by Dennis Gladden, By Green Pastures, ©2026
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(Aug. 26, 2026) — Part 1
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.1
In the beginning, there was no fear of God. There was no need for it because all that was known of Him was good.
He was Jehovah-Jireh, God Who Provides. Everything the creation was, and needed, came from Him.
The material universe could not comprehend this, of course. Matter had no mind of its own to plumb the mind of God. He spoke and it came into being. The visible sprang from the invisible by sheer obedience.
God said, “Let…” and it was.
But the heavenly hosts were different. By Him they lived and moved and had their being. The living God endowed them with a heart—the throne of life and the seat of desire.
He gave them a mind and granted them to seek.
In no time, the hosts of heaven—angels, Seraphim, Cherubim, and untold other creatures—sketched a portrait of their Creator.
- One greater than themselves brought them into being. He went by Elohim, the name of strength and power. Mighty as the angels were, God was All Mighty. Omnipotent.
- The heavenly hosts were acquiring knowledge, but as much as they learned, Elohim knew more. He was all knowing. Omniscient.
- Wherever they went, God was there. He was before, behind, beside, above, and beyond them. He was Elohim, the Omnipresent.
- They lived because He lives. They drew their breath from the One who is life itself and gives life to whom He will. Elohim was Yahweh, the I AM.
Their sketch was filling in, but there was more to God than they knew. So much more.
The rebellion would show them.
It began with a question that niggled the chief angel, Lucifer. God commanded and the angels did His bidding. That was their duty. In this, they were no different than the dust and rocks and gases that He flung across the galaxies. They mindlessly obeyed. They existed.
Must it be this way? Must they always do as they were told? Could they not tell, and others do? Could they not be masters, too?
Lucifer chafed. Who said Elohim alone is sovereign? Could there not be another throne?
The angel conceived of a second kingdom in which he would be its ruler. It would not be authority delegated. The two would coexist.
The desire obsessed him. “I will ascend on high,” he mused. In the multitude of counselors is safety, and the angel of light consulted his peers. A third of them endorsed his scheme. The remaining angels elected loyalty to Elohim.
Lucifer approached the throne.
God stunned him.
I am the LORD, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another.2
Lucifer rejoined, “Will it not be said throughout the creation that the Almighty is afraid to share His power with those whose joy it is to serve?”
The Creator would not yield, nor did Lucifer.
Read the rest here.