In the Beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth, including plants, animals and man. And it was good. In fact, it was perfect. But man sinned and became a blemish on God's perfect creation.

When this happened, was God surprised? Of course not. The Lord knew it would happen. He had a Plan. We think that the Plan of Salvation is because of the sin of man, but the Plan is for the defeat of Satan, once and for all. The Lord allowed the situation to occur where Adam and Eve were tempted and sinned. This set up the defeat of Satan through the Blood of Jesus. "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (Genesis 3:15) Satan is a created being who rebelled against the Lord. This, rebellion against God, is the definition of sin.

As a result of man's sin, the Lord provided animal skins for garments for Adam and Eve. This is the first lesson; the result of sin is the shedding of blood. In order to get animal skins, an animal had to die.

Later, the Lord set up a system of sacrifices for sin. Why was it necessary to kill and sacrifice bulls, rams, heifers and lambs? The purpose of these sacrifices was to show us the Natural Law of the irredeemable shedding of blood. When an animal's blood is spilt on the ground, it is not retrievable. This shows us the value of life. When an animal's life is taken, it cannot be retrieved. This is the Natural Law. This system of animal sacrifice under the Old Testament Covenant continued for over 1400 years . . . until Jesus came.

When Jesus, part of the Trinity, the Son of God, God in the form of man, came to earth His blood was shed. Creation crucified the Son of the Creator. But by allowing this to occur, Jesus showed us that the Natural Law; the irredeemable shedding of blood; the irredeemable taking of life, could be overridden, could be overturned.

Jesus overcame Death! By doing this He showed that the Natural Law was nullified. This was God's Plan. Jesus overcame the Natural Law of irredeemable death and because of Him we have the same wonderful hope of overcoming Death. Satan wants us to die, but Jesus provides a way for us to live!

The Lord has a Plan. The Plan begins in Genesis and is completed in the Revelation where the ultimate defeat of Satan is foretold. Praise His Name that He makes His Plan available to all of us. I cannot thank Him enough.