Is Christmas for Christians? - Settling the matter...

Christmas! The season of giving... a time to remember the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. A time when believers across the world unite in celebration. The prime most of all Christian festivals!

What sayeth Christendom?
Is the body of Christ truly unified on the matter of Christmas? Do we all say yea? Apparently not! We seem to be divided into three distinct groups. The first group comprises of people who celebrate Christmas in its entirety, that is to say, they decorate the crib, get a tree, decorate it, hang up the stockings near the fire place, have their children believe on and wait for Santa Claus, hang up mistletoe, burn the yule log etc. They go the whole hog so to speak. Then there is the group that claims to discard the traditions of Christmas in an effort to focus on Christ's birth, they hang up a lit paper star somewhere outside to show others that they are celebrating Christmas. Then comes the third group who say that Christmas should not be celebrated by Christians as its roots are pagan, that each of its traditions have hidden and occult meanings and that the only thing Christ commanded us to remember is His death which we are supposed to when we partake of the communion bread and wine.

'Tis the season to be jolly?
Let us do a little bit of a background check on the season in which Christmas is celebrated. As you know there are four notable days (notable in terms of their peculiarity) in a year as regards the sun. The summer solstice, the winter solstice, the spring equinox and the autumnal equinox. To define these in layman's terms the summer solstice is the day in the year when the day is the longest and the night is the shortest. The winter solstice is when the day is the shortest and the night is the longest. Both the equinoxes are days in the year which have approximately equal night and day periods.


Source - http://www.kyrona.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/sun-four-quarters.jpg

Winter Solstice...
So why go into all this science... aren't we off topic? Well no... Christmas is celebrated close to the time of the winter solstice. As you know most of the civilizations in the world can be divided into sun and moon worshipers. Just for the sake of providing a reference here is a wiki page that lists some civilizations that worship the sun http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_deity that seems to include everything from Buddhism, Hinduism, the Aztecs, the Chinese and interestingly I might add the article mentions CHRISTIANS! Hey but wait a minute, all of us know that we don't worship the sun because what we really worship is the Son! Right? Well right and wrong... Right because Christians are supposed to worship the Son. Wrong in the sense that this wiki article implies that some Christians celebrate a festival called "Sol Invictus" (translated as unconquered sun) and we will be coming back to this a little later. Now there is a list of civilizations that worship the moon as well but I am going to skip them because I don't think that it is relevant to this article.

Let us give the sun strength?
Coming back to those sun worshipers... From a pagan point of view when the winter solstice happened it was a very disheartening for the sun worshiper as the sun appeared to be losing strength. Now if one were a sun worshiper it would be a terrible blow to see one's god losing his strength, now wouldn't it? I guess it would! So the sun worshipers began to assume that they should aid in strengthening bring back the sun. As with most pagan beliefs the instant remedy was sacrifice of life.


 Source - http://lpsmythologywiki.wikispaces.com/Aztecs+Myths--Human+Sacrifices


Source - http://www.piney.com/figure38.jpg


So in the days leading up to the winter solstice the pagans would sacrifice animals and many a time even humans to bring back the sun with more strength the next year. Some even believed that there was a direct relation to how strong the sun would be and how much was sacrificed the previous year. Sounds absurd? Read on!


Dies Natalis Solis Invicti
Sol Invictus aka Unconquered Sun was the god of the ancient romans. The ancient Roman festival to celebrate the return of the unconquered sun Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (Birthday of the Unconquered Sun) was on the 25th of December. It is also in ancient Rome that groups of costumed singers and dancers, called the Mummers, traveled from house to house during the season to entertain their neighbors.

Feast of Horus
In ancient Babylon the feast of Horus, the Son of the goddess of nature, Isis, was celebrated on December 25. Raucous partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift giving were traditions of this feast. Isis and Horus are a mother and son duo from Egyptian myhtology usually depicted as Isis suckling Horus... does that sound familiar? see below...




Source - http://www.eudonev.com/websites/humanities/st_paul/image_028.jpg


But let's continue because that's a topic for a whole new discussion...

Mithra
Mithra was the god of light in ancient Iran. The symbol of Mithra is Sun. Iranians used this symbol in their flag for at least the last 2500 years. The period of 17th to 24th of December was the duration of this feast. The 21st of December, which is the solstice of winter, is still celebrated in Iran. It is called “Yalda” and it represents the victory of light over darkness, which symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. Mithraism was brought to Europe by Greek soldiers after the defeat of the Persians by Alexander and by the forth century AD it was the predominant religion of Europe. The worship of Mithra spread throughout Asia to Europe where he was called Deus Sol Invictus Mithras. Romans adopted this festivity to celebrate the god, Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god during the winter solstice. The festival was characterized by gift-giving, feasting, singing and the priests of Saturn called dendrophori, carried wreaths of evergreen boughs in procession.
Source - http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/sina21224.htm


.
Source - http://www.truthbeknown.com/mithra.htm

Interesting that he is depicted to be riding a chariot pulled by horses... not too far from a sleigh pulled by reindeer is it?


