Satan And The First Garden Of Eden
SATAN AND THE FIRST GARDEN OF EDEN May I call your attention back to Isaiah 45:18 where God stated He "…created it (earth) not in vain (a waste or desolation), he formed it to be inhabited." To see how beautifully God had created the earth for the habitation of His angels, we find Exekiel describes the earth as "…Eden the garden of God." In Ezekiel 28:13-14, its description is beautiful.
"Thou (Satan) hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created." (V. 13). "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou has walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire." (V.14).
How marvelous and magnificent was God's earth that he created for the habitation of His angels as we know them today. As we have already seen from Job 38:4-7, the stars and the angels had already been created and in existence and, then, God created the earth for their habitation. The Five "I Wills" of Satan. In Isaiah 14:13-14 we have the five "I Wills" of Satan. Here is the record:
"For thou (Satan) hast said in thine heart I WILL ascend into the heavens, I WILL exalt my throne above the stars of God: I WILL sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I WILL ascend above the heights of the clouds; I WILL be like the most high."
Notice carefully that stars and clouds have already been created, and in existence, when the angels occupied the earth. This earth was Lucifer's throne as God's Anointed Cherub.
"I will exalt my throne above the stars of God" (V.13). was Satan's ambition. The first "I will" was "to ascend into heaven." The fifth "I will" was "to be like the most High." At the very least, he would only settle for being co-equal with Jehovah. The Judgment. God always judges sin wherever it is found. Speaking concerning Satan, "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." (Ezekiel 28:15)
Briefly, we list only two of the many judgments God rendered against Satan and the third of the angels that followed him. We are concerned with the following two as they shed much light concerning the misunderstood time element between the original creation of the earth and the angels and God's remodeling of the earth for man's habitation.
Disembodiment. The angels and Satan became disembodied spirit beings. What kind of materialistic bodies they possessed while on earth, we are not told. In Ezekiel 28:14, we are told, "Thou (Satan) wast upon the holy mountain of God; and thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire."
Notice Ezekiel 28:17, "Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness..."
Walk, beauty and brightness are attributes of the body they had. They are now disembodied and known to us as demons or spirit beings. Remember, the angels with God can be seen in bodies when permitted by the Lord. (Read Matthew 28:1-8.) The Earth Was Cleansed. The earth, which had been contaminated by Satan's and the angels' rebellion, was cleansed by God's judgment to such a degree that it was found without form, lying in waste like a wilderness. Genesis 1:2, "And the earth became (because of God's judgment) without form and void (a waste) and darkness was upon the face of the deep." With this background, let us proceed. In Ezekiel 28:15 we are told that, "Thou (Satan as Lucifer) wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou was created, till iniquity was found in thee." This verse is very interesting as it reveals some things we had not known and conceals some things we will never know this side of eternity.
What We Know:
We do know he was created. Satan had a beginning.
B.We do know he was created with a free will.
We do know that from his creation until he inhabited the earth, his ways were perfect.
Iniquity was not found in him until sometime after he was appointed the "anointed cherub." (Ezekiel 28:15) and given the earth as his throne (Isaiah 14:13).
What We Do Not Know:
We do not know how long it was from the time Satan and the angels were created until they were given the earth (Genesis 1:1), which was designated as Satan's throne.
We do not know how long Satan occupied the earth before iniquity (sin) was found in him.
We do not know the length of time from God's creating the beautiful earth until He judged Satan's sin; therefore, rendering the earth a waste, desolation and uninhabitable, being in total darkness and covered with water, as found in Genesis 1:2.
We do not know how long the earth remained in this desolation until God decided to remodel it for human habitation in Genesis 1:2 b-23. The young earth advocates do not want you to believe God's Word concerning this, as they claim this only supports the time needed for evolution and supports their opponents. This false philosophy of these young earth people fades into oblivion should they realize the following. When God pronounced judgment and rendered this earth a total waste, THERE WAS NOTHING ALIVE ON THE EARTH TO EVOLVE FROM!
