Sharing the happiness of God, part 8; Cosmic #2; John 15:11
length: 1:05:05 - taught on Mar, 29 2012
Class Outline:
Title: Sharing the happiness of God, part 8; John 15:11.
Prayer for Sgt. Weichel’s family.
Cosmic Two: the hatred complex - fighting God.
Room #1: Negative volition. At three places: God consciousness, gospel hearing, post-salvation NVTD.
Cosmological argument: The intuitive credence that every effect must have a cause and so there must be a First Cause. Ex nihilo, nihil fit—out of nothing, nothing can arise—is an axiom which has been recognized by philosophers of all the ages.
GEN 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
“created” - a) Bara, which means to create something out of nothing.
Bara is used in verse 1 God created the universe out of nothing; in verse 21 God created the immaterial inner life of the animals; in verse 27 God created the inner immaterial part of man, the soul and spirit of man, out of nothing.
b) Asah, which means to make or construct something out of existing materials.
This is used in verse 7 (gases that make up the atmosphere) which is talking about the restoration of the earth. It is also used in verse 17 (Sun and moon), 26 (the material part of man).
c) Jatsar, which means to fashion or to mould. It also means to sculptor. This is used in Genesis 2:7.
GEN 2:7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Both bara and asah are used in GEN 2:3 to help paint the entire picture.
GEN 2:3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created [bara - out of nothing] and made [asah - out of pre-existing materials].
We could so easily jump into the doctrine of the angelic conflict here but then it would be like the movie Inception: Happiness, darkness, cosmic system, AC.
GEN 1:2 And 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.
“was” is literally became or came to pass (Vine’s expository dictionary). In other words, the earth was perfect and became something else.
There are three words to describe what the earth became.
The first one is tohu, translated “waste place,” in ISA 45:18, and then “void” - is waw bohu in the Hebrew and it means barren. This means that the original animal and vegetable life on the earth was destroyed.
So, ISA 45:18, the prophet writes that God did not design the world as a waste place, but made it for habitation. This agrees with GEN 1:1 and other verses that state that God made the earth in a moment of time, but something went terribly wrong. And that brings us to the second layer of our journey - the darkness came.
For thus says the Lord, who created [bara] the heavens
(He is the God who formed the earth and made it,
He established it and did not create it a waste place [tohu],
But formed it [kuwn - “to establish something as stable” - but the AC caused instability] to be inhabited),
"I am the Lord, and there is none else.
“and darkness was upon the face of the deep” - the earth became darkness. The Hebrew word means thick darkness in which there was no light.
There are several words for darkness in the Hebrew language. There is a word for darkness which has light in it and there is a word for darkness where there is no light in it.
So the earth became three things, according to verse 2: a) the earth is a dump, waste; b) the earth is barren; c) the earth is enshrouded in a darkness which has no light in it at all. Why? There was a cataclysm caused by the angelic conflict.
God created all things from nothing in GEN 1:1. After the fall of the angels and the subsequent conflict, God enshrouded the earth with deep darkness where there is no light at all. It could be surmised that satan and the fallen angels were incarcerated in this darkness.
To resolve the angelic conflict God restored the earth out of existing materials and introduced something brand new, which was the immaterial part of man - soul and spirit.
So then in verse 3, we have God’s command - let there be light and the subsequent restoration of the earth.
Therefore, the time period between GEN 1:1 and GEN 1:2 cannot be determined. When a supremely intelligent Creator is involved there is no way of determining what He has done in eternity past unless He tells us.
“Let there be light” - introduction of Jesus Christ as the strategic victor in the AC, sets off a chain of events that will continue until He destroys the known universe and makes it all new.
And because we know this, it incites in us a certain motivation to be residing in the sphere of love, in our own predestination, and not in a system that is to be destroyed.
2 Peter 3:1 This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,
2 Peter 3:2 that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.
2 Peter 3:3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,
2 Peter 3:4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation."
The mockers say that the universe will just go on and on as it has for another trillions of years and so they willfully ignore the cosmological argument - First Cause, which implies Last Cause or judgment.
And it’s not only the cosmological argument or the others that we will see that should convict the unbeliever, but also, God the Holy Spirit is working by means of His OP to convict the world.
John 16:8-11
"And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
2 Peter 3:5 For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed [was formed is not in the original] out of water and by water,
Corrected translation:
“For concerning this, they willfully desire to keep on ignoring that the heavens existed from ancient times formed and held together by the word of God, and the earth out from water and by means of water”
The sentence continues in verse 6:
2 Peter 3:6 through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.
Many good theologians and pastors conclude that this is a reference to Noah’s flood. I disagree.
It seems more compelling that this is the destruction of the first world at the fall of the angels when God incarcerated those who rejected salvation in water.
However, both did destroy the kosmos that existed at the time, but while the first was a complete destruction, in the second 8 people of Noah’s family as well as the animals were spared by means of the ark.
Also, verse four refers to the beginning of creation, which the mockers are cognizant of, but escapes their notice, or what they willfully desire to keep on ignoring is that fact that as angels were judged and their world before the fall was destroyed, so shall it be for man and his world.
And the earth was [became] formless and void, and darkness [without light] was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
There have been two great floods and so comes the promise of the rainbow. Why give that promise if God only flooded the world once? Wouldn’t we much more need a promise when we discover that God flooded the world twice, and if so would He keep on doing it?
And I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth [good to know around here]." And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.