Matthew Trowell WHOAMI? WHOAMI? WHOAMI

Transcription

WHO AM I? is a roller-coaster ride through time.
It is riveting, illuminating and definitely thought provoking.
Jump on board and discover the answers to some of
the most talked about questions of all time.
Find out the answers to questions such as:
Who Am I? Where am I from? Why are we here?
What are the “Promises”? What happens when we die?
Is there a solution to the Middle East problem?
What is Russia’s future role in the Middle East?
What are the solutions to problems such as:
AIDS, over-population, pollution etc?
What will be the outcome of a third World War?
What people are saying about WHO AM I?
Photo used with kind permission of NASA
Orion Nebula
ISBN 0-9684777-0-4
9 780968 477700
90000>
Matthew Trowell
“What I find compelling about this book is not just
that it confronts the question 'Who am I?' but treats
the yet more crucial question, 'What can I become'.
I read this absorbing book in 24 hours; but I know
that it will resonate in my mind for the rest of my life.
Where the author most succeeds is that he has
penned a fascinating book that makes faith
eminently reasonable.”
-Richard Purkis, Author of “Word Start”
WHO AM I?
?
Answers To The Mysteries Of Life...
SelectMedia
“A fascinating book that makes faith eminently reasonable.”
WHO
AM
I
FREE CD
Inside!
Matthew Trowell
WHO
AM
I
Matthew Trowell
1st Edition
This book was originally published in 2003 by Select Media.
WHO AM I? Copyright © 1991 – 2004: Matthew Trowell. All rights reserved. No part of this
book may be used or reproduced for commercial gain or profit except that it may be reproduced
for personal use. For more information please contact::
Select Media, PO Box 5, Station A, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5W 1A2.
Printed by Select Media, Ontario, Canada.
First paperback edition published in 2003.
Reader’s Notes:
All scriptural quotations are taken from the New King James Version, unless otherwise specified.
AV— Authorised Version
KJV— King James Version
NKJV— New King James Version
NIV— New International Version
NLT— New Living Translation
RV— Revised Version
[ ] — Denote author’s comments
Bold Italic— Used in quoted passages for emphasis
Cover picture of the Orion Nebula used by kind permission of NASA
National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Trowell, Matthew, 1967—
Who am I? : answers to the mysteries of life / by Matthew Trowell.
ISBN 0-9684777-0-4
1. Bible— Evidences, authority, etc. 2. Bible— Inspiration. 3. God— Proof. I. Title.
BS544.T76 2002
220.1'3
C2002-903626-7
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF MY FATHER—
DEREK PETER TROWELL
CONTENTS
PART 1:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
11
BEFORE WE BEGIN…
13
THE BIGGEST PRIZE IN THE WORLD…….15
Oh no! Not religion!
Blind faith alone?
Recipe for environmental disaster
Seventy years and then?
Fraud or miracle?
The heart of the matter
PART 2:
20
22
24
29
30
32
ONCE UPON A TIME…………………….. 35
1.
How Did I Get Here?
A conflict of opinions
The time capsule
39
41
42
2.
The Origin of the Universe
An unanswered question
Life on earth
"The chances are..."
44
46
47
52
3.
The First Signs of Life
Darwin's Evolution
Missing links are still missing
Some unsolved mysteries
55
58
60
62
4.
Am I My Keeper's Brother?
Present or physiological evidence
Past or palaeontological evidence
Luck or design
67
68
69
74
5.
The Architect
The parable of the invisible snooker player
The warfare of faith
77
79
81
6.
The Story of Creation
The Bible and science
Is Genesis one scientifically accurate?
Points of friction
Undesigned scriptural coincidences
The answer
84
86
88
91
94
97
7.
Evolution and its Effects
Science and a belief in God
Charles Darwin
The unclosed case
Idea or ideal?
102
102
103
104
105
PART 3:
THE STORY OF THE THREE GARDENS..... 109
1.
Our Not So Perfect World
A universal disease
113
114
2.
The First Garden
Paradise lost
117
121
3.
The Second Garden
The Divine solution
The cure
127
128
130
4.
Paradise Renewed
A Parable
Paradise renewed
131
132
133
5.
The Biggest Lie in the World
The Bible's answer
The nature of man
Why do we exist?
135
136
139
143
PART 4:
1.
A BRIEF JOURNEY THROUGH TIME….…… 147
The First World Empire
A prehistoric disaster story
In search of immortality
Ararat: source of material evidence
The historical Bible
Digression:the Garden of Eden revealed
Life after Eden
Noah: the man and his boat
151
153
155
157
160
162
166
169
2.
New Beginning
The tower of Babel
One race— many languages
173
175
177
3.
Man Who Was Promised The World
Promises! Promises!
The father of many nations
A leap of faith
One Promise— two sons
12 sons— 12 families
Joseph, a famine and the land of Egypt
From slavery to the Land of Promise
From rags to riches
Digression: Medical practices ahead of their time
An important choice
A land flowing with milk and honey
Digression: the Divine Hand behind the Torah
The history of the nations
182
183
185
188
190
193
194
196
198
200
207
209
211
212
4.
David, King of Israel
The divided kingdom
More archaeology
The Ministry of the Prophets
The prophet Daniel
Four metals— four empires
Four beasts— four empires
Another kingdom
The Seventy Weeks Prophecy
216
221
222
225
226
228
232
240
241
5.
Jesus of Nazareth
Luke— a historian amongst historians
Dear Theophilus
John the Baptiser
What is baptism?
The harmony of the gospels
Why did Jesus have to die?
Christ— the “seed“ of Abraham
The devil: his birth, life and death
Baptism and the new law of life
The First Century believers
A new life
245
247
248
250
252
254
257
263
264
267
269
271
6.
Israel, Christianity & The Age of Reason
One Bible— many churches
Back to basics…
What the Bible says…
Back to the Bible
275
276
277
280
284
7.
The 2,000 year dispersion
The door is opened
The world since AD 70
Against all odds
The First Zionist Congress
The valley of dry bones
Since 1948
285
287
288
290
291
294
297
Tomorrow's News Today
303
NEWSFLASH! "Hundreds Missing!"
NEWSFLASH! "Russia Invades Middle East!"
NEWSFLASH! "Middle East in Turmoil!"
NEWSFLASH! "Israel destroyed!"
NEWSFLASH! "War Imminent!"
NEWSFLASH! "Egypt Invaded! Jordan Safe!"
NEWSFLASH! "Unknown Army in Sinai!"
NEWSFLASH! "Russian Army Retreats!"
NEWSFLASH! "Earthquake!"
NEWSFLASH! "Unknown Army Victorious!"
NEWSFLASH! "Surrender at Jerusalem!"
NEWSFLASH! "A World-wide Decree!"
305
307
309
312
313
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
Sure signs of Christ's return
Watch therefore!
320
325
PART 5:
ONE DAY IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD……... 327
PART 6:
"WHO AM I?"…………………………...…….. 361
The answer to...
And finally…
SUMMARY OF BIBLE TRUTH
SUMMARY OF BIBLE PROMISES
PART 7:
366
369
371
372
NEXT STEPS…………………………………… 375
Useful Web-sites
Recommended Reading
The 12 Week Reading Plan
Bible Reading Planner
Reader’s Notes
380
381
382
384
396
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I
once heard it said that to use one idea from another is called
plagiarism, but to use more than one idea is called research!
This is a book of research! The credit for its content must go
to others far more educated in their own fields of expertise
than I am. My task has been to act merely as the navigator on our
journey through time and space.
Additionally, there are many people who have worked hard
behind the scenes to help prepare this book for print. I am very
grateful to them all. In particular, I wish to thank: Colin Badger,
Michael Owen, Cheryl Robinson, Kim Weir, and Graeme and Carol
Wilson for also giving so generously of their time in preparing it for
reading; to Richard Purkis and Joan Tarrant for their encouragement; to Scott and Rachel Murray, and Jeff and Ethel Wallace; to
my wife, Carla, for her love and support, and to my parents Derek
and Kim Trowell for teaching me the importance of searching for
Truth.
BEFORE WE BEGIN...
I
n my first year of High School in England, at the age of ten, I
was introduced for the first time to the Greek Classics. Twice
a week, my classmates and I were transported thousands of
years back in time to be mesmerised by the valour, courage
and heroics of ancient characters of Greek mythology; characters
such as Thesseus and Pegasus, Mercury and Zeus. We stood in
wonder at the power of the Gorgon while with a single glance it
turned a by-stander into stone. We shuddered at the might of the
Minotaur as he stalked the corridors of his Labyrinth on the island
of Crete. And we sat bewildered as we paid the ferryman our piece
of gold so that we could pass across the River Styx, through the
Lake of Fire, and journey into the heart of Hades itself.
To a child at the age of ten, these were exciting stories.
They were, however, just stories though, powerful and dynamic
upon the imagination. It was during the course of these early years
that my passion was inflamed to search for answers to some of the
most fundamental questions that we each ask ourselves in life.
Questions such as: Who Am I? How did I get here? Where am I
from? And, Where am I going? Like Thesseus on a journey to enquire at the Oracle of Delphi, I, too, started my quest for answers.
By early adulthood, I had asked enough questions, sifted through
enough material, and pieced together enough evidence, that I found
what I believe to be life's Golden Fleece– the ultimate meaning of
life.
14
Who Am I?
As the years went by, I had the opportunity to share these
conclusions with fleeting friends and acquaintances. As such encounters came and went, I began to notice that, because of restrictions in time, many of these discussions consistently remained incomplete. Consequently, the hearer remained no more the wiser of
my discoveries, and increasingly, I became more frustrated at not
being able to share effectively my conclusions. Who Am I? grew out
of this desire to share these findings. So, at the suggestion and with
the encouragement of friends and family, I put pen to paper in an
attempt to summarise this remarkable journey that I had taken, and
share some of the amazing discoveries that I had made along the
way.
I hope that you enjoy reliving this journey with me as we
explore together the history of the world and the origins of life, and
thrill to the answers about life and the world around us which are
ours to discover.
—Matthew Trowell
Toronto, 2004
PART 1
THE BIGGEST PRIZE
IN THE WORLD
16
Who Am I?
“What is the sense in our life?
What is the sense of any
living being at all?
To know the answer to this question
means to be religious.”
— Albert Einstein
PART 1
THE BIGGEST PRIZE
IN THE WORLD
I
wonder whether you have ever been invited to go somewhere
and did not go, only to find out that if you had gone, you
could have had a really good time! Or perhaps you have put
something off, only to find out later that you may never have
the opportunity to do it again! Consider the following story:
There was once a man who received a telephone call from a
major department store. He was told that, following a purchase he
had recently made at the store, he was their millionth customer. As
a publicity exercise, the store wanted to offer him a free gift to mark
the event. An envelope would shortly be arriving through the mail
outlining details of this gift and how to claim it. He was told that it
was extremely important for him to reply within seven days of receiving the envelope. Naturally, he was very excited about what this
gift could be. Sure enough, three days later, an envelope arrived.
Across the front were the words "ONE MILLIONTH CUSTOMER!
FREE GIFT DETAILS!"
"I wonder what this gift could be," he said to himself, and
picked up the envelope and put it aside. "I will read it later!"
Two weeks later another envelope arrived, similar to the
first, this time with the words "FREE GIFT — FINAL NOTICE!"
written in red across the front. He picked it up and said "Oh boy! I
am so excited! I wonder what this gift could be?" and he placed it
aside with the other one. "I will read it later!" Finally, after two
more weeks, another envelope came through the mail. Across the
bottom in red letters were the words "FREE GIFT — CANCELLATION NOTICE!"
Who Am I?
20
"A ridiculous story!" one might think. Ridiculous, because
none of us would ignore a couple of envelopes containing details of
how to claim such a wonderful "FREE GIFT", if only through curiosity. But that is the point. Intentionally or not, we do!
What we are talking about is a book. Not just any book,
but one which claims to contain the answer to that vital question
that we all ask ourselves: "Who am I?" It tells us why we are here,
where we are from and where we are going. It also provides words
of wisdom to help us understand why we have so many problems in
the world today. Since 1804 over 6.5 billion copies have been sold
world-wide making it the biggest best-seller ever. That's enough
copies for every person in the world. Most of the time, however, it
finds its way to the top of the bookshelf to gather dust.
The gift that this book contains is not a trip for two to the
Caribbean, nor an expensive house or new car. The gift is immortal
life on Earth free from all of its problems, as well as a life of inner
peace and contentment now.
As far fetched as this might sound, this is the hope of the
Bible. The challenge facing each of us is to determine whether or
not it is true.
Oh no! Not Religion!
Just mentioning the word "Bible", however, implies "religion." But
Religion, like politics, is one of those no-no subjects that most of us
would rather avoid discussing. How often have we heard conversations start on either of these two subjects, only to end in an argument or disagreement? The reason why our discussions so often
conclude this way is because there are so many opinions that exist.
Unless we each think the same way and share the same experiences
and reference points on life, clearly we will not all agree with each
other. Consequently, we react negatively and try to avoid discussing
these subjects altogether.
Concerning religion, Karl Marx, the Nineteenth Century
philosopher and author, wrote:
Religion... is the opiate of the masses. a
PART 1: The Biggest Prize In The World
21
In other words, Karl Marx saw religion as a crutch for men
and women to lean upon in times of trouble; a drug-like delusion
which offers an escape from the reality of daily life. For some this
may be true. But for many others it is not. There are many people
who do claim to be religious, be they Christian, Jewish, Muslim,
Buddhist, Sikh or Hindu, practising what they believe with a great
deal of sincerity and conviction.
Nevertheless, this is a popular view of religion. So often it
does seem that organised religion is an example of the blind leading
the blind; groups of insecure individuals seeking refuge behind a
system of faith and worship. Never is this more evident than when
we see the fatal consequences of incidents such as the Waco, Texas
Massacre in 1993 (which allegedly led to the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995).
Another psychological barrier which does not do the cause
of religion any favours, is the general mood of indifference brought
about by hundreds of years of conflict between various factions
around the world. Daily we are reminded by news reports and
magazines, such as Time and Newsweek, of the many atrocities that
are being committed in the name of religion. Whether these reports
are of the World Trade Centre bombings in New York in 1993 and
9/11, or the continuing conflicts in places such as Northern Ireland,
the Balkans and the Middle East, they all contribute to the belief
that there is enough religion in the world to make war, but not
enough for lasting peace. With the world in such disarray, no wonder some have said, "If that is religion, then you are welcome to it!"
One of the biggest hurdles which prevents us from wanting
to take a closer look at this subject of religion, is a lack of time. A
while ago I played a game of squash with a colleague. During the
course of our conversation after the game, he said to me: "I admire
people who can find time for religion today. Like all the other millions in the world, I haven't made up my mind." How familiar his
words are! In the fast lane of daily life, time is becoming an increasingly precious commodity.
Probably the number one reason, however, as to why we do
not take the time to pursue this subject of religion and try to find out
22
Who Am I?
the Truth behind our existence, is a lack of desire. Today's generation, more than any other, lacks nothing. We have more gadgets and
toys than our ancestors ever dreamed about, and with technology
doubling every four years, the Corporate World continues to promise that they will only get better– faster, smaller, more powerful,
more reliable, more comfortable, more efficient and more affordable. Now through some sound financial planning and a little hard
work we can attain all the possessions that are our heart's desire. Is
it any surprise, therefore, that so few of us set time aside to answer
that fundamental question for ourselves: Why am I here?
Until recently, religion has played an important part in
daily life. Today, however, religion seems "all a bit out of date",
boring and irrelevant as we commence a new millennium. But
really, is it? Life is so valuable, so precious and so very personal to
every one of us, surely there must be a meaning to life? It is for exactly this reason that we make absolutely no apologies for this
book, as we attempt to search for some answers and tackle this important question of religion head on.
Blind faith alone?
Clearly, some religions seem to make no sense, are sometimes hypocritical, and often confusing. But does that mean to say that from
among all the teachings and beliefs in the world, we cannot discover
the Truth? And surely, would not discovering that Truth be something worthwhile?
The first stage in discovering the Truth, is to answer the
question: Does God exist? Is there an intelligent, more Superior Being out there responsible for all that we see around us?
Many believe that it is only by blind faith that one can even
consider that there is a Superior Being or power in control of the
world's affairs, which we can neither see nor touch. Sadly, this is a
widely believed misconception as we hope to show in this book.
There are a great many proofs which witness to the fact that God
does indeed exist, and that He does have a plan and purpose with
the Earth.
23
The simple statement, however, that the Bible makes in its
opening few words, "In the beginning God...",b for many, requires
just a little too much faith to be taken seriously.
Yet the question lingers: Is there or is there not a God? For
either there is an Almighty Creator and Sustainer somewhere out
there, who has a plan and purpose with Planet Earth, or the world is
on a collision course with certain disaster.
Nationally and internationally, there is an obvious imbalance in wealth as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Man's
mismanagement of land and resources continues to contribute to
devastating famines, increased poverty and the extinction of species
of both animals and vegetation. Environmental problems such as
global warming, waste and over-population threaten a sensitively
balanced ecosystem. Even with the thawing of the Cold War, there
are still more nuclear weapons upon the planet than are needed to
destroy it five times over! And no longer are these threats of nuclear catastrophe from just the Superpowers. Extremist groups are
willing to spend millions of dollars to buy and develop nuclear, biological and chemical weapons so that they can hold the world to
ransom. September 11th, 2001 was the day that the world changed.
Now a new kind of fear exists and a new vocabulary— a vocabulary which includes phrases like bio-terrorism, weapons of mass
destruction and Axis of Evil. c
These are all problems which our grandparents never conceived as being credible threats to our existence. For centuries, man
has always considered himself top of the ecological tree— supreme,
in control of world affairs, and able to solve all of the world's dilemmas. In recent years, however, a sleeping giant has been disturbed.
People are now asking: Can the world's man-made problems and
series of blunders be met with man-made solutions, before it is all
too late? The result, it is feared, will be the degeneration of modern
civilisation, and perhaps even the total destruction of life from off
the face of the Earth. This is a daunting prospect facing future generations— if it is true.
24
Who Am I?
Recipe for environmental disaster
In 1989 the international news periodical Time Magazine printed an
edition at the beginning of the year almost completely dedicated to
the numerous environmental problems affecting the world. This was
an unusual and unprecedented occurrence since each New Year's
Edition is normally dedicated to their "Man of the Year". It was
published in the wake of the environmentally disastrous year of
1988 and entitled "Planet Of The Year— Endangered Earth. What
on Earth are we doing?" d The opening article began,
This year the Earth spoke, like God warning Noah of the Deluge. Its message was loud and clear, and suddenly people began to listen, to ponder
what portents the message held... This year's bout of freakish weather and
environmental horror stories seemed to act as a powerful catalyst for
world-wide public opinion. Everybody suddenly sensed that this gyrating
globe, this precious repository of all life that we know of, was in danger. No
single individual, no event, no movement captured imaginations or dominated headlines more than the clump of rock and soil and water and air that
is our common home.
During November 1988 the editors invited a team of
thirty-three scientists, administrators and political leaders from ten
countries to a three day conference in Boulder, Colorado, USA to
help focus their coverage. A number of problems were addressed by
experts. Included on their agenda were climate change, waste disposal, population growth and preservation of species. In addition to
analysing symptoms and causes, the magazine published a range of
practical ideas and suggestions for environmental action. The conclusion of the matter was best expressed by Peter Raven, Director
of the Missouri Botanical Garden:
All nations are tied together as to their common fate. We are facing a problem which is, How are we going to keep this single resource we have,
namely the World, viable?
This concern was also voiced by Lester Brown, president of
the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute who warned that,
We do not have generations, we only have years in which to attempt to turn
things around.
25
This "attempt" according to the experts will require a mass
commitment by every colour, creed and distinction of persons before the Earth's environment can be steered back towards a state of
equilibrium. Here are just some of the facts for us to consider:
Extinction:
Deforestation continues to be one of the main causes of plant and
animal extinction. Forests are being pillaged and exploited for
Man's creature comforts at an alarming rate, driving a hundred species of plants and animals into extinction every day. When we consider that the tropical rainforests of the world cover little more than
7% of the Earth's surface but provide a home for between 50% and
80% of the planet's species, we realise what an invaluable resource
we are interfering with. Daily, genetic materials containing secrets
for combating diseases or improving crops are being lost forever.
Considering that some 25% of all pharmaceutical products contain
ingredients originally derived from wild plants, surely our respect
for the ecological kingdoms of the world must increase?
The Rondonia State forests of Brazil, before the great land
rush of the early 1970's, canopied a vast area rich in fauna and ecological grandeur. An estimated 20% of the Rondonia forest has disappeared. At present rates of destruction, it is estimated that all of it
will have been totally wiped out by the year 2025.
Every time Man applies his sickle to the natural gardens of
the world, he threatens a finely balanced system which has been a
vital partner with the animal kingdom for thousands of years.
Are we making a lot of fuss about nothing? Sadly, the effects of what we do now may mean the eventual extinction of many
species of plant-life, as well as species from the animal kingdom
such as the Ingo Macaw, the Marmoset, the Woolly Spider Monkey, the Orang-utan or the Aye-Aye. These certainly are not the
first animals one would think of as being endangered, yet they represent just some of a growing catalogue of extinct and endangered
plants and animals. This is a disturbing obituary of the Twentieth
Century, and a sad epitaph to one aspect of Man's mismanagement
of his communal home.
26
Who Am I?
Pollution:
One of the most damaging effects of deforestation on the environment is pollution. Emissions from tropical deforestation alone account for almost 1.6 billion tons of pollution being spued into the
atmosphere each year, according to a 1980 estimate. Emissions
from fossil fuels around the world account for a further 5 billion
metric tons per year. The consequences of this continued polluting
of the atmosphere is a degeneration in the Earth's protective layers
resulting in global warming. At present rates of pollution, scientists
anticipate an estimated global temperature rise of about 8 OF over
the next sixty years. Such a high rise in surface temperature, we are
told, might mean that ice caps will melt, resulting in a rise in the
world-wide sea levels causing uncontrolled tidal flooding and widespread destruction.
In recent years the experts have also warned us of the risks
in using products containing chloro-floro-carbons, more commonly
known as CFC's. (These chemicals are most commonly found in
certain household appliances and aerosol cans.) As these chemicals
continue to be pumped into the air, ozone at the upper levels of the
atmosphere is being significantly depleted. If this depletion remains
unchecked, the planet will loose its natural protection from the
harmful effects of the sun's radiation. Not only will this add to the
effects of global warming, but significantly increase our risk of contracting certain life-threatening diseases such as skin cancer.
Annually, nations continue to produce millions of tons of
household rubbish and toxic industrial waste. An average household
in developed countries, for instance, disposes of as much as thirty
pounds of garbage per week! Now the world is running out of
places to dispose of it. In the less developed countries of the world
the problem is not just where to dispose of household refuse, but
how to dispose of hazardous chemical waste materials safely as
well.
Despite its threats to human health, pollution is arguably
one of the least significant of the world's dilemmas compared with
the problem of over-population.
27
Over-population:
The technological advances of the last hundred years have provided
man with the means to lead more comfortable lives than any of our
ancestors ever dreamed of. Our Western Society is the most affluent
generation of Homo Sapiens that have ever lived. Not all of the
world's population, however, enjoys such affluence.
Over the years much of the less developed world has been
reduced to mounds of sand and stone. Quality farmland has been
destroyed by over-farming, and the abilities of these nations to produce their own food, therefore, have been diminished. Where
over-population exists, a vicious circle develops: destruction of the
land; less food produced; more hungry mouths to feed; more farming becomes necessary; overused land etc.e A combination of factors have initiated and enhanced the severity of the situation, not
least of which are climate change, (perhaps a result of global warming and pollution) and the desperate lack of birth control. The
growth rate of the world's population is staggering. Over-population
has now reached epidemic proportions, the effects of which we cannot hope to stop but, perhaps, slow down.
World Population Growth
Population
(billions)
Year
28
Who Am I?
The exponential growth of the world's population has been
documented as follows:
In 1800 it stood at approximately 1 billion people.
In 1930 this figure had doubled to 2 billion.
In 1974 it had soared to over 4 billion.
The present total is in excess of 6.1 billion and is projected
to break 10 billion by 2028. That's an increase of almost 80 million
people per year for the next forty years! No wonder nearly 40,000
babies die of starvation every day!
From the floods in Bangladesh to the nuclear catastrophe of
Chernobyl, we can see clearly the hallmarks of Man's mismanagement. At the centre of all of these examples is Earth's equilibrium
that has been upset— an intricate set of biological, physical and
chemical interactions that make up the web of life. Paradoxically,
the very signs of our success upon this planet as an organism could
doom it as a habitat.
Time Magazine observes:
Advances in health care have lengthened life-spans, lowered infant mortality
rates and, thus, aggravated the population problem. The use of pesticides
has increased crop yields but polluted water supplies. The invention of automobiles and jet planes has revolutionised travel but sullied the atmosphere. f
The reason for bringing attention to these few facts is not to
be dramatic, but to focus our attention upon the potentially disastrous effects of our actions over the next sixty years. Man is effectively committing ecological genocide. We have only mentioned a
representative selection of concerns. Time prevents us from looking
closer at some of the other problems such as AIDS (where in Africa
alone more than 39 million people are infected with HIV), radioactive waste, sea pollution and numerous other animal extinctions.
The Bible assures us that "One generation passes away,
and another generation comes: but the Earth abides forever." g Realising now the vulnerability of the environment around us, surely, we
must view this promise with a degree of hopeful optimism. For what
is the alternative? If God is not in control, then what are the world's
prospects for the future?
29
Seventy years and then?
For some, the environmental issue might be considered as the tip of
the iceberg when compared to the influences of Darwinism, Humanism and other agnostic philosophies that the world has to offer.
Conventional wisdom tells us that "Truth is relative" — we can believe whatever we want to, as long as we do not call into question
the liberty or "rights" of others. These philosophies continue to
breed a society plagued with sexually transmitted diseases, broken
homes, one-parent families, homelessness and staggering crime
rates, all of which are on the increase. Socially, politically, morally
and environmentally, the world has little or no direction towards
global harmony. How this state of affairs will continue to affect us
and our children in the future, only time will tell. In the meantime,
we have no other option than to get used to this ever-changing world
in which we live, making the most of the way that things are.
Throughout life, each of us are driven by our dreams and
our own personal goals, whether they are for a better job, having no
mortgage or a life of peace with our families. These are vital stepping stones in our journey through life. From a relatively early age,
we are taught that the "world is our oyster" and the degree of success that we have in achieving these goals is directly related to the
amount of time and effort that we are prepared to put into achieving
them. Nevertheless, it is a life which is bound by two very distinct
and undeniable parameters, equal in truth to every one of us: life
commences at birth and finishes in the grave. We each learn this
lesson through pure observation as we all come into contact with
both throughout our lives. But these lessons in mortality, as sobering as they can be, often become clouded by the events of daily life
and so readily accepted as merely one part of life's natural design.
The fact is that we are genetically programmed to age. After not
much more than seventy years, the one thing that we all have in
common is the daunting reality that we all die. As mundane as this
may sound, the next obvious question is: Is life just a terminal disease or is there a meaning to it?
30
Who Am I?
There are many people who acknowledge that religion
probably provides the answer to this and many other questions that
we ask regarding our existences. Yet there are very few people today who claim to be religious. In some ways we can understand
this, for as the cynic may ask, "There are so many religions in the
world to choose from. Which one is correct?" While some teach that
we are just cogs in the evolutionary machine and when we are dead,
we are dead; others state that life is a term of probation readying us
for some heavenly place where we will live as immortal beings in
spiritual harmony with divinity. There are others that teach that the
world is merely a theatre for the outworking of another level of
spirituality, leading to the ultimate karma. Even within the Christian
Faith, there are so many churches with so many different interpretations and points of view! How do we know, therefore, which one
teaches the Truth? h
Fraud or miracle?
The Bible claims to be a distinctive book, unique and able to offer
every man and woman a hope and a purpose in life, "able to make
us wise for salvation..." i
If its claims are false, then we are faced with the biggest
fraud in the history of the world, embroidered from start to finish
with fantastic stories, fables and lies, spanning fifteen hundred
years in its writing by forty different writers.
If its claims are true, however, then the world possesses a
book containing an incredible hope.
The problem in believing that the Bible is God's message to
us, is not a particularly hard obstacle to overcome. For instance, if
we believe in any god, be it the god of the Hebrews, Christians,
Muslims or otherwise, it would be safe to assume that He would
provide a simpler way for us to understand His plan and purpose
with the Earth other than by pure guesswork and speculation. What
kind of divinity would allow the subjects of His creation to struggle
against suffering, pain and death for thousands of years without
telling them why? Admittedly, there would be no need or reason for
31
Him to do this. Just as a king is not obliged to tell his subjects what
he is doing and why. But where is the love, kindness and wisdom in
doing that? Hardly just! Hardly fair!
During the course of putting together the material for this
book, we have had the opportunity to discuss with friends and colleagues the plan and purpose of God. Whereas in many of their
opinions the story of the Bible seems believable and its teachings
logical, the problem is believing in the mere existence of God.
It is impossible for us to prove the physical existence of
God. But as with any research project, trust or faith is required for
things which lie beyond the observable. For instance, before scientists set out to find a cure for tuberculosis, they believed that they
would find it. When the Wright Brothers set about to pioneer aviation into the Twentieth Century with the first powered flight at Kitty
Hawk in North Carolina, they believed that it could be done. When
men throughout the centuries with the aid of their telescopes
searched to discover new worlds many millions of miles away, they
did so, believing that they exist. So too, in our search for evidence
for whether God exists, we must remain open minded and objective
in our studies. j
The purpose in this book is not to prove the physical existence of God nor to justify the many problems which are pressing
down upon the world. What we are about to do together is launch
on an exploration of a message which claims to have been given to
us by God. If the Bible is the only inspired word of a Creator, then
why not let it prove itself? Let us see whether it will stand up to
test and trial. Let us see if there is evidence for the existence of
God. Let us see whether God really has spoken "in various ways...
in time past to the fathers by the prophets." k We ask, therefore, that
you play the part of judge and jury as a series of witnesses are introduced to you:
Who Am I?
32
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vi)
Creation
Archaeology
Prophecy
Chronology and numerology
The witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
The witness of the Jews
The Bible's consistency.
The structure of the Bible is like a piece of knitting. Pull
one thread and the garment will consequently fall apart. Remove
one concept from the Bible and the whole book will fall apart.
We intend to let the Bible speak for itself. Our role will be
to assume the part of narrator on our voyage through history, painting a clearer picture as it emerges and helping the various pieces of
the puzzle to fall into their correct order. This approach will help us
to achieve our purpose in writing. As objectively as possible, we
will lead the reader to the conclusion that our presumptions are
justly, fairly and intelligently deduced— that God does exist; that
He does have a plan and purpose with the Earth; that there is a hope
for the future. Thus, we will be able to see the history of mankind,
not as an accident in the maturing of the universe, but as a stage for
the outworking of a higher purpose.
To solve any puzzle, most of us need an example of the final picture in front of us. Having a view of the whole picture
makes fitting the pieces into their respective holes a lot easier. Part
Two, therefore, commences our exploration of life by considering
the basic ingredients and options for the origins of life. Part Three
has been set aside to discus the issues of suffering and death. Parts
Four and Five narrate our journey through history and provide the
bulk of the material in this book.
The heart of the matter
To many of us, it would seem that the Bible is the source of more
questions than answers. "I've got my family, friends, a car, a roof
over my head, career prospects and regular holidays! What more
do I want? Why bother reading it in the first place, let alone trying
33
to understand it, especially when there are so many other things to
worry about in life?" The truth is that the Bible has been given to
us, not to incite arguments, but to provide answers. There are many
things in life which we do not fully understand, and cannot hope to
understand, unless we understand our beginnings. For example,
from babyhood we ask ourselves the questions: "Who am I? Where
did I come from? How did I get here?" This natural curiosity is one
of the reasons why Alex Haley in his book Roots so vividly captured people's imaginations when he traced his ancestry as a black
American back to his native Africa to answer the question: "Who
am I?"
The past is not only the key to the present. It is also the key
to the future. In the business world, a purchaser of a business will
always analyse past performance and scrutinise company accounts
before buying it.
When interviewing for a job, a potential employer will first
ask for a resume, because that, together with references, will indicate whether or not the candidate will be suited for the position applied for and be conscientious and hardworking.
The Bible tells us where we have come from— historically,
socially, morally and environmentally, revealing a progression
through time, from the dawn of civilisation to the sophistication of
the Twenty-first Century. Armed with this knowledge of where we
have come from, we can better determine who we are today and,
who we can become in the future, both individually and as a race.
The questions that we all dwell upon about life and the
world around us are many, very often complicated and seldom answered. We do not profess to have all the answers to these questions. Those questions that we have addressed in this book account
for only a fraction of the questions which represent the riddles of the
universe and Twenty-first Century life. Nevertheless, whatever our
religious conviction, position in society, colour, age or creed, it is
our hope that by the time we come to the end of this book, we will
be able to more confidently assert: "I know the meaning of life", and
answer that one fundamental question for ourselves… Who am I?
Who Am I?
34
Notes:
a
Critique of the Hegelian Philosophy of Right (1844), Introduction – Karl Marx
b
Genesis 1:1
c
These phrases became well-known following President Bush's address to
the American people subsequent to the bombings of the World Trade
Centre in 2001.
d
Time Magazine, January 1989
e
Almost 15,000,000 acres of land are being destroyed annually contributing to the problem of over-population. An example of how serious the
problem of destroying viable farmland has become, comes from the
country of Rwanda in Africa. In 1994, the problem of over-population
had become so bad, and the resulting environmental damage from overfarming, that, according to the United Nations Environmental Protection
Agency (UNEP), it was one of the major contributing factors to one of
the worst episodes of genocide that the world has ever seen. Famine and
unrest led to a terrible civil war and over 800,000 Moderate Hutus and
Tutsi were slaughtered in a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing that
lasted 100 days. The rate of genocide was greater than that of the Nazis
during the Holocaust. Mark Halle, is Project Coordinator of Environment and Security at the International Institute of Sustainable Development. He says: "the critics of environment and security tend to say that
it's not the environment that triggers the wars and I think that's right. But
in fact, environment can raise social tensions, it can increase competition
of scarce resources and, under a combination of circumstances, that can
lead to conflict." (Source: BBC World )
f
Ibid.
g
Ecclesiastes 1:4
h
As we shall see, one of the main reasons for this is that during the last
2,000 years, paganism has crept into most aspects of Christendom itself,
making it abandon the original message of the First Century teachings of
Christ and the Apostles.
i
2 Timothy 3:15
j
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to
God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
k
Hebrews 1:1
PART 2
ONCE UPON A TIME
“Science without religion is lame.
Religion without science is blind.”
— Albert Einstein
CHAPTER 1
How Did I Get Here?
L
et us start by looking at a story which you may regard as
being factual, or you may not. It concerns what went on
before the first records of mankind, and represents a
popular explanation of how our universe came to be.
This is the story:
Billions of years ago, suddenly, and for some unexplained reason, there was an enormous explosion in space. Such
were the consequences of this "big-bang" that Matter from it
was propelled in a multitude of different directions. Subject to
the laws of physics, and over millions of years, atoms and molecules formed, later developing into more complex gases, liquids, and, after substantial cooling, solids. The universe as we
know it, a mixture of stars, planets, solar systems and galaxies,
was born. As the process of cooling continued, within one such
galaxy, one such system of stars and planets, a mixture of rock,
soil, minerals, liquid and gas took shape in the form of one
planet, which we have affectionately come to term as Earth.
Initially, the atmosphere upon Earth was a noxious
blend of hostile gases, acidic and unable to support life. Over
millions of years, however, conditions became more conducive
for the introduction of life. Suddenly, the first forms of life appeared and the wheels of the evolutionary machine started in
motion. Sustained by the environment, organisms evolved becoming more advanced in genetic make-up, intelligence and
sophistication until, eventually, both male and female variations
formed. These species continued adapting to their environments, growing in complexity and size. Then only a few million
40
Who Am I?
years ago, following a process of Natural Selection, surviving
mutation upon mutation, beings known as Homo-sapiens came
to the top of the evolutionary ladder. They had won the race for
the survival-of-the-fittest and are still growing in intelligence,
strength and genetic complexity, still adapting to their environment, and still making evolutionary advancement.
Well, that is the story. In essence, it is a combination of
popular theories which describe our supposed origins, and includes
a summary of Charles Darwin's ideas for the origins of life, as presented in his books the Origin of Species and The Nature of Man.
This story is probably better known to us as the Theory of Evolution or "the origination of species by development from earlier
forms" as the Oxford Dictionary defines it.a
This answer to the basic question that everybody asks
themselves— "How did I get here?" is by no means a new one. In
fact, it happens to be one of the oldest answers to this ancient difficulty from as far back as Aristotle, Plato, Socrates and other Greek
philosophers. During the last two centuries, however, there has been
an intense escalation in the number of attempts by men to rationalise our existence upon this planet in terms of chance and theoretical
models. Some of these men include Henry Wallace, Charles Lyle
and Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of Charles Darwin, from
whom his grandson got a lot of his ideas.
This, therefore, leaves us pondering a strange question. If
people have speculated about evolution for so long, then why did it
become such a popular explanation for our origins in the middle of
the Nineteenth Century, and why did Charles Darwin get all the
publicity? Well, although others had expressed their support for the
idea of evolution, it was Charles Darwin who theorised, not so
much a plausible explanation as to what happened, but how evolution could have happened. Clearly, the ideas put forward by Darwin
were extremely thought-provoking. Indeed, in the century and a
quarter since the Origin of Species was published, it has done more
to change men's thinking than any other book since the Qu'ran, becoming an institution to which many eminent men and women commit themselves, almost as religiously as those who believe in God.
PART 2: Once Upon A Time
41
A conflict of opinions
Two of these men, both highly regarded scientists in their day, were
Sir Julian Huxley (co-author of Evolution— a Modern Science) and
Sir Alister Hardy (author of The Biology of God).
Sir Julian Huxley comments:
The first point to make about Darwin's theory is that it is no longer theory,
but fact. b
Sir Alister Hardy states:
Evolution is not, of course, only a theory, as some elderly, sheltered people
may perhaps still imagine; it is as much a reality as are the facts of geography. c
These two statements are very bold, and assume, of course,
that evolution is, indeed, "proven" conclusively to be "fact". However, the very language that Charles Darwin used in his book, language such as "assumed", "possible", "probable" and "supposed",
mandates that his ideas presented were merely theoretical and not
fact! By its very definition, a theory is a general proposition, not
self-evident, but only able to be demonstrated by argument. Unless
someone has been around for billions of years to witness the progress of evolution, then, surely, the statement that "evolution... is as
much a reality as are the facts of geography" is as absurd as saying
that we can prove the physical existence of God?
In an article entitled "Adaptation," in the magazine Nature
(vol.124,1929) the evolutionist Dr. D. Watson suggested:
The Theory of Evolution itself is a theory universally accepted, not because it can be proved... but because the only alternative is special creation which is clearly incredible. d
The conviction of another scientist, Professor Louis Bounoure, Director of Research at the National Centre of Scientific Research in France, compelled him to state the following about the
Theory of Evolution:
Evolution is a fairy-tale for grown-ups. This theory has helped nothing in the
progress of science. It is useless. e
42
Who Am I?
Dr. Watson and Professor Bounoure say that the Theory of
Evolution is unproven. Sir Alister Hardy and Sir Julian Huxley, on
the other hand, state that it is a proven fact! How can the rest of us
who are neither scientists nor biologists possibly hope to answer the
riddle of our origins, when even the scientific world is not united on
this important issue?
Dr. Watson suggests that there is an alternative— "special
creation." But creation implies "a Creator" and that out of chaos
came design!
The Time Capsule
What is the reasonable answer? Should we regard the "clearly incredible" story of creation as being nothing more than a
"fairy-tale"? Has the Theory of Evolution been proven to be fact?
Or is it merely an attempt to rationalise our existence upon this
planet in terms of theoretical models merely to make us independent
of a Creator?
These are the questions that we must embrace. For either
life on Earth came about by personal choice or impersonal chance;
was created by design or evolved through disorder; was intended
or is merely an accident. These are not easy questions to answer,
yet they are the most fundamental of questions regarding our existence.
As already suggested, to determine which description of our
origins holds the most water, we would have had to have been witnesses to events billions of years ago. Join us then as we invite you
to enter into our time capsule, and we will travel back through time
and space to the supposed origin of the universe…
43
Notes:
a
Evolution is defined as "A Change in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations, as a result of natural selection acting
on the genetic variation among individuals, and resulting in the development of new species."— The American Heritage Dictionary of English Words,
Fourth Edition
b
"At Random", a T.V. programme screened on 21 November, 1959, reported in S. Tax, Evolution After Darwin (University Press, Chicago, 1960)
Vol. 3 pp 41-65.
c
The Biology of God— A. Hardy, (p.24)
d
Reprinted in The Bible or Evolution by The Herald of the Coming Age, Publication Number: SAR 0336- January 1985
e
Reprinted in The Bible or Evolution by The Herald of the Coming Age, Publication Number: SAR 0336- January 1985
CHAPTER 2
The Origin Of
The Universe
10,000,000,000 bc
T
he date, according to those who have done their calculations, is approximately ten billion BC, give or take a few
million years! As we float through time and space and
look out of our capsule at the origin of the universe,
there are a couple of interesting theories which explain how the universe came to be. (Which one we choose to believe really depends
upon our own personal preference, as there is very little scientific
evidence to support either.)
(1)
The first theory describing how the universe came to be is
that there was no "beginning." In other words, some suggest that
the universe has always existed. What the universe looked like all
those years ago is exactly the same as it looks like today.
There are two states in which this dormant universe is said
to exist. The first state suggests that the Earth (together with all the
other planets of the galaxy and universe) is in a permanent state of
oscillation, expanding and contracting from a central point. Proponents of this theory tell us that this cycle recommences every few
million years, and, at the moment, the universe is, once again, expanding.
The second state is known as the "Steady-State Theory"
and was made popular by Sir Fred Hoyle.a This idea is probably
best understood by considering a water fountain, since the principle
is very similar. In the same way that water is produced from the
45
centre of a fountain and moves out away from the centre and disappears over the edge, so the Steady State Theory suggests that at the
centre of the universe fresh matter is fed into space, eventually disappearing over the edge of the expanse, only to be replaced by fresh
matter from the middle again.
This first theory suggests that the universe had no origin.
On what little evidence that we do have, however, this would not be
a scientific, logical or justified conclusion to draw. One of the problems with this theory is what is commonly known in the scientific
world as entropy. Entropy is best described by considering the principle of a child's wind-up toy. It takes effort or energy to wind up
the toy. Once released, the toy will continue to move or perform its
designed function until, finally, it winds down when there is no
more tension left in the spring. Entropy, in simple terms, is the
winding down of the universe; the gradual diminishing of light given
out by stars; the reduction of natural resources upon Earth; the depletion of the ozone layer in the atmosphere. In the same way that
energy is needed to wind up the toy so that it can function, so, too,
energy must have been "put in" at the beginning when the universe
was "wound-up" with raw materials and energy.
(2)
A second answer to our origins is called the "Big-Bang
Theory". It is basically the same theory of the origin of the universe
that we paraphrased in the previous chapter. The theory of the BigBang suggests that the universe was, at one point in time, a singular
ball of matter or energy, which, for reasons that are not yet understood, exploded, propelling matter in a multitude of different directions. With this explosion, all the laws of motion and constancy
were created, and since that time the universe has been in a state of
expansion.
Evidence used to support this concept of how the universe
began is data supporting idea that the universe is steadily expanding, suggesting that it once had a central point of origin, and background radiation which scientists suggest resulted from a huge explosion once upon a time in the universe.
46
Who Am I?
An unanswered question
If the universe did have such a "big-bang" origin (with everything
that we see today coming from a single ball of matter or energy)
then we are faced with a problem. The density of this matter would
have been infinite. "So?" we might ask. So imagine for a moment
that you are carrying a bucket full of water and a bucket full of
gold. The difference in weight between the two would be tremendous, even though the two buckets were the same size. The reason
why the two weights are so vastly different is that the density of
gold is significantly greater than that of water.
The density of water is 1 gm/cm3
The density of gold is 18.88 gm/cm3
The calculated density of matter at the beginning of the universe, before the first atom was formed, is almost infinite, or
greater than 5 x 1093 grams/cm3.b
Now we can see the problem. Such an incredibly dense ball
of matter would require an infinitely large amount of energy in the
first fraction of a second to make it explode. All the laws that govern our universe, such as Newton's and Einstein's Laws, would also
break down in the first fraction of a second.c Science is agreed that
for such an explosion to have happened, a beginning with infinite
power or energy was required.
Some obvious questions arise then. For instance, how did
this massive ball of energy or matter get there to start with, and if
there were such a beginning, who or what caused this explosion?
Reconciling scientific theories with God is always difficult,
and arguably, very dangerous. Yet, interestingly enough, the Bible
describes where this initial burst of energy may have come from (if
such a beginning took place). Psalm 147: 4-5 ascribes infinity to
God, in the context of describing His great power and glory.
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.
Could this be the answer to the question of "infinite energy", if such beginning took place? If it is, then this agreement between science and the Bible is not so unusual, as we will see.
47
Life on Earth
Having looked at some of the options of how the universe began,
let's now look at what conditions were needed on Earth for life to
have appeared and evolved.
(i) The right sort of sun.
Within the universe there are suns (or stars) of all types and sizes.
Some are Red Giants. Others are White Dwarfs. The variation is
tremendous. There are some suns that emit too much ultra-violet
light, which is a form of energy that is extremely hazardous to our
skin.
There are other stars which are known to give off harmful
forms of nuclear energy, also dangerous to life. Some suns do not
give off enough of the right sort of light necessary to sustain plant
life, and others do not give off a steady stream of sunlight. Instead
they emit infrequent bursts of light resulting in the planets of their
systems being either too hot or too cold to sustain life.
(ii) Distance from the sun
Not only is the kind of sun important to consider for a planet to sustain life. The distance a planet is from its sun is also vitally important. For instance, take our solar system as an example. Life on
Pluto, the furthest planet from the sun, is totally implausible as the
temperatures on its surface are far too low. Similarly, temperatures
on Mercury are too high to be able to sustain life as it is too close to
the sun. On the other hand, the Earth's distance from the sun is just
perfect!
(iii) Annual variation in temperature
The Earth's migratory orbit around the sun is slightly elliptical, or
oval-shaped. While the distance of the planet from the sun may vary
a little throughout the year, unlike other planets, there is not a huge
variation in distance from the sun as the Earth orbits around it. This
means that the annual variation in the surface temperature on Earth
is very small, thus enabling it to sustain life for the full 3651/4 days
that it takes to go around the sun.
48
Who Am I?
(iv) Size of planet
Another important quality of the Earth to consider is its size. Earth
has an atmosphere of different gases that is not only able to sustain
life, but able to keep many harmful rays out. Many bodies in space,
such as the moon, however, do not have any atmosphere. The reason why one does and the other does not is mainly due to size. A
large planet has a greater gravitational pull and is able to keep
gases upon the surface without having them disperse into the atmosphere. Planet Earth happens to be just the right size.
So far we have seen that the Earth is a planet in a solar system with just the right sort of sun, the right temperature, the right
elliptical path through space and the right size. What other essential
qualities does it have?
(v) The right speed of rotation.
As we have already mentioned, before a planet can sustain any form
of life, a suitable atmosphere must shroud its surface. But even
then, without the right speed of rotation, the atmosphere would be
swirling with cyclones, hurricanes and other catastrophic weather
phenomena. Because the speed of rotation of the Earth is just right,
catastrophic weather phenomena on its surface are only localised
and infrequent.
Of course, if the speed of rotation of the Earth was much
slower, then we would have to once again consider the effect of
temperature change. The Earth's speed of rotation is just right, so
that the diurnal temperature changes are not too extreme. (By comparison, the planet Mercury takes 59 of our Earth days to rotate and
the planet Venus takes 243 of our Earth days to turn around once.
Hence, the alarmingly high temperatures upon Venus of 500oC or
more which are just a little too high to sustain life!)
(vi) The planet's tilt
A planet's tilt is another important characteristic to consider. Planet
Earth's tilt is exactly 231/2 degrees which is ideal to sustain the huge
variety of animal and plant-life on its surface. This relatively shallow tilt angle, not only ensures that the extremes to which the sur-
49
face temperature can change is limited, but it is also responsible for
producing the varieties of seasons which Earth experiences. Admittedly, life on Earth is not dependent upon whether it has been designed to have variations in weather patterns and seasons. But apart
from the fact that life upon the planet might be quite boring without
them, too much tilt would expose the planet's surface to too little or
too much of the sun's rays (such as Uranus) and, thus, give extremes too diverse for it to sustain life.
(vii) Water! Water! Water!
The universe has more Hydrogen than any other element. So why is
Planet Earth more abundant with water, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, the four life-giving substances of which we are all composed?
Not only is it a fact that water is needed to sustain life, but there
needs to be an awful lot of it. Indeed, over four-fifths of the planet
is covered by this important substance. One of the first astronauts
to visit the moon said on looking back at the Earth, that it was like
"a beautiful jewel hanging in space." This observation alone tells us
that Earth is different from any other planet in our solar system
with its vibrant assortment of colours of blue, white and green.
These colours tell us specifically that the Earth has an abundance of
water upon its surface in the form of— seas of water, masses of ice,
clouds of water vapour and forests flourishing with all kinds of
trees and vegetation.
There are a multitude of different ways in which water
helps to sustain life on Earth. The following few examples show
just how important water is to our planet.
Water changes in temperature quite slowly. Thus any creatures which live in it do not have to readily adapt to sudden changes
to survive. This is one of the reasons why as humans we can bear
sudden large changes in outside temperature, because more than
half of our bodies are comprised of water!
Another remarkable quality of water is that when water
freezes, instead of sinking and growing into a larger and larger
block of ice, it floats! This means that in the polar regions where
the arctic air would kill all but the most furry creature, the covering
Who Am I?
50
of ice provides a blanket against the frigid air.
At the other extreme, if the surface of the Earth was much
more than one-fifth land, then there would be a significantly higher
percentage of its surface covered in desert. The reason for this is
that water acts as a cooling agent to the world. Truly, water is an
incredibly amazing life-sustaining substance!
(viii) Materials
While there are many substances on Earth such as water that support life, there are also many other materials such as sulphur, phosphorous, iodine, potassium, chlorine, iron, and calcium which in
certain quantities or concentrations can impede the development of
life. The fact is that, contrary to science-fiction stories and movies
that we may be familiar with, and irrespective of which planet we
live on in the universe, certain substances and materials (according
to the universal laws of physics and chemistry) are unable to sustain
life. Some substances, such as uranium and radium, are so hazardous to life that they can destroy it altogether. Planet Earth has just
the right amount of the right stuff and hardly any of the wrong
stuff!
Dr. James Lovelock and Dr. Sydney Epton expressed this
issue quite succinctly in their paper published in 1975:
Life exists only because material conditions on the Earth happen to be just
right for its existence... [this view] implies that life has stood like a poised
needle for over 3,500 million years. If the temperature or humidity or salinity or acidity or any one of a number of other variables had strayed outside
a narrow range of values for any length of time, life would have been annihilated.d
(ix) Atmosphere
We have already seen that an atmosphere is most necessary for life
to be able to develop and survive. How the atmosphere is made up
is also very important. On Earth it is composed of 78% nitrogen,
21% oxygen, 0.03% carbon dioxide and a small amount of water
vapour and inert gases. This combination of gases together is ideal
for sustaining life.
51
Our Perfect World
Oxygen, whether it is breathed at a depth of twenty metres
below sea level through a diving mask, or inhaled at twenty kilometres above the Earth's surface in a spacesuit, is needed in abundance
to enable animal life to survive. Surprisingly enough, it is from the
sea that over 90% of the world's oxygen is produced due to the phenomenal amount of seaweed and one-celled organisms which thrive
in water. But the amount of oxygen must not exceed much more
than 21% of the atmosphere, otherwise whenever lightning strikes
the Earth, areas of dry vegetation would ignite.
Carbon dioxide, on the other hand, is a waste product
breathed out by animals. It is also essential to the diet of plant-life.
Too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would be harmful to
animal life; any less and there would be the risk of there being too
little for plants to survive. Plants give off as their waste product
huge volumes of oxygen; perhaps only a waste product to the
plants, but a vital gas for the animal kingdom. This delicate balance
is one of the first symbiotic relationships of the natural world; an
instance where two or more forms of life are dependent upon each
other for survival. Now if evolution is the correct way of seeing the
52
Who Am I?
development of the natural world, then how can this and the many
other symbiotic relationships which appear on the surface of the
Earth be explained? If the many variations in life are supposed to
have come about "just by chance" through a process of trial and error, then why are they so dependent upon each other for survival?
"The chances are..."
In the last few pages we have only skimmed the top of a mountainous pile of statistics, facts and evidence which has forced scientists
to admit that an incredibly large number of fortunate coincidences
exist on Earth which cannot be explained as being a matter of
chance, because the odds against such are so enormous.
We all talk about chance one way or another. For instance,
we might say, "Is there a chance that you could..." or "The chances
are that..." But the subject of chance and mathematical calculation
does not provide meaningful and stimulating conversation. When I
was at school, the very least topic of interest in my mathematics
course was statistics. The pages and columns of numbers did nothing but prove to me that the whole subject was a waste of time and
effort (except for passing exams!) and as much practical use to me
in later life as a freezer would be to someone living at the North
Pole! Having said that, however, those laborious hours slaving over
inanimate columns of numbers did help me to appreciate more fully
just how chance works.
The following example was once given by a scientist to
demonstrate how chance works as he, too, tried to address this
question of "luck versus design." e
Most of us have played board games which need dice. Invariably each player trys to throw the magic number six so that they
can get an advantage in the game. But the likelihood that a number
six would be thrown, is only once in six throws, or a one in six
chance. It is even less likely that using two dice a total of twelve or
two sixes would be thrown.
Now imagine a situation where someone has a bucket containing one hundred dice, and hopes to throw one hundred sixes!
53
"Practically impossible!" you might think because the odds of that
happening are so small. But the more times that the bucket is
thrown, the more likely a score of six hundred would be achieved.
Now let us assume that there are 1,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000 stars in the universe and that each star has orbiting it
1,000 planets and let us add another three zeros for good measure!
The total number of planets in the universe would be
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000— a meaningless number
to most of us, but suitable for practical demonstration.
Let us now assume that there are 1,000,000,000 men and
women living upon each of those planets, and let us further assume
that they have been there for as long as the universe has supposed to
have been in existence; say 10,000,000,000 years. Once again for
safety let us multiply that number by 100. So what is the imaginary
situation that we find ourselves in?
Well, we have:
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 planets.
1,000,000,000,000 people upon each planet, and
1,000,000,000,000 years that they have been there.
For all that time, on all those planets, all those men and
women have been doing is throwing a bucket of one hundred dice in
the hope that at least one of them might throw six hundred as a total
score— one hundred sixes, at the same time. Furthermore, ever
since the beginning of time they have been throwing their buckets
once per second, sixty times per minute, thirty-one million times per
year!
So how many times have any of them ever thrown a total
score of six hundred? The answer is never. The probability that
anyone on any of those planets during any of that time scoring six
hundred, is in the region of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 to 1.
What are we, therefore, trying to prove? Well, this little
story certainly does not prove that the conditions for life to exist
upon one of the planets in the universe could not have happened by
chance. Indeed, there would be no reason why the very first throw
could not have produced a score of six hundred. What it does show,
however, is that the likelihood or probability of conditions being
Who Am I?
54
exactly right for life to thrive, just by chance, is extremely low. As
Dr. James Lovelock and Dr. Sydney Epton expressed it, it would
have implied "...that life has stood like a poised needle for over
3,500 million years."
There are those who are willing to admit that luck is not the
answer and believe that the universe must be a product of design,
but they are still happy to endorse the atheistic faith that there is no
God.
They suggest that we have two choices.
The first is that the universe itself is a supreme being controlling its own destiny. This is known as pantheism. The second is
a belief in the Earth-goddess Gaia, commonly referred to today as
"Mother Nature".
Why do so many put their faith in the unexplained and
seemingly unobvious, willing to believe that the Earth is superior
and more intelligent than those who live upon its surface? Well, the
reason is that there is only one other alternative, that God alone is
the great Master-mind behind design.
Notes:
a
A New Model for the Expanding Universe— Sir Fred Hoyle, published in
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 108, 1948 (p. 33).
b
Creation Versus Evolution— Arthur Gibson, published by The Testimony.
c
Ibid., (p.4).
d
New Scientist, Article: "The Quest for Gaia", (p. 304) 6th February 1975
e
God Is— Alan Hayward, (pp. 78-79).
CHAPTER 3
The First Signs
Of Life
4,500,000,000 BC
A
t the end of the previous chapter we tried to determine
how likely it was that, just by chance, conditions became exactly right for the introduction of life. In this
chapter we want to discuss what the chances would
have been for life to have appeared as well.
First of all, of course, we must appreciate how life is made
up. We are not going to go into the detailed mechanics of the human
anatomy or the genetic structure of the simplest cell. We must, however, be aware of the necessary ingredients which make up the web
of life.
One theory which is believed in evolutionary circles describing the dawn of life upon Planet Earth runs something along
these lines: "A long time ago when the muddy pools of the Earth
were young, they were bombarded by radiation, and eventually a
number of sizeable molecules formed taking the shape of the very
first form of life."
Clearly, this is a over-simplification of how life supposedly
came to be. But the leading evolutionist, biology professor and science-fiction writer, Isaac Asimov, endorses this paraphrase as follows:
Molecules in the ocean grew gradually more complicated until eventually,
some molecule was somehow formed that could bring about the organisa-
56
Who Am I?
tion of simpler molecules into another molecule just like itself. With that, life
began and continued, gradually evolving to the present state of affairs.a
"Simple...plausible..." one writer has commented, "but...a
sorry misrepresentation of modern knowledge." b
First of all, the only type of molecule known to be able to
reproduce itself given the right conditions is nucleic acid. Those
conditions are inside a living cell, as an integral part of that cell, or
as part of a virus preying on that cell.
Secondly, a nucleic acid cannot reproduce itself without an
insulating shell of protein.
And thirdly, as we need food and water to develop and
grow, so does nucleic acid need its very own food and water in the
form of elaborate chemicals called enzymes. And not just any enzymes. There are millions of enzymes, each doing different jobs.
The enzyme that nucleic acid needs is very specific and enables it to
grow and reproduce.
To expect a nucleic acid (such as DNA) to exist, therefore,
without the proper enzyme and without an insulating shell of protein, is as ridiculous as expecting human beings to live in temperatures of -15oC without heating or clothing, or to continue to survive
without food and water!
The simplest form of life known to man is a virus or microbe. Isaac Asimov may well be right in saying that an extraordinary set of circumstances may have existed so that the first nucleic
acid or DNA could have formed by chemical reaction. But the right
proteins and enzymes as well, all coming together to constitute the
first and most primitive form of life at the same time? Surely not?
What do scientists think about this improbable situation?
How do they explain how life began? Do they have yet a satisfactory explanation?
One popular textbook, The Origin of the Earth, says:
It must be admitted from the beginning that we do not know how life began...
We do not as yet have one plausible, detailed and complete hypothesis [of
life's origin]. c
57
In short, science has not come up with a vaguely plausible
theory. Some highly esteemed scientists such as Sir Ernst Chain
have even been so forthright to suggest that "directive forces" must
have been operating:
The principle of technological purpose [i.e. well-planned creative purpose]...
stares the biologist in the face wherever he looks... The probability for such
an event [i.e. the origin of DNA molecules by sheer chance] to have occurred is just too small to be seriously considered given even a time period
as long as that of the existence of life on Earth. The assumption of directive
forces in the origin and development of vital processes becomes a necessity in any kind of interpretation. d
The question stumping all intelligent people is this: How
could such incredibly complex substances such as DNA (which we
have just been describing), suddenly appear as a consequence of
spontaneous chemical reaction? The scientist explains that there has
been no known case of an inorganic substance becoming an organic
substance, of matter producing life. The evolutionist adamantly
maintains that a slime-pit plus a chemical reaction produced life.
But the laws of nature rule that only life can produce life. Some estimate that the odds against life spontaneously appearing at all by
chance, requires a planet which has had conditions suitable upon its
surface for, in the region of, 1080 years. One commentator has compared the chance of life appearing in its simplest form to the possibility of the most complex factory run by the most complex computer appearing without design. Similarly, the chance that life could
have appeared as a result of a simple chemical reaction is like saying that if one were to throw one's watch to the floor, then given
enough time it would change into a pair of glasses! Even Isaac
Newton said that it was as absurd as putting all the parts of a watch
in a bag, shaking it up and expecting the parts to fit themselves together to form a working watch! As Louis Pasteur proved, only life
can produce life. So where did the very first cell come from, if we
are to believe that life on Earth developed as a result of an evolutionary chain reaction?
58
Who Am I?
Darwin's Evolution
Having considered what the likelihood is of life appearing in its simplest form other than by design, the next step is to ask whether life
has one common origin? Was there an internal mechanism within
the chemistry of the simplest cell, a built-in program, encouraging it
to evolve into varying species in order to adapt to its changing environment and rise above its past?
No doubt we have all seen diagrams picturing the supposed
evolution of man over the last few million years. Essentially, they
show a creature crawling from the slime-pits representing something vaguely reptile-like in appearance, developing into four
legged, warm-blooded mammals, eventually looking ape-like in appearance, and finally becoming mankind as he is today. More simply put, it describes the progressive development of forms of life,
from the simple to the complex, culminating in Man. This is Evolution.
At this point, it must be explained that there are two different terms that are commonly used to describe Evolution.
The first term that is micro-evolution and describes the definitive adaptation of a creature to an environment, or internal
change in chromosomes. A widely publicised example of this is the
peppered moth in Manchester, England.
The second term that is commonly used is macro-evolution.
This describes the change of one type of being into another, as a result of many small (micro) changes, by trial and error, i.e. a fish
into a lizard, a horse into a giraffe, or an ape into a human being.
To help us understand more clearly the differences between
macro and micro evolution, consider the gradual evolution of the
aeroplane from the first aircraft made of light wood and fabric to
the modern Airbus.
The first aircraft was invented by the Wright brothers in
1903. Thereafter, the basic aircraft design went through many small
gradual changes until the first bi-planes were built, war planes such
as the Spitfire were developed and the first propeller driven airliners
took to the skies. In 1937 Frank Whittle invented the first jet engine.
59
The Evolution of the Airplane
1903
2003
In 1947 the first supersonic aircraft was flown. And in 1976, Concorde, the first supersonic airliner, was brought into service for
trans-Atlantic flights. Space flight revolutionised air travel in the
50's and 60's. Even space flight changed dramatically with the introduction of the Space Shuttle in the early 80's.
Although the basic theory for air travel has not changed
much during the last one hundred years, and there has not been
much change from the basic design of the earliest aircraft (i.e. most
aircraft still have a fuselage, a wing and a tail), there have been
some very dramatic changes in the design of the aeroplane.
The gradual changes in the basic design of the aircraft over
a long period of time to improve speed, size or weight could be described as micro-evolution.
The sudden changes in design such as the change from the
basic aero-aspirated engine to the jet engine, or from nonpressurised flight to pressurised flight, or from the conventional
wing to a supersonic wing are unusually large changes in the aeroplane's design— macro-evolution
Micro-evolution, therefore, describes the gradual changes
in design over time. Macro-evolution, on the other hand, describes
very radical changes in design over a relatively short period of time.
There is an abundance of evidence for micro-evolution in the world.
But can the same be said for macro-evolution?
60
Who Am I?
Missing links are still missing
Much has been written in support of the Theory of Evolution and
the progressive development of species from their simplest forms.
Very little, however, is said of the wide gaping holes in the evidence
to support such a theory, and the quite unjustifiable conclusions that
have been drawn. For instance, there are countless breaks in the
evolutionary chain with the so called missing links still missing.
The Theory of Evolution, and, in particular, macroevolution, requires many millions of years to accomplish the many
small changes (micro-evolution) necessary for the development of
our wide variety of species, all of which, according to the Theory of
Evolution, evolved from one simple organism. The body of evidence
used to support this theory is the geological record, consisting of
successive layers of rock and geological stratum, evidently deposited over millions of years. Apparently, frozen within these successive layers is evidence of the progressive development of species
from the simple at the lower levels of the Earth's crust to the most
complex at its surface.
There does seem to be a general progression in the geological record which supports this theory, with simple forms of life appearing in certain rock formations at lower levels than "more advanced" forms of life. (We say "general progression" since not all
rock formations show such a graduation. Indeed, there are many
examples of reversals and also rock formations where all kinds of
creatures, including ancient man, are found together in the same
layer.) If the geological record does show progressive development,
it should also show intermediate stages of advancement. In other
words, as creatures changed from one species into another, there
must have been some creatures that were partially developed into
the new form, having characteristics of both species. Nevertheless,
there is not one "bridge fossil" in the geological record to prove that
these transitions ever took place. At no point in the fossil record do
we find creatures which are half-fish and half-reptile, or half-reptile
and half-bird. In fact, creatures which we do find in the fossil record, such as the ant and the crab, have not changed their basic
61
physical characteristics in millions of years. An ant has not changed
in the last 30 million years. A crab has not changed in the last 200
million years (according to science's own dating methods).
From invertebrate to vertebrate
We are told that life began with the invertebrates, creatures which
possess no backbone. Nevertheless, there is no evidence in the fossil
record which shows a gradual development in the backbone, as
creatures evolved from being invertebrate to vertebrate. Vertebrates
appear suddenly with their backbones perfectly formed.
From reptile to bird
Another leap up the evolutionary ladder is in the transition from
cold-blooded reptile to warm-blooded bird. One of the most famous
examples of missing links is Archaeopteryx— a bird which seems
to exhibit physical characteristics of both birds and reptiles. Preserved examples of this species were discovered in limestone beds
of the Jurassic period, suggesting a relatively early date for its existence. Nevertheless, a few years later other examples of this type of
bird were discovered in the Jurassic Limestone beds of Utah, suggesting that Archaeopteryx was contemporary with other "more advanced" species of birds (which weren't supposed to have appeared
for another million years or so). This discovery led to the conclusion that, in fact, Archaeopteryx was just another species of bird,
and respected palaeontologists such as Gould and Eldredge entirely
reject Archaeopteryx as a transition.
Other possible missing links are the peccary, the bat, the
Okapi (formerly known as Paleotragus), the Coelacanth and the
Plesiosaur. Recent discoveries, however, of living specimens of
these particular fossils show that they have not changed their physical characteristics, in some cases, for almost 100 million years. The
conclusion has, therefore, been reached that these "living fossils"
are nothing more than rare examples of some nearly extinct species.
What is evident when digging up the fossil record is that
Darwin (and those after him) essentially built his whole theory upon
inference, and not upon the evidence of the fossil record. A study of
Who Am I?
62
the fossil record demonstrates not that there is conclusive proof for
the Theory of Evolution, but rather that there has been a misinterpretation of natural phenomena in an attempt to support a preconceived idea. Darwin himself wrote:
The geological record is extremely imperfect and this fact to a large extent
will explain why we do not find interminable varieties [transitions] connecting
together all the extinct and existing forms of life by the finest graduated
steps. He who rejects these views on the nature of the geological record will rightly reject my whole theory. e
