ADVENT Story Revealed part 1

Where the story truly begins?

Every year, at around the month of December, most of the contemporary world celebrate a well known ADVENT event; that is Christmas. By definition, Advent means the beginning of an event or the arrival of a person. It also means ‘an invention being made’, which is important for this article but this will be for later use. For now, Advent is also a traditional time period of four weeks when the religious prepare spiritually before December 25.

Though Christmas is an expected holiday, many still have no clear understanding of what to really make of it. When asked about Christmas, most would correctly answer that it is the day that Jesus Christ was born. But when asked about the more important life-changing aspects of Christmas, you wouldn’t believe how many shrugs and blank stares I get. Of course, this is not new to me.

Romans 10:2
For I (the Apostle Paul) can testify about them (Israelites) that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.

Like what the Apostle Paul wrote, Biblical knowledge is sorely lacking. Many enthusiastic folks may know the gist of Christmas but a lot of it is not based on actual Bible knowledge.

So, for this Advent time, I offer myself as a fascilitator into the BIBLE that I love and that changed my life. How do I qualify? Let me state that I am not a scholar. But God had set me and many more of us who believe to be witnesses to His goodness.

So, let this Advent tour of the Bible begin. Most Christmas stories start with an angel visiting a fourteen year old girl and revealing to her that she will become the mother of Savior of the world. But a question must be asked and in need of an answer.

Why does the world need a
SAVIOR?

The answer to this, we must go way way back to the very beginning.

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

I think I’ll leave you to read the rest of Genesis 1 on your own. As your guide, I would like to show you how the psalmists expressed what they felt about creation.

Psalm 33:6-9
The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him. For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.

Psalm 74:16-17
Both day and night belong to you; you made the starlight and the sun. You set the boundaries of the earth, and you made both summer and winter.

Psalm 104:24-25
O Lord, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures. Here is the ocean, vast and wide, teeming with life of every kind, both large and small.

Then God made us…

Psalm 8:3-5
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.

How were we created?

Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God; male and female he created them.

Consider how special you are to Him.

After He created us, He was very pleased then He rested. So, I think I will pause here for now. We will tackle ‘Why does the world need a SAVIOR?’ in my next posting.

Creation is very much part of the Christmas story. And I hope that you would share this to everyone and this attitude…

Psalm 145:3-7
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They tell of the power of your awesome works—and I will proclaim your great deeds. They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

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I really hope we can have a conversation. Please contact me here at Facebook MESSENGER by audio from 3-5pm Monday to Friday. Scheduled small group chats can be organized as well. Or send me a message HERE.

Sketching HIStory #6

Gen 1 – God made the Creatures of the Air, Sea, Land & Us

Let us open our Bibles and read Genesis 1:20 – Genesis 2:3 or click on Bible Gateway links below.

NIV GNT KJV

As we read the last part of Genesis chapter 1 (& part of chapter 2), we come to what Bible commentators refer to as the third creative act. The Creator had already prepared our world with all sorts of plant life. From this plant life, God had emplaced an ecological system that will keep our planet with the crucial supply of oxygen gas and it was to provide even more. To what end? Let us see.

And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day. [Gen 1:20-23]

And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. [Gen 1:24-25]

In my last blog, I talked a little bit about doubt in the Bible especially when acclaimed people presented their observations contrary to Genesis accounts. In this case, I’m talking about the Theory of Evolution. Now, I am neither a scientist nor one who had spent years digging and studying through fossils. So, I am in no academic position to refute evolutionists’ claims. However, I can ask certain questions. For instance, if evolution is true, then why is it still considered a THEORY? Frankly, I have no desire to debate this issue, but I will say this. I believe and appreciate in everything that they had observed, so far. I say ‘so far’ because of the fact that scientists are still making new discoveries today that changes even their own conclusions. In truth, I know that they do not have a complete enough picture to make factual conclusions. I don’t think any human being can, in all humility, claim they know it all. Allow me to illustrate this to you. Pick up a sheet of standard size bond paper and a pencil. Let us say that one side of the sheet represents the total accumulated knowledge of the entire universe. Take your pencil and shade on the sheet how much of that knowledge you have achieved. Frankly, if you did more than a tiny tiny dot on the sheet, you are not being truly honest to yourself. By the way, in my first time, I shaded about a quarter of the sheet. At that time, my head was little too big. Ha ha…

