The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make - John 1:1-18

THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION YOU WILL EVER MAKE IS TO
“ACCEPT GOD’S PROMISED SAVIOR”

Every day of the week, including Sunday, a publisher in every major city in this country publishes a newspaper. Millions of American citizens read their favorite part of the paper, and some read all or most of it. Daily papers can not be absolutely correct in everything that is written, but for some reason, a majority of the readers believe the predominance of what they read to be truth. Carnal man or woman is always the author of articles written, and none are inspired by a higher power that enables them to be truthful. I believe, as you do, that most write what they think to be truth, but we all know that the author’s personal opinion often overrides in news casting, and it is subject to scrutiny. Never-the-less, readers believe what they read in the paper, and accept it with greater confidence than they have in the inspired word of God. I just can not understand how this is possible.

The reason [or excuse] given by many for not believing the Bible is that they do not believe that biblical writers were inspired by a higher power that prevented error. If any unbeliever will honestly analyze and answer one question they surely will change their mind. That question is: “How were the prophets of old able to predict [thousands of years before it happened] the exact circumstances regarding the birth of Christ? They knew the linage of his family tree; they predicted the exact time, place and circumstances surrounding his birth; they knew his life would be threatened and that his parents would escape into Egypt; they knew and wrote about his ministry, his rejection [by his own people] and all about his death, burial and resurrection. They knew—and predicted with almost unbelievable precision—yes, the question is: “how is this possible for mere man to do without being ‘inspired’ by a higher power…God almighty?

It is Christmas, 2007 and we are taking time out of our busy schedules to recognize and praise our wonderful Savior. The title of our lesson today is a profound offer and suggestion that every one should: “ACCEPT GOD’S PROMISED SAVIOR.” Matthew, Mark and Luke all approach the Christmas story as it starts in Bethlehem with the Babe in the manger and wise men traveling from afar to adore him. But John had something different in mind that would stretch our imaginations all the way back to the Genesis story that tells us that “in the beginning was God; Christ; Holly Spirit; and THE WORD. Dear readers, this is no accident, because this class has been in a new study beginning with Genesis, which is the beginning, and this is another example of the way God works his way into the lives of believers in order to help them understand his will and way for their lives. {Oh, yes, I believe that God had a hand in planning this very lesson we are studying today. He knew that we would be studying the beginning in Genesis, and he knew that John’s explanation of the Birth of Christ would be the best lesson for today, because it fits in with the study of Genesis.} Radical? Extreme? Say what you will, but I believe that my God is involved in every moment of my life. If one hair falls from my head, he knows the exact count of those that are left. If this is true, then why would he not make sure that I am teaching the lesson he has for his people on this twenty-third day of December, 2007? Oh dear ones, nothing else is as important as the fact that you must ACCEPT GOD’S PROMISED SAVIOR.

The striking difference in the Christmas story as recorded by the first three apostles and the story by John is nor meant to cause confusion, but it is presented to strengthen our understanding of the beginning of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As you read [and diligently study] the first five verses of John, you are made to understand the true identity of our Savior. The next four verses in John deals with the witness of our Savior. Make very sure that you do not miss-understand verses 10 to 13, for it is herein that you are to be encouraged to receive the gift he has for each of us. Finally, as you come to a full understanding of what the Savior’s GRACE really means…be sure you are open minded and willing to place your faith in the only power on earth that can save you from your sins.

Both of the books, Genesis and the gospel of John, start with the same words—“In the beginning.” This phrase, ‘in the beginning’ refers to the very first mini-second of time. In the beginning time was! In the beginning God was! In the beginning Christ was! In the beginning the Holy Spirit was! We worship a triune Master, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Moses asked God, “Who shall I say is the one who sent me?” The answer from God was—“Tell them that “I AM” sent you”

In the first verse, John called Christ the WORD. Then he said, the word [Christ] was with God, and the Word was God. He [Christ] was with God in the beginning. Remember that God spoke [he used a word] things into existence. Then when he got to man, God said: “Let us make man. Who were “us”? It was God and God the son, for they were both present in the beginning. Why did John call Christ the word? I will tell you why. John is writing to the Greek population and explaining a Jewish concept. The Greek had no idea who the Jews were referring to when they spoke of the Messiah. The Gentile world did not know about Jewish history and had never heard that there would be a coming savior—Messiah. John found a term which was “word” that had the same meaning to both Greek and Jew alike.

