It’s Been Two Days Since the Messiah—Are You Ready?

Two days ago, Jesus of Nazareth was born. Only a few moments ago his holy and short-lived life was snuffed out. He was crucified based on false charges at 30 years old. This was truly an astonishing tragedy!

God pronounced one and only penalty for ‘sin’, which is death. For individuals to be acquitted of past and present moral crimes, each person must meet God requirements. Like Jesus, we all must die. Ultimately, we will all suffer the eternal consequences of separation from God, but there is hope. In fact, the good news is that God regards Jesus’ death as having satisfied divine justice against all moral crimes of humanity. Thank God, Jesus paid the price. The catch is we must appropriate God’s gracious provision for the forgiveness of our legal and moral debt.

It is like being cited for breaking some law but not showing up in court. An unknown benefactor paid the fine, but before that payment can be applied to your crime; you have to appear in court and acknowledge the citation is valid. On then will the court apply acquit you of the crime by applying the payment, and by the grace of law expunge your crimes all court and police records.

So it is with God’s law.

More amazing than Jesus being raised from the dead--people are still being raised from the dead in his name--is eye witnesses reports of seeing Jesus carried into heaven like the prophet Elijah of old. Skeptics may doubt this. Paul, however, encountered the risen and glorified Jesus and so has many others since then. In fact, many people have encountered this same Jesus within the last 20 years. For example, a man crashed his plane; the fuselage exploded which caused the plane to burn. The fire raged all the way to the cockpit. Then, Jesus and an angel showed. Jesus assured the pilot that he was going to make it, after which Jesus blew on the cockpit until help arrived. Although I cannot recall his name, I did see photos of the pilot while he was still in the hospital. He bruise and swollen, but he was not burned. Another example of a modern visited by Jesus is an Egyptian government official who was angry that his daughter has converted to Christianity and was now in a European hospital dying, He had drawn up a legal plan to punish local Coptic Christians for some supposed crime. The night before his plan was to be implemented Jesus visited him. Thus changing his mind about Christians and their religion, he rescinded his previous orders and then left for Europe to be with his daughter. His daughter did not die. Instead, Jesus healed her; thus confirming his promise made during the visitation. A former Israeli officer crippled for life because of an accident also experienced healing by Jesus. So did a young Muslim Egyptian who was dying of a rare but severe form of shingles of the face, which was affecting his brain as well. He said he saw Jesus come into his hospital room and heal him.

Within the past 10 years, a number of well-documented resurrections have also occurred. An African pastor died and was three days later; he rose to life again. An Indonesian Buddhist monk died and was about to be cremated when he came back to life. While dead those 3 days, he saw Buddha while standing at the gate to hell. Later, he met by a man named Peter who told him about Jesus. After he came back to life, he told the crowd at his funeral that the Christian were right about Jesus being the only way to eternal life in heaven. Both of these resurrections have been investigated, collaborated, and found to be true.

What seems too incredible to be real is the fact that since Jesus' ascension until the present time all of these miraculous events have occurred in just two days. This may seem beyond belief to mere mortals but not to God. “For a thousands years is as one day, and a day as a thousand years” to the Creator. (Ps. 90:4; 2 Pe. 3:8)

This brings me to a problem requiring an explanation. We often hear prophecy teachers talk about the end time and the imminent return of the Messiah, about a millennial reign, and about a coming global peace. After thousands of years, these doctrines strike many as a lot of wishful thinking. Skeptics often scoff at such beliefs as myths or worse at childish make-believe. Yet, the warnings of prophets and apostles about such criticism must be heeded. Seemingly unfilled prophecy—hope against hope—is better understood in light of divine time rather than based on human conception of time. Based on God’s timetable, Rabbinical and Christian scholars believe that messianic end time prophecies will be fulfilled at the beginning of the seventh millennium or the seventh day of the creation of the habitable earth. Depending on the calendar followed, the seventh millennium should begin in either the next 50 to 1233 years. To the spiritual enemies of God, the time is short. To followers of Jesus the Messiah, it is not of utmost importance. What is crucial is being alert to what God is doing and aware of the progress of history towards the fulfillment of God’s promises. Jesus said, it is not for you to know times and seasons, but to be watching and always prepared for his coming, whether at death or at the rapture.

In the glorious realm of spiritual reality, time is short. Two days has passed, those beings who rule evil in darkness fearfully anticipate the dawning of the third day. While fear and anger grips the forces of God’s enemies, saints and angels both revel with joy in anticipation of that holy day when God shall rise from his throne to execute final justice. At God's right hand, Messiah Jesus also comes to administrate the eternal reign of God’s kingdom on earth. Vanquished to the abysmal prisons are the forces of violence and darkness, and filling their place will be the peace and righteousness that attends the presence of God. Amen.

