Key to the Bible
1. IN THE BEGINNING. . . (Gen. 1:1-13)
2. THE GARDEN OF DELIGHT (Gen. 1:14-2:3)
3. EVOLUTION & CREATION
4. THE WORST DAY EVER (Gen. 3:1-24)
5. “WALKING WITH GOD” (Gen. 4:1-6:22)
6. THE GREAT FLOOD (Gen. 7:1-8:19)
7. THE AGE OF THE EARTH (Gen. 8:20-11:32)
8. SCIENCE and the BIBLE
9. THE TOWER OF BABEL (Gen. 10:6-11:32)
By Jerry Schmoyer
Copyright Ó 1996
jerry@schmoyer.net
1. IN THE BEGINNING . . . (Gen. 1:1-13)
By Jerry Schmoyer Copyright Ó 1996
BACKGROUND “Genesis” means “beginnings, origin, source,” and is from the first word of the book in the Greek translation (‘genesis’). Genesis is a book of beginnings. In it we see the beginning of everything from the universe to sin. Virtually everything has its beginning in Genesis. The only beginning that isn’t told about is the beginning of God, for He has no beginning. His existence is assumed, not proven. There is no beginning and no end to God.
Because Genesis is so important, it is attacked quite heavily. Any book gets most wear and tear on its exposed sides: front and back. Those pages take the most abuse. That is true in the Bible, too. The first three chapters of Genesis (creation) and the last three of Revelation (Jesus’ return and eternity) take the most abuse, too. That is where Satan attacks. If he can discredit either of those the rest of the book is undermined.
TWO BOOKS IN ONE Genesis is really two books in one. The first 11 chapters talk about the beginning of the universe and nations on earth. Chapters 12 – 50 deal with the nation Israel. In 11 short chapters 2,300 years of history are covered. Major events that have shaped our world are covered quickly: creation, fall, flood and Babel. The rest of the book covers only 300 years and focuses on four men: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. In the first 11 chapters God sets the stage for what He really wants to get to: Abraham and the start of Israel. It’s like seeing a movie which starts with a panoramic view of the countryside with a village in the difference. The camera pans across it all, focusing in on the town until focusing on a man walking down the street. The camera then zooms in on him and follows him down the street and into a house. The story slows down and follows events in the man’s life. That’s how Genesis is. God isn’t trying to give all the details we’d like to have about creation and the fall. He just records it’s happening then moves on.
HISTORY & SCIENCE Genesis contains a lot about science, and all it includes is true. However Genesis isn’t a science book because it doesn’t try to cover all areas of science or answer all questions that come up. The same is true of history. Genesis contains a lot about history, and all it includes is true. But it isn’t a history book because it leaves out so much history. God’s purpose isn’t to give a detailed account of science or history, but to set the background for Abraham and Israel. The focus of the book of Genesis, like the whole Bible, is redemption. Genesis 1 – 11 show man’s need of redemption, 12 – 50 shows the beginning of God’s provision through the person of Jesus the Messiah.
ORIGINAL CREATION In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. There are actually three books in the Bible that start “in the beginning.” John 1:1 refers to Jesus being God from before anything else. Genesis 1:1 is the beginning of the created universe, and I John 1:1 the beginning of Jesus’ life on earth. The Hebrew word “created” (bara) refers to God creating something out of nothing. In verse 2 a different word (asah) refers to forming something out of existing material.
IS THERE LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS? The earth is mentioned as separate from the rest of the heavens (see also Psalm 115:16). I believe earth is the only planet with life like us (who are in the image of God) on it because any life created with personality (mind, emotions and will) would have a free will and would therefore exercise it to sin (as did man and the fallen angels). Satan has access through the whole universe and would tempt anything God created. God only left heaven once to die for sin, and that was on this earth. He took the sins of those of us who live on this earth. Therefore there is no redemption for anyone else in the universe. God crated the vast universe to show us how great He is, not to have lots of life forms. If He had other life, He wouldn’t need us as He does.
RECREATION In Genesis 1:2 we see a change from how things were created in 1:1. “Now” implies some form of change. Plus it is “formless” (no shape – God gave it shape in days 1-3) and “empty” (no inhabitants – God gave it life in days 4-6). Both these Hebrew words (tohu wa bohu) are always used as the result of judgment. Also, the earth was under darkness and deadness, also used of judgment in the Bible. It seems that something happened to the original creation in 1:1 so that in 1:2 it is spoiled, under judgment and in need of reforming and filling. Many theologians say that Satan and his fallen angels being cast out of heaven took place during this time.
WERE THE CREATION DAYS GEOLOGICAL AGES? Some have attempted to reconcile evolution and creation by saying God used evolutionary ages for the ‘days’ of creation. That couldn’t be true for the Hebrew word translated ‘day,’ (yom) appears about 1300 times in the Bible, 99% of which obviously refer to a 24-hour day. The meaning of the few which refer to a longer period of time (like the “Day of the Lord”) are obvious from the context. Plus the Bible describes the creation days as “morning and evening,” and “day and night,” normal ways of describing 24 hour days. In Exodus 20:8-11, ‘yom’ is used 6 times. Two refer to creation days and 4 to 24-hour days. The Sabbath is based on the creation rest ‘day.’ It seems clear that all the days mentioned here are of the same length instead of referring to two entirely different time periods.
You see, the creation days couldn’t possibly be geological ages. Only 3 days had any impact on the earth (3, 5, 6) and there were more than 3 geological ages. Plus the order of the way God created things and how evolution says they progressed is often very different (we’ll see examples in future articles). Romans 5:12 says there was no death before sin, so what would account for all the dead (and even extinct) animals for those millions of years before man?
THE TERRARIUM AFFECT Genesis 1:6-8 refers to an “expanse” four times. This is a canopy around the earth creating a terrarium-like effect on the whole earth. This protected the earth from the sun’s radiation and produced a uniform climate everywhere. Thus there was enough vegetation to support the dinosaur population. There was no rain, it wasn’t necessary. Everything stayed the same. This canopy was removed when the great flood came and the water that formed it fell to the earth. Thus dinosaurs have been found frozen in Antarctica with tropical vegetation in their mouths.
2. THE GARDEN OF DELIGHT (Gen. 1:14-2:3)
By Jerry Schmoyer Copyright Ó 1996
God created everything perfect (Genesis 1:1) but Satan’s fall brought chaos, darkness and deadness (1:2). God then formed the earth and universe in six 24-hour days.
DAYS 1 – 3 The first three days God brought shape to the shapelessness. Day 1 he formed light. This was done before the sun was created. God is light (I John 1:5). God started by removing the darkness, which stands for spiritual blindness (John 1:5; I John 2:8; Isaiah 9:2). Day 2 He separated the water and air. The “firmament” kept the suns harmful rays off the earth and created a greenhouse-type climate. Day 3 saw land appear and plants and trees start to grow. Each of these days showed division: light from darkness; water from air; land from water.
DAYS 4 – 6 The second three days God filled what he had formed. In Genesis 1:2 the Bible says the world was “formless” (God gave it form day 1-3) and “empty” (God filled it day 4-6). The filling followed the same pattern of the forming (see the chart below).
FORMING
FILLING
LIGHT
1. Light created
4. Sun, moon, stars
WATER AIR
2. Water & atmosphere
5. Fish, birds
LAND
3. Dry land, vegetation
6. Animals, man
Day 4 saw the sun, moon and stars formed. These are for the purpose of measuring time, giving heat and light, and teaching about God’s greatness and plan of salvation. Day 5 was when fish and birds were crated. These were for the purpose of filling the earth and sky, establishing the food chain and giving man companionship as well as beauty. Try to imagine a black and white world with no color, music, or animals? These things show God’s love for us, those special touches that say “I love you” a thousand times a day!
Day 6 was when animals and man were created. Man is not a superior animal, but is superior to animals. We are created in the image of God (1:26) and, unlike animals, have a soul and spirit. God breathed life into us (2:7) after personally forming us (2:7). Man has language, intellect, a free will and eternal life, all things animals don’t have.
