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 Sermon > Official Service |
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Title |
Lecture on Genesis Ver.2(18) - Spiritual Beings (7) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Genesis 1:1 |
Date |
2009-12-11 |
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Scripture
Genesis 1:1
[1] In the beginning God created heavens and the earth
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
This is the 18th Lecture on Genesis.
So far, I've given six lectures to explain spiritual beings that God created those being the angels and cherubim.
Angels and cherubim are the spirits that God manages, and their number is countless.
Their world is well organized under strict order, and they work perfectly according to the command of God.
Through these angels and cherubim, God has governed the entire universe.
A time came after passing countless time like this when a great event occurred in the spiritual realm.
Lucifer, who had been greatly loved by God the Father, rebelled against God.
How could an angel that serves God rebel against Him?
In order to understand this, you have to understand about Lucifer well.
In the 14th Lecture, I explained about Lucifer, Luciah, and Luciel.
These 3 archangels were created to serve God, and they were higher in rank than other more common archangels.
One unique thing about them was that they were given a sense of human nature.
The fact that they were given human nature means that they were given free-will as well.
The reason God gave these 3 archangels human nature was that He wanted to receive service from them that was not from the character of unconditional obedience, but service that came from their hearts.
Other angels and cherubim were created to obey unconditionally at a given order.
However, since these 3 archangels had humanity, they obeyed God by understanding His heart.
They could have disobeyed in their free will, but they chose to obey Him because they felt the love of God in their hearts.
Therefore, the level of their obedience was different from that of other angels and cherubim.
God the Father loved these 3 archangels so much that He allowed them to enjoy great honor and authority.
Lucifer was even more special among them.
Besides the duty of serving God the Father, Lucifer was in charge of music.
She always praised God with the beautiful voice and various instruments.
She also pleased God the Father with sweet conversation.
Lucifer gave constant joy and pleasure to God the Father. God's love for Lucifer was so great that He even treated Lucifer much the same as He would a son.
Lucifer came to possess great authority as the most honored of all the angels and cherubim.
Then, arrogance sprung up in his heart, and it gradually grew stronger.
There was an incident that caused the outward revealing of Lucifer's arrogance. It was the incident of God giving Lucifer the appellation, "the Morning Star."
"The morning star" was originally the appellation that was given to God the Son who was given the duty of the Savior.
When such a glorious appellation was given to Lucifer, he came to reveal his arrogance outwardly.
The reason God the Father gave Lucifer the appellation was that He wanted to show that Lucifer was receiving special love of God.
Additionally, this appellation was also given to Luciah and Luciel equally.
However, Lucifer bore the fruit of arrogance and thought that she considered herself as equal to the Son of God.
As God the Father created Lucifer, He gave her a kind and tender heart.
Since He wanted to share true love, He gave her free will even though she was an angel.
While serving God the Father for long ages, Lucifer watched what God did.
Lucifer also saw the great authority of God the Father who governs the entire spiritual realm.
Then, Lucifer came to have a lust for His authority, and she became so arrogant as to think she could do a better job if she were to manage it.
At the same time, however, Lucifer knew it was never an easy job to take over the throne of God.
She knew what kind of final outcome awaited if she were to fail.
However, her arrogance blinded her eyes, and her discernment became dull.
She only thought about how she was going to defeat God, and over a very long period of time she developed a plan to achieve it.
In the end, she came to the conclusion that she could take over the throne of God if everything went according to her plan.
Jesus gave Judas Iscariot many opportunities to turn and waken to reason.
Matthew 26:24-25 says, ""The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born." And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" Jesus said to him, "You have said it yourself.""
Like this, Jesus convinced Judas Iscariot of the truth, but Judas Iscariot didn't turn back.
Dear brothers and sisters.
Just as arrogance blinded Lucifer's eyes and made her lose her discernment, greed can result in the same loss.
Greed for money, and lust for honor and authority can also blind your eyes and confuse your decision-making.
For example, a businessman may expand his business beyond his scope due to his greed for money.
And, when things don't go well as he thinks, he may fall into difficulties.
There are cases that he invests huge amounts of money and loses everything through such a temptation to gain get great benefit.
It results in losing normal judgment due to greed.
When lust has conceived, people become reckless and fall into the way of destruction.
However, the blessing in God is to have spirit and soul prosper.
Then, God leads you to the prosperous way.
For example, when you sow in good land with honesty, God helps you to reap 30, 60, or 100 times more fruit.
I urge you to sow properly like this.
I want none of you to be blinded due to greed.