Genesis 1:1—From God’s Perspective

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (1:1)

Looking down from heaven as it were, what did God see?

This is a trick question!

The ‘Big Bang’ theory postulates that all of the evidence available still supports the view that out of a void the universe was born. Scientists extrapolating back in time are led to the omega point. The omega point is the point of infinity. Infinity is more than an empty void; it is eternal nothingness. It is not possible for the finite mortal mind to conceive anything beyond this point, but there is one exception: God. God is the one human conception of a being that exists in nothingness. The human mind is capable of conceiving of such a being performing creative acts like themselves do. From idea to product, this being called God creates nature and its universe. This real logical but analogical conclusion derives from human experience. It is how human minds perceive a being in nothingness create out of nothing all that is. If it were not for real human experience of this being, God would merely exist as a mental construct projected beyond the omega point into the eternal abyss of nothingness. Like in the past, the revelation of God’s existence and care for humanity is still something humans experience is a variety of ways. Contrary to modern views, revelation is not merely something believed. It is what people experience that continues to verify and validate past revelatory experience as true and relevant today.

Returning to the question, if the universe—space and time—was created within the realm infinite nothingness and the eternal Creator was its designer and maker, God maybe saw a black empty void. Did heaven exist in which God dwelt? Some Jewish scholars believe the universe is like a compartment that is separated from the realm of God’s eternal existence. Maybe that compartment is the third heaven of ancient and modern theology, the original place of eternity. It is also possible, even likely, that that place as we morals understand it is an irrelevant misnomer to God. Even though God has accommodated human need, or at least ancient human need, for a localized Deity, God made it clear to the Israelites that He does not dwell in places of human making. A temple is not capable of containing His being. It is written, heaven my throne and earth is my footstool. (Isa. 66:1) Therefore, God is bigger than the universe. He reclines on heaven and rests His feet on earth. This either means the divine being fills the entire universe (in theology it is called omnipresence) or it means God’s nature is such place and time are not applicable, and maybe its meaning encompasses both.

I am not aware of any scripture that claims anything existed before God began to create the world, which included angels. A sage wrote, “I, wisdom dwell with prudence.... The Lord possessed me at the beginning of is way, before His works of old.” (Pro. 8:12, 22) The personification of Wisdom existing before that point is a creative, literary convention employed to describe of a personal quality of the Creator. According to the orthodox interpretation for the first chapter of John’s gospel, the son of God preexisted as co-creator of the universe. “In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with the God, and the Logos was god, the same was in the beginning with the God. And the Logos was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, the glory of the only begotten from the Father.” (1:1-2, 14) The potential problem with the orthodox interpretation is that the Logos, like Wisdom, is a part of God. Logos is an idea. Here it is the manifestation of a specific idea of God. The universe is the reality of an idea expressed by God. Because it was a part of God, that Logos is divine or god. As mentioned in a previous post, David Bohm’s concept of a blueprint existing in every past of nature and guiding every part to create all that exists and can exist is very similar to the meaning of Logos as co-creator. Like wisdom as co-creator, Logos as co-creator is a literary convention personifying a characteristic of a person. A counter-problem of this unorthodox view comes in verse 14, which claims the Logos became a human person. Because the person referred to is obviously Jesus of Nazareth, the orthodox interpretation is apparently correct. There are those who interpret it differently. Some regard Jesus as the embodiment of the Logos, but not as the preexisting Logos. The Logos became embodied by being created in the virgin womb by God. Before a valid decision can be made about which interpretation is the most accurate and true, the entire context of both John’s gospel, its historical and cultural context plus the rest of scripture must be consulted before a true and accurate understanding is possible, which beyond the scope of this short article. Apart from question whether or not the Logos was the eternal preexisting son of God is the right interpretation, the divine Logos is a part of who the eternal God is and did in creating the universe. Therefore, it preexisted.

The answer to the question, “what did God see when He began creating the universe,” is this: God saw himself. Like a master builder, the eternal Creator envisioned His plan. His expression of it created the original energy that housed the plan just as DNA is housed in the nucleus of a living cell. From that speck of energy, the universe exploded into existence creating a void in which to expand and develop the Creator’s ideal.

As it says in Genesis One, “God saw that it was good.” If God was pleased, it must have been awesome for other created beings—angels—to have witnessed this incredible act of God. It had to be much more impressive than a great display of fireworks, or the terrifying magnitude of a shock and awe bombing of a nation, or even the explosive glory of the birth of a star. Of course, that is if other beings existed at that time.

