Author: petebeck3

Pete Beck III ministered as a pastor and Bible teacher in Burlington for over 34 years. He is married to Martha, with whom he has four children, ten beautiful grandchildren, and four amazing great grandchildren. He ministers in his local church as a Bible teacher and counselor. He has published two books - Seeing God's Smile and Promise of the Father - as well as a wide variety of Bible-related articles which he has compiled into books in PDF form.

Renouncing Syncretism

Syncretism is a sin that results from any attempt to combine an unscriptural belief or false god with our devotion to the true God.

God commanded the Israelites to 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 those 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 of the land they defeated. They would not abandon their own gods but would simply add some new ones. This eclectic religion seemed very practical to them and revealed that they believed that there was not one supreme God over all, but many gods whose authority was regional. This resulted 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.”

In a previous article, I showed how biblical creationism and Darwinism are hopelessly irreconcilable. Nevertheless, many well-meaning theologians over the years felt societal pressure to try to combine 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 modern so-called science. Instead they created something very different from simple belief in the Bible’s teachings and led people to doubt the truthfulness of God’s Word. This is always Satan’s end game. He uses “science,” otherwise called “knowledge,” to cast doubt on God’s spoken or written words.

Syncretism always wars against our adherence and allegiance to the written Word of God.

Today, many believers have unwittingly become syncretistic. We have tried to blend evolutionary Big Bang theory with the creation account in Genesis. This toxic mix requires us to extend the six days of creation over millions of years. It also requires that we believe that everything, including life itself, sprang from nothing quite spontaneously without the need for the initiative of the Creator, . Such syncretism, if one is able to somehow manage to cling to belief in God, usually results in a sort of Deism in which a weak seemingly uninterested God takes a back seat and lets things play out on their own. This makes man the forger of his own destiny rather than God sovereignly overseeing the affairs of the world.

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

That this goal is succeeding is quite obvious. Faith in God is dwindling, and more and more people have become convinced of the truth of evolutionary theory.

Followers of Christ should never cave to syncretism. 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? It is found in 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 occult “science” taking the form of advanced astrophysics and weaving its web of sorcery around the mind, appealing to our lust for knowledge without receiving it from God.

Satan baffles us with the appearance of intellectual brilliance while making us fools.

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/)

I find it intensely interesting that the Kaballah and the Catholic Church are two proponents of the Big Bang theory. Both abandoned the Word of God in favor of something inspired by the same evil genius. Satan knows that when we abandon God’s Word, we end up believing in false gods and a false religion. But since today religion is thought be an anachronism from the unenlightened past, it was necessary for these ideas to be adopted by secular scientists, who are actually just as much people of faith as those who espouse religion.

The Big Bang is an article of religious faith, whether it is dressed up in the clothes of science or 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 itself 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 it seems as if it might be done at first. The Bible says that God spoke our world into existence out of nothingness. So far, so good.

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:3 (NKJV)

But, besides refusing to credit the Creator with initiating the process, the Big Bang theory completely alters the sequence of events in creation from what God’s Word tells us. The two simply cannot be combined.

Employing supposed naturalistic forces and assumptions, the Big Bang theory posits that an entire “universe” of exploded matter and energy over incomprehensible amounts of time formed into stars, planets, etc., eventually producing all that we observe, including all forms of life.

The Bible, on the other hand, is very specific in how God created everything, dividing his work into six twenty-four hour days. By giving us a naturalistic, supposedly scientific, explanation of our origins, Satan tries to make those who hold to what the Bible teaches seem backward, anti-scientific, and ignorant. If you want to be mocked, antagonized, or patronized, tell your “educated” friends that you believe the Bible is 100% true.

The Bible does not always satisfy our curiosity by giving us the “how” or “why,” but it does give us “what” we need to know. Our sin problem began from our wanting to know more than God chooses to tell us. Nothing has changed.

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. Instead, God questioned Job and exposed his lack of wisdom and understanding.

Job’s interaction with his Maker resulted in his gaining a new awe and admiration for God that satisfied every fiber of his being. He no longer needed to know why. The same is true for us when our eyes are opened to God’s magnificence.

‘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 was designed to impress upon us awe and wonder resulting in our 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. We can detect Satan’s hand in this pervasive lie. As a result, many today feel quite hopeless and take the escape route of suicide rather than face a lifetime of meaningless pain.

Coming back to a biblical understanding of creation restores hope to us.

The God who created the earth and seas also made us to inhabit it. Knowing the truth about creation provokes us to want to know our wonderful Creator through our Lord Jesus the Messiah.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16–17 (NKJV)
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Renouncing the Deceptive Theory of Evolution

The theory of evolution holds that everything in the universe, including life itself, sprang from nothingness, without the help of a Creator, and developed into the wonderful complexity we see today. Made famous by Charles Darwin, it is one of Satan’s primary tools of deception. 

When Darwin first proposed this theory, those who denied God’s existence pounced upon it because it appeared to give an acceptable scientific basis for atheism.

Once evolutionary theory became generally accepted in the “scientific” community, like a giant octopus, it wrapped its tentacles around a wide variety of the “sciences,” including astronomy, geology, sociology, biology, and theology. It is such an overarching theory that people began to view most everything through the lens of evolution.

The satanic purpose behind the lie of evolution is to make people doubt God’s Word and his existence.

