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THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH AND THE SPIRIT OF ERROR (1Cor12:3, 1John 4:2, 1John 4:15)These three scriptures must be read and used together. Using one without the others can produce deception. ICor 12:3 can stand alone, however the two scriptures in 1John 4 must be read together. An example is that of using 1John 4:2 alone. There have been those in Church history who have confessed Jesus has come in the flesh, namely the Arians who were prominant in the 4th century church. These people, however, denied the divinity of Jesus Christ and couldn't confess 1John 4:15. To really confess that Jesus has come in the flesh in 1John 4:2 presupposes that He came from somewhere first, heaven.To confess both passages in 1 John 4 you must believe and acknowledge that Jesus is God the Son with atruly divine nature and truly a man with a human nature.
As we cover this subject and any bible teaching you receive, be noble people as were the Bereans in Acts 17:11 who searched the Scriptures daily to verify the teachings they were receiving from the Apostle Paul.We should also pay heed to Jesus' words in Mat 4:4 "Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."
Ezekiel 28: 11-19
The prophet addresses this message to the King of Tyre. However it becomes very clear that the Word of God is speaking about an angel, not a man."Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering..." Ezek 28:13"Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth, and I have set thee so...Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." Ezek 28:14-15"Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness; I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thy iniquities, by the iniquity of thy merchandise (Heb. rekullah meaning traffic, trade, merchandise); therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst (Heb. tahvech) of thee; it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee." Ezek 28:17-18
The "Gap Theory" was first postulated by G.H. Pember in Earth's Earliest Ages in 1876 and popularized in the footnotes of Dr. C. I. Schofield's Bible commentary. It helps us understand how the angelic origins of evil carried over to God's creation in Genesis 1 but is not without some well-founded critical observation.
1. Genesis 1:1-2 "In the beginning God created (Heb. "bara" means to create from nothing. "Asah", used later in Genesis 1 means to "make" from pre-existing matter.)the heavens and the earth. The adherents of the Gap Theory believe that all of God's creation of the heavens and the earth occurred in Genesis 1:1 citing as a scripture reference Rom 4:17 "...even God who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were." God creates from nothing by the word of His faith.And the earth was without form and void: (Heb. tohu wabohu). This Hebrew idiom is used only to depict scenes of God's awful, terrible judgment in Isa 34:11 in reference to Sodom and Gomorrah and in Jer 4:23."Tohu" is used to depict desolation in Deut 32:10, Job 6:18, Job 12:24, Psa 107:40, Isa 24:10, Isa 40:23, Isa 41:29. Finally in Isa 45:18 we are told that God did not create the world "tohu". Therefore the earth depicted in Genesis 1:2 is distinctly different than in verse 1 where everything God creates is good. Opponents of the Gap theory state that Genesis 1:1 is a summary statement and that what follows is how God did create the earth. They also question the efficacy of a new doctrine discovered in the Scriptures that has alluded even the greatest Christian teachers of the past. This fact alone should put us on guard against any alleged "new revelation". Pember and Schofield would simply respond by saying that this is no new revelation but has always been available to us. Early Christian scholarship would have discerned it with more focus on God's Word and less emphasis on philosophy that began enmeshing the Christian Church during the latter part of the second century, AD.
2. On the second day when God separated the firmament from the midst of the waters, this is the only day that is not noted that "God saw that it was good". This expression appears to summarize all of the other days of creation except the second day.
3. The word "bara" (to create") is used after Genesis 1:1 only to refer to sea monsters in verse 21 and man in verse 27 where God both makes (asah) man (his body from pre-existing clay) and creates (bara) man in His own image. Verse 1:27 is in direct opposition to any teaching on evolution. These concepts are diametrically opposed and cannot be reconciled. Although some have made attempts to do so (e.g. Pierre Teilhard deChardin, Phenomenon of Man), such attempts are unscriptural and foolish. The Gap Theory makes no such attempt.
4. In Genesis 1:2 the earth was (Heb."hayetha") can be translated as "became". This word is used 264 times in the Old Testament. It is translated as "became" 6 times and as "was" 258 times. Critics of the Gap Theory accurately point this out.
5. The Gap Theory postulates that Gen 1:2 was the aftermath of God's judgment on the earth and that the remaining days of creation are a "re-creation of the earth with the new additions of sea monsters and Adam. The theory postulates that the earth was populated by a pre-Adamic race which was led by Satan and judged with Satan. These pre-Adamic creatures are the demons referred to in Scripture. Demons (Greek: daimon, daimonian implying greater and lesser forces) appear to differ from angelic majesties mentioned in Jude 9.
Angels fly and walk whereas demons walk (Matt 12:43). Demons are disembodied spirits whereas angels have angelic bodies and have no need to indwell other created beings unless they choose to do so for strategic reasons. In Mark 5:12 demons exhort Jesus to cast them into a herd of swine. Angelic majesties would not do this. Demons are not the spirits of the departed dead men. Hebrews 9:27 clearly states that "it is appointed for a man to die once, then comes judgment."