Saturnalia
Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival in honor of the deity Saturn, held on the 17th of December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to the 23rd of December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms: gambling was permitted, and masters provided table service for their slaves. The poet Catullus called it "the best of days"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia

Saturn is almost always depicted as an old man with white hair and a sickle in one hand (ties in with the reaper) and a child in the other. In Greek mythology he is also depicted as eating his own son...




Saturn, Jupiter's father, devours one of his sons
Source - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Rubens_saturn.jpg/284px-Rubens_saturn.jpg


  Source - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Pietro_Bonato_-_Saturno.jpg

Interestingly the chariot that Saturn (an old man) rides is pulled by two serpent like creatures with wings... remarkably similar to an old man in a sleigh being pulled by reindeer.


Jul and Yultide
Yule or Yuletide, "Yule time" is a religious festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples, later undergoing Christianised reformulation resulting in the now better known Christmastide...
Customs such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others stem from Yule...
Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule

So Wikipedia seems to know something that Christians don't seem to?

The Heimskringla tells of Swedish King Aun who sacrificed nine of his sons in an effort to prolong his life until his subjects stopped him from killing his last son Egil. According to Adam of Bremen, the Swedish kings sacrificed males every ninth year during the Yule sacrifices at the Temple at Uppsala. The Swedes had the right not only to elect kings but also to depose them, and both king Domalde and king Olof Trätälja are said to have been sacrificed after years of famine.
Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_religion

In addition to the Yule log, the Christian church adopted the entire tradition of Yule into its own observance 1,600 years ago called the Mass of Christ which also included the Yule ham, the Yule Wassailing (caroling) and other symbols. The Yule tree, or modern day Christmas tree, derives from a ritual to Thor in which humans, especially children, were sacrificed before the mighty tree of Thor. A Christian missionary by the name of Saint Boniface came upon a human sacrifice in front of the tree and in a righteous fervor promptly chopped it down. A small triangular fir tree which grew from its trunk was hailed as a symbol of the Trinity and was promptly adopted by Christianity into the Christmas tradition where it once again became a tree symbolizing god and was merged with the Yule log tradition by adding candles.
Source - http://www.examiner.com/article/the-occult-your-living-room-christmas-yule-and-the-winter-solstice-1


Father time and The Grim Reaper
Father Time is usually depicted as an elderly bearded man, dressed in a robe and carrying a scythe and an hourglass or other timekeeping device (which represents time's constant one-way movement, and more generally and abstractly, entropy). This image derives from several sources, including the Grim Reaper and Cronus, the Greek Titan of human time, reaping and calendars, or The Lord of Time.
Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_Time


Source - https://1888.org/images/2012/02/16/7807/father-time-2.jpg

Father time is depicted in the same way as Saturn, with a sickle and with children. In the image above the years that are gone are shown as old people who are redundant and the years that are coming in are shown as younger and younger children. Interestingly Santa also interacts only with young children.


Christmas

Mistletoe
The Norse used mistletoe as a symbol of fertility, which marked the beginning of its use as a symbol of romance.
Source - http://www.examiner.com/article/the-occult-your-living-room-christmas-yule-and-the-winter-solstice-1

Mistletoe was also believed to render women helpless so that they may be taken advantage of. Hence the Christmas tradition of "no woman should resist giving a kiss if she is caught standing under the mistletoe"


Kissing under the Mistletoe originated with the Roman festival of Saturnalia. In England, kissing under the Mistletoe took place on Christmas, of course. The man must pick a berry when the kissing was complete, and once the berries were gone, there was no more kissing. The mistletoe must then be burned on the twelfth night to ensure that those who kissed under it would marry. Throughout the Middle Ages, mistletoe was banned by the church because of its association with fertility and all of the fun debauchery that goes with it. As a substitute, holly was suggested. Even as late as the 20th century some churches did not allow people to wear mistletoe to services. Mistletoe retained its lusty reputation, however. During the Victorian era, public displays of affection were largely frowned upon, but if you were standing under the mistletoe, you were going to get kissed. Mistletoe is considered to be a plant of male energy.
Source - http://www.witchipedia.com/herb:mistletoe


The Christmas tree and Jeremiah 10
 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. (Jeremiah 10:2-5)

While many a Christian will say that this passage is talking about idols made out of wood, the similarities between the customs mentioned by this passage and the ones of the Christmas tree are undeniable.

Should we really be decking the halls with boughs of holly?


