John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He was in the beginning with God. (3) All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
In the beginning there was God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Everything else that exists today has been made by them, through them and for them. Most of God’s creation as it exists today has been in existence for a period of time that far exceeds any human understanding, for the concept of eternity is not something that men understand, and mankind itself, as God’s latest addition to His creation, has only been a part of that creation for roughly the last twenty thousand years. The above quoted passage of scripture confirms the truth to us that God has always been, and also explains to us how God creates all things, i.e. He does so by the power of His word. In other words, God simply speaks into existence that which He creates. As we examine different aspects of creation later in this series, we will see examples of statements made by scientists; that new species appeared in the earth seemingly out of nowhere. And so, as believers we understand clearly how creatures “mysteriously” appear, while science frustratingly cannot explain it. In this section we will briefly examine what scripture reveals to us about God’s creation of the heavens and those who dwell in them.
Revelation 4:1-2 “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this." (2) Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.”
The first thing that God created as revealed to us in scripture, is the heaven in which He dwells. The apostle John in the above passage of scripture, when he describes his experience of being taken to this heaven, refers to it as the heaven where God’s throne is located. This heaven is referred to in scripture as the heaven of heavens, and the reason that it is named as such, is because it is above all the heavens that God has created since (Nehemiah 9:6). The Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, also refers to this heaven as Paradise. Paul named this heaven Paradise, when he recounted to us his experience of being taken up in the spirit into this heaven, where he heard words spoken that are unlawful for men to speak (2 Corinthians 12:4). How far back in time God created this heaven is unfathomable to us as men.
Revelation 11:19 “Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple.”
As revealed in the above quoted passage of scripture, the second thing that God created was His temple, which He placed in the heaven of heavens. And so, we see that the temple of God was created around the throne of God which is located at its centre. Nevertheless, even though this temple has been created by God Himself, it will eventually be done away with, for in the age to come there will be no temple in the New Jerusalem where God will dwell with men for all eternity (Revelation 21:22). Again, how far back in time God created His temple, is beyond our understanding.
Revelation 4:2-4 “Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. (3) And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. (4) Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.”
The first living beings that we know of that God created, were the twenty four elders that are referred to in the above quoted passage of scripture. These elders were created even before God created the angels, and they assist God in the governance of His creation, for He has always reigned with them (Isaiah 24:23). The twenty four elders live continually in the presence of God and are thus in the same heaven in which He dwells. And so, outside of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, these individuals have been present to witness more of God’s creation than any other created being. When God calls these individuals “elders”, He is giving us some idea as to how long they have been in existence, i.e. a time span that exceeds mankind’s understanding.
Job 1:6-7 “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. (7) And the Lord said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the Lord and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
After God created the twenty four elders, He then created the heaven in which the angels of God currently dwell. This heaven is located below the heaven of heavens, and the apostle Paul refers to this heaven as the third heaven, when he describes being taken there in the spirit (2 Corinthians 12:2). The above passage of scripture describes the angels of God presenting themselves before the Lord in this heaven. The reason we know that this passage is not referring to the heaven of heavens, is because it refers to Satan as being present among the angels of God. We know that when Lucifer rebelled against God that he was cast out from the heaven of heavens, never to be allowed to return there again (Luke 10:18), therefore this location could not have been the heaven of heavens. We also know that this heaven is not the one in which Satan and his angels currently dwell, because it is only Satan that was allowed to enter this heaven so that he could come among the angels of God to present himself before the Lord, as the representative of his kingdom. The reason the scripture refers to this heaven as the third heaven, is not because it was the third heaven to be created by God, but rather because it is the third heaven in relation to it’s proximity above the earth. God’s creation of the third heaven also occurred in an age past that is beyond human understanding.
Revelation 12:7-9 “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, (8) but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. (9) So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
After God created the third heaven He then created the second heaven, which is the lowest heaven in the spirit realm in relation to its position above the earth. This heaven is located below the heaven in which the angels of God dwell and is referred to as the second heaven because of its relation to it’s proximity above the earth. It is in this heaven where Satan and his angels currently dwell, and as revealed to us in the above passage of scripture; it is this heaven from where they will be expelled at the end of the current age. This heaven was given over to Lucifer and his angels who accounted for one third of the angels of God (Revelation 12:4). The reason God created this heaven was so that Lucifer and his angels could govern the earth from that location. For God placed this heaven directly above the earth that God created. We also know that the second heaven is located just above the earth in the spirit realm, for the scripture describes Satan as being the prince of the power of the air, thus indicating to us the proximity of that heaven as being located in the atmosphere just above the earth (Ephesians 2:2). This heaven was created in ages past at the same time that the third heaven was created.
Michael E.B. Maher
Comments