Again Darwin wrote:
Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely graded organic chain...f
In The Major Features of Evolution, G. G. Simpson says:
It remains true, as every palaeontologist knows, that most species, genera
and families, and nearly all categories above the level of families, appear in
the record suddenly and are not led up to by known, gradual, completely
continuous transitional sequences. g
Digression: Some unsolved mysteries
Unfortunately for the evolutionist, there are a vast number of practical examples of living creatures, whose existences are beyond any
theoretical evolutionary explanation. What follows are three of
many examples that can only be explained by design.
The Bombadier Beetle
This tiny creature is really quite amazing. It has its own in-built defence mechanism designed to disable its enemies or even destroy
them. What it has, in effect, is a miniature flame-thrower! In two
separate glands it has a supply of two dangerous chemicals— hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide. When it is threatened, it injects
these two chemicals into a miniature combustion chamber which is
lined with fireproof material, and a detonator, made up of two different enzymes is added. When this little concoction comes together,
the effect is that of a powerful, miniature flame-thrower, incinerating the predator or at least making it have second thoughts about
what it wants for dinner!
63
The problem in maintaining that the Bombadier Beetle
came about through trial and error, is that one mistake with the
mixture and the poor little beetle would be blown sky high! Not
much hope for a second chance to get it right!
The Bombadier Beetle
The eye
Our second example which evolutionists cannot explain is the eye.
In fact, the development of the eye is one thing that really stumped
Darwin. He just couldn't explain how something as complicated and
so specific could have appeared by chance.
On this particular subject, he says:
That the eye with all its inimitable contrivances, could have been formed by
natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree. h
Why did Charles Darwin find it so difficult to explain the
evolution of the eye? Sir Isaac Newton helps answer that question
when he writes:
Was the eye contrived without skill in optics, and the ear without knowledge
of sound? i
Darwin's problem was that he recognised that the eye, (and
for that matter the ear), is an extremely complex organ, relying very
heavily upon the brain in order to work. For instance, compare for a
moment the eye with a video camera. A video camera and television
Who Am I?
64
screen functioning together illustrate the mechanics behind how the
eye works. Unless a television screen is connected to the camera so
that the images can be seen, the video camera is completely useless!
The Eye
In a similar way, the back of the eye is made up of millions
of photoreceptors called rods and cones. These are nerve fibres
which relay images to the brain, which in turn interprets the information which it receives to build up a picture. To be able to produce a picture which has any clarity, the eye, using a lens, has to be
able to focus the light entering the eye upon the retina.
Such a development would be hard enough to do once by
trial and error over millions of years, but the eye is supposed to
have evolved four times in four separate branches of the evolutionary tree! And what are the chances of such a complex ability developing in perfect working order? Any imperfections in the eye for
some creatures would have been fatal. For instance, just the basic
task of eating would be impossible: unable to focus right away, they
would not be able to catch their food and would have starved to
death.
The Bible leaves us in no doubt at all:
The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD has made them both
(Proverbs 20:12)
For Darwin, this problem — the evolution of the eye —
was one which troubled him until the day he died.
65
The woodpecker
Another example of a creature with features that seem to have been
designed specifically to suit its needs, is the woodpecker. If we were
to do a post-mortem on a woodpecker, we would find that it is a
biological marvel with an anatomy which is completely different
from any other bird. Compared with other birds, its beak is a lot
harder, thus enabling it to sustain repeated battering of tree trunks;
its skull is much thicker and is supported by powerful neck muscles
thus enabling it to peck at over 100 rpm; the bones between the
beak and skull have built-in shock absorbers; its claws have two
talons facing forward and two facing backwards so that it can get a
firmer grasp of the tree; its tail feathers steady the bird in a tripod
position upon the tree; its hearing is very acute and is sensitive to
detecting different types of wood which either contain insects or insect channels, and it has a tongue four times as long as its beak to
enable it to coax insects out of the tree. The woodpecker is the
power-drill of the natural world!
Now, if the woodpecker came about through natural selection, as some would suggest, and adapted to its environment in order to survive, then consider the following questions: Was pecking
necessary for the woodpecker to survive? Why couldn't it, like other
birds, feed upon the insects and grubs on the ground and in the undergrowth in order to survive? Could such a mechanically complex
anatomy have evolved through trial and error? If every feature wasn't right first time, then, surely, the first woodpecker would have
fallen casualty to a broken beak, dislocated neck, shattered head and
broken tail feathers (not to mention a severe addiction to Tylenol or
Aspirin!)
Now that we have looked a little closer at some of the examples of life on Earth around us, we are no closer to finding evidence for macro-evolution. Instead, we have seen that not only are
there huge gaps in the evolutionary chain, but there is also some incredible evidence for intelligent design. It would seem that just as
there was somebody who master-minded the design of the first aircraft, and there was someone who master-minded the changes in its
Who Am I?
66
design from propeller-propelled to jet-propelled flight, and from
sub-sonic to supersonic flight, there must also have been a Mastermind behind the incredible designs that we see in the natural world
around us today.
Notes:
a
Please Explain — Isaac Asimov
b
God Is— Alan Hayward (p.76)
c
The Origins of Life On Earth — (Prentice-Hall, Hemel Hempstead, 1974)
d
Social Responsibility and The Scientist in Modern Western Society — Ernst Chain,
(pp. 25-26)
e
The Origin of Species— Charles Darwin (p. 342)
f
Ibid., (vol. 2, p. 49)
g
The Major Features of Evolution— G. G. Simpson (p. 360)
h
Ibid., (p. 186)
i
Opticks— Isaac Newton (p. 369)
CHAPTER 4
Am I My Keeper’s
Brother?
50,000,000 bc
T
wo monkeys are sitting in a cage, one turns to the other
and asks: "Am I my keeper's brother?"! Is this a true
representation of Man's rise to become the dominant species? Did we really evolve from some kind of ape?
Eton, a leading evolutionist, once said that "Man is the
most improbable production in the universe." Evolutionists and
those who believe that we are an accident, agree. They are the first
to say that if Man had not appeared once, then the likelihood of him
coming into existence again is so remote that it is virtually impossible— such are the statistical chances.
The probability that Man arrived upon the world stage
merely by chance has been compared to the likelihood of all the
parts of a dissembled Boeing 747 (Jumbo-jet) aircraft lying in a
hanger and a freak hurricane blowing through the hanger to produce
a fully operational aircraft at the other end! Or placing a million
monkeys with a typewriter on every planet of the universe, and expecting one of them at random to write one of Shakespeare's sonnets. While these illustrations are obviously a little light-hearted,
they do leave us pondering the question: Are we wanted or are we a
mistake?
There are two sources of evidence that we can draw upon
to help us determine whether or not Man and the ape have a common ancestor or a single point of origin:
68
Who Am I?
(1)
Physiological Evidence— similarities in physiological factors (i.e. blood types, genetic relationships etc.)
Or more simply put— present evidence.
(2)
Palaeontological Evidence— similarities found in the fossil record as preserved in sedimentary rock.
Or more simply put— past evidence.
Present or physiological evidence
The best way to decide whether or not man does have a common
ancestry with the apes, is to look at the similarities and dissimilarities between Man and the ape, since both are available for close examination.
Here are some of the observations that we make.
(i)
Muscle, nerve and bone tissues are similar in both apes and
Man, and evidently both can suckle each other. It is, however, impossible for Man to have a blood transfusion with
an ape or to breed with one. A bizarre thought perhaps, but
nevertheless, it is a fact of science that some species can
interbreed. For instance, under laboratory conditions, kitti-pups have been bred. A mule is also cross-breed.a All
such cross-breeds, however, are sterile. In fact, it is impossible to breed ape-men if only for the reason that man has
forty-eight chromosomes and apes have only forty-six. The
species of animal whose genes have closest compatibility
with the human being is, evidently, the tiger!
(ii)
Although Man and apes have four limbs, the ape has four
hands; Man has two hands and two feet. The difference between the two is that man, being up-right, needs a three
point landing for balance, of which a foot is capable.
(iii)
Man has always been upright, whereas apes have always
been slouched, according to fossil evidence.
(iv)
Evidently, man has more hair follicles than an ape. The difference is that man uses his for sensory purposes.
69
Conclusion:
The significant differences between man and the apes, especially in
blood types and chromosome numbers, show that it is unlikely that
they have a common ancestry. Resemblance is not necessarily proof
of a common ancestry.
Another way of trying to prove man's common origin with
the apes using physiological evidence is to look at vestigial remains. In other words, are there any organs or pieces of Man's anatomy which are hang-overs from our ape-like ancestors?
In 1800, it was stated that we had over 180 parts of our
body which were obsolete and of no benefit to the function of the
human being. We were considered to be walking antique shops! In
1900, after intensive scientific research and advancement in medical
understanding, that figure was reduced to 100. Now it is believed
that we only have 2 or 3 which serve no purpose. Even the appendix
and the coccyx (tail bone) are not obsolete as was once supposed.
The appendix warns of poisons in the system during the early stages
of life. The coccyx has the muscles of excretion attached to it, as
well as other important muscles which help us to walk upright.
Conclusion:
Any new organs which improve an animal may provide evidence for
evolution. However, not only do we not have any organs which are
apparent left-overs from our ancestors, we do not have any new organs which were not in our supposed ancestors. It is, therefore, fair
for us to conclude that we cannot establish a common ancestry with
the ape based upon physiological evidence alone.
Past or Palaeontological Evidence.
The next best way to establish Man's common origin with the apes
is by looking at past evidence. Is there a missing link in man's rise
to the top of the evolutionary tree?
Here are some important points for us to consider:
70
Who Am I?
(i)
One of the most noticeable considerations when comparing
"fossil-man" with modern man is that many of the "fossilmen" had art, customs and religion as an integral part of
daily life.
(ii)
According to geologists, each group of "fossil-men" arose,
flourished and died out, just like many other species of the
animal kingdom and, in particular, the dinosaurs.
(iii)
There has not yet been discovered a creature half-ape/halfman (or for that matter, half-fish/half-woman!) This deficiency is unusual since many of the supposed links in the
evolutionary chain are still with us today. (cp. the coelacanth, the crab etc.)
(iv)
It was determined by Paul Broca, professor of clinical surgery in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Paris, that
intelligence is directly related to brain size. While his conclusions have since been proven to be wrong, his work is
still sited as proof of common ancestry with the apes. Early
man is supposed to have had a huge brain. Nevertheless,
there has been no progressive growth in brain size from
man's ancestors to modern man, who, evidently, enjoys a
higher level of intelligence.
Although archaeologists have unearthed at least two frauds,
we cannot conclude that all other physical evidence is fraudulent.
Let us, therefore, consider some of the more well known examples
of man's ancestors who supposedly crawled up the evolutionary ladder.
NEANDERTHAL MAN— Discovered buried in a cave floor high
up in a limestone cliff overlooking the River Dussel in the Neander
Valley in Germany, this example of "fossil-man" was uncovered in
1857. Recovered from the cave were some limbs and a single skull
cap. Initially they were believed to be one of the earliest missing
links between man and his ape-like ancestors, due to the unusually
large eyebrow ridge. Neanderthal Man became an important piece
71
of evidence that evolutionists used to support their theory. Over the
next few decades almost sixty Neanderthal skeletons were discovered, mostly in Europe, but some in Africa and Asia. All were very
similar with large eyebrow ridges, low foreheads, strong lower jaws
but no chin and with curved but heavy leg bones. In 1908 a fairly
complete specimen of Neanderthal, known as the La Chapelle-AuxSaints Neanderthal specimen, was discovered. In 1957, two anatomists, Straus of John Hopkins University and Cave of St. Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College examined these remains. Instead of
Straus and Cave confirming that this was an example of an early
"ape-man", they concluded that Neanderthal Man was in fact a
modern-type man, who suffered from severe arthritis affecting the
vertebrae and the jaw. Ivanhoe, a medical specialist, later concluded
that these examples of "fossil-man" suffered from a medical abnormality associated with Vitamin D deficiency caused by a lack of
sunlight. This deficiency is known to cause osteomalacia and rickets, the symptoms of which are subtle face changes, increase in the
size of the eye cavity and a curvature in the limbs of the leg.
JAVA MAN— Discovered by Eugene Dubois in September 1891
at Trinil in the Javanese jungle. In his book In the Minds of Men,
Ian T. Taylor comments:
This particular missing link is the product of the imagination of Eugene Dubois, and his is a classic case of a search for evidence to support a preconceived idea. Not only that, but once having found it, he spent the remainder
of his life promoting the idea on the basis of evidence, which was in fact,
very questionable at the time and even less credible today.b
The reason why so many people have voiced their concern about
Java Man being a "missing-link" is because of the circumstances
surrounding its discovery. Unlike many "fossil-men", the pieces of
skeleton attributed to Java man were not found at the same location
or at the same time. Instead, a tooth was found in September 1891,
a skullcap in October, a thighbone the following August, and another tooth was found in October, 1892. The exact location of these
finds varies from one report to another. However, the general consensus is that the skullcap was found about fifteen metres from the
72
Who Am I?
thighbone, and the teeth were found three metres from the skullcap.
Having convinced himself that these bones were from the same individual, he returned to Europe to claim his find as the "missing link".
Dubois' entire case rested upon the assumption that both the skull
and the femur came from the same individual, not only leaving scientists of Dubois' day with grave doubts, but modern day scientists
extremely surprised that some would consider Java Man as a missing link. Interestingly, Dubois confessed in his last days that Java
Man was a large ape.
PILTDOWN MAN— Discovered between 1908 and 1912 in the
Piltdown gravel pits just outside of London by an amateur fossil
hunter by the name of Charles Dawson, was, without putting too
fine a point on it, a hoax. Parts of a human skull and an ape's jaw
were stained and placed together in the gravel pits to give the appearance that they belonged together. The question remains today as
to who the hoaxter or hoaxters were. Although there have been
books written and suggestions made, the fabricators of the Piltdown
Man remains an unsolved mystery. What is for sure, however, is
that men of calibre such as Sir Arthur Keith, Sir Arthur Smith
Woodward, and Sir Grafton Elliot Smith were deceived by their
own preconceptions. The lesson learned from this particular "fossilfind" is that status in the field of science is no guarantee of accurate
evaluation of evidence.
RHODESIAN MAN— Discovered in 1921 by zinc miners at the end
of a blocked passageway in a cave at Broken Hill, Zambia, formerly British Northern Rhodesia, is another example of evidence
that is used as support for a missing link between modern man and
his ape-like ancestors. Nevertheless, two points about the skulls cast
doubt on their authenticity:
(i)
Although the bone is heavily mineralised and, therefore,
presumed to be very old, the individual suffered from
Rigg's Disease and dental caries, which are gum and tooth
disorders common in modern and not ancient civilisations.
(ii)
73
A perfectly round small hole was discovered in the left temporal bone with a larger hole appearing on the opposite side
of the skull about three to four inches in diameter. Professor Mair of Berlin is of the opinion that this head wound is
consistent with the entry and exit holes of a bullet. Although it is not being suggested that ancient man had firearms, it is quite conceivable to suggest that a cross bow at
close range would have the same effect.
NEBRASKA MAN— Discovered in 1922 in the Pliocene deposit in
Nebraska was not a man at all. Although publicised as being another vital missing link, it is probably the best example so far of intelligent people being deceived by their preconceived ideas. Pictures
and re-constructions were made of Nebraska Man and distributed
world-wide, even though such re-constructions were based upon no
more than the discovery of a single tooth. In 1928 this tooth was
discovered to be, in fact, a peccary or pig's tooth. This particular
species of pig was believed to have become extinct at the end of the
Pleistocene era! In 1972, however, living species of the same species of peccary were discovered alive and well in the Chaco of Paraguay.
PEKING MAN— Discovered at Chou K'ou Tien by the Swede Otto
Zdansky in 1922. Peking Man was originally named following the
discovery of two "human-like" teeth found among some animal
bones. This discovery was the catalyst for a number of missing link
explorers to commence a full scale search over the next decade for a
complete specimen of Peking Man. What was discovered, however,
was a fair number of smaller than human skulls with damage to
their bases. The conclusion of a number of commentators is that
these remains do not in fact represent a missing link, but are the
battered remains of monkey skulls which had their brains removed
by human workers to eat as a delicacy, a practice which is still followed in Southeast Asia today.
Who Am I?
74
Conclusion:
The catalogue of potential missing links has by no means been exhausted, but the ones that we have mentioned here are the ones that
have received the most attention. Other examples include "Lucy",
"1470 Man" and "Nutcracker Man" to mention but a few.
In October 1980, 160 evolutionary scientists and experts
met in Chicago to discus his missing link issue. Newsweek, reporting on the conference, made this observation:
The missing link between man and apes… is merely the most glamorous of
a whole hierarchy of phantom creatures. In the fossil record missing links
are the rule. The more scientists have searched for the transitional forms
that lie between species, the more they have been frustrated.c
Ian T. Taylor writes a fitting conclusion to the missing link issue:
The overwhelming problem in the study of fossil men is that the actual fossil
remains are extremely rare, and when they are found, the pieces are so broken, distorted, and incomplete that entirely different interpretations are possible. The field is, therefore, wide open for speculation which indeed, has
been carried out with abandon, particularly in the case of flesh reconstructions, which become the interface between the knowledge of the scientist
and the view offered to the lay public. After almost a Century of imaginative
productions of the most grotesque images purporting to be our ancestors, it
has finally been conceded that most of these are misrepresentations, and
they are now quietly fading from textbooks and museum displays.d
Luck or design?
The evidence for human evolution is so slight and extremely vague,
that any scientist thinking that it is sufficient enough to prove a
common origin would be taking a tremendous gamble with his professional reputation. One of the latest editions of the Origin of Species, published by HM Dent. and Co., has a forward written by W.
R. Thompson who commented:
The widespread acceptance of the Theory of Evolution as more than a theory has damaged science by encouraging speculation without evidence.
75
We are now in a position to be able to answer the following
question: Is the human race the product of an internal mechanism
or external manipulation? We must conclude that, based upon the
evidence which is available to us, there is no evident internal mechanism directing our development by evolutionary means. Similarity
of design does not prove descent. What it does suggest is a common
designer.
For the last few pages we have been hurtling through a corridor of time many millions of years long, in an attempt to trace the
prehistoric history of mankind from its origin. We have now
reached a point where we need to make a decision. Either the universe, our planet and everything in them came about by luck, or
they are wanted and a product of design.
Was it just by chance that the universe appeared? Just by
chance that the solar system appeared and all the planets in it? Just
by chance that the sun is the right size and type? Just by chance
that the sun emits the right form of light? Just by chance that the
Earth is the correct size, with the right speed of rotation and tilt?
Just by chance that the Earth has the right atmosphere, enough of
the right materials and not many of the wrong materials? Just by
chance that the Planet Earth has that life-giving substance of water?
Just by chance that the first forms of life appeared in the form of
the simplest cell made up of nucleic acid, protein and elaborate enzymes? Just by chance that this first form of life grew, adapted and
eventually became various species of plant, animal, fish and reptile?
Just by chance that various sensory organs appeared such as the
ear, eye, nose and the sense of touch? Just by chance that certain
species developed special mechanisms and features of the anatomy
for specific functions? Just by chance that Man eventually reached
the level of evolutionary status which he enjoys today— or was this
all a product of design?
Surely, to say that life is without purpose and came about
by chance, requires a huge dose of faith which evolutionists for
years have been using as an excuse for not believing in design. We
have travelled beyond the observable. But what is the logical conclusion? Are we wanted or are we an accident?
76
Who Am I?
Notes:
a
b
c
d
A mule is a cross-breed between a male donkey and a female horse.
In The Minds of Men, Ian T. Taylor (p. 221)
Published in Newsweek Magazine, week commencing 3/11/80.
Ibid.
CHAPTER 5
The Architect
A
few years ago I had the opportunity to visit Harare,
the capital city of Zimbabwe. At the centre of Harare,
an international civil engineering company was in the
process of building the Bank of Zimbabwe. From the
shear enormity of the project it was clearly evident that the final
construction was going to be a spectacular feat in civil engineering.
As we peered through the fencing which surrounded the construction site, however, all that we could see was a huge hole in the
ground with a multitude of workers scurrying around its centre.
Had it not been for the artist's impression of the size and shape of
the building which had been placed outside to satisfy the curiosity
of passers by, it would have been hard to have imagined much more
than the construction pit.
To us it seemed like an absolutely daunting task to construct such a building. But we know that everything started in the
mind of one man— the architect. Methodically and meticulously he
had gone to work transcribing the impressions of a project in his
mind to the drawing board. Scrupulous in detail; patient in its consolidation, for days, weeks, perhaps months he had meditated upon
the various essential documents which were to have an influence
upon the final design of the building. There would have been the
surveyor's report of the plot of land; details on the accessibility of
various amenities such as water, gas, sewage and electricity, as well
as the government's preferences for the final design.
At last the final draft would have been prepared. One copy
78
Who Am I?
would have been shown to his client— the government, one copy
would have been shown to his builder, and one copy would have
been kept for his own reference. Finally, work would have begun on
the realisation of the vision in his mind. But the job of the architect
by no means ended there. He still needed to be available for consultation over establishing the materials required, for discussing the
proposed time-scale for building the construction and, of course, for
supervising its development.
No doubt with the project now complete, he views it with a
great degree of satisfaction. Not only will it remain the object of his
plan and purpose, but also as a memorial to his name as long as it
remains standing: a monument to his creativity.
The Bible describes a Great Architect and Master-builder
of the universe who has a plan and purpose with the Earth. Just like
the architect described above, He, too, has made a blueprint of His
plan and purpose. The result is a book familiar to us all as the Bible. Its construction is simple and its message is clear. It bridges a
time-span of 7,000 years in its plan, and its purpose is focused
upon the Earth.
The whole construction of the Bible really hinges upon the
very first sentence of the first book of the Bible, Genesis, which
states that "In the beginning God created the Heavens and the
Earth" (Genesis 1:1). This must be one of the biggest, if not, the
biggest statements of any literature, ancient or modern, and probably stands as the most fantastic of all the claims which the Bible
makes. This, therefore, being the first verse of the Bible, is the presupposition upon which everything else that it says about God and
teaches about the world and its history, is built. For if Genesis 1:1
is a lie, then it would stand to reason that the rest of the Bible is a
lie. Indeed, if a long time ago, when nothing else existed, God had
not brought into being the entire universe, everything in outer space
and upon Planet Earth, then we must accept that the Bible is a product of human invention, and not Divine revelation.
Only a minority of people today believe in Genesis 1:1.
Most have determined that they have begun without God and that
they will probably end without God.
79
For most, the Genesis account of creation (and for that matter, the entire Bible) requires too much trust or faith to be taken seriously. For most, there seems to be far too little factual evidence
for it to be a credible alternative to the Theory of Evolution. These
are sad misconceptions. To help us understand a little more clearly
why so many people have come to these conclusions and why science and religion regularly seem to be in conflict, let us look at the
parable of the invisible snooker player.
The parable of the invisible snooker player
Imagine for a moment that you are listening to a snooker commentary on the radio.a Playing at the snooker table is the invisible
snooker champion, and commenting on the game are two announcers. The first commentates upon everything that happens up to the
point that the ball is struck. At this point the second announcer
takes over, telling the audience everything that happens on the table
after the balls are in motion.
So as the invisible snooker champion moves towards the
snooker table to play his shot, the radio commentary would sound
something like this:
"It would seem that the champion is in a good position to
clear the table, ladies and gentlemen. There is only one red ball left
and the rest of the balls are in suitable positions to pot. He moves
majestically towards the table and cues up in front of the red ball.
He is aiming to pot it into the middle pocket. He moves his cue back
and strikes the ball..."
The second announcer takes up his commentary:
"The white ball is moving towards the red ball. It hits the
red ball; the red ball hits the side of the middle pocket and goes in."
Now, there are two circumstances which may lead the two
commentators to disagree.
The first is this:
The first announcer starts his commentary:
"The champion once again moves towards the table. He has
a choice of two balls that he could pot. He may go for the yellow or
80
Who Am I?
the blue ball. It looks as if he is going for the blue ball... He cues
up… He moves his arm back and strikes the white ball..."
The second announcer continues the commentary:
"The white ball is moving across the table, hits the yellow
ball which goes cleanly into the middle pocket..."
"But I said the blue ball," exclaims the first announcer.
"But the yellow ball went into the pocket," discerns the second, and immediately a disagreement is struck up between the two.
It is a disagreement, however, which can be very easily settled by
simply looking into the corner pocket to see whether it was the yellow ball or blue ball which went into the pocket.
There is a second situation whereby the two announcers
would come into conflict again. Imagine for a moment that the game
is over and the two of them pack up their microphones and walk out
of the theatre together.
"Good game!" says the first.
"Very good game!" expresses the second.
"He played well, don't you think?"
"Who played well?"
"The invisible snooker champion!"
"What invisible snooker champion?"
"The one who was hitting the balls!"
"Nobody was hitting the balls."
"Well, how do you think that they moving then?"
"They were moving by themselves," is the reply, and immediately another disagreement is struck up between the two.
Whereas in the first situation the disagreement was over
fact and could be settled by looking in the pocket, the second disagreement is over faith and is unable to be settled through practical
demonstration.
When debating the Genesis 1 account of our origins, there
is a war being fought. Within the war there are various battles going
on. The battles are over fact. But the warfare is over faith.
81
"There is no God!" the speaker cried.
"Don't let your thoughts be trained.
This universe evolved itself;
The world is self-contained."
Just then an urchin in the crowd
A skilful pebble throws
Which accurately lands upon
His atheistic nose.
"Who threw that stone?" the speaker roars,
At which the cockney elf intuitively keen retorts
"No one! It threw itself!"
So a pathetic casualty discomforted and worse
Goes home to ponder this cause-less universe.b
This is the warfare, for either someone created something
or something created someone.
Scientists are better qualified to deal with the visible things
in life, answering such questions such as how and when and should,
therefore, be left to win the battles. The Bible addresses the invisible things, answering questions such as who and why and is better
qualified to settle the war. When we insist upon trying to reconcile
science with the Bible, the controversy begins and people become
disillusioned with religion. Instead of receiving answers to the questions who, how, why and when, people are met by a new complexity
of questions brought about through either a mistake in observation
or a mistake in interpretation. As the eminent geologist, Dr. Sali
Baratulten, from Attaturk University said,
I feel that there is no conflict between science and religion. The mere task of
science is to explain the mechanism for the nature of events, but it is religion that tells us why. c
The warfare of faith
For the most part, so far we have focused upon the battles; those
pieces of information which we can safely categorise as being fact.
As we move forward, slowly we will try to refocus our minds upon
the warfare of faith that the Bible induces.
The Bible begins, not by trying to prove the existence of
82
Who Am I?
God, but by making a very profound statement about God; that He
has always existed— "In the beginning God..." and with those few
words makes war on all the "-isms" of today.
Firstly, it makes war on probably the most popular religion
of Atheism which says that there is no God; on Agnosticism which
says that it doesn't know whether a god exists; on Pantheism which
teaches that everything is God contrary to Genesis 1 which states
that God created everything; on Existentialism which says that God
is our own religious experience; on Rationalism which says that
only things that can be proved can be believed, and as we have already stated, to prove the physical existence of God is an impossibility; on Humanism which says that Man is in charge and that our
hope is in our own hands; on Materialism which today is the most
pre-eminent philosophy of our western society, stating that only
matter is real and spirit is not; on Mysticism (the religions of the
Far East) which, at the other extreme, says that only the spirit is
real and everything else is not; on Anatalism which suggests that
the world is governed by spirits inhabiting the world; on Polytheism
says that there is more than one god such as the ancient Egyptians,
Romans and Greeks believed; on Dualism which says that there are
two gods— one good and one bad, contrary to Genesis 1 which
teaches that there is only one God; on Deism, which is what Darwin
believed, suggesting that although there is one God, He is no longer
in control.
By contrast to all these human philosophies, there is Theism (Genesis 1) which says that God created the world and is actively involved with it and can do with it as He pleases.
Which one of the above beliefs we hold no one knows better
than ourselves. But we have a choice. On the one hand, we have a
choice promoted by the Bible which claims to be a Divinely inspired
book.d On the other hand, we have all of the other ideas created by
Man. Either we can believe in an Eternal God or Eternal Matter.
Either someone produced something and has a plan and purpose, or
something produced someone and there is no obvious plan and purpose.
83
Genesis 1 says that there is a plan and purpose that "In the
beginning… God" and goes on to describe how He made the Heavens and the Earth that we have come to know and recognise.
Notes:
a
Snooker is a game which is popular in the UK and Canada. It is played
on a table with six pockets placed around the table. Similar to the game
of pool, the object is to use one white ball to knock in the other balls
which are on the table.
b
Anon.
c
Transcribed from a BBC programme aired in 1992 entitled Noah's Ark
d
2 Timothy 3:16
CHAPTER 6
The Story Of Creation
A
t the beginning of Chapter 1 we included a brief paraphrase of one popular answer to our origins. The following record of Genesis 1, is an alternative answer to
our origins.
This is the story:
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The
earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face
of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of
the waters.
Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was
light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided
the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the
darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were
the first day.
Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst
of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." Thus
God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were
under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven.
So the evening and the morning were the second day.
Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered
together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was
so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was
good.
Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the
herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was
85
so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed
according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed
is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
So the evening and the morning were the third day.
Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of
the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for
signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for
lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the
earth"; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the
greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the
night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of
the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day
and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness.
And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning
were the fourth day.
Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across
the face of the firmament of the heavens." So God created great
sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the
waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged
bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And
God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the
waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." So the
evening and the morning were the fifth day.
Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living
creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and
beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so.
And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth
according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of
the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the
earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He
created him; male and female He created them. Then God
blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the
sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that
86
Who Am I?
moves on the earth."
And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that
yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree
whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every
beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that
creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every
green herb for food"; and it was so. Then God saw everything
that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening
and the morning were the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of
them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His
work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day
from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the
seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all
His work which God had created and made." a
This is how the Bible says our universe was born and came
to be the way that it is. Either it is an account which is a fraud in a
world brought about through disorder, or a miraculous account of
an orderly world which has been put in order.
The Bible and Science
The first thing to notice about the Genesis account of the beginning
(which is in fact the meaning of the word "Genesis") is that our universe has not been around forever. With this, science is agreed.
Many ancient and modern religions also maintain that the universe
has not been around forever. For example, the ancient Mesopotamian civilisation, one of the oldest civilisations on record, believed
that the world was created by six gods on six different days, on the
sixth day making man a slave, contrary to Genesis 1 which shows
us that he was created in God's own "image" and "likeness". b
The second thing that stands out about the Genesis account
of our origins is that it has been written simply. According to the
Book of the Psalms, God "made known His ways to Moses" c who
transcribed what was revealed to him about the creation. In describing to Moses how He had created the world, God did it in such a
way so it would be understandable to all people, throughout all
87
time. It may be of interest to note that each of the seventy-six words
used in Genesis 1 can be translated into every language spoken
world-wide, and has been comprehensible for all men and women,
throughout all history.
It takes a highly intelligent mind to be able to turn something in all its complexity into something simple. It is far easier to
turn something which is simple to understand into a concept far
more detailed. For instance, when Albert Einstein was asked to explain the relativity of time, he could have expounded his well-known
theorem E= MC2. Instead he captured the world's imagination with
a few profound words:
When I am sitting on hot coals, one minute seems like one hour. But when I
am with a pretty girl one hour seems like one minute.
The third thing worth noticing about this account of the beginning is that, as simple as the narrative is, it is remarkably accurate both scientifically and chronologically.
Many scientists who have studied the Genesis account of
creation have concluded that because of the simple way that it has
been written and its remarkable scientific accuracy, it could not
have had an Earthly origin. As one author has written:
The narrative is so simple, so much like the Truth, so consistent everywhere
with itself, so correct in its dates, so impartial in its biography, so accurate in
its philosophical details, so pure in its morality, and so benevolent in its design as amply to demonstrate that it never could have had an Earthly origin. e
Why then do we have so much trouble appreciating Genesis
1 in our generation today? The answer is that we live in an era of
scientific achievement and technological complexity. We are used to
hearing long, involved and often complicated explanations to things.
But what would have been the point of God describing how life on
Earth began in terms of atoms and molecules and DNA structures if
men and women wouldn't even understand the concept of how rain
is formed until the last few hundred years? God realised the need for
simplicity so that all men and women across all ages could understand (i) that He created the heavens and the Earth and (ii) there
88
Who Am I?
was a specific method by which He created them. Genesis 1 is not,
therefore, a scientific description, but more of an academic description, answering the questions who and why. And yet, while it is
not a scientific chapter, it is scientifically accurate.
Is Genesis 1 scientifically accurate?
One of the ways in which both science and Genesis 1 are agreed, is
that the world did not appear instantaneously; it was created in
stages. The following notes on each day of the creation record show
how methodical and scientifically accurate the creation process was.
Day One
There are three things necessary for life: matter, water and light.
Before day one, matter had been created. On day one light
was caused to shine out of darkness and evening and morning became the first day.
We must remember when we read Genesis 1 that we are
viewing the whole series of events as spectators hovering just above
the surface of the Earth. Anything, therefore, described to us is relative to events as they are seen taking place from this perspective.
The most plausible explanation, therefore, for the sudden appearance of light is that our sun was brought closer to the Earth
(relatively speaking, of course!) and at the same time the Earth was
set in motion spinning about its axis. Light then became visible for
approximately 12 hours, constituting the morning of the first day.
Since "darkness was on the face of the deep" (Genesis 1:2)
for an unknown period of time before the appearance of light on the
first day, the Genesis record quite understandably tells us that
"evening and morning were the first day" (Genesis 1:5). Darkness
was called "Night" and light was called "Day" in that order, and
constituted the first day. This is wholly in keeping with the Jewish
day, which commences at 6.00 p.m. in the evening and finishes at
6.00 p.m. the next day.
89
Day Two
Matter had been created before day one, and light appeared on day
one. The next essential ingredient for life is water. So on day two
we see the waters upon the surface of the planet divided into two
sources. First, upon the surface of the globe, a mass of water and
ice was formed. Above the surface, water droplets were suspended
in the air, visible as mist and clouds.
Day Three
Before plant-life and animal-life could thrive, it was necessary for
dry land to be prepared. On day three, therefore, land was separated
from the oceans and vegetation was created in three different varieties or classifications.
The first of these varieties was "grass" which is short-lived
vegetation, withering in the heat of the sun. The second variety was
the "herb that yields seed"— higher forms of plant-life which are
edible. The final variety of vegetation described was the "the fruit
tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself"
which are generally the trees which are known to produce
fruit-bearing seed (cp. Genesis 1:11).
Concerning the language used to describe events of the
third day, some interesting phraseology is used. Instead of being
told that plant-life and vegetation were placed upon the Earth, we
are told that the earth "brought forth..." (Genesis 1:12).
As we have already mentioned, life is dependent upon the
presence of (i) matter, (ii) water and (iii) light. Now with all three
being present upon the surface of the Earth, there would be no reason at all that the soil could not "bring forth" vegetation of differing
varieties.
The answer to the question, "Was a seed planted or was
vegetation planted already in their recognisable shapes?" is not important to our present considerations. What is clear, however, is
that the order of events described seem to follow a logical and particular sequence.
Who Am I?
90
The Seven Days of Creation
DAY 1:
Light
DAY 7:
God Rested
DAY 2:
Waters
Separated
DAY 3:
Land &
Vegetation
DAY 6:
Animals &
Man
DAY 4:
Sun, Moon
& Stars
DAY 5:
Fish
& Birds
The first three days of creation mirror the second three days of creation
Day Four
On day four, the sun, moon and stars became visible in the sky. The
first thing that we learn about the sun and moon is that they were
made to distinguish between day and night. Additionally, we are
told that, together with the stars, they were made (i) "for signs" e.g.
time for sowing, ploughing etc. (ii) "for seasons" and (iii) "for days
and years". Nobody can argue with these job descriptions. Both ancient mariners and modern day astronauts have used the stars for
navigation. Timetables have been adjusted to the pattern of the
moon. Seasons have been defined by the movements of the sun.
Day Five
On day five we see the second use of the word "created" (Hebrew:
"bara"). On this day, we read, that God "created great sea creatures
and every living creature that moves, with which the waters
abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according
to its kind" (Genesis 1:21). These were the first animate creatures,
each group of fish or bird being created "after their kind". In other
words, they were created in their differing groups and classifications, independently.
91
The creation record leaves no room for "macro" evolution.
Nevertheless, it does not rule out "micro" evolution, which science
has proven to be a fact of life. The appearance of different hybrids
by a process of "micro" evolution is a plausible explanation of how
certain varieties of animal-life and plant-life have come to exist.
Day Six
In a similar way that three different varieties of vegetation and
plant-life were created on day three, so on day six there were three
distinct varieties of animal created: (i) "the beast of the Earth according to its kind..."— i.e. wild animals, (ii) "cattle according to
its kind..."— i.e. domesticated animals and (iii) "everything that
creeps on the Earth according to its kind"— i.e. the reptiles etc.
(Genesis 1:24-25). Once again, the language used to describe the
sixth day of creation rules out "macro" evolution, but there does
seem to be latitude given for "micro" evolution.
The final classification of "living creature" was Man. He
was the ultimate finale in God's creative act. We are told that God
said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness..." (Genesis 1:26). In other words, Man, the climax in God's
creation, was given a bodily shape ("image"), and a mental constitution ("likeness"), capable of reflecting the character of God Himself.
The reason God made Man was to have "dominion" over
His creation, resembling in themselves His heart, mind and will.
This extraordinary view of the world and its origins is quite
distinct from the Darwinian theory that Man descended from some
kind of ape. Man was God's last creative act upon Earth and he was
instructed to have pre-eminence over the rest of creation. Again, science agrees! Man is at the top of the ecological tree.
Points of friction
In the last few paragraphs we have started to look at some questions
that the Bible can answer. Questions such as, Who is in control?
Why are things the way that they are today? We have not gone into
the details of the Genesis account of the six days of creation, since
all we are attempting to do is see if there is evidence for creation.
Who Am I?
92
We have shown that although Genesis 1 is not a scientific chapter,
it is scientifically accurate. Nevertheless, where it does cross the
boundaries of the scientific world, addressing how and when these
events took place, there are a couple of points of friction. The first
of these regards the sequence of events.
(1)
Sequence
Both science and the Bible are basically agreed regarding the sequence of the six days of creation. Light, matter and water must
come before life; vegetation must come before animals etc. The
main point of friction between science and the Genesis account with
respect to the sequence is concerning the events of the fourth day.
Here is the problem: If light was created on day one, then why does
the record say that it wasn't until day four that the sources of light,
the sun, moon and stars, were created?
There are a number of possible solutions to this problem.
These are the two most popular:
(i)
The first solution suggests that the sun, moon and stars
were hidden from view until day four by a huge canopy of
gases and water vapour. Since vegetation was created on
the third day, it would not have been until the third day that
the process of photosynthesis would have started. One of
the major gases which may have covered the Earth's surface
may well have been Carbon Dioxide (CO2). As the haze of
water vapour and gases finally dissipated, the sun, moon
and stars became visible in the sky above. As CO2 was
used by the plant-life and vegetation, it was replaced by
Oxygen; perhaps only a by-product of plant-life, but essential for animal-life.
(ii)
The second solution to this problem, and probably the one
which makes the most sense, is found in a fuller understanding of the Hebrew word translated in our English language as "made". According to Genesis 1 the sun, moon
and stars were "made" on the fourth day (Genesis 1:16).
The Hebrew word used here for "made" is not the same
93
word which is translated as "created" (Hebrew: "bara")
when God "created" the heavens and the Earth (Genesis
1:1) and when He "created" the fish and the whales on the
Fifth Day of creation. Instead, the Hebrew word "asah" is
used. This is the same word translated "appointed" in Psalm
104:19 where we are told that "He (God) appointed the
moon for seasons." This, therefore, implies that the sun,
moon and stars were not necessarily physically created on
Day Four, but on day four God declared their designed
roles and functions.
However small the friction is between science and the Bible
on this particular point, clearly the main sequence of events is correct.
(2)
Geology
The other point of friction between Genesis 1 and science is concerning the length of time that each creative day took to complete.
In other words: Were the six days of creation six literal days, or
were they periods of a significantly longer duration covering many
thousands, if not millions of years?
The reason why this question has come up is because science tells us that, according to geological evidence, the Earth can be
dated back many hundreds of thousands of years. Among the evidence to support this claim are fossil remains, coal fields, oil fields
and specific rock formations. f We must, therefore, meet these facts
with honesty if we wish to reconcile these findings with scripture.
We have no date for creation. In fact, no date appears in the
Bible until Genesis 5. Nevertheless, by careful consideration of the
chronological dating system of the Bible, Archbishop Ussher of Ireland calculated that God's plan and purpose with the Earth is a
7,000 year plan, with creation being some time before the year 4004
BC. Other Bible students have carefully studied his work and believe that his work has merit. g So, how are science and the Bible
reconciled on this question of time? Has science got its interpretation of the facts wrong, or is the Biblical record wrong?
94
Who Am I?
The Options
Well, there are seven basic suggestions that deal with this dilemma:
(i)
The first suggestion, known as "Faction", says that Genesis
1 is partly fact and partly fiction. This is a very dangerous
way to interpret the Bible. If we accept this theory, then we
are giving ourselves the latitude to accept what we want as
fact or fiction when we read the rest of the Bible.
(ii)
The second is the antique theory which states that God
gave rocks and the world the appearance of age in the beginning. This would imply that God created frauds; putting
rings in trees and fossils upon Earth. But why would God
play tricks with our minds?
(iii)
Another idea is that Moses, who wrote and compiled Genesis under Divine inspiration, went to school! In other words,
when God made known to him the secrets of the universe,
he showed him the creative acts over a six day period. h The
difficulty with this theory is that Exodus tells us, in the context of the Sabbath Law, "In six days the LORD made
heaven and Earth, the sea, and all that in them is..." i
(iv)
By considering the relativity of time, some theologians have
concluded that perhaps the best way of looking at Genesis 1
is to let the Bible interpret itself. In other words, to look at
time from God's perspective where to Him one day could
represent an even longer period of time. Scripture which is
used to prove this idea is 2 Peter 3:8 which says that "with
the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand
years as one day." j
Again, although the Hebrew word used for "day"
does do justice for an unspecified period of time or a 24
hour period, it does restrict the power of God. If we believe
that God is all-powerful, then why should we insist that His
creative act should last any longer than six equal periods of
24 hours?
95
(v)
Another suggestion is that the Earth was once subject to an
incredible change which accounts for the sudden destruction of the dinosaurs, fossils finds and great upheavals in
the Earth's geological structure. This catastrophe, (often
believed to be the Great Flood of the Bible) is the event
which has given Planet Earth the appearance of age.
(vi)
The following suggestion is based upon the language of
Genesis 1:2 which says, "And the Earth was without form
and void..." Some commentators have translated this sentence as "And the Earth had become waste and empty..." k
This translation suggests that the Earth was refashioned
into the way it is today, and that there was a previous creation upon the planet. This is reinforced by the fact that the
same Hebrew word translated "replenish" in Genesis 1:28,
when the first man and woman were instructed to "replenish
the Earth", is the same word used when Noah and his sons
were instructed to "replenish the Earth" after the flood
(Genesis 9:1).
Additional support often put forward to support
this idea is Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the
Heavens and the Earth", and Genesis 1:2, "And the Earth
was without form and void." Because of the apparent gap
in time between these first two verses of Genesis, this idea
has become known as the "Gap Theory". How long this gap
represents, is impossible to tell, but may well account for
many thousands, if not, millions of years. Although speculative, this idea does tie in remarkably well with fossil evidence, and the unusually old dates that we have for certain
geological rock formations.
Some may criticise that the Bible does not explain
more about prehistory. A fair point! Nevertheless, the Bible
has been written geocentrically upon Earth's present epoch
of history. Any events which took place before Genesis 1
have not been included, since they are not needed for us to
understand God's plan and purpose with the Earth now.
Who Am I?
96
(vii)
The final suggestion is that God (who is all-powerful and
not bound by time or space) did, in fact, create the world in
six days just as Genesis 1 describes.
It can be very dangerous to attempt to reconcile science
with the scriptures, especially as we are attempting to go beyond the
observable. While some suggestions mentioned in this section seem
to carry more weight than others, the over-riding conclusion that we
must make is that the Bible and science can be comfortably reconciled. The Bible quite acceptably answers the questions of who and
why, explaining God's plan and purpose with the Earth (as we will
go on to see in a little more detail in the next Part) and is wholly in
keeping with what the scientific world has found.
Digression: Bible coincidences or product of design?
Maintaining our theme of science and the Bible, this section will
provide interesting reading. What follows are three examples of
phenomena, described by the Bible thousands of years ago, which
only recently have been proven by science to be true.
(1)
Shape of the Earth
Until recent years, mankind, in general, believed that the
Earth was flat. Only when the first few space missions brought
back pictures of the Earth could it be proven conclusively that, indeed, the Earth is round and suspended in space. But hundreds of
years ago the Bible stated:
[God] stretches out the north over empty space, He hangs the Earth on
nothing.
(Job 26:7)
And again:
It is He who sits above the circle of the Earth...
(Isaiah 40:22)
How could the writers of the Bible have known that the
Earth is a spheroid unless they wrote under divine-inspiration?
97
In another place, the statement appears,
As far as the east is from west...
(Psalm 103:12)
If the above metaphor had said, "As far as north is from
south..." then perhaps we would not give it a second thought. Yet
how far is east from west? Infinitely far, because there is no such
thing as an east pole or a west pole. The Earth spins about a north/
south axis. East and west are infinitely separated from each other.
(2)
Water cycle
Compton's Encyclopaedia describes the amazing water cycle of the Earth:
Water...evaporates from the surface of the oceans into the atmosphere...
Steadily moving air currents in the Earth's atmosphere carry the moist air
inland. When the air cools the vapour condenses to form water droplets.
These are seen most commonly as clouds. Often the droplets come together to form raindrops. If the atmosphere is cold enough, snowflakes form
instead of raindrops. In either case, water that has travelled from an ocean
hundreds or even thousands of miles away falls to the Earth's surface.
There it gathers into streams or soaks into the ground and begins its journey
back to the sea.
This discovery of how the amazing water cycle of the Earth
works has only been made in the last few hundred years. But the
Bible said:
All streams run into the sea, yet the sea never overflows, back to the place
from which the streams ran they return to run again.
(Ecclesiastes 1:7—NIV)
(3)
Mountains of the deep
One textbook on geology says:
From Pre-Cambrian times down to the present, the perpetual process of
building and destroying mountains has continued... Not only have mountains
appeared from the bottom of the vanished seas, but they have often been
submerged long after their formation, and then re-elevated.
98
Who Am I?
Three thousand years ago, however, the Psalmist wrote:
With a watery deep just like a garment you covered [the Earth]. The waters
were standing above the very mountains. Mountains proceeded to ascend,
valley plains proceeded to descend- to the place that you have founded for
them.
(Psalm 104:6,8)
How could anybody have known these things about the geological structure and climatic conditions of the Earth, all those years
ago? They didn't have diving bells or diving suits to be able to see
much below the surface of the sea; nor did they have space ships to
prove that the Earth is not flat. It is impossible that they could have
known, unless, of course, these things are, indeed, truths left on record by God to let Man know more about the world around him.
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork.
(Psalm 19:1)
The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established
the heavens.
(Proverbs 3:19)
What an incredible challenge the Bible presents us with!
99
The Answer
There are five possible solutions to the origin of species. Three that
we can categorise under the heading of "Evolution" and two under
the heading of "Creation".
(i)
Atheistic Evolution— There is no God and life evolved
spontaneously by itself. This form of life developed an inbuilt mechanism enabling it to develop into other classes of
species.
(ii)
Deistic Evolution— God set life in motion, building into
the design of the first life-form a mechanism enabling it to
develop into other species of life. (Charles Darwin's solution.)
(iii)
Theistic Evolution— God started life in motion and worked
within it, incorporating changes at specific points in time.
(This theory is an attempt to marry up Evolution with the
Genesis account of creation.)
(iv)
Progressive Creation— All species and varieties of animal,
fish, bird, plant and tree were created separately by God.
(v)
Theistic Creation— God created life with a clear purpose
in mind. Each class of animal, fish, bird, plant and tree was
created independently. Variations within species appeared
as a result of micro-evolution.
The answer to the problem of creation versus evolution,
must identify our existence upon this planet with design. There is no
evolutionary path upon which man has travelled since there is no
evidence for a built-in mechanism governing finely graded changes
in his ancestry. We conclude, therefore, that contrary to public
opinion, the Theory of Evolution is illogical and not biological;
that there is evidence for design and evidence for creation by God;
that He is still in control, (as we will go on to see) and that "Theistic
Creation" provides the most acceptable answer to our origins.
Who Am I?
100
Notes:
a
Genesis 1 to Genesis 2:3
b
Genesis 1:26
c
Psalm 103:7
d
The Bible as History— Werner Keller, "Let There be Light" (p. 394-397)
e
Genesis, A Step by Step Exposition— H. P. Mansfield, (p. 12)
f
Oil and coal are organic matter and are believed to form over long periods of time under great pressure. Some oil and coal deposits such as
those in California are thought to be quite young. Nevertheless, the ages
for most of the deposits discovered are quite old. Within these deposits
numerous fossil remains have been discovered.
g
The dates given in Genesis 5 are not dates relative to creation, but are, in
fact, ages of certain antediluvian people. Using these ages and the ages
and numbers given throughout the rest of scripture, Archbishop Usshur
was able to compute a timeline dating back nearly 6,000 years.
h
See note c
i
Exodus 20:11 (cp. Exodus 31:17).
j
cp. Psalm 90:4
k
Genesis, A Step by Step Exposition— H. P. Mansfield (p. 48). This is the
same Hebrew verb translated "became" in Genesis 2:7; cp. Elpis Israel—
John Thomas (p. 11).
CHAPTER 6
Evolution And Its Effects
B
efore turning our time clock forward a few million years
to Part 3, let us spend a few moments considering the
effects of the Theory of Evolution.
For most of this part we have been tracing the events of
prehistory in the light of sustained scientific evidence. Our conclusion is that there does seem to be a remarkable element of design
around us. Although the evolutionist may wish to argue away this
design with theoretical models, we believe that we exist, not because
we are the accident that we have been led to believe during the last
hundred years, but because we are a product of design by an Almighty Creator.
Science and a belief in God
A popular myth that surrounds this matter of creation versus evolution, is that science and a belief in God do not walk hand in hand.
This, however, is nothing more than idle supposition and conjecture.
This very subject was addressed in the following manner by an article in the New Scientist:
The lay view persists of scientists having disproved religion. It is a view that
commonly expects scientists to be non-believers; that Darwin put the last
nails in God's coffin; and that a succession of scientific and technological
innovations since have ruled out the possibility of any resurrection. It is a
view that is widely wrong... a straw pole among universities, research establishments and industrial laboratories indicates that as many as eight out of
ten scientists follow a religious faith or countenance principles that are
non-scientific.a
102
Who Am I?
Although the figure suggested by the above writer may well
be an overestimate, undeniably his point is quite true. There are an
astonishing number of scientists today who do believe in God.
A school textbook, Biology: A Search For Order in Complexity contains the following two paragraphs:
The majority of modern biologists prefer the evolutionary philosophy of origins as the explanation of the factual data of biology. In fact many have been
so confident in this position that they have even insisted that evolution is a
fact of science. But this assertion has never been proved and in the very
nature of things is quite incapable of being tested.
There also exists today a significant body of biologists and other scientists
who are convinced that special creation provides a more reasonable and
satisfying philosophy of origin than evolution. Many of these men are
members of the Creation Research society, an organisation of approximately
350 scientists (with at least the M.Sc. degree, and representing most of the
disciplines in the physical and biological sciences) dedicated to research
and publications in support of creation versus evolution as the most likely
explanation of origin.
Charles Darwin
The truth about Charles Darwin, is that he never did set out to disprove that God exists, nor to divorce the world from believing in
God. Charles Darwin even wrote these words as a witness to his
deep rooted belief in God:
There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been
originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one. b
Brought up in a Christian home, his life started with deep
religious convictions. He even completed a degree in theology at
Cambridge University in preparation for becoming a pastor in the
Church of England. He never did enter the ministry of the Church.
Instead, having found an interest in biology while at Cambridge, he
applied for the job of Naturalist on HMS Beagle. During this voyage he developed his theory which was primarily concerned with
showing that species are not independently created but are descended from other species. Upon his return to England, the Origin
103
of Species was published, originally a 490 page abstract entitled On
the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.c It was an overnight best seller.
His lifetime's work was dedicated to find the mechanism by
which evolution occurred; to establish the theory by proof, and to
maintain the theory as his own.
However, it remained as only a theory since no such mechanism has been discovered and no proof found. Indeed, the very language used by Darwin in his book such as "assumed", "possible",
"probable" and "supposed" is clearly language of theoretical experimentation and not indisputable proof.
The unclosed case
Why, therefore, if Charles Darwin, and subsequently science, is nowhere near proving the Theory of Evolution, have so many people,
both today and during the last Century, accepted his work as a forgone conclusion, when it is still only a theory?
Quite simply, people wanted to believe it. People wanted an
alternative to believing in a God that they could neither see nor
touch, or need. Ignorant of the effects that his work would have,
Darwin unwittingly gave atheists of his day the ammunition that
they had been looking for to disprove the existence of God, (never
the objective that Darwin had set out to accomplish, who was a deist and was devastated when this was the result). Professor Sedgewick, a geologist at Cambridge University and a personal friend of
Charles Darwin, after he had read the Origin of Species, said this:
It is a dish of rank materialism, cleverly cooked and served up merely to
make us independent of a creator. d
Darwin had appealed to the pride of Man to suggest that he
comes from a monkey. And if he comes from a monkey and has
risen above his background, then what greater destiny does the future hold for him? As Darwin said:
Man may be excused for feeling some pride at having risen, though not
through his own exertions, to the very summit of the organic scale...e
Who Am I?
104
The well-known evolutionist Julian Huxley and champion
of Charles Darwin put it this way:
We may be proud that we are the dominant species.
Idea or Ideal?
It was not the theory that Darwin put forward which has become
the problem. It was the effect of this theory upon the minds of men
which has become the problem; when the physical idea was adopted
as a philosophical ideal, and the theory was viewed as far more
than just a theory, but as fact: "...and the fact of Man's having
risen," continued Darwin, "will still give him hope of some higher
destiny in the distant future."
Darwin saw the progression of man along the evolutionary
path as being a fact of life (even though it was yet unproven).
Sedgewick warned of the dangers in allowing Darwin's theory to
become an ideal when he said:
If Darwin's views are accepted, humanity will suffer a damage which will
brutalise it and sink the human race into a lower grade of degradation than
any into which it has fallen since its written records tell us of its history.
Unfortunately, Sedgewick was right. The views that Darwin expressed really hinged upon one sentence, described by one
commentator as the most damaging sentence of any literature ever
written.
From the war of nature, from famine and death... the production of the
higher animals, directly follows. f
This was the basic premise of Darwin's theory of Natural
Selection. Darwin said that there was a "struggle for life" going
on— a "survival-of-the-fittest".g In other words, within the natural
world around us, there are constant struggles going on. For a particular species to continue to survive, it must constantly adapt, become stronger and more advanced. Similarly, for man to maintain
his position at the top of the evolutionary ladder, it is imperative for
him to "rise above his past", grow in strength, adapt to change and
survive through direct competition with other species.
105
In the business world, the name J. D. Rockefeller will
probably have a familiar ring to it. J. D. Rockefeller took the above
statement of Darwin and applied to business, saying that it is only
the "fittest that survive" in business. Never is this philosophy more
evident than in the business world around us today, especially during times of recession.
However, the man who really turned Darwin's idea into an
ideal was Adolf Hitler. The Theory of Evolution taught that only
the strong survive. His ideal was the survival of the Arian Race—
an ideal which shaped the face of Europe in the Twentieth Century.
He even wrote a book which he called "Mein Kampf" ("My Struggle"), based upon Darwin's theory of the-survival-of-the-fittest.
Sedgewick's words came dramatically true. Hitler believed
that for the Human Race to adapt, become stronger and progress
further along the evolutionary ladder, the weaker elements of the
race would need to be removed. So for nearly a decade, Hitler committed himself to a brutal campaign of extermination of the insane,
gypsies, the institutionalised and the Jews, for, as he believed, they
did not have a right to live. This was his adoption as an ideal of the
idea of Evolution; an ideal which was summarised by Hitler’s SS
Chief of Security, General Reinhard Heydrich, when in Berlin in
1942 he stated that:
History will honour us [the Third Reich] for having the will and the vision to
advance the Human Race to a greater purity in a space of time so short,
Charles Darwin would be astonished.
This was the ideal of fascism.
The opposite of fascism and actively at work a few hundred
miles from Hitler's Germany, was another ideal on the extreme left
wing. That ideal was communism.
The author of communism was Karl Marx. Much of the
material for his book "Das Kapital" was taken from Darwin's Theory of Evolution. He even wanted to dedicate Das Kapital to Darwin in his honour. The philosophy in Russia was that there was a
struggle taking place between the capitalist and the communist. The
one who survived was the fittest. Throughout Russia, decade after
106
Who Am I?
decade, men, women and children were indoctrinated with Darwin's
theory— from school children to prisoners of war.
Darwin's theory becoming an ideal has had terrible consequences upon the world, socially and individually. For centuries
men and women had been unable to escape from the conviction that
there is a God. Overnight, Darwin changed all that. He had unwittingly provided people with what they had been looking for: a reason or excuse for not having to believe in God. At last people found
a way to be released from their consciences. No longer were they
restricted to a child-like obedience to the laws of God which they
had been taught from their forefathers in previous generations.
Now, instead of believing in Father God they had an alternative.
They could believe in Mother Nature. They now had the choice to
live by morals of their own design, rather than limits which were
Divine. Believing in a Creator meant responsibility to that Creator.
Believing that the world came about independent of a Creator meant
that people only had a responsibility to themselves.
The Theory of Evolution was something that people wanted
to believe. With no absolute moral standards imposed, society resorted to rights to solve its differences.
Sedgewick said that Darwin’s theory would "sink the human race into a lower grade of degradation than any into which it
has fallen since its written records tell us of its history." Morally,
spiritually and physically the world has collapsed under the weight
of this ideal. 2,000 years ago, the Bible spoke of this decline.
And since they did not see to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a
base mind and to improper conduct. They were filled with all manner of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boasters, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless,
ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who do such things
deserve to die, they not only do them but approve those who practise them.
(Romans 1:28-32)
107
Is this not the state of the world today? If we insist on seeing Man as a naked ape, he becomes instinctive rather than responsible. He is at the peak of his existence. God is ruled out. Creation
is ruled out. His morals become relative rather than absolute. And
hope is ruled out for a hopeless world.
Indeed, "there is grandeur in this view of life that its several
powers were initially breathed by The Creator...", but only if we are
prepared to see life this way. Otherwise, if we remove God from the
equation, we remove our faith in God; we remove our hope for the
future and we remove our love for our fellow Man.
A large part of Isaac Newton's work in life was to show
mathematically how the solar system behaves the way that it does.
These are some of his words for us to consider, with which Albert
Einstein concurred:
This most beautiful system of sun, planets and comets could only proceed
from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful being. h
If this is not the right view of life, then, surely, we must be
on a meandering path to nowhere. Life is void of design and a
worthless chapter in the chronicles of the universe.
Who Am I?
108
Notes:
a
New Scientist, Article: "Scientists who believe in God"— I. Breach, (p.
478) 26th May 1977.
b
Origin of Species— Charles Darwin (p. 374).
c
In The Minds of Men— Ian T. Taylor (p. 132).
d
Evolution Theory and its Effects— David Pawson B.Sc., M.A. (Audio
DP .936)
e
The Descent of Man— Charles Darwin
f
Ibid., (p. 374).
g
The expression "survival-of-the-fittest" originated in the writings of Herbert Spencer, a contemporary of Darwin's, and did not appear in the Origin until the Fifth Edition. (In The Minds of Men— Ian T. Taylor, p.132)
h
Principia— Sir Isaac Newton.; Ref: The Testimony, Article: "Creation, Evolution and Science"— John V. Collyer, (p. 37).
PART 3
THE STORY OF THE
THREE GARDENS
“I consider that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory that
shall be revealed in us.”
—The Apostle Paul
CHAPTER 1
Our Not So Perfect World
P
erhaps Part 2 may have provided enough evidence to
prove that there could be a God responsible for the vast
amount of design in the universe. To worry any further,
however, about a Creator and His plan and purpose with
the Earth, might seem like a little too much work when there are so
many other things that demand our time every day. While there are
many of us who are quite happy to accept the existence of a Supreme Being or God, very few of us are prepared to answer for ourselves the question, "What is the point of it all?"
In this part of the book, instead of seeing whether the Bible
does stand up to the public ridicule of the sceptics and critics, all we
want to do is briefly examine the overall story of the Bible. Doing
this will help us to answer another series of questions such as: Why
did God create the Earth? Is the world still in the original state that
it was created? If not, then why has it been left to its own devices
for the last few thousand years? If God is a good God, then why
does He allow suffering? And, is there any hope for the future of the
world?
A few years ago I flew over the Virginian Mountains on a
trip from Toronto, Canada to Georgia in the USA. One of the first
things that impressed me as I looked out of the window was the lack
of urbanisation. Tree-clad hills undulated into the distance, reminding me of pictures that I had seen of acres of forestation in the Amazon Basin, and unspoilt beaches native to the Indian Ocean and
other exotic parts of the world.
I also remember seeing vast areas of vegetation destroyed
114
Who Am I?
on the landscapes of Africa, smoke-filled skies over the desert during the Gulf war, and other man-made disasters such as the Exxon
Valdes oil spill which destroyed miles of ocean shoreline in Alaska
in 1989, and the Prestige oil spill which destroyed miles of coastline
on the north-west coast of Spain in 2002.
One minute we have our breath taken away with scenes of
indescribable beauty of the natural world, only to turn the next corner to see a trail of absolute carnage that man has left behind.
The Bible describes a beginning when the world was created "very good". If this was how the world was created over six
thousand years ago, then can we assume that it will ever be in this
state again? Can we be sure that the national powers of the world
will be able to bring some sort of balance back into the world's ecosystem?
For two weeks in 1992, world leaders from over 100 countries met in Rio De Janeiro with various intelligentsia from scientific and environmental commissions, to try to answer this exact
question and formulate a solution to the world's environmental
problems. In fact, the theme or title of the conference was LAST
CHANCE FOR PLANET EARTH. (Similar conferences have been
held at regular intervals since 1992 in a continued effort to try to
solve some of the world's problems which have included on their
agendas, how to provide everyone access to clean water, how to
curb the AIDS epidemic, and how to reduce over-population.)
A universal disease
Suffering, such as the injustice of war and the travesties of famine
and poverty, brought about by man's mismanagement, is a universal
disease. Be it on a national or personal scale, suffering is a very real
issue. No matter who we are, where we live, or what job we do, we
all have to deal with the problem of suffering. It is a fundamental
part of each of our lives, whether it be the experience of illness and
disease, or the burden of stress in the Twenty-first Century.
This subject of suffering is probably one of the hardest subjects to address, and it must be emphasised that nobody has all the
PART 3: The Story Of The Three Gardens
115
answers. It is a subject that comes up over and over again throughout the Bible, and is one of the main reasons why its sixty-six books
have been written. The Bible outlines the plan and purpose of God,
explaining how suffering first entered the world, how the cause of
suffering was eradicated and, finally, how it will be removed.
If we do not believe in God or are not sure whether He exists, then there is nothing that we can do about this problem of suffering. While we can do as much as we can to minimise its effect in
our lives, we have no choice but to take it. Consequently, the only
conclusion that we can draw, is that our destiny is in the hands of
fallible man and not Almighty God. If the outcome of this chance
that our generation has to put the world right, fails, then this will be
the inheritance of our children and grandchildren.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul...a
This is one way of addressing the subject of suffering—
just grit your teeth and bear it! There is no solution. There is no
way out. It is just a continuing problem.
If we do believe in God, then the problem of suffering does
not necessarily get any easier to appreciate or cope with but, in fact,
becomes potentially more exaggerated, because if there is a God
and He is still in control, then why doesn't He do anything about it?
If only those who cause the world's problems were the victims of
their own actions, then we could at least understand suffering in
part. But instead, everybody has to suffer. A man in the prime of
his life is reduced to a helpless corpse by a loathsome disease. A
woman’s two or three month old child dies without experiencing
life.
Recently, I was talking with someone who passionately addressed for herself this subject of suffering. She was unable to reconcile in her own mind this problem of suffering and the belief in
God. "You cannot mean to tell me that a child dies in Africa of starvation, an elderly man without any family has to sleep on the streets
Who Am I?
116
and thousands have to die in wars, and then expect me to believe in
