Good and Evil, Never Blame God!

The Idiom of Permission

By Phillip Varady Sr.

There is a basic premise that the bible teaches that must be observed: God is good and He is good always. This doctrine may not have been plainly stated in the Old Testament but the abundance of God's love and mercy were never in question.

1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

The word 'no' in the above verse is the Greek word oudemia which has the force of 'no, not even one, or, no, not at all'. Used in another place it emphasizes the absoluteness of the exclusion.

Acts 27:22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship.

Verse 44 of this chapter confirms that they all were saved. Therefore if we accept this concept as a biblical truth we must also accept that God is not capable of evil nor is He a source of it, nor is it a means that He employs to bring His will to fruition. We must also accept that God will always be thus, that there never was a time nor will there ever be a time that this is not the nature of God.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

The word used in the Greek for variableness is from the root parallassein from which also the English word parallax derives. Parallax is the apparent displacement or change in position of an object when viewed from different points. God says that He will never change no matter how He is observed. The shadow of turning is similar to the practice that aerial photographers use, knowing that if they photograph objects on the ground near midday they will cast the least shadow, thus revealing the fewest details of its size and shape. As the Earth rotates a larger shadow begins to form because the relative position of the object and the sun has changed. God says that He does not change; His position, His love for us, is always the same without even a hint or shadow of difference. Then, as if to disprove this basic premise, the Word of God gives us this verse to ponder:

Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

E.W. Bullinger in his Companion Bible states that the conjugation used for the verb create 'requires the rendering "bring about"'. Even so, there is an apparent contradiction which some resolve using the following:

Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

The argument is often made that we mere mortals cannot comprehend the ways of God and that when tragedy occurs in our lives there is probably some good reason that God brought it about although at the moment we remain ignorant of the future blessing. If this is so then the evil that we think we are experiencing is actually a blessing; we need only to wait to see how God makes lemonade out of lemons. This teaching contradicts the Word of God and anything that may be experientially known of God. It is a blatant lie promoted by the Devil because the underlying premise is that 'It's God's will that we suffer.' It must be remembered that, referring back to Isaiah 45:7, darkness is the absence of light and evil is the absence of good.

2 Corinthians 6:18 And (I) will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Would any sane parent inflict pain and sickness on their children? Would they kill them because of disobedience? There is no opportunity for a future blessing if the tragedy is death; and death itself cannot be the blessing because God calls it an enemy:

1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

When language is twisted to make it mean its opposite, the bible uses the word 'froward' which is little used today but has the connotation of being an habitual type of disobedience through opposition. God declares that He does not use this type of language.

Proverbs 8:8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.

A warning is given which addresses this subject directly. There is no foundation on which one may base the argument that evil may somehow be a means to good after all has been said and done.

Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

The apostle Peter writing of his fellow apostle Paul's epistles says this:

2 Peter 3:16-17 in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest [twist, distort], as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. ¹⁷ Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

If we thus eliminate the solution to the contradiction that evil is really good, we are left with two choices: God either lied when He said that He is good always or there is a misunderstanding on our part of the true meaning of the language used. The answer is that God uses figures of speech to heighten the meaning of certain scripture to catch our eye and to make a deeper impression of the lesson that He would have us learn from it. One such figure is an idiom, which is defined by Merriam-Webster's Tenth Edition of the Collegiate Dictionary: 'an expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself grammatically, or in having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements.' In this case it is called the 'idiom of permission.' In the work that has become a standard for biblical students "Figures of Speech Used in the Bible" by E. W. Bullinger, this explanation is given: 'Active verbs were used by the Hebrews to express, not the doing of the thing, but the permission of the thing which the agent is said to do.' He offers a very good example:

Matthew 6:13 And lead us not (i.e., suffer us not to be led) into temptation . . .

Another example which is not included in this work occurs in the book of Deuteronomy. It is extraordinary for its severity.

Deuteronomy 28:14-15 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. ¹⁵ But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

What follows for the next forty-three verses is every ill that ever befell mankind, and God claims to be the cause of every one of them. Verse 61 is especially direct.

Deuteronomy 28:61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

The application of the idiom in verse 61 above would have it read thus: '…them will the LORD allow your adversary, the Devil to bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed by him.' This result would of course be dependant on the condition given, namely, 'if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God,' The lesson that God is instilling in His people is this: obey and prosper or disobey and suffer.

Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Another way of showing the source of evil can be seen in the historical books of the Old Testament. The four books of Kings (I & II Samuel and I & II Kings) were written from man's point of view. The books I & II Chronicles were written from God's point of view. When an event appears in both, a true picture may be drawn from the use of this idiom.

2 Samuel 24:1 And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.

1 Chronicles 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

Several reasons may be given to explain why God claims to be the author of both good and evil. If He had revealed the true source of evil He would have had to mention the Devil in hundreds if not thousands of verses. The pagan concept of appeasing gods from whom they feared destruction was known in Israel because they were surrounded by such practices. Israel had an appalling reputation for 'whoring after' the gods and customs of their neighbors and would have sought to placate the Devil to avoid the evil that he brought. In effect this would have raised the status of the Devil and given him grandeur that was undeserved. His name would have been often mentioned in spite of God's command to the contrary.

Exodus 23:13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

Without a full explanation of the Devil and his methods the knowledge of his existence would not have been a blessing to Israel. Without the knowledge of how to deal with and defeat him, Israel would have become fearful, thus playing into the Devil's hand. It was not until Jesus Christ that this information was fully revealed.

Luke 10:21-24 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. ²² All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. ²³ And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: ²⁴ For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

How exciting and wondrous it must have been for the twelve to hear Jesus Christ tell them what was now revealed.

Luke 9:1-2 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. ² And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

There are very few examples of the use of the idiom of permission in the gospels or the epistles because the truth was being revealed as to the true nature of the Devil and the unfathomable goodness of God. In all of his teachings Jesus Christ never attributed evil, death or sickness to God the Father yet to this day many people, including Christians, still want to cling to the doctrine that whatever happens is because God wills it. They continue to put a spin on tragedy in an attempt to make it a blessing and they still believe that God is making them a better Christian, person, husband or wife, father or mother, ad nauseam. There is no ambiguity in the following verses; the Word is plain.

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Hebrews 2:14-15 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.

God had long ago declared that we had to make a choice. If we turn away from God we remove ourselves from His blessings and in the absence of blessing is the curse of death in all its degrees.

Deuteronomy 30:15-19 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; ¹⁶ In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. ¹⁷ But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; ¹⁸ I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. ¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

It was never God's intention or desire to bring harm to us but as the above verses show the choice is ours. God cannot violate our choice, our free will.

Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: ² But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Years ago when the home that we lived in was heated by a wood stove, I taught a lesson to every one of my grandchildren before they were old enough to be allowed to roam around the house unattended. I would open the cast iron doors and show them the pretty flames. Then I would close the stove and, holding the child securely, bring one of their hands closer and closer to the stove until it became uncomfortable. When the child drew back its hand I would warn it saying 'Hot!' and 'Don't touch!'. Only once in fifteen years did any one of them ever touch the stove. That child came to me for help and even at that tender age had enough sense not to blame me for the pain that it was experiencing. When I reminded the child that I had warned about touching the stove, the reply was 'I know Grandpa, I forgot. I'm sorry.' I did my best to ease the pain and to comfort the child. God is a better father than I am. Verse 20 below is another example of the idiom of permission.

Isaiah 30:18-21 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. ¹⁹ For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. ²⁰ And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: ²¹ And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

The bible teaches that there are consequences when we act contrary to God's will but it is obvious once we understand the idiom of permission that it is unscriptural and improper to assign the pain and suffering to our loving heavenly Father.

Further insight:
 Spiritual Integrity (copy link to your search bar to view)
 https://walkingbythespirit.com/walkingbythespirit/life03.html

INCARCERNATION! WHAT?

Jesus Christ: Incarnated or Created?

We now will examine the historical background of the development of what has become the cornerstone of Christian orthodoxy, the doctrine of the “Incarnation.” We will see that this doctrine arose neither in a vacuum, nor strictly from the text of Scripture. It was the result of the influence of certain beliefs and attitudes that prevailed in and around the Christian church after the first century. Pagan mythology, Gnostic views of redemption and human pre-existence, and the misunderstanding of Johannine language all contributed to the teaching that God Himself became a man, which is the essence of “Incarnational theology.”

Although the “Incarnation” is assumed to be a basic tenet of Christianity, the term is used nowhere in Scripture. This is even admitted by Trinitarian scholars: “Incarnation, in its full and proper sense, is not something directly presented in Scripture.” The doctrine of the Incarnation was actually formulated during the next several centuries. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church verifies this fact:

The doctrine, which took classical shape under the influence of the controversies of the 4th–5th centuries, was formally defined at the Council of Chalcedon of 451. It was largely molded by the diversity of tradition in the schools of Antioch and Alexandria…further refinements were added in the later Patristic and Medieval periods.

