Friday, November 23, 2012
Leviticus 19:35,36 - King James Version
35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.
36 Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Not a lot of Christians think in terms of money or currency in relationship to the Bible or Jesus Christ, as most of us operate under certain assumptions concerning it, and really don't understand the underlying factors affecting the money we used on a daily basis for the transactions we make in our lives.
But the Bible actually has quite a bit to say about money that has integrity, and the passage above encapsulates that very well.
Most of us, when we think of money from long ago, understand historically that people used gold and silver coins as part of the medium of exchange. That's why the reference to just weights and measures are mentioned by God in the passage above.
What we don't understand is even though we mostly use paper or digital currency these days, there is still the principle of the fact that money must have integrity if it is to be something we can predictably trust as a medium of exchange.
In other words, money shouldn't be allowed to be created out of thin air by central banks around the world (which is called fiat money), because it has a strong, negative impact on the value of the currency that is being printed, or these days, digitally added to the marketplace.
Before we touch on this, don't get overly concerned about what a "just ephah, and a just hin," means in the scriptures. The point isn't what they specifically were, but the fact that there was a standard that was understood by the people of that time, and that standard was to be adhered to by the order and command of Almighty God.
I say this because some people easily get sidetracked by this to the detriment of missing the point of the command of God, which was that money was to have integrity to it, and anything that undermines that integrity is disallowed by Jesus Christ.
That means people must be able to confidently engage in financial interactions where they can trust that the money is exactly what it is supposed to be. Fiat money, or money created by central banks around the world disrupt that confidence and predictability, whereby people and businesses are hurt by it because of the fact that just weights and balances are not being used.
How is that the case?
I'm not going to get into every probability and possibility concerning money and the forces bearing on it, as it would confuse most of you, and the frustration would probably cause you to abandon the idea of even trying to understand the basic premise behind central banks using unjust weights and measures in the eyes of God.
Instead, will look at what is the most important part of the equation, and that is when money is printed by central banks, including the Federal Reserve in America, it debases or weakens the U.S. dollar, resulting in less buying power by those using the currency.
Consequently, over time, inflation rises and rises, coming about from the release of money into the economy that is created out of thin air; money that has no backing or support whatsoever, other than people unfortunately trust in it because of the promise that it has the full backing of the U.S. government. Other governments around the world make similar promises, with many reneging on them after they basically destroy their currencies.
So every time a central bank releases money that isn't backed by anything such as gold, it effectually is participating in the unjust act of disrupting the weights and measures required by God. It does that be lowering the value of the currency in question. That's sin.
Period.
The majority of people don't understand this, including Christians, so they support the actions of central banks, or at minimum don't oppose or pray against them, as we should.
Why this is important is because the central banks give governments and corrupt politicians a blank check to spend whatever they want to, which not only adds to the national debt, which in the case of America is unsustainable, as well as other regions of the world, such as the euro zone, bringing the economies crashing down on the heads of unsuspecting people,
who don't understand the forces being applied upon them. They know something is wrong, but they don't know the why of it.
As sheep being led to the slaughter, and because governments and central banks have socialized people into accepting their actions as those that will save them, they continue to call for more spending and stimulus, even though that is one of the major reasons for the sick global and national economies.
What a gold or combined metal or commodity standard does is force governments and politicians to spend within their means. For Christians, that points to the government being kept very small and focused on its only God-given function, which is protection and the court systems.
For example, if there was a gold standard, or a gold standard combined with another commodity like silver or other metals, there could be no more spending than what the currency is backed up with. The result of that would be money that could be counted on to hold its value, and a more predictable outcome in the future.
Notice in the scripture above how God equates just weights and measures to the children of Israel, or the Old Testament church, being delivered from bondage out of Egypt. The result of the abandonment of money with integrity is bondage, and that's what we see today as money is created and thrown around by central banks.
To create money out of thin air is rebellion against God, and ever since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, the value of the U.S. dollar has plummeted by over 95 percent. If the country you live in has had a central bank for decades, you could also check to see how the value of the currency you use has fallen as well. I guarantee it'll shock you when you find out what it is.
Fiat money, or money created by central banks without anything backing it up, is a devastating practice which is the major enabler of politicians trying to make a name for themselves in the earth. It corrupts them even further, and allows them to make the government into a healer and provider; something that is an abomination to God, and something He never intended.
