Ancient River of Eden Geoffrey Andrew Lindsay Illustrated by Tara Courtney Lindsay
Copyright © 2015 Geoffrey Andrew Lindsay All rights reserved. ISBN-13: 978-1518632686 ISBN-10: 1518632688
2
Dedication To Michele, my wife and partner for life
3
Contents Page Genesis
Have you ever Wondered…
Prologue
Chronicle of our Creation Old Man River Over the Rainbow
9 10 11
Introduction
Science and Religion The First Amendment Six Days? Or More… Natural and Supernatural Old Manuscripts
13 13 14 15 16
Song of Seven Days First Day: At the Very Beginning Earth was without Form Darkness on the Face of the Deep Spirit and Waters And there was Light Light and Darkness GOD DID NOT REST Second Day: The Expanse between Waters Third Day: Waters and Dry Land under the Sky To Enter In Creation of the Flora Fourth Day: Information from Celestial Lights Fifth Day: Creatures of the Water and the Air Proteins, DNA and Molecules of Life Morphing of Gene Pools Epigenetics The Spliceosome
4
6
19 19 19 22 22 24 26 28 29 31 31 33 37 42 45 47 51 52
Verses of Genesis 1:1 1:2 1:2 1:2 1:3 1.4 1.5 1:6–1:8 1:9–1:10 1:11–1:12 1:14–1:19 1:20–1:23 -
Contents (continued) Page
Verses of Genesis
Song of Seven Days (continued) Sixth Day: Creatures of the Land Public Schools Public Funding of Genetic Research The Image of Humankind Eat your Fruits and Vegetables Seventh Day: Rest on the Sabbath
53 57 57 59 61 64
1:24–1:25 1:26–1:28 1:29–1:30 2:1–2:3
Song of Adam and Eve Genealogy Wetting the Clay Age of the Ancients Planting a Garden The Rivers Two Trees of Eden Animals of Eden Sacred Bond of Marriage One Flesh Naked and Unashamed
66 66 68 70 70 73 75 76 77 77
2:4 2:5–2:7 2:8–2:9 2:10–2:14 2:15–2:17 2:18–2:20 2:21–2:23 2:24 2:25
78 79 80 82 84 88
3:1–3:5 3:6–3:7 3:7–3:16 3:16–3:21 3:22–3:24
Lamenting a Bad Decision The Deceiving Serpent The Fall from Grace The Cover-Up Consequences Out of Eden…Into to the World Epilogue
Isn’t ‘Elohiym a Plural Word? GOD’s Cherubim and Angels Power of Holy Spirit and Angels Immanuel Trinity Am I Free Indeed? Faith First Contact 5
93 93 95 95 96 100 102 103
Genesis Have you ever wondered how it is we find ourselves on this tiny blue orb called Earth? I love the picture of our Blue Marble taken by Apollo 17 astronauts on December 7, 1972. We have this this lovely planet covered with oceans and jungles, teaming with exotic life, but located in an utterly barren solar system. We orbit the Sun along with seven distant planets (sorry Pluto)1interesting planets, but those are lonely lifeless orbs. Life on Earth is truly an extraordinary treasure.
Figure 1.
Our goldilocks Earth Image from Apollo 17 (Johnson Space Center, NASA)
Figure 2.
The Andromeda Galaxy Image from Galaxy Evolution Explorer (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Our Solar System is located in the Milky Way Galaxy, which scientists say looks just like our large neighboring galaxy, the Andromeda. These spiral galaxies dappled with billions of tiny stars are rotating like giant Frisbees® tossed into the darkness of space. Did you ever read the children’s book Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss? We are the Who’s living on a particle of blue dust orbiting a sparkling dot of light nestled in the Orion Arm of our giant Milky Way.
I am so sad that the Pluto I grew up with is no longer a bona fide planet. Pluto was recently relegated to the ‘dwarf planet’ status. You can read about this in Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s book The Pluto Files published by W.W. Norton & Company in 2009. Pluto is the largest object in the huge Kuiper comet/asteroid belt, which extends beyond the orbit of Neptune. On July 14, 2015 NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew close by Pluto and found that it has a tattoo-like pattern of a big white heart. Pluto also has a big orbiting sidekick called Charon; see http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/top-10-surprises-from-the-plutoflyby/?et_mid=795115&rid=246916274. Also see https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/global-mosaic-of-pluto-intrue-color. 1
6
Our Universe is unimaginably immense. Our observable Universe is filled with a meshwork of hundreds of billions of galaxies! Our galaxy is just a little dot in Laniakea, one of the many superclusters of galaxies in the Universe. Laniakea is Hawaiian for immense heaven. For years now, Star Trekkers have been hoping to find a nearby star having a planet capable of supporting life. Astronomers have only recently developed methods powerful enough to detect them. Now at last! Over a thousand ‘exoplanets’ orbiting nearby stars have been detected. However, to be able to support life as we know it, the planet must have liquid water. Therefore, a good-size planet needs to be orbiting a good-size star at a distance that allows it to be not too hot or not too cold.2 Orbiting around one of the hundred billion stars in our Milky Way Galaxy don’t you think there might be a few goldilocks planets hiding out there, somewhere? Once we find a planet in the habitable temperature zone, the next thing to look for is oxygen in the atmosphere, a telltale signature of life. Is Earth the only lucky planet in our Universe to harbor intelligent life? You and I may never know because even the nearest stars are so far away it would take thousands of years to travel there in a space ship. Oh, for an interstellar wormhole! But there is another way to tell. Some day we may receive signals from outer space sent by extra-terrestrial beings. It would only take a few dozen years for electromagnetic signals from the nearest star systems to reach Earth because that kind of signal travels at the speed of light. We have been looking for such signals but none have been detected so far.3 So, maybe there is no other life out there (or at least no advanced civilization), because if there were, shouldn’t we have been receiving their signals by now? In any case, we are always left with the big question: how did the first speck of life materialize? If you are thinking like me, the Universe and life must have been created by an exceedingly intelligent Being. Did you ever notice how even the tiniest living organisms are astoundingly complex? Speaking of specks of life, from a chemical point of view, there is an incredibly huge amount of information packed into every large biological molecule in our bodies, such as the proteins and the double helix of DNA (my favorite molecules). The DNA in every cell
2
As for finding liquid water on a planet, besides heat from a sun, there are other sources of heat to melt ice; for example, one of Jupiter’s moons, Europa, may have liquid water due to heat generated by tidal forces; see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz9VhCQbPAk&feature=player_embedded; also see http://sci.esa.int/juice/55055-juice-mission-gets-green-light-for-next-stage-of-development/ 3 See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SETI; http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/breakthroughlisten-a-giant-leap-for-seti/?et_mid=771005&rid=246916274; and http://phl.upr.edu/projects/habitable-exoplanetscatalog. As for wormholes, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_(film).
7
of our body contains about the same number of atoms as there are stars in the Milky Way Galaxy, and that is a true statement! Every atom in our DNA is part of the code, the blueprint if you will, that determines how to form your body and how your body operates. If you removed the DNA molecules out of every cell in your body and connected them end-to-end, they would extend from the Earth to the Sun and back six-hundred times! God bless Carl Sagan. But I would have say this to him if he were still here with us today: I just can’t swallow your argument that it was just dumb luck that these fantastically complicated molecules were able to self-assemble by a random process, and that is the reason we are living on this tiny blue orb so miraculously suited for life. When I think about the complexity of life, and the extreme difference in size between the extent of the Universe and the tiny atom, no words could ever express my sense of awe, not even “OH…MY…GOD!”…and I am talking to GOD, the Creator of the Universe. Perhaps some of you are thinking that there is no Creator, and the Universe has been here forever. The universe is about 14 billion years old according to scientists, which certainly seems like forever. But of course, you are free to believe whatever you want to believe in the good old U.S.A. It is a free country. I have heard that Buddhists are not concerned about who created the Universe or how old it is. But to me it matters. The name we use for the Creator likely stems from our cultural background and how we were raised as a child. Some cultures refer to Allah; some refer to Brahma; some refer to God; some refer to the Guy Upstairs; and others just refer to ‘Nature’ or ‘Providence.’ Whatever name you use for the Creator or whatever you believe, please read on because this monograph is addressed to people of all persuasions. I will use the term ‘GOD’ when referring to the ‘Being’ who created the Universe and everything in it. In this monograph, I chose to use the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis as a framework to explore questions about how the creation unfolded. The Book of Genesis is the first book in the Judeo-Christian Bible (I call it the ‘Bible’). Are the words in the Bible in accord with what scientists have learned about our Universe? Any attempt to answer this question must address the issue of the age of the Universe. If you have thought about this, then I am sure you have noticed that scientific measurements point to an age that is eons of years older than the timeline in the book of Genesis. This is one of the major reasons people are hesitant to believe everything that is written in the Bible. This ‘age of the Universe’ discrepancy is the focal point of this monograph. We will have a look at this question while reading Genesis from both a scientific point of view and a spiritual point of view. If you are a hardline atheist or a religious conservative, then you may take issue with a few things I say here. But I do look forward to hearing from you. 8
Prologue “ …principles of faith are, in fact, complementary with the principles of science.” — Frances S. Collins (Head, National Institute of Health), taken from his book: The Language of GOD, published by Free Press in 2006
Chronicle of our Creation Here is a message from outer space: “In the beginning GOD created the heavens and the earth.” Thus begins a chronicle of our creation which has been passed down from the ancient of times and preserved for posterity in Holy Scriptures. The first chapter of Genesis declares that GOD completed the work of creation in just six days. However, over the last century, modern scientific measurements have given ever increasing evidence that our Earth is billions of years old and that it contains fossils of life forms nearly that old. To further muddy the waters, counting the intervals of time between patriarchal generations listed chronologically in the Bible from the time of Adam and Eve, and counting generations to the present day, adds up to only about six thousand years. As a result, every living being who has read the Genesis creation story and who has gone through a modern school system has been faced with this gaping gulf in time: If the creation unfolded over billions of years, why does the Bible say that GOD completed the creation in only six days? Were Adam and Eve actually created about six thousand years ago in one day? Some of you may be thinking that these are naïve questions, but please have a little patience with me.4 Growing up in rural Ohio, I found fossils and became quite interested in ancient life forms. I read about fossils of gigantic dinosaurs and how to calculate the age of rocks by measuring radioactive decay rates of elements trapped in the rocks. Later, in the 1960’s, at Ohio State University I took a course in anthropology taught by Professor Leo Estel. In his early life he mined coal for a living and became fascinated by the fossils in the mines. He raised his children before putting himself through college. As a professor of anthropology, he subscribed to the theory that humans originated in Africa and later roamed throughout the Earth. Evidence of humans migrating 4
My route of coming to know GOD was not something I planned. I was drawn into it. My step daughter was attending youth ministry programs at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Ridgecrest, CA. My wife (Michele) and I attended their services and Sunday school classes for over ten years. I learned basic Christian precepts from Pastor Glen Paden, Rob Ostrom (our Bible study leader, who took us through every book of the Bible), Dr. Jack Van Wieren and many others at Immanuel. I also greatly benefited in many ways from discussions with my work colleague, Dr. Paul R. Ashley (of Toney, AL), who is a Ph.D. physicist, electrical engineer, Bible scholar, and a Baptist. We have also been a member of the Methodist church. That being said, I do not wish to imply that anyone mentioned here endorses what I say in this monologue, but I owe a debt of gratitude to them for their fellowship and encouragement. 9
‘out of Africa’ will be discussed later in this monologue. As a young man, I read the book of Genesis and quickly dismissed the possibility that this creation story could be a literal story. How could there be such an incredible error in so many scientific measurements that point to a much, much older Earth? If the truth be told, this quandary was only one of the reasons that I remained agnostic past middle age. Never-the-less, I could not dismiss the nagging thought that there must be a Creator. As I grew older and more educated in the physical and biological sciences, I became more and more amazed at the incredible complexity of all living organisms, like the tiny fruit fly. Did you know that a fruit fly has nearly the same number of genes in its chromosome as a human? From the vantage point of a chemist, I continue to read about scientific discoveries in biochemistry. Every month amazing new discoveries are published that unveil fantastically intricate and interdependent chemical feedback mechanisms found in all life forms that enable life to thrive and propagate in hostile environments. I have become firmly convinced that these life processes could never have spontaneously self-assembled from complete disorder, not even in a hundred billion years. There must be a Master Planner who created the Universe and life.
Old Man River Sometimes it seems like the Creator just isn’t paying attention to all the troubles of this world. Life just keeps rolling along as we “suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”5 That sentiment was captured in a song that I dearly love called “Ol’ Man River:” Dere's an ol' man called de Mississippi Dat's de ol' man dat I'd like to be! What does he care if de world's got troubles? What does he care if de land ain't free? O' man river, Dat ol' man river, He mus' know sumpin' But don't say nuthin' He jes' keeps rollin' He keeps on rollin' along.6 5
An oft-used phrase from Hamlet, a play written by William Shakespeare: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet.
6
“Ol’ Man River” was written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern…(continued on the next page)… 10
If there is a loving, all-seeing, all-powerful Creator, why are there so many troubles in this world? What causes all the troubles in this dog-eat-dog world? There are so many unanswered questions.
Over the Rainbow When I contemplate the big questions of this world and find that the answers are veiled in clouds, I think of another song that cheers me up and makes me feel optimistic that things will get better. That song is “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” 7
Somewhere over the rainbow Way up high, There's a land that I heard of Once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow Skies are blue, And the dreams that you dare to dream Really do come true.
Someday I'll wish upon a star And wake up where the clouds are far behind me. Where troubles melt like lemon drops 6 …for the musical Show Boat. They meant no disrespect to our black brothers and sisters in using the dialect of poor freed slaves living in the Reconstruction era. However, even a hundred years after slaves were set free in the United States, during the days of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., their descendants were still being denied basic human rights. The Reverend Dr. King, said: “I have a dream. The dream is one of equality of opportunity, …a dream of the land where men will not take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few…a dream of a place where all our gifts and resources are held not for ourselves alone, but as instruments of service for the rest of humanity; a dream of a country were where every man will respect the dignity and worth of all of human personality and men will dare to live together as brothers.” I believe these were prophetic words. You can hear these words narrated by Willy Stargell in Joseph Schwantner’s great work on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SgacpQccFM between minutes 21:30 and 23:00. Fifty years after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, I finally see progress being made toward fulfilling this dream, but we still have a ways to go. 7 This wonderful song was written by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg for the movie The Wizard of Oz. I also love the version of this song by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (Izzy). You can enjoy it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BeKhlUzPUc.
11
Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
One day, I decided to take a trip ‘down the yellow-brick path’ to find the Wizard who made this fantastic Universe. I had read parts of the Bible as a child and then again as young adult, but GOD had never spoken to me, nor had He given me a sign, as far as I knew, and I am even part Irish! One day, as a much older adult, I decided to carefully read the Holy Scriptures straight through, which I did several times, and in several versions. It took many years. I also read an English translation of the Qur’an and a book on Buddhism, but in comparison with the Bible I found little resonance with those writings. That being said, I hasten to add that I am not an expert on world religions. One day about a decade ago, I started to read Genesis with my eyes wide open for contradictions with the peer-reviewed scientific literature. While keeping within the proper bounds of a Hebrew-English lexicon and keeping an open mind, a light came on (so to speak), and that was the genesis of this monograph. My trip down the yellow-brick path was, in reality, a voyage on the Ancient River of Eden. In taking this ride on the waters, I was amazed to see a satisfying harmony between scientific measurements and the Genesis story. As you will see, my closure did not require a cosmological ‘constant’ that changes over time. Nor did it detract from the six-day creation story. How is that possible did you say? Please read on. I have included some scientific jargon, mainly in the footnotes. But, if that is not your cup of tea, just skim or skip as you please. I mainly included that information for future reference and for the science geeks. A persistent urge drove me to write this monograph. As my writing progressed, I could not help but insert a few comments to those who may be interested to know more about our Creator as described in the Holy Scripture. I tried to restrain myself a bit. But in any case, I hope you will enjoy this voyage on the Ancient River of Eden.
12
Introduction “Both religion and science require a belief in God.” — Max Planck, in a 1937 lecture on “Religion and Natural Science” (see http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Max_Planck)
Science and Religion Does the Creation Story of Genesis allow for the possibility of a very ancient Universe, many billions of years old? Historically, this question could have been dangerous to ask in public.8 Today, that is not the case in most parts of the world, although, that question may still be frowned upon by a few members of the clergy. Thank GOD we have the freedom in the United States of America to explore various religions and to choose for ourselves how to live our lives. After all, GOD gave us free will.
The First Amendment Fortunately, freedom of religion and freedom of inquiry are part and parcel of the Founding Fathers’ vision for my country. The First Amendment to our Constitution is essentially about guaranteeing my civil liberties and assuring that I have freedom of choice, as long as I do not diminish those same rights guaranteed to my fellow citizens.9 GOD Bless America! But at times in the distant past, Christian churches in control of governments were about as ruthless as Islamic extremists are today in making people sign on to their brand of religion or face death. Thank heavens there was a Christian reformation. Thank GOD that in America anyone can explore religious questions and peacefully express their views in public without being censured by the government, or worse.
Do you know what happened to Galileo Galilei after he wrote the book Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, which he wrote about 400 years ago? Albert Einstein answers that question in his Forward to the Modern Library Paperback Edition of Galileo’s book published by the University of California Press in 1953, revised in 1967. Galileo was sentenced to formal imprisonment, but his sentence was commuted to house arrest where he remained for the rest of his life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_affair#Sentence. 8
9
The First Amendment to our U.S. Constitution says: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Abraham Lincoln said this in his Gettysburg Address: …“It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us… that this nation, under GOD, shall have a new birth of freedomand that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Amen! 13
I hope the following discussion of Genesis will be helpful to folks who have been wrestling with this time-gap discrepancy between what the Bible says and what scientists say. I also hope this will be of interest to folks wrestling with the question “Who is the GOD who created the Universe?” If you are like me, you do have to wrestle with that question. There is no shame in trying to wrestle with GOD. Even Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, wrestled with GOD {Genesis 32:24-32}. That is why GOD changed Jacob’s name to ‘Israel’ (‘he who wrestled with GOD’).
Six Days? Or More… I have many friends who believe that GOD literally created everything in our Universe in six days. I have no intention of belittling that belief. I abide with those who strongly hold to the sixday creation story. After all, I can imagine that GOD could have created the Universe in the blink of an eye if that were His plan. Every child can understand the beautiful six-day creation story. There are wonderful lessons that stem from this story. This story leads naturally to our tradition of a seven-day week. The practice of resting on the seventh day and reflecting on the good things we have in life is refreshing. A common reason why so many people rigidly adhere to the literal six-day creation story is the fear that a different proposal might open the door to further questioning of all parts of the Bible. I understand that concern if you are a pastor. But I see no problem in suggesting non-traditional interpretations as long as those proposals are in harmony with the entire Bible. Several verses in the Bible indicate that secrets of the Universe will continue to be uncovered and revealed as time goes on; see {Deuteronomy 29:29}. Over the last hundred years or so, many mysteries of the Universe have been uncovered by scientific observations and measurements using advanced precision instruments; see {Proverbs 25:2}.10 10
A few of the many good examples of these precision instruments are the space telescopes and sensors in satellites orbiting beyond our atmosphere, such as the Hubble: http://hubble.nasa.gov/; the Chandra: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/main/index.html; the Fermi: http://fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/; the Planck: http://www.rssd.esa.int/index.php?project=Planck (measures Cosmic Microwave Background), and the Kepler: http://kepler.nasa.gov/http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Planck/SEMWN20YUFF_0.html. As for dating rocks, see http://www.asa3.org/ASA/RESOURCES/WIENS.html. Dr. Roger C. Wiens is a Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist. Radiometric dating is one of his specialties. He wrote this on his scientific website on radiometric dating: “There are over forty such techniques, each using a different radioactive element or a different way of measuring them. It has become increasingly clear that these radiometric dating techniques agree with each other and as a whole, present a coherent picture in which the Earth was created a very long time ago. Further evidence comes from the complete agreement between radiometric dates and other dating methods such as counting tree rings or glacier ice core layers.” Regarding his belief in GOD, Dr. Wiens says: “It is more important to agree on the Rock of Ages than on the age of rocks.” By the way, if you are an outer-space aficionado, I recommend Dr. Wiens’ latest book: Red Rover: inside the story of robotic space exploration, from Genesis to the Mars Rover Curiosity, published by Basic Books, 2013. …(continued on the next page)… 14
Peer-reviewed data, which have been gathered by scientists using instruments, such as listed in footnote 10, and which have been published in well-established scientific journals, indicate that the Universe is billions of years old. This interpretation of the data has been tested by many generations of scientists, confirmed by many different kinds of measurements and is widely accepted in the scientific community. Therefore, the possibility that the original Genesis story has room for an ancient Universe interpretation is a legitimate topic for analysis and debate. I am talking here to people on both sides of this argument. Why would GOD create the Universe to appear billions of years old if it is not? Perhaps it is not that old, and someday GOD will show scientists why their measurements only make it seem to be that old. Or, perhaps the Universe really is that old, because, as wise old Solomon wrote in {Ecclesiastes 3:11}: “He hath made everything beautiful in His time: also He hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that GOD maketh from the beginning to the end.”
Natural and Supernatural Before we begin to read the first Chapter of Genesis, here is a little background on some spiritual notions. According to Genesis, “In the beginning GOD created the heavens and the earth.” In this statement, GOD is surely referring to our physical Universe, namely, the natural Universe. But in addition to this, and with an open mind, one may see the supernatural (spiritual) features in Genesis. This is a reasonable and a logical possibility since GOD is a supernatural Being. At first I was concerned that suggesting spiritual metaphors would digress from my original motivation of trying to find compatibility in Genesis with a Universe billions of years old. But if the truth be found, the spiritual and physical lenses will be synergistic in what they reveal. What you observe through a physical lens is the natural world, which can be understood in a literal sense. What you observe through a spiritual lens is supernatural and sometimes symbolic. Obviously, if a word or a phrase is understood in a symbolic sense in one verse, this does not mean it must be understood symbolically in another verse. A word or a phrase can sometimes be understood in both a literal and in a symbolic sense even in the same verse, like two melodies playing in harmony, simultaneously. There is much judgment involved in proposing a spiritual 10…A
list of worldwide radiometric dating laboratories can be found at this URL: http://www.radiocarbon.org/Info/index.html. Also see http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/parks/gtime/ageofearth.html. Minerals can be dated by optically stimulated luminescence (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optically_stimulated_luminescence_dating), and by thermoluminescence (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoluminescence_dating), both of which measure how much time has passed since the mineral was exposed to Sunlight and other cosmic radiation. Dates of magnetic rocks can also be measured by magnetostratigraphy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetostratigraphy. Also see: http://anthro.palomar.edu/time/time_5.htm. 15
meaning for a verse; one can only hope that GOD’s Spirit is leading in this regard. Taking verses in a strictly literal sense likewise requires wise judgement. In this spirit, I suggest considering these metaphors: The word ‘heavens,’ in addition to our daytime sky and our nighttime sky, could sometimes refer to Heaven where we hope to find eternal peace and happiness. The word ‘earth’ often refers to our planet Earth, but the word ‘earth’ may sometimes refer to dirt, deserts and continents. In a spiritual sense, ‘earth’ (and ‘dry land’) could symbolize ‘worldliness,’ essentially a place or a state of mind where people are ignoring the possibility that GOD exists. They are ignoring GOD’s whispers of guidance and they are neglecting to love their neighbor. The words ‘light’ and ‘darkness’ are physical descriptions of the presence and the absence of visible light. But if you watch for spiritual metaphors, I believe that darkness can sometimes refer to deception, destruction and evil acts. On the other hand, GOD is Light and in Him is no darkness at all; see {1John 1:5}. ‘Light’ is a spiritual metaphor for goodness and for GOD. I believe that the word ‘waters’ (flowing like a river) could sometimes be a metaphor for the power of GOD’s Holy Spirit. Scientists are continually discovering new and surprising information about the Universe. Text books that document scientific discoveries must be continually updated. Old theories are often replaced by new theories because the new data cannot be explained by old theories. For this reason I occasionally had to update scientific data in this little book as my part-time writing and rewriting took quite a few years. However, GOD’s word never changes {Malachi 3:6} and always gives sound instruction for living. I have come to believe that the Holy Scriptures are reliable information about GOD and about how to live my life. I believe the words in Genesis (at least in the original language) were communicated to humankind by GOD. Therefore, I am not attempting here to rewrite the Bible, not one iota; see {Matthew 5:18, Job 38:1-2}.
Old Manuscripts The oldest manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures surviving to this day that include the Book of Genesis are the Dead Sea Scrolls. They were written on animal skins and papyrus (and one on copper) during the period from 200 B.C. to 68 C.E. The scrolls lay hidden in eleven caves along the northwest shore of the Dead Sea until just after World War II. The Dead Sea Scrolls survived because they were stored in clay vessels in very dry caves. 11 The scroll containing the book of Isaiah had not crumbled and was virtually identical with modern copies of the Hebrew Bible we have today. Most of the other fragile scrolls are in fragments but work is ongoing to piece them together. The fragments called 4Qgenb and 4Qgeng contain the opening verses of Genesis. 12 11
See http://www.centuryone.com/25dssfacts.html, http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/31_selections.html. 12
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Scrolls and
See http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/. The Ten Commandments and Chapters 5, 6-18 in the Book of Deuteronomy were also completely preserved according to Pnina Shor representing the Dead Sea Scrolls Projects, P.O.B. 586, Jerusalem 91004, Israel. Other manuscripts written in the 3rd century still exist today: (cont. on next page) 16
I am not a professor of antiquity. What I write here is based on piecing together what I have gleaned from the literature. I put literature references in the footnotes. The Genesis story must have been passed down from generation to generation, perhaps for six thousand years, first as oral history and later written down. Some of the earliest known artifacts having written words were made of clay that had been embossed and baked. Thousands of these ancient tablets have been found in what today is the country of Iraq. 13 Some are close to 5000 years old. The writings on these tablets (in the cuneiform script) include laws and trade records, but also such things as the 4,000-year-old myth of Gilgamesh,14 which has several sentences vaguely related to parts of the creation story in the Bible. The cuneiform script was used in the ancient town of Ur, which was located in present-day Iraq. Abraham of the Bible lived with his father in Ur about four-thousand years ago.15 However, the Book of Genesis gives no indication that Abram had knowledge of the creation story. At the time Abraham was in Ur, he was called Abram. Abram married Sarai. Later, GOD changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah, and told them to move to the land of Canaan {Genesis 11:31-12:5}, because in doing this they would give rise to a multitude of nations. Therefore, this land of Canaan is called the Promised Land. Canaan included what today is Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, parts of Jordan and Syria. Abraham migrated near Jerusalem where he gave tithes to a priest {kohen} “of the most high GOD.” This priest living in Jerusalem was called Melchizedek {Genesis 14:18-20}. The Genesis creation story must have been preserved by priests such as Melchizedek. This story was passed down by Abraham and his descendants. Later, being forced to move by famine, Abraham’s grandson (Jacob) and his family migrated to Egypt {Genesis 46:2-4}. Offspring of Jacob’s clan are called the Jews (also called the Hebrews). They lived and greatly multiplied their numbers in Egypt for over four hundred years. They preserved the Genesis story.