The reason the councils and synods took hundreds of years to develop the doctrine of Incarnation is that it is not stated in Scripture, and the verses used to support it can be explained without resorting to a doctrine that bears more similarity to pagan mythology than biblical truth. Teaching the Jews that God came down in the form of a man would have completely offended those living at the time of Christ and the Apostles, and greatly contradicted their understanding of the Messianic Scriptures. This doctrine is derived most prominently from the gospel of John, and in particular from the phrase in John 1:14 (KJV): “And the Word was made flesh….” But was “the Word” synonymous with “the Messiah” in Jewish understanding? Hardly. The Jews would have understood it to mean “plan” or “purpose,” that which was clearly and specifically declared in Genesis 3:15—a “seed” of a woman who would destroy the works of the Devil. This plan of God for the salvation of man finally “became flesh” in Jesus Christ. This verse is not establishing a doctrine of Incarnation contrary to all prophetic expectations, nor a teaching of pre-existence. It is a teaching of God’s great love in bringing into existence His plan to save mankind from their sin.

Before proceeding, we must define what is traditionally understood by the “incarnation” of Christ. Keep in mind that we strongly affirm the reality and necessity of the virgin birth of Christ as the only way he could have been born without the inherent sin of mankind that would have disqualified him from becoming the Lamb of God. But the traditional “formula which enshrines the Incarnation …is that in some sense God, without ceasing to be God, was made man.”

We will quote the New Bible Dictionary, a Trinitarian source, for a working definition and explanation of this doctrine:

It appears to mean that the divine Maker became one of His own creatures, which is a prima facie contradiction in theological terms. When the Word “became flesh,” His deity was not abandoned or reduced or contracted, nor did He cease to exercise the divine functions which had been His before…The Incarnation of the Son of God, then, was not a diminishing of deity, but an acquiring of manhood.

One wonders how a pre-existent “God the Son” can become a man without any “diminishing of deity,” or that he could live a “fully human” life without ceasing to exercise the divine functions he had been exercising since eternity began. Trinitarians say this is part of the “mystery” of the Incarnation. The New Bible Dictionary admits that the concept is not developed or discussed in the New Testament:

The only sense in which the New Testament writers ever attempt to explain the incarnation is by showing how it fits into God’s overall plan for redeeming mankind…This evangelical interest throws light on the otherwise puzzling fact that the New Testament nowhere reflects on the virgin birth of Jesus as witnessing to the conjunction of deity and manhood in His person—a line of thought much canvassed by later theology.

If the deity of Jesus was not at first clearly stated in words (and Acts gives no hint that it was), it was nevertheless part of the faith by which the first Christians lived and prayed…The theological formulation of belief in the Incarnation came later, but the belief itself, however incoherently expressed, was there in the Church from the beginning.

We disagree with the assertion that the doctrine of the Incarnation was “in the Church from the beginning.” Since the doctrine is clearly not in Scripture, how can it possibly be considered a part of “the Apostles’ Doctrine”? Because scholars admit that this doctrine is biblically tenuous, we must examine why Christian theologians of the third century and later became so preoccupied with establishing it as the cornerstone of a Trinitarian Christian faith. In doing so, we will see some of the changing assumptions and beliefs that led to the development of this doctrine. We must first establish the fact that the very process of turning from historical truth to mythology was clearly prophesied by the apostle Paul at the end of his life. This is amazing but not surprising, in light of the many times in Scripture that God has warned His people about being influenced by pagan culture.

