Shaking the Earth Terribly
February 7, 2010
"And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." (Isaiah 2:19)
Ever since the convulsions of the Flood, the earth's crust has been in a state of instability, causing earthquakes from time to time all around the world.
But there are earthquakes yet to come which will exceed anything ever yet experienced. The earthquake prophesied in our text was also predicted in Revelation. "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; . . . and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And . . . |they| hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from . . . the wrath of the Lamb" (Revelation 6:12-16). But when these judgments of God are in the earth, those who have rejected the love of the sin-bearing Lamb of God still will remain unrepentant and will merely seek to flee His anger.
God is long-suffering, but "the great day of his wrath" will surely come (Revelation 6:17). "For thus saith the LORD of hosts; . . . I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations" (Haggai 2:6-7). "The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly" (Isaiah 24:19). Finally will come "a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. . . . And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found" (Revelation 16:18, 20).
Those who belong to Christ, however, will be delivered from the wrath to come: "This word . . . signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, . . . that those things which cannot be shaken may remain" (Hebrews 12:27). HMM
h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sunday Sermonette
Formed to Be Inhabited
January 31, 2010
"For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else." (Isaiah 45:18)
This verse is the key proof-text for the "gap theory," which attempts to accommodate the evolutionary "ages" of geology by placing them in a hypothetical gap between the first two verses of Genesis. Genesis 1:2 states: "The earth was without form" (Hebrew, tohu), but Isaiah says, "he created it not in vain" (same word, tohu). Thus, it is argued that the earth became "tohu" long after the primeval creation, as a result of Satan's rebellion in heaven supposedly allowing the geological ages to be inserted between these two events.
Actually, the meaning of tohu is very flexible; it occurs 20 times and is translated 10 different ways, depending on context. In our text above, Isaiah was not writing about the initial state of the creation, but the purpose of the creation, that purpose being to provide a beautiful and appropriate home for mankind.
The translation "in vain" was required by Isaiah's context, just as "without form" best fits the context in Genesis 1:2. There is no conflict, since the two passages are dealing with two different subjects, and Isaiah's message simply extols God's ultimate and certain goal for His creation.
When God first created the space/time universe, only the basic elements of the earth (Genesis 1:1) were created, with neither structure nor inhabitant, but that was not its full purpose. God had merely "created" the heavens according to this verse. But then, with great care, He formed the earth, made the earth, and established the earth, and all this was done to make it ready to be inhabited by men and women who would share His image and know His love. HMM
h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research
January 31, 2010
"For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else." (Isaiah 45:18)
This verse is the key proof-text for the "gap theory," which attempts to accommodate the evolutionary "ages" of geology by placing them in a hypothetical gap between the first two verses of Genesis. Genesis 1:2 states: "The earth was without form" (Hebrew, tohu), but Isaiah says, "he created it not in vain" (same word, tohu). Thus, it is argued that the earth became "tohu" long after the primeval creation, as a result of Satan's rebellion in heaven supposedly allowing the geological ages to be inserted between these two events.
Actually, the meaning of tohu is very flexible; it occurs 20 times and is translated 10 different ways, depending on context. In our text above, Isaiah was not writing about the initial state of the creation, but the purpose of the creation, that purpose being to provide a beautiful and appropriate home for mankind.
The translation "in vain" was required by Isaiah's context, just as "without form" best fits the context in Genesis 1:2. There is no conflict, since the two passages are dealing with two different subjects, and Isaiah's message simply extols God's ultimate and certain goal for His creation.
When God first created the space/time universe, only the basic elements of the earth (Genesis 1:1) were created, with neither structure nor inhabitant, but that was not its full purpose. God had merely "created" the heavens according to this verse. But then, with great care, He formed the earth, made the earth, and established the earth, and all this was done to make it ready to be inhabited by men and women who would share His image and know His love. HMM
h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Sunday Sermonette
Where Is Wisdom?