12…See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Beatty_Papyri, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus_Bodmer_III; and, you may find this website of interest: http://www.bibleandscience.com/bible/books/genesis/genesis1_beginning.htm. 13
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumer. A wooden carving containing an unknown text was found in northern Greece and has been carbon-dated to be 7500 year old, but the text has not been deciphered: http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-writings-ancient-places-europe/dispilio-tablet-oldestknown-written-text-00913 14
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_of_Gilgamesh
15
http://www.jewfaq.org/origins.htm 17
Moses who was a descendant from Jacob eventually led the Jews out of Egypt (out of slavery!) and headed back to the Promised Land. Moses supervised the writing and maintenance of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (also called the written Torah), which includes the Book of Genesis. To preserve the Book of Genesis for so many years, many generations of Hebrew priests and scribes memorized and regularly recited the words. When transcribing the words to new hard copies of the Torah, they counted every word in every line to be sure not one word was omitted or added.16 In the original language, I imagine the Genesis story was composed of beautiful poetic verses with rhymes and alliterations. The English translations are also beautiful. Now let us launch into a short verse-by-verse discussion of the first three chapters of the book of Genesis. In this monologue, the Bible verses are in bold 14-font type. Occasionally, right after the English word, I inserted the root form of the original Hebrew word colored blue in curly brackets: for example, earth {ꞌerets}. After each verse I described what I saw looking through a spiritual lens and/or through a lens of science. Here and there I gave references to other verses in the Bible, which I italicized in curly brackets, e.g., {John 3:16}. In writing this monologue I made frequent use of the Blue Letter Bible (BLB) website, which is found at .17 I also found the BibleHub.com to be a helpful website with parallel texts, cross references and commentaries. Regarding information taken from scientific journal articles, I included those references in footnotes. I often gave Wikipedia references as convenient starting points for people who are interested in delving deeper (note that sometimes the Wikipedia information has not yet been vetted by experts). I occasionally described the spiritual melodies and scientific melodies I hear in the verses. My comments on spiritual metaphors are written in italics. My comments on scientific findings are written in Courier New font. Now let us begin our voyage on the Ancient River of Eden, which is filled with adventure and food for the soul.
16
I first learned about these methods in discussions with Dr. Paul R. Ashley (Toney, AL) who has traveled many times to the Holy Land. A book by John H. Sailhamer, How We Got the Bible, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI, 1998, mentions the rigor that early scribes used in reproducing the Torah. 17
In the Blue Letter Bible (BLB), http://www.blueletterbible.org/, with a click of the mouse you can bring up a dozen different English translations of the Bible (also in Hebrew and Greek). In the BLB Concordance, you can click on each Hebrew word for its meaning in Strong’s Lexicon. I used Strong’s Lexicon for semantic insight and to see how the same words were translated in other places in the Bible. I mainly used the King James Version (KJV) translation of the Bible, but I usually inserted modern prepositions. Instead of the name LORD, I used the Hebrew name Jehovah. Instead of the name God, I used the Hebrew name Elohiym or GOD. I also used the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, (NIV) Copyright © 1984 and the 2011 version by Biblica, Inc.™ I occasionally used the National American Standard Bible (NASB) 1995 version, which uses the Masoretic Text for translation. 18
Song of Seven Days “We account the Scriptures of God to be the most sublime philosophy. I find more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history whatsoever.” — Sir Isaac Newton (Optics, 1704)
First Day:
At the Very Beginning Bang! GOD Created Space, Time, Matter and Energy
תא
Verse 1:1.
In the beginning, GOD {ꞌElohiym} created the heavens {shamayim} and the earth {ꞌerets}.
This beginning verse to the Song of Seven Days is as familiar as an old shoe. It simply says that GOD created everything. But let’s delve a little deeper. Every verse in the Bible should make sense in the context of its neighboring verses. In the very next verse we see that the ‘earth’ was without form at this initial point in time. Verse 1:2.
The earth was without form…
When looking through a lens of science one may see that the term ‘earth’ can be referring to the first tangible matter that GOD created. According to the Big Bang Theory, which is widely accepted by the scientific community,18 at the very beginning of time, the first matter in the Universe came shooting out of a dot of ‘nothingness’ and was composed of tiny sub-atomic particles in the form of hot plasma. That happened about 14 billion years ago. At this early stage of the creation process, obviously planet Earth was without form. Some of those hot sub-atomic particles would later cool and form hydrogen atoms. Hydrogen 18 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_the_universe. Professor Edwin Wright of UCLA says, in theory, the Universe could be infinite in size at the instant of creation and still be about 14 billion years old (a private email exchange): http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/cosmology_faq.html#bestfit.
19
would form the stars and amazingly the stars would form all of the other atoms in our Periodic Table of Elements. On that subject more can be found by searching the internet for the ‘Standard Model of the Universe.’ The term ‘heavens’ in this verse refers to the three-dimensional space of the Universe. Therefore, {Genesis 1:1} states that GOD created space and matter (the heavens and the earth).
Let us also examine the possibility that verse 1 of Genesis could be playing, simultaneously, a third melody. In addition to the ‘creation of everything’ melody and the ‘creation of space and matter’ melody, a spiritual melody may be playing. When looking through a spiritual lens this verse could be saying that GOD created a Universe that has both a supernatural dimension (the spiritual realm) symbolized by ‘the heavens,’ as well as the natural dimension (the physical realm) symbolized by ‘the earth.’ Obviously, GOD exists in both dimensions. Supernatural things cannot be explained by today’s understanding of physics, chemistry and biology. An example of a supernatural encounter is Apostle Paul’s life-changing event. He described catching a glimpse of Heaven as its light struck him while traveling on the road to Damascus; see {Acts 9:3-6}.19 He was temporarily blinded by the light and was given instructions by GOD (featured as the Messiah). From this point on I capitalized Heaven when referring to my future home–that's where you'll find me “When I have crost the bar”.20 I capitalize Earth when referring to my present home, planet Earth. The Hebrew word for GOD is masculine. For historical reasons, when referring to GOD I use masculine pronouns (capitalized); however, Moses taught that we are not to try to form an image (not even in our mind) of what GOD looks like, for example, not in “the likeness of a male or a female.” See {Deuteronomy 4:16}. GOD is supernatural. I presume GOD could take on any form He wants us to see for His own good purpose. The form of the Hebrew word ꞌElohiym is plural. Elohiym is the name for GOD used in this verse. However, the Bible tells us there is only one GOD, as clearly stated in {Deuteronomy 6:4}: “the LORD our Elohiym is one LORD.” Therefore, Elohiym can be used in the singular sense. That subject is discussed in more detail in the Epilogue. Now let us continue the discussion of events leading up to the creation of Earth.
Before Paul ‘saw the light’ on the road to Damascus, his name was Saul. His name was Saul during the time he was persecuting the early Christians; see Paul’s letter to the Galatians: {Galatians 1:13–14}. 19
20 This quote is taken from Crossing the Bar by Alfred Lord Tennyson; see http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174588. This was read at my grandfather Lindsay’s funeral at his request. Also see http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/lord-alfred-tennyson.
20
Verse 1:2.
The Earth was without form and void.
As mentioned above, at this point in the Genesis creation story, planet Earth had not yet formed. Earth began to form 9.2 billion years after the Big Bang. Even during the early stages of Earth’s formation, our Solar System was very likely composed of a disk of dust revolving around our young Sun. Gravity in the disk eventually pulled clumps of dust together to form the planets, meteors and comets. Astronomers believe that most star systems begin this way. An image of such a protoplanetary disk of dust around a fairly near-by star (HL Tauri, also called HL Tau) was captured by the amazing array of Earth-based telescopes called ALMA.21 HL Tau is obviously much younger than our Sun.
Figure 3.
A protoplanetary disk around a young star Image from ALMA [NRAO/ESO/NAOJ] arXiv:1503.02649
At this point in the Genesis story, Earth had not formed. Even after the Earth had formed, during most of the first billion years of its existence Earth was void of life because the heavy pummeling by asteroids and comets made it a totally inhospitable place for organisms to live.22 Remarkably, comets hitting the early Earth may have given Earth most of its water (as well as a few organic compounds). A record of this early period of heavy bombardment in our Solar System is preserved in the cratered surfaces of our Moon and the planet Mercury. Our Solar System gradually settled down to a stable system of planets and smaller debris orbiting our Sun. However, a few comets and meteors having Earth-crossing orbits are still lurking at our door.23 21
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile captured this image of the protoplanetary star system HL Tauri thought to be about 100,000 years old and 500 light-years in distance from Earth; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HL_Tauri and http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/searching-forexoplanets-around-hl-tau-10192015/?et_mid=793431&rid=246916274 and https://public.nrao.edu/static/pr/planetformation-alma.html 22
Science 2011, vol. 332, p. 302.
23
For a list of the known near-earth objects, see http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/ca/ 21
Verse 1:2. cont. Right Universe at this absorbed
And darkness was on the face of the deep;
after the Big Bang, and for the next 400,000 years, our physical was dark according to the standard Big Bang theory. This was because, early stage, all that existed was a hot plasma of particles that the light.
Illustration 1.
Darkness on the Face of the Deep
We cannot see what hides in the darkness. Do you fear the darkness? 24 Darkness can be a symbol for evil. It is written in {Isaiah 45:7} that GOD declared: “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I Jehovah do all these things.” Evil can have both immoral and amoral connotations. Amoral evil refers to dangerous environments found in the Universe. An example of amoral evil would be a meteor striking our planet. Obviously, before GOD created life and before mankind inhabited the Earth immoral evil did not exist, it was without form.
Spirit and Waters And the Spirit {ruwach} of GOD {ꞌElohiym} moved {rachaph} upon the face of the Waters {mayim}.
Verse 1:2. cont.
24
Fear can be a useful emotion. Fear can also be a destructive emotion. Some people intentionally create fear in another person because they want to control that person or because they fear that person. Fear causes people to fight or take flight. Some people enjoy being frightened (not me!). A scary joke can be funny if done in good taste and no harm is done. Some people pay a lot of money to enter a Halloween Haunted House to have the living daylight scared out of them. But there have been reports of children dying of fright in Halloween venues. In large part, Halloween is a carnival about death. Another way of commemorating death is the festival of Día de los Muertos: http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/10/14/356045103/animated-book-of-life-celebrates-d-a-de-los-muertos. 22
This ending of verse 1.2 is a spiritual statement about GOD and Waters. We know that moving water can carry much power. It follows then, that the term ‘Waters’ is a metaphor for the power of the Spirit of GOD moving like a mighty river, or even like a bubbling spring if you will. This is an important metaphor. The imagery of this verse is used throughout the Bible. Even if you are not there yet, just for the sake of argument, please consider for a moment that a supernatural dimension exists, even in a ‘parallel universe’ if you will, from which GOD can interact with our Universe. Now and then I will refer to verses in the Gospel of the New Testament. The Gospel story was foretold in the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) long before the Christ was born on Earth. I believe that GOD can appear in any form that suits His need, including in the man Jesus Christ.25 But if you are not a Christian, I hope that you can at least believe that Jesus was the perfect purveyor of GOD’s love for us. Regarding the Spirit of GOD moving upon the face of the Waters, here are three references from the New Testament Text that are relevant to the last phrase of {Genesis 1:2}. The first reference is when Jesus offered a drink of water to a woman He met at a well, as told in {John 4:9-14}: Jesus said “…the Water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of Water springing up into everlasting life.” [In those days the pronoun ‘him’ was used in reference to a male or a female, either gender.] A second reference to “GOD moving upon the face of the Waters” is in {Mark 6:48-51}, which paints the picture of Jesus Christ walking on the wind-blown waters of the Sea of Galilee.26 A third reference to the ‘Waters’ is in {Revelation 22:1}, which talks about the ‘River of Water of life.’ The supernatural dimension has two opposing spirits. The River of Water of life is the power of the Holy Spirit of GOD, the Spirit of Light. The other is the Spirit of Darkness, which is the 25
According to Apostle John, Christ (our Savior) was present at the beginning of the Universe. That can only be true if Christ is indeed GOD. The Gospel verse {John 1:1} states that “In the beginning was the Word…, and the Word was GOD.” Then in {John 1:14} GOD says “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” Why did John use the term ‘Word?’ In {John 1:1} the term ‘Word’ was referring to a manifestation of GOD in the flesh of a man speaking to us. The term Word can also mean that which is written in the Bible. In a general sense, I believe the term Word can refer to the Original Information, GOD’s Master Plan, a plan for subatomic particles, a plan for DNA, a blueprint of the entire Universe, and a means for our preservation. 26
In my early life I thought of Jesus as a wise man, but it was difficult for me to believe that Jesus could have actually walked on water (maybe on a slightly submerged sandbar ). But my main difficulty was in believing that Jesus was actually GOD in the body of a man. I had decided to try to live my life according to what Jesus taught, to live by the Golden Rule. But I was not ready to believe, and could not understand why Jesus had to be crucified and die for my sins (to humble me enough) that I would have life in Heaven after my death on Earth. The Epilogue contains more details of my road to Christianity. 23
Worldly Spirit27 personified as Satan. However, Satan has no power other than what GOD allows. In the Bible, {Genesis 1:2} says that both Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Darkness were in our Universe from the beginning of time.28
And there was Light Verse 1:3.
And GOD spoke {amar}: “Let there be {hayah} light {ꞌowr},” and there was light.
This point in time was 400,000 years after the Big Bang. Not until this point in time was light able to travel great distances in the Universe. The light this verse is referring to is the first burst of light in the Universe. Earth had not yet formed. The “lights in the expanse of the heavens” (namely the stars) mentioned in Genesis 1:14 would be formed later.
Illustration 2.
And there was Light
Before this point in time, the Universe was only an expanding ball of hot plasma that absorbed the light. Now, when the plasma had cooled enough, the ‘Worldliness’ refers to behavior that is not pleasing to God. This connotation of the word ‘world’ seems unsettling to me because the world is God’s creation, and the world is where GOD planted me. But I am heartened that even though people commit unkind acts and are disrespectful to GOD, GOD still loves the world {John 3:16}. 27
28
Whether I am conscious of it or not, I am continually showered by information from people telling truth (‘good’ information) and people telling lies (‘evil’ information). Both groups are trying to influence my thoughts and decisions. This is spiritual warfare. The Worldly Spirit elevates love of self (and love of things) above love of neighbor. The Holy Spirit elevates love of neighbor to that of self, even if my neighbor is my adversary. 24
electrons and protons in the plasma paired-up to form hydrogen atoms, which diminished the plasma. Suddenly “there was light.” Photons of light could then (and now) travel great distances at the speed of light.29 According to the Big Bang theory, our universe continues to expand. Thus, the wavelength of this first burst of light continues to be stretched (to be red-shifted) by the expansion of space. Today it has become the cosmic microwaves (background radiation) showering the Earth from all directions. 29,30 Throughout the Universe, after the hydrogen atoms formed, gravity caused hydrogen to clump together. A huge number of clumps were formed! After a clump of hydrogen becomes large enough and hot enough, the hydrogen begins to ‘burn’ in a nuclear fusion reaction. That is when clumps of hydrogen become stars. Stars are still being born in that way today. An enormous amount of light is released by nuclear fusion in stars.31 A star can send out starlight for billions of years in all directions. About 560 million years after the Big Bang, galaxies of stars began to form. Some galaxies formed before our Milky Way Galaxy formed. Many stars in the Milky Way formed before Earth and life on Earth were formed. It was about 9 billion years after this first burst of light that Earth was formed.
29
See Parallel Worlds by Michio Kaku, Doubleday, 2005 (and suggested reading therein). Recent cosmic microwave background measurements from the Planck satellite (reported in 2015) leads to an estimate of 560 million years after the Big Bang as the time when the first stars and galaxies started forming; see http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/planck-upholds-standard-cosmology0210201523/?et_mid=724776&rid=246916274. 30
The age of the Universe is calculated to be nearly 14 billion years old based on the theory that the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation just now reaching the Earth is actually the first burst of light that filled the early Universe. This first light became Doppler shifted (stretched) by the expansion of the Universe. Just like a train whistle lowers in pitch as the train passes by, the ancient photons from the first burst of light just now reaching us continue to become lower in frequency (lower in ‘pitch’). Today that first burst of light is at a microwave frequency similar to frequencies that operate our cell phones and TVs. See http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomynews/planck-upholds-standard-cosmology-0210201523/?et_mid=724776&rid=246916274 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation_(cosmology). Regarding the age of our Earth, measurements of the radioactive elements trapped in rocks indicate that our Earth began forming 4.6 billion years ago (based on the exponential decay rates of isotopes). Since the Milky Way is much older than that, people on Earth would always have seen star-filled nights. See http://www.space.com/22372hubble-telescope-galaxy-zoo-photos.html, http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/radiometric.html and also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formation_and_evolution_of_the_Solar_System. 31 For information on how stars form from hydrogen and how atoms form in stars (and in exploding stars), this book is a good read: Extreme Stars by James Kaler, Cambridge University Press, 2001. Also see http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l2/supernovae.html.
25
{John 8:12} quotes Jesus as saying: “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
Light and Darkness Verse 1:4.
GOD saw {raꞌah} that the light was good,
We see photons of light reflecting off surroundings and into our eyes. Thank GOD! Otherwise, we could not see images of beautiful objects or drive a car! Everything is in a shadow of darkness unless bathed by light. Light is a form of energy. Therefore, obviously, GOD created energy. Also, remember Einstein’s theory that matter can be converted into energy: E = mc2.
Verse 1:4. cont.
and GOD divided {badal} Light from Darkness.
Looking through a spiritual lens at this verse, the term “GOD divided” says to me that GOD made a ‘clear distinction’ between what is good (symbolized by Light) and what is evil (symbolized by Darkness). Speaking of the light and darkness mentioned in {Genesis 1:4}, according to ancient Chinese philosophy, of which I know practically nothing, the universe is filled with Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang mean Dark and Light, respectively 陰陽), which refer to counteracting forces that are in some ways complementary.32a Speculation on the notion that Yin-Yang philosophy has roots in the Genesis creation story is an interesting thought, but I will not explore that subject in this monograph. The term ‘Yin’ sounds like ‘Jinn’Muslims say Jinn are invisible beings from another dimension that sometimes travel large distances at great speed and possess or demonize people.32b I will not delve into that subject either. I do not think that {Genesis 1:4} was referring to the cosmological phenomena presently referred to as ‘dark matter’ and ‘dark energy,’ which remain a mystery yet to be uncovered. As mentioned before, the term ‘darkness’ as used in verse 1:4 can refer to two different kinds of evil: (1) amoral evil such as accidents and natural disasters, and (2) the immoral evil deeds of people. An example of amoral evil is the EF5 tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri in 2011 killing 160 people. Even more shocking was the 2004 tsunami that killed an astounding 230,000 people while inundating villages of Indonesia and a dozen other countries around the Indian Ocean with 32
(a) For a discussion of Yin and Yang, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang. (b) For a discussion of Jinn, see https://en.wikipeia.org/wiki/Jinn and http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/669/viewall/world-of-jinn/. 26
waves up to one hundred feet high.33 These are reoccurring physical events. I do not believe that GOD unleashes natural disasters to punish people. Therefore, I need to prepare for them well in advance and place sensors to warn of these impending dangers. But if I don’t have time to act, a fervent prayer can’t hurt! Regarding immoral evil, unfortunately, there will always be people who bully, kill, vandalize and steal. Immoral acts also include making false accusations for my own gain. Even coveting the possessions of others is immoral evil. Therefore, all of us are guilty of evil thoughts and deeds now and then. But only rarely, thank GOD, do we experience the horrendous type of large-scale evil act carried out on September 11th, 2001, namely the murder of 2,996 people by delusional alQaeda Muslim terrorists. By calling them ‘delusional’ I am not saying that they had a clinical psychological disorder, but rather they were deceived and led by Satan. They flew themselves straight into a Lake of Fire. No paradise awaits the terrorists. The struggle between forces of good and evil (life and death) is a major focus of Genesis Chapters 1-3. Several stories in the Bible indicate that GOD allows evil to exist for His intended purposes. I believe that GOD intends for Earth to be a learning and a testing place, as well as a land of opportunity. I thank GOD for every good thing that happens, but I also thank GOD for the tests, because what I can learn reminds me to prepare for disasters and may help me make this world a better place. As for evil acts, I should protect my family from harm, but I should not judge my neighbor and I should not commit an act of vengeance on him. GOD says “vengeance is mine {Isaiah 63:4}.” If I carry out an act of revenge, that would be an immoral act. GOD will be the Judge of all people. Verse 1:5.
GOD called the light {ꞌowr} ‘day’ {yowm}, and the darkness {choshek} [He] called ‘night’ {layil}.
Looking through the spiritual lens, Light and Darkness symbolize ‘Good’ and ‘Evil.’ This verse supports the supposition that the light of Holy Spirit and the darkness of Worldly Spirit coexisted in our Universe right from the beginning {Isaiah 45:7}. This is the first time the Hebrew word ‘yowm’ was used in the Bible. ‘Yowm is often translated as ‘time,’ or a period of time, but in this verse yowm was translated as ‘day’ or ‘daytime.’ This verse brings to mind that we have light in the daytime and darkness at night as the Earth rotates about its axis. Therefore, this verse 33
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake_and_tsunami 27
introduces the notion of time, namely, time passing from daytime and night time. We can safely assume that GOD created the dimension of time itself.
GOD DID NOT REST from Evening to Morning The next part of verse 1:5 is the key to understanding the discrepancy between the scientific measurements of the age of our Universe and the six-day creation story of Genesis. Verse 1.5. cont.
From evening {`ereb} to morning {boqer}, the First Day {yowm}.
Here GOD said evening first, then morning. This exact word-order is found later in the Bible where Aaron and his sons were instructed to tend the Tent of Meeting throughout the night and keep the lamps burning “from evening to morning;” see {Exodus 27:20-21 and Leviticus 24:23}. Therefore, I believe this word-order was likely used in verse 1:5 to emphasize that GOD DID NOT REST while creating the Universe. GOD continued to work all through the night so to speak. He did not rest until the Seventh Day. The word yowm can certainly imply a 24-hour day; and, I believe, in this verse it was intended to imply a 24-hour day because this is a Song of Seven Days. I believe that GOD used this literary device to set the stage for a seven-day weekly cycle, a cycle in which the Seventh Day is a very special day. Early humans had no way to grasp the concept of a billion years and had no need to know the exact time span during which the first phase of the creation unfolded. GOD could have created everything in the blink of an eye, or He could have orchestrated creation over billions of years. The Hebrew word yowm, which in Hebrew is written as יֹ ום, has Biblical precedence for meaning a long period of time. In fact, in {1Samuel 2:35} yowm is translated as ‘forever.’ Apostle Peter said in {2 Peter 3:8}: “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years.” Thus, depending on the context, yowm can be used to represent vastly different lengths of time. The word yowm in this verse does not contradict scientific measurements that point to the age of the Universe being 13.8 billion years old when we understand ‘yowm’ to mean a ‘period of time.’ Those familiar with the Bible will point to {Exodus 20:8-11} where it says in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. This was written for people living in ancient times as well as for people living today, for all generations. Therefore, the Genesis creation story plays the 24-hour-day melody for some people, and plays a scientific melody for those who have the ears to hear it, allowing billions of years for the creation to unfold. In the scientific melody “the 28
first day” means “the first period of time,” the first phase of the unfolding creation.
The ending of verse 5 gives the first pause in the Genesis story. During this pause I look back from evening to morning. I consider ‘morning’ in this verse to be the dawn of creation (the Big Bang) and ‘evening’ to be the end of this first phase of creation in which GOD created the physical dimensions and the spiritual dimensions of the Universe. GOD created space, matter, energy and time. GOD created everything in the fullness of time. Please sleep on these verses from evening to morning.
Second Day: Verse 1:6.
Verse 1:7.
Verse 1:8.
The Expanse between Waters GOD said, “Let there be an expanse (a firmament) {raqiya`} in the midst of the {tavek} waters {mayim}, and let it divide (separate) {badal} waters from waters.” GOD made {ꞌasah} an expanse to divide Waters under {min tachath} the expanse from Waters above {min`al} the expanse; and it was so {ken}. GOD called the expanse ‘the heavens’ {shamayim}.
From a scientific point of view, perhaps ‘waters under the heavens’ is water on Earth and water in clouds. But what are waters ‘above’ the heavens? This may be referring to the water stored throughout solar system in comets and on other planets that could be used by future generations of outer-space explorers.
There must be something important about the phrase dividing waters from waters, so let’s explore possibilities. In the 1984 NIV® and the New American Standard Bible, raqiya` was translated as the ‘expanse,’ but in the KJV it was translated as the ‘firmament.’ In the 2011 NIV® it was translated as the ‘vault.’ Firmament and vault imply a structure to hold back or to store up water. Some say that the firmament was holding back water until the day GOD unleashed the Great Flood mentioned later in the Bible. Let us explore additional possibilities. When I look through a spiritual lens, and when ‘Waters’ is a metaphor for the power of Holy Spirit, then I see in verses 6-8 that GOD is talking about a spiritual divide. To me, GOD is making a division between how Holy Spirit operates in Heaven (Waters above the expanse) and how Holy Spirit operates on Earth (Waters under the expanse). On Earth, everyone has the freedom to ignore GOD’s Holy Spirit, but everyone also has the freedom to have fellowship with GOD through the power of Holy Spirit. On the other side of the expanse, in Heaven, everyone is living in 29
harmony and in fellowship with Holy Spirit. The separation (or division) of Holy Spirit between Heaven and Earth may indeed mean that Heaven and Earth exist in two different dimensions. Dividing the waters also brings to mind the story of Moses when GOD divided the waters of the Red Sea {Exodus 14:21}, which allowed the Jews to escaped from Egypt, to escape from slavery. Spiritually speaking, this story is a metaphor: the Jews walking through the divided Waters symbolizes walking away from the slavery of sin symbolized by ‘Egypt’ and toward the freedom of the Promised Land (a symbol for Heaven).34 Verse 1:8.
GOD called {qaraꞌ} the expanse ‘the heavens’ {shamayim}.
