15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall... 18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee. 19 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him... 21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window. (Joshua 2:15;18-19,21)

5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him... 20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. (Joshua 6:5,20)



The Record of a Miracle

The de-mythologizing of the Bible, begun in the nineteenth century, goes on apace. The last time I looked, theologians had labeled the creation of the world a myth, Adam and Eve mythical persons, the fall of man a myth, and the flood of Noah a myth. Everything must now have a "scientific" explanation-- that is, a naturalistic one. The crossing of the Jordan, we are told, was made possible when the river was blocked by a landslide upstream, that just happened to coincide with Joshua's invasion plan. All the priestly display: the trumpets and the shouting and the marching around Jericho for seven days before is just--- you guessed it--- myth. The wall of Jericho really fell down because of an earthquake, probably related to the same seismic activity that caused the stoppage of the Jordan. Some have even suggested that it was the sound made by the shouting and the trumpets that caused a sympathetic vibration in the wall and destroyed it.

Some Bible teachers have read these things in books by learned men and accepted them; but the fact is that not one of these explanations of the biblical miracles stands up under even a cursory examination. The text of holy Scripture does not at all allow for such imaginative interpretations. The fall of Jericho's wall was an astounding miracle! No natural cause can begin to account for the stunning display of God's wisdom, power and skill. For we read that the wall fell in such a way that:

1) it did not damage the houses--- even the houses that were on the wall
2) rocks and debris did not roll down the hill into the Israelites
3) there was no choking, blinding cloud of dust from its fall
4) it did not hinder the Israelites from immediately running uphill into the city and going through the streets

In fact, the wall fell down flat, that is, flush with the ground!

John Gill, the famous Hebraist and scholar of Jewish antiquities, comments:

and the wall of the city shall fall down flat; or "under itself" (a); which Jarchi interprets, in its place; that is, where it stood, and be swallowed up in it: so the Targum,"and it shall be swallowed up under it;''yet so that somewhat of it should be seen, as an attestation and proof of the miracle, as Kimchi; who says,"it means that it should be swallowed up in its place under the earth, and a little of it appear above ground for a memorial of the miracle:

and the people shall ascend up, every man straight before him; just as they were in the order of procession; for the wall being fallen everywhere, they would have no occasion to make up to one certain place, as when a breach is only made in one place, and the besiegers are obliged to go so many abreast to enter at it; but in this case they might go straight up from whence they were, and enter the city without any obstruction and difficulty.


The wall simply disappeared into the ground, leaving the city suddenly naked to attack from every direction, with the armies of Israel surrounding them. It was the defender's worst nightmare! They could not concentrate their forces at a single breach in the wall, and thus repel the invaders by superior force. They would have to address a sudden and wholly unexpected attack from every direction at once!

If the Jewish interpretation is wrong, then the only other alternative at all consistent with the details of the text is that the wall was laid down in unbroken sections, so that the Israelites could use them as pavement. If the wall was curved, as is likely, even this would not work; and only the Jews' explanation remains.




Some Significant Details

Now let's examine the text in detail. And first, we note that Rahab's house was "on the wall", and that the window of it opened without obstruction on the country outside. It will not do to say that the wall of the city was one wall of her house; for on that supposition, her house must have been destroyed or at least her window--- when the wall went down. But the window, and the cord hanging in it, were still there after the wall fell. So either there was a window in the wall of the city, and a corresponding window in her house; or the house rose above the wall, so that an unobstructed view of the countryside was possible from within her house. These are the only two possibilities.

Second, we note that Jericho was on a hill. One had to ascend a slope to enter it (Joshua 6:5, 20). This is usual for cities, especially fortified cities, and especially fortified cities near large rivers that overflow their banks regularly. So that, if the walls had "come a -tumblin' down", as the spiritual says, the surrounding armies would have had to retreat for a while to avoid the tumbling rocks, and then dodge around them to get to the city. But the Scripture says that they immediately ran straight uphill into the city.

Third, we note that the Israelites entered the city, and went from house to house executing their commission. An earthquake would have rendered this largely unnecessary and virtually impossible. If anything still stood, it would be unsafe to enter, and if everything was demolished, they would have had little work to do. But we have already seen that the falling of the wall was not the result of an earthquake which the Bible merely neglected to mention, but was a miracle of surgical precision. Rahab and her family were found in her intact house, which they must have entered from the unblocked city street, and conducted to the camp of Israel in safety.

20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. 21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. 22 But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. 23 And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. 24 And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. (Joshua 6:20-24)

The real myth-makers are those who fabricate, out of their own warped brains, stories that contradict the pure word of the Living God!



Application

In Deuteronomy 1:19-36, Moses recalls the unbelief of the previous generation that got them banished from the promised land. When, upon the first arrival of Israel at the border of Canaan, Moses sent out spies to spy out the land, they reported, "The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there."(Deuteronomy 1:28) This was too much for the people--- their hearts fainted, and they refused to go up.

But now, that whole generation was dead and gone, and their children would not make the same mistake. Despite the appearances, they found courage in Jehovah to face the challenge. The LORD was more than a match for anyone, or any circumstance, that would stand in their way. They had already overcome their fear of giants in their recent conquest of Og, king of Bashan, who was at least twelve feet tall! They knew that those massive and high walls of Fortress Jericho were nothing at all to the God who made heaven and earth--- the God who drowned the hosts of Egypt in the sea. In answer to their faith, He simply took them down! He un-walled Jericho.

He will do the same for us. If we have a promise from God, be assured that He will fulfill it, even if it means the sudden and unlooked for dismantling of the most powerful institutions of men on earth. All we need is the faith to claim his promise and fight in His almighty strength. The Israelites did not have to be great warriors; they just had to obey. God would do the rest. He would adjust the task to their capacity.

What must the dwellers in Jericho have thought when they saw the army of Israel marching around their walls, ram's horns sounding, day after day? The traditional ways of conquering a city were not at all in evidence. They dug no trenches, threw up no barriers of earth and wood, carried no ladders, nor drew any siege engines. Instead of entrenching themselves to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the city, they marched around once, and then--- just marched away. And nothing happened. Day after day, they did this. They probably thought the seventh day would be like the sixth and the fifth, and all the others. Israel gave no clue at all of the master-plan, so there was no way to ready Jericho for opposition. Tense and baffled, worn out with suspense, wearied of the routine--- surely they could not have been more unready for what happened next!

Imagine the terror that must have seized the Canaanites when they heard the trumpet-blast and the shouting! And then, the wall of their city suddenly disappeared into the ground! They had already been deprived of courage by the word that had come out of Egypt years before; and when Israel had crossed the Jordan at full flood, they were so intimidated that they missed the opportunity to take advantage of the vulnerability of Israel when the men were several days recovering from circumcision. Now the strong walls in which they had always trusted had just vanished! How could they fight such a foe? What point was there in resistance? Jericho's men, thus emasculated by fear, could be no match for men energized by the knowledge that Almighty God was on their side. Now Israel could see that the city was theirs for the taking.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, will fight our battles for us, if only we will rise up like men and fight under His banner. The foes which we deem so mighty are not unconquerable, unless we choose not to fight, or unless we seek to overcome them with carnal weapons. In that case, our cause must fail. But the battle is the Lord's; and if we stand strong in His name, it is just a matter of time until He claims the territory that is His by right already:

"I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." (Psalms 2:7-9)


Howard Douglas King
July 3, 2015

The following picture is to some extent imaginary, and may not be correct in all its details, but it is meant to present the main facts of Biblical eschatology in a realistic and dramatic fashion.  Its main features are such as the church of Jesus Christ has always believed and taught.