Not only greed, but arrogance and pride can also result in the same loss of judgment and discernment.
When your eyes are blinded by arrogance and pride, you cannot understand the will of God. Even when you know it, you cannot live by His will.
I hope you will cleanse your eyes and heart with the word of God and with prayers.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
Once Lucifer came to the conclusion that she could defeat God if all things went well according to her plan, she put her plan into action one step at a time.
First, she rallied those who could help her.
She won over the angels that were under her influence.
She also gained the angels that were in leading position under the supervision of other archangels.
For example, let's say a general carries out a coup in the army.
Then, all the soldiers under his command can naturally side with the general.
They unconditionally move at the general's order even without knowing what's going on.
Even a man who has free will follows accordingly. Would it not be even more so with angels that don't have free will?
Angels were created to unconditionally obey a given order from above.
Therefore, it was natural that the angels under the supervision of Lucifer follow the will of Lucifer.
Then, how could the angels under the supervision of other archangels join Lucifer?
I said Lucifer was the most honored being among angels and cherubim.
All the angels and cherubim knew that Lucifer was always with God the Father.
Simply speaking, they were reminded of Lucifer when they thought of God. The authority of Lucifer was just this great.
Therefore, the angels below archangels would also fall under the influence of Lucifer.
Figuratively speaking, it would like a captain in another division of the army joining in the coup of a general in a different army division.
Then, the soldiers under the command of the captain also join the coup.
Likewise, the majority of angels that were in mid-management level under the supervision of other archangels joined Lucifer.
And the angels below these mid-level managing angels naturally joined Lucifer as well.
In this way, the number of the angels that joined Lucifer was about one third of all angels.
Such an incredible number of angels came to follow Lucifer.
Lucifer gained not only angels but also cherubim over to her side.
First she won over the dragons that were in the leading positions, and gained countless cherubim under the influence of the dragons.
In fact, Lucifer originally thought that the rebellion would succeed one she won the dragons over to her side.
Since the dragons always encircled the throne of God, they could hear God all the time.
They also observed how God reigned in the spiritual world.
Since the dragons were near the throne of God through endless ages, even though they didn't have humanity, they felt and knew the heart and will of God.
This was what Lucifer wanted from the dragons.
He thought he could defeat God if he gained the advantage with the dragons.
However, Lucifer also knew that the dragons that were loved greatly by God would not betray God so easily and join her.
And so, Lucifer made such dark designs to tempt the dragons.
Lucifer tempted the dragons with such deceptive words that the dragons couldn't help but be deceived.
What did she say to them?
She said, "It is not to betray God.
It is indeed to help God. God actually has given me (Lucifer) authority to carry out this job.
To stand against God like this may seem to betray God, but all of this is under the will and plan of God.
We will eventually reach the glorious position in the future."
Lucifer told them that God set her up as a head and gave her authority to carry all the tasks to complete the mission.
She said that the dragons would enjoy such great authority and glory in the future if they accomplish the mission along with her.
The dragons were deceived by this plot.
It was not that the dragons didn't know what they were doing was to stand against God.
But they were deceived by the temptation of Lucifer because Lucifer said it was all according to the will of God, that it was all for God, and that they would be given great glory in the future.
Now, who was Lucifer who talked like this?
It was Lucifer that was specially favored by God. It was Lucifer that had such great authority.
Such Lucifer said as if she were carrying a secret mission according to the will of God, and so the dragons were deceived.
To help you understand this situation better, I will give you an example.
There is a company. An executive who was loved and recognized by the president of the company came to have an inappropriate plan.
Out of his arrogance and greed, he forgot his position, and he wanted to take over the company.
So, he started to rally men of the same mind in the company.
Meanwhile, he thought that he would need a person who knows well about the president and even about confidential information of the company.
He thought of the secretary who helps the president in the closest proximity, and he won the secretary over to his side.
He also won over the people who had influence in many departments of the company.
However, he also knew that they would not follow him if he told them his plan honestly, and so he thought of a plot.
"I'm going to promote a new business plan according to the will of Mr. President.
It is not to betray him nor this company. It is actually to help this company.
If we manage this job well, we will be greatly rewarded by the president.
But, you should keep it undercover until it's finished."
Let's say that he deceives people like this.
In the eyes of the people who are being deceived, the executive seems to be trusted by the president.
And he has quite a bit of authority within the company.
When he talks like this, they somewhat doubt him at first, but in the end, they are deceived.
They are deceived because he said they would receive great reward if all things could go well.
The plot that Lucifer used to deceive the dragons and other angels was the same as this.
