Notes (Genesis to Esther)
*Genesis 1 / *Gen. 1 -
(What about *Evolution?)
(Why would God take millions of years to evolve something from a one-celled organism when he can instantly create it?)
For the same reason that God has a human start out as a one-celled organism, a zygote, in its mother's womb, and then has it only gradually develop, through natural means, into an embryo, and then into a fetus, and then into a baby, and then into a toddler, and then into an adolescent, and then into an adult. And for the same reason that God has other animals develop gradually in a similar way. And for the same reason that God has plants start out as seeds. It must give God pleasure to see plants and animals develop naturally over time, just as it must give him pleasure to also sometimes create plants and animals instantaneously, miraculously, already fully-formed, like he did in Genesis 1:11-13 and Genesis 1:20-27, during three of the seven literal days of Genesis 1:3 to 2:4.
An old earth and evolution can be true without contradicting Biblical creationism. For evolution per se (random mutation and survival of the fittest) can coexist with creationism, just as an automated process created by a human (for example, a computer program which makes random, colorful pictures which can be seen as art) can coexist with that human performing a task himself, directly (painting some pictures by hand). That is, evolution per se can simply be a process created by God to allow new, adaptive species to arise naturally over time, and this process can coexist with God creating species himself, directly, that is, miraculously, instantaneously, already fully-formed, whenever he wants to (compare punctuated equilibria).
(*Gap theory)
Creationism includes what could be called the double-gap theory, meaning that there could have been two different gaps of time in Genesis chapters 1-2, the first gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, and the second gap between Genesis 2:4 and Genesis 2:5. Genesis 1:1 could have occurred some 4.5 billion years ago, when God first created the planet earth and its atmosphere (the first heaven, in which the birds fly: Genesis 1:20b). Between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, some 4.5 billion years could have occurred, in which God could have allowed his own created process of evolution to serve as a mechanism by which new species arose on the earth. During those same 4.5 billion years, God could have also gone outside of evolution and created new species miraculously, instantaneously, already fully-formed, whenever he wanted to (again, compare punctuated equilibria).
Genesis 1:2 could refer to the condition of the earth only about twelve thousand years ago (at the end of the Paleolithic period), after some cataclysm, such as a comet strike, had killed off all life on the planet (both evolved and miraculously created), and had submerged all land areas in water (comets contain huge amounts of water), and had ruined the atmosphere. The impact of the comet could have also knocked the earth out of its orbit around its original star, so that the earth was sent hurtling into the darkness of interstellar space as a "rogue planet" (astronomers estimate that rogue planets in our galaxy could outnumber the stars in our galaxy). Genesis 1:3 to 2:4 could then refer to God, over a period of six, literal, twenty-four-hour days (some twelve thousand years ago, at the start of the Neolithic period), miraculously restoring to the earth light, a good atmosphere, dry land, and life, including a race of male and female homo sapiens sapiens after God had miraculously restored land plants (Genesis 1:11-13) and land animals (Genesis 1:24-25) to the earth.
Then, only about six thousand years ago, God miraculously created on the earth an individual male homo sapiens sapiens named Adam in an uninhabited desert land (Genesis 2:5-7; there, the original Hebrew word translated as "earth" can simply refer to a certain "land": for example, Genesis 2:11). After that, God planted the plants of the local, Garden of Eden in that desert land (Genesis 2:8-9) and God placed Adam in that garden (Genesis 2:15). Then God miraculously created the animals of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:19). Then God miraculously created in the Garden of Eden an individual female homo sapiens sapiens (Genesis 2:22) whom Adam named Eve (Genesis 3:20).
Because Adam was created only about six thousand years ago (based on Biblical chronology), yet there are homo sapiens sapiens fossils said to be as old as about two hundred thousand years, God could have first created homo sapiens sapiens (or it could have evolved by God's created process of evolution) as far back as about two hundred thousand years. Also, all the different hominid forms the fossils of which long predate or are as old as the earliest fossils of homo sapiens sapiens, and which preceding or coexisting hominid forms we do not consider to have been fully human like us (such as homo sapiens neanderthalensis), could have all been created by God (or could have evolved by God's created process of evolution) over millions of years prior to the first appearance of homo sapiens sapiens on the earth.
And this does not even get into the possibly trillion other inhabited planets in the universe on which homo sapiens sapiens (or similar or far more advanced life-forms) could have been created by God (or could have evolved by God's created process of evolution) billions of years prior to the first appearance of homo sapiens sapiens on the earth. For the universe could be about fourteen billion years old, and there are something like a hundred billion different galaxies, each containing something like a hundred billion different stars. So even if only one star out of every ten billion stars has an inhabited planet, there would still be a trillion inhabited planets. And on most of these, God could have begun his miraculous work (and the work of his created process of evolution) billions of years before beginning his miraculous work (and the work of his created process of evolution) on the earth.
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(Biblical *Chronology) / (Is the earth only *6,000 years old?) / (*6000)
The Bible does not require that the earth is only six thousand years old. All it requires is that Adam was created about six thousand years ago. For various scriptures make it possible to estimate the year BC that Adam (as opposed to the earth) was created, by working back from the year BC that Solomon's temple began to be built. Historians say that it began to be built about 966 BC. And the scriptures show that it began to be built 480 years after Israel's Exodus from Egypt (1 Kings 6:1). And Israel had spent 430 years in Egypt before the Exodus (Exodus 12:40-41). And Israel entered Egypt when Jacob was 130 (Genesis 47:9). And Jacob was born when his father Isaac was 60 (Genesis 25:26). And Isaac was born when his father Abraham was 100 (Genesis 21:5). And Abraham was born when his father Terah was about 70 (Genesis 11:26). And Terah was born when his father Nahor was 29 (Genesis 11:24). And Nahor was born when his father Serug was 30 (Genesis 11:22). And Serug was born when his father Reu was 32 (Genesis 11:20). And Reu was born when his father Peleg was 30 (Genesis 11:18).
And Peleg was born when his father Eber was 34 (Genesis 11:16). And Eber was born when his father Salah was 30 (Genesis 11:14). And Salah was born when his father Arphaxad was 35 (Genesis 11:12). And Arphaxad was born when his father Shem was 100 (Genesis 11:10). And Shem was born when his father Noah was 502 (Genesis 11:10 and Genesis 7:6). And Noah was born when his father Lamech was 182 (Genesis 5:28-29). And Lamech was born when his father Methuselah was 187 (Genesis 5:25). And Methuselah was born when his father Enoch was 65 (Genesis 5:21). And Enoch was born when his father Jared was 162 (Genesis 5:18). And Jared was born when his father Mahalaleel was 65 (Genesis 5:15). And Mahalaleel was born when his father Cainan was 70 (Genesis 5:12). And Cainan was born when his father Enos was 90 (Genesis 5:9). And Enos was born when his father Seth was 105 (Genesis 5:6). And Seth was born when his father Adam was 130 (Genesis 5:3).
Adding up the numbers of years above, we see that Adam was created about 4114 BC. This lines up with the fact that our current human civilization began about 4000 BC. If Adam was created about 4114 BC, this means that six thousand years since Adam's creation were completed back at the end of about 1886 AD, and that the seventh millennium began about 1887 AD. (But this does not require that the millennium of Revelation 20:4-6 has begun yet.) Also, it is curious that the next year (1888 AD) Blavatsky published her book (The Secret Doctrine) referring to the "New Age". Also, it is curious that the Mayan calendar begins in 3114 BC, exactly a thousand years after 4114 BC. Also, the numbers of years in the scriptures referenced above show that Abraham (who was first promised the land of Israel by God: Exodus 32:13) was born about 1948 years after Adam's creation, just as the modern state of Israel was established in 1948 AD.
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(Civilization began about 4000 BC?)
Regarding the claim above that our current human civilization began about 4000 BC (subsequent to Adam's creation about 4114 BC), by "civilization" was meant "the stage of cultural development at which writing and the keeping of written records is attained" (Webster's, print-version). "The 4th millennium BC saw major changes in human culture. It marked the beginning of the Bronze Age and of writing. The city states of Sumer and the kingdom of Egypt were established and grew to prominence" (Wikipedia -- 4th millennium BC).