It begins as a day like any other.  Alarm clocks go off, the sun comes up and people get out of bed.  They drink their coffee, eat their breakfast and pursue their daily routines.  It is a day like any day until...  Suddenly – an unusual sound is heard.  It is the sound of a great trumpet, but like no trumpet ever heard before!  The note is pure and powerful, rising above the televisions and radios that are playing in the homes, above all the noise of the streets, even the great machines of the powerhouses and factories; and, most remarkably, people all over the world hear it at once!  It is a solemn, dreadful, moving sound, and it does not go away.  It continues and grows until it is the only sound heard and the only thought in men's minds!  There is something unearthly about it.  In their hearts, a fear grows with it, the fear of guilty conscience, the memory of past sins.  People unaccountably start to remember the shameful deeds they have committed in darkness, and dared to tell no one.  They are seized with the desire to run and hide, but there is nowhere to hide from that sound, or from the torment within.

Then there is a great outcry, “Look! Look at the sky!”  Something is coming!  It looks like a brilliant cloud, but it is moving too fast.  It begins to resemble a vast flock of white birds.  “No, it's not birds” says one.  “No!  It can't be!  It can't be that!” men are heard to say.  But it is that, the unspeakable, the unthinkable – Jesus Christ is coming, at the head of an army of millions and millions of angels.

Now the sky is filled with them, mighty winged warriors with dreadful dauntless faces, terrible to behold.  On the earth, stark, paralyzing terror takes hold.

The trumpet suddenly ceases, but this brings no relief.  For then a great voice cries out from heaven, clear and deep and resonant; a human voice, but somehow just as terrible as the trumpet. “All ye saints, come up hither. Thy King cometh!”

As the King's entourage draws near, the earth begins to tremble – slightly at first, then more violently.  It rumbles and groans, as its foundations begin to crumble.  All the graves break open, and a most wonderful sight is seen:  men, women and children flying upward in beautiful white raiment, with joyful countenances, rising to meet their King and Savior.  Others come – not from the graves, but – living men transformed all of a sudden into holy, rapturous beings unlike anything men have seen!  They can be seen now gathering about Him, like another great cloud, and the angels recede from Him somewhat to give the greater place and honor to His redeemed ones.

But now a great wailing begins on earth, as people finally realize that this is really the end of the world, and they all unprepared!  They gnaw their tongues and blaspheme.  There is weeping and gnashing of teeth.  And then they begin to notice something else.  Slowly, as if dragged against their will, men – or what once were men – are crawling out of the graves.  These are not like the others.  They are bent over as if under a great weight.  They look like corpses still, and in their eyes is the look of terror and dread.  They stink of death, and in their faces is the malignity of devils.  Woe unto them!  Their souls have lain in prison, tormented but unrepentant, some for years, some for ages, and have only been raised from the dead now that they might suffer for all time in the same bodies in which they sinned! 

Now their eyes fasten upon the sky, where they see many of the great white figures with shining faces break off from the rest and bend their wing towards earth.  They are coming to bind the damned and bring them to judgment.  What cursing and execrations!  What pitiful moans and wails arise!  But all in vain!  There is no escape.  The swift angels arrest their prey with ease and bind them hand and foot.  And not only them, for many of the living will share the same fate. 

Soon all humanity has been divided into two groups, the miserable prisoners and the free sons of God.  They are brought into court before the greatest of Kings, who sits on a throne set in the heavens, with all the world in attendance before Him, the Sons of God on His right hand, and the prisoners on His left. 

When all are in their places, and silence has been imposed, the Judge rises from His seat.  He looks about at the multitude, then at the earth which hangs in the air beneath them.  “Behold!” He cries.  And as He does so, the earth swings upward in an arc around the heavenly assembly, so that instead of being under them, it is before them. “The place where all the crimes of your race were committed!  The world once glorious, now corrupted beyond remedy.  This is the end!  Be no more!”  He raises His hand, and the earth bursts into flame.  All the immeasurable wealth, all the hopes and dreams, all the proudest achievements of vain man are overwhelmed in the Divine inferno and swiftly reduced to ashes.

He speaks again, “Ye sons of Adam, I, your lawful King, have been appointed by my Father to judge the world in righteousness.  Long have I desired this day; for I delight to do the will of my Father.  And it is His will that all evil should come to an end today.  I have triumphed over the wicked one, and it is given to me to execute judgment upon him and his, and all their works.  It is also His will, that His faithful servants should this day receive their full reward.  By the authority vested in me as Mediator and Judge of all men, I declare that this tribunal of the Most High God is now in session!”

Then the Judge is seated, and the trial begins.  The books are opened.  The secrets of men's hearts are now to be discovered, their true characters revealed.  The Divine-human Judge knows all, sees all.  His austere expression, His face at once lovely and full of awful grandeur, hushes all to silence. 

The first book is opened, the Book of Life.  And all the names are read, one by one.  And with the reading of each name there is joy for some and grief for others – joy for those whose names are read, and for those who loved them while they lived; and grief to those who were their persecutors.  Finally, the last name is read, and the Book of Life is closed.  The Judge says to all of them, “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?  Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”

Then His eyes, which are as a flame of fire, turn upon those on His left hand.  The other books are now opened, containing all their names, and the records of each man's works.  Everyone knows now that no excuse will suffice.  It's all been written down.  In their hearts they know that lies are of no use here.  Every mouth is stopped, and all the sinners in the world become guilty before God.  The charges are brought, but there is no defense!  Then the wicked hear their dread sentence,”Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!” and are driven away into outer darkness forever.

Suddenly, the saints hear a sound, like the voice of many waters.  They turn to the source of the sound.  It is coming from their former abode!  Instead of the blackness of ash and smoking ruin, the air is clear again.  Green patches can be seen, growing rapidly.  Blue ribbons – streams? and – can it be? – pools of water appear!  Hills rise to mountainous height and plains sink into basins as the whole is shaped by an invisible hand.  The work is brought swiftly to completion, for God does not need six days to re-create the world.  Birds once more are heard and seen to fly in the blue heaven, and living creatures of all kinds fill the earth and sea.  The LORD, now finished with His work of judgment, gives a great laugh of profound joy, and cries ”Behold, I make all things new!”  Suddenly, the saints find themselves descending in the company of their Lord and all His angels to a beautiful paradise, where they shall live forever in holy peace and blessedness.  Thus the world ends; and yet begins again!

 
Howard Douglas King

We live in a world that places information at our fingertips. We just have to reach out and take it. There are so many things that we can know if we will only take the time to look them up. Some of these things are really useful, but many are not. Most of us spend a lot of time just gratifying our idle curiosity. Eye is not filled with seeing; nor ear with hearing.


One Thing is Needful

But there are some few things that are absolutely necessary. Not to know these things is a calamity that will result in our complete destruction. If we do not know them it would be better for us to have never been born. And the chief of these necessary things is the true nature and character of God.

But why does it matter what we think about God? Everyone has his own opinion, but who really knows what God is like? Who knows for sure that he even exists? I will answer these three questions in reverse order.



Atheism---a Lie

Some people say they don't believe in God. But this is a lie; for all men come into this world knowing God. When they deny this, they are only expressing the vain wish that they did not know Him. They are saying that they cannot endure to think of God. They want Him to go away and leave them alone. But let them experience some of the common tragedies of life, and we will see what they really believe about God. Let them come to the level of desperation and fear that most of us have felt at one time or another, and they will pray.