One popular question that is frequently asked of me when I teach on the creation story is always in reference to dinosaurs. I always respond with these verses from the book of Job. It is actually God talking to a man named Job and He was describing them. (Oh, by the way, this too was written in prose.)

“Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox. What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly! Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit. Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron. It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword. The hills bring it their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby. Under the lotus plants it lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh. The lotuses conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream surround it. A raging river does not alarm it; it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth. Can anyone capture it by the eyes, or trap it and pierce its nose? [Job 40:15-24]

What God was describing was a poetic but somewhat accurate depiction of either a Brachiosaurus or a Brontosaurus. All I will say is that this description was in a manuscript written thousands of years ago. Meanwhile, the first recording of the fossils of these behemoths was published just about 300 years or so ago; and analysis of how these animals lived was hypothesized by scientists just about a hundred years ago.

So now, let’s recap. God had filled the seas with a great variety of marine life and also filled the sky with creatures that can take wing; that was on the fifth ‘Day’. Then, every creature that crawled with and without legs were roaming the lands of the supercontinent. That was on the beginning of the sixth ‘Day’.

And the ‘Day’ is not yet over.

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. [Gen 1:26-27]

You have heard the saying, ‘Last, but not least.’ Well, God creating mankind is so ushered in as to show that at length the work of creation had reached its perfection and ultimate goal*. Since mankind was made last of all the creatures, I am in agreement with a certain Bible commentator when he said, ‘this was both an honour and a favour to us.’** All in all, God had intended mankind… that is, US… to be different from all that had been formerly made even with those animals that share certain physiological similarities with us. I am talking about apes. Regardless what people have considered a possibility that the Planet of the Apes movie could happen, it is still an entertaining piece of science fiction film. Besides, based on the wording of God – “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…” – I would think that the suggestion that apes are our cousins (in an evolutionary scale) is contrary to the Creator’s will.

[* Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers; ** Matthew Henry Commentary]

Most teachers would probably focus in defining on what being made in His image would entail. I was tempted to do the same. But if I was to write a complete Bible word study on ‘image’ and ‘likeness’, I think it would take up at least 2-3 pages worth of text content and you would lose interest in reading on. So, I opted to show you what I consider is more relative to Sketching HIStory’s goal.

First, as Jesus said, ‘God is Spirit!’ [John 4] That is, in our obvious plain of existence, we are unable to see Him in any form. We may have been created in His image, but He does not have a physical body complete with skin, bones and blood flowing through veins… yet. (I’ll tell you about the ‘yet’ part later… much much later.) At the time of creation, He had no need of such a frail physical form. Since God is Spirit then what He had bestowed to us has to be ‘spiritual’. The term itself from a biblical sense is still quite broad, so, we will explore this subject matter in later segments as we learn more of our connection with God.

For now, let us focus on how God uttered His desire to make us in His image.

“Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule…” [vs 26]

Look at the intent of the declaration. God not only wanted us to be significantly different from all other creatures, He wanted (& still want) us to be more like Him. He desired a close relationship with us. How close? Well, to all that He created (including ourselves), He is the Creator and sole Owner. As we go further into the Bible, we will encounter the concept of the sovereignty of God. As He is the Owner of all things, then He has sovereign right to do anything to it and no one can stop Him. But then God chose to treat humanity different. He chose to treat us as…

…FAMILY

As family, we were given privileges, most of which we will discover again in my upcoming posts. However, in the next verse, God shows us what one of those privileges are.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” [vs 28]

Do you see it yet? God had given mankind the authority to RULE. Of course, it does not seem like that today. The reason of which will come into light in Genesis 3 which we will cover in about 2 or 3 posts from now.

