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Sunday, May 31, 2009

Did God create evil?

This is a controversial subject and many have disagreed with me that the bible teaches that God created evil; this is the reason I have decided to address this topic and discuss it in some detail below.

The short answer to the above question is YES, God did create evil and what follows is the proof straight from the pages of the bible.

Proverbs 16:4
The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Wicked: H7563 rāšā‛: An adjective meaning wicked, guilty, in the wrong, criminal, transgressor. This adjective is used 264 times, many more times than the verb formed from it. It means essentially someone guilty or in the wrong and is an antonym to the Hebrew word ṣaḏḏiyq (H6662), meaning righteous, in the right.

The bible clearly states that the LORD, Jehovah, has made all things for himself including the wicked. The wicked of course would include Satan whom the bible addresses as the ‘wicked one’. Matthew 13:19 and 13:38, 1 John 2:13, 2:14, 3:12, 5:18 all refer to Satan as ‘the wicked one.’ Can someone please explain to me how God did not create evil when the bible clearly teaches that he created the evil one? Furthermore the following scripture clearly teaches that all things were created by God: Colossians 1:16 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. Eph. 3:9 and Rev. 4:11 also tell us that God has created all things, and last time I checked all things included Satan, included evil. But to satisfy the doubters Col. 1:16 specifies that God has created principalities and powers; now Eph. 6:12 tells us that at least some of these principalities and powers are Satanic, are evil, so does this not then prove that God created these evil powers and evil beings? They did not create themselves did they? But why would God whose understanding is infinite according to Psalm 147:5 create these evil creatures and thus bring evil into his perfect world? According to Col. 1:16 all things, including the devil and evil, were created by him, and they were created for him. He created evil because evil serves his purposes, that’s all there is to it. With his infinite understanding it stands to reason that Satan and evil serve his purposes otherwise evil would not exist.

Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

In the above scripture God plainly states that he creates darkness and evil, states it plainly yet I have heard all kinds of fanciful explanations for this verse that try and prove that it does not mean what it says. This word DARKNESS is the very same word that is used in Genesis 1:2 which tells us that darkness was upon the face of the deep. This darkness that was upon the face of the earth was not a physical darkness but rather a spiritual darkness, just as the light that God commanded to shine in Gen. 1:2 was spiritual light. Physical light that comes from heavenly bodies such as the sun, moon and stars did not come into existence till the fourth day so the light that shone on the first day was spiritual light. This spiritual light did not become visible to man until Jesus Christ was incarnated and came down to Earth. John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. It is obvious that the light that John was writing about was not physical light for the sun was certainly shining in Jesus’ day and such light was fully comprehended and appreciated by men. What they did not comprehend was spiritual light, which is the knowledge of God, because they were in spiritual darkness. The point here is that this spiritual darkness was also created by God by creating the devil; we understand that the devil was not created evil in the beginning but became so at a later date but the fact still remains that the very purpose for which Lucifer was created was so that evil would be born into the world through him. Now no one will question that God created Lucifer and Lucifer became evil, so if God with his infinite understanding did not want evil, all he had to do was to not create Lucifer – problem solved! If you and I can think of this solution then do you not think that God would also have thought about it yet he went ahead with his plans, why?

The answer is that he needed evil to be present in the world and so he purposed that it would arise through Lucifer; that is the whole sole reason for the creation of Lucifer, to be the evil one, and since God created Lucifer for this purpose he created evil, even if it was by proxy. God makes no excuses for it either, he states it plainly that he did so; all things were created by him, and for him. The very Hebrew word for evil, RAH, as used in Isa 45:7 is the same word as used in Gen 2:9 to describe the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It’s that evil that God says he created, not Lucifer or Satan or any other creature that created it. Does it then make God evil? Not in the least bit, and that is the paradox, God, the one who is absolutely good, created his mirror opposite so that he could use the darkness of evil to reveal the goodness of his own light to his chosen creatures. Satan is not God’s adversary, he is man’s adversary; Satan is God’s servant, created simply to do his bidding. 1 Kings 22: 19–23 proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that evil spirits are not only subject to God, they are the subjects of God, under his absolute control. The story of God, Satan, and Job also illustrates this very principle and does it not make sense that if God created evil and evildoers to serve his purposes that they should be under his absolute control?

Darkness H2822ḥōšeḵ: A masculine noun meaning darkness. As in English, the word has many symbolic uses. In its first occurrence, it is associated with disorder (Gen_1:2) and is distinguished and separated from light (Gen_1:4).

Evil: H7451 rā‛āh: An adjective meaning bad, evil. The basic meaning of this word displays ten or more various shades of the meaning of evil according to its contextual usage. It means bad in a moral and ethical sense and is used to describe, along with good, the entire spectrum of good and evil; hence, it depicts evil in an absolute, negative sense, as when it describes the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen_2:9; Gen_3:5, Gen_3:22)

Isaiah 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

Waster: H7843 / šāḥaṯ: A verb meaning to spoil, to ruin, to destroy, to pervert, to corrupt, to become corrupt, to wipe out.

By the above definition, the title of WASTER would certainly apply to the devil. God is once again plainly stating that he has created the waster, the evil one and he has created him to destroy. The bible clearly teaches that in the human realm it is God who appoints principalities and powers, all kings and rulers are appointed by God to serve his purposes, both good and evil. Daniel 4:32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The point here is that just as God determines human principalities and powers and uses them for his own purposes; even so does he not do the same with heavenly principalities and powers?

Now let’s turn to the New Testament and really step on some traditional false doctrine toes and further prove that God is a Sovereign Omnipotent God who does whatsoever he wills including the creation of evil if that suits his purposes. Let me demolish the false doctrine of FREE WILL once and for all and prove that the bible teaches that only God has a free will, everyone else is a slave to that will, both for salvation or perdition. Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. Rom. 3:23 which is probably the second most quoted Bible verse after John 3:16 states that For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.’ Think about that for a minute: if all are equally sinners in God’s eyes and yet some are saved and some are not, then is it not God who elects upon whom he will have mercy, upon whom he will have compassion, and against whom he will harden? Jesus himself said that many are called but few are chosen; everyone is not called for salvation let alone chosen for it! This I’m sure flies in the face of the everyone can be saved (false) doctrine but so be it! The bible teaches no such thing. On the contrary it teaches that God himself picks who will be the vessels of his wrath, and who will be the vessels upon whom he will have mercy independent of their actions.

