AGE OF THE EARTH

Posted on by

This is such an important topic as a Cosmos that is billions of years old undermines the authority of God’s Word. For me now, fulfilled prophecy, just of Jesus first coming to earth is sufficient proof of the inerrancy of the Scriptures. Nevertheless, I did pharmacy at Sydney University and evolution was the stumbling block for me to doubt the Scriptures. It was not until the age of 46 that I attended a Creation Ministries weekend conference that I realised that evolution does not explain the origin of you and me and the Cosmos. I was General Manager of Abbott Laboratories Hospital Products Division at the time and the only thing that got me along to the conference was Professor John Rendle-Short who at the time was Foundation Professor and Head of the Department of Child Health at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. was on the program. He was also Chairman of Creation Ministries. I knew Prof. Rendle-Short as he was doing work for the Paediatric Division of Abbott Laboratories. I admired the man and if he was talking about creation versus evolution I wanted to hear what he had to say. Well! I came away from that conference annoyed with myself and our educational establishment for believing such nonsense. There is no scientific plausible mechanism that can explain how we go from “goo to you”. Natural selection only works with what is already there it does not create anything new and mutations all go in the wrong direction they lose information. They do not generate complex new information that is required for the functioning of anything, let alone a human brain that can create all of the technology we have today.

Whilst there are billions of dead things buried catastrophically all over the world, because the world had excepted Lyle’s and Darwin’s slow gradual change (uniformitarianism) and evolution which need billions of years, the worldwide flood of Noah’s day had been put into the myths and fables bin.

What about today with all the technology that we have is the Earth really 4.5 billion years old? How can we measure age with certainty? What about radiometric dating methods—don’t they prove millions and billions of years? Does the age of the Earth even matter? Dr Mark Harwood discusses these topics and more, focusing especially on why an old Earth sits in conflict with the Bible, while also providing evidence for a younger age of the Earth.

Go to http://www.creation.com/age for 101 documents of evidence for a young earth


⏳ TIMESTAMPS ⌛ 0:00 Introduction 0:48 Mark’s story: How origins affected his faith (An old Earth undermines the Gospel narrative) 11:11 How do we determine the age of something? (You can’t measure age!) 13:32 The dripping tap example (Dating methods rely on assumptions!) 16:17 Radiometric dates aren’t definitive – assumptions rule 19:51 The importance of witness testimony 23:36 The importance of worldview / starting assumptions 26:24 So, how old is the Earth? 28:58 Evidence from radiometric dating / rocks 36:04 Evidence from sedimentation / erosion 37:41 Evidence from our solar system 40:09 Evidence from Earth’s population 41:43 Evidence from carbon-14 in fossils 43:28 Summary: You can’t measure age! (Everything depends on your assumptions!) 46:29 An old Earth calls God’s character into question 48:47 An old Earth calls the inerrancy of Scripture into question 50:38 Conclusion: Three reasons the age of the Earth matters to a Christian

PROPHESIED END TIMES CHURCH

Posted on by

PCUSA pastor teaches on Psalm 139, says she ‘felt God’s presence,’ ‘no sin’ after 2 abortions

The sermon by Rev. Rebecca Todd Stephens PhD alleges ‘anti-choice’ Evangelicals have ‘colonized our minds’ with ‘toxic theology’

A female Presbyterian pastor for over 25 years who is also a Planned Parenthood advisor delivered a sermon in which she said she felt “God’s presence” when she aborted two pregnancies and blasted Evangelicals for their “toxic theology” on the subject.

In a sermon delivered July 9, 2023, at the Community Church of Chapel Hill Unitarian Universalist in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the Rev. Rebecca Todd Peters spoke candidly about her own experience with abortion and how she views Scripture through that lens.

Wearing a pink stole emblazoned with the Planned Parenthood logo, Peters opened her message bemoaning the state of pro-life Evangelicalism, with its “talking fetuses, aggressive bumper stickers and saccharine billboards quoting Scripture and invoking God’s wrath.”

Peters referenced the state’s recently passed law banning most abortions after 12 weeks. She said the bill’s passage is an example of Evangelical culture setting the political tone on abortion.

Peters spoke about how what she called the “abortion is sin” message has been “internalized not only by Christians but by Jews and Muslims,” calling it “one of the most disturbing things” she and her team learned in their interviews with over 500 “religiously identified people who have had abortions.”

After claiming that “the Bible doesn’t say anything about abortion,” she appeared to describe her own statement as “astonishing because the Bible has a lot to say about how people are to live what is and isn’t allowed. … [B]ut to reiterate, it says nothing about abortion.”

In one of the more shocking moments of the sermon, Peters referred to pre-born life as a “zygote” and criticized the “anti-choice” position that life begins at conception.

