Is The Bible Reliable? Has It Been Altered?

How can we know that the Old and New Testament are the authoritative and true "Word of God?" There are many people who say, "The Bible has been changed and altered over time." How do you know? Actually, it hasn't. In a previous entry, I discussed the origin and unity of the Bible, and on another instance discussed how we can know that the 66 books found in the Bible are the correct books, though that issue will be talked about in this entry as well. (Photo credit to: Scripture a Day, Oxford's United in Christ Church, BBC)

Christianity, Judaism, and Islam base some of their beliefs, concepts, and ideals on the Hebrew Old Testament. Christianity utilizes both the Old and New Testament, claiming that Jesus, a carpenter from Nazareth but born of the royal bloodline of King David in Bethlehem - is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament.

Further claims are made that Christianity is the fulfillment of Judaism, that when Jesus came, he established a new covenant, fulfilling the old. (See entry: "Covenants: Old and New") The Bible is comprised of 66 books, by 40 different authors, all of which inspired by God who wrote through them, over a span of 1500-1600 years.

The general story told in the Bible is as follows: we see the historical account of God's plan to rescue humanity from the destruction and corruption caused by the Fall of Man, a plan that was revealed over time, through his prophets, and realized - as well as carried out by - His Son, Jesus Christ.

In Nothing But Truth, Brian Edwards said this, "The Holy Spirit moved men to write. He allowed them to use their own style, culture, gifts and character, to use the results of their own study and research to write of their own experiences and to express what was in their mind. At the same time, the Holy Spirit did not allow error to influence their writings; he overruled in the expression of thought and in choice of words. Thus they recorded accurately all that God wanted them to say ad exactly how he wanted them to say it, in their own character, style and language."

Well said. While many people try to undermine the unity of the Bible, saying that other gospels and books were left out, there are many reasons as to why they were left out. It may be that the teachings do not agree with the rest of God's Word. It may be that a book has historical and biblical inconsistencies such as Judith or Tobit. It may be that the book is not clearly divine in origin. The Apocrypha goes against clear teachings of scripture, makes contradictory statements, and shows many historical inaccuracies and inconsistencies.

The 1st century historian Josephus recorded, "For we have an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from and contradicting one another [as the Greeks have] but only twenty-one books, which contain the records of all past times; which are justly believed to be divine." (Against Apion, Book 1, Ch. 8) The reason there are only 22 is because Josephus is referring to the Old Testament. In the Hebrew Bible, books such as 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, Ezra and Nehemiah, etc, are grouped together and counted as one, thus he reason he states 21 instead of 39.

The Apocrypha, a group of 14 books, written between the end of the Old Testament (around 400 BC) and the start of the New Testament were never considered a part of Hebrew Scripture. Part of the reason is because the Jews looked forward to a "faithful prophet," (1st Maccabees 14:41), because there was no prophet in the land, and therefore were ruled out, as the Apocrypha confesses. (1st Maccabees 9:27) To note, Jesus and his apostles never quoted the Apocrypha, and Josephus did not consider it canon.

In the 3rd century BC, the Old Testament was translated into Greek. This became known as the Septuagint, meaning "70," as there were supposedly 70-72 men involved in the translation process. The Dead Sea Scrolls, which were discovered near Wadi Qumran in 1947 were a very important discovery and evidence for Christianity and the authority of scripture - they were essentially time capsules that had been hidden for 2000 years. Portions of every book of the Old Testament - save for Esther - were discovered, and in the 825-870 writings found, the Old Testament books are frequently quoted.

The Apocrypha is not mentioned, and there were no other books contending for Old Testament canon. There are hundreds of direct quotations - and allusions - to Old Testament passages made by Jesus and the apostles. If the apostles ever quote from another source, it is never with the same authority. Prime example: Jude alludes to and quotes the Book of Enoch, Jude 14-15. Yes, sometimes the early church leaders quoted from the Apocrypha, but never compared with the Old Testament, and emphasized the fallacies of the Apocrypha. There is no evidence that the early leaders treated the Old Testament and Apocrypha as equals.

We did not need a list of New Testament books until 367 AD by Athanasius of Alexandria, but long before the list, the 27 books were accepted as Scripture. Why did it take so long for the books to be gathered together? The originals had been scattered across the Roman Empire, which spanned from Britain to Persia. It would have taken time for any church to learn about the letters of Paul, even gather copies.

No scroll could very easily contain more than 1-2 books or letters. Scrolls were not long enough. Also, the first century Christians that the Second Coming of Christ would occur within their lifetime, and therefore were not planning the future of the church. Are there any other reasons why it took so long for a list to be made of the New Testament? The early church leaders had already assumed that the Gospels and epistles showed their authority to be self-evident, and therefore did not need a list.

It was when heretics began to attack the truth of the Bible that the importance of canon became an issue. Gnostics began to write their own gospels and letters, their own false writings, such as the Gospel of Judas, though it was not finally shown to the public until 2006. There are many reasons why the Gospel is not included in scripture, but mainly because it changes the role of Judas from a betrayer to savior - which goes against the clear teaching of Scripture - and historical evidence.

Now, what do we know for a fact about New Testament canon? There were only four gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - used by the churches for the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Gnostics gospels were immediately rejected by the church. Acts and the letters of Paul were all accepted without hesitation, earliest records show. The other books of the New Testament were confirmed as canon and accepted by 180 AD.

However, Long before the end of the first century, Clement of Rome quoted and alluded to more than half of the New Testament, claiming that Paul wrote "in the Spirit" and that Paul's letters were Scripture. There are many other examples of such instances. By 240 AD, Origen of Alexandria used all 27 of the New Testament books as Scripture, and only the 27, alongside the 39 of the Old Testament - 66 books.

How were these ancient texts tested? There were give tests a book went through - Apostolic (does it come from an apostle?), followed by Authentic (does it have the ring of truth?), then Ancient (has it been around from the earliest of times closest to dates being described), then Accepted (are most churches using it?), concluded by Accurate (does it conform to the orthodox [traditional] teachings of the church?). Now of course, each test had specific details and things involved, but we will not get into that in this entry.

In The Canon of the New Testament, Bruce Metzger says, "There [is], in fact, no historical data that prevents one from acquiescing in the conviction held by the Church Universal that, despite the very human factors.... in their production, preservation, and collection of the books of the New Testament, the whole process can also be rightly characterized as a result of divine overruling."

People claim that the Bible is full of contradictions. Actually, it is not, but this will be discussed at length in an upcoming entry. While this is an important part of proving the reliability and authority of scripture, we must understand that all of the supposed Bible contradictions are easily explained. Now, why should we believe the Bible? For several reasons.

For one, it claims to be the Word of God. Now, it is true that other books, such as the Qur'an claims to be the Word of God. But we see that the historical accuracy of the Islamic word does not prove authentic. The Old and New Testament appear to be God's Revelation to man. 2nd Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." We also understand that the writers were divinely inspired. 2nd Peter 1:20-21, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

The Bible shows itself to be God's Word. We see that each and every time there is a historical or scientific fact in the Bible, that fact is proven true. (shape of the earth, underwater currents, prevailing winds, universe made up of atoms, etc) For example, when we see a civilization in the Bible that we have no proof of, archaeology eventually finds evidence that the Bible, once again, is confirmed: the civilization did exist.