Go and read the book of Daniel when he revealed and interpreted the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. It said that when Jesus Christ (identified as the Rock cut out of a mountain) would come, he would small the worldly kingdoms and empires. Anything that supports the idea of empire-building is a direct assault on the fact that Jesus Christ alone is king of kings and lord of lords. Anything supporting something contrary is an enemy to that reality. Central banks and money creation out of thin air falls within that category.
As for money, for it to operate as God intended, it needs to be backed up by something that provides a value to it. Anything else is a form of magic; only an idea or a thought - nothing else. The only thing allowing it to continue is because people who don't understand the mechanics behind money continue to have misguided trust and faith in it. They'll do that to their ruin.
Money is now flawed for the reasons mentioned above, and we need to pray for the return of money that actually has hard assets backing it. Anything else is built on shifting sand, and it will eventually come tumbling down.
That's not to say we are to trust in money in general. But we do need to be able to trust in the fact that money should be what it is asserted to be. It isn't.
It's like buying a car from someone who says it works great and has nothing wrong with it. We don't put our trust or faith in a car, but when we buy it for an agreed upon amount based upon its condition, we should be able to take possession of the car taking those assertions into account. We cannot do that with money, and the flawed U.S. dollar and many other currencies are a disaster that is no longer even attempted to be held in any type of check or balance.
Money must have integrity, and it no longer has any whatsoever. People, including Christians, will find that out to their ruin some day, as they continue to support the government and out-of-control politicians who believe they can continue to spend with impunity.
At its basic level, money needs to have something back it up. If it doesn't, it can be played with and manipulated by anyone who chooses to, and when you combine that with the governments around the world exceeding the mandate laid down by God, it's only a matter of time and when it'll come crashing down upon unsuspecting people.
We must pray that God will deal with central banks by removing them out of the world. We must pray for an honest currency; one that has substance and integrity to it and which holds its value over time.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Confirming the government is hapless in its operations and ability to function in any responsible manner, the FHA, which had boasted in the past of being “the only government agency that operates entirely from its self-generated income and costs the taxpayers nothing,” is now poised to be the latest government agency to require a bailout.
FHA data show that the number of single-family loans insured by the FHA that are 90 days or over past due jumped to approximately 739,000 in September. That's over 9.5 percent of all the loans guaranteed by the government agency, which backs up $1.08 trillion in mortgages.
The failing Federal Housing Administration has had its capital reserves plunge into the negative, falling to minus $16.3 billion.
Reserves required by the FHA are required to stand at 2 percent, and which based upon its portfolio, should have capital reserves of $22 billion.
As it stands with those numbers, the FHA must have a cash infusion of about $38 billion to meet its requirements and remain solvent.
With very little if any catalysts on the horizon, it appears the problem for the FHA will worsen as the number of people behind on their loan payments soar.
This should be another impetus behind the ongoing rise in price of gold and silver.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Romans 8:18-20
King James Version (KJV)
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
A story from the earlier part of 2012 reminded me of an experience my wife and I had as we walked on a path along the banks of a river in Kentucky. The story I'm referring to is that of a man named Lawrence Anthony, who was also known as “The Elephant Whisperer.”
He died in March of 2012, and according to his son, the elephants he worked with to rescue and rehabilitate, spontaneously returned to his home when he died, even though they were scattered across the Thula Thula, a reserve in South Africa.
The report said this:
When Anthony died of a heart attack, the elephants, who were grazing miles away in different parts of the park, travelled over 12 hours to reach his house. According to his son Jason, both herds arrived shortly after Anthony’s death. They hadn’t visited the compound where Anthony lived for a year and a half, but Jason says 'in coming up there on that day of all days, we certainly believe that they had sensed it.'
I want to add to that story the experience I mentioned. As my wife and I were walking along the bank of the river - about 15 feet away from the edge - I told the Lord Jesus Christ how I wished that He would allow me to see some fish.
As we walked I saw a couple of large fish and was excited and thankful to see them. There was nothing unusual in and of itself concerning that. But as we got nearer to the first fish we saw, more of them appeared to my eyes, and as we walked on, hundreds of them were sitting on the surface of the river, which was dead calm.
This was the case for about several blocks before there were no more fish. What was amazing was the fish never moved or spooked as we walked.
I'm an expert in fresh water fish, so I knew for a small number of fish, and for a short period of time, it's not unprecedented for them to stay around even if they see or hear you. What is unprecedented is to have hundreds of them laying on top of a river and all facing you for several blocks, with none of them making an attempt to even move as they saw and heard us.
Interestingly, at first I just viewed this as a unique blessing of God to allow us to see His amazing power and superiority over His creation.
After we got home and seemingly prompted a little by the Holy Spirit, I started to think on the event some and realized that it wasn't just for an interesting blessing and response to a prayer of mine that God allowed us to see and experience the event, it was to teach us about the reality of the creation waiting "... for the manifestation of the sons of God."
Now this wasn't revealed to make it look like there was anything special about my wife or myself. That wasn't part of the story or narrative. The purpose of it was to share and help those who truly are born of the Spirit and have Christ within them, see that the creation itself is centered and focused on the work of God within us because "the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."
The response of God's children to Christ within us, as He works to change us into His image, will result in the release of the entire creation itself, which is eagerly waiting for that day.
When thinking about the fish, I realized they were paying homage to Christ within us ... not to us as having anything inherently special about us.
But Christ has put His people in charge of creation, and ultimately how the people of Jesus Christ go, so will go creation go. Eventually Christ will grow, enlarge and expand within us to the point where creation will be released from the bondage of corruption.
That will happen when we as a people enter into the experience of the "glorious liberty of the children of God."
I have no idea whether or not the "elephant whisperer" was a Christian or not, but it does point to the fact that there is a direct connection to the creation and the sons of God. It will probably be amazing as we continue to respond to the work of Christ within us how it'll impact not only the creation, but effects of the curse upon it, which apparently will be slowly released in conjunction with the image of Jesus Christ being formed within us.
Having said all that, people are first among the Godhead, and no matter how wonderful our effect on the creation, they will by far be the most important focus as we grow in Christ. But when the creation is gradually, slowly released, we'll find that our dominion over it will increasingly result in it yielding its fruit at levels previously unheard of since sin first entered into the world.
This isn't something that should be a goal of ours, but it's mentioned for the purpose of understanding that it will be a byproduct of our faithful and obedient response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness.
As the years and decades roll on, we'll continually see the land providing improved crop yields, among many other benefits and changes related to creation because of the fact there will be among the people of Jesus Christ those that are faithful to the call of being willing and obedient in responding to the work of being conformed to the very image of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ isn't going to suddenly appear to a complete discontinuity when coming for His people at the end of this age, rather it'll be like a symphony orchestra building up to a crescendo, where there's nothing else to do but call us to be with Him in response to the faithfulness of those that heed His purpose.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Data gathered from over 3,000 measuring points on land and sea has confirmed that the earth indeed has stopped warming since 1997, according to the British Met Office, which is the meteorological center of Great Britain.
The dishonest proponents of global warming have known this for years, which is why they changed their identification of the fictitious problem to climate change. Doing that, they can now disingenuously use any change in temperature to back their claims, which in the end, is an attack on business and economic growth.
Here's what the Daily Mail reported:
The world stopped getting warmer almost 16 years ago, according to new data released last week (October 2012).
The figures, which have triggered debate among climate scientists, reveal that from the beginning of 1997 until August 2012, there was no discernible rise in aggregate global temperatures.
This means that the ‘plateau’ or ‘pause’ in global warming has now lasted for about the same time as the previous period when temperatures rose, 1980 to 1996. Before that, temperatures had been stable or declining for about 40 years.
The new figures mean that the pause in global warming has now lasted for about the same time as the previous period when temperatures rose, 1980 to 1996. . . . The new figures mean that the ‘pause’ in global warming has now lasted for about the same time as the previous period when temperatures rose, 1980 to 1996.
The new data, compiled from more than 3,000 measuring points on land and sea, was issued quietly on the Internet, without any media fanfare, and, until today, it has not been reported.
This stands in sharp contrast to the release of the previous figures six months ago, which went only to the end of 2010 – a very warm year.
Ending the data then means it is possible to show a slight warming trend since 1997, but 2011 and the first eight months of 2012 were much cooler, and thus this trend is erased. . . .
From the start of 1997 until August 2012, however, figures released last week show the answer is zero: the trend, derived from the aggregate data collected from more than 3,000 worldwide measuring points, has been flat.
Not that there has been any coverage in the media, which usually reports climate issues assiduously, since the figures were quietly release online with no accompanying press release – unlike six months ago when they showed a slight warming trend.. . .
But according to increasing numbers of serious climate scientists, it does suggest that the computer models that have for years been predicting imminent doom, such as those used by the Met Office and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, are flawed, and that the climate is far more complex than the models assert.
This is a blistering conclusion that now much defended point by point by the proponents of global warming, or they'll have to admit they have either outright lied, or have another agenda behind pushing the scam on the global public.
Of course the evidence against global warming is now irrefutable, so they'll have to change their tactics and not even attempt to defend their erroneous position.
The tactics, since they are now no longer believed by an increasing number of people, will have to be to persuade politicians to force laws and taxes on corporations and people no matter if it needs to be or not.
For Christians, we need to pray against this evil, as it will do more to undermine the liberties and economic well-being of a growing number of Americans and other global economies which it would have a negative impact, which will ultimately affect the followers of Jesus Christ.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
We've been talking about the immense importance of the first day of creation, where fanciful and imaginary inferences have been made by many who claim strange things like there had to be a pre-Adamic race (Adam wasn't the first man, and Adam and Eve were the first people made by God).
This all comes from the false assumption that God couldn't have created the earth "without form and void," and also because the earth lay in darkness. Since God is light and no darkness dwells within Him, it would be impossible for the darkness of Genesis 2 to be from Him, according to this idea.
All of this nonsense is easy to disprove Biblically, and we'll get into that in a moment.
First, it must be understood that this isn't just some teaching to titillate our curiosity and interest. If we don't correctly understand what happened in the beginning, the rest that follows will be distorted as well. And it has been.
Because the creation of the earth at the beginning was a representation of who Christ is, it is vital that we understand what it was He was trying to teach us by revealing Himself in that manner.
In the previous two articles we got into that, but I'll repeat it again. As far as the phrase "without form and void" as to the condition of the earth, all that had to do with was the fact that this was the first step by God in creation. He wasn't through yet.
Some people make up entire scenarios from this condition of the earth, saying it was impossible for God to create something like this. Not only is it possible - He did it!
The assumption that He wouldn't do it is based upon human reasoning, not fact. To say something had to have happened for it to be "without form and void" means an entire scenario has to be created in regard to this as well to support that fallacy.
Those that assert this say Satan probably rebelled in the heavenly realms and brought the battle down to earth, and thus the devastation.
The problem with that made up story is we have no proof that Satan was even created at this moment. It must be assumed to support the proposed narrative. But even if he was created, there are many more problems that must be dealt with to force this tale to work.
One of those is the fact that there was nothing but the heavens and the earth present at this moment in time. That means if there was actually another race of men that inhabited the earth before this time, that Satan and his minions would have had to have deconstructed the entire universe God created in order to bring it down to only the earth and the heavens being all that was left. That's a stretch to be sure.
When talking about this, the earth is what is usually focused on, making the rest of what had to have happened to have them alone in the physically created world ignored. It strains credibility to believe there have been entire systems of stars, planets and galaxies that had been destroyed completely by Satan. Poor God. He lost everything and had to start all over.
At least that's what those making up these fanciful stories want us to believe.
Why is this so important to understand? It's because there was something of Jesus Christ revealed in the actual events that occurred, which we miss if we believe there was this rebellion and destruction which resulted in the universe and alleged previous creation to be completed disintegrated. There is no proof that Satan even has that type of power to do that.
This doesn't even deal with other facts. Such as the fact that the Holy Scriptures reveal to us that Adam was the first mankind, while Jesus was the last one. Period. You can't escape that fact and truth.
So if there was another race of men before Adam, it would contradict that Biblical record. That alone confirms and proves there was no such thing as a race of men before Adam was created. And if some want to get cute and say there were some type of life forms created which weren't men, but a race that predated men, then there is no real hope for those believing that fantasy. As they'll keep on rewriting the entire story until if fits their wild imaginations in order that they may be respected by those opposing the Biblical account.
When reading the phrase "without form" in Genesis 2, it must be understood that they are only one Hebrew word. Here are the meanings associated with that word in the Scriptures.
(without form) =
formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness, formlessness, nothingness, empty space,
that which is empty or unreal (of idols) (fig), wasteland, wilderness (of solitary places),
and place of chaos.
In the King James version "without form" is written using these words in the Old Testament text:
Without form, empty place, wilderness, vain, vanity, confusion, nought, nothing and waste.
The term void simply means "empty."
As for the word "darkness" following those words and meanings, it can mean, among other things - ignorance, death, dark place and secret place.
So when people say things like there is no way there could be darkness because God is light, and so darkness couldn't have been created by Him, they're limiting the meaning of the word, and are unfamiliar with Biblical text which contradict those assumptions.
For example, Isaiah 45:7 says this, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things."
In Psalm 18:11 this is declared, "He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies."
Both of these words used for darkness are the same Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:2.
Not only can God create darkness, He did create darkness. The problem people have is they always tend to associate darkness with sin or evil, and miss out on the other meanings the word have, as well as the usage they convey.
There is no doubt that Jesus Christ created the earth in the beginning to reveal something of Himself. The first thing He revealed is alluded to in Job. It says:
Job (NAS) 12:22, “He reveals mysteries from the darkness. And brings the deep darkness into light.
What this tells us is that God does include darkness as part of Himself and creation in order from that darkness to being things to light. Creation was, is and remains a mystery, and as Christ continues to give us understanding of it, the mystery is lessened, as is the darkness surrounding and shrouding it.
Why did Jesus Christ create the darkness? In order to bring the mystery of Himself out into the light. It was for the sake of man these things are written. It is from the darkness that mysteries are revealed. If they weren't, they wouldn't be considered mysteries. This is part
of the secret of the darkness that existed at the beginning of creation. It covered up an extraordinary mystery that had been hidden in God and Christ from before creation.
This is why it says of the Spirit that it hovered or brooded over the waters. He was poised to begin the revelation of the mystery hidden in Christ, even though the existence of the water-covered earth already revealed one of the most important revelations of Jesus Christ there ever has been or will be.
That revelation was that the waters covering the earth pointed to the reality that Jesus Christ completely was dead to Himself as creation began. Waters refer to the cross or baptism, which both signify death. This earth was created dead, or if you will: crucified.
But not only that. The waters covered the entirety of the heavens as well, which is why they had to be separated as creation continued to be developed by the Lord Jesus Christ. So even the heavens speak of the total disregard of the self of Jesus Christ as the work started and continued on. The cross and baptism speak to that completely. In other words, the cross was part of the very nature of Jesus Christ and the Godhead before sin ever entered the world.
It was simply manifested in time when Jesus came into space and time and died for the sins of the world. But that death or inherent characteristic of the cross had always been part of Him, and always will be. This is how the world began, and why it probably cost Him much more
than we know to bring it into being for Himself, and on our behalf (everything was created for Him).
When the Scriptures say He was crucified from the foundation of the world, it's probably related to what we're talking about here. There's more to that, but in order to not get too far off of what we're talking about, we'll leave it there.
Let's look at another confirmation of what darkness in this instance meant.
Deut: 5:22 These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness (6205), with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.
5:23 And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness (2822) (obscurity, darkness, secret place - from The Hebrew lexicon is Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon), (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;
5:24 And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.
I included the numbering of the words darkness here from Strong's Concordance in order to let you know that they were two different words. The word darkness used in Genesis 1:2 was the one numbered '2822' in Deuteronomy 5:23.
First of all it reveals that there were two ways of viewing darkness. The first (6205) is a reference to it simply being literally a "thick darkness." The second use of the word darkness in the phrase "midst of the darkness," speaks of a mystery, or secret place, an obscure place. This is what the darkness in Genesis 1:2 undoubtedly refers to.
Listen again to how it is said, " ...when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness." If that isn't a way God moves and acts, then we have to pretend it doesn't exist. God speaks out of darkness, or from an obscure, secret place we aren't aware of in order to bring light and understanding to a situation. After all, He is light, and when He speaks and moves, those mysteries, for those who have ears to hear and eyes to see, are made known.
In the case of creation, the mystery was there from the beginning, and from the earth covered and hidden in the waters of baptism, or the place of the cross, the Spirit of God stood ready to respond to the command of "let there be light." This is a reference to speaking forth in order to reveal a mystery hidden within the Godhead when nothing but they existed.
This is all extremely important because it reveals where it is that God works from for our benefit.
Only those that learn to die in Christ truly live. There is no resurrection without death. Resurrection can only come if we die. This is where the creation story begins. It doesn't end there, and it would truly be desolate if all there was was the cross and baptism.
But we must begin there. Only the dead rise, and that death must be embraced by all believers to fully reach all that God has for us in Christ.
If we don't realize and see this is how everything began outside of and from God, we'll remain in confusion as to what it is Christ did and who He is.
Let's look at a portion of Scripture to get more understanding of this.
Jeremiah 4:18-28 (KJV)
18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart. 19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace , because thou hast heard , O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. 20 Destruction upon destruction is cried ; for the whole land is spoiled : suddenly are my tents spoiled , and my curtains in a moment. 21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? 22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding : they are wise to do evil , but to do good they have no knowledge . 23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. 24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled , and all the hills moved lightly . 25 I beheld , and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled . 26 I beheld , and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. 27 For thus hath the LORD said , The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. 28 For this shall the earth mourn , and the heavens above be black : because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent , neither will I turn back from it.
What Jeremiah sees, as culminating in verse 23 where he says, "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light," is this. He is making the point that because of wickedness, when God gets through with judgement, it'll be as if there had been no creation; it'll be as if there was only the cross without resurrection. It'll be as if there were no hope, as resurrection is our blessed hope. That's what God was revealing through Jeremiah in this instance.
My reason for bringing this up is from what was mentioned above before listing the verses from Jeremiah, and also at the beginning of the article. First, God wasn't through when things were without form and void, he was just beginning. The condition of the earth is one that awaited His life to be revealed. That's a reference to life, and by extension, to resurrection. After all, His life is the light of men.
In Jeremiah here, he says it's because of the fierce anger of God that He was basically going to de-create His creation. He views creation has having never went beyond being without form and void. God views it as if there never was a creation, as if there never was anything besides the death of the cross or rising up after entering the waters of baptism.
Again, it's where everything within God and Jesus Christ begins, but it's far from being the place where He wants to end.
The mystery of the early part of creation is that Jesus Christ was revealing to us that everything begins at the cross, everything must and has been crucified ... even creation from the beginning.
Being without form and void means that this is far from where God wants things to end. But to go on, we must be covered in the waters of baptismal death in the reality of what that represents, in order to be brought forth out of the waters by first seeing that we need light to comprehend this extraordinary mystery of the person of Jesus Christ and the Godhead.
The condition of creation wasn't from some cataclysmic event coming about from the rebellion of Satan, rather a glimpse into the nature of Jesus Christ, showing us where everything must begin and why we must walk in the light and resurrection life in order to escape being and remaining without form and void. Instead, we must conform to the image of Jesus Christ, as the earth and heavens did by type through the creation account.
Even so, there is no escaping the cross and its work in our lives. If there is no death to self and a dying to ourselves daily, there will never be resurrection life working in us either. The more we die to ourselves, the more of Jesus Christ will be revealed and seen within us. That's the mystery unveiled in the very beginning of the Creation account.
To relegate it to some old wives fable about fantasy races and fallen angels destroying some previous universe causes us to miss all that it is Christ has for us in this world, and the world to come.
Friday, November 2, 2012
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.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the
morning were the first day.
KJV
With the battles between evolutionists and creationist having escalated, it has largely taken away from the real importance of the first several verses of the Holy Scriptures, which we'll get into in a moment.
That's not to say it's not important to challenge and deal with the numerous lies and unproven falsehoods associated with the evolutionary theory, just that it has absolutely nothing to do with why the creation account was revealed by God.
Even the unfolding of the actions taken by Jesus Christ in the Bible concerning creation aren't readily understood as to their meaning, as it was in fact something that came from what was the nature of the Godhead expressed in visible form. In other words, they were glimpses into the nature of God; so much so that it was said later on that no man will ever have an excuse when standing before the judgement seat of Christ, as the creation declares Him continuously.
So while it's interesting and generally important to read about the physical creation, it's far more important to get a revelation of, and respond to the invisible characteristics and nature of Jesus Christ which the creation was based upon. To that end we'll now look at some aspects of Christ on the first day of creation.
We're not going to touch on the enormous amount of revelation in the first few verses of the Bible and creation, as it could take books to do so. Rather, we'll look at what are the most important parts of the revelation instead of going off into numerous secondary directions which would take us down too many rabbit holes and get off the most important characteristics of Christ as revealed to His people.
Where I want to begin is with the place where it says "... darkness was upon the face of the deep."
Without getting too deeply into the erroneous teaching on the idea there was a pre-Adamic race, I do want to comment on it briefly to eliminate that as even being a remotely relevant or accurate depiction of what was happening during this early stages of the creation.
The reasoning behind alleged pre-Adamic race is the assumption God doesn't create anything that could be called "... without form, and void." But the truth is, and the Scriptures declare that in fact God did create it that way.
Now there's no doubt this is all shrouded in mystery, which is mostly what the meaning behind the darkness laying on the face of the deep meant.
