Throughout the centuries, many people were interested to know the purpose of our existence and why did God create the human race in the first place. Atheists say that there is no purpose. They believe that human beings are simply “meat and bones”, born to die and nothing exists after death.
They believe that only the biological body exists and it is merely a product of a chance or accidental combination of elements.
Others believe that mankind is little more than the product of evolution and look for more answers. They often ask “Why do I exist?”, “What is the meaning of my life?” or “Is my existence part of a divine plan?” They enjoy debating about the meaning of life but rarely find the correct answer.
In general, our existence loses all its meaning and seems like a total waste without the knowledge of the truth.
Those who follow New Age doctrines believe that God’s purpose in creating mankind is simply to experience His self as the Creator of all things. According to this belief, God is in the continual act of creating His self. It doesn’t matter what type of experience mankind gets, good or bad, God created this experience simply to become “Self-conscious”.
They don’t believe in duality, as good and evil do not exist to them. They assume that duality it’s just how someone perceives things from their point of view. Consequently, no matter how evil a person is and how much damage he does to others, everybody will eventually come back to the Divine Source to live in a blissful state of harmony and peace.
This way of thinking can be dangerous and misleading. Just because everyone has free will, it doesn’t mean that every single person is willing to come back to God or be kind to others. Some people simply don’t believe that God exists. They believe everything evolved by accident and evil-doers enjoy the way they live. When a person doesn’t make a conscious choice to return to where he came from, he is not going to end up in this place.
According to the Bible, men’s nature is sinful from the beginning of the creation of the human race due to Adam and Eve’s fall. While this concept appears to be valid, it doesn’t seem to be fair too. What if there are few righteous men out of the billions, living a perfectly righteous life, fulfilling all of the requirements and commandments from God. They are still sinners by default.
Consider the story of Job, a righteous man who had a personal relationship with God and fully complied with God’s commandments. During his trials Job was judged heavily by his friends and other believers.
Some modern-day overly critical Christians would probably point their fingers at Job and make assumptions that he must be cheated on his wife, practice astrology, or shaved his beard on the Sabbath. He would be constantly blamed and persecuted for something he didn’t do, while in reality, he is an innocent and fully righteous person.
Job Rebuked by His Friends by William Blake
in Illustrations of the Book of Job
The main question is, why do good people suffer? If Job and others like him are righteous, why does God test them? The story tells us that Job loved God so much he would happily give up his life for Him, if necessary, and God knew it.
Was Job’s persecution the right thing to do?
While there is very limited information regarding this topic in the Bible, I have discovered a few interesting scriptures that logically answer this question thus completely solving this mystery.
Da Vinci Code
Many years ago, I came across a few beautiful paintings of Leonardo da Vinci, an Italian Renaissance polymath, whose areas of interest included invention, science, anatomy, and more. The first painting I saw was the famous The Last Supper painting.
The next one was an interesting and complex drawing of a man called The Vitruvian Man. Vitruvius depicted the human body as being the principal source of proportion among the Classical orders of architecture. If God would create a drawing of the first human being like Adam, the sketch is going to look like The Vitruvian Man painting.
Many historians and scholars called Leonardo a “Universal Genius” and thought he was mysterious and remote. People held a deep respect for his technological ingenuity. He conceptualized flying machines, fighting vehicles, and concentrated solar power among other things.
Leonardo worked on many anatomical sketches of body parts and wing structures that resembled a bird’s anatomy. Some of his work can hide a mystery that Da Vinci knew more than the average man about the purpose of creation.
The Morning Stars Sang Together
The Bible tells us that in the beginning, God created an innumerable company of beings called Angels. These beings were created pure and holy, had free will, and existed with God (and still do) as part of God’s big family in a place called Heaven.
Angels were created as selfless beings, without discord or contention, and every one of them was filled with God’s love and love for one another.
Things in Heaven worked out pretty well for the Sons of God as they all lived and sang together in peace and harmony. In the following passage, for example, God is asking Job where he was when the Morning Stars sang together and I doubt Job knew the answer:
Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. When the morning stars sang together, and all the Sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:7).
Did God just clue him that Job indeed was there, as one of the morning stars?
Job’s Tormentors by William Blake
in Illustrations of the Book of Job
Keep in mind that the Bible is not in perfect chronological order and does not usually explain the subject within one chapter. Even the biblical writers inspired by God didn’t always fully understand what they recorded (compare Daniel 12:8-9; 1 Peter 1:10-12 for example).
Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” and many assume that this passage describes the beginning of everything, but as they read further, there are details of events and conditions that took place earlier, such as “In the beginning was the Word”. As a result, many people assume that the creation drama in the Bible began from Adam and Eve’s disobedience and fall from the grace of God.
