My friend Barry Setterfield, a very fine Astronomer, recently sent me the following notes on secular astronomy today. The Boomerang Conference revives a very old discussion about the Music of the Spheres, the Musica Univeralis.
Barry notes: (1) A person will appear to be in the center of the universe no matter where he is with the CMBR. It is not a unique identifier of position.- it is like the redshift - the data will look the same no matter where you are situated and the same conclusion easily drawn. (2) The CMBR has a very important property. The motion of the earth around the sun can be determined; the motion of the Sun around the galaxy can be determined from the CMBR; the motion of our galaxy in the Local Group can be identified and the motion of our Local Group towards other galaxy groups can be determined. In other words, the CMBR is an ABSOLUTE REFERENCE FRAME for motion anywhere in the universe, thereby giving a lie to Einstein's 1st postulate for Relativity. Martin Harwit points this out in Astrophysical Concepts, page 178 (Springer Verlag). Harwit salvages what he can for relativity by stating it thus only applies on a microscopic or atomic scale but not on a macroscopic scale. Einstein's other postulate is thereby called into question as well, namely the constancy of the speed of light. (3) The Zero Point Energy allows a new form of "relativity" without any restrictive postulates but encapsulating all the primary physical evidence for which relativity is famous, like the bending of light around the sun etc.
At a recent Caltech Boomerang Conference on Observational Cosmology the following results were announced, Prof. Andrew Lange of Caltech said “Using a music analogy, we could tell what notes we were seeing. We see not just one, but three of these peaks and can tell not only which note is being played, but also what instrument is playing it – we can begin to hear, in detail, the music of creation.”
At the very frontiers of the universe, there is the most distant item that can be observed. It is sometimes called the “echo of the Big Bang.” As we look back in time, we come to this bank of plasma fog that hides all that happened earlier. It is called the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation or CMBR for short. It is shown here mainly in green. It records the moment when neutral atoms were forming out of the plasma fog and so were marking the positions of the developing filaments from which the galaxies were formed.
As you analyze the patterns of the hot and cold spots in the CMBR, not only are they filamentary, but they also have the same structure as sound waves. Prof. Paolo di Barnardis of the Sapienza University, Rome, leader of the team doing the analysis, said, “The early universe is full of sound waves compressing and rarefying the plasma, much like sound waves compress and rarefy air inside a flute or trumpet. For the first time, the new data show clearly the harmonics of these waves."
Science has shown that sound waves in plasma was 57% of the speed of light under these origin conditions of the CMBR. The study found that the volume of sound was at 110 decibels – the same as a rock concert. So, these incredibly fast and loud sound waves were concentrating the plasma into filaments & voids in the same way that air inside a flute or trumpet is compressed and rarefied.
Here are two images of the CMBR; the bottom right image being a more detailed version of the other. Red areas are warmer and blue areas cooler. The large-scale pattern of filaments has been shown to correspond to the distribution of filaments in the present cosmos. So, the presence of filaments is ubiquitous throughout the universe and through time. But there is a final aspect of these diagrams which caused surprise.
This is simply illustrated here by the two vibrating tuning forks. In the same way that sound waves from tuning forks compress and rarefy the molecules of air to transmit sound, so also the sound waves in the early universe compress and rarefy plasma particles into filaments and voids. The louder the sound, the greater the compression and the more well-defined the filaments will be.
The three peaks are shown here. The intervals between them show the notes involved are A, F# and C#, that is, an F# minor chord. But it is being sounded at some 50 octaves below middle C, an incredibly deep bass to reverberate through a massive universe.
(Science does not know the origin of these sound waves – they propose a system of black-holes. So, origin data show that sound waves made the pattern of the first plasma filaments from which the galaxies formed. The connection of sound with plasma is amazing.)
Plasma Astronomy and the Bible (YouTube Video)
Time, Life and Man (YouTube Video)
Scientific inquiry into the universe is mostly gained by observations made by man's five senses. The range of these senses is today greatly extended by cameras and sensors which permit measurements of sounds and vibrations beyond the range of hearing, light waves above and below the range of the eye (by many orders of magnitude), and a host of other detectors too numerous to mention.
What is measured very much has to do with the physical world. Science does poorly with one-of-a-kind events such as a resurrection from the dead, or a few UFO sightings, or an annually-weeping statue. Science does well when many measurements of phenomena can be made and independently confirmed by other (hopefully objective) observers. And, science does poorly when attempting to deal with the spiritual world.
In situations where a large amount of data can be acquired, it is often possible to process this information statistically in search of orderly patterns and "laws." When patterns or trends are found, extrapolations beyond the data at hand can frequently be made and useful predictions follow. If trends are observed very often a mathematical model can be written and a "law" formulated.
Science assumes a rational universe, and laws of nature which are the same everywhere, and laws which are applicable both in the microscopic and macroscopic worlds.
Frequently science is faced with describing extremely complex events---such as weather patterns, for instance---where the number of variables is very great and the system changes rapidly in time. Fortunately modern high speed computers have helped immensely with "number crunching" in fields such as aerodynamics, or plasma physics, or weather analysis, and so on.
