QUESTION #1
When were the angels created?
Have you
ever asked yourself the question, "At what point on the timeline did
God create the angelic beings? Were they
made before the earth or after? If they
were made before, then how long before?
"Where were you when I laid
the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, who set its
measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its
bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Job 38:4-7
In the above passage,
God tells Job that when He created the world all of the morning stars sang
together and all of the sons of God shouted for joy. "Morning
Stars" and "Sons of God" are two terms which both refer to
the angelic beings.
The implication of
them singing while God was creating the world shows that the angels were
created before the world. So then, if the world is around six
thousand years old, how old are the angels?
We all know that God
does not exhaust us with details throughout His Word. However, there are two
passages that tell us not only when the angels were created, but the exact day!
"God saw all that He
had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and morning, the
sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their
hosts. By the seventh day God completed His work..."
Genesis 1:31-2:2
Who are the hosts
that fill the heavens and the Earth? Angels,
humans, animals, etc. This passage tells us that all of the hosts were created
within the six days of creation. Therefore the idea that they were created
possibly millions of years before the world is not a Scriptural point of view. Another passage is...
"For in six days the LORD
made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and He rested
on the seventh day..."
Exodus 20:11
Just in case the
first passage was not clear enough, Exodus 20:11 establishes for us the fact
that God made everything that exists within the six days of creation. Not only
did He make heaven and earth and the sea, but it says that He made all that is
within them (i.e. all the hosts).
Therefore, because
the angels were created before the earth yet within the creation week, we can
be confident that the exact day the angels were created was on Day 1 just
before God began creating the world. The angels, as far as we know, were His
very first living creation.
Still not
convinced? Here are some key points to
consider:
1. Scripture tells us that the angels were created
during the creation week (Genesis 1:31-2:1; Exodus 20:11).
2. The Plurality of the heavens
“In the beginning God created the
heavens and the Earth.”
Gen. 1:1
Why is “heavens” plural? Often when we read this passage we tend to
overlook the plurality of the heavens and unconsciously equate this term
with the singularity of the earth. Our mind immediately fills with all
kinds of images of what we perceive Heaven [God's dwelling
place] to look like. However, I will now seek to prove that the
Bible is hinting at an idea, which will be addressed later on in Scripture,
which at this time God created three distinct heavens and only one
earth.
1. 2 Corinthians
12:2-4 “…caught up to the third Heaven…”
The apostle Paul was brought into the presence of God. He referred
to this place as the "third heaven." This statement implies
that there is a second and a first as well. Thus, the third Heaven
is what we would call "Paradise." The question then arises,
"What are the first and second heavens?"
2. Genesis 1:14 “…let there
be lights in the expanse of the heavens…”
The second heaven is therefore the universe [outer space]. See also Deut. 4:19.
3. Genesis 1:20 “…let birds
fly above the Earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” The
first heaven then would be the sky or the atmosphere of the earth. See also 1 Kings 14:11.
3. The Order of Creation
a. For God to create a universe filled with galaxies
beyond our measure, He first needed to create a universe with the capacity to
hold galaxies beyond our measure. In the
same sense that time is a need for
all of creation to exist in and be subject to, God needed to make the physical space capable of occupying all things,
even Heaven itself. You see, God does
not only exist outside of time but also outside of space. He is not subject to either of these things
like we are. If I go to the beach and
collect seashells, I will need something to put them in. The same is true with our universe. God made the universe empty and in time so
that He could fill it up. The space
capable of holding trillions of galaxies has not always existed. God made that space on Day 1 as He began His
creation of the heavens and the Earth.
b. He then proceeded in His act of creation by making
His dwelling place [Paradise or Heaven].
Yes, Heaven forever and always will remain subject to time. If you want to know more about that feel free
to ask. Once Heaven was made, God then
made the angels.
i.
If the angels
were created before Heaven on Day 1, then they would have had no dwelling place
for as long as they existed. They would
have just existed in darkness for however long that was.
ii.
If the angels
were created before Day 1, then they would have been created before God made
time which is logically impossible. The
very first thing God made was time (…beginning…). All of creation exists and is subject to time
merely by the fact that we are created beings.
We each had a beginning. Angels
had a beginning. Thus, they have always
existed in time. It is not possible that
they could have been made before Day 1 because that would imply that God made
them outside of time. The very thought
crumbles as we note that everything you and I and any angel in Heaven will ever
do will always take time. More
explanation can be given in person.
c. Once there was time, and space to hold large
bodies of matter, and Heaven was created along with its hosts, He continued in
His creativity by forming the Earth and graciously allowing the angels to
observe His incredible omnipotence.
·
When it comes
down to it, neither the Bible nor logic ever supports the idea of God creating
the angels before Day 1. They were made
just before the Earth in Genesis 1:1.
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QUESTION #2
Did Satan fall before Genesis 1:1
(i.e. did his rebellion take place before the Earth had been formed)?
