What Happened on the Cross. Nick Peros

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СКАЧАТЬ Curse of God

      In Genesis 1:1, God created the heavens and the earth, and they were created perfect and without fault. The earth, from the beginning, was created to be the home of man, and as such it was created beautiful and perfectly habitable for man.

      The Uninhabitable Earth

      We know the earth was created as a habitable place, for Isaiah 45:18 tells us:

      For this is what the Lord says—

      he who created the heavens,

      he is God;

      he who fashioned and made the earth,

      he founded it;

      he did not create it to be empty,

      but formed it to be inhabited—

      he says:

      ‘I am the Lord,

      and there is no other.’ (NIV)

      We are told in Isaiah 45:18 that God created the earth specifically to be inhabited, he did not create it to be empty. This means when God created the earth in Genesis 1:1, the earth was created as habitable, created as a place upon which man could live. However, by Genesis 1:2, something has changed, something drastic has happened, for we read: “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (NKJV).

      Though the earth was created perfect and habitable in Genesis 1:1, by Genesis 1:2 the earth was formless and empty, covered by a global ocean and wrapped in darkness. We are also told the Holy Spirit was there, hovering over the global ocean. In Genesis 1:2, the earth is utterly uninhabitable, completely uninhabitable for man.We know from Isaiah 45:18 that the condition of the earth in Genesis 1:2 is not how God had created it.

      What happened? What caused the uninhabitable, formless, empty, dark, and flooded condition of the earth we see in Genesis 1:2?:

      I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void;

      And the heavens, they had no light.

      I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,

      And all the hills moved back and forth.

      I beheld, and indeed there was no man,

      And all the birds of the heavens had fled.

      I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness,

      And all its cities were broken down

      At the presence of the Lord,

      By his fierce anger. (Jer 4:23–26 NKJV)

      This prophecy of Jeremiah, like many prophecies, speaks on various levels simultaneously. On the one hand, it is prophesying a desolation to come upon Israel, but on the other hand, it also is harkening back to a time that describes, almost exactly, the earth in Genesis 1:2.

      Jeremiah 4:23 tells us the earth was without form and void, that it was empty and had “no light.” There was only one time in Earth’s history when these conditions existed, and that was in Genesis 1:2—never since that time has the earth been formless or empty or without light. Jeremiah goes on to tell us there was no man and, in fact, no life upon the earth. Again, the only time in Earth’s history when these conditions existed was in Genesis 1:2. At that point the prophecy in Jeremiah telescopes forward to the parallel desolation foretold upon Israel.

      What is most important here is that as Jeremiah summarizes this condition of the earth, he also tells us what caused the earth to be empty, formless, dark, and lifeless—he tells us these conditions upon the earth were the result of the LORD’s “fierce anger.”

      Based on what we read in Isaiah 45:18, Genesis 1:2, and Jeremiah 4:23–26, as well as many other verses in the Bible, we can conclude the following: in Genesis 1:1, God created the earth as perfect and as fully habitable for man, yet by Genesis 1:2, the earth was a cursed and desolate wasteland, a ruin, made so by God’s wrath. The condition of the earth in Genesis 1:2 was not how God originally created it in Genesis 1:1. Something happened between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 that caused God to curse the earth as well as the entire creation.

      How can we say that the earth in Genesis 1:2 is cursed? There are three elements that are present upon the earth in Genesis 1:2 that clearly show the earth in Genesis 1:2 as a cursed Earth. These three elements are darkness, a global ocean, and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

      The Curse of Darkness

      God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.—1 John 1:5 (NIV)

      Darkness in the Bible is never a good thing—it is always and only ever associated with the enemy or with the curse and wrath of God. Darkness always represents the absence of God, the curse of God, and the outpouring of his wrath. There are many verses throughout the Bible that testify to this. Here are a few, with a brief comment following each one.

      Darkness Associated with Satan, Evil, or the Enemy

      “To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18 NIV).

      We are told in this passage that when one comes to Christ, they have their eyes opened and they are turning from darkness to light, turning from the power of Satan to God, thereby equating darkness with the power of Satan.

      “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12 NASB).

      Ephesians 6:12 equates the forces of darkness with the spiritual forces of wickedness.

      “For he rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col 1:13 NASB).

      Here we are told there is a domain (or kingdom) of darkness, which is in contrast to the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

      “The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Rom 13:12 NASB).

      The deeds of darkness, associated with “the night,” are contrasted with the armor of light, which is associated with “the day.”

      “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Cor 6:14 NASB).

      This verse equates unbelievers and lawlessness with darkness.

      Darkness Associated with the Curse, Wrath, or Judgment of God

      For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell [Tartarus] and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment. (2 Pet 2:4 NASB)

      These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. СКАЧАТЬ