Meanwhile, God is not finish yet.

Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. [vs 29-30]

Reading the verses above, is it so much to ask of everyone to give our God the Provider praise and thanksgiving when you have salad, fruits from a tree or even picking berries? Thank you, Lord.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. [vs 31]

The work of the six days’ Creation having been completed, God, as it were, contemplates the universe both in its details and in its entirety. That which He saw to be “good,” on each separate day, was but a fragment; that which He sees to be “very good,” on the sixth day, is the vast ordered whole, in which the separate parts are combined. The Divine approval of the material universe constitutes one of the most instructive traits of the Hebrew cosmogony. According to it, matter is not something hostile to God, independent of Him, or inherently evil, but made by Him, ordered by Him, good in itself, and good in its relation to the purpose and plan of the Creator. The adjective “good” should not therefore be limited in meaning to the sense of “suitable,” or “fitting.” There is nothing “evil” in the Divinely-created universe: it is “very good” [The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges]

Finally…

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. [Gen 2:1-3]

Biblically, seven is an extremely important number. From the first three verses of Genesis 2, Seven is the number of completeness and perfection so much so that God had declared the 7th day of the week as Holy; and after every 7 years, God commanded debtors to forgive people’s debts. Seven is also linked with God’s annual Feast Days. For instance, there are 7 annual Holy Days, beginning with Passover and ending with the Last Great Day (the day after the Feast of Tabernacles ends in the fall). The cycle of the holy days is completed in 3 festival seasons by the 7th month of the sacred calendar: Passover and Unleavened Bread, 1st month; Pentecost, 3rd month; and Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles and Last Great Day, 7th month. [www.biblestudy.org]

We have seen God create the universe from nothing. He formed our world and separated the waters to make our skies. He burst into life our sun to rule our day. The moon He placed on a course around our world to provide us with a gentle night light. Then there are the stars that He laid out for us like a blanket to awe us of His magnificence. He brought the land unto surface and caused the grass, the bush and trees of all variety to sprout and grow. In the sea, He caused life to appear and filled the depths with all sorts of marine life. In the sky, He let loose all creatures that can take wing. On the land, He brought forth crawling creatures from the giant lumbering behemoths to the minuscule protozoans. Then, as if to to place a crown on His creation, He created us and placed us on a pedestal above all other creatures and was very pleased.

In my next post, we’re going to step back in time to see God in a more intimate light. To see Him relate to us as a Father would to a son. See you then.
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The Crimson Thread are markers that points to a connection between Old Testament passages to Jesus Christ.

Crimson Thread added tidbit:
Jesus performed seven miracles on God’s holy Sabbath Day (which ran from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset), thus affirming its continued sacredness to God and necessity in the life of the believer.
[1] Matthew 12:9; [2] Mark 1:21; [3] Mark 1:29; [4] Luke 13:11;
[5] Luke 14:2; [6] John 5:8-9; [7] John 9:14

Sketching HIStory #5

Gen 1 – God Formed Our World

Again, go ahead, open your Bibles and read Genesis 1:6-19 or click on Bible Gateway links below.

NIV GNT KJV

[GNT for Catholics]

Like the Prophet Jeremiah, Albert Einstein (being Jewish himself) had no problem recognizing God’s hand in the creation of the universe. I recall reading somewhere that Einstein commented that when mankind probes the very recesses of space, they will find God staring back at them (something like that). Anyway, as spectacular as the creation of the cosmos was from Genesis 1:1-5, the verses after gave us no indication of how our own planet was developed. At that matter, verses 6-10 started up with our planet already formed and ready for seeding. Also, if we are to take verse 6 just a little bit literal, our entire planet may have been completely covered with water.

