Son of Man be the source of this “glory” (light)? __________ ___ In Matthew 17:2, the Lord Jesus gave three of the disciples a glimpse of what it will look like when He comes back to the earth to rule in the 1000 - year (millennial) Kingdom. Please turn to this passage and read it n ow. What did the Lord Jesus’ fac e do in this passage? _______________________________ How brightly? ______ _________ _____ __ Describe His clothes: _____________________________________________________ Let me ask you again, at His birth, was it the angels who were the source of the “glory” (light) that shone? ____________ When the Lord Jesus returns to earth to rule and rei gn, where will His glory have come from? (See John 17: 5) ___________ Who is the Source of “glory” (light)? _______ ______ ______________ The Apostle Paul & the Glorified Lord Jesus Christ T he Apostle Paul saw the Lord Jesus Christ after the Lord Jesus was crucified and ascended into heaven to be in the presence of God the Father. Remember, God the Father is ___________ (I John 1:5). Thinking back to Acts 26:13: What did Paul see from he aven? ___ __________ How bright? ______________________ _________ Who was this? (Hint: see verse 15) _______________________________ 2 Remember some of the words we used earlier in t his lesson to describe light? List two of these from Acts 26:13 _____ ___________ _________________ and from Matthew 17:2 _ __________________ ______________________ Moses & God, the Father’s “Glory” God’s glory is very powerful and bright. Mos es asked God, “... I beseech thee, shew me thy glory ....” Find this verse using your Strong’s Concordance and write it here _ _________________ In verse 20, what did God say would happen to Moses if God were to show His face? _____ _________ _______ T ell me, in your own words, how God showed Moses His “glory” (light) (s ee verses 22 - 23) ________________________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ ___________________________ ____________________________________________ __________________________ _____________________________________________ In the nex t chapter , in verse 29, what did Moses’ face do? _________ ____________ Was this just a little or a lot? (see verse 30) ________ _______ Who was the Source? ______ ______ _____________ What seems to happen to those who are in the presence of God? __ ________________ A Tent in The Wilderness God told M o ses, Exo 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. Exo 25:9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments the reof, even so shall ye make it. This would be called the tabernacle of the congregation It would also be called the ‘ tent ’ of the meeting. This is wh ere Israel would come to do all the rituals of the ordinances The ‘ tent ’ in the wilderness was what we com monly call the Tabernacle. G od instructed Moses exa ctly how to build it becau se God w anted it to represent the human Body of Jesus Christ. But this tabernacle was a ‘tent ’ because this was a temp oral place for God to dwell As we will expound later in o ur study on God ’ s ‘ purpose ’ for this ‘ tent ’ in the wilderness, we can fi rst see that God ’ s glory was seen in this ‘ tent. ’ Notice Exodus Chapter 40. 3 Exo 40:33 And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of t he court gate. So, Moses finished the work. Exo 40:34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the ________ of the LOR D filled the tabernacle. What di d Exodus 25:8 state as a reason for Moses to build the t abernacle? It was so that God may __________ among them. So, when we read in Exodus 40:34 that the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle , we can know that this was when God was ‘ dwe lling ’ in the tabernacle. Let ’ s read on. Exo 40:35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the c ongregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Exo 40:36 And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: Exo 40:37 But if the cloud were n ot taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. Exo 40:38 For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and _______ was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. Of course , t he tabernac le wasn ’ t literally on fire. Fire is a descriptive way of tal king about the light that was emanating from it . This light is often referred to as the “ She k inah Glory ” of God. This is because the Hebrew word for ‘ tab ernacle ’ is a ‘ form ’ of the Heb rew word “ Shekinah ” The Hebrew word for tabernacle is shaw - kan' ... which means to ‘ live or dwell. ’ So, even though the Hebrew word shekinah is not found