Modern scientific thought in the West springs from Greek Philosophy and came to us by way of Roman civilization. Science in the West owes a debt to ancient Egypt, to Arabic and to Hebrew culture as well. These days there are some scientists who would draw on Hinduism or other Eastern schools of religious and philosophical thought to better help us understand modern physics and the nature of the cosmos.
Today's scientific discoveries rest on the foundations of previous generations, and many pioneers of science in western science were either Jewish or dedicated followers of Jesus Christ and students of the Bible. Science as we know it in the West is a product of Western Civilization and the roots of this heritage are unmistakably Biblical in origin. A number of philosophers have noted that scientific thought such as we take for granted is a product of Western Civilization with its Roman, Greek and Biblical roots. Our ability to do science then depends on a set of presuppositions and assumptions and on an underlying philosophy. There are rules to be follow and a protocol to be observed, even though the average science does not need to remind himself of these ground rules at every step of his work.
Our English word "science" is derived from the Latin scire which means "to know" or sciens, "having knowledge." Scientific endeavors in all disciplines are attempts to classify evidence so as to be able to make meaningful predictions.
On many subjects science must remain silent, or carefully qualify those tentative theories that are put forth perhaps with little qualifying evidence to support them. There is no harm in putting forth hypotheses to be tested; indeed, many new useful theories come about this way. But most hypotheses are found---upon a little further investigation to not fit the evidence and can be discarded in favor of those that do. It should be obvious, but to many it is not, that all science rests upon religious or philosophical presuppositions of one kind or other. Scientists who are secular humanists, atheists, eastern mystics, or Biblical creationists each bring their religious and philosophical presuppositions with them when they work in the lab. It simply is not possible to have science in a vacuum. One always begins with one set of assumptions (or another) about the nature of reality.
Every scientific model starts with a set of "initial conditions" and behind those, a whole set of notions about underlying or previous states of reality. As long as a scientist conducts his work by the rules of science, he or she should never be shut out of the lab, or the classroom, because of a belief system that differs from that of the majority, or one that is at the moment not the most popular point of view. One prominent professor of physics and astronomy has rightly said, "Science is in the business of discovering what the laws of physics are, not why those laws were passed. The latter is the realm of theology."
Scientists assume the universe is orderly, as opposed to nonsensical, and wherever possible the simplest hypothesis is chosen because it is more "elegant" and saves extra work. This important principle is known as "Occam's Razor." Thus "grand unified theories" are much to be preferred to complex theories because of this built-in assumption scientists make about the nature of things. Lecturers in science sometimes defend Occam's Razor by remarking that scientists would like to avoid working harder than necessary to understand the universe. The notion that we may be able to describe the nature of things in simple ("elegant") terms has a certain aesthetic appeal which most scientists find attractive---as well as involving less work. Scientific endeavor is based on a meaningful universe where the laws of physics change slowly, or not at all, and where data can be systematized so as to make useful predictions and where cause and effect relationships underlie everything that happens. If the laws of physics were not rational the universe would not be amenable to scientific study. We can do science because the laws of nature are consistent everywhere in space as well as from day to day.
The whole notion that the universe is orderly, that physical laws do not change, and that the explanations of things ought to be simple rather than convoluted (complicated), complements our inborn aesthetic senses--such as love of beauty--and our personal hopes that a purpose for our own existence might be found. No one really wants to learn conclusively that life makes no sense at all for any reason. Such a conclusion leads to existential despair, a sense of futility, fatalism, and a feeling that human endeavors of all kinds are worthless and of no value. Among scientists there is always some hope that it all makes sense---and often a sense of great excitement and personal reward when meaningful patterns are found and previously uncorrelated information is found to "fit the curve."
Furthermore, if the universe behaves rationally and predictably, then the laws of physics should the same everywhere. In our daily experience (over decades or a few lifetimes) we do not normally observe the laws of nature to be erratic or changing. This leads to the important assumption of "uniformitarianism." If uniformitarianism is true, we can extrapolate curves derived from recent observations into the past-even all the way back to the beginning, to t = 0. But we were not present at the creation as observers, nor during the early history of the earth, and little data has been passed down to us from ancient times. Taking scientific data for 50 or 100 years and extrapolating our findings hundreds, thousands, millions or billions of years into the past is speculation. This does not mean that all such speculation is meaningless, but it does mean that we must be careful not to call scientific models and theories "established fact."
Intuition as well as observation is valued in science. Great discoveries in science have come from following hunches or making a "bold leap of faith," as Einstein did at the beginning of the 20th century when he reached beyond the built-up body of evidence then at hand--by means of intuition. Flashes of insight, dreams, or hunches are usually allowed in science because they can be tested. Most scientists are pragmatic at times and will on occasion seize upon a formula or a new discovery and begin to apply it according to the unwritten law "If it works use it. Never mind why. We'll figure that out later."
