"And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." (King James Version)
INTERPRETATION: The bible describes God creating our universe in six days and marking the passage of time each day with "the evening and the morning." Some choose to debate whether the days represent literal 24 hour periods or as expressed in II Peter 3:8, "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
Regardless of the length of time, everyone agrees that stages of development are described in the bible as opposed to an instantaneous "POOF" of the universe into existence by God. Interestingly, the six biblical days of creation correlate to six ages many scientists say the earth passed through in its development. For example, each day's creation correlates to a scientific age as follows:
- Day One - "light and darkness" (Gen 1:1-5) correlates to the Cosmic Age.
- Day Two - "firmament, upper and lower water" (Gen 1:6-8) to the Azoic Age.
- Day Three - "sea, land, and plants" (Gen 1:9-13) to the Archeozoic Age.
- Day Four - "sun, moon, and stars" (Gen 1:14-19) to the Proterozoic Age, when dissipating smoke and clouds made the sun, moon and stars visible from the earth.
- Day Five - "fish and birds" (Gen 1:20-23) correlates to the Paleozoic Age.
- Day Six - "mammals and man" (Gen 1:24-31) correlates to the Cenozoic Age.
A. Stages of Development
The intelligent designs within the chemical bonds of matter and DNA of all beings of the universe develop through stages over a time period. Graphically, the developmental or growth period is the blue arrow of time between any cause and its related effect:
As displayed below, chemists recognize that time (the green upward arrow) must elapse before any result occurs; all backyard gardeners know a summer must pass before their tomatoes can be harvested; and, geologists believe it took as long as four billion years to get from the earth's formation to its present state:
We must be careful when evaluating stages of development, so that we do not "lose sight of the forest for the trees" and draw the wrong conclusions. For example, in the following sequence of stages in the development of transportation from a:
man pulling a cart to a
horse pulling a cart to a
steam powered cart to a
gasoline powered model T to a
sleek modern vehicle of today
An unchecked, evolutionary point of view is that each cart above survived the previous one by adapting to a changing environment. Thus, shattering wooden wheels evolved into rubber to brave cobblestone streets. Manpower evolved into horse power which evolved into steam power which spawned the internal combustion engine, which could best handle adverse environmental conditions. Hence, on the surface, it is not illogical to see that the new, sleek automobiles of today evolved from the man pulling the cart above.
In reality, we know that the jump from each stage to the next was brought about by man's desire and purpose for creating that higher order mode of transportation. It was brought about by man's continuous addition of energy, heart, intellect, will, skill and various materials to each earlier mode of transportation.
Similarly, we must exercise the same care in evaluating the following sequence of stages in the development of humanity from a:
one celled amoeba to a
extracellular planaria to a
frog to a
muskrat to an
ape to a
man and woman
Clearly above, each being came from the origin, God, and was multiplied through unity between its masculine and feminine attributes. The fact that all beings seem to resemble each other does not mean that an amoeba mutated into... and that into a planaria, into... and from there into a frog, which ... made an ape, which evolved into a man. The transition between lower beings into higher ordered beings cannot take place by the energy and elements of the lower beings alone. When left alone, development drifts downward toward chaos, according to the law of thermodynamics called entropy. Hence, their development from lower beings indicates the indisputable, continuous, addition of the intelligent designer - God's energy, heart, intellect, will and creativity into each being. Hence, the highest ordered creation, man, is not the son of an amoeba, but the son of God. Beings of our universe resemble one another because they all come from one origin - God.B. The Growth Period
In the opening bible verse above it states, "...and the evening and the morning were the first day." The evening is the formative stage, the nighttime is the growth stage, and the morning is the fruitful, bloomed, completion stage, in which each being reaches its full maturity and begins to glorify God. It is in the completion stage that everything fulfills its purpose of existence.
From birth to maturity, everything goes through three broad stages of (1) Forming, (2) Growing, and (3) Completing or blooming, as graphically expressed below:
A good example of this can be observed in the video below, which shows a mushroom transitioning from the growth period into the fruitful, bloomed, completion stage:The growth period is evident for the following reasons:
- If there were no growth period in the creation process, it would not have taken any time for God to create the universe. Yet, the bible describes six days in the creation process.