in the Bible, it literally means the “ dwelling glory of God ” a nd is used in Hebrew writings We coul d a l so refer to it as the ‘ ten t glory of God ’ or the ‘ carnal dwelling glo ry of God. ’ This i s an important fact to put in our memory as we continue with this study. The f act that G od made his light visible to the children of Israel is consistent with the m ani festation of God. God is light. Of course , n ot only is God associated with visible lig ht, but with light in the sense of the knowledge of truth as well. There is a v erse in the Bible that tells us this. It h as the phrase “ To open their eyes ... ” and it a lso has the phrase “ darkness to light. ” Use your concordance to find this verse and writ e t he reference here _____________________. So, “ light ” is associated with God as concerns truth . But He is very much as sociated with visible light. In the end of ti me when ther e is a ‘ new ea rth ’ we read, Rev 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither o f the moon, to shine in it : for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof Rev 21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall wal k in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. Rev 2 1:25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. W here God dwells th ere is visible light. This is vitally importan t as we continue in our study. So, for this stu dy l et ’ s focus on the visible ligh t of God. 4 Lu cifer “in the beginning” D o we find the creation of Lucifer in Genesis Chapter 1? _______ Before Go d created the earth that we now live on, He created Lucifer and ange ls. God asked Job, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” (Job 38 :4). When we read Job 38: 7, we can see that when God “laid the foundations of the earth” the angels w ere already there to “sing together”. (“Morning stars” and “sons of God” refer to angels). If Lucifer was already in existence when God made the earth we now live on, where was Luc ifer before the earth was made? Some think that the only thing that exi sted when Lucifer rebelled against God was heaven, but let’ s conside r something el se. What if Lucifer had n ever been in heaven? What if G od had the “eart h” in a different state tha n we know it today and it was on a very different earth tha n we know today that Lucifer rebelled against God? Let’s let Scripture tell us. Please read E zekiel 28:12 - 14. What i s the name used for Lucifer in verse 14? ______ __________________________ Wher e had Lucifer been (verse 13)? _______________________________________ _ We also see from verse 14 , Eze 28:14 Thou art the anoint ed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy ________________ of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. We must realize that this is not a literal ‘ mountain. ’ This is symbolic language for the ‘ g overning place ’ of God. Jus t as a mountain is ‘ high ’ so is God ’ s throne a nd the place from which He governs. Lucifer was in the place of God ’ s governing ce nter In verse 16 God proclaims he will be cast out of the “ mo untain of God. ” There will then no long er be a place for Lucifer in the government of God. How does ver se 13 and verse 14 describe how God ’ s governing center must have looked? W e must be careful to unde rstand that these gemstones were not necessarily on fire. Just as the tabernacle was desc ribed as being on fire , here in this pas sage , “St ones of fire” is a very descriptive way to explain what happens to gemstones when LIGHT hi ts them. The word for ‘ fire ’ is the same Heb rew word used in Exodus Chap ter 40 describing the tabernacle. When LIG HT hits gemstones they refract and reflect that LIGHT and become b rilliant These wer e brilliant, bright gemstones because LIGHT was on them. Who do yo u t hink was the source of the LIGHT to make these gemstones “on fire”? ____________ Does this sound lik e the Garden of E de n that Adam and Eve were in? _________ _ In vers e 13, how many of the precious stones that God made were Lucifer’s covering? __________ _ _ 5 There is a partial listing of them in verse 13. Write some of them here ______ __________________ _______________________________________________ From verse s 13 and 14 we find tha t Go d allowed Lucifer to do two things with these gemstones. What were t h ey? _______________________________________________ Let’s consider that this Eden was not the same Eden that Adam and Eve were in, but rather the same place - only dif ferent: a pl ace without plants or tre es, without a sun and moon ... a place that e xist ed before Adam and Eve ... a place that existed before Lucifer rebelled against God Let’s call this place the pre - redemptive earth. Why call it this? Becaus e it didn ’t need r edee ming before Lucifer’s reb ellion. Remember, this all took place before pla nts, animals, or even human life were created. Where Lucifer Rebell ed We are considering that Lucif er was not in heaven when he rebelled, but on a pre - redemp tive ea rt h in a place called _ ________, walking up and down in the midst o f brilliant gemstones. Some people will reject this idea, saying he was in heaven wh en he “fell” I personally don’t like r eferring to Lucifer’s rebellion as a fall because it conf u ses our m inds as to what r eally happened. If it was a rebellion, why do people call it a fall? Many people point to a verse in Isaiah 14 with a misundersta nding as to what the verse is really say ing. Let’s take a look at Isaiah 14:12 . Where does it s ay L ucifer has fallen from? ______________ _ At first glance, it seems tha t when Lucifer rebelled a gainst God, even before trees, animals, plants, or Adam and Ev e were created , he was in heaven, but th is is not true! Remember, we are reading prophecy and pro p hecy wil l refer back to t he past but will also refer to an event as th ough it has already happe ned, even when it has not yet happened. Let’s demonstrate thi s concept. Help me find the verse, it g oes: “But he was wounded for our transgressions ...” a nd w rite the Scripture referen ce here ___________________ How many times does the word ‘was’ occur i n this passage? _______ How many times do we find the word ‘ are’ ? ______ In verse 6, it says: “the Lor d hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” What tense in the Engl ish lan guage a re Hath , and was , past, pr esent, or future? ______________ Isaiah lived and wrote this Scripture many years before Christ w as even born, yet he wrote in the past tense. With the certainty of this future eve nt h appening, Isaiah wrot e as if i t had already happened. Much prophecy i s written like this and when Isaiah is talking about Lucifer falling from heaven in Isaiah 14:12, he is writing with confidence that a future event w ill happen! There is a Scripture ref erence that tells us when this will happen It involves verses 7 thro ugh 12 and goes like this: “And there was war i n heaven ...” Write the reference here __________ This is when Lucifer will fall from heaven. It is ye t future. 6 When we examine Isaiah Chapter 14, we can clear l y see th at three - and one - half years after he falls from he aven Satan is bound for one thousand year s in the bottomless pit. Revelation Chapter 20 describes it as does other scriptures. Isaiah C hapter 14 is referencing the time when Satan is bound in the bottomles s pit , and the earth will experience God ’ s removal of the curse of sin. As Isaiah Chapt er 11 describes this tim e ; Isa 11:6 The wol f also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and th e fatli ng together; and a little child shall lead them. Isa 11:7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down toge ther: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. Isa 11: 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, an d th e wea ned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. Isa 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the ea rth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the w aters cover the sea. Often, we find scripture referring to thi s tim e as a time of ‘ rest. ’ And that is exactly what we see in Isaiah 14:7 & 8. An other thi ng we lear n about t his tim e is that there is a resurrection of the dead before it begins. This we al so learn from Revelation Chapter 20. When we e xamine Isaiah 14 what i s Verse 9 talking about? Answer: A R _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ n Verse 9 say s, “ Hell (wh ich means the ‘ grave ’ in Hebrew) from beneath is moved for the e to ________ _______ ___ ____ _______ ___. ” Indeed, this is a resurrection wh en those who come up from the grave will ... “ meet thee at thy coming. ” It is in th is context in which we read Verse s 10 – 12. It is easy to und erstand that these resurrected people are the ones reminding Satan i n the bottomless pit of th e time when he indeed f ell from he aven. B ut is that what happened before time began? No, Rev e lation Chapter 12 clearly tells us that half way through the sev en years of J acob ’ s trouble, there will be a war in heaven and Satan will be cas t out of heaven and banished to the earth. This i ndeed t ells u s that Satan still has access to heaven even yet today. Note Revelation