LESSON 1 - IN THE BEGINNING

Yahweh’s Scriptures are like a time machine because they tell us what has happened way back in the beginning and what is going to happen far into the future. We are going to learn what it was like way back in the beginning before man was put on the earth.

Let’s pretend we are looking at a television and at the beginning of the program it looks like the set is off. The picture is black, but as we watch, it gets lighter and a strange, hazy glow comes over the screen. It comes from nowhere and the light gradually covers the whole screen. This is somewhat like the earth was in the beginning. The earth was "formless and void but Yahweh's Spirit moved over it," Genesis 1:2. Yahweh spoke, "And let there be light and there was light," Genesis 1:3. In 1 John 1:4 we read that Yahweh is light.

 

Let us open our Scriptures up and read what it says in the first verse, “In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth,” Genesis 1:1. Yahweh came first because He made everything that there was. Yahweh has always existed. He has always been, Isaiah 57:15. It is very hard for us to understand that someone could have always been. We don’t know anyone or anything that has always been here. We all have a Mother and Father and some of us have sisters and brothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, aunts and uncles. Can you remember a time when your Mom or Dad was very, very young? No, you cannot, because you were not yet born so, to you, your Mom and Dad have always existed, yet you realize in your mind that they did not. However, Yahweh had no father or mother and He really was always there.

Yahweh has some secrets from us, but he tells us many things He wants us to know, Deuteronomy 29:29. "The secret things belong to Yahweh our Elohim; but the things revealed belong to us and our children forever that we may follow all the words of this law." Elohim has always been and will always be, Revelations 1:8.

What is Yahweh like? Yahweh is a Spirit (John 4:24). Angels are spirits. Yahshua is a Spirit, with special powers and gifts which Yahweh gave to Him and He sits next to Yahweh. Yahshua said no one can enter the kingdom of Yahweh unless He is born of water and the Spirit, John 3:5. We cannot see Spirit.

Now lets’ go back to the time machine and see what happened in the beginning. When we look into space now, it becomes brighter with millions of bright specks of light which are far-away. Some are many times larger than the Sun that gives us light; but because they are so far away they look smaller.

The universe is so big that we can only see part way through it. Our minds can’t even begin to realize its size, Job 22:12 and 38:4-6. In this massive universe the earth was created. Some people think that creation just happened without Yahweh doing anything, but we know better, Psalms 53:1. Yahweh didn’t make the universe just so that He could admire it. He also created many, many spirit beings, or angels, to live in it. Many of them served Him in the third heaven, the place of His throne, 2 Corinthians 12:2. We don’t know where the third heaven is, but we do know it is invisible to human eyes, just as spirit beings can’t be seen by us, John 3:8.

A long time ago there was a chief angel in heaven whose name was Satan. Yahweh made Satan ruler over the Earth, where many angels also lived. Satan was to rule over the angels of the earth by carrying out all of Yahweh’s orders and laws.

Yahweh created and owns the whole universe. He is the supreme ruler over everything.

Satan at first was subject to Yahweh. He did everything that Yahweh commanded.

There were years and years of happiness and contentment among the angels while they and Satan obeyed every one of Yahweh’s laws. Yahweh’s laws were given to make them happy. For a long time things went very well, but then Satan got a big idea and thought, “I’m king over millions of angels and I can take Yahweh’s throne in heaven too. I could become the supreme ruler of the whole universe,” Isaiah 14:12-14.

Just the thought of conquering and replacing Yahweh caused great pride and hate to grow in him. Satan roamed the earth, just going to and fro, Job 1:7.

Satan made his plan for the big take-over. He made promises to the other beings that he would make them rulers under him. He even offered it all to our Messiah, Yahshua, IF Yahshua would fall down and worship SATAN! Can you imagine our Messiah doing that? NO WAY! Yahshua told Satan to get away from Him and that He would serve Yahweh only, Luke 4:2-8.

Satan’s thinking was so distorted that his reasoning became false. He was filled with the belief that he could actually conquer his Creator. Millions of angels were willing to go along with him instead of obeying Yahweh.

The war that resulted between vast numbers of spirit beings was awful. Hydrogen bombs are puny compared to the powers of Yahweh. No human beings or even spirit beings are strong enough to de-throne Yahweh.

The powers of Yahweh were so strong that the attackers were blasted out of heaven and back down to earth, Isaiah 14:14-16.

Yahweh wasn’t done with Satan and the rebellious angels. Satan‘s sin of rebellion against the rule of Yahweh turned him into a devil. His name, "Satan," means "adversary," "accuser," or "enemy," (which he is; an "enemy" of Yahweh and us, against us), Revelations 12:9. Those angels who had followed him are known as demons.

Demons are hateful, bitter, unhappy spirit beings who live in darkness, without the light from Yahweh, and who have only a miserable, hopeless future, Jude 6.

For a time our world stayed buried in a deep blanket of gases, smoke and water. Oceans covered the whole earth. There no dry land. There was no light over the earth. Yahweh's Spirit hovered over the whole earth. We don’t know how long this condition lasted but at some time Yahweh started to prepare for a very important event in His great plan. That was the bringing of human beings into existence.

There are several other planets besides Earth around our sun and in our universe, but as far as we know, Earth is the only planet Yahweh chose to be the home of human beings patterned after His image. Even after sending spacecraft to other planets, we haven’t found anything like the life on our special home Yahweh made for us, the earth.

LESSON 1 - ACTIVITIES

Here are some questions to see how much you learned from the Lesson you just completed. You can print out this page to write your answers and do any activities that follow. Make sure you have an adult or a big brother or sister check your work! You may even get a "star" on it!

Questions

1. Can we see Yahweh?
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2. Do we know where Yahweh came from?
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3. Does Yahweh tell us everything He knows?
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4. What is a spirit?
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5. Who is Satan?
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6. Why was Satan cast down from heaven?
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7. Was Satan the only one cast out of heaven?
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8. What are demons?
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9. What happens when Yahweh's laws are broken?
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10. What was the world like before humans were created?
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COLORING

Are we EVER too old to color? Absolutely not!
Go ahead and print this out to color.

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Memory Verse

In the beginning, Elohim created
the heavens and the earth,
Genesis 1:1

HalleluYAH!