Who is Santa? Who is Knecht ruprecht?
In the 4th century Nikolaus of Myra, Bishop of Myra was attributed as being a miracle worker and humanitarian. An early legend stated that Nikolaos, in an effort to prevent young girls from being forced into prostitution, threw three sacks of gold through the window of their father while other legends stated that he dropped them down the chimney. He was also rumored to secretly leave gold coins in the shoes of the poor and was later made a Christian Saint. Christian religion seems to have used Saint Nikolaus to translate the festivals and traditions of the Norse god Odin into its melting pot, as St. Nicholas over time was depicted as Odin and given his attributes as a large being with a great white beard who, like Thor, was drawn through the sky in a magical chariot. The Dutch translated his name as SinterKlaus which was anglicized into Santa Claus.
Source - http://www.examiner.com/article/the-occult-your-living-room-christmas-yule-and-the-winter-solstice-1

Many have pointed out that the word Santa seems to be an anagram for Satan. Santa seems to know everything about the works of the children and rewards them based on their works thereby indoctrinating them early with the false doctrine of karma based salvation. He flies magically in the sky all across the world in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. Incidentally is not Satan described as the prince of the power of the air in Ephesians 2:2. He creeps down chimneys in the middle of the night and steals your child's heart (in admiration, awe and worship). He has elves as his helpers. Elves are actually supernatural beings from Germanic folklore.

Many people have suggested a link between the Norse god Odin and Santa. The similarities are striking, an old man with a white beard riding a chariot. Odin is supposedly the god of ecstasy, drinking and death and surprisingly these are the three activities of the festival of Saturnalia.


Knecht Ruprecht - Knecht Ruprecht is a demonic character and by tradition he comes visiting homes along with Santa.

Knecht Ruprecht sometimes carries a long staff and a bag of ashes, and wears little bells on his clothes. Sometimes he rides on a white horse, and sometimes he is accompanied by fairies or men with blackened faces dressed as old women.According to tradition, Knecht Ruprecht asks children whether they can pray. If they can, they receive apples, nuts, and gingerbread. If they cannot, he beats the children with his bag of ashes.In other (presumably more modern) versions of the story, Knecht Ruprecht gives naughty children useless, ugly gifts such as lumps of coal, sticks, and stones, while well-behaving children receive sweets from Saint Nicholas. He also can be known to give naughty children a switch (stick) in their shoes for their parents to beat them with, instead of candy, fruit and nuts, in the German tradition.Ruprecht was a common name for the Devil in Germany
Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knecht_Ruprecht


 Source - http://a.fastcompany.net/multisite_files/fastcompany/imagecache/inline-large/inline/2013/11/3021861-inline-i-3-bad-ass-santa-krampus.jpg


Baubles, candles and decorations...
For many to understand the tradition of hanging baubles on the Christmas tree we have to go way back to Babylonian times. Most of the false worship and demonic worship started in Babylon with Nimrod, Semiramis and their son Tammuz. This worship was taken up by almost all the world's greatest civilizations. In the bible the worship of Moloch/Baal is mentioned where God forbids any to sacrifice their children in the fire to these false and demonic gods. Moloch is always depicted as a ox headed creature with a fire burning in front of him into which the children would be thrown as a sacrifice. Very similar to the molten calf that Israel made in the wilderness. The priests of Baal would eat the flesh of the burned children and hence the word Hanni-baal which means priest of baal. This is also the root for cannibal. Also remember what the movie was which had Anthony Hopkins playing a cannibalistic doctor... Hannibal! Some sources say that the heads of the infants were hung as ornaments on a tree and the fat of the children were made into candles as an offering to the false and perverted gods that they worshiped.


Source - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/98/Moloch_the_god.gif


Source - https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEam78YlxJm8h7mtHhgXyRKwQl3AohV5CITQrhYjzq6m-TOcBLARjsStKo_xoUYcMZ2j11lZ2wJ2IVXrpVrTo37M8cslPVpSUTagCkGEbEuJE7dIW2C7RLB2MedWA2ZdK8Q2FH-hy2pzs/s1600/Baal+Molech+child+sacrifice.jpg

The Christmas star
The tradition of hanging a Christmas star is common in India. Sometime this may be a pentagram (five pointed) or a hexagram (six pointed) shaped star. Both of these shapes have been proved time and again to be symbols of the occult. The pentagram is a clear symbol of the false god Baphomet


Source - http://wicca.cnbeyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Baphomet-pentagram.jpg

As for a picture of baphomet I would be deeply disgusted to post it here. The Hexagram to cut a long story short has the same occult roots. Read for yourself http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagram

In light of all this information and this rather long winded history lesson should Christians be celebrating Christmas? Which brings us to the second group of people...


We focus on the birth of Jesus during Christmas and not the pagan rituals...

The birth of Jesus
As you all must know it has been debated by scholars for many years about the exact season and year of the birth of our Lord and Savior. By examining the scriptures (John the Baptist's birth, Elizabeth's time of pregnancy etc.) many come to the conclusion that the birth of Jesus was in the month of April while some come to a date in September. It is also common knowledge that the Jewish shepherds would not be out tending to the sheep at night in December. Hence the question that needs to be asked is who suggested the date of December 25th and what was the method used to arrive at this date? It cannot be pinned down to one person and all the evidence seems to point to the Catholic church converting Saturnalia's date to Jesus' birthday.