The Greek author, Plato and other Greek philosophers used the term [logos] which means [word] to refer to the spoken word, but they also used it to refer to the unspoken word—that is the word that is still in the mind which they referred to as reason. When they applied it [the term logos, or word] to the universe, they meant the rational principle that governs all things. Jews said that God governs all things. Listen to me now! The Jews said God Governs. The Greek said that a logos [the word] governs. Therefore, John found a term that both nationalities would understand because it had the same meaning to both Jew and Greek—the terms were WORD AND CHRIST or GOD, the one that governs. And so John wrote that in the beginning was the WORD OR CHRIST, OR GOD.

Open your Bible to John, first verse. Compare to the following: “In the beginning was the Word” [with a capitol W] and could have been Christ. “And the Word [Christ] was with God, and the Word [Christ] was with God in the beginning.”

Verse 3: “Through Him [Christ] all things were made.” Therefore Christ and God, both in one, created all things. They were both there. Just remember that God could have told Moses that God, Christ, and The Holly Spirit were three in one, and you can tell the Egyptians that we are I AM.

Verse 4-5: “In him [Christ] was life, and life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” Christ is the life, the light, the way, and there is no other way. One of the laws of nature is that everything has its opposite. Electricity has a positive and negative force; cold is the absence of heat; and there is male and female; regarding this lesson there is light which is Christ and perfection and darkness which refers to the world without Christ and imperfect. The word darkness refers to the sinful world that can not see without light…and when Christ came in flesh the world did not understand and therefore they rejected him.

The first three gospels started their books dating it from Christ’s birth in a manger, and this is the moment in time when he became a man, flesh and blood as we are. It was good news and the first holy Christmas. John started when God, Christ and the Holly Spirit WAS…IN THE BEGINNING. They just WERE and no man knows for sure when that moment in time really was.

I do not read the original language, Greek, in this instance, and therefore I have to accept the word of my commentaries regarding the meanings of words. I have at least three sources that tell us that “the Greek verb tense found in the verbs used by John in the first verse denotes continuous existence. If this is true [and I believe it is true] then in that very first instant of time the Word [God, Christ] already existed continuously.

I personally believe that they were and are total SPIRIT, and I doubt that there was ever a moment anywhere in the past eons of time [as we know time] that they were ‘born’ or ‘created’…They WERE, they ARE, and they WILL ALLWAYS BE. If I am wrong, and they did have a beginning, then will someone tell me WHO CREATED THEM? It is by my faith that I accept, love, and worship GOD. Remember that ‘faith’ is the evidence of things unseen, and impossible to fully understand with mortal mind.

John agreed with and wrote in full agreement with Genesis. Then later on even in the very next verse of our lesson today, he agreed with Matthew and the others. There is no contradiction here, only a new perspective that helps us understand the total lordship of the one we know as the Christmas child.

Verse 6; announces the coming of John the Baptist, who was sent from God. John came as a witness to tell the people around Jerusalem that the Messiah was on his way. John says that John the Baptist came to his people to tell them about the LIGHT that would soon appear. The Baptist came to call men to repentance [Mark 1; 4], and to prepare the way for the coming Messiah [1:24]. The OT has many occasions where God sent a prophet to warn people of coming disaster and issue a call to repentance. The Baptist is the last of these great prophets. He was the advance courier making the way clear for the new coming King. His message was very simple…he called on the people to get ready for the coming Christ.

Verse 10; told his listeners that actually Christ was already in the world—he said Christ made the world—but had not been recognized. He will come here to you [his own people] but you will not believe and receive him. John condemned the Jews for their unbelief, and then told them that if they would believe in Him that Christ would adopt them into his family, and they would be his children, not by natural birth, but by being born again spiritually.

Verse 14: tells the Christmas story as told by John in today’s lesson, and as the other gospels told it when they said Christ was born in a manger. John said: “The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father…no one has seen God, but you will see his One and Only and through him you can know what God is like.”

Aspire to Walk with God - Genesis 5 - 8:14

Any time the Holy Bible makes the affirmation that a man walks with God it is expressing the closest relationship that mortal man can have with a spiritual being. In the beginning God made man and woman and blessed them and called them man. Then throughout the Bible you will find that when any subject is regarding the human race, the writer refers to the individual being discussed as a “man.” This was the Jewish custom and was never meant to be degrading to the woman. It actually never became a problem in America before the rebellious movements that sprang up in the mid 1950s when the feminist movement got involved in the campaign for human rights. In the examples used in the scriptures today the references are regarding men who have walked with God; however it should be understood that what ever refers to man is also equally true where women are concerned.

Before breaking this line of thought, be reminded that during the time of writing of the first books of the Bible there were no women mentioned in the genealogies. This was simply a custom and not an attempt to degrade women. Later in biblical history, when it became necessary to make sure that everyone understood the exact linage from Adam through David to the birth of the Messiah [Jesus] it became necessary to include the names of certain women that were in that direct linage, I am not positive about this but this may be the first time genealogies included women.