the next sentence that God has a plan and purpose with the Earth?"
For those who have been victims of suffering or man's mismanagement of the environment, hearing any kind of spiritual justification is tiresome. They suggest that either He does love the world
but just does not have the power to put the problems right. Or, if He
does have the power, then He does not love the world enough to
want to put the problems right.
Justifying these problems by saying that God is in control
and does have a plan and purpose is a hard pill to swallow, especially if he is a God of power and of love.
The best way to understand this problem of suffering and
pain more clearly, is to look at three gardens found in the Bible—
one at the beginning, one at the end and one in the middle. We have
therefore, called this section: "The Story of the Three Gardens".
If we choose not to believe The Story of the Three Gardens, then we are left with no solution to the problem of suffering.
If we chose to accept the story, then the problem of suffering will not disappear. However, it will become a problem which
can be more easily understood, and less of a burden in our daily
lives.
Notes:
a
Invictus— William Earnest Henley (Fourth Stanza)
Acknowledgement is given to Harry Tennant for his discourse on this
subject as given in a public lecture entitled: The Problem of Suffering.
CHAPTER 2
The First Garden
T
he first chapter of the Bible sets the scene for world history, the creation of the world and everything in it. The
second chapter of the Bible introduces the characters
onto the world stage. In chapter three, the plot thickens.
As we read Genesis 2 for the first time, it may seem that it
has been written as an alternative account of creation. In actual
fact, it is not an alternative account of the creation record but a
complementary account giving a second angle on the creation of
man, introducing additional vital pieces of information for our understanding. If, for instance, someone has to have a mug shot done
by the police, they will have two pictures taken; one from the front
and a second from the side for clarification. It is exactly the same
with the Bible. Genesis 1 describes how man was created in the
"image" and "likeness" of God. a But in Genesis 2, we learn that, in
certain other ways, man is very unlike God, and we see how the history and geography of the world begins.
This is the record of Genesis 2 describing the opening scene
of world history.
"This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were
created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the
heavens, before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had
not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till
the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the
whole face of the ground.
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the
118
Who Am I?
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and
man became a living being.
The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden,
and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the
ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to
the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the
midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil.
Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and
from there it parted and became four riverheads. The name of
the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of
Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good.
Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second
river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land
of Cush. The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one
which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the
Euphrates.
Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the
garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may
freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you
shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely
die."
And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man
should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him."
Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the
field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see
what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for
Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on
Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up
the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had
taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to
the man.
And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones and
flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was
taken out of Man."
119
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and
be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and
were not ashamed." b
There is an interesting fact about this story, which makes it
quite distinct from Genesis 1 which describes God's acts of creation.
Although in Genesis 1 we see that plants and trees vegetated the
surface of the Earth randomly; in Genesis 2, a purpose-built park
called the Garden of Eden, or The Park of Delight, is described.
It contained trees which were both useful and beautiful.
This vital difference distinguishes Man from the animals. Man
needs aesthetic and utilitarian surroundings which animals do not
need, neither do they appreciate. When was the last time we saw a
herd of cattle sit down with their calves and say, "Look at that
beautiful sunset" or observed our pet appreciating the works of Beethoven or Mozart?
Something else which is interesting about Genesis 2 is the
description of the true ecological state which God intended on the
planet. God had a particular purpose in mind when placing Man in
the garden: (i) "to cultivate" it, and (ii) "take care of it" (Genesis
2:15). Animal husbandry is the modern cry of environmentalists and
it is based upon Genesis 2.
For some people, the story of the Garden of Eden is just a
myth. We will address this criticism in Part Four. Suffice it to say,
however, that if it is a myth, then why would God give this place
names? A number of these names, such as the River Tigris and
River Euphrates, are recognisable from any atlas which we would
care to open today. The Bible describes the Garden of Eden as a
very real place. Its exact vicinity is not known conclusively. However, it is believed to encircle an area of land in the Middle East between the eastern mountains of modern day Turkey and the Caspian
Sea. Rich in vegetation, abundant with raw materials and lavishly
arrayed with beautiful foliage, this purpose-built park was the ideal
place for man to live. It was paradise on Earth.
Genesis further describes two trees which were placed in
the middle of this garden. Each had very special characteristics. The
120
Who Am I?
first had the ability to lengthen life indefinitely, called the "Tree of
Life". The second had the ability to shorten life very quickly, called
the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil". It was from this tree
that Adam and his wife, Eve, were forbidden to eat.c
Now these trees were not magical trees. They did not have
any strange supernatural powers. Rather, they were symbolic trees,
representing what the eater was being offered.
Man by himself could not live forever. The Tree of Life,
however, offered the eater the possibility of a life which would go
on forever. For thousands of years man has fantasised over this. He
has written books, created potions, filmed movies and dreamed
dreams of how he could lengthen life indefinitely.
The second tree was the Tree of Knowledge or the Tree of
Experience of Good and Evil. Adam and Eve were told that they
could not eat of this tree. Of all the rest of the trees in the Garden,
they were allowed to eat freely, but not of the Tree of Experience of
Good and Evil. If God's commandment was broken, then God's judicial sentence was that they would not be able to live forever. If they
wanted to live forever, they had to trust God to tell them what was
right and wrong and follow His instructions.
We might ask the question: Why were the animals free to
eat from all of the trees of the garden, including this one? The difference between Adam and Eve and the animals was that, while
made of the same physical material as the animals (flesh and blood),
Adam and Eve were responsible to God's commandments. The animals were not since they had not been given any moral laws or instructions to follow. They were, therefore, amoral creatures— without moral reasoning and not subject to God's commandments. They
conducted their lives instinctively rather than responsibly. Adam
and Eve had been given moral instructions. If they chose not to follow God's instructions, then conditions would be imposed whereby
they would only be able to live temporarily and not eternally.
Naturally, another question arises: Why was it necessary
for an all-knowing, all-wise God to make such conditions for His
creation? Why usher into being intelligent creatures and make them
subject to burdensome laws and instructions?
121
We can probably appreciate the answer to this question better by considering the example of a young child. A child does not
naturally know the difference between the right and wrong. It sometimes takes years of experience before a child will develop in character and know and appreciate the difference between right and
wrong. Since Adam and his wife were intellectually immature, not
having been created with characters based upon years of experience, such conditions were imposed upon them to help them to grow
and to develop in character that were a reflection of God Himself.
True, God could have ushered into being creatures without minds of
their own and without the freewill to make a choice. Instead, He
provided them with the capacity to make a choice and presented
them with that choice. He could have created beings which were
clockwork, unable to think for themselves. Instead, He decided to
create beings which could, with a choice of their own, exhibit characteristics pleasing and acceptable to Him.
So it was under these conditions that Adam and Eve lived,
without suffering and without fear, trusting in God, who taught
them the differences between right from wrong.
Paradise lost
"Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field
which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman,
"Has God indeed said, "You shall not eat of every tree of the
garden'?"
And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the
fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which
is in the midst of the garden, God has said, "You shall not eat
it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die."'
Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not
surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes
will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and
evil."
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for
food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to
make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her
husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them
122
Who Am I?
were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they
sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking
in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid
themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the
trees of the garden.
Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him,
"Where are you?"
So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I
was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."
And He said, "Who told you that you were naked?
Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that
you should not eat?"
Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be
with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."
And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this
you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you
have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more
than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you
shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity
between you and the woman, and between your seed and her
Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."
To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your
sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule
over you."
Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the
voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, "You shall not eat of it": cursed is the
ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of
your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you
were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return."
And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she
was the mother of all living.
Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tu-
123
nics of skin, and clothed them.
Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he
put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and
live forever"— therefore the LORD God sent him out of the
garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So
He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the
garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way,
to guard the way to the tree of life." d
It is impossible to read the Bible and work out exactly how
long passed between the creation of Adam and Eve and this point in
their lives. What is clear, however, is that although at one time the
world was "very good", it certainly is not the state of the world today. Originally the world was created and put in order, the Garden
of Eden being an ideal place. Today the world is very much out of
order and is an increasingly chaotic place. Suffering, fear and death
are a way of life today. However, they are but the symptoms of a
world which is out of order. The cause is what people have referred
to for centuries as, the Fall of Adam. This Fall resulted in man being expelled from his ideal world, fearful and condemned to a life
subject to suffering, sin and death.
We can now appreciate more fully the utter fear and terror
that must have filled the minds of Adam and Eve as they hid among
the bushes listening to the "sound of the LORD God walking in the
garden" (Genesis 3:8).
The record says that God "called to Adam" (Genesis 3:9).
This suggests that there must have been a distance between them.
God called out to them, "Where are you?" Now if God is God and
all-knowing, then, surely, He would have known where Adam and
his wife were? We read that not a sparrow "falls to the ground
apart from your Father's will," e and that "the very hairs of your
head are all numbered." f Why did God, therefore, ask where they
were? The question being asked is in the sense of a rhetorical question, "Where are you now, Adam?" or "What have you got yourself
into, Adam?" "After what you have done, where do you stand?" As
Adam replies to God's question, straight away we see that there are
124
Who Am I?
things about pain and suffering which are emerging: "I heard your
voice in the garden, and I was afraid..." (Genesis 3:10). Adam had
never been afraid before, so why was he afraid now? Because he
knew that there were consequences of what he had just done.
It is not only Adam who has felt fear. To some degree we
have all experienced fear in some form or another. However, not all
suffering is physical. Some of the greatest forms of suffering today
are emotional. Two of the fastest growing medical disorders of
western society — anxiety and depression — are conditions directly
related to stress and fear: the stress of bereavement, the fear of job
loss, the financial pressures of living life in the Twenty-first Century.
So fear, which each of us have in one measure or another,
came about through Adam and Eve disobeying God.
True to His word, God punished Adam and Eve for their
disobedience. There were three punishments, one for each of the
three parties involved in the transgression.
First of all, God turned to the serpent and declared, "I will
put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and
her seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his
heel" (Genesis 3:15). There was to be enmity or hostility as a direct
consequence of sin. Fear and enmity. Regardless of how we believe
that they first came into the world, we cannot disagree with the fact
125
that fear and enmity are very much a part of daily life. Whether we
look at Northern Ireland, the turmoil in the former Yugoslavia or
the turbulence in the Middle East, the Bible is very much up to date
with regards to this subject of suffering.
Next God pronounced the second punishment to the
woman,, "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
in sorrow you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for
your husband, and he shall rule over you" (Genesis 3:16).
As a direct consequence of sin, sorrow was associated with
procreation. For parents, it is a joy to bring a child into the world,
but that child will not escape from a daily struggle in life to which
we have all become accustomed. It is painful to enter the world. It is
an impossibility to get through life unscathed by human suffering. It
is a struggle to finally let go and die. These are interesting facts
about life and human experiences, as they are brought out by the
Bible.
The third punishment was directed towards the man. God
said to the man, "cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you
shall eat of it all the days of your life; both thorns and thistles it
shall bring forth for you..." (Genesis 3:17-18).
Between the time of Spring and Autumn, the gardener experiences his busiest time of year— weeding the flowerbeds, uprooting the thistles, planting the flower bulbs and seedlings; and constantly maintaining the garden. These are all reminders of this third
punishment which was given to the man which came into the world
because of sin. God had not brought thorns and thistles into the
world until then.
God goes on to say: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat
bread, till you return to the ground; for out of it you were taken: for
dust you are, and to dust you shall return..." (Genesis 3:19). Of
course, we could say that this does not apply to us, because the kind
of job that many of us have does not make us drip with sweat. But
if we take the load off our backs and put it upon our minds, our
mind sweats. Today, stress is one of the leading causes of medical
disorders such as heart disease, strokes and cancer. Imposed deadlines, things which need to have been done yesterday, pressure to
Who Am I?
126
keep the boss happy as he demands his pound of flesh, all contribute to the sweat of our brow. And as recession hits a nation or society, the pressure of cutbacks becomes even more of a burden as
company expenditure is reduced and one's job hangs upon a thread.
How common have the headlines "REDUNDANT" or
"JOB-CUTS" become in recent years!
So suffering in all its forms and varieties came into the
world as a direct consequence of sin. And not only did suffering
come into the world, but death as well:
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.
(Genesis 3: 19)
These punishments were the wages of sin; the consequences
of disobedience.
Notes:
a
Genesis 1:26
b
Genesis 2:4-25
c
Genesis 2:16
d
Genesis 3
e
Matthew 10:29
f
Matthew 10:30
CHAPTER 3
The Second Garden
A
s Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of
Eden, they left it with new words added to their vocabulary— words such as "pain, fear, sorrow and
death." This was the language of sin— the vocabulary
of disobedience. The world had been created and put in order. Now
it was very much out of order. This does not mean to say that it was
God's fault, because He had given Adam and Eve freewill and the
freedom of choice to perform His will.
Humanly speaking, God was, therefore, faced with three
choices to put right His creation.a
(1)
First of all, He could have wiped out His creation and
started again. If He had done this, however, it would imply
that Adam and Eve’s failure was His fault.
(2)
The second choice that He had was to do nothing about it,
to let things continue without intervention. This option,
however, meant that He would have been denying His
authority over His creation, not keeping His promise, and,
thus, committing an injustice.
(3)
God's decision (which was the third choice) was to formulate a plan which would put right the problem based upon
the 3R's which are the principles of (i) Responsibility, (ii)
Retribution and (iii) Redemption. This was the Divine
method. In other words, God did not cancel out the first two
principles of Responsibility and Retribution, being the law
128
Who Am I?
by which Adam and Eve were supposed to live. Instead He
added the third which enable all who want to, to benefit
from the same forgiveness that Adam and Eve were offered.
We suffer and are subject to death as a direct result of
Adam and Eve's sin or disobedience. But not only do we suffer, we
also sin by doing things which displease God. This is because we
have inherited a nature from Adam and Eve that has a tendency do
those things that we want to do rather than what God wants us to
do. This does not mean to say that it is our fault that we share this
nature. It is our misfortune. Neither does it release us from our individual responsibilities to try to please God, instead of ourselves.
The Divine Solution
In the place where the Lord Jesus Christ died, there was a garden. It
is to this second garden of great significance that we now wish to
turn. It is in this garden that we see all of the things which were the
direct result of Adam and Eve's disobedience, being reversed.
We are not going to debate at this point whether or not Jesus Christ was a fictitious character or the Son of God as the Bible
claims. In the next part of the book we will look at that particular
subject more closely. Instead, we want to take just a brief glimpse
at the life of Jesus Christ as it is portrayed to us by the gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, to help us understand this third
principle of Redemption a little better.
You may have sat down and read the four gospels in the
past and may be quite familiar with them. If you haven't done so
yet, then when you do, you will find that there is something about
the life of Jesus which captures the imagination, quite apart from
whether you believe it or not. The four writers give different perspectives upon his life which compliment each other, producing an
account of the life of a man which touches the heart of everyone
who reads it. He was a man with overwhelming compassion for the
sick, the poor, the blind and the lame; a man who kept thousands at
a time mesmerised by what he had to say; a man who led his life
only trying to do good, constantly thinking of others instead of him-
129
self; and a man who addresses himself to all the things of which we
are afraid or have suffered. He was "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" b as we read in the Old Testament. He was a
man of compassion, able to understand the feelings of all those with
whom he came into contact.
As we, therefore, read through the record of his life, we see
how he gives sight to the blind, makes the lame walk, heals the sick.
He crosses a lake to find one man and heals him. A widow is taking
her dead son to be buried; he stops the funeral procession and gives
life to the boy. An incurable leper comes to him and immediately he
is cured. A woman with haemorrhages touches his coat and she no
longer has her illness. He makes a man who has been paralysed for
thirty-eight years to walk. He makes the dumb speak and the deaf
hear, going from city to city only doing good, healing people from
their illnesses and diseases, having compassion wherever he goes.
So now it seems as though we have our answer to the problem of suffering and death. All we need is Jesus Christ and thousands like him to perform miracles, feed the hungry and go around
to all the hospitals in London, Calcutta, New York, Toronto, Rio
De Janeiro etc.— healing the sick and raising the dead, just by the
touch of a hand. So why didn't he do that throughout the ancient
world of the First Century, and why isn't he still here today performing the same wonderful works which he did back then?
It is not an easy question to answer, but we are now in a
position where we can work it out for ourselves.
If sin brought suffering and death into the world, as we
saw in the first garden, how can you take away suffering and death
if you don't take away sin? It cannot be done! The whole reason that
Jesus came in the first place was to deal with the problem of sin. He
was the first and the only person ever to conquer sin by living a life
which was sinless and pleasing to God.
Nevertheless, even though Jesus had done nothing wrong
and had a reputation for doing good, his enemies conspired against
him and had him executed.
The whole situation surrounding Jesus' death seemed totally
unfair. But there was a purpose in it. His death removed sin.
Who Am I?
130
The Cure
When sin first came into the world, it was like an illness, passed
down from generation to generation. But as with any illness, you
cannot remove the symptoms without first taking away the cause,
otherwise it would be like removing the spots and saying that you
haven't got chicken pox! God's answer to cure this illness was to get
right to the root of the problem. The problem was sin!
When Jesus came the first time, he was able to get to the
root of the problem of suffering and death; that was to overcome sin
by living a life which was sinless— a life lived in complete obedience to God. c Because Jesus was the first and only person to lead a
life which was sinless, he was, therefore, innocent and unworthy of
a sentence of death. God raised him from the dead. What went
wrong in the first garden resulting in suffering and death was put
right in the second garden.
Throughout his life, Jesus overcame his nature. By his
death he conquered sin. With his resurrection, he beat death. God,
through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, reversed the consequences of Adam and Eve's disobedience. Left on record for us is
the perfect life of Jesus, and the hope of life which will last forever— free from sin, suffering, pain and death, when Jesus returns
to the Earth to put things right.
We asked at the opening of the first part of the book: "Who
would want to live forever?" Few people would want to live forever.
But remove the problems of sin, suffering, fear, sorrow and death,
and everybody would want to live forever.
Notes:
a
The Blood of Christ— Robert Roberts (p. 14-15)
b
Isaiah 53:3; Matthew 8:17
c
cp. Hebrews 4:15
CHAPTER 4
The Third Garden
T
he "religion" of the Bible is a simple, yet concise, faith
established upon certain fundamental principles. As we
have already discovered in Chapter Three, one of these
principles is the principle of Redemption. God's method
for putting right what had gone wrong in the Garden of Eden, was
to introduce a means by which Man could obtain Redemption: forgiveness followed by salvation.
Today, as a consequence of Adam and Eve's disobedience,
we are mortal by birth with a nature that has a tendency to sin. It is
our inheritance from Adam and Eve, and our misfortune. The Lord
Jesus Christ, however, overcame this nature. He led a life which did
not displease God. He beat sin, and thereby overcame death. Now,
because of what God has done through the life, death and resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ, we each have the opportunity to be redeemed from sin and death, (i) through access to the forgiveness of
sins, a and (ii) in receiving an immortal life, not subject to suffering,
pain and death, in Eden restored when Christ returns to the Earth. b
This is the Divine method of Redemption.
For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the
dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive...at
his coming.
(1 Corinthians 15:21-23)
God… according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away…"
(1 Peter 1:3-4)
132
Who Am I?
A parable
A parable is a story based upon literal events, often with a moral
lesson, which serves as an allegory. A similar word in our English
language is the word "parallel" describing the relative position of
two objects when perfectly aligned side by side. The characters of
this parable (or parallel) are Adam and Eve. The parable concerns
God's plan for the redemption of mankind and commences at the
time when Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden subject to the new
conditions of sin, suffering and death.
After Adam and Eve disobeyed God's commandment and
sinned, something about themselves changed. For the first time, they
were now aware that they were naked and became embarrassed.
They "hid themselves" to cover up their nakedness, we are told
(Genesis 3:8).
The record goes on to tell us: "For Adam and his wife the
Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them" (Genesis 3:21) c
So God provided Adam and his wife with a covering for their nakedness. They did not do it themselves. These clothes were not
given to Adam and Eve to make them warmer, neither because they
were fashionable! There was a very specific reason why God took
the initiative to clothe them the way that he did. The reason was that
God was not waiting 1000 years later, 3000 or even 6,000 years
before starting to work out Man's redemption. He started right
away, demonstrating to Adam and Eve in a very practical way, the
Divine principles of Redemption: forgiveness of sins followed by
salvation. One of the principles that God was trying to impress
upon them was that "without the shedding of blood there was no
forgiveness of sin." d It was by the slaying of an animal and the providing of skins as a covering (quite possibly those of a lamb) that
this principle was practically demonstrated to Adam and Eve. By
accepting the tunics of skin that God had made for them, not only
were they acknowledging God's Divine provision as a means of covering up their nakedness, (a parallel to the sacrifice of Christ), but
they were acknowledging that it really should have been themselves
who should have died as a consequence of their sin.
133
This act of slaying an animal to provide Adam and Eve
with a covering of skins did not of itself provide them with the forgiveness of sins. This whole process was a parable of what was going to take place when Jesus sacrificed his life upon a cross 4,000
years later. It was only by the spilling of his innocent blood that sin,
the cause of suffering and death, could be removed. As the New
Testament states, Jesus was the "lamb slain from the foundation of
the world." e That does not mean to say that he was literally the
lamb slain in Eden, but this slaying of an animal in the Garden of
Eden pointed forward to Christ's sacrifice upon the cross 4,000
years in the future.
God's plan of redemption started in the Garden of Eden
with Jesus' role in the process of redemption being designed,
planned and intended by God from this time forward. This is why
thousands of years later it could be said, again by the writer to the
Hebrews concerning Jesus that "God...appointed heir of all things,
by whom also he made the worlds", f or as the original Greek expresses it, "through whom He (God) constituted the ages." "For as
in Adam all die," says Paul, "so in Christ shall all be made alive." g
What went wrong in the first garden was put right in the
second garden. After Jesus, finally, returns to the Earth, Eden will
be restored back to its former glory and beauty.
Paradise renewed
Everything mentioned so far may make absolute sense. There may
seem to be a reasonableness and method to the words of the Bible.
But the question remains: If the sin has been removed through the
life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then why are people still
dying in the world, still suffering from famine, still killing each
other in wars, and still subject to all of the other problems in the
world?
In the second garden sin was removed through the life,
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the last garden in the Bible we see the scene of a disordered world finally brought back to
order. We see the Garden of Eden restored after Christ's coming.
Who Am I?
134
The Bible begins with a garden. There is a garden in the middle, and
it has a garden at the end. So what would we expect to find in the
final garden?
Well, if there is no more sin, it only stands to reason that
there should be no more suffering and death— and this is exactly
what we do find. Everything that went wrong in the first garden is
put right in the third garden. In effect God will, metaphorically, create "a new heaven and a new Earth" (Revelation 21:1), not a literal
new heaven and new Earth in the physical sense, for the Bible says
that the Earth shall remain forever, but a world which will be one
great and marvellous garden, similar to the paradise of the Garden
of Eden in Genesis 2. In the last two chapters of the Bible, we see a
picture of a world brought back to order after Jesus Christ returns
to the Earth. It will be a time when:
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more
death, neither sorrow or crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for
the former things shall pass away… and there shall be no more curse.
(Revelation 21:4; 22:3)
At this time God's plan and purpose will finally be complete. All of the things that God initially planned for the Earth will
finally come to pass. Suffering and death will be a thing of the past
and the Earth will be transformed back to its former paradise, inhabited by men and women who reflect in themselves the divine
morals and will of God Himself.
Notes:
a
cp. Colossians 1:14
b
cp. Romans 8:23
c
Revelation 13:8. Most commentators agree that the animal slain was a
lamb because this sacrifice foreshadowed the true sacrifice of Christ who
was described by John the Baptist as "the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Cp. The Passover— Exodus 11.
d
Hebrews 9:22 (cp. Leviticus 4:20).
e
Revelation 13:8.
f
Hebrews 1:2
g
1 Corinthians 15:22
CHAPTER 5
The Biggest Lie
In The World
T
here is a saying made popular by Benjamin Franklin
which says that the only sure things in life are death and
taxes! For most people, taxes are a necessary evil, but
there is one thing even more certain in life than taxes,
and that is death. What happens to a human being after death, however, is something upon which few people agree.
One of the most astounding things which we discovered in
compiling the information for this book, was the remarkable number
of different opinions that people have on this particular question of
life after death. What was even more astounding was that when
asked from where they had received their information, they referenced the Bible as their source.
In fact, typically their replies were unconfidently voiced in
the form of a question, "Doesn't it say that in the Bible?" Well, that
is exactly the question that we want to answer in this chapter:
"What does the Bible teach about life after death?" The reason we
need to answer this question is because, what we believe happens
after death, makes a big difference to our understanding of what
God's purpose is with the Earth.
To get an idea of how diverse people's opinions are on this
particular subject, consider for a moment just a few of the beliefs of
some of the most popular Christian religions:
Some believe that the Bible teaches that there is life immediately after death. They believe that there are three states, Hell,
Purgatory and Heaven. There is no liberation from Hell but prog-
Who Am I?
136
ress out of Purgatory to Heaven through the atoning sufferings and
prayers of priests and friends upon Earth.
There are those who believe that life after death will be unending and blissful in Heaven. There will be no death or sorrow, but
only joy, and at this time our family relationships will not exist.
Others believe that the spirit lives beyond death and that
every soul will find its place in one of several degrees provided, of
which the principle states are Celestial, Terrestrial and Telestial.
Similarly there are others who believe that there will be life
and progression after death with varying degrees of salvation obtained through grace, and we will also be able to recognise our relatives.
Some believe in life after death with degrees of exaltation
according to merit, with the possible opportunity for advancement,
while others believe in a fixity of character after death.
Henry Longfellow summarised popular Church teaching on
this subject in his Psalm of Life:
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul…
The Bible's answer.
If human beings do not cease from consciousness when they die, as
is being suggested by Longfellow, and are, therefore, by implication
immortal when they die, then let us see how many times we find the
phrases "immortal soul" or "never-dying soul" or "ever-living soul"
in the Bible.
The answer is none... Not once! That's interesting! So what
does the Bible teach about immortality then?
The first thing that it says is that "God… only hath immortality..." (1 Timothy 6:16) In fact, this is one of only six times that
the words immortal or immortality crop up in the Bible.
What about the word "soul" then? Well that does occur
rather more frequently— some 750 times! But it never appears
137
with the word "immortal" in the Bible. So how are we to understand
the word "soul" as it is found in the Bible then?
First, there are in the Bible examples of "souls" being hungry and idle. (cp. Proverbs. 19:15, Lamentations 1:11)
There are "souls" being slain by the sword. (Joshua 10:35)
There are also "souls" being rent in pieces. (Psalm 7:2)
These certainly do not sound like things that immortal
"souls" would be likely to experience.
In fact, the first time that the occurrence of the word "soul"
appears in the Bible is in Genesis 2:7 (KJV) where we read:
The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
The Hebrew words used here for "living soul" are the words
"nephesh chayim" which in our English language mean, "breathing
creatures". They are the same two words used in Genesis 7:22 to
describe the animals "in whose nostrils was the breath of life
(nephesh chayim)". Surely, nobody supposes today that the animals
have immortal souls?
Interestingly enough, of the 754 times the word "nephesh"
is found in the Bible, it has been translated from the Hebrew language into our English King James Version of the Bible (KJV) 476
times as "soul"; "life"—119 times; "person"— 25 times; "heart"—
16 times; and "mind"— 15 times.
A more correct translation of this word is "life" or "living
being" and, indeed, this is exactly how the translators have chosen
to translate this word on certain other occasions in the KJV. Other
more modern translations of the Bible have also made an effort to
correct this error and have translated this word correctly.
What the Bible does say about the nature of man is
summed up in the following passages:
In death there is no remembrance of You [God]: in the grave who shall give
You thanks?
(Psalm 6:5)
The dead praise not the LORD, nor any who go down into silence.
(Psalm 115:17)
138
Who Am I?
Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his Earth; in that very day his
thoughts perish.
(Psalm 146:3-4 – KJV)
If he [God] should set His heart on it, if He should gather to Himself His
spirit and His breath; all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.
(Job 34:14-15)
The living know that they will die: but the dead know nothing, and they have
no more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their
hatred, and their envy, have now perished; nevermore will they have a share
in any thing under the sun... Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the
days of your vain life which he has given you under the sun, all your days of
your vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labour which you perform under the sun.
(Ecclesiastes 9:5-9)
For the grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that go
down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
(Isaiah 38:18 – KJV)
A man who is in honour, yet does not understand, is like the beasts that
perish.
(Psalm 49:20)
These amazing statements found in the Bible put a completely new perspective on life and, specifically, popular teachings
of the mainstream religions of the Twenty-first Century. These passages seem to suggest that the teaching of immortal life immediately
upon death, is a product of human invention and not Divine revelation.
"But surely there must be an alternative? I cannot believe
that there is nothing beyond the grave", we might be heard to say.
The Bible teaches us that when we are dead, we are dead.
Plain and simple! We are in an unconscious state of existence.
Naturally, we hope that there is something a little less final than
permanent death, otherwise life seems hollow and death becomes a
terrifying black hole of nothing. It was once said: "I am not afraid
of dying. I just don't want to be there when it happens!" How under-
139
standable that we find so many people accepting the teaching of immortality, when the alternative is so much more daunting.
Certainly for some of us these are new ideas which need
some thought and consideration. They also encourage us to pursue
the question: Why is it that so many religions, denominations and
sects have come to believe in life after death if it is not taught in the
Bible? The answer is best expressed by saying that the teaching of
life after death as immortal souls, does not come from the Bible.
Instead it is the product of pagan influences upon Christianity
throughout the last 2,000 years. This is a big statement, so please
allow us to explain how this has come about.
The nature of man
Herodotus, who was a famous Greek historian living in the Fifth
Century before Christ, wrote:
The Egyptians were the first who asserted the doctrine that the soul of man
is immortal... This opinion some among the Greeks have, at different periods
of time, adopted as their own. a
Socrates, a famous Greek philosopher, taught the pagan
error to Plato who lived 428 to 348 BC. It is interesting to compare
the present day teachings of many mainstream churches with what
Plato wrote in his book Phaedo:
The soul whose inseparable attitude is life will never admit of life's opposite,
death. Thus the soul is shown to be immortal, and since immortal, indestructible... Death is merely the separation of the soul and body.
Plato was basically saying that the serpent in the garden
was right, even though God had told Adam and Eve that if they disobeyed His commandment and sinned, they would die, or as the Hebrew idiom puts it, "dying thou shalt die", (even though according
to Genesis, it was almost 900 years before they did die!)
Edward Gibbon, the famous historian, wrote in his book,
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire:
140
Who Am I?
The writings of Cicero represent in the most lively colours the ignorance, the
errors and the uncertainty of the ancient philosopher with regard to the immortality of the soul. The philosophers who trod in the steps of Plato deduced a very unjustifiable conclusion, since they asserted not only the
future immortality, but the past eternity of the human soul. b
Gibbon further describes how the belief in an immortal soul
came to be regarded as "truth".
The important truth of the immortality of the soul was inculcated with more
diligence as well as success in India, in Assyria, in Egypt and in Gaul...It is
incumbent on us to adore the mysterious dispensations of Providence, when
we discover that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is omitted in the
law of Moses [i.e. the Bible].
It is truly amazing that some the vast majority of people in
the world who claim to be religious, believe that the soul is immortal. Even the American Indian had his Happy Hunting Ground and
their warriors were buried upon platforms to be that much nearer to
heaven.
This must mean that almost all the people who buy encyclopaedias today believe that the soul of man is immortal, yet editors of the Encyclopaedia Britannica acknowledge that:
In Luther there is a strong apocalyptic tension, nurtured by the crisis of the
time and by the return to scripture. Later these ideas were abandoned altogether and upon a simple post mortem, immortality of the soul was held forth
as man's end...Traditional conceptions about the resurrection were combined with Greek notions about the soul and its immortality.
So why is it, therefore, that the majority of modern
churches consider the teaching of an immortal soul as one of the
cornerstones to their faith, when history has shown that "traditional
conceptions… were combined with Greek notions about the soul
and its immortality"?
The following must provide as the most illuminating of all
the quotations that we have used in this chapter. It is directly quoted
from a book entitled Towards the Conversion of England being the
report of a commission on evangelism which was appointed by the
141
archbishops of Canterbury and York pursuant to a resolution of the
church assembly passed at the 1943 summer session. Amongst the
commission appointed were 5 bishops, 8 canons and 13 reverends.
The following is taken from article 53, duly published.
The idea of the inherent indestructibility of the human soul (or consciousness) owes its origin to Greek, not to the Bible, sources. The central
theme of the New Testament is eternal life, not for anybody and everybody,
but for believers in Christ risen from the dead. [We will be considering
the resurrection from the dead in the next part.]
So it would seem that the most influential church of the
United Kingdom cannot agree upon a common state of the human
soul upon death.
Other church dignitaries endorse the above findings of the
commission as follows:
Bishop Weldon, in Hope of Immortality, says:
In all, or nearly all, religious literature [i.e., Babylonian, Egyptian, Buddhist,
etc.], except the Mosaic [i.e. the Bible], the belief in God and the belief in
the soul's immortality, however erroneously held, are inextricably blended
together. In the Mosaic Law the belief in God is strongest, the belief in immortality is weakest. c
Canon Constable, in Future Punishment, says:
While the redeemed are to know a life which knows no end, the lost are to
be reduced to death which knows of no waking forever. Such is the testimony of God in the Old Testament. If Christian divines refuse to accept it
because Plato, and before him Egyptian priests, taught a doctrine of the
soul's essential immortality, let them see to it. We prefer the word of God to
the logic of Plato and of Egypt. d
Bishop Gore, in his Commentary on the Romans, writes:
Careful attention to the origin of the doctrine of the necessary immortality or
indestructibility of each human soul, as stated for instance by Augustine and
Aquinas, will probably convince us that it was no part of the original Christian
message or of really Catholic doctrine. It was rather a speculation of Platonism taking possession of the Church. e
142
Who Am I?
And G. Waller, M.A., in his Biblical view of the soul,
writes:
The immortality of the soul is a doctrine of heathen origin. It was held by
the pagan priests of Chaldea, Babylonia and Egypt centuries before the
Christian era, and by Pythagoras, the philosopher, who taught the pre-existence and transmigration of souls. After him it was taught by Socrates, a
most celebrated heathen philosopher, and after him by Plato and the Platonists, from which sect sprang some of the earliest heresies of the Christian
Church of the first four centuries. f
Dr. Agar Beet writes with similar effect in his Immortality
of the Soul:
So far as I have read, no writer has done anything whatever to prove from
the Bible, or in any other way, the endless permanence of the human soul.
This is strong presumptive evidence that no valid proof of this doctrine can
be brought, and thus confirms my contention that it was not taught by
Christ. g
There is a book called the Guinness Book of World Records where all sorts of statistics are recorded. There is one statistic
which is not found in that book which should be there. Once upon a
time there was a lie told. It is known as the first lie, the great lie or
the big lie. It was the lie which was told to Eve by the serpent in the
Garden of Eden. God had told Adam and Eve that if they ate of the
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they would die. The serpent
lied to Adam and Eve and said that they "shall not surely
die." (Genesis 3:4) This is a lie which is believed, and has been believed for centuries, by millions and millions of people all over the
world. If we believe the doctrines of pre-existence and immortality
of the soul, we are saying that death is not death, but a "transition…
shedding the mortal coil… entering another room...gone to their reward..." Essentially, we are saying that the serpent was right and
that God was wrong and we are endorsing a philosophy which is
completely alien to Bible Truth.
While this might be a startling revelation to us, it is an essential truth about our lives and existences which finds its foundation firmly rooted in the Bible.
143
Why do we exist?
If it is clear to us that the Bible does not teach that there is life immediately after death, then what is the purpose to life at all? Why
did God create us? If we can find no answer to this question, it
would seem that the creation of life was meaningless.
Perhaps the most important question for us to consider has
been left until last. Why did God create the world? This question
must be one of the biggest questions among the riddles of the universe, in essence being the same question asked by the title of this
book: Who am I? As the architect sits down to take the pictures in
his mind to the drawing board, so the Creator of the Heavens and
Earth must also have a plan and purpose.
The Bible tells us about God's purpose with the Earth, using three different statements.
(1)
First of all, we read that,
Thou [God] hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were
created.
(Revelation 4:11 – KJV)
We can understand this. In the same way that any of us
might create something for our own pleasure, God, too, has a creative aspect to His character.
The second thing that we learn from the Bible about God's
plan and purpose is that :
(2)
God... formed the Earth and made it... to be inhabited.
(Isaiah 45:18)
(3)
Finally, the Bible says that the Earth...
Will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD…
(Habakkuk 2:14)
These last two statements together express the purpose of
God with the Earth. A world which is "inhabited" and a world
which is "filled with the knowledge of the glory of God" are two
ways of saying the same thing: that all those who are to be a part of
God's world when it is complete and returned to its former glory
144
Who Am I?
after Jesus Christ returns to the Earth, will exhibit characteristics in
themselves which are a reflection of God Himself. God's character,
as expressed in Exodus 34:6-7, is that of being "merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding with goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and
sin..."
This is one of the reasons that we have been given the Bible, not merely so that we can understand God's purpose with this
Earth, but so that we can understand more about God's character
for ourselves. The fact that for the past six thousand year epoch of
history God has been putting right what went wrong in the Garden
of Eden, must be incidental to what His original plan and purpose
was when He created the Earth. Even though He does know the end
from the beginning, He never did start out with the plan of Redemption. That was introduced as a result of Man's disobedience.
This whole idea of God revealing or manifesting Himself as
a reflection of His characteristics in people upon the Earth, is most
succinctly expressed by Dr. John Thomas, a physician and Bible
Student. The article can be found in a magazine called, The Herald
of the Coming Age, and has been described by some commentators
as "one of, if not the greatest uninspired commentaries on the Bible
ever written." The language is a little old-fashioned, having been
written in April 1856, but, nevertheless, it is worthy of our careful
considerations in rounding off this chapter as it helps us to understand the purpose of God more clearly.
Men were not ushered into being for the purpose of being saved or lost. God
manifestation, not human salvation, was the great purpose of the eternal
spirit. The salvation of a multitude is merely incidental to the subject of God
manifestation. It was not the end proposed. The eternal spirit intended to
enthrone Himself upon the Earth and in so doing to develop a Divine family
from among men… large enough to fill the Earth when completed.
A Divine family of immortal men and women living on Earth reflecting His heart, will and mind— this is the purpose of God.
145
Notes:
a
Euterpe II— Herodotus (p. 123)
b
c
The Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire— Edward Gibbon, (pp 398-399)
Hope of Immortality— Bishop Weldon, (pp. 82-83)
d
Future Punishment— Canon Constable, (p. 38)
e
Commentary on the Romans— Bishop Gore, (Vol.II., p. .212)
f
Biblical view of the soul— Reverend G. Waller, (p. 65)
g
Immortality of the Soul— Dr. Agar Beet, (p. 87)
Acknowledgement is given to Robert J. Lloyd for the accumulation of
some of the material used in this chapter.
PART 4
A BRIEF JOURNEY
THROUGH TIME
“The farther back that I am able to look,
the farther forward I can see.”
—Winston Churchill
G A R D E N O F E D E N
3000
2000
1000
3000
0
4000
1000 AD
5000
2000
6000
Restored after
The Millennium
4004 BC
AM 0
2000
R E S T O R E D
1000
4,004 bc
Sin enters the world and with it, suffering and death. Adam and Eve are
banished from the Garden of Eden.
Timecheck!
E D E N
CHAPTER 1
The First World Empire
(4004 - 2348 BC)
4,004 bc
I
n this part we are going to start taking a closer look at world
history and, in particular, the history of the nation of Israel.
At the same time we will consider even more evidence proving that God does exist, and that He is working out a plan and
purpose with the Earth.
The science which assists us in our journey through time is
archaeology. Archaeology is the study of ancient things and has
been described as the raw material of history. The further back in
time that we go, the more we have to rely upon archaeology to put
flesh upon the skeleton of history.
However, we have a problem. The further back in time that
we do go, the less archaeological evidence there is to draw upon.
Indeed, much beyond 2500-3000 BC it is practically impossible to
establish any kind of accurate chronology.
The difficulties in trying to put exact dates on ancient civilisations are manifold. The apparent lack of archaeological evidence
is only one of these difficulties. Many ancient civilisations had exaggerated chronologies with no points of reference from which to
date their histories. Other ancient civilisations had no chronology at
all. Professor Rawlinson, discussing the difficulties in providing accurate historical dates for early civilisations, writes:
152
Who Am I?
Exaggerated chronologies are common to a large number of nations; but
critical examination has (at any rate, in all cases but one) demonstrated their
fallacy; and the many myriads of years postulated for their past civilisation
and history by the Babylonians and Assyrians, the Hindoos, the Chinese,
and others have been shown to be pure fiction, utterly unworthy of belief.
Cuneiform scholars confidently place the beginning of Babylon about BC
2300, of Assyria about BC 1500. The best Arian scholars place the dawn of
Iranic civilisation about BC 1500, of Indic around 1200 BC. Chinese investigators can find nothing solid or substantial in the past of the "Celestials"
earlier than BC 781, or, at the furthest, BC 1154. a
In his book Secret of the Lost Races, Rene Noorbergen
makes this observation:
No records have been found thus far to substantiate a historical date earlier
than 3,500 BC…The Sumerians have given us the oldest known historical
texts, but even these inscriptions take us back to 3,000-3,500 BC, the origin
of the authors remains a mystery. b
Commenting upon the origin of the ancient Mesopotamian
civilisation of Sumer, Dr. Samuel Noah Kramer, a research professor of Assyriology at the university of Pennsylvania says:
The dates of Sumer's early history have always been shrouded with uncertainty. It seems that the people called Sumerians did not arrive in the region
until nearly 3000 BC. c
Speaking about the origins of Egypt, the famed Egyptologist, H. R. Hall, writes:
We think that the first dynasty began not before 3,400 and not later than
3,200 BC. A. Scharff, however, would bring the date down to 3,000 BC, and
it must be admitted that his arguments are good and that any rate it is more
probable that the date of the First Dynasty is later than 3,400 BC than earlier. d
Not only did the Sumerian and Egyptian civilisations not
have dates for their origins much further back than about the Third
Millennium BC, but one of the oldest modern civilisations, the Chinese, have established a beginning date for their history at around
2250 BC, the middle of the Third Millennium BC.
PART 4: A Brief Journey Through Time
153
Why does there seem to be such little evidence for ancient
civilisations much before the Third Millennium BC? Geologists and
palaeontologists, whose work it is to study geological strata and artefacts, say that they have an answer. They suggest that during this
period of time in world history there was a widespread catastrophe,
and that this catastrophe accounts for the lack of archaeological evidence for ancient civilisations.
A prehistoric disaster story
Catastrophes are not uncommon in the Earth's history. Evidence has
been found in the Earth's geological strata which suggests that a
number of localised and even global catastrophes have occurred in
the Earth's history. Geologist Hugh Millar, writing about the Devonian rocks which cover most of the British Isles, makes the following comments:
At this period [Devonian Period] in our history, some terrible catastrophe
involved in sudden destruction of the fish of an area at least a hundred miles
from boundary to boundary, perhaps much more. The same platform in Orkney as at Cromarty is strewed thick with remains, which exhibit unequivocally the marks of violent death. The figures are contorted, contracted,
curved; the tail in many instances curved around the head; the spines stick
out; the fins are spread to the full as in fish that die in convulsions. e
The significance of such findings is explained by researcher, Immanuel Velikovsky, who has also studied the presence
of fish in sedimentary rock:
When a fish dies, its body floats to the surface or sinks to the bottom and is
devoured rather quickly, actually in a matter of hours by other fish. However,
the fossil fish found in sedimentary rock is very often preserved with all its
bones intact. Entire shoals of fish over large areas, numbering billions of
specimens, are found in a state of agony, but with no marks of a scavenger's attack. f
Another example of sudden destruction is found in the disappearance of the dinosaurs. Edwin H. Colbert writes:
154
Who Am I?
The great extinction that wiped out all of the dinosaurs, large and small, in all
parts of the world, and at the same time brought to an end various lines of
reptilian evolution, was one of the outstanding events in the history of life and
in the history of the Earth… It was an event that has defied all attempts at a
satisfactory explanation. g
One of the most respected men in palaeontology, George
Gaylord Simpson says:
It is as if the curtains were rung down suddenly on a stage where all the
leading roles were taken by reptiles, especially dinosaurs, in great number
and in bewildering variety, and rose again immediately to reveal the same
setting but an entirely new cast, in which the dinosaurs do not appear at all,
other reptiles are mere supernumeraries and the leading parts are all played
by mammals. h
Many attempts have been made to rationalise these prehistoric disaster stories. Some site comets as a cause. Others suggest
that these events are from a pre-Adamic history. However these catastrophes can be explained, clearly, evidence does show that at
least one catastrophe, if not many successive catastrophes, are very
much a part of world history.
Embedded deep within most civilisation's histories, tradition
speaks of one catastrophe in particular. It speaks of a devastating
flood upon the Earth which occurred during recent history, (within
the last 6,000 years).
Again Rene Noorbergen makes this interesting observation:
Accumulated Flood legends and traditions tell a tale of terrifying disaster,
with sudden torrential rains, devastating waterspout, and the agonised cries
of drowning men and animals piercing the air. The story speaks of horrendous storms, cataclysmic Earthquakes, and that terror driven dash by man
and beast to reach the safety of the ark, only to be dragged under by the
relentless force of on rushing water.
Outside of the great ship, man ceased to exist... and the enticing
beauty of the antediluvian world perished from the face of the Earth. The
destruction was complete and sudden. i
155
In search of Immortality
One expert on the flood traditions is an American historian and missionary named Dr. Aaron Smith of Greensborough, USA. He has
collected a whole history of literature on flood traditions and in particular the legendary ark of Noah. Evidently, there are 80,000
works in 72 different languages on the tradition of the flood, of
which 70,000 mention the wreckage of an ark, and have been
handed down through generations in regions of the world as diverse
as Europe, Asia, Australia, the East-Indies, Melanesia, Micronesia,
Polynesia, South, Central and North America and East Africa.
One of the most significant of these flood traditions is the
"Gilgamesh Epic" which was discovered inscribed upon a series of
stone tablets. It dates back as far as the Babylonian Empire, during
the Seventh Century BC and describes the search of a man named
Gilgamesh to find his ancestor called Utnapishtim who supposedly
lived before and after a widespread and devastating flood.
Gilgamesh searched for Utnapishtim because he wanted to learn the
secret for immortality. When he found him on an island, Gilgamesh
asked him the secret of Life. Utnapishtim explained that when the
gods decided to destroy mankind by a flood, he was given a command by the god Ea:
O man of Shuruppak, son of Ubar-Tutu, tear down thy house, build a ship;
abandon wealth, seek after life; scorn possessions, save thy life. Bring up
the seed of all types of living things into the ship which thou shalt build. Let
its dimensions be well measured. j
Compare the above description with Genesis 6:14-20:
Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it
inside and outside with pitch. And this is how you shall make it: The length
of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height
thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a
cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make it
with lower, second, and third decks... And of every living thing of all flesh
you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you;
they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, of animals after
their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every
kind will come to you to keep them alive.
Who Am I?
156
This remarkable similarity between archaeology and the
Bible is the first of many that we will examine on our journey
through time. Merrill F. Unger, Professor of the Old Testament at
Dallas Theological Seminary points out the areas of general agreement between the "Gilgamesh Epic" and the Bible as follows:
Both accounts:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
State that the flood was divinely planned.
State that the hero of the flood has the impending catastrophe
explained to him beforehand.
Connect the flood with the destruction of human life from the
Earth.
Speak of the saving of one man and his family.
Assert that the hero of both accounts was instructed to construct
a huge boat to preserve life.
Outline the physical aspects of the flood such as wind and rain.
Catalogue a specific duration of the flood.
Name a place where the boat came to rest.
Tell of the sending out of birds to fathom the abating of the waters.
Describe acts of worship of the hero after the catastrophe.
Allude to special blessings given after the flood. k
The oldest of the Flood stories so far discovered is the
Sumerian record found on a cuneiform tablet discovered in ancient
Nippur in Babylon, which dates back to over 2,000 BC. The hero of
the Flood described is a king-priest by the name of Ziusunda.
Again, the similarities between the Biblical account of the Flood
and that of the Ziusunda Tablet are quite remarkable.
Perhaps the most interesting Flood traditions discovered so
far, however, are from China. Among the legends of China it is
stated that the Chinese are the direct descendants of an ancestor
called Nu-wah, also known to have survived a great flood. As with
the Biblical record of Noah and his family, our Chinese hero escaped the destruction with his wife, three sons and their wives.
A researcher named Dr. E. W. Thwing has spent many
years in China investigating the account of Noah's flood and makes
these observations:
157
The Chinese have records and traditions of a great flood. And it is a curious
fact that the word used for "ship" as printed in Chinese books and papers
today is the very ancient character, made up of "boat" and "eight mouths",
showing that the first ship was a boat carrying eight persons. In looking over
some old books of ancient stories and traditions I found a story about the
ancestor "Nu-wah". j
Interestingly enough, "Nu" means "woman" and "wah"
means "flowery." Initially, scholars of Chinese writing, believed
that this ancient ancestor spoken of by Chinese tradition was female. However, that was until a further examination of the figures
revealed two small mouth pictures placed at the side of the name.
These were to indicate that the sound and not the meaning of the
characters was important. Upon this supposition it was found that
these characters related to a male ancestor named Nu-wah.
It was further found that three legendary men succeeded
Nu-wah, believed to be the patriarchs, or fathers, of the first three
Chinese dynasties, the Hia, the Shang and the Chou. Again, a truly
remarkable resemblance to the story of the Bible where we find that
Noah had three sons, from whom three separate dynasties descended.
Ararat: source of material evidence
Of great significance in our search for proof of Noah's Ark, is the
peculiar occurrence of pillow lava which can be found upon a range
of mountains in the region of Ararat. The significance of pillow lava
is that it is a geological phenomena known to occur, specifically,
when molten lava is released from below the Earth's crust when it is
submerged below water. Finding pillow lava, therefore, upon the
mountains of Ararat implies that at some point in the Earth's history, Ararat was submerged below water.
In ancient times Ararat was known as the "mountain of the
ship". This is because when the ark touched dry land, it is supposed
to have come to rest "on the mountains of Ararat" (Genesis 8:4) in
Eastern Turkey. Understandably, therefore, Ararat has been the
source of great interest to Biblical scholars and teams of eminent
158
Who Am I?
archaeologists. Any trace of the wooden boat of Noah would, of
course, force public opinion to reconsider the truth of the Biblical
record of the Flood.
As we continue to try to dig up evidence for the Flood, the
following provides exciting reading. It is a section from a book entitled The Bible as History by Werner Keller:
At the foot of Ararat lies the little Armenian village of Bayzit, whose inhabitants have for generations recounted the remarkable experience of a mountain shepherd who was said to have seen one day on Ararat a great wooden
ship. A report from a Turkish expedition 1833 seemed to confirm the shepherd's story since it mentioned the prow of a ship which in the summer season stuck out of the south glacier.
The next person who claims to have seen it was Dr. Nouri, archdeacon of Jerusalem and Babylon. This agile ecclesiastical dignitary undertook a journey in 1892 to discover the sources of the Euphrates. On his return he told of the wreckage of a ship in the eternal ice: "The interior was full
of snow: the outer wall was of a dark red colour." In the First World War a
Russian flying officer, by name Roskowitzki, announced that he had spotted
from his plane, "the remains of wreckage of a fair sized ship" on the south
flank of Ararat. Although it was in the middle of the war, Czar Nicolas II despatched a search party without delay. It is supposed not only to have seen
the ship but even to have photographed it. All proof of this, however, perished, presumably in the revolution.
From the Second World War there are likewise several cases of
aerial observation. They come from a Russian pilot and four American flyers... In the early morning of July 6th (1955), Fernand Navarra from France,
searching for the most famous ship in history, succeeded, to his great surprise in salvaging three fragments of a wooden beam embedded in solid ice
on top of the mountain. The timber was at least 5,000 years old. m
In March, 1986 David Fasold, a marine salvage expert who
specialises in investigating shipwrecks, made his first trip to the region of Ararat to search for this legendary boat. Following the reports of a Russian pilot who took a photograph from 10,000 feet, of
what seemed like a ship embedded in the side of a mountain, he decided to investigate the possibility of such a shipwreck existing. His
studies led him to a Greek manuscript written by the chief priest of
Babylon named Baralysus which gave, what seemed to be, the exact
159
location of a presumed shipwreck, exactly 17 miles south east of
Mount Ararat. This was the exact location which had been photographed by the Russian pilot.
He managed to make some measured tests on the site using,
amongst other things, a molecular frequency generator, used by marine salvagers to locate shipwrecks. Concerning the measurements
of the shipwreck, he observes:
It is 515 feet long by 138 feet wide. If you work out the ratios of
 upon
which this boat is lofted upon, it is exactly 300 by 50 cubits. a
300 cubits by 50 cubits are the exact dimensions of the ark
which are recorded in the Bible.
On his subsequent trip, he took Tom Fennar with him— an
expert ground penetrating radar operator. Tom Fennar was the man
who discovered the oldest known shipwreck, found next to the pyramid of Chiops. Using his radar equipment he could see whether
anything man-made lay beneath the surface. As a scientist, he made
the following observations from the results of his experimentation:
It is fascinating that both surveys using the frequency generator give such
similar results. In both cases we get the same number of longitudinal lines.
Both patterns show the two lines converging at the two ends of the site like
the bow and the stern of a large ship. They seem to suggest something
man-made. o
Close by this archaeological site, another remarkable discovery was made. Mysterious rocks were found with circular holes
bored in the top of them. In the ancient texts of the Flood account
such as the Sumerian, Sanskrit, Babylonian as well as the Qu'ran
there is mention of large stones. The Babylonian text says:
There is no crossing death's waters without the stone things. p
Dave Fasold, using his expert knowledge of ancient marine
techniques identifies these "stone things" for us:
These are ancient drogue stones, exactly like the ones they have been
dredging out of the mud from Israel to Egypt, except they are ten times bigger. There is no doubt about it. They are drogue stones from an enormous
vessel. q
160
Who Am I?
Ancient mariners used to drag drogue stones on ropes behind their ships to keep them steady in heavy seas. Could it be that
these are the ancient drogue stones which were drawn behind the
very same ship which the Bible and other manuscripts describe?
Considering the violent torrents that such a catastrophe would have
made, such a discovery does seem remarkable. In 1992 the site was
declared by Turkish authorities to be an archaeological site.
It may very well be that some of the sitings of the ark discussed in this section can be lumped together with the Abominable
Snowman and the Lock Ness Monster, as one commentator has
suggested. Nevertheless, such vast numbers of ancient flood traditions, scientific experimentations and evident eye witness accounts
do show us that a widespread flood does seem to be deeply rooted
within Man's history.
The historical Bible
If the great flood of the Bible really did take place around 2,5003,000 BC, then this may very well account for the apparent lack of
archaeological evidence from much before this point in time, due to
the overwhelming devastation that it may have caused. If this is the
case as the experts have concluded, then where can we go for a concise literary history of the world?
In 1960 Professor Arthur J. Brandedberger, professor of
photogrammetry at Ohio State University, received an interesting
letter from George Dodwell, a retired government astronomer and
director of the Adelaide observatory in South Australia. He wrote:
I am especially interested in such a remarkable result [evidently finding
wreckage from the legendary ark], because I have been making during the
last 26 years an extensive investigation of what we know in astronomy as the
secular variation of the obliquity of the elliptic, and from a story of the available ancient observations of the position of the sun at the solstices during
the last 3,000 years, I find a curve of recovery of the Earth's axis after a sudden change from a former nearly vertical position to an inclination of 26.5
degrees, from which it was returned to an equilibrium at the present inclination of 23.5 degrees, during the interval succeeding 3,194 years to AD 1850.
The date of change of the Earth's axis, 2345 BC, is none other
161
than that of the flood recorded in the Bible, and the resulting conclusion is
the Biblical account of the flood... together with its story of Noah's ark, is
historically true. r
Rene Noorbergen concludes:
For more than a Century, orthodox historians essentially have dealt with only
a single body of historical facts— facts that meet the requirements of their
preconceived hypothetical framework, telling them that man of today is a
result of evolutionary process that has brought us upward both intellectually
and physically from a lower order of beings. Millions of years are involved in
this hypothetical view of history, and although the historians cannot draw the
curtains of recorded history any further back than 6,000 years, they steadfastly stick to their theories, for their programmed minds simply will not accept any other explanation for man's technological and cultural development.
There is a one-sided view of a many-sided problem, for in order to achieve a
total concept of history, two other bodies of facts must be taken into consideration— ooparts ("out-of-place" artefacts) and the historical Bible. s
There have, of course, been those in the past who have
maintained that the Bible is not historically accurate. That was until
some important archaeological discoveries were made in recent
years, including the ancient cities of Babylon, Assyria and Egypt.
Since these discoveries, the Bible has been used to help build some
quite detailed accounts of these nations histories and cultures. If we
want, therefore, to build an accurate picture of world history, then
we must view it, not only with the eyes of the archaeologists, but
through the portals of the Bible. We have no other choice because
there is no other choice. The Bible is the only book which can give
us a clearer understanding about life so far back in history. With
confidence, therefore, once again, we turn back to the pages of the
Bible to guide our steps through history.
162
Who Am I?
Digression: The Garden of Eden Revealed
The first place of historical importance in the Bible is a purposebuilt park called in Genesis 3, the Garden of "Eden". This was the
setting for the first scene in world history, the fall of Adam and Eve,
that we considered in Part 3.
Throughout history, men have tried to identify where the
Biblical Garden of Eden is located. But the problem has always
been identifying the four rivers mentioned in the Genesis 2—the Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates.
The Hiddekel and Euphrates we have no problem identifying. The Euphrates flows through modern Iraq and the Hiddekel is
Hebrew name for the Sumerian name "Idiglat" from which the
Greek word "Tigris" derives, which also flows through modern Iraq.
The identities of the two remaining rivers, however, have always
been a mystery. Clearly, in order to locate Eden precisely, we need
to find all four rivers.
In 1987, the renowned British Egyptologist David Rohl was
sent a short, privately published paper by amateur historian,
Reginald Walker (1917-1989), which proposed a location for these
two remaining rivers. He showed that the River Aras, flowing into
the Caspian Sea from the mountains north of Lake Urmia, was once
called the Gaihun. David Rohl checked the writings of the Islamic
geographers who accompanied the Arabic invasion of Persia in the
8th Century, and was able to confirm that this was indeed the case.
In fact, even as late as the last Century, Victorian atlases and encyclopaedias were still naming the river as the Gaihun-Aras. The Gaihun was, therefore, identified as the missing Biblical Gihon.
The fourth river, the Pishon, Walker suggested was a Hebrew (West Semitic) name derived from the old Iranian name Uizhun, where the Iranian vowel 'U' had been converted into the Semitic labial consonant 'P' (which evidently is not an unusual occurrence between two related languages such as Hebrew and oldIranian). The river Uizhun is the modern river Qezel Uzun which
flows down from the mountains of Kurdistan and empties into the
southern basin of the Caspian Sea. Thus it was suggested that the
T U R K E Y
Black Sea
R
ive
rT
ig
ris
–
“P
er
at
h”
“Gi
hon
”
Ri
ve
rT
igr
is
River Aras – “Pishon”
–
es
rat
ph
u
rE
ve
Ri
el”
ek
dd
i
“H
L AN D
OF
N O Q DI
“N O D”
River Kezel Uzun – “Gihon”
E D E N
– “H
idde
kel”
–“
Pe
ra
th”
Rive
r Eu
phra
tes
Location Of Eden?
Riv
er
Ke
zel
Uzu
n–
IR A N
River Aras – “Pihon”
ea
nS
a
i
sp
Ca
164
Who Am I?
river Pishon of Genesis 2 is the Qezel Uzun flowing through modern
Iran.
Having successfully identified the four rivers described in
Genesis 2, Walker went on to suggest that the location for the Garden of Eden was at the sources of these four rivers. The reason why
he concluded this is because the Hebrew word for "heads" used in
Genesis 2:10, which describes the location of the Garden of Eden, is
the word "ro'sh" meaning "the foremost part” or “upper part". The
place where these "four heads" can be found are close to the two
great salt lakes of Van and Urmia in the highland region of eastern
Turkey and western Iran.
David Rohl also discovered an extra-biblical Sumerian epic
known as "Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta". This tale describes a
journey made by the envoy of Enmerkar, King of Uruk, from his
home city in southern Mesopotamia, through the seven high passes
of the Zagros range and down into the magical kingdom of Aratta–
which he describes as being the "Eldorado" of the ancient world.
Enmerkar was, evidently, the second ruler of the city of Uruk after
the Biblical Flood, according to the Sumerian King List. A crucial
line in the epic describes the envoy descending from the last of the
seven mountain passes (the Sumerians called them "gates") and
crossing a broad plain before arriving at the city of Aratta with its
red-painted city wall.
The envoy, journeying to Aratta, covered his feet with the dust of the road
and stirred up the pebbles of the mountains… Five gates, six gates, seven
gates he traversed… Like a huge serpent prowling about the plain, he was
unopposed… He lifted up his eyes as he approached Aratta. s
What is interesting about this extract is that the Sumerian
word for "plain" is "edin" which some scholars believe is the source
of the word "eden" in Genesis. Combining Walker's discovery of the
four rivers together with the Sumerian location of Eden, David Rohl
set out to try to discover the whereabouts of the lost garden of Eden,
and retraced the journey of the envoy of Enmerkar until he found
himself in the Armenian city of Tabriz.
David Rohl observes:
165
Following the ancient track through the seven 'gates', I eventually reached
the Miyandoab plain to the south of Lake Urmia. The journey had taken four
days by car but would have taken the envoy the best part of four months by
donkey. The "edin" remains today one of the lushest regions of the Middle
East: thick soil, fruit orchards and vineyards, lazy meandering rivers. This, I
am sure, was the original heart of Eden which, over time, became a much
wider area, including both the salt lakes and the Garden of Eden itself. t
The Bible describes the garden as being "eastward in
Eden" (Genesis 2:8). In other words, the garden lay within the wider
territory of Eden, but to the east. The Hebrew word for "garden"
used in Genesis is the Hebrew word "gan" which has the meaning
"walled" or "enclosed garden." The enclosed valley of the Adji Chay
towards the east of this area fits this description well— a rich-soiled
paradisiacal haven protected by high mountain walls. The Greek
version of the Old Testament calls the Garden of Eden
"Paradise" (paradeisos) after the ancient Persian "pairidaeza" meaning "enclosed parkland". The great Meidans (royal squares) of Islamic Persia architecture, particularly the beautiful Meidan-é Imam
of Isfahan and Taj Mahal of India, are symbolic representations of
the original Garden of Eden with their high enclosures and formal
gardens containing fountains and pools.
Even further to the east of the Adji Chay valley and Tabriz,
beyond a high pass leading out of the "edin", is a region today
called Upper and Lower Noqdi, meaning "belonging to Nod".
Again another unusual reference to the Biblical account where it is
described that a man named Cain was banished to the "land of
Nod" (Genesis 4:16) after he murdered his brother, Abel.
Finally, David Rohl came across the town of Kheruabad, a
name that means "settlement of the Kheru-people." The "Kherupeople" is an obvious reference the Kerubim (Cherubs) of Genesis
who were placed at the eastern gate of Eden to "guard the way to
the tree of life" (Genesis 3:24).
It was by way of this eastern gate that Adam and Eve were
escorted out of their former home of paradise, never to return.
166
Who Am I?
Life after Eden
Genesis is a Greek word meaning "the beginnings". Genesis is,
therefore, the Book of Beginnings. It is the seed-plot of the whole
Bible. It explains how the universe began, how life began, and now
we will see how world history began. Genesis is, therefore, the key
which unlocks the meaning to the rest of the Bible.
The first 1,500 years or so of our existence is contained in
the next seven chapters of the Bible, Genesis 4-10. Divided into
eleven parts or sub-books, each part, generally, commences with the
words "these are the genealogies of..." or "this is the book of the genealogy of..." and have to do with the activities of certain people
who lived during the first 2,300 years of history.
The following verses, taken from the "book of the genealogy of Adam" give us the first recorded history of mankind, after
Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden:
This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man,
He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and
blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. And
Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth...
(Genesis 5:1-3)
Adam and Eve had two other sons, Cain and Abel. Details
of their lives can be found in the Genesis 4. The reason why Seth
(the third son of Adam and Eve) is specifically mentioned in the
above passage, and not Cain or Abel, is because it is through his
lineage that we follow the meandering path of world genealogy.
Cain and Abel were the two eldest sons of Adam and Eve, but Abel