Did Jesus command it?
Did the Lord command us to keep his birthday? The only thing that he asks us to do in remembrance is to partake of the breaking of the bread and wine to show forth His death. But surely there is nothing wrong in remembering His birth on a day is there? Well then in that case why don't we also assign days to remember His works, His journey across Israel etc.? Most of the time we are not able to take part in the communion which is a witness that we must give the non believer, but we dare not miss to keep His birthday which He did not command! Shouldn't we then be more zealous to give witness of Jesus in other ways as well?

The errors of the conventional nativity scene...
The nativity scene shows the manger with the newborn Jesus in the center surrounded by His earthly mother and father, the shepherds, three wise men of different ethnicity bearing three gifts (frank incense, gold and myrrh) and a few farm animals. But are these accurate?

Jesus was not newly born when the wise men visited Him, he was somewhere closer to two years old. That's why Herod ordered the deaths of all males two years and under. Otherwise he would have ordered it to be six months and under. Nowhere does it say that there were only three wise men, the word simply says that wise men (any number more than one) came from the east. Nowhere does it say that they were from India or China etc. In fact it is quite possible that these were the descendants of the descendants of the magi of which the prophet Daniel was head (being known as rab mag). Since Daniel was given the timeline of the Messiah's arrival on the earth and His departure etc. it is more likely that he trained these wise men to look for the sign of the star. BTW that's a whole new topic... The conventional three wise men could have been a whole caravan procession of people for all we know. The shepherds were the only persons that came to see the newly born Jesus. Joseph and Mary were probably in a manger only for a couple of days as rooms were not available. At the time the wise men visited Jesus was closer to two years of age and obviously they wouldn't have been in a manger for so long.


And no matter how much a person says that they focus only on Jesus the Church that they go to will either have a person dress up as Santa or have carol singing or have a Christmas tree, a wreath or something from the pagan traditions. So can a person truly say that they focused only on Jesus and didn't partake of any of the pagan stuff. After all the bible says, "And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. (Jude 1:23)" If we are supposed to hate even the garment that is spotted then what about all these traditions?

Well then, what about Romans chapter 14?
 So many people take refuge in Romans chapter 14... "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. (Romans 14:5)" First and foremost Romans 14 was written to address disputes between Jewish and Non Jewish converts as regards clean and unclean foods and which holy days to keep. The Jewish converts would religiously defend the keeping of the new moons and sabbaths while the gentile converts would state that they could eat anything. If one reads the entire chapter how does the matter end? You'll be surprised at how it does... Here it is, "It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. (Romans 14:21)" Is the conclusion that the fellow who wanted to eat anything should continue to do so in the liberty given to him inside the Lord and thereby become a stumbling block to his brother? Paul says, "Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. (1 Corinthians 8:13)" If such should be the attitude of a Christian in matters of food then what about in matters of pagan traditions?

Does it glorify Christ?
An honest question that we need to definitely answer, each man to himself... Does Christmas and all that we see of the celebrations glorify Christ? Can you honestly say that partying, Santa, shopping, Christmas trees and decorations, gifts given to children etc. glorify Christ?

Man those apostles and 1st century disciples missed out on this
Why is it that this festival started only approximately three centuries after the ascension of Jesus? Those apostles and disciples must have been to busy being chopped into bits, burned at stakes, eaten by wild animals, boiled in oil, humiliated and whipped to take part in the awesome Christmas party... how they missed out! Why weren't the apostles of the Lord who were led by the Holy Spirit of God and did many great miracles not knowledgeable about Christmas, the greatest festival of the Christians?

Don't you think you are being a little too judgmental? The Lord's word says we shouldn't judge...

You find a lot of us doing this... they use Matthew 7 as a shield against all judging. Firstly does Matthew 7 say Judge not. No it says Judge not that ye be not judged. "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. (Matthew 7:2)" What else does it say? "Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. (Matthew 7:5)" It says that if your brother is doing a mistake you need to tell him. But if you are doing the mistake as well you first correct yourself and then you better go tell your brother not to do it. It does not say, "Don't judge!"
Aand in another place the word says "Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? (1 Corinthians 6:1-3)"
To me it seems to be saying that we must judge but we must take care to judge righteously...

Hence let us judge righteously as regarding Christmas and whether it truly glorifies Jesus...

As Christians we are supposed to be set apart from the world. If we by some chance find ourselves amongst a huge crowd and everyone in the world (doctrines and philosophies in particular) are reconciled to us we need to stop and consider whether this might be the broad road mentioned in Matthew 7:13… Even worldly people agree with Christians on Christmas being a wonderful season… should not this make our ears go up in alertness?
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12)

Is Christmas not a tree that can be known by its fruits and its roots?

