Life Walk Lesson 95: God has Eternal Authority
“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”
Revelation 5:13
“And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: ‘Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him Who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!’”
Revelation 10:5-7
5 “The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven
6 and swore by Him Who lives forever and ever, Who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer,
7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.”
Revelation 14:6-7
6 “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth — to every nation, tribe, tongues, and people —
7 saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him Who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’"
Ancient Words Restored to Us
Jude 14-15 [NKJV]
14 “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints,
15 to execute judgement on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which the ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.’” [New Living Translation Footnote: The quotation comes from intertestamental literature: Enoch 1:9]
1Enoch 1:3-9 (Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, Volume II, R.H. Charles, P. 188)
3 “Concerning the elect I said, and took up my parable concerning them: The Holy Great One will come forth from His dwelling,
4 and the Eternal God will tread upon the earth, even on Mount Sinai, and appear from His camp and appear in the strength of His might from the heaven of heavens.
5 And all shall be smitten with fear, and the Watchers shall quake, and great fear and trembling shall seize them unto the ends of the earth.
6 And the high mountains shall be shaken, and the high hills shall be made low, and shall melt like wax before the flame.
7 And the earth shall be wholly rent in sunder, and all that is upon the earth shall perish, and there shall be judgment upon all men.
8 But with the righteous He shall make peace, and will protect the elect, and mercy shall be upon them. And they shall all belong to God, and they shall be prospered, and they shall all be blessed. And He will help them all, and light shall appear unto them, and He will make peace with them.
9 And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones to execute judgment upon all, and to destroy all the ungodly: and to convict all flesh of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
It will help the Bible Student to read the events recorded in 1Enoch, in chapters 1-16 specifically, for why God made this decision.
The “Watchers” who were set over mankind to watch over them, and to teach them how to live on earth, (some of whom fell from glory with Satan and taught mankind evil ways of life, as recorded in 1Enoch, and in an African historical record of Biblical events called, The Kebra Nagast, Chapter 100,) are also mentioned in the Bible.
In Daniel 4:17 we read:
“This decision is by decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men.” [Please read the full context in Daniel 4:13-37]
Additional Reading: The Kebra Nagast, Chapters 106 and 111, for the African record of the prophecies throughout Scripture of the Coming of Christ.
The Uncanonical Writings of the Old Testament, 1901, has an extensive account of Creation and thereafter, from the Armenian Manuscripts found in the Library of St. Lazarus, Venice, Italy.
The Book of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth, by Mikael Bakhayla, translated by E.A. W. Budge in1934 (his last work during his lifetime, and published after his death) also has extensive information, from Creation onwards, as well as interpretations, and understanding of knowledge of Scripture, given by vision to Mikael Bakhayla as he walked with God in his lifetime, and recounted the events of the time when Christianity in Ethiopia was new, and its fight to remain, against all odds, was great.
For a modern-day witnesses to the things of heaven, creation, and the ways of God, you might consider listening to messages by Kat Kerr [revealingheaven.com and https://www.katkerr.com], and Jesse Duplantis (Author of Heavenly Encounters of the God Kind), both on YouTube.
Mrs Kerr has had many encounters with God, in which God has also shown her the first creation [Genesis 1:1] in which lived the dinosaurs who were cared for by the Watchers. During this time-period Lucifer rebelled and was thrown down to earth. God froze the waters of the earth, covering it completely in ice [the Ice Age], which destroyed the first creation; and then comes Verse 2, of Genesis 1, and the rest of the story.
These concepts are enlightening and encouraging to the Bible Student, and to every believers whose hope is in the Glory of God covering the earth with His love.
God is the Author and Finisher
I present to the Bible Student, once again, some additional reading materials in this Bible Lesson, which corroborate Biblical truths, but are recorded in other Ancient Writings. In Old Testament Scripture, we often find that the rest of the story is recorded in “The Book of…” — a named Book which is either extant today, or lost to us so far.