God charged man with the responsibility to 1) reproduce and fill the earth. God made many animals but only 1 man and woman. Man was to 2) subdue the earth (bring it under control) and 3) rule the earth — care for it, research it, develop its resources.
DAY 7 After six days God ‘rested’ — not that He was tired and worn out, but that there was nothing more to do! God used 6 days (He could have done it in one) to set up the pattern of working six days (something many people don’t do today) and resting one day (something the rest of the people don’t do). Everything God created needs times of rest. Animals hibernate, plants go dormant. Growth goes only in spurts, then there is a time of rest and renewal. People need the same thing.
GENESIS 1
GENESIS 2
General
Specific
Universe
Man & Woman
Overall
Close-up
God (Elohim) – power sovereign
YHWH – personal, redeemer,
CREATION STORY, PART 2 Genesis 2:4-25 retells the creation story, with focus on the creation of man and woman. There is no conflict in the two accounts, certainly there is no ‘proof’ of various authors for the book of Genesis! This is typical of Hebrew poetry.
THE GARDEN OF EDEN Meaning “Garden of Delight” in Hebrew (2:8), the Garden of Eden was a real place, not some fictional or mythical place. Its specific location is even given. Jesus talked about the garden of Eden as well as Adam and Eve as real, historical people and places. It was large enough to hold some of everything God had created (2:9).
TWO SPECIAL TREES In the garden were two trees that were different from all the others. They probably looked the same, and their chemical composition was no different than others, but God used each in a special way. The tree of life signified that anyone with access to it would live forever. After sin entered man had to leave Eden so he wouldn’t have access to this tree and live separated from God forever. It will be in the New Jerusalem forever when Jesus returns (Revelation 22:2).
The other tree (the Bible doesn’t say it was apple) the tree of knowledge of good and evil. By designating one tree (and it could have been ANY one of the trees there) as off limits God was giving man a free will choice to obey or rebel. God wanted man to obey, not because there was no alternative, but because he chose to. The danger in the tree was not any chemical substance in the fruit, but in the attitude of heart that would cause one to willingly, purposefully disobey God. The outer action of eating or not eating would just show the inner heart attitude of obedience or disobedience. God wants man to love and obey Him because we choose to, not because we have to. Would you rather have a wooden dog on a string that you could pull anywhere, or a real live puppy that would run to you but sometimes would chew your shoes? That’s what God wants in us, too.
The consequence of disobedience is “death” (2:17). Death means ‘separation,’ not ‘ceasing to exist.’ Adam and Eve didn’t die physically, but did die spiritually. They were separated from God.
CREATION OF WOMAN Despite being with God, man was lonely for there was no mate for him. God, therefore, created a “helper suitable for him” (2:18). God didn’t give man a career, hobby, children or another man! Eve was to “fill up his empty spaces.” Neither Adam or Eve were totally complete alone, but together they met each others needs. God called her “woman” meaning “taken from man.” God created her out of Adam to show their oneness. Later Adam called her “Eve” meaning “mother of all living, lifegiver,” showing his belief in God’s promise that, despite their sin, God would still work through them to populate the world. Today we see the evidence of that promise being fulfilled. God always keeps His Word, despite man’s sin.
3. EVOLUTION & CREATION
By Jerry Schmoyer Copyright Ó 1996
Usually the creation/evolution debate is seen as a scientific issue. I contend that, at its heart and core, the creation/evolution issue is essentially a FAITH issue. We have evidences in the earth that come under the heading of scientific facts, but they are open to various applications and interpretations. These facts can be shuffled and arranged to support opposing views, depending on the presuppositions of the person analyzing the facts. Since no human being was present at the start of our universe to verify exactly what happened, our interpretation of the facts is based on our presuppositions, which in turn are based on which system of faith we buy into.
Everyone starts off from square one “faith” before they analyze scientific truths. The two faith options in the creation/evolution debate are: 1) there is a supreme being behind and in control of creation and time and 2) everything happens just by ‘chance’ and man is in control of his own destiny. Creation/evolution is not a matter of science, but of what man puts his faith in: God or ‘chance.’ Both evolution and creation are based on faith, and depending which faith system one chooses the data will be interpreted to fit that system. We start with acceptance or rejection of a God who is in control of it all, then we build our facts around that. We can’t put aside all presuppositions and be 100% neutral.
Evolution says the planet and stars are the result of a big explosion of compressed, rotating protons and neutrons. That is believed by faith for there is no scientific proof (i.e. facts that cannot be interpreted any other way, eyewitness account, etc.). That still doesn’t answer the bigger question: where did matter come from to begin with? Evolution is a faith system based on ‘chance’ as its god. My faith system says there is a God who created it all out of nothing. I believe there is a God because I don’t think the order and unity in the universe and nature could result out of chaos and disorder by chance, no matter how much time was allowed for this to happen. Nature shows there is a creator behind it (cause and effect reasoning). I believe there is something in man that realizes there is more to life than eating, breathing and dying. Something inside says there is a meaning and purpose to life and this life isn’t all there is. Man can quench these thoughts, but at one time or another everyone has had them. Thus I believe there is a God who is behind creation. That is my first presupposition. My second is that God revealed Himself and His creative activity to man in the Bible. If God created everything and controls everything, it is entirely POSSIBLE He could inspire such a record and have it passed from generation to generation without error. In fact, this is not just possible, it is NECESSARY for without this man couldn’t understand or follow God. God is therefore obligated to reach out to the man He has created and designed to relate to Himself. God must take the initiative. There has never been a scientific or archeological discovery to disprove anything in the Bible. In fact, over and over the Biblical record, though written thousands of years ago, is proven right when man thinks he has found a historical or scientific error. Fulfilled prophecy in the Old Testament also shows time and again, through impossible odds, that there is 100% accuracy in all that was predicted. Based on this my presuppositions start with a God who is in control of everything and has revealed Himself and His will in the Bible. Thus I believe His record of creation in Genesis 1-2. He says it happened 6,000 to 8,000 years ago and was done in 6 24-hour days (it is impossible to make the Genesis days equal geological ages: the order of events is too different, “day” is unquestionable a 24-hour time period, and only 3 of the creation days would have affected this earth anyway). The Bible says that God completely finished creation on the 6th day. It is no longer going on. The Second Law of Thermodynamics agrees, saying that energy tends toward entropy.
The next tenet of evolution says that life began by chance as a single cell from non living matter. This, too, is accepted by faith. By chance the necessary chemicals would have to come together with the right temperature and moisture so atoms would turn into amino acids and polypeptides which join together to become a protein molecule. The chance of this happening is one in 10 to the 321st power! Then millions of these would have to occur at the exact time and place, and somehow 150 different chemicals would have to be included in them, DNA would have to develop, etc. What are the chances of that? It is a system based on faith. The Bible says God instantaneously created life by speaking a word.
The third tenet of evolution is that all organisms have developed from simpler forms of life. Again, there is no conclusive proof. Mutations are referred to, but they are very rare and almost always harmful to the survival of the species. Natural selection does occur, but it is very limited and not proven to have begun any new life forms. In fact, there are many exceptions to evolution, things which are not in the flow as evolution sees it. These include electric eels, porpoises and bats, warm-bloodedness, plaryic gizzards, flying fish, special climbing feet on some, gliding, special eyes and tails, wings, the sea horse, hummingbird, butterfly, frog, and jellyfish. Many things today couldn’t have come about gradually but must have been full-formed from the start for the species to live. A woodpecker with its special bill and feet, cross-braced skull, etc., had to be a finished unit to survive. Missing part of its attributes would have kept it from surviving. The Bible says God created separate groups of living organisms (“Genus”), each to reproduce “after its kind” (“Species).
Finally, Evolution says man is the ultimate result of the process of evolution. Again, there is no final proof, it is just from interpretation of scientific facts based on one’s presupposition. God says man is superior and separate from animals. How could love, hate, fear, conscience, and hope of eternal life evolve? Where did these immaterial traits come from?
