Scripture, proceeding from the standpoint that God is the living God, proclaims unto us that the purpose of creation is the glory of the living God.

All the works of the Lord’s hands are a revelation of the Lord’s virtues and proclaim His praises—see Psalm 19:1, Romans 1:19, etc. God created man in His image and unto His glory and praise. This we read in Is. 43:7: “Even every one that is called by My Name: for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him, yea, I have made him.” The Lord glorifies Himself in Pharaoh, Ex. 14:17, and in the one born blind, John 9:3. He makes the wicked for the day of evil, Prov. 16:4 and Romans 9:22. Christ came to glorify the Father, John 17:4. All the benefits and the blessings of grace He bestows upon us for His Name’s sake, redemption, forgiveness, sanctification, etc., Ps. 105:8, 78:9, Is. 43:25, 48:11, 60:21, 61:3, Romans 9:23, Eph. 1:6 ff. He does not give His glory to another, Is. 42:8. God is the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega, Is. 44:6, 48:12, Rev. 1:8, 22:13. And, out of Him and through Him and unto Him are all things Romans 11:36. Hence, because of this revelation and testimony of Holy Writ we may safely conclude that the glory of God is the purpose of all the works of His hands. The Lord does all things for His Name’s sake.

Against this glory of God as the divine purpose of the universe a two-fold objection has been lodged. First, God, then, is selfish, egoistic, never seeking anyone but Himself. This objection, of course, is groundless. To be sure, for a creature to seek itself would be the depth of selfishness and pride. But, we cannot speak thus of the living God. God is the absolute good, the only good, the God of infinite and eternal goodness and perfection, in whom the love of self is the life of His infinitely perfect and glorious being. As the perfect good He must love only Himself and therefore He must seek Himself in all His work. This is not selfishness but God’s own glory, His own infinite and eternal perfection.

Secondly, if God seeks His own glory in and through the creature, is it then not true that He needs that creature, that the world serves the Lord’s self-glorification, that the Lord is therefore richer with the universe than He would be without the universe? To this we would answer, first of all, that the universe did not enrich the Lord for the reason that God has the eternal reality of all things before Himself in His eternal counsel. In this connection I would call the attention of the reader to the book of Rev. Hoeksema, “God’s Way Out,” the chapter which begins on page 165. The Lord has eternally the whole world in space and in time before His divine mind. And, on the other hand, the Lord seeks not the creature but Himself through the creature. God is and remains His own purpose. If the world is but a reflection which reflects the glory of God, surely this mirror does not make God richer, even as a mirror does not make me richer simply because I behold myself reflected in it. All the things that move and live and have being have but one purpose and that is, not to enrich the living God, not to add unto Jehovah’s glory and honor, not to give Him something which He otherwise would not possess, but simply to reveal that He is, in Himself, the God of infinite perfection, the only, absolute, all-sufficient Good.

Herewith we conclude our discussion of the IDEA OF CREATION.

THE CREATION OF THE SPIRIT WORLD. (1)

A Discussion of this Subject is Profitable at This Time.

It may be considered profitable to devote a little space in the Standard Bearer at this time to the creation and existence of the spirit world i.e., the world of spirits, of angels. It is true that the creation account in Genesis 1-2 is emphatically earthly in its point of view. Having set forth the truth that God in the beginning created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1 we regard as the statement of a fact and not merely as a summary of what follows in chapters 1 and 2, to which Scripture we would call attention, the Lord willing, in a subsequent article), the infallible record thereupon concerns itself solely with the earthly aspect of the creation of God. The fact is that already in verse 2 the emphasis is laid upon the earth: having been informed that God created the heavens and the earth, our attention is immediately directed to the earth, and of that earth we are told in verse 2: “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Thereupon we are told of the creation of the light and the darkness, and also this is evidently described unto us from the viewpoint of the earthly, as is evident from the rest of the chapter. The infallible record speaks of the firmament in the midst of the waters, the separating of the waters above from the waters below, of the creation of the dry land and the calling into existence of all vegetation. Upon the fourth day the sun, moon, and stars are called into being, but it is clear from the verses 17-18; (“and God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth. And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.”) that again the viewpoint is earthly. And, finally, upon the fifth and sixth days all the animals and man are created.

