I believe it is safe to say that nearly everyone has had the occasion to be outside, away from city lights, on one of those nights when it appears that you could reach up and stroke the stars. Possibly you were eager to lie down on the ground and just gaze up at the vastness of the universe. How did it make you feel? Did you feel a tug toward the outer boundary of space? Did you think you would like to just drift out into the vastness? Did you feel peculiarly pulled toward the star-studded mantle? The reactions vary between people, but have a great deal of similarity. Ever wonder why the “universal draw” toward what is, at this time, an incomplete and violent universe?
This short article will suggest some possible solutions to these and other questions. These will be very brief, but we will consider a couple of examples.
Why is man obsessed with leaving the earth? From the beginning he’s been determined to fly. He’s fabricated all sorts of contraptions to help him break the bonds of gravity. In most of these attempts he crashed and burned. But, thorough diligence and vision, he at last succeeded.
But he wasn’t content until he built machines that could transport him to the moon. Now,
we hear of new plans to travel to Mars and beyond. Why? The assertion is to see if there was any suggestion of past life on Mars. That has truth, I suppose, but there are other reasons. Some possible conclusions are the focus of this article.
Assuming there is intelligent design (and an intelligent designer) behind all that we see around us, a logical question would be why? If a creator went to the trouble to put all this into motion, there must be a reason. Even the most basic sense of logic demands an answer. To begin a very brief suggestion, consider the analogy presented in The Rich Landowner later in this article. However, to make this simple story make sense, I must repeat another story presented in an earlier article.
THE STORY BEGINS;
At some point in eternity past, in an existence that we of this mortal plain cannot even image, a campaign was being planned. The architect(s) of the plan was the uncaused creator of all that is, ever was, or will ever be. In His triune nature, He conversed. Listen!
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
Gen 1:26-27 NKJV
The created ones had noticed the recent celestial speaking into existence sprawling areas of faceless mass. It had been a violent creation, and now it existed, spread out over the immensity…unfinished and wild.
Positioned on the fringes of the aforementioned discussion, there lurked one being (the highest created one). He’d been designed for one role in the entire expanse of all that had been created. But now he listened and he wandered, a sense of morbid curiosity overwhelming him.
For some time the Father had sensed the unrest in the heart of this glorious being. Nothing could escape His awareness…nothing in all of creation. This one, now so curious, had been created for the sole purpose of leading all of creation in praise and adoration of the Creator. And now, only rebellion could be sensed in his heart.
His name was Lucifer! And he wandered what it was the Creator was planning. He’d heard mention of something called man. Was this another form of angelic being? Or, was God planning something totally different? Something outside the imagination or understanding of any being save the divine Trinity? He would investigate further.
As the point of this unique and special event approached, the rebel found his curiosity growing, as well as his resentment of the fact that he was being obviously excluded from the process. But more and more he became convinced that what was about to take place was unlike anything ever before. He’d overheard such terms as family, rulers, and universe.
In some cases, there seemed to be very little attempt to mask the plans from him. Did the Creator think him stupid? He was slowly putting it all together. The Creator was planning to create offspring! Not only that, but these new beings would be the Creator’s family. If he understood what was being planned, this creation would be even closer that the other created beings, the servant angels, of which he was the highest. Why, there was even indication that they would be closer to the Creator that he was. He who had been designed by the Creator to lead in the praise offered by all the created ones. Such a thing just couldn’t be allowed to happen.
As the plan progressed, Lucifer became increasingly angry at the entire idea. He felt insulted, and abandoned by the Creator. At last, his own plan began to form deep within his heart. At first, he would not even allow the words to form. But finally, the rage that built inside became overpowering, and he uttered the words of rebellion.
I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.
NKJV Isa 14:13-14
But the “Most High” was not fooled! He knew the innermost workings of each heart then, even as He does now. To the foolishness of Lucifer, He responded;
How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!
For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.
Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying:
‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms,
Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities,
Who did not open the house of his prisoners?’ Isa 14:12-17 NKJV
Not only did the Creator know the present plans churning in Lucifer’s heart, He could look down through time and see what he would ultimately attempt. Things that even Lucifer hadn’t conceived at that point.
And at the proper moment in the Creator’s plan, the new and unique creation took place. On a small planet, the only one in all the expanse of the universe that exhibited any signs of being “completed,” he planted a garden…a perfect place for His Royal Family to begin. From the same material that He had used to fashion this soft blue globe, he built a “house” for one who would be His representative, and producer of this family. Then, He breathed His own life force into this container, and the being became man. As the being, identified as ADAM stood to his feet, he suddenly became “self-aware,” a living soul. He recognized his Father and Creator, and worshipped Him.
Soon, the Father would form a helper. He would take material out of Adam’s container, and this additional one would be designed to interact with Adam in a divine way that would bring forth the other members of the Royal Family.
All these goings on didn’t escape the watchful eyes of the one who had now become the enemy of all that the Creator did (and of the Creator Himself). He’d been cast from his lofty position as praise leader, and now the Creator had cursed him to this foreign habitat. But he had other plans, and he would soon begin to implement them. Shortly he would use all the divine abilities created within him by the Creator, but now perverted to be used in his attempt to thwart the divine plan. He would succeed (to a degree), believing in his dark heart, that he actually had a chance to replace the Creators plans for a Godly family into his own dark and fallen family. His own idea of an inhabited universe, ruled by his own mutated race, would slowly form in his mind. In that future element called time, he would one day find a way to present his concept to those designed by the Creator to be His family. It would be presented through images and pictures to millions of fallen earth’s inhabitants. The presentation of his own concept of an inhabited universe, with him as ruling as “god,” would be called…. Star Wars!
Below we see what may have transpired as time progressed. The Father Creator has put His plan into motion. Out of the vastness of creation He had prepared one planet to be the birthing place for His Royal Family. We pick up the story with the placing of the Royal Couple in their new home. To make the story more relevant I have written it with a somewhat earthly and typical storyline.
THE RICH LANDOWNER;
There once lived a very rich landowner. One could stand in the very center of his domain, and as far as could be seen in any direction; the land belonged to this landowner. But one thing was wrong with the domain. It was a wasteland. It seemed that nothing by way of development nor improvement had been done for ages…perhaps never. The land was covered with brush, rocks, ditches, and was in a general state of chaos. But that condition was as the landowner intended at the present. You see, his total purpose for this vast domain was to provide his family with an empire. Problem was, at this time he had no family. He was alone, therefore he had no interest in developing the land.
But he had a plan!
First, he would need a place, centrally located, where his future family could grow to maturity, learning what his future domain to be like. This initial dwelling place would be a sort of nursery. Once the children were mature enough to receive their inheritance, the land would be developed, and the “kingdom” would begin to take form. Each family member would have a purpose, a duty, and great responsibility within the kingdom.
The nursery would need to be very secure. You see, the landowner had a dangerous enemy. This enemy had become a fierce competitor. He had even attempted a hostile takeover of all the landowner owned. He knew how the landowner operated, and was familiar with all his holdings. You see, at one point he had been at junior partner in the business. When the attempted takeover had taken place, the landowner had dissolved the relationship, and had put the partner out of business, and even into exile. The evil partner had vowed revenge. Therefore, the landowner must do all possible to protect his prodigy from any harm his enemy might attempt against his family. To accomplish this, the landowner/father determined to spend a period in personal fellowship with his heir each day. Knowing the deceiving nature of the enemy, the Father hoped he could strengthen the son’s determination to personally resist any advances the enemy might make. One important aspect of the family would be that each member must be free to choose to serve the father, and the interests of the family, or not. Otherwise, each one would be no more than a servant, or slave.
In time, the elder son of the future family was born. The landowner put great confidence in this one who would eventually be the director of his domain, and the leader of the family yet to come. But until that time, this eldest son was to be responsible for the protection of the other children.