Then what about the scientific ‘facts’ used to prove evolution? What about the fossil record and strata layers, disappearance of dinosaurs and these kind of things? I believe there is a better scientific interpretation and explanation for these than evolution. I believe that during Noah’s time there was a worldwide flood where water a mile deep covered the earth for a year. At normal processes fossils are formed slowly, but with this cataclysmic activity (earthquakes, volcanoes, continents drifting, etc.) everything happened much faster. It is like Superman squeezing coal into diamonds in a few seconds. Smaller creatures sunk to the bottom creating the fossil record. All was compressed and formed into rock quickly due to the tremendous pressure of a mile of water for a year. With the canopy gone the earth’s climate changed from tropical to that similar to what it is today. Ice formed suddenly (not long, slow ice ages) and there was no longer enough vegetation for dinosaurs so they died out. My faith presupposes that God did it all and told us about it in His Bible. Evolution has no more proof than creation, in fact often it has less. It is no more scientific than creationism. It is just a matter of how those facts are interpreted. (for more information see “The Genesis Flood” by Henry Morris). If all I have said is true, then why is belief in evolution so strong today and creation so criticized? Again, I think it is a faith issue, not a scientific fact issue.
You see, if evolution is true there is no need for God, or salvation (descendants of monkeys have no need of a Savior!). There is no sin, no basis for moral values, and no responsibility to anyone but one’s self. The Bible is untrue and Christianity false. Man can do as he wants with no accountability. In pride, man seeks to run his own life and destiny. I think that is the real reason evolution continues to be so popular today. The option, that there is a God over us who we must listen to is just unacceptable to man. That choice is based on presuppositions, not on scientific evaluation of the evidence. What about you? What do you put your faith in?
4. THE WORST DAY EVER (Gen. 3:1-24)
By Jerry Schmoyer Copyright Ó 1997
Did God create everything? EVERYthing? What about sin? Where did sin come from? Did God create it? Is it His fault? Why didn’t He prevent it? If He allowed it and didn’t prevent it, how can He hold us responsible for it? These are questions man has wrestled with for thousands of years. I don’t claim to have all the answers in this short article, but hopefully some will be answered to some extent.
ENTRANCE OF SIN INTO THE UNIVERSE God created angels before the universe. They were to be his servants, messengers to men. He gave them a free will, not wanting robots who had to serve but free will beings who chose to love and serve Him. I’d much rather take a chance with a real puppy who may reject me but who also can choose to love and follow me than a wooden dog on a cord who can’t do either of these. God felt the same way. As a result Lucifer, the most gifted angel, chose to rebel, wanting to be worshipped himself instead of worshipping God (Isa 14; Ezek 28). About one third of the angels fell with him. They are called demons.
With that very first sin, sin entered the universe. God is did not create sin. He is not responsible for sin just because he didn’t prevent it. If I let someone drive my car and they get careless and hurt, I am not responsible because I didn’t deny them the use of my car!
ENTRANCE OF SIN INTO THE WORLD Not satisfied with just a following of fallen angels, Satan took his rebellion to earth in order to set up his kingdom there.
STEPS TO SIN (TEMPTATION)
1. SIN IS ALWAYS PRESENT It seems Satan wasted no time in tempting man to sin. Certainly there wasn’t enough time to be fruitful and multiply. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the very day Adam and Eve were created. For sure, it was the first opportunity Satan had when Eve and Adam were not together.
2. DOUBT GOD’S WORD (v. 1) Satan misquotes God by saying that God forbid them to eat from ANY tree. He lies to imply that God withholds pleasure from people, that He is some big cosmic killjoy. That is a popular lie even today. Sin starts when we doubt God’s word.
3. FACING SATAN WITHOUT GOD’S TRUTH FAILS (v. 2-3) When Eve starts responding to the temptation to sin by using her own reasoning, the die is cast. The Bible says we are to FLEE temptation (I Cor 10:13), not entertain it. We are to get as far from sin as we can, not as close to it as possible without sinning. Remember, being tempted is not sin. We all will always be tempted, but that is nothing to confess. It’s what we do with the temptation that determines if it becomes sin or not. Resisting is not sin, it’s only when we entertain the thought that it needs to be confessed (admitted as sin). Not knowing God’s word well enough, Eve picked up on Satan’s attitude of making God out to be harsh and restrictive by saying God said they couldn’t even touch the tree!
4. DISBELIEVING GOD AND HIS WORD (v. 4-5) When Satan out-and-out lied and said they would not die by eating, but would benefit by knowing what it was like to sin, Eve bought it! What a salesman Satan is! He portrayed experiencing sin, guilt and separation from God as something beneficial which God didn’t want man to have! Unfortunately Eve bought it!
5. DISOBEYING GOD (v. 6a) By this time Eve was open to sin. She bought Satan’s lie that God was withholding something good from her as well as that He would not judge sin (two common lies today, too). It appealed to her physically (would taste good), mentally (looked attractive) and spiritually (hit her pride). Satan attacked Jesus (Mt 4:1-11) and us (I Jn 2:16) in exactly the same way. Basically, all sin is self-centeredness (which is pride).
RESULTS OF SIN Sin has definite consequences, make no doubt about it!
1. LEADS OTHERS TO SIN (v. 6b) Have you ever wondered why Satan attacked Eve first, and alone? It was on purpose, knowing he could more easily deceive her (I Tim 2:12-14) and then use her to influence Adam to sin despite his total awareness of what he was doing. Today, too, Satan uses those close to us to get us to sin. It’s nothing new!
2. BRINGS SHAME, FEAR (v. 7) Satan’s lie is that sin satisfies, meets a need God isn’t meeting. That never happens! It’s like drinking salt water to quench a thirst. Sin just brings shame and guilt. After putting the lust in us, he dumps us (trashes us) and we feel remorse.
3. FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD GONE (v. 8-13) Instead of enjoying fellowship with God, Adam and Eve hid from Him. Sin causes us to avoid God and His Word. Then instead of admitting their sin, Adam blamed both God and Eve and Eve blamed the snake.
4. NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN (v. 14-19) The snake, Satan, Eve and Adam all suffered severe consequences for their sin. In addition, the tendency to sin which entered then now is passed down to each person at birth (Ps 51:5; Rom 5:12).
5. EXPULSION FROM EDEN (v. 20-24) To keep man from living forever in sin and separation from God, Adam and Eve were driven (v. 24) out of Eden and away from the tree of life.
SALVATION FROM SIN PROVIDED There is a beautiful picture of salvation in this chapter. It shows man is sinful (v. 6) and can’t cover his own sin (v. 7; Eph. 2:8-9). In fact, man is helpless in sin and separated from God (v. 8-13). Sin brings punishment (v. 14-19; Rom 6:23), and runs from God. It is God that seeks man (v. 8) to show love and mercy. He alone can conquer sin and Satan (v. 15). This victory is paid for by innocent blood shed (v.31; Gen 4:3-5). This is the first death or suffering, and is by an innocent animal to show what is necessary to cover man’s sin. Actually it was the Second person of the Trinity (Jesus before His birth) that was with man in Eden. No one has seen God the father at any time (John 6:46) and the Holy Spirit never materializes but serves to bring attention of Jesus. Thus the first innocent blood shed was by the One who knew it foreshadowed His coming death on the cross for sin. What love and commitment this shows! He did it all (Romans 8:12-21), we must just accept this free gift (Eph 2:8-9). We aren’t to blame God or others for our sin (v. 12-13) but freely admit it (I Jn 1:9). As Adam and Eve allowed Jesus to dress them in the animal skins He provided, we, too, must allow Him to cover us with His righteousness. Our dressing for sin is worse than fig leaves, it is filthy rags (Isa 64:6). The same loving, forgiving God who came seeking Adam and Eve in their sin comes seeking you and I in ours (Rev. 3:20). Will you welcome Him and accept the covering for your sin which He and He alone provides? Don’t put off His offer. Don’t refuse His free gift. Accept Him now.
5. “WALKING WITH GOD” (Gen. 4:1-6:22)
By Seth; Edited by Jerry Schmoyer Copyright Ó 1997
Hello! My name is Seth. You know, son of Adam and Eve, brother of Cain and Able? That’s right! I want to tell you my story, and about the men of God who lived during my lifetime. First, let me introduce myself.