January 24, 2010
"But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?" (Job 28:12)
Men have been searching for this most valuable of all treasures since time began. Eve first fell into sin as she was led by Satan to believe that the forbidden fruit would make her wise. Even before Abram left Ur of the Chaldees, the patriarch Job was asking this ancient question of his three critical friends, but they could not answer.
In this chapter, Job notes that while valuable metals can be dug from the rocks of the earth (Job 28:1-2), wisdom cannot be mined by hard searching and labor. Neither can it be purchased like some commodity (vv. 13-19). In terms of modern categories, wisdom is not acquired through college degrees or philosophical meditation, or any variety of human experience or study.
It can only be found in God Himself, for "God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof" (Job 28:23). "The fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding" (Job 28:28).
True wisdom is to be found in the Lord Jesus, "who of God is made unto us wisdom" (1 Corinthians 1:30). In Him alone "are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3).
Then, of course, since the Holy Scriptures constitute His written Word, we find wisdom there. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom" (Colossians 3:16).
If one desires wisdom--real wisdom--he must find it in the fear of the Lord, a departure from all evil, receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and sovereign Lord, and in diligence to learn and obey His Word. "For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly" (Proverbs 2:6-7). HMM
h/t:Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research
January 24, 2010
"But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?" (Job 28:12)
Men have been searching for this most valuable of all treasures since time began. Eve first fell into sin as she was led by Satan to believe that the forbidden fruit would make her wise. Even before Abram left Ur of the Chaldees, the patriarch Job was asking this ancient question of his three critical friends, but they could not answer.
In this chapter, Job notes that while valuable metals can be dug from the rocks of the earth (Job 28:1-2), wisdom cannot be mined by hard searching and labor. Neither can it be purchased like some commodity (vv. 13-19). In terms of modern categories, wisdom is not acquired through college degrees or philosophical meditation, or any variety of human experience or study.
It can only be found in God Himself, for "God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof" (Job 28:23). "The fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding" (Job 28:28).
True wisdom is to be found in the Lord Jesus, "who of God is made unto us wisdom" (1 Corinthians 1:30). In Him alone "are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3).
Then, of course, since the Holy Scriptures constitute His written Word, we find wisdom there. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom" (Colossians 3:16).
If one desires wisdom--real wisdom--he must find it in the fear of the Lord, a departure from all evil, receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and sovereign Lord, and in diligence to learn and obey His Word. "For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly" (Proverbs 2:6-7). HMM
h/t:Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Sunday Sermonette
Lively Hope
January 17, 2010
"LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations." (Psalm 90:1)
These are the tremendous opening words of the oldest psalm in the book of Psalms called, in its superscript, the "prayer of Moses the man of God." Moses must have written it shortly before his death as he looked out over the promised land and realized that he himself would never live there (Deuteronomy 34:4-5). It did not really matter though, for he had lived in many places and none of them were really his home. As a baby he had lived for a brief while in a basket on the river, then in a queen's palace, then forty years in Midian, and forty more years wandering in the wilderness.
Furthermore, he had been meditating on the men of God of previous generations (after all, he had compiled all their ancient records in the book of Genesis) and had found that they, too, like the apostle Paul 1,500 years later, had "no certain dwellingplace" (1 Corinthians 4:11). Adam had been expelled from his Garden; Noah lived for a year in an Ark on a worldwide sea, then the rest of his life in a devastated earth; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived in tents in Canaan, and their descendants lived as slaves in Egypt.
Yet wherever they were, the Lord was with them. He had been their dwelling place, and this was Moses' first thought as he composed his great prayer. He also had written down "the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death" (Deuteronomy 33:1). Its climax was this great assurance: "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms" (v. 27). The "refuge" of this promise is the same Hebrew word as "dwelling place" in our text.