And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.”
So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault
from the water above it.
And it was so.
God called the vault “sky.”
[vs 6-8a]

What is the vault? And what does it mean ‘separate water from water’? Well, a vault is defined as a sloped ceiling like what you find in high domed cathedrals. The vault that God made is, of course, our own ‘sky’. Scientifically speaking, the sky is our planet’s atmosphere and it is made up of several layers. The most outer layer is the Ozone Layer which protects us from the sun’s radiation today. Ozone is a gas, but once upon a time, it was quite different.

God separated the water under the vault… that is the sea… from the water above it… that is the Earth’s stratosphere. God had placed a protective shell of water around our planet. Can you imagine the ‘greenhouse’ long term effect this will have on our planet? For later posts, I ask that you keep this primordial atmospheric condition in mind. For it will explain away a lot of the spectacular phenomenon we will observe until we get to Genesis 6.

And there was evening, and there was morning, the second day. [vs 8b]

Again, this is not an indication that the making of the sky took 24 hours. This part of the narrative is a poetic transition from one creation event to another.

And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place,
and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.
God called the dry ground “land,” and
the gathered waters he called “seas.”
And God saw that it was good. [vs 9-10]

I think the verses above is quite obvious, God caused the land to be raised above the sea. But if you look at the words closely, in the beginning, our world only had one massive land mass not like the seven continents and thousands of islands we know today. This contiguous land mass is known by scientists as the super-continent, Pangaea or Pangea. Pangea, in early geologic time, incorporated almost all the landmasses on Earth.

Now, let me say, that this concept of Pangea was proposed by a German scientist* in the early 20th century. It is interesting to note that this concept was FIRST introduced in a book written thousands of years ago.

[* Alfred Wegener, the originator of the scientific theory of continental drift, in his 1912 publication, ‘The Origin of Continents’]

Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation:
seed-bearing plants and trees on the land
that bear fruit with seed in it,
according to their various kinds.” And it was so.
The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed
according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit
with seed in it according to their kinds.
And God saw that it was good.
And there was evening, and there was morning, the third day.
[vs 11-13]

According to a Bible commentator, these verses refer to the second creative act. I think I’ll let you read the rest of the commentary.

The first creative act was the calling of matter into existence, which, by the operation of mechanical and chemical laws, imposed upon it by the Creator, was arranged and digested into a cosmos, that is, an orderly and harmonious whole. These laws are now and ever in perpetual activity, but no secondary or derived agency can either add one atom to the world-mass or diminish aught from it. The second creative act was the introduction of life, first vegetable, and then animal; and for this nothing less than an Almighty power would suffice.

Vegetation, therefore, did not reach its perfection until the sixth day, when animals were created which needed these seeds and fruits for their food. But so far from there being anything in the creative record to require us to believe that the development of vegetation was not gradual, it is absolutely described as being so; and with that first streak of green God gave also the law of vegetation, and under His fostering hand all in due time came to pass which that first bestowal of vegetable life contained.

It is the constant rule of Holy Scripture to include in a narrative the ultimate as well as the immediate results of an act; and moreover, in the record of these creative days we are told what on each day was new, while the continuance of all that preceded is understood.

[Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers]

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky
to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs
to mark sacred times, and days and years
and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.”
And it was so. [vs 14]

God made two great lights…
the greater light to govern the day
and the lesser light to govern the night.
He also made the stars.
God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth,
to govern the day and the night,
and to separate light from darkness.
And God saw that it was good.
And there was evening, and there was morning – the fourth day. [vs 15-19]

I feel that I have to reiterate to you that in these passages, God had not literally created the sun, moon and most especially the stars at that particular time period. We already read in verses 1-5, that the stars including our very own sun, our planet and moon were in the process of development. But doubt in the Bible have a tendency of naggingly creep into our minds. I should know, I had those same doubts, at first. But then, I was prompted to look at the literature a little bit closely.

