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Loyalty to God’s Word

Satan’s strategy always has been to make us doubt, deny, and disobey God’s words. God’s Word, the eternal Logos, is the second divine person of the Trinity. The Logos became a human being named Jesus (John 1:14), who revealed that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). God’s Word is always true. (John 17:17) It reveals that the only way to experience God’s life is through our Lord Jesus.

Since Jesus is the Logos made flesh, to reject God’s Word is to reject Jesus. Faith in and loyalty to Jesus includes being loyal to his Word. Every person will eventually face a crisis that tests our loyalty to God’s Word.

For Adam and Eve, it happened in the garden when Satan, disguised as a serpent, questioned Eve and cast doubt upon God’s integrity and the truthfulness of his words. Adam and Eve failed the loyalty test. It is important that we pass it.

Satan is a cunning deceiver, whom Jesus called the “father of lies.” Speaking to the Pharisees, the Jewish religious leaders who resisted God’s truth, Jesus said:

You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. John 8:44–45 (NKJV)

We need to understand that the devil’s lies are still very seductive. Through them he has enslaved most of humanity.

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:9 (NKJV)

Once enslaved by his lies, we naturally resist the truth. Once a lie sets up residence in our hearts and minds, it is easier for us to accept it rather than God’s truth.

In other words, we will actively resist our own liberation when we are confronted with God’s truth. When lies are repeated to us over and over again, it is called brainwashing, which is difficult to overcome. Such deception is increasing as the age in which we lives draws to a close.

And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:11–12 (NKJV)

Paul the apostle told us that Satan’s lies work inside us to erect “strongholds” or fortresses that resist the entrance of God’s truth.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:4–5 (NKJV)

The only way to overcome these lie-based strongholds is by believing the truth of the Word of God as revealed by the Spirit of God, whose ministry includes guiding us into all truth.

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth... John 16:13a (NKJV)

Just as we must choose Jesus above every imposter vying for our hearts, so we must be loyal to God’s Word above every lie that opposes it. We cannot be disingenuous by embracing some form of syncretism. That is, we must not try to blend God’s truth with a lie in an effort to “have our cake and eat it, too.” Syncretism is the first step in a downward slide into idolatry and has always been a temptation for God’s people. The ancient Israelites often were insecure in their devotion to Yahweh and tried to blend worship of other gods into the mix, just to cover their bases, so to speak. What if the other gods were real and their protection was needed? The result was always a disaster. God allows no other gods to come between us and him. (Exodus 20:3) Syncretism will never work for us either. Paul wrote:

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. 1 Corinthians 10:21 (NKJV)

Likewise, it is impossible for us to be completely loyal to God’s Word while simultaneously embracing what fights against it. In today’s world, unless one is involved in the occult, the most likely enemy that invites us to dilute or contradict God’s truth is what is falsely called science.

We have been taught to believe that scientists operate in the realm of fact apart from having any sort of ideological bias, but nothing could be further from the truth. For example, when astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that the red shift exhibited by the stars indicated that the earth is the center of the universe, he wrote that such was an  “intolerable” conclusion.

“Such a condition would imply that we occupy a unique position in the universe, analogous, in a sense, to the ancient conception of a central Earth…This hypothesis cannot be disproved, but it is unwelcome and would only be accepted as a last resort in order to save the phenomena. Therefore we disregard this possibility…. the unwelcome position of a favored location must be avoided at all costs…. such a favored position is intolerable…” (Hubble, The Observational Approach to Cosmology)

While some areas of science use what is called the scientific method, other areas, particularly those associated with origins and cosmology, are based on conjecture and assumption cloaked in a facade of certainty. Neil deGrasse Tyson, a well-known spokesperson for such pseudo-science, famously stated that the theory of evolution is a scientific fact. Evolution, however, is at best an unprovable hypothesis and certainly not a fact, but it is taught as truth in our lie-based anti-God school systems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The world portrays those of us who adhere to the Bible’s teaching about the origin of mankind as backward religious extremists who resist the advancement of an enlightened scientific view.

To go against the dominant “scientific” worldview is to risk, or perhaps guarantee, being called a fool. This is a price everyone who is loyal to God’s Word must be willing to pay. (1 Corinthians 4:10)

One might ask if gravity is indeed a fact, too, or is it merely an unproven theory espoused by Sir Isaac Newton to support the novel and non-biblical Copernican heliocentric theory? It soon thereafter morphed into the so-called Law of Universal Gravitation, which today is accepted as an indisputable truth despite the fact that it cannot be proven in a laboratory.

Satan uses pseudo-science to obscure the revelation of God.

King David wrote these beautiful words that describe one of the purposes of creation.

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Psalm 19:1–4 (NKJV)

Human beings are supposed to look upon what God made and see clear evidence of the Creator.

Paul wrote:

because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:19–21 (NKJV)

When our spiritual eyes are blinded by sin and lies, we cannot see evidence of God in his creation, which has devastating results by alienating us from God and his life. In an effort to shroud the entire world in deception, Satan has used what is falsely called science to spread lies about the world God made. Realizing this ever present danger, Paul warned his protege, Timothy.

O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen. 1 Timothy 6:20–21 (NKJV)

Only by returning to the truth found in Genesis and reading it with an open heart and mind can we begin to get back to a proper understanding of creation.

God created this world as the center of everything. It is a protected environment overseen by the Creator personally. His throne is located above the firmament. We are not, as so-called scientists say, an insignificant speck in an incomprehensibly large universe hurtling at incredible speeds toward an uncertain future in which God is nowhere to be found.

Jesus revealed how important it is to be loyal to God’s Word, if we are going to experience freedom from Satan’s enslaving lies.

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31–32 (NKJV)

It is time for God’s people to rededicate ourselves to God’s Word and determine that we will adhere to it no matter how costly it may prove to be. Those who honor his Word will be honored by God.

For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,” Says the LORD. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word. Isaiah 66:2 (NKJV)
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Chapter 75: How to Share Our Personal Testimony

When an opportunity presents itself for us to talk about the Lord with people, often it is easier to begin by sharing our own testimony. This is our personal story describing how God intersected our lives and what has been the result. Sharing our testimony is often less confrontational than relating the gospel, unless we conclude our testimony by giving an invitation to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.

We may wish to have short, medium, and long versions of our testimony. Which one we share may depend on how much time we have and the interest level of the listener. The basic ingredients of our testimony might be as follows.

  • Our lives before conversion, including what may have influenced us to seek the Lord,
  • How Christ intersected our lives,
  • And how our lives changed afterward.

Even should the listener discount our words, it is difficult to deny personal experiences. Even existentialists can agree that we experienced something. If they claim it was merely “our truth,” it gives us an opportunity to reply that even though it was my experience, the Lord and salvation are real and have been experienced by countless millions of people.

Paul gave us an example of a way to share a testimony in Acts Chapter 26.

“So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 “And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 “And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities. 12 “While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13 at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. 14 “And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 “And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 ‘But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; 17 rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, 18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’ 19 “So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance. 21 “For this reason some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death. 22 “So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; 23 that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”  Acts 26:9–23 (NASB95)

This two-and-a-half-minute testimony starts with Paul’s persecution of Christians, thinking he was serving God by doing so. This demonstrated that he was an enemy of the gospel prior to conversion, which probably heightened interest in what was to follow. Before his conversion, he was not filled with angst, a feeling of being lost, or in trouble, as is often the case with us. He was convinced he was doing the right thing by persecuting the church. This was Paul’s story.

Whatever route we took on our personal journey to the Lord is our testimony.

Jesus intersected Paul’s life while he was on the way to persecute believers. Few of us have conversions as dramatic as Paul, but however God reached us is an important part of our story and should be shared with as much detail as appropriate. Paul’s conversion included a call to be a witness for Christ, which Paul used to transition to the last part of his testimony – how his life changed afterward. He concluded his testimony by giving the key ingredient of the gospel – the resurrection of Christ.

It is often possible to conclude our testimony with an invitation to receive Christ as Lord and Savior.

This requires us to be sensitive to how our words are being received. We may not wish to press the matter. On the other hand, if we think the listener may be open to the gospel, we might ask, “Is there any reason you would not choose to receive Christ as your Lord and Savior right now?” If the answer is affirmative, we can try to address the issues. If negative, we can gently lead them in a prayer to surrender their lives to our Savior and Lord.

It is important for us to keep in mind that we may be merely sowing good seed into their lives. Many people require several exposures to the gospel before they are ready to receive Christ. On the other hand, we may have the privilege of reaping what others have sown by leading them to Christ. Either way, it is a win for the kingdom of God.

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Why Understanding God’s Design for the World Is Important

How Can We Escape Pervasive Deception Regarding the Earth?

Part 9: Why Understanding God’s Design for the World Is Important

Understanding God’s design of the world in which we live can liberate us from pervasive deception. The Lord provides us with a lot of very good information in the Bible.

The scriptures tell us that our Lord keeps some things secret but hides other things in plain sight ready to be discovered by those who are willing to dig.

It is our honor to search out these hidden things in his Word with the help of the Holy Spirit, who desires to reveal them to us. God apparently loves a mystery, and has built into us a desire to pursue a solution.

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever... Deuteronomy 29:29a (NKJV)

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2 (NKJV)

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. John 16:13–14 (NKJV)

God’s design of our world is a fascinating study which we can piece together from passages in Genesis and other places in Scripture.

My working presupposition is that God says what he means and means what he says and that his language is very exact and specific.

Jesus said that God will judge us for every careless word we speak (Matthew 12:36); therefore, I conclude that God never speaks carelessly or utters a falsehood. He would never demand from us what he is unwilling to do himself.

...Your word is truth. John 17:17b (NASB95)

Genesis reveals that God first created the “deep,” which had a “face.”