Using all her wisdom, Lucifer made a plot, won over many, and rebelled against God.
But, how could she defeat God the Father who is almighty?
Lucifer was perfectly defeated, and confined in the deep darkness along with those who followed him.
They were all confined in the Abyss which is the deepest part of Hell in the spiritual realm.
The rebellion of Lucifer, his defeat, and its result is well explained in Isaiah 14:12-15.
It says, ""How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit."
"Sheol, the recesses of the pit" refers to the Abyss.
The bible has the record about the angels that followed Lucifer.
2 Peter 2:4 says, "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment."
Jude 1:6 says, "And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day."
The angels that followed Lucifer were confined in the Abyss which is the deepest in hell.
The dragons couldn't escape from the punishment of God, either.
Isaiah 51:9 says, "Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; Awake as in the days of old, the generations of long ago Was it not You who cut Rahab in pieces, Who pierced the dragon?"
It says God the LORD pierced the dragon.
Psalm 74:13 (KJV) says, "Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters."
As said, the dragons were also punished and confined in the Abyss.
Like this, the rebellion of Lucifer was brought to an end like this, and the peace was all over the spiritual realm once again.
However, as God the Father began the Human Cultivation in earnest, He released Lucifer and the dragons so that they could reside in the second heaven.
Of course, He also released some of the fallen angels and cherubim that Lucifer and the dragons could command.
As I may explain in greater detail later, God allowed the world of evil spirits with Lucifer as its head to be established.
And He gave them a chance to challenge God in the stage of the human cultivation.
No matter how excellent an athlete is, what is the use if he wins a one-man race?
Only when he wins the race after competing with other runners, can his first prize be of any worth.
God the Father also had a plan to compete against the evil spirits as He began Human Cultivation.
And as the time came, He released Lucifer and the dragons from the Abyss.
He also released their servants that they could command so that they could have the strength to challenge against God.
Of course, God didn't release the entire number of angels and cherubim that joined the rebel of Lucifer.
Since one third of angels joined the rebel, the number is vast.
Among them, God released only the proper number of angels that Lucifer could command during the period of human cultivation.
When compared to the number of the fallen angels that are confined in the Abyss, the number of those released is fairly small.
Only a small number of cherubim were also released.
Therefore, the majority of the angels and cherubim that joined the rebel are still confined in the Abyss.
Only the small number of them was released and used as instruments to complete the human cultivation.
By the way, I say again that, even though the number of released angels and cherubim are so small compared to the number of the rest fallen angels confined, the number itself is not small at all.
Say, if the number of the entire angels was 300 billion, the number of angels that joined the rebel was 100 billion.
If one thousandth of this number was released, it would be 100 million angels that were released.
However, the number of angels that God created was well over 300 billion.
Therefore, even though I said the number of the released angels is relatively small, it is not a small number at all.
God wanted to have a fair match with Lucifer in the stage of the human cultivation.
Would Lucifer have said nothing if he had been given only a small number of angels that he could command?
God gave Lucifer the number of angels that would be satisfactory to her.
Lucifer said arrogant words to God the Trinity before she was confined in the Abyss, and I will come back to this in the next lecture.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
God the Father knew in advance that Lucifer would do all these things.
When He created the spiritual world, He already knew who Lucifer allied himself with to betray God and to stand against God.
However, in order to manage the human cultivation and to acquire true children, He also knew this would all be necessary.
However, it doesn't mean that God encouraged Lucifer to do all these.
God the Father convinced Lucifer of the truth for over the ages so that Lucifer would not choose evil.
God the Father rather gave her all the greater love.
Nevertheless, Lucifer didn't get rid of arrogance, but chose to betray God.
God the Father is omniscient and omnipotent.
Since He knows what will take place in the future, He accomplishes what He wishes according to His will.
God the Father knew what Lucifer would do even if He loved Lucifer.
He knew that Lucifer would stand against God out of arrogance, and that Lucifer would become the head of the evil spirits.
However, God the Father manages the Human Cultivation in the perfect justice through these evil spirits in order to get true children.
How wonderful the wisdom of God the Father and how profound His providence is!
Romans 11:33 says, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!"
No matter how wise Lucifer considers herself, her wisdom cannot come even close that of God the Father.
Therefore, I wish all of you can revere God the Father who is the foundation of wisdom.
Proverbs 22:4 says, "The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, honor and life."
May you receive overflowing blessing in the coming year as you revere God from the depth of your heart, and give great glory to God, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray!
[Amen] |
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