Neither need it surprise us that the Scriptural record in regard to the creation of the world should be preponderantly earthly. O, it may be true that the earth is not the only planet, yea, that it is not the largest of all the bodies which the Lord called into existence. It may even be true that the earth is not the center of the universe. However, that the earth is the center of the revelation of God and the most important planet is surely beyond every shadow of a doubt. It is a fact, first of all, that Scripture, in Genesis 1 and 2, concerns itself almost exclusively with the creation of the earth. It is upon the earth that the night of sin and guilt was introduced, and the earth was willed by the living God to become the sphere of the uncompromising conflict between the seed of the woman and that of the devil, of light and darkness, life and death. It is upon this earth that Christ assumes our flesh and blood, takes upon Himself the sin and guilt of the brethren, suffers and dies and rises again, and is seated at the right hand of the power of God. And it is also upon the earth that the Son of God, by His Word and Spirit, gathers out of the whole human race, out of every nation, land, tribe, and tongue, His Church, His elect own given unto Him by the Father from before the foundation of the world. Consequently, this earth is surely the center of the universe, the heart of the entire creation of God, as far as the eternal counsel of the living God is concerned. And it is therefore not strange that the creation of the world should be revealed unto us from a preponderantly earthly point of view.

Nevertheless, we wish to devote a little space to the creation and existence of the world of angels, before we set ourselves unto the task of describing the Scriptural record of creation as recorded for us in Genesis 1 and 2. First, this is generally done. A discussion of the world of angels usually precedes the discussion of the earthly creation. And, secondly, it seems to me that a little discussion of this subject could be profitable to us.

Many Strange Notions About The Angels Or Spirits.

Scripture itself furnishes us evidence that the heathens worshipped evil angels, spirits or demons.

This is surely implied in Acts 17:22: “Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of

Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.” In Ps. 106:37, 38, we read: “Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.” In I Cor. 10:20 we read: “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.” And in Deut. 32:17 we read: “They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.”

The belief in the existence of angels not characterized by unanimity of thought.

Although, according to the late Dr. H. Bavinck, all religions have acknowledged the existence of a spiritual world, the belief in the existence of angels has not been characterized by unanimity of thought.

The Scriptures inform us in Acts 23:8 that the Sadducees denied the existence of spirits. There we read: “For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.” Others declared that Christ and His apostles spoke of angels only because they simply adapted themselves to the superstitious notions of their contemporaries, without necessarily implying that they also shared these opinions. The eighteenth century wiped out all distinction between men and angels, even as the nineteenth century wiped out all distinction between men and animals. And finally, over against the tendency of Materialism a reaction set in, known as Spiritism, which not only acknowledges the existence of deceased spirits, but also proclaims the possibility of fellowship and communion between them and the people who are left behind in the land of the living, so that thereby the way is once more opened for thousands to believe somehow in a spiritual world.

Finally, how varied and strange have been the opinions expressed in regard to the world of angels.

Concerning the Roman Catholic doctrine in regard to the angelic world, we read on page 253 of Hodge’s Outline of Theology the following, and we quote: “What is the Romish doctrine and practice with regard to the worship of angels? ‘Catechismus Romanus, III. 2, 9, 10—For the Holy Spirit Who says, Honor and glory unto the only God (I Tim. 1:17), commands us also to honor our parents and elders (Lev. 19:32 etc.); and the holy men who worshipped one God only are also said in the sacred Scriptures to have adored (Gen. 23:7, 12, etc.), that is, to have suppliantly venerated, kings. If then kings, by whose agency God governs the world, are treated with so high an honor, shall we not give to the angelic spirits an honor greater in proportion as these blessed minds exceed kings in dignity; (to those angelic spirits) whom God has been pleased to constitute his ministers ; whose services he makes use of, not only in the government of the Church, but also of the rest of the universe; by whose aid, although we see them not, we are daily delivered from the greatest dangers both of soul and body? Add to this the charity with which they love us, through which, as Scripture informs us, they pour out their prayers for those countries (Dan. 2:13) over which they are placed by Providence, and for those too, no doubt, whose guardians they are, for they present our prayers and tears before the throne of God (Job 3:25, 12:12, Rev. 8:3). Hence, our Lord has taught us in the gospel not to scandalize the little ones, because in heaven their angels do always behold the face of His Father which is in heaven. Their intercession, therefore, we must invoke, because they always behold God, and receive from Him the most willing advocacy of our salvation. To this, their invocation, the sacred Scriptures bear testimony.—Gen. 48:15, 16.”