In the KJV the Hebrew word qara’ was translated in this verse to mean ‘named’ or ‘called.’ That is the obvious melody. However, the BLB lexicon indicates that qara’ (Strong’s H7121) can also mean to ‘call out’ or to ‘cry out.’ To ‘call out’ brings to mind another melody for verse 1:8, namely that GOD calls out across the expanse of the heavens {qaraꞌ raqiya` shamayim}. GOD, featured as the power of Holy Spirit, is continually calling out to His children. He is calling for His prodigal son to come back {Luke 15:11-32}. Verse 1.8. cont.
From evening to morning, the Second Day {yowm}.
GOD did not rest on the Second Day. The Division of Waters was so important that GOD allotted an entire Day to this subject. The ‘expanse’ or ‘firmament’ may represent the distance that Heaven and Earth are separated, namely they may exist in different dimensions. Those in the dimension of Heaven are enjoying the Waters above the sky for eternity. But in the dimension of Earth, GOD allows people to choose not to experience the Waters under the sky. Allowing this choice is preamble to the spiritual melody playing on Third Day of the creation story.
34
Much later in the history of mankind, the Jews were part of another lesson for all generations: Never underestimate the destruction that a person will do if motivated by evil when commanding an army. Hitler and his accomplices in Nazi Germany murdered six million Jews in starvation camps and in gas chambers. People saw this coming years in advance. But opposition armies of good, brave people were slow to assemble. As the German army invaded neighboring countries, their war machine killed perhaps twenty-five million people. The Greatest Generation, my father’s generation, eventually put an end to Hitler’s destruction by fighting World War II, but at great cost. My father was witness to Hitler’s horrors. Dad was attached to the Infantry Medical Battalion and lived through the Battle of the Bulge. His collecting company performed autopsies on captives who died in the Buchenwald Concentration Camp: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buchenwald_concentration_camp. It takes courage to risk your life to stop evil and it takes resources (pay now or pay more later). Some good people will have to be willing to pay with their lives to stop those committing evil acts, just as Todd Beamer and others did in thwarting radical-Islamic hijackers on Flight 93 [documented in Let's Roll: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage by Lisa Beamer and Ken Abraham (2003): Tyndale House Publishers; ISBN 0-8423-7418-3]. I will never forget. 30
Third Day: Verse 1:9.
Waters and Dry Land under the Sky GOD said, “Let the Waters under the sky {shamayim} be collected {qavah} in one place {maqowm}, and let dry land {yabbashah} appear {raꞌah}.”
The scientific melody I hear is this: During the early stage of Earth’s creation, after the Earth had sufficiently cooled, water vapor began to condense and form clouds. Rain from the clouds formed rivers and oceans. The high ground above the water was the dry land.
The spiritual melody I hear is this: The ‘Waters under the sky’ is the shelter or sanctuary of Holy Spirit on Earth, and it shall be separated from (and not confused with) the worldly condition (the ‘dry land’) into which you and I were physically born. For those who love GOD, GOD makes available the ‘Waters under the sky.’ However, everyone also has the freedom to choose to ignore and shun the “Waters under the sky.’ The dry land is where Satan successfully stalks his prey. Those walking in darkness are walking in the dry land. This reminds me of the hauntingly beautiful “Music of the Night” from the musical called The Phantom of the Opera. The Phantom committed evil acts. He was a man who blackmailed and murdered people. But the deformed face of this love-starved man draws some empathy. Many years ago I listened to music from the Phantom of the Opera, which I enjoyed very much. While as I was listening to the Phantom Overture (music written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, whose father was a pastor), the story of the prophet Jonah came to mind; namely, I was reminded of the time Jonah had been thrown off the boat and was becoming entangled in seaweed; see {Jonah 2}. The Overture is an instrumental, but as the music played, the following words flowed into my mind:
To Enter In Death, death is all around, churning up and down. Jonah, hear the sound. Hurry, you'll be drowned! Time is running out. Come and follow Him. Time is running out; must be born again. You must be born again...to enter in. You must be born again...to enter in. He gave His life for yours. He died your sin. HE IS, the everlasting Tree of Life for you. 31
The choice is yours. For GOD so loved the world, He gave His Son. He gave His Son for you...to enter in. And now the choice is yours. Don't tarry long. The world will pull you underneath the waves again. Don't tarry long. Hurry don't be late. Time is running out. Jonah don't you wait. Time is running
The original Jonah was a Hebrew prophet and likely lived most of his life in the sanctuary of ‘the Waters under the sky.’ But at this point in the story, from a spiritual point of view Jonah was in rebellion with GOD because he was refusing to carry out the instructions GOD had given him. Fortunately, just as Jonah was about to drown, he changed his mind and cried out to GOD. So a large fish swallowed him (he entered into GOD’s sanctuary). The fish then coughed him up on a beach because he had decided to follow GOD’s instructions. Jonah entered the city of Nineveh and spoke the message that had GOD given him.
Illustration 3.
Jonah being swallowed by a whale
When we are ‘born from above,’ we enter the sanctuary of ‘the Waters under the sky.’ Being ‘born from above’ is also called being ‘born again;’ see {John 3:3}. Christians believe that being ‘born again’ leads to eternal life in Heaven.35 35
However, there is also Holy sanctuary for babies and youth (and probably others) who are unaware of the Holy Scripture (the Word); see {Matthew 18:14 and Deuteronomy 1:39}. 32
We are born with a soul. Our soul is the combination of our body and our spirit. Being ‘born from above’ is when GOD connects to our spirit.36 To be born again, I must make a life-changing choice to love and honor GOD. After that we can have fellowship with GOD. I have talked to many Christians who had been raised in families practicing Christianity but they could not remember the date that they were born again. They had always known and loved GOD in their earliest childhood memories; therefore, I believe they had been spiritually born (spiritually connected to GOD) at a very early age because their parents had raised them in the sanctuary of the “Waters under the sky.” Verse 1:10.
GOD called {ꞌqara} dry land {yabbashah} earth {ꞌerets}; and the gathering together {miqveh} of waters {mayim} seas {yam}; and GOD saw {raꞌah} that it was good.
The strong melody playing here is that GOD was naming things. But in addition to this, is there another underlying melody? The Hebrew word miqveh can also be translated ‘hope’ or ‘things hoped for’–see Strong’s H4723. The Hebrew word yam is sometimes translated ‘the west’– see {Genesis 28:14}. Thus, as a spiritual metaphor, this verse could be saying that those living in the dry land are ‘of the earth,’ and those who hope for the Waters (the power of Holy Spirit) are ‘of the West.’ It follows that those living in the dry land are ‘of the East.’ In this case, West and East refer to a person’s spiritual condition or receptiveness to the Holy Spirit. Coming up next are the opening verses describing the creation of life. Life could not have happened without a priori intelligence. The plan for the marvelous chemical structures of life must have been created by a thinking Being.
Creation of the Flora Verse 1:11.
GOD said, “Let the Earth sprout {dasha} vegetation {deshe'}, the green plants {`eseb} yielding {zara`} seeds {zera`}, the fruit {pĕriy} trees producing {`asah} fruit of its kind yielding seeds on the ground,” and so it was:
36
When I am spiritually born (born again), I enter into the spiritual Kingdom of Heaven. However, even though I can have fellowship with GOD, I still occasionally sin (as does everyone). New Christians occasionally have doubts about GOD. I would call this putting one foot in the ‘dry land.’ That does not mean I have lost my salvation. But when I am aware of the fact that one foot is touching ‘dry land,’ I ask GOD to forgive me, to fill my heart with love, and to keep me in the sanctuary of ‘the Waters under the sky.’ In the Bible, {Leviticus 14:6} says that water and blood were the cure for leprosy (a symbol for sin). While on the old rugged cross, a spear was thrust into Christ’s side causing His Blood and Water to flow from the wound, which reminds me of His sacrifice for my redemption; see {John 19:34}. 33
Illustration 4.
Verse 1:12.
Let the Earth bring forth the flora
The earth sprouting vegetation, the green plants yielding seeds of its kind, the trees producing fruit having seeds of its kind. GOD saw that it was good.
This was a really big deal! At this period in time, GOD created the first life forms! In these verses, GOD mentioned vegetation, green plants and trees. ‘Green plants’ is prelude to verse 30 near the end of this chapter declaring that “the green plants shall be food.” Trees are part of a lesson in Chapter 3 involving two special trees in the midst of the Garden of Eden. There was no need to go into greater detail on flora in this short and sweet Song of Seven Days, but I do marvel at the great variety of vegetation we have on Earth today. The websites for the Botanical Garden of the United States and for the Royal Botanical Gardens of Great Britain display many varieties of the world’s brilliant flora and give access to many related data bases.37 The first life forms on Earth were likely primitive bacteria. But many thousands of years ago the microscope had not been invented. So why would GOD mention bacteria here? This is something that people living long ago would not understand. Cyanobacteria fossilized in rocks have been dated to be several
37
http://www.usbg.gov/ and http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/plants-fungi 34
billion years old.38 Cyanobacteria are still living today (and they are green). GOD must have created and planted the first bacteria on Earth (obviously equipped with molecular machinery for cell division). Colonies propagated and eventually filled the oceans. Eons later, at least a billion years later, multi-celled vegetation first appeared (according to the fossil record). The first multi-celled life forms were likely related to sea algae (most types are green). The first multi-celled vegetation on land was probably a type of green moss.
Consider the deadly radiation coming toward Earth from the Sun and from all sectors of outer space. Our fragile thin film of blue-green living space on Planet Earth needed to be protected! Without the magnetic field to attenuate cosmic rays, life could not exist on the surface of the Earth. Life would be sterilized! Furthermore, had it not been for Earth’s magnetic field, the full-strength cosmic rays from outer space and solar wind from our Sun would have stripped away most of Earth’s atmosphere over the billions of years of Earth’s existence, just as it did on planet Mars (which has no magnetic field). The magnetic field is a wondrous thing.39 It is generated by convection currents of liquid metal and ions moving deep inside the Earth. The iron ball in the center of the Earth is as hot as the surface of the Sun (about 6000 Celsius), certainly hot enough to melt iron, even at the high pressures existing near the center of the Earth. Even though Earth has a magnetic field, a considerable number of cosmic rays do penetrate all the way to Earth’s surface and damage our genes. Toxins and radon also damage our DNA. Fortunately, and amazingly, cells in our body, even cells in vegetation, have built-in biochemical mechanisms to repair such damage (as long as the damage is not overwhelming).40 The 2015 Nobel Prize in 38
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanobacteria One of the earliest life forms was cyanobacteria. Scientists have proposed that colonies of cyanobacteria formed the ancient stromatolite fossils found in rocks from the Early Archaean era in South Africa and Western Australia. According to radioactive isotopic decay measurements, the earliest stromatolites may have been fossilized three billion years ago. Varieties of cyanobacteria are still living today. They utilize the energy in sunlight to metabolize carbon dioxide and to produce oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis. Thus, over billions of years, these bacteria, and similar bacteria, could have slowly oxygenated Earth’s atmosphere, which also made possible the protective ozone layer. Amazingly, today, plants incorporate cyanobacteria in their chloroplasts to carry out photosynthesis. But before cyanobacteria began filling the atmosphere with oxygen and before the protective ozone layer formed, primitive anaerobic microbes may have been living deep in the oceans. These single-celled organisms relied on sulfur to provide their energy needs; see http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/origin-of-oxygen-in-atmosphere/ and http://www.fossilmuseum.net/Paleobiology/Preambrian_Paleobiology.htm. To help understand how Earth’s magnetic shield is generated, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_magnetic_field 39
40
Nature 2011, vol. 471, pp. 48-49. Also see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_repair; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_damage_(naturally_occurring); C&EN Oct. 12, 2015, vol. 40, p. 6. 35
Chemistry was awarded to scientists who discovered some of the complex molecules and their processes that repair damage to DNA. They estimated that each of us incurs 10,000 DNA ‘lesions’ per day per cell. Absent our DNA repair mechanisms, life could not survive. I find that utterly stunning. Even equipped with these biochemical repair mechanisms, before the ozone layer had formed, the every-day ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the Sun would have killed bacteria that strayed too close to the surface of the water. Scientists believe that it was not until about 550 million years ago that the level of ozone in the upper atmosphere became high enough to give some degree of UV-protection to organisms venturing into shallow water and wetlands. Therefore, some have proposed that the first life forms could have been living deep in the ocean near hydrothermal vents far from the reach of UV (this is pure speculation). Thermophilic bacteria are still living today near deep-sea hydrothermal vents. These hot vents produce forms of sulfur that provide a source of energy for the bacteria. GOD would have provided those first bacteria with the biomolecular machinery to utilize the energy stored in sulfur to reduce carbon dioxide. From this carbon source the bacteria can produce organic compounds necessary for cells to grow and multiply. Surprisingly, scientists have recently found a type of bacteria living near hydrothermal vents that use the faint glow of light from black-smoker vents for photosynthesis! One could go on and on about the amazing diversity of bacteria and how the myriad of different traits found in bacteria must have unfolded over time. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation excites molecular oxygen (O2) making it more reactive. In the stratosphere, excited oxygen molecules produce ozone (O 3). Ozone molecules in the stratosphere absorb more UV and reduce the intensity of UV radiation that reaches the surface of the Earth. It never ceases to amaze me that the molecular orbitals of O2 are perfectly designed to have just the right reactivity, not only for the ozone-production process, but also for respiration, which is the ‘internal combustion’ process that powers life forms on Earth that breathe oxygen. Without oxygen we would die in less than ten minutes. Who designed the oxygen atom, the eighth wonder of the Periodic Table of Elements? The oxygen atom is composed of eight electrons, eight protons and eight neutrons. Oh, and by the way, the number ‘eight’ in Biblical numerology means resurrection and regeneration! Reproduction is the keystone of life. Bacteria reproduce by cell division. Mosses reproduce by producing spores. But a more marvelous invention was
“…having seeds of its kind.”41 The first seed-bearing plants in the fossil record are estimated to be about 350 million years old.
41
See The Triumph of Seeds by Thor Hanson, Basic Books, 2015. 36
Seeds have a store of nutrients on the inside, namely, the cotyledon, the Head Start program for baby plant cells. Seeds have a protective shell on the outside equipped with sensors for temperature, moisture and light that say: “It’s time! You can safely start to grow.” Who invented such a fantastic design and how was this piece of information, this code, inserted into Earth’s biome! Sometimes a cosmic ray creates a benign mutation in a gene that does not kill the organism, which leaves open the possibility of morphing of gene pools. The morphing of gene pools will be discussed later. But here I want to say that although theories of evolution should of course be taught and discussed in public schools (and on the NASA websites), school curricula should not endorse a theory that simple molecules in a ‘primordial stew’ could have spontaneously assembled and formed the first living thing. A stupendous amount of information was incorporated in the first living bacterium that could reproduce itself in hostile environments. That is information that only an intelligent Creator could have provided. Verse 1:13.
From evening to morning, the Third Day.
During the Third Day (verses 1:11-1:12) GOD created the first life form on Earth. During this time an amazing variety of flora emerged. Without rest, GOD continued to work during the Third Day.
Fourth Day:
Information from Celestial Lights
After discussing the creation of vegetation, but before discussing animals, GOD talks about the lights in the heavens, because information from the celestial lights is very useful. Verse 1:14.
GOD spoke, “Let the lights {maꞌowr} in the expanse of the heavens {raqiya`shamayim} divide the day from the night; let them be for signs, for seasons (appointed times) {mow`ed} and for days and years;
Verse 1:15.
Let the lights {maꞌowr} from the expanse of the heavens give light {ꞌowr} to the Earth.”
What are the lights in the expanse of the heavens? Back in verse 1:3, during the First Day of creation GOD said let there be light. The first light was the very first burst of light 37
(which occurred shortly after the Big Bang), which now has become stretched into microwave radiation. It was quite a bit later (but obviously before Day Three) that galaxies of stars began to form and radiate light, including light from our own Milky Way Galaxy.42 In Verses 1:14-15, the light from the nearby stars in the
Milky Way, as well as light from our Sun, Moon and planets are the “lights in the expanse of the heavens.” Most of these lights were visible to the naked eye more than six thousand years ago. The phrase “Let the lights…give light to the Earth,” I believe, means let the lights in the sky give information to the Earthlings. We obtain that information by observing motions of celestial lights over periods of days and years as the Earth rotates around its axis and revolves around the Sun. We also obtain information from the electromagnetic spectra of lights in the expanse of the heavens. From these data we can make accurate predictions and make prudent plans. As for predicting the change of seasons, humans have been observing the motions and positions of celestial lights for thousands of years and using this information to mark the time for annual religious ceremonies and to know when to plant and when to harvest. In fact, some crops are best harvested during a full moon. Sea-faring people use the positions of heavenly bodies (and the time of the day) to calculate their ship’s position. Even the Apollo 13 astronauts trying to navigate a safe return to Earth in their crippled space craft had to rely on measuring the position of stars and the Sun. As for signs, today’s astronomical instruments can image sunlight reflecting off meteors and comets at quite large distances from Earth. Scientists believe that a meteor about six miles in diameter hit the Earth 66 million years ago and brought about the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs by creating a ‘nuclear winter’ that lasted perhaps a decade.43 There are no meteors near that size predicted to hit Earth in the next hundred years according to NASA, but some will come close, and some are lurking unseen in the darkness of space. Thousands of tons of small to tiny meteors hit the Earth every day (doing little or no damage). Very recently a quite large meteor was not detected until just a few weeks before it flew by the Earth!44 Therefore, we should not feel 42
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way
43
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicxulub_crater.
44
Asteroid 2015 TB145 (400-meters in size) was only discovered two weeks before it flew by Earth on October 31, 2015 (Happy Halloween!) at a distance only slightly farther from Earth than the Moon’s orbit! The next known approach by an object this large will be in 2027 when asteroid 1999 AN10 (800 meters in size) flies by at about the same distance as the Moon; see http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/close-in-asteroidhalloween-treat-102220155/?et_mid=795115&rid=246916274#sthash.14Lk8AH1.dpuf.…(continued on the next page) 38
safe from this threat. We must keep a watch. Some large meteors are dark in color and difficult to see“and will come like a thief in the night,” see {2Peter 3:10}. As for the meteors we can see, scientists can fairly accurately predict when one of the larger ones will impact the Earth. Given enough advanced warning, we now have technology to send a rocket having a nuclear warhead to ‘nudge’ a meteor with a detonation that might change its orbit just enough to miss the Earth.
Some people have used verse 1:14 to legitimize astrological horoscopes that predict a person’s future from the movements of planets through constellations of stars. But Isaiah warns of the futility of fortune-telling using the stars (astrology); see {Isaiah 47:13}. Verse 1:14 says that GOD divides day from night: spiritually speaking, this means “GOD’s Word is a lamp for my feet and a light to my path” {Psalm 119:105}. Verse 1:16.
GOD made two great lights {maꞌowr}; the greater light rules {memshalah} over the day, and the lesser light rules over the night, the stars also.
Obviously, the greater and lesser lights refer to the Sun and the Moon. The Bible says the Sun is a metaphor for the Bridegroom: “…He set a tabernacle for the Sun, which is as a Bridegroom coming out of his chamber;” see {Psalm 19:4-5}. This picture is beautifully illustrated by ancient Jewish wedding customs, which point to Christ being the Bridegroom of His Church.45 Jesus’s dead body was laid in a stone chamber, but on the third day He arose and came out of His chamber. We are at a loss for words to adequately describe the beauty and power of the Sun. Our food (indeed our life!) is totally dependent on sunshine.46 44 On February 15, 2013 a previously undetected meteor injured hundreds of people as it struck Russia. Fortunately, it entered the atmosphere at a glancing angle and the atmosphere ablated most of it before it hit the ground, but the shock wave did much damage. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelyabinsk_meteor. Also read about NASA’s plans to visit asteroids: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/nasaamassing-targets-asteroid-mission/ and http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/new-horizons-a-billionmiles-to-2014-mu69-10012015/?et_mid=788245&rid=246916274. See http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risks/. 45
http://www.mayimhayim.org/JewishWedding.htm
One day in the not so distant future, after we have deplete Earth’s coal, gas, oil and fossil fuels, the daily sunshine will once again be our major source of power. A small but rapidly increasing amount of solar energy is being harnessed to generate electrical power (see http://clui.org/ludb/site/segs-3-7-kramer-junction-solar-electric-generatingsystem and http://www.brightsourceenergy.com/technology#.VIjE8Wd0xLM). …continued on the next page… 46
39
A Moonlit beach is a lovely setting for a romantic evening stroll. There are many beautiful musical compositions having a moonlight motif, such as Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. The physical presence of the Moon brings the ebb tides and flood tides that carry nutrients to marine animals along the shorelines. Ocean tides may be harnessed to generate electricity. The crescent Moon has been used as a national religious symbol by some Muslim countries at least as far back as the Ottoman Empire. I hesitate to mention something that lessens these delightful and practical attributes of the Moon, but the Moon can also be a metaphor for Satan (the ‘ruler of the night’). The Moon is associated with dozens of mythological stories involving Moon goddesses. People who worshiped a Moon goddess were worshiping Satan.47 The mention here that ‘the stars also’ are ruled by the ‘lesser light’ is another warning not to put your faith in astrological horoscopes.
… Acres of photovoltaic cells and windmill farms, which require very little water, are feeding solar energy into our power grids (as do hydro-electric plants). When a power plant shuts down, we are reminded how dependent we have become on electrical power. Do a wiki search about the Loki volcano of 1783 in Iceland. to see what havoc it caused in the Northern Hemisphere that summer. To survive an ‘extended winter’ caused by a volcano or a meteor hit, we should continue to make capital investments to store solar energy (we should also store grain and legumes). 46
47
Some people see the crescent Moon as an anti-Christian symbol because Muslims do not believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ as written in the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But Matthew and John lived with Jesus during the last three years of His life. Available to examine in museums today are 1900-year old copies of the original transcriptions that were made only about ten years after Apostle John died (about 100 AD): http://www.bible.ca/ef/topical-the-earliest-new-testament-manuscripts.htm. Some say the new Iranian flag has four crescent moons in the shape of a tulip in the center: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Iran. The Iranian Islamic revolutionaries placed this strange-looking symbol on the flag in place of the lion. Others say the tulip is overlapping parts of the phrase "There is no God but God" in Arabic. But to me, the red figure in the center of their flag looks like a forward-facing red dragon with folded wings, wearing a tiny crown. See {Revelation 12:3-9}: “…the great dragon …called the Devil, Satan [he who incites apostasy]…,” and this was written by Apostle John over 500 years before Mohammed was born.
The new Iranian flag:
The old flag:
Fighting between radical Islam and Israel (and the west) will always prevent Earth from being a peaceful place. By radical Islam, I am referring to such groups as the so-called Islamic State, a terrorist organization attempting to take over the world by killing anyone who does not agree with their laws. This is nothing new. Read James Reston, Jr.’s, book called “Defenders of the Faith: Charles V, Suleyman the Magnificent, and the Battle for Europe, 15201536,” published in 2009. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “…hate for hate only intensifies the existence of hate and evil in the Universe…It just never ends.” 40
One final comment on signs from the lights in the sky: On the morning of April 4, 2015, I observed an eclipse of the Moon on Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil).48 This does not happen very often. Ordinarily I would not have been out on a walk at 4:30 am (Pacific Standard Time), but something caused me to awaken and take that walk. I had no idea there was going to be a lunar eclipse. As I watched this eclipse I suddenly realized it was Easter Vigil. A chill went down my spine giving me gooseflesh as I remembered the dead body of Jesus lying in the tomb on the original Holy Saturday. The sign from the “lights in the expanse of heavens” that came to me as I watched the eclipse was as follows: Earth’s shadow of darkness coming over the Moon symbolized our sins, which Christ bore while dying on the cross. During the eclipse, the light of the Moon completely disappeared. The blocking of the Moon’s light (Lucifer’s light) reminded me that Jesus’ death blocks the power of Satan and shields me; see {Hebrews 2:14}. Jesus took on our sins, suffered death and then rose to life so that you and I would know that we too can be born again. On Easter morning, Jesus was “quickened by the Spirit.” See {1Peter 3:18}. By the grace of Jesus (the shedding of His blood), and by the power of Holy Spirit, my spirit was eventually quickened. From now on, every time I see an eclipse of the Moon, I will be reminded how much GOD loves me (and how much He loves all people of the world). Verse 1:17.
GOD set them in {nathan} the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the Earth;
This verse reinforces the fact that lights from the celestial bodies give us useful information. For example, the fluctuations of light from the Sun can have a major impact on climate, such as global warming and global cooling cycles. By observing sunspots, some day we may be able to predict solar flares that can cause huge coronal mass ejections (CMEs) of charged particles. CMEs directed at Earth can shut down satellite communication systems and shut down electrical-power grids for extended periods of time. Sun-orbiting satellites can detect a large CME but give little advanced warning for us to prepare for a shutdown.49
48
Regarding the lunar eclipse that occurred when Christ died on the cross, see http://wdtprs.com/blog/2015/04/friday-3-april-ad-33-lunar-and-solar-eclipses-as-christ-died-on-the-cross/. Only on one Passover was the lunar eclipse visible from Jerusalem while Pontius Pilate was in office. That eclipse occurred on April 3rd in the year 33, starting about 3 pm when Christ was hanging on the cross. 49
http://www.space.com/19280-solar-activity-earth-climate.html. If an astronaut had been on the Moon's surface during the violent solar eruption of 2005, he/she would have received a lethal dose of radiation. A geomagnetic storm on Halloween of 2003 damaged more than a third of NASA's satellites. See these websites for more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_magnetic_field. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_flare; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunspot; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunspot#Application; http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2000/ast07jun_1m/. …(cont. on the next page)… 41
Verse 1:18.
And, to rule over the day and over the night; and to divide the light from the darkness. GOD saw that it was good.
The light of day is symbolic of Christ, and that of the night is symbolic of Lucifer (deceitful Satan) who masquerades in alluring but counterfeit moonlight that he steals from the Sun. This is the fourth time GOD mentions dividing light from darkness. Thus, GOD allows Satan to test me {Job 1:8-12} to hone my ability to make distinctions between good and evil. GOD tests {nacah} my heart; see {Deuteronomy 8:2}. However, GOD does not tempt me; see {James 1:13}. He lets Satan do that. Therefore, GOD teaches me to distinguish between good and evil. Verse 1:19.
From evening to morning, the Forth Day
During the Forth Day, God did not rest. The Fourth Pause was to remind us how important it is to obtain information from the celestial lights “set in the expanse of the heavens.”
Fifth Day:
Creatures of the Water and the Air
On the Fifth Day, GOD begins the story of the creation of animals (the fauna). The first animals lived in water, then came the air-borne insects. Verse 1:20.