God chooses and predestines not only those whom he saves but also those who will go on to perdition independent of their actions. This tough doctrine is well illustrated in Romans 9 in the story of Jacob and Esau: the apostle Paul teaches that even before Jacob and Esau were born, and before they had done anything at all, good or evil, God chose to love Jacob, and to hate Esau; yes the word used in Romans 9:13 is HATE! Now go preach that in Sunday school that God chooses to hate some people simply because he chooses to do so, not because of anything they might have done, but simply because it serves his purposes. Where does that leave this so–called doctrine of free will, leaves it in the dust I say for it sure is not in the bible and please don’t quote 2 Peter 3:9 about God not willing that any should perish but all should come to repentance to try and prove me wrong. It is only because evil and death exist, and must exist, that there is a need for salvation. It is truly not God’s desire that any should perish but at the same time he is well aware that some must perish (why it must be so is too complex a subject to broach here at present, what I’m addressing here will already be too tough for many to handle so I will leave the subject of why some must perish for another time.) God knowing that some must perish and if left to our own free will all would perish predetermined both the ones who would be saved and the ones who would not be saved. This then is the meaning of the following scripture: Rom. 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? The apostle Paul taught that God according to his own will pre–determines both the vessels of mercy and the vessels of wrath. Technically the vessels of wrath could argue that they had no choice in the matter, that there was no way for them to escape their pre–determined (by God) fate; this argument though perhaps correct is not acceptable as an excuse for their actions. God’s answer to anyone trying to blame God for his wickedness is Rom. 9:20 ‘Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?’ So God himself fits some vessels for destruction, and then condemns them to judgment; and even though this was their pre–determined destiny they cannot escape judgment simply by arguing that they were only fulfilling God’s will. Romans 9 gives the example of Pharaoh in Moses’ day; that no matter what the Pharaoh did there was no way for him to repent and change and escape the judgment that befell him.

So just as God created the earthly Pharaoh of whom it is written in Rom. 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. God’s power is demonstrated when there is resistance to that power. No matter how much Pharaoh wanted not to resist God he was powerless to do so, even though he may not have wanted to harden his heart against God he had no choice in the matter since God had hardened his heart against Pharaoh, he was a condemned man even before he was born. Even as God suffers earthly evildoers because it serves his purposes, so too did he suffer the heavenly Pharaoh, the heavenly ruler of darkness to arise and become darkness just so that God’s light would shine to its full brightness in the presence of that darkness! In conclusion I will say that our God is a Sovereign, Omnipotent Creator who has created ALL THINGS, both good and evil. Ask yourself this question that if God is truly Almighty (all powerful,) and his understanding is infinite then could he not have created a cosmos without evil ever arising in it unless it served his purposes? If it does serve his purposes why is it so strange that he created it?

The understanding of such tough topics that most church pastors would not touch with a ten foot pole requires that we lay aside all pre–conceived ideas and teachings about the nature of God; rather let us study his Word in which he tells us plainly who he is and more importantly what he is: Omnipotent, Almighty, Sovereign, in absolute control of every atom in the universe. Let us not try and short change him by trying to make him out be somebody he is not, he is not afraid of anyone finding out that he created the devil, or that he uses Satan for his purposes, he proclaims it loud and clear in his Word, all you have to do is to read it!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Lucifer: god of the old world, Satan: god of the new


2 Peter 3: 5–7

· 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

· 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

· 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

As proven in previous articles and radio show series on the chronology and history of creation, there existed upon Earth, and perhaps beyond, a civilization that predates the modern day civilization that began with Adam and Eve some 6000 years ago. This pre–historic age began at the very dawn of time itself and lasted an unknown length of time, possibly millions if not billions of years in Earth time. The apostle Peter clearly makes a distinction between the OLD WORLD (the world that then was), and the NEW WORLD (the heavens and the earth, which are now). It has already been proven that this reference to the heavens of old and the old world could not possibly have been to the world that existed in Noah’s days but rather to a much more ancient time (please read previous articles and listen to chronology of creation radio series for proof). In this present article I would like to focus on the purpose of the creation, and ultimate destruction of that old world. In a nutshell that world was created to allow evil to be birthed, and to reach full maturity, and having reached full maturity, to destroy ‘the world that then was’, the world in which evil was first born. As already proven but to be explored in much greater detail in later entries, God deemed it necessary to have evil present in the world prior to the creation of modern man. Therefore that whole age of antiquity from which various cultures derive their tales of mythology did in fact exist and flourish, in my opinion, across the entire universe. It was truly a Star Wars movie type of world with inhabited planets across galaxies, interplanetary and intergalactic travel more common than intercontinental travel today; filled with creatures of different species, hybrids created from a mix of different species, mutants, such as giants, created through genetic manipulation, and also angelic spirit beings who ruled over the galaxies and planets of these old worlds. These ‘fallen’ angels, the chief amongst whom was a cherub named Lucifer, were the originators of evil in the cosmos. Although evil in the form of rebellion against his creator, God, first arose in the heart of Lucifer, there were an untold number of highly intelligent and powerful angels who joined him in this rebellion. The apostles, Peter and Jude, make reference to these ‘fallen’ angels in the following scriptures.

· 2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.

· Jude v6 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.

Although there are hundreds of references to Satan in the bible, Lucifer is mentioned by name, only once, in Isaiah 14:12. A few verses in Ezekiel 28 speak of this cherub that we identify as Lucifer but other than that both the Old Testament, and the New Testament do not have much to say about this mysterious creature. The common assumption amongst theologians is that Lucifer and Satan are one and the same person; however this does not seem to be the case. Isaiah identifies Lucifer as a ‘son of the morning’, a clear reference to him as a being of light, an angelic being (light is equated with angels in the bible), and the prophet Ezekiel addresses him as an ‘anointed cherub’, which is a class of angelic being higher than man. Satan on the other hand is identified as a ‘dragon’, and ‘serpent’, a reptilian creature not a being of light. Whereas Lucifer appears to be ethereal in nature, Satan seems to be corporeal, even if he is a disembodied spirit at present; it is significant that he seems to have had a corporeal existence at some time in the past which does not appear to be the case with Lucifer.

· Rev. 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

The bible can truly provide a great deal of information in just a few words, and a close parsing of the scriptures referencing Lucifer in Isaiah and Ezekiel reveal a world of information, both about Lucifer himself, and the old world, the pre-historic world(s) that once existed right here on Earth and beyond. The pre–history that can be pieced together from just the dozen or so verses of scripture below will provide a mosaic that stretches across galaxies of space, and eons of time. It will eventually lead us to understand the real purpose of all creation, and of the age of destruction that has preceded us. Why would God whose understanding is infinite allow such seemingly flawed creatures as Lucifer and Satan come into existence, knowing the havoc they would wreak in his universe, particularly upon Earth? Psalm 147:5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. The subject of the origins and the purpose of evil is too vast to be covered in one blog entry, it will most likely stretch across several but it is of vital importance to understand that past so we can accurately understand our present. I have bullet pointed the following scriptures according to the subject of each verse, since these few verses deal with a variety of subjects and reveal a wealth of information. Please study them carefully till the next entry where I will continue this study.

Isaiah 14: 12–15

· 12How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!

· How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

· 13For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven,

· I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:

· I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

· 14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

· 15Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.