The universal instinct to pray when we are in trouble is proof both that God exists, and that we know Him innately, as a necessary aspect of our consciousness. It also tells us what we naturally know about this God.
We do not need to be told who God is; for we already have a specific idea of God that is as distinct as the idea of our self. Nor do we need to be taught how to pray. It is as natural as breathing. It is as simple as applying to One we have known all our lives; whose voice we have heard in what is called conscience. We are all familiar with the experiences of heeding conscience and resisting it. We all know what it is to feel guilt, to fear the wrath of God. This is a universal phenomenon. So if you've ever prayed, you have already revealed the fact that you know God exists.




What we Know about God

Now, consider that, when we pray, we show that we know the following truths about God:

That He is a personal being; otherwise He could not perceive or respond to our prayers.
That He is an independent being, and we dependent on Him.
That He is the creator; and we His creatures.
That He is all-powerful; otherwise, why go to Him with unsolvable problems?
That He is good; otherwise we would run from Him.
That He is infinitely wise; else how could He hear and answer the prayers of billions while running the world all at the same time?
That He is holy; for in trouble the consciousness of our sin and unfitness for His presence is usually intense.
That He is merciful; otherwise we would have no reason to pray.
That He is unchangeable; else we would not know what to expect.

All these foundational truths about God are implied in the simplest act of sincere prayer to Him.




Why Did God Create the World?

Is it probable that God made the world, and everything in it, that he made mankind, and that he never gave us the least clue about himself? Even for God, making a universe is a pretty substantial undertaking; and one would think that a being intelligent enough to do it had some purpose in mind, some end in view that would justify making such a huge investment. What's in it for him? What does he expect in return?

I can tell you, on the authority of God's own written Word, that He created the world for His own glory! Do you think a crimson sunset is glorious, or the starry sky on a clear night? How much more beautiful and glorious must be the mind that conceived them and the power that spoke them into existence! The Bible tells us that God wanted intelligent beings other than Himself to have the elevating experience of knowing all the wondrous thoughts hidden within Himself, that from eternity were known only to Himself. So he made a breathtakingly beautiful universe, and angels and men to enjoy it. He wants all His creatures to endlessly celebrate His Divine genius and craftsmanship, and the goodness and almighty power revealed in all His works; and He wants us to be grateful for the privilege of being made with awareness and understanding and the capacity for enjoyment.




So Why Does it Matter?

This leads us back to the question, "What does it matter what we think about God?" For you must see that, if God's purpose in creation was to set forth His own glory, for us to admire Him for; then it matters a great deal to Him what we think of Him! If we never think of Him, or think of Him in an unworthy manner, then He "loses His money", as far as we are concerned. We are then unprofitable to Him, and what's more, ungrateful and disrespectful!

How many fathers and mothers do you know who love it when their children treat them with ingratitude and disrespect? You just can't get enough, right? What's really great is when they talk back, and tell us what they will and won't do! That's really enjoyable, isn't it? Or when they scream curses at us and slam doors and call us ugly names!

What? You don't like that? You don't appreciate that kind of behavior? You don't allow it? At all? Well, then why would you think that it doesn't matter to God what we think of Him, or how we treat Him?



Why we Should be Grateful

See, it's not that He needs us: He doesn't! He doesn't need anyone or anything. He got along just fine for eternal ages before He made us. But because He is good, He wanted us to be able to share His happiness. We are the gainers. We had nothing--- not even existence! Now that we exist, we have the capacity for joy and wholesome pleasure, so that we may enjoy all that is good in life. Best of all, we have the privilege of knowing God, being originally made in His image and likeness. And this is a benefit, even if we do not use it properly, and consequently end up miserable.

Let's say I have two sons: one good and one bad. One of them does everything I tell him and grows up to be happy; while my other son rebels against me, and does all the stupid, self, destructive things that are popular today, and ends up dead. Did the bad son receive less from me than the good son? No! I gave them the gift of life, love and nurture, and they made their own choices. They both had the same reasons to be thankful, respectful and obedient. Here's the point: God is not responsible for our happiness or misery. He is not less than good because we are not deliriously happy. He made man with the possibility of happiness; and it is our duty to be thankful to Him for that.




What the Bible Says

It matters to God what we think of Him because He made the world so that He might make himself known to us as He truly is. It matters so much to Him that He has denounced the severest sentence against any who would misrepresent Him. He makes it clear in His Word that He hates all false worship, all bad theology, all idolatry, and every man-made philosophy that is not in accord with truth. These are some of the many declarations of Scripture on the subject:

"I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:2-6)

"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:6-9)

"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Colossians 2:8)

"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." (Revelation 22:14-15)




The Wrath of God

Most people don't understand the biblical doctrine of the wrath of God. It seems to them that the God of the Bible gets way too upset about seemingly trivial offenses. Why can't He just ignore bad behavior? Or, if it's serious, why can't He just forgive? And why does Hell have to go on forever? Besides, God is supposed to be love, isn't He?



Is Man Wiser than his Maker?

I will answer each of these in order, but first something must be said about the radical error that underlies them all. That root error is the idea that we
are fit judges of what God is like. (We may not be aware we are making this assumption, but that is what we are doing when we say such things). The true picture is that God tells us, always and only, the truth about Himself, about the world, about ourselves; and we get to accept it, or else suffer the consequences of having believed lies.

God has nothing to gain by lying. There is nothing in Him that wants to deceive. Scripture says that it is impossible for God to lie.

Furthermore, God is the only one who knows everything. No one else is qualified to state dogmatically the ultimate truth about anything, except to repeat God's word on the subject. If man is just the product of a chance universe, how can He know anything for sure? It may be that, by pure chance, he has so evolved that he is deceived about everything that he lives in a dream world, like the Matrix, that has no relation to what is actually happening. We would never know it!

We can only have real and certain knowledge if there is a God who always tells the truth, who has purposely made man to be like Himself and capable of communication with Him, so that we can receive true knowledge from God. In that case, we can also rely on our senses to generally tell us the truth about the world around us; because God gave us our senses for that purpose.

God is the expert witness, the infallible Doctor, the ultimate source of truth. It is both insane and irreverent to dispute with Him. We must bow to His Word, or live a lie and ultimately be destroyed!

Now, let's look at some of the common objections to the doctrine of God's wrath:



Why Can't He Just Ignore Bad Behavior?

The simple answer to this is that God is more patient than we are, and bears with our innumerable offenses as far as His wisdom permits; but that God is the supreme judge of all men. If God does not judge, who will? Is it fitting that God should allow His creatures to commit every sort of crime against Himself and man and yet escape punishment? That would be poor government indeed! It would encourage bad behavior while discouraging the good.

Besides, God truly hates sin and loves righteousness. He actively opposes evil and promotes His good purposes with total determination. It would contradict His character and disposition to treat evil and good the same.



Why Can't He Just Forgive?

God is by nature merciful, and so is disposed to forgive; but He cannot forgive where there is no repentance. Who among us would forgive someone who does not cease to abuse our kindness? Where there is repentance, there is forgiveness.



Why Does Hell Have to go on Forever?

So it is no mystery why God must punish sin. But why must He punish eternally? Why does he not destroy us after we have paid our debt? Paid our debt, you say? But that is just the problem--- we can never pay it! Our sins have an infinite dimension, as they are sins against an infinitely good and deserving God! Moreover, since the damned are past the possibility of repentance, they can never stop sinning! Without grace, the longer they are in Hell, the more furious will be their rage against God; and their unhumbled hearts will be hardened even more, like those described in Revelation 16:9-- "And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory." So the debt continues to run up even as they are being punished! No, there can be no hope of clearing the debt by time served in prison. That is the terrible truth!