As a rule, when it came to Scriptures, I have been trained to apply the inductive method of reading the Bible as a discipline. Part of that training was to look at the passage to see what it really ‘said’ before I can figure out what it ‘meant’. Keeping in mind that this part of Genesis was meant to be read as part poetry and part prose, I focused on the language style. Let us look at the first part of verse 14, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky”. Whenever, I read this verse out loud, my theater skills kick in. Always, at the words of ‘lights in the vault of the sky’, I instinctively look up. In other words, in a none-poetic way, this could almost be read this way, ‘let the sun, moon and stars be seen upon the sky from where you stand’. Perspective is the key! So, if I was to show God’s intention, I would paraphrase verses 14-19, this way.

Behold! Look up in the sky! In the beginning, I have set there two great lights to separate the day from the night. The sun is the greater light and will light up your day. The moon which is a lesser light so that you would not stumble in the dark. To help the moon, you will also see in the night sky a blanket of stars laid out from horizon to horizon. Now, from these lights, you will mark your days, years and seasons some of which will become sacred for those who believe. You will read in them signs that will influence your agriculture, navigation, and yes, even your history.

Now, I probably did not do it justice with my paraphrase, but I hope you would look at the Bible in the same inductive method that I used and apply it to the rest of Genesis and the whole Bible.

Having read how God formed our world, I think it best we have the right attitude toward our Creator, so far. The Prophet Isaiah said it best in his book.

Isaiah 40:26
Lift up your eyes on high: Who created all these? He leads forth the starry host by number; He calls each one by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

In my next post, we complete the Genesis 1 narrative with God bringing life into our world.

Click to go to Sketching HIStory #6

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Note: The Crimson Thread points to a connection between Old Testament passages to Jesus Christ.

Sketching HIStory #4

Gen 1 – Creation of the Universe

I welcome you first to open and read your Bibles: Genesis chapter 1. For those who want to read online below are links to Bible Gateway in 3 English translations.

New International Version NIV
Good News Translation GNT (for Catholics) King James Version KJV

Here is an observation. Have you noticed that the account of the creation of the universe is covered only in one chapter of Genesis? In my old college library, I recalled seeing 5-6 tall book shelves dedicated to the sciences of our universe. In this age of computers, I’m sure you can find several terrabytes of the same research available in the world wide net. My point is, how is it that the most spectacular cosmological event was limited to less than a thousand words in the Bible? Keeping in mind that God inspired Moses to write it this way, I believe God intended Genesis 1 to be read so that the focus is not so much on the created but more on the CREATOR. This is after all HIS story.

As a storyteller, I always believe that Genesis was meant to be read out loud with a slight theatrical flair. Imagine those times when the Israelites wanted to hear more about Him from their leader, Moses. Besides preaching to the entire congregation from on top of a mountain, I think he would from time to time, join them in smaller groups at their open fires and regale them under the stars, strengthening their faith in God. So, let’s get on with… HIStory.

“Once upon a time…”

Hold on! I know that this is how most bedtime stories usually start. However, God’s story does not start this way.

In the beginning, God… [vs 1a]

As a matter of truth, God’s story didn’t start in Time, but way… way before it, in… Eternity!

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was formless and empty,
and darkness covered the deep waters.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. [vs 1-2]

You know, I would have loved to present to you this part of the creation story from inside my old college planetarium. If I can get my hands on the planetarium’s animation generator, you… while resting in a reclined position, will be looking up into the dome ceiling and will see God’s spiritual hands laying out the heavens, in this case, the blackness of space.

And in that vast expanse, He also made from nothing the earth. No, I do not mean our planet Earth with a capital ‘E’, but earth or ‘erets’ which means dirt in Hebrew (language of the Old Testament). This dirt is not the same you find on the ground. What is described in verse 2 as being formless and empty implies that this material, being so primordial, is in actuality an integral building block for all existing matter. Take note, so far, we have SPACE and MATTER. There is an acknowledged scientific process that when you take these two then add ENERGY, you get an ATOM. (Who said that the Bible and science can’t go hand in hand?)