Most theoretic astrophysicists now believe the universe self-generated and is still evolving, in a complete contradiction of God’s Word. Evolutionary thought led to the proposal of the Big Bang theory by the Belgian Jesuit priest Georges Lemaitre. The Big Bang is now generally accepted as being the origin of all things and has generated other non-biblical models, such as the multiverse of modern string theory. Once a lie takes hold, it cannot seem to contain itself.

Probably most Christians today believe in the anti-biblical heliocentric model proposed by Copernicus, not realizing that the only way to get to there is via the evolutionary universe of the Big Bang.

Geologists long ago did away the young earth of the Bible in favor of one that is millions of years old. Sociologists now view human interaction through the lens of evolutionary philosophy, reducing God’s immutable laws to the whims and mores of human preference. Biology has embraced evolution to the degree that we are now willing to tamper with our own God-given immune systems, thinking that they are imperfectly evolved and need our help. Lastly, theology, in many cases, has caved to evolutionary thinking, too. We are often guilty of trying to overlay the scriptures with evolutionary concepts, resulting in interpretations of the Bible to are contrary to its original clear meaning. In many cases, the scriptures have been scrapped altogether as being a completely untrustworthy fabrication of men.

Satan spins his lies inside cultures like a deadly web.

Our public schools have become indoctrination centers where children are taught Satan’s lies by trusted adults before they are old enough to realize what is happening. Such brainwashing produces what the Bible calls intellectual lie-based “strongholds,” which are quite difficult to tear down or escape.

Only God’s Spirit in collaboration with God’s Word is able to set us free.

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)

Over time, using such brainwashing techniques, the entire culture comes under the sway of Satan’s deception. The devil uses the vast resources of modern media to reinforce his lies with a barrage of deception every day. Satan knows what the Nazi propagandists came to realize: a lie told once remains a lie, but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth.

The idea behind propaganda is to overwhelm people with falsehood so that they cease to think for themselves and simply go along to get along.

When an entire culture is deceived, anyone who dares move out of lockstep is persecuted by the rest. It becomes a self-perpetuating lie at that point.

Once the devil can get a person to go against his or her own sense of what is right or obvious in favor of a lie, the mind has been captured by deception.

The devil’s goal is to produce an atheistic, purposeless, immoral populace that only seeks its own pleasure and lives without reference to God or any fear of his coming judgment.

The more a system of knowledge or a theory relies upon unprovable hypotheses that are in opposition to God’s Word, the greater the likelihood that it originates with Satan.

We were created to live by faith in what God tells us, without having to know everything for ourselves. Satan convinced Adam and Eve to abandon their reliance upon God as their source of truth in a quest for forbidden knowledge. As a result of our first parents’ sin, human beings are now even more susceptible to Satan’s lies. We are drawn quite easily toward any supposed system of knowledge that goes beyond what God has revealed and does away with the need for God altogether.

Humans now seem to prefer most anything that contradicts what God told us in the Bible.

The world system has erected barriers against the spread of God’s truth, which include censorship in the media and persecution of truth tellers. Those who relentlessly pursue truth will run up against this resistance. The cost for truth telling can be as great as our lives, as some whistleblowers have discovered.

The persecution of truth tellers is Satan’s attempt to intimidate the rest of us into submission to the lie.

Our minds are useful tools when we are guided by God’s Spirit and protectively fenced in by God’s revealed truth, but when we diverge from God’s truth in pursuit of unscriptural knowledge, we are quite liable to end up being deceived, just as were Adam and Eve.

The only escape from whatever fortress of lies in which we may be caged is to fully embrace the Bible’s teachings, even when it makes us appear foolish in the world’s eyes.

Those who desire to be set free must be ready and willing to endure ridicule, resentment, persecution, and even death at the hands of those who love lies more than God and truth.

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” John 3:19–21 (NKJV)

Many believers already have made the choice to reject the lies of the spontaneous evolution of life from non-life. We know that we are created beings made in God’s image, not purposeless accidents. However, it seems that many of us are not aware of how evolutionary thinking has infiltrated other branches of science, such as geology and astronomy.

We have accepted Satan’s evolutionary lies regarding the origin,age, and structure of the universe, even though they contradict the Bible’s clear teachings. It is time for the church to cast aside such capitulations to falsehood and return to the truth. Genesis Chapter One should be accepted unequivocally as God’s true account of creation.

O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— 21 which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you. 1 Timothy 6:20–21 (NASB95)

 

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Silent Belief Reveals a Lot

Gospel in a Minute

Have you ever felt convicted by God’s Spirit because you chose to be silent about your faith in Jesus? If we have the courage to publicly confess Jesus, it reveals that we value God’s praise more than men’s. 

Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. John 12:42–43 (NKJV)

Evil generally is unashamedly vocal and perfectly willing to vilify and shame anyone standing for truth. The Old Testament prophets usually were very unpopular because they spoke unwelcome words of truth. They had to choose between bowing to obedience to God or to the intimidation of men. The same is true for followers of Christ today. If we stand for biblical truth and Jesus, we will suffer persecution, sometimes from other believers, but usually from the world.

If we want the praise of God, we may have to forsake the praise of men by refusing to be silent.

Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You. 21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You. Psalm 25:20–21 (NKJV)
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Is Heaven a Real Place?