was murdered by Cain in a jealous rage. This incident is recorded in
Genesis 4 and has been called by some, the first war over religion.
The following diagram shows the first genealogy in history
recorded in Genesis 5. It covers ten generations from Adam to the
next character of significance in the Bible— Noah.
The first thing to notice about this genealogy is the incredible number of years that each person seems to have lived during this
time. Admittedly it does seem somewhat far fetched that any human
0 AM ( Anno
Mundi—Year of the world)
167
1000 AM
1656 AM
Line of Cain
ADAM
SETH
CAINAN
ne
Li
MAHALALEEL
th
Se
of
JARED
ENOCH
FLOOD
ENOS
METHUSELAH
LAMECH
NOAH
Genealogy— Adam to Noah
being could live much beyond the ages of 80 or 90— let alone 969
years! As difficult as this might be for us to comprehend today,
when we are used to ages of mortality being little more than 70
years, there are scientists such as Dr. Hans Selye, Director of the
Institute of Experimental Surgery of Montreal University, who
readily accept these unusually long life spans as medically possible.
He says:
Medicine has assembled a fund of knowledge that will now serve, I believe,
as a point of departure for studying causes in old age. If the causes of ageing can be found, there is no good medical reason to believe that it will not
be possible for science to find some practical way of slowing down, or even
bringing it to a standstill.
Interestingly, the Jewish people (from whom the majority of
the Bible has come) are very well known for their extremely accurate and precise preservations of their own genealogies and histories. It would be fair to assume, therefore, that the chronology and
timeframe expressed here is quite accurate and that these unusually
long time-spans were normal in the first millennium of world history.
168
Who Am I?
While world history is primarily traced through the line of
Seth, during this period of history, the Bible describes two separate
and distinct lines that co-existed during the first 1500 years. The
reason for this is because there were two separate and quite distinct
groups of people living during this time, all coming from the first
man, Adam.
This contrast is made clear by the following verses:
Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of
Nod (Heb: "wandering") on the east of Eden...
(Genesis 4:16)
As for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enoch. Then
men began to call on the name of the LORD.
(Genesis 4:26)
These passages describe two lineages characterising two
different attitudes of worship towards God. The following clarifies
this diversity between these two groups of people:
Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth,
and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters
of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all
whom they chose.
(Genesis 6:1-2)
"Sons of God" intermarrying with "the daughters of men"
does not mean to say that literal divine beings descended to the
Earth and intermarried with human beings! The terms "sons of
God" and "daughters of men" are metaphorical Bible terms used to
show that these two lineages intermarried.
The "sons of God" were the descendants of Seth "who
called upon the name of the LORD."
By contrast, the descendants of Cain, who "went out from
the presence of the Lord", are described as the "daughters of men".
One group had a Godly way of thinking. The other group
had a self-centred way of thinking. The result of this intermarrying
was that attitudes changed, morals changed, and man's love for God
changed.
169
Noah: the man and his boat
In Genesis 6, the moral decline of the world is described:
The Earth was corrupt before God, and the Earth was filled with violence.
And God looked upon the Earth, and, behold, it was corrupt for all flesh had
corrupted his way upon the Earth…
(Genesis 6:11-12 — KJV)
If ever there are words to describe our generation today,
they would be "violent" and "corrupt". This was the same state that
the world was in just before the flood. It is, therefore, not too difficult to picture in our mind's eye what it must have been like to have
been alive during these days.
Genesis 6 records God's response to this moral decline:
And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and
that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was
grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and
birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.
(Genesis 6:5-7)
There was one man, however, who stood apart from the terrible things that were going on in the world at this time. His name
was Noah. By contrast with the rest of the people in the world,
"Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with
God." (Genesis 6:9) Thus, he "found grace in the eyes of the
LORD..." (Genesis 6:8).
Here is the record of the flood story:
"Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face
of the earth... the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that
they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all
whom they chose...
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his
heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that
He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His
heart...
170
Who Am I?
And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come
before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them;
and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an
ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside
and outside with pitch... I Myself am bringing floodwaters on
the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the
breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will
establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—
you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. And
of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every
sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male
and female. Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their
kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two
of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. And you
shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall
gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them."
Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so
he did...
So those that entered, male and female of all flesh,
went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him
in.
Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters
increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the
earth... And all flesh died that moved on the earth… Only Noah
and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.
Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing,
and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God
made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.
The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also
stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. Then the ark rested in
the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the
mountains of Ararat."u
171
Notes:
a
Professor Rawlinson, quoted in The Wall Chart of World History, E. Hull
b
Secrets of the Lost Races— Rene Noorbergen, (p. 18)
c
Scientific American— "Sumerians", S. N. Kramer (1957, vol 197, p. 70-83)
d
Encyclopaedia Britannica— "Archaeology", H. R. Hall (1959 ., vol. 8, p. 37)
e
The Old Red Sandstone— H. Millar (p. 221)
f
The Earth In Upheaval— Immanuel Velikovsky, (p.222)
g
The Age of Reptiles— Edwin H. Colbert, (p. 191)
h
G. Simpson, quoted in Historical Geology, C. Dunbar, (p. 191)
i
Ibid., (p. 13)
j
Quoted in The Bible As History— Werner Keller., (p. 32)
k
Archaeology and the Old Testament— M. Unger
l
Quoted in Secrets of The Lost Races— Rene Noorbergen from Dr. A. Smith
m
Ibid., (p. 37)
n
Transcribed from a BBC programme aired in 1992 entitled Noah's Ark
o
Ibid.
p
Ibid.
q
Rene Noorbergen, private files.
r
Ibid., (p. 2)
s
Daily Express Newspaper (UK) Article: "The Road To Paradise"—David
Rohl, published 8th February, 1999
t
Ibid.
u
Genesis 6:1-8:5
3000
2000
2000
1000
3000
2,348 bc
God sees the violence and corruption in the
Earth and decides to destroy His creation using
the waters of a great Flood. All flesh is destroyed apart from those lives were saved
within the ark.
0
4000
1000 AD
5000
2000
6000
Restored after
The Millennium
Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden of Eden.
4004 BC
1000
Line of Cain
R E S T O R E D
AM 0
Cain murders Abel in a jealous rage.
Line of Seth
Timecheck!
E D E N
FLOOD
Two different groups of people exist representing two
different attitudes of worship towards God.
CHAPTER 2
A New Beginning
(2348 - 2084 BC)
2,348 bc
O
ur new date is 2348 BC, 1657 years after Adam and
Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden. The Historical Bible tells us that everybody died in the flood
except for Noah and his family who went on to repopulate Earth. Evidently the place where civilisation reappeared was
close to the mountains of Ararat.
An archaeologist who joined one of the expeditions of Dave
Fasold to the supposed site of the Ark commented:
This region [Ararat] is like a time-tunnel for civilisation... If the ark of Noah
rested at eastern Turkey, that tells us that civilisation started there and from
there spread over the whole Earth. a
Archaeology confirms that the cradle of civilisation was
Mesopotamia, the region surrounding the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates in modern Iraq, located a few hundred miles south of the mountains of Ararat where the ark of Noah settled.
From this region, the three sons of Noah — Shem, Ham
and Japheth—and their families, travelled in different directions and
became the fathers of three different ethnic groups. The Semites
were the descendants of Shem— the Asians. The Hamites were the
descendants of Ham— the Africans. And the descendants of Japheth were, most probably, the Europeans.
It is interesting to note that in a recent article entitled “Does
174
Who Am I?
Race Exist? Human Genetic Diversity” published in the periodical
Scientific American in December 2003, Michael J. Bamshad and
Steve E. Olson, gives scientific support of this claim that the Bible
makes. Presented in the article were recent findings regarding genetical make-up of the world’s races. They showed how researchers
had used short pieces of DNA called Alu polymorphisms to determine whether various populations are related to one another with
surprising results. Depending on the Alu patterns found attached to
certain chromosomes, researchers were able to group individuals
from different locations based upon their genetic profiles. A map
was created based upon similarities in genetic structure which
showed three distinct groupings: (i) Europeans and North Africans,
(ii) Asians, and (iii) Sub-Saharan-Africans.
Genesis 10 records a list of the descendants of Shem, Ham
and Japheth. "From these the nations were divided on the Earth after the flood..." (Genesis 10:32). Many of these descendants are
never mentioned again in scripture, but some frequently are. In fact,
some of these names can be found in modern atlases. Perhaps the
most interesting name which is mentioned from among the descendants of Noah is Nimrod.
The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan... Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the Earth... And the beginning of his
kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From
that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city).
(Genesis 10:6-12)
Accad (or Akkade) was an influential city in Sumer, which
existed in the middle of the Third Millennium BC. It is now an archaeological site located in modern Iraq. Nimrod, (according to
Professor Rawlinson) is Izdhubar, one of the ancestors of the Chaldean, or Sumerian civilisation, and the same character as Enmerkar,
King of Uruk found in the story "Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta"
referred to by David Rohl earlier. It was in the time of "his kingdom" that we reach the next important historical landmark— the
building of the Tower of Babel.
175
The Tower of Babel
Before the flood there was a thriving civilisation with possibly advanced knowledge and technology. They most probably were highly
skilled in developing agriculture, animal husbandry, construction,
agriculture, metal working, mathematics, chronology, astronomy
and political organisation. How much of this wealth of knowledge
was brought through the Flood is only speculative. What we do
know from the Bible is that to preserve some kind of unity (which
they feared could be lost as they spread out across the world), they
desired to build a capital city called Babel. It was at Babel that they
decided to build a huge tower. This was like a United Nations of
this ancient world. The Bible says that they desired to make a name
for themselves. They wanted to re-create the super-civilisation similar perhaps to the one which had existed before the flood. To do this
they recognised that they had to have a centre, so they began to
build the Tower, "lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the
whole Earth" (Genesis 11:4). Babel, therefore, represented the organisation of post-flood peoples under a centralised authority.
The area of Mesopotamia where they began constructing
their tower is well-known by archaeologists to have contained towering buildings known as Ziggurats. (See page 179.) These were
temples which were the centre of their religion and culture. The
Assyro-Babylonian word "Ziggurachi" apparently comes from the
verb meaning "to be high" or "raised up." According to some experts, the Tower of Babel was an enormous Ziggurat similar to the
others which archaeologists have excavated in this region of Mesopotamia.
The historian Herodotus says that the Tower of Babel was
the Temple of Juniper Belus in Babylon. He also said that he actually saw this temple, and describes it as being a quarter of a mile
square at the base, and in eight stories rose 650 ft. high. This particular monument was despoiled by Xerxes in 478 BC.
H A M
Nile Delta
Mediterranean Sea
J A P H E T H
Jordan Valley
ian
m
a
ot
op
es
M
sin
Ba
S H E M
Persian Gulf
To The
Indus V
alley
Spreading Of
The Nations
hina
To C
177
One race— many languages
As men focused upon Babel to seek unity as a people, by contrast, a
division was once again developing between God and Man. People
began leading their lives as if the Flood had never happened. Evidence suggests that Man adopted idolatry as their form of worship,
trusting in their own strength rather than God's. One writer has described the moral situation this way:
There is a strange irony in the situation. The people were united. Sadly they
were united in man and his sin, and not in God and his righteousness. This
new activity [building of the Tower of Babel] threatened to put out God's light,
and to destroy the living hope in God's promises. God acted... God confounded the speech of man so that instant communication between the
groups was not possible. Sin could not travel like a forest fire. The firebreaks
of language helped to contain it or, at least to prevent the consolidation of the
whole world in sin… c
Building the Tower of Babel in itself was not a problem.
The problem was the motive behind it. As the above writer put it
"they were united in man and his sin and not in God and his righteousness."
The Bible goes on to say:
Now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do...
So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the
Earth: and they let off to build the city. Therefore, is the name of it called
Babel [Heb: confusion]; because the Lord did confound the language of all
the Earth: and they let off to build the city.
(Genesis 11:6-8)
The book Tells, Tombs and Treasures by R. T. Boyd adds
particular light to this subject of the Tower of Babel:
A clay tablet was unearthed which gave the following account of a Ziggurat:
"The creation of this tower highly offended all the Gods. In the night they
threw down what they had built and impeded their progress. They were scattered abroad and their speech was strange." d
Another interesting reference to this tower has been found.
It is known as the Borsippa Inscription of Nebuchadnezzar.
Who Am I?
178
It says:
We say for the other, that is, this edifice, the house of the Seven Lights of
the Earth, the most ancient monument of Borsippa: a former king built it
[they reckon forty-two ages], but he did not complete its head. Since a remote time people had abandoned it, without order expressing their
words. Since that time the earthquake and the thunder had dispersed its
sun-dried clay; the bricks of the casing had been split, and the earth of the
interior had been scattered in heaps. e
In the world today there are in the order of 5,000 dialects
and languages, of which some 845 come from India. The most
widely spoken language in the world is Mandarin or Northern Chinese. It is spoken by about 695 million people. The second most
spoken language in the world is English, spoken by over 400 million
people world-wide. Being one race as we are, obviously at some
point in history the language spoken by people was one and the
same. The Bible says that there was a time "when the whole Earth
had one language and one speech" (Genesis 11:1).
Confusion of speech is one of the greatest forces of division
in the world today. There is strength in a nation being of one language, able to converse and share ideas. The people being of one
language was, therefore, synonymous with the people being morally
united. God used language as a barrier between men and women
and the spreading of sin was controlled but not stopped. Interestingly, in the library of Elba, a Mesopotamian city, a tablet was
found which was a directory of 42 languages dated to be from
around 2300 BC.
So within a few hundred years of Noah and his family coming out of the ark, using diversity of language as the means, God
scattered men and women across the globe. Around different areas
of the Mediterranean, cradles of developing civilisations sprouted
with their own unique cultures and identities.
Around the Nile Delta two large cultural groups started to
form. One of these groups settled around the Faiyum Oasis towards
the Mediterranean coast, while the other group occupied the Upper
Nile Valley. As time progressed these two cultural centres devel-
179
oped into what has become known as Upper Egypt (the south of the
country) and Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta area). During the conquests by Menes, the monarch of Upper Egypt, the two kingdoms
were united, and thus commenced the first great period of Egyptian
civilisation. This period is known as the Old Kingdom of Egypt
with its capital established at Thebes and latterly, at Memphis.
As small groups of settlers arrived along the Mediterranean
between Spain and Tuscany, in the Far East a people known as the
Longshan people (noted for their use of fine black ceramics) were
setting up the first towns in the east and north-east of modern day
China. About the same time, the Yangshao culture of Henan was
establishing in the north. This civilisation is famed for their distinctive pottery painted in geometric patterns.
Closer to home, as the first mountain dwellers moved from
Baluchistan and Southern Afghanistan into the region of the Indus
valley, Mesopotamia continued developing to become one of the
most advanced civilisations of its day. Situated in the area known as
the Fertile Crescent, it encapsulated an area from the Nile and the
coastal areas of Palestine on the Mediterranean to the rivers Tigris
and Euphrates in the north-east. It was favoured by a mild climate,
rich vegetation and had a plenteous water supply. Inhabited by people known as the Sumerians, it was one of the most important cultural centres in the world. Towns such as Erech, Larsa, Lagash,
Umma, Kish and Akkade are just some of the great trading and religious centres known to this area. Governed by men who were
King-Priests, each city had at its centre a Ziggurat— a temple dedicated to their particular god.
Who Am I?
180
A Sumerian composition known as "The Cursing of Akkade" describes a little of the life and times of these cities of Sumer,
particularly mentioning the goddess of Akkade, Innana:
Monkeys, huge elephants, water buffaloes, beasts of far away regions jostle
each other in the broad avenues... noble dogs, lions, mountain ibexes and
alum sheep with long wool... Its [Akkade's] harbours where the ships
moored, astonished and astounded... holy Inanna opened up the gateways
of its gates as if for the Tigris going into the sea. Sumer pulled its own
hither on boats, the Amorites of the mountains, people who know not grain,
brought in for her perfect bulls together with perfect billy-goats, the Meluhhans, people of the black mountains, brought down for her all kinds of
strange things, Elam and Shubartu carried things to her like pack asses.
Under the direction of a forty-three year old Englishman Sir
Leonard Woolley after many painstaking years of research, excavation and patience, a similar centre to the trading city of Akkade was
unearthed. It was the city of Ur. This was the city of Nanah, the
moon-god and his wife, Ningal. Concerning the city of Ur, Keller
writes:
Ur of the Chaldees was a powerful, prosperous and busy capital city at the
beginning of the second millennium BC. f
It is with this city that we are now particularly concerned,
being the home town of a man called Abraham— a most important
person as he appears in the historical Bible.
Notes
a
Ibid.
b
Ibid., (p. 68)
c
What The Bible Teaches — H. Tennant
d
Archaeology and the Bible, Article: "Archaeology and the Early Chapters of
Genesis"— John Nicholls, published by The Testimony, (p. 13)
e
Smith's Bible Dictionary, "Inscription of Nebuchadnezzar"
f
Ibid., (p. 42)
It is interesting to note that the European Union Headquarters in Brussels was fashioned after the incomplete Tower of Babel.
4004 BC
AM 0
Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden of Eden
Cain murders Abel in a jealous rage
3000
1000
Line of Cain
Line of Seth
Two different groups of people exist, representing
two different attitudes of worship towards God.
2000
2000
FLOOD
God destros all flesh from the earth. Noah and his
family replenish the earth
Tower of Babel is built. King-cities of Mesopotamia
1000
3000
2,084 bc
0
4000
Abraham is called out of Ur and told by God to
go to the Land of Canaan. Great cities appear
in the Mesopotamian Basin ruled by KingPriests.
Timecheck!
1000 AD
5000
R E S T O R E D
Restored after
The Millennium
2000
6000
E D E N
CHAPTER 3
Abraham, A Land
And A Promise
(2084 - 1055 BC)
2,084 bc
T
his chapter is probably one of, if not, the most important
chapters of this book. It is the hinge upon which the rest
of our considerations rely. It is the basis for our understanding about the nation of Israel and the history of the
rest of the world.
The key to this section is outlined by the Apostle Paul when
he wrote to a group of believers who lived at Ephesus:
Remember that at that time [when they were ignorant of God's plan and purpose] you were... excluded from citizenship of Israel and foreigners to the
covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.
(Ephesians 2:12— NIV)
The point that Paul was making is that our hope is wrapped
up with what he calls the "covenants of promise". If we are strangers to these promises or have no understanding of them, then we are
"without hope and without God in the world."
Most people, irrespective of whether they have a religious
background or not, have probably never heard of "the promises".
Yet these promises were continuously in the minds of believers in
the First Century, and are essential for us to grasp if we are to understand God's plan and purpose with the world. Consider the following New Testament statements:
183
And now I [Paul] stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made
by God to our fathers: to this promise our twelve tribes [Israel], earnestly
serving God day and night, hope to attain...
(Acts 26:6-7)
For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my
countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the
adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God,
and the promises...
(Romans 9:3-4)
Promises! Promises!
Naturally, we must, therefore, ask ourselves a series of questions:
What are these promises? To whom were they made? Have they
been fulfilled? And how do they affect us?
The thing about most promises is that they seem as though
they are only made to be broken! All of us have made promises of
some kind in our lifetimes which, by choice or chance, we just have
not managed to keep. Politicians promise great changes before an
election, but fail to deliver once they have been elected. Marriage
promises or vows are broken in their thousands every year. Promises! Promises! Often empty; invariably inconsistent! How can we
possibly expect to believe that a whole series of promises made
thousands of years ago, are ever likely to be fulfilled?
The difference between the promises that we might make to
each other and the promises that God has made in the Bible, is that
the promises which God has made will be fulfilled. What is the
proof of that? If history can show that 95% of Bible prophecy has
been fulfilled so far, then surely it must stand to reason that the remaining 5% will also be fulfilled. The Bible says that it is impossible for God to lie (Titus 1:2). The challenge to us individually is to
work out for ourselves whether or not God will fulfil His Promises.
Having understood these promises, we will then be able to see if we
can identify ourselves with them.
Mediterranean
Sea
C A
A N
A N
Land Promised
To Abraham
Haran
C
H
A
D
Ur
L
Abraham is Called By God
E
A
185
The father of many nations
The first of God's Promises that we wish to examine was made to
Abraham. He lived almost 350 years after the flood, and came from
the city of Ur in Mesopotamia. The Promises made to Abraham
were given in three parts. At the age of 75, before God changed his
name from Abram to Abraham, God first spoke with him:
Now the LORD had said to Abram: Get out of your country, from your family
and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you
a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you
shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse
him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be
blessed.
(Genesis 12:1-3)
Abraham was instructed by God to separate himself from
his family and friends, leave his hometown of Ur and travel to a distant country that he knew very little about. When Abraham arrived
in this new land, having demonstrated his believe in God's Promise
by obeying His instructions, another important part of the Promise
was given to him:
And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: Lift your
eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward,
eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and
your descendants forever. I will make your descendants as the dust of
the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your
descendants also could be numbered.
(Genesis 13:14-16)
Later on in Abraham's life God spoke with him again:
I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly... and you shall be a father of many nations... I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from
you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to
be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your
descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of
Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."
(Genesis 17:2-8)
Who Am I?
186
In summary, Abraham was told:
(1)
The promise was to be a "national" promise:
"I will make you a great nation."
In other words, Abraham's children and descendants would
grow over time to become a great nation of people.
(2)
The promise was to be a "personal" promise:
"I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing."
He would be wealthy and have many possessions and become a distinguished person.
(3)
The promise was to be a "communal" promise:
"I will bless those who bless you."
Those who showed kindness and favour towards Abraham
and his descendants would also receive favour in turn from
God.
(4)
It was to be an "international" promise:
"All families [i.e. Nations] of the Earth shall be blessed."
Somehow, everyone would be able to benefit from these
promises.
(5)
Abraham and his descendants would inherit a land which
would be theirs, forever:
"All the land which you see, I give to you and your descendants forever."
(6)
Kings would descend through his lineage:
"Kings shall come from you".
(7)
Abraham's descendants would be innumerable:
"I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth".
(8)
God's Promise would not be bound by time:
"I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants
after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant. "
187
The promises made to Abraham were about a man, his children, a nation and all other nations. a
But have these promises been fulfilled?
The answer is yes and no! Yes, his descendants did become
a great nation— the nation of Israel (and many of the Arab peoples
today.) Yes, he did become a great man in his lifetime and was
fabulously wealthy. Yes, there have been those who have shown favour to Abraham and his descendants and have received favour
themselves in return.
But have his descendants grown to number "as the dust of
the Earth" (i.e. completely cover the Earth)? Have Abraham and his
descendants received the land which he saw as an inheritance forever? Have all the nations of the Earth been blessed?
The answer to all of these questions is no.
Abraham was promised the land of Canaan as an inheritance for himself and for his descendants. But not only was he
promised the land of Canaan (which includes the modern State of
Israel), he was promised all of the land that stretched from as far as
the River Nile in Egypt to the Great River Euphrates in Mesopotamia where he had come from. This was the majority of the then
known world.
Nevertheless, the Bible makes it very clear that Abraham
did not see these aspects of the Promise fulfilled during his lifetime.
The following New Testament passages attest to this:
God... moved him [Abraham] to this land in which you [Jews] now dwell. And
God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But
even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him…
(Acts 7:4-5)
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which
he would receive as an inheritance... by faith he dwelt in the land of
promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the
heirs with him of the same promise… These, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided
something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
(Hebrews 11:8-13)
188
Who Am I?
Abraham died a few years later "a good old age, an old
man, and full of years" (Genesis 25:8), and he has remained dead
and buried for the last 4,000 years. Additionally, the promise that
all families of the Earth would benefit from Abraham's blessing has
also remained unfulfilled.
This, therefore, presents us with a problem. When will they
be fulfilled?
Again, the New Testament sheds light on this question:
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen
them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that
they were strangers and pilgrims on the Earth.
(Hebrews 11:8-13)
Abraham believed the promises that God had made to him
having seen them "afar off" in his mind's eye, and, therefore, died
"in faith" confident that he would see them fulfilled for himself
sometime in the future. This necessitates, therefore, that one day
Abraham will have to be resurrected from the dead. Until that time,
he sleeps in an unconscious state of death in the grave waiting to be
resurrected from the dead at the return of Christ to the Earth.
Finally, towards the end of his life, following an event
which demonstrated his complete obedience and trust in God, in
summary, Abraham was told:
By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this
thing... that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy
seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea
shore; and thy seed [Hebrew: singular tense] shall possess the gate of his
enemies; And in thy seed [Hebrew: singular tense] shall all the nations of
the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
A leap of faith
If we put ourselves into Abraham's shoes or those of his wife Sarah,
how would we have reacted to these incredible promises? Surely he
would have had a lot of questions that he wanted to be answered —
How was he going to become "the father of many nations?" How
were all the nations of the Earth going to be blessed in his seed?
189
How would his descendants possess this land which he had been
shown — "forever"?
What was needed was a great leap of faith.
Both Abraham and his wife Sarah recognised that he had to
have a son for these promises to be fulfilled. However, there was a
serious problem. Not only were both Abraham and Sarah old, being
87 and 77 respectively, but she was also unable to have children. So
at the suggestion of Sarah, they both agreed that Abraham should
have a child with one of their servants, an Egyptian, called Hagar.
The child born to Hagar was named Ishmael.
Suddenly, it seems as though we have a partial fulfilment of
the promises which were made to Abraham. Nevertheless, this was
not God's way of giving Abraham a son in whom the promises
would be confirmed. Abraham and Sarah's way excluded Sarah
from the promise. God had told Abraham:
As for Sarai your wife... I will bless her and also give you a son by her... and
she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her...
You shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for
an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him…
(Genesis 17:15-19)
When Abraham was told that Sarah would have a boy, he
was not given the option of naming him. God chose his name. His
was going to be "Isaac". With respect to Ishmael, however, all was
not lost. God promised Abraham:
As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will
make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget
twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will
establish with Isaac…
(Genesis 17:20-21)
At first glance, all of these promises seem a little generous
for a man whom we know so little about, especially when there
were thousands of other people in the world whom God could have
chosen. Why did God, therefore, choose Abraham and not someone
else? What made him so special?
190
Who Am I?
We have read the promises which were made to Abraham
concerning his future. When Abraham heard these promises, he put
his trust in God, believing that He would fulfil the promises that He
had given to Abraham. As a result of this trust in God's Word, God
was pleased with Abraham and "accounted it to him for righteousness" (Genesis 15:6; cp. Romans 4:3-5). Abraham knew that the
promise was something which he could not perform himself. In fact,
all the odds were against him. (i) He had no children. (ii) He and his
wife were past the age of bearing children. (iii) Sarah, his wife, was
unable to bear children because she was infertile anyway. (iv) The
land of Canaan was swarming with the Canaanite people and other
people who lived in the land. (v) Much of the area was completely
desolate. Despite all this, Abraham still believed even though he had
not yet seen. To demonstrate his belief in God's promise practically,
Abraham left his home country and followed a simple instruction
given to him by God. God told him to walk through the land which
God had promised to give to him.
Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you..
(Genesis 13:17)
What is required by all of us who wish to share in these
promises made to Abraham, is to walk in the steps of the faith of
Abraham. In other words, walk through the history of the Bible, understanding more clearly its message about God's plan and purpose
with the world. Having understood these things, put our "faith" or
trust in them, and obeyed God's instructions to us, we can also
share the same hope as Abraham had. b
One Promise— two sons
Ishmael was Abraham's oldest son. His descendants were the Ishmaelites. Today their descendants make up many of the Arab people found in the Middle East. Isaac was Ishmael's half brother, and
it was through his line that the Jewish people are descended. With
this educated look back in hindsight, the modern Palestinian problem becomes more clearly understood.
191
Abraham’s Family Tree
Terah
Haran
Nahor
Lot
Moab
A braham
Ishmael
Ammon
A R A B S
Isaac
Esau
Israel
J E W S
Abraham had a series of promises made to him stating that
he would (i) be the father of many nations and (ii) that his seed
would inherit the land forever. For over fifty years since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, this strip of land about 150
miles long by 60 miles wide has been disputed by both Jews
(descendants through the line of Isaac) and Arabs (descendants
through the line of Ishmael). Both claim to be descendants of Abraham (which they are) and both claim a historical right to the land.
Now at least in part we can understand a little clearer the Middle
Eastern problem. One promise, two ancestors but one piece of land.
This very dilemma was echoed by King Hussein of Jordan
in The Rose Garden of The White House, shortly before he died:
For many, many years, and with every prayer, I have asked God, the Almighty, to help me be a part of forging peace between the children of
Abraham… We seek to construct and build a new future in our region for all
our peoples and for all mankind.
Who Am I?
192
Abraham had been promised that the land would be given
to him and to "his seed" (the word "seed" in the Hebrew language is
singular— cp. Genesis 17:8; Galatians 3:16). So through which
"seed" was this promise going to be fulfilled? God made it clear:
My covenant will I establish with Isaac…
(Genesis 17:21)
The same Promise which God had given to Abraham were
also given to Isaac his son:
I will be with you [Isaac] and bless you; for to you and your descendants I
give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham
your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of
heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed
all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My
voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.
(Genesis 26:3-5)
Isaac and his wife, Rebekah had twins— Jacob and Esau.
Concerning these twins, they were told:
Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separate from your
body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve
the younger.
(Genesis 25:23)
Before these two children were even born their lives had
been mapped out for them. Isaac was told their future histories and
the relationship between them both. In the great design of God, the
promises which had been given to Isaac's father Abraham were going to be confirmed in the line of Isaac "because that Abraham
obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my statutes and my laws..."
Two nations were going to descend from Isaac — the next
patriarch of the Jewish nation, Jacob, who later had his name
changed to Israel, and the patriarch of another nation, Esau. (The
descendants of Esau were the Edomites who today occupy much of
the present day kingdom of Jordan).
Again, it was made clear to Isaac that only one "seed"
would inherit the promise. The recipient of the promise was going to
be Jacob— not his brother Esau.
193
12 Sons— 12 Families
God appeared to Jacob, as He had with Abraham and Isaac, and
gave Jacob the details of the promise:
I am the LORD God of Abraham your father [grandfather] and the God of
Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also
your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad
to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your
seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and
will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I
will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.
(Genesis 28:13-15)
This was not the only time that Jacob received the promises. The next time, his name was changed:
God appeared to Jacob again… and said to him, Your name is Jacob; your
name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.
So He called his name Israel. Also God said to him: I am God Almighty. Be
fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from
you, and kings shall come from your body. The land which I gave Abraham
and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you.
(Genesis 35:9-12)
How would we feel about suddenly having our name
changed through no choice of our own? If only Jacob (or Israel as
he was now called) could have seen the remarkable way that this
promise has been fulfilled today!
I suppose that if we were to think of tribes we would think
of the "tribes" in Africa or the rainforests of South America. In fact,
the word "tribe" describes a family that shares a common ancestry
and kinship. In Scotland, for instance, the word "clan" is used to
describe a family with a common ancestry. Perhaps more familiar
to us in western society is the Surname, describing a common ancestry through a specific line of a family tree. Israel had twelve sons
each having families of their own. These became known as the
"Twelve Tribes of Israel".
More and more we are putting in place the foundation
stones of a nation— the nation of Israel. As we continue, we will
not only see how God worked through the lives of certain individu-
194
Who Am I?
als to fulfil his plan and purpose, but watch a body of people grow
and develop into the nation of Israel.
Joseph, a famine and the land of Egypt
The next important person which the Bible focuses upon in the historical record, is one of Israel's twelve sons— Joseph. It is not unusual for the Bible to pin-point one particular individual from a
number of generations in scripture. Often it is because we are trying
to be impressed with a significant event or lesson.
The significance of Joseph's life was that God worked
through it to enable his family to emigrate from the land of Canaan
into the land of Egypt. This was the catalyst which would help Israel to develop into a nation. This was the dawn of Israel's history
as a nation, and it was being very carefully mapped out by God.
The record of Joseph's life can be found from Genesis 37
onwards. It describes how Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt by
his brothers because they were jealous of him. In the providence of
God, however, this was His way of bringing Joseph and his family
into Egypt "to preserve life." Israel and the whole of his family
emigrated to Egypt and lived in a portion of land called the Land of
Goshen, a province located in the north-eastern region of Egypt.
Before Israel went down into Egypt, God spoke to him:
I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will
make of you a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I
will also surely bring you up again.
(Genesis 46:3-4)
From this verse we learn why Israel and his family were led
by God into Egypt. "Fear not to go down to the land of Egypt for I
will make of you a great nation..." So far Israel was not the father
of a great nation. He was a father of a family of seventy people, but
not of a great nation.
But surely, if Abraham, Isaac and Israel had all been promised the land of Canaan, then why at such an early stage in their history as a nation were they taken out of this land which they had
been promised, and placed in the strange country of the Egyptians?
195
Apart from God wanting "to preserve life" perhaps another reason
was because as Israel's family grew, it would have intermingled
with other nomadic tribes in the land of Canaan and thus its identity
could have been lost. Instead, by settling in the land of Goshen, Israel had a land they could call their own (be it only temporarily)
where they could develop into a nation.
Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had
possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly.
(Genesis 47:27)
One event described in the life of Joseph was a seven year
famine. There are those who have questioned the historical accuracy
of the Biblical record of this event. However, once again, contrary
to these criticisms, archaeology makes much of this Bible story
come to life. To illustrate this point, here is another section from
Werner Keller's book, The Bible as History:
Years of drought, bad harvests and famine are well attested in the lands of
the Nile. In very early times, for example at the beginning of the third millennium, there is said to have been a seven year famine according to a rock
inscription of the ptolemies. King Zoser sent the following message to the
governor of the great cataracts of the Nile at Elephantine:
I am very concerned about the people in the palace. My heart is
heavy over the calamitous failure of the Nile floods for the past seven years.
There is little fruit; vegetables are in short supply; there is a shortage of food
generally. Everybody robs his neighbour...Children weep, young folk slouch
around. The aged are depressed, they have no power in their legs, they sit
on the ground. The court is at its wits end. The storehouses have been
opened but everything that was in them has been consumed. c
A frontier official is reported to have written the following
letter to his superior on some ancient papyrus, also recorded by
Keller in his book:
I have another matter to bring to the attention of my lord and it is this: we
have permitted the transit of the Bedouin tribes from Edom via the Menephta
fort to Zeku, to the fen-lands of the city of Per-Atum... so that they may preserve their own lives and the lives of their flocks on the estate of the king, the
good Sun of every land... d
196
Who Am I?
Per-Atum of the hieroglyphic text quoted here is the Biblical Pithom in the land of Goshen where the family of Jacob settled
when they arrived in Egypt.
Concerning Jacob, the name "Jacob-her" has been quite
clearly deciphered. The American Egyptologist James Henry
Breasted says,
The scarabs of a Pharaoh who evidently belonged to the Hyksos time give
his name as Jacob-her or possibly Jacob-El, and it is not impossible, that
some chief of the Jacob-tribes of Israel for a time gained the leadership in
this obscure age. e
Plenty of archaeological books and commentaries are available on this particular period in Israel's history each giving an increased credibility to the historical record of the Bible.
From slavery to a Land of Promise
The next landmark in Jewish history is 215 years later when God
brought Israel up out of the land of Egypt. The intervening period
was a "dark age" in Israel's history, where the Bible does not comment any further except to say:
Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and
thirty years [dated from the first time that Abraham received the promises]—
on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went
out from the land of Egypt.
(Exodus 12:40)
The record of Israel leaving the land of Goshen in Egypt
can be found in the early chapters of the second book of the Bible,
Exodus, a Greek word which means "the going out". In these early
chapters we are given a progress report of Israel.
The children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and
grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them...
(Exodus 1:7)
197
During the intervening 215 years from the days of Joseph,
the Shepherd Kings of Egypt, or Hyksos came and went, and a new
dynasty arose with a new king "who did not know Joseph".
There arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said
to his people, Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it
happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against
us, and so go up out of the land. Therefore they set taskmasters over them
to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities,
Pithom and Raamses.
(Exodus 1:8-11)
Not only had Israel developed into a large nation, but they
had also been put into slavery by their Egyptian neighbours. During
this time there was no family head or leader of the nation. That was
until God used a man called Moses, born a Jew, but brought up in
Pharaoh's house as an Egyptian prince, to lead the Israelites out of
Egyptian slavery.
In an article entitled "Archaeology and the sojourn in
Egypt", published in Archaeology and the Bible, Mr. B. Form
writes:
Although up to the present no direct archaeological evidence has been found
of Israel's sojourn in Egypt, nevertheless in the light of considerable indirect
testimony it is practically impossible with any show of reason to deny either
the historicity of Moses or the fact of the Exodus. More than fifty years ago
J. W. Jack remarked: "It is far from likely that any nation would have placed
in the forefront of its records an experience of hardships and slavery in a
foreign country unless this had been a real and vital part of its national life."
And as Israeli scholars are wont to comment wisely: "If Moses didn't exist
then he must have had a brother of the same name." f The question before
us then is not, Did it happen? but, When did it happen?
g
For many years Israel had been slaves in a foreign land.
Under an incredible set of circumstances, Israel were led out of
slavery from Egypt. An estimated 1.5 to 2 million people, including
cattle and possessions, left the Land of Goshen to make the journey
back to the Land of Promise. For the next forty years they wandered
around the barren wilderness.
198
Who Am I?
From rags to riches
Travelling by foot from the point where the children of Israel
crossed the Red Sea, it would probably take no more than a few
days to reach the land of Canaan. The record of the Exodus, or
"coming out" of Egypt as the Greek word "Exodus" means, spans a
period of time of approximately 40 years. Why was it that it took so
long for them to travel this short distance? Apart from the mammoth logistical problem and practicalities of moving such a huge
number of people out of Egypt, there was a more significant reason.
If we trace the chronology of this period, we would find
that the time taken for Israel to travel from Egypt to Canaan was
about two years. During this time, a Law was given to Moses by
God which formed the basis of Israel's national constitution and
mode of daily worship. Included in this Law were various laws of
hygiene and instructions vital to their daily living. So how can we
account for the 38 years which is missing?
To understand what happened during these 38 years in the
history of Israel, we must first of all appreciate more fully the life
that they left behind in Egypt. Life in Egypt was a life of slavery
under Egyptian taskmasters. Nevertheless, quite apart from the
hardships which they suffered, they had lived for over two centuries
in the land of Goshen, a province of Egypt where they had the security of a place to live and food regularly upon their tables. Compared with the conditions that they now found themselves under in
the wilderness, life in Egypt was absolute luxury. Crossing the
natural division of the Red Sea which lies between Egypt and the
wilderness, one is hit by barrenness, burning heat and a severe lack
of vegetation. This climate supported little more than the odd nomadic tribe. Water was scarce and green pastures to support herds
of cattle were non-existent. For nearly two years Israel lived under
these extreme conditions until they finally came to the borders of the
Land of Promise. Over and over again they had complained to
Moses about coming out of such relative luxury into the wilderness.
Over and over again they had tried to return to the worship which
they had learned from their lives in Egypt. Now as they stood on the
199
verge of entering the land, having searched out the land, they refused to "go up and possess it" (Deuteronomy 1:21) even though
they had been instructed by God to do so. The reason was quite
plain to see— There were other nations living in the land, mighty
and powerful. Understandably, they were frightened to go up and
fight against these people because they did not put their trust in
God. They started to blame God for bringing them up out of Egypt
only to be killed, as they perceived it, at the hands of another people, mightier and stronger than themselves.
You would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your
God; and you complained in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hates
us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of
the Amorites, to destroy us. Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, The people are greater and taller than we; the
cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons
of the Anakim there.
(Deuteronomy 1:26-28)
They had forgotten something very important: the reason
why God had brought them out of the land of Egypt.
For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has
chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the
peoples on the face of the earth.
(Deuteronomy 7:6)
Where would have been the wisdom in God bringing Israel
out of Egypt, only to wipe them out as a nation upon reaching their
destination. Apart from that, a promise had been made to Abraham,
Isaac and Israel which had to be fulfilled.
Because of their disobedience and lack of belief, God punished Israel. They would not inherit the land. Instead their children
would possess it when the time was right. That time was 38 years
later when the next generation had grown to maturity:
Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall go in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. Moreover your little ones and
your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of
good and evil, they shall go in there; to them I will give it, and they shall pos-
200
Who Am I?
sess it. But as for you, turn and take your journey into the wilderness by the
Way of the Red Sea.
So for the next 38 years Israel lived in the wilderness of Sinai as a punishment for their lack of trust in God. Instead they
brought up their children in the wilderness, preparing them to enter
into the Land of Promise.
Digression: Medical practices ahead of their time
The one event which most people recall about Israel's forty years of
wandering in the wilderness, is the giving of the Ten Commandments by God to Moses. Few people are aware, however, that the
Ten Commandments were, in fact, only a very small part of a whole
law given to Israel which formed the basis of their legal, cultural
and religious constitution. Even in modern times many Orthodox
Jews use these ancient laws as practical guidelines for their lives.
These books of the law are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers
and Deuteronomy. Essentially, a large amount of the Jewish or Mosaic Law is repeated throughout these books. Yet through careful
study of these books of the Bible, it is possible to build up a picture
of a mode of worship and a way of life.
More significant to our discussions now is the fact that
many of the laws recorded in these Books were medical practices,
now proven by modern medicine to be centuries ahead of their time.
In many instances it has been found that the practices of medical
hygiene recorded are essential to control the spread of disease and
pestilence.
Dr. Stephen Palmer, an epidemiologist from Wales who
specialises in containing, preventing and monitoring contagious diseases and has served as an advisor to the World Health Organisation, summarises our reasons for addressing this remarkable period
in medical history in an article entitled "Public Health Ahead of its
Time":
201
The unobtrusive way in which hygienic principles are incorporated into a
code of worship is itself evidence of the supernatural origin of the law. If, as
is claimed by the Bible, the law was a revelation from God, it might be expected that Divine wisdom for practical living would be intimately bound up
with His worship. h
As Moses was brought up in the house hold of Pharaoh, he
was "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians" (Acts 7:22). Part
of this "wisdom", no doubt, was a certain familiarity with the medical knowledge of the time and the many thousands of remedies
which were used. A large number of these remedies were documented in an Egyptian medical book written about 1552 BC (known
today as the Ebers Papyrus) and was regarded as being the most
advanced medical knowledge of the day. Some of the potions which
were applied to patients were ass’s dung and worm’s blood. Often
these remedies resulted in lockjaw of the victim since tetanus spores
are found in abundance in dung. The drugs which they prescribed
included such things as: "shell-of-a-beetle", "dust-of-a-statue",
"hair-of-a-cat", "head-of-an-electric-eel", "guts-of-the-goose",
"fat-of-a-hippopotamus", "toes-of-a-dog" and "eyes-of-a-pig".
It was, therefore, a very real promise made to Israel by God
as they started their wanderings around the wilderness, that if they
followed His Laws, "none of these diseases" (Exodus 15:26) which
were common in the land of Egypt, would come upon them. So often the cure was worse than the disease itself, and remedied practically nothing. By contrast, the remedies and practices that Israel
were commanded by God to practice found in Numbers and Leviticus, not only cured diseases, but prevented them as well.
Leprosy
One of the most loathsome diseases known to man is leprosy—
which causes continual wasting away of parts of one's anatomy.
For hundreds of years in Europe, especially during the Middle Ages, millions of people died as a result of contracting leprosy.
Dr. George Rosen, Emeritus Professor of Public Health at Columbia University, describes the extent of the fear of this disease:
Who Am I?
202
Leprosy cast the greatest blight that threw its shadow over the daily life of
medieval humanity. Fear of all other diseases taken together can hardly be
compared to the terror spread by leprosy. Not even the black death in the
fourteenth Century or even the appearance of syphilis toward the end of the
fifteenth Century produced a similar state of fright... Early in the middle
Ages, during the sixth and seventh centuries, it began to spread more widely
in Europe and became a serious social and health problem. It was endemic
particularly among the poor and reached a terrifying peak the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries. i
There were a variety of suggestions made to explain where
this disease came from. Some said that it was taken in by food. Others looked superstitiously towards the heavens and the alignment of
the planets for their explanation. Physicians of the time tried in vain
to eradicate the problem but to no success, that was until the following was done:
Leadership was taken by the church, as the physicians had nothing to offer.
The church took as its guiding principle the concept of contagion as embodied in the Old Testament...This idea and its practical consequences are
defined with great clarity in the book of Leviticus... Once the condition of
leprosy had been established, the patient was to be segregated and excluded from the community.
Following the precepts laid down in Leviticus the church undertook the task of combating leprosy... it accomplished the first great feat...in
methodical eradication of the disease. j
While it was still a very serious disease, leprosy of the Bible times was not necessarily the same as the leprosy of the Dark
Ages. It was regarded as being any serious skin complaint. The
remedy for controlling its spread, as mentioned in the above passage, is found in Leviticus 13:46:
As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he
must live outside the camp. (NIV)
In A History of Medicine, Arturo Castiglione credits the
Bible with the first effective control of the disease:
The Laws against leprosy in Leviticus 13 may be regarded as the first model
of a sanitary legislation. k
203
Modern Sanitation— 4000 years ago!
The greatest cause of modern intestinal diseases such as cholera,
dysentery and typhoid is a lack of sanitation. It is of no surprise,
therefore, that our minds equate such epidemic diseases with cities
of the third world including Calcutta, Bombay and Mexico City
where overpopulation is rife and a lack of a proper sanitation is evident.
Even up to the end of the 18th Century hygienic conditions
were very primitive. Excrement was dumped onto the streets where
children played and there was no drainage. Overpowering stenches
filled the air. Flies bred in multitudes as disease spread and killed
millions.
Once again, the Bible provided the answer for reducing the
risk of disease with one very simple precaution:
Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. As
part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve
yourself dig a big hole and cover up your excrement.
(Deuteronomy 23:12-13— NIV)
Once again, in A History of Medicine, the writer comments
that this instruction is "certainly a primitive measure, but an effective one, which indicates advanced ideas of sanitation."
Since the theory of infectious spreading of disease was not
developed until at least 3,500 years after Moses had recorded the
Book of the Law, how can we explain where Moses got his information? The Law of Moses stands not only as an authoritative
guide for healthy living, but yet another hallmark confirming the
Divine hand behind the pages of the Bible.
Disease by the handful
What follows is an extract from Dr. S. I. McMillan's book called
None of These Diseases. In his book he goes into great detail about
how the Bible, written hundreds of years ago, was well ahead of its
time with respect to its medical accuracy and wisdom in instructing
people in a healthy way of living including subjects such as diet,
stress and matters of hygiene. Continuing our discourse on sanita-
204
Who Am I?
tion, here is a short extract emphasising man's severe lack of medical knowledge until recently on the subject of sterilisation, and once
again, emphasises the accuracy of the Bible and how up to date it is
on this matter:
Vienna was also famous as a medical centre. Let us look in on one of the
famous teaching hospitals of that day [19th Century], Allegemeine Krakenhaus. In the maternity wards of this celebrated hospital, one out of every six
women died; and this frightening mortality rate was similar in other hospitals
around the world. The obstetricians ascribed the deaths to unremitting constipation, delayed lactation, excessive fear and poisonous air. Because of
their ignorance of the cause, their ideas for prevention proved useless.
When the women died, their bodies were wheeled into the
autopsy room. Each morning, as their first order of business, the physicians
and medical students entered the hospital morgue to perform autopsies on
the unfortunate victims who had died during the preceding 24 hours. Afterward, without washing their hands, the attending doctors and medical students marched into the maternity wards to perform pelvic examinations on
the living women. Of course, no rubber gloves were worn.
In the early 1840's a young doctor named Ignaz Semmelweis was
given charge over one of the obstetrical wards. He observed that those
women who were examined became sick and died much more often than the
women who were not examined. After watching this heartbreaking situation
for three years, he established a new rule for his ward. He ordered every
physician and medical student who had participated in the autopsies of the
dead to carefully wash his hands before examining living maternity patients.
In April 1847, before the new rule went into effect, fifty-seven (or
one out of six) women had died in Dr. Semmelweis's ward. Then he instituted the hand washing rule. In June, only one out of every forty-two women
died; in July, only one out of every eighty-four- a fourteenfold decrease in
mortality. These astonishing statistics strongly indicated that fatal infections
had been carried from corpses to living patients.
One day, after performing autopsies and washing their hands, the
physicians and students entered the maternity ward and examined a row of
beds containing twelve women. Eleven of the twelve women quickly developed temperatures and died.
Another new thought was born in Semmelweis's alert brain: some
mysterious element was evidently carried from one living patient to others,
and with fatal consequences. Logically, Semmelweis ordered everybody to
wash his hands carefully after examining each living patient. Immediately
205
howls of protest were raised against the "nuisance" of washing, washing,
washing; but the mortality rate went further down. l
Commenting upon the work of Semmelweis, a textbook entitled Bacterial Infections of humans: Epidemiology and Control
states:
Routine hand-washing before, between, and after contact with patients is
recognised as the most important feature of infection control. m
Modern medicine recognises that the work of Dr. Semmelweis is among the most important in the advancement of medicine.
In the book of Numbers, instructions were given to Israel
for cleaning themselves after handling dead or infected bodies:
He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. He
shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day;
then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and
on the seventh day, he will not be clean... This is the law when a man dies in
a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean
seven days; and every open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is
unclean. Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or
who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
(Numbers 19:11-16)
If someone was unclean in Bible times, the Law of Moses
described how wet branches of hyssop were to be used to sprinkle
soapy water upon the unclean person. Most authorities feel that the
type of plant to which the Bible refers is a type of marjoram plant
similar to the ones found today in the Middle East. Not only does
this plant contain sweet-smelling oil which is often used in perfume,
but contains about 50% carvacrol. Carvacrol is almost identical to
thymol which is used in medicine today as an anti-fungal and anti-bacterial agent.
Under the Law, a person had to remain separate from the
rest of the people for a whole week. The reason for this was because
if the dead person had died from an infectious disease, this would
give a long enough incubation time for someone to contract the disease. Thus this was a wise precaution to control the spread of dis-
Who Am I?
206
ease. Not only was a person to remain separate, however, he was
also required to change his clothing and wash and dry them. This is
significantly different from techniques which were used up until the
days of Semmelweis. Indeed, until the practice of washing between
patients was instituted, a symbol of seniority amongst doctors was
how blood-stained and dirty his overall or apron was! Until the time
of Semmelweis it was a source of confidence to see the doctor in
blood stained clothing— in fact, the dirtier the better!
In summary, Dr. Stephen Palmer writes:
Only since the work of Pasteur in the last Century and the development of
disease control has the importance of sanitation, cleanliness, and isolation of
the disease been appreciated fully.
Just as remarkable as the hygienic precepts of the Law of Moses
is the total absence of sorcery, crackpot cures, and magical potions, chants
and rhymes so characteristic of Egyptian and Babylonian medicine. If the
Law of Moses was derived from Egyptian and Sumerian sources as critics
of the Bible claim how can they explain this enormous contrast.
In summary, the features which mark the very special nature of the medicine
in the Law of Moses are:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
The emphasis on preventative medicine.
The outstanding hygiene value of the Law.
The absence of Magic.
The absence of primitive and erroneous theories of disease.
What is the explanation for the existence of this law, so unlike any other of
its time in content and emphasis, and containing precepts which were to be
recognised as the fundamentals of Public health thousands of years later?
The facts show that the Law of Moses was in truth the Law of God, a direct
revelation from the Creator. n
Some laws of hygiene contained in the Law of Moses are:
(1)
The use of water for washing and particularly the use of
running water rather than stagnant water— Leviticus 15.
(2)
The sanitary disposal of human waste by burial—Deut. 23.
(3)
The recognition of contagion (i.e. passing on contamination
by touch or spitting)—Leviticus 15.
207
(4)
Food controls particularly the prohibition on eating animals
which have died of disease— Leviticus 17, 20 & 22.
(5)
The avoidance of contact with dead bodies— Leviticus 11.
(6)
The prohibition of tattooing— Leviticus 19 & 22.
(7)
Control of sexual practices— Leviticus 18.
(8)
The Quarantining for certain diseases— Leviticus 13.
(9)
The "uncleanness" of body discharges— Leviticus 15.
Circumcision
Circumcision is a custom which is still practised today throughout
the world. Its origin goes back thousands of years ago to the Law of
Moses where the male children had their foreskins removed as a reminder of God's promise with Abraham. What is so remarkable
about the practice of circumcision is that, not only is it a matter of
hygiene, but the day on which this operation was to be performed
was the eighth day after the male child had been born. The reason
why this is so remarkable is because it has taken almost 3,500 years
for scientists to learn that the highest concentration of Vitamin K in
the body during a person's lifetime, is on the eighth day. Vitamin K
is a clotting agent used by the body to help heal cuts and wounds!
With this modern knowledge, we can now see one of the reasons
why this day was chosen by God for a male child to be circumcised.
An important choice.
Once Israel arrived back at the Land of Promise, Moses gave one of
the most important public speeches in history. In the Bible it is recorded as the book of Deuteronomy.
In this speech, Moses outlines at length, step by step, the
previous 40 years of Israel's history. He explained to them how God
had brought them up out of the land of Egypt for the purpose of being "witnesses" (Isaiah 43:9-12) to God's plan and purpose. As long
as they put their trust in him, they would be blessed.
Moses presented the people of Israel with this choice:
208
(1)
Who Am I?
Keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I
command you today, to observe them. Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the LORD
your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to
your fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will
also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and
your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of
your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. You
shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock. And the LORD will take away from
you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of
Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.
And you shall destroy all the peoples whom the LORD your God delivers over
to you; your eye shall have no pity on them; nor shall you serve their gods,
for that will be a snare to you.
(2)
But… if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe
carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you
today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: Cursed
shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. Cursed shall
be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your
body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed
shall you be when you go out. The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion,
and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and
until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which
you have forsaken Me. The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He
has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. The LORD
will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe
burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall
pursue you until you perish.
Two choices were given with consequences of those
choices— blessings or cursings. As we continue to trace Israel's
history we will see just how accurately these words came true.
Moses concluded his speech by saying:
209
I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore
choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love
the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to
Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in
the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.
(Deuteronomy 30:19)
These words are a vital key to help us understand the history of Israel. They also present us, personally, with an important choice as
well. The Bible presents us with the choices of life or death— life
through understanding God's ways and following His will, or death,
as a consequence of doing things our way and not following His
way.
A land flowing with milk and honey.
At the age of 120, with his work in leading the children of Israel out
of Egypt over, Moses died. Under the leadership of another man,
Joshua, the people finally went into the Land of Promise.
When Moses was first instructed to lead Israel out of
Egypt, a distant land was described to him:
I [God] have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians,
and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites
and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.
(Exodus 3:8 )
The land of Israel's inheritance was "a land flowing with
milk and honey". Only in children's tales do we find rivers flowing
with milk and honey. Obviously this is metaphoric language. What
was being described was a land which was overflowing with tremendous abundance and prosperity. Thirty-eight years before
Joshua led the people into the Land of Promise, twelve men had
gone into the land to search it out:
They came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one
cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also
brought some of the pomegranates and figs. The place was called the Valley
210
Who Am I?
of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there.
And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the
children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back
word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the
land. Then they told him [Moses], and said: We went to the land where you
sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
(Numbers 13:23-27)
This was the prosperity which lay ahead for Israel. For the
next ten years, under the leadership of Joshua, the people conquered
the land and established themselves in it.
Acts of the Apostles, sums up this period in Israel's history:
When He [God] had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He
distributed their land to them by allotment.
(Acts 13:19)
The nations which were driven out of the land by the Israelites were "the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the
Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites and the Jebusites."
They were no competition against Israel because God was with
them. Within no time at all they conquered the land. For the first
time in the history of the nation they were established in a land
which they could call their own. Their mode of worship remained
the same. Their constitution remained the same. And so their identity remained the same. They had no King. God was their King. Israel lived in the land of their inheritance, enjoying their new found
prosperity and security.
At the age of 110, Joshua died. Very little of the next 450
years of Israel's history is recorded for us. Instead the Bible describes the lives of certain individuals who emerged as spiritual
leaders. They helped shape the nation, giving it direction and purpose in fulfilling God's will. They were called Judges and were used
by God to help fulfil His purpose, acting as special deliverers defending Israel from its enemies; reminding Israel of their purpose in
God's plan and purpose.
211
Digression: The visible hand of God
Finally, before we launch into our next period of world history, we
want to take a brief glimpse at the Divine hand behind the Torah. In
the New Testament we read that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God [Greek: "God's breath"]" (2 Timothy 3:15). In other
words, although there were many writers of the Bible over many
hundreds of years, there was only one author— God. This fact is
attested to in the following short article by Mr. John V. Collyer entitled, The Bible On Trial By A Computer:
A very complex computer programme was set up by Rabbi David Ordman
and associates at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, to put Genesis to a
test.
The whole of the original Hebrew text of the Pentateuch (the five
books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy)
was fed into the computer, letter by letter. Then the computer was set problems.
For a long time students of Genesis have been aware of repeated
patterns of sevens, by the full extent of the patterns hidden in the text had
never been realised, indeed, it could not be perceived without the aid of the
computer.
For example, the researchers took the first letter T in the first line
of Genesis, and found that each following 49th letter the word Torah finally
emerged. (49 is 7 times 7, and Torah means "the Teaching" and refers to
the divine teaching in the books of Moses). A similar pattern emerged in the
book of Exodus, still with every 49th letter.
In Leviticus, where the main body of the teaching occurs, another
pattern emerged. Beginning with the letter Y in the text, and then looking at
every other letter, the Hebrew name for God appeared amazingly out of the
text— Yahweh.
While in Genesis and Exodus the word— Torah appeared to be
leading on to Leviticus, an extraordinary reverse process was revealed in the
books of Numbers and Deuteronomy. In these it is again the word Torah, but
this time spelt backwards as if pointing back at Leviticus.
As if the pattern was not enough to convince the sceptic, further
hidden codes were eventually discovered. In the section of Genesis about
Adam and Eve, there was revealed a code repeated 16 times. It was appropriately the word EDN (Eden).
In the section in Leviticus about Aaron, there was revealed an-
212
Who Am I?
other hidden code word at regular intervals 26 times. This was the Hebrew
spelling of ARN (the name of Aaron as spelt in Hebrew).
The computer was asked to search for other selected words, and
the Hebrew word Galut (exile) was tried. Amazingly it was revealed that this
word was coded into the record of Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden, the
first exile in human history. Then it was discovered hidden in the verses
about Cain's exile, after he had killed his brother. This word was concealed
in the record of Noah's ark, and yet again in God's prophecy to Abraham that
his family would be exiled into a strange land (Egypt).
The researchers discovered that if just one letter of the Hebrew
text was omitted, this amazing coding system failed.
A further interesting test was made when the computer was
asked to find the names of trees hidden in the text. In Genesis 1, verses 10
and 11, where the creation of vegetation and trees is recorded, no less than
31 names of trees were found hidden in the text, yet not to be found anywhere else in the book.
In spite of all this detailed and exact coding in the records, the
grammatical construction of each sentence, and the clear meaning of the
account has been retained intact.
The obvious question arises, Could a very clever writer of myths
have devised so complex and so sophisticated an account complete with
these numerous hidden codes? Or could it be that this record was actually
given to Moses, as claimed, "Moses wrote this law (Torah) and delivered it
unto the priests the sons of Levi" (Deuteronomy 31:9)?
It seems particularly significant that it has taken over 3,000 years
for these hidden codes to be revealed by modern technology at a time when
unbelief and atheism are rampant among both Jewish people, and Gentile
nations. What an amazing way for the divine inspiration of the Bible to be
confirmed! P
The history of the nations
The arrival of the nation of Israel among the other nations of the
Middle East was a relatively late occurrence in post-flood history.
Most historians agree that Mesopotamia was the place from which
civilisation spread across the globe. Understandably, therefore, this
area of the Mediterranean and the Middle East is known as the Cradle of Civilisation. As we have already seen, Sumer is the oldest
civilisation in the chronicles of history, with cities to its credit such
as Uruk, Nippur, Lagash, Akkade and Ur, Abraham's hometown.
213
We cannot say for sure exactly at what point in the secular history
of the city of Ur Abraham and his family left it. However, since the
historical Bible suggests that they left Ur in 2084 BC, contemporary history indicates that this may have been during the reign of
Shulgi (2094- 2047 BC), who was the son of Ur-Nammu (21122095.)
The next few hundred years were quite a volatile period in
the history of the region. As each of these cities grew in power and
influence, inevitably power struggles followed between them, until,
under the military direction of Sargon I, the empire of Akkade
emerged which included the whole region of Sumer. This empire is
said to have lasted until the reign of Shu-Turul (2168-2154 BC?)
when frequent raids by some mountain tribesmen known as the Gutians greatly reduced the influence of Akkade as the dominant
power in the region. For a short time the cities of Ur and Uruk regained an element of independence in the south while the northern
region of Mesopotamia remained in Gutian control. Eventually,
from the internal power struggles, the kingdom of Babylon grew to
dominance.
In the meantime, towards the north-west around the cities of
Ashur, Nineveh and Arbela, another civilisation was developing.
This was the kingdom of Assyria which maintained great influence
over the region for many years. Even further to the west were the
Hittites. Towards the south was the kingdom of Mitanni.
As the next few centuries unfolded, two main powers dominated the region, the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Along the
Mediterranean coast, the Kingdom of Phoenicia grew in importance.
For the next 450 years Israel grew to become an influential nation
in the Middle East. A stele or tablet has been found dating back to
this period in Israel's history and mentions the name of Israel for the
first time. This discovery was made by the Egyptologist, Sir
Flinders Petrie, and dates back to Pharaoh Merneptah of Egypt who
reigned about 1300 BC. The inscription read:
Israel is laid waste, his seed is not;
Palestine is become a widow for Egypt.o
Who Am I?
214
Notes:
a
It is important to note that another aspect of this Promise given to Abraham is recorded in Genesis 22:17. Abraham was promised that one of his
descendants "would possess the gates of his enemies" (KJV). The descendant spoken of here is the Lord Jesus Christ who will reign as king
over the Earth one day, and overcome his enemies as well as mankind's
mortal enemies— sin, suffering and death. Also, please note that references to "seed" are in the singular tense. While the secondary application
of this seed in certain contexts is to the progeny of the subject to which
such passages refer, the primary application of these references are to the
Lord Jesus Christ (cp. Part 3).
b
As an outward declaration of trust, or faith, in God's Promises today,
God's instruction to the believer is to be fully immersed in water and
"baptised". After baptism, the believer tries to lead a life obeying God's
instructions as left on record in the Bible (cp. Part 4 Chapter 5).
c
ibid., (p. 105)
d
ibid., (p. 106)
e
History of Ancient Egypt— Professor James Henry Brested (p. 181)
f
The Date of the Exodus in the Light of External Evidence— J. W. Jack, (p. 10).
g
Article: "Archaeology and the Sojourn in Egypt"— B. Form, published in
Archaeology and the Bible, by The Testimony Magazine(p. 16)
h
Article: "Public Health Ahead of its Time"— Dr. Stephen Palmer, published in The Bible Magazine.
i
History of Public Health— George Rosen, (pp. 62-63).
j
ibid., (p. 64-65)
k
A History of Medicine— Arturo Castiglione (p. 71).
l
None of These Diseases— S.I. McMillen, (pp. 24-25)
m