The original cosmic drama began much earlier and took place somewhere in the galaxy. The story continues, describing the creation of a certain Cherub who was the most powerful among angelic beings that God has created.
The Cherub was described as “perfect in beauty” and was covered with all kinds of precious stones. The Bible also tells us that he ranked above all the principalities and powers, (powerful angelic beings that ruled over God’s creation). He was involved with music in Heaven (Ezekiel 28:13) and he was the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 1).
Due to his iniquity (immoral or grossly unfair behavior), he was filled with violence and have sinned. As a result, God promised to cast him down from His mountain: “I will cast thee out of the mountain of God” (Ezekiel 28:16).
By Enrique Meseguer Pixabay
This is when the big drama started along with the Rebellion against God. The anointed Cherub took 1/3 of hundreds of millions of Holy Angels with him into the Rebellion. Most likely, he was a big Drama Queen, and angels listened to his wonderful speeches and chose to follow him. Since the drama took place in the cosmic realm, many places and planets could be involved along with many types of Angels.
The anointed Cherub fell before the beginning of physical time (Genesis 1:2 describes the Earth without form and void). Adam and Eve were outside of physical time before their fall. Time didn’t begin until the fall.
The rebellion of the Holy Angels takes them to the point of no return. They wanted freedom from God and His laws and chose to form their own government. They were searching for freedom from any laws or restrictions that they didn’t find in God’s government.
In John 12:31 and Corinthians 4:4 the Serpent was called “the god of this age” and granted a legal right to be “the ruler of this world.”
It is no accident that in Genesis 3, shortly after God created Adam and Eve, the Serpent appeared in a scene as Earth was his domain. However, he wasn’t cast down to Earth immediately after the Rebellion.
When Job asked Satan “From where do you come?”, he replied “From going to and fro on the earth and from walking back and forth on it” (Job 1:7).
Petition of the Rebelled Angels
By photosforyou Pixabay
The Bible speaks about three orders of angelic beings, each with different functions and abilities. Each one of the angelic beings had a role to play in God’s eternal plans for His creation:
- Archangels: commissioned by God to oversee entire nations on Earth, and to be the messengers of God to men. Some of them interacted with humans at different points of time throughout the centuries.
- Cherubim: the order of angels we think of as “guardian angels.” They appear to be the helpers of mankind.
- Seraphim: an order of angelic beings that surrounds God’s throne providing Him with unceasing praise and worship.
The earliest reference to the angelic hierarchy was given by Enoch, a righteous scribe and seventh from Adam. Enoch was influential in outlining New Testament doctrines concerning the nature of the messianic kingdom, the Messiah, the future, resurrection, and judgment.
He wrote about seven archangels (Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Remiel and Sariel) and other angelic groups whose responsibilities included looking after the affairs of mankind, or guarding them with the armies of heavenly hosts.
The three main archangels – Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer – each led 1/3 of hundreds of millions of angels where Lucifer ruled the pre-Adamic world (Rev 5:11).
In the Book of Enoch, the Watchers were Angels that took a human form whenever they wished and Enoch has never doubted their divinity (The Book of Enoch 17.1).
Similar to the story about Adam and Eve, God became angry with the Watchers after seeing his Holy Angels going against His commandments and corrupting themselves with earthly women. That resulted in DNA modifications that messed up certain genes and eventually created corrupted offspring.
I used to think that Watchers existed in the form of Evil Spirits or Demons on Earth. However, Enoch, who spent a lot of his time with Watchers and knew everything about them including their names, wrote that only their offspring became evil spirits, not Watchers themselves:
And now, my father, I am entreating you and petitioning you, to go to our father Enoch, and learn from him the truth, for his dwelling is with the Angels (The Book of Enoch 106.7).
And now, the giants who were born from body and flesh will be called Evil Spirits on the Earth, and on the Earth will be their dwelling. And evil spirits came out from their flesh because from above they were created, from the Holy Watchers was their origin and first foundation. Evil spirits they will be on Earth and ‘Spirits of the Evil Ones’ they will be called. And the dwelling of the Spirits of Heaven is Heaven, but the dwelling of the spirits of the Earth, who were born on the Earth, is Earth. And the spirits of the giants do wrong, are corrupt, attack, fight, break on the Earth, and cause sorrow. And these spirits will rise against the sons of men, and against the women because they came out of them during the days of slaughter and destruction (The Book of Enoch 15.8 – 15.12).
