SPECIAL QUESTIONS REGARDING THE CREATION

 

By Gary Ray Branscome

 

          While the Bible does not explicitly tell us when the angels were created, the words, “In six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything that is in them,” the words, “All things in heaven and earth, both visible and invisible, were created by Him,” and the words, “Thus the heavens and the earth, and everything in them, were finished,” tell us that “everything” was made during the six days of creation, and that would include angels (Exodus 20:11, Colossians 1:16, Genesis 2:1).

          Just as the life of a child is derived from its parents, so the soul of a child is derived from its parents through propagation. The words, “On the seventh day God ended His work,” tell us that God is not creating more souls, just as He is not creating more animals (Genesis 2:2). Instead all that is born comes from what was originally created. Likewise, the words, “Behold, I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me,” tell us that David’s mother conceived him, not just a body that he later occupied (Psalm 51:5). Those who claim that God creates a new soul for each body, have God corrupting souls by placing them into sinful bodies, and into homes where they are taught idolatry. And, the false claim that an unborn child does not yet have a soul has been used to justify murder (abortion).

          The words, “Our God is in the heavens: He has done whatever He has pleased,” tell us that God did not have to create the universe, and it is not some sort of emanation from Him as pantheists imagine, but He created all things for His glory just as His Word says (Psalm 115:3).

          The words, “God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good,” tell us that none of the evil we now see in the earth, death, suffering, calamity, hardship is in the world because God created it that way (Genesis 1:31). In short, God created a perfect world. However, that does not mean that this world is the best of all possible worlds. The new heavens and new earth that God has promised will be far better. As it is written, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1Corinthians 2:9).