THE FIRST FAMILY You probably know my two older brothers better than me. I’ve lived in their shadow my whole life. My name means ‘substitute’ for I was Abel’s replacement in the line of the Messiah. I never knew Able, but everything I’ve heard tells me he was a fine, righteous man of faith (Heb. 11:4). Cain, however, was always a problem for my parents. He had that first-born determination and independence, as well as jealousy of his main ‘competition’ – Able. He never did get control of his anger, though. What he did really hurt my parents deeply. They lost two sons at once and it made them feel like a failure. But before I go any further perhaps I should back up and tell you about my father.
ADAM & EVE My father, Adam (meaning “of the ground”) was a fine, upstanding man, a good father and husband. He was created by God as a full, mature adult with God’s image breathed into him. Because he, too, needed a mate God created my mother, Eve (meaning “mother of all living”) out of his rib (‘woman’ means “taken out of man”). She was a fine, godly woman, but had a hard time forgiving herself for leading Adam to sin. She took Abel’s death very hard, too.
CAIN & ABLE Cain (meaning “possession”) was a farmer who worshipped God, but didn’t want to submit and come God’s way. Abel (meaning “breath, vapor”) was a shepherd who was willing to trade a sheep for some grain, but Cain in his pride wanted nothing to do with it. He rejected God’s warning and took his anger at God out on Able, some how in his mind blaming him for his rejection by God. He deceived Abel to get him out away from home then in a premeditation fashion killed him. When God tried to get him to confess and repent he got belligerent with Him. Then when God pronounced a curse on him he blamed God, saying God wasn’t being fair! He never would own up to the consequences of his own sin.
‘CAVE MEN’??? Cain moved to a place he named Nod and started a fine civilization with music, cattle, and bronze and iron work. By the way, there never was such a thing as ‘cave men’ — I ought to know, I knew everyone for about the first 900 years of mankind.
SETH I was born in about 4526 BC when my father was 130 years old (he lived another 800 years). I had a son named Enosh when I was 105. This probably brings up some questions:
DID PEOPLE REALLY LIVE FOR 900 YEARS? Without the curse having fully come upon the earth, with a vapor canopy keeping out radiation, with the human body close to the perfection it had in Eden, with the need for people to live longer to get the population started, it is only reasonable they lived longer. Animals had no fear or nor animosity to man, and killing diseases hadn’t begun their work on earth. These conditions changed after the flood and the length of life sharply dropped. And, yes, they were ‘years’ just like our years today (the stars were put there to tell time as well as for other reasons).
WHERE DID WE GET OUR WIVES? With people living so long and having children, and their having children, and so on, the population grew quite quickly. There was no inherent damage to genes yet, and marrying a sister didn’t have the implication it does today. Adam was still having children while he was also having great-great-great-great grandchildren. Besides, if each couple (starting with my parents) had just 4 children, after 5 generations there would be 96 people alive. After 10 there would be 3,070; after 15 98,300; after 20 3,150,000 and after 30 generations 3,220,000,000 people. Figuring 35 years for each generation (that’s for the first child, others were born years later), after 30 generations 1050 years would pass, which was the amount of time from Adam to Noah. So you see the earth could have, and did, get populated quite quickly.
Anyway, I lived 912 years. Enosh had Kenan when he was 90 (4331 BC) and lived a total of 905 years. Kenan had Mahalalel when he was 70 (4261 BC) and lived a total of 910 years. Mahalalel had Jared when he was 65 (4196 BC) and lived a total of 895 years. Jared had Enoch when he was 162 ((4034 BC) and lived a total of 962 years.
ENOCH & METHUSELAH Enoch was quite a man, a very godly person (Heb. 11:5-6), who knew about the Second Coming (Jude 14-15). He heard about it from Adam, whose lives overlapped by 308 years. He was raptured, never having to face death. When his son Methuselah was born God gave him a special promise that He withhold His judgment on the world as long as his son lived (‘Methusaleh’ means “When he is gone it will be sent”). God extended his life longer than anyone ever (969 years), showing His grace and mercy on man. Methuselah was the link between Adam (overlapping by 243 years) and Shem (overlapping by 98 years). These men of God sought each other out for fellowship, teaching and encouragement as the world got worse and worse.
NOAH Methuselah had a son named Lamech when he was 187. Lamech had Noah when he was 182 (3600 BC). Noah had Shem, Ham and Japheth and lived 950 years. By this time things were awful! Demons and female women were mating as Satan was trying to destroy the human race (and the line of the Messiah). These became the basis for Greek and Roman mythology, stories passed on down and embellished as time went on. The world was just full of gross immorality. Noah was the only one close to God, so God preserved him and his family. God told him to build a boat 520’ long, 45’ wide and 75’ high (3 stories inside). It took him 120 years to build, and because there never had been rain and this huge boat was on a mountain top, everyone laughed. It was too big for the rivers, too. Through migration God brought in 2 of every unclean and 14 clean (chew cud and cloven hoof — much safer meat to eat, although no one ever ate meat until after the flood). Through hibernation & taking young animals they made it together in that boat for over a year, safe from judgment!
All this is happened because they “walked with God.” These early men of God were preserved and blessed because they walked with Him. Are YOU walking with Him?
6. THE GREAT FLOOD (Gen. 7:1-8:19)
By Jerry Schmoyer Copyright Ó 1997
UNIFORMITARIANISM In Peter’s day people were saying “Everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation” (II Peter 3:4). People still say that. Scientists say that. It’s called uniformitarianism, and it’s the belief that existing physical processes, acting essentially as at present, are sufficient to account for all past changes and for the present state of the astronomic, geologic, and biologic universe. In other words, by measuring how long it takes for fossils, rock layers, minerals, etc., to form under today’s conditions we can see old the earth is. For example, if it takes 100,000 years for 1 inch of rock to form, then it must have taken 20 million yeas for 200 inches of rock to form. It seems to make sense, except that there are two major exceptions.
ORIGINAL CREATION When God created the world it had the appearance of age. Rocks a day old could be chipped apart and many layers seen. Trees could have been cut down and the rings counted. Minerals had already been formed (Genesis 4:22). That throws off the dating methods of the uniformitarians.
THE EFFECT OF THE FLOOD: Water one mile deep for a year Have you ever tried carrying a 5 gallon bucket of water? Ten gallons feels like it is nailed to the floor! Water can get tremendously heavy. When you dive to the bottom of a 10 foot deep pool you can feel lots of pressure. Try to imagine how much pressure would be exerted by water a mile deep? Leave that water there for a year and what do you have? Certainly something much different than today’s processes of rock and fossil formation. What evolutionists say took millions of years to come about through today’s process’ could have happened in one year under that pressure.
Think of it this way. Do you remember seeing Superman take some coal and squeeze it so it became a diamond? Is that possible? Theoretically, yes. When the pressure is increased a thousand-fold, the time can be decreased a thousand-fold. That is what happened during the flood. We’ll get back to this, but first let’s prove the flood was a mile of water for a year.
THE EXTENT OF THE FLOOD: Universal Some say Noah’s flood was just a local flood. That isn’t what the Bible says, though. The Bible says the water covered all mountains for 9 months (Gen 8:5; 7:19-20). That is too long to be a local flood, plus covering ALL mountains shows it wasn’t contained in one area. Words like “all” and “every” are used with the flood 30 times. Other scriptures, too, say it was universal (Psalm 104:6; I Pet. 3:20; II Pet. 2:5; 3:5-6; Mt. 24:37-39). Jesus Himself said that everyone was destroyed by the flood but Noah (Lk 17:26-30; Mt 24:38). The geological record itself shows evidence of some great, world-wide catastrophe.
There were vast geological disturbances for 5 months that speak of world-wide effects: volcanic upheavals, earth’s crust moving, etc. The ark was very big (500+ railroad cars), too large for just local fauna. If the flood would have been local, there would have been no need to preserve animals from one area for they would have been found other places. Besides, Noah and his family could easily have migrated away from the flood area in the 120 years it took to build the ark. Noah was in the ark for 371 days, way too long for a local flood. How could he get animals from everywhere? The Bible says God had them come to him (7:9). How could they all fit on the boat? Hibernation, taking babies and remembering that water-swelling life need not come in all help explain how this happened. How could they travel there from everywhere? First, they had 120 years to get there. Mainly, though, with the climate being the same over the whole earth the same kinds of animals would be everywhere. A good representation of all would be around Noah. There weren’t continents and oceans yet, so the same species would be everywhere.
