The Bible is the best-selling book in the world, but it is not just a book; it is the Word of God. God knows everything about everything. We cannot have a correct worldview without knowing what God tells us about its history and why He created this Cosmos.
In this short video, Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis provides useful background on the Bible and its importance to living in God’s world.
DEAD. COLD. DARK. SMALL. OLD, VERY OLD. Many such words have been used to describe the dwarf planet Pluto, which orbits the sun very far away. About 40 times as far from the sun as Earth. Pluto is much smaller than other planets and was ‘demoted’ from planet status in 2006. Secular scientists believe Pluto is 4.5 billion years (Ga) old. They also believed Pluto was dead, meaning geologically inactive. This is because, by being so small and far from the sun, if it were anywhere near that old, it would have lost all its internal heat long, long ago.
In 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft finally reached its destination to study what NASA called “a relic from the formation of the solar system”. This was the first mission designed to study Pluto, its moons, and other objects in the Kuiper Belt. This belt is a vast region of space beyond Neptune’s orbit, containing icy bodies including Pluto.
The spacecraft took the first detailed, close-up images of the surface of Pluto and its moon, Charon, while studying the composition of the dwarf planet. What it has found and continues to find has been surprising, inspiring, intriguing, and mind-blowing. Pluto is shocking the science world by not being cold, dark, dead, and all the similar adjectives used to describe it. The greatest surprise is that Pluto does not appear to be old.
Several areas of Pluto studied are believed to be recently active cryovolcanoes. Among these areas are Virgil Fossae and Viking Terra. Similar icy volcanoes have also been discovered on the planetary moons Enceladus (orbiting Saturn) and Triton (orbiting Neptune). The question is then, how? How can a cold, dead planet still have volcanoes? How can a very old, small planet be active? Where would the energy come from, if not from internal heat? But how can Pluto be so small and still have internal heat? The Bible. God’s inerrant word gives us the answer it is about 6,000 years old not billions.
The slide below is taken from a FREE PowerPoint presentation available from http://www.answersingenesis.org which addresses the issue of the decline in Christianity in the Western World due to the teaching of evolution and billions of years in our schools and universities.
Ken Ham calls it the Seven C’s of History: Creation – Perfect at the beginning. Corruption: Sin and death entered the world because Adam and Eve disobeyed God due to deception by an evil spirit being, Satan. Catastrophe: God judges an evil world with the worldwide flood of Noah’s day. Confusion: God confuses the language of the post-flood population resulting in the nations of the world speaking different languages. Christ: God’s Son steps into history as the Saviour of mankind. Cross: Jesus was prepared to pay the price for our rebellion against God. He rose from the dead and promised to raise to eternal life all of those who believe and submit to Him as Lord. Consummation: Jesus will return to earth to fulfill the covenants He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for God’s nation, Israel to rule and reign over the nations of the world for 1000 years: Jesus Millennial Kingdom (www.millennialkingdom.net).
God has allowed Satan to rule this world for 6,000 years. When Jesus returns to Earth, Satan is bound in the Abyss for most of the 1000 years that Jesus rules the nations with the resurrected Saints. At the end of the 1000 years, Satan is released and he raises an enormous army to come against Jesus and the Saints. “And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.” Revelation 20:9. God then destroys this world with fire. Next is the second resurrection and Jesus’ White Throne judgement. Then, John sees a new Jerusalem descending out of a new heaven onto a new Earth where only the righteous dwell.
When Darwin came up with the Theory of Evolution by natural selection, he did not know the incredible evidence for design in the Cosmos. As Dr. Dean Kenyon (former Professor of Biochemistry at Stanford University and author of two Evolutionary Biochemistry textbooks) states the discovery of DNA and the electron microscope rang the death knell of evolution. Imagine how difficult it was for Dr. Kenyon to come out and say that what he had been teaching for many years was nonsense.
DNA is the complex information in every living cell that controls all the functions of the organism. Information is only derived from an Intelligent Designer who is separate from His creation.
The electron microscope reveals that inside each cell are manufacturing units making all the complex chemicals required for life and transport devices to take them to where they are needed.
