Noah’s Great Flood
Belief and Our Salvation
Dan Baxley
servant@yahshuaservant.com
www.yahshuaservant.com
The ‘flood of Noah’, as told in the pages of the Bible is under a new type of criticism. There was a time when the ‘flood’ story had been accepted as fact, believed, not by everyone but in general. This ‘belief’ had even been enforced and for any to suggest it to be in error were deemed heretics or worse – of the Devil. Then along came science. Actually, science existed long before this period of science, the period within the ‘Common Era’ (CE, AD). Prior to the CE it had been the BCE (Before the Common Era) and that time is given credit for strange and wondrous things that cannot be fully explained with out a lot of conjecture, opinions and theories. Much of the conjecture going back into the history of ancient man is based on the assumption that people way back then were stupid.
With evolution (pronounced evil-lution in most of European English) carrying the banner for science (it seems all things in modern science bends its knee to the theory of evolution) forward it is accepted that early man had not yet come into his full mental capacity, like we have. Some even suggest we are still developing mentally and some day will have brains the size of basketballs. This is borne out by the visitors from outer space, those ‘grays’ with the huge craniums and small faces. Of course, true science discounts the ‘grays’, and rightly so, as fantasy, fiction, if you will. Still, when you look at the attitude of modern sciences and you see the arrogance of presenting ancient man’s intelligence barely above that of a monkey you see some pretty fancy fiction taking place.
When one goes back into the past, back when Moses, Abraham, Noah, or Adam and his lovely wife, Eve lived a picture emerges that make many of the fiction writing scientist cringe. Scientist in the study of man ignore the scientific genius of ancient man. The Ancients built things that have the modern brains search, and guessing, for answers. They still argue among themselves about how the pyramids were built. How did these creatures barely out of their monkey skins build Stonehenge in England? And another thing most ignore is the fact that almost all of modern society, from top to bottom, is established upon the teachings of the Greeks and Romans of over two thousand years ago, not to mention that some of the greatest minds of modern history came out of what we know as the “Dark Ages”. If the evolution of the human mind is supposed to be getting better then why is virtually everything we know based upon the intelligence of the past? We use electricity and we know how it works but we, meaning science, still do not know what it is. Electricity -- given to us by ancestors of the lesser intelligence – if evolution be true, that is. Before the great thinkers of the “Dark Ages”, before the Christ walked the earth, there were men such as Plato and Socrates upon which the cages of higher learning are set. What has happened, has man stopped evolving?
I grew up in a generation of modern thinkers that argued Moses did not know how to write, it had not yet been invented, they said. Stories of the Bible were campfire tales told to children, they said, they taught, with lesser minds than our own. The Books, so say many scholars, were edited and reedited by redactors over a course of many years, long after the death of Moses. They say these redactors were writing over centuries, these secretive authors that the redactors of scripture have labeled as the “J’ (Jahwist), “E” (Elohist), P (Priestly), and D (Deuteronomist) as the orginal “redactors” -- totally obscure and of unknown origins these supposed editors pieced stories together and made up Laws to service themselves as they created the Torah. In other words, according to the redactors of modern theory, these ancient redactors -- unknown editors -- embellished and change things around to enhance the bible tales. Read the following --
Redaction Criticism of the Bible is the theory that different copyists and commentators of the early biblical writings embellished and altered the biblical texts throughout early Jewish and Christian history to make them appear more miraculous, inspirational, and legitimate. An example of redaction theory would be the claim that Old Testament prophecies were modified by redactors after the fact to make them appear as miraculous prophecies. Redaction criticism reduces the quality of the biblical record, casts strong doubt on its inspiration, and implies that the Bible is not trustworthy as a historical document.
Originally, redaction criticism was restricted to the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), but it has been applied to other areas of scripture. Norman Perrin in his book "What is Redaction Criticism?" states, "The prime requisite for redaction criticism is the ability to trace the form and content of material used by the author concerned or in some way to determine the nature and extent of his activity in collecting and creating, as well as in arranging, editing, and composing."
American Heritage Dictionary:
re-dact-ed, re-dact-ing, re-dacts. 1. To draw up or frame (a proclamation, for example). 2. To make ready for publication; edit or revise.[1]
To effect changes in. v.alter, change, revise, overhaul, revamp, redo, reform, mutate, transform, vary, modulate, adapt, turn, remake, amend, modify, reconstruct, refashion, remodel, reshape, rework, reword, rewrite, redact.[2]
Isn’t it funny how these humble men of old neglected to make themselves known, hiding their pen names and for what purpose? Especially when we see the modern Redactors only too willing to reveal themselves. Perhaps these ancient priestly authors and scribes, the J, E, P and D did not exist – what a thought? Maybe Moses really did write (it is admitted, today, He did have this skill) the Torah after all, and perhaps, just maybe he employed personal scribes. Maybe Moses is responsible for the Torah, by hand, by deed and by assignment.