Another reason for the error is based upon the faulty use of the word "replenish" the earth when God ordered Adam to do so. The idea is the word replenish has to mean there had been a time when the earth was populated before. But the word just as easily could have been translated as "filled," which in fact it is in other translations of the Bible.
But the definitive understanding concerning this issue is Adam Himself. In 1st Corinthians 15:45 it says this, "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit."
The first man Adam refers to his being the representative of the first mankind, while the last Adam, who was of course Jesus Christ, was the representative of another mankind; one of a completely different makeup than former Adam, or the first mankind.
This clearly and efficiently slashed the feet from under the false teaching of a pre-Adamic race. Adam was the first of the natural mankind - there was no other before him. Period. It doesn't get any clearer than that. How can the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures reveal that Adam was the representative of the first mankind be contradicted by those who make up an entire scenario based upon nothing but human assumption and reasoning? There was no mankind or other race before Adam. He was the first of all flesh.
I mention all of this because many have been made to believe in this nonsense, and so get totally distracted from the weightier matters of creation, and really the only ones that really are important to those who believe.
The scriptures reveal over and over again that God and Jesus Christ, working with the Holy Spirit, created the earth and the universe. There's no reason for any true believer to doubt that, so most should simply stop listening to any of the numerous lies out there that attempt to contradict that face. Jesus is the creator. That's really all we need to know and believe concerning that issue.
For those who battle these lies in a public forum, of course it's important to pursue and expose many of these matter so the unbelievers can see that there is a God behind the creation we all walk in and interact with. Those claiming to know Christ and whom give credence to these liars need to re-examine themselves as to their faith. There is no evolution, and there is no "mechanism" following initial creation that would include
evolution in any way. The creation account is enough. All of us should be settled and unmoved by any other falsehood and assertions made by men; whether non-Christian or allegedly Christian.
Those catering to the lies do so in order to be found palatable and respectable among men. We should all know that Jesus Christ reproves strongly any that attempt to please men and love the world and its praise.
Let's get back to the Scriptures. So "darkness was upon the face of the deep." This is one of the first revelations of an amazing Characteristic of Jesus Christ and the Godhead. As a matter of fact, it's totally central to their person hood, and all of life flows out from it as far as the Godhead goes, and by extension, those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
The reason why we talked a little on the pre-Adamic race is found in this verse. If that is the focus of believers, they'll miss the true meaning of what was being unveiled by Christ of Himself when He created.
What was it? Two things. The first is that darkness was not a part of sin. It had nothing to do with it whatsoever, as sin hadn't entered the world yet because man hadn't even been created or tempted. That means whatever darkness refers to, it has nothing to do with sin.
It's already proven from the Scriptures that Adam was the first mankind. So there wasn't sin from some type of prior mankind that God was dealing with in His creation.
So the first thing to learn is God hides and shrouds things in mystery. That's what this darkness is referring to. As a matter of fact, God actually names this darkness "night." He didn't name some non-existent sinful aspect of a prior creation, but something He created that we are told nothing about.
I'm referring to the fact that the earth, the water, and the darkness existed without us being told how it came into being. The first revelation of an actual step taken in creation was when God said, "Let there be light." Before that we simply have this earth without having and form and being void and covered with water and darkness. That's it. We know nothing else about how it came into being. The book of Job deals with some of the planning aspects of the creation, but we still aren't told exactly what God did to bring it into being. We're simply presented with the fact that it was there.
And even if later in the Biblical account it had been revealed, it wouldn't have been known until later by those it would have been unfolded to, meaning the way it was unveiled retains the purpose as to how it was created, explained and described.
All of that means that the earth and how it was at the time of the initial creation was done so intentionally by God in that condition and order, and consequently something exists in Jesus Christ that is explained in that reflection of reality.
The question is this: what was it that was explained about Christ that the waters covering the earth reveal? We know that the darkness reveals that there is a mystery that is hidden that is about to be revealed. That mystery was named by God as night, suggesting throughout this dispensation more and more of the mystery hidden in Christ will be revealed and understood by those that are His and hungry to know Him fully. Not simply for the purpose of knowing about Him, but through revelation and experience, knowing Him as to who He is.
That's what this darkness is referring to, and why the Holy Spirit was agitated upon the waters in anticipation of and ready to work with what was about to happen next in the creation order, and as to how God works with His people.
What was this mystery hidden within the waters and covered by darkness? Of course it's the entirety of who Christ is. But the real question is what do the waters themselves represent. To go on with knowing, experiencing and understanding Jesus Christ, we must understand the waters themselves before we can begin to comprehend what was hidden in them.