Ezekiel 28: 12–19

· 12Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

· 13Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;

· Every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold:

· The workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

· 14Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so:

· Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God;

· Thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

· 15Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

· 16By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned:therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

· 17Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty,

· Thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness:

· I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

· 18Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick;

· Therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

· 19All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Green shoots with toxic roots


Green shoots of economic recovery are everywhere, so we keep hearing from our fearless leaders of politics and finance. I do not call them ‘fearless’ facetiously but with good reason; our leaders keep spending money like drunken sailors, no longer is the fearful number a billion, it doesn’t even appear to be a trillion, I have now heard the number quadrillion being bandied about, and all I can do is shake my head in amazement. It truly feels like watching the sinking of the Titanic in very slow motion, watching it frame by frame knowing what is coming but because it seems to be happening so slowly I feel lulled into thinking it will never happen. Our leaders have to be truly ‘fearless’ to keep spending money the way they do, money that they do not have, money which they cannot even borrow any longer which is why they have now resorted to ‘quantitative easing’, a euphemism for printing money. High finance is a religion and its priesthood are the bankers, and their lackeys, the politicians. If what is transpiring right before our eyes does not convince the man on the street, Main Street not Wall Street, that our politicians are in the employ of big bankers then they are truly delusional, their heads are stuck in the sand and these truly seem to be the days that the apostle Paul warned us about in II Thessalonians.

II Thessalonians 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

The economic problems facing the world are too vast and varied for me to attempt to list them here. I am not an economist or a banker or a financial planner or a trader or a broker, I have no background in the world finance. However through personal experience I have learnt that something is rotten in the world of banking and finance, that the high priests of finance carefully guard the secrets of their craft from the rest of the sheeple. This is the reason why people are deluded into believing that they need ‘experts’ to guide them in their financial affairs, that the investment world is too complex for the average person to comprehend. Balderdash, smoke and mirrors, sleight of hand, con games more accurately describe this world than words such as free market and capitalism. The market is about free as a bull in a corral, even if it is a wild bull. This market bull is kept in a corral with not a mere wooden fence but a high voltage electric fence that the bull has learnt to keep away from at a very safe distance. As an aside why is the symbol of Wall Street a bull? Does it have something to do with mythological worship of bulls that has been prevalent through various cultures going back to Babylon and Assyria? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_(mythology) / if someone has more knowledge of this subject please let me know, all I know is that bulls have been revered in many cultures for thousands of years. As far as non MSM (mainstream media) news on money and finance, and the current ongoing economic crisis is concerned the following websites have a great deal of information that will give you an alternative view which may not have ‘green shoots’ in it. I am broaching this subject from a biblical perspective and want to understand what roadblocks lie ahead that we need to learn how to avoid.

http://www.mcalvany.com/podcast/ , http://www.goldseek.com/ , http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/ , http://www.financialsense.com/fsn/main.html


II Thes. 2:10 …because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: Speaking with friends, acquaintances and even family members I see delusion written across their faces. Their lives are so enmeshed with ‘the economy’ that the economy has become their lives. Therefore they willfully ignore facts and believe fantasies such as the ‘green shoots’ fairy tale that is being parroted by everyone from Obama to Bernanke to Geithner and down the line. Check out some of the financial websites listed above and decide for yourself: are there real ‘green shoots’ sprouting anywhere in sight or have the toxic roots just gotten deeper? Any independent thinking person can only come to the conclusion that things are getting progressively worse not better. Why then do people believe lies? Lies that will eventually destroy them not only financially but probably physically as well. People refuse to receive the love of the truth, which is life is Jesus Christ, not just in Jesus Christ, and since they willfully refuse this, the most absolute of truth, they leave themselves open to believing all manners of lies. If all they live for is the economy that happens to provide them with a few material trinkets for a few short years then they have nothing worth living for; then they will believe any charlatan that promises them a free lunch. Sadly their wish for a free lunch may indeed come true as it is already coming true for millions in America; they will indeed receive free lunches but not while lounging on their poolside decks but rather in a soup kitchen line, which may turn out to be the best case scenario. Under the worst case scenario their free lunch will come in gulags that have been prepared to protect them from any number of threats; rioting hordes, terrorist attacks, flu pandemics etc. etc. etc. After all, the world is such a threatening place, at least according to our leaders and media, and we must need be secured from the big bad wolves out there even if it means chaining us up, for our own security of course!

In conclusion I will say that this seeming recovery is no such thing, that even if there seems to be a lull the Titanic is still going down, and even though our fearless leaders may have avoided some mini bergs, they have pointed the ship at the mother of all icebergs out there; when this ship hits it there will be no time to launch the lifeboats, it will go down like a rock. So you can keep on believing lies that will only compound the delusion or you can believe the truth, and be saved. This economic house has been built on sand from way back when, and our fearless leaders are now moving it closer to the water not onto solid rock. Some of the house has already been washed away, when the next wave hits it will wash away even more of it, and it is only a matter of time before the whole thing sinks into the depths of the sea and takes you along with it. Move to higher ground now; believe in the Lord Jesus Christ who is the rock upon which any house built will stand forever!


· People believe what they want to believe not the truth.

· People hear what they want to hear, and what they want to hear is smooth words, not the abrasive truth.

· Therefore people deserve what they get, I am of the opinion that there are very few, if any, innocent adult victims in the western world; the noose that will hang them if of their own making.

Matthew 7:24-27

24Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Nephilim (Giants) in the Bible: Fallen angels or big brutes?


This is an article from my other website that addresses the issue of the identity of the Nephilim or giants of Genesis 6:4 -

http://signsoftheend.net/Pages/Article1-Nephilim.html


The bible uses several Hebrew words that have been translated as ‘Giant’ in the KJV of the English bible. The very first occurrence is in Gen. 6:4
‘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.

A great deal of misinformation is floating around on the Internet and in print regarding the nature of these giants. Hundreds if not thousands of websites claim that the Nephilim (one Hebrew word for giant) were a product of intercourse between fallen angels and earth women and therefore some sort of mutant hybrids. Whether these angels had fallen before they mated with women or they fell as a result of this mating is not clear. Since they were supposedly a result of a union between two species (angels and women) they had to be hybrids or at least that is the assumption. This interpretation, first of all assumes that the bible claims that the sons of God referred to in Gen. 6:2 and 6:4 were angels whereas the bible makes no such claim. Secondly the assumption is made that the Nephilim were a product of the union between these ‘angelic’ sons of God and earthly women; this too is an incorrect assumption. Here’s what the bible actually says about both the giants (Nephilim) and the sons of God in Gen. 6:4.

• Regarding the giants (Nephilim) all Gen 6:4 has to say: ‘
There were giants in the earth in those days. That’s it! There is nothing else that the bible has to say about them in Gen. 6:4. It makes no claim here or anywhere else that the Nephilim or giants were in any way shape or form hybrids or came about as a result of intercourse between ‘sons of God’ and daughters of men.