Some cults say that when the Bible talks about eternal punishment, it just means annihilation. That would be a kind of eternal punishment, it's true. But it's not what the Bible means. Let's be honest, annihilation would be a relief to anyone who had spent an hour in Hell. To be punished, one must exist to experience it. For proof, consider well these Scriptures: Mark 9:42-48; Revelation 14:10-11, 19:20, 20:10. Does this sound like annihilation to you?




But God is Supposed to be Love, isn't He?

"God is love." That is the wonderful truth! If it were not so, there would be no point to this discourse, and no point to anything we do. We would all be sucked down in the whirlpool of sin and death and misery into the abyss of utter darkness! But God's love toward us is exercised in a particular way, according to His wisdom and goodness, and in a way that accords with perfect justice. This is the unique message of Christianity. None of the false religions of the world remotely resembles the marvelous gospel of Jesus Christ; in which God's love to man is manifested through free and sovereign grace.

The wrath of God cannot be appeased by our doings, for they are at their best 'splendid sins'. It cannot be quenched by our sufferings, for they are of no value in proportion to the gravity of our offenses. It can only be removed by a sacrifice acceptable to a holy and just God. That one, only, perfect sacrifice upholds the inviolable justice of God, appeases His just wrath, and reconciles hateful sinners to God. It is sublimely simple: our sins are laid on Jesus, and punished there. His righteousness then becomes ours, and we stand from henceforth justified before God. The Lord Christ has taken our place and endured punishment for us so that we may be set free. Since the whole work of reconciling sinners to God has been accomplished by God's dear Son, there is nothing for us to do but to believe the good news and receive the salvation offered to us in the gospel!




A Word about Repentance


Many people put off repentance, thinking it will be easy to do whenever they want. While they fear Hell, they love their sins more; so they choose to delay. But this is a great deception. It is the hardest thing in the world to repent, as those who have attempted it have always found. For to repent is to cease loving what we love most our own way! It is to turn our backs on the things we most enjoy, and to find joy in things that we don't even find attractive or interesting now! How hard is that? It's really impossible for us to do by our own power. God must work it in us.

Yes, the repentance God requires is also His gift. Ask for it! Ask God to show you what he wants you to do. Ask Him to give you spiritual light and understanding, to convince you of the truth of His way of salvation, to remove your doubts, to give you faith in Christ. While you're asking, read and search His Word diligently, as one looking for hidden treasure. If you are sincere in desiring a changed heart, it will be because God is already at work in your heart, and He will not refuse you those things which are necessary.

Repose upon the infinite mercy and grace of God in Christ, who has come into our sinful world to suffer that we might be saved! You have no reason to mistrust Him, for he is the Truth incarnate. Read the record of His sinless life in the Gospels of the New Testament, and you will see that He is holy, just and good unlike any other human being that has ever lived! You can trust Him! Do trust Him! Receive Him and be at peace with God forevermore!


Howard Douglas King
Revised August 9, 2014

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

16 And 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. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 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. (Genesis 1:14-18)

One element of “last days madness” is the seeking after signs.  Despite the official teaching of Dispensationalism that the next event on the prophetic calendar is the “signless” coming of the Lord to rapture the church, Dispensationalist teachers continue to talk about the “signs of the times”.  The current craze seems to be an expected series of “blood moons” occurring in connection with Jewish festivals in the next few years.   Genesis 1:14 is being used to support that view.

Never mind that these reddish moons are not miraculous or supernatural signs, but predictable natural phenomena; regulated, like the closely-related phenomenon, the eclipse, by the position of the moon in relation to the earth and the sun.  Never mind that they occur on Jewish festivals because these holy days are keyed to the lunar calendar.  I want to challenge the use of Genesis 1:14 to prove that the sun and the moon were given for signs of this kind in the first place.  Because I have a particular aversion to this kind of reckless use of Scripture, which unfortunately characterizes Dispensationalism.


What is meant by “signs”?

There are five basic units of time: the day, the week, the month, the year, and the season.  (The smaller units, such as the hour and the minute are just arbitrary subdivisions of the day, and were unknown to the ancients anyway.)  Of these five, only one is not marked by the heavenly bodies – the week, which is a memorial of Creation.  Therefore, we ought to expect the four words in Genesis 16 to refer to those other four units.  We clearly have three of them – seasons, and days, and years.  Must not the fourth refer to the regular cycle of the moon and to its phases?  There is nothing against it in the lexicons.  The basic meaning of the word oth is “a signal”.  This might include the ordinary as well as the extraordinary; but the fact that the other units given are ordinary favors this view.



The Role of the Sun

The motion of the earth in relation to the sun determines days, years, and seasons.  A day is a cycle of sunlight and darkness caused as the earth rotates one time on its axis.  A year is the time it takes for the earth to circle the sun.  A season is a part of a year, commonly a fourth part, but differently reckoned according to time and place.  In biblical times, the Hebrews counted two seasons: summer and winter.  For us, the additional distinction of autumn and spring is important.  The tilt of the earth's axis causes a gradual and continuous change in the lengths of days and nights, in temperature, and in weather, as the earth moves in its circle around the sun.
 

The Natural Month and its Uses

Only the month and its four parts are marked by the moon.  But this is a very important matter.  Besides the religious festivals of Israel, the planting of crops has always been timed by the moon and its regular phases.  The influence of the moon on germinating and growing plants is not understood, but it is real.


The Month as a Temporal Marker

Also, the month has an important function which we use without appreciating.  We do not reference a particular day in terms of the year, the season, or the week of its occurrence: we use the month.  For example, my birthday occurs each year on the 20th day of the month of August.  This is the ordinary way of locating a given day in the year; and thus of memorializing events.  Thus it is has both historical and religious, as well as personal, utility.

The same day could also be referenced as the 232nd day of the year, or the 233rd in a leap year.  But it is easier to remember one number out of a possible 30 than one number out of 365.  Some of us have enough trouble remembering an anniversary!  I can imagine some wife telling her husband, “Harold, our anniversary is on the 256th – not the 265th.”

In 1950, the 20th fell on Sunday in the third week of August, which was the first day of the 34th week of the year.  But weeks do not begin or end at the boundaries of months or years, so this would create confusion.  In 1949, for example, August 20 fell on Saturday, the last day of the 33rd full week in the year.  Each ensuing year begins on a different day of the week.  So we do not reckon annual events by the day of the week.

As you can see, the format of month, day of the month, and year is most convenient for memorializing dates of importance, such as religious festivals and holy days.  The religious calendar of Israel was therefore a lunar calendar.  It was governed by the appearance of the new moon at a regular and exact interval of about 29 ½ days.  The months were normally reckoned at thirty days, but adjustments had to be made to keep them synchronized with the actual cycles of the moon.  Each month, the new moon was looked for, and according to Newton, when it appeared on the 30th day, the new month began then.  This system of regular verification eliminated any chance of errors in calculation.


The Lunar Year and the Solar Year

The lunar year was not used to measure long periods of time: the solar year was used for that purpose.  Its beginning and ending could be determined exactly by the annual return of the sun to the same position in the sky, so its exact length of 365 1/4 days was known.  It is about 11 days longer than a true lunar year; which, consisting of 12 months of 29 ½ days, measures 354 days.