The Book of Enoch doesn’t provide any information about the original rebellion nor how many Angels participated in it before the human race was created. However, he mentioned a group of Angelic beings who wanted to submit a petition to God on their behalf:
These are the leaders of the two hundred Angels and all the others with them (The Book of Enoch 6:8)
And they will petition you, but the petitioners will gain nothing in respect of them, for they hope for eternal life, and that each of them will live life for five hundred years (The Book of Enoch 10.10).
The desire to file the petition indicates that at least some groups of the Watchers / Holy Angels felt guilty over their acts and wanted to repent, while the other group of Watchers kept following their original Rebellion plan and never had the desire to repent:
The name of the first is Yequn; this is the one who led astray all the children of the Holy Angels, and he brought them down onto the dry ground, and led them astray through the daughters of men. And the name of the second is Asbeel; this one suggested an evil plan to the children of the Holy Angels, and led them astray, so that they corrupted their bodies with the daughters of men (The Book of Enoch 69.4 – 5).
The main point here is that Angels had a legal right to petition on their behalf once they were ready to repent and go back to Heaven.
Sons of God, as well as Sons of Men, had that right. Unfortunately, for some unknown reasons, only Sons of Men (humans) had a right to ask for forgiveness, while the fallen angels could not do it:
And now to the Watchers, who sent you to petition on their behalf, who were formerly in Heaven: “You were in Heaven but its secrets had not yet been revealed to you, and a worthless mystery you knew. This you made known to women, in the hardness of your hearts. And through this mystery, the women and the men cause evil to increase on the Earth. And they asked me to write out for them the record of a petition, so that they might receive forgiveness, and to take a record of their petition up to the Lord in Heaven (The Book of Enoch 16.3 – 4).
Here Enoch describes how petition works only on behalf of the Sons of Men (humans):
There my eyes saw their dwelling with the Angels, and their resting places with the Holy Ones and they were petitioning and supplicating and praying, on behalf of the Sons of Men; and righteousness, like water, flowed in front of them, and mercy like dew on the ground. Thus it is among them forever and ever (The Book of Enoch 39.5).
But a sheep, which had been saved from the wolves, fled and escaped to the wild asses. And I saw the sheep moaning and crying out, and petitioning the Lord with all their power, until that Lord of the sheep came down at the call of the sheep, from a high room, and came to them, and looked at them (The Book of Enoch 89.16).
Once again, a group of rebel Angels who repented was not granted forgiveness. However, the Sons of God (Angels) did have a chance for mercy if God would incarnate them into a human form as Sons of Men for testing and redemption purposes.
And again I saw flashes of lightning and the stars of Heaven, and I saw how He called them all by their names, and they obeyed Him. And I saw the Balance of Righteousness, how they are weighted according to their light, according to the width of their areas, and the day of their appearing. And how their revolutions produce lightning, and I saw their revolutions, according to the number of the Angels, and how they keep faith with one another.
And I asked the Angel, who went with me and showed me what is a secret: “What are these?”. And he said to me: “Their likeness, the Lord of Spirits has shown to you; these are the names of the righteous who, dwell on the dry ground and believe in the name of the Lord of Spirits forever and ever. And other things I saw concerning lightning, how some of the stars rise and become lightning but cannot lose their form. (The Book of Enoch 43.1 – 4 and 44.1)
Since the Holy Angels were often called “stars” such as in Job 38:7, the above passage can be used to support the idea of transformation and redemption of rebelled Angels who petitioned and fully repented.
Created Little Lower Than Angels
Some evangelicals teach that God created angels solely to be ministering spirits to assist “heirs of salvation” (Hebrews 1:14), and, unlike humans, angels are not offered membership into the Family of God. In reality, God uses His Holy Angels to aid in the rescue of His children. Angels are important helpers who constantly deliver us from evil. Angels proclaim the greatness of God and the good news of salvation in the Heavens and throughout the earth.
The angels serve God in their actions toward mankind and we were created a little “lower” than Angels spiritually. God loves mankind so much that He actually “assigns” a guardian Angel to each one of us.
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the Sons of God; for the creation [all things in the known universe] was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God (Romans 8:19).
Genesis 1 describes the creation of Heaven, Earth, animals, and the first humans, but there is very limited information about the creation of Angels. It seems unlikely that no one would mention them in the Creation story.
The Bible does have a story about Lucifer becoming a Fallen Angel, but it never says directly where the rest of the Angels came from. Besides, there are plenty of scriptures suggesting angels are humans who went to Heaven and Angels are referred to as “men”.
In Daniel 9:21, the angel Gabriel was called a “man”:
While I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen before in a vision, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice (Daniel 9:21).
The same pattern exists in several other verses in Genesis 18:2, 16, 22; 19:10, 12, 16 where Angels are called “men” or “Man of God” (Judges 13).