It is clear then, even from Canonized Scripture, that God did not put all of His information or His wisdom, knowledge or understanding, in one Book. The Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and is the inerrant Word of God, and we have accepted this, as Christians, by faith.
The Bible is also a compilation of Historical facts, a record of events as they happened, as are many other Ancient Historical writings. These are faithfully recorded by scribes, other authors, or prophets, whom the Lord God walked with, and spoke through, including Kings and servants, both male and female.
The Bible also is a record of events God says will happen, because they have already been written in heaven, and the prophet is given a glimpse of what God intends to do sometime in earth’s history, for He knows the end from the beginning, as the Author and Finisher of our Faith. [Hebrews 12:2]
John, in the Book of Revelation, for example, is given to write what is, what was, and what will be — because God has the original plan — but we are not always given to know the chronological order of these matters, which are hidden so that no one, including Satan, can try to stop God’s will from coming to pass. [Acts 1:7]
We, as Christians at one with Christ, are also given the opportunity to intercede for humanity, just as Jesus Christ does, for we are “in Him” [John 15] according to Christ’s Own words. Having said that, anyone who calls on the name of Jesus shall be saved, according to Romans 10:13.
The Bible also contains stories and parables, in both the Old and New Testaments, which give us a glimpse of God’s heart of wisdom in matters of the moral, and ethical, behaviors expected of a member of His Family.
The Bible records two of the Books, which I use in this Lesson, specifically: the prophecy of Enoch, from 1Enoch, quoted by Jude, and The Ancient Book of Jasher, quoted by Joshua in his Book in the Bible, and by Samuel.
God is Creator of Heaven and Earth
In this portion of the Lesson, let us revisit a few concepts, and go a little deeper, as we get to know God.
Genesis 1:1-2 (NKJV)
1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
Tanakh: Bereishit/Genesis 1:1-3 [A New Translation of The Holy Scriptures according to the Traditional Hebrew Text, The Jewish Publication Society; 1985]
1 “When God began to create heaven and earth — 2 the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water — 3 God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.”
From the Septuagint: Genesis 1:1-3 (LXX)
1 “In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth. 2 But the earth was unsightly and unfurnished, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the water. 3 And God said, ‘Let there be light, and there was light.’”
Corroborating Canonized Scripture
Psalm 33:1-22
Job 38:1-41
Jeremiah 4:23
Corroborating Uncanonized Writings
The Book of the Cave of Treasures, British Museum Manuscript 25875; (written by Saint Ephraim Syrus, who died in A.D. 373), records it this way, under the paragraph titled, The Creation. Third Day: “unsettled and unstable”…and… “like unto a thick sponge”
Please also read “The First Day” and “The Second Day” of Creation from the same page, for the context. It will help to understand the concepts given here in this Lesson, as we discover how these ancient writings corroborate Scripture which record the ways of God.
The Book of the Secrets of Enoch [2Enoch] records the event of Creation, spoken by the mouth of God to Enoch. God shows Enoch how He originally thought of creating everything, in a visible state of being (from the invisible), and then went about doing so.
Here are two copies extant today, which I have used in the Lessons as applicable:
Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, translated by R.H. Charles
Slavonic translation of 2Enoch, translated by W.R. Morfill.
The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament in English, Volume II; edited by R.H. Charles, Oxford, 1913 (Pages 444-446, Chapters 24-27 records the first day)
The Apocryphal Old Testament, by Sparks, also contains a copy of 1Enoch, translated by M.A. Knibb, and a copy of 2Enoch, translated by A. Pennington.
The Book of the Bee, is a Nestorian Christian sacred history, according to Sir Earnest A. Wallis Budge, its translator into English. It was written by a Syrian Bishop named Solomon, in the year 1222 A.D. (C.E.). Bishop Solomon intended to gather as much information as was available to him in his lifetime, from many sources, just as a bee gathers pollen — hence the name of the Book. It records earth’s state as “unarranged and unadorned, but plunged in the midst of the waters” in Chapter III [Chapter V in the Oxford Manuscript].