God’s purpose was to destroy all people expect Noah, and then He gave the rainbow as a promise He would never do that again (Gen. 8;21; 9:11, 15). If all this would have only been about a local flood, God would have broken His promise for there have been many local floods.
Many other nationalities, such as the Babylonians, Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks, Hindus, Chinese, English, Polynesians, Mexicans, Peruvians and Native Americans have legends of a world-wide flood in which everyone but a select few in a boat were destroyed. There are 25-0 to 300 various accounts of this. This, too, shows that the flood was worldwide.
THE DURATION OF THE FLOOD: 1+ year Noah was in the art 371 days. It took 40 days for the water to rise to its maximum height, 20 foot above the mountain tops. It stayed at that level for another 5 months, then gradually started going down. It took almost 3 months for any mountain tops to be seen.
THE FLOOD: THE SOLUTION TO EVOLUTION The flood disproves evolution. The flood better interprets the geological record than evolution. Take fossils for existence. The very existence of them indicates that death came suddenly. The rock had to form around the soft parts of the animal before they decayed. The sudden death and intense pressure of the flood can account for this. They had to die quickly, by the millions, and be immediately buried under intense pressure. The flood also explains how fossils have been found on high mountains and beneath arctic ice. When the flood came the canopy over the earth broke up (7:11), removing the terrarium-effect that had been on the earth. Suddenly the poles became very cold (that’s why dinosaurs with tropical vegetation in their mouths or stomachs are found frozen in ice).
The process of natural selection explains the layers in the fossil record. Smaller, weaker lift forms would die first and filter to the bottom of the pile, much the same as sand filters through larger pebbles and stones when placed in a jar and shaken up. Larger animals, such as dinosaurs, would gather on higher land until drown together. Thus they would be buried together and explain the places many dinosaurs were found buried together. As to people, the smartest and most agile of all, they could stay alive longest of all, even floating on debris. They would die last and not be under as much debris, thus not as likely to be fossilized.
7. THE AGE OF THE EARTH (Gen. 8:20-11:32)
By Jerry Schmoyer Copyright Ó 1997
How old is the earth? This is a question that has interested and confused man from the beginning. There is something within us that seeks to date the earth. This is an important question, for the whole issue of evolution versus Biblical creation is involved with it. There is a big difference between 20+ billion years old which evolutionists claim and the 6,000 years old which Biblical scholars claim.
SHEM, HAM & JAPHETH After the flood the scene shifts to Noah’s three sons (Genesis 9): Shem, Ham and Japheth. Their genealogies are given (Genesis 10). Their descendants are listed. Japheth’s descendants moved to the area of Europe, Ham’s to Africa and Shem’s to the middle east (Arabs and Jews). An interesting statement is made concerning an event in Peleg’s time (descendant of Shem). It is said that “the earth was divided” (10:25). Some take this to refer to the continents drifting apart at this time. Originally all the land was one mass (1:9), but this started breaking up during the flood (7:11).
LONGEVITY OF MAN Before the flood the average age of the men listed is 857 years. These were 365 day years the same as today. Archaeology has substantiated this with finding the same information in other cultures, too. That changed after the flood because the canopy was gone and radiation entered. Diet changes meant less healthy food. Also, inbreeding and the effects of sin and sickness took their toll on mankind. Before long the average was the “three-score and ten” it is today (Psalm 90:10).
ADAM TO ABRAHAM Ten names are listed in Genesis 5 and 11. By looking at the age each man when his son was born and adding them together, we find that from Adam to Shem was 1556 years and from Shem to Abraham was 390 years. This makes a total of 1946 years. There is a good chance the time could have been longer, for there were some gaps in the record. Still, it is entirely different from the 3 billion years evolutionists assign to life and 6 million to mammals, or even the 2 million to man.
ABRAHAM TO JESUS Substantiating the time of Abraham at about 2,000 BC isn’t hard at all, and we know that from Jesus to today is about 2,000. This means the earth is approximately 6,000 years old (Adam to Abraham, Abraham to Jesus, and Jesus to today were each about 2,000 years). We know that there is a thousand year period to come (the Millennium), which would make the total life span of the earth 7,000 years. These fit in perfectly with the 7 days of creation, too. Six are of work and one of rest (the Millennium is a time of rest and peace).
DATING METHODS OF EVOLUTIONISTS If this is true, how do evolutionists come up with their large estimates of the age of the earth? First, these things aren’t measured but guessed at, assuming things have always continued at the same pace they do today. However that isn’t true. When God created the earth He made it with the appearance of age (layers in rocks, rings in trees, minerals already formed, etc.). Then, too, water a mile deep for a whole year will certainly speed up and change all the normal processes. Radiocarbon is only accurate to a little over 6,000 years ago, which comes in line with the Bible’s dating of the age of the earth.
The dating methods which the evolutionists use to support uniformitarianism are not always scientific. The potassium-argon method assumes that rock contained no argon-40 when whey are first formed, but maybe God created them with it in them. Rock formed in 1800 from a Hawaiian volcano was recently dated by this potassium-argon method as being 160 million to 3 billion years old!
Even carbon-14 dating is questioned. When plants and animals are alive, they take in radioactive carbon from the atmosphere. But when they die the carbon decays at a certain rate. Thus by measuring the amount of carbon in the dead remains, the age of that plant or animal can be determined. But science now knows that cosmic radiation, which causes the radioactive carbon to form in the atmosphere, is known to be increasing. In addition, the canopy before the flood (Gen 1:6-8; 2:6; 7:11) shielded out at least most if not all of the readioaction. Thus fossils aren’t nearly as old as dated.
Other methods of dating are also being questioned by reliable scientists. For example, if the moon is 4.5 million years old (as evolutionists say), cosmic dust several miles deep should have accumulated on its surface by now, but there really is only a small amount.
Also, the earth’s magnetic field is decreasing. By measuring the rate of decrease we can move back in time, projecting what the magnetic field would have been just 28,000 years ago. It would have been one trillion times its present value, thus vaporizing the whole world!
These and other methods of dating show that evolutionists’ way of establishing billions of years for the age of the earth is highly questionable. Uniformitarianism, the basis of evolutionary dating, is on very shaky ground! All evidence points to a much younger earth than evolution is willing to grant it.
The reason evolutionary scientists are unwilling to consider the younger earth proof is that it would be a step in leading to acknowledgment of God and His Word. Their presuppositions won’t allow them to do this for they want complete and total independence from any sovereign power and His absolutes. Man in his pride refuses to submit to God, so he cannot in any way even consider that there might be a God. It isn’t scientific fact that determine beliefs, it is running from accountability to a Higher Being.
PURPOSE OF CREATION The whole purpose of creation was for man to bring glory to God (Ephesians 1). There is no reason God would wait trillions, billions or even millions of years to create man. The earth is only 5 days older than man, and man has only been on earth for about 6,000 years (10,000 is the very tops the Bible chronology can possible be stretched).
8. SCIENCE and the BIBLE
By Jerry Schmoyer Copyright Ó 1997
Suppose a magnificent old home stood unclaimed for as long as anyone could remember, and there were no records of ownership. One day a man came into town and claimed the house as his. Since no records exist he has no way of proving his claim, and others before him have claimed it, too. To verify his ownership the man said that, since he was the builder, he would offer evidence of some of the houses internal secrets. He told of a cement trowel that had fallen into the wet cement foundation and was entombed at one corner; of hidden floor joists that were made of 2 x 8’s instead of the standard 2 x 6’s, of the combination to the old safe no one could ever open, and over two dozen more unseen facts of the interior construction. Would that convince you that the man was the builder?
