Transcript Document

Hypocrites and Backsliders004
Adam and Eve: Part 1 - Why are
We Here?
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
1
The Fall of Lucifer
• Eze 28:12 Son of man, take up a lamentation over
the king of Tyre and say to him, Thus says the Lord
God: You are the full measure and pattern of
exactness [giving the finishing touch to all that
constitutes completeness], full of wisdom and
perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden
of God; every precious stone was your covering,
the carnelian, topaz, jasper, chrysolite, beryl, onyx,
sapphire, carbuncle, and emerald; and your
settings and your sockets and engravings were
wrought in gold.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
2
The Fall of Lucifer
• On the day that you were created they were
prepared. [Gen. 3:14, 15; Isa. 14:12ﾐ15; Matt.
16:23.]14 You were the anointed cherub that
covers with overshadowing [wings], and I set you
so. You were upon the holy mountain of God; you
walked up and down in the midst of the stones of
fire [like the paved work of gleaming sapphire
stone upon which the God of Israel walked on
Mount Sinai]. [Exod. 24:10.]15 You were
blameless in your ways from the day you were
created until iniquity and guilt were found in you.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
3
The Fall of Lucifer
• 16 Through the abundance of your commerce you
were filled with lawlessness and violence, and you
sinned; therefore I cast you out as a profane thing
from the mountain of God and the guardian cherub
drove you out from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Your heart was proud and lifted up because of
your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the
sake of your splendor.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
4
Angelic Observation
• When Satan sinned against God, he was
sentenced to the lake of fire for all eternity.
Ezek. 28.19b; Mt. 25.41
• Satan's ultimate goal to win escape from this
sentence is to totally discredit and destroy the
character and viewpoint of God so as to
displace Him as the sovereign of the
universe. Is. 14.14
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
5
Creation
• When Lucifer rebelled against divine policy,
he and the angels who followed him were
kicked out of heaven and they made their
place of residence, the earth. Ezek. 28:16; Is.
14:12a; Rev. 12:4
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
6
Creation
• Lucifer's sin initially was pride which caused
him to promote himself above God and to
violate the divine trust assigned to him. Ezek.
28:16a, 17a, 18a.
• When this sin emerged, Lucifer was removed
from his heavenly duties and personally
condemned to the lake of fire. Ezek. 28;19,
"you will be no more."
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
7
Creation
• In this promotion of self and criticism of God,
he persuaded 1/3 of the angels to follow him.
Rev. 12:4
• All the angels who followed Lucifer were
indicted by God and given the same destiny
of the lake of fire. Mat. 25:41.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
8
Creation
• At this point, Lucifer protested and postulated his
doctrine of love and fairness, "how can a loving God
cast his creatures, who he loves, into the lake of
fire?"
• This is an attack on divine righteousness and
justice, thinking that love supersedes them. Job
4:18.2.
• Thus, for God to be perfectly fair, he must
demonstrate the perfect compatibility between all
three of those attributes, without compromising any
of them.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
9
Creation
• So the plan of the ages (Eph. 3:11) was put
into operation.
• Created a lower life form than the angels but
with the same volition. Heb. 2:6-8
• Give it the reality of divine provision in every
area of life and make known the potential and
consequences of evil. (The tree + specific
instruction).
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
10
Creation
• Satan and his angels were given a stay of
execution until such time as God
demonstrates the validity of His judicial
indictment upon them.
• This is the issue at Philip. 2:9-11.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
11
Creation
• Name of Jesus: reputation and essence
• Confess He is Lord: sovereign
• To the glory of God the Father: full vindication
of His essence.
• Satan chose to "wait it out" by setting up
homestead on planet earth. Is. 14:12
• You have been cut down: God's activity
• To the earth: Satan's choice.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
12
Creation
• It is here that he organized paragraph 1 and 2 of his
"I Will" Campaign to take the place of God. Isaiah
14:13
• Paragraph One: directed toward himself, "I will
ascend to heaven."
• Paragraph Two: directed toward the other angels, "I
will exalt my throne above the stars of God."
• But God had chosen to use the earth for the
environment of the new volitional creature
(man). Reflected in Isaiah 45:18
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
13
Creation
• So God put a stop to Satan's possession of the earth and
totally destroyed its surface by covering it with water and ice.
2 Pet. 3:5-6
• This is described in Gen. 1:1-2 in general.
• The earth became: The verb is, hAyAh which can be
translated, "became." (Gen. 2:7; 19:26; Isaiah 66:2)
• Formless: a waste = tohu Cf. Is. 45:18, it was not created
this way.
• And empty: bohu - lit., emptiness
• Physical non-volitional life forms destroyed.
• Satan and angels excluded.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
14
Creation
• And then God (possibly immediately or some
unknown time later) began re-forming the
surface which is described in detail at Gen.
1:2b through 2:4.5.
• Thus the 6 days of "creation" are actually 6
days of "restoration."
• (Note the Holy Spirit "brooding" over the
surface; the Holy Spirit is always involved
with restoration projects.)
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
15
Creation
• This judgment is also described by prophetic
"flashback" in Psalm 18:7-15 and Jeremiah 4:23-26.
• When Satan and angels were kicked off the earth,
they were probably forced to be "wanderers" without
a "world" as a place of residence.
• So it is that when man was created he was given
possession and authority over the earth. Gen. 1:28;
Ps. 8:6-8
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
16
Creation
• And then, when Satan procured Adam's
spiritual fall in the garden, he wrested that
authority from Adam and became the ruler
over the earth and the atmosphere in his
place. 2 Cor. 4:4; Jn. 12:31; Luke 4:6; Eph.
2:2
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
17
Creation
• Satan organized this rulership into a "world
system" of darkness in order to advance His
plan to discredit and frustrate the progress of
God's plan. 2 Cor. 4:4; 11:13-15; Eph. 6:12;
Col. 2:8; 1 John 5:19
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
18
Creation
• From within this "I Will" Campaign, he then
formulated the rest of his Evil manifesto. Is. 14:13b14
• Paragraph 3: directed toward man, world rulership
over the human race.
• Paragraph 4: Directed toward the Messianic
presence. "the Cloud" (singular in the Hebrew).
• Paragraph 5: directed toward God, "I will be like the
Most High."
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
19
Creation
• The length of the gap is unknown and can be
speculated about through geological discussion.
• But the existence of this "gap" is both reasonable
and necessary in view of the revealed details of the
angelic conflict.
• God made the planet earth "unusable" for Satan by
turning it into "a wasteland and empty," (Hebrew tohu and bohu). CF. Isaiah 45:18; Jer. 4:23-26;
Psalm 18:7-15
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
20
Creation
• The earth was then restored and prepared for
God's new creation, the human race. Gen.
1:3 through 2:4.
• Man was created with the same capacity of
volition and given the clear choice between
acceptance or rejection of Divine policy. Gen.
2:16-17
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
21
Creation
• Adam and Eve became the "test case" for the
perfect character of God.
• As they remain faithful to divine policy, God's
righteousness, justice and love are
vindicated.
• If they reject divine policy, God's justice is
restated and affirmed. "You shall surely die."
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
22
Creation
• It is at this time that Satan begins
implementing his 5 point plan of Isaiah 14:1314 and accomplished the fall of man in the
garden of Eden.
• So before the human race was created there
existed two classes of angels, un-fallen and
fallen.
• The un-fallen or "elect" angels: 1 Tim. 5:21
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
23
Creation
• Man was created on the earth and was given
full dominion over the entire realm. Gen. 1:28;
Ps. 8:4-8E. but since the fall of man, he is not
viewed as in a place of authority, but in
slavery to Satan and under his kingdom. Heb.
2:15; 1 Jn. 5:19; Gal. 4:3, 8; Jn. 8:44; Eph.
2:1-2; Acts 26:18F.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
24
Creation
• So it is, that when Satan accomplished the
fall of the human race in Adam, he usurped
Adam's authority and became the ruler of the
realm. Jn. 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor. 4:4;
Luke 4:5-7G.
• Satan's rulership will be removed when Christ
sets up his own kingdom after the Day of the
Lord judgments. Dan. 2:44-45; 7:11-14; Rev.
11:15; 19:19-21; 20:1-4; 1 John 3:8
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
25
Creation
• But in the meantime, Satan's whole purpose
in this realm is to fulfill his 5 paragraph plan of
Isaiah 14.
• Satan's strategy necessarily centers around
the human race. 2 Cor. 4:4; 11:14-15; Job
1:9-11; 2:4-5
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
26
Creation
• Angelic convocations:
• There are certain times when all the sons of God
appear before God. Job 1:6; 2:1
• During the course of the human race up until the
middle of the "70th week" of Daniel (the last 7 year
period before Messiah sets up his earthly kingdom),
Satan has free access to heaven where he attacks
and accuses believers. Rev. 12:10Cf.
• Christ's defense of the believer is found in Rom.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
27
Creation
• His intercession and defense is always based
on His completed work on the cross.
• In the middle of that "70th week," this access
that Satan has and the angelic convocations
will be revoked and Satan and his angels will
be permanently denied any physical
presence in heaven. Rev. 12:7-10
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
28
Eden
• Hebrew: Adan - to be luxurious, delightful.
• Only occurs in the hithpael and means: to
delight oneself in something - Neh. 9.25
• Masculine noun: Aden - delight, luxury - 2
Sam. 1.24; Jer. 51.34; Ps. 36.9
• Feminine noun: ednAh - sexual delight or
luxury - Gen. 18.12
• Adjective: Adiyn - sexually luxurious - Is. 47.8
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
29
The Antagonistic Environment
• Mankind was created and placed into an
antagonistic environment in the garden of Eden.
• The presence of fallen angels in the universe with
an agenda to undermine the character and plan of
God. Is. 14:13-14
• Thus the mandate to cultivate and guard the
garden. Gen. 2:15:
• Genesis 2:15 (AMP) And the Lord God took the
man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and
guard and keep it.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
30
The Antagonistic Environment
• After the fall of mankind in Adam, the
antagonistic environment is increased by four
additional factors.
• 1 - The presence of the sin nature in all
people: Gen. 3:7-10;6:5; 8:21
• 2 - The physical curse on the laws of nature:
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
31
The Antagonistic Environment
• 3 - Satan now possesses usurped rulership
authority over the world. John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11;
Acts 26:18; Col. 1:13
• 4 - Satan claims a deity relationship with the world:
2 Cor. 4:4 and thus possesses spiritual authority
over the world. 1 John 5:19; Eph. 2:2; John 8:44; 1
John 3:10
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
32
The Antagonistic Environment
• Accordingly, the condition of the world
throughout man's history is described as "the
present evil age," (Gal. 1:4) with the result
that "the days are evil." (Eph. 5:16)
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
33
The Antagonistic Environment
• Satan and his demons are set up in array
against the believer. 1 Peter 5:8 B. Eph.
6:10-12
• He utilizes many from among the human race
to advance his agenda. 2 Cor. 11:13-15
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
34
The Antagonistic Environment
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
35
The Antagonistic Environment
• The antagonistic environment will lessen during
Messiah's 1000 year kingdom on the earth when:
• Satan and his demons are bound. Rev. 20:1-3;
Zech 13:1-2
• Nature is tamed: Is. 11:6-8; 65:25; Ezek. 34:25;
Hos. 2:18
• But men will still possess a sin nature and be able
to sin against God and harm others. Rev. 20:7-8;
Zech. 13:3-6; 14:16-19; Ezek. 45:13-25
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
36
The Antagonistic Environment
• The antagonistic environment is totally
removed in the eternal state.
• Satan and the demons will be permanently
assigned to the lake of fire. Rev. 20:10
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
37
The Antagonistic Environment
• There is a physical renovation of the universe
resulting in a new heavens and earth. Rev.
21:1; Romans 8:21; 2 Pet. 3:10-13.