• It clearly states that the sons of God and daughters of men mated sometime after the giants (Nephilim) were already in the earth.
And also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men… So how could the giants or Nephilim be the product of a union between the sons of God and the daughters of men when the giants were already here even before this union ever took place? Duh!

• Were the giants (Nephilim) really hybrids or were they just flesh and blood creatures much like man but bigger in size? Mythological hybrids such as centaurs and satyrs were clearly a cross between two species. Whether the Nephilim were hybrids or not is an entirely debatable topic. First of all the bible makes no such claim that they were half angel and half man, on the contrary the bible teaches that angels cannot reproduce, that they are not sexual creatures (Matthew 22:30). Secondly wherever there is mention of giants in myths and legends they are always portrayed as big human type of creatures not half pig and half man or any other such monstrosity. The sleight of hand used by proponents of the hybrid theory is to use the Hebrew word Nephilim rather than the English word Giant correctly translated as such in the KJV. It is much easier to create far-fetched theories using exotic words such as Nephilim rather than plain old giant.

• The bible uses a variety of words such as Nephilim, Anakim, Emim, Zamzummim, and Rapha or Rephaim that have been translated GIANT in the KJV. However the words Emim, Zamzummim, Anakim and a couple of other words refer to the same type of creature – these are the same word in different languages. The tribes that dwelt in the land of Canaan in the days of Moses such the Edomites, the Moabites, the Ammonites etc. used different words in their own language to describe the same creatures that were giants. In the Hebrew language there are primarily three words translated as giant in the KJV– Nephilim, Anakim and Rephaim.

• In the historical portion of the Old Testament, the books from Genesis to Job, the word giant refers always to creatures of rather large size but very much shaped like man, that is they were biped intelligent flesh and blood creatures whose height may have ranged from 9–30 feet. The three different Hebrew words used for giant may refer to the difference in the size of the giants: the Nephilim were probably the biggest and tallest at 20 plus feet, the Anakim were shorter around 12-18 feet and the smallest giants were the Rephaim were around 9-12 feet tall. Goliath the Philistine whom David slew was a Rephaim and estimated to be around 10 feet tall.

• The Nephilim would be comparable to and may actually have been the trolls of myth and legend. They were almost certainly cannibals and mortal enemies of man not their mating partners. Their size may truly have been gigantic as tall as 30 feet. This matter of their size has not been deduced from the bible but rather from the study of myths and legends of almost all cultures worldwide. Their origin is a bit of a mystery but a hypothesis can be presented that may answer the question as to where they came from. They may well have been genetic mutants but it is almost certain that this mutated state is how they arrived on Earth in the days before the flood. Their mutation (not hybridization) did not occur in the pre-flood days on Earth but in an age that preceded Adam possibly on another planet or planets.

• They arrived here shortly after Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Eden and preceded the arrival of the sons of God. They may well have been the first ‘other worldly’ creatures that mankind came in contact with after the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The myths and legends of almost all cultures suggest that at some time in the distant past visitors that were viewed as gods came from the heavens. These ‘gods’ were not only human in form but also in the form of beasts and hybrids. So why could these ‘giants’ not have come from somewhere out there? The Nephilim in my opinion were GIANTS not demons that came from some other planet possibly from within our solar system. They created some of the most enigmatic of ancient megaliths such as the massive dressed stones used in the ancient pre-Canaanite temple of Baalbek in modern day Lebanon. Such massive stones that cannot be moved even with modern equipment were certainly not the creation of the Canaanites that arrived there later.

• The Anakim of which Og, king of Bashan is the most famous member seem to be smaller in size although still very large compared to the average size of modern man. They also seem to have had a more sophisticated culture than the Nephilim. They lived in cities and had kings and rulers over them. However like the Nephilim trolls they too seem to have had a very violent nature. They seem to have appeared shortly after the flood and established the first civilizations in the Middle East contemporaneously with or established shortly after the tower of Babel. They occupied the land to the west of Shinar (modern day Iraq) while Nimrod and company were busy trying to build the tower and ancient city of Babel (Babylon.) The size of the Anakim can be guessed at fairly accurately because the bible does give us measurements that suggest that Og was roughly 12 feet tall and slept on a bed that was 6’wide by 14’ long. Although the bible does not state clearly what sort of abominations these Anakims were committing it is apparent that because of God’s judgment they were being driven out of the land even in the times of Abraham (Gen. 14:5). Long before Moses and the children of Israel destroyed Og the king of Bashan and his kingdom; many Anakim kings had already lost their kingdoms to Edom and Moab and other descendants of Abraham and Lot. (Deut. Chapter 2)

• Interestingly enough there is really no record of how and when these ‘giants’ whether the Nephilim or the Anakim arrived in the Middle East. However in South America almost every culture has a legend of ‘giants’ arriving by sea to their shores. Furthermore it was about the time of Abraham around 2000 BC that this first wave of giants seems to have landed in Central and South America and perhaps North America. Did these Anakim giants start leaving their original abode to points west because of their continued destruction at the hands of the descendants of Noah? As the children of Noah began to multiply and spread westwards from Shinar they started doing battle with these Anakim and started displacing them. That would be a valid reason to pack up and move – after all survival is a natural instinct and if their very survival was threatened why would they stick around? Is this how they ended up in South America and build megalithic structures such as those at Machu Pichu, Tihuanaco and numerous other locations across Central and South America?

• The Rephaim were the smallest of the giants and lasted until the days of King David and some of his
descendants before becoming extinct. These giants were extant in the old world till at least 1000 BC and may have continued even longer in the Americas perhaps even till the time of Christ. Goliath was the most famous of the Rephaim and in size he was around 9 or 10 feet tall and must have weighed over 500 pounds. There is an identical Hebrew word Rephaim that means DEAD, SPIRIT or SHADE. The KJV correctly translates the word as Giant or Dead in context. For example in Isaiah 14:9 the KJV correctly translates the word Rephaim as DEAD not Giant because this is the correct translation in context. The Hebrew word Rapha (7496 in Strong’ concordance) which is the root word for Rephaim means DEAD. The same word Rapha (7497) also means Giant. Though the word is the same, the meanings are entirely different and not interchangeable. For example the English word LET has more than one meaning: Let means to ALLOW but it also means to RENT, HIRE or LEASE. The two meanings are not interchangeable and the meaning must be understood in context. The reason I bring this up is that many ‘scholars’ intentionally mislead us in trying to prove that the Rapha were spirits or angels or hybrids. This is just not the case; the Rapha or Rephaim that David slew was very much flesh and blood as were all the GIANTS in the bible.