Regarding "civilization" being defined by Oxford Dictionaries as the "most advanced" stage of human social development and organization, our current human civilization (4th millennium BC to the present) is the most advanced stage of human social development and organization, compared to all known prehistoric (pre-4th millennium BC) stages.
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("Current" human civilization?)
Regarding the claim above that our current human civilization began about 4000 BC, by "current" was meant that civilization which began in the 4th millennium BC and continues on today, as opposed to any pre-Adamic human civilizations which may have existed from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years ago.
If there were pre-Adamic civilizations, they could have reached as high a level of technology as our modern technology today. For the Bible says "there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things" (Ecclesiastes 1:9-11). And even our future technology could have already been invented during past eons, for "that which is to be hath already been" (Ecclesiastes 3:15).
But all past-eons technology on the earth could have been completely obliterated by God, leaving no trace of it, just as all of our own technology today (and in our future) will eventually be completely obliterated by God, when "the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10b). Here "earth" could mean just the surface of the earth, for the planet itself could continue on forever (Ecclesiastes 1:4, Psalms 104:5, Psalms 78:69b), so that the future "new earth" (2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1) could mean a new surface for the earth.
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(Current "human" civilization?)
Regarding the claim above that our current human civilization began about 4000 BC, by "human" was meant human civilization in general, as opposed to the civilization of any particular people (for example, Aztec civilization).
Also, by "human" civilization was meant civilization started by humans as opposed to any non-human animals. For preceding the first human civilization, there could have been non-human mammalian civilizations some sixty-five to two million years ago, started by, for example, intelligent horse-like creatures (compare the strange horse-like creatures in Revelation 9:17-19). These could have rebelled against God and then been banished from the earth, forced to live, perhaps, in underground bases on the far side of the moon, and/or on the next planet out from the sun. For the future army of two hundred million strange horse-like creatures in Revelation 9:16-19 will have to come from somewhere.
Preceding the first mammalian civilization, there could have been reptilian civilizations some 250 to 65 million years ago, started by, for example, intelligent dragon/dinosaur creatures (compare Satan as being a dragon in Revelation 12:9).
And preceding the first reptilian civilization, there could have been amphibian civilizations some 350 to 250 million years ago, started by, for example, intelligent frog-like creatures, who could have rebelled against God and become unclean spirits (compare the intelligent frog-like creatures/unclean spirits in Revelation 16:13-14).
And preceding the first amphibian civilization, there could have been insect civilizations some 450 to 350 million years ago, started by, for example, intelligent locust-like creatures (compare the intelligent locust-like creatures in Revelation 9:3-10), who could have rebelled against God and been banished to a cavern deep underground (compare the sealed pit in Revelation 9:1b-3,11).
(What about *Evolution?)
(Why would God take millions of years to evolve something from a one-celled organism when he can instantly create it?)
For the same reason that God has a human start out as a one-celled organism, a zygote, in its mother's womb, and then has it only gradually develop, through natural means, into an embryo, and then into a fetus, and then into a baby, and then into a toddler, and then into an adolescent, and then into an adult. And for the same reason that God has other animals develop gradually in a similar way. And for the same reason that God has plants start out as seeds. It must give God pleasure to see plants and animals develop naturally over time, just as it must give him pleasure to also sometimes create plants and animals instantaneously, miraculously, already fully-formed, like he did in Genesis 1:11-13 and Genesis 1:20-27, during three of the seven literal days of Genesis 1:3 to 2:4.
An old earth and evolution can be true without contradicting Biblical creationism. For evolution per se (random mutation and survival of the fittest) can coexist with creationism, just as an automated process created by a human (for example, a computer program which makes random, colorful pictures which can be seen as art) can coexist with that human performing a task himself, directly (painting some pictures by hand). That is, evolution per se can simply be a process created by God to allow new, adaptive species to arise naturally over time, and this process can coexist with God creating species himself, directly, that is, miraculously, instantaneously, already fully-formed, whenever he wants to (compare punctuated equilibria).
(*Gap theory)
Creationism includes what could be called the double-gap theory, meaning that there could have been two different gaps of time in Genesis chapters 1-2, the first gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, and the second gap between Genesis 2:4 and Genesis 2:5. Genesis 1:1 could have occurred some 4.5 billion years ago, when God first created the planet earth and its atmosphere (the first heaven, in which the birds fly: Genesis 1:20b). Between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, some 4.5 billion years could have occurred, in which God could have allowed his own created process of evolution to serve as a mechanism by which new species arose on the earth. During those same 4.5 billion years, God could have also gone outside of evolution and created new species miraculously, instantaneously, already fully-formed, whenever he wanted to (again, compare punctuated equilibria).
Genesis 1:2 could refer to the condition of the earth only about twelve thousand years ago (at the end of the Paleolithic period), after some cataclysm, such as a comet strike, had killed off all life on the planet (both evolved and miraculously created), and had submerged all land areas in water (comets contain huge amounts of water), and had ruined the atmosphere. The impact of the comet could have also knocked the earth out of its orbit around its original star, so that the earth was sent hurtling into the darkness of interstellar space as a "rogue planet" (astronomers estimate that rogue planets in our galaxy could outnumber the stars in our galaxy). Genesis 1:3 to 2:4 could then refer to God, over a period of six, literal, twenty-four-hour days (some twelve thousand years ago, at the start of the Neolithic period), miraculously restoring to the earth light, a good atmosphere, dry land, and life, including a race of male and female homo sapiens sapiens after God had miraculously restored land plants (Genesis 1:11-13) and land animals (Genesis 1:24-25) to the earth.
Then, only about six thousand years ago, God miraculously created on the earth an individual male homo sapiens sapiens named Adam in an uninhabited desert land (Genesis 2:5-7; there, the original Hebrew word translated as "earth" can simply refer to a certain "land": for example, Genesis 2:11). After that, God planted the plants of the local, Garden of Eden in that desert land (Genesis 2:8-9) and God placed Adam in that garden (Genesis 2:15). Then God miraculously created the animals of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:19). Then God miraculously created in the Garden of Eden an individual female homo sapiens sapiens (Genesis 2:22) whom Adam named Eve (Genesis 3:20).
Because Adam was created only about six thousand years ago (based on Biblical chronology), yet there are homo sapiens sapiens fossils said to be as old as about two hundred thousand years, God could have first created homo sapiens sapiens (or it could have evolved by God's created process of evolution) as far back as about two hundred thousand years. Also, all the different hominid forms the fossils of which long predate or are as old as the earliest fossils of homo sapiens sapiens, and which preceding or coexisting hominid forms we do not consider to have been fully human like us (such as homo sapiens neanderthalensis), could have all been created by God (or could have evolved by God's created process of evolution) over millions of years prior to the first appearance of homo sapiens sapiens on the earth.
And this does not even get into the possibly trillion other inhabited planets in the universe on which homo sapiens sapiens (or similar or far more advanced life-forms) could have been created by God (or could have evolved by God's created process of evolution) billions of years prior to the first appearance of homo sapiens sapiens on the earth. For the universe could be about fourteen billion years old, and there are something like a hundred billion different galaxies, each containing something like a hundred billion different stars. So even if only one star out of every ten billion stars has an inhabited planet, there would still be a trillion inhabited planets. And on most of these, God could have begun his miraculous work (and the work of his created process of evolution) billions of years before beginning his miraculous work (and the work of his created process of evolution) on the earth.
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(Biblical *Chronology) / (Is the earth only *6,000 years old?) / (*6000)
The Bible does not require that the earth is only six thousand years old. All it requires is that Adam was created about six thousand years ago. For various scriptures make it possible to estimate the year BC that Adam (as opposed to the earth) was created, by working back from the year BC that Solomon's temple began to be built. Historians say that it began to be built about 966 BC. And the scriptures show that it began to be built 480 years after Israel's Exodus from Egypt (1 Kings 6:1). And Israel had spent 430 years in Egypt before the Exodus (Exodus 12:40-41). And Israel entered Egypt when Jacob was 130 (Genesis 47:9). And Jacob was born when his father Isaac was 60 (Genesis 25:26). And Isaac was born when his father Abraham was 100 (Genesis 21:5). And Abraham was born when his father Terah was about 70 (Genesis 11:26). And Terah was born when his father Nahor was 29 (Genesis 11:24). And Nahor was born when his father Serug was 30 (Genesis 11:22). And Serug was born when his father Reu was 32 (Genesis 11:20). And Reu was born when his father Peleg was 30 (Genesis 11:18).
