The WHY of Salvation

And the Eternal Significance of Mankind

      I personally have never heard a sermon on this subject: whether in a church, on a computer, CD or Tape; nor have I ever read it in a book. Therefore it is way past-due… the subject, not the book.

      Why did God set up Salvation -- the only way to Heaven -- in the manner that He did?

     Now once you start to look at Salvation, from the aspect as to why God set it up this way: You then begin to see the creation of heaven and earth, the angels and Lucifer/Satan, as well as sin, evil and man’s free-will in a discernibly clearer light!

     The Apostle Paul stated in his letter to the Ephesians...

      What we are now going to look into, is this “mystery” that Paul is referring to here in verse 9. Which is being viewed by, “the principalities and powers in heavenly places” in verse 10 (these are the beings in God’s Heaven). To see “the eternal purpose” of God’s plan, verse 11.

     For us to begin to understand this mystery we must go back in time, to before “the beginning”. To before the very first verse of the Bible as found in the Book of Genesis; and this has nothing to do with any Gap hypothesis, or theory as others call it.

     But before we can go back in time, we need to establish a certain fact.

     That fact being, how many heavens there are...

      By this verse we establish the Biblical fact that there are: 3 - heavens.

     Paul in this verse has obviously numbered them according to the order in which he passed through them. From here (1st heaven) to where he ended up (3rd Heaven).

     The 1st heaven: is visible outside by day. It extends from the surface of the Earth to the border of our upper atmosphere.

     The 2nd heaven: is visible outside by night. It extends from the border of Earth’s upper atmosphere, through the galaxies, to the border of the Universe.

     The 3rd Heaven: that Paul is referring to here, is visible only by faith in the Bible and Jesus Christ. It is an expanse that goes on for infinity in all directions outside the border of the universe in which we live. God’s “Home” is this: 3rd Heaven.

     But before moving on, let us take a minute to envision in our mind that before our Earth and this Universe existed, that there was only one Heaven expanding to infinity in all directions; of riveting beauty beyond even the most creative of imagination.

     So, having established that there are 3-heavens and described them, let us now go to the Book of Genesis to further our understanding of this fact.

      Here we have the 1st heaven (visible by day) as we described previously, being created on the 2nd day of Creation.

     Now at this point we have to use discernment. Did the 3rd Heaven as Paul described it, already exist, or did God create it later?

     There is nothing recorded in the Bible about God creating it later.

     Therefore it is logical and to me self-evident, that the 3rd Heaven (where God lives) was pre-existent prior to Genesis 1: 1. In fact, I am firmly convinced that God created a huge, enclosed bubble (for lack of a better description) somewhere in the midst of His infinite, eternal Heaven, at Genesis 1: 1.

     It is also logical and to me self-evident that Lucifer, whose name was later changed to Satan, and the angels along with other heavenly beings, were created by God a long, long while prior to the 6-day Creation described in Genesis chapter 1.

     So… prior to the 1st verse of Genesis, there already were pre-existent: one-infinite Heaven, the Trinity of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), Lucifer, the angels, and other Heavenly beings. Many claim that the just mentioned list was created at Genesis 1: 1, rather than being pre-existent; they base their opinion on Exodus 20:11, but that opinion is in error because this verse is a reference to Genesis chapter 1 and the six-day creation; which does not discuss God's Heaven and what He had created there.

      Then what happened?!

     At some point in Eternity past...

      Iniquity is another word for evil, which are included in the word sin. And Lucifer’s particular iniquity was pride, making this the first introduction of evil into God’s Heaven.

     Lucifer, being lift up with pride (a combative mixture of ego and arrogance) because of his wisdom and beauty, decided that he was going to challenge the right of God to exercise supreme authority. This we will see more pointedly in the verses that we will quote a little later. Lucifer concluded that God’s beneficence was more important than God, and that dependence upon and obedience to God’s revealed will, were not necessary!

     Lucifer went about his dastardly deed by negotiating with the angels and planning a revolution.

     Let us step back for a moment, to view God and Heaven up to that point from the angel’s perspective.