In conclusion if we stick to the English word GIANT when reading the Bible rather than use Hebrew words the meaning is not so confusing. The Hebrew word for King is Melekh; we don’t go around saying the Melekh of Babylon was Nebuchadnezzar, we correctly use the English word King to keep the meaning plain. Unless the word has been transliterated into our language there is no need to use the words from the original language; the meaning is much clearer when we use the correctly translated word such as king to describe a king in the English language rather than Melekh or Roi or another word from a different language. Those who insist on using the word Nephilim instead of the correctly translated English word Giant do so to prove a pre-conceived notion. Their far out theories on hybridization or angel-human mating etc. can simply not be proven by using the simple word Giant so they give their theories a garb of scholarliness by using the Hebrew word Nephilim – vow! Now it sounds so intellectual! However it is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. If they are so insistent on using the original Hebrew words they should just give up the English language and start using Hebrew for all their communications.

My studies of the Bible and mythologies and legends of various cultures lead me to conclude there existed on Earth in time past some rather large human like creatures with some very nasty habits including chowing down on mankind from time to time. There are different words in different languages to describe these creatures and one of the more famous Hebrew words is Nephilim. No matter what the word used to describe them they were simply large flesh and blood creatures, ugly brutes perhaps but not spirits or shades or hybrids or demons or devils. Wherever the context implies devil or demon the KJV uses the word devil or evil spirit so why would it use the word Nephilim in only two places in the Bible to describe devils or demons? My theory on their origin is that they came from another planet or planets possibly to seek greener pastures having destroyed their own worlds through warfare or other means. They were not a peaceable race that much is for sure; mythologies of all cultures describe cosmic warfare and it could well have involved the giants. I am almost certain that they did not originate on Earth and that they were mutants of some
sort. Somewhere along the line the genes of their ancestors were tinkered with to create these monsters but they were not hybrids: they were not a combination of two or more species. It is also my opinion that they are now extinct – that we will not see them walking on the Earth ever again. Those who use the word Nephilim to predict their return are referring to the spirits of devils not flesh and blood creatures. These spirits whose presence will certainly be felt even in the physical realm have always been devils and never were the Nephilim to begin with. These same folks also claim that the sons of God were fallen angels, which is another unbiblical theory with no basis in fact. I have touched on the identity of the sons of God in some of my previous posts and in some interviews that prove beyond doubt that they were not fallen angels. More on the subject later.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

More Q & A / Satan’s seed?

Here’s a question I received from a reader / listener in regards to some of my research that I presented in a radio program on The Threshing Floor that aired some time back.

Question: Could it be that the 'evil' you speak of which God created (this I believe since God is the creator, and Satan cannot create - only distort or morph) continues to this day by inhabiting Satan's seed, (some people) which started in the Adamic creation with Eve copulating with Satan (rather than eating of the apple - sunday school teaching) and Cain was the result of this, his offspring, and so forth? Added to this was the Nephilim having sexual relations with Noah's daughters, etc.

There are some questions that this reader has asked that are based on (mis) information floating around cyberspace for quite some time. I have arranged these queries in a list that I will respond to individually:

1. Does Satan have ‘physical’ bodily human seed or descendants that many claim he does?

2. Did Eve have sexual relations with Satan?

3. Was Cain a son of Satan, and not a son of Adam?

4. Who are the Nephilim?

5. Did the Nephilim have relations with Adam and his children’s daughters?

6. Or was it the sons of God mating with daughters of men that produced the Nephilim and other hybrid creatures?

There are many strange doctrines that have originated from this teaching that Satan, and other angelic beings are able to produce offspring by having relations with women? I can answer all of the above questions by simply stating that the Bible places no emphasis on physical descent being of importance either for salvation or for condemnation. It is the spiritual state of a person that determines his ‘goodness’ or ‘evilness’. And therefore all of the above theories of hybrids and different species mating and producing children are unbiblical. 1 Timothy 1:4 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. The Jews had a tradition of maintaining lengthy genealogies to prove their descent which they equated with righteousness, that is, if they could prove their descent back to Abraham they could claim that they were automatically chosen for salvation. Jesus however shot this idea down in John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He told the Jews that physical descent was of absolutely no significance; that though it was true that they were the physical children of Abraham; it was of greater significance that they were the spiritual children of the devil. So even if it were true that Cain and his descendants were the physical offspring of Satan it would matter not a bit because God would classify them as no worse than the children of Adam. Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Gen 6:5 tells us that ‘… God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth.’ The judgment of the flood came upon Earth not just because of Cain and his children but because of all men with the exception of Noah. According to the bible all the other children of Adam through Seth were just as wicked as the children of Cain. So if the evil nature of man is a spiritual problem why do so many keep insisting on make it is a physical problem limited to a certain lineage or bloodline or race? The Jews though the descendants of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were just as wicked if not more so than their gentile Canaanite neighbors. I hope the point has been made and proven that the degenerate condition of man is not because of his ancestry but because of the wickedness of the heart. Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.

Having concluded that it is irrelevant how a man calculates his genealogy, I will now address the question of Satan’s seed. Satan has a seed or seeds, is not doubtful; the question is whether the seed is physical or spiritual. I think the preceding paragraph ought to answer this question and we need not spend more time debating it. Nowhere in the bible do we find Satan, or angels, or fallen angels, or any other spirit creature mating with humans and producing offspring. In one and one instance only did a Spirit, the Holy Ghost and flesh unite and produce an offspring, the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ. This is what made Jesus the ONLY BEGOTTEN for there is only Spirit, God, that is able to impregnate a human and bring forth a man child. This has happened only once in all of time and that was when Mary became with child of the Holy Ghost and gave birth to Jesus. Never had that happened before nor has it happened since that time and this is the reason why Jesus is identified as the ONLY BEGOTTEN Son of God, and why He alone is unique amongst all the creatures of God. It is simply not possible for spirit creatures, ethereal creatures to mate with corporeal beings and produce offspring. Therefore when Jesus spoke of the Pharisees’ father being the devil, or John identified Cain as being ‘of the wicked one’, it is obvious that the corruption being referred to is a spiritual one not of the flesh. Satan’s seed therefore are all his spiritual offspring, not corporeal ones; he has no corporeal offspring, at least among men.

2. Did Eve have sexual relations with Satan? No, if you can find it mentioned somewhere in the bible that she did, let me know!

3. Was Cain a son of Satan, physically speaking? The answer is no, and the following scripture ought to answer the question quite clearly, and leave no doubt as to whose son Cain was, according to the flesh!

Gen. 4:1 “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD”.

· Adam knew Eve, meaning he had relations with Eve, not Satan!

· Eve conceived because of her relations with Adam not Satan!

· Eve bore Cain because she conceived after she had relations with Adam not Satan!

So then whose son was Cain, Adam’s or Satan’s?