And Peleg was born when his father Eber was 34 (Genesis 11:16). And Eber was born when his father Salah was 30 (Genesis 11:14). And Salah was born when his father Arphaxad was 35 (Genesis 11:12). And Arphaxad was born when his father Shem was 100 (Genesis 11:10). And Shem was born when his father Noah was 502 (Genesis 11:10 and Genesis 7:6). And Noah was born when his father Lamech was 182 (Genesis 5:28-29). And Lamech was born when his father Methuselah was 187 (Genesis 5:25). And Methuselah was born when his father Enoch was 65 (Genesis 5:21). And Enoch was born when his father Jared was 162 (Genesis 5:18). And Jared was born when his father Mahalaleel was 65 (Genesis 5:15). And Mahalaleel was born when his father Cainan was 70 (Genesis 5:12). And Cainan was born when his father Enos was 90 (Genesis 5:9). And Enos was born when his father Seth was 105 (Genesis 5:6). And Seth was born when his father Adam was 130 (Genesis 5:3).
Adding up the numbers of years above, we see that Adam was created about 4114 BC. This lines up with the fact that our current human civilization began about 4000 BC. If Adam was created about 4114 BC, this means that six thousand years since Adam's creation were completed back at the end of about 1886 AD, and that the seventh millennium began about 1887 AD. (But this does not require that the millennium of Revelation 20:4-6 has begun yet.) Also, it is curious that the next year (1888 AD) Blavatsky published her book (The Secret Doctrine) referring to the "New Age". Also, it is curious that the Mayan calendar begins in 3114 BC, exactly a thousand years after 4114 BC. Also, the numbers of years in the scriptures referenced above show that Abraham (who was first promised the land of Israel by God: Exodus 32:13) was born about 1948 years after Adam's creation, just as the modern state of Israel was established in 1948 AD.
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(Civilization began about 4000 BC?)
Regarding the claim above that our current human civilization began about 4000 BC (subsequent to Adam's creation about 4114 BC), by "civilization" was meant "the stage of cultural development at which writing and the keeping of written records is attained" (Webster's, print-version). "The 4th millennium BC saw major changes in human culture. It marked the beginning of the Bronze Age and of writing. The city states of Sumer and the kingdom of Egypt were established and grew to prominence" (Wikipedia -- 4th millennium BC).
Regarding "civilization" being defined by Oxford Dictionaries as the "most advanced" stage of human social development and organization, our current human civilization (4th millennium BC to the present) is the most advanced stage of human social development and organization, compared to all known prehistoric (pre-4th millennium BC) stages.
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("Current" human civilization?)
Regarding the claim above that our current human civilization began about 4000 BC, by "current" was meant that civilization which began in the 4th millennium BC and continues on today, as opposed to any pre-Adamic human civilizations which may have existed from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years ago.
If there were pre-Adamic civilizations, they could have reached as high a level of technology as our modern technology today. For the Bible says "there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things" (Ecclesiastes 1:9-11). And even our future technology could have already been invented during past eons, for "that which is to be hath already been" (Ecclesiastes 3:15).
But all past-eons technology on the earth could have been completely obliterated by God, leaving no trace of it, just as all of our own technology today (and in our future) will eventually be completely obliterated by God, when "the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10b). Here "earth" could mean just the surface of the earth, for the planet itself could continue on forever (Ecclesiastes 1:4, Psalms 104:5, Psalms 78:69b), so that the future "new earth" (2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1) could mean a new surface for the earth.
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(Current "human" civilization?)
Regarding the claim above that our current human civilization began about 4000 BC, by "human" was meant human civilization in general, as opposed to the civilization of any particular people (for example, Aztec civilization).
Also, by "human" civilization was meant civilization started by humans as opposed to any non-human animals. For preceding the first human civilization, there could have been non-human mammalian civilizations some sixty-five to two million years ago, started by, for example, intelligent horse-like creatures (compare the strange horse-like creatures in Revelation 9:17-19). These could have rebelled against God and then been banished from the earth, forced to live, perhaps, in underground bases on the far side of the moon, and/or on the next planet out from the sun. For the future army of two hundred million strange horse-like creatures in Revelation 9:16-19 will have to come from somewhere.
Preceding the first mammalian civilization, there could have been reptilian civilizations some 250 to 65 million years ago, started by, for example, intelligent dragon/dinosaur creatures (compare Satan as being a dragon in Revelation 12:9).
And preceding the first reptilian civilization, there could have been amphibian civilizations some 350 to 250 million years ago, started by, for example, intelligent frog-like creatures, who could have rebelled against God and become unclean spirits (compare the intelligent frog-like creatures/unclean spirits in Revelation 16:13-14).
And preceding the first amphibian civilization, there could have been insect civilizations some 450 to 350 million years ago, started by, for example, intelligent locust-like creatures (compare the intelligent locust-like creatures in Revelation 9:3-10), who could have rebelled against God and been banished to a cavern deep underground (compare the sealed pit in Revelation 9:1b-3,11).
Total Comments 5
Comments
 | *Genesis 1:1 / *Gen. 1:1 - (Doesn't it refer to the creation of the universe, with the subsequent verses making no reference to the creation of any aliens?) In Genesis 1:1, the original Hebrew word (shamayim, H8064) translated as "heaven" or "heavens" can be translated simply as the "air" in which the birds fly (for example, Genesis 1:30; 1 Samuel 17:44, Proverbs 30:19). So Genesis 1:1 does not have to be referring to when God created the universe (which could be some fourteen billion years old), or to when God created any of the other, trillion inhabited planets which could exist in the universe, but can simply be referring to when God created the earth (which could be some 4.5 billion years old) and its atmosphere. -(Aren't the phenomena known as UFOs cases where angels or demons, instead of aliens, have shown themselves?) If you believe that God created angels, even though Genesis chapters 1 and 2 make no reference to angels, then why can't you believe that God could have created aliens, even though Genesis chapters 1 and 2 make no reference to aliens? And if God could have created both angels and aliens, then why couldn't some phenomena known as UFOs be angelic (or demonic) and some be alien? (Most could simply be unidentified human aircraft or spacecraft, or planetary or star lights under extraordinary atmospheric conditions.) -- *Genesis 1:3-5 / *Gen. 1:3-5 - Genesis 1:3-5 could mean that God had some light source in space temporarily light up half the earth as bright as day, three literal days before he created the sun (Genesis 1:14-19). -(The light source may have been from inside of God's temple in heaven) Interesting idea. For the third "heaven" of the earth (2 Corinthians 12:2b) could be not far beyond both the earth's atmosphere (the first "heaven": Genesis 1:20b) and a small region of surrounding, outer space (the second "heaven": Deuteronomy 4:19). That is, the earth's third heaven, in a fourth, spiritual, spatial dimension, could be close enough to the earth that light sent down from the third heaven miraculously, and temporarily, by God could have lit up the earth as bright as day, three literal days before he created the sun (Genesis 1:14-19). Genesis 1:3-5 does not have to mean "Let light exist for the first time anywhere", but can simply mean "Let there be light on the earth". -- *Genesis 1:14-17 / *Gen. 1:14-17 - Genesis 1:14-17 does not contradict the fact that God could have also made at some prior times, such as billions of years earlier, a trillion other suns (stars) and moons for a trillion other inhabited planets elsewhere in the universe. -- *Genesis 