      All that the angels had known up to this time, was the knowledge of good. They only knew the beauty and marvelous wonders of God, and the loving, the caring, the concern and the fulfillment of all things.

     In other words, they only knew the good-side of God and the good-side of the totality of everything and anything else.

     The angels did not know the judgment and justice side, and the harsh reality which that brings. Why? Because there never, ever had been any sin; and its resultant depravity ever introduced into God's infinite Heaven… They had not a clue as to what EVIL was, and therefore its consequences.

     So since the angelic beings could not experientially understand horrid wickedness, for they had nothing to which they could relate it to; they did not know what God was protecting them from, because evil had never existed up to this time – except in the knowledge of God. Nor did they know the awesome power and extreme measures that God would have to utilize - to eradicate evil and the destruction that it leaves in its wake.

     In other words: they did not know the other side, the dark side of total reality. And for comparisons sake, Adam and Eve never knew the other, dark side either; for they also had the knowledge of good - only. It wasn’t until after they had eaten of the forbidden fruit; from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil - therefore gaining the knowledge of evil.

     So THEN, we come to the Angel’s hour of decision!

     Do the beings in Heaven love their God and Creator, and will they take their stand with Him?

     Or… do they turn against Him, and mutiny? Deluding themselves into believing that they are self-sufficient and that Lucifer can maintain their wants and needs, along with the whole structure of everything? 

     God gives every intelligent being that he creates -- whether man or angel -- the free-will to make choices for themselves.

     God had no desire to program His creations to love Him, as one would a computerized toy – who, but a self-absorbed narcissist would?! God wants His creations to make a conscious... from the heart decision... to love Him.

     So, just imagine the awe-inspiring majesty of God’s infinite Heaven!!

      …Well the moment had finally arrived, the day that Lucifer had chosen for to revolt!

     Now let us pull over and put it into Park for a minute.

     Question: Is there time or a method of marking time, in Eternity? Near everyone I have ever heard, states that the answer to that question is: No, there is not such a thing as time in Eternity.

     Well, their Bible college professors failed them again. Turn to the Book of Revelation, the very last chapter...

      Ephesians 2: 7 also states, "That in the ages to come" which denotes time calculations, is a second witness. But... on the other-hand, God Himself, supercedes and transcends time.

     Having established that there is a method of time in Eternity, let us move on.

     On this day of insurrection: Lucifer and one-third of the angel beings in Heaven, having mistaken God’s loving kindness for weakness, arrayed themselves in full rebellion against their Creator.

     The faithful two-thirds, firmly aligned themselves at the side of their Creator and God.

     But God ordered these trustworthy ones to stand back, and to see the Power of God. Then God took Lucifer, and in the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ…

      We find in the Book of Isaiah: Lucifer’s challenge, to the right of God to exercise supreme authority…

      And what about those rebel angels…

      At this same moment that they were kicked out of the 3rd Heaven and into the 2nd heaven - Lucifer’s name was changed to Satan, and these fallen angels became what we call: devils, demons, evil spirits, fallen angels – take your pick.

     Then, you may ask: How do we know that two-thirds of the angelic beings, chose God to be their Lord, and that one-third rejected God to be their Lord?

      Can “the third part of the stars of heaven” be a metaphor referring to angels?

      The King James Bible will define itself, if you study it.

     Therefore, having established and brought together some of the facts and circumstances surrounding the angelic beings, Heaven, and the choice that they had to make: let us now establish and bring together, some of the facts and circumstances surrounding human beings, the Earth, and why we have to make the choice that we have to make.

     I am now going to speculate as to the order of these events, because the Bible does not give us the exact order.

     At any rate, Lucifer having schemed up his plan for revolt, made a conscious decision to implement it.

     At the approximate time he began his recruitment efforts, I believe the Trinity of God decided to move forward on Their rebuttal plan.

     It was at this point in Eternity Past, that Jesus Christ created that huge, enclosed bubble (that we described earlier) somewhere in the midst of His infinite, eternal Heaven; to start the beginning of the universe, as we know it – Genesis 1: 1.

