Call attention to the order of creation. First, heaven and its inhabitants, the angels; then the earth with its various forms of life.
That the Celestial heaven with its inhabitants was created before the earth we may discover as we read Job 38:4-7. God Himself is the Spokesman here. He is talking with His servant Job of His creative power and in exquisite poetry represents Himself as the Master Workman sending forth into space the earthly orb to complete the delicate harmony of the spheres, and over which the “sons of God,” i.e., the angels, “shouted for joy.” It will be helpful if an article on the music of the spheres is read by the members of the class. The expression “when the morning stars sang together” is not merely a bit of wonderful poetry but it indicates a fact that scientific discovery has brought to light. The chapter on “Scientific Truth of the Word” in Dr. A. T. Pierson’s helpful volume, Many Infallible Proofs, will be of use in this connection.
How much more satisfactory is this description of a created planet than the theory of “a bit of fire-mist evolving a confused mass of primal elements, which constantly assuming new proportions, finally, after untold ages, appeared as the globe upon which we now live”-and how did the “primal elements” originate?
It is not the purpose of this course of Study to unfold the wonderful scientific truths that are contained in the remainder of this remarkable chapter; but the devout scientific man might refer to sentence after sentence that antedates the discoveries of science by thousands of years: E.g., who would have supposed that verses 22 and 23 had any connection with some of the high explosives of modern warfare; yet devout scientific men now understand the allusion.
Let us now turn our attention to the first created beings-the angels. These are unembodied (not disembodied) personal beings- superior to known laws of matter. They may appear in bodily form as many passages of Scripture prove. (See Num. 22:23; 1 Chron. 21:15-16, 18, 20, 27; Acts 12:7-10.) They possess great power and might (2 Pet. 2:11). They “excel in strength” (Psa. 103:20). In 2 Thessalonians 1:7 and the Revelation, we read of “mighty angels.” This qualifying adjective would lead us to think that angels vary in rank and authority, and this supposition is borne out by other passages that indicate their rank or order. Thus we read of “principalities, authorities, world-rulers,” in Ephesians 6:12 (Rotherham translation).
The names of only two holy angels are given in the Bible- Michael and Gabriel.
The meaning of angel is “messenger,” and we see that the holy angels are constantly serving their Creator by going on His errands throughout the universe. Notice that they do not choose the scope of their ministry. They accept the ministrations assigned them without question, as cheerfully going to call a hungry, discouraged servant of God to a meal (1 Kings 19:5) as to utter the transcendent announcement of a Redeemer’s birth. The angels are the servants in God’s great household. (See Heb. 1:13-14.)
We now approach a subject of great importance, but little understood.
A terrible discord arises in the harmony of the universe. We find the cause of this set forth in Ezekiel 28:12-17, beginning with the last clause of verse 12. The Creator is saying to the wisest, fairest, brightest of the angels, one whom He addresses as “anointed cherub,” “Thou wast perfect in all thy ways till iniquity was found in thee”; and He proceeds to pronounce judgment upon him, saying, “Thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mount of God. I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.” What was his sin? Let us turn to Isaiah 14:12-15 where God is addressing the same being, calling him by his name Lucifer (son of the morning): “Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit upon the mount of the congregation in the uttermost parts of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.”
Notice the expression “Thou hast said in thine heart.” This indicates an attitude not only of mind but of will. It is more than an intellectual process. It is the crystallization of intellectual thinking into an attitude of fixed determination. Five times Lucifer says, “I will,” thereby plainly revealing his attitude toward his Creator.
A close study of God’s Word seems to indicate that to Lucifer had been given dominion over the earth and its surrounding atmosphere, i.e., the atmospheric heaven. The title “Anointed Cherub” seems to indicate the fact that not only was he a tributary ruler, or prince, but that God had created him to magnify His holiness and exult His Name throughout the universe. The expression, “The workmanship of thy tabrets and thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created,” would cause us to believe that he was to lead the great anthem of praise to the Creator throughout the universe.
Notice his expressions very carefully: “I will ascend into heaven,” i.e., “heaven itself,” the place of God’s immediate presence, the “heaven of heavens.” Not content with dominion of the lower sphere he would exercise dominion in the Celestial sphere. “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God,” points to the fact that he would elevate his throne in the terrestrial heaven, above the starry heaven, even to the Celestial heaven (the “third heaven” of 2 Corinthians 12:2). The words, “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north,” denote the exalted position he intended to universal dominion. “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,” reveals the fact that his seat of dominion was in the atmospheric heaven, and he planned to extend his dominion by invading those regions over which God alone exercised authority and control. “I will be like (or equal to) the Most High,” plainly shows us that equality with his Creator was his objective. Nay, more than this-he would hurl God from His throne and take His place. No wonder, then, that those solemn words rang through the universe-“Thou hast sinned.” Never had those words been uttered before, for this was the origin of sin, and in Lucifer, we behold the first sinner.
We see, then, that the modern teaching concerning sin as being merely a belief of the human mind is erroneous, for sin originated untold ages before the mind of man was created.
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