Dear Christian! Have you forgotten...?

Dear Christian,


Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. (Psalms 1:1)

For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20)

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:36)

Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:2)

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15)

And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:38)
So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:33)

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)

God bless you

Gap Theory... God's Word or man's word???

What is the Gap theory?

To get a proper understanding of this theory lets first begin with defining what The Gap theory states...

The Gap theory states that there is a gap of time (supposedly any number of years) between the first two verses of Genesis Chapter one. It says that before the six day creation there was a world full of animals, birds etc. and that Satan had fallen from heaven and led the world in rebellion against God for which this world was judged by God. After this judgment God started again and reformed the earth since it was without form and void.

Here are the first two verses of Genesis for our reference...

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)

Most Christians who believe in the gap theory also make the following statements that according to them go hand in hand with the Gap theory…

Each day of the 6 day creation can be taken as one day or a thousand years or even a million or a billion years.

They cite the following verses from the Lord's word to support such a claim...

For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. (Psalms 90:4)

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (2 Peter 3:8)

Some Gap theorists even believe that the first earth was destroyed and God created everything all over again

Now let us proceed to examine whether the Gap theory is in line with what the word of the Lord teaches...

What are the problems with the Gap theory?

If Satan had already fallen from heaven then how do we explain the following verses?

And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31)

How could everything be good if Satan had already fallen, led a pre-Adamic civilization into rebellion against God, this civilization had been judged and the earth had supposedly become without form and void?

Or consider these verses about Satan from the book of Ezekiel…

Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. (Ezekiel 28:13-15)

Satan was in the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden was created on the sixth day. Everything was good at the end of the sixth day. Hence the implication seems to be that he sinned after he was in the garden and not before… which means that there was no Pre-adamic civilization!!!

Or what about this verse from the book of Romans…

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Romans 5:12)

God’s word says that sin entered in through one man (Adam) and death by sin. The Gap theory says that death and sin were present before Adam was created!! If we believe the gap theory is true then death should have come before sin and Adam...  But God’s word says Adam came first, then sin and then death! How can we reconcile these two completely opposed statements?

Without form and Void

Supporters of this theory will say that the earth was without form and void and that this implies that it had been judged by God and destroyed and God began to create it all over again. As a supporting verse they will quote this verse from the book of Jeremiah…

I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. (Jeremiah 4:23)

They’ll say that this is how the earth must have been since it says without form and void here as well. But if you see the context of the passage it is not talking about an event that has happened but about a destruction that the Lord will make upon the earth, a future event.

Imagine a building that has not been formed and is empty… this has not been completed and no one is living in it as yet. It is without form and it is void. Now imagine a building that has been destroyed and hence it lies in ruins and no one lives in it. This is also without form and void. How can one blindly apply only the meaning that is convenient to their theory instead of applying God’s word to interpret? The creation week is a literal event which requires it to be taken literally.

Six literal days or Six thousand years or Six million years???

If the creation week was anything more than six literal days then the following verses would be false…

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. (Genesis 1:5)

It is called “The first day”. Hence it cannot be a period more than a single day. Some will try to go into the Hebrew and say that the word for day here can imply a period of time. If one reads the Old Testament and studies all the occurrences of the word YOM they will find that if the word is preceded by a number such as first or second and also by a definite article like “the” it means only a literal 24 hour day. If this word in Genesis 1:1,2 can be twisted by scholars to mean a period of time and not a literal 24 hour day then consider the verses of the Ten Commandments given by God and written with His own finger upon the stone tablets...

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8-11)"

God wrote this with His own finger. If each day was a thousand years then did God rest for a thousand years when He rested on the seventh day? No! Or did he ask the Jews to work for six days and take a holiday for the rest of their lives? No! Each day mentioned was a single day. In fact if God had wanted He could have made it all in six seconds. The reason He chose six literal days with an evening and a morning in each day was to give us a model of what would follow, a model of how History would pan out.

Six thousand years have passed from Adam’s creation and we are in the seventh millennia (a thousand years). It is quite possible that this seventh millennia (a thousand years) will be the same thousand year reign of Christ mentioned in the bible which is to happen soon. If we apply the term a thousand years with the Lord these seven millennia can be compared to the seven days of creation. Just as the seventh day of the creation week was for rest, the seventh millennia might be a model of the thousand year reign of Christ when we will enter into the Lord’s rest.

Why is it written that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years in Psalms 90 as well as 2 Peter chapter 3? As a model! Please note that it says that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years not that one day is a thousand. It does not say that it is with man as a thousand years but that it is with the Lord as a thousand years. Also it does not say it is as a million years or billion years but a thousand years and that too only with the Lord.