The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:2 (NKJV)

A face is the part of something with which we interact. The seas have a face with which God interacted during creation and which always point upward toward heaven. The Spirit of God moved or “hovered” over it. This tells us that from the beginning God established an “up” and a “down,” elements associated with a plane rather than a sphere.

Since Copernicus, modern astronomers insist that we accept as a fact an hypothesized non-biblical concept of a spinning spherical earth hurtling through the void of outer space. This was a huge step in Satan’s push to render all of God’s truth relative.

Einstein’s theory of “relativity” is a perfect example. He negated Michelson-Morley’s confirmation of the biblical truth that the earth is fixed and motionless by inventing his theory that claims that all motion is relative and cannot be ascertained. (See previous article.) The serpent hissed, “Has God really said?”

At this point, there was no light or land (earth), only deep water stretching out on a level, as all water does, with a face. By necessity, these waters were bounded, because water must be. We will learn more about this later. Then God created light, without the existence of any light source besides himself.

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. Genesis 1:3–5 (NASB95)

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:3–5 (NKJV)

Materialists scoff at such a proposition, insisting that this is a scientific error in the Bible that stemmed from the author’s ignorance.

Materialists believe that the physical world is the only reality, but the Bible tells us that the spiritual world pre-existed it.

By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:3 (NASB95)

Next God created the firmament, a solid and mighty (Psalm 130:1) structure, comparable to beaten out or molten metal, which God stretched over the waters like a vaulted dome that separated the water below from the water above. To learn more insight the amazing firmament, you can read my previous article on the subject.

Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus 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. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. Genesis 1:6–8 (NKJV)

The One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth, He who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth, The LORD is His name. Amos 9:6 (NASB95)

Many ancient cultures scattered over the earth had this understanding of our world. Below is a very much “not to scale” depiction that Bible scholars agree typifies the ancient Hebrew understanding of what the Bible teaches.

Today most modern people scoff at such an “archaic” notion, believing that it has been disproved by science. However, upon closer inspection, as I covered in previous articles, we discover that much of the theoretical physics of the universe has a very shaky speculative foundation. Could it be, rather, that ancient peoples, who were closer to Adam, had knowledge passed down orally regarding the nature of our world? Could it be that the Bible is correct and modern science has veered away from the truth? It certainly would not be the first time. We are confident that the “scientific” theories of the self-generation of the universe and humans is completely false. Would it be surprising to find out that the Copernican theory is also a lie, perhaps the biggest one of all?

The Bible says that God’s Word is a light to our path and a lamp to our feet. As we follow it, we sometimes end up in surprising places. We must be brave enough to go wherever truth may take us.

Ezekiel provides us with a unique perspective from under and above the vault of the firmament, which I covered in an earlier article. We do not know how far above the surface of the earth this vaulted dome extends, nor do we know its extent in relation to the earth’s surface. God has not revealed this to us, and we cannot explore it because the Antarctic Treaty has cordoned off that area from independent investigation. We can observe however that it is vast.

After creating the seas, light, and the firmament, the Lord next created the land.

Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:9–10 (NASB95)

Modern astronomers call their spinning globe the “earth,” thereby combining two distinct parts of creation, the waters and the earth, into one. This merger supposes that the earth is primary and the seas secondary. The Word of God, however, says that the seas are primary as far as creation goes, with the earth coming later.

The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. 2 For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters. Psalm 24:1–2 (NKJV)

God says that the earth has pillars and foundations and cannot be moved unless God shakes them in judgment. Some of the earlier chapters of Job contain the opinions of men, which sometimes are incorrect, but starting in chapter 38, God himself speaks. We can be sure that everything revealed in that section is completely accurate. The Lord asked Job…

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?...6 To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, Job 38:4a,6 (NKJV)

God also tells us that the world, both the seas and the land, shall not be moved, belying the claims of Copernicus et.al. that the earth is hurtling at breakneck speed through an infinitely expanding universe.

Tremble before Him, all the earth. The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved. 1 Chronicles 16:30 (NKJV) 

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously.” Psalm 96:10 (NKJV)

No one on earth has ever sensed any sort of motion, except during earthquakes. If astrophysicists are correct, and the rotating earth is revolving around a sun that is moving around our galaxy, which is moving in the larger universe, how then is it possible for stars to appear in the night sky year after year in the same positions? Rather than describing concentric circles, time lapse photography of the movement of the stars should show that they wobble and weave all over the sky in agreement with the supposed movement of the sun and its planets. Nothing like that is true however. The stars show regular motion night after night, indicating that they are the ones moving around a fixed earth, just as the Bible says.

God also set a boundary for the seas. The most obvious boundaries are the shorelines of the masses of land projecting upward from the oceans. These boundaries were overflowed during Noah’s great flood, but God promised afterward that such a catastrophe would never take place again. The passage below references this promise.

 

You who laid the foundations of the earth, So that it should not be moved forever, 6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters stood above the mountains. 7 At Your rebuke they fled; At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away. 8 They went up over the mountains; They went down into the valleys, To the place which You founded for them. 9 You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, That they may not return to cover the earth. Psalm 104:5–9 (NKJV)

Additionally, the Bible reveals that there is a circular outer boundary as well.

When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28 When He established the clouds above, When He strengthened the fountains of the deep, 29 When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, Proverbs 8:27–30 (NKJV)

Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, If you know? Proverbs 30:4 (NKJV)

God “drew a circle on the face of the deep” and “bound” or restricted the waters by what is translated as a “garment,” which has the meaning of a restricting wrapper or boundary. The “ends of the earth” are its extreme limits, something that would be meaningless on a sphere. This means that the waters of the oceans are contained within a sort of basin, which comports with the known physics of water, rather than somehow overflowing and adhering to a spherical surface called the globe, which violates all known laws of the physics of water. I wrote about this more extensively in my previous article on gravity. This is strikingly similar to how the theory of evolution posits that matter progresses from the chaos of an explosion to the complexity of living beings all by chance, a violation of common sense and the second law of thermodynamics, which observes that systems move from order to disorder without the constant application of energy, as anyone who cleans homes knows. The chaos of an explosion cannot produce a watch any more than a mysterious hypothesized force called gravity can make water curve convexly over vast areas of the oceans.

Satan’s lies make fools of all who believe them.

Interestingly, when the Israelites constructed the basin associated with the tabernacle in which the priests washed, it was described as the sea.

Then he made the Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. 3 And under it was the likeness of oxen encircling it all around, ten to a cubit, all the way around the Sea. The oxen were cast in two rows, when it was cast. 2 Chronicles 4:2–3 (NKJV)

We are told that the tabernacle was built according to a heavenly pattern given to Moses by God, as referenced in the following verse.

who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “SEE,” He says, “THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN.” Hebrews 8:5 (NASB95)

It is fascinating to me that God instructed Moses to construct a “sea” that is a bounded circle, according to a heavenly pattern that is very similar to how the Bible describes the way God established a circular boundary to the oceans.

The Bible tells us that God sits above the firmament, looking down on his creation. Isaiah describes this amazing scene in which God again describes the world in which we live as a “circle” (Hebrew – chug) rather than as a sphere or ball, which is another word entirely (Hebrew – dur). Remember, God is precise in his wording.

Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is He who sits above the circle [chug] of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. Isaiah 40:21–22 (NKJV)

In the previous passage from Isaiah, the heavens, which can be synonymous with the vaulted firmament (Genesis 1:8), are spread out or stretched like a tent or curtain, within which he placed the sun, moon, and stars (Genesis 1:17).

Modern astronomy insists that the sun is gigantic and is approximately 93 million miles distant, but a case can be made that our sun is much smaller and nearer. People who have measured it using a sextant think it is approximately 32 miles in diameter and about 3000 miles distant. (Thomas Winship, Zetetic Cosmogeny, pp.114-120) The sextant, by the way, was developed to navigate an earth that is a plane and worked very well for centuries before Copernicus. In addition, the sun’s angled crepuscular rays shining through the clouds, which all us have seen, also suggest its nearness. If it were as far away as astrophysicists claim, its rays would be parallel.

Don’t forget that one of the devil’s chief aims is to make us doubt God’s Word and strip humanity of its wonder and awe of the Creator. Could it be that his “end game” is to convince the inhabitants of earth that we are under attack from space aliens so that under extreme duress we will gladly cede authority to a one-world government? Many believe this is the case. We have been hearing such a narrative for quite a while now.

The “curtain” of the firmament serves as a barrier between the realm of man below and God’s realm of heaven above, much like the curtain that blocked access to the holiest place of the tabernacle of Moses and the temple of Solomon.

Modern astrophysics attempts to remove all knowledge of God’s heavenly realm by declaring that the earth is hurtling through a vast rapidly expanding universe in which God cannot be found. The devil has used the Copernican system in an attempt to sever our connection with God and the reality of heaven above, requiring those of us who still hold to the concept of heaven to conceive of it as a strictly spiritual realm having no relation to our physical earth. Scripture tells us that heaven is where God the Son sits on his throne and is an actual place separated from us by the firmament. It is located “up” – above us.

Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Luke 21:28 (NKJV)

In the Bible up and down have meaning. John the Baptist said this about Jesus:

He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. John 3:31 (NASB95)

The precise wording of the Bible confirms that God’s realm is above, not in some completely spiritualized non-location.

Just as the Holy of Holies was set apart by a curtain, only to be entered once a year by the high priest, so is heaven above separated from us by the curtain of the firmament through which Jesus, our high priest, gives us access.