Why is it when light shines in a dark world it is still dark? Part VIII

Any answers from realism cannot be trusted because they are based on the deception of natural realism. Therefore, moderns are forced to turn to the ancients, or to those who have continued to consult and learn from them. (from Part VII)

Nearly all ancient civilizations believed there was one supreme God over all others. Most believed this God was the chief architect and builder of the heavens and the earth. This is true of Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, Romans, Mayans, Asians, Africans, and Jews. Ancient Jews may have been the only truly monotheists, but they were not the only people who believed the Supreme God created the world. How many knew God created the universe as a speech act is doubtful. That the Hebrews knew is beyond question. Genesis cosmology affirms it. Writings of their sages do as well. The writer of Psalms 33 sings his stanza: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their hosts.” Then we have the sage who wrote Proverbs 8 personifying the creative word as a wise master workman. (vv. 22-31) Second Temple Jews still believed it was true. For example, the author of the Book of Jubilees wrote, “ Worship the God of heaven” who “has created everything by His word, and all life is from before His face.” (12:4) Other ancient authors like the penmen of Sirach and 4 Ezra wrote about the creation as the work of God’s word. (Sir. 42:15; 4 Ezra 6:43) Followers of Jesus also believed it. For example, Simon b. Jonah, also called Peter, affirms it when he wrote, “By the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water.” (2 Pet. 3:5) Later, St. Augustine wrote that God created the world by his word. (Confessions, Book XI, chapters 5-8) During the dark medieval era, the Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides arose to address the theological and philosophical issues threatening an assimilated end to the remnant of Jewish civilization. Following Moses Maimonides’ philosophy, we see its was an act of God’s will that created the energy and word which became the universe and all forms of life in it. (Guide for the Perplexed, ‘God Spake,’ pp. 96-98) Even today, as it was in the beginning, guiding the perplexed is the word of God. As the author of the Johannine gospel wrote, “In the beginning was the word… All things came into being through him…. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehended it.” (1:1-3, 5)

See also Part VII, Part VI, Part V, Part IV, Part III, Part II, and Part I.

Why is it when light shines in a dark world it is still dark? Part VII

If what we think we see and experts of realism claim to know is not completely real, then how can we know what is? (from Part VI)

When the unified theory of realism is questioned, are answers given? If black holes actually exist, what is on the other side? If negative energy actually exists, what is it? What is on the other side from which it ‘pops’ into the void? If there are multi-universes or parallel universes, what is their origin? How did any thing come into being that has come into being? What is the origin of life?

The priest and prophets of realism cannot tell us. They cannot give real answers to origins because layers of transformation and history veil its singular uniqueness. They may guess, but the unified theory of realism is incapable of anything beyond quantum surface knowledge. With all of their great accomplishments, astrophysicists cannot tell us what happened a few microseconds before the big bang, and neither can the historians of nature. The history of living organisms is hardly knowable much before the Cambrian explosion. If honesty is of any value, then how will moderns ever get answers to such questions? Maybe more important is getting answers to more basic questions like why does it exist at all? What is each person’s purpose? Why moral accountability? Why right and wrong? What is its source? Any answers from realism cannot be trusted because they are based on the deception of natural realism. Therefore, moderns are forced to turn to the ancients, or to those who have continued to consult and learn from them.

See also Part VI, Part V, Part IV, Part III, Part II, and Part I

Why is it when light shines in a dark world it is still dark? Part VI

The reality of naturalism is that moderns do not know much about reality, especially since they have rejected what is known outside of the unified theory of realism. (from Part V)

If what we think we see and experts of realism claim to know is not completely real, then how can we know what is? Asking the question reveals part of the answer, it has already been intuited. Modern realism is not able to supply the answer. As Jesus said, “if the blind lead the blind both will fall into a ditch.” (Mt. 15:14) Truth is as hidden as God is. Because the followers of realism fail to acknowledge their blindness, they remain lost in the darkness. The light of naturalism only reveals the surface of reality, but it cannot tell what it is made of or how it works. They believe they know and millions are as deceived as they are. Because they have peered into quantum depths and galactic heights, many believe their unified theory of realism is all knowing. Two facts prove their faith is an allusion: they have never observed atoms¹ or black holes² and their knowledge is limited to 10% of material reality at best. Scientists admit 90% of the universe is dark matter³, which they know almost nothing about. That is why the prophetic belief in ‘the-someday-they-will-know-all’ is self-deception. The deception of realism is self-induced because it refuses to acknowledge known truth. It is the reality the ancients knew without telescopes, microscopes, and atom splitters. They knew because within nature the light of God revealed what is in the darkness. Outside the limitation of finite nature the Creator gave some history lessons. Theologians call it revelation. The ancients simply called it seeing and hearing from God.