All scientific theories are built upon assumptions, as mentioned above. These foundational premises ought to be reexamined every once and awhile---since many times in the past tall palaces of speculation have been built on questionable and unproven assumptions. Scientific "advances" are built on the pioneering work of those who have gone before. If the pioneers made mistakes, or were short-sighted, their errors can easily be perpetuated for several generations. After a generation or two, the current scientific workers in a given field usually have "forgotten" or not taken the trouble to find out what assumptions went into the original work. Some have not bothered to ask whether or not the data base has changed or checked to see if the original assumptions are now suspect or erroneous. The problem is, yesterday's speculation becomes today's scientific dogma in many instances.
No tenured professor drawing a comfortable salary and enjoying a maturing successful career is likely to be objective---or even very rational---if a newcomer to his field questions the evidence and finds the professor's whole theory must be thrown out the window in the light of new evidence. Yet this process happens all the time, silently, as one generation fades away, new "authorities" come to power, and better theories take the place of the "primitive" notions that were held as absolutes in the previous generation. One has only to compare college science text books of today with those published a decade or two ago to see how quickly science changes its models, buries its mistakes, and quickly popularizes new theories as if they were well-established immutable facts.
"Science is the only self-correcting human institution, but it is also a process that progresses only by showing itself to be wrong."--Astronomer Allan Sandage.
Some scientific discoveries have been the result of purely theoretical studies conducted by mathematicians. Experimental testing of such theories has in many instances led to valid new knowledge. In fact, science divides broadly into classes of theoreticians and groups of experimentalists (who need each other if only to stay honest and realistic in what they undertake). Theoretical studies, such as mathematical models of the universe, allow for many more dimensions and variables than may actually exist in the known universe, yet some scientific discoveries have been made purely because some mathematician suggested that something in one of his equations might help us understand a previously poorly understood area of science. Upon investigation, the suggested phenomenon (a new atomic particle, for example) has often been found to exist.
Researchers, that is, experimentalists, frequently find discrepancies in their measurements that lead to new or better theories. Or, by accident, they may stumble on to some previously unexplained phenomenon. When this happens, they call in the theoreticians, who must go back and do more homework. Though each of these two groups claims to have the superior point of view, it is obvious that a synergy between them exists, and their interaction with each other from differing points of view is most valuable to us all.
One of the most interesting things about science in the western world today can be discovered with the help of a little diagram. If one makes a list of several scientific disciplines-grouped by category somewhat as shown in the following table. It will be immediately obvious that science knows most about the physical, inanimate world, and least about the world of spirit:
THE RELEVANCE OF SCIENCE IN VARIOUS AREAS OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE
|External to Man||Life Processes||Mind. Emotions, Will (the Soul)||Realm of the heart (the Spirit)|
|Physics||Biology||Psychology||Extra Sensory Perception (ESP)|
|Geography||Organic Chemistry||Social Sciences||Occult Sciences|
Decreasing Scientific Reliability --------------->
One conclusion to be drawn from such a table is that those sciences that attempt to deal with the spiritual realm (that zone closest to the innermost recesses of man) have not proven very successful in spite of valiant attempts to make them so. The latter are frequently discredited by conservative scientists---they are considered "pseudosciences." No one argues very strenuously with the findings of the astronomer or the geologist in comparison. In these two fields we rest on "empty space" or on "solid ground" respectively! When measuring and studying the physical, material world, our instruments are more reliable; our results are more easily reproducible; and our findings tend to better stand the test of time.
It is easy for us to put our faith in what can be seen and touched, measured and felt--and not so easy to look into the invisible, to trust a God we can't see, or even to think about who we are as living beings having emotions and spirits as well as bodies. It is of course easier to love another human being we can see and touch--than to love God Who is invisible.
Psychology lies in between the outer world of matter and the innermost world of spirit, but since it is difficult to systematize dreams and build up theories of neuroses and psychoses in the rational language scientists accept--the psychologist is as much an artisan as a scientist. If a psychologist is "good," it is because he succeeds in healing someone whether or not anyone knows how he does it.
In spite of his atheistic beliefs, Sigmund Freud and others who followed after his example have at least tried to systematize their findings into a collective body of knowledge so as to build up a body of empirical, and therefore useful, knowledge. Much of modern psychology is, therefore, a legitimate science. A good many contemporary psychologists have, unfortunately, discarded revelation. For example they deny the existence of a soul and believe that man and his behavior can be completely explained in terms of physics and chemistry. In doing so they are attempting to reduce man to a merely physical entity.
Science is only just beginning to understand the workings of the brain (let alone the mind), and attempts to explain man's innermost workings on the basis of physics, chemistry, and electricity make us seem like extensions of the material world. Few of us want to have our souls stolen from us so that we lose a love of life or caring for others, or cease to be vulnerable to learning, growth and change. Life is bleak when we lose a sense of beauty, art, music, or culture. These are all more important than mere scientific facts. I myself believe we are best off when we believe that we are living in a universe full of mystery, with room for endless discoveries as well as endless delights. In the long run, science really only helps us in the physical world and in the biological world, that is in the world of externals, the things of the material half of creation. We get no real help from science on metaphysical matters. And even concerning the material world, science knows very little indeed.
