Stop, my soul

Yet He hath made with me an everlasting covenant.
2 Samuel 23:5

"This covenant is divine in its origin. 

Stop, my soul. 

God, the everlasting Father, has positively made a covenant with thee; yes, that God who spake the world into existence by a word; He, stooping from his majesty, takes hold of thy hand and makes a covenant with thee.

 

“HE hath made with me a covenant.” 

But notice, it is particular in its application. 

Here lies the sweetness of it to each believer. 

It is nought for me that He made peace for the world; 

I want to know whether He made peace for me!

This covenant is everlasting in its duration. 

An everlasting covenant means a covenant which had no beginning, and which shall never, never end. 

Like dying David, I will sing of this, even though my house be not so with God as my heart desireth." 

Charles Spurgeon

Creation Moment 12/24/2024 - His Reason: The CREATOR

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him? 

Psalm 8:3,4

"David wrote many of the psalms preserved in Scripture. 

A careful examination of their contents can tell us a lot about his faith and about what made him a man after God’s own heart.

David spent substantial time in the revealed Word of God, which at that time would have most likely been the Torah, the first five books of our modern Old Testament.

David’s prayers encompass 

anger, 

despair, 

deep sorrow, 

and fear. 

Yet even when he experiences these feelings, he ultimately places his trust in God. And the reason he can have such firm hope in God is that God is the all-powerful, loving Creator." 

AIG

Genetics of the Table of Nations

Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. Genesis 10:1

"Many men will have no sons (or grandsons, etc.), so many branches get ‘pruned’ quickly. Still, over the past several thousand years,

hundreds of mutations have accumulated in the Y chromosome and a star-like family tree has arisen.

When first learning about the Table of Nations, many people conclude that Japheth settled Europe, Ham settled Africa, and Shem stuck around in the Middle East. 

Problem is, this is entirely wrong! In fact, this myopic view is not only contrary to what the Bible actually says, but it was used to foster the outdated and racist idea that there are three primary people groups: the Negroid, Caucasoid, and Mongoloid. This is not what genetics is telling us, and it is not what the Bible says. Instead, the Table of Nations shows a complex pattern of migration, with the descendants of the three sons of Noah overlapping across most of their range.

A more realistic map based on the Table of Nations. Descendants of

Ham (green) lived in North Africa, but also in Anatolia, Canaan, Mesopotamia, and Arabia, and on the island of Crete. Descendants of Shem (blue) lived in Anatolia, Canaan, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Persia. Descendants of Japheth (red) lived in Anatolia and Persia, and on the islands of Rhodes and Cyprus. 

These are just the descendants that are easy to place. There is almost complete overlap among the descendants of the three sons of Noah, but the outlines are highly approximate. Further historical movements would only have continued to blend the lines.

Think about it: descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth settled in Anatolia (modern day Turkey). This was the source population for the initial farming community of Europe. Who, then, settled Europe? Consider also that Nimrod, a descendant of Ham, founded multiple cities in Mesopotamia. Who, then, settled these regions? It was not just the descendants of Shem!

As we study the data, we realize that human history is a lot more complicated than most people think.

Shem, Ham & Japheth could have had identical Y chromosomes
If there was little mutation prior to the Flood, the three sons of Noah could have had identical Y chromosomes. If so, all the diversity we see arose in the post-Flood world. There would not be “three” founding branches, there would only be “one”.
Even if there was mutation prior to the Flood, the three brothers could still have had identical Y chromosomes. In the testes, males carry multiple spermatogonial cell lines. These lines reproduce clonally and can change in relative abundance over time. It is possible that one of Noah’s lines had zero mutations but another had several. It is also possible that all of Noah’s cell lines contained mutations. Among Noah’s sons, if all three brothers inherited the Y chromosome from the same cell line, we are back to having only one Y chromosome after the Flood.
Interestingly, if they all inherited a Y chromosome from the same cell line, we would have no way of knowing the sequence of Noah’s Y chromosome. We would only know the Y chromosome lineage that was inherited by the sons. That lineage could have carried many mutations, so there is no real way to really know the sequence of “Y chromosome Noah”.

Shem, Ham & Japheth could have carried two versions of the Y chromosome among them
Alternatively, two brothers could have inherited a Y chromosome from the same spermatogonial cell line while the third brother inherited the Y from a different line. This would give us two branches, not three, and there is nothing to prevent this from happening.

