Bible Study – Abram Sojourns in Egypt

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And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land. 11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: 12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. 13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee. Genesis 12:10-13

Several things did not happen here, which should have. As we have observed faithful Abram over the past few weeks, his faith was in evidence. Where is it now? Where is the sacrifice?

  • He decides to go to well watered Egypt (river culture similar to Ur) to wait out the famine.
  • Rather than relying on God’s promises, he fears for his life based on the desirableness of his wife.
  • He predetermines to deceive the people he is sojourning with.
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At this point, Abram and his caravan would be traveling from Beersheba to Egypt. In Scripture, Egypt represents the world (flesh). Seeking after it indicates broken fellowship with God. Rather than turning wholly unto YHWH in the test of the famine – his fear overcame him, and he attempted to anticipate the future, despite the fact that God had clearly stated that he would be blessed – in the promised land.

We will pause here, and examine Hurrian culture for a moment. It would not be unusual – for a man to be killed in order to seize his wife. Abram, passing Sarah off as his sister, would be able to stall for time to escape (during a long betrothal period) while the negotiations were taking place. During this time, Sarah would dwell safely with her “brother.” Aside from that – Sarah was without doubt – an extraordinarily beautiful woman.

These paintings are from the rock cut tomb of Khnumhotep II located between Upper and Lower Egypt at Beni Hasan, and made during the reign of Senusret II of the 12th dynasty (around 1880-1874 BC). The hair, beards, and clothing portray Semites from the area of Palestine. More than just a trading party, entire families with wives and children appear to be relocating to Egypt. They are well groomed and dressed in the colorful clothing of their heritage.

14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. 15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.

16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels. 17 And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife. 18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? 19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. 20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

Genesis 12: 14-20

The consequences of Abram’s backsliding are so far reaching, it is breathtaking in scope.

  • Backsliding always begins by failing to trust God in some area of life
  • Backsliding then progresses to “departing” from the will of God.
  • Backsliding always reaps unpleasant results.

Today – the world still reaps the “crop” sown by Abram’s backsliding. While in Egypt, he bought a young slave girl named Hagar to be Sarah’s handmaid – who became the mother of the Arabs.

The seeds of unrighteousness always reap a bitter harvest of sorrow and grief for generations to come. Seeds of righteousness reap a bountiful harvest of blessings – for generations to come.

Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. Psalm 57:1

Bible Study – Abram Called Out

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shem-family-tree

These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood: 11 And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

This family tree displays Genesis 11: 10-26

27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. 28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. 29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. 30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. 32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

haran

Genesis 11: 10-32

We have come through four great events in our study of Genesis 1-11; which took place over a period of 1,800 years.

  1. The Creation
  2. The Fall
  3. The Flood
  4. Babel

What happens in the next chapter – 12 – is pivotal. There are very few Bible characters whose lives are so extolled in the divine record as Abraham’s is. He is a wondrous example of a person who is justified by faith – not works.
1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: Genesis 12:1

Looking at the family tree above, you can see that Abram is a descendant of Shem – who is still living at over 500 years of age! Knowledge of the true God was available, through Shem, but very few people wanted it. Just like today!

abram

The people of Ur worshiped many gods, even Abram’s own father – Terah – was a pagan. In the following verses from the book of Joshua – God is telling the people the history of Israel:

2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. 3 And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. Joshua 24:2-3

[Ur had libraries complete with: dictionaries, grammars, reference works, encyclopedias, official annals, works on mathematics, astronomy, geography, religion and politics. Hammurabi, who ruled Babylonia in Abraham’s day, was a great patron of learning,]

atifact

This military standard is from the ruins of the royal tombs at Ur of the Chaldees in ancient Mesopotamia. The standard is about 4500 years old and one of the earliest representations of an ancient Sumerian army.
It has two sides, one depicting war and the other depicting peace. The excavator was the brilliant Sir Leonard Woolley, the archaeologist who uncovered the ruins of a highly advanced civilization, whose ruins can be traced before the flood of Noah. The royal standard of Ur is important in the study of Biblical archaeology, it reveals the fact that the original home of Abraham, the city of Ur really existed. Ur was an ancient city of Sumer, South Mesopotamia. The city is also known as Ur of the Chaldees. It was an important center of Sumerian culture and is identified in the Bible as the home of Abraham. [biblehistory.com]

Abram was being asked by God, to leave comfortable civilization and go out into an unknown land – strictly on faith. The faithfulness of Abram is truly incredible.

leaving-haran

 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 12:2-3

All the families of the earth are blessed through Jesus Christ – Abram’s ultimate descendant, Who is the focus and theme of the entire Bible.

4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. Genesis 12:4-5

6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

abram-journey2

This map displays Abram’s journey from Haran, where his father, Terah died, to the land of Sichem – or Shechem as you see at the end of the red trail.

The Canaanites that were in the land were the descendants of Ham’s cursed son – Canaan. Gen. 9:25

altar-at-bethel

7 And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, Who appeared unto him. 8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth–el, and pitched his tent, having Beth–el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Hebrews 11:8

Bible Study – The Tower of Babel

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The above timeline from Antioch International Christian Fellowship displays all of Genesis 10, which is essentially Noah’s family tree. “Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: And unto them were sons born after the flood.” Genesis 10:1

We will extract out one of Noah’s grandsons – “And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel. . .” Genesis 10: 8-10.

The name Nimrod means “rebel.”

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1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. Genesis 11: 1-4

The Tower of Babel has been identified with the “Tower of Jupiter Belius,” (Accadian god – Bel) in Babylon, seen and described by Herodotus, 440 B.C. It was a quarter of a mile square at the base, and at eight stories, rose 650 feet high. [There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. Gen.6:4] There is some secular writing indicating that Nimrod was of the fallen angels – a demi-god.

This was the first effort by ungodly men, under the influence of Lucifer, and the continued interaction of fallen angels, to consolidate power with a world empire.

5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let Us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. Genesis 11: 5-7

All within 100 years of the flood, the Tower is built, God descends and confuses their language, the people are scattered . . .and the earth is divided. For an in depth look at how the earth was divided after the flood go here.

tower-migration

 25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. Genesis 10:25

Peleg was undoubtedly named for this very important event – The name Peleg comes from the verb  (palag), split divide; “for in his days the earth was divided” (Genesis 10:25). Derivations are:  (peleg), channel or canal;  (pelagga), stream, division;  (pelugga), division;  (miplagga), division.

Bodie Hodge, in his book – Tower of Babel, documents the dispersal of the different people groups following the “division of tongues.”

8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Genesis 11: 8-9

Now begins the division of people groups, which is inaccurately called “races of men.” There is only one race. All human beings are the same color! The difference comes from the quantity of melanin in the individual’s skin. The people that left the Tower of Babel at this point, were of a middle brown skin color, as in India and the Middle East today, with slightly lighter and darker shades.

Initially – people of these middle brown skin colors would have moved to both Northern Europe and Africa. Exposure to sunlight results in the production of vitamin D, but at the same time, causes the destructive photolysis of folic acid. It is this loss of folic acid that greatly reduces fertility. Excessive sunlight causes skin cancer. Remember – there is no longer a protective layer of water between the earth and the sun. Full radiation is now striking the earth, and its inhabitants.

In only 3-4 generations, the lighter skinned peoples in the northern areas would have successfully reproduced themselves – and their lighter skin – because they did not need as much sunlight. Conversely- the lighter skinned peoples that moved into the hot, sunny areas of Africa would have fared miserably. Each successive generation would have reinforced these qualities – eventually losing the genetic material for middle brown skin.

