Creatures

The Main Idea of the Lecture

The lecture explains that everything other than God is considered a creature, because God alone is eternal and uncreated. Creatures include humans, angels, animals, and matter, each having a different nature and characteristics. The lecture also shows that the human being was created in the image and likeness of God, therefore he was given reason, freedom, and will, yet he is also responsible for how he uses this freedom.

Types of Creatures and Their Nature

The lecture indicates that creatures are divided into several types:

• Matter: whether solid or moving, but without soul or will, and its movement occurs according to laws established by God.
• Animals: composed of body and soul, having sensation and limited will, but their life ends with the death of the body.
• Angels: ministering spirits created by God to carry out His will, characterized by power, obedience, and speed of movement.
• Human beings: combine body, soul, and spirit, and possess reason, freedom, will, and responsibility before God.

Human Freedom and Responsibility

God created the human being free because He created him in His image, and He gave him the ability to choose between obedience and disobedience. This freedom is always connected with responsibility, since the human will be held accountable for how he uses it. Even though God knew beforehand that man would fall, He still granted him freedom out of His love.

Angels and Their Obedience to God

Angels are rational and free spirits, and they experienced a test just like humans. Some remained in righteousness, while others fell and became demons. Angels are distinguished by complete obedience to God, as they carry out His will immediately upon hearing His command without hesitation or discussion, whether it is a mission of mercy, warning, or punishment.

The Seraphim and the Cherubim

The lecture explains that the seraphim symbolize divine love burning like fire, and therefore no fall was mentioned among them. The cherubim are sometimes described as fullness of knowledge, and knowledge may lead to pride if it is not accompanied by love. For this reason, some of them fell, including Satan.

The Spiritual Life of the Human Being

The true spiritual life is based on two main things:

• The submission of the body to the spirit.
• The submission of the human spirit to the Spirit of God.

When this order is fulfilled in a person’s life, he lives in a way similar to the life of angels in obedience and purity.

The Origin and Destiny of Humanity

The human being was created from the dust of the earth, but God breathed into him the breath of life and he became a living soul. Therefore, the human being contains two elements: dust which refers to the body, and the divine breath which refers to the spirit. In the end, the body returns to dust, while the spirit returns to God who gave it.

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