The months of the ancient peoples, like weeks, ran continuously in sequence, independent of the solar year and its boundaries.  This independence was necessary, because the cycles of the moon and the sun do not coincide.  The first month of a given solar year was the month in which it began, and the last month was the month in which it ended.  This is exactly analogous to the relation of weeks to months.  The first week of a month is the week in which it begins, and the last week of the month is the week in which it ends.  For example, the first week of June, 2015 was the week that began on Sunday, May 31 and ended on Saturday, June 6.  And the last will be the week that begins on June 28 and ends on the fourth of July.


Modern Man's Artificial Month

Neither the lunar months nor the lunar years were synchronized with the beginning or ending of the solar year, as our artificial months of 30 and 31 days are.  Our solar calendar only employs the illusion of months; for it simply ignores the lunar phases.  They have to be separately indicated on our calendars.  At present, new moons occur in the middle of our man-made “months”, for to us it is of no importance that they follow the phases of the moon – a month is only a period of time to modern man.


“Signs” Means the Phases of the Moon

Given the importance of the normal use of the moon for reckoning time, then it is inconceivable that the main purpose of the moon would not be mentioned in our text.  This is especially unlikely, given that the role of the sun is fully covered, and yet the focus of the discussion in these verses is explicitly upon the purposes of the two great lights God has just made!

The “stars”, a term which includes all the astral bodies seen in the night sky, unlike the moon and the sun, give negligible light to the earth, and have none of the ordinary functions ascribed here to the sun and the moon.  Accordingly, they are barely mentioned.


Supernatural Signs Exploit the Regularity of Nature

Taking all these things into account, it is unlikely that the author has in view the supernatural omens that are usually considered as predicted by this verse.  The rare use of the sun as a sign in Scripture involves an event which disturbs the regularity of its ordinary function.  This is why it is so effective as a sign.  When the sun stood still in the days of Joshua (Joshua 10:12-14), it was obvious that God was at work.  When it went backwards (2 Kings 20:8-11), Hezekiah could not doubt that the promise of his healing was a word from heaven.  The three hours of darkness that covered the land when Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27:45) was not an eclipse, for an eclipse is impossible when the moon is full, as it is at the Passover.  It was, like the earthquake, the rending of the temple vail, and the other strange events that occurred at that time, an omen or portent of miraculous nature, which pointed to the cosmic significance of Jesus' death.

As far as I know, there has never been any supernatural sign given in connection with the moon.  Blood moons and eclipses are natural phenomena that can be predicted without any extraordinary insight.  They do not occur by special providence.  The only sense in which they could be considered signs is when their occurrence synchronizes exactly with some important and unrelated event; as we naturally consider some rare coincidences to be signs.

 


Howard Douglas King
June 11, 2015

 

"I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." (Romans 1:14-32)


Atheists are fools, as the Scripture says. So it is no wonder that they are chronically inconsistent. One of the greatest inconsistencies is the gap between their principles and their behavior. Let me explain.

No God-- No Morality

According to Atheism, the world has no meaning. There is no good or evil in the transcendent sense; for there is no personal Lawgiver who is Himself the source of morality, because He is himself perfectly holy. There is therefore no objective basis for preferring one behavior to another. Lying, stealing, unfaithfulness, blasphemy, idolatry, are just names for animal behaviors that have no real moral value--- no merit or demerit.

Some Atheists attempt to disguise this aspect of their philosophy; but some of the more candid admit it. Apparently they think we Theists are too stupid to realize that this means that no one should trust or take seriously anything they say; no matter how much passion or bluster they display in saying it. In avowing Atheism, they have disqualified themselves from taking part in civilized society, which depends on trust; for they can give us no reason at all why they should be trusted. They have no motivation for ethical behavior. On their principles, there are no lasting consequences to our actions: no future life, no reward for living a life of benevolence, nothing to fear beyond death for those who live in selfish disregard of others.


How Can They Justify Making Moral Judgments of Others?

Furthermore, they contradict themselves by making moral judgments of Theists and deploring us for spreading falsehoods! On their own principles, they have no right to do this! Why then are we encountering an increasingly aggressive atheism--- vociferous, angry, denouncing and demanding?

In the first place, they can make no claim that they are victims of discrimination or abuse. It has been centuries since Atheism was considered a crime--- more's the pity! On the contrary, they are usually the discriminators and abusers. The law, as currently understood and interpreted by the courts, protects them. No one is burning their books or heckling them when they speak.

And in today's morally permissive world, they are largely free to practice any of the sins of the flesh with impunity, to pursue their lusts and pleasures to their hearts' content. Yes, one could still get into trouble for crimes relating to property, and some forms of murder are still illegal. But we all have to live under those restrictions. Since Atheists are so much smarter than the rest of us, they should be able to find ways around those petty inconveniences, and often they do. Why not? There is no one to tell them these things are evil except those ignorant religious people.


Why Get Angry?

So what are they so mad about? They can make no pretense of a moral indignation. What is it to them if all the stupid people in the world have been exploited by religionists? So what! Religionists, in their scheme, are just animals acting out their animal heritage--- biting and devouring each other in a fight for survival. How can you blame them? Atheists don't care about that. So why are they so angry?

Why not leave well alone? Why not let the stupid people cling to their illusions and comfort themselves in a world that is, for most people, so very uncomfortable! It's not like Atheists have any comfort to give them, if they even cared to. Yes, they can say that there's no Hell to worry about, but there's no heaven either.


The Real Reason

This gives us a clue to their motivation. Atheists are people who do not mind sacrificing all hope of heaven if only they can thereby avoid the fear of Hell. It is plain therefore that they are people who have experienced oppression from guilt, and that have no aspirations toward a better life. They are people content to live like animals in a world red in tooth and claw, and to satisfy themselves with the world's guilty pleasures, if only they can live without guilt.

Aye, there's the rub! The only way they can escape the gnawing of their consciences is to convince themselves that their Maker is a figment of their imaginations, that God is not necessary to explain the world, that Theism is the fountain of all their suffering! By asserting the thing they want so very badly to believe, they hope to quiet the voice of God within. By converting others, they seek to strengthen and confirm the rightness of their view. By warring against the truth, and those of us who so maddeningly and effectively defend it, they are fighting to silence the voice of God without, in society. Their struggle to indoctrinate the world with godless evolution is their attempt to silence the voice of God in the created world.

All this violent activity results from the fact that God will not let them alone to enjoy their sin without guilt and fear. The irony is that it only multiplies their guilt, and leads to occasional severer outbreaks of conscience. Hence the agony of the Atheist, that drives him to strike out in frustration at everything that reminds him of God!



Our Response

Atheists are hateful to God; but He often draws even Atheists to Himself. Christ died for all kinds of sinners even Atheists! We must therefore pity them, pray for them and preach to them the unsearchable riches of Christ. It is futile, however, to debate the existence of God with them. God's existence is as obvious as our own, and needs no arguments. If it were not obvious, men would not be without excuse; but Paul says that they are.

This is not to say that God's existence cannot be proved. It would be silly to say that something is obvious, but cannot be proved. There are numerous irrefutable arguments for God's existence. Rather, since their blindness is willful, the problem of their unbelief must be addressed some other way than by intellectual means. We must not give legitimacy to their doubts, as if they were merely a mistake. We need to reach their consciences, and to show them what and who they really are, and what they are trying in vain to do when they deny God. Taking as our guide Romans 1: 14-32, cited above, our apologetic method is as follows:

First, we must show them that they have no basis for anything once they rule God out of the universe. They have no basis for knowledge, for assertion of any kind, for choosing a particular behavior, or for living at all. The very meaninglessness of life, which they so brazenly assert, leaves them with no reason to live.