Shem, Ham & Japheth could have had different Y chromosomes
A third possibility is that Shem, Ham, and Japheth each carried a different Y chromosome. This is certainly possible, but these could have been very similar or vastly different. We do not have a way of estimating how long those early ‘branches’ in the tree should be, and two of the lines could be closer to each other than they are to the third.

Long-branch attraction could have created spurious links among separate lineages
Speaking of computer programs, there is a strange and well-known phenomenon that happens when you use them to draw phylogenetic trees of distantly related organisms. It is called ‘long branch attraction’. Given a high enough mutation load, parallel mutations are bound to arise independently in different lineages. In such a case, individuals with different histories will be joined together on the same branch.
If mutations are not random or if there are not many survivable places for mutation to occur, parallel mutations are more likely. I can attest that there are multiple places in the data file where parallel mutations appear. The computer program I used had to make some educated guesses to draw that tree. Thus, even when we see different branches, we cannot be 100% certain that they arose independently.

Patriarchal drive could have created a bird’s nest of relationships
It is known that older men tend to produce children with higher mutation loads. The Biblical Patriarchs also lived to very old ages (Genesis 5 and 11). Thus, there is a very real possibility that children born to them later in life would have many times more mutations than children born to those same men when they were much younger. I call this phenomenon Patriarchal Drive." 

CMI

Creation Moment 12/23/2024 - Manifold Beauty of the Work of Creator's Fingers

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,... 

Psalm 8:3

"In God’s beautiful nature, with the colorfully blossoming mountain

meadows in front of you and the gigantic snow-capped ten thousand footers behind them, the murmuring brooks beside you and the ringing of the cow-bells around you, hearts automatically begin to admire God’s creation and wisdom and cannot but praise the intelligence behind such manifold beauty." 

 A. E. Wilder-Smith (1915-1995), scientist with three earned doctorates

ARCHAEOLOGY: Frankfurt Amulet

"1,800-year-old silver amulet could rewrite history of Christianity in

the early Roman Empire (14 Dec 2024, Live Science). 

“An 1,800-year-old silver amulet discovered in a burial in Germany,” writes the reporter, “is the oldest evidence of Christianity north of the Alps, according to a new study.” The amulet dates to sometime between 230 to 270 AD, and was discovered in a grave near Frankfurt, the east of the Rhine river.

“What makes this particular example remarkable is that it is written entirely in Latin and exclusively invokes Jesus Christ and the Christian god,” Rassalle said, which is unusual because most amulets “also appeal to angels, demons, or other supernatural entities.”

The wafer-thin silver foil inscribed with writing took years of careful preservation and CT scanning to reveal the writing. The translation of the Latin text reads, with question marks indicating uncertainties:

In the name?) of Saint Titus. Holy, holy, holy! In the name of JesusChrist, Son of God! The Lord of the world resists with [strengths?] all attacks(?)/setbacks(?). The God(?) grants entry to well-being. May this means of salvation(?) protect the man who surrenders himself to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, since before Jesus Christ every knee bows: those in heaven, those on earth and those under the earth, and every tongue confesses (Jesus Christ).

Implications
---The writer appears to reference the Epistle of Paul to Titus and the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians. 

---It does not ask for any kind of magical protection, which fits the Christian view that rejects divination and sorcery. 

---Instead, the text presents the gospel of Jesus Christ as the Son of God before whom all people will bow, as stated in Philippians 2:10-11 (That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.).

---The mention of Jesus as “Lord of the world” also points to His role as Creator (All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:3). 

---And the Trisagion (“Holy, holy, holy”) indicates familiarity with either Isaiah 6:3 (And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.) or Revelation 4:8 (And the four beasts had each of them six wings about Him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.) with its Trinitarian overtones. 

*By implication, the wearer may have had access to translations of these portions of Scripture in his native language, and had been instructed in Christian doctrine at this early date. The date of the artifact, therefore, could be years or decades later than the arrival of the gospel in the Frankfurt area." 