And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. [vs 2b]

What is God doing over the surface of the waters (by the way, this is not referring to a literal body of water)? He was ‘hovering’!? In other Bible translations, the word ‘moving’ was also used. Can anybody say… Kinetic ENERGY?!

It is right about here that something BIG is going to happen!

Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. [vs 3]

What is bigger than WOW!?

W O W ! ! !

Now, when God turns the light on, we’re not talking about Him flicking a switch and a light bulb comes on. No sir! This light probably and spectacularly lit up the entire universe. By the way, this almost sounds like what scientists call the Big Bang Theory (and I am not talking about the popular TV sitcom).

The Big Bang theory represents cosmologists’ best attempts to reconstruct the 14 billion year story of the universe based on the sliver of existence visible today. Most generally, it illustrates the arc of the observable universe as it thinned out and cooled down from an initially dense, hot state. The Big Bang theory found widespread acceptance for its unparalleled ability to explain what we see. [content from www.livescience.com]

And God saw that the light was good. [vs 4a]

In the Genesis creation story, God saw that what was created was good. In the surface, God was pleased that what He created and set into motion – will do what it was meant to do.

When He created the light (that I’m convinced was the BIG BANG), that event explosively pushed all that cosmological materials out into space forming gas clouds, dark matter, black holes, nebulas and galaxies.

Imagine again, you sitting in the planetorium blinking rapidly after the effect of that bright flash of light from the Big Bang. Then you watch in wonder, blurred lights slowly float away from where the explosion subsided down to a distant glow. Those lights, as they come closer to you become swirling galaxies. Imagine 14 billion years of moving and expanding universe compressed into about a 10 minute planetarium presentation. I always loved those effects.

Anyway, one galaxy… a familiar one, at that… seem to be getting bigger than the rest. It is our own Milky Way Galaxy. And if it is like every planetarium show I’ve ever watched, we majesticall fly in toward one of our galaxy’s swirling arms to where God is preparing our world. However, before we fly in, let us finish our understanding the rest of Genesis 1:4-5.

Then He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”

And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day. [vs 4b-5]

The passage of where God separated the light from the darkness, besides the obvious, actually have spiritual implications which I will cover more in-depth in later studies. For now, let me explain that the usage of ‘day and night’ which is repeated 6 other times, by the way, in the creation narrative were not meant to represent a 24 hour Earth time period. In other words, God did not create everything in just 6 days. However, I am not saying that God Almighty can not do it in 6 days. Frankly, He could probably flick His fingers and create everything instantly. But His words reflect differently. Remember, Genesis 1-3 was meant to be read as an Exalted Prose – that is, it is neither pure narrative nor pure poetry, but tells a story using a number of poetic features and a clear literary framework like the usage of the transition from night to day. Consider again Moses, as he told each of the creation event at the end of which, he theatrically swung his arm, east to west, with his fingers spread wide open uttering “And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day”.

The purpose of Sketching HIStory is so that you can get to know Him more personally. We have just read the biblical account of how the universe was made but besides the claim that it was He that created it (which should be enough reason to praise Him), how else can we know Him more? How can we go beyond the intellectual knowledge to the faith building way of knowing Him? I mean that we may experience Him… feel Him deep inside. The answer was already provided to us by God when He created the universe.

The Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, said that what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. [Roman 1:19-20]

Do you want to experience Him closely? Then open your eyes and look closely at what He created. Go out where you can escape the light pollution of the city and find a field where you can cast your eyes at the spectacular view of the Milky Way. Or go to the nearest planetarium. Then, I encourage you to believe the words of the Psalmist below.

Psalm 19:1-4
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

In the next post, we will see how God formed our world. See you then.

