I'm not up on theology, I couldn't even tell you what I am in such
terms, but I have read my Bible and I believe every word in it. And I pray
constantly for God to give me understanding. Something occurred to me today that
has baffled me as to whether it could be, or if it even matters in the big
scheme of things. I have thought alot over the past year of what it means to be
created in the image of God. And then today, I'm not sure what led to it, but
something came to mind as I considered the bloody battlefield in the church
(emergent church thread) in recent years...
There was war in heaven long
ago.
The angels were created with free-will which allowed them to chose
whether to join Satan in his rebellion. Perhaps there was a whole working thru
that warfare in heaven that was removed from us as mankind, and yet tied to us.
Perhaps the rebellion didn't take place until the plans were spoken that
God would create Man in his image. Before the actual physical creation occurred.
Perhaps, there are things that are spoken in those heavenly places before the
throne of God that we cannot understand at this time. All that I am about to say
is merely speculation and thought of possibilities, I'm not saying this is a
doctrine or even TRUTH. I am trying to understand the truth in terms of what
matters for us now and what we cannot know until we stand before God.
But maybe somehow the angels were given roles to play or privy knowledge
in the creation and the plan of God for mankind. But the rebellion caused them
to be put in chains and removed from those roles. Not that that diminished God's
ability to fulfill his plan, it merely complicated things (complicated things in
our small minds, not in Gods).
I know the character of my God and I know
that he does not change in matters of integrity and justice. Whatever happened
in heaven between him and the angels, perhaps the consequence requires a playing
out over a certain time frame just like the plan of salvation that he is working
out for us in this lifetime and world.
Angels have a free will. But
angels cannot procreate (multiply souls). They are not offered a plan of
redemption or salvation. There are unique differences between angels and people,
though there are things about us both that allows us to be considered sons of
God. We are both special creations to God. He loves all his creation, but we are
the only ones that he came to save and to redeem back into fellowship.
those are key thoughts to what I'm thinking...
There was a war
in heaven in which Satan rebelled against God, "why?" ...no one really knows
except that it was rooted in arrogance and he tried to elevate himself above the
authority of God. He fell from heaven, yet in Job we see that he still has
access to appear before the throne of God as the accuser of the brethren and to
ask permission to tempt us. So I think his fall from heaven was a loss of any
measure of authority in heaven, as though he was cast out of the boardroom of
God and not privy to any more information concerning God's plan for mankind or
anything else.
But knowing God's Just character, something must have
happened in that heavenly conflict that caused God to withhold arresting Satan
and sending him straight to the lake of fire. Something that we are not to know
at this time, but something that Satan used as a tactic to delay his sentence.
God is bound to his word, so he waits, and he remains faithful to whatever point
of His Justice that Satan has taken advantage of. Not that Satan wants
redemption (which isn't even possible for him or any other angel) he just wants
opportunity to manifest his hatred to God as much as possible before dying the
second death. The second death removes him from the presence of God for
eternity... so his meanness until that point is his rant and spewing of hatred
toward God and all that God loves... mankind mainly (but also the earth, nature,
the angels, all that is good in the eyes of the Creator).
So because of
his playing on the justice of God, Satan remained running around heaven and
earth. And just as he convinced a third of the angels to rebel against God, he
tempted mankind, who also chose to rebel thru disobedience. God cursed
everything that allowed itself to be used to accomplish Satan's corruption of
all that God called good. He was bound to justice and Satan knew it. He knew
that if he could infect the children of God with corruption and sin... a holy
God would have to judge them as sin.
Satan was basing it all on his
experience of causing God to have to judge a third of the angels and to bind
them in chains separated from him. Satan saw how it hurt the heart of God to
have to do such a thing. He was soooo looking forward to seeing the hurt he
caused God for having to judge his precious mankind in the same manner. But he
was not privy to the fulfillment of God's plan for mankind... the concept of God
as savior was a foreign thing to the angels, especially Satan. The thought never
entered his head, it was incomprehensible. It had never been done, and therefore
never existed as a possibility or even as a thought.
Satan must have
wondered for years and years as to why God was requiring the blood of animals.
He must have thought God was simply delaying judgment because he dreaded having
to judge the children he loved so much, the ones created in his image. Satan
must have scratched his head in much confusion as Israel was chosen as special
and marked for something... I can just see him fumbling thru his ignorance and
his arrogance trying to understand what in the world God was doing making all
these promises to Isreal that seemed impossible and senseless.
But then
the moment came, and all of heaven stood in shock and wonder, as Christ stepped
out of the person of God and into a body prepared for him on the earth to
perform a role that was beyond the understanding of any creation in heaven or in
earth. Like the rib taken from Adam's side, Christ-God removed himself from the
God-head and lowered himself under the Father's will to go to be with Man...
selah....