Chapter 12 ver ses 7 - 9 Where was “the dragon” (formerly known as Luc ifer) “cast out” of? __________________ _ Ac cording to verse 12, why w ill those in heaven rejoice? _ _______ ______ ____________________________________________ According to verse 12, why will those on the earth be woeful? ______ ___________________ ____ __________________________________________ ____ ____ ____________________ ____________________________________ _______ Wher e did “the dragon” (formerly known as Lucifer) fall from? ___________________ The peop le and time that Isaiah is referring to in Cha pter 14 is the end of the great tribulation, when thos e who experience the first resurrection will enter into t he Mil lennia l Kingdom when the Lord “shall give thee rest” and “the whole earth is at rest ” 7 From the context of Isaiah Chap ter 14 and the understand ing t hat future events in prophecy are ofte n wr itten in past tense, we now know that Isaiah 14:12 is a f uture e vent, not a past occurrence. When Isaiah gets to verse 13, he goes way back in time to what started it all, to what is ultimately the reason Lucifer became Satan. Satan simply means the a dver sary of God. We can rightly call the Dev il ... Lucifer the Sat an What w e will now read about in Isaiah 14: 13 & 14 is Lucifer’s rebellion itself! Where does ve rse 13 say Lucifer sai d he will ascend into? ________________ If Lucifer was in heaven when he was rebelling in verses 13 and 14, why would he not say, “I wi ll descend to earth”? Notice he d oes not say that at all. This is because he was not in heaven w hen he rebelled. I al so want you to see now why I refer to what Satan did as a rebellion and n ot a fall. Does this now make sense to you that Lucifer was on _________ ____ when he rebelle d? Remember, this was not the earth as we know it today, but an ear th wit hout grass, tree s, animals, etc. It was a pre - redemptive earth! God’s Original Governin g Ce nter This means that the pre - redemptive earth was God’s o riginal g ov er ning center, not heaven. The pre - redemptive earth was created by God without trees, g rass, animals, man, et c. as a place for Him to dwell and govern the universe. Ezekiel 28 tells us this is where Lucifer walked up and down in the midst of br illiant ___ _ ______, in a territory called Eden (vs. 13), on the “________ _______ _____ ____ ___ ____” (vs. 14). This was the place (on an earth that was very much different than we know it t oday ), where Lucifer covered the throne of God and where he u lt imately reb e lled against God. We could look at this perfect earth that didn’t nee d redeeming as G od’s “Command Central. ” As our study progresses, we will see more supporting Scripture for thi s id ea that the earth has always been God’s planned place for H im to dw ell , but for now, let’s talk about what happened at God’s original governi ng center, even before there was grass or trees, a sun or moon, animals, or mankind. Lucifer’s Rebellion Lo ok u p the definition in the back of your Strong’s for the name L ucifer. Wr i te the number and the definition here : _________ ____________________ _______________ _____________________ __________________________________________________ Do you think that Luc ifer was bright? _________ Do you think that his brightness wa s consi dere d beautiful? _________ 8 Ezekiel 28:17 tells us about what Lucifer thou ght that was very wrong. So wrong, in fact, that God would eventually destroy him. In your own words, what d o yo u think “thine heart was lifted up” in Ezekiel 28:17 means? __ ______ ____ _ __________________________________________________________ __________ __________________ ______________________ _____________________ In your own words, what do you think the words “tho u hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason” mean? _______________ ________ ____ _ ______________________________ ______________________________________ __________________ _______________ Lucifer became prideful: “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty .” He became enamored with himself , thinking he wa s the SOURCE of his glory Reme mber when we studied that God is light, several times we saw that God is the sourc e , not the one refl ecting His glory. This same mistake that Lucifer made is now prevalent i n ma nkind because of what Satan (formerly known as Lucifer) ins t illed in Adam and Eve. We have become far more ‘ self - focused ’ than we realize The result is that all mankind now has the same problem of thinking that ev en if we can’t do it all, surely, we must be a ble to help God save us. Sin makes us enamored with