Today there are over 30,000 different languages which can be grouped into nine headings. From – The Loom of Language, F. Bodmer:

  1. Indo – European
  2. Finno – Ugrian
  3. Semitic
  4. Hamitic
  5. Indo – Chinese
  6. Malayo – Polynesian
  7. Turco – Tartar
  8. Dravidian
  9. Bantu

The author also states that the Korean, Manchu, and Mongolian languages stand out against the language families, which confirms Genesis 11 – “Let Us go down, and confound their language.”

It is evident that the confusion of language slowed man down scientifically. Now – in this age – language is no longer a barrier. Now – the book of Daniel is opened. . .

Nothing has changed. The endless pursuit of power, the drive to become gods, and the lust for money has brought us full circle.

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. Daniel 12:4

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And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. Revelation 22: 10

Bible Study – Noah’s Family Tree

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Our study last week left off with the cursing of Ham’s youngest son – Canaan.  Genesis 10 is a genealogy, which is best observed in graphic form.  

Noah's family tree

One of the greatest difficulties the believer faces while in the flesh – is to be in the world – not of the world.  God sanctified Noah by removing him from the sinful world that was – before judgment – a beautiful picture of the rapture of the saints.  The believer’s sanctification requires continual rejection of the world’s temptations.  

JOHN 17:15-16

15 I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

There is a clear principal expressed in the Word of God, which indicates that the LORD wants Christians in the world as a witness – without becoming contaminated by the world and its trappings.  If the Christian loses his testimony – his ability to witness effectively will be very difficult.  These failures are infamous, and leave the church exposed to ridicule, rather than admiration. 

MATTHEW 5:13

13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

The Scriptures are chock full of examples of men so affected by the world surrounding them, that they temporarily lose their testimony through their failure.   These cases are intended to serve as an example to us of what not to do!  Sanctification (being set apart from the world and unto God’s service) is our goal once saved, and it is so important that we all, as believers,  should pursue sanctification with due diligence. We are not to continue  living our lives in the same old way.

Noah's family after flood

Noah’s family was saved (sanctified) from the Flood, but soon afterwards they fell into a variety of sins.  Noah’s family carried the wickedness of the pre-flood world into the Ark with them.  Faithful Noah got his family out of the completely evil world system, but he could not get “the world”  out of his family. 

HOW ABOUT US?  ARE WE LIVING A SANCTIFIED LIFE?  OR DO WE LIVE ONE WAY AT CHURCH – AND ANOTHER WAY AT HOME AND WORK?  ASK YOURSELF – HOW IS THE WORLD INFILTRATING MY FAMILY?  TV?  INTERNET? VIDEO GAMES? DO WE SING PRAISE TO OUR HOLY GOD ON SUNDAY – AND THEN GO HOME AND WATCH R-RATED MOVIES, OR HALF NAKED CHEERLEADERS DURING HALF-TIME? ROMANCE NOVELS?  SOAP OPERAS?HOW ABOUT THE NEW PROBLEM – COVETING OVER PINTEREST?

Sanctification occurs in the past (when we are saved) the present (occurs daily as we cleanse our lives of sins) and in the future (as we are saved from the presence of sin.) 

Our “present” sanctification should be the work of every Christian.  How?

  1. Studying the Word of God brings sanctification.  John 17:17 – Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth.
  2. Surrendering to the Lord’s Will brings sanctification.  Romans 12:1,2 – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.    And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 
old bible

Sanctification is brought about in the life of the believer by his separating himself deliberately from all that is unclean and unholy, and by presenting, continually and constantly, the members of this body as holy instruments unto God for the accomplishment of His holy purposes.  Thus by these single acts of surrender unto holiness, sanctification soon becomes the habit of life. 

William Evans

1 JOHN 2:15

 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Bible Study – The Curse of Canaan

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And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. 19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.

Modern biochemical analysis supports verse 19, in that through these three sons of Noah was the whole earth populated.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) indicates that all women have descended from a single woman, called mitochondrial Eve. This does not prove that she was the only woman alive at the time, but is consistent with it. High mutation rates indicate that this ancestor lived at about the time of the Biblical Eve as well.

[Carl Wieland, “Mitochondrial Eve and Biblical Eve are looking good: criticism of young age is premature” TJ 19(1) 2005, p. 57

This video is of Professor of mathematics, John Heffner, on the statistical evidence for the current world population.

And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: 21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. 23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.

  • This is the first alcohol that was ever made. Before the flood – fermentation was impossible.
  • John Chrysostom, a church father, writes that Noah’s behavior is defensible: as the first human to taste wine, he would not know its aftereffects: “Through ignorance and inexperience of the proper amount to drink, fell into a drunken stupor”. Wikipedia

Which brings us to verse 22. Ham seeing “the nakedness of his father.” A great deal has been written on just what that means. My preferred method is to take the Scripture literally, and not put things in that aren’t there. Also – the best way is to use Scripture, to interpret Scripture.

We will take a short excursion into Leviticus, and see the Law.

7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. 8 The nakedness of thy father’s wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father’s nakedness. Leviticus 18:7-8

Leviticus 18:8, specifically states that uncovering the father’s wife’s nakedness – is equivalent to uncovering the father’s nakedness. Back to Genesis:

24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. 25 And he said,

Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 26 And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. 27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

Why was the curse on Ham’s youngest son?

  1. The prevailing theory is that Ham simply saw his father’s nakedness. But that does not explain why the curse was on the youngest son, Canaan.
  2. Some like to postulate that Ham committed great immorality, by the act of sodomy on his father. Scripture does not support this.

Here goes my take on this – supported by Leviticus 18.

Ham committed incest with his mother – and produced the cursed son – Canaan. I’m sure many will object to that idea, but Holy Scripture completely supports it. Please fire your best shots!!

8 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29 And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

Genesis 9: 18-29

Many evil people have misappropriated Genesis 9: 26-27, to justify the enslavement of black people throughout the centuries. It is still going on today in Africa, the Middle East, and in some cases – even here.

24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needed any thing, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us: Acts 17: 24-27

Bible Study – God’s Covenant With Noah

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And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

Replenish means to completely fill; to make replete.

2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. 3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

Since creation, man’s diet has been the fruit of the ground, but now he is told to eat meat – with one exception – man was not to eat blood.

4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

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The command to abstain from ingesting blood is again given in the New Testament, when the early Christians (Jews) were attempting to put Gentile Christians under the Law, but Paul replied that the Law was death – since no man could keep it. He gave these instructions for Christian dietary Law:

29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. Acts 15: 29

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Back to Genesis –

The creation has become so altered and corrupted now, that some animals also begin to eat meat. God’s creation has now turned cruel, with an endless cycle of hunting and being hunted.

5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. 6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. 7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein. [Animals could not kill man; or man kill man -this is great emphasis on the fact that human life is sacred]

rainbow

8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 9 And I, behold, I establish My covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. 11 And I will establish My covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

For the first time since the dawn of time – man sees the rainbow. There were no rainbows before the flood, because it never rained before the flood. The symbol of the rainbow and the covenant it represents is so important – the father of lies has attempted to co-opt it with the New Age Religion.

blue-rainbow

12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15 And I will remember My covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. 17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between Me and all flesh that is upon the earth. Genesis 9: 1-17

This is God’s eternal promise to every living creature – man and beast – that the world would never be destroyed by flood again. While there is still regional and local flooding, but never again a worldwide flood.

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When the heavens were opened to Ezekiel the prophet, 593 B.C., he saw the Glory of the Lord – 26 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. 27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. 28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake. Ezekiel 1: 26-28

throne

John the beloved is taken in the spirit up to heaven – : 2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3 And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

Revelation 4:2-3

Bible Study – The Ark Rests

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And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged; 2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; 3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.