We can look at Bible Prophecy, which makes up between 28-30% of the Bible, and see the fulfilled prophecies. Many preachers and pastors in recent years, though not all, tend to leave prophecy out of their lessons, saying that it is "too open to interpretation." No it isn't. If God did not want us to learn and study prophecy, he would have left out 30% of the Bible. But we see that many prophecies in the Bible have already been fulfilled. Jesus Christ himself fulfilled the Messianic prophecies (over 60-100), we see fulfillment in things such as the destruction and rebirth of Israel, (70 and 1948 AD, respectively) reigns of such prominent individuals as Alexander the Great, the invention of cars, airplanes, the atomic bomb, and many other things. (See entry: "The End Times (Part One)")

The idea that the Bible has changed over time comes from a childhood game. We see this happen all the time. One child whispers to his friend sitting next to him, which continues until all the way down the row, by the time it reaches the last person, what was originally conveyed is completely changed. However, this, contrary to popular belief, has not happened with the Bible. We may not have the original documents, but we have copies - and thousands of them.

Since we have thousands of copies of both the Old and New Testament, we can determine that scholars meticulously and careful copied the sacred texts. How? Here's a famous example. One man is given his mother's recipe for chocolate-chip cookies. 50 of his friends want the recipe, so he allows them to make copies. The friends of his friends wants copies, so on and so forth, and eventually, there are over 2000 copies. If the original copy is lost, so does that make all of the other copies incorrect, or changed? No!

Why? Here's the reason: say perhaps that one person misspelled a word in the copy process. Say another missed an ingredient, and another intentionally left out some of the directions. That's only three out of fifty who copied the original. That is still 47 true copies. By looking back at the oldest texts available, we find that nothing has changed in the Bible, only the translation. Now, are there inconsistencies and issues in texts in some English versions? Yes, but not in ALL copies. Some copies, such as the KJV, NAS, and NIV are correct, while others, which have come to be known by their glaring typos, spelling errors, or what have you, have not.

For example, the Ears to Ears Bible (1810) states in Matthew 13:43, "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." It is supposed to be, "He who hath..." and we know this because of Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and other translations, as well as older documents and texts. Another example is the 1653 KJV version (this was fixed later) - in 1st Corinthians 6:9, "The unrighteous shall inherit the kingdom of God." The correct translation says, "The unrighteous shall NOT inherit the kingdom of God."

But  we see here is an example of the recipe concept. Merely because a only a few translations "got it wrong," changing a minor thing here and there, certainly does not negate the fact that thousands of other translations have been shown be 100% accurate. The only difference between say, the King James Version, and the New International Version, is language structure. Those who speak English typically do not walk up to someone and say, "How fares thy day, be it good, or be bad? Thou shalt not complain, we all have days such as this."

But we may say, "How's your day going? Is it an okay day?" Now that isn't to say that some have more advanced vocabulary than others, but since the structure of our language has changed in the last four hundred years since the KJV was translated, a newer version, better understandable and readable to today's generation had to be made, one of the many resulting translations was the NIV.

Now, going back to this recipe model. Even if each of the 2000 people made one mistake per copy - be it spelling, punctuation, missing or adding a word, or what have you, how would you be able to know what the original recipe looked like? Not every person copying will make the same mistakes. Say for example, chocolate is spelled "chokolate" by one recipe. All 1999 other copy's have "chocolate," so by comparing each copy, we can determine the original.

The Dead Sea Scrolls gives us another example. One of the scrolls that was found was Isaiah from 250 BC - to the Masoretic Text of the 11th century AD. Scholars were able to compare and by looking at the 1300 year difference... they found a 99.8% exactly the same language. (The language structure has changed) Many of the other writings from the Dead Sea Scrolls confirmed the historicity of the New Testament, confirming the culture, events in the first century, and what have you, giving even more credence to the biblical accounts.


Oxford Scholar Eugene Ulrich was quoted as saying, "The scrolls have shown that our traditional Bible has been amazingly and accurately preserved for over 2000 years." The Dead Sea Scrolls showed that the texts were very carefully preserved and copied correctly - down to every punctuation mark. There are other significant translations, the Septuagint and Masoretic Text were already mentioned, The Aleppo Codex from the 10th century AD, and Saint Jerome's 4th century translation now used by Roman Catholic Churches - the Vulgate.

Jesus says in Matthew 24:35, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." Since Jesus was also God, he was stating that his Word, the Word of God, will never pass away. To this day, his words remain true. No matter how many times people have tried to destroy his Word by burning it, or by other means, it is still there. Our earliest manuscripts for each book aren't millenniums removed - they are mere decades, if even. Greek, the language in which the New Testament was written in, is known for careful and meticulous perfection in translating.

So when the Greeks translated the Old Testament, they Greek scholars made sure they had each and every little thing correct, even down to the punctuation. Now, it is true that there are several versions of the English Bible that are odd. We look at the RSV, the NIV, and perhaps the NET. Though all three were translated by different groups with different philosophies - not one "cardinal truth" has changed. All three teach the same thing.

No, we do not have the originals, just imperfect copies. However, we have a tremendous amount of copies of the Old and New Testament. There are 1,000's of copies in Greek alone - and many quotations from both used by different writers throughout the time of the Bible's writing. Since we can look at the earliest manuscripts, along with translations within a few years of the earliest manuscripts - and see that it is self-evident: all show unity.

We have now been able to determine that 99% of the New Testament is accurate. What is the 1%? Name spellings. The name John, for instance, may have been spelled as John or Johnn. That is the only inaccuracy, and that is not due to God's infallible Word, merely a mishap from man - which does not in any sway the reliability and authority of scripture. The name changing for John does not mean much - William Shakespeare's last name was spelled a plethora of different ways until it was decided to spell it Shakespeare.

The Bible has more historical and textual evidence than any other ancient manuscript. What you read is what was written, only not in the same language. The Bible is also not like other "sacred books," like the Qu'ran. (Koran) The Bible is mostly history, with prophecy, poetry, the like involved, but it is at the most history. We can compare other writings to see that very little of the historical narrative of the Bible is still in question - more and more biblical history is proved, again confirming the authenticity and reliability of God's Word.

The seven-inch spike lodged in a man's heel bones was found in a Roman tomb a few years back, confirming that Romans truly did crucify people - and afterwards more evidence was found. The concept put out by critics was that Jesus was tied to the cross, not nailed, as the Bible clearly states, because "Romans did not crucify." We found evidence that they did.

If all of this is true, that means that a man named Jesus Christ truly did die on the cross... and that by fulfilling prophecy, he is not only the Messiah, but the Son of God, God himself, who came to die for our past, present and future sins. If you've never accepted Jesus as your Lord and savior, I would invite you to do so - you never know how much longer you have on this Earth, and I can assure you that the alternative is not pleasant. If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and if you believe in your heart that he is risen from the dead, and ask God for forgiveness of sins, because we have broken his commandments, you will be saved. (Romans 6:23, Luke 13:28, Romans 10:9)

I hope this entry has proven helpful and insightful. Thank you for reading this double-length entry of "The Truth," on the reliability of Scripture. To answer the title, yes, the Bible is reliable, and no, it has not been altered. Feel free to email vexx801@yahoo.com, visit the facebook page for "The Truth," or comment below. God bless, take care. Troy Hillman

Is the Ice Age Biblical?

