Bringing an academic panel together to debate the most significant events of world history would be a fun event. Part of the fun would be listening to the disagreements run amok. Put academics together to agree upon, say, the Thanksgiving menu, and turkeys all over the world would feel safe. The second part of the fun is found in knowing they were all wrong, no matter what historical event they picked. Knowing know-it-alls don’t know everything gives us knowing folks a sense of satisfaction. Think about that.
To begin, no single greatest event exists. Instead, four greatest events exist with each one carrying substantial importance. Then, these four events combine to create one eternal-defining moment for every person who has ever lived. Obviously, if an event affects every human who ever lived, the logical conclusion is that it must be an astronomical event, unparalleled by any other event.
The first greatest event is the Creation. Not only could a teenager consumed by the latest clothing fad come to that conclusion, but even a rocket physicist could arrive at the same place. Like, duh. In order to have people, you must have Someone who can create people. In order to have significant historical events you must have people. Like, duh.
The Creator is crucial to establishing the greatest historical event as well. If we’re simply evolving organisms with no Creator, no one can arrive conclusively at a definitive event. If our evolution is fueled by chance and circumstances, no one can say any event is more significant than any other. Academics may as well debate the best lasagna recipes.
Our Creator took special care in creating us humans. In creating everything in the universe, God simply speaks those into existence. In Genesis 1, He speaks seven times and every aspect of the universe is in place with intelligent design and systematic order. God saves His masterpiece for last. That’s us, folks. Yes, we’re special, but let’s not get arrogant. Leave that to the know-it-all academics.
The physical part first: “Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7) God didn’t speak us into existence; He took the time to shape us out of the ground. It reminds us of the potter who shapes objects from the clay.
Then He breathed life into us. This is significantly different from every other living animal. He speaks the animals into existence. With His speaking, the animals are simultaneously breathing as they come into existence; otherwise, they would perish within seconds. However, with Adam, God breathes life into his nostrils. Humans and animals breathe the same air, but the human path was decidedly different because God willed it so.
Why? We don’t know the answer to that. However, we might have a clue from Genesis 1:26: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make men in Our image, according to Our likeness…” Then down to verse 27: “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
God’s thorough planning in creating Adam and Eve carries the blessing of us being in His image. It’s not that we are mini-gods running around, or we have any of the supernatural powers which God possesses. But in breathing the ‘breath of life’ into us we have eternality as God does. When we pass from this life, we enter our next life.
This fact creates the first greatest event ever. We humans are immortal. Our future life after this life will be one of two destinations—Heaven or Hell. Because we’re all sinners, we all deserve Hell. That doesn’t happen because another event happens thousands of years later which we’ll call the second of the greatest events ever.
To conclude, logically, we have to call our creation the first of the greatest events of the world if only because nothing else happens if God doesn’t create us. But something else happens, and it’s huge. Gigantic enough to be labelled the second of the four greatest events of the world.