GOD spoke {ꞌamar} “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures {sharats sherets nephesh chay}…
GOD orchestrated the emergence of sea animals. An accepted definition of an animal is a multicellular organism having a well-defined shape, having a nervous system, voluntarily moving about to acquire food and digesting the food internally. But, the very first animals were likely microscopic organisms that lived deep in the oceans. Some single-celled organisms found today have movable hair-like structures for swimming and crawling. Some single cells actually have a tiny propeller (a
…Speaking of outages, cyber attacks on computers controlling electrical power grids and distribution systems are of growing concern in this day and age. See Ted Koppel’s new book “Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath,” published by Crown on Oct 27, 2015(288 Pages | 6-1/8 x 9-1/8 | ISBN 9780553419962). A cyber attack may have shut down Turkey’s electrical power distribution network in March 2015; see http://observer.com/2015/04/iran-flexes-its-power-by-transporting-turkey-to-the-stone-ages/ 49
42
tiny rotating hair) with which they can move about. What marvelous locomoting inventions!50 One theory is that single cells somehow mutated and morphed over the eons to form the first animals on Earth. But the science of how this might have happened remains one of biology’s great unknowns .
The other theory is, of course, that GOD inserted the genetic material to form the first animals on Earth. The availability of oxygen for respiration must have been important in the timing of the emergence of animals. As mentioned, a key hypothesis is that cyanobacteria began producing oxygen gas billions of years ago. The initial oxygen they generated was consumed by the oxidation of iron dissolved in the oceans, which created red bands of rust we see in rocks today. After most of the soluble iron was converted to rust, the oxygen level in the atmosphere began to rise.51a There were probably at least two of these ‘oxygenation events.’ The first measurable rise in oxygen may have begun about 2.5 billion years ago. Much later, as the oxygen level continued to rise, perhaps beginning 700 or 800 million years ago planet Earth began to freeze over. No one knows for sure what caused this cooling period. Scientists say the oceans froze over and Earth became a ‘Snowball Earth.’ Then a thaw began about 600 million years ago. As the ice began to thaw, scientists believe that the ozone layer had accumulated to a high enough level to protect microscopic life living in shallow waters from the Sun’s UV rays. This occurred at the same time that tiny sea animals first appeared in the fossil record.51b Large soft-bodied sea animals, such as jellyfish, left their imprints in rocks that are dated to be about 550 million years old.52a That point in time 50
See reports by Prof. Nicole King, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of CaliforniaBerkeley: https://kinglab.berkeley.edu/research. Some of these microorganisms are equipped with an amazing molecular propeller called a ‘flagellum:’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagellum. Other single-celled animals have hair-like structures for locomotion, called pili. Some pili can retract and enable the cell to ‘crawl’ along a surface. Also see http://paleobiology.si.edu/geotime/main/htmlversion/proterozoic3.html. 51
(a) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Oxygenation_Event, (b) http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150112-did-snowball-earth-make-animals; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10IcujONDCY; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gURy-aVTOo (from University of Edinburgh); http://phys.org/news/2015-06-fossils-life-coped-snowball-earth.html ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKuoPBbh58Y; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87hHbiWBwmY 52
(a) http://www.livescience.com/6448-oldest-soft-bodied-marine-fossils-discovered.html (b) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautiloid and http://museumvictoria.com.au/discoverycentre/infosheets/marine-fossils/molluscs/ (c) http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/thezone/fossils/inverts/coral.htm (d) http://phys.org/news/2013-09-master-embryonic-humans-fruit-flies.html 43
marked the beginning of what scientists call the ‘Cambrian Explosion.’ Shortly thereafter the fossil record shows a huge increase in variety and number of sea animals. Animals having shells first appeared about this time. Fossilized shells of nautiloids over three meters long have been dated to this era.52b The oldest fossils of coral may be 500 million years old.52c The most abundant animals living at this time were the trilobites, which were related to modern lobsters and crabs. Later, larger sea animals appeared. Just as the Bible indicates,
the fossil record shows that the first animals on the planet were the sea animals. GOD said “Let the waters teem…” This wording allows the possibility of genetic morphing of the sea animals. Remarkably, the genetic mechanisms and the genes that regulate embryonic development for all animals (called the Hox genes) are identical in all types of animals from the time of the Cambrian Explosion! 52d This, of course, includes humans, flies and worms. What a sensible and efficient way for GOD to
make the animals! Verse 1:20. Cont.
and let flying creatures {ꞌowph} fly above the Earth at the face of the expanse of heaven {paniym raqiya` shamayim}.”
The flying insects came next. They emerged in the fossil record during the time when the first ecosystems formed around shallow waters at sea shores. Some of the oldest insect fossils are about 400 million years old.53a Other kinds of flying animals did not appear in the fossil record until after the first inland animals appeared (coming up in Day Six). Even the earliest fossils of flying fish appeared only after land animals appeared. The oldest fossils of gliding fish were found in China and Italy and are about 200 million years old (this was during the Triassic period).53b
Verse 1:21.
GOD created {baraꞌ} the large ones {tanniyn} (sea behemoths) and all kinds of living creatures {nephesh} that move in the waters abundantly, and all kinds of winged {kanaph} flying creatures {`owph};
53
(a) http://insects.about.com/od/evolution/a/Timeline-of-Fossil-Insects-by-Order.htm, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_insects and Science, 7 November 2014: Vol. 346 no. 6210 pp. 763-767 (DOI: 10.1126/science.1257570) (b) Tintori, A. & Sassi, D. J. Vert. Paleontol. 1992, Vol. 12, pp. 265–283. 44
and GOD saw that it was good. Now larger sea animals and very large insects emerged. All of these animals were just as GOD intended, even huge sharks and ferocious plesiosaurs that swam in Jurassic seas. The largest insect fossil ever found was that of an ancient griffenfly, related to the dragon fly, which had a wing span of seventy centimeters. 54a One proposal as to why insects were so much larger several hundred million years ago than today is that the partial pressure of oxygen in the air had become quite a bit higher than what we breathe today.54b
Verse 1:22.
Blessing them GOD said, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the water in the seas, and let the flying creatures multiply on the Earth.”
Oceans and lakes cover about 70% of Earth’s surface. By the end of the Fifth Day, all manner of water-borne creatures were populating the watery parts of our planet. Insects were filling the air above the water and shorelines. Today, about a million different species of insects have been described by scientists.
Verse 1:23.
From evening to morning, the Fifth Day.
On the Fifth Day, GOD worked throughout the night without resting (verses 1:20-1:22). This period was during the first half of the Paleozoic Era. The land masses of the world were essentially void of animals, except near the waters’ edge where the likes of bacteria, worms and millipedes may have been living. Birds and other airborne land animals came on the scene much later.
But before we begin the narrative on the creation of land animals, here is a discussion about genes, how they can morph over long periods of time and how these discoveries mesh with what Genesis has to say.
Proteins, DNA and Molecules of Life The appearance of the first life forms, the morphing of gene pools and the evolution of species are topics of continuing contention between scientists and religious conservatives. Did the original 54
(a) http://palaeos.com/metazoa/arthropoda/odonatoptera/meganisoptera.html (b) See http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/08/110808-ancient-insects-bugs-giants-oxygenanimals-science/; https://researchmatters.asu.edu/stories/big-insects-provide-big-answers-about-oxygen-2593; and www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101217145647.htm. 45
huge and complex molecules of life randomly condense from a mixture of small chemicals? My chemical intuition says no way! Some Christian physicists have argued (using statistical calculations) that the probability of small chemicals randomly and spontaneously self-assembling in specific sequences to form large, complex biological molecules and then randomly selfassembling into a reproducing organism is essentially zero (namely, 1/10 150).56a In other words, it would not randomly happen even if given fourteen billion years. There may be a much greater chance that a cup of cold coffee could become hot while sitting in a cold room for fourteen billion years. On the other hand, some quantum physicists have argued (using String Theory) that there can be an infinite number of universes and ours was just the ‘lucky one.’55b Really? That is the most trivial argument one could make to avoid wrestling with GOD. Furthermore, a multi-universe theory can not rule out the possibility of GOD’s hand in the Creation! Some scientists have proposed that the chemical building blocks of life came from outer space. It is true that traces of the small molecules adenine and guanine have been found in meteorites.56a Adenine and guanine are two of the four bases that make up the ‘rungs’ of the DNA ‘ladder.’ However, in DNA each base is attached to the DNA ladder with a special deoxyribose sugar group that is produced by special a protein that catalyzes deoxygenation of the sugar. The code for making this protein catalyst is in the DNA itself! Furthermore, our DNA is composed of about 3 billion of these rungs in a specific sequence that encodes how our entire body is put together! Also detected in a meteorite was the simplest three-carbon chiral amino acid called alanine.56b However, there are twenty unique amino acids (they are all left-handed) that are used to build all of the complex protein molecules of our body, such as muscle, hair and enzymes. Proteins typically have hundreds of amino acids linked together. The code for making each type of protein is stored in the DNA double helix.
(a) See Dr. Wm. A. Dembski’s book: No Free Lunch, published by Rowman & Littlefield, 2002. (b) See Dr. Leonard Susskind’s book: The Cosmic Landscape, published by Little, Brown and Company, 2006. His argument was akin to the “Many Worlds” quantum mechanics model of Hugh Everett III, which was the subject of his 1957 Ph.D. thesis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Everett_III. 55
56
(a) Regarding these two DNA bases found in a meteorite, see: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, August 23, 2011, vol. 108, no. 34, p. 13997. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1106493108t. (b) Regarding the amino acid alanine found in a meteorite, see: Nature 1999, vol. 348, pp. 47 - 49; doi:10.1038/348047a0. Recently the spectra of other small organic compounds have been found in comets: http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/advances/1/9/e1500863.full.pdf 46
Each type of protein has a unique sequence of the various amino acids. The specialized molecular machinery in our cells that assemble the proteins are themselves made of proteins! The instructions to make all proteins, including proteins the cell uses to read the DNA code, are coded for in the DNA! Which came first ‘the chicken or the egg!?’ It is simply statistically impossible that the first DNA double helix (not to mention the entire microorganism) could possibly have randomly self-assembled from small chemicals, even given fourteen billion years for that to happen. However, the creation story of Genesis does not say that
“God Created vegetation” or that “GOD created living creatures.” Instead, GOD said “Let the Earth sprout vegetation” and “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures.” I believe that GOD must have created some of the first living organisms in His Laboratory. However, ‘let the Earth bring forth’ leaves open the possibility of rare benign mutations of DNA that can lead to beneficial morphing of genes. Religious conservatives cringe when the term ‘evolution’ is not preceded by ‘a theory of.’ Many religious conservatives do not want to hear the word ‘evolution’ (not even a limited definition of evolution). To them this would be the same as denying the existence of GOD. However, I do believe the Bible leaves open the possibility for genetic morphing. A billion years is difficult to comprehend. It may have taken that long for the right set of benign bacterial mutations to produce, for example, the first protein that could glue and bind cells together to form the first multi-celled organism. As of now we do not know the details of how cell-binding ‘glues’ (e.g., glycosaminoglycans and collagen, a triple helix!) came into existence, but if those processes could have evolved from random mutations created in single-celled organisms, then that was part of GOD’s plan. The alternative theory is that GOD inserted the gene for making those molecules at the opportune time.
Morphing of Gene Pools The morphing of a gene pool simply means that the characteristics of plants or animals of a given species living in a given location changes over time. Such a change normally occurs after a vitally important aspect of their local environment changes. Such a group of very similar organisms are not clones (they are not identical copies). There are small differences between individuals. These differences were caused by benign gene mutations that had been passed down for generations. Mutations in genes can be caused by viruses, radiation and chemicals. These mutations may have occurred eons ago in bacteria (more on that in a moment)! In addition, there are other types of gene mutations that occur fairly frequently during cell-replication processes. All mutations appear to occur randomly.
47
The morphing of a gene pool usually occurs when the changing environment gives one of the mutants in the group a reproductive advantage. Here is an example that is easy to understand: A colony of bacteria is known to develop resistance to a specific antibiotic. Perhaps only a few bacteria in the colony have the modified gene imparting resistance. After exposure to the toxin, most of the colony will die, but the resistant mutants will reproduce and soon establish a resistant colony, the majority of which will have the resistant gene.
You may say that GOD may have inserted the new gene that imparts resistance. That may be true. But scientists have shown that a resistant gene could come about by random mutations caused by known physical processes over long periods of time. If so, that was part of GOD’s plan. When GOD formed the first few bacteria, for them to multiply and fill all the living space would have taken quite a long time. But once that happened, there were a huge number of bacteria on Earth! Professors at the University of Georgia estimated there could be at least 5 x 1030 single-cell organisms living on Earth.57 That is certainly a huge number! A large number of bacteria are undoubtedly killed by gene mutations caused by cosmic rays every day. But it seems plausible to me that quite a few bacteria could undergo benign gene mutations and become reproducing mutants every day. In all likelihood many of the important gene mutations in Earth’s biome occurred in bacteria. Let me explain how that might have happened. Consider the huge number of bacteria on Earth compared to the population of any other animal. Did you know that animals host large populations of bacteria in their bodies? The human body is host to several pounds of several thousand types of bacteria! Some types of bacteria can transfer genetic material to their hosts. This is called lateral gene transfer (or horizontal gene transfer).58 Some scientists speculate that more than a third of the genes in the human genome have their origin in bacteria. In addition, there are many other cell mechanisms that cause mutations.59 I am not an expert in this field so I won’t attempt to summarize them.
57
http://www.pnas.org/content/95/12/6578.full.pdf&embedded=true
58
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizontal_gene_transfer; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3068243/; http://www.gmo-safety.eu/basic-info/354.bacteria-absorb-plant-genes.htm; and http://biology.kenyon.edu/courses/biol114/Chap03/mobile_genes.html#top
59
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutation, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC212695/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transposon and http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/Transposons-The-Jumping-Genes-518 (2008). 48
I suppose you have heard about the isolated Galapagos Islands, where Charles Darwin discovered a variety of finches having odd-shaped beaks unique to those islands. In 1845 Darwin wrote: "Seeing this gradation and diversity of structure in one small, intimately related group of birds, one might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species had been taken and modified for different ends."60 Recently scientists have begun to measure differences in these birds’ genes, and have identified a gene and genetic mechanisms that plausibly explain how different beak shapes could develop from mutations.60 As we scratch the surface of knowledge about the biochemical mechanisms that ‘make us tick,’ I am ever more in awe of our Creator. Scientists have found that even the most primitive microorganisms have very complex genes and biochemistries. For example, basic sets of genes enabling organisms to sense light were present in primitive bacteria. Several billion years ago cyanobacterial synthesized molecular antennae called chlorophyll that absorb light and converted sunlight to chemical energy. Green plants living today still make and use the same type of chlorophyll molecules. Some salt-loving bacteria (Halobacteria) synthesize rhodopsin molecules necessary for vision in larger animals. The lowly amoeba (a single-celled organism) can sense light and move away from it. Many primitive animals living today have eyes, including the lowly flat worm.61a Going from Halobacteria to light-sensing eyes that send signals to the brain was a huge leap, but that did happen a long time ago. Primitive eyes have been identified in fossils of a simple sea animal that apparently lived about 520 million years ago.61b
People who become professors of science are trained by a lineage of professors who have been granted tenure (and rightly so) based on their scientific achievements. Tenure is granted by a committee of peers. Discrimination is a problem in all walks of life and in all social strata. Therefore, many young biology and biochemistry professors in major secular universities would probably not publically admit even the possibility that GOD created the first life form because they fear that ‘other’ deficiencies would be found for not granting their tenure. Therefore, religious conservatives, understandably, have come to believe that all professors of science at secular universities are necessarily atheists. In this discussion, I speak to those on both sides of this sorry situation.
60
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin%27s_finches; http://www.uu.se/en/media/press-releases/pressrelease/?id=2538&area=3,8&typ=pm&lang=en; Sangeet Lamichhaney, Leif Andersson et al., Nature, 2015; DOI: 10.1038/nature14181 “Evolution of Darwin’s finches and their beaks revealed by gene pool sequencing.” 61
(a) http://www.eyedesignbook.com/ch3/eyech3-b.html (b) Nature 2012, vol. 490, p.258-261 at DOI: 10.1038/nature10097 (title: “Modern optics in exceptionally preserved eyes of Early Cambrian arthropods from Australia”). 49
I completely understand that biology and biochemistry professors have to assume there might be explanations for observations based on the natural laws of genetic science. You love your profession and are driven to search for natural explanations. But if you are intellectually honest, why not also admit there is no scientific observation or measurement that rules out the existence of a supernatural Creator of the universe, who also created the first living organism? That admission would send an important message to young studentsnamely, that publically sharing a sincere faith in GOD should not limit a young person’s chance of being gainfully employed as a professor of science in a secular academic institutioneven if they want to focus on biological evolution! Religious fundamentalists will take note that the wording in the Bible allows the possibility that a living organism could acquire, if only very rarely, a benign genetic mutation that in the future may give its offspring a survival advantage in a new environment. However, please continue to challenge the wording that scientists use when presenting their new theories (especially if presented as the only alternative). Benign genetic alterations to a DNA chain can be measured on a molecular scale. However, the overall effect on the organism may be very difficult to measure and prove. With that caveat, two references presenting theories of how various life forms might have evolved over time are given in footnote 62.62 The knowledge of chemistry accumulated over hundreds of years of experimentation has given chemists the capability to create just about any imaginable new substance from GOD’s chemical elements (the ‘clay’ so to speak). These new substances have never existed before, for example Teflon®. Some of these chemicals are very beneficial, and some are toxic and carcinogenic. Over the last several hundred years, chemists have synthesized literally millions of new chemical compounds. Likewise, very recently, biochemists and bioengineers have begun to synthesize unique life forms that have never existed before, life forms that are in large part made from genetic building blocks harvested from natural living cells and then modified by chemists. This is a very rapidly developing field. Even though our biochemical knowledge is embryonic, companies are genetically engineering plant cells to impart beneficial properties, such as drought resistance, bruise resistance and insect resistance. They are harvesting pharmaceutical drugs for human use from the milk of genetically-engineered animals. Genetic engineering is already leading to new treatments for diseases. Therefore, at this time in history, life forms are certainly undergoing an increasingly rapid rate of evolution! In fact, in 2010 a unique DNA was synthesized in the laboratory and injected into the nucleus of a bacterial cell whose original nucleus had been removed before hand. This cell having the synthetic DNA reproduced itself using the cell’s existing biochemical machinery!63 62
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eukaryote#Origin_of_eukaryotes and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_human_evolution#Mammals
63
Science 2010, vol. 329, no. 5987 pp. 52-56. DOI: 10.1126/science.1190719. 50
Future scientists may label this time in the history of life as the “Holocene Explosion.” Science fiction writers must be having a hay-day imagining where this technology can go! In fact, one San Diego inventor (and science fiction writer in my opinion) who co-founded Singularity University recently predicted that humans could become immortal by 2040 (in his dreams!). Controlling the production and sale of food items made from genetically-engineered crops is a hotly debated topic.64 Many people are worrying about food allergies and are urging the government to put warnings on packaging labels. In fact, Germany and Scotland will likely ban the cultivation of bioengineered crops in the very near future. It is difficult to make predictions about the long-term effects of these genetic modifications on humans and on the ecology of our planet. In my opinion, government should require companies to perform meaningful tests for toxic, carcinogenic and allergenic responses before allowing commercialization. There is a great deal about these new products that scientists do not understand and cannot predict. Certainly the public has a right to know if a food product they are buying has been intentionally genetically modified.
Epigenetics I must mention another amazing recent discovery about our genes. Scientists have uncovered a type of genetic biochemistry called ‘epigenetics’ that produces reversible and inheritable chemical changes in the DNA (and RNA). In response to environmental stresses, living organisms (even humans) use their normal biochemistry to bring about this type of change. An epigenetic change is not a change in the original DNA code of the organism (not a mutation in the normal sense). The DNA code is the sequence of the three-billion or so ‘rungs on our DNA ladder’ (the sequence of base pairs) that run along the length of the double helix. Instead, an epigenetic change is a reversible chemical attachment (or detachment) of chemical groups on the side of the DNA ladder that block (or unblock) the rate of ‘expression’ of a particular gene, which in turn will lower (or raise) the concentration of a specific protein in the body, for example, an enzyme or a hormone.65 An epigenetic change can alter a physical feature during adolescent growth. A most astonishing finding is that an epigenetic change can be inherited by multiple generations of one’s offspring. In one study, a famine appeared to trigger an epigenetic DNA pattern that made the offspring smaller in stature
64 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/us/food-industry-enlisted-academics-in-gmo-lobbying-war-emailsshow.html?_r=0 and http://www.monsanto.com/products/pages/genetically-modified-vegetable-seeds.aspx 65
The field of epigenetics involves reversible topological chemical alterations, such as methylation and demethylation, along the DNA chain that can prevent or allow expression of genes. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_epigenetics; Science 2014, vol. 343, p. 1145; and ibid, vol. 345, p. 785, dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1255903. 51
for several generations (requiring less food to survive).66 An epigenetic change can also affect one’s behavioral response. Some have speculated that epigenetic changes may explain why identical twins can have different personalities. Drug companies are already exploring medical treatments involving the alteration of epigenetic patterns. This is an astonishing and exciting discovery of one of GOD’s marvelous biological inventions.
What about social and cultural evolution? It seems plausible to me that even sociocultural characteristics for a reproductively-isolated group of people could be chemically imprinted epigenetically and passed on to their offspring (this is shear speculation). Thus, some of the offspring of those people would not only acquire the characteristics simply by mimicking the behavior of their elders, but also by inheriting the epigenetically modified DNA that enhances the display of that behavior, for example, bigotry and altruism.
The Spliceosome Please allow me to describe just one more amazing piece of biochemical machinery. Each kind of cell in our body (like muscle cells and brain cells) makes its own kind of proteins. However, these different kinds of cells contain the same exact copy of our DNA! How does each kind of cell know what kind of protein to make? We are not sure about all the mechanisms yet, but the ‘spliceosome’ somehow determines which proteins are transcribed from a gene for a particular kind of cell. The biologists who determined the structure of the spliceosome earned a Nobel Prize in 1993. However, it has only been over the last twenty years that scientists have gained a fair understanding about how the spliceosome works. The spliceosome is an amazingly complex and dynamic assembly of five different protein-RNA macromolecules working in concert with some 200 proteins to ‘edit’ our genes in such a way that for a given type of cell only the proper proteins are expressed. So it turns out that many different kinds of proteins can be coded for (and manufactured from) each gene! On the average each human gene holds the code for about ten different proteins. According to one investigator, at any moment one can imagine a cell,
66
http://io9.com/how-an-1836-famine-altered-the-genes-of-children-born-d-1200001177; http://videolectures.net/sep09_jablonka_eifd/; and http://videolectures.net/eva_jablonka/. Below are four more reports with evidence that environmentally-induced epigenetic alterations of DNA can be passed on to offspring to a measurable extent: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3411/02.html, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090412081315.htm, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/beta/evolution/dna-human-evolution.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Mendelian_inheritance. 52
for example, a brain cell, having “dozens of proteins flying off the spliceosome while others are being recruited during different stages of splicing” to form only those proteins the brain cell needs.67 Dear GOD, what an amazing invention affording both economy and flexibility!
Now let’s get back to the creation of animals. On Day Six the land animals emerged. The following verses cover the time period from about 350 million years ago up to modern times.
Sixth Day: Verse 1:24.
Creatures of the Land GOD said, “Let the Earth {ꞌerets} bring forth living {chay} creatures {nephish} (living souls) after their kind {miyn}, animals (beasts) {bĕhema}, and things that move {remes} on the land, after their kind.”
In {Genesis 1:24} GOD says: ‘Let the Earth bring forth.’ This phrase leaves open the possibility that GOD created, right at the beginning, mechanisms for genetic mutation that allow for the adaptive radiation of species on land. Over long periods of time the genetic mutation mechanisms (discussed on Day Five) and the exposure to environmental stresses could have resulted in the large variety of land animals we see today. Examples of environmental factors that can stress a group of organisms are changes in temperature, oxygen level, the acidity or alkalinity of the water, the freeze/thaw of ice glaciers,68 the amount of annual precipitation and the major but slow ‘drift’ in Earth’s continental landscapes (called tectonic plate movements). Earth’s landscapes continue to change today, but relative to our life span, the annual changes are usually very small (millimeters to inches per year). A
67
See C&EN (CEN.ACS.ORG), October 5, 2015, pp.10-14; https://www.dnalc.org/resources/3d/rnasplicing.html; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spliceosome; and DOI: 10.1126/science.1077783. Also see: http://science.jrank.org/pages/2956/Gene-Splicing.html; http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/05/09/nar.gks347.full and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3119917/. 68
Long-term climatic changes, such as the freeze/thaw cycles of glaciers, can be caused by the small variations in Earth's orbit (Milankovitch cycles) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change, and by the precession of the tilt of Earth’s axis of rotation. A good read on the mechanisms of Earth’s changing landscapes is the first half of a book published by Robert M. Hazen called “The Story of the Earth.” But I do not recommend the second half of the book, which gives his spin on the spontaneous appearance of life forms. 53
brief account of the theory of land-mass movements (‘continental drifts’) that occurred over the eons is given in footnote 69.69 These continental drift patterns were proposed by a consensus of many generations of scientists based on observations of geological formations and the measured ages of rocks. The isolation of islands and continents allowed time for some populations of plants and animals to genetically morph and acquire unique physical characteristics found only in those locations. For example, marsupial kangaroos and koalas are found only in Australia. After South America became connected with North America (fifteen to twenty million years ago), placental mammals migrated south, which appears to have resulted in the extinction of many of South America’s marsupials. Leafy seahorses are found only in the southern Australian waters. Leaf tailed geckos are found only on Madagascar. Komodo Dragons are found only on the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia. The earliest fossils of land snails (also called land mollusks) are about 350 million years old.70 Today about 50,000 species of land mollusks have been catalogued. They likely evolved from sea mollusks whose beautiful sea shells the beachcombers collect. The oldest fossils of four-footed aquatic animals as well as fossils of fish having lungs are estimated to be about 400 million years old (these are older than fossils of the first large terrestrial animals).71 Amphibians were probably among the earliest four-footed animals to spend a fair amount of time on land.