1:16 / *Gen. 1:16 - Genesis 1:16 only requires that at that time God created the sun and the moon, for there is no "he made" in the original Hebrew before "the stars also", which phrase could simply mean that the stars (which God could have created at some prior times, such as billions of years earlier) also rule the night along with the moon. Or, because there is no "the" before "stars" in the original Hebrew, Genesis 1:16 could mean that God made only some stars at that time to serve as "signs for seasons" (Genesis 1:14), such as the stars in the Mazzaroth (compare the Zodiac) constellations (Job 38:32), which stars are extremely few in relation to the total number of stars in the universe. Even in the night sky as a whole, there are only something like six thousand stars visible to the naked eye, whereas the universe contains something like a hundred billion different galaxies each containing something like a hundred billion different stars. So even if Genesis 1:16 refers to God creating at that time all the six thousand or so stars visible to the naked eye in the night sky, this does not require that he created all the other stars in the universe at that time, which other stars are not visible to the naked eye, and so would serve no function for people on the earth before the invention of telescopes. -(*Fontenelle) Fontenelle's book in the mid-1600's AD was probably inspired by all the new heavenly bodies brought into view through the invention of telescopes beginning in the early 1600's AD. -- *Genesis 1:29 / *Gen. 1:29 - In the earliest days of mankind described in the Bible, God allowed man to eat only plants (Genesis 1:29). It was only after Noah's flood that God allowed Noah and his family to start eating animals as well as plants, and they could eat any animal that moved (Genesis 9:3). -- *Genesis 1:31 / *Gen. 1:31 - -(Is pre-fall death and sin good?) No. But all the references to "good" in Genesis 1:4-31 can refer to only the initial state of what God created on the earth during only the six, literal, twenty-four-hour days of Genesis 1:3-31, not necessarily to everything that God could have created on the earth before that. -(Is Satan good?) No. But who we now call Satan could have still been good (as an unfallen Lucifer) at the time of Genesis 1:4-31. (See the second section under Revelation 13 below) -(If you read Genesis, you will see that all creatures were created to live indefinitely) Nothing requires that any creatures created on the earth before Genesis 1:3-31 were created to live indefinitely. -(Death did not exist before the fall, so there could not have been any evolution) Before the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, death did not exist for Adam and Eve. But nothing requires that death did not exist for anything that God could have created on the earth before that. -(The faith needed to be an evolutionist is staggering) Once someone has the faith that God is the Creator of everything (John 1:3), it takes no more faith to believe that God is the Creator of evolution and the old earth. -(A random mutation from one organism to another has never been shown with our vast fossil collection) You will have to take that up with an evolutionary scientist, who could disagree with you. The point of what has been presented here is that no matter how many random mutations from one organism to another can be shown from science's vast fossil collection, this does not in any way contradict Biblical creationism, because evolution per se (random mutation and survival of the fittest) can be a God-created process that coexists with the miraculous, instantaneous, creation of fully-formed organisms by God. So Christians do not need to waste their precious time trying to disprove evolution per se. -(You cannot take a bunch of dogs and keep breeding until you get a cat) Theoretically you could, gradually, over millions of years, if enough, different mutations occurred in the DNA of two separated populations of dogs living in different environments, to the point where natural selection began to gradually move one population of dogs toward being more like cats, because that made them better adapted to their environment. And if this process continued to the point where the cat-like population of dogs could no longer procreate with the other population of dogs, then the cat-like population would be declared a new species. -(Any system, left uncontrolled will always move from order to disorder) Are you referring to entropy? If so, that applies not to "control", but to energy, and only to a closed system as a whole, not to a subsystem that is taking in energy from another subsystem. For example, life on earth remains orderly not because it is "controlled" by the sun, but because it has the sun as its ultimate, external, source of energy. -(Carbon dating is not accurate) You will have to take that up with a carbon-dating scientist, who could disagree with you. The point of what has been presented here is that no matter how accurate carbon dating is, just as no matter how accurate other, much longer-term, radioactive-decay dating methods are, even a 4.5 billion year old earth does not in any way contradict Biblical creationism, because there could have been a 4.5 billion-year gap of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:3-31. So Christians do not need to waste their precious time trying to disprove an old earth. -(Fossils can form in just a few years) Can you quote the details from the scientific, peer-reviewed, paper that claimed that fossils formed in a few years which were equivalent to fossils that science says formed over millions of years? -(Canyons the size of the Grand Canyon were formed in just a few years at Mount Saint Helens) Can you quote the details from the scientific, peer-reviewed, paper that claimed that canyons at Mount Saint Helens were equivalent to the Grand Canyon? For example, were the walls of the former solid rock like the latter, or only soft ash? And were the walls of the former a mile high? Also, what caused the former canyons? Simply water-flow like with the latter, or huge earthquakes, landslides, and lava flows connected with the last volcanic eruption of Mount Saint Helens? -(God would not do such a thing as evolution and then not write about it in his Book) Why not? The Bible doesn't contain a lot of things that God did (John 21:25). -(God doesn't do things that are not necessary) Really? So creation itself was necessary, and not just for God's pleasure (Revelation 4:11)? -(Using millions of years is totally unnecessary when creating the universe as He did) But humans, animals, and plants today developing naturally over years isn't unnecessary, when God could instantaneously create them all fully-formed? |
  Updated 20th April 2013 at 02:37 AM by Bible2 |
| | -(Either God created everything or everything happened through chance evolution. Any blending of the two is an insult to God) Evolution per se does not require that everything happened by chance. And how has the coexistence of the instantaneous creation of species with the evolution of species been shown to be an insult to God? Why can't evolution be a God-created process? And if it is, why wouldn't denying its existence be an insult to him as its Creator? -(Where is it God features exactly in your proposition?) He features as the Creator, both by instantaneous means and by means of his created process of evolution. -(Maybe he creates some type of mechanism for positive mutation within the genome, then removes it somewhere along the line?) With regard to any one, particular mutation, he could either miraculously remove it, instantaneously, or he could let it remain to work within his created process of evolution. If the latter, the mutation could either become extinct naturally over time, because it provided no benefit, or it could work to improve the chances of survival of an organism within a particular environment, and so be perpetuated naturally into the next generation. -(Perhaps he metaphysically intervenes at every punctuation point in history or something?) He could if he wanted to, but nothing requires that he doesn't often just let natural processes do what he created them to do. -(Are you proposing there was evolution first, then everything that evolved was destroyed, then God recreated everything instantly?) Yes. Except that some instantaneous creation could have coexisted with some evolution from the very beginning. -- *Genesis 2:7 / *Gen. 2:7 - (How were our *spirits made?) By God breathing his Spirit into our physical bodies (compare Genesis 2:7, Isaiah 42:5b). -- *Genesis 2:11 / *Gen. 2:11 - (*Land) (You used the 'local land' argument to hide the fact that in Genesis 1 plants are made, then man, where in Genesis 2, man