Is heaven a real physical place? It may depend on which version of the cosmos we accept.

The Hebrew account of creation found in Genesis provides us with a literal, physical location for heaven.

Three important principles for interpreting the Bible are, firstly, the Bible is the Word of God and does not merely contain the Word of God. In other words, all the words in the Bible are true. Secondly, we should interpret texts in a literal sense unless it is clear from the context that we should not. Thirdly, we should strive to discover the author’s original intent and interpret the passage accordingly. It must at least mean what the author intended it to mean; although, it may have additional meaning as well.

If we accept that Genesis is God’s Word and a true account of the history of our origins, we know a great deal about the heavens and the earth.

God is a spirit, but he created a physical earth for us to inhabit. During the same six-day period he created a physical heaven.

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

The Hebrews believed the earth was constructed exactly as described in Genesis. The following diagram is a depiction that scholars agree shows the Hebrew conception of the cosmos. This view of the heavens and earth held up for centuries until the introduction of the pagan heliocentric model. I wrote about the occult origins of heliocentrism in a previous article.

As far as I can tell, all the Bible authors viewed creation in this manner. If we are to adhere to the basic hermeneutical principles outlined above, we must conclude that this is a true depiction of the heavens and earth,. Otherwise, we find ourselves in the precarious position of saying we believe the Bible contains truth, but not every word is true.

Paul wrote that there are three heavens.(2 Corinthians 12:2) He said that God took him to the third heaven, a place he called Paradise, but he was not sure if he went bodily or not. This supports the conclusion that heaven is a physical location which a body can visit. This conforms with the descriptions we have of Jesus sitting upon God’s throne in bodily form, his resurrected state. (Revelation 3:21)

It is generally accepted that the first heaven is the air above us in which the birds fly. The second heaven is the firmament, a physical barrier between the earth and the third heaven in which God placed the sun, moon, and stars. I have written about the firmament in greater detail in a previous article. The third heaven sits atop the firmament and is the location of God’s throne, upon which Jesus, in bodily form, now sits as King of the Universe, waiting for his enemies to be made his footstool. I wrote about God’s throne in the firmament in a previous article.

Genesis, Exodus, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation provide descriptions of the third heaven located atop the firmament. In Exodus, Moses and the elders of Israel are taken to the third heaven where they enjoy a physical meal in God’s presence!

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. 11 But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank. Exodus 24:9–11 (NKJV)

This mysterious passage conforms exactly to other descriptions of the physical heaven. Ezekiel was also taken there when God called him to prophetic ministry.

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 1:26–28 (NKJV)

The word appearance means that it was what Ezekiel saw. There is no indication that this vision was not real. The fact that the same vision was given several times to different people at different times confirms the reality of a physical heaven. (Deuteronomy 19:15)

Daniel also saw Christ, the Son of Man, enthroned in heaven.

I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13–14 (NKJV)

Jesus applied this passage to himself during his mock trial before the Sanhedrin. (Matthew 26:64) Jesus will return in the clouds of heaven when God “rolls back” or dissolves the firmament, revealing his glorious throne.

looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:12–13 (NKJV)

The Book of Revelation also gives us a view into heaven.

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. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” Revelation 4:2–8 (NKJV)

If we do not accept the biblical model of the cosmos, we may be tempted to reduce all of these visions to a mere visionary experience that has no basis in any sort of concrete reality.

If, on the other hand, we adhere to the Hebraic model, we see clearly that heaven is very real and very near, sitting atop the firmament.

From his position above the vault of the firmament, God observes everything that happens on the earth.

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 [a plane, not a ball - Isaiah 22:18] 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)

Yes, heaven is a very real place. Jesus told us that God prepared a place there for us who believe.

In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:2–3 (NASB95)

Heaven is where Jesus now dwells in bodily form. One day he will receive us into that glorious physical reality, “where” we will abide with him.

We should not allow a pagan conception of the universe rob us of the very real and near presence of heaven and God’s throne. All we have to do is look up.

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:9–11 (NKJV)
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Chapter 83: Introduction to Spiritual Warfare

Warfare is as old as humanity. The clash started in Genesis when Satan introduced deception to bring about mankind’s rebellion against God. Soon after, Cain killed Abel out of jealousy and spite. Since then, there have been two lines of people, the elect and the reprobate.

In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. 7 What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;  Romans 11:5–7 (NASB95)

Down through the ages, those descended from the enemy have persecuted the chosen of God.

And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also.  Galatians 4:28–29 (NASB95)

The Bible teaches us that pride and covetousness are the roots of all strife. (Proverbs 13:10 and James 4:2) Satan was not content to be a highly privileged and honored created being. He wanted to displace God on his throne.

How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ 15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.  Isaiah 14:12–15 (NKJV)

This passage ostensibly refers to the King of Babylon, but it apparently goes beyond that to speak of the “shining one,” Lucifer. This is one of those cases, as happens in prophecy, when there is more than one meaning – the obvious and narrower one and the more hidden one. In this passage, if we accept it as a reference to Satan, we learn several things.