Modern Redactors work at discrediting the ancient work of the Torah. They have joined the crowd of repeating a theory often enough eventually it will be accepted as. But something strange happened along the way -- Israel, a remnant of, returned to the land and became, once again, a recognized independent country, and since this mini return interest in research and archeology bloomed. Ancient languages, once lost, have been uncovered and learned, stones with ancient records revealed, and within our life time. Men have discovered what the ancients already knew, mankind has had the ability to write from the beginning and the writing was not simple scratching but complex and taking years for modern man to break the code making it possible to read the libraries of Sumer (5th millennium BC by some estimates). YaHshua, our Savior, the Messiah of over two thousand years ago told us Moses wrote the Torah (Law), and today we can say with confidence -- He was, and is correct. Moses was educated in the schools and palaces of Egypt, skilled in writing, an educated man and the inspired an writer of the Torah, the Law. Our Savior spoke of this as did Moses.
(John 5:46) For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
Many things have come to light in this past hundred years and one of the most glaring is that fact that the men of old, the Ancients, were not stupid people this side of ape-men, as many in science have taught and wish to be true. But not all – there is an equal number in the realm of the scientific community that hold private, personal beliefs they dare not express for fear of being drummed out of their profession by the so called, liberal minded intellectuals, liberal only to their own views, their own imaginations – liberal only to those in agreement with the stock line – Bible bad, science good.
In these modern times information is hard to cover up or conceal and little by little information contradicting the mega minds of higher learning is leaked out. It does not take a mental giant to see what is happening. Yesterday life scientist were telling their students Neanderthals were the bridge between ape-man and modern man, today they admit the Neanderthals lived side by side, even, at times, occupying the same cave dwellings. Geologist were (Men such as Dr Henry Morris excluded) telling us the idea of a worldwide flood was ignorant stories of primitive people, then they turned around and told us they had discovered the whole earth had, at one time, been covered with ice three miles deep. They are still having trouble trying to explain how all this “ice” got there?
The Foundation of Fact or Fallacy
Certainly, you have to have order and some kind of outline for a plan of study and research in order to arrive at a truth, or the fact of something. What has happened, in many quarters of scientific search and research, however, it has been decided that the foundations of ‘fact’ have already been discovered and is the basis for all other research and many of these false facts are held so tight as to stifle any opposition. Thus it is a forced teaching that everything, concerning mankind and mental development, must be based on the “theory” of evolution – the foundation of modern science – a theory taught as fact. Another good example of this is the space program.
In all of the exploratory satellite probes sent out to collect information, what has been the primary purpose? To find other life, of course, after all if we evolved from nothing there must be others, right? We have lived but a few short years on this planet yet our greatest (?) minds are consumed with discovery of our origins and hope to find it in the rocks of other worlds – dead worlds. Glorify the achievements all you want, the walking on the moon, the mounting of the Hubble telescope around the Earth, and many success stories of space probes sending wondrous pictures back and all for what? Have they found life? The Radio Telescope projects listening to space noise for so many years have heard nothing, not one word, not one sound that indicates life as we know it and this program (SETA) has lost its funding and must now proceed as a private venture. Scientist of the space program fear the same thing, after all, thousands of scientists are gainfully employed by our tax dollars. If the Radio telescope projects failed to detect intelligent noise from space and the space exploration and the tons of space debris sent out only to fail in finding life -- they too may get cut, after all why should the general public fund grown boys playing space cadet? Spacemen building the ultimate towers of Babel into space? So, what would you do, what would be your reaction to being told your boyhood dreams are going to come to an end? What are these geniuses doing about it, what are they gearing up for, just in case?
Like the Radio telescopes listening and searching space with radio technology no life of any kind has been found outside of our planet. Not one space probe has brought back life, nor sent back pictures of life, so what is to happen, what can they do to defend and preserve their jobs, their careers?