In recent years science has been granted more authority than should be properly assigned to what is a limited inquiry into a limited range of human experience. The Bible claims that the physical world is a world of shadows and the real and permanent world is invisible. This is stated in several ways, especially in the New Testament. For example, Paul writes, "We look not to the things that are seen, for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal," (1 Corinthians 4:17) and, "...the form (schema) of this world (kosmos) is passing away." (1 Corinthians 7:31). Hebrews 11:3 says, "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word (rehema) of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible."
Most of us grow up with the notion that the physical world around us is solid, substantial, and enduring, whereas the spiritual world is the world of ghosts and shadows. In fact, the Bible declares that the opposite is true. Life as we know it on earth pales into insignificance compared to what heaven will be like.
It is the excessive preoccupation of science in the West with tangible reality, as opposed to the spiritual source, that I believe has helped dry up the soul of modern man. We have also led ourselves into unmanageable contemporary moral issues whose resolution can be found only in the spiritual. While none of us wants history rolled back to an anti-scientific era, nor are we willing to relinquish the many conveniences modern science has brought us to improve both human effectiveness and enjoyment of life. In fact, the Bible says that God "has given us all things freely to enjoy." (1 Timothy 6:17) It is unbiblical asceticism to deny the physical and strive only for the spiritual.
Science cannot do everything, and it should really not surprise us if the old order falls and a new age enters. It has happened before in history. A "merely physical" model of the universe has always proven inadequate. Sooner or later what was once thought "solid science" is seen to be fallacious and incomplete if God is left out of the equations. Fortunately He has found ways of breaking into our simplistic fantasies about ourselves just when we need Him most.
The following chart is a model of how the scientific method works.
Arguments for the existence of God are very restricted;
some of them are more restricted and limited than others.
They do not prove beyond all question the existence of the God of the Bible.
Furthermore, it must be remembered that man's mind,
his thinking process, has been affected by his fall into sin.
This means that there are definite limitations to God's revelation in nature.
The problem is not in the revelation but in the receiver of the revelation.
--Robert P. Lightner (1931- 2018), The God of the Bible
If a superior intelligent Being is in fact responsible for our existence, then such a god has it in his power, in his ability, to remain unknown and unknowable should he so choose. Without revelation initiated by God we would know nothing about the nature of this Being.
The Bible, however, declares that the Creator has in fact made Himself known, and has given us a very large body of knowledge about His nature, character, attributes, and activities. The Biblical record, unfolding as it does over the space of hundreds of years, indicates to us that the self-disclosure of God is progressive in history. It was Jesus who said that "all the hidden things of darkness will be brought to light," and "there is nothing secret that will not be made known."
Furthermore the God of the Bible is a Personal God who enters into personal, intimate relationships with individuals and with groups of individuals. God reveals Himself progressively in history. As times goes by we are able to see and experience more about God. It is hard work, however, to deny the existence of our Creator
Theologians ordinarily consider revelation about God as falling into two categories, "general" revelation and "special" revelation. The former is concerned with God's witness to Himself in history, in nature and in the human conscience. The following examples from Scripture are indicative of general revelation:
"The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and there is nothing hid from its heat.
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever; the ordinances of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. But who can discern his errors? Clear thou me from hidden faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer." (Psalm 19)
"Now at Lystra there was a man sitting, who could not use his feet; he was a cripple from birth, who had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking; and Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, 'Stand upright on your feet.' And he sprang up and walked. And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, 'The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!' Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, because he was the chief speaker, they called Hermes. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the people. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out among the multitude, crying, 'Men, why are you doing this? We also are men, of like nature with you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways; yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.' With these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them." (Acts 14:8-18)
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth. 'For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.
"For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct. They were filled with all manner of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them but approve those who practice them." (Romans 1:18-32)
"All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus." (Romans 2:12-16)
The whole idea that the Bible is an inspired book does not mean that the writers were merely visionary or full of unusual enthusiasm about the subject matter. Scripture says of itself that it is the very Word of God written by specially chosen men consecrated for the purpose of setting down a totally self-consistent body of revealed truth that would withstand all possible scrutiny and prove reliable in detail for all time. The Hebrew Kabbalists love to study even the numerical and mathematical models of the Tanach (the Old Testament) because a numerical value can be assigned to every letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and this allows one to do wondrous things with the text itself that are mathematical, and geometrical. It does appear to be true that the Bible is full of numerical, geometrical, mathematical and symbolic truth in addition to the clear meaning of the text.
[See Miscellaneous Information about the Bible, for quotes taken from the Bible itself claiming inspiration, reliability and internal consistency of the Scriptures. Also, promises concerning the Messiah and the use of numbers, symbols and types in the Bible.]
Whenever the Bible mentions matters of science, it is always consistent with the universe as we know it today from modern science. For example, the fact that the earth is a sphere suspended in space is mentioned in the oldest book of the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Job. But as many have noted, the Bible is not preoccupied with science. However as the narrative unfolds, we are given a great deal of peripheral evidence that is scientifically valid if we will but take the time and trouble to search it out. God is a God who is involved in history and therefore Biblical revelation can be confirmed by historical and archaeological records, and scientific discoveries must be found consistent in the long run with the Bible properly understood.