We, like they, are "strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (Hebrews 11:13), but "underneath are the everlasting arms." Where the Lord is--there home is! HMM
h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research
January 17, 2010
"LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations." (Psalm 90:1)
These are the tremendous opening words of the oldest psalm in the book of Psalms called, in its superscript, the "prayer of Moses the man of God." Moses must have written it shortly before his death as he looked out over the promised land and realized that he himself would never live there (Deuteronomy 34:4-5). It did not really matter though, for he had lived in many places and none of them were really his home. As a baby he had lived for a brief while in a basket on the river, then in a queen's palace, then forty years in Midian, and forty more years wandering in the wilderness.
Furthermore, he had been meditating on the men of God of previous generations (after all, he had compiled all their ancient records in the book of Genesis) and had found that they, too, like the apostle Paul 1,500 years later, had "no certain dwellingplace" (1 Corinthians 4:11). Adam had been expelled from his Garden; Noah lived for a year in an Ark on a worldwide sea, then the rest of his life in a devastated earth; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived in tents in Canaan, and their descendants lived as slaves in Egypt.
Yet wherever they were, the Lord was with them. He had been their dwelling place, and this was Moses' first thought as he composed his great prayer. He also had written down "the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death" (Deuteronomy 33:1). Its climax was this great assurance: "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms" (v. 27). The "refuge" of this promise is the same Hebrew word as "dwelling place" in our text.
We, like they, are "strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (Hebrews 11:13), but "underneath are the everlasting arms." Where the Lord is--there home is! HMM
h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Sunday Sermonette
Seeing and Believing
January 10, 2010
"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29)
Jesus was willing to give doubting Thomas the visible evidence he wanted before he would believe. However, He did give His disciple a mild rebuke.
There is an important principle here. Thomas was willing to believe, but only when the visible evidence was too strong to question. Neither the promise of Christ that He would rise from the dead nor the testimony of His chosen apostles that the promise had been fulfilled was sufficient to convince him, and the Lord was disappointed.
When God has spoken plainly in His Word, that ought to be sufficient for those who really believe Him. Yet again and again Christians allow their faith to be shaken by some new cosmic theory, or age estimate, or something else. No matter how strong the biblical case for the worldwide Flood may be, for example, many Christians will not believe it until all the geological questions can be resolved. Even though the Bible unequivocally teaches that all things were created in six literal days (see Exodus 20:11), many Christians won't accept this until they can see overwhelming scientific evidence of a young earth. In fact, some will never believe in either recent creation or a worldwide Flood until all the secular scientists accept them first.
God has allowed many visible evidences of the truth of His word to be revealed. There is a strong scientific case for biblical creation, and we are justified in believing God's Word, even where we don't yet see any visible evidence. As Peter said concerning those who believe implicitly in Christ and His Word: "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8). HMM
h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research
January 10, 2010
"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29)
Jesus was willing to give doubting Thomas the visible evidence he wanted before he would believe. However, He did give His disciple a mild rebuke.
There is an important principle here. Thomas was willing to believe, but only when the visible evidence was too strong to question. Neither the promise of Christ that He would rise from the dead nor the testimony of His chosen apostles that the promise had been fulfilled was sufficient to convince him, and the Lord was disappointed.
When God has spoken plainly in His Word, that ought to be sufficient for those who really believe Him. Yet again and again Christians allow their faith to be shaken by some new cosmic theory, or age estimate, or something else. No matter how strong the biblical case for the worldwide Flood may be, for example, many Christians will not believe it until all the geological questions can be resolved. Even though the Bible unequivocally teaches that all things were created in six literal days (see Exodus 20:11), many Christians won't accept this until they can see overwhelming scientific evidence of a young earth. In fact, some will never believe in either recent creation or a worldwide Flood until all the secular scientists accept them first.
God has allowed many visible evidences of the truth of His word to be revealed. There is a strong scientific case for biblical creation, and we are justified in believing God's Word, even where we don't yet see any visible evidence. As Peter said concerning those who believe implicitly in Christ and His Word: "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8). HMM
h/t: Henry M Morris, Institute For Creation Research
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