In today's world, we hear a lot about the "Ice Age." No, not the cgi-series from Blue Sky Studios. When Creationists are asked about an Ice Age, when it took place, and if it is biblical, many answer that there never was an Ice Age, bringing an onslaught of attacks from the secular scientific community. However, there is evidence to prove otherwise: there was an Ice Age. But how many Ice Ages? Where and when did it occur? (Credit to Mike Oard of AiG for his information and calculations, Picture Credit to: Cosmos Magazine, Top News)

We see from all around us, from the three Ice Age films (and the fourth, to be released in 2012), to TV shows, to textbooks used in schools, all over the idea of many Ice Ages over millions of years is evident and prevalent. As Christians, we ought to examine the evidence for ourselves, and by using deductive reasoning and drawing logical conclusions, connect the dots, and understand where and when the Ice Age took place.

On a biblical basis, yes, there was an Ice Age. We find evidence of glacial movements and an Ice Age all over - but not worldwide. There was only one Ice Age, which lasted for approximately 700 years directly after the Global Flood, and the Ice Age was centralized in then North. The Ice Age covered about 30% of the land. There is a scriptural basis for this age, as we will take a look at, but for now, bear with me. What we discover lines up with what we read in Genesis 7-8.

We see that moraines (debris that were carried and dropped by a glacier, including stones and boulders), glaciers, fossil record, flood rocks, and ice cores all support and provide evidence for an Ice Age.How do we know that secularists are incorrect in their assumptions? They have a great difficulty in explaining any recent ice ages based on rates in which they observe today.

There have been many hypotheses proposed, but all have flaws. For example, one problem is that the summer temperatures located in the northern U.S. would have had to cool to more than 50°F (28°C) - and it would have been accompanied by a large increase in snowfall. But what would trigger - or sustain - such a dramatic climate change that would persist for thousands of years? Though the secular community has many theories, they to this day admit that they do not know what caused the Ice Age.

Creationist Mike Oard, is quoted as saying, "Ancient ice ages have been somewhat controversial over the years, but recently some uniformitarian scientists have come out with the shocking belief that some Proterozoic ice ages were global. This belief is based on paleomagnetic data that supposedly shows certain rocks, believed to be from ancient ice ages, were marine and equatorial. Because of the reflection of sunlight from a white surface, it is likely that a glaciated earth would never melt. However, advocates of “snowball earth” state not only that such a glaciation completely melted but also that temperatures following glaciation ended up much warmer than today. Such a “freeze-fry” hypothesis indicates that the concept of ancient ice ages is unsound."

Glacier

Now, what would be the requirements for an Ice Age? You need to have cooler summers, greater snowfall - and it needs to persist for many years. The Northern Regions of the globe show much evidence of an Ice Age - and the climate conditions perfectly fit within these parameters. Now, we understand that, by looking at the main evaporation areas in the West-East flow, we see dryer and cooler air going out from the North American continent over the Ocean - which produces strong evaporation.

We find that towards the end of the Ice Age, many animals suddenly just... disappeared. Around 70% (100 species) in North America died off and became extinct - including horses and camels. (Not all horses and camels died off, only those in North America) Asia and Europe lost around 75% of their species. Why did this happen? Many dust storms near the end of the Ice Age are said to be a prime factor in this. Thankfully, since this primarily occurred in the North (with some evidence in Australia), species re-populated - camels and horses from the Middle East, for example, later re-populated in North America.

Ice in Greenland and Antarctica is in some places 100's of miles deep and many miles wide. However, not enough snow falls to continue to build up these ice sheets, so all but the edges are cold deserts. Now, how does the Flood explain the Ice Age? When we look at flood rocks, we see thick layers of lava and volcanic ash. It is the volcanoes during the flood that led to the Ice Age, Creationists suggest.

How is this possible? There was a lot of warm water from the crustal movements would have released hot water from the earth that was added to the oceans as the global flood occurred. We also see that there were a lot of lava flows that heated the water. Fossil evidence suggests that over the course of the flood, the oceans were warmed up. Today, the average temperature of the ocean is about 39 degrees Fahrenheit. At the time, it may have been around 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Then, the oceans started to cool down - mainly because of evaporation. As the oceans cooled, heavy snow began to fall. Simulations show us that ice sheets go very far inland over cool continents. When the instability of the flood occurred across the earth, when the waters receded, there was a lot of volcanic activity - and as ash and dirt was thrown into the air, it began to block the warmth of sunshine. Once the oceans cooled enough, the evaporation slowed, the snow stopped, and the ice began to melt.

Calculations show us that the buildup of ice did not require thousands of years as we are taught in textbooks. From a biblical perspective, the warm world - later cooled because of the blocking of sunlight, the Ice Age only took a few centuries. The oceans cooled because aerosols and ash can stay in the atmosphere for years - thus the reason it took a few centuries to cool.

These simulations of precipitation in the northern and southern polar regions, using conventional climate models along with warm sea surface temperatures - have demonstrated to us that ice sheets that are thousands of feet thick, which we see today, could have accumulated in less than 500 years - which perfectly agrees with God's Word.

People will scoff at this biblical concept, however, no matter how much evidence they are shown, as with all biblical things. 2nd Peter 3:3-4, "Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their evil desires. They will say, 'Where is this coming he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.' But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed."

The general concept is as follows: The oceans became warm, because the "fountains of the deep" broke open (Genesis 7:11) at the start of the flood, and volcanoes erupted all over the world, mixing the water with hot lava and warming the oceans. The land became cold because the ash and dirt were thrown into the atmosphere, blocking the sun. The land had no forests to absorb the sun's rays because the vegetation across the world was still in the early stages - the flood had wiped out all life.

After this, snow clouds formed because the warm water evaporated and became warm vapor - and when it mixed with the cold air, storm clouds formed - which dumped thousands of feet of snow. To this day, it has never gotten warm enough to melt all of the snow, the heavy piles of snow turned into ice sheets at the North and South poles, as we can observe today. What we read in God's Word agrees with what we see in God's world.

Ice Sheet from Greenland

Since we see that the flood gives an explanation for the Ice Age, we would expect such an event to be mentioned in the Bible. It may be. Job 38:28-30, which was written by Moses near the end of the flood, may include a reference to the Ice Age. "From whose womb comes the ice? And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth? The waters harden like stone, and the surface of the deep is frozen.” It is possible that Job merely observed frost as well as lake ice during a winter in Palestine, most certainly because temperatures were colder due to the Ice Age.

But why is the Ice Age not directly referred to? It is most likely because the observed Scandinavian ice sheet along with the mountain ice caps were both farther north than the region in which God's Word was written. The only thing that would have been evident to those living in the area would be an increase in the snow cover of Mt. Hermon, or possibly more frequent snowfalls on the higher altitudes in the Middle East.