The Old Testament is often poetic in its imagery, but that does not mean that profound scientific truth is not tucked away there. In many ways the Bible is an Oriental book so this may be the reason we yearn for more knowledge from the Eastern side of things showing up on every side in the West today. Our insistence that all truth be rational, analytic, dissectible and ordered, and verifiable in the laboratory misses the Biblical view to a large degree. Nor does the Bible teach on a given subject all in one chapter or book. Instead, bits and pieces are given here and there, ("here a little, there a little...line upon line, precept upon precept"). The only way to grasp a subject clearly is to read (and re-read) the Bible from Genesis to Revelation day after day and year after year. King Solomon said in Proverbs, "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but it is the glory of kings to seek them out." (Proverbs 25:2)
However, the Bible is meant to be understood even by children, for the truth about very difficult subjects is approached by scripture in terms anyone can understand. This fact about Biblical truth, therefore, does support the scientist's wish to have a universe that can be understood in simple terms rather than complex, (i.e., Occam's Razor). The Bible describes the universe as a UNIverse, a unified whole entity; therefore, if we understand things on a small and local scale, we can likewise understand the large scale and the very small and the invisible and the remotest corners of space. We can know ourselves and we can know our Creator---because God has graciously chosen to reveal himself to the seeking heart, and to answer many of our questions about the nature of things.
"Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 'For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return not thither but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it. 'For you shall go out in joy, and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the LORD for a memorial, for an everlasting sign which shall not be cut off.'" (Isaiah 55:6-13)
The usual Greek word translated "revelation" is apokalupsis, which means "unveiling." A related New Testament word is "mystery" (musterion). There are approximately seven "mysteries" categorized in the New Testament. A mystery in the Bible is a body of truth that was hidden in a previous age but later explained and made known by additional revelation. The mysteries disclosed in the New Testament are deep bodies of truth---but they can presently be understood clearly if one takes the time to examine them. To cite one example, the relationship between man and wife in marriage is likened to the relationship between Christ the Bridegroom and His Bride the true church; this is said to be "a great mystery." Mysteries in the Bible are complex bodies of truth capable of being understood, though multifaceted and even full of paradoxes. The concept of "mysteries" in the Bible suggests clearly that our universe is indeed so complex it cannot be fully understood by any one discipline or field of knowledge. The biblical notion of "revelation" assumes that man is largely in the dark about himself and his universe (as a result of the fall) and needs much outside help and enlightenment.
The coming into existence of the church was not revealed in the Old Testament, but is new revelation given to the Apostles,
"For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles---assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel." (Ephesians 3:1-6)
Another mystery of truth revealed in the New Testament which is not referenced in the Old, is the divine indwelling of Christ in the believer in our present age,
"...I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now made manifest to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ." (Colossians 1:25-28)
A third example of new information in the New Testament concerns the "mystery of lawlessness" which will find its final expression in a world-ruler of incarnate evil,
"For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by his appearing and his coming. The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false, so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12)
Central to Biblical revelation is the notion that man, made in the image and likeness of God, was placed into the center of creation to understand it and to rule it. For example, when Adam was given the task of naming the animals God brought before him, it was to be a training session to help Adam understand what God had made, so that he, Adam, could govern wisely as the representative and steward of God over creation.
Biblical revelation tells us that societies prosper and increase in knowledge and understanding because of the grace of God---not because of human merit or effort. Likewise, so-called primitive societies are examples of groups of people who have ignored God's grace and thus fallen into degradation and ignorance. The Bible also teaches that "progress" as understood by modern man is largely an illusion! Sometimes God blesses a nation to honor previous generations of godly men and women. Sometimes He raises up a great nation such as Ancient Egypt as an object lesson, or to demonstrate His displeasure at the behavior of His chosen people. The fall of man was downward into total depravity; civilization is the thin veneer that hides the savage beast. "Science" is not building a better world for our children, but God continues to bestow many good gifts on those who believe in Him and much "common grace" upon those who do not. These are but a few examples of truth given to mankind by means of revelation.
Not only is our data base incomplete, but the actual world we live in is full of active evil, of erroneous reasonings, of grand deceptions. And the best of us, as persons, is highly flawed.
"Science is the only self-correcting human institution, but it is also a process that progresses only by showing itself to be wrong."---Astronomer Allan Sandage.
The Apostle Paul writes of human ignorance and the ease with which most of mankind is deceived in every generation-beginning with our leaders: scientists, political leaders, and barons of industry:
"Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demands signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men...And I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
"Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers (leaders) of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him,' God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what person knows a man's thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who possess the Spirit. The natural man (man in his natural condition before spiritual rebirth) does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them for they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 1:20-25; 2:3-14)
This remarkable passage of God's Word helps us to understand man's arrogance and self-deception---especially in areas concerned with knowledge, power, and influence. It is not, however, knowledge alone that gets us in trouble, it's the application thereof. It is wisdom we lack, and the experienced insight we need to run our lives, and to understand things properly, which can only come to us from God---and then only when we are willing to be enlightened and instructed by Him. Science itself is morally neutral, and one can readily say from the Bible that God is not opposed to science or the increase of knowledge. Quite the opposite. He is the very God of all knowledge and understanding!