To be continued…

Monday, May 18, 2009

Chronology of Creation - Radio Show Links

http://threshingfloor-radio.com/index.php/category/radio-shows/paul-sandhu/

This is a 9 part series that I recorded with Randy Maugans of The Threshing Floor on The Chronology of Creation which ties in perfectly with the series of articles on the History of Creation that I have started posting on this blog which will be a journey that will lead us from beginning to ending, from Alpha to Omega, from Genesis to Revelation. In time I hope to put together the pieces of the seeming puzzle of our existence, and of the history and pre-history of the Earth, and of the Cosmos, for readers and listeners to find irrefutable answers to their own origins and that of the world they inhabit; and having accurately understood the past, readers may accurately plan for their future. Amen and Amen.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Q & A / Response to a reader’s question on the Gap Theory of Biblical Creation

http://apocalypse2010.blogspot.com/2009/05/gap-theory-of-biblical-creation.html / quote from the abovementioned article 'This civilization or civilizations was inhabited by both corporeal and ethereal beings; humans and angels as well as mutants, hybrids, reptilians, so-called aliens and other fantastic creatures frequently found in mythology and science fiction'.

My question: Gen 1v27 - man & woman being created in His Image.... I have always understood the human race to be the Adamic race - where God created us in His Image. From what you write, I understand you to mean that 'humans' might have existed before God created the world before Adam....I fully believe a separate world did exist just between Gen 1v1 and v 2, however, I have a 'block' on only this 1 word, 'human'. If you find time, please try to explain this to me.

Answer: In response to the above question let me say first of all that Gen. 1:27 does not, repeat, does not state that the man and the woman were created in God’s image, the exact wording of this scripture is as follows: Gen. 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them”. The only one created in the image of God was the ‘Him’ not the male and the female. This ‘Him’ is not referring to Adam but rather to Jesus Christ as proven by Heb. 1:3, that Jesus is the EXPRESS IMAGE, an exact duplicate, literally a clone of God, which of course makes Him God. Adam was not God; Adam was not even close to being anything like God and therefore did not bear his image.

The confusion about man being created in the image of God stems from the fact that people assume that image is referring to physical appearance when biblically speaking image has nothing whatsoever to do with the body. God is a Spirit not a flesh and blood being; he does not have two hands and two legs, two eyes etc. that people assume he does. The only image that God was interested in man acquiring was His Spiritual image, His character not a bodily shape. The biblical definition of the word IMAGE is CHARACTER. Hebrews 1:3 states in regards to Jesus, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person…” The word ‘Image’ in this scripture is the Greek word Charakter from which the English word Character has been transliterated. God created man to one day become identical in character to Him but it was not until Jesus Christ arose from the dead that man, any man actually bore the image of God. The entire history of creation points to the creation of a being that would be identical in character to God; such a creature would be worthy of inheriting God’s Kingdom, the eternal Kingdom that has not yet been created. The beginning of God’s creation Jesus Christ is that man, certainly not Adam or any of his physical progeny; only the resurrected Jesus Christ.

As to the question of human existence prior to Adam, that too can be addressed in the affirmative by a careful study of scripture. Job 38 is a series of questions that the Lord God quizzed Job with and to which Job had no answers. One of the questions in that series takes us back to the time of the laying of the foundation of the Earth; at that time according to God the ‘morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy’. This verse of scripture helps a great deal in accurately determining the chronology of creation because it proves that intelligent life was already present in the Cosmos even before the Earth was created. The intelligent life that was then present was the morning stars (angels), and the sons of God (humans.) Comparing scripture to scripture we can conclude that the sons of God were men and not angels or any other type of ethereal beings. Proverbs 8 is a monologue by Wisdom personified; in this dialogue we find a description of the same ancient time as Job 38:4, the time of the laying of the foundations of the Earth. However in Prov. 8:31 we can read clearly that the creatures present at that ancient time were MEN; Prov. 8:31, ‘Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men’. Whereas Job 38 tells us that the sons of God were shouting for joy at the sight of this monumental creation of the Earth that was being prepared for their habitation, the book of Proverbs identifies these creatures as MEN.

Therefore it is safe to conclude that the sons of God are men, humans that predate the creation of much of the present day universe. Now this revelation turns the theory of evolution right on its ears does it not? Isa 45:18 tells us that God created the Earth to be inhabited and since we find men inhabiting it right from its foundations it stands to reason that these men are not the children of Adam who arrived on the scene at a much later date. Besides angels are not corporeal beings and therefore do not require a corporeal abode such as the Earth. Therefore it is logical to conclude that the corporeal Earth must have been created for corporeal beings but if Adam and his children were not the first inhabitants of the corporeal Earth then it must have been other humans, namely the sons of God first encountered in the bible in Genesis, chapter 6. If the sons of God were truly corporeal humans then it becomes easy to understand their physical relations with the daughters of Adam, and their ability to produce offspring with them. So we can safely conclude with biblical authority that the pre–Adamite world was indeed inhabited by corporeal humans, and there is a distinct possibility that such humans that are not descended from Adam may still be inhabiting the heavens.

When parsed carefully and prayerfully the bible is a treasure house of knowledge and wisdom that may be found nowhere else on this planet. Even the history of the planet and of the Cosmos may only be accurately gleaned by a careful study of scripture. More nuggets to come as we progress through this series on the history of creation.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The Gap Theory of Biblical Creation

John 1:1 ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Since the Word was God we can say that ‘In the Beginning was God’.

1 John 1:5 ‘This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all’.

Gen 1:1 ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2. 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’.

Now if God was in the beginning, and if God is light and there is no darkness in him at all, then the darkness reported in Gen. 1:2 could not have existed in the beginning. Therefore the darkness must have arrived at a later time. It then becomes necessary that there should be a gap between the original light filled perfect creation described in Gen. 1:1 and the void and empty darkness covered Earth that is described in Gen. 1:2. This is the Biblical GAP THEORY of creation. It contends that the present day Adamite civilization that began some 6000 years ago is not the original creation or the original civilization upon Earth. This contention is supported by Biblical evidence, mythological evidence, and by geological evidence. Almost all mythologies claim that the original creation was the perfect civilization of great technological advancement and filled with peace and harmony until... So the Biblical chronology of creation detailed below proves that the Earth is very old and not just 6000 years young as taught by young Earth creationists such as Kent Hovind. It also proves that at least one civilization has existed upon Earth, and possibly in our solar system, and perhaps even beyond that predates our present day civilization by several millennia if not millions of years. This civilization or civilizations was inhabited by both corporeal and ethereal beings; humans and angels as well as mutants, hybrids, reptilians, so-called aliens and other fantastic creatures frequently found in mythology and science fiction. How and where all these inhabitants of that old world came into being is a topic of great interest since our own story is very much connected to that real ancient age of fantasy and mad science, much like a Star Wars movie. How that old world was overthrown to make way for the new is ancient history or pre–history (history of the Cosmos before modern man) but it is real history nonetheless, and far more interesting than any science fiction movie. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction as this study will prove.

