The
Evolution, of Religion
Evolution – Definition
1.
the
process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have
developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.
2.
the
gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form.
Why
is religion so hard? Why does it take so
long to understand? To answer this
as
with every form, in the process evolution, we start with the most primitive and
basic nature. Here is the most primitive
and basic part of religion:
Genesis 1:1 – In the
beginning God created, the heavens and the earth.
What
does this simple, ten-word text establish?
Is this verse as simple as we believe?
First, this introductory sentence describes an actor, an action,
a time frame, and the subject matter that is being acted upon. This simple declaration demonstrates
who, what, when and where, leaving us only “why” and “how” to uncover. In one sentence we find all most every
principal needed to complete an article or story. In one sentence we find all that we need for
worship in a perfect environment, the Garden of Eden. This beautiful verse establishes two things,
a Creator, and His authority.
In
the beginning, religion was simple, God created the heavens and the earth. This sentence clearly establishes God as the
Creator. Definition
of Creator – a
person who establishes a whole new field of endeavor (one
who establishes a new endeavor). So
now we see that God, as the Creator, established
something that did not previously exist, the heavens and the
earth. According to this text, this
clearly makes God, the Creator.
In law, we find that there exists a relationship
between Creator and creation, and certain rights and
privileges exist between the Creator
and their creation. These rights and
privileges can only be established to exist with the specific creator, upon the specific
creation, unless those rights or privileges are transferred, either
thru change of ownership thru title, or the transfer of simple
possession of the subject matter, without title or transfer or ownership,
creating a bailee and bailor relationship. Therefore, the fact that God created “the
heavens and the earth”, infers upon God certain rights and privileges over “the
heavens and the earth”. One such right
and privilege inferred upon God is, Authority.
Websters Definition of
Authority – 1. The power to influence or
command thought, opinion, or behavior. The source from which the citation is
drawn. 2. One who creates something, has
the sole authority of all that they create.
3. One who is in command.
Therefore, under this definition, the One who
creates, holds the sole rights and authority, to control the thoughts,
opinions, and behaviors of that which He creates.
Do we have evidence of this authority? Genesis 1:3 – And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. Here we have clear and concise evidence of
this relationship between the Creator and His creation. God commanded of nature, and nature
obeys. This establishes the link of
Authority of the Creator, over His creation.
So now we have established the “how” in the story, God commanded, and
nature obeyed. So now our story has who,
what, when where and how, all that is required to complete the story is why?
So,
religion, in its simplest form (Garden of Eden), in its perfect
form has a Creator, God, and One with
authority, a King. The relationship between the creation,
“nature”, and the Creator, God, is that nature exists subservient to the Authoritarian,
King. This is a simple relationship, and
is the essence of Religion, and worship.
Nature gives homage to its Creator and King, the WORD.
Here
we find that the “Word” of God is both “Creator” and “King”.
John 1:1-3
1 In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with
God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made
that was made.
Give me that Old Time Religion, a simple perfect
religion.
Now
let us look into the “Evolution of Religion” and what caused it to
occur.
Genesis
3:1-7
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the
field which the LORD God had made (creation). And
he (serpent)
said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not
eat of every tree of the garden? (partial truth) 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees
of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst (Tree of Knowledge of Good &
Evil, and Tree of Life) of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither
shall ye touch it (addition
or self-deception), lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely (instantly) die:
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5 For God doth know (esoteric
knowledge) that in the day ye eat thereof, then
your eyes shall be opened (lust
of the eyes), and ye shall be as gods (pride of life), knowing good and evil (lust
of the flesh). 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food (lust of the flesh)
and that it was pleasant
to the eyes (lust of the eyes), and a tree to be desired to make one wise (pride of
life), she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat (sin-perfect religion evolved), and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat (sin-perfect religion evolved). 7 And the eyes of them both were opened (esoteric knowledge-perfect religion evolved),
and they knew that they were naked
(unrighteous-consequence
of the perfect religion evolving); and they sewed fig
leaves together, and made themselves aprons (righteousness by works-perfect religion evolved).
Here
we find evidence of what lead to the “Evolution of Religion”. Nature, in the form of Adam and Eve,
intentionally deny God of his inferred rights and privileges of being their
Creator. They usurp, or steal from God,
that which is only His right and privilege to have (the knowledge of sin) and
Authority, or right to influence knowledge, thoughts or behaviors.. They decide to honor and homage themselves,
as they were supposed to honor and homage God, and God alone. Exodus 1:4 – Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any
likeness of any
thing that is in
heaven above, or that is in
the earth beneath, or that is in
the water under the earth:
Adam
& Eve, attempted to increase themselves, from Bailees having dominion
(without title) over the earth, to ownership (with title) and granting
themselves ownership and authority over the earth. This is transgression of God’s commandments. Exodus 20:15-17; 15 Thou shalt not steal. 16 Thou
shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17 Thou
shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s
wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any
thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Therefore, we know that these commandments existed at
least 1500 years before Mount Sinai, since proof of their existence is inferred
thru the Creator’s creation relationship. This truth negates the false notion of
dispensationalism.
So,
we can see, that God has ownership, title and authority over heaven and
earth. But what is the source of God’s
title? It is also spelled out in His Royal Law,
Exodus 20:8-11; 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days
shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:10 But the seventh day
is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not
do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy
manservant, nor thy
maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in
six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested
the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the
sabbath day, and hallowed it. But
we find evidence of this law, again, before Mount Sinai. Genesis 2:2-3; 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made;
and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified
it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and
made.
Again, we see that God’s Law is
eternal, and everlasting. Just as God
Himself, it has no beginning and no end.
Because God, His Word, and His law are constant, we can have complete
faith, and utter dependence upon them, and every single precept and concept
that they aspire.
So exactly why did religion
evolve? What is the consequence of this
evolutionary change? How did it affect
God Himself?
As we witnessed above, the bible
clearly exposes the intentions, and reasons that the perfect religion (God as
Creator and King) evolved. Satan
attacked mankind’s emotions, leading him to a state of selfishness. Eve was tempted thru the lust of the eyes,
the lust of flesh and the pride of life, and she failed. She wanted to be as, or a, god. This is exactly what Lucifer had gone thru in
heaven before he became Satan. Job, also a perfect and upright man, faced a
similar attack from Satan. He was
attacked thru the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and he held
victorious, but he failed on the pride of life, attempting to make himself
righteous thru his works. Jesus Christ
in the desert, was the only human, that ever overcame Satan’s brutal attacks,
thru the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. It was “it is written”, how God’s word,
enabled God’s Word, to overcome sin.
Because of this evolution of
religion, or sin, God was separated from His creation. God’s infinite love for His creation caused a
change in the God Head, He could no longer be Emmanuel,
or God with His creation, God with us.
The Word, God, was willing to lower His awesome presence and be placed
into a little box, the Holy of Holies, so that He could be near His beloved
creation. Due to God’s awesome desire to
love His children he was willing to put on matter, to be with them.
Since God’s Royal Law is infinite and
everlasting, it could not be changed, even though God’s desire to be with His
creation was so strong. Satan knew this,
and this is how he attacked the Word, Jesus the Christ, in the desert. Years before this, God wanted a means to
bring His children back to Him, but the law could not be
changed, and the price for breaking
the law must be paid. Therefore, God,
thru His
Word, created a system, where man
could learn of the price of sin, and how costly it was. God created the Sacrificial
System. In this system, there
had be an atonement for sin. Definition of
Atonement – reparation (price
paid) or satisfaction for an offense or injury, the reconciliation of God and
humankind thru the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. The Sacrificial System was two part in
nature. First there was the
Priest, man’s intercession between God and man. The priest would do the actions or rituals, that
would lead the sinner, symbolically back to God. The priest would offer man’s prayers,
offerings, and sacrifices, so that the sinner could understand the price of sin,
separation from God, and the mechanism for redemption (death) back to
God. The second part to the sacrificial
system was the sacrifice, or the symbolic atonement for the sin that man
offered. The Sacrifice
was supposed to be the absolute best of their belongings. An unblemished, perfect, beautiful creature
was to be offered as a sacrifice. The
most valuable creature was to be ritually killed. Their most prized possession was to be lost,
this was the cost for their sin.