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:19–20 (NASB95)

Through his death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus our great high priest penetrated the curtain of the firmament as a man and opened a way for us who believe to enter into God’s throne room now in the spirit and later to pass bodily into heaven. But as we wait for that glorious resurrection day, God says that we live there already in the spirit.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:4–6 (NKJV)

At Babel, rebellious mankind tried to penetrate unlawfully into the realm reserved only for God. Unredeemed humanity has not changed; even though our technology has. One might ask how is humanity attempting to break through the firmament today? Regardless of man’s vain attempts, we can be sure that God will not allow anyone to enter illegitimately into the place above where God’s throne is located. (Ezekiel 1:26)

One day our Lord will roll back the firmament like a scroll (Revelation 6:14-17), revealing the absolute truth of God’s Word to the entire world all at once. At that point in time, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess what will suddenly become obvious to all – Jesus is Lord!

Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Matthew 26:64 (NKJV)

Until then, God laughs at rebellious mankind’s futile attempts to overcome his sovereign rule over creation.

Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. Psalm 2:1–4 (NKJV)
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Gravity – the god of the Big Bang Theory

How Can We Escape Pervasive Deception Regarding the Earth?

Part 8: Gravity – the god of the Big Bang Theory

Since most people accept that something cannot self-generate from nothing, those who reject the Creator as the source require another “god” to account for the emergence of the universe – gravity. Steven Hawking affirms such a belief.

The universe began with the Big Bang, which simply followed the inevitable law of physics. Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. The universe didn’t need a God to begin; it was quite capable of launching its existence on its own.

It is wonderful that this god called gravity is an “inevitable” law, a force, if you will, that somewhat resembles the Force in Star Wars, which has a yin and yang, both positive and negative sides. Einstein’s mathematical equations, according to modern theoretical physicists, allow for gravity to act both as an attractive and as a repulsive force, given the right conditions, which astrophysicists claim existed prior to the Big Bang.

Gravity, like any self-respecting god, is able to do the impossible.

Below is an 11-minute video that explains this unproven and impossible to test position, which is another example pseudoscience, a topic I discussed in my previous article.

Those who ascribe to logic will undoubtedly laugh out loud when we are told that we “know” that, at the time of the Big Bang, what is now all energy and matter was condensed into a single point at extremely high temperatures. Yet such imaginative speculation is now taught as fact at the university level, just as is evolution.

I suppose Tyson does not understand the difference between a theory and a fact. This is how brainwashing is accomplished. The high priests of pseudoscience foist their foolish ideas as proven truth upon gullible people who no longer adhere to the wisdom of God’s Word.

Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. Romans 1:22 (NLT)

“It’s a magnificent mathematical garb which fascinates, dazzles and makes people blind to the underlying errors. The theory is like a beggar clothed in purple whom ignorant people take for a king…” – Nicola Tesla

Just as Darwin’s insights into the process of natural selection gave atheists the scientific “hook” upon which to rest their unprovable “theory” of evolution, thereby dispensing with the need for a Creator and making man a meaningless accident, godless astrophysicists have pinned their hopes on gravity to accomplish the same end. In so doing, so-called scientists have duped the masses into accepting their unproven assertions as the truth in contradiction of the Bible’s authority.

Sadly, many who hold the Bible dear have gone along for the ride, feeling compelled to “reinterpret” the Bible’s words to agree with what is believed to be proven scientific truth and and end up in gross error.

Genesis declares that the Creator God existed in the beginning, and John tells us that the eternal Logos, God’s only begotten Son, spoke everything into existence out of nothing.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. John 1:1–3 (NASB95)

Not only did the Logos create the world; he sustains and holds it together every moment.

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power... Hebrews 1:3a (NASB95)

He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 (NASB95)

Those who revere God’s Word do not need a god called Gravity to hold everything together. We have the assurance that God does that.

When we go to a movie or watch a television drama, we are expected to suspend our sense of concrete reality and enter into a fabricated world of imagination. This is what Einstein and others have said is necessary to travel into the world of theoretical physics.

Nobody that I know of in my field uses the so-called scientific method. In our field it is by the seat of your pants, leaps of logic. It is guesswork.  —Michio Kaku, C-SPAN Interview (Source)

Theoretical physicists ask an admiring population to adopt a kind of magical thinking when it comes to what gravity can do.

For example, it takes the entire planet Earth to attract a feather to the floor, but we can counteract Earth’s gravity by lifting the feather with a finger. The action of our finger can counteract the gravity of an entire planet that weighs over six trillion trillion kilograms. ― Michio Kaku, Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration of the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel

We are expected to believe that the force that compressed the entire universe into a mere point in space at the time of the Big Bang and then paradoxically caused it to explode and now holds impossibly big planets enthralled in synchronous orbits can be easily overcome. We are expected to believe that the force that holds untold tons of ocean to the surface of a curved earth against the incalculable centrifugal force generated by its over 1000 mph rotation at the equator is gentle enough to allow droplets of water to ascend heavenward when two waves slap together. Anyone who has tried to hold on to a spinning merry-go-round knows that this is an astounding claim. Common sense tells us that if gravity can hold water to the earth’s surface under such conditions, it would crush everything, but once we surrender our minds to the foolishness of rejecting God’s Word, such magical thinking is both encouraged, expected, and required. After all, nothing is impossible for gravity.

And what about the paradox of gravity allowing smoke to ascend effortlessly while simultaneously restraining the incomprehensible power of the supposed vacuum of “outer space” from sucking away our atmosphere? This defies all common sense and known laws of physics, but gravity can do all things.

Adopting the anti-biblical heliocentric view requires the earth to rotate at about 1039 mph at the equator to account for the motion of the sun, moon, and stars. Astonishingly, we who live on this “planet” feel no such motion, supposedly because only acceleration can be felt, not speed. We are also expected to believe that our atmosphere is in the grip of gravity as well, which is why we do not feel any wind generated by the earth’s rotation. Luckily gravity can do all things, which makes it possible for us to feel gentle breezes and forceful winds going in all sorts of directions, too.

Another miracle associated with gravity is how an airplane experiences no difference in time or speed when flying east, west, north, or south, despite being in the grip of the rotational wind velocity of the atmosphere. If the jet were in a northern latitude where the rotational wind speed was the same as the speed of the jet, would not the jet remain stationary while the earth rotated under it? And why would not the rotational wind velocity be added to a jet’s speed going west? Ah, the miracle of gravity.

All of this confusion is the result of rejecting the Bible’s geocentric cosmology, which I covered in the previous article.

The Word of God tells us that God created a stationary earth first and the sun, moon, and stars later, which move around it. For any self-respecting heliocentrist, this is an insultingly foolish archaic position. However, it is impossible to come to any other conclusion, if one accepts the Bible as our authority. A stationary earth is the one that conforms to our sensory experience and common sense. It also conforms the the results of the Michelson-Morley experiment, which I referenced in my previous article. But since Einstein had already concluded that the solar system is heliocentric, he ingeniously “nullified” the threat of these findings by developing his theory of special relativity, which claimed that the metal box in which the experiment took place shrank. Cleverly, he mathematically rendered invalid Michelson-Morley’s demonstrated proof of the earth’s being at rest, claiming that his new theory removed the possibility of even being able to test whether the earth is in motion or not. Confused by his circular logic? That is an example of how the devil cleverly obfuscates the truth.

More recently, several experiments were conducted to measure cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. Astoundingly, the results indicated that earth is the center of the universe, just as the Bible claims! The red shift that scientists say they detect in the stars show the same thing. (If you are interested in learning more about this, here is a link to a movie entitled, The Principle.) Edwin Hubble, after whom the famous telescope was named, refused to accept the obvious geocentric conclusion on philosophical grounds.

…Such a condition would imply that we occupy a unique position in the universe, analogous, in a sense, to the ancient conception of a central Earth…This hypothesis cannot be disproved, but it is unwelcome and would only be accepted as a last resort in order to save the phenomena. Therefore we disregard this possibility…. the unwelcome position of a favored location must be avoided at all costs…. such a favored position is intolerable…Therefore, in order to restore homogeneity, and to escape the horror of a unique position…must be compensated by spatial curvature. There seems to be no other escape.”(The Observational Approach to Cosmology)

This avowed determination to contradict God’s revealed truth propels people into greater and greater folly, while we imagine that we are displaying wonderful brilliance. Those who accept the Big Bang in opposition to the Genesis account bemoan Bible believers’ ignorance and stupidity while congratulating themselves for embracing string theory’s self-generated multiverse. The emperor truly has no clothes, and the devil laughs. I can almost hear the serpent’s hiss: ” Has God really said?”

The only way back from the abyss of godless astrophysics is to embrace the truth of God’s Word and acknowledge the Creator.

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Psalm 19:1–4 (NKJV)
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Chapter 73: The Gospel Satisfies Our Thirst for Truth

One of the things that clearly distinguishes God’s people from those on their way to eternal destruction is their relationship with truth. When Adam and Eve believed the serpent in the garden, it created in them an adverse relationship with truth that they passed down to us. Immediately those two were deeply ashamed and tried to hide the truth about what they had done from their Creator. The fear of our shame and guilt being uncovered pushes us away from the truth, too. As Jesus put it… 

All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.  John 3:20 (NLT)

By nature, those whose hearts are hardened against God are also enemies of the truth. Those who love God love truth as well.

Light and truth are related. The light of God’s truth both reveals the glory of God and exposes sin. Without God’s intervention, people hide from God’s truth about themselves. We find it easier to do this than risk being exposed, shamed, and condemned for our sins. We fear that God is a judge who will mercilessly expose and condemn us to death as our sins deserve.

When we find ourselves in a seemingly untenable situation such as this, we tend to resort to denial and perhaps attempt to create an alternate reality.

We may find it necessary to suppress the truth to uphold the lie we create to try to insulate ourselves from God’s judgment.

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.  Romans 1:18–20 (NLT)

 Even though creation makes God’s existence obvious, we develop and teach as dogma an alternate theory of how we got here called the Big Bang theory and evolution. These lies insist that all matter, energy, and life created or generated themselves through natural processes related to a mysterious force some call gravity. If we got here without help from God, we are masters of the universe who are accountable to no one, Satan’s, Adam’s, and Eve’s goal.