is made, then plants) Regarding "to hide the fact", that fact was not hidden, but expressly indicated via the words "after" that were put in bold under Genesis 1 above. -(Do you believe Noah's flood was global or local, because the same word is used to describe Noah's flood) Noah's flood could have been global, while Genesis 2:5-25 was local. For the same Hebrew word (erets, H0776) can be used to describe something global or local, just as, for example, our English word "earth" can refer to the globe or to a local area of land, such as one that suffers an "earthquake". That's why the same Hebrew word translated as "earth" in Genesis 1:1, clearly referring to the globe, can be translated elsewhere as "land", such as in Genesis 2:11, in reference to a local area of land, in this case the land of Havilah. -- *Genesis 2:17b / *Gen. 2:17b - Genesis 2:17b was not a false statement, for it meant that eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would make Adam mortal that same day. That is, from that day forward he would surely die, eventually. Also, even though Adam lived almost a thousand years (Genesis 5:5), to God even a thousand years are like a single day (2 Peter 3:8). -- *Genesis 3 / *Gen. 3 - Genesis 3 does not require that Adam and Eve were created with flaws. For while choosing to commit sin is always wrong, just having the ability to choose to commit sin is not a flaw in itself, but a necessary component of free will. Lucifer was created perfect, without any flaws (Ezekiel 28:15a), but he wrongly employed his free will to commit rebellion against God (Ezekiel 28:15b, Isaiah 14:12-14). -(*Devil's theology) The devil's theology is to contradict God's Word with something which sounds better to humans, in order to deceive them into rejecting God's will (Genesis 3:1-6, Matthew 16:21-23; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:3-4). -(Does Adam's fall prove that a works/obedience-based system must result in the loss of salvation for all?) No, for when people become believers, they break off their connection with the first, disobedient Adam, and instead become connected with the last Adam, Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:45, Romans 5:14-21), who is perfectly obedient (Hebrews 4:15), and who makes it possible for believers to be obedient unto their ultimate salvation (Hebrews 5:9, Matthew 25:21, Romans 2:6-7; 2 Peter 1:10-11). -- *Genesis 3:20 / *Gen. 3:20 - Genesis 3:20 does not say or mean that Eve is the mother of "every creature", like Jesus, as God, is the Creator of every creature (Colossians 1:15-16, John 1:1,3). Instead, Genesis 3:20 simply means that Eve would become the mother (Genesis 3:16) of "all living" (Genesis 3:20) humans. For all living humans are descended from Noah (Genesis 7:21 to 9:19), who was descended from Eve and Adam (Genesis 3:20, Genesis 5:3-29). -- *Genesis 4:9a / *Gen. 4:9a - Genesis 4:9a does not mean that God is not omniscient, for he can ask someone a question when he already knows the answer (John 6:5-6). -- *Genesis 5:4 / *Gen. 5:4 - (Did Cain and Abel marry their sisters?) While Genesis 5:4 does mention other sons and daughters of Adam besides Seth, it does not say that Cain and Abel married their full sisters. To avoid Cain and Abel having to commit incest, God could have allowed them to marry only daughters of other humans who could have been descended from a race of humans created thousands of years before Adam was created. (See the "Gap theory" section under Genesis 1 above) -- *Genesis 5:24 / *Gen. 5:24 - (Will we be raptured before the tribulation like *Enoch was raptured before the Flood?) Enoch was not translated into the third heaven so that he would not have to go through the Flood (along with righteous Noah in the ark). For Enoch (Noah's great grandfather) was translated 669 years before the Flood. Noah's flood occurred about 2458 BC. This is based on verses in the Bible which make it possible to work back from the year that Solomon's temple began to be built: (See the "Chronology" section under Genesis 1 above, and see the top half of the chronology, up to Genesis 11:12) ...And Arphaxad was born two years after the Flood (Genesis 11:10). So all we have to do is add up the numbers of years above to see that Noah's flood occurred about 2458 BC. Then, to determine when Enoch was translated, we need to work further back: If Arphaxad was born two years after the Flood, then Arphaxad was born about 2456 BC. And Arphaxad was born when his father Shem was 100 (Genesis 11:10). And Shem was born when his father Noah was 502 (Genesis 11:10, Genesis 7:6). And Noah was born when his father Lamech was 182 (Genesis 5:28-29). And Lamech was born when his father Methuselah was 187 (Genesis 5:25). And Methuselah was born when his father Enoch was 65 (Genesis 5:21). Adding up the numbers of years above, we see that Enoch was born about 3492 BC. He was translated when he was 365 (Genesis 5:23-24), so he was translated about 3127 BC, which was 669 years before the Flood. Adding these 669 years to Enoch's age of 365, we find that Enoch was 1,034 at the time of the Flood. This means that had he stayed on the earth, he would have almost certainly died from old age before the Flood came (compare Isaiah 57:1). For Methuselah (Noah's grandfather) was the longest-living person who stayed on the earth, and he died at the age of 969 (Genesis 5:27), the same year as the Flood. For Enoch was born about 3492 BC, and Methuselah was born when his father Enoch was 65 (Genesis 5:21). So Methuselah was born about 3427 BC, and he died 969 years later, which was about 2458 BC, the same year as the Flood. Methuselah could have died of old age right before the Flood started. God could have waited to bring the Flood until after Methuselah died of old age and was buried. Lamech (Noah's father) had already died, some five years before the Flood. For Methuselah was born about 3427 BC, and Lamech was born when his father Methuselah was 187 (Genesis 5:25). So Lamech was born about 3240 BC, and he died 777 years later (Genesis 5:31), which was about 2463 BC, five years before the Flood. - (Should the *ages of the individuals in Genesis be taken seriously?) Yes, the ages of the individuals in Genesis (for example, Genesis 5:5-32, Genesis 11:11-25) should be taken seriously, just as everything else in the Bible should be taken seriously (Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:16). There is no reason not to. Even science has found that just naturally some multi-cellular organisms do not experience senescence (see "Biological Immortality"). And it is possible for human cell cultures to live much longer than the current maximum human lifespan of about 120 years (compare Genesis 6:3). Indeed, human cell cultures can be made to live indefinitely, so that they become what are called "immortal cells". This is accomplished by causing them to express the telomere-lengthening enzyme telomerase, so that the cells do not shorten their telomeres when they divide (normal cells do shorten them, causing the cells to die when their telomeres get too short). The problem with this is that the cells become cancerous. But God would know how to prevent that, even if humans do not yet know how (compare Luke 18:27). |
| Updated 20th April 2013 at 02:40 AM by Bible2 |
| | *Genesis 6:6 / *Gen. 6:6 - The fact that God knows everything that is going to happen (Isaiah 46:10, Revelation 1:1, Acts 2:23) does not mean that he cannot feel grief when people wrongly employ their free will to commit sin (James 1:13-14), such as in Genesis 6:5-6. An analogy of how God can know something will happen but still feel grief when it happens would be a mother being told by a doctor that her infant son has only a few days to live. The mother could fully believe the doctor and so be fully expecting the death of her son in only a few days, and yet she could still feel grief when her son dies. -- *Genesis 6:17 / *Gen. 6:17 - (*Flood) When God killed people in Noah's flood (Genesis 6:17) for their sinfulness (Genesis 6:5), that was not murder on his part, but capital punishment (compare Romans 13:4). "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:20). But God can also show great mercy toward us sinners (Romans 5:8-11, Luke 18:9-14). -(The date of the Flood) See under Genesis 5:24 above -(No geologic record of a global flood) After a house is flooded, people are able to refurbish it so that no one can tell that it had ever been flooded, unless someone tells them that it had. In the same way, after the earth was flooded, God was able to clean it up by his miraculous power so that no one could tell that it had ever been flooded, unless God told them (in the Bible) that it had been flooded (Genesis 7:10 to 8:14). -(*Ark) Noah could have