Christ the Power of God

CHRIST

THE POWER OF GOD

Introduction:  “Christ the powerThe Greek word δύναμις is translated power
83 times and miracles 17 times. The latter term
refers to miraculous powers such as healing
the sick and casting out demons. of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24 NASB ©1995).  There are different aspects of the power of Christ.  There is sovereign power as the King of kings (1 Timothy 6:15), there is spiritual power as the high priest (Hebrews 5:5-6), and there is the cleansing power of the blood of Christ (Hebrews 9:14; 1 John 1:7).  There is also creation power, so let us consider Christ from the aspect of creation power which the text in the first chapter of Colossians describes:

13 For He (the Father) rescued us from the domain of darkness,

and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,

14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 And He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all

creation.

16 For byPreposition ἐν — in or by. Him all things were created, both in the heavens and

on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions

or rules or authorities – all things have been created throughPreposition δι᾽ — through or by means of

Him and for Him.

17 And He is before all things, and inPrepostition ἐν — in or by. Him all things hold together.

Similar to creation power is resurrection power.  Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).  When this power is released, both the righteous and the wicked receive resurrected bodies (Acts 24:15), “Those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment” (John 5:29).  When the resurrection happens, even someone lost at sea, even someone in an unmarked grave is remembered.  The apostle Paul describes the characteristics of these new bodies in the fifteenth chapter of the first Corinthians:

42 It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;

43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory;  it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

Christ is the anointing of Jesus, the Holy Spirit.  Jesus is like the tip of an iceberg who appears as a mere man or as an angel, but there is much more below the surface.  Jesus Christ had an active role in creation, both in creating all things and holding all things together.

Christ, the power of God, cannot be written as an equation, just as a calculator cannot perform division by zero.  Calculus found a way around this problem  1
lim   — = ∞
x → 0   x
.  Similarly, Christ found a way to demonstrate His limitless power through creation.  Is there any common ground between science and religion?  Let’s look at science and see how it lines up with the word of God.

Day of Creation:  The Big Bang theory states that all the mass of our universe was compressed in a small area with infinite density and intense heat, this being a singularityA singularity is a point at which some property is infinite..  Suddenly, this object exploded, expanded outward, and created all matter and energy within time and space.  This explosion was not in all directions but as if a firewall directed it.

Since the Big Bang, the universe has been expanding.  Astronomers thought gravity would slow the expansion and the universe would eventually begin to contract, but the expansion was faster than expected.  There are unknown forces at work that are acting upon our universe.  Dark energy is the force that is accelerating the expansion.  Dark matter is the force that is slowing the expansion.  The matter we deal with daily comprises only 5% of the universe, whereas dark energy is 68% and dark matter is 27%.

Between the stars and galaxies, there is the vacuum of space.  Previously thought to be empty, this space must contain dark matter.  Dark matter interacts with gravity but does not absorb or reflect light passing through it.  EinsteinAlbert Einstein (1879-1955) was the leading theoretical physicist of the 20th century. He developed the theories of relativity, plus contributions to the quantum theory of light. was the first to realize that space is not empty.

The God Particle:  The Large Hadron ColliderThe world’s most powerful particle accelerator is a collaboration of over 10,000 scientists from over 100 countries. (LHC), located on the Frano-Swiss border near Geneva, Switzerland, does not accelerate particles to break them apart but increases the energy on these particles to create new particles when they collide.  The LHC accelerates protonsThe Large Hadron Collider can produce proton collisions of up to 13.6 trillion electron volts (TeV). to speeds approaching that of light, which then collide with another packet of protons coming from the opposite direction.  Special-built detectors detect the results of the collisions, and the data is stored and then analyzed.  According to Einstein, there is a direct correlation between energy and mass expressed in his formula E = mc².

In 2013, the British physicist Peter Higgs was awarded the Nobel PrizePeter Higgs shared the Nobel Prize with Belgian physicist François Englert. in physics by predicting a new subatomic particle called the Higgs boson and the energy field associated with this bosonA boson is a subatomic particle that carries a force. For example, the photon is a particle that carries the electromagnetic force, and the gluon carries the strong nuclear force..  The Higgs field gives mass to electrons and quarksThere are six different quarks in the Standard Model of Particle Physics.  The proton, for example, is made up of two up quarks and one down quark. that pass through this field but does not affect light and particles without mass.  Theoretically, this field is found everywhere in the universe.  Therefore, mass is the resistance to a change in motion as affected by the Higgs field.

In 2012, the physicists at the CERNCERN is the French acronym for Conseil
Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire,
European Council for Nuclear Research. Large Hadron Collider announced the discovery of the Higgs boson, which colloquially has been called the “god particle.”  Many physicists maintain this boson caused the Big Gang.  The Higgs boson has a mass of about 126 times that of a proton and decayed in about 100 yoctosecondsA yoctosecond is a septillionth of a second,
1 ys = 10-24s..

The vacuum of space is not empty since it contains the Higgs field plus transients such as light, high-energy particles, electromagnetic waves, dust, and gravitational waves.  Even virtual particlesThe quantum field theory says virtual particles can be created from fluctuations in quantum fields. may be constantly going in and out of existence.

Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves.  In 2015, evidence of these waves occurred, resulting from two black holes spiraling into each other.  The Laser InterferometerThe interferometer splits a wave (light or radio) and then superimposes the beams together, looking for an interference pattern. Gravitational-Wave Observatories (LIGOs) in Washington State and Louisiana recorded little ripples in space-time.  Since gravitational waves travel at the speed of light, this event occurred over a million years ago.  Since the original discovery, the LIGOs have detected many more gravitational waves.

