We can not fully understand the eternal purpose of the soul without looking at the mystery surrounding the world before Adam. The soul is eternal. The existence of the soul after death has been verified by reputable neurosurgeons and Doctors. There is good and evil in the world. What is so important about the soul?
There are many different teachings about the earth and its beginnings. Scientists teach that the earth is somewhere around 4 to 5 billion years old. Dinosaurs died out some 65 million years ago via a giant meteorite hitting the earth. There was an Ice Age covering the world some 2.5 million years ago, with the last glacial period ending about 10,000 to 15,000 years ago.
We know from the Bible and other religious writings, that there was something going on in the heavens above us before the world as we know it existed.
Some Bible Scholars believe that the Hebrew words of Genesis chapter one, gives us a clue. This theory is referred to as the ‘Gap Theory’. They believe from the way the Hebrew words are used in Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 that there was a ‘gap’ of time between the two verses.
When I first heard of this many years ago, I was skeptical. The more I study, the more I tend to agree with, the fact that there was definitely something more going on than meets the eye at first glance.
The Bible speaks of three Archangels; Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer. Michael was responsible for protecting Israel and the Jews, to fulfill that which concerns the land of Israel. Gabriel was to see that the messages from God got to the recipient. Lucifer was at one time responsible for praise and worship.
Lucifer also held another office, as the “Anointed Cherub’ who covers. He was full of beauty and light and music. His name means ‘Light-bearer’.
It is a theory that Lucifer was in charge of the earth before Adam was created. He was able to go to and from earth into heaven before God. Then at some point he was not satisfied with his position and ascended into heaven attempting to exalt himself above God. He was then cast out of heaven to the earth.
It is at this point that God re-created the earth, together with the firmament, which separated the third heaven from the second heaven and the earth’s atmosphere. At this time there was a cataclysmic judgment on the earth and Lucifer became Satan.
Now, how is that for some science fiction?! Before we dismiss it as absurd and ridiculous, let’s look at a few things first.
When Adam got here, Satan was already here. He had already been cast down and was no longer Lucifer. Remember Jesus said that, “He saw Satan fall as lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:18) Jesus was the firstborn of all creation. All things were created by Him and for Him. (Colossians 1:15-21)
On the first day of creation, God created the heavens and the earth. Then it says that ‘the earth was formless and void and darkness was over the face of the deep’. The Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.
He then created ‘light’. God saw that the light was good and God separated the light from the darkness. God then created a firmament to separate the waters below from the waters above. (Genesis 1:1-8)
Everything that God made is good, except for the 2nd day. On the 2nd day, He created the separation barrier between the 3rd and 2nd heavens. He did not say the second day was good, like he did after the other five days of creation.
Genesis 1:28 uses a Hebrew word (Male’) It is argued to mean ‘refill’ instead of just ‘fill’, when God gave the command to Adam to populate the earth. There are scholars for and against this interpretation.
If it does mean to ‘refill’, then why would it need refilled? When you go to the store to buy supplies, it is usually to refill your cupboard. You replace the items you ran out of.
If Lucifer was cast out and was here on earth before Adam, and he is known for ‘killing’ ‘stealing’ and ‘destruction’, then it makes sense that he also would do these same things to whatever he had charge of. There is no light in Satan, as he is full of darkness. The earth was covered in darkness. The Bible says we live in a world of spiritual darkness now.
Also, there was water. Where did all this water come from before the first day of creation?
The Hebrew word for ‘was’ in Genesis 1:2, is ‘hayah’, which can mean the earth ‘was’ formless and void, or the earth ‘became’ formless and void. There of course is a theological debate over this word too. Lol
The fact is, we do not know what happened in the beginning. No one who lived during that time is around to tell us. There are not enough clear teachings from any religion to make a definite determination of what was going on, other than knowing that something was definitely going on before Adam arrived on the scene.
We do know that there are references in Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel and others that indicate that there was something more than what is given to us in the book of Genesis.
Like, where did the ‘light’ come from, when God said, “Let there be light..”, when He had not created the sun until the fourth creative day?
“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” I John 1:5
This is in contrast to Satan who rules over a kingdom of darkness. “…I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from ‘darkness’ to ‘light’, and ‘from the power of Satan to God’, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.” (Acts 26:17-18 NKJV)
God is light, Satan is darkness. There was darkness over the face of the deep before God spoke, “Let there be light.” This light is different from the sun of the fourth day. There was water here in the darkness before God shows up. Jesus saw Satan cast out of heaven before the creation of the world. Satan was already here when Adam made his appearance. There is ambivalence about the meaning of two Hebrew words ‘hayah’ and ‘male’. We know that God is ‘light’ without ‘darkness’ and that Satan became ‘darkness’ without ‘light’. Satan is known for his destruction of anything he touches.
I believe that Satan was here before Adam. I do not know what else was going on this earth, before Adam arrived. The earth is older than the six creative days. There were dinosaurs and an Ice Age. There are scriptures that could be referring to some of these things.
There is something more going on behind the scenes than we are allowed to know about. Why? That is one of my many questions when I stand before Him. LOL
Next, we will look at some of the scriptures about angels and demons, and how they fit into the battle for the soul of man…