There are more examples of such references, but we will not get into these. If you would like more information on the evidence for the biblical Ice Age, see here. Again, scientific and historical evidence confirms the accuracy of the Bible. The Ice Age occurred because of the Flood, and only lasted for about 700 years - and, there was only one. This does not disagree with any evidence that we find. Common belief in the secular community is that there were many Ice Ages, over millions of years. But we find that the evidence is contrary to the belief, and that it confirms the biblical account.

I trust this entry has proven insightful and informative. For those who are more theological-minded than scientific, understand that there are many such questions as these that do have a biblical basis but need to be explained using good, observational Creation Science, and that others need to be able to answer the call of 1st Peter 3:15, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."

This may not have been the most theological-filled entry, yet the topic is still important, and is still relevant. Students all over are taught the concepts of Evolution, ideas about the Big-Bang, and ideas about Ice Ages that occurred over millions of years.

As Christians, we need to be ready and willing not only to give an answer for the hope we have, and answer the questions of others, but we need to teach our children, others around us, the truth. Thank you for taking the time to read this entry of, "The Truth." As always, you can email vexx801@yahoo.com, visit the facebook page, or comment below. May God bless you richly. Troy Hillman

Formed From the Dust

According to the Creation account found in Genesis 1-2, on the sixth day, God made man. Now, we are told that God formed man from the dust. Is this passage figurative, or literal? Are there other passages in God's Word that speak on this? Actually, there are. Is there any science behind this? Indeed, we find that science confirms what the Bible teaches us. (Photo Credit to: Michelangelo, "The Creation of Adam," 1511)

What we see in God's Word agrees with what we see in God's world. Understand that even if there was no science (yet) to back up the claims of the Bible, we as Christians are to believe by faith. Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." The literal Greek translation of this verse says, "Now faith is the reality of things being hoped for, the proof of things not being seen."

Now that we understand this, what does God tell us in his written revelation to mankind - about this topic? Genesis 2:7 says, "Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Many people say that it was a handful of dust. Why? It is because, when a body is cremated, depending on the size of the hands holding it, the amount of dust left is about a handful.

God tells Adam after the Fall, "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3:19) We see that the human body is made up of minerals - and materials - found in the earth. 63% of the human body is made up of hydrogen, 18% carbon, 25.5% oxygen, and 7% other. 

There are 59 elements in our bodies, and all 59 of them are from the earth. (Percentages estimated, some research shows that the body is 65% oxygen and 10% hydrogen, others show the reverse.) Of course, aside from the aforementioned elements, it is necessary for our bodies to have tin, silicon, fluorine, and vanadium.

So how did God form man? He formed him out of dust - mixed with water to produce clay. God molded the first man in his image. How do we know this? Job says to God in Job 10:9, "Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again?"

The human body is not only made up of dust of the earth, but water. The average human body is made up of 75% water - if water was combined with dust, it is only logical that it would produce clay. 

It is also true that the human body is not only comprised of dust and water. We have bones, muscles, the like. Does God's Word speak on this, too? Job 10:11-12 says, "[You] clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews[.] You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit."

Paul says in Romans 9:20-21, "But who are you, a mere human being, to talk back to God? 'Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,' 'Why did you make me like this?' [Isaiah 29:16; 45:9] Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for disposal of refuse?" We see that the concept that humans are formed of dust and water - clay - is concurrent throughout scripture. 

It is a good thing, for we are told in 2nd Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God's people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." When Paul is discussing our resurrection body, he tells us in 2nd Corinthians 15:47, "The first man [our current body] was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven." (Our future body in heaven)

As we see, God's Word is again confirmed. As I was doing research for this subject, someone had asked, "Why does it matter, why discuss this? There is no proof, I was not made of dust, and neither are you." To which my reply would have been, "How are you to know such a thing?" We have just seen that Biological research has proven that we are made of dust of the earth, along with water, to make clay - just as God's Word claims.

When we question the truthfulness of the Bible, we are questioning the Creator of the Universe. He has made all things. In him all things were made, and for him all things were made. We stand in reverence to him who came and died for our sins so that we would not have to, so that in accepting Jesus Christ as savior, we would be saved.

Even Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, "and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it." We find that when we take the time to examine these things, there is not only much we can learn from God's Word, but in it, we know that we will find truth. Psalm 139:13-14 says, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

I trust this article has proven informative and insightful. Feel free to comment below, email vexx801@yahoo.com, or visit the facebook. Take Care, dear reader, thank you for taking the time to read this entry of "The Truth." God bless. Troy Hillman

Sources for Percentages:

Soriano, Eliseo. "From Dust To Man: A Scientific Proof." esoriano. Wordpress, 05-25-2007. Web. 26 Nov 2010. 

"Only Human?." American Bible Society Presents: Inside the Mysteries of The Bible. 2010: 16-17. Print.

What Are You Thankful For?

Traditionally, around this time of year, people celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving. With its roots in Christianity, each year on the fourth Thursday of November, people from all over recount the story of the Pilgrim's Thanksgiving with the Native Americans. (Second Monday in Canada) Although many Americans assume the first Thanksgiving was celebrated at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621, there is evidence that is may have been celebrated as early as 1565 in Florida and 1578 in Canada. (Photo credit to: CDF Worldview)

However, unlike many other websites, blogs, and other sources today, I will not be covering the history of thanksgiving. I may another time, but it may be best to take a moment, and think. Ask yourself, "what am I thankful for?" Personally, I am thankful for the friends and family that the Lord has given me.

I am thankful for each day that I am given to further his kingdom, to learn, and spread truth. But ultimately, I am thankful that that the Creator of the Universe would enter into his creation to die on a cross, suffering pain and anguish to pay the penalty for each and every sin we have and ever will ever commit - for our past, present, and future sins - that He would go to such great lengths just so that we could be saved from the fires of Hell, so He suffered death for us that we may live with him in paradise.

As this is a celebrated holiday, let us take a look at what God's Word tells us about thankfulness - and what we can be thankful for. Psalm 31:19 says, "How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of all on those who take refuge in you. In the shelter of your presence you hide them from all human intrigues; you keep them safe in your dwelling from accusing tongues." Amen.

Psalm 95:1-6, "Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and make joyful noise unto him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord God our Maker." Thank you, Lord.

Again, the intention of this entry is merely to think to ourselves, not of the bad in life, because we could complain on and on - but to give thanks, to glorify the Lord. Psalm 100 says, "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever his faithfulness continues through all generations."

Psalm 107:1, "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love endures forever." (See entry: "His Love Endures Forever") 1st Chronicles 29:11-13 says, "Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name." 

Again, we ought to examine our hearts and minds. What are we truly thankful for? Is it our job? Our home? Our lives? Our family? Friends? Some are dissatisfied with theirs, others are not. Perhaps we are thankful for the little things. For the ability to breath, to walk, to taste, to breath. To smell, to hear, to whistle, to laugh. Some have impaired ability in these areas, others do not, making us treasure them and be thankful all the more.