4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

floodtimeline

“It is significant that the Ark is said to have “rested,” as though it had been laboring for five months in accomplishing its work of saving its occupants from sin and corruption. This is the second mention of “rest” in Scripture, the first being when God rested after His work of creation. (Genesis 2:2,3; actually these are two different, though synonymous, Hebrew words) If the Ark is a true type of Christ, as previously intimated, this is most appropriate. As God “finished” His work of creation and as the Ark “finished” its mission, so Christ “finished” (John 19:30) His work of salvation.” -Henry Morris, The Genesis Record

[Timeline creation.net]

Before anyone gets excited, the above timeline only demonstrates the time relating to Noah and the flood – not from the beginning of Creation!! And these are days – not years!!

releasing-the-dove1

6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: 7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. 8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; 9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. 10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; 11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. 12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.

The first bird Noah released, the raven, did not return. Ravens are carrion eaters, and would have found plentiful food. The first dove would not even lite on a dead body of any kind. Which is why she returned.

on-ararat

13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. 14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.

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15 And God spake unto Noah, saying, 16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee. 17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. 18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him: 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.

sacrifice

20 And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. 22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Genesis 8: 1-22

Before Noah even built a shelter, he built an altar, and offered sacrifice. The ark represents the safety of dwelling in Christ, while the burnt offering represents Christ’s sacrificial death for our sins. Noah teaches us that God comes before everything.

Verse 22 – God promises that “while the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

The demonic concepts of “global warming” and “climate change” are yet again man’s efforts to become gods. If the Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent Lord God Almighty says that the earth will continue – it will continue.

After more than a year in the ark, Noah’s family finally stepped out on dry land! Talk about faith!

6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Hebrews 11: 6-7

Bible Study – The Flood

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And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. Genesis 7: 17-18

  • The flood came 1,656 years after Creation.
  • The flood waters came from two sources; the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened {Genesis 7: 11}
  • God shut Noah in. {Genesis 7: 16}

And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. Genesis 7: 19-20

  • The deluge from the sky – and the fountains of the deep continued until the highest hills were covered.
  • No rain had ever fallen before – Genesis 2: 5
  • Then after the highest hills were covered, the water continued 23 more feet until the mountains were covered.

The above chart from Answers in Genesis demonstrates the flood, against the objections of those who claim the flood could not have covered Mt. Everest, if the waters only rose 23 feet after covering the highest hills.

Marine fossils are also found high in the Himalayas, the world’s tallest mountain range, reaching up to 29,029 feet (8,848 m) above sea level.3 For example, fossil ammonites (coiled marine cephalopods) are found in limestone beds in the Himalayas of Nepal. All geologists agree that ocean waters must have buried these marine fossils in these limestone beds. So how did these marine limestone beds get high up in the Himalayas?

We must remember that the rock layers in the Himalayas and other mountain ranges around the globe were deposited during the Flood, well before these mountains were formed. In fact, many of these mountain ranges were pushed up by earth movements to their present high elevations at the end of the Flood. This is recorded in Psalm 104:8, where the Flood waters are described as eroding and retreating down valleys as the mountains rose at the end of the Flood.

[Dr. Andrew Snelling, Answer in Genesis]

21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. 23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

Genesis 7: 21-24

Even though the deluge from the heavens was for forty days and nights – the flood waters continued to rise for an additional 110 days until the water reached its crest.

We first read about Noah in Genesis 5, found at the end of a genealogical list beginning with Adam, following the lineage of his son Seth. Noah is our English translation of the Hebrew No’akh. In the Chinese, He is called Nuòyà. The phonetic similarity between the Hebrew and Chinese is not the result of translation, as is the case with English. Noah’s name was in use among the ancient Chinese people. They knew of this man before the Hebrew Scriptures were written.

[Noah’s Ark TV – Chinese evidence]

And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 2 Peter 2:5

Bible Study – Come Thou In

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And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation.

The Lord says “Come thou . . .into the ark;” He does not say go in – because the Spirit of the Lord Himself is already inside! Genesis 7: 1

2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. 3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. Genesis 7: 2-4

  1. v.2 – the seven clean animals are for sacrifice, first instituted by God, in the Garden of Eden. ( Gen. 3)
  2. v.3 – seven of each fowl – for the purpose of disbursing seeds after the flood (Mark 4 – seed is likened to the Word of God)
  3. v. 4 – seven more days are given to the people to repent, before the judgement.
  4. v.4 – forty in the Bible always means testing, probation or proving, and judging.
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5 And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him. 6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.

7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, 9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.

flood1

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; 14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. 15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. 16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in. Genesis 7: 5-16

The number seven is very significant to the Lord. In just these early chapters of Genesis we see these profound occurrences:

  • God rested on the seventh day of creation (Gen. 2:2)
  • God asked Adam a question in seven words, “Who told thee that thou wast naked?” (Gen. 3:11)
  • God asked Eve a question with seven words, “What is this that thou hast done?” (Gen. 3:13)
  • God’s sentence upon the serpent was in sixty-three words, 9 x 7, (Gen. 3:14-15)
  • God protected Cain’s life with a sevenfold judgment, (Gen. 4:24)

[God the Master Mathematician, Dr. Noah Hutchings, p. 82]

159 Consider how I love Thy precepts: quicken me, O Lord, according to Thy lovingkindness. 160 Thy Word is true from the beginning: and every one of Thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

Psalm 119: 159-160

Bible Study – Time for Judgement

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 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Every evil behavior that you can imagine, and probably ones you can’t – in every human being – infanticide, matricide, patricide, rape, murder, adultery, incest, treachery, cannibalism – and human sacrifice to the god – Molech. In addition – the entire human race had been corrupted by fallen angels.

Let’s review this passage from Jude, which describes the interaction between the fallen angels and mankind –

6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. 7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

pagans

strange = Strong’s #2087 – other or different. This phrase is not a reference to sodomy.

6 And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. 7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. Genesis 6: 5-7

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6: 8

shem-ham-and-japheth

9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Noah’s gene pool was not corrupted by the fallen angels.

10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

bas-relief

All flesh – not only human beings. This is just one example of Sumerian bas-relief. There are hundreds of such chimeras depicted in Sumerian, Babylonian, and Egyptian artifacts.

13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Genesis 6: 9-13

noah-builds-ark

14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

The ark was approximately 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. These are the same proportions employed in modern ocean liners and battle ships. It was divided into three decks, with compartments, and a course of windows around the top.

Gopher wood is used in this passage only, in the entire Bible. The type of wood can not be identified.  It most likely refers to the process of treating the wood, rather than the species of tree.

Dr. Henry Morris said in his Defender’s Study Bible (1995) that the ark was made of “a hard dense wood whose species has not yet been identified.” He added that the “pitch” that made it waterproof (Genesis 6:14) is the Hebrew word kopher, equivalent to kaphar, which was “frequently translated later as ‘atonement’ (Leviticus 17:11). In providing a protective covering against the waters of judgment, it thus becomes a beautiful type of Christ.”

It is interesting to note – that so many people who profess Jesus Christ, do not believe in the Genesis flood. Do they think Jesus was a liar? Here He is giving the Olivet Discourse. . .

37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Matthew 24: 37-39

Bible Study – The Wickedness of Mankind

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We left off last week, with the family tree, from Adam to Noah.  We also covered Enoch, and his translation, which portends the translation of all the saints living on earth before the next world-wide judgement.

GENESIS 5:24-32

King James Version (KJV)

24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

25 And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech.

26 And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:

27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.

28 And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:

29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.

30 And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:

31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.

32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

WE HAVE SEEN THE PROGRESSION OF SIN; FROM LYING, TO JEALOUSY, TO MURDER, AND POLYGAMY. AS WE ENTER CHAPTER SIX, MAN’S MORAL CONDITION HAS FURTHER DETERIORATED.