69
Broadly accepted scientific conjecture is that between 580–540 million years ago the protection of the ozone layer allowed plants and animals to begin to colonize the supercontinent called Pannotia. The next few hundred million years saw a plethora of collisions of land masses. Pannotia broke apart, and the supercontinent called Pangaea formed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea. Pangaea existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago (a time when dinosaurs roamed the land). Then there were three major phases in the break-up of Pangaea. Some animal populations became separated from others as large land masses drifted apart. These rafts of broken continental crust floated and moved about on the basaltic oceanic crust. Gaps between crustal rafts filled with ocean water. About 60 million years ago mammals began to greatly increase in number and kinds. Suffice it to say the landscape, as well as the climate, changed drastically many times before our present-day continental arrangement. You can find interesting short movie pictures of speeded-up continental drift by searching online for ‘Pangea animations.’ You may also enjoy these related websites: http://www.scientificpsychic.com/etc/timeline/timeline.html and http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/volcanoes/vtectonics1.html 70
http://www.conchologistsofamerica.org/theshells/terrestrial.asp
71
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Earth, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambrian_explosion, and http://www.indiana.edu/~g105lab/1425chap11.htm. Also see http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/G104/lectures/104land.html which discusses “The Colonization of Land and Life on Land before the Dinosaurs.” 54
Over the last 350 million years, the population of land animals greatly increased. However, there were several catastrophic volcanos and meteor strikes that destroyed much life on Earth. Some species never recovered and became extinct. Those that survived genetically morphed and adaptively radiated to form a multitude of new species that thrived and filled the available land spaces. About 250 million years ago lizards appeared in the fossil record. That was right after the Permian–Triassic catastrophe that killed about 95% of all marine species and 70% of all land species having backbones (the vertebrates). Another major catastrophe was the Cretaceous–Paleogene event that happened 66 million years ago cause by the huge meteor impact in Chicxulub, Mexico, which likely exacerbated volcanic eruptions in India. This resulted in the extinction of about 70% of Earths species, including the dinosaurs.
Illustration 5.
Galapagos marine iguana See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_gland and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO_9zm9tsCs
The oldest dinosaur fossils years old. Scientists believe flying animals to inhabit pterodactyls) having wingspans
72
have been found in rocks that birds evolved from the Earth were the of over 30 feet.72a The
dated to be 230 million dinosaurs. The largest pterosaurs (including oldest lived about 200
(a) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals#Limits_and_extremes … (continued on the next page) … 55
million years ago. The oldest fossils of bats are only 60 million years old. 72b The oldest fossils of great apes are about twenty-five million years old.72c Over time, some land animals acquired (through genetic morphing and adaptive radiation) physical features that enabled them to live in the sea and compete with other aquatic animals for food in the sea. Scientists say that whales, dolphins, and porpoises are descendants of land-living mammals. They reacquired physical features adapting them to full-time life in the water, even though they still have to come to the surface to breath air. The Galapagos marine iguana developed salt glands for expelling sea salt. They can dive some thirty feet down in the ocean to eat algae growing on the rocks. (See Illustration 5 on the previous page.) The oldest whale fossil is about 50 million years old. A list of the earliest fossil records of various lifeforms ranging from bacteria to the Neanderthals73 is given in footnote 74.74 72
(b) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_and_gliding_animals (c) http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/35555/title/Oldest-Fossil-of-Ape-Discovered/; also see http://anthro.palomar.edu/earlyprimates/early_2.htm 73
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neanderthal. In 2014 a genetic study was published suggesting that Neanderthals began to interbred with modern humans at least 50,000 years ago. Neanderthal fossils younger than 25 to 30 thousand years old have not been found. They probably became extinct through violent conflict and interbreeding; see http://australianmuseum.net.au/homo-neanderthalensis. 74
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_evolutionary_history_of_life gives a generally accepted timeline of evolution (also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis). These rough estimates are based on radioactiveisotopic dating of rocks containing fossils (continued on the next page): 3.6 to 3.8 billion years ago: The first simple living cells (prokaryotes, bacteria, arkhaea) 3.4 to 3.5 billion years ago: Photosynthesis by one-celled organisms (e.g., cyanobacteria) 2 billion years ago: Complex eukaryotic cells that have a nucleus to encapsulate their DNA 1 billion years ago: Multicellular life forms (e.g., blue-green microalgae) 850-630 million years ago: The Earth was covered with glaciers (called ‘snowball Earth’) 650 million years ago: Red and green sea algae, dinoflagellates and simple sea animals 570 million years ago: Arthropods (trilobites, crustaceans, and arachnids) 500-550 million years ago: More complex sea animals, fish and proto-amphibians 475 million years ago: The first land plants, but land plants spread inland only after about 400Ma 400-350 million years ago: Insects and seed-bearing plants 350-360 million years ago: Amphibians 300-250 million years ago: Reptiles 230 million years ago: Dinosaurs (Science 2011, vol. 331, p.134) 200 million years ago: Mammals; periods of extreme warmth, and high sea levels 150 million years ago: Modern birds 130 million years ago: Flowers 66 million years ago: The large meteor strike (and volcanoes) that caused extinction of dinosaurs …(list continued on the next page)… 56
Adaptive radiation of species is all about changes in the DNA during isolation of a group of organisms over a very long periods of time. But when I read about the intricate structure of DNA and how a cell compactly winds, stores and unwinds its DNA on ‘spindles’ of specialized proteins,75 even in the microscopic single-cell amoeba, there is no doubt in my mind that the design and synthesis of the original biochemical structures and mechanisms that support and enable how life morphs to fill environmental niches must have come from the mind and hand of GOD. I have endeavored to refrain from political comments, but here are two comments on the topic of evolution involving tax-payer’s dollars on which I feel compelled to briefly address.
Public Schools The science of mutating genes and adaptive radiation of species should certainly be part of the science curricula in any school. But I strongly argue that science curricula should in no way convey the idea that the science of evolution excludes the possibility of GOD’s hand in the Creation (the same goes for NASA’s websites). Dr. Francis Collins headed our national Human Gene pool Project, and in 2008 he was selected to head our National Institute of Health (NIH). He wrote: “…belief in God can be an entirely rational choice, and…principles of faith are, in fact, complementary with the principles of science.”76 School boards can say this without mentioning any particular religious institution. I strongly urge public schools to adopt a position based on what Dr. Francis Collins has advised.
Public Funding of Genetic Research and Evolution
74
50 million years ago: 20 million years ago: 0.3 million years ago:
Whales; see http://www.dna.gov.ar/INGLES/DIVULGAC/ARQUEO.HTM The great apes Neanderthals and modern-looking Homo sapiens
75 See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatin and http://www.epizyme.com/epigenetics/aboutepigenetics/chromatin-dna-structure-and-protein-expression/. Proteins called histones form disc-like structures in the cell nucleus. Tubes of histones wrap around portions of DNA to form compact structural units called chromatin. Also see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spindle_apparatus on how histones control the alignment of chromosomes during cell division. 76 See Dr. Frances S. Collins’ book: The Language of GOD, published by Free Press, 2006, and his NIH website information: http://www.nih.gov/about/director/index.htm. Also see his video: http://www.wesleyministrynetwork.com/Video_pt.asp
57
The budget of the National Institute of Health (NIH) was about $30 billion in 2015 and $31.3 billion is proposed for 2016.77a A fair share of that budget will be spent in universities on searches for cures and treatments of genetic diseases. Drug companies also fund this kind of research as long as there are sizable markets for the drug. I believe that a reasonable amount of tax-funded research should also be carried out by consortia of universities and drug companies, and is best administered by the NIH. A 2015 study by the Global Biological Standards Institute and the Boston University found that “more than $28 billion per year is spent in the U.S. on basic drug research that cannot be replicated.”77b Obviously, many pharmaceutical companies and universities (both researchers and management) have extrapolated and exaggerated their test data when touting the efficacy and safety of new drugs. This kind of bad behavior, motivated by greed and pride, should not be rewarded. Government scientists and managers who manage grants should not continue to fund those people who have a track record of exaggerating their research results. Our government gives research grants to professors each year to try to make organic selfreplicating molecules (one might call this an attempt to make a very dumbed-down ‘artificial life’). No scientist has accomplished that, nor ever will in my humble opinion, unless they start with large building blocks from the Original Plan. But even if a laboratory effort ever did succeed in making a system of self-replicating molecules, it would certainly not have been an example of the self assembly of life, because a creative chemist with an intelligent plan would have been required to make it happen! In 1972, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention was signed by the U.S., U.K. and U.S.S.R.78 The United States Congress passed the Bioweapons Anti-Terrorism Act in 1989 to implement the Convention. It banned the "development, production and stockpiling of microbes or their poisonous products except in amounts necessary for protective and peaceful research." By 2013, 170 countries had signed the treaty. I do not believe that any funding for genetic research and genetic engineering by military laboratories should be approved by Congress unless details of the proposals and detailed rationale are presented and debated before Congress by academic scientists, ethics experts and treaty experts. Furthermore, the wording in the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention should be updated every year to cover the latest technological developments in genetic engineering. Verse 1:25.
77
GOD made the living things {chay} on Earth {‘erets} after their kind, beasts after their kind,
(a) http://www.nih.gov/about/budget.htm. (b) C&E New June 2015, p. 22 and reference PLOS Biol. 2015, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002165.
78
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_Weapons_Convention and Science and Public Policy 2014, 41 (5): 597-610. doi: 10.1093/scipol/sct090 58
everything that moves {remes} upon the earth {ꞌadamah} after their kind; and GOD saw that it was good. The phrase ‘after their kind’ simply means that the offspring would be genetically very much like their parents. ‘Their kind,’ which is the ‘majority kind,’ would continue to thrive and reproduce in their present environment. However, if conditions changed, occasionally a mutant, a ‘minority kind,’ may thrive and reproduce more abundantly in the newly forming environment. In this case, the mutant variety would eventually become the ‘majority kind.’ A theory that cannot be disproved is that GOD occasionally injects a genetic change into a life form for His own good pleasure. This verse also emphasizes that the animals of GOD’s creation are pleasing to GOD. Of course, these would include mosquitoes, poisonous snakes and the occasional mutant. Once again, please note that the chronological order of the appearance of the flora and the fauna discussed in Genesis is in good agreement with the scientific analysis of the fossil record. Next comes the creation of Homo sapiens. I presume we are the most recent species to have emerged in the fossil record.79
The Image of Humankind Verse 1:26.
Verse 1:27.
GOD {ꞌElohiym} said, “(Let US) make {`asah} humankind {ꞌadam} (in OUR) image {tselem} (according to OUR) likeness {dĕmuwth} to have dominion over {radah} the fish of the sea, the flying creatures of the heavens, the beasts of the Earth, and every living thing that moves on the Earth.” GOD created {baraꞌ} humankind’s image {tselem} in the image of GOD; (He) created males and females; (He) created (them).
Here, the pronouns referring to ‘Elohyim are translated in the plural sense. In this verse GOD may be using the ‘the plural of majesty,’ or GOD may be referring to Himself and His angels. These, and other possibilities, are discussed in the Epilogue. 79
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_human_evolution_fossils 59
In these two verses, the Hebrew word ꞌadam means humans. This includes both genders. Males and females were created in the image of GOD. Having the quality of the ‘image of GOD’ sets us apart from the other animals. I believe the ‘image of GOD’ refers to GOD’s intellectual and spiritual qualities, rather than to His physical appearance. We should never try to guess what GOD looks like. Surely GOD can transform His appearance into anything He pleases. Although our intellect in no way approaches that of GOD’s intellect, we do have a growing capability to understand and appreciate some of GOD’s creation. The human’s large cerebral cortex sets us apart from other animals. A Yale University professor proposed that a single mutation in DNA could have been responsible for enlarging the cerebral cortex. 80 I suspect there was a lot more to it than that. Even so, I marvel at the cunning abilities of all kinds of animals. Some dogs and apes can learn hundreds of words and verbal commands. Our rosy boa escaped from his terrarium by flattening his body, wedging it into a small slot under the heavy lid, lifting the lid by expanding his body then slithering away. I listen to the delightful melodies of song birds and the wistful whistles of sea mammals, and I cannot help but wonder what interesting tales they tell. Verse 1:28.
GOD blessed (humans) and GOD said {ꞌamar} “Be fruitful {parah}, multiply {rabah}, fill {maleꞌ} the Earth and subdue {kabash} it. Rule {radah} over the fish of the seas, the flying creatures of the heavens, and every living thing that moves on the earth.”
GOD blessed humankind with a special intellectual capability. It follows then that I have a GOD-given responsibility to use that capability wisely and for the glory of GOD. What did GOD mean by telling mankind to rule over every living thing? The early Homo sapiens must have subsisted on wild game that they killed (as well as fruits and seeds of wild plants). By the time Adam came on the scene, humans had developed spears, harpoons and perhaps poison darts. I suppose at that time one might say that we had dominion over the beasts of the Earth. But after we invented guns, we did not always do a very good job of taking care of “every living thing.” We hunted buffalo, whales and other wild species nearly to extinction. We polluted our streams and lakes. Fortunately, we have gradually invented and refined methods of agriculture, forestry management and animal husbandry.
80
http://www.yalescientific.org/2010/09/evolution-of-the-cerebral-cortex-makes-us-human/ 60
With regard to being fruitful and filling the planet with people, over the last five hundred years, the human population has been experiencing exponential growth. This was made possible by inventions in agriculture, metallurgy, mechanization, medicine, materials processing and computers–not to mention our discoveries and inventions giving capability to consume Earth’s non-renewable coal and petroleum reserves to power the engines of industry. Earth is now home to 7 billion people, which corresponds to an average of about 30-some people on every square mile of land. A few localities on planet Earth, I would say, are over filled, such as the mega-city shanty towns and the Ganges river basin.81 The United Nations predicts a doubling of the world population by 2090 as their high estimate.82 This is within our grandchildren’s life time. Earth’s population growth will eventually be limited by the availability of natural resources and physical living space. We can expand into the vertical space by building more high-rise apartments, and we can spread suburbs horizontally by taking over farm land until housing developments bump into each other. But obviously we can’t give up all of our farm land. I think smaller families will naturally evolve as the expense of raising more than a few children becomes prohibitive and as methods of birth control are improved. I remain optimistic that the technology and efficiency of feeding people, as well as housing them, will continue to make great strides in the future. Will there be enough land and resources to comfortably accommodate 15 billion people on Earth? Yes. But can we do that peacefully and equitably? Yes, if we follow the way of Christ and love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. Surely GOD intends for His Earthly rulers to be good stewards. As Earth gets more densely populated with people, we have to pay attention to endangered species. It is very important for governing bodies of countries around the world to establish wild game preserves and preserve a remainder of large animals living in their natural habitat. The days of hunting endangered species to hang trophies on the wall is a bygone era. But we should allow hunting of species if their large numbers need to be thinned to protect people and to reduce damage to crops (on both public and private lands).
Eat your Fruits and Vegetables Verse 1:29.
GOD said, “Behold {hinneh},
81
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges
82
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population_growth#Forecasts_of_scarkity 61
I have given {Nathan} all plants bearing seed on the face of all the Earth and the produce of the trees yielding seeds; these shall be {hayah} for food {ꞌoklah}. In verse 1:28 GOD told us to rule over the animals, but He didn’t mention eating them. In reading verse 1:29 I can certainly understand why some people would infer that he or she should be a vegetarian. More power to them! I have no intention of belittling vegetarians. We know from experience that humans can survive by eating only plant produce. Some of my father’s relatives were Seventh Day Adventists (a latter-day Christian sect) who avoided eating meat. However, I believe that GOD is only saying here to “be sure to eat your fruits and vegetables.” This is with good reason. All of our vital compounds are readily available in plants. We also know that meat products take more energy to produce than plants. Some of GOD’s animals are optimized to eat meat, such as the eagle, the cat and my father. Oh how he loved a medium-rare T-bone steak! My forefathers hunted wild animals in the meadows and woods to provide food for the table. Growing up in northeastern Ohio, I hunted rabbits and pheasants with my father and relatives, mainly for recreation and bonding, but we always dressed and ate the wild game we killed. That was the family tradition. Although unspoken, I am sure part of the agenda was to train us youngsters to handle guns, not only for the thrill of hitting the bulls’ eye but also to know how to survive in the event of unexpected disasters. On the other hand, my mother, who grew up on a small farm near Rogers, Ohio, just west of Pittsburgh, was always very sad when their farm animals were slaughtered for food. Oh what beautiful organic gardens both sides of my family prepared every year, and this tradition went back many generations. Planting and caring for a garden is a good way to bond with your family, and, of course, is a good way to shrink your grocery bill. As a youth I helped plant, pick and eat delightfully delicious and organically-grown peas, beans, corn, tomatoes, etc., etc., etc. Potatoes and apples not immediately eaten were put in the cold cellar. Some vegetables were canned or frozen for the winter months. But after I grew up, my own small gardens paled by comparison. It is so much easier to buy produce at the grocery stores, but it never tastes as good as fresh picked. Large mechanized farms use toxic pesticides and herbicides. In the future, indoor hydroponics technology may be a good remedy for the pesticide contamination problem. The air and water can be filtered to remove pests. Large-scale hydroponics farms have the potential to provide same-day fresh-picked vegetables to local grocery stores.83 No need to freeze or can the vegies if the 83
See, for example http://aerofarms.com/story/overview. 62
hydroponics factory of the future can be operated as a year-round organic farmers’ market. Some people avoid eating meat for health reasons. Hoping to eliminate animal flesh from our diet, small start-up companies are advancing the technology of processing vegetables into a form that has the texture and taste of meat.84 But I have yet to eat a vegie burger that tastes as good as the real thing. Verse 1:30.
And to every living thing {chay} on Earth, and to every flying creature of the heavens, and to everything that creeps {ramas} on land, and to every living soul {nephish}, the green {yereq} plants shall be food.”
Did you ever wonder why plants are colored green? It’s the chlorophyll molecules that create the green color. Even billions of years ago GOD equipped the cyanobacteria with biochemistry to make chlorophyll. Chlorophyll molecules capture the solar energy. Using that energy (and carbon dioxide from the air) plant cells produce oxygen, sugars and all the other biomolecules essential to life. This process is called photosynthesis. Thus, green plants are the most important source of food, period! Not to mention the fact that without green plants, the oxygen level in the atmosphere would decrease and animal life would die. Green plants play a vital role in maintaining the equilibrium of oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere. The carbon dioxide (CO2) level in the air (presently about 400 parts per million) has increased by 40% since the start of the industrial revolution. Even if we stopped burning coal, natural gas and petroleum products, the level of CO2 in our atmosphere would not decrease over the next hundred years. And who knows, maybe we need this increase in CO2 level to stave off the next ice age! Planting more green plants is the best way to capture CO2. Please give high priority to planting and maintaining trees and green crops on every arable patch of land on Earth.
Verse 1:31.
GOD saw {raꞌah} all that {ꞌaher} was made {‘asah} was exceedingly {m@’ad} good. … From evening to morning, the Sixth Day {yowm}.
Everything that GOD made pleased Him! On the Sixth Day, GOD worked throughout the night without resting. He created the land animals, including Homo sapiens. GOD did not take a separate 84
See for example: http://beyondmeat.com/about/. 63
Day to describe the creation of humankind. We were lumped into the land-animal Day. After all, the sum total of the human genome is 98.5% identical to the chimpanzees’ genome.85a However, there are specific differences that affect our (and their) chromosomes in numerous ways.85b One major difference is that two of the chimp chromosomes appear to have been fused together to form the #2 human chromosome. One estimate is that the human genetic divergence from chimpanzees began about four million years ago.85c GOD could have fused those chromosomes together (along with a
‘few’ other changes), or perhaps it occurred by known genetic mutation mechanisms that were also part of GOD’s plan. Chapter 2 of Genesis will be discussed below. But take one moment to reflect back on Chapter 1, which gave us a brief and beautiful account of GOD creating the Universe and life on Earth in Six Days. From a scientific point of view, where each of the Six Days represents a phase of the creation process that occurred over eons of time, the Genesis story is in complete harmony with the Big Bang scientific theory of how the Universe unfolded. Likewise, the chronology of the emergence of major life forms in the fossil record is in harmony with Chapter 1 of Genesis. GOD’s story of creation, in my opinion, is actually a Seven-Day story. The chapter designations in Genesis were not part of the original Holy Scriptures. Scribes added them later. Therefore, I have included verses 1-3 of Chapter 2 in the Song of Seven Days. Verse 2:1.
Thus the heavens and the Earth were completed {kalah}, the host {tsabaꞌ} of them.
At the end of Six Days, the creation of our Universe and everything in it was finished. But GOD did not rest until the Seventh Day.
Seventh Day: Verse 2:2.
Rest on the Sabbath By the Seventh Day, GOD had completed the work {mĕlaꞌkah} (that He) performed {ꞌasah}, and (He) rested {shabath} on the Seventh Day
85
(a) Nature 2012, vol. 486, pp. 527–531 (b) http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tiny-genetic-differences-between-humans-and-other-primatespervade-the-genome/ (c) http://genome.cshlp.org/content/21/3/349.short; also see http://www.reasons.org/articles/chromosome-2the-best-evidence-for-evolution; and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromosome_2_(human) ...however, this wiki needs additional citations. 64
from the work (that He) performed GOD rested on the Seventh Day. I suppose this is why the number seven in western tradition stands for completion and perfection. In the Book of Genesis, I believe that GOD told the creation story in terms of Seven Days in order to establish a seven-day weekly cycle as a custom for all humans, where the seventh day is very special. There is archeological evidence that the Sumerians and Babylonians observed a seven-day week. As mentioned before, Abraham’s father’s family lived in the region of Babylon about four thousand years ago {Genesis 11:31}. Therefore, I presume that Abraham and his descendants also followed a seven-day week. About 3300 years ago, Moses received the Ten Commandments from GOD written on tablets of stone, and one says: “Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy GOD: in it thou shalt not do any work” {Exodus 20:9-10}. In keeping the Sabbath and resting on the seventh day, the Jews set an example for all people who choose to know GOD and to love GOD. GOD’s intentions were clearly stated to the Jews in {Exodus 31:13}: “Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.” Celebrating the Sabbath is celebrating GOD’s contract with us for the preservation of our lives. I should reserve one day each week to celebrate that promise. Verse 2:3.
And GOD {ꞌElohiym} blessed {barach} the Seventh Day, sanctified {qadash} it, and indeed {kiy} rested {shabath} from the work {mĕlaꞌkah} of GOD creating {bara’} and fashioning {‘asah} (our Universe).
I believe that GOD rested from work to set an example for us to follow. If I am GOD’s child, should not I be able to be blessed and find rest in His creation?of course! While I am living on Earth, the Spirit of GOD (the Waters under the sky) offers me rest and comfort from my worldly woes. The Sabbath was made for humans according to Jesus; see {Mark 2:27-28}. Observing the Sabbath is showing respect and love for GOD. The reason I want to continue on through Chapters 2 and 3 of Genesis in this monograph is because, in my humble opinion, nearly every important lesson we need to know about life is found in these two chapters. Many other famous parables and proverbs about life have their roots in GOD’s Song of Adam and Eve. But I also want to say a few things about what set Adam and Eve apart from the other animals. 65
Song of Adam and Eve Genealogy Now begins the account (or the genealogy) of Adam and Eve. A detailed list of their descendants is given in Chapter 5 of Genesis. Verse 2:4.
These are the generations {towlĕdah} of the heavens and earth created {bara’} in the days {yowm} that Jehovah {Yĕhovah} GOD {ꞌElohiym} formed {`asah} the earth and the heavens.
Verse 2:4 has the first use of the Hebrew word ꞌJehovah, which is also written as Yĕhovah, Yahweh, YHWH or LORD. We can safely assume that Elohiym as used in Chapter 1, and Jehovah Elohiym as used in Chapter 2, refer to the same GOD, because there is only one GOD. We will soon see that the name Jehovah features GOD in a parental role. Jesus taught us to think of GOD as our Heavenly Father. Therefore, we can take the name Jehovah Elohiym to be our ‘Heavenly Father’ or Heavenly ‘Parent’ if you will. The name Jehovah accentuates the power of GOD, a righteous power to be loved as well as feared and respected. In Hebrew script Jehovah is represented by the tetragrammaton: יהוה. GOD’s name written as the tetragrammaton was not to be spoken by the Jews.86 In English you will see people write ‘G-d’ instead of ‘God’ to show respect for the tradition of not speaking GOD’s name. In the last phrase of verse 2:4 notice how GOD reversed the word order: earth, then heavens. This puts the emphasis on the earth, which is preamble to the next two verses involving the clay of the earth.
Wetting the Clay Verse 2:5.
86
The plants {siyach} had not yet appeared in the fields {sadeh} of the Earth, and the grass of the fields had not yet sprouted; indeed {kiy}, Jehovah GOD had not (yet) sent rains {matar} to the earth, and no {ꞌayin} man had worked {`abad} the soil,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetragrammaton 66
This verse may be referring to the dry time of the year, just before the rainy season. (Was it also a time before humans began to practice agriculture ?) Verse 2:6.
Mist {ꞌed} rising up {‘alah} from the earth watered the whole surface of the ground {ꞌadamah}.
Through the lens of science, this verse says that water vapor and mist (warmed by the Sun) rises from Earth’s surface into the atmosphere. As the air cools and becomes supersaturated, the water condenses to form clouds. Clouds rain and wet the ground. This continuous cycle of water vapor rising up from the oceans to form the clouds that rain on the lands that drain to the rivers that flow back to the oceans is another of GOD’s utterly amazing life-giving inventions!
The rain wetted the clay of the land and made it pliable. Verse 2:7.
Jehovah GOD formed Adam {ꞌadam} from the clay {`aphar} of the ground {ꞌadamah},
GOD is the potter, and we are the clay. This wonderful picture of the Potter sculpting the clay is used many more times in the Bible. But GOD has already talked about creating humankind in verse 1:26. The new information in verse 2:6 is that Adam was made from clay. GOD also created the animals from clay as we will read in verse 2:19. This means that all life forms are made from the atoms in Earth’s crust; all living things are made from the same molecular building blocks.
Verse 2:7.
And (Jehovah) breathed into (Adam’s) nostrils a spirit (a breath) {nĕshamah} of life; Adam became a living {chay} (fresh) soul {nephesh}.
Religious conservatives say that Adam was the first human that GOD created. That may be true, but this verse does not state that explicitly. Verse 2:7 states that GOD breathed a ‘spirit of life’ into Adam. Since GOD had already talked about creating humankind in verse 1:26, perhaps other Homo sapiens were living at the time of Adam (just a theory). In any event, Adam was the first of GOD’s ‘chosen people.’ He was the first person with whom GOD chose to have fellowship. The KJV and NIV translate nĕshamah as ‘breath,’ but this Hebrew word can also mean ‘spirit.’ Therefore, this verse may be saying that GOD breathed spiritual life into Adam. In other words, GOD chose to connect with Adam’s spirit. Adam was spiritually born from above so to speak. In a similar way, once my spirit was born from above, I was able to have fellowship with GOD. 67
As we shall see, the Song of Adam and Eve holds a parable (a teaching story) for us. It is a delightful illustration that nobody is perfect.