This lesson starts with chapter five which lists Adam’s descendents through Noah. Every entry is a man. All of these men lived to be several hundred years old, with Methuselah being the oldest man ever on earth and he died at the age of 969 years. All of these people lived and died before the flood. You may wonder why they lived so long; and the answer is that God’s original intention was that man would live forever, in heaven on earth, and enjoy a daily WALK with their maker.

Adam’s sin started the problem—and then the increase of sin down through the next few hundred years caused God to repent that he had made man. The constant increase in sin caused God to change his mind on how long a man should live on this sinful earth. 1000 years in the Garden of Eden would have been great, but can you imagine what it would be like if men lived to be more than 900 years old in today’s world. At least 90% of the people in America would be on welfare…and welfare would have gone broke years ago. However, there is another factor to think about; with the rate of murder as it is today, 80 to 90% would probably be murdered before their 900 years was up. Or they might have to live the last five hundred years with cancer, diabetes, or crippling arthritis. Here again, because of sin, the quality of life would be so low that no one would enjoy living. God really did man a favor when he moved us 800 years closer to heaven.

During these imperfect days of 2007 there is quite enough sin and sorrow all about us and the overpowering presence of sin would make it imperative that we “Aspire to Walk With God” on a daily basis. Enoch was 65 when his son, Methuselah, was born and for some reason his life was changed because he then, at age 65, WALKED WITH GOD for the next 300 years. Enoch lived to be 365 years old on this earth “And then he was no more, because God took him away.” Wow! What a reward he got—in that he did not have to travel through the deep valley of death. Dear readers—“walking with God” has a special meaning in the life of a Christian and we all should aspire to please Him. At the age of 182, Lamech’s son Noah was born and then Lamech died at the age of 777 years. After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth. He is the next man mentioned in the Bible that FOUND FAVOR WITH GOD, which means the same thing as WALKING WITH GOD.

No one knows the exact amount of time that elapsed during the period between the creation of Adam and the birth of Noah. Based on the ages of men who lived during this time there were several hundred at least and probably several thousand years. We do know that the earth was surely not the paradise that God had planned it to be when he created the Garden. When we compare the world today and the wavering path we have taken… with what it was in the days when America was discovered—it is frightening to think about how quickly even a so-called-Christian nation can forget about God. Over what could have been a relative short period of time—only one man and his family still were walking with God. That one man was Noah. Only because of his faithfulness and obedience, God saved him and his family from the flood that destroyed every other human on earth.

Chapter six tells us that God hates sin and judges those who place their love of sin and the world above their worship of Him. God condemned all of mankind except one man [and his family]—“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” He was walking with God. In this chapter God laid out his entire plan for Noah to build the ark. V. 22, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”

Chapter 7 begins with God’s instructions for Noah to take aboard his family and male and female [2] of all unclean animals, and seven [7] of all clean animals and seven [7] birds and flying creatures, always including both male and female. V. 5 “Noah did all that the Lord commanded him.” He was still walking with God. Noah was six hundred, two months and seventeen days old on the day that the water from the depths of the earth sprang up and the gates of heaven opened and the rain came down. The water continued to cover the earth for forty days and forty nights—until the tops of the tallest mountains were twenty feet below the surface. The rain stopped but the water level remained constant for one hundred and fifty days and then receded. Anxious to know when it was safe to open the door of the ark, Noah opened a window and sent a raven out and it continued to fly back and forth. He then sent a dove and it returned. He waited and sent the second dove and it returned with a green olive leaf which was good news. The third dove was then dispatched and it did not return, leading Noah to believe that it had found dry land on which to live.

Now, going back to chapter 6, verse 4, and the Bible says: “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward,” The Nephilim was the off-spring of fallen angels. They were the friends of the wealthy and renowned through which man’s wickedness had grown. I am assuming that the “and also afterward” means that they were still around after the flood. Go to Google research and you will find that they were off-spring of fallen angels that were before and after the flood; and it says that Goliath ‘the giant’ of Gath was one of this tribe. David killed him with the sling shot and a stone. The source of this information comes from Matthew Henry’s commentary. [I believe this to be a reliable source.]

Agnostics and a host of unbelievers have raised many questions regarding the story of Noah and his ark that seemingly are unanswerable, but they should never dull the faith of a believer in Christ Jesus. There are just some questions that are not meant to be answered this side of heaven. Just for fun, here is a couple that you can answer for me…that is if you know the answer.

1. What would happen if an irresistible force should hit an immoveable object?
2. How can a black cow—eat green hay and yellow corn, and give white milk?