“The lens through which anti-choice Christians read the Bible is the theological belief that from the moment of fertilization, a zygote is biologically, morally, ontologically, and in every other way indistinguishable from a baby,” she said. “When they then read Scripture through this lens, they abrogate all manner of text to support that position.”

But for Family Research Council’s David Classon, Peters’ assertion that the topic of abortion is not in the Bible is simply a “fundamental misreading of Scripture.”

While the word “abortion” itself does not appear in the Bible, Classon told CP Thursday the concept of “human life beginning at the moment of fertilization is all over the pages of Scripture.”

Peters said her reason for choosing Psalm 139 as the sermon’s primary text was because she views it as “one of the anthems of the abortion imaginary.”

“As a person of faith, I’m outraged by the Religious Right’s co-optation of God, and whether you believe in God or a sacred presence or a divine order in the world or something else entirely, I expect that many of you might also be troubled by how Scripture and God are being used in the public debate about abortion,” she said.

“I refuse to cede the sacredness of Scripture or its interpretation to those who would wield it as a weapon.”

Classon, however, cited two of the more well-known passages, including Psalm 139, the same text from Peters’ sermon, showing how God views life from conception. 

“The author, David, talks about his development in utero, and he praises God for fearfully and wonderfully making him in his mother’s womb,” he said. “It’s a profoundly pro-life text.”

He also pointed to Luke 2, where Mary, who is pregnant with Jesus, goes to visit her relative Elizabeth, who is also pregnant with the child who would become known as John the Baptist.

“The unborn John the Baptist leaps for joy … she refers to Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord,'” Classon said. “Jesus is a couple of weeks in utero, yet Elizabeth recognizes Jesus as her Lord and Mary as the ‘mother of my Lord.’

“So the idea that the Bible says nothing about abortion, and has nothing to teach us about abortion, is patently false.”

Calling Psalm 139 a “liberating message of justice and light,” Peters then read from the text, “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Peters shared her appreciation for both the psalmist and the Psalm itself and appeared to affirm, along with Jeremiah and Job, “their certain knowledge that God was with them in the womb.”

She revealed that as a mother of two, she had previously aborted two other pregnancies.

“I, too, feel that I am known by God in these ways, as a woman who has borne two children. I can affirm that I felt something sacred happening in my gestating body during those pregnancies,” said Peters. “I can also attest that I felt God’s presence with me as I made the decision to end two pregnancies and I felt no guilt, no shame, no sin.”

While acknowledging his inability to know Peters’ innermost thoughts, Classon said he finds it hard to believe Peters’ claim about not experiencing any shame or guilt over her decision to terminate two of her unborn children.

“I don’t know her heart, I can’t get inside of her mind, but I think it’s inevitable for the folks who go through terminating a pregnancy to think about it,” he said. “It’s not an easy decision.

“But to protest it as strongly as she does, ‘no guilt, no shame, no sin,’ if she really does feel that way, it would betray a conscience that has been seared, a conscience that no longer can hear the convicting voice of the Holy Spirit.”

“Guilt and shame, are appropriate responses to doing things that are morally blameworthy. And if it’s true that she feels no guilt or no shame, that speaks to a conscience that has been seared, likely by decades of protesting and trying to convince herself that abortion indeed is not what it actually is, which is the intentional ending of human life.”

Peters further offered her views on what she termed “forced pregnancy.”

“If pregnancy and gestation are to remain holy mysteries, they require cooperation,” she said. “A forced pregnancy or birth is not holy.”

Her sermon culminated in a stated theological position in which she suggested Bible-believing Christians can be both pro-life and pro-abortion.

“As complicated, thoughtful morally capable people, we are able to hold both of these realities in tension: that the gestation and birth of a child is a wondrous event to be celebrated and that not all pregnancies will or need to culminate in a birth,” she said.

“This is theologically consistent with the belief that prenates are not yet human beings.”

Peters did not respond to a request for comment from The Christian Post. This story will be updated when a response is received.

According to her bio, Peters has been active in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for over 25 years and currently represents the denomination as a member of the Faith and Order Standing Commission of the World Council of Churches. Peters is also a professor of religious studies and founding director of the Poverty and Social Justice Program at Elon University in North Carolina.

She is also listed as a member of Planned Parenthood’s Clergy Advocacy Board, which supports “access to safe, legal abortions and other sexual and reproductive health care,” according to a statement from board chair the Rev. Burl Salmon.