"Nosocomial Bacterial Infections," in Bacterial Infections in Humans: Epidemiology and Control, ed A.S. Evans and H.A. Feldman, published by Plenum Publishing Company (New York) 1982, (p. 383)
n
ibid.
o
ibid., (p. 20).
p
Article: "The Bible On Trial By A Computer"— John V. Collyer published in The Testimony Magazine
4004 BC
AM 0
PROMISES about life are given to Adam and Eve.
3000
1000
Line of Cain
Line of Seth
2000
2000
FLOOD
God destroys all flesh from the earth. Noah and his
Abraham is called out of Ur of Chaldees
1000
0
4000
1,055 bc
Saul is made King of Israel
3000
Assyria
Timecheck!
Period of the Judges
IS R A E L
PROMISES concerning Israel and land made to
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
Israel led out of Egypt. 40 years in wilderness
1000 AD
5000
R E S T O R E D
Restored after
The Millennium
2000
6000
E D E N
CHAPTER 4
David, King Of Israel
(1055 - 4 BC)
1,055 bc
G
od had kept his promise. Israel had now become a nation and after almost 450 years they were settled in
their own land.
As generations came and went, they grew and multiplied at an astounding rate. They had no king. God was their King,
communicating with His people through the priesthood, which had
been instituted during the wilderness wanderings. At the end of a
period called the Judges (as recorded in the Old Testament) a summary is given of this period in Israel's history:
So the children of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his
tribe and family... every man to his inheritance. In those days there was no
king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
(Judges 21:24-25)
The next stage in Israel's history was about to begin.
Israel had forgotten the words spoken by Moses before they
entered the land 450 years earlier. They "did what was right in their
own eyes" (Judges 21:24-25) and not what was right in God's eyes.
Instead of following God's Law, which was not only a code of worship but a code of hygiene, they followed the idolatrous worship and
barbaric customs and practices of the nations around them. Although the priesthood was responsible for administering God's Law,
they, too, had become corrupt and failed Him. The people made a
217
demand of Samuel who was one of Israel's last judges: "Make us a
king to judge us like all the nations..." (1 Samuel 8:5)
But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us.
So Samuel prayed to the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, Heed the
voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you,
but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.
(1 Samuel 8:6-7)
So Israel chose a man, Saul, to be a king so that they
"may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us,
and go out before us, and fight our battles" (1 Samuel 8:20).
They had not rejected Samuel— they had rejected God. The next
few hundred years was a turbulent period in Israel's history, known
as the time of the Kings.
A record of the lives of these Kings can be found in the
books of the Bible entitled Samuel, Kings and Chronicles. Some
were good kings, but the majority of them were bad, of whom it is
often recorded, they "did what was evil in the sight of the LORD."
As kings and, therefore, representatives among God's people, they
had a responsibility to uphold the standards which God had laid
down in the Law. They did not do this.
Although Saul was the first king of Israel and reigned for
forty years, the most famous of the Kings of Israel was his successor, David. Until recently, there was no clear evidence that King
David ever existed. Nevertheless, that all changed in 1993 when an
important discovery was made, reported on August 12th, 1993 in
the Canadian Globe and Mail:
A fragment of a shattered monument found this summer is the first nonBiblical evidence of the dynasty founded by King David, an Israelite
archaeologist said yesterday. The words King of Israel and House of David
appear in Aramaic script on a shattered stele uncovered by Israeli archaeologists at Tel-Dan in northern Israel. Team leader Avraham Biran said the
language and style of the fragment point to the Ninth Century BC, when
David's great-great grandson, Asa, King of Judah, paid the King of Aram to
battle against a rival Israeli leader. (I Kings 15:18-19) This is a very important precedent, said Binyamin Mazar, the dean of Israeli archaeologists.
218
Who Am I?
David was a king who "did what was right in the eyes of
the LORD", described in the Bible as being a man after God's own
heart. So highly regarded was David by God, that certain promises
were given to him. Just as Abraham, Isaac and Israel had been
given promises about their futures, so David was given promises
about his future and the future of one of his descendants. The life of
King David, therefore, is another very important stepping stone in
Israel's history.
During the reign of David, Israel prospered. With tremendous energy David made it his lifetime's work to expand and unify
the kingdom, re-establishing God as the true king over Israel. Unlike
his predecessor, David recognised that the kingdom was not his, but
God's, and he was only God's representative.
David was very successful in unifying the kingdom under
God's laws. Nevertheless, he was aware that although he lived in a
palace of great beauty, the Ark of the Covenant, (a gold-covered
chest which represented God's presence in Israel, containing the
Mosaic Law, a pot of manna and Aaron's rod) was housed in a tent.
David decided to build a temple for the Ark of the Covenant. Nevertheless, although God recognised the sincere motive behind David
wanting to build the temple, God did not allow him to build the temple because he was a man of war.
Instead David was told that God was going to make him a
house: "The LORD tells you that He will make you a house" (2
Samuel 7:11). This was an anomaly. David wanted to build God's
house, yet instead God told David that He would build David's
house! This seemed very odd, especially since David already had a
house of great size and beauty. However, all became clear:
When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up
your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish
his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish
the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be
My son… My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul,
whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall
be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.
(2 Samuel 7:12-17)
219
God was not talking about a literal house. He was using the
term metaphorically to describe the House of David or Dynasty of
David, as we would describe Queen Elizabeth II as having descended from the House of Windsor, or a particular Duke belonging
to the House of York or Westminster.
There were essentially four parts to this remarkable Promise which God had made to David:
(1)
David was going to father a child who would be king—
"I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will
establish his kingdom… He shall build a house for My name."
In part, this aspect of the Promise was fulfilled in the life of
David's son, Solomon, who became the next king of Israel
and reigned upon David's throne. Solomon was a very
wealthy king and he did build a literal house, or temple, for
God which housed the Ark of the Covenant. But this aspect
of the Promise did not speak primarily of Solomon, as is
evident from the next part of the Promise...
(2)
David's House was going to be established forever—
"I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever…"
David was promised that his seed was going to reign upon
his throne forever. We know that Solomon is dead and buried after reigning over Israel for only forty years. It is true
that his dynasty did go on for a number of generations, but
it has not gone on forever. In fact, immediately after Solomon's reign the Kingdom was split into two parts, the Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah in the
south. The northern kingdom ceased to exist from 721 BC
onwards when the Assyrian Empire conquered the land, and
the southern kingdom went into captivity into Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. So then, who was
this "seed" spoken of by God whose Kingdom was going to
last forever?
220
Who Am I?
(3)
This "Seed" was going to have an unusual relationship
with God —
"I will be his Father, and he shall be My son… My mercy shall not depart
from him."
It could be said that in the broader sense all descendants of
Adam can be called the sons of God, since Adam was created by God and called the son of God (Luke 3:38). Yet the
Promise is speaking of a very special relationship. In a
book called Hebrews, the writer says:
To which of the angels did He ever say: You are My Son, today I have begotten You? And again: I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a
Son?
(Hebrews 1:5)
There is only one person in history to whom this passage
could possibly refer— Jesus Christ. The Bible further describes how this special relationship was going to come
about: "I will be his father..." said God (2 Samuel 7:14).
How? "A virgin will conceive..." (Isaiah 7:14) When? "In
the fullness of time..." (Galatians 4:4). Almost nine centuries later, a young virgin, called Mary, who was of the line
of David, conceived by God's power and gave birth to a
son.
(4)
David was going to witness the fulfilment of the Promise
first hand—
"Your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you."
David was told that the fulfilment of this Promise was going to be "when your days are fulfilled and you rest with
your fathers" (2 Samuel 7:12). Again, the Promise was fulfilled in part when his son Solomon began to reign and the
House for the ark was built. But the "seed" to whom this
Promise related primarily was David's greater son, Jesus
Christ, and would not be fulfilled for quite some time to
come. David recognised that this Promise was not speaking
primarily about his son Solomon when he said: "O Lord
221
GOD...You have also spoken of Your servant's house for a
great while to come" (2 Samuel 7:19). David "slept with
his fathers" in the knowledge of God's Promise that his
House and Kingdom "shall be established for ever before
you." Like Abraham, Isaac and Israel before him, David
died with the hope that some time in the future, he would
see with his own eyes, the establishment of his Kingdom
forever, with his greater son sitting upon his throne. This
means that David will also have to be resurrected from the
dead for this Promise to be fulfilled.
The Divided Kingdom
As already mentioned, Solomon, David's son, did build a house for
the Ark of the Covenant and he did have a very prosperous reign as
King of Israel. As soon as he died after a reign of forty years, however, everything started to go wrong in Israel and the peace and
prosperity which it had enjoyed during the days of David and Solomon, was never experienced to the same degree again.
By inheritance, Solomon's son, Rehoboam, should have become king after Solomon's death. Nevertheless, towards the end of
the reign of Solomon, Solomon was told that because he had not
followed God's instructions, God was going to give the Kingdom to
one of his Generals instead, Jeroboam the son of Nebat:
Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did evil in the sight of
the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David... So the
LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the
LORD God of Israel… The LORD said to Solomon, Because you have done
this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to
your servant [Jeroboam]. Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the
sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son
[Rehoboam]. However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one
tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.
(1 Kings 11:5-13)
222
Who Am I?
No doubt, we can hear the warnings of Moses in these
words. Israel had turned away from God. Now trouble ensued. Civil
war broke out and the nation was divided into two parts. Ten tribes
in the north were united under the kingship of Jeroboam the son of
Nebat, as the northern Kingdom of Israel. Two tribes under Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, became the Kingdom of Judah in the
south. For almost 300 years a succession of kings governed these
kingdoms. Most of them "did evil in the sight of the LORD." After
much patience, as a result of their wickedness, God allowed them to
be taken away into captivity by their northern neighbours— firstly,
Israel into Assyria, and later Judah into Babylon. If they were so
intent upon worshipping the idols and gods of the nations around
them, then God was going to provide them with all the idols and
gods that they could ever want in the lands of their captivity.
Israel was taken into captivity by the Assyrians during the
reign of the Israeli king, Hoshea in 721 BC. About 150 years later,
during the reign of King Jehoiakim, Judah was also taken away captive by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. For a period of 70 years
Judah lived in captivity under the Babylonians. When the Medes
and Persians conquered Babylon, Judah became their prisoners instead. Israel never did return to their land. Judah, however, were
allowed in part to return to their land by Cyrus King of Persia. At
this time, Zerubbabel, a governor, was put in charge over Judah and
a series of men became the spiritual leaders or High Priests of the
people.
Digression: More archaeology
We have already seen how archaeology confirms that the Bible is
historically accurate. There are, however, other remarkable archaeological discoveries which we have not yet mentioned. A number of these discoveries can be found in the British Museum and
include objects such as the Cyrus cylinder which speaks of the
bringing to an end of the Babylonian Empire by Cyrus the Persian,
and the Taylor Prism which speaks of the capture of several towns
223
in the land of Israel by the Assyrian king, Sennacherib. Both of
these events can be found in the Bible, once again proving the reliability of the Bible as a historical record. The following examples
are probably two of the most monumental archaeological discoveries of the last few hundred years.
The Moabite Stone
In 1868 a German missionary, F. Klien, stumbled across a black
basalt stone as he was travelling though Moab in the Middle East. It
was nearly four feet high by two feet wide and had a thirty-four line
inscription engraved into it. The inscription was a record of the
reign of the Moabite king, Mesha. The Bible makes particular reference to this king:
Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepbreeder, and he regularly paid the
king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred
thousand rams. But it happened, when Ahab died, that the king of Moab
rebelled against the king of Israel.
(2 Kings 3:4-5)
The above chapter in the book of Kings goes on to describe
a confederacy between the kingdoms of Israel, Judah and Edom to
suppress the rebellion of Moab and their subsequent invasion of
Moab. This coalition, however was unsuccessful. In this inscription,
Mesha refers to this war with Israel and her allies.
And the king of Israel built Jahaz, and dwelt in it, whilst he waged war
against me; Chemosh drove him out before me.
Naturally, Mesha attributes his success to his god, Chemosh and says that Chemosh "saved me from all invaders, and let
me see my desire upon all my enemies."
One last point about the Moabite stone is that the inscription was written in Hebrew. We may recall that the Moabites descended from Abraham, as Israel are today. They were, therefore, a
brother nation to the Jews and not surprisingly, spoke the same language.
Who Am I?
224
The Dead Sea Scrolls
Much scepticism has shrouded the origins of our modern day Bible,
calling into question not only its authenticity and the Divine inspiration which it claims, but its accuracy as a historical record.
This criticism was put to rest in 1947 when a Bedouin
shepherd boy stumbled across one of the greatest archaeological
discoveries of the last Century. In his book, How we got our Bible,
Ralph Earle wrote:
The story of this discovery is one of the most fascinating tales of modern
times. In February or March of 1947, a Bedouin shepherd boy named
Muhammad was searching for a lost goat. He tossed a stone into a hole in a
cliff on the west side of the Dead Sea, about eight miles south of Jericho. To
his surprise he heard the sound of shattering pottery. Investigating he found
an amazing sight. On the floor of the cave were several large jars containing
leather scrolls, wrapped in linen cloth. Because the jars were carefully
sealed, the scrolls had been preserved in excellent condition for nearly 1,900
years. They had evidently been placed there in AD 68. a
In fact, over the next nine or ten years, scrolls and fragments of over 600 documents of a religious and theological nature
were discovered. Among them were fragments of every Old Testament book (apart from Esther), two almost compete scrolls of the
prophecy of Isaiah, as well as large portions of the Psalms.
The community which had gathered this collection of Old
Testament literature was the Qumran Community. They lived in a
cistern of caves close to Jerusalem. These Qumran scrolls were
such an important discovery because until 1947, the oldest known
Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible dated back no earlier than about
900 AD. The Qumran scrolls dated back to at least AD 68. This
means that the manuscripts were contemporary with the time of
Christ, and may well have been the same Old Testament read by
Jesus and His disciples.
What of its accuracy when compared with our modern day
Bible then? This is the astounding point about the find. One would
expect to discover serious differences between these scrolls and our
modern day Bible due to the nature of transcribing and rewriting the
225
Bible over the last 2,000 years. On the contrary, it has been stated
that the Isaiah copies of the Qumram community "proved to be
word for word identical with our standard Hebrew Bible in more
than 95% of the text. The five percent variation accounted chiefly
of obvious slips of the pen and variations in spelling." (G. Archer, A
Survey of the Old Testament.) With a high degree of confidence,
therefore, we can rely upon the books of the Old Testament to complete our picture of world history. Not the least of these books are
the books of the prophets.
The Ministry of the Prophets
No doubt we have heard of prophets. Our conceptions of what
prophets are and what they do will vary. One of the better known
modern day "prophets" was a man called Nostradamus who lived
during the 14th Century. He is supposed to have been able to see
events that were to happen many years into the future (in some
cases, evidently, quite vividly.) This ability to foresee future events
is known as prophecy. Whether or not we regard the prophecies
which he spoke as being true or not, they do leave us curiously pondering the credibility of such a claim as to be able to speak of things
beyond the observable.
In the Bible there were a number of men who are referred to
collectively as "the ministry of the prophets" (Hosea 12:10). The
purpose of a prophet was not merely to foretell the future, but to
teach people with words of doctrine and sound teaching. They were
God's mouth-piece. Through them, God passed on messages to his
people about events past, present and future.
In the New Testament Peter says that,
Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they
were moved by the Holy Spirit.
(2 Peter 1:21)
From what we have learned about Israel so far, it seems
strange that such a ministry was necessary. In times past, God communicated and taught His people through His priesthood whose responsibility it was to "speak knowledge" and "seek the law from His
226
Who Am I?
[God's] mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD" (Malachi 2:7).
They had done neither of these things. Instead they had become corrupt. God decided to act. He spoke through certain individuals
whom he carefully chose from different families, tribes, backgrounds and environments. Now they were going to teach the people
about God and tell them things about the future. These teachings
mainly came during the time that the two kingdoms were established
in the land, and warned the people of the consequences of not obeying God's laws. However, the prophets did not cease to exist just
because the people were taken into captivity. For over one hundred
years God continued to speak to his people through the prophets.
One of the most famous of these prophets was Daniel. It is
with his prophecies, in particular, that we are now concerned.
The Prophet Daniel
Daniel prophesied during the time of Judah's captivity in Babylon
and was one of the princes of Judah. He was only a young man
when he was taken away into Babylon, but he was well-favoured by
the Babylonians and lived in the king's court. In his book, Daniel,
there is a remarkable prophecy recorded which outlines in detail the
shape of the political scene around Israel for the next 2,500 years.
So accurate was this prophecy, that most of us with the vaguest
knowledge of world history wouldn't need to use any textbook or
encyclopaedia to judge its authenticity.
One night Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon had a dream.
Not so unusual we might think. We all have dreams. Yet this one
was so unusual and so vivid that he was convinced that there must
have been a meaning to it. He called together all his wise men and
demanded that should tell him (i) what the dream was and (ii) its
interpretation. None of them could tell him. That was until Daniel
spoke up and told the King what he wanted to know.
227
You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image,
whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome.
This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly
and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of
clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which
struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then
the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind
carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that
struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
This is the dream.
(Daniel 2:31-36)
Daniel provided the king with the dream's interpretation :
Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. You, O king, are a king
of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength,
and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field
and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has
made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. But after you
shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third
kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And the fourth
kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces
and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in
pieces and crush all the others. Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly
of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the
strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic
clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the
kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with
ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere
to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of these
kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in
pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without
hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver,
and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to
pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.
(Daniel 2:36-45)
Who Am I?
228
There are five key elements to this prophecy:
(1)
The purpose of the dream was to reveal "what was in the
latter days" (Daniel 2:28).
(2)
Each metal of the image represented an empire which
would appear consecutively in world history.
(3)
All the four metals were "broken to pieces TOGETHER"
which means that one single dominion must arise which will
fuse all four territories of the four empires into one large
kingdom.
(4)
An event will take place which will "brake in pieces and
consume all these kingdoms."
(5)
Finally a new kingdom will be established which "shall
stand forever."
Four metals— four empires
Let's take a look at contemporary history and see if we can identify
which four empires that these four metals represented:
The Head of gold
The "head of gold" represents the Assyro-Babylonian Empire. The
duration of this kingdom was from Nebuchadnezzar (who had the
dream) to Belshazzar and lasted 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11) from
602 to 542 BC. Remarkably, Babylon was known as the golden
city of the golden age (Isaiah 13:19; 14:3). Gold was used abundantly to decorate it as can be seen from the following inscription in
which Nebuchadnezzar declares:
The walls of the cell of Merodach must be made to glisten as the sun. The
halls of his temple must be overlaid with shining gold, lapis lazuli, and alabaster. And the chapel of his lordship covered with bright gold.
No wonder gold represented the empire of Babylon!
229
His breast and his arms of silver
"His breast and his arms of silver" represented the Medo-Persian
Empire which lasted from 542 to 334 BC. One arm represented the
kingdom of the Medes. The other arm represented the kingdom of
the Persians. In a similar way in which gold was used to describe
the Babylonian empire, silver is an apt metal to identify the MedoPersian empire since, according to the ancient historian Herodotus,
taxation and tribute of the empire was paid out in silver!
His belly and his thighs of bronze
"His belly and his thighs of bronze" represents the Greek Empire
which lasted from 334 to 67 BC. Even before the kingdom of
Greece was established as a world empire, it was noted for its
bronze (Ezekiel 27:13). Later bronze was put into the armour worn
by the Greek soldiers giving them the nick-name "the brazen-coated
Greeks".
His legs of iron
The empires of Rome are represented by "his legs of iron". The Romans were known for using iron in their breastplates and swords,
which they preferred over brass. In The Rise and Fall of the Roman
Empire, Edward Gibbon makes the following comment:
The arms of the Republic [of Rome], sometimes vanquished in battle, always victorious in war, advanced with rapid steps towards the Euphrates,
the Danube, the Rhine and the ocean; and the images of gold, or silver, or
brass, that might serve to represent the nations or their kings, were successively broken by the iron monarchy of Rome... The Empire of the Romans
filled the world.
During the reign of the Emperor Constantine, the empire of
Rome was divided into the Western and Eastern Roman Empires,
which are represented by the two legs of the image.
In 312 AD four rulers ruled the Empire: Licinius, Maximin,
Maxentius and Constantius. At this time, a new religion was sweeping across the Mediterranean called Christianity, and Constantine,
the son of Constantius, succeeded his father as co-ruler.
230
Who Am I?
Constantine followed a similar policy to that adopted by his father,
permitting religious tolerance in the area of the empire under his
control. Because of the speed with which Christianity was spreading
throughout the world, Constantine saw his opportunity to use it as a
stepping stone to attain world power and thus gave it liberty and
protection. In 324 AD he deposed his fellow-rulers and became sole
emperor of the Roman Empire. Because of his religious sympathies,
he is regarded by Roman Catholics as "the first Christian Emperor".
In 326 AD Constantine moved his civil and military headquarters to Constantinople (modern day Istanbul). Rome remained
the religious headquarters of the Empire. Thus, the Western Roman Empire (the religious centre) and the Eastern Roman Empire
(the military and administrative centre) were defined, and the two
legs of the image were firmly in place.
Toes and feet of iron and clay
The Western Roman Empire was conquered by a barbarian tribe
from the north called the Goths. When they came to Rome they entered the city killing and causing suffering to thousands of people,
effectively bringing the Western Roman Empire to an end. In 476
AD Odaocer, King of Heruli, the Visigoth, became king and from
this time on some 21 different tribes established their kingdoms on
the ruins of the Western Empire. Here are just some of them: The
Huns (356 AD), Visogoths (378 AD), Gepidae (378 AD), Vandals
(407 AD), Burgundians (407 AD), Franks (407 AD), Suevi (407
AD), Alani (456 AD), Lombards (483 AD), Bavarians (486 AD).
Meanwhile, the Eastern Roman Empire continued until
1453 AD when the Ottomans under Mahommet II besieged and
captured its capital, Constantinople. When the capital fell to the Ottomans, the civil and religious authorities of the Eastern Roman
Empire retreated north towards the southern steppes of Russia.
After the disintegration of western and eastern "legs" of the
Roman Empire, no world empires have succeeded it. Certainly there
have been other empires in the world such as the Ottoman empire,
the French, and the British, but none have arisen out of, or after the
231
Roman Empire to dominate the then known world. What we do observe today, however, are the remnants of the "iron" of the Western
and Eastern Roman Empires in the form of two very powerful religious-political organisations— the Roman Catholic system centred
upon Rome in the west, and the Eastern Orthodox system centred
upon Moscow in the east.
The feet of the image in Daniel's prophecy were composed
of iron and clay. So how are we to understand what the feet and
toes of the image represent? Well, the first observation that we
make is that the feet and the toes represent a kingdom that will exist
just prior to the return of Christ, since the stone cut without hands
(representing Christ) strikes the image on the feet "in the latter
days". Secondly, just as the iron and clay were unable to bond
firmly with each other in the image, so there will be a tentative alliance between the iron and clay elements of this kingdom that will
exist just prior to the return of Christ. Throughout the ages many
powerful men including Charlemagne, Charles V, Napoleon, Kaiser
Wilhelm and Hitler have attempted to unite Europe from the steppes
of Russia to the Atlantic Ocean, sometimes through intermarriage
between royal families; sometimes using brute force to do so. Nonetheless, all have failed to bring about a lasting union because as the
Bible said, "they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not
adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay."
Another point worthy of note is that, in a similar way that
each of the four metals appropriately represented each kingdom that
was to arise, iron and clay together are appropriate symbols of the
kingdom of "the latter days". When iron ore is smelted with limestone, steel is produced as well as a by-product called slag or
"clay"! Steel is one of the most widely used metal alloys today.
How could it be, except by direct revelation from God,
through the prophet Daniel, that we have this remarkably detailed
history of the world— before it had even taken place? The overwhelming message is that, indeed, "the Most High rules in the
kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over
it the lowest of men" (Daniel 4:17).
232
Who Am I?
Four beasts— four empires
Later on in his book, Daniel gives a little more detail about these
kingdoms, and how and when they would come to power.
This time, Daniel had a dream. This is what he saw:
I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, each
different from the other. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I
watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth
and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on
one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said
thus to it: Arise, devour much flesh!
After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its
back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion
was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth
beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth;
it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet.
It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out
by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and
a mouth speaking pompous words... I watched till the beast was slain, and
its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. As for the rest of the
beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for
a season and a time.
I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man,
coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and
they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and
glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve
Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away,
and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed, which shall not
pass away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed.
(Daniel 7:2-14)
Again, Daniel provides us with the interpretation:
233
Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the
earth... The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall
be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise
from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; he shall be different
from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings... But the court shall be
seated, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it
forever. Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms
under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most
High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall
serve and obey Him.
(Daniel 7:17-27)
Similar to King Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Daniel's dream
was about four empires which were to come into existence during
the next 2,500 years of history. Instead of Daniel seeing these kingdoms as Nebuchadnezzar had seen them— as parts of a man, he
saw the kingdoms from God's point of view, represented by mere
beasts.
The following are important points about Daniel's dream:
(1)
As with the first vision, the "four beasts" represented "four
kings"— i.e. four consecutive world empires.
(2)
"Dominion was given" to them for a short time and then
"they had their dominion taken away."
(3)
"There was given… dominion" to the "Saints of the most
High."
(4)
"An everlasting kingdom" would arise in its place.
(5)
"All dominions shall serve and obey Him [the Most
High]."
What do these four beasts represent? Well, if this dream is
similar to the first dream seen by Nebuchadnezzar, then each beast
must represent the same as the four metals. This time more detail is
given.
The Prophecies of Daniel 2 & 7
“You are this head of gold…”
BABYLON
“like a lion… and had eagle’s wings”
“Arms and chest of silver…”
MEDO-PERSIA
“another beast… like a bear”
GREECE
“belly and thighs of bronze…”
ROME
“legs of iron…”
“another was like a leopard”
“Return of
Christ…”
“feet of iron
and clay…”
“a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible,
exceedingly
strong”
RUSSO-EUROPEAN ALLIANCE
KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH
“God has made known... what will come to pass.”
BABYLONIAN EMPIRE (602 – 542 BC)
MEDO-PERSIAN EMPIRE (542 – 334 BC)
GREEK EMPIRE (334 – 67 BC)
ROMAN EMPIRE (67 BC – 476 AD)
236
Who Am I?
The Lion
The "lion" was used as an appropriate symbol of the AssyrioBabylonian Empires. The lion was the symbol of the Chaldean empires of Assyria and Babylon. Another Bible prophet declared:
"Israel is scattered as sheep; the lions have driven them away; first
the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadnezzar [the king of Babylon] hath broken his bones" (Jeremiah 50:17—
KJV). As we have just suggested, the lion was a common national
symbol of the Assyro-Babylonian empire. Archaeologists have unearthed many huge images of lions at both Nineveh (capital of the
Assyrian empire) and at Babylon. In a similar way that gold is considered the most precious of metals, so, too, is the lion considered to
be the king of beasts.
There were two stages of the Assyrio-Babylonian Empire.
These two stages are represented by the two stages of the lion, one
stage being with wings, the second, without.
"The eagle’s wings" represented the extended territory of
the Assyrian empire which had its capital at Nineveh. However, in
626 BC, these wings were plucked by Nebuchadnezzar who conquered and rebuilt the empire. The capital was moved to Babylon
and so the Babylonian Empire became the dominant empire of the
Middle East. Contemporary history tells us that Nebuchadnezzar
was a proud man and full of self-importance. It is, therefore, apt
that the first beast is seen to "stand upon the feet as a man, and a
man's heart was given to it."
The Bear
The second beast was a "bear" corresponding to the chest and arms
of Nebuchadnezzar's image. The bear represented the Medo-Persian
empire which was a separate kingdom from the Assyro-Babylonian
empire and did not grow out of it. Instead, the Medo-Persian seat of
power was at Nineveh and, under Cyrus, Babylon was conquered in
538 BC. The first stage of its political evolution was the Median
empire which became known as the Medo-Persian empire when the
Persians took government.
237
The characteristics of the bear appropriately describe this
empire— strong, cruel, cunning and greedy. In fact, its borders surpassed those of the Babylonian empire and under Cyrus the Persian,
the three kingdoms surrounding the Medo-Persian Empire, represented by the three ribs in the mouth of the bear, were conquered.
These kingdoms were the Lydians in Western Asia who were noted
for their wealth, the Babylonians who were noted for their strength
and in the south, the Egyptians who were noted for their antiquity
and culture.
During the reign of Cyrus, a remnant of Judah were allowed to return to the land of Israel under the puppet king, Zerubbabel.
The Leopard
The third beast, the "leopard", equates to the thighs made of brass
of the image. In his Exposition of Daniel, p.11, Dr. John Thomas
writes:
The leopard is Macedonian, representing Alexander the Great's dominion
and those of his four principal successors who divided it among themselves.
The body of the beast represents the power before it was divided; and each
head one of the sub-divisions. The wings represented the position of the
Macedonian Heads relative to the Holy Land.
The agility and ferocity of the leopard and its swiftness,
suggested by its wings, represent the amazingly rapid conquests of
Alexander the Great. He ascended the throne of Macedonia at the
age of twenty and within ten years he had the whole of the world at
his feet. At this point it is said that he "wept because there were no
more countries to conquer". At the age of thirty-three Alexander
was dead and behind him he left an empire which stretched from
Macedonia and Egypt to as far away as India. The kingdom was
then divided up into four parts by his successors—Ptolemy, Lysimachus, Seleucus and Cassander—who were the generals of his
army: These are represented by the four heads of the beast. Dr.
John Thomas defines them as follows:
Who Am I?
238
First head:
The Kingdom of the South comprehending Egypt,
Libya, Arabia, Coele-Syria, and Palestine, under
Ptolemies.
Second head:
The Kingdom of the North-West including
Thrace, Bithyina, etc., or the Thraco-Macedonian,
established by Lysimachus.
Third head:
The Kingdom of the North-East comprehending
the rest of Asia inclusive of Babylon and its provinces; and extending beyond the Euphrates to the
Indus. India beyond that river, though allotted to
this head, revolted; so that the Indus became its
boundary. This was the Macedo-Babylonish Kingdom of Seleucidae.
Fourth head:
The Kingdom of the West embracing Macedonia
and Greece.
The beasts of Daniel's prophecy are also mentioned by
other prophets. One of these prophets, Hosea, wrote about how God
was going to use other nations around Israel to punish them because
of their unfaithfulness. He identifies those nations using the same
beasts of Daniel's prophecy. He writes:
So I will be to them like a lion; like a leopard by the road I will lurk; I will
meet them like a bear deprived of her cubs...The wild beast shall tear
them.
(Hosea 13:7-8)
The fourth beast
The "fourth beast" described by Daniel was "dreadful and terrible
and strong exceedingly" and could not be represented by any animal that Daniel could recognise. Some have suggested that it was
the same as the mythical beasts that were inscribed upon the gates
of Babylon with which Daniel would have been familiar. We will,
therefore, call this beast the unnamed beast.
There was a lot of detail given by Daniel about this fourth
beast. This fourth beast leads us up to our modern day. Daniel de-
239
scribes it as being "diverse from all the beasts that went before it",
and that it had "teeth of iron" and had "ten horns." These are clear
similarities between this fourth beast and the fourth metal of Nebuchadnezzar's image which had "legs made out of iron" and most
probably "ten toes". This beast, therefore, appropriately represents
the empire of Rome.
After the devastation of the Western Roman Empire by the
barbarians, who established their kingdoms upon the territory of the
Western Roman Empire in the west until about 600 AD, "there
came up among them another little horn."
This other "little horn" was the bishop of Rome, or the
Pope, who governed the religious aspect of the Roman Empire until
the invasion by the barbarians. When the Western Roman Empire
was eroded, he made an appeal to the emperor of the Eastern Roman empire requesting help against the northern aggressors. As a
result, the Emperor Justinian defeated the Goths in Italy. Justinian
was proclaimed sole emperor and restored some of the power back
to the Bishop of Rome. By 533 AD he had conquered enough of Italy so that he could proclaim the Bishop of Rome as "Universal
Bishop". Slowly the "little horn", which represented the Bishop of
Rome, was starting to grow. In the years 549-554 AD Justinian
published a legal code which became the foundation for European
law giving the "Universal Bishop" control of the Municipal and Provincial Government in Italy. In 590 AD Gregory I became Pope and
was particularly politically ambitious. Very quickly the whole of
Western Europe recognised the Pope as head of the entire church.
He died in 604 AD, and in the years 608-610 AD Emperor Phocas
proclaimed that the Pope was "the head of all churches."
The rise to power of the Pope upon the world stage was not
merely the rise of a religious leader. It was the rise of Roman Catholicism as a kingdom, and the most influential political system
that Europe has ever seen.
The Church of Rome continued to enjoy the military support of the emperors in Constantinople until the rise of Mahommedanism from 622 AD. As the Eastern Roman Empire was
brought to an end by Islam from the east, the Church of Rome
240
Who Am I?
looked elsewhere for its military support and found it in the rising
kingdom of the Franks. The Empire of Charlemagne in Northern
Europe made an alliance with the Church of Rome, and became
known as "The Holy Roman Empire". Although the Eastern Roman
Empire had openly supported the Church of Rome, Italy itself was
still predominantly occupied by the Goths, Ostrogoths and Heruli.
The Emperor Pepin, in support of the Pope, invaded Italy in 758
AD and conquered the principalities of the country, giving the Pope
"the States of the Church". Hence, the "three horns" of the Barbarian hordes which had invaded Italy three centuries before "were…
plucked up by the roots" and replaced by the three States of the
Church. The triple crown, worn by the pope from then on, represented the three states of the Exarchate of Ravenna, the kingdom of
the Lombards and the State of Rome, which is the seat of his temporal and political power. Over the next 1,000 years, the "little
horn" of the papacy grew to become the most powerful political
force in Europe.
Another Kingdom
We have just traced the history of the world at a tremendous pace.
We must not forget, however, that the whole purpose of the two
dreams was to show what will come to pass "in the latter days". In
the first prophecy, a "stone which was cut from the mountains
without hands" struck the image and destroyed it. The metals were
destroyed "together" and "became a mountain and filled the whole
Earth". In the second prophecy, "the same horn made war with the
saints… and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom".
In both dreams the last empire was destroyed and replaced
by "another kingdom" which filled the whole Earth. This event is
the fulfilment of all the promises to Abraham, Isaac, Israel and
David. It describes a time when God's purpose will finally be complete in the Earth, when one king, one land and one people will be
established upon it "forever". In the days just prior to the setting up
of the Kingdom of "the Most High God" the image of Daniel must
stand up and territories once occupied by the empires of Babylon,
241
Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome, will be incorporated into a Eastern/Western confederacy, represented by the two legs of the image.
This will be the final chapter of the kingdom of men which will exist before the setting up of the Kingdom God on Earth. How and
when this will come about is the subject of Chapter 7.
During the time that Daniel was in captivity, he was concerned with
how the promises which had been made to Abraham, Isaac, Israel
and David were going to be fulfilled. He recognised the reason why
Israel and Judah had been taken into captivity. "We have sinned and
have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgements: neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets,
which spoke in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers,
and to all the people of the land" (Daniel 9:5-6). He also recognised
that the words of Moses had come true and that God had allowed
them to be taken into captivity.
All Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey
Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of
Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have
sinned against Him... As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster
has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our
God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth.
(Daniel 9:11-13)
Daniel was now concerned with Israel's welfare. Knowing
that God would keep His promises which He had made to Abraham,
Isaac, Israel and David, he wanted to understand when all these
things were going to happen. Daniel prayed:
O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our
supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of
Your great mercies. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act!
Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are
called by Your name
(Daniel 9:18-19)
Who Am I?
242
Daniel expected an immediate relief to the crisis that he and
his fellow Jews found themselves in as captives in a foreign country. Nevertheless, God answered Daniel's prayer, not with a date
when they would return from captivity, but with a chronological
timescale for the fulfilment of other important events in God's plan.
Through the angel Gabriel, God replied:
Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, [1] to
finish the transgression, [2] to make an end of sins, [3] to make reconciliation for iniquity, [4] to bring in everlasting righteousness, [5] to
seal up vision and prophecy, and [6] to anoint the Most Holy. Know
therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven
weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall,
even in troublesome times. And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be
cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come
shall destroy the city and the sanctuary... Then he shall confirm a covenant
with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an
end to sacrifice and offering.
(Daniel 9:24-27)
BC 455
"Decree to restore and build Jerusalem" by
Artaxerxes to Ezra (Ezra 7:1-26)
—49 years—
BC 406
"The streets shall be built again and the walls in
troublous times."
—434 years—
AD 27
Jesus begins ministry at age 30
—31/2 years—
AD 30
"in the midst of the week" Jesus crucified after 31/2
years ministry
243
These "seventy weeks" revealed by Daniel were:
(1)
"to finish the transgression"— i.e. to bring Israel's evil
ways to an end.
(2)
"to make an end of sins"— i.e. to remove the need for frequent animal sacrifice by the people as a means of seeking
forgiveness for their sins.
(3)
"to make a reconciliation for iniquity"— to remove the
breach which had been made in the garden of Eden by the
reconciling of man with God.
(4)
"to bring in everlasting righteousness"— to provide the
means by which all who want to be forgiven and attain
righteousness could do so.
(5)
"to seal up the vision and prophecy"— to see a fulfilment
of all the law and the prophets which had come until this
point in time.
(6)
"to anoint the most Holy"— to finally crown the king
which had been promised in the ancient promises.
The period of time which was determined by the prophecy
for all these things to be fulfilled was "seventy weeks," divided into
three separate periods of (i) 7 weeks— or 49 days, (ii) 62 weeks—
or 434 days and (iii) 1 week— or 7 days. Taking each day for a
year, which is a Bible principle often used for prophecy, we arrive
at the preceding historical timescale. b
Notes:
a
b
How we got our Bible— Ralph Earle (pp. 48-49).
2 Peter 3:8
4004 BC
AM 0
PROMISES about life given to Adam and Eve.
3000
1000
Line of Cain
Line of Seth
2000
2000
FLOOD
1000
Bb Med Gk
0
4000
Rome
1000 AD
5000
4 bc
Restored after
The Millennium
2000
6000
Birth of Jesus Christ. 3 1/2 year ministry. Rejection by leaders of Israel. Christ condemned
to be executed on a cross. PROMISE made to
Adam and Eve fulfilled in the life death and resurrection of Christ.
R E
3000
J U D A H
Assyria
Timecheck!
IS R A E L
Saul and David are the first kings of Israel
PROMISE concerning David’s throne made
Israel divided after reign of Solomon into two
kingdoms— Israel and Judah.
Israel taken captive by Assyrians. Judah taken
captive by Babylonians. Daniel’s image.
Some of Judah allowed to return land of Israel in
the times of the Medo-Persian Empire
Alexander The Great conquers the world.
Rise of the Roman Empire.
E D E N
CHAPTER 5
Jesus of Nazareth
(4 BC – 70 AD)
4 bc
R
egardless of whether we believe that he was the son of
God, most would agree that no single individual has
had more effect upon the course of history than Jesus
of Nazareth. So true is this fact that twice a year,
among most nations, men and women bring the daily routine of life
to a halt to remember the birth and the death of Jesus Christ. Those
who follow him are called "Christians" which means Christ's people. It was with the advent of Jesus Christ that Christianity was
conceived and for nearly two thousand years, it has been one of the
most influential religions in world history. Wars have been fought in
his name, whether we look at the crusades of the Middle Ages, modern day Northern Ireland or the various warring factions in the Middle East. Indeed, such was this man's influence upon the world that
the dating system of the world has adopted the calendar which we
use today, Anno Domini, meaning "the year of the Lord (Jesus)".
Most people have heard of Jesus, and most people readily
accept that he was a remarkable man who lived at the beginning of
the First Millennium AD. For centuries, men and women have written books about him and even the classics mention his name, including Cornelius Tacitus (ca. 55-120 AD), a Roman historian who
lived during the reign of several emperors. In his writings, he makes
numerous references to Jesus and early Christianity, including the
following:
246
Who Am I?
Consequently, to get rid of this report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted
the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations- called
Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name has his origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hand of
one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the movement, again broke out, not only in Judea, the
first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and
shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular...
Flavius Josephus, the well-known Jewish historian who became a court historian for the emperor Vespasian and lived towards
the end of the first Century AD, also refers to Jesus:
At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct
was good and [he] was known to be virtuous. And many people from among
the Jews and other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to
be crucified and to die. And those who had become his disciples did not
abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three
days after his crucifixion and that he was alive; accordingly, he was perhaps
the Messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders.
In a significant collection of Jewish writings called the Talmud, a compilation of, and commentary upon the oral traditions
which had been passed down from generation to generation, an interesting quotation is found concerning the death of Jesus known as
Sanhedrin 43A.
On the eve of Passover Yeshu [Jesus] was hanged. For forty days before
the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried 'he is going forth to
be stoned because he has practised sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy.
Anyone who can say anything in his favour, let him come forward and plead
on his behalf.' But since nothing was brought forward in his favour, he was
hanged on the eve of Passover.
F.F. Bruce, in The New Testament Documents: Are They
Reliable? writes:
Some writers may toy with the fancy of a 'Christ-myth,' but they do not do so
on the grounds of historical evidence. The historicity of Jesus Christ is as
axiomatic for an unbiased historian as the historicity of Julius Caesar. It is
not the historians who propagate the 'Christ-myth' theories.
247
With very good reason, therefore, we now want to take a
closer look at who Jesus was and what his life was about.
Luke— A historian amongst historians
A detailed record of the life of Jesus can be found in four books
known as the four gospel records. The writers of these records were
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Nobody can dispute that these
writers actually existed. Indeed, as we read each record, a different
perspective of the life of Jesus Christ is given as the personality and
conviction of each writer comes across. For the purpose of our investigations in this book, we will focus our attention upon the life of
Jesus mainly through the eyes of Luke.
Luke was a doctor who lived during the time of Jesus, and
may possibly have had personal contact with him. When Luke
wrote his book, he wrote it in the form of a letter to a man named
Theophilus, a dignitary to whom he was teaching the things concerning Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. In the introduction to
his letter, Luke writes:
Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those
things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it
seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things
from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent
Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you
were instructed.
(Luke 1:1-4)
Such was the "perfect understanding" that Luke had of
"those things" and his ability to accurately "put in order" the things
which he wrote, that Sir William Ramsey, the eminent 19th Century
historian, described Luke as being "a historian amongst historians".
Concerning the authenticity of the New Testament writings
which have been handed down to us, F.F. Bruce in The New Testament Documents. Are They Reliable? states:
248
Who Am I?
About the middle of the last Century it was confidently asserted by a very
influential school of thought that some of the most important books of the
New Testament, including the gospels and the Acts, did not exist before the
thirties of the second Century AD. This conclusion was the result not so
much of historical evidence as of philosophical presuppositions. Even
then there was sufficient philosophical evidence to show how unfounded
these theories were... but the amount of such evidence available in our own
day is so much greater and more conclusive that a first Century date for
most of the New Testament writings cannot reasonably be denied... The
evidence for our New Testament writings is ever so much greater than the
evidence for many writings of classical authors, the authenticity of which no
one dreams of questioning. And if the New Testament were a collection of
secular writings, their authenticity would be generally regarded as beyond all
doubt.
With confidence, therefore, we turn to Luke's record to understand more about the life of Jesus Christ and who he was.
Dear Theophilus
Most of us who have heard of Jesus Christ are aware of who he is
reputed to have been. In the first few chapters of Luke's letter to
Theophilus, we learn how Jesus was born and what his ancestry and
credentials were. The angel Gabriel (who had revealed to Daniel the
significance of the Seventy Weeks prophecy) came to his mother
Mary and said:
Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you
will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name
JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the
Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign
over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no
end.
(Luke 1:30-33)
Remember the promises which had been made to Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob (or Israel) and David? Captured in Gabriel's words, in
essence, were all of these promises.
Mary was told that:
249
Old Testament Prophecy:
New Testament Fulfillment:
The Lord himself shall give you a sign;
Behold a virgin shall conceive, and
bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel [which being interpreted is,
God with us].
(Isaiah 7:14 — KJV)
To a virgin betrothed to a man whose
name was Joseph, of the House of
David. The virgin's name was Mary...
(Luke 1:27)
There shall come forth a rod from the
stem of Jesse [David's father], and a
branch shall grow out of his roots.
(Isaiah 11:1,10)
He... has raised up a horn of salvation… in the House of David.
(Luke 1:69)]
Joseph also went up from Galilee, out
of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to
the city of David, which is called
Bethlehem, because he was of the
house and lineage of David.
(Luke 2:4)
The sceptre shall not depart [forever]
from Judah.
(Genesis 49:10)
Jesus Himself began His ministry at
about thirty years of age being (as was
supposed) the son of Joseph… the
son of Judah.
(Luke 3:23)
But you, Bethlehem-Ephratah,
though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall
come forth to me the One to be Ruler
in Israel.
(Micah 5:2)
There is born to you this day in the city
of David [Bethlehem] a saviour who is
Christ the Lord.
(Luke 2:11)
There shall come forth a rod from the
stem of Jesse, and a branch (Heb.
root: “netzer“) shall grow out of his
roots.
(Isaiah 11:1,10)
When they had performed all things
according to the Law of the Lord, they
returned into Galilee, to their own city
Nazareth.
(Luke 2:39)
And He came and dwelt in a city called
Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the prophets, He
shall be called a Nazarene.
(Matthew 2:23)
Who Am I?
250
(1)
God will "give him the throne of his father David",
(2)
"He shall reign over the House of Jacob forever", and
(3)
"Of His kingdom there will be no end."
All of the history of the last 4,000 years seemed to suddenly
converge upon this one point in time. After years of waiting, it finally seemed that all the promises were about to be fulfilled. A King
was about to be born who would reign on David's throne and a
kingdom centred upon Israel would be established which would
stand forever. But most importantly, included in Gabriel's words
was the fulfilment of the promise made to David that "I (God) will
be His father..."
(4)
Jesus would be called "the son of the Highest".
Twelve months after Gabriel's announcement, in a stable
just outside Bethlehem, Jesus was born.
The previous table shows just some of the many Old Testament prophecies which predicted, many hundreds of years ahead of
time, the birth of Jesus and the events of his early life.
For the next thirty years Jesus grew up in the region of
Nazareth, north of Jerusalem.
Commenting upon these formative years in Jesus' life, Luke
writes:
And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the
grace of God was upon Him… and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature,
and in favour with God and men.
(Luke 2:40, 52)
John the Baptiser
At the age of thirty, Jesus started his public ministry. But beforehand, John the Baptist, a cousin of Jesus "went into all the region
around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the
remission of sins" (Luke 3:3).
Luke tells us precisely when John came preaching in this
region of Judea:
251
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip
tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of
Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God
came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
(Luke 3:1-2)
Israel was just coming out of a dark age. For over 500
years they had been scattered throughout various nations. Now they
were back in the land of Israel, not as a sovereign power but as a
province of the Roman Empire under the rulership of emperor Tiberius Caesar. Israel, or Judea as it was now called, was but a small
part of that great empire, yet of great value to Rome since it was the
main north/south highway through the Middle East.
Economically Israel was in ruins. Morally it was bankrupt.
The spiritual leaders were as corrupt as their Roman overlords, and
the people had no direction. Unemployment was rife as men stood
idle in the market place. Food was scarce and taxes were exorbitantly high.
It was against this background that John burst onto the
scene:
Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!
(Matthew 3:2)
In John's words there was a renewed hope and direction.
People were aware of the promises to Abraham, Isaac, Israel and David. They believed that at some point in history all the
promises about God's Kingdom being set up on Earth would be fulfilled. There were even those who recognised that the 490 years of
Daniel's prophecy had almost been fulfilled. They were now living
in the last "week" or the last seven days of Daniel's prophecy. With
eager anticipation they looked forward to the advent of their Messiah and promised King. He would breathe life back into the nation,
put food on the tables and destroy their Roman overlords. Like a
shining light out of darkness John burst onto the scene. Men and
women flocked to him to hear his gracious words of wisdom and
teachings:
Who Am I?
252
Prepare ye the way of the lord, make his paths straight.
(Luke 3:4)
In humility Israel came to him submitting to his instructions
to be "baptised of him in the river of Jordan confessing their sins."
In fact, the name Baptist was really a nickname meaning "the Baptizer." This teaching of "baptism of repentance for the remission of
sins" (Mark 1:4) dominated his preaching.
What is baptism?
The word "baptism" comes from a Greek word "baptizo" meaning
"to dip" (as in the sense of fully submerging a garment or object in a
liquid to dye it a certain colour.) This is what John did to these people who came to be baptised by him. After confessing their sins,
they were completely immersed in water as an outward sign of repentance — a turning back to God — and for the remission of their
sins. Today, most would consider baptism to be the same as the
christening of a baby. But this is quite different from the baptism
that John performed. First of all, before baptism was performed, it
required a confession of faith by the person being baptised and, secondly, a full immersion in water.
We will be returning to this concept of baptism a little further on in this chapter. Suffice it to say for now that John's baptism
was an outward sign of repentance, a sign of the washing away of
sins and a sign of the advent of the Messianic era. It is not surprising, therefore, John brought upon himself the wrath of the authorities of his day since according to the Mosaic Law, the pardon of sin
was associated with making the appropriate animal sacrifice under
the Law. Nevertheless, the practice took hold and a new era began
in the spiritual history of Israel.
In God's purpose, John was the forerunner to Christ. His
role was to prepare the nation of Israel for the advent of their King
or Messiah. Again, the books of the Old Testament not only predicted the birth of Christ with astounding accuracy, but speak
plainly of John's work in Israel.
253
The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the LORD,
make straight in the desert a highway
for our God.
(Isaiah 40:3)
The word of God came to John the son
of Zacharias in the wilderness. And
he went into all the region around the
Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is
written in the book of the words of
Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice
of one crying in the wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord, make
his paths straight.
(Luke 3:2-4)
Behold, I will send my messenger,
and he will prepare the way before
Me.
(Malachi 3:1)
But what did you go out to see? A
prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more
than a prophet. For this is he, of whom
it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will
prepare your way before you.
(Luke 7:26-27)
He shall not judge by the sight of his
eyes, nor decide by the hearing of his
ears...
(Isaiah 11:3)
But when Jesus perceived their
thoughts, he answered and said to
them, Why are you reasoning in your
hearts?
(Luke 5:22)
I will open my mouth in a parable: I
will utter dark sayings of old.
(Psalm 78:2)
And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to him from
every city, he spoke by a parable.
(Luke 8:4)
Go and tell this people, Keep on
hearing, but do not understand;
keep on seeing, but do not perceive.
(Isaiah 6:9)
Then his disciples asked Him, saying,
What does this parable mean? And
he said, to you it has been given to
know the mysteries of the Kingdom of
God: but to the rest it is given in parables; that seeing they may not see,
and hearing they may not understand.
(Luke 8:10)
Who Am I?
254
The harmony of the gospel
At the age of thirty Jesus was baptised (Luke 3). Not long afterwards John was taken and put into prison by King Herod. John's
ministry had come abruptly to an end. It was at this point in time
that Jesus started his public preaching in Israel.
It makes sense that Jesus should start his ministry by being
baptised in the River Jordan by John to serve as a public demonstration to subsequent generations. The Bible tells us that it was "to
fulfil all righteousness." In other words, although he was the Son of
God, he was still flesh and blood like everybody else and, therefore,
had a nature with a tendency towards disobeying God. As he went
down into the water, in submission to the will of God, it was an
open declaration for all to see that, in a physical sense, he was the
same as the rest of the human race, with the same fleshly desires to
please himself rather than submit to the Will of God.a
Appropriate, too, are the first recorded words of Jesus
which echoed the ministry of John when he said:
Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
(Matthew 4:17)
Mark records the start of Jesus' ministry in this way:
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the
gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the
kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.
(Mark 1:14-15)
The time was fulfilled. The time was right. Not only was it
right chronologically and prophetically as Daniel's Seventy Weeks
prophecy had foretold, but the time was also right because of the
circumstances that people found themselves living under. They were
ready to hear the good news.
But what was this gospel or good news that Jesus had come
to teach? He had come to Israel to teach the gospel or "good news"
of the "Kingdom of God". The hope of generations was that the
Kingdom of Israel would be restored with the advent of their Messiah. The Promises were about to be fulfilled.
255
Christ's instruction was to "repent, and believe the gospel."
Entry into this "Kingdom" spoken of by Jesus was conditional upon
Belief and Repentance. In the same way that a passport is needed
with the appropriate visa to enter another country, so conditions
governed entry into this Kingdom. The outward show of the believer's faith was baptism into water for the remission of sins. The
practical expression of the act of baptism was repentance, a turning
back of the believer from his old ways, adjusting his life to a way
which was more pleasing to God. And so, many hundreds of people
flocked to both John and Jesus, "confessing their sins" being baptised as a sign of their belief and repentance.
For three and a half years, Jesus taught the people about
the Kingdom; what it would be like and what God required from
people to be accepted into it. There had been prophets in Israel before, but never had one exclaimed that the Kingdom was nigh "at
hand". To demonstrate practically what the Kingdom was going to
be like when it was established, he performed miracles; healing the
blind, curing the leper and raising the dead:
And he was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had
opened the book, he found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the
LORD is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to
the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty
to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty
those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the
LORD. Then he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat
down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on him. And
he began to say to them, Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.
(Luke 4:18-21 quoting from Isaiah 61:1-2)
Isaiah had described these incredible events which were
taking place, many years before. Jesus was going to (i) "preach the
gospel to the poor..." and (ii) "recovery of sight to the blind..."
It happened, as he was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat
by the road begging... Jesus said to him, Receive your sight; your faith has
made you well. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him,
glorifying God...
(Luke 18:35-43)
Who Am I?
256
A fervour ripped through the land. Never before had such
wonderful things been seen, or such graceful words been heard in
the history of Israel, indeed, even the world. He commanded great
presence and there was power in all that he said and did.
Isaiah spoke of Christ's divine character when he wrote:
The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and
the fear of the Lord.
(Isaiah 11:2)
People heard about Jesus all across the land of Israel and
followed him wherever he went. He was unique; a prophet; a man of
wisdom. He gave people hope. He was so popular that they "were
about to come and take him by force, to make him king" (John
6:15).
However, he was not popular with everybody.
The Jewish authorities at an early stage started to take an
interest in his teachings. Very quickly it became evident that he was
a threat to their authority. There was power in his words. But these
words were an embarrassment to them as he called into question
their selfish conduct, evil motives and corrupt ways. They had no
answer to his accusations, and what ensued was a cunningly devised
plan by the authorities to get rid of Jesus. So as the months went by,
the right circumstances were manufactured to finally rid Israel of
this troublemaker and get him out of their way.
One day, in the early hours of the morning, Jesus was arrested by members of the Jewish religious parliament— the Sanhedrin. He was accused by false witnesses (who had been paid by the
Jewish authorities to lie) and unjustly condemned. At 9:00 am the
same morning, under the directions of the Sanhedrin and with the
sanction of the Roman authorities, he was executed outside the city
walls of Jerusalem. He was thirty three years of age.
In the lead up to the final few hours of Jesus' life, like a
whirlwind, many prophecies were fulfilled with startling accuracy.
257
He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with
grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from him; he was despised, and we
did not esteem him. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was
wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed.
(Isaiah 53:3-5)
The hopes and dreams of hundreds of people lay in tatters.
How could the Kingdom be restored now? Where was the power to
stop this injustice from happening? Was his teaching in vain? As
the people went to their own homes bewildered, even his closest
friends did not understand the reasons why he had to die.
Why did Jesus have to die?
This is not an easy question to answer. Nevertheless, it is one of the
most important ones that we must address, as we try to come to a
better understanding of the role of the Lord Jesus Christ in God's
plan and purpose. In fact, before you read this section, we would
highly recommend that you spend a few minutes re-reading Part 3:
The Story of the Three Gardens.
As Jesus and his friends went up to Jerusalem for one of the
last times before he was murdered, he told them:
Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by
the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For he
will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit
upon. They will scourge him and kill him. And the third day He will rise
again. But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden
from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.
(Luke 18:31-34)
Jesus knew that "All things that are written by the prophets
concerning the Son of Man" were to be accomplished before the establishment of the Kingdom of God on Earth. This included his
death and resurrection. But why? As we learned from Part 3, the
purpose in Christ's first advent was to get right to the root of the
problem of suffering and death, and that was to conquer sin. He
258
Who Am I?
Behold your king is coming to you: he
is just, and having salvation; lowly, and
riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal
of an donkey.
(Zechariah 9:9)
So those who were sent went their
way, and found it just as he had said to
them. But as they were loosing the
colt, the owners of it said to them,
Why are you loosing the colt? And
they said, The Lord has need of him.
Then they brought him to Jesus. And
they threw their own clothes on the colt
and they set Jesus on him.
(Luke 19:32-35)
Strike the Shepherd and the sheep
shall be scattered...
(Zechariah 13:7)
All this was done that the scriptures of
the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all
the disciples forsook him and fled.
(Matthew 26:56)
The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn
away...
(Isaiah 50:5)
And the High Priest stood up in the
midst and asked Jesus, saying, Do you
answer nothing? What is it these men
testify against you? But he kept silent,
and answered nothing.
(Mark 14:60)
Then he [Herod] questioned with Him
with many words, but he [Jesus] answered him nothing.
(Lk 23:9)
I gave my back to those who struck
me...
(Isaiah 50:6)
I gave... my cheeks to those who
plucked out the beard: I did not hide
my face from shame and spitting.
(Isaiah 50:6)
His face was so marred beyond human semblance.
(Isaiah 52:14-RSV)
I will therefore chastise him, and release him...
(Luke 23:16)
Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged
him...
(John 19:1)
Now the men who held Jesus mocked
him and beat him. And having blindfolded him, they struck him on the
face and asked him saying, Prophesy!
Who is the one who struck you? And
many other things they blasphemously
spoke against him.
(Luke 22:63-65)
259
They part my garments among
them, and for my clothing they cast
lots.
(Psalm 22:18)
And the soldiers twisted a crown of
thorns, and put it on his head, and they
put on him a purple robe. Then they
said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they
struck him with their hands.
(John 19:2-3)
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and
made four parts, to each soldier a part;
and also the tunic. Now the tunic was
without a seam, woven from the top in
one piece. They said therefore among
themselves, Let us not tear it, but cast
lots for it, whose it shall be.
(John 19:23-24)
Dogs have surrounded me; the congregation of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands
and my feet.
(Psalm 22:16)
And when they had come to the place
called Calvary, there they crucified
him...
He was numbered with the transgressors...
(Isaiah 53:12)
There were also two others, criminals, led with him to be put to death...
one on the right hand and the other on
the left.
(Luke 23:32-33)
They made his grave with the
wicked... at his death.
(Isaiah 53:9)
All those who see me ridicule Me;
they shoot out the lip, they shake
their head, saying, he trusted in the
LORD: let Him rescue him; let Him
deliver him, since he delights in
Him.
(Psalm 22:7-8)
(Luke 23:33)
And the people stood looking on.
But even the rulers with them
sneered, saying, he saved others; let
him save himself...
(Luke 23:35)
I count all my bones. They look
and stare at Me.
(Psalm 22:17)
They made his grave... with the
rich at His death.
(Isaiah 53:9)
There came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph. This man went to
Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus... When Joseph had taken the
body, he... laid it in his new tomb.
(Matthew. 27:57-58)
260
Who Am I?
was the first and the only person to conquer sin by leading a life
which was sinless. When Christ returns the symptoms of sin, suffering and death, will also be removed.
Back in the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve had disobeyed God, a Promise was made by God which expressed, in symbolic language, the purpose in Jesus dying and being resurrected to
life again.
In the presence of Adam and Eve, God told the serpent:
I will put enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman, and between
your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall
bruise his heel.
(Genesis 3:15)
On the surface, these words seem confusing, yet by carefully breaking them down we can determine what they mean. This is
what we learn from this Promise:
(1)
The first thing that we learn is that there would be enmity
or hostility between the serpent and the woman.
(2)
Secondly we learn that there would be enmity or hostility
between the woman's seed, and the serpent's seed.
(3)
Thirdly, we learn that the seed of the woman would permanently "bruise" (or crush) the head of the serpent, and that
(4)
The serpent would temporarily "bruise" the heel of the
seed of the woman.
So what does all this symbology mean?
In the garden the serpent spoke a lie, putting into the mind
of Adam and Eve the idea of disobeying God, effectively becoming
the cause of Adam and Eve sinning. While it was only expressing
its own amoral mind (i.e. a mind that is not subject to moral reasoning), it expressed a way of thinking that was contrary to God's way
of thinking. After Adam and Eve listened to the serpent, they disobeyed God's command not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of
Good and Evil. In so doing they sinned and distanced themselves
from God. The serpent, therefore, not only appropriately represents
the first lie spoken by the serpent in the garden, as well as the con-
261
1. “You shall bruise His heel…”
TEMPORARY
WOUND
NOT FATAL!
2. “...He shall bruise your head.”
MORTAL
WOUND
FATAL!
sequences of this lie— sin, suffering and death, but the fleshly reasoning of a will which is in opposition to the Will of God.
The "seed of the woman" represents Christ who led his life
in complete obedience to the Will of God. When Adam and Eve had
children they started a cycle of birth-life-death which was unable to
be broken since no-one was able to beat sin and its condemnation—
suffering and death. That was until God intervened in the affairs of
men. Christ was "born of a woman", Mary. He had no Earthly father. So who would be his father? "I will be his father," God had
told David (II Samuel 7:14). How? "A virgin shall conceive" (Isaiah
7:14). This is the "good news" of the gospel that God was going to
intervene in the affairs of men and father a son who would have His
own characteristics. But not only was he going to inherit characteristics of his Father, He was also going to share the same nature as
the rest of the human race since he was born of a woman. He would
be the one who would beat sin and death, while sharing the same
nature as the rest of Mankind, thereby, representing the whole of
Mankind in doing so. Conceived by the power of God, but "born of
a woman" Christ was going to be called "The Son of the Highest."
Who Am I?
262
Gen. 3:15
ADAM
GOD
"Son of Abraham"
God would be
Jesus’ father
"Son of David"
HOW?
"Born of Mary"
"A virgin will conceive"
SERPENT
Represents the
first lie and,
therefore, sin
and its effect—
suffering and
death
C H R IS T
S IN
"Seed of the Woman"
"The Serpent"
"a sacrifice for sin"
Christ led a life in absolute obedience to God and was sinless "unto death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:8). In
dying on the cross, Christ, the seed of the woman, was temporarily
"bruised" in the heel. In other words, when Christ was crucified, his
death was only a temporary blow which would heal, since after
three days and three nights he was resurrected from the dead to life
by God. He had beaten and overcome death, and was, therefore,
only in a grave temporarily.
At the same time, however, sin and death, represented by
the serpent, was permanently "crushed" in the head, a fatal blow
which destroyed it permanently, forever. Christ's life, death and resurrection, therefore, removed sin which was the enmity between
God and man, and, therefore, gave us the hope of life.
Genesis 3:15 tells us that at some time in history God
would intervene in the affairs of men and women to put right what
went wrong in the Garden of Eden. It tells us that God was to father
263
a child, born to a woman, who would not have an Earthly father.
Jesus was the SEED OF THE WOMAN as expressed in Genesis
3:15 and, therefore, with characteristics not only of his Earthly
mother, but also of his Heavenly Father. He was unique and different from any other person ever born upon the Earth. It tells us that
someone would conquer sin and represent the whole of mankind in
doing so. Sin was the root of the problem to suffering and death.
Christ's first advent got to the root of the problem— sin. At his second coming, the symptoms of sin— suffering and death, man's
mortality, will also be removed.
Christ— the “seed” of Abraham
Back in Chapter 3 you may recall that we were introduced to the
life of Abraham and some of the amazing promises that he received
from God during his life. Towards the end of his life, one of these
Promises spoke very specifically of one "seed" or descendant who
would come from his lineage:
By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD... thy seed [Hebrew: singular
tense] shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed
[Hebrew: singular tense] shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Who was these "seed" speaking of? Now we are in a position where we can answer this question for ourselves, because the
Apostle Paul in writing to a group of believers in the First Century
writes:
God... preached the gospel to Abraham... saying, "In you all the nations shall
be blessed... He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one,
"And to your Seed," who is Christ.
(Galatians 3:8,16)
Christ was this seed (singular tense) promised by to Abraham by God who, as a representative of Mankind, would "possess
the gates of his enemies". Those enemies were sin and death. His
victory over sin and death, therefore, confirmed, or ratified, those
Promises made to "our fathers" (Romans 15:8, 1 Corinthians 1:20).
Who Am I?
264
The devil— his birth, life and death
There are three crucial passages of scripture which basically say the same thing and summarise the work that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished in his life, death and resurrection.