Perhaps you are thankful to be simply be alive. Maybe you are thankful for a friend, a family member. Maybe a companion, or perhaps a pet. Maybe you are thankful for God's Creation. We all have different reasons to be thankful.

Regardless of when you may be reading this, be it the day of Thanksgiving, or any other day of the year, I hope you can find something to be thankful for. There is a song, based off of several different Psalms, which I believe fits this entry perfectly. Here are the lyrics - by no one in particular, there are many covers of this song, it is a well-known song:

"This is the day, this is the day
That the Lord hath made, that the Lord hath made
We will rejoice, we will rejoice
And be glad in it, and be glad in it
This is the day that the Lord hath made
We will rejoice and be glad in it
This is the day, this is the day
That the Lord hath made"

"I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart
I will enter His courts with praise
I will say this is the day that the Lord has made
I will rejoice for he has made me glad"

"He has made me glad, He has made me glad
I will rejoice for He has made me glad
He has made me glad, He has made me glad
I will rejoice for He has made me glad!"

Are we thankful for the sacrifice Jesus Christ gave so that we can live through him? Some of you who are reading this may not be Christian. Each person has different reasons. Perhaps you were raised in church, but when you were taught by the world, though you attended church, you did not believe it any more than you would a fairy tale. Perhaps you have seen the evidence for God, the proof, but do not believe it - will not accept it, for certain reasons. 

Perhaps you do not believe because you believe it implausible. As said, each person has their own reasons. By taking a look at past entries, you can get a taste of some of the evidences for Creation, for the existence of God, for the truth of Christianity. But what each and every person needs to understand is this: The Creator of the Universe entered into his Creation, to live a perfect life, and die on a cross, literally giving his blood to atone - to cover, pay the penalty, for the sins of humanity. 

Every sin that you have ever committed, every sin that you will ever commit - he died, paying the penalty for those sins, so that you would not have to. But what happened? The Creator, Jesus Christ, born in the town of Bethlehem, raised as a carpenter in Nazareth, never having studied what we now call the Old Testament, taking on a three-year ministry of preaching, teaching, healing, and miracles - ending with his death on a cross... was concluded three days later, by his resurrection. 

It is in this resurrection that we find our hope. God tells us all throughout his Word that whoever believes that his Son, Jesus Christ, died and rose again, and accepts him as Savior, also confessing their sins to God - asking forgiveness for sins - will be saved. We have hope, "because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself." (2nd Corinthians 4:14) If you have never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, here is an open invitation to do so. We ought to be thankful that Jesus Christ died for our sakes so that we may live.

We have a lot to be thankful for.  Colossians 3:15-17 says, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through the psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Thank you for taking the time to read this entry of "The Truth." I understand that this has not been the most informative, insightful entry, but that was not the intention. Sometimes, we need to just sit back, take a moment, and think to ourselves... What are we thankful for? As always, email vexx801@yahoo.com, comment, or you can visit the facebook. God bless - and I ask once more - What Are You Thankful For? Troy Hillman

Science in Brief: Did People Really Live To Be Almost 1,000 Years Old?

Were our ancestors once able to live to the age of 1,000? Does science show us that this is possible, or even probable? Is this question of aging from the Book of Genesis fact... or myth? The Bible is not work to record long life. The Chinese, the Greeks, the Romans, the Chinese, and the Indians all have claims of long life spans - found in secular literature. (Photo Credit to: Spectra Cell, 21st Floor)

Every now and then I delve into a subject in a very scientific manner, so for those who seek theology in this entry, it is here, but it is also very scientific in nature, as it is used to answer the question. The title, "Science in Brief," may be a bit misleading, as topics like this are not brief. Thankfully, many things have been written on this subject, and this entry is merely an overview of the selected observances.

When a change occurs, regardless of what type of change, there is a point where things change, where things shift. For example, once someone loses a limb in an accident, it cannot grow back, no matter how hard they try. Once you burn a log, and it has turned to ash, you cannot change it to its previous state. The energy is still consistent, but the form has changed. When certain changes occur, they cannot be undone, a bit like a rubicon - a point of no return.

Why is it that all organisms are programmed to die even though they could live longer? To draw a valid, scientific, logical approach to this subject, we need to look at the point of change. In this instance, there are two major points. God created the world around 6,000 years ago, 4004 BC. The Global Flood occurred around 2348 BC. When Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, all of creation fell to sin.

Adam and Eve were created without sin and with the ability to live forever. However, when they sinned, they lost this ability - and could only live to the age of 1000. God had commanded them not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, for if they did, they and their descendants would die. (Genesis 2:16-17) This came to pass. Since Adam and Eve disobeyed God's command, they lost the ability to live forever, and died spiritually - the physical death did happen, but not until much later in life.

Merely because people do not live as long today does not mean that in the past, people could not live longer. Flavius Josephus, a 1st Century historian believed the reason why our ancestors lived longer is because they had better food. Take this into consideration: when we see that the average age around, perhaps, Middle Ages, was around 30-40 years of age, does that means that people could not live longer? No. We find that, occasionally, there were older men and women who were eighty years old. Merely because of an average age does not mean we are limited to such an age.

We find that in recent studies, in the last century alone, people have been able to live longer. Why is this? Better sanitation, better nutrition, better medical care, the like. The question is, if people could live to be at least 900, why can we not live this long today? What changed? As pointed out, the Fall of Man limited our life - now everything which has a beginning must have an end. But there must have been another catalyst. What substantially and irrevocably changed the world? The Flood did.

When we take a look at the first 1500 years after creation, men and women lived for long periods of time. This changed after the Flood. Methuselah lived to be 969, holding a record, the youngest being Lamech at 777 - both men between Adam and Noah. (Although Enoch lived to be 365, but like Elijah, was translated into Heaven by God. See entry: "Who Was Enoch, The Man Who Never Died?")

However, when we take a look at the 1000 years following the Great Flood, we see that while Noah lived to be 950, living for 350 years after the Flood, there is a progression in the aging from the time of Shem to Abraham - 600 to 175, and even to Moses - at the age of 120. (Deuteronomy 34:7) Moses was actually considerably old for the period he lived in, as he said in Psalm 90:10, "Our days come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away."

Many people assume that God set our lifespan at 120. Genesis 6:3 is cited, "Then the Lord said, 'My Spirit will not contend with human beings forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years." As Moses stated in Psalm 90:10, the average lifespan of a human being nowadays is between 70-80, though some live longer. People who live to be over 100 become known as centarians.

In my youth, I'd believed that God meant that we were only able to live to be 120. However, many people after the flood lived to be an average of 450, eventually winding down to about 80-120 years. It is true that now, we can only live around 1/10 of our original ages before the Flood. However, when God said "their days will be a hundred and twenty years," he was referring to this: 120 years passed between the time he made that statement and the completion of the Ark, followed by the Flood. He had only given humanity 120 years left - aside from the eight people on the Ark.

There is also plenty of extra-biblical evidence to support long life spans. Take the Sumerian King list, for example. The list mentions a great flood and gives the lengths of the reigns of kings who lived before and after the flood - and their ages. The lifespans seen support the biblical account. Now, what are some of the causes that changed the aging process, decreasing our life spans so drastically?