Article is taken from Christian Post by Ian M. Giatti, a reporter for The Christian Post

Considering Peter’s position on abortion and the fact she has had two abortions herself and does not consider them a sin, it is hard to comprehend how she became a Presbyterian minister so long ago and now has senior positions in the denomination, at Elon University, and Planned Parenthood. Jesus said there would be a great falling away and apostasy in the end times church. It is just one of the end times signs unfolding in our day. Be watchful and be one of the Christians that Jesus describes in the church that is raptured (Church of Philadelphia).

“Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” Revelation 3:10

Do not be like the people in the church that is left behind (Church of Laodicea) to face the wrath of God.

“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” Revelation 3:15-19

They will face the wrath of God but they still have the chance to repent though they will be refined in the fire.

IMPORTANCE OF CREATION MINISTRIES INT’L AND ANSWERS IN GENESIS

Posted on by

Creation Ministries International (CMI) commonly receive testimonies from folk who have come to faith in Christ but then had a wilderness experience before finding their way to a confident faith. A major reason for this wandering is the doubts generated by the pervasive evolution/ long-ages mindset that crowds in upon the new Christian’s confidence in the Bible as the Word of God. Malcolm T. shared:

I became a believer in 1989 but in all of this time [20 years], I have been plagued by doubts caused because I couldn’t prove creation or doubt evolution. This had caused me so much trouble in my daily Christian walk and a lack of assurance. Recently, I came upon creation.com and began reading the articles every day and, praise be to God! I saw that creation is the truth and evolution is a lie and all my doubts and fears have disappeared …

Simply sharing a Creation magazine has led many to a restored Christian walk. Indeed, not just restored, but, like Malcolm, a much more confident and active faith.

I shared a post recently about Martyn Isles, an Australian evangelist that was being used mightily to share the Gospel in all States of Australia under the banner of the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL). Martyn has now moved to Answers in Genesis. This move was orchestrated by God and proved to me the importance of both Answers in Genesis and CMI. God is using both of these organisations to restore faith in the Bible (God’s Word) from Genesis to Revelation. You need to get behind and support both these organisations.

http://www.creation.com and http://www.answersingenesis.org.

DARWINIAN EVOLUTION PREPOSTEROUS

Posted on by

It is mathematically preposterous to infer macroevolutionary developments from microevolutionary observations according to Dr Olen R. Brown, Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Missouri- Columbia, USA, and, David A. Hullender, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington, US.

This new evidence is from an article “Neo-Darwinism must Mutate to Survive” by Brown and Hullender in an international journal called Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, which is a peer-reviewed publication established in 1950. It seeks to offer “informative and critical reviews of recent advances in different aspects of biophysics and molecular biology.

ABSTRACT

Darwinian evolution is a nineteenth-century descriptive concept that itself has evolved. Selection by survival of the fittest was a captivating idea. Microevolution was biologically and empirically verified by the discovery of mutations. There has been limited progress to the modern synthesis. The central focus of this perspective is to provide evidence to document that selection based on survival of the fittest is insufficient for other than microevolution. Realistic probability calculations based on probabilities associated with microevolution are presented. However, macroevolution (required for all speciation events and the complexifications appearing in the Cambrian explosion) is shown to be probabilistically highly implausible (on the order of 10−50) when based on selection by survival of the fittest. We conclude that macroevolution via survival of the fittest is not salvageable by arguments for random genetic drift and other proposed mechanisms. Evolutionary biology is relevant to cancer mechanisms with significance beyond academics. We challenge evolutionary biology to advance boldly beyond the inadequacies of the modern synthesis toward a unifying theory modeled after the Grand Unified Theory in physics. This should include the possibility of a fifth force in nature. Mathematics should be rigorously applied to current and future evolutionary empirical discoveries. We present justification that molecular biology and biochemistry must evolve to aeon (life) chemistry that acknowledges the uniqueness of enzymes for life. To evolve, biological evolution must face the known deficiencies, especially the limitations of the concept of survival of the fittest, and seek solutions in Eigen’s concept of self-organization, Schrödinger’s negentropy, and novel approaches.

Something essential is missing in the theory of biological evolution (Neo-Darwinism)

Any overall mechanistic explanation of the origin and evolution of life ultimately must satisfy two challenges: the transition from non-life to life, and the blossoming of life forms that are so extreme as to appear outrageous. The evolution of a few flowers on a hillside is reasonably explained by mutation and selection; it stretches logic to explain the millions of extremely diverse species seen currently and in the fossil record. It is difficult to conceptualize an insect that is novel or more…

A way forward

An example of the application of mathematics to a difficult science problem was the Drake equation which estimated the number of alien civilizations capable of radio communication with Earth (Loeffler, n.d.). Carl Sagan popularized it on the PBS broadcast Cosmos. Drake and his equation contributed significantly to the founding of the Search for Extraterrestrial Life (SETI). We propose an equation, modeled after the Drake equation, to stimulate thought about evolution probabilities (Eq. (1)). The …

