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The
following is a sampling of some of the marvels of God’s Word. I have tried to
keep to plain statements, and bring in simple science as it is currently
understood, but science is an ever-changing thing so eventually there will be
room for editing. The Bible however never changes, and whatever it says will
always be correct.
Some of the verses have been ‘stretched’ in meaning. I have ‘drawn
a long bow’ here and there. Readers, I hope, will forgive these examples and
look for the truth within the items, making up their own minds.
When
Adam sinned, God’s warning that he would die began to come true. In Hebrew,
the expression “you shall die” means “dying you shall die” – in other
words, a process of dying was to begin.
Science
has found that death is a process which begins at conception. Within every cell,
at the end of the DNA are small pieces called telemeres. At each division of the
cell a telemere is lost. Eventually all the telemeres are gone and the cell
dies. “Dying you shall die’ is literally fulfilled.
Gen.2:1
The heavens and the earth were finished.
There
is a fundamental Law known to science which says that energy cannot be destroyed
or created. In other words the universe as we know it contains exactly the same
amount of energy at all times. In other words, it is “finished”.
Gen.3:2
The woman spoke to God
One
of the most outstanding differences between humans and animals is their ability
to use a spoken language to communicate.
It
is a well-established fact that all life on Earth exists either because of
plants or because of things that live on plants. In fact, it is a good puzzle to
ask someone to name a food which does not come directly or indirectly from plant
life. (The only exception might be “manna” the bread from heaven)
Gen.
3:10 Guilt causes fear and a desire to hide. (“men's hearts failing them for
fear . . .”Luke 21:26.
It
has been shown many times that fear causes harmful substances to circulate in
the body, causing what are known as ‘psychosomatic’ illnesses. Many people
today work on resolving fear without dealing with the guilt which feeds it. The
best way to health in the heart is repentance – once the guilt from sin is
gone, fear goes with it and with the fear all the psychosomatic problems.
Gen.
5:3 Adam lived 930 years. Conditions then were at their optimum for health. In
his day the climate was such that ultraviolet exposure was low (due to the water
canopy), the nutritional value of foods was extremely high, Adam’s life was
pleasurable and free of modern stresses, and his exercise was moderate due to
the mild climate and abundance of food. He also ate far more plant material than
animal meat.
There
is talk today of extending life spans. Some of the means to do this are: to
reduce ultraviolet exposure, because this tends to age the skin, to increase
nutritional contents in foods, to provide more rest and pleasure, to provide
regular, sensible exercise, and to reduce animal meat (containing fat and
impurities)
Gen.10:5
God created all the distinct, separate languages.
It
was long held by science that all the languages in the world had common origins,
but gradually this assumption has been abandoned. While some words have a common
root, almost all distinct language groups are completely different from each
other in many ways.
Gen.4:20
Musical instruments were invented and constructed from metal right from the
start of human civilization
Over
the years assumptions about Man’s past have been repeatedly reviewed and
revised as more discoveries throw current theories into doubt. It was long held
that Man began primitive and gradually improved, but discoveries contradict
this. Now it is being acknowledged by many that Man’s ingenuity did not
progress from primitive to sophisticated gradually over thousands of years, but
arose suddenly and fell back (devolved) many times. Man has in fact degenerated.
Gen.19:24
God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and the three other cities.
On
the eastern edge of the Dead Sea are the remains of five cities, which, despite
their location and the presence of fresh water, lie in ruins.
Matthew
6:27 “Which of you by
taking
thought
can add one cubit unto his stature?”
It
is true that some people can alter their bodies by “taking thought” – they
may cause a rash to appear, or bring on an asthma attack, or slow their heart,
cause sweat to form, even make their hair go white . . . but no-one can make
themselves larger or taller by thinking.
Gen.
7:19 The Earth was once covered completely by flood waters.
There
is a growing number of scientists in different fields who are realizing that the
only mechanism which could have formed such things as the Grand Canyon, the
enormous fossil beds and many other geological features . . . was a world-wide
cataclysmic flood.
Genesis
2:7 And the LORD God formed man of
the dust
of the ground,
Now
that modern science is able to break material substances down to their basic
constituents, it has been found that all matter consists of a limited number of
“elements” which are common to all living and non-living things. In other
words, Man is made of exactly the same things as soil.
1
Thessalonians 5:23 And the very God
of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit
and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Holistic
medicine is aimed at taking in not just the body, but all other factors which
might contribute to a person’s well-being. In other words, modern science is
just now beginning to recognize the importance of spirit, soul and body.
Proverbs
23:7 For as he thinks
in
his
heart,
so is he . . . .
The
power of positive thinking. This multi-million dollar business has taken the
“Christ” out of positive confession and twisted it into the shape of a
commercial product.