When we look at the fossil record, we see that before the Flood, the Earth appears to have had a tropical environment. Due to the Flood, there was a dramatic change in climate across the globe - one of which is the Ice Age (which lasted for 700 years after the Flood) that covered almost 30% of the Earth with ice - though it was primarily in the northern regions. Some people believe that diets may have affected aging.

Before the Flood, people had a vegetarian diet. (Genesis 1:29) We can look at the prophet Daniel  also, who had asked to have a vegetarian diet while in Babylonian captivity. (Daniel 1:8-16) The issue? Having a vegetarian diet has not been shown to make one live longer than someone who kept meat in their diet. Others point to the environmental changes, as aforementioned, as mechanisms for change.

After the Flood, the vegetation, sea life, and land life had all been dramatically reduced and, for the most part, had to start over again. Some Creationists believe that there was a "water vapor canopy" that surrounded the Earth before the Flood that protected humans from harmful UV Radiation and such. While there are issues with the Water Vapor Canopy, it is plausible.

But what causes aging in our body? Even today, after much biomedical research, we still do not have a definitive answer to that question. There are factors, determinants, if you will, that can affect individual aging: hereditary diseases, genetic traits, mutations, what have you. Mutations are merely any change within a sequence of DNA, and cause a loss of information, not an adage of information. We can inherit mutations from our parents.

What about genetic bottlenecks? Genetic bottlenecks occur when large portions of a population die of or small portions become largely isolated to only a few. We see a bottleneck occur at the time of the Flood, when the population of the Earth dropped from millions, perhaps billions of people - to only 8. When we look at lifespans of people born after the Flood, Eber, over 464, has the longest lifespan. (Genesis 11:16-17)

We do see examples of genetic determinants affecting our life spans. Telomeres, for example. Telomeres are long, repetitive sequences of DNA that are located at the ends of human chromosomes. They are believed to play a vital role in aging. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres shorten because of the inability of an enzyme that copies DNA - to go to the end of the chromosome. (Credit to: P. Monaghan and M. Haussmann)

When the telomeres becomes too short, the cells stop diving. This serves as a mechanism of aging control. The longer your telomeres, the longer you can live, because your cells can replace themselves more times. Each time a cell divides, it is copied, as stated. As it moves along, copying the DNA, it takes up room on the DNA, and when it gets to the end, it stops - and cannot copy the rest of the DNA. Hopefully, this will make sense.

If the first men and women could live to be 1,000 years old, and now there is a defect in our system, and we live to be 70-80, sometimes longer, some have suggested that we have a long-term progeria. Progeria is defined as "a disease that produces rapid aging, beginning in childhood." It has been suggested, what if we do not realize that we are suffering from a type of rapid aging disease - that causes short telomeres?

Reproductive cells have an enzyme called telomerase. It goes to the end of replicated DNA, and makes the telomeres longer. In the past, this may have been different. This gene is turned off during the development of the fetus. Inside your cell is something that would help you to live for longer, if not hypothetically forever - but it is turned off.

Before I continue, I want to point something out. Our body does not truly get older as we age. Many parts of our body are continually replicating and repairing themselves. For example, your body is creating - and killing - 15 million red blood cells per second. Your body entirely replaces your red blood cell count in 90 days, whereas white blood cells are replaced nearly every week. We are made up of about 100 trillion cells.

Some other examples are as follows: the cell lining in our intestines fully replaces itself every four days, epidermal cells that cover the surface of our skin never get older than one month - new cells are produced deep in the epidermis, whereas older cells come off the surface. There are many other such examples, but since this blog is supposed to be salvation centered and about the truth at heart, we will attempt to bring the point home.

Why do we age, then, if our body is constantly repairing and replacing itself? Ought we live forever, hypothetically? Hypothetically, yes. It is because there are certain parts of our body - key parts, mind you, that fail to replicate themselves. Take nerve cells from our brain for example - along with nerve cells from our inner ear and eye. From the time of birth, we lose thousands of nerve cells each minute from our system, and are never replaced. That is the reason why, as we grow older, we loose the ability to see, hear, recollect, taste, smell, the like.

In the 1960's, Leonard Hayflick discovered that human fetal cells can only divide between 40 to 60 times. (The Hayflick Limit) He had discovered that there is a built-in genetic clock that limits the growth. This seems to be what controls our aging process. So even though cells can repair and replace themselves, there is only a certain number of times they can do so. This is the limiting factor.

So why would the ages have declined from Noah to Shem in the first place, if change did not occur at first? Noah lived for 350 years after the Flood, as pointed out earlier, and was the third longest lived person recorded in the Bible, after Jared at 962 years and Methuselah at 969 years. The environmental changes may have affected aging, yes, but the change may have been gradual. Going back again to genetic bottlenecks.

There may have been eight people on the Ark, but it was only six of these that had offspring after the flood. Noah and his wife had no more children after Ham, Shem, and Japheth. (Genesis 10) All three men inherited their genes from the same parents, though their wives did not. After the Flood, ages do drop suddenly. Shem may have died from a hereditary disease on his mother's side, as she is not mentioned 106 years later when Noah is drunk, and may have died shortly after the flood because of a disease.

The Tower of Babel was another genetic bottleneck. The ages drop from around 450 down to 235 for a few generations after the dispersion at the Tower. Immune systems may have also not been as good due to atmospheric and environmental changes, resulting in an easier spread of infectious diseases. The question, "Did the First People Really Live To Be Almost 1,000?" deserves an answer.

The answer is yes. We have sufficient evidence to prove that people lived this long in the beginning. Old Earth Creationists may point out that death and suffering were around before the Fall of Man. However, if this were so, then it would be calling Jesus Christ, the Son of God, a hypocrite, for he said in Mark 10:6, "But at the beginning of creation God made them male and female."

It is because of the Fall of Man at the beginning of creation that we require a Savior. The Law given to Moses also requires us to follow it - the Ten Commandments. However, because we have broken God's Law, and because the wages of sin is death, (Romans 6:23) we are all condemned to a literal place - Hell. How can we be saved? By accepting the truth - the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus Christ, who entered into his creation to die for all of humanity, that if you accept him as your personal Lord and Savior, and believe in your heart that he died and rose from the dead, asking also for forgiveness of your sins, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

Thank you for taking the time to read this entry of, "The Truth." I know this has been a long entry, but a good question deserves a good answer. For more information on this subject, be sure to visit AnswersInGenesis.org or Evidence4Faith.com - both of which are good, reliable Creationist Organizations and trusted Apologists. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, email vexx801@yahoo.com, comment below, or visit the facebook. God bless, dear reader. Troy Hillman

The Holy Trinity (Part Three)

The previous two entries have covered the biblical basis for "The Trinity," and discussed the pre-incarnate appearances of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament and briefly touched on the appearances of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. In this entry, we will take a look at the Holy Spirit's appearances in the Old Testament, briefly followed by the First Coming of Jesus Christ. (Photo credit to: AAA Jack)

As stated in the previous entry, God the Father spoke the Universe into existence (Genesis 1:1, Psalm 33:9) and the Holy Spirit acted, bringing life into the cosmos. (Genesis 1:2, Psalm 33:6) Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all their hosts by the breath (spirit) of His mouth.”