Our estrangement from God and continuing rebellion against His guidance in our affairs inevitably means things will go towards the worst possible outcomes--nuclear warfare and ecological disasters can be included in the list. In fact, rejection of revealed truth, common in our land today, causes God to give us over to what is called in the Bible the lie. This is a deep belief in one's own self-sufficiency, in the truth of prevailing science and philosophy (even when they are out of tune with Scripture), and the notion that man is his own god and master of his own destiny. Hearing truth and rejecting it leaves us worse off than remaining ignorant of truth, though neither state of affairs excuses man from accountability to his Creator.
A personal relationship with Jesus as Lord is what all of us needs above all else in life. That step of faith and commitment to God brings us into a relationship with Him so that we can perceive reality---the way things really are, in our hearts and minds and lives. Thereafter we can begin to participate in what God is now doing in the universe, which is to build a new creation and a new race while the old creation fades away and comes to an end.
What Jesus said about truth is that He Himself is the truth---truth is a Person not an abstract collection of mere knowledge.
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; henceforth you know him and have seen him." (John 14:6)
The Apostle Paul adds, "In Christ are hidden all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Colossians 2:3) Were it not for scripture, men would think all truth was relative; and we would be unaware of error, false teaching, and the widespread, deceptive nature of false philosophies everywhere on our planet. We all tend to fall into the trap of believing that truth is contained only in doctrinal, philosophical, or scientific statements about the nature of reality. That absolute truth is contained in a Person assigns a fundamentally different meaning to the Greek word logos than was found in Greek philosophy prior to the writing of the New Testament. Logos is one of the titles assigned to Jesus as the Creator in the well-known preamble to John's gospel:
"In the beginning was the Word (logos) and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men." (John 1:1-4)
A key passage regarding God's self-disclosure is that Jesus Christ is God's final word to mankind. This is made clear by the opening four verses of the New Testament epistle to the Hebrews.
"In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs."
The Bible tells us we are surrounded by myriads of angelic beings, a statement that no reputable scientist has put forth, nor attempted to prove (or disprove) scientifically. Furthermore we learn from the Bible that the angels are given the responsibility by God for governing the forces of nature and for guiding the course of nations! Were it not for scripture, we would think of the spiritual realm as ghostlike or "imaginary" rather than permanent, substantial, and enduring. Scripture tells us that man is not just a physical being, but also a spiritual being, and that man is, above all else, a spirit. Though human evil is everywhere evident to anyone who is honest about himself and the world, this fact is constantly denied in the halls of science, in schools, and in political campaigns---denied almost everywhere by men, but not by the Bible.
The Bible confirms that the universe is an orderly, composite structure--but goes further by making clear our Creator's goals and purposes in both creation and redemption. Scripture tells us clearly where history is heading and how things will end. Secular science and secular history see none of this accurately. Rather than man's being incidental to creation, the Bible places him squarely in the center as the highest of created beings, intended by God to exercise dominion over the earth, and later over the new creation God is now building. It is the Bible that explains us to ourselves and provides the remedy for human evil so that healing and restoration can begin within us. Where else but in Holy Writ can we learn about the causes of war, the reasons for upset ecologies, the purposes of government, and the "Four Last Things" (Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell) that no man can avoid discovering in experience in the end?
Finally, Christians hold that truth, properly perceived as revelation from God, is absolute truth and can be depended upon fully to guide a person in this life and in the next. Scientific truth may or may not hold up under the tests of time and comparison with absolute truth. Unless it does, scientific truth has limited value and limited scope. (From: The Limits of Science).
It is interesting that Jesus Christ in addition to being called "the truth" is also said to be the "Wisdom of God" in the New Testament. Wisdom in the Old Testament book of Proverbs is personified by a woman. When one speaks of wholeness for "mankind" as an ideal or a goal. The creation of man in the image and likeness of God was the creation not of Adam, the man, but of Adam/Eve together. The Biblical revelation that both God and His creation can only be understood by combining a masculine and a feminine point of view, of course, is an idea foreign to most fields of western science. Imbalance in science is a result of leaving out such alternate (and complementary) ways of looking at reality. Of all the many problems the evolutionist faces, one of the greatest is how to explain the existence of sexuality in creation for example. It is only when we turn to the Bible that we gain light on this subject.
The often quoted saying, "now we see through a glass dimly, but then face to face," comes from the great chapter on love found in 1 Corinthians 13 and is a reminder that of all that God has told us about Himself, He assures us that love is of central importance. We are loved by our Creator and He has paid the highest possible price by giving His Son, our Lord Jesus to make it possible for us to inhabit His universe forever. Science does not tell us this, but revelation does. To make science a religion in place of the reverence, worship, and devotion to a God of Love, who is at the same time Truth itself, is to be deceived and enslaved by a terrible idolatry indeed.
In some ways modern science may be compared to ancient gnosticism. The Gnostics specialized in gnosis or knowledge, but the Apostle Paul in Colossians speaks of epignosis, or full knowledge. This is what Jesus Christ brings to all who seek Him and place their trust in Him. This is how we enter into the full dimensional understanding He intends for us. As scripture says,
"The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. And he made from one (man, i.e., Adam) every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us, for `In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your poets have said, `For we are indeed his offspring.' Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man.