  • He fell from heaven. (Luke 10:18)
  • He was a shining one, meaning an angel. (2 Corinthians 11:14)
  • He tried to move beyond his appointed position and take the throne of God, which is located above the firmament, in which are located the stars, according to Genesis 1:16-17. Coveting a position above what God has given us is a common source of rebellion. E.g. Korah in Numbers 16.
  • The throne of God is located “on the farthest sides of the north…above the heights of the clouds.” This fits with its being located above the firmament, as described in Isaiah 40:22.
  • God judged Satan and will eventually assign him a place in the “lowest depths of the pit,” which perhaps will be the lake of fire. Currently he is still engaged in resisting God and trying to steal his glory and people.

Satan’s ongoing rebellion is the origin and context of all spiritual warfare.

We should keep that in mind whenever we discuss the topic or find ourselves embroiled by it.

Rebellion is contagious, and a third of the angels were swept away in the deception. The following passage is accepted by many scholars to refer to Satan’s fall.

Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. 4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.  Revelation 12:3–4 (NASB95)

Stars are somewhat mysterious. At times they seem to represent living beings, as in the passage above. At other times, they seem to be simple luminaries. Jesus is also called the Morning Star. Perhaps the Lord will give us more understanding before he comes again. In his letter, Jude wrote about angels who rebelled.

And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment.  Jude 6 (NLT)

Because rebellion is based in pride and a deception originating from the “father of lies,” it appeals to our sinful pride and covetousness.

Jesus is the opposite of Satan. Instead of trying to usurp God’s throne, Jesus emptied himself of all privilege and position to assume the role of a humble servant.

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Philippians 2:5–8 (NASB95)

When Jesus died for our sins on the cross, he defeated Satan and took back the authority Adam ceded to Satan through his sinful disobedience and rebellion against God. Now all authority in heaven and earth belongs to our Lord. (Matthew 28:18)

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.  Colossians 2:13–15 (NLT)

When Roman generals defeated an army, they would lead the survivors into Rome in a parade or procession to be shamed and eventually executed. This is what our Lord did to Satan and his minions.

One of the ways we can engage in a very high form of spiritual warfare is to submit our will to the Lord Jesus. This is the essence of what it means to be saved. We believe in the efficacy of what Christ accomplished on our behalf, and we confess that he is Lord.

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”  Romans 10:9–11 (NLT)

In this case, faith might better be called allegiance. Satan was disloyal to God. Jesus was completely true, all the way to death. When we declare allegiance to Jesus, we join him in engaging in the reclamation of mankind under the proper rule of God.

However, God did not remove Satan from the earth. He left him here so that God’s people could be tested and learn the art of spiritual warfare.

These are the nations that the Lord left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan. 2 He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle.  Judges 3:1–2 (NLT)

God uses our struggles against spiritual wickedness to help us grow into mature overcomers to prepare us for sharing in Christ’s glorious eternal rule.

For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.  Romans 8:16–17 (NLT)

As children of God, we are destined for the throne as co-rulers with Christ.

It is only fitting that God prepares us for such an exalted position by allowing us to overcome spiritual wickedness by faith in Christ’s authority and victory during our time here on earth.

For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.  1 John 5:4–5 (NLT)

The stakes are extremely high – our spiritual reward. Our enemy is implacable and unrelenting. There is no escape from this battle. We either surrender or overcome.

Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? 32 And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. 33 So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.  Luke 14:31–33 (NLT)

If we surrender to the enemy of our souls, we give away incalculable reward in heaven. Conversely, we can participate in the cosmic struggle at the potential cost of losing all that we have here on earth in exchange for all we will gain from our Lord in heaven.

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.  Matthew 19:29 (NASB95)

Many Christians wish to avoid any sort of direct confrontation with the enemy of our souls. The only way we can do this is by compromising our testimony through sin or by holding back from sharing the truth of the gospel.

If we persist in maintaining our testimony before the world and share the truth in love, it is guaranteed that we shall encounter resistance from the enemy.

Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.  2 Timothy 3:12 (NLT)

Persecution is a form of spiritual warfare through intimidation.

The enemy seeks to kill, steal, and destroy. He begins quite often by mockery. If this does not work, he will likely step things up to false accusations and intimidation through threatened or actual force. The last step is usually persecution that involves suffering and even death, if we persist in holding on to our convictions and testimony. Before Saul’s conversion, this is what he did to the church.

Indeed, I did just that in Jerusalem. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many believers there to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death. 11 Many times I had them punished in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus. I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities.  Acts 26:10–11 (NLT)

However, if we endure, we will overcome.

And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.  Revelation 12:11 (NLT)

When we first decide to become a disciple, it is important for us to count the cost.

Jesus made it clear that following him is costly. The Holy Spirit will give us the strength to continue when the going gets tough, if we decide up front to trust him to do that. He will give us the words to say when they are needed.

When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. 20 For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.  Matthew 10:19–20 (NLT)

God will strengthen us so that we can endure. None of us are expected to stand by our own strength. It is the power of the Lord that enables us to overcome.

‘Do not fear them, for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you.’  Deuteronomy 3:22 (NASB95)

Jesus has already won the war, and God works with us as we confront the enemy as part of God’s mopping up operation in which Christ’s victory is enforced and his kingdom extended. He teaches us to war (Psalm 144:1) and enables us to overcome in the power of his might.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.  Ephesians 6:10 (NASB95)

In the following chapters, we will reference some concepts we already covered and look at some specific principles of warfare that will help us to bring glory to God and joy to us.