Scientists have torn apart the universe and uncovered its construction secrets. These facts fit perfectly with what God wrote in the Bible thousands of years ago. Shouldn’t this be proof that God is the builder of this universe? It certainly should! Let’s look at some of the information the Builder has recorded which man now knows is true:
ARCHAEOLOGY Many accounts of creation similar to Genesis have been discovered. They myth of Adapa from Ashurbanipal’s library in Ninevah, written during the reign of Hammurabi (1728-1686 BC) is one which shows the universality of the belief of ancient men that God created the world in 7 days. Men from Adam on have carried this account around the world.
The flood, too, is seen in accounts of history from all the major civilizations of the world. Each area of the earth has recorded in its history an account of a great world flood.
Archaeologists have discovered proof of all the civilizations mentioned in Genesis 10, and of ziggurats. Ziggurats fit the description of the Tower of Babel.
There is much proof of the life of Abraham: his home, Ur; Terah’s religion, Nanna; Abraham at Haran; etc. The marital practices described in Hammurabi’s law code and the Nuzu legal tablets are the same as those practiced by Jacob. Even Negeb (Gen 20:1) has been found to have been settled around the time of Abraham (1900 – 2100 BC) but not before nor after this time. The life in Canaan, flight into Egypt, and the Mesopotamian kings (Gen 14:1-24) are also verified by archaeology. Many names of towns, persons, customs, etc., mentioned in Genesis have been mentioned in 20,000 tablets found at Mari in eastern Syria.
Exodus says that the Jews in captivity in Egypt were forced to make bricks without straw (1:11; 5:7-18). Evidence of these bricks have been found at Tell el-Mackjuta (Pithom).
The conquest of Canaan is attested to by archaeological evidence, too. The black granite stela of Pharaoh Merneptah states that Israelites were in the land in 1310 BC when he marched through. The Jews arrived there in 1400 BC (I Kings 6:1; Judges 11:26). The royal correspondence of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and IV (377 clay cuneiform tablets from 1380 – 1360 BC) have messages from petty kings in Palestine asking for help against the Jews.
Located at Mount Usdum (which has the same consonants as ‘Sodom’ — Hebrew is only written in consonants without vowels). Pottery from before the destruction of Sodom show it was destroyed about Abraham’s time — 2,000 BC. The area is full of salt, sulfur, oil and asphalt today.
The garrison cities of Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer (I Kings 9:15,19; 10:26), built by Solomon, have been found. They are of the same time and design as stated in the Bible.
The exodus from Egypt, the conquest of Canaan, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Jewish kingdom are all attested to by archaeological evidence found in neighboring civilizations as well as Palestine itself.
The Hittites are mentioned 46 times in the Bible. They were unknown by any other records until less than 100 years ago. Critics said they didn’t exist and the Bible was wrong. Recent Hittite inscriptions have been found in abundance, revealing that this was one of the great nations of ancient times — just like the Bible claimed!
Archaeology has proven Nebuchadnezzar responsible for the greatness of Babylon, as the Bible says (Dan 4:30). Musical instruments described in the Bible have been found. Even the great banqueting hall has been found (Dan. 5). Records have been discovered which list Nabonidus king of Babylon when it fell, but the Bible named Belshazzar king. This was a problem until a cylinder was found in the Euphrates Valley which explained that Nabonidus had a stronghold outside the city and gave his eldest son, Belshazzar, the right to sit on the throne in the city and have the title. This also explains Dan 5:7, 29 which states that Daniel was the third ruler (behind Nabonidus and Belshazzar).
ASTRONOMY For centuries the earth was considered to be flat although the Bible said it was round (Isa 40:22; Prov 8:27). In fact, the actual Hebrew word used (‘khug’) refers to a sphere and not a true circle. Science now knows this is the shape of our earth.
The Bible states that the heavenly bodies, especially the moon, have a measured control over this earth (Job 38:33; Ps. 19:4; Prov 8:28; Jer 31:25,35,36). There is no way a writer of the Bible could have known this, much less 4 of them, unless God revealed it to them.
It wasn’t until recent times that man really understood the rotation of the earth. Yet the Bible stated this fact (Job 38:12-14; Ps 89:36-37). Even the gravitational field of force is mentioned in the Bible (Job 26:7). Ancient astronomers thought the moon was greater than the sun because it looked bigger, yet the Bible said it didn’t seem as bright as the sun because it was so much further away. The Bible correctly says the sun is greater than the moon (Genesis 1:6).
Joshua 10 describes a day when God made the sun stand still for a whole day so the Jews could defeat their enemies in battle. Ancient traditions of the Hindus, Buddhists, Chinese, ancient Mexicans and many others have come down to the present describing such a day. The American Indians told about when the sun was stolen for a day. It would have been dark on this side of the earth for that time. The Egyptians had a record of such a day, and the Greeks even invented a god whom they said was to have stopped the sun.
Psalm 19:6 says the whole solar system is orbiting through space. Science has discovered this is true. It moves at 720,000 MPH in such a gigantic orbit that it would take 2 billion years to complete.
Moses wrote that the visible heaven is made up of a continually spreading expanse (Gen 1:8). Jeremiah said that men cannot measure the enormity of the universe (31:36-37).
Travelers on a space ship traveling at the speed of light to a star 500 light years away would only age 50 years before returning, although 1,000 years would have passed on earth. By going faster time actually would (theoretically) go backwards. Truly a thousand years IS but a day in God’s sight (Ps 90:4; II Pet 3:8). This proves that time, as we known, is insufficient for a rule of the universe.
In Job 26:7 we read that God hung the earth upon “nothing.” Even hypothetical space substance called ‘ether’ is known to not exist, leaving man to admit that there is truly ‘nothing’ in space.
SCIENCE & THE BIBLE – PART II
When Ptolemy counted the stars he said there were 1056. Tycho Brache counted 777 and Kepler 1005. Man has since given up counting and estimates there are at least 100 billion stars in our galaxy, and at least 100 billion galaxies, uncountable as the Bible said (Jer 33:22; Heb 11:12).
Job, the oldest book in the Bible, states that the constellations Pleiades and Orion are bound together (9:7-9). This seems strange and unimportant until we realize that many stars move in opposite directions. The Big Dipper, for example, is slowly coming apart. However, Pleiades and Orion DO move together! What a credit to the accuracy of the Bible even to the smallest detail!
Job also tells us that when God created the stars in space a great harmonious melody was generated (38:7). A recent news release says it is now known that the earth is constantly “singing” or “humming.” At times it even twangs like a strained spring. The Psalmist writes that God also makes the coming and going of the sun to cause a singing sung (Psalm 65:8). Scientists have discovered that the rapid vibration of ether waves, which constitute light, do indeed cause a singing sound.
BIOLOGY The Bible is the only ancient record to recognize the three basic biological kingdoms: mineral, animal and vegetable (Gen 1:3,6,9,11,22,24,27). The Bible is indeed more than man’s knowledge, for it records much that man could not have possibly known.
Until 900 years ago mankind thought the seed of propagation was only in the male. Yet 2,500 years ago Moses wrote that the woman had an equal seed to that of the man (Gen 3:15; 13:15; Heb 7:9,10).
Although Genesis 1 says that all animals reproduce their own kind, it wasn’t until 1626 that scientists started believing this. Up to that time it was thought flies came from rotting meat and sea life came from slime pools in sea water.
Not until the discovery of the microscope made it possible to look into a cell could man realize that the cells of men, animals, birds and fish are different, yet the Bible said this long ago (I Cor 15:39).
The earliest magnifying glasses are less than 300 years old. Until then mean thought water was clear, but they soon discovered each drop of water was loaded with swarms of living, rapidly multiplying minute animals. Gen 1:20 says that God created the earth and “the waters swarmed with swarms of living creatures.”
Karl Landsteiner discovered in 1900 that the blood of all people of all races was the same — made of plasma with the same components. Although the Bible always said this (Acts 17:26), man insisted on believing the blood of Negroes was different than that of whites, as was that of Asians different from that of American Indians.
Photosynthesis is implied in Psalm 147:8 and 74:16-17, centuries before man had any idea how leaves and green matter grew.
God instituted laws of conservation to protect the wildlife (Deut 22:6), something man is just now starting to do.
Rotation of crops and leaving the land lie idle periodically was practiced by the Jews thousands of years before science “discovered” the importance of this (Ex 23:10-11).