Those who hold power to suppress truth usually strongly defend their lies and attack anyone who dares resist the official narrative.

Nothing is more dangerous to a lie than the truth.

All sorts of truth suppressing alternate realities are being forced upon us, including transgenderism. Anyone who dares to resist is often fiercely attacked. Our news media, in cooperation with the government, Big Medicine, Big Tech, Big Pharma, Big Agriculture, etc., promotes all sorts of falsehoods under the name of truth which is propaganda. Power seeks to intimidate the populace into bowing to the lie, rather than stand up for what is true, thus breaking our will. It is only when the Spirit of truth (John 14:17) begins to work inside us that are drawn away from the lie toward truth.

Jesus, who is Truth in human form, came into this world to testify to the truth and draw to himself those whom God has chosen.

Some who heard Jesus’ words responded by believing in him. Others resisted because they had no love for truth.

Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! 44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! 46 Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”  John 8:43–47 (NLT)

Imagine: the Jewish leaders’ hatred of truth propelled them to execute the One sent into the world to testify to the truth. They brought our Lord to Pilate, who heard these remarkable words from Jesus.

Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.”  John 18:37 (NLT)

All Pilate could weakly reply was, “What is truth?” The Truth stood right in front of him, but he did not recognize him.

We cannot understand the truth about who Jesus is unless the Holy Spirit opens our hearts and develops within us a love for truth.

The movie entitled The Matrix is a parable about man’s quest to know the truth. The hero is a young man called Neo who is given a choice between having his eyes opened to the terrifying truth about a very high level of deception or continuing to live in the apparent comfort and security of the lie. Neo was offered two pills, a red one that would open his eyes to the truth and a blue one that would allow him to continue in the blissful ignorance that enslaved him.

Most people choose to live in some level of deception, keeping the truth about God at a distance, pretending that they will never die or face him in judgment at the end of their lives.

God does not want people to remain captives of the lie, which is why he sent his Son, who is the Truth, to rescue us.

May God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. 4 Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. 5 All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.  Galatians 1:3–5 (NLT)

The eternal Logos, the Word of God, became a human being, the embodiment of truth, who came with a message of truth combined with mercy. God made a way for us to face the truth without its destroying us. That way cost the one who is truth his life.

Jesus took all the guilt and shame associated with serving the Lie upon himself so that God’s truth and light could penetrate our defenses and capture our hearts in a life-giving way.

In our Lord Jesus, mercy and truth came together to create a pathway to God.

 Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed! 11 Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven.  Psalm 85:10–11 (NLT)

The Law, which is God’s truth without mercy, exposes our sin, but Jesus came to fulfill the Law on our behalf so that we might receive mercy from God.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.  John 1:14–17 (NASB95)

 This is the gospel message.

Truth has come to us in the person of Jesus who offered himself as a sacrifice to provide forgiveness for our sins and open the way for us to be reconciled to the God of truth. He is the only way back to God.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.  John 14:6 (NASB95)

Those whose hearts are open to truth receive this good news and act upon it and become people of truth and mercy. Those whose hearts remain closed refuse to come to Jesus.

This man [of lawlessness] will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. 10 He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. 11 So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. 12 Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.  2 Thessalonians 2:9–12 (NLT)

When people choose deception over God’s truth, they condemn themselves to eternal destruction.

This is because the lie kills. Life is only found in God. When we reject truth, we reject God, thereby rejecting life.

Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles. 47 For the Lord gave us this command when he said, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’” 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers. 49 So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region.  Acts 13:46–49 (NLT)

The ability to love and choose truth is a gift from God himself called repentance.

Without God’s help, we will remain truth haters. With God’s help, we can become lovers of truth, which is an earmark of Christ’s disciples.

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”  John 8:31–32 (NASB95)

Those who receive a love for truth come to Jesus and love his Word.

Born again followers of Christ have a Holy Spirit derived love for the Bible.

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’  John 16:13–15 (NLT)

It is incongruent for someone to claim to be a follower of Christ and not love his Word. There seems to be no middle ground. We will either love his word or hate it. When we see churches veer away from their adherence to biblical truth, it appears that the Spirit does not live inside them.

The Spirit of truth always upholds the Word of truth.

Once God opens our eyes to the One who is the embodiment of truth, and we put our faith and allegiance in him, our quest for truth is satisfied. It is not that we now know the whole truth. Quite the opposite. I suspect that we will be discovering more about God for all eternity, but when we put our faith and allegiance in Jesus, we know deep inside that we need not look for anything or anyone else.

When we come to know the one called Truth, our souls find rest from our restless quest.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”  Matthew 11:28–30 (NLT)

Those who reject the truth of the gospel will never find satisfaction anywhere else. There is no peace or rest for the wicked who hate God and his truth. (Isaiah 48:22) There is no one else who can possibly satisfy us. (2 Timothy 3:7)

As disciples, we have a responsibility to invite others to become lovers of the Truth. It is wrong to keep something so great as our secret.

God commissioned us to share the gospel in the hope that the Holy Spirit may open the eyes, ears, and hearts of our listeners.

A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. 25 Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. 26 Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.  2 Timothy 2:24–26 (NLT)

With God’s help, we and others can come to our their senses and awaken to the Truth of God and escape the snares of deception. In the end, nothing can stop the advance of truth.

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Reaffirming Our Allegiance to God’s Word above the Claims of Astrophysics

How Can We Escape Pervasive Deception Regarding the Earth?

Part 7 – Reaffirming Our Allegiance to God’s Word above the Claims of Astrophysics

Introduction

The biblical account of the sun, moon, and stars differs from what we are taught in school regarding the Big Bang and the heliocentric model. Historians usually pose the church as the villain which resists the progress of science and truth. We are centuries past the introduction of the Copernican heliocentric theory’s general acceptance and the uproar that accompanied it. The church acquiesced, and what was previously debated is now regarded as fact, even though it has not been empirically proven using the so-called scientific method.

The conflict between Scripture and what is called science is age old and tests whether we will esteem God’s Word higher than the theories and pronouncements of men.

The passage of time produces the general acceptance of what was once only a theory. Enormous pressure exists in the scientific community to accept the status quo, but real science and truth only advance when questions are asked.

I have already known a long time that we do not yet have proof for the system of Copernicus, but I shall not take the risk to be the first one attacking it  —Alexander von Humboldt(1769-1859), Quoted in F.K. Schultze’s synopsis and translation of F.E. Pasche’s “Christliche Weltanschauuing

This article questions some parts of the reigning cosmology in pursuit of biblical truth. I ask you to consider what the Bible says in opposition to what so-called science claims and afterward make a decision regarding where you will stand in the matter.

I have come to believe that Satan must experience a perverted pleasure from convincing us to abandon God’s truth and embrace his lies. Jesus was not overstating things when he called him the “father of lies” (John 8:44), and Revelation tells us that he deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9). The longer I live, the more my eyes have been opened to the magnitude of the deception and the enormous numbers of people who participate in it.

Satan’s deceptions are designed to hide God’s glory and enslave us.

The Bible says that his lies create spiritual strongholds which resist the truth in those who are ensnared by them. (2 Cor. 10:4-5) Another name for this is brainwashing. When a lie is repeated to us over and over again, we tend to believe it, especially if those doing the lying are esteemed by us. In our culture, scientists are often the culprits. We have been trained from childhood that their proclamations are true, even if they are based on mere conjecture. When a brainwashed person is confronted with truth, he or she initially resists it, thinking that it is false because it runs counter to their brainwashing. Sometimes it takes repeated encounters with truth before we start to open ourselves to the possibility that we have been deceived. My hope is that you will at least consider what I have written here, even if it challenges your own status quo. I hope we can agree that the pursuit of truth is a worthwhile journey.

The Bible vs “Science”

Here is what Genesis teaches us about the heavenly luminaries.

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Genesis 1:14–15 (NKJV)

The Hebrew word for “light” means a luminary, light bearer or producer, or lamp. God gave us these luminaries to “divide the day from the night,” generally to provide light for us, and to be for signs, seasons, days, and years. Our days are regulated by what the Bible calls the “circuit” (Psalm 19:6) of the sun. It has been measured at 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59.99… seconds, essentially 24 hours – the solar day. The moon’s “circuit” is different and has “phases” that have been used for centuries to measure months in 28-day cycles. The stars’ circuit around Polaris, the north star which for centuries has remained fixed over the north pole, is called the sidereal day and lasts 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 41 seconds. Astronomers have developed a complex theory of celestial motion to try to explain why the solar day is a different length from the sidereal one, since both depend on the rotation of the earth, if we use the heliocentric explanation of things. For the average person, this explanation is “beyond our pay grade,” which invites us to lay aside our own reasoning power and rely on the “experts.”

They defend the old theories by complicating things to the point of incomprehensibility.   —Fred Hoyle, British Mathematician and Astronomer

In one year, the stars always return to their same position in the sky, which is quite remarkable (I would say unbelievable.), if we accept the Big Bang tenet of faith that the entire universe is constantly expanding at incredible speeds. If one does an internet search to find out how fast, one realizes that the answers are largely unintelligible for the average person. I read somewhere that it is over a million miles per hour. This obviously requires us to take a leap of faith that the “experts” are telling us the truth. I find that such thinking is unbelievable, considering that the stars have remained in fixed positions in the night sky through the centuries.

 Anybody who has been seriously engaged in scientific work of any kind realizes that over the entrance to the gates of the temple of science are written the words: ‘Ye must have faith.’ —Max Planck

Theoretical physics is derived from math, not experimentation. Nicola Tesla, generally regarded as one of the most brilliant true scientists of all time, and a contemporary of Einstein, had little regard for the latter’s work.

Today’s scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality.  —Nikola Tesla

A prominent modern theoretical physicist and string theory proponent, Michio Kaku, agreed with Tesla.