Age of the Ancients We don’t really know how many years ago Adam and Eve lived. As mentioned in the Preface, counting the intervals of time between patriarchal generations listed in the Bible from the time of Adam to the present day, gives an estimate that Adam lived about six thousand years ago. However, the Bible states that the earliest patriarchs, the first ten or so descendants of Adam and Eve (from the line of Seth; see {Genesis 4:25}), lived to be close to a thousand years old (including Adam); see {Genesis 5}. Did they really live that long? Methuselah, was the oldest person mentioned in the Bible. He lived to be 969 years old. Are there more cosmic rays hitting the Earth today that make people age faster than in Adam’s time? Some have speculated that the names of the Biblical patriarchs are actually family names that may have included many generations. Probably not, but no one knows for sure. You can read many in-depth speculations on the ages of the Biblical patriarchs online, for example see what Lee McKague has to say.87 In the year Methuselah died came the Great Flood. Some have pointed out that Methuselah’s Hebrew name actually means "His Death Shall Bring.”88 Apparently, the patriarchs’ names held prophetic messages. Presumably these names were given by GOD.88,89 If true, this is evidence that GOD knows all that will happen in the future. Another interesting fact is that the ages of the patriarchs are given to three significant digits. This implies that precise records were kept. But I wonder if hidden messages are encoded in these numerical ages (yet to be deciphered)? If the first human beings were created only 6,000 years ago, then we are faced with another puzzling gap in time when considering the scientific archeological timeline of human migrations and early technological advances. Scientists have discovered ancient fossils of Homo sapiens in southern Africa who made stone tools. Piecing all the evidence together, these scientists hypothesize that these physically-modern humans were likely living
For example, see Lee McKague’s article in Journal of Scientific Exploration 1999, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 483– 497. You can download this pdf from McKague’s LinkedIn website. 87
88
See page 71 in Chuck Missler’s book: Cosmic Codes, published by Koinonia House in 2000.
89
http://www.bible-codes.org/Names-Bible-Prophecy-Code.htm 68
there about 70,000 years ago.90 It seems to me that these early Homo sapiens must have been living before the time that GOD began to communicate with Adam. Who knows, 70,000 years ago Homo sapiens may have been only moderately more advanced than modern apes.91 However, by 35,000 years ago modern-looking humans had painted detailed pictures of animals in European caves. 92a Various dating methods have been used repeatedly to confirm these dates. At least by 16,000 years ago (dated by calibrated radiocarbon measurements) humans had already made decorated pottery in Japan.92b Discovered in western Montana was a 12,600year-old skeleton of a child (radiocarbon dated) alongside dozens of ochrecovered Clovis stone tools.92c The oldest bows and arrows with the bow still in one piece were found in Denmark and dated to be 9,000 years old. 92d Therefore, I would think that people living in the Fertile Crescent of the Mideast (the Levant) must have already formed fairly advanced urban communities (civilizations) by at least ten to twenty thousand years ago. One archeological dig in Turkey has uncovered ruins of an ancient village called Göbekli Tepe that has been dated to be at least 9,000 years old.92e
Scientists have found evidence that by 7,000 years ago mankind had invented metallurgy. Approximately 6000 years ago, the earliest large stepped pyramids, called ziggurats (reminiscent
90
Excavations of Sibudu cave in South Africa by Lyn Wadley turned up the skeletal remains of Homo sapiens and their stone tools estimated to be 70,000 years old (see Science issue 2011, vol. 332, pp. 1260-1). It is hypothesized that Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa at least 60,000 years ago. Perhaps they traveled along the Nile River, along the seacoasts and other rivers to other parts of the world, including the Fertile Crescent. According to scientific analysis of stone tools and fossils (including genetic evidence), many lands around the world (including China and Australia) were populated by modern Homo sapiens at least 50,000 years ago (see http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_4.htm; http://scim.ag/Abogen; see Science 2011, vol. 333, pp. 1689-91; and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomically_modern_humans. Homo sapiens reached the coastal caves of Spain about 40,000 years ago; see Science 2013, vol. 336, pp. 1409-1413 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Age. Humans reached the Ryukyu Islands of Japan at least 19,000 years ago; see Anthropological Science 2010, Vol. 118(3), 173–183. A few thousand years after settling in Japan, humans had also reached the Americas; see Science 2011, vol. 331, pp. 20-23 and http://www.sciencemag.org/content/331/6020/1058.abstract. 91
Much ado is made about early humans making tools from stones (the Stone Age). But otters and apes use stone tools to solve problems, and crows have been seen using multiple tools sequentially; see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE4BT8QSgZk! 92
(a) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistory_of_France (b) http://www.world-archaeology.com/features/jomon-pottery-japan.htm (c) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleo-Indians and http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140212-anzik-skeleton-dna-montana-clovis-culture-firstamericans/ (d) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_and_arrow#History (e) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6bekli_Tepe 69
of the Tower of Babel), had been built by the Sumerians and Babylonians in the Mesopotamian region. That would be close to the time that GOD breathed a spiritual life into Adam. A wellpreserved man who lived 5,300 years ago was found in a melting glacier in the Ötztal Alps near the border of Austria and Italy, along with his pure copper ax.93 The people who discovered his body named him Ötzi the Ice Man. Ötzi would have been a contemporary of the first eight patriarchs of the Bible, including Adam and Methuselah! Now let’s continue The Song of Adam and Eve.
Planting a Garden Verse 2:8.
Jehovah GOD planted a garden in ancient times {qedem} in Eden (which means a pleasant place);
Verse 2:9.
and there put Adam whom He had formed. Out of the ground Jehovah GOD made trees {`ets} to grow, pleasant to the sight {marꞌeh} and good for food: the Tree of Life {chay}, (and) in the midst of {tavek} the garden, the Tree of Knowledge {da`ath} of Good {towb} and Evil.
These sound like magical trees. Could the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil be one and the same tree? As we will see, these are two different trees. The names of these two trees certainly make them sound desirable. In fact, this verse says that the trees were good for food. We will come back to these trees in a minute, but first, how were the trees watered?
The Rivers Verse 2:10.
A river went forth in {yatsaꞌ} Eden to water {shaqah} the Garden; and it separated {parad} into four heads {roꞌsh}.
93
See the book Iceman, by Brenda Fowler, Random House, New York, 2000. Ötzi the Ice Man died in his mid 40’s with an flint arrowhead lodged in his back (see http://www.iceman.it/en/milestones and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi). Recovered near his body was an ax with a yew handle and a blade made of 99.7% pure copper, a flint-blade knife with an ash handle, a quiver of 14 arrows (two of the arrows had stabilizing fins and were tipped with flint), a coat, a belt, a pair of leggings, a loincloth (all made of leather of different skins constructed of vertical strips sewn together with sinew). He also had a bearskin cap with a leather chin strap. 70
The river in Eden is not named in the Bible. So I will call it the Ancient River of Eden. This river is somehow connected to four other rivers. The locations of two of the four other rivers, even today, have not been established with any certainty, but there has been abundant speculation.94 Were these four rivers actually located in Eden? Why is GOD telling us about these rivers? Why are they important? The River of Eden seems to be the headwater (or source) of water for four other rivers. The headwater is usually a region where many tributaries flow together to form a larger river. However, a large river can branch (or bifurcate) to form two or more rivers called ‘distributaries.’ For example, the three principal distributaries of the Rhine River in Europe are the IJssel, the Waal and the Nederrijn. The Atchafalaya River is the largest distributary of the Mississippi River. Verse 2:11.
Verse 2:12.
The name of the first (river) is Pison which goes around {cabab} the land of Havilah, where there is gold; The splendor {zahab} of that land is good: there is bdellium (gum resin) and gem stones.
Pison (also spelled Pishon) means to increase and overflow (attributes of GOD’s generous nature). The land of Havilah was presumably nourished by the Pison River. Was Havilah in Eden? Maybe so, maybe not. The first mention of a person named Havilah in the Bible was a son of Cush, who was the eldest son of Ham, who was a son of Noah {Genesis 10:7}. The clan of Cush may have settled on one or both sides of the Red Sea (near Egypt and Arabia).94 Another person named Havilah, mentioned in {Genesis 10:22-30}, was a son of Joktan from the line of Shem. Shem was another son of Noah. Some of Joktan’s sons may have dwelt in the Arabian desert {1Samuel 15:7}. Havilah can mean ‘sandy’ or a ‘circular motion.’ If the Pison River ever flowed in Arabia, today it is completely dried up.95 Verse 2:13.
94
The name of the second river is Gihon, which goes around the land of Cush {Kuwsh}.
See http://nabataea.net/eden3.html and http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5428-eden-garden-of.
95
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cush_(Bible); http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havilah; http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7343-havilah; http://www.abarimpublications.com/Meaning/Havilah.html#.VN7bYGd0zv8; and see: Hebrew Inscriptions, from the Valleys Between Egypt and Mount Sinai: In Their Original Characters, with Translations and an Alphabet: with Twenty Plates (Google eBook), by Samuel Sharpe, John Russell Smith, 1875. 71
Gihon Spring was the name of the only source of water for Jerusalem according to {2 Chronicles 32:30}. Gihon means ‘bursting forth.’ As mentioned before, Cush was the eldest son of Ham.95 Cush means ‘black.’ Ancient Egyptians called their country the "Black Land" in reference to the color of the fertile earth brought in by the Nile River. Therefore, one early proposal was that the Gihon River was the Nile River in Africa.96 A more recent proposal is that the Gihon River was what today is called the Karun River in Iran (the land of Kush, or Kish).97 Verse 2:14.
The name of the third river is Hiddekel which goes {halak} east {qidmah} of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates {Pĕrath}.
Hiddekel means ‘rapid.’ This river is the Tigris River, which runs parallel with the Euphrates River through central Iraq. The Euphrates River means ‘fruitfulness.’ The Tigris-Euphrates river basin is known as the cradle of the earliest civilizations on Earth. These were the Sumerian and Akkadian civilizations, well established at least seven thousand years ago. [As an interesting aside, about twenty-six hundred years ago the prophet Daniel was beside the great River Hiddekel when he received a message from GOD; you can read more about that in {Daniel 10:1-4}.] The source of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey near Lake Van and Mount Ararat [where Noah’s ark came to rest]. Why did GOD spend so much time talking about these four rivers in this story of the Garden of Eden? What does it mean that the river in Eden divided into four heads {roꞌsh}? One possibility is that the Ancient River of Eden fed into four distributary rivers. Perhaps this verse is prophetic and symbolic. Under the leadership of Moses, during forty years of wondering in the Sinai desert, Israel’s twelve tribes were organized into four groups as they camped around their portable tabernacle (the “tent of meeting’). GOD was present in the tabernacle. The group on the east side of the tabernacle was headed by Judah; on the south by Reuben; on the west by Ephraim; and on the north by Dan; see {Numbers 2}. The Four Rivers of Genesis Chapter 2 may be prophetic of these four groups of tribes of Israel, whose descendants would eventually become Distributary Rivers, so to speak. Their descendants carried GOD’s word to the four corners of the Earth, as they were fed by the Ancient River of Eden, namely the power of the Spirit of GOD moving upon the face of the Waters, mentioned in {Genesis 1:2}.
96 The first-century historian, Josephus, proposed that the Gihon was the river Nile in Africa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gihon (Jewish Antiquities, 1.39). 97
http://ldolphin.org/eden/ and http://jhom.com/topics/rivers/eden.htm 72
Some say the birds-eye view of these four groupings of the tribes of Israel positioned around the Tabernacle of GOD is a picture of the cross on which Jesus was crucified. Jesus was in the center of the cross. The story of His death and resurrection has been distributed to the four corners of the Earth. A brief summary of Immanuel is given in the Epilogue.
Two Trees of Eden The following verses continue the story of the Garden of Eden, which began in Genesis 2:7 and 2:8. Recall that GOD had breathed a spirit of life into Adam and had placed him in the Garden of Eden. GOD intends for Adam to be the caretaker of Eden. Now, for the first time Father GOD (Jehovah Elohyim) communicates directly with Adam and commands him not to eat from one of the Trees. Verse 2:15.
Verse 2:16. Verse 2:17.
Jehovah GOD took {laqach} Adam, and put {yanach} him in the Garden of Eden to dress it {ꞌabad} and to keep it {shamar}. Jehovah GOD commanded Adam, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the Tree of the Knowledge {da`ath} of Good and Evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you do eat of it, you shall surely (or finally) die {muwth, muwth}.”
Verse 2:9 GOD mentioned the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and said that the Trees in Eden were good for food. What is going on here?
Illustration 6.
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil 73
Now, in verse 2:17, GOD gives Adam a command not to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The name of this tree implies that it would give Adam the ability to discern between good and evil. Wouldn’t that be a useful capability to have? If so, why does GOD say that the fruit of this Tree would bring about Adam’s death? For now, we have no answer to this question. But I believe GOD was testing Adam. Adam was to obey GOD even if GOD did not give him a reason. This Chapter 2 story of Genesis does not indicate that Adam ever saw GOD. However, Adam was given the ability to communicate with GOD. As mentioned above, we can also communicate with GOD once we are given a spiritual birth {John 3:5}. Some may call that revelation a ‘paradigm shift.’ Some Christians have argued that Holy Spirit was not accessible to anyone until the Day of Pentecost {Acts 2:1-11}. Pentecostal Day was predicted by the Prophet Joel {Joel 2:28-29}. The Day of Pentecost was certainly a special day in the history of Christianity, when many people, including gentiles, had fellowship with GOD via the power of Holy Spirit for the first time in their lives. However, the Hebrew Bible clearly states that some of GOD’s people were filled with GOD’s Holy Spirit long before the Day of Pentecost. In the days of Moses, Bezaleel was filled with the Spirit of GOD as he was building the tabernacle {Exodus 31:3}. Surely Moses was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit of GOD when GOD spoke to him. GOD’s Spirit was in Isaiah {Isaiah 59:21}. Holy Spirit was in those Hebrews who would turn from transgression. Micah was filled with the Spirit of GOD {Micah 3:8}. And before the Day of Pentecost, the New Testament tells of Mary and Elizabeth being filled with Holy Spirit; see {Matthew 1:18} and {Luke 1:41}, respectively. In verse 2:17 GOD repeated the word for ‘death’ twice. Could this indicate that if I willfully disobey GOD and never repent, I may incur two types of death: the death of my physical body and the death of my spirit?98 As for newborn babies and toddlers who have never known GOD, they have yet to be spiritually born and they have not rejected GOD; therefore, I feel certain they would be taken to Heaven if they die in their premature state; see {Deuteronomy 1:39}.
98
Many Christians believe that those who had the chance to know GOD but have chosen to disbelieve (or shut Him out of their life) may have a second death in the Lake of Fire at the second coming of Christ {Revelation 20:14}. Some say the second death is the death of a person’s spirit, others say our spirit will live on forever, if not in Heaven, then somewhere without GOD (and that would be Hell). Perhaps the Book of Job gives the first reference in the Bible to the second coming of Christ {Job 19:25}. Job also gives hope of a bodily resurrection of the faithful believers {Job 19:26}. Jesus Christ and Apostle Paul have much to say on the subject of the ‘Second Coming’ in the New Testament. 74
Animals of Eden Before Eve is mentioned, as the story goes, GOD formed animals from clay, and brought them to Adam because GOD wanted him to have a helper. Verse 2:18. Verse 2:19.
And Jehovah GOD said, “It is not good for Adam to be alone; I will make {`asah} a helper {`ezer} for him.” From clay {'adamah} Jehovah GOD formed the beasts of the field, and the flying creatures of the heavens;
Back on the Fifth and Sixth Days in the Song of Seven Days GOD told about creating the animals. In verse 2:19 the additional detail is that the animals were made from clay. In other words, all the animals, as well as Adam, were formed from the same chemical elements (as well as the same biochemical building blocks). Humans and all animals (even the sea animals, which curiously were not mentioned in verse 2:19) share a surprisingly similar gene pool and very similar biochemistry. This is evidence of GOD’s economy, and leaves open the possibility of genetic morphing.
Verse 2:19. cont. and brought them to Adam
Verse 2:20.
to see what he would call them; Whatever Adam called the living creatures, that was their name. Adam gave names to the animals, to the flying creatures of the heavens, and to the living things on land.
This verse leaves open the possibility that animals also live in Heaven (if Eden is indeed Heaven). Having Adam name the animals points out how important animals are to our wellbeing. Verse 2:20. cont. But Adam did not find a suitable helper {`ezer}. Adam presumably tamed and trained some of the animals to be his helpers. But they were not suitable helpers. When the Hebrew word {`ezer} is translated to mean ‘helper,’ something is lost in the translation. The Hebrew word `ezer can also mean ‘succor,’ namely, support in times of need. Animals could not provide conversation or the moral support that Adam needed. What Adam needed was human companionship. Speaking from experience, a wife and a husband are each 75
other’s `ezer at least most of the time 😉. Husbands and wives can be quite different in many ways, but for the most part they are very complementarywhat one lacks, the other provides, especially when it comes to raising children.
Sacred Bond of Marriage The next series of verses tell the extraordinary story of GOD creating Eve from Adam’s rib. After Eve is formed, Adam is joined with Eve in Holy matrimony, joined with his rib again, so to speaka marriage in which the husband and wife are literally of one flesh. Verse 2:21. Verse 2:22.
Jehovah ‘Elohyim caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep; as he slept He took a rib, and closed up the flesh. From the rib, which GOD had taken from Adam, he made a woman {'ishshah} and brought her to Adam.
Rather amazingly, GOD made Eve from Adam’s rib! In case you were wondering, men do not have one less rib than women. Both have twelve pairs of ribs with rare exceptions due to genetic mutations. As an aside, you can read an article about a surgeon who removed part of person’s rib to successfully repair the same person’s jaw bone.99 In addition to ‘woman,’ the Hebrew word 'ishshah can also mean ‘wife.’
Sharing a rib is certainly a memorable metaphor that shows how closely joined a husband and a wife should be in marriage. The story of Adam and Eve would have been passed down from the ancient of times by the ancestral line that includes Seth, Noah, Shem, Abraham and Moses. Before the time of Abraham, the stories of people mentioned in Genesis were likely passed down by word of mouth. As mentioned in the Introduction, Abraham was born about 4000 years ago in the land of Sumer {Genesis 11:31}. A Sumerian-Akkadian folk-poem called Gilgamesh is perhaps the world’s first written work of literature. Gilgamesh mentions a ‘lady of the rib.’100 Verse 2:23.
99
Adam said, “this bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh shall be called woman {'iyshah},
http://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2010/11/rib-used-to-reconstruct-jaw-at-packard-childrens.html
100
Ninti, the Sumerian goddess of life, was created from Enki's rib to heal him after he had eaten forbidden flowers. Perhaps the Genesis rib story was inspiration for the Gilgamesh rib story. For additional descriptions of a few vignettes in Gilgamesh having slight similarities to several stories in Genesis, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TI_(cuneiform) and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_of_Gilgamesh. 76
because she was taken out of man {'iysh}.” The Hebrew word 'iysh can mean servant, which indicates Adam was a husband to Eve. Since 'iyshah can mean married woman, I believe that Adam and Eve were joined together in a state of Holy Matrimony.
One Flesh Verse 2:24.
Therefore {ken}, a man {'iysh} shall leave his father and mother to join {dabaq} with a woman {'ishshah}; and they shall become one flesh.
This rib story is an allegory pointing out that a man and a woman should be joined in marriage as firmly as if they were of one flesh. There is not a more intimate picture of marriage. Jesus made reference to this verse when he discussed divorce as recorded in {Matthew 19:3-9}. A divorce is as painful as tearing out a rib (to all involved). Notice also that for the first time in the Adam and Eve story, GOD is addressing the reader. GOD was instructing the reader (all future generations, if you will) that in marriage a man and a woman should be tightly joined to each other. Therefore, I should always strive to be kind and attentive to my wife.
Naked and Unashamed Verse 2:25.
Both naked, Adam and his wife {'ishshah} were unashamed {buwsh}.
Why wouldn’t Adam and Eve be unashamed of their nakedness? After all, they lived in a pleasant climate. What was the need for clothing? Was their nakedness symbolic of their state of innocence, like the innocence of a new-born baby? Maybe. But nakedness might also imply that they were created in a state of vulnerability. They were just like new-born babies, weak and vulnerablein need of protection. We all have vulnerability and weakness in our natural-born flesh. Obviously we have physical weaknesses. Our flesh is easily cut. But we also have weakness with regard to temptations. For example, I can be tempted to eat too much, to drive too fast or to slug someone for taunting me. The word temptation implies that a harmful outcome awaits me if I cannot hold back my desire, or
77
hold back my ‘gut reaction.’ My succumbing to temptation is almost always harmful to me and harmful to someone else. GOD created Adam and Eve according to His perfect plan. I believe that GOD intentionally created Adam and Eve (and all humankind) with a weakness of will. Therefore, GOD knows that I will occasionally succumb to harmful temptations and will not always do the right thing. It’s related to Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle: even if my spirit is of the right mind, I cannot always know and cannot always control what my body (my flesh) will do, which is a paraphrase of what Apostle Paul said in {Romans 7:18-25}. But GOD will forgive my wrong doings if I ask for His forgiveness (He will cover my nakedness). The Bible indicates there is no need to worry for the children of GOD who ‘doest well’ (which means for those who love GOD and treat their neighbor with loving kindness); see {Genesis 4:37}. In the time of Moses, when a Jew broke a Law but then repented (and offered the proper sacrifice), he remained in GOD’s good grace. If a Jew received capital punishment (if he were stoned to death) and if he had repented beforehand, his death expiated his sin (meaning he still had salvation in Heaven). GOD’s plan for our salvation was later made very clear to all people by the Gospel of the New Testament. GOD knows that sometimes I will make the wrong decision. But GOD will ALWAYS forgive me if my plea is rooted in love for GOD and love for neighbors; see {Luke 23:43}. My neighbors are all people on Earth. Regarding forgiveness, see {2Chronicles 7:14 and Matthew 18:21-22}.
Lamenting a Bad Decision GOD knows I will sin because GOD gave me free will.101 Why did GOD give me free will? Obviously, GOD did not want to create robots. Further discussion on this topic is in the Epilogue.
My friend, Dr. Paul Ashley, shared this Christian perspective with me on free will: “God first gave us free will, the essence of being made in His image. But as creatures having a recognition of self, we are tempted to exercise our free will to serve self. Our free will is not sufficient for selflessness. Only with God’s help is this accomplished. On earth, as a descendant of Adam, we dwell in a fleshly body characterized by this human nature. As a child of God we share this body with the Spirit of God, ever gaining ground for the Spirit to have greater control but not to completion in this life on earth. Someday, we will shed this body and no longer sin at all, totally controlled by and at peace (in “harmony”, which is what the Hebrew word “shalom” means) with the Spirit. But it will take a new creation, a new body for this to be. For some it will be in the twinkling (“rhipe” in Greek or about 0.2 ns based on the light path in the eye) of an eye {1Corinthians15:52}.” 101
78
The Deceiving Serpent Satan’s chariot of entropy takes me down the road to destruction. Christ’s chariot of free energy lifts me up to everlasting life. The next few verses tell a dramatic story portraying Satan as a deceiving serpent (the Worldly Spirit) who tempts Adam and Eve to disobey GOD. Verse 3:1.
The serpent was craftier than any beast of the field that Jehovah ‘Elohiym had made {`asah}. He said to the woman, “Did ‘Elohiym say you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” [This refers back to {Genesis 2:17}.]
In this verse the serpent refers to GOD as ‘Elohiym rather than Jehovah ‘Elohiym. This would seem to imply that Satan does not consider himself to be controlled by almighty Jehovah. However, scripture says that GOD controls evil {1Samuel 19:9-10}. Sometimes GOD gives Satan free rein to tempt us and to try to deceive us, just as this Adam and Eve story illustrates. However, you and I have the power to hold Satan in check, at least when we have both feet in the Waters under the sky (which means filled with GOD’s Holy Spirit). Immoral evil pops up at any time in any place, even in the thoughts and actions of gentle and well-mannered people. If I look closely enough at myself, I see more than a pinch of greed, lust, deceit and envy popping up now and then. But if I act on an evil thought, I should not say that the devil made me do it, because I could have chosen not to do it. Watch out for that ‘snake in the grass.’102 Verse 3:2.
The woman said to the serpent,
102
The snake is Satan, the worldly spirit. Jesus is quoted as saying to His disciples that they could tread on serpents without being harmed {Luke 10:19}. Jesus was echoing what King David said a thousand years earlier in {Psalm 91:13}. This extreme hyperbole was used as a metaphor to drive home the point that I cannot be overpowered by Satan. Even though Satan urges me to choose otherwise, I can make the wise choice and escape the consequences of intentional sin {1Corinthians 10:13}. Perhaps you have heard stories about religious zealots who died from a snake bite after carelessly handling venomous snakes. They did not die because they had too little faith but rather because they were tempting GOD. Moses warned the Jews not to tempt GOD {Deuteronomy 6:16}, and Jesus reminded all of us not to tempt GOD {Luke 4:12}. 79
Verse 3:3.
“We may eat of the fruit of every tree of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree in the midst {tavek} of the garden, ‘Elohiym said you shall not eat, neither shall you touch it, or you will die.”
Here Eve was talking about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and not the Tree of Lifeapparently both were in the midst of the Garden {Genesis 2:9}. Why would GOD not want humans to obtain the knowledge of what GOD considers to be good and evil? Why wouldn’t having that knowledge help make Earth a better place? We’ll talk more about that in a minute. Eve says that even if they touched the fruit they would die. ‘Touching’ the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was not mentioned in {Genesis 2:17}. Here Eve is teaching me a lesson. Think about touching the fruit. When I touch it, I let curiosity take control, then I feel the fruit’s appeal all the more. Touching it makes it harder to resist. The Hebrew laws about not touching ‘unclean’ things {Isaiah 52:11} may have stemmed from this verse. These anti-touching laws are useful in preventing exposure to viruses and bacteria, but they also help a person avoid sinning. Verse 3:4.
The serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.”
In this verse Satan directly contradicts GOD, implying that GOD is a liar. Any time I hear anyone contradicting GOD’s Word, it should sound an alarm in my head that trouble is brewing. Verse 3:5.
Elohiym knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes shall be opened, like Elohiym, to the knowledge of good and evil.”
The Serpent certainly made it sound attractive to eat the fruit, and to acquire GOD’s knowledge of good and evil. Now Eve has to make a decision. Will she heed the command that GOD gave them, or will she succumb to the Serpent’s temptation and disobey GOD?
The Fall from Grace Verse 3:6.
The woman considered {ra'ah} the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, a tree to be desired and to make one wise; so she took the fruit and ate it; and also gave it to her husband and he did eat. 80
Verse 3:7.