     Then, turning to the Book of John chapter 1, we find…

      Notice the word “was” is past tense, or means previous to, or, previous with. So the important point that we want to deduce from what this verse is stating here is this: In the beginning “the Word” already was; or in other words, “the Word” was previous to the beginning.

     Furthermore, the quote, “In the beginning” is a direct-connect back to Genesis 1: 1.

     Who or what is this “Word”? Go to verse 14...

     It is obvious that “the Word” is another name of the Lord, Jesus Christ.

     Now let us go back, and look at the first 3-verses as a whole…

      My reason for going over these verses in the Book of John, is to establish the fact that:

      And this verse, from Psalm 90: 2 - "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God".

     As stated previously, Genesis 1: 1 is the beginning of this Universe and this Earth, the beginning day they were created, approximately 6,000 years ago.

     Now back to the implementation of plans:

     So to coordinate Lucifer’s plan and the Trinity’s plan, is in keeping consistent with the known fact that God is always a step or more ahead of anything and everything. Or, to state it another way: Has it ever occurred to you, that nothing has ever occurred to God?

     Therefore, God knew of Lucifer’s plan at its conception. God knew the culmination of this plan, and God also knew that He would have to do something with Lucifer, and his defiant henchmen. So God, as is His way, took all temporal and eternal aspects into consideration.

     This is the stage, or relevant point in God’s eternal plan: where our Universe (2nd heaven) comes into scope, this Earth comes into view, and we as human beings come into focus... for to engage the eternal significance of mankind and his destiny.

     At Genesis 1: 1 - God is setting up a scenario wherein God: can exhibit before His loyal angels (who kept their first estate, by choosing God to be their Lord) what sin is, what sin and pride exploits, and how it’s exploitations multiply. Also, they will observe sin’s causes and its uttermost effects, as well as all the tyrannical extremes to which sin can reach.

     All of God’s infinite Heaven, will witness the full realization of the consequences of sin. The power that sin has: to control, to torture, to torment, to maim, to kill or to destroy. Also, how sin and pride can start-out so subtly, so innocently, and then escalate into ultimate catastrophes.

     There is: no love, no beauty, no kindness, no caring, and no comfort in sin. Sin perverts these things, warps these things and sometimes uses these things: to draw one into sin or to drive one deeper into sin.

     Sin, if left unchecked, will inevitably end up in hatred, misery or utterly hopeless despair.

     Many times have I heard the statements, “God calls sin, sin, because it’s fun” or “If it’s fun, it must be sin”.

     I myself had made these statements several times, before I was Born-Again. I have since come to the obvious realization, that I was extremely naive and had a distorted understanding of what sin actually is.

     But, the real reason God calls sin, sin, is because: God is aware that somewhere down the line, somebody is going to get hurt or be harmed. And that eventually, it will lead to variable degrees of the abhorrent ugliness we had previously discussed.

     Sin is also: the defiance of God’s laws. We must remember that this is His Universe! For He is the Creator! Therefore: He has the right to make the laws and the rules. It is His sovereign prerogative. Yet… when He is followed, it benefits ALL – no exclusions.

     For without this God, who essentially wrote the Bible: you, I, no-one and nothing, could or would exist…

      The beings in God’s Heaven never knew sin, nor anything about it; prior to the creation of this Earth! But now they are about to see it: FULL-BLOWN!!

     So as Lucifer was making the rounds throughout God’s Heaven, recruiting his armies and drawing up plans: the Trinity of God -- Jesus Christ in particular -- embarks upon the six-day Creation as stated in Genesis chapter 1, approximately 6,000 years ago.

     At the end of those 6 - revolutions of the Earth, man and all else had been created. So, on the 7th-day God rested. At that point in time, in this huge enclosed bubble that we call our Universe: all was well and all was good.

     At some point, before the day of rebellion - Lucifer made a visit for a look see…

      Then… at some point after this… the day of mutiny came.