The DNA, and the factories and functions that the DNA controls must be perfect on day one; they could not have evolved. They were created by an omnipotent designer just as the Bible, God’s Word states. The opening words of the Bible state “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.“
In other branches of science such as geology the paradigm of slow gradual change over billions of years is also being challenged as the evidence in the rocks is of catastrophe not slow gradual change. Billions of dead things all over the world including fossil fuels are evidence of a catastrophic global flood.
Make sure you are equipped to give an answer when you are asked about the faith you hold in Jesus Christ. You can get the resources you need from http://www.answersingenesis.org and http://www.creation.com.
The ORIGIN of anything can only be from one of two sources: GOD or MAN. From our CREATOR or from the CREATED. You need to get that right or you can expect chaos.
To believe that this world with all of its complexity and finite laws could come into existence by random chance is foolishness in its extreme and yet our prestigious universities promote it as science. Science according to them cannot countenance the supernatural, despite the fact that all of the Cosmos evidence screams intelligent design.
God’s Word, Genesis 1–11, tells us the origin of all the basic entities of life and the universe. And the meaning of anything is dependent on its origin.
Take any topic. For instance:
Genesis 1–11 is the foundation for everything! God’s Word, the Bible is largely prophecy. Fulfilled prophecies prove that God exists and His Bible is inerrant. God is in control of everything that happens in His Cosmos.
Praise God that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to provide the way for mankind to get back into a right relationship with Him. Jesus died to pay the price for our redemption. If we repent of our rebellion/sin and are prepared to submit to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour then we are restored to God’s family and our Heavenly Father sends the Holy Spirit to indwell our spirit to be our counselor, teacher, and comforter thus enabling us to live as a child of God, as a Christian. We have a good God but we must submit to His authority, and His commandments to be part of His family. That means dying to self and being prepared to say not my will but your will be done, Lord. Sadly, most of mankind, like Satan, wants to be the God of their own lives. God gave us free will so the choice is ours but we will suffer the consequences of our decision. All will stand before God on judgment day, for those that reject Jesus Christ will suffer punishment and second death. “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8
God’s Word reveals the entire history of this Cosmos from its creation out of water to its fiery end. Also, the Apostle Peter told us 2000 years ago that in the last days before Jesus returns to set up His Millennial Kingdom scoffers will deny it:
“You should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires ... For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these, the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word, the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” 2 Peter 3:2-7
However, before this earth is destroyed the Bible reveals that it will exist for another 1000 years ruled by Jesus and the resurrected Saints. It is a transition period from the reign of Satan to God creating a new heaven and new earth where only the righteous dwell. During this transition period, Jesus will fulfill the prophecies given to Abraham and most of the O.T. prophets that God would raise up a Messiah, Jesus who would rule the nations from a magnificently restructured Jerusalem. God established His nation, Israel, to fulfill His purposes on this earth.
The following N.T. Scripture reveals that the Messiah must reign over his kingdom until he has defeated all his enemies. Once this is accomplished, Jesus will hand over the kingdom to the Father. When the Kingdom of God is handed over to the Father, it will be free of sin and death, identifying it as the Eternal State (Revelation 21:4, 8).
“But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” 1 Corinthians 15:23-25
Two more N.T. Scriptures refer to Jesus’ coming Millennial reign on this earth.
“ Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way, all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” Romans 11:25-27
“Repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” Acts 3:19-21
MILLENNIAL KINGDOM
With Jesus and the Saints ruling the nations in the Millennium, we can expect new technology to be developed further. I expect Nuclear Fusion will be the main power source. Robotics for the production and distribution of goods and other services: health, transport, and construction, to name a few. In the Millennium, I was surprised to learn that Jesus tells us repeatedly that He and the Saints will rule the nations with a rod of iron. Wise use of technology will be closely monitored. We will not see aborted fetuses used for medical experimentation, cryonics, cloning, or modifying DNA, things that are being pursued vigorously now.