ourse lves Becau se of sin ‘ in ’ us , we now think we can be like God b ecause we hav e faith in ourselves as to ‘ our abilit y ’ There are many different degrees to this thin king and we will talk more ab out it i n later lessons. It is called legalism. As we can see, Lucif er’s thinking w as d istorted : “ Thou has t corrupted thy wis dom by reason ” (Ezekiel 28:17). Not totally relying on God wa s what Lucifer did wrong. Not understa nding, or rather , twisting hi s own thi nking in that he could contribute to God’s glory was wrong. The truth was he c ould only reflect what God provided. Ou r understandi ng of what Lucife r did and thought when he rebel led against God is further helped when we read Isaiah 14:13 . As I e xplai ned in a previous lesson, verse 12 is a future event yet to hap pen, but when I saia h writes verse 13, he now refers back in time to show why verse 12 wil l happen: it is because of wha t Lucifer did in the beginning. How many times in verses 13 - 14 d id Lu cife r say “ I will”? _____ Was he relying totally on God? ____ _ In verse 14, Luc ifer says, “I will be like the mos t high.” Certainly, God is above al l things in authority, “most hi gh ” but , Lucifer does not accept that God is above him in authority b ecaus e he is saying that he will be like the “most high.” What is Lucifer sayi ng? ___________ ____ _____________________ _____________ ___ ________________________________ _______________________________ ________ Lucifer wanted to be his own authority. Lucifer mu st hav e thought himself to be equal with God in all things , forgetting that he was only a reflection of God’s glory ; but is there more to Lucifer ’s s tatement than we firs t understand? 9 “The Most High” Gene sis 14:19 & 22 When we consider Ge nesis 14:19 and 22, we can see what being ‘ like ’ the most high also means. Being ‘ like ’ the most high God also includes possessing the same things as the most high God. W hat did Lucifer mean when he said, “... be like the most high” or , what would he possess? _______ ______ ____ _________ ______________ We know that God is the rightful owne r of His creation. However, when Lu cifer became so oc cupied with ‘ himself ’ and began thinking he was the source of how wonde rful he was, his faulty thinking became worse and worse. I n E zek iel 28:16, the first part of the verse explains thi s very thing. What word in the verse in dicates that wrong thinking had multiplied in Luc ifer’s mind? __________________ ________ Most of wh at Lucifer did is probably beyond our understanding, but we now k now he has succeeded (for the time being) in hijacking the earth and a tmos pheric heavens from t he rightful c reator, God. In future lessons , we will see how Adam will be used by Satan to accomplish his goal of hijacking God ’ s creation. After Lu cife rs rebe llio n , he is now referre d to as Satan. Look up the Heb rew defini tion for S atan and write it here. ______________________________________ W hen considering Luke Chapter 4 , we can gain further insight. In Verse 5 , w hat did Satan show the Lord Jesus? _ _ _________ ____ _ ______________________________________. Verse 6 reveals th at it was Satan ’ s to give Luk e 4:6 And the devil said unto him, All thi s power will ____ give thee, and the glory of them: for tha t is delivered unto me ; and to whomsoever __ ____ I give it. In II Corinthians 4:4, what name does the Apostle Paul give Sa ta n? _ _____________________ _____________ _______________ The apostle Paul gives Satan this title because Satan indeed accomplished his goal of t aking control of God ’s original governin g center, the earth. This was one of his goals when he made the stateme nt , “ I will be like the most high. ” When did Lucifer accomplish this go al? ___________________________________ ____ ________________________________ God’s Pla n of Redemption If God is the rightf ul o wner of Hi s creat ion, doesn’t it make sense that He would want it back? Not only does G od have a “buy back plan” or a plan of redemption for His creati on, He will a lso destroy the evil and the source of that evil. God declares thi s by His o wn “I will s.” In Ezekiel 28:16 - 18 how many of God’s own “I wills” do you count? _____ What about Luc ifer’s former job as bei ng God’s light bear er? Now that Lucifer is no longer in this position, but rather God’s enemy, do you think God would l eave Lucife r’s forme r job vacant? Who wi ll do the job of reflecting God’s glory now that Lucifer has become God ’s enemy? 