#9 THE GREAT FLOOD

     As we consider different aspects of the Old Testament in the next several posts, we need to remember its contributing authors were separated from God by the wall Satan had built. And, because they were unable to see God in His fullness, they did not have the whole picture of what had happened or was happening. So, we are going to take the circumstances of different events and use information we find in the New Testament to put together a more precise understanding of the events than what the Old Testament writers shared. In this post, we are going to look at the flood that occurred in the days of Noah (Genesis 6-9).

     Before we  consider the cause of the flood, I want to respond to the notion that the story of the flood is just a fairy tale. One of the reasons people might believe this fairy tale theory  is because, if we look at the way the earth’s land masses are arranged, visualizing a flood gigantic enough to cover the whole earth’s surface is pretty impossible. I have an answer to this quandary. Since Genesis 1:9 tells us God pulled all the seas into one place and dry land appeared, we can infer that there was just one land mass on our earth as God began the creation process. And, science agrees that when our earth was first formed, there was just one land mass. To explain how our earth looks today, science theorizes that over billions of years, the one mass drifted into the continents that are present today. But, I propose that there is a different explanation found in the Bible.

     First, Genesis 2:10-14 tells us there were four rivers passing through the land mass that was formed in Creation. Next, even though many people may not know this, there was much more going on during the forty days of rain than just the rain itself. Genesis 7:11 (KJV) says “…the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up…” Let me ask you, how are the fountains of great deep (or ocean) broken up? Anyone who has taken high school earth/space science knows the answer–by earthquakes and volcanoes. So, here’s the scenario of what possibly transpired during the forty days: While the rain inundated the one land mass with four rivers and while that rain caused massive flooding, constant volcanic activity and constant earthquakes were ripping apart the layers of earth underneath the water that was next to the one land mass. With the land mass under water, the violence of what happened during those forty days literally turned the earth  upside down and inside out. Then, when all the activity stopped and the flood waters dissipated, the face of the earth was forever changed. The one land mass and one “sea” were now many.

     If we think about it, this theory could solve some of the discrepancies between science and the Bible. For example, it explains why scientists have found skeletons and other artifacts that seem out of place. How many times have we seen videos of the power of flood waters to move objects long distances? I imagine there were many humungous tsunami throughout the whole earth during those forty days. Also, the fact that water and heat both were present during the Great Flood probably skews the methods scientists use to date fossils and other artifacts. With that in mind, it makes sense that the turbulent waters covering the earth and the heat from the volcanoes could well have made objects date older than they really are.  Thus, taking into consideration that, as I wrote before, Creation took place in eternity and that the great flood could have changed the face of the earth, then perhaps science and the Bible are not so far apart after all.

    Now, let’s go on to discuss the cause of the flood. As John 10:10 and I Peter 5:8 tell us, Satan’s purpose has been to steal, kill, and destroy anyone he can. In the days of Noah, Satan had managed to ensnare practically the whole human race into turning away  from God and into choosing evil which in turn led to tremendous violence. Because God is faithful and He allows people to choose life or death (Deuteronomy 30:15-20), He could not stop Satan from killing those who were so blatantly choosing the curses–let me repeat, Satan killed them because he held the power of death (Hebrews 2:14) and because God has nothing to do with evil (James 1:13, 17). Fortunately, there was one man who found grace in the sight of the Lord, and God presented him with the way of escape from the destruction that was soon to come upon the earth. Noah found grace because his heart was towards God and he walked with God (Genesis 6:9). And, through Noah, God was able to keep Satan from achieving his determined purpose of destroying God’s Creation.  Because of Noah’s willingness to walk with Him, not only was God able to protect him and his family along with animal life from the destruction, but God was also able to make a covenant with Noah that never again would all flesh be destroyed by a flood. So, just like in the Garden of Eden, Satan gave his best shot at wiping the good that had invaded his kingdom, but he did not succeed.

     In the next several posts, we are going to discuss Job and his trial. Contrary to popular belief, Job did find his answers from Elihu and God, and through discussing what happened to Job, we will find new answers to some very old questions.

 

     Please feel free to comment on this post–just remember, if any comment is disrespectful to any person, it will be deleted.

 

     ©2009 by Patricia Zell. All rights reserved.