• All unbelievers will be cast into the lake of fire
via the Great White Throne judgment. Rev.
20:11-15
• The sin nature is removed via resurrection.
Rev. 21:2-8; 22:3-4 (Phil. 3:21)
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
38
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
•
•
•
•
•
The Angelic Conflict
A. The origin of volition is in the Godhead.
God's volition has always existed.
It is His sovereignty.
Sovereignty is absolute volition that has
absolute authority to think and determine
anything it wants. Psalm 115:3; 135:6; Dan.
4:35
• Daniel 4:35, He does according to His will
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
39
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• The Angelic Conflict
• In the host of heaven: angelic creation
• and among the inhabitants of the earth:
human creation.
• God's sovereignty gives volition to whomever
He chooses.
• But that volition is always dependent on
(subject to) sovereignty.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
40
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• The Angelic Conflict
• A volitional creature may only do what God
permits. this is not emphasizing "ability" but
"right."
• He will never stop our thinking, but He may
prevent the follow through of our thinking, ie,
the actions.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
41
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• The Angelic Conflict
• A volitional creature must bow to the
consequences God establishes for deviation
from His standards.
• God permitted volition in the angelic realm.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
42
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• The Angelic Conflict
• As an expression of His perfect essence, God
chose to have created beings functioning in
the universe on the basis of "free will."
• He wanted them to express themselves
toward Him in a positive attitude from choice
and not as a programmed "robot."
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
43
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• The Angelic Conflict
• God is absolute righteousness.
• In God's foreknowledge, He anticipated that the
opposite of His perfect righteousness would
manifest itself through a volitional creature.
• Therefore, He created the Servant Class Creature
(Angels) first, and allowed them to rebel, thus
setting up an opportunity to create a second being,
the Fellowship Class, to resolve the Volitional
Conflict Issue through Grace and Regeneration.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
44
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• The Angelic Conflict
• So in order to allow for existence of volitional
creatures throughout eternity, God must
permit the manifestation of unrighteousness
and then deal with it in perfect justice once
and for all. CF. Psalm 92:7
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
45
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• The Angelic Conflict
• Unrighteousness cannot be tolerated by
God's absolute righteousness.
• It must be judged.
• Once exposed and judged, it will no longer be
an issue throughout the universe.
• And so, volitional creatures will be able to
exist with that volition but without the threat of
going against God's righteousness.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
46
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• The Angelic Conflict
• That course of action will not be available to
them.
• Sin and unrighteousness will be totally
exposed for what it is and then judged once
and for all, put as it were, in the divine
"museum" of history and left there as
evidence for all eternity.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
47
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• The Angelic Conflict
• This is because unrighteousness will have
been fully exposed and dealt with and
demonstrated to all the creation that it is
undesirable and unacceptable and nonbeneficial.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
48
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• The Angelic Conflict
• Justification in salvation and eternal security
is actually a picture of this concept.
• So we have the reason God created angels
with volition - knowing fully the whole course
of history.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
49
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• The Angelic Conflict
• The function of angelic volition:
• It functioned totally positive to divine design for an
indefinite period of time. Gen. 1:1 cf. Job 38:4-7, "all
the sons of God shouted for joy."
• As positive to God's standards, angels consistently
praised Him and did His will. Psalm 103:19-213.
• There was a rank and order among the angels but
everything functioned smoothly without competition
or dissatisfaction during this indefinite period.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
50
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• The Angelic Conflict
• The revolt of the angels: the beginning of the
angelic conflict.
• What God had anticipated came about and
the highest ranked angel expressed negative
volition toward God and sinned. Ezk. 28:1516a, 17a, 18a
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
51
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• According to Isaiah 14:12, his name was Lucifer
(Latin). The shining one. This was because of his
magnificent beauty.
• As a result, God removed Lucifer from his heavenly
position. Ezk. 28:16b
• He also pronounced a permanent judgment on this
angel who was now to be known as, Satan, which
means adversary.
• The judgment pronounced was the lake of fire. Ezk.