Second, we must show them that they already know there is a God, and that they know Him. If they didn't, they would not be angry with Him. If they didn't, they would not assume that there is such a thing as reason, as truth, as virtue--- all things which their actions show they do believe in.

Third, we must boldly tell them that they are suppressing the truth in unrighteousness; and that the consequence of this is that they lie under the wrath and curse of Almighty God, and are in danger of eternal judgment.

Fourth, we must advise and urge them to flee to Christ, who is ready to save them from God's wrath if they will repent of their sins and trust in Him.

If we do these things, there is every reason to believe that God will extend His mercy to them, as He has to us! Patient, faithful, prayerful witness will be blessed of God in the long run. Let us pray for grace to be faithful in this, our holy calling.



Howard Douglas King
Revised December 9, 2014

A Commonsense View of Time and Eternity




A Disclaimer

I have the greatest respect for Ken Ham, and the marvelous work that he is doing at Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum. I have learned a great deal from him and the other authors whose works adorn his excellent website. I stand with him in his claim that Genesis, interpreted as true history, is the foundation and key to the whole rest of the Bible. Let nothing that is said here be taken as a personal attack. In this piece, I am only trying to advance the cause of truth by critiquing the consensus view of time and eternity. I might have picked any number of Christian authors who have made similar statements. This one came to my attention and seemed as suitable as any for my purpose.


The Question

In an article entitled, "What Was God Doing Before Creation?", Ken Ham stated:

Because of my stand on a young universe, a man approached me and said, "But it makes no sense to believe in a young universe. After all, what was God doing all that time before He created?"
I answered, "What time do you mean?"
The person answered, "Well, it doesn't make sense to say that God has always existed, and yet He didn't create the universe until just six thousand years ago." Apparently, he was worried that God once had a lot of time on His hands with nothing to do.
I then went on to explain that because God has always existed, then it is meaningless to ask, 'What was God doing all that time before He created?' No matter how far you were to go back in time, you would still have an infinite amount of time before He created! So even if the universe were billions or trillions or quadrillions of years old, you could still ask the same question.

So far, so good! But then Mr. Ham makes a common mistake:

I then answered, "But you are missing the fact that there was no time before God created."



Absolute versus Relative Time

No time before creation! Really! Here we must make a crucial distinction between absolute and relative time. In his definition of time, Noah Webster states:

Time is absolute or relative; absolute time is considered without any relation to bodies or their motions. Relative time is the sensible measure of any portion of duration, by means of motion. Thus the diurnal revolution of the sun measures a space of time or duration. (An American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828)

In this he follows Sir Isaac Newton:

Absolute, true, and mathematical time, of itself, and from its own nature flows equably without regard to anything external, and by another name is called duration: relative, apparent, and common time, is some sensible and external (whether accurate or unequable) measure of duration by the means of motion, which is commonly used instead of true time; such as an hour, a day, a month, a year. (Principia, p.77, Motte translation, 1846)

I grant that relative time may be said to have begun when the world was created; but absolute time must have been passing from all eternity. God is called the 'ancient of days' because He is by far the Oldest Being. One does not grow old if there is no time. God always was that is, He was from eternity. Always means at all times. When we say God was from eternity, the word, from is used in the same way as we would say, from the day that... It indicates a span of time which has passed since that day. One must get rid of the idea that eternity is something separate from time or opposed to it; for eternity is just time without beginning or end.

But Mr. Ham fails to recognize this all-important distinction. Time as he defines it had a beginning. Next he says:

Time is actually a created entity. The first verse of the Bible reads: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1, emphasis added).

But wait a minute. This verse says nothing about God creating time! Rather, it uses a phrase, in the beginning, that implies time already existed when He created. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth is not the same as In the beginning God created time, space and matter. Nor does the text read, God created the beginning. This text, therefore, says absolutely nothing in support of his hypothesis. I will have more to say on this later; but let us first see if he has any other proof. He next asserts:

A study of this verse reveals that God created time, space, and matter on the first day of Creation Week.



What Does the Text Say?

Alright then, let's study the verse.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)

Genesis 1:1 says that In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth that is, what was to become our familiar heaven and earth. Then it briefly describes their original condition. Then follows a record of the six days of creation, in which by further creative acts, God turned this formless, chaotic world into a finished cosmos. Moses elsewhere summarizes:

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:11)

The second text contemplates the finished, very good heaven and earth as it was before the fall of man, and calls it heaven and earth.

God created heaven and earth out of nothing. Genesis 1:1 is not a summary of the following account of creation, but a statement about the fiat creation of the universe in its original mode of existence: an unformed mass of water and primeval substance in the midst of the unlighted heavens. Keil & Delitzsch point out that the use of the word and at the start of verse two requires verse one to be understood as having already taken place. Verse one is not a heading, and verse two is not a subordinate clause of a longer sentence.

If verse one is not a statement of ex nihilo creation, then there is none in this whole chapter; which I find incredible. For verse two obviously contemplates an existing world; but gives no hint where it came from. Verse one must explain this fact.

There are two key questions that concern us:

1. What was it that God is said to have created?
2. What is meant by in the beginning?

1. What was it that God is said to have created? The answer is heaven and earth. This is not a scientific description: nothing in the creation narrative is written in terms of twenty-first century scientific terminology. Nothing should be more apparent; but nothing is more common than the attempt to read it in terms of modern scientific concepts and models. The great diversity of opinion among modern commentators tells against this approach. The older commentators understood the text to be written in anthropomorphic and phenomenological language; which supposition yields a natural and understandable sense, and a general agreement.

It was addressed to ordinary men in an ancient agrarian culture; to be understood by them, and by all succeeding generations, regardless of the scientific model in vogue at any time. To import into the term, heaven, the idea of the astral heavens revealed by modern telescopy and exploration would be an abuse of language. Barnes thinks that the heavenly bodies must be included, but these were not made until the fourth day. Gill thinks the celestial heavens, where God manifests Himself to the angels and His redeemed, may be included; but I believe that this is beyond the scope of the narrative.

The man of the first century Anno Mundi would know no other heaven than the visible sky, which appears as a solid dome, and in which appear the clouds and the astral bodies; and no other earth but the land upon which he stood. He would not need to know that the earth is a gigantic sphere, or that the sky is an ocean of gases surrounded by largely empty space. All of the particularity that we moderns ascribe to these words would be foreign to this context, which is characterized by concreteness and an elegant simplicity.

Every attempt that has been made to derive a description of the universe as scientists now understand it from the language of Genesis one has proved unsatisfactory and strained. For example, I refer you to Henry M. Morris's influential The Genesis Record. While there is much in this book to appreciate, his attempt to expound Genesis 1:1 is not, in my opinion, very helpful.

To Morris, the heavens means what we call space, and the beginning is the beginning of time. This is plainly an importing of Morris's idiosyncratic cosmology into the text. Newton would have said that this cannot be right, for it is self-evident that space and time are not created entities; and that they had no beginning. Morris says that the earth means matter, but the text says not matter, but the earth. It is obvious that the sun, moon and stars were not made out of the earth; for the latter was already fully-formed when the former were created. (I suspect that they were made ex nihilo, like the earth; but the text does not say.) Morris says that the universe is a trinity which he defines as a continuum in which each component is itself co-existent and coterminous with the whole. That is, the universe is not part space, part time and part matter, but rather all space, all time, all matter, and so is a true tri-unity. I have no idea what this is supposed to mean. But I am fairly sure that nothing like this was in the mind of the original author.