Augustine stressed the fact that the good angels were rewarded for their obedience by the gift of perseverance which carried with it the assurance that they would never fall.

Another opined that as many people would be saved as the number of the angels which had not fallen. And still another asserted, because of Matt. 18:12 (“How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?”) that the proportion of the number of the people to that of the angels was one to ninety nine. And still others declared that the number of angels was to be fixed at one thousand times one thousand million.

And, finally, we would remark that the church fathers were mainly of the opinion that the angels did not differ from one another in essence and kind, essentia and specie (Bavinck, II, 433).

Their Number.

The Scriptures, as we all know, give us no definite information in regard to the number of these created spirits or angels. Any attempt, therefore, to estimate this number, must be regarded as idle speculation.

However, we may certainly declare that they constitute, according to the Word of God, a mighty, innumerable host. They are repeatedly designated as the host of heaven or of God, and this already points to a vast number. We read in Deut. 32:2: “And he said, The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints: from His right hand went a fiery law for them.” In Ps. 68:17 we are told: “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.” In Mark 5:9, 15 we read: “And He asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.” A Roman legion was not always of the same number, but we do know that the size of a legion varied from three to six thousand. And in Matt. 26:53 we read: “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He shall presently give Me more than twelve legions of angels?” And, finally, we read in Rev. 5:11: “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.”

We may also remark that the angels do not constitute an organism as does mankind. They do not marry, are not born one of another. Their full number was created at the beginning of the world and it has since not been increased.

Their Organization.

Although the angels are not an organism, organically constituted as is the human race, they do constitute an organization, are organized.

This is evident from the names which Scripture assigns to them. The angelic host is characterized by ranks and order.

A rather common name in the Word of God to designate these spiritual beings is that of “angel”. This word is not what we would call a “natural name” for these heavenly creatures but an official name or title. The word “angel”, means: messenger, and it is also used to designate a man, either sent by God or by man, as in Job 1:14, I Sam. 11:3, Haggai 1:13, Mal. 2:7, 3:1. In the last two passages we read: “For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. . . . Behold, I will send My messenger, and He shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.”—the word, messenger, in these passages is “angel”. Thus the word also appears in the New Testament, where the word frequently is used to designate men—Matt. 11:10, Mark 1:2, Luke 7:24, 27, 9:52, Gal. 4:14, James 2:15.

However, there is no general distinctive name for all the spiritual beings in Scripture. They are called sons of God in Job 1:6, 2:1, Ps. 29:1, 89:6, spirits in Heb. 1:14, saints in Ps. 89:5, 7, Zech. 14:5, Daniel 8:13, watchers in Daniel 4:13, 17, 24. There are several specific names, however, which point to different classes of angels.

Cherubims.

The Scriptures speak of this class of angels in several passages. We read in Genesis 3:24: “So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.Here the cherubims are appointed by the living God to guard the entrance into the Garden of Eden in order that man should not eat of the tree of life and live forever. They gaze upon the mercy seat, according to Ex. 25:18 ff., Ex. 37:8, I Chron. 3:14, Heb. 9:5, and between them the Lord dwelleth, according to Ps. 80:1, 99:1, Is. 37:16. Quoting Ex. 25:18-22 we read: “And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.” And in Hebrews 9:2-5 we read: “For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all; which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; and over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.” There are more passages in the Word of God which deal with these spiritual beings but space forbids us now to call attention to them. The Lord willing, we will continue this discussion in the following number of the Standard Bearer.