1. Russell Stannard, The God Experiment: Can Science Prove the Existence of God? (London : Faber and Faber, 1999).

2. Stephen Battersby, Do black holes really exist? New Scientist 18 June 2007, http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn12089-do-black-holes-really-exist.html (23 August 2007). It is apparent scientists do not know whether black holes actually exist. Other scientists have acknowledge that no scientists has ever verified their existence by actual observation.

3. Charles Seife,What Is the Universe Made Of? Science309 no. 5731 (2005), p. 784, http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/309/5731/78a (23 August 2007).

See also Part V , Part IV, Part III, Part II, and Part I

Why is it when light shines in a dark world it is still dark? Part V

The ancient writer ... knew something else moderns ignore. (from Part IV. )

The ancients had a glimpse of what was between the pixels. They saw into the other ninety percent of the universe—the dark matter. God not only formed light and created darkness, but He dwelt in the darkness (Is. 45: 17; Ps. 18:11). When the universe was a ball of liquid photons, an external observer would have only seen darkness. The essence of nature was light, but the outer darkness was an empty void. That is how Heinz Pagels described the early universe in Perfect Symmetry. (pp. 253-258) It is also what God revealed to the author of Genesis: “Darkness was over the surface of the deep.” (1:2) But within the empty darkness, “God said, ‘light be … and he separated the light from the darkness’.” (1:4) What the author of Genesis saw about the formation of the earth, astrophysicists see as the formation of the early universe. As it began to expand and planetary systems were being birthed, the light began to shine in the darkness. In the spectrum of light shown the word. The light we see is only a small part of that spectrum, but through the light comes the word of life. Without knowing it, many scientists confirm the power of that word. The late astrophysicist Sir Fred Hoyle believed the logic underlying the complex order organizing life in the universe against forces of entropic chaos was the work of a cosmic intelligence. (see The Intelligent Universe) Like Sir Hoyle, many scientists believe elemental life exists throughout the universe. (see Rare Earth by Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee) The intelligence intuited by Sir Hoyle and a cosmic blueprint by David Bohm points us to the light. That eternal word of God that still flies on the winds of light, and the strong and weak fields in nature give shape to that word. Because of it, the word still becomes flesh--the flesh of quanta, atoms, elements, molecules, organisms, and every form of life; yes, even the sons of God. On the winds of light, flies God’s word to humanity. It is also how angels communicate. Through dreams and visions, God communicates his mind. Like images transported by radio waves, God’s word is translated through perceptible light to the human mind. That is why the prophet Micah said, “Though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me.” (7:8) In a more poetic form, the ancient prophet Isaiah held a similar promise. The prophet perceived God saying,

“I will lead the blind by a way they do not know,
In paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will make darkness into light before them,
And rugged places into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will not leave them undone.”
(Is. 42:16)

Isaiah again writes,

“Who among you that fears the Lord,
That obeys the voice of his servant,
That walks in darkness and has no light?
Let him trust in the name of the Lord and
rely on his God.” (Is. 50:10)

And as the ancient sage sang his Psalm,

“Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” (Ps.119:105)

Even though the sage meant the known word of covenant law and morality, the word of God in nature still speaks about its Creator (Ps. 19:1-4; 33:6; Ac. 17:24-31; Ro. 1:18-20) Beyond the evident, God, then as now, continues to show people the way that they should go. (Pr. 3:5-6) The problem is many moderns are blind to the evident. They seem to believe God has no voice to hear, they do not believe scripture was communicated by God to chosen men to reveal, nor do they think divinely inspired dreams and visions are real communication. Yet, the reality of naturalism is that moderns do not know much about reality, especially since they have rejected what is known outside of the unified theory of realism.

See also Part IV, Part III, Part II and Part I.

Why is it when light shines in a dark world it is still dark? Part IV

What the movers and shakers of this unified theory of realism ignored was what the ancients already knew.... The essence of matter is information whose author is God. (From Part III; see also Part II and Part I.)

The ancient writer of Genesis knew something else moderns ignore. The ancient Jew knew photons were foundational to the development of everything in the universe. Photons are light. Light is energy. From atoms to humans, all that exists is an inverse hierarchy of ever increasing complexity of working relationships directed by information. According to nuclear physicist Russell Stannard, no scientist has ever seen an atom. Scientists only study their history in the form of energy lingering where it had once been. This further proves the ancients were in fact the true realists. (God Experiment: Can Science Prove the Existence of God?)

See also Part III, Part II and Part I.