VICTORY IN CHRISTIAN WARFARE
(Second Edition)
CHAPTER 3 In Eternity Past
We will now turn our attention to a time in eternity past, before the invisible war in the universe started, in order to get the backstory to the current situation.
What is God Like?
First of all, though, we will look at what God is like as He is revealed in the Bible. After all, if the prize for those who join God’s army is to live forever with God in paradise, you would definitely want to know what God is like. Of course, you need this knowledge so you can determine if living with God would be a pleasant experience that would make paradise and immortality, which is everlasting life, desirable.
In this chapter, we will take an introductory look at what God is like. Everything in this book in some way reveals the character of God.
God is Eternal
God declares Himself as the “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14), the self-existent One whose life does not originate from any other. He is the “high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy.” Isaiah 57:15. “From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Psalm 90:2), “without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life.” Hebrews 7:3. “Thy years shall have no end.” Psalm 102:27.
God is the Infinite One, “him which is, and which was, and which is to come.” Revelation 1:4. “He is before all things.” Colossians 1:17. As finite human beings, we think in terms of a beginning and an end, but this does not apply to God. He is eternal, which means that God exists at the present time, He has always existed in eternity past and He will always exist in eternity future.
God is Unique
As was said before, the Godhead is made up of three divine Persons. These three are “the everlasting Father” (Isaiah 9:6), “Christ…who is…God blessed for ever” (Romans 9:5), and “the eternal Spirit.” Hebrews 9:14. Each member of the Godhead is eternal.
Now God says, “There is one God.” Mark 12:32. Given that the word “God” in the Bible can mean the Godhead, we can say, “There is one Godhead.” This helps us to understand what is meant when God says, “Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.” Isaiah 44:8. The meaning is that there is no other God besides the one Godhead.
“Thus saith the Lord…the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” Isaiah 44:6. “Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” Isaiah 43:10. “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me.” Isaiah 45:5. “I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me.” Isaiah 46:9. All these statements mean that there is no other deity besides the one Godhead.
God’s Character
God describes Himself by saying, “God is love.” 1 John 4:8. It is God’s character that defines what is love. Since God is love, He says, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory” (Philippians 2:3), through pride and self-exaltation; “but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” Philippians 2:3. “Be kindly affectioned one to another…in honour preferring one another.” Romans 12:10. “Love thy neighbour as thyself.” Leviticus 19:18.
Each Person of the Godhead is “meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29), and each Person loves the other divine Persons more than they love themselves, giving the others preference over themselves in all things.
God also describes His heart of love to be as follows. (The King James Version of the Bible uses the old English word “charity” which in modern English is the word “love.”)
“Charity [love] suffereth long, and is kind; charity [love] envieth not; charity [love] vaunteth not itself [is not boastful], is not puffed up [is not haughty], Doth not behave itself unseemly [improperly], seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity [wickedness], but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity [love] never faileth.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
The Good News About God
In addition to God’s declaration that “God is love” (1 John 4:8), God declares, “I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6) and I am “God, that cannot lie.” Titus 1:2.
In view of these three things that God says about Himself, we can deduce that God is truthful at all times. So, when God says, “God is love” (1 John 4:8), He is telling the truth. When God says, “I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6), He is also speaking the truth. God declares that He is “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8), for “his ways are everlasting” (Habakkuk 3:6), His ways are unchanging.
There can be no better news than this, that it can be said that “God is love!” 1 John 4:8. Certainly then you would enjoy living with God forever in paradise.
Other Attributes of God
We will now look at other attributes of God. All of this will aid us in understanding God and His blueprint for warfare, the Bible.
God is Wise
Not only is God’s character of love the very definition of love, He is “the only wise God” (1 Timothy 1:17), “him which is perfect in knowledge.” Job 37:16. “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.” Psalm 147:5. “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” Romans 11:33. His ways [are] past finding out!” Romans 11:33. “God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.” Job 37:5.
God is All-Powerful
God asks, “Is any thing too hard for the LORD?” Genesis 18:14. The answer is, “With God nothing shall be impossible.” Luke 1:37. “I am God Almighty.” Genesis 35:11. God is “omnipotent” (Revelation 19:6) meaning that God is all-powerful. God says, “I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.” Isaiah 45:12.
“Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.” Isaiah 40:26.
“The worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Hebrews 11:3. The visible things are made from invisible things, and based on our current understanding today, we would say that the universe consists of invisible things, such as atoms.
“By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth…For he spake [spoke], and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:6-9. “He [God] is before all things, and by him all things consist.” Colossians 1:17.
God is “the LORD God…that made heaven and earth” (2 Chronicles 2:12), “the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator” (Isaiah 40:28) of all that there is in the universe. God says that He spoke the word and they were created. He created all things from nothing. God was not reliant on pre-existing material in order to create the universe.
God is a Spirit
“God is a Spirit” (John 4:24), but the human race, “the children” (Hebrews 2:14), created by God, “are partakers of [made of] flesh and blood.” Hebrews 2:14. What does it mean that God is a Spirit? We cannot say precisely because God has not revealed it to humanity for “the secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever.” Deuteronomy 29:29.
God is Present Everywhere
We may say of God, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” Psalm 139:7. The word of God says that anywhere I may go, “Behold, thou art there.” Psalm 139:8. So, God is omnipresent, meaning that God is everywhere at the same time.
God is All-Knowing
With respect to God, “neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” Hebrews 4:13. “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” Proverbs 15:3. “Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” Psalm 139:12.
“Thus saith the LORD…I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.” Ezekiel 11:5. Therefore, we say that God is omniscient, meaning that God knows all things. There is nothing that can be hidden from Him.