Probability of evolution

Probability, like any scientific analysis, has limitations. Because evolution is generally accepted as scientifically established, probability assessment has largely been overlooked; it happened, we are here, so the probability is one. Evolutionary probability generally is said to be supported by the statement that billions of years make evolution possible. However, this overlooks the fact that time is a linear factor and evolutionary probability inevitability involves exponentials that are …

Self-organization is hidden in life chemistry

Manfred Eigen, a Nobel Laureate, and member of the Pontifical Academy, introduced the concept of the self-organizing power of matter into biological evolutionary theory (“Manfred Eigen: From relaxation kinetics to evolution,” 2018). His 59-page article titled Self-organization of Matter and the Evolution of Biological Macromolecules (Eigen, n.d.) was published in 1971. Eigen did more than anyone before or since to apply mathematics to evolution. Throughout the paper, Eigen supports the narrative with …

The enzyme is essential for life

Life is the most unimaginable state of matter. For growth and replication, energy is essential. The cell is chemically far from equilibrium and maintained by intricately complex processes that require enzymes to make required chemical changes. All life forms use ATP as the ultimate energy source to pull reactions in favoured ways essential to life. The human, amazingly, using the power of enzymes makes approximately 450 pounds of ATP each day according to L. M. Krauss (2001). This requires that …

Aeon chemistry

As “the something” additional required to explain life we propose that the concept of life chemistry (aeon chemistry – meaning vital or life chemistry) be used for the biochemistry within cells that has the appearance of being directed or vital. The difference is not subtle; it cannot be avoided with intellectual honesty. Life, and most certainly its evolution, involves direction (for example, the descent of humans from a common ancestor). It is irrational to believe that chemistry to form a rock or a …

New physics and a fifth force in nature?

The long-awaited first results from the Muon g-2 experiment at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory are now available (UW News staff, n.d.). The data show fundamental particles called muons acting in ways not predicted by the current best theory, the Standard Model of particle physics. The finding is of tremendous significance. The result, made with unprecedented precision, confirms a discrepancy that has been concerning researchers for decades. Although it is…

Conclusions

Biology originated as a descriptive science; it has progressed to an empirical stage, and now it is time to retain both while boldly progressing into a theoretical phase. Microevolution is probabilistically realistic; macroevolution is not, and this is documented empirically. Biological evolution should be challenged with four objectives: (1) to redefine the limitations of survival of the fittest (natural selection) to explain what is fundamentally established and creatively to seek and define…

Article “Neo-Darwinism must Mutate to survive” by Dr Olen R. Brown, Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Missouri- Columbia, USA and, David A. Hullender, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington, US – https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/progress-in-biophysics-and-molecular-biology

HISTORICAL VALIDITY OF JESUS CHRIST

Posted on by

JESUS’ HISTORICAL VALIDITY

Does HISTORY really validate the New Testament Gospels to be true about Jesus: His first coming, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His coming again?

Non-Christian ancient sources confirm details of Christ’s death and some of His resurrection. Dr. Gary Habermas catalogued over 3,400 sources, many of whom are sceptical, or even critical of Christians, adding to their veracity. Here are seven of the three thousand four hundred: 1. Josephus 37-100 AD, 2. Suetonius 70-160 AD, 3. Pliny the Younger 61-113 AD, 4. Tacitus 56-120 AD, 5. Mara Bar-Serapion 72 AD, 6. Lucian 125-180 AD, 7. Babylonian Talmud. They all confirm key points of the gospel: 

1. Jesus died by crucifixion; 2. He was buried; 3. His death caused the disciples to despair and lose hope; 4. The tomb was empty three days later. 5. Hundreds of people saw the resurrected Jesus.

After Jesus’ resurrection, all of His disciples saw Him and had many experiences with Him, “for over 40 days” (Acts 1:3) – eating with Jesus in different places, and lastly watching Jesus ascend off the earth – “as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9).

Rome’s most prominent Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus (37-100 AD) wrote about the resurrection of Jesus. He also recorded Jesus’ 12 apostles and many of Jesus’ disciples (1 Cor. 15:1-9) all went to their deaths, most as martyrs for continually claiming Jesus’ resurrection (1 John 1:1-4). Some people have died for what was a lie – but no one, much less hundreds, will die for what they ALL KNOW is a lie! The apostles and Jesus’ disciples all preached Jesus’ resurrection up to the time of their deaths.

Today – anyone can find out if Jesus is alive! Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to indwell the spirit of everyone who repents of their sins against God and accepts Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. The Holy Spirit is their counsellor, teacher, and comforter.