There is a new venture a new direction the Space program is heading today. The search for life used to be the primary selling point to the public and the government for financial support but has been losing favor, mainly due to the lack of evidence – lots and lots of neat stuff, cool pictures – but no life. This of course, the finding of life, would have been a big feather in the cap of those God haters that hold sway over the sciences –life and death over careers. Photos of things in space are like great works of art, something you can hang on your wall or use as a screen saver on you computer – but no life. What about the water they found of Mars, you ask? You will notice very little is being said about the “water on Mars” these days. It turns out, the water they thought they found, the erosion and all, was actually from a liquid acid, a liquid gas with its remains frozen, not unlike the frozen methane gases running deep beneath our own oceans, but no water.
The New Big Bang
The big search has been for water so we can colonize Mars when the Earth comes under fire has come to an end – without water - no life. They have found gaseous ice and no evidence of life and nothing that would be considered habitable. If we plan on going there someday we will have to take or make our own water.
This brings us to the “new direction” the “new selling point” – we must leave Earth one day and need to make plans now. Yes, it has become evident to the world of science that this world we live on is doomed (there is that word again, but see who is using it). The one thing learned from the study of space, from sending probe after probe -- everywhere you look in the heavens you see beautiful destruction and the visual future of planet Earth. Explosions everywhere, Big Bangs, on after the other – mass destructions that would be totally unbelievable accept for the fact science has been showing it to us. Campfires are beautiful to look at with all their flickering colors but no one would think to put their hands deep into the live coals, would they?
We are on the hit list for extinction, they tell us. This then is the new “selling point”. We must continue to pour money into the space exploration project in order to find a way of escape, or, rather, a place to escape to from the coming Earth’s coming Big Bang, and they are not talking about this event creating new life.
Looking for a New Home
When a suitable planet is found we humans can then transport ourselves to this new destination and save ourselves from the collapse of our own sun. Of course that is very scary and if that isn’t enough to squeeze the green out of you and me then there is the ever present, any moment meteor strike that would destroy all living things on earth – remember the dinosaurs? But wait, there’s more – global warming? How about a giant global cool down that may be due to global warming thrusting us into a new ice age that would cover the entire earth with two to three miles of ice – again? I’m not making this up.
Scientist would laugh at the suggestion of a world wide flood, like in Noah’s day. Water covering the tallest of mountains? Preposterous, they say, but, on the other hand, they would have you believe the earth was, at one time, covered completely by ice up to three miles thick, and that this could happen again – global warming, anyone?
Our Creator has promised to never destroy the earth by a flood of this magnitude again. He has determined to save us from ourselves and to those willing. He offers life eternal less all of the troubles we suffer in the flesh. (Gen 8:21-22) (Romans 10:9)
Spontaneous Creation
Let’s see, ice, water, water, ice – aren’t they the same? You see scientist that study geology and earth hydraulics has discovered evidence the earth was once a giant snowball – Snowball Earth, they call it. Other evidence has surface in ice core sampling from the poles suggesting that the Earth has a history of going through cyclical patterns of too hot, too cold, and back to too hot, rotating through this cycling periods stretched twenty six thousand year periods. This, of course, dumps big time on the “theory of evolution” and, of course, is the reason some are beginning to theorize that evolution of man may have occurred rapidly, not over millions of years as previously taught but quickly – one day monkey, next day man – they call this spontaneous creation. If you have followed any of this over the years you will have notice how the current thought, and talk, is man appeared on the scene less than a quarter million years as opposed to the one hundred million so often mentioned. Some have even dared mention modern man as only having been on this Earth since the last 15,000 years. This new thought is gaining ground for one thing it answers a lot of problems facing the theory of evolution. Sure, why not, the record seems to show just that – suddenly modern man appeared?
Gradually this information is being released to the public without anyone (those with careers based on evolutionary theory) having to say, “we are wrong”. This wonderful information – The truth that mankind is not invincible -- will lead to an emphasis on man saving man and the immediate need to continue with the space program – we humans need to escape this earth of doom, or suffer the way of the dinosaurs.
Escape
The selling point: The earth is set in a perpetual state of flux with calm lasting thousands of years resulting in periods in which life as we know it survives, but there is record of past cataclysm in which all life is altered of destroyed. The evidence of Dino bones is proof that a world was here before us and it is gone totally and serves as a warning to us. We must escape and our best bet is space ships carrying human cargo to another planet – this is their message of salvation -- escape. I wonder how the selection process will go – after all, someone must be left behind.
The Earth is going to freeze to death and then burn then freeze and then burn, then one day the Sun is going to fry everything to a cinder – that is – if a giant asteroid doesn’t get us first. The prophets of the scientific community see the problem and point to it then say, If we act quick enough we can save ourselves. There is no reliance on any god, let alone a Creator God.
There is another group, however, not scientist necessarily, that have escape plans of another kind -- the Rapture doctrine of “end days”. In this plan “good Christian people” will be jerked up into the heavens out of harms way. The threat is not from ice, not from an exploding (imploding, technically) sun however, but from the Beast. For those of you that do not already know, the Beast is a wicked man that will rule the world working hard, with the help of the false Prophet, toward getting all mankind to worship him or his image or to take his mark (Rev 13). Maybe you will need this mark as a pass for a ticket to the space ships of salvation. Men plan to save mankind be the works of their own hands.
From the historical record we can see the failure of humanity to attain peace so it is a weak desire to think mankind will save itself. And it is but a dream thinking as if mankind is immortal. The plan, the escape plan, is only feasible if flesh and blood can somehow gain immortality. It is a fools dream, of course, but the rebellion of mankind against their Creator continues seeking a solution apart from a Creator God.
Mortal Man
Tomorrow you die, so why should you care? The very scientist working on these projects will all soon be dead and buried. Is finding the answer to this question of ‘life’ that important, especially to those that have decided there is no Creator? What if a probe were to send back images of little aliens spray painting graffiti on the lenses? What would that prove? The answer would be, nothing is proved for it is not aliens they are looking for, though that would be a plus, but it is the origin of us proving we are not from some God, some Creator of much higher intelligence. You see, they have no doubt that there are other people out there, even though they laugh at the UFO buffs, they in turn say there must be others out there as the universe is so vast, so vast in fact the human mind cannot comprehend it. Still, finding life in space would only be a temporary salve for the mind of the god haters as the question would still remain – where did they come from?
When the Hubble telescope had been repaired many thought they were going see the end of the universe, but instead they saw more of the same, as if there is no end, no beginning either, for how could something, now beyond imagination, have a beginning. This set science on its head, theories abound but the fact fell on the scientific community of a vastness that could not fit into the brains of men – they we seeing beyond theory and imagination. What came about was a new creation of study, some called this the “Hubble Bubble” and within this, the bubble, men could still study and search without being overwhelmed. The ‘bubble’ would be a limited area of study, a measurable area of space so the science would continue searching our immediate neighborhood, something modern genius could get its mind around.
No God, No Supreme Intelligence
So, what is this all about? Other than keeping ones job in a field of play and speculation? It is about proving there is no Creator, no God. Everything is by accident, a great explosion, is one theory and many more are in the works. Certainly there are other sciences that care about what is happening here on earth like how electricity works and how the brain works and why we don’t live forever. Why things die, is a really big question, not to mention what happens to intelligence after death. Is all of our thinking, planning, dreams and life, all for nothing?
What does any of this have to do with Noah and the ‘flood’? Everything, for if you take the anti-god view of science and reject the Bible as any kind of source based in fact, that there is no Creator, no Savior for that matter, then your ‘hope’ lies in rocks on other planets which then leads to no hope at all for if what you suspect, or desire to be true then you know you will die, soon, and there will be nothing afterward. This ‘nothingness’ ultimately means that the work you do today is all for nothing.
All is a waste, a waste of time and energy. Look at past civilizations -- you know the ones built by dumber people than us -- Millions of graves have been found in desert areas, not to mention the dead lost to the oceans of the world, or those eaten by wild animals, the burning of humans by other humans. We dig up reminders of other human beings that had been on this earth and are gone. We see their bones and the monuments they raised to themselves and we do not doubt where they went – there is no immortal human on the face of this earth. We still talk about our greatness as if we are immortal. I wonder what Noah thought when the waters began to lift the boat? Do you suppose he thought about what a wonderful boat he had built and the boat was his salvation? What is the first thing Noah did when he and his family were able to leave this boat? He set up an altar for giving thanks to the Creator God, YHWH (Gen 8:20).
What should we fear, if not death?
The fear many lack is the fear of a Creator. If, for the sake of argument, there is a Creator God, then the ‘flood’ story is possibly true and demonstrates a God that can get angry and has the power to destroy what He has created with no more compassion than that of a scientist getting read of lab rats. It is with the hope of Noah that we pray this is not so, that the God of Noah destroyed ‘lab rats’ that refused to be any thing other than but ‘lab rats’. A race of peoples so violent and full of hate, so anti Creator that He could do nothing with them, that is, except for Noah. Here, then, is the hope of men, for to Noah the Creator promised to never use water to destroy all of mankind again, the issue here is that He, the Creator, did not destroy everyone. If He had we would not have the story of the ‘flood’ and of men getting another chance, a chance to be something other than ‘lab rats’. Since the time of the ‘flood’ men have decided that it really didn’t happen, it is a story, a tale of fiction to answer the bigger question of, ‘where did we come from’? Men are still asking this question and spending billions of our tax dollars on trying to find the answer. The answer they want, however, is anything but what the Bible offers.