At this point it isn't too difficult to understand the waters, as in the context it is in, and as it is throughout the Holy Scriptures, the water represents death, or baptism. Not death in the sense of that which came about as the result of sin, but death in the sense of the total denying of oneself.
Since man wasn't created yet, this is an obvious reference to Christ. This is why it says this in Revelation 13.8, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him (Beast), whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world. How could that be when we know He came to the earth a little over 2,000 years ago and died? Some sloppy translations of the Hebrew attempt to make it look like the foundation of the world reference is in regard to those written in the book of life. While that's true, it's not here that it talks about that. Here it's talking about the fact that Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world.
That means that when we come upon the first verses of the creation account, that was when the actual slaying happened. I don't want to get sidetracked by getting too much into this, as it's the slaying that matters, not how it happened seemingly at two different times in history. As a matter of fact it didn't. They aren't two separate events, but one in the same. One explains it as it happened in eternity, the other explains it as it happened in time and space on the earth.
Again, it's what it represents that is important, not delving into how eternal events are migrated into the physical creation from outside of time.
What we have here is the essence of who Christ is. Jesus Christ didn't die for our sins on the cross out of nothing at all, and the sacrifice and denial of Himself for our sake didn't happen only because of sin. It was and is something inherent in the Godhead, and from within His total love and denial of self He first created the earth, and that brought about the crucifixion of Christ in the eternals.
But the point is it cost Jesus Christ everything when He created the heavens and the earth, and it was expressed in time when He died on Calvary.
What that implies and confirms is an extraordinary thing was driving Jesus Christ when He created when He was known as the word, and that passion, which is identified in the
Scriptures as His eternal purpose, continues to be the driving force behind everything He does.
The bottom line is Jesus Christ gave everything He had, and that was expressed at the beginning by the waters covering the earth, because it revealed that within Christ there is this immense willingness and characteristic of His nature of being dead to Himself. Waters point to being willing to die unto oneself in order to have the life of God live through us. Christ is the example of that in these beginning verses of the Bible, and is why it is said He was crucified from that very moment the creation came into being.
And just like the darkness filled the land when Jesus died on the cross on Calvary, so the darkness covered the waters in response to the crucifixion of Jesus from the foundation of the world.
Death of Himself wasn't a response to sin by man alone, it was something that is part of His very nature and makeup. It of course brought about His physical death on the earth, but it was motivated by something that He was and is. Man was the recipient and beneficiary of the magnificent offering of Himself for our sins, but it was based upon the fact that He begins in death and always moves from there to life. One can't truly live unless they really die.
Christ shows us that it is something experiential at the very core of His being, not only something He demands of man alone.
In other words, Jesus Christ was the lamb of God within and in eternity before He ever came into the world as a man. This wasn't just figuratively, but it literally happened at the time of creation.
Why all of this is important to see isn't so we can have some interesting things to talk about. May that never be. The reason I'm sharing it is because this very thing that Christ is and lives by, is what He also requires of us, or rather, is how He will live in us when walking in us throughout our earthly journey.
So whenever any of us are looking for understanding and guidance, understand that creation teaches us that first we must be covered with the waters, dying to ourselves, before the life of Christ will spring forth from within to answer the situation and circumstances we face, or to fulfill a specific calling He has given us.
Nothing can come forth into live unless it dies. If there is no death it is impossible for there to be a resurrection. And resurrection is life. Life that overcomes death. But death can only be overcome when you go through it.
Those that are willing to experience that over and over again throughout their lives, will find life and times of refreshing just as many times.
One thing I've learned experientially in all of this is we must not get too bogged down in the cross and crucifixion side of it, without understanding that that isn't the final place God has for us at any time we're going through it.
The whole issue is that His life can be manifest as we continue to die daily. That's what the meaning of the earth being shrouded in mystery with the waters covering all that was about to be brought to life by and in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is at that moment the words come forth, "Let there be light." That's the beginning of His life manifesting itself in us.
But to have light manifested, just like to have resurrection in regard to life, we must go through dark times if light is to come in the morning. That light is His life, and those who are willing to have Him draw and guide through darkness, won't be staying in it indefinitely. Darkness and the cross are went through so that light and life can be revealed. That's where the beginning of all things coming from Christ into this world through our being temples of the Holy Spirit launch.
It's there that out of our innermost being comes rivers of living water. Only broken vessels are able to release the treasure of Christ dwelling within them.
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