Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 10
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All the days of the physical creation recorded in Genesis are showing that God alone is sovereign, even over the evil things in His creation. How many are given the faith to believe this verse of Scripture?
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Yes, all the things we experience in this creation are God’s ideas, and they all started with Him (Rom 11:36). However, the physical creation is only a first step in a process, especially as far as the salvation of humans is concerned. The record of creation in the scriptures is written to give us hope and faith to believe that God knows what He is doing as He is not caught unaware by any creature’s actions:
Rom 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Nobody is to take anything away from what was inspired by God to be written, even the darkness and the evil He created for His purposes:
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
The themes of darkness and evil displayed in the natural world (and the carnal mind in us) play an important role in God’s purposes, although God does not have any darkness or evil in Him:
1Jn 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.
God alone can use the darkness and the evil for His magnificent purpose. All creation and its creatures are made “good” for that purpose (Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 18; 21, 25, 31). Evil is not, like many claimed, independent from God’s one ultimate will. No, God works all things He created according to His divine and perfect plan (Eph 1:11). On the fifth day of the physical creation it is written that the waters and the open firmament of heaven were filled with creatures:
Gen 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
Gen 1:21 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.
Gen 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
Gen 1:23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
We know that day four relates intimately with day one of creation, specifically in terms of the darkness (the night) that was placed as an opposition to the light (the day). In the same way day five is closely link to the division that was created on day two when the waters under the firmament were separated from the waters above the firmament. All waters under the firmament were “gathered together” meaning all waters on the earth serve one purpose. These earthy waters are given to support temporary life, and they cannot quench the thirst for spirit life:
Joh 4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her [the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob], Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
Even Jesus, while He was in earthly flesh, had to drink of the waters under the firmament. He also suffered in the same sinful flesh all in the first Adam encounter (Heb 2:10-18). His fleshly will, like ours, also wanted to do something different to His Father’s will, although He never conceded to that desire:
Luk 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
All those in flesh (the waters under the firmament) must drink this “cup” of death, as Jesus “accomplished” also (Jer 25:28, Mat 20:22, 1Co 11:25-28):
Psa 22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
Joh 19:28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
Although Jesus was in spirit before He came in the flesh, all in the first Adam are first made of the “dust of death” before they are given a spiritual body. Jesus said that we must first be born of the water (under the firmament) before we are born of the spirit (the waters above the firmament).
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
It is only when we are given to see that flesh is not spirit (or that flesh was never and can never be in the spiritual kingdom of God) that we cry out for the true waters from heaven. These living waters will be given to all eventually on “the last great day” (or eighth day) of the last feast “in the end of the year”:
Exo 23:14 Three times thou [the physical Jews] shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
Exo 23:15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
Exo 23:16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.Joh 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast [of ingathering/tabernacles], Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
On day five of the physical creation, God created all types of creatures to be sustained by the waters under the firmament. Like all God’s creatures, they cannot make one move without God’s direction (Eph 1:11, Job 12:10, Rev 4:11, Mat 10:29, Jer 10:23). This includes both the creatures that “move” in the waters and the fowl that flies in the heavens of the earth. All creatures on the earth, including the Adam, were all linked by the same earthy waters under the firmament:
Gen 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature [Hebrew: nephesh] 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.
A living and moving creature is called by the Hebrew word nephesh which also relates to the Adam and explains such a lot about what a ‘living soul’ is all about. Here are a few verses of scripture that bring together some important aspects of a ‘living soul’:
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul [nephesh].
Pro 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart [nephesh], so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
Eze 23:17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind [nephesh], was alienated from them.
Hag 2:13 Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body [nephesh] touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.
Psa 41:2 The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will [nephesh] of his enemies.
Although the physical creatures in the sea and the physical fowls that ‘fly in the heaven of the earth’ have limited capabilities as far as their brain functions are concerned, God is showing us how these nephesh relate to humanity in terms of spiritual symbols. They are revealing spiritual entities which affect and influence our mind/heart by God’s command:
Gen 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply [Hebrew: ra ba hâ], and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
Pro 29:2 When the righteous are in authority [Hebrew: ra ba hâ], the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
If we can see that this is not only referring to physical creatures, we can understand why the command to ‘be fruitful and multiply’ was given by God. This is referring to spiritual beings that “exercise authority” in the spiritual heavens of humanity by God’s design. This is also manifested outwardly in the way the world wants to ‘exercise lordship’ over people, which is totally different to authority in the kingdom of God:
Mar 10:42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.
Mar 10:43 But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:
Here is a closer look at one of those creatures that serve God’s purposes:
Gen 1:21 And God created great whales [Hebrew: tannynâ], and every living creature [Hebrew: nephesh] 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.
Isa 27:1 In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon [Hebrew: tannynâ] that is in the sea.
Eze 29:3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon [Hebrew: tannynâ] that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.
The great “whales” is spiritually referring to the great dragon, the old serpent called the devil and Satan with his host of evil angels who were given to “exercise authority” over the kingdoms of the world by God design and those in the sea of humanity and those on the earth:
Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Mat 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.Rev 12:9 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.
These spiritual fowls are given the task, among others, to devour the good seed that is sown in the heart of mankind:
Mat 13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
Mat 13:5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:Mat 13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
These creatures of the fifth day symbolize the spiritual beings which God uses to keep the natural mind (the heavens) of those in the sea and those of the dry land in spiritual darkness and all those who are under the influence of the great spiritual whore with all her spiritual merchants and the whole earthly system of thinking and doing:
Mat 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Rev 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
The god of this world, Satan, blinds the minds of all in the first Adam for the initial fleshly stage. However, Adam and all in him, will be given authority over all these beings eventually through the last Adam, Jesus Christ, who is the only One who has the true image of God:
Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make [Hebrew tense: Qal imperfect = expresses an action, process or condition which is incomplete] man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion [Hebrew tense: Qal imperfect] 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.
2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
[Detailed studies on the themes covered in this study can be found at www. iswasandwillbe. com, including:
The creation of the spirit beings:
When Was the Spirit
World Created
What are the Fowl of the Air?
Satan and the Carnal Mind
Darkness and Light:
Darkness and Light Both Alike
Waters:
What is the World?
Other related posts
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 45 (May 8, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 43 (April 24, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 42 (April 17, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 41 (April 10, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 39 (March 27, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 38 (March 27, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 37 (February 20, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 36 (February 13, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 35 (February 6, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 34 (January 30, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 33 (January 23, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 32 (January 16, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 31 (January 9, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 30 (March 27, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 29 (December 29, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 28 (March 27, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 27 (March 27, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 26 (December 5, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 25 (December 1, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 24 (November 21, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 23 (November 14, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 22 (November 7, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 21 (November 7, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 20 (October 10, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 19 (October 4, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 18 (March 27, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 17 (September 19, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 16 (September 12, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 15 (September 20, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 14 (August 29, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 13 (August 24, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 12 (August 24, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 11 (August 24, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 10 (August 24, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 09 (August 24, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 08 (September 5, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 07 (March 27, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 06 (March 27, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 05 (September 5, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 04 (March 27, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 03 (March 27, 2014)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 02 (November 21, 2013)
- Foundational Themes in Genesis – Study 01 (March 27, 2014)