I can just see Satan on the earth screaming and
stumbling on the ground, scurrying to back away from the Light that walked from
heaven into the dark domain on the earth. Suddenly every evil thing Satan had
devised and resided in was illuminated and unmasked as the corruption and sin
that he had infected it with. Heaven rejoiced at the vision and manifestation of
the miraculous... while hell and the devil screamed in confusion and terror
because God had come to earth to save and redeem and restore us, his children,
those made in his image.
And then one by one, he touched us and changed
us and offered us redemption, and one by one we have made that decision to
reflect the image of Christ once again -- so that the Light increases daily and
Satan's terror and power and death-grip on God's beloved is broken as God
reclaims his children one by one.
I've always thought the time-frame was
set simply for us. But perhaps the time frame is based upon when Satan's time is
up and God fulfills whatever manifestation of justice Satan has held Him to in
order to delay his own judgment. Judgment day marks not only the closing of this
time of grace offered to mankind, but it also ends Satan's delay of his
sentencing. All things will culminate in that one moment to eradicate all sin
from God's creation and everything that has married/joined itself to it.
There was war in heaven that was connected and reflected in the earth --
because we are connected to God and we reflect the image of Christ. However,
while Satan stirred up that war in heaven, you and I didn't start this war on
the earth. For us, Satan brought the war to Adam and to us, and we (mankind)
chose to join him. But God...
God in his mercy and his JUSTICE, made a
plan of redemption for those that were born into that war zone. We cannot use
the war as an excuse for our sin... because Christ has come to make a way for us
to have PEACE again, to be restored to fellowship with him, to free us from the
sin and corruption that we were born into...
Yes, it's not fun being
here in this war, but here we are. We were actually born into existence before
we became babies, we were actually born the moment that God saw Mankind in his
heart, you existed before he even spoke you into a physical existence. He
couldn't just erase you, he knew you and the beautiful things he had planned to
bless you with. There is no way to understand how that works.
God didn't
want to send each of us into the war zone. But we were already in his thoughts
and in his heart, we already existed, our births were already done before they
were manifested on the earth... God knew that he would have to send us because
the process of our existence (life) had already begun, he couldn't erase an
eternal soul once he thought it into existence and he had loved it as his child.
God doesn't throw away his kids, it's against his nature... He lets them choose
to leave, but it is not without great sorrow and agony of heart for him.
Satan laughs, he loves hurting the heart of God.
We are created
in the image of God, because we can procreate. But spiritually we are created in
his image because we can play a part in the salvation process, in multiplying
souls back into the Kingdom/Family of God, in the gathering and reclaiming and
harvesting of the children of God... we can claim the blood of Christ, his
authority to remove Satan's death-grip on people and situations, AND we can tell
our story of how Christ came and paid a great price to free us from the war,
from sin, from being eternally in bondage to a place he never intended for us --
separated from him and his love for us.
Jesus came to us as God and Man.
Jesus came to us as God/Christ to fulfill the role of the 'ANOINTED,' the one
given something from God to say, the one sent to fulfill/handoff a divine
plan/commission. Jesus came to us as Man to re-establish our authority, our
place of sonship to the Father, to the Family of God. When he became a man, he
was the only man that could enter heaven, the presence of God. He was the only
man that was without sin.
Jesus entering into the dirt of this world as
a baby... born in that humble stable... was like when Adam took his first breath
from God and life entered the dust of this earth in the form of a man. There was
no other man. There were no other people. He was the only one, he was without
sin, he walked and talked with God, in his immediate/intimate presence.
But then, Adam sinned and infected all of us, so that we are born into
corruption and a sin nature.
But do not be sad, because God did not
forget us nor forsake us, though we were ugly and consumed with wanting our own
way... God came to heal us and to restore us to relationship with him -- not
according to our lowliness, but according to how he saw us when he first thought
us into existence in his thoughts and in his heart, not according to the muck
and yuck that he is cleaning off of us daily, but he restores us to relationship
as beautiful children born in his image, children that he has called holy and
good, justified, heirs to the Kingdom/Family of God.
Adam failed, but
then Christ came as the second man, the only one.
Adam died leaving an
inheritance of sin and corruption.
Christ died, leaving an inheritance of a
paid debt and of freedom.
Jesus resurrected was God as God had always
been.
Jesus resurrected was Man as God had originally created him to be.
I've got to stop. My housework calls.
But my thoughts continue to
wander with all of this.
Like I said, some of this may be off, idk. I'm just
thinking out loud.
But what if much of it is true. I can't wait to ask
Christ about it all face to face someday when we're all hanging out with him in
the new earth. In the meantime there is much to do.
^_^