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27

The spirit of a person was always meant to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The lamp of the Lord cannot function without the oil of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will convict us of sin. It is His job to make us like Jesus to enable us to be Jesus’ ambassadors on the earth.

“However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:9-11 

Thousands of Christians have been martyred for not denying their loyalty to Jesus Christ and many more will do so before His return. Jesus has warned us beforehand that prior to His return there will be a time of great tribulation for Christians.

There need be no question, historically or personally, about the resurrection of Jesus. If someone is willing to receive Him as their own personal Lord and Saviour they will receive the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit who will testify to the reality of Jesus and God the Father.   

The detail on the historical sources of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection was sourced from material provided by Jim McCotter – jimsbookstore.com

CAN WE TRUST THE GOSPELS?

Posted on by

The Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are four accounts of Jesus’s life and teachings while on earth. But are they historically accurate?

New Testament scholar, Dr Peter Williams, presents a powerful case for the historical reliability of the Gospels. He compares different accounts of the same events, assesses how accurately the four biblical accounts reflect the cultural context of their day, considers how the texts were handed down throughout the centuries, and examines evidence from non-Christian sources.

Dr Williams applies a series of tests covering topics which range from geography to personal names, tax to language, and weights and measures to botany. His conclusion is clear: It is highly rational to trust the Gospels.

Contents
1. What Do Non-Christian Sources Say? 2. What Are the Four Gospels? 3. Did the Gospel Authors Know Their Stuff? 4. Undesigned Coincidences 5. Do We Have Jesus’s Actual Words? 6. Has the Text Changed? 7. What about Contradictions? 8. Who Would Make All This Up?

This book’s title, Can We Trust the Gospels?, is carefully chosen. It addresses the question by looking at evidence of the Gospels’ trustworthiness. The great thing about trust is that it is something we all understand to a degree because we all exercise it. … It is a version of [this] everyday sort of trust that we are going to consider in this book as we ask whether we can trust the accounts of Jesus’s life …

Trusting the Gospels is both the same as trusting other things and different. It is the same in that we often have to evaluate the credibility of people and things in daily life. It is different in that the Gospels contain accounts of miracles and of a man, Jesus Christ, who is presented as the supernatural Son of God who can rightfully claim ownership of our lives. But before we consider such claims, we need to ask whether the Gospels show the signs of trustworthiness we usually look for in things we believe.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter J. Williams (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) is the principal of Tyndale House, one of the world’s leading institutes for biblical research. Previously a senior lecturer in New Testament at the University of Aberdeen, he is the chair of the International Greek New Testament Project and a member of the ESV Translation Oversight Committee.

MORE EVIDENCE FOR NOAH’S FLOOD

Posted on by

The notion of a ‘wet Sahara’ in the recent past is controversial among secular researchers since they struggle to adduce a mechanism to explain it. However, much evidence exists for it and has recently been bolstered through the discovery of ancient shorelines. And unlike the conditions proposed by secular researchers, the conditions produced by a post-Flood Ice Age in the biblical perspective provide mechanisms for explaining the existence of a ‘wet Sahara’.

Paleolake Chad covered an area of 340,000 km. much larger than the current Lake Chad

The Ice Age solution

The biblical rapid Ice Age model can explain the existence of the large and small lakes in the Sahara and the population of animals and people by a northward displacement of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). In the same way as were the lakes in the southwestern U.S., and other lakes generally around the 30th parallel of the Northern Hemisphere, the Saharan lakes were first filled during Flood runoff. Residual floodwater would have been left in enclosed basins. Evidence for this could be the marine foraminifera fossils found in the Sahara Desert. Then much more rain in the Sahara during the Ice Age would have either maintained the lakes or filled them up to overflowing, resulting in rivers and streams. Dried-up rivers and streams with amphibian fossils are found below the sand. Such a wet environment was caused by much greater evaporation from the Ice Age warm ocean and a different general circulation from that evident today. But the wet Sahara continued after the Ice Age into the mid-Holocene, likely because the ITCZ was displaced much farther north.

There was only ever one ice age, it followed the worldwide flood and lasted about 700 years.

The Ice Age lasted longer in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) than the Northern Hemisphere (NH). Glacial maximum was reached about 500 years after the Flood with deglaciation taking another 200 years, lasting a total of 700 years. However, the SH would not reach glacial maximum until perhaps 300 years later, because of the time needed for the build-up of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. The atmosphere and oceans of the two hemispheres have only a minimal exchange of water and air between them, so each generally acts independently. And because the SH has much more ocean than the NH, it would take longer for the Southern Hemisphere oceans to cool (cooling is 75% by evaporation and 25% by cool airflow off the continents).