CEH

Papal Notes - 100,000 idols coming to a town near you

Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them... Exodus 20:3-5

"The Catholic Church, under the leadership of Pope Francis, has begun a new initiative called Project Guadalupe 2031, which is a plan that calls for the Catholicization of the United States through --the veneration of Mary, 

--communication with the dead, 

--and Sunday Eucharistic Masses. 

This will lead to an increase in Catholic values within U.S. society, politics, and public life.

This plan is in line with Pope Francis’ call to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Mary’s so-called apparition with prayer, unity Masses, and the installation of 100,000 idols of Mary across the United States.

The plan for Project Guadalupe 2031, obviously, is to lead millions more to convert to the worship of Mary in this generation. 

They are calling for more idol worship, communication with the dead, and Eucharistic Sunday masses here in the United States. In other words, Rome is still in the business of exalting human traditions above the commandments of God." 

AdventMessenger

IN the NEWS - Anti-Pagan Iconoclasts hit Minnesota

Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them... Deuteronomy 5:8,9

"And they saw Satan fall as lightning from… the Minnesota State

Capitol. .... yet another Satanic display at a state capitol building was just vandalized.
The Minnesota Satanic display ok'ed by Tim Walz was knocked over, a day after a large group of Minnesota lawmakers and other elected officials had gathered across from it to pray and sing Christian carols." PJMedia

Creation Moment 12/22/2024 - Mindy?

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools... 

Romans 1:22

"A telecommunications company has developed ‘Mindy’, a “grotesque” 3D model to show how “consistent use of smartphones, laptops, and other tech” will change our bodies. 

According to the company, which supposedly “sourced scientific research and expert opinion”, “humans in the year 3000 could have a hunched back, wide neck, clawed hand from texting and a second set of eyelids [to protect from excessive screen-time].” Such “radical evolutionary development” could also mean a permanently bent elbow, and perhaps a thicker skull to protect our brains from cellphone radiation.

The charitable assumption is that the expert sources were

misunderstood or misrepresented. For example, although texting can lead to ‘text claw’, it does not change the DNA for making hands. So future generations will not be born with it.

Concerning brains and radiation, even if the ‘right’ skull-thickening mutations arose by chance in some individuals it would go nowhere. That is, unless the hazard was severe enough to eliminate most of those with ‘normal’ skulls before they could pass on their genes to their children.

This unscientific speculation is promoting the fantasy that all living things developed unaided from chemicals. But where is the academic outcry against this thoroughly discredited Lamarckism (inheritance of acquired characteristics)?
Perhaps many now see evolution as a sort of ‘magic force’? Supposedly, it transformed microbes into microchip manufacturers. So, given a few centuries, why shouldn’t it conjure up extra eyelids when required? Yeah, right." 

CMI

Shown which day by God Himself

"When God identified the Sabbath of the fourth commandment mentioned at Sinai with the creation Sabbath,

Q:  did He do anything to identify what day of the week that Sabbath is? 

Q: or were the people to whom the fourth commandment was spoken left, and were all people left, to choose for themselves, to decide and fix for themselves, what day of the week that seventh day should be?

A:  Let us see. When “the children of Israel came unto the

wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai,” the Lord said unto Moses: Exodus 16:4.5 Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

Thus, by these specific facts, which were directly and wholly controlled by the Lord Himself, the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, was distinctly designated.

These facts demonstrate that the people had nothing whatever to do with choosing or deciding or fixing what day should be the seventh day, nor what day should be the Sabbath, nor anything whatever in connection with that Sabbath. It was all done by the Lord; and by specific acts of the Lord the Sabbath day was designated, against their will, and against what they would have chosen." 

A.T. Jones

Creation Moment 12/21/2024 - The War spills into Science

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Ephesians 6:12

"There never was a war between religion and empirical science, but there is a war between religion and materialistic science, and the battleground is evolution."

 Jonathan Wells, Zombie Science (2017), p 171

"Knowing"

"The wisdom of this world is foolishness. "If any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know." 

1 Corinthians 8:2. We have nothing except that which comes from God; and the Holy Spirit is given to us, "that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God" (1 Corinthians 2:12); therefore it follows that without the Holy Spirit we cannot really know anything." 

