What Happened on the Cross. Nick Peros
physical, being fully subject to time and space as are we, but they are part of the physical realm which, for now, without machinery or equipment, we cannot perceive.
Angels are exactly the same kind of thing. Like x-rays and gamma rays, they are invisible to us, and they can do things you and I (for now) cannot—such as go through walls, travel at great speed, and more. But that is only because they are, like x-rays and gamma rays, a different kind of physical than are you and I—no less physical than you and I, just a different kind of physical. Our physicality is one of flesh, bone, and spirit—that is what defines a human being, whereas angels would have a physicality whose substance is something other than flesh and bone, just as gamma rays and x-rays are a substance that is something other than flesh and bone. This is further affirmed when we consider Heaven is itself a physical place—if the physical Heaven is the abode of angels, then the angels themselves must also be just as physical as Heaven.
For the time being, we cannot perceive that particular physical realm of angels, just as we, for now, cannot perceive the full spectrum of light. Light is, in fact, made up of a whole spectrum of different colors, and it is also a spectrum that includes radio waves and the infrared spectrum. With our eyes, we cannot see radio waves, the color spectrum of light, or the infrared spectrum of light. The reason is currently we are not physically tuned to see those physical spectrums—our perception is limited. For now, we are limited to seeing only white light. We experience the same limitations in regards to the physical realm of angels. For now, we are not currently tuned to see that physical realm of angels. The Bible speaks of these limitations of our perceptions in the following verses:
For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. (1 Cor 13:12 NKJV)
For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Cor 4:16 NKJV)
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Heb 11:3 NKJV)
Each of these verses describes things which are seen and things which are unseen, and 1 Corinthians 13:12 specifically tells us that, for now, when we look at the universe, at God’s creation, we see it only dimly, unclearly, that is, our perception of it is limited. Together these verses affirm there are whole aspects of God’s physical creation that, for now, we are just not tuned to perceive. One day, however, that will change and we will be able to perceive what is currently imperceptible to our eyes. This is in fact contained within 1 Corinthians 13:12 when it continues to tell us that, for now, we only know, or perceive, in part, but later we shall perceive, or know, even as we are perceived. All of this affirms that in our full redemption we will see God’s physical creation in all of its fullness, including those aspects of God’s physical creation that currently are invisible to us, which includes the realm of angels.
The day is coming when we will at last see the physical creation for what it actually is, in all of its fullness. We are given a glimpse of this in 2 Kings 6:1–17, when the prophet Elisha and his scribe were surrounded by an armed force, facing what seemed like certain death. Elisha’s scribe was fearful for his life, and then we are told: “And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kgs 6:17 NIV).
When God opened the eyes of Elisha’s servant, he saw that he and Elisha were surrounded by a great host of mighty, angelic warriors and chariots of fire, ready to do battle on their behalf. That great host of God was always there, but until God opened the eyes of the servant they were invisible to him, he could not perceive them, even though they were physically all around him. The angelic army was the physical reality that surrounded them, but Elisha’s servant was not able to see it because it was part of the physical realm that is currently beyond our perception. When Elisha prayed God would “open his eyes,” Elisha’s servant was given the ability to perceive that aspect of the physical creation that is invisible to us, but which is no less real and no less physical. As a result, we know every aspect of God’s creation, including what we call the spiritual realm—Heaven and angels—is a part of God’s physical creation, being itself physical and subject fully to time and space.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, creating them perfect in every respect, a glorious creation without blemish or fault. Yet, in the very second verse of the Bible, we encounter a creation under a curse.
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Darkness—The Curse of God
In Genesis 1:1, God created the heavens and the earth, and they were created perfect and without fault. The earth, from the beginning, was created to be the home of man, and as such it was created beautiful and perfectly habitable for man.
The Uninhabitable Earth
We know the earth was created as a habitable place, for Isaiah 45:18 tells us:
For this is what the Lord says—
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited—
he says:
‘I am the Lord,
and there is no other.’ (NIV)
We are told in Isaiah 45:18 that God created the earth specifically to be inhabited, he did not create it to be empty. This means when God created the earth in Genesis 1:1, the earth was created as habitable, created as a place upon which man could live. However, by Genesis 1:2, something has changed, something drastic has happened, for we read: “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (NKJV).
Though the earth was created perfect and habitable in Genesis 1:1, by Genesis 1:2 the earth was formless and empty, covered by a global ocean and wrapped in darkness. We are also told the Holy Spirit was there, hovering over the global ocean. In Genesis 1:2, the earth is utterly uninhabitable, completely uninhabitable for man.We know from Isaiah 45:18 that the condition of the earth in Genesis 1:2 is not how God had created it.
What happened? What caused the uninhabitable, formless, empty, dark, and flooded condition of the earth we see in Genesis 1:2?:
I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void;
And the heavens, they had no light.
I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
And all the hills moved back and forth.
I beheld, and indeed there was no man,
And all the birds of the heavens had fled.
I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness,
And all its cities were broken down
At the presence of the Lord,
By his fierce anger. (Jer 4:23–26 NKJV)
This prophecy of Jeremiah, like many prophecies, speaks on various levels simultaneously. On the one hand, it is prophesying a desolation to come upon Israel, but on the other hand, it also is harkening back to a time that describes, almost exactly, the earth in Genesis 1:2.
Jeremiah 4:23 tells us the earth was without form and void, that it was empty and had “no light.” There was only one time in Earth’s history when these conditions existed, and that was in Genesis 1:2—never since that time has the earth been formless or empty or without light. Jeremiah goes on to tell us there was no man and, in fact, no life upon the earth. Again, the only time in Earth’s history when these conditions existed was in Genesis 1:2. At that point the prophecy in Jeremiah telescopes forward to the parallel desolation foretold upon Israel.