collected onto the ark only land animals and birds (Genesis 7:8). Land plants, insects, and fungi could have survived the Flood on their own as seeds, eggs, and spores. God must have miraculously brought breeding pairs of the world's land animals and birds to Noah, and then miraculously redistributed them around the world after the Flood. Noah's ark was huge (Genesis 6:15), and so it could have stored sufficient amounts of fodder for the herbivores, and, for example, breeding rabbits for the carnivores. The carnivores could have been separated from each other and from the herbivores by wooden barriers. Or, if it was only after Noah's flood that God sanctioned the eating of meat (Genesis 9:3), during Noah's flood God could have miraculously made it so that all the animals on the ark lived as herbivores, just as at the Neolithic creation 12,000 years ago, God miraculously made it so that all animals, including man, started out living as herbivores (Genesis 1:29-30), and just as in the future, on the new earth, God will miraculously make it so that all animals will live as herbivores (Isaiah 65:17,25). -- *Genesis 7:10 / *Gen. 7:10 - (Re: The seven days and the pre-tribulation rapture) See the "7 days" section under Lk. 17:26 below -- *Genesis 7:13-14 / *Gen. 7:13-14 - The day mentioned at the start of Genesis 7:13-17 is the "selfsame" day that the Flood started (Genesis 7:11-17), contradicting the idea that Noah was sealed in the ark seven days before the Flood. Also, Genesis 7:13-16 can refer to the last time Noah and his family entered the ark. For they could have entered it many times before while building it, and then, once it was finished, while stocking it with food, and loading it with animals. Genesis 7:2-10 shows that Noah spent the seven days before the Flood gathering all the different animals into the ark. So Genesis 7:11-17 means simply that the entering of all the animals was completed on the same day that the Flood started. -- *Genesis 9:3 / *Gen. 9:3 - See Genesis 1:29 above -- *Genesis 17:5b / *Gen. 17:5b - Genesis 17:5b has been fulfilled (Romans 4:16b-17). -- *Genesis 24:60 / *Gen. 24:60 - Genesis 24:60 was not spoken by God, or necessarily even endorsed by God. It was just a nice blessing wished on someone by some people. What God himself promised was a figurative "I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore" (Genesis 22:17), which was already fulfilled by only about six million Israelites at the time of the Exodus (Deuteronomy 1:10). And so Romans 9:27 and Isaiah 10:22 can refer to only a remnant being saved out of a few million people. -- *Genesis 37:9-10 / *Gen. 37:9-10 See "Genesis 37:9-10" under Revelation 12 below -- *Genesis 38:9-10 / *Gen. 38:9-10 - (Did God want *Onan to sleep with a woman to whom he wasn't married?) He was to marry her (Genesis 38:8; compare Deuteronomy 25:5-6). -- *Genesis 49:24b / *Gen. 49:24b - Genesis 49:24b meant that the Messiah/Christ (the stone of Israel: 1 Peter 2:6-8, Ephesians 2:20-22, Acts 4:11-12) would have no human father (Luke 1:34-35, John 3:16), but that, as far as his father was concerned (that is, instead of as far as his mother Mary was concerned: Hebrews 7:14, Luke 3:33c), he would spring directly from the God of Jacob (YHWH) (Genesis 49:24b). -- *Exodus 10:4-19 / *Ex. 10:4-19 - The locusts of Exodus 10:4-19 being literal locusts as we know them today does not require that the weird, locust-like beings in Revelation 9:3-11, the detailed description of which does not match literal locusts as we know them today, will be literal locusts as we know them today. -- *Exodus 13:9 / *Ex. 13:9 - Exodus 13:9 (like Deuteronomy 6:8 and Deuteronomy 11:18) does not require that the Antichrist's future mark of his name or the gematrial number of his name (666) on people's right hands or foreheads (Revelation 13:16-18) will not be a literal, visible mark, applied via scarification (see Revelation 13:16 below), just as Exodus 13:9 does not require that the forbidden "cuttings" marks in Leviticus 19:28 and Leviticus 21:5 were not literal, visible marks, applied via scarification; and just as Exodus 13:9 does not require that the "cuttings" on the hands in Jeremiah 48:37 would not be literal, visible marks, applied via scarification; and just as Exodus 13:9 does not require that the marks of the Lord Jesus on Paul's body (Galatians 6:17) were not literal, visible marks (that is, scars from persecution), or that the future mark of God's name on obedient believers (Revelation 22:4, Revelation 3:12) will not be a literal, visible mark (miraculously "written" on them). (See also Ezekiel 9:4 below) -- *Exodus 16:28 / *Ex. 16:28 - Exodus 16:28 does not require that God had commanded any special behavior on every sabbath before the time of Exodus 16. For right before Exodus 16:28, God had commanded through Moses that the people not try to gather manna on the sabbath (Exodus 16:25-26), but some people went ahead and tried to anyway (Exodus 16:27). -- *Exodus 20:13 / *Ex. 20:13 - (Capital punishment) See Deuteronomy 5:17 below -- *Exodus 25:9 / *Ex. 25:9 - (*Tabernacle) The parts of the Old Covenant Mosaic tabernacle could have foreshadowed YHWH's New Covenant way of salvation (Jeremiah 31:31-34). The altar for animal sacrifices (Exodus 27:1, Exodus 29:12-13) could have foreshadowed Christ's New Covenant sacrifice (Matthew 26:28). The laver with its water (Exodus 30:18) could have foreshadowed water baptism (Acts 22:16). The menorah with its flames (Exodus 25:31,37) could have foreshadowed Holy Spirit baptism (Acts 1:5, Acts 2:3-4). The table with its shewbread (Exodus 25:23,30) could have foreshadowed communion (1 Corinthians 11:26). The altar for incense (Exodus 30:1) could have foreshadowed Christian prayer (compare Revelation 8:4). The ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:10, Numbers 10:33) with its mercy seat (Exodus 25:21) could have foreshadowed the establishment of the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28) and Christians obtaining its mercy (Hebrews 4:16), unto eternal life (Jude 1:21). At the same time, the tabernacle could have been a figurative model of the earth and its three heavens (2 Corinthians 12:2b). The tabernacle's courtyard could have represented the earth and its atmosphere, the first heaven (Genesis 1:20b). The tabernacle's holy place could have represented the second heaven, outer space (Deuteronomy 4:19). And the tabernacle's most holy place could have represented the third heaven spiritual realm (2 Corinthians 12:2b). In the tabernacle's courtyard, the altar (Exodus 27:1) could have represented the earth's land areas. The laver with its water (Exodus 30:18) could have represented the sea (compare also "the sea" part of the first temple: 1 Kings 7:23). And the veil between the courtyard and the holy place (Exodus 26:36) could have represented the atmosphere. The five pillars that held up that veil (Exodus 26:37) could have represented the five most powerful (now fallen) angelic princes who (before they were fallen) were assigned by God to rule the earth from its atmosphere/sky/air (Ephesians 6:12). The central of these five pillars could have represented Lucifer (Satan), "the prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2), while the other four pillars could have represented four of his most powerful lieutenants. In the tabernacle's holy place, the seven lights (Exodus 25:37) could have represented the seven (moving) lights in outer space visible to the naked eye from the viewpoint of earth: the sun, the moon, the first planet from the sun, the second planet, the fourth planet, the fifth planet, and the sixth planet. The twelve loaves (Leviticus 24:5-6) could have represented the twelve constellations of the Mazzaroth (Job 38:32). At the same time, the seven lights (both in the tabernacle and in the sky) could have been patterned after the third heaven's "seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God" (Revelation 4:5b). |
| Updated 20th April 2013 at 02:42 AM by Bible2 |
