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Posts Made By: Brien Stratton

January 25, 2003 01:23 PM Forum: Religion

Third Creative Day - Part 2

Posted By Brien Stratton

The Bible account adds: "' Let the earth cause grass to shoot forth , vegetation bearing seed, fruit trees yielding fruit according to their kinds, the seed of which is in it, upon the earth.' And it came to be so ." (Genesis 1:11.

Thus by the close of this third creative period, three broad categories of land plants had been created. The diffused light would have become quite strong by then, ample for the process of photosynthesis so vital to green plants. Incidentally, the account here does not mention every "kind" of plant that came on the scene. Microscopic organisms, water plants and others are not specifically named, but likely were created on this "day".

Photosynthesis is essential for plants. A green plant cell has a number of smaller parts called chloroplasts, which obtain energy from sunlight. " These microscopic factories", explains the book-Planet Earth, " manufacture sugars and starches...No human has ever designed a factory more efficient, or whose whose products are more in demand, than a chloroplast."

Indeed , later animal life would depend upon chloroplasts for survival. Also, without green vegetation, earth's atmosphere would be overly rich in carbon dioxide , and we would die from heat and lack of oxygen. Some specialists give astonishing explanations for the development of life dependant on photosynthesis. For example, they say that when single-celled organisms in the water began to run out of food, " a few pioneering cells finally invented a solution. They arrived at photosynthesis." But could that really be so? Photosynthesis is so complex that scientists are still attempting to unravel its secrets. Do you think that self-reproducing photosynthetic life arose inexplicably and spontaneously? Or do you find it more reasonable to believe that it exists as a result of intelligent, purposeful creation, as Genesis reports?

The appearance of new varieties of plant life may not have ended the third creative "day". It could even have been going on into the sixth "day", when the Creator "planted a garden in Eden" and "made to grow out of the ground every tree desirable to one's sight and good for food." (Genesis 2:8,9) And, as mentioned , the earth's atmosphere must have cleared on "day" four , so that more light from the sun and other heavenly bodies reached planet earth.

To be continued.....

Brien

January 26, 2003 01:27 AM Forum: Religion

Fourth Creative Day

Posted By Brien Stratton

The divine will concerning luminaries was accomplished on Day Four, it being stated: "God proceeded to make the two great luminaries, the greater luminary for dominating the day and the lesser luminary for dominating the night,and also the stars. Thus God put them in the expanse of the heavens to shine upon the earth, and to dominate by day and by night and to make a division between the light and the darkness." (Genesis 1:16-18) The greater luminary is the sun, and the lesser luminary is the moon.

Previously, on the first "day" , the expression "Let light come to be" was used. The Hebrew word there used for "light" is 'ohr, meaning light in a general sense. But on the fourth "day", the Hebrew word changes to ma'ohr, which refers to a luminary or source of light. (Genesis 1:14). So, on the first "day" diffused light evidently penetrated the swaddling bands, but the sources of that light could not have been seen by an earthly observer. Now, on the fourth "day", things evidently changed.

It is also noteworthy that at Genesis 1:16 the Hebrew verb ba ra', meaning to "create", is not used . Instead, the Hebrew verb 'asah', meaning "make" is employed. Since the sun, moon, stars are included in "the heavens" mentioned in Genesis 1:1, they were created long before Day Four. On the fourth day God proceeded to "make" these celestial bodies occupy a new relationship toward earth's surface and the expanse above it. When it is said, "God put them in the expanse of the heavens to shine upon the earth", this would indicate that they now became discernible from the surface of the earth, as though they were in the expanse. Also, the luminaries were to "serve as signs and for seasons and for days and years," thus later providing guidance for man in various ways. (Genesis 1:14) The seasons that now "came to be" on this fourth day would no doubt have been much milder than they became later on. (Genesis 1:15; 8:20-22).