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God
sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and by a sacrifice for
sin, condemned sin...
(Romans 8:3)

He abolished in his flesh the enmity...in one body by the cross, having
slain the enmity thereby...
(Ephesians 2:15-16)

Forasmuch as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, HE ALSO
HIMSELF LIKEWISE partook of the same; that through death he might
destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil...
(Hebrews 2:14)
Contrary to public opinion, the Bible teaches that the devil
is not a supernatural creature with horns and pointed tail, stalking
the Earth looking for lost "souls" which he can torment and take
back to the fiery furnace of Hell. Rather, the Bible uses the term
devil (or in Greek: "diabolos" meaning "false accuser" or
"slanderer") to personify sin.
For many of us, this is a new idea which may be hard to
swallow, especially since we have been told for so long that any evil
in the world is because of "The Devil".
Today we use gender in our languages to personify objects.
For instance, speaking about a boat, we might say "She is coming
into the harbour" even though we do not believe that inanimate objects such as boats have gender. We often use the term "Mother Nature" to describe the natural elements of the Earth on which we live,
even though it is commonly acknowledged that it is a term derived
from the pagan belief in the Earth-goddess Gaia. These grammatical forms are called personification and are used to make an often
difficult concept tangible so that it can be more easily understood.
265
Christ — “A Sacrifice For Sin”
Rom. 8:3
In H is
B y D EA TH
“flesh”
“by a sacrifice”
D estroyed SIN
“sin”
(Ref: RV; AV Margin)
Eph. 2:15-16
Heb. 2:14


“his flesh”
“by the cross”
“the enmity”
“flesh and blood”
“through death”
“the devil”
Christ’s death destroyed sin (the devil) because the power of sin that lay
in His flesh, died.
Because Christ was sinless, he was resurrected from the dead, given
immortal life and saved from a dying nature. (cp. Luke 13:32; Heb. 5:7)
The Bible also makes use of personification by using the
word "devil" to personify sin to make it real and tangible to us, or
to figuratively describe a will which is opposed to the will of God.
As the term "Mother Nature" is derived from ancient paganism, so
the belief in a supernatural "devil" is also derived from ancient religions and their pagan gods dating back thousands of years. A supernatural devil did not cause sin to enter the world, but man.
By one man sin entered the world and death by sin...
(Romans 5:12)
Every one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin.
(James 1:14-15)
The devil, or sin, was destroyed upon a cross 2,000 years
ago when Jesus died. God’s will for us is that we too should destroy
the devil for ourselves, not by nailing ourselves to a cross, but by
becoming aware of our tendencies to disobey God, and trying, with
God’s help, to destroy them in our daily way of life.b
Adam: A Contrast to Christ
ADAM
C H R IS T
Created "very good"
"born of a woman" BUT
“son of the Highest”
"disobedient"
"obedient unto death"
"sinned"
"sin" or "the devil" conceived
"perfect"
"sin" or "the devil" destroyed
DEATH
R E S U R R E C T IO N
“For as in Adam all die…
“The wages of sin is death...
...so in Christ shall all be
made alive.” a
...but the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ.” b
Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow his
steps: who committed no sin... bore our sins in his own body on the tree
[i.e. the cross], that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness.
(1 Peter 2:21-24)
a. 1 Corinthians 15:22
b.
Romans 6:23
267
Baptism and the new law of life
Our problem is that we do fail to please God, every day. Not one
day goes by without our disobeying Him. And as the Bible makes it
very plain, "The wages of sin is death." How, therefore, can we
overcome this Law of Death? Where the believer does not live up to
God's expectations as the Lord Jesus Christ did, he or she can have
access to the forgiveness of God. Being able to be forgiven by God
has been made possible through the life, death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ. Access to this forgiveness and, therefore, the hope of
life, comes about by the believer associating him or herself with the
work that Jesus Christ has done in two ways: (1) "Belief" in "the
things concerning Jesus Christ and the things concerning the Kingdom of God", and (2) "Repentance", turning back to God, trying to
follow the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, leading a life which is
pleasing and acceptable to Him. The outward expression of this belief and repentance is through baptism and developing an attitude
of trying to please God rather than pleasing ourselves. Such a desire
to please God is nurtured out of a deep sense of gratitude for what
He has done for us through Jesus Christ.
Death
Resurrection
Burial
Belief
Newness of Life
Baptism
“We are buried with him through baptism into death...
united together... in the likeness of his resurrection…”
268
Who Am I?
Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as
Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the
likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body
of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
For he who has died has been freed from sin... Therefore do not let sin
reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts... but present
yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
(Romans 6:4-13)
When somebody submits to baptism, it is a public confession of belief in "the things concerning the Kingdom of God, and the
name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:12). In other words, it is an admission to those around us that we believe that one day God's Kingdom
will be established and that Jesus Christ died so that we can have
the hope of life in God's Kingdom when it is established upon the
Earth. The very act of going into the water is an imitation of
Christ's death as he was placed in the grave for three days and three
nights. When we come out of the water we are imitating his resurrection and expressing our commitment to serve God in the hope of
a new life free from pain, suffering and death, when he returns to
fulfil the Promises and set up God's Kingdom upon Earth.
For as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ. There is
neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male
nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then
you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
(Galatians 3:27-29)
In other words, for us to have a part in the Promises and
have the hope of being in God's Kingdom, we must be baptised.
When we have been baptised we enter into a new covenant relationship with God. No longer are we "without hope and without God in
the world" (Ephesians 2:12). Rather, we are "Abraham's seed, and
heirs according to the promise."
269
Life presents us with only one of two choices— (i) permanent death, or (ii) the hope of resurrection from death at the return
of Christ when he sets up God's Kingdom on Earth. Such a remarkable hope is available to each and every one of us through the waters of baptism. Baptism is an act of obedience which gives the believer access to the goodness, mercy and forgiveness of God. Nevertheless, access to God's forgiveness cannot be used as an ejector
seat, as something which can be turned on and off whenever it is
needed. There is a purpose behind it.
We have all heard the expression, "You saved my life"? We
use it so casually as a term to express our gratitude for something.
We must, therefore, be able to relate to a friend of mine who was
saved from drowning. My friend now is forever in the debt of the
person who saved him, not a debt which has to be repaid, but a debt
of gratitude for what he did for him. Because of this incident, out of
gratitude for what was done for him, my friend is prepared to do
anything for the person who saved him. In the same way, this
should be our response to the goodness of God. As Paul says,
"God's kindness is meant to lead...to repentance," to lead men and
women back to Him.
For those who do not accept this gospel message, there is
no change. Life goes on and finally ends in death.
Yet for those who accept the gospel message, a new life begins with a commitment to please God. Our hope is then for a life
free from pain, suffering and death in the age to come when Christ
returns to set up the Kingdom of God on Earth.
The First Century believers
Sometime after Luke's first letter to Theophilus, he wrote a second
letter to him which has become known as the Acts of the Apostles.
He starts his second letter by saying:
The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do
and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after he... presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs... and speaking of the
things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
(Acts 1:1-3)
Who Am I?
270
With all the hard work done in putting right what went
wrong in the garden of Eden, during the forty days that he spent
with his disciples after his resurrection, he not only explained to his
disciples the reasons for his death and the purpose that it fulfilled,
but he also spoke in great detail "of things pertaining to the Kingdom of God". Once again the hope of the promises being fulfilled,
and God's Kingdom being restored, was put back into the forefront
of their minds. Recognising that the Kingdom of God being established and the nation of Israel being restored as a sovereign nation
to its former glory spoke of the same thing, just before Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples asked him:
Lord, will you at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?
(Acts 1:6)
Jesus answered:
It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His
own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
(Acts 1:7-8)
Although Jesus declines to give them an exact date for the
restoring of the kingdom to Israel, (a date which he may not have
known himself at that time), he did give them a hint. They were told
that they would be witnesses throughout the whole world, and were
given a commission which is the last specific direction of the Lord
Jesus Christ before he ascended into heaven. It is this same commission which is given to all those throughout the last 2,000 years who
have believed his words:
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
(Mark 16:15-16)
The Acts of the Apostles is a letter about the actions of the
First Century believers who went out with this commission to
"preach the gospel to every creature" baptising repentant believers
271
into "the things concerning the Kingdom of God, and the name of
Jesus Christ." Jesus ascended into heaven to sit on the right hand
side of God as the first immortal until such time as the Kingdom is
restored to Israel. Subsequently, his friends told the world about the
"good news of the Kingdom of God". They told people about the
work which God had done through the Lord Jesus Christ, in putting
right the problem which had begun in the Garden of Eden, and told
them about the hope of the Kingdom being established upon Earth.
A new life
The work of the apostles was not merely to explain the promises
about God's Kingdom, and to explain the purpose in the life, death
and resurrection of Jesus, but to teach people about the ways of
God. In other words, if people were going to try to reflect something
of the character of God in their lives, then they would need to understand something about His character for themselves.
Jesus was the perfect reflection of the character of God
himself. He was the only one to have led a life in complete obedience to God. As the apostles did we, too, must turn to the life of
Christ to understand more clearly what God desires of the true believer as he or she commences a new life.
As important as it is to read regularly and understand more
clearly from the scriptures the character the Lord Jesus Christ, everything that we learn about Christ and his way of life can be summarised with one short conversation which he had with a Jewish
scribe in Mark 12:28:
The scribe asked Jesus,
Which is the first commandment of all?
Jesus replied:
The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the
LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first
commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbour
as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.
Who Am I?
272
Again, the scribe replied:
Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and
there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's
neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, You
are not far from the kingdom of God.
The first way to reflect the character of Christ is to love
God with our whole being. Total dedication which is expressed by
keeping God's commandments. "If you love me," said Jesus, "Keep
my commandments" (John 14:15).
The second way to reflect the character of Christ is by
practically expressing love towards each other, having compassion,
and being selfless in all that we do, for as Jesus said:
Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and
the Prophets.
(Matthew 7:12)
The law and the prophets taught that to worship God truly
was (i) to do God's commandments and (ii) to do to other people as
we would want them to do to us.
The gospel records give us a picture of the life of Christ
which serves as an example to all those who believe in the promises
and choose to follow him. He had compassion upon people wherever he went. He deplored violence against other people, even
though he was subject to it himself. He did not lie. He did not cheat.
He did not deceive.
In writing to the believers in Corinth, Paul expresses these
characteristics of Jesus in terms of the attributes of love:
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.
Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no
record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is
always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
(1 Corinthians 13:4-7—NLT)
273
Again, in writing to the believers at Philippi, Paul says:
Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are
just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things
are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
(Philippians 4:8)
These qualities are unnatural to us. But we are asked to try
to exhibit them, reflecting the character of Jesus Christ. Where the
believer fails, he or she knows, because of the sacrifice which has
been made by Christ, and by their association with that sacrifice
through baptism, any shortfall is made up conditional upon prayerful repentance and a conscious attempt to turn back to God's way of
doing things. This is the faith and hope of the gospel which is an
expression the love of God towards all men and women.
Notes:
a
The gospel of Matthew tells us that the baptism of Christ was performed
by Jesus going down into the water with John to “fulfil all righteousness”. Paul in writing to the Romans makes the point that the death of
Christ was “to demonstrate His [God's] righteousness” (Romans 3:2526). Even though Christ was sinless, he did share our nature with tendencies in opposition to the Will of God. When Christ submitted to baptism,
he was openly declaring for all to see that flesh cannot inherit eternal life
and is unfit for the Kingdom of God. In the same way, when Christ died
it was an open declaration for all to see, that even though he was innocent and undeserving of death, God was right in condemning flesh to die
because it has a will that is in opposition to His own that gives rise to sin.
b
John summarises the tendencies of the flesh as being "the lust of the
flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life" (1 John 2:16). Adam and
Eve were born with these desires from the beginning (Genesis 2:6), but
when these desires were used to satisfy the desires of their flesh in a fashion that was contrary to the will of God, and inconsistent with God's
original purpose in creating Man, they are described as being “fleshly
lusts that war against the mind” (1 Peter 2:11). (For instance, when in
Genesis 3:6 Adam and Eve experienced desires to eat the fruit of the tree
from which they were forbidden to eat, no longer were they motivated to
eat merely to satisfy their God-given desire to eat, but out of the selfish
desire to obtain something that was beyond their control to attain themselves— "to be as gods".)
4004 BC
AM 0
PROMISES about life given to Adam and Eve.
3000
1000
Line of Cain
Line of Seth
2000
2000
FLOOD
1000
0
4000
Rome
J U D E A
Bb Med Gk
1000 AD
5000
70 ad
Restored after
The Millennium
2000
6000
Jerusalem and the temple are destroyed by the
Romans. Israel scattered throughout the world.
Gospel of the Kingdom of God and the Name of
Jesus Christ is widely taught. Hope of PROMISES and Baptism is emphasized.
R E
3000
J U D A H
Assyria
Timecheck!
IS R A E L
E D E N
CHAPTER 6
Israel, Christianity &
The Age Of Reason
(33 AD – Today)
30 ad
T
here are a great number of religions in the world today.
Some of these date back thousands of years to the earliest cradles of civilisation such as the Indus valley of
northern India and the Far East. They include Hinduism,
Buddhism and Sikhism to mention but a few. Their influence upon
the world has been enormous.
The question which we must ask ourselves now, however,
is: Which one is right? Which one answers the vast number of questions surrounding our existence? Which one explains our origin?
Which one tells us why we exist? Which one gives a satisfactory
explanation for how suffering came into the world? Which one tells
us how the problems which are in the world will be solved? Which
one tells us the meaning of life?
Many would argue that a Bible-based religion is the only
one which really makes sense. Yet how many denominations within
Christendom understand the promises of God made in the Bible, and
acknowledge the hope of God's Kingdom established upon the
Earth? There can only be one Truth! Not all the religions in the
world can be right! A little daunting for anyone who wishes to
fathom the meaning of life.
But does it really matter what we believe?
Who Am I?
276
One Bible— Many churches
At various times I have had the opportunity to speak with friends
and colleagues about God's plan and purpose with the Earth. So often, at the end of our little discussion, respectfully the comment is
made along the lines of "Well, to each their own!" or "It's all a matter of interpretation."
There are many things in life about which we have to
"agree to differ" with one another. One of the things that we so often tend to "agree to disagree" upon is the subject of personal salvation. So merciful is God, in many people's opinion, that there can be
"no way" that He would not "save" those who try to do good. "As
long as I try to live some sort of life which is good, then that is all
that is required of me." Yet, according to the Bible, there is only one
way to worship God. Does this sound harsh? If we are invited to a
formal dinner party where the attire required is "black tie", would
we turn up in jeans and a tee-shirt? Or if we have been invited to
Buckingham Palace, would we burst in to see the Queen without
any form of introduction or sense of etiquette? Highly unlikely!
How much more vital it is, therefore, that the right attitude of worship is made towards the Earth's Creator, especially considering
that personal salvation is at stake.
True worshippers worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father
seeketh such to worship him.
(John 4:23)
In another place we are instructed to:
Fear him and serve him in sincerity and in truth...
(Joshua 23:14)
True worshippers of God are instructed to worship him (i)
"in sincerity" and (ii) "in truth". Why the need for both? Well, I
could tell you something in absolute sincerity, really believing it to
be the truth, yet ignorantly, without consciously wanting to deceive
you, I might be telling you a lie. Whether or not I meant to tell you
a lie, it is still a lie.
277
On the other hand, I could tell you the truth, yet I may be
totally insincere, telling you for my own evil motives and self gratification.
Our approach to worshipping God must be in sincerity and
in truth. Nobody in good conscience can accuse somebody of being
insincere, unless for very good reasons they have been led to believe
otherwise. Yet where the truth is at stake, if the facts are quite
clear, then anything other cannot be the truth.
So, then why are there so many churches in the world today? Have the doctrines of Christ and the truth of the gospel which
was once taught by the apostles changed? Or have men and women
strayed from the original message of God's Truth? Obviously, not
all the churches can be right.
This division between the churches of Christendom today
must present a challenge for anyone wanting to worship God in the
way appointed, "in sincerity and in truth".
Back to basics...
The Bible has warned us that the original "Truth" proclaimed by the
First Century believers was going to become corrupt.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but
after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers...and they shall
turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
(2 Timothy. 4:3-4)
If we want to find out what the truth is about God and what
His plan and purpose is with the Earth, we must get back to basics
and find out for ourselves. At this point, therefore, we want to look
at some fundamental truths which are taught in the Bible and see
how they compare to the teachings of the world of Christendom today.
Son of God— or God the Son?
In ancient Greece, philosophers taught that there were many gods,
each in charge of different things. The ancient Romans also stood in
awe of their mythological gods, building elaborate temples to each
Who Am I?
278
one decorated in fine array. (I would be worried about which one I
was upsetting at any particular time, there were so many!)
Today, although the ancient gods of history are acknowledged to be mythical, most of Christendom is of the opinion that
there are three. This triune of Gods or Trinity is a fundamental
teaching of most modern churches and is the backbone to their
whole faith. They teach that God is both one and three, made up of
Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Yet the Bible teaches that there is one
God and one God alone who created the world and everything in it,
working within it to bring about His purpose.
Never does the word "Trinity" appear in the Bible but was
drawn from a document known as the Athanasian Creed written by
a man called Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, who lived in the
Fourth Century after Christ. He described the deity of God as follows:
The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they
are not three Gods but one God. (!)
It is further defined as follows:
There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts or passions; of infinite power, wisdom and goodness; the maker and Preserver of
all things, both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there be
three Persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost.
I once had an in depth discussion upon this particular subject with a work colleague. Following our discussion he came back
to me with a book in his hand written by Stuart Olyott, pastor of L'
Eglise Evangelique Baptiste, Lausanne. He gave it to me to read so
that I might "understand the Trinity better". I read the publication
with interest but with great confusion. A couple of days later I
thanked him for giving me the book. "Did you understand it when
you read it?" I asked him. To my amazement he replied, "No! Of
course not! It is a mystery." In fact, those words were almost identical to the words which were used by Olyott towards the end of his
book when he wrote:
279
We are no nearer to explaining the incomprehensible mystery of the
Trinity, but at least we have been able to survey what the Scriptures actually
say about it. The difficulty lies in understanding how each person can be
God himself, and yet stand in the relationship that He does with the two
other persons. This difficulty remains and can never be removed. It is
beyond the powers of the human mind to understand it.
He goes on to say:
The doctrine of the Trinity is without analogy. There is no way at all in which
we can illustrate it. There is nothing like it anywhere. It is the first and greatest mystery of all.
Now does it make any sense to believe in and worship a
God, whom we cannot even understand? And how can the above
author's explanation of who God is answer other vital questions
which we might ask? For instance:

How could something which is one, be three? This is a
contradiction in terms!

Why did Christ pray to himself if he was God?

When Christ died on the cross, if he was God, how
could he die if he is eternal?

If Christ was dead and placed in a tomb, how could he
resurrect himself to life if he was God?

How could Christ be sitting "on the right side of the
Majesty on high" if he is God himself?

How could Christ have been born to a woman as God's
"only begotten son" and grow into manhood and at the
same time have been beyond eternity?