Click here to see all the articles in this series.

 

Questions for Further Study and Discussion
  • Have you ever experienced spiritual warfare?
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Chapter 84: Our Identity in Christ

The reason we can be effective in warfare against Satan and his legions is because of our identity in Christ.

God created us to be sons, heirs, and co-rulers with Christ.

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.  Galatians 3:29 (NASB95)

Adam was defeated by Satan’s wiles, but God foresaw this and eternally planned that his one and only Son, our Lord Jesus the Messiah, would take our guilt and shame upon himself in order to satisfy the debt incurred against God’s righteousness and bring us into God’s family, with all the attendant privileges, not the least of which is that we are now representatives of God’s kingdom.

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.  Ephesians 1:4–6 (NLT)

King David wrote that we have been made a little lower than God.

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 8:5–6 (NASB95)

All this is because of what Christ did for us through his death and resurrection.

When our Lord died and rose again, he disabled or disarmed Satan, preventing him from being able to rule over us any longer against our will.

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.  Colossians 2:13–15 (NLT)

Satan still exists, but his power to oppress individuals who are submitted to God is severely limited now. The authority that Adam ceded to him in the garden was wrested away from him at the resurrection. As a result, all authority now resides in our Lord. (Matthew 28:18) Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father, waiting for his enemies to be made his footstool.

“Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34 “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, 35 Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ’ 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”  Acts 2:33–36 (NASB95)

Amazingly, because we are now one with the Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17) and “in Christ,” we are seated with him there.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  Ephesians 2:4–6 (NASB95)

From that privileged place and position of authority at God’s right hand, the church already co-rules with Christ in a limited fashion, being his representatives on the earth, who can use his name and authority, which is backed up by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This does not mean we can do whatever we like. The secret to our success is our willingness to walk in step with God’s Spirit, speaking and doing what he directs.

Jesus told his disciples that Satan has fallen.

“Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! 19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”  Luke 10:18–20 (NLT)

Satan’s defeat is assured, having been once for all accomplished by our Lord at the resurrection, but God in his wisdom and love has ordained that our enemy’s final crushing will be at the hands of the church. God, as a loving parent, is training and preparing us to co-reign with him for eternity. He wants us to grow up in all things, including warfare.

Abba Father is not a doting parent who does everything for his child, thus robbing him or her of any chance to mature. Instead, our Lord expects us to become mature sons and daughters who represent him well.

One of the great end time prophecies links to one of the first messianic promises in Genesis. In the garden, just after Adam and Eve threw away everything by choosing to follow Satan instead of God, the Lord spoke to the serpent these amazing words of hope.

And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”  Genesis 3:15 (NLT)

 We now know that this was a veiled promise that God would raise up a Messiah from Eve’s descendants who would render a death blow to Satan, which Jesus did on the cross. What is not so apparent, but which the apostle Paul clearly understood, is that God has included us, the church, in carrying out that victory.

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.  Romans 16:20 (NASB95)

We are fully identified with Christ through the new birth.

Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.  1 Corinthians 12:13 (NLT)

Our spirits are joined to the Holy Spirit in a spiritual union that is difficult to grasp with our minds but is nevertheless real. (1 Corinthians 6:17) What is true of our Lord is also true for us, except that we are not God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,  1 Corinthians 2:12 (NASB95)

However, as David revealed to us, because of our Lord, we are just a little lower than God. We are above angels, not because we are inherently superior. It is quite the opposite. We are but dust, earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4:7), that God has filled with his Spirit and elevated to the throne!

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.  1 John 3:1–2 (NASB95)

While we reside here on earth, we are Christ’s representatives, carrying with us the authority of Christ backed by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. (2 Corinthians 5:20) Even though “nothing by any means can harm us” (Luke 10:19), we are still mortal and subject to physical death until the resurrection shall free us at last. (1 Corinthians 15:53)

Even though our destiny is to crush Satan, our current reality is that we may physically die in the battle. Our ability to overcome rests mainly on our position of authority and power in Christ and secondarily on our willingness to expend our lives in service to him.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. 12 “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”  Revelation 12:10–12 (NASB95)

The final crushing of Satan is reserved for the very end when Jesus shall return with his saints. We shall participate in this final victory, which will remove our and God’s enemy at last.

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.  Colossians 3:1–4 (NASB95)

When Jesus returns our transformation into glorified sons and daughters in Christ’s image will be complete. (1 John 3:2) As glorified immortal beings, we shall participate in Satan’s final crushing.

In the meantime, we are to function as sons and daughters of the king, his representatives who carry the authority and power of the kingdom wherever we go.

May the church shake off her fear and ignorance and arise to fulfill her destiny! And as we experience the authority of Christ flowing through us to displace the enemy by the power of the Holy Spirit, let us never forget that everything stems from who we are in Christ. Our victory rests upon our identity as redeemed children of the Most High. Our joy rests in the knowledge that our names are written in heaven! (Luke 10:20)

Click here to see all the articles in this series.

 

Questions for Further Study and Discussion
  • How hard is it for you to see yourself seated with Christ at the Father’s right hand?
  • Have you ever exercised the authority Christ has given to us to heal and cast out demons?
  • Where do you find the most joy!
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Why Understanding God’s Design for the World Is Important

I believe that 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. I believe that this was a huge step in Satan’s push to render all of God’s truth relative.