To begin the process, the landowner had provided his son with a wife, one to help in the bringing about of the family.
The area around the headquarters, located inside a great protective barrier, was beginning to take shape. Gardens and ponds, sculptured and manicured, lay inside the barrier that enclosed the property designated the home-place where all training would take place. As of yet, the family would not be allowed to view very much of the vast holdings, all still in the undeveloped form.
But a tragedy was in the making. The enemy gained entrance to the garden located inside the gate, even before any children had been born. Being an extremely crafty individual, he was able to quickly delude and seduce the eldest son’s wife and helpmate. He convinced her that what the father had in store for them was not in their best interest. He pointed out that the holdings of the father/landowner were vastly more than had been revealed. The wife, due to her naive nature, gave into the powerfully seductive nature of the enemy.
Later that day, she relayed to her husband all that had transpired between her and the enemy. She told her husband that the enemy, being a former partner, could deliver the entire domain into his hands. All he must do was agree to a contract that he would rebel against the father. The son was not convinced, but in fear of losing his wife, he agreed! The die had been cast, and the now rebellious son could do nothing to change the course he had chosen.
That evening, the father/landowner came for his daily visit. He sensed the unrest, and guilt present in his son. He asked him what was wrong. The son, ashamed of his actions, admitted that his wife had made a “deal” with the father’s archenemy, and that he had agreed to go along with it. Heartbroken, the father had no choice but to totally change the scene inside the wall. Up to this point, he had not allowed his son or his wife to venture outside the walls. They could never have survived the harsh and uninhabitable world out there. Even now, they would be confined to but a tiny corner of the future kingdom. He was forced to “interrupt” the process already started inside the wall, where the family was to live. Instead of gardens, there would be nothing but death, demonstrated by the growth of brush and thorns. The animals living in concert with the son would now become wild and deadly.
But the father was not going to give up on the idea of a family that would help him develop and operate the vast domain outside the gates. However, he must devise a plan that would allow those children yet to come into the family to return to his favor. See, due to his absolute sense of justice, he must count all future members of his family as guilty of rebellion as now was his eldest son. That because they would be born of the same rebellious seed now resident inside his son, implanted out of his alliance with the enemy.
To those now bound to the area just outside the fence, the future would look bleak. They would hate each other, they would fight, and they would die at each other’s hands. In the end, only a few would survive to live in the domain as over-comers and rulers.
THE FATHERS PLAN:
He was, is, and will always be eternal. He exists in a timeless expanse of timeless space. He came from nowhere, and will always be the perpetual “I Am.” He is the one necessary being that has no cause. He speaks His Word and universes come into existence. He has multiple attributes. He is totally just, totally love, and totally a Father. That seems to be His primary attribute…He has a Father’s heart, and He desires a family. We of finite mind cannot image His existence in the whole expanse of all that is. He is not alone. He probably has never been alone. He has His creation…angels, and other beings we cannot even imagine. Beings we have not yet been alerted to. But, it seems the one thing He did not have in eternity past was a family. A family for what purpose? Could it be a ROYAL FAMILY to rule over this vast creation? Could that have been the motive for all that is? Could His motivation for creating anything that has been created be His desire to father a living, loving family to rule in His Name?
As alluded to in the above limited example, this Creator had a vast domain. As far as the divine mind could fathom, it was His. It had been created in a flash…created for some lofty and royal purpose, yet now wild and foreboding. Even in this day the reaches of “outer space” seem to have no visible development (at least, as we understand development). It does have order and design. The universe does move in a high degree of orderly fashion, else we could not have life, as we presently experience life, on this single planet, located in the exact center of all that is. But there is plainly a lack of “development” among the heavenly bodies. That is, except for this tiny orb to which you and I are attached. The inherent fury of the exploding creation is beyond mere imagination. But to what purpose? Could it be in a “holding pattern?” Could all creation be waiting for some pre-designed event to come to maturity? Perhaps….the development of a family?
Let’s assume so!