1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. Genesis 6: 1-2

A great many books have been written on this one passage. Let us first examine the term “sons of God.” This term is used only five times in the Old Testament. Twice in the passage we are studying here, and three times in Job. In every case, the term is accepted to mean angels. Look at this reference from Job:

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. 7 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. Job 1: 6-7

Let us continue in Genesis 6. The Lord now states that He is going to shorten man’s life span. Up until this point, people had incredibly long lives.

3 And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

egyptian-bas-relief

This Egyptian bas relief shows great physical disparity between the ruler (Ramses II) and his subjects. Ancient Greeks and Romans also held that there were gigantic Titans and mercurial gods and half human / half god offspring such as Hercules.

4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

Genesis 6: 3-4

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Josephus – the Jewish Historian “Whereby they made God to be their enemy, for many angels of God accompanied with women, and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on account of the confidence they had in their own strength; for the tradition is, That these men did what resembled the acts of those whom the Grecians call giants.” Antiquities of the Jews, p. 73

Man’s quest to become a god continues to this day. This following quote from noted trans-humanist Richard Seed, says it all. Trans-humanists believe they will accomplish it one way or another, either through selective breeding and genetic engineering, or through demonic interaction – or both. It is my belief that this is the ultimate goal behind the “extraterrestrial” saturation we are being desensitized with.

We are going to become Gods, period. . .but if you are going to interfere with me becoming a God, you’re going to have trouble. There’ll be warfare.

The New Testament explains just who those “sons of God” were –

And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Jude 1:6

Bible Study – From Adam to Noah

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The beginning of Genesis 5, is a summary of what has gone before.

1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him; 2 Male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

Adam = of man- kind [Strong’s 120]

***Note to anyone witnessing to Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses.  They often rely on the following verse to de-deify Jesus Christ and make Him a “created being.”  It is a good idea to memorize the definition of the word – Adam.  It means “of man-kind,” with kind being the operative portion of the definition.  As Christ is the last Adam – those who are born- again, under His precious Blood are of His – kind – no longer of “man-kind.”   The word Christian quite literally means – “of Christ.”  Think back to the kinds that were established at the very beginning of Creation.  This is very important doctrine!  The truly saved of Christ are a different kind than the unsaved.  Kinds can only bring forth after their own kind!

1 CORINTHIANS 15:45

 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: 4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: 5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. Genesis 5: 1-5

This chart demonstrates the family tree that is detailed in verses 6-22.

(Chart from Dark Mirrors of Heaven)

Worth picking out of the family tree – is Seth’s descendant – Enoch.

21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: 22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: 24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. Genesis 5: 21-24

And “he was not;” – What does that mean?

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. Hebrews 11: 5

translated = to transfer, transport, exchange [Strong’s # 3346]

Only Enoch and one other man – Elijah – did not experience death. This is the same experience that believers still living at the time before the Tribulation will have.

16 For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4: 16-18

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In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:52

 

If you are entranced by the esoteric “Book of Enoch,” I will state that I do not believe it to be the inspired Word of God. Anyone with good understanding of the King James Bible, upon reading the Book of Enoch would likely agree with me. For a good study on some of the obscurities I recommend this article by David J. Stewart. (though I disagree with Mr. Stewart strongly on origins!)

Bible Study – After the First Murder

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Last week, we studied the fruit of Adam’s sin, passed down to his son, Cain.  It emerged in the form of envy, which manifested itself in violent fratricide.

  1. God takes away Cain’s ability to grow things from the ground – something he had been very proud of.
  2. God drives Cain away from his family to live as a wanderer, always on the move, with no secure dwelling place, and no inner peace.

Cain’s attitude is alive and well in those that are of the “wicked one.”  They feel no responsibility for the safety and well-being of others, nor for posterity.

Cain’s guilt made him fear – for himself – fearful that he would be killed, because he himself was a killer.  Considering that this event took place when Cain was around 129 years old – logically there would have been thousands of people by this time – with no disease.

Our merciful God set a mark on Cain, to protect him.  I will state right here – that the mark of Cain – was not black skin.  It was a mark of protection.  And it belonged to Cain alone – not only that – all of Cain’s descendants were killed in the flood.

ROMANS 2:15

King James Version (KJV)

15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. . .

16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. Genesis 4:16

  1. No one knows where the land of Nod was. Cain was the settler of Nod.
  2. When Moses was recording this he used a literary technique called “prolepsis” (the assignment of something, such as an event or name, to a time that precedes it). [ ie: When my husband was three years old, he had a toy machine gun. At the age of three – he was not my husband.]

17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. 18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech. Genesis 4: 17-18

  1. Cain did not find his wife in the Land of Nod. He already had a wife.
  2. Cain’s wife was his sister, daughter, of Adam and Eve.
  3. This begins the ungodly line of Cain.

19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. 21 And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. 22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubal–cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal–cain was Naamah. Genesis 4: 19-22

  1. Here is recorded the progression from one sin to another. v. 19 – Cain’s descendant Lamech, begins the practice of polygamy.
  2. v. 22: Primitive inscriptions reveal that Babylon has never been without the use of metals.
  3. v. 21: While Adam was yet living – his descendants invented musical instruments.

23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. 24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. Genesis 4: 23-24

  1. By the fourth generation there is a second murder
  2. Lamech boasts about killing a boy who struck him. And further boasts that if anyone tries to avenge this boy – the Lord will avenge him (Lamech) 77 times.
  3. This is a boastful presumption – that anyone could kill without fearing revenge.

25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. 26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord. Genesis 4: 25-26

  1. Adam still only has one wife
  2. Eve rejoices , as she says Seth is to replace the godly Abel.
  3. This begins the godly line of Seth.
  4. There is a spiritual revival.

_____________________________________________

Throughout the Bible, the two lines are demonstrated – the godly and the ungodly. First, the conflict between Cain and Able, and in this segment, the ungodly line of Cain, and the godly line of Seth. Although Satan had won a temporary victory when Cain killed Abel, the godly line was restored through Seth.
This enmity continues today. . .in the political arena, mainstream media, and Hollywood – abortion, evolution, perversion, and socialism are accepted, glorified and promoted; while true conservative Christians values and Biblical principles are mocked and denigrated.

Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Matthew 7: 13-14

Bible Study – Cain and Abel

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Let’s summarize what has happened to Adam and Eve since taking the fruit. and being cast out of the Garden of Eden.

  • Paradise was lost
  • Childbirth would be painful
  • Perfect equality ended
  • Work became wearying and tiresome
  • Tree of Life is denied
  • Lost fellowship with God

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. Genesis 4: 1-2

Because the ground is under a curse, Cain and Abel share in the work. The ordinance of sacrifice preceded Moses and the Law. It began when God killed the animal to cover Adam and Eve’s sin.

And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering. Genesis 4: 3-4

It was not easy for Abel to sacrifice one of his lambs. But through the atonement of the innocent lamb, Abel’s sins were forgiven, and he was able to have communion with God.

Cain is pleased with what he has grown, and decides within himself, to bring what he wants to offer, having full knowledge that God required a sacrifice.

But unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Cain rejects God’s way, and chooses his own way. God did not favor Able above Cain, the sin-offering of Abel was the difference. Instead of accepting God’s requirements, Cain becomes angry with God – and then directs this anger towards his brother.

And Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Able his brother, and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? Genesis 4: 8-9

CAN YOU HEAR THE SNEER IN CAIN’S QUESTION – AM I MY BROTHER’S KEEPER?