 Creation, Not Incarnation
Jesus makes clear reference to two distinct categories in John 3:6 when he says that the “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” Jesus clearly declared God to be “spirit” (John 4:24). Note that he did not say, “I am spirit,” or “God is flesh” or even “The Father is spirit.” By thus placing “God” in the category of “spirit,” when he himself is clearly a man of flesh and blood, Jesus effectively excluded any possibility that he was God. If God, being spirit, can incarnate Himself as a man, then the clear scriptural distinction between flesh and spirit disintegrates. But God the Creator, who is spirit, can create flesh, as He did in Genesis 1. His spirit brooded upon the face of the water, speaking into being things that had not existed before. These things were in “the flesh,” but were not He. They were His creation, but He stood apart from them and judged them to be very good.
Creation is the means by which God has brought things to pass outside of that which would occur naturally. He caused a human life to begin in the womb of Mary by an act of supernatural creation, not mystical incarnation (Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:35). He waited for a willing woman to bear this child, a woman whose confession and testimony were befitting the honor bestowed upon her. In this way He brought into the world a human being who fulfilled the necessary conditions for becoming the Messiah. That was only the first hurdle. Then He had to work with the growing child to help him maintain his sinless condition until the time he could be anointed with holy spirit and thus be empowered to do the work to which he was called (Acts 10:38). Yes, God had to provide (by creation) the body that could be sacrificed, but Jesus had to obey Him flawlessly for his body to finally be the perfect sacrifice that it needed to be. Thus, God and Jesus each had a responsibility that the other could not perform, and upon which our redemption depended.
The assertion that Jesus was God in human flesh nullifies the absolute necessity of Christ’s obedience, because, as God, no temptation he faced would have been genuine. God cannot be tempted, because God cannot sin (James 1:13). It is also axiomatic that God can neither “obey” nor “disobey” Himself. Nor does He need to command Himself to do anything, for as God, the perfect moral being, He always acts in a timely and perfectly righteous manner. Another unsolvable problem caused by the “incarnation” is that it destroys the plan that God established of a First Adam and a Last Adam. Romans 5:12–19 clearly defines a critical, logical parallel between Adam and Jesus Christ in the context of the redemption of mankind. A major consequence of the doctrine that God became man is that it destroys this key parallel, for Adam is hardly comparable to an eternally pre-existent being. Rather, he was a created being made in the image of the One who created him, God. Adam was not “fully man and fully God,” “100 percent man and 100 percent God,” “co-equal with God the Father,” or “of the same substance as the Father.” Adam was a created, empowered being who chose to disobey a direct command of God, with dire consequences to himself and all mankind as a result.
Jesus Christ was also a created being, made a man in the same way that Adam was originally made, that is, a masterpiece of God’s creation, given dominion over Paradise and every creature He had made. Jesus could have no intrinsic advantage over Adam, or his qualification as Redeemer would be legally nullified. He was the Last Adam, not the first God–man. The differences between Adam and Jesus were circumstantial, not essential: Adam started tall with no navel; Jesus started short with a navel. Adam was created fully formed and fully able to comprehend the voice of God. Jesus had to learn from his parents. Adam did not have to suffer the indignity of a humble birth and be considered illegitimate, the son of common folk. Adam had only to dress and keep the garden and care for his wife. He had to keep from eating the fruit, or die and bring death to all his descendants. Jesus had to drink the cup of suffering and die so he could be raised to conquer death and make it possible for others to eat of the “fruit” of eternal life.
In a head-to-“Head” comparison, Adam had every advantage, yet Jesus overcame where Adam fell. He chose to obey God’s will, which was that he present himself as a perfect sacrifice for sin. For the legal requirements of redemption to be satisfied, whatever Adam was, Jesus Christ had to be. Scripture declares very clearly that Jesus was a created human being like Adam was. In fact, they were both the result of God’s direct creative activity.
As we have stated, the whole Bible is simply the story of two Adams. Except for the initial genetic perfection that they shared in common, the contrast between them is stark. Here is perhaps another way to summarize Romans 5:12–21:

 Two Adams

• Two created beings
• Two Sons of God
• Two men
• Two gardens
• Two temptations
• Two choices
• Two attitudes
• Two decisions
• Two results
• Two races

 Other Problems with the Doctrine of the “Incarnation”