As things are uncovered, literally as well as spiritually, through these modern times and the Bible is proven over and over again to be true to its word and its descriptions of historical events are proven true and accurate. The critics, however, continue in their attempts to rewrite history in the form of their brand of ‘fiction’ aimed at discrediting the Scriptures of the Hebrew Bible and the writing of the Apostle of YaHshua. To the intellectual critics it is a travesty that anyone would believe the ‘fiction’ of the Bible, yet, at the promoting of a theory they indulge themselves in “fiction” of the mind treating “theory” as fact – they abandon sound doctrine to worship the creature instead of the Creator.
Scientific authority make fun of the Bible and call those believing in the book fools, ignorant fools, all the while they delve into a fictional opinion, with out sound proof, and say this if fact, this is the truth, our theories above all. They laughing at the common man, or woman, for daring to think the Bible rings true.
Be advised, today, in this time of modern thought, many scholars of repute secretly suspect the Bible to be more correct than ever thought, or believed. Secretly because to admit such a thing is like taking a stand that you believe in flying saucers. Those in the intellectual community support the scholars of science but even in their ranks some are beginning to seek answers in the spiritual realm, maybe not from the Bible but from other, varied source creating a blend of religious thought that may include the Bible and other accounts from ancient writing of men.
An easy example of changing thought is the criticism concerning man’s ability to communicate through writing. It was not that long ago many scholars as well as intellectuals (you see not all scholars are intellectual) stated that men in the years of Moses did not know how to write. Writing, they maintained, had not yet evolved. Remember, this is the case within our lifetime. Today, for anyone to suggest that to be true they would be laughed at. When the Bible states Moses wrote, he did just that. Had you stood behind the fact of the Bible and accept that Moses and even Abraham, and before actually had the ability to put words in writing you would have been correct and the overly intelligent intellects and scholars of science would have been wrong. This is repeated over and over again, the people that fancy themselves wise in the ways of the world, and of worlds before, bounce from on denunciation to another attempting to discredit a book that makes fools of them all. As new proofs of the correctness of the words written in the Bible come to light they begin to scramble for a, different interpretation. They continually attempt to make the Book, that can no longer be denied, a construction of everyday events found among the history of ancient men glorified into a belief in a deity. The bounce around a proven truth of the Book and attempt to put a different spin on it, making things up if need be, fictionalizing their made up research of denial, never apologizing for misleading statements once proven in error.
"Show us the Ark, the boat of Noah, and we will believe", they say. This is the cry of the intelligent thinking men and women of the world, ‘show us the boat’. This is, of course, more a form of ridicule, not a true request. If the boat were discovered tomorrow, and could in no way be denied, it would be denied. There would even be some that would seek its destruction in order to preserve their error. No, you say, but it is true. For every oddity, for every accusation of ignorance, and arrogance thrown by the world of self proclaimed intellects and from scholars of deception and from twisted science toward those who choose to believe the Bible can be directed right back at those that would steal and burn your belief. They are hopeless and think it smart to deny the existence of a Creator and to make you question your faith. Stand up against them, shut their mouths, they have been spewing their ignorance long enough. They think it silly to believe, then fine, they can mind their own busines, what has it to do with them. If they are so convinced why even pay any attention?
Time Tells it All
Stand up for what you believe. Time, past and present is on your side. If you could have lived over the past two thousand years, an immortal, say, and personally witnessed the battle over the Bible but you had decided from the first day to believe what what the Bible reported as true, no matter what criticisms were leveled, you stayed true to what had been written even as criticism appearing to put the book in disrepute grew, as the intellctual mind of man seemed to be destroying the Holy Bible then you world what would you have experienced? You would have seen the Holy Bible assualted as no other book, burned, torn, hidden and denied its reading. There wouls have even been those claiming to be religious deny its works and words and others, by their actions, bringing the Holy Book in shame. You would have seen the community of higher learning, itself, changing its position so many times as to bring into question their credibility or validity for anything opinion they might have. This high community learing in science where merely discovering what was or is already there. As the archeologist uncovered more and more concerning the true origins of man the false science of men scrambled to make up or adjust their previously truths that could no longer stand. As an immortal witnessing all of this you would soon notice that when you were proven wrong on one hand, during one century, only to be proven right during another. By standing your ground on the turth and reliability of the Word you would have been able to stand as its witness to the real truth, to the most consistent truth, unwavering in the face of the critics and god haters. To this day the reliability of the Holy Bible is being used by experts in the field of archelolgy to discover new cities and place once believed only myths.
