God’s Poetic Masterpieces in the Midst of Man’s Rebellion

Viewpoint of Mark Cadwallader, Creation Moments Board Chairman

Do you know that the logic of the creation having a Creator is quite clear and simply understood? The Bible makes the point that such clarity from creation evidence even allows us to perceive the very nature of God, leaving mankind “without excuse”!

“For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse…” (Romans 1:20).

Henry Morris points out in the commentary to his Defender’s Study Bible that the English phrase “the things that are made” is all one word, “poiema”, in the original Greek. This is the word from which we get the word “poem”. The creation is essentially a poetic masterpiece. We can certainly get that sense by marveling at a flock of birds fluttering and soaring around together, or listening to the sounds of songbirds, or watching a glorious sunset, or an aquarium of graceful and colorful tropical fish!

And the word is used only one other time in the New Testament – in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship (“poiema”), created in Christ Jesus unto good works…” Both the created world and the redeemed world are great divine “poems” written by the Creator. The redemptive work of God’s grace especially turns people into beautiful epic poems – set to music! This is essentially what the Bible says! For we can as Christians be destined for that love relationship to which the “Song of Songs” testifies. Our worship and obedience to the Lord in this life offers glimpses into a wonderful and even overwhelmingly beautiful love song!

The imagery is further magnified by the coming “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:6-9). God’s goal is intimacy with His people, His bride, reconciled to Him forever and ever! The experience of His love draws us to want to reciprocate – which can then lead to the most wonderful experiences in the exchange of divine love. As the songwriter says it:

Oh glorious love of Christ my Lord divine,
That made Him stoop to save a soul like mine.
Through all my days, and then in heav’n above
My song will silence never,
I’ll worship Him forever,
And praise Him for His glorious love.
– “Oh Glorious Love”, John W. Peterson

The Romans 1 discussion of creation is actually part of a larger discussion which includes God’s wrath “against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). The “wrath” is demonstrated as God “giving them over” or “giving them up” to their own rebellious and sinful choices, including degrading passions and all manner of sin.

And because “they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate [depraved, foolish, debased, undiscerning, corrupted] mind…” (Romans 1:28b). We certainly see this kind of insanity of mind today. How can anyone really believe that their gender can be changed?! Or how can anyone really believe that all the beauty and complexity of creation came to be by chance?!

In the end, hell is a choice which men make by their own persistent and incessant foolishness and rebellion.

The world is moving with increasing speed toward a diabolical One World Order. That is the humanist utopian vision of more and more people, many whose minds have been corrupted and submitted to the unrighteous foolishness spoken of in Romans 1. The Bible says the world will continue to go in this direction until the Lord has called out all His people in the great and ongoing harvest of souls responding to the Lord’s overtures of love and grace.

As I write this letter, hundreds of heads of state, corporate leaders and other “elites” are preparing to jet to the luxurious ski resort of Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting. In the run-up to the meeting, WEF founder Klaus Schwab announced that Communist China will likely serve as a “role model” for many countries as the global community embarks upon a “systemic transformation of the world”. They envision a “Great Reset” away from free markets to united “command and control” economies.

The Jewish historian Josephus wrote in his Antiquities of the Jews that Nimrod (a type of the Anti-Christ) was the principal one to excite the early post-flood world in their rebellion against God – attempting to create a united humanist utopia at Babel. Josephus noted in a 2000-year-old statement demonstrating that history indeed repeats itself. “Nimrod … changed the government into a tyranny, seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God but by bringing them into a constant dependence upon its power.” (Josephus: Complete Works, Vol 40)

This displacement of freedom under God by big government is also the goal of communism and the thinking of Karl Marx. He and his fellows realized that a government tyranny can be established from stirred-up grievances – the “oppressed” against the “oppressor”. A great deception is employed that power and abundance will accrue to “fix oppression” in developing a new humanist utopia.

Yet, because of man’s fundamental depravity, described in Romans 1, this never happens. Any kind of humanism is flawed because mankind is fundamentally flawed. And an elite group brings in their new, mandated “utopia” with more godless oppression and their own addiction to government power. Man “suppresses the truth in unrighteousness”. As with Nimrod and with the various forms of Marxism, godlessness must be invoked in order to properly support an all-powerful and all-wise State in the minds of the people.

But the biblical God and true Christianity stand in the way. The truth is God, Creator Almighty! The truth is the gospel! And we are to stand for and proclaim the truth, not “suppress” it. As Romans 1:16 puts it, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth…”

We have mentioned how in the “end times” the angel “having the everlasting gospel” will proclaim to “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people” a message of creation truth and the Creator (Revelation 14:6-7). Creation and redemption are bound up together. Because with an understanding of God’s “poetic masterpiece” in creation, there can follow a response to His grace for completion of another great poetic masterpiece that the Lord wants to create in and with us! A special and unique redemptive “Song of Songs”!

Won’t you help us reach out internationally, as we are now doing throughout the world, with programming and materials translated into their own languages to help people put their trust in the God of creation – Jesus Christ?