As I covered in the first article in this series, God created the earth and enclosed it with the firmament like a tent to create a tabernacle in which to fellowship with his people. It served God’s purpose at the beginning when the Lord met with Adam and Eve and walked with them in the cool of the day. This is recorded in Genesis.
They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:8–9 (NASB95)
More than likely this was in the evening when breezes would cool the temperatures. It is likely that God regularly strolled with Adam and Eve at this time of day. They were familiar with the sound he made as he moved through the garden. Sadly, by the third chapter of Genesis, the earthly tabernacle had already been defiled by sin and betrayal.
Adam’s sin not only brought death and loss to him and Eve and all future descendants, but it also subjected the entire creation to satanic bondage and disfigurement.
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:17–19 (NASB95)
Contrary to the Copernican Principle affirmed by modern astrophysics, the earth is central in God’s creation and was created for mankind. According to Scripture, everything in the heavens revolves around this earthly tabernacle, just as Genesis tells us. When man sinned, it negatively impacted the earthly dwelling or tabernacle, our general well-being, our ability to reason, and our spiritual capacities.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. Romans 8:20–22 (NASB95)
Isaiah recorded that Satan desired to ascend all the way past the firmament into the third heaven and usurp God’s throne (Isaiah 14:12-18). He failed and apparently thought it second best to defile God’s creation below the firmament.
God’s beautiful tent of meeting or tabernacle called the earth was defiled by mankind’s agreement with and surrender to Satan, making it unfit for God and man.
After the crown of creation, the man and woman, sold themselves into bondage and death in their misguided quest for godhood, the wonder of God’s magnificent creation was marred and corrupted to the point that it no longer properly represented the glory and the genius of its Creator. To Satan, the victory must have seemed complete, but God, the ultimate Creative, had a plan that no one ever would have imagined.