Let’s assume that the driving force of the Creator is that of a Father. The Father does not yet have a family! At least, not one that could function as a “royal family,” ruling over His creation. Therefore, there would be no present need to develop the vast reaches of the universe. Why? If indeed, His plan is to share ruler ship of this vast domain with a family, and there is presently no ruling family, then there would be no need to form planets ready for habitation. Should some form of life be placed on the innumerable worlds in space, there would be no one to watch over them in His Name. No ruling class of beings created for one singular purpose…to rule the Father’s domain.
With that need foremost, the Father determines to produce a family. First of all, there must be a “headquarters,” or “homeland” out from where the ruling family can perform their universal duties. So, out of all the numberless planets, he chooses one. He must shape it so as to sustain the unique type of being designed to make up his family members. Eventually the entire domain will be of the same form and substance as this initial home. He will make it in a certain fashion, then create His firstborn to fit naturally into it. From this initial offspring, He will begat a large number of like beings, all formed in His own image. They will be designed to learn, and be trained, in the operation of His domain. They will remain on this soft blue orb until the time is right.
With what may be described as excited anticipation, the Father speaks into existence the proper environment. He places other creatures into this habitat. They are all specially formed to benefit and interact with His initial family members. Once the stage is set, He performs His most profound act of creation yet. Of all the created worlds, and all the beings of various kinds, no creation has been so vital as this one about to take place. With care and tender love, the Father takes some of the material used in the formation of this home, and builds a unique and personal house for the being to dwell in. From this position he can interact with the new environment. Once the form is complete, the Father breathes His own life force into the form. At once the form takes on individual status, containing the person of this precious creation, as well as being a container for the life force of the Father Himself. And, the eldest son of the Father, the first in His ruling family, stands to his feet, and pays homage to His Father, whom he recognizes at once. The Father gives the creation a personal designation…a name…Adam!
To begin his life as a ruler, the Father instructs His son to give individual designations to each of the other creatures living on this homeland. The son complies, and as each of the many creations pass by, he blesses that creature with a name.
The Father in fully aware that there is one vital ingredient missing. All the creatures He has formed have “counterparts,” or mates. That is, all except His prize creation…His first-born. So, He puts the “man” into a deep sleep, and forms a mate for him from his own body.
Here is the Father’s plan!
His purpose in all this is to have a royal family to rule His domain. There would be millions. They would eventually be spread throughout the reformed galaxy, ruling over beings yet to be conceived, except in the mind of the Father. As the Creator contemplated this, each of these future members of the royal family took form…came into being, within His creative mind. He knew each one’s look, special talents, place and function within the family kingdom. He foreknew where on this home-planet they would be born, who their direct parents would be, and their intended function (consider Eph. 1: 3-12). For all practical purposes, they (we) were already in existence. All that was needed was for His eldest to get the process started. This would be done through a very special and wonderful process involving His son and the new mate He had created for him.
But, there was still the archenemy of the Father to consider. This once glorious being had served faithful. Then, he had determined to take over the Father’s domain. He had overheard the Father (Godhead) discussing the plans for a family, and decided that he should be the one to head up such a family. The attempted takeover had failed miserably, but the enemy had managed to recruit a large number of followers from the angelic ranks (See Rev. 4). They had followed him in being cast from the Father’s presence. However, this evil being was still a danger to the Father’s fledging family. They must be protected. But, they must be free to choose whom they would follow…and represent. Otherwise, they would not be worthy to make up the royal family. The Father could have created a vast race of beings without choice. They would have “served” Him blindly, but they could not possess the type love and adoration the Father demanded from this Royal Family. Therefore, the Father must allow the enemy access to the perfect world created for the beginning of His family. If this family was to be worthy of the Father’s blessings (and fatherhood), they must be offered the choice…to obey or to rebel.