     God met Lucifer head on, with raw power! But instead of destroying him and his delusional fellow scholars, God then cast these felons out of His infinite Heaven (the 3rd Heaven as described by the Apostle Paul) into the 2nd heaven (visible by night). This confrontation had to have happened between the 2nd and 3rd chapters in the Book of Genesis.

     Then at some point after this, Lucifer came again into the Garden of Eden (but now his name is Satan) and entered into a serpent creature, Genesis chapter 3. This serpent creature (large salamander?) at this point in time had legs, probably 4.

     Genesis chapter 3 contains the rest of this historical moment, where Satan beguiles Eve at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and evil. Here is where Eve (and Adam with her), ate of the forbidden fruit and thereby we have the fall of the human race into sin; and Satan undertakes as "the god of this world" - 2 Corinthians 4:4.

     An interesting little side note to this, is that when God takes the serpent and converts it into a snake: I have read several times where evolutionists claim that in the evolution of the snake, that it had lost its legs. They assert that by inspecting a snake’s vertebra, it can be determined where legs were once attached.

     At any rate, from the 1st-day of Creation, to the day that sin entered into this world, was approximately 125-130 years.

     How do we come up with this calculation?

      But, after sin had entered into this world by way of Adam and Eve - the Word of God then states…

      We see in this verse, in very unique and specific language that Seth was born in the likeness and image of Adam, NOT in the image and likeness of God. Also remember that Cain, Abel and however many others: were born before Seth.

     Therefore -- as recorded historically in the Holy Bible -- Seth was the 1st born after the fall of mankind, when Adam was 130 years old.

     No longer were men born in the image and likeness of God. From the fall of mankind, even till today: men are born in the likeness and image of Adam.

     When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit, they were changed - bodily. In the image and likeness of God, they were no more. And the Bible factually designates Seth, as the 1st-born after The Fall.

      For more information about this change, read our article entitled: ‘Just WHO are These Giants in Genesis 6:4? '.

     Sooo... from that point on… all eyes in the 3rd - Heaven are locked onto this gallery of graphically tragic drama, which is being illustrated in distinct detail upon this Earth. It is occasionally interspersed with scenes of beauty: but those scenes get overwhelmed in the murals by diabolic revulsions going on everywhere… throughout the background of the World.

      God could not allow sin to play itself out in His infinite Heaven, so He made this bordered off and enclosed Universe. God kicked Lucifer out of His Heaven and into this Universe. After God had created the Earth and placed man upon it: to allow all the scenarios of sin and pride to be put on complete display, exposing every facet of its repulsive effects and consequences.

     In reality there is truth to the cliché: “All the world is a stage, and we are but players upon it” (or something like that).

     God could have destroyed Lucifer and his rebel angels in a mere instant, in the Lake of Fire – Matthew 25:41. But I am convinced that God, in His infinite wisdom decided that it would be best for the angels who decided to remain steadfast with Him, to get a ‘real-time’ concept of what life is like, without God in charge.

     I just ask you to take a couple of minutes to think… look around… and remember.

     Beginning with yourself: consider the effects of sin, misery and evil - in and around your life, in and around others you know, or have heard things about.

     In recent history: contemplate the likes of Stalin, Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and the United Nations. Get the picture?

     I think it probable that if God would have created new angels to replace the ones who rejected Him to be their Lord: that eventually… He would have had another mutiny in His Heaven, with another upstart who would want to take over!

     Also, after seeing the culmination of Evil on this Earth, it will be a real motivator for keeping any and all Sin out of everything in Eternity!

     Therefore, God has made this Earth to be His proving ground, His testing ground, for any and all who are to reside with Him in the Future.

      Notice again the correlation with time, in Eternity future, “That in the ages to come” – these ages are epochs of vast amounts of time, for which God has marvelously grand plans and extraordinary wonders awaiting!

     But your heart is the arena... where eternal decisions of destiny are going to be made, and there are but two choices, and only two:

     To repent and choose from your heart, Jesus Christ to be your Savior and Lord

     -OR-

     To reject, the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior.