Men of faith have backed down in trusting the Bible on more than one occasion bring their personal faith into question, in my view, but had they maintained their trust, even to death, as some did, they would have been more correct more often than had they accept the theories of science. The stories we hear is how religion tormented and killed the true scientist as heretics. What is not mentioned is that those in power, religious and otherwise, were the scholars of their day. Many of the scientists in those days wore the robes of priests, and dressed in the gowns of royalty and many others were people of means and of faith in the God of the Bible, not many pig farmers, not many plowmen were doing research. The stories we are told, like good propaganda, pick a few tales of persecution among the intellects of the day, men brave enough to stand up to church dogma but fail to tell us these men, the fathers of science, were religious men themselves, they believed in a god, and in most cases -- the God of the Holy Bible. Their conflict with the Church of Rome, contrary to popular teaching, had nothing to do with the Bible it had to do with ego, power and control. The religious leaders of the day had decided, much like the scientist of today, what is true and what is not and then attempted to use the Bible as their proof, when in fact the Bible, on many occasions did not support their personal beliefs or religious theories at all but in many cases contradicted these personal ideas taught as facts. What the religious leaders of then were doing so are many in the sciences doing -- supporting favored theories on flimsy evidence and calling it fact.
Many discoveries coming out of the Dark Ages, so called, and leading to the intellectual establishment of modern thinking came through, and by some very intelligent, very religious men. Schools such as Oxford of England, Yale and Harvard, of the United States were all founded upon religious order. Many of the professors of these schools held degrees in theology. These schools are but a shadow of what they once were. Like the brain of the modern man degenerating into a lesser image of what it once had been. Make no mistake, some of the greatest minds; the greatest thinkers of all time have come out of the past. The schools of today are based on the brilliance of these past scholars, scholars and thinkers developing in a time of history called the ‘Dark Ages’. Even before all of this the writings of men, before the times of the Christ, have been preserved and reverenced so that they have become the back bone of modern thought and theory -- Plato and Socrates come to mind, around 400 years before Christ. The writings of such men are immortalized and worshiped as only men can worship words. The Bible and its words, however, are ridiculed and criticized as fable. Not that long ago intelligent men made the accusation that King David, of Bible fame, never lived and that there never had been a King Solomon, let alone a Noah. Of course we now know there had been a King David and a King Solomon. The only question now is when will the proof surface that Noah, too, lived. In the field of archeology the Bible is being proven again and again.
Believers
The believer needs no proof. To the untrained in spiritual matters, this sounds ludicrous, and for any animal (the higher intelligence see mankind as mere animals) to take this approach to any book is ignorant, yet still, they worship their own words and other words of wisdom but never the Scriptures. They claim to show their argument against the Creator by a multitude of proof and begrudge the Faithful for believing in YaHshua without proof – not that there is no proof as there is, tons of proof – but still the world opinion of the intellect of anyone accepting the Holy Bible as true is questioned and ridiculed by those that cannot stand the thought of a Creator God. One would have to agree except for one thing, the believer has been granted an awakening, a sheet of darkness has been removed from the mind and only another believer can really understand this.
Embarrassed by the Book
Some believers, having fallen away from the first light of their awakening having buckled under the load of ridicule from the superior attitude of the accusers toward the words of scripture and fallen backward then attempting to maintain what they know is true in believing in the Messiah of the Bible try to adapt their belief to that of the accusers in an attempt to not be embarrassed by the Book they so willingly, in the beginning, accepted.
Those who have found the Christ and the path to ‘life’ cannot refute the Book, the Bible, for it is this book that explains the reason for the Christ, the Messiah, the reason for their ‘hope’ in an eternal life of peace (something not yet found on this Earth, past or present). An escape from the blackness of death they slip into indirect denial, denial of the Christ and of our Heavenly Father YaHshua said he came to reveal for the first time – a revelation of His Father and our Father.
This Christ, this Messiah, spoke of Adam as if he really lived and he spoke of Noah as having been on this Earth and having come through the flood. His disciples also believed and spoke of these same accounts as fact. They did not go about as some cowardly Christians trying to accommodate the redactors of Scripture and the so called, higher intelligence in the circles of higher learning.