10 Here is a quiz for you to test your retention. Quiz 1. What does the name ‘Lucifer’ m ean? ________ _____________________________ 2. W her e was Luci fer when he rebell ed against God? ____ _______________________ 3. What was Lucifer wearing at that time? ____________________________________ 4. What d id his surround ings look like? _________ _____________ _________________ 5. What do you t hin k Lucifer look ed like then? __ __________________ ____________ __________________________________ __________________________________ 6. When was it that Lucifer rebelled again st G od? _________________ _____________ ______________________________ _ __________ ____ ________________ _______ 7. Name tw o books of the Bible and the chapters where we find Lucifer’s rebellion. ________________________________ _______________ ____ _______________ 8. S pecifically w hat and when is Isaiah 14:12 talking about? What: _ _________ __ ____________________ ____________________________ When: _ ____________ _______________________________________________ 9. Lucifer became p roud, self - lovi ng, and excessive in self - esteem. Who was Lucifer relying on? ___ _______ ____ ____ Whom shou ld h e have completely re lied on? ________ 10. When Lucifer sai d, “I will be like the most high,” what did he mean? ___________ ___________ ____ _____________________ _____________ _________________ 11. What do the words ‘red emption’ or ‘red eem’ mean? ______________ ____________ _________________________ __________________________________________ 12. Why did God’s world ne ed redeeming? _ ____ _____________________ __________ _________________________ ______ ____ ____ ________________ _______ _____ 11 I n the Beginning Genesis 1:2 Please take the time t o read Genesis 1:1 - 2. When God created the heavens and the earth, we know He did not create it in “dar kness” becaus e “God is light ” Our previous stu d y, God is Ligh t , has shown tha t where God is, ther e will be visible light, just as a new earth in Rev elation 21:23 will no longer need a sun or any other artificial l ight source for “th e glory of God did li ghten it.” We also know that when God created the heavens an d th e earth, He did n ot create it “withou t form.” He did not create it “void.” There is a verse in the Bible that says, “He created it not in vain.” Write the reference here . ___________________ __ Now, lo ok up the Hebrew word for “vain” as it is used in this verse and w rite the number and definitio n here. ____________ ______________________ _____________________________________ _________________________________________________________ ______________ Nex t, look up the Hebrew word for “wi thout fo rm” as it is u sed in Genesis 1 :2 and write the number here. ________ What have you noticed about the word “vain” in Isaiah 45:18 and the words “without form” in Genesis 1:2? ____________________ _______________ ____ ______________ We no w know , accor ding to Isaiah 45: 18, that God did n ot create the earth the way Gen esis 1:2 says it was : “To hoo” or “withou t form.” The thought now comes into mind that the earth was always this way and God must have just found it one day and then refashio ned it Of course, t his is jus t fo lly, but if tha t were the case, then how did t he earth come to be “ without form ” ? The Earth “ Became” We know that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, not in a state of waste, desolation, or wort hlessness, but rather som etime aft e r He created His per fect earth, it came to be “To hoo” or “without form and void.” On e of the best ways to help us understand a Greek or Hebrew word is to see how it is used in other places of Scriptur e , not just simply it s de finition. Look up th e word “w as” in Genesis 1:2 a nd write the Hebrew number and definition here. ___ _________________ __ _____________________________________________________________________ 12 Over 800 times this word is used in Scripture as “became” or “ca me to pass.” A few t imes, vari ous other words are used but always in the sense that something has ch anged or has been re quired. Let’s look at two examples of the Hebrew word “haw - yaw,” translated as “became” or “came to pass.” Gene sis 19:26 : “ Bu t hi s wife looked back b e hind him, and she ____________ a pillar of salt.” Was Lot’s wife always a pilla r of salt? ______ _ So mething came to pass regarding Lot’s wife as she turned to look back : S he haw - yaw! She became ! Genesis 2:7 : “ ... and man __ __________ a li ving soul.” W as man alwa ys a living s oul? __ ___ _ Did something come t o pass re garding man? ________ As we can now s ee, the earth changed in Genesis 1:2. Now , back to the words “without form and void.” Interestingly, the words “without form” o nly occur two o ther pla ces in Scrip ture and , in both c as es , center around God’s judgment. What seems to have changed in G enesis 1:2 is that a n earth, wonderful in its existence, became a worthless, empty wasteland because of God’s judgment What e vent have we learn ed about i n previous lessons that re quired God’s judgment and happe ned be fore the 6 - day creation? ___________________________________ __ ___________________________________________________________________ ____ And Dark ness ... Lucifer, th e “c h erub that cov er eth,” wa s on the earth before it b ecame without form and void , in a plac e called Eden on the holy mountain of God This was God ’ s governing center for the universe. E arth is a very special place to God. Lucifer was covered with preciou s st ones and also wa lked up a nd down in the midst of them. He was God’s g lory reflector. He was p erfect in his ways. He was bright and beautiful. What happened? Ezekiel 28:15 b says, “... till _ _ _____________ was found in thee.” We’ve already shown tha t Lu cifer’s problem was _____ _______. Here, in Ezekiel 28 :15 , God calls i t __ ____________. Lucife r became the evil one, Satan, and evil began to m ultiply in his mind. We know G od pronounced His ju dgment but , could God and Satan now dwell together on the s ame planet? F ind a verse t hat says God can ’t dwell with e vil and write t he r eference here _______ _____________ _______ If God cannot allow evil to dwell with Him , and Lucifer brought evil into God ’ s holy mountain on the earth, who left the earth? ______ _ _ I f God is light a nd He le ft, what happened to the earth? ___ ____________ I n Ge nesis 1:2 , we now know why darkness was upon the surface of the earth. Since God cannot dwell with si n, He now lives in H is third heaven; but remember, God has a plan! 13 Sin Ente rs Lucifer’s re bellio n marks the entrance of sin into the spiritual realm As Romans 6:23 says, t he consequence for sin is always dea th , (spiritual and physical). In the case of Lucifer, it was spiritu al death. Also , reme mber the definition of death is separation In th e c a se of spiritual death, it means separation from God This is e xactly what hap pene d to Lucifer. God ’s justice for s in has always been death (separation ). Remember, when sin entered the universe at the point of Lucifer’s rebellion, we are not talking abo u t t he world of mankind, for that world was not yet fashioned The world of manki nd i s what God plan ned to use for His ultimate ‘ buy - back ’ , redemption plan R e member that this was all b ecause of Lucifer’s pride ful and self - centered thought process of no t ne edi ng God This eventually led to his actions of also obtaining God’s ‘ six - day creation ’ through Adam ’ s rebellion. W e must understand that it was when Lu cifer proclaimed his ‘ I will s ’ that God ’ s ‘ original ’ creation was hijacked A fter sin ent ered , God left planet earth and it became without form and void God ’ s plan to reclaim planet earth would involve mankind and the very rebellion of mankind But , b ecause man was part of God ’ s plan , earth would need to be r efas hioned in order to be suitable for mank ind. This was part of God ’ s plan. “Let Th ere Be Light” First, God needed to make the eart h inhabitable for humans, but o nly on a t emporary b asis. Go d never intended for His 6 - day ref ashioning of the earth to be permanent. That would come much later. I n Revelation 21:1 we read of the final and pe rmanent earth , with its atmospheric heavens , which will be the comp letion of God’s marvelo us plan. B ut th is world of mank ind we are now familiar with would only need t o be good enoug h to get the job done. “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). The sun that now lights and warms the earth - is it an artificial l ight s ource? ______ Was it designed to be temporary? __ ____ Gen esis 1:4 say s that when God saw the artificial light so urce He created, He said it was _________. Notice, He didn’t say i t wa s perfect, after all the only perf ect light is ______. What is b eing s aid in verse 4 is that it was g ood enough to get Hi s plan ac complished. He knew it woul d la st long enough in sustai ning m ankind to accomplish His plan and that was go od enough. As God continued His 6 - day r ef a shioning , He referred to each segment as “ good , ” ( H2896 ) , not perfect , ( H8549 ) In Genesis Chapter 1, how many times do es He use the word ‘good’? _____ _ (H int: u se your Strong’s for the answer). Which verses are they? ______ _______________ ____ __ God’s work in 6 d ays was