E.J. Waggoner

Creation Moment 12/20/2024 - NGTS-10b

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. Hebrews 11:3

"Astronomers have discovered a Jupiter-sized extrasolar planet (exoplanet) orbiting so close to its host star that it is “perilously close” to the distance where it can be torn apart by gravitational forces.
Astronomers call these planets “hot Jupiters” because they are rather large planets with masses comparable to that of Jupiter, and their nearness to their host stars causes them to have high temperatures.

This particular “hot Jupiter,” designated as NGTS-10b, is about

1,000 light-years from Earth.

Planets with smaller orbits take less time to go around their host stars than do planets with larger orbits.NGTS-10b orbits its host star in just 18 hours! Or to put it another way, the length of its year is less than one Earth day!

This is the shortest orbital period yet observed for an “ultra-short period” hot Jupiter planet.

Dr. Daniel Bayliss, one of the astronomers making the discovery, said,

"Everything that we know about planet formation tells us that planets and stars form at the same time. The best model that we’ve got suggests that the star is about ten billion years old and we’d assume that the planet is too. Either we are seeing it in the last stages of its life, or somehow it’s able to live here longer than it should."

The suggestion that the planet can “somehow” remain and “live” at this distance from the star “longer than it should” seems odd. 

Q: Why would astronomers not just simply accept that the planet is in its last stages of its planetary “life”? 
A: The reason involves secular astronomers’ belief in billions of years. 

Scientists estimate that hot Jupiters so close to their parent stars will be destroyed in millions of years. In this particular case, they estimate that NGTS-10b will be destroyed in 38 million years, although there is considerable scatter in this number. This is a long time, but it is only a tiny fraction of the ten billion years of this planet’s supposed lifetime. For this reason, it seems unlikely that astronomers would be “lucky” enough to observe hot Jupiters in their death throes:

"Back in 1996, when the very first hot Jupiters had been discovered, Fred Rasio (Northwestern University) and his colleagues predicted that their orbits could very slowly decay due to tidal interactions with their parent stars. However, the rapid change in WASP-12b’s orbital period implies that we’re observing the planet at the last moments [here “moment” means a million years!] of its inspiral. That might seem a rather improbable coincidence, but David Latham (Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian) says, “one such case could be the result of a lucky accident.”

Perhaps this single case is a lucky accident. However, astronomers

have detected several hot Jupiters that apparently have already started their “death spirals” into their host stars.

This is true even for hot Jupiters having periods longer than a day, such as WASP-12b. 

Some of these planets have undergone measurable decreases in the lengths of their orbital periods. 

One such hot Jupiter is thought to only have 550,000 years left before it is destroyed! And there could potentially be many more dying hot Jupiters that we simply don’t know about yet.

Dr. Bayliss noted,

"We are either very lucky to catch them [“hot Jupiters”] in this short period orbit, or the processes by which the planet migrates into the star are less efficient than we imagine, in which case it can live in this configuration for a longer period of time.”

---Clearly, multiple ultra-short period hot Jupiters this close to their host stars surprised secular astronomers. Hence, the ad hoc suggestion that they can “somehow” remain close to their host stars for long ages. 

---Of course, there is another possibility they seem unwilling to consider. Perhaps these hot Jupiters and their host stars simply are much younger than secular astronomers assume. 

If our universe is young, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to observe multiple hot Jupiters having already begun their death spirals. Their orbital decay, even when measurable, would still cause very little change in these planets’ orbits in 6,000 years, even if God originally placed them very close to their current locations.

Observations of hot Jupiters so close to their host stars makes more sense if the stars and planets are young instead of old, just as we would infer from a straightforward reading of Scripture." 

ICR

Declarative Act of the Judgment

"The resurrection of the saints is to immortal life, 

---and they are made immortal in the very act of the resurrection. 

The decision of their cases is, therefore, passed before their resurrection, for the nature of their resurrection is declarative or eternal salvation. 

But the fact that the decision of the judgment in the case of the righteous precedes the advent is proved by another proposition, as follows: The righteous are to be raised before the wicked have their resurrection. This shows that the examination of their cases takes place before they are raised, for the final discrimination is made in the very act of raising the just and leaving the unjust to the resurrection of damnation. 

“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Rev.20:5,6. 

“But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage; neither can they die any more; for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.” Luke 20:35,36.

 “If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” (Literally “the resurrection out from the dead ones.”) Phil.3:11. 

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order; Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” 1Cor.15:22, 23. 

