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I've been reading the Creation verses a lot lately. Genesis 1 is wonderful and it fascinates me completely. I am also listening to John MacArthur's series on Creation and last night I heard him explain the verses relating to Day 3. I think it is so important to be thoroughly familiar with the Creation verses because they are under such assault. The Spirit has impressed me with this, and when I read in the local newspaper an opinion piece by the founder of the paper that he believes evolution and creation are co-existent, I couldn't let it go. Rather, the Spirit wouldn't let me let it go. I wrote a response, and still, the Spirit wouldn't let go.
Part of what I wrote was this: "First, science and the bible are at odds on the point of creation. There is no scientific process that has, can, or will ever confirm the creation of the world. It can’t. Creation was not a scientific event, it was a supernatural one."
Christian, don't worry about defending the bible against science. It is our job to witness to His holiness against sin.
I continued listening to the sermon, and MacArthur got to the part about seeds. The earth was made fully mature. Adam and Eve were grown adults. The trees were mature and bore seeds and fruit from the first moment. So did plants. (Genesis 1:11). MacArthur said,
"One of the great, great wonders of the world is the science of seed dispersal. I watched an entire video on that just absolutely astonishing to see how God designed seed dispersal, not the least of which is accomplished by birds in your own yard, sometimes even attempted on your car and on your head. Pre-fertilized seed dispersal is very efficient."
How DO seeds disperse, I wondered. Wikipedia explains, "Seed dispersal is the movement or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and consequently rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their propagules, ... There are five main modes of seed dispersal: gravity, wind, ballistic, water and by animals." I started to think about the Tribulation and the verse in chapter 8 came to mind.
"The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up." (Rev 8:7). The earth is judged and that includes the vegetation, which He created on Day 3. Hmmm, grass and vegetation die in this, the First Trumpet Judgment. But the verse later in Revelation came to mind also,
"After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree." (Rev 11:6). If wind is one of the major ways seeds are propagated, then after the vegetation is burned up then there is very little chance that new growth will occur, especially of no wind if blowing "on any tree"... or its seeds. And when the Two Witnesses cause no rain to fall upon the earth for three and a half years, (Rev 11:6) then that diminishes the chance for new growth all the more.
It occurred to me then, that Revelation could be seen as the orderly progression of UNcreation. Do the seven days of Creation match in reverse the seven years of Tribulation? Not exactly but in general. Revelation depicts judgment to be sure. But what a synchronicity that the first book of the Bible reveals how Creation was made, and the last book depicts its unmaking. On Day 1 the Light turned on, and 'immediately after the tribulation of those days', the sun, moon, and stars give no light" in other words, the lights are turned off. (Matthew 24:29-31). Heaven is made on Day 2, and in Rev 6:14 heaven is rolled up as a scroll. The sea creatures die. The land creatures die. The people die. The sun, moon, and stars fall.
The people know it is God, that He exists, and that He is exerting His power over them. In Revelation 16:9 they curse God on account of the plagues but they refused to repent and glorify Him. Those on the earth who rebel and deny His creative power will watch a slow and excruciating dismantling of creation, plank by plank. This is judgment indeed.
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Part of what I wrote was this: "First, science and the bible are at odds on the point of creation. There is no scientific process that has, can, or will ever confirm the creation of the world. It can’t. Creation was not a scientific event, it was a supernatural one."
Christian, don't worry about defending the bible against science. It is our job to witness to His holiness against sin.
I continued listening to the sermon, and MacArthur got to the part about seeds. The earth was made fully mature. Adam and Eve were grown adults. The trees were mature and bore seeds and fruit from the first moment. So did plants. (Genesis 1:11). MacArthur said,
"One of the great, great wonders of the world is the science of seed dispersal. I watched an entire video on that just absolutely astonishing to see how God designed seed dispersal, not the least of which is accomplished by birds in your own yard, sometimes even attempted on your car and on your head. Pre-fertilized seed dispersal is very efficient."
How DO seeds disperse, I wondered. Wikipedia explains, "Seed dispersal is the movement or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and consequently rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their propagules, ... There are five main modes of seed dispersal: gravity, wind, ballistic, water and by animals." I started to think about the Tribulation and the verse in chapter 8 came to mind.
"The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up." (Rev 8:7). The earth is judged and that includes the vegetation, which He created on Day 3. Hmmm, grass and vegetation die in this, the First Trumpet Judgment. But the verse later in Revelation came to mind also,
"After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree." (Rev 11:6). If wind is one of the major ways seeds are propagated, then after the vegetation is burned up then there is very little chance that new growth will occur, especially of no wind if blowing "on any tree"... or its seeds. And when the Two Witnesses cause no rain to fall upon the earth for three and a half years, (Rev 11:6) then that diminishes the chance for new growth all the more.