And He said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto Me from the ground. And now thou art cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. Genesis 4: 10-12

 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from Thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass that every one that findeth me shall slay me. And the Lord said unto him,  Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold, And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. Genesis 4: 13-15

This is the first murder, indeed, the first human death since the beginning. Cain was more concerned about his own punishment, than repentance and making things right with God. He expressed no grief over the murder of Abel. Does he worry about his parents? No. He only worries about himself.

Two significant things happened to Cain. God took away his ability to grow things – something he had been very proud of before. Additionally, God sent him away from his family, to become a vagabond and fugitive. Cain – belonging to the evil one – tried to take away God’s only method for man to reconcile with Him. The New Testament tells us exactly why Cain killed his brother.

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10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. 11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. 1 John 3: 10-12

THIS TRAGEDY DEMONSTRATES THE ENMITY OF THOSE THAT FOLLOW SATAN TOWARDS THOSE THAT FOLLOW GOD – THE WICKED ALWAYS HATE THE RIGHTEOUS.

The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. Psalm 37: 12

The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. Psalm 37:32

Bible Study – Leaving the Garden

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And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life; Genesis 3: 14

Later Scripture reveals, that Satan was speaking through the serpent. Throughout history, it has been maintained that the serpent was very beautiful, and likely stood upright.

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. II Corinthians 11:3

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. II Corinthians 11:14

This is the pivotal verse of the entire Book of Genesis:

and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; it shalt bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel, Genesis 3: 15

THERE HAS BEEN ONLY ONE DESCENDANT OF EVE, (SEED OF A WOMAN) NOT BEGOTTEN OF A MAN. JESUS CHRIST COULD BE BORN SINLESS, BECAUSE HE DID NOT INHERIT THE SIN- NATURE THROUGH A HUMAN FATHER.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Romans 5: 12

SIN IS PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE FATHER – NOT THE MOTHER – BECAUSE EVE WAS DECEIVED – ADAM WAS NOT

Unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast harkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. Genesis 3: 16-20

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. Genesis 3: 21

This image from the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, shows a horribly grief-stricken Adam and Eve. One can only imagine how they must have loved all of the animals. Their attempt to cover their sin with fig leaves was not accepted by God.

The covering for sin can not be woven with human hands [Gen. 3:7]. Before Adam and Eve’s very eyes, God took one of the innocent animals they loved (probably a lamb) and slew the animal as the ground soaked up its blood.

God, by His own hand, began what is know as “The Scarlet Thread of Redemption.” The story of atonement and sacrifice continues to unfold throughout the Word of God until Jesus, the Lamb of God makes the Atonement.

And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of Us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also the tree of life, and eat, and live forever; Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed at the end of the garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. Genesis 3: 22-24

[See Ezekiel 1, here, for a detailed description of “cherubim.” Not chubby, cute little cupids!!! ]

Bible Study – Hiding from God

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And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. Genesis 3: 8

The word amongst indicates that they were moving, in an evasive way, to hide from the Lord.

And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? Genesis 3: 9

Of course, God already knew what they had done, and their guilt caused them to hide. Man’s conscious never brings him to God – only the Holy Spirit can do that. Now Adam and Eve are fearful of judgement. The Lord knew where they were physically – He is asking them where they are spiritually. They are now spiritually dead.

THE CONSCIOUS CANNOT BE OF MAN’S MAKING. HE WOULD NOT VOLUNTARILY HAVE SET UP AN ACCUSER, A JUDGE, A TORMENTOR, IN HIS OWN BREAST. {ARTHUR W. PINK, GLEANINGS IN GENESIS}

And he said, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. Genesis 3: 10-13

  • Instead of confession – indirectly Adam blames Eve, but actually he places the entirety of the blame on God!   “The woman Thou gavest to be with me.”
  • Instead of confession – Eve blames the serpent
fig-leaves

Nothing man can do – will cover his sin. Figs leaves could not cover Adam and Eve’s sin – nor can good deeds erase bad ones. The fig leaf represents man’s own best effort to cover sin.

Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 1 Timothy 2:14

We do not know why Adam knowingly took the fruit. All of Adam’s descendants are now born with a sinful, fallen nature. No one needs to teach a child to do wrong. Doing wrong is the natural behavior born into every human being.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Romans 5: 12

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam, all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15: 21-22

Bible Study – The Fall of Man

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Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.

And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good from evil.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. Genesis 3: 1-7

Do not think of the serpent as a repellent snake. The serpent could very well have been Adam and Eve’s favorite animal. Which is why Satan took the serpent as his disguise – and was there in the garden from the beginning. His whole plan was to sow seeds of doubt. This is also the reason he approached Eve, rather than Adam. The Bible states that women are the “weaker vessel.” – 1 Peter 3:7.

Satan used a three-pronged attack on Eve’s will:

  • lust of the flesh – “the tree was good for food.“
  • lust of the eyes – “it was pleasant to the eyes.”
  • pride of life – “ye shall be as gods“; “and a tree desired to make one wise.”

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” 1 John 2: 16

EVE IS DECEIVED – ADAM IS NOT. . .BUT THEY BOTH SINNED.

“Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” 1 Timothy 2:14

What happened when Adam and Eve took the fruit?

THEY BECAME SELF-CONSCIOUS, RATHER THAN GOD-CONSCIOUS.

“What the man and woman immediately acquired was the now predominant trait of self-consciousness. God-consciousness has been lost, and henceforth self-contemplation is to be the characteristic and bane of mankind, laying the foundation for those inner feelings for mental states comprehended under the term unhappiness, and for all the external strivings whereby effort is made to attain a better condition. “ John M. Gray, Christian Worker’s Commentary on the Bible

“Instead of seeking God and openly confessing their guilt, they attempted to conceal it both from Him and from themselves. Such has ever been the way of natural man.” Arthur W. Pink, Gleanings in Genesis

It is still the plan of Satan to cast doubt on God’s Word. In seminaries, Sunday school classes, and Christian Colleges – the Word of God is questioned, critiqued, twisted, and even mocked. From the very beginning – it has been Satan’s method to lie, contradict, or cast doubt on the infallible, inspired, Word of God.

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Yea, hath God said?

For ever,

O Lord, Thy Word is settled in heaven.

Psalm 119: 89

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Bible Study – The First Marriage

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 As stated last week, the details given in chapter 2 are details – not a separate event!  

GENESIS 2:15-17

15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

tree of knowledge

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Genesis 2: 18 Everything that God had made up until this point, was good. But in Genesis 2:18 – He states that it is not good.  Help “meet” describes a helper for Adam that is suitable to him, and only him.

GENESIS 2:19-20

19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

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20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Genesis 2: 21-24

Different in creation from Adam, who was an original creation – Eve was taken from Adam’s side. Adam recognized Eve to be his equal – “bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh.” She was not superior or inferior to Adam – she was his completer. Eve was not taken out of Adam’s foot – to be walked all over. And Eve was not taken from his head – to be lorded over.  Also important to note – animals pairs were not fashioned this way.  This incredible fact  signifies the bond between Christ and His Bride – the church.

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Genesis 2:25

They were physically naked, but did not feel shame, no more than the animals did. They were still clothed with the Righteousness of God and were perfect in His sight, as well as their own. Even though Adam did not have a father and mother after the flesh – he was still given the law of marriage –

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

Because God instituted marriage – it is Holy Matrimony. “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled.” Hebrews 13:4

Our Blessed Savior gave great authentication to the sanctity of marriage.

6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. 7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; 8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. Mark 10: 6-9

4 And He answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. Matthew 19: 4-6

There are three purposes to God’s design for Holy Matrimony.

  • To propagate the human race “Be fruitful and multiply,” Genesis 1:28
  • To provide a pure way to fulfill the sexual drive instilled in man by God, for the purpose of  bearing fruit “Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.” 1 Corinthians 7: 2
  • To demonstrate and foreshadow the relationship between Christ and the Church.