God’s entire deliverance of His people is by the Holy Spirit. (Isaiah 63:7-14).The Holy Spirit only works in and through people. He is never said to enter or fill a place, even the Tabernacle, like Yahweh or Jesus. His presence is known - and clearly shown - by His activity through people. The aforementioned Isaiah 63:10 says, "Yet they rebelled, and grieved his Holy Spirit." The name "Holy Spirit" is actually said.

When Moses is finding a replacement, he is to find a man "in whom is The Spirit." (Numbers 27:18) He finds Joshua, who leads the Israelites to Canaan after the death of Moses. Many leaders were, as Christians are, indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Othniel (Judges 3:9), Gideon (Judges 6:34), Jephthah (Judges 11.29), and Samson (Judges 14:6, 19; 15:14), were among such leaders. Samson being first, “stirred by the Spirit.” (Judges 13:25)

1st Samuel 10:10 says, "When he [Saul] and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came on him in power, and he joined in their prophesying." The Holy Spirit came upon Saul again in battle (1st Samuel 11:6), and left him when he did maintain and refused obedience towards God - and dwelled in David "from that day on." (1st Samuel  16:13-14)

After King David, no other King is recognized as having the "Spirit of God," not even Solomon the Wise. It is from this that the hope for a king with the "Spirit of God" sprung forth (Isaiah 11:1-2) - and God told the people that he was planning to send his Messiah to them at a future date. Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah.

When God's people refused to listen to His prophets, they were told that their actions are ‘not in accordance with the Spirit.’ (Isaiah 30:1) It was for this reason that their situation was hopeless, and will continue to be so until “the Spirit is poured forth from above” (Isaiah 32:15), producing righteousness and blessing, a hope which lies in our future.

The prophet Ezekiel, we are told, was carried about by the Spirit, sometimes referred to as a wind (Ezekiel 3:14 and others), and he says that “the word of the Lord came to me.” In Ezekiel 11:5 he says, “the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me,” causing him to speak God’s word, God's truth, because of the Holy Spirit. The future work of the Holy Spirit was also described throughout the Holy Spirit.

Not only that Jesus would send the Holy Spirit to work in and through those who accepted him, and that there would be a great purging, but that there would be a pouring out of His Spirit. Isaiah 44:4-5 says, “I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground. I will pour My Spirit upon your children, and My blessing upon your offspring.”

Jesus was prophesied about when Isaiah said in Isaiah 61:1-2, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to announce deliverance to those who are held captive and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are bruised.”

The prophet Joel added another dimension to the future work of the Holy Spirit. Joel 2:18-29 says, "I will send you corn and wine and oil, and you will be satisfied with it --- I will cause to come down for you the early rain and the later rain --- and the floors will be full of wheat --- I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten --- and you will eat in plenty and be satisfied --- and it will come about afterwards that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams and your young men will see visions, and also on the servants and maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days."

The Holy Spirit also appears throughout the Psalms. Psalm 51:11, "Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me." Psalm 139:7 says, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?” The Holy Spirit, like God the Father, is ever-present. Psalm 143:10 says, "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God, may your good Spirit lead me on level ground." As Christians, we ought to pray that Psalm.

It is truth - God sends the Advocate, his Holy Spirit, to lead us and help us. The Holy Spirit appears all throughout Scripture, and the Old Testament is no exception. The instances covered in this entry only scratch the surface of the appearances of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. Do not take my word, go look in God's Word, and read for yourself, and you will find this to be true.

This is especially true in the Psalms. The Psalms themselves are important because we see the work of the Holy Spirit working through many men through the ages. We see that God does not desert those who trust in Him, nor has he left them to struggle on their own. God has promised to help us, though we may not always have the kind of help we desire, or understand that our present suffering will somehow help us down the line.

Isaiah 41:13 says, "For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear, I will help you." I had mentioned that I would talk about the First Coming of Christ. In an upcoming entry, I will devote it to the topic of the First Coming of Christ, as the topic of the Second Coming of Christ was covered not too long ago, however, we will touch on this briefly.

When the Creator entered into His creation, things were set in motion. God had made man in his image, in his likeness at creation. (Genesis 1:26, Mark 10:6) When Adam and Eve were deceived by Lucifer, the covenant between God and man was broken, and Satan took the covenant to the souls of man. When the Creator, Jesus Christ, entered into his Creation, Satan had no idea what he was doing by killing Christ.

It was when Jesus Christ died, and was resurrected, that he sent the Holy Spirit - in full force. It is because of this that we now have the capacity to have millions of Christ-like people walk around and preach across the world - and had Lucifer known what would have come of Christ's death, he never would have done so. Jesus had promised the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to his disciples, and to all who accept him and follow him.

Before Jesus ascended to Heaven, he said to his disciples, "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized you with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit... you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses... to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:4,8)

Not long after, the Day of Pentecost came. Acts 2:2-4, "Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in their own tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord, filled and dwelled within these men and women. The Holy Spirit was not wind, nor the flames, but the actual being that dwelled within these men and women, as stated, and He worked in and through them. The disciples went out into the streets and preached the Gospel in different languages. Peter addressed the crowd, and cited the prophecy of Joel concerning the Holy Spirit, (Joel 2:28-32) along with other prophecies.

During the First Coming of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, while often mentioned by Jesus himself, is seen. When Jesus goes to be baptized by John, John saw the Holy Spirit descend like a dove. "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on Him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'" (John 1:32)

Mark 1:10, "Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: 'You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.'" Several times in the Gospels God the Father appears to say how glad he is with his Son, Jesus Christ. The Transfiguration was another instance, where Jesus was glorified, and Moses appeared with Elijah before him - God proceeded to speak. (Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36, 2nd Peter 1:16-18)

Matthew 3:16 discusses the same event of the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus, "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him." (The word alight means to settle or stay after descending.) The Holy Spirit is just as important as the Father and the Son. The Father is the figurehead of the Trinity - the Son is the one who died for the past, present, and future sins of humanity - and the Holy Spirit is the one who dwells within us, and if we only pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit, the Lord will work in and through us.

This concludes the series on "The Holy Trinity." Thank you for taking the time to read this entry of "The Truth," I trust it has been enjoyable, informative, and insightful. You may email vexx801@yahoo.com, visit the facebook page, or comment below if you have anything you would like to ask, a comment, a concern, or what have you. May God bless you, reader, wherever and whomever you may be. Troy Hillman

Previous Entry: "The Holy Trinity" (Part Two)

The Holy Trinity (Part Two)

In the previous entry, we discussed the Trinity - and the biblical basis for this concept. There is sufficient evidence in God's Word to support the existence of the Holy Trinity - God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. This entry we will be taking a look at an important question: Are Jesus and the Holy Spirit found in the Old Testament?