The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:24-31)
That Christ is God's final and most complete word to the human race is the opening theme of the Epistle to the Hebrews in the New Testament. Hebrews opens with these words,
In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs. (Hebrews 1:1-4)
The roots of science in the West can be traced all the way back to Greek Mythology, several hundred years before Christ. Science did not take root in the same way in the East (another topic). A very different way of viewing reality characterizes the religion and culture of Israel which dates back to Abraham (c. 2300 BC). From Constantine (c. 320 AD) until the Protestant Reformation (1521 AD) the Pope claimed total authority over both religion and "science." This was very disgraceful dogma! The Popes ignored what the Bible really said, they punished dissidents, and promoted their own mythology which was really pagan. The alliance of church and state meant that no secular ruler could act without the permission of the Pope.
The Reformers lifted the lid, exposing the lies, drove back the darkness of myth, legend, superstition and ignorance and allowed the Renaissance to break out. The Scientific Revolution followed. No one I know wants to turn back the clock to the misery of the old rule of the church. If God is one's authority, we are free!
Tim Keller pointed out in 2019 that governments have long relied on science as their authority--a niche previous owned by the Roman Church. But Keller noted that the authority of science was now rapidly fading in the West. No replacement was at hand to replace either the authority of science or the authority of the Church of Rome. Regarding the rest of the world, both the scientific revolution and the missionary activity of the church have influenced the nations of the East without uprooting their traditional pagan roots. Western "success" and "progress" have long been envied in the East by many. The true God is always ready to pour freedom, love, fulfillment to anyone open to knowing Him.
"When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him’—
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual.
Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are discerned spiritually. Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny.
‘For who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?’
But we have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2:1-16)
The scandal of Covid mismanagement by "science" --plus the apostasy of the professing church--would seem to herald a new Dark Age for us on our small planet. There are no signs of any repentance on the part of those who claim to be Christians, no remorse, no grass roots awakening. Outsiders to the faith seem more resistance to the living Lord than ever before.
But we do have a fixed reference, a shining beacon. God is not dead, nor is He sleeping. I believe the created realm we live in now is a realm of shadows and that we only are dimly aware of the hidden splendor of the spiritual (the Source) realm.The observable sound in the plasma of the CMBR is like the ringing of a bell responding to a broad spectrum of sounds in the spiritual realm— angels singing. etc.
We can’t infer the real symphony and angelic singing by working backwards from the observable. We must rely on information from outside the system given to us by revelation. But revealed data from God is full of content! Low entropy! Our domain is also full of noise!
The self-disclosure of God is progressive in history. That’s why what’s coming down the pike will be so overwhelming for unbelievers. We are privileged to be invited in before the end.
I believe the created realm we live in now is a realm of shadows and that we only are dimly aware of the hidden splendor of the spiritual (Source) realm.
The observable sound in the plasma of the CMBR is like the ringing of a bell responding to a broad spectrum of sounds in the spiritual realm— angels singing etc. We can’t infer the real symphony and angelic singing by working backwards from the observable. We must rely on information from outside the system given to us by revelation.
But revealed data from God is full of content! Low entropy! Our domain is also full of noise!
The self-disclosure of God is progressive in history. That’s why what’s coming down the pike will be so overwhelming for unbelievers. We are privileged to be invited in before the end.
Jim Hutchinson: "This is simply illustrated here by the 2 vibrating tuning forks. In the same way that sound waves from tuning forks compress and rarefy the molecules of air to transmit sound, so also the sound waves in the early universe compress & rarefy plasma particles into filaments and voids. The louder the sound, the greater the compression and the more well-defined the filaments will be." ---Instead, it is possible that it is God’s voice. Psalm 33:9 says “God spoke and it was made; He commanded, & it stood firm.” So, origin data show that sound waves made the pattern of the first plasma filaments from which the galaxies formed.
Much of Hebrew music that we have sung in the church during a worship service is always in a minor chord (key)?
Seeing that the scientists in the Boomerang Conference believe that the voice of God, based upon Psalm 33:9, “God spoke and it was made; He commanded, and it stood firm”--to perform His Creation--His voice was supposedly made up of the three notes, A, F# and C# which is an F# minor chord, and Hebrew music is written (played and sung) in a minor chord, one could draw the conclusion that this is not a coincidence. It is fascinating that these sounds of the cosmos form a minor chord.
For me: The fact that these two are both minor chords, leads credence to the theory that it is in fact, the voice of God at the moment of Creation. That God’s own people, the Israelites, write, play and sing their worship and praise of God in the same minor key’s as God speaks (when He created the universe). For God would of course do this…..again, mostly by His design and Will.
One last comment, the few Hebrew songs that roll around in my memory have a cadence (rhythm) that one could say would be the cadence that one would speak with as one executed an action, like Creating.
Here are some examples of Hebraic music. This is exactly one of the Messianic songs we sang….the song I was remembering.
“Then Shall the Virgins Rejoice In Dance”. We would dance and clap to this song….starting off slow and then getting faster and faster….incredible days….in worship and praise of our God. This video plays the song as I remember us singing it in church, with images of virgins and young and old men dancing together.