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patriciazell, July 21st 2009 | Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in THE BEGINNING

#8 THE DIVIDING WALL

     (A change of plan–my next post will be on the Great Flood.) 

    In the Garden of Eden, Satan batted .500 in his attempt to destroy God’s Creation. True, Adam and Eve didn’t immediately die and the human race continued on, but Satan did succeed in building a “wall” between the humans and God. Let’s think about this wall and figure out just what it was. Genesis 3 tells us that God did not turn away from the humans after they ate the fruit; in fact,  He sought their fellowship. Adam and Eve were the ones that hid themselves–they did not want to see God because they were afraid. This is the wall that Satan built–the dread of seeing and being with God because of fear. The barrier was on the human side, not on God’s side.  

     Using an analogy–I think this is a good one–that wall was like a wall with a two-way mirror that can be found in most any interrogation room. As human beings moved on beyond the Garden of Eden, God was on the window side and could see everything the human race said and did. On the other hand, the human race was on the mirror side and, for the most part, couldn’t see anything that God said and did. In fact, as time went on and the Garden of Eden was forgotten, human beings, for the most part, simply ignored God and reveled in what Satan was feeding them (loss, death, and destruction). Yes, there were people now and then who looked at the mirror and wondered if there was anything behind it. And, as they searched, they found the intercom button, pushed it, and found that Someone was there. His name was God, and He wanted to talk with them and to help them to deal with the loss, death, and destruction that Satan was using to destroy God’s creation.

     The importance of understanding this wall that Satan built cannot be understated, especially in regards to understanding the Bible. I know a lot of people struggle with the Bible and just what it is. As I continue to write more posts, we will be thinking about different aspects of why the Bible was written and how we should look at it. For now, let me propose that the Bible is a sample of how God has related to the human race and of the steps He has taken to help the human race escape (or be “saved”) from Satan’s dedication to destroy our world. The Bible also shows the progression of human understanding of God that matured from seeing God as the Almighty Judge (who was stern and out to get us) to seeing Him as our Father (who loves us).

     We need to recognize that, as recorded in the Bible,  Jesus Christ brought a fundamental change in the human race’s ability to know God. All of the Old Testament writers were behind the wall Satan built in the Garden of Eden–although they managed to find the intercom and establish relationships with God, they could not fully understand what they needed to know to overcome the kingdom of evil. Jesus Christ came and with one tremendous blow (his death on the cross), he demolished the wall (represented by the veil in the temple being torn from top to bottom). However–and this is so important to understand–the debris from the wall was and continues to be present. There is still dread in the human race to face God because many of us are afraid. The New Testament church worked to clean up some of the mess, but they were not far enough removed from the pre-Christ mindset to complete the job. Through the centuries, Satan has been able to deceive many people that either the wall is still there or that trying to find the way through the rubble is way too dangerous. 

     Well, I believe the time has come for us to completely clean up the rubble. Like no other time in history, we have the knowledge and understanding of so many more concepts and the ability to communicate those concepts. God is waiting to give us the wisdom we need to overcome Satan’s plan to destroy our world.

     The dividing wall is destroyed. We no longer have to dread facing God. We no longer have to be afraid of God. We can know and understand God’s absolute love for each and every one of us. His absolute love–perfect, complete, and real!

 

     Please feel free to comment on this post–just remember any comment that is disrespectful to anyone will be deleted.

 

     ©2009 by Patricia Zell. All rights reserved.

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patriciazell, July 17th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in THE BEGINNING

#7 THE WORLD’S FIRST SCAM:WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN EDEN

     Before we discuss what happened in the Garden of Eden, let me give you a scenario and ask you a question about the circumstance I am going to describe. Let’s say a married couple had stashed away part of their income all through their working lives and had a nice nest egg in the bank for their retirement. Then, one day, a nice-looking young man contacted them and met with them in an outdoor cafe. As they sat talking, this young man pulled out a portfolio filled with impressive figures, graphs, and pictures. He told the couple that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest their money in his company. Now, the couple had been very conservative with their money and knew little about investing. However, the young man was knowledgeable and his portfolio seemed to be impeccable, so the couple agreed to invest most of their savings in his company. The next day they wrote him a check, and he promised to send them a statement in three months. Well, to make a long story short, the couple never received a statement and the young man disappeared. The authorities found out that this young man had the habit of scamming people who were close to retirement. My question is, “Who will the authorities seek to punish, the young man or the couple?”