An atmosphere initially rich in carbon dioxide may have caused an earth-wide hot climate. But the lush growth of vegetation during the third and fourth creative periods would absorb some of this heat-retaining blanket of carbon dioxide. The vegetation, in turn, would release oxygen- a requirement for animal life.

To be continued.....

Brien

January 26, 2003 03:20 AM Forum: Religion

Fifth Creative Day

Posted By Brien Stratton

During the fifth "day" , the Creator proceeded to fill the oceans and the atmospheric heavens with a new form of life- "living souls"- distinct from vegetation.

" Let the waters swarm forth a swarm of living souls and let flying creatures fly over the earth upon the face of the expanse of the heavens.' And God proceeded to create the great sea monsters and every living soul that moves about, which the waters swarmed forth according to their kinds, and every winged flying creature according to its kind." (Genesis 1:20,21.)

Interestingly , biologists speak, among other things, of the plant kingdom and the animal kingdom, and they divide these into sub-classifications. The Hebrew word translated "soul" means "a breather". The Bible also says that "living souls" have blood. Therefore, we may conclude that creatures having both a respiratory system and a circulatory system- the breathing denizens of the seas and heavens- began to appear in the fifth creative period. (Genesis 9:3,4)

To be continued.....

Brien

January 26, 2003 04:17 AM Forum: Religion

Sixth Creative Day - Part 1

Posted By Brien Stratton

On the sixth "day", God gave more attention to the land. He created "domestic" animals and "wild" animals, these being meaningful designations when Moses penned the account. So it was in this sixth creative period that land animals were formed.

" And God proceeded to make the wild beast of the earth according to its kind and the domestic animal according to its kind and every moving animal of the ground according to its kind." (Genesis 1:25)

Toward the end of the sixth day of creative activity, God brought into existence an entirely new kind of creature, superior to the animals even though lower than the angels. This was man, created in God's image and after his likeness.
He told his heavenly Son:

"Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and the domestic animals and all the earth and every moving animal that is moving upon the earth." (Genesis 1:26)

Man would therefore reflect the spiritual image of his Maker, displaying His qualities. And man would be capable of taking in huge amounts of knowledge. Thus, humans could act with an intelligence surpassing that of any animal. Also, unlike the animals, man was made with a capacity to act according to his own free will, not being controlled mainly by instinct.

In recent years, scientists have researched human genes extensively. By comparing human genetic patterns around the earth, they found clear evidence that all humans have a common ancestor, a source of the DNA of all people who have ever lived, including each of us. In 1988, Newsweek magazine presented those findings in a report entitled "The Search for Adam and Eve." Those studies were based on a type of mitochondrial DNA, genetic material passed on only by the female. Reports in 1995 about research on male DNA point to the same conclusion- that "there was an ancestral 'Adam', whose genetic material on the (Y) chromosome is common to every man now on the earth", as Time magazine put it. Whether those findings are accurate in every detail or not, they illustrate that the history we find in Genesis is highly credible, being authored by One who was on the scene at the time.

Sixth creative day continued.....






January 26, 2003 04:39 AM Forum: Religion

Sixth Creative Day - Part 2

Posted By Brien Stratton

What a climax it was when God assembled some of the elements of the earth to form his first human son, whom he named Adam! (see also Luke 3:38). The historical account tells us that the Creator of the globe and life on it put the man he had made in a garden-like area "to cultivate it and to take care of it." (Genesis 2:15) At that time the Creator may still have been producing new animal kinds. The Bible says:

"God was forming from the ground every wild beast of the field and every flying creature of the heavens, and he began bringing them to the man to see what he would call each one; and whatever the man would call it, each living soul, that was its name." (Genesis 2:19)

The Bible in no way suggests that the first man, Adam, was merely a mythical figure. On the contrary, he was a real person- a thinking, feeling human- who could find joy working in that Paradise home. Every day, he learned more about what his Creator had made and what that One was like- his qualities, his personality.

Then, after an unspecified period, God created the first woman, to be Adam's wife. Further God added greater purpose to their lives with the meaningful assignment: "Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the earth." (Genesis 1:27,28)

Nothing can change this declared purpose of the Creator, namely, that the whole earth should be turned into a paradise filled with happy humans living at peace with one another and with the animals.

To be continued.....

Brien

January 26, 2003 06:40 PM Forum: Religion

The Seventh Creative Day- Part 1

Posted By Brien Stratton

The material universe including our planet and life on it, clearly testify to God's wisdom. So he obviously could foresee the possibility that, in time, some humans might choose to act independantly or rebelliously, despite his being the Creator and Life-Giver. Such rebellion could disrupt the grand work of making a global paradise. The record says that God set before Adam and Eve a simple test that would remind them of the need to be obedient. Disobedience, God said, would result in their forfeiting the life that he had given to them. It was caring on the Creator's part to alert our first ancestors to an erroneous course that would affect the happiness of the whole human race. (Genesis 2:16.17)

By the close of the sixth "day", the Creator had done everything necessary to fulfill his purpose. He could rightly pronounce everything he had made "very good". (Genesis 1:31) At this point the Bible introduces another important time period by saying that God "proceeded to rest on the seventh day from all his work that he had made." (Genesis 2:2) Since the Creator "does not tire out or grow weary" why is he described as resting? (Isaiah 40:28) This indicates that he ceased performing works of physical creation; moreover, he rests in the knowledge that nothing, not even rebellion in heaven or on earth, can thwart the fulfillment of his grand purpose. God confidently pronounced a blessing upon the seventh creative "day". Hence , God's loyal intelligent creatures-humans and invisible spirit creatures- can be certain that by the end of the seventh "day", peace and happiness will reign throughout the universe.

"And God proceeded to bless the seventh day and make it sacred, because on it he has been resting from all his work that God has created for the purpose of making." (Genesis 2:3)

Seventh day of creation continued.....

Brien


January 26, 2003 07:04 PM Forum: Religion

The Seventh Creative Day- Part 2

Posted By Brien Stratton

Length of Creative Days:

The Bible does not specify the length of each of the creative periods. Yet all six of them have ended, it being said with respect to the sixth day (as in the case of each of the preceding five days): "And there came to evening and there came to be morning, a sixth day." (Genesis 1:31) However, this statement is not made regarding the seventh day, on which God proceeded to rest, indicating that it continued.

Also , more than 4000 years after the seventh day, or God's rest day, commenced, Paul indicated that it was still in progress. At Hebrews 4:1-11 he referred to the earlier words of David (Psalms 95:7,8,11) and to Genesis 2:2 and urged: "Let us therefore do our utmost to enter into that rest." By the apostle's time, the seventh day had been continuing for thousands of years and had not yet ended.

The Thousand Year Reign of Jesus Christ, who is scripturally identified a "Lord of the sabbath" (Matthew 12:8), is evidently part of the great sabbath, God's rest day. (Revelation 20:1-6) This would indicate the passing of thousands of years from the commencement of God's rest day to its end.

The week of days set forth at Genesis 1:3 to 2:3, the last of which is a sabbath, seems to parallel the week into which the Israelites divivded their time, observing a sabbath on the seventh day therof, in keeping with the divine will. (Exodus 20:8-11) And, since the seventh day has been continuing for thousands of years, it may reasonably be concluded that each of the six creative periods, or days, was at least thousands of years in length.

That a day can be longer than 24 hours is indicated by Genesis 2:4, which speaks of all the creative periods as one "day". Also, indicative of this is Peter's inspired observation that "one day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day." (2 Peter 3:8) Ascribing not just 24 hours but a longer period of time, thosands of years, to each of the creative days better harmonizes with the evidence found in the earth itself. -From the book-Insight on the Scriptures.

This is the last post in this series of the creative days.

Brien


January 27, 2003 08:23 PM Forum: Religion

Re: Our benefactor, Herb

Posted By Brien Stratton

This forum is the bottom of the line. If anyone gets out of line here, there is nowhere else to send them.