The Godhead Before Creation
The Son called Christ, a member of the Godhead, gives us a glimpse of the Godhead before they had ever created anything outside of themselves. Christ says, “The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.” Proverbs 8:22.
“I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.” Proverbs 8:23-26.
“When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass [a circle] upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.” Proverbs 8:27-30.
From the above Bible verses, we may conclude that there was a time when the Godhead was alone, when they had not yet created anything. At that time they delighted in each other and had a loving relationship among themselves since God is love.
God and His Creation
God “made the worlds.” Hebrews 1:2. These words are an indication that, in addition to creating the human race, God has created the “angels” (Genesis 19:1) and other intelligences who populate “worlds” (Hebrews 1:2) somewhere in the universe.
We do not know the order in which all the intelligences were created, or other details about these them except what is revealed in the Bible about the “angels” (Genesis 19:1) in heaven and those called “the sons of God” (Job 1:6) from the other worlds. We do know that since “God is love” (1 John 4:8), it must have been the love in the Godhead’s heart that led them to extend their Family by creating intelligent beings.
God and His Law
To all His intelligences, God has prescribed that, “Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Deuteronomy 6:5. “This is the first and great commandment, and the second is like unto it” (Matthew 22:38, 39), namely, “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Leviticus 19:18.
These two great commandments are a summary of God’s law of love by which He governs the universe. This law God refers to variously as “the law of the LORD God” (2 Kings 10:31), “the law of the God of heaven” (Ezra 7:12), “the law of God” (Nehemiah 8:8) and “God’s law.” Nehemiah 10:29.
In prescribing that God’s character of love should be the standard of character to be maintained by His intelligences, God requires of them only that they follow His perfect example. By prescribing His law of love for all His intelligences, God designs that love should reign in all His kingdom which spans the universe.
If the created beings followed God’s example then they would constitute a holy, happy family just like the divine Family, the Godhead. God says, “He that loveth another hath fulfilled the law…Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:8 – 10. To live in love was not an impossibility for these intelligences for God had made them all “holy and without blame before him in love.” Ephesians 1:4.
The Godhead loved the created beings as they loved themselves. They desired that the created intelligences who were endowed with reason, conscience, and free will, would of their own free will love God, and would love their fellow beings according to God’s law of love.
For God’s created intelligences to know what is love is, they must come to know God’s character. The relationships between the members of the divine Family, the “Godhead” (Acts 17:29; Romans 1:20; Colossians 2:9) are indeed a demonstration of love in action.
We can readily see and understand that love, joy, peace, and harmony can only reign in the universe if the created inhabitants do no wickedness, but only good. Therefore, “His [God’s] commandments are not grievous.” 1 John 5:3. God gives these commandments for the good, happiness, and best interests of the universe that He has created.
God’s Rule in the Universe
“The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all” (Psalm 103:19) “in all places of his dominion.” Psalm 103:22. God has a kingdom and a government which rules over all the intelligences He has created, including the angels and mankind.
God has absolute power in the universe for “with God nothing shall be impossible.” Luke 1:37. Yet God is not a dictator, an authoritarian, an oppressive, unjust, and cruel ruler. No, no, it is not so! Instead “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and God is “meek and lowly in heart.” Matthew 11:29.
Look at how much God respects the freedom of will of His created intelligences in that He never forces the will or the conscience. God leaves it to each of His created beings to choose whether or not they will love Him in return. Although God has absolute power he governs only according to His character of love.
Heaven
“The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven” (Psalm 11:4), “heaven thy dwelling place.” 1 Kings 8:30. God says, “I dwell in the high and holy place.” Isaiah 57:15. Where exactly is heaven? Again, we cannot say where it is because God has not revealed it to humans.
“Many angels [were] round about the throne [of God]…and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” (Revelation 5:11), “an innumerable company of angels.” Hebrews 12:22. God “maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire.” Psalm 104:4. We see that the Godhead is not alone in heaven, where they reside, but heaven is also the dwelling place of millions upon millions of angels.
What is the occupation of the angels? We as humans can say, according to the word of God, “Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening [being obedient] unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.” Psalm 103:20, 21.
The angels in heaven are busy doing God’s will. In so doing, each of the angels can say, “Happy am I” (Genesis 30:13), “happy are thy” angels, “happy are these thy servants…that hear thy wisdom.” 1 Kings 10:8. The angels find their highest joy in service.
The Happy State of the Universe
The language of the hearts of all the created beings was “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:8. These beings counted it a joy to do the will of God, which is to serve God. This was a time when all created intelligences loved God and loved each other with a love identical to the love in God’s heart.
While the intelligences’ love for God was supreme, above their love for all others, their love for fellow beings was trusting and unselfish. Hence, all was peace, harmony and love in the universe and joy reigned in heaven and in all the worlds.
So long as all created beings patterned themselves after the love demonstrated by God, the perfect harmony of the universe was preserved. There was no discord to mar the bliss of God and created beings. It was a delight to all intelligences to live with God.
Appreciation of God
God’s is worthy of our praise because of His character of love. Let us, therefore, rejoice and say with our whole heart, “Praise God!” “Praise the Lord!” As the Creator of all that there is in the universe, God is worthy of all honour and all worship. It is right for all His created intelligences, including human beings, to “give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; [and] worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” Psalm 29:2.
It is right for them all to say, “Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.” Psalm 104:1. Let us say, in accordance with the word of God, “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:17.
“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.” Psalm 145:3. It is God “which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.” Job 9:10. It is He “which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number.” Job 5:9.