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;…
In verse 2:17, GOD told Adam not to eat the fruit. Obviously, Adam and Eve did not hold GOD’s word in high regard. They must not have believed they would die if they ate the fruit. The Serpent in this Adam and Eve story is a personification of the Worldly Spirit who we call Satan. This story points out that GOD allows Satan to tempt humans {Job 1:8-12}. Sometimes Satan pretends to be GOD and whispers advice in my ear. But since I know the Word of GOD, I should immediately recognize the whisper of Satan. Even so, as I know all too well, it is human nature to take risks, to be negligent, to procrastinate, to be selfish, to not plan ahead and to disobey because I think I know better or because I think I won’t be caught. But there will be consequences if I do not try to change my ways. Moses predicted that the children of Israel would disobey the Ten Commandments even though death was the punishment for some of their disobedient acts {Deuteronomy 31:29}: Moses said “I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt and to turn from the way I have commanded you.” Adam and Eve both disobeyed their Father GOD, they both sinned. Have you ever heard of a child who has obeyed every rule their parents laid down? But what the Adam and Eve story later hints at (and this becomes very clear later in the Bible) is that GOD is merciful and willing to forgive a contrite heart. That all people sin becomes clear when you consider that Jesus said even if I look at a woman lustfully, I have committed adultery in my heart {Matthew 5:28}; even if I have anger in my heart towards my brother, I will be subject to judgment; and even if I say: “you fool,” I shall be in danger of fiery hell [because I judged my neighbor] {Matthew 5:22}. Jesus taught that even the most law-observing Jewish people of the day, the Pharisees, were sinners and therefore should be ashamed to be urging people to stone a repentant adulteress {John 8:3-7}. Adam and Eve eating the fruit of the Tree of Good and Evil is symbolic of gaining the knowledge that you and I will not be able to make the right decision every time {Jeremiah 17:9, Psalm 53:1-3}. There is not one person who has not sinned, except for new-born babies, but babies have the propensity to sin and do sin when they grow older.103 I do not want to get bogged down in debate, but here is my take on ‘original sin.’ Major Christian denominations call the act of Adam’s and Eve’s willful disobedience ‘The Fall’ of humankind, or the ‘original sin.’ Some Christians say the reason all of us sin is because we inherited that condition from Adam. Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans {Romans 5:12} touches on that idea. However, some who practice Judaism …continued on next page… 103
81
Some people believe in a literal interpretation of the Adam and Eve story. Others consider it to be a parable, a drama, even a play to be performed on a stage. Decide for yourself. In any case you will take home the important message, which is summarized in {Proverbs 3:5}: “Trust GOD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.”
The Cover-Up Verse 3:7.
And they sewed fig leaves together for loincloths.
Nakedness is symbolic of being weak (everyone is weak), but it is also symbolic of being a sinner with an unrepentant heart. Later verses in the Bible indicate that no one can stand face-toface with Jehovah GOD, not even Moses, because all saints are sinners {Exodus 33:20-23}. Thinking I could look at GOD’s face is the absurd idea of thinking I am GOD’s equal, perfect in every way. Everyone falls far short of GOD’s perfection, power and intellect. Adam and Eve could not stand naked before GOD. Therefore, they tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves. Some say the fig tree symbolizes Israel, namely, the observant Jews who practice traditional ceremonies to atone for sin. But as the Bible says, it is not the ceremony itself that cleanses the soul. I must have a repentant heart. Verse 3:8.
They heard the voice of Father GOD walking in the garden in the cool of the day; Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of Father GOD among the trees of the garden.
They heard GOD’s voice but they did not see Him. The possibility that Adam and Eve might see the face of GOD was a real possibility. Now they were terrified. Verse 3:9.
Father GOD called to Adam, and said to him, “Where are you?”
GOD knew where they were, but this leads to Adam’s confession. Verse 3:10.
(Adam) said “I heard your voice in the garden,
103…
do not believe that humans were born with ‘original sin.’ What I conclude from Chapter 3 of Genesis is that GOD created mankind with free will and with a degree of vulnerability. Therefore, GOD knows this will lead to my occasional yielding to harmful temptations and to acts that GOD detests, namely sin. We were not born full of sin, but we were born with the propensity to sin, and it is inevitable that we will sin sooner or later. 82
but I was afraid {yareꞌ} because I was naked, so I hid myself.” Adam knew the fig leaves were inadequate covering. The fig leaf represents the mistaken belief that I can hide my sin from GOD if my heart is unrepentant. Only GOD can cover my sin. Verse 3:11.
(Father GOD) said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree, from which I told you not to eat?”
Verse 2:25 told us that they were naked (vulnerable) even before they ate the fruit. Eating the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil made them aware that they were capable of sinning and were indeed sinners. This is the message of Chapter 3. People cannot meet GOD’s expectations on every occasion. Of course, GOD knows this is true and He is always ready to forgive. Verse 3:12.
Adam said, “The woman [You] gave to me, gave it from the tree, and I ate.”
Adam blamed his wife rather than admit to his own weakness. He could not resist the temptation when the fruit was offered to him by his wife. Or, since Eve took a bite and did not die, maybe Adam considered it safe to eat! Eve may have taken a bite because she didn’t really believe Adam’s story about GOD forbidding him to eat the fruit. We are all good at rationalizing our poor decisions. In any case, {Genesis 3:12} points out that males are not superior to females when it comes to resisting temptation (and vice versa). Some have speculated that blaming Eve in this story was to remind the ancient Jews that they must put a stop to the encroachment of fertility-based and goddess-based worship. Even in ancient Egypt, goddess-based worship was practiced. Isis, the Egyptian Moon goddess, was considered the mother of the Pharaohs, and was sometimes referred to as Queen of the Underworld.104 Some of the Israelites had abandoned Jehovah ‘Elohyim and had begun to worship Baal and his wife; see these Bible passages: {Judges 3:7, 1Samuel 12:10, and Jeremiah 44:15-22}. Baal’s wife was called Asherah (‘Ashtarowth in Hebrew, also spelled Ashtaroth, Ashtoreth or Astarte). This cult of the Canaanites (who were also called the Philistines), who lived near the tribe of Judah, sacrificed
104
http://www.landofpyramids.org/isis.htm 83
their children to their gods,105 perhaps as a convenient method of birth control. {Deuteronomy 12:31} says, “…even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.” {Psalm 106:38} says, “And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan…” Also see {2Kings 17:17; Jeremiah 19:5 and Ezekiel 16:21.} Some women who have an unwanted pregnancy are persuaded to have an abortion. They feel an urgency to free themselves of the labor and responsibility involved in raising a child or the heartache of putting their baby up for adoption. But GOD is always ready to forgive. Since GOD is willing to forgive, we too must forgive and look to the future. Verse 3:13.
Jehovah GOD said to the woman, “What is this that you have done? The woman said, “The serpent deceived {nasha} me, and I ate.”
Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed Satan. Satan is very persuasive. I could blame Satan, but GOD allows Satan to test me. Ultimately I have to blame myself, because, when I think about it, no single temptation is too great for me to overcome {1Corinthians 10:13}. Therefore, this story was given to teach a lesson: if people are urging me to act in a way that is displeasing to GOD, it is my responsibility to say no. I cannot blame other people if I know that follow their poor advice would not please GOD. Adam and Eve did not appear to be remorseful. They did not repent.
Consequences Verse 3:14.
Verse 3:15.
Father GOD said to the serpent, “Since you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, more than every beast of the field; upon your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life; and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; they shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise their heel.”
The Baal-Ashura cult was a threat to GOD’s people. It was a very seductive fertility cult: http://witcombe.sbc.edu/eve-women/6womenevil.html. 105
84
Eve was probably relieved that GOD immediately focused His attention on the Serpent, but in the next few verses we will see that GOD addresses Eve and then Adam about the consequences of their own disobedience. Snakes have always been biting at our heels. But before they could bite her heel, my grandmother, Daisy Huff, certainly bruised the head of more than one snake in her garden. She cut off their heads with a hoe! In the days of Moses about 3300 years ago, poisonous snakes were such a problem that GOD told Moses to make a bronze statue of a snake on a pole, and anyone who looked at it would survive the snake’s bite. This story is told in {Numbers 21:8-9}.106 This story in {Numbers 21:8-9} was a look to the future. As we see in the Adam and Eve story, the snake (the Serpent) is used as a symbol for the Worldly Spirit (and our sins). The serpent hanging on the bronze pole was a picture of our sins being carried by Jesus Christ while hanging on the cross {John 3:14}. Carrying the burden of our sin and dying with a crown of thorns on His Bruised Head, Christ suffered the punishment for our sins, as foretold in verse 2:17. But after three days in the tomb, Jesus Christ rose to life again. This was a promise that there can be life in Heaven after we die. If we look to Christ on the cross and follow His way, we can survive the bite of the Serpent. The choice is ours. This picture was also painted in {Matthew 27:29}. Verse 3:16.
To the woman (Father GOD) said, “I will greatly multiply your toil {ꞌitstsabown} in childbearing. In labor {`etseb} you shall give birth to children.”
Toil and pain in birthing will be a harsh reminder for Eve that she disobeyed GOD. But Jesus said: “… A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy {John 16:21}.” Verse 3:16. cont.
“And you shall desire {tĕshuwqah} a husband (a servant) but he shall rule {mashal}.”
In many cultures the husband is expected to be the marshal and spiritual leader of the family. This tradition likely has roots in verse 3:16 of Genesis. This, of course, only works if I am also a Over a thousand years after the time Moses lived, a Greek myth was recorded about Apollo’s son, Asclepius, who carried a rod having a snake on it, which was associated with healing. Today, the rod of Asclepius is used as a symbol of the medical profession; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepius. I presume that the Hebrew Bible story in {Numbers 21:8} inspired the Greek myth of Asclepius. 106
85
loving servant to my wife and have a good understanding of GOD’s will (as emphasized by the teaching of Jesus Christ). In the best case a husband and wife will discuss all of the options and preferences before decisions are made of one accord. Some have taken this verse, as did Apostle Paul, in the broadest sense to mean that GOD did not intend for a woman to lead men in a church setting. In some of his letters, Paul said he was stating his personal opinion {1Corinthians 7:25}.107 I presume Paul’s position on women in leadership roles stemmed from ancient traditions. For example, in {Exodus 28:1} GOD appointed Aaron and his sons as priests. But there are many examples of women leaders in the Hebrew Bible, such as Miriam, Deborah and Huldah. Some priestly requirements found in the Hebrew Bible, such as having an untrimmed beard {Leviticus 21:5}, lead one to assume that Jewish priests would be males. I think that the custom of having a male leader is practiced today in most Jewish Synagogues and in the Roman Catholic Church. However, verse 3:16 of Genesis is focused on the relationship between husband and wife (soon to be a family with children). There is no denying there are stories in the Bible where women in ancient times were treated as the property of their husbands. In most countries today, men and women have equal legal status, even though equal pay for equal jobs still is not always the case, not even in the U.S.A. Even today, in Saudi Arabia, even today, a woman’s life is under the control of her male custodian and women are not permitted to drive a car. Even today, girls are denied an education by extremist Islamic cults such as the Boko Haram of Nigeria and the Taliban of Afghanistan and Pakistan (to wit: Malala Yousafzai, winner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize).108 I am sure this was not GOD’s intention. As a man, I must continually examine myself. No man has superior moral standing with regard to a woman in the presence of GOD (nor to another man). See the admonishment Christ gave to the Pharisees {Matthew 23:24-26}. We all have heard many sad tales of male preachers, pastors and priests who have broken basic moral principles and committed crimes, even against children! How sad. How despicable.
107
I do not believe that instruction on gender-based leadership was mentioned by Jesus in the four Books of the Gospel. Jesus did follow Jewish tradition by selecting twelve male disciples. However, Jesus also included female disciples in gatherings of his followers (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna to name a few). Apostle Paul spoke eloquently about Jesus Christ. Paul wrote some of the world’s most important nuggets of wisdom. However, in {1Timothy 2:12-15} where Paul is coaching Timothy, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man because Adam was formed first…and Adam was not the one deceived.” But Adam was just as deceived as Eve, as we read in {Genesis 3:6}. In my humble opinion, these were Paul’s personal preferences for gentile church gatherings that he was trying to establish. 108
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2014/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_Named_Me_Malala 86
Verse 3:17.
Verse 3:18.
To Adam (Father GOD) said, “Since you have given heed to {shama`} the voice {qowl} of your wife, and have eaten the fruit of the tree that I forbade you to eat, cursed {ꞌarar} is the ground; and you will toil {`itstsabown} for what you eat all the days of your life. Briars and thorns will sprout up along with the edible plants of the fields {sadeh}.”
Labor pains and thorns in the fields were to be their lot in the land east of Eden where they will soon be relocated. These are symbols of all of the unpleasant things we must deal with in life. Verse 3:19.
“Therefore, from the sweat of your brow {ꞌaph} will you eat until you return to the ground {ꞌadamah}; from dust {ꞌaphar} you were taken and to dust you will return.”
This oft-quoted verse certainly says that Adam was destined to die a physical death. The same was true for Eve. But this verse did not preclude life after death. Moreover, the Hebrew Bible indicates that some descendants of Adam and Eve did not ‘return to dust,’ but rather, while living on Earth, they were taken directly to Heaven; see the stories of Enoch {Genesis 5:24} and Elijah {2Kings 2:11}. Verse 3:20. Verse 3:21.
Adam called his wife by the name {shem} Eve {Chavvah}, the mother {ꞌem} of life. Father GOD made tunics {kĕthoneth} of animal skins to clothe {labash} Adam and his wife.
It is interesting that GOD Himself made the tunics to cover their nakedness, replacing their figleaf coverings {Genesis 3:7} with animal skins.109 Leather made from animal skins gives excellent protection from the elements. The fact that GOD covered Adam and Eve with animal skins is strong evidence that He wanted to protect them while they lived east of Eden. To me, this verse is 109
Leather gives better protection, but woven cloth was also invented a very long time ago. Scientists have found evidence that about 26,000 years ago someone had wrapped a clay pot in cloth while the clay was still wet leaving an imprint in the finished pot of the precise weave of the woven fabric: http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi2567.htm and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_clothing_and_textiles#Prehistoric_development. 87
symbolic of the fact that GOD dearly loves us, and that He is also willing to cover our sins and forgive us. It has been suggested that the tunics made of animal skins were to remind Adam and Eve that the consequence of sin is physical death. That is, the animals had to be killed to make the tunics. This reminder also shows up in the story of Cain and Able, who were the first two sons of Adam and Eve. Abel’s sacrifice to GOD, the slaughter of his prize lamb (fat from the first-born of his flock), was held in higher regard by GOD than Cain’s sacrifice of grain {Genesis 4:3-7}. It didn’t matter that Cain was a tiller of the soil and Able was a keeper of sheep. The slaughter of a lamb was GOD’s preferred sacrifice. If I am not reminded that I am a sinner, I become too proud of myself, and pride is a root of immoral evil. When I was a young lad, my grandfather Huff had me watch while he slaughtered and dressed a pig. The slaughtering of this innocent animal was a repugnant act to me, although I suppose I would eventually become numb to it if I worked in a meat-processing slaughterhouse for living. Jewish law stipulated that sin-atonement ceremonies should involve the sacrifice and slaughtering of animals. The slaughter of a lamb was also required for the original Passover just before the Exodus of the Jews out of Egypt. The Jews had to paint their doorframe with the blood of a lamb to assure that their children were spared at GOD’s smiting of all firstborn {Exodus 12:12}. Hence, the slaughter of the Passover lamb was symbolic of the Jews’ salvation. An earlier similar picture was painted in the story of Abraham and his son Isaac in {Genesis 22:2-13}. The original Passover was prophetic of the slaughter of the Lamb of GOD, which happened over a thousand years later.110 Why did GOD want to be hung on a cross in the dying body of the man Jesus Christ as the sacrifice for our sin? By doing this, GOD hoped to awaken and to humble the Jews, some of whom were going through the motions of their repetitive ceremonies but not taking care of the needy. Jesus rose again to life, showing by example that if I am merciful to others, I will obtain GOD’s mercy; if I am a peacemaker, I will be a child of GOD; and if I endeavour to become pure in heart, I will see GOD {Matthew 5:9}.
Out of Eden…Into the World Verse 3:22.
Father GOD said, “Behold, Adam {ꞌadam} has become
Jesus was the Lamb of GOD, our Redeemer. Have you read Vachel Lindsay‘s “Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?” http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/1834. Jesus taught that if I know Jesus Christ, then I also know GOD, and if I love GOD, then I will also love my neighbor as much as I love myself {Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39}. Only undeserved love can lead to peace and salvation. This was GOD’s most important instruction to me: Love your neighbor (love your bothers and sisters all over the world), even if it is undeserved, even if they are unrepentant or think that their action should not have offend me. For my own peace of mind, I should forgive my neighbors when I feel that they have hurt or offend me. 110
88
Verse 3:23.
Verse 3:24.
like one {ꞌechad} of US knowing {ꞌyada} good and evil, and now [Adam] might stretch out (his) hand and take from the Tree of Life and eat and live forever…” (So) Father GOD cast (him) out {shalach} of the Garden of Eden to plow the ground from which Adam was taken {laqach} (and) drove {garash} Adam out to the east {qedem} of the Garden of Eden,
In verse 3:22, GOD seems to be talking to other Heavenly beings. Were they angels? Is GOD saying something to the effect of: “Behold, like a god, Adam [thinks he] knows good and evil?” In other words, Adam thinks he knows better than GOD what is right and what is wrong. This story indicates that Adam began his life on Earth, and then was relocated to a special Garden in Eden. In Eden, it was possible for Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Life and live happily ever after. But, as a consequence of their disobedience (thinking they knew better than GOD), they were not permitted to stay in Eden. They were evicted and had to live ‘East of Eden.’ That’s where you and I live. Many people have taken the Adam and Eve story to mean that Eden was actually located on Earth. That is the first impression I got in reading the discourse on rivers. However, even if Eden and Earth are in parallel universes, I am sure that GOD could ‘beam me up’ from Earth to Eden, or ‘beam Adam down’ from Eden to Earth in the blink of an eye. Now Adam had to ‘plow the ground’ to make a living. At the time that Moses wrote down this story, people had already been farming fertile land for thousands of years. Farming is certainly hard work, but I can imagine that farming can be enjoyable and rewarding work for some people. A more troublesome consequence of sin is having to live among people committing violent and wicked acts. But the ‘Waters under the sky,’ which is the power of GOD’s Holy Spirit on Earth, provides a sanctuary. Living East of Eden, we know all too well the experience of man-made and natural disasters, diseases and accidents. Some of these are presently unavoidable. But such tragedies are not usually predestined by GOD. Earth is a place for people to learn how to predict, correct and prevent diseases and disasters. As for cancer, right now researchers are making good progress in finding causes and cures. Meteorologists and seismologists can give days of advanced warning of hurricanes and volcanos. But if you live in tornado alley, you better build a safe shelter and have good insurance! Verse 3:24. cont.
(and) placed {shakan} cherubim {kĕruwb} 89
with flaming swords {chereb} to guard {shamar} the way {derek} of the Tree of Life. GOD placed these cherubim111 to guard the ‘pearly gates’ of Eden, so to speak. When will these guards with flaming swords allow someone to pass? This verse does not say that the cherubim would forever prevent anyone from having access to the Tree of Life. Why would GOD create the first two people on Earth to have such disrespect and total reckless abandon that they would disobey GOD’s clear command even though GOD said that death was the consequence for disobeying? If things had not turned out the way that GOD had expected with these first two ‘prototypes’ of humanity, why not just ‘rub them out’ and create two new people who would be more obedient and respectful? But verse 1:31 states that “God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.” I conclude from this that humans had the capabilities and the vulnerabilities (all the weaknesses) that GOD had intended. The Garden of Eden vignette was the First Test for mankind. The lesson of this story is that I do not always have enough information, experience or wisdom to make the right decision, which may have been the obvious decision were I older and wiser. I must try to remember, it is not always what ‘seems right’ that should guide my actions, especially if GOD advises to the contrary. Even though Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden, GOD gave indications that humans may reenter someday. For example, GOD protected Adam and Eve with leather clothing, and GOD told Cain that those (His children) who “do good” have nothing to worry about {Genesis 4:7}. GOD gave Moses instructions to have the children of Israel build an ‘Ark of the Covenant.’ This story of the Ark is told in {Exodus 25:10-22}. The Ark was a symbol of Heaven, and more specifically, it was a promise of the eventual return of GOD’s people to Heaven. See {2Samuel 6:2, and Isaiah 37:16}. This Ark contained the tablets on which GOD had written the Ten Commandments. This Ark contained the budding staff of Aaron (Aaron was the brother of Moses) {Numbers 17:8-10}. The budding staff represents renewed life, being born again into everlasting life. This Ark contained a dish of manna {Hebrews 9:4, Exodus 16:32}, which represents GOD’s provisions for life. Thus, the Covenant with the Children of GOD is this: If you love and respect GOD by obeying the Ten Commandments, then provisions are waiting for you in Heaven.
111
One might presume these cherubim were angels. Later verses in the Bible say that cherubim could fly, and that one could actually take a ride on a cherubim, as in a chariot {2Samuel 22:11, Psalm 18:10}. 90
Illustration 7.
Ark of the Covenant
Apostle Paul said: “They (the Jewish priests) serve at a sanctuary, which is a copy and shadow of what is in Heaven.” See {Hebrews 8:5 (NIV)}. This Covenant presented a major difficulty to the children of GOD: no one is capable of obeying the Ten Commandments perfectly. Furthermore, many Jews grew tired of the hundreds of extra religious laws that Jewish priests heaped upon them. Some became recalcitrant and unloving. Some left their religious heritage. Therefore, GOD Himself came to Earth as Immanuel, which means ‘GOD in man’ (read more about this in the Epilogue). GOD chose to be given birth by a Jewish mother. He chose to live among the Jews and to preach to the Jews. His earthly mother (the Virgin Mary) was told by an angel that her baby was to be named Yeshua in Hebrew {Luke 1:31}, which means ‘Jesus’ in English. Joseph also was told by an angel to name the babe Jesus; see {Matthew 1:21}. Yeshua means Savior. GOD came to Earth in this way to show His people the way back to Eden. It later became clear that ‘His people’ includes anyone who loves GOD. Jesus Christ said “I am the bread of life…which a man may eat and not die…which I will give for the life of the world” {John 6:48-51},112 no matter what has happened in your past.
112 Christ is the fruit of The Tree of Life. Christ is the ‘Word;’ see {John1:1}. If I “eat the Word,” {John 6:51}, namely, if I read and understand the Gospel, and try to practice what is pleasing to GOD, then I vaccinate myself against the virus of Satan. The way of Christ will lead me back to Eden.
91
GOD surely has a copy of each of our genomes (our DNA) from which He could form our resurrected bodies. After all, most of the cells in our body are replaced every ten to twenty years by the biochemistry given to us at birth (part of our ‘original equipment’). Thus, our bodies undoubtedly could be healed and regenerated ad infinitum in Heaven. But on Earth the accumulated damage to our DNA caused by cosmic rays, etc., limits our Earthly lifetime to about 120 years.
Figure 4. A segment of a DNA molecule. This image was uploaded to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA by Zephyris (Richard Wheeler)
92
Epilogue Isn’t ꞌElohiym a Plural Word? The Hebrew word ꞌElohiym can be used in a plural sense, but the Bible translators normally use the singular tense when referring to GOD because there is only one GOD {Isaiah 45:5, Deuteronomy 6:4, Malachi 2:10, Mark 12:32}. A highly regarded Rabbi by the name of Maimonides, born in 1204,113 had this to say about the word Elohiym: “I must premise that every Hebrew knows that the term Elohim is a homonym…God, angels, judges, and the rulers of countries...” [a word that has different meanings depending on the context]. In other words, the form of the word Elohiym is plural, but the sense of the word can be singular or plural depending on the context of the sentence.
GOD’s Cherubim and Angels In {Genesis 1:26 and 3:22} GOD said “Let US make humankind…” and “Adam has become like one of US.” Why were the pronouns referring to GOD translated in the plural sense? It is common in many cultures for the head of state (such as the king or the queen) to use plural pronouns (like ‘we’ or ‘us’) when referring to oneself. This is called "the plural of majesty" or pluralis majestatis. The wishes of royalty are faithfully carried out by their loyal subjects. Could GOD’s use of the Hebrew word ꞌElohiym in Chapters 1 and 3 of Genesis be referring to Himself and His loyal cherubim? Could Elohiym used in the plural sense refer to the fact that GOD can have fellowship with all the people on the planet simultaneously, because, to do that, GOD would seem to be an unlimited number of Beings filling all space and yet at all times being completely interconnected as one infinite Being. This is how I envision the “Spirit of GOD moving on the Waters.” This is the power of Holy Spirit. In Chapter 1 there is no mention of angels {mal'ak}. Nowhere in the Bible is there mention of GOD creating cherubim or angels. The ‘Angel of Elohiym’ is found in 40 verses, but the first use of this particular phrase is in Chapter 21 of Genesis. Could some events involving cherubim and angels be manifestations of GOD Himself? GOD is way beyond our ability to comprehend.
113
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elohim 93
There are a few stories in Genesis and Exodus that are of interest with regard to this question of angels. In the story of Moses and the burning bush {Exodus 3:2}, the ‘Angel of Jehovah’ appeared to Moses as a flame in a burning bush. The ‘Angel of Jehovah’ may have been GOD Himself, but since humans are not to gaze on GOD’s face, perhaps that is why GOD appeared as a flame. Then, after Moses saw the burning bush, Elohiym called to Moses from the same burning bush {Exodus 3:4} and basically said I am the Elohiym of your father Abraham {Exodus 3:6}. In this instance, both Elohiym and the ‘Angel of Jehovah’ would seem to be our one GOD. But Moses wanted to hear a more definitive name than ‘Elohiym, so he asked GOD what he should tell others if they asked for the name of the Elohiym of Abraham. GOD said to Moses, tell the children of Israel that ‘I AM’ {Hayah} sent you, see {Exodus 3:14}. The great ‘I AM’ does not bring to mind any image of GOD, and that is appropriate since we are not to guess what GOD looks like. In Chapter 18 of Genesis, the story of Lot begins with these words: “And Jehovah appeared unto him (Abraham) in the plains of Mamre…” In this case the name Elohiym was not used together with the name Jehovah. In fact, it says three ‘men’ {'enowsh} visited Abraham; namely, Jehovah and two other beings visited Abraham, all of whom apparently had the physical form of men. They spoke with Abraham. Then two of “the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before Jehovah.” Thus, one ‘man’ (namely GOD) stayed with Abraham and the other two ‘men’ went toward Sodom. Did Abraham see Jehovah’s face? Since GOD was featured in the form of a man, maybe Abraham did see GOD. In {Genesis 19} the story goes on to say: “And there came two angels {mal'ak} to Sodom…;” so we see that these two beings were referred to as angels as well as men {'iysh}. This occurs in several places in Chapter 19 of Genesis. This story may have been a logical place to use the word Elohiym in reference to GOD and His angels collectively. However, since two angels were specifically mentioned in this story, using the term Elohiym would have been superfluous. It is interesting that these three Heavenly beings who visited Abraham had the physical appearance of men. The fact that Jehovah was visible to Abraham in the story of Lot has brought about speculation that Abraham was indeed seeing GOD in the manifestation of a man in the flesh (Christians call this a Christophany). I believe that GOD could take on the appearance of a man, or a woman, or any other appearance that He wishes, for His own good reason. There are many discussions on the term Elohiym in the literature; see Footnote 114.114
Power of Holy Spirit and Angels 114
https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/misc/name_god.cfm, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elohim and https://www.gci.org/god/elohim4 94
GOD’s omnipresence and omniscience is beyond our understanding of the physics of our Universe. How does GOD simultaneously communicate with seven billion people? Our most advanced telecommunication technology can now transmit billions of digital bits of information per second on a single optical fiber,115 but GOD’s communication technology is way beyond that.