1. How can a true virgin bear a child?
2. How did Noah walk with God?
3. Why did God destroy all creatures and not just man who had sinned?
4. What made some animals clean and some unclean?
5. How did Noah know which were clean and which unclean?
6. Why did he take two of the unclean and seven of the clean?
7. What did Noah and his family eat while on the ark?
8. What caused water to burst up out of the earth?
9. Were fish and water creatures saved by being on the ark?

Admit Your Sin Problem - Genesis 3 - 4:26

In our first lesson regarding the Genesis of the total universe and all things contained therein… taught last Sunday, we failed to mention one of the most interesting concepts hidden away in this early scripture. We talked about the concept of creation of things where God simply said “let there be” and then the simple directions he gave when he said “let us make man” but we barely mentioned the first orthopedic surgeon, and the first operation ever performed on man. It was somewhat different from today, I will admit. There was nothing mentioned about an operating room, sterilizing of surgical instruments, or even nurses to help. It appears that God acted alone, put old Adam to sleep and cut out a rib; and from the rib he made Eve. It worked well and was not nearly as [dusty] as when he made Adam—since He made Adam from dust.

There is no place anywhere connected to the creation of man that God approved or did anything pertaining to any kind of ‘same-sex’ unions except condemn them. Later in his Word he did specifically say that homosexuality was an abomination in his sight, and it is listed as the cause that prompted God to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. It is also listed among the many sins that took place in the orgies that were condemned by God—especially those held in religious temples. It is hard for Christian people to believe that some of the early worship was directed toward a “Sex Goddess” that was displayed at the scene of worship.

Our lesson today starts with the story about the temptation and fall in the Garden of Eden AND THE AFTERMATH. Those of you who have been in my Sunday School Class for some time will remember that I have two things that are emphasized in my teaching. First, you must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be born again; that is, be a child of God. Second, you must live a life of obedience. Salvation is for man’s benefit; while obedience is for God and demanded by him, and absolutely necessary in order to please Him. Without faith in God and obedience to his commands there is no way for any man/woman to escape the everlasting punishment in hell.

There is no doubt in my mind that Eve believed in God…she did not at that time have to be born again because she had not sinned—she was created a perfect human…but she was required to obey her master and SHE WAS NOT OBEDIENT! That means she did sin! The AFTERMATH or consequence of her sin has probably had the greatest destructive effect on man kind…more than any other sin that has ever been committed. The serpent in the Garden was crafty, which means that he was sly, or given to, or practicing secrecy…in fact he may have been so camouflaged that Eve never saw him. He did approach her representing the devil…the enemy of almighty God and His people. Since Satan is a master chameleon, he may have appeared to her in what ever form he knew would win her confidence. He is still stealing the hearts of good people by using the same means today, only enhanced by radio, movies, T.V. and all other new devices available. The harmful effects of advertised products are always camouflaged. Everyone involved is happy, feeling good and enjoying each other; and you never see the carnage on the highway with the broken and severed parts of the body and the blood of life running out on the highway.

Satan, at one time in the past, had been one of the most powerful, influential angels in heaven. Listen, it is important that you realize that Satan aspired to be like God [equal with God] and that is why he was thrown out of heaven. Here we find that he used almost the exact same argument in order to entice Eve to be disobedient. He told her that if she would eat the forbidden fruit, she would be like God and for that reason God had prevented her from eating of the forbidden fruit. He also assured her that she would not die as a result of the eating of the fruit. Satan is a liar; in fact, he is the father of lies. Since this is a proven fact—why, oh why do people still believe him?

As you read the early verses in chapter three, stop for a moment and think about the BIG mistake that is being made by Eve. She has allowed Satan to get involved in her thinking…she is listening to him…she is being disobedient to God. We must learn to turn Satan off, and say to him “get the behind me Satan.” That is what Christ did during his temptation. Even though Satan has caused Eve and all posterity to suffer greatly and often, we know that in the end we will win because God has promised that the Son of woman, Jesus Christ will crush the head of the serpent, the Devil.

Think about this: Eve looked at the beautiful fruit and took some for her self. She ate some of the forbidden fruit, it was so good, and she gave some to Adam. Both of these people had heard their father say no! But for some reason there was a greater desire stimulated simply because God had said that they should not partake of the fruit. I don’t think that I have ever known any young person that didn’t fit this mold. When parents warn children of dangers, this same Adam and Eve instinct overpowers their common sense and they just have to find out for themselves—every-time the consequence is devastating.

During the days when we heated our homes with wood stoves, the iron bellies of the stove would sometimes become red-hot—many children have been warned but they didn’t learn their lesson until they had touched it one time just to see if mother was telling the truth. I believe this same human instinct or inward drive is the reason we have the drug problem among the young—and just like the red-hot stove, once they have tried the addictive ones they have already gone one step too far and they have been burned with a devastating habit that leads to destruction of human enjoyment.