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

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Revelation 19: 7-9

Jesus describes this event through a wonderful parable. . .

1 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7 But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

Matthew 22: 2-14

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Bible Study – The Garden of Eden – Part 1

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The narrative is continued – giving more detail. . .

GENESIS 2:4-7

4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Many “higher critics,” have critiqued this passage, claiming that it is another story entirely.  Some cultists go so far as to insert a different creation, and that God made it “over again.”  Some have managed to discover that Adam even had a “first wife,” known in the occult world (Talmudic Judaism) as – LILITH.  Rabbis think there are two conflicting creation accounts. 

The fact is, that in many reference books, there is an introduction, or outline, and then the story is expanded on.  The details given in the second chapter, are just that – details.  This style of writing is especially prevalent in Oriental literature. 

And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom He formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2: 8-9

And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

The name of the first is Pison; that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havileh, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; and there is bdellium and onyx stone. And the name of the second river as Gihon; the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel; that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. Genesis 2: 10-14

Can it be determined where the original Garden of Eden was located? Not exactly. If it is understood that the original Creation was one giant land mass – we must keep in mind that things were greatly shifted about during the years following the flood. But – there must have been good reason for the Lord to give Moses such specifics as to its location. Detailed geographic descriptions like this are not given anywhere else in the Bible. Here is a map showing one possible location using the exact rivers named in Genesis, and taking into account land mass changes that have been recorded in ancient literature.

This is only one possible location – but it is interesting that geologists have determined that the Persian Gulf was once a dry river bed. Try to visualize the Middle East and Africa being even closer than they are – and you can understand how the second river – Gihon could compass Ethiopia. One scholar suggests that Gihon is the Nile, and that Gihon is a linguistic derivation of Giza. All of this makes Eden a much larger area than people usually conceive of in their minds.

One thing from the Garden of Eden will be found in the future –

1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

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2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him:

4 And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads.

5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Revelation 22: 1-5

Amen and amen.

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Bible Study – The Seventh Day

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Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made. Genesis 2: 1-3

God did not rest on the seventh day from weariness, but because His creative work was complete and well done. The seven day week was established from the very beginning – approximately 2,500 years before the Ten Commandments were given.

Many Bible scholars have attempted to correlate the days of Creation with 1,000 year “days.” In this way, they believe that the Millennium, or thousand year reign of Christ on earth can be predicted. This is entirely possible, and in that case, we can not expect The Second Coming for a good long time, as it is the year 5775 on the Jewish calendar. But The Lord said in Matthew 25:13

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

What then – does the Sabbath mean to Christians? Is Sunday the Sabbath? Not exactly. For observant Jews, the Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday night. Jesus Christ is our Sabbath Rest now. The first day of the week is not the sabbath – so why does the church gather on Sunday? Because Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday, the first day of the week.

The change from Saturday to Sunday is prophetically demonstrated in the Old Testament. From the beginning of Creation – the start of the year was in the fall. But beginning with the Passover – it was moved to spring.

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

Exodus 12: 1-3

This change foreshadows the change from Judaism, to Christianity; from the Law, to Grace. The Passover was the new beginning – and Jesus is our Passover Lamb. (Rev. 5: 12) From Dr. Grady S. McMurtry, Feasts of the Old Testament, p. 55:

  1. The Jew worked six days to earn a day of rest, while the Christian rests one day to go out and work the last six.
  2. We start with the rest given to us by Christ’s death and resurrection and we are now working in the harvest fields as He commanded.
  3. We shall not rest again until His second coming.

The Jewish day begins at sunset – or in “darkness,” and then ends in light. Christians begin in the light of Jesus, and “proclaim Him in and to the darkness of this present time.” ibid p.55

After each day of Creation, God finishes by saying – “And the evening and the morning were. . the first day, second day, third day, fourth day, fifth day, and sixth day.” The evening is first – because everyone starts in spiritual darkness.

ANYONE WHO IS UNDER THE BLOOD OF CHRIST, AND CLAIMS THEY ARE “KEEPING THE SABBATH,” IS DISMISSING THE FINISHED WORK OF OUR SAVIOR.  AN ENTIRE CULT IS BASED ON THIS FALSE  DOCTRINE, KNOWN AS THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS.  MORMONS, JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES, ROMAN CATHOLICS  AND MOST PROTESTANTS CLAIM THAT THE LORD MOVED THE SABBATH TO SUNDAY.  ANOTHER  POPULAR MOVEMENT IS CATEGORIZED AS “HEBREW ROOTS,” OR “JEWISH ROOTS.”  IT IS WORKS BASED – AND PRIDEFUL. 

For Thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness. 2 Samuel 22:29

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Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matthew 11: 29

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Creation Week – Day 6 – Part 2

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“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29: 11

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Does this look familiar? It is still being presented in children’s textbooks – despite the fact that ALL of the ancestral forms have been proven fraudulent. All of them.

Piltdown Man was “discovered” in 1912, and kept in textbooks until as late as 1967, even though it was proven to be a hoax in 1953. It consisted of the lower jaw bone of an ape, combined with a fully formed human skull, having teeth filed down, and stained to give the appearance of age. This was the “hopeful monster” presented to school children for 70 years.

Nebraska Man was formed from a single tooth in 1922. Henry Fairfield Osborn, of the American Museum of Natural History .

Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon Man was not primitive, had larger skull capacity than modern man has, made and played musical instruments, and buried their dead.

Peking Man apparently disappeared in China, with not a single bone preserved. Interestingly, one of the Peking Man “discoverers” was Teilhard De Chardin, implicated in the Piltdown hoax. Hmmm.

Java Man consists of a skull-cap and femur, which the discoverer, Dr. Eugene Dubois, later recanted  and assigned the skull cap to a giant ape.

Heidelberg Man entire fossil consists of a lower jaw with teeth, plus a great deal of imagination.

Lucy has all the fossil bones of an extinct pygmy chimp, with the exception of the knee joint – which discoverer Donald Johanson admits was found over a mile away from the rest of the bones. ???

H.P. Yockey stated, “The current accepted … (evolutionist origin of life) … scenarios are untenable and the solution to the problem will not be found by continuing to flagellate these conclusions” (H. Yockey, 1992, Information theory and molecular biology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, GB. P. 289).

Nancy Touchette sums the current status of abiogenesis saying,  “So far, none of the current theories have been substantiated or proven by experiment, and no consensus exists about which, if any, of these theories is correct. Solving the mystery may indeed take longer than the origin of life itself” (Nancy Touchette. 1993. Evolutions: Origin of Life. J of NIH Research 5:95).

A Reader’s Digest book – The Last Two Million Years , p. 12, is the typical story being presented to the public:

In Darwin’s time, there was little evidence to support his theory; but since then a whole chain of ‘missing links’ has been established by study of fossil bones at prehistoric sites.

Where is the “whole chain of missing links”? Where? Dates of 40 million years are tossed about without the least concern for proving anything scientifically.

“The chance that higher life forms might have emerged in this way is comparable with the chance that ‘a tornado sweeping through a junk yard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the materials therein’.”

Sir Fred Hoyle (English astronomer, Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge University), as quoted in “Hoyle on Evolution”. Nature, vol. 294, 12 Nov. 1981, p. 105

The purveyors of human evolution have this goal in mind – to disprove the God of the Bible, and the Genesis account of creation. It is the work of Satan. . .

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26 And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1: 26-28

Who is the “Our” in the above Scripture?  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 

Just a few quick facts relating to six, the number of man:

There are approximately six quarts of blood in the human body.

That blood travels approximately 12,000 miles ( 2,000 x 6) in one day.