There is a resurrection which bears the inspired designation of the “first resurrection.” 

All who have part in this resurrection are pronounced “blessed and holy.” On them “the second death hath no power.” 

This resurrection is out from among the dead. 

Paul earnestly labored to attain unto it.

 It is to be at the coming of Christ. 

Only those who are Christ’s shall have part in it. 

All that have part in it are the children of God because they are the children of the resurrection to life. 

These facts clearly prove that the examination of the cases of the righteous precedes their resurrection at the advent of Christ, that event being really declarative of their innocence in the sight of God, and of their eternal salvation. Such as are accepted of God are raised; the others sleep till the resurrection to damnation. These facts are decisive proof that the righteous are judged before they are raised." J.N. Andrews

Creation Moment 12/19/2024 - Baffling Themselves

He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: 

Job 5:13

"Scientists have taken a look at one of the most profound questions imaginable, 

---pondering why life in the universe exists at all, and come back scratching their heads…

Essentially, there is a fundamental juxtaposition at the heart of our current understanding of the universe, which challenges our understanding of physics and the nature of life existing anywhere.

A new study is set to be published in Physical Letters B [via Indian Defence Review] focuses on the Higgs field.
The Higgs field is a field of energy that gives particles mass, and it’s our understanding of this essential component of the universe which the new study challenges.

The Higgs field has the potential to change and “bubble” – and this

could have huge consequences. If it did “bubble” then it would lead to the creation of pockets of altered reality in which nothing would exist at all, which is a pretty terrifying thought.
In fact, if these bubbles did come into existence, then protons and neutrons would completely disappear and electron masses would change.

“The Higgs field isn’t likely to be in the lowest possible energy state it could be in. That means it could theoretically change its state, dropping to a lower energy state in a certain location,” said the study’s lead researcher, Lucien Heurtier.
That in itself is a scary thought, but the really significant implications of the research come when considering the Higgs field in relation to primordial black holes, which have fascinated scientists for decades.

The new research states that if they do indeed exist, then they would have caused “bubbling” to take place in the Higgs field – and if “bubbling” took place, then life wouldn’t exist at all in the universe.
It’s a pretty mind boggling thought, and the paradox right at the heart of the universe – enough to put anyone in a slightly existential mood, you might think.

So, scientists now know that there are either elements of the Higgs field or primordial black holes (or indeed both) that we don’t fully understand and it just goes to show that there are many mysteries out there in the universe which we’re yet to comprehend." 

MSN

The 3 Types of BOOKS that MATTER

A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him:

thousand thousands ministered unto Him, 

and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: 

the judgment was set, and the books were opened. 

Daniel 7:10

"The books are examined before the deliverance of the saints. Dan.12:1. 

The opening of the books is described in Dan.7:9,10. 

The book of life shows who have ever set out in the service of God. Luke 10:20; Phil.4:3. The book of God’s remembrance shows the record of their faithfulness in his cause, and whether they have made clean work in overcoming. Mal.3:16. 

Other books contain the record of men’s evil deeds. Rev.20:12,13."

 J.N. Andrews

Creation Moment 12/18/2024 - Accidental Goldilocks Porridge?

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. 

Romans 1:22

"Some argue that our universe being fine-tuned for life is merely an accident. After all, there might be millions of flopped universes out there. There is no evidence for them but, they say, we can’t rule them out either.

Durham University philosophy professor Philip Goff explains at

IAI.TV why he doesn’t think that the idea of a multiverse can explain away the obvious fine-tuning of our universe.
An Example of Fine-Tuning
First, he offers an example of that fine-tuning,:
"The claim is just that, for life to be possible, certain numbers in physics had to fall in a very narrow range. 

--For example, if the force that powers the accelerating expansion of the universe had been a little stronger, everything would have shot apart so quickly that no two particles would have ever met. There would have been no stars, planets, or any kind of structural complexity. 

--Whereas if that force had been significantly weaker, it would not have counteracted gravity, and so the entire universe would have collapsed back on itself a split second after the Big Bang. 

--For there to be structural complexity, and therefore life, that strength of this force had to be — a bit like Goldilocks porridge –— not too strong, and not too weak: just right. There are many numbers like this, which is what it means to say our universe is fine-tuned for life."