Nobody that I know of in my field uses the so-called scientific method. In our field it is by the seat of your pants, leaps of logic. It is guesswork.  —Michio Kaku, C-SPAN Interview (Source)

A good example of obfuscating the truth behind incomprehensible math is Einstein’s theory of special relativity which he developed after the surprising findings of the Michelson-Morley experiment. The experiment shot a light beam east-west and north-south, expecting there to be a difference based on the assumed motion of the earth around the sun. The unexpected result was that there was no difference, leading Morley to conclude that the earth was not moving.

The data [of Michelson-Morley] were almost unbelievable… There was only one other possible conclusion to draw – that the earth was at rest. – Physicist Bernard Jaffe, Michelson and the Speed of Light, 1960, p.76.

Einstein was a confirmed Copernican and developed his theory of special relativity to explain away the results. He employed a logical fallacy called “begging the question” by “proving” the motion of the earth by assuming the motion of the earth. Einstein took the “leap of faith” that the metal enclosure contracted because of the earth’s motion, thus accounting for the results. This gave theoretical physicists an imaginary solution, which has never been scientifically verified, that allowed them to keep the Copernican system intact.

Einstein and others have chosen to “suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18) because they are unwilling to consider that what the Bible claims is true: the earth is at rest with the heavenly bodies moving around it. This is another case of the religion of pseudoscience masquerading as the truth.

Personally, I choose to take the “leap” of believing that God’s Word is true, even if it contradicts the generally accepted guesswork of modern astrophysicists.

Returning to our exploration of what God says about the sun, moon, and stars, the Bible tells us that these luminaries are located in the firmament, which we have already determined is a mysterious firm boundary which separates the waters above and the third heaven where God’s throne is located from what lies below. (See previous article.)

Then 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. 17 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 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. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day. Genesis 1:16–19 (NKJV)

The nature and extent of the firmament is unknown to us, but the Bible affirms that it is the location of the sun, moon, and stars. This seems to preclude that they are “astronomical” distances from us. Since God chose to withhold details from us, we must accept his words without having complete understanding. God created us to operate by faith. (2 Cor. 5:7) Everyone operates by certain unprovable assumptions (presuppositions) and must believe in someone or something because no one knows everything. This is true for the Christian as well as the theoretical physicist.

Whether we choose to believe in God or “science,” it takes faith.

The Bible says that the sun and moon are both light sources, which opposes accepted science that claims the moon is a spherical reflector of the sun’s light. If science is correct, one would expect the moon to reflect light as a sphere would, which would be brightest at the center of sphere and fading toward the edges.

However, the moon is evenly lit across its surface. Something does not add up about this luminary. Perhaps there are things about the moon and cosmos that we do not yet understand. I believe it is a mistake to dismiss God’s Word as our authority when it comes to heavenly bodies just because it does not agree with accepted theoretical physics. The Bible is true not only regarding morality but also the creation. Does this not seem to be yet another case of “has God really said?” Have we been guilty of bowing our knee to “science” instead of to God and his words?

Hear the word of the LORD, You who tremble at His word... Isaiah 66:5 (NKJV)

About now I think I can hear the objection that NASA landed people on the moon, proving that it is a sphere. Did they? There is a vast amount of evidence that the entire thing was a sham. NASA spent billions on the Apollo project, but has quite inexplicably “lost” all the original video, audio, telemetry data, and rocket engine designs, and “destroyed” the technology.

Sounds unbelievable, doesn’t it?

All government agencies lie part of the time, but NASA is the only one I’ve ever encountered that does so routinely. —George A. Keyworth, Science Advisor to President Regan in testimony before Congress, March 14, 1985

And let us not forget that today we have the ability to manufacture a false or virtual “reality” like never before in history. Those of us saw the movie, Gravity, were impressed by the amazing simulations of weightlessness and “outer space” that were produced in a movie studio with a large, but limited budget. From our point of view, it was impossible to tell it from the “real thing.” What could NASA produce with its billions? If, as more and more people believe, the moon landings were an elaborate hoax filmed by the renowned director Stanley Kubrick, we have no direct proof that any claims made by NASA about the nature of the moon are true. Additionally, there are no true photographs of the earth from space, only computer generated images.

Robert Simmon, NASA’s Lead Data Visualizer and Information Designer, said, “My role is to make imagery from Earth sciences data. I turn data into pictures.” He came up with what is known as the blue marble image of a globular earth that is so ubiquitous today. Every year a new version is released, which surprisingly shows continents having differing sizes. Hmmm…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But we do have God’s unchangeable Word that never lies. (Numbers 23:19)

Psalm 19 supplies us with more truth regarding the sun.

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. 6 Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat. Psalm 19:1–6 (NKJV)

Here the firmament is described as a tabernacle or tent for the sun, under or within which it travels a circuit or circular course.

Simply put, the Bible states that the sun moves, not the earth.

That this is the proper understanding is confirmed in the following passage from Joshua.

Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. Joshua 10:12–13 (NKJV)

Martin Luther, a contemporary of Copernicus, rejected his heliocentric theory based on the verse above combined with other scriptures, such as Psalm 19:6, Ecclesiastes 1:5, and Psalm 93:1, which state that the earth does not move, but the sun does.

Once again we are confronted with a crisis of faith: will we believe what the Bible says or what modern “science” tells us?

Since the Renaissance, the church has felt compelled to compromise the Word of God to make it conform to theoretical physics. We usually adopt a hermeneutic that God simply accommodated himself the the limited understanding of the authors of the Bible. Am I the only one uncomfortable with believing that God fudged the truth?

Personally, I am willing to assume that God is the one telling the truth, even though it might expose me to ridicule.

The stars, viewed with a powerful optical lens, look quite different than we have been led to expect by NASA. They seem to be shimmering luminaries as might appear if seen through water. Remember: the Bible tells us that there is water above the firmament.

We must ask the question, have we been fed a steady diet of CGIs regarding “outer space” instead of the truth?

In our day, “science” is the government’s religion, and scientists are its high priests.

If we dare question these high priests, we should be prepared to suffer for it in some way, even if it is simply to be casually dismissed. At this point, I cannot help but remember how Fauci claimed that Covid vaccine opponents were science deniers. We opposed the religion of the state and encountered its wrath.

Scientists are not the paragons of rationality, objectivity, openmindedness and humility that many of them might like others to believe. —Marcello Truzzi, Professor of Sociology

It can be argued that Copernicus’ heliocentric theory was more of a religious / philosophical proposition than pure “science.” It elevated the sun to a sort of god status that holds things together; whereas, the Bible states that Jesus created and holds everything together through the word of his power. (Hebrews 1:3). Here are Copernicus’ own words. Judge for yourself.

In the middle of all sits Sun enthroned. In this most beautiful temple could we place this luminary in any better position from which he can illuminate the whole at once? He is rightly called the Lamp, the Mind, the Ruler of the Universe: Hermes Trismegistus names him the Visible God, Sophocles’ Electra calls him the All-seeing. So the Sun sits as upon a royal throne ruling his children the planets which circle round him. The Earth has the Moon at her service. As Aristotle says, in his On Animals, the Moon has the closest relationship with the Earth. Meanwhile the Earth conceives by the Sun, and becomes pregnant with an annual rebirth.  —Nicolaus Copernicus , De Revolutionibus, Of the Order of the Heavenly Bodies

Interestingly, the supposed missions to the moon were named after the Greek sun god, Apollo.

Pseudoscience claims to be scientific without adhering to the scientific method. It makes pronouncements which we are required to accept by faith, without our being able to prove them true. The motion of the sun, moon, and stars can be predicted without the heliocentric theory, as is proved by centuries of astronomers having accurate knowledge of celestial movements, including eclipses, before the advent of modern astronomy.

People need to be aware that there is a range of models that could explain the observations, For instance, I can construct you a spherically symmetrical universe with Earth at its center, and you cannot disprove it based on observations. You can only exclude it on philosophical grounds. In my view there is absolutely nothing wrong in that. What I want to bring into the open is the fact that we are using philosophical criteria in choosing our models. A lot of cosmology tries to hide that.    —Cosmologist George Ellis, in Scientific American, “Thinking Globally, Acting Universally”, October 1995

J.D. Bernal stated:

[Copernicus’] reasons for his revolutionary change were essentially philosophic and aesthetic,” and in a later edition he is more convinced that the “reasons were mystical rather than scientific   —J. D. Bernal, Science in History, 1st edition, London, Watts, 1954; 2nd edition, 1965).

Nevertheless, many generations after his death, anyone who disputes his theory is deemed a heretic and worthy of scorn. The actual scientific method encourages questioning, however.

Just as the serpent dismissed and scorned God’s words of warning in the garden so long ago, the hiss of the serpent can be detected in the way that which is called science casually and routinely dismisses the Bible’s claims.

Many modern “scientists” haughtily scorn God and the Bible while indoctrinating our society with anti-biblical “truths” with the purpose of pushing people further away from seeing the glory of God in his creation. The more we buy into an anti-God “scientific” narrative, the further we drift from the Bible’s truth and an appreciation for the Creator.

[Copernicus’] work, published in 1543, was called On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres. It stated that the center of the universe was a spot somewhere near the sun…The scheme met the requirements of philosophical and theological belief in circular motion. In every other respect, however, Copernicus struck at the heart of Aristotelian and Christian belief. He removed the Earth from the center of the universe and so from the focus of God’s purpose. In the new scheme man was no longer the creature for whose use and elucidation the cosmos had been created. His system also placed the Earth in the heavens, and in doing so removed the barrier separating the incorruptible from the corruptible.  —James Burke, The Day the Universe Changed, p. 135

And we know from the Bible that this barrier is called the firmament.

Conclusion

There is an anti-God agenda in full swing on the earth, and it influences every area of society and life beginning with cosmology, extending to theology, and ending perhaps with sexuality.