Aside from its mythological character, what are other problems with the idea of God becoming a man? First of all, it is illogical and self-contradictory when we are true to the accurate biblical usages of words. The Bible explicitly states that “God is not a man…,” (Num. 23:19), which defines two distinct categories, God and man. In terms of logic, it could be stated in this way: If God is not a man, then if someone is a “man,” he cannot be “God.”
God’s holiness precludes Him from becoming anything other than what He is. Rubenstein points out the illogic of the assertion that “God can do anything.”
Athanasius [a bishop of Alexandria who spearheaded what became the orthodox Trinitarian position] says that God can do anything He chooses to do, and that He chose to turn Himself into a man for the sake of our salvation. Jesus Christ is not one of God’s creatures, he insists, but God Himself, incarnated in human form. These sound like clear statements, but, actually, they are hopelessly confused.
Can God do anything He chooses to do? Of course—except those things that are inconsistent with being God. Can He choose to be evil or ignorant? Could He be the Devil—or nothing at all?
Perfection cannot be improved upon or changed. He is not a pantheistic “god” who dwells in everything. He is holy, meaning that He stands apart from and above His creation, yet is intimately involved with it. Therefore, God cannot alter His essential nature, which by definition is perfect, and perfection cannot be improved upon. But even if He could, in doing so He would, by definition, no longer be “God.”
If Jesus Christ is “God in human flesh,” there are other scriptural casualties. First, it renders the pathos of Gethsemane virtually meaningless, when Jesus prayed three times for this cup to be removed from me (Luke 22:42). If he is “of the same substance” as the Father, and an eternally integral part of a “Godhead,” then his will is of necessity the same as “God’s.” If he struggled only in his “human side,” as Trinitarians argue, while accepting the assignment in his “divine side,” we are certainly left unimpressed by the difficulty he faced, compared to the way we face temptation without the benefit of a “divine” side that is sure to dominate.
If it were “God’s” will that Jesus should die, and Jesus is “God” in human flesh, then it was clearly also his will to die. Why then did Jesus wrestle so intensely with the assignment to sacrifice himself, finally surrendering and saying “…nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done“? If this struggle were between his divine and human natures, then why invoke God his Father in prayer in what was really an internal, almost schizophrenic, struggle?³³
In our considered opinion, attempting to artificially exalt Christ via theological manipulation results in the complete negation of the heroic character of this free act of his will. Unless he was really a man, “…in all points tempted like as we are…” (Heb. 4:15 – KJV), with real freedom to turn his back on the assignment, the value of his act as a magnanimous sacrifice (an emptying of his own will and desire) is virtually eliminated. If he were God, he could hardly deny himself or disobey his own directive. Seeing Jesus as an empowered human being who had to obey God like we do is the proper context and backdrop for appreciating his heroism. Seeing him as essentially God, endowed with a divine perspective of human events, results in a view that he was only going through the prearranged motions. In that case, his heroic commitment and example collide with his supposed “deity” and sink into a gray and uninspiring sea of inevitability.
Along with the demise of Christ’s heroism is the destruction of the logic of Philippians 2:8–11, and a diminishing of his exaltation based upon the merits of his obedience. Scripture here reveals that God highly exalted Jesus Christ in response to his humbling himself to be obedient unto death, even a death as humiliating and painful as crucifixion. If Christ were “co-eternal” and “pre-existent ” with “God the Father,” and if he already occupied the highest position in glory before the “incarnation,” then what is the significance of this special exaltation relative to his obedience unto death? Was he not simply returning to his former elevated station, one that could hardly be denied him since he willingly gave it up with the understanding that he would be able to return to it? If we are truly concerned about giving Christ his proper due and honoring him appropriately, does it not make more sense to place his accomplishments in a theological framework in which his heroism is more apparent rather than less?³⁴ Consider the power of James Moffatt’s translation of Isaiah 9:6 in this regard:

Isaiah 9:6
For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us; the royal dignity he wears, and this the title that he bears—”A wonder of a counselor, a divine hero, a father for all time, a peaceful prince!”

Yet another casualty of the “Incarnation” is the significance of his Lordship. Acts 2:36 says that God made Jesus of Nazareth “both Lord and Christ.” If Jesus Christ were already “God,” then one cannot comprehend the granting of the title “Lord” to him as anything particularly notable, because he already had every right to the title and had already been exercising it in the Old Testament. Again we find that man-made theological attempts to exalt Christ beyond what is specifically revealed in Scripture result in a radical demeaning of the value of his obedience and accomplishments on our behalf. Man, however sincerely, cannot add to Jesus’ greatness by making him something that Scripture does not. In fact, any attempt to do so significantly subtracts from the greatness of the biblical message. When we let the Word of God speak for itself and allow every piece of the puzzle to fit together without squeezing it to fit our own traditions or preconceived notions, both God and His Son are glorified, reason is satisfied and the Christian Church is blessed as it builds upon a sound cornerstone.

The Earth "was" - 'became' - Without Form and Void

Smashed and Trashed

We now need to understand a few truths from Genesis.

Genesis 1:1,2
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

The first word in the bible when it was originally written was the word God. God in the beginning created the heaven and the earth.

Genesis 1:2
And the earth was without form and void.

We are going to consider these words in verse 2, for there is much below the surface. When we perceive their depth, our perceptions of the world will never quite be the same again.

To begin, let us consider the words form and void which are tohu va bohu in the Hebrew. Tohu va bohu could literally be translated without form and void, but without understanding an important figure of speech at work we completely miss the whole point. The words tohu va bohu rhyme and this is intentional. It is the figure of speech paronomasia - rhyming words. To see the power in this figure of speech, consider the following:

He was extremely fit.