The argument against fine-tuning is called the Inverse Gambler’s Fallacy:
"Suppose you and I walk into a casino and the first person we see is someone winning big. I say, ‘Wow, there must be tens of thousands of people playing in the casino tonight!’ You say, ‘What makes you think that?’ I reply, ‘Well, if there are tens of thousands of people playing, it’s not so surprising that at least one person would win big, and that’s what we’ve just observed."
*Of course, we have no evidence of that." 

EN&V

Roles in the "Judgment"

"The work of the Judgment is divided into two parts. 

The first part is the investigative judgment, which takes place in the heavenly sanctuary, God the Father sitting in judgment. 

The second part is the execution of the judgment, and is committed wholly to Christ, who comes to our earth to accomplish this work. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when

the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. And hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man. To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. 

John 5:25,27; Jude 14,15. I." 

J.N. Andrews

IN the NEWS - Old Fashioned Iconoclast Movement Hits Pagans in New Hampshire?

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Exodus 20:4

"Three days.
That’s how long a satanic statue lasted in front of the State House in

Concord, New Hampshire.
The robed Baphomet’s legs remained standing, but its upper half had been severed and its head removed.
Democrat Rep. Ellen Read, who helped organize the display with the Satanic Temple, was left picking up the pieces the next morning.
The State House square usually depicts a Nativity scene during the Christmas season, something Read apparently saw as exclusionary." WesternJournal

Creation Moment 12/17/2024 - Acts 17:26 Confirmed by Science

And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth. Acts 17:26

"The Bible states that all humanity came from Adam and Eve. Genetics confirms that all people are one race—the human race." 

AIG

For the whole human family

"Here are two passages of Scripture which we commend to the careful attention of the reader:— 

(1.) “The Sabbath was made for man.” Mark2:27.

(2.) “God that MADE THE WORLD and all things therein . . . hath made of one blood all nations of men for TO DWELL ON ALL THE FACE OF THE EARTH.” Acts17:24-26.  

God, who made our world, made it of a globular form, and made man to dwell on all the face of it.

And that the creation of the world might be commemorated, He set apart the seventh day of the week, because He rested upon it from that work, to be observed by the human family as the Sabbath of the Lord. 

---And we have seen from a careful survey of the whole subject, that

wherever in the providence of God men are placed, the definite seventh day is to be found, and can be kept by those who are so minded. 

The observers of the first day of the week have attempted to show, in the things above examined, that the observance of a definite day in impossible, because the days of the week are indefinite and uncertain. The real intent of their action is to excuse themselves for not observing the day enjoined in the commandment." 

J.N. Andrews

IN the NEWS - Potential Ramifications of Playing with God's Creation

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.... 

Romans 1:22

"On a molecular level, life as we know it has a surprising bias. The building blocks of life — DNA, RNA, and proteins — have a “handedness,” like our left and right hands. For reasons still unclear, nature almost exclusively uses right-handed DNA and left-handed proteins. 

Q: But what if science flipped the script?

In labs around the world, scientists have tinkered with this idea, crafting mirror versions of life’s essential molecules. 

These synthetic creations could revolutionize therapies for diseases

and contamination-resistant manufacturing. At the same time, reversing a molecule’s handedness could cause untold harm.

This week, nearly 40 scientists — including two Nobel laureates — raised a chilling alarm. The creation of “mirror life” — synthetic organisms made of these reversed molecules — could lead to catastrophic consequences. Their nearly 300-page report, published in Science, is unequivocal: research on mirror microbes should stop before it’s too late.

“The threat we’re talking about is unprecedented,” said Professor Vaughn Cooper, a microbiologist at the University of Pittsburgh. “Mirror bacteria would likely evade many human, animal, and plant immune system responses and in each case would cause lethal infections that would spread without check.”

The symmetry of molecules is fundamental. Almost every known living organism comprises left-handed proteins and right-handed DNA. Our immune systems are exquisitely tuned to detect pathogens with these configurations. But mirror bacteria, with their flipped structures, could slip past our defenses unnoticed.
“Ultimately, that host will be overrun, and that will be fatal,” warned Vaughn Cooper.