- By examining Adam and Eve before their original sin, we see that God warned them in Gen 2:17, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Clearly, this means that if they do not eat of it, they live. Hence, God did not create Adam and Eve as "POOF" already perfected (Matt 5:48), fruitful, bloomed, mature beings. The warning "thou shalt not eat of it" was needed for Adam and Eve, because they were imperfect, immature and growing in stature in their relationship with God. Clearly, the original sin occurred during their growth stage while they were immature.
- There cannot be sin after reaching perfection (Matt 5:48). As expressed in Romans 8:38-39, "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God." If there was no growth period, Adam and Eve should have been mature and perfected from the beginning, needing no warning. And in that case, they could not have fallen for the original sin. Therefore, Adam and Eve fell for the original sin during their growth to perfection. If perfected men can still sin and fall after experiencing God's love to the fullest, salvation would not mean anything because there would always be the possibility of more sins occurring even after man receives full salvation. The Kingdom of God on Earth and in Heaven, the world without sin, would never be possible.
C. Our Destiny is God's Direct Dominion Over Us
As shown graphically below, a person who has attained perfection has fulfilled the first blessing, "To be fruitful" (See Topic #5. Be fruitful) and has a relationship of oneness in love with God. A perfected person lives in this love and dwells in the direct dominion of God.
In the direct dominion, shown above, we live heart to heart with God as perfected individuals. In this union, God governs by love, and laws and commandments become unnecessary. Since God created love as the strongest force in the universe, once perfection of love is reached it can never be lost. As expressed in Romans 8:38-39, "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God." Under the direct rule of God, men and women are completely free - liberated to be who they were meant to be. Just as the body expresses the desires of the mind, a man in perfection would fully express God's image within him. Under the influence of God's full love, man would live a life of goodness, full of joy and happiness. In perfection, we each become surrogates or avatars of God's love flowing through us to each other.
Mankind also exercises a realm of direct dominion, as expressed in Topic #7. "Replenish the earth" and Topic #8. "Subdue it: and have dominion;" that is, our dominion over the created world. Since God is spirit, He does not relate directly to the material world. Rather, He relates to the created world through man who naturally has both spiritual and physical aspects. God created all things for man, to be ruled by us as His representatives. Through our direct dominion of the physical world, God exercises His dominion indirectly.
The fact that individuals and their relationships are so imperfect today indicates that mankind as a whole, since the days of Adam and Eve, has never fully bloomed, become fruitful, and reached the perfection of God's direct dominion where "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God." (Note: the life and mission of Jesus will be discussed in later postings)
D. God's Indirect Dominion during the Growth Period
During the growth period, everything operates by the autonomous power of natural law. The snow and rain come, the seasons change, day dawns and night falls, all because of the prearranged law of nature, intelligently designed and created by God.
God created the natural law first, then created the universe to operate within natural law. By the force of natural law, everything goes through a growth period to reach perfection. During this period, man's physical body as well as the rest of creation grow to maturity automatically. Of course, if we do not live in accordance with the rules of good health it is possible for us to injure or destroy our physical bodies. Yet, during the growth period God controls the natural laws, so, we receive God's indirect control through the law. Hence, it is an indirect dominion of God.
Except for Adam and Eve, every creation reached perfection through the force of natural law, as demonstrated by the Amaryllis in the video below:
But, only man fell through the original sin, because he did not keep God's commandment as his own portion of responsibility. As shown graphically below, man's growth through the indirect dominion occurs through a combination of natural law plus man completing his portion of responsibility:
E. Our Portion of Responsibility
While growing through the indirect dominion, God provides everything we need. In addition to meeting our physical needs, He has given us the intelligence, creativity and intuition necessary for our internal growth. Nevertheless, a certain portion of responsibility is left to us and until our portion is completed, God's efforts are futile.
It is similar to the relationship between a parent and a child. A parent gives guidance and direction to his child, doing all he can to help the child grow. Still, the child must do the growing himself. A teacher may provide all the educational opportunities a young student needs. But, the student must study himself. If he does not, the teacher's efforts are in vain.