“As for me, I have set my King (Jesus) on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Psalm 2:6-9
“From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.” Revelation 19:15
“She (Mary)gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,” Revelation 12:5
We are told that the new James Webb Space Telescope’s revolutionary technology will study every phase of cosmic history—from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe. Webb’s infrared telescope will explore a wide range of scientific questions to help us understand the origins of the universe and our place in it.
If only they knew “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” Psalms 19:1 Then they would also know the origin of the universe.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
“And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.” Genesis 1:14-18
Webb will directly observe a part of space and time never seen before. Webb will gaze into the epoch when the very first stars and galaxies formed, over 13.5 billion years ago. Ultraviolet and visible light emitted by the very first luminous objects has been stretched or “redshifted” by the universe’s continual expansion and arrives today as infrared light. Webb is designed to “see” this infrared light with unprecedented resolution and sensitivity.
If they knew their Creator, they would know who stretched out the heavens: the Lord, your maker.
“and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth” Isaiah 51:13
“Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:” Isaiah 42:5
While the vastness of the cosmos requires a time scale of billions of years, relativity theory shows that time is not a constant, and during creation week it is possible that only one day had passed on earth whilst billions of years passed in the cosmos. Supernatural causes should not be excluded from science as they now are.
Webb will also be a powerful tool for studying the nearby universe. Scientists will use Webb to study planets and other bodies in our solar system to determine their origin and evolution and compare
them with exoplanets, planets that orbit other stars. Webb will also observe exoplanets located in their stars’ habitable zones, the regions where a planet could harbor liquid water on its surface and can determine if and where signatures of habitability may be present. Using a technique called transmission spectroscopy, the observatory will examine starlight filtered through planetary atmospheres to learn about their chemical compositions.
Understanding the big picture of the Bible/Gospel Message allows us to conclude clearly that the reason the Bible doesn’t mention extraterrestrials (ETs) is that there aren’t any. We are told there are angels and demons (fallen angels) but these are supernatural beings. Surely, if the earth were to be favoured with a visitation by real extraterrestrials from a galaxy far, far away, then one would reasonably expect that the Bible, and God in His sovereignty and foreknowledge, to mention such a momentous occasion because it would clearly redefine man’s place in the universe.
Can I suggest you go to http://www.creation.com to read the full article by Dr. Gary Bates, “Did God create life on other planets?” Otherwise, why is the universe so big?
God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are each equally and eternally the one true God.
God is Love, is probably the most important claim Christians make about our Creator, and yet, without the Trinity it is incomprehensible. A perfectly loving Being cannot perfectly love if He is not sharing that love with at least one other, since perfect love exists between two distinct entities. Love demands a subject who loves and an object that is loved. Because God is immutable and self sufficient (His aseity) requires that His love is not dependent upon the existence of creatures (anything created).
By observing the Universe God created, we can see this tri-unity expressed in every aspect of that creation.
The Father is the Thought behind it, the Son is the Word calling it forth, and the Spirit is the Deed making it a reality.
We are made in God’s image and in God’s likeness so is it any wonder we are a Trinity – Spirit, Soul and Body. Is it also any wonder, that God established the family, the basic structure for mankind as a Trinity – Husband, Wife and Children.
God’s universe is a Trinity – Matter, Space and Time and each of these is a Trinity: Matter – Solid, Liquid and Gas, Space – width, height and depth and Time – past, present and future.
God has given us so many wonderful examples in His creation of ONE being a TRINITY.
Water is two atoms of Hydrogen and one atom of Oxygen (H2O) and it can be a solid – ice, liquid – water and gas- steam.
Light – white is made up of three primary colours, red, green and blue.
The three Persons of the Trinity appear in a logical, causal order . The Father is the unseen, omnipresent Source of all being, revealed in and by the Son, experienced in and by the Holy Spirit. The Son proceeds from the Father, and the Spirit from the Son.
We “see” God and His great salvation by the Father sending the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, we then “experience” their reality by faith, through the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit.
The truth of God’s tri-unity is ingrained in man’s very nature, but sadly he has often distorted it and substituted a false god or gods in its place.
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 