And what about the rest of the verse 2 Peter 3:8? It says that a thousand years are as yesterday with the Lord. What about Psalms 90:4 where it says that a thousand years with God are as a watch in the night. Does that mean that a thousand years can be assumed by us to be three hours (one watch in the night is three hours)? Can one apply this to the seven days of the creation week? Is it okay to randomly apply or to pay attention to context? Psalms 90:4 as well as 2 Peter 3:8 are talking about how God is not constrained by time as we are... that for Him a one day is as a thousand years. For plants a thousand years are not as a single day… they need sunlight to live, they need insects to pollinate them.

Let us assume that a day is a thousand years just for assumption’s sake… where would this assumption lead us?

1.      The plants that were created on the third day would die waiting for the sun to rise on the fourth day. Because the sun would be created in the fourth day according to this assumption that would be for a thousand years...

2.      And what about insects to pollinate the flowers... Going by this assumption we would have to wait for two thousand years before the insects could pollinate the flowers because it says that all other animal life was created on the fifth day. Since there are two days in between according to this theory that would mean two thousand years.

3.      And what about the very specific mention of the evening and the morning being the first day in Genesis Chapter 1 verse 5. If we were to assume that each day was a thousand years it would make each evening 500 years long and each morning 500 years long. This doesn’t sound logical.

4.      The word says that God rested on the seventh day. According to this theory that would mean that God rested for a thousand years… But He rested on the seventh day to set a model for the Sabbath. Hence it has to be a single day and not a thousand years.

First Earth? Second Earth???

Was there really an earth which became void and formless? Genesis Chapter one shows God creating the earth in verses 2 - 31 and all that is in the earth. Was God creating a second earth in these verses? Is this truly the second earth we are living on? Had the first earth been destroyed and was being re created in the first chapter of Genesis? Consider the following verse from the book of Revelation which erases all doubt about which earth we are standing on as we speak…

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (Revelation 21:1)

Only in Revelation Chapter 21 is the second earth created. Which means that there was no earth before the first earth was created.

Conclusion

What is the purpose of the Gap theory?

To reconcile the theory of evolution with Biblical doctrine and try to show that God’s word makes provision to include evolution into the creation timeline… So that the world will hate Christians less and we can marry the two… so that we can marry opposing doctrines with a little bit of compromising… After all as Christians we are supposed to have peace with everyone around us even if it means to welcome the theory of evolution into God’s Holy, Unchanging word. Absolutely not!!!

Consider…

But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. (Matthew 10:33-36)

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? (1 Corinthians 1:18-20)

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; (1 Corinthians 1:27)

O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: (1 Timothy 6:20)

Since the world is attacking Christianity through “So called Science” and throwing “Evolution” in our faces, such theories like the gap theory have been created by some who are genuinely at a loss of words to explain and defend the faith (1 Peter 3:15)! Sometimes it may be a lack of knowledge of the Word, sometimes it might be that they feel that any method is okay to bring more people to Christ. Sometime they might partially be believers of the “So called scientific” theories that the world throws at us every day. But one of the main reasons is that they are not able to reconcile the theory of evolution with Biblical doctrine. God is not a respecter of persons; He does not need to reconcile His Holy Word with theories of men. “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.” His word is inerrant, He cannot lie, He does not change... If He says six days then He means Six actual days.

GOD could have created it all in the blink of an eye but He chose six actual days to let us know the model of all History and how it would all pan out. All the laws that are in place from the creation are given by God. There are people who have studied Genesis chapter one for their entire lifetime and have not understood the depth of the wisdom of our Lord, God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

The Glory of God is in every work that He has done which includes the work of the creation week. Have you noticed that all that man proposes is called a theory while all that God creates is called a law. For example we have the “Law of Gravity” but only the “Theory of Evolution” or the “Big Bang Theory”

In conclusion it is clear from God’s word that

1.      Everything was created in six actual days

2.      There is certainly no gap between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis Chapter 1

3.      We are still living on the first earth that the Lord has created

4.      Satan had not fallen or led a pre Adamic civilization into rebellion against God

5.      Adam’s sin is what brought death into the world and not the other way around

6.      There is a clear model being set by the Lord all through His word in the seven day week of creation

The Gap theory is something that leads many thousands of Bible Believing Christians to doubt whether the Lord’s word is absolutely inerrant, perfect and flawless. It makes them wonder whether other theories and philosophies of the world also can be grafted into the Word of the Lord  as well… Such a theory should not be encouraged.

God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. (Romans 3:4)

Praise be to our Lord, God and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

Is Baptism by water mandatory for salvation...

Here in India, a question one often comes across is whether water baptism (full immersion) is mandatory to salvation... this is mainly because there are many which don't believe in full immersion baptism and take other routes like sprinkling / pouring water on the head. Some even allow the baptism of infants which is not scriptural.