How does this explain the green Sahara in the African Humid Period? It is known that today, the ITCZ migrates seasonally away from the winter hemisphere, within a range of about 10° latitude.8 Therefore, after the Ice Age ended in the Northern Hemisphere, the Ice Age in the Southern Hemisphere would have pushed the ITCZ even farther north than it shifts today as the seasons change. The SH Ice Age could easily push the ITCZ 600 km (375 mi) north into the Sahara Desert and cause the green Sahara to persist for centuries after the ice sheets had disappeared from northern regions.

Both creation and secular geologists agree that the earth’s deserts and semi-arid areas were once well-watered. Creation scientists largely attribute this to the warmer ocean water just after the Flood, warmed by the enormous volcanic eruptions that took place during the Flood. Warmer oceans generated huge amounts of evaporation, which caused the great ice sheets to build up rapidly over many parts of the world, leading to the Ice Age. At the same time, the extra water vapour in the atmosphere caused high rainfall at lower latitudes where it was not cold enough to form snow and ice. Thus, the post-Flood Ice Age explains why the earth’s deserts and semi-arid areas were once well-watered.

This high-rainfall condition would have lasted for several centuries until the sea had cooled off and reached equilibrium with the atmosphere, as it is today. In the runoff stage in the last part of the Flood, many lakes would have formed from the ponding of water in enclosed basins on an already waterlogged Earth. After the Flood during the Ice Age, high rainfall would have caused these lakes to grow and be sustained, along with a network of rivers and streams.

Taken from the article “Ice Age megalakes did exist in the Sahara” by Micheal Oard in the Journal of Creation/2023, volume 37, in the section Perspectives

BIBLICAL HISTORY: 1. IMPACT OF WORLDWIDE FLOOD ON NATIONS AND 2. GOD ESTABLISHES HIS NATION – ISRAEL

Posted on by

If you have not already read Biblical History: Creation of Cosmos to Creation of Nations, can I suggest you do so, it was posted on 13/03/2023. I finished that post with God stepping into history to create the nations by confusing the language at the Tower of Babel. God created many new languages so that people would separate and populate all areas of the world God had created.

The next significant thing that God did was to create His own nation and He did so by selecting one obedient individual, Abraham from whom He would miraculously establish His nation Israel. It was miraculous because Abraham and Sarah could not have produced Isaac naturally. Sarah was 100 years old.

God’s nation, Israel, begins with a promise to one man, Abraham. For over four hundred years the people of Israel in bondage in Egypt rely on that promise to Abraham. God brought them out of Egypt with the greatest series of miracles ever. The EXODUS was the birth of the nation.

God tested Abraham’s obedience to the extreme by asking him to sacrifice his only son Isaac. If you want to be used by God this is the level of obedience needed. We need to trust God without qualification, absolutely.

“And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself, I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” Genesis 22:15

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers,” Deut. 7:6-8

It is obvious from these Scriptures alone that God has more plans for His nation Israel. From Biblical prophecies, we know that Jesus will rule all of the nations of the world from a newly constructed Jerusalem. It will be situated on the highest mountain in the world after God rearranges the earth and mountains during the time He pours out His wrath a second time prior to Jesus’ return to earth.

Back to the History of the world. Eight people came off the ark and it is interesting that they lived long lifetimes as did the pre-flood people. Shem died at the age of 1846 years. He outlived Sarah, Abraham’s wife. It is no wonder that the eight survivors of the Ark were considered gods by the Egyptian people. It was only after Noah’s generation that God reduced the life span to 120 years.

“Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” Genesis 6:3

Four times in the Psalms, EGYPT is called by the name of Noah’s youngest son HAM. Semitic designation for EGYPT is MIZRAIM (Ham’s second son). The name MIZRAIM appears 680 times in the Hebrew Bible. CUSH (Ham’s first son) begot NIMROD (mighty hunter). The beginning of his kingdom (BABYLON) was BABEL on the plain of SHINAR where the TOWER OF BABEL was built.

Mizraim, Noah’s grandson, founded Egypt around 2100 B.C., a date consistent with both biblical and secular records. Of interest, the Bible also tells us that Javan, Noah’s grandson to Japheth established Greece.

The archaeological evidence does indicate that the eight people that came from the Ark who carried the sum total of all human knowledge, founded civilization, and outlived their descendants were deified in the pagan religions that arose after them.

All Egyptologists are well aware of a group of eight gods, four males and four females known as OGDOAD meaning eight. Note in these pictures on the walls of pyramids, eight people are pictured on the ark which is held up by the Egyptian creator God, Atum.

