The purpose of man’s creation

Reformed Samaritanism teaches that the reason why God created man was for the latter to rule upon the small corner of the Universe where he has been planted (“… Let us make man in our image according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over the beasts, and over all the earth, and over everything that creepeth and moveth on the Earth ”- 1599 Geneva Bible).

And part of the Divine plan was to allow mankind to use his God given free will in order to get to know evil («And the Lord God said, “Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil ”…»- Genesis 3: 22).

Why did man need to know evil? So that he could experience the unavoidable pain and suffering brought about by such darkness (“ There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked …. The way of the wicked is as the darkness: they know not wherein they shall fall”- Isaiah 57: 21, Proverbs 4: 19).

And what is the final purpose of such experience? To induce mankind to realize that, although darkness and evil are part of God’s own creation, the right thing to do is to choose righteousness over wickedness. How? By renouncing to evil, striving instead to make evil and darkness disappear from our lives (“ The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, as pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way: and a mouth that speaketh lewd things … Cease from anger, and leave off wrath: fret not thyself also to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off, andthey that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the land… But the way ofthe righteous shineth as the light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day …”- Proverbs 8: 13, Psalm 37: 8-9, Proverbs 4: 18).

Thus, the very moment man experiences this reality [and is thereby induced to wholeheartedly embrace the Divine wisdom hidden behind the idea that, at the end of the day, “Goodness and Light must prevail upon evil and darkness”], in that instant man finally becomes a righteous person, and is therefore ready to receive everlasting life, as well as the divine nature that will enable him to rule upon the part of Creation appointed to him by the Creator (a separated and distinct world just for himself! ). As is written: “ The righteous shall inherit the Land, and dwell therein for ever … As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness ”- Psalm 37: 29, Psalm 17: 15 (King James Bible).

Curiously, notice that nowhere in Scripture are we ever told that the former process [where God’s creatures undergo a special moral training enabling them to become God’s representatives in ruling their specific part of the universe] started [or finished] with human beings– for all that we know, this might be an eternal process (“ … His ways are everlasting ”- Habakkuk 3: 6, King James Version).

In fact, nowhere in Scripture are we told that humans are the only sentient beings ever created. On the contrary, by mentioning the talking [Garden of Eden] snake, as well as Balaam’s talking ass, Scripture hints at the idea that God has created non-human [yet sentient] beings elsewhere in His Universe.

Thus, there’s no reason for ruling out the possibility that the formerly described process is happening on another places of the Universe; places where, instead of humans, God decided to create other forms of life (sentient lions, eagles, bulls, etc).

And whence do we get the latter? We get it from the fact that, when Scripture goes on to describe the angels “carrying God’s throne upon their shoulders” (the latter being a symbolic representation of their responsibility to uphold Gods righteous rule upon the Universe), they are described as having “many faces”– the face of a man, the face of a lion, the face of an eagle, and the face of bull. As is written: “ As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle … And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it ”- Ezekiel 1: 10, & 26 (KJV)

But how can either an eagle or a lion be portrayed as being so close to the Creator? Isn’t it true that, destined as they are to the lifestyle of predators, Torah considers them to be impure, and therefore unfit for God’s service?

The answer is that they are indeed unclean beast: but only here on earth, where they are not sentient beings, an therefore cannot make moral decisions [choosing to do good, instead of evil]. But, should they exist as sentient beings elsewhere in the Universe, they too have the opportunity to become God’s ruling representatives.

In short, God’s purpose for the existence of sentient being is for them to reach the moral height required to become God’s own representatives. And, since such process could have started with the creation of our universe [and maybe even earlier! ], we should not be surprised to find that whenever Bible describes God as doing things that seem to be “human-like” (repenting, getting angry, taking vengeance, losing His temper, etc), it isn’t really talking about the Creator [who has no human flaws nor limitations] but rather about one of the many beings already appointed to represent the ruling of the Almighty.

And whence we get God rules [and judges] by means of their appointed representatives? We get it from the verse that goes on to say: “ This matter [Nebuchadnezzar’s judgment] is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth [by means of his watchers and holy ones] in the kingdom of men…”- Daniel 4: 17, KJB

And the former might be the reason why, though Bible states no one can see God and remain alive (« And He [God] said, “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live ”»- Exodus 33: 20, KJB), we find many people [starting with Adam and Eve] beholding the Creator’s countenance. How do we explain it? By recognizing that the God witnessed by them was in fact one of God’s many appointed representatives… Yes, Scripture states Israel beheld God countenance (“Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone ”- Exodus 24: 9-10, KJB).

Did they see God? No… and Yes…. No, they didn’t see God, as God doesn’t have any physical figure, let alone human feet. But Yes, they saw God, in that they saw God’s fully approved representative; the divinely appointed “messenger”, or “angel” that had delivered them from bondage. As is written: “And when we cried unto the Lord, He heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt ”- Numbers 20: 16, KJB.