How can God be "without body parts and passions",
yet of "one substance" (Athanasian Creed)?
There are many other questions which just cannot be answered if we choose to maintain this belief. In response, we are told:
"It is a mystery!" But the Bible is quite clear and says that:
Who Am I?
280
God is not the author of confusion, but of peace...
(1 Corinthians 14:33)
Why would God make something so fundamental as His
very nature and the nature of His son such a "mystery" especially
when it is tied into our understanding of His plan and purpose?
What the Bible does say...
Concerning God:
There is one God— the supreme, self-existent Deity, the One Father, dwelling in light unapproachable, who has, out of his own underived energy, created heaven and Earth, and all that is in them.
Hear O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one!
(Deuteronomy 6:4)
I am the first, and I am the last; besides Me there is no God...
(Isaiah 44:6)
There is none other God but one...Yet for us there is one God, the Father...
(I Corinthians 8:4-6)
Concerning the son:
There is the Son of God— the Lord Jesus Christ, conceived miraculously by the power of God, and born of a virgin, Mary, without the
intervention of man; anointed with the spirit of God, without measure at his baptism; put to death as an offering for sin; raised by the
Father on the third day when he was given eternal life; and now
waits seated at the right hand side of His Father until the time when
he shall return to Earth to set up the Kingdom of God.
Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and
signs which God did through Him... delivered by the determined purpose
and foreknowledge of God… crucified, and put to death…whom God
raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible
that He should be held by it.
(Acts 2:22-24)
281
God has made this Jesus... both Lord and Christ.
(Acts 2:36)
Jesus Christ... born of the seed of David according to the flesh.
(Romans 1:3)
There is... one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
(1 Timothy 2:5)
Concerning the Spirit:
The Holy Spirit— The power of God by which He is all-knowing
and in absolute control of all that happens in heaven and Earth, by
which He sustains all creation, by which Holy men of old were
moved to record His revelation (the Bible), and by which they were
able to perform miracles in ages past.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth… and the spirit of
God was hovering over the face of the waters.
(Genesis 1:1-2)
By his spirit he adorned the heavens...
(Job 26:13)
The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me
life.
(Job 33:4)
For many years You had patience with them, and testified against them by
Your Spirit in Your prophets.
(Nehemiah 9:30)
Prophecy never came by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Spirit.
(2 Peter 1:21)
All scripture is given by inspiration of God [Greek: "by God's breath"].
2 Timothy 3:16)
Concerning the relationship between God and His son:
One God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ.
(1 Timothy 2:5)
One Lord (Jesus Christ)... and one God and Father of all.
(Ephesians 4:6)
282
Who Am I?
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who
went about doing good and healing all...
(Acts 10:38)
The word "Trinity" does not appear in the Bible. This fact
has been acknowledged by eminent historians such as Mosheim in
the History of the Church and Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire. Interestingly enough, certain clergy have been
honest enough to admit that the doctrine of the Trinity does not appear in the Bible, and furthermore, cannot be logically explained. In
fact, if we were to trace the doctrine of the Trinity, we would find
that, as with the doctrine of the immortal soul and a supernatural
devil, its origins are found in the pagan mythology of Rome,
Greece, Babylon and Egypt, and not Bible teachings.
One edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica points out:
The propositions constitutive of the Dogma of the Trinity were not drawn
directly from the New Testament, and could not be expressed in New Testament terms. They were products of reasoning, speculation, a revelation to
faith... They were only formed through centuries of effort, only elaborated by
the aid of the conceptions and formulated in the terms of Greek and Roman
metaphysics.
In other words it was derived from pagan mythology.
In his book God in Christian Thought and Experience, Dr.
W. R. Matthews states:
It must be admitted by everyone who has rudiments of an historical sense
that the doctrine of the Trinity, as a doctrine, formed no part of the original
message. St. Paul knew it not, and would have been unable to understand
the meaning of the terms used in the theological formulae on which the
Church ultimately agreed.
The similar point is made by F. J. Wilkin, M.A., D.D., Professor of Theology, Baptist College of Victoria, Australia:
In the Old Testament, the Unity of God was clearly affirmed. The Jewish
Creed, repeated in every synagogue today, was "Hear O Israel, the Lord our
God is One Lord" (Deuteronomy. 6:4). This was the faith of the first Christians, so Paul writes, "There is one God and Father of all, Who is above all
and through all and in you all" (Ephesians 4:6). But gradually some addition
283
or modification of this creed was found necessary. Christians were fully
persuaded of the Deity of Jesus Christ and later the Deity of the Holy Spirit,
and they were compelled to relate these convictions with their belief in the
Unity of God. During many years the problem was discussed and many
explanations attempted. One advanced by Sabellius, that became fairly
popular was that Christ and the Holy Spirit were successive manifestations
of the supreme Being, but finally the belief prevailed that the words Father,
Son, Spirit, declared eternal distinctions in the Godhead. That is, that the
Trinity of manifestation revealed a Tri-unity of being. In other words that
Christ and the Holy Spirit were co-eternal with the Father. With the exceptions of the Unitarians, this is the belief in Christendom today...
The first appearance of the doctrine of the Trinity in
Church teachings can be clearly traced back to certain decisions
made at "Church Councils", of which the most notable are:
325 AD
First General Council of Nicea, which declared
that the Son was from the beginning of the same
nature as the Father.
381 AD
Second General Council at Constantinople, which
declared that the Holy Spirit was to be worshipped
with the Father and the Son.
431 AD
Third General Council at Ephesus, which decreed
that Jesus had two natures, a human and a divine;
also that Mary was the "Mother of God", in opposition to those who maintained that she was "the
mother of Christ."
451 AD
Fifth General Council at Chalcedon, which decreed that the two natures in Christ constituted only
one Person and one will.
There are many other Bible passages which demonstrate
further that the doctrine of the Trinity is not a Bible teaching, but
rather a product of human invention.
The fallacy of the doctrine of the Trinity, is appropriately
summed up in the following way by John H. Newman in his book
The Arians of the Fourth Century:
284
Who Am I?
It may startle those who are but acquainted with the popular writings of this
day, yet I believe, the most accurate consideration of the subject will lead us
to acquiesce in the statement, as a general Truth that the doctrines in question (concerning Father, Son and Holy Spirit) have never been learned
merely from scripture.
Back to the Bible
Most countries of the Twenty-first Century provide its citizens with
the freedom to draw one’s own conclusions upon the subject of religion. Yet there is a sense of disillusionment over religion which
seems to offer no hope for our modern world. Indeed, to a large degree religion only accentuates the critical state in which the world
finds itself. As men and women have taken it into their own hands
to try to sort out the world's problems, any words of "faith" and encouragement and the occasional public declarations from the clergy
have fallen upon deaf ears. Few people can be bothered with orthodox Christianity as it is a religion that does not make any sense. The
"religion" of the Bible does, however, make sense. It is only by exploring the Bible for ourselves that any sort of rationale can be
made for the political, social and environmental issues of life.
Earlier in the book we mentioned the findings of a commission which had been appointed by Anglican archbishops in 1943,
entitled Towards the conversion of England. The following are further extracts from this book in connection with this vital subject of
keeping "sound doctrine."
We profoundly dissent from the assertion that there is "an element in the
message which changes in varying conditions." On the contrary, we believe
that the tendency to preach "another gospel" has been the weakness (not to
say the sin) of the Church in our generation more especially between the two
wars, and accounts very largely for its failure in evangelism.
The ignorance of the Bible today, not only in the ranks of the laity,
but also amongst many of the clergy (and particularly the younger clergy) is
horrifying. Yet there is nothing more vital for the work of evangelism. The
Bible contains the title deeds of our faith. How many priests today, by pointing to passages and verses from the Holy scriptures can bring that assurance of salvation to enquirers which our Bible-loving forefathers were able to
mediate to countless multitudes?
285
The following excerpt is from a translation of a document
found in the Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris. It was addressed by
the French Cardinals in 1550 AD to the future Pope Jules III, giving
him advice to ensure that he was elected Pope.
Of all the advice reserved for your Holiness, we have kept the most essential
until the last moment. Concerning the reading of the Bible, we must keep our
eyes wide open and intervene with all our power. It is necessary to authorise
as little as possible the reading of the Gospels, particularly in modern languages and in countries under our jurisdiction. That which is generally read
during Mass must suffice, and nobody must be authorised to read any other.
Your interests will prosper so long as the people are contented
with the little which is offered them, but as soon as the public asks for more,
your interests are in danger. The Bible is the book which more than any
other, can stir up against us revolt and storms which might well nigh destroy
us. Certainly if somebody studies the Bible seriously, and compares it
with what is happening in our churches, he will soon find the contradictions, and will see that our doctrines are as far astray from the
truth, and are even more often completely opposed to the Bible.
And if the people come to recognise all these things, they will be
constantly defying us, until everything is brought to light: thereupon we shall
become the object of ridicule and hate. It is vital to keep the Bible away from
the attention of the people, but with much caution so as to avoid uproar.
If ever we have heard an invitation to read the Bible, this is
it! Contrary to what most would assess as being some pretty diabolical advice, there have been those who, with threat of persecution
lingering over their heads, have diligently studied their Bibles for
themselves and read it frequently to find out the truth of God's plan
and purpose with the Earth. Some of these were "the Donatists" of
the Fourth Century, "Waldenses", "Paulicans", "Huguenots", and
"Anabaptists" of the 16th Century.
The 2,000 dispersion
Ask any Jew today what he knows of AD 70, and he would feel as
unsettled as he would at the mention of Adolf Hitler, the Spanish
Inquisition, the Russian Cossacks or the Crusaders. In AD 70 one
of the most horrific events in the history of Jewish people took
place, foreshadowing all of the terrible events for which those men-
286
Who Am I?
tioned above were responsible. It was the date that Jerusalem was
finally brought to ruins by the Romans. It was a period of terrible
suffering for the Jewish people as over 1,100,000 people were brutally murdered by Roman soldiers, many suffering execution as they
were crucified on stakes around the city walls. From that day forward, Israel ceased to exist either as a nation or as a province of
another occupying nation. For almost 2,000 years its identity was
all but wiped off the face of the Earth.
Yet, once again all these events were clearly and accurately
foretold by the Bible, as well as by Jesus Christ himself, not more
than about 40 years before it happened.
When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those
who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country
enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are
written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those
who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the
land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword,
and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled
by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled...
(Luke 21:20-24)
After the overthrow of Jerusalem in AD 70, the Romans
ploughed a furrow through the city from one end to the other, again
fulfilling another Bible prophecy.
Zion [Jerusalem] shall be ploughed as a field, Jerusalem shall become
heaps of ruins...
(Micah 3:12)
Not only was the utter destruction of the city foretold, but
the people who were to do it:
The LORD shall bring a nation against you from afar, as swift as the eagle
flieth, a nation whose language you will not understand, a nation of fierce
countenance...
(Deuteronomy 28:49)
Interestingly enough, the symbol of ancient Rome was an
eagle. An eagle sat on top of every standard of the Roman Legion.
287
They shall besiege you at all your gates... You shall eat the fruit of your own
body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the LORD your God
has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall
distress you.
I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation...
(Leviticus 26:31)
Only the Western Wall supporting the Temple Mount in Jerusalem
remains today. Why did God allow this to happen to a people which
were to be his "witnesses"? We remember that God had given Israel two choices with the consequences of those choices; of blessings or of cursings. Israel had chosen cursing. But that was not the
only reason. When the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, Israel took
the responsibility upon themselves for his unfair trial and murder.
When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was
rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I
am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it. And all the
people answered and said, His blood be on us and on our children... and
when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.
(Matthew 27:24-26)
How dramatically have these words been fulfilled. Not even
the first generation passed before Israel was going to have to live
with those words. As the soldiers of the Roman legions surrounded
Jerusalem, in a "dreadful and terrible" way they brought Israel's inhabitation of the land of their ancestors to an abrupt end. Not only
were these words fulfilled upon themselves, but their children and
their children's children were going to suffer for centuries to come.
The door is opened
For more than 2,000 years the only ones who had been custodians
of God's Truth were the Jews, because God had nurtured them to be
His people and His "witnesses". But they had failed in their task,
resulting in them unwittingly killing the one who was there to save
them. Although the Jews still remain God's people, since AD 70
God has turned his attention to the rest of the world. If the Jews
288
Who Am I?
were not going to act responsibly to their call, then God was going
to find people who would respond to the call. And so it has been for
the last 2,000 years anybody who accepts the truth surrounding
God's plan and purpose with the Earth, can benefit from God's
Covenants of Promise. As the Lord Jesus said to the disciples in his
final commission to them:
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature...
(Mark 16:15)
The truth about "the things concerning the Kingdom of
God, and the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:12) was preached to
anybody who would listen in the First Century. This same message
is readily available to be read in the pages of the Bible that
"whoever believes... should... have eternal life" (John 3:15) upon
Earth at the return of Jesus Christ. As God's promise to Abraham
had stated: "I will make of you many nations… in you shall all the
families of the Earth be blessed."
The world since AD 70
Since the dispersion of the Jewish people among the nations of the
world in AD 70, there has been no world empire, apart from the
Roman Empire which started to crumble from AD 324 onwards. In
AD 324, as we saw from Daniel's prophecy, the seat of military
power of Rome moved to Constantinople. After the barbarians
moved south from northern Europe to conquer the Western Roman
Empire, just after the turn of the Fourth Century, the Bishop of
Rome was no longer able to rely upon the military strength of the
Eastern Roman Empire and, therefore, turned to the German Emperor Charlemagne for help. In AD 799 an alliance was made between the Bishop of Rome and Charlemagne. After Charlemagne
came to dominate Europe, Rome was given the "states of the
church". Thus a new epoch in European history commenced. This
was the period of the Holy Roman Empire.
While all this was going on in Europe, one of the most influential religions of the world today was being born. This was the
religion of Islam. In AD 570, a man by the name of Muhammed
289
was born. At the age of forty he is supposed to have seen visions
and received revelations which he proclaimed in the streets of
Mecca. In AD 620 he was forced to leave Mecca with his followers,
and settled in Medina, 445 kilometres north of Mecca. He grew in
political and military strength, becoming the religious and political
leader of most of central and western Arabia. In AD 624
Muhammad won a decisive victory over Mecca which eventually
surrendered to him in AD 630. After the death of Muhammad, a
series of Caliphs or "deputies" of the Prophet ruled Islam in all respects except as a prophet. Under the second Caliph, Umar, control
of Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, and the heart of ancient
Iran was gained. Damascus was captured in AD 635, Jerusalem in
AD 640, Cairo in 641, Alexandria in 642. Eventually the influence
of Islam stretched as far as Tripoli, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the
Caucasus Mountains.
For the Eastern Roman Empire, the Muslims were a thorn
in their side. The Turks to the east of the empire had embraced this
new religion of Islam and on 27th April, 1062, the powerful leader
Togrul Beg established himself in Muslim authority by marrying the
Caliph's daughter. The Sultans (leaders of the Turks) assumed the
title of Caliphs and waged war on Constantinople. Their battles
were "holy wars" against the Christian Infidels whose doctrine of
the Trinity was particularly obnoxious to them, since they themselves believed in the unity of One God. Reportedly, their battle cry
was "The Qu'ran or the sword". Any of the vanquished who refused
to accept the Qu'ran were put to death by the sword. On 6th April
1453, under Mahommet II, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman
Turks and the Eastern Roman Empire came to an abrupt end.
The domination by the Turkish Empire upon the eastern
European political scene lasted for well over 500 years until the
turn of the Twentieth Century when during the First World War in
1917, the military power of the Ottoman empire finally came to an
end as the last Ottoman Sultan, Muhammad VI, was deposed. The
remnants of the Ottoman Empire is the modern day country of Turkey.
290
Who Am I?
Against all odds
"I don't believe in miracles— especially today!" That is a typical of
most people's opinion. But if we look at a small nation 150 miles
long by 60 miles wide sitting at the centre of the Middle East, called
the State of Israel, we would be forced to reconsider. Israel has been
described by many, including Time Magazine, as "a modern day
miracle"— the only nation in the history of the world to have kept
its identity, a record of its origins and its race through hundreds of
years of persecution and trial. Mark Twain succinctly described the
Jewish phenomenon when he asked:
All are mortal but the Jews; all forces pass but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality? a
There can only be one answer to Israel's ability to survive
against such overwhelming odds— the Bible answer:
Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet will
I not make a complete end of you: but I will correct you in justice, and will
not let you go altogether unpunished.
(Jeremiah 30:11)
"Ye are my witnesses..." God said through the prophet
Isaiah (Isaiah 43:10-12). The Jews are one of the greatest witnesses
to the authenticity of the Bible and the plan and purpose of God.
For almost two thousand years Israel has been scattered
throughout the world. They have had no home which they could call
their own, no land and no national identity. And their land was overrun by foreign powers, amongst whom were the Romans, Turks and
the British.
Yet through all of this, God had made a very plain and absolute promise concerning their destiny:
When they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor
shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with
them; for I am the LORD their God. But for their sake I will remember the
covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in
the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.
(Leviticus 26:44-45)
291
Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun… moon and... stars… If those ordinances depart from before Me... then the seed of Israel shall also cease
from being a nation before Me forever…If heaven above can be measured,
and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all
the seed of Israel.
(Jeremiah 31:35-37)
So far, the Bible has been proven to be exactly right. It
looks as if Israel as a people is here to stay. For have the outer
boundaries of space ever been discovered? Have the sun, moon and
stars ever failed? Has the centre of the Earth ever been explored?
There are no "ifs" or "buts". The people of Israel are here to stay.
The First Zionist Congress
For those who show an interest in Bible prophecy and find it fascinating that events could be predicted so accurately hundreds of
years before their time, the next prophecy which we are about to
take a look at is one of the most remarkable in the canon of scripture. It concerns events leading up to one of, if not the, most important events in the Twentieth Century— the establishment of the
State of Israel in the land of Promise.
The Bible has this to say about this memorable event:
Thus saith the LORD God, surely [1] I will take the children of Israel from
among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from
every side and bring them into their own land; and [2] I will make them one
nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and [3] one king shall be
king over them all.
(Ezekiel 37:21-22)
There are three parts to this prophecy:
(1)
The restoration of the people to their ancient territory.
(2)
The revival of Israel as an independent nation.
(3)
The establishment of a monarchy with one king.
All but the last of this prophecy has been fulfilled.
292
Who Am I?
The man who set the ball rolling, as it were, to re-establish
the land of Israel was Theodore Hertzl, who founded the Zionist
movement in the 1890's. The objective of Zionism was to found a
Jewish state in the land of Palestine. Yet in the Jewish communities
around the world, the founding of the State of Israel was not viewed
with the same degree of enthusiasm that Hertzl had for it. In 1895
he said:
We are not yet desperate enough; we shall have to sink still lower, we shall
have to be more widely insulted, spat upon, mocked, beaten, robbed and
slain, before we are ripe for the idea.
With great accuracy his words came true and for almost 20
years there was a decidedly cool reception of Hertzl's ideas. That
was until the First World War.
When Turkey joined the Central Powers of Europe they declared war on Britain. Under General Allenby, Turkey was defeated
and in 1917 British forces took possession of Palestine. Thinking to
win Jewish support in the war effort, they promised to facilitate the
establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. In the same year
the Balfour Declaration was made:
His majesty's government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best
endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this objective, it being clearly
understood that nothing shall prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status
enjoyed by Jews in any other country.
The first part of Ezekiel's prophecy saw a token fulfilment.
Much to everybody's surprise, the number of Jews returning to the land of Palestine was extremely low. Whereas in 1927,
3,034 Jews immigrated into Palestine, 5,071 emigrated.
In Cross Roads to Israel, C. Sykes writes:
The years from 1926-1938 were a period of Zionist weakness... It looked to
some people, and not only enemies, as if the Jewish national movement was
about to fail and come to an end.
293
In 1933, Adolf Hitler snatched power in Germany with ambitions to establish the Third Reich with the Aryan people as the
Master Race. This commenced his drive towards the survival-ofthe-fittest. To him Jews did not fit into his plan of world-wide German supremacy, being an "inferior race". His anti-Semitic activities
intensified and many Jews who assessed rightly the shape of things
to come, emigrated to Palestine. Only a few years earlier in 1930
the following advertisement appeared in the "Vossisch Zeitung"— a
leading Berlin newspaper signed by several hundred German/Jewish
leaders:
We profess the Jewish religion, but reject any sort of Jewish nationalism.
We regard ourselves along with the overwhelming majority of German Jews,
as members of the German, not the Jewish people...
How soon these words disappeared as a vapour as Hitler's
Germany grew to the pinnacle of its power. What had become a
trickle of Jews returning to Palestine now become a flood.
As Hitler was becoming the catalyst which would drive the
Jews back to Palestine, in the land of Palestine itself, Arab hostility
to the idea of establishing the State of Israel was intensifying. Since
the early Jewish settlers had arrived in Palestine, Arabs had fought
a small scale guerrilla warfare against them, rejecting in its entirety
the concept of the Balfour declaration. By 1939, the start of the
Second World War, the intensity of their opposition increased dramatically and Palestine became the great arena for debate, terrorism
and unrelenting tension. As Arab hostility grew, pressure grew upon
the British (who still held the mandate on Palestine) to restrict the
influx of Jews to the land. In 1939 the British government adopted a
white paper restricting immigration to Palestine.
What had changed their minds? Oil! The British recognised
the importance of appeasing the Arabs who controlled this precious
new source of raw energy. The lifeline which had enabled Jews to
escape the persecution and genocide of Nazi Germany had been severed. Now they found themselves trapped with nowhere to go. All
odds were against them returning to the land of their ancestry:
294
Who Am I?
(1)
Hitler did not want them back in the land. To him it was a
capital offence to be a Jew. His “Final Solution” for them
was extermination in the concentration camps of Germany.
(2)
Arabs were fiercely against Jewish immigration and did
not want them in Palestine.
(3)
The British had changed their position and had produced a
white paper making it illegal for Jews to immigrate to Palestine.
(4)
Even the Jews themselves did not want to return to the
land, and only did so because they were forced to due to the
circumstances in Nazi Germany.
Yet, God had made it abundantly clear 2,400 years before.
I [God] will bring them back into the land which I gave to their fathers.
(Jeremiah 16:15)
The valley of dry bones
At the end of the Second World War the concentration camps were
opened up for the world to see. Piles of bones belonging to over
6,000,000 European Jews, shocked the world. The full horror of the
terrible atrocities which had been experienced by the Jews were
publicly exposed for all to see, and relived by the few thousand people who had survived the concentration camps and gas chambers.
Jews throughout the world demanded a place to live, and, in particular, demanded independence in the land of their ancestry. Their
case was referred to the United Nations Organisation. Finally, on
May 14th, 1948, for the first time in 1878 years, Israel had life
breathed back into her and the State of Israel was born.
For 2,500 years Jewry had been in exile. Now they were
allowed to return freely.
Again with remarkable accuracy Bible prophecy was being
fulfilled, and a seemingly impossible event came to pass upon the
world stage. The following are the words used by the prophet Ezekiel to describe what he saw in a vision as it relates to the establishment of the State of Israel "in the latter days":
295
The hand of the LORD came upon me... and set me down in the midst of the
valley; and it was full of bones. Then He caused me to pass by them all
around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed
they were very dry. And He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live?
So I answered, O Lord GOD, You know. Again He said to me, Prophesy to
these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh
upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD. So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling;
and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews
and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there
was no breath in them. Also He said to me, Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come
from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may
live. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them,
and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
Then He said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of
Israel. They indeed say, Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we
ourselves are cut off! Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says the
Lord GOD: Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to
come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then
you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My
people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and
you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know
that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it, says the LORD.
(Ezekiel 37:1-14)
Those words were written by the prophet Ezekiel while, like
Daniel, he was a captive with other Jews in Babylon almost 2,500
years ago.
Indeed, God has caused "breath to enter into" Israel from
the "four winds" since it was the United Nations Organisation
(which is constituted of nations from all over the globe) who sanctioned the creation of the State of Israel.
God has brought them back "into the land of Israel" as He
said that he would. God has "put breath in them" and now they
296
Who Am I?
thrive at the gateway to the Middle East restoring the land to its former glory, cultivating produce in the form of oranges, pears, avocados, melons, grapes, strawberries, celery, nuts and cut flowers.
They are one of the biggest exporters of fruit in the world. Speaking
in the house of Commons in 1939, Sir Winston Churchill made the
following observation:
The historic dream has proved its power to succeed...Jewish colonists have
caused the desert to bloom, a score of thriving industries,...a great city on
the barren shore,...electricity throughout the land...
Chaim Bermant, author of The Jews, (1977), describes Israel's prosperity in the following way:
To visit Israel at frequent intervals is to witness the slow unrolling of a vast
green carpet. The desert recedes on every side like hair on a middle-aged
head.
God has made them "an exceeding great army" as they can
boast today as being one of, if not the, most well trained and most
formidable armies in the Middle East. God had worked through the
nations and individuals of the world to realise the destiny of Israel.
Behold, I will send for many fishermen, says the LORD, and they shall fish
them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt
them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
(Jeremiah 16: 16)
Some have suggested that the First World War prepared
the land of Israel for the Jews to return, but it was the Second
World War which drove the people back into the land. In light of
the above words of Jeremiah, this would seem like a very apt description. As a "fisher" uses a lure to bait the fish, so the lure for
the Jew was the preparation of the land under the Balfour declaration in 1917. As a "hunter" hunts, so it was that during the persecution of Nazi Germany that the Jew was hunted and eventually
driven back into the land. James Cameron in The Making of Israel
called Adolf Hitler "the Founding Father of the Land and of the
Jews."
If Hitler had read those words he would have been sick in-
297
side. What irony that the man who set out to destroy Jewry and exterminate them from off the face of the Earth, became the mainspring behind the creation of modern Israel!
For Bible students around the world the events which were
coming to pass were climactic. For centuries men and women, who
had recognised the Divine inspiration of the Bible and saw it as the
blueprint of God's plan and purpose, had been echoing the words of
the above prophecies. One such Bible student was Dr. J. Thomas
who we have already mentioned. In a book entitled Elpis Israel or
"The Hope of Israel" written one hundred years before the nation
of Israel was resurrected to life, he wrote these words:
There is then a partial and primary restoration of the Jews before the manifestation of Christ, which is to serve as the nucleus, or basis of future operations in the restoration of the rest of the tribes after he has appeared in the
kingdom. The preadventural colonisation of Palestine will be on purely political principles; and the Jewish colonists will return in unbelief of the Messiahship of Jesus, and of the truth as it is in him. They will emigrate thither
as agriculturists and traders, in the hope of ultimately establishing their commonwealth...under the efficient protection of the British power...But from the
subjugation of the Jew for a short time after they have been colonised, the
protection of the shadowing power [i.e. Britain] would seem to have been
inefficient.
This was written in 1848 with the knowledge and understanding of basic Bible prophecy, one hundred years before the
State of Israel was established!
Since 1948
We do not need to go much further forward in history to come
across the next significant event in modern Israel's history, for the
same day that Israel announced the Declaration of the Birth of the
State of Israel, a combined confederation of Arab nations converged
upon the tiny State. An Egyptian armoured brigade was poised on
the south side. Three regiments of Syrians were poised on the northern side. The Lebanese were ready to invade Galilee and the Iraqis
moved a brigade to work with the Arab Legion who were equipped
with heavy artillery. Arab planes flew unopposed in the sky. And
298
Who Am I?
the Jews— 18,000 footmen stood relatively unarmed and unprepared for war. The Jewish war of Independence had begun.
"The Jews have bought it," commented Field Marshall
Montgomery, who from a military viewpoint, saw their case as
hopeless. However, contrary to the expectation of the world, not
only did they manage to survive but also to secure their borders.
"No military explanation for the subsequent failure [of the Arabs] is
plausible" commented Herbert Agar. "No fact in the history of the
Twentieth Century is more staggeringly improbable than the State
of Israel" said Christopher Sykes.
Yet once again such events in Israel's history are clearly
described in the Bible:
They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the
name of Israel may be remembered no more.
(Psalm 83:4)
While there are a number of important events in modern
Israel's history, there is no other event more important than one particular event which took place in 1967.
Every nation in the world has a capital city. Until 1967,
however, that could not be said of Israel. The ancient capital of Israel was Jerusalem. Until 1967, it was firmly in Arab hands since
Jordan had annexed the city and denied Jewish people entrance to it.
In May of that year, Egypt demanded the removal of the United Nations peace keeping force from the Gaza strip and the Sinai Peninsula. They then proceeded to close off the Gulf of Aqaba to Jewish
shipping. Seeing these operations as the initiation of an act of war,
on June 5th 1967 the Jewish airforce attacked targets in Egypt, Jordan and Syria. The Six Day War had begun. But as soon as it had
begun it was over. Israel had overcome her Arab aggressors who
were disastrously defeated and large chunks of their territory was
captured, chiefly the West Bank (ancient Samaria and Judea). The
greatest spoil of the war, however, which was the jewel in the
crown— Jerusalem!
Although it has its primary application to when Jesus
Christ returns to the Earth, the prophet Zechariah wrote:
299
In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile,
and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding
peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem
(Zechariah 12:6)
As quickly as fire can roar through brushwood, Israel had
won the war in one of the swiftest victories ever won. Not only that,
she had expanded her borders well beyond those which had been
previously established.
Again, referring to the return of Christ, Zechariah says:
It shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for
all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though
all nations of the earth are gathered against it.
(Zechariah 12:3)
Following this most decisive victory won by Israel, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (or the PLO as it is frequently referred to today) representing some six or seven different factions of
Muslim and Christian Arabs in the Middle East, developed a position paper called "The Palestinian National Covenant". There were
33 Articles in the document representing their aims as a people. The
final wording was adopted on July 10-17, 1968 after the Six Day
War. Three of those articles read like this:
Article 19 states:
The partitioning of Palestine in 1947 and the establishment of Israel are
entirely illegal, regardless of the passage of time, because they were contrary to the will of the Palestinian people and to their natural right in their
homeland and inconsistent with the principles embodied in the charter of the
United Nations, particularly the right to self determination.
Article 20 states:
The Balfour Declaration, the Mandate for Palestine, and everything that has
been based upon them, are all deemed null and void. Claims of historical or
religious ties of Jews with Palestine are incompatible with the facts of history
and the true conception which constitutes statehood. Judaism being a religion, is not an independent nationality. Nor do Jews constitute a single nation
with an identity of its own; they are citizens of states to which they belong.
Who Am I?
300
Finally, Article 6 states:
The Jews who had normally resided in Palestine until the beginning of the
Zionist invasion [time of the Balfour declaration in 1917] will be considered
Palestinians.
Despite the above declaration by the PLO on July 30th,
1980 the Israeli parliament passed a Bill which declared Jerusalem
to be Israel's "eternal and indivisible capital."
Every one of the above PLO articles were written contrary
to the Bible and God's plan and purpose with the Jewish nation. Yet
unhindered by man's acts of defiance, such a plan and purpose,
which we have been tracing through the pages of this book, will be
realised.
The establishment of Israel back in the Land of Promise, is
one of the greatest signs of the nearness of the return of Jesus Christ
to the Earth. Israel is established back in the land of its ancestry;
Jerusalem is inhabited again in her own place. The Jews have, in
part, returned to the land of Israel. These significant political events
are the start of the ultimate fulfilment of the promises to Abraham,
to Isaac, to Jacob, and to David.
Many nations still do not recognise the sovereignty of Israel, yet there will come a time when they will have to acknowledge
them, and acknowledge the supreme monarch who will then be sitting upon a throne in Jerusalem. All nations will come to accept him
for who he is— the divinely appointed king of a Kingdom which
shall "cover the whole Earth" as Isaiah had said, "as the waters
cover the sea." That king will be the Lord Jesus Christ.
Notes:
a
“Concerning The Jews”, Mark Twain — Harper’s Monthly (1899)
301
4004 BC
AM 0
Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden of Eden
PROMISES about life given to Adam and Eve
Cain murders Abel in a jealous rage
3000
1000
Line of Cain
Line of Seth
2000
2000
FLOOD
1000
0
4000
Rome
J U D E A
Bb Med Gk
1000 AD
5000
Restored after
The Millennium
2000
6000
IS R A E L
R E S T O R E D
3000
J U D A H
Assyria
Timecheck!
IS R A E L
Life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Spread of Christianity. Jerusalem destroyed by the
Romans. Roman Empire divides into East and West.
Constantine adopts Christianity.
First “pope” and rise of Roman Catholicism.
Rise of Islam in Middle East and Holy Roman Empire
dominates Eurpoe. Bishop of Rome (Papacy) enjoys
protection of Holy Roman Empire.
Ottoman Empire
Constantinople conquered by the Turks. French
Revolution and rise of the “Age of Reason “ in
Eurpoe. Pope looses temporal powers. Darwin
writes “Origin of Species”. First Zionist Congress.
Balfour Declaration. Holocaust. State of Israel established. Jerusalem captured by Israel. Nuclear
Age. Increased knowledge and materialism.
Apathy towards religion. Social and environmental
E D E N
CHAPTER 7
Tomorrow’s
News Today!
2,000 + ? ad
M
uch has happened in Israel's history since 1948,
with many prophecies having been fulfilled. However, there is still more that has to be accomplished
upon the world stage and, in particular, the State
of Israel, before Christ is revealed to the world.
In our examination of the prophecies of Daniel and the
prophecies concerning the restoration of Israel, we have seen that
the Bible has clearly and consistently outlined history from thousands of years ago to the present day. Not only does it tell us about
past history, but it tells us about the future history of the world and
events just preceding and subsequent to the return of Christ to the
Earth. This "future history", once again, is beyond the realm of the
observable. Nevertheless, with the help of other Bible prophecies
which still remain unfulfilled, it is possible to paint a picture of future world events which is not altogether too unconvincing.
Before we look at these future events described in the Bible, we need to remove any form of dogmatism when considering
the future fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Bible prophecy has not
been given to us so that we can be forecasters of the future political
age. Prophecy has been given to Mankind so that as events unfold,
304
Who Am I?
our faith, or trust, in His plan and purpose is reinforced.
Israel and the nations of the Middle East regularly take centre stage in world news. One of the main reasons for this is because
these nations are at the crossroads to the Middle East and control
vast amounts of the world's oil. This was clearly evident in the
Iraqi/Kuwaiti war of 1991. It caught the attention of all world governments, drawing a western alliance which has been rarely seen
since the Second World War. Whoever controls the oil in the Middle East has the world at its knees. All governments who realise this
tremble at the thought of one nation having a monopoly and outright
control of such a valuable resource. Could it be that this will be the
catalyst for future world events leading up to the return of Christ as
predicted by the Bible? Before we can answer that more confidently, first of all we need to have some idea what these world
events will be.
To make these events that the Bible speaks of more realistic
and alive to us, the following have been written as short individual
media presentations. Following each one are selections of Bible
verses which relate prophetical scripture to these events.
305
Hundreds Missing!
Reports are flooding in from
around the world of hundreds of
people mysteriously disappearing.
Telephone lines have been
jammed all day as people have
called emergency services to find
out news about their loved ones.
Possibly connected to
these strange disappearances are
other reports which have also
been made to the authorities of
graveyards having been dug up
and coffins opened. Some suspect mass exhumation by a cult
following. But in connection
with this, some of the people
who were buried in those graves
have startled relatives as they
have appeared very much alive
and well.
While there do not seem to be
any plausible explanations for
these strange events, there may
be one possible link between
those who have mysteriously
disappeared and those who have
been exhumed. Many of them
are known to have believed in
the Return of Israel’s Messiah to
the earth— the second coming
of Christ to the earth. One suggestion, therefore, is that he has
miraculously taken them away
somewhere. So far this is the
only explanation that anyone has
come up with. Only time will
tell over the next few days
whether this is a clever hoax or,
indeed, that these reports are
true and do have something to
do with the return of Christ.
Who Am I?
306
What the Bible says:
He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will
gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to
the other.
(Matthew 24:31)
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and
remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are
asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ
will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain... thus we shall always
be with the Lord.
(1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)
Two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two
women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
(Matthew 24:40-42)
The graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen
asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after his [Jesus‘] resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
(Matthew 27:52-53)
307
Russia Set To Invade Mid-East!
During the last few days, Russia
has been building up her forces
along the northern borders of
Turkey. Intelligence sources say
that they are about to move their
troops south towards Israel.
Russian fighter jets have already
been seen flying just north of
Syria. In support of Russia, Iran
and Lybia, as well as Ethiopia
have also made military moves
towards the Middle East.
Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Son of man, set your face
against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal,
and prophesy against him, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am
against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. I will turn
you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your
army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with
bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. Persia, Ethiopia, and
Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all its
troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—
many people are with you. Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your
companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them.
(Ezekiel 38:1-7)
Who are these nations?
The Revised Version of the Bible translates, "the chief prince of
Meshech and Tubal" as "the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal."
The significance of this particular translation is explained by Ian
Grey— The History Horizon of Russia (1970 Page 20):
The Varangians [Vikings]... probably gave to Russia and its people the name
by which they have been known for over a thousand years. Across the vast
plain of the Varangians early became known as Rus or Rhos, possibly from
the Finnish word "Rowers" and from this the name Russia is derived.
Who Am I?
308
H. F. W. Gesenius (1786-1842), the German theologian, orientialist
and Hebraist in the Lexicon to the Old Testament defines Rosh as:
A northern nation mentioned with Tubal and Meshech; undoubtedly the
Russians.
Gibbon, in Englishman's (1787), states that,
Among the Greeks, Russia was known as "Ros."
In Commentary upon the Whole Bible (1961 Page 721), Jamison,
Fausset and Brown write:
Rosh or Rhos... The modern Russians may have assumed their name, as
Moscow and Tobolsk from Meschech and Tubal...
Clearly, Rosh, Meshech and Tubal are modern day Russia. History
tells us that Persia is modern day Iran and parts of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Togarmah was "a strong hold" north of Palestine, probably towards the south of Russia in Turkey. Gomer represents the European nations.
Japhet, the son of Noah, had seven sons: they inhabited so, that beginning
at the mountains Taurus and Amanus, they proceeded along Asia, as far as
river Tanais, and along Europe to Cadiz; and settling themselves on the
lands which they light upon, which none had inhabited before, they called the
nations by their own names; for Gomer founded those whom the Greeks
now call Galatians, [Galls] but were then called Gomerites.
(Josephus, Antiquities Book I Ch. VI, 1)
309
Middle East In Turmoil!
This morning the Middle
East is in chaos. Last night, a
coalition of Russian forces
poured over the borders through
Turkey, and were last seen
sweeping south towards the borders of Syria and Israel. This unprecedented attack upon its Middle Eastern neighbours is seen by
many to be an all out invasion of
the Middle East as Russian
forces drive south towards the
State of Israel and Egypt. In coalition with Russia are the nations
of Ethiopia, Sudan and Libya,
Iran and the European Union.
The United Nations Assembly
has gone into emergency session
to assess the repercussions of
this unprecedented act of aggression. Money markets
throughout the world have been
shaken to their knees with many
hitting an all time low. Reports
are also reaching us of a sharp
increase in the price of a barrel
of oil. More details will be available later. NATO is also meeting and is expected to send a
task force into the Mediterranean in the next few days.
The king of the North shall come against him [Israel] like a whirlwind, with
chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through.
(Daniel 11:40)
When they say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon
them, as labour pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
(1 Thessalonians 5:3)
There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation,
(Daniel 12:1)
There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the
earth distress of nations, with perplexity... men's hearts failing them from
fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth...
(Luke 21:25-26)
Who Am I?
310
After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into
the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from
many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate;
they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. You
will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all
your troops and many peoples with you. Thus says the Lord GOD: On that
day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will
make an evil plan: You will say, I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling
without walls, and having neither bars nor gates— to take plunder and to
take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again
inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land... Then you
will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with
you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. You
will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be
in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may
know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.
(Ezekiel 38:8-16)
What the papers say:
Today we are not strong enough to attack. Our time will come in 30 or 40
years. In order to win we need an element of surprise. The bourgeoisie must
be put into a coma. One day we will begin the most theatrical peace movement that has ever existed. The capitalist countries, stupid and decadent, will
work with pleasure towards their own destruction. They will be completely
deceived by a new opportunity of friendship with us, and as soon as
they are off their guard, we will crush them with clenched fists.
—Dimitri Manuilisky, head of Comintern, (Communist International), 1939
We once wished for a quick transition to a market economy that would transform Russia into a warm, friendly, domesticated power. Today, only the hopelessly naive can deny that the opposite is happening... Russia is headed on
a course of authoritarianism at home, domination abroad.
—Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, February 12, 1996
311
The methods by which Moscow seeks to woo back the near abroad republics
can be crude, often mustered under the broad banner of protecting ethnic
Russians... This is not so much imperialism, says former CIA Director Robert
Gates, as it is an effort "to make a bad situation worse so that these countries
are forced to come to Russia for help... Russia might be seeking to reestablish its empire.”
—Kevin Fedarko, Time Magazine, March 14, 1994
“Russia was and remains a great power," he declared in his first news conference since he was appointed on Tuesday. "Her foreign policy should correspond to that status..." Some policymakers in Washington have expressed
reservations about Primakov... he studied Arabic and was a reporter for
Pravda in Cairo in the 1960's- might prompt him to try to expand Russian
influence in the Middle East.
—Alessandra Stanley, New York Times, January 13, 1996
The policy of Russia is changeless. Its methods, tactics, and maneuvers
may change, but the polar star of its policy—world domination— is a fixed
star.
—Karl Marx
Who Am I?
312
Israel Destroyed!
Turkey, Lebanon, Syria
and Israel have all been destroyed. The devastation in the
Middle East seen within the last
few days is overwhelming. Thousands lie dead in the streets. Nations on the east of the Jordan
Valley have escaped the northern
invasion, but their armies stand
on general alert. In Israel, only
about one third of the population has survived, many of them
fleeing into the neighbouring
countries of Jordan and Saudi
Arabia. Jerusalem is no longer
flying under the Israeli flag.
The day of the LORD is coming... a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of
clouds and thick darkness, like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, the like of whom has never been;
nor will there ever be any such after them, even for many successive generations. A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the
land is like the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate
wilderness; surely nothing shall escape them... With a noise like chariots
over mountaintops they leap, like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the
stubble, like a strong people set in battle array. Before them the people
writhe in pain; all faces are drained of color. They run like mighty men, they
climb the wall like men of war; every one marches in formation, and they do
not break ranks...
(Joel 2:1-7)
Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your
midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the
city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished.
(Zechariah 14:1-2)
And it shall come to pass in all the land, says the LORD, That two-thirds in
it shall be cut off and die, but one- third shall be left in it:
(Zechariah 13:8)
Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob's trouble...
(Jeremiah 30:7)
313
War Imminent!
Forces from USA, Britain and other Western nations
have started to move military
equipment into Saudi Arabia and
other Gulf States to counter the
attack. A large number of warships have been seen sailing towards the war zone in the Mediterranean and airforce bases all
around the region are on alert.
Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say
to you, Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to
take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods,
to take great plunder?
(Ezekiel. 38:13)
At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him…
(Daniel 11:40)
Egypt Invaded! Jordan Escapes!
Having devasted the
coastal areas of Palestine, including the whole of the State of Israel, the Russian Confederacy is
closing in upon the Egyptian
borders. The Kingdom of Jordan
seems to have escaped Russia's
drive south. Many thousands of
refugees have been seen flooding over her borders in the hope
of escaping their war torn countries.
He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries,
and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall have power over the
treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt;
also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels.
(Daniel 11:41-43)
Who Am I?
314
Unknown Army Sighted In Desert!
As if from nowhere, a
huge army of people have been
seen moving from the Sinai peninsula towards the eastern side of
what used to be Israel. Both the
Russians and NATO countries
deny that they are their troops
and even the Arabs are bewildered by this great column of
people.
The LORD came from Sinai, and dawned on them from Seir; he shone forth
from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints.
(Deuteronomy 33:2)
God came from Teman [the south], the Holy One from Mount Paran. His
glory covered the heavens... His brightness was like the light; he had rays
flashing from His hand, and there His power was hidden. Before Him went
pestilence, and fever followed at His feet. He looked and startled the nations.
(Habakkuk 3:3-6)
315
Russian Army Retreats!
Reliable sources have
confirmed today that the Russian
army has retreated as far north as
Jerusalem and has placed its high
command in Jerusalem. This turn
in events has evidently been
caused by its unease at this new
force which has suddenly appeared in the Middle East out of
nowhere. Allied sources still
continue to deny that they have
any knowledge of who this new
force is in the Sinai Penninsula.
News from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out
with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. And he shall plant the tents
of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he
shall come to his end, and no one will help him.
(Daniel 11:44-45)
For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will
the coming of the Son of Man be...
(Matthew 24:27)
Behold, he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see him, even they
who pierced Him...
(Revelation 1:7)
All the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
(Matthew 24:30)
Who Am I?
316
Earthquake!
An incredible earthquake
centered in Israel has affected the
Middle East. In fact, so big was
this quake that seismologists said
that it went right off the Riktor
Scale. Its effects were felt right
around the world as sky scrapers
in New York, Tokyo Toronto
and London were shaken to the
ground. As a result of this earthquake the topography of the
land has completely changed.
Never before has such devastation been seen from a single
quake.
His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the
east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west,
making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the
north and half of it toward the south.
(Zechariah 14:4)
While they [the disciples] watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received
Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as
He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said,
Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus,
who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner
as you saw Him go into heaven. Then they returned to Jerusalem from
the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem…
(Acts 1:9-12)
317
Unknown Army Victorious!
The events of the last
few days have been almost beyond belief. Within hours Russian forces in Jerusalem have
been forced to retreat by what
seems to be a new aggressor. The
leader of this new body of people
claims that he is Jesus Christ.
The Vatican is looking at this
claim seriously. However, from
reports that we have been receiving, it does not accept this
view and believes that whoever
this is in Jerusalem, he must be
an imposter and the anti-Christ.
The President of Russia and the
Pope are expected to meet later
on today to discuss this matter.
He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
(Revelation 16:16—KJV)
I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people,
My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations… Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in
the valley of decision.
(Joel 3:2,14)
And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land
of Israel, says the Lord GOD, that My fury will show in My face. For in My
jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: Surely in that day there
shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel... Behold, I am against
you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; and I will turn
you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and
bring you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will knock the bow out
of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. You
shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you...
(Ezekiel 38:18-19;39:1-4)
And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone
for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces,
though all nations of the earth are gathered against it... Then the LORD will
go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.
(Zechariah 12:3; 14:3)
Who Am I?
318
Unconditional Surrender!
Against what would
seem all odds, all the armies of
Russia and its allies have been
defeated quite convincingly by
this new power centred in Jerusalem. There does not seem to be
any earthly reason for the collapse of the world's military
strength against this aggressor.
An earthquake has ripped Palestine in two, the effects of which
have shaken buildings to the
ground all over the world. A
large part of the armies of the
UN have being wiped out by
what can only be described as
miraculous means. The world is
in a devastated state. Some have
said that it will take at least
seven months to bury the dead.
Violence has spread from town
to town. All signs of civil order
has gone in most countries and
basic amenities and food are almost non-existent. A party from
the United Nations is expected
to arrive in Jerusalem today to
offer an unconditional surrender, after which the world can
get on with clearing up the mess.
It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in
Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog. For seven months
the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land.
(Ezekiel 39:11-12)
319
Decree For World From Jerusalem!
A decree has been made
from the New King in Jerusalem.
It has been made to all of the
world leaders through the United
Nations. It states that for a set
period of time all nations will
have an opportunity to accept the
New King in Jerusalem and put
down their arms against it, recognising it as the New Kingdom
on earth which will be centred
upon Jerusalem as its capital. If
the nations of the world do not
lay down their arms and submit
to this new kingdom, then they
will have to be forcibly made to
Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe,
tongue, and people— saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to
Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made
heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.
(Revelation 14:6-7)
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way...
(Psalm 2:12)
The kings of Tarshish [Britain and her allies] and of the isles will bring
presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba. Yes, all kings shall fall down
before him; All nations shall serve him.
(Psalm 72:10-11)
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the River to
the ends of the earth... and His enemies will lick the dust.
(Psalm 72:8-9)
The speed and certainty of these events coming to pass in
the not too distant future is sure. Our above summary is by no
means exhaustive, but gives a brief account of events as portrayed
by the Bible in the last days. As it was World War I which prepared
the land of Israel and World War II which established the people
back in land of Israel, so it will be World War III which will herald
the return of Jesus Christ to Israel and the setting up of God's Kingdom on Earth.
Who Am I?
320
Sure signs of Christ's return
There is no computer, no formulae and no evident revelation in the
scriptures which can help us work out the exact time and date of
Christ's return to the Earth. The certainty that Christ will return,
however, is sure, provable by the Bible's authenticity as we have
shown in this book.
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but
my Father only.
(Matthew 24:36)
There are certain signs given in the Bible which indicate to us that
the time of Christ's return will be soon. The disciples of the Lord
Jesus Christ once asked:
Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?
(Matthew 24:3)
Christ replied:
Many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many.
And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars... nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences,
and earthquakes in various places…
(Matthew 24:5-7)
Some other indications of Christ's soon return can also be found in
scriptures. Some of these are as follows:
The birth of the State of Israel and occupation of Jerusalem
Before Christ can reign over God's Kingdom centred upon Israel,
quite obviously, there must be a place and a people for him to reign
over. As we have seen, events leading up to the establishment of the
State of Israel were orchestrated by God so that this would happen.
The re-gathering of Israel must be one of the surest signs of the impending return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Earth.
Behold, in those days, and in that time [when Christ returns]… I shall bring
again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem.
(Joel 3:1—KJV)
321
Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are
fulfilled.
(Luke 21:24)
Israel dwelling safely
Since September, 1993, the peace process between Israel and her
Arab neighbours has moved along at a blistering rate. At the time of
writing, nearly all her immediate neighbours have come to the peace
table, either to negotiate a treaty or to make the first steps toward
peace. Clearly, there has been a dramatic change in heart of Israel's
Arab neighbours. But why? For years now, the economy of Israel
and the Middle East has been improving in leaps and bounds. Many
experts in the financial world feel that the Middle East will be the
next Singapore or Hong Kong. Investment is pouring into Israel at a
remarkable rate, and those nations immediately surrounding Israel
know that they have a lot to lose, if they cut themselves off from her
politically and economically.
A few hundred miles away, in contrast to Israel, Russia is
suffering tremendous financial and economic burdens since the
break up of the USSR and decline of communism. Russia is one of
the richest nations in the world materially, but today it is economically in ruins. One of the reasons for Russia's poverty is the lack of
know-how to mine and harness their natural wealth. In Siberia
(where some of the largest oil reserves in the world are) pools of oil
float upon the earth's surface as old oil pipelines have eroded away
and not been replaced. In cities like Moscow basic food substances
are not available, while at the same time, the Russian Mafia are
making the most of their new found liberty to make themselves rich
by illegal gains.
Whereas Israel now enjoys renewed economic prosperity
and world popularity, Russia on the other hand is suffering increasing poverty. The Bible says that these will be the circumstances of
both these nations at the time of Russia's leap south. Russia's intentions will be "to take a spoil" at a time when Israel will be "dwelling
safely". All the pieces of God's masterpiece seem to be coming together like dominos ready to fall, just as the Bible has predicted.
322
Who Am I?
When they say, Peace and safety! then sudden destruction comes upon
them.
(1 Thessalonians 5:3)
I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people,
who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars
nor gates— to take plunder and to take booty...
(Ezekiel 38:11-12)
Have you [Russia] come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to
take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods,
to take great plunder?
(Ezekiel 38:13)
There will be a pre-adventural limited colonization of the country of the Jews,
under the protectorate of Britain; and that the prosperity of this colony... will
be the cause of the country's invasion of the Russian.
—John Thomas, 1852, The Restoration of Israel in the Latter Days
Surely we are living in these last days before Russia's last leap
south. Even Time Magazine after the signing of the peace agreement between the PLO and Israel had its headline saying, "Peace
and Safety!"
Two very interesting points about Israel's peace process
and Russia's decline are these—
First of all, after the break up of the USSR there was a tremendous exodus of Russian Jews to Israel. To many this was seen
as a brain drain upon Russia, with all their expertise in scientific
and related fields evaporating into thin air, with none to replace
them. Why this is so interesting is because the Bible says that when
Russia does makes its move towards the Middle East, one third of
the nation will be taken into captivity. Nowadays, no nation takes
other nations captive. Could it, therefore, be that it will be to take
Russian Jews back to their land of birth?
The second point of significance relates to the peace process. In a July, 1996 issue of Time Magazine, following the election
of Benjamin Netanyahu as Prime Minister of Israel, one of its leading articles was headed "Under Pressure to Unite". The article discussed the need for Israel's Arab neighbours to unite and make
323
peace with her. Significantly, what the article also did was to outline which of her Arab neighbours supported the peace process and
which ones did not. Those nations immediately around Israel already had made a deal with Israel for peace or were considering it.
These included Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia,
Yemen and Jordan. On the other hand, those nations which have an
unrelenting opposition to a peace process with Israel are Libya, Sudan, Iraq and Iran. Not only are these nations pro Russia, but they
are also the nations mentioned in Ezekiel 38 as being those who will
form part of the confederacy which will come across the Middle
East and the land of Israel.
Increased violence and immorality upon the Earth
Another sure sign of the closeness of the return of Christ to the
Earth is the increase in violence, decline of moral standards in the
world and general apathy towards God and religion, which the Bible
describes would happen in the last days.
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of
Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage,
until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed
them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank,
they bought, they sold, they planted, they built…
(Luke 17:26-28)
The flood came and destroyed the Earth in Noah's day when everybody least expected it. It was a time when "the Earth was also corrupt before God, and the Earth was filled with violence." They went
about their daily routine as if nothing was going to happen, not being convinced of the things that Noah had been telling them. Then,
sudden destruction! When the Lord Jesus Christ returns to destroy
the godlessness which is in the world today, the world will be in the
same non-expectant frame of mind. "As it was in the days of
Noah..." Christ said. The same mood as in the days of Noah is in
the world today, godless, apathetic to the words of the Bible and
happily going about its daily routine with "every imagination
[Hebrew: "intentions"] of the thoughts of his heart... only evil con-
Who Am I?
324
tinuously." But just as the days of Noah were violent as it is today,
the days of Lot were days of gross immorality. Paul gives us an
even more graphic description of the state of the world just before
the return of Christ:
You may be sure that in the last days there are going to be some difficult
times. People will be self-centered and grasping; boastful, arrogant and
rude; disobedient to parents, ungrateful, irreligious; heartless and unappeasable; they will be slanderers, profligates, savages and enemies of everything
that is good; they will be treacherous and reckless and demented by pride,
preferring their own pleasure to God...
(2 Timothy 3:1-5—NIV)
Increased knowledge and understanding
Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many
shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.
(Daniel 12:4)
Remarkable though it is, not until the early part of last Century
could Daniel's words be fulfilled. Many today are taught in the university establishments of the world and educational facilities. Man
has created most remarkable feats in technology from man walking
upon the moon to being able to destroy the Earth with nuclear
weapons; from being able to perform the most complex heart operation, to advanced forms of genetic engineering; from micro-chips
which run the financial and monetary institutions of the world, to
the harnessing of electricity. Yet at the same time that there has
been this incredible increase in technological advancement of civilization, knowledge and understanding of God's plan and purpose
with the Earth, as explained in the Bible, has decreased. An increase
in modern knowledge and decrease in understanding of the Bible
message has widened the gap between man and his Creator. Mankind is "ever learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the
truth," as Paul said (II Timothy 3:7).
325
The media as a medium
When Christ returns to the Earth we read that "every eye shall see
him." There may be a very good reason for this.
When Christ returns and eventually enters through the eastern gate into Jerusalem, there is no doubt that every one in the
world will be aware of his return due to the physical effects of His
presence, such as the great Earthquake described by Zechariah. Yet
there is only one way that every eye shall see him when he returns
and that is through media coverage. Every country in the world has
television or access to newspapers as the primary sources of communication. Even during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 we were
able to watch the war unfold right before our eyes with the benefits
of modern communications. Could it be that these words of the Bible relate to the technological development of the media age in the
same Century that Israel became a State in Palestine?
The threat of weapons of mass destruction
Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.
(Zechariah 14:12)
The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man's
bone, he shall set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley
of Hamon Gog... Thus they shall cleanse the land.
(Ezekiel 39:15-16)
There are very few phenomena known to man to which
these frightful descriptions could apply. Apart from the terrible effects of chemical warfare, the event which fits the above description
is the fall-out from a nuclear explosion. We are living in the nuclear
age and although the superpowers of Russia and USA say that they
are dramatically reducing their arsenals, smaller countries in the
Middle and Far East make the threats of a nuclear disaster still very
real, as does the ever present threat of terrorism.
Who Am I?
326
Watch therefore!
When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because
your redemption draws near.
(Luke 21:28)
As we sit at the eve of the Seventh Millennium since the dawn of
man's creation and reflect upon God's plan and purpose with the
Earth, there are no more prophecies that need to be fulfilled before
the return of Christ to the Earth. Israel have returned to their land,
the political forces of the world are lining up in accordance with Bible prophecy and the world is not expecting Christ to come:
Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking
after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming?... But
the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.
(2 Peter 3:3-4, 10)
For those who do not expect the return of the Lord Jesus
Christ to the Earth, his return will, indeed, be like a "thief in the
night". They will not be expecting him, otherwise they would have
done something about what they knew.
Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But
know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief
would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken
into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour
you do not expect.
(Matthew 24:42-44)
Notes:
a
b
Genesis 6:11
Genesis 6:5
(
PART 5
ONE DAY IN THE
KINGDOM OF GOD
It is a picture but not a fancy. It is beautiful,
but not a fable. It is ravishing to the imagination, and yet the presentment of truth as practical and actual and tangible as any sight to be
seen at any time in the humdrum street of a
modern city. It comes direct to us on the guarantee of Him who holds heaven and Earth in
His hand— who, having cursed can bless:
who, having smitten, can heal; who, having
caused us to see the misery of His withdrawn
countenance from the earth, and the consequent prevalence of disorder and death, can
gladden our eyes by the spectacle of the tabernacle of God with men, and human life, a
beautiful and holy and joyful thing for ever.
—Robert Roberts
PART 5
ONE DAY IN THE
KINGDOM OF GOD
I
n 1962 Martin Luther King, Jr. captured the imagination of
the American people with a speech which has been recorded
as one of the most inspirational speeches in modern history.
They are words which have remained impressed upon the
memory of anybody who has heard them.
He said:
I have a dream, that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former
slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit together at the
table of brotherhood... that one day even the State of Mississippi, a state
sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression,
will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice... that my four little
children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.
The reason why these words were so powerful is because
they gave the American people (and, in particular, the AfroAmerican people) a dream, a vision for the future which was
achievable and which everybody could relate to.
In business everybody needs goals. In our personal lives we
all need to have a clear picture of the future which will motivate us.
The clearer that the picture becomes in our minds, then the easier it
is to hit our target. For this reason, therefore, this part has been set
aside to explore what lies ahead for those who want to be a part of
God's Kingdom upon the Earth when it is set up at Christ's return.
We all need a dream. But this is not a dream. This is real. It
is based upon the fact that everything that the Bible has spoken of
so far has been fulfilled. It only stands to reason, therefore, that the
332
Who Am I?
future events of which the Bible also speaks will also be fulfilled.
What follows is a journey into the imagination of the author
and is based upon what the Bible tells us that this new Kingdom of
God will be like when Christ returns to the Earth. We have tried to
make our visualisation of the Kingdom as vivid as possible by writing it grammatically in the first person. It is set in the Middle East
some time after the return of Christ, and we are walking about
through the Kingdom with one of its citizens as our guide.
It must be emphasised at this point that we are about to
step outside the realms of the observable, and like anything that we
have written so far in this book, we would ask that you check the
validity of what we have to say for yourself. A list of references
have been provided in the Notes section that follow.
Eye hath not seen, nor ear hath heard, neither hath entered into the heart of
man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him, but God
hath revealed them unto us by his spirit.
(1 Corinthians 2:9—KJV)
God has left us a blueprint of His plan and purpose in the
Bible so that we can understand more about the future age to come.
Join us in our time capsule for the last time, therefore, as we travel
forward to our conceptualisation of paradise restored…
PART 5: One Day In The Kingdom Of God
333
Israel— Sometime in the near future
When we arrived in the Kingdom, we were met by one of its citizens—a young man, probably in his early thirties.a While he looked
human, there was something about his appearance which was unusual. There was a certain presence about him which drew the attention of all who saw him. He wore a long white garment and in his
hand he carried a small book.b
He greeted me and we started walking in a southerly direction. I had so many questions for which I wanted answers. The
problem was knowing where to start. But before I had the chance to
ask any questions, my guide for the day commenced what became a
most interesting commentary of the events as they unravelled before
me.
"It's hard to believe that all of this splendid beauty could
have come from the utter devastation which resulted from Christ's
return," he observed.c "Very few people over the centuries believed
that this Kingdom would be established. Many of those who did,
however, are here today. Isn't it beautiful?" d
It was. I had never seen anything like it before.e I had been
to exotic parts of the world before, seen pictures of the luscious
vegetation of rainforests, swum in the deepest crystal blue of the
Indian Ocean, walked through the green pastures of the hills of England... but none of it compared to this.f
"You will find no weeds, thistles, thorns or any other unwanted vegetation here," he said. "That is one of the results of God
removing the curse which was placed upon the Earth back in the
Garden of Eden." g
Much of the Middle East in the Twenty-first Century was
arid. This scene was quite the opposite. Trees sprouted out from the
richness of the sea of green grass. Fig trees, olive trees, palm trees
and cedars towered high above us.h They were magnificent. We
could see for miles as our eyes followed the undulating hills into the
distance. Like patchwork the odd wood of trees broke the pattern.
Towards the north of us, hills rose up to meet the snow clad peak of
Mount Hermon in the distance.i A warmth of colour radiated from
334
Who Am I?
the vineyards. Crystal blue lakes marbled the scene. And above us
wisps of fluffy white clouds floated through the azure sky. What an
intensity of blue it was! No pollution! No C.F.C's! No holes in the
ozone layer to worry about. It was an incredible sight.
"This is paradise on Earth!" I exclaimed. j
"This is the Kingdom of God upon Earth!" I was corrected.
Immediately, he opened the book that he was carrying
(which turned out to be a Bible) and showed me a passage which he
wanted to share with me. "Have you ever considered the words of
the Lord's prayer?" He asked.
"Our Father which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in Earth..."
"Exactly!" He affirmed. "Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be
done upon Earth." k
I saw his point. God’s plan and man’s hope had always
been focussed upon the Earth.
Suddenly, our little discourse was interrupted. Not more
than about hundred yards ahead of us, a small group of people
clothed in a similar way to my guide was approaching us. But there
was something unusual about their movement, and the speed at
which they were travelling. As they came nearer I saw an incredible
sight. They seemed to move as if they were gliding over the surface
of the ground, while still giving the appearance that they were just
strolling. As the group passed us, they did so at a fair pace.
I stood just staring at this unusual sight. They were engrossed in discussion with one another. However, as they noticed
us, in turn, they each gave us a courteous nod and salutation. "What
a beautiful morning!" one of them expressed, and with that I could
not disagree.
I looked to my guide for the day. He had a distant smile on
his face as he watched my intrigue at events unfolding before me.
"How can they do that?" I asked.
"Easy!" he responded. "For the immortals of the Kingdom,
this is one of the ways that they are able travel around."
"Really?" I expressed. "Can you do that?"
He proceeded to take me by the arm and effortlessly we
335
started gliding along as we continued our stroll.
A light breeze blew past my face as we went. Evidently,
although this was something quite new for me, this was a common
sight in the Kingdom Age.
We said nothing for a while as we whisked along towards
our destination, taking in the breathtaking views along the way. After some time, we veered off towards a small clump of trees and sat
down.
"Don't you get at all tired travelling around in this way?" I
asked.
"Not at all!" was the reply. "In fact, we never get tired.l
That is one of the pleasures for us living in the Kingdom. Neither
do we feel pain, heat or cold. We did as mortals, but not any more.
You see, whereas in our mortal life we were made of flesh and
blood, we are made quite differently now with no need for those
senses." m
"Fascinating!" I replied.
Where we were sitting was slightly raised up. In the distance I could see a huge waterway glistening as the sun reflected
through the early morning mist.
"If you look down there you can make out the Great Riverway which was created when the Lord Jesus Christ returned to the
Earth. The Mount of Olives, which is on the eastern side of Jerusalem, split in two, half going to the north and half going to the south.
So powerful was the Earthquake that not only did many buildings
all over the world crumble to the ground, but geographically the
land was split in two.n Now this vast river flows through the land.o
The water that you can see actually flows out from a huge natural
canyon underneath the altar of the temple in Zion. It flows eastwards into the Dead Sea (which is no longer dead), up the Jordan
Valley in a northerly direction. It also flows towards the west into
the Mediterranean over there." p
"Zion" I declared.
"Zion is another name for Jerusalem. It is the capital of the
world." q
"Capital of the world?" This was a new concept to me.
336
Who Am I?
"What goes on there?" I asked
"We will be going there later and I will show you," came
the reply.
We sat there for a while and took in the view before us.
Everything was so tranquil. The echo of birds chirping away filled
the air. Flocks of swans flew overhead and peacocks strutted up and
down in majesty.
A short distance away there was a small lake, and around it
a great herd of gazelles were congregated.
"It's so peaceful, isn't it?" I declared.
"Did you ever read in the Bible the prophet Isaiah's description of the Kingdom?
'The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with
the kid; the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and the little child
shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall
lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling
child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his
hand on the cockatrice den...' r
This is just one example of the peace and tranquillity of the
Kingdom Age."
"I seem to have a lot to learn about this new world."
"There are a lot of new things to learn."
"What else can you tell me?"
"Patience! All in good time!"
We recommenced our stroll towards the south. Down the
hill we went. As we reached the bottom of the slope a small wood
met the edge of a lake. Standing there was a herd of what must have
been 200-300 deer.
"Look at the size of that herd!" I exclaimed.
"Magnificent aren't they? Look over there by that clump of
trees you can see some spider monkeys."
"But they were extinct years ago along with the panda,
white rhinoceros, orang-utan..."
"All of those animals which you have just mentioned, and
all of the other animals which became extinct, are now thriving
337
again in their own natural habitats."
For some reason I wasn't surprised. More and more I was
getting used to the fact that I was going to come across quite a few
things which I didn't expect.
"What other animals are there around here?"
"Lots of different animals, birds, reptiles, and mammals.
What is interesting is the marine life. Let us go down along by way
of the sea to Zion, so that I can show you some other things along
the way," and we veered off to our right towards the sea.
The area was like one huge wildlife park, more beautiful
and picturesque than I had ever seen before. As we travelled we
passed a pride of lions with their young, more spider monkeys, numerous varieties of birds including the macaw and eagle. We even
saw a couple of brown bears. As we came towards the coast I
scented the sea air in my nostrils, and started to be aware of an intermittent noise which can only be described as being a cross between a gushing noise and a groaning sound. We arrived at the
coast and my inquisitiveness was answered. A little way off the
coast a humpback whale was playing, surrounded by a team of dolphins. It was a spectacular sight.
"We must keep going otherwise we might be late."
"Late for what?" I asked.
"There are some people that I would like you to meet. Some
close friends of mine."
This sounded interesting.
"Who are these friends? Are they immortal like you?"
"Yes, they are!" came the reply to my second question, and
before I had a chance to pry any further, something else quite unusual caught my attention. We were now approaching the peninsula
where the Great Riverway met with the coast and led towards this
place called Zion. The banks rose up high above the water. As I
looked past the peninsula, off the coast there was a group of eight
ships going in and out of the river mouth. They were sailing boats.
Their sails were brilliant white as they reflected the morning sun,
and the hulls seemed to be made out of wood. They were not as big
as a cruise liner, but for sail boats their size was quite impressive.
338
Who Am I?
"The people on those ships are the mortals. Every year all
of the mortals from all over the world come to Zion to worship and
pay homage to the King." s
"Will I be able to meet the King?" I asked.
"Highly unlikely!" was the reply. "But you might be able to
see him from a distance while you are here."
I felt like a small child getting all excited about going to
London in the hope of seeing the Queen. But this was far more exciting. Just imagine— The King of the whole Earth!
Trees lined both banks of the Riverway as it stretched eastwards towards Zion. Then as I looked up towards where Zion was
situated, following the boats in my eye, it came into view for the
first time. It was a breath-taking sight.
"It is most impressive, isn't it?" commented my guide.
It looked like a city of legend— so beautiful and majestic.
We continued travelling along the bank of the Riverway
towards the city, zigzagging along the pathway through the trees. In
no time at all we were passing some of the ships bound for Zion. As
the Riverway started to narrow, and the passengers started to notice
us, we got an occasional wave.
We were now not much more than about twenty-five miles
away from the city. It seemed so much nearer because of its immense size and the marvellous visibility that we had. From where
we were, the city of Zion was slightly elevated.t Then I saw another
unusual sight. Towards the northern extreme of the city I saw what
seemed to be, at first impression, a very large hill with smoke coming out of it.
"What is that hill over there," I asked, "the one with the
smoke coming out of it?"
"That" I was told, "is the Temple of the Most High God.
That is where all of these people are going. In the next few days
they will go there and worship God in the manner appointed. The
cloud that you can see above the hill is not smoke. It is the presence
of God’s Glory stretching over the altar that is on top of the hill in
the inner sanctuary of the Temple. The Temple is the centre of worship for the entire world. As we get closer to Zion, you will be able
339
to see figures going up and down a staircase on the side of this hill.
Those are some of the immortals who act as priests in a set rotation
doing the work of the inner sanctuary of the Temple. While you
cannot see it now, off to the eastern side of the temple is the Valley
of Passengers which contains the graves of those mortals who
fought against Christ and his followers and died in the Battle of Armageddon. It is there to remind people of their mortality as they
come up to the Temple each year to worship."
We continued on our way. Then suddenly we emerged
through the trees and dropped away from the river bank. Rising up
in front of us in all its wonder was Zion.
Shrouding its base was a forest of all types of trees, some
in bloom, some which were evergreen, some which were large and
some which were small. There were no other trees visible from
where we were now standing to the start of the tree line, which was
about ten miles away. That is one of the reasons why the sight of it
was so impacting. All that lay before us now was a plateau of green
grass rising up towards the city perimeter, richer than I had ever
seen before. However, the plain was not altogether empty. All over
this plain were the movements of, what I had now become used to,
the immortals going to and coming from the city. They were all
dressed in the same modest fashion as my guide and were converging and diverging upon a central point which I assumed must have
been one of the gates to the city itself, some in pairs and others in
groups of more than fifty.
We sped along, and in no time joined another group who
were returning to the Holy City. We shared greetings, with each
other and my guide introduced me by name to them.
It then occurred to me: I didn't know the name of our guide
which struck me as unusual.
"It has just occurred to me that I do not know your name."
"Can you not guess?" one of the party exclaimed.
"No, I don‘t think so! Should I be able to?" And with that
one of the party leaned over and whispered in my ear.
"Who better to show you around the Kingdom than the man
who was promised the world?"
340
Who Am I?
"Abraham!" I exclaimed. "But weren't you 175 years old
when you died? You look so much younger now."
There was a contented smile upon his face.
Of course! This was the Kingdom of God!
The closer that we came to other parties converging upon
Zion, it became evident that they were all singing harmoniously. It
was hard to work out what the words were because they seem to be
in a foreign language. It sounded Hebraic or Arabic. Whatever language it was, the rhythm was enchanting; the singing was so beautiful and melodic as it echoed all around. Our party soon picked up
the tune and a sweet harmony filtered through the morning air. Ten
thousand voices couldn't have sounded more beautiful than this.
"What is everybody singing?" I turned to Abraham and
asked.
"Have you ever heard of the Psalms?" he replied.
"Yes, I think so."
"The Psalms are a collection of prayers, but in poetic form
or stanzas which have been set to music. A large number were written by a man called David, but there were other writers too."
"What is the strange language that they are singing? I cannot make out any of the words."
"The language of the Kingdom is a very pure language and
is universal. It is spoken by all immortals and must be learned by
the mortals as we shall see later." u
I was intrigued, yet still puzzled.
"How is it then that you can all talk and understand the
same language that I am speaking with such ease and eloquence?"
"As immortals we have the ability to speak any language of
the world fluently and as second nature." v
"That's a lot of languages!" I said.
"It is one of the gifts of immortality and very necessary so
that we can perform the work of the King!"
"Do you use them all?" I enquired.
"As and when they are needed," was the reply. "As in your
day, the world is a vast place. Many races, many tongues and many
nations. To help us do the work of the King we need the ability to
341
reduce the language barrier as much as possible and that is why we
can speak these different languages."
It all made good sense and there was a certain wisdom in
what I was being told. It didn't make this whole revelation that was
being unravelled before me any easier to appreciate, but I was eager
to learn and know more.
I could now see where the waters flowed out from underneath the city walls. Evidently, this river which flowed through Zion
was one of many rivers and streams that formed after the waters
started flowing out from beneath the Temple. The height of the
walls of Zion now towered above us. It was a wonderful sight. After
about a half a mile of passing through the density of trees that circulated the base of the city wall, we reached the gate. It was almost
as high as the wall itself, decorated with ornate inscriptions and patterns.w There were two things which stood out. The first was the
name of the gate and the second was an inscription in a language
that I didn't understand.
"What does that writing say?" I asked my host.
"It says this:
"The city of the Great King whose name is Wonderful, Counsellor, The
Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase
of his government there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon
his Kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgement and with justice
from henceforth forever.x
"Blessed is he that enters herein. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of
life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God
and he shall be my son."" y
They were such majestic words. But so was the whole impression of the city. We passed under the gateway and entered into
the city. There were twelve gates to the city in total, three on each
side of the city.z
As we passed underneath the archway, I was amazed at the
distance that we had to walk before we actually entered the city.
The wall was at least 100-150 feet thick. Eventually we arrived in-
342
Who Am I?
side the perimeter wall. The whole city vibrated with colour as these
precious stones decorated the ornate architecture, many of which
was embossed in gold. Archways were clad in greenery as plants
gave an added touch of green to the whole picture. Everything
blended so well together. All sorts of people milled around in small
groups, but strangely enough, not all of them were dressed in the
way that I had now become accustomed. In fact, their entire appearance and manner was totally different, including their clothing
which was very different from the immortals.
"Why are those people dressed so differently from the way
that you are and all the other immortals who I have met?" I enquired.
"They are the mortals," came the reply.
"But I thought that only immortals could enter the city?"
"On the contrary! All of the mortals have to come up to
Zion every year to worship God and honour the King.a They come
annually to worship and show their appreciation for the abundant
harvest which they have in their own countries each year. They enter the city through that gate over there which leads directly from
the port. Some may have already been to worship in the Temple.
Some may be going up there in the next few days during their stay.
Either way, they all go up to the Temple to worship sometime during their stay." b
Zion was a melting pot of all races, skin colours, languages
and cultures. It was remarkable. What had been so difficult to accomplish during the time that I lived during the Twenty-first Century, seemed so easy now. Who ever would have thought that there
would be this remarkable affinity between the European, Asian, African, North American and Middle Eastern. Jew stood speaking
with Arab. Bosnian walked side by side with Croat; Pakistani with
Indian. Never in the history of the world had such an affinity been
seen between men and women. Why were things so different now?
And then it suddenly occurred to me. Although for the time being
there was still a distinction of language, for the first time in centuries, there was no longer the dividing factor of religion. For the first
time there was only one religion. The true religion which was cen-
343
tred upon Zion. People seemed so happy as they made their ways.
They smiled and laughed and there was an aura of peace about
them.
"What is the date?" I asked.
"Date?" responded Abraham.
"Yes, what year are we in?"
"That's an interesting question! It is 197 years after the return of Christ."
"I suppose there were a lot of changes which happened after
His return?"
"After Christ returned and the Battle of Armageddon was
over, there was a lot of clearing up to do.c The devastation was phenomenal. In fact, it took seven months to bury the dead.d However,
it was after this that the foundations of the Temple were laid. It took
quite a number of years to build. It is a spectacular sight. No mortal
is allowed into the inner sanctuary of the Temple itself. Instead,
they leave their offerings with the immortal priests at one of the
gates of the inner sanctuary." e
There was so much to learn. It was a lot to take in.
We joined the company of mortals as they meandered along
the terrace towards the Temple. The floor glistened like gold and
gave the appearance of glass. It seems that we must have been
walking along one of the outer concourses of the city. It stretched as
far as the eye could see in a straight line. As we walked I kept an
open ear to all the voices around me talking. Then suddenly, I
homed in upon a language which was unmistakably English. The
man speaking was in his early thirties and was in conversation with
someone slightly older than himself.
"Excuse me! I heard you speaking English and was interested in knowing where you are from."
"England," was the reply. "My friend is here from North
America. I understand that this is your first visit?" he asked, recognising that I was a mortal.
"Yes, it is! Everything is so amazing! I have never imagined
a place like this before."
"The first impression is quite incredible, isn't it? Even after
344
Who Am I?
so many years of coming here, it never ceases to impress."
The column of people that we were following started to
veer to the left. I could see why. We were now passing the place
where the river flowed out of the city, meeting the waters outside
the city walls. It teamed with fish. Occasionally we could see one
leap. It was just more evidence of the abundance of the Kingdom
Age. My eyes looked up the river as we started moving towards the
centre of the city. There were people on both sides of the river and
intermittently a bridge straddled the river. The vast open areas on
either side of the river were filled with many purpose built parks,
and trees were in blossom everywhere. f
"If you look along the river in the distance, you will be able
to see the hill that I spoke of earlier..."
"Yes!" I agreed, as I followed where he was pointing.
"That is the centre of the Temple. It is from underneath the
Temple that these waters flow. Israel is now a land of streams and
rivers. The water is completely fresh. This particular tributary
flows through the city and then flows underneath the walls over
there and into the Great Riverway."
It was most impressive.
Our party then veered off to an area of grass to our left and
we sat down.
"You are now at the centre of the world. This is New Jerusalem— Zion, the capital of the world. This is the centre of all justice, law and religion. All policy, administration and justice flows
out from here."
"How can one city be the centre of all justice, law and religion. Surely, that must be impossible to administer?"
"The Kingdom of God is a Theocracy."
I had never heard of a Theocracy before.
"What is a Theocracy?" I asked.
"There is one King, God's son, the Lord Jesus Christ. There
is one law which is the law of truth and righteousness. g All decisions, either locally or on an international scale are based upon
these two principles where The King is God's representative on
Earth. In other words, the King has all power to perform God's will
345
upon the Earth and the authority to delegate this power throughout
to those who help him administer God's will. Those who perform
God's will are the immortals and they are responsible to the King.
There is, of course, a hierarchy amongst the immortals and they
each have different jobs to do. All of them work together, however,
for the common will of the King."
This opened up a whole new series of questions. What do
the immortals do in this Kingdom? How could the whole Earth be
governed from one city whereas for years men and women hadn't
been able to solve any of the problems in the world from hundreds
of cities? My guide had his Bible open again.
"Do you remember how I told you about the Psalms?" he
asked me.
"Yes," I replied.
"The Psalms were not only prayers but some also spoke of
the future. One such psalm spoke in detail of the return of Christ
and the setting up of this Kingdom. Listen!
"He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends
of the Earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him, and his
enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the Isles shall
bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings
shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him "" h
Well that description was clearly what the world was like.
The Kingdom was a world-wide kingdom. It did stretch from the
river just outside the walls of Zion unto the ends of the Earth. In
fact, the boats from all the nations had to come from the ends of the
Earth and along the Riverway to get to Zion. I didn't know who the
kings of Tarshish were, nor the kings of Sheba and Seba, but I had
already seen many people from different countries, speaking different languages arrive at Zion to honour and worship the King and
offer gifts. Indeed, all nations were serving the King.
"I can see how that relates quite clearly to today," I observed. "But how can this be sustained throughout the whole
world?"
"The thing about a division of languages or a division of
Who Am I?
346
cultures is that it is very hard to nurture lasting unity and, therefore,
there is very little chance of maintaining a lasting peace. i Replace
confusion of language, beliefs and religion with one language, one
belief system and one religion, based upon God's laws of peace, justice and goodness and what results is universal harmony. This is the
work of the immortals, to put in place and sustain this constitution.
"He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgement.
The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children
of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. They shall fear thee
as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. He shall
come down like rain upon mown grass; as showers that water the Earth. In
his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace as long as the
moon endureth." j
The word "peace" is not only peace in the sense of there being no war. The peace that is being talked about here is the unity of
the Kingdom Age. It means "to be at one". No more confusion of
tongues; no more division of cultures; no more difference of religion. And the passage also emphasises who are to benefit. It will be
the poor and the needy; the blind and the lame; the deaf and the
dumb. In fact, if you have ever considered the ministry of Christ
during His first advent, that will give you a good idea of some of the
changes that have taken place. His first coming was a taste of some
of the wonders of this Kingdom Age and those who would benefit."
"I understand you're point about unity, but I don't understand how this can be sustained throughout the Earth. How can the
immortals do this?"
"In a Theocracy all decisions and instructions are based
wholly and completely upon the laws of God. The King is Christ
who is God's representative on Earth. He is immortal and has unlimited power to perform God’s Will, and sort out the problems of
the world. Underneath him are all the other immortals who have
been found worthy of everlasting life. They each have different jobs
to do.k They also have different levels of authority and degrees of
power.l But they all do the work of the King."
347
"Where are all the other immortals?" I asked with eager anticipation.
"Some are here in Zion. Others are in other areas of the
world each doing different jobs."
Before he had even finished speaking I was on to my next
question, becoming more and more excited at the prospect of knowing more.
"What are the jobs that they do and what sort of power do
thy have?"
"Some have the responsibility of looking after the smooth
running of the temple. Others work very closely with people who
are mortal teaching them about the Bible. Others are rulers over
townships, cities, provinces and even countries. All are Kings in
their own right with powers to teach, heal and to speak different
languages. But you will learn more about that later."
"I will?"
"Yes! You will be able to speak to some more of those mortals who live in the world later and find out more about what the
Kingdom is actually like."
I was beginning to come to a clearer understanding of how
the new constitution of the world worked. However, I was impatient
to learn as much as I could. I was starting to understand some of the
joys of the Kingdom Age, especially the splendour and majesty of
the immortals. Before I could pursue my line of questioning as we
sat upon the grass, suddenly, there was a mighty chorus of trumpets
from behind us. Everybody stopped walking and turned towards the
gate which was just behind where we were sitting. We jumped to
our feet. Slowly the gates opened and a congregation of immortals
emerged from the gate. Almost instantaneously the whole congregation of mortals watching fell prostrate to the floor. I was just about
to ask why they were doing this when I realised what was happening. There was one figure who stood out from among this group. He
had an incredible presence about him that I cannot put into words.
A child ran over towards him which was the catalyst for all the
other children to do the same.m I now had no doubt as to who this
figure was. It was the King himself. A tingling feeling rippled down
348
Who Am I?
my back as I watched the whole scene with utter amazement. This
was the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Judge of the
whole Earth. He knelt down on one knee and took the children in his
arms. He seemed to have such compassion and understanding.
As we stood gazing upon this monumental scene, two of the
immortals who formed part of the party accompanying the King
walked towards us. Abraham went over towards them and greeted
them in the customary fashion. They talked for a while and then
waved for me to join them.
"Do you remember how I told you that the Psalms were
written by David who was King of Israel hundreds of years ago?" I
was asked.
"Yes!" I replied.
"This is David."
What does one say to one of the greatest Kings the Earth
has ever seen? I was dumbfounded.
He nodded as he acknowledged me.
"This is my son, Isaac and my grandson, Jacob," Abraham
told me.
In front of me were those to whom the covenants of promise
had been given— Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David; their mortal
lives being separated by many generations, now standing here in the
prime of their lives resurrected from the dead and now living as immortals. What amazing company I was keeping.
"Shall we go?" David asked, and we all started walking towards the huge gates.
"Go where?" I whispered to my guide.
"We are to have lunch with the King," Abraham replied.
"I thought that you didn't have to eat to stay alive?"
"We don't! We only eat for pleasure!"
As we passed underneath the outer gate of the palace of the
King, the gathering of immortals who accompanied the King
merged together as the gates shut behind us. Happily everybody
wandered through the outer courts speaking in the language of the
Kingdom Age. I suppose there must have been over fifty of us altogether, in particular the closest friends of the King— people from
349
Bible times like Noah, the Twelve Apostles, Paul, Rahab, Samson,
Elijah, Elisha and many others who I was to later learn about. We
entered a huge banqueting hall. It literally took your breath away.
We walked across the breadth of it to a room on the side, considerably smaller, laid out with place settings for the number of us gathered together in our group. There were about six tables in total covered with all sorts of food— fish, vegetables, exotic fruit. It was
amazing. We sat down and after a prayer of thanks was given by
our host, we began to eat.
"If you look over there," Abraham said pointing to a group
at another table, "you can see some of the most important people in
the Kingdom. Each one of them has their own special job to do in
the Kingdom and has the responsibility of overlooking the activities
of other less prominent immortals. For instance, Noah is responsible
for all transportation in the Kingdom. He liases with the immortal
rulers of each country so that the mortals can come up to Zion each
year worship the King and bring their gifts."
Noah must have had a huge job when considering the number of countries in the world.
"If you look over there where the King is sitting, either side
of Him are Moses and Elijah. Elijah is responsible for looking after
the Jews, teaching them and their families about this new Kingdom
Age and arranging their immigration back into the land of Israel to
live. Of course, he doesn't do it all himself. Other immortals work
with him. Over there is Paul who has the wider responsibilities of
teaching the rest of the world about the Kingdom, and at this table
over here is Jonah who works very closely with Paul. They all live
in palaces around Zion and are, therefore, close to the King so that
His will is easily performed. I guess you can call them the cabinet
or administration. They are the key figures who manage the Kingdom."
"It must be quite a task to manage such a world-wide empire such as this with such a few people," I observed.
"On the contrary," came the reply, and Abraham started to
explain a little of how the governing structure worked.
"Although there are only a few of us here who work closely
350
Who Am I?
on a day to day basis with the King, there are hundreds of other immortals in the world to whom we delegate responsibility. Every immortal is powerful in his own right and has been given power to enable him to perform the tasks required of him. But each has a differing level of responsibility. Let me explain! Moses is responsible for
making sure that any of the more difficult challenges in the ruling of
the people in the world are sorted out.n Below him are people who
are responsible for certain regions of the world and again below
them are others who are responsible for other districts within those
regions. They in turn might be responsible for five immortals who
rule over five separate cities, and at the bottom of the scale is the
ruler of one city. So it is that the ruler of a city will be able to have
complete autonomy to put certain problems right that the mortals
might have, and even if he cannot sort out those problems, he will
always have somebody he himself can turn to for advice. Of course,
if the problem is so serious that it cannot be sorted out by any of the
immortals, then finally Moses will act as mediator between the ruling immortals and the King to help solve the problem."
It seemed so well and so logically organised.
"The beauty of the system is that everybody performs the
will of the King and has a unity of mind and desire to put the King's
judgements into practice. There is no division of religion, policy or
language. That is why it works so well."
We finished eating and the rest of the afternoon was spent
in small talk reminiscing upon past events of Bible days. Their enthusiasm for the things of this New World and the things of the Bible were contagious. The more that I learned the more that I wanted
to know.
"There is one more thing that I want you to do before you
have to go," said Abraham, and with that we stood up and left the
table. He gestured towards the King and bowed as we left the room.
We made our way out of the palace and back along the river towards the outskirts of the city.
"We are going to the port where you will be able to talk to
some of the mortals. This will enable you to get a better impression
of what the world is like from their point of view."
351
This seemed to make a great deal of sense to me, as I really
didn't have much of a picture of what the world was really like
where the mortals came from. We reached the port just outside the
walls of the city where I saw the most amazing sight. It wasn't the
picturesque way that the whole port was decked with vegetation and
trees, neither was it the number of ships adorning the crystal blue
water. It was the energy of hundreds of people from all different
countries and cultures crowding the afternoon air. The port was a
melting pot of people of all languages, colours and distinctions.
There must have been more than a hundred ships moored in
the port. The docks themselves were decked in marble. The pillars
of the Registration Houses blended in beautifully with the balustrade which meandered its way around the harbour front, and disappeared behind the city and through the woodland in the distance.
"Where does the balustrade lead?" I asked.
"It leads along towards the palaces of the Twelve Apostles.
There are seven on this side of the river and five on the other side
facing in upon each other. As the river is quite narrow at this part, it
isn't too far for the Apostles to come from the other side whenever
they need to. Each Apostle has a special responsibility, each looking
after one tribe of the nation of Israel.o Those whose tribes are on the
southern side of the river live on that side, and the others live on this
side. That's why you can see seven palaces over there amongst that
wood and five on the other side."
We walked along the marble balustrade and observed the
activities of the mortals. As we walked past each ship there was a
courteous bow from each of the crew and passengers on board. It
was quite evident that Abraham was held in very high distinction in
the Kingdom Age. Even those who had not seen Abraham before,
soon recognised the importance of this particular immortal as soon
as they were informed.
We came to a stop alongside one of the ships. All of the
ships looked like the ones that I had seen earlier in the day going in
and out of the mouth of the Riverway. I suppose the closest class of
ship that I could compare them to were the schooners of the early
18th Century.
352
Who Am I?
"This is your guide for the next part of your day," I was
told.
"Where are we going?" I asked, but before I received an
answer Abraham had disappeared into the crowds.
I turned and looked towards my new guide not sure whether
he was English, Spanish, Greek or German. On the side of the ship
were the words "United Kingdom". I wasn't sure whether that referred to the country or province from which it came, or was a reference to the unity of this Kingdom Age. I then realised that it must
have been the country or province from which it came, since all the
other ships had their own country or province names engraved in a
similar way in their own language.
"Welcome aboard!" I was greeted in a familiar English dulcet tone. "Abraham has asked me to look after you for a few hours
so that you can find out a little more about what the world is like
now, and, in particular, England as that is where you are from."
The day had been so thoughtfully organised. As I looked
around the deck of the ship a number of smiling faces gazed up at
me.
"Go and make yourself comfortable!" I was told. "We will
be leaving shortly."
At that, a stout little character jumped up and led me by the
hand towards the group where she was sitting.
We sat down against the bow of the ship and started talking
together.
"So where have you come from?" I was asked.
"From Twenty-first Century England."
"I wish that I had the same opportunity as you have had today to see a little of the Kingdom. When Christ returned we didn't
know what was going on or even what this new Kingdom was all
about. Things were totally chaotic."
"Surely somebody must have known about his return", I
queried.
"Well, there were some. In fact, a great number of them are
immortals today and are actively involved in the work of the Kingdom."
353
"Why didn't you know anything about it then?"
"Intentionally or not, I never made the time to find out for
myself. Life was so busy with so much to do in what seemed so little time. I just never got around to finding out what the message of
the Bible was all about. Although I regret it now, I am lucky that I
am alive and have the opportunity to be like the immortalssometime
in the future." p
I was keen to know about the changes in the world since
Christ's return.
"What is England like now?" I asked.
"Apart from the usual features and characters of the country and shoreline, you really wouldn't recognise much of it."
"Oh?"
"The buildings are totally different and so is the climate and
vegetation. When Christ returned many of the buildings were flattened. It took seven months to bury the dead.q We are lucky to be
alive. Food was hard to come by, the world was in chaos. Stock
markets crashed; wars broke out all over the world; money was
worthless. You cannot even start to imagine the effect that Christ's
return had on the world. That was nearly 200 years ago and the
problems that resulted from that event have long since gone. You
probably remember the wars, famines and pollution of the Twentyfirst Century, I'm sure..."
"You mean such as wars in the Middle East, Africa,
Europe… and the disease and famines which followed?"
"Yes, that's right! Well, all of those problems have gone. r
There hasn't been a war for over one hundred years. Everybody has
food, from the child in Africa to the old Man in India." s
"Speaking of old," trumped up a man who had started listening in to our conversation, "how old do you think that I am?" he
asked.
"Well, without thinking too hard about it, I would say about
75 years old."
"237!" was the reply.
"That can't be right!" I said.
"A lot of things have changed," said the stocky woman who
354
Who Am I?
had now taken me under her wing and was now my guide. "Things
have reverted back to what it was like before the Flood in Noah's
day. People lived for hundreds of years back then, and so they do
now.t In fact, it would be unusual for a child to die much below the
age of about 100 years of age now.u There is no such thing as famine any more since there is an abundance of rain. The world has
been brought back to life and is like one big beautiful garden." v
"Tell him about the harvest!" came a voice from behind us.
By now almost all the ship's company had started listening to our
conversation as we started sailing back along the river towards the
Mediterranean.
"You would never be able to imagine a harvest like it in a
thousand years," I was assured.w
"The faster we can plant the quicker we can grow more
food, the quicker we can reap the harvest and then the quicker we
can sow again. We have woodlands of tropical fruit trees, acres of
woods growing pears and apples. Vineyards cover the Brecons,
Dartmoor and the Peak District. Miles of green grass undulate
across the moors of Yorkshire and in places where huge cities once
stood acres of wheat and barley rustle in the wind. There is no such
thing as brambles and weeds. Thistles and nettles are a thing of the
past. It is nothing short of a miracle what has been done." x
"Our teacher says that it is the start of the Garden of Eden
being restored."
"Your teacher?" I asked.
"Yes, in every village and settlement and town there is a
teacher who is immortal. He might be the King of the city or one of
his helpers, but they all teach about the things of the Kingdom and
God's ways."
I was intrigued.
"He told us that in the Bible days God had two Kingdoms
upon Earth. The first was the Garden of Eden and the second was
the Kingdom of Israel in the days of King David."
"That would make sense," I said. "This Kingdom is like the
other two Kingdoms restored at the same time, but this time covering the whole Earth. In other words, the paradise of Eden on the one
355
hand and the Kingship of David's throne on the other hand."
"That's a good way of looking at it," came the reply which
was reinforced by an excited voice at my side who said "That is exactly what our teacher told us that it is like— God's Kingdoms renewed on Earth."
"Tell me some more about this Kingdom Age," I enquired.
"Well, there are no such things as hospitals any more.
There used to be, but since the immortals rule the cities, they have
the power to heal and cure people of all their diseases and illnesses.
There is, therefore, no need for doctors, nurses or paramedics. Just
a touch of the hand or a few softly spoken words and people are
healed from all their diseases, pain and suffering." y
"Why is it that people still grow old and die then?" I asked.
"Although disease, famine and suffering no longer exist in
the same way that they did before Christ returned, people still die of
old age. It's just that their life-span has been dramatically increased.
Those who have died since Christ's return, and who will die during
the next few hundred years, still have the hope of being like the immortals one day in the future. As a lot of the immortals who were
once dead were resurrected to be given immortality, so those mortals who have lived since the time that Christ returned to the Earth
have the same hope. z But that won't be until the end of this Millennium." a
"Does that mean that some people do not accept these
changes, even today?" I asked.
"Of course! Human nature has not changed. Even today
some nations refuse to accept Christ as the King of the whole Earth
and because of that it has been reported that there are famine and
plagues in those countries." b
"What else can you tell me about the Kingdom?"
"Life in the world is more peaceful and tranquil than ever
before. War and the fear of war is a thing of the past. In the streets
and towns there is peace and safety. We don't have locks on our
doors, neither do we have to worry about our children walking
around with the fear of being molested or kidnapped. Crime, burglary, and inhumanities common to Twenty-first Century life, have
356
Who Am I?
been almost completely wiped out. Money is no longer a worry, neither is the threat of having a house repossessed since there are no
mortgages, banks or financial institutions.g Stocks and shares no
longer exist. Therefore, the fear of loosing a lifetime's savings in the
stock market has gone. There are plenty of jobs since everybody
works with a common drive and motivation. People do not have a
lack of food or a worry of how the family will be looked after and
sustained. Material things are no longer of importance to people but
the genuine desire for the peace and prosperity of others."
It seemed all too good to be true. There was a sudden break
in the flow of the conversation as the short, stout lady pointed out
the palaces of the Apostles set back along the tree-line on either side
of the Great Riverway. They were magnificent pieces of architecture. Brilliant white stone masonry rising up out of the green vegetation surrounding it.
The whole day had been so exhilarating. I had learned so
much about this Kingdom Age. To try and put it all into words for
my friends and colleagues of the Twenty-first Century was not going to be easy. Nevertheless, I was keeping a mental note of all that
I was seeing and listening to. As the day wore on I intently listened
and learned about this new life. Slowly we made our way up the
Great Riverway towards the peninsula where I had first set my eyes
upon Zion earlier in the day. The sun started to set and I could see
that we would be soon upon the open waters of the Mediterranean.
"It's time for you to go," my guide told me. As I looked towards the northern shoreline, about two hundred yards ahead of us,
was a figure gliding towards us across the surface of the water.d It
was Abraham. "Here comes Abraham to take you back to the shoreline," I was told. With that they helped me over the side of the ship
to the water. Abraham took me by the hand. I said my good-byes
and we crossed the short distance back to the shore.
"How have you found your day?" Abraham asked.
"Beyond my distant expectations! How can I possibly express all of this to my friends and family?"
"The answer is quite simple," was the reply. "God has revealed all these things for people to know more in the Bible.e Go
357
home and read your Bible. Learn about the things concerning the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ and concerning the Kingdom of God.f
Understand the Promises made by God to people like myself and
David.g Become associated with them through baptism.h Life will
become more meaningful and more peaceable. Your desire will be
for the things that you have seen today. There is no other hope in
life than this. Do all these things and maybe I will see you... one
day in the Kingdom of God."
Notes:
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Matthew 22:30; Luke 24:36; Genesis 19:1,5
Matthew 17:2; Mark 16:15; Luke 15:22; Revelation 3:5,18; 4:4
Daniel 12:1; Zechariah 12,13,14
Daniel 12:2
Isaiah 64:4
Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1
Genesis 3:18-19; Revelation 22:3
Numbers 13:23-27; Joel 1:12, 2:22; Habakkuk 3:17; Haggai 3:19 (Trees are
often used in the scriptures to indicate prosperity.) Isaiah 65:21
i
j
k
l
m
n
Psalm 133
Luke 23:43
Matthew 6:9-13
Isaiah 40:31
Luke 24:39; Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:35-52
Zechariah 14:4; A geologist in Perth, Australia was once asked what would happen
if the earthquake described in Zechariah 14 actually took place. His opinion was that
every building in the world would be shaken to the ground.
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
Isaiah 33:21
Zechariah 14:8; Ezekiel 47:9 (mg.)
Zechariah 14:9,16
Isaiah 11:6-11
Zechariah 8:21; 14:16
Isaiah 2:2
Zephaniah 3:9; Genesis 11:1
Acts 2:8; 1 Corinthians 12:30
Revelation 21:19-21
Isaiah 9:6-7
Who Am I?
358
y
z
Revelation 21:6
Revelation 21:12
(Page 342)
a
Isaiah 2:3; Zechariah 14:16
h
Zechariah 14:10
c
Revelation 16:16
d
Ezekiel 39:12
e
Ezekiel 48:11-12
f
Revelation 22:2; Ezekiel 47:7
g
Zechariah 8:8
h
Psalm 78:8-12
i
Genesis 11
j
Psalm 72:2-5
k
Daniel 2:12; Matthew 19:29
l
Luke 19:13-27
m
Zechariah 8:5
n
cp. p Exodus 18:13-22
o
Matthew 19:28
p
Revelation 20:5-6
q
Isaiah 65:21-22
r
Isaiah 2:4
s
Amos 9:13-15
t
Genesis 5:1-17
u
Isaiah 65:20
v
Genesis 2:9
w
cp. s
x
Revelation 22:3
y
Isaiah 65:19; 35:5-6
z
Philippians 3:21
(Page 355)
a
Revelation 20:3-7
b
Zechariah 14:17-18
c
Isaiah 60:18; Isaiah 65:21-22
d
John 6:19
e
1 Corinthians 2:9
f
Acts 8:12
g
h
Ephesians 2:12; Genesis 12, 17, 22; 2 Samuel 7.
Romans 6; Act 8:12
359
PART 6
WHO AM I?
“Fraud and falsehood only dread
examination. Truth invites it!”
—Thomas Cooper
PART 6
WHO AM I?
I
f it wasn't for my unbridled inquisitiveness which I have had
from a child, I would not have reached the starting point of
this book. While not everybody has this same desire to learn,
most have the vaguest curiosity concerning events past, present and future. We, therefore, hope that you too have felt the same
sense of fascination and intrigue as we have in putting this study
together. As we look back on the last ten years that we have taken
to write this book, we are conscious of the many points which we
would like to have included to make this presentation to you more
understandable; to look at other archaeological artefacts; to look at
the wonderful world of creation in more detail; to look at the Bible
and other theological writings more studiously. However, to have
gone any deeper than we have done, may well have deterred from
our objective in writing this book.
The title of this book is a question: Who am I? It is a very
simple question, yet it has taken this study to come even close to
answering it. Now, therefore, we summarise our thoughts and present our answer to this question based upon the brief journey through
time which we have taken together, as contained in Parts 1-5 of this
book. Some may have worked out an answer for themselves, based
upon their own personal studies and beliefs. Maybe the conclusions
that you have drawn are the same as ours as you, too, asked the
question for yourself— "Who am I?"
Who Am I?
366
The answer to...
Our Origins
There are three choices for us to choose from, regarding our origin:
(1)
(2)
(3)
That the world and everything in it has existed forever.
That the world came into existence as a result of an undesigned Big-Bang where the universe evolved itself into
what it is today, or
That the world is a product of creative design.
Based upon the overwhelming evidence presented to us, our
conclusion is that the world was created and its designer and creator
was God. He had a plan and purpose in the beginning with the
Earth and is still outworking that plan and purpose.
God's purpose is to have a world inhabited by men and
women who, with freewill to make their own choices, exhibit characteristics which resemble His own. In so doing he will nurture a
divine family which he can call His own.
He created an inhabitable world containing animals, fish,
birds, mammals and reptiles. At the top of the ecological tree He
created Man. The difference between Man and the rest of God's
creation was that Man was created with a conscious mind that was
able to reason and make conscious decisions. The animals, on the
other hand, were created with an instinctive mind governed by their
animal desires and natural instincts.
Man was placed in circumstances which would enable him
to develop divine characteristics based upon a practical law of obedience which he was instructed to keep. Without this testing period
he would have been no different from the animals, leading a life
with values relative to his own reasoning rather than in tune with
God's way of thinking. Man did not obey the instruction. As a result, their punishment was that they should die— an everlasting
state of unconscious sleep until such time as the punishment is reversed. From this point in time, God started executing His plan of
redemption for Mankind, and in so doing, to bring to a fulfilment
His purpose with the Earth. To help His handiwork understand His
PART 6: Who Am I?
367
plan and purpose other than by pure guesswork and speculation,
through various people in history He revealed His plan and purpose.
Those revelations are the sixty-six books of our modern day Bible.
Our History
Geologists and palaeontologists speak of widespread catastrophes in
world history. The most recent of these catastrophes is a widespread
flood which evidently took place about 2,500 BC. This event is described in the early chapters of the Genesis account. However, historical records also mention it. After the flood, there is a lot more
archaeological evidence of ancient civilisations. This has enabled us
to build a more complete history of the world. The first civilisations
to develop were around the fertile crescent in Mesopotamia. One of
these ancient civilisations was Ur of the Chaldees, the hometown of
a man called Abraham and his family.
From the beginning of history, certain men and women
were given promises concerning the fulfilment of God's plan and
purpose and the man through whom they would be fulfilled. Some
of those men were Abraham, his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob.
These promises described how, over many hundreds of
years, a nation was to be born— the nation of Israel and how one
day it would become the homeland of the Jewish nation, forever.
During the days of King David, Israel became a great political
Kingdom and developed into a strong Middle Eastern nation.
Israel was a nation through which God desired to work out
His plan and purpose. But such was the influence of the surrounding nations upon the nation of Israel, that the people of Israel followed their strange pagan religions and customs. After repeated
warnings, God acted! He scattered Israel throughout the nations of
the world, even as they are today, until such time that all the promises will be fulfilled. However, they were not scattered without
hope. David, was given a promise that one day a King would reign
over a world-wide Kingdom centred upon Israel, with Jerusalem as
its capital. At this time Israel will be established back in their own
land.
368
Who Am I?
The King of this world-wide Kingdom will be Jesus Christ.
When this kingdom is established there will be no more suffering,
pain, crying or death. This is the hope of the Bible. No other literature of the world provides this extraordinary hope, and certainly no
other literature provides such convincing evidence, as we have seen,
to support its case.
Although the promises were initially made to the Jewish
people, they were promises which included the whole of Mankind.
2,000 years ago God sent His son to the Earth, Jesus Christ, who
through miraculous circumstances was born to a virgin, Mary. God
was his Father, not man.
Jesus displayed His father's character and taught about the
Kingdom, what it would be like and who it was for. Yet under barbaric circumstances the religious leaders of his day, through jealousy and selfish pride, conspired with Roman officials to murder
Him. The Jewish nation had rejected the one who was the subject of
all the promises and the one who God had chosen to reign over
them.
When Jesus died, sin, the cause of suffering and death, was
destroyed. When he returns and after the resurrection, the symptoms
of sin— suffering and death, will eventually be removed, forever.
Since Christ's death, two things have been required to be
associated with these promises. Belief and repentance. To serve as
a witness to believing in the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ
and the Kingdom of God, and repentance, turning back to God, the
believer is baptised.
Since the Jews had rejected Jesus, God gave the same opportunity of being in the Kingdom, and hope of sharing in His
promises, to those who were not of the Jewish nation.
For the past 2,000 years since Christ's first advent, the
world has been waiting for His return. Not all things remain as they
did then, however. Other teachings have influenced the original
truth as it was taught by Jesus and the First Century Apostles. The
teachings passed on by Christ to the First Century believers have
been corrupted by pagan influences, and the original hope of the
gospel message is widely unknown or misunderstood.
PART 6: Who Am I?
369
The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ will return to set up the
Kingdom upon Earth. Until that time men and women who have
died in faith over the years, will sleep in an unconscious state of
death until they are resurrected to be given everlasting life in a
world in harmony, free from sin, suffering and death.
"The ages were thoroughly adjusted by God's command"
and they will continue to be until His purpose with the Earth is finally complete.
Those who are convinced that this is the purpose of God
with the Earth, and accept this Truth of the Bible, are referred to in
the Bible as Brethren and Sisters in Christ. They are united in a
common hope of the Kingdom Age to come, and share a common
faith in what was accomplished through the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. As a sign of their faith and hope, they
have been baptised by being fully immersed in water, just as the
First Century believers were instructed to do. Now they wait and
live in patient anticipation of the return of Christ.
And Finally...
For many, some of the difficult questions which we have tried to
address in this book have stopped them in the past from wanting to
pursue the meaning of life any further. It may be agreed that there is
a sense of logic in the way that we have tackled the subject of religion in this short work and, indeed, there is a great deal of reasonableness to the words of the Bible. Yet, our study does not just end
here. It is one thing to believe that the Bible is God's Word to us. It
is a very different thing to make the next step towards understanding the meaning to life for ourselves.
It may seem as though, what is needed to believe the Bible
is a huge leap of faith. There is an old Chinese proverb which says
that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. The first
step in finding out the truth for our existence is to read the Bible
and to judge its authenticity for ourselves. And if we keep on asking
ourselves the question: Why? Why? Why? we guarantee that you
will find the answer. We can read every other book in the world, but
370
Who Am I?
still we will not find the answer. Only by reading the Bible can we
find out for ourselves what the Truth is for our existence since
"faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God."
Are you any closer to knowing who you are? Do you know
where you are going? As with the person at the beginning of the
book waiting for details of a free gift to arrive, one day it might be
too late to find out the answer for ourselves. The reminders which
herald the Return of Christ continuously land on our doorstep as we
hear the thunderous warnings in the events of the world around us.
Ready or not, the fact of life is that Jesus Christ is going to return to
the Earth. But one day a cancellation notice will arrive, either with
His return back to the Earth or with the end of our natural days.
We hope that you have found this short book a source of
inspiration for you to make the first step to seek an answer to this
huge question: Who am I? Knowing who we are will not necessarily
help us to change the suffering in the world. It will not necessarily
help us to reverse the consequences of Man's mistreatment of the
Earth. What it will do, however, if we agree upon the origin of the
world, is make us responsible to these problems and sympathise
with other people's dilemmas as we stride forward upon the path
that life takes us. If we have started to appreciate who we were, it is
more confidently that we can assert who we are and, therefore, enable us to have confidence in who we can become, by the grace of
God, in the Kingdom Age.
As C.S. Lewis once wrote:
I believe in Christianity as I believe in the rising sun, not just because I can
see it, but because by it I can see everything else.
Through prayerful application, may you continue to read
the pages of the Bible with immeasurable desire to fathom the Truth
for our existence, and ultimately share with those who throughout
the ages have lived in the hope of the Kingdom of God renewed, enjoying a life of peace and confidence in patient anticipation now.
PART 6: Who Am I?
371
A Summary of Bible Teachings
1.
The Bible is a complete record of God’s plan and purpose with the
Earth, written under God’s divine inspiration by many different people over many hundreds of years.
2.
There is only one God who made the world and everything in it and
has a purpose with it.
3.
The Holy Spirit is God’s power, by which He works out His Will.
4.
Jesus Christ is God‘s son, born to a woman, Mary, but conceived
by the power of God; to be known as the “Son of the Highest”.
5.
While he had the same nature as the rest of mankind and was subject to all kinds of temptation as we are, Jesus overcame temptation
and led a perfect life in order to save those who believe in him from
sin and death.
6.
Jesus was murdered by His enemies, but because he was sinless,
He was raised from the dead by God. Subsequently He ascended to
Heaven and now sits at God’s right hand, but he will return.
7.
When Jesus returns to the Earth, he will raise and judge the responsible dead, give immortality to the faithful, judge the nations of the
world and reign as King over the restored Kingdom to Israel and
ultimately over the whole world, bringing a knowledge of the glory of
God to all people.
8.
Those who are judged faithful and given immortality will help him to
establish this Kingdom (of God) across the Earth in peace and
righteousness that will last forever.
9.
The devil is not a supernatural being, but is another name for sin
which was destroyed through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
10. When Man dies, he ceases to exist. The only hope in life is resurrection at the return of Christ. The faithful believer will then be freed
from sin and death and become immortal after Christ’s coming.
11. Salvation is conditional upon belief in God’s Promises about His
Kingdom being established on Earth and the work of the Lord Jesus
Christ; repentance; Baptism (through full immersion into water) and
a daily following of Christ.
12. Christ will return to the Earth very soon.
Who Am I?
372
Summary of Bible Promises
PROMISE in EDEN (Genesis 3:15-24)
—to the serpent:
1.
One day someone was going to be born as a member of the human
race, whose mother would be human, but whose father would be
God. He would permanently destroy sin and death, while, at the
same time, temporarily experience the curse of death until being
resurrected from the dead.
2.
Throughout history there was going to be contention and strife between those who think like the serpent and those who think like
God.
—to the woman:
3.
Pain and suffering was going to be associated with procreation.
4.
The woman was going to become subject to the will of her husband.
—to the man:
5.
The Earth was going to be cursed by God so that thorns, thistles
and weeds would grow, making it difficult for man to cultivate the
ground.
6.
Man would have to work to eat and would ultimately die while experiencing great sorrow and suffering throughout his lifetime.
7.
The hope of life was impressed upon Adam and Eve as divine beings were placed at the entrance to the Garden of Eden to guard the
way to the tree of life.
PROMISE to NOAH (Genesis 8:9; 9:1-17)
8.
The Earth was going to be established forever as an inhabitable
place for Mankind to live.
9.
God promised that He would not destroy the Earth by a flood of water again. He appointed the rainbow in the sky as a sign of this
Promise between Himself and Mankind, and purpose with the Earth.
PROMISE to ABRAHAM, ISAAC and JACOB (Genesis 3:15)
10. Abraham's children and descendants would grow over time to become a great nation of people.
11. He would be wealthy and become a very distinguished person.
PART 6: Who Am I?
373
12. Those who showed kindness and favour towards Abraham and his
descendants, would also receive favour in turn from God.
13. Everyone would be able to benefit from these promises.
14. Abraham and his descendants would inherit a land stretching from
between the River Nile in Egypt to the River Euphrates in Iraq (the
whole of the then known world) which would be theirs, forever.
15. Kings were going to descend through his lineage.
16. Abraham’s descendants would be innumerable:
17. God’s Promise would not be bound by time.
18. A descendant was going to come from Abraham’s line who would
defeat Man’s mortal enemies of sin and death and make all nations
subject to Him.
PROMISE to DAVID (2 Samuel 7)
19. A descendant was going to come from David’s line who was going
to become king.
20. This king would reign upon David’s throne forever and David's dynasty would never end.
21. God was going to be the Father of this descendant of David.
22. David was going to be resurrected to see the fulfillment of the
Promises first hand.
CHRIST— the fulfilment of the PROMISES
23. CHRIST’s mother was a woman, BUT His father was God
24. CHRIST conquered sin, overcame death and is now immortal.
25. CHRIST will return soon to restore the Kingdom to Israel.
26. CHRIST will resurrect the dead and give immortal life to the Faithful
27. CHRIST will reign on David’s throne forever.
28. CHRIST will reign over God’s worldwide Kingdom.
29. Suffering and death will be removed after CHRIST returns.
30. Those who believe in CHRIST and the KINGDOM OF GOD can
share in these PROMISES.
PART 7
NEXT STEPS
“So then, faith comes by hearing, and
hearing by the Word of God.”
— The Apostle Paul
PART 7
NEXT STEPS
T
his part contains some useful information that will help
you in your search for the Truth. Most of the courses,
seminars and web-sites listed here are FREE.
If you have any questions or comments for the author,
then please do not hesitate to contact him through the publisher. The
publisher's web-site address is listed on the next page. You will also
find listed some interesting and useful web-sites. Not only are these
useful resources, but some of them also provide subscriptions,
courses and seminars that are available online for FREE.
Specifically, you will find listed links to the Learn To Read
The Bible Effectively web-site and Exploring The Bible web-site.
Schedules for these courses and seminars can be found online at
their respective sites and registration for these courses is FREE.
You will also find recommended reading material listed as
well. While there is no substitute for regular daily Bible reading,
some of these books will provide additional useful background information and commentaries that reinforce the truth of the Bible.
A 12 Week Reading Plan enabling you to kick start your
reading of the Bible is also included. Highlighted are some key passages that will help you to understand God's Plan and Purpose with
the world in a fairly compact timeframe.
Finally, you will find a twelve month Bible Reading Plan
used by thousands of people world-wide to read the Bible during
each calendar year. Following it, you will read the Old Testament
once per year and the New Testament twice.
Who Am I?
380
Useful Web-site Addresses:

Who Am I? web-site
http://www.AnswersToLife.ca
http://www.AnswersToLife.co.uk

To order additional CDs and books, please contact the publisher—
http://www.selectmedia.ca/whoami

Windows To Watch is a newsletter dedicated to current events from the
news that relate to Bible prophecy. Subscribe FREE to the Windows To
Watch Newsletter at the following web-site —
http://www.WindowsToWatch.com

The Learn To Read The Bible Seminar Series is a FREE 6 week seminar
series designed to teach participants how to read and understand the message of the Bible. Find out where there is a Learn To Read The Bible
seminar being held in your area. Register FREE online at—
http://www.LearnToReadTheBible.com

If you are unable to attend a seminar or there is not one being held in your
area, then the Exploring The Bible Correspondence Course might be a
good idea. Registration is also FREE—
http://www.ExploringTheBible.net

FREE resources—
http://www.ReadTheBible.com
http://www.DailyReadings.org.uk

Subscription: The Bible Magazine—
http://www.BibleMagazine.com

Fun Stuff: The Bible Quiz—
http://www.BibleQuizzes.com

Bible Talks Online—
http://www.BibleTalksOnline.com
PART 7: Next Steps
Recommended Reading:
 The Bible

Creation, Evolutiuon and Science — John V. Collyer

Wrested Scriptures — Ron Abel

What The Bible Teaches — Harry Tennant

God’s Way — John Carter

Elpis Israel —John Thomas

Christendom Astray — Robert Roberts

The Bible As History — Werner Keller

How Sure Are The Foundations? — Colin Badger

The Immortality of The Soul Refuted — Percy E. White

The Doctrine of The Trinity — Percy E. White

None of These Diseases — McMillen

At Last— True Christianity— Alan Eyre

The Devil— The Great Deceiver— Peter Watkins

The Evangelical Revival— Alfred Nichols

The Oracles of God— John Carter

The Bible Today and You!— H.W. Hathaway

The Cross of Christ— Peter Watkins
381
Who Am I?
382
The 12 Week Reading Plan:
Week 1 – Day 1
‘’’ 2
‘’’ 3
‘’’ 4
‘’’ 5
‘’’ 6
‘’’ 7
Week 2 – Day 8
‘’’ 9
‘’’ 10
‘’’ 11
‘’’ 12
‘’’ 13
‘’’ 14
Week 3 – Day 15
‘’’ 16
‘’’ 17
‘’’ 18
‘’’ 19
‘’’ 20
‘’’ 21
Week 4 – Day 22
‘’’ 23
‘’’ 24
‘’’ 25
‘’’ 26
‘’’ 27
‘’’ 28
Week 5 – Day 29
‘’’ 30
‘’’ 31
‘’’ 32
‘’’ 33
‘’’ 34
‘’’ 35
Week 6 – Day 36
‘’’ 37
‘’’ 38
‘’’ 39
‘’’ 40
‘’’ 41
‘’’ 42
Job
Genesis
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
Exodus
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
“’
Numbers
Deut.
“’
39
1
2
3
4
6
7
8
9
11
12
13
15
16
17
18
22
25
26
28
35
37
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
1
2
3
5, 6:1-13
11, 12
13
20,21
33,34
13,14
1
28,29
The power and knowledge of God
Creation of Man’s home
Creation of Man
Sin & death; PROMISE in Eden
Importance of true worship
Righteousness of Noah
The Flood
God remembers Noah
The PROMISE to Noah
The Tower of Babel
The PROMISE to Abraham
Abraham walks through the land
Abraham is promised a son
Ishmael is born
God re-establishes Promise with Abraham
Sarah is promised a son
Sacrifice of Isaac: a type of Christ’s death
The PROMISE to Isaac
Birthright given to Jacob
The PROMISE to Jacob
Jacob’s name is changed to Israel
Joseph sold into slavery
Joseph is thrown into prison
Joseph interprets butler/bakers’ dreams
Pharaoh’s dream; Joseph becomes ruler
Joseph meets his brothers
Joseph’s brothers return to Egypt
Joseph tests his brothers
Joseph revealed to his brothers
Jacob and his family emigrate to Egypt
Israel live in the land of Goshen
Israel are made slaves by Egyptians
Moses is born
God speaks with Moses
Moses and Aaron petition Pharaoh
Plague of death of firstborn
Command to remember Passover
God meets with Moses on Mt. Sinai
God reveals His character to Moses
Spies search out land of Promise
Moses last words
Blessings and cursings
PART 7: Next Steps
383
The 12 Week Reading Plan:
Week 7 – Day 43 Joshua
1
‘’’ 44
“’
24
‘’’ 45 1 Sam. 8,9
‘’’ 46
“’
10,13
‘’’ 47
“’
15,16
‘’’ 48
“’
17
‘’’ 49
“’
31
Week 8 – Day 50 2 Sam. 5:1-10;7
‘’’ 51 1 Kings
2
‘’’ 52
“’
11
‘’’ 53
“’
12,13
‘’’ 54 Jeremiah 18
‘’’ 55 Daniel
2,7
‘’’ 56
“’
9
Week 9 – Day 57 Luke
1
‘’’ 58
“’
2
‘’’ 59 Matthew 3
‘’’ 60 John
1
‘’’ 61 Matthew 5,6
‘’’ 62
“’
26,27
‘’’ 63 Psalm 22, Isa. 53
Week 10– Day 64 Matthew 28
‘’’ 65 Acts
1
‘’’ 66
“’
2,3
‘’’ 67
“’
9,10
‘’’ 68 Ezekiel 36,37
‘’’ 69 Zech.
12
‘’’ 70 Romans 1
Week 11– Day 71
“’
4
‘’’ 72
“’
6,8
‘’’ 73 Hebrews 11
‘’’ 74 Zech.
13,14
‘’’ 75 Ezekiel 38
‘’’ 76 Luke
21
‘’’ 77 2 Tim.
3, 4:1-8
Week 12– Day 78 2 Peter
2
‘’’ 79 James
1
‘’’ 80 Psalm
72
‘’’ 81 Isaiah
35
‘’’ 82 Rev.
1
‘’’ 83
“’
16
‘’’ 84
“’
21,22
Joshua leader; encouraged by God
Joshua’s last words
Israel reject God and demand a king
Saul is anointed the first king of Israel
God rejects Saul. David anointed king
David vs. Goliath: a type of Christ vs. Sin
Saul and his sons are killed in battle
PROMISE to David
Solomon becomes king of Israel
Solomon’s sin: Kingdom to be divided
Civil war: Judah and Israel divided
God tells Israel that they will be scattered
Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel’s prophecy
Seventy Weeks Prophecy
Birth of Christ: fulfillment of PROMISES
Christ’s developing years
Baptism of Christ
John the Baptist identifies Christ
Teachings of Christ on Godly living
Trial and murder of Christ
Prophecies of Christ’s crusifiction
The resurrection of Christ
The Ascension of Christ
The preaching of the gospel
Conversions of Paul and Cornelius
Israel to be regathered in the last days
Jerusalem comes under Israel’s control
The world’s thinking in conflict with God
What God is looking for to be saved
Baptism essential; battle of the flesh
A gallery of Faith of the Old Testament
Events subsequent to the return of Christ
The European/Russian Confederacy
Signs of the last days given by Christ
The world’s attitude at the return of Christ
A warning to look out for false teachings
Man responsible for temptation and sin
A king will reign on Earth; princes with him
Suffering and death will be removed
Revelation— a book of prophecy in symbol
Events preceding return of Christ
The PROMISE of paradise renewed
Who Am I?
384
Daily Bible Reading Planner:
January
Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Reading 1
Genesis
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
Exodus
‘’’
1, 2
3, 4
5, 6
7, 8
9,10
11,12
13,14
15,16
17,18
19
20,21
22,23
24
25,26
27
28,29
30
31
32,33
34,35
36
37
38
39,40
41
42,43
44,45
46,47
48,50
1, 2
3, 4
Reading 2
Psalms
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
1, 2
3, 5
6, 8
9,10
11,13
14,16
17
18
19,21
22
23,25
26,28
29,30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39,40
41,43
44
45
46,48
49
50
51,52
53,55
56,57
Reading 3
Matthew
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
Romans
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
1, 2
3, 4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
1, 2
3, 4
5, 6
7, 8
9
PART 7: Next Steps
385
February
Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Reading 1
Exodus
5, 6
‘’’
7, 8
‘’’
9
‘’’
10
‘’’
11, 12
‘’’
13, 14
‘’’
15
‘’’
16
‘’’
17, 18
‘’’
19, 20
‘’’
21
‘’’
22
‘’’
23
‘’’
24, 25
‘’’
26
‘’’
27
‘’’
28
‘’’
29
‘’’
30
‘’’
31, 32
‘’’
33, 34
‘’’
35
‘’’
36
‘’’
37
‘’’
38
‘’’
39, 40
Leviticus 1, 2
‘’’
3, 4
Reading 2
Psalms 58, 59
‘’’
60, 61
‘’’
62, 63
‘’’
64, 65
‘’’
66, 67
‘’’
68
‘’’
69
‘’’
70, 71
‘’’
72
‘’’
73
‘’’
74
‘’’
75, 76
‘’’
77
‘’’
78
‘’’
79, 80
‘’’
81, 82
‘’’
83, 84
‘’’
85, 86
‘’’
87, 88
‘’’
89
‘’’
90, 91
‘’’
92, 93
‘’’
94, 95
‘’’
96, 99
‘’’ 100, 101
‘’’
102
‘’’
103
‘’’
104
Reading 3
Rom.
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
Mark
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
1 Cor.
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
10, 11
12
13, 14
15, 16
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15, 16
1, 2
3
4, 5
6
7
8, 9
10
11
12, 13
Who Am I?
386
March
Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Reading 1
Lev.
Reading 2
Reading 3
5, 6 Psalms 105 1 Cor.
14
7
‘’’
106
‘’’
15
8
‘’’
107
‘’’
16
9, 10
‘’’ 108, 109 2 Cor.
1, 2
11
‘’’ 110, 112
‘’’
3, 4
12, 13
‘’’ 113, 114
‘’’
5, 6, 7
14
‘’’ 115, 116
‘’’
8, 9
15
‘’’ 117, 118
‘’’
10, 11
16
‘’’ 119 v40
‘’’
12, 13
17, 18
‘’’ v41- 80 Luke
1
19
‘’’ v81-128
‘’’
2
20
‘’’ v129-176
‘’’
3
21
‘’’ 120, 124
‘’’
4
22
‘’’ 125, 127
‘’’
5
23
‘’’ 128, 130
‘’’
6
24
‘’’ 131, 134
‘’’
7
25
‘’’ 135, 136
‘’’
8
26
‘’’ 137, 139
‘’’
9
27
‘’’ 140, 142
‘’’
10
Numbers 1
‘’’ 143, 144
‘’’
11
‘’’
2
‘’’ 145, 147
‘’’
12
‘’’
3
‘’’ 148, 150
‘’’
13, 14
‘’’
4 Proverbs 1
‘’’
15
‘’’
5
‘’’
2
‘’’
16
‘’’
6
‘’’
3
‘’’
17
‘’’
7
‘’’
4
‘’’
18
‘’’
8, 9
‘’’
5
‘’’
19
‘’’
10
‘’’
6
‘’’
20
‘’’
11
‘’’
7
‘’’
21
‘’’ 12, 13
‘’’
8, 9
‘’’
22
‘’’
14
‘’’
10
‘’’
23
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
PART 7: Next Steps
387
April
Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
2
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Reading 1
Reading 2
Numbers 15
‘’’
16
‘’’ 17, 18
‘’’
19
‘’’ 20, 21
‘’’ 22, 23
‘’’ 24, 25
‘’’
26
Proverbs 11
‘’’
12
‘’’
13
‘’’
14
‘’’
15
‘’’
16
‘’’
17
‘’’
18
27
28
29, 30
31
32
33
34
35
36
Deut.
1
‘’’
2
‘’’
3
‘’’
4
‘’’
5
‘’’
6, 7
‘’’
8, 9
‘’’ 10, 11
‘’’
12
‘’’ 13, 14
‘’’
15
‘’’
16
‘’’
17
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
Ecc.
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Reading 3
Luke
24
Galatians 1, 2
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
5, 6
Ephesians 1, 2
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
5, 6
Philippians 1,
‘’’
John
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
Acts
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
3, 4
1
2, 3
4
5
6
7
8
9, 10
11
12
13, 14
15, 16
17, 18
19
20, 21
1
2
3, 4
5, 6
7
8
Who Am I?
388
May
Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Reading 1
Deut.
Reading 2
18 Ecc.
10
19
‘’’
11
20
‘’’
12
21 Song of Sol. 1
22
‘’’
2
23
‘’’
3
24
‘’’
4
25
‘’’
5
26
‘’’
6
27
‘’’
7
28
‘’’
8
29 Isaiah
1
30
‘’’
2
31
‘’’
3, 4
32
‘’’
5
33, 34
‘’’
6
Joshua
1
‘’’
7
‘’’
2
‘’’
8
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
9
‘’’
5, 6
‘’’
10
‘’’
7
‘’’
11
‘’’
8
‘’’
12
‘’’
9
‘’’
13
‘’’
10
‘’’
14
‘’’
11
‘’’
15
‘’’
12
‘’’
16
‘’’
13
‘’’ 17, 18
‘’’
14
‘’’
19
‘’’
15
‘’’
20
‘’’
16
‘’’
21
‘’’
17
‘’’
22
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
Reading 3
Acts
9
10
11, 12
13
14, 15
16, 17
18, 19
20
21, 22
23, 24
25, 26
27
28
Colossians 1
‘’’
2
‘’’
3, 4
1 Thess. 1, 2
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
5
2 Thess. 1, 2
‘’’
3
1 Tim. 1,2,3
‘’’
4, 5
‘’’
6
2 Tim.
1
‘’’
2
‘’’
3, 4
Titus 1, 2, 3
Philemon
Hebrews 1, 2
‘’’
3, 4, 5
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
PART 7: Next Steps
389
June
Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Reading 1
Joshua
Reading 2
Reading 3
18 Isaiah
24 Hebrews 6, 7
19
‘’’
25
‘’’
8, 9
20, 21
‘’’
26, 27
‘’’
10
22
‘’’
28
‘’’
11
23, 24
‘’’
29
‘’’
12
Judges
1
‘’’
30
‘’’
13
‘’’
2, 3
‘’’
31 James
1
‘’’
4, 5
‘’’
32
‘’’
2
‘’’
6
‘’’
33
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
7, 8
‘’’
34
‘’’
5
‘’’
9
‘’’
35 1 Peter
1
‘’’
10, 11
‘’’
36
‘’’
2
‘’’
12, 13
‘’’
37
‘’’
3, 4, 5
‘’’
14, 15
‘’’
38 2 Peter 1, 2
‘’’
16
‘’’
39
‘’’
3
‘’’
17, 18
‘’’
40 1 John
1, 2
‘’’
19
‘’’
41
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
20
‘’’
42
‘’’
5
‘’’
21
‘’’
43 2 & 3 John
Ruth
1, 2
‘’’
44 Jude
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
45 Rev.
1, 2
1 Sam.
1
‘’’ 46, 47
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
2
‘’’
48
‘’’
5, 6
‘’’
3
‘’’
49
‘’’
7, 8, 9
‘’’
4
‘’’
50
‘’’
10, 11
‘’’
5, 6
‘’’
51
‘’’
12, 13
‘’’
7, 8 .
‘’’
52
‘’’
14
‘’’
9
‘’’
53
‘’’
15, 16
‘’’
10
‘’’
54
‘’’
17, 18
‘’’ 11, 12
‘’’
55
‘’’
19, 20
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
Who Am I?
390
July
Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Reading 1
Reading 2
Reading 3
1 Samuel 13 Isaiah 56,57 Rev. 21, 22
‘’’
14
‘’’
58 Matthew 1, 2
‘’’
15
‘’’
59
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
16
‘’’
60
‘’’
5
‘’’
17
‘’’
61
‘’’
6
‘’’
18
‘’’
62
‘’’
7
‘’’
19
‘’’
63
‘’’
8
‘’’
20
‘’’
64
‘’’
9
‘’’
21, 22
‘’’
65
‘’’
10
‘’’
23
‘’’
66
‘’’
11
‘’’
24 Jeremiah 1
‘’’
12
‘’’
25
‘’’
2
‘’’
13
‘’’
26, 27
‘’’
3
‘’’
14
‘’’
28
‘’’
4
‘’’
15
‘’’
29, 30
‘’’
5
‘’’
16
‘’’
31
‘’’
6
‘’’
17
2 Samuel 1
‘’’
7
‘’’
18
‘’’
2
‘’’
8
‘’’
19
‘’’
3
‘’’
9
‘’’
20
‘’’
4, 5
‘’’
10
‘’’
21
‘’’
6
‘’’
11
‘’’
22
‘’’
7
‘’’
12
‘’’
23
‘’’
8, 9
‘’’
13
‘’’
24
‘’’
10
‘’’
14
‘’’
25
‘’’
11
‘’’
15
‘’’
26
‘’’
12
‘’’
16
‘’’
27
‘’’
13
‘’’
17
‘’’
28
‘’’
14
‘’’
18 Romans
1, 2
‘’’
15
‘’’
19
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
16
‘’’
20
‘’’
5, 6
‘’’
17
‘’’
21
‘’’
7, 8
PART 7: Next Steps
391
August
Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Reading 1
2 Sam.
Reading 2
Reading 3
18 Jeremiah 22 Romans
9
19
‘’’
23
‘’’
10, 11
20, 21
‘’’
24
‘’’
12
22
‘’’
25
‘’’
13, 14
23
‘’’
26
‘’’
15, 16
24
‘’’
27 Mark
1
1 Kings
1
‘’’
28
‘’’
2
‘’’
2
‘’’
29
‘’’
3
‘’’
3
‘’’
30
‘’’
4
‘’’
4, 5
‘’’
31
‘’’
5
‘’’
6
‘’’
32
‘’’
6
‘’’
7
‘’’
33
‘’’
7
‘’’
8
‘’’
34
‘’’
8
‘’’
9
‘’’
35
‘’’
9
‘’’
10
‘’’
36
‘’’
10
‘’’
11
‘’’
37
‘’’
11
‘’’
12
‘’’
38
‘’’
12
‘’’
13
‘’’
39
‘’’
13
‘’’
14
‘’’
40
‘’’
14
‘’’
15
‘’’
41
‘’’
15
‘’’
16
‘’’
42
‘’’
16
‘’’
17
‘’’
43 1 Cor.
1, 2
‘’’
18
‘’’
44
‘’’
3
‘’’
19
‘’’ 45, 46
‘’’
4, 5
‘’’
20
‘’’
47
‘’’
6
‘’’
21
‘’’
48
‘’’
7
‘’’
22
‘’’
49
‘’’
8, 9
2 Kings 1, 2
‘’’
51
‘’’
10
‘’’
3
‘’’
52
‘’’
11
‘’’
4
‘’’ 53, 55
‘’’
12, 13
‘’’
5 Lament.
1
‘’’
14
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
Who Am I?
392
September
Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Reading 1
2 Kings
Reading 2
6 Lament.
7
‘’’
8
‘’’
9
‘’’
10 Ezekiel
11, 12
‘’’
13
‘’’
14
‘’’
15
‘’’
16
‘’’
17
‘’’
18
‘’’
19
‘’’
20
‘’’
21
‘’’
22, 23
‘’’
24, 25
‘’’
1 Chron
1
‘’’
‘’’
2
‘’’
‘’’
3
‘’’
‘’’
4
‘’’
‘’’
5
‘’’
‘’’
6
‘’’
‘’’
7
‘’’
‘’’
8
‘’’
‘’’
9
‘’’
‘’’
10
‘’’
‘’’
11
‘’’
‘’’
12
‘’’
‘’’
13, 14
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
Reading 3
2 1 Cor.
3
‘’’
4 2 Cor.
5
‘’’
1
‘’’
2
‘’’
3
‘’’
4
‘’’
5 Luke
6
‘’’
7
‘’’
8
‘’’
9
‘’’
10
‘’’
11
‘’’
12
‘’’
13
‘’’
14
‘’’
15
‘’’
16
‘’’
17
‘’’
18
‘’’
19
‘’’
20
‘’’
21
‘’’
22
‘’’
23
‘’’
24
‘’’
25
‘’’
26
‘’’
15
16
1, 2
3, 4
5, 7
8, 9
10, 11
12, 13
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
PART 7: Next Steps
393
October
Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
2
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Reading 1
Reading 2
1 Chron.
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
15 Ezekiel
16
‘’’
17
‘’’
18, 19
‘’’
20, 21
‘’’
22
‘’’
23
‘’’
24, 25
‘’’
26
‘’’
27
‘’’
28
‘’’
29
‘’’
2 Chron. 1,2
‘’’
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
‘’’
5, 6
‘’’
‘’’
7
‘’’
‘’’
8
‘’’
‘’’
10, 11
‘’’
‘’’
12, 13
‘’’
‘’’
14, 15
‘’’
‘’’
16, 17
‘’’
‘’’
18, 19
‘’’
‘’’
20 Daniel
‘’’
21, 22
‘’’
‘’’
23
‘’’
‘’’
24
‘’’
‘’’
25
‘’’
‘’’
26
‘’’
‘’’
27
‘’’
‘’’
28
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
Reading 3
Luke
24
Galatians 1, 2
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
5, 6
Ephesians 1, 2
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
5, 6
Philippians 1,
35
‘’’
36 John
37
‘’’
38
‘’’
39
‘’’
40
‘’’
41
‘’’
42
‘’’
43
‘’’
44
‘’’
45
‘’’
46
‘’’
47
‘’’
48
‘’’
1
‘’’
2
‘’’
3 Acts
4
‘’’
5
‘’’
6
‘’’
7
‘’’
8
‘’’
3, 4
1
2, 3
4
5
6
7
8
9, 10
11
12
13, 14
15, 16
17, 18
19
20, 21
1
2
3, 4
5, 6
7
8
Who Am I?
394
November
Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Reading 1
2 Chron.
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
Ezra
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
Neh.
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
Esther
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
1, 2
3, 4
5, 6
7
8
9
10
1, 2
3
4
5, 6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
1
2
3, 4
5, 6
7, 8
Reading 2
Daniel
‘’’
‘’’
Hosea
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
Joel
‘’’
‘’’
Amos
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
Obadiah
10
11
12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
1
2
3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Reading 3
Acts
10
11, 12
13
14, 15
16, 17
18, 19
20
21, 22
23, 24
25, 26
27
28
Colossians 1
‘’’
2
‘’’
3, 4
1 Thess. 1, 2
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
5
2 Thess. 1, 2
‘’’
3
1 Tim. 1,2,3
‘’’
4, 5
‘’’
6
2 Tim.
1
‘’’
2
‘’’
3, 4
Titus 1, 2, 3
Philemon
Hebrews 1, 2
‘’’
3, 4, 5
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
PART 7: Next Steps
395
December
Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Reading 1
Esther
Job
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
‘’’
9,10
1, 2
3, 4
5
6, 7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16, 17
18, 19
20
21
22
23, 24
25, 27
28
29, 30
31, 32
33
34
35, 36
37
38
39
40
41, 42
Reading 2
Jonah
1
2, 3
4
Micah
1
‘’’
2
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
5
‘’’
6
‘’’
7
Nahum
1,2
‘’’
3
Habakkuk 1
‘’’
2
‘’’
3
Zephaniah 1
‘’’
2
‘’’
3
Haggai 1, 2
Zechariah 1
‘’’
2, 3
‘’’
4, 5
‘’’
6, 7
‘’’
8
‘’’
9
‘’’
10
‘’’
11
‘’’
12
‘’’
13, 14
Malachi
1
‘’’
2
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
‘’’
Reading 3
Hebrews 6, 7
‘’’
8, 9
‘’’
10
‘’’
11
‘’’
12
‘’’
13
James
1
‘’’
2
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
5
1 Peter
1
‘’’
2
‘’’
3, 4, 5
2 Peter
1,2
‘’’
3
1 John
1, 2
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
5
2 & 3 John
Jude
Rev.
1, 2
‘’’
3, 4
‘’’
5, 6
‘’’
7, 8, 9
‘’’
10, 11
‘’’
12, 13
‘’’
14
‘’’
15, 16
‘’’
17, 18
‘’’
19, 20
‘’’
21, 22
396
READER’S NOTES:
Who Am I?
PART 7: Next Steps
READER’S NOTES:
397
398
READER’S NOTES:
Who Am I?
PART 7: Next Steps
READER’S NOTES:
399
400
READER’S NOTES:
Who Am I?

Matthew Trowell WHOAMI? WHOAMI? WHOAMI

Transcription

Similar documents

Central Bible Chapel February 2013

Sales Sheet

Recursos para la Parroquia Encíclica del Papa Francisco

lecrae - I Am Second

HERE

JfMUu? Jpiik Mt* Wvid 4 M{e. LOYALTY —TO YOURSELF? RESELL

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Psalm

43996 D2BD Steps to Peace

Newsletter dated April 04, 2016

Camp Awanita - Pelham Road Baptist Church