We .stand on the Rock, the foundation upon whom the Apostles built and as our authority on the Scriptures they made no excuses or apologies for the Scirpture readily quoting form them and mentioning, without blushing the Great Flood. The New Testament is a testament to the fact of the Old Testament and that is a testament to the fact of creation and the founding of man by an all powerful being capable of constructing a human being. He calls whatever he wishes into being – spontaneous creation – it is true as some few scientist are now speculating. (Romans 4:17)
Certainly the Old and New Testaments are recognized as having a covenantal side, but that covenant in the beginning had been made with only one man and then reiterated between a Creator and a single nation concerning the future of the Land of Israel and their lasting future as a people. Another Covenant was also made with the children of Israel, not made with Abraham, a civil covenant , a covenant of “judgments”. Moses was teaching these judgments and laws before (Ex 18:19-23) the people gathered at the foot of the Mountain of Laws (Sinai) where the Laws and Judgments were ratified and put into a legal document beginning with the Ten Commandments and continuing into 616 commandments total. (Exodus 19,20,21)
Salvation, Once and For All
Salvations means "to be saved" -- saved from what, you might ask? Saved from ourselves, we were created to be destroyed, make no mistake, the flesh is not immortal and never has been, never will be. In the Kingdom of the Living God rebellion cannot be tolerated. Immortal rebellion such as Satan enjoys is not allowed where we are concerned. We humans are being offered, (have been offered) an opportunity above the created beings that came before us -- the angels. The angels, created immortal beings, are the servants to our Creator and our Heavenly Father, and we, lowly men and women have been created to become sons and daughters of the Most High.
This is possible only through and by the Savior, the Christ, YH-shua (His birth name). Satan led a rebellion and was able to convince a third of the other created angels that the over-throw of the Father’s domain was possible. They failed, but being created immortal the punishment for such a failure was not death, as we understand death. There seems to have been a covenant with the created angels and the Creator Father and the covenant apparently had nothing to do with eternal life, as it does with us, for they already had that, they were created immortal.
We do see evidence of the character of angels being changed, some becoming demons and devils, others trapped in some kind of spiritual prison. Satan, the ringleader of the rebellion, himself once a beautiful creation, turned to a raging red dragon, and at times a raging lion devouring whom ever he pleases (1 Peter 5:8). We are told that he is the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4). Now that explains a lot. He is also called the destroyer (Abaddon), as that is what he does (Rev 9:11). There is nothing beautiful about him, not anymore. He lost his beauty when he broke his covenant with the Father. Yet to men he appears as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14), but this appearance is as a masquerade, he is a fake and even his flesh and blood agents appear the same. So, how are we to know, if they appear as messengers of light? By your grounding yourself in the Words of our Savior and His Apostles, and this is the Holy Bible. Satan and those guided by his spirit preach scripture but eventually they fail and when tested by and against the Word they fail. They mix truth with falsehood, lies, false dreams, and fake pronouncements of prophecy. These demon filled preachers cannot endure sound doctrine of the Word and when examined they fail.
Our future, as flesh, is to die. From dirt we were made and dirt we shall return. No flesh has ever lived immortal and no flesh has ever been promised immortality. Our salvation into eternal life is granted by and through the Christ, the first son of the Father, a thing no angel had ever been offered. The Christ, being first, cleared the way for us and chosen of the Father from the beginning of creation to become His sons and daughters.
The Christ conquered the Destroyer, Satan, and defeated death on our behalf and now it is He that holds the keys to life and death (Rev 1:18). Now that he has accomplished that feat we are assured of being able to do the same thing, not by our power but by the power of the Living God, the Father of us all, through YaHshua.
The rebellious will be destroyed. Satan, the destroyer, brought death into the world, into the universe, a murder from the beginning (John 8:44) and he will take many into the darkness of death to never return. Unlike Satan and his angelic followers humans can perish and as flesh and blood forever, never to live again. Satan’s torment for his deeds is eternal life in separation from all things created, first the Father, then the son. The teaching by some, the concept of hell as the punishment of rebellious man, into eternity, is not really the punishment of flesh and blood but of Satan and his demons.
Rebellious man will be consumed to be no more. You see, The Creator promised, through Noah, never to destroy mankind again by the use of water, instead water, through baptism, has become a form of acknowledgement of our acceptance of the Savior and our being raised to eternal life through him. Nothing, however, excludes the use of fire. (Gen 8:21-22, 2 Pet 3:12).