The same principle holds true in the relationship between man and God. God's efforts to lead us to maturity become effective only when we do our part. Compared to the amount of responsibility God takes for our growth, our own responsibility is very, very minor. The two cannot actually be compared. But, for convenience and to emphasize our part we can figuratively say that God's portion of responsibility is 95% and that ours is 5%. From our point of view, however, we must strive for our own perfection with our whole hearts. Even though we are responsible for only 5% of the total job, we need 100% effort to fulfill it. When we complete our share, God can treat us as if we had actually done the whole work ourselves. Thus, each person can inherit God's nature, becoming His true son or daughter.
Because we are responsible for our own growth, we need to make conditions for God to act in our lives.
1. FAITH
For example, when Jesus healed the sick, he first asked if they believed in him, as stated in Matt 9:28-29, "And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you." Faith was the condition that allowed God's healing energy to work. Without faith, no healing was possible.
2. ASK, SEEK, KNOCK
Likewise, Jesus promised people seeking for answers that they would find them, but urged them to first do their part as stated in Matt 7:7-8, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Hence, asking, seeking and knocking are the conditions recommended by Jesus for God to act in our lives, along with faith.
Why can't a merciful God give even to those who do not ask? Why can't God enable even those who do not seek and knock to enter? It is because each person has their own responsibility and God cannot interfere with it. God's power is effective only when we do our part.
God is like a master stone mason who is building a magnificent stone wall. He has laid all the stone blocks Himself, leaving just one stone unplaced. God then asks us to lay the final block. He gives us all the necessary tools and lessons in order to complete the wall. And, by laying the last stone, we can take part in the glory of the finished product and be a co-worker with God, as shown graphically below:
History has clearly shown that we have not fulfilled our 5%, meaning God is still waiting for us to pick up and place that last stone. No matter how long it may take, this principle of co-responsibility has remained unchanged throughout history.F. Basis for Our Portion of Responsibility
God gave Adam the warning, "not to eat of the fruit" and did not give this instruction to any other creature for two reasons:
1. Child of God: Humans were created to be the child of God; and, in order to be God's child, we must inherit His character, including His creativity. We are given the freedom to make choices and the obligation to take responsibility for them. God thus allows us to participate in the creation of our own selves and personalities. By doing this, ultimately unfolding God's image within us, we become a co-creator with Him and can be called a child of God.
2. Lordship: God's blessing of dominion to only humans means that God wants us to be lord over all the world as His representatives. To give us lordship, God had to make us superior to all other creatures by letting us go through a course that no other creature could follow. For this reason, God gave mankind alone a portion of responsibility that is not satisfied only by natural law.
G. The Purpose of Life
God the creator is a God of heart, and the essential desire of heart is joy. Think of how joy is experienced. Generally, by having an object which complements or reflects our own character gives us joy. For example, if an artist merely conceives an ideal without expressing it, her joy is not fulfilled. But when her creative idea is perfectly expressed on a canvas, then she feels great satisfaction. The painting is an object which can stimulate the feeling of joy, as shown below:
On a deeper level, joy comes from love. When we have a full relationship of giving and taking love with someone who complements us, we can feel the highest joy. Naturally, we must love someone or something. Love cannot flow if there is no object of love.
As long as God was alone and His essential self was unexpressed, He could not feel satisfaction or joy. No matter how almighty or absolute God is, alone He could not share His love. He needed an object and out of this need He created man. Projecting His whole nature into His work, God produced man to manifest His invisible nature in the form of a visible and tangible image. He created man as an expression of Himself, a being with whom God could have a relationship of love. We can reason with God and God can have a complete rapport with us. He intended to live with us forever in the highest joy through the perpetual exchange of love, as shown below:
However, until we respond fully and offer joy, the action of give and take cannot be completed and God's purpose cannot be fulfilled. Created to be sons and daughters of God, we are given the nature and capacity to respond to God's love and return joy to Him. To develop this nature and exercise this capacity is the purpose of our lives and is the manifestation of the blessings of Genesis 1:28, which states, "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."
Sadly, as things currently stand in human affairs, the bible states in Romans 8:19-22 that, "The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."