| | In the tabernacle's most holy place, the veil between the holy place and the most holy place (Exodus 26:33b) could have represented the line between outer space (space-time throughout the universe) and the third heaven spiritual realm. The four pillars that held up that veil (Exodus 26:32) could have represented the four dimensions of space-time, the four fundamental forces of space-time (gravity, electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force), and the four possible states of matter in space-time (solid, liquid, gas, plasma), so that going past the four pillars could have represented going beyond space-time and into the third heaven spiritual realm. At the same time, all the different sets of four things referred to above could have been patterned after the third heaven's four beasts/seraphims (Revelation 4:8, Isaiah 6:2-3). The vertical boards which formed the back wall of the tabernacle's most holy place included six boards (Exodus 26:22) of a regular width of 1.5 cubits (Exodus 26:16) plus two corner boards (Exodus 26:23) which each had to have been a third of the regular width, so that the width of the back wall would be ten cubits, equal to the ten-cubit height of the boards (Exodus 26:16), and equal to the ten-cubit length of the most holy place (this length being based on the tabernacle's top-covering curtains in Exodus 26:1-13 having been most likely coupled by the gold taches at the line between the holy place and the most holy place). That is, in order for the most holy place to have been a perfect cube, ten cubits (fifteen feet) on a side (similar to how the literal, heavenly city of New Jerusalem is a perfect cube, fifteen hundred miles on a side: Revelation 21:16), the back wall of the tabernacle had to have been formed by the equivalent of 6.66 regular-width boards. That the back wall of the tabernacle's most holy place had, in effect, the number 6.66 connected with it could have represented the Antichrist's future rebellion. For the gematrial number of his personal name is 666 (Revelation 13:17c-18). And he could break through the back wall of the third Jewish temple (which will be built) and he could then enter in that back way when he sits in the temple and proclaims himself God (2 Thessalonians 2:4. Daniel 11:36,31). He could take great delight in entering the temple's most holy place by this forced, "back way", for it would show his utter rejection of YHWH's way to eternal life, pictured by the tabernacle. - *Exodus 34:28 / *Ex. 34:28 - (The Mosaic Law = the Old Covenant) See the second section under Gal. 4:21 below -- *Leviticus 11 / *Lev. 11 - (*Health) It is sometimes claimed that we should not eat animals that were "unclean" under the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law (Leviticus 11), for they are detrimental to health. But where does it say that they were "unclean" because they are detrimental to health? Even pork is not detrimental to health when it is cooked properly. That is why there are so many healthy old people in China, a nation which thrives on properly-cooked pork. So the dietary restrictions of the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law were not for health purposes, but must have been symbolic, just as Acts 10:11-15 was not for health purposes, but was symbolic (Acts 10:28), and just as the clothing restrictions and hair-cutting restrictions of the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law were not for health purposes, but must have been symbolic. For people can live long and healthy lives wearing clothing made of mixed fibers (such as cotton/nylon blends), even though this goes against the letter of Deuteronomy 22:11. And people can live long and healthy lives shaving the sides of their heads and beards, even though this goes against the letter of Leviticus 19:27. (See Rom. 14:14 below) -(*Clean/*Unclean) The idea of "clean" and "unclean" in the Old Testament was not derived from whether or not something was to be eaten, for people and inedible objects could also be "unclean" (Leviticus 11:24-40). Instead, it was derived from whether or not something (whether human, animal, or object) was considered by God in Old Testament times to be holy/not guilty or unholy/guilty (Leviticus 11:43-47, Leviticus 5:2b-3, Leviticus 10:10). -- *Leviticus 11:13 / *Lev. 11:13 - Because the ancient Hebrew word translated at "birds" in Leviticus 11:13 could be used in ancient times to refer to both eagles and bats (Leviticus 11:13,19), it must have referred to any animal with wings and two legs. We must not try to force our modern, scientific definition of the English word "bird" back onto the ancient Hebrew word. -- *Leviticus 20:9 / *Lev. 20:9 - (Re: Revelation 13:16) Leviticus 20:9 uses "on" only in a figurative sense (to represent guiltiness), whereas Revelation 13:16 uses "on" (Greek) only in a literal sense (that is, one thing being located on something else). -- *Leviticus 26:18 / *Lev. 26:18 - The "seven times" in Leviticus 26:18 do not have to refer to a period of time that is "seven"-anything long, for there is no "times" in the original Hebrew of Leviticus 26:18. Instead, Leviticus 26:18 could refer to seven separate, individual instances of punishment, like, for example, 2 Kings 5:14 refers to "seven times" in the sense of seven separate, individual instances of an action. Or Leviticus 26:18 could refer to a single instance of punishment seven times greater in magnitude (not in temporal duration) than before, like, for example, Daniel 3:19 refers to a fire being stoked until it was "seven times" hotter than before. -- *Numbers 12 / *Num. 12 - (*Interracial marriage) / (*Racism) Regarding interracial marriage, there is nothing wrong with it, and watch out about speaking against it. For God accepted Moses marrying an Ethiopian woman, while Miriam was turned leprous white for looking down on Moses for doing that (Numbers 12). -- *Numbers 23:19 / *Num. 23:19 - (*Son of man) In Numbers 23:19, the phrase "the son of man" is used only generically to refer to human beings who are not God. It is used in the same generic way in, for example, Psalms 146:3, Isaiah 51:12, Ezekiel 2:1, and Daniel 8:17. But the phrase "the Son of man" is used specifically in Matthew 24:30, Daniel 7:13, Mark 14:61-62, and many other verses to refer to only the Messiah/the Christ, who is both a human being and God at the same time (John 1:1,14, John 20:28, Luke 24:39). When Jesus refers to himself as the Son of man (for example, in Matthew 16:13), that is his way of saying that he is the Messiah/the Christ (Matthew 16:16-17, Mark 14:61-62). -- *Numbers 31:18 / *Num. 31:18 - Numbers 31:18 does not say that the Israelite men could do whatever they wanted with the captive virgins. The Israelite men could have waited until the virgins grew up and then married them (compare Deuteronomy 21:11-14). -- *Deuteronomy 4:2 / *Deut. 4:2 - Deuteronomy 4:2 was a warning against adding commandments to or deleting commandments from the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law, back when it was still in effect. -- *Deuteronomy 4:24-25 / *Deut. 4:24-25 - Deuteronomy 4:24-25 does not require that God must be motivated solely by jealousy or anger, and cannot also be motivated by hatred for people themselves when he kills (Hosea 9:15-16). Also, no scripture contradicts the fact that God hates nonelect people themselves (Romans 9:11-13, Malachi 1:3). -- *Deuteronomy 5:17 / *Deut. 5:17 - In Deuteronomy 5:17, "kill" meant murder (Matthew 19:18), not capital punishment (Deuteronomy 17:5-7, Romans 13:4). -- *Deuteronomy 6:8 / *Deut. 6:8 - See Exodus 13:9 above -- *Deuteronomy 6:13 / *Deut. 6:13 - Deuteronomy 6:13 referred to the fear that keeps people from misbehaving so as to avoid punishment from God, whom they love (Deuteronomy 6:5). -- *Deuteronomy 7:21 / *Deut. 7:21 - God is a "terrible" God (Deuteronomy 7:21, Psalms 47:2, Psalms 68:35) in the sense that he inspires terror in people (2 Corinthians 5:11). But everything he does is perfectly just and right (Deuteronomy 32:4). So any terrible thing that he does to people (Psalms 66:3,5, Psalms 76:12, Psalms 145:6) is his righteous judgment and wrath against evil (Romans 2:5, Romans 9:22, Revelation 14:10-11). -- *Deuteronomy 10:16 / *Deut. 10:16 - See Deuteronomy 30:6 below -- *Deuteronomy 10:17 / *Deut. 10:17 - (Regardeth not persons) See Acts 10:34 below -- *Deuteronomy 11:18 / *Deut. 11:18 - See Exodus 13:9 above -- *Deuteronomy 13:1-3 / *Deut. 13:1-3 - See "Deuteronomy 13:1-3" under Revelation 13:13 below -- *Deuteronomy 13:5 / *Deut. 13:5 - In Deuteronomy 13:5, the bondage was cruel slavery to the Egyptians (Exodus 1:11-14), as opposed to the different kind of bondage to the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law (Galatians 4:21 to 5:1). Similarly, Christians are delivered from bondage to sin (John 8:34-36, Romans 8:2-14, Romans 6:1-23, Galatians 5:16; 2 Corinthians 7:1), and have become the bondservants of Jesus (Romans 1:1, Romans 6:22, Revelation 1:1). -- *Deuteronomy 14 / *Deut. 14 - (Dietary laws) See Leviticus 11 above -- *Deuteronomy 21:18-21 / *Deut. 21:18-21 - (Re: Being children of God and once-saved-always-saved) See Gal. 4:6 below -- *Deuteronomy 24:2 / *Deut. 24:2 - (Under Mk. 10:11 below, you say this is Old Covenant, therefore it doesn't count, as if it's not God's Word) Something can be God's Word but its letter can be no longer in effect (Hebrews 7:18-19, Ephesians 2:15, Colossians 2:14). (See the "Law" section under Eph. 2:15 below) -- *Deuteronomy chapters 30-32 / *Deut. chs. 30-32 - Deuteronomy chapters 30-32 do not say that heaven and earth were the Old Covenant Mosaic law. Deuteronomy 30:11-13 even specifically distinguishes between heaven and earth, and the Old Covenant Mosaic law. |