Imagine you’re trying to shake someone’s hand, but as you offer your right hand, they extend their left. The match feels awkward, even

though both hands are functionally and structurally identical. This is a bit like molecular handedness — known as chirality — and it defines the architecture of life’s molecules.
“The impact on the food chain would be devastating,” Deepa Agashe, an evolutionary biologist at India’s National Center for Biological Sciences, told the NY Times.

Even mirror molecules can be extremely dangerous, let alone mirror life. The drug thalidomide — prescribed in the 1950s to ease morning sickness — is a famous cautionary tale of chirality. One mirror version soothed nausea, while the other caused severe birth defects. Tragically, this knowledge came too late for thousands of families. The two forms of thalidomide could switch to the other in the body, leading to devastating consequences." 

ZMEScience

Creation Moment 12/16/2024 - Moral Relativism & Evolution

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Proverbs 14:12

"Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, “You have your way, I have my way. As for the right way, it does not exist.” This is a good summary of relativism.

Now here is the thing. The acceptance of moral relativism is closely linked to acceptance of the theory of evolution. 

--The argument is that as we have evolved from lesser biological

organisms, so our morals and ethics are also evolving. 

--The end result is summed up by famous humanist Paul Kurtz: “If man is a product of evolution, one species among others, in a universe without purpose, then man’s option is to live for himself.”

Moral relativists become quite indignant and even dictatorial when it negatively impacts them. Consider what has happened to businesses providing wedding services when the proprietors argue it goes against their morals to participate in a same-sex wedding. Florists, bakers, and photographers have been successfully sued all over the United States in spite of our 1st Amendment right to Freedom of Religion."
MarkCadwallader

3 Acts in Making the Sabbath

"The blessing and sanctification of the seventh day was because that God had rested upon it. 

His resting upon it then, was to lay the foundation for blessing and sanctifying the day. 

His being refreshed with this rest implies that He delighted in the act which laid the foundation for the memorial of His great work. 

The second act of the Creator in instituting this memorial was to place His blessing upon the day of his rest. Thenceforward it was the blessed rest-day of the Lord. 

A third act completes the sacred institution. The day already blessed of God, is now, last of all, sanctified or hallowed by Him. To sanctify is “to separate, set apart, or appoint to a holy, sacred or religious use.” 

To hallow is “to make holy; to consecrate; to set apart for a holy or religious use.”

The time when these three acts were performed is worthy of especial notice. 

---The first act was that of rest. This took place on the seventh day; for the day was employed in rest. 

---The second and third acts took place when the seventh day was past. “God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because that in it He had rested from all His work.” 

Hence it was on the first day of the second week of time that God blessed the seventh day and set it apart to a holy use. 

The blessing and sanctification of the seventh day, therefore relate not to the first seventh day of time, but to the seventh day of the week for time to come, in memory of God’s rest on that day from the work of creation." 

J.N. Andrews

Creation Moment 12/15/2024 - Groaning of Wisdom Teeth

For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. Romans 8:22

"The wisdom teeth, which usually erupt around ages 17–25, often need to be removed because they do not have sufficient room to emerge and so get caught on existing teeth (impaction). 

The major reason for problems with wisdom teeth today is most likely diet rather than any genetic changes.

The human diet, particularly in the industrialized world, has become softer and more processed, which results in the jaw being subject to much less force during development, causing changes in jaw shape. Therefore, there is less room in the gum for wisdom teeth to break through without causing problems.

Spinney also says, ‘… perhaps as many as 35 per cent of people have no wisdom teeth at all, suggesting that we may be on an evolutionary trajectory to losing them altogether.’ 

Even if this were true, it provides no support for evolution because evolution requires new structures to arise naturalistically. 

---Rather, loss of teeth is just another example of degeneration, which fits perfectly within the Biblical worldview of Creation and Fall." 

CMI

Faith & the Foundation

"Now faith is not only a foundation principle, but it is the real foundation; for there is no true faith except "the faith of Jesus," (Galatians 2:16) which is His life. 

To exercise faith is to build upon a solid foundation. 

And this idea is suggested in lsaiah 28:16: "Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation;...." 

He that believeth, that is, builds upon the sure foundation, will stand fast when "the overflowing scourge" (Isaiah 28:15)passes through. We can build upon faith, because it is substantial; it is "the substance of things hoped for. (Hebrews 11:1)." 

E.J. Waggoner