Lucifer was the chief angel with a host of helpers who were created by God before the foundation of the world. He developed a desire to be like God and maybe to be God, and so he became so powerful that he was cast out of heaven. He is known by many names such as Devil, Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, and many others. He invented his chief weapons, temptation and lies which he has used ever since the Garden of Eden. His use of temptation and a lying nature has worked to some degree against every foe except Jesus Christ, who was tempted as we are but did not sin. [This temptation is recorded in Matthew following Christ’s forty-day fast and prayer in the mountains.]

His lie to Eve was “you will not die” and his temptation was “You can have the knowledge of good and evil which will make you equal with God.” It is sad that Adam and Eve got what they wanted; they did obtain the knowledge of good and evil—but they got it by doing evil…through disobedience…and the results were disastrous. Our generation is disillusioned because they seem to think that “freedom” is doing anything we want any time we want to do it. Our Bible teaches us that we obtain true freedom through our obedience to God and by knowing what not to do. The restrictions placed on us by God are for our own good and help us to avoid evil. We could say that they can keep us from touching a red hot stove if we obey.

Satan used a sincere motive to tempt Eve when he told her she could be like God. Her desire to be like God was not wrong—all true Christians strive each day to be more like Him. It should be our greatest desire—it should be our highest goal in life and it is what we are supposed to do. But Satan miss-led her in how she was to reach this goal. He told her to defy God and his authority by taking his place in the decision making process and that she should decide for herself what was best for her. He told her to be her own God. Note: This is exactly what the “New Life Movement” is teaching their followers to do today—and they are strong and growing especially out West. To become like God is not the same as trying to be God. Self exaltation will always lead to rebellion against the higher power. Sins effect always spreads and involves others. Eve sinned and then she involved Adam. Our sins always affects others. Listen. Causing a little one to sin is much worse than sinning yourself. Sin brings guilt. Adam and Eve were naked and at ease, but their sin caused them to feel guilty and they started trying to cover the sin by covering their bodies with leaves. This is what we call a guilty conscience; it is like a burglar alarm that goes off when sin is trespassing on our property. It is dangerous business when you reach the place that your guilt no longer bothers you. We should be glad when pangs of guilt are present—the warning lets us know that it is time to repent and seek forgiveness.

It would have been sad, but amusing if we could have watched Adam and Eve trying to hide their sin with fig leaves. Do you think they really thought that God would not know what happened if they would just cover themselves with leaves? Funny? Yes, but how many times have we tried to hide our sin life. We hide our sin from other people and rationalize that this solves our problem. We have inherited another foolish practice. Students can’t read and the university blames colleges who blame high schools, who blame middle schools, who blame elementary teachers who blame the parents. Adam blamed Eve; she blamed the serpent who blamed God. Oh why is it so hard for us to admit that we have done wrong, then repent and seek forgiveness? God drove them out of the heavenly garden where everything was free and perfect into a rugged world where they would earn their lively-hood by the sweat of their brow tilling the land they were made from.

No longer was everything free and provided as it was in the Garden. Now they had to struggle against the elements in order to provide their food, clothing and shelter for them and Cain and Abel, their first two sons born the hard way following their departure from the Garden—with suffering. Cain became a farmer and Abel was a shepherd. In the mid east, these ancient occupations are still in practice much as they were then. They are both honorable professions but very demanding and associated with hard work, self-sacrifice, and their success always depends on God.

Cain and Abel brought their sacrifices and offered them up to God. Cain brought fruits of the soil while Abel brought portions of the first born of his flock. I cannot find any where in the Bible why God accepted Abel’s offering and rejected the offering of Cain. Some say it was because there was no blood in the fruit offering; but I had rather think it had something to do with their attitude or willingness to give. I do not know. God did give him a second chance, and surely he let Able know what he was neglecting to do. I believe that Cain was at fault and had the opportunity to correct the wrong. How do you react when you are accused of doing wrong? Do you admit and correct your mistake? Or do you seek revenge against your accuser?

We cannot master the sin that is guarding the doors of our desires. Just like Cain we either master our anger or suffer the consequences. Cain did not repent and make things right with his brother but chose to murder him instead. This is the first record in the Bible of the shedding of innocent blood. God gave us life sustaining blood and only He has a right to take it from us. Notice how quickly the act of disobedience in the parents develops into murder of one son by his brother. They only ate a small bit of forbidden fruit—why was that so important? Sin was not in the fruit, it was their DISOBEDIENCE. Their sin was against God. Cain’s sin was against both God and man—and so has every sin committed since that day involved both God and another person.