    When we think about what happened in the Garden of Eden as written in Genesis 3, we need to keep this story in mind. Through the years I’ve walked with God, I have heard how horrible Adam and Eve were when they disobeyed God. I want to look at this from a different perspective that will help shed light on why our world is the way it is.

     As we talked about Creation in my last two posts, we found out that God went to the kingdom of evil to create good and that Satan had to watch the good come into being. I don’t think we would miss the boat if we inferred that Satan was hopping mad about the circumstance. In fact, when God gave Adam and Eve authority over the living creatures He had created in the earth, Satan probably experienced a jealous rage, and he started planning the downfall of all that was good. And, Satan knew where to start because he knew God would present Adam and Eve with an alternative to Himself. Sure enough, God spoke to Adam to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because if the couple ate of the fruit, they would die.

     Let’s look at what God was really saying. First, God gave Adam and Eve an alternative to Himself because He is love.  And, at that point, the couple only had knowledge of good–they had no experience with evil and they had never heard a lie. If you notice, neither Adam nor Eve ate of the fruit on their own, so what happened did not originate within themselves. The only way they would eat the fruit is if evil came to them and because God had created our world in the kingdom of evil, He could not stop evil from coming. So, God did what He was suppose to do–He warned the couple to not eat the fruit. If they allowed evil to come between Him and themselves, evil would be able to destroy their physical lives. God spoke the truth because He did not want the couple to die, so He said don’t eat the fruit.

     Now, we’re going to tackle motive, God’s motive, in particular. Let’s see if we can get our minds around a difficult concept–in order to give the human race a true choice, God had to and has to conceal Himself because if He didn’t, there would be no choice. His love is so powerful that if it was fully revealed, it would obliterate our freedom of choice. Because we don’t see the fullness of God’s love, it would easy for us to believe God set Adam and Eve up for defeat. But, when we really look at the circumstances, the only way He could have stopped what was going to happen was to just not create our world. (I don’t know about you, but I’m glad to be here.)

     Let’s get back to Satan. As I said before, Satan hated the good that had invaded his kingdom and he wanted to get rid of it. He heard God give Adam and Eve the choice and he began watching and planning. One day, he found Eve alone and he put his plan into action. He hooked Eve with a question that she could answer and once she did, Satan began his spiel and he lied. Satan told her the couple would not die and they would be like God, knowing good and evil. (By the way God does not “know” evil–He has nothing to do with evil.) I don’t know what Eve understood Satan to say, but her response indicates she picked up that the fruit was good for food, that it was desirable, and that it would make her wise. Remember all she had experienced and “knew” was good–she had no idea what evil was. Eve was a sitting duck and Satan attempted to destroy her.

     When Eve ate the fruit and gave it to Adam, Satan accomplished what he had set out to do. Since God had told the couple they would die if they ate the fruit, imagine Satan’s surprise when they kept on living. Then, when God came on the scene, imagine Satan’s consternation when God first explained to him what his punishment was going to be. The one who wanted to be like God and rule over his peers was going to end up crawling in dirt. And, even though Satan would succeed in bringing loss, death, and destruction to the human race, in the end, the human race would crush his head. As far as Adam, Eve, and their descendants were concerned, they would face a constant battle with evil and they would physically die. Notice this, the curse that came upon the human race was physical death–God did not mention hell, period! Think about this.

     Going back to the scenario I started out this post with, let’s put Adam and Eve in the couple’s place and Satan in the young man’s place. Who is the criminal and who will be punished? Even though we like to blame Adam and Eve, God didn’t because He knew who the real culprit was. As Jesus Christ said himself in John 8:44 (NKJV):

“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

As we go on to think about the story the Bible tells, let’s remember these two underlying concepts–God came to the kingdom of evil (aka the Wrath of God) to create our world and Satan set out to destroy God’s creation. In my next post, we are going to look at the circumstances surrounding the Great Flood.

     Please feel free to comment, but remember any comment that is disrespectful to anyone will be deleted.

 

     ©2009 by Patricia Zell. All rights reserved.

