The Test of Love
John 1:1-3 II Thessalonians 2:7 I John 4:8
God created all things as limited copies of some of His Infinite Ideas. A "thing" is whatever is more than nothing, including the idea of nothing which is more than nothing as an idea. God's Consciousness causes all "things" to be more than nothing. The nothingness from which all things are separated by Consciousness can only not be an absolute nothingness of which no consciousness can be conscious, including God's Consciousness. Read II Thessalonians 2:7. God's Infinite Consciousness is the source of His Infinite Ideas and is also one with His Infinite Ideas since consciousness can also be an idea to itself. God could never use His Infinite Creative Will and Power in any negative way. God could never have even thought of such a thing. God can only direct His Infinite Ideas and Creative Power to the creation of combinations that are beautiful and alive.
God gave a limited copy of the Infinite Idea of Free Will to Lucifer when He created him. God gave this gift to Lucifer with an Infinite Innocence which made it impossible for God to ever think that this gift could be misused. Lucifer misused this gift to invent false combinations of God's Ideas which indirectly indicated an absolute nothingness; that is, an idea of nothingness that hides an absolute nothingness. God only knew how to use the idea of nothing in creative combinations. Lucifer invented a method by which he could misuse the idea of nothing in a destructive way. God could know absolutely nothing about absolute nothingness since it does not exist. Thus, absolute nothingness could never limit God's Infinite Knowledge because this chaos is the opposite of knowledge. Lucifer invented false combinations of God's Ideas in an attempt to open God's Infinite Reality to the destructive effects of absolute nothingness.
Apparently, when Lucifer realized his ability to invent false combinations, the emptiness thus accessed entered into his being as a false combination called "excessive pride." Lucifer became obsessed with the idea that he could fill this emptiness with his own creations. But in order to accomplish his plan, Lucifer knew that he would have to get rid of God since God alone is the source of all creative power. For this reason, Lucifer rebelled against God and attempted to use false combinations such as "kill God" in his attempt to reduce God to an absolute nothingness so that Lucifer could replace Him. Lucifer cleverly attached other false combinations to "excessive pride" such as "excessive pleasure," in order to induce other angels to follow him. Apparently, Lucifer desired to invent his own universe filled with "excessive pleasure" and "excessive excitement." But Lucifer's "excessive pride" would not allow him to realize that his obsession was really nothing more than an addiction to self-destruction. How such an addiction could gain such a hold on Lucifer's mind when absolute nothingness holds no power since it does not exist, constitutes a mystery which not even God can understand. But God's inability to understand "the mystery of iniquity" does not limit God's Infinite Creative Knowledge in the least.
God could have completely destroyed Lucifer and his followers at the time of their rebellion and recreated them as creatures who would obey Him. Instead, God exiled Lucifer and the fallen angels to earth where Lucifer became Satan, the god of this world. God exiled Lucifer instead of destroying him because He realized that destroying him would amount to a rejection of His own gift of free will. This would seem to indicate a failure of God's creative efforts, even though God knew within Himself that His Perfect Innocence would protect Him from any such charge of failure. God also knew that a destruction and recreation of Lucifer and his followers would leave Love untested, even though God knew within Himself that His Love could pass any test. God realized that both His gift of free will and His Love must be fully tested in order to prove that His creative gifts, such as free will, has creative effects as God intended; and that His Love, which is His very Being, cannot fail. Otherwise, a hint of "doubt" could infect all of His future creations which would make future rebellions possible. God knew that He had to create a thorough test of the righteousness of both His gift of free will and His Love in order to cleanse His future creations of all "doubt" completely, and restore an absolute "faith" or "confidence" in His Love and Creative Power.
In order to make this test, God decided to create humans in His own image, give them free will, and put them into a Paradise on earth. Had humans decided to continue in their love for God and obedience to Him, and had they rejected all doubt of His Word, then God would have directly told them to eat of the tree of life and they would have gained immortality and lived in fellowship with Him forever. Should they decide to disobey God and doubt His Word by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then evil would become a part of their being giving them an obsession with sin and self-destruction which characterizes an infection with absolute nothingness. But even if they decided to disobey Him, the great Love of God would not abandon them to their lost condition, but God would come to earth at some time in the future to provide all that they and their posterity would need for their salvation if they would but simply repent of their sins and put their faith in His sacrifice for them. In this way, God would prove that His gift of free will can be rightly used to return fallen creatures to eternal fellowship with Him. God would also prove that His Love has supreme value because He would sacrifice Himself in unspeakable anguish and suffering on a cruel cross, taking man's sin upon Himself, suffering in their place to take away their sin and to restore them to eternal fellowship with Him if they would but choose to return to faith in His great Love and Power. As the Apostle Paul taught in I Corinthians 13:8: "Love never fails." God dispelled all possible "doubt" from all of His future creations by proving that His Love is the greatest possible Power. God also proved that His gift of free will can be rightly used as the means to return to full faith in the Almighty Power of His Love.
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