Research continues by cosmologists.  The Dark Energy Survey (DES) is an international effort to determine the nature of dark energy by mapping hundreds of millions of galaxies to find cosmic patterns.  The 4-meter Victor M. Blanco Telescope in the Andes Mountains of Chile surveyed 5000 square degrees of the southern sky, using a special 570-megapixel camera to obtain detailed information.  One of the goals is to understand the distribution of dark matter and dark energy.  Another goal is to determine the dark energy equation-of-state parameter (ww = pressure / energy density).  The cosmological constant is defined where w = -1, a negative number indicating pressure outward.  If w > -1, then the expansion of the universe will slow, but if w < -1, the expansion increases, causing trouble in the future.

As light passes close to a massive object such as a galaxy, the space-time distortion caused by the object bends the light, an effect known as strong gravitational lensing.  Cosmologists have noticed that light passing through the large-scale structure in the universe, another way of saying dark matter, is distorted, causing a smeared pattern called cosmic shear.  The dark matter, to a slight degree, is bending the light passing through it.   The Dark Energy Survey also endeavors to determine the cosmic shear parameters caused by this weak gravitational lensing.

Doomsday Scenario:  Now that the mass of the Higgs boson is known, this has led to some troubling predictions.  The universe has been in a metastable state, which means it is stable, but a disturbance could push it into an unstable state, much like a pin at a bowling alley, which wobbles when nudged but does not fall over.  How close is the universe to figuratively falling over?

Since the vacuum of space is not empty, this gives rise to the false vacuum collapse theory, which says the universe is not a true vacuum but a false vacuum.  Concerning this vacuum decay, Joseph LykkenJoseph Lykken is the Director of Research at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago. He also leads the Fermilab Quantum Institute. said the universe wants to be in another state.  A quantum fluctuation could cause a tiny bubble to appear, which would expand and obliterate the known universe.  Even before the discovery of the Higgs boson, Stephen HawkingStephen Hawking (1942-2018) was an English
theoretical physicist whose research made
contributions from the Big Bang to black holes
and included space-time singularities. discussed the possibility that the “god particle” could cause the total collapse of space and time.  In Figure 1, point A is the present condition of the universe.  If the universe moves into point B, this could destroy the universe.  Some suggest that it is possible to tunnelTunneling is barrier penetration in quantum mechanics. A particle can penetrate a barrier that has a higher potential than the particle possesses, such as radioactive decay, for example. from point A to point B.

Higgs Graft

In a second doomsday scenario, the mathematician Marcelo DisconziMarcelo Disconzi is a mathematics professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. and his colleaguesIn 2015, Robert Scherrer and Thomas Kephart wrote a paper with Marcelo Disconzi, A New Approach to Cosmological Bulk Viscosity. re-formulated the equations for relativistic fluid.  In cosmological terms, viscosity is a fluid’s opposition to expansion or contraction, where the current rate of expansion of the universe is 73 kilometers per second per megaparsecA megaparsec is equal to 3.26 million light years..  The expansion rate will increase until a critical juncture when all matter is ripped apart and annihilated.  The work of this team confirms the Big RipAs dark energy increases caused by the expanding universe, the Big Rip or the Big Freeze is foreseen., first hypothesized in 2003.

Is this a conspiracy theory?  The word of God says a change is coming, “And all the host of heaven will wear away, And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll” (Isaiah 34:4).  This will be like throwing away an old garment and putting on a new garment, as described in chapter 102 of the book of Psalms:

25 Of old You founded the earth,

And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

26 Even they will perish, but You endure;

And all of them will wear out like a garment;

Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.

27 But You are the same,

And Your years will not come to an end.

When God created the heavens and the earth, He said, “It was good” (Genesis 1:10,12,18,21,25), but it was not perfect.  God desires an eternal kingdom where righteousness dwells.  The apostle John wrote, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea” (Revelation 21:1).  When the present universe has fulfilled His purpose, does He roll it up like a scroll?

Future Chronology:  Five future events are important in God’s timetable.  The order of these events may vary according to your eschatologyEschatology is the branch of theology dealing
with the end times. When the rapture occurs is
in question..

Tract 1:  Consider the future event found in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew.  This event occurs after the great tribulation.  Jesus coming on the clouds speaks of Jesus returning for His bride, the redeemed, who are ready and waiting for His return.

29 But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will

not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken,

30 and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will

mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

In a vision, the apostle John described, “A great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch” (Revelation 8:10).  Stars falling from heaven may indicate meteorites, asteroids, or even a comet passing close by or hitting the earth.  One collision creates a deep crevice or causes a volcanoA large object passing near the earth could trigger an eruption. to erupt, and “smoke went up out of the pit, like smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit” (Revelation 9:2).

This kind of activity is no stranger to the earth.  The Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEARThe LINEAR project is a collaboration of the US Air Force, NASA, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to detect and track near-earth objects.) project has discovered more than 147,000 asteroids, of which over 19,000 are near-Earth asteroids, and almost 900 have a diameter greater than 1 kilometer.  A noteworthy asteroid is 99942 Apophis, having a diameter of 1210 feet (370 meters).  On April 13, 2029, this asteroid will pass 19,662 miles (31,643 km) from the earth.  Furthermore, evidence suggests that the dinosaurs became extinct when a mountain-size asteroid hit the earth off Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

The first test of the planetary defense strategy occurred on September 26, 2022, when NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) proved the feasibility of preventing an asteroid or meteorite from hitting the earth.  Using a technique known as ‘kinetic impact,’ a spacecraft collided with DimorphosDimorphos is an asteroid moonlet orbiting around Didymos, an asteroid having a diameter of 2560
feet (780 meters)., whose diameter is 530 feet (160 meters).  The momentum of the collision changed the velocity of the asteroid, causing it to peer from its path.  Will this planetary defense be able to prevent this kind of catastrophe?

Tract 2:.  Consider the breaking of the sixth seal on a scroll described in chapter 6 of the book of Revelation:

12 I (John) looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake (σεισμὸςThis Greek word means a shaking. Thirteen
times in the New Testament it is translated
as an earthquake and once as a storm at sea
in Matthew 8:24.);

and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and

13 the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.

14 The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were

moved out of their places.

15 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and

every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains;

16 and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him

who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;

17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

The apostle John saw a scroll in heaven sealed up with seven seals.  No one was worthy to break the seals and open the scroll.  John wept until told that the Lion of Judah, the Lamb“Worthy is the Lamb (Jesus) that was slain
to receive power and riches and wisdom and
might and honor and glory and blessing”
(Revelation 5:12)., was worthy to open the scroll and look into it (Revelation 5:1-7).  With the breaking of the first four seals, The Four HorsemenNoteworthy is the fourth horseman called Death, whose horse is the color of grass. Does this refer to the Green New Deal? of the Apocalypse were revealed (Revelation 6:1-8).  The breaking of the fifth seal, John saw underneath the altar in heaven the souls of those killed because of the word of God and because of their testimony.

Tract 3:  The apostle Peter goes even farther and writes in second Peter chapter 3:

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and

the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy

conduct and godliness,

12 looking for and hastening the coming (παρουσίανThis Greek words means a presence or a coming.
It often refers to the second coming of Christ.) of the day of God, because of which the heavens

will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!

13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness

dwells.

What causes the shaking of the powers of the heavens (Matthew 24:29)?  One possibility is the north and south poles may change positions.  The magma deep within the earth’s core powers the magnetosphere, the magnetic field around the earth that shields the earth from the solar winds and cosmic particles.  In the past, the north and south poles have flipped several times at intervals of around 300,000 years.  The last time the poles changed was 780,000 years ago.  The magnetosphereThe magnetosphere existed on Mars but shut down long ago, the solar winds stripping away the atmosphere and water. Mars now has a thin atmosphere and little water. also prevents our atmosphere and water from being stripped off by the solar winds.  How fast this transition may happen and the disruption it would cause is unknown, but without a doubt, our technology is at risk — computers, printed circuit boards, and perhaps even our power grid.  A small change in the orientation of the magma core could also affect the weather.

The wrath of God is poured out in seven bowls, which suggests a significant failure of the magnetosphere (Revelation ch. 16).  The first bowl of wrath upon the earth, “It became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image” (Revelation 16:2).  Harmful radiation from the sun reaching the earth could cause cancer, genetic defects, and perhaps even death to microorganisms.    The fourth bowl of wrath upon the sun, “It was given to it to scorch men with fire … scorched with fierce heat” (Revelation 16:8-9).  God has a variety of ways He can deal with sinful man — fire from heaven, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, floods, meteorites and asteroids, volcanoes, climate extremes, and even the magnetosphere.

Hyperspace:  Hyperspace is space having more than three dimensions, also described as multi-dimensional.  In the area of science fiction, it includes parallel universes and faster-than-light travel.  Reality may seem more like science fiction.

Table 1
STANDARD MODEL OF PARTICLE PHYSICS
u
up		 c
charm		 t
top		 g
gluon		 H
Higgs
d
down		 s
strange		 b
bottom		 γ
photon
e
electron		 μ
muon		 τ
tau		 Z
Z boson
νe
electron
neutrino		 νμ
muon
neutrino		 ντ
tau
neutrino		 W
W boson
LEPTONSGAUGE BOSONS
QUARKSHIGGS BOSON

Einstein’s special theory of relativity (1905) describes the relationship between time and space as it relates to the speed of light in a moving frame of reference, where space is considered 3D — length, height, and depth.  Hermann MinkowskiHermann Minkowski (1864-1909), a German mathematician, made contributions to number theory and introduced the space-time continuum. soon demonstrated that time is a fourth dimension, defining spacetime as 4D, laying the foundation for Einstein’s general theory of relativity dealing with gravity (1915).  Einstein then spent the rest of his career searching for what he termed the ‘unified field theory.’

Einstein’s dilemma was to combine gravity with the Standard Model of Particle Physics, shown in Table 1.  In the 1980s, physicists began to develop string theory, a mathematical approach to finding the ‘theory of everything.’  Strings are tiny one-dimensional filaments or loops that vibrate in different ways.  The way strings vibrate can determine whether a particle is an electron or quark.  Several string theories are in development, but none have reached the point of being proven experimentally.

The string theories are multi-dimensional due to their mathematical foundation.  Superstring theory is 10-dimensional, M-theory is 11-dimensional, and bosonic string theory is 26-dimensional.  The question arises — is God outside of time, or is He operating in other dimensions?  One clue is God’s preference for the numbers 7 and 12, which have special implications.

In the book Beyond the Cosmos by Hugh RossHugh Norman Ross (born 1945) is a Canadian astrophysicist and founder of the Reasons to Believe ministry., the author is optimistic concerning string theory and envisions God operating in the higher dimensions unavailable in our spacetime.  One analogy he gives is people in a 2-dimensional world trying to relate to and understand people in a 3-dimensional world.   Mr. Ross also believes God is omnipresent, made possible by these higher dimensions.  Higher dimensions of time may also exist where time travel and speeds faster than light are possible.  Therefore, God is outside our spacetime domain.

When the apostle Paul was in Athens, some were interested and wanted to hear more about the strange deities he was proclaiming (Acts 17:18).  Given an opportunity to explain, Paul said, “They (mankind) would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist” (Acts 17:27-28).

Another domain must exist very close to our universe.  Sometimes, we can feel something intangible.  Occasionally, we sense an elusive spirit or observe the unexplainable in the sky.  The Prime Directive of Star Trek fame involved non-interference in alien cultures.  The kingdom of heaven is near but only reached by faith, so interaction is limited (Hebrews 11:6).  The angels in His kingdom are considerate and inconspicuously help those in need.  Quite the opposite, a renegadeThis renegade element is led by Satan, who is in rebellion against God and His kingdom. element blatantly manifests itself, suggesting activity in other dimensions.

Theories suggest that parallel universes exist.  One studySanford physicists Andrei Linde and Vitaly
Vanchurin developed the theory of the
exponential expansion of the early universe. estimated that there may be as many as 10^10^161 x 10160 possible universes. The sum of
all possible parallel universes is called a
“multiverse.” potential parallel universes that makeup reality.  From the Christian standpoint, there are only two — the Kingdom of God and our universe.  Since Christ was there at the beginning and all things were created through Him, why create multiple universes that serve no purpose?

The nearness of this other world might explain the anomaly of dark matter and dark energy.  Is our universe a standalone unit, or is another world overshadowing our universe?  Combining Einstein’s equation for general relativity with Friedmann’sAlexandrovich Friedmann (1888-1925),
a Russian physicist and mathematician,
first predicted mathematically an
expanding universe. equation, which models the expanding universe, has determined that the universe is flat with no natural curvature.  Is there another world underpinning our universe?

“By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3).  This is a paradox since “the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

The Glory of God:  “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skiesThe Hebrew word “raqia” (רָקִיעַ) means expanse.
This word refers to the location of the sun, moon, and stars and where the birds fly (Genesis 1:17,20). proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1 NIV).

Perhaps the most unpretentious statement in the Bible is, “God made two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also” (Genesis 1:16).  So how many stars are there?

First, it is necessary to determine the number of galaxies in the universe.  As a ballpark figure, there are 2 trillion (2 x 10¹²) galaxies in the universe.  Galaxies vary in size, so using the Milky Way as a model, the number of stars in a galaxy is 100 billion (1 x 10¹¹).  Therefore, the best guess for the number of stars in the universe is 2 x 10²³200,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 or more..

This mind-boggling number is comparable to all the sand on all the earth’s beaches, estimated to be from from 1019 to 1024 grains of sand.  Carl SaganCarl Sagan (1934-1996) was an American astronomer, cosmologist, author, and science expounder., whose television series Cosmos aired in the 1980s, once said there were more stars than all the grains of sand on all the beaches.  He said this before the HubbleLaunch date: April 24, 1990,
Primary mirror: 2.4 meters,
Features: visible light and ultraviolet. and WebbLaunch date: December 25, 2021,
Primary mirror: 6.5 meters,
Feature: infrared vision. telescopes looked farther and discovered even more.

The Lord is like a shepherd leading forth the constellations (Job 38:31-33) and giving a name to each star.  The Psalmist speaks of His majesty in Psalm 147:

4 He counts the number of the stars;

He gives names to all of them.

5 Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;

His understanding is infinite.

The universe is so expansive it necessitates measuring distances in light yearsA light year is approximately equal to 9.46 trillion kilometers, 5.88 trillion miles., the distance light travels in one year.  The nearest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way is the Andromeda galaxy, which is 2.6 million light years away.  The light emitted 2,600,000 years ago just reached an observer on earth, so the observer looking at Andromeda today is viewing what happened in the past.

The universe is expanding at 73The best estimation for the expansion rate is
73 ± 1 kilometers per second per megaparsec. kilometers per second per megaparsec.  Comparable to the gridiron on a football field expanding, the goalposts remain relative to the gridiron.  Since the universe is so vast, the expansion rate may equal the speed of lightC = 299,792,458 meters per second. at some point.  Cosmologists call this boundary the Hubble Horizon, estimated at 14.4 billion light years from the earth.  Figure 2 illustrates the expansion rate being equal to the speed of light as determined by an observer on the earth.

Who is the enemy?  The archangel Satan is “the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:2).  “He is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).  Satan and the spiritual forces that follow him are in dimensions beyond our spacetime

Unexplainable anomalies occur, indicating strange phenomenons, but with little physical evidence found.  As the phrase prince of the power of the air suggests, the forces of darkness operate not only on the earth but also in the air.  It is reasonable to assume that unidentified flying objects are crafts piloted by spiritual beings from another dimension.  If this is true, a crash site would not have any physical evidence or alien corpses.

The unknown is where truth gives way to wild theories and mere speculation.  Men searching for answers have even turned to the occult, claiming to contact aliens who want to share their knowledge.  It should not be disturbing that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.  Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their deeds.” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).  His servants can appear as someone known to be dead, bringing a deceptive message.  The spiritual forces of evil can only enter if we give them opportunity, so build your house upon the rock, Christ is the rock (1 Corinthians 10:4).

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Expanding Universe

Local conditions in the universe may vary.  The Andromeda Galaxy, as shown in Figure 2, is expected to collide and merge with the Milky Way in 4-5 billion years.  Evidence suggests a smaller galaxy merged with Andromeda in the past.

The above illustration does not consider that while light is traveling to the observer, the universe continues to expand, so the rate in the past is not equal to the rate in the present.  Altogether, it is remarkable what the cosmologists have determined from the electromagnetic wavesThe electromagnetic spectrum includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays. that reach the earth.  Astronomers use all the tools in their toolkit — the wavelengthsv
λ  =        wavelength λ, frequencey f, velocity v.
 f  of the radiation from a source, brightnessBrightness is a star’s magnitude, the amount of radiated energy that reaches the earth., luminosityLuminosity is the total energy radiated by a star or galaxy, the power output from the surface of a celestial object., spectroscopySpectroscopy splits electromagnetic radiation much like a prism, where spectral lines can determine how fast a celestial object is moving, distances, and chemical composition., redshiftWhen an object is moving away from an observer, the light from that object shifts toward the red wavelength, and the frequency decreases., and clever solutionsOne tool is the H-R Diagram, which plots intrinsic brightness against temperature, determining common properties found in main sequence stars, white dwarfs, giants and supergiants. for complex problems.

The observable universe is 93 billion light years in diameter, so a vast areaVolume of the Hubble horizon (4/3π(14.4)³) ÷
Volume of the particle horizon (4/3π(46.5)³) =
0.03 then converting to percent ∴
3% of universe is within the Hubble horizon,
97% of universe is outside the Hubble horizon. of the universe is outside the Hobble Horizon.  As a result, most stars and galaxies appear to travel faster than the speed of light.  The cosmic speed limit is the speed of light, but relativistically, speeds exceeding that of light do not occur.  The galaxy at the far reaches of the universe is not accelerating toward the speed of light, so the concept of causalityCausality is the relationship between cause and effect. Everything has a cause, a connectedness. remains true.  An observer at a faraway galaxy might consider that we are also speeding away from him at high speeds.  The expansion of the universe causes everything within it to move farther apart.

The wonder and amazement of the night sky can only be seen at night away from the noise and lightsOutdoor lighting causes light pollution, where the light scattered into the atmosphere brightens the night sky, making it harder to observe celestial objects. of the city.  Of all the stars seen with the naked eye, only a few galaxies are among them, and these only with a keen eye.   The stars gazer is viewing the stars belonging to the Milky Way, so he can only see a tiny fraction of all the stars in the universe.

In the video, the star cluster Pleiades rises above the horizon.  These bright stars look like a miniature version of the Big Dipper and are around 444 light years from the earth.

In the book The Creator and the Cosmos by Hugh Ross, the author discusses how the composition of the universe and the sun-earth-moon system must come together to create an environment suitable for life.  As an astrophysicist, Hugh Ross wrote that the universe had to be ideal for star formation and the availability of the elements needed to form the building blocks of life.  The universe’s age is also crucial, considering the time to fuse the heavy elements.  Mr. Ross lists 33 parameters he feels are necessary for life support and determines the probability of all occurring is 10-42.

Origin of Life  Life started 3.5 billion years ago during the Archean EraDuring the Archean Era (4.0 to 2.5 billion years ago), the earth cooled, and oceans began to form. The rock record started, and the first living organisms began in this period. when the sun was 30% dimmer than today.  The thin atmosphereScientists disagree on the composition of the early atmosphere, some suggesting it resembled Venus and Mars, high in carbon dioxide. consisted of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen but with little oxygen, which created a greenhouse effect that counteracted the loss of the sun’s brightness.  Before life started, the Late Heavy BombardmentDuring the Late Heavy Bombardment, also called the lunar cataclysm, many asteroids collided with the planets and their satellites about 4 billion years ago. by asteroids and meteorites deposited the organic molecules needed for life.  The advent of life would transform this hostile world.

Biologists and scientists in other fields believe that science will answer their questions.  The cell appeared as a strange object under the microscope in the 1800s, but now it is understood to be incredibly complex.  DarwinCharles Darwin (1809-1882), an English naturalist, is famous for his theory of evolution by natural selection. His book On the Origin of Species (1859) still influences scientists today. proposed a primordial organism from which all life evolved, known as the ‘last universal common ancestor,’ Luca.  How complex was Luca, the predecessor of all life?

Biologist William F. MartinWilliam F. Martin (born 1957), an American botanist and microbiologist, is head of the Institute of Molecular Evolution at Heinrich Heine Universität in Düsseldorf, Germany. led a team of researchers who studied six million genes of bacteria and archaeaThe archaea is a single-celled organism that lacks a defined nucleus and can survive in extreme environments., hoping to determine Luca.  The result was 335By comparison, there are 4288 protein-coding genes in the E. coli bacteria. sequences, a rough blueprint for a cell suited for an extreme environment, but even at this reduced size, Luca is still too complex.  Biologists face the same problem as astrophysicists, who can only trace the beginning back so far before they begin to run into trouble.  Perhaps the answer lies in abiogenesisAbiogenesis, also called spontaneous generation, is the theory that 3.5 billion years ago, life arose from simple organic compounds, from non-living substances, which gradually became more complex., where the right chemicals together with the right conditions result in life springing up.

The oldest fossils are stromatolites formed by colonies of blue-green algae 3.5 billion years ago.  These living fossils formed layered deposits preserved in the oldest rocks.  These blue-green algae, also called cyanobacteria, are one-celled organisms lacking a true nucleus and are capable of photosynthesis.  The scaled-down structure suggests to researchers this is the path back to the first living cell.

Let us assume that life is biochemistry governed by the laws of physics, and it is possible to create a protocell.  Where are researchers, those searching for the origin of life, looking?  Their focus is on hot springs and pools of fresh or brackish water, and another area of interest is hydrothermal deep-sea vents.  The building blocks of life, the amino acids, came from meteorites containing carbonaceous chondrites.  These organic materials interact with water to form membranes or vesiclesA vesicle, a term guardedly applied to this setting, is a lipid bilayer structure enclosing a liquid or cytoplasm. that enclose nucleotides, which are random RNA strings.

In the monthly online publication Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology, dated May 2012, the article The Origins of the RNA World by Michael P. Robertson and Gerald F. Joyce appeared.  The following quotation summaries what many feel is the correct approach, “It might be imagined that all of the components of RNA were available in some prebiotic pool, and that these components assembled into replicating, evolving polynucleotides without the prior existence of any evolved macromolecules.”  The macromolecules are encoded proteins and catalysts needed in the more complex DNA cell.  Therefore, according to the RNA advocates, the RNA developed first and then the DNA.

Darwin’s natural selection is the mechanism whereby the organism adapts and becomes well-suited to its environment, passed on to the population.  Natural selection by itself forms a good foundation for biology.  The troubling component of natural selection is the addition of evolution that disregards the creator.  God’s plan for creation was that each kind produces its kind (Genesis 1:11-12, 21, 24-25).  A maple tree would produce a maple tree, not a pine tree.  If there are jumpsEvolutionary changes should occur in small increments, but great evolutionary leaps have biologists guessing, for example, aquatic life during the Cambrian Explosion, the establishment of plants on land, and the appearance of vertebrates. in creation, it is according to His plan and purpose.

Science cannot take you where science will not go.  Nobel laureate Jack SzostakJack William Szostak (born 1952) is a Canadian American biochemist and geneticist who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology with Elizabeth Blackburn and Carol Greider for their work with DNA telomeres. should be considered the high priest of the Darwinian movement.  In his YouTube The Origin of Life – Abiogenesis summarizes his belief, “A simple 2 component systemLipids, simple fatty acids, form a permeable membrane that encloses the so-called genetic material, the nucleotides. that SPONTANEOUSLY forms in the pre-biotic environment … can eatEat may refer to symbiogenesis, where one unicell engulfs another, or it may also refer to material passing through the porous vesicle., grow, contain information, replicate, and EVOLVE … simply through thermodynamics, mechanical, and electrical forces.  No ridiculous improbabilityOdds are from 1 x 10650 to 1 x 1040,000 of life evolving by chance alone, as determined from sources online. … No supernatural forces … No lighting striking a mud puddle … Just Chemistry.”  You would think the origin of life is solved, and the only thing left is to award the Nobel Prize, but wait a minute.  Would not such a person boast of his accomplishment?  It is not written, “No man may boast before God … ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (1 Corinthians 1:29-31).  If someone truly solves the mystery of life and is so honored, it will be the man or woman who honors and acknowledges God.

An honest person must admit that evolution moves toward the more complex.  Astrophysicists agree that creation is moving toward greater entropy, so why is life moving in the opposite direction, from simple algae to specialized cells working together to create a higher life form?  Evolution cannot account for this design, but the creator can.

The creator processes super-intelligence, an intelligence beyond intelligence.  He loves a challenge, and no challenge is too great for Him, giving sight to the hawk and stealth to the owl.  As the creator of all things, He can work at both the macro and micro levels.  He has a plan and will wait a billion years to see His plan bear fruit.  He took a dead world and gave it life, not just a simple life but having great diversity.  God is the great shepherd preparing His sheepfold.

Summary:  According to science, a perpetual motion machine is impossible since it violates the firstThe first law of thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. and secondThe second law of thermodynamics states that entropy in an isolated system, the measure of disorder, will always increase over time. laws of thermodynamics.  Therefore, depending upon how much energy God put into creating the universe will determine how it will end.  The proposed fifth law of thermodynamics states that the energy expended in a machine’s construction determines the useful life of that machine.  Applying this to the universe, God did not use unlimited energy but limited energy so it would wear out and grow old.

Science predicts the decline of the universe, which agrees with God’s purpose for creation.  God created a world that is supposed to be a springboard to the next.  He is not looking for multitudes of men and women but for sons and daughters prepared and ready to enter the next world.  If God wound the universe like a giant clock, are changes occurring as the clock winds down?  As the clock slows, is time and space changing?

The author once met someone who believed that God could create a mountain that even He could not move.  Similarly, scientists are limiting God in their speculations.  The architect and creator of the universe is master over His creation.   According to scripture, “The builder of the house has more honor than the house” (Hebrews 3:3), so God also has more honor than the universe He built.

If a person of great intellect, by his efforts, acquires the ‘theory of everything,’ he might consider himself god-like, master of his destiny.   God had to intervene in the apostle Paul’s life because of his great revelations, keeping him from exalting himself (2 Corinthians 12:7).  Paul needed a check, and even so, many scientists.

We in this physical realm are subject to the four dimensions of spacetime.  The angels and similar moral creatures are multi-dimensional, existing in higher dimensions.  It is reasonable that God exists in even higher dimensions or is outside time and space altogether.  When Jesus Christ came to earth, he had to step down to our spacetime.  It is possible that in dealing with angels, the Lord of Hosts had to step down to their level (Isaiah 6:1-5).  The glory of God increases as the dimensions increase.

Consider the glory that the law and Moses had in comparison with the glory of the ministry of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:7-8), “For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory on account of the glory that surpasses it” (2 Corinthians 3:10).  Herein is an analogy, if the heavens declare the glory of God, how much more will His countenance declare His glory?

What is the true measure of the Lord God?  Consider the verse found in Isaiah chapter 55:

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” declare the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

There are an estimated 2 x 10²³200,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 or more. stars in the universe, and the Lord has given names to each one (Psalm 147:4), even knowing the composition of those stars and their satellites, forming a dynamic, ever-changing array of knowledge.  He is so much in touch with His creation that He knows the number of hairs on our heads (Luke 12:6-7).  When Solomon dedicated the temple, he said, “Will God indeed dwell on the earth?  Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built” (1 Kings 8:27).  Therefore, the Lord God is infinite, filling the universe and beyond.

As long as there is a sense of wonder, it is easy to believe in God, but science has come to a strange phase in its history.  For centuries, there have been great strides in all areas of science, but now it can only account for 5% of the matter in the universe.  Scientists talk in terms of 90 billion light years and of mapping the human genome but fail to appreciate the wonder of it.

Have you ever wondered why God created so much?  The answer is in the second verse in the quote above, “The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.  Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2 RSV).  God is speaking without saying a word and revealing knowledge of Himself through His creation.  It must have taken a tremendous amount of energy to create the universe.  Christ, the power of God, supplied that energy and still has an active role in creation.  Therefore, words cannot describe the glory of God, which can only be visualized by looking to the heavens.

Note to a Scientist:  God gives natural gifts such as intellectual, athletic, musical, and artistic.  God has blessed you with a gift given to a few men.  As a result of this gift, you have received many blessings.  Should you not at least acknowledge God?  Should you not, at least, thank Him.  May your gift not become your curse by denying the one who blessed you.

Many feel cheated when they can look up into the sky and feel they will never be able to go there.  Many feel that to live forever would be boring and would rather not be immortal.  If God has created wonders that the best minds cannot figure out, how much more does He have hidden that He wants to reveal.  Following God is an adventure where the horizon is the limit, so therefore, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’  And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’  And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” (Revelation 22:17).

In the YouTube, Religion vs Science: Can The Two Coexist, Neil deGrasse TysonNeil deGrasse Tyson (born 1958) is an American astrophysicist and science communicator. He is the director of the Hayden Planetarium. referred to a survey asking Americans, “Is there a god who listens to your prayers?”  The results of the poll appear in Table 2.  Mr. Tyson was dismayed that so many elite scientists believed in God, even though he stated in another videoYouTube Neil deGrasse Tyson - Debunks Creation (Intelligent Design). that brilliant men – Galileo, Newton, and Huygens – believed in God and acknowledged His design.  How could educated people believe in God?  He concluded there must be something else going on here, but he did not know what.

What does the word of God say?  Consider first Corinthians chapter 1:

25 The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of

God is stronger men.

26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise

according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;

27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the

wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame

the things which are strong,

28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen,

the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,

29 so that no man may boast before God.

Table 2
SURVEYNature magazine article entitled Leading Scientist Still Reject God, July 23, 1998. RESULTS
RELIGIOUS%
General Population 90
College Degrees 60
Scientists and
Mathematicians		 40
Elite ScientistsMembers of the National Academy of Sciences  7
Philosophers<1

Scientists are known for their intellect, and although they have impressive reasoning powers, they fall short of God.  There is a hardness in the mind, a veil over the heart (2 Corinthians 3:14-15), which causes one to see with difficulty.  Therefore, to see God even dimly, creation must show overwhelming evidence.  “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).  Consider two instances where evidence suggests a superior intellect.

Project 1:  As an engineering student, your assignment is to design a mechanism to move a small craft through the water using a motor and a simple propeller.  You will need a motor, a power supply, and a mechanical apparatus.  Once done, you need to reduce the size of your mechanism to fit inside an area 2 micrometers long.  Back to the drawing board, change your design using proteins as building blocks.  In the bacteria E. coli, there is a mechanism called a flagellum, a motor consisting of 40 parts made from 25 proteins.  This efficient motor can rotate in the tens of thousands of revolutions per minute in either direction and is a part of a complex navigation system.  To make this project even more challenging, it must replicate itself.  Can you improve upon the existing design?

Project 2:  As a programmer, create a programming language that teaches the spider to make a desired web pattern.  What is the unlying principle?  The spider’s genome determines its anatomy with the web-making instructions contained within its genetic code, and these instructions later become hard-wired in nerve cell clusters within the spider’s brain.  Therefore, the challenge is to write a program to insert genetic segments into the spider’s genome and create the desired web pattern.  Doing this would prove the genome is a code and is programmable.  The program is the signature of the programmer.

Neil deGrasse Tyson knew something was happening but did not know what it was.  The apostle Paul wrote in second Corinthians chapter 4:

3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,

4 in whose case the godSatan is the god of this world, “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30). of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so that they might not see the

light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

“But whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:16), that which prevented him from understanding spiritual things, once removed, gives him the ability to see clearly.  Spiritual battles are happening, and whether you like it or not, we are part of it.

What hinders someone from becoming a Christian?  Some might say, ‘What would my friends and colleagues say?’  This problem occurred In the early church since many rulers believed in Jesus but did not confess Him because “they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God” (John 12:42-43).  Others might say, ‘Christians are ignorant.’  Good teaching is needed to turn away ignorance.  Still others might say, ‘A Christian hurt me, and I want nothing to do with the church’ (Romans 2:24“The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” The word you applies to the Jew first, and also to the Christian.).  We each have a judgment day, and perhaps their judgment will be worse (Hebrews 9:27).  Then again, some might say, ‘My sins are too great.’  David BerkowitzDavid Richard Berkowitz (born 1953) is a serial killer who murdered six people in New York City in 1976-77. He became a Christian in 1987 after reading Psalm 34:6., Son of Sam, is preaching Christ to his fellow inmates in prison.

This paper only scratches the surface.  Those blessed with an above-normal intelligence are encouraged to visit the Reasons to Believe website.  The layperson will discover relevant articles to support their faith.  The scientist will find like-minded people who speak his language.  Hugh RossHugh Ross has a Ph.D in astronomy from the University of Toronto. has also written several books and has assembled a team to answer the tough questions that challenge your faith in the Bible.

Note to a Christian:  Scientists throw a lot of theories around, hoping some will stick.  If observation and experimentation prove a theory, they build upon it.  Given enough evidence, a theory finds acceptance by the scientific community.  Therefore, the beginning of the universe and its continual expansion are accepted facts.  To a lesser degree, geologyDetermining when geological events occurred is more of a challenge – plate tectonics, upheavals, glaciation, and weathering. and the fossil records are also in agreement with cosmology.

Many Christians believe a day of creation, recorded in Genesis, was a literal day.  If you try to reconcile the Bible and science while holding this belief, you will have to reject either one or the other.  The apostle Peter said, “Do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8).  This opens up the possibility that a day of creation was much longer than a single day.

If God created a tree in one day, and the tree had one hundred annual rings, how old is that tree?  If all the physical evidence suggests a hundred years, did God leave a false witness of creation?  Admittedly, God could have created all the stars in a single day and set them in the heavens, but how many false witnessesOne false witness would be the misleading information the light carries, and another false witness is the half-life of isotopes. did He leave to do so?  Was God purposely trying to deceive man?  It does not make sense that God would use deception, so the tree, created in a day, must have been created in a reasonable time.  How long a time?  It took the earth 4.5 billion years, an estimate based on the radiometric dating of the oldest rocks and minerals.

Timothy was a young man for whom the apostle Paul was very fond.  Consider the advice Paul gave Timothy, recorded in chapter 6 of First Timothy:

20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoid worldly and empty chatter and opposing

arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” — (NASB)

20 O Timotheus, guard the thing entrusted, avoiding the profane vain-words and opposition of the

falsely-named knowledge, (LSVLiteral Standard Version, First Edition (February 2, 2020).)

21 which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith.

What is this knowledge?  It is anything that causes you to lose faith in Christ and the Bible;  it is “every lofty thing raised against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5).  This attack on our faith comes from many directions, and perhaps the loftiest is science.  This author does not want to see any young person, my grandson included, lose their faith.  You will have to be a maverick to maneuver the pitfalls and land mines.

The Flood:  It is necessary to take a closer look at the Biblical account of the flood, a significant event in the history of man confirmed by Jesus (Matthew 24:38-39).  The BibleTranslations of the Bible using the Hebrew Masoretic text are KJV, NASB, NIV, ESV, and many others., translated from the Hebrew Masoretic text, places the flood at 2350 BC.  According to YouTubeThe author of this video goes by the pseudonym NathanH83, who does an excellent job presenting the facts., Were the Pyramids Built Before the Flood, a discrepancy of 650 years exists in the chronologies that push the timeline back.  The lack of harmony between the different sources is shown in Table 3.  Therefore, the corrected date of the flood is 3000 BC.  The real question is, what was the magnitude of the flood?

Table 3
MASORETIC TEXT vs ORIGINAL HEBREW
PATRIARCHHEBREW
MASORETICThe Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and
included diacritical marks. A work of several centuries
was completed in the 10th century AD.		SEPTUAGINTThe Septuagint, LXX, is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Pentateuch translated from 285-247 BCE.SAMARITAN
PENTATEUCHThe king of Assyria ordered an exiled priest to teach Samarians to fear the Lord (2 Kings 17:27-28), so the Pentateuch was possibly introduced circa 623 BC.		FLAVIUS
JOSEPHUSFlavius Josephus (c. 37-100 AD) was a Jewish priest, scholar, historian, and military leader.		GENESIS DISCREPANCY
Arpachshad3513513513511:12100
Shelah3013013013011:14100
Eber3413413413411:16100
Peleg3013013013011:18100
Reu3213213213211:20100
Serug3013013013011:22100
Nahor29797911:2450

This author has had doubts about a global flood for years, but to say something might disturb the faith of another.  The following scripture in Genesis chapter 7 was troublesome:

20 The water prevailed fifteen cubits higher, and the mountains were covered.

21 All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing

that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind;

22 of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.

23 Thus He (God) blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals

to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah

was left, together with those that were with him in the ark.

Delicate ecosystems destroyed around the world and no way to replace them.  And although it did not make sense, it was reasoned that there must be something we do not understand.

An article on the Reasons to Believe website argues there was not sufficient water during the flood to cover the mountains.  If the earth had an entirely smooth surface, all the water – salt, fresh, icecaps, groundwater – would cover the earth to a depth of 1.7 miles.  For a global flood of such proportions to occur, the oceans must be shallower and the mountains lower, and then for the water to recede, the mountains lifted, the oceans deepened.  This scenario does not bode well for the land animals that breathe air and the disruption of their habitats.  Therefore, the flood must have been regional rather than global.

The young earth creationists have muddied the waters – the flood gouging out the Grand Canyon, sediments laid down formed deep fossils, and men walking with dinosaurs.  In your search for truth, you struggle against not only the skeptic and the atheist but also those in the church.  The advice of Jesus seems appropriate, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).

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