This is a literal sentence, which means exactly what it says - he was extremely fit. There is no figure of speech employed, and the sentence is a basic statement of rather bland fact. There is no real power to the words. However, if we were to say:

He was lean and mean.

All of a sudden, the sentence resonates with power. We have images of the extreme fitness of this guy, and even his mental attitude. We can feel his fitness. That is what a figure of speech does - it brings words to life, emphasising them in a very special way, giving them power and resonance.

Genesis 1:2
And the earth was without form and void.

This is a poor translation of tohu va bohu, despite it being technically accurate. This is because the translators did not employ the figure of speech, and what we have is a rather bland statement of fact. Worse, this particular translation is misleading. If we were to translate these words employing the figure of speech that was intended, the verse develops a power that is almost overwhelming. Here is an attempt to translate the verse, employing the figure of speech paronomasia.

And the earth was smashed and trashed.

My goodness, sit down and consider those words! The earth was smashed and trashed? You mean it was not created that way? What happened? God created the heavens and the earth, and then it was smashed and trashed? Yes, that is precisely what the word is saying here. Whatever happened in Genesis 1:2 was so cataclysmic, the earth was totally without form and void, it could not support any form of life whatsoever, it was utterly smashed and trashed.

Genesis 1:2
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

To understand what happened to the earth back in Genesis 1:2, it is necessary to look at a few other scriptures to build some background.

The bible talks of three heavens and three earths, and it is important to note that there is no overlapping of time between them, nor are they spheres within spheres, or levels within levels, as is often taught by spiritualists and sorcerers. These are three distinctly different heavens and earths in three completely different periods of time.

2 Peter 3:5-7 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men.

Peter talks of the first heavens and earth, and the present heavens and earth. He also gives us information. Water destroyed the first heaven and earth, but this is not referring to the flood of Noah's day for that flood did not smash and trash the earth. When the earth was smashed and trashed in Genesis 1:2, there was no life for it could not support life. Peter also talks of a third heavens and earth coming in the future:

2 Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

God put the first heavens and earth together. That earth was smashed and trashed. God put it back together again, and this is the second heavens and earth in which we now live. However, Adam and Eve messed things up and sometime in the future there will be a new heavens and earth where everything will be put right again.

So how was the first earth smashed and trashed? We gain clues from around the word, some of which we've seen before.

Revelation 12:7-9 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

First of all, is this talking about a past event or a future event? The period of revelation, called the wrath in the bible, is still future, but there are references to past events throughout the book. For example, verses 1 and 2 inform us that both the sun and moon were visible in Virgo when Jesus Christ was born. This is clearly a reference to a past event. Some claim this war in heaven is still a future event and that the devil still resides in heaven, but consider these verses from Job and Peter which clearly teach that the devil is earthbound right now.

Job 1:7
And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

If the devil is earthbound, then clearly the prophecy in Revelation refers to a past event. No one can possibly deny that by the time Adam and Eve came along the devil had already rebelled. He was clearly already God's enemy before the foundations of this second heavens and earth. It was this spiritual war in the heavens that is the most likely cause of the smashed heavens and earth in Genesis. Isaiah substantiates this. Just look at the I Wills in the following verses.

Isaiah 14:12-15
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God [the star, 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.

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Lucifer, from Latin, means light bearer or brilliant one, illuminated one. Lucifer was second in command in heaven next to God. Each archangel had one third of the angels under their command. The angels, as we do, have freewill. Lucifer decided he wanted to be worshipped as God and committed treason by trying to usurp God and take his worship which started the war. Obviously God did not smash and trash his own earth, so we can safely conclude it was the devil who did it. Lucifer must be quite something if he felt he could take on God. Never underestimate him. We put our trust in God as our protection from him.

As an aside, here is another morsel of truth that enhances and adds light to the truth of the smashed and trashed earth of Genesis 1:2. After the flood of Noah's day, when the ark grounded and Noah and his family stepped back onto dry ground, God spoke to them:

Genesis 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

God told them to be fruitful and multiply and REPLENISH the earth. What does the word replenish mean? Here is a dictionary definition:

replenish -verb (used with object) to make full or complete again, as by supplying what is lacking, used up, etc.: to replenish one's stock of food.

In the case of Noah, this makes perfect sense. They were to replenish the earth because they were the only ones left. The earth had been populated, everyone apart from Noah and his family had drowned, and they were to repopulate, replenish the earth. Now look back at Genesis 1 when God spoke to Adam and Eve.