Gen.49:4
“unstable as water”
Water
is a fantastic thing. It forms solid, gas and liquid depending on slight
temperature changes. It expands at freezing point. It splits into hydrogen and
oxygen at a high temperature. It combines with just about everything. It fills
the atmosphere with tiny drops, yet it can thunder down and carry millions of
tons of rock and mud. In its liquid state it is always moving. Drop some dye
into water and the molecules will carry the dye everywhere. At the atomic level
water is crystalline, forming crystal shapes thousands of times a second – too
fast for the human eye to see.
Ex.1:16
“birthing stools”
In
the West most woman are told to lie on their backs when giving birth. However, a
new school of thought is bring back the ‘stand up’ or ‘sitting’ methods,
letting gravity help. Birthing stools were an efficient method thousands of
years ago – now being recognized again.
Exodus
18:21 Moreover you shall provide
out of all the people able men,
such
as
fear
God,
men
of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of
thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
There
are many forms of administration in the world. After centuries of experiment,
the best form of government has been found to be the above.
Ex.20
the Ten Commandments. No amendments, no prior code from which it is drawn. No
faulty rules now defunct. No need for an eleventh.
After
many attempts to think up a better code, many scientists have acknowledged the
perfect balance and quality of the Ten.
The
land is to be rested every seventh year.
A
NZ farmer was interviewed on TV some years ago. He had tried the land rest
system and found that, contrary to what the ‘experts’ predicted, his soil
had regenerated remarkably when it was given a rest every seventh year. Despite
the lack of top dressing, the humus had recovered and the soil depth remained
constant.
Ex.22:31
Never eat meat from animals found dead in the wild.
Before
modern science identified bacteria, God made provision for humans by banning
possibly diseased animals. As most sickness is carried by the blood, it was a
wise precaution to avoid animals which had not been correctly drained of blood.
Lev.
7:19 Do not eat meat which has touched an “unclean thing” (See above)
Lev.7:22-27
Do not eat fat or blood.
Most
health experts today caution us from eating animal fat. It can clog the body
with too much cholesterol. Cooking oils are recommended. Blood is also risky as
it can contain many impurities. I heard a Vet on Radio Rhema saying that cats
which are fed liver regularly always get arthritis. Liver is filled with blood.
Lev.
12. Childbirth rules. Bullinger says “This ordinance was not on account of any
disparity between the sexes, but was in order to regulate them, so that the
birth rate of females might not be in excess, as it otherwise would have been,
and is, in countries where this ordinance is not known or observed.”
Some
demographers are recognizing the need for some sort of control but usually they
have no idea that God has already given us a way to balance the proportion of
men to women in a nation.
From
Genesis to Revelation, history rolls along in a straight line. Creation, the
flood, Babel, Abraham, Israel, the division, the cross, the Dark Ages, the
Reformation, the return of the Jews and the return of Christ. The Bible also
predicts the rise and fall of a succession of empires, in sequence.
Some
scientists deny any form or structure to history, but there are some who are
realizing that there is a trend, or pattern to everything.
One
of the great principles of the Law of God is “restorative justice”, which
ensures that victims of crime are repaid by the offender.
Western
law is gradually changing from retributive justice to restorative justice as
experts are discovering the value of making the offender face the offended and
restore or help the offended party. Reconciliation helps prevent further crime.
(See John Consadine’s book ‘Restorative Justice’)
Deut.
6:4-9 God commanded Israelites to surround themselves with the Law – day and
night, eating, resting, walking, talking, reading . . . . it was God’s method
of getting the Law into the hearts.
Today
there are several learning methods, which are proving very effective. One of
them, called ‘the Yamaha method’ is designed to speed up the learning of a
musical instrument (piano). The learner must listen to the music, have it
playing constantly, day and night, when they are resting, walking, talking . . .
Deut.10:14
“the heavens and the highest heavens”
Long
before the Hubble Space Telescope was launched, the Bible described the heavens
as 1. The heavens, and 2. The highest heavens (plural). Today we know that there
are vast reaches in space, with galaxies, and clusters of galaxies, and super
clusters . . . the “highest heavens”.
Deut.22:6,7.
The principle of conservation. Take the eggs but leave the mother.
Scientists
today are urging people to care for animals because many of them are declining
in number. If this law in Deut. Had been followed there would still be dodos,
moa and a huge number of other now hunted-to-extinction species.
2
Sam.22:6 “channels of the sea”
Matthew
Maury, oceanographer and hydrographer read about the “paths of the seas” in
Psalm 8:8 and went looking for them. He discovered the ocean currents and helped
ships speed up their passage across the oceans.
Job
28:25 To make the weight
for the winds; and he weighs the waters by measure.
Long
before it was recognized that the air had weight, the Bible said that it did. It
also tells us that the water has weight – but the fact that the Earth is
covered by so much water, means that the effects of the sun and moon’s gravity
are balanced perfectly. The energy is dissipated in the water – the weight of
the water is precisely measured.
