REDEMPTION AND RESTORATION

In the beginning, God created the heaven first, and then He created the earth. This statement is substantiated by scientists who records the universe which the heaven encompasses as approximately 13.8 billion years old, while the earth’s age is approximately 4.5 billion years old. In heaven, we have the invisible world of God, which is inhabited by spirit beings such as angels, cherubs, seraphims, and living creatures. These spirit beings are residents in the kingdom of heaven, and they function under divine order in the government of God.

In the course of time, God decided to make the earth and place spirit beings housed in bodies of earth’s material called dust. We are these being, and God gave us purpose when He made us in His image and likeness. The Bible records in Genesis 1:26-28 His actions, plans and instructions as follows, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Thus, God gave the man the responsibility to govern the earth like He governed heaven that is why Jesus said in our prayers we should pray “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

God placed man in the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it and commanded man, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Genesis 2:15- 17). Unfortunately, as recorded in Genesis 3, man disobeyed God’s directive and placed himself and mankind under the bondage of sin and the penalty of death.

At that time, God told the serpent who deceived Eve these words, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15). This person who would bruise the serpent was described by Isaiah in Isaiah 9:6-7, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” And Paul said in Galatians 4: 4-5, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

In His love for mankind, God sent His son to redeem us and restore to us His government (the kingdom of heaven) which was lost in the Garden of Eden. This fact was declared to the masses when Jesus began His earthly ministry. He said, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17). These acts were all accomplished with his death, burial, and resurrection. Due to this personal sacrifice, those individuals that accept Jesus as their Lord become part of God’s royal family and once again have the ability to have dominion on earth. So, we have much to celebrate, praise God and for which to be thankful; Jesus our Savior paid the price for our sins, He redeemed us and restored to us His kingdom on earth.