only meant to be temporary , or good enou g h to accomplish His ultimate pl an. This planet was never de igned to last, but rather, to ac comp lish th e goal (through mankind) of getting it back the way it was origi nally intended to b e. Revelation 21:10 - 27 describes the way God plans this earth to ulti mately be. Take time to read h ow marvelous this wi ll be. 1 4 The Plan for Man Ultimately , God will p ermanently rid H is rightful d welling place of sin. So, in the manifold wisdom of God, He uses man to a llow Satan to obtain His six - day creation God has a plan which Satan does not understand. He will destroy Satan using Satan ’ s own craftiness And t his i s why G od made man the way in which He did. Note Genesis 1:27. Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own __________ __ , in the __________ _ of God created he him; male and female created he them. T his is what makes man so special ! Man is not an an imal . The an imals were not created in this special way. Animals are not people and people are not animals. We must treat animals with respect and care, but we should never treat them like people. Some people do not realize just ho w sp ecial God has made us huma ns. T h er efore, they consider animals and people to be the same. W hy would God make man in this very special way? Well, if we careful ly note, man is only an ‘ image ’ of God. Man is not God. Man is only an ‘ image ’ But can you t hink of a man who was and sti ll is more tha n an image of God? This one and only man was and still is God Who is that? __________________________ So, what we have then are all other men who are only ‘ images ’ and only ONE Man who is also, the ‘ real ’ man. F ill in the b lank o f this verse. Ma t 16:1 3 Wh en Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the S on of _________ am? What do you suppose this phrase “ Son of ____ _____ means? ____________________ _________________________________ _ _ ____ ____ ____________________________ We can now see what it means to be a human being. We are all human beings , even our Lord Jesus Christ! But , if this is all the Lord Jesus is ; ‘ human , ’ then h ow is He different from u s? Is He just an ‘ image ’ of God li k e we a re? ____ But now consider this verse. Mat 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of _____ _ ___________ _______ This makes our Lord Jesus much more than an i m ag e of God . This makes Him God and man at the same time This makes H i m the only ‘ real ’ man who is not simply an image , but the real thing. So, we can say that when God made Adam and Eve , He made them in the image of our Lord Jesus Christ God ha s a plan t o perm anently rid H is rightful d welling place of sin and redeem it at the same time ! He kn ew t hat a ‘ simple image ’ would not have the power to stand against Satan. God knew th at Adam , the v ery first ‘ image ’ , would fail Hi m . B ut , that was also part of His p lan. 15 G od Has A lways Had a Plan Ch rist’s sh ed blood, His death (both spiritual and physical) , was always part of the plan. II Timothy 1:9 says s omething has be en “ given to us” before w e w ere born , o r even before Ad am and Eve were crea ted, but only b y identifi cati on “in Christ”. When does this verse sa y God planned it? _____________________________________ G od knew th at mankind, being a creati on lower t han the angels that had already rebelled aga inst Hi m, would suc cumb to Satan’s evil influence and g o right alon g with S atan ’ s plan to hijack not only planet earth, but even h ijack the human beings created in God ’ s image. Through Adam , Satan would obtain all of God ’ s creation (man included) and fulfill his five “ I w ill ” statements. He has now be come ‘ li k e ’ the Mo st H igh. God was not forced to formulate a new plan because of Adam’s rebellion R ather thro ugh it , He has been carrying out His origi nal plan that He made “BEF ORE THE WO RLD BEGAN”! God has a plan of redempti on T hat plan of redemption is now cl e ar Go d ’ s plan is the redemption that is in Christ Jesus ; the one and only real man. Do yo u su ppose God would like us to be only an ‘ image of Christ ’ for all eternity? ___ Of course not! We should realize that b eing hum an isn ’ t our problem. Do you kn ow w h at our p roblem is? It is ‘ sin. ’ What we need is to be ‘ born again ’ and this time born from the real man , not our earthly parents. This is God ’ s plan for all mankind B ut first , God would need to make the first image of G od , Adam. Sin Enters II God has , in His wonderf ul plan, use d on e ex ceptionally special h uma n to plung e the whole human race