The two angels who visited Lot in Genesis 19:1-29 (called “angels” in verses 1 & 15) are called “men” in Genesis 18:2, 16, 22; 19:10, 12, 16, and in several other verses in Genesis 18 & 19.
Enoch, who dwelled with Angels, wrote that men were created similar to Angels:
For men were created no differently from the Angels, so that they might remain righteous and pure, and death, which destroys everything, would not have touched them; but through this knowledge, they are being destroyed and through this power, death consumes them (The Book of Enoch 69.11).
When people have an angelic encounter, they usually think that they are meeting a human being rather than an Angel:
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:2).
When Angels are mentioned in the Bible, words such as “man” and “Angel” are used almost interchangeably. If Angels were a separate race, the scriptures would not refer to them as “men” or “people”.
The Cycle of Redemption
During his ministry, Jesus used to tell three famous and very important parables that only a few understood. The Parable of the Prodigal Son was one of the main parables of Jesus in Luke 15:11-32. It was the third and final part of a redemption cycle, following the Parable of the Lost Sheep, and the Parable of the Lost Coin.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son is a story about a father that had two sons. The younger son was “prodigal”, “wastefully extravagant” and willingly left his father’s house. He took his belongings with him, and eventually wasted all his money on extravagant living.
After experiencing poverty and hardship, he finally realized his mistake and decided to come back home. He wanted to beg his father to make him one of his servants, thinking that his father was still mad at him. When he finally came back he was surprised to see that his father not only welcomed him back and treated him with generosity, but even threw a big celebration upon his return.
Since Jesus used to hang out with all kinds of sinners, many assumed that by telling this parable he was referring to the sinners who were lost. However, the characters used in the parables resemble the story of the Sons of God (Angels) who left their Father in Heaven and then arrived back to Heaven after the cycle of redemption.
There is a clear reference to the Father in Heaven, who rejoices and welcomes back his lost Heavenly Sons after they realized their mistake of leaving their home and fully repented.
The Return of the Lord with Saints or Angels
Meteor shower.
Image by Kenneth Brandon
According to the Bible, “Flesh and blood” cannot go to Heaven (1 Cor. 15:50-51). Heaven is a place where eating or drinking, “fructification” or increase (of children) is not possible. Saints will be immortal just like the Angels of God in Heaven are. They will be incorporeal, e.g. have only spiritual bodies:
At the appointed time known by me, to quicken the dead, I will return to thee that body which is holy and renewed, as at the first, to be, as the Holy Angels.
After the flesh returns to the dust, the souls of righteous men will become like the Holy Angels.
Jude 14 speaks of the Lord’s coming with his holy ones. The scripture references Angels (and not men), similar to Jesus’ words when he applied the same term to Angles that will accompany him at his coming.
Jesus himself taught that he will come back with the Holy Angels:
The Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the Holy [hagios] Angels with him (Mt. 25:31).
The word saints mean hagios, holy, or in this instance, holy [ones]. There is absolutely nothing in this word itself to indicate who these holy ones are. The term could refer to either men or Angels, depending on the context.
The expression “ten thousands of saints” in Jude 14 also appears in Deuteronomy 33:2 which is generally regarded as referring to Angels:
The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints.
Here Deuteronomy uses the expression “ten thousands of saints” when describing angels:
I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense Cloud with Flashing Lightning and surrounded by Brilliant Light. The center of the fire looked like glowing Metal (Ezekiel 1:4). Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints (Jude 14).
The Pulpit Commentary points out that a better translation would be “ten thousand of holy ones”, for the reference is to “myriads of angels” and that the Lord came forth from among them to manifest himself to the people.
If the expression “ten thousands of saints” referred to angelic beings in Deuteronomy, then it is logical to say that the same expression refers to angelic beings in Jude 14.
Conclusion
As you can see, mankind can be part of the incarnated Holy Angels who participated in rebellion before the creation of the Earth (or when it was created without form and void). God plans to redeem His Holy Angels who turned away from Him before Time and to welcome His Sons back home.
This explanation of the scriptures may seem odd, but I strongly believe that there is no point for the sinless beings to incarnate on Earth, unless they have some testing, cleansing, and/or repentance to do, or have a specific mission of redemption like Jesus did. Even Angels themselves help us directly from Heaven, so there is no need for them to come and live here.
The concept of the original Rebellion explains why did God create the human race and pretty much everything: the true reason behind the suffering and testing of the saints, the “beast” system, and why things tend to happen in a certain way. Everything we are experiencing now may be a result of our own choice or free will that took place outside of Time and physical reality.
The good news is mankind has free will and can liberate itself from bondage. Jesus gave us an option to complete this redemption cycle and return home, to a pure place of bliss and harmony.
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