Click to go to Sketching HIStory #5

THE CENTURION’S GOSPEL – Ch2 – part 8

City of Tiberius, Galilee

“Before we start, Centurion… Ah, may I call you by your name?”

“Please… by all means.”

“Thank you, Cornelius. Please call me John. Now, let me clarify that it is true that Israel awaits the coming of a savior who will lead them to freedom. I will even say so boldly that they wait for the Messiah to push you Romans out of Israel forever.” When he saw the concern on Cornelius’ face, he chuckled a little and said, “Be not too alarmed, Cornelius. When the Messiah comes, I believe the salvation he brings will not be limited for my people alone but for all man… for you, Cornelius.”

Cornelius blinked and sat up straight. At first, deep inside, he resented the notion. How is it the he needed to be saved? Saved from what? But before he could ask, John the Baptist asked his question first.

“You are seeking meaning in your life, are you not?” Then he continued saying, “You are a soldier who have seen much death and suffering. You yourself have killed. You desire answers especially on the question on why you need salvation by our Messiah.”

Cornelius nodded.

“When one seeks meaning… answers, then that one must go back to the very beginning for perspective.”

“Where?”

“I think you know.”

How would he know? He thought to himself. Then an old childhood tale of a garden, a tree, a man, a woman and a serpent that can talk came to mind. A story he thought was made for children.

“Creation story of Adam and Eve?”

The Baptist nodded then said, “Think about it. What did they have?”
The creation story is the beginning of Moses’ five books of the Torah. It tells in prose how God created the world by voicing into the darkness and just said ‘Let there be light’ and there was light. That was the first day! In the course of five more days, God called into being the sky, land, vegetation, and every kind of living creatures including mankind. Then the story focused on how God fashioned the first man and named him Adam. From the way the story goes, Cornelius imagined God carefully and lovingly mold Adam from the dust of the earth then breathed life into his lungs. Then God placed Adam in a protective environment, the Garden of Eden, where even the natural law of survival was suspended. God provided everything for man; purpose, companionship, joy and life eternal.

“In the beginning, everything was perfect for man,” Cornelius answered.

“Why?”

“Because in the start, mankind had a very close relationship with God, their Creator… like family. But they lost it!”

“How?”

“God gave them one commandment, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat…’ But the Serpent enticed Eve to eat the fruit, then she gave it to Adam who knowingly ate the same. Then something in them changed. I never understood what really happened.” [Genesis 2:16-17 NASB]

After Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, their eyes were open. In other words, they became acutely aware of their nakedness and experienced shame for the first time. They covered their nakedness with fig leaves. Then when they heard the sound of God walking in the Garden, they both hid.

“There is a word… SIN. Do you know what it means?”

Cornelius frowned. It is a word strewn through out every book in the Scriptures. But for some reason, he never delved into it closely.

“By the look of your frown, you are not too sure of its actual meaning nor its significance.”

“My understanding is that sin is when you do wrong in God’s sight.”

“Yes but there is more. Isaiah wrote, ‘But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.’ ” [Isaiah 59:2 NASB]

“So, when they ate the fruit, they sinned and was separated from God. How does their sin entail for mankind?… at that matter, for me?”

Again, Cornelius saw the glint in the Baptist’s eyes. “Cornelius, if my own people would ask such questions as yours, well… never mind. The answer is what happened next in the story.”
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The story continues on in my next post a week from now.

If you are interested in reading the entire ebook, you can find my ebook in Amazon.com for only $1.99. Just click the link below.

Thank you

Johann Q

Where the story truly begins?

Romans 10:2For I (the Apostle Paul) can testify about them (Israelites) that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.

Why does the world need aSAVIOR?

Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Psalm 74:16-17Both day and night belong to you; you made the starlight and the sun. You set the boundaries of the earth, and you made both summer and winter.

Psalm 104:24-25O Lord, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures. Here is the ocean, vast and wide, teeming with life of every kind, both large and small.

Psalm 8:3-5When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.