Stories later on in the Bible clearly indicate that GOD often sent visible, tangible angelic beings to deliver messages and to carry out physical acts. To have my own guardian angel would be a very comforting thought. But Jesus did not mentioned angels in that context. He indicated to his disciples that GOD’s power manifested as Holy Spirit was to be their counselor and helper {John 14:26}. GOD is Holy Spirit {John 4:24}. Holy Spirit empowers people and gives wisdom, comfort and motivation to those who seek GOD; see {Numbers 11:17, Micah 3:8, Luke 4:14, Romans 15:19}. We all have access to the power of GOD’s Holy Spirit after we are spiritually born from above. The power of Holy Spirit is awesome. If the Spirit of GOD is to be our Counselor, why does GOD sometimes use angels to deliver messages? Apparently those are the times that GOD seeks out an unsuspecting person. The visible manifestation of an angel would leave no doubt that you were experiencing a supernatural event sent from Jehovah Elohiym!
Immanuel…The Spirit of GOD Embodied in the Son of Man I believe that predictions in the Old Testament of the coming of Christ (the Messiah) and the description of the actual event in the New Testament give good assurance that GOD came to Earth in the flesh of the man Jesus Christ two thousand years ago. Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah predicted that GOD would become incarnate in a woman’s womb (as the Son of GOD) and be born in the flesh (as the Son of Man): “Therefore Jehovah himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel;” as written in {Isaiah 7:14}.116 Also see {Micah 5 and Isaiah 9:6}: Jesus was born in Bethlehem and grew up in the town of Galilee. Isaiah also prophesied that a voice in the wilderness (namely John the Baptist) would announce this event: “Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the desert a highway for our Elohiym!” This was written in {Isaiah 40:3}. You can read about John the Baptist in the Gospels; see {Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 1-3 and John 1}. In the last few years that Jesus walked on Earth, He met and taught thousands of people. Jesus performed many miracles (supernatural acts). Then, after Jesus was crucified and died, He 115
This is according to John MacChesney, a Fellow at Bell Labs: http://www.dataconnect.com/Fiber_Tutorial.htm. Immanuel was to be called ‘Jesus’ (pronounced ‘Yĕshuw`ah’ in Hebrew; see Strong's H3091), which means ‘salvation by GOD.’ See {Matthew 1:21}. The ‘Anointed One’ is who Christians believe is GOD manifested as the Messiah; see {Daniel 9:25} and http://khouse.org/articles/2004/552/. The Messiah is the Redeemer; see {Job 19:25}. 116
95
arose from His burial chamber and appeared to over five hundred witnesses. Some people have no difficulty in believing that GOD appeared to Abraham in the form of a man in the story of Lot, yet not all of those same people can believe that GOD also appeared in the form of the man Jesus Christ in the days of Pontius Pilate, Governor of Judaea under Emperor Tiberius, who allowed the execution of Jesus on April 3, 33. It may be too hard for them to believe that GOD would allow Himself (appearing as Jesus Christ) to be tortured and killed for our sake. But GOD suffered this extreme act of self-sacrifice to exemplify how much He loves us, and how far the Pharisees needed to humble themselves. Jesus taught that not only the Jews, but also all people in all nations of the world (the goyim) that have faith in GOD and following His example would lead to their everlasting life in Heaven; see {Matthew 22:36-40}.
Trinity Some say that the name Elohiym in the plural sense refers to the Trinity. You will not find the word ‘Trinity’ in the Bible. Early Christian leaders invented the term. Most main-stream Christian denominations have canonized the term Trinity defined as the ‘Godhead’ of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.117 But the concept of Trinity is only defensible if you think of Trinity as three manifestations of the one GOD, our Creator. We must remember: “Jehovah Elohiym is one Jehovah” {Deuteronomy 6:4}. None-the-less, the New Testament Gospel says that GOD was revealed simultaneously in three different manifestations when John the Baptist was baptizing Jesus: namely, GOD-the-Father spoke from Heaven while GOD as Holy Spirit in the form of a dove lit on the shoulder of GOD-the-Son (Jesus) {Matthew 3:16-17, John 1:32-34}. Here is a slight digression on the Dove. Remember that the Dove is a symbol of peace, but the Dove also reminds that salvation comes from GOD to anyone who loves and respects GOD. The word in Hebrew for dove is Jonah. Remember that Jonah preached against the wicked city of Nineveh. Jonah said “Salvation comes from the LORD…Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” A fast was proclaimed by the King of Nineveh who said “Let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on GOD. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.” So GOD relented (which made Jonah angry!). “GOD repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” See {Jonah 3:10}. The essence of the Story of Jonah (and the lesson that GOD taught Jonah) is the same message that Jesus taught us. The Methodists’ definition of Trinity is straight forward: “…We believe the one GOD reveals himself as the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, distinct but inseparable, eternally one in 117
A ‘canon’ is an ecclesiastical law enacted by a council or other church authority (ostensibly sanctioned by
GOD). 96
essence and power.”118 The Baptist Convention of June 14, 2000 said: “There is one and only one living and true GOD. …The eternal triune GOD reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.” However, I believe that GOD could also appear to us in any number of ways He wishes (even simultaneously)–even as a flame, or a dove, or the voice of a donkey (no disrespect meant; see {Numbers 22:28}). Obviously, GOD has revealed Himself in more than three forms. It is difficult to discuss the Trinity without getting bogged down in debates. Reconciling the Oneness of GOD with the concept of Trinity has been a huge stumbling block for some people seeking GOD because they say ‘Trinity’ implies multiple Gods. This prompted the formation of non-Trinitarian Christian denominations.119 The inability to accept or understand ‘The Trinity’ as three features of one GOD has caused some people to conclude that Jesus was a prophet or an angel, but not GOD Himself.120 Five hundred years ago, insisting on bringing everyone under the authority of the church, the unenlightened Christian churches went to the extreme act of burning people at the stake for arguing against the canonization of the concept of Trinity. For example, Michael Servetus, who was a Spanish theologian, a physician, a scholar of the Bible in its original languages and the first European to correctly describe the function of pulmonary circulation, was condemned by John Calvin and burned at the stake by the Protestant Council of Geneva in 1553. 121 According to 118
http://arkhives.umc.org/interior.asp?mid=1648
119
For example, the Unitarian Christian denomination does not believe Holy Spirit is a separate Person: http://www.biblicalunitarian.com/articles/holy-spirit/34-reasons-why-the-holy-spirit-is-not-a-person-separate-fromthe-only-true-god-the-father-2; and apparently does not state that Jesus was GOD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarianism. The Oneness Pentecostal movement does not use the word Trinity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneness_Pentecostal#cite_note-fp124-0; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptism_in_the_Holy_Spirit; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nontrinitarian; and also see {1Timothy 3:16}, {Isaiah 59:21}. 120
The difficulty in accepting the definition of Trinity, I believe, may have been motivation for the formation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses splinter group; see http://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/bible-teach/who-is-michael-thearchangel-jesus/. They believe that Jesus was the Archangel Michael; see {Daniel 12:2}. My mother’s father, Fred Huff, became a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses. But he never witnessed to me. In 1902 Fred, a poor young farm hand, got on his bicycle in northeast Ohio and headed to California. He stayed there for a few years finding jobs along the coast until Daisy was old enough to marry. In California he became a ‘Russellite.’ My mother told me that when she was twelve years old he made her accompany him in door-to-door ‘witnessing.’ But my grandmother, Daisy (Sailors) Huff, was raised as a Methodist and did not participate in the witnessing. Now, at the age of 95, my mother still cries when she thinks about the one time her father slapped her for ‘sassing’ him (she didn’t want to go witnessing, so Daisy put a stop to that). 121 I empathize with many of Servetus’ proposals: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Servetus. 97
Servetus, Trinitarians had turned Christianity into a form of tri-theism. Servetus was burned at the stake even though in his last book (Restoration of Christianity, 1553) his preamble states: "There is nothing greater, reader, than to recognize that God has been manifested as substance, and that His divine nature has been truly communicated. We shall clearly apprehend the manifestation of God through the Word and his communication through the Spirit, both of them substantially in Christ alone." The last words of Servetus as he was burning at the stake were: "Jesus, Son of the Eternal God, have mercy on me.” Jesus Christ said: anyone who speaks against the Son of Man will be forgiven {Matthew 12:32}. Therefore, based on reading the four books of the Gospel, I believe that Jesus would never condone executing anyone for refusing to accept the concept of GOD being Three Persons.122 In the year 325, the definition of ‘Trinity’ was canonized by men of the Nicene council, who said the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were three co-eternal Persons. They may have decided to call Jesus a separate ‘Person’ because Jesus was constantly talking about His Father in Heaven. Jesus taught us to pray to His Father. Some thought that this implied the Son and the Father were two separate deities, and the ‘Son of man’ was a lesser deity. For example, according to {John 15:910} Jesus said this to His disciples: “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you...” Even more to the point, in {John 14:28} Jesus was quoted as saying: “…If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” I believe that Jesus (GOD) said this while appearing in the role of a humble human to set the example for his disciples. I believe the reason that Jesus prayed to Father GOD was for the sole purpose of setting the example for us to follow. GOD knew that it would be extremely difficult for people to comprehend that Jesus was GOD in the flesh at the same time that He was in Heaven (and everywhere). In {Matthew 28:19} Jesus is quoted as saying: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Sometimes Jesus 122 Muslims do not accept the concept of GOD appearing as Jesus Christ (Immanuel) http://quran.com/4/171; also see: http://www.Sunnahonline.com/ilm/dawah/0015.htm. Perhaps Muslims reject the Judeo-Christian concept of GOD because they do not believe that GOD wants people to freely choose to know Him and follow his way. Perhaps they cannot believe that GOD so loved the world that He would humble Himself and be born as a man to be hung on a cross to die for our sins to make us realize that only love for GOD and love our for our neighbor can bring about salvation. Some Muslims believe that their god wants them to subdue and subjugate all people under Sharia Law, by force if necessary (although various sects of Islam fight viciously over the details). There are many shades of grey between moderate Muslims and lethal extremist Muslims who support, promote and carry out violent jihad against Christians and non-Muslims. The founder of Islam, Mohammed, rejected parts of the Torah and the Gospel of Jesus, and said that he had been directed by his god to write a different Holy Scripture, now called the Koran (Quran). A readable history of Mohammed and Islam is in the book “No God but God,” by Reza Aslan, Random House, 2005. After his University of California education, Aslan wrote anther book trying to ‘authoritatively’ debunk the Gospels based on his own speculations and his readings of a few non-Christian historical accounts of that time. I pray that my prodigal brother will come back to the ‘fold’ some day (and that the Iranian Ayatollah will not put him on a hit list).
98
talked as if the Father and the Holy Spirit were distinct and separate Beings. In {John 14:26} quotes Jesus as saying: “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” However, later in {1John 2:1} Apostle John called Jesus our Advocate with the Father, thus equating Jesus with Holy Spirit. In a letter to Timothy {1Timothy 2:5} Apostle Paul wrote: “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” The terms ‘Mediator’ and ‘Advocate’ do not necessarily bring to mind that Jesus was GOD Himself. But I believe these monikers refer to the time when GOD, in the flesh of the man Jesus, walked and preached on Earth (as GOD did in the story of Lot). This is how GOD planned it. The Jewish leaders demanded the crucifixion of Jesus only after Jesus finally made it clear that He was indeed GOD {John 18:36-7 and John 20:28-9}. It is impossible for the human mind to technically grasp this supernatural occurrence called Immanuel. But I accept GOD as a supernatural being who has access to multiple dimensions. I believe that GOD could appear to all of us in multiple forms simultaneously. To bolster the assertion that Jesus Christ is GOD, let me say this: The name Immanuel in Hebrew means ‘GOD in man.’123 The Hebrew Bible states that it was GOD’s plan to be revealed in the form of a man who would be born in Bethlehem (see {Micah 5:2}Merry Christmas!) and to suffer in every way a human can suffer, including torture and death.124 So, there is nothing improper about praying to Jesus because GOD appeared in the form of the man Jesus, who was born of Mary the virgin. I believe that GOD did this to set the example for our behavior. Jesus taught us to think of GOD as our Father (our Papa). Jesus taught us to pray directly to “our Father in Heaven” {Matthew 6:9}. It is not recorded in the Bible that Jesus gave instructions that we should pray through a mediator, a priest, Mother Mary or any other intermediary. Those customs were developed later by various churches. I believe they are now relics of the past. We can pray directly to GOD. That being said, I see nothing wrong in showing respect and giving homage to Mother Mary for being chosen by GOD to give birth and nurture Jesus in His youth. To bolster the assertion that Jesus was both natural and supernatural, there were eleven occasions recorded in the Bible of Jesus being seen as resurrected after death, walking and talking to people on Earth, including one time by 500 people {1Corinthians 15:3–7}. The description in {John 20:27} where Jesus asked Thomas to touch the nail holes in His hands, inclines me to
123
This URL describes how the name Immanuel was spelled (as written in {Isaiah 7:14}) in Hebrew, both in the Masoretic text and in the Dead Sea Scroll. GOD featured as ‘the Son’ delivered to me the most important message I will ever receive: namely, if left to my own devices I will suffer utter destruction; but by admitting my occasional lack of love and concern for my neighbors, by turning myself around, by asking for GOD’s forgiveness and by having faith in the power of Jesus Christ’s cleansing blood, I will live an abundant and everlasting life. Jesus Christ is ‘the way’ {John 14:6}, the only way to have peace with my neighbors {James 3:17-18}. GOD understands my situation {Psalm 25:18, Hebrews 9:28}. All I must do is take on His light yoke {Matthew 11:29-30}. 124
99
believe that Jesus rose from the tomb in the appearance of His natural earthly body. On another occasion his risen body seemed to appear out of thin air {Luke 24:36-37, John 20:19}, which would require a supernatural act. He asked Mary Magdalene not to cling to Him because He had not yet ascended to His Father {John 20:17, NKJV}. I should be able to recognize the Son of Man immediately when I see Him again {Matthew 24:30}. That is about all Jesus and witnesses had to say on the subject of Immanuel’s resurrected body, as recorded in the New Testament. One reason it is so important to think about the Son being GOD Himself, I believe, is that GOD wanted to show us in person, as a person born into this world, how far we need to humble ourselves to obtain salvation and to have ownership in the Kingdom of Heaven. For me personally, at this point in my life, Jesus and Father GOD are one and the same Entity, the same I AM who communicates and comforts me through the unfathomable power of Holy Spirit. This works because I also have a spirit, a born-from-above spirit, with which I can communicate in the Spirit with GOD. But that does not mean that Holy Spirit should be considered separated from GOD. Holy Spirit is GOD. I believe that the wonderful Wizard who made this fantastic Universe is the One and only I AM, who made Himself known to humans over a period of six thousand years. In the final analysis, the most important thing on which we should agree is this: Holy Scripture attests that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, who gave humans clear instructions for obtaining everlasting life {John 4:25-6}. No additional message is needed.
Am I Free Indeed? Do I have unlimited free will? The story of Adam and Eve shows that GOD allows humans to be tempted by the spiritual deceiver (Satan). Therefore, GOD gives me the freedom to chose what I will say and do. I have free will. But why does GOD allow me to be tempted to make bad decisions? I believe that GOD intends for Earth to be a place of learning, inventing, testing, building, sometimes failing but always a place for trying to improve things for the betterment of everyone. Everyone has a chance to share their learning experiences with others, to find purpose for their lives and to have fun. Without free will, life would be totally boring. Some say that GOD sees all things that will happen in the future. That may be true, but I do not believe that GOD predestined everything. I believe that GOD gave us free will. The age-old debate about predestination of the ‘elect,’ Calvinism vs. Arminianism, 125 is outside the scope of this monologue. But I will say that GOD’s ‘elect’ in ancient times were the Hebrews who Moses led 125
http://www.bible-researcher.com/arminianism.html 100
out of Egypt. Today, some of their offspring, especially the non-secular Jews and Messianic Jews, are a blessing to all peoples of the Earth {Genesis 12:3}. They are a kingdom of priests {Exodus 19:6} and a light to the Gentiles {Isaiah 42:6}. Today, the elect also include all people who are spiritually ‘born from above’ and thus have entered into the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth (the Waters under the sky.) GOD gives all mankind the freedom to know Him, and to choose His way. It is GOD’s desire that everyone will come to know this truth {1Timothy 2:3-4}. Regarding free will, I believe that GOD intercedes only on rare occasions to determine the outcome. An example is in the Book of Exodus when GOD apparently hardened the heart of Pharaoh during the Jews escape from Egypt {Exodus 7:3-4}. Another example is in the story of Judas Iscariot, who apparently was chosen by GOD to betray Jesus {John 6:64-65}. Sometimes GOD intervenes with animals too, as in the story of the donkey and Balaam {Numbers 22:26-30}. Some religious conservatives believe that GOD actively controls every single thing that happens in the Universe. The other extreme belief is that every single thing that happens in the Universe happens randomly and is constrained only by the natural laws of physics that GOD designed. I believe the truth lies in the middle ground between these two extremes. The Universe, the laws of physics and chemistry and biological life, all of these things were obviously designed with exquisite attention to every detail by GOD. This means that every single thing that happens in the Universe is constrained by the way GOD designed the Universe. But I do not believe that GOD actively (instantaneously) controls every single event that happens. GOD does intervene sometimes. I can empathize and abide with those who believe in GOD’s instantaneous control of every situation. That is a very comforting belief that allows you to easily accept any traumatic event in your life. But for me personally, I feel that I have a large degree of control to effect the outcome of my situation, and a responsibility to help effect an outcome that would be pleasing to GOD. I do believe that an event happening around me can be a test to see how I will react. I will not always be able to effect a good outcome, but if I do not try to do that, I will have failed. I will have regret. But GOD will forgive me. I have sometimes felt that certain events were ‘meant to be,’ but then GOD would have had to plan far in advance for all the pieces to fall into place. Some coincidental events seem to be ‘freak accidents,’ but when I sense the moving presence of the power of GOD, then I know it was no accident. In any event, I give GOD praise for everything {Romans 8:28}. I believe that I usually have enough time to make a choice between good or bad behavior. But sometimes I wonder if uncontrollable emotions are predestined by GOD. For example, I cannot always react fast enough to put a clamp on my anger and my knee-jerk reaction when I am suddenly provoked. Was it predestined? Maybe, but not likely. In the future, I will try to be aware of my predisposition to act badly in that situation; and, hopefully, I can quickly repress those feelings {Proverbs 12:16}. 101
Sometimes our regrettable knee-jerk reactions are prompted by pride or fear. Perhaps we can blame some of those reactions on epigenetic mutations handed down by our ancestors who had to endure severe competition for food and shelter in order to survive. I wonder if it will be possible in the future to reengineer our epigenetic inheritance to prevent those knee-jerk reactions?
Faith It is only human nature to want a thing to be proven before accepting it as a fact. The leaders of the Jews asked Jesus for a sign to prove what he claimed, namely that He was indeed Immanuel, GOD in man. To them he replied that no sign would be given to their generation except the sign of Jonah {Luke 11:29}. According to {Matthew 12:38-40} Jesus said: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”126 Over the years I have found that I cannot scientifically prove the existence of GOD, nor can any book that I have read. On the other hand, it is compellingly intuitively obvious to me that our Universe was created by an immense intelligence. That is why {Psalm 19} strikes such a major chord in my heart. From a chemist’s point of view, there is no way one could mix simple chemicals found in the cosmos together for 14 billion years, even with pieces of catalytic clay, and get a single strand of DNA to form, let alone a reproducing bacterium! Faith in GOD is a gift from GOD {Ephesians 2:8}, a gift to all people. I know people who have resisted the urge to accept GOD’s gift of faith for a long time. Therefore, I believe that in most cases a conscious decision is made. Calvinists say that GOD gives faith to some and not to others. I am not a Calvinist. Even some of Jesus’ twelve disciples, who he handpicked, did not have the full measure of faith that Jesus expected of them, as evidenced by His saying in exasperated: “Oh you of little faith” {Matthew 14:31, Luke 12:28}. I believe that GOD desires that all people will accept His gift of faith. Paul said to Timothy {1Timothy 2:3-4}: “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of the LORD our Savior, who would have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” To the atheists who proclaim there is no GOD: You too have made your choice based on your faith that there is no GOD, because it is impossible to prove there is no GOD. But it is never too The Hebrew word ‘Jonah’ means ‘dove.’ Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, GOD sent Jonah to cry out to the city of Nineveh that GOD was about to destroy the city {Jonah 1:2}. The citizens of Nineveh as well as their king were a cruel and bellicose people. Jonah’s name itself carried a message that GOD was offering them a chance to repent. The king ordered the city to repent (which they did) and GOD spared them. Jonah was amazed and angry at GOD for saving such a cruel and wicked people. But GOD’s forgiveness is just that easy if I repent. 126
102
late to change your mind. To the agnostics: You have chosen to live without GOD’s gift of faith and to live in the Land of Nod, but it is never too late to get to know GOD. If I want to know GOD, then the eyes of my heart must be open, 127 and the door of my heart must be open to the power of GOD’s Holy Spirit. Then GOD’s Universe and everlasting life in Heaven are mine for the taking. Jeremiah quotes GOD as saying: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” {Jeremiah 33:3}. How do you call to GOD? All you have to do is pray to your Heavenly Father, He will hear your thoughts. The Bible says over and over again, if you seek GOD and you love Him, you will find Him {Deuteronomy 4:29, Proverbs 8:17, Matthew 7:7, Revelation 3:20}.
First contact It was only late in life that I became genuinely earnest about trying to answer the question: “Who is the GOD who made this fantastic Universe?” I did ponder that question at various times throughout my life, but I always had distractions and ‘greater’ priorities (or so I thought at the time). As a youngster and later as married man, I occasionally attended Christian services (mostly at Christmas and Easter). As time permitted, I read a little about other religions. I was trying to be a good person, and felt that GOD would simply do what he would do and hopefully be kind to me. Besides, I felt, if GOD existed, he did not seem interested in communicating with me. But the fact is, I was not leading a good life. I had nobody to blame but myself. I was a prodigal son. Later in life (during my mid-life crisis years) I had ever increasing feelings that something was missing. My father did not find Jesus. My father was a very good man, but he was agnostic. His theme song was “Is that all there is?” I think he believed in a Creator, but I do not think he knew GOD. My father’s father was an atheist, or so he said. He was also a very good man. He quoted the Bible at length now and then, so I knew he had spent a fair amount of time reading it. But I remember the scorn he held for his brother who was a “tent preacher who evangelized old ladies and took their life savings.” In 1980, on his death bed, my grandfather Lindsay asked me if I thought there was a GOD. Sadly, at that time, all I could truthfully answer was “I don’t know.” In my youth I had a reoccurring nightmare. Lying in bed at night, half awake, I often felt I was falling in darkness, falling and falling into a black abyss. It was a terrifying feeling. Later in life this nightmare transitioned to my feeling that something was missing in my life. I did not find what was missing until much later, not until I took what some may call a leap of faith to believe in GOD. The process leading up to my conversion from an agnostic to a believer was preceded by many years of studying science, history and other religions. Finally, I came to the conclusion that 127
Listen to Michael Smith’s song on www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnqb7Vn4AEE. 103
there is not one good reason not to believe in the GOD of the Holy Bible. I was given encouragement by my wife, Michele (Mikie), and several close friends. At first I sincerely tried to pray to GOD. Nothing happened. I did not feel I was connecting with GOD. Finally, I simply said, OK GOD, I have faith that you can hear every thought in my head; I love you with all of my heart; and I thank you for my life and my chance to help make your world a better place. This was at the age of 52. I finally felt connected with GOD. It wasn’t anything I did to make myself ‘worthy.’ I just earnestly began to prayerfully talk to GOD. I honestly believed that GOD actually listened. That is when I received this amazing peace in my heart. I realized that GOD made me who I am, He had a purpose for my life and He was watching over me. I believe in GOD just as a young child would believe. I take it on faith. A few weeks after I first felt connected with GOD, I had an astonishing experience. One morning in January 1998 while my wife was still sleeping, I was in the living room talking intently to GOD (something about problems in Iraq). It was perfectly calm outside. Suddenly, there was a roar of wind in the back yard lasting only a few seconds. No, it definitely was not a helicopter passing overhead about to land at the near-by hospital. Our big Shar-Pei/Chow dog, Mac, was outside. At that moment he came charging through the doggie-door running straight into the bedroom whimpering all the way. Never before had I heard him whimper and cower. Then, immediately after I had heard that short roar of wind, I heard a voice in my head say “Change your name to Jonah.” You might say this was only a psychological phenomena. I probably would have had that same doubt myself were it not for the very physical roar of wind and our dog’s reaction that immediately preceded the voice in my head. I am in awe of those who have a strong faith in GOD without having a powerful personal encounter {John 20:29}. I will be forever grateful to GOD for sealing communion with this doubting Thomas (me). Since then I invariably feel GOD’s presence when thinking about Him, in even the smallest of things. Here is just one example: one day on a hike on Mount Whitney while thinking about GOD, a beautiful blue bird landed on a branch very close to me. He cocked his head at me and said (in my head) “yes, here I Am.” Now you know why I could not help but insert a few comments here and there to those still in doubt about the possibility of having one-on-one fellowship with GOD. Getting to know GOD begins with a journey through the Holy Scriptures, which for me was a voyage on the Ancient River of Eden. Getting to know GOD requires the faith of a child. Then you will experience the power of the Word and the power of Holy Spirit. GOD is always listening, always watching, and sometimes communicating. His faith, comfort and companionship are always available. Somewhere Over the Rainbow is not only in Heaven, but in Kansas and everywhere. GOD sends a rainbow of light refracting through droplets of the 104
Ancient River of Eden spreading throughout creation with a message of love and hope. May you have fair winds and following seas as you sail into the future. I hope to see you in glory!
Illustration 8.
River of Water of Life
…out of the innermost part of the soul shall rivers of living water flow… {John 7:38}
The writing was completed in Jan. 2016.
Feedback welcome:
[email protected]
105