Biblical Chronology of Creation

1. Perfect world created

(2 Pet. 3:5-7) 5. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6. Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7. But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. According to these verses of scripture there existed an old world a long time ago that was completely destroyed by a universal flood. It is generally taught this world that the apostle Peter describes was the world that existed at the time of Noah. However this is erroneous since the ‘heavens’ were not destroyed in Noah’s days only the Earth. Therefore this reference has to be to an earlier time since at no time since Noah’s days has the Earth been destroyed let alone the heavens. Peter clearly distinguishes between old heavens and an old Earth and the new heavens and the new Earth. The only way this is possible is if there was a world that existed prior to the destruction described in Gen. 1:2. The reason we conclude that the Earth became without form and void rather than being created in such a state is because scriptures tell us that God did not make it an empty, vacuous wasteland as described in Gen. 1:2 and in Jer. 4:23-26. Isa 45:18 reads: For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. The word vain in the preceding scripture is the same Hebrew word Bohu translated void in Gen. 1:2 and Jer. 4:23. So Isaiah tells us that the God not create the Earth a void, empty wasteland in the beginning, and if he did not do so then it stands to reason that it became thus at some later stage. The bible classifies itself as a mystery and like good detectives we can piece together a pretty accurate history of pre–history from scripture, and from circumstantial evidence provided by mythology and geology.
This Gap Theory is also supported by Jer. 4:23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. Jeremiah uses the exact same terminology as Gen. 1:2 of the Earth being without form and void. This description cannot apply to Noah’s time since the Earth was not without form and not completely void and empty after Noah’s flood even though it was covered with water on a global scale for a short period of time. However the waters of Noah’s flood receded naturally much as a temporary stream or pond recedes after a heavy rainfall. Once the waters had receded the Earth was instantly habitable and fruitful, it was not left without form and void, and did not require a divine decree to make it fruitful and habitable as it did in Gen. 1 when it was first described as being without form and void. The word VOID as used in Gen. 1:2 and in Jer. 4:23 is the Hebrew word Bōhû: It is #H922 in Strong’s Concordance and dictionary. If we look carefully at the meaning of this word we find that this word describes the state of matter after God had created it but before it was fashioned for habitation. This was indeed true in Gen. 1 where the Earth had to be regenerated to make it fit for habitation by supernaturally providing light, removing the waters from the surface, generating vegetation, and finally by bringing forth living beings to inhabit it, both beasts and man. None of this applies to the time of Noah, and therefore Jeremiah’s description in chapter 4 where he specifically uses the word Bōhû can only refer to a much more ancient time, a pre–historical time that predates that of Adam and Noah by untold eons.

bōhû: A masculine noun indicating void or emptiness. It depicts the state of matter after God had created it but before He had fashioned it for habitation (Gen_1:2). It, therefore, describes the state of the land or earth after God judges it (Isa_34:11; Jer_4:23). It is used in combination with tōhû, without form, each time.

The prophet Jeremiah also saw a world in which even the heavens had no light exactly as the darkness filled Earth described in Gen. 1:2 and paralleling the ‘old world’ described by the apostle Peter. Although the Earth was covered with rain clouds in the time of Noah there is no pressing reason why there would be no light in the heavens such as that of the sun, moon and stars. Reading further in Jer. 4:24: I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. This again parallels the Gen. 1:2 account of waters covering the face of the Earth. Jeremiah saw the mountains trembling and the hills moving lightly because they were covered with water and the movement of the water created the impression of the mountains and hills moving. The most compelling evidence that Jeremiah was describing a time of judgment that preceded the creation of Adam can be found in Jer. 4:25: I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. This description can in no wise fit the time of the flood of Noah because in that time it could not be said there was no man on Earth because there were eight people still alive on Earth during and after the flood. As a matter of fact there never has been a time since the creation of Adam that the Earth has been without a man on it even if it was reduced to only eight after Noah’s flood. So this time when there was no man on Earth must have predated Adam’s time and must describe a civilization that existed upon Earth prior to the Adamite civilization that followed at a much later date. Finally the old world that Jeremiah describes was indeed a fruitful and civilized world in the ancient past can be seen from this verse of scripture, Jer. 4:26, I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. This description is that of a civilized world filled with cities and a fruitful place not a barren wilderness. Was this the ancient fantastic world of myth and legend, Atlantis perhaps? The world of Noah was inundated with a flood and destroyed; the cities thereof were not necessarily broken down as we find in this description by the prophet Jeremiah. What other evidence does the bible provide that would support the Gap Theory of an ‘old world’ having existed on Earth that predated the new world of Adam?

To be continued...

Friday, May 8, 2009

In the Beginning…God

The origins of man and of the cosmos should not only be a subject of great interest to us but it is also a subject of vital importance to us as human beings. We must first understand how we got here and then only will we be able to understand what the purpose of life on Earth might be. The two major non – biblical theories of origins are the so-called scientific ‘Big Bang’ Theory and the mythological ‘Chaos’ theory. Wikipedia states: “As used by cosmologists, the term Big Bang generally refers to the idea that the universe has expanded from a primordial hot and dense initial condition at some finite time in the past, and continues to expand to this day. The scientist and Roman Catholic priest Georges Lemaître proposed what became known as the Big Bang theory of the origin of the Universe, although he called it his "hypothesis of the primeval atom". Leaving aside the fact that this theory originated with a Catholic priest who is supposed to believe in God, it fails to explain how the original primordial hot and dense condition came into being in the first place. Although garbed with a scientific cloak the big bang theory has a lot in common with the mythological explanations of the origins of the universe and of intelligent life. Mythology claims that everything began in chaos but again fails to explain how the chaos came into being in the first place.

Now let’s study what the bible teaches us about the origins of the cosmos and of man. John1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. If we can determine what existed in the beginning then we may be able to understand how everything came into existence.

What was in the beginning?

In the Beginning was the Word; what was the Word? The Word was God. So we could say that ‘In the Beginning was God’. If we can define what is God then we will know exactly what was in the beginning? God is The Word according to the bible. ‘Word’ is a translation of the Greek word ‘Logos’ which means Intelligence, Reason, Speech, Language, basically then we can say that ‘The Word is Intelligence’. So the biblical assertion that ‘In the beginning was the Word’ may be accurately rephrased as ‘In the beginning was God which in turn can be restated as ‘In the beginning was The Intelligence’. Whereas science and mythology both promote a random theory for creation of the universe the bible proposes the opposite view that everything began with ‘Intelligence’ not randomness. So the study of origins actually becomes the study of the nature of God, of what He is not necessarily who He is.

God is ‘The Intelligence’, biblically speaking, but what else is God?

Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The Word of God is quick; the word ‘Quick’ is an Elizabethan word meaning ‘Alive’. So the Word of God is a living dynamic power not something lifeless and static. Heb 4:12 also states that The Word of God is Powerful meaning Energy; this word powerful in Heb. 41:2 comes from the Greek word ENERGEO from which the word ENERGY is derived. So what this verse of scripture tells us that the Word of God is living powerful energy. And since the Word is also intelligent we can say that the Word of God is living, powerful, intelligent energy. Since the Word is God we can then conclude that God is living powerful intelligent energy, he is not a material being. This is a difficult understanding to wrap one’s head around as to how God the infinite is not made out of matter, that the infinite energy or power that he is occupies no space and does not exist in time. We need to understand that the only way for matter to have a beginning is for all matter or material things to have been created by something non-material, living energy for example. Since God is that living energy who is intelligent, he is able to intelligently direct that energy into forming matter in any shape or form that he desires. The existence of intelligence from the beginning eliminates any possibility that this wonderfully structured and ordered universe could ever have arisen randomly. The only thing that comes out of nothing is NOTHING.

The bible does not teach Ex-Nihilo creation, that is something out of nothing. It clearly states in Heb. 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. What are the things that we cannot see out of which visible things were made? The answer is intelligent living energy. And what is that intelligent living energy? The answer is God! The whole universe is made out of energy which is not such a strange concept. Energy can be converted into matter and matter can be converted into energy, these are real scientific measurable truths. If someone had access to infinite energy and the intelligence to direct that energy could they not create an infinite universe? If God is that being who possesses these attributes then does it not simplify our understanding of our origins a whole lot? If God wanted to create the sun; he not only has the intelligence to design the sun but more importantly he has the energy or the power that would be required to build such a celestial body. Since God is infinite intelligence and is also infinite energy it is not at all difficult to believe that he created this infinite universe, and the Earth that we inhabit. What is impossible to believe is the ‘Big Bang’ or ‘Chaos’ theories that provide no satisfactory explanation as to how things got started and how such order could arise with no intelligence having existed to design and guide the act of creation. The odds of a tornado going through a junkyard and creating a jumbo jet are far greater than randomness having given rise to intelligence. It hurts my intelligence to even think that someone could propose such a preposterous theory but incredibly enough it is taught in the halls of academia all over the world!

So going back to the beginning, we know that in the beginning was the Word, which can be rephrased as ‘In the beginning was the living, powerful intelligent energy. And all things were made by this energy which is God. So the bible does not teach that everything was made out of nothing, on the contrary it tells us that the energy required to create matter was present right from the beginning and everything came into existence as a result of this energy being intelligently released to be converted into matter. If you can find a better explanation for the origin of matter please be sure to share it with me.

Why then does man keep rejecting God and searching for alternative explanations for his origins? That is a different subject which has to do with good and evil, another major biblical doctrine that will be explored at a later date.

Friday, May 1, 2009

‘Charitable Giving’: An Oxymoron

http://www.christianpost.com/Intl/Persecution/2009/04/orissa-christians-requesting-scripture-over-food-says-ministry-30/index.html

O what a feel good story of people in India so hungry for the Word of God that they forget about their bodily hunger! Poppycock I say! This brief entry will address the issue of charitable giving or giving money to so – called charities, especially so – called Christian charities like World Vision and Compassion International. Have you recently seen a picture on TV of a suffering child in Africa, Asia or Latin America? Have you ever sponsored a child in one of these countries? So do you think that these ‘charities’ are really helping those less blessed than us? Understanding human nature and the greed that motivates the majority of the populace, philanthropy is anything but love for fellow man. Bill Gates gave $100 million to help vaccinate people in Africa; do we really believe that he did so because he loves Africans so much? Or perhaps he did it because he gets a nice tax write off, and his pals in the Pharma business make a neat profit while furthering the agenda of depopulation through contaminated vaccines. Sadly, it is not beyond the darkness of the human heart to use even innocent children for profit, for mere monetary gain. I see so many beautiful kids on sites such as that of Compassion and I recall Jesus' words: Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Yet these very businesses, (let’s call them for what they really are), indeed forbid little children from getting anywhere near Jesus Christ. If you go to the Compassion website you will see pictures of beautiful kids, the question I ask is why only beautiful kids? If you visit India you will see such horribly deformed and malnourished kids right on the side of the streets that you will find it hard to believe that such horror and destitution cane be found anywhere in this world. If you go to Compassion International’s website and browse through the photos you will find page after page of perfect looking healthy kids nothing like what you will find in reality in India or Africa, http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/waystosponsor/all_children.htm . The movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ gives a more accurate picture of the slums of India and even that movie was somewhat sanitized. What’s going on here is a marketing of children, all beautifully packaged, ready for you to take home. Better still – you don’t even have to take them home just send in your money!

Most of these 'charitable' organizations such as World Vision and Compassion are CIA fronts bringing death and despair to 3rd world nations in the name of God. They do some seemingly good works but the majority of funds they collect are used for nefarious purposes including human trafficking. I read an urgent plea for funds from an Indian pastor who claimed that Hindus or Communists came and massacred his congregation right in church because they were Christians. The thought occurred to me that if the congregation was destroyed because they were Christians, should the killers not have started with the pastor? How then did he escape to go run around western countries collecting funds to supposedly help the downtrodden back home? I understand enough of the human heart and the evil that resides in it to give money to any charitable organization. When the time comes we will have our own group to share everything with as they did in the book of Acts. I can still see the picture of an Indian child who was worshipping God with such reverence on his face that only a child can display and his picture was being used by Compassion to raise money, have these folks no fear of God to use innocent children to satisfy their greed? The money changers of today have indeed made our Father's house a den of iniquity rather than a house of prayer.

The story linked to above is an obvious fund raising ploy; Orissa is one of the poorest regions of India and it is unlikely that people on the verge of starvation will be requesting bibles over food. So this feel good story that is put out is only meant to raise money; O look at these great people of faith in Orissa, they have no food but all they care about is The Word of God! We need to send them audio bibles urgently; so please send us money! $1 a day is all we ask for but if you can give $10 a day God will bless you ten times more!

One question I ask people is why is there still poverty in 3rd world nations? The UN has been around for over 60 years, World Vision and other such organizations have been collecting money for decades. Billions of dollars have flowed into these organizations that are supposedly helping the 3rd world countries. After 50+ years and billions of dollars how come there is still no clean drinking water in Africa? How come there is still no infrastructure to help natives become self sufficient? Should these nations not have at least become 2nd world nations by now if not achieved 1st world status? The reason they are not is that much more of the money collected is used on guns and for inciting people to kill each other than for providing clean drinking water, medicine or building infrastructure. Have you ever wondered that in permanently starving regions of Africa there never is a shortage of guns? That’s where your money really goes; from your pocket to World Vision to a gun manufacturer in The States from where guns not food is shipped to a destitute country in Africa or Asia. ‘The Constant Gardner’, ‘Blood Diamond’, and ‘Lord of War’ are movies that explore this topic of guns and pharmaceuticals for the 3rd world, particularly African countries rather than food and clean drinking water. They fail to make the connection of the funding that comes from ‘charitable organizations’ for this death dealing merchandise but are nonetheless relevant movies. Enough said! Save your money - it will be needed to help those really in need and the time comes when you will find them very close to home not in a far off African country.