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. But Moses, the author of Genesis under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, was not a stupid man. He knew full well what he was saying. He knew that light came from the sun, whose circuit around the earth determines night and day. He did not write what he did because people of his day were uninformed. He wrote under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. God must have lit the earth with his own light and orchestrated night and day without the sun. Is that too hard to believe?

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, 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 God’s truth? It certainly would not be the first time. Bible believing Christians 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 deduce 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 may be 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. In a similar way 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 or entropy, which observes that systems move from order to disorder, 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 while simultaneously overcoming the unimaginable power of the the centrifugal force created by a rotational spin of 1039 mph.

Satan’s lies make fools of all who believe them. I have come to the place in my life when I no longer wish to be Satan’s fool by believing men’s theories over God’s Word. I will be God’s fool, if necessary, in the eyes of men, but not the devil’s, in the eyes of God.

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 – Isaiah 22:18). 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 seas that are on a flat 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 should 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 will be 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 a curtain that blocked access to the holiest place of the tabernacle of Moses and the temple of Solomon.

I believe that 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.

I believe 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.

I believe that 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, it seems that 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)

Come, Lord Jesus!

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The Big Bang Theory vs. The Bible’s Account of Creation

Newton’s theory of universal gravitation is now regarded as a law that supports the Big Bang theory. In the world of modern science, theories can rather quickly become laws. All it takes is for a generation of skeptics to die out and for succeeding generations to be taught that the theory has been proved. Our schools have become indoctrination centers that brainwash children by requiring them to regurgitate the desires “facts” rather than teach us to think critically. Those who “learn” what they are supposed to think are rewarded with good grades and the approval of the system. Skeptics are punished. Those of us who question the globe experience this first hand.

Those who have been indoctrinated to believe in the globe quickly attack anyone who strays from the fold. Once one questions the reality of the globe, one also sees other falsities that are used to support the big lie. The theory or law of universal gravitation is one such lie.

Everyone understands that things fall down when they are dropped. Newton named this phenomenon “gravity.” The laws of density and buoyancy describe this, too. Things fall downward toward the earth until they encounter mass of a greater density. Then they stop. The opposite is also true. Things rise upward if their density is less than the density that surrounds them. Hot air rises until it encounters a less dense environment. Helium balloons illustrate this “anti-gravity” phenomenon well.

Where Newton departed from reality was to posit that “gravity” is a universal law, that all masses attract and are attracted by other masses. As mentioned in my previous article, Newton ascribed to the occult theories of Hermes Trismegistus, who believed that a force emanated from the sun that controlled the rest of the universe. Newton gave this force a scientific name and used it to explain how the sun god was able to keep its subjects under control.

From that occult beginning, modern astrophysics has taken Newton’s supposed law of universal gravitation and used it to “explain” how the Big Bang took place. We now believe that the universe is much grander than Newton supposed. The so-called solar system is considered to be a micro-system within an incredible array of galaxies of stars and planets in an ever-expanding universe of incomprehensible proportions. This universe, it is reasoned, had to begin somehow; so, scientists reason that if we take the universe’s expansion backwards, we will arrive at a place and time when the original “explosion” took place. This is called the Big Bang. No attempt is made to explain where the initial energy and condensed matter came from. It is supposed to have been self-existent. Matter and energy have the eternal attributes that have been traditionally given to God. This shows the purpose of the anti-god theories of the universe – to deny the existence of God.

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.

Is it any surprise that the theory of gravity has become an “inevitable” law? 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.

Below is an 11-minute video that explains this impossible to prove position.

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.

Let us not forget that there is a very great difference between a theory and a fact.

Those who accept a man-made theory over the wisdom of God’s Word become fools.

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

Just as Darwin’s insights into the process of natural selection gave atheists the scientific “hook” upon which to base their unprovable “theory” of evolution, thereby dispensing with the need for a Creator and making man a meaningless accident, godless astrophysicists use gravity to accomplish the same end. Once evolution entered the vocabulary of the scientific community, every branch of knowledge was affected.

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 being “ashamed” of God’s Word.

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)

We do not need an unproven theory of universal gravitation to hold everything together. We have the assurance that God does that.

It is a huge error to equate universal gravitation with Jesus. It makes a divine Person an impersonal force of nature and reduces the Creator God to the Star Wars version of deity called “The Force.”

Just because objects on earth fall down until they reach something more dense or rise until encountering something less dense, does not mean that there is some universal force attracting us toward the sun. Genesis teaches that the sun runs a circuit around the earth, and not that the earth runs a circuit around the sun.

Einstein and others have said imagination is necessary to comprehend theoretical physics. When we go to a movie or watch a television drama, we are expected to suspend our sense of reality and enter into a fabricated world of imagination. For the past several decades, Walt Disney and Hollywood have provided us with movie after movie presenting to us the imaginary world of “outer space” travel. Every classroom has the ever-present globe. Many corporations use some version of the globe in their logos. Every movie produced by Universal Studios begins with a picture of the globe. Once we see this, we will realize how much we are being brainwashed.

We are taught to imagine that the universe of the astrophysicist is real and the cosmos described in the Bible is archaic and primitive.

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 go along for the ride when it comes to what gravity can do and the cosmos looks like.