Satan wants us to doubt and dismiss every single word of God.

He starts by telling us that this world, instead of being fashioned by a loving and wise Creator, is random and chaotic, birthed by an explosion and is in danger of being annihilated at any moment by a wandering asteroid, a virus, war, pollution, climate change, or an alien invasion. He tells us that there are too many people and not enough food, even though God commanded us to be fruitful and multiply. He insists that humans are an evil “virus;” even though God says we are his highest creation, made in his image and likeness. He tells us that Christianity is bad; even though we proclaim the truth about the Creator-Sustainer-Redeemer. He tells us that sex outside of marriage is normal, natural, and fulfilling; even though God forbids it, and we can clearly see how it has ravaged society. He tells us that children in the womb are not human at all and should be subject to the whims of the mother regarding being allowed to come to term and be born or not; even though God is involved with our development in the womb and knew us even before we were conceived. He tells us that we cannot be sure of what gender we are, when God says we are male and female. He encourages us to mutilate our bodies in the pursuit of trying to be different from how God made us, instead of humbly acknowledging our Creator in all things. Would it be out of character for Satan and his minions to lie to us about the nature of the earth, sun, moon, and stars? Obviously not, especially if doing so will interfere with our being able to recognize the Creator’s handiwork.

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1 (NKJV)

I believe it is time for God-fearing Christians to reaffirm our allegiance to God’s Word as our authority on all of life, including the creation.

As the apostle Paul said:

...Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar... Romans 3:4 (NKJV)
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The Amazing Firmament

How Can We Escape Pervasive Deception Regarding the Earth?

Part 6 – The Amazing Firmament

My recent studies of the firmament have left me amazed, filled with joy, and worshipful. Sometimes God’s truth lies right under our noses, but we just cannot see it due to being programmed through brainwashing. Much of our problem in the West stems from our scientific worldview. In this case the problem has been augmented by translators’ bias.

All of us bring our established ways of viewing our world and reality to our study of the Bible. We cannot help this, generally speaking, but students of the Bible are charged with allowing the Bible to say what it means, instead of what we would like for it to say.

Years ago, a friend humorously told me a truth that stayed with me. When God revealed himself to Moses, he told him “I am who I am.” He did not say, as many insist today, “I am who you want me to be.”

Translators’ bias jumps off the pages of most versions when it comes to the Hebrew word “raqia,” which literally means something hard like beaten out metal. In Genesis 1:8, God called the firmament (raqia) heaven (shamayim). God used the firmament to separate the waters (mayim) below from those above. So above the firmament there was and is (Psalm 148:4) water. The shamayim contain mayim.

Therefore, the firmament must be hard and strong enough to support the enormous weight of untold amounts of water, some of which were released upon the earth in judgment during the great flood. (Genesis 7:11-12)

Interestingly, the translators of my beloved New Living Translation, in their attempt to explain difficult concepts in modern language and terms, took the liberty to translate mayim as “water vapor.” Normally I like it when they do this sort of thing, especially when it comes to theological terms such as justification, but in this case they did us a disservice. (That is why I advise people to read the Bible with a dynamic equivalency translation (NLT) in one hand and a literal rendering, such as the NKJV or NASB, in the other.) Mayim means waters or flood, not vapor.

Almost all translators choose words for raqia (firmament) that are more palatable to our scientific worldview imposed upon us by our culture and education system. Check it out for yourselves. The NASB, ESV, and NET, my “go to” versions for literal renderings, all use the word “expanse,” which communicates nothing of the hard and strong nature of the firmament. The KJV and NKJV are faithful to the Hebrew and use the word “firmament” to communicate its solidity and strength.

This leaves us who have been indoctrinated with the scientific worldview from childhood in a quandary. Do we believe the Bible is true as written or do we modify it to accommodate our bias?

As for me, when I stand before God one day, I would rather he tell me that I took him too literally than have him question why I altered his words.

Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. Matthew 22:29 (NLT)

The Bible has some amazing revelations about the firmament besides its strength. The first place is in Exodus when God invited Moses and the elders of Israel to dine with him. What?!!

Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity.  Exodus 24:9–10 (NKJV)

Where were they? Obviously they were no longer on Mt. Sinai. It seems that God pulled them into heaven, much as he did with Ezekiel and John the Revelator later. Below are verses that describe those later occasions.

The likeness of the firmament above the heads of the living creatures was like the color of an awesome crystal, stretched out over their heads. 23 And under the firmament their wings spread out straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two which covered the other side of the body. 24 When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings. 25 A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings. 26 And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. 27 Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking. Ezekiel 1:22–28 (NKJV)


Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. 6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. Revelation 4:2–6 (NKJV)

If you are like me, I have tended not to pay great attention to these verses because they seem so otherworldly, impractical, and loaded with unfathomable symbolism. Once I started taking the existence of the firmament seriously, however, I began to see that these verses describe a heavenly reality. Below are some significant insights they give us.

  • God inhabits a place where the hard “pavement” has a clarity like the sky, the color of sapphire.
  • From below the firmament looks like crystal. The Hebrew word here is qerach, which literally means frost or ice. The word for crystal from Revelation 5:6 uses the Greek word krustallos, which means congealed or transparent and is derived from a root word for frost.
  • God’s throne rests on this sapphire-like pavement of the firmament and is also the color of sapphire. John likened the firmament below it to a sea of glass.
  • The one who sits on the throne must be our Lord Jesus himself. In Exodus and Ezekiel this would have been a pre-incarnate theophany of the eternal Logos. We know from our Lord Jesus himself that God is a spirit whom heaven cannot contain, but Jesus acquired a human body and has been given authority to judge. It is he who sits on the throne as the glorious son of man prophesied by Daniel.
  • The rainbow appears at God’s throne, which reveals what a abomination it is that an inversion and corruption of this symbol now represents something quite anti-God. It is quite possible that the northern lights are expressions of God’s glory above the firmament!

God told us that every matter or word will be confirmed out of the mouths of two or three witnesses. (Matthew 18:16). Therefore, I believe he wants us to accept these verses as describing reality, not some uncertain symbolism. If we do this, we will see other verses in a new light.

When God says he will roll up or split apart the heavens like a scroll, he means he will peel back the firmament to reveal the one who sits on the throne. (Isaiah 34:4 and Revelation 6:14)

At that point in history, every eye shall see him. The one who ascended through the heavens after his resurrection (Ephesians 4:10) will be revealed when the heavens are no more. Then God will create a new haven and a new earth (2 Peter 3:13). Glory to God. What a day that will be!

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Chapter 72: The Gospel Opens Blind Eyes

When John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he were indeed the Messiah, Jesus gave this somewhat cryptic reply.

…“Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” 23 And he added, “God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.”  Luke 7:22–23 (NLT)

Jesus wanted John to know that he was fulfilling what the prophets said about the Messiah.

Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” 5 And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. 6 The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland.  Isaiah 35:4–6 (NLT)

The people expected the Messiah to liberate them from Roman tyranny, but when it became apparent that Jesus was not going to do that, some, as did John, doubted. But the purpose of our Lord’s first coming was to set people free from sin, sickness, death, demonization, and the devil’s iron rule.

Opening naturally blind eyes was important to those who were healed, but it was more than anything else a metaphor for the deeper work of God in the human heart.

Sin blinds us to God’s existence and glory and to the Messiah’s identity.

Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.  2 Corinthians 4:4 (NLT)

Without the inner work of the Holy Spirit, we are not able to discern who Jesus is.

When Jesus healed the blind man in the ninth chapter of John’s gospel, he was able to see spiritually as well us naturally. The Pharisees had never been physically blind, but they could not see spiritually.

When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.” 37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!” 38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus. 39 Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”  John 9:35–39 (NLT)

When Jesus asked his disciples to tell him who they believed him to be, Peter immediately responded that he was the Messiah King of Israel. Jesus declared:

…“Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  Matthew 16: 17 (NASB95)

Jesus knew that those who believed in him could only do so with God’s help. This is why he said at another time:

For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. 45 As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.  John 6:44–45 (NLT)

The Holy Spirit must remove our blindness if we are to recognize Jesus, but we have a part to play as well. When the gospel is preached, God’s drawing power is released. It is our responsibility to respond to that message by coming to Jesus by faith.

This means we open our hearts to him in whatever capacity we are able. He said in another place that he stands at the door of our hearts and knocks. (Revelation 3:20) Those who open the door of their hearts will experience his coming into their lives.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”  Matthew 11:28–30 (NLT)

In my own case, when I heard the gospel, I did not immediately believe but was open to its being true. If only I knew for sure! I did what I could. I prayed to Jesus, not knowing if he were real. I asked him into my heart, if he were there, and requested that he reveal himself to me so that I could believe. It is amazing that God is so gracious with us that he would answer such a prayer! Imagine God’s being asked by a blind, disobedient creature to reveal whether he is real! There is so much evidence all around us that clearly demonstrates God’s existence and power, but we are blind to it because of sin.

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.  Romans 1:20 (NLT)

But God is merciful to us and responds when his creatures reach out to him in our pitiful condition. He knows what sin did to us and moves mightily in our lives if we move toward him.

This is clearly seen in the parable of the prodigal son. The father ran to meet him at the first sign of his coming home. That is our God!

When we come to Jesus, the Holy Spirit removes the blindness from our eyes. He opens our deaf ears and heals our hardened hearts, enabling us to see and believe.

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.  2 Corinthians 3:16–18 (NLT)

This happened to those two disciples who were walking together after Jesus’ crucifixion making their way to Emmaus. The risen Jesus, in a form which they did not immediately recognize, came alongside them and began to dialogue with them. The things Jesus said about the Messiah’s need to suffer and later be glorified made their hearts burn within them, but they still did not recognize him. It was not until they invited him into their home to break bread with him that their eyes were opened to see him as the risen Lord!

but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. 30 As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. 31 Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!  Luke 24:29–31 (NLT)

The Holy Spirit works inside us to draw us to Christ. When we hear the good news about him, we are able to respond and draw near to Christ in our hearts.