The average lung weighs about six hundred grams, and has capacity of six liters.

There are six hundred muscles in the human body.

There are six senses – seeing, hearing, smelling. tasting, touching, and equilibrium.

There are six primary systems in the body – skeletal, circulatory, muscular, nervous, digestive, and reproductive.

There are six major members – head, torso, arms, and legs. (The Quest for Truth, Michael Dedivionai, p. 88)

Man is the crown jewel of God’s creation. Out of all creation, only man has language, reasoning, and logic. Only man can appreciate beauty, and only man was created to have a relationship with his Creator. Man is not just a little above the apes – man was made in the image of God.   

I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Psalm 139: 14

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Creation Week – Day 6 – Part 1

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“The Cambrian Explosion occurred in a geological moment, and we have reason to think that all major anatomical designs may have made their evolutionary appearance at that time. …not only the phylum Chordata itself, but also all its major divisions, arose within the Cambrian Explosion. So much for chordate uniqueness… Contrary to Darwin’s expectation that new data would reveal gradualistic continuity with slow and steady expansion, all major discoveries of the past century have only heightened the massiveness and geological abruptness of this formative event…” (Gould, Stephen J., Nature, vol. 377, October 1995, p.682.) “

“And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1: 24-25

The word kind is used five times in the above passage. It is translated from the Hebrew word miyn (pronounced meen) = to portion out; a sort; i.e. species. All fossils and life forms exhibit attributes that are fully functional. There is not one, not one, example of a transitional form anywhere – living – or in the fossil record.

The missing links are still missing. The current evolutionary theories include “gradualistic evolution,” “punctuated equilibrium,” and “panspermia.” The true believers of each of these beliefs have yet to provide any evidence.

When speaking of evolution – there are two viewpoints to consider. Macro-evolution requires the development of one kind or genus of animal, into another completely different kind. Case in point – the idea that reptiles evolved into birds. Scales into feathers, teeth into beaks, solid bones into hollow ones – and last but not least – front legs into wings!!

But the other view point – that of micro-evolution, is evidenced in every life form on earth today. Micro-evolution is the variation within specie, providing for distinct and separate qualities. This is natural selection – and it has never been documented to provide new genetic material. It demonstrates the loss of genetic material.

dogs

The most obvious example we can use here – is the astonishing variety of dog breeds, which have been artificially selected, as opposed to natural selection – but the same principle applies.

No other genus in the world has as much variation as the dog “kind.” Our loving Creator has used man’s best friend, to teach us a truth that can be so plainly seen by anyone.  A toy poodle will never turn into, or give birth to an African wild dog – yet they are both 100% dog kind.  The small poodle has had the ability to breed a wild dog – “selected out” of its gene pool.  The same goes for “Darwin’s finches.”  Variations in bill size and feather striation is due to micro evolution – they are all still 100% finch.   My husband has curly hair, mine is straight.  Two of our children have my hair, one has a combination – yet they are obviously our progeny.  Should the straight haired ones marry another straight haired person, their chance of producing a curly haired child would be 1 out of four.  If that same scenario plays out for 2-3 more generations, the gene for curly hair will be lost.  Natural selection does not produce new genetic material, but rather the loss of genetic material.

“All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.” 1 Corinthians 15: 39

sage

Creation Week – Day 5

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“The probability of life originating from accident is comparable to the probability of the unabridged dictionary resulting from an explosion in a printing shop.” (Dr. Edwin Conkin, biologist, Princeton University)

“And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creatures that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  And God blessed them, saying Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. Genesis 1:20-23

Let’s examine a few of the incredible creatures created on the fifth day. This is a nudibranch, an animal with an unusual diet. Its primary food is sea anemones – which are covered with stinging cells, that usually explode at the slightest touch.

The nudibranch tears the anemones apart and swallows the stingers without exploding a single cell – but- they are not digested!! There are tiny tubes linking the nudibranch’s stomach to the waving spurs on its back. The stinging cells move from the stomach, through the tubes to the tips of the spurs. It can shoot them at anything that attacks. Logic question – How could this ability have been acquired gradually? All the animals would have been killed before “passing down” the mechanisms to make this stolen defense possible.

hummingbird

Truly a miracle of design, the hummingbird surpasses almost everything in the sky. The hummer is the only bird that can fly backwards, sideways, and hover. Their wings beat 80 strokes per second, their heart beats 1,000 times a minute. Here is the evolutionary conundrum – the hummer has no rods in its retina for night vision. What to do? Sleep, of course. But the hummer doesn’t sleep at night. It hibernates every single night, except when the female is nesting. It is true hibernation – with the body temperature dropping to conserve energy.

Even the most advanced military helicopters cannot match the hummingbird’s complex flight formation – which originates from the hummer’s shoulder. Question – how did the hummer’s beak, tongue, and wings develop simultaneously, without the birds starving to death first? In over 300 different species of hummer – at the same time?

THE VERY SIZE OF HUMMINGBIRDS MAKES THEIR SURVIVAL AN EVEN BIGGER ADVENTURE. HUMMINGBIRDS MUST EAT MORE THAN THEIR WEIGHT IN FOOD EACH DAY, AND THEY FULFILL THIS NEED BY EATING OFTEN. BECAUSE THEIR SURVIVAL DEPENDS CRITICALLY ON EATING FREQUENTLY MORE THAN ANY OTHER ANIMAL – THEY CONTINUALLY FACE THE DANGER OF STARVING. (HUMMINGBIRDS.NET)

Impossible. How could the hummer evolve its wings, tongue, and bill, (all at the same time) which are necessary to eat – while taking millions of years to form – if it has to eat its weight every day?

We have all been victims of science classes, where artist’s conceptions have been presented in the form of : 1. the geologic column (which exists nowhere in the world) 2. Haeckel’s Embryos (proven fraudulent) and 3. whatever hopeful monster your particular generation is presented with. Likely you were also taught that coral reefs took millions of years to develop.

“Little has been discovered of the growth rate of reefs by direct measurement. Shuiter found that a new reef established in Krakatoa after the eruption of 1883 had grown to a thickness of 20cm, in five years, or 4cm per year. Other investigators have estimated reef growth at 0.1 to 5 cm per year.” (Juenen,P.H. Marine Geology, p. 421)

As evolutionary theory slides further and further down the slippery slope – a new crop of “thinkers,” has cropped up. Those, like Richard Dawkins, who believe that the earth was “seeded” by intelligent life from somewhere else in the universe. Knowing now, that even a leaf is too complicated to have evolved , they find that hopeless idea more palatable than the truth.

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:11

sage

Creation Week – Day 4

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For centuries the understanding of the first day of creation has caused mass confusion. In my first post in this series, I demonstrated that the “light,” created by God that first day was the electromagnetic field – not the sun. As we follow along chronologically, the second day the waters were divided and the firmament installed, the third day the seas and land were separated and vegetation appeared. And here is where day-age theorists run into trouble.

If the plants were created on the third day – how did they photosynthesize for 1,000 years or more until the sun was created on the fourth “day?”

“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years; And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; He made the stars also.

And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; And God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the first day. Genesis 1:13-19

Just some quick facts for evolutionists to ponder. If the planets and their 72 known moons evolved from the same materials – should they not share similar characteristics?

  1. All planets should spin in the same direction, but Venus, Uranus, and Pluto spin backwards.
  2. All 72 moons in our solar system should orbit their planets in the same fashion, but 8 are known to orbit backwards.
  3. The orbits of these 72 moons should lie in the equatorial plane of the planet they are orbiting, but there are many that have inclined orbits, including our own moon.
  4. Our sun is about 98% hydrogen or helium. If Big Bang and planetary evolution are true – the closest planets to the Sun, Earth, Mars, Venus, and Mercury should share the same composition, but they don’t. The four closest planets to the Sun are less than 1% helium or hydrogen.