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 a 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, now holds impossibly big planets enthralled in synchronous orbits AND can be easily overcome with the least amount of effort. We are expected to believe that the force that holds untold tons of ocean water 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.

Once we surrender our minds to the imagination of people who have rejected God’s Word, we end up believing unbelievable things. It seems that 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, too.

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. If that is true, how then is it possible for us to feel gentle breezes and forceful winds going in all sorts of directions?

I believe that this confusion is the result of rejecting the Bible’s geocentric cosmology.

I firmly believe that the Word of God tells us that God created a stationary earth first and the sun, moon, and stars later, which move around it. Heliocentrists regard this to be a foolish, uninformed, archaic position. However, I believe that it is impossible to come to any other conclusion, if one accepts the Bible as our authority.

A stationary earth agrees with our sensory experience and common sense. It also conforms with the results of the Michelson-Morley experiment. 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. This circular logic is an example of how the devil cleverly obfuscates the truth. Nicola Tesla, a contemporary of Einstein, recognized BS when he saw it. Here is what he said about that man’s theories.

“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

 

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 the Bible should be extremely concerning to all who pursue God’s truth. I can almost hear the serpent’s hiss: ” Has God really said?”

I believe that 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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The Occult Religion of Heliocentrism

Heliocentrism is regarded as an established scientific fact by most of the church in the West. It will probably come as a great shock for many to discover that, first of all, it is not scientifically proven, and, secondly, it is an occult religion.

Heliocentrism Has Not Been Scientifically Proven

Leading astrophysicists over the last five hundred years agree that it is impossible to prove the heliocentric theory through observation from the earth. Models can be constructed that will explain all astronomic phenomena using either the geocentric or heliocentric position.

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).

Conversely, empirical experiments, such as Airy’s Failure and the Michelson-Morley experiment,  prove that the earth is at rest.

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.

The only alleged proof we have that seems to prove heliocentrism are the images of a spherical earth suspended in space provided by NASA. That agency has lied to us so often that it is unreasonable to accept as true anything it offers.

Einstein, who accepted that the earth’s revolution around the sun was a given, developed his theory of special relativity to explain away the unexpected results of the Michelson-Morley experiment. His conclusion was that it is impossible for us to tell whether the earth is moving or the sun, moon, and stars. How convenient! Satan always has a clever counter argument that defies all sound reasoning but baffles those who accept that the “experts” are so much smarter than we are that we cannot hope to ever comprehend their wonderful insights. That is how brainwashing works.

Heliocentrism Is an Occult Religion

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

[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

Both Copernicus and Isaac Newton were devotees of Egyptian “hermetics,” an occult pursuit of alchemy that supposedly originated with Hermes (hence, “hermetics”) Trismegistus from ancient Egypt, according to Masonic author, Albert Mackey. 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

Copernicus uses unmistakable religious language that elevates the sun, Helios or Sol, to god status.

Heliocentrism
Christianity
Sun is enthroned as Ruler of the cosmos. Jesus is enthroned at the Father’s right hand as King of Kings
The Sun has a temple. The church is the temple inhabited by God’s Spirit
The Sun is the Lamp that illuminates all things. Jesus is the Light of the world.
The Sun is the “mind” of the cosmos. God is the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer.
The Sun is the Visible God. Jesus is the Word of God become a man.
The Sun is all seeing. Only God is omniscient.
The Sun rules the earth and the planets. God is ruler of the earth. The sun runs a circuit over the earth as a servant to it (Psalm 19:6). There is no such thing as a planet, only “wandering (planetes) stars (asters – lights, luminaries).
Sun sires life on earth. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. His light is the light of men. (John 1:4)

The Copernican conclusion is that the sun rules the earth, via “gravity,” and the other “wandering stars,” which are all named after pagan gods and goddesses. Put another way, the sun controls the earth, keeping her in submission to Helios or Sol, which are names associated with Satan himself. NASA images of the sun make it out to be a raging, threatening nuclear inferno that threatens to engulf and annihilate everyone on earth, another clear reference to Satan and hell. The actual sun is nothing like that.

  NASA computer generated image

  Photograph

Sir Isaac Newton, whose theories, especially regarding the theory of universal gravitation, seemed to imbue heliocentrism with scientific credibility, was a secret alchemist, who wrote more than a million words about alchemy, sorcery associated with transforming lead into gold. Michael White in his book, Isaac Newton, the Last Sorcerer, quoted John Maynard Keans, who said that Newton was the “last of the magicians, the last of the Babylonians.” (pp.2-3) His theory of universal gravitation, according to Dickson White in his book, A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology, was “destined to be fatal to the old theory of creation.” (Vol. I, 15) That in itself should make anyone who believes the Bible is the standard of all truth question the validity of universal gravitation. Things fall down at a certain rate of acceleration until they encounter a medium of greater density, or they rise until they encounter a medium of less density. In no way does this prove that all masses pull on one another. It also assumes the existence of a vast region called “outer space,” which is nowhere taught in the Bible. According to God’s Word, all heavenly lights are contained in the vault of the firmament. None of these lights are said to be solid spherical objects that are part of an evolutionary ever expanding universe.

Newton claimed to have discovered mathematical and physical proof for the principles found in occult hermetic writings.

