Lesson 2: The Beginning
For many of you who have grown up in the halls of churchian solipsism returning to Genesis 1:1 might elicit a few groans. Even some of you dear readers who have not been to church probably have heard a detail or two thrown in by the culture at large. You may very well ask why we are rehashing such an old bible story if this Sunday school season is all about growing deeper into your faith. Three reasons:
1st. Some will have no concept of Christianity and the Old Testament
2nd. Those that do often have preconceived conceptions based on flawed readings of the Genesis.
3rd. You need to know where the spiritual war you are embroiled in from birth came from.
The first point is obvious. We can’t assume everyone is on the same Biblical knowledge foundation, and all need to grow in their faith. In a way these readers are better off since the Genesis account will be fresh without preconceived perceptions of the work which will help their walk immensely.
The second point is the sticky one. Churchians, and their predecessors have polluted the reading of the Bible to match their own perspectives, and for the most part ignored or even attempted to alter the worldview of the ancient writers of the Bible. Dr. Michael Heiser wrote it best in his book The Unseen Realm using the analogy of lenses. We all see the world and everything we read in history through our cultural lenses which changes the text to fit our preferences. These lessons will concentrate on leading you to let God replace those lenses with one of his choosing.
Can we truly break from the confounds of our experiences, brainwashing, culture, and upbringing? No, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12 we all see the truth dimly through a dark mirror, but we can at least get a better understanding of who the Biblical writers were, and what their words meant.
The third point is the most important. Whether you dear reader accept it or not, you are in the middle of a war. You will have to choose a side, and not choosing will de facto put you on the side of the territory you reside in. The Bible declared that the Devil is the god of this world (1 Corinthians 4:4) which means until the return of our Saviour not choosing to follow God does not make you neutral, but in the camp of God's enemies who rule the world you live in right now.
So where did this war come from whose combatants won’t just leave you be to live your life in peace? The answer starts in Genesis:
So God Created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1: 27-28
If you read the entirety of the chapter you will experience the first account of creation in the Bible. The part we are interested in with our limited time is the meat of the matter. When man is created God gives us a command, our purpose here on Earth.
“…Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion…”
Genesis 1:28
Here we have our first translation issue. Most texts in English will say something along the lines of “Rule” over creation. A more accurate translation of this paragraph should say “Subdue and have Dominion.”
This shows that not all of Earth was the Garden of Eden,and thus not perfect only "good." A fact we can see easily enough in future lessons when Adam and Eve are expelled from the garden, and aren’t launched into an alternate dimension. Perfection was in the Garden where man walked with God. God’s command shed’s light on his purpose for mankind before the Fall and our sin. We were made to bring the rest of creation into the Garden. Turn all of Earth into an idyllic garden where we would all walk with The Almighty.
We will explore how this concept clashes with modern concepts of nature, and even their ties to Pagan and Satanic connections in future lessons. For now I want you to think about the implications in man’s story. We aren’t hippy dippy flower children made to dance around carefree in a perfect nature walk our whole lives. We were explorers, settlers, and conquers of the base chaotic nature. The part of creation which is not perfect was our calling to tame.
Our inheritance is the Earth. A place that we are to take possession of through multiplying and subduing thus taking dominion over the physical realm. This sounds more like a crusade not a hippie peace dance. Christ's words come all the more into focus when he says “I have not come to bring peace but a sword.” Matthew 10:34-36 From the beginning we were here to conquer for the Kingdom of Heaven. To bring all of the Earth under God’s control thus expand his heavenly kingdom, and then preside as caretakers over said creation and everything in it.
As many of you have already guessed things did not go to plan. God’s creation of new beings made in his image to dominate creation wouldn’t go unnoticed, and God’s enemies were sulking in the shadows even as the physical realm was created. Their desire to steal God’s creation for themselves will be explored in the next lesson where we see the first sparks of the war over the world begin. A war over dirt and souls.
Question 1: Nature is beautiful, and dare we say good as God called it, and yet she can be chaotic and cruel. Bears eat their prey alive and screaming. Diseases will kill you in disturbing displays of horror, and acts of nature like rogue waves can swallow entire ships. Name a time you or somebody you knew was seriously injured, or had a close run in with Nature’s more Chaotic moods.
Question 2: Does your view on Christianity change at all seeing man’s purpose on Earth which Genesis 1:... Outlines?
Question 3: Why do you think God made the world good, and not Perfect like the Garden of Eden? Why choose to make man to complete the task for him?
I live stream every Monday, at 10:00 pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time about each lesson. Click the boat below to watch the previous stream and click here to join the discord if you have any questions: https://discord.gg/xgmVzfTM