We are told that the Earth will one day be purged by fire and that the only way to survive this event is to have accepted the Christ and the rule of the Father of all things. It is reported that the wicked, those who had rather do things Satan’s way, will eventually be ashes beneath the feet of the righteous (Mal 4:3) – The righteous being those made righteous by the Christ, our Savior, YaHshua.
Did the flood of Noah happen? You bet it did and just like the Bible reports. To the believer there is no need to present proofs, or make arguments to support these truths. Besides, much of the things that seem a little blurry among the pages of this miracle of a book, if not fully understood now, will be cleared up after the return of the Christ and the establishment of the Father’s realm (Jer 31:34, Heb 8:11). We are told that in the days to come, when the Christ, YH-shua, rules that men will not go about teaching other men about the Father for all will know him equally. There will be no doubt as to His existence we will all speak of Him with the same admiration and love. There will be peace. In that time to come religious leaders will be abolished, prophets and prophesying no more (Zec 13:3-4). That’s right, anyone deciding to teach religion to others, will be put to death, by his own family – it is highly unlikely, under such conditions, anyone will have the nerve to chose such a profession. The occupation of a preacher will not be a career choice and anyone thinking otherwise will come to a swift and embarrassing end.
Our purpose as flesh and blood creatures is that of destruction, the flesh cannot inherit, enter into, the eternal Kingdom. We were made to be destroyed. This is the way the wicked can be eliminated. The wicked, refusing, as Satan did, the Creator and they like weed in a garden collected up and burned, no longer able to cause any further grief for themselves or others (Mat 13:30). This cannot be said for the rebellious angels. Their rebellion reverberated throughout all creation and the end of them is not yet for they were created immortal and to live forever in a prison of nothingness, though by their choice, is cruel and unusual punishment, being separated forever. This is not something the Creator Father wish for mankind and He has devised a way to avoid this. In His mercy the uncontrollable wick, any opposed to the Father and His son, will be disposed of permanently. There is no eternal life for rebellious men, not in this life, not in the life offered in the future of an ever burning, never able to die, punishment.
Yes, I believer out heavenly Father could destroy a spirit being but not if He had made a covenant with that being. Certainly I am speculating to some degree and perhaps Satan and the demon spirits will be destroyed ultimately, a time will come and we will have the final answer to this also.
The Hope in You
If you do not believe in a life after this life then you are a useless creature. You have no hope so you have no hope to offer to others. If you truly believe there is no Creator, no way to eternal life then what is the purpose of your life? Is it your purpose to make a fortune, or have a big house and a big car? And then what? Perhaps your purpose is to fight with your neighbors and to make life miserable for everyone close to you? Maybe it is your purpose to tell others how stupid they are for believing in anything like an afterlife, maybe that's it? What is the good of trying to do anything, why struggle through this life, if you do not believe in a Creator and an afterlife?
We are all dying, some faster than others, but all the same, we are headed for the grave. Even our Savior and Messiah, YaHshua, went to the grave as all flesh does. This is one of the things making Him above all other Spirit beings, other than the Father. No angel or other spirit being has ever done this -- ever, not once. He is unique among all in the universal spirit world. He suffered as not other spirit being and endured and was raised back to life, His life, a life given Him more powerful and more glory than before. He lowered Himself to be flesh and bone, to be as us, to know what it is to be human, a flesh and blood creature and this qualified Him to be our intercessor, to stand up for us, to be the way we too could inter into eternal life as spirit born children of the Heavenly Father, by and through YaHshua. Our hope is in Him and the promise made to all that believe in Him, that are call of the Father and given to YaHshua. This hope should be in you and you should live your life accordingly, not out of desperation but out of love and in thanksgiving that a way has been worked out that we too may have life -- eternal life in a new Universe, a new heavens.
The Father in His mercy has devised a way that is certain, guaranteeing a definite number of humanity cannot fail. The Messiah was the first of many. It is by the success of a few that others can see there is hope, even in our personal failure the ultimate hope is in YaHshua. Man cannot stand up to the full measure of holiness for he is but dirt not ever comparable even to the angels of heaven, for now. The strongest of men is weaker than the weakest of angels and yet angels are “ministering spirits” for the benefit of those to inherit the Kingdom (Heb 1:14). The best righteousness of man is as filth in the eyes of the Creator (Isa 64:6). There is no comparison of anything man has to offer in the face of the Living God. It is by His mercy only that we are given any opportunity to life eternal. And then only by and through His Son the Christ YaH-shua.
HalleluYaH !
servant@yahshuaservant.com