He comes to us, and we must open the door. (Revelation 3:20) If we do this, it is proof that the Spirit is at work in our lives. If we come to him in this way, he will receive us.

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”  John 6:37–40 (NASB95)

If we pursue Jesus, God will not reject us. He receives everyone who comes to him. If we seek him, we will find him! Once we come to our Lord in this way, he removes the veil of blindness from our spiritual eyes, enabling us to properly behold him.

Seeing Christ by revelation imparts eternal life to us as we come to know him. We are born again when Christ is revealed to us.

This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3 (NASB95) —

“My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”  Matthew 11:27 (NLT)

Right after saying this, is when Jesus issued his invitation for us to come to him. If we come to him, he will open our eyes, ears, and hearts to know God. It is by spending time in his presence that this can deepen. We do this when we pray, worship, and read and meditate in the Word of God. As we learn to “wait on God,” he will show us more and more about himself. If we seek him, we will find him.

Paul pursued knowing God with all his heart.

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ  Philippians 3:8 (NLT)

Sadly, many of us are so afraid of God that we deliberately keep our distance from him. We talk about him, but we don’t want to be alone with him. The thought of being face to face with the Creator of the universe can be daunting, unless we understand that Jesus opened the way for us to approach God. Some of us may be afraid of what he may tell us or ask us to do. This all boils down to our having little knowledge of his immense love, which produces this lack of trust. John said that this is because we fear his judging us.

And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. 18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.  1 John 4:17–18 (NLT)

Because Jesus took our condemnation upon himself, we need not fear that God will judge us for our sins. We can come boldly into his presence.

By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.  Hebrews 10:20–22 (NLT)

Jesus came to relieve us of all our fears. He revealed the Father’s heart by laying down his life for us. He told us that he is gentle and humble of heart, making him easily approachable. The Holy Spirit works inside people to deliver us from these fears and help us to believe that we can indeed approach God. The moment we do, he runs to meet us and welcomes us home!

So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.  Luke 15:20 (NLT)
Prayer

Heavenly Father, I have run from you long enough. I have been blind to your love. I open my heart to you and your Son Jesus. Jesus, I invite you into my life as Lord and Savior. I give you myself and thank you for revealing yourself to me. Open my spiritual eyes and ears. Make my heart brand new. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Holy Spirit fill me to overflowing. Amen.

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Chapter 71: The Gospel in Relation to the Passover, Exodus, and Crossing Over into the Promised Land

When Paul preached, he focused on the cross of Christ and the resurrection.

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.  1 Corinthians 2:1–2 (NASB95)

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,  1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (NASB95)

He taught that our faith must rest on what Christ accomplished for us through his death and resurrection and not on persuasive arguments that appeal to our reason but bypass our hearts. Faith resides in the heart and is the product of revelation from the Spirit, who is called the “spirit of faith” (2 Corinthians 4:13). Mental agreement is not the same thing as faith. If men persuade us to believe in Christ, without there being a corresponding work in the heart by the Spirit of God, then men can persuade us otherwise with a strong argument to the contrary. This sometimes happens when young people go off to college without ever having a faith encounter with the Spirit on their own. When living at home, they may have been towed along by the faith of their parents, but, once that faith is challenged, they discover that it wasn’t real but just mental assent.

True faith withstands every assault because it is based on what the Bible teaches combined with revelation from God instead of on human reasoning.

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  1 Corinthians 1:21–24 (NASB95)

Without the resurrection, the cross would be the epitome of misplaced hope. When Jesus was nailed to the cross, the expectations of his followers were dashed. Everything in which they believed and for which they had sacrificed came to an abrupt and terrifying end. When Jesus was with them, his disciples managed to put on a brave face and act courageously, but when he was taken from them and crucified, their courage evaporated.

The two disciples who encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus expressed their deep disappointment succinctly. One of them said:

But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. 21 We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel...  Luke 24:20–21 (NLT)

There is nothing quite as devastating as having our hopes ripped away, leaving us desolate and confused, but this is exactly what happened at the cross. Jesus laid down his life as the Lamb of God. The cross put to death his hopes, desires, ministry, future, and everything else. It brought everything to a crashing end. But…!

The resurrection cast what happened at Calvary in a whole new light. It turned disaster into triumph and hopelessness into faith.

Passover: The Forgiveness of Sins

It is commonly understood that Jesus died for our sins as the Lamb of God. Using the metaphor of Passover, we understand that his blood had to be shed for God to be able to justly remit our sins. On the night when God brought the tenth plague upon the Egyptians, he required the Israelites to kill a lamb and put its blood on the doorposts and lintels of their homes to keep the judgment from coming upon them, too.

The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.  Exodus 12:13 (NASB95)

Anyone inside the blood smeared houses was spared. That was the only requirement for safety. When we put our faith in Jesus and what he accomplished for us on the cross as God’s sacrificial lamb, his shed blood is spiritually applied to us, permitting God’s judgment to pass over us without violating God’s holy justice.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace  Ephesians 1:7 (NASB95)
 
Exodus: Deliverance from the Kingdom of Darkness

Just as the Israelites left Egypt in great spirits, having seen God’s hand deliver them from Pharaoh’s oppression, we too are delivered or redeemed from slavery to sin, sickness, death, and demonic oppression. However, when the Israelites set out from Egypt, the crisis was not yet over. Pharaoh had a change of heart and decided it was a mistake to free God’s people. He sent his army to recapture them. The Red Sea blocked their way out of Egypt and seemed to set up a crushing defeat after such a miraculous deliverance. The Israelites panicked, but God told Moses to stretch out his rod over the sea. God parted the waters and allowed the Israelites to cross over in safety. Their exodus or departure from Egypt was carried out by a monumental miracle of deliverance. When the Egyptians tried to follow, the waters crashed upon them and drowned their army.

Just as the Passover and Exodus effectively removed Israel from slavery in Egypt, the cross of Christ and his subsequent resurrection transferred us believers out of Satan’s kingdom into God’s.

For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.  Colossians 1:13–14 (NLT)

Moses and Elijah talked about our Lord’s own exodus from this world just prior to its taking place.

Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. 31 They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.  Luke 9:30–31 (NLT)

Jesus exited this world and returned to his Father through dying and rising again, paving the way for us to follow eventually. In addition, he accomplished a spiritual deliverance which we immediately enjoy when we are born again. Just as Israel no longer had to fear the Eqyptian army after crossing the Red Sea, we are freed from the power of Satan, sin, death, sickness, demons, and fear when we make our exodus from the kingdom of darkness. The cross of Christ and his corresponding resurrection accomplished this for us.

I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.  John 5:24 (NLT)

The Greek word translated “passed from” is metabaino, which means to pass over, leave, depart, or make an exodus. We enter a new kingdom in which the kingdom of darkness has no true power over us any longer. It is true that we still live in mortal bodies which must die, but spiritually we are now free, if we put our faith and allegiance in Christ. When these bodies are raised from the dead, the victory will be complete. Nevertheless, right now we must come to terms with the freedom our Lord has provided for us.

It is necessary for us to know, believe, receive, and act upon what God says is now true about us because of what Jesus accomplished for us, if we are to experience our freedom to the degree that God intends.

Deliverance from the Power of Sin

When Jesus died and rose again, the Bible teaches that we were included in that event through the mystery of identification. Somehow God incorporated us into Christ, which is something beyond human understanding but is nevertheless true. We do not understand completely how the human body works, much less spiritual things!

We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.) 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he is never going to die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.  Romans 6:6–11 (NET)

Dead people do not sin. Our “old man,” the part of us that was spiritually corrupted through Adam and cannot obey God, was put to death when Jesus died. Even though we still retain, at least for now, our physical bodies inherited from Adam – the “body of sin” – with its built-in propensity to sin called “the flesh,” we are no longer controlled or dominated by these things, thanks to our union with Christ in his death.

We are free at last to serve God from the heart as we learn to “walk in the Spirit.” By the power of the indwelling Spirit, we can live in a way that brings glory and honor to God!

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.  Romans 8:1–2 (NLT)

(If these are new concepts to you, I encourage you to read my article on my website -www.thirdpeter.com – entitled “Defining Some Confusing Terms”.)

Deliverance from the Law’s Power to Condemn

Once we are free from the tyranny of sin, we also must break free from the Law’s power to condemn us. Ironically the Law which exposes our sin also empowers sin to rule us.

For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.  1 Corinthians 15:56 (NLT)

This is because the “flesh” is rebellious. We are religious by nature and inwardly believe, or at least hope, that, if we try hard enough, we can straighten out our lives and serve God properly, which entails keeping the Law. When we proceed with this law-based or “legalistic” way of trying to please God, the Law does its work by making it clear to us that we are moral failures and cannot possibly save ourselves.

The purpose of the Law is to act as a guide which leads us to Christ, the only one who can save us.

Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.  Galatians 3:24–25 (NASB95)

Once we come to Christ and receive his gift of righteousness, it is important that we refuse to slide back under the law because that will reactivate sin in our lives.

It is only by believing and accepting that through Christ we are dead to the Law that we can walk in the freedom of the Spirit.

For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. 20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.  Galatians 2:19–21 (NLT)
 
Deliverance from the Pull of the World

Not only do we need to be set free from sin and the Law’s power of condemnation, but we also need to be delivered from the pull of the world in which we live. The apostle John wrote about this.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.  1 John 2:16 (NASB95)

Temptation appeals to our “flesh,” the “unredeemed” part of our souls that is still connected to our mortal bodies.