Genesis 1:27,28a So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and REPLENISH the earth, and subdue it...

God told Adam and Eve to replenish the earth. Intriguing stuff. See, the earth had been populated before Adam and Eve, before it was smashed and trashed in Genesis 1:2. Further, we can assume that it was the devil who did the smashing and trashing.

So, we have a smashed and trashed earth. There is no life. All is darkness and cold. That makes sense, because darkness and cold implies an absence of light and heat. The devil's realm is not hot, as some mistakenly believe, it is extremely cold.

Genesis 1:3-5
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Darkness can only exist in the absence of light. Turn on the light and there is no darkness.

Genesis 1:6-8 And God said, Let there be a firmament [Hebrew - raqia] in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

And God made the firmament [raqia], and divided the waters which were under the firmament [raqia] from the waters which were above the firmament [raqia]: and it was so.

And God called the firmament [raqia] Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

What is the firmament? Verse 8 tells us the firmament is heaven, or the universe. The word translated firmament here is raqia in Hebrew, which is more accurately translated expansion, and it refers to the universe. The firmament is the universe so read these verses again employing universe instead of firmament.

Genesis 1:6-8 And God said, Let there be a universe in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

And God made the universe, and divided the waters which were under the universe from the waters which were above the universe: and it was so.

And God called the universe Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Heaven is the universe, which is anywhere above earth. Biblically, if you want to go to heaven, jump up and down. Every time your feet leave earth, you go to heaven. In Peter, we saw that the first earth was destroyed because it overflowed with water.

2 Peter 3:6
Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

This is fascinating. By putting the second heavens and earth back into order, God divided the waters into two distinct bodies. The waters under the universe, refer to the waters on the smashed and trashed earth. These waters were separated from the waters above the universe. What is this saying? When the first heavens and earth were smashed and trashed, the entire planet earth was covered in water. These waters were then divided, separated, so that there was a universe between the waters on the earth and the waters above it. In other words, the universe does not go on forever, it is totally encased in water. You can picture it like a bubble in a sea, albeit a rather large bubble.

Some basic physics would not go astray here. In verse 3, God introduced light. Without light and, therefore heat, in what state is water? It is frozen. Incidentally, so is oxygen, nitrogen, and all other normally gaseous material. The water that smashed and trashed the first heavens and earth was, therefore, frozen. The atmosphere would have liquefied and frozen. In this regards, isn't it amazing to note then that all scientists and geologists agree that the last Ice Age ended less than 10,000 years ago, the same time the bible says Adam and Eve were formed, made and created. Now consider this verse from Job:

Job 38:30
The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

The word hid is the word hardened. These waters referred to in Job are hard like stone. Why? Because they are frozen. Total darkness is the absence of light and heat. Any guesses where the frozen face of the deep is? Yes, the frozen face of the deep refers to the waters above the universe. These waters are called in the bible, the deep, and its face is frozen.

Genesis 1:2
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

What about this first heaven and earth then? Well, we know it was around for a long time from the rocks and fossils we can study. T Rex? Stick him in the first heaven and earth, for that is when he lived and breathed. Stick all your dinosaurs in there. See how beautifully the rightly divided word fits with true science?

Scientists today search for a link between what they call prehistoric man and modern man - the missing link - but they cannot find it. The reason is simple - there isn't one. The world was smashed and trashed. The men that lived in the first heaven and earth did not survive or evolve into this second heaven and earth. The oldest bones of modern man date to less than 10,000 years ago, the same time the last ice age ended. There is no conflict with true science and the bible. True science can only corroborate and substantiate the truths recorded in the word. By the way, this truth negates the theory of evolution. Man and all the animals on earth today are less than 10,000 years old. All the older fossils belong to life in the first heaven and earth.

Any idea what keeps the frozen face of the deep from freezing the earth today? Ever wondered what the stars are up there for? Sure, for signs and seasons, and they look pretty, but they also have a job to do, they keep us protected from all that cold up there. On day one, God introduced light to the smashed and trashed heavens and earth. On day two, he separated the waters with the universe. Now we are into day three.

Genesis 1:9-13
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Note that God does not create anything here. Nor did he create anything on day one or day two. The earth already existed, and because it already existed, God did not have to create it. To create, biblically, means to bring into existence something that does not exist. Hence, there is no creating going on here. The heavens and the earth existed, so God just had to put it back together again after it was smashed and trashed.