The answer is yes. Both personalities make several, distinct appearances in the Old Testament. So let us take a look at the Holy Trinity - and the appearances found in the Old Testament, though this entry will focus more on Jesus and the next on the Holy Spirit's appearances. In an entry I had done months ago, the topic covered was the elusive "Angel of the Lord." (See entry: "Who is 'The Angel of the Lord?'") The word "angel" also essentially means "messenger."

In other words, this "Messenger of the Lord" appears to people throughout the Old Testament - and almost every instance, is referred to as a messenger, and in the following verses, is referred to as God. How is this possible? By examining each passage this mysterious Messenger appears in, we can find that the messenger is either God the Father himself - or Jesus Christ, pre-incarnate. If you wish to better understand this figure, take a look at the aforementioned entry.

Assuming that the messenger is Christ, we will look at the following passages with that context. Jesus visits Hagar in the desert after she has ran into the desert, to tell her that she would give birth to a son whom she would name Ishmael. (Genesis 16:7-12) He also speaks to Hagar years later when she has just left Ishmael, to encourage her, and to promise that he would be the ancestor of a great people. (Genesis 21:17-18)

The Messenger appears again not long after, in Genesis 22:11-18, where Abraham is tested - and proves faithful. (See entry: The Faithfulness of Abraham) There are several other appearances made by the Messenger, or Angel, of the Lord, found in: Exodus 3:2, where he tells Moses that he is God, appearing as a Burning Bush but identifying himself first as the Angel of the Lord then as God, and in Numbers 22:21-41, in which he appears to Balaam and his donkey. (See Book Overview: Numbers)

Jesus also appears in Judges 2:1-4;5:23;6:11-24;13:3-22, in which he appears to Gideon, as well as Manoah - to tell him of his son, Samson. Jesus appears again as the Messenger of the Lord in 2nd Samuel 24:16, where he speaks with King David, who is his future incarnation's ancestor. The Messenger appears again in Zechariah 1:12;3:1;12:8. (See entry: The Faithfulness of Gideon) 

The appearance of the Angel of the Lord in Exodus 3 is particularly mysterious. It does not appear to be expounded upon in popular media based on the Exodus, such as films - but each film refers to the being in the Bush as God, just as He claims. However, this same entity in the Burning Bush is the one who says not long after that he is God. If it were God the Father, he would not have been referred to as "The Angel of the Lord" directly before.

Now, yes, it is true that all appearances made by this Messenger in the Old Testament could have merely been God the Father. Regardless, in the case of the Burning Bush, it was still God who was speaking to Moses - the question is, which part of the Godhead? Many scholars think it plausible for Christ to appear in a manifestation before his incarnation on the Earth. John 8:58, "'Very truly I tell you,' Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I am!'"

In this way, along with verses discussed in the previous entry, we know that Jesus, like God the Father, also known as Yahweh, and the Holy Spirit, have been around since before time began, since before the creation of the universe. Is there any reference made to the Son of God? Actually, yes - in Daniel 3:25.

After the Babylonian exile began, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the Fiery Furnace. King  Nebuchadnezzar notices a fourth man, whom he describes as a "son of gods." Most assume the fourth man to be Jesus. "He said, 'Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."

Now, understand that as earlier mentioned, there is such a figure in the Old Testament as the "Angel of the Lord." It may be Christ or it may be Yahweh, but scholars tend to agree it was either one or the other - this Messenger never appears after the First Coming of Jesus. This is called Christophany (pre-incarnate appearance from Jesus Christ) and Theophany (appearance of God the Father).

Do the Trinity appear collectively? They may. Genesis 18 describes something mysterious. Three visitors come to visit Abraham and Sarah. At least one of three was Yahweh himself, as the text clearly states, and Abraham speaks with him concerning a son that Abraham will have the same time the following year. The other two visitors appear not to speak, until Genesis 19. After the visit is concluded, the three visitors - notice there were three - take leave onto Sodom.

Genesis 18:16-19, 'When the men got up to leave, they looked towards Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. Then the Lord said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?' Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on the earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."

The Lord goes on to tell Abraham that he and the other two are going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, as the outcry against the city is "so great and their sin so grievous." God and Abraham proceeded to discuss saving the city - God allowed that if Abraham could find ten righteous people in the city, he would spare it. He could not.

Genesis 19:1, "The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground." Lot invited the two men to his house, and after a group gathered outside telling Lot to bring them out so they could have sex with them, and he refused, the two men pulled Lot inside and struck the men outside with blindness.

The two told Lot to take his wife and two daughters and leave the city, and not to look back, because God was going to destroy the city. Who were these two men? Were they merely angels, or were they messengers, or, were they the other two halves of the Trinity? Some scholars believe that these two men were Jesus and the Holy Spirit, or that at least one was Jesus. Jesus himself spoke about Sodom and Gomorrah more than once. (Matthew 11:20-25, Luke 10:1-12, etc.)

On one occasion, God the Father allowed Moses to see him, but he could not see the face of God, for he would surely die, so he had to see his back. On other occasions in the Old Testament, we are told that people spoke with God face to face. There seems to be an understanding that typically, if they spoke with God face to face, they were speaking to God the Son, to Jesus Christ pre-incarnate, though it is debatable.

Moses had asked in Exodus 33:18, "Now show me your glory." God replied that he would show himself, "'But,' he said, 'you cannot see my face, for one one may see me and live.'" (Exodus 33:20) "Then the Lord said, 'There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen." (Exodus 33:21-23)

Job saw the Lord, (Job 42:5) as did Isaiah. Isaiah 6:1, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple." If God himself said that he could not show himself to people, how is it that these people saw him? Manoah, father of Samson, had met with the Angel of the Lord concerning his future son, "When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord. 'We are doomed to die!' he said to his wife. 'We have seen God!'"

His wife told him that if they were to die, God would not have accepted the offering. So who did all of these people see? They saw Jesus Christ, pre-incarnate. Jesus is the image of the Father, whom we can see. God the Father is light. But what does God the Father look like? Daniel 7:9 says, "'As I looked, 'thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow, the hair of his head was white like wool.'"

The Hebrew name for Jesus is Y'shua. "Y'shua" is found about 100 times in the Old Testament. It means "thy salvation". The very name of Jesus is found in the Old Testament. There are also hundreds of prophecies regarding Jesus Christ. A famous one would be Psalm 2:2. "The kings of the earth rise up and rulers band together against the Lord and His anointed..." The words of Jesus appear throughout the Psalms as well as prophetic works. Psalm 22:1 opens with, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (See entry: "The Messiah" for more on the prophecies concerning Christ)

But what of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament? Since his appearances and mentions are many, He will be discussed in the next entry. As mentioned in the previous entry, the first appearance of the Holy Spirit is in Genesis 1:2. God spoke creation into existence, and the Holy Spirit acted. God says in Genesis 6:3, "My Spirit will not contend with human beings forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years." His Spirit again appears.

The Holy Spirit tends to be seen most frequently when it comes to prophecy. Numbers 11:25 says, "Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied - but did not do so again." The Spirit is seen as resting on Christ in the New Testament as well, as a dove.

In the next entry, the appearances of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament along with the entering of the Creator into his creation will be discussed. Thank you for taking the time to read this entry of "The Truth." May God bless. Troy Hillman