     God has also decreed that this decision is to be made on this Earth; not in His magnificently resplendent Heaven!

      Let us now make a quick review…

     In the infinite Heaven of the Trinity of God are created Lucifer and an innumerable assortment of angels, etc.

     Much later - God, created a huge, enclosed bubble (our Universe) somewhere in the midst of His infinite, eternal Heaven, creating: 2-heavens, 1-Earth, man, etc.

     God at this time made Adam and Eve: the king and queen, owners of all the Earth and of the 1st-heaven.

     Lucifer and one-third of the angels rebel against God Almighty. God justifiably casts them out of His Heaven (3rd Heaven) into this Universe (2nd Heaven). God promptly changes Lucifer to Satan in name and form, and the angels to devils in name and form.

     Satan and his demons could not have access to this Earth and the 1st-heaven. Unless Adam were to disobey the one commandment that God had given him; which was to not eat of the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

     Satan finally outwitted Eve and then Adam, by a strategy of enticement in the Garden of Eden. God changed Adam and Eve from “sons of God” (Genesis 1:26 and Luke 3:38) to “sons of man”. So mankind has, since The Fall, been depraved and influenced by the impact of Satan.

     Satan at that point in history became, “the god of this world” – 2 Corinthians 4: 4 and “the prince of the power of the air (1st heaven)” – Ephesians 2: 2.

     Jesus Christ who had created this Earth, first gave it over to Adam. Satan then acquired it from Adam, because of Adam’s disobedience. Therefore: the Earth became rightfully - Satan’s.

     Jesus Christ could not just take the Earth back, as many have supposed. Because the Earth now legally belonged to Satan… for God to just take the Earth back from Satan, would be stealing. Since Christ Jesus is God, He is Holy and cannot sin. So, Lord Jesus Christ had to legally and by right, take the Earth from Satan. Also, in conjunction with this, payment for sin had to be made if mankind was to be redeemed.

     On account of all of that: it then became the assigned task of Jesus to come to this Earth in Adam’s fallen form (Son of man), live a perfect-sinless life, while being "in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" - Hebrews 4:15 (to re-take ownership of the Earth) and shed His Blood to redeem mankind (as payment for the sins we have committed).

      When God the Father resurrected Jesus Christ from the dead: 3-nights and on the third day after He was crucified and entombed; Jesus Christ’s body went from being in the likeness and image of Adam (Son of man), back to Adam’s original created form - in the image and likeness of God (Son of God).

      This “gift of God” is offered to all on this Earth. It bestows entrance into the Trinity’s infinite and majestic Heaven, for all Eternity!

     To accept God’s Free Gift, you need to:

      Repent – from your heart, you need to tell God that you are sincerely sorry for having sinned against Him…

      Then – ask Jesus Christ to come into your heart, to be your Lord and Savior…

      When we are resurrected, as Jesus was resurrected… on our way into God’s wondrous and infinite Heaven, our bodies will be changed into perfection…

      But for now, at the moment you are truly Born-Again: Jesus Christ baptizes you in the Holy Spirit…

      At that point you have all of the Holy Spirit you are ever going to get… but, the Holy Spirit does not have all of you.

     You must now allow the Holy Spirit’s influence, to continually grow in your life… day by day, month after month, year unto year!

     Lord Jesus Christ also offers you…

      You also must understand that you cannot just add Jesus to your life, and think you will get to Heaven; you must repent and submit unto the Lord Jesus Christ, as your Lord and Savior.

     So now, you can understand salvation, and WHY God went about it in the way that He did!

     So the question is not: Why would a loving God send people to Hell. The question is: Why would anyone choose Hell, over a loving God?

      The reality is: That when people end-up in Hell, it is God just following through with the person’s wishes. This is because they did not desire to choose to come to His Heaven, His way. Therefore, God is not going to force people into His Heaven, God just sends people to that other place that has space available.

     We hope you have been blessed by this ministry, which seeks to educate and to warn people. If you would like to become Born-Again, click here to turn to our Salvation Page now.