One of the young earth proponents is Mr. Ken Ham, Executive Director of "Answers in Genesis (AIG). Mr. Ham, in his statement of faith states that "The ‘gap' theory has no basis in Scripture." Also stated is, "The final guide to the interpretation of Scripture is Scripture itself." AIG states the gap (i.e., a period of time) is a theory and not a fact based upon Scripture. In other words, he does not believe Isaiah 45:18, which states God did not create (bara) the earth in the desolate and waste condition, and covered with water as found in Genesis 1:2. "And the earth was (became) without form and void…" It was not created that way. In Genesis 1:1, when God originally created the earth, Isaiah says it was "created to be inhabited."
Ezekiel 28:12-19 and Isaiah 14:12-15 clearly teach that Lucifer's (Satan's) throne and residence were here on the earth. His rebellion (sin) brought about God's judgment on his residence, which was found "without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep.", as Genesis 1:2 records. AIG does not believe these Scriptures; therefore, the Gap Period of Time is modified in their minds to a theory, instead of factual truth, supported by Genesis 1:1-2; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Isaiah 14:12-15.
Mr. Ham's advice to all who will study the Bible is that we must allow Scripture to interpret Scripture; or, in other words, we must assess all Scripture pertaining to a certain subject or doctrine to arrive at the correct teaching of the Word of God. Mr. Ham's advice is excellent! The sad commentary to this is, that what he advises others to do; he, himself, will not adhere to his own advice.
Many of you are well familiar with the name, Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe. He has been a noted Bible expositor for many years. He has pastored three churches; including the great Calvary Baptist Church in Covington, KY, and the famous Moody Bible Church in Chicago, IL. He has served as General Director and Bible Teacher of "Back to the Bible," headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is Writer-in- Residence" at Cornerstone College in Grand Rapids, MI, and Distinguished Professor of Preaching in Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary. He is the respected author of many, many books, too numerous to mention. Here are his comments concerning the gap of time principle between Genesis 1:1-2 :
"It is held by many students that the original creation of the universe (Genesis 1:1) was followed by the fall of Satan (Isaiah 14:12 ff) and the ruin of God's handiwork. It is possible that there is a "gap" between 1:1 and 1:2; so that we may read Vs. 2, "And the earth became without form and void…" Isaiah 45:18 states that God did not create the earth "in vain" (Hebrew "without form") so that the chaotic condition of the earth must have been caused by judgment. Ezekiel 28:11-19 suggests that Lucifer, the highest of God's created beings in this original creation, wanted to take the place of God; and this brought about the judgment. We find Satan already at work in Genesis 3:1-24, so that his fall had to take place earlier. This means that the creative activities of Genesis 1:1-31 are really a restoration of the ruined universe." (Whole Bible Study Course, Originated by D.B. Eastep, Outline and Comments by Warren W. Wiersbe, Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church, Covington, KY.) Holding To A Young Earth of 6,000 Years Causes Your Witnessing To Be Ineffective.
Personally, I have witnessed to scores of people who have endorsed evolution. Their reasoning is that man has been on the earth millions of years; or, i.e., since the earth was originally created; therefore, they associate man's existence as equal to the age of the earth. This is the problem. When they understand that the Original Creation of the earth could very well be millions of years old, BUT, that man has only been on the reconstructed earth for approximately 6,000 years, the "gap" or, better terminology, the lapse of time between the Original Creation and God remodeling the earth for human life, disassembles the theory of evolution. It was the angels that occupied the Original Creation, not man.
After The Rehabilitation of The Earth
After earth was rehabilitated, man was created and placed in the Garden of Eden. If one would trace the genealogies from Adam to Noah, you will find it is 1056 years. The flood came when Noah was 600 years old. (Genesis 7:6; Genesis 7:11). Therefore the time from the creation of man to the flood is 1656 years. Should one desire a continued, concentrated study of the years from the flood to the birth of Christ, they would arrive at approximately 2,345 years. Thus, from Adam to Christ is close to the figure of 4,000 years. Add another 2,000 plus from Christ to the present, and you have man on the earth for only
6,000 years. Therefore, the Gap Principle, as documented in Scripture makes evolution an absolute impossibility. The Gap Principle made it possible for me to lead many people to Jesus Christ as their Savior, who had been influenced by the evolutionary philosophy.