Cain was severely punished for murder. God judges our sins and will punish appropriately. He will not punish out of anger or vengeance, but in order to correct our behavior—we should never resent anything that comes into our lives that appears as punishment; but we should use the incident as a point of correction and a renewal of our fellowship with God.

We come now to the comments regarding our lesson today which states that each one of us MUST ADMIT OUR SIN PROBLEM. God made Adam from the elements found in the soil of the earth which God had already created; he then made Eve from a rib removed from Adam. These two created beings were without sin—but God gave each of them a free will—a free will that could have chosen to obey God and remained forever free from any sin. They chose to disobey God, and thus, sin entered the human race. They were cast out of the Garden into a sinful world where both of their children were born. Cain and Able were conceived in sin; and every child born since that day was conceived in sin and born in iniquity and that includes you and me. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God.

At some opportune time [after the age of accountability] each individual must repent of their sin; realize that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross paid for our sin—and we must accept him as our savior—take up our personal cross and follow Him. We still have the same free will which Adam misused, and if we misuse it by rejecting Christ’s death on the Cross as payment for our sin—then we will pay for it. The price [wages] of sin is always death. An ‘unsaved’ person is ‘spiritually’ dead in their trespasses and sin. They were physically born into the world—that is their first birth. Christ told Nicodemus that he must be born again—and that would come when he accepted Christ as Savior. Only those who are spiritually alive will ever see the gates of heaven!

Affirm God's Good Plan: Introduction to Genesis Chapters 1-3

I have reproduced a copy of the chronology of dates and events in order of the early world events using my Life Application Study Bible as the source. I believe that this will help you as we start our study in Genesis. I will finish the dates and events through Old Testament times. Hopefully before we get back into NT study, I will be able to complete the dates through the NT writers. Please copy and keep the CHRONOLOGY.

The Bible teaches us that a day with the Lord is as a thousand days with man. This tells me that man should not get hung up, discouraged, or become disbelieving simply because he can not understand the exact time and place that all events took place. We should use the dating that we know about through the Bible and through the history books of all times to help us understand. When we do not fully understand; we must accept God’s word through our faith.

This will be our first lesson based on Genesis, which is best known for its explanation of creation. The first fact that we should realize is that no one knows when creation took place; neither do we know how much time elapsed during that period that is said to be from the first day to the sixth, and that God rested on the seventh day. The first question that can arise is: was these seven days, God’s days—or could one or more of them been a thousand days as man would count. I do not know, and I do not believe that it was meant for me to know; further-more I do not believe it matters.

As we study on through Genesis we will find that the world was populated with people born in sin because of Adam’s sin, who continued to wax worse until God used all of his patience toward them. He decided that the time had come for a new start. Though all had sinned, there has always been a remnant of his people that loved him and worshipped him—Noah and his family was one such family on the earth that God could depend upon. He made Noah responsible as the one who would build an ark and save the seed necessary to start a new and more ‘God fearing’ world on earth. We do not know how long these first generations lived, nor when Noah started and finished the Ark, and we are really not sure of the exact time the flood subsided; nor how long the earth was submerged in water.

Everything we know about what may have been eons of time is that “I AM” was and has always been and that He accomplished all of the things recorded in the Bible that happened before the time when God’s chosen authors began to place dates on thing that happened. It seems trite for me to tell you but there were no radios, television, phones, and of course no news papers or any way to keep a written report prior to the 25th century. It was at that time that the Egyptians invented writing on papyrus with ink and established libraries to store the new information.

Moses was born in 1626 and is believed to be the one that wrote the first book in the Bible. Moses got the authentic information about happenings that took place in the times undated from men that lived much longer in that day and had excellent memories and could tell about their experiences. But even more important than these witnesses, Moses and all other inspired writers had a direct line of spiritual communication with God. They learned through dreams, visions, and spiritual experiences such as through the burning bush—about the past—and about the future so that they could predict with absolute accuracy things that would happen thousands of years in the future—and these things did happen as prophesied.

I have been a born again Christian every since I was saved in 1947; and that is when I became a member of the Church that Christ established and commissioned just prior to his ascension into heaven as it is describe in the four Gospels. Since that date I have attended and worshipped with Southern Baptist believers. Having said that, I think you may be surprised when I tell you that I do now and have always believed in the “Big Bang” theory of creation. My guess is that you will soon agree with me. Please note that I did not say just the big bang theory! But, I added of creation.