There are many opinions about the interpretation of verses one and two, but after consideration of all the principal views, I think Calvin is right when he says regarding them:

...Moses simply intends to assert that the world was not perfected at its very commencement, in the manner in which it is now seen, but that it was created an empty chaos of heaven and earth. His language therefore may be thus explained: 'When God in the beginning created the heaven and the earth, the earth was empty and waste.'

He further states:

There is no doubt that Moses gives the name of heaven and earth to that confused mass which he, shortly afterwards (verse 2), denominates waters. The reason of which is, that this matter was to be the seed of the whole world. Besides, this is the generally recognized division of the world.

Calvin is referring to the fact that ancient Hebrew had no word equivalent to cosmos or universe. Accordingly, we find the phrase, heaven and earth used as an equivalent to all creation in many places in the Old Testament. But again, this should not be pressed as proof that the whole cosmos as now known to us was intended by the author in Genesis 1:1.

The purpose of this chapter of sacred narrative is to show us how our own familiar world came into existence by the omnipotence of a sovereign God, and what our place is in this world; not to exhaustively describe the entire universe. That this record is not meant to be exhaustive is seen in the significant fact that the creation of the angels, even, is not addressed at all!

Note: I am not saying that God did not create all things, visible and invisible, during Creation Week. My remarks are only meant to confine us to the meaning of the terms of the text intended by the author. In my view, absolute space was already in existence from all eternity. I cannot understand God's immensity apart from the void, the infinite space which He fills. On the first day, God made the earth, including its atmosphere. On the fourth day, He made all the heavenly bodies that inhabit space. When He made the angels is not revealed; unless Job 38:7 is speaking of the angels, in which case they were made some time before the earth was. In that case, time could not have begun in Genesis 1:1.

The remainder of Genesis one details the progressive development and perfecting of the world whose original creation is recorded in the first verse. None of the elements of created reality that are essential from a human perspective are omitted. But of the origin of space itself, or of time in a generic sense, there is not a word!

2. What is the referent of the phrase in the beginning?

We might ask, The beginning of what? Since no reference point is explicitly stated, it must be clearly implied. Otherwise, the author has left us to guess, which is absurd. What does the context suggest? Since the subject is the creation of the world, it is obvious that the time when the world was first made is meant.

One can assert that it means the beginning of time; but to prove it from the words in Genesis 1:1 is another matter, since generic time is not referred to at all in any of them! The words rather denote a particular time period. Once again, the most natural meaning of the text in question is, that the world which we now know in its completed state was, in its beginning, created by God in an amorphous, undifferentiated, and undeveloped condition and was subsequently perfected in the space of six days.

But Mr. Ham gives us no exposition of the text. This is fair, considering the nature and purpose of his piece: and no doubt his views are accessible in his other writings. I simply note the fact. What we are given is an unfortunate mix of bare assertions and shaky deductions, as follows:

No one of these can have a meaningful existence without the others. God created the space-mass-time universe. Space and matter must exist in time, and time requires space and matter. Time is only meaningful if physical entities exist and events transpire during time.

The first statement, 'No one of these can have a meaningful existence without the others', is simply false. Time and space can conceivably exist without mass [Doesn't he mean matter?] or energy. In fact, they did exist before the material world, which is what the Bible says God created. God always existed, which could not be said if there was no always. Always has never meant anything else than at all times.


First Key Idea:Duration

Another way of saying it is that God is of infinite duration, and duration is synonymous with time. As Sir Isaac Newton (who was reputed to know something about science, and also the Bible) said,

He is eternal and infinite, omnipotent and omniscient ; that is, his duration reaches from eternity to eternity; his presence from infinity to infinity; he governs all things and knows all things, that are or can be done. He is not eternity or infinity, but eternal and infinite; he is not duration and space, but he endures and is present. He endures forever and is everywhere present; and by existing always and every-where, he constitutes duration and space. Since every particle of space is always, and every indivisible moment of duration is everywhere, certainly the Maker and Lord of all things cannot be never and nowhere. (Principia, p.505, Motte translation, 1846)

Mr. Ham's next statement is a mere assertion: God created the space-mass-time universe. There is not a single text anywhere in God's Word to support this; but nevertheless it seems to be the consensus view today among Christians who are scientists, old- and young-earthers alike.

Then he says, Space and matter must exist in time, and time requires space and matter, which is half true: the first half, that is the second half isn't. Time doesn't imply the existence of matter at all! God was here for an infinitely long time before He created the material world. When we say that God is eternal, we mean that He is infinitely extended in time; as God's immensity means that He is infinitely extended in space.

I assert that there is no other way for us to think about these things. There is no other clear and definite concept of eternity, than that God is always; or of omnipresence, that God is everywhere in any man's mind. To think of God in terms that have no temporal or spacial implications is impossible. All the words and phrases that Scripture uses to represent eternity are temporal in nature (See Addendum). No doubt God alone understands the true nature of time and space; but if we try to escape the bonds of the categories of reason which he has implanted in our finite minds, we will only end up in confusion.



Second Key Idea: Succession

But Mr. Ham thinks otherwise. He supports his claim that time requires space and matter with the following argument: Time is only meaningful if physical entities exist and events transpire during time. I take it that he means that the word, time has no meaning unless physical entities exist and events transpire during time. So he defines time more narrowly than I do, and limits it to the realm of what I would call history. But notice in passing that Mr. Ham recognizes the two elements that both belong to the essence of time. Without naming them, he points to the existence of duration (entities exist) and succession (events transpire).

It is necessary to distinguish these two aspects of time: duration and succession. I have before proved that duration must be as eternal as God. Now we must consider the other aspect of time, succession. Our innate idea of time is of something that moves. Moment succeeds moment. There is past, present and future; but what is now future will become present, and then past. This sequence is continuous, without intermission, and unending. This is what I mean by succession. Mr. Ham also has an idea of succession, but it is limited to created entities and events in history, and is inapplicable to the time before creation. Thus he makes the mistake of thinking that time began at creation.

The succession of which I speak is as real for God as it is for us. God reveals Himself as the One who was, and is, and is to come. He reminds us of what He has done in the past, tells us what He is doing in the present, and predicts what He will do in the future. It is not just our time in which He exists and acts; but the time that is common to us and Him. Or rather, it is His time, in which we have been made to share by virtue of our creation.



The Living God

But while God's being is forever immutable, God is active not stationary, immobile, inactive. God has never been anything else but the living God. He did not wait until Creation to start doing things. He has been knowing, willing, determining, loving, communicating, and all the other things He does within Himself, from all eternity. These are internal acts of God, if I may so speak things done within Himself, within the triune God-head. His external acts required the existence of something outside Himself. He had to create that something first. At the beginning of this mysterious world in which we find ourselves, He was there, and spoke it into being. This was His first external act.

Time is therefore not meaningless apart from the existence of matter and events involving materiality, as Mr. Ham asserts. Neither were the eternal ages of time before the beginning of the world, in which only God existed, meaningless. Ask what God did then, and I will tell you that, among other things, He loved His people and willed their salvation. He loved them every second of every minute of every day, just as He does now, and always will. Eternity is not the absence of time; nor is it the annulment of time: it is time conceived of as infinitely extended into the past and the future.