Remember, the Sacrificial System by
Moses was a symbolic gesture, to atone for the sins of humanity, it was never
the actual act. For the Actual
Sacrificial System, it had to involve the Godhead Itself, because all earthly
creation was tainted with sin, and a sinful creation, cannot remove the
blemishes of sin. Therefore, the
Evolution of Religion caused a change in status (position or rank) of a member
of the Godhead, but not the unchanging nature of it. John 1:14-15;
14 And
the Word was made flesh (MAN), and dwelt among us, (and we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and
truth. 15 John bare witness of him, and
cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred
before me: for he was before me. Here, when
John the Herald, to the King, states that the Word, or Jesus Christ is
preferred before me, John is stating that Christ is greater than he. When John the Baptist states, “for he
(Christ) was before me”, John is stating that Christ existed before everything,
and is therefore God, the Creator.
We see the restoration of the “Perfect Religion”. But, in order to restore the perfect
religion, the wages of sin must be paid.
So our loving God, Creator, and King, comes down to this pathetic blue
planet, and becomes our Priest, and Sacrifice. When Christ, the King of Kings, Creator of
the Universe, becomes the perfect unchanging Priest, and Perfect Sacrifice that
belongs to the Godhead, this new religion, transfers from Judaism, to perfect
Christianity. This perfect Christianity
stands before the throne of God, between God and the Twenty-Four Elders, and
the sea of humanity.
Conclusion:
Revelation 4:6-9 6 And
before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst
(middle) of the throne, and round (surrounding) about the throne, were four
beasts full of eyes before and behind. 7 And
the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf,
and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was
like a flying eagle. 8 And
the four beasts had each of them six wings about him (Seraphim); and they were
full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. 9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and
thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
In
the beginning God created man and there existed a perfect balance between Creator
(EAGLE) and creation, and King (LION) and citizens. One day, the citizens were tricked into
believing that their God was unfair (His Law did not apply to Him), and that
He kept secrets (Esoteric). This
attack on God’s character was unfounded and false. Amos 3:7 – Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His
servants the prophets. Because of this
attempted coup, a new nature (disobedience & faithless) was caused
to exist, that did not previously exist (trust & obey). This new nature in man, cause a wedge between
Creator (EAGLE) and creation, as well as between King (LION) and citizens. This separation between the source of life (WORD)
and those that required the source to live (mankind) caused the wages of sin
(death) to exist, that did not previously exist before (man derived eternal
life thru the Word).
Because of this separation, the perfect religion, between Creator and creation,
and King and citizens, no longer bound.
Therefore, one glorious day, a little over 2000 years ago, the Word came
down to His earth, giving up His royal place in heaven, so that He could find a
way to restore the once perfect religion.
Matthew 1:23 –Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring
forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is,
God with us. This strange
love, agape, which Christ (EMMANUEL),
the Creator, held for His creation, was strong enough to beat back the ruthless
attack of Satan, in the desert. “It is
written” was the essence of this agape.
The Word became living flesh (MAN) for His fallen creation and citizens.
Unfortunately,
even this selfless perfect act, was not sufficient to restore the perfect
religion that previously once existed, for the price of this treason had not
been paid. Therefore, this beautiful,
perfect unblemished Lamb of God (CALF) had to pay the required price,
and Himself be sacrificed. Only thru
this ultimate act of love was the
perfect
religion, between Creator (WORD) and
creation (mankind), and King (WORD) and
citizen, restored.
As
we can see, it took God (WORD), to become Man
(WORD), so that He (WORD) could be the Sacrifice
(WORD), and the only acceptable atonement for our (world) sin.
Let
us not forget, this most precious Gift of God.
Let us understand that Christ is all things, to all man. Let us rejoice for He is returning soon. Amen.