At a time in the past, while attending the University, I remember that the professor posed this question. “If lightening strikes causing a tree to crash and fall somewhere in the middle of a huge desert where no one lives within hundreds of miles—does it make a sound? Can a sound exist in a place where there are no human or animal ears to hear? Would a flash light shine in darkness where there is no human or animal eyes to see? There was always an argument with some saying yes and others answering no. Based on what I believe about the omnipresent God which I serve, my answer has always been yes. God was there and he heard the sound and saw the light if they existed because He hears and sees things even before they exist. He knew you by name before you were conceived in your mother’s womb. In fact, he made you on that sixth day before he rested and established the month, day and year that you would be born.

Based on my kind of reasoning [based on Bible teaching] the “Big Bang” sound was the voice of the Trinity. God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit, [three in one] were all present when God SPOKE the entire universe into existence and they heard his voice. And then God ‘made’ man and the Trinity observed and pronounced that all was good. God’s voice is the big bang that the unbelieving searching scientist thought was TNT. I wish they would explain the origin of their explosive material and tell us who, where, and how it was placed correctly and detonated timely, in order to make all of the things that were made. My dear people—it requires a lot more faith to believe what scientists say than it does to believe what God says about creation. With God, all things are possible—which is surely not true with man.

Genesis is first therefore the oldest of all books that speak specifically regarding the origin of all things [every-thing that exists] and the orderly development of every thing that has happened since the day of creation. Chapter one verse one gives the origin of the universe that contains our little world, the sun, moon, stars and unnumbered other galaxies as to this date even now undiscovered.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” God was, therefore time was of his own making and it indicates that the word ‘beginning’ here means the commencement of time, and it shows that the ‘matter’ of the universe had a definite origin. Only God is eternal. Matter is not eternal because it did not start itself but was created by God. God created matter and more matter cannot be created—neither can the matter that God created be destroyed. Man can change matter, but cannot destroy it.
The word created means that matter was brought into existence without the use of any pre-existing material. It is distinguished in the Bible from other verbs such as to make, shape or form anything from pre-existing material.

There was no human witness when the foundation of the universe was laid, therefore we must accept it by faith. Human science, history and tradition are based upon the observations made about things that already exist. Paul. Heb.11: 13 says, “By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear.” The term “Heaven and earth” means the whole universe.

Matter is inert of itself. It is the stuff from which all things are made. Therefore there is indication that there were two steps to the final creation. God made the stuff. Then the Holy Spirit moved upon the stuff and became the second creative activity. This book says that matter alone is chaos. However when given the power, intelligence, and omnipotent work of the Spirit it was formed into a well-ordered and unbelievable world.

God spoke and there was light. “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.”
Jesus Christ is “The true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” And his people, reflecting his image, are “the true light of the world.” This story of the creation of light illustrates another creation—the conversion of the soul is made by the same spirit. 2nd Cor. 4: 6 says,” God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness [in Genesis] hath shined into our hearts, giving the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Scientists call it cosmical light which means that they name it but do not explain it. There is only one explanation and that is that light was because of the quickening made by the Holy Spirit. When we accept Christ we become a new man because of the quickening made by the Spirit.

Each one of the other specific steps in creation can be explained much like those explained above. Time does not permit us to take each one individually at this time. We will step forward to verse 24, where we find a distinct difference from the creation of everything but man. And God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over the earth, and over the creatures that move along the ground.”

In all creation before man God allowed the earth, sea and etc. to bring forth plants and animals. Now he says “Let us” make man.” Who are us? Some say that kings referred to us as they speak of themselves. Some say that the Hebrew word for God is “Elohim” which is plural and he may be taking counsel with himself. These could be true and nothing would be lost, but I believe that the Trinity was there taking part in the creation of man and I believe he said “Come on Jesus, you and The Holy Spirit, this man will soon be your responsibility, so you need to be involved as he is being made.

What is meant by man being made in the image of God? John says God is spirit. Paul says he is the father of spirits. Zech. 12:1 says, “The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.” Proverbs 20: 27 says, “And Jehovah God breathed into man’ nostrils, the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” The Bible says that the spirit returns unto God who gave it. So, we see that it refers to man as a spirit as God is spirit. Being in his image reflects to other things such as the fact that we should have knowledge and reasoning; we should live upright and holy; we are a free moral agent; we are to worship and commune with God; and we have the capacity to become an immortal soul that will live along with God.

He made male and female and gave them their commission to multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. There is no place in Genesis where a family is spoken of in any other way except just ‘male and female’ who could multiply…have children.

Chronology: Dates in Order of Early World Events

It has always helped me to remember events when and if I could know their chronology especially when one event led to another. In the study of the bible some events precede a war, or special happening, that does lead you to understand how and why the next event took place. I hope you will keep this list of events and maybe they will help you in your study. Jv.