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| Michaelangelo's Creation of Adam, detail, Sistine Chapel |
The people know it is God, that He exists, and that He is exerting His power over them. In Revelation 16:9 they curse God on account of the plagues but they refused to repent and glorify Him. Those on the earth who rebel and deny His creative power will watch a slow and excruciating dismantling of creation, plank by plank. This is judgment indeed.
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I've been reading a lot of the same.. Mostly from Clarence Larkin's Dispensational Truth. It's very thought provoking. Your theory is in part correct I think because Peter and John (in Revelations) both describe the earth being consumed by fire, though it isn't destroyed, because further in Revelations, John sees the New Jerusalem descend from Heaven.
ReplyDeleteI'm still pretty confused about it all, really, but it's pretty interesting to study.
http://www.thesignsdaily.com/p/from-beginning-to-end.html
Hi The Signs Daily,
ReplyDeleteThat's so cool that you are studying that too. :)
New Jerusalem is in heaven right now. New Jerusalem is not the total of heaven, it is the "place I am preparing for you" (John 14) as Jesus said. The Church Age believers will live there. It descends from heaven and likely has a low orbit around earth, being too big to settle on earth.
After the Milennium Kingdom, after satan's banishment to the Lake of Fire, after the Great White Throne Judgment, comes a new heavens and a new earth. This is stated four times in scripture to my knowledge.
Rev 21:1-2- "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband." My interpretation is that earth is destroyed and 2 Peter 3:10 gives a bit more detail, it is destroyed by fire. All the elements melt in a fervent heat and with a loud roar.
Isaiah confirms what 2 Peter 3:10 and John state, "Isaiah 65:17, "For behold, God said through the prophet Isaiah, I create new heavens and a new earth and so new that the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind." And Isaiah confirms it again in Isaiah 66:22. 2 Peter 3:13 says "But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness" and that promise he was referring to was the one God gave Isaiah.
Heaven and earth HAVE to be destroyed and remade. It is the last wiping out of sin. Leviticus 18:25 reminds us "The land has become defiled" and Isaiah 24:5, "The earth is polluted."
The word used in new heavens and new earth is not neos which means new the opposite of old, but kainos, entirely new, new in quality. SO the earth is not renewed, it is created new in quality entirely different. This is confirmed when John says. "There is no longer any sea". Perhaps in the eternity we will not be water based!
One of the most indepth series on Revelation I've ever heard or read is found at http://www.spiritempoweredpreaching.com/sermons.htm (the Revelation series of 80 sermons is at the end of the page), preached by Rev. Art Azurdia. Dr. Azurdia takes this very view - that Genesis is the Creation and Revelation is the de-creation, which is actually the title of his sermon on Revelation 6:12-17. (Dr. Arturo G. Azurdia III is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Director of Pastoral Mentoring at Western Seminary in Portland , Oregon. He recently established a new church plant in Portland, Oregon which is called Trinity Church, where he is Senior Minister of Word and Worship.)
ReplyDeleteThank you Anonymous! I looked at his page, there certainly are a lot of in-depth sermons on it, including the series on Revelation you mentioned. I will listen to them. I liked the title of the sermon on the church of Laodicea, "The Church of Nauseating Ineffectivenesss." I liked him right away after seeing that :)
ReplyDeleteI had gotten the Spirit-formed impression to study the book of Revelation being un-creation, and I looked at Genesis and Revelation for a while and compared and studied. Then I looked briefly on the net to see if that was a widely held idea or not but could not fin anyone else who had raised the idea. Thank you for pointing me to a bible-based sermon series so I can learn more.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI've listened to 15 minutes so far of the sermon that discusses decreation, and I am falling in love with Rev Azurdia. I looked him up a bit online and so far see only solidity, theology, and erudition on a par with John MacArthur. Thank YOU!!!
To those studying the end times, I've been keeping very silent about this because the publicity would nearly kill me. But, I must now reveal some critically important information. God appears to me in dreams and speaks very clearly about what He plans to do. He appeared to me on May 20, 2011 and clearly said He would NOT start the rapture on May 21, 2011. He also said October 21, 2011 IS NOT the end of the world. He was very clear about this. He will tell me when he is going to end the world and when the rapture will take place. He also tells me when the world will NOT end. So, please understand, Oct. 21, 2011 IS NOT the end of the world. I will post more about the end times on various blogs.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteGod told me that too! He said it in the bible.
I would gently propose that the 'person; speaking to you in dreams is not God but something else not of God. There are no new revelations an revelatory disclosure that is inconsistent with the bible is not of God. The devil and his angels can appear in your dreams. They even appear in person, as angel "Moroni' did to Joseph Smith and delivered the alse gospel of Mormonism, and angel "Gabriel' appeared to Muhammad and delivered the false gospel of Islam. Beware this voice that speaks to you in dreams.
I agree with Elizabeth, Anonymous. Beware this voice.... It is not of God.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, this is a very interesting take on Revelation! I never thought of it being decreation. Thank you for posting this! I think you are onto something.