Brien

February 1, 2003 03:09 AM Forum: Religion

re: Jesus Genealogy - Part 1

Posted By Brien Stratton

Since God's decree at Jeremiah 22:30 prevented a descendant of Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) from ever being on the throne of David, would not this annul any right of Joseph to confer upon Jesus the legal right to the kingdom?

God's decree regarding Jehoichin reads : "Write down this man as childless, as an able-bodied man who will not have any success in his days; for from his offspring not a single one will have any success, sitting upon the throne of David and ruling anymore in Judah." This decree barred any descendant of Jehoiachin from ever ruling upon David's throne in Judah. But it did not prevent the royal line and inheritable privleges from passing through Jehoiachin and his descendants to Joseph and then to Jesus. It would not prevent Jesus from fulfilling another decree of God regarding the crown of David: "It will certainly become no one's until he comes who has the legal right, and I must give it to him. (Ezekiel 21:27) Why? Because Jesus, who was given "the legal right", would not rule from a throne in Judah, but from the heavens!

While in Babylonian captivity, Jehoiachin fathered seven sons, including Shealtiel and Pedaiah. But since no descendant of Jehoiachin ever sat on David's throne to rule in Judah, it was as though he was written off as "childless". Yet, Matthew includes Jehoiachin, Shealtiel and Zerubbabel, among others in listing Jesus' geneology. It did not matter that they personally were barred from ruling on any earthly throne. Moreover, it posed no problem to Luke and other Jews in the first century that Mary's geneology also could be traced back to Jehoiachin through Shealtiel. Matthew 1:11,12; Luke 3:27.

In establishing the credentials of one claiming to be the Messiah, or Jehovah's anointed One, it would be very important for the Jews to be able to trace his geneology back through the royal line of kings of David's house. (Compare John 7:40-42: Acts 2:30) The legal line through Joseph (compiled by Matthew) and the natural line (compiled by Luke), each taking a different route back to David, both serve to corroborate that Jesus clearly has the geneaological credentials for being the Messiah, the One who would inherit David's throne.

continued.....

February 2, 2003 06:58 PM Forum: Religion

Reasons For The Human Condition- Part 3

Posted By Brien Stratton

Why God Has Permitted Suffering

What went wrong? What took place that spoiled the fine start God gave our first parents in the Garden of Eden? Why, instead of the peace and harmony of Paradise, have wickedness and suffering prevailed for thousands of years?

The reason is that Adam and Eve misused their free will. They lost sight of the fact that they were not created to prosper apart from God and his laws. They decided to become independant of God, thinking that this would improve their lives. So they stepped outside the God-ordained limits of free will.

The Issue of Universal Sovereignty

Why did God not just destroy Adam and Eve and start over with another human pair? Because his universal sovereignty, that is, his inalienable right to rule, had been challenged.

The question was: Who has the right to rule, and whose rule is right? His being almighty and the Creator of all creatures gives God the right to rule over them. Since he is all-wise, his rule is best for all creatures. But God's rule had now been challenged. Also, was there something wrong with his creation-man? We will later examine how the question of human integrity is involved.

By man's becoming independant of God, another question was implied: Could humans do better if not ruled by God? The Creator certainly knew the answer, but a sure way for humans to find out was to allow them the total freedom they wanted. They chose that course of their own free will, so God permitted it.

By allowing humans enough time to experiment with total freedom, God would establish for all time whether humans are better off under God's rule or on their own. And the time permitted would have to be long enough to allow humans to come to what they considered the peak of their political, industrial, scientific,and medical achievements.

Therefore, God has allowed man a free rein clear down to our day to show beyond any doubt whether human rule independant of him can succeed. Thus man has been able to choose between kindness and cruelty, between love and hate, between righteousness and unrighteousness. But he has also been confronted with the consequences of his choice: goodness and peace or wickedness and suffering.

To be continued.....

Brien