Ecc.1:6
The turning of the winds. (Also see Ecc.1:6)
Modern
science has confirmed that the air around the planet turns in huge circles,
clockwise in one hemisphere and anticlockwise in the other.
1Kings
7:15,16 The casting of the two massive bronze pillars is described.
Today
there are no known techniques whereby such a large amount of bronze can be
poured into such huge casts. This indicates that, in this case, technology has
gone backwards since the days of Solomon.
2
Kings 20:7 A fig poultice was placed on king Hezekiah to help in his cure.
Today
orthodox medicine is beginning to concede that some ‘natural’ remedies, such
as poultices, really do work just as effectively as ‘modern’ medicines.
1
Chron.16:15 “the word which He commanded to a thousand generations”. This
may be just a poetic expression, but it is interesting to note that not even 100
generations have passed since Abraham. By setting the limit at 1000 the writer
included our present generation.
Many
people today think that the word of God is ancient history, but God says 1000
generations, which includes all people living today.
Job
9:9 “the chambers of the south”. Bullinger says “The hidden recesses of
that latitude, the invisible spaces”.
Outer
space is now known to contain huge expanses of nothing. The structure of the
universe has been likened to a sponge, or a mass of bubbles, with the galaxies
forming the skin of the bubbles. Consequently there are utterly astounding
spaces between the galaxy clusters.
The
greatness of God is compared to the height of heaven. Logically, heaven must be
infinite because if it were not, then God would not be.
Modern
astronomy has found that the further we look, the more there is. The universe is
infinite.
Job
26:8 “He binds up the waters in His thick clouds, and it is not rent under
them”
The
average thunderstorm contains about 100,000 tons of water. Imagine, 100,000 tons
of water floating about in the sky! All that water just sits there, without
crashing down, or rending the cloud.
Job
26:8 It (the Earth) is turn as clay to the seal” The illusion is to the curved
seal which was rolled across the clay to leave an impression. By using this
expression the writer relays the idea that the earth turns.
Modern
science teaches that the Earth spins on its axis.
Heb.11:3
“the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear”
Modern
science has revealed that ‘invisible’ things called atoms and subatomic
particles are the basis on which all visible things are built.
Job
26:7 “He . . . hangs the Earth upon nothing”
It
was not until modern science was able to see the Earth floating in space that
the Bible was shown to be absolutely true. The speed at which the Earth orbits
the sun, and the gravity which holds it in place are so finely balanced that
Earth stays almost exactly where God set it, millennium after millennium.
Job
38:16 “the springs of the sea”. (Also Prov.8:28)
Modern
deep sea diving cameras have discovered amazing hot-water vents on the floor of
the oceans. These thermal vents release huge amounts of mineral rich
super-heated water – springs in the darkness.
Job
38:24 “light is parted” as in a prism.
Isaac
Newton studied light and discovered that white light is made of seven colours,
which can be “parted” from the white, and then recombined to make white
again.
Job
38:31 “Can you bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of
Orion?” Here reference is made to some very distant constellations – thought
by most people to be too far away to have any effect on our planet.
Modern
science has confirmed that Pleiades is a remarkable point in the solar system,
like the center of a gigantic wheel (so I have read). But even more remarkable
is the fact that now scientists agree on the all-pervasive power of gravity.
Anything with mass affects, even in unimaginably tiny ways, everything else in
the universe. Gravity has an effect through all things, and over all distances.
The “bands” of Orion cannot be loosed, because gravity is a force which no
human can shake off or defeat.
Job
40,41. In these two chapters are what appear to be clear descriptions of
dinosaurs. There were dinosaurs on Noah’s Ark, and they populated the planet
as they moved away from the Ark. For different reasons the dinosaurs died out
along with many other creatures (i.e. sabre tooth tigers, mammoths, giant
dragonflies, etc) but some people were still eye-witnesses to them.
Most
scientists totally deny the possibility that Man and dinosaurs were
contemporaries, mainly because of the Theory of Evolution, but there is mounting
evidence that Man and dinosaurs lived together. Legends, cave drawings,
inscriptions in stone, and so on are gradually challenging the assumptions, and
some scientists are beginning to change their minds.
Psalms
7:15 He made a pit, and digged
it,
and is fallen into the ditch which he made.
It
is remarkable how ‘natural justice’ operates. Time and time again the
perpetrators of evil acts become the victims of their own crimes. For example,
the inventor of the guillotine was the first person to be killed by it. But in
the broader sense, the most satisfying story is where the ‘villain’ gets his
‘just desserts’ – for example when the emperor in Star Wars dies, or when
Prince John in Robin Hood loses all his money and throne to the returned king
Richard. People crave a ‘happy ending’ because that is the hard wiring of
the whole universe. Evil is always defeated, good always triumphs in the end.