The Bible was way ahead of its time as far as civil laws go, too. The Mosaic law is more logical, complete and fair than any ancient law code. In fact, it is still the basis of many of the laws enforced in countries all over the world today.
ENERGY Peter’s description in II Peter 3:10-12 of what will happen on earth during the tribulation revolves around two scientific words: “dissolving” and elements.” “Elements” refers to the basic elements of matter and “dissolve” refers to something being set free. Thus Peter is saying that there will be a great setting free of the basic elements of matter — this is what happens in the release of atomic energy by the fission of the nucleus. Energy which was previously imprisoned will be set free, and that will cause a tremendous destruction. Peter is describing the principle involved in nuclear physics, which is at the base of the atomic bomb.
In connection with this, scientists tell us that when matter is broken down it is really just energy. God tells us this same thing, but adds that the sustaining force behind this energy is Christ (Heb 1:2-3; 11:3; Col 1:17; Mt 28:18). He is even the power behind other unseen things such as magnetism, electricity, etc. We see the results of these, but the source is unseen.
The fact that light was not an instantaneous transmission, but required a definite time to pass through space, and therefore existed in a path, was first discovered by Roemer in 1675. Now science knows that light can dwell for millions of years in paths while traveling at the rate of 186,000 miles per second. Yet Job, the oldest book in the Bible, speaks of the difference between light, which dwells in a path as it moves from its source outward, and darkness, which just exists automatically in the absence of light.
GENETICS Genesis 30 records an interesting account about early genetics. Jacob put a streaked pole in front of his cows as they were breeding in order to produce speckled and spotted cattle. His theory that a mother’s experience at the time of breeding or before birth affected the offspring, although well accepted in his day, was wrong. The Bible gives the real reason (v. 10-12) — it was the genes of the parents. Even though the parents were solid-colored in appearance the spotting was recessive and transmitted to their offspring. It is now known that spotting is recessive to solid colors in these animals and is transmitted, even though it does not show in appearance.
GEOLOGY The Bible says that all energy for maintaining geological and other processes must originally come from the sun (Gen 1:15; Ps 19:6). Isaiah 40:12 even mentions the basic process of isostasy (“equal weights”) which is the foundation of geophysics.
Job, the oldest book in the Bible, speaks of an “unmoveable foundation” of the earth in its center. This foundation cannot be accurately plotted and it supports the dry land by providing sockets for the land to lay in (Job 38:5-11; Ps 104:5-9; Jer 31:37). All of this is now proven scientifically.
Job and David speak of the depths of the sea resting in the very foundation material of the earth. In 1964 the bathyscape “Archimede” went to the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean, substantiating this very fact.
In 1930 man found sources of fresh water pouring into the ocean from below the surface. These are underground rivers which flow into the bottom of the ocean. Man thought he had discovered something new and took credit for it, yet this was recorded by Moses (Genesis 7:11; 8:2) and Solomon (Prov 8:28) as well as Job (38:16).
One day during an illness Matthew Maury was reading his Bible when he saw in Psalm 8:8 that God said there were “paths” in the sea. He read it over and over, then exclaimed, “It is enough, if the Word of God says there are paths in the sea they must be there, and I am going to find them.” Within a few years he had charted the sea lanes and currents. His “Physical Geography of the Sea” was the first textbook of modern oceanography, and that was less than 100 years ago. His application of God’s Word has caused Matthew Maury to be called “The Pathfinder of the Seas.” He became the father of oceanography and was responsible for the establishment of Annapolis Academy – and all because he believed God’s Word was scientifically true.
Many more facts about the ocean and the Bible could be mentioned: i.e. the oceans once covered the whole earth (Genesis 1). Edward Suess produced evidence in 1885 showing this was true.
God said that, although there were many seas and oceans, there was just one main bed in which they all lay (Gen. 1:9-10). Columbus, Magellan and others set sail in the 16th century to discover if the oceans were connected, and they found they were.
MEDICINE, HEALTH I Samuel 5 and 6 associates the bubonic plague with rats and mice. The western world didn’t realize this until the 20th century. Much suffering and many deaths could have been prevented if people would search the Bible and apply it to all areas of daily living.
The treatment for leprosy recorded in Leviticus 13 wasn’t used by the civilized world until recently. God knew the cure and revealed it in His Word LONG before mankind discovered it.
SCIENCE & THE BIBLE – PART III
METEOROLOGY It is now a common fact today that air currents are responsible for ocean currents, but Solomon knew this because of God’s wisdom given him 3,000 years ago (Isa 40:12,22; Prov 25:23; 30:4; Eccl 11:4-5; etc.).
The amount of water on the earth has always been constant. Isaiah 40:12 and Psalms 33:7 attest to this. Mankind now knows why this must be. If the proportion of water to land were any different, even slightly, all land would either be desert or under water.
Job stated factually that lightening causes rain to fall and water the ground (38:26-27). Meteorologists just proved this scientifically in 1965.
The cycle of water involving evaporation, transpiration of that evaporated water, precipitation of it, and then the run-off of the water is fully described in the Bible long before scientists understood this process (Isa 55;10-11; 40:12; Eccl 1:6-7; Job 36:27-29; 38:37; etc.). God’s Word even explains how this happens. Prov 8:26 says the water vapor in the air must cling to a particle of dust in order to fall. Job 26:8 explains why God made it this way — so not all the rain water would fall at once. Condensation is almost mentioned in Job 26:8. The cloud is lightened by watering (Job 37:11). The water vapor later ascends again (Psalm 135:7).
PHYSIOLOGY “The life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11). What tremendous proof of the accuracy of God’s Word this verse is! Until recently doctors have believed just the opposite. George Washington died of being bled for an illness, as did thousands of others. Medicine thought blood was the cause of illness, but the Bible said it was the foundation of life. Today doctors recognize the importance of blood in recovery from illness. Instead of bleeding patients, blood is transfused into them. Blood IS important (Heb 9:22; Mk 14:24; Lk 22:20; Mt 26:18; etc.).
PSYCHOLOGY Psychology tells us that children are deeply influenced by their parents, often to the point of being chained to the attitudes of their parents. The Bible always said this (Num 14:18; Dt 5:9).
Proverbs 17:22 says “a merry heart does good like medicine, but a depressed spirit dries up the bones” (causes arthritis). Prov 14:30 says that a tranquil mind gives life to the flesh. Even indigestion is warned against in Proverbs 17:1 where it states that it is better to eat a morsel in quietness than much meal with strife around you. All these truths modern medicine takes for ‘discovering’ when god said the same thing long, long ago.
SANITATION In Leviticus 11 there is a list of animals that the Israelites could eat and could not eat. Those who chewed the cud and had a parting of the hoof were considered clean and could be eaten. The other couldn’t be eaten. We still go by the same general rule. Unclean animals, such as pigs, rabbits and chickens, we know are dangerous unless thoroughly cooked. They are easily subject to parasitic infection.
The birds and fish the Israelites were permitted to eat are the same as those now known by modern medical science to be the safest and the best. The only insects the Jews could eat were locusts, beetles and grasshoppers, which are clean feeders and safe for human consumption.
In addition, Deut 14:21 forbade eating any animal that died on its own (wasn’t killed for food). Even though animals were very valuable, the Jews obeyed this law. If there was any chance the animal’s death could have been caused by a disease, then they could have gotten it. This same law is still in force in America today.
The Jews disposed of their sewage by burial, as God commanded (Deut 23:12-14). This practice was far above the standards used until the last few hundred years. This provision alone would have saved millions of lives during the Middle Ages and would have gone far toward eliminating typhoid and paratyphoid fever.
Washing was very important to the Jews for sanitation purposes, but modern medicine hasn’t seen the need for cleanliness until recent times (Ex 29:4; Lev 14:8; Acts 16:33). During the Civil War, for example, more soldiers died from the unsanitary conditions of those who cared for them than from enemy bullets.
Modern bacteriologists and civil engineers know the importance of water supply and sewage disposal, but so did the Jews (Lev 11:29-36).
Many of the rules of diet and sanitation we go by today were given by God to the Jews: not eating blood, the danger of fatty meat, separation from contaminated people and animals, disposal of waste, etc. These are not man’s inventions, they are the laws set down by the One who created the universe, the One who more than anyone knows what is best for us.
THERMODYNAMICS, PHYSICS
The first rule of thermodynamics states that matter cannot be added to or destroyed. This is first stated in Genesis 2:1-2 and Heb 4:3,10 where the works of creation are said to be finished. Nothing, including man’s soul, is destroyed.
The second rule of dynamics states that the usefulness and availability of energy is decreasing. The Bible, too, says the universe is wearing out and running down (Ps 102:25-27; Heb 1:10-12; Rom 8:20-22). In contrast to this is God’s Word which alone lasts forever (Ps 119:89,160; Isa 40:8; Mt 24:35; II Tim 2:9; Ps 138:2).
ZOOLOGY Proverbs 6:8 says that the ant provides bread in the summer and gathers food in harvest. This was assumed to be wrong until ants were found in Palestine that actually harvest seeds. If the seeds get wet the ants dry them in the sun to prevent them from sprouting. At the proper time the ant prepares the soil for the crop, plants the seed, keeps the ground free from weeds, and reaps the harvest.
Jeremiah 8:7 records that birds respond with clock-like precision to God-given natural laws. Scientists today cannot explain migration except that there is a natural instinct in the birds to know where to go when.
Scientists have always thought that carrion-eating birds found their food by their keen sense of smell. Just recently, however, they found that these birds have a special, super-normal ability of keen sight which has the ability to focus clearly at great distances and keep the object in perfect focus as they dive. Job has passages speaking of their keen sight as being the reason for their finding food (28:7; 39:29). This is an amazing tribute to the accuracy of the Bible.
Job also records many facts about ostriches which were in question for centuries (39:13-18). Modern zoology has recently discovered that these strange characteristics are indeed true of ostriches. For example, Job says that they make nests of simple depressions in the sand, that wild animals eat the eggs, that eggs are often laid outside the nest and trampled by the mother, that they are stupid and eat prickly pears until they die, and that they have been known to outrun a horse. Scientists now agree that all these facts are true.
The Bible is scientifically accurate. It shows that it’s Author is the One who created this whole universe. Who else could have had such knowledge centuries and centuries ago? Man today is just starting to understand things written thousands of years ago — and finding the Bible 100% accurate in every minute detail. We’d do better to put our faith in the Bible when there seems to be a conflict with science, for science always learns it was wrong and the Bible right. It is no coincidence. Just in the matter of creation (Genesis 1), the chances of the writer guessing at the right items and putting them in the correct order would be one in 31,135,104,000,000,000,000,000. The Bible really is God’s Word, and shows that God Himself is the creator and owner of this wonderful universe!
These is no doubt as to the accuracy of God’s Word in science. This should cause us to increase our faith in ALL matters in the bible: salvation, Christian living, prophecy, and the place and purpose of the church. With such an accurate revelation form such an omniscient God, how can we afford not to ready, study and follow the Bible in all areas of life?
9. THE TOWER OF BABEL (Gen. 10:6-11:32)
By Jerry Schmoyer Copyright Ó 1997
“There is nothing new under new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9). It seems everything that happens or will happen already has. That’s because man’s nature has always been the same and Satan has already used all his tricks. Now he just recycles those he thinks will be successful. His biggest one is to counterfeit Jesus so he steals the worship and glory due Him. This will be his big ploy in the Tribulation through the Antichrist. He has already tried it once, though — and it failed then, too. It was at the tower of Babel.
NIMROD Nimrod is the first person after the flood of whom more than just a name is given. His name means “to rebel.” God says he is “a might one on the earth (Gen 10:8). Through his pride and self will, he forced himself into a position of pre-eminence over others. He is also called “a mighty hunter before the Lord” (Genesis 10:9). “Before” means “in opposition to” and shows his rebellion against God. He took the lead in boldly defying God’s authority. He became a hunter of men, tracking down and killing men for sport! His lust for power make him more like a wild beast than a human being. He had people worship him, not God. He was inhumane, cruel, brutal and God-defying. He founded two great civilizations: Babylon and Nineveh (Gen 10:10-12). These two ruled the then-known world for hundreds and hundreds of years. Nimrod’s purpose was to keep everyone from scattering so they could stay and worship him as their ruler. He is a picture of the Antichrist, who will unite the world the same way. Each attempt will end with God’s judgment. Revelation 17 and 18 even call this empire of the Antichrist’s ‘Babylon.’
Bishop Hislop, in his book, “The Two Babylons,” traces the worship of the Madonna with child back to Nimrod. He shows how many other practices started by him have been picked up by the Roman Catholic Church from pagan religions they assimilated during the Middle Ages. They (mother and child) were known as Semiramis and Tammuz. The child supposedly was miraculously conceived by a sunbeam, killed and raised back to life 40 days later. Jeremiah 44 and Ezekiel 8 strongly condemn this worship. They are also known as Ishtar and Tammuz in Assyria and Nineveh, Ashteroth (from which we get the goddess ‘Easter’) and Baal in Phoneicia, Isis & Osiris in Egypt, Venis and Cupid in Rome, Aphrodite and Eros in Egypt, and others in Egypt, Asia, Tibet, India, Japan, Asia and elsewhere.
TYPE OF THE ANTICHRIST Truly Nimrod is a picture of the Antichrist, both meaning “the rebel, the lawless one” (II Thes 2:8). Each was a murderer (Psalm 5:6), a world ruler (king – Dan 11:36), started or headed Babylon (Isa 14:4; Rev 17:3-5), was mighty (II Thes 2:9), and was motivated by pride (II Thes 2:4).
BABEL Up to Nimrod’s time the world spoke one language (Gen 11:1), which Adam instantly knew when he was created, as did Eve. Language specialists today say all languages can be traced to one original language. Nimrod took advantage of this to encourage all to stay together to build a great temple as the central focus of their civilization, so that together they could accomplish more than if they all went their separate directions as God had commanded (Gen 1:28; 9:1). They were to depend on each other, and especially Nimrod, instead of God. The central place of worship was to be built with “a tower that reaches to the heavens.” The original Hebrew doesn’t say they were trying to make it tall enough to tough God, just that it’s top had to do with the heavens. I more plausible explanation is that they built a temple on top to worship the sun, moon and stars. Nimrod seemingly perverted God’s plan of salvation in the stars to focus it on himself instead of on Jesus. Archaeologists have found numerous temples of this type, called Ziggurats, all focusing on worshipping the heavens. It is the start of astrology. THIS is the reason God changed their languages and scattered them: not because they wanted to make a tall building but because they were perverting His good news of the gospel to form a united world with Satan at the head instead of God. This is why He judged it so severely (Genesis 11:5-9), as He did during the Tribulation.
It’s interesting to note that an inscription has been found by Ashurbanipal, the Babylonian king, about this: “The building of this temple offended the gods. In a night they threw down what had been built. They scattered them abroad and made strange their speech. The progress they impeded.” Archaeology again supports the Bible.
THE NATIONS At this time it seems that there were about 70 family units (about 800 to 1,000 people) on earth. These became the 70 nations listed in Genesis 10. Those who descended from Shem settled chiefly in Central Asia and became the Jews, Assyrians, Persians, Arabs, Chaldeans, Indians, Chinese and eventually American Indians. Those descended from Ham settled in Africa and Egypt and became the Negroes, Egyptians, Canaanites and Hittites. Japheth’s descendants settled mainly in Europe and became the Greeks, Romans, Teutons, Anglo-Saxons and Europeans.
APPLICATION TODAY Does this mean we shouldn’t have one world standard of measurement, money, even language? To the extent that these bring about a situation which Satan can use to bring attention to himself instead of God they are wrong. To the extent that they set things up for the Antichrist to be able to come and set up his one world empire they are wrong. To the extent that we trust in man and his solutions instead of God they are wrong. Anything that doe now or potentially can take the attention from God is wrong. He is to be praised and worshipped above all else. He is to have first place. He is to be preeminent. Bless His holy name!