Newton was also a fan of Hermes Trismegistus and translated one of his books, The Emerald Tablet, into English. One of the quotes from this book obviously influenced Newton’s work regarding gravity. He said, “The sun’s force is above all force, for it vanquishes every subtle thing and penetrates every solid thing.”

Lynn Picknett, writer for the the gnostic New Dawn Magazine, embraces the hermetic roots of Copernican Heliocentrism:
 
“Essentially, Copernicus was claiming to have found mathematical and physical proof for the principles that are set out– without proof– in the Hermetic books. Contemporary Hermeticists certainly regarded him as a hero for vindicating their sacred texts.” (November-December, 2011)
 

Johannes Kepler, another highly regarded astronomer from that period, wrote in his book titled, Of the Harmony of the World:

“a very few days after the pure Sun of that most wonderful study begin to shine, nothing restrains me, it is my pleasure to yield to the inspired frenzy, it is my pleasure to taunt mortal men with the candid acknowledgment that I am stealing the golden vessels of the Egyptians to build a tabernacle to my God from them, far, far away from the boundaries of Egypt…I cast the die, and I write the book.” (translated by E.J. Aiton, 1997, p.391)
 
Trismegistus came up with the heliocentric idea of heavenly spheres orbiting the sun.
 
“For the sun is situated at the centre of the cosmos, wearing it like a crown. Around the Sun are the six spheres that depend from it: the sphere of the fixed stars, the six of the planets, and the one that surrounds the Earth.” (Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius)
 
Newton effectively legitimized pagan sun worship by giving it an apparent scientific basis, much as Charles Darwin provided a scientific rationale for those wishing to abandon the acknowledgement of a Creator with regard to the origin of life.
No lie has has more effectively turned people away from acknowledging the Creator than heliocentrism and its corollary, the Big Bang.
 
A false explanation of creation presents a false testimony of the Creator.
Even Christians have succumbed to this strong delusion and have been willing to abandon the clear testimony of Scripture in Genesis Chapter One regarding the origin and design of the cosmos in favor of what is called “science.” I believe that God is awakening his church to the truth about the earth and heavens and calling us to repent from elevating pagan cosmology above the clear teachings of the Word of God.
 
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The Primary Importance of Genesis Chapter One

Genesis Chapter One contains the very first words of God recorded in the Bible. It describes how God created the cosmos – the seas, earth, firmament, and sun, moon, and stars. As such, it is of primary importance.

The battle of the ages is being fought over Genesis because, if it can be shown that it is not literally and actually true, there is no reason to assume that anything else in the Bible is true.

This is why Satan has worked so hard to convince the people in the world that evolutionary astrophysics is real, making the Bible an archaic fairy tale.

I have conversed with numerous Bible-believing Christians who insist that it is not necessary or even correct to accept that Genesis is literally true. These friends believe that Jesus rose from the dead. They believe in the primary importance of the gospel message and tell me that insisting on a literal interpretation of Genesis is an unnecessary obstacle to people’s accepting the gospel claims.

Without fully realizing it, those who reject the literal truth of Genesis have set foot upon the slippery slope of deciding which parts of the Bible are true and which merely contain truth, which is exactly the position of the more liberal denominations which have departed from the faith.

Why do any of us feel that it is necessary to reject the literal truth of Genesis? Is it not because we regard the claims of what is called science to be of greater import than God’s Word?

If we accept the proclamations of theoretical science above God’s Word, we have become idolators who worship at the altar of a new religion called “Scientism,” which has its own high priests, scientists, who tell us what we must believe.

I admit that people come to faith in Christ without believing that Genesis is literally true. I did. But this does not mean that believing Genesis is true is not important. Jesus said the the scripture cannot be “broken,” (John 10:35) meaning that every word of God is true. He said in another place that we are to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). People who already believe in Jesus will continue to do so regardless of whether they accept a literal interpretation of Genesis. To them, it is non-essential. However, those who are in the process of exploring the claims of the Bible and who read Genesis are faced with a huge obstacle to faith. Everything they have been taught from infancy rejects the creation account of Genesis. They must decide what to do with the Bible. Many decide that Genesis is not true and therefore reject all the Bible’s claims.

The goal of evolutionary astrophysics, geology, paleontology, and biology is to convince us that our universe and all life sprang from nothingness by absolute random chance without any influence from a Creator.

We have to admit that Satan’s plan has wonderfully succeeded. He has successfully eliminated the Bible from public education and the halls of what is called science. Any reference to a Creator is rejected. Science must be able to explain things entirely using mechanistic processes. Nothing divine is allowed.

It stands to reason that the best way to combat the lie of evolutionary “science” is by reestablishing faith in the literal truth of Genesis.

It is impossible to accept the Genesis account as true and end up with a heliocentric view of what is called the ever-expanding universe. Until we are willing to repent from our rejection of the literal truth of the Genesis account, our ability to win over atheists and agnostics to the gospel will be limited.

But when we come face to face with the truth about the heavens and earth that God made, we can only arrive at one conclusion. There must be a Creator. No matter how truth is twisted, evolutionary processes cannot explain the existence of the firmament.

It is not a far jump to show those who acknowledge the Creator that the one who made them is named Jesus, the Eternal Logos who became a man and died for our sins and then arose as Lord of Lords, who will come again in glory when God dissolves the firmament. (2 Peter 3:12)

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 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 1:1–5 (NKJV)

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