The OGDOAD are also well known in later Ptolemaic and Roman texts where they play a role in Egyptian cosmological theology concerning the creation of the universe from a watery abyss. These eight gods known as the Ogdoad derived from the Greek meaning eight and are found in what is considered the most ancient evidence in the fifth dynasty pyramid texts.

BENBEN STONES ATOP PYRAMIDS:

Benben stones in Cairo Museum. In the mythology of ancient Egypt, there are several accounts of the creation of the world. One of these is centered on the Egyptian Creator god Atum, and had its origins in the city of Heliopolis. The other in the city of Hermopolis . According to the Heliopolis version of the creation story, the universe was brought into being by Atum. In the beginning, there was nothing but darkness and chaos. It was out of the dark waters that the primordial hill, known as the Benben stone arose, on top of which stood Atum. As the Benben stone rose from the primeval waters, it has been suggested that this word is associated with the verb ‘weben’, which is the Egyptian hieroglyph for ‘to rise’. Also, in the Biblical flood account “And the waters continued to abate until the tops of the mountains were seen.” In both cases, land appears from a state of watery chaos. Desiring companionship, god Atum began the work of creation. In some versions of the myth, he created Shu and Tefnut (Adam and Eve?) who left Atum on the Benben stone and went away to create the rest of the world.

The Benben sacred stone represents the primaeval mound, the first land that appeared from the primaeval ocean, called the Nun. It was upon this land that the eight ‘gods’ (OGDOAD) sprang into being; four males and their wives, headed by the chief god ‘Nu’ which is phonetically similar to Noah.

The pyramids were themselves extensions of the Benben. We know this to be a fact linguistically because the Egyptian word for pyramid is bnbn.t which is the female version of the bnbn sacred stone. 

This explains the size and shape of the pyramids. They were a constant reminder to the Egyptians of the worldwide flood and the rebirth of the world from the deified eight occupants of Noah’s Ark.

Nu is Noah. The names for the three other males are Kek, Heh, and Amun and are the equivalent Egyptian religious names for Ham, Japheth, and Shem. The consorts (wives) are merely the feminine forms of the male names. The names also describe the forces of chaos KEK meaning darkness, HEH meaning unlimited.

Why isn’t this taught in our history classes?

In the next part of Biblical History, we will look at Israel’s, and the world’s history up to the time of the greatest event in all of history.

GEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR NOAH’S FLOOD

Posted on by

In Genesis 6:13, we read that before the Flood, regarding “all flesh”, God said to Noah, “I will destroy them with the earth” (’eretz). Then, in Genesis 9:11, after the Flood, God confirmed to Noah that by the Flood He had indeed destroyed the created Earth, when He said, “never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth” (’eretz). Whatever constituted the ’eretz that was created on Day 1, God destroyed it by the Flood cataclysm.

Corroborating God’s revelation to Noah that the created Earth (’eretz) had been destroyed in the Flood (Genesis 9:11) is the record of widespread destructive volcanic and sedimentary processes evident in the Precambrian rock record. In the Precambrian we see evidence of huge volcanoes, depositing lava accumulations up to 22 km thick, including abundant products of explosive volcanic activity.

Rocks of the Precambrian cratons, including the exposed Precambrian shields, comprise some 71% of the Earth’s total land area. Extensive study of exposed Precambrian strata, motivated by its content of valuable minerals, has resulted in the accumulation of copious geological information on the Precambrian.

This information can be used by creationists to incorporate all of the Precambrian into a Genesis Flood geologic model.

There are abundant products of volcanism, including explosive volcanism, and volcanic lava sequences up to 22 km thick, throughout the Precambrian geologic record. Superpositional relationships of distinct lithological associations enable global correlation of early Precambrian strata. A Genesis Flood geologic model is proposed wherein the Flood cataclysm was initiated by a sudden reduction of gravitational force which decompressed the earth’s hot, water-saturated mantle. The Precambrian rock record was extruded from the mantle and deposited during Day 1 to Day 40 of the Flood cataclysm.

Widespread evidence of destructive volcanic geologic activity throughout the Precambrian corroborates the Scriptural record of the destruction of the created earth (’eretz) by the Flood cataclysm (Gen. 9:11).

This should lead us to preclude a Creation Week or Antediluvian origin for the Precambrian geologic record, and instead consider all of the Precambrian as Flood deposited. Walker noted that the Precambrian Strelley Pool Chert formation in the Pilbara region of Western Australia (figure 6) is underlain and overlain by rocks deposited from volcanic eruptions, and suggested:

“From a biblical perspective, it is inconceivable that volcanoes would be active during Creation Week, depositing volcaniclastics and tuff such as comprise parts of the stratigraphic sections [emphasis added].”