More from the Bible – “As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David My servant, and the Levites that minister unto Me.” Jeremiah 33:22 This was written at a time when only 5,000 stars were visible to the human eye. Since the invention of the telescope in the 17th century, today astronomers estimate there are at least ten thousand billion trillion stars.

God knows how many stars there are – “He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names.” Psalm 147:4

Until the 16th century, geocentricity was the widely held belief, but 3,000 years ago it was written in the Word that. . .

4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. 6 His (the sun’s) going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit ( the sun’s) unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. Psalm 19:4-6

Each star is unique –

There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory. 1 Corinthians 15:41

sage

Creation Week – Day 3

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“Let the waters under the heaven be gathered unto one place. God called the dry land Earth and the gathering together of the waters called He seas.” Genesis 1: 9-10

For 50 years, scientist Alfred Wegener was ridiculed for proposing the idea of continental drift. Today, due to great advances in submersible technology – the ocean floor proves that the landmasses have been ripped apart. It is now generally acknowledged by evolutionists – that at some point – (in their view 200,000,000 years ago) the continents were in one huge land mass known as Pangaea.

jungle

“And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.” Genesis 1: 11-13

black walnut leaf

Here is a black walnut leaf under electron microscope – a structure so complex, that if just one leaf appeared through evolution, it would be a mind boggling, impossible statistic.

There are over 20 different kinds of amino acids that are the foundation of all proteins – the building blocks of life – plant, animal, and man.

These amino acids are linked, end to end to form a single structure called a macromolecule. Just one living cell holds over 30,000 proteins in different configurations. The 500 amino acids that are in an average protein can be arranged in 1 x 10 to the 600th power.

The simplest form of life, bacteria, consists of over 600 varying protein molecules. The probability that just one, of the 600 molecules could form by chance is – 10 to the 527th power.

primary protein structure

And the author of the phrase “big bang,” Professor Sir Fred Hoyle stated –

“Precious little in the way of biochemical evolution could have happened on the earth. If one counts the number of trial assemblies of amino acids that are needed to give rise to the enzymes, the probability of their discovery by random shufflings turn out be ‘less’ than 1 in 10 to the 40,000th power.”

[that’s the number 1 followed by forty thousand zeros]

( The Quest for Truth, Michael Dedivonai, p. 6)

“The sea is His, and He made it; and His hands formed the dry land.” Psalm 95: 4

sage

Creation Week – Day 2

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Water, water everywhere. And quite a bit of it is drinkable. It is necessary for life, for even the most simple bacteria require water molecules within their Periplasmic space to function.  Something to consider also – just as nothing living can survive without water, so nothing Spiritual can survive without Living Water.  Water can exist in three states simultaneously, solid, liquid, gas, and Living Water exists in Three states simultaneously, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. Genesis 1: 6-8

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What is the firmament? Mentioned five times in this passage – it should not be overlooked. If we think about modern insulated windows, which trap inert gases, such as Argon, between the panes, it should not be too hard to understand.

Air in cavity between glass panes of insulated glass is usually dried by desiccant filled inside space bars prior to sealing. As insulated glass technology develops, Instead of air, dry nitrogen is used to further improve thermal conductivity. Nowadays, less conductive and slower-moving inert gases such as argon and krypton are extensively used instead. Inert gas moves or transfers hot or cold through the space at a much slower rate than air. These inert gases provide optimum insulation performances. They further reduce heat and sound transfer from one side of the double glazed unit to the other. http://xinology.com:888/Glass-Processing-Equipments-Supplies-Consumables/glass-insulating/inert-gas-filling-system/introduction.html

It is known that Venus and Saturn’s moon – Titus, both have dense canopies. Various scientists have made postulations worthy of considering in the light of Scripture. It won’t serve to detail them all here, but they all share one common theme. At a point in earth’s history – there was a dense layer of water surrounding the earth – nothing like the atmosphere we have now – but something like what we see in modern window and greenhouse applications. This firmament, with billions and billions of tons of water,  trapped between the layers, would have made the earth’s entire climate much like a tropical greenhouse, with consistent temperature globally.

Besides the obvious benefit of consistent warm temperature, there are some other things to ponder about God’s “very good” creation. Just these few qualities would be a boon to all life:

  1. increased air pressure
  2. stronger magnetic field
  3. slightly higher carbon dioxide and oxygen
  4. warmer soil
  5. warmer water

And the results of these ideal conditions?

  1. longer life spans
  2. minimal disease
  3. increased stamina
  4. gigantic plant and animal specimens of some plant and animal species that continue to grow for their entire life span

A patient receives treatment in a state-of-the-art Sechrist Monoplace
Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber

Used to treat burn, stroke, MS, cerebral palsy. . .

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But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4: 14

For an in depth and scholarly study of the term – firmament – or in the Hebrew – raqia  – see here. 

sage

Creation Week – Day 1

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16 For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him:

17 And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. Colossians 1: 16-17

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said Let there be light and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. Genesis 1: 1-5

The Book of Genesis contains the Creative acts of God. In the Hebrew, the word create – is bara, which means – to make out of nothing. Bara is used three times in the first chapter of Genesis. The light that God created in verses 1-5 was not sunlight, but rather – it was energy. As advanced as our scientists are – they have only scratched the surface of understanding light – and its power. Interacting electric and magnetic fields, quantum mechanics – there are countless new things to be discovered about light energy. In the past few years, researchers have been amazed to discover, that pigeons have their own GPS abilities, due to neurons which encode the direction and intensity of earth’s magnetic field.  Read more here. 

Why does the first day begin with night? Because God began with nothing, and silence. In the Hebrew, the word day – is Yahm. Unless there is a different use specified in the text – Yahm always signifies a literal day.

Some Bible students decide to force the Bible to say what makes them comfortable. Making claims for day-age theories, the literal days turn into thousands, even millions of years.

Dr. Thomas Barnes discovered that the electromagnetic field of the earth is decreasing exponentially – losing 1/2 its energy every 1,400 years. Calculated backwards, 2,800 years ago, the field was four times stronger than it is now. Going back just ten thousand years, the electromagnetic field of the earth would have been, so powerful , life would not be able to exist.

Going back 15,000 years [ a drop in the evolutionary bucket] the magnetic field would be the strength of a magnetic star.

The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath He established the heavens. Proverbs 3:19

Can the Bible be Trusted?

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Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles wrote to the Thessalonians in chapter 3: 1, asking them to pray –

“that the Word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified.”

When the Bible is made free – it has the power to change individual lives, turn despair into hope, and hatred into love. From the beginning of the church, Christians were known as the “people of the Book.” Since Satan and his followers can not destroy It – they seek to corrupt It.

 Great American Bible scholar – Reuben A. Torrey gave 10 reasons why he believed the Bible was the in-spired (God breathed) and preserved Word of God:

1. On the ground of the testimony of Jesus Christ.

2. On the ground of its fulfilled prophecies.

3. On the ground of the unity of the Book. (When 66 Books, written by 40 authors, spanning 1,500 years, among different countries, provide a Book with no contradictions, and consistent doctrine and principles – it must be supernatural)

4. On the ground of immeasurable superiority of the teachings of the Bible to those of any other and all books.

5. On the ground of the history of the Book, its victory over attack.

6. On the ground of the character of those who accept and those who reject the Book.

7. On the ground of the influence of the Book.

8. On the ground of the inexhaustible depth of the Book.

9. On the ground of the fact that as we grow in knowledge and holiness, we grow towards the Bible.

10. On the ground of the direct testimony of the Holy Spirit.

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“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet,

and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105