My comment to you Lambert when you ask, “will not the angels shift to a major key at the appearing of the Lord of Glory?”
Oh my friend….YES!…..I can hear the shift to C Major with then a 7th added and then a 9th…..awesome….as Jesus steps forth in all His Glory!
“You are awesome in your Place Mighty God”
“You are awesome in this Place Abba Father.”
A beautiful song we will sing as we approach His throne
We sang this song as well.
Thank you so much for this reply….we are so close to our Saviour, our Lord God Almighty…..right now we “are seated with Him in Heavenly Places”…….then shall the virgins rejoice in dance both young man and old men together.
Lambert had asked Jim about musical order. "Since the Babylonian Captivity the songs of Israel have surely been sung in a minor key?"
"By the Rivers of Babylon"
The Kol Nidre is sung or chanted at Yom Kippur? A Dirge? Many of the Psalms are sung by the Jews (later in the Eastern and Western Church. Always in a minor key? How about the Hatikvah? And the Lamentations of Jeremiah. And the mournful tone of Habakkuk?
But: Note the prophetic future verb tense in Hebrew! Surely the whole creation— not just Israel— groans until now? (systenazō) (whence the hybrid organ stop stenthorn).
For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8:22-23)
The term “The Final Redemption” refers to Israel’s future complete restoration as head of the nations spreading out to the gentiles from Jerusalem. It's a done deal as far as God is concerned.
Yesterday I was talking to a dear friend (Viet Nam helicopter pilot). Dan mentioned that a thousand truckers would soon sound their horns together! He thought this was apocalyptic and so did I. We also talked about the downhill course of music from Bach to now.
Will not all the angels shift to a major key at the appearing of our Lord in glory? By the way Messianic Jewish music seems more uplifting than the music of the synagogue.
(More on his later...)
From Jim: I agree with you completely on this one. A few see glimpses during NDE, and have no words (of this realm) to describe what they saw of Heavens landscape and vitality.
Our apostle Paul was one of those:
This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know--only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell. That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. (2 Corinthians 12:1-7)Paul saw this no doubt when he died during one of his beatings or stonings. Regarding Near Death Experiences and out-of-body experiences, please see separate article.
Listen to John Barnett on the Angelic Choirs
Before the Fall of the Angels and of Man
The Book of Job
Ray Stedman on Job 38, 39
From Dan Heckerman:
Human Harmonic - A symphony of sound from the human body. - YouTube
This is incredible. Fascinating. It is not surprising that the body produces harmonics, in rhythm. Jesus has created music in everything."The rocks will cry out""The tees will clap their hands"
Hearing Christian stories of those who have been clinically dead, Dean Braxton for incidence, was dead for 1 hour and 45 minutes. He along, with many who have NDE experiences, talk about seeing and hearing flowers, grass, trees and nature giving off music and sweet scents, and pouring forth music and scent when touched or walked through. As Dean said, "everything is alive and intelligent".
As you have said Lambert, we, fallen men, are only seeing glimpses of who God is. That is why John Wesley saw folks touched by God's power, experience being "thunderstruck". Their physical bodies reacting to tiny amounts of God's power.
We see this in scripture:
And it came to pass when the priests came out of the Most Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without keeping to their divisions), and the Levites [who were] the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets--indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever,” that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God. (2 Chronicles 5:11-14)
Years ago while meeting weekly with a group of pastors in San Francisco the Lord brought my attention repeatedly to Isaiah 30:
“Behold, the name of the LORD comes from afar,
Note: The context is the final invasion of Israel by The Assyrian and his destruction by Messiah Jesus.
(More on his later...)
Next Topic: The Nature of Time and the Age of the Universe
“Why is God landing in this enemy-occupied world in disguise
and starting a sort of secret society to undermine the devil?
Why is He not landing in force, invading it?
Is it that He is not strong enough?
Well, Christians think He is going to land in force; we do not know when.
But we can guess why He is delaying.
He wants to give us the chance of joining His side freely.
I do not suppose you and I would have though much of a Frenchman
who waited till the Allies were marching into Germany and then announced he was on our side.
God will invade.
But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world
quite realise what it will be like when He does.
When that happens, it is the end of the world.
When the author walks on to the stage the play is over.
God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good of saying you are on His side then,
when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else
--something it never entered your head to conceive- comes crashing in;
something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left?
For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming
that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature.
It will be too late then to choose your side.
There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up.
That will not be the time for choosing:
it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realised it before or not.
Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side.
God is holding back to give us that chance.
It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity
Lord of the Dance
East is East...
Articles on Creation
Articles about Time
The Vacuum: Much Ado about Nothing
Zero Point Energy
The Light Papers
The Thunderbolts Project
The Limits of Science
The Uniqueness of Creation Week
The Ruin of Creation
What Holds the Universe Together?
Made in the Image of God
Man's Lost Dominion
World Population Since Creation
Population of the PreFlood World
I can Hear the Angels Singing
There is a Balm in Gilead
A Glorious Church
I Sing the Mighty Power of God
Jesus, The Light of the World