Widespread evidence throughout the globally correlated Precambrian rock record of huge explosive volcanic eruptions comprises tuffs, ignimbrites, pyroclastic flows, volcaniclastics, accretionary lapilli/lapillistone, and agglomerates. The processes necessary for the accumulation of accretionary lapilli/lapillistone include an atmospheric ash column, moisture, accretion, deposition, and lithification. We might reasonably question whether atmospheric ash columns would have been occurring during Creation Week.

Deposition of even the thinnest of these volcanic accumulations, the 10.5-km-thick Swaziland Supergroup (figure 3), over six days during Creation Week, would require lava to accumulate at 1.75 km stratigraphic thickness per day. The 22.0 km-thick-lower Pilbara Supergroup of Western Australia (figure 6) would need to accumulate at 3.67 km of lava per day if deposited during Creation Week.

On the basis of the volcanic content, and especially the explosive volcanic content, and the widespread destruction of organisms throughout the Precambrian, we should, I suggest, question a Creation Week or Antediluvian origin for the Precambrian rock record, reconsider the way we interpret the Precambrian fossil record, and conclude that the Precambrian is all Flood deposited.

Consistent with Genesis 7:11 and Proverbs 3:20a, Noah’s Flood may have been initiated by God causing the mantle to heat in a cataclysmic global thermal-tectonic episode, cracking open the earth’s crust and driving out water to the earth’s surface. Secular scientists have found evidence of episodic rifting events at the margins of North America between 0.8 and about 0.6 Ga. These are thought to record the fragmentation of a Neoproterozoic supercontinent.13,14 This is consistent with the breaking open of the crust by the fountains of the great deep, followed by further continental extension and then ocean formation.

Biblical Geology 101 is avalable from CMI http://www.creation.com


MORE PROOF BIBLE IS A RELIABLE HISTORICAL DOCUMENT

Posted on by

House of David Inscription on Mesha Stele Confirmed

More physical evidence demonstrating the Bible as a reliable historical document has surfaced concerning a royal Israelite House of David inscription. Using new advanced photographic techniques, the 2,800-year-old Mesha Stele was recently determined to contain clear references to King David that before were highly debated.

The Mesha Stele, also known as the Moabite Stone, is one of the oldest and most remarkable artifacts connecting biblical history to the ancient world, but there have been long standing arguments over the possible misidentification of the phrase “House of David.” The area of the inscription that features David’s name is damaged and partly unreadable. Only two of the five letters were clear until now, thanks to a new method of digital photography and a re-examination of the evidence.

References to the biblical history contained in the Mesha Stele inscription include:

  • ‟YHWH” (This is one of the oldest references to Israel’s God ‟YHWH” outside the Bible. The oldest comes from two Egyptian inscriptions and the recently discovered Mount Ebal curse tablet.)
  • ‟Israel” – six times (This is the third oldest known use of the name ‟Israel” in an inscription, behind the Berlin Pedestal and the Merneptah Stele.)
  • ‟Omri …king of Israel” (Omri reigned in Israel a half-century after the death of Solomon split the nation in two.)
  • ‟The men of Gad” (Gad was one of the Israelite tribes that settled east of the Jordan River, north of Moab.)

The text in question on the stone has been proposed to read “House of David” and “Altar of David.” Before now, scholars could not be entirely sure that these references to King David were being correctly deciphered. The Moabite phrase “House of David” consists of five letters but only the first and fourth letters of the series, bet and waw were completely clear. Three letters completing the reference to David were assumed to be taw (like modern Hebrew tav), dalet, and dalet.

In 2019, the prominent Israeli archaeologist Israel Finkelstein, contested the reference to David in the stele. He claimed the letters had been misidentified. Finkelstein suggested that the king referred to in the stele was Balak, a biblical Moabite who lived 200 years before David.

The archaeology department at Tel Aviv University, where Finkelstein is a professor, has a reputation for being skeptical about much of biblical history. The scholars involved in the study are of like mind when it comes to their view of the early history of Israel in the Bible. This may influence their study and interpretation of ancient inscriptions.

Recent re-examination of the evidence by researchers André Lemaire and Jean-Philippe Delorme has led to a pro-bible conclusion. They published their findings in a late-2022 article entitled “Mesha’s Stele and the House of David” in the winter issue of Biblical Archeology Review.

Conclusion

Exciting new technology is allowing the re-examination of ancient artifacts uncovering even more information than before. This new study of the Mesha Stele helps verify that King David did indeed exist and the Bible is an accurate record of history. This is the second clear reference to the House of David from the era of the Israelite monarchy. The archaeological world is generally skeptical about David – many saying he never existed as the king of a powerful Israel like the Bible describes, making this discovery so important. We can be confident that we serve a real God, a God who works through history and has provided us with a reliable record of the past.