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patriciazell, July 16th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in THE BEGINNING

#6 CREATION TIDBITS

     Henry David Thoreau once said, “All perception of truth is the detection of an analogy.” In other words, we can test the truthfulness of concepts by comparing them to things we already know are true. For instance, in my last post, I compared creation with the manufacture of a car to look at the possibility that God did not start time until He finished the creation process. Since time is based on motion, comparing it to something that moves makes sense. I believe several other analogies will also help us understand the beginning of our world.

     A number of people in our world disavow the concept that any kind of intelligent design was involved in the beginning of our universe–in other words, they believe that everything just happened by chance. Okay, let’s check that out. Wherever you are sitting, look around at everything that is man-made. Name one thing that was not designed before it was made or manufactured. Even those designs that happened by serendipity still came about through human thought and effort. Now, is not correct to say that the most complex human inventions are nothing compared to the intricacies of the natural world? If those human inventions were designed, why wouldn’t the natural world be designed? Logic tells us Someone designed our world.

     A superficial reading of Genesis 1 would suggest that God, in creating our world, took a role similiar of  a magician waving a magic wand. And, I think that notion, along with the insistence by some believers that God created everything in six 24-hour days, hinders a number of people from believing He is the Creator. An answer to that is an analogy found several places in the Bible where God is likened to a potter (Isaiah 45:9–cross reference from there). If God did create our world in eternity, then He had the “time” to individually make each piece of His pottery collection. So rather than looking at God as being a supernatural magician, let’s look at Him as being an artist.

     Now, let’s continue with the analogy of a pottery collection. As we consider the artist’s collection ( and that all pieces were made of the same material), we would not think it unusual that different pieces had many of the same elements  So, looking at that collection as a whole, would we state that the mug evolved into a soup tureen, which then evolved into a serving platter, which then evolved into a vase, which then evolved into an object d’art? All those pieces share the element of a handle, so they had to evolve one from the other, right? Of course not! The potter makes each piece individually.

     Because DNA had not been discovered when Darwin worked out his theories, he was stuck in trying to explain why a child shared the traits of his/her parents. As Darwin gathered quality information without any understanding of the underlying structures of life, he was stuck with the hypothesis that one form of life evolved into another form which then evolved into another form , etc. over a vast number of years. As I thought about an analogy that would test his theory, the best I came up with is this: the process of the evolution of a single-celled organism into a complex human being is like a single oak tree standing in a 384 square-mile dirt field evolving into New York City. Think about it!

     Before I close, I want to leave the analogies to discuss something in Genesis 1 and 2 that had bugged me. Have you ever noticed that the two accounts of Creation in those chapters seem to be totally different? That fact really bothered me, so I started asking God to explain why. One day, when I was teaching point-of-view to my creative writing students, the answer dawned on me. Genesis 1 was written from God’s point-of-view–readers “see” what God saw when He created our world. However, Genesis 2 is written from Adam’s point-of-view. (Remember he wasn’t there as God created the majority of  Creation because he was the last form of life created.) As far as Adam was concerned, he was the first thing God created and then the plant life and animal life followed. The fact that there are two different points-of-view in Genesis 1 and 2 is so important to understand because the rest of the Bible also contains two points-of-view–God’s  and the human. And, just like Genesis 1 and 2, those two points-of-view do not always agree. This fact makes it vital that we read the Bible critically and look at more than just what a passage says. As with most other written materials, what the Bible says and what it means may be two entirely different things.

     My next post will discuss what really happened in the Garden of Eden–did you know the Garden of Eden was the first crime scene in the world?

     Please feel free to comment on this post–just remember, any comment that is disrespectful of any person will be deleted.

 

     ©2009 by Patricia Zell. All rights reserved.

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patriciazell, July 13th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in THE BEGINNING

#5 CREATION ROCKED!

     With the inferences we have already made about God’s absolute love, the Secret of the Most High, the Wrath of God, and the kingdom of evil (all covered in previous posts) as a backdrop, let’s look at the account of Creation found in Genesis 1. We are going to explore beyond the surface of what is written to find a deeper meaning that will help transform our understanding of why the world is the way it is.

     Have you ever wondered where God created our world? We know our earth is part of the universe, but the universe wasn’t present when our earth was created. According to Genesis 1:2, 9, our planet was created in a place where there was darkness along with the physicality of water and soil. Remember when we talked about the characteristics of the alternative to God–of the place where Satan had established his kingdom of evil? They included darkness and physicality. What if God went to that alternative, to the Wrath of God, to create our world? I’ll tell you, if this is what happened, then Genesis 1 carries meaning that goes way beyond the actual creation process.