And sure enough, there came the day when the enemy entered the garden, and thorough his craft of deceit and coloring of the truth, he tricked the son’s mate into partaking of his favors, thereby polluting her standing in the kingdom. (She didn’t eat an apple). Later she had shared her actions with the first-born, and he, with full knowledge of his actions, followed suit. The fear of losing his mate was greater than the fear of losing his inheritance in the family. The unthinkable had happened! The royal bloodline had become flawed. As things stood, the creating of a royal family to rule over the family domain was not possible, at least under the present conditions.
The Father responded in the only way He could. He put the couple out from His presence. He moved them to the outside of the perfect place created for them. He created an alternative place of habitation…a testing ground, where they must now bear the already created children of the family. But now, because of the open and deliberate rebellion, they would be confined to an existence called time. Where there had been total freedom, the family would now be locked into this prison of time, where events would progress along a “time-line,” into an unknown future. One might view this time-line as a line extending from the point of exit from the “garden” to some point in the future when the Father views His ruling family as being filled up. Attached to that line is every event, in its own time, that is destined to take place throughout time’s history. All the events we see as occurring at a time in the past, (i.e., the birth of Moses, various battles involving the nation of Israel, and…the birth of the Redeemer(…the Father entering into His own creation), were attached to that time line. Also “attached” to that time-line is the point of birth (and physical death) of every being pre-spoken into existence by the Father.
Attached to this time line was a phenomenon called the present. This present would move down the time line, from the beginning to the end. Beings born in the present, as concerns their own mortal existence, would move through their portion of the time-line, ever locked into the present After they had been caused to move along this time line, taking advantage of opportunities, making choices, and, as per the desire of the Father, perhaps making the move that would allow them to be re-born into the Father’s family, they would come to the end of this phase of life. At that point, they would pass from the present, being, as it were, un-hooked from the time-line. They would move into the second phase of life…life outside the time-line continuum. In this part of their existence, they would be placed into a holding environment, either as a member of the family, or as one to be judged at a time still to come.
But we are getting ahead of our story.
The nature of the enemy had now entered into the Father’s family, polluting the innocence of the former nature. Now, there would be a mingling of natures. This would result in hate, confusion, fear, selfishness, and all the terrible personality traits of the enemy…Satan!
God had placed inside the garden something referred to as the Tree of Life. The son and his wife had free access to that fruit. Whether this tree was like a real tree, or whether the term is meant to symbolize a point of access is not important. The point is that, the Father had placed within the reach of His children the concept of eternal life. In other words, eternity was present in the garden, and available. Also available was something called the Tree of Knowledge. The result of choosing this fruit would be something called death. It would be, in essence, a separation from the Father and His initial plan. So…available to the pair, and totally up to them, was both eternal life and eternal death. They chose death!
So dangerous was this choice that the Father explained what seemed to be concern about the situation. He expressed an immediate need to expel His children from the garden, putting them out of the range of eternity and into time. A basic consideration of the concepts of time and eternity indicates that they cannot exist together, and in the same way.
We do not see the tree of life being available again until after the total destruction of the universe, and the subsequent re-creation of a new universe (See Rev. 21).
Even in this fallen state, cursed with death, there abides in each one to be born as a result of the Father’s pre-determination, a deep-rooted awareness of Father God! Not a single one of the billions could escape it, although many would claim that they had.
Each one born into the “human race” would be different. Each would have a divine “genetic code” that was in keeping with that person’s predestined place in the kingdom. But in order for that offspring of the Father to ever experience life in the kingdom, he/she would have to respond to a message and a plan the Father was about to put into place. The Father would state that before the end all would somehow hear His message. Most would hear and not believe. These would suffer the fate of never being allowed to return to the family fold. They would be consigned to a place totally exiled from the Father. But there would, in the end, be enough who would respond to the Father’s ultimate plan to make up a royal family to dwell with the Father in the eons to come, ruling and reigning with Him.
His plan?
He Himself [in the form of His own uncreated Word] would enter this fallen race, take on their form, and yet remain God. The Father must have payment for the damage done to the kingdom by the act of rebellion. None of those born into this race of beings, even with so much potential, could pay his own debt. The Father Himself would become that payment, at the very hands of those He had destined for universal greatness.