Day 3
The morning
came and I awoke to the sound of birds chirping beside me. They seemed to be
joyfully dancing across the ground and playing a game of chasing each other. Then
I noticed they were eating fruit from the ground. But one of them started to
fly off with the fruit, and the others flew after him. They started fighting
with the first bird and trying to steal back the fruit. My heart sank. I gasped
in horror. What was happening?! It was so wrong and unpleasant to watch in the beautiful
paradise. I could not comprehend this unkindness in the birds, which seemed to
me to be the most harmless and cheerful of animals.
Without thinking, I rose to my knees and cried out, “O my Father, what is this?!”
I did not see Him appear, but without delay, the Lord was there standing beside me. His hand reached down to my shoulder.[1] “This is the way of life apart from Me, Adam. See and understand.[2] Though I did not make these animals evil or unkind, they do not walk in My Light nor do they know or understand wisdom and holiness. They are without knowledge.[3] They can only act according to their blind senses. They desire only their own ways and to feed their own bellies, because they are but animals without true life in Me. They do not have self-control. They do not understand as you do that life is more than food.”[4]
I wondered for a moment at these sayings. What a pointless life these animals must have! What a sad life. “Why did You make such unfeeling animals, my Lord?”
“They are for your pleasure.[5] The pain and hurt is for your instruction.[6] By seeing them, you know your own blessedness. These animals are here to reveal to you life and death, foolishness and wisdom, and joy and sorrow. But remember how I have told you, beware[7] lest you partake of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, lest you die and lose your life and joy.”
I bowed in worship. I did truly feel blessed to know Him and to be alive. I worshipped Him for His wisdom and kindness. Knowledge of Him was what set me apart from all the animals, and such knowledge was unspeakable. Tears of joy nearly gushed out from my eyes. “May I never partake of that horrible tree, my God!”
“Adam, my beloved son, you are made in My image and have the gift of free will. You always have before you the choice between Life and Death.[8] It is a simple choice, but you must guard yourself from drifting from Me, for I am your Life and your Light. None can know Life but in Me.”[9]
It was then that I realized that all of this Creation testified of this truth: The air I breathed, the water I drank, the food I was sustained by, the ground that supported me, and the sun that warmed me were all there to remind me that I could not live apart from Him.
But, then I wondered at something, “Are there others who know Life in You?”
“Yes, and I have more to speak to you of that later. There are other spirits—Sons of God[10]—who dwell in the Third Heaven[11] where you cannot go yet, but they can see you and are even now ministering to you[12] in this world. Beware, however, for there are also evil ones among these spirits who have turned from Me to their own destruction and death. They will seek to deceive you.”
Once more, I spent much of the day talking with the Lord about many things like these. His wisdom was boundless. I was continually in awe of His unsearchable[13] depth of character.
After this more animals were brought before me to name. The variety of animals impressed me, and I asked the Lord how many animals there were in the world. He told me that there were so many that no one could ever count them all. The world was huge and the animals were different from region to region. He said that there would always be new things to discover.
The evening brought another vision of Creation:
The Angel of the Lord, hovering over the waters, spoke and
said that the waters should be gathered together unto one place and that dry
land should appear.[14]
There were earthquakes and lightnings and thundering, and the hills from
beneath the waters rose up; and, beneath the waters, I could see the valleys
sinking down deep within the earth.[15]
I did not understand, but I saw fountains of fire and smoke bursting also forth
from the earth and darkening the sky. The land grew as the mountains
continually rose up.
I heard the Lord name the land Earth and the waters Seas.[16]
It was as if by the breath of His voice, He gathered the land together and formed a unified whole. The land struggled and wrested and turned. It broke apart and spread to the four winds of the Earth and changed. Again and again, the land was gathered together by Him and struggled and broke apart and changed.
So God spoke and set a limit for the waters that they might never again cover over the whole land.[17] He said, “Thus far you may come and no farther, and here your proud waves shall be stopped.”[18]
Then He spoke, “Let the Earth be causing simple vegetation to be coming forth, plants seeding seed, and then fruitful trees producing fruit according to its kind, whichever seed is in it on the Earth.”[19] The Earth obeyed. Green vegetation sprang up from the Earth.[20] The Earth came to be covered with green vegetation. Then I beheld simple plants also coming up. These multiplied upon the Earth.
The Earth soon grew cold, ice covered many parts of the seas and the land, and blankets of clouds hovered low over the land. Yet it was not long before I saw the ice begin melting.
In the waters, I saw strange creatures springing up and multiplying. I heard the Lord speak to me, “Child, these strange creatures you see are destined to perish from the Earth. They are to give rise later to the creatures of the Seas that are in your days.”
I looked back to the Earth and plants were flourishing in the cloudy world. I continued to watch and ferns arose, mosses, bushes, and strange trees. I observed that the vegetation was changing and new kinds were appearing and understood that all kinds of plants would come to appear from these plants after many generations.
[1]
Rev 1:17
[2]
Mark 7:14
[3] Cf.
Psalm 32:9
[4]
Luke 12:23
[5]
Psalm 8:6-7
[6] Cf.
Job 12:7-9
[7]
Mark 13:23
[8]
Deuteronomy 30:15-18
[9]
John 17:3
[10]
Job 1:6-7
[11] 2
Corinthians 12:2
[12]
Psalm 91:11-12
[13]
Isaiah 40:28
[14]
Gen 1:9
[15]
Psalm 104:7-8
[16]
Gen 1:10
[17]
Psalm 104:9
[18]
Job 38:10-11
[19] Gen
1:11
[20]
Gen 1:12