     The first thing in this creation process that God did was to make the proclamation, “Let there be light!” and, guess what, light appeared (Genesis 1:3). Let’s think about this for a moment–Satan had set up his kingdom in the place of darkness and I imagine he was confident that God would not be an issue for him. After all, God has nothing to do with evil (James 1:13, 17), so Satan probably believed God would just leave him alone. Imagine his surprise and dismay when he heard God’s voice speaking “Let there be light!” or, in other words, when he heard God say, “I AM here!” But, God didn’t stop there. Genesis 1:4 goes on to say that God saw that the light was good, so we can surmise God’s intention was to bring good into the place of evil. However, Genesis 1:5 goes on to let us know God did not intend to destroy the kingdom of evil. Instead, He created a distinct partition between the two kingdoms when He separated the light (Day) from the darkness (Night). 

    Looking at the terms “day” and “night,” I personally believe they have nothing to do with our 24-hour day for three reasons: 1.) the very earliest a 24-day could have existed was after the fourth day when the sun, moon, and stars were created; 2.) the creation process was much like a manufacturing process; and 3.) I Thessalonians 5:5 uses the same terms in the capacity of describing two kingdoms. So, let’s start with the mechanics of time–our whole “time system” is dependent upon the rotation of our earth upon its axis and the revolution of our earth around the sun. Without the presence of the sun, there would be no time. So the 24-hour day could not have existed before the sun. And, do  you realize that since there is no time without the  specific rotation and revolution of our earth, our divisions of time (minutes, days, years, etc.) are meaningless anywhere but here on our earth? So, the 24-hour day is earth-centered and is strictly a function of the earth’s movement.

     Now, let’s go on to consider an example of a man-made thing that moves, like a car. Here’s a question for you–when do you put a car in motion (i.e., drive it)? The obvious answer, when it comes off the assembly line, when all the work on the car has been finished. What if God didn’t start the motion we call time until He completed the whole creation process? Genesis 2:1 (NASB) hints at this with these words written about the end of the sixth day, “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.” What if God created our universe in eternity and then, when He was finished, started time? Boy, would that explain a whole lot–like why scientists have measured the age of our universe as 13.7 billion years. Let’s face it, when we talk about billions of years ago, we’re pretty much talking about eternity.

     Now, if creation took place in eternity, then perhaps the phrases “the first day,” “the second day,” etc. would be like naming the stages of the process God went through to create everything (much like the departments on an assembly line building cars–framing, body, engine, etc.). Then, Genesis 1 would be describing the scope and the sequence of that process which brought our world into existence. (Also, can you imagine Satan’s consternation at seeing one good thing after another invading his kingdom?)

    Finally, let’s look at what I Thessalonians 5:5 (NASB) says, “for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night or of darkness.” This verse supports the inference that the terms “day” and “night” represent two kingdoms in the same location. This concept may be a little hard to grasp, but perhaps a scientific discovery can help us visualize how this can be. Ron Cowen wrote in the April 11, 2009 issue of Science News (p.16), “Before the first galaxies, before the first stars, there was light–the brilliant glow of radiation created during the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago” (www.sciencenews.org). This light–known as the cosmic background radiation–is invisible to the naked eye, permeates our entire universe, and is remarkably consistent no matter where it’s measured (www.pbs.org/wnet/hawking/universes/html/infla.html). So, this means that when we are looking out into the universe, not only is there darkness that we can see, but there is light that we can’t see. Thus, everything that exists in our universe exists both in the darkness and in the light. Likewise, everything God created was created both in the darkness and in the light.  

     The discovery of the cosmic background radiation has also led me to this question: this invisible light that exists everywhere we look, yet we can’t see it anywhere–I wonder if this light is God?

    In my next post, we are going to look at aspects of the actual creation process, then we will move on to what really happened in the Garden of Eden. Remember, you are welcome to comment on this post; just remember that any comment that is disrespectful to anyone will be deleted.

 

     ©2009 by Patricia Zell. All rights reserved.

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patriciazell, July 10th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in THE BEGINNING