6. Early civilizations and the occult speak of a place called "Atlantis" that was allegedly a civilization in a golden era of prosperity and knowledge before it was cataclysmically destroyed. While we are to learn nothing of truth from the occult, this account of Atlantis coming from diverse civilizations and referred to by the Greek Philosopher, Plato, cannot be easily dismissed. If there was such a race of pre-Adamic beings, they are not the unique creation that Adam was. We must recognize that the Word of God is written to the descendants of Adam (man) and does not attempt to deal with those matters not relevant to Adam, his descendants and our relationship to Almighty God who is the focus and central figure of the Scriptures.The Bible begins and ends with God and is focused on the person of Jesus Christ who is the Word of God incarnate (John 1:1-5). The focus of Greek philosophy and its offspring, secular humanism, is man ("Man is the measure of all things" Heraclitus circa 6th century BC).
7. Proponents of the Gap Theory liken the "recreation of the earth in Genesis 1 to 2Cor 5:17 showing the Christian to be a new creation in Christ. God begins with light in both cases and does not rest until He brings forth His own image (Gen 1:3 and 1:27 - 2Cor 4:4 and 2Cor 5:17). This observation could just as easily be made by opponents of the Gap Theory.
8. The Hebrew word used in Gen 1:28 means "replenish" indicating that the earth was once filled. Opponents claim that the Hebrew word "male" (pronounced "maw-lay) almost always means simply "to fill". (Ex 40:34, 1Kin18:33, Psa 107:9)
In summary the Gap Theory would logically explain the origin of demons, the dates on some of the earth's rock strata, and the origin of the Atlantis myth. Opponents correctly point to the fact that this "new doctrine" if valid, should have been known to early Jewish and Christian teachers.
Alternate View of the Origin of Demons & Imprisoned Angels in Tartarus
Jude 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
2 Peter 2:4-6
“For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; “NKJV
Origin of Demons Gen 6:1-5
6:1 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” NKJV
Angels do not need to have sexual relations with women. However, under Satan’s dominion, these angels attempted to pollute the human race (descendants of Adam) with created beings that were half human and who had extraordinary height & strength. If the human race could be polluted then the seed of the woman (Gen 3:15) would not be born through the corruption. These offspring of this angelic pollution were called “Nephilim” and were present before and after the flood indicating that this pollution tactic was attempted twice. These are angels who left their first (or angelic) estate to cohabitate with women.
2 Peter 2:4 states that these angels are kept in chains in Tartarus, a compartment of hell for the last judgment. Satan’s angels do not have to occupy hell now. We see them in ruling authority in Dan 10:12-13
“Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia” NKJV It is clear that no mortal king opposed the angel Gabriel (meaning “mighty power of God”)
The Scripture tells us that these Nephilim were “Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.” (Gen 6:4)
Such men were recognized in pagan history & folklore. These “mighty men” became to the Greeks and the Romans as gods to be worshipped. Each civilization has similar stories about such men.
Deut 2:10-11
“The Emim had dwelt there in times past, a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. They were also regarded as giants, like the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim.” NKJV
Two post-deluvian examples:
1. Goliath – 9’ tall 1Sam 17:4
2. Og, King of Bashan Numbers 21:33
Deut 3:11 “ For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the giants. Indeed his bedstead was an iron bedstead…. Nine cubits is its length (13.5’) and four cubits (6’) its width, according to the standard cubit.” NKJV
TEMPTATION OF EVE IN THE GARDEN and JESUS IN THE DESERT
God had given dominion of the earth to Adam. (Gen 1:26) When God gives a gift or calling, it is irrevocable Rom 11:29). Satan tempted Eve with three basic types of temptation that he tried against Jesus and failed. Refer to 1 John 2:15-16 - all temptations can be grouped under these three types:
Satan's temptation of Jesus: "...if Thou be the Son of God, command these stones to be made bread."Matt 4:3
Satan's temptation of Jesus: "If Thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." Matt 4:6
Satan's temptation of Jesus: "And the devil... showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, all these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." Matt 4:9
Satan defeated Eve by getting her to doubt God's Word: "Yea hath God said...(Gen 3:1), disbelieve God's Word: "Ye shall surely not die:" (Gen 3:4), and disobeying God's Word by inducing her to act against the Word: "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good from evil." (Gen 3:5)
Jesus defeated Satan's temptations by responding to him with the Word of God and refusing his deceit and his offer. Since the fall of Adam the kingdoms of the world did belong to Satan. Jesus never disputed this. He won them back at the cross when Satan used two human court systems (Roman and Judaic) to murder an innocent man who came to serve as The Lamb of God shedding His blood as a propitiation for our sins. The kingdoms of the earth now belong to our Lord Jesus Christ who has not yet returned to claim what is His. (Ref: Psa 2: 6-9).
Next Page -Theaters of War
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March 1, 2000