When God created the world, He declared that everything He had made was very good. In His original plan, nothing was subject to death and every piece of Creation was in harmony. Only when Adam and Eve chose to ignore God's good plan and choose death did it become a reality. Humans were created in the image of God, to rule over everything that God had created.
What We Were Created For
According to the Bible, humans were the climax of God's Creation. He gave them dominion of the newly created world. Humans were different from all the other animals because they were created in the image of God. God gave them intellectual capacity, a creative spirit, a sense of morality, and the freedom of choice.
God said that the people He created are His sons and daughters; everyone born from the time of Adam until this very minute has been created to give Him glory. In a letter to the Hebrew people of his time, the apostle Paul sheds some interesting light on the subject of Creation. He writes, "Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands" (Hebrews 2:7).
The Greek word translated here as "a little" literally means "for a little while." The full meaning of the text, then, is actually "for a little while lower than the angels." The time is coming when God will restore world to His original plan. At that time, the angels will not rule upon the earth. Rather, restored humans will sit with Christ in His throne.
However, the Bible says that before the earth is restored, there is some overcoming to be done. Just like Adam and Eve, we chose our own way rather than God's way. Because of this, we have to suffer separation from God and have forfeited our great privilege of joining Christ on His throne.
The Bible says that our suffering will be turned into glory because Christ has bought our royal privileges—and our very lives—back with His own blood. Through Christ, we can overcome and be conquerors together with Him. Only then will our full potential be realized.
The Scriptures also teach that the whole Creation is waiting in agony for the promised restoration to be completed, the people of God to be revealed, and death to come to an end. Humankind is suffering from the consequences of sin, as is all of Creation.
No Compromise: Chance or Design?
The Genesis account of Creation and the Fall is the exact opposite of the naturalistic view of origins. Genesis portrays a decline from perfection to degeneration and decay, whereas the naturalistic approach suggests an advance from chaos to order and perfection. According to naturalism, death is used to "create" better-adapted forms, and the cycles of death—which are enacted on the planet through prey and predator relationships—are the nurturing ground for adaptive radiation. According to the Scriptures, however, prey-predator relationships did not exist in the beginning, and will also not exist when the earth is made new.
The Bible talks about an order of things that is totally different to what we currently experience on the planet. There will be no carnivores and no predators. All aggression will be removed from the natures of these animals and people will once more have total control over the animal kingdom. This restoration is in line with what the book of Genesis says about the original diet of all creatures:
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat (Genesis 1:29-30).
According to this verse, all creatures were vegetarian and the human diet consisted of seeds and fruits. There could have been no harmful bacteria or parasites—no creatures with harmful effects at all. What happened, then, to mar this perfection? Sin entered in, turning the perfect world upside down. Read more about this upside-down world in An Imperfect Planet.
Updated September 2010.
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Persecution in the First Centuries
An Era of Spiritual Darkness The Waldenses
John Wycliffe Huss and Jerome
Luther's Separation From Rome
Luther Before the Diet The Swiss Reformer
Progress of Reform in Germany
Protest of the Princes The French Reformation
The Netherlands and Scandinavia
Later English Reformers
The Bible and the French Revolution
The Pilgrim Fathers Heralds of the Morning
An American Reformer Light Through Darkness
A Great Religious Awakening A Warning Rejected
Prophecies Fulfilled What is the Sanctuary?
In the Holy of Holies God's Law Immutable
A Work of Reform Modern Revivals
Facing Life's Record The Origin of Evil
Enmity Between Man and Satan
Agency of Evil Spirits Snares of Satan
The First Great Deception
Can Our Dead Speak to Us?
Liberty of Conscience Threatened
The Impending Conflict
The Scriptures a Safeguard The Final Warning
The Time of Trouble God's People Delivered
Desolation of the Earth The Controversy Ended
Is Revelation a Sealed Book?
Revelation 1 Commentary
Revelation 1: Jesus, The Heart of Revelation
Revelation 2 Commentary
Revelation 2-3: Letters to Seven Churches
Revelation 3 Commentary
The Lamb and the Sealed Book
Revelation 4 Commentary
Revelation 5 Commentary
Revelation 6 Commentary
Revelation 7 Commentary
Revelation 8 Commentary
Revelation 9 Commentary
Revelation 10 Commentary
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