| Updated 20th April 2013 at 02:45 AM by Bible2 |
| | *Deuteronomy 30:6 / *Deut. 30:6 - Deuteronomy 30:6, like Deuteronomy 10:16 and Jeremiah 4:4, refers to spiritual circumcision during the (now past) time of the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law (Deuteronomy 30:8, Deuteronomy 10:13, Jeremiah 6:19). There is spiritual circumcision also during the (now present) time of the New Covenant (Romans 2:29, Philippians 3:3, Colossians 2:11-13). -- *Deuteronomy 30:11-13 / *Deut. 30:11-13 - Deuteronomy 30:11-13 is about the Old Covenant Mosaic law, which is "this commandment which I command thee this day". -- *Deuteronomy 30:19 / *Deut. 30:19 - In Deuteronomy 30:19, heaven and earth are the literal heaven and earth of Deuteronomy 30:12-13, just as in Deuteronomy 31:28, heaven and earth are the literal heaven and earth of Deuteronomy 32:1, which are expressly distinguished there from the words of the song of Moses, which is not the book of the law, but just one part of it. -- *Deuteronomy 30:20 / *Deut. 30:20 - (Old Testament obedience and life) See under Ezek. 18:23 below -- *Deuteronomy 31:10-11 / *Deut. 31:10-11 - Deuteronomy 31:10-11 refers to only the reading of the Old Covenant Mosaic law as given in the entire book of Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 31:12b, Deuteronomy 28:58, Deuteronomy 27:26, Nehemiah 8), and only "at the end" of seven years, meaning at the end of every seven years, and only while the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law was still in effect (it was abolished on the Cross: Ephesians 2:15-16). This has nothing to do with Daniel 9:27a, which includes reference to one, particular, future, man-made peace treaty/covenant (Daniel 9:26a, Daniel 11:22-23a) being confirmed at the start of one particular, future, seven-year period. (See Dan. 9:26 below) -- *Deuteronomy 31:22 / *Deut. 31:22 - (This is the only song of Moses I could find) The song of Moses itself comes after that, in Deuteronomy 32:1-43, which verses are bracketed by being called "all the words of this song" (Deuteronomy 31:30, Deuteronomy 32:44). -- *Deuteronomy 31:28 / *Deut. 31:28 - (Heaven and earth) See Deuteronomy 30:19 above -- *Deuteronomy 32:4 / *Deut. 32:4 - (Means God must love everyone?) See 1 John 1:5 below -- *Joshua 21:43 / *Josh. 21:43 - Nothing in Joshua 21:43 requires that the promise of the land of Canaan is only typological in the past, instead of being literal and valid not only in the past, but also in the present and in the future. For the promise is that the literal Canaan will be "an everlasting possession" (Genesis 17:8). -- *Joshua 24:15 / *Josh. 24:15 - (*Free will) What is meant by free will is that God lets people choose what they are going to do (Joshua 24:15, Deuteronomy 30:19, Isaiah 1:19-20; 1 Chronicles 28:9; 1 Peter 5:2, Philemon 1:14, Genesis 24:8). -(Doesn't omniscience negate free will?) See the third section under Mk. 13:32 below -- *1 Samuel 15:3 / *1 Sam. 15:3 - Even babies are sinful (Psalms 58:3, Psalms 51:5), because of original sin (Romans 5:19a). And as the Creator of all babies, God has the right to decide what to do with them, even before they are born (Romans 9:11-24). -- *1 Samuel 16:7 / *1 Sam. 16:7 - 1 Samuel 16:7 does not mean that God looks for goodness or a desire for God in unsaved people, for they have no goodness or desire for God (Romans 3:10-12). -- *1 Samuel 28:15-19 / *1 Sam. 28:15-19 - Just as what Samuel prophesied to Saul came to pass (1 Samuel 28:15-19; 1 Samuel 31:1-7), so the Third Secret of Fatima (not to mention the Akita prophecy) could come to pass. (See the "Fatima" section under Revelation 13:11 below) -- *2 Samuel 22:33b / *2 Sam. 22:33b - God makes the way of saved people perfect (compare 2 Samuel 22:33b, Psalms 18:32) only so long as they repent from every sin they might commit and confess it to God (1 John 1:9, Hebrews 10:26-29). -- *1 Kings 7:23 / *1 Kin. 7:23 - (*Pi) The Bible does not claim that pi is equal to three. All 1 Kings 7:23 says is that a brass basin ten cubits in diameter had a circumference of thirty cubits, which could simply have been rounded down from a circumference of 31.4 cubits. Or the ten-cubit diameter could have been rounded up from 9.55 cubits, which would have resulted in a circumference of thirty cubits. Or neither the ten-cubit-diameter figure nor the thirty-cubit-circumference figure was meant to be taken as an exact figure accurate to the hundredth of a cubit. For 1 Kings 7:23 is not giving an exact, blueprint description of the basin, nor is it giving a geometry lesson. It is simply giving a general account of how big the basin was. -- *2 Kings 2:11 / *2 Kin. 2:11 - In 2 Kings 2:11, "heaven" can refer to the third heaven where God's throne is (compare 1 Kings 22:19, Psalms 11:4), just as the apostle Paul said that he at one point during his lifetime could have been taken bodily to the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2), and just as the apostle John at one point during his lifetime was taken up to God's throne in heaven (Revelation 4:1-2). -- *2 Kings 3:15 / *2 Kin. 3:15 - (Re: Revelation 13:16) 2 Kings 3:15 does not refer to a physical hand, whereas Revelation 13:16 does refer to a physical mark being placed on physical hands or foreheads. -- *2 Kings 3:27 / *2 Kin. 3:27 - (*devils / *gods) In 2 Kings 3:27, the sacrifice by the king of Moab (2 Kings 3:26) could have been made to the false god Chemosh (1 Kings 11:33), who could have then unleashed his wrath against Israel. For Chemosh could be a devil (1 Corinthians 10:20), and devils can unleash their wrath against people (Revelation 12:12b). Devils have real power (Revelation 2:10, Ephesians 6:12, Luke 13:16), just as even human "gods" (John 10:34) have real power (Romans 13:4). But (upper case) God's/Jesus' power is greater (Luke 10:17-20), just as the power of even God's angels is greater (Revelation 12:7-9, Daniel 10:13). For God (YHWH) has always been, is now, and forever will be the only God (Isaiah 45:5-6, Isaiah 43:10b). -- *2 Kings 13:14 / *2 Kin. 13:14 - Nothing requires that 2 Kings 13:14 was a vision, instead of just a statement by Joash. Also, it does not matter if the chariot that had previously taken Elijah up into heaven was spiritual; it was still real, and so it was really able to take Elijah physically up into heaven (2 Kings 2:11). Joash's statement in 2 Kings 13:14 could simply mean that Joash wanted God to send a chariot to take Elisha alive into heaven in the same manner that God had sent a chariot to take Elijah alive into heaven. Elisha made the statement in 2 Kings 2:12 only after he saw the means by which Elijah was taken alive into heaven, not a means by which Elijah was to be killed. God also physically took Enoch alive into heaven, so that Enoch would not see death (Hebrews 11:5). -- *2 Kings 18:5-6 / *2 Kin. 18:5-6 - 2 Kings 18:5-6 does not say that the masses of Israel were not hypocritical (Isaiah 10:6) at the time of Isaiah 36:1. -- *2 Kings 20:1-7 / *2 Kin. 20:1-7 - God's omniscient foreknowledge, his knowing beforehand everything (Colossians 2:3) that he will do and that we will do (Isaiah 46:10, Acts 2:23, Revelation 1:1), is not proven false by our prayers and his responses to them, for they are all included in his foreknowledge. For example, God already knew, even before Hezekiah prayed in 2 Kings 20:2-3, even before the foundation of the world, that Hezekiah would rightly employ his own free will to make that prayer and that he (God) would grant him an extension of life in response. -- *2 Chronicles 7:13-14 / *2 Chr. 7:13-14 - 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 does not refer to the eternal fate of individuals (Romans 9:11-23). -- *2 Chronicles 19:7 / *2 Chr. 19:7 - (Nor respect of persons) See Acts 10:34 below -- *2 Chronicles 21:12 / *2 Chr. 21:12 - In 2 Chronicles 21:12, the letter from Elijah was sent to Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 21:1-12). And 2 Kings 1:17 shows that Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat could have already been in the second year of his reign before Elijah's ascension into heaven in 2 Kings 2:11. -- *2 Chronicles 30:12 / *2 Chr. 30:12 - 2 Chronicles 30:12 refers only to the people keeping a single Passover (2 Chronicles 30:2,13) near the start of Hezekiah's reign (2 Chronicles 29:3,17; 2 Chronicles 30:2,13), not to how the people were fourteen years later (Isaiah 36:1, Isaiah 10:5-6). |
| Updated 20th April 2013 at 02:47 AM by Bible2 |
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