“…behold, a great red dragon
having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the
stars of Heaven and threw them to the Earth…And there was war in Heaven,
Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they
were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in
Heaven. And the great dragon was
thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives
the whole world; he was thrown down to the Earth, and his angels were thrown
down with him.”
Revelation 12:3-4, 7-9
1) In the passage above, John says that when the
rebellion took place, Satan and his angels were thrown down to the Earth. If we think about this logically, then the
only possible way that Satan and his angels could have been thrown down to the
Earth is if there was already an existing Earth. Thus, the Earth must have been created before
sinful pride was found in Lucifer’s heart.
2) I do not know if anyone would try to
interpret this specific passage as a prophetic statement concerning future
events because of the mere fact that it is found in a very prophetic book, but
I am confident for several reasons why that would be to their folly in terms of
understanding the Word of God.
1. We know that this was a past occurrence (Isa.
14:12-15; Ez. 28:16; Dan. 8:10; Luke 10:18)
2. None of us expect him to sweep another third of
the angels away in the future.
3. Rev. 12:8 “…and
they [the fallen angels] were
not strong enough…” is in the past tense.
4. Not everything in Revelation is a future
event. Some things are written
concerning the past and some for the present.
3) In Luke 10:18 Jesus told His disciples that
He saw Satan fall from Heaven like lightning.
If the Earth was not in existence by this time, then there would have
been no place for Satan to fall onto.
Jesus could have said something like “I saw Satan cast out of Heaven like lightning.”
However, He adds the phrase fall
from Heaven indicating that there is something underneath to fall upon.
So far we have seen
two things:
·
The angels
were created on Day 1 just before the Earth.
·
Satan did not
sin until sometime after the world was made in Genesis 1:1.
_______________________________________________________________
QUESTION #3
What about the GAP Theory?
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the
Earth.”
-
GAP? -
“The Earth was formless and void,
and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving
over the surface of the waters.”
Genesis 1:1-2
Now that we have
discussed the evidence for the Earth being created before Satan’s rebellion, we
will now look at another misunderstanding which is perpetuated by the popular GAP
Theory.
GAP Theorists believe
there to be a huge gap of time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. They say that, soon after the creation of the
world on Day 1, Satan and a third of the angels rebelled against God and were
immediately cast out of Heaven and thrown to the earth where they then
fashioned it into a dark chaotic mess. Quite
sometime later, when God comes to restore the world and perfect it
according to His original intent, His Spirit comes into a supposedly chaotic
waste place. He then remakes and reshapes it into a beautiful masterpiece.
Those who believe
this theory speculate that this gap could have possibly been as much as a
few million years, thus accounting for the seemingly old earth. Therefore, they believe that the first “day”
must have been much longer than 24 hours.
They consider “Day 1” as possibly a measure of time lengthened to at
least a few million years. However, they generally believe that the
remaining six days of Genesis are literal 24 hour periods.
One of the main
reasons why they propose this option is because the Hebrew word for
"formless" can also mean "a place of chaos." Once a lesson on Hebrew is given, it is likely
that they will take you to Isaiah 45:18 which says...
"For thus says the LORD, who
created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He
established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be
inhabited)..."
The problem with
using this as a proof for anything is found in the mere fact that the English
word “run” has well over six hundred
distinct meanings alone. This seems to
indicate that just because a word can mean something, does not necessarily
imply that it does mean something.
Because of this we must look at the context, but first, let’s look at
the terms “formless” and “void.” What do
they really mean?
Well, for starters,
the word formless means that
"the earth was without form" while the word void means that "the earth was empty." Sometimes
the text means just what it says. Just
because it can mean "chaos" does not mean that it does
mean "chaos." Chaos does not
fit the context. However, the Earth
being without any defining form would and does fit the context since at this
time it was completely covered in water.
Too often we try to
gain some new revelation into the Word of God. Our hearts are in the right place as we seek
to know God in His Word better, but unfortunately, there is a tendency at times
to overthink things causing our minds to begin unconsciously seeing anything we
want them to see.
So now that we
understand that these words mean what they say, what does it look like? Let's tackle the easier one first. The Earth was considered "empty"
because there was absolutely no life to it. There were no sea creatures filling the waters
until Day 5 so there was no life at all.
Now let's move on to
the second and more controversial term of "formless." Well, as you remember from all of those years
attending children's church and heading off to Sunday school, God did not bring
forth land until Day 3 of creation.
Now listen closely
because we are about to get into some technical details which
will aid in our exegesis of the rest of the chapter and ultimately
throughout the rest of Scripture. This does not mean that land didn't
exist before Day 3. Yes, the Earth at this time is a big ball of water
floating all by itself in a dark and lonely universe, but what does
God say in verse 9?
"Let the waters...be
gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear."
Did you catch that? Does the term "appear" seem to grip
you like it does me? Where else
in the creation account does God use the term "appear?" Nowhere! He always says, "Let there
be...!" To appear means "to become visible." It carries the connotation that it is already
there, it just cannot be seen. The
reason that "dry land" is not seen until Day 3 is because it is under
water. God said, "...let the dry
land appear..." because there was no "dry land." There was only "wet land."