On day three, dry land appeared and the seas were gathered into one place, which is a reference to there being one large land mass surrounded by one ocean. At this stage of earth's development, there were no islands or continents. There is no problem getting science to fit any of this. Any child can look at a globe of the world and see how South America fits into Africa, and how all the continents could literally be pushed together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Scientists and geologists have named this supercontinent Pangaea. The world has this to say about Pangaea.

Pangaea was a supercontinent that existed during the late Palaeozoic and early Mesozoic eras, forming approximately 300 million years ago. It began to break apart around 200 million years ago.

This is a monstrous lie. Pangaea broke up less than 10,000 years ago, and it happened suddenly, overnight, not over millions of years. The reason the world lies about when Pangaea broke apart is because they have no facts to back up their truths. It took a massive head on smash of continents to force the Himalayan Mountains into the sky. Perhaps honest scientists and geologists can put some stuff together now that makes sense.

Day three also sees plant life built back into the earth. The smashing and trashing of the first earth was so severe, no plant life of any kind survived, not even their seeds. The smashing and trashing was absolute, as emphasised by the figure of speech paronomasia. The earth was totally and utterly devoid of any form of life whatsoever, it was utterly smashed and trashed. Now day four.

Genesis 1:14-19
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven [the universe] to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth.

And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

There are some amazing truths here. God made light on day one, didn't he? Sure he did.

Genesis 1:5
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Despite light being in existence since day one, the sun and the stars were not made until the fourth day. Light therefore does not originate from the sun or any of the stars. The sun and stars are merely transformers, power cells that convert light into useable energy that supports life on earth. The sun is not a source of light, because light existed before the sun was fired up. There is much below the surface here, but we cannot take the time in this work to delve into quantum physics. Suffice to mention that the same way you can use a microscope to look down into a completely new world at the cellular level, and then continue down into the atomic universe, you can zoom into God's word to find completely new dimensions of truth below the surface. There are vast astronomic and deep microscopic universes of perfection within God's word. Onto day five.

Genesis 1:20-23
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature [Hebrew: nephesh - soul] that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

And God created great whales, and every living creature [nephesh - soul] that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

In verse 20, the word creature is translated from a Hebrew word with which we will become familiar. It is the word nephesh, which means soul. Let the waters bring forth abundantly living souls. In verse 21, the word creature is again the word nephesh and it should have been translated soul.

Note also the correct usage of the word create. This is only the second time this word has been used so far in Genesis. Soul life did not exist at this point, which is why God had to create it. He brought into existence something that did not exist in any form anywhere. Soul life is breath life. If something breathes, it has soul. Whales, birds, fish, dogs and cats have souls. Anything that breathes has a soul. This is when soul life was created, and once something has been created, it does not require creating again because it already exists. Remember that when we come to man.

Genesis 1:24-26
And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature [nephesh - soul] after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

The animal and plant kingdoms were in place before man was formed, made, and created. However, man had something very special which no animal, fish or bird had, and that was spirit.

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

The image of God is spirit, so when he created man in his own image, it means he created spirit within man. It was this spirit that set man above everything else, that was what made him special, that was what set him above the animal kingdom.

Genesis 1:28-30
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

Man had dominion over all of God's creation. He had dominion and authority over the earth and everything in it. Man had complete authority, rule, and dominion. Man was the earth's CEO if you like, he was the boss, the Lord of the earth, and it was God who gave him that job, that responsibility. To finish off chapter one, notice that God states six times that what he had done was good, and then crowns it with a seventh usage of very good.

Genesis 1:4,10,12,18,21,25,31 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

When God calls something good six times and then crowns it with a seventh usage of very good, be assured that the earth was in good shape. The balance of nature was perfect, the ocean environment was perfect, the plant kingdom was perfect, the animal kingdom was perfect, the climate was perfect, and our human bodies and souls were perfect. Everything was in perfect balance and perfect harmony.

Even today, God's perfection can still be seen everywhere. How many birds are there in the world? Yet they are all distinct, not just in colour and appearance, but in voice and behaviour. Look at the artistry in their plumage. Listen to their voices. Does God understand flight? Look how beautifully suited and adapted birds are to their environments. Not only can birds fly, some of them swim, and some of them dive under water. This was all by design, not chance. There is intelligence behind creation, not chaos. Every sunset and every sunrise is a witness to the love and heart that God has for us. He made all this for us. Look around you, look within you, feel the love he has for you.

Ah, but if God made such a beautiful world, then why is it all such a mess today? 

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