Plain Contradictions

Mr. Ham concludes:

In the beginning... is when time began! There was no time before time was created!

He does not realize that he has just involved himself in a contradiction. What, after all, does before time mean? How can there be a before where there is no time? The word before implies succession, and therefore the existence of time. The claim that time had a beginning is therefore self-contradictory and nonsensical.

And if time is defined as the realm of change; then the beginning of time, which would be the greatest change of all, must take place at some time within the realm of change. Change cannot occur until time exists. Therefore, time must have existed before time, in order for time to come into existence. There is no escaping this plain contradiction.

And if there was no time before Creation, then God existed at no time before Creation.



The Mystery of Time: There is Only the Present

While time goes on forever, it is important to realize that, in an ultimate sense, the past and the future are nonexistent. Only the present exists. The past is so perfectly, exhaustively and persistently remembered by God that it is nearly real to Him; but He does not live, exist, or act in the past, any more than we do.

Likewise, the future is perfectly foreknown by Him, and He has always willed that it should become present and exist at the proper time; but the future does not yet exist. Else how could Paul use this language of God?

...God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. (Romans 4:17)

God called Abraham a father of many nations long before it was true of him. Even now, the fulfillment of this is incomplete; for the whole number of the elect have not been gathered in. God was able to say this because with Him, the promise is as sure as if it had been kept. Notwithstanding, there is an absolute antithesis between those things which be not and those things that are.

A God who experienced as existent that which did not exist would not be a God of truth. The claim often made that time is irrelevant to God that He exists simultaneously in the past, present and future is therefore impossible.

The past leaves behind its consequences: that is all. It cannot be undone or altered, even by God. That is why our past sins cannot merely be erased. That would have solved everything, wouldn't it? God could then have said, Adam, Eve, that was a terrible thing you did, but I see that you are very sorry and will never make that mistake again; so I am just going to undo it, and we will start all over again at the beginning. No, nothing can be done to change something that occurred in the past. But the consequences of sin alienation from God, guilt, defilement these can be fully dealt with by a God of infinite wisdom and power. And they have been!


In Closing

There is no doubt that our mode of knowing is finite and imperfect. God's thoughts are not our thoughts, as the prophet declares. They are infinitely above our own. There is mystery everywhere in God's creation; to say nothing of the mystery of mysteries: God Himself. We know nothing now as we shall know someday; and we will never know anything, as God does, for what it really is.

Nevertheless, we do have true knowledge of a sort that is appropriate for us in our role as the image and representative of God. The ultimate ideas time, space, matter energy, causation, etc. are not uncertain or debatable. They are the foundations of intelligence, the roots of understanding. When they are perverted by men who have abandoned the Rock of Scripture; or when, in trying to reach higher than we were meant to, we lose our hold on the fundamental ideas, we end up understanding less not more.

This age, with all its technical competence, is far inferior in understanding to the time of Bacon and Newton. Our theoretical physicists know nothing of metaphysics, and think everything can be measured and reduced to mathematical formulae; but the infinite, the eternal, the absolute are beyond the grasp of mathematics. Neither God nor truth can be computed, proved or disproved by calculation. The priceless gift of right reason will always, when exercised within its proper limits and subordinated to revelation, lead to the truth in such matters. We only need to be aware of what we really know and how we really think to solve many a riddle and untie many a Gordian knot.

I am aware that these remarks, and this view of things, will be met with skepticism. After all, Mr. Ham represents a consensus view that in some respects goes back to Augustine. But all errors are old; and many have been widely accepted at times. I only ask for a prayerful and careful consideration of the substance of my argument. If I am wrong, it should not be hard for Mr. Ham (or for someone else among the very many others who are wiser and abler than I am) to prove it.

Howard Douglas King
January 27, 2015
Revised and Expanded February 10, 2015

And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. (Genesis 6:19-20)

Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. (Genesis 7:2-3)

Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. (Genesis 7:8-9)

And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in. (Genesis 7:16)

The question of the number of animals of each kind that were saved in the ark has puzzled many, and many unsatisfactory theories have been tried; but the truth may be found by assembling all the relevant texts and testing the various hypotheses against the information given in all of them. The only coherent view that is in harmony with all the statements can be summed up in four points, as follows:

1. The first biblical text relative to our question, Genesis 6:19-20, gives the general rule: "two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female." The animals were to be brought into the ark in pairs, a male and a female of each kind of every living thing of all flesh." This latter expression is universal and emphatic, and shows that all the animals were thus to be paired. Verse 20 elaborates further, "of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind." The purpose stated is, "to keep them alive with thee [with Noah]." This is not merely to keep these particular individual animals alive, but to ensure the survival of each kind in perpetuity by saving breeding pairs. [1]

2. The last two texts confirm this basic fact. The phrase, "two and two" in 7:8-9 applies to all the animal kinds, "...of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of everything that creepeth upon the earth." And in 7:16, the fact is restated that there was a male for every female of all flesh. The male and female pair is thus the basic unit.

3. When the difference of clean and unclean beasts is later addressed, the expression, "by sevens" must be understood of seven pairs; otherwise there would be a male without a female, or a female without a male, in violation of the general rule already given. In 7:3, "Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female" surely can only mean seven males and seven females! Especially when it is added as a reason, "to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth."

There is a view that there were just seven of each clean animal, rather than seven pairs. On this view, there were three breeding pairs; and the extra, unpaired animal was for sacrifice. The language of verse 3, "by sevens, the male and the female" precludes this possibility. Nothing is said to suggest three pairs plus one.

And nothing is said anywhere, in the flood account or after, about how many would be used as sacrifices. Sometimes, in the case of birds, the Mosaic law called for two at a time, as in Leviticus 5:7, "And if he be not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring for his trespass, which he hath committed, two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, unto the LORD; one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering." Noah may have sacrificed pairs of these, for all we know.

4. Thus the number of clean animals of each kind would be fourteen, and of unclean, just two. God would take care of the rest, by His providence guaranteeing that the numbers would be sufficient to secure the re-population of the earth.

There were good reasons why the clean animals were to be saved in larger numbers. First, some were to be used as sacrifices, as we find in Genesis 8:20, "And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar." Second, assuming that the categories were the same then as in the later Mosaic legislation, the clean category would include the cattle that men had cultivated for milk, leather, wool and such things from the earliest times; as well as animals for labor and for transportation. Third, many of the unclean animals were predators. For ecological balance, large numbers of peaceful animals are required to sustain just a few predators. [2]



Footnotes


1 Great stress is laid on the purpose of replenishing the stock of animals in the earth, in the record of Noah's debarking from the ark:

Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. (Genesis 8:17)

2 Some have proposed a fourth reason-- the permission, revealed after the flood, for man to eat meat. They assume that more clean animals would be needed for food. But the law was very broad in scope: "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things." (Genesis 9:3) It gives no credence to a distinction of animals that might be lawfully consumed, versus animals that might not. The "cleanness" of certain animals in pre-Mosaic times therefore does not seem to relate to dietary uses; but to their fitness for sacrificial use.

It was only when God wanted to erect a barrier between the chosen people and the rest of the nations, in Moses' time, that the distinction of clean and unclean was applied to diet. This law constituted a severe hindrance to social intercourse between the Hebrews and the Gentiles; not to mention its tendency to promote prejudice and resentment on the part of both. The removal of the barrier was therefore necessary to the propagation of the gospel from the Jews to the Gentiles.

Howard Douglas King
March 10, 2015
Revised March 26, 2015