You see, the Earth,
on Day 1, was created with all of the essential components necessary
to its form and foundation. What I am saying is that on Day 1 when God
made the Earth, He did not just make a giant rain drop. He gave it a core,
mantle, and a crust and covered it with water.
The Earth is
referred to as being "formless" because water, in and of itself,
is formless. Liquid water takes on the shape of whatever container it is
placed into. The problem was that there was no container. This massive
one-world ocean covered the entire planet as there was no mold (land) above to
provide definite shape. Thus, as the angels were viewing the Earth in its
beginning stages as God laid the foundations, they themselves
observed no definite form to Earth.
So far we have seen three
things:
·
The angels
were created on Day 1 just before the Earth.
·
Satan did not
sin until sometime after the world was made in Genesis 1:1.
·
The proposed
GAP Theory does not support the idea of Satan falling between Genesis 1:1 and
1:2 because the text does not support any such notion of there being a gap of
time. Therefore, sin did not enter until
sometime after Genesis 1:2.
_______________________________________________________________
QUESTION #4
When did Lucifer become Satan?
When did Lucifer fall
into sin? At what point did he change from being humble, loving, and
always longing to be in the presence of God, to being proud, hateful, and
wanting absolutely nothing to do with God?
When did he say in his heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise
my throne above the stars of
God, and I
will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend
above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."
- Isaiah 14:13-14
At what point in history did this
terrible event occur? Some say that he fell millions of years before the
world was made, but we know that the angels were created on Day 1, possibly
moments before God formed the world.
Some say that God created the angels
and the world on Day 1 with a million year gap taking place between verse one
and two of chapter one in which Satan's fall occurred somewhere within that
time. But as we have seen, Scripture
does not support such an idea.
So when did Satan fall? Since we know that the six days of Genesis
are literal 24 hour days and that Satan did not fall before the creation of the
world, then there is only one other set of options. Either he fell sometime before Day 7 or
sometime after. So far we have seen that
Satan is still good by at least the start of verse three, but let’s read on.
"God saw all that He had made, and
behold, it was very good...Thus the heavens and the earth were
completed, and all of their hosts."
Genesis 1:31-2:1
At the end of the creation week, when
God looks over all He had made, He says that it is very good. He was not just
looking at the plants or the rocks or even the galaxies. He was looking at
everything. He was being all-inclusive. So what did He look at when He said
"very good?" He looked at all of the hosts (Lucifer, the angels, Adam
and Eve, etc.). Genesis tells us that all of the hosts were very good at the
end of the creation week. Therefore it is impossible for Lucifer to have fallen
before that time because God would never refer to Satan now as good.
Now many people will argue that the
above passage is kind of vague and would be a stretch to place on Satan and the
angels. This argument brings me to the
main point. We are about to turn to a
passage of Scripture that gives us 100% confidence in believing that Lucifer
did not rebel until after the creation week.
You see, God had planted a garden
called "Eden" and placed man there on Day 6 of the creation week.
Ezekiel 28:11-17 God refers to Lucifer as having...
"had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect
in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was
your covering: the ruby, the topaz and the diamond; the beryl, the onyx and the
jasper; the lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; and the gold, the
workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day that you were created
they were prepared. You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you
there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the
stones of fire. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created
until unrighteousness was found in you..."
God says that Lucifer before he fell
into sin walked in the garden of Eden. Well, we know that the garden was
created before Adam (2:8) but it couldn't have been too long before the
creation of man. In fact, the earliest that God could have planted the garden
was on Day 3 which indicates that at least by Day 3 Lucifer was still
"very good." However, we know from the end of chapter one and
beginning of chapter two that he was still very good at the end of day 6. Thus,
Lucifer fell into sin and became Satan sometime after the creation week and
before the fall of man.
I
believe this to be a verse that tells us plainly that Lucifer walked in the
garden of Eden with the seal of perfection and perfect in beauty (a.k.a. he was
righteous and holy).
Conclusion
Some will bring up
the point that it would be hard to believe that Satan could influence a third of the
angels that quickly, but we really don’t know how much time passed from Day 6
to when he tempted Eve, yet many of us believe that Adam and Eve fell rather
quickly. Why then could it not be the
same in the angelic realm? Just because
we don’t see it happen like that doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen like that.
God made Lucifer the
anointed cherub. He had power and rule,
yet God gave ruler-ship to Adam and Eve.
Could this have upset him? Here
is a question, “Is it possible that the moment Satan fell was the moment he was
tempting Eve?” Because of his so-called
victory, could this have shown power to the angels? That now Satan is the ruler of the “rulers.”
Generally in life if
someone has a major victory, then many are willing to follow that
individual. If Lucifer became Satan
either just before or during Eve’s temptation, then went to Heaven and boasted
about his accomplishment and influenced many to join him, then it would be
possible that during that time Adam and Eve were sewing fig leaves together and
God throws Satan and those who followed him down to the Earth and makes His
triumphant entrance into the garden.