28:18b-19; Mat. 25:41
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
52
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• When this final judgment was pronounced on
Satan, he then devised what he thought was a
"God-proof" escape plan.
• We can call it, Satan's Appeal of Love and Fairness:
• It is impossible for a loving God to cast His
creatures into the lake of fire.
• It is unfair to judge a creature for failing when you
put into him the capacity to fail, ie, volition.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
53
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• The Angelic Conflict
• But these concepts are expressed from the
viewpoint of a creature who now has a "distorted"
mentality and wisdom. Ezek. 28:17,"You corrupted
your wisdom"
• The fallen angel now has a distorted, corrupt, evil
"nature."
• In his corruption, he failed to consider the absolute
nature of God's righteousness and justice in
conjunction with the "impartiality" of His perfect love.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
54
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• This understanding of Satan's "protest" is based on
three factors.
• The expression of this very viewpoint by a demon
(fallen angel) who visited Eliphaz at Job 4:1221. (God is unfair and unloving)
• The "fact" that Satan is not NOW in the lake of fire
requires a "reasonable" explanation as to "why?"
• The expression of this very viewpoint throughout
the history of the human race under the influence of
Satan's revolution.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
55
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• When Satan rebelled against God, God
established some kind of "confrontation" or
"test period" for the other angels to determine
for all time, which angels were on "God's
side" and which wanted to follow in Satan's
revolt.
• After this "test period" the lines were drawn,
decisions made and two types of angels were
now in existence in the universe
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
56
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• The elect or un-fallen angels who adhered to
Divine design. Hebrews 1:6, angels of God .
(1 Tim. 5:21)
• The fallen angels, now in active and
perpetual rebellion against God and aligned
under the ruling authority of Satan to promote
his cause. Satan's angels, Rev. 12:7; Mat.
25:41
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
57
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• It is likely that Satan had his original Headquarters
on the earth, which at that time was inhabited by
non-volitional life forms (such as dinosaurs, etc).
• This was before Adam. Isaiah 14:12, "How you
have fallen from heaven" "you have been cut down
to the earth." "you who have weakened the nations"
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
58
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• "weakened the nations", refers to the breakdown of
Heavenly Angelic order prior to Satan's rebellion
and the rebellion of the 1/3 of the Angelic
population.
• "cut down" refers to Satan's loss of position prior to
the creation of man.
• It is God who "cut down" Satan.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
59
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• Thus we determine that God has delayed execution
of sentence on Satan in order to demonstrate to him
and to all of creation that He is indeed perfectly fair,
righteous and loving.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
60
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• During this "delay of sentence" period, Satan
is constantly attempting to overthrow God's
sovereignty.
• Only when the absolute sovereignty of God is
neutralized can Satan' s volition be
independent and unrestricted by God and His
character.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
61
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• The Angelic Conflict
• In order to do this, Satan need only "prove"
that God is really unjust and unloving.
• To thus discredit God will make the divine
verdict toward him to be invalid.
• The plan of Satan is outlined at Isaiah 14:1314 with the 5 "I wills."
• All of these were devised "after" Satan made
his "headquarters" on the earth.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
62
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• And he really thinks he can succeed. But that
"optimism" comes from his distorted, twisted,
self-centered mentality which was corrupted
when he initially sinned. Ezek. 28:17,
"corrupted."
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
63
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• God's vindication of His justice began with
the creation of the human race on the very
planet that Satan had "confiscated" for his
own purposes.
• The earth.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
64
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• But first, it was necessary for God to drive
Satan and his angels from the planet by
making it totally "uninhabitable" as a base of
operations.
• This then becomes the explanation for what
has been called the "gap theory."
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
65
The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
• However, our position is that it is not a
"theory" but a valid and actual explanation of
a "judgment" on the earth that takes place in
between Genesis 1:1 and v. 2.
• Next week we will learn more about the
conflict between Satan and God, and how we
are a key to revealing God's Grace to the
Angelic Observers of 1 Peter 1:12; and how it
answers our questions about Hypocrites and
Backsliders.
11-25-07
Hypocrites and Backsliders-004
66