DATE EVENTS

Unknown Creation of all things, matter, space, time, all that exists

Unknown When Noah started to build and finished building the Ark.

2500 BC. Egyptians invented writing on papyrus with ink. They built the first library; invented the first iron objects; and manufactured iron in the Near East.

2400 BC. Egyptians imported gold from Africa. The original discovery of gold in Africa is unknown.

2331 BC. The first world conquerer, Sargon, a Semitic tribal chieftain, conquered Sumer.

2300 BC. Egypt domesticated the first horses. Babylon domesticated the first chickens, and were first to use bows and arrows in war.

2166 BC. Abraham was born.

2100 BC. The Mesopotamians built the tower of Babel; discovered first drug, ethyl alcohol, used to relieve pain.

2091 BC. Abraham entered Canaan.

2066 BC. Isaac was born.

2006 BC. Jacob and Esau were born.

2000 BC. The Native Americans immigrated to North America from northern Asia. Stock-breeding and irrigation first used in China. England became the center for religious worship. Bellows used in India allowing for higher furnace temperatures.

1929 BC. Jacob escapes to Haran.

1915 BC. Joseph was born.

1900 BC. Egyptians used irrigation system to control Nile River flooding. Ancient near East invented wheels with spokes and started using horses to pull vehicles.

1898 BC. *Joseph was sold by his brothers into Egyptian slavery.

1885 BC. Just thirteen years in Egypt and Joseph is elevated to the ruler.

1805 BC. Joseph died.

1750 BC. Mathematicians in Babylonia understand and use cube root and square root, and Hammurapi of Babylon established the first of all legal codes.

1700 BC. Egyptians papyrus documents describe medical and surgical use.

1626 BC. *MOSES WAS BORN.*

1500 BC. A sundial used in Egypt and the Mexican Sun-Pyramid was built.

1446 BC. * THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT.

1445 BC. **THE ORIGINAL TEN COMMANDMENTS IN STONE.

1406 BC. * Hebrews entered Canaan

1400 BC. Chinese literature first written. Egypt used firs intricate clock.

1380 BC First recorded earthquake destroyed Palace on island of Crete.

1375 BC. The beginning of rule under Israelite JUDGES.

1358. BC. Tutankamen, Egyptian King, buried among immense treasuries.

1250 BC. First silk fabric manufactured in China.

1209 BC. DEBORAH became Judge in Israel.

1200 BC. First labor strike in Thebes. First Chinese dictionary.

1183 BC. Trojan war—destruction of Troy.

1162 BC. GIDEON became judge in Israel.

1105 BC. SAMUEL born.

1075 BC/ SAMSON, strong man, became judge in Israel.

1050 BC. SAUL becomes first king of Israel.

1010 BC. DAVID becomes king of Israel.

1000 BC. City of Peking China built; Greek theology developed; Indians in Californi built first wood-reed houses in America; Chinese developed math concepts that utilized root, multiplication, geometry, proportions, and the theory of motion; Glazing of bricks and tile invented in near east.

970 BC. SOLOMAN became king.

959 BC. KING SOLOMONS TEMPLE Wonder of the World completed.

930 BC. Israel divided into NORTH ERN AND SOUTHERN KINGDOM

900 BC. Celts invade Britain. Assyrians invent first life jackets from skins.

875 BC. Elijah first prophet in Israel.

874 BC. Ahab became king of Israel.

850 BC. Evidence of highly developed metal & stone sculptures in Africa.

848 BC. Elisha prophesied in Israel.

835 Joash became Judah’s first king. Judah was the Southern Kingdom.

793 JONAH became a prophet.

776 * FIRST KNOWN DATE OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES...Egypt.

753 HOSEA became a prophet. ROME was founded.

750 Notation in music used first in Greece; Britain got plow from Celts.

740 ISAIAH BECAME A PROPHET.

722 The Northern Kingdom of divided Israel is defeated…falls.

715 HESEKIAH BECOMES KING of Judah…the southern kingdom.

701 Sennacherib of Asia besieged JERUSALEM.

700 FALSE TEETH INVENTED IN ITALY

650 JAPAN established as a nation. Process of welding iron invented

648 First horse racing at 33rd Olympic Games

640 JOSIAH became king of Judah…southern part of Israel.

627 JEREMIAH BECAME A PROPHET.

612 Assyrian capital of Nineveh destroyed.

605 DANIEL TAKEN CAPTIVE TO BABYLON

600 Temple of Artemis built in Ephesus; one of the seven wonders.

586 JUDAH Southern kingdom falls to BABYLON.

562 BUCHADNEZZAR king of Babylon died. [This to be continued]