We experience a battle between the spirit, our born again “new man,” and the “flesh,” which we can win if we learn to rely on the Holy Spirit to enforce what God’s Word says is true.

Part of our victory is understanding that we are already “dead” to the world.

But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.  Galatians 6:14 (NASB95)

Through the Spirit of God, we can turn our backs on what the world offers and rely upon God alone, just as Moses did so long ago.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.  Hebrews 11:24–27 (NASB95)

When we do this, the world will turn its back on us, too. The New Living Translation captures this idea perfectly.

As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.  Galatians 6:14 (NLT)

Jesus warned us that to be his disciple we must hate the world.

Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.  John 12:25 (NLT)

Understanding that we are already dead to the world helps us to walk away from its temptations.

Crossing Over into Victory

Once we know these things, we are challenged to actively believe them or “reckon” them to be true.

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,  Romans 6:8–12 (NASB95)

When our faith combines with God’s promises and truth, God’s power is released on our behalf.

Our transformation by the Spirit is a cooperative effort between us and God. We believe the promises and God does the internal work. The truth of the matter is that it is his ability within us that enables us to believe, too. The Lord requires us to participate in the process. We cannot overcome sin, condemnation, and the world by being passive. We can experience Christ’s victory personally when we apply our faith to God’s promises and make the choice to stand for truth and against sin, condemnation, and the world. This means that we say “yes” to God and “no” to what is trying to hold us in bondage.

Our “yes” must be joined to God’s promise to activate God’s power.

For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory. 21 It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, 22 and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.  2 Corinthians 1:20–22 (NLT)

God wants us to experience what Christ has won for us. When we are born again, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. Now we can learn to walk in step with the one who lives in and through us!

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.  Galatians 5:24–25 (NLT)

Our complete experience of Christ’s victory will occur at the resurrection of the dead, when our mortal bodies linked to Adam’s sin will be instantly transformed into glorious spiritual bodies. At that point, the battle between flesh and spirit will cease and death will be conquered completely. Our salvation will be finished! Until then, let us learn to live by faith in God’s promises with complete reliance upon the Holy Spirit in a way that glorifies God and maximizes our joy and peace.

Questions for Further Study and Discussion
  • How would you explain the gospel in terms of the Passover and Exodus in your own words?
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Repentance from Syncretism

How Can We Escape Pervasive Deception Regarding the Earth?

Part 4 – Repentance from Syncretism

In my previous article, I showed how we can repent from believing the “scientific” lie of evolution as opposed to the Bible creation story. This article will address the sin of syncretism whereby we try to blend two or more irreconcilable ideas or faiths.

God warned the Israelites that they must destroy the idols of the people who lived in Canaan to protect themselves from their deluding influence.

Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. 13 “But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim 14 —for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God— 15 otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods. Exodus 34:12–16 (NASB95)

The people of that day recognized what many today do not understand. Demonic “principalities and powers” often gain influence and even mastery over the residents who live in certain areas because of sacrifices made to those evil beings in order to procure favor and blessings. In order to protect themselves, invading conquerors often made an effort to appease the local gods. They would not abandon their own gods but would simply add some new ones. This eclectic religion seemed very practical and revealed that they believed that there was not one supreme God over all, but many gods who vied with one another. This would result in a syncretistic blending of elements from the various religions into something new, a sort of hybrid religion.

Another definition of syncretism is “the attempted union of principles or parties irreconcilably at variance with each other.”

I hope I showed how biblical creationism and Darwinism are hopelessly irreconcilable; nevertheless, many well-meaning theologians over the years felt pressure to try to fuse the two. They did not want to seem “foolish” or “ignorant” of the latest “scientific breakthroughs.” They wanted to have their Christian religion while simultaneously bowing to the gods of science. It created something very different from simple belief in the Bible’s teachings and led people to doubt the truthfulness of God’s Word.

When engaging in this sort of syncretism, something has to give, and it always seems to be our adherence and allegiance to the written Word of God.

Instead of God’s creating the known world and everything in and around it in six days, blending evolutionary theory into the mix requires us to drag things out over millions of years using supposedly naturalistic but quite impossible processes to spontaneously generate life. Such syncretism results in a sort of Deism in which God passively steps back and lets things play out on their own.

As is apparent, this compromise results in two things. First, it teaches us to distrust and abandon the literal teachings of the Bible, and, second, it makes God irrelevant and unneeded, which is exactly the goal of every satanic philosophy and “scientific” system of thought.

Followers of Christ cannot be syncretistic. As Joshua said so long ago.

“Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:14–15 (NASB95)

Now let us consider the creation story in more detail and examine another form of syncretism that involves the Big Bang theory. Have you ever wondered where scientists got the idea of the entire known universe exploding out of nothing? This idea is found the Kabbalah, an occult form of Jewish mysticism.

All of existence started with an explosion from one point that is continually multiplying, according to Jewish mysticism. Thus, Wolfson sees a distinct relationship between the contemporary Big Bang theory and the Kabbalistic notion that the universe burst forth from a single point, which in mystical terms is the limitless light of the divine, or Infinite, known as the “Ein Sof.” In Hebrew, “Ein Sof” literally means “no end.” So the divine, or god, is just another word for infinity. Kabbalists are people who study the manifestations of infinity. And just as physicists seek a single principle, a so-called “unified theory of everything” that will explain all of life, so do mystics. “For the kabbalists, that one principle is the light of infinity, which materializes into the multiplicity of all beings,” Wolfson says. That light emerging from darkness is both physical and symbolic, the professor explains. As an idea, it shows that things are often much more complex than they appear at first glance, and that the most abstract of notions explain the material world. “Cast in the lingo of quantum physics, we could identify the immaterial light as the particle and the material vessel as the antiparticle, which meet and collide in the zero gravitational energy of empty space, the nothingness that spawns the something that is the stuff of being,” Wolfson says.  (https://qz.com/1375015/jewish-mysticism-offers-a-poetic-explanation-of-the-big-bang-and-black-holes)

This is a perfect example of satanic “science” which weaves its web around the mind, appealing to our desire to have knowledge without getting it from God. It baffles us with the appearance of intellectual brilliance.

In 1927, a prescient [Jesuit] astronomer named Georges Lemaître looked at data showing how galaxies move. He noticed something peculiar – all of them appeared to be speeding away from Earth. Not only that, but the farther away they were, the faster they went. He determined a mathematical way to represent this, and connected his relationship to Einstein’s law of General Relativity to produce a grand idea: That of a universe continually expanding. It was a radical idea then, but today it fits with our conception of a universe spawned by a Big Bang. (https://www.astronomy.com/science/the-jesuit-astronomer-who-conceived-of-the-big-bang/)

Personally I believe that Satan was just as surely behind the Kabbalistic and Jesuit versions of origins as he is behind the Big Bang theory. I think they are one and the same, only the latter is dressed up in the clothes of science rather than religious mysticism.

The Kabbalah was developed during the Middle Ages by a Jewish mystic.

Practical Kabbalah is the process of engaging in rituals, summoning angels and demons, uttering incantations and divine names, using amulets and magical seals to actually change the world. (https://www.learnreligions.com/kabbalah-4771368)

The Kaballah is syncretistic, blending biblical Judaism with witchcraft. One might say the same thing about the Big Bang theory. It seeks to weave a magical spell around our minds to keep us from seeing God’s glory in creation.

The attempt to blend the Big Bang theory and its attendant cosmology with what the Bible teaches is quite impossible, even though its seems as it might be done at first. The Bible says that God spoke the our world into existence out of nothingness. So far, so good.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 (NASB95)

But, besides refusing to credit the Creator with initiating the process, the Big Bang theory holds that the sequence of events after the initial ‘blast” unfolded is completely unlike what God’s Word tells us. Employing supposed naturalistic forces and assumptions, the Big Bang theory posits that an entire “universe” of exploded matter and energy over vast amounts of time formed into stars, planets, etc., eventually producing what we observe, including all forms of life, without any reference or reliance upon the Creator. The Bible is very specific in how God put things together, dividing his work into six twenty-four hour days. The two simply do not mix.

By giving us a naturalistic, supposedly scientific, explanation of our origins, Satan tries to make those who hold to what the Bible says seem backward, “archaic,” and ignorant. If you want to be mocked or patronized, tell your “educated” friends that you believe the Bible 100%.

The Bible does not always give us the “how” or “why” but only the what. Man always wants to know more than God chooses to tell us.

We want to figure out God and how and why everything works. This insatiable quest for knowledge is what got us into trouble in the first place and continues to do so now. Some things relating to origins and cosmos are simply past our comprehension and “need to know.”

When Job virtually demanded to know why God allowed him to be afflicted, God eventually appeared to him, but not to answer his questions. Job’s interaction with his Maker resulted in his gaining a new awe and admiration for him that satisfied every fiber of his being. He no longer needed to know why.

‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” 4 ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ 5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; 6 Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:3–6 (NASB95)

The creation is meant to impress upon us awe and wonder resulting in worship of the Creator. The Big Bang theory is meant to reduce the universe to mere materialistic mechanisms that rob us of knowing God.

King David wrote these words of worship as he pondered the heavens.

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; 4 What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? 5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty! 6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, Psalm 8:3–6 (NASB95)

God intends for us not only to grow in our knowledge and worship of him. He also wants us to understand that mankind is central to his creation purposes.

The Big Bang theory leaves us thinking that we are inconsequential specks in a vast impersonal universe. Can you not detect Satan’s hand in weaving the witchcraft-like spell of this pervasive lie?

In my next article, I will begin to explore in more detail what the Bible says about the world in which we live. It is quite at odds with the lie of the Big Bang theory. We cannot mix the two. We, like Joshua, must decide whom we will serve – modern so-called “science” with its cleverly spun lies or the God of the Bible whose words are always true. He cannot and does not ever lie.

O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen. 1 Timothy 6:20–21 (NKJV)
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