When we are born many of us are born into the traditions of our parents and automatically become part of the church that they go to and its doctrine. But when we grow up some of us realize that maybe some of the traditions and doctrine was not based perfectly on scripture. Then comes the doubt whether we should be baptized again and in a proper manner... i.e by immersion

Many people argue against the need for baptism by water quoting as proof the example of the men who died on the cross beside Jesus.

And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death.(Luke 23:32)
And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:39-43)

Now what about this man to whom Jesus said that he would be with him in paradise. Obviously he wasn't baptized. Or what if someone is invalid or on death row when they accept Christ as Savior and they don't have an opportunity to be baptized in today's world?


This page will attempt to clarify all baptism related doubts by understanding Baptism from a scriptural point of view... Let's begin...

What is Baptism?

The passage of scripture that best explains what baptism is from the sixth chapter of the book of Romans,

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: (Romans 6:3-8)

According to the above passage of scripture Baptism is being buried with Jesus in His death so that we can be partakers of the resurrection as well. Personally I feel it is also a witness that we give to the people around us that Jesus is our Lord and Savior from that moment onwards.

1. The Great Commission of Jesus

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
(Matthew 28:18-20)

This passage is called the Great Commission. Jesus' last commandments to His immediate disciples and by extension to all His believers. According to this passage we can see that Baptism is a direct commandment from the Lord Jesus. In fact the Lord places Baptism in the same category as teaching all nations, keeping His commandments which makes it a very important if not mandatory thing to do.

2. Baptism as a model is very much present but concealed in the Old Testament 

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; (1 Corinthians 10:1-2)

Hence we see that the concept of Baptism is there in the Exodus of Israel from Egypt through the Red Sea. There is a wonderful saying that goes, "The Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed, The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed." Only if one reads the New Testament can one understand that the children of Israel were baptized unto Moses.

3. Naaman's example

All of us remember the story of Naaman. The Bible says that Naaman was the captain of the armies of the King of Syria. He was successful and honorable but he had one shortcoming, he was a leper. A young girl from Israel was a servant in Naaman's house and she advised Naaman's wife to send him to see the prophet Elisha to be recovered of his leprosy. And so Naaman went to see Elisha,

So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. (2 Kings 5:9-14)

The servants of Naaman advised him not to be angry and said that the prophet had asked him to do a small thing. Being baptized by water is also a very small thing, a small act of obedience which every able follower of Christ must gladly do.

4. Consider the time of the apostles

Consider the following verses from the book of the Acts of the Apostle,

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38)

And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? (Acts 8:36)

And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days. (Acts 10:48)

And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. (Acts 22:16)

And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 19:1-5)

If the matter of baptism was such an important one that every person that accepted Christ in the time of the Apostles was baptized immediately then why should it be something that our generation puts away or is lethargic about.

5. Baptism by Full immersion not by sprinkling or pouring

What about the question of whether to baptize by immersion or by sprinkling or by pouring on the head? Firstly there is not a single incident recorded in the whole bible about any believer of Christ being baptized by sprinkling or pouring water on their heads. One may say there is not mention of the word immersion too but that is a very legalistic and religious view of the scripture.

Consider...

And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. (John 3:23)

Why was Much water required to baptize unless the person needed to be immersed completely?

And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. (Acts 8:36-38)

Why did they go into the water to be baptized unless to be immersed completely?

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: (Romans 6:4-5)

How can someone be buried with Him or planted together with Him unless by immersion? Can you imagine sprinkling water on someone's head and saying that they have been buried with Jesus? That act doesn't depict a picture of burying at all...

The bible makes it very clear that every instance of baptism mentioned in the new testament was by immersion and not by methods like pouring and sprinkling. But one may ask if baptism is just a symbol then why should we not sprinkle or pour water. The answer is very simply that sprinkling or pouring does not symbolize death of the sinful flesh as does immersion (because in immersion we are buried in water which is compared to being buried with Christ).

6. Baptism as an infant? What age should one be baptized?

There is not a single instance of baptism of infants or babies in the bible. The act of baptism requires that the soul is able to realize that it is a sinner and the need for a savior.  How would a baby understand that lust or murder is a sin? How can a baby understand that Jesus is God or appreciate His sacrifice on the cross?A person can only be baptized after the age of accountability and when they understand and desire salvation through Jesus. The age of accountability is when a person is able to understand what sin is, what good and bad is...

7. Prerequisites to Baptism 

What does one require to do before one gets baptized?

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (Acts 2:37-39)

All anyone needs to do before baptism is to repent. Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ...Unless a person has realized that they are a sinner and that they need to be saved, there is no point in Baptism. Once they have realized that they are a sinner the person must repent from their sins and be baptized.


8. Who should baptize you?

Someone may say that the pastor / preacher that baptizes a person must be a sincere committed man of God, following the right doctrine etc. Yes it would be good if the person baptizing was all that. But only God knows the true condition of his heart. Hence the preacher / pastor's sincerity doesn't matter as much as the sincerity of the person who is being baptized in turning away from his / her sinful nature...


