TWO BEGINNINGS

TWO BEGINNINGS

 

A few years ago I put together an article called "In the Beginning", since then I have reason to believe that there could be two beginnings, so to speak, mentioned in scripture. The first is in (Gen 1:1) which happened sometime in the prehistoric past, know only to God. (Deut 29:29). The second time it is mentioned is in (John 1:1-5), and I believe this could be considered as the beginning of time as we have come to know it as described from (Gen 1:2) through to (Rev 22:21). It would seem that this period of time started with the reconstruction of planet earth, to make it suitable to sustain life, after it became "without form and void" (NKJV), approximately 6000 years ago as we humans reckon time. I believe our Creator God is perfect, and couldn't have created our planet as it is described in verse two. This would leave a period of undetermined length between verses (Gen 1:1 and 2). I realize there has been much speculation about this apparent  gap between the original beginning, and what I'm suggesting might be considered a second beginning.

 

The facts pertaining to fossils, and the evidence of so-called prehistoric creatures, and the evidence of science that our universe is much older than 6000 years, has always bothered me since becoming a follower of Jesus. I consider myself to be a seeker after truth, since coming to accept Jesus, who is the Truth! (John 14:6). I have recently read a series of articles by a respected Christian leader, in which he attempted to prove that everything mentioned in the Bible has happened in this 6000 year period. Then shortly after reading these articles, and not understanding why he thought he needed to prove the universe could not be older, I read another article by a Christian brother who holds a completely different view. I tend to agree with the later view, and see no reason why we cannot leave room in our scriptural view for more proven scientific discoveries. I certainly don't believe in the theory of evolution, nor in the belief that there could be life on some other plant, which I consider is simply man's attempt to discredit the Bible. But since the discovery of the Hubble telescope, much more is being revealed about the size and age of God's creation. In (Ps 115:16) NLT we read "The heavens belong to the Lord, but He has given the earth to all humanity." I take from that statement that the earth as we know it, was given as the only perfect environment in the universe to sustain human life! Why should we be looking for some other place?

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

Does God Have Grandchildren/

DOES GOD HAVE GRANDCHILDREN?

 

This term is used to identify children of children. In other words, when a couple get married and have children, and their children marry and have children of their own, their offspring are referred to as grandchildren. However in a spiritual sense we cannot use this term to describe anyone, because everyone must come to a relationship with God on their own! When a person receives conviction from the Holy Spirit that they are a sinner separated from God, and repents of their sin and accepts Jesus as their Savior, the Father then adopts them into His family. Then, and only then, are they a child of God! I believe our church traditions might leave room for some people to believe that it is possible to become God's grandchild. Certain churches believe in christening a baby and refer to that as their baptism. They seem to believe that this makes the child a member of the family of God. I believe that "baptism" is the wrong term to use for this christening, and it should be considered a "dedication" of both the child and the parents. The word baptism in scripture usually refers to a believer in Jesus, who has made a decision in their heart to accept what He accomplished on the cross, and desires to make a public declaration of this decision. We often refer to it as "believer's baptism", and it always follows a person's salvation experience. If parents who are followers of Jesus have their baby christened, and are told that they are now a child in God's family, I can see where this idea could have started. But I say no, God definitely has no grandchildren!

 

This is only one of many false beliefs that are circulating in certain church circles. Common sense should tell us that a baby cannot repent of their sins, and realize that the death of Christ on the cross paid the debt for those sins. And the scriptures are clear that baptism in water always follows a profession of faith in Christ. (Acts 2:38) Many of these church traditions that are not based on scripture, could be avoided if people were encouraged to search the scriptures for themselves. Unfortunately, many people depend completely on what they are told by their pastor or priest, and never check things out for themselves, like the believers in Berea. (Acts 17:11). If more people did this, I'm sure we would have less confusion in our churches!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer

THE DEADLIEST DISCESE

THE DEADLIEST DISEASE

 

Do you remember the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) pandemic back in 2003? The source was traced back to Vietnam, but before it was brought under control it caused many deaths. We could call that a deadly disease, but the Bible mentions a more deadly one that I would call the "Deadliest disease"! The Bible identifies it as "sin", and it has affected every human being since Adam. (Rom 5:12) The Bible further traces sin back to an event that took place in heaven long before Adam was created. We can read about it in (Isaiah 14:12-17), where Lucifer was evicted from heaven because of his pride, resulting in rebellion! This was the first time that a will, that was opposed the the perfect will of God, was ever mentioned in scripture. I believe that this "original sin" of Lucifer, who became Satan or the devil, passed this sin of rebellion against God to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

 

We read in Paul's letter to the church in Rome that this sin affected everyone (Rom 3:23) "For everyone has sinned, we all fall short of God's glorious standard". And then in (Rom 6:23) Paul declares "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"! These two verses from the pen of probably the most important apostle that ever lived, presents the very core of the good news of the gospel. Yes, we have all sinned, and yes it is the deadliest of all sins because it affects all of us humans, resulting in death, but our loving Creator God has provided a "sure cure"! God allowed His only begotten Son to become incarnated in human flesh, in order to pay the price of our redemption, by dying on the cross and shedding His precious blood. (Heb 2:14-15), and (Phil 2:6-11). Jesus became the second Adam (1 Cor 15:45-50) in order to "reverse the curse", and make provision for the entire creation to be liberated from the bondage brought on by Adam's sin. (Rom 8:18-25) God's ultimate intention was always to have a family of humans on earth that would properly represent His Kingdom. Adam and Eve were meant to be the start of a family that would become this "colony of heaven", but Satan interrupted this plan. However through Jesus, this colony that Howard Snyder calls "The Community of The King", is being established of "born again" followers of Jesus who will yet accomplish this task!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer