Dinosaurs and You!

Tyrannosaurus rex Fossil Exhibit — at American Museum of Natural History. The photo was taken by Minister Leonard V. Johnson

THE OTHER DAY I was watching a program on television and I heard a Protestant minister telling someone, “You know, dinosaurs were never real. Scientists have made up this lie to prove their teaching of the theory of evolution.” This hearing reminded me of something which occurred to me in my youth while I was attending church services with my grandmother. One Sabbath a senior member of that organization asked me how school was. And very innocently I answered, “Great, in school I’m learning about dinosaurs!” And you could have heard a pin drop after I said this. And he very loudly and assuredly said to me, “Dinosaurs are not real!”

Well, take a walk through any natural history museum! I did! Back in 2020, I visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York, NY! The largest in America! And I saw a plethora of ancient skeletons of prehistoric life!

My Protestant friends, there really were literally MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures which roamed a pre-Adamic world here on planet earth! Why!? And how did they suddenly disappear!?

Scientists are befuddled as to how and why a great catastrophe occurred which caused a time of great death!

Sadly, the average student of God’s living word – the Holy Bible – does not properly understand that the existence of dinosaurs as well as other prehistoric creatures DOES NOT disprove God’s living word! And no wonder, for what most professing Christians have been taught about God’s word is wrong!

No one need fear the facts of science. And I’m aware that there are in this world theistic evolutionists (one who believes in a God creating all things, but then had a “hands-off” approach, hence evolution), and atheistic evolutionists (also commonly known as Darwinian evolutionists, the belief in no God at all), neither of which we here at the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries or our affiliated churches are. We believe and teach that God’s living Word is TRUTH! – John 17:17. God says what He means and He means what He says!

“Then God [the great Elohim, the family of God] said, ‘Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth [the SAME DAY] across the face of the firmament of the heavens.’ 21) So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 23) So the evening and the morning were the FIFTH DAY” – Genesis 1:20-21, 23.

God, literally (not figuratively) created with the Word (see John 1:1-3) the sea creatures and birds which fly above the earth ON THE FIFTH DAY! This TRUTH is in direct opposition to the Darwinian view that birds evolved from land animals. Notice that land animals were not created until the SIXTH DAY!

“Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth [not in evolutionary steps, but in an instant from the Word of God] the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind’; and it was so. 31) Then God saw everything that He made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the SIXTH DAY” – Genesis 1:24, 31.

God’s living word, however, was not written as a science textbook. It came into existence as a type of “Owner’s Manual” for all mankind.

Carl O. Dunbar - an American paleontologist who specialized in invertebrate fossils – openly admitted in his well-known 1949 geology book, Historical Geology, that not one prehistoric creature was known to have lived to see the Cenozoic Era!

“The end of the Cretaceous, like the close of the Paleozoic, proved to be a great crisis in the history of life. … For example, the dinosaurs were highly varied and apparently adaptive right up to the end of Laramie Time, yet not one is known to have lived to see the dawn of the Cenozoic Era. … The decline and extinction of the ammonites and belemnites at the very close of the period, and the passing of the several stocks of reef-forming clams (rudistids) show that the marine invertebrates did not escape the crisis.

It is difficult to account for the simultaneous extinction of great tribes of animals so diverse in relationships and in habitats of life. … Whatever the cause, the latest Mesozoic was a time of trial when many of the hosts were 'tried in the balance and found wanting' — wanting in adaptiveness to their new environment. Walther has picturesquely called it ‘the time of the great dying’.” 1

Two tyrannosaurus rexs’ (“king”) - the Late Cretaceous period - inhabited this planet before the creation of man

Great tribes of prehistoric creatures SUDDENLY disappeared from the geological records without any gradual extinction as the theory of evolution requires.

From the earliest of school learning involving dinosaurs, we learned this! Yet, schools continue to teach the theory of evolution as fact! And an innumerable amount of books have been written trying to reason just why the SUDDEN EXTINCTION of the dinosaurs!

In 1961, the distinguished American vertebrate paleontologist and prolific researcher and author, Edwin Colbert writes in his final thoughts of his book, Dinosaurs: their discovery and their world –

“At the present time we can therefore only look upon the problem of extinction of the dinosaurs as a hard fact, as a closing of a most spectacular chapter in the history of life on the earth.” 2

Well, the very real fact – the “hard fact” – of the extinction of the dinosaurs as well as all the many other prehistoric creatures is that they were deposited in Mesozoic rocks – and this creates a problem for theistic evolutionists as well as atheistic evolutionists. For their theories do not allow for any SUDDEN appearance or disappearance of any life forms! Yet, God’s living and undeniable word says that it did! I will cover this in just a moment.

Well, scientists who teach and support this theory of evolution somehow need to account for the sudden disappearance of the many varied life forms. And they also need to account for their sudden appearance as well.

Professor Dunbar once again –

“G. G. Simpson has said, the most dramatic and in many respects the most puzzling event in the history of life on the earth, … is the change from the Mesozoic, Age of Reptiles, to the … Age of Mammals. It is as if the curtain were rung down suddenly on a stage where all the leading roles were taken by reptiles, especially dinosaurs, in great numbers and bewildering variety, and rose again immediately to reveal the same setting but an entirely new cast, a cast in which the dinosaurs do not appear at all, …”

“Throughout the long Mesozoic Era — for more than a hundred million years — reptiles completely dominated life on the Earth; but at its close, their dynasty suddenly collapsed. Turtles, lizards, snakes, and crocodiles survived, but they are mostly small and restricted in their range, … At the dawn of the Cenozoic Era, the dinosaurs were extinct, the pterosaurs had disappeared, and the great marine reptiles were gone.” 3

Such as the megalodon shark – which estimates suggest was about 52ft long and weighed upwards of 114 short tons! – that’s nearly three fully-loaded tractor trailers!

Truly, the “curtain” rose SUDDENLY on a whole new set of players! The reptiles alive today are no comparison to the impressive dinosaurs of the prehistoric era! – the Mesozoic Era! The curtain closed with an earthshaking destructiveness the likes of which this earth had not witnessed before – a violent catastrophe!

CHAOS On Earth!

Artistic impression of the asteroid slamming into tropical, shallow seas of the sulfur-rich Yucatán Peninsula in what is today Southeast Mexico. The aftermath of this immense asteroid collision, which occurred approximately 66 million years ago, is believed to have caused the mass extinction of dinosaurs and many other species on Earth.

Now friends, in my library, I have a book entitled Cosmos, by the late renowned astronomer, planetary scientist, and astrophysicist Carl Sagan. And it has one section which mentions experiments that were performed in the early ‘50s by a graduate student – who had argued that the early atmosphere of the Earth was hydrogen-rich (scientists have reassessed their theories as to why dinosaurs grew so large, they have since discovered “that oxygen concentrations in the atmosphere were likely lower than that of the present day.” 4 But they also continue using today’s land creatures as their guide) – and that the origin of life occurred before the hydrogen was lost, and that such gases sparked, creating life. That life began in the ocean with temperatures that began to fall, and the amino acids, and the proteins and the nucleotides – and how these different chemicals and the different aspects of this old earth – which condensed out of interstellar gas and dust some 4.6 billion years ago – and how they came together to form the earliest stages of life – a kind of organic soup. And how over time these different molecules that evolved would put away the characteristics that were not working for them and rather inherent characteristics that were better. He gives an example in the book – the invention of sex. With the invention of sex, two organisms could exchange whole paragraphs of their DNA code, producing new varieties ready for the sieve of selection. And, of course, I have read through this book, writing notes, reading it objectively, yet listening to what Mr. Sagan had to say. Yet, in the back of my mind truly say – all of this is foolishness. Because God created all of these things that they see in their greatest of powerful microscopes. But what they don’t realize is that what they are looking at – such as when they look at the skulls and bones of ancient apes or dinosaurs – is that this earth was turned upside down at one point in time! And if they would only read and believe the living word of God, especially what the apostle Peter says, “But this fact is hidden from them – they themselves choosing to ignore it – that by the Word of God the heavens existed of old, and the earth came forth out of water and amid water” – 2 Peter 3:5, NET. The EARTH had become “without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep” – very likely when Satan the devil – and let’s not forget about this evil one – was thrown down unto tartaroo, this earth.

Since the writing and publishing of Dr. Dunbar’s informative history of geology, in 1991, researchers found evidence of a giant crater near the town of Chicxulub in Mexico. And it came into being about the same time as ‘the time of the great dying.’ So, some 66 million years ago utter destruction – a massive asteroid (about 6.2 miles in diameter) carved out the Chicxulub crater and greatly aided in the death of all these creatures – some instantaneously with food still within their mouth. An INSTANT destructive force which destroyed the dinosaurs, and legendary flying pterosaurs, called pterodactyls. And the largest species of the Late Cretaceous, Pteranodon, attained wingspans of up to 30 feet, much larger than any flying birds alive today. Just amazing creatures that were inhabiting the face of this Earth!

So, using some facts from science, let us see just what God’s living word does say. Let us begin “in the beginning” – Genesis, chapter 1.

The SIX DAYS of creation are well known by any dedicated Bible student. And, contrary to some, these were literal “DAYS” – each day consisting of a 24-hour duration! For proof, be sure to read Genesis 1:4-5 in which God gives the very definition of what He calls “light” and “darkness.” Along with the very TRUTH that our Lord Jesus Christ asks the simple question, “’ Are there not twelve hours in a day?’” A “Day” is a twenty-four-hour period of time.

Now, to NOTE Leofranc Holford-Stevens, author of the book The History of Time, as well as any good encyclopedia, shows us that it was always custom to end and begin days at sunset - until a few hundred years after Christ. It includes a period called “NIGHT”, and a period called “DAY” and Jesus said they contained TWELVE HOURS for each period – a total of 24 hours in this epoch.

Let’s closely see God’s living word’s account of events that occurred on these SIX DAYS. Here I will dwell on the animal and plant life mentioned in the account – carefully note the description of this New Creation.

“Then God [again, the great Elohim, the family of God] said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth’; and it was so” – Genesis 1:11.

Well, in science – notice what William Darrah, who was an American professor of biology at Gettysburg College, specializing in paleobotany – amazingly admits back in 1960 –

“Suddenly – and suddenly is the proper word – a rapid diversification and radiation of the flowering plants occurred.

Seward called the upper Cretaceous “the dawn of a new era” and Lesquereux many years ago observed that “the flora of the globe has become modified as by a NEW CREATION.”

There has been no adequate explanation for this apparently SUDDEN modernization of the earth’s flora. The angiosperms appear in familiar form, not in small variety but in great numbers of existing families and genera. It is this perplexing paradox which has obscured the origin of the angiosperms.” 5

Friends, these grasses, herbs that yield seed, and the fruit trees that yields fruit described here for us in Genesis 1:11 (which are known as angiosperms) appear SUDDENLY on the geological record!

In verse 20 – the FIFTH DAY of creation we see the addition of “the waters abounding with an abundance of living creatures, and the atmosphere teeming with birds” – cf. Genesis 1:20-23.

Now, just about all geology books which I have read assert that fish, and even humpback whales (which is not a fish but a mammal), have been on this earth as long as man has existed. Now, if this is true, WHY DID GOD LIST FISH IN HIS CREATION ACCOUNT IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS!? Understand, that God’s listing of animals as well as plants is IN ASSOCIATION with the creation of mankind.

Notice this amazing bit of information from zoologist Tracy Storer in his 1972 book General Zoology –

“Most modern families [of fish] and a few existing genera probably date from the Eocene epoch [Fig. 31-14].” 6

The very name Eocene comes from Ancient Greek, meaning “dawn” and refers to the “dawn” of modern (‘new’) fauna that appeared during the epoch.

In 1928, leading authorities at the time came out with a book entitled Creation By Evolution; a consensus of present-day knowledge as set forth by leading authorities in non-technical language that all may understand wrote –

“In the following Cretaceous seas, there were a few fishes that had the bony support of the tail as well formed as that of most existing bony fishes; indeed, the reign of the modern thin-scaled bony fishes, completely adapted for rapid movement in water, had begun, …” 7

So, according to this world’s expert in fossil fish, the fish of the prehistoric seas did not have THIN-SCALES of modern fish. The modern fish of today appeared SUDDENLY at the time of Adam, as God’s living word records for us – cf. Genesis 1:21.

Let us also notice this bit of fascinating information, again from Professor Dunbar –

“Modern types of birds, all toothless, appeared BEFORE the close of the Cretaceous, and in the Eocene, most of the present orders were represented.” 8

So, according to this world’s master in his field, modern true toothless birds were NOT present BEFORE the “close of the Cretaceous.” Again, facts of geology substantiate the teachings of Almighty God!

Beginning in verse 24 – the SIXTH DAY – God created the “’ cattle and creeping thing and the beast of the earth, each according to its kind’; and it was so.” Clearly, the modern classification of creatures such as cows, and other beasts in the classification of Mammalia. And as we have just read from Dr. Dunbar, this is when the “Age of Mammals” began.

Why Were the Dinosaurs Destroyed?

In a series of Personals, I began writing, I went over Some Prehistory Facts. And I began with the rebellion of the evil one – Satan the devil. Because of this rebellion, physical destruction occurred to the earth! Notice this – Genesis 1:2, “The earth [became] without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.” The Hebrew words which our great patriarch and prophet Moses used are tohu and bohu – which truly means “chaotic and in confusion.”

Science fact surely tells us that this earth was created at an indefinite time – depending on which geologist you ask, the earth is some 4.54 Billion years old. Man – the true Homo sapiens – has ONLY been on this earth for about 6,000 years. And this can be proved by Biblical chronology and supported by various historical records of many nations around the world.

Hêlēl (in Hebrew #1966), Lucifer in Latin – meaning “shining one” – became known as Satan the Devil and rebelled, influencing a third of the holy angels to follow his rebellion and an attempted coup d'état of the Third Heaven – the very throne of the Master of the universe! He attempted to seize the very GOVERNMENT of the entire universe! – cf. Revelation 12:4; Jude 6.

Satan the Devil did not want to continue in the beautification of the earth – preparing it for the age of man. And as I have said before - we learn from God’s living word that angels were never meant to rule the earth or the universe – “the world to come” cf. Hebrews 2:5. He became filled with pride and jealousy – cf. Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28.

A great battle for the control of the universe literally caused great physical destruction upon the earth – Genesis 1:2. Truly, between the first verse and the second verse of Genesis chapter 1, billions of years could have passed. The earth BECAME chaotic and void; and DARKNESS (of which Satan and his demons are) was on the face of the deep. The very word “deep” in Hebrew is tehôm, meaning “depths, with the associative meanings of darkness and secrecy, controlled or inhabited by mysterious powers.” Life was taken from the earth – including the dinosaurs as well as all other prehistoric creatures.

In verse 3, God began to RENEW THE FACE OF THE EARTH – see also Psalm 104:30. God rebuilt the surface of the earth and created man along with the innumerable creatures described in Genesis chapters 1 & 2. And “God blessed them [mankind], and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill [or rather replenish] the earth and subdue it; …” The earth had to be “replenished.”

The LORD our God’s living TRUTH becomes clear! The earth had been populated by various forms of plant and animal life BEFORE the creation of Adam. There have been many misconceptions about who created as well as why dinosaurs were created. A great many believe that Satan and his demons created them. No, Satan the Devil, and his demons cannot create life.

But, why did God create dinosaurs!?

From my youth, I’ve believed, from the study of God's living word as well as secular sources – and great advancement in scientific and geological research has helped solidify this  – the earth was once covered with a vast landmass known as Pangaea. And as an example: For a period of time from the Late Cretaceous to the early Paleocene, there was once a large inland sea called the Western Interior Seaway that split the continent (North America) in two. The Western Interior Seaway is known to have been a shallow sea and one that teemed with remarkable diversity and abundance of marine life. And thanks to these shallow seas, these extremely large dinosaurs could take advantage of these seas to support their huge bodies that otherwise would have been impossible. The very existence of such a huge, diverse, and enduring population of dinosaurs significantly contributed to EARTH’s present store of Biodeposits – such as limestone, marble, coal, oil, and natural gas.

Returning once again to Professor Dunbar’s book Historical Geology we see the very usefulness of the plants described for us in Genesis 1:11-12 –

“ … the angiosperms [our modern plants and trees] are the most specialized of all plants and the ones destined to dominate the Earth during their geologic time. … they supply nearly all the plant food for the mammals that now dominate all other life upon Earth. Angiosperms provide the nuts and fruits of the forest, the grasses of the prairies, the cereals which furnish fodder and grain for man and his domestic animals, and all the vegetables and fruits that man has cultivated, …” 9

My friends, these angiosperms DID NOT inhabit Lucifer’s world before man. The plants and animals man uses for food were not in existence in the pre-Adamic world! When God created man, He also created at the same time the necessary angiosperms (the plants, trees, and grasses) necessary to sustain mankind.

Also, the IMPORTANCE of mammals to man cannot be over-emphasized! Yet, the same CAN NOT be said of the creatures that existed along with the dinosaurs in Lucifer’s pre-Adamic world.

The dinosaurs as well as all other prehistoric creatures were destroyed in an INSTANT and buried in a vast fossil graveyard – and, with the development of this new and highly logical hypothesis of the Chicxulub asteroid impact – that could have been the very moment of their SUDDEN ‘time of the great dying’ – their SUDDEN COLLAPSE!?

But, as we know, mankind has rejected the LORD our God’s vast knowledge and wishes to substitute his own theories and hypothesis – who suppress the TRUTH in unrighteousness – Romans 1:18-22.

“The fear [reverent fear] of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction” – Proverbs 1:7.

ANYONE without God’s living word as their guide – without JESUS CHRIST and His mind, His Spirit, guiding you into all TRUTH – will always learn but will NEVER be able to come to the knowledge of the TRUTH! – cf. John 16:13; 2 Timothy 3:7. □

Bibliography:

1) Dunbar, C.O., Historical Geology, New York, J. Wiley, 1949, pgs. 345, 348.

2) Colbert, E.H., Dinosaurs: their discovery and their world, New York: Dutton, 1961, pg. 259.

3) Ibid, Dunbar, 426, 404.

4) How Did Dinosaurs Get So Big!? Science World, 18 August 2015 - https://www.scienceworld.ca/stories/how-did-dinosaurs-get-so-big/. Retrieved 22 June 2022.

5) Darrah, W.C., Principles of Paleobotany, New York, Ronald Press Co., 1960, pg. 219.

6) Storer, T.I., General Zoology, New York, McGraw-Hill, 1972, pg. 680.

7) Sir Arthur Smith Woodward, Creation By Evolution, The Progression of life on earth, New York, The Macmillan Company, 1928, pg. 131.

8) Ibid, Dunbar, 435.

9) Ibid, Dunbar, 336.

Personal From... Some Prehistory Facts

THIS EARLY MORNING – I had commented to one of God’s ministers – Mr. Guy C. LaMar – on his posting of the Church building he is considering renting there in Athens, Alabama – “I truly am overjoyed with the great blessings from the LORD our God!!!!” And I was thinking – just WHAT are our objectives, our goals, and our purposes!? Those of us who are close to this blessed and fast-growing worldwide multi-phased operation use the term “the Work.”

Now, many of you may know just what “the Work” is, and many may not. I feel sure that many of our brethren truly knows what “the Work” is. But many of our growing friends in places like Cambodia, Ireland, Brazil, Trinidad, or Barbados may not. They might think that it is a Protestant work – whatever that may entail.

Well, I thought that our brethren and our friends should know just what IS “the Work,” as well as its PURPOSE. What is behind the “Work,” and how it is financed. Why do we do the things we do!?

When we speak of “the Work” we, of course, mean GOD’S WORK! When we speak or write we will often use the term “God’s work,” or the “Work of God.”

Now, there is a vast difference between man’s work, and God’s. Going back to the early books of the Holy Bible we see that God (the great Elohim – the family of God) marked out, and gave mankind, SIX days of every week for our own work. Recall, He says within His Ten Commandments, “’ SIX days you shall labor and do all your work” – Exodus 20:9. Indeed, the anti-Semite and anti-Union inventor Henry Ford played a huge role in “inventing” the modern weekend.

But, I think we all understand well enough what we mean by “our work,” or “man’s work.” We are speaking of our labor, our job, our business, occupation, etc. God’s Work is God’s activity – His mission. And we are speaking of the activity or what is called the “Great Commission” which God purposes to accomplish in the world – throughout the world – by and through human instruments whom God the Father calls and uses.

Now, as an example, the blessing of this building in Athens – or any Church building elsewhere – is but another means to this great “Work of God.” But, just what is God’s Work – and WHY!? What PURPOSE is it for!? How did it begin, and just HOW does God maintain it through human instruments in this 21st-century world!?

Some Prehistory Facts

For those of our friends in faraway places, who may never have heard the FACTS of prehistory – which explains just why we have the conditions and troubles in this world today – let me take you back. God’s living word – the Holy Bible – records for us events that took place prior to any human recordings.

Now, friends, there is not enough room on a hundred pages for all the details. This glorious and surprising TRUTH is throughout our sermons and articles online. They’re all free and with no obligation to watch and read – at www.owensborocojc.com.

But to be brief here – God’s living word reveals to us a “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4) – one who has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. A Satan the devil – and of his origin as a former “covering cherub” perfect in beauty. He had been at the very throne of the Master of the universe! In an article which I am typing up entitled “A Changing World!” I cover this. He – as the prophet Ezekiel was inspired to write – was on the very ‘holy mountain of God; walking among the fiery stones.’ He had been trained in a role of administration for the very GOVERNMENT OF GOD!

Now, we learn from God’s living word that angels were never meant to rule the earth or the universe – “the world to come” cf. Hebrews 2:5. However, prior to the creation of Adam and Eve – the very first true Homo sapiens – he was allowed access to the garden of Eden to tempt our first parents. This rebellious and prideful cherubim was on the throne of the earth itself, administrator of God’s GOVERNMENT ON EARTH and over legions of angels. All this is revealed to us in the Books of Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28.

He purposely became a rebel, influencing a third of the holy angels to follow his rebellion and an attempted coup d'état of the third heaven – the very throne of the Master of the universe! He attempted to seize the very GOVERNMENT of the entire universe!

Now, a great deal of this prehistory is revealed to us in various parts of God’s living word – something to remember is that God’s living word is like a jigsaw puzzle that must be put together to see the full picture of “God’s Master Plan – From the Beginning.” - cf. Isaiah 28:10.

God – and the word here for “God” is Elohim, the family of God which consists at this present time of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ – is SUPREME RULER of the universe, HEAD of the GOVERNMENT OF GOD and over the finite universe.

* Now, you might notice that I underlined the word finite – as in “the finite universe.” It is my personal belief that what, of course, looks limitless (infinite) to us (relative to our size), may not look that limitless to God. I believe that the universe does have a certain “volume” or a “size.”

Hêlēl – meaning “shining one” – incorrectly translated Lucifer in the King James Version – along with his angels were thrown “like lightning” back down to the earth where they currently reside – disqualifying him as an administrator of the GOVERNMENT OF GOD on the earth. Satan – meaning “that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan” the very word meaning adversary; an adversary to God’s Government. This covering cherubim – and in that article, I mentioned typing up, we find out just what this evil and vile “serpent” looked like to Eve – became the devil. And his angels became demons. Their minds had become warped and perverted in thought and reason.

Now, because of the rebellion of Satan the devil, and his demons, physical destruction occurred to the earth! Notice this – Genesis 1:2, “The earth [became] without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.” And, we’ve covered this many times before – the Hebrew words which our great patriarch and prophet Moses used are tohu and bohu – which truly means “chaotic and in confusion.” God – “in the beginning created the heavens and the earth … And God saw that it was good” – Genesis 1:1, 10.

God did not create the earth in tohu and bohu – God is not a God of disorder (1 Corinthians 14:33). The earth became tohu and bohu. The earth was “GOOD.” Recall, “the morning stars sang together And the sons of God [meaning here, the angels of God] shouted for joy” upon the laying of the foundation of the earth – Job 38:1-7.

But then the family of God RENEWED the face of the earth (Psalm 104:30), causing the sun to shine through the darkness – dividing the light from the darkness, calling the light day and the darkness night, creating a twenty-four hour period of time.

* A great answer to the question: “Has the Earth's rotational period always been 24 hours?” is from Simon Ellingsen, Associate Professor in Physics, University of Tasmania, Australia: “ … Anything which changes the mass distribution of the Earth changes its rotational period. So heating of the atmosphere or the oceans makes them expand, the Earth's moment of inertia increases, and the length of the day increases. Large earthquakes are observed to change the length of the day as well. …”

(https://www.quora.com/Has-the-Earths-rotational-period-always-been-24-hours-If-not-what-was-it-before-and-what-caused-the-change).

God created an atmosphere – which is divided into five different layers, based on temperature, creating the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and the uppermost layer, that blends with what is considered to be outer space, the exosphere – Genesis 1:6-8. God created the seas with its different layers – in which the deepest level of the ocean lies the Mariana Trench, at a depth of some 6,825 miles! – cf. Genesis 1:9-10. God also created flora, fauna, and other forms of life – Genesis 1:11-13, 20-25.

Now, lastly, on the SIXTH DAY, God created MAN in Their ‘image and according to Their likeness’ - Genesis 1:26.

In a 2018 Letter to our Brethren I had written:

“Last night I caught a glimpse of a program that NOVA was airing on television called The Dawn of Humanity. And, it indeed was intriguing. Yet, pangs from my heart wept. They KNOW NOT GOD, nor HIS TRUTH! Yes, there were, definitively, creatures which archaeologists - and the like - have incorrectly been trying to link with Homo sapiens. Ape-like creatures which were bipedal and possibly used "tools." But this does not make them human.”

Not only did the LORD God form MAN of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, but MAN has a spirit – Job 32:8.

God created MAN out of matter, with the potential of being begotten, and then born of SPIRIT composition, immortal, into the very family of God!

But MAN – and by man I mean mankind – was given the option to choose (they were created as free moral agents) the tree of life (which represented God’s Holy Spirit) or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – which meant them taking unto themselves what is good and what is evil.

* Now, I’d like to note, that I wrote in a Letter to our Friends of the subject of decay: “The law of decay is a physical law described in mathematical manners that describes the properties of a nuclear atom in a state of decay. The radioactive decay law states that this decay is constant. For if nothing was done about this law of decay, this corruption will ultimately lead to the complete annihilation of the universe. For I refer to a little physics here, the laws of thermodynamics – 

• First Law - Energy cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system. 

• Second Law - Entropy – or disorder – always increases. 

• Third Law - The entropy of a system approaches a constant value as the temperature approaches heat, and eventual death. 

So, truly, this law of decay proves that life originated from a Divine Being with intelligence outside of this physical universe.

Now, I want you to understand that mankind was going to die – no matter if they were to choose the tree of life or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Had they chose the tree of life, they would still have lived out their days and died; and indeed we find this did happen, “So all the days that Adam lived were 930 years; and he died” – Genesis 5:5 – but would have, after losing consciousness, “in the twinkling of an eye,” been resurrected unto eternal life! But, we know of which tree they chose “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” – Adam and Eve will be resurrected in what is known as “the Great White Throne Judgment” (Revelation 20:11-13). Adam and Eve have yet to receive the precious gift of eternal life. They were driven out of the garden of Eden lest they received it.

* Note: God’s perfect and righteous character can only be created in us by and through God, but with our own individual free choice, decision, and will. God cannot create His character in us by fiat, character must be developed.

Because mankind was created with a carnal mind it is enmity against God; “for it is not subject to the Law of God, nor indeed can be” – because God’s Holy Spirit is not present (without being freely given by God) in the carnal mind. Mankind has what is called HUMAN NATURE. This nature is but an invisible pull toward the likes of self-centeredness, vanity, lust, greed, jealousy, envy, hatred, rivalry. It is a nature of rebellion, hostility against authority. And mankind has another pull in our nature – the inordinate desire of the FLESH – an unrighteous desire of our five senses.

Angels, however, are wholly spiritual beings – who have the ability to transverse different dimensions. Depending on which string theorist you ask, there may be upwards of 10 different dimensions. They were created long before mankind, but also with a free moral agency – the right of free choice. They are individually created beings of great and immense knowledge, holy and righteous. They KNOW the causes of desired results as well as the causes of evil results.

Here is a vital point: angels had no excuse for rebelling against God and turning away from the GOVERNMENT OF GOD. Hêlēl and his third of the angels rebelled against God despite what they knew was the utmost evil. God’s living word tells us that the severity of God’s judgment depends on how much knowledge a person possesses - Luke 12:48. The angels who rebelled against God, then, with the great knowledge they possessed, are greatly deserving of God’s wrath!

But friends, MAN is different. Man was created “in the image of God,” with the very potential of being begotten and eventually BORN of God – as God’s own child, having God’s own DIVINE NATURE!

“By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption [the decay] that is in the world through lust” – 2 Peter 1:4.

And we could easily say, ‘through pride” – cf. Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28.

MAN has the potential of being elevated to the GOD plane high above the angels.

Let us understand two things about the nature of mankind. Psychologists are utterly ignorant in their postulating that human nature is essentially good. MAN desires to be good but desires more to be evil. In the five decades I have been alive I have witnessed this firsthand. My own wife has a famous saying, “It’s good to be bad!” MAN resents being told that it has done WRONG – denies it – and justifies it, or blames the wrong on another!

Case in point: “’ The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, …’” – Genesis 3:12.

It is the very nature of MAN to have an attitude of hostility to GOD’S GOVERNMENT. It is completely natural to MAN that he sins – and sin is defined as transgression against the LAW OF GOD – 1st John 3:4. But, does it mean that MAN has to sin!?

No, not at all!

The Word (John 1:1, 14) was born a human being – of a human mother – was tempted in all points as we are (which means that He was subjected to all the same temptations as we are) – YET WITHOUT SIN! There has been no other that has ever done that – past or present. Besides our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” – Romans 3:23.

But I digress, getting back to the very creation of Man.

God the Father created “all things through Jesus Christ” – cf. Ephesians 3:9; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16. And, MAN was created with human nature.

So, here we have an adult man and an adult woman (according to the living word of God, a person becomes an adult when they reach the age of 20 – cf. Numbers 14:29) with the pull of human nature, with carnal minds – as yet unfilled with knowledge. But their minds were capable of receiving knowledge, instruction, reasoning – and choosing and acting according to will.