 9. What are the steps of baptism? Are there any particular clothes / traditions / words?

There are no conventions for a baptism. One can wear any clothes, you can immerse in water forwards or backwards. There are some groups that argue whether one should be baptized only in the name of Jesus Christ as it is mentioned all through the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Or that one should baptize only in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost as commanded by Jesus. Aren't the two things essentialy the same? I mean would the apostles baptize in the name of Jesus Christ after being commanded by the Lord to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost if the two were different things?  I personally feel that both the events are one and the same thing. 

God looks at the heart and not on the outward appearance and hence the sincerity of the person being baptized is the only factor to be considered...

But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)



Conclusion

In concluding water baptism by immersion might not be mandatory for salvation when you are in a situation where you will die in the flesh before you can be baptized (for example the man who repented on the cross beside Jesus, a person who is sentenced to death, a person who is sick and invalid etc.). But everyone who is able to and not hindered by death or sickness must of their own free will, be baptized, having a desire to repent and turn to Jesus for the salvation of their soul.

For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
(1 Thessalonians 5:9)

- In His Grace



Feel free to comment or to get in touch with me if you think that something more could be added to this list...

Circumcision on the eighth day?

God gave Abraham a commandment for his generations to keep, that they were to circumcise all the male children on the eighth day after birth.

And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. (Genesis 17:9-12)

Why did God say to Abraham that circumcision should be done on the eighth day? After all by human logic this painful procedure would be easier to bear when the person was fully grown and strong, right? Wrong! Remember the Hivites that were circumcised when Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite wanted to marry Dinah the daughter of Jacob. When all the males of the Hivites were circumcised they were in much pain until the third day and Simeon and Levi, Jacob's sons and Dinah's brothers went in and killed all the Hivites easily.

And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city. And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males. (Genesis 34:24-25)

Circumcision is a most painful thing to do when you are grown up!

So it is better to trust the Lord's wisdom as usual! But I'm curious to know why on the eighth day?

In 1935, professor H. Dam proposed the name “vitamin K” for the factor in foods that helped prevent hemorrhaging in baby chicks. We now know vitamin K is responsible for the production (by the liver) of the element known as prothrombin. If vitamin K is deficient, there will be a prothrombin deficiency and hemorrhaging may occur. Oddly, it is only on the fifth through the seventh days of the newborn male’s life that vitamin K (produced by bacteria in the intestinal tract) is present in adequate quantities. Vitamin K, coupled with prothrombin, causes blood coagulation, which is important in any surgical procedure. Obviously, then, if vitamin K is not produced in sufficient quantities until days five through seven, it would be wise to postpone any surgery until some time after that. But why did God specify day eight?

Image courtesy : http://wallpaperdreams.com

On the eighth day, the amount of prothrombin present actually is elevated above one-hundred percent of normal. This is the only day in the male’s life in which this situation will be the case under normal conditions. If surgery is to be performed on a baby (in this case circumcision), day eight is the perfect day to do it. Vitamin K and prothrombin levels are at their peak on this day in the entire life of the person.

References :

http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=13&article=1118

Now isn't that just amazing? It reminds me of one of my favorite passages in the Bible,

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. (Proverbs 3:5-8)

I hope this was edifying to you...

Time, Space and Matter!

Did you know that time, space and matter must have come into existence at the same instant? After much research from the scientific community it has been concluded that not one of these three things (which basically make up the whole universe) can exist by itself. But if this is the case then how did the universe come into being? Every now and then someone comes up with a theory that tries to explain and accommodate all the physical properties of the universe, before failing in some way or the other. But there is a passage of scripture that gives us the perfect explanation about the creation of the universe,

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3) [emphasis mine]”

Do you know that these are the beginning verses of the Bible? In the beginning (time) God created the heaven (space) and the earth (matter). What’s more amazing is that each of these three exist in three forms. Time exists as past, present and future. Space exists in length, breadth and height (or X, Y and Z coordinates). And matter exists as solid, liquid and gas. And God said, Let there be… He spoke a single sentence, a single (Uni) sentence (verse)… and created the Universe.

Our existence is bound by the constraints of Time, Space and Matter. Only one to whom these constraints do not apply could have created the Universe. The Almighty, All knowing, Eternal God is the only one who could have created it. He is Omnipresent (Eternal), Omnipotent (Almighty) and Omniscient (All knowing), [the Latin prefix Omni means “All”]. 

Consider this… Space-time can be thought of as a fabric in which the different objects of the Universe are embedded and the same concept can be found declared thousands of years ago in the Word of God,

“It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: (Isaiah 40:22) [emphasis mine]”

Isn’t it awe inspiring that we are only now discovering things about our universe that have been declared by God in His word many millennia before?  

Think about it!!!