A Seventh-day Sabbath

Now, at sunset that SIXTH DAY of the week, “God ended His work which He had done” – Genesis 2:2. But He did not end creating. He then created His sabbath (the very word sabbath meaning - from Friday evening to Saturday evening as a day of rest and worship) by ‘blessing the seventh day and sanctifying it,’ “because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” – vs. 3.

On this very FIRST SABBATH, the LORD God – the very One who would later become JESUS CHRIST – INSTRUCTED THE MAN AND THE WOMAN IN GOD’S WAY – in GOD’S GOVERNMENT! Instructing them in the causes of desired blessings or curses –

“’ I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20) that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; …’” – Deuteronomy 30:19-20.

“’ Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14) Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. 15) Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves’” – Matthew 7:13-15.

 Satan the devil’s religion

As soon as the sabbath had ended, and the LORD God had finished instructing MAN in the Way of God, along came “the serpent” – the enchanting whisperer – an evil and vile cherubim – on the FIRST DAY of the week. Known today as the day of the sun.

He began instructing the first woman in the religion of Satan – teaching her that MAN has an immortal soul and that God had lied –

“’ You will not surely die. 5) For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’” – Genesis 3:4-5.

So, the woman reached out and TOOK! She rejected the LORD God and His revelation. She rejected God’s revealed knowledge – she used her own reasoning. She reasoned that the forbidden tree was “good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise” – Genesis 3:6.

* To note: ever since MAN has desired as the choicest of foods that which the LORD God has revealed as NOT GOOD FOR FOOD – Leviticus 11. See also our article “Is God’s Biblical Food Laws Still In Effect!?”

Now, understand, Adam was not deceived, yet he allowed his wife to lead him astray, and he too obeyed and followed Hêlēl, and DISOBEYED the LORD our God!

Therefore MAN DISQUALIFIED THEMSELVES to succeed Satan the devil as administrator of GOD’S GOVERNMENT over the earth, as well as the universe beyond – cf. Romans 8:21-22.

And ever since, mankind has followed the deceptions of Satan the devil, and of their human nature. Only two are ever mentioned in the living word of God has having followed the LORD God’s Way before the patriarch Noah – Abel and prophet Enoch.

Only Noah – who found grace in the eyes of the LORD, ‘a just man, perfect in his generations’ after some 1100 years Noah alone was obedient to the LORD God! – Genesis 6:8-9.

Then, the next recorded as being righteous was Abram (Abraham). And, the LORD God chose Abraham’s descendants – some 430 years later – for God’s service. He made them HIS NATION, and set up HIS GOVERNMENT over them, under prophet Moses. But they eventually demanded human government with a human king like other God-rejecting nations around them – cf. 1st Samuel 8:4-7.

‘the acceptable year of the LORD’

In the acceptable year of the LORD, God the Father sent His own begotten Son – Jesus the Christ – cf. John 3:16; Isaiah 61:2a; Luke 4:18-19.

* To note: When our Lord Jesus Christ was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah to read, He turned to chapter 61, but did not read the following verse. Notice what comes next – “And the day [the Day of the LORD] of vengeance of our God” – vs. 2b.

MEN rejected Him and murdered Him!

Now, our Lord Jesus Christ was sent to START God’s Work through humans in this world.

Yet, before even beginning this vital mission, He had to be subjected to the temptations of Satan the devil and His own human nature – to prove that He would qualify to ADMINISTER THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD over all nations on the Earth – replacing Satan the devil as ruler of the Earth! – cf John 14:30. Under the most extreme conditions of temptations, our Lord Jesus Christ resisted Satan the devil – He resisted the extreme temptations of hunger and His human nature – He quoted and obeyed God’s living word!

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2) And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.

3) Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’

4) But He answered and said, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’

5) Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6) and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’

7) Jesus said to him, ‘It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’

8) Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. …”

Such as the kingdoms of Rome, the Hans Dynasty in China, as well as Gaul, Greece, and Egypt.

9) And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’

10) Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve’” – Matthew 4:1-10.

He proved in this most ginormous struggle, that He was loyal and faithful to God the Father and HIS GOVERNMENT, and that nothing could move Him to defy or disobey His Father.

JESUS CHRIST qualified to become King of kings and Lord of lords over all kingdoms of the world (Revelation 11:15) and to set up and administer the KINGDOM OF GOD in the WORLD TOMORROW!

He then built His Church upon HIMSELF! – cf. Matthew 16:18; Exodus 17